USERNAME: Sinn
STORY TITLE: Coming Home
GENRE(S): Fantasy
WORD COUNT: 13869
URL OF THIS STORY: http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/viewtopic.php?page=40&t=10541039#599622444"Stay outta my house!"
Elle found herself being flung through an open door into the great outdoors. As she was about to land (or crash, as this case may be), she felt a slight pain in her neck from part of where she'd been grabbed. Fresh air was something she enjoyed, but not when being forced to breath it over the environment inside. To make matters worse, it had been raining for the past three days, and Elle soon found herself soaked.
She turned to look at the large, rotund woman who had assaulted her.
"I don't want to see you in here again, you understand me?"
Elle understood. Such that she didn't utter a sound...and silently turned and walked away.
This wasn't the first time that she'd been kicked out of her home. Well, to say "her" home might have been a bit of a stretch. But still, the streets were more familiar to her than any building. Had the weather been nicer, she may have actually enjoyed the change of scenery. She was starting to shiver from the cold, though, and she knew nothing good would come from staying wet. There was a familiar restaurant nearby, one that would provide shelter for her.
Elle sped along, with drops of water hitting her in the face as she ran. The restaurant came into view slower than she would have liked. It was a Japanese sushi bar, a small, cozy type of place. She was thanking herself for deciding to come here, because her stomach had just started rumbling. The owners would let her eat there for nothing sometimes, but they almost never let her come inside for long...and on a day like today, with her hair dripping wet, she decided that it would be best not to push her luck. Instead, she headed straight for the dumpster in the alley behind the restaurant. She peered into one of the trash cans that had fallen over from the wind. There was far more variety back here anyway. Inside she'd just have to take what she was given, but here...a veritable cornucopia of delights lay before her.
Here was the life Elle knew best. Sleeping outside. Digging through garbage. Constantly trying to keep herself somewhat clean. But then again...what was a stray cat to do?
She poured over her situation in her head. It wasn't really all that bad. There were cats far worse off than she was. Finding food was as easy as knowing where to look. Just compare that to some of the cats who live in houses and never get fed! They have nowhere to go but their own trash cans, and if they knock them over...oh man. They'd better know how to run fast. And what of the cats who were tormented by unloving owners? Indeed, Elle was a lucky cat. A slightly lonely one, but lucky nonetheless.
As she feasted upon the remains of what was probably some middle-aged woman's lunch, she heard a rustling sound a little farther down the alley and jumped, startled. Lucky or not, being outside was still technically more dangerous than being inside. She peered carefully out from her can to see a large mound covered in newspapers that appeared to be moving slightly. Curiosity hadn't killed her yet, so she figured that it must be ok...besides, she was fast, and there might be something warm and tasty hiding there. Upon closer inspection, she discovered that she was only part right in her hopes. The thing was warm, but tasting it wasn't something she was willing to try. It was an old man. From the looks of it, a scruffy one as well. His hair was long and tangled, and he had a beard forming on his face. He seemed to be asleep...
Elle, having a naturally short attention span, decided that a sleeping bum wasn't worth worrying over, and went to dive back into her trash can. However, as she turned back towards her "platter," she was shocked to see ANOTHER human where she had been moments ago. This one was young, a child no older than seven, perhaps. He too was looking a bit tattered, with dirt smudged on his face and caked on his clothes. One thing that frightened Elle was that the boy was also looking at her intently.
"On no," she thought. "This could be bad." She backed away slowly.
"Don't be afraid," the child said. He knelt down to bring himself closer to the cat. "I'm not going to 'urt you." The voice had a trace of an accent, though which one Elle couldn't tell.
"No thanks," Elle thought as she continued moving away. "I think I'm good right here."
"Don't you want to be dry?"
"Dry...yeah. Dry would be--" cut off in mid thought, the downpour, which even though being cut down from the narrowness of the alley was still quite heavy, stopped. It didn't even fade. It plain STOPPED. Elle looked around and up at the sky. It took her a few moments to realize that not only was it not raining, but she wasn't wet anymore either. "Ok, that's never happened before."
The boy managed to step closer to the distracted cat and scoop her up in his arms. For a five year old, he was remarkably agile. Elle didn't even realize what had happened until it was too late. "Gah! Put me down!" she fumed.
"Now why would I ever want to do that?" the boy responded plainly. He was walking towards the other human.
