[ My sister said he was a music major ]

My sister said he was a music major
But spying showed he was the missing lynx
Or something like it
Blue-streaked hair turned to blue-streaked fur
And the braids in the beard remained
When I first saw him, I joked about Celtic warriors
I never would have suspected the truth
And when he was so sensitive
I joked about his "time of the month"
But I never thought he was a lycanthrope

I've seen Stargate and Supernatural
I read fantasy
And always wanted to be a part of something mystical
But my sister was the fey one
The one that odd things happened around
She was the artistic one
Talented
Pretty
It figures a werecat would fall in love with her
Instead of me

He never meant to let me know his nature
He hadn't even told her yet
But I'm more persistent
Especially in the pursuit of background checks
Now that I know
He had to tell her, too
Before I did
She was okay with it, as I expected
I am, too
In theory

My sister is my best friend
And I?
Am paranoid and bad at sharing
But she's happier than I've ever seen her
Furry fiancee and all
Even though I fear losing her
I can't take a life
I love cats
And this one wears a human face

I keep reminding myself
That murder is not a proper response to someone coming out
I'm cool with mixed-race marriages
But I'm not sure interspecies is okay
And the monster's mixing with my sister
She acts more strangely everyday
I remember all the Greek mythology
And wonder if she ate any seeds
Will I still have to do a time-share
If I put the cat to sleep?

He's never human anymore
But he still talks
Telepathic cat, like in the cheesy novels
(I like them,
But I don't like what he says)
He says that he can't stay
That our world doesn't have enough magic to keep him alive
So far, he's just lost the ability to take human form
He's not a werecat
He's a magical cat from another world
I thought this was fantasy
But now I think it's sci-fi

We're in his world
I didn't see any kind of portal
No glowy blue ring
But from one step to the other,
The world changed
His people live in tents
They are happy to meet my sister
But I think they're trying to make me uncomfortable
They offer me nothing
Force me to ask
Maybe it's worked in past
When they steal other people's sisters
And make the family leave
They really don't know me at all

I'm not usually one for camping
But this isn't camping in the normal sense
Their tents are not cheap Walmart tents
But well-made, permanent
All bright colors and oddly colored furs
What animal am I sleeping on?
It's very comfortable

I think they've realized
I won't leave without knowing the situation
If I leave at all
My suspicions were justified
After the wedding in his misty land
She will not be allowed to leave
She might be pregnant
Their kind do not survive well in the human world
Her child might be killed
I wonder if they will be born singly or in litters
And if they will have her eyes
If I don't stick it out here, I don't think I'll ever know


The wedding is wild
Like the eyes and songs of his people
I wonder if their cat-form is sacred
Or if they stay human most of the time
He gets weird when I ask
His people get weirder
It makes me think that I'm holding up their secret tribal life
Which makes me kind of gleeful
Since my life's changing in unpleasant ways

I'm trying not to let her know how bitter I am
Ruin her happy day
She never had dreams of career or fame
Just marriage and children
Someone who saw how amazing she was
He can't look away from her
She sees it all as her big, romantic adventure
She always liked that Harlequin crap
Which would make me the well-meaning friend
Trying to break up the happy couple
This is her dream
Even leaving all she knows

I don't drink their wedding drink
They seem offended
But I'm not good with intoxicants
And I've sampled all of their other delicacies
Even though I'm a picky eater
I just hope I haven't eaten human flesh
Because that might be too much for my mind to handle
I'll do a lot to get along with my sister's in-laws
I draw the line at cannibalism

When they're drunk, they all turn into cats
Lynxes, like him
Different sizes and colors
They lose all their grace and stumble around
They also lose all inhibitions
All the silly, amoral cat behavior?
They do it
Heh. Do it.
One of them got very snuggly in my lap
It seems to be the biggest, and it's heavy
I could try to push it off or talk to it
But it's a maze back to my tent
Besides, it gets cold at night I  was always a sucker for purring
Sleeping against a tree is easier than I thought

I wake up when my living blanket leaves
A few people are stirring, most were still asleep
Lying in various places on the ground
Some of them turned back into humans
Naked people are less embarrassing when they're asleep
I look around and realized that last night would have been excellent for snooping
If not for the deadweight blanket that had kept me in place
I wonder now if the furry cuteness and purring was part of a cunning plan
I wonder who my blanket was

I thought not offering me anything was rude
Now it's weird because they're pushy
Trying to get me to eat, drink, join activities
Maybe it's because my sister's family
And if you tilt your head right
I'm family by extension
I feel creepily like a human sacrifice, being fawned over
So they don't feel bad when they throw me in the volcano


