Kumait

Chapter 3

He walked to one of the classrooms, setting me down next to his chair. I cuddled his legs, finding comfort in the human companionship. I stuck with him throughout the day, cuddling whatever limb I could reach. At the end of the day we walked out the doors, but Finnegan, the boys name, walked in an odd direction.

"Where are we going?" I trotted up next to him bipedal.

"My mom picks me up after school."

"What does that mean?" I jumped when a car pulled up.

The car rolled down its window, "what's this?"

Finnegan opened the door, "Kumait sitting, she scared her owner and has nowhere to go."

"Your dad won't like it."

"Dad doesn't like anything I like," Finnegan pointed out to his mom as he got in the car. They both stared at me until Finnegan spoke up, "get in Darkstar, it's fine." I opened the back door and slid in, closing it behind me.

Finnegan's mom smiled, "Darkstar is pretty."

Finnegan looked to his mom, "she's very cuddly too." I curled up in the backseat as the car drove, wondering if Cathy would ever love me again. The car stopped and we got out. I stuck close to Finnegan as we entered the house and went up to his room. He set down his stuff and got out homework, sitting at a desk to work on it.

I laid down at his feet, getting gently rubbed by his foot on occasion. A little while later we heard the door open downstairs, causing Finnegan to hop up from his seat. We rushed downstairs to find a tall man that was a little plump but clearly strong, in the doorway. "There's my little man!" He went to go give Finnegan a hug but froze, his face twisting with rage, "what is a kumait doing in my house!?"

Finnegan stepped between us, "it's only temporary, she's got nowhere to go."

"I want it out of my house!" The man snarled.

Finnegans mom walked into the room, "if you're not going to let your son have a kumait then you may as well let him babysit one for a while."

"But!" The man was still furious.

"But, what," Finnegans mom seemed even scarier in that one moment.

Finnegans dad paused, then hissed, "fine!" He stomped off without another word. Finnegans mom shook her head then smiled at us. We hurried back up to Finnegan's room and resumed what we were doing. That night, cuddled up with Finnegan, was more comfortable than the crate or the feral pack.

The next morning I woke up, and started licking Finnegan's face to wake him up. It took a few pushing attempts to give up and get ready for the day. We went downstairs for breakfast and I could feel Finnegan's dad's eyes burning into my fur. Finnegan's mom slid some scrambled eggs onto everyone's plates. I licked my chops as she left a small pile on the floor for me.

Finnegan started talking after a bite of his eggs, "so what does Darkstar getting- NONONO!" He rushed down to where I was happily eating the delicious eggs. He put an arm around my chest and a hand on my muzzle, "SPIT IT OUT! SPIT IT OUT RIGHT NOW!" I just looked at him, I'd already eaten half of what was given to me.

"What's wrong Finnegan?" His mother asked.

"KUMAIT HAVE VERY SPECIFIC DIETARY NEEDS! ANYTHING ELSE WILL MAKE THEM-!" I wobbled a little, and felt dizzy, then I threw up.

His dad just sighed, picked up his plate, and threw away what was left of his eggs, "clean it up." Finnegan sighed at me before getting paper towels and sanitizer. Finnegan's mom got me some leftover steak which luckily didn't look anything like the cat meat from the morning before. Finnegan got ready and his dad drove us to school, his hatred for me plain as day. We got out of the car and I perked up, bolting away from Finnegan. I crashed into a familiar face, "ZANDER!"