"C'mere kitty kitty." Allura cooed a bowl of food in one hand and a cat toy in the other. "Come on out now."
She'd been at this for well over an hour now, but the ginger stray hadn't budged from his place under the sofa. At one point she had tried just reaching under the seat and pulling the stubborn cat out by the scruff of his neck. The scratches on her bare arm were a reminder of how well that went.
"Any luck?"
Allura turned to see Keith entering with a pet carrier under his arm.
"No." She sighed dropping the toy to her side. "I just can't get him to come out."
Keith sat down next to her and gave the scratches on her arm a critical look.
"You didn't try to force him out did you?"
Allura avoided the boys piercing gaze.
"M-maybe…"
Keith groaned.
"Great now he's ever gonna come out. You probably scared him."
"I was only trying to get him to the clinic! But the stubborn cat won't come out when I call!"
The ginger had been brought in by Keith's friend Shiro. He'd found it just outside his apartment building, covered in dried blood, and limping along.
It had been tough to catch, but he'd managed to get it into a box and take it to the shelter. Hissing all the way. Unfortunately, once inside the cat had escaped and taken refuse under the couch.
Allura had soothed Shiro's fears and sent him on his way confident in her ability to get the animal to do as she said. Afterall, she'd handled dogs five times the size of the cat. So while she had no experience with felines, she hadn't thought it would be too difficult a task.
Of course she wasn't expecting the thing to be so stubborn.
"You don't call cats Allura."
"Then how do you get them to do what you want?!"
"You don't." Seeing Allura's exasperated gaze he explained. "Cats come and go when they please. They're independant animals who do what they want."
"Then HOW are we going to get him out?"
"I'll take care of that You go on into the clinic and get things ready."
She gave him a speculative look.
"I know what I'm doing. Unlike you I've actually worked with cats."
Allura huffed, but nonetheless did as she was asked. All the while thinking how hilarious Keith's face would look covered in scratches when this was all over.
But to her surprise, not ten minutes later, Keith came into the clinic with the ginger in the carrier eating away at the bowl of food.
"But… how?"
"I just put the food in the carrier and waited for the cat to climb in before closing the door."
"That's it?"
Keith shrugged. "That's it."
Allura watched as Keith managed to get the cat out of the carrier (only AFTER it finished its food since the first time around it took a bite out of his hand) and began washing it with water. All while ignoring it's hissing. Eventually, the cat was washed, patched up, and placed in one of the clinics crates with some water and food.
"It wasn't too bad." Keith explained as he washed his hands and bandaged the small teeth marks on his hand. "He'd cut his paw and must've gotten the blood all over himself while trying to clean it. It shouldn't take too long to heal."
"Well… that's a relief at least…" Allura glanced inside the cage where the ginger lay curled up on a towel in the corner asleep. "He's much cuter now that he's all clean and not trying to scratch our eyes out."
"He was just scared. The more scared a cat is the more likely they are to bite you." Keith brought the first aid kit around. "I'll help you patch up your arm if you want."
Allura glanced down to her scratched up arm. Now smeared with blood.
"Oh," she hissed suddenly acutely aware of the pain. "I didn't even notice."
They sat in the silence as Keith applied disinfectant to the wound and bandaged it with some gauze.
"He really dug into you." He mused.
"It isn't that bad." She sat awkwardly in her seat. "So… you know a lot about cats?"
Keith shrugged.
"I like cats. They're usually quiet, can take care of themselves, and don't take up much room. But once you've shown them they can trust you they'll get as cuddly as any dog."
"Really?"
"Well… Not ALL cats. But every cat I ever had growing up was like that."
Allura smiled. A new thought suddenly in her head.
"You're really a lot like a cat yourself."
"Huh?" Keith looked up from the now bandaged arm.
"You're independent and won't go anywhere unless you want to go there." She teased. "You don't talk to people much, you live by yourself, and don't really need a lot of room to be comfortable."
Taking advantage of their position, Allura wrapped both her arms around his and pulled him close.
"But once you get comfortable," She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "You get so relaxed, hm?"
Keith said nothing. Allowing the silence, and the quiet purrs from the surrounding cages, to speak for themselves.