Kataro's Story

RokuBell was a wonderful and prosperous town, full of life daily. From the town vendors which would line the streets with huge smiles and tasty treats. To the friendly neighbors calling out to each other each morning in a delightful greeting. Everything about the town was great, everyone knew everyone, and everyone was kind. Even the richest and most well-to-do families took part in providing wonders for the sweet town of RokuBell. It was the place where everyone loved to live, and others would visit frequently.

Surrounding the town was many gorgeous sites; on the left was a large hotspring that caused most of the tourist attraction. To the right was a lush forest, complete with a nice path that people could take to go on picnics or to see the mountains that lay at the ends of the path. Behind the town, a little away was a grand building where the top people of RokuBell worked to beautify and help the people and the town. It was a building of hope, from the way the sun would reflect off the glass windows, to the amazing gardens that lined it. The building itself looked as if it could be an academy for the brightest of mind, in a way it was….people came from all over to study there.

But, it was not in these places that a small boy wandered that morning. While the town was bustling with morning cheer, he walked through another forest that lay far off from the town’s entrance. It was an untouched area, full of wild life, much different than the town of RokuBell. While the people went about their daily business, one boy tromped through the woods. His hair was a light tan-ish color and had a few twigs and leaves from the nearby trees tangled within it. He wore a simple blue zip-up vest over a white short-sleeve t-shirt, and khaki shorts that almost matched his hair. On his feet were a pair of worn black sandals, but he didn’t seem to mind the state of him.

The brightest and prettiest shade of blue eyes glanced around with delight at the woody surroundings. It would appear that he was lost, why else would a normal boy of his short-stature be wandering through the woods when he should be at school? In fact he was not normal. The thing that stood out most about him was the black furred tail that waved from behind him, and the black furred ears that perched upon his tan hair. At first glance people would think they were a costume, which people often did. But…the truth was the animal parts were entirely real. The boy was in fact, a neko.

His name was Kataro, he couldn’t recall a last name, but people who chanced a talk with him would say it sounded like “Nyow” though, that could be because he often said some form of “nyaa” after every sentence. Kataro was not very familiar with human customs, or speech, despite being half one. To him he was purr~fectly normal, even though he couldn’t recall where he came from, or anything of the matter. It didn’t bother him in the slightest.

He was, in some words, a stray. He didn’t have a place or person he was tied down to. he could do whatever he wanted in the forest, from sleeping in a tree to teasing the fish he came across. To him every day was another adventure.

Ah! ~ What a wonderful Cat’s Life! ~

It was on a day like this, that he came across something that both made him curious and would change his average life forever. While wandering through the forest, steering clear of any water, he came upon a small cottage, hidden by trees. He had never before seen such a thing in the forest, and it was very intriguing to him. His blue eyes lit up and a smile snaked across his lips, causing him to grin widely. It was his normal reaction to anything he really liked. A cottage in the woods could be a nice place for him to play. Without thinking of consequences, he sprinted towards it, and flung himself through the open window. He landed on all fours, as a cat would and his tail curled around him, as he glanced around at the empty room.

He grinned again. Yes… this would definitely be a nice place to play. He thought.

He was instantly attracted to items that lined the wall as he looked around. He instantly went towards them, touching everything. Everything was different to him, he hadn’t ever gone into many buildings and he vaguely wondered if all of them were the same as this one. It was as he was reaching for a most likely breakable object, that he froze and his black furred ears perked up.

There was a noise behind him, and he could hear it before the girl even entered the room. He flipped around, grasping the object, his tail going straight in alarm. Upon seeing the white haired girl with a weapon brandished he turned to confusion. She stared at him, their eyes connecting for a second before she spoke

“Hey aren’t you supposed to be in school instead of breaking into people’s homes?”


She held a posture that was unrecognizable to him. Most humans he had ever come across would have started laughing but instead she just stared, it almost made him uncomfortable and his ears twitched slightly, his tail coming to curl closer around him as she spoke again.

“And I know this a stupid question but… um… are those real?” motioning at his ears, “Because they’re moving like they are and… they’re really cute.”


