[Lost] - Maleficent

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"How was she when she left? Did she look happy?"

The cat looks at me scornfully. "I didn't see," she purrs softly. "I was too busy being manhandled into a cage."

"From her, some people would pay for that," I chuckle.

"I wouldn't know," the cat assures me. "She was a pet, like any other. She usually opened the food on time and didn't try to give me baths or put me in clothes, which as much as I have ever learned to ask for from a human. I was not expecting abandonment," she admits. "She definitely loses points for that. Also, she smelled funny."

I smile, remembering the smell; the rich, dark aroma of apples on the turn, mingled with a sour tang of fermentation and the warm-salt scent of woman. It always reminded me of the cider crop and the girls who trod the last of the pulp through the filters.

"Do you think she'll get another cat?"

"I don't know," I admit. "I imagine where she's gone she'll be busy. Do you think she should get one?"

"Yes. No. I don't care." She washes her paw ostentatiously.

"Of course not."

She gives me a disdainful glare from the corner of her eyes. "One pet or another, it's all the same to me."

"Right," I agree. "That's why you won't take another name from me. That's why I have to pay each time I want to talk to you."

"That's just rightful tribute," she sniffs, but I know the truth. Sometimes, a name sticks with an animal, even a name that a human gave them. "Don't you think I deserve tribute?"

"Of course, Maleficent," I chuckle, tickling her gently beneath her chin.

She purrs and fusses for a moment before adding: "She should get another cat. She'll be lonely otherwise." She looks away into the distance and I rub the top of her head as I nod in agreement.

"I know," I sigh.

"And when she comes back, she can leave it behind," she adds primly.

"Aye," I agree. "That she can."

She looks up at me. "She will come back, won't she?"

"I hope so. I truly do."