Star Kitten (46 page)

Females could be heard gasping, blubbering,
and sobbing with joy. Men and warriors nodded and murmured softly
in acknowledgement. This was truly a beautiful sight to see: New
Australia's greatest and most popular couple declaring wedding vows
to each other. But an even bigger precedent had been set: Solomon's
words had laid out the first big marital tradition of the day: that
a Naustie should open up his heart to everyone in attendance,
revealing his truest and most meaningful feelings about his wife or
life partner.

And with the conclusion of Solomon’s vows…
it was now Felina's turn!

Felina smiled again, and then turned to face
the huge audience as Solomon had done. She knew her voice would be
difficult to hear above the sobbing, sniffling, and murmuring
throng, but Architeuthis gave a calming gesture with his large main
tentacles that alerted the crowd to quiet down to let the elegant
she-cat speak. Boldly, she lifted her lovely face to raise her
buzzing purring voice loud enough to be heard inside the echoing
steel fabricated walls of the giant building. She said, "When I was
a kitten, the local tribal elders recognized me as having Empathic
abilities. Abilities beyond that of an average female and perhaps
those strong enough to eventually be honored by receiving Empathic
Training at the local academy. Years passed and the dream came
true—the dream of many Pumalar kittens—and to the greatest honor
imaginable to my family, I was selected."

At this, literally hundreds of Pumalar
females in the audience burst into tears and wept bitterly. Many
had to muffle their faces in the chests of their neighbor in the
audience. True, all she-cats dreamed of achieving and receiving
such an honor. As kittens they'd play games and pretend they had
been chosen to go to the local academy and train to become Empaths.
But practically none of them in attendance had ever actually been
selected or even come close to completing the training. Felina was
the exception. She was the real thing; and yet she'd never been
mated to a male, had she?

Somehow, she’d ended up
like all of the rest of them scraping out a living as
“
entertainers
”.
How intriguing! Now they were going to hear
her
side of the story.

"Like any kitten, I was overwhelmed with joy
and pride. My breed was delighted as well and the Toyger patriarch
even held celebrations in my honor. I was the happiest I'd ever
been up to that point in my entire life. A vast world of
possibilities now seemed available to me. I curled up asleep to
dream every night of whom I might end up being mated with. Would it
be a warrior... a nobleman... a diplomat from some exotic foreign
world? All of these fantasies filled my mind and my dreams at
night. Yet I was destined to be denied. No such dream came true…
for me."

She paused to let the
message soak in. They all needed to know. She needed them to
understand part of the reason she was here. She had not been
the
Star Kitten
because she was great or exceptional.
Anyone
can be exceptional, even for
a brief moment in their life. No, she needed them to understand she
was in reality a failure, and THAT was why she was standing before
them all that day, now a fellow citizen of New
Australia.

No, Felina was no better
than—nor any greater than—any Pumalar who'd ever lived and
certainly nothing greater than anyone else in that crowd. Failure
and disappointment had put her on Star Pussy. And failing to meet
the rigorous standards of the Empath academy had led to her denial
of being assigned a mate. “I eventually reached the maximum age
limit," she continued, "…which meant being
released
from the program. My young
heart was broken," she added and then closed her eyes tightly in a
look of regretful sadness.

More sobbing and whimpering could be heard
from the audience; as hundreds of female pumalars gained an even
deeper understanding of their personal idol. Felina was the
greatest among all of them. Pumalars traditionally never did such a
thing; and for males especially it was unspeakable to confess or
reveal a weakness! Subsequently, it was all the more shocking to
hear Felina bare her soul.

She continued, “And so I
came to be an entertainer," she continued with a smirking smile.
"Just like thousands of us who ended up on Star Pussy, I took a job
as a Bodyworker. A new existence offered itself to me; and I
embraced it determinedly. Maybe it could lead to more I tried to
fantasize; but gradually I began to accept my existence. Maybe it
was all that I might ever have… at least for the time being. True,
I had abilities and skills that I could use to better the lives of
everyone I came in contact with. I could relieve their pain, and
their loneliness, and the dullness of their existence. Yet I could
do nothing for myself. I could be nothing more than I was on Star
Pussy. The
Star Kitten
, they called me. And so I went to work every night, proud of
what I could do, but seeing no future for myself... once age and
time took their toll on my beauty."

The harsh reality of this dark confession
struck home with many in the audience; and not just with Pumalars!
Every female of any species dreads the future, when they realize
youth and beauty are fleeting at best; and only too soon to fade
away like the last days of a long beautiful summer. Time ends them
both slowly and gradually, and no amount of fighting nor battling
and can stave off the inevitable.

Felina again sighed and paused, looking
about the audience with compassion for what likely hundreds in
attendance that day had felt and dreaded in just the same way. Then
she added, "In so doing though, I found a friend I could confide
in, and colleagues I could win the trust of. I found clients who
adored me, and fame that I'd neither invited nor relished
particularly... yet I was something I'd always wanted to be in the
first place. I was, at least for a brief time in my life, quite
needed and quite deeply desired. I then accepted this as my fate
and condition, and strove to make the best of it. However, what I
had to accept… was that I would never achieve the ultimate goal of
every Empath who'd ever lived: to be mated with a great warrior...”
Her voice then rose to its highest pitch short of outright
screaming, “… a powerful mate who could provide me with security
and status that would give me a stable future."

This dramatic comment hushed the audience to
inaudible whispers, as they realized the possible implications of
what she’d just said. But she was not using her wedding vows to
make—nor advance—a political agenda for female equality. Not today
anyway.

