Work Text:
Lumine has always been a cat. A cat with gorgeous mostly golden fur, except for her white belly and right ear. An ocean blue leather collar stretches around her neck with a shiny red gem dangling from the front. At least, that’s what she gathered when she stared at herself in the local park’s lake. Those are the first of her memories.
She’s sure she was something else, before. Someone , even. If she tries hard enough, she can envision a blurry view of striking dull, dark blue eyes. The vision fills her with a warm fuzzy feeling, similar to what she feels when the old lady who sits outside the shop at the end of the street scritches her on the head, right between her ears.
Sometimes, when the showcase tvs at one of the nearby malls has a video of a whale, it fills her with a familiar feeling of something. Maybe she was a sea creature in a past life? She imagines having a scaly tail, shiny with the reflection of the sun’s light, but doesn’t feel anything other than imaginative wonder.
…Did she even have a past life?
She’s watched children run along the streets. Streets that changed over the years. Children who used to be handed candy by nice old ladies who grew to adults who grew elderly and handed out candy to new, young children. A normal cat would have passed away by now, Lumine knows. Just like that nice lady who would feed her treats near the wet market.
But if not a past life, what could those fuzzy memories possibly be?
No matter how many times she runs through these thoughts, an answer never comes. She gets up from the air-conditioning unit she was sunbathing on, stretching her entire body from her front paws to the tip of her tail. The sun is high up in the sky. Afternoon, Lumine surmises.
She hops down from her place on the tall building floor by floor, finally landing on the concrete pavement with as much grace as a cat should. It’s lunch time, and she’s hungry. Walking out to the road in front of the nearby mall, she spots her target. Someone she hasn’t seen on this street before. A ginger haired man with a bag containing a delicious smelling shredded chicken sandwich in his left hand and a phone in his right.
Lumine runs right in front of the man and meows as cutely as possible. A tried and true method for free food. As expected, the man crouches down to look at her. “Hey little buddy,” He greeted. But he’s still keeping the sandwich further away from her.
If begging doesn’t work, it’s time for plan B. As the ginger pockets his phone, Lumine strikes. She leaps from the ground in an instant, snatching the paper bag from his hand. The man lets out a shocked noise, but that’s none of her business. She dashes into the closest alleyway, away from the eyes of the pedestrians.
Hah, sucker. Bet he’s still wondering what happened.
Lumine drops the bag on the ground. She’s ready to enjoy the spoils from her victory. She leans down to reach into the bag, but a shadow suddenly looms over her. Is it a cloud? No, in this alley it wouldn’t even matter. So it can only be-
“That wasn’t very nice, little kitty.” Without time to react, Lumine is grabbed by the scruff of her neck. Her body goes limp on instinct, and she’s rendered completely defenceless against the man she just stole from. Not a good position, that’s for sure. With his other hand, the man takes back his sandwich. Right now, Lumine couldn’t care less.
Let me down, asshole! She wants to hiss, screaming out in her mind. The man’s eyes widen and he lets her go in an action that feels like shock. Finally freed, she glares at the man. But something about him doesn’t feel right. “I must be hearing things…” Lumine hears him mumbling under his breath. This human… what is he going on about?
Strange. Did he hear her? There’s no way, right? Despite her doubts, Lumine steps forward, rubbing herself against his exposed ankle. The sudden affection probably feels very out of place, by the way he’s looking at her strangely. What are you hearing, young man? She thinks, and his face is one of shock again.
“You- I’m hearing you aren’t I, little kitty? I’m not going insane, right?” He rubs his eyes like he can’t believe what he’s saying. Maybe he’s finally lost it. Maybe all those late nights cramming finally got to him. “What am I even saying? Cats can’t talk. You’re not even talking.”
Oh, but you are hearing me. She tries to convince him, but he seems convinced that he’s losing it. The man sighs, standing back up to full height. Wow, she didn’t notice before how tall he is. The man is walking away and no, she can’t let the one person who can understand her just leave! You, human! Get back h-
But she lost physical contact with him as he walked. He must have realised something , because in an instant he’s turning back again. “You… that voice cut off the moment I lost contact with your fur…” Wow, he’s easier to convince than I thought… Lumine shelved that thought away. Now isn’t the time to insult him. That can come later.
The man sighs, reaching into the paper bag she stole. “You wanted some of this, didn’t you?” He’s crouching again. He takes out a few shreds of chicken from the sandwich and drops them to the ground. Free food! Not as much as a whole sandwich, but it will do. With all the confidence of a house cat being fed from a hand, Lumine walks forward to delight in that juicy delicious chicken.
While she’s distracted, the man’s hand finds its way onto her head. Lumine flinches, thinking he was about to grab her again, but relaxes as he pats her gently. Maybe if she acts cute, he’ll relinquish more of his delicious meal to her? How nyaice of you, mistew. Maybe a little more for widdle ol’ me?
“Are you… trying to act cute? Quite the handful aren’t you, little rascal,” He laughs, taking a bit more chicken out. This time, he reaches his hand out with the chicken in it, which Lumine eats without hesitation. “But fine, here you go. I’m Childe, by the way. Do you have a name? You have a collar… Do you have an owner?”
Childe… Childe… Who names their child, “Childe”? Something about it feels familiar though, but Lumine can’t figure out what. So instead, she doesn’t think about it. Instead, she responds.
You can call me Lumine. I’m a stray. It’s nice to meet you, Childe.
Now, Lumine is used to living as a stray. The freedom of the outdoors, random people feeding her, getting scritches from granny Chen from that old style candy store. She has many fond memories of being a stray.
But this man… When she’s close to him, she feels a fuzzy warmth she cannot recall. When she looks at him now, she sees a tall, lean frame with a strength hidden behind it. She sees fluffy ginger hair. But most importantly, she sees deep, dull blue eyes. Strikingly familiar. Lumine does not know why, but she wants to be close to him.
And so she does.
“Could I-” / Could you take me home with you?
Ah.
“I was thinking the exact same thing, kitty. There’s something about you.”
How infuriating for him not to call me by my name after I so graciously gave it to him.
But she will forgive him for this slight. For now. He mumbles something about finishing this sandwich later (a wise choice, when there are more pressing matters to attend to), and turns back to Lumine. He’s standing back at full height, and she’s rubbing herself against his leg. “Do you want me to carry you?”
No need, Childe. I can walk on my own.