Holidays:
Ebony flattened her ears as the twoleg kits, Sofia and Mitchell, pounded down the hall. Her brother, Bramble, was curled up next to her, his dark brown tabby pelt rising and falling sharply. He, too, had been awakened by the kits. Yawning, she go to her feet. "What's up with them?" she asked, amber eyes gleaming with curiosity.
"Remember, Ebony? It's Christmas morning!" Bramble responded, cracking open one amber eye.
Sure enough, a loud shout rang through the house, a repetitive cheer of a word that Ebony and Bramble knew a tad too well. "Christmas! Christmas! Christmas!"
The black she-cat's eyes widened as she realized what this meant. "Catnip, another cat tower, new toys-"
Bramble finished her words for her, "-and lots and lots and lots of loud noise."
Sighing, she got to her paws, shaking her ruffled black fur. Ebony nudged Bramble to his feet, amber eyes sparkling but her ears flattened. Sofia and Mitchell bounded back down the hall, and Ebony leapt away from them, barely avoiding getting squashed.
"Watch it!" the black she-cat snapped, licking her ruffled chest fur swiftly.
Her brother let out a soft meow of amusement. "Scared, are you?" he teased. "Can't let your fur get all messed up, after all!"
The female adult housefolk, Clarisse, came walking down the hall. She let out a worried tsk-tsk as she spotted Ebony and Bramble, and leaned down to pet them. "Did Sofia or Mitchell hurt you? Don't be scared, its just Christmas."
Clarisse gently picked up Ebony, and she softened in her warm embrace. Bramble led the three of them down the hall into the living room, where the two housefolk kits sat on the couch, dumping the contents of their stockings out.
It was just another ordinary Christmas morning.
By the time it was time to open presents, Ebony and Bramble had found themselves a cozy hideout perch on one of their cat towers. Pressed together, they watched their housefolk family with wide, exited eyes.
Sofia was opening the first present of Christmas. Soon, a book with a pink and purple cover was in Sofia's hands. She let out a squeal of delight, and Ebony purred. Sofia looked happy!
Now Mitchell unwrapped a blue present. A thin plastic thing was inside it. Ebony shared a questioning glance with Bramble before leaping down from their perch and onto the floor, trotting over to Mitchell and sniffing his gift.
The rest of the present opening seemed to fly by, until Clarisse stood up and walked over to a giant present that was taller then her by a few inches. Ebony squinted, recognizing her name next to Bramble's on the silver package. Their new cat tower. Bounding over, Ebony reared on her hind legs, sniffing the present excitedly.
"Ebony knows it's for her!" Sofia laugh, coming over.
Mitchell followed his sister, and together the two housefolk kits ripped away the wrapping.
Ebony sprang onto the lowest perch, then onto the next, and the next, and finally to the top. She stared at Bramble, passing a playful threat through her silent amber gaze. Bramble bristled, fur spiking happily, and he swiftly climbed the cat tower he was on until the top. Letting out a playful mew, he leapt onto the perch below Ebony.
Batting down a forepaw, she let out a squeal of happy surprise as Bramble sprang up, grasping her with his forepaws and pulling her down. She twisted, landing on her feet beside him and gently nipping his shoulder.
He responded with a delighted hiss, head-butting her before leaping to the ground, calling over his shoulder, "You can't catch me!"
The black she-cat smirked. If only Bramble knew. She leapt off her ledge and onto the floor, chasing Bramble out of the living room and into the kitchen. He skidded to a halt as he realized he was cornered, spinning around and rearing.
...
Ebony lay on the high cat ledge of the new cat tower, staring down at the ground. She could hear the sounds of Sofia, Mitchell, Clarisse, and the male housefolk, who was called Jason, as they eat their Christmas dinner. She and Bramble had already had their kitty cakes and some cat treats, and now she was tired from their long, exhausting day.
Resting her chin on her paws, she sighed, tired. Slowly, the black she-cat closed her amber eyes, feeling the strong and certain tug of sleep on her eyelids.