Corazon 3: Not to Be Alone

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The cat wasn’t getting better, but neither was he getting any worse.

With thought and a bit of ingenuity, Ezio built a carpeted tower for the cat. He liked it, spending all of his time lazing on it instead of on the floor. Ezio didn’t know what a cat’s temperature was supposed to be. He didn’t know anything about how to care for a cat. He took to the internet, doing more research on the subject than he’d done for his last term paper in university.

Ezio found a variety of posts and advice, and most of it suggested visiting a veterinarian. (That was a cat doctor.) Ezio knew that those existed, but not where to find one. He was back to researching.

He had never had a pet before. He’d cared for livestock, a long time ago, but cats were different. Firstly, they were carnivorous. Secondly, they all had a different temperament and differing tastes. Some cats enjoyed getting attention. Other cats preferred to be left alone. Some liked chicken, others liked eating fish, and others liked both. Though vegetables were not overall good for them to eat, some would.

This particular cat was sick and out of sorts. It was logical to think the cat would be different than what was typical. Some cats had no normal anyway.

Since Ezio didn’t know the cat’s name, he called him Kitty. Kitty lived on a diet of fresh-cooked food. Ezio was good at cooking, but the skill was no good to him. Having some reason to use it would keep his skills sharp. Kitty didn’t eat a lot but liked what he did, and Ezio adjusted the recipe to account for his impacted senses.

Kitty was asleep. Ezio shuffled out into the hallway to retrieve his mail. Most of it was junk, as always. Ezio didn’t expect anything else. His got thrown out, usually sent to recycling. Reclaiming paper was good for the environment, and Ezio saw no reason not to.

Ezio moved back to the door. Someone called his name, and he stopped, turning towards the sound. Geeta stood across the hall near the building manager.

“Is something wrong?” Ezio asked.

“Geeta tells me that she’s heard meowing noises coming from your apartment,” the manager answered.

Geeta would be the neighbour to tell on him. Ezio glanced at her for a moment, but he held his tongue. His grey eyes turned back to the building manager, a smile crossing his face. “I found a stray,” he said. There was no point in lying. “He’s sick. I’m trying to help him get better, so he won’t be a permanent fixture.”

“I see,” the manager said. “That’s very kind of you. Is it looking bad?”

Ezio shook his head. “The cat eats, at least,” he said. “I suspect he’s got a fever, but I don’t know how to check.” They didn’t teach that in law school. Even if they did, Ezio wouldn’t trust it. Law school wasn’t a medical school and had no authority on the subject.

“That’s too bad,” the manager said. “You may want to take him to the vet then. They can run tests easier than you can.”

That was what Ezio kept hearing. He trusted his building manager more than strangers on the internet. “Do you know where I could find one?” Ezio asked. “I wouldn’t know where to look.”

“Of course,” the manager answered. “My sister takes her dogs to a place up north of the docks in Brindleton Bay. If you hand me an envelope, I can write it down for you.” The manager gestured at the letters in Ezio’s hand. Ezio held one out.

“Thank you for this,” Ezio said.

“It’s not a problem,” the manager answered, returning the envelope with an address written on the back. “It’s very kind of you to take in a cat.”

Ezio smiled. “I’ve always liked cats better than humans,” he said.

The manager laughed. “I think everyone likes cats better than people unless they’re more into dogs. I’ll add the cat onto your lease for now.”

“I may keep him,” Ezio said. “He likes me well enough. I don’t want to leave his future to fate.” Ezio didn’t trust people and knew that there were terrible humans in the world. If he kept the cat, Ezio could be sure he’d be okay.

“Come by the office if you do,” the manager answered. “There’s a deposit and some formalities that go along with it.”

“I will,” Ezio said.

“He can’t have a cat!” Geeta suddenly shrieked.

Ezio turned to look at her. He’d forgotten she was there. Judging by the look of surprise on the manager’s face, he wasn’t the only one.

“And why is that?” the manager asked.

