17 Her Name (2)

For a long time, Iris just stared at the toys the man had thrown down before her. They were simple, innocent, yet she found them strangely ominous-looking. Would he think her weird if she didn't play with them?

No way, there had to be pets that didn't want to play with toys. Yet, wouldn't he buy new ones if she didn't like these? It's be such a waste… Should she play with them just a bit then?

With great reluctance, Iris sniffed the toys, then chose the plush ball - it reeked the least of that black monster. She frowned for a bit, wondering how exactly this 'playing' was done. Should she push it and chase it? Lie down and chew on it?

In her life, she'd never had a pet, so her knowledge was somewhat limited in this regard. Maybe she should wait to see what that cat did with them? 'Yeah, that sounds like good solution!'

"What? You don't like them?" the man asked, picking up the ball and rolling it toward her.

'Why are you so insistent?' she whined quietly and caught the ball, then looked at it. Was she really doing it? Playing with a ball like a common cat?

'What did I do to deserve this?' she cried in her heart.

>_<

With a slight push of her paw, the ball rolled away, and she ran after it while feeling like an idiot. Upon catching up, she hit it with all force. To her surprise, the ball didn't roll away, but got caught in her nails and hit the ground, then bounced off high up and into the other side of the room.

Iris froze, staring wide-eyed. Did all pet toys do that?

O_O

Her eyes quickly found the man, but he didn't seem surprised. His face was lit with a smile, and it enhanced his already handsome countenance by a dozen levels. He looked like a picture, laughing freely at her surprise.

She couldn't look away. The sight was just too enchanting.

"Mhm? What's wrong?" he suddenly asked, puzzled by her single-minded focus. His smile faded away, replaced by a wrinkle between his brows, and Iris regained her senses.

'Nothing!' she shouted out and rushed away after the damn ball. If that smile was her reward for playing, she didn't care how silly she looked. It was for the greater good!

And so, for the next half an hour, she entertained him with her lack of knowledge regarding pet toys. After she grew bored of the bouncing ball, she moved to the one with a bell inside it, but it was too loud. She didn't like it and moved to the next.

The finger-sized mouse seemed similar to the bouncing ball, so she first hit it, expecting it to bounce. However, this proved unsuccessful. Clearly, this wasn't a bouncing mouse. The restrained laughter from behind her only emphasized this point.

Carefully, she sneaked a glance at the man. He was leaning back in the chair with a hand over his mouth to quieten the sound as to not distract her. 'Hey! I'm doing this for you, don't hide my view!' she grumbled.

Still, she proceeded to play with the mouse. First pushing it around a bit, then chewing on it for a moment. As a last resort, she rolled on her back and while holding the mouse with her front legs started to claw at it with the back ones while also biting into its face.

There was subdued laughter from the side again, but she suddenly found herself unable to turn around! 'What a shame,' she couldn't help lamenting. How could she not have thought of it before. In this position, she couldn't do anything but focus on the mouse and the mouse alone.

'Stupid mouse,' she cursed and went at it with a vengeance. If not for it, she wouldn't have missed the smile of her new idol!

Upon tiring herself out, Iris threw the mouse to the side and lay down on her side, panting heavily. The owner of this house was too good-looking for his own good. Look at her now, having exhausted herself this much just trying to impress him.

"Tired already?" the devil in question asked. He picked her up and brought her out of the room. "Do you want a drink?" he asked after letting her down on the kitchen tiles.

Iris hadn't thought about it, but now that he mentioned it, she was parched. In an instant, she drank most of the bowl he'd placed before her. Then lay down by its side.

The man stood still for a time, clearly wondering what she was playing at now. Soon though, she felt something brush past her, but she wasn't lifted up. Wait what? That wasn't right. She half-opened one eye to look up.

He had picked up her water bowl and went to the sink to fill it up. Then he filled her food bowl as well and brought both of them out. Iris frowned. This wasn't part of her plan. He was supposed to pick her up and carry her back!

"Come," he called a moment later. "Let's go to the bedroom, you'll have everything there."

Obtusely, Iris remained in her position, and even closed the half-opened eye. She wasn't moving from here. Not by herself, anyway.

It didn't take long for the man to grow tired of being ignored and come pick her up. She smiled internally. Now they were equal.

Without wasting much time, she made herself comfortable and closed her eyes. Today was such a tiring day, might as well sleep a bit more.