section7mfu | International Cat Day - A Family Reunion (Reply)

Wellington might not have had the power of human speech, but he was still quite skilled at letting his opinions be known. The much-hated cat carriers were out and he would periodically pass near his and hiss at it as if it were a rival tom.

From her perch on their combination scratching post/climbing tree, Lawan watched his posturing with her blue eyes slightly narrowed in amusement, her tail lazily flicking back and forth. She didn't have strong feelings about the carriers herself. They had been used to bring her to the vet (who she despised), but had also been used to take her to pleasant places. Lawan had therefore decided to save her aggression for whatever awaited her at the other end of the trip.

In the other room, their human was packing a bag - a larger one that he rarely used and which Lawan had already been gently shooed out of twice now. She debated coming down for a third attempt, but was distracted by a knock at the door. Wellington immediately went into hiding as their human emerged from his room and went to the door.

"Are you packed, Illya? We need to head out soon if we're going to do more than dump your pair on Aunt Amy's doorstep."

"Assuming Lawan has not unpacked my socks again while I have been answering the door, I am nearly ready. Are you sure that your aunt really wants to watch Lawan and Wellington for two months?"

"She's looking forward to it. Besides, you didn't really want to put them in a kennel for the whole time that we'll be overseas, did you?"

"No, of course not. But I do know that they can be a handful."

"Aunt Amy is a true blue cat lover. I think they'll all get along so well that it will worry us. Finish off your bag and I'll take it downstairs while you get those two into their carriers. I'd rather not be around for that. Wellington might decide that I'm the one at fault."

Chuckling at the running war between the dark haired agent and the equally dark haired cat, Illya led the way to his bedroom. Lawan let out a yowl as Napoleon came near and he obligingly gave her a rub on his way by.

"Why doesn't Wellington ever greet me like that?"

"I suspect it is because the two of you got off on the wrong foot. Your left foot, if I recall correctly."

"In other words, I'm never going to be completely forgiven for stepping on his tail."

"At least you manage temporary truces with your bribes of liver pate'."

"True. Let me grab your - whoa. Your suitcase is pretty light. Are you sure you have enough with you?"

"Napoleon, I do not own that many clothes. If there is something else I need, I will purchase it after I arrive. Besides, native clothing will help me blend in better, yes?"

"That is a good point, chum. Alright then - I'll get this downstairs and leave you to deal with the Bobbsey twins."

"My cats are not twins."

"That's a saying - it means the same thing as two peas in a pod."

"My cats are not vegetables either."

"You know? We have a really long flight coming up and I can try to explain that then. We need to get going."

"I will be down shortly, Napoleon."

"I see Wellington didn't surrender this time either. Need iodine? A Band-Aid? A tourniquet?"

"It looks worse than it is. We will both survive despite his yowling as if he is being boiled."

"Lawan seems to be amused by him."

"She is a much better traveler than he. I found him abandoned - perhaps whoever abandoned him took him to that alley in a carrier."

"Hmm - possible negative associations? Yeah, I guess I could see that. You'd think that years of a warm apartment and good food would get past that."

"One never fully forgets early depravations."

"I can see that too. Well, at least it won't take us long to get to Aunt Amy's. Otherwise, we might have hearing loss. I never really fully appreciated the full meaning of the term caterwauling before."

"At least I will have time to heal before I will need to put Wellington into his carrier again for the trip home."

When they arrived at Aunt Amy’s home, Napoleon carried Lawan in while Illya carried the now growling Wellington. As his parents came through the door, Tri retreated gracefully to the top of the sideboard where his food and water were kept, watching very intently as Aunt Amy greeted both men before the door s to the carriers were opened. After three beats of silence, all three cats hissed in near unison, Wellington going under the sofa as Lawan went under an armchair. Illya looked over the situation and sighed.

“I am sorry –“

Before he could say another word, Aunt Amy tutted and started to shoo Illya and her nephew toward the door.

“Now don’t you worry about a thing. This is just like what happens at our family reunions. People fuss and bother, but then everyone eats and settles down. Each one of them will pick out a spot for themselves and we’ll all get along splendidly. ”

Napoleon Chuckled and helped guide his fretting partner out.

“Aunt Amy is a cat expert. They’re in very capable hands.”

The mission seemed as if it lasted longer than two months, which in a way it did as it took two additional weeks for visible bruising and swelling to go down enough that they could go back to Aunt Amy’s to pick Illya’s cats back up.

When they entered Aunt Amy’s apartment again, Tri was still atop the cherry wood sideboard as if he’d never left it the entire time. Wellington was stretched out across the back on the sofa and Lawan was curled on a pillow on the armchair. There was no movement until Illya greeted Aunt Amy.

At the first sound of the Russian’s voice, Lawan sat upright and let out a purely Siamese yowl of joy before practically launching herself at him. Even Wellington came over to rub against Illya’s legs, not even bothering to growl at Napoleon on the way by.

“Ah, my little ones – did you miss me?”

“Oh yes, I daresay they did. They seemed content enough most of the time, but they would both patrol around the door at least once or twice a day.”

“Thank you so much for taking care of them for me. Wellington does not enjoy kennels.”

Aunt Amy sniffed at that.

“Well, who would? Now that they’re reacquainted, I don’t want you to hesitate to leave them with me when you boys get called off on a long business trip again. They were lovely company - I don’t believe I had more than a few minutes a day without a cat lounging on my lap or beside me.”

Aunt Amy waved aside any other thanks and sent Napoleon to fetch the two carriers from the closet she’d stored them in.

The real proof of how much Illya had been missed came when those carriers were brought out. Wellington went directly into his and promptly laid down, not making another sound until they were back in Illya’s apartment.

Once back home, he exited the carrier, hissed at Napoleon and ran straight up to the top of their climbing tree. Napoleon chuckled again as he reached down to rub Lawan’s head as she arched and rubbed against him.

“Sounds like everything is back to normal, chum. I’ll come by and check on you three tomorrow. I’ll bring Chinese.”

“That sounds very good, Napoleon. I may even be back awake by then.”

“I think those two will help you out more than those sleeping pills Medical kept trying to shove down your throat. I’ll lock up behind me – go rest.”

“Is that an order?”

“Sure – why not?”

They exchanged tired smiles as Illya made his way to his room. It smelled a little musty from his absence, but at the moment, he could not have cared less. Within moments of stretching out, Lawan daintily leapt onto the bed and claimed the second pillow. Wellington followed shortly after and Illya was soon starting to fade to sleep to the accompaniment of deep rumbling purrs. It was very good to be home.