“We’ve never had cats on this floor,” Geeta said. “I like it that way.”

The building manager sighed. “Things change, Ms. Rasoya,” the manager said. “You’ll get used to it.” The manager didn’t wait for a response, turning around and heading for the elevator.

Geeta was displeased. She cast Ezio a hateful look before storming into her apartment and slamming the door behind her. Ezio rolled his eyes. He didn’t care if she approved of him having a cat or not. There were plenty of things he did that others didn’t like. It’s a good thing he wasn’t asking anyone to like it.

Ezio went into his apartment and closed the door much quieter. Kitty was sleeping on the couch. Ezio headed to the laptop sitting on the coffee table, kneeling on the floor and typing the address on the envelope into a mapping service. Ezio had never gone to Brindleton Bay. He didn’t want to get lost during the trip.

His search yielded the results he was after. There were pictures of the buildings as well as the names of some of the veterinarians that worked there. It wasn’t far from the coast. Ezio might spend some time at the beach while they were there. He loved the water and hadn’t had the time to see it since Mortain.

Ezio smiled, turning to look at the cat sleeping soundly behind him. “Off to the vet with us, kitty,” he said softly.

~*~

This specific meal had become Kitty’s standard meal fare. Ezio happily made it, shuffling about the kitchen and humming as he went. Though Kitty was often somewhat interested in what Ezio was doing before, this morning was different. Kitty instead sat curled in a ball on the floor and displayed no interest whatsoever.

The more Ezio watched him, the more concerned he became. At half-past two, Ezio gently picked the cat up, focused his energy and teleported as close to their destination as possible.

The walk to the building was concerning. The scent Ezio had deduced was sickness had become more noticeable. It wasn’t a wonder the cat had so little interest in anything. Ezio tried to put that out of mind. They had a vet to visit.

It took a minimal amount of wandering to find the place. Ezio reached into a pocket and pulled out the envelope, checking the address one more time. Then he stuffed the envelope back into his pocket and carried the sleeping cat in the door.

It almost smelled like a hospital, and the sound of dogs barking and cats meowing were loud. Distantly he could hear nails tapping on the floors. Ezio looked around. He’d never been to a vet before and wasn’t sure how they work.

There was another person in the waiting room, with bright red hair and a Siamese cat in her lap. She looked worried. Ezio moved over to her and took the seat beside her.

“Hi,” he said. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I’ve never been to a vet before. How does this work?”

The woman looked over at him and smiled. “Isn’t he cute?” she asked, reaching over and petting the cat in his arms. “You’ll want to sign in at that machine by the desk. It tells the vets you’re here and why. They’ll call you back for an exam, figure out what’s wrong, and offer treatment options.”

That sounded easy enough. “Thank you,” Ezio said and nodded. He stood up and moved over to the machine. It was straight-forward enough. There was a lot of tapping large buttons on the screen. When the screen changed to tell him Kitty checked in, Ezio stepped away. He returned to the other cat owner and sat back down to wait.

She looked at him and smiled again. “I’m Catarina,” she said. “This is Doc.” The Siamese cat in her lap twitched his ears at the sound of his name. He ignored it beyond that.

Ezio held his fingers out to Doc. The cat sniffed them, then curled into a ball. “I’m Ezio,” he said and looked up at Catarina. “Thank you for the assist. I don’t know this one’s name. I call him Kitty.”

“We call him Mayor Whiskers here,” Catarina said. “He’s the unofficial mayor of Brindleton Bay.”

Ezio looked confused. “I found him wandering about San Myshuno,” he said. “That’s a long way from here.”

“He’s a very independent spirit,” Catarina said with a shrug. “Who knows what he does on his own? At least you’re nicer than the last human he got interested in.”

That was a strange word to use for him. He was kind to cats, but that was because cats never did anything wrong. Humans had no excuse for half the damage they did. But what did he know?

“He seems fond of you,” Catarina said. “He’s usually not this tolerant of humans. It’s not to say he’s unfriendly. I’ve just never seen him this calm with someone before.”

Ezio blinked and leaned over to look at Mayor Whiskers. He wasn’t asleep, dozing perhaps. Ezio smiled at him. “Maybe he just feels bad,” he said.

“Maybe,” Catarina said. “But I’m willing to bet he likes you.”

“Doc?” someone called.

Ezio looked up at the sound. A veterinarian stood in the doorway.

“That’s us, come on buddy,” Catarina said, standing and taking the Siamese with her.

Ezio sighed, watching them go. He glanced down at Mayor Whiskers. “Mayor Whiskers, is it?” he asked. The tuxedo’s ears twitched. “It’s nice to have a name for you besides Kitty.” He did answer to Kitty. He was likely accustomed to people not knowing his name and answered just about anything. Ezio hoped not. He didn’t want others able to call his cat with whatever words came to mind.

Ezio looked at the posters on the wall. Idly, one hand stroked Mayor’s fur. The cat began purring softly. The walls had interesting information on them about things like fleas and pet animal anatomy. Ezio had never needed to know these things before. Maybe he did now.

“Kitty?” someone called.

Ezio looked over, then stood up, taking Mayor Whiskers with him. “It seems his name’s Mayor Whiskers,” Ezio said as he approached.

“That is Mayor Whiskers, yes, hello Mayor,” the vet answered. “This room here please.”

Ezio followed, setting Mayor down on the examination table. The cat stood there and didn’t fuss, so Ezio simply petted him silently while the vet looked him over.

“Interestingly, he’s behaving for you,” the vet said. “Usually he won’t hold still for people this way.”

Ezio looked amused. “Catarina said the same,” he said. “I think he doesn’t feel well.” It was hard to put up as much of a fight as usual when you weren’t feeling normal.

The vet gave him a look. “If you say so,” the vet answered. “He has a fever, likely he’s gotten himself a bit of sizzle paw. It’s very treatable. We offer cheaper and more expensive options.”

Ezio thought about it for a moment. “Which one will make him feel better faster?”

“Likely the expensive one,” the vet answered.

“Let’s do the expensive one then,” Ezio said.

The vet smiled and moved around the room to prepare the shot. “Mayor Whiskers doesn’t accept owners,” the vet said. “Likely, he’ll be gone in a few days, and be back to whatever he does on his own.”

Ezio wasn’t sure if that was a warning or a threat. “Sure,” he said. “In the meantime, it’d be great if he wasn’t sick.”

“Spending a lot of money on a cat that won’t stay anyway seems financially ill-advised,” the vet said. “They’ll recover from these sorts of things on their own in time.”

“I could also just bring him here and make it go away sooner,” Ezio said.

The vet snorted softly, tapping the syringe and then quickly gave the cat the shot. Mayor was hardly bothered by it.

“No wonder he likes you.”

~*~

“Okay buddy,” Ezio said, setting Mayor Whiskers down on the floor of his apartment. “You’re not interested in owners apparently, so I think we need to adjust things around here. But first, please tell me you’re hungry.”

Mayor hadn’t been hungry in too long. Ezio wasn’t happy with it.

Mayor tilted his head, twitched his ears, and sniffed at the air. He looked to be doing better than he’d been doing before to Ezio. It was worth a try, and he did need to eat something. Ezio stood up and moved into the kitchen. As he set to making what he’d been the entire time, Mayor noticed he was cooking something.

Ezio learnt then the cat did not appreciate the sound of a stove. His ears perked up, and he jumped onto the counter to watch Ezio work. Mayor stayed away from the stove, however. From time to time, Ezio glanced at the cat and found him cowering, but as soon as he noticed Ezio was looking, he’d stop.

Ezio turned back to the stove, smiling. He didn’t mind Mayor being on the counters. It sounded like a very bad idea insofar as keeping him away from human food. Ezio didn’t eat, however. If the cat decided to eat a bunch of plasma fruit, he’d likely regret it and learn something.

Softly, Ezio whistled to himself as he worked, making a thick gravy, one hand idly reaching out to pat Mayor.

A few years ago, Ezio would have said he was never getting a cat. And he’d have been a liar. He hadn’t intended to end up with a cat-Splinter was enough for him, or at least he’d convinced himself the bonefish was-but here he was. Maybe that was okay. Mayor at least made noise (a lot of it), and might be good at reminding Ezio that there were other living creatures in the world. Ezio liked to forget.

Mayor started to paw his arm. Ezio laughed a little under his breath, gently pushing Mayor’s paw away and getting his food onto a plate. Ezio set it on the floor, and Mayor jumped off the counters after it. He started eating, and Ezio released a sigh of relief. The cat hadn’t eaten much that day.

Ezio stood up, turning back into the kitchen to rummage through drawers. He found some nails, a set of hinges from the last time he’d needed to replace a door, and a hammer. Then, he moved over to the front door, looking it over for a moment, then lying down and starting to cut a rectangle out of it.

If he reattached it with the hinges, then Mayor Whiskers should be able to push the flap and leave the apartment whenever he wanted to. Most people wouldn’t be able to see it, and Ezio wouldn’t need to get up to let him out constantly. Ezio did still have to work, and being a lawyer was a lot of long hours spent arguing with someone.

As he worked on the cat door, Mayor finished his dinner, and padded over to him. The cat sat down, watching him work in that strange judgemental manner that only a cat can pull off. Ezio paid it no mind. Mayor Whiskers had no idea what Ezio was doing. Sometimes, neither did Ezio.

“You seem like you’ll want out a lot,” Ezio said as he worked. “I hate opening and closing doors constantly. This way, you’ll be able to let yourself out.”

If it was for a cat, Ezio could swallow his pride long enough to open the door for Mayor. He wouldn’t tell the cat that. Not that he thought the cat could understand it even if Ezio did tell him, but that was something better left unspoken.

“Of course,” Ezio said, “you’ll have to get someone to open the door to the stairs or let you onto the elevator still. I think the building manager may be angry with me for putting a cat door on the stairwell entry.” That was someone else’s problem. If he asked, the building manager might agree to pet doors on the staircases, but he’d ask some other time. Everyone had already said it. Mayor Whiskers may not stay, anyway. Just altering his own door was likely folly.

If it turned out Mayor Whiskers liked him enough to come back, maybe he’d have that discussion then. Ezio was fairly certain the cat was going to leave someday and never come back. No one had ever stayed before. Ezio didn’t expect a cat would.

Yet, as he worked, Mayor remained right where he was, and showed no interest in the hole in the door. Ezio attached the hinges, and messed with the door to make sure it worked right. The next time Ezio looked at the cat, Mayor Whiskers had moved, having curled up on the floor next to Ezio’s legs, and fallen asleep.

Ezio set the screwdriver in his hand down on the floor, watching the cat’s whiskers twitch, and smiled. Somehow, this silly little cat showed up one day, and made some of the ice in Ezio’s heart melt, chased away some of the loneliness he’d become accustomed to. Ezio wasn’t sure what was more impressive, that a cat was making some of it go away, or that he seemed to have lived with it for so long and not realised. That was a question for someone more philosophical than he.

Instead, Ezio turned back to the door, focusing on the modifications he was doing. Once he was sure the door was attached firmly, he took a square of sandpaper and sanded down the edges, to ensure it wouldn’t hurt anything it bumped into too badly.

Ezio set his tools down, fell over onto the floor and looked up at the ceiling. Somewhat idly, he reached down and petted Mayor Whiskers’ fur. Whether the cat decided to stay or not, it was nice to have something breathing besides him around. To have something to remind Ezio that, even if he didn’t feel like it, he was still alive at the end of it all.

Some called vampires undead or something. Ezio hadn’t ever thought of it too hard. Maybe he wasn’t alive at all, but it was nice to feel as if he was.

It was nice not to be alone anymore.

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