As the sun fell across the sky, a lovely sunset was painted just above the horizon. With a gentle breeze tickling across her face, a strange chocolate colored Egyptian Mau smiled brightly. It wasn't too early, but it also wasn't too late in the day. It was just puuuurrfect.... Excuse the pun. Stretching her body, loud crackling sounds could be heard as she tried to get all the kinks and knots out of her system. Feeling amazing, she purred, breathing in deeply and having the strange need to comb out her hair with her fingertips. With her mood set, she skipped across a small meadow that was a little barrier between her and the city's park. There, she could sing to her hearts content AND play on the random contraptions on what humans call a 'playground'. This heavenly place contained sand, dirt, slides, swings and even a castle! Yes, this place was perhaps the best place ever invented by the funny creatures who walk on two legs.

It was late, but not too late. The sun was creeping downward, but still out enough to give a warm glow of light to the world. Perfect for a stroll through the park. Perfect for a bar-b-que with friends. Perhaps it was perfect for many people, but perhaps it was someone else's last bit of warmth before the cold night came. Train sighed, trudging slowly through the dirty sand that layered what human kids called a "playground", hoping to seek shelter under one of the large, plastic slides. He wasn't sure where home was. Whether home was the place he lived for the longest time, or the place he clawed out on the city street, he wasn't the best with directions. For now, that slide would do. As long as there wasn't a loud, whiny kid there to land on his head, it would do. Seeing as most of the humans were being dragged by one arm against their will back to their home.. it seemed safe.

Shuffling her feet against the soft sand of her little paradise, she decided to spin around and collapse to the floor. "Ahh playground, you never let me down!" Rolling around in the sand for a bit, she decided to sing a small tune, something her Irish side likes to bring out daily. "I hear your voice on the wind, And I hear you call out my name. "Listen, my child," you say to me, "I am the voice of your history. Be not afraid, come follow me, Answer my call, and I'll set you free..."

Although she didn't think so herself, the young egyptian mau had a lovely voice. Sadly it rarely reaches its full potential as she never reaches the higher vocal ranges, thus limiting her song to herself, and maybe someone else close by. Sitting back up, she scanned the area, wondering what to do next. "Ohhh...." as she eyed the slide, she figured now would be the best time to use it, just before the twilight wind made it too cold to enjoy. Hopping onto her feet, she quickly scampered to the slide excitedly with a jolly-filled laughter radiating from her high spirits. Little did she realized know, she wasn't the only stray in the park this evening.

Quietly, he flopped under the slide, letting all the aches and tired feelings in his bones melt into the ground around him. He was tired, moreso than he could ever remember being. It was bad enough he was always lost, why did he also have to walk so much? With a yawn, he curled his tail around himself, thinking of all the things he could possibly do with a warm bed. He could sleep, have a pillow fight, make a blanket fort.. heck, he could be a super hero with just a single sheet! Glancing around, he figured the coat left by a little girl didn't make much of a cape.. but perhaps something to use as a makeshift pillow. Before he could even reach for it though.. he heard something. It was faint at first, but it didn't take long for him to recognize the sound of footsteps! Footsteps, at this time? He always assumed the humans had a time limit or something for playtime, but he had no facts to support it. Panicking slightly to himself, he shook a bit, wondering what to do. He could stay there, and perhaps be found. Last time that happened, it took days to bite off the frilly bows tied to his fur. Ever so calmly, he freaked out, scampering from under the slide, attaching himself to a nearby tree. 

As the Mau drew closer to the base of a slide, a sudden change of wind had occurred, and a blast of sand was in the air. "Wait.... that's not the wind!" she thought to herself as she heard heavy feet skidding across the sand, and away from the sand pit. Blinking in confusion, she drew a finger above her lower lip, deciding it was time to be a detective. "Let's see...." she said as she furrowed her brows, and crept slowly into the direction where the creature headed to. "Ch! Ch!" she called out, hoping to get the attention of whatever it was. In her head, she figured it was something smaller than her, or else how could she have possibly missed the sight of another stray or animal. "I won't bite!" she added a few moments later, figuring her calling might not be enough to ease the critter.