He understood very little of what she was saying. As he had not spent enough time around humans to know their language, he would seem like a foreigner to anyone. Very slightly he tilted his head allowing his tan-ish hair to fall over his cheek. His hands curled tighter over the object he had picked up, and he glanced at the window as if he were to try and escape.
All this happened in a mere second, reacting like a fearful kitten he jumped towards the window but it was not large enough to allow space for a boy. His head smacked into the top of the frame and he fell back, the object slipped from his hand and fell to the floor with a crash.

“Owwww nyan!~” he groaned, as he pressed a hand to his head, his ears pinned back to his head, nearly hiding in his hair. His pretty blue eyes glanced up at the girl, noticing one thing….She did not look at him with disgust.

As he lay there staring up at the girl, the frightened feeling he had started to fade. He titled his head to one side as she spoke again.

“I didn’t mean to scare you… are you ok?” she asked her eyebrows furrowing in concern.


Her voice held a kindness he was not used to. Not familiar with at all. He blinked as she lowered herself to her knees. He kept watch on her, confused by her actions but he didn’t move away. When she was level with him, she reached towards him cautiously. He flinched only slightly as she brushed strands of his tan-ish hair from his head. His eyes were wide with confusion as she looked at him. It caught his breath. She wasn’t hurting him

“Stay here for a sec, I’ma go get some ice,” she told him

She removed her hand from his head and got up. As she left he wanted to pull her back but he instead stayed where he was trying to piece together what he did know of her speech.

”S..st...a...y” He repeated in nearly a whisper. His voice was quiet and child-like matching well with his appearance. Finding his position entirely uncomfortable, he rolled over to his side and curled his legs into his chest and placed his hands by his head. With a normal cat he would be simply lying down, but since he was human-like, he would look pretty strange, maybe even cute. He wondered if the girl would return.

Just then she walked back into sight, his ears perked up and he glanced to her. Sitting bolt upright.

“What’s your name? My name is Lucida by the way,” she said as she moved to place the ice pack on his head. “I know it’s cold but this will help keep the swelling down, just keep holding there ok while I clean up this mess.”

She placed a cold object against his head and he flailed, panicking for a second before realizing it was not actually water, but something frozen. He blinked and poked at the object before deciding that it felt quite nice actually. He turned it around in his hands, rather than holding it to his head as she began cleaning up the cool object he had dropped and apparently broken.


Feeling bad, his ears drooped as he watched her clean the mess away. He repeated the sounds of the words she had said, in his head. He didn’t get most of it, and she spoke too fast for him to remember all of it. However, he wanted to communicate with her. As she left the room, he contemplated what to say to her hoping she would understand that he had trouble understanding and would speak so he could know what she said to him.

Once she returned, he quickly placed the icepack against his head as if he had been caught doing something wrong and was trying to cover it up. He bit his lip with a sharp cat-like tooth and opened up his mouth to speak to her. He wanted to express thanks but all that came out was

“Nyan!”

He wanted to fall over and die in embarrassment. It sure was a way to make the girl think he was weird. She was looking at him curiously. He stared at the ground, tracing little circles with a finger. His ears drooped further, and he bit his lip again. With his head lowered, he glanced up at her through the long strands of his bangs. She seemed to be thinking, as her finger wrapped around a strand of her own hair. It was such a pretty color, her hair.


“Well I’m not too sure what you’re trying to say,” she began but then paused... “My name… is… Lucida. What is…yours? Do you… have a… family? Are… you all… alone?” she finished.

He glanced up, and grinned slightly. Somehow she had understood what he meant, without him actually saying it. He calmed down a bit and focused on her words. A few stood out to him Name...yours....family....alone Was she asking his name? That had to be it, but what was Lucy...dah? He jumped a bit as realization hit him. It must be her name. He grinned a bit more, upon understanding.


“I....Kat-ar-o...nyan!” He said, relieved that it didn’t sound squeaky or anything in fact his speech had a slight purr to it. Kataro processed the rest of her words.

”Fam..ily...nyo....Alone...”

He paused, and played with the end of his tail which had come to circle closer to his body. His previous grin turned into a frown and he gave a small nod

Kataro continued to play with his tail, twisting it around a finger then letting it unravel over and over again. He glanced up at Lucida as she spoke again.

