Chapter Text
You had only just arrived home when the stillness of the house settled around you. Finals were finally over, and the quiet felt unfamiliar after weeks of noise, deadlines, and fluorescent lights. You dropped your things by the door and stood there for a moment, breathing in the colder, calmer air of the start of winter break.
The porch had been gathering dead leaves for days maybe weeks and the sight of them through the window nudged at you, your grandfather sadly had just passed away leaving you with the house and you doubt your aunt must have removed the staff that used to tend the house. It seemed like a simple task, something steady and uncomplicated to ease yourself back into being home.
So you opened the front door and stepped outside.
That was when you saw it.
A cat sat on your porch, right beside the pile of dry leaves you’d been meaning to clear. Its fur was mostly black, thick and fluffy, shifting gently with the winter breeze. White fur marked its cheeks like soft smudges of snow, spread down its chest, and dusted the paw resting neatly on the wooden boards.
You stopped short.
You’d always loved cats, and this one—so striking, so quietly composed— pulled at something warm in your chest. You almost called out to it, almost let your voice soften into the instinctive coo you saved for animals.
But then the cat lifted its head and looked at you.
Its gaze was dark and steady, an unreadable calm settling between you. It didn’t run. It didn’t hide. It simply watched you, as though you were the one trespassing.
Only then did you notice what lay beneath that white paw.
A roach.
Lifeless. Wings bent.
Your breath caught, but before you could react before shock or disgust or surprise could fully form the cat lowered its head with quiet certainty and ate it.
You went still.
The cat’s movements were deliberate and unhurried, nothing frantic or wild. It ate like a creature that had always done whatever it needed to do and saw no reason to disguise it.
When it finished, it lifted its head again, whiskers catching the faint morning light, and looked back at you as calmly as before.
You stood there, the cold porch air brushing against your skin, unsure of how to respond. The soft, gentle creature you almost approached had shown you a different side one that was raw, practical, and far from delicate.
But the cat didn’t appear ashamed or defensive. It merely blinked once, slow and serene, as though this moment was simply another part of its day.
Then it shifted its weight, tail curling loosely around its body as it continued to watch you.
You exhaled softly, the warm breath briefly fogging the air between you.
A fluffy black cat with snow-white cheeks and paws had chosen your front porch this morning unexpected, calm, and carrying a wildness you hadn’t anticipated.
And though you didn’t know it yet, this would not be the last time you saw it.