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Anders checked the bowl of milk by the door for the tenth time. It was untouched; that was disappointing. He'd hoped one or more of the local cats would come by, but none had come. Probably run off, or eaten. He gave a little frown and prodded the bowl with his foot.
"Here, cats," he said, not expecting cats to appear. Still, he slouched a bit when none did. Then he had the second best idea he'd had all week.
Fish. Cats loved fish, and there was plenty of it at the docks. Not the safest place at night, but there was an hour or so before sunset. He could go, haggle over the price of fish, and be back in plenty of time. It would also distract him from the very distracting offer he'd made Hawke earlier.
The docks were fairly quiet, but he found a fishmonger with relative ease and bought a few small fish that seemed fresh enough. He hadn't even made it out of the docks before a cat appeared.
It was an orange tabby, and it announced its presence by appearing out of nowhere and darting between Anders' feet, nearly sending him flying.
"Whoa, kitty!" he said, smiling as the cat rubbed against his legs. "I knew fish was a good idea."
The cat meowed and swiped at Anders' bag of fish. He laughed and set the bag down on a nearby crate; the cat immediately hopped onto the crate as well and tried to stick its head in the bag.
"Patience, you," Anders said, untying the bag and removing a small fish. He clumsily retied the bag while trying to keep the cat from the fish, then sat cross-legged on the ground and placed the fish on the crate.
The cat tore into it immediately, making happy mrowing noises as it ate. Anders watched it, smiling contentedly.
"You look like Ser Pounce," he said. "I had a cat who looked just like you. I had to leave him in Ferelden, though. If you ever meet him, share some fish with him?" The cat didn't reply. Anders tentatively reached out to pet it, but was met with a hiss.
"Fine, fine. I'll just watch you eat. I like cats. If you have friends, I'll share with them too."
But by the time half of the fish was gone, no more cats had arrived.
"Perhaps this is a nice dinner for just the two of us. A little wine. Candlelight." He chuckled quietly to himself. "I might be doing that later tonight, though. I'm sorry, but there's... possibly someone else. I hope you won't hold it against me."
The cat continued gnawing at the fish with gusto.
"He's nice. He's good to me. He makes me happy. I tried to chase him away a hundred times and he won't listen. I think I need that. And maybe a cat." He raised a hand to pet the cat again, but thought better of it and put his hand back down.
"I have to go. I hope the fish was good. I'm glad we had dinner together."
The cat looked up from its meal, meowed once at him, and returned to eating. He stood, brushed himself off, and headed back to the clinic to hopefully feed other cats.
When he returned to the clinic the next day, the fish he'd left out was gone, but there were no cats to be found. Anders didn't mind. He'd keep leaving food anyway, just in case. He wouldn't have time for his own cat now, though. He'd gained a very cute, very loving puppy.
And a mabari.