This is another one from my Moments in Time Series. Sliiight language warning. C &C, please?

---Cat

Tabetha stared at the thing on her windowsill, mouth open and birdseed in hand. Eventually she realized just staring was not doing anything, and decided to go for the direct approach.

“You’re not a bird,” she stated. “…And I’m talking to myself. Isn’t that a sign of insanity?” The lazy blinking of verdant orbs was her only answer. With a huff, she put her handful on the sill for the sparrows and glared at the interloper. “You’ll scare the birds if you sit out there. C’mon.” Hands on hips, she waited for the first regal steps forward before turning on her heel and stomping to the kitchen.

“I hope you’re not expecting me to fawn over you,” she grumbled as she raided her refrigerator for breakfast and something for her guest. “Leftover chicken is about as good as it’s getting.” She put the plate on the floor for the cat, who sniffed it delicately. It looked back up at her, seemingly to ask where the garnish was, before taking a tentative bite.

“I’m so glad you approve,” Tabetha said scathingly as she stepped over the black cat to make her bowl of cereal. The two ate in silence, ignoring each other, as bird song filtered in from the open window in her room. “Don’t even think about it,” Tabetha growled lowly as the cat looked up at the first note. She grabbed the coffee pot and poured herself a generous mug, drinking it black. She winced at the taste, but drank the rest before putting all the dishes in the sink.

The cat followed her into her living room, settling itself on the arm of her chair while she turned the TV on. She ignored it for the most part, channel surfing before deciding on an old horror movie. The cat gave the screen a look of disdain before fastidiously cleaning its paws.

“If you get fur all over my chair, I’m donating you to Lex. She plays violin, you know,” Tabetha muttered darkly. The cat barely spared her a glance before continuing with its ablutions. For over an hour they sat like that, her legs flung over one chair arm, one finger giving the occasional caress to her new houseguest. It was only when it began to purr that she realized what she was doing. She adjusted, sitting correctly, before pulling a startled feline into her lap.

“You’re so skinny,” she murmured, feeling ribs beneath her finger tips. “Not a housecat, are you?” She pet it for a while longer, short fur slipping under her fingers smoothly. It stayed curled in her lap, both of them forgetting their earlier animosity.

“If you eat my plants, or the sparrows, I’ll kill you.” Her words rang clear, the cat twisting its head to stare at her. “And we’ll have to work on this whole…talking thing. I’m not going to be one of those crazy cat ladies,” she stated, gesturing with her free hand. “And you’ll need food, litter, toys…a name,” she considered, already killing her plan about the ‘talking thing.’ She looked down at the creature in her lap.

“…How do I tell if you’re a boy or a girl? I mean, if you’re a boy, but neutered…” They both stared at each other. “Right. Gender-neutral name, then. How about…Blackie?”

If the cat had had eyebrows, one would have been raised.

“Noir? Kitty? Pus- No, no, nothing I can’t yell at three in the morning that won’t get me laughed at or the cops called…Midnight? Oh, will you stop with those looks!” They stared at each other balefully, neither blinking. Tabetha inevitably lost the staring contest, her eyes burning and drying out long before her opponent’s.

“Acrimony. Acrimony suits you perfectly,” she said smugly. She patted the cat once more before dislodging it by standing up. “I’ll be back. I need to go to the store for you, and call the vet…” She grabbed her keys and opened the door before looking back at the fur ball that had curled itself comfortably in the place her butt had just resided, everything she had just reasoned out and done finally clicking.

She was adopting a cat. She was one step closer to being a crazy cat lady.

Bloody hell.