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The sound of human chatter, machines working, and birds chirping was a lullaby to Ivo as he basked in the warm sunlight. He could feel it seeping deeper and deeper into his fur, tangling into the long strands and covering him a blanket of warmth. Soft grass cushioned his cheek as he lounged and soaked in the peaceful afternoon.
“Papa!”
Not so peaceful now…
Keeping his eyes firmly closed, Ivo shoved his face into the grass.
“Papa! Wake up!”
Little paws began poking at his belly, sinking into his fur and disappearing. Ivo tried to hide his flinch at the kitten claws scratching at his skin underneath his thick pelt. Still feigning sleep, Ivo was relieved to feel those paws vanish.
Only for sharp teeth to snap at his muzzle and pull at his long, mustache shaped whiskers.
“Metal!” Ivo yowled. In a blink of an eye, he was on his paws, his back arched as he flashed his own teeth at the little menace of a kitten he called his child. Unfortunately for him, his intimidating stature did nothing to scare the kit away and only encouraged him further. Before Ivo could scold his son further, Metal was pouncing at him.
A bit inelegantly, but that was typical for a kitten his age.
Easily jumping out of the kit’s range, Ivo didn’t hesitate to swat at him. His rich, auburn fur flashed through the air as his soft paw batted the top of Metal’s head. The kitten howled in faux pain as he toppled over.
“Mama! Mama! Papa’s being mean!”
“You wanted to play with the big cats,” Ivo huffed as he sauntered closer to Metal. Leaning down, he began cleaning the top of the grey kitten’s head. He squirmed and tried to wiggle away, but Ivo simply laid down, his paws pinning Metal underneath him. Even with Metal’s complaints, Ivo continued cleaning his already shiny fur.
When Metal had been born, Ivo had been a mixture of shocked and pleased to see the grey in Stone’s fur to transfer to their kitten. Instead of the beautiful stripes in Stone’s fur, Metal was completely grey, similar to his namesake. Since the birth had been excruciating for Stone, Ivo had conceded that he should be the one to name their first kitten.
“Mama!”
A low chuckle caught Ivo’s attention as he stopped grooming Metal and looked up from tormenting his son. They had taken up residency in a communal garden shared by a group of local humans, all of whom offered them unlimited treats, fresh water, and kept the area clean for them to lounge in. Slowly slinking out of the tall hedges was Metal’s mother and Ivo’s mate.
Stone meowed softly at Metal’s cries for help as he approached them.
“Is Papa being mean again?” Stone swished his tail behind him.
“I just wanted to play!”
“Then go find a toy,” Ivo finally released the boy, who scampered away to rub up against Stone’s side. He pressed his nose against Stone’s belly, a purr filling the air as Stone laid down only a few inches away from Ivo. Instantly, Stone began picking up where Ivo left off on grooming Metal, who melted into his touch. Rolling his eyes, Ivo watched his kitten and mate.
He still couldn’t believe he and Stone had been mated for a year now. The first time they had seen each other was still fresh in his mind.
Before arriving in the garden and becoming mates, Ivo had been a pet. He couldn’t remember a time he hadn’t lived inside a luxurious house, pampered day and night. The humans who had owned him must have acquired him as a kitten and raised him from there. In his opinion, they had done a very good job: his coat had been silky smooth, his belly full, and his every want fulfilled.
That is, until he spotted a cat outside the window one day.
It wasn’t unusual for strays to pass by and beg for food, but this one was different. First of all, it never once tried to approach Ivo’s humans, instead hanging around and only coming closer to the house when they were gone. Ivo had become curious and found himself staring out the window much more than normal.
Days blended together as Ivo tracked the stray any moment he could. In a week, he could tell you how many stripes the black and grey cat had. After two, he was able to identify the exact shade of yellow his eyes were. By the third, Ivo could tell the stray was purposely trying to catch glimpses of Ivo himself.
When the fourth week came around, Ivo realized that the stray was in heat.
Honestly, it should have been much harder for him to escape. All he had to do was wait out of sight near the door and bolt when his foolish humans left it open for a second too long. The feeling of fresh air rushing through his whiskers meant nothing as he quickly tracked the delicious scent of the stray.
The chase through the neighborhood had been exhilarating as Ivo ran the fastest he had since he had been a kitten. Each twist and turn, he would see the smaller cat’s tail disappear before he followed diligently. By the time he cornered the stray, both of them had been out of breath.
