Work Text:
The Magnificent Seven Cats
by Pirate Turner
She gripped the reins harder in her furry hand as her green eyes lifted to the darkening skies. She didn't want to leave town until she knew her boys were safely home, especially as they'd been gone for over a week now, but she had to get her niece home before the storm hit. She sighed, her bushy tail swishing in the rising wind. Her keen eyes scanned the town, noting that whereas the men were hurrying inside, an increasing number of women were beginning to gather on the boardwalk. Their heads were all turned in one direction, and Nettie knew that they were all seeking the same signs she was.
Her heart ached with worry for her boys. Maybe it was just the storm, but, for once, her old bones were not reassuring her that they were on their way home. Instead, they shared the same hollow aching feeling that their absence, especially that of the orange tom who had become like a son to her, had tormented her heart with for several long days and longer nights now.
She noted the expressions on the faces of the women she could see and knew that they were all thinking along the same lines as her. Mary stood just outside the Clarion, absent-mindedly wringing her blonde tail in her paws. Maude gazed worriedly out from her post in front of the saloon, tugging on her lace-trimmed, white gloves while the white tip of her long, gray tail twitched with a reckless abandon all its own. She was flanked on one side by Inez, who chewed her bottom lip nonstop while her tawny ears swiveled this way and that in desperate listening for any sound of the seven horses who should be bringing their heroes home, and a portly tom who seemed completely unaware of the ladies' distraction as he prattled on and on about one of his latest accomplishments only to have them not hear a single word that he spoke. Rain stood as still as a statue on top of the stairs just outside Nathan's clinic, her eyes drawn to the outskirts of town. Her post granted her the advantage of being the one who would see the first sign of their return, and so Nettie kept her eyes on her until she heard the tingle of the door bell that signaled her niece's return.
Nettie looked up to see Casey accompanied by Mrs. Potter, their arms loaded down with bags of groceries. Nettie frowned. She hadn't sent the kitten in there with anywhere near enough money to buy that amount of provisions! Mrs. Potter caught her frown, and the kindly widow reassured her with a smile, "I just figured y'all wouldn't mind a few more provisions. They were about to go bad, just sitting there in the back of the shop, gathering up dust."
"But what about you and . . . "
"Nonsense, we've got plenty. If you don't need 'em, I'm sure you know some one else who can benefit from them. Pass them out for me, will you, please?"
"Certainly, ma'am," Nettie said with a grateful smile and a gracious tip of her wide-brimmed hat. "Thank you. Casey, did you thank Mrs. Potter for her kindness?"
The young tabby nodded quickly. "Yes, ma'am. I sure did, and she said, Aunt Nettie, that we can come in and wait out the storm if'n ya want to."
"That is very kind and gracious of you, Mrs. Potter, but I'm afraid we'd best be gettin' home. There's no tellin' how long . . . this storm's . . . gonna . . . " The last word she was about to speak froze on Nettie's tongue as her head jerked up, her ears perking to alert, at the sound of swiftly approaching galloping horses. Hope surged in her heart, and a grin burst out on her withered, old face. Her eyes flew back to Rain to see if it was indeed as she hoped.
It was only when the elderly widow looked up at the tall tabby catwoman that Rain's hollers and whoops of excitement finally caught her ears for she had ignored all else during her conversation with Mrs. Potter and had then forgotten everything when she had heard her boys coming. Rain took the steps two at a time, her tail seeming almost to fly as it frisked about so joyously.
Casey let out a whoop beside Nettie, her curled paw pumping the air in excitement. "They're coming!" she squealed, looking to her aunt with eager delight shining in her green eyes. "They're comin' home, Aunt Nettie!"
Excitement spread through the women like wildfire. Inez called into her saloon to get the freshest ale ready while Maude and Mary preened themselves, licking the backs of their furry hands and then smoothing out their ruffled fur coats and whiskers. Casey's whiskers bristled so that they seemed to be about to jump off of her face, and Nettie tilted her head back in delighted laughter as she watched her kitten's excited antics. The girl was nearly jumping up and down in her excitement!
The seven valiant men the women of the town had all been waiting for rounded the corner with a huge cloud of dust trailing just behind them. Their ebony leader rode high and tall on his black horse. Right beside him came Nettie's adopted son, sitting just as high and tall in his saddle. Nettie's smile grew as she spotted the big smile on the orange tom's face.
