I woke up comfortable and reasonably clean, enough to justify the hassle of sleeping on an incubator, albeit not a very good rest. A hand slowly and soothingly stroked my fur, adding greatly to the comfort. I let out a long yawn, arched my back, and stretched my paws out in front of me. The hand no longer touched me, but withdrew. I lazily opened one eye to see who was touching me so boldly?
A girl, probably in her early teens from the way she looked tired and grumpy. She has dark green eyes, shoulder-length brown hair, and holds a large tan bag in one hand, the other on the ground next to her.
She looked at me apologetically. "Sorry, but I need you to move." Huh? No, it didn't happen. I'm staying on the magic radiator, and if you want me to leave, you're going to need a crowbar to scrape me out of here. ha. I curled up and buried my face in my paws, immediately ignoring her. However, I felt like my body was leaving me against my will. I squirmed a little as I tried to escape her grasp, but her grip was strong and unwavering in resisting my struggles. She gently placed me on the ground and turned back to the incubator.
She traced her fingers along the sides for a moment, then placed her hands on the grooves I'd never noticed before and pulled. The top of the box (my bed!!) opened on hinges, spewing out the smell of burning garbage, revealing the inside, which I might have found very interesting if I could have seen it.
But unfortunately, I was expelled. I meow angrily at her, making her giggle.
"Sorry to bother you, kitty!" Okay. you should. "But I have to do it because my parents will be really angry if I leave the rubbish out overnight."
As she spoke, she picked up one of the bags, untied the cloth on the bag, closed the mouth of the bag, and poured the contents into the box. There was some paper and bits of broken plates, but the vast majority of what was poured in was food. The remaining bones, leafy vegetables, half-eaten bread, and uneaten meat were all poured into the box.
I only ate one bun all day, which really didn't do much for me, and she threw out a month's worth of food right in front of me. Who cares if it's trash, some of it is still good, right? There's a second bag, maybe I can get a juicy steak out of it.
"Can you please give me some food? You throw it away anyway, I really appreciate it." I meowed.
"Are you a talkative cat? Don't worry, you can go back to sleep soon." As she said this, she poured a full load of home-cooked leftovers into the box, obviously not understanding cat language. She slammed the lid shut, wiped her hands on her skirt, then bent down and picked me up again. I was still fighting in vain like last time, at least she could give me a warning first! When I tried to run away, my back paw, the one with the splinter in it, grazed her clothing and got a small smear of blood.
She unceremoniously placed me on top of the box, the magic bin. After touching me a few more times, she gave me a gentle wave goodbye, grabbed her empty sack, and walked back into the alley. Maybe if I follow her secretly, I can steal some of her food? I don't want to get into the habit of stealing, but she's clearly more than adequate. She hasn't turned the corner yet, and I can still catch up with her.
I jumped off the box and slid quietly to the ground. Cats are supposed to be secretive, right?
My injured paw hit the ground. I screamed as searing pain shot up my legs and I fell to the ground. Trembling, I stood up from my limp position and began to limp toward her, my legs awkwardly stretched out to avoid bearing any weight.
My steps were slow and I didn't go very far. I slept for two hours, lost the use of one of my legs, and began to think that croissants were not the most nutritionally balanced meal for cats. Halfway through the alley, I couldn't move forward any longer. I'm just too weak. Now there's nothing to do but curl up on the damp, disgusting floor to sleep, and I can't even jump back onto the comfy litter box.
Footsteps approached me. Looking up, I saw the girl walking towards me. She was only 10 feet away from me and probably saw my injured state. great. She crouched next to me, her eyes flashing with worry.
"Are you okay?" she asked tentatively, looking down at me with pity on her face. "Oh, wait, your paws are bleeding! And you don't look like you're eating well..." She picked me up in her arms, and I didn't even bother to struggle once, and gently led me down the alley. . "Don't worry, little one, I will take good care of you!"
By meeting the required criteria, you have unlocked a new skill: Pity
ah?
A light blue rectangle with white text appeared in front of me, floating in the air in front of me. Is this one of the skills Radia told me about in her dream? Curious, I reached for it, but my claws went through it as if it wasn't there. What kind of skill is pity? Really not for people like me, but maybe there is some hidden meaning behind it. ha.
Girls can't seem to see it. If I can't touch it, then it has to do what I want it to do, right? I thought about the poor skills and would like more information. Maybe things aren't as bad as they sound?
success! The notification rectangle has changed!
pitiful
Level - Level 1 of 5
Effect - Passively ensures that others will assume your power less than usual and view you with more compassion. Skills gained due to your incompetence and general inability to survive without help.