After a calming pause, she smiled saying,
"And yet I was wrong. I was wrong all along, don’t you see? And
thankfully too! Indeed I was mercifully quite mistaken." She
laughed unabashedly, in that disarming comical buzzing purring
cackle which had charmed thousands already over the years. It was
contagious too, leading to some relieved chuckles from the sobbing
and yet still quite riveted audience. As the laughter rippled
throughout the building, she raised her voice a little higher,
saying "Oh yes, fate had quite another surprise in store for me;
when a very evil looking but surprisingly gentle Zorgolongian burst
into my life and delivered me to this wonderful world of New
Australia, where I was finally able to meet this mighty and
wonderful man standing next to me.”

Kscheeech grinned and
nodded proudly at being recognized so honorably by Felina, while
the crowd
ahhh’d
with both delight and relief.

“Yes, a man… a human,” clarified Felina,
"Powerful, beautiful, and spectacular. Ironically just what I'd
dreamed of finding all along.” She then turned back to face Solomon
completely once again, concluding by saying, “And with you, my
darling, I finally found the love and happiness like I've dreamed
of ever since I was a kitten back on Pumalar."

Above all the joyful
chuckles, "
aaaah's
", and giggles, one laughing voice could be heard above all
the rest. Yes, it was Kscheeech, dressed in his Captain's robe and
wearing a laurel of flower blossoms like all the other groomsmen
were adorned with. If anyone else might have been overcome with
pride that day, it could not have been more greatly felt than by
her loyal friend and supporter, Kscheeech. His cackling snarl
echoed throughout the vast chamber above everyone else in the
crowd, and only died down when she turned to acknowledge him with a
respectful nod. He returned it, still laughing, nodding, and
hissing with almost a paternal pride.

Felina concluded, "So I too commit myself to
you Solomon, my partner and companion, for all the rest of our days
together… on this my new home planet."

At this, cheers and applause erupted from
the audience of thousands, filling the gigantic greenhouse arena
with a thunderous roar. It was a cheer for the collective
satisfaction of seeing a couple who was clearly in love; and yet
also an acknowledgment of what Felina was implying every female on
New Australia should now do: appreciate their new existence on New
Australia and embrace this as their home. Take pride in it. Take a
husband! And perhaps, embrace the opportunity to start a family.
The applause and cheers now grew into a cacophony of noise that
echoed and seemed to build upon itself. The happy couple hugged
each other lovingly. Then they remained entwined while they waited
for the crowd to calm down and for the applause and cheering to die
down once more.

It took quite a while, but they were in no
hurry. The cheers and applause even rose up a few more times as
many in the crowd just wanted the moment to last and seemed to want
the cheering to keep going! But finally the arena became silent
again, as the crowd appeared to get it all out of their system; and
folks turned about to hush each other and let the ceremony finish.
Tears were wiped away, sniffles and sobs were stifled, and bodies
hugged each other warmly. Felina's words were unforgettable.
Solomon’s were too.

After a long patient wait, Architeuthis
spoke to each of them directly, but again with the same booming
voice which enabled everyone in the crowd to hear without so much
as straining their ears. "Solomon Mwonga, do you of your own free
will, take this female, Felina Toyger, as your wife and companion…
to love honor and protect her… forsaking all others? To stand by
and defend her, at the risk of even your own life. As long as you
both shall live?"

Solomon stepped back from his love’s embrace
to completely face Felina, holding her hands, thereby setting the
tradition that would become performed a thousand more times in
thousands of wedding ceremonies to come. Grasping both of her paws
he exclaimed in a bellowing voice, "I shall!" In response Felina
gave out a joyous Pumalar roar, which humored the crowd and even
elicited some pleasant laughter. Then Architeuthis turned to Felina
who continued to face her man but cocked an eye toward the aging
tall Slart. Architeuthis said, "And now Felina Toyger, do you of
your own free will, take this male, Solomon Mwonga, as your husband
and lifelong companion? Will you love, honor, and protect him,
forsaking all others besides him? Will you stand by him and defend
him, even as might require the sacrifice of your own life. And will
you do so for as long as you both shall live?"

Smiling broadly and warmly toward her new
husband, Felina growled delightedly, "I will!"

"Therefore..." concluded Architeuthis, "By
the powers vested in me by the Tribal Confederation of the
independent planet of New Australia... I now pronounce you Husband…
and WIFE."

Over the next five years,
Solomon and Felina continued to set quite a few precedents for the
planet. And it didn’t take them long to set examples that others
would rush to emulate….

They accomplished the
planet’s first legal adoption—taking in an orphaned human child as
their own. And they moved into their own private home within
Schpleeftkorkii territory; a cave where they could start a family
and live out their lives. They even traveled around together as a
family for everyone to see and desire to emulate. This drew lots of
attention!

Their legal adoption was
of a human girl who was sired by one of the human tribesmen of the
Michoacanos Tribe. This warrior had “mated” with one of the human
captives originally purchased by their tribe; but the female died
in child birth and the child was left motherless. The warrior
responsible for the child, a gigantic man named Umberto (but who
went by the nickname
Feathers
because of large birdwing-like tattoos on his
back) brought the baby to Felina and asked humbly if she'd care for
it. Felina eagerly agreed; and with that, New Australia had its
first real family. Many more were to follow.

Many other marriages were
to follow as well; and other Chieftains, just like the Slarts had
predicted, came forward wishing to accomplish the same thing as
Solomon by taking a wife. Not just Chieftains either. To warlords
maintaining hold over their territories, a marriage was a great way
to seal a bloodline for the holding of that land (whether it was a
simple network of caves and a supporting farm... or if it was a
massive section of the many mine operations going on within the
planet core). A bloodline meant stability. A strong, well-raised
and strapping heir to a warlord’s lands meant no challenges to his
authority or reign even as he aged into feebleness and failing
health. Legal recognition of the marriage would lend even more
credibility to the heir’s claim to his father’s estate.