AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Huh?”
“It is a cat.”
Irritation makes my face twist and I bite my tongue to keep from saying something inappropriate.
“Gee, thanks.”
The Druid apparently loses interest in the cat because he does a shuffling walk to the dumpster. His layers of clothing and the way he drags his feet are so loud I can’t believe he was able to sneak up on me. It has to be exhaustion that is dampening my awareness. Stifling a yawn, I approach the cat.
“Hey there,” I say in my best soft, cooing voice as I slowly extend my hand towards it.
The cat stops cleaning its paw to stare at my hand. I can’t tell if my advance is welcome or its waiting to pounce. The tip of its tail is twitching back and forth, but it doesn’t blink or give any other indicators.
A couple of inches from its head it still hasn’t done more than watch. Feeling bold I scratch between its ears. Instantly the cat begins purring so loud I’d swear the sound is echoing off the walls. It twists its head, then using one paw moves my hand so I’m scratching behind the ears. The purring hits a pitch where it sounds like it breaks it’s so loud.
“Huh, she likes you.”
“She?” I ask, looking over at the Druid, but the instant I do claws pierce my hand, jerking my attention back to the cat. They retract the moment I resume scratching.
“Thought you were observant.”
“What does that mean?”
The Druid is tearing open bags of trash and the foul odor makes me gag. The cat makes a scowling face, shakes her head, then stands up. I pull my hand back. She stares at me with her big, luminous eyes.
As we stare into one another’s eyes it feels as if we are talking. She hates the smell and I know she’s thinking if I don’t like it than I should imagine how she feels. Her nose is a thousand times more sensitive than mine. She’s deciding something, I’m not sure what, but I know for her its important.
It’s only an instant, then the cat meows softly and she leaps. I jump back but she either adjusts herself midair or planned for my reaction because she lands heavily on my shoulder. She stretches herself across my neck and digs her nails in twice, which makes me yelp. The Druid glances away from his trash finds when I do and shakes his head as the cat settles herself on me.
“Made a friend. Interesting.”
“What are you doing?” I ask, holding my hand over my nose.
“Breakfast, hungry?”
“God no.”
“Your loss.” He resumes tearing open bags with no concern for either what he finds or the debris he leaves in his wake, adding to the mess the alley already is.
“Look,” I say. “I don’t have time for this. I told Dugald I’d try, but this isn’t going to work. I’m not going to go dumpster diving with you.”
“Time?”
The Druid stops midway into a bag. He doesn’t turn around but the intensity of his stare is apparent on his profile. The cat extends her claws into the skin of my shoulder, and I twitch to make her stop.
“Yes, time. I’m busy. I’ve got a lot happening. Things that I need to take care of.”
A smile slowly spreads across his face as he chuckles, shaking his head. Debris falls from his beard as he does.
“Go then, Destroyer. Go.”
“That’s it? I thought you were supposed to train me.”
“‘Supposed to’ sounds an awful lot like a demand.”
He tosses Styrofoam containers aside as he resumes digging into the dumpster, uncaring how many of them fall into the alley. The weight of the cat is a perfect simile of the pressure and demands of my life. As it all crashes in like a caving wall, anger comes with it.
“Look,” I snap, moving towards him with one finger waving in the air. “I don’t need your shit. Or Dugald’s. I’m here now and there are people who need me here every bit as much as the MacGregors need me. I don’t have time to waste.”
