The smell of braised pork, fresh rice, and boiled vegetables all wafted into the air, mixing in her nose as she gazed at her owner, a teenager in black slacks, a t-shirt, and a white apron. He was one of many in a long line of hawkers managing a modest stand in the middle of the 626 Night Market. There wasn’t much room to spare: the rice cooker covered a third of the stand, a pot the next third, and the last an iron wok, seasoned with generations of the same dish.
In the back she could hear the father mincing pork, fresh from the butcher. On instinct she looked up at him with round, amber eyes and a salivating tongue before giving him a deliberate whimper. He scowled at her and though she didn’t understand everything he said, she could tell he was motioning her away. She had picked up a few things like “走開”and “拒.” She knew where she wasn’t wanted, but she had a way of being stubborn.
Tilting her head, she let out another whine before a wrinkled woman smiled and bent over with a wad of seasoned meat in her palm. Lapping it up gratefully, she gave a meow of approval before trotting off to the main walkway, squeezing between tourists and regulars alike. Food culture was alive and well, perhaps more so than any other city in the country. More importantly, so was the culture of entertaining cute animals.
It took only a flick of her tail and some strategic glances before the market's patrons began feeding her meat scraps and on some occasions, sweets that weren't drizzled in chocolate.
“Isn’t she cute? I’ve always wanted a black cat!” a blonde, Asian male exclaimed before scratching the bottom of her chin.
Ah that was the stuff.
She gave him one last purr before circling toward the woman next to him and nuzzling her hand. Her whiskers twitched in excitement as she smelled the hints of grilled squid on the human’s fingertips.
“It’s too bad we can’t take her back. I know Mom’s allergic but I feel like she’d be way less stressed out,” the woman sighed.
The male nodded in agreement.
“We don’t even know if she wants to come with us. She could just be looking for food.”
“There you guys are! I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” a third voice finally popped up.
Tawny skinned with a splash of freckles, a curly-haired girl approached them with five skewers in her hand.
"Guys look what I got!" she grinned before handing out each stick of grilled squid, "I managed to snag the last ones before they closed down."
"Nice," the boy, presumably her brother, replied as he bit down on one.
"Well make sure to finish up quickly. We have to wake up early tomorrow," the older woman said.
"Aw, I don't want to go back yet. LA is so much more fun than Brookville," the curly-haired girl whined.
"No 'buts' Amelia. We're already out way past curfew."
"You're beginning to sound like Mom," the boy laughed.
“Ugh don’t remind me Jack.”
The cat licked her lips as the siblings began walking out of the large parking lot, following closely behind them.
“Hey isn’t that the cat from earlier?” Amelia asked, turning back.
“She must still be hungry,” Jack reasoned before kneeling over with a half-eaten skewer, “here girl.”
The cat paused for a second before darting over and chomping down on the squid.
“Come on, I can practically feel Mom blowing up our phone.”
Jack gave a final head pat before feeling a sudden chill travel up his arm. As the numbness spread through his body there was a brief glint in his eyes before they quickly dulled.
“Jack! Hello, Earth to Jack!”
The boy glanced up before mumbling a quick apology and running after his sisters.