Rarity became aware of the presence late at night.
Exhaustion had begun to claim her conscience when something small brushed softly against her left hind hoof. She barely noticed it and dismissed it as her imagination and was determined to ignore it in favor of her rest. Again, something furry touched her hoof, causing a slight tingle to rush up her fetlock. Rarity’s heavy eyes slowly blinked open. Darkness surrounded her vision, blocking everything into an inky fog. Her mind begged her to go back to sleep and ignore the disturbance. She sluggishly stretched her leg a bit until it came in contact with a soft warm object. She paused at the touch and felt the gentle rise and fall of breath that came from the thing. If her groggy mind were to focus, she could, perhaps, feel the bristly hairs grazing against her tender hoof. Rarity quietly sighed.
“Opal dear,” She barely whispered with a croaking voice. “Please do not disturb my rest.” The small furry creature did not react to her voice, it was as if it was silently bidding the white mare to continue speaking, so she did. “I’ve been up the last three days working on designs and I simply must sleep.”
With that, Rarity let her heavy eyelids droop and allowed them to clamp down over her slightly bloodshot eyes. Her mind began to fade away when her hoof felt the movement of the warm body against it. She ignored it.
It stilled again. Rarity didn’t notice and embraced the blackness of sleep. Her body sagged and stilled. Her moving thoughts began to trudge slower and slower until they sank away from her awareness.
Before her rest could deepen any further, her eyes suddenly blinked open. There was something different touching her hoof. Instead of feeling the soft plump body of her pet, she felt something slick, cold, and slightly wet. She only sensed it making contact with a tiny space on her exposed leg. It was moving ever so slightly, opening and closing. Something small, slimy, and cold remained in one spot, slowly sliding against Rarity’s fur while a top and bottom row of something sharp and solid scraped uncomfortably against her hoof. She slightly jolted at the feeling of tiny sharp teeth nipping at her.
Any other time the white unicorn would have loudly complained and kicked the cat off her bed for biting her while she tried to sleep, but, at that moment, she didn’t even bother to lift her head and glare at the shadow of the offending feline. She didn't find it particularly in her interest to do anything like that. For one, it didn’t even hurt. It was not like any of the other painful bites and scratches she had received from Opal on an almost daily basis. She was also just too tired to properly reprimand the naughty feline. Exhaustion draped over her body like a steel blanket, and she didn’t wish to fight it.
With an almost inaudible groan, the tired mare pushed her hoof against the body of the furry biter slowly and gently away. It didn’t fight against the resistance and allowed itself to be moved to the edge of the mattress. Her hoof retreated back to its original position, slightly poking out of the covers. Once again ready to sleep, Rarity ignored the tiny wet spot on her hoof.
Before she could relax, the unicorn heard a slight ruffle and felt the slight dip of the mattress as the weight of the warm furry body returned along with the tiny sharp teeth and slimy tongue. Annoyance filtered its way into Rarity’s mind like a lazy moth bobbing its dusty wings inside of her heavy head, but she was still too tired take any serious actions.
“Opal please,” She whispered into her fluffed pillow, her voice muffled and soft. “Please let me sleep and leave me alone."
Like before, her words were ignored and the scraping teeth continued to gently gnaw.
Rarity repeated her actions before and pushed the body back away from her. Again, it did not resist. Unlike last time, though, the pale unicorn made sure to tuck her hoof properly under the thick blanket along with the rest of her body, and ignored the lingering sense of teeth pricking along her sensitive flesh.
There was a slight ruffle of disturbed bed sheets and Rarity felt the warm weight of the body, once more, upon her covered hind hooves. She held off her sleep for a second holding her breath as she prepared to brace herself for the misbehaving cat to disturb her again. She waited for a moment, but there was nothing. The warm weight on her legs did not stir nor did it bite. It simply stayed, as if it were patiently waiting for the groggy pale pony under the heavy blanket to make the next move. Despite the thick cloth separating it from her touch, Rarity could still feel the gentle rise and fall of its breaths. Perhaps, if she were to bother, the young fashionista could concentrate and feel the coarse bristly fur that could, somehow, be detected by her flesh under the covers.
Rarity eased her mind and began to sleep, determined to ignore the weight upon her hind legs.
She was determined to ignore the harsh beating of her heart in her chest, the lingering fear that gripped her throat like a frozen vice, and the slight uncontrollable trembling of her body.
She was determined to ignore the irregular almost undetectable sounds coming from the creature, the fact that, despite sensing inhales and exhales, no breeze of a breath had left its fang- filled maw, and the fact that cat tongues were not supposed to be that thick or slimy..
Rarity was especially determined to ignore the fact that she had seen Opal sleeping in her basket before laying to rest on the other side of her locked bedroom door.
Author's Note
Cover your feet tonight :)
