The Cat Lady

Akaru didn’t open his eyes for several minutes after he woke, trying to process the sensations around him, to figure out where he was.

He was in monkey form.

Check.

There was a serious wound in his arm.

Check.

He was laying on something soft and warm.

Check.

The smell of cats and old people where everywhere.

…What?

“Mrrr…”

He opened his eyes to a pair of yellow, slitted eyes, watching him curiously. A cat was perched on the bed right next to him, purring quietly, flicking its tail in passive boredom. He frowned, sitting up, wincing slightly as the movement jostled his bandaged arm. “Wh… Where are we?”

“Somewhere safe.” Null’s voice was as dry and half-asleep as ever. She was sitting up in the bed next to him, out the window on her left. “A lot of us sustained heavy injuries in that… last incident with Tori. Just go back to sleep. You’ll heal eventually.”

Injuries… Akaru’s eyes strayed to the way Null’s hand rested over her side, where she had been stabbed. Her clothes had been changed, too- the other ones had probably been ruined. Even so, there wasn’t much difference- the same gray, unremarkable shirt, black slacks, no make-up.

He looked away, over the rest of the musty room. Three other identical beds, but two were empty. Elora slept in the other, surrounded by at least five cats, snuggling up with them happily. “Where are we?”

Null, who had no cats, sighed and leaned back. “A friend of mine’s home. Well… not really a friend. More of an ally.”

“A Gifted?”

“Sort of. We needed a place to rest and heal, and this was the closest one.” She closed her eyes. “Your injury and mine are probably the most serious. The others had a lot of minor scrapes and cuts, but they’ve all gone downstairs by now. I think they’re fixing lunch or something.”

That was right… The attack. “What about Tori?”

~~~

Tori jerked on the chains, pulling them across the small, poorly-lit basement. Candles were arranged in a circle around the edges of the room, still unlit. A small pile of packaged food lay in a corner, enough to carry her for several days if she was careful, along with several jugs of water and a blanket. Everything was almost set.

She stepped over her staff as she dropped the chains to the floor, turning back towards the one door to check that the lock was still on the door where it should be. Instead, she saw Aden, watching her with a worried look on his face. He didn’t say anything, probably being torn around by his thoughts. Still, she could understand the basic idea.

“I have to do this,” she sighed, waving around the room. “You saw me out there- I completely lost control! I can’t do that again.”

Null had explained, when she had woken up in the infirmary bed, still bound just in case she was going to go violent again. She was… unstable, volatile. She was fine, most of the time, but whenever she became angry or badly hurt, she risked slipping back into that berserker state, that… thing. The thing that had hurt all of the others. The thing that had stabbed Null.

She just couldn’t do that again. She reached for the multiple chains, giving them a good yank to make sure that they were still bolted to the wall. “It’s for the best, Aden. I’ll stay in here, meditate, try to get some control over it. And I won’t come out until I’m sure I won’t ever do that to all of you again.”

“You don’t have to.” His voice was quiet, hesitant. Pleading. “We can help you. You don’t have to be alone like this. I… I don’t like this.”

“It’ll be fine.” She smiled, snapping a manacle around her ankle. “Really. Watch- I’ll probably kick this in a couple of days!” Maybe.

He shook his head, still looking worried as she snapped her other ankle into a lock.

She frowned, hesitating as she picked up the wrist cuffs. Slowly, she stood. “Actually, I could use your help on something.”

Aden looked up, hopeful. Maybe she wouldn’t have to stay in this depressing place, locked away? What could he do? He was her ally- he’d be happy to help! Anything, if he could just-

Tori smiled, walking a few feet towards the door. The chains wouldn’t let her completely reach it, but she held out her hand anyways. “Hold on to the key for me? You can check in on me every now and then, if you want. When I’m through, you can be the one to let me go.”

His eyes fixed on the small bronze key resting in the palm of her hand, his hopes sinking. Quietly, he shuffled into the room, reaching forward and clasping her hand in his.

“…Okay.”

~~~

Konki stiffened as another cat rubbed against her legs, grip tightening on the wooden spoon she was using to stir the soup. “Is it healthy to have this many cats in one house?”

“They’re very clean creatures.” The old woman’s voice was creaky and worn, but amused. “You’d be surprised by how well they pick up after themselves.”

She fought down a sneeze, pouring more milk into the pot on the stove. “Not well enough.” They had only been here about a day and a half, but already, how many cats had she seen? Fifteen? Twenty? …More?

It wasn’t that the house wasn’t big enough- it was huge, practically a mansion. Most of it was unused, apparently- the old lady lived there alone, and there was no telling how old the house was. Everywhere was the scent of mothballs and potpourri. Still, it wasn’t bad- it was quiet and peaceful, the food was good, and she had slept so well since they got here.

…Now if only she could stop sneezing.

“We’re really grateful for the place to stay,” Shan said, working on slicing bread on the other side of the kitchen. “But if you don’t mind my asking… Who are you, exactly? Null passed out before she could give us an introduction.”

“Me?” the old woman smiled, pulling her shawl more tightly around her shoulders as she reached up for some vegetables stored in a basket on a shelf. “Would you believe I can’t remember my name? I’ve lived such an awfully long time, dearie. There’s a lot of things I can remember, but you’ll have to forgive me if some things have slipped down the drain!”

Konki and Shan shot each other a look before going back to their respective tasks. More than just memories has slipped down the senile woman’s drain, if the past hour was any indication.

“Then, at the least, how do you know Null?” Konki asked, stirring the soup a little more slowly as she listened.

“Ah? Oh, that’s easy! Such a sweet young girl. The first time she came here, she tried to kill me!” The old woman laughed, smiling. “So much energy, in that one!”

Konki stiffened, turning towards the old woman to ask-

Brrrr! Brrrr! Brrrr!

Shan nearly dropped his knife from surprise and annoyance. He snatched the watch off of the counter before anyone else could look, a flicker of something slightly irritated moving through his apathetic eyes. He scrolled for a few seconds, shaking his head. “Not another one…”

Konki switched the spoon to another hand, looking at him curiously. “Another what?”

“Nothing.” He shoved the watch in his pocket, and turned his back, returning to slicing. “…Miss. What are all of your cats named?”

The old woman had launched into an enthusiastic discourse over way too many cat names before Konki could say anything, cutting off her questions in a flurry of feline eagerness.

((Sami- That definitely sounds like a good idea! I'm caught up now, but if you ever want to write a chapter, just let me know. :) This story still belongs to all of us, after all.))