Black Cat

It seemed like an average day for him, out and about in town. He didn't seem to notice it at first, but as time went by he came to realize that he was being followed. But it was odd; it wasn't a person that was seemingly stalking him wherever he went... but a cat. A black cat. Out of the corner of an eye he could see it looking at him numerous times; from alleyways, from behind trash cans and crates, even through glass doors when he went into buildings.

He checked his clothing to ensure that he wasn't carrying anything that could be attracting it; no fish bits on him and he didn't smell like anything a cat would like. He even checked his pockets to make sure somebody didn't slip catnip in there to attract the attentions of this cat; he came up empty handed.

As the day wore on he knew the cat was following him, at times very closely; girls he would pass would giggle and point behind him, he could hear their whispers about being followed by a cat. But every time he turned, it was gone... at times he could see the tip of a tail vanishing into a little opening, catching it trying to hide. But he didn't try to shoo the thing away; he was actually pretty amused by the idea of a cat following him everywhere he went. And what harm could the thing pose to him, anyway? A case of fleas?

The sun was starting to get low in the sky by the time he began to head home, still sure that the cat was following him; he could almost feel its eyes burning holes into his back. He wanted to turn around and grab it, but then it could scratch the Hell out of him. Wondering as to what he should do, he heard it; the cat let out a mew.

He stopped and turned about on his heels; the cat didn't run away. He came closer, all it did was sit and look up at him, its eyes staring intently. He knelt down and slowly extended a hand, expecting it to bolt, but it didn't, and then he placed his hand on its head. It mewed again and he began to pet it, scratching between its ears, making it purr slightly. He cocked his head to the side, looking at the strange cat with curiosity; he wasn't expecting it to actually sit there and let him pet it. Pressing his luck his hands took hold of the cat and slowly he lifted it off the ground... and it remained calm.

If anything the cat looked like it didn't care one bit that he was holding it above the ground; but it just kept looking at him, its gaze unbroken as though it was studying him. He could feel its weight; it didn't seem like a stray as it was just too heavy, telling him it was a well fed thing. He didn't see anything wrong with it, there were no wounds and its coat was rather shiny; it obviously had to be a house cat, a well kept one at that.

"So what's your story, eh? Why are you following me?"

He asked and as expected it didn't answer; it just looked at him. He blinked a few times then began to lower it down... but he stopped. He looked it in the eyes, staring at it as it stared at him and he got this weird feeling, as though it was trying to tell him something. He shook his head a few moments later and broke the look; he was just a little too freaked out.

"So... you want to come home with me, do you?"

He asked and it mewed as if to answer him. He paused for a few moments but then rose to his feet, pulling the cat into his arms, cradling it. The cat in turn curled up and lazily placed its head on his arm, as if unwilling to support it itself. It rubbed its face against him as a normal cat would; it was marking him with its scent.

He received several giggles from girls and several more looks for people, but he managed to get home with the cat, though retrieving mail and then unlocking the door was a bit of a pain while holding a cat. He stepped in and lowered the cat onto the floor and it trotted off, as though to inspect the place. He hit the lights and closed the door; the cat had seemingly vanished.

He did the normal things; check the answering machine for messages --shockingly enough, there was none, just like almost every day--, looked at the mail he had gotten which consisted of some bills and random crap mail, then checked the fridge to see what there was to eat. As he reached in he felt something on his leg, and when he looked down it was the cat, rubbing its body against him.

"I guess you approve of the place, eh?"

The cat just mewed and then looked in the fridge itself, as though it knew that it contained food. He looked at it, then shrugged.

"So you're hungry. Let's see what I have in here for you..."

He rummaged through it; there was very little he'd consider feeding a cat. Any actual fish he had was frozen, there wasn't any chicken in the place to speak of. He grumbled, wondering if he'd have to head out to get cat food, that is until he recalled that he had some tuna. Well, tuna fish, the stuff in a can. But first, what to give the cat to drink...

"Hmm... are you a water cat, or a milk cat..."

Surprisingly the cat seemed to understand and looked at the milk. He blinked a few times as he looked down at it, wondering if the cat actually understood him... and it looked up at him. It mewed again, then looked at the milk; seems it wanted milk. He took it out and closed the door, then went to get a bowl, luckily the tuna was in the same cupboard.