“Well Kataro… if you have… no family… then… why don’t you… stay with me?”

He blinked and she smiled gently. He processed her words and dropped his tail which swayed in the air.

”Kat-ar-o...st...ay. Kat-ar-o stay?!?

His eyes lit up in understanding and he crawled forward closer to her repeating the word “stay?” to make sure that he understood clearly enough. She was telling him to stay at this house with her right? He had never before been offered something like that, and he couldn’t hide his excitement.

Suddenly her stomach made a large growling noise. Kataro’s eyes went wide and he saw her cheeks turn pink.


“Well… I guess… its time… for breakfast” she said while scratching the back of her head. “Umm…this there… anything you… would like… to eat?”

It was getting a little easier to understand. More words he recognized stood out. He thought for a second before replying.

“Kat-ar-o eats fish! Nyan~”

He grinned widely showing off his cat-like teeth, his eyes continued to sparkle with a child-like excitement. His
ears and tail twitched rapidly.

He moved closer to her repeating the word ‘stay?’ with such wonderment as if no one had ever offered any kindness like that to him. It made her sad yet happy to see his joy; he really was like a child. A warm feeling began growing in her heart- a pleasant surprise from the coldness that was usually there. Maybe in time he would help her fully recover from her parent’s deaths, but for now she needed to fill their stomachs.

“Then we’ll be having fish,” she agreed with a nod before getting up. “Try… to behave…” she told him then left for the kitchen.

Lucida opened the freezer door and pulled out some fish fillets and set them aside so she could get some vegetables. She placed four medium sized pieces of fish onto a regular baking dish making sure to season them and washed her hands. Then she moved to cutting the carrots, onion, red bell peppers, and small zucchini into small strips and cooked them in a frying pan. Once she was done she poured them over the fish and placed it in the oven.

“We’re going to have to wait about 20 minutes so why don’t we watch some TV?” she asked him making sure to speak slowly. Lucida fished the remote control from the couch, turning on the TV as she sat down. With one hand she motioned for Kataro to join her and with the other she turn the channel to an animal show. “I’m not too sure what you like so I hope this is ok…”

After the 20 minutes where done, she went to the kitchen to remove the fish from the oven. She carefully placed one serving of fish and vegetables on his plate then one on her’s, the rest was put on a larger plate and set in the middle of the table. “Ok breakfast is ready!” she called out to Kataro. “Oh is there anything you wanted to drink? I have think I have apple juice if you want some?” she asked again making sure to not talk too fast.

“Then we’ll be having fish,” she agreed with a nod before getting up. “Try… to behave…” she told him then left for the kitchen.


He tilted his head, and then followed after her. His sandals clacked lightly on the floor. He watched he as she moved about the room and began cooking. He tried to see what she was doing, having not seen someone cook before. His mouth watered at the sight of the fish cooking and he hoped it would taste good even though it wasn’t freshly caught.

He eyed the vegetables with confusion not knowing what they were. The colors intrigued him and he wondered if they were perhaps like the sweet berries he had found in the forest once.

“We’re going to have to wait about 20 minutes so why don’t we watch some TV?”


She went to the furniture and picked up a small unrecognizable object. When the TV turned on Kataro jumped then stared in wonder, and wandered close to it, lightly touching the screen. He looked back at her with wide eyes, the TV was displaying animals

“I’m not too sure what you like so I hope this is ok…”


He nodded and walked back over to her. After sometime of realizing that the creatures on the screen were not real she returned to the kitchen, Kataro followed automatically like an obedient pet.


“Ok breakfast is ready!” she called out to Kataro. “Oh is there anything you wanted to drink? I have think I have apple juice if you want some?”


His ears perked up and he grinned at the fish that was placed on the plate in front of him. Suddenly he was very hungry and the smell from the food was just...wonderful. He involuntarily purred.


“What is.. apple...nyan?” he asked one ear titled to the side while the other stayed straight up.

