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    Valkyrie
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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

Penguin - 1. Chapter 1

This is a re-posting of the original prompt response.

Daniel

The man walking toward me had a cat on his shoulder. A real, honest to God cat sitting on his shoulder! It was a black and white tuxedo cat and it wore a pink harness and leash. I couldn’t stop staring at it, which meant that I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.

“Look out!” The man with the cat’s warning was a few seconds too late.

I tumbled down the short embankment and ended up face-down in the creek that ran through the park where I took my daily run. I tried to push myself up, but felt a stabbing pain in my left wrist and I cried out as I fell back into the water. I felt someone help me into a seated position so at least I wasn’t in immediate danger of drowning. I cradled my wrist in my right hand.

“Let me see. I’m a nurse.” The cat man gently reached for my hand. “Are you hurt anywhere else?”

“I don’t think so. Just some scrapes and bruises and a wounded ego.” I stated ruefully.

I winced as he prodded my wrist. He grimaced at me. “I’m sorry to say, but I think it’s broken. You really ought to get it x-rayed immediately.”

I made a face. “Great.”

“C’mon. I’ll give you a hand.” He smirked at me.

I raised my eyebrow at him. “Wow. That was really lame!” He laughed and I took my first good look at him. Damn, cat man was freaking hot! “Where’s your cat?”

He held out his hand and helped me to my feet. As I stood up I could see the cat sitting at the top of the embankment, licking its paw and watching us with feigned interest.

“I’m Sean and that’s Penguin.”

“Daniel.” I said and held out my right hand. Sean shook my hand and held onto it slightly longer than most men would. It felt warm and secure, and I had to let go before I embarrassed myself in front of Mr. Hot Cat Man. I cleared my throat and looked at the steep embankment I had tumbled down. I was lucky I only broke my wrist.

“The bank isn’t quite as steep over there. We can climb up and then walk down to the bridge. Where did you park?”

“My car is at my apartment. I live about three miles down the road. I really like this place for my daily run.”

“Penguin and I really like it here, too.” Sean gave a short whistle and the cat launched himself from the bank into his arms, and then perched on Sean’s shoulder as we started walking down the creek.

“That’s really impressive! How did you teach him to do that? My cat would have me in shreds if I ever tried anything like that with him.” I laughed.

“With lots of patience and treats.” Sean smiled at me. “I’ve been taking him with me everywhere I go since he was a kitten. I’m taking him next week to get him certified as a therapy cat.”

“A therapy cat? I’ve never heard of such a thing. What does he do?” I was intrigued by this hottie of a man who walked around with a therapy cat perched on his shoulder.

“I’m a nurse at the Hospice Center. Penguin usually comes with me when I work. He has a real knack for knowing which patients need him the most.”

“Wow. That sounds like a really sad job. How do you deal with it?”

“It can be very sad, especially when the individual is young. It’s a much needed service, though, and if I can provide any measure of comfort during someone’s last days, then I’ve done my job. Penguin is an absolute Godsend. He helps me just as much as he helps them.”

We walked in silence for a little bit as I digested this information. I looked up as I heard a honk followed by “Hey! Danny Boy!” It was my friend Robbie. I hated it when he called me that.

I walked up to his window. “Hey asshole. Can you give me a lift to the hospital? I think I broke my wrist.”

“Of course, babe. Get in. What happened?”

I got in the car and started to relay the tale, when I realized that I had just left Sean and Penguin standing there without so much as a “thank-you”. I tried twisting in my seat to see if they were still there, but I forgot about my broken wrist and was reminded in a big way when I grabbed the seat with my left hand.

It turned out that Sean was right. My wrist was broken and I was broken up inside at the cold way I just left him and Penguin standing there. He was so nice and took the time to help me and I just blew him off when Robbie arrived. I had meant to thank him and give him my phone number. The next day I went back to the park, but didn’t see them there. I went back over the next few days with the same result. I told myself I was nuts obsessing over a guy that I knew for a sum total of ten minutes. He was a nurse. It’s his job to help people. I stopped dead as a realization hit me right in the face. He worked at the Hospice Center! Instead of going home, I jogged over to the nearest florist shop. The clerk thought I was nuts when I relayed who the flowers were to be delivered to and what I wanted the card to say.

To Penguin:

Best of luck with your therapy cat test. I know you will pass with flying colors. Please ask Sean to forgive my rudeness and give me a call. 123-4567 Explain to him that I’ m just a stupid human. Thanks.

Daniel

All feedback is appreciated :) Thanks for reading!
Copyright © 2014 Valkyrie; All Rights Reserved.
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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 
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Chapter Comments



  • Site Administrator
On 04/07/2014 09:49 AM, fiedlerbob101 said:
thanks for taking the time to write this tale,i think im gonna love this story

 

thanks

Bob

Thanks for the review. :)
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Love it, love it, love it!

 

Love Penguin! He sounds like a great therapy cat. :) And his owner's not so bad himself. lol

 

Can't wait for chapter two. :)

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I love Penguin already. Sean and Daniel are interesting too! I like the setup a lot but it seemed a bit rushed at the end. Though i adore the note to the cat. So cute and intriguing. Please keep it going. I want more.

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On 04/07/2014 11:00 PM, Lisa said:
Love it, love it, love it!

