Mara quickly bundled the cat up in her scarf, nestled it against her chest and wrapped her jacket tight. She sprinted back to her apartment. Naturally the elevator was still out of order, forcing her to run back up the stairs. Which was far more tiring than running down them.

After fumbling with her keys and then fighting with the handle, she finally managed to get the door open. She quickly set about grabbing dry towels and digging out her heater. As gently as she could she dried off the cat and then placed it in a cosy nest of towels in front of the heater. The next challenge was food. Mara had not had a pet since she was in high school and had nothing in the way of cat food. Finding nothing in the pantry she opened the fridge and contemplated the milk. She knew that you shouldn't give a cat cow's milk, but maybe it was meant in the same way that she shouldn't drink so much coffee. She was considering googling it when she saw the plate of chicken she had put out for her dinner tonight.

"Perfect."

When presented with a warm plate of shredded chicken the cat devoured the food so fast he didn't even chew, let alone taste it. By the time he was finished eating, he was purring loudly. Now that the cat was dry, warm and fed and Mara's panic response had subsided, she realized that the sensible thing would have been to take the cat to a vet.

"I've never had good impulse control, but it seems it all worked out didn't Mr Kitten," she said with a sigh as she gave him a scratch under the chin. "But it wasn't too smart sitting outside on a day like today. Were you just lost or are you a stray?" Mara stared at the cat for a long moment until the cat gave a tentative meow in response.

"Well I guess you can crash for the night, seeing as I have gone out twice in this rain already and have no desire to get drenched again. We can begin the search for your home tomorrow but right now I need a coffee." Strangely the cat began to purr louder at the mention of coffee and even left the warmth of the heater to follow her in to the kitchen.

"Sorry kitten, coffee is for people, not cats." Mara said with a laugh as she set about making a particularly strong cup of coffee and then drowning it in sugar. "Max caffeine, max sugar, all energy. Mahwah-" But her maniacal laugh was cut short when the cat darted between her legs causing her to stumble and spill half her coffee on the floor. Cursing such a waste she turned to clean up the spill but found the cat was already taking care of it. Panicked by the adverse effect of caffeine on animals, Mara tried to separate the cat from the coffee, but was not prepared for the result.

"Let me go!" The sudden cry rang out and then everything went still. So ridiculous was the reality that it took a long moment for Mara to dismiss all the reasonable yet incorrect explanations and acknowledge the truth. The cat in her arms was acting suspiciously and seemed to be actively avoiding eye contact.

"That was you, wasn't it?" Mara accused. "You can talk! A talking cat!" Another awkward pause was followed by a forced meow. Mara decided to change tactics. "If you admit it, I will make you a coffee." Mara smiled as she watched the cat debate his options.

"Black, no sugar. And the name is Drake Argus."

"Well Drake the cat, my name is Mara Molich, and this just became the strangest moment of my life. Congratulations." Mara said as she downed what was left of the coffee in one gulp.