| Chapter 2 As the day of festivities faded away and all the people went home to sleep, Lanom still remained bitter. To him the book would be the downfall of the whole kingdom if the people did not live under a king and just followed what some anonymous cat warrior wrote. He slept very uneasy that evening and was determined to find out who had written it. The next morning, Lanom went to various households in the village to gather cat warrior men and women to help him find I Am Cat Warrior's author. He was almost reduced to begging. "Why are you so desperate to find who wrote the book?" one young man asked him. "We are all happy following its teachings. Why do you persist?" Lanom nearly broke down. "It's not right!" he complained. "We have never lived under a mess of parchment; we have either lived on our own freewill or under a king. This book will destroy us all inevitably." "Have you even read it?" the villager asked him, sternly. "It is a very good book; my children will be raised on its words." Lanom lost his patience. "You are blind!!" he roared. "Ah! Never mind, you fool!" Lanom stormed off the townsman's porch. "This whole kingdom is finished forever!" For the next few days, Lanom couldn't be seen in public without being given a dirty look for his rage. But he could not stop reading the book; he sat attached to it for hours at a time, reading the passages and phrases that people were being brainwashed by for over two months. Finally, he knew what had to be done. He called together 20 of the smartest and most insightful cat warriors to discuss the book as a group. There were ten men and ten women, each of them aged 27 to 34 ladurs. That day, Lanom brought all the cat warriors he called to the assembly hall in the stronghold; as a guard and the next in power to the king, he had this right. All the women sat on one side of the table, the men at the other, and on the end sat Lanom. "You know why you're here, my friends," Lanom said, trying to repress his disgust. "We are here to discuss I Am Cat Warrior, whose author needs to be found immediately." "We know not who he could be," a young leopardess said. "It could be man or woman." "It matters not whether a man or woman wrote the book," a tiger warrior interrupted. "When we find this person, he or she will lead us." Lanom sighed. This is hopeless, he thought. They all think about the future, but they don't even realize that we may destroy ourselves. "All right," Lanom said, trying to smile. "Let's start at the beginning of the book." Lanom opened to the first page, which had a heading of 'The Common Cat Warrior.' "Who here agrees that the common cat warrior man is 'a towering build of muscle and heart, a comforter for women, and a protector of his family and companions'?" Lanom raised his hand, and soon all the cat warriors around the table raised their hands. "I agree," a black pantheress. "It was you men that fought for our independence and slew our oppressors. What more can be said?" Lanom smiled. "Good," he said. "We're off to a good start. Now then, who agrees that the common cat woman is 'a loving mother of her children and husband, with a slender and trim figure, with large breasts, and an insightful mind and a voice of soothing tones and reason'?" At that moment, all the cat women stood up at once and started looking at themselves and each other; even the men couldn't help but agree. "Well," one tigress said, "we seem to be, for the most part, common women, physically. And I do love my children and husband with all my heart." Lanom became more and more pleased with his companions' rationalization. He continued on to children afterward, at which point all the mothers and fathers at the table proclaimed that their sons and daughters all fit the description of being "wild and free at times and serious in education as appropriate, and a joy to a husband and wife." The day dragged on, and the subject matter became more elaborate. Sometimes everyone agreed, sometimes not. Not all cat warriors believed that they should wear the same type of clothing every day, nor did the men believe that their only task was to stay home and tend to their women and children. Every few hours the assembly would stand to stretch and eat meals and drink. Lanom apologized to the group for letting it take so long, but all the cat warriors present seemed to be having fun analyzing the book. They lost track of the time and before long the hour had grown late. As all the people yawned from sleepiness, Lanom spoke. "It is late," he began, "and we have finished the first 90 pages of I Am Cat Warrior. I hope you have all enjoyed being here to share this with me." "I enjoyed it," a brown panther woman said. "Can we do this again tomorrow, Lanom?" Lanom was surprised. "Of course, we can," he said. "All in favor?" "Here, here!" they all exclaimed at once. The meeting adjourned and all the cat warriors went home. Lanom marked his page to know where to begin the next morning. In his own book he had scribbled down some notes with a quill to make potential changes; he hoped everyone had done the same as well. For the first time in weeks, Lanom slept contently, and now had a reassurance that his people would carry on. Chapter 3 |