☆ -- CLOSED

After a while, For was confident that a particularly large rat was now trying to make home here in his shack based on the sound.  He’s only caught the vague, dark shape of it out of the corner of his eye a couple times.  He doesn’t stay inside most of the day; nothing to do inside, and he can’t possibly make it out in the dark with the dark fur it has and no lights.  It didn’t even seem to be there all the time.  Some days, he didn’t hear from the rat at all.

For isn’t wigged out by the thought of rats so long as they stay the hell away from him and stay out of his food-- which they had, for now.  However, even he has to admit to feeling unsettled when he wakes up one morning and feels something furry shoot off the bed at the first sign of his own stirring.  After checking over his body and finding no bites, he finally clambers off of his bed.  He didn’t see where it ran off to after that, not that it has many places to hide.

But his first instinct is to leave his front door open in case it wants to get the hell out, which he, of course, would highly prefer at this point.  The moment he turns his back he hears scuttling behind him and For turns just fast enough to see the back end of not a rat, but a cat flying out the open door and dashing off into the high grasses of the field beyond his small garden and trimmed down yard.  For’s eyes go wide in surprise, but he’s absolutely not fast enough to chase after it.

Maybe he should have realized that it was a stray sooner; this isn’t the first, and likely won’t be the last.  Nowhere seems to have quite the problem with stray dogs in particular.  For’s entertained the thought of trying to take one in.  He could do for some company out here.  While he may be in contact with a few people now at least, he’d still like some more interaction on a day-to-day basis, so a pet would be helpful.  But every attempt to keep a pet has ended in failure.  No matter his patience, they wind up running off and he doesn’t see them again.

For a moment, he considers leaving some food out for the cat in case it returns, but he’s afraid of drawing bugs or, God forbid, cattlesnakes and other chimeras he definitely doesn’t want around, so he simply winds up leaving out a small bowl of water by the door, just in case it gets thirsty.  Then, it winds up vanishing from his mind for most of the day afterwards as he goes about his day as normal.  Only when he returns to his house at dusk and sees the cat trying to squeeze through the cracks in the shutters of his window that he remembers his attempt.

But his heavy steps and feet crushing the crunchy yellow grass beneath him alert it to his presence, but it stays frozen, hung on the window, eyes widened.  For stops where he stands and they stay stuck, standing and staring at each other in silence.  And after that, the little black cat dislodges itself from the window and dashes off again.  For curses under his breath, but continues on.  It’s hard to tell if it took any of the water, but he hopes it did.  He leaves it there in case it returns and, when he goes to sleep later that evening, leaves one of the windows open in case it wants to climb in again.

When he awakes, he sees movement by the window, but as soon as his eyes adjust to the early light, he realizes a cattlesnake has dipped its long neck and head through the window, exploring the area around the window curiously.  For groans and climbs out of bed and, without fear of being bitten, picks the damned thing’s neck up and pushes it outside.  “Get the fuck outta here, would’ja?” he grumbles, then slams the shutters shut.

Turning back towards the bed, he spots movement underneath the bed.  For squats to see the cat backing away, hiding underneath the mattress, yellow eyes wide as saucers, just like yesterday.  He returns to standing height and sighs, wandering over to the kitchen.  There’s no way it can get out as far as he knows, so... maybe he can try and get it to trust him now.  He should feed it.  It’s probably hungry.  Too bad he has no fish... he’ll have to catch some later for it-- assuming it sticks around, of course.

The best he has is some fresh vegetables sitting around, already partially nibbled on by his houseguest, if he has to guess.  For chops up the half-consumed carrot and other assorted veggies and sets it on a plate.  Then, he sets it near the bed and steps back to the kitchen in hopes of drawing it out.  He tries his best to keep out of sight, and eventually, after what feels like an eternity, For hears the small sound of crunching and he smiles.  Yes, it worked.  As tempted as he is to check on the thing, he leaves it be, letting it eat in peace.

When the sound of crunching dies down, For still stays where he stands in his tiny kitchen until he notices the cat slowly peeking around the wall to look for him.  For exhales a soft laugh and slowly squats again and holds out a loosely curled fist for it to sniff.  Surprisingly, it slowly creeps forward to For before it bumps its head against his hand.  He can’t help but emit a gasp of surprise and joy.  Slowly, he pets its tiny head and runs his hand along its spine, feeling how soft its fur is underneath his hand.

It still seems nervous, but not as nervous as it has been.  “Was feedin’ you all I needed to get you to like me?” For asks it in a soft, but amused voice.  “Jeez.  Didn’t know it’d be that easy.”  The cat spends its time wandering about his kitchen while For shifts to sit on the floorboards, watching it explore.  “You know, if you stick around, I’ll get you some fish.  Cats like fish, right?”  The cat turns and stares, but indicates no understanding.  If only he was one of those psychics that could talk to animals. That’d make this easier.

Still, he’s pleased with how things have turned out here.  He can’t complain at all, nor would does he want to.  For a moment, For wonders if the cat belongs to someone, but finally seeing the cat up close allows him to note how skinny and small it is.  It’s definitely been living on its own, so guess it’s up for grabs; well, assuming the cat would like to stick around.  Based on how it’s acting, For certainly hopes it’ll stay.  It seems to like him well enough.

Over the next few days, the cat comes and goes as he (as For soon discovered it was a male cat) pleases, but he remained relatively warm to For, so long as he didn’t spook him too much with his loud walking or anything like that.  He’s even begun to start following For around while he works outside.  It’s probably because For has been sneaking him little treats the entire time, but hey, beggars can’t be choosers.  He’s just glad to have the company for once.

Finally, he finds the time to go fishing in the river nearby.  The cat sits on a nearby rock, watching the water and the fish swim by with his full attention.  When For finally catches one, he unhooks it and lets it settle on the ground nearby.  The cat draws near to it cautiously, yet keeps his distance, and For gestures to the fish.  “Hey, man, I caught this for you.  I ain’t eatin’ it, so go for it.”

The cat stares at him, then the fish, then back to him, before finally settling on walking over to start feeding upon the catch.  The cat tears through the fish easily, even for as small as he is.  For can’t make heads nor tails of whether he’s still a kitten or not, but regardless, he is tiny.  Hopefully he’d grow up and gain some weight now that he had it.  It seems like the cat wants to stay.  That’s a first out of all the animals he’s encountered over the past few years.  Maybe with any luck, he could catch more animals later.  He always wanted a dog...

But first, he had to deal with his cat, and he hadn’t even named the thing yet.  Didn’t want to get attached if he ran away and For didn’t see him again, but now he felt confident enough to try.  The cat was pitch black aside from his bright eyes, but he didn’t want to be unoriginal and name it something stupid or unoriginal.  For could swear that it reminded him, though, of something or someone he must have known before, but he just couldn’t place who or what.  But what he could place, however, was a name that kept coming back to the forefront of his mind.

“Wonred’s a pretty good name, right?” For wonders aloud.  The cat looks up and stops his feeding temporarily, then resumes after a pause of silence.  “I mean, it’s pretty original.  Nobody would forget a name like that.  Like, you deserve a name better than Midnight or somethin’ else that’s unoriginal.  Can’t remember what it means, but it’s a good name.  You like it?”  Wonred stares again.  “Well, I like it.  So Wonred it is.”