Feliformia Ch. 11

I dove back underwater and swam across the pool without warning. Kitty was hanging on to my neck with only one arm and tried to get a hold of me with the other. When I emerged on the other side of the pool, I turned around to face her.

"That doesn't mean there is nothing you can do about it, Cathead."

"Kah! ... Mark! Kah!"

"Swallowed a bit of water?"

"Meh. What do you want me to do then?"

"You? Everything! You are smart, funny, adorable, small, and very kinky."

"What does my cuteness have to do with anything?"

"Well, Syr likes you for all those reasons, so use those qualities to be a good friend and stop acting odd when you are around her."

"I'm not acting odd! ... Am I?"

It felt good not to be the clueless one for once. As I was slowly swimming backward, dragging Kitty along with me, I wasn't sure how I could make her see things from a different angle. I didn't want to make her feel bad, but she had some introspection to do.

"I told you earlier; you are a little obsessed. The way you keep telling us that she is so pretty and so warm. Then when she makes you swim, you find all kinds of reasons to grab her boobs and butt. That's what I mean by a little obsessed."

"Hey, Erika is way worse than me. She is ALWAYS after me as soon as she has a window of opportunity."

"Yes, but you like it, and she likes it too. You and Syr don't have this kind of relationship."

"... So, what you are saying is that I'm annoying Syr?"

Poor Kitty, now I knew how she must have felt every time she taught me life lessons. I was not always the quickest to understand relationships, but Kitty, right now, was struggling to get my point. I splashed her with a bit of water.

"Don't be silly. You are not annoying her. Else she wouldn't spend as much time with you. But you do make it a bit difficult for her."

"... I... I do?"

"I think so... Syr would prefer you to accept what she has to offer instead of trying to pull more out of her. If you do that, I think you would have a much more satisfying relationship with our cute maid."

Kitty sank a bit and started to make some bubbles. She may have realized that I had a valid point and wouldn't dare argue about it.

I pulled Kitty to the pool's side and lifted her in the air so she could sit on the edge. I extirpated myself from the water too and sat next to her. The sun was lower and not as warm as earlier, but the air we were breathing was still heavy and humid. Kitty leaned on me.

"Erika is planning something that will involve both Syr and me. I don't know what it is exactly, but I'm sure she has seen the same thing you did."

"I'm sure she did too. Look, Kitty, you know this better than anybody else. We are helping each other all the time, and it's always for the better. Usually, it turns into a lot of fun. So, I'll see what I can find out about Erika's plan, but you, you will just play along with her idea and trust her. Okay?"

"I changed my mind."

"Uh? About what?"

"I don't want to sleep in my crate tonight. I want you to put Erika in it, and I will sleep with you in the big bed."

"Haha! I'm not sure she would agree to this."

"You must put her in the crate."

"Alright, Cathead, I'll tell you what. If you swim across the pool by yourself, I'll do it."

That was kind of cute. Kitty spent a lot of time in the pool, learning how to swim with Syr, so she could totally do it. She just liked playing helpless around me. I really wanted to see her swimming on her own, and this was a perfect opportunity. To get what she wanted, she had no choice but to show me her newly acquired catfish skills.

She slowly turned around and went back in the water. She held onto my leg and tried to gather some courage for what seemed like an ocean crossing. Pressing her two feet on the pool's wall, she pushed her body forward and started agitating her arms.

"Use your legs, Kitty!"

She was just flailing her arms in every direction... and slowly sank before silently disappearing underwater. Even her little drowning bubbles found a way to be cute.

"Really? She just sank like a rock."

***

"Syr? Are you sure you are teaching her how to swim properly?"

"I am! However, Kitty is the most unfocused person I've encountered when it comes to this activity. She cares more about playing than learning."

While Erika was helping Kitty back in her pink rubber catsuit in the middle of the living room, I questioned the seriousness of Syr's teaching. I found it a bit strange that Kitty couldn't even float a bit after two weeks of training.

Nevertheless, Kitty lost her bet and was going to sleep in the crate tonight. The last time she did was weeks ago, and I was sure, deep inside, she was looking forward to it. The crate was her mini-home that she always loved so much, and also a perfect recovery place. As long as I kept her locked in there, Erika couldn't sexually assault her.

"Hey, Kitty, I found this in our luggage," Erika said.

