"No! I-Leah, how did you get in there?!" Adam gasped, trying shove her cat head back into the bag. Now that she was exposed, there was no reason for her to hide, as Adam would face the brunt of the consequence. She took all the time she could and wildly looked around, examining her surroundings as much as she could before she was manhandled back into the uncomfortable bag.
"I didn't mean to bring her, I didn't even know she was inside!" Adam desperately attempted to explain, "Get back in the damn bag!"
"You didn't notice a kitten inside of your bag. I'm… not very inclined to believe that," Violeta placed a pen to her lips, looking at Adam in an inquisitive way. She wasn't angry or confused, but rather, seemed much more intrigued than ever.
"I swear, there was no indication of her…" he trailed off, before smacking his face in disbelief, "Lucy tried to warn me."
"Lucy?" Violeta asked, leaning onto her desk.
"My sister, she-"
"Uh, actually we don't have that much time left. Please hurry your conversation… Madam Carlhart wants me to escort you out now," Kali smiled nervously, rubbing the back of her neck. Leah whipped her head around and squinted at her, as rudely as a cat could stare.
"Right. I have something I want to give you," Adam quickly pulled out a file from his bag, dusting off any car fur that might have gotten on it and handed it to her. It was the last item Adam put in his bag before Leah leaped inside.
"And this is…?"
"It's a choice," Adam smiled, before being ushered out by Kallista.
Leah caught a glimpse of the beautiful young girl one last time, right before the door shut. And for a split second, an expression of absolute shock crept into her face.
Now free to look around as she pleased, she whipped her head around to stare at Kallista, then back at Adam. It was like a game of ping pong, and she tried her damnedest to keep an eye on both of them. They were both acting rather suspicious, especially with his odd file and her staring directly at her.
Adam sighed deeply. "I have no idea how this cat got inside my bag, no less managed to stay undetected the entire trip here."
"Ahaha… that's understandable… I didn't even notice the cat while we were walking either!" Kali smiled.
That felt like an obvious lie by Kali. She was staring down the bag as if bomb was spray painted right on top of it.
"Wow, what a cute kitty…" Kali smiled, looking at Leah with her hands folded behind her back. She leaned forward a bit, trying to get a better look at the kitten.
"What did you say her name was? Lilith?"
Leah froze. There was no way that was coincidental. She could not have accidentally said her past name. There was something going on with Kallista.
"Kssss!" She hissed angrily, baring her teeth at the girl. But she seemed entirely unaffected by her violent behavior.
"Hey, cut that out! She just got your name wrong!" Adam snapped, flicking her head. Leah stopped immediately and began to sulk. She couldn't be overly vicious. "It's Leah."
"Leah? Hm… what a fitting name!"
Man, did she want to sink her claws right into that suspicious little face of hers. There was no way she didn't know about what had happened to her, and she was dangling such information like a piece of meat on a thread.
Kali grinned from ear to ear. It seemed as though she wanted to tease the poor kitty more, work it up and watch her thrash around in anger.
"I mean, it's no wonder she wanted to come with. You know the saying, 'Curiosity kills the cat!'" Kali perked up, clasping her hands together.
Adam stared at her in shock. Kali quickly frowned, backtracking, "No! I meant cats like to explore! She's not going to die if you keep her in the house though!"
He had a small sigh of relief before slightly blushing in embarrassment. Of course cats don't die from something so minuscule.
"I think it would be best if you let her roam around at night, though. I see some cat owners do that in movies and stuff! Though, they do kind of almost get killed…" she trailed off.
'Are you trying to help me, or keep me caged up?!' Leah winced mentally.
"I don't think it's safe to have her out at night, I think it's actually pretty dangerous," Adam replied.
"How about day?"
He briefly glanced over at Kali before staring out of the large glass windows. "Maybe."
Kali grinned at Leah once more. Leah felt… less inclined to harm her, but she didn't seem any less suspicious.
'Damn this cat body!' she internally raged. 'If only I had any means of communication…'
The three of them finally made it back out of the main entrance, where Leah could finally have a good look at her surroundings. It was larger than she originally remembered. It was something not quite their era, in fact, it seemed as if phones or laptops had never even been inside this mansion. The ceilings stretched out above her, unnecessarily high. Two staircases descended down into the center corridor, where a large cylindrical fish tank sat, something she didn't see before. Stretching from the floor to the ceiling, it held various types of fish, of all sizes and colors, most exotic and gorgeous. Like a sore thumb, it didn't fit in with the rest of the household. Where everything else was a beautiful scarlet red, or white quartz with golden finishing, the fish tank was a dazzling blue and gleaming with different colors.
"Ah, you and your cat seem to have taken a liking to the fish tank," Kali noted, nodding at the both of us.
"Liking wouldn't quite be the word," Adam muttered, squinting at the atrocity. "It's just… here."
"I think everyone asks the same question when they first enter the mansion. I know I did," Kali chuckled, "An eyesore, everyone called it. But Madam Carlhart supposedly placed in here before she had Violeta. Placed all types of colorful fish inside the tank."
Leah already knew what was coming next. People like Carlhart, no, mothers like Carlhart disgusted her.
"She wished for a child with beautiful colors."
The three of them awkwardly stood there, staring at the tank.
"But she turned out gray," Adam added.
Kali turned on her heel and began walking towards the exit, "It's ironic for Violeta. Tragic, really."
Adam followed Kali out of the mansion. Leah looked back, observing the small fishes swim inside the tank, oblivious to the outside world. They don't belong there.