Holiday G/T Stories:
No Warmth, No Choice
The human, Kasey, was huddled up in bed, shivering. There had been a power outage that shut of the heating system - and in the cold of winter? Kasey was probably no warmer than a block of ice.
Yet, Orin could feel heat radiating off of his human's body.
Heat that he himself didn't possess.
He watched warily from the walls, thick clothes and rags wrapped around him. His numbed tail flicked agitatedly, and he release a soft sigh.
The cold air wrapped around his thin, frail body. He had no extra fat or belly to keep him warm, unlike the human. He had no real blankets, just ripped up shirt pieces and abandoned dishrags. He had no bed to curl up in, but only a thin layer of cotton.
Borrowers tended not to have much choice in how they lived.
Kasey was a wonderful human, of course. He was a kind soul, and laughably messy. He was quiet, and closed off; yet when he was near his friends, he was unbelievably social. Orin couldn't figure out why, yet. After all, his social group only contained his mother and father, and his adoptive brother.
And he hadn't talked to them in years, after moving out.
Now, with what the humans called "the holidays" around the corner, all the human families were getting grouped up together, bunched up in one house.
A borrower's nightmare.
Borrowing would be impossible, with so many unpredictable humans bustling about.
Yet, Kasey was alone.
His entire family was in "Europe", which from what Orin could tell, was far enough that it would be impossible for a borrower to travel there.
He didn't bother thinking more into that. Kasey seemed like the type of person to choose a rather secluded lifestyle, anyways.
Orin shivered again, wrapping the cloth tighter around him. It did nothing to make him any warmer, but it was the thought that counted. Just gazing at the thick blankets Kasey had sent him into a spiral of longing and wishful thinking. He would have loved to curl up next to Kasey and absorb all the warmth that emanated from him. He could nearly feel the perceived warmth in the biting cold.
Orin couldn't even curl up his fingers properly.
On the bed, Kasey let out a wistful, shuddery breath, and Orin could faintly hear the human's heart rate slow down.
He's asleep.
Orin blinked at the jumbled thoughts rushing through him. Could he really try to get some warmth from Kasey? But what if he got caught? Just the thought of it made Orin shiver, and not just from the cold..
Yet, if he didn't, he would surely freeze to death.
Orin made up his mind, and with stiff fingers, brought out his small climbing hook. He quickly scampered over to the nightstand, where Kasey's wire-frame glasses sat innocuously. He fought the rigidness in his arms, and tossed the hook up onto the nightstand, hissing out a happy noise when it caught and held.
