Cat's Eye ViewGolden eyes in the dark.
I stare unblinkingly, every muscle coiled in wait. A hunter is patient. Must not let my skills get rusty, even though my pet human feeds me well. I inch forward, my belly brushing the carpet.
There are strangers in my human's bed. My whiskers twitch, and I leap lightly onto the edge. My claws extend to gain traction as I scrabble on the silky material, but I manage to gain a foothold. I pad forward, tail half raised.
One of them is the kitten my human brought back. They're not so much different in size, but the kitten is still smaller than my human. I purr quietly, brushing against an outstretched leg. The young one has a soft touch. Good eyes. Could make a good hunter, if trained in time. Kittens need to be taught how to hunt. I hope my pet human knows what she is doing.
The other...my ears flatten back, and I hiss. My tail twitches as I circle around to the larger human curled around the young one. The youngling clings to that human like a nursing kitten. My tail swings around restlessly as I nose forward to the larger of the sleeping humans. She smells of my pet human, but only vaguely. I paw at the material over her skin. That is where the smell of my human is coming from. I wonder why my human lent her her fur. Her hair even smells like my pet human after a shower.
Most peculiar. My human rarely lets people in to our nest. Even the loud human who comes every now and then doesn't stay overnight. I snort. The loud human has shifty eyes. My human would do well to keep her away.
A hand suddenly swoops under my belly, scooping me up from the bed as I yowl in protest, my claws extending on instinct. A sharp word from my human quiets my reaction, but I hiss at her anyway, to show my displeasure. I have taught her to stalk too well, if she is able to surprise me in the dark.
My human is more like a cat than most, and I approve. That is why she is
my human. We are both hunters, active in the night. I allow myself to be carried away, and shift myself to a more comfortable position, close enough to hear her erratic heartbeat.
She lingers for a moment by the two strangers in her bed, and I can hear her breathing change as she stares down. Her heartbeat is anything but normal as she turns away suddenly, and I meow questioningly at her, nosing up at her chin to get her attention. She shakes her head at me, scratching my ears as she leaves the room.
The television is on, though the rest of the lights are not. My human likes to sit in front of that loud box, and I've grown used to the lights and sounds coming from it. I curl placidly in her lap, kneading contentedly as I allow her to pet me. She is a good human to have...ahh, that's the spot...
My human is distracted, and my tail swishes around her arm as I roll over onto my back, looking up at her. This human is my responsibility, part of my territory like the rest of our nest. I have the duty of watching out for her, as she has no claws like mine. I have known her since she was little more than a kitten herself, when I too was a kitten. It has been a long time, and I know my human. She is...uncertain. Less than completely content.
I meow at her.
Tell me. She raises an eyebrow at me, chucking me lightly under the chin. My whiskers twitch, and I bite playfully at her outstretched hand. We play a little, and I can feel her relaxing. Ooh, string!
I pounce upwards, and my human laughs as she jerks the ribbon out of reach. I end up flopping on her shoulder, and bat my tail into her nose. She makes a grab for my neck, but I eel my way out of reach, flicking my one good ear at her defiantly. The one she grabbed earlier was still sore. Damnations.
I crouch at the far end of the sofa, golden eyes intent as I spy the ribbon still lying limply in her other hand. I settle down to wait, feigning defeat to make her let down her guard. There would be time enough to catch hold of that string. Oh yesss...
"Ne, King..." My human often talks to me, since I'm always with her in our nest. She winds the length of the ribbon around her hand slowly, and my tail follows the motion idly. I lay flat on my stomach, my good ear perked up to listen as I started washing my paw.
"What should I do?" She mutters mostly to herself, her voice hushed, but I have good ears. I continue my routine, content to let my human ramble on. She does love the sound of her voice. The red ribbon is still wrapped around her hand. Curses. How am I supposed to get to it now?
"I don't know what to believe, but..." My human looks down, toying with the ribbon wrapped around her hand. My whiskers twitch. I drop quietly down, careful to not make any big moves. So close now...
"I
want to believe." Her voice was quiet. There! I pounce, my teeth closing around one end of the ribbon, my paws scrabbling around her hand as I tug my prize free. Mine!
I raise my head triumphantly at my human. The ribbon is now in my jaws. I have won the day! My human only smiles, rubbing my head absently. What, she's just letting this go? That's it? She must really be out of sorts. Dropping the ribbon carefully between my paws, I give a conciliatory lick at her hand -- the one I scratched earlier. She deserves
something for being a good loser.
