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Mama has been gone all day, or it feels like that. My food bowl has been empty for 5 minutes. This may be the end for me.
I roll over on the counter in my kitchen, waiting for Mama to return. The counter is cool. Very comfy on my toe “beanies”, as Mama calls them. Mama likes to squish my paw pads. He says they’re cute. Mama knows not of my deadly claws that linger close.
I turn over again, looking at the exit of my den as I hear the lock click open. Mama is home.
He looks tired. “Mother.” He doesn’t respond for a few seconds, putting the gross smelling pouch down. I’m drawn to it for a moment, padding over and gagging at the scent. “Reya-baby, you know you don’t like the smell of my gear, stop trying to smell it,” Mama says gently, crouching and picking me up. “Mother, my food is empty. Feed me,” I try to communicate, though he’s never actually understood. He gets it, most of the time though. “You hungry, kittyyy?” He bares his teeth in a way that I’ve learned over the years means joy. Odd. Humans are weird.
“Yes. Mother, feed me.”
He laughs quietly, almost like my purrs. Humans are odd. “You’re being loud today, baby. Meowww,” he tries and fails at replicating my language. It’s more nonsense gibberish than anything. Stop trying. It’s culturally rude.
“Mother, my food.”
“Yes, yes, I’ll fix it.”
Fix? No! I want more!
Mother puts me down, which in and of itself should be a crime. He crouches down again, shaking my food bowl. More food appears magically. “Mother how.”
“It was just on the sides instead of the middle, silly kitty. You gotta get better seeing so you can eat more,” he pats my head with his soft hands that clearly hold no defenses.
“Mother I promise you, there was no food in that bowl.”
“Yeah, meow meow meow. You’re such a silly kitty.”
“Mother, what is this dark magic.”
“Do you wanna come up?”
“Yes.”
I claw my way up his arm, despite the pained expression on his face. Mama will be fine. I do this all the time. “Ok Reya-baby.. that was my skin. Ow.”
“I apologize, mother.” I settle on his shoulders casually as he walks around the den. He does random tasks, like getting water. As one should. Good on staying hydrated, Mama.
Eventually, he settles on the couch, and I sort of fall off his shoulders. On purpose, of course. I jump off the couch, walking around and doing a quick smell of the whole couch. This is extra protection, making sure it’s safe.
I finish my task rather quickly, so I decide that laying down again would be nice. I crawl on to Mama’s lap, laying down and getting comfortable. A quiet purr comes from me. I am happy.
Mama falls asleep quickly. He usually does when he gets back. I decide to join him. Slumber drags me down, my purring stops as I fall asleep.