Risking one’s life to save a kitten’s was not something Austin ever thought he would do. He is scared of heights. But that doesn’t stop him from climbing the closest tree next to an apartment building with smoke and flames coming out the top. All to rescue the little orange kitten sitting in the third story window, meowing. It didn’t seem to be in any particular distress but the building was evacuated and no one know who lived in that apartment and no one was allowed back in; hence the climbing of the tree with the crow bar in his back pocket. His intention was to break the window, stuff the cat in his jacket, and shimmy back down the tree. Kittens are not cooperative when windows have been smashed and strangers are trying to grab them. But that didn’t stop the lanky man from making the grab for the small orange ball of fur. It dodged him and he screamed as he nearly lost his balance. He scooted a bit closer to the burning building and grabbed at the kitten again. He managed to get a hold on the nape of its neck. Sighing in relief, he stuck it in his jacket pocket and clumsily shimmied down the tree.

Once his feet were on solid ground, he looked around. There were a lot of people standing outside of the flaming building; the police had finally organized themselves enough to start pushing the people back. Some of the people were crying, some were watching in shock, and there were a few sick bastards who seemed to be enjoying it. Austin took the kitten from his pocket and cradled it to his chest. He looked around for someone who may be the owner of the small kitten, but it’s not exactly easy to tell who may or may not be missing a kitten from a glance. ‘My kitten is still in there!’ isn’t exactly something one screams either. The man sighed softly and looked around as he stood at the side of the crowd. Everyone kind of blurred together, they all looked the same to him. His bright brown eyes stopped as he noticed bright orange hair. He had never seen someone with red hair that orange. Well, besides Ron Weasley and Ed Sheeran. The red haired man’s face was twisted in despair. He was handsome, but Austin was sure he would look ever more so with a smile on his face.

Austin’s thoughts were disrupted when there was a loud crashing. His head snapped to his right, his body turning with his head as he took in the building collapsing in on itself. People screamed as their homes were destroyed. Sadness washed over the young man, his heart breaking as if it were his own home that had been lost. Austin had always been empathetic towards other people and he always did all he could to help. Today, however, there wasn’t much he could do. He would love to offer everyone there a place to stay at his own apartment, but he doubted his landlord would appreciate that, and he just didn’t have the money to give to anyone to stay at a hotel. Austin looked down at the kitten in his arms and decided that this small kitten was the only thing he could help today. He found himself scanning the crowd for the orange haired man, but he must have been lost in the sea of people. The tattooed man sighed sadly once more and turned away from the crowd, making his way home.

Upon arriving at his apartment, the man went into his kitchen and set the kitten down on the tile. The poor thing must be hungry or thirsty. Austin didn’t have any animal food, but he supposed the kitten wouldn’t be opposed to some warm milk. He poured a little bit of milk in a saucer and stuck it in his shitty microwave for fifteen second. He made sure the milk was only luke warm before setting it on the floor next to the kitten. The kitten sniffed it, and then mewed as if to say thank you, before lapping up the milk. Austin smiled warmly at the kitten, leaning down to pet it. It had on a red collar, but no identification tags. When the kitten had its fill Austin got ready for bed and laid down, the kitten curling up against his neck, purring softly. He had to admit, he was already getting a little attached to the kitten. Regardless of how much he liked the small cat, he was going to make fliers tomorrow and post them around town in hopes of reuniting the kitten with its owner. He shut his eyes; the kitten’s purring lulling him into a peaceful sleep.