Chapter Text
Chapter 1
~*~
Snow drifted elegantly from the chilled winter sky, streetlights wreathed in halos of light. Clouds of vapor puffed from your parted lips as you made your way to the corner store, the soft rustle of your puffy winter coat filling your ears in the muted December silence. Okay, so it wasn’t the smartest choice to walk the three blocks to the store in three feet of snow. Your face stung from the cold as you hunched further into the fake fur of your hood, your hands jammed into the soft pockets of your jacket.
The soft crunch from the snow under your boots, a constant companion. You loved winter, especially the snow, the world looked like it had been enchanted. The lights glimmering over the soft blanket of the snow, the quiet that came from everyone being huddled inside out of the cold. You always did prefer the cold of winter to the oppressive heat of summer, you know, easier to put more on than take more off when the temperature got out of hand.
The obnoxious chime of the bell ringing as you stepped into the little mom and pop shop, your steps taking you to the limited selection of hygiene products as the older man behind the counter gave you a smile and a cheery wave. Why hadn’t you stocked up on feminine products when you went to the grocery store last week? Fucking hell, ten bucks for a tiny pack of knock off pads. Okay, fuck it no point in crying over convince mark ups. Grabbing the small package, you trudged up to the counter, a small, embarrassed blush dusting your already pink cheeks as you set your purchase on the counter for the old man to ring up.
“Waited too long again deary?” The old man, Dave, chuckled as he used the light gun to scan the tag on the pads before striking a few keys.
“You know what they say, pride cometh before the fall. Now my poor wallet takes the hit cause you’re the only place open this late that isn’t a twenty-minute drive away.” Smiling ruefully at Dave you push your messy curls out of your face as you dig into your purse for your card.
“Heh, yeah but it keeps me in business deary. That will be seven dollars.” In a cheery tone Dave reads off the total, far less than what it had been marked on the shelf.
“Dave… you. are. a. Lifesaver.” Running your card through the machine as Dave chuckles at your over blown gratitude.
“No biggie deary, been in your shoes a time or two when my late wife needed those damn things.” Smiling happily at Dave you take the bag from him, stuffing the receipt in your pocket before putting your card away.
“Thanks Dave, you’re one of the good ones. Your wife was a lucky woman to have snagged you.” Waving you step back out of the store into the chilly winter snow.
Sighing as a cloud puffs from your lungs, you turn to head home and replace the emergency toilet paper with a proper pad. A crash sounding near the dumpster by the store causing your heart to suddenly race. Looking down the alley you don’t see anyone there, not even a sign of a cat or dog. What could have made that sound? Gripping your bag tighter you slowly walk towards the dumpster, snow crunching under your boots.
Slowly sneaking closer, you strain your ears as you try to hear what had caused the crash. Holding your breath as you let your gaze dart around the ally for any sign of life, the pounding of your heart in your ears making it difficult to hear anything else. A small whimpering noise draws your attention to a box by the dumpster, the cardboard shaking slightly as it sags under the weight of the accumulating snow.
Oh no, there had to be a critter hiding in there to try and stay warm in this weather. Your pulse slowed as your heart stings pulled painfully, no way could you leave the poor thing out in this cold. Creeping quietly closer to the box, you hope the critter in the box will let you catch it so you can get it some place warm.
Crouching down near the box you reach your hand out, slowly lifting the flap to see what you are dealing with. Inside the box is a bundle of cloth, the fabric shaking with the shivers of the little creature. Tentatively you reached out and gently moved the fabric enough to get a look at was wrapped inside. As the fabric started to shift there was a squeak followed by a growl, the cloth you had managed to pull free being yanked back away from your hands.
“Shh, shh. It’s okay little one, I’m not going to hurt you sweetie. I just want to get you out of this cold and to some place safe.” Continuing the string of calming words, you decide it would just be easier to take the whole box home with you.
Looping your bag around your wrist you gently close the flap once more, carefully lifting the box from the ground and holding it to your chest after dusting off as much of the snow as you can. On impulse you unzip you coat and tuck the box under the puffy garment, sharing what you can of your body heat with your little rescue as you carefully and quickly walk through the snow back to your home.
Reaching the door to your tiny one-bedroom apartment, you carefully adjust the box so you can unhook your keys from your purse to unlock your door. Slipping inside you are greeted by your massive fluffy calico cat, her gold green eyes almost locked on the box tucked inside your coat with a keen interest.
