Defenestrating Surprise
Jan. 3rd, 2016 07:31 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
katleeptTitle: Defenestrating Surprise
Author: Kat Lee
Fandom: Batman/Catwoman
Character/Pairing: OFCs, OMCs, Catwoman
Rating: PG/K+
Challenge/Prompt:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
1_million_words Blow Me Away! Challenge: Defenestrating
Warning(s): Physical abuse of a child
Word Count: 1,675
Date Written: 3 January, 2016
Summary:
Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to DC Comics, not the author, and are used without permission. Everything else belongs to the author.
"Who can use defenestrating in a sentence?"
Every one in the classroom, the teacher included, makes a face when one certain girl raises her hand. "I can, Missus Simmons," the little blonde speaks confidently. The teacher nods her head in inclination, knowing she has to give every student equal opportunity, and Sally plunges ahead. "The mean man," she says proudly, "never expected a hero to jump in the window when he was defenestrating an innocent cat."
The whispers start immediately, but Sally sits with a smile on her face. She is no longer bothered by gossip, or even by people who look down their noses at her. Their words can't hurt her; nothing can now. She and Snickers are no longer alone. No one can hurt her, including her father.
It was her father who had thrown Snickers out of the window, her father who had gotten the hero or, rather, heroine in his face, and her father who had unwittingly caused Sally's whole world to change. Sally remembers the whole thing as vividly as if it had just happened, and she remembers it with a big smile as she hears the whispers of, "Catwoman doesn't exist," and, "That girl's crazy," and lets it all go. She has friends. She has a heroine who cares about her, and she still has Snickers and her mother, too. Nothing else matters.
=^.^=
She had been crying that night, crying and crying because her mother had not come home, and Sally had been convinced that something terrible had happened to her. Her father had been "in his cups", as her mother had said for as long as Sally could remember. He had shouted at her to "Shut up!" time and again. He never had cared about her or her mother, and the only comfort Sally had when her mother was gone was her little, black cat whom she'd named Snickers.
She'd like to say that she and Snickers had rescued each other. She had found him on the street on one of the several afternoons her father had failed to show up at school to pick her up. Unwilling to let her classmates or even teachers know that her father wasn't coming, Sally had slipped away from the school and started her long walk home alone. She's found Snickers trying to eat a discarded candy bar that looked like several bicycles had squashed it into the mud.
That was how he had gotten his name, and how she had found her first friend outside of her mother. She had carried him home without hesitation, tiptoed pass where her father slept, snoring loudly, and fixed Snickers a bowl of milk. She had dared to open a can of her father's sardines. That was what had awakened him, and he'd roared at her for giving his food to a cat and told her that that was her supper she was giving away.
Sally hadn't cared. Snickers was hungrier than she, and she'd known her mother would bring something home for her to eat. Even if she hadn't, however, it was more important that Snickers eat, and she had hurried away with Snickers and the sardines into her room. Snickers had hungrily eaten every bite but the last one when he at last noticed that she was staring at him through her tears. She didn't care about not eating that night, but she did care, and hurt, that her father had yelled at her once again.
Snickers had left the remaining bite of sardines and nosed the can over to Sally. She hadn't noticed it until the little, black kitty started bumping her chin. Once he got her attention, he nosed the can to her again. Sally had thanked him, eaten the last bite, and carried him to bed with her. She had fallen asleep with the kitty still in her arms, but not while still crying for Snickers' purrs and cuddles had quickly subsided her tears.
They'd become the best of friends that night and still were. It was Snickers who had been comforting her while her mother was gone for her father still didn't care. He only started to pay attention when he ran out of beer, because her mother had the car, limiting him from being able to go get more. Then he had started to bellow, as he always did.
He had cussed Sally. He had bellowed at her to shut up many, many times, but Sally hadn't been able to stop crying. She knew something was terribly wrong but didn't understand what it was until her father had started cussing her mother and had told her to shut up her crying because her mother was never coming home. Her mother had left her father, but she hadn't waited to take Sally and Snickers with her to wherever it was going. It wouldn't have mattered to Sally if they'd been going to the other side of the moon, as long as her mother had loved her enough to take her with her.