Lucida noticed how curious Kataro was almost as if he had been living under a rock for most of his life. His communications also suggested that he had had few social interactions. It made her wonder where he had come from and how he’s lived so far. By the looks of it, it seemed he didn’t bathe much. ‘Maybe he’s afraid of water?’ she wondered with a slight tilt of her head. He watched her cook and she took note of the way he was looking at the vegetables. Could it be that he had never seen them? Even when she turned on the TV he seemed so entranced by the images on the screen.

Once it was time to eat, she placed his plate in front of him and managed to hear the purr that escaped his lips. Kataro didn’t know what apple juice was or even what an apple was so she brought them out for him. “This here is an apple- it’s a fruit,” she placed the big red apple in front of him then she placed a small glass filled with apple juice next to it, “This is made from the apple and it’s sweet so I think you’ll like it.”

Lucida went back into the kitchen to serve herself some water before sitting down to eat. “So do you like it?” she asked him hoping that he would. She didn’t have many chances to cook for other people, so she eagerly wanted to know what he thought of it. Having finished her portion she went for another but not before asking if he wanted some more.

Kataro watched her curiously as she retrieved two things and put them in front of him.

“This here is an apple- it’s a fruit” she motioned to the first “This is made from the apple and it’s sweet so I think you’ll like it.” Then to the second.



“Oooooh”



He sighed at her explanation. He poked the apple a few times and sniffed at the juice. His face lit up and he picked up the cup in two hands and brought it to his mouth. He tilted it, drinking it happily. However, being not used to cups, it spilled a little down his front. Kataro did not notice and continued to drink the juice until his cup was drained.



“So do you like it?”

He looked up as she re-entered the room with a glass of clear liquid. He leapt back realizing it was water. However, he calmed down seeing as she was only going to drink it. He instead turned to the fish and gobbled it up, not greedily, but as if he hadn’t
eaten in a while and it was... of course, his favourite.

She raised an eyebrow when he leapt back as she was returning. Just like she thought he was afraid of water, so now the question remained- how would she get him to bathe? With a shrug of her shoulders she figured she would answer that later then she served herself more food. Lucida let out a laugh as she watched him eat the fish which she assumed was the answer to her question. ‘I guess I’ll have to buy more fish huh? Though it would be a good idea to introduce him to more types of food,’ she thought as she took a bite of some vegetables. When they finished eating she grabbed the dishware and began washing them.

“Ah… The next few hours won’t be so fun because I have to clean the house. You can watch TV or follow me around; your choice,” Lucida told him. She started with the kitchen, cleaning the oven, counter top and floor then moved to the dining room. Working from one side to another, she wiped the table and cleaned the floor. She worked in this fashion all throughout the house, from the living room, master bedroom, the restroom, to the upstairs bed rooms and shared bathroom. Occasionally she would point out things Kataro or explain what she was doing.

“Oh this room right here will be yours. It used to be my brother’s but he doesn’t live here anymore,” she explained as she wiped the dust off certain things. It was a small bedroom with only a twin sized bed, small dresser and a desk inside. Her lips formed a small frown as she thought about her brother. He rarely visited her and honestly she missed him very much. “The one on the other side is mine, so I won’t be far in case you need me.”

After cleaning the house, she started to do laundry which wasn’t much considering it was just her. “I can wash your clothes if you want? My brother has some old clothes lying around that you can borrow. Oh I forgot to ask, how do you… umm… bathe if you have don’t like water?” Lucida asked as she separated the whites from colors.

When Kataro finished his fish, he gave a satisfied “nyan” before looking up at Lucida. She was eating her vegetables at the moment and Kataro remembered the odd, colourful things. So he leaned towards his plate and sniffed at them. They smelled good at least. Without using a fork he picked one up and nibbled at the end. His face screwed up and he dropped it back onto the plate automatically. This, he did not like. He was glad when she cleared the table. He didn’t want to get forced to eat the nasty things.



“Ah… The next few hours won’t be so fun because I have to clean the house. You can watch TV or follow me around; your choice,” Lucida told him.

