Admiring the Light

Ep 5

"Maybe top hats are fashionable in the alleyways." Alex joked. "Influence, power, give her some crazy name. The Great Nightwhisper." She pat Natalie on the back. "I wouldn't stress about it, girl. I think it's pretty cool, personally, she could be a little lady."

Her eyes flicked up the stairwell, only faintly picking up on her chattering family. But another sound filtered in from the other side. Mom didn't come with us...? She thought.

"Great Nightwhisper, got it- have a good day, Alexxx!" Natalie had to nudge a few people from her way, leaving a trail of confusion and "excuse me"s behind her. And to her surprise, she saw her mother confronting the girl she had just befriended.

"Don't tell me she already got her attention..." She cursed under her breath. She knew the passive aggressive ways of her mother, though she had never seen her on duty,

"Hand those over, kid." Katherine sighed and held her hand out, but instead, she got a receipt. "As I said, I bought it, feel free to check." Caitlyn smiled, and Natalie could see the satisfaction as she popped a smug jellybean in her mouth.

"Hmph." The officer grunted, begrudgingly giving back the paper. "Have a good day making innocent people miserable!" Natalie watched her snicker to herself, watched her nibble on her popcorn flavored candy that now seemed to carry a level of spite and rebellion. "My mom is... interesting, God help her soul." She approached Caitlyn with a sigh.

"What was she asking about?" She glanced down at the box of jellybeans again. "Thought I fucking stole this little box of candy. Why would I go through that trouble?"

But the taller girl had trained her minty eyes on a shadow in the alley beyond, catching a glint from the sun on Nightwhisper's hat. "Let's move a little!" She laughed nervously, but Caitlyn looked over her shoulder to see the fancy black cat padding up to them.

"Well aren't you a cutie?" She scratched her big ears under the purple brim of her hat, and Natalie heard a purr escape.

"Oh dear, please don't bond with her! What if she follows you home?" Natalie sighed, but her eyes widened as Nightwhisper sniffed the box of jellybeans. "Oh? Yeah, those are candy. They smell good, don't they?" Caitlyn smiled.

Does she really like that smell? Natalie watched the cat's tail start wagging while she kept sniffing. She pawed at the black haired girl, like she wanted help getting out one of the candy beans. "Awww, you want one? Of course." Caitlyn gently poured out a jellybean for Nightwhisper.

Though Natalie couldn't help but laugh as the big cat chewed the bean, watching her spit it back out like a wine taster with alcohol. She really was like a little queen. "Only want the taste, do ya now?" She teased playfully. "Is this why you were stalking us? Just so you could see what smelled so good?" She didn't really smell anything, but of course the cat's nose was probably better than hers.

"You're a misunderstood gal, aren't you..." Caitlyn smiled, but shot a quick look at the taller one. "Amazing, it's like The Great Nightwhisper is, guess what, only a cat." She gasped, suggesting that the black cat wasn't the mastermind they thought she was.

Nightwhisper gave Natalie a long, thoughtful stare, her sharp emerald eyes studying the girl as she cocked her head to the side. Her tail wagged a little, but the girl realized that easily could've just been a "hello!" from the dapper cat. Reading too far into this, aren't I. She thought with a sigh.

"You live 'round here, Cait? My house is maybe 5 minutes up the road, that side street near the farmer's market and the pavilion." Natalie pointed down the road to a more open area. But she paused as she noticed Nightwhisper's eyes, methodically tracking every motion she made. "Mrrow?" The cat pawed at the empty box of jellybeans.