I Am All Ears

There was no quiet.

Loud laughter filled the air, dogs barked, glass clinked, babbling from the people inside the building. Several people were dancing and singing horribly, but no one cared. Drinks were refilled and somewhere nearby someone dropped their cup, sending loud crashing throughout the thin walls.

In the corner of the place, a young woman waited, the only one in the entire building not making a sound. She sipped from her root beer and waved aside the waitress who came by to refill cups. The girl caught sight of what appeared to be a large black shadow streaking through the restaurant, and she smiled.

When the waitress came by again, the woman ordered two steaks. The attendant cocked her head to one side slightly and smiled, her eyes portraying slight confusion. “Sure thing, honey. You sure you can eat all that though?” she asked in a slight southern drawl.

The young lady at the table smirked. “I’ll manage.” she said quietly.

Sensing the sarcasm, the waitress started to leave. “Alright, honey.”

The shadow sneaked up behind the woman at the table, then nuzzled her affectionately. “Hi, Lööp.” the girl scratched the large serval behind his ears. He snuggled closer and purred slightly.

Hello, Taiga! he seemed to say.

A loud clanging caught the big cat’s attention, and he turned his head, flicking his ears slightly. “It’s fine, it’s just the chef making our steaks