Another little character story.
For the fanclub! This belongs to the version of Mihai in a different universe than almost all my readers are familiar, but hey, it's super cute.
Rattled and confused from his encounter with the damn hunter and tired from the general emotional roller coaster of the week, Mihai wasn’t quite up to going home and looking for Christian. For one thing, he was beginning to be aware that he hadn’t eaten in too long, and he’d need to be careful and hide that from his brother, the empty feeling, the way the shadows were reluctant to stir for him, the way the aches in his back and joints worsened as his body stopped healing the damage it did itself. It took concentration to remain serene and he wasn’t sure how long he could manage. It had been five days now. He had at least three to go.
So he found himself in the park again. The beach was nicer but he felt more exposed. He couldn’t help worrying about the notice he’d draw, a lone figure by the water. The trees here protected him from view, Besides, here was a friend.
Mihai had noticed the little gray cat about a week before. She wasn’t a particularly pretty thing, with short, spotty fur and weirdly blue eyes, and she wasn’t a kitten but mostly grown, only undersized. But he hardly judged on such a basis. He suspected she’d had a family and lost them. She didn’t strike him as a feral animal. The park provided her with a bit of cover, perhaps, and enough small animals to keep her halfway fed. She didn’t hiss when he approached, and she seemed more tired than wary. The first time he’d spotted her he’d limped over to a promising looking dumpster behind a grocery store and found a can with it label torn off, but the right shape for fish. It had turned out to be clams, but she hadn’t minded. Mihai was generally loath to use the strength he got from being a vampire, but he didn’t hesitate in stomping in the side of the can and pulling the bits apart so she wouldn’t cut herself. He cut himself, but that didn’t matter much.
She’d watched him warily while picking through her dinner, but she hadn’t seemed to mind his presence. And it was only a little bit of work to find something for her most nights. He was usually in the park sometime. This was the first night she’d come to him, though. Mihai smiled to see her and produced the can of actual, real cat food he’d bought with a handful of change. He’d quite impressed himself, braving the corner store alone, and he was rather confused by the fact that cats had their own food. He’d always supposed they subsisted on mice and table scraps. But he was proud of himself and very glad to see he and the gray cat were getting along.
Mihai pulled the cat open with a sort of key and set it down for her to eat while he settled in on the bench. ”How are you, Kitten?” he asked gently. Cats were wonderfully easy to talk to. ”I’m sorry I didn’t bring any dinner for you last night. That girl pulled me away. Did you see her? She was so fair. I don’t care for yellow hair. But she was sweet.” When Mihai just let his mouth run, unafraid, the results could be strange. ”Do you know what I’ve done the past few days? Brandon kissed me. I met my niece. I could fly it’s so perfect. But that man is still underground and I don’t think his prison will keep. And I need to talk to the mage who owns the restaurant about it. He has a cat. Maybe you’d like that cat.”
He fell silent for a moment, watching her hurry through the sticky brown stuff, which just looked and smelled like potted meat to Mihai. If she liked it, he supposed. But having an uncritical audience was too tempting. ”You’d better watch for him. There’s a creature down there who’s very sweet, but she’s all turned into something else. Halfway, you see. Maybe you could get turned, too. And I like you with a tail.” Compared to the rest of her, the tail was unusually fluffy and long. She was so silly looking.
The cat licked the tin can clean and delighted Mihai by jumping up on the bench. ”Well, hello, kitten. Do you like me? Maybe I don’t smell too dead.” As Mihai held out his hand, he remembered accidentally calling Christian “Machka.” Kitten. He cracked a smile. ”If Christian is you, are you Christian?”
The cat chose that moment to jump into his lap. She’d been a housecat before her family had moved, disillusioned with the idea of a nice, small town where nothing happened, and while she’d gone a bit feral, she was a young cat and liked affection. She remembered hands and soft food that was delivered right to her. The awkward, odd-smelling boy with the whispering voice might not offer a pillow to sleep on, but being abandoned with some other unwanted furniture had embittered her a bit in her little predatory brain.
Mihai covered his mouth to try not to laugh. He hadn’t meant to, but he seemed to have named her, and he didn’t think Christian would quite approve. Maybe he’d omit that detail. ”Well, hello, Christian-cat,” he whispered, scratching behind her ears. Warm and soft and alive, and apparently not the least bit afraid of him. She was so small. Her weight barely registered on his lap and he could feel delicate bones under his fingers. ”You need fattening up,” he observed.
Could she come home with him? Joseph’s house had horses. Horses must be a great bother to feed and care for, whereas cats could do well for themselves, and weren’t the least bit huge and terrifying. But he was the guest of a guest. Maybe he should just keep meeting her in the park.
Christian-cat yawned and settled daintily on Mihai’s lap. Funny looking she might be, but she had all the native grace of a little lady feline, and she was comfortable enough here. Mihai closed his eyes and ran his fingers over the soft, short fur. He’d beg Christian to say yes if it meant a warm, furry little body for him to hold and a dear little listener for all his troubles.
