Template:Featured Articles/3-2024

Moment of Awesome - Sharon Smith/Catseye: Following the flooding of District X as the the result of a hurricane, Sharon and April Parker check on the cat colony that sheltered Sharon before she came to Xavier's. "I smell no others," she said. "But two small ones are in need of veterinary attention. There is a place we may take them?" One of April's tendrils unfurled, briefly rubbing along Sharon's ears before retreating. "We could probably get at least some towels and a few days of food from the rescue groups that set up by the community center. Maybe even a quick checkup. I'm... there's just the two of them. Maybe we could just take them back to the mansion. Get them chipped and fixed once they're a little older, let them have the run of the grounds. I've got space and money to feed them, if nothing else, but there's also the barn cats to help raise them." Something about the colony was twigging at the back of her mind. "Hey Sharon? How did you live with the colony, big as you are? Or can you shift smaller sometimes?" "Yes. I am thing between human and cat, and I may shift across this spectrum. Was one of my original forms. Imprinted upon Klaus and Cole, maybe, just as I did upon my mother. Unsure what becomes of excess mass, or by what mechanism it is retrieved or added, but certain physical reserves are required. Was small when I left home because housecat attracts less attention, requires less food. But consumes less food, also, and so reserves are more difficult to replenish. Small form cannot speak, also." Sharon walked up to April and briefly touched her nose to the other woman's hand in acknowledgement, then repeated the action with one of the swaddled kittens. "When I judged it time to introduce myself I gorged for days so that I could change. Very difficult. Could not shift again for months. Even now I must be conservative." "That makes sense, scientifically. Except for where your mass goes, but that could be explained by how much effort it takes to shift." She wondered if they could come up with something nutrient-dense enough that the other shifter could eat in cat form. Maybe she'd talk to Sooraya and Terry about it. "Do we want to try another place on the map, or take these two in for care?" "Take these two in, I think. They are weak. Do not want to cause unnecessary stress." One of the kittens wiggled against the pouch. Sharon gently pressed a fingertip to its exposed nose. "It is hard to lose your home," she said. "It really is, even if you happen to land somewhere soft," April agreed, rubbing the tiny heads. "Hopefully they're young enough it'll just be an adjustment." She grinned. "Eyedrop baby is riding home webbed to you. You're warmer than me." "Yes. I shall carry." Sharon leaned forward to brush a cheek against the tiny skull. "He is my son now."