Very little noise was made as I walked on the cold cobble road. My head swivelled both left and right as I continued my hungry quest in search of food.

A certain brat had forced me to live through the day without breakfast. That brat was hopefully back in the office simmering quietly over all the lectures she was missing. Not that that did me any good, I was still hungry after all. The Nurse wouldn't share any lunch, Hannah wasn't allowed food for a while because of the effect of the medication.

It was just past midday and there was plenty of foot traffic on the streets of Kasper. I stuck to the sides, hugging the walls.

I couldn't beg for food. Whilst yes, I had the appearance of a cute cat, and surely this galaxy brain intellect of mine lent itself to my favour, however I was a black cat. I wasn't tabby or any other colour. I was that very specific colour of cat used to represent misfortune.

Letting myself get too close to pedestrians or stalls would usually result in a sudden kick or shouts for me to bugger off. That sort of thing made me wish I actually had the power to bring calamity down upon Kasper. All I wanted was food. Instead of throwing hands, throw hams!

I tried to stick to the more quiet parts of the city. With begging off the table I began to draw up other plans. If the city had declared me a menace, then a menace I would be. And I'd be the worst kind. The kind that picks on kids.

With night still far off, children were playing imaginary games out on the streets like 'knights and dragons', clashing wooden swords and dramatically throwing themselves about. They had been given pocket change by their guardians, or at least the lucky ones had, and told to fend for themselves for the day. Plenty of adults were still preparing for the harvest festival. The children who weren't helping out were the insufferable few their parents couldn't put up with.

In my mind, kids were impulsive buyers and loved snacks. This combination was ideal for a prospective hungry bully like myself. It's not like these kids were completely defenceless. By what half these kids claimed to have done in their heads, they were the greatest knights and dragon slayers this world have ever seen. If anything, my tale of stealing food from these formidable foes was worthy of being turned into an epic of its own.

Firstly, I scouted out my location for the ideal crime. It had to be near a vendor, somewhere where children played, and surrounded by either small alleys or with suburbs nearby. I preferred suburbs for the easy hiding spots under the garden hedges. Stray cats were also less prevalent here partially thanks to protective homeowners.

Alleys were the territory of other cats. They didn't seem keen on strangers as much as these humans seemed keen on black cats. Best to just avoid them. Humans after all, didn't have knives for nails.

Next after location came picking my targets. Best not to pick large groups. It was just common sense. A true predator had patience. Even if singling out a single kid took hours, I was willing to do it for the pay-off.

Finally I found my mark. A child probably around the age of seven had left the busier streets clutching a stick with meatballs skewered on it in a neat row. Her eyes turned left and right as she scanned nearby faces, distracted.

I stalked ever nearer, matching her pace and direction. I'd startle her, make her drop the stick, and then I'd run off with it. How devilishly devious. I kept attention to my surroundings. There was always a chance a variable out of my control could ruin the hunt.

And then the girl turned. I paused and she froze. We seemed to meet each others gazes. I was perhaps half a meter distance away. Whether she noticed me or not didn't mean much in the long run but I'd hoped to catch her completely off guard.

The girl lowered herself, took the stick away from her chest, and offered it towards me.

I hadn't expected that. This was not how this was supposed to go at all. I was supposed to be the big bad evil cat who stole off kids. I was supposed to get revenge.

I closed the distance and sniffed the outstretched stick just in case this was a prank and as I did so the girl quietly popped one of the meatballs off.

Now, I was not a friend of children. In my many years of life I'd learnt adults might chase me but it always felt like kids hunted me. So I wasn't totally at ease at this offering. It was not the first time a child had been pleasantly kind to me. But I certainly wasn't expecting any more of it.

This one had a long way to go before she could redeem her ilk.

“There you go, Mr Kitty.” She smiled sweetly. Okay, maybe not that long of a way then.

Well free food I guess. There was always the next kid to steal from. I could call it quits, but I had old grudges to settle. There may have been better ways to find food, but stealing off kids was the most fun.

Whilst I ate the girl decided to reach out her free hand to stroke my head. As her offering was sufficient, I ignored the feeling of being patronised by a child and let her carry on.