Rattled and confused from his encounter with the damn hunter and tired from the general emotional roller coaster of the week, Mihai wasn’t quite up to going home and looking for Christian. For one thing, he was beginning to be aware that he hadn’t eaten in too long, and he’d need to be careful and hide that from his brother, the empty feeling, the way the shadows were reluctant to stir for him, the way the aches in his back and joints worsened as his body stopped healing the damage it did itself. It took concentration to remain serene and he wasn’t sure how long he could manage. It had been five days now. He had at least three to go.
So he found himself in the park again. The beach was nicer but he felt more exposed. He couldn’t help worrying about the notice he’d draw, a lone figure by the water. The trees here protected him from view, Besides, here was a friend.
Mihai had noticed the little gray cat about a week before. She wasn’t a particularly pretty thing, with short, spotty fur and weirdly blue eyes, and she wasn’t a kitten but mostly grown, only undersized. But he hardly judged on such a basis. He suspected she’d had a family and lost them. She didn’t strike him as a feral animal. The park provided her with a bit of cover, perhaps, and enough small animals to keep her halfway fed. She didn’t hiss when he approached, and she seemed more tired than wary. The first time he’d spotted her he’d limped over to a promising looking dumpster behind a grocery store and found a can with it label torn off, but the right shape for fish. It had turned out to be clams, but she hadn’t minded. Mihai was generally loath to use the strength he got from being a vampire, but he didn’t hesitate in stomping in the side of the can and pulling the bits apart so she wouldn’t cut herself. He cut himself, but that didn’t matter much.
She’d watched him warily while picking through her dinner, but she hadn’t seemed to mind his presence. And it was only a little bit of work to find something for her most nights. He was usually in the park sometime. This was the first night she’d come to him, though. Mihai smiled to see her and produced the can of actual, real cat food he’d bought with a handful of change. He’d quite impressed himself, braving the corner store alone, and he was rather confused by the fact that cats had their own food. He’d always supposed they subsisted on mice and table scraps. But he was proud of himself and very glad to see he and the gray cat were getting along.
Mihai pulled the cat open with a sort of key and set it down for her to eat while he settled in on the bench. ”How are you, Kitten?” he asked gently. Cats were wonderfully easy to talk to. ”I’m sorry I didn’t bring any dinner for you last night. That girl pulled me away. Did you see her? She was so fair. I don’t care for yellow hair. But she was sweet.” When Mihai just let his mouth run, unafraid, the results could be strange. ”Do you know what I’ve done the past few days? Brandon kissed me. I met my niece. I could fly it’s so perfect. But that man is still underground and I don’t think his prison will keep. And I need to talk to the mage who owns the restaurant about it. He has a cat. Maybe you’d like that cat.”
He fell silent for a moment, watching her hurry through the sticky brown stuff, which just looked and smelled like potted meat to Mihai. If she liked it, he supposed. But having an uncritical audience was too tempting. ”You’d better watch for him. There’s a creature down there who’s very sweet, but she’s all turned into something else. Halfway, you see. Maybe you could get turned, too. And I like you with a tail.” Compared to the rest of her, the tail was unusually fluffy and long. She was so silly looking.
The cat licked the tin can clean and delighted Mihai by jumping up on the bench. ”Well, hello, kitten. Do you like me? Maybe I don’t smell too dead.” As Mihai held out his hand, he remembered accidentally calling Christian “Machka.” Kitten. He cracked a smile. ”If Christian is you, are you Christian?”
The cat chose that moment to jump into his lap. She’d been a housecat before her family had moved, disillusioned with the idea of a nice, small town where nothing happened, and while she’d gone a bit feral, she was a young cat and liked affection. She remembered hands and soft food that was delivered right to her. The awkward, odd-smelling boy with the whispering voice might not offer a pillow to sleep on, but being abandoned with some other unwanted furniture had embittered her a bit in her little predatory brain.
Mihai covered his mouth to try not to laugh. He hadn’t meant to, but he seemed to have named her, and he didn’t think Christian would quite approve. Maybe he’d omit that detail. ”Well, hello, Christian-cat,” he whispered, scratching behind her ears. Warm and soft and alive, and apparently not the least bit afraid of him. She was so small. Her weight barely registered on his lap and he could feel delicate bones under his fingers. ”You need fattening up,” he observed.
Could she come home with him? Joseph’s house had horses. Horses must be a great bother to feed and care for, whereas cats could do well for themselves, and weren’t the least bit huge and terrifying. But he was the guest of a guest. Maybe he should just keep meeting her in the park.
Christian-cat yawned and settled daintily on Mihai’s lap. Funny looking she might be, but she had all the native grace of a little lady feline, and she was comfortable enough here. Mihai closed his eyes and ran his fingers over the soft, short fur. He’d beg Christian to say yes if it meant a warm, furry little body for him to hold and a dear little listener for all his troubles.