"Because I...I'm...I'm a...cat..." Elle's mind spoke out. She blinked once or twice. "Wha? I must really be losing it."
"You're a perfectly sane cat, actually, " the boy said back. Elle's gaze turned up to see the boy's face looking down at her. He smiled and then looked at the older sleeping bum. "Eh Alden, are you gonna sleep all day? We've got a visitor!"
This was all quite foreign to Elle. For as long as she'd been coming to this restaurant, she had NEVER seen any humans sleeping or otherwise choosing to be back here. She had once seen a man mugged in the spot, but it didn't seem to be a prime spot to take a vacation to. And here was some geezer, apparently called Alden, napping like he lived here.
"Nmphbl..." he sputtered. Turning over, he made his best attempt to sit upright. A pair of cracked glasses swung from his ear as he did so.
"That's the best word I've ever 'eard without vowels," the kid quipped. The old man shook his head vigorously, flinging the glasses away and, presumably, waking himself fully.
"Dwa...oh? Osman, what've you got there? Is that little Elle?"
The feline's head snapped towards the elderly human. "Ok," she thought, "This doesn't even make sense. Fickle rainstorms and superhuman children I can deal with...but how--"
"Oh, we know a lot about you, Elle. Go ahead and put 'er down, Oz."
Automatically the cat was dropped. Landing gracefully on her feet, Elle stood frozen. On the one hand, everything that she knew to be normal was NOT going on there right then, and instinct told her to get out of there. On the other hand, curiosity hadn't killed her yet...and this sudden series of events HAD grabbed her curiosity.
And besides, being a cat, Elle was in complete control of the situation anyway. She casually sat down on her hind legs. "Ok...since you know me, let's start by finding out who YOU are."
"Name's Osman Beggins," the kid said, bowing. "But you can call me Oz. And that fella over there," here pointing to the old man, "is Al."
"Alden Enders, at yer service," Al, who was still sitting, half bowed as well.
"Names..." Elle thought. "Good...but...who ARE you?"
Oz and Al exchanged glances. "That's one straightforward p***y we've got there," Oz mused. "O'right. We're 'ere to 'elp you out, little miss." Oz knelt down again to get closer to Elle. "It seems that you've been wishing for a family for a few years now, and you don't bloody 'ave one yet."
Elle was taken aback, for two reasons. First of all, how DID these people know these things about her? And second...well...
"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute. Are you saying that YOU'LL be my family? You...you are joking, right?"
Though the comment was actually quite rude, Al smiled. "Ya hear that? Puss doesn't think we can take care of her alright."
"No, no, no, my feline friend," Oz said, smiling knowingly. "We've got far more things to do than take care of you all day."
"Gee...thanks..."
"See, what we're gonna do is 'elp you find a family in a nice 'ouse," Oz continued, somewhat ignoring Elle's remark, "and overall make sure you get a 'appy endin' out of it all, eh?"
"Swell..." Elle thought. "And you'll do this...how?"
Oz began pacing back and forth from one alley wall to the other. "Well...we could just say, 'poof,' plop you down in some perfect place and call it a day...buuuut that'd be a bit too easy, don'tcha think?"
"Tsk, humans...always making things difficult..." If there was any confidence in her demeanor, it was all fake. Cats are not known for being giddy. There was a feeling of anticipation building up inside her, but she would sooner eat cheese with mice than show any sign of gratitude.
"Oh really? You know why we're doin' it this way? Tell 'er, Al."
Al, who was STILL sitting down, reached over to his side to pick up the glasses that he had strewn aside. Along with it, he grabbed a thick book that happened to be lying next to him. Putting his glasses on, and opening to what appeared to be a random page, he began to read silently. Occasionally he would mutter an, "Mhmm," or an, "Ah," but was otherwise quiet. Oz just stood with his arms folded, and Elle looked between the two of them, befuddled. Al was clearly the less verbose of the two.
"It would seem..." he began, "...that you were thrown out of your first owner's home at the age of four months...for shredding their entire living room."
"Yeah, well..."
"And you then proceeded to tear up the garden of your next owner...who only took you in because her daughter wanted you so much.
"Hmph. You know, I--"
"It looks like you didn't last more than a week in any place that took you in after that." Al closed the book. "What exactly makes you think that you'll last in this family we give you anyhow?"
"Hey! Hey now, that's not fair! You don't understand what it's like as a CAT. I have very good reasons for everything I did...mainly involving how I should get to do what I want."
