Rother woke up and rubbed his eyes. He scratched his stomach and pushed his brown hair to the side. The Academy allowed no rest even during the weekends, so he had to go soon. He stretched his arms, and after changing into the Academy uniform, opened his door and walked out.

The cat was missing from its basket.

“Mooooom!” he shouted. “MOOOOM!”

He opened the door to his parent’s bedroom and saw them still covered in their blankets, their upper bodies bare. Huh, that was weird. Why were their pajamas on the floor?

“Mom. Dad. Wake up!” said Rother as he shook his parents’ tired bodies. Garthan blinked his eyes open automatically and looked at his son.

“Rother! What are you doing here!” said Garthan while panicking.

“Dad, please wake up,” said Rother obliviously. “Remember the black cat from yesterday? It’s not here. It’s not in the basket. Its leg was broken and now it's gone. Dad please, can you wake Mom up? I’m worried.”

Garthan looked at his earnest son’s almost-tearful eyes and rubbed his face. He couldn’t refuse when he asked so seriously.

“Alright, Rother. Head outside and look for the cat. I’ll wake her up. The cat should be in the house—we didn’t touch it yesterday.”

Rother nodded and headed for the living room, forgetting to shut the door behind him. Garthan quickly grabbed his pants and underwear from the floor and pulled them on. Next time he’d have to lock the door before they did their nightly exercises. He looked at the figure of Melsei beneath the blanket and gently pulled the sheet away to reveal her sleeping face. She was as beautiful as ever.

“Honey, wake up,” he coaxed his wife.

Melsei stirred slightly and stretched her arms out. She had been quite the beast the night before, so it was understandable why she was so exhausted at the moment. Garthan pushed her hair away. She opened her eyes and motioned for her clothes, which her husband fetched for her.

“What’s the matter~,” she said weakly.

“The cat from yesterday is missing,” Garthan replied. “Rother is currently searching for it, but it shouldn’t have left the house.”

Melsei yawned and got up while dressing herself. Garthan too walked over to the wardrobe and took out his guard uniform undershirt and put it on. Work would start in about an hour.

The couple came out of the room and headed towards the living room/kitchen. As Garthan had expected, Rother was petting the cat who was sitting on the windowsill. To his surprise, the cat’s leg that had been limping had straightened itself somehow. Without putting much thought into it, he went to slice some bread and turn on the stove for breakfast.

“Honey, we need to get some mana crystals soon,” he called out to Melsei.

“I’ll go buy some today~” she called back while holding Shaden up. She checked Shaden’s diaper and found nothing. Maybe he was constipating? She really should start to potty train him soon.

She set Shaden down on the baby seat at the table. The cat, upon seeing this, jumped over to the ground and purred at the base of Shaden’s chair while rubbing against it. Rother quickly went over and picked the cat up, bringing it further away from his baby brother. The cat kept on returning anyway, so Rother gave up and took his place on the table next to his brother.

Garthan set the plates—that had slices of bread with fried eggs and ham on top—on the table. The delicious smell of fresh breakfast and butter filled the room and Shaden felt his stomach growl. To his delight, his mother cut some of the breakfast into small slices and placed it in front of Shaden. Shaden grabbed his fork and eyed the food hungrily.

The family had a cheerful breakfast—even the cat was allowed some bread and eggs, which it ate happily.

“So,” began Rother, “did you see the cat’s leg?”

“I sure did,” said Garthan, wiping his short, black beard with a napkin. “It looks completely healed.”

“Mom cast a healing spell last night like she does for me.”

“She did?” Garthan eyed his wife who was finishing her breakfast with her hair tied back. “My wife must be an amazing person.”

“I did cast a healing spell, but I don’t know how its bones recovered,” said Melsei.

The three looked at the cat, who had finished its meal and was purring again at the base of Shaden’s chair. They looked up at Shaden, and the same idea ran through their minds:

No way. It must be my imagination.

“Maybe it wasn’t that badly injured?” suggested Rother. “It did look bad. But its black. So I might have imagined it. I heard from my friend that black cats can do illusions.”

“First time I’ve heard of that!” said Garthan.

“Perhaps Rother is right,” said Melsei. There was no other explanation. She knew the extent of her magic, and it surely couldn’t mend broken bones. She had planned to take it to the healer’s shack, but that seemed unnecessary now.

Shaden silently ate his food, keeping his nervous laughter inside as much as he could. He focused on the food and ignored their conversation. Mmm. What delicious food.

