The kitten smiled up at me from its cardboard box clearly labeled 'female'. Idiots, how where you supposed to tell if a cat was male or female. Even if you could tell, why would it even matter? I sighed as I looked into the kitten's pretty brown eyes. River had brown eyes. River's wish list consisted of a kitten, and an axe. There was no way that I was going to get that crazy girl an axe.
The captain was very against animals in general. Maybe it was just on his ship. I hate it when he does that. "This is my ship isn't it?" "Is this still my ship or have..." If I wasn't getting paid I'd shoot him the next time he said that.
The man standing at the rickety stand looked at me uneasily. After studying me for a moment he turned and went to go harass some little girl's mother that the only thing they need in life was a kitten. As he back turned I reached down and picked up the little white cat with the brown eyes and tucked it into my jacket, to keep her warm.
You know, the cat's not half bad. As i tucked her into my jacket and walked away with the stolen cat she didn't meow once. She just purred and curled up against me. I shouldn't have done this. The captain would kill me for bringing this stupid cat home.
I sighed and pulled my jacket aside to dump the cat. But its brown eyes looked at me. Dang it. Why did it have to be so cute? I walked onto the ship and shouted to let Wash know that I was on.
The ship roared to life as it flew into the air. I headed for the infirmary where I'd find River. Probably spouting off about something real smart sounding to Simon. I pulled the cat out as I stepped into the infirmary.
"What in the world is that?" The captain said as he looked the cat over. I looked at him, the cat, and then back at him before answering.
"It's a cat. What does it look like?" I walked over to River. She was sitting on one of the patient beds. She has perked up when I pulled the cat out. I dropped it in her lap.
"You don't get an axe." I said. I took one more glance at the white kitten with the brown eyes before walking out.
"I said no animals on my ship." The captain called. I turned and looked at him. He shook his head and looked off into the distance. "Not after that cattle job. The whole ship reeked for weeks." He looked back. I sighed.
"The cat will help with the mice infestation." I told him.
"We don't have mice!" The captain exclaimed.
"But River thinks we have mice." I told him. He stopped.
"I'm not following you." He said.
"That girl goes wacko over enough things. If having a cat makes her not go all crazy and kill us all in our sleep because she thinks the ship has mice. Then she should keep it." The captain nodded. I turned and walked off. "I like living. Much better than not."