"My pink collar! You found it!"

"Yes. It was inside one of the suitcase's pockets, all squished. Lift your chin so I can put it on you."

I had not seen Kitty's collar for a while. I remember the first time I put it around her neck, on our first date, it had made her so happy. She was even happier when I asked her if she wanted me to call her Kitty like the name written on it. This little accessory was part of her heart, it was the strongest symbol of our love.

"Well... that's weird..."

"..."

Erika tried to fasten the collar around Kitty's neck when, suddenly, the small silver buckle twirled in the air and came crashing down at my feet with a metallic noise announcing bad news. Erika moved her hand out, holding a broken piece of pink material. She knew very well what this collar represented to Kitty, and the blood drained from her face at the realization that she had broken it.

"... Kit... Kitty... I'm... so sorry. I... I don't know what happened... I'm sorry!"

"... My... My collar..."

Kitty grabbed it with her two rubber paws and looked at it closely. Her eyes started to well up.

"It... It broke."

"..."

I was feeling bad, but not nearly as bad as Kitty. Syr leaned forward and picked up the buckle from the floor and stood up. She gently grabbed the dead collar from Kitty's paws and inspected it. Erika, feeling guilty as hell, was hoping for a miracle from her crafty friend.

"Syr, you can fix it, right?"

"... I'm sorry. I can't. It is fake leather, vinyl actually, and it ripped. It wasn't designed for longevity."

Never in a hundred years, I would have mentioned this, but Kitty must have found it in a dollar store. It was more of a Halloween costume accessory than a real collar.

A tear ran down Kitty's latex covered cheek. She wiped her eyes with the back of her paws and turned to Erika to pull her in a gentle hug.

"... It's okay, Erika. It's not your fault."

"... I feel so bad. We... We will find you another one."

"No, it's okay. There was only one like it... I don't need another one. I will see you guys tomorrow."

Kitty went down to the floor and crawled inside her crate. She laid down on the thin mattress and hugged her heart-shaped pillow tightly, sighing. I wasn't sure it was a good idea to leave a depressed girl inside the crate for the night.

"Kitty, I think you should sleep with us in the bed tonight."

"No. I prefer to sleep here. Close the door, please. I'm just tired. I would like to sleep."

"..."

I've never seen her so sad since that time when she was evicted by the social worker a long time ago. Even back then, she had not cried like this.

"You sure, cathead?"

"Yeah... Good night."

I closed the door and the latches, feeling awful about it.

"Alright, it's late for everybody. Let's go to bed. Tomorrow will be a better day."

"Mark... Lock my door!"

"... Kitty, I'm not sure it's—"

"Lock my door... please."

I looked at Erika for guidance, and she just shrugged at me, not knowing what to do either. I went back to the crate and crouched in front of it. I grabbed the two padlocks and installed them on the latches.

"If you need anything, just ask. Syr's room is not far, she will hear you."

"..."

Well, that was a horrible way to end the weekend. At least I knew Kitty's crate was her safe place. She loved sleeping in it, so it was a comforting thought. Erika and I interlaced fingers and walked away.

"Good night, Kitty. Good night, Syr."

"..."

"Good night, Master Mark. I will see you tomorrow."

***

The maid stood in the living room, in silence, for a long moment. In one of her hands was a broken metal buckle, and in the other, a piece of fake pink leather with fake diamonds glued to it. Her thoughts were for Kitty, who was securely locked up inside her crate, experiencing sorrow after her most meaningful possession ripped apart around her own neck. This collar had been a symbol of her entire love life.

Syr secretly had more empathy toward what happened to the pink cat than anybody else living under this roof. Her feelings were powerful but hidden behind her acting mask.

She remembered...

***

"Hey! Can you hear me? Are you okay? Can you hear me?"

"..."

"Guys! GUYS! There is a child in this car! ... We need an ambulance right away! ... We need it NOW! There is a child here! She is still alive."

"Impossible!"

"Yeah ... There is a small girl ... NO! Don't move her! Wait for the paramedics to get here! She is badly hurt! Wait ... No! That's NOT her blood. Oh, my God! Use my scarf to clean her face, quick!"

***

"Hey, little one. My name is Sandra, and I'm a paramedic. Yes, that's why I'm wearing a nice uniform. See? I'm here to help you and be your friend... What is your name? Do you want to tell me your name?"