"Zat so?" asked Oz. "And why's that?"
"Because! Humans don't need my respect! They have it easy! They have all the food, they can reach everything, they're all big...heck, all the stuff they can use because of those stupid thumbs they have! Do I NEED to go on?"
"Uh 'uh." Oz nodded. He seemed to be thinking to himself. Elle was a little aggravated after that last outburst. "Tell you what..." Oz bent down to look at Elle eye to eye once more. "If you can last one day as a 'uman without quitting, we'll give you a family. If not, you're on your own."
"What kind of a deal is that? If I last...what??"
"We'll make you 'uman," Oz said, slowly (almost as though Elle were an idiot and he was trying to communicate the fact that her house was on fire), "It you go one day without saying, 'I give up," we'll whisk you away to be with a perfect, loving family. But if you crack and realize that being 'uman isn't as easy as you think, you have to find your own family. Alone." The last word had particular emphasis.
Elle thought about this for a moment, knowing that the two humans were analyzing every second of it. Being human couldn't be THAT hard. And besides, once she proved these two nitwits wrong, she'd have a warm house with people who really CARED about her, not the same old people who threw her out in the cold.
And, of course, curiosity hadn't killed her yet...
"Ok. Deal." Elle thought. And suddenly the world went black.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Elle slowly opened her eyes. It was dark. Dark was odd...it had never been this dark to her before. She only remembered dark when she closed her eyes, not when she opened them. She couldn't tell how long she'd been asleep for, but it was clearly night now. It took a moment for her to register the fact that the rain had started up again, though now only a slight drizzle. She blinked and turned on her side. The world looked so funny...and something felt wrong. She moved her paws to try to stand, but saw only fleshy fingers.
Fingers?
"Fingers!" she screamed in her mind. In a jolt, she tried to look around to see what about her had changed. Not one, but BOTH of her paws were gone. In their place were delicate human hands. They were both connected to arms that...that connected to a human body. It was like being perched atop on of those strange humans' heads, but not being able to see the head itself. Was...was SHE the head?
"Well, good t' see that you woke up o'right!" Elle spun around, stumbling and falling on her stomach. It was Oz, leaning against a wall. Al was with him, actually standing this time. It was interesting, seeing the two side by side, the way that Al towered over Oz. The book was still in Al's hand, and, unlike Oz, he had a somewhat gruff look on his face.
Long strands of hair clung to Elle's face, and she batted her face in attempting to remove them. Oz just shook his head. "Come on and speak to us, puss."
"How could you do this!" Elle shouted. Or at least attempted to shout. She had never had the vocal capacity for human speech before. Even though she understood a great deal more English than she ever let on, these would be the first words she ever attempted to say. The words came out more of a, "Yeeehooghhhuu," sound. Oz bust out laughing.
"Look at you!" he said between laughs, "You can't 'ardly move, you can't talk...is being 'uman really so easy?"
"Not fair! I should know all this stuff already! You can't just LEAVE me this way!"
"Life's not fair, toots," Oz replied. "Buuut...I suppose it wouldn't be any fun to give you THAT big of a disadvantage, now would it? Al, give 'er a 'and." On the command, Al walked forward towards Elle. He knelt down and placed his hand on top of her head. All the while, Elle was squirming, trying to get away. It was something of a futile attempt, for she couldn't control her limbs at all.
BZAP!
It was like a massive headache condensed into half a second of pain, suddenly without warning. Elle winced and closed her eyes.
"OW! STOP THAT!"
"Ah, so she can speak," Oz said, smiling still.
"What are you talking a...bout..." Elle said, then quickly opened her eyes. She was on her hands and knees, but a new sensation took over her. She sat down on her rear end, and lifted her hands from the ground. Looking over them for a moment, she wiggled her fingers, and then gently brushed the hair from her face. "Wow..."
"Better?" Oz questioned. Elle looked up at him sharply.
"Yes, thank you," she said with a tone of irritation. Slowly she stood up. One would have thought that balance would be second nature to a cat, but she was still a little wary of her new-found ability. She noticed now for the first time that she was dressed. It was only in a long over shirt and some shorts, but at the very least she was not naked. Those humans were odd with their love of clothing, but Elle supposed that it was necessary for those without any fur to stay warm. She was still freezing though, for the clothing she'd been given wasn't thick at all. "So..." she said, shivering slightly, "Now what?"