Just behind Chris and Vin came Buck and JD. Buck's head was thrown back in uproarious laughter, and JD was scowling. Nettie's pupils slitted as she examined the two closer and realized that Buck, who winked at her and the rest of the ladies with his left eye, was triumphantly waving JD's bowler hat. The young, Siamese tom was fuming so that she half expected to see smoke billowing out of his ears. A sly smile suddenly crossed his face, and Nettie raised a single brow, knowing full well that Buck was in for it.
Buck was in mid-gallop when something tapped his shoulder. His furry face went to paler shades of black and white as he attempted to twist around in his saddle to see who it was. A flash of black tail was all he spotted before JD grabbed a hold of his hat and snatched it out of Buck's hand. Buck was so surprised that he nearly fell off of his horse, and Chris sent a glare over his shoulder at his other best friend. "Enough fooling around, you two!" he hissed, his fangs flashing in warning that if they did not stop their dangerous foolery, he would bring it to a stop himself.
Behind Buck and JD, Josiah shook his head but could not hide his smile. His large cross bounced against his broad, gray chest, causing Maude to whip out a fan and use it to hide her sigh. Josiah's green eyes glinted over at the horse whose reins he was holding in addition to his own sorrel horse's. A couple of catmen lay across the back of the broad horse. Neither lifted their heads or made any other sign of life.
Nathan rode just behind Josiah, and like his brother, he, too, held two sets of reins in his ebony paws. His captive, however, sat up in the horse's saddle. The bengal catman scowled darkly at both his captors and the townsfolk alike, his ears laid back against his head.
The men's final three companions took up the flank in the group. Ezra and his white Siamese partner rode at a slower pace than the rest as they talked and laughed over their conversation. A new female rode just a piece away from them, her ears swiveling back and forth at constant alert and her green eyes scanning the new town. Whispers immediately began to circle through the townspeople at the sight of the strange new female queen who wore a gun on each hip. Where had she come from, and did she dare to lay claim to one of their men?
Chris led the way to the jailhouse with most of his men following right behind them, but none failed to tip their hat at the ladies. Mary watched anxiously as Ezra and his companion pulled up at the saloon and then rushed across the road to greet her father-in-law. She heard Billy's excited cry behind her and knew that there was no way she'd be keeping her black and white kitten locked up safely in the house until he'd had some time with his grandfather. She wouldn't miss their reunion for the world and so, after a quick, tight hug, Mary stepped aside to let Orrin swing his grandson up into his furry arms. Her own orange face shone with her happiness and relief that Chris and the others had managed to save him in time.
Maude had to force her pace to slow as she sashayed proudly over the short pace to greet her son. Ezra respectively tipped his hat to her, but neither mother nor son rushed to embrace. His charming smile, complete with a flash of his trademark gold fang, reassured her he was okay, and Maude's heart secretly soared to know her son was alive and well. Her gray tail, which ended in a delicate, white tip, twitched her disapproval of how late they were. "Well, it is about time you returned home, Ezra. Ah do declare, son, you must work on yoah punctuality and manners."
"Mother, Ah assure you that mah manners are most impeccable -- " Ezra's white ears laid back slightly, and his long, fluffy white tail jerked with annoyance from underneath his red coat.
"Nonsense. Punctuality is an important part of manners, Ezra. Have you learned nothing through the years? Now come on inside, and Ah suppose Ah can grant you that rematch you begged for."
Ezra took his mother's arm and began to lead her into the saloon, his white plume of a tail swishing like mad. "Ah beg for nothing, Mother."
"Good, and you'd best keep it that way." Maude's green eyes glittered up at her son, and Ezra could not help a soft chuckle that he knew, as soon as he released it, she would disapprove of.
As the Standishes disappeared into the saloon, Vin pulled up alongside Nettie's wagon. "Ma'am," he spoke with a polite tip of his hat and a warm, reassuring smile, "we got a storm comin' fast. Y'all can stay in my room, if ya want, 'til it passes."
Nettie sighed inwardly. If she had only met the gallant young man before when she herself had been a youngun, but such was not to be. Besides, she knew where his heart laid, and it certainly wasn't with her. "That's mighty kind of you, Vin, but Mrs. Potter has already offered us board."
Mrs. Potter looked up at her in surprise, and Nettie was glad that Casey had already chased after JD so that a slip of the girl's tongue would not reveal that she had already declined Gloria's offer. Nettie looked imploringly down into the tabby's kind green eyes and was acknowledged with a nod and a smile.
"Well, then, the least I can do is help ya down and get your groceries in," Vin remarked as he swung down off of his horse. As Vin helped Nettie down, the old woman sighed with relief and gratitude swelling inside her big heart. Her family was home again at last!
The End