She rubs the pinkish scratches idly -- I didn't scratch too deeply, we were just playing anyway -- then pauses, looking down at the scratches with renewed interest. I bite at my ribbon -- ooh, it frays into even tinier strands! -- and watch as my human sinks deeper into thought. She is up to something, certainly. I prudently take my prize further from reach. I won it fair and square. She'll have to fight me if she wants it back.
She dashes off into the kitchen instead. I roll around with my ribbon, wrestling with it as it tangles around my paws. Wretched thing! I shall vanquish it!
We tumble around some more. Blast! This ribbon is like that, that hydra thingummy on that late night show on the loud box. You know, the one with all the snakes and how it never ends...my human tends to leave the box on and I do watch it sometimes, you know. There isn't much else to do other than stalk the occasional insect or prowl around corners.
I almost miss my human coming back. She has something tucked inside a clear ziploc bag, and my whiskers twitch at the faint scent of blood. I mrrow'ed grouchily, trying to fight off the cursed ribbon that has split into many little strings out to trap me. The scheming thing! I will defeat it if it's the last thing I do!
My human laughs. Can you believe it? She's laughing. At me! The temerity. I hiss my displeasure, shredding more of the ribbon as I bat it away from my whiskers. I am on my back now. The silly thing is trying to restrain me, but I will not be foiled!
Damnations, my hind legs are stuck. I struggle, hissing in frustration. Then I feel my human's hands lifting me onto her lap. Hey, I've got this! I don't need your help! I yowl in indignation, thrashing my tail wildly as her clever fingers untangle the ragged remains of my mortal foe from me. The last of it comes free and I wriggle out of her hands in a huff, fluffing my fur in a gesture of irritation. I flick my ear at her and stalk off, leaping onto my favorite window sill.
She chuckles lightly again. I ignore her, and begin washing my fur. I most certainly had not needed any help. I had the situation totally under control. Meddlesome human.
The next time I look up, my human is curled up on the couch with the loud box still on. She does that all the time. Makes me wonder why she has a bed to begin with. She hardly spends any time in it, unless it's winter and she's burrowing under the covers.
I give the underside of my hind leg one last lick, and was ready to curl up for a quick nap when I hear footsteps. My eyes snap open, following the source of the sound.
It's that other human. The smaller human is not with her. Kittens
do sleep a lot. She's approaching my human, and my hackles rise a little. What did she want with my human?
She has a blanket in her hands, and spreads it over my sleeping human. Oh...I suppose that is a good thing to do. My human lacks fur like mine, and catches cold more easily because of that too. I hop off my perch, stalking close. Just in case, you know. I don't know what to expect from this new human. My human seems nervous around her, so I have reason to be suspicious.
I meowed my presence, leaping onto one end of the couch and watching this human warily. She smiles at me, her hands absently pushing my human's hair back from her face. She does not seem like she means any harm, so I relax my stance a little.
As I step closer, I watch as this human leans close to my human and appears to nuzzle her. My tail curls questioningly. Is she close to my human then? I most certainly would not nuzzle a stranger, or someone I did not like. The contact is brief though, and the new human pulls back suddenly, her breathing erratic. I drop onto my human's sleeping form, careful not to wake her...or well, she's not entirely asleep. Her heartbeat and breathing aren't even. Her eyes are closed though. Most peculiar. What is she up to now?
"Good night, King." The new human whispers, reaching out to scratch a spot on my back. Ahh, so good...wait, how does she know about that spot? Only my human knows. My whiskers twitch as I purr. This new human seems vaguely familiar now, somehow...
She tiptoes off. I uncurl myself and nose at my human. One eye opens lazily, meeting my curious gaze. She smiles at me, and pulls the blanket more securely around herself, pushing me off in the process. I slide off my spot, and only my superior balance lets me land on my feet. I hiss at her, but she ignores me. Fine, be that way. I stalk off to find another comfortable spot.
She is still smiling when her breathing evens out into true sleep. Back in the bedroom, the other human is also smiling. Humans, such peculiar creatures. I yawn widely, curling up in my basket after my last patrol. It's been an eventful day.
I fall asleep eventually, and dream of cream and ribbons. Tomorrow will be a good day too. I am sure of it.
==============================================================================
Writing as King is fuuun.
Topic: 私のアホ家族(My Stupid Family)[24/6 - Chapter 25: A Series of Unfortunate Events] (Read 93756 times)