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Wet. She hated being wet. But she hated being hungry even more.
Crouched in a damp puddle under some scrap metal, she watched nervously with wide eyes from the shadows as the bigger, older cat tore into it’s prize; part of a fish it had stolen from the fish monger’s stall several blocks away. She licked her lips jealously as the other cat tore into the meat with gusto. She was young and small, no match for this cat in a fight, but maybe she could make a dash for it if she had the right opening.
Suddenly lightning flashed and thunder cracked loudly overhead. It startled the other cat, who raised its head to look around nervously. She saw her opening. Dashing forward, she scooped the fish into her mouth and took off, the other cat whirling around in hot pursuit as its lunch was nabbed.
She ran as fast as her small body would let her, hearing the paws thundering close behind her only spurring her to move faster. She ducked around a corner and leapt over a mound of scrap metal, hoping to lose her pursuer in the maze of junk scattered around the dump, but the older cat was wise to her tricks and easily kept pace with her.
She was panting heavily now, the fish feeling heavy and slippery in her jaws as she began to lose energy. She screeched to a halt as she hit a dead end in the scrap yard, faced with a steep mound of scrap that she couldn’t possibly scale while struggling to carry such a meal. She whirled around, hackles raised and tail bristling as the other cat cornered her, growling menacingly. She growled back, trying to sound threatening, hoping that the prospect of a fight over the food might cause the other cat to decide the scrap of fish wasn’t worth the effort.
No such luck. The other cat leapt at her, claws outstretched and she just barely managed to duck out of the way before he collided with her. Her growling had been a bluff, there was no way she could fight this cat, but her hunger made her desperate. She couldn’t just give up the fish either. She whipped her head around, eyes wide, desperately seeking some avenue for escape– There.
A long piece of scrap covered in a canvas-like fabric dangled over the edge of the steep scrap pile she was backed against. It was up higher than she would have liked, and she wasn’t sure if she could make the leap, but she had to try. She bunched herself up and leapt with all her might, just narrowly avoiding another swipe from her angry pursuer. She reached out desperately and was rewarded with her claws sinking into the fabric and granting her purchase on the scrap. She chanced a glance down at the other cat who looked up at her and prepared to leap up to follow her. Her heart pounded and she tried to scramble further up the length, but stopped as she felt something give way under her.
Suddenly the scrap began to slide from it’s position, lowering her closer to the ground. Dug her claws into the scrap she clung to harder, as if that might save her, but it was too late. The scrap she had leapt onto slid off of its perch and tumbled to the ground with a thud and crack, burying her under the dangling thing she’d clung to. Her heart thudded in her chest as she feared the other cat’s claws would sink into her at any moment, but they didn’t come. Cautiously, she wiggled out from under the wreck to spot the other cat looking at her in terror, its eyes wide and fur fluffed out as much as possible. She was confused by why he would suddenly fear her now, until she realized he wasn’t looking at her , he was looking at the thing that had fallen on top of her. Just then, another flash of lightning and roll of thunder rumbled overhead. That was enough to send her attacker fleeing, utterly spooked by what it had seen.
She felt relief wash through her as she watched her attacker’s tail disappear around a corner. But she didn’t let her guard down yet, curious by what had scared the other cat off. Curiously, she peeked around the scrap she’d been hiding behind to find a large, open pair of eyes staring blankly back at her. She bristled, unnerved by the thing’s unseeing stare and gaping mouth for a moment before her nerves passed as she realized it wasn’t moving or really looking at her . She didn’t move for a long moment still, just to be sure it really didn’t see her and wasn’t just waiting for her to lower her guard. When it still didn’t move, she felt the fur along her back and tail begin to lay flat.
This was just another human contraption that had been left at the dump. The dangling, fabric covered thing she’d grabbed onto had been one of it’s limbs, and her weight must have dislodged it and sent it crashing down. She relaxed as she realized that this thing wouldn’t hurt her. Her stomach rumbled angrily, reminding her that she won her prize of a delicious meal. She hesitated to leave the safety of the robot’s side, however. It had scared off her attacker, but there was no telling if he was just waiting for her around the corner. Maybe she should just eat here. It wasn’t ideal, she still felt uneasy being next to this thing even though she knew it wouldn’t attack her, but it was also granting her safety. Weighing her options, she decided to settle down next to the robot to dig into her meal.
She ate her fill and felt warm and full for the first time in weeks. She could probably leave the safety of the robot’s side now, but the meal combined with the strain of running left her feeling tired. There was no reason she couldn’t stay a while longer, and besides, one of the robot’s long limbs had created a comfortable little nook she could tuck herself into to sleep and remain protected from the foul weather that was forming overhead. Tentatively she stepped into the little nook and turned around, curling herself up into a ball and resting her tail over her nose. This was surprisingly comfortable, she found. Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to stay here a little while longer…
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“Woah, look at how creepy that thing is!”
The human made its odd noises as she watched nervously from her hiding spot. She bristled slightly as it approached her robot.
“Oh man, Mumbo is going to absolutely hate this thing, but it’s so weird looking… I bet I could fix it.” The human hummed thoughtfully and used one of the large black arms attached to it’s back to hoist her robot upright.
“Looks pretty old. I don’t think they even make parts like these anymore…” The human lifted one of her robot’s arms and inspected it carefully. “Man, looks like one of the cats around here has been using you as a bed.” The human chuckled and brushed some of her fur that clung to the arm off of the robot. “Sorry kitty, but I’ll be taking this.”
Her heart beat faster as the human used it’s large black robotic arms to carry her robot along as it progressed through the dump, picking through other piles of scrap as if looking for something. No, that was her home! That human couldn’t just take it! It had kept her safe since she was little… if he took it, what would protect her now? She followed the human in the shadows quietly, hoping he wouldn’t spot her.