His ears perked up at the prospect of another new word to him, Clean. So he took her offer and decided to follow her around. The TV, with the moving pictures was still a bit odd to him. He didn’t want to be near it without her. As he watched he thought that cleaning didn’t seem boring at all. She would point out things to him, and he was learning quickly what they were. After each thing was named he would repeat the word to keep it to his memory. He watched closely as she worked, so closely that he might be able to try the task himself one day.



“Oh this room right here will be yours. It used to be my brother’s but he doesn’t live here anymore,”

Kataro peered into the room curiously, it looked very comfortable and not a tree. At first he was confused, but something told him that it would be much better than any tree he had ever slept in. His ears perked up when he heard the word “brother” that was also new to him. He kept silent however as she mentioned the proximity of her own room. Kataro continued to follow her as she went to do laundry which is when his curiosity met its peak and he blurted out.


”What is....burr~other nyan?” His accent made it seem like he was purring with a lot of words he said. He couldn’t seem to fix it, even if his pronunciation was off. He had almost interrupted her question about his clothing, and he shrunk back as if he had done something wrong before answering it quietly.


“Kat-ar-o use the evil water that fall from sky... to be washed. Cannot escape that...water”

He eyed his dirty clothing, and realized that perhaps it made him look bad. His ears drooped and he thought about what to do, still feeling bad. Suddenly his ears perked up again. He had an idea. Pulling his arms through his sleeves he began to tug the shirt off, paying no attention to the fact that he was in another’s presence. With the material removed from his skin, one would see that he had a lean body with muscles, that didn’t seem to fit his child-like appearance. In fact he could be as old as 16 or 17.

“Hahaha… It’s true… None of us can escape rain,” she chuckled.

Lucida turned back with the intent of telling him what a brother was, but was distracted with Kataro’s figure. Her initial guess that he was 12 was thrown out of the water. By looking at his muscles she assumed he was closer to her age by a year or two. She felt herself blush and she quickly turned around to hide that fact. ‘I guess he just hasn’t hit a growth spurt yet…’ she thought, though she still considered him a child.

“Uh… just put your clothes here while I get some of my brother’s and use that towel to cover up in the meantime,” she instructed before leaving to get a change of clothes for him. She returned and handed him the clothes while telling him to change in the bathroom nearby. Afterwards she tried to think of ways to explain what “brother” was, then seeing a family photo she figured she’d use that.

She motioned for Kataro to come and look at the picture she was holding, “This is my family. Here’s my mother, father, this is me and this one is my brother. We come from the same mother and father so that’s why we’re brother and sister. By the way to him I am his sister. Hmm… you could say that we are bonded by the same blood.” She looked at the picture remembering how happy her family was but now… there just an empty whole where her parents used to be.

“Hahaha… It’s true… None of us can escape rain,” she chuckled.


Kataro looked up from his half-off shirt and blinked at her expression. He didn’t know why her face was red and it confused him. However he was easily distracted by the shirt again. It was very troublesome, and he was lucky he could change his clothes.

“Uh… just put your clothes here while I get some of my brother’s and use that towel to cover up in the meantime,” Lucida said as she handed him a towel. He took the item rubbing his hands on the cloth to see what it was like as she left the room. He titled his head and resumed his struggle out of the shirt. He had worn it for so long, it was amazing the thing wasn’t embedded into his skin by now.

He finally managed to tug off the shirt and then moved to the rest of the clothing. He experimented a bit with the towel before a thought; a single thought came to his head. It was on how to properly wear one. It occurred to him as weird but he shook it away wrapped the towel around his body. It was a lot bigger than him and he liked the feel of the cloth as he snuggled into it.
His ears perked up as Lucida returned with clothing which he changed into where she instructed. It was luckily easier to put on than take off. When he returned she motioned for Kataro to come and look some object that she held. He blinked curiously and obeyed.

“This is my family. Here’s my mother, father, this is me and this one is my brother. We come from the same mother and father so that’s why we’re brother and sister. By the way to him I am his sister. Hmm… you could say that we are bonded by the same blood.”

“Ah! Kat-ar-o see nyan... brother” He responded, kind of understanding, while pointing to the picture where her brother stood. He wondered if he had any family or brothers. The other word she had said “sister” made his head hurt, just a tad. However it was not enough for the neko to notice.

