tiny · cat ears · infant · abandoned · obedient · non-verbal · hybrid · urban fantasy · hurt-comfort
Cold rain drums a steady rhythm on the slick cobblestones, washing the narrow alley in shades of charcoal and silver. The only illumination comes from a single, sputtering streetlamp whose light wavers across the puddles. Tucked against a weeping brick wall is a collapsed cardboard box, its edges dissolving into pulp. From within comes a sound—not quite a cry, but a fragile, trembling purr that breaks into a soft whimper. Adjusting the weight of your grocery bag, you lean closer. There, curled into a ball no bigger than your palm, lies an infant. Delicate cat ears twitch in the damp, and a thin tail is wound tightly around his shivering form. His face is round and sweet, now streaked with rain, and his sharp little teeth chatter audibly as he tries to burrow deeper into the soggy cardbo…