Her Name (1)

Anger is such a strange emotion. Iris was pissed at the man for giving her a fright, but the moment they returned to his apartment, all of it was washed away by immense relief. The now familiar scent of his place overwhelmed her senses, and she could no longer feel anything but satisfaction for still being here.

When the man released her from the carrier, she didn't even run away, but instead examined the living room. It was simple, but well-decorated and modern-looking. In the middle there was hybrid between a sofa and a bed, which was some three meters long and two in width, and had a flaky-looking backrest. There was also a corner piece to this hybrid, which was the length of a bed and had an arm rest.

Iris had no clue who could have come up with such a weird thing, but it looked nice, even if she wasn't certain about how comfortable it was. One certainly couldn't just sit there like on a normal sofa with feet on the ground.

Anyway, next to it was a coffee table and beyond it a TV on the wall with a three section cabinet underneath. Besides that, the large room was empty, free for her to run around. Her, or the giant black monster that was sitting by the far wall, next to two tree-like plants by the window.

'Is it considering the best way to kill me?' she wondered. But her fear was gone. She now belonged to this house, and the cat wasn't going to scare her away. To prove that, she even ran over to it herself.

The man shouted something after her, and she could hear his heavy footsteps, but he hadn't been expecting her move, so she had an advantage. Swiftly, she appeared before the giant cat monster and screeched at him.

He ignored her. Didn't even glance her away.

Furious, Iris screeched louder, rushing at his face to get a reaction, but backing away just as soon to not get hurt. The cat didn't do anything at first, but Iris could see its ire growing and had a horrible temptation to see how long it'd last without retaliating.

Her actions became even more daring and her voice even louder. She rushed at the black monster with ears close to her head, imagining herself as the brave hero that taunts the monster into a trap. After all, if the cat hurt her, the man would certainly have to punish it.

Just a little bit more, just a few more rushes...

And then she was in the air, the cat looking no longer that menacing from the human height. She lifted her head at the thing that had just gotten in the way of her game.

"Do tell me what you were doing there," the man said, annoyance evident in his voice. "I thought you'd be afraid of Lucy after he clawed at you, but you... Aren't there any brains in that little head of yours?"

'Afraid? What for?' Iris mocked. 'What are you here for if not to make sure your monster of a cat doesn't hurt me?'

It was good that he didn't understand her, or she was sure that mild annoyance of his would have turned into fury. Too bad, maybe next time. He still owed her for the scare earlier. Bringing her to the shelter without any explanation, the gall of him!

The man shifted his gaze to the cat. "Thanks, Lucy. Be patient until it grows up, it should settle down then." The black monster meowed in answer as it raised its paw to lick it.

Iris rolled her eyes at such a show off. So what if she was stopped this time, she'd get it in trouble next time. Since the black furball was also on her hit list, for swiping its claws at her adorable face, it was going to suffer. She wouldn't be her if she didn't repay it in kind.

"Let's go, troublemaker," the man said, bringing her along to his bedroom. "Until you learn to get along with Lucy, you'll be staying with me. Understood?" He looked at her when he said this, but she was uninterested. 'We can become besties when I get my payback, but until then, it's not happening.'

On their way, the man picked a few things from the ground, and Iris couldn't help but stare at them. Those… those… Aren't they cat toys? A rainbow-colored finger-length mouse, a plush ball, another one that was plastic with something inside that rang as it was moved.

Was… was she expected to play with cat toys now?!