Rother eyed his mom in worry. Now that the cat was healed, she would definitely want it to go out of the house. He fidgeted his hands anxiously. He really wanted to keep the cat.

“Mom…?” he slowly asked while reading the mood. His parents seemed awfully happy right now, which meant now would be the perfect time to ask.

“Yes, honey?”

“Um…so you know the cat is healed now…but…you healed it…so…erm…”

“Do you want to keep it?” asked Garthan.

“Yes!” replied Rother without hesitation. “Can I, Dad? Like as an early present. I really want a pet! Jargon from other class has a windwing—"

A what? Shaden was confused at the new word. Was that a type of bird?

"—and even two hounds! This other girl in my class brags every day about—”

“Okay. You can.”

“But mom! I really want thi—wait. Did you say yes?”

Melsei smiled at her son. As much as she disliked cats, she had felt pity for it. It seemed tame and a little cute now that she’d looked at its recovered form. Rother had never gotten a pet too, so it seemed fine.

It could also serve as emergency rations.

“Thanks Mom! I’ll take care of it every day!”

“But you’re going to school, aren’t you?”

“Well—oh yeah.”

“It’s alright, Rother. I know how much you like animals. Mom will take good care of it. But!”

She raised a finger at Rother.

“If the cat hurts your brother in any way, it's out of the house. Is that clear?”

“Yes Mom! I promise it will never happen!”

Shaden almost spat out his food. His brother could become a comedian in the future. But oh well, he understood his determination. Like Rother, he also loved cats very much. He had also desperately wished for a cat as a pet too. He silently thanked Rother for being a great brother.

“Hurry up now,” said Garthan. “It’s almost time for training.”

Rother nodded and finished his food. He got up from the chair, petted the cat, put on his other garments, strapped his wooden sword on his side, pulled his socks and shoes on, and waved goodbye to his parents. He then jogged towards the school, eager to brag to his friends about his new pet.

The cat became a part of the family.

〄 〄 〄

Melsei looked down at the cat. It kept following her wherever she went. She looked at her son. Or rather, the cat was following the baby she was holding.

She became slightly worried. She had read somewhere that predatory beasts stalked their prey before pouncing on them. Because Shaden was small and defenseless, he would be perfect as prey for the cat. Maybe she was worrying too much. Shaden was big enough to walk around freely now, so she probably didn’t have to worry.

She set down Shaden on the floor and watched as the child waddled towards the living room. Like she had thought, the cat followed right behind her son. Nothing bad would happen, would it?

Just to make sure, she peeked at her son and the cat from behind the kitchen wall. Shaden was petting the cat as it mewed softly and rubbed itself on the boy. It certainly didn’t look like a beast that wanted to devour her baby. As long as it behaved itself, she would let it live. But if even one scratch was found on her baby, it would have to leave.

To the afterlife.

She wouldn’t tell Rother, of course. She would tell him that the cat ran away. But so far, everything seemed fine. She would look over it to make sure it didn’t do anything dangerous.

Shaden spotted his mother peeking on them and chuckled internally. She really didn’t have to worry that much, but he couldn’t tell her that. He just hoped that he could grow quicker so that he would be able to express his thoughts without causing suspicion. In the meantime, he enjoyed the company of his new friend.

He stroked his small hands through the cat’s dark fur. He knew what cats liked and what they didn’t; he had played with almost every single one of them that lived in his neighborhood. By using treats, food, eye signals, purring, and various other cat-alluring techniques, he had befriended numerous cats over many years. Pleasing this cat was an easy task. It was now his cat, and he was prepared to give all of his love to it.

He stroked the cat down the back as its tail split into two. It then merged back into one. He smiled and continued to stroke the cat as it mewed at him with its glowing, yellow eyes.

What the heck?

He stroked the cat down its back again and watched as its tail split apart into two again.

Shaden instantly turned his eyes towards the kitchen. His mother was not there. He let out a relieved sigh. If she discovered that this cat was no ordinary street-cat, who knew what she would do.

He looked back at the cat and patted its head. No more skillful back-stroking for now, he decided. His family probably didn’t know how to do what he had just done, so the cat would be safe for now. The cat, not knowing the danger it held or was in, purred and pressed its head against Shaden’s legs.

Shaden just hoped the cat wouldn’t turn violent all of the sudden. His mother had had a mean glint in her eyes.