Murgh….
I flipped my tail back and forth as I lay half in the sun and half out. My perch on the fire escape was free of snow finally.
Benefactor had not returned in some time. Maybe I should not have tried to scour the surface of his skin so fiercely. Perhaps, I overreacted….just a smidge. He was mostly generous with me….if providing offerings of sustenance regularly was generous. It was better than most of the other strays around here. They had to scavenge like the mongrels in trash bins and gutters.
At least I had not sunk that low. But oh!....how far I have fallen from my favorite previous life.
My claws unsheathed, I inspect the sharpness and reflect on the days of old, on my past more violent lives.
I did quite enjoy being a tiger two lives back…but even that existence was far inferior to the pinnacle I had once achieved!
I was once a mighty beast of war. Slaughtering my enemies and prey alike. The glory days on Sreeeakk.
All gone now…..and here I languish. Only good for capturing and eviscerating pigeons and rats.
Small…weak…
Alright, enough self-pity. Even the ancestors of this feline body would yowl at me to purr up.
A scuffling below and I noticed that Benefactor’s companions had arrived to make the daily offerings. I must say, there had been quite an improvement in the quality and flavor since the one they called Jer-Ah-Me had taken over providing sustenance.
He had been far more genuine in his obeisance than the other. Perhaps I will honor him for his excellent service by allowing a few ‘pets’. Maybe I’ll even throw in a purr or two.
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I peered in through the window as the one called B-Oh entered. We locked eyes and assessed each other in our now daily duel of feigned indifference. I might not have access to a system on this world in this form, but I could sense it on him. There was an aura to those whose chaos potential had been leashed. He couldn’t know the details of my history, but his perception was clearly high enough to catch a hint that I was not like ‘normal’ domestic cats.
“Odious cat,” B-Oh mumbled.
“Huh?” Jer-Ah-Me perked up from the doorway where he removed the foot coverings humans wore over their pathetically dull excuses for claws. “Ah don’t make fun of Vik-Tor. He probably got the scars and mangled ear from an epic battle with the other alley cats, maybe even a dog.”
Hmm…I wouldn’t call those encounters an epic battle, but it certainly spins the account in a more favorable light for me.
Jer-Ah-Me interrupted these musings when he addressed B-Oh, “You sure you’re good to stay the night again? I could probably convince Mom to stay over Friday and Saturday, but she’s immovable on school nights.”
“Yeah, I got it,” B-Oh tossed back when he finally broke the visual stalemate.
I leaped over the windowsill to the carpeted flooring and slunk into the kitchen where the altar for offerings was placed. Never would’ve eaten food provided by another in my Griveck life, but I am shameless about it now. I hope Jer-Ah-Me gives me the…
“I’ve got your favorite today, Vik-Tor,” Jer-Ah-Me announced as he presented the meal with a flourish.
The delicious smell wafting off the plate drew a growl from my stomach, and I couldn’t restrain my eagerness to devour such morsels.
“You really shouldn’t feed him that much. It’s like triple what Al-Den used to give him,” B-Oh commented judgmentally.
“Eh, he’s too skinny,” Jer-Ah-Me replied conciliatorily.
“Suuuuuure,” B-Oh replied with sarcasm dripping from each drawn out syllable.
Yes, I certainly preferred Jer-Ah-Me to the miserly grouch. Maybe even preferred him a bit more than Benefactor.
But I had to maintain some loyalty to Benefactor. After all, Gore-Gone (wondering if he murdered someone and cleaned up the evidence exceptionally well to earn that name) said that if I am a “good kitty” then I should get back to Sreeeakk for my next life.
Jer-Ah-Me calls me a “good kitty” when I finish all the food he lays before me, so perhaps I’m already on my way. Of course, it is little burden to indulge in the piscatory goodness I am currently feasting on.
I heard the humans prattling on about ‘skipping class’ and ‘staff parking lot’ then some interesting ideas about genetic modifications, but as my belly filled my eyelids became heavy….*YAAAWWWN*
Time for a nap. Just going to stretch out here and….close eyes….a minute….or maybe….