First Meeting

Isfet 120

Light Built Shedu Female

Rider/Handler Jeza Kendall
Shedu Age in Picture Year and a half
Date & Place January 2014, Isfet's Enclosure

---

" Jeza peered out her window at the small shedu house that concealed the ebony beast. The feline had arrived a week ago on the grounds and Jeza hadn't dared to actually enter the enclosure. The cat would spit and hiss, baring her well developed teeth at Jeza and her small round ears disappearing into her silvery mane. She was not exactly pleasant like the breed was supposed to be. Jeza was pretty sure the cat would take after her wild cousins and rip her throat out if she had an opening.

However, enough was enough. Jeza didn't agree to lease the beast (with the promise of a kitten of her own when Isfet was old enough to breed) just to feed it and watch it stalk in her her enclosure. The cat had started to loosen up as the days went by, as Jeza was her source of food and the feline even came down to greet her this morning withOUT bared teeth (her yellow eyes however stayed piercing and trained on her).

So today it was time to actually come face to face with it.

She had debated putting protective gear on to meet the feline for the first time, but then decided against it. There was no one there within miles and if the cat decided to rip her to shreds, a bit of leather wasn't going to slow her down. So pulling on her favorite boots and shrugging on a light jacket, she ventured out.

As she walked across the lawn, the shedu house was deathly silent. Jeza wasn't sure if that was a good thing or bad. Maybe Isfet was sleeping and she should try later. No. It was now or never. Outside the enclosure their was a large ground freezer with heaps of fresh meat and Jeza wondered for a moment if the cats had a preference, or if meat was meat to them. Closing her eyes, she chose at random. A chunk of smoked fish. It'll do she guessed.

She stood at the enclosure entrance, her heart hammering and her hands trembled. She had dreamed of this moment all her life - and while she had had the opportunity to groom and ride a few trained shedu at the tracks growing up, this was a completely different ball game. With a gulp, she grabbed the door latch and opened the door.

It took Jeza's eyes a few seconds to adjust to the dim lighting the the house, but the first sight she saw was two beady golden eyes staring at her from high up. Isfet was perched on one of the higher bed-tiers and clearly had NOT been asleep. Her posture was one of an animal that had been on high-alert for some time. She probably had heard everything, from Jeza exiting her own house to picking out a piece of meat to bribe the feline with. The enclosure door clicked shut behind Jeza and she felt her breath hitch in her throat. A primal fear of being hunted coursed through her.

Why couldn't she have agreed to lease a pleasant, friendly shedu? There were plenty out there that thrived for their human companions. It's stupid to want to breed a grumpy cat, as more than likely her kittens will be equally as pissy then she'd be stuck with one. It was a stupid idea. Stupid, stupid, stupid. These thoughts flew through Jeza's head but came to a screeching halt when the feline rose from her lounging position and let out a yawn. If shedus could be intentionally sarcastic and passive aggressive, Jeza would swear the cat was mocking her by showing her her pearly whites just to layer a bit more fear into her.

In a swift, graceful movement Isfet leapt from her perch and landed about 20 feet away from Jeza. She lowered her head, yellow eyes boring into human and the tip of her tail flicked irritable back and forth, back and forth. Jeza had to fight the urge to run backwards, and instead after a tense moment, took a step towards Isfet. This took the cat by surprise, she could tell. Isfet flung its head up, ears pricked forward and straining, she looked very horse like in her curious, alert pose. Jeza was close enough now to see the cats small tan nose sniffing, its nostrils flaring taking in her scent. It was like her body had gone into auto-drive, Jeza too small, slow steps towards the cat and the closer she got the more floored she was at the felines towering size. Granted, part of it was because she had her head craned up like a giraffe but still. Jeza was not a small girl - standing at a solid five-foot seven-inches she would just barely be able to see over the cat's back and Isfet wasn't anywhere near her mature hight.

Without realizing it, Jeza was suddenly standing just a mere few feet from the shedu. While Isfet kept her posture upright, she had relaxed a bit, a more inquisitive, haughty look to her rather than menacing. The cats eye flickered down as Jeza stretched her hand out, offering the hunk of fish out her.

It felt like an eternity went by. Jeza breathed slowly, not daring to move as the cat sized her up and weighed her options. Then she took a step forward and leaned down to take the raw meat from Jeza letting her stare break from the humans face. You could physically see the tension fall from Jeza's shoulders as she lowered her now empty hand and the cat swallowed the treat.

Isfet took a step forward and began to sniff and frisk the human for more treats. Jeza suppressed a squeak as the cat shoved her head up under the side of her jacket and gingerly, Jeza dared to raise her free hand and let is stroke the cat's shoulder and a smile cracked on her face. For the first time, Jeza felt like this lease could possibly work out. That this could be the first step to having her very own shedu. "

---

Artist's Comment
Gah!
That story was about 20x longer than I had planned. Ah well, inspiration hit and I ran with it!

Getting to know my temporary shedu, this should be fun!