I don't even have to ask questions
People are volunteering things
Apparently, the magic of the place will change my sister
Like it's changed many before
She'll be able to turn into a lynx, too
But human will still be her default
This tribe usually intermarries with other Veratain,
But the best warriors marry humans
To prevent political entanglements
There's more, but this is what I latch on to
Now I know the "why"
Even though they're  still stealing my sister away
I'm still not ready to leave her
I won't know how to get back
If that's even possible

I've never formed attachments quickly
But a week later, it feels like I've known these people all my life
The ones born into the tribe are very touchy-feely
Hugs are like an insta-bond
They're as easy to read as normal humans
Body language seems to be universal
Even in parallel universes
(Or whatever this place technically is)
When the children start coming to me for stories
And the parents feel comfortable not watching
I feel accepted

Acceptance causes bruises
The children like to roughhouse
They have more-than-human strength
And combat training
The chieftain demanded that I attend lessons
I tell him no because it makes him sputter
But I show up at the appointed time
He's testy, but I like him
He makes wry comments and always walks away while I'm laughing
He instructs me personally to begin with, since I need so much attention
The children are amused, watching the outdoor lessons
I am not
But my sore muscles give me a sense of accomplishment


There is another celebration
A group of the children becoming adults
They burn the clothes that they are wearing
With a symbol of their childhood
A blanket or toy
In return, they receive a weapon and adult clothing
I watch with a sense of sadness
The culture that I know has no such obvious ceremony
We cling to childhood
Wearing symbols of it in the form of cartoon characters
We celebrate being able to drive and vote and drink
But never really have closure with our past
We lack the a close, supportive community
To offer acceptance and approval
I wonder if that makes us stunted

They drink
There are naked people and cats in sexual positions
Though never at the same time
I am visited again by a large feline
I think it's the same one
It looks at me, as though for permission
I don't want to talk
It seems like it would break some kind of spell
So I just lean back to make my lap a more appealing target
I sing because it seems right
And bury my hands in soft fur
I wonder what human form my friend takes
But it doesn't seem to matter all that much
I'm alone when I wake up
But a purring form starts appearing in my room every night
To disappear in the morning

I've grown comfortable
It's long after the wedding
I don't know if time passes differently here
If I still have a job
I'm content
Learning their culture, their language
I can't make all the sounds
They think it's funny
My sister is learning, too
She smiles, but I feel something between us
There's a conversation brewing
I'll let it simmer until she decides to pour

She is angry
She thinks I doubt her abilities
To make a life with her new husband
It would hurt her  more to tell her
That I'm afraid to leave
That I'm lingering like someone afraid
To take their hand off a wound and see the damage
She would feel guilty
And since she can't do anything about it
I'll keep my anticipated pain to myself
And leave her to her new life

I don't tell anyone goodbye
Just take my brother-in-law aside one night
And demand to leave
I know he'll go along with it
Because he's not overfond of me
I call him blue-beard
And poke him in the gut
He's very handy
Because he's happy to see me go
And doesn't tell my sister
He agrees that she'll be upset enough
Without all the weepy goodbyes

I appear at my house
The calendar on the web says
That it's the same day we left for the other world
I might appreciate the good news more
If I weren't mourning the loss of new friends and the only family I had
I can't stay in the house by myself
So I stay in a hotel for the night
Put the house up for sale the next day
And move to an apartment a few days later
The world still seems like an empty place
At least I have a job to cling to
Paperwork is soothing
I use escapism to survive the weekends
I stay away from sci-fi
And stick to classical literature instead

I wake up one day with claws in my leg
A familiar cat-shape growling at the end of my bed
I am understandably confused
With tears of uncertain origin pouring forth
My furry friend is angry, probably because I left
I speak to my friend for the first time
Explaining that I made no promises and had no place
Staying longer or saying goodbye would only hurt more
The narrowed cat-eyes indicate I'm full of crap
A familiar masculine voice tells me much the same
My friend is the chieftain
In the time that I have known him
He hasn't shown much patience for impulsive emotional reactions

I don't think to ask him why he's been playing pet kitty with me
I'm more interested in why he's here in my world
He speaks to me like a small child
Explaining that he's here to fetch me back
He uses the word "home," like it means something to me as well
It does
But this is sudden and strange
Like always, I want to understand before I commit
He's not interested in questions
When he leaves, I think he's gone for good
But he comes back dressed
To pick me up and carry me home

When my sister is done yelling at me
My friends are done glaring at me
And the children are through hugging me
The chieftain explains that
If I hadn't left before he could declare himself
Or at least stayed in a place where it was easy to locate me
We wouldn't have had to have this little adventure
He's so busy lecturing
It takes me a minute to realize that he just proposed
In a surreal state, I joke that maybe I wouldn't have left
If he hadn't taken so long to talk to me
He glowers and I imagine a cat with its ears back
I'm still laughing when he kisses me