A Second Chance

New Home

Sana sat in the little office, the pen in her hand was steady as she filled out the paperwork for the little hybrid. She read through the little file, understanding that the kitten hybrid was a little shy and moody, but she was prepared for the worst of the worst. 

"And with that, you are allowed to take her home today," The shelter worker smiled as she took the paperwork from the woman. 

"Perfect! Oh, I can't wait," Sana whispered. 

She waited in the lobby for everything to be done. She heard the yowling of multiple kitten hybrids before she heard the small mewing of the one she adopted. The woman smiled as she picked the kitten hybrid up, feeling her nails already digging into her shoulder blade as she carried her to the car. Her tail swished back and forth as they walked out, seeing her ears flat against her head as the door was opened. 

"You're okay," Sana whispered as she buckled the kitten into the backseat. 

The drive from the shelter was a bit lengthy with traffic, being closer to 45 minutes since it was a mess. 

When they got to her apartment building, it was a bit of a mess, but Sana didn't quite care. Mostly because she had a young kitten hybrid in her arms. 

"Welcome home!" Sana smiled as she set the kitten down on the floor. 

Mina was only a few years old, and barely came up to Sana's hip. She was smaller than most humans, but larger than actual animals. She wouldn't grow to be very large, but she would grow taller than she was now. 

"It's a bit small, but it's home," Sana explained as she stepped away from the front door. "This is the living room, that way is the kitchen and back here is the bathroom and bedroom!" She smiled. "I work a bit more than usual these days, but only because of a project I'm assigned. And I volunteer at the shelter... So, it's a bit much... But I plan on cutting back a bit since you're here!" She smiled. 

"Me?" Mina asked quietly. 

"Yeah! I only volunteered because I wanted some kind of companionship really," Sana shrugged as she pushed the bedroom door open. "When I saw the people keep going passed you... I thought you would need a forever home," She whispered before pulling out an overly fluffy hybrid bed for the kitten. 

Mina's eyes went wide as she stared at the bed on the floor. It was beyond perfect. An extremely fuzzy bed? Oh it would be heavenly. 

"And some toys." 

Mina's ears perked up at the sight of the toys bouncing against the rug and the flooring. A few mice and various other cute things that she could play with without getting bored. Oh, yes this was the life. 

The first day was touch and go, deciding that it would be best to occupy the space together and build trust that way. Sana watched her play with a few of the toys, watching her go from place to place chasing the little things before finding a perch on the arm of the couch to watch everything down below. It was only three flights up, which meant the kitten could practically see the world.

After a rather uneventful dinner, everything seemed to really mellow out. Sana went through her nightly routine and the kitten watched her from afar. Mina was entirely curious on how other humans operated. After being with someone so rich and clearly much older, it made her nervous to be with someone else. 

So, when the human lay in bed for the night... Mina sat in her bed, watching the human for hours. Just watching her breathe, making sure she was still alive. She would wander from place to place in the room, barely making much of a sound to make sure the human got her rest, but it made her worried. Worried that this human would be gone by morning. So, she stayed up. Refusing to sleep. 

The kitten eventually grew tired, her eyes drooping every so often as she found herself growing more and more comfortable in the overly fluffy bed. Her hands reached out as she slowly kneaded the plush cushion under her, feeling the nice soft fluff and stuffing. She couldn't help much of anything else as she started to purr, self soothing herself into being calm. The human was okay, which meant she could sleep. 

Until the sound of the human getting out of bed startled her awake. She lifted her head, eyes wide open as Sana stepped out of the bedroom so late in the night. Mina followed her, watching her step into the other room and shut the door. She frowned as she waited, hearing unfamiliar sounds before Sana made her way back out and back to bed. 

Sana climbed back into her bed, feeling the warmth of the covers and comforts of everything. Her eyelids were already heavy as she started to fall asleep, only to be met with the sounds of something jumping on her bed and crawling closer to her. She slowly opened her eyes, seeing the kitten staring right down at her with worried eyes. 

"I just went to pee," Sana mumbled with a small yawn. "Go back to sleep... Or whatever kitties do at night," She murmured. 

"Can... Can I sleep here?" Mina whispered. 

"You want to sleep in my bed?" Sana asked, watching the kitten nod her head. "Yeah, you can sleep in my bed," She smiled. "Here." She lifted up the blanket, watching the kitten hybrid crawl right under the blankets and pop right back out before settling down next to the human for the night. 

Sana was certain that the kitten would need much more time to adjust, but this was better than a few days. The kitten just needed to know she was loved and had a place to be. Nothing else. And that was the least she could do for the kitten.