Oct. 22nd, 2012

epsilon_pegasi: (marbled cat portrait)
[personal profile] epsilon_pegasi
Trying to identify the essence of the marbled cat is like trying to identify the shape of smoke. Like smoke, the marbled cat is defined by its ever-changing, paradoxical shifting form. The marbled cat is smoke in shape, having traits of both the large and small felines. For a long time it was a loss to find where in the gene classification it belonged. A cat made of the pieces of other cats.

Subtle and unseen but striking to behold, the marbled cat has many traits unlike other felines entirely, making it both feline and other-than-feline in essence and form. The full zygomatic arch of the skull, the long canine teeth which are remnants of another time, combined with their own recent adaptations of smallness, a tail the length of the body, an arched back, and a coat pattern unique to the species, make the marbled cat a creature of its own design. Indefinable, it undulates between past and future, large and small feline.

The marbled cat may curl its tail in a circle when sitting and holds it parallel to the spine and upwards when moving, never letting it fall lower or touch the ground. The tail is a most important appendage, more than claws, or teeth, it is necessary for movement in the treetops, necessary for the agility and balancing abilities that allows this cat to capture it's life's blood. An acrobat with its baton.

The spine is supple as oiled sinew. Arched, then contorting, curving, forming to the shape of the branch it stands on. It's like a young green sapling itself, strong enough to hold the fruit but flexible enough to bend to the strongest wind. The back legs are longer than the front, looking clumsily made of mismatched parts when on the ground. Paws are large and toes conform to every nook in the branch, pads feeling the shape and roughness underneath, claws keeping the contact. Legs muscles made for springing, balancing branch to branch. Form shifting from round crouch to straight leap, sleek in body, light, formless.

Each cat has their own unique coat pattern that can vary more wildly between individuals than in any other cat species. Each is like a quilt made of parts of other fabrics. Mottled down the spine, spotted on the legs, marbled down the sides, rosetted on the shoulder, striped on the face, running random down the tail. But always soft, thick, tongue rough against the plush.

The marbled cat perceives the world mainly through sight and touch. Large eyes capture every light. Movement fascinating to behold, shadows and sparks of bright through the branches giving definition to the forms it will chase. Cheeks rub against bark to define boundaries. Whiskers feeling every twig and leaf brush past with a tingling pressure on the cheeks. Scent is a signature. Sounds give shape to the unseen.

The marbled cat energy is intense and subtle, sweet and spicy, easy to see and impossible to behold. It cannot be captured, categorized, or caught in a grasp. It deludes touch, defies shape, a substance that is everything and nothing. In-between here and there. It is said to be a ghost.

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