Seattle Seapony

by dNihil

[1-4] Nextdoor

...Gone on vacation. Who would stay home during a flood?

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Cala dug through the refrigerator. She looked for something to eat but nothing appealed to her. It was packed full of the kind of junk that just accumulates over years of living. In the door were bottles of condiments and boring old butter. There were also drawers filled with vegetables and fruit; yuck! Various foodstuffs lay before her, a large assortment of goods and yet she didn't want any of it. She stared at the leftover beef stroganoff from last night, sitting next to the milk on the bottom shelf. It was one of her favorite meals, actually. She enjoyed it every time it was made, last night no exception, and even packed leftovers for lunch on occasion. Maybe she just wasn't feeling it because it wasn't really a breakfast food. She sighed and pulled it out, letting the fridge door slowly shut.

She looked at the microwave. She looked up at the microwave. She looked way up near the ceiling where the microwave was suspended above the stove. She looked down at the plastic-wrapped bowl of noodles.

She grabbed it with her fins, tore off the plastic with her teeth and took a bite. It tasted bland, even for how cold it was. She kept eating.

The sound of a cat's wailing ripped through the flat.

Cala dropped the bowl in the water. She didn't like it, anyways, so she left it and decided to go investigate. She paddled over to the apartment door and looked up at the handle. It was locked. She had to stand upright on her tail and stick out her tongue to twist the switch that locked the door. She fell over, then, and made quite the splash.

She reached up and turned the doorknob. It was difficult to pull this door open; not only was it heavier, but it was also blocking the water. As soon as it had opened a crack, water started rushing out into the hallway. She pulled harder at it still. It swung open and a lot of water started rushing out of the room. After a minute the flow had evened out enough that most of the hallway had slick carpet. She crawled into and examined the hall. She could see six doors, including her own. On one end there was an elevator and at the other end the hallway turned right.

The sound came again, a begging call. Cala wiggled her way down the hall towards a door near the corner. This was her friend's place. She had visited a few times before, and fondly recalled meeting their cat once. It was an orange tabby. Friendly. She reached up.

This door was locked, too.

Cala screamed her frustration and banged on the door. Another call from inside. She looked around, searching for something to help her. Everything was pretty bland in this building. There were lights and a window. Bare white walls and doors all over. Beige carpeting. No magically appearing keys.

She went to try the other doors. She pulled the handle of the door just across from the cat door. Wouldn't budge. She went back down to the door across from her own. It opened up to her tail's command.

The inside of this room was horribly messy. The light was dim, filtering in from a curtained window. There were boxes in the corners, and rags and clothing covered the floor. She could barely see how stained the floor was. The walls were dented in places and covered in muck. But, perhaps worse of all: a terrible, reeking smell came from the bed. Cala didn't recognize it and didn't want to go near it.

She went around the outside of the room until she found something that sparked at her imagination. There was a ventilation grate in the floor. The cat called out again and, putting her ear up to the vent, she could hear the echoes.

She licked her lips and got herself ready for a challenge.

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"Meow!"

"Why hello kitty-kitty! Hi!"

"Mreow." A cat looked at her from the other side of a plate of thin metal bars.

"Who's a cute little kitty-kitty? Who?!" Cala lay smooshed in a vent, cooing at the cat she saw.

"Meooow!" he said.

"Okay. Really, though, cat. I'm stoopid. I'm trapped in here now."

He purred and licked at one corner of the vent cover.

"Could you. Can you help me?" The cat looked at her for a moment, then reached up with a paw, pulling off the grate. He leaned in and nuzzled Cala's face, getting a patch of his fur slimy.

This cat was smart. This cat was super smart and super deft and it obviously wasn't a normal cat.

"You are such a smart kitty-kitty! You're a super cat!" Cala resumed cooing. Then she fell out of the vent, flopping onto the floor. She whined as the rough, hard, dry carpet of the building reminded her that it hadn't stopped existing.

↷

Cala happily munched on dry cat food next to her new best friend.

After another exhausting trial of crawling toward a door over the evil, unforgiving carpet, Cala was able to make the water flow into the neighbor's living room. Nobody was awake yet — or else they were staying in their rooms and ignoring the sounds coming from outside — so she decided to feed their cat herself. She was trying to pour the food into the dish, but the container was unwieldy and she had to hold it with both her tail and her mouth. She accidentally got some in her mouth.

It was delicious.

She didn't know if it was the strange brand of food their neighbors used or something else, but this was much better than any cat food she'd tried before. That... not to say that she had. Actually. She just, didn't expect that it would taste this good.

They finished up their meal, the cat yawning and Cala with a satisfied belch. The cat went off somewhere and she was left sitting in an unfamiliar room, alone with nothing to do.

Cala looked at the open door. She could leave now and come back later with no hassle. So that she did, and she went to her room to find something to do today.

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Comments

[dNihil]

Well this chapter was ridiculous. First bit of filler content. Don't worry, the next two chapters at least will be more story again.

[Lord Of Dorkness]

Oh, somebody's a piscivore now, aren't they?

Makes sense for an aquatic sub-species.