Admiring the Light

Ep 13 (TW One use of slur)

"Hi! I saw that you had a couple of cats that needed homes?" Natalie smiled, ducking so she didn't hit the lower doorway. Her eyes adjusted to the brighter lobby, a board cluttered with informative posters on the wall opposite her. Someone with purple hair stepped out from another room to smile back at the tall girl, but it took them a moment to address her.

"Sorry, um, we haven't updated the website in a few days- but yes ma'am!" They gestured for Natalie to follow. "I'm quite the cat person myself, meow!"

Warm light filled most of the room, and her green eyes didn't know where to look as they walked by a few cages with dogs in them, one golden retriever even had his head down as he watched her. "My last dog... she was an older pitbull, she passed away recently." She sighed.

"Oh- I'm sorry. Wouldn't you want to adopt another dog?" The attendant suggested, their eyes flicking behind into the shaded area holding the cats. "Cats seem like interesting pets, I'd at least want to meet these little gals." Natalie laughed.

"Well here we've got Mouse! She's... uh-" They went to unlock the cage of a little cat with white fur and big blue eyes, but she seemed more interested in the cats in the other cage. "She's a silly one."

"I see, maybe! But I don't want to accidentally crush her." The teen easily stared over their shoulder at the other two cats, first seeing a little gray cat with a white belly, and a cute blue scarf around her tiny neck. But she also noticed what seemed to be a familiar massive shadow, layers of black fur over rippling muscles as the cat hid her head further down into the wall. *Nightwhisper.*

"Ehehe, well let's talk about little Katherine here!" The attendant noticed Natalie's gaze wavering and tried to redirect her attention to the other cat. "She's a literal marshmallow, she just wants hugs."

"Well, again, good man... woman? *Person-* I really don't want to step on my own pet." She was really interested in the last cat, but she knew those green eyes, she knew that hat. "Oh, kid, that's Nightwhisper... since she showed up, she's escaped four times, the building itself has these issues its never had before, and the other pets have been... different." The attendant warned.

"So you're telling me- haha that you think a cat has brought you bad luck? Come here big gal, come here!" But Natalie backed off a little as Nightwhisper stalked right up to the side of the cage like a zoo exhibit, slow and deliberate with her claws out and a stare that sized her up.

"She's very high maintenance, she's a maine coon, so you need to bathe her and groom her fur. And you have to be careful with her hat too...I'd assume it's years old, that's real silk." The attendant noticed how regal Night was being toward Natalie.

"She's big and scary and she's perfect! Because you are a misunderstood gal and I love the strange." Natalie smiled. "Big is an understatement, kid. She's three and a half feet long when she's on her hinds..."

"Yep, and I'm seven feet tall! Perfect cat for me. We have the resources to provide for her, and of course I'd take more time for my pet." She watched as the attendant shakily opened the cage, like they were releasing a demon or something. Nightwhisper's expression really didn't help her case, slender eyes and a smirk engrained on her face. Her top hat sat between her ears, and Natalie wondered if the cat enjoyed it.

"Be careful, take care of her, and always say good night." The attendant warned. "Just a quick good night at the end of the day. She won't sleep without it, we've figured that out."

"Easy enough, she's just a dapper little lady that wants to be taken care of! I like my routines, too." The teen smiled back, giving the other person a friendly wave even though the advice went right out her other ear. "You're a pretty little girl... aren't yooou!" She gently booped Nightwhisper's nose. "My dad should be swinging by any second now... but we're gonna ride home just me- and- you!"