My Little Kitten

(Edited) One

I didn't like it here.
I don't like the dark.
It scares me.
I don't like the strange men that come into the room everyday.
They scare me.
But they didn't want me. I was damaged goods. They wanted the cute and obedient ones. The ones that hadn't been used before.
I was trash. A broken toy. My life would pass by. My eyes would see nothing but this cage, this room. I would be disposed of soon enough when they figured no one would buy me. They won't keep useless merchandise.
I curled my tail around myself as I curled into a ball. It was cold. The other pets had blankets in their cages that they could use to keep themselves warm. I didn't. All I had was the baggy shirt that they made me wear to cover my skin. The other pets had cute little outfits that showed their bodies off to the customers. Not me. My skin wasn't smooth or beautiful like there's. It was scarred and torn.
My ears flinched at the sound of the door being opened, signalling a new customer. I looked round and watched as the other pets sat themselves up, making themselves look pretty for the customer. I didn't bother. They wouldn't even come this far to the back of the room anyway. So I curled back into my ball and closed my eyes.
I could here the owner give the customer a tour, telling him a bit about each pet as they moved from cage to cage. This was the longest anyone's ever been in here. Usually they would view the first couple and chose a pet and be done with it. Seems like this one was a picky customer and I could hear the rising frustration in the owners voice.
'Why is that one all the way back there on his own?'
My heart began to race. Panic surged through my body as I heard their footsteps come closer.
'You don't want him. He's what we call a damaged product.' Owner grumbled. He didn't like me being here and he sure as hell didn't like it when customers asked about me. 'Now why don't we go back to the others, I'm sure there's one you'll love.'
'No, no. I'll take this one.'
My head shot up in shock. My eyes fell on a huge man. He looked down into my cage with soft eyes. He smiled sweetly which unnerved me greatly.
'A-are you sure? We have plenty of others. Wouldn't they be more to your tastes?' Owner said as he tried to get the customer to take one of the other pets.
'No, like I said, I'll take this little one. Don't make me repeat myself.' The customer barked.
Owner nodded and mumbled something about getting the paperwork. He lifted my cage off the hook and walked me out of the room.
I whimpered and covered my head as the bright lights stung my eyes.
'Sign here and he's all yours.' Owner grumbled. 'Pleasure doing business, enjoy your pet.'
I felt my cage lifted again and soon felt a cool breeze sweep over my body, signalling that I was now outside. It had been so long since I had been outside that it made me a little excited. I peeked over my arms at the world outside. My nose twitched like crazy at all the new smells.
'Would you like to sit up front with me?'
I flinched at the sound of his voice. It wasn't harsh but I'd learnt not to trust anyone.
'Its alright kitten. I'm not going to hurt you.' He spoke softly as he put my cage on the front seat before he climbed into the drivers seat.
The journey to my new home was spent in silence. My body wouldn't stop trembling as I lay curled tight into myself. I was so scared.
'Right, here's your new home little one.'
I didn't move as he carried me from the car and into the house. I felt my cage put back onto solid ground.
'Want to come out?' I heard him ask as the sound of the cage being unlocked rang in my ears.
I whimpered and backed further into the cage. 'Whats gotten you so scared kitten? I'm not going to hurt you. Look this is your own room, I had it prepared just for you so you could have your own space to relax and do whatever you liked.' His voice was gentle as he spoke to me.
I peeked up at him. He was sat on the floor a little away from my cage looking at me with concerned eyes. I lifted myself off the floor, stretching my stiff limbs a little as I crawled slowly up to the door of the cage. I looked over at him and whimpered.
'Its alright.' He coaxed and held out his hand, palm up, showing me he meant no harm.
I edged out of the cage and sniffed at his outstretched hand. He smelled so good, it made my mind go blank for a moment. Nervously I stuck out my tongue a little and gave the tip of his middle finger a little lick, showing him that I didn't think he was a threat. Yet. He seemed to relax when I did. 'Can you tell me your name?' He tilted his head to one side a little when he asked.
I sat back and curled my tail around myself nervously. 'E-Ember.' I whispered. My voice sounded horrible due to lack of use. All scratchy and icky.
'Ember.' He smiled. 'Im Ryan. I'll leave you to get settled in.' He smiled and stood slowly. 'I'll come get you when dinners ready. Is there any food you don't like?'
I shook my head, no. In truth I didn't know if there was food I didn't like because I had never eaten proper food. He smiled softly and left, taking the cage with him.
He left the door slightly ajar as he left, probably to make me feel a bit calmer knowing I wasn't locked in.
I looked round the room. My room. I smiled and crawled up to the bed. I patted the soft material and purred. Pulling myself onto the soft quilt i nuzzled into the softness and warmth it offered. It was the first time I'd laid on such a soft surface. I sighed content and didn't even notice as I drifted off to sleep.