With his prize within his grasp, Ivo took a moment to appreciate the other cat’s markings. Unlike Ivo’s long fur, his was short with grey stripes interrupting his midnight black fur. The other was much smaller than Ivo, most likely due to living on the streets for so long. However, it was the part of his ear that was missing that drew Ivo even closer. It looked as if claws had torn a chunk of it, leaving the left ear slashed up.
They had scarcely spoken and only shared their names before they had pounced on each other.
By the time Stone’s heat was over, they were mated and waiting to see if Stone would have any kittens.
His pregnancy hadn’t been easy. It had been his first and they hadn’t been smart in what foods to eat. With Ivo used to being offered food regularly when he was a pet, he didn’t know what was safe to eat. This lead to both of them becoming sick and Stone nearly losing all the kittens. When Metal had been born, they had both been overjoyed and protective of their single kitten.
Now, Stone’s belly was round and plump once more.
Ivo was secretly hoping for a full litter.
Since Stone was naturally skinny and on the small side, his belly protruded out and made it difficult to move around. He was lounging more and more, barely leaving the garden as they waited for him to go into labor. It had fallen to Ivo to entertain Metal and find them all food.
Speaking of which, it was certainly time for lunch.
“Metal, look after your mother,” Ivo instructed the young kitten, who perked up and nodded seriously. Stone purred in amusement. Stretching his front paws out and then straightening to do the same with his back paws, Ivo gave Stone a quick head bump before trotting out of the garden.
The streets were bustling as he weaved through yards and walked down sidewalks. He was able to dodge curious hands and ignored excited shouts as he scampered past far too friendly humans. As much as he would enjoy going back to being a house cat, Stone had refused such a life. He couldn’t imagine being stuck inside and never being able to leave. Ivo had tried to convince him, but he knew that if they did have an owner, there was the chance that they wouldn’t be allowed to keep their kittens. Afterall, he had been taken from his own parents as an incredibly young age.
For now, they relied on the charity of those who visited the garden and others in the neighborhood. They had decided to move as far away from Ivo’s previous home so there was no chance of his humans hunting him down.
And good thing they moved or else they wouldn’t have discovered a meat house.
Ivo had never seen or eaten so much meat in his life when they had snuck inside the building. Huge pieces of raw meat had laid behind big glass windows, tempting them to take a bite. Of course, the humans were quick to chase them out, and even quicker to offer them smaller cuts of meat. Even though Stone had been against it, Ivo had ensured these humans saw Stone’s large belly. Just as he had predicted, they had given them even more food.
Gullible idiots, Ivo chuckled to himself. Humans were so easy to manipulate. Meowing cutely and shoving your face against their legs was all it took to have them feeding you for a life time.
Arriving at said meat house, Ivo did just that.
“Oh? Where’s your girlfriend? Did you already have your kittens, big guy?” The human ran a hand down Ivo’s back, making him purr. Being raised by humans, Ivo quite enjoyed being pet, but he knew how much Stone hated being touched by humans. So, the begging was left entirely to Ivo. Pawing at the human’s leg, Ivo stared up at them expectantly. “Here, let me get something for both of you.”
In no time, Ivo was sauntering back down the street with a large lambchop in his teeth. The bone tapped on the ground rhythmically as he made his way back to his small family. Stone might prefer to hunt for dinner, but Ivo believed in taking the easy route in life. It gave them more time to explore and take care of Metal. Why put energy in something when others could do it for you?
Turning down an alley, Ivo froze as a scent hit his nose.
Eyes darting to the side, he wasn’t surprised to see a black figure lurking in the shadows behind a garbage bin. Placing the lambchop on the ground, Ivo sat patiently as he wrapped his fluffy tail around his front paws.
“Are you going to hide all day, Shadow?” He called out.
Orange-red eyes flashed in the afternoon sun as the teenage cat stepped out. Shadow was practically still a kitten in Ivo’s opinion, but his age did nothing to deter him from fighting anyone who dared enter his territory. His inky, black fur was knotted in places while the small stripes on his head appeared rusted and covered in dirt. Ivo wrinkled his nose at the younger cat not taking care of his appearance and allowing his pelt to become so disgusting. Underneath his fur, Ivo could see his ribs sticking out as he kept himself crouched low to the ground as he came closer.
“Where did you get that?” Shadow snapped, his tongue darting out to lick his chops.
“A human gave it to me.”
“Beggar!” Shadow snarled, venom dripping from his lips. Rolling his eyes, Ivo didn’t understand Shadow’s pure hatred of humans. They were simply tools for cats to use at their leisure. If Ivo could acquire the mouth-watering meats without a human’s help, then he wouldn’t care if all of them vanished off the face of the planet.
