I. The Old City: Life on Earth

Urban Creatures

Not-cats have always been drawn to urban areas. It's not that they disliked the massive expanses of forest and plains and wilderness found on Earth, but something about it made it feel like it was not their own. The cities, of course, were not their own either, but cities were large and fast and easy to get lost in. Perhaps nobody feels like the city is truly their own. It's a collection of creatures and people from everywhere coming together to build something new, and it was this fact that made them feel like they belonged here more than anywhere else.

But the reason they had all these feelings, may have been for something more. Staying in cities kept all of the not-cats together, close, where they could cling softly to their culture in whatever ways they still could. They did not remember how long they had been in the city, and they did not remember where they had been before they lived in cities, but they assumed that cities were where they were meant to be... and they also assumed that they must be cats. Because if they were not cats, what were they?

It turns out, that they were not cats, nor were they meant to be in cities. But by staying in Earth cities, they were kept close by the Guardian Nestor so that their guardian could continue to watch over them and, when the time was right, take them back home to where they actually belonged.


Living in the City

You may have spotted a not-cat in the city once. While they may have looked like cats at first glance, the differences set them apart if you really got a good look at them carefully. They were shorter, stockier, with slightly larger heads and rounder eyes. And rather than greens and yellows, their eyes were all a dark, deep brown.

They gathered in groups, rarely seen alone, often spotted meeting in circles along the rooftops or in alleys or parks, speaking to each other in a hushed language of clicks and purrs and mews. Sometimes the not-cats would even participate in human life. For example, you might spot a not-cat pawing gently at the door to a corner store, coming inside, and leaving coins on the ground before bouncing off with their newly purchased sock or sandwich. Long ago, not-cats might get jobs on ships or in stores, working to catch mice in exchange for food, which they would then disappear with to bring home to their families.

Life was not bad for not-cats in the city, though it wasn't good either. Sometimes the weather was harsh, the food was scarce or poor in quality, or natural disasters or the human struggles of war and disease were passed down to the not-cats in turn. They would often scavenge boxes and scraps to build little huts and houses in hidden places, such as under bridges or in dark alleys or subway tunnels, but these were often disassembled by humans when they stepped away.


Nestor Visits

The one thing saving the not-cats from their harsh life on earth, was the appearance of Nestor in the night. Nearly every week, he would come to each colony of not-cats, bringing them what they needed. It was not always much, but it was enough to keep them going, and that was what counted. Nestor never said a single word when visiting, but they did not need to. The not-cats understood that this guardian was for them and them alone.

When Nestor created the first Gate, it came as a shock. What was this glowing square at night? Where did it go? Why was it created for us? But soon, news of this gift spread across the world and not-cats began to travel the world on boats and buses and even stowed away on airplanes to visit the gate so that they could escape Earth and return... Home. To where they truly belonged. And while they have not been home for all too long, they already feel more at peace knowing that they are back in their own world, which is theirs to tend to and grow on their own.