Cat Shifters

Not a Pet

The rain was making the sidewalk slick, painting it a darker dull gray than its naturally dull, gray color. The buildings did hardly anything to shield the alley from the rain, which seemed content falling straight down from the sky. The dumpsters lining the walls of the alley were collecting water due to people's forgetfulness of closing the lids.

All the more to be shared, he thought.

He had feasted from what scant food he could find in the garbage before the rain had made its way down from the sky, he was relatively sated, for now. Shelter was more important, he didn't need to be caught up in this weather too often, or risk his health, again.

"C'mere kitty kitty kitty" A hand was reached out to him by a small man, fingers scraping together. Grey hunched over more under the slowly soaking and toppling pile of cardboard. Grey's ears pinned back at the name, mouth parted open, teeth ready to bare. Grey kept his eyes on the body part closest to him, the hand, which was covered in tiny scars on the pointer finger and thumb, along the knuckles.

When Grey didn't react any more, the hand came closer, resulting in a hiss leaving his mouth. Thankfully, the hand stopped and retreated back to the knee of the crouched down figure in front of him. The man kept his knees to his chest, placing his paling fingers in between that space, attempting to warm them with his body in the freezing rain.

"Nice sunny day, huh little guy? It's always spring in Seattle." Grey let out an irritated little grumble, and licked his maw in indignation, still not looking the man in the eyes. "Hang on, I got it!" The boy bolted upright, causing Grey's hackles to raise as the boy hurried towards the other side of the alley which led to the fire escape. He watched him easily swing up and catch the end wrung of the ladder which was six to seven feet off the ground. As Grey watched him continue to climb and he fully decided he wouldn't be coming back, he crawled out from his hiding spot and into the onslaught of rain. His fur was quickly soaked through and a shiver crawled its way up his body.

Grey stalked the alley, readying his way out the entrance when the unmistakable sound of a can opening sounded behind him. Grey's ears immediately stood up straight and pointed back, aiming to confirm the noise.

"That's right, little guy. Sounds good, doesn't it? It was the only thing I could find that you might like. But I bet you'd take anything, wouldn't you?" Grey did not like the jesting tone in the man's voice, even though it seemed like he was offering him food, he'd been teased and beaten for taking said food in the past. Grey turned and walked right out of the alley, a barely audible sigh left the man, rejected where he stood. Grey turned around again and peered in the alley from behind the wall, finally getting a good look at his 'friend'.

This time, the black haired man was sitting in the rain, both his arms resting on one knee with his other leg stretched out in front of him. He wore a simple t-shirt, his bangs hung down in front of his brown, almost black eyes, and his pants seemed to be soaking themselves into the pavement.

As if sensing him, the man tilted his head this way and that, without looking in Grey's direction. He leaned forward and placed the still open can a good few feet from his legs, and for extra measure backed up several more steps and sat down, mostly facing away from the can, but not so much that if he turned his head he couldn't see where Grey was.

This is most definitely a trap.

And his brain told him that, too! But Grey couldn't help but think with his aching stomach, yes, he'd satiated it enough with what little food he could find in the garbage cans and dumpsters in the alley, but there wasn't much else. But he was still in the streets starving daily. Who knows when he'd get another meal? The other alley cats constantly drove him off from other streets, no this had become his territory, he had the scars to prove the work it took. As another shiver rustled its way through his soaked skin he decided he would either win big and get something to warm his stomach, and hopefully keep the sickness at bay, or he'd lose out on what food was currently left keeping his stomach partly full if he'd have to run.

Grey crept closer, never once taking his eyes off the man in front of him. The man knew it too because his body seemed to react to his presence without once lifting his eyes to meet his.

Grey barely tasted the food as it passed his lips. He ate like he was late for something, just doing it to mark the box on a checklist. He kept his gaze mostly focused on the man, but when his tongue licked the last of the tuna flavor off of his lips, he glanced around to see if there were any more cans.

"Sorry little guy, but that's all I had. Was gonna make it myself but figured you needed it more than me."

A deep rumbling started up from within Grey's chest. Before he could stop it he had rubbed himself once against the bent leg of the boy and then ran back to the other end of the alley, a little embarrassed by his behavior.

I'll never be someone's pet.