Chapter Text
Jude hadn't always lived in Mrs. Kinkade's house. She had taken him home with her when he was barely 7 weeks old. Apparently, he had been part of a deal she had made with a pet store. She'd lend them Oscar, her male British Shorthair, with a pedigree as sought out as the queen of England, as a potential mating partner for their female British Shorthair; in return, she would get to pick a kitten out of the produced litter, free of charge. It seemed like an offer she couldn't refuse. British Shorthairs were quite renowned after all.
Oscar was a rather large sized ginger cat. He was sly and deceitful – his title as the king of the neighborhood wasn't for nothing. When Jude had been still young, his sire would constantly make him beg their mistress for more food. His strategy was pretty sound as she always caved under Jude's big sorrowful green eyes, popping out even more against his jet black fur. However, once their bowl was full, the older cat would only let Jude eat a few mouthfuls before forcefully bumping him away. If he even approached the bowl while Oscar was still eating, he'd get a menacing hiss. This way, Oscar could satisfy his own gluttony while making Jude the whinny one in their mistress eyes. Nevertheless, Jude, a gentle soul by nature, worshipped the very ground his sire walked on and did everything in his power to earn the approval of his only role model. So, he hunted birds and small grass rodents when he was hungry and left the easily obtained food – by himself no less – for the older cat. As a result, Jude grew from a cute black fur ball with big eyes into a rather dashing cat. His svelte form and short fur may hide his well developed muscles to the inattentive eyes, but anyone seeing him on a hunt would attest to his prowess. Well, he really didn't have much of a choice; it was either becoming a good hunter or dying of starvation. Even at the tender age of 3 months, Jude had understood this. So, in a very dysfunctional way, their unspoken arrangement worked, without a hitch, for 2 years.
However, everything changed during the spring of Jude's 3rd year of life. Mistress brought home a new female cat named Lionel. She was beautiful. She looked just like Jude's mother with her short black fur and her cerulean eyes. The smirk ruined the illusion a little though, but Jude didn't hold that against her. Although he had been separated from his mother and littermates at a very young age, he still remembered them very clearly. Out of all 5 of them, he was the only one who inherited his mother's fur color. It made him stand out against all of his grey and orange siblings. Maybe that's why Mistress had picked him? His mother had doted on him during his short time with her, which had made the transition all the more difficult when he had arrived in his new home. Mrs. Kinkade was a very busy woman who had never had any time to spend with him and the only other cat in the house – Jude hadn't been allowed outside yet – had never paid any attention to him. The kitten had known, of course, from his mother's description and his own sensible nose, that the other male was Oscar, his sire, but nothing more. Well, that had lasted about a few weeks, until the older cat had found a use for him.
Not long after Lionel's introduction to the house, she struck an unusual friendship with Jude. It was parts maternal, parts flirtatious and parts everything else in between. It could be said that she was quite protective of her junior of one year. She would even go hunting with him on occasion or hiss at Oscar for stealing Jude's dinner. Oscar, of course, regarded this relationship with disapproving eyes. He couldn't support the idea that another male in his prime held the attention of the only female in the house, not even his own son.
"You useless piece of shit, do you really think you can steal her from me? This is my territory and my clowder! Go find your own if you think you are so great!"
"No, Dad! I don't! I swear! I don't even think of her like that!"
"You are no son of mine, you spineless bastard! Always running after approval like some dumb canine! Well, you'll never get my approval, so you better leave my house now!
"But Dad..."
"No buts, I've tolerated another tom in my territory for as long as I could. You better leave now or prepare to fight me for my place!"
Jude, as gentle as he is, would never fight his own father, even when he was heartbroken, so he said, with tears in his eyes, "Alright, I'll just say goodbye to Lionel on my way out."
"Don't you dare! Do you think I'm stupid? If you tell her that you are leaving, she would just go with you. You are still trying to steal her! Leave her alone! Or do I have to force you?" was hissed at him.
In the end, Jude left without saying anything to Lionel. Hopefully, his friend wouldn't hold that against him. It was unlikely that he will ever see her again, as he couldn't even stay in this neighborhood anymore. With tears in his eyes, he just picked a random direction and started walking dejectedly. As if the sky was mocking him, no sooner had he left Oscar's territory, a rainstorm broke out. A rainstorm, in L.A! He looked around frantically and realised that he was no longer in a residential area. There would be no porches to use as shelter. Just as he was about to despair, a flash of blue in an alley drew his attention. As he approached, he realised that it was a large cardboard box leaning against the inner corner of two brick walls with the top facing down, leaving only a small triangle as an opening. The whole thing was covered with an old blue shower tarp, making the structure waterproof. This would do for now.
Inside, the box had some old blankets shoved together. They were quite comfortable to lie on. Plus, although the alley smelled rather disgusting, the blankets gave this shelter a far better odor. It was not a smell that he had encountered previously, yet it felt familiar somehow. However, Jude was too tired and emotionally drained to try to pinpoint the source. Suddenly, the implications of the day's events dawned on him. He would never see his home again. No more explorations of the house, no more hunts in the backyard, no more porches to sunbath on, and most importantly, no more Lionel to comfort him. At this thought, a new wave of tears surged up.
As he wallowed in his own misery, Jude failed to notice the presence approaching him in the rain. When he finally lifted his face, it was already too late.
"Who the hell are you?! And what the fuck are you doing in my nest?" a wet and angry ginger-blond tabby hissed from the shelter's opening.
To be continued...