No sooner had Rick stepped out of the bus that he jumped in shook. The whole structure had shuddered with a metallic groan at something landing on top of it. Some of the people inside let out shrieks and cries. A few rushed out, Rick moving further away from the vehicle, wanting to get distance and avoid a potential threat. The chemistry teacher twisted around to check out whatever had made the racket.

It had been none other than the white-haired woman.

She’d hopped onto the upturned chassis. Her scrutinizing gaze was keenly focused upon the dead vehicle, sniffing it and scrunching up her nose in revulsion, turning to the side and continuing her inspection, moving towards the front wheels. Her focus shifted entirely onto the piece of rubber. She poked it with a claw tipped finger.

Rick’s eyes widened. “No!”

Her head jerked at attention to him just as her claw dug into the wheel a bit more deeply, as if it were no more than half-melted butter.

PAF

The tire let out the pressurized air with a bang.

Startled, the woman had taken a step back and then roared at the bus. The sound made Rick’s blood curdle and his feet root into the ground. In the blink of an eye, she’d shredded not just the offending remains of the tire, but had also twisted the axle with a clean punch. The feline woman looked no less gentle when she punched down against the vehicle’s frame twice more, as if to make sure it’d learned its lesson.

The metal whined and bent from each jolt. Rick could hear more shrieks from inside the bus’s remnants. his eyes could not be any larger. With each display of power, he could do nothing but stand in awe.

With a snort and a hiss, she hopped off of the bus, lightly kicking it in irritation as she stepped onto the ground. With a shake of her head, her eyes turned to Rick, and her mood instantly improved. Her gaze twinkled with a hidden smile. The feline woman approached with just three bounding steps. The human tensed, shifting his gaze downwards, doing his best to avoid eye-contact. Things felt different from the previous night. The danger was there, but there was an almost familiarity to the way she moved that had lost its threatening edge. This close, now with the presence of daylight? Her complete absence of clothing made it impossible not to notice her every curve, the white scars littering her honeyed skin, the imposing, powerful athletic physique, and the gravitas of her femininity.

But he had just witnessed her shredding a chunk of metal meant from a bus. Right now, the only emotion within him was distress.

“Mrow,” she declared, her closed hand bumping his shoulder.

Rick paused, peering up at her. What did she mean? She bumped his shoulder again- softly, yet with enough force to shake him. The young teacher noticed it was the strap of the knapsack. A quick nod. “Chocolate?”

There was little to be gained from taking the risk. He moved with deliberate patience to make it easy for her to read his every move. He pulled the backpack, opening it up, and drawing out the bag of chocolates. The woman smiled instantly, purring. A hungry smile emerged on her face, beaming from ear to ear. It made Rick want to chuckle as he broke off some for her. He’d been about to slip it into her paws when he saw the traces of oil marring her fur.

Not having any wish to risk finding out whether she’d be happy to have motor oil on her meal or not, he held the piece between his fingers and presented it. His heart pumped hard against his ribs. The image of missing fingers was vivid, and one he didn’t want to make a reality. And at the same time, last night she’d proved uninterested in needlessly harming him.

With a brief pause, she leaned forward, trapping the chunk in her mouth and licking his fingers as she gingerly extracted it from his grasp. The woman purred contentedly, the smile widening ever so slightly as she chewed on the candy. “Chuocrrr,” she murmured, parting her pink lips again and suckling on them.

It was with a sense of startled wonder that Rick stared at her. Had she just tried to talk? His brain rushed through the possibilities. If she could speak and learn words, then… then…! No, he froze- no, he shouldn’t rush. Patience, he’d earned a fraction of her attention, maybe even trust. Who knew what might come afterwards? He couldn’t even guarantee she wouldn’t kill him the moment he ran out of the delicious treat.

With a brief nod, he took another piece and offered it to her. The woman repeated the process, suckling on his digits, the rumbling sound that came from within her chest no different from an idle chainsaw waiting to be revved.

The young teacher nodded. “Rick. My name is Rick.” He held his palm against his chest. “Rick.”

“Mriw?” She pushed her hand against his pectoral. It was a slight push, not even an effort on her part. But it carried the strength to force him a step back. It was like trying to stop a train.

The woman smiled a bit more widely and chuckled as he yelped. The expression was short-lived. She noticed the oil on her paws that had stained his shirt. With a frown and a pout, she turned around and walked off, her tail swishing and her hips swaying to an unheard rhythm. The change of behavior left the human feeling equal parts confused and vexed. Rick closed up the bag and made a mental note to ask for as much of the treat as the others could offer. At least the candy looked like a shortcut towards having her attention and good mood.

“Seems she marked you, huh?” Kat commented as she stepped out of the bus.

The young woman’s hair was a dirty blond that was half-haphazardly tied into a messy ponytail that had more hair haplessly left outside than within. Her jacket hung loosely from her small frame, and amusement danced across her face. There was a light giggle to her tone of voice as she pointed at his shirt. It took the young teacher a moment to realize what exactly she was talking about. Looking down, he saw the feline’s grease stained paw had left a dark paw-shaped stain on his shirt. A little sigh escaped him, but he kept from commenting about it.

His attention turned back to the feline. Said creature had quickly started rubbing her paws against some tree-bark in frustration. “Are we ready?” He looked at the others. “I only need to get some food and chocolate, and hopefully she’ll tag along.”

“Do you have any idea where we’re going to?” Mr. Gabriel arched a brow.

“I thought about it for a while. The best direction is likely the one she came from. It’s the fuck away from the spider, and she’d be likelier to follow since she likely lives over wherever that leads to.” A slight sigh escaped him. “There also might be water in that direction since, well, I’m hoping her place of residence was in that direction.”

“Some felines can survive for long periods of time without needing a direct source of water since they can absorb most of the moisture they might need out of their prey.” Tomas had approached, nodding once as he’d unleashed the factoid their way. “We don’t know how she… works, we might not find drinkable water.”

“North is still the better option, I’d say.” Mr. Gabriel shrugged.

Rick looked at the older man. “North?”

“Sun set in that direction.” He pointed at some of the trees. “Unless the planet doesn’t work properly, then that’s north.” He then pointed in the direction the feline woman had come from.

The young teacher nodded as he rubbed his chin in thought. He had doubts of whether to bring Mr. Gabriel or not. The man was looking rather close to his sixties. Still… it seemed he might know a thing or four. “North it is.” Better someone with an idea than someone without.

“Now we only need to convince the big pussy about it.” Kat grimaced, making a gagging sound. “Ok, that was bad, even for me. She needs a name.”

“Does she have one?” Tomas looked at her in surprise.

“If she does, I don’t know it,” Rick declared.

“You’re her handler and don’t know her name? Shame on you, Rick.”

“Handler? What!?” He turned to the young woman in full, scowling. “What part of anything so far looks like I’m her ‘handler’?”

“You’re the one who spent the night all nice and warm, cuddled with her. I figure that’s as close to a certification as you’ll ever need.”

“As good a reasoning as any.” Mr. Gabriel shrugged.

“That settles that, you’re the official cat-interpreter. First duty is to give her a name since ‘cat-lady’ is a shitty name to use.”

Rick wanted to roll his eyes and groan.