3/7/23: Lockholm
Echo really felt like her name. The founders of three villages kept passing her between each other. But Lockholm was nice enough. The not-cats kept trying to become friends with her, asking questions about the other villages she’d been to, and what it was like to travel between them.
“I don’t know,” she responded on her first day in Lockholm Sanctuary, “I guess we’ll see how I feel when I get back home.”
Home. That was a relative term. Lockholm was “home” now, until Autumn 16th, Year 7. Then she’d pack up her things, wrap up her special trinket, and go back to the Village of the Stars. Her old home. Her birthplace, rather.
Because was it really home anymore?
(Written 3/7, prepared for March 8th 2023)
Today Willow had woken her with the smell of freshly baked biscuits.
“Here, I made you something.” She’d said. “Well, Freedom and I made them for ourselves, but we wanted you to have the rest. We all want you to feel at home.”
That word again. They wanted her to feel comfortable, not at home.
“Oh. Thank you.” She truly was an echo, drifting through the forest, only temporary. With a soft whisper of her touch left behind.”What’s in the box?”
Willow also had a cardboard box, small and rectangular, with a lid that was folded down and tucked into the inside.
“Oh, I,” Willow blushed proudly, opening the box and pulling out a beautiful silken fabric. “Another gift. Basden -he’s my partner- and I mostly gathered the materials, but a couple others chipped in. And my daughter Jess sewed it, with a little bit of my help.
“If I may..”
Echo nodded, stunned, and with a smooth twirl, Willow swept a green cotton mantle around her shoulders.
They let out a sigh of relief. “Whew, it fits.” Jess poked her head in, her white bow nestled between her ears, and a pincushion on her paw.
“Wow, it sure does! Aw, that looks great, Echo.”
Echo tilted her head, admiring the new clothing.
“It… it fits me” she decided.













(3.31.23)
“Echo!” Willow called, helping Basden unload some goodies from their most recent expedition.
The four founders of Lockholm were also the town’s best adventurers, and had went picked through bramble for fun after introducing everyone to the cat from the Village of the Stars that had came with Echo.
Echo was surprised they treated her like she was already family, despite her only having come once before. “What?” Then she realized how snappy that sounded and moved her shoulders, flicking her cape.
“I mean, yeah? What do you need?”
Freedom trotted between them as Echo came over, a knife between her teeth.
Echo jumped back in surprise, shaking her head as she sat down in front of Willow.
Willow smiled kindly at her, which Echo didn’t trust at first, until she remembered how nice the cats in Lockholm were.
“Would you like to go adventuring with us?”
Echo thought about that for a moment, then grinned.


Echo gasped as three young leaf dragons leaped out onto their path. Willow and Basden leapt at the closest one with great practice, and Echo ran to help Freedom with the two they were facing.

Everyone unscathed, Freedom swatted at the second leaf dragon, and Willow helped pin it down for them. Basden, who was hiding, stalked closer, but the other two had already defeated it. The last leaf dragon squealed, and started to run away. Basden leaped out from the leaves, accidentally blocking Freedom from giving chase.
“Get it!” He roared, and Willow sprinted across the land with great skill, hopping off a tree stump and seeming to spin around in mid-air to land in front of it.
“Echo, this is your chance!” She shouted, catching her breath.
And Echo pounced.