Nine Lives

Prolouge

The cat stalked through the long grass, coming closer to Jack. Its small burgundy nose twitched. He reached out his hand, but pulled back immediately. He hadn't known what had come over him, but it was a strange and ineffable feeling. A desire to not frighten it, maybe.

The cat's fur was dark, but the night's shadow didn't let him see it's true color. A patch of white fur beneath the cat's chin shone white in the moon and its eyes practically glowed. Bright emerald green. He remembers them to this day. Unexpectedly, it rubbed on his leg, bringing a warm feeling to him. Jack didn't get attention like this often, mostly he was the one being attentive.

He ran his fingers through its course, yet smooth coat. A loud purr vibrated from its body. Unlike most of the strays, this one seemed well-kept. Its fur was clean and not matted like most of the strays, and it wasn't sickly thin either.

"You're a pretty kitty, aren't you?" Jack told it while stroking its silky coat. The cat jerked away, glaring at him with emerald eyes.

"Excuse me?" a voice said suddenly, sounding rather alarmed. The voice was smooth but thick, like cream or honey. Jack looked around. No one but him, the cat, and the full moon hanging above them. He turned back to the feline who was now sitting, looking regal while licking its paw.

"Don't call me kitty, it's too . . . Fluffy."

Jack stared in disbelief as well as amusement. "Did you just speak?"

"No, it was the dog. Those stupid things couldn't speak if you took words and slapped them with it." Jack shook his head. The cat was speaking to him. He was far too tired to even question it. "Well?" the cat said. Its mischievous grin sparkling. Such a smile made Jack laugh without meaning too. The cat sighed. "What's your name?" she asked rather bluntly, as if that were the most obvious thing in the world. "You're rather oblivious today, aren't you?"

"I'm Jack," he answered slowly, still befuddled by her strange behavior. He hadn't met an anthropomorphic cat before and wasn't planning to anytime soon.

The cat cocked her small head and her velvet ears perked up, listening. After a moment, she shrugged and curled into a ball, resting her fluffy tail over her nose. All that was visible in the dark were two beautiful green eyes. Her tail flicked up, revealing a small, white grinning mouth. "I'm a cat."

With that she left Jack utterly confused. He went to question it, but by the time the words formed on his tongue, the cat was up and jumped over the fence into the glistening moon.