Ryan's p.o.v

I watched as Ember slowly looked round his new room. He looked lost. Had he not had a room of his own before? I watched as he tentatively patted the bed before crawling onto it. I smiled as he purred and settled himself down on top of the new duvet and drifted to sleep.
I listened to his soft little snores for a moment more before heading off downstairs to the kitchen to make us some food.

I can't believe the owner kept him at the back on his own. The poor kid looked neglected, which he most likely was. But that'll change. From the moment I caught sight of him in that shop I knew he was what I've been looking for.

As I busied myself in the kitchen I kept an ear out for my little kitten, making sure he was alright. He seemed so afraid, I don't understand why. He wouldn't stop trembling on the drive home and his little eyes looked up at me with such fear and distrust I didn't know what to do. First things first I had to make him comfortable. I had to make sure he felt safe where he was. Everything else can come later and in there own time.
I'd done a simple meal, some scrambled eggs on toast with a little bit of bacon. He looked so thin and neglected it pained me. Plating up our food I went to wake my little kitten up.
Poking my head round the door I smiled. He was still curled up on the bed, purring happily in his sleep. I felt horrible waking him but something told me that he needed food more than he needed the extra sleep.
I placed a hand on his bony shoulder and shook him gently. He suddenly sprang to his feet and shot to the corner of the room, his body a trembling mess huddled in the corner.
'sshh sshh, Ember its only me.' I spoke gently as I lowered myself to the floor so I was sitting rather than towering over him. 'im sorry Ember. I didnt mean to scare you. I was just waking you up to tell you dinners ready.' I shuffled over to my frightened little kitten slowly so as not to scare him even more.
As I got close his head whipped up and his fear filled eyes locked onto me, watching my every move.
'would you like to come down to the kitchen to eat or do you want me to bring it up so you can eat in here?' I asked him softly. Normally I wouldnt allow food in the bedrooms but if he felt safer in here then I'd let it slide for a bit.
He just shook his head. 'D-down.' He stuttered. His little frame trembled so bad and it actually made my heart ache. I made a mental note to look properly through the paperwork tomorrow and find out about his past.

Ember POV

Ryan stood slowly once I had told him I wanted to go downstairs to eat. Truthfully I wanted to stay here. I felt safe. But I didn't want to get into trouble on my first day here. That would be bad. Very bad.
I shakily got to my feet and crawled along behind Ryan, no master. It's master now. I have to remember that.
'Why are you crawling? Doesn't it hurt your knees?' Master asked. His voice was always so soft when he spoke to me. There was no hint of malice or hatred in his words. But I knew that would change. It always does.
I whimpered, not knowing how to respond. Yes it did hurt but I was used to it. 'N-no master.' I whimpered.
He sighed. Oh no. Maybe he knew I was lying to him. Now he's going to punish me. Oh god. I don't want to hurt anymore. Before I could stop them, tears spilt out of my eyes and I cried. I sobbed and pleaded, begged for him not to hurt me. I begged forgiveness and told him how sorry I was.
'Sshh, sshh, don't cry. Ember, baby, I'm never going to hurt you. Come on. Sssh.' Master cooed and caressed my cheeks, gently wiping the tears away as he snuggled me into his lap. He carefully rocked us as he continued to whisper loving words into my ear, calming my raging sobs to nothing more than hiccups.
Without another word he stood, with me in his arms, and entered what I assumed was a dining room. He carefully sat us down on a chair at the table, me in his lap still tucked into his chest.
'Now, I'm a bit of a shit cook, so I'm afraid you'll have to bare with me. I'm still learning.' Master said shyly.
'I-I never ate food before.' I whispered.
'What!? How could you not have eaten food before?' He asked, clearly extremely shocked.
I felt instantly ashamed of myself. 'They fed me c-cat food.' I cried. I couldn't control the tears anymore. It was horrible. Then they'd beat me for not eating it.
'Oh Ember, hush honey. It's okay I promise. I'm going to take care of you now so no more tears okay.' Master said softly as he gently pet me. It felt nice. I think I felt safe. He was treating me differently to the others but it made me a little confused. I knew where I stood with the other masters, but now I'm uncertain and it scares me.