"That's your game, doll," Oz said, placing his hands on his hips. Elle noticed that when standing, she was much taller than the child. Al, on the other hand, was still a good head taller than she was.
"My...my what?"
"You sure do stutter a lot," Oz teased. "Lemme explain it to ya. Right 'ere is midnight. You've got 24 'ours to be 'uman without giving up. Now, there's one other thing you've gotta do." Elle looked surprised. Though much of what happened before she woke up was still a blur, she didn't particularly recall having to accomplish any particular task. "You 'ave to make a difference to somebody you meet today. In a positive way."
"What? How do I do that?" Elle asked. This wasn't part of the deal! Oz did nothing but smile for a moment. "Come on, this isn't funny!"
"Figure it out," was the response. And with that, the two mysterious, homeless humans walked away. Elle just stood bewildered for a moment. This couldn't be happening.
"Wait!" She shouted, starting to run after them. Moving on two legs was so strange! Despite her larger size, she was nowhere as fast as she used to be. "What happens in 24 hours? Do I turn back into a cat? COME BACK!" Her voice rang out in the emptiness of the alley. She was alone. She had been alone before. Not quite in the way she was alone now, but...it couldn't be that much different. Could it?
First things first: it was still raining, and Elle was still hungry. She'd never gotten to eat much when she was still a cat earlier that day, and she pondered whether to go back to what she'd been doing so many hours ago, which was digging through trash. She decided that since she was, in reality, a cat, it was NOT beneath her to scavenge for food, and turned around to get back to her scraps of leftovers. However, she found that the entire dumpster, and all of the surrounding cans, were virtually empty. Perhaps someone had come taken it away when she was sleeping...? In any case, she still needed food. The next best solution would be to go into the restaurant itself...but Elle knew from past experience that when it got dark, no one would be inside.
"So..." Elle thought aloud to herself (words were...such fun, nifty things!), "I can find more trash...or find another restaurant...or food place...hm. Drat..." she sighed, and started walking. The restaurant she visited was part of a strip mall. Most all of the other shops were closed at this time of night too. There was a light coming from one of the buildings though, so Elle decided that it would at least be worth a look. Curiosity hadn't killed her yet...though it had given her a massive irritation for the moment.
The square sign had words on it, that much was clear...of course, with the knowledge to walk and talk, it apparently hadn't been important enough to know how to read. There appeared to be a fish in the lower right corner of the sign though, so it couldn't be all bad. Elle waltzed up to the clear door and saw only a couple lights on. It did appear to be empty...she tried opening the door, and it stuck. She beat the door with her fist and shouted, "Hey! Anyone in there?"
A head peered out from behind a counter of some sort. A greasy looking man, probably in his early twenties, was peering at Elle like she was insane. He mouthed something that looked like, "Whee low." Elle's facial expression was blank and confused.
"What?" Elle simply tried tugging on the door harder. The greasy guy started waving with his hands, almost like he wanted her to go away. She frowned and looked around. Ah ha! There was another sign with an arrow on it, pointing to a path of sorts. That must be what he meant. So Elle walked along the path, passing ANOTHER sign loaded with pictures of yummy human food. The very sight of it made her mouth water, such that she quickened her pace down the path, around the side of the building...to a window. It too was closed. Again came Elle's knock.
Greasy guy appeared suddenly, looking VERY irritated. He opened the window and began to yell. "What the hell?"
"Wh...I just wanted to eat...you have food, right?" Elle stammered. The guy was angry, for having just met her. Usually she had to be around them for at least five minutes before they started screaming.
"You can't walk through the drive through" the man said, a little calmer.
"Um...why?"
"Because. You just can't, that's why."
"But...I'm hungry," Elle said. She wasn't getting this close to food without getting something. But the guy inside the building just let out a sigh of annoyance. Here was some girl who looked to be about eleven, standing in his drive through in the rain after midnight. There was something very wrong here. What was a kid doing out at this hour anyway?
"Look, if you want to get food, you need a car. I mean, do you even have any money on you?" Elle looked confused.
"Money...? No..."
"Then go home."
"But I--"
"Go on. Come on, don't make me call security!" the guy snapped. Elle's eyes went wide and she backed away. She began running in the opposite direction as the angry man in the building.
"If all humans treat each other this way," she thought, "I'm not going to like this at all..." At least cats ignored each other, for the most part...