I was halfway through when more children busted onto the scene. Three boys and two girls. They looked older and ran up to the girl. “There you are Mili, Mum's been shouting at me! Where have you been?”

“Uh Kali, she's feeding a black cat. That's bad luck right?” Of course the second child slowed down cautiously as they approached, noticing me for perhaps the first time.

They began crowding around and soon I was encircled. This was a bad place to be. I would have left as soon as they turned up but it was difficult to shake off Mili's hand. Though Mili offered a token resistance her older siblings ignored her.

Some were carrying sticks which made painful memories bubble back to the surface. I genuinely hated kids. That's what all this was about. With their perplexing emotions and intents that seemed to change like the direction of the wind, they often caught me by total surprise. I couldn't get revenge, nor could one child be allowed to redeem her kith and kin in my eyes. They were frustrating.

As soon as I felt the strength of Mili's hand disappear I closed my mouth around the other half of the meatball and ran. I dashed out between Kali and Mili in the short window I had and in the direction of the suburbs, meatball clamped in my mouth.

“Hey it stole food!”

“Get it! Black cats are evil!”

The children behind me let out a warcry as they set off to give chase. It was a little disturbing how fast they gave into a desire for a fight. Having much longer legs and greater stamina, they'd win in a simple chase.

They only had two legs though and a lesser control over their centre of balance compared to me. Whilst they could catch up, I certainly could outmanoeuvre them.

And that's what I did. I ducked in and out of sight. Sprinting my way beneath parked wagons and around the walking paths of oncoming pedestrians. I put as many obstacles between me and them as possible. I took every opportunity to break line of sight and to reappear in an unexpected location if I had to.

If I could just dissuade them by making the chase as frustrating as possible, then they just might leave on their own. Was one black cat really worth it? I would have been flattered if they weren't being so unreasonable.

I just barely made it to the suburbs with the biggest kid, Kali, closing in on me. His head was filled with delusions of fighting a greater evil which was projected over the reality of what he was actually doing. I was no dragon, I looked just like a cat. And yet the malice he had given in to made me look like a worthy opponent.

How delusional and bored did this kid have to be? What sick pleasure did they harvest from my suffering? And yet they were fighting their cultural equivelent of an apocalypse harbinger. As the superstition would have them believe, if they didn't chase me away, Mili would be cursed.

All I needed was one opportunity to jump up over one of the waist height garden walls and into someone's garden. But in the open suburbs there weren't conveniently placed obstacles. It was clean streets with rows of trimmed trees with the odd fountain at every intersection. Kali and his minions were just a few steps behind. I'd need to grow that ever closing distance.

And then I learnt to never underestimate the reach of a wooden sword. Kali didn't get a square hit but it was enough to throw me off balance. The precious few moments I lost squaring myself back up were enough for one of his siblings, with a nasty look in their eye, to act.

To say I was tossed across the ground wouldn't do it credit. I was kicked. The force was that of a child's kick but even so the child seemed to put all the weight they possibly could into it. Charged fully with malicious intent it catapulted my small body.

The air was thrashed out of my lungs. I felt like I was going to throw back up everything I'd just eaten. The half a meatball rolled away from me after I lost grip of it. I continued to roll and slide along the ground until my back hit the wall.

It had thrown me off balance both mind and body. There was no way a child could land such a heavy hit on me. It must have been some sort of accident. No, they simply couldn't have. If they did, if this was really happening, then I was in dan-

“I almost grabbed its tail!” One shouted triumphantly.

“Let's surround it.” And with every additional voice came an additional vote in favour of cruelty. Had I just come across a particularly malicious group of children? Why was I even surprised this could happen? The hazy fog in my head turned red with frustration and anger.

I'd never been more sure that these children going to hurt me. When they were done, would I be able to walk? Would I be stuck here? Anxiously I waited for my questions to be answered.

“Stop it! Don't hurt the kitty!” A shriek sounded from the not too far distance.

“Ha ha, we got it! Take that monster!” They continued headless of the incoming wrath.