No, nonsense.
Who knew an emotionless notification could be so condescending? This sounds completely useless. Although I was now being held by a poor man who took pity on me, so maybe it wasn't entirely scary.
Still, my first skill is to feel pathetic about everything that gets stung. I know I decided to just live my life and not fight the devil, but is a cool skill too much to ask for?
My internal whining was interrupted when the girl moved me onto one arm and opened the door to the building. A large sign hung above the door that read "Adventurers' Guild and Tavern." The sign depicts a sword and shield on one side and a glass of foaming ale on the other. There was some muffled chatter inside. Opening the door, the smell of fresh food hits your nostrils.
The inside of the building is warm and the atmosphere is quite convivial. There is a counter on the left with no one behind it. The walls were lined with shelves containing an assortment of weapons, bottles of colored liquids (perhaps potions), and various travel items such as ropes, backpacks, and water bottles. On the right side as we entered, there were wooden tables, chairs and booths, with several people scattered enjoying food and drinks. Leisurely music played, and the melody floated in the room. There was a bar on the other side of the room, and a pale, scrawny man behind the bar absently polished his glasses. As we approached, he looked up at me and the girl, frowning, his beard twitching slightly.
"Hello, Mina," he said dryly, though not without fondness. I think I know that girl's name now.
Mina took a deep breath. "Hi Dad! So, um, this cat. Can I keep him? He's on the incinerator, he's hurt, and I think he could use some good food. I promise I'll-"
"Absolutely not," he said authoritatively.
"Please, Daddy?" she begged.
He looked tired, as if he'd had this conversation before and knew how it would turn out. "It's busy enough here. Maybe if we put another person working out front, but do you really want to take care of the cats and work at the same time?"
"I'll work as hard as ever, I swear! And this won't last forever until the injured paw heals. Look at it! No cat can hold on with an injury that severe." This is just a fragment, but I appreciate the exaggeration. I looked innocently at Mina's dad, my pitiful skills taking effect.
He was silent for a moment, thinking, and finally sighed. "Great. But you have to ask your mother first. She's in the kitchen."
"Yes!!! Thanks daddy!" she said excitedly, running behind the bar and through the door to the back.
We walked into the kitchen, where a strong-looking woman with brown hair in a bun was piling plates into a bucket of frothy water. As we entered, she looked up and smiled a warm, slightly cynical smile.
"Let me guess, you asked dad if he wanted to keep that cat, and he gave in and let you ask me first." She said in a joking tone.
Mina hesitated. "Um...really?"
Her mother thought for a moment, looked at me, and stopped when she saw my bloody paws, apparently not heartless enough to deny shelter to the poor injured cat. "Yes." Woohoo! "But you have to take care of the cat on your own, your father and I can't be much help. You know how busy we are. Make sure it doesn't damage anything or cause any trouble, and then you can keep it."
Mina almost jumped for joy. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!" She screamed excitedly, grabbed a few pieces of meat, and then carried me out of the room, past the bar, and up a flight of stairs in the corner of the pub. "I can't believe they all said yes!!" She ran down the hall, took me into the bedroom, opened the closet door to reveal several bottles of wine, and she started rummaging through the bottles. There was a mirror on the door that gave me a clear view of my new body for the first time.
I am a little black cat. I'm quite small, with black furry triangular ears and green cat eyes. Because I am a cat. crazy. I wasn't really overwhelmed by the change and it took me a day to get used to it. The big thing ends up being, and not impressive, it just doesn't feel very important anymore. I guess I'm just numb?
"Aha!" Mina exclaimed, took out a small blue glass bottle from the closet, reached out and grabbed another dark blue bottle. As she closed the door, the mirror caught her eye. "Um, is there your blood on my dress? I guess I have to wash it off."
She cleared some bottles from the table and placed me on them. "Okay, this is a sleeping pill. It contains painkillers, so the effect may be weakened. The cat is much smaller than me. About 10 drops can knock me out. I should use more painkillers, because the medicine is weaker... She muttered to herself for a while, then put one drop of light blue liquid and three drops of dark blue liquid on the minced meat and placed it on the table in front of her. mine. "Okay, kitten, eat it! I don't want you to move wildly while I remove the debris."
I sniffed the meat. Normally I wouldn't eat food that I just saw someone wearing lace on, but hey, it just makes me fall asleep faster. That’s pretty much the best you can get from a diet. I devoured the meat and felt sleepy starting to come over me. Mina giggled and rubbed my back gently. I curled up and soon passed out. The sleeping potion took effect.
