Claws // Colby Brock

💫 30 💫

☯︎☯︎☯︎☯︎☯︎

The cat was back. That was my first thought as I woke up even wrapped in the arms of what I could now call my boyfriend. We'd fallen back asleep yesterday, unable to stay awake much longer after curling up together. But now, with the prospect of getting a cat on the table, I couldn't care less.

I jogged down the stairs in a large t-shirt and shorts, darting to the door as my nose worked overtime to track where the cat might be in the dark. I spotted it instantly hovering near the door, its eyes reflecting off of the light from inside. Momentarily, I noticed that the others were in the kitchen, then I was through the door on my knees gently coercing it toward me.

It purred as it rubbed up against my hand, the collar I had put on it still sitting there. This — in my mind — proved it had no other owner. So instantly, I wrapped the cat up in my arms and carried it inside, careful not to drift too close to the vampires in case they freaked it out. Colby was surprisingly awake like the others, though there was no way it'd been long since he got down here, and his eyes landed on the cradled creature instantly. He glanced up at my gaze almost questioningly, like he wasn't sure what to do or say about this situation.

"Uh oh," Cassie muttered, resting her elbows on the island. "Let me guess: you've convinced yourself it has no other owner?"

"It doesn't," I replied, rising my chin into the air. "Well, didn't. I'm its owner now."

Tara zipped closer but this time she didn't get so close it would freak. "If you're keeping it, you need to name it... Wait, is it a boy or girl?"

"No clue," I admitted, and instantly lifted it up to check. I heard a couple of disgusted noises around the room, which I completely ignored, before I wrapped her back into my arms. "A girl."

Tara snorted. "Right. What are you naming her?"

"Hmm..." I stopped to think for a short while. I'd barely had to name anything before, someone else always taking that responsibility for me. I was so glad that suddenly I didn't have to worry about what to name my kid, because I'd probably change my mind a dozen times in the delivery room, let alone over the course of nine months.

She was a gorgeous cat — purely black with stunning yellow eyes that almost matched mine when I flashed them. Ordinary names were off the table, and I hated the usual "Mittens" stuff, too. There was one name I'd had in the back of my mind for quite some time, a name that related to me and seemed perfect for a feline rather than human baby.

"I'll need to get that engraved on your collar," I murmured down to her, adjusting her so I could hold her up to my face. I partly expected her to freak out, but instead she just kicked my nose and shuffled uncomfortably. I couldn't help but laugh a little to myself, bumping my forehead to hers. The animalistic connection between us was fairly strong, despite the fact she wasn't even a dog like... sort of like I was.

I noticed Colby a little ways behind her watching us, his eyes flashing between red and blue as he tried to regain control of himself. Watching me with animals seemed to set off the soft side of him. I didn't know how he could be unsatisfied in any way, after the evening we'd had yesterday. But vampires had infinite stamina, after all.

"Go free," I told my new pet, setting her on the floor. She unsurprisingly rushed away from the vampires, and that was when I realised something. "I hope you like cats as well, Colby, because I'm not making her sleep downstairs."

"We have a hallway," he answered, averting his gaze for the first time since I'd walked in.

I felt my brow raising in challenge, but I shrugged the aggression away and decided to try a different approach. An approach that worked often — I had to know if Colby would succumb to it, too.