The cat looked up at her, blinking slowly. "I'm your familiar, of course. You created me, after all."
The words sent a jolt through Selena's system. Familiar? Created? Her thoughts raced as she processed what the cat had said.
She knew the old Selena had dabbled in dark magic—enough to make her reputation infamous—but a familiar? That was advanced magic, the kind that required a level of skill and power she couldn't imagine having, even in this borrowed body.
"Wh-what?" Selena managed to utter a single word. But that was it, nothing else would come out of her!
"Meow?" The cat purred in a questioning tone.
Selena groaned, running a hand through her hair. "Okay, let's say I believe you for a second. What am I supposed to feed you? And why were you stuck in the diary?"
The cat yawned, revealing tiny sharp teeth, and stretched its legs. "Just a bit of your blood will do."
The room felt unnaturally still as Selena stared at the black cat lounging on her bed. It was the picture of relaxation, its tail swishing lazily as its golden eyes studied her. Selena, on the other hand, was anything but relaxed.
"My blood?" she repeated, her voice sharp with disbelief.
The cat purred in agreement, its golden eyes glinting with an almost mischievous light. "Who else's if not yours, master?" it asked smoothly, its voice dripping with an eerie calmness.
Selena stared at it, her thoughts racing. The situation was bizarre enough—a talking cat leaping out of a cursed diary—but now it wanted her blood?
Her first instinct was to refuse outright, to toss the cat out of her room and lock the door behind it. But she hesitated. This creature knew things about the old Selena, things she desperately needed to learn.
The story she remembered from her past life was no longer enough to navigate this world. The memories she had inherited from the old Selena were limited—barely a fragment of the complex and dangerous life the villainess had lived. If this cat could fill in the gaps, it could provide her with an edge...
Selena sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Okay," she said slowly, her voice steady despite the unease gnawing at her.
"Why do you need my blood?"
The cat yawned, showing off its tiny sharp teeth, and stretched its legs languidly. "I've been trapped in that diary for a long time, master," it explained. "Your blood will restore my strength."
With all these questions she was asking, Selena was sure that the cat would figure out that she was the real Selena... Would the cat stay loyal to her or turn against her... She was not its master but she did possess its master's body.
After a long pause, Selena took a deep breath. "Fine," she said, holding out her hand. "But only a little."
The cat's eyes gleamed with satisfaction, and it padded over to her, its movements graceful and deliberate. It sat at her feet and looked up at her expectantly.
"Are you sure about this?" she muttered under her breath, more to herself than to the cat.
"Positive," the cat replied, its voice calm and reassuring.
Selena swallowed hard, her pulse quickening as she extended her hand further. The cat rose onto its hind legs, gently placing its front paws on her wrist. Its claws didn't dig in, but the touch sent a shiver down her spine.
"Just a nip," it said, opening its mouth and lightly grazing her skin with its teeth.
Selena winced as the sharp points broke the surface, a tiny bead of blood welling up. The cat licked it delicately, its tongue warm and surprisingly soft.
The sensation was oddly intimate, like a binding of sorts, and Selena couldn't shake the feeling that she had just crossed a line she couldn't uncross.
"That's enough," she said quickly, pulling her hand back.
The cat sat back on its haunches, licking its lips with an air of contentment. "Perfect," it purred, its voice carrying a hint of satisfaction. "I can feel my strength returning already."
Selena examined the tiny bite mark on her hand, her unease growing. "That wasn't just about feeding you, was it?" she asked, her voice laced with suspicion.
The cat's golden eyes met hers, and for a moment, she thought she saw something ancient and knowing in their depths. "Of course not," it admitted. "I had a sneaking suspicion that you were not my master... And now that I tasted your blood, I can confirm it."
Selena's heart raced... The blood confirmed it? But she possessed Selena's body! The blood should stay the same right?! What was she doing? Trying to find logic in a world where magic existed was foolish.
Selena sat cross-legged on her bed, the black cat curled on her lap as it purred softly. Despite its relaxed demeanor, the air between them was heavy with unspoken tension. She stroked the cat absentmindedly, her mind a whirlwind of thoughts and questions.
"You said my blood confirmed I'm not the old Selena," she began cautiously. "Then you must know something about her, about why she... Why she did what she did. Why dark magic?"
The cat blinked lazily, then yawned, its sharp teeth glinting in the candlelight. "Master—or rather, the one who created me—was a complex individual. Her choices weren't as simple as right or wrong. But before I answer your question, tell me: who are you? Where do you come from?"
Selena's heart raced. She knew the cat was intelligent—far more than a typical animal—but she hadn't expected it to interrogate her. Could she trust it? Likely not, at least not yet. Its loyalty was to the old Selena, not her.
"I don't know how I got here," Selena replied, keeping her voice even. "And I don't know where the old Selena went. It's all... Confusing."
It wasn't a lie. She genuinely had no idea how her transmigration into Selena's body had occurred, nor did she know where the original villainess had gone. Perhaps the cat would accept her vagueness.