Caste to Class

Cat

Adira-Mommy
Ember-Mummy
Nova-Mumma

"I like Selene more than you, she doesn't give me rules," I inform all three of the women, my arms crossed over my chest as I continue to sulk. I couldn't believe that I wasn't allowed to eavesdrop, I can't even have any fun here!

"I assure you that Selene will give you rules and expect you to follow the rules that we give you,"  Mommy informs me, making me frown as I cross my arms over my chest. That did not sound like something Selene would do! Selene was nicer than them, she understood how stupid rules were since she probably had rules like me when she was little.

"Rules are so stupid," I mutter as I refuse to look at any of them. Mommy and Mummy were so mean, Mumma was much nicer than either of them.

"Rules keep you out of trouble, something that I'm sure you'll be getting into a lot," Mommy says, making me pout. I never got in trouble! I was a good girl and she should know that by now! 

"I don't know, she seems pretty well-behaved to me," Mumma says, making me stick my tongue out at Mommy as I go over to Mumma. She takes my hand, something that makes me happy. She moves to pick me up, making me shake my head.

"No thank you," I say politely, making her stop.

"No picking you up?" Mumma asks, earning a nod in agreement from me. I didn't want to be picked up, I was a big girl so I could walk.

"Well you let me know if you change your mind," Mumma says as she moves her arm to wrap it around me, pulling me closer as she kisses the top of my head. Her words make me happy for lots of reasons. Most of the time people just ignored what I wanted.

"How old are you right now?" Mommy asks, making me hesitate. Did she really want to know? Was this a trickery question?

"How old are you sweetheart? You must be a very big girl," Mummy says, making me nod my head in agreement. I was a very big girl, I wasn't a baby at all!

"6," I say as I hold up six fingers so that Mummy can see how old that I am. That seems to make Mummy happy.

"Wow, you are such a big girl!" Mommy says, making me nod my head quickly. I was a big girl! I could do everything by myself.

"Well little miss Iris, since you are so big how about you come with Mumma and we will make you a big girl snack?" Mumma asks, making me look at her with wide eyes.

"Really?" I question excitedly, earning a nod from Mumma. "Yes, we go now," I say as I take her hand, trying to pull her along with me.

"Hold on a moment," Mumma says, making me turn to look at her with a frown. Why did I have to hold on? I was already holding her hand and that should be more than enough for her.

"Can you tell us goodbye first?" Mummy asks, making me huff as I furrow my eyebrows. I let go of Mumma's hand, walking over to Mummy and Mommy. I have to tug on Mommy's arm to make her bend down so I can kiss her cheek before I move onto Mummy who bends down to my level without being asked. I kiss her cheek before saying goodbye, going back to Mumma.

"We can go now," I say as I grab Mumma's hand, leading her out of the room. She holds my hand as I lead her to the kitchen, my nose wrinkling up when I smell fish in the kitchen. I hate the smell of fish, it's so...fishy. I ignore the smell as I pull Mumma into the kitchen with me.

"I have sweets for snack?" I ask as I glance at Mumma who furrows her eyebrows as if thinking. I pout at how long it takes for her to respond but I don't say anything in case that ruins my chance of having sweets.

"Yes, a few. Not enough for a sugar rush though, little missy. I'm trusting you to know your limit," Mumma states, making me nod my head. I felt proud that she trusted me so much! That meant that I was a big girl since she trusted me so much.

"Hey!" I flinch at the sound of a man yelling, turning my head to see a streak of orange darting over the counter. I frown in confusion as the blur jumps off the counters and runs right into me. I look down, gasping when I see the orange tabby cat.

"O'Malley," I say happily, my nose wrinkling up when I see the fish head that's in his mouth. "Gross," I state, deciding that I am not picking him up right now.

"You know this cat?" Mumma asks, making me tilt my head back to look at her. I hesitate for a moment before nodding my head.

"He's mine," I say as I pet O'Malley. He purrs as he crunches down on the fish head, acting like it is the greatest thing he has ever eaten.

"Is he? I don't recall you having a cat before now," Mumma says, making me frown slightly.

"He's always been mine! I just lost him for a tiny bit," I retort as I frown at her, offended by her mean words.

"I never said he wasn't yours, I was just confused Iris," Mumma says, my body deflating slightly when I realize that she wasn't being mean.

"Sorry," I say quietly, feeling a little bit bad.

"You're fine sweetheart. But if your cat plans on staying, he needs to learn manners. Which means not stealing from the kitchen," Mumma says as she looks at O'Malley who growls and bites down harder on the fish head.

"O'Malley isn't nice with food," I inform her as I reach out to pet O'Malley again, wincing when he flips over and grabs my hand with his front paws as his back paws kick the crap out of my hand. "He's not nice in general," I correct as I manage to free my hand and hide behind Mumma who lets me stay behind her as she sighs.

"How fun this will be to explain to Adira," she murmurs to herself.