Clinging the tree, Train just stayed there, shivering. "No one can see me.. n.. no one can .. see me." He muttered to himself, claws digging deeper into the bark. Listening closer though.. he paused, going limp. "Wa... wha? Whose's there? .. " He turned his head to the side, warily, noticing it wasn't that scary of a person.. just a girl. They were at least lower on the scary scale, even if not by much.

"A.. are.. you sure you don't.. bite? How c... can I be sure of that?" He stuttered, scared. "I.. I have no proof that you aren't.. aren't going t--" He paused again. "Wai.. wait, you aren't human.. " He blinked, his brain finally registering that he heard her, and not only that.. he understood her. It took him a while, but he then eyed her tail and ears, confused. 


Beaming brightly, the silly Egyptian Mau rushed towards the little stray is amusement. "Dawww! Silly little kitty! Of course I'm not human! Tch! Humans are taller! Humoungous! Giants!" she said with her arms flailing above her body. Filled with much joy at the thought of finding an adorable little collared friend, she ran around the tree giddily. "So who might you be little kitty?" she asked enthusiastically and slowed down her footwork to an abrupt stop. "Hmmmmm?" Raising an eye brow, she eyed the Turkish Van, and noted some distinct things about him. He still had his collar, which meant he was once owned or taken care of by humans. Next, since his collar was still on, it's clear he wasn't a stray for that long. With a half smile of concern falling upon her face, she wondered if the poor little kitty had any proper training is surviving in the world of a stray. Luckily for him, the Mau carried a bottle of milk that she often liked to give to young collar kittens. Flickering her tail around swiftly back and forth, she was definitely eager to know more about this Turkish.

Still shivering, the tiny male refused to move, continuing his death claw grip on the tree. The girl wasn't human, yea. She was extremely bright and cheery though, reminding him of all the human kids he normally had to hide from when passing through the park. "Hu.. h.. humongous? .. I.. I dunno. Most humans that pass here.. a.. are pretty small.. bu.. but ok.. " He eyed her, the tree, her again, and slowly retracted his claws, resulting in his butt bouncing lightly upon the ground.

"A.. are you.. do you.. do you live around here?" He asked, still wary. She wasn't particularly as scary as she was when she was only a loud voice, but it wasn't often he saw a cat quite so .. big, and human-like. She didn't smell human, and she insisted she was NOT human, but he knew what his eyes knew. That this human had fuzzy ears, a tail, and could understand him.

"I.. I mean I'm not .. going to .. to stalk you or anything. Ju.. just that I don't really know where I live.. and.. and I was wondering if ... " He sniffled, trying to compose himself. He hated when he started to stutter, but he couldn't help it, he was still scared.

Giggling at the silly kitty she shook her head lightly. "You do know you're just like me too, right? We are cats! And to each other we look like humans, just smaller! You're just not awakened yet! You still think you're a domestic furball..." As she listened to the little kitty blabber on about sillyness, her ears twitched every now and then, as she realized she didn't exactly have a permanent home yet. She was only a noob stray, which meant if she was ever going to be recognized as a novice, she had to find a territory to be apart of.

"Sorry little kitty! This one doesn't have a permanent home yet.... but if you wanted, I could keep you around and we could find a home together!" she exclaimed at the thought of such an amazing idea. "Plus! I can teach you the ways of the stray AND...." she trailed off, and quickly rummaged through her bag to find a bottle of milk. "I can give you this!" she said and shook the bottle in front of her. "It's delicious, I promise!"