“No Nymy, this isn’t for you. Be a good girl and don’t bother our new little friend here, I couldn’t leave them outside in the cold when I could bring them home where it’s warm and safe.” Smiling as your cat rubs against your pant leg as she chirps up at you happily, still flicking her gaze to the box as she shifts her efforts to getting your attention. Your stride taking you to your bedroom to get a few things set up for your new little friend, your fluffy cat doing her best to help you in her own special way, mostly getting under foot and yelling at you constantly.
Humming softly to yourself you gently place the box on your disheveled bed before turning to your closet to do some digging for things to help your new little friend feel safer. Pulling your coat off you toss it in the corner, shrugging as you start digging boxes out of the back of your closet. Opening the first box you sigh when you see that it contains old computer parts and push it away before reaching for the next box. Pulling the flaps open you sneeze lightly from the dust before seeing that the box contains some old blankets and pull one out to set aside, pausing and grabbing a second to be safe before pushing the box aside to grab another.
About fifteen minutes later you have a little area set up in the corner of your room, one blanket halfway on a heating pad on low, the second wrapped around the area to make a sort of nest, a water dish and food dish setting to the side with old newspapers covering the floor. Surrounding the area is a collapsible cage to keep your new friend and cat separate till they can get used to each other. Gently lifting the box from your bed, you set it in the safe space, lifting the flap as you coo at your new little friend.
“It’s okay little one, I made up a safe place for you to get warm and keep you safe from my cat till you two can meet properly and become friends. I’m going to put a towel over it to give you some space for now, I don’t know what you are, so I put some chicken in a bowl for you and some water. It’s safe here so you don’t have to worry anymore.” You weren’t sure if the thing in the box even knew what was going on, but it made you feel better to talk and at least try and explain what was going on, even if your little rescue couldn’t understand you.
After opening the box, you closed up the cage and lay a towel over it to give your new little friend time to adjust to being warm and safe. Turning on the bedside lamp, you flipped off the overhead light before leaving your room. Heading to the kitchen you checked your cat’s food, her chirpy little meow causing you to smile as she jumped up on the counter. Deciding it was a good idea to give her a special treat for being a good sport about your new little friend, you pulled out a can of tuna, the smell making your nose wrinkle as you dumped the contents of the can into her treat dish, her voice getting more and more insistent till you set the treat in front of her.
With your two little friends taken care of you sighed as your abdomen gave you a throb of pain, crap you kind of forgot why you had gone out in the first place. Scooping up the bag with the pads, you kicked off your boots before dashing to your tiny bathroom to take care of yourself. Once done in the bathroom you went back to your kitchen, a need for something warm and chocolate drawing you to the brownies on the counter, putting one on a plate you pop it in the microwave to warm it up a little.
After your snack of chocolate heaven, you decided it was time to get some sleep. Heading to your room you take a peek at the cage you set up for your new little friend, no sound coming from it as you strip off the cloths from the day, a small stab of worry for the little rescue going through you at the clear lack of noise. Climbing onto your messy bed you snuggle under your favorite blanket, smooshing your pillows for just the right amount of snuggly support and close your eyes as you try and calm your mind to allow yourself to drift off to sleep, your eyes closed as you slow your breathing and try to relax.
~*~
Pain, fear, cold, those are the things that had ruled his life. When he had heard the crunch of the snow underfoot in the ally he had claimed as his shelter, it left him shivering in terror. If he was lucky, it would just be some human coming to dump something in the big dumpster his makeshift nest rested besides, if not… he shuddered to think of what fresh hell awaited him.
He definitely hadn’t been expecting the soft, sweet-sounding voice he heard. He could feel the pulse of the human’s soul as they approached his hiding space, the hum of it was sweeter than the soft kind words. He couldn’t stop the shivers that wracked his tiny body as his fear spiked, fear of what even the kindest humans were capable of inflicting on those they deemed below them.
A cold spike of panic filled him as the cloth that covered him moved, no, no, nononono this couldn’t be happening. The weak growl and a tighter grip on the cloth hiding him, his only defense in his weakened state. With no love or care, no food readily available, with the damage he had received… he was as good as dust if this human meant him harm.
The hands left his box, the sound of rustling plastic giving him hope that the human would just leave him alone. Hardly suppressing another undignified squeak as the box, he was in shifted, a feeling of near vertigo taking over as the box was slowly lifted from the ground. What the ever-loving fuck? What hell did this human have in mind for him?
The slight movements of the box had him gripping the fabric around him for dear life, a pause followed by the sound of a zipper catching his attention. Before he could think to even wonder what was happening now, he felt the chill around him lesson, the hum of the human’s soul so close to him was surprisingly soothing as it lulled him into a soft dreaming state, the steady pulse from the soul going a long way to restoring some of his depleted energy.