She followed them for several hours until the human seemed to be done with looking and carried her robot back over to its odd, hovering vehicle. It dumped her robot into the back unceremoniously, along with the other odd bits and bobs it had found along the way. He was taking her robot. She knew that things that disappeared when humans took them rarely came back. She had to follow.
Cautiously she crept around the other side of the vehicle, careful to stay out of the human’s line of sight before hopping into the back with her robot and hiding herself under it. Fortunately, the human didn’t seem to notice her as it strapped the scrap metal down and the vehicle began moving. She hated the feeling of moving when it wasn’t her body doing the moving, but she stayed put. She needed this robot and he couldn’t have it.
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“What the? Looks like I picked up a little stowaway!” She came back to her senses with a stretch and a yawn, realizing she must have dozed off along the way. “Did you come home with me from the dump?” She blinked her eyes and realized that the sound she was hearing was the human, and it was looking right at her. Her eyes widened and her ears flattened against her head fearfully. She hadn’t meant to be seen. “Hey, it’s okay. I won’t hurt you–” The human reached one of its large hands out to her and she hissed fearfully and swatted at it. “Ah! Okay, okay then! No touching, got it!” She relaxed slightly as the human pulled its hand back.
“Sheesh, what am I gonna do with you? Hm… I’ll figure that out later. For now, let’s get this guy into the workshop.” The human used its black robotic arms to lift her robot out of the vehicle and she growled nervously, not liking that he was taking it from her, but too afraid to follow to where he took it. “Hey it’s okay, I’m just putting these things away. I’m not going to try and pick you up.” The human said with a soft, non-threatening voice and she relaxed a little. She watched nervously as the human unloaded its things until the only thing left in the vehicle was her. She felt more exposed now that she had nothing to hide behind, and the human had left the door to the vehicle open… Cautiously she leapt out of the vehicle and walked over to the doorway the human had taken her robot into. Peering inside, it seemed to be some large open workshop, and the human with the large black robot arms had its back to her. Seeing her chance, she snuck into the building and leapt up on several boxes, feeling much safer looking down at the human from above.
For several hours she watched carefully as this human tinkered with her robot. She didn’t understand why humans did the things that they did, but she just hoped that he wouldn’t destroy her robot. She’d hidden herself again when yet another human was called in as the first human seemed to grow frustrated. Together the two humans tinkered and tested until finally they picked her robot up and attached it to some sort of large arm, holding it upright.
“Alright, let’s see!” The first human sounded excited. Her eyes widened as her robot slowly began to move. Had these humans fixed it?
“Welcome aboard cadets! Are you ready for an adventure?” Her robot moved it’s arm up and down jerkily and a crackling voice came out of its mouth.
“Oh lovely, we’ve got ourselves a creepy old bot that can’t say more than 5 lines. Who would have thought.”
“Listen, well– at least it looks cool?”
“My name is Mr.GoodTimes!” Her robot crackled again as the two humans talked amongst themselves.
“Amazing– It’s hideous. Oh wow, it’s eye broke. Again . Seriously, how old is this thing?”
“Well, we can’t just leave it…whether it can say more than 5 phrases or not.”
“Oh no, young man, I can absolutely talk more if you want. I just don’t like to break the character. If you know what I mean–” Her robot moved again to look directly at the human with the robotic arms, who immediately jumped at the sudden change in her robot’s demeanor. The other human yelped and fell backwards off the thing it had been sitting on.
“Every. GODDAMN. TIME!!” The human on the floor yelled, startling her and causing her to leap from her hiding spot to a new location.
“What was that ?!” The human on the floor asked, looking in her direction fearfully.
“Oh, that must be the cat that came home with me from the dump.”
“You brought home a creepy robot AND a cat?”
“I didn’t mean to! It was hiding in the back of my truck. I didn’t even see it.”
“Of course you didn’t.” The other human picked itself up off the floor, dusting itself off and sighing. “Guess we’re keeping the cat, too?”
“I mean… it feels wrong to throw it out onto the streets now…”
She hardly noticed the rest of what the humans were talking about as she noticed her robot was looking at her. It’s large eyes and ever-smiling mouth made it difficult to read its body language, and she had never seen her robot move or speak like that before but– she was curious. She knew sometimes that humans could be kind and give her food and the occasional pat if she let them. She blinked at her robot and it looked up at her and waved gently. Maybe her robot remembered her?
Slowly she picked her way down from her hiding spot on the stack of boxes and trotted over to her robot. It watched her the whole time as she moved over to him. She paused, sitting down to look up at it as it looked down at her. Tentatively, she sniffed its leg. Her robot smelled a little different now, like fresh oil and grease, but it still smelled familiar under all of that. She rubbed her face lovingly against its leg, hoping it remembered her.
“Jellie! There you are!” Her robot’s voice crackled as it reached down to pick her up. She squirmed for a moment, not used to being held, and her robot adjusted it’s grasp, supporting her legs and making her feel more secure.
“Jellie? The robot knows this cat?” The second human looked incredulously to the first human, who merely shrugged in confusion.
“Oh, no I have no idea who’s cat this is. She just looks like a Jellie to me.” Her robot creaked and pet her head. She wasn’t used to the action, but it did feel kind of nice, and her robot still smelled like home. She leaned into the motion and began purring.
“Well, would you look at that! I think she likes you.” The first human chuckled. “Now we definitely can’t get rid of her.”
“Wonderful.” The second human grumbled begrudgingly.
“She can stay?” Her robot asked. “Wonderful! I always needed a second in command! Come along, Captain Jellie!” She supposed that as long as her robot was here, she could get used to living here too.