Train tilted his head, trying to understand the girl. He was what? He wasn't any of that. He was a cat, and he was lost. He wanted his human back, the one that didn't pick on him, or pull his fur out. He wanted to be back on the farm, guarding the chickens from anything .. less scary than a moth. "I.. I'm.. I'm a cat. .. " He frowned, shaking his head. But even though he said that, he wasn't sure
anymore. Maybe he was different. Maybe it was why he was here, all alone in the end. Perhaps it was why this human-like creature could understand him. ".. I .. I am a cat. .. I think .. anyways.. " Sighing, he buried his face with one paw. Hearing her ramble on though, he tried his best to listen. It was as if all her words were scrambling too fast into his head, making it hard for him to hear. 
Stray? She was lost, too? He wasn't sure if he should follow a stranger, but.. he wasn't sure what else to do. "I .. don't want to be.. be kept and all.. by you miss.. but.. but I suppose since I don't really have anywhere to go.. I could follow.. if.. if you didn't mind.. " His ears fell back, with a sigh.

It was sudden though.. his sad demeanor changed, his nose turning to the air, sniffing 
frantically. He smelled something familiar. It was faint, as if it was hidden in something, but.. it was there. Turning back to her, he eyed the container in her hand, hopeful. Milk? .. Like from the cows back home? Was he near home at all?

His tail twitched, as he slowly found the courage to move closer to the girl, stalking the milk bottle that was being shaken in front of him. 

Watching the young kitten ease up closer to her, she crouched down and placed the bottle of milk down onto the floor, just before plopping down to sit on the ground herself. "Silly little kitty! Of course you may follow! I shall still take care of you course. Oh! And the name is Meghann! Meghann O'Connell, yup yup..." Figuring she'd be stuck with this little guy for a while, she decided it would be better to get to know one another on a first name basis.

While waiting for the kitty to join her and have a sip of milk, she slipped a hand into her bag and brought out a small random branch that had little pink flowers on it. Swaying her head side ways, she finally decided to ask, "So little kitty... what is your name and how did you ever end up here?" Figuring the kitty seemed new to the whole stray thing, he must have had a story about his abandonment... after all, they all had some kind of story...

Hesitating at first, slowly but surely, the small male crept even closer to the bottle, suddenly leaping upon it! As if confused, he knocked at it with a hand, watching it fall to the side. Brow furrowed, he pondered.. eventually deciding to grasp the bottle between his teeth, gnawing frantically in an attempt to get the cap off. He was a cat, as far as he saw himself, remembering the days where a
cap was never left on anything given to him. Hands were like paws to him, and surely he would need a different mindset of just exactly what he was capable of doing if he was ever going to see himself as anything other than a small fuzzball.

"I .. I ... grr.. I'm T.. I'm Train, it's nice to meet you Meghann... I think." Still gnawing, he curled himself around the bottle, pressing both hands 
against the cap, pulling upward, tail swishing. He could smell the pretty flower she pulled from her bag, and while he was ever curious as to what type it was, the bottle was his biggest concern. It would not thwart him, no! He would have his delicious milk. 


In amazement, she watched Train try his hardest to open the bottle of milk. Unable to control herself, she fell backwards onto her back and started to roll around and laugh. "Ahahahaha! Oh.... my.... gosh! This is too cute.... too funny.... ahahahaha!" As she laughed for a good minute or two, she rolled back onto her belly, and inched her way to Train. "Ok you! Since you still insist on being a silly little domestic kitty... here..." Using her hands, she placed one flat against his face, and used the other to take away the bottle.

Shaking her head, she twisted the cap off and placed it back in front of him. "Since you only have paws.... do you want me to put the bottle in your mouth too? Or do you think you can handle it little Trainy!" she said jokingly as she stuck her tongue out at him.

He frowned, hearing the laughter. He was used to being laughed at for being born a scardy cat, but this? Whimpering lightly, confused, he watched her open the cap then place the bottle next to him. Should he take it? Bewildered, he blinked 3 times, swished his tail, then flopped onto his butt, reaching out a "paw" to pull the bottle towards him, enthusiastically preparing to down the milk in one gulp. He cared that he still felt depressed about it all.. it was just that the milk was more important. Heck, food in general was more important to him, not knowing just how long it had been since he found a scrap of food.