But she hadn't, and Sally had cried more. She had sobbed until her father's large hand had suddenly come down hard into her face. He'd hit her so hard that she had fallen backwards out of the chair in which she'd been sitting. Snickers had yowled his dismay, crying for her, and when her father had pulled back his hand to hit her again, her kitty had come to her rescue -- or, at least, he'd tried very bravely to do so.
With a hiss, he had launched himself through the air at her father, but her dad had backhanded the poor kitty, sending him flying across the room. Sally had screamed and screamed again and burst into new tears when Snickers had hit the wall and sank onto the floor. She'd run to him while her father bellowed that she cared about the cat more than she cared about him and cussed them both.
Sally had barely gotten Snickers into her arms and was cradling him and trying to see how badly he was hurt when her father had strode over and plucked him from her arms. She screamed and tried to get him back, but her daddy hit her again. "YOU CARE SO MUCH ABOUT THIS DAMN CAT!" he'd yelled at her. "LET'S SEE IF YOU'LL GO OUT THE WINDOW AFTER HIM! THEN I'LL BE RID OF YOU BOTH!"
He had slung Snickers out of the open window of their apartment on the fourth floor, but that had proved to be his biggest mistake for a new voice had yowled in disdain. Sally and her father had both turned toward the window. Sally had started to run after Snickers when he was flung, yowling, back into the room. Sally caught him, tucked into a ball, her body around his, and rolled out of the way.
When she looked back, there was a new figure in the room. A dark shadow seemed to unfurl itself before the window, and a cat hissed. "You're a nasty, nasty man. Hurting children and women. Trying to kill cats. That's where you made your mistake."
Her father had slung at the cat who Sally had just realized was more than a cat. She was a woman, but a cat, too, and Sally knew, in that moment, that the stories of the Catwoman were true. She'd watched, through now unshed tears, as her father had slung at the woman, and she had ducked, allowing him to go out the window. She'd turned and saved him from the fall, wrapping him quickly in some kind of strong cord.
Once her father was tied up, and his mouth gagged, the Catwoman had looked over to Sally, who was still clutching Snickers to her small chest. "Are you two friends?" she'd asked, and Sally had quickly bobbed her little, blonde head in affirmation. She tingled when the Catwoman smiled.
"Good," she'd purred approvingly and held out her hand. Sally had watched, wide eyed, as she retracted her claws and waited patiently, gloved hand pointed palm up, for Sally to take her hand. "You don't want to stay here, do you?" she'd asked when Sally had continued to hesitate.
Sally and Snickers had looked at each other. The little kitty had meowed and then nodded his head, and Sally had at last taken Catwoman's hand at his indication that they should go with her. The Catwoman had smiled again, a warm but dangerous sight that made Sally feel funny inside her tummy, but she'd held to her hand as Catwoman had lifted both she and Snickers and had darted out of the window with them.
Sally hadn't seen her father again, nor did she want to. Catwoman did, however, take her straight to her mother. Since that day, it's only been Sally, her mother, and Snickers with an occasional visit from her mother's new friend, a beautiful, dark-haired woman named Selina Kyle.
=^.^=
"You shouldn't tell stories, Sally," her teacher's voice cuts into Sally's memories.
"But I didn't, Missus Simmons," the girl says, although she knows already that she won't believe her.
"When I want a story, we'll be in Creative Writing. Do you understand?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Now who can give me a sentence with defenestrating without making up such a tall tale?" Her teacher turns her attention back to Sally's class mates, but that's okay. Sally's already turned her attention back to her heroine. Catwoman had saved her and Snickers that night, and although Sally hasn't seen her again, she knows she's still around. She can sense her. She's like a Guardian Angel or a Fairy Godmother, but this Princess knows she's never too far to hear her. She smiles down at the drawings of cats she's doodling on her notebook paper, secure in the knowledge that if she ever needs help again, all she has to do is meow into the dark streets of Gotham City, and help will come. Her heroine will come, and Sally, and Snickers, too, will never hurt again.