She continued running until she was sure she was out of view of the angry man in the fish sign building. The street was on her right side, with a wall opposite it to the sidewalk. There were very few cars on the road right now, but they still gave her the creeps. She glanced around and didn't see any people, and then faced the wall, bracing for a jump. She was shockingly disappointed with what she discovered. Humans. Can't. Jump. What was this two foot hop off the ground? The sheer force that she'd hurled herself at the wall almost hurt her, though she did manage to grab on to the top bricks.
"Ok...I can deal with this...no more wall jumping..." Elle thought. "I'll just...stay on the ground after this...it's only a day..." She strained with her arms to pull her weight up the wall. At least humans had decent upper body strength. She would have fallen right down with that kind of a grip as a cat. Of course, as a cat she wouldn't have ever BEEN in that position anyway.
She reached the top and hopped over to the other side, slipping awkwardly. It would seem that humans lacked the natural landing finesse that she used to have as well...and it didn't help that the ground was lower on this side of the wall...and that it was raining. Elle was lucky to avoid injury, even though she didn't know it. As she picked herself up and looked at her new surroundings, she realized a problem There was another building nearby, a house apparently, surrounded by grass and trees. However, the wall she had come from enclosed the house on all sides. There was no jumping back.
Hungry, caged in, and not knowing what to do, Elle realized that she was still very tired, despite being unconscious for much of the day. Since there was nowhere to go, she found the nicest looking tree that she could to keep her dry, curled up under it in her usual way, and drifted off...
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Elle awoke to (what else?) more yelling.
"Moooooooooooooooom! There's someone in the yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaard!"
Again, Elle sprang up, claws extended to...oh wait. No claws. Geeze, what did humans use to protect themselves anyway? Shaking the thought from her mind, she then picked her second best defense option of hiding behind the tree. She quickly wondered if humans could climb trees as well as cats could...It got all quiet. Whoever had yelled that first time wasn't--
"Mom! Mom, there's a person!...In the yard!...It's a girl!...I'm NOT LYING!"
Whoever it was was not only loud, but OBNOXIOUS too.
It was brighter now, though how much time had passed was anyone's guess. There were still many clouds in the sky, but it wasn't raining at the moment. Elle tried to see if there were any exits that she may have missed in the darkness last night, but didn't have any luck. And as fate would have it, she didn't have much time to look before the door to the building opened up. There was a woman, not too old, not too young, with a tired expression on her face.
"Marie, if you wake me up on a Saturday over some lost animal, I swear--"
"No mom, she's right over there!" A little girl, maybe nine or ten, came to the door with the older woman. She had dark black hair, and a wide eyed look of amazement. That look was focused directly on Elle. It was funny, she had gone from being invisible to the world to being a spectacle everywhere she went.
"I don't see...oh," came the response. The woman took a few steps into the yard. "What are you doing here? Who are you?" Elle stayed crouched, motionless. Maybe if she didn't move, they really couldn't see her. Why oh why did humans have to be so BIG? The woman turned to the girl and whispered something in her ear, and the girl ran off. The woman walked towards Elle while fidgeting with her robe, trying to keep it more or less closed. "Are you alright?"
Elle stayed like a rock. The woman stood on the opposite side of the tree and looked down at her. "How did you get here?" the woman asked. "Why won't you answer?"
"Are you going to throw me out into the street?" Elle worked up the nerve to say. The woman looked at her with an odd sort of expression of amusement mixed with confusion.
"What? No, no, I wouldn't throw you into the street. But why are you here?"
"I...had no where to go..." Elle stammered. She wanted to get out of there. She had this horrible feeling that if she stayed much longer that something very bad was going to happen from it.
"Why aren't you home?" The woman asked her, more confused than amused now.
"I don't have one," Elle replied bluntly.
"You don't have one?"
"No."
"What about your parents? Where are they?" Elle thought about saying that she didn't have any, but realized that not only was it technically not true (cat parents are parents too), but it would also not be very believable.
"I...don't know," she said. It was true. She'd been adopted shortly after she was born by her first owners, a husband and wife with their daughter, a sweet little girl named Aurora. That girl had been more patient with her than just about anyone else...but in time even she gave up. Most of those memories were hazy at this point though...
"Oh my God...do you have a name, sweetie?"
"Elle..."
