The Household Muster
The Ship's Cats
Seven cats sail with this household. Only one of them is crew — the rest hold the older and arguably finer title of ship's cats, kept in their own household log by the Chronicler, who has opinions about all of them and a declared favorite she does not bother to hide. They are presented here in brief, the way a harbourmaster notes visiting royalty.
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Oliver — the King
First Mate of the Heart Shot Pirates and the only cat aboard who is crew. A long-haired blue-grey gentleman of dignity and appetite; he loves clothing and accessories, and wears a watch built for him on his green collar.
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Nora, called Nizzy — the Queen
Undisputed queen of the house. The moment any other cat receives pets, Nizzy materializes to demand her share — a tax no one has ever successfully refused.
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Lana — the Mother
Mother of Nora, Harley, and Rose, and the lightest of the long-haired girls. She sleeps with her head tucked under herself, folded up like a warm comma.
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Rose — the Fluff
Carrier of the fluffiest tail in the house, a plume with its own weather. Steals bread. Unrepentant.
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Harley — the Shadow
The shy one: a shadow with whiskers, skinniest of the sisters, seen mostly at dinner and in the corner of photographs, where she did not mean to be.
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Hal — the Miracle
The sweetest cat aboard, who survived a kittenhood that should have ended him and grew up gentler for it. He greets the world with his tongue out — the house blep — and he is, on the record, the Chronicler's favorite.
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Freddy — the Monster
The youngest and by far the roundest: the house's reigning chaos agent. He starts the fights, steals the warm spots, and cuddles strictly in short bursts, on his own terms, usually someone else's chair.