" .. I .. I don't know.. what you mean .. you.. you don't have to laugh at me though .. .. " He said with another frown, still lapping up the milk. He didn't really think she was hurting his feelings on purpose, he assumed it had something to do with the nonsense she was saying about them not bein' normal "cats" .. but it wasn't real to him. It couldn't be real to him. After all, he was that little girls cat .. and that was where he belonged.

He looked up at Meghann, ear twitching. She was harmless, yea.. but ever so confusing. Could she really help him?

"B.. but.. thank you.. for.. for the milk .. " He sighed, eyes closing. It tasted good, but it.. wasn't the same. It wasn't fresh. It wasn't from "home", causing his small hope of getting back soon to dwindle even more.

Staring at the glass bottle the milk was from, the sun lit up into wondrous colors. The sun was still taking it's sweet time, slowly saying good bye to it's friends. It was sudden, but it was there. Train fumbled backwards a bit, then quickly turned around, as if looking for someone. Shaking, he looked back at the bottle, confused. It was still there. The human was still there. Frightened, he placed the bottle down, scooting backwards from it. It wasn't till it tipped over, did he begin to understand that whatever he saw was just as scared as he was. It wasn't till he realized that.. that he realized he was seeing his own reflection.

" I .. I'm not.. a cat .. .. ? " He stuttered, panicking.

Slapping her forehead lightly as she witnessed the great revelation of what a scardy cat Train was, she scooted her way a bit closer to him. Holding out her arm, she wanted him to move closer back to her. "Oh Train... You are a cat. You're just seeing the world in a different light. We aren't humans... Heck humans don't even see the truth! They think we are little furry fluff creatures that meow and purr all the time. We are cats.... strays to be more specific and we are small.... But we are CATS..." she said to reiterate her point.

Sighing slightly, she stared at the earth, and the spilled milk... Oh all that nice milk gone to waste... They could lick it from the ground... but the ground ruins the taste of the delicious sweet savory milk. Sniffling lightly, she wailed lightly.... "My milk... Gone.... So sad..." she muttered under her breathe. Despite how serious the situation was with a young stray going through some inner crisis, she was definitely one to provide comedic relief for her priorities were else where.

Sniffling, Train eyed her.. hesitant at first, but slowly made his way closer, burrowing his head against her offered hand. "I .. I .. But.. " He stopped, tail twitching madly. He felt pathetic, confused, scared, and .. well.. the usual. For some reason, despite this being "normal" for him, it was.. different. He himself was different, at least from how he saw himself. He wanted to blame her, 
afterall he was perfectly fine and fuzzy before she came. It.. it wasn't her fault though, and he somehow knew it. He always felt different.. but.. he couldn't quite put a paw on it. He was what he was told he was, a suitable, domestic house cat, perfect as a gift for a Miss Cathrine.

Trying to think of just wait to say to her .. he just stood there, watching her shift direction to the spilt milk. As tearful as he was, he couldn't help but smile. He was sad, no doubt about it .. he too was sad the milk was gone.. and he was sad that it was his fault that the milk met an untimely demise.. but... he couldn't help himself. It was random, and at the same time perfect. He felt just a little better.

"It.. it's all confusing ... " He sighed. "I don't.. I don't know what to do now ... "

He still wanted to go home, but with tears in his eyes.. he looked straight at Meghann, finally accepting that perhaps.. it wasn't possible afterall to ever find that farm again. At least if this girl was here, he wasn't alone anyone.

"B.. but.. .. I think.. I can go with you now. .. " He nodded, pawing at the milk. "A.. as long.. as you don't cry over spilled milk .. I.. I'll get you some more, 
to thank you.. I .. I promise."