The End
Author: Kat Lee
Fandom: Batman/Catwoman
Character/Pairing: OFCs, OMCs, Catwoman
Rating: PG/K+
Challenge/Prompt:
1_million_words Blow Me Away! Challenge: DefenestratingWarning(s): Physical abuse of a child
Word Count: 1,675
Date Written: 3 January, 2016
Summary:
Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to DC Comics, not the author, and are used without permission. Everything else belongs to the author.
"Who can use defenestrating in a sentence?"
Every one in the classroom, the teacher included, makes a face when one certain girl raises her hand. "I can, Missus Simmons," the little blonde speaks confidently. The teacher nods her head in inclination, knowing she has to give every student equal opportunity, and Sally plunges ahead. "The mean man," she says proudly, "never expected a hero to jump in the window when he was defenestrating an innocent cat."
The whispers start immediately, but Sally sits with a smile on her face. She is no longer bothered by gossip, or even by people who look down their noses at her. Their words can't hurt her; nothing can now. She and Snickers are no longer alone. No one can hurt her, including her father.
It was her father who had thrown Snickers out of the window, her father who had gotten the hero or, rather, heroine in his face, and her father who had unwittingly caused Sally's whole world to change. Sally remembers the whole thing as vividly as if it had just happened, and she remembers it with a big smile as she hears the whispers of, "Catwoman doesn't exist," and, "That girl's crazy," and lets it all go. She has friends. She has a heroine who cares about her, and she still has Snickers and her mother, too. Nothing else matters.
=^.^=
She had been crying that night, crying and crying because her mother had not come home, and Sally had been convinced that something terrible had happened to her. Her father had been "in his cups", as her mother had said for as long as Sally could remember. He had shouted at her to "Shut up!" time and again. He never had cared about her or her mother, and the only comfort Sally had when her mother was gone was her little, black cat whom she'd named Snickers.
She'd like to say that she and Snickers had rescued each other. She had found him on the street on one of the several afternoons her father had failed to show up at school to pick her up. Unwilling to let her classmates or even teachers know that her father wasn't coming, Sally had slipped away from the school and started her long walk home alone. She's found Snickers trying to eat a discarded candy bar that looked like several bicycles had squashed it into the mud.
That was how he had gotten his name, and how she had found her first friend outside of her mother. She had carried him home without hesitation, tiptoed pass where her father slept, snoring loudly, and fixed Snickers a bowl of milk. She had dared to open a can of her father's sardines. That was what had awakened him, and he'd roared at her for giving his food to a cat and told her that that was her supper she was giving away.
Sally hadn't cared. Snickers was hungrier than she, and she'd known her mother would bring something home for her to eat. Even if she hadn't, however, it was more important that Snickers eat, and she had hurried away with Snickers and the sardines into her room. Snickers had hungrily eaten every bite but the last one when he at last noticed that she was staring at him through her tears. She didn't care about not eating that night, but she did care, and hurt, that her father had yelled at her once again.
Snickers had left the remaining bite of sardines and nosed the can over to Sally. She hadn't noticed it until the little, black kitty started bumping her chin. Once he got her attention, he nosed the can to her again. Sally had thanked him, eaten the last bite, and carried him to bed with her. She had fallen asleep with the kitty still in her arms, but not while still crying for Snickers' purrs and cuddles had quickly subsided her tears.
They'd become the best of friends that night and still were. It was Snickers who had been comforting her while her mother was gone for her father still didn't care. He only started to pay attention when he ran out of beer, because her mother had the car, limiting him from being able to go get more. Then he had started to bellow, as he always did.
He had cussed Sally. He had bellowed at her to shut up many, many times, but Sally hadn't been able to stop crying. She knew something was terribly wrong but didn't understand what it was until her father had started cussing her mother and had told her to shut up her crying because her mother was never coming home. Her mother had left her father, but she hadn't waited to take Sally and Snickers with her to wherever it was going. It wouldn't have mattered to Sally if they'd been going to the other side of the moon, as long as her mother had loved her enough to take her with her.
