a lot of you wanted me to make 'smitten kitten' into a proper book and i decided to kill two birds with one stone by doing that but also updating this book regularly so i'm not too overwhelmed by all the writing i have to do. all of the 'smitten kitten' chapters in this book are out of order but i'll create a new book with them all in order later on if you want to read the story in chronological order!
hope you enjoy this :)
It was raining, and Geoff Payne had forgotten his umbrella at home.
Luckily for him, it was only a slight drizzle, but he still walked as fast as he could, hands shoved into the pockets of his long coat as he walked back home. He was passing by an alleyway when he heard a quiet sniffle, making him stop and look around. The rest of the street was quite deserted, and he was about to start walking again when he heard another sniffle.
He turned his head and looked into the alleyway, where among the dumpsters was a large cardboard box that seemed to be shaking. Geoff rubbed his eyes, sure that it was just his imagination, but when he looked again, the box was still moving slightly. There was another sniffle, and Geoff was sure it was coming from that box.
He thought about leaving it alone and just going home - it was raining after all - but curiosity got the better of him and he approached the cardboard box carefully. He bent down and reached for the box, heart in his mouth, and opened it to reveal a... kitten?
No, whatever was in there was too big to be a kitten or a cat - in fact, it was the size of a small human, but the first thing Geoff could see where fluffy, caramel kitten ears. The creature in the box looked up at Geoff, fear in its beautiful blue eyes. It had the face and body of a boy, but the ears of a cat, and Geoff recalled reading about so-called "kitten hybrids" in the newspapers - cruel, illegal experiments where crazy scientists merged a human with a cat. This creature must have been one of the hybrids that had been created before the operation had been shut down.
"Hey there, little guy." Geoff held his hands up to show he wasn't a threat. "What are you doing here?"
The little hybrid didn't say a word, and instead shrunk into his cardboard box, starting to cry silently.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, I'm not going to hurt you," Geoff said, reaching out to gently pet the kitten. The kitten looked terrified of Geoff's hand, but allowed himself to be petted.
"Are you out here all by yourself?" Geoff asked.
The kitten nodded.
"Do you have any home to go to?"
The kitten shook his head sadly, staring at his lap.
Geoff bit his lip. The kitten hybrid looked so sad and lonely and scared and it just felt wrong to leave him there. "Do you want to come home with me?"
The kitten looked up, eyes wide. He stared at Geoff and tilted his head, like he was trying to see if Geoff was joking.
"I'm not kidding, love. You look like you need a home and I think my wife and children would be willing to help you." Geoff tried to convey his sincerity in his words, hoping that he would be able to get this boy to trust him.
After a minute or two of deliberation, the kitten slowly nodded his head, deciding that he didn't have anything to lose. He'd take the chance and follow this kind-looking stranger.
"Good." Geoff smiled and reached a hand out for the kitten to take. "My home's not far from here."
The kitten took Geoff's hand hesitantly, but didn't make any move to leave his cardboard box. Geoff raised his eyebrow at this, but didn't say anything and simply leaned down to pick the hybrid up. The hybrid let out a pained whine and automatically kicked his legs out, making Geoff stop and look at the kitten worriedly.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
The kitten stayed silent, but his eyes filled with tears.
"Do you want to walk?" Geoff realized that perhaps his grip on the kitten's body had accidentally aggravated some injuries.
The kitten shook his head, his legs feeling too weak and tired. Geoff sighed, wondering how he was going to manage this. "Okay, I'll carry you. I'll try to be as gentle as possible, but please try to understand that I don't know where you're hurting and I don't mean to hurt you on purpose if I accidentally touch your wounds."
The kitten nodded silently and tried to stay quiet as Geoff carefully lifted him up into his arms, ignoring the pain when Geoff's nails accidentally dug into a bruise on the kitten's leg. Geoff hoped the hybrid would relax, but the kitten stayed tense and rigid, still scared of Geoff even though the kitten trusted him enough to let himself be carried by the man.
With the kitten out of the box, Geoff could see the hybrid's body more clearly. The hybrid also had a caramel, fluffy tail, and he was practically skin and bones. His clothes were wet and dirty and he was covered in cuts and bruises.
They left the alleyway and Geoff resumed his fast walking, using part of his coat to cover the kitten's head to protect him from the drizzling rain. They soon arrived at the Paynes' house, where Karen greeted them at the door. Her eyes widened when she saw the tiny kitten hybrid hiding under Geoff's coat.
"Geoff... who is that? What is that?"
"Shhh." Geoff was worried that the kitten might be offended by Karen's words. "Remember seeing in the news about those scientists illegally breeding humans and cats?"
"Mhmm. They did it for years and years before they were shut down, right?"
"Yeah, well, this little guy here is probably one of the hybrids that were created. He must have escaped when the police shut the operation down. I found him in a box in the alleyway and I couldn't just leave him there."
The kitten eyed Karen carefully, eyes filled with fear when Karen reached out to pet him.
"I think he's scared of being touched," Geoff said, and Karen quickly retracted her hand.
"The poor thing, he looks so scared." Karen tried to make her voice low and soothing. "Hey there, sweetie. I'm Karen, what's your name?"
The kitten was silent, looking bewildered.
"I haven't heard him say a word, maybe he's mute or maybe he's just too scared to talk. We'll work on that later - we should figure out what we're going to do first," Geoff said. "Where are the kids?"
"Upstairs somewhere." Karen walked to the stairs and shouted, "Guys! Come down here."
The three siblings came down the stairs, and they all looked surprised when they saw the kitten hybrid, who was sitting on the couch. Karen had laid down a few towels on the couch so the kitten wouldn't dirty the couch too much, and she'd also put on a few cartoons. The kitten was captivated by the bright colors and watched the show intently, not even realizing that Liam, Nicole, and Ruth were there.
"I-is that a kitten hybrid?" Liam whispered, staring at the fluffy ears sticking out of the kitten's hair.
"I think so." Geoff led them into the dining table so the hybrid wouldn't hear their conversation. "I found him in the street and I couldn't just leave him there, but I'm not exactly sure what we're going to do with him."
"Bring him to one of those centers?" Ruth suggested. "They'll know about kitten hybrids and what to do with them. There's a center twenty minutes from here."
"Should we give him a bath and some clean clothes first? He looks like he needs one," Nicole said. "And some food, too."
"Alright, then. Ruth, Nicole, you guys go find some food for him. Liam, go get some clothes that might fit him, and I'll go run a bath," Karen instructed. "Geoff, go take a shower. You're all wet from the rain."
"Yes, ma'am." The family saluted their mother and ran off to go complete their duties. Before Geoff went upstairs to take a shower, he knelt next to the couch and gently pet the kitten's head.
"I don't know what kind of things you've gone through or how long you've been alone and living on the streets, but you're here with us now and we're going to take care of you, okay?. You're never going to have to live on the streets again, so relax - you're in good hands, I promise."
The kitten still didn't say anything, but he relaxed slightly at Geoff's words, blue eyes filled with gratitude. Geoff smiled and got up, going upstairs for a shower. He sincerely hoped he and his family would be able to live up to his promise and take care of this lonely kitten who so desperately needed their help.
this kinda sucked but oh well :/ please comment and request anything you'd like to see in the future! sorry this chapter is late again
all the love,
the author .x