Tsuki

SHORT DESCRIPTION WILL BE ASSIGNED BY STAFF FOLLOWING APPROVAL

Tsuki is a purebred calico Turkish Van. As such she has calico marking on her head and tail, with a pure white body. Her head markings are in the form of a mask that covers the upper part of her face, her ears and the top part of the back of her head.

The right side of her mask on her face is more of a black splotch, with her ear and the left side of her face showing as ginger with light tabby markings. Her left ear is black and the colouring on the back of her head is a mix of ginger tabby and black.

Meanwhile, Tsuki’s tail starts as ginger tabby and then moves to black with ginger mixed in toward the tip. As a purebred Turkish Van, she has inherited the blue eyes typical of her breed.

Tsuki is fiercely protective and loyal to her friends and family. She is willingly to do anything for these cats if she feels the need to, even that which goes against her own personal morals. She is a cat of a quiet disposition, happily giving her love and help to those who deserve it and going to great lengths to keep the peace if it’s possible to do so.

Tsuki does not give her care willingly. To those who have it, she is one of the softest, kindest and most friendly cats that they have ever known. She is beyond willing to do whatever they want or need, even to her own detriment. Patient, thoughtful and compassionate toward those she cares for, Tsuki seems often to be a maternal figure in the lives of those around her. Yet to the vast majority, Tsuki is ruthless and cold-hearted. She recognises the harsh cruelties of life, and thus has no time or care for any cat who is not of her own. It takes a special type of cat to earn Tsuki’s trust and friendship, or sometimes just the right moment.

• Born in the Moon of Melting Waters (2017) 092

Kithood [0-6 moons]

Kitten Number Three, was born in a large litter to a Turkish Van queen known as Mirabelle. Mirabelle was a kittypet owned by a breeder and the queen had had many litters through her life and this was to be her last before retirement. As such, she had long given up naming the kits, knowing that they would be given away by her owner. Number Three, or Three as she was more often called, was a boisterous little she-kit who seemed to make strong connections with her littermates. As was the way of things, they were allowed to grow and play in the safety of Mirabelle’s kitting pen. In those first few moons, the playpen was Three’s entire world. Occasionally legs of the unimaginably tall giant would appear and it would stoop down to put food in a dish which Three would eat from. The giant would watch over them while they ate and would prevent any other kit from getting more than their share.

After three moons of this cosy life, Three and her littermates were taken away from their mother and placed in a new pen. There were other kits here and while some of her siblings enthusiastically went to socialise with them, Three chose to stay apart and watch over her siblings. She was intimidated by these other cats, having known no others but her own blood all her life. Over time she began to interact with them and make friends. During this time, Three and her siblings were taken away one by one and placed in a velvet box where a bright light flashed and made them feel blind. This thankfully only happened once to each of them, but soon after kittens from the other litters began to disappear. Fear struck Three and she began to franctically watch out for her littermates less they disappear too.

It was during her fourth moon that Three’s siblings began to disappear too. First One, and then Five, then Six were taken by the giant and she never saw them again. Three began to hate and fear the giant. She began to hiss and growl at it whenever it appeared. This was often met with a disapproving sound but Three didn’t care. She would race to the defence of Two and Four any time the giant seemed to approach them. This defensive behaviour didn’t have the results that Three had hoped for and over the remainder of the moon the rest of the kits were taken and she was moved to a smaller playpen. Alone and feeling like she had failed to protect her family, Three grew bitter and hateful.

Eventually the giant grabbed her again and she was shoved into a little box with holes. Three yowled her displeasure but no relief was given. She was loaded into something that roared and growled while giant voices sang and spoke incessantly. For a time Three lashed her tail and yowled her displeasure but as her voice grew hoarse she fell quiet. Time passed and after an uneasy doze, the roaring and voices finally stopped. Three was jolted as her box was lifted and she was carried somewhere else. New and unusual smells greeted her, many unpleasantly strong, but some deliciously appetising. When the box was finally placed down she heard more voices and then the box was opened. Three crouched down and hissed as a giant’s hands and face appeared. When the giant attempted to grab her she growled and swiped at it only to earn a swat on her head. Dazed and shocked, Three was picked up and placed on the ground. These giants were different from the one who had taken her littermates.

Three was allowed the space of a room once more and for a time the giants let her be but any time she was eating one of them would place their hand on her despite her growls. If she swiped at them, she would gain a sharp swat to her ears, head or butt. Eventually she gave up trying to defend herself and settled for growling and hissing. At this point the giants began to bring in toys and attempted to play with her. Distrust and grief swelled in Three’s heart and it took days before she was bored enough to give in and pat at the feather being jerked in front of her.

Apprenticeship? [6-12 moons]

By the time Three was six moons of age she had settled into her new life, albeit unhappily. She was played with and given more tasty food than she had been back home. She also was slowly beginning to understand that these giants made a particular sound when addressing her; t-su-key. Occasionally these giants would load her into the box again and take her to a place with bright lights, smooth surfaces and sharp smells. What was worse, another giant there would poke and prod her and occasionally even stab her and make her hurt. Three, or Tsuki as she seemed to now be known, hated it and she yowled her displeasure the whole time. The initial time with these giants, however, had taught her not to swipe at anyone though. A moon of this passed and then suddenly the trips stopped and the door to her room was left open.

Cautiously Tsuki had explored the new space. As she did so, she discovered cat smell and delight entered her mind. Eventually she saw him. Another cat that looked a lot like her was sat on a windowsill, cleaning his face. This cat had a white body like she did, with a splotch of ginger tabby fur on his head and more on his tail. Unlike her, though, he also had a splotch of this tabby fur on his shoulders and no sign of black fur at all. Tsuki had approached him and greeted him, hoping for some level of companionship that she had been missing. The cat was surprisingly pleasant and introduced himself as Satoshi.

• No threads have been recorded.

Pending Dam – Mirabelle

Siblings: One, Two, Four, Five, Six.

Pending Mentor – Satoshi, purebred Japanese Bobtail, kittypet.

4.3 years old

Turkish Van pure-breed