Chapter Text
He was born into the world sheltered by a dirty box in a forgotten part of an unkempt park and his mother never even gave him a name.
That might have been concerning if it weren't for the simple fact that he was a cat, and his mother was a queen with a white coat covered in a dusting of blotchy gray making her look perpetually dirty. He could only assume the tomcat that fathered him was black seeing as his own coat did a good job at mimicking the shadows.
Not that he made the connection yet.
Everything was dark for him, he was still trying to figure out how to open his eyes. The only thing he knew in this moment was the warmth and softness of his mother and the gust of cold that sometimes swept over him. He curled in on himself as he snuggled closer to his siblings.
The world started out dark and muted, but it seemed like every day he could hear just a little more, and the light of the world was a little brighter. Soon enough he could hear birds chirp and cars roar.
From what he could tell he was the first of the litter to open his eyes, but his siblings soon followed suit. They did what might be considered ‘playing’ now that they could see and were a little more curious about the world, though a lot of that consisted of wiggling around and poking each other with their noses and meowing in response. With their limited concepts of fun it was enjoyable.
But, well, soon that grew boring for him. Poke-meow was still the biggest hit with his siblings but he assumed the rest of his litter was filled with nothing but runts. They were noticeably smaller than him and they seemed to be a bit slower in almost every aspect, not to mention they smelt different, he hoped they weren't sick.
He was already trying to stand while his littlest brother’s ears were still unfolding, and during a game of poke-meow he could see how his claws didn’t stick out as much as his biggest sister's. His mother would growl at him the most when they fed, his teeth were such a sudden development that he forgot to be careful sometimes, but that was an especially difficult task when he was just so hungry all the time. He only noticed his greed when his mother batted him with her paw as he tried to butt his siblings out of their spot.
He didn’t notice it at first, but his mother was growing weary of him. He only thought the runts needed more attention and was especially distracted by trying to work out how to groom himself like he’d seen mother do. He was still very clumsy about it, but he was determined. By now his wobbly legs could take him around the box, but he never went past the yellow reflective metal sheet leaning against the entrance. Still, he was pretty proud of the fact he could move so well, especially when it gave him an advantage in poke-meow. He was the undefeated champion!
Still, he was happy when his siblings grew bored of the game just as he had, they all focused on getting their own wobbly legs to listen to them. He had his walking down to a science (mostly) so he just watched in amusement. He didn’t notice how mother kept sniffing him suspiciously.
He wasn’t sure how old he was when it happened. Maybe three? Yeah, it was something like three weeks since his first memory.
He was sleeping when he felt his mother poke her nose on his back. He wasn’t aware that she played the game, she’d never joined before, but by the rules of poke-meow he let out a small sleepy ‘mur’ letting her know she got him. He didn’t expect her to respond by biting the scruff of his neck and carrying him out of the warm box.
The air was cold as it hit his feet and nose, but he looked around in wonder at the outside. The blue skies peeking through the leaves was especially interesting, but that was quickly distracted as he experienced everything else for the first time. There was a lot to take in as his mother crossed from the green of the park to the stone and metal of the streets. There was a rush of excitement as new smells and sounds flooded his senses. He wondered where they were going, mother probably found a new box to live in, it must have been an especially good spot if she was taking them so far away from their first home.
He did get a little confused when she set him on the cold ground next to an uncomfortable plastic bag that didn’t look at all suitable to live in. Mother herself wouldn't even fit. She played one last game of poke-meow, naturally she won again, but she didn’t even let him try to compete before darting off to go get his siblings.
As he watched her dusty white coat disappear, he started thinking of ways at getting better at the game, he might have been the champion but she was the master. He’ll get her next time, he thought playfully.
*
Mother has been gone for a long time.
It was getting dark and he was starting to worry.
She didn’t get lost did she?
*
There was no sign of her.
It was getting cold and he was starting to get scared.
Did he get lost?... But he hasn’t moved yet.
*
Her scent was fading.
He pushed his way into the plastic bag. It wasn’t as nice as the box or cuddling with his siblings but it was better than out in the open.
What if she needed help finding him? He started to meow as loud as he could.
*
The sky grew a little brighter.
He sat there curled up as he looked into the reflection of a small puddle.
At some point in the night he made the connection. It had something to do with the fact that his eyes were black instead of blue like his siblings… and he could make them glow at will.
He was the one who smelt different and ate too much.
Mother didn’t want a sick kitten.