Act II: Mommy Dearest

Stepping into your room, the first thing you notice is the horrible yowling noise. The second is probably everything on top of your dresser spilling on to the floor. Putting a number to it, you have to say the cat is about the third thing you notice. It’s small, maybe seven pounds, black, back arched, teeth bared, and positively screeching at you from the far end of the room. You stare at it for a few seconds, then step outside, close the door, and call Eva.

“Hey, babe, what’s up?” she answers. Noise in the background suggests she’s driving on speaker.

“Did … did you get a cat?” you ask quietly, some irrational part of you feeling like you can’t let the cat hear you ask.

“Oh, yeah, Cria! Did I not tell you I found a cat?” she continues on. “She was mewing at me like crazy near the science building, and it looked like she hurt her leg. I couldn’t just leave her there. Northwoods animal control euthanizes for, like, no reason at all.”

“That’s … nice …” you say slowly. “She thinks I’m going to break down the door and bite her head off.”

“That’s weird. She was an absolute nugget with me,” she muses before gasping. “Oh my God, it’s probably because you’re a Dracula!”

“I thought animals liked Draculas! You know, children of the night and all that!”

“I mean, that’s one angle. But animals detecting not-human people is pretty par for the course, if we’re talking tropes. Fuck! I can see if someone else can take her?”

“No, no, it’s fine, I was heading out anyway. Andy says she saw a ghoul at Decker who was playing with shadows,” you sigh. Besides, it’s cute. You don’t want it to be put out just because of you. “Don’t stress, just … throw lots of blankets on me when I pass out, maybe she’ll be able to ignore me during the day.”

“Alright … I’m sorry, I didn’t know she was going to pop off on you or anything. But she was alone …”

“You don’t have to explain it. She’s adorable, and I’m sure I can get her to come around eventually.” You’re not, but whatever. “Oh, if her leg is busted, do you think I should leave some of my blood out for her? I know she might not drink it or anything, but neither of us are vets.”

“Heard worse ideas. Plus, she’s a cat. It’s not like you need to worry about … implications or anything.” Her voice falters when she says it, making you wince. Dancing around your issues and the blood bond stuff hasn’t been fun the past couple weeks. It seems you’ve mostly settled into ignoring it except for the painfully awkward moments when it comes up accidentally. “Yeah, it should be fine.”

“Okay, drive safe, have a good night with … Cria?”

“Criatura!” she expands, pep slipping back into her voice. “But I’m not going to say that every time I talk to her, so Cria seemed, like, cazhe.”

“Wait, does that just mean ‘creature,’ in Spanish?”

“It’s a term of endearment! Happy hunting, sweetie.” Her phone clicks off after the sound of her fumbling around with it a little bit, and you can’t help but grin. Looking back at the door, it amazes you how much you’re hesitating to face a tiny, perfectly normal kitten. Of course, none of the actual monsters you’ve fought were things you wanted to snuggle.

Carefully opening the door again, you don’t see her immediately. Slowly, you sneak into your dorm, closing the door behind you just in case she gets spooked and tries to run. You move to the sink and open the drawer above it as quietly as you can, taking out a small bowl. Your fangs slide down, letting you scrape your right hand open just a bit, then drip a little of your blood into the bowl. A quick lick seals it up again, and you balance it cautiously (some might say overly so) as you walk further inside. A low, humming growl alerts you to her presence, buried in the corner under Eva’s bed. Kneeling down to get a better look at her, she hisses, then presses back as hard as she can.

“Not here to hurt you, kitty,” you tell her, completely uselessly, but it makes you feel better. “Just bringing you a snack. That I hope you’ll eat. You stay safe, too.” You back off, careful to keep your movements smooth and even-paced, then creep out the door, satisfied the tiny thing is still locked inside and didn’t bolt past you.

You lean your back against it, breathing out a sigh of relief. The tension of fucking it up and letting her escape or hurting her was painfully mundane, but that didn’t make it any less real. Plus, it would make Eva sad as hell, Cria’s health aside. Neither were someone you wanted to harm. ‘Of course, you made things weird with Eva and Cria hates you,’ you snap quietly. ‘So, just great job there. A+ work.’

Jaq: Is the ghoul at Decker yet? I’m having a night, and I could use a fight.

Andy: Nah, just frat guys tonight so far. I swear, I’ve had more hands on me than doorknob.

Andy: Though if he doesn’t show, I can think of a few other ways to burn off your tension …

Jaq: Vixen. But definitely. Eva got a cat.

Andy: Aw! You don’t like cats?

Jaq: I love cats. She just seems to hate me kind of a lot.

Andy: Right, because you’re a Dracula. That’s pretty normal for animals. You try giving her any of that good, good Jaq-juice?

Jaq: Christ on sale, that cannot be what we’re calling my blood.

Jaq: Also, yes, but only just. See if that does anything. I don’t even know if it works on animals.

Andy: I have some pretty compelling scars that say it does. Get here soon.

Andy: I may have to start without you.

Andy: Whether he shows up or not.

The light flirting helps distract you as you make your way to the parking garage. You’re not entirely sure which you’re hoping for by the time you get to Decker. The guy Andy described sounded like a tool, showing off his “magic tricks,” to try to hit on girls, then scare them when they said no. Punching him in the face sounds fucking therapeutic. But so do Andy’s other ideas. Still, a lead’s a lead, and it’s the first one you’ve gotten on Savina in a while now.

Just have to see where the night takes you.