"Ok Elle, first we're gonna take you inside and get you some clothes that aren't soaking wet," Elle had been too startled to notice, "and then we're going to find your parents, ok?" Elle didn't really know what to say. It would seem that the two strange bums had turned her into a child of sorts, and not a mature human. Those sneaky little..."Are you sure you're not hurt or anything?"
Elle wasn't paying much attention to the woman because she still didn't know what she was going to do. Even if this woman did seem nice enough to let her come inside for a while, it was only a matter of time before she again had no shelter or food or...
"Do you have any food?" Elle asked as her eyes lit up. The woman closed her eyes and let out a slight sigh.
"Come on inside and let's get you fixed up." The woman held her hand out for Elle to take hold of, and reluctantly Elle did. She was led to the house where, immediately inside, was a kitchen. The girl, Marie, was inside too, sitting on a stool. She looked at Elle but didn't say anything. Elle tried to give her a faint smile, but it wasn't reciprocated. "Marie, can you go get some clothes for her?"
The girl looked surprised and confused. "You don't mean MY clothes?"
"Marie, nothing of mine will fit her. It'll be ok." Marie was about to protest by her mother shot her one of those looks that just dares to be argued with. The little girl pouted and ran off into the other room. "Do you like eggs?" the mother asked Elle. Elle had never really had eggs, but she still replied with a yes. Eggs came from birds, right? They couldn't be all bad.
"So tell me again," the mom continued, "did you get separated from your parents?"
Elle thought about this for a moment. "Yes."
"Where were you when they were with you last?" Ma was now at the stove, cracking these "eggs" into a bowl.
"I don't know."
"You don't know?" the woman looked over her shoulder. "You don't know what the place was, or you don't remember where it is?"
Both, technically. "I don't remember."
"Are you from here?" The woman started stirring the eggs. Did she have to make sure they were dead...?
"Yes."
"Don't you know what street your house is on?"
"I..." Elle wasn't really getting through to her. "I don't have a house."
"An apartment?"
"No..."
The woman paused, seeming to fit the pieces together. "Are you homeless?" she asked incredulously. Elle looked down and nodded. "Oh boy...you didn't run away from home, did you?"
"No," Elle said defensively. It was the first time she'd had any real emotion in her voice since the start of the conversation. "I was kicked out." The woman was astonished.
"You're kidding! Oh my God...how could anyone do something like that? How old are you?"
Now here was a hard one. Elle had no idea what she even looked like right now, let alone how old she would determine herself to be if she COULD see herself. This whole thing about age and time was a very loose concept for her, and she feared saying something completely stupid that would make the woman think she was even more crazy than she probably did already. Luckily, Marie came back into the room right at that moment. She was holding jeans and a long sleeved shirt. She then tossed the articles of clothing at Elle, who would have caught them had she been accustomed to catching things by now.
"Marie," her mother warned, "be nice to our guest."
"Guest?" the girl shouted. "She's a stranger! You tell me not to talk to strangers!"
"Marie! You're this close from going to your room for the rest of the day."
"So? I like it in my room!" and with that she stomped away in a huff. Elle's eyes went a little wide from fear. That girl was a little...scary. The mother turned to Elle.
"Don't listen to my daughter...go ahead. If you go to that hall, there's a bathroom through the first door you'll see where you can change." Elle nodded, scooped up the clothes and did as she was instructed. She went in and closed the door. Darkness. Great. Humans had such TERRIBLE vision. No wonder they needed...what did humans use again?...light switches! That was it. On flipped the lights...and then she was face to face with herself.
She blinked and it blinked back. She raised her right arm...and it did too. For the first time, she saw what she had become. She was a little bit taller than Marie was, though not by much. Her hair was somewhat light, especially compared to Marie's, and medium in length, not falling past her shoulders. Her eyes were clear and bright...one who had an affinity for children might have even thought her "cute" or "adorable." But Elle only saw a human girl. It looked only vaguely similar to anything she remembered about herself...and it was real. Staring in this mirror, with her clothes clinging to her and her hair all strewn, there was no denying it. It wasn't a dream. It wasn't a catnip induced illusion. It was real. She closed her eyes and let out a heavy sigh.
"I cannot WAIT until I am back to normal," she thought.
"Ah, ah, ah," a voice said from behind her. She opened her eyes suddenly and saw a face in the mirror. "You're not giving up already, are ya love?"
It was Oz.
"What are you doing here?!" she exclaimed, turning around.
"Elle?" came the voice of the woman. "Are you ok in there?"