“It’s not begging if they give it to you without asking.”
“If you had any respect, you’d find food by yourself.”
“Tried that,” Ivo drawled. “Didn’t quite work out when a bird carcass left both of us sick.”
Shadow’s glare didn’t lessen as he took in the information, but his posture softened slightly. His eyes flicked between Ivo and the lambchop.
“You know,” Ivo spoke lightly. “Stone’s offer still stands.”
“No.”
Holding in his sigh, Ivo had no idea why Stone was so adamant about inviting Shadow to become part of their family. He had mentioned that strays typically created colonies that helped each other, but Ivo was perfectly content with only the two of them and their kittens. And with how standoffish Shadow was, he doubly agreed with his own sentiment.
“Fine,” Ivo picked the lambchop back up and turned away. He didn’t bother looking back at the young cat—he was far too predictable. Already, he heard Shadow spit at him as he walked towards the alley’s exit. The sun was still high in the sky as he deftly navigated his way back to the garden.
Passing through the hedges, Ivo let out a small laugh at the scene that greeted him.
Metal was quite literally bouncing around Stone, talking a mile a minute as Stone laid there, his flicking tail the only indication that he was even awake to listen to the kitten. It wouldn’t have matter if Stone had been asleep, Metal was satisfied to just have Stone in his sight.
“Metal,” Ivo called. “Stop bothering him.”
Instantly, the kitten puffed up and arched his back. He stood in front of Stone, spitting and hissing as loudly as he could. Ivo completely ignored the little display and came closer.
“I’m fine, Habibi,” Stone yawned, sitting up. “Leave your father alone.”
“But papa said I had to protect you!”
“Not from me, you little gremlin,” Ivo grumbled. Dropping the lambchop in front of the two, he sat proudly as they both began tearing the meat apart. Metal was ravenous as he tried to take too big of bites while Stone was much more refined. As they ate, Ivo sauntered closer so he could lay next to Stone, simply watching his belly. He swore he could see it moving. In only a few more days, they would have even more kittens.
Daydreaming of five kittens that looked identical to him, Ivo watched in amusement as Metal flopped between him and Stone. His belly could have matched Stone’s with how much he had eaten. He purred loudly as he stretched out between his parents, content to nap for the rest of the day. He’ll be up all night.
Stone settled down as well, the lambchop half eaten. His eyes were slipping closed only to snap back open as they both scented another cat coming closer. Before Stone could push himself up, Ivo was standing over him and Metal.
He settled when he saw who stepped into the clearing.
“Shadow!” Stone chirped. “What are you doing here?”
“To get a free meal,” Ivo mumbled.
The younger cat glared at him hatefully, but didn’t dispute the claim. He kept his ears pinned back as he walked slowly over to Stone, who didn’t seem to mind the silent treatment. Shadow faced them as he dipped his head to take a bite of meat. Glancing over to Stone, Ivo made it clear he didn’t appreciate feeding an ungrateful brat.
His mate purred in response, not bothered at all.
“You’re close, aren’t you?” Shadow eventually spoke up once he had his fill. Ivo was ready to hiss at him for leaving barely any meat on the bone. He kept his distance as he stared intently at Stone’s belly.
“Should be in the next few days,” Stone nodded. “Will you stay? We’re thinking it’ll be a full litter. Metal will need someone to play with while we take care of the younger ones.”
Ivo wanted to laugh at the way Shadow’s tail puffed up in indignation at being asked to be Metal’s playmate. However, he saw the way the young cat’s eyes darted down to the lambchop bone. No doubt it was the first meal he had in days.
“I suppose,” Shadow narrowed his eyes. “But only until after they’re born.”
More like until the food runs out, Ivo thought to himself. As much as he wanted to voice his complaints to Stone, he could see how overjoyed his mate was at Shadow’s words. He’s far too paternal.
With that settled, Shadow slunk closer until he was laying near Stone’s head, the older cat easily reaching over to start grooming Shadow’s cheek. At first, Shadow was tense, but gradually relaxed into the feeling. Sighing, Ivo knew that Shadow wouldn’t try anything, especially not when Stone had taken him so many times before. The runt would always return to Stone, no matter how much he denied it.
Laying his head down, Ivo had the perfect view of his kitten, mate, and the stray they had adopted along the way. Feeling his eyes growing heavier, Ivo purred in contentment.
In the next few days, their family would expand and he couldn’t be happier to have escaped his life as a pet.
This was where he belonged.