Raven diary #41 Bumbercat pt 2

Dear diary,

Raven here.

Sorry cats and kittens. Writing that last entry, I suddenly had the urge to get really high on some catnip. Long story short, I would NOT recommend it.

Anyway. When the three ATMLB members were done explaining what they could of Ochi’s mysterious disappearance, we spotted a set of pawprints leading away from the Bumbercat site.

“Dude,” meows Honeytoast. “Let’s follow those tracks to see where they lead!”

“FOR OCHI!!!!!!!!!” I yowl, trying to keep up my huge fan persona as much as possible. It seems to work because everyone repeats it back to me in a way that made it clear they were putting their cat heart and soul into this operation.

We walk out onto the pawprint trail and at least for me, it’s nice to get out of the noise for a change.

“So,” Honeytoast pipes up. “What’s your opener gonna be?”

“We’re thinking of starting it off with Cat Puke Shuffle,” says Gordon. “A classic of ours. Great guitar solo.”

Lollipop starts singing with the band.

“Eat some grass and do it right. Cat puke shuffle all through the night COME ON!”

“What about the real classic?” I ask, trying to keep up my disguise with this stupid conversation. “Soft as a Ball of Yarn has to be in there somewhere.”

This only provokes them to start singing Soft as a Ball of Yarn which is so cheesy, it somehow reached #1 on the Catboard Charts back in 1985. It even made it into the movie Dirty Pawing. The chorus goes:

“Your fur is as soft as a ball of yarn, and I’ll never love you the same. I knew when I found you that you were the one…”

And it just goes on and on. I try to sing along, but the words can’t come. When we finally reach the end of the trail, all we find is a card with a weird symbol on it with an A and a note.

Dudes. Ochi here. I’m sorry I messed up and didn’t make it to ATMLB tonight. I just got so hungry, and distracted, and then I fell asleep under the neighbor’s porch. (I mean, can you blame me? Just hearing the name of  “The Mouse Eaters” makes my mouth water.) I need to sleep for like another 13 hours, so maybe catch up with you all mañana. Peace out!

The band gasps.

“OF COURSE!!!!!!!!!!!!” David yowls. “We should’ve known all along! That note’s just a cover up. Our song Poker Cat proves everything! Ochi wrote it himself.”

Lolli, Honeytoast and I all look at each other, all three of us confused.

“Our bassist, Ochi is off at the Poker table!” meows Gordon. “Must be a high stakes match.”

“I don’t understand,” I meow. You’re saying that Ochi quit the concert just to go and poke cats? Ouch!”

“No, silly,” says John. “Poker is a weird game that I don’t know much about. It involves this card, the Ace of Spades and it involves money as a prize, which is what cats like Ochi can get addicted to. We have to go talk to him.”

“I think I know where Ochi’s favorite gambling parlor is,” purrs David. “Follow me!”

TO BE CONTINUED…