Mew arrives for core SFT by Dappled-Light, literature
Literature
Mew arrives for core SFT
Vernon drove solemnly back to Florida, the empty trailer clattering behind him as if to serve a constant reminder that he wasn’t going to see Stello any time soon. As usual, he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of the music, and lost himself to his thoughts. Meanwhile back at the cattery, Jay was giving Stello some time to settle in. The cat did seem relatively calm, but would occasionally look over the stall door as if expecting to see his handler come around the corner at any given moment. Jay was sitting with him across the hall, reading a book. Symphony was laying next to him, practicing her place command and occasionally raising her head to look at her surroundings. For the first few days, he just wanted Stello to be settled before they did any actual work. The bar jump had been a handy way to demonstrate his methods to Vernon before he left, but he didn’t want to push the cat too much. After a few hours had passed, Jay opened the stall door and haltered
Stello Basic Bar Jump by Dappled-Light, literature
Literature
Stello Basic Bar Jump
Vernon reached out his hand to meet that of the handler standing in front of him, and the two firmly shook hands. “Nice to officially meet you,” Vernon stated, his voice a little deeper due to lack of use this early in the morning. “Stello is in the back, do you want me to unload him?” “Nice to meet you as well,” Jay replied enthusiastically. “I would love to meet him!” He started to walk around the side of the trailer, taking care not to touch the sides that were caked in mud and dirt from the drive up the mountain. He took a few steps back and gave Vernon space to open the door, not wanting to stress the cat by standing too close. The taller man seemed almost reluctant as he walked, but opened the door to reveal an incredibly beautiful slim shedu. Jay had to stop his jaw from actively falling open when he saw the cat in the trailer. The beautiful sheen of the cat’s coat indicated near-perfect health and diet, while the colors seemed to dance and shimmer across the pelt. The cat
Before it got too late, Vernon was also up. But he wasn’t excited, he was worried and to be honest, a little sad. He got up and let Stello out of the stall, where the groggy cat gave him a concerned chirp. He could tell something was different. This was longer than their normal trips around their home. The weather was different. Colder, drier. And something was wrong with Vernon. The normally calm handler’s hand shook slightly as he scooped the cat’s breakfast into the bowl. It was almost like a repeat of last night. He was just going through the motions, and he couldn’t seem to keep his eye on the time. He quickly ate some chips that he had leftover from a gas station. The stale pieces were flavorless after two days of being open, but it was better than nothing. He brushed his teeth and barely glanced at himself in the mirror to make sure that he looked presentable before stuffing his clothes into his bag and grabbing his keys. He made sure that everything had been cleaned up in the
Accepting Tack + Saddle Carajilo + Jay by Dappled-Light, literature
Literature
Accepting Tack + Saddle Carajilo + Jay
The next morning, Jay was up well before his alarm. Excitement thrummed through his veins at the idea of getting a new cat, and that someone finally trusted him enough to go through with a full training set. He was following the official Elsevier agility set, as that was the one that provided official certifications. He thought back to when he was getting his Shedu Novice Diploma, and the classroom that had started it all. He had actually taken that class while still finishing up his college courses, and that’s when he knew that he was going to be a shedu handler. Maybe not the most prestigious one, but definitely one of the best. He spent a year training himself, spending every waking hour watching videos, asking questions, volunteering at local catteries, and taking online courses. Then shortly after that, Symphony crawled her way into his life and forced him to take the leap. He wondered what Vernon’s story was. Was it like his? Or was it different? He knew that some people were
Vernon returned from the grocery store with some ingredients for a quick dinner. While he wasn’t a professional chef, he would be lying if he didn’t enjoy cooking every once in a while. He unpacked the chicken breasts, vegetables, ginger, and garlic from the bag he was carrying, and grabbed the sauces, oil, and a pan from the kitchen pantries inside the house. He hadn’t checked before he left (which he was cursing at himself for in the grocery store), but thankfully others had cooked here before him and left ingredients that he could use. He minced the garlic and ginger, sliding them together in a bowl so that he could use the cutting board for the vegetables. His mind drifted with the rhythmic crunching of the cuts as he wondered how Stello would be without him. He had been with the shedu since it was a cub, and while Stello had never shown signs of separation anxiety, he wondered what the cat was going to think after not seeing him much for six months. Would he think he had been
Standing Tied Carajilo + Jay by Dappled-Light, literature
Literature
Standing Tied Carajilo + Jay
Back at La Montagne, Jay was lunging Symphony on a long line, letting her stretch out her legs. They were in an indoor arena, and Carajilo was once again hanging around, watching them. The little shedu was on his own halter and lead, but currently was standing tied as he worked Symphony. He could see the muscles rippling under her red coat, and he patted himself on the back at the sleekness of her coat. The diet and grooming that he had been using for her was clearly starting to pay off. As they turned in circles, he occasionally cast glances at the young shedu in the corner. Jay had been halter training him since the fourth week of his life, so the shedu was no stranger to the contraption sitting on his nose. However, he was used to being able to do whatever he wanted. For the first twenty minutes that they were in the arena, the little shedu had been tugging at the rope and batting at the knot with his paws. After twenty minutes however, Carajilo had more or less accepted his fate
Meanwhile at a small Airbnb not too far from Jay’s cattery, Vernon sighed with relief. He didn’t know what had compelled him to drive across the country to Colorado even before Jay even replied to his message. Of course in hindsight it was a gamble, there was no guarantee that Jay was going to accept his request. On a whim - kind of - he had taken Stello out of Florida and high-tailed it to another state where he could lay low for a while. While he was now affiliated with a high-profile cattery, someone had recognized him on the street after a while and it had caused a bit of a scuffle over something that should have been forgotten long ago. Obviously it wasn’t his fault, but a few different parties got involved and he decided to take an impromptu vacation. He wanted to wait a while for people to forget at least about Stello while he continued his job as normal. The bright cat was easy to recognize but not fully grown, and another six months would give him time to mature enough for
When Jay woke up, he didn’t know that his dreams were about to come true. Well, his dreams had already come true. He was living in a cabin that he built in the most beautiful mountains, waking up every morning to elk calls and birds chirping. As usual, it was around 6am when he first opened his eyes, just fractions of a second before the alarm clock on his phone started to vibrate. He chuckled as he swung his legs out of bed, slipping his feet into slippers to avoid touching the cold floor. If you had asked him a year ago where he would be, knees deep in shedus and livestock was not what he would have answered. He was a good kid, listening to his parents and going to school. While he had finished college as per their wishes, he knew that this was his calling instead. He made his way to the armoire, and picked out his clothes for the day. Undershirt, flannel, and a jacket with plain jeans. It wasn’t hard for him to pick, he wore the same thing basically every day. As he turned his