Waking up in a cage

Someone was petting me softly. The touch moved from my hair to my ears and only came to a halt on the very sensitive spots at their base, circling there with just the right about of pressure. I purred, still half asleep, and slowly opened my eyes. I saw metal bars, crisscrossed as in a cage. My heart missed a beat. Why was I in a cage? Had I been bad? And if so, why was somebody petting me? Maybe to… reassure me? To mock me? The last thing I remembered was the **** fare, and if nobody had bought me… I must have been sent to be processed! They just waited until I had fallen asleep, put me in a cage, and sent me over!

Tears welled up in my eyes, I was so just so afraid. I curled up, even more, my tail almost tickling my nose, my ears pressed to my skull. I sobbed quietly.

“Why are you crying my pet? What are you so afraid of?” a familiar voice asked me, though I did not recognize it. “Shhhh, its alright Kitten. As long as I am here with you, nobody will hurt you.”

Wait, Kitten? That’s me, right? But I didn’t have a name before… Suddenly, I remembered. I *had* been bought! And I was not in a cage to be processed, I was in master’s home!

Carefully, I opened my eyes to look at the person who was still petting me. Piercing, pale blue eyes looked back at me. They themselves were calm and gentle, but the expression surrounding them was one of worry.

“I – I am fine master, I just forgot where I was and… and for a moment I thought I had been sent to be processed…” I said. I didn’t want to worry him, but at the same time, it felt oddly satisfying to be worried about!

“I supposed that’s understandable, you haven’t even been here for a whole day yet.” He mused. “It’s time for you to get out of the cage though, we have an appointment.”

Turning around, I saw that the cage door was indeed unlocked and crawled out, reluctantly leaving the comfort of the pet bed and the blanket behind. Master picked me up effortlessly as soon as I was out, cradling me in his arms and holding me to his chest. He was so strong! I nuzzled my face into his neck, he smelled really good. Of lemon, salt and… bacon? The fried stripes of meat humans seemed to enjoy so much?

“You like how I smell?” master grinned at me.

I blushed and just nodded; my face still buried against his neck.

He laughed and petted my head. “That’s nice. Now see if you like breakfast just as much.”

He carried me downstairs, all the way to the kitchen, and sat down at the table with me on his lap. I tried to get down on the floor as was appropriate for a pet, but master stopped me.

“Na-ah. You will sit on my lap.” he said, holding me in place. I nodded in acknowledgment. “In fact, from now on, you are only allowed to use furniture if it’s either on my lap or to cuddle up to me. This doesn’t apply to the bathroom or pet furniture such as the cage, though. And as you are a cat, and cats love to be naughty and sit on all kinds of furniture, this isn’t a ‘real’ rule, I will probably just shoo you down when I catch you or maybe spank you a little.” He added with a wink, ruffling my hair.

I was confused. Not a real rule? Then, what was the purpose of this? I shifted a little, settling more comfortably onto master’s lap, cuddling up a little closer to his chest. And as I did so, I could feel how his muscles relaxed, how the tension left his body and he himself became a lot more comfortable. Master liked me on his lap! That ‘rule’ was not about keeping me off furniture, it was more like a standing order to cuddle up to him whenever I felt ready to. Having an anxious cat in one’s lap probably wasn’t that comforting, that’s why he left me a little freedom as to when I wanted to come to him. Nevertheless, I made a mental note to cuddle up to master whenever possible, since he evidently enjoyed my company. And honestly? I enjoyed it too.