Chapter 11 — A New Morning

I woke up with heavy eyelids. My hind legs felt numb, much heavier than usual. I knew perfectly well why, but it felt strange to notice how all that muscle fatigue was offset by the warmth of the subject sleeping behind me. It seemed as though I had curled up against his bare chest after a long night of sex.

My front paws moved in circles against the air for a couple of minutes. I parted my lips to let out a yawn that had been trapped in my throat for several nights. I couldn’t even remember the last time I had allowed myself something like that…

In fact, I didn’t remember the last time anyone had held me while I slept. Maybe when I was a cub.

Ha… How curious.

Just thinking about that made me get up, turn my body on the sheets, and shove my head straight into the two-leg’s armpit. It sure smelled strong… but it gave off even more heat. I wanted to feel it a little longer. Hold me, just a little longer. That was the only thing I wanted to tell him.

And as if it were a magic trick, the two-leg ended up turning over. He arranged his arms over my back, trapping me to press me against his chest once again. It was warm… and very smooth, without a single layer of fur. I felt a blush take over my face and squeezed my eyes shut.

This felt so good…

I felt the stroke of his long fingers caressing the base of my ears, while with his other front paw he began to scratch along my spine. He worked his way down toward my hind legs, and even though I would have ripped anyone else’s ears off with a claw swipe for trying something like that, with him I only wished he would touch me more. He stroked my pads, leaving me completely docile and drowsy from his soft touch. Unable to help it, my throat began to emit a deep, continuous purr. It was true paradise…

I just wanted this to go on for all eternity.

“BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!”

Opening my eyes wide, I leaped up bristling straight onto the two-leg’s chest. I turned in circles on top of him as I swallowed hard, my eyes searching attentively for any sign of the origin of that strange noise. It sounded like the bellow of a monster. Was there one nearby?

I went on the defensive immediately, claws half-extended. Even though I was spinning from side to side ready to protect the two-leg, he only let out a relaxed yawn. He stretched his upper limbs without rushing and scratched his head. He lifted a rigid, gray object with straight edges from his side. After pressing it with his fingers, the sound abruptly stopped. Seeing me so agitated, the biped let out a soft laugh. Even though I found his smile lovely, this was no time to lower my guard if danger was lurking nearby.

Even if the noise had vanished…

He extended his front paw over my head and began rhythmically caressing my fur, leaving it a bit messy. On an instinctive impulse, I caught his front paw between my front paws and sank my teeth into him with a quick bite. Realizing what I had done, I cringed, expecting a harsh reaction or a blow. But nothing happened. With his other front paw, he continued to stroke my head gently… so I released him immediately. Then I watched as he brought the fingers I had marked to his mouth to lick the small wound.

Sorry.

The two-leg didn’t look at me with contempt or annoyance; he simply stood up. He began to dress in front of me, letting me appreciate the shape of his rear. I smiled to the side, but avoided staring too much, overcome by the doubt of what kind of relationship we had now.

I know what we did last night and the decision I made, but… what if I’m misinterpreting everything?

Staring at him while he adjusted his clothes, I couldn’t help but be assaulted by a thousand questions.

How can I know if this two-leg doesn’t already have a mate…? No, no, no. I don’t want to be a homewrecking cat. There has to be some way to confirm it.

Either way, if there were one, there should be some clue around here. I don’t think a female of his species would walk through this territory without leaving traces of her scent. Just to be sure, I started rubbing my hips and rear against his entire nest, rubbing myself from side to side until I marked my own fragrance and cleaned my vulva a bit in the process.

With a hard shake of my body that bristled my fur from head to tail, I walked in circles on the sheets for a moment before looking up. The two-leg had left the room. Agitated by his absence, I inwardly teased myself for my haste and immediately went down following his steps.

I ended up entering a new and much more spacious room. It was quite a striking place, perhaps a special corner for him. Besides, it smelled really good… Now that he was wearing those clothes, he looked even more adorable.

I walked around exploring the space until I came across a tall, wide piece of furniture. It looked like smooth stone; I leaped onto it and noticed there were more plush cushions on top, made of the same material as the ones in his nest where he rested his head to sleep.

