"Shion, what is that?"
The white haired boy blinked, not quite understanding the question. After all, wasn't it obvious?
"It's…a cat?"
"Why exactly is it here?"
Looking down at the feline in his arms, Shion couldn't help but feel slightly upset about the disdainful tone Nezumi used. He'd found the poor thing picking food out of a trash can in the Marketplace of West Block when he'd been out with Rikiga earlier. It had looked so helpless, so thin…he couldn't not pick it up and bring it back. He'd thought that maybe they could keep, if only for a little while; feed it, help it get better. Somehow, he'd known Nezumi wouldn't like it; maybe it was alive, but they didn't need another mouth to feed and Shion was just going to get attached and it was just another burden to weigh them down. He'd heard it all before. But the malice, the insult laced in his companion's words…
"Well…it-" His explanation was cut off with a snort and a scoff.
"Get rid of it. There's no place here for a damn cat." And that was that. End of story.
Except it wasn't. Shion refused to believe that they couldn't spare a few scraps for the poor thing. And he was about to voice this when the cat started to squirm, tired of being held. Grimacing and forgetting about Nezumi's scorn for the moment, Shion focused on keeping a hold on the orange tabby. But it wasn't working. Thin, flexible, used to getting out of tight spots, the creature managed to twist its way out of the boy's hold, and bolted as soon as its paws hit the ground.
Chaos ensued.
The frenzy started when the tabby found Hamlet and Cravat perched on one of the bookshelves. Natural instinct kicked in, and the cat leapt. What it hadn't planned on was Shion diving to intercept it. Unfortunately, the boy hadn't caught it soon enough and ended up ramming into the bookshelf, causing the heavy structure to teeter precariously, books calling from their place. Second attempts were made, and the entire bookcase toppled, sending books, dust, rats, a cat and a boy flying, the latter mostly attempting to avoid being crushed.
When the dust finally settled, the small house looked to be a disaster area. Shion groaned, partially from the soreness already surfacing, and partially from knowing he'd be blamed, and then forced to clean everything up. As it was though, the cat was still his first priority. He'd barely started looking when a low, displeased yowl was heard from the other corner of the room, the only safe spot from the catastrophe.
Nezumi had the tabby gripped in one hand by the scruff of its neck, looking amused, bored, and annoyed all at the same time.
"Is this what you're looking for, your majesty?" He asked, more venom than usual sunken into his sarcastic title. Shion felt himself flush from embarrassment. The cat wasn't squirming in Nezumi's grip, just hanging there, occasionally expressing distaste with how it was being treated. The teen ignored it.
"Sorry Nezumi…" The words were soft and apologetic, Shion knowing he was just causing more trouble for the boy he already owed so much to. Nezumi just rolled his eyes, before moving closer to his companion and shoving the furry feline at him.
"Whatever. Just feed the stupid thing and get it out of here. You have a mess to clean up."
Shion's smile returned as he went to find scraps of food that wouldn't be eaten by either of them. The cat left fed, and Shion was bombarded by snarky, sarcastic comments from a lounging rat the rest of the evening.
-Sable