The sky was painted red.

The sun was setting as the day came to an end. Or perhaps start. I much prefer the night life. Granted, I rarely wander out of my own abode, temporary or not.

I heard a clatter as my roommate jerked awake after sleeping on her work desk. It was cluttered with who knows what.

Various jars of strange specimen and piles of parchment scattered across her desk in what I would have assumed to be an unorganized mess, but she can always whatever she needs easily enough, so there’s probably some semblance of organization to it.

That, or the instincts of a slob.

“Aaah~hn,” she yawned. After rubbing her eyes under her glasses, she glanced out the window I was sunbathing beside.

“Heeeh… It’s already evening. Dinner… Do we even have anything? Eh, let's skip it.”

“Speak for yourself. I want food.”

“Just go out and hunt something. You can fish right? I mean, you kinda just wandered in here and stuck around, so you must’ve hunted for yourself before.”

“The only reason I stuck around is for the free food.”

I raised my head slightly and stared at her deadpan. She was the one that lured me over with food anyhow.

“Geeeeeeeez! I gave you food, gave you speech, and a roof over your head, and yet here you are! Threatening to leave because I don’t feed you!

“You better be glad I’m so gosh darn lonely!”

“Yep. Praise depression.”

She gave me a look, before making a show of stomping into the kitchen.

“Why do I deal with you.”

“You answered yourself seconds ago.”

I got up, and leaped down to fetch my food.

“Shut up!”

She slammed my plate onto the table, and flopped down on a chair.

Listening to her request, for now, I leaped up to the table using her lap as a step and promptly began munching down. Not bad.

I heard a sigh behind me.

“Where’s your hunting instincts? Aren’t cats supposed to have that?”

“I happened to prefer being lazy.”

“Geez, I sure lucked out.”

“Yeah, seeing how I’m not so lazy as to ignore you entirely.”

“A cat who responds with nothing but snide remarks…” She drooped her head onto her hands, before shaking it back and forth.

“Better than meowing all the time, seeing how you were the one that gave me human speech.”

“Shaaadduuuup.”

“Pronounce your words properly.”

“No!”

I heard another sigh behind me as I licked the plate clean.

“Make fish next time.”

“Your favourite tilapia, Tilapia?”

“...I will never get over your naming sense.”

“Hey! It’s not that bad!”

“Sarah, you named me Tilapia because I like tilapia. It’s pretty bad.”

“I could’ve named you Cat! Or Bat! It could have been worse!”

“It could have been worse. You could have come up with worse. You couldn’t have come up with better.”

“Just take your nap like you always do!”

“Ehh, I feel like talking a walk today.”

“...You couldn’t have felt like that earlier? Before I fed you?”

“It’s for digestion.”

“When do you ever go for a walk after eating!? Actually, does that even help with digestion? For cats, anyways.”

“Who knows, but I’m in the mood for it.”

“Yeah, yeah, do whatever you want. That’s all you ever do anyways.”

“Indeed. Then, later.”

She shooed me off with a several flips of her wrist, and I leapt down the table.

As I was about to slip out the door, I heard her call out, “Oh! While you’re out there, catch some geckos if you see any!”

I meowed in response.