I sat back on my hindquarters, curling my tail around my paws as I waited for him to pass by. Fortunately, I didn’t have to wait long: I saw him approach with a smile, bringing a dish of tuna with him. He set it on the floor, and I heard him articulate words in his language that I couldn’t understand. Even so, I bounded down from the furniture straight toward the food.

The scent was tempting. I brought my nose close to that strange banquet with caution, opened my mouth, and began to devour it. Upon contact with my tongue, the texture was so appetizing that I only wanted to gorge myself until my stomach was full.

It seemed that watching me eat made him happy. He sat down right where I had been a moment ago and brought out that gray rectangular object again. Out of nowhere, strange noises began coming from inside it. Then he turned the device toward me, showing me that the screen was giving off light. And there, reflected on the surface, was me.

I blinked a few times, impressed… and rolled my eyes, averting my gaze as I decided to ignore the strange black magic I had just witnessed.

I suppose these are weird things two-legs usually do… but it doesn’t seem threatening. I can overlook it.

I ran my tongue over my muzzle to clean my whiskers with a little feline bath, and once I was done grooming myself, I stood up and leaped up beside him.

My gaze locked onto his, though he remained more focused on his strange rectangular object.

I raised one of my paws to touch the collar he had put on me last night and sighed. I suppose I can’t count on his attention all the time.

I licked the skin of his hand and opened my mouth slightly, ready to give him a small bite. However, he raised his arm and anticipated me, moving to pet my head. With the contour of his fingers, he began to smooth my fur, tracing down my back from my ears to the base of my tail. At the gesture, I just let out a sigh of relaxation.

He stayed by my side for a while longer, gifting me his strokes, until he finally stood up. It seemed he had an urgent matter demanding his attention from that rectangular device.

Without further ado, he got up and walked a few steps to serve himself something to eat. Then he moved toward a strange wall and pushed it open. He went out through it, but before leaving, he turned to throw one last look at me. He waved his hand for a moment while articulating a few words in his language that, unfortunately, I couldn’t understand.

And, just like that… he was gone.

I was left alone in the room. I stood stunned, feeling a cold knot twist in my stomach.

Well, I suppose he must have gone out to hunt. That has to be it.

But then… am I going to stay here alone until he comes back?

I hadn’t realized how boring this could get. Honestly, in the clan I could at least entertain myself watching the annoying kits, dodging flea-ridden elders… or dealing with Bluestar and her strange attitude.

…You know what? On second thought, maybe this isn’t so bad.

Scratch, scratch.

A raspy noise put me on alert instantly. Something… no, someone was walking on top of the house.

Scratch, scratch.

The same sound again. It seemed to be running, but suddenly the footsteps became heavier and more violent.

There was someone fighting on the roof!

It couldn’t be… Seriously? This territory doesn’t belong to them!

Looking for a quick way out, I directed my gaze toward an opening in the wall that was blocked by a cold, gray cross-shaped structure. I managed to squeeze through a empty space and found myself facing the thundering paths, with the occasional metal monster speeding past outside.

I backed up immediately from the impact, flattening my ears against my head. But I couldn’t let fear freeze me when an intruder was threatening my two-leg’s territory.

How fast I’ve accepted all of this… I managed to think to myself.

I shook my head to dispel the doubt and made an agile leap toward the upper part of the structure.

With my claws unsheathed and my muscles tense, I let out a low growl at whoever was up there. I lashed my tail from side to side in annoyance and held my head high so they would notice my collar, hoping that would look threatening to them in some way.

Kittypets… There were two of them right in front of me.

One was a chubby male with black-and-white fur; the other, a light brown tabby female with a completely white chest and paws.

Noticing that I had planted myself at their side, both turned their heads to lock their eyes on me. Their reaction wasn’t threatening, but puzzling and inappropriate: they arched their eyebrows and twisted their muzzles into a grimace of pure confusion.

“What is a clan cat doing here…?”

That morning… even while staring at the foolish faces of those two, I was about to discover… that my troubles hadn’t actually ended.