It’s essentially the aftermath of a story I’m planning on writing. It’s been stuck in my head for a long time. Maybe I’ll get to it eventually. Since you’re all very clever people, I think you can guess what happened to them to get to this point.
Wait elongated chairs y’all. Eight chair legs instead of one, they can lie down majestically and put their chins on the table like they were always meant to.
based on extensive observation, I believe that my cats have only a tenuous grasp on how much of my body is “me”
It’s like, Head: definitely Big Friend, note eyes and noise-hole.
Hands: 90% certainty of Big Friend, 10% possibility of toy. comprised of two main parts, the rubby-rubby and the wriggly-scritchers. does Big Friend control them with her mind? the mechanism is unclear.
Arms, aka “Cuddle Snakes”: do these help Big Friend’s hands from getting lost? good place to sit.
Torso: ??? we have no idea what this is. smells like Big Friend but serves no observable purpose. treat as terrain.
Legs, see: “The Lap Conundrum”: 25% chance of Big Friend, totally uninteresting. WHEN LAP: 90% chance of Big Friend, excellently warm. where does the lap go? our finest cat scientists seek the answer to this mystery, but no breakthroughs as of yet.
Feet, aka “Twitchy-Kickers”: 10% chance of Big Friend, 90% chance of foe. all attempts to communicate have ended in hostility. Destroy on sight.
The Creed of the Assassin Brotherhood teaches us that nothing is forbidden to us. Once I thought that meant we were free to do as we would. To pursue our ideals, no matter the cost.
I understand now. Not a grant of permission. The Creed is a warning.
Ideals too easily give away to dogma. Dogma becomes fanaticism.
No higher power sits in judgment of us. No supreme being watches to punish us for our sins.
In the end, only we ourselves can guard against our obsessions. Only we can decide whether the road we walk carries too high a toll.
We believe ourselves redeemers, avengers, saviors. We make war on those who oppose us, and they in turn make war on us. We dream of leaving our stamp upon the world…
…even as we give our lives in a conflict that will be recorded in no history book.
All that we do, all that we are, begins and ends with ourselves.