***
*Old Note*
April 26, 2005
My familiar almost blurted out everything in front of my family! Stupid cat, no fish for him for a whole week!!
But he's still angry at me because I left him at home that time… Maybe only one fish per day… maybe max two…
Keeping secrets is hard!
Your Friend
***
*Present Day*
Ilari woke up to a black-tipped silver tail tickling his nose. He glanced at the clock on his bedside table and groaned.
"Why are you waking me up this early?" he complained.
Alair huffed. "Kai is pacing outside your door. Maybe there's something wrong with his human?" he pointed out.
Alarmed, Ilari jumped up, threw on a dressing gown hurriedly and opened his door. Sure enough, the tiger was right outside. The big cat brightened visibly as soon as he saw Ilari. He didn't look as if something bad happened, though. Ilari breathed a sigh of relief.
"Good morning," Kai said gently – well, as gently as his rumbling voice would let him.
Ilari felt a twinge of envy. Look at this well-behaved tiger! So polite! When had his cat wished him so nicely in the morning? More often than not, he was either slapped awake with a black tipped silver tail or a soft silver paw or woke up with a mouthful of fur.
"Good morning, Kai," Ilari replied with a soft smile, feeling more and more fond of this obedient tiger. He rubbed the tiger's furry head and scratched his ears and under his chin – just like he did with Leo, Kenya and Kolya, and his Gramp's jaguar, Njall, when they visited. His family's big cats really enjoyed it and Kai, too, seemed to like it, going by his half-closed eyes and satisfied expression.
"Why are you up so early?" Alair snapped. "You woke us up!"
His lordship, the cat, was not a morning person, Ilari remembered. His human's nightmares seemed to be the only reason for an untimely wake-up call he was willing to accept without grumbling.
As the tiger bowed his head in an apology, Ilari couldn't resist reaching again towards his head to stroke the striped fur soothingly. He glared at the silver cat.
Before he could say anything, though, Kai's stomach rumbled loudly.
Ilari chuckled and Alair, startled out of his morning grumpiness, burst out laughing. Kai looked away, embarrassed. If tigers could blush, he'd be as red as a tomato now.
A warm, protective feeling surged up in Ilari's heart. How could he let such a darling of a big cat in his family go hungry? Especially when Kai was so well behaved and thoughtful that he waited outside Ilari's room instead of waking him up – if it had been Alair or any of his siblings' big cats, they'd have jumped on Ilari's bed and woken up the young human and pestered him until he agreed to cook for them.
"I'll make us some breakfast," Ilari offered with a smile. He made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen, yawning and stretching as he walked.
The two familiars looked at each other.
"Is your human awake?" Alair asked.
Kai nodded.
"Is something wrong with him?" the silver cat asked, narrowing his eyes at the big tiger.
Kai hesitated.
Alair sighed. "Go and accompany my human – you seem to be his new favourite. I'll fetch yours," he said.
"Thanks," Kai said gratefully and followed Ilari.
By the time Ilari finished making breakfast, he had four big cats, one small cat, one bird and one human waiting to be fed.
Kir had turned up with Alair on his shoulder halfway through and offered to help, but Ilari noted the dark bags under his fever-bright eyes and sent him off to the dining room immediately. Then, for good measure, he sent all the familiars (who had been lured to the kitchen by the aroma of his cooking) to keep an eye on the pale man.
Some time later, Ilari placed a bowl of soup in front of Kir. "Do you feel unwell?" he asked, touching the older man's forehead.
Kir blinked in surprise and then shook his head.
Ilari frowned. "You have a slight fever and look tired. Were you unable to sleep? Was your room uncomfortable? Should we change the bedding?" he asked anxiously.
"Stop fussing," Alair told his human before Kir could reply.
"I was just up late," Kir said sheepishly. "I found an interesting paper to read and lost track of time."
"Happens all the time," Kai chimed in.
Ilari tapped his chin thoughtfully. "What time do you need to be at work?" he asked.
"Noon," Kir replied.
Ilari poured him another bowl of soup and passed him a loaded plate. "Then eat up quickly and sleep for a couple of hours. I'll drive you to work on my way to the airport," he said. "What time do you get off?"
Kir thought for a moment. "I should be done by six today," he said.
"Great, then we can all have dinner together. My grandparents like to eat early, around seven. Is that ok for you?" Ilari asked, pulling out a notepad.
Kir nodded silently.
"Sanyi can pick up Kir and Kai in the evening," Leo suggested.
"Wouldn't that me too much trouble?" Kir asked. "I can come over with Kai myself…"
"Nonsense," Leo replied. "How can we leave you and young Kai alone when you are not feeling well, little Kir? Besides, Sanyi will be home for most of the day but he needs to head out for a meeting in the afternoon, so he'll be at your building anyway."
"Excellent," Ilari said, scribbling away.
"What are you doing?" Kir asked curiously.
"Making lists," Ilari replied absently. "I always make the first family dinner when we have a family gathering, so I need to plan the appetisers based on when everyone will come home, and pick up some fresh ingredients for the main course…"
Ilari didn't notice the indulgent laughter of all the familiars in the room and the soft light in Kir's golden eyes.