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Winter and story by  winterwight
Zataan and art by Yours Truly

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Ko watched as the children filtered out of the single room school house. It was not an ideal setting, but it was the only one in town. The kitsune had not been considering that when he made a home for himself and Zataan. He had not really considered anything of his new plans except that he was determined to keep the child out of trouble till a suitable home could be found for the kitten. That had been years ago.

Zataan trudged out of the school house looking deeply ashamed of himself. The tubby child was a far cry from the overly smug and confident muscle cat Ko had been contracted to deal with. The kitsune stood from his bench and waved to get his ward’s attention. The pudgy child rushed forward and hugged his leg without a word.

“Zataan, what’s wrong?” Ko asked, immediately concerned. The response was a tighter grip on his leg as the Cheshire kitten began shaking. “Zataan, tell me what’s wrong.”

The child sniffled as his guardian swooped him up into his arms.

“I don’t like school Unka Ko! School’s stupid. Uniforms are stupid! Other kids are stupid!” Zataan wailed, gripping the lapels of Ko’s jacket. The kitsune hushed the young boy and sat back on the bench, still holding Zataan in his arms. He pulled a Drink-Me out of Zataan’s backpack and handed it to the child, who gladly opened the sweet beverage and gulped down its contents. A Drink-Me beverage and Eat-Me cookie were had at each meal time; perhaps it was not the healthiest of decisions, but the Cheshire always loved the treats and they could always calm him down when he felt upset.

“Now there, young man. What’s really bothering you?”

Zataan wiped his face, bottle still in hand. “Other kids are mean, Unka Ko.”

The kitsune’s eyes narrowed at the other children filing out of the school towards their own parents.

“How so?”

“They- they called me fat and picked on me! And I lost a button and everyone was laughing!”

Zataan cried, burying his pink face into Ko’s matching vest.

“Hush now,” the kitsune comforted. “Did you tell the teacher? What did he do about it?”

“He said I was making trouble!”

“Why would he say that?”

“He- he said I’m a Cheshire, so I must be causing trouble. Am I trouble, Unka Ko?”

“You’re not trouble and your Unka is going to be having words with mister Raven. You’re a good little kitty, Zataan.” Ko lifted his ward once more and set him on the ground before standing himself. “Now how about we get home and have a spot of dinner? Then we can see about getting you new clothes.”

Zataan smiled brightly but went silent again, taking Ko’s hand as his worries started to plague him once more.

“Don’t worry Z-Kitty, everything will be all right,” the kitsune said, lifting the backpack. “And I think you’ve earned a few extra treats since you scored so well on your test yesterday!”

Ko kneeled to kiss Zataan’s forehead and began the journey back home, working to cheer the troubled youth.