Your support makes Blue Moon possible (Patreon)In the tropical climate of the island, the fauna grew to the size of men and the trees to the size of two, sometimes three houses tall and the colours ranged from dull earthen yellow to bright shimmering red. There were butterflies the size of birds, and beetles the size of mice--everything seemed almost too fantastic to actually be true but it all was. When the first settlers had arrived, the island had been inhabited by a native people who had no name but "The People". However, The People fell easily to the diseases that the settlers brought, just as many settlers took disease from them. Within almost twenty years of colonizing the island, The People, a race with cat-like elements to them, had all but disappeared. Benoit, named by the settler who had taken him in as a young child, had grown up as a spectacle of sorts, even though few meant it in that way.
Benoit was a tall-ish young man of about sixteen or seventeen years, no one was quite sure of his exact age, with bright emerald green eyes and raven hair that was bound at the nape of his neck as was fashionable. He was naturally tan and had a lithe muscled build from helping his "parents" about their shop, moving heavy sacks of grain and boxes. His fingers were tipped with claws that were sharp enough and strong enough that he could scale walls and trees if the need presented itself. But most interesting of his features were the furry black ears that erupted from his dark hair and his long, whip-like black tail that was versatile enough that he could open doors but not strong enough to carry anything with it. All though his ancestors had simply called themselves The People, the settlers upon studying their features had called them the Cat-People, or fae-folk.
Benoit had a mild temper, and rarely raised his voice but when he did, his ire was inspiring--he hissed, growled, and brandished his claws and fangs in bravado and on one occasion, even attacked another one of the settlers. He had been scolded and punished, and from that day, he hadn't reacted as such again. That day, he sat at the edge of the dock on a crate and waited for the merchant ship to come. His "father" had sent him there to collect their cargo: several yards of silk, pounds of flour, and other such similar things. He sat very still, his eyes on the water as his tail flicked back and forth very slowly as he watched the fish swim about lazily in the shallow water. Given that he was dressed in breeches, a linen shirt, a waist coat, and hard leather shoes, he was unlikely to jump into the water after the fish but anyone watching would have considered him more like a cat than the humans he somewhat resembled.
His concentration snapped and he looked around him before he yawned, a jaw cracking affair and settled back down comfortably, "Where is that damned ship?"
Benoit was a tall-ish young man of about sixteen or seventeen years, no one was quite sure of his exact age, with bright emerald green eyes and raven hair that was bound at the nape of his neck as was fashionable. He was naturally tan and had a lithe muscled build from helping his "parents" about their shop, moving heavy sacks of grain and boxes. His fingers were tipped with claws that were sharp enough and strong enough that he could scale walls and trees if the need presented itself. But most interesting of his features were the furry black ears that erupted from his dark hair and his long, whip-like black tail that was versatile enough that he could open doors but not strong enough to carry anything with it. All though his ancestors had simply called themselves The People, the settlers upon studying their features had called them the Cat-People, or fae-folk.
Benoit had a mild temper, and rarely raised his voice but when he did, his ire was inspiring--he hissed, growled, and brandished his claws and fangs in bravado and on one occasion, even attacked another one of the settlers. He had been scolded and punished, and from that day, he hadn't reacted as such again. That day, he sat at the edge of the dock on a crate and waited for the merchant ship to come. His "father" had sent him there to collect their cargo: several yards of silk, pounds of flour, and other such similar things. He sat very still, his eyes on the water as his tail flicked back and forth very slowly as he watched the fish swim about lazily in the shallow water. Given that he was dressed in breeches, a linen shirt, a waist coat, and hard leather shoes, he was unlikely to jump into the water after the fish but anyone watching would have considered him more like a cat than the humans he somewhat resembled.
His concentration snapped and he looked around him before he yawned, a jaw cracking affair and settled back down comfortably, "Where is that damned ship?"