White Collar Drabble: Strays
Title: Strays
Author:
sheenianni
Characters/Pairings: Kate, Neal, Mozzie (Neal/Kate)
Word Count: 432
Rating: PG
Summary: When Kate's life takes an ugly turn, Neal and Mozzie are there to help her pick up the pieces. The "they're all cats" AU that nobody asked for. Ahem.
A/N: Written for
getyourwordsout during the Word Bowling Challenge. Essentially, you get ten words and then write a ten-line story with each word being on one line. I expanded it afterwards. My words: salmon, teacher, bonnet, smoke, overcoat, fierce, calculate, partner, twirl, violet.
Kate had tried to be a good kitten. She never ripped her mistress’s violet dresses, never peed on the carpet. And then one day the kids tried to put those terrible ribbons and bonnets on her. Suffocating, she was fierce as she screeched, scratched and bit, and then the girl cried, her mistress cried, and after some screaming, the master put on his overcoat, stuffed Kate roughly in a box and grabbed his car keys. She should have known then what was happening, but somehow, she didn’t put it together, right until he dumped her on a street full of smoke, dirt and waste…
“You’re thinking about them again.” Kate jumps. Neal. Her new partner.
Next to him, Mozzie huffs. “See? She is hopeless!” Mozzie, the old cat with just one eye and a nasty scar across his face. Her teacher.
The first few weeks on the streets, she was terrified, cold, hungry and sick, woefully unprepared for the life where she didn’t have a bowl full of food and a warm bed anymore. She wouldn’t have survived long if Neal hadn’t found her. But the clever street cat took a liking to her and took her in despite Mozzie’s loud objections. They taught her where the shops threw out food that wasn’t yet spoiled, taught her where people sometimes left milk for them, showed her how to find a warm spot to sleep, taught her how to bite like she actually meant it.
The first few weeks, Moz used to hide in his lair and calculate how much effort it would take to get rid of her without alienating Neal. When he finally grudgingly accepted her, Kate almost made a happy twirl, determined not to let them down.
Today, she squarely meets their eyes, like an equal. “I stole some salmon for us.”
After a moment of silence, Neal makes an excited squeak and jumps at her. They start fooling around, nipping at each other on the ground until Mozzie interrupts them with a loud meow.
“The fish…?”
Kate proudly leads them to her prize.
After not eating yesterday, they were all hungry. Now, Kate enjoys the taste of salmon juice dripping at her paws before she licks them clean; she grins at the way Neal meticulously checks the ground for anymore leftover pieces while still keeping his elegant charm, but most of all she basks in Mozzie’s silent approval as slowly swallows the fish and then closes his remaining eye, enjoying the rare delicacy.
Later, Kate falls asleep pressed into Neal’s fur, her belly full, feeling content. She finally belongs.
Author:
sheenianni
Characters/Pairings: Kate, Neal, Mozzie (Neal/Kate)
Word Count: 432
Rating: PG
Summary: When Kate's life takes an ugly turn, Neal and Mozzie are there to help her pick up the pieces. The "they're all cats" AU that nobody asked for. Ahem.
A/N: Written for
getyourwordsout during the Word Bowling Challenge. Essentially, you get ten words and then write a ten-line story with each word being on one line. I expanded it afterwards. My words: salmon, teacher, bonnet, smoke, overcoat, fierce, calculate, partner, twirl, violet.
Kate had tried to be a good kitten. She never ripped her mistress’s violet dresses, never peed on the carpet. And then one day the kids tried to put those terrible ribbons and bonnets on her. Suffocating, she was fierce as she screeched, scratched and bit, and then the girl cried, her mistress cried, and after some screaming, the master put on his overcoat, stuffed Kate roughly in a box and grabbed his car keys. She should have known then what was happening, but somehow, she didn’t put it together, right until he dumped her on a street full of smoke, dirt and waste…
“You’re thinking about them again.” Kate jumps. Neal. Her new partner.
Next to him, Mozzie huffs. “See? She is hopeless!” Mozzie, the old cat with just one eye and a nasty scar across his face. Her teacher.
The first few weeks on the streets, she was terrified, cold, hungry and sick, woefully unprepared for the life where she didn’t have a bowl full of food and a warm bed anymore. She wouldn’t have survived long if Neal hadn’t found her. But the clever street cat took a liking to her and took her in despite Mozzie’s loud objections. They taught her where the shops threw out food that wasn’t yet spoiled, taught her where people sometimes left milk for them, showed her how to find a warm spot to sleep, taught her how to bite like she actually meant it.
The first few weeks, Moz used to hide in his lair and calculate how much effort it would take to get rid of her without alienating Neal. When he finally grudgingly accepted her, Kate almost made a happy twirl, determined not to let them down.
Today, she squarely meets their eyes, like an equal. “I stole some salmon for us.”
After a moment of silence, Neal makes an excited squeak and jumps at her. They start fooling around, nipping at each other on the ground until Mozzie interrupts them with a loud meow.
“The fish…?”
Kate proudly leads them to her prize.
After not eating yesterday, they were all hungry. Now, Kate enjoys the taste of salmon juice dripping at her paws before she licks them clean; she grins at the way Neal meticulously checks the ground for anymore leftover pieces while still keeping his elegant charm, but most of all she basks in Mozzie’s silent approval as slowly swallows the fish and then closes his remaining eye, enjoying the rare delicacy.
Later, Kate falls asleep pressed into Neal’s fur, her belly full, feeling content. She finally belongs.