All Emma had wanted was to get to work on time. Outside The Meridian, a large crowd had gathered, which normally would have sparked her interest, but she needed to be at Charmed in two minutes. Further down the street, a news van had parked, and a reporter stood in the rain, interviewing Kaia Kardashian, St.--'s resident attention-seeker. Emma wasn't entirely sure who the Kardashians were, only that they were famous. And why would a member of a famous family be in this run-down foul-weathered town? Most likely, Kaia was just trying to get attention. Decidedly turning her back on the news crew, Emma splashed through puddles, pushing through the crowd to try to get to work.
She hadn't counted on the cat, though. Emma was almost past the fountain when she heard a growl. Turning slowly, the blood drained from her face as she saw the tiger. Emma was used to seeing stray cats, but a tiger was another matter entirely. Maybe she was imagining it. But no, the tiger was still there, still staring, even after Emma rubbed her eyes. She had really hoped to avoid something like this.
There were cat lovers, and then there was Emma. Her grandmother said the day she came home from the hospital, there had been a line of stray cats waiting to welcome her home. Emma thought her grandmother was probably exaggerating, but it was true that she loved cats and cats loved her. Even the lion that had escaped from the zoo. Emma wasn't afraid of the tiger, but she did want to avoid the questions that were sure to follow. Still. She was late for work, and escaped exotic animals were bad for business.
"What are you doing here?" Emma demanded. She'd discovered cats found it condescending when she used baby-talk. The tiger blinked slowly, looking equally exasperated. Fine, then. "You need to go," Emma informed the animal. He growled. Distantly, Emma could hear someone screaming. This was not good. She held the tiger's gaze, though, trying to look bigger, more threatening. Not worth the effort of attacking. A few seconds passed. Finally, with a shake of his big head, the tiger loped off. Emma released a relieved sigh.
She was almost wishing for the tiger to come back once the crowd descended, people shouting questions and demanding to know what had happened. Emma tried to hold them back, but they pushed against her, crowding her, choking her. Emma fought against her panic. She much preferred tigers to nosy neighbors, particularly when they had the ability to expose her, to ruin her life.
"To the stars that listen." Sarah J Maas (A Court of Mist and Fury)