"..."

"That's okay... You don't have to. We will get you out of the car very soon, I promise. I just want to take a good look at you first. Do you feel pain anywhere? No?... That's amazing... What if I gently press here? Or here? Still no?... Well, that's super great. Are you sure you don't want to tell me your name?"

"..."

"Guys! We need to take her to the hospital right away for a full check-up. She is in shock. And please, for her sake, cover the front seats right now! Why wasn't that done already? Don't let her see that!"

"I'll tell you what. Did you know I'm driving an awesome ambulance? Like the ones you see on TV... That's right! It's super cool. Would you like to see it? Yeah? Nice. But hey... you know what?... My co-worker is a bit grumpy, and he won't let you see my ambulance unless you tell him your name. I think you should tell him."

"... Elizabeth."

"Oh, wow. That is a super cute name. Alright, We will just put this little piece of foam around your neck, then my firefighter friends over there will help you get out by the window... I bet it's the first time you get out of a car by the window, it's cool, uh? That's right. Usually, people use doors. But you are special, and we will use the window this time. Then you can tell all your friends about it. And guess what, If you do everything my friends tell you to, we will give you this cute teddy bear, and we will go check the ambulance together while my friends are helping your parents."

***

"Alright, Elizabeth, this is a very special machine that will look through you so we can make sure you are okay. I'll be just on the other side of the window over there, keeping an eye on you."

"... Where are my parents?"

"They just arrived at the hospital with my friends. They are very sick, but don't worry, we are taking care of them. They asked me to take care of you and your teddy bear until they get better. Do you trust me to take care of him while the machine is checking you out? I'll give him back to you right after."

"Yes."

***

"Morning, Elizabeth. Did you sleep well? I see that you took good care of your teddy bear. Did you give him a name yet?"

"... I want to see my father and my mother."

"... You... You can't. I'm sorry ..."

"Why? I want to see them! Are they still sick?"

"... E... Elizabeth ... No ... They are not sick anymore... But you can't see them..."

"WHY? I want to see them now! Where is my mother!?"

"... No! Wait... listen... The big car accident yesterday... You remember? Your parents... they... they didn't make it... They passed away. They ... won't come back."

"No! ... NO! YOU ARE LYING! I WANT TO SEE THEM!"

"Come here! Come here! It's going to be alright. I promise. Poor thing."

"LET ME GO! LET ME GO! I WANT TO SEE MY PARENTS! WHERE ARE THEY!?"

***

"Elizabeth. Your aunt is here to pick you up. You'll go live with her for a while. You like your aunt, right? I talked to her a lot, and she is super nice. She will take care of you. She has two kids around your age too. You know them already, right? They will help you a lot."

"... Sandra. I want to stay with you."

"That's... That's not possible. But I'll visit you to see how you are doing from time to time. Hey, I have a little gift for you. Actually, it's for your teddy bear. It's a little medal. It says "Ambulance 471"... That's my ambulance. Let me tie it around his neck, then every time you feel alone, you can look at him and think about me, okay?"

***

Syr was standing in the living room, a broken buckle in one of her hands, and in the other, a ripped piece of pink vinyl. She took a deep breath and walked out of the room radiating resolve and determination.

She first went to her room, stipped out of her maid uniform, and carefully placed it on the bed. She opened her small closet and pulled out an old pair of jeans and a t-shirt that had seen better days, and she put them on. After tossing her headband on the bed, she went upstairs and unlocked the door leading to her workshop.

She turned the lights on and tossed the broken collar on the workbench without care and went rummaging around to find the tools she had in mind. She then began the long process of what would be considered an homage to all the people who had been so supportive of her in the past when she lost what was most important to her.

It took forever, but she removed one small crystal after the other using a soldering iron, some solvent, and a pair of tweezers. There was now a pile of undamaged crystals waiting for a new home. Destruction often paved the way to a greater creation.

She threw the damaged collar in the trash and went to her costume rack, where a series of seemingly expensive costume pieces were hung. Her modest income very much depended on those. One of them was created for an upcoming musical staged by a renown company. The contract tied to this item was a crucial one for both the money and her reputation. Failing to deliver was not an option.

This particular costume had a specific hat, on which she spent countless hours crafting. It was made of pink leather. She carried it back to her workbench and grabbed a seam ripper along with a few leatherworking tools. She would destroy something great for a greater cause.