That was Mili, I was sure. Had I an ounce of pity to spare I would have given it. Ah the plight of the youngest sibling. To always be ignored no matter the situ-

“I SAID DON'T HURT THE KITTY!” Slam! Mili threw her entire body's weight into the back of Kali. She was small. Her figure didn't exactly look like that of Kasper's strongest woman. Whatever frustration had been building up in the belly of that little girl reared its head and was letting out a roar in the girl's chest.

“I can't believe this! Why are you always so mean!” Mili pushed Kali again. The older boy stumbled backwards a few steps under the ferocity of Mili's attack. “You never listen. Why does nobody ever listen to me?! You're all so mean I'm telling mum!”

This battle of oldest brother versus youngest sister gave me brief respite. Escape wouldn't be easy. I was surrounded. They loomed over me like little giants. Although their attention was divided between me and sibling battle, I could tell they were just saving me for later. And by later, they meant when the grew bored of watching the two fight over the next ten seconds. If I moved, I'd draw attention, so I watched hopeful of a miracle.

No graver threat could be made against another sibling other than 'I am telling mum'. Never in my life had I wished a little girl had the herculean strength to clobber all five of her older siblings and their friends.

“H-hey it's just a black cat-”

“Stop hurting my friends!” Mili screamed with such gusto it sent shivers down my spine. The other kids looked around warily, scared of attracting the attention of any nearby property owners.

There was something gratuitous in watching this despite my dire situation. I must have taken a heavier hit to the head than I thought. It was not like I could call a timeout- wait a second. A seed of an idea began to grow in my head.

Kali scowled and shouted back. “It's not my fault you're so stupid! All you do is whine and get lost. I never wanted a stupid little sister like you!”

Any further argument was cut short when from the other side of the garden wall they heard the angry nasal voice of an old man. The voice sounded like it belonged to the kind of guy who sat on his porch all day in a rocking chair just itching for a moment to yell at a child.

“Gosh darn kids, get out of 'ere garden before I grab yers by the ear and hurl yah out!”

“Uh oh, we better go.” One of the siblings sounded the alarm

The unseen man gave them no opportunity nor quarter as he continued to shout threats. “Is that Kali I 'ere? I'll tell ya mother ya been picking on ya sister again you snot-nosed brat!” He sounded like he was approaching from the garden. The kids looked to one another, their eyes meeting in agreement. They grabbed the red-faced Mili and scattered back down the street in a disorganised retreat, not even looking behind them to search for the owner of the voice.

They probably knew about as much as I knew about this character. They weren't sticking around to catch a glimpse of whoever it was shouting at them from the garden.

“Go go go!” They yelled and ran like dust on the wind.

As they disappeared, I could heave a sigh of relief. Hannah was supposed to be the one simmering with indignation today, not I.

Slowly, painfully, I dragged myself back up onto all four feet. Looking both left and right, searching for any more potential hazards, I recovered my strength quietly. The the half meatball had lost its appeal with my stomach churning from the beating.

“Darn kids.” I muttered under my breath. “Gonna ruin mah lilies.” Just like the kids, I never saw the old man. The old man after all, wasn't real.

~Break~

At a much more pained pace, I began making my way back to the Triolo. As far as I knew or cared, it was the safest place to be. At this time of day, most people were gone. Animals seemed to give the site a wide berth so there weren't any stray cats here either..

I almost got waylaid by a fat tabby cat when I crossed into his territory. He had a huge gang with him. He reminded my of the feline version of Kali's gang. I got out of there right away. It the one thing the tabby wanted. Unlike Kali, he had the decency not to kick someone whilst they were down.

Time crawled until the sun was beginning to set over the horizon. My snail's pace had only gotten me to the gate. My body ached all over but I willed myself onwards. In the end, it was only the kick that had done any real damage. Mili's timely entrance had saved me from a further beating.

The cathedral cast a large shadow over academy as the sun settled behind it. Eventually all would turn to darkness.

My eyes adjusted well to dim light. There was plenty of that. Torches flickered in the city behind me in a battle of dominance with twinkling stars in the sky. Some of the offices inside of the buildings were still occupied and so they too let out dim candlelight through the cracks in their shuttered windows.