Lucida put the picture where it was, then placed some clothes in the washing machine. She explained what she was doing and made sure to explain that it would make lots of noise later on, so that he wouldn’t be too scared when he heard it. In the meantime, she showed him the TV again and explained how it worked.

“There are many different things you can watch on here. Some things are educational, for learning, and some are just for fun,” she told him then showed him the remote control, “And this thing controls the TV. These buttons control the sound coming from TV while these buttons change the channels.” She handed Kataro the control when she heard the ding from the drying machine. She folded up the last round of laundry and was preparing to take them upstairs when she heard a knock on the door. She scrunched up her face as she wondered who could be knocking, and then it hit her. The day before she had invited her good friend to come over and he had promise he would come today.

“Shit, I knew I was forgetting something,” she muttered then went to answer the door. About half way she stopped and her eyes widen a bit. How was she going to explain Kataro’s presence to her friend?! Quickly she came up with story and hoped that he wouldn’t ask too many questions.

“H-hey Matthew, how are you?” Lucida asked as she opened the door.

“I’m good and I hope you haven’t made anything to eat because I brought Chinese food!” He smiled happily and raised the bag of takeout food. Matthew towered over Lucida by almost a foot and with his muscular build he looked very intimidating, but in fact he was a very sweet guy. He went inside and put the food on the table. “So what have-” He stopped when he saw Kataro; giving Lucida a confused look.

“Uh… His name is Kataro and he’s a distant relative. His parent’s dropped him off here for the summer while they went on vacation,” she lied. The lie left a bad taste in her mouth especially because she was lying to the one person whom she really trusted, but she wasn’t sure how he would react if she told him the truth. “He’s really quiet but very curious.”

“Come eat with us Kataro. Don’t worry about this brute, he’s actually a very nice person,” she said.

“H-hey! I’m not a brute!” Matthew stuttered making Lucida laugh.

“Kataro this is Matthew and Matthew this Kataro.”

“Hey there little man,” greeted Matthew and gave Kataro a warm smile.

Kataro was learning so much in such a short time. In fact, it was amazing that he had adapted to it so easily, almost as if he had done it all before. But, that wouldn’t make sense since he had always been in the forest, and the forest was all he knew. Whatever the reason he liked it. He also liked being near Lucida. She had scared at him first, but like any animal with a kind human, he grew attached fast.

“There are many different things you can watch on here. Some things are educational, for learning, and some are just for fun,” she told him then showed him the remote control, “And this thing controls the TV. These buttons control the sound coming from TV while these buttons change the channels.” She had explained when showing him the TV again. Yes, It was all very interesting. When the drying machine dinged, Kataro jumped his ears and tail perking up, even though he had been warned of the noise.

He followed her about the house as she worked, learning more and more. One day, he would definitely be able to all the things she had shown him. As Lucida left for the laundry, he made it a game of pressing the buttons on the remote. He liked the different colors. He was just trying to press all the buttons at once when there was a loud sound from the door. Kataro jumped and hid behind the chair. His ears just peeked over the arm of the chair as he watched her go to answer the door.

Hidden behind the chair, Kataro only heard muffled speech, but he could tell there was another voice mixed within Lucida’s. Curiously, he lifted himself up more, as his ears twitched while he tried to see what the cause of the other noise was. Just then another person entered the room and froze upon seeing Kataro. Kataro froze as well, his ears and tail stood perfectly still, he could have been a statue if it weren’t for the movement of his chest.

“Uh… His name is Kataro and he’s a distant relative. His parent’s dropped him off here for the summer while they went on vacation,” Lucida told the other person. Kataro looked warily at the other. He knew what Lucida had said, but didn’t understand entirely. “He’s really quiet but very curious.” She continued. Kataro didn’t remove his eyes from the man, he was very cautious and untrusting of the newcomer.

“Come eat with us Kataro. Don’t worry about this brute, he’s actually a very nice person,” . Kataro finally moved from his position behind the chair, at Lucida’s request. However, he still stood a little away from them, his eyes never moving from Matthew as if he believed he wasn’t safe.

When Matthew addressed him, his eyes narrowed and he turned his face away with a soft pouting “nya!” It was obvious he didn’t like him.