In front of her, sitting on the workbench, was a teddy bear. It had a small medal around its neck on which she ran one of her fingers. Syr wore a faint smile made of pain and resilience.

The inscription on the medal was "Ambulance 471."

"I have a little gift for you..."

***

Several hours later, in the basement of the big house, a silent shadow walked toward the large bed. As if it was aware of the habits of its two sleeping occupants, the shadow went straight to the nightstand on the left. Its delicate feminine fingers wrapped around the key ring sitting on it. Then it left the room swiftly and silently, not even displacing any air.

Next, the shadow crouched in front of Kitty's crate and looked at it with compassion.

***

"Hey, good morning Syr! You are up early."

"Good morning Master Mark, good morning Erika. Yes, I wanted to prepare some crepes for you today. They will be ready in a few minutes. Please have a seat."

Just as she greeted us, her jaw started to stretch into a long and uncontrollable yawn that was impossible to hide. It was not proper behavior for a maid. Erika scoffed.

"Geez, Syr. You should have stayed in bed if you were that tired. Mark could have made his own breakfast for once."

"I'm his maid. I must serve him. I would not have bothered to do this for you alone."

"Smartass! Of course, you would have. I'm your best friend."

"Only because you proved to be a reliable source of light novels."

"Hahaha! That was the only way to make you happy when you moved here. Alright, I will let catbutt out of her crate. Where are your keys, Mark?"

"Oh shoot, they are on the nightstand in our bedroom. I'll go get them."

Syr interjected.

"Actually, no. They are right here. You left them on the kitchen island last night."

"Really? That's odd... I was certain... I guess I was tired too... "

Erika grabbed the keys and went to the crate. She unlocked the door and tossed the padlocks and the key ring on top of the box before opening the jail-like door. Kitty was still asleep, rubbery butt facing the door. It was enough exposure for Erika to slap it. She wanted to start the day in a positive manner.

"Oww! It's too early for a spanking!"

"Come on, Cathead. Get out of there and come to eat crepes with us."

"Only Mark calls me Cathead! You must not!"

"Mark! I think Kitty is back to normal."

As Kitty crawled out of her crate while Erika came back to the kitchen. The small pink Latex cat stretched her limbs and dragged her feet to the island and climbed on the stool between Erika and me. Syr looked at her gently and greeted her.

"Good morning, Kitty. Did you sleep well?"

"I did. Sorry about last night, I kind of overreacted. It's just a collar. As Erika said, I'll just get a different one."

"I do not think it will be necessary."

"... What? Why?"

Syr turned around and kept cooking her crepes, ignoring the question entirely. We were all a little puzzled by what she had just said and her reaction. It was unlike Syr to say something seemingly heartless.

I turned my head to look at my two girls to check if they understood Syr's reaction any better than I did, and my eyes landed on Erika, who was staring at Kitty with way too much intensity. Then I realized why she was making that weird face, and I adopted the same expression.

Kitty, in between, who sensed that we were observing her a bit too intently, grew uncomfortable.

"Guuuys? What's wrong? Do I have a bug on my shoulder or something?"

"... Kitty... you... you may want to go check yourself in the mirror real quick."

"What? What's going on?"

Kitty, thinking she may have had some dirt on her face, rubbed it then inspected her rubber paws, but that was not it at all. She jumped down her stool and ran to the nearby washroom.

A scream ensued.

"WHAT THE...!?"

She ran back to the kitchen, looking at us with huge eyes, and immediately bolted back to the washroom a second time.

"Guys! Are you kidding me!? What's going on here!?"

Kitty ran back to us, totally confused... and holding her neck with her paws. Erika and I grabbed her wrists and lowered her hands to uncover something impossible. She had a bright pink leather collar fastened around her neck, a real one this time... and in front of it, written in a million little shiny crystals, her name, KITTY.

"But... HOW? I was locked in my crate all night! That's not even possible!" Kitty asked.

"I have NO idea."

"Me neither."

Kitty was baffled, I had no clue either, and Erika was at a loss as well. We all looked at each other for a moment before slowly turning to Syr, who genuinely focused on breakfast making. I attempted to ask the burning question first.

"Syr? Did you—"

"Master Mark, how many crepes would you like? We also have maple syrup if you'd desire."