Chapter Text
Sun beamed into the window of the room. A little black cat stretched out in the light, soaking up the warmth.
He heard footsteps approaching- long strides, with a bit of a shuffle as each foot dragged for just a second before lifting up again.
The cat lifted his head. It was him, of course it was him. The cat would know the sound of him anywhere.
The door opened, and the cat gave a chirpy meow in greeting.
The man gave a small smile at that. “Hello to you too, Sissel.” He dropped a bag to the floor with a thump.
Sissel smelled the sharp metal mixing with meat from the bag- food! Oh it must be a special occasion, usually he went out to hunt for his own food- the man didn’t usually have any food for himself, let alone for Sissel.
The cat hopped down from his resting spot in the windowsill, winding around the man’s legs.
“Ah, Sissel, come on, your fur shows up so much on red.”
The man’s voice was light, affectionate.
“This should be enough food to last until the money for the motel runs out.”
He reached down and pet the side of Sissel’s face, eliciting a purr from the cat.
“I’ll set it out for you before I head out tonight. Don’t worry. You’re my priority, Sissel.”
Sissel didn’t quite know what the man was talking about. He didn’t pay it any mind, though, instead nipping at the man’s hand- he had started petting Sissel’s sides even though the cat absolutely had not asked for that.
It took the man a second to react- it always did- but he stopped, backing up. “Sorry, sorry. Too much. You’ve really got to start telling me that before you bite me, you know.”
Sissel blinked slowly at the man. It’s not that he was upset! He just didn’t ask for it so the man should know not to. It wasn’t his fault the man couldn’t understand him when he wasn’t him.
“Yeah, you’re right. That one was on me.” The man gave a shrug. “Why don’t you go out for a while? Make sure no alley cats are in your territory, or however cats do things.”
Sissel’s tail flicked, and he rolled across the man’s feet, playfully.
He was getting tired of being left to his own devices while the man organized papers or stared at the glowing loud screen of the tv or just laid his body down and left.
“Please, Sissel? Some people are going to be coming by and I don’t want them… I don’t want you around them, around all that.”
Sissel went still, then got back up. Fine.
He always hated when people came by. They always smelled way too strongly, and were harsh, and Sissel had to hide anyways even if the man didn’t have him leave. And the people that came by always made the man upset. Sissel just wanted to bite them, but that would put him and the man both in danger.
As he started to walk, the door opened ahead of him, and a presence joined him. The man was coming along.
“I’ll go with you, for a bit. Like old times, right?”
Old times. When the man was the cat, the cat was the man, the two were together and one and the same.
They shared control. Bounding through the streets, pouncing at any bird or mouse that was close enough, but not really caring if they caught it.
But the small moment of freedom wasn’t enough. Because the man had to leave.
“You can go back when the moon is out. Stay safe, Sissel, don’t let any humans see you.”
The cat bounded off even as the man’s spirit headed back, too far away for Sissel to sense.
Sissel wandered around, for a while. Ending up at a junkyard.
He watched from the shadows as a man with a big nose and green head fur that looked more like a nest than fur walked into some building of some sort.
Humans had weird head fur. Sissel wasn’t a fan. Wasn’t it uncomfortable? Wouldn’t it get caught on things?
Oh! A bird! It had landed on a box of weird metal things.
Sissel crouched, the tip of his tail twitched. He wiggled, adjusted… and pounced!
Metal clattered, and there was shouting from nearby.
“What’s that?” A man called out
“Don’t pay it any mind” Sissel’s ears perked up. That was his man! Why was the man in red here? What… what was going on?
“Lee, go check it out. For all we know our friend here could have backup that’s stupid enough to give itself away.”
Sissel darted into a pile of metal as footsteps started towards him. He knew trouble when he heard it, even if he didn’t know what was going on.
Steps approached his hiding place. Slow. Thudding. Unfamiliar. The scrap above his head was pulled away, and a metal thing with a hole in it was held right in front of him. It smelled sharp, and his fur puffed out at the oh so obvious threat.
A loud sound rang out as a blur of red entered his vision and control was yanked from him, his body practically throwing itself away.
He smelled blood, and more loud sounds echoed, but his side hurt and he couldn’t focus- everything was fuzzy, like always when his human took control from him.
By the time he was more aware of his surroundings, he was inside a car. His torso was wrapped in white material that was stained red.
His man was driving. His sunglasses were off, exposing sunken, tired blue eyes with slit pupils.
Sissel gave a small meow to greet the man, then started examining the fabric that was wrapping him. It was annoying and in the way.
“Don’t bite at it, Sissel.”
One hand was placed on sissel, so he couldn’t try to pull the cloth off.
“We aren’t going to be able to go back there for a while.” The man said. “Those people are going to be very mad at me.”
Sissel licked at his man’s hand, even though he didn’t react to it.
“You really scared me.”
Sissel perked up, tilting his head. Scared? But the man was never scared.
“I can’t lose you too, my friend.”
Sissel closed his eyes as his person pet him gently. He started to purr. What was the man talking about? They would always have each other.