Tom-Cat

Tom-Cat is the dread familiar to the Witch known as Mu. To the unexperienced eye, he looks like a large, red tom. Only careful observers will notice the gleam of vicious intelligence in his green eyes and the purposeful way in which he moves.

History

Tom-Cat was first called to Mu's side when she was imprisoned in the Vallaki Asylum of Shattered Souls. Driven to the edge of madness by her experiences there, the young woman reclaimed the magic she had suppressed for years in a desperate bid for escape - and Tom-Cat was the vessel her power chose to return by.

Having snuck into the Asylum, Tom-Cat unerringly made his way to his new mistress, squeezed between the bars of her cell door and whispered the words of spells and incantations in her ear. He was well-pleased to realize just how powerful his new human was. Purring, the red cat strolled after his witch as she made her way out of the place that had steadily stripped her of her dignity and sanity alike, meowing happily whenever she struck down an obstacle and once she dashed out into the darkness of nocturnal Barovia.

Tom-Cat has remained Mu's constant and loyal companion in all the following years, and is probably the creature she trusts most in all the Demiplane of Dread.

Personality

Although fiercely loyal to his mistress and more than willing to defend her with his very life, Tom-Cat and Mu do not see eye to eye in all matters. The feline familiar would prefer to see his human throw herself fully into the study and use of magic, rather than restrict herself to only what she needs as she needs it, both out of concern for her safety and because he would see his mistress dominate the world around her instead of creeping through it in fear. He is also opposed to Mu showing mercy to anyone and anything that gets in her way, being far more prone to assaulting such obstacles with all the force he can muster. At times, he counsels Mu to backtrack and seek revenge on those who have hurt her. In spite of her familiar's capacity for malice and violence, Mu does not appear to have noticed (or else ignores) that the two of them are directly opposed on the moral axis, possibly due to his enduring loyalty.

When used by Mu to recruit natural cats to provide extra eyes, ears and muscle when they are in or near urban environments, Mu has commented that he seems to prefer to only call upon female cats. For all that this suggests, Tom-Cat nevertheless appears to be either an efficient commander or a persuasive negotiator, as he manages to literally herd cats to his mistress's service; a noteworthy feat, even with Mu offering payment in the form of food.