But she hadn't, and Sally had cried more. She had sobbed until her father's large hand had suddenly come down hard into her face. He'd hit her so hard that she had fallen backwards out of the chair in which she'd been sitting. Snickers had yowled his dismay, crying for her, and when her father had pulled back his hand to hit her again, her kitty had come to her rescue -- or, at least, he'd tried very bravely to do so.
With a hiss, he had launched himself through the air at her father, but her dad had backhanded the poor kitty, sending him flying across the room. Sally had screamed and screamed again and burst into new tears when Snickers had hit the wall and sank onto the floor. She'd run to him while her father bellowed that she cared about the cat more than she cared about him and cussed them both.
Sally had barely gotten Snickers into her arms and was cradling him and trying to see how badly he was hurt when her father had strode over and plucked him from her arms. She screamed and tried to get him back, but her daddy hit her again. "YOU CARE SO MUCH ABOUT THIS DAMN CAT!" he'd yelled at her. "LET'S SEE IF YOU'LL GO OUT THE WINDOW AFTER HIM! THEN I'LL BE RID OF YOU BOTH!"
He had slung Snickers out of the open window of their apartment on the fourth floor, but that had proved to be his biggest mistake for a new voice had yowled in disdain. Sally and her father had both turned toward the window. Sally had started to run after Snickers when he was flung, yowling, back into the room. Sally caught him, tucked into a ball, her body around his, and rolled out of the way.
When she looked back, there was a new figure in the room. A dark shadow seemed to unfurl itself before the window, and a cat hissed. "You're a nasty, nasty man. Hurting children and women. Trying to kill cats. That's where you made your mistake."
Her father had slung at the cat who Sally had just realized was more than a cat. She was a woman, but a cat, too, and Sally knew, in that moment, that the stories of the Catwoman were true. She'd watched, through now unshed tears, as her father had slung at the woman, and she had ducked, allowing him to go out the window. She'd turned and saved him from the fall, wrapping him quickly in some kind of strong cord.
Once her father was tied up, and his mouth gagged, the Catwoman had looked over to Sally, who was still clutching Snickers to her small chest. "Are you two friends?" she'd asked, and Sally had quickly bobbed her little, blonde head in affirmation. She tingled when the Catwoman smiled.
"Good," she'd purred approvingly and held out her hand. Sally had watched, wide eyed, as she retracted her claws and waited patiently, gloved hand pointed palm up, for Sally to take her hand. "You don't want to stay here, do you?" she'd asked when Sally had continued to hesitate.
Sally and Snickers had looked at each other. The little kitty had meowed and then nodded his head, and Sally had at last taken Catwoman's hand at his indication that they should go with her. The Catwoman had smiled again, a warm but dangerous sight that made Sally feel funny inside her tummy, but she'd held to her hand as Catwoman had lifted both she and Snickers and had darted out of the window with them.
Sally hadn't seen her father again, nor did she want to. Catwoman did, however, take her straight to her mother. Since that day, it's only been Sally, her mother, and Snickers with an occasional visit from her mother's new friend, a beautiful, dark-haired woman named Selina Kyle.
=^.^=
"You shouldn't tell stories, Sally," her teacher's voice cuts into Sally's memories.
"But I didn't, Missus Simmons," the girl says, although she knows already that she won't believe her.
"When I want a story, we'll be in Creative Writing. Do you understand?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Now who can give me a sentence with defenestrating without making up such a tall tale?" Her teacher turns her attention back to Sally's class mates, but that's okay. Sally's already turned her attention back to her heroine. Catwoman had saved her and Snickers that night, and although Sally hasn't seen her again, she knows she's still around. She can sense her. She's like a Guardian Angel or a Fairy Godmother, but this Princess knows she's never too far to hear her. She smiles down at the drawings of cats she's doodling on her notebook paper, secure in the knowledge that if she ever needs help again, all she has to do is meow into the dark streets of Gotham City, and help will come. Her heroine will come, and Sally, and Snickers, too, will never hurt again.
The End
