Chapter Text
Simon couldnt believe his luck. Most nights he had to go around the whole neighborhood digging through trash can after trash can to find enough scraps to satiate his hunger. But tonight he had found half a pizza at the first house he searched. Damn humans were so wasteful. He had been greedily scarfing it down when the porch light suddenly turned on.
"Honey! That damn cat got into the trash again!" A voice called from behind the door.
Simon froze for a second, but only a second, then scooped up the remaining pizza in his mouth, turned tail, and ran as fast as his three legs could carry him.
He stopped once he reached a nearby field of tall grass and set the pizza down in front of him. Simon then began to groom himself, for comfort and also to get that delicious pizza grease from his coat. That was too damn close. He could help but remember the last time he had been abducted by humans.
There were blinding lights, an impact. He remembered lying on his side panting, thinking he was going to die. He remembered waking up in unfamiliar territory at humans held him down and poked and prodded him as he was desperately trying to flee. He remembered being in a jail cell with parts he used to have missing. His leg, his ear, and other parts he didnt even want to think about. They had all been harvested from him by the humans. He remembered shrieking, crying, yowling for his freedom. And then one day they just put him back in this field.
Simon couldn't let that happen to him again he only had so many parts left. Feeling satisfied with his grooming he picked up the pizza and began to dig a spot up to bury it for later. As he was digging his ears suddenly perked up as he heard a yowl coming from the house across the street. Him again? He's gonna get himself killed.
***
Grace furiously scratched at the door of his families home. "Hey Im still out here! You guys forgot me!" He cried hoping someone would finally let him in. He had been outside for a few days but it felt like an eternity. He was sure his kids needed him! He had always been there to comfort them and he was working on teaching them how to hunt for themselves.
But from the outside the house looked so still, so quiet. There werent any lights on and hadnt been any since Grace had been put outside in the first place. He tried to remember what had happened that day, maybe he did something wrong.
The day he was put outside Grace remembered his kids needed extra comforting. They kept picking him up and squeezing him tight as they cried and he would nuzzle them and purr loudly as he always did. He remembered the adults filled a big bowl of food super full for him and put it outside with him. He had thought it must be a special occasion and happily feasted. Grace glanced at the same bowl that had been empty for days now. He felt like he should have rationed it better. But how was he supposed to know they would be gone for so long.
And now here he was. Alone. Sure a cat with no claws couldnt scratch a couch or a baby but he also couldnt hunt. How was he supposed to fend for himself? It was unfair, they left him here to starve. 'They're murdering me. They arent coming back. I'm such a fool for believing in them for so long.'
He laid down on the porch tail wrapped around himself. All he could do was wait. Either his humans would come back or he'd starve. Or so he thought.
***
Simon had been watching the other feline from a nearby bush for several minutes now. Nothing he did made any sense to Simon. This guy screamed and fought to be captured with the same tenacity Simon had done for his freedom. And now he was just gonna sleep out in the open? Was he stupid?
Well as far as danger goes this area was relatively safe, Simon wouldnt be here otherwise. The humans had abandoned this place. There was no garbage and no garbage meant no people. Also the human structure being there usually meant coyotes would steer clear.
Something was really bothering Simon about this other cat though. He was clean, too clean. Even the spots of white among the his tabby orange pattern were pristine. The dirt was hard to spot on Simon sleek black coat, but it was there, along with some matted fur and the occasional flea. Then he realized, the other cat had probably spent most of his life around humans but didnt appear to have any pieces missing. That didnt make any sense! Simon had only been taken by humans once and he lost so many pieces of himself. What made this cat so special? Its not fucking fair! Simon began to growl in frustration.
Grace shot up, his fur standing up and his back arched. "Who's there? Go away Im... Im warning you." He called out trying and failing to sound threatening.
Now this behavior Simon understood, it was time for a territory battle amongst males. He knew he had to act fast, his missing foreleg made him easy to overpower. Before Grace had a chance to react Simon had him pinned to the ground. He held Graces neck with his teeth, not hard enough to break skin just hard enough to show dominance.
Grace squirmed and tried to push Simon away with his paws. Simon once again didn't understand his behavior. Why didnt he fight back, why didnt he use his claws on his perfectly intact forelegs? He let go of Graces neck and he saw why.
'I fucked up.' Simon got off of Grace and took a few steps back. He was missing pieces too Simon just hadnt gotten a close enough look.
The orange cat stood up and shook himself off. "Well... that was quite an introduction."
Simon stared at the ground. "Sorry."
"No its fine! You got me to stop feeling sorry for myself for a moment."
They sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity until Simon finally spoke. "Where are your claws?"
"Oh, well my humans didnt want me scratching their stuff."
"So they cut off your toes?!"
"I mean yes, but at the time they probably didn't think I'd need them? Besides it barely hurts anymore." He paused for a moment. "I really just want them to come home and fill my bowl Im so hungry."
The pieces finally clicked into place. This cat wasn't special he was brainwashed. The only reason the humans had released Simon was because their brainwashing hadnt worked on him. In that moment Simon decided he was going to deprogram Grace and teach him to be a street cat.
"Wait here." Simon said turning and running back to his field.