*****

Rayes lived in a little room with her sister and brothers. She was mostly happy - she always had lots to eat, and got to play with everyone. Sometimes people would take her out of her room, and she didn't like that much, but she always got to go back to her family.

Sometimes one of her siblings would disappear forever, and they would all be a little bit sad, but after a nap and some playing, they would feel better.

She couldn't remember ever having a life before her little room.

One day, a strange man took her out. He was warm, and thin, with dark hair and glass over his eyes, and Rayes thought he seemed very nice. He pet her and scratched behind her ears, and she couldn't wait to tell all of the others about him. She had never been held by a person she liked so much before.

But then he carried her away. She watched her little home with all her little brothers as it disappeared in the distance, and started to cry. The man holding her pet her fur a little with his nose, and then he put her into a dark, scary box and carried her away. She cried and cried - it was the most scared she could ever remember being. There were so many strange sounds, and the whole world was wiggling in a very unpleasant way.

The outside kept changing, too, and finally Rayes squeezed her eyes shut, afraid of seeing anything else horrible, and cried. She could hear the man speaking to her, saying things, but she ignored him.

Finally the world stopped moving completely, and she felt the man's fingers in her fur again. She stopped crying and clung to him almost desperately, looking around at her new surroundings with wide eyes.

He cooed at her and pet her and held her to his chest, and she began to feel a little better. She was still afraid, but she knew that the man would keep her safe, he was strong that way. They sat down in a chair, and she hung onto his shirt very tightly, not wanting to fall or get lost, still looking around.

"You're fine, little Isis," he whispered, and she couldn't understand him but it made her feel better just the same. They sat there, and she started to purr after a few more minutes, snuggling in close to the human and soaking in his warmth.

Then the door opened, and Rayes jerked her head up, staring at the new person with wide eyes. He was thin and had yellow hair, and he already smelled like smoke and death to her. She clung more tightly to her man, not wanting to be taken away again.

"What the hell is that?" the new man asked, staring right at Rayes.

"It's a kitten, Spike, I'd think you would be able to recognize one after all the time you've been around." Her man stroked her fur lightly, and she started a soft purr again.

"Why d'you have a kitten? And what's it called?" The yellow haired man was coming closer, and Rayes snuggled against her man, trying to hide.

"I thought it'd be nice to have a cat about the place, and I think I'll call her Isis. Rather fits a white cat, don't you think?"

The yellow haired man reached over and patted Rayes on the head, and she mewled a little. Her human laughed and whispered "I don't think she's fond of you, Spike."

"That's okay. Never been much of a cat man, pet."

That night, her human took her to bed with him, where she curled up and drifted off. The yellow haired man soon joined them, though, and Isis scampered away, still not quite trusting him. He smelled funny.

She hid in the corner for a long time, trying to get used to the funny sounds that her people were making, and that came from outside. After they stopped being loud, she made her way cautiously out of the room, exploring her new box with new smells and new toys.

When she got frightened, she went back and fell asleep curled against her human, where it was warm and safe.

****

Her human, who she decided must be called Wesley, had named her Isis. It took her a long time to decide to answer to that, because her name was Rayes, but she started to anyway. It was best to humor her pet, she decided, because he put food down for her, and pet her.

The yellow haired man - Spike, she'd decided - and her human were mates, apparently. They mated all the time, it got a little boring. At first it had scared her, because she didn't understand the sounds that came from them, but she realized that Spike wasn't hurting her human, so she didn't hurt him.

Sometimes they would get wet together. She thought she understood the idea - they never licked themselves, after all - but she never quite got why they would go in there together. One day she followed Wesley in, and saw them doing strange things to each other in there. They had their mouths all over each other, even in places that mouths didn't usually seem to go. She decided that she really was the only sane being in the house then, and made sure to take extra-special care of Wesley from then on. He obviously didn't have all his kittens in a row.

Rayes and Spike pretended not to get along whenever Wesley was around. She turned her nose up at him and ignored him, and he called her "damn cat". She would never, ever be caught dead rubbing against his leg, and only sometimes asked him for food. Only when she was REALLY hungry. Wesley would laugh at them and tell them to get along, and they would pretend to pretend to get along for him, but only for awhile.

Sometimes at night, though, Spike would wake up and do things. Rayes would always follow him into the kitchen, and he would pat the tabletop, inviting her to sit with him. They would talk about all sorts of things together - Wesley, and work, and food, and how nice it was to sleep during the day - and he would feed her little slices of cheese, or sometimes bologna. He told her how special Wesley was, and how wonderful it was that she made him laugh. Spike said that she was one of the best things that could have happened to her human, and she thought she agreed. He was a special one.

She could tell that Spike really did love being Wesley's mate. One time she was curled up on Wesley's lap, and he was asleep. Spike came in and smiled at them - a smile she had never seen before, a very special little smile. He walked over and scratched her ears and kissed Wesley on the forehead, folding his glasses almost reverently before sitting down and just watching them.

She knew what a lucky thing she was to have adopted such good humans, despite their slight insanity. They were very happy mates, and she was a happy cat with them, especially her Wesley.

She eventually forgot about her little room, but always, always remembered how special she felt when Wesley first picked her up. That was something she never wanted to forget.

~fin~