I paused, rested a moment to take it all in, and then realised I had yet one more great trial ahead of me. How would I get inside if all the doors were closed? There was practically nobody coming in or out at this time of day. With a mixture of relief and despair, I noticed an open window.

This is gonna hurt, I assured myself. Without an ounce of catlike grace, I sprung up to the windowsill. I held back the ball of pain that had knotted itself uncomfortably high in my chest.

Geez this day sucked. First no breakfast, my caretaker destroying her arms, getting picked on by the nurse, being kicked in by a gang of children, getting into a scrap with a cat and a ginger one no less, and now this. I'd survived this far without snapping or losing my temper, I'd be damned if I lost it at the sight of an open window.

Positive thinking demanded that I appreciate someone was careless enough to leave this window open. A human could just about squeeze their way through. Actually that was quite infuriating. If anything it only frustrated me more. Not only were people stupid and unkind, they were also irresponsible

I swore then and there, if ever I got rid of the curse, I'd dutifully flay the fingers of every human to the bone.

I entered through the gap and into the dark hallway. I almost knocked over a potted plant inside after using it to soften my fall. Potted plants and cats were eternal enemies so I didn't feel the slightest guilt. Cursed cats included.

With most of the site's occupants vacated they hadn't left much in so far as light for the hallways. Most came either through moonlight or through cracks in doors to occupied rooms.

It felt unnaturally still here. During the day, the Triolo was a much busier place. It felt alive. Here at night in a place not even vermin dared touch, I felt like I was walking into trap. If I stayed still, I could imagine the only thing moving in this hallway being the breeze through the open window.

My eyesight meant that I didn't know true darkness. I'd even forgotten what true darkness looked like. The slightest light was enough to guide me. It wasn't actually as useful as it might sound. I didn't go out at night. It's not like I needed to hunt for food when Hannah was around.

So when I saw true darkness again, it stalled my mind. Like a miasma, it crept in like a dense unknowable fog.

I drew to a sudden halt. To me this darkness had definition. It wasn't darkness but blackness. There was a difference. Where darkness in my mind was the total absence of light, this blackness was something.

It was nebulous and only its silhouette could be made out. I couldn't accurately tell the distance between me and it besides it was not yet upon me. Its nebulous form shifted, folded in on itself, taking shape.

I couldn't take my eyes off it. Yet every instinct in my body screamed for me to ignore it. To refute it's existence. To deny it even an inch of ground in my mind. I couldn't, I mustn't, I was simply not allowed to accept the existence of whatever this was. This feeling grew and grew.

It had to be some sort of magic user. It just had to be. The breeze was going the wrong way to carry its scent. As it moved it made no noise. I couldn't hear even the slightest of distrubances.

The shivers that ran down my spine were not caused by an unnatural chill, but instead a feeling of warmth which reached me even though it travelling against the breeze coming from the window behind me.

And the nebulous form continued to take shape until it took an otherwise familiar silhouette of a humanoid if much much larger. It stood still at the end of the hallway, one hand placed near its side. I presumed it was moving its head, searching the corridors. As it moved its head, it lost its shape. When it stopped, the blackness once again settled to the shape a head.

What was it looking for? I inched my way to the cover of a small table. It was up against the wall and on its top was a miniature model of the cathedral itself.

No don't think about it. Don't accept it. Refute it.

And then it began pacing in my direction. With each step it lost more of its shape, as though shaking off its human disguise. Its nebulous blackness spread further and further across the corridor as it moved, creeping up and clinging to the walls, floor, and ceiling.

As it did so I lost sight of the hallway. It came so close I lost sight of even the table I hid beneath. It did not pass. To my horror when its wispy shadows retreated it was not because it had passed, but because it was now standing still before me.

No no no. This is against the rules. This is a real danger to my life. This isn't of mortal flesh and blood or the mundane product of this age. Go away, leave me alone. Don't be here. Not now.