Matthew’s smile fell when Kataro turned his face away from him. The kid didn’t seem to like him at all, though he couldn’t think of anything he did wrong. He looked over at Lucida who gave him a sympathetic look while shrugging her shoulders.

“It takes him a while to warm up to strangers,” Lucida explained. She called softly to Kataro and gave him is carton box of food. She handed him chopsticks and showed him how to use them. “Tell him if it’s too hard for you and I’ll give you a spoon, ok?”

“What are those things? The ears and the tail I mean,” Matthew gave them a puzzled look.

“Uh… I’m not sure. They’re some kind of robotic thingy. They look really cool, huh?” she laughed nervously and was afraid that Matthew was going to pry further but he didn’t.

“Mhmm… How’s work by the way?” Matthew watched Lucida carefully noticing the small crease forming between her brows. She was stressed out again. He watched as her shoulders drooped a little. Her paycheck would barely cover her expenses for this month.

Lucida ran a hand over her hair and gave a heavy sigh, “I love my job but it just doesn’t pay well… It’s nerve racking not knowing if I’ll have enough to pay what I need.”

“I’ve told you many times you let me help you out. I care a lot about you and I don’t like seeing you so stressed out.” Matthew felt a little redness color his cheeks but Lucida didn’t take notice.

“I can’t take your money. You worked hard for it and you need every bit of it you’re going to open up your own gym…”
It was Matthew’s turn to sigh. “I know that but it doesn’t mean I still can’t help you!” He heard Lucida make an irritated voice and he knew that she was done talking about this.

For the next hour or so they made idle chat and exchanged happenings of their day. Matthew made her laugh very loudly a few times and even tried to Kataro to join in on the fun. As he was leaving, he grabbed Lucida and embraced her. Lucida’s arms came around and hugged Matthew back.

“I know you’re probably tired of hearing this but if you need help with anything just call me ok? Nothing’s too much to ask,” Matthew said.

Softly Lucida said “ok” then pulled away from him. He ruffled her hair a bit before waving goodbye and heading home. Usually after hanging out with him she would feel better, but currently she just felt guilty for lying to him. “Well Kataro it’s pretty late let’s go to bed ok?”

Kataro didn’t like him. That much was obvious. Whether it why by his actions or the fact that he wouldn’t respond to anything Matthew said. There was no definite reason for Kataro to feel the way he did. In fact he didn’t understand it himself. Perhaps, Matthew reminded him of someone he didn’t get along with or maybe it was because he didn’t trust people easily.

“It takes him a while to warm up to strangers,” Lucida’s voice broke through Kataro’s thoughts and he looked up. She called to him with a soft voice and handed him an oddly shaped box. Kataro titled his head curiously his ear twitching with interest. He scooted himself over, taking care to not look at Matthew and took the box in both of his hands. She handed him chopsticks and showed him how to use them. Kataro nodded, quickly understanding from watching her. Maybe it was because deep down he already knew how to use them. “Tell him if it’s too hard for you and I’ll give you a spoon, ok?”
Kataro nodded a bit before testing out the chop sticks and giving the food a sniff. Sad…. Not fish. Kataro was reluctant to eat something that wasn’t fish however Lucida seemed to enjoy the strange box stuff, so Kataro decided to try it anyways. He held the chopsticks in his hand and picked up some of it, which was lo mein. Sniffing it again, he made a disgusted look at Matt, as if it were his fault and took a bite. Surprisingly, it tasted a lot better than it smelled. However, he wouldn’t give Matt that satisfaction.
“What are those things? The ears and the tail I mean,” Matthew said. Kataro’s eyes shot up, nearly hissing at him. He was taking it as an insult. “Uh… I’m not sure. They’re some kind of robotic thingy. They look really cool, huh?” Lucida replied with a laugh. The sound of it broke the growing tension and Kataro went back to picking at the food. His ears pinned to his head as the two humans conversed. It was lonely to him, having this happen. He couldn’t fit in, and part of him did want to despite his high dislike for Matt.

