The first year was hard for both of us. Him- he was bored and scared during the day, mostly of the fact they might discover him.
Me- not to talk of it, not to be cheerful because I remembered I have one of them under my bed when someone else started about them.
Not to give in to the temptation to talk to him when I knew someone might hear.
Right when I came home, I usually took food into my room, locked and said I have to study. Parents were very happy about it, and teachers too, because when I didn't know something I asked the monster under my bed.
It was amazing, how bright he was. I thought he knew even too much for someone, who was just three years older than me -or at least he claimed he was- but I was glad I had good grades.
He said this was nothing great, that all of them were like that, but he was obviously happy when I praised him he's clever.
,,At least something I'm good in," he made a weird grin.
Oh yes, I almost forgot to say, how they looked like. So,… they were more human than I'd guess. The stings on their backs could become soft and flat, so he could almost half-sit under the bed. He WAS a bit bigger than me, but not too much. The rest of their body looked almost alike humans, except for the claws, a small stinged tail and the head.
Head… how to say it… yes, also almost human, they even had hair (although everyone of them had it red, red, and more shades of red… that was probably also the reason red was ,their' color…), but it was somehow… different. I never saw their faces during their short trips into the village, so I couldn't compare him with the others, but it wasn't bad. Not good either, just… different. Kind of alike a wild cat,… no.
Aah, I just can't explain, how it looked.
But his grin looked almost like a human one.
,,You can get better in other things, I'm sure!"
,,As if. I tried before."
,,Maybe you didn't try hard enough."
,,Gwen, without the claws and stings I'm nothing among my own."
Yeah, also forgot to say- during the first year few months, we were quite shy around each other, didn't call each other by name, actually hardly even spoke to each other. He thought we were maybe too different to even try it, but then he probably gave up- he didn't have anyone else to speak to, and as a ten year old he couldn't resist asking and commenting on trivial things like homework. It was funny…
And I couldn't resist asking about things for a change HE took as something normal.
,,Why?"
,,I explained before!" he growled in annoyance.
,,I still don't get it."
He groaned now.
,,Then don't even try…"
I snorted.
,,Well, in our village we try to improve if we aren't good in something."
,,How?"
,,I don't know! But you grow bigger, shouldn't the claws and stings grow too?"
,,Should they?"
,,I don't know. Maybe they're weak because you don't have enough of some…thing."
,,Like what?"
,,Like trying to get them stronger," I growled now.
,,Like how?" he said sarcastically.
,,Like…"
I wondered.
,,…Digging?"
,,What?" he said in a high-pitched tone. ,,I should go dig around like some kind of a dog?"
,,It was just a suggestion," I rolled eyes.
But at night, I heard something outside, and when I looked under the bed, nothing was there. I smirked.
…..
On my nine birthday, I got a cat among other things
It was a little kitten of a orange-ish color but almost yellow, so it was okay to have it, and the first few days I had to take very good care for it, because it was so weak, everyone expected it might die. Mom said it was the smallest kitten of the neighbor cat's kits, and he didn't want it, but he gave it to me with words;
,,Maybe YOU can save it," and he winked.
The kitten got the name Scarlet, after a short discussion with mom.
,,But she's YOUR responsibility!" she pointed on me.
After some examining, I found that she had very few fur, and very small little claws, and when you left her alone for too long she started to whin instantly.
I often stayed up late at night to watch over her, as she slept, to Nick's great content, because he could comment on my actions longer.
But after three months, she got stronger. She could run around freely, and always waited for me beside the door, when I got home from school, and meowed and jumped on my skirt, which always got me laughing.
Nick never said even a WORD about the cat's state, just that he liked her. And Scarled liked him, obviously. She often wandered under my bed and slept there instead of her basket.
When she was ten months old, a very big rat got into our house. I've been scared quite a lot, standing on the chair, almost on the table, when he ran around in the kitchen and even mom had trouble catching him.
Then, like a orange furious ball, Scarlet ran there and jumped on the rat, even though he was almost as big as her, and after a while she choked it.
She got meat from the chicken we had for dinner, and could even sit on the table for once. She looked very proud of herself, and so graceful as she was sitting beside me and eating, although she was smaller than most cats- she fought, and she got just as strong.
A week after this, I referred to Nick at night;
,,Today kitty met her siblings and mom! It was really cute. She accidentaly fought with her brother and actually won! The neighbor praised me for raising her up like that."
,,That cat deserves respect," he constated.
,,Yes, she do," I noded with a smile. ,,and to remember how small and weak she was."
,,Yes. But she grew up."
,,Mhm…"
,,Thanks to your care…"
,,But she could just decide to not fight. Just die."
,,She didn't."
,,Nope."
We stayed quiet for a while.
,,What care would YOU need for getting stronger?" I asked.
There was another silence.
,,If you don't know," I kneeled down and sticked head under the bed. He jumped in surprise (almost hit his head on the bed) and moved away a bit. ,,then I'll figure it somehow. Okay?"
,,T-That'll be nice from you," still amazed it seemed, he answered.
….
The next day I've been quite distracted in school, because I thought about what lived under my bed the whole day, and mostly about what to do with it.
Sure, now he could stay there. He still fit there, even when someone looked under the bed they didn't see him, if he curled to the corner.
But he grew. We both did. It was slowly, but to think of how big the adult ones of his kind were, I got a small heart attack. Of course he can't be there always.
But to go somewhere out to the forest when he couldn't fully depend only on himself, well that was something I couldn't do to him. But to get him out of there that was a almost impossible task, I rarely managed it. The most he usually sticked out was a claw when he grabbed something I left beside the bed. ,,Gwen?"
Food, books, clothes, or he once did it to Scarlet too, but she didn't seem to like it very much. Once even my leg, when he wanted to scare me. After the good kick he got he stopped doing it.
,,GWEN!"
I jumped in my seat.
,,Yes, Mr. Walker?"
The class laughed.
,,You aren't paying attention," he stated calmly.
I turned all red, then looked down.
,,I'm sorry!"
,,What are you thinking about? A boy maybe?" Walker joked.
,,No," I snorted. Well, actually, I was- but not like he meant it. ,,I was thinking about my kitty."
,,Well, you can think about her later."
On the way home I found that some kids stopped by something, and there was quite a crowd there by now.
I ran there and found out it was a rabbit. Or actually… was before. It was skinned, just the head was whole, and all the meat was gone.
And the scent was horrible.
After a while adults came and sended us all home.
Scarlet waited for me as always, but meowed more, because some of the scent lingered on me.
I left as always with food and locked myself in my room.
,,We found a skinned wild rabbit today," I referred quietly, while giving some of the food under the bed.
,,I know."
A paw grabbed it and after a while quiet crouching could be heard.
,,You do?"
After a bit of silence, there was a more cheerful voice than before;
,,It was me that did it!"
My eyes almost fell out.
,,You…? But when?"
,,When everyone was gone."
,,How you managed to do it during the day?"
,,I've found out," he snorted. ,,I'm incredibly fast."
…
