Al Meets a Star
A small gray kitten sat in a thin alleyway between two stores, shivering inside of its box half-filled with newspaper. The poor abandoned animal had lack of food in that part of town, and knew it didn't have the strength to travel. While it wouldn't admit it, this kitty needed some help.
It was probably around 2:00 PM when the kitten heard some loud metallic clanking, jerking it fully awake. After a moment, it realized it sounded like metal footsteps! The fluffball cowered away, hoping the being would not notice it. However, in the process, it accidentally made the newspaper shuffle a little bit, causing the smallest sound that only someone close enough could hear. Must've been enough, because the thing with the scary footsteps appeared at the entrance of the alley, towering over 7 feet above the cat. The head clinked as it looked down at the kitten, then made some other metal pops and ka-chinks as it walked a few steps and dropped to its knees so they were face-to-face.
"Aaaw, you're so cute! Too bad you're so thin... Maybe I'll bring you home with me! I can feed you there."
The little kitten of course didn't understand the metal being, but it did realize it is a person. It did talk like one, and walk like one. But the voice was much higher than it had expected for someone so big. The kitty just sat there confused, until the metal human leaned over to pick it up. Wide-eyed, the stray started to back out, ready to leave, but it didn't get to go far because there wasn't anywhere where it could escape. The human lifted it up in the air with its large fingers and then towards its body, cradling the fragile kitten.
"Of course you are light, but I can't tell. Forgive me if I hold you too hard, it's kinda hard to control strength you can't feel."
The kitten became surprised that such a large metal human picked it up with such care, and it was weird that it could not feel any body heat from someone that could move. The metallic man stared at the cat through glowing red eyes while the cat stared back at the metallic man with sincere curiosity.
"Okay, let's go now."
The human held the kitten on one of its huge palms while with the other grabbed its head and pulled it back. It revealed black emptyness instead of a neck. The kitten was taken aback and wanted to run, but couldn't from the air. The human must have realized how spooked the poor thing was, so instead of sticking it inside of its body, it pulled out a tiny blanket out of the darkness and snapped back on the head.
"Yeah, everyone gets scared when I do that. I don't want you to be scared of me, so I'll just carry you on my shoulder or something."
The metal human clinked as it unfolded the small piece of fabric and spread it across its left shoulder, tucking it in-between joints to keep it in place, then passed the kitten from its hand to the blanket. It stood still, waiting for the cat to calm down and get settled, and walked slowly out of the alley and to the streets.
Part of the way through their silent journey, the not-so-human turned its head toward its passenger with a metallic pop and spoke.
"Brother is always telling me to leave strays alone, but I can't help it. Then when I do, he tells me to not name them, because 'you will get attached emotionally to those monsters.' I still want to name you, though. What do you want?"
The kitty just returned the stare, not knowing what the chunk of metal was saying. The man stopped, then grabbed the kitten carefully to inspect it. It gasped when it found the black mark near its belly that looked kinda like a 5-pointed star. It rubbed a thumb along the black fur star that stood out from the gray fur surrounding it, confirming that it was not just dirt.
"That is so cool! I guess I'll call you Star."
The metal human put the kitten back on its shoulder, but the little animal decided to climb onto the head and hang onto a protrusion that stuck out of what would be the forehead, which looked like a horn. The giant continued to walk toward its destination, although looking sillier than before.
They finally stood in front of an inn, and the metal human sighed.
"Well, here we are, Star. I don't know if Brother is back already, so maybe I should hide you until I know the coast is clear."
The man guided the kitten back to the shoulder, so it could have access to the head. A big hand pulled the head backwards, once again revealing a hollow shell. Star was picked up to be placed inside, and originally was nervous, but must have trusted the metal human enough to know it will never give harm. The kitten and the blanket were put in carefully and arranged so that they wouldn't fall to the legs. The 'human' then proceeded to put back on its head and walk slowly and cautiously up to its room at the inn.
Fumbling with the key, the door was opened and after a brief inspection of the room, the metal giant decided it was safe and brought the kitty out into open space. While the cat wandered around the room, it's partner closed the door and fast-walked over to the bags of food from the grocery store to feed the guest. A bowl filled with water was placed on the ground, for the man knew there would never be milk, and after a little bit, also put a bowl with warm cooked ground beef on the side. The kitten ate quickly, and with a short amount of time it was licking away at the bottom of the bowls.
Star rubbed against the metal human's legs, showing thanks and love for the human, and the man was leaning over with metallic snaps to pet the kitten when the door opened and in walked a short human (or at least seemed short compared to the metal man) with bright hair and another human with black hair. They paused at the door to take in the scene before them. Then the shorter one's face started to look red and it's hands got balled up and stiff.
"B-brother! Colonel?"
"AL, HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE THOSE DEMONS ALONE?!"
The angry human, who sure was loud for its size, scared the wits out of the poor kitten, and drove it to hide behind its new friend, hoping for protection.
"But Brother, you didn't see how skinny and defenseless this kitten was when I picked it up!"
"THAT'S WHAT YOU SAY EVERY TIME!"
"You're scaring Star!"
"AND EVEN WORSE, YOU NAMED THE THING!"
The kitten poked its head out from behind the metal to see the shorter human yelling about who knows what and the giant seeming to try to reason with him, and the black-haired human with its hand on its face with a defeated sigh.