Its feet were planted nearby, bent at an odd angle which I recognised as it crouching. A hand gripped the understander of the table and coming into view was its head.

I scrambled as far back as possible.

Leave leave leave leave leave leave leave.

A voice came from the opposite end of the corridor. “Hey, what the hell is that?!” It was the panicked voice of a middle aged man.

But the creature didn't stir.

I tried again, emulating the sound of a door opening and tried to make the two voices sound as though they were communicating. “Hey, who are you?! You're not allowed here.”

“Tresspass on the Triolo is-”

“Q̴̱̬͍͚̪̫̹̼̤́̈́̃̿̽́͐̃̏̿͘͝ư̸̥͎̻͙͚̓̒͛͊̂͒͘ę̶̨̖̳̝͓̯̱̝̆̌͜r̵͉̙͖̈́̋̈́̍̈́̅͌̑̾̚͠͝͝y̸͓̅̊̒͒͆̑͐͑̈́̍͠͝:̶̩̱̦̻͈̮̬́̑̔̾͝ ̴̟͉̭̭̞̙̪̞̞̼͉̥̤̝̱͆̾̚̚W̷̧͕̳̬̳̜̦̮͓̱͍͉̲͍͕̔h̸̙̲̪͚̳̯̟̝͍͔̩̮̏̿̀͊̓̈́͊͒͑̐͜y̸̨͇̞̲̼͓͚̦̫̫͚̻̳̞͒͗̇̎͒͗͋͛ ̷̯̟̠̦͖̪̫̱̌̿d̵̢̡̥͙̩͙̺̬̣̭͖̻̺̩̩͂̓̃͑́̀͊͊̎͝o̵̢̩̦̻̻̳͎̜͛̕͝͠ ̸̛̟̥̙̦̻̺̘̫̆̽̄͒̔̃͊͊y̷̧̡̛̪̼̖͎̼̬̠͈̩̱͈͛̍̏͒͌̃̈́̆̏̾̕͝ͅo̶͙͖̻̍ü̸̞̞͔̲͚̦̣͔͚̻̾͋̄̓̿̔̃̃ͅ ̷̮̝͖̪͕̂̒̂͂̅̀́̒͝h̶̡̨̛͇̰̰̪̙̖̗̖̻̯͕̰̼͐̍̂͛̈̑̔̓̐̒͝͝i̶̡͕͚̳̯̟͍̮̇͝d̸̡̢̧̢̧̻̻̟͙͖̙͍̯̝̈͌̈́̑͘͝͝ͅȩ̶̢̛̺̠̜̹̙͓͈͉̥̖̺̞͑͂̓͐̔̕?̴̼̩̞̜̦͇̤̦̤̜̮̖̠̘̹̑́̊̉”

My feeble attempts at misdirection were cut short as wordless sound gripped my psyche. Wordless, but I somehow understood its meaning.

No no no no, I cannot be dragged back into that world. If I do, it'll be over. They'll find me.

And then one of the office doors finally opened. Misdirection and frighting the creature wasn't my only goal.

As the door swung open. The entire corridor was freshly bathed in the light coming from a single gently burning flame kept aloft by a tower of wax on a candle holder. It was held by a dishevelled looking scholar. The candle in her hands did nothing to blow away the baggy darkness around the corner of her eyes.

“H-hello?” She looked both left and right along the corridor and saw nothing but emptiness.

It was as though the creature had never been there. In fact, the corridor felt like it had been liberated of an oppressing feeling I hadn't even been aware of until now.

What was I doing here? I wondered to myself quietly. I'd jumped down from the window, rolled off the table thanks to my graceless fall and ended up under here. The sound of me rattling the potted plant must have attracted her attention.

The scholar cast an anxious gaze back and forth, her eyes filled with confusion and worry. I crawled out from beneath the table. We met gazes, and she stared at me for far longer than I felt comfortable.

“A black cat.” She muttered beneath her breath taking a few unsteady steps back.

At which point I turned my head and bounded along the corridor. I was far beyond done with the level of crap that had been dished to me. When I reached the Nurse's office, I didn't even try and paw or scratch the door. I collapsed on the spot.