She opens her mouth and lets out a plaintive, "Mraawl."
The man lets out a threatening growl that makes her curl up tighter around herself. She's never met another werewolf who's not her Master before. "Quiet," he growls for good measure and she stops trying to make another noise but makes herself focus on the person driving the vehicle that smells like leather.
He must be Shadow. Master had showed her pictures of him before and she had always thought that he looked frightening. He is even scarier in person, tanned skin and stern lines on his face, hands clutching the wheel of his car so hard she's surprised it hasn't shattered in his grip.
"I don't have use for a cat," he says fiercely, low and dangerous, and glances at her. "Why would he give me a cat?" he grumbles under his breath.
For a second, she is terrified that he would open the window and just throw her out. She tries to make herself even smaller, but fear makes her fur puff out and she bares her fangs at him.
He seems to deflate a little at the sight of her and he lets out a sigh, the fight going out of him in increments. "I'm sorry, love. I'm sure you're lovely," he says and she preens a little bit because she is really very lovely. Master makes sure to groom her every other day. Didn't even know the old man had a cat," he says. "Apparently you're important," he says. "Old man left half his estate to you," he continues and the words don't really mean much to her except tell her that he can't just throw her away easily now. Estate means money and people don't throw money. Her body shakes and her brain starts taking note on how it would be safer for her if he doesn't know she's a half shift. If nobody told him, does that mean Master didn't want him to know?
But Master left her with Shadow, so he must have trusted him.
As he continues driving, she realizes that it doesn't matter whether he knows or not if he's not going to let her out of the cage. She can't shift in a place like this. If the cage is made of metal and steel, then she could die trying to shift into her full human form. Maybe he'll do it when he gets home. People don't generally keep their cats in cages, right? She's a very pretty cat, fluffy white fur and she's very well behaved. She'll do tricks too, when the mood strikes her. Master likes to hold her when she's in this form and pet her hair until she's all soft and pliant. And then Master would snip her nails so she doesn't scratch up all his expensive furniture. She misses Master.
"What's gotten you all upset?" the
man asks suddenly, his attention fully focused on her. As if she had spoken or moved, neither of which she had.
There's a small pause as she opens her mouth without any real idea of what to saw. Then, she lets out another plaintive, "Mreowl."
"I don't know what I expected," he sighs. "Come on, then. I'm not moving into the old man's estate, so you better get used to my house."
She curls up tightly and whines when she feels her cage being lifted up. Master never puts her in a cage. It's big enough that she can curl around and stare at the back of the cage instead. She wants to see where she's going, though. It's pointless. She can't see much and trying to look out is only making the cage shake. She's getting kind of dizzy.
"If you throw up, I'm going to hose you down." His voice fills the silence, callous and cruel as though he's reporting on the weather. She doesn't want to get hose down. They used to do it to her back in her first home and it's terrible. It leaves her shivering cold and she can never get herself fully dry because she can't reach her head with her paws.
She hears the sound of the doors whirling shut and then she's being lowered into a corner. It smells like food in here and she can sort of see the dining table and chairs. Master had liked antiques, things that are older than him and furniture that looked and smelled like history. Pine and hardwood and expensive things from all over the world. It's homey.
Her new Master's home is metal and glass, expensive in different ways. She sees extravagant glass decoration on the surface of the table and giant coffee machines and knows in her mind that he's not going to let her out here. He won't risk his expensive new things. She is already thinking of the pretty noises they'll make when she pushes them off the counter.
She wonders if he's going to feed her. How is he going to feed her if he doesn't let her out. He has to, right? At some point or the other? She'll behave. She's a good kitty.
He turns the light on and then she hears the sound of plastic rustling, and then a few seconds later, a can is opened. The scent of tuna fills the air.
Her stomach grumbles.
"Cats eat tuna, right?" he murmurs, squatting down in front of the entrance to her cage. She thinks of running. Maybe- maybe she can get back to her Master. She doesn't want them to bury him without her. He'll be lonely. Master Monty spends all his time with her, petting her and grooming her fur and watching silly shows with her.
When he gets the door open, she is frozen in place because he bends down and she sees his face clearly for the first time and he looks so much like Master Monty when he's not glaring at everything that her breath hitches and she forgets to run. He's like Master Monty, but younger and healthier and looking like he's in his prime. He's so handsome, so much like Master Monty. She lets out a broken-hearted mrawl and he pushes the can in front of her and before she can think of moving, he locks the door to the cage and walks away.
Her eyes track him as he walks to the edge of the room and opens the door to his fridge. She can't see what he takes out from it, but it must be some sort of cold cut sandwich because he starts to eat it right away.
She tells herself that she's not going to eat the tuna. Canned tuna is bad for her fur. Master only feeds her fresh fish. Her mouth water as she hears the sound of her new master biting and chewing the sandwich and her stomach growls, but the thought of her Master makes her heart clench and she loses her appetite.
She curls up and closes her eyes, tries to relax.
It doesn't take her long to fall asleep, dreaming of tuna.
Chapter Two: Rage
She feels like she's been in the cage for weeks now even though she knows it's only been two days at most. It's hard to tell the time locked up in the cage like this, though. She doesn't see any windows and the only source of light she has comes from the living room.
Shadow's obviously not used to having a pet. He hadn't even bothered giving her water.
Her stomach hurts a little when she wakes and she gives the can of tuna a kitten lick and scrunches her nose. It tastes artificial and gross. The alternative is going hungry and she decides to take it for now. Maybe she'll be lucky and just die in here. She feels terribly melodramatic but can anyone blame her? She just lost her master.
The thing is, she hasn't stayed in her cat shift for so long since she started staying with her Master. He knows how dangerous it is for half shifters like her to lose themselves in their minds. There are shifters like her who are forced to stay in their shifts for so long that they forget they're human and can't shift back. She thinks maybe that won't be too bad. The less human she is, the less she feels. It is still a little disconcerting to have her animal mind seize control. She's fine with staying in her cat shift. It feels a little disconcerting, though. Her animal mind is taking control.