Corym Bloom couldn’t sleep that night; he had too many thoughts running around in his mind, from the exam he had the next day to the cute physics student he kept running into. He wasn’t used to so much tossing and turning. Eventually, he gave up on trying to sleep, slipped on a sweater and opened his small apartment’s window; maybe some fresh air would help him be more comfortable. 

That’s when he heard a sound he didn’t recognize from his alleyway. It was not one a humanoid would make; that much he was certain of. An animal, maybe? Or worse, a beast? 

He leaned over his rickety windowsill, casting a simple light spell that he let drop into the alley, searching for what may have made the sound. 

That’s when he saw it; a patchy orange creature that seemed to be trembling in the rain. A cat, by the looks of it. One of its ears seemed recently injured. Once again, the sound; a pained meowing. It went right to his soul, and before he knew it, Corym rushed to find his umbrella, pulled on his jeans and canvas shoes, and barreled down his apartment stairs with a towel and a can of tuna. 

Stars, the rain was heavy. But he didn’t care - he found his way to the alley and wasted no time in checking on the cat. 

One of its ears was definitely injured, and it looked like one of its paws was broken. Corym reached out to it carefully, but the cat shied away from him. It wasn’t a kitten, but didn’t seem old, either. His heart dropped as he wondered if its previous owners were the one to hurt and abandon it. 

It? He? She? Corym had no idea, and didn’t know how to know. But at the moment, that didn’t matter; he needed to get the cat out of the rain, but how could he if it didn’t seem to trust him? 

“Hey, hey it’s okay…” He covered the both of them with the umbrella, balancing it on the nearby trashcan before cracking open the can of tuna. He carefully placed it in the box with the cat, who seemed too tired to fight him. A minute passed before the cat sniffed it and started eating it. As the creature was distracted, Corym did what he could with his magic to heal its ear and paw. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do to restore the missing ear tip, or fully fix the bone in the paw, but at least the wounds were scarred over and the pain lessened. The cat started purring, and leaned its head against Corym’s hand.

Oh, there it was - the rare glow of adoration that rarely ever took over his heart, but that was impossible to ignore.

“Oh well I can’t just leave you here now, can I?” 

He checked for a patch of dye on its tail that marked it as having been vaccinated and safe to take home. There it was - the cat was absolutely abandoned. 

“A*sholes,” Corym muttered about the previous owners, gently petting the orange cat from the top of its head down its back. “Come on, let’s get you inside.” He carefully tried picking it up, hissing as the cat scratched at him in defense. Poor thing was all kinds of anxious. 

“Okay, new plan.” He opted to pick up the cardboard box the cat was abandoned in itself - it was drenched, but still had enough structure to at least be brought to his apartment. Leaving the umbrella behind, he brought the cat to his apartment, leaving the box on his small dining table. “I’ll be back,” he assured it before running back to fetch his umbrella - he didn’t exactly have the money to simply leave his things lying around the streets. 

He closed his door, his window, and turned back to the cat. His heart froze - it wasn’t in the box, where was it? “F*ck I left the door open and- oh.” 

There it was, curled up on his couch near the heater, looking around the apartment. 

Corym exhaled in relief, before taking a towel to dry himself from the rain dripping from his hair and clothes. After changing into a dry sweater, he carefully sat next to the cat, tentatively putting a hand on its back. 

“You’re safe here… you need a name, though.” 

The cat’s fur was a bright orange, with a few white patches here and there. It absolutely needed to be cleaned - he would ask someone who knew better for help. Even its eyes were a bright butterscotch color; it was a ball of light, it needed a fitting name. 

“Umbra?” Corym suggested, grinning at the irony. He had heard it in the presentation by that cute physicist, and searched the word later, finding an unexpected appreciation for the uncommon word for ‘shadow’. 

The cat looked at him then, and slowly stood, getting a little closer to Corym. It sniffed at him curiously before curling up again by his side, leaning its little head on his thigh. 

That was it - he became the father of a cat at that very moment. 

“Hey, Umbra… we need to go check everything is okay at the doctor tomorrow, okay? I’ll also ask them if you’re a girl or a boy, and make sure I have everything you need to be happy and healthy, okay cutie?” 

Umbra had fallen asleep, quietly purring. 

Corym’s heart warmed at the sight, and it didn’t take much longer for him to fall asleep on the couch, unable to stop smiling.