"Yes! Yes, I'm fine!" she shouted back. In a quieter voice, almost a whisper, she repeated, "What are you doing here? How did you...?"
"Seems to me that your not enjoying your stay as a 'uman much. Isn't life as a 'uman as easy as you dreamt it would be?" Oz was smirking. Smirking that smirk that Elle had grown to dislike so much already.
"You guys cheated!" she said hoarsely. "People can't get by with nothing like cats can. I'm supposed to have this money stuff and a house and--"
"And what? You think that 'umans 'ave all of this stuff automatically?" Oz chuckled. "You've got a lot to learn, girl."
"Well you could have at least made me a little older. Or given me some food. Or something, anything!"
"Sorry puss, 'umans go through that too. It's called life." Elle didn't say anything, but her thoughts were enough to lash out at Oz as she stood looking down at him. "So I take it you're thinkin' about throwin' in the towel?"
"Never! I mean...I will turn back at midnight, won't I?"
"Of course you will."
"Good..." Elle said, calming slightly. "So, have I made a good difference yet?"
"Eh. Can't tell," Oz said, nonchalantly.
"What? Why not?" Elle was five seconds away from pouncing on the boy and beating the answer out of him.
"If I told you the answer is no, you'll piss an' moan about, 'What about these two in there?" An' if I say you 'ave, you'll stop caring about trying entirely. So no, I ain't gonna tell you." The logic was sound, but that didn't please Elle.
"I don't like you," she said, flat out.
"Sorry to 'ear that, toots. But I've gotta run." Oz snapped his fingers and Elle felt a shifting of weight on her. She looked down at herself and saw that she was now wearing the clothes that she'd carried in, with her wet clothes in their place on the floor.
She looked up and stammered, "How did you--" but it was pointless. Oz had vanished. At that moment Elle heard Marie's mother at the door.
"Your breakfast is done. Are you alright? I thought I heard you talking in there." Elle looked at the spot Oz had stood in and scowled.
"It's nothing," she lied. Sulking slightly, she followed the woman out back into the kitchen. Time to try these egg things. At least she wouldn't be starving anymore. She was shown a seat at the kitchen table with a plate of some steaming substance. This was a rare opportunity to have hot food, she realized. Beside the plate was a spoon. As she sat down, she knew that she should probably use it. She'd seen humans eat with their hands before, but it wouldn't make sense for the woman to give her a spoon if she wasn't suppose to use it. Carefully she grasped it in her right hand (and although she did not consciously know it, she WAS indeed right handed), and shoveled some of the steaming pile into her mouth.
One thought entered her mind. Either eggs were the most bland substance known to man and cat alike, or humans had a MUCH different sense of taste than she'd had before. It wasn't anything like fish...heck, it wasn't even meat, but still...it wasn't bad. It was soft and fluffy and...that smell. A very faint smell...was that cheese she smelled? She remembered that she'd always sad the day she ate cheese would be the day she'd cease to exist...oh how right she had been.
"Now Elle," the woman hesitantly said after Elle had really started digging in, "We're going to go on a little trip to see a social worker."
Elle, who had not yet been taught table manners, replied while chewing, "Who?"
"A social worker. They...they help children who've been abandoned by their parents." Elle felt a twinge of fear in her for a moment. She subtly started eating faster.
"I don't need any help," she said quickly.
"Elle...you need a place to stay. I don't know how long you've been homeless, but it's not safe."
"I can take care of myself. I've been doing it for a long time. It's fine, really." Elle didn't want to stay around this woman. She was nice, but as soon as she started trying to decide how she would spend her future...that's where a cat has to draw the line.
"I'm not going to just let you walk out of here back onto the street," the woman said. Elle spooned one final bite into her mouth before stopping. A thought crossed her mind. She was afraid to ask...it would sound stupid. And the answer wouldn't make her happy. She knew should just keep quiet...
"Why can't I stay here?" Damn it.
"Elle, I..." the woman saw the look in Elle's eyes. There was pain in them. That's another thing about cats. They're so much better at masking emotions. Here this woman didn't even know half of the homes that Elle had been thrown out of, all the rejection that she had felt...but one look at her face was enough to make both of them feel like crying. This was the first time that she had thought about it in such a way...these people who had thrown her out, thrown her away...they didn't want her. That was all there was to it. It would be no different here.
Tears...that was another human concept that Elle experienced for the first time right then.
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