“It's about bloody time!” she continued, turning away from me and pulling out a couple of bowls from her cupboard. I wondered if she was speaking to me. She pulled the large black pot out from the fire using a metal swivel, and it stopped spluttering so hard. She spread the wood in the fireplace to allow the embers to burn low. When she was done, she ladled generous portions from the pot into each of the bowls.

I meowed loudly at her from my place on the window sill.

“Of course, I’m speaking to you! Do you see anyone else here?” she said, turning to look at me. She placed the bowls of the delicious-smelling stuff onto her table. “Well, don’t just sit there! Let me have a look at you!”

She crossed her arms in front of her and we stared at each other. Finally, the smell of the food along with the pang in my empty belly propelled me, so I hopped down from the window sill and up onto her table. She made no move toward me, but I kept her in front of me. I sniffed at the bowl she had placed there and began to lap it up.

It was delicious and I ate like I had never eaten in my life. The cottage was warm thanks to the coals in the fireplace and the warm food filled my belly like I’d never experienced before so I was warming from the inside out.

When I could finally think about something besides eating, I looked up at the human woman.

She was also eating from the bowl using a small wooden spoon. She watched me between bites. She was straight but curvy. She had long, shiny black hair nearly to her waist and pale skin like the full moon. Her eyes were lively and smoky grey, the color of Mother. Her lips were blood red. She smiled at me.

“I think you are pretty, too,” she told me, her eyes twinkling.

Pretty?! I thought. I arched my back and meowed, showing her my mouth full of sharp teeth. I could have hissed, but that would be too harsh.

“Oh, sorry. I meant, strong, powerful,” she corrected and I relaxed and sat back down somewhat appeased. I was glad she recognized me. There was something different about this human. Of course, I reminded myself everyone leaves as I watched her. When she finished eating, she put both bowls into a bucket. She pulled a heavy drape over the window, essentially shutting me in with her. I yowled in distress over this thought.

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“I know you don’t know me, but I’ve been waiting for you. You’re safe here, even if you just want to spend the night. I’d love to get to know you more, but you’re late and there’s a lot to do tomorrow. Feel free to sleep where you like. I’ll make you a proper bed later. Honestly, I didn’t know what you’d be. I’m glad you’re here, Cat. Do your business outside and I’m sure we won’t have any problems.”

She turned to the fireplace, she covered the cauldron with a metal lid and banked the fire. There was still warmth emanating from the hearth, so I hopped down and laid on it, soaking in the heat. The warmth in my belly was making me sleepy, but I wanted to watch the human to see what she would do. She pinched out the lighted candles on her table and sat down on a lumpy shelf covered in blankets much like the old woman had in her back room.

“Good night, Cat,” she said as she laid down, yawning. “I guess we’ll have to have a better name than 'cat', eh?” She yawned. “We'll figure it out tomorrow.” She turned her back to me and soon was breathing deeply.

My meal invigorated me, so I decided to explore the small space while I didn’t have to worry about the human. I hopped back onto the table and sniffed at the assortment of items there. The bird head and body were still there. They had been dead too long to be of interest to me, particularly since I had just had that marvelous meal. There was also a scaly creature missing a few feet. It smelled dry and like it had been dead for some time. A board with a knife on it smelled like an assortment of herbs and roots had been cut on it. I wondered how she’d made it taste so good when the ingredients by themselves did not seem particularly enticing to eat.

I hopped off the table and started exploring the rest of the cottage. She had two boxes full of cloth under the large shelf where she slept. I chased a mouse back into its hole and probably out of the house when it hopped out, not expecting to find me in the shadows.

On the back wall across from the fireplace, there were shelves reaching the roof. I jumped up to each of them, scenting for other rodents. Most of them had glass containers of various sizes on them. I smelled something scaly on the third shelf in a glass case.

From the roof, clumps of dried and drying herbs were hanging. The scents in the cottage could be overwhelming. There were also an assortment of hanging cages of different sizes, but there were no sounds coming from them. I suppose I would see them better by the light of day.

I yawned and shook myself. I was starting to feel tired. When I went back to the hearth, it had gone cold. I thought about leaving; trying to wiggle under the door. But, I decided I could stay under her bed shelf. There were several ways out from my spot and she wouldn’t see me right away. I could always continue on my way.*