The sleeping cat

Samael loved his Monday power classes. The teacher, understanding of the fact that he had lived on the Island all his life, with both parents graduates of the Academy, let him do as he pleased for the first hour of what always turned out to be a very busy week, as long as he did all of his assignments on time, which he always did. Writing essays and doing research on the history of his parent's bloodlines was a small payment for a blessing that was an hour of extra sleep on Monday morning. He always listened to the introduction, though, out of simple curtsey, shifting into his cat form as soon as the woman would stop speaking, partly for the sake of looking like he was doing something, but mostly for the sake of feeling his muscles twitch and bones shift. The lynx always came naturally to him, ever since he was six and turned for the first time while chasing his tinny, four-year old brother around their father's bar. And even though he could always feel the tiger sitting somewhere in the back of his mind, its body sleek, and much more powerful than that of a smaller lynx, he never chose the pain of his second shift over the smooth transition towards the smaller cat, his body light, and fast as he padded towards his usual sleeping place with silent steps. He dogged around the other students, who were now running and doing the stretching exercises, the first ten minutes of each power class being not so different from gym in order to weak up those who were somewhat heavier sleepers. He got a few curious looks from the newer students, and a few pats on the head from some of his friends, before he reached the quiet corner he had claimed as his. Sometimes, he wondered why the floor wasn't spotting an imprinted shape of his body yet.

Samael woke slowly from his morning sleep, his internal clock giving him a quiet warning that his hour of additional rest was almost over, and found himself surprised by the soft feeling of fingers threading through his fur and what to him seemed as a young girl's voice whispering something to his ear. Not fully awake yet, he could not make out the words, but that didn't stop him from letting himself sink deeper into the peace that the quiet voice and the soft touch brought him. He hadn't been petted like that for a while, having spent most of the semester at school and away from his family. The time he spent there, working at the bar, or helping his mother prepare the Sunday lunch didn't allow for the much quiet petting time.

Thus, he had allowed himself to simply lie there, enjoying the feeling, even though he didn't know who it was that was petting him. He didn't think that it mattered much though, at least not now, when he was still half-asleep, his throat producing a happy purr every now and then without his consent. His clock soon told him though that he had less than twenty five minutes until the end of the class now though, and he thus proceeded to make himself wake up, stretching his back, and flexing his claws. Once he was awake, he turned around to see who it was that had kept him company for the last half an hours or so, presumably.

It was a girl, just like he had thought, young, he thought, or at least younger than him. What was she doing there during the college third-year's power class? Probably skipping, for she was definitely supposed to be somewhere else, her own class for example. Bumping his head against her shoulder as a thanks, he ran a big circle around her to make his sleeping muscle wake up as well, before he turned back into his human form, looking, now, down at the pale girl.

Not that I'm not grateful he said, glancing quickly over his shoulder to see what was the teacher and the rest of his class up to but shouldn't you really be somewhere else? he asked, focusing on her in the end.

It doesn't matter. he said, still with a slight frown on his face, immune to both pouting and harsh words after almost two decades of dealing with a similar brat at home, some of which was still going on, even though his brother was (almost a) grown up now.

You shouldn't have skipped in the first place. he added, scolding her, but not in an overly harsh way, for even though he now knew, and firmly believed, that nothing came out of things such as skipping class and breaking the school rules, he still remembered being there where the girl was now himself: in the rebellious phase. That didn't mean though that he was just going to let her go.

Free period or not. he added as well, for he knew that students sometimes liked to make longer breaks by skipping the class before or after their free time. True. he said then, when the girl said that there were better things to do, for he himself also liked to laze around sometimes, or go for a run through the woods. But responsibilities come first, and that means school. he said, also something that he frequently repeated to his little brother once he had gone through the rule breaking phase himself.

And while I'm glad you think I'm cute, he said, finally smiling at the girl, I must say I'm not really all that old. he laughed, shaking his head. I'm just twenty-one. My name is Samael. he introduced himself, offering her his hand.

Samael laugh, bowing back shallowly to the girl, before straightening his back with a sigh. Tiring as it may be, it is also necessary. he said, looking down at the girl with a stern glare. For aren't you, in the end, here to learn? You cannot do that if you are skipping all your classes and avoiding your responsibilities simply because there are 'better things to do'. he said, shaking his head. It was so obviously simple, yet, somehow, children never seemed to be able to grasp it: do what you have to now, and what you wish later, for there is, usually, he allowed himself to admit, some sense to the things you had to do. Like classes.

I know that they are boring sometimes. he said, trying to keep his voice calm and understanding, so he wouldn't turn a conversation into a lecture, for he didn't really know the girl, and had no business correcting her behaviour except for his guilty conscious. Most people feel like that, myself included. But, if you wish to learn anything, you must take them. It's that simple. he said, giving her a small smile, before looking quickly over his shoulder, to find his class doing the end of the class exercises. He probably had about ten to fifteen minutes more.