Saving the Defenseless (Victoria)

It was another night that Zander worked late meaning he didn't get to see Victoria under the morning as they planned to grab breakfast together before class. He was exhausted and he really wanted to see his girlfriend but it was well after midnight and he knew that she would be sleeping so he'd just be a man and wait. It had been around a month since he had asked her out but it was the best month thus far of his life.

The soft squeak was one that made him stop and as he turned her could see a small box with a kitten in it. The box sat on the door step of an old abandoned shop and there was only one kitten there. No other kittens or cats. Immediately Zander scooped up the little guy whose eyes were still closed and placed him in the front pocket of his hoodie, trying to keep him, or her since he didn't know the gender, warm.

The December wind was harsh and even more so now that that sun had long since gone down and the man just couldn't bare to know he had left a defenseless newborn kitten exposed to the elements and prey. On the way back to the Uni, he stopped at an all night market and bought some kitten replacement milk and an animal bottle so he could feed the poor kitten and mother it.

However, the man was still scared and distraught and several minutes later he found himself knocking on Victoria's door for help. The man refused to take it to the shelter, if anything he'd insist one of them keep it and nurse it, or they could take turns.

When she opened the door, he smiled a little at her sight. It was always nice to see her, no matter how late. However he remembered his dilemna and then he remembered the time. He had already been feeling distraught and now he was even more so. "Victoria, I woke you up," he said at the sudden realisation, "I'm so sorry." He instantly felt bad and decided this meeting could wait til morning.

As he started to turn around and let her go back to sleep, his feet held him there. He couldn't just leave her, not after waking her up. It was bad enough she was already worrying that he was okay. A frown in her direction, he reached into the front pocket of his hoodie where the soft squeaking had finally settled down. Pulling out the newborn abandoned kitten, it started squeaking again as it's head moved around. No doubt probably looking for warmth or food or even it's mother and siblings.

"The kitten," he whispered, "it's eyes aren't even open and it was abandoned, in a box outside." His eyes were sad as he spoke and cupped the creature in his hands trying to keep it warm. "It's eyes aren't even open yet," Zander's own eyes stung but he blinked back the tears, refusing to cry in front of Victoria because men didn't cry. "I bought kitten milk and a bottle, we just can't take it to the shelter."

Listening to her call out to him honestly made him feel worse but her face was priceless upon seeing the fluffy little kitten he held in his hands. He knew that Victoria loved animals, in fact it was one of the things they shared in common and it was equally both of their weaknesses. He felt like it was something he thought quite often, but seeing Victoria there in her pajamas with her hand over her mouth was adorable.

Suddenly, he felt hands on his back and felt Victoria gently pushing him into her room - in the middle of the night. Sure Zander wasn't like most boys in the case that he only wanted one thing but his mind drifted briefly to that one thing at the thought of being in her room this late and she only wearing pajamas. However, he shook that thought away because he was better than that and he respected Victoria and they would wait because she wanted to. When he snapped out of his thoughts, he could feel her thrusting a blanket into his arms as she insisted that he wrap the kitten up.

Zander did as she said and when she handed him the bottle, he fed it to the kitten, watching closely to make sure it didn't choke or drink too fast. The kitten took to the bottle quickly and was not willing to slow down but Zander wasn't heartless enough to pull it away so the kitten didn't drink too much too fast. The poor ting was starving. "But you need your sleep sweetheart," the man told her, his eyes looking up to connect with hers for a moment.

"In front of an old abandoned building on my walk home from work," he told her a bit thankful that he chose to walk and not apparate.

At the feeling of Victoria's lips on his cheek, he felt his face turning a bright red. "I just worry about you," he admitted, knowing he shouldn't worry too much about her because she could handle things on her own.

Gratefully, he took a seat in the chair she'd provided for him watching as she took a seat in her beanbag. He checked the kitten once more to make sure the kitten was wrapped up and wasn't choking on the milk. He could see in her face that she felt bad for the kitten, as did he. "Did you want to take turns feeding him?" He motioned down to the eating kitten.

"So am I," he said with sad eyes. He didn't want to think of the outcomes that came with not having found the kitten. He was glad to hear Victoria agree with him about not taking the kitten to a shelter. "That sounds like a great plan," he smiled at the girl.

"Agreed, but I think we should also find out if he is a he or possibly a she," Zander said, lifting the kitten up to try to tell before wrapping him back up and placing the bottle back in it's mouth.

Zander nodded, understandably. He didn't exactly want to disturb the kitten and cause him any distress, especially since they didn't know how long he'd been abandoned. He looked around a bit, never having actually been in Victoria's room before. He smiled a little as it was much better looking than his. The walls were the same colour but it was decorated very nicely. He could see pictures and personalisations she did to make it hers and he liked that.

Zander chuckled at her, "Two boys indeed." He was actually quite glad that they got it figured out that the kitten was a boy because it felt much better calling it a he as opposed to an it. He looked down at the tiny gray kitten and smiled. It was so adorable and he noticed that as it ate, it's little front paws kneaded on the blanket.

"I remember reading about a Hindu warrior named Bali," Zander told the girl, "maybe that could be a suitable name because of the kitten obvious survival skills." He smiled to her then back down to the kitten. "Or maybe Juno."