He ended up resting his head on the table, peering at them through his hair. His ears dropped and his tail curled around him, in a comforting way. When it was time for Matthew to leave, he didn’t notice right away. It wasn’t until they hugged that Kataro lifted up his head in alarm. He thought Matthew was trying to hurt Lucida. Kataro leapt from the seat and walked over, hiding at a safe distance, but also close enough if his theory ended up correct.

“I know you’re probably tired of hearing this but if you need help with anything just call me ok? Nothing’s too much to ask,” he caught Matthew say. “Ok” Lucida replied and then pulled away from him. Kataro tilted his head, at the exchange. His ears drooped again and he backed away from the wall. He stayed hidden in the kitchen until Lucida returned with a “Well Kataro it’s pretty late let’s go to bed ok?”

Kataro looked up at her as she spoke, his eyes still slightly cold. He nodded once and looked away in silence. He didn’t want to be cruel to her, but for some reason he was hurt when Matthew had shown up. It wasn’t anything particularly against Matthew, but Kataro was jealous, jealous of humans to be exact. There were millions of them… and only one of him.
His ears and tail drooped as he turned away from her and walked towards the room she had given him.

Lucida frowned when Kataro gave her a cold look and her frown deepened when he walked away from her. She stood there a while just watching him walk up the stairs. She felt a tight squeeze on her heart that she couldn’t explain. ‘I wonder what’s wrong with him. He was fine before Matthew came…’ Lucida pinched the bridge of her nose while the rest of her face scrunched up in frustration. She had been so caught up in talking with Matthew that she didn’t think about Kataro’s feelings. The poor boy probably felt like he had been pushed aside and abandoned, though it seemed that there was more to it than that. Lucida lightly jogged up the stairs with the intent to try and comfort Kataro, but she hesitated at his door. She chewed on her lip until it bled then absently she wiped the blood off her lip with her tongue. After a couple of seconds she finally had the courage to enter the room.

“Kataro?” Slowly Lucida opened the door and found him in the bed already. She thought about leaving but decided to go sit on the bed. “Kataro… I’m sorry I ignored you… I didn’t mean too I just got caught up in talking with Matthew.” She didn’t hear any response from him making her let out a little sigh. “I promise I’ll make it up to you ok? I’m really sorry…” Lucida went to put a hand on his shoulder but instead ruffled his hair a bit. She stood up and prepared to leave his room.

He wasn’t sure what made him walk away. Only that I had upset him. He walked quickly, almost too fast, as if he had to get away. He walked through the hall almost in a robotic trance and eventually found himself in the room Lucida had offered to him. He sat there not really paying attention to anything, nor really thinking. His ears drooped and he frowned. Finally his thoughts began to work again, and he let out a soft “mew”. Had he overreacted? Should he go and tell Lucida he was sorry? Did she notice…? He felt like he had been a bad cat.

Kataro was thinking too hard, so he didn’t realize Lucida had entered the room, even his ears didn’t perk up at her presence. It was when she sat beside him that he flinched and noticed she was there. He didn’t look at her though; afraid she wouldn’t like him because of him acting the way he did. He was even rude to her friend and when she had been so nice as to let him stay there. He wasn’t being a very good pet.

“Kataro… I’m sorry I ignored you… I didn’t mean too I just got caught up in talking with Matthew.” Lucide was saying. Kataro blinked, wait… Lucida thought it was her fault. But it was his! Lucida sighed beside him “I promise I’ll make it up to you ok? I’m really sorry…” He bit his lip with his sharp teeth, drawing out a small amount of blood which he licked away then started to look up. Suddenly his hair pressed into his face, as Lucida ruffled it. He could feel the pressure on the bed fade and a moment of panic went over him. He hadn’t said sorry!!

She was leaving. No! Kataro thought. In one bound he leapt from the bed and threw his arms around her turned around form. They closed over her stomach, as short as he was. He nuzzled his head against her back hugging her tightly. He didn’t know what he was doing, but knew it was similar to what Matt had done right before he left. Kataro spoke into Lucida’s shirt, though it was muffled.

“Kat-ar-o sorry, Kat-ar-o sorry!!! Nyan~”


(ooc: sorry for the late reply my internet was out D:)