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“Phantom? Phantom? Where are you? I have dinner!” Machi calls as she tries to hunt down her wayward cat. “Where is the blasted furball?” she mutters under her breath as she puts the dish of wet food down on the floor next to Phantom’s water bowl.
A quiet Phantom is a Phantom that is up to something, so Machi searches her apartment high and low, hoping to head off whatever trouble he’s scheming up, but there’s no sign of him. She frowns as she hears her mobile ring from the counter, not expecting a call, but then her phone’s forgotten as she sees a flash of black fur round the corner. “There you are!” she cries, scooping up Phantom, only to have her hands clawed up as the cat, who is very much not Phantom on second glance, protests being picked up.
“Who the hell are you?” she asks, bewildered, putting the cat back down. “And where did you come from?” The last time she’d checked the windows were all closed.
The soot-colored tabby meows at her disdainfully, then prances off with its tail high into her living room. There on her windowsill, pawing at the lock, is Phantom. Machi watches as he bats at the lock from outside and then lifts it so that the window swings open, looking mighty proud with himself. Then he jumps inside, runs through Machi’s legs into the kitchen, and begins to feast on his wet food. Machi blinks in surprise and adds lock-picking to the growing list of Phantom’s talents. The soot-colored cat meows at her imperiously, then follows Phantom into the kitchen where he meows loudly once more, pawing at the empty spot next to Phantom’s food bowl.
“Are you freaking kidding me?” she mutters, but gets out another can of food all the same, knowing she’ll have no peace from either Phantom or this mystery friend of his until she does. She sets the food down and soon the new cat begins to eat as well. Once he’s done, he cleans his face with his paws, meows once to Phantom, and returns to the living room where he jumps out the still-open window. Phantom meows once in return and then looks up at Machi, pleased with himself.
Machi sighs, closes her window, and then picks up Phantom. Looking him in the eyes she says, very firmly, “Next time you want to have a friend over, let me know first.” Phantom blinks and then meows, in what Machi hopes is agreement, so she puts him back down on the floor, message imparted. Add cat-proofing the window locks to the to-do list, Machi thinks as she checks her missed calls. There’s two, one from Shizuku and another from Shal. She listens to Shizuku’s first.
“Hey, Machi. Let me know when you’re free so we can go check out that new art display over off fourth street. It’s only going to be there a few more weeks before they switch it out with something else, so we need to make plans soon otherwise we’ll miss out and I know how much you love the artist. Talk to you soon!”
Then she listens to Shal’s. “Machi. You just adopted that cat right? Do you want another one? I’ve got this gray tabby that keeps following me around and I think it needs a home, but I have no freaking clue what to do with it. Call me when you get this.”
Machi stares at her phone in disbelief, then looks to Phantom who’s sunbathing in the window. Shaking her head, she calls Shal back. “Keep the cat. It chose you.”
“But Machi—“
“Keep the cat Shal. I don’t want another one.”
“Machi, please—“
“No,” she says and hangs up the phone, glaring at Phantom. “Alright, mister,” she starts and Phantom yawns, “I’m fine with you having a friend over, but I’m not taking in every stray you find. You tell your friend to keep sticking to Shalnark and eventually he’ll cave. Got it?”
Machi swears Phantom smirks at her, but since she can’t prove it, she gives him one last meaningful look and then stalks off to get some ice cream. She needs it.