 

Love Penguin! He sounds like a great therapy cat. :) And his owner's not so bad himself. lol

 

Can't wait for chapter two. :)

I'm glad you liked it :) Penguin is a pretty awesome cat. I agree about Sean, he's definitely not too bad himself. ;) Thanks for the review.
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On 04/08/2014 12:29 AM, Cole Matthews said:
I love Penguin already. Sean and Daniel are interesting too! I like the setup a lot but it seemed a bit rushed at the end. Though i adore the note to the cat. So cute and intriguing. Please keep it going. I want more.
Thanks for the feedback, Cole. I plan on posting Ch 2 later this week, and then I'll be posting once a week after that. :) I'm glad you liked it :)
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:D We better start a "I love Penguin"-fanclub :lol: what a cute story so far, I loved that Penguin got the flowers !
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On 04/19/2014 12:49 AM, Slytherin said:
:D We better start a "I love Penguin"-fanclub :lol: what a cute story so far, I loved that Penguin got the flowers !
:blushing: Awwww...thanks :blushing: I'm so glad you like the story :hug:
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On 05/22/2014 12:44 PM, Foster said:
What a great cat name and character.
Thanks :)
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LOVE IT! The best line, and very insightful too into the mind of the protagonist is, "Damn, cat man was freaking hot!"

That sets it up nicely. I also love the opening. It is very funny and engaging and draws a reader right into the story - as the man tumbles down into the creek. Great beginning.

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On 05/29/2014 10:53 AM, AC Benus said:
LOVE IT! The best line, and very insightful too into the mind of the protagonist is, "Damn, cat man was freaking hot!"

That sets it up nicely. I also love the opening. It is very funny and engaging and draws a reader right into the story - as the man tumbles down into the creek. Great beginning.

Thanks :) I'm glad you liked it :)
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This is the first story I have read of yours and so far it is delightful. I loved the chance meeting scenario with the "hot cat man"...it is usually a dog man lol. In such a short time, you made the characters very interesting and and Daniel's faux pas (or is that paw?) at the end shows just how much Sean impacted him...if he wasn't so hot he would have remembered to thank him...when the blood leaves our head we do stupid things :huh: . Cheers....Gary

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Aw! I love his note with the flowers to Penguin! Sure to get Sean's attention big time. A delightful, though a little painful (broken wrist), opening chapter. He did not seem over concerned about his wrist so perhaps it wasn't that painful, though I doubt it. I'm surprised Sean did not have some advice for him about how to hold it against his body so as not to jolt it unnecessarily. A broken wrist can be agonizingly painful.

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On 11/16/2014 01:29 AM, Jaro_423 said:
Aw! I love his note with the flowers to Penguin! Sure to get Sean's attention big time. A delightful, though a little painful (broken wrist), opening chapter. He did not seem over concerned about his wrist so perhaps it wasn't that painful, though I doubt it. I'm surprised Sean did not have some advice for him about how to hold it against his body so as not to jolt it unnecessarily. A broken wrist can be agonizingly painful.
Daniel has a pretty high threshold for pain. I'm sure having Sean there to distract him helped keep his mind off it, too. Thanks so much for reading and taking the time to review. Waking up to see new reviews for Penguin made my morning! :)
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I remember reading this before and shaking my head over Daniel the scatterbrain, lol. But at least he finally came up with a good way to make amends.

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On 05/06/2015 04:54 AM, Timothy M. said:
I remember reading this before and shaking my head over Daniel the scatterbrain, lol. But at least he finally came up with a good way to make amends.
lol Yeah, Daniel was a bit scatter-brained! I'd like to think that the flowers made up for it. Thanks for the review!
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On 05/16/2015 12:58 AM, Cynus said:
Flowers to a cat. How wonderful!
Thanks! :)
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Another good start to what I am sure is another one of your fun tales. I like cats, and I already like Daniel and Sean. So, I'll just go and see what else happens.

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On 09/20/2016 11:52 AM, Geron Kees said:

Another good start to what I am sure is another one of your fun tales. I like cats, and I already like Daniel and Sean. So, I'll just go and see what else happens.

Daniel, Sean, and Penguin are special to me because this is my first completed story. I hope you like it as much I enjoyed writing it. :)

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I just discovered you through another of your stories and decided to start with your first and follow you through your tales.  I have to say, the first one I read was dark but very well written.  I'm so happy to find Penguin and the humor of this beginning.  I'm looking forward to seeing this unfold.  :*)

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5 minutes ago, Y0rite said:

I just discovered you through another of your stories and decided to start with your first and follow you through your tales.  I have to say, the first one I read was dark but very well written.  I'm so happy to find Penguin and the humor of this beginning.  I'm looking forward to seeing this unfold.  :*)

Thanks, and welcome aboard. :) A lot of my stories feature dark elements, but I try to mix in some lightness too.  I hope you like Penguin's story :) 

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This story was first posted four years ago and a recent posting was in April of this year - that is a signal to me that you may be checking into recent comments. Most authors, by the time a story is posted, are so sick of the work that they don't ever check more recent comments. If you are checking the comments from time to time my notice will beep at me to let me know and I will, from time to time post a comment - otherwise, I will just settle back and read.

Will

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2 minutes ago, Will Hawkins said:

This story was first posted four years ago and a recent posting was in April of this year - that is a signal to me that you may be checking into recent comments. Most authors, by the time a story is posted, are so sick of the work that they don't ever check more recent comments. If you are checking the comments from time to time my notice will beep at me to let me know and I will, from time to time post a comment - otherwise, I will just settle back and read.

Will

I read and respond to all reader comments, unless I inadvertently miss them, so please feel free to comment on the story.  I'm thrilled to get new readers and am glad when my older stories get attention.  I hope you enjoy the story. 

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