Sometime later he awoke to the sound of humming, not the hum of the human's soul, a soft melody in a sweet voice. Daring to take a peek at what was going on, he pushed from the cloth in his box and poked his head over the edge of the closed flap. What he saw confused him to no end, the box was sitting on a large unmade bed while a human bent over several other boxes by a small room. Pulling some things out of boxes to set aside while pushing other boxes away without taking anything out. As he watched a cat came trotting into the room to rub against the human, their hand absently stroking the long fur of the multicolored cat while the human continued to pull things out. When the human shifted to stand, he retreated back into the cloth within his box, hoping they had forgotten he was there.
Sitting in the darkness of the box he could hear the human moving around the room, soft grunts and a clink of metal making him shiver in fear as he hid and hoped they would just leave him alone. Why would a human bring him to their home? What reason could they have for pulling out a bunch of random things? What was that metal against metal sound as they grunted softly? He didn’t know and was pretty sure he didn’t want to know if past experience told him anything.
Soft footfalls approached where his box sat, his gaze going to the flaps keeping his little nest hidden. This was it, this was when the human decided to enact whatever torture they had devised for him. He wasn’t a stranger to how sick and twisted humans could be, he knew firsthand just how much pain he could take before passing out. That knowledge froze him in place, his breath caught in his chest as he waited.
Staying silent as he could he waited while the box moved, the gentle way the human carried the box confusing him further. This was the first time he had witnessed a human being anything but overtly cruel, was it some sick plan to make him trust the human before inevitably betraying his trust?
Ducking under the cloth to prolong the inevitable as the flap of the box moved, the soft voice from before spoke to him once more. “It’s okay little one, I made up a safe place for you to get warm and keep you safe from my cat till you two can meet properly and become friends. I’m going to put a towel over it to give you some space for now, I don’t know what you are, so I put some chicken in a bowl for you and some water. It’s safe here so you don’t have to worry anymore.”
Safe? Warm? Space? Food? Water? What was this human's game? He can’t remember the last time he had felt warm, he can’t remember the last time he had fresh clean water or food. Was this human really just going to let him be? Were they really giving him what he needed and just going to leave him alone? What was the end game?
Soon after the human had stopped talking, darkness fell around him. Waiting with his breath held he listened as light footfalls walked away from where his box rested, fear and a sliver of hope warring within his tiny soul. Stretching his senses out, he searched for the soul of the human, quiet noises came from another room. They really had left him be, not even bothering to push him out of the box.
Not willing to risk being spotted if the human came back in the room, he snuggled down into the fabric that made up his little nest even though parts of it were damp from snow melt, the cold hitting him if he moved wrong. Perhaps this wouldn’t be as bad as he feared, he could smell the food the human had mentioned not far from his box, it was dark, it was quiet, and there wasn’t snow falling to make his bedding more wet, to steal what warmth he could manage in his little hiding spot.
The sound from the other room had stopped, soft footfall pattering towards his hiding place once more. A dim light seeping into his box where it was still opened, before the light disappeared again followed by the rustling of cloth. The quiet squeak of the bed shifting before silence and total darkness enveloped him once more. His little soul was pounding in his chest from the sudden wash of fear.
Soft snores soon came from the human as they slept, a small bell chimed as the cat padded into the room before jumping almost silent onto the bed. Waiting a while longer to be sure it was safe, he soon decided he could slip from his box and see what the human had set up for him. Hunger from not enough food driving him to search of what they had offered him.
Once he had demolished the food left in the small metal dish and drank his fill of the cool clean water (okay so it was a little insulting it was served in pet dishes but… well the human didn’t know what he was, and it was way better than drinking from puddles and eating from the trash.) He took stock of the little area the human had set up for him, soft warm blankets had been set up, a heating pad making the nest the human had built for him extra cozy. Newspaper covered the floor, maybe to keep the mess if he was some kind of animal under control? A towel covered the wire cage like structure that penned him in, giving him some privacy, even if being in a cage made him a little uneasy as it brought up memories he would rather forget. The cage would be no obstacles for him getting free, at least not this sorry excuse for a cage with the bars far enough apart he could easily slip through, however knowing a cat was nearby gave him pause.
Deciding he was safe enough in the cage, he moved to the warm blankets and curled up, leaving the still damp cloth in the box. The gentle heat from the heating pad slowly thawing the chill that had dug deep into his little body, eyes closing as he allowed himself to relax and finally sleep, more strength slowly trickling into his soul as he rested in relative safety and comfort.