Every Picture Has A Story To Tell...

...and this pair certainly have a Tall tail to tell. Can you imagine what kind of story?

Look at the pictures and try to guess. 

I will tell you the story tomorrow.

Catspaw

Sailor and the Ruined Castle, Con't

How Extraordinary! Once Sailor made his decision to return to the castle his mind suddenly perceived a clarity which had, before now, eluded him and the peculiar dank vapor over the town seemed to unexpectedly lift, while the rain began receding back into the dark clouds above. The day cleared as they broke and scudded across the sky; driven by the wind. It was so sudden, as if on cue and was it triggered by Sailor's decision? Sailor thought to himself 'So. It was true.' The apprehension he'd been experiencing for a week now, the vague feelings of unwanted and unlooked for change... all leading to this decisive moment in his life. The fog indeed, had come for him. It had found him and it was driving him, inexorably, towards the ruined castle on the hill above the village. Now, to find out why!

Catspaw

~~~S.A.N.D.Y~~~

Sandy, Mrs. M's companion, has a tale to tell:

Sandy is a beautiful, long haired gold Persian and belongs to friends of ours. Mrs. M got him as a tiny kitten and he has grown into a lovely, good tempered companion for her. 

One day, a few months ago, Mrs. M heard a loud yowl from Sandy and found him limping rather badly. She and her son took him to the vet. Turns out that he'd somehow managed to break his hip. Now whether he'd gotten caught somewhere in the house or had climbed and fallen Mrs. M had no idea, but he'd hurt himself and being an indoor cat it could only have happened in the house. 

For a month or two, Sandy had to get used to dragging around a small cast but the vet said he healed very well being the young cat that he is. He is now back to his old antics and is as healthy as ever, though he has a slight limp and every so often will react to a slight sciatic nerve that becomes bothersome to him. 

Happy news is that Sandy is back on all four paws and is the same loveable, burly kitty that Mrs. M and her son adore. 

Catspaw  

Sailor and the Ruined Castle, Con't ~~~

The town sloped down the hillside and sat in a lurid mixture of moonlight and town lamps. Many of the windows were lit from within and cast yellow pools just outside on the cobblestones. A small wharf opened itself to the sea in the middle of town.

On the darkest of nights the patchwork buildings became indistinct shadows so it was only by day could you appreciate the pretty village with its different colored and shaped buildings, some of which operated as both residence and shop for many of the denizens. 

 

As he neared an unlit house Sailor could hear other night wandering felines making their own rounds of the village. He waited till they past his hiding place before quickly moving down the wet road to the local fish monger shop. If you arrived in time, there was always something to be had that would quiet the noises in your belly. After a quick meal gained from a recent gutting bucket that had been left out for the night, Sailor continued his way through town till he reached the harbor.

Sailor

Catspaw

Sailor and the Ruined Castle, Con't

There was a shadow flitting across the shattered courtyard; Sailor could just hear the faint footfalls and the tumbling pebbles where something had just passed but all he could perceive moving in the darkness was a quick crimean shape before it was gone again. There was little use in pursuing it so Sailor let it go, it would come back and when it did it, warranted further observation. Slipping from the castle walls Sailor headed towards the lake and for the nearby fishing village where his home now lay. 

 

Part of the fishing village Sailor calls home

Catspaw

Sailor and the Ruined Castle, Con't

Old memories of mom

The midday sun was high and the air was balmy in the little shelter they called home. He was pretending to stalk along the bulwarks, playing. Abruptly his attention was violently snatched and driven toward the sound of soft yowlings of kittens; Sailor's eye grew extremely wide and he froze in midstep as his mother crossed the dilapidated cloister and tenderly cuddled her offspring. Sailor was riveted to the spot, scarcely able to draw breath as he watched himself nuzzling his only parent's soft, warm belly for food. 

Sailor's siblings?

 Catspaw

Sailor and the Ruined Castle, Con't

Fleet of foot, the dark, striped tabby dashed along the perimeter of the once mighty facade of the fortress and quickly gained its lowest rampart. Sailor leaped up the side and over; he was inside the ruined castle. Night was falling, it was already dusk when Sailor reached the enclosure that had once been his home. The odor was old but still present, a vague recollection of his matriarch still rested in the air. Infiltrating the quadrangle Sailor made a cursory search of the area, having being satisfied that all was well he curled into a ball and relaxed as the sun began its decent. He felt himself waiting, waiting for an answer; perhaps the sudden reappearance of his mother who was so long gone from him or a comforting sign from the 'something' that seemed to live here... As he waited, dusk deepened into evening and still there was no disturbance. Sailor slipped into sleep as night approached. 

Catspaw 

Sailor and the Ruined Castle, Con't

For reasons Sailor didn't understand, he was reluctant to go any further. He didn't like that he heard no bird call and the fish, if there were any, were silent. Although he could detect no threat in the air the whole place made him feel uncomfortable. Finally after much deliberation he crept forward and hastily reached the other side. Sailor headed up the slope but lingered at the fence, sniffing it for any sign that another animal had past this way; nothing. It was as before, no living thing had left its scent and yet he perceived no danger, just stillness and solitude. Now the remnant of the once great tower and wall presented itself before him but he knew of another in and with the awareness that he was indeed alone here, Sailor no longer hesitated to move toward the castle.

The Mysterious Ruined Castle

Catspaw