Chapter 9: Fallible

Callie did not have the luxury of time like she did with Trish. She didn’t bother looking into his memories and started weaving a nightmare. She was at the lacrosse field. Matthias was about to throw the winning shot but he was tackled by three players to the ground.

The ball fell to the ground before it was scooped up by Nicholas who threw the ball at the net, the other team’s goalie unable to catch it. The buzzer rang out as the game ended. The crowd went wild, cheering Nicholas’s name. His teammates ran to him, raising him up as they carried him like a king away from the field.

Matthias got to his feet. The crowd followed after the team until he was alone on the field. He looked devastated. Callie twisted her fingers, not bothering with finesse.

A hand touched him on the shoulder and he turned around to find Trish. She smiled at him. He returned it with relief. There was somebody there for him.

He dipped down to kiss her but she put her hand on his mouth.

"Ew, no." She scowled at him, pulling her fingers away as if he was diseased. "I don’t kiss losers."

"I’m not a loser!" he retorted. "I almost won us the game!"

She rolled her eyes. "Almost winners are even worse. This is why Nicholas will always be better than you."

"Even if I did win you wouldn’t choose me. You chose him."

"Can you blame me, Matt?" She sighed. "What do you have that he doesn’t? He has everything."

She began to look away. He chased after her, shouting, "I love you!" but he could never catch her. It began to rain heavily. He collapsed to his knees and shouted at the sky, "But I love you!"

The lacrosse field began to collapse. The earth crumbled underneath them. The sky was a blinding white light. Callie panicked as she realized Matthias was waking up.

She slipped out of his mind and ran from the library before Matthias could open his eyes and see her.

Aubrey was concerned as her cat hadn’t been seen for more than a week. Cat familiars had a habit of going off on their own but they always returned. Nettie came back much to her mistress’s relief until they noticed the cat was gaining weight. Aubrey had regular cats before and understood the signs but wasn’t sure if it was possible.

"You think she’s pregnant?" Callie asked as they made a trip to the school veterinarian that they had specifically for the familiars. "But aren’t familiars…not really animals?"

"It’s complicated." Aubrey was frazzled as she carried Nettie in her arms covered in a blanket like a baby. "They’re animals but not."

Finn came with them and remarked, "We’re sentient animals."

"Sentient animals," Callie echoed as she opened the door to the Medical Bay. "So, they could still mate with each other and or other animals?"

Aubrey sighed and gave Nettie an assessing look. "If you’re pregnant, Nettie, I swear I will get you neutered."

Nettie let out a yowling meow.

Finn snickered and replied, "Once is more than enough, Nettie."

"Please tell me you didn’t get her pregnant, Finnegan." Callie was genuinely horrified. "That would be even more upsetting."

"I haven’t gotten anyone pregnant since before my fox days. You’re looking at the wrong baby daddy."

The school veterinarian, Doctor Dougal, came out of his office and greeted them. Aubrey explained their suspicions and the doctor spent a few minutes looking over the cat. They watched with bathed breath before he declared that Nettie was definitely pregnant. Nettie let out another yowling meow.

Mortified, Aubrey covered her face in her hands. "I can’t believe this."

"Familiars are sentient but they still have the same urges as animals," the doctor explained. "For the most part, they refrain from giving in to their instincts but this has known to happen over the years."

"What would the kittens even be like?" Callie asked. "Will they be sentient too?"

"No. They will not have the same abilities as their parents but they are more intelligent than the average animal." He smiled at Nettie. "You’re going to have some smart kittens."

"I am so disappointed in you." Aubrey waved a finger at Nettie. "I am not ready to be a grandmother."

Nettie let out a pitiful meow.

"A little late for regrets," Finn muttered.

Callie shushed him.

"Who's the father?" Audrey demanded. "Who is it? He must take responsibility for this too."

Nettie hesitated before meowing.

"Who is it?" Callie asked. "Who is the father?"

"Uh-oh," Finnegan chimed in.

Aubrey let out a deep sigh before she answered, "Matthias Wood’s cat."

Matthias stared at Aubrey in disbelief. His green eyes wide as he processed the information she gave him. Aubrey had spent the night considering how to approach Matthias and discuss the situation with their cats. Callie and Finnegan watched them with barely concealed intrigue.

Finally, he asked, "Are you sure it was my cat?"

"Nettie told me it was Rufus."

He was rubbing the nape of his neck, uncomfortable. "I don’t know what to feel. I didn’t think this was what our familiars would be doing when they weren’t around us."

"We were people once too," Finn muttered.

Aubrey nodded. "I was shocked too."

"What do we do?"

"Well, our cats are having kittens together so we kind of have to deal with it."

"We’d be co-grandparents?" Matthias suggested with a wry smile. "Should I provide child support?"

Aubrey laughed softly, shaking her head. "Maybe. This is so weird."

"You said it." He nodded to her as he turned away. "I have to get to class. Let’s talk about this thing with our cats later."

Aubrey smiled and waved at him as he walked away. Callie couldn’t help notice the dreamy look in her eyes. She looked at her roommate and at Matthias Wood’s retreating back before it sunk.

She whispered, "You like him."

Her roommate nodded, sighing wistfully. "Since I saw him in First Year but he didn’t know I existed."

"Isn’t he single?"

"Not for long. There’s always a new girl he’s into but that ends as quickly as it starts."

"Funny how life works." Finn remarked. "Now they’re forced to interact with each other because of their irresponsible cats."

Callie had been inside Matthias’ head and saw he had feelings for Trish and that could be the cause of his short-termed relationships. Trish knew about his feelings unconsciously or not. Aubrey liked Matt who liked Trish who liked Nicholas. The four of them was a mess that was ongoing before Callie ever arrived at that school.

"Did you ever do anything to try and get him to notice you?" she asked.

"A few things but he never saw me. I even tried to ask Nicholas for advice once but he thinks Matthias is not the relationship kind of guy."

"If that’s true, you’re better off with somebody else."

Aubrey smiled. "Are you saying I deserve better?"

"He could be in some unrequited love for a girl who’s not interested in him."

"Do you know something I don’t?"

She did but would be difficult to explain how she came across that information so she shrugged and replied, "Just a feeling."