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Tiger and Lynx have been running the care for over a year now, everything feels cozy and natural as is. However, when the cafe starts to die down and the sun swaps places with the moon, the cats always bring up a recycled topic.
“will we ever get any new siblings?” Jumbo asked from the cat condo.
Tiger looked over at Lynx who was sitting beside him on their worn out sofa, destroyed with the cats clawing against the fabric and using it as a toy, smiling awkwardly before turning back towards Jumbo.
“i think you already have enough siblings, jumbo.” Tiger explained, looking around at the other balls of fur they were surrounded by.
“but nobody has time for jumbo anymore.” The younger cat whined, turning his head away from them frustratedly.
“well think about it, okay?” Lynx sighed, chuckling at Jumbo’s stubborn attitude.
“really?” Jumbo shrieked, which made some of the other cats direct their attention to the conversation.
“are we getting another Dongsaeng?” Jenny asked, saying her tail from side to side. “i want to be a unnie! can we get a girl?” She meowed, fluttering her long lashes to Tiger and Lynx.
“no, i want another brother!” Jiro huffed, jumping down from the condo and towards his food bowl.
“nothings even been decided yet.” Tiger interrupted, making the quarrel of meow’s disintegrate into silence.
“please, dad?” Jumbo pleaded, his glossy eyes turning into wide circles. “Jumbo will be good, and he won’t steal anymore snacks from the counter!”
“you stole those?” Lynx interrupted, staring up at condo with narrowed eyes. “that was mine.”
“uh oh…” Jumbo said, realising he just snitched on himself. However, he didn’t seem to bothered as he went back to scratching his head with is paw.
“me and Lynx will talk about it, okay?” Tiger promised, smiling at the content meows he heard from across the room. He turned to Lynx, smiling helplessly at his annoyed glare directed at Jumbo.
The next day, Lynx and Tiger found themselves at the pet shop to restock the cat food; The cafe was closed for the day so they decided today was the best day to stock up.
As they wandered around the store, picking up far too many toys than necessary, they paid for the items and started to head back to the cafe. On their way, they noticed Krapor standing beside Tiger’s car.
“is everything alright, krapor?” Lynx asked.
“i think there’s a cat hiding under the car.” Krapor explained, unsure what to do. “it ran under and i think it’s scared to come back out.”
Tiger placed the shopping back on the ground, crouching down at the car hood to try and see the hidden cat. Tilting his head, he noticed a tail slowly wagging from side to side. He reached his hand forward, careful not to intrude the cat’s space, letting it learn his scent.
The cat cautiously took a step closer to Tiger, taking in is scent. Tiger wasn’t sure what it smelt, but whatever it was was working. The cat slowly crawled out, letting tiger pick its small figure up.
Tiger cradled the little fur-ball, turning to Lynx with a smile. “she doesn’t have a collar,” Said Tiger, scratching her neck gently. “must be a stray.”
“oh!” Krapor explained, startling the cat and causing Tiger and Lynx to give him an animalised glare. “we can adopt her!” He suggested, his tone quieter and calmer this time. “Jenny will finally have a sister to look after.”
Tiger turned back to Lynx, his eyes all wide and round. Lynx huffed, knowing he had already lost this debate. “fine, we can take her in.”
Roger’s smile was almost block him, beaming at Lynx with awe. Tiger exchanged a silent smile, picking up the discarded bag and heading inside with their new addition to the family.
Inside, all the cats could instantly smell a new discreet scent. They noticed Tiger and Lynx standing by the cat condo, something furry tangled inside Tiger’s arms.
“Papa, what are you holding?” Jiro asked, eyeing up the unidentified thing. He noticed a tail flick to the side, his eyes widening imperceptibly. “is that another cat?”
“what?!” Jumbo shrieked, shooting his head up from his food bowl. All the cats stared at them, a chain reaction of staring cats.
“we found her outside and thought she needed a home.” Lynx explained. “but you guys have to make her feel welcomed, okay?” Lynx affirmed, turning to Tiger and nodding silently. Tiger understood, slowly placing Giant onto the floorboards to explore for herself.
“jumbo wants a new sister!” Jumbo yelped, immediately rushing over towards the petite kitten. Giant flinched back, hugging Tiger’s leg whilst arching her back defensively.
“Jumbo.” Tiger sighed, kneeling down and stroking Giant to hopefully ease her into the new surroundings. “she’s scared, try introducing yourself slowly and calmly.”
Jumbo blinked slowly, unable to realise that maybe he was being too chaotic. Instead, he slowly stepped over, bowi am his head down patiently.
Giant lowered her back, hesitating, but eventually taking a step closer to Jumbo, sniffing him from afar. Once she learnt his scent and came to the conclusion that he was an intentional threat, she stepped closer to him and licked his nose with her spiky tongue.
Jumbo’s tail swayed involuntarily, excited but trying to stay as still as possible so he didn’t alarm Giant. Shortly after, Jiro jumped down from the condo and sat beside Jumbo. Giant looked him up and down, aware the he was an older cat. “hey, i’m Jiro.” He spoke calmly, stretching his arms and paws out.
“i’m…” Giant mumbled, her voice high pitched and uncertain. She turned her head back to two humans that helped her, aware that they could hear her yet she wasn’t quite sure how.
“Giant.” Tiger settled on, smiling at Lynx. Lynx only nodded, encouraging Giant to take her time and settle in.
“but papa,” Jumbo interrupted, tilting his head to the side. “Giant isn’t very giant.” Jumbo huffed, shaking his head as he was unable to grasp the juxtaposing nickname.
“because she’s still very young,” Tiger explained. “but i’d watch out, she might outgrow you soon enough.
“no!” Jumbo whined, stomping his small paws onto the wooden floor. “Jumbo will grow and be big!”
Tiger only chuckled, shaking his head at Jumbo’s mini tantrum. The cafe soon settled down, yet one kitten had a lot of adventuring to do!
Later that day, the cafe radiating a warm glow against the darkness outside, everyone started to settle down, and Giant saw it as her time to strike. She had a mission: Talk to all the cats and try get to know them a little better. She was still shy and the smallest, but she was determined to be included with rest, even if some of them were slightly intimidating.
Firstly, she made it a plan in her head if each cat. Firstly, Jumbo was the youngest, bundled with energy and far too chaotic for everybody to deal with. Next, Jiro seemed to be stubborn but apart from that, he had no particular quirks that she was aware of. There was also a black cat that hadn’t spoke yet, only sat by the door and watched. Giant found it a bit eerie, but protected in a way. And Finally, the cat that caught her attention first. Jenny. Giant didn’t want to admit the fact that she wanted to befriend her first, her bubbly and eye-catching persona brought up a jealous feeling inside Giant’s chest.
So, with her planned out intentions, Giant quietly wandered into the cat’s designated room. She walked towards some toys they were scattered around the floor, noticing Jenny only a couple steps away. Giant could feel her intimidating presence, hesitant to go up and say hi. She assumed Jenny would be mean since most older female cats were, however, she couldn’t have been more wrong.
“hi!” Jenny purred, noticing the smaller kitten in the corner of her eye. Giant froze in place, unable to escape the trance of Jenny’s sharp blue eyes. They were piercing right through her, seeing every shy thought in her mind. “it’s Giant, right?” Jenny asked enthusiastically.
“yes.” Giant whispered.
“you don’t understand how reliving it is to finally have a sister.” Jenny said, her tail swaying with a friendly manner. “i can finally show somebody my entire bow collection!” She exclaimed, hinting for her to follow.
Giant blinked slowly, blindly following her to this collection. When they passed the toys and wandered over to a closed box, Jenny flicked it open with her paw, revealing an entire accumulation of pretty bows. Some were sparkly, others multicoloured, and some so plain that Giant could only imagine Jenny being able to pull them off.
Jenny noticed Giant admiring the pieces of fabric, her pupil as displaying twice in size. “would you like to try some?” She asked, her whiskers upturned into a friendly smile.
“yes, please.” Giant nodded, lowering her head to let Jenny clip it onto her thick locks of fur.
Jenny picked it up in her mouth, carefully placing it on the top of Giant’s head, inbetween her ears, clipping it shut with her teeth. Jenny stepped back, smiling softly. “you look beautiful!”. She cheered supportively.
Giant felt warmth spread across her little body, gently shaking her head and letting the bow fall back into the box of Jenny’s treasured bows. “thank you.” Giant mumbled, still shy, but less worried now. “it was nice meeting you properly, but i think i’m going to try talk to the others now.”
“of course girl,” Jenny assured, a quiet mewl vibrating from her throat. “take your time settling in, everybody’s very welcoming.”
Giant walked off, analysing the room to find the other cats. Not long later, she spotted Jumbo and Jiro beside the cat condo. Jiro was playing on top of one of the condo’s, whilst Jumbo was fighting to get the toy mouse from him.
“Brother Jiro!” Jumbo whined, unable to reach the toy from the bottom level. “that was my toy!”
“you’ve had your turn,” Jiro huffed, catching the toy with his claw and dragging it towards himself. “it’s mine now.”
Giant observed the situation, a quick decision popping into her mind. She hoofed over to the toys lying across the room, grabbing a small plushie in the shape of a cheese. She picked it up, latching it between her teeth and walking back over to Jiro and Jumbo. They were still arguing, but when she dropped the toy beside them, they both stopped and turned towards her.
“sorry, i just thought you could have this one instead.” She explained, awkwardly waiting for their reaction.
Jumbo smiled ecstatically, flicking his tail with a quicker pace. “thank you, sister Giant!” Jumbo rejoiced, picking up the toy cheese and walked away whilst also dropping it, flicking it to the side and chasing after it. Jiro and Giant watched, chuckling between themselves.
“is he always this hyper?” Giant asked, sitting against the condo while also keeping her distance.
“yep.” Jiro sighed, resting the toy mouse between his paws. “i think he’s also excited because you’re here.”
“me?” Giant asked, turning her head towards the oranger cat. He only nodded, turning his attention back to Jumbo chasing after the toy.
“i think he’s felt lonely considering he’s the youngest.” He explained, his tone turning soft. “so i think having a younger sibling will help him share his energy.”
Giant nodded her head slowly, her head falling back to Jumbo. He was currently on his back, the cheese clutched between his paws.
“you know,” Jiro started, breaking the momentary silence. “i think you will settle in easily.” Jiro stated, no doubt in his voice, which gave Gisnt a boost of hope. “you seem to remind everybody of Granny Juu.”
“who’s Granny Juu?” Giant asked, tilting her head, silently confused. She was sure there was no cat names Grammy Juu here.
Jiro only hummed, smiling helplessly as Jumbo was now pounding onto the toy energetically, his stamina never seeming to run out. “an old friend.”
Giant nodded, not pushing for any answers. The mood seemed to dim slightly, but she assumed Granny Juu was a very respected being. Instead, she bowed her head and stood up, hinting to Jiro that she was off on her next journey.
As she walked across the room, she noticed the black cat again. Sitting beside the door, unwavering — not even his tale moving, almost like an actual statue.
Giant crept behind the cat, sitting a respectable distance away again. “hello.” She spoke, her tone calm, unconsciously matching the vibe emitting from beside her. The black cat didn’t reply, but Giant didn’t take offence to it. Instead, she asked another question, hoping to find the correct question to receive an answer. “I’m Giant, as you probably already know…what’s your name?”
“John Wick.” The mysterious cat finally spoke, his voice deep yet kept a neutral monotone.
“that sounds cool.” Giant hummed, flicking her tail curiously. “what does it mean?”
“it’s a spy name.” He explained, his tone slightly blunt yet he didn’t seem aware he was doing it.
“are you you really a spy?” She asked, unable to keep her curiosity inside. She was unsure why she felt so talkative with John Wick compared to all the cats, but he gave a protective aura that made her feel more relaxed around compared to the rest.
John wick stayed silent again, his sharp slitted eyes glowing in the darker shadows of the room. Giant observed their surroundings, confused at what he always seems to be watching. “why are you always watching the room outside?”
“just incase.” He said, not explaining further. That only left Giant more confused, and definitely more curious.
“just incase what?” Giant reiterated, tilting her head in his direction. John Wick didn’t waver, still observing the rest of the cafe, squinting his eyes almost imperceptibly at nothing but dust particles, at least, that’s what it looked like to Giant.
She sighed, figuring that she would be getting an answer to that question either. She moved her attention away from the cafe, noticing Tiger and Lynx sitting on the sofa nearby, both looking at eachother far too intensely for just friends.
“are they together?” She asked, smiling softly at the sight. Seeing humans in love was cuter than seeing any cute cat, yet humans didn’t seem to see it the same way. “or are they just dancing around their feelings?”
“you ask too many questions.” John Wick said, still not turn him towards Giant or Tiger and Lynx. She didn’t seem to understand why, but John Wick seemed to remain as the most confusing cat to break down. He didn’t let his mask slip, he stayed in line, yet Giant couldn’t place her paw on why. However, she learned not to keep questioning, instead just going with the flow.
“alright, sorry.” She huffed, standing on all fours and turning to walk away. “i think i got most of my answers anyways, thank you.” She thanked, walking off in the direction of Tiger And Lynx. She missed the small smile on John Wick’s face, a silent but immense challenge that she seemed to break effortlessly.
Exhausted from all the socialising, she walked back over to Tiger and Lynx, clawing at the fabric of the sofa to grab their attention. It seemed to work, Tiger reaching down and lifting he up onto the sofa and placing her between them. “did you talk to any of the others?” Tiger asked, his expression soft and friendly.
“mhm.” She nodded, her fluffy eyelids feeling heavy and weighed down, quietly settling down and resting in the small space between them, eventually fluttering her long lashes shut.
Tiger glanced towards Lynx, his contagious smile infecting Lynx. Giant peaked her eye open, noticing their hands slowly interlinking, Lynx resting his head against Tiger’s shoulder. Giant smiled, the smitten at the sight. It was still all new, still intimidating, but she had a feeling that one day she would be able to call this place her home.