Alley Cats Runaway

#2 Stranger Among the Shadows

The next morning I Nutmeg climbed up the building to the roof of the shelter. Exciting meows got my attention. Through a window I spotted two kits playing with a fuzzball. One was dappled brown the other was a bright ginger. At least they can have fun without having to worry.

Mama told us little about the luxury of being a housecat, it always fascinated me. I jumped down to the nearest railing and made my way to the open window. A white she-cat with ginger patches spotted me and came to the window. "Oh poor thing! You look so scrawny, how would you like some milk a fish treat?" My first instinct was to say no but I was really curious. The mother let me in, my rough paws landed on something so soft and bouncy, whatever it was covering the floor.

"Hey who are you?" asked one of the kittens. I looked down at them, they came up to my shoulder, probably "I'm Nutmeg."
"What type of name is that?" meowed the ginger tom. "Rex is a way better name than Nutmeg."I frowned at the ignorant kitten.
"It's my name and I like it"
The dappled kitten spoke boldly like her brother. "Ignore him, he had a bubble bath this morning, it's messing with his attitude. I'm Diana nice to meet you Nutmeg." A scoff and a scorn was heard. Rex was storming off behind a small tower while his mother frowned in his direction. "Thank goodness I have a daughter who has the manners. Nutmeg, I'm Bella."
"Okay, I don't think any cat would want a bubble bath."I say. stretching a hindpaw and scratched behind the ears. The two she-cats stiffened. "Fleas! Oh dear, you need a proper bath young lady. I won't have any visitors with fleas!" I flicked my ears. "Oh, I'll just do it myself. Twisting my neck I licked the spot and rake my teeth and spit out small tuft of fur. They stared at me. Understanding filled my eyes. "Er sorry, I 'm not used to living in a housecat's home. I'm from the alleys." I explained.
Belle sniffed. "Still, you need a bath! " So they both lead me to a tub. A person was there and must of thought I was Diana for my fur was dark from being . covered in dust. Warm water splashed at my body. I purred. An alley cat can get used to this. But I regretted it at once when a white foam covered my muzzle. Hissing, I tried to get out but the person had a strong grip on my scruff. I felt the warm water again and they took me out. Shaking my fur, they rubbed me then a blast of hot air was shot at my face. At last I was free. "No wonder Rex was a grouch, who would want to go through that?" Diana giggled. "At least you're clean, look! You look gorgeous. she lead me to what she called a mirror. It turns out my fur was a lot lighter than I thought it was. And my eyes, they were not just green but a hint of aquamarine! Just appears to be green most of the time. Belle purred. "How about a fish treat Nutmeg?" In a dish were five pieces of fish I took a bite out of mine and finished it in minutes. Licking my jaws I sat back purring, "Mama was right you house cats really have it all." I was getting ready to leave when Diana curled up, getting ready to take her nap. Sadly it started to rain.
"You can stay until the rain stops Nutmeg." She offered. I thanked her feeling sleepy myself, I curled up beside Diana. "I wonder what it's like to be an alley cat." I turned to her. "Well you have to be sharp, you can't trust anybody unless they have done a good deed."
"Well that's stupid, you should be able to trust anyone, unless they are bad of course. Meowed Rex, who unfortunately came back. He settled beside us but close to his mother.
"Do you trust me?" Diana asked me. That was a good question, did I?
"Yes, you seem like the type who can be trusted. I just don't know about your brother." I responded with a snort. Diana purred as her brother glared at me from his spot with his amber eyes. I fell into a deep, refreshing slumber.
It was the sun that woke me up I glanced through the window telling me it was sunhigh. Alarmed I stood up, disturbing a sleeping Diana. "Sorry Diana, I gotta run back home, my dad will be mad if he finds out I missed one of his training sessions." She lifted tired head to me. "Will you come back?" She asked drousily. I smiled. "Definitely, I may not be around every day but once in awhile I'll pop by and visit, next time I'll show you what alley cats do." I wave my tail in goodbye to my new friend and jumped onto the railing. balancing with perfection, I make to the other side without a slip. Flipping, I land onto on a dumpster and ran to the shelter. I brace to a stop and ducked behind a corner. There pacing back and forth was no one but my dad. By the look on his face I could tell he wasn't happy. Looking for another entrance I spotted a ramp leaning against the building, Crouching low, I crept forward through the makeshift tunnel. Once out m I felt the air escape through my lungs as a heavy cat pinned me. I twisted my head to see Jay on top of me.
"Jay! Get off you great lump!, You're Squishing me!" He released me but shoved me back. "What on earth are you doing?" I frowned. "Trying to get home that's what!"
"With amazingly clean fur and the smell of a house cat? Nutmeg, have you gone crazy? Firstly you decided to skip your father training sessions, secondly you allow yourself to go into their house! You know very well the number one rule as an alley cat, never trust anyone!" I stared at my paws. "I really messed up haven't I?" Jay nodded then his gaze softened. "I know how to get you to look dirty again, follow me. With a nudge to my shoulder, he lead me to the mud hole. At one of the parks in the area. There was a lot of mud. "How do we know it's fully mud?" Jay laughed. "Just get in!" He pushed me into the muck I must of had a funny look on my face cause Jay laughed even harder. While he was distracted I grabbed his sleek tail by surprise and dragged him down with me. Splashing mud against each other was clearly fun.
"Mama gonna have a fit when she sees us!" I say as we walk out, on our way back to the shelter.
Jay nodded in a agreement. "My mama Is gonna have some hard time getting this mud off of my fur."