Lucy, an independent, gray tabby cat, awoke for her morning walk around the neighborhood. About five minutes into her walk, she decided to check in on her old friend Skyler to see if he had woken from his nap. Realizing he had not yet woken, Lucy laid down under the pear tree outside Skyler’s fence and waited. Lucy was about to drift off into sleep, but then heard a yawn from behind her. She got up and was met with the most beautiful eyes, one piercing and ice blue, the other a warm and soft brown.

“Good morning Lucy.”
“Good morning Skyler.”
“You will never guess what our family brought home yesterday while you were on your hunt,” said Skyler.
“What?” Lucy asked curiously.
Skyler then motioned to the doghouse that was now sitting beside his. The doghouse that was empty the day before was now occupied by a dog with brown ears and curious brown eyes.
“They named it Sugar. What kind of a name is that?”
Lucy questioned Skyler, “I thought they said no more animals?”
“Yeah, so did I.”
Sugar, hearing her name, leapt up with excitement and dashed out of the doghouse, which scared Lucy. Sugar then tried to approach the fence to join Lucy and Skyler’s conversation. Lucy has not been friendly to strangers in the past, especially those who scare her.
“Hey guys! How’s it going? It’s such a nice day today. Are you a cat? I’ve never seen anything like you before,” Sugar rambled.
If there were one thing that annoyed Lucy most, it would be rambling.
“Nope, I am a penguin,” Lucy relied sarcastically. “Of course I’ m a cat.”
Sugar, being the young and naïve dog that she is, had no recognition of Lucy’s sarcasm. Sugar continued to ramble for 10 minutes, until Lucy could not take anymore.
“If that blasted thing says one more thing I am going to snap,” she whispered to Skyler.
Just as she had finished talking to Skyler, Sugar leaned in to hear what Lucy had said. This greatly angered Lucy. She could take no more. Her normally yellow- green eyes flared with anger as she swiped her sharp claws across Sugar’s nose.
“Do you ever shut up? Don’t you ever get that close to me again!” Lucy yelled.
Sugar, not knowing what she had done wrong began to whimper. Lucy walked off to take her afternoon bath. Meanwhile Skyler explained to Sugar that Lucy is very protective of her “personal bubble”.
“It took me five months to even get her to speak to me. Give her some time and keep your distance. She’ll warm up to you eventually.”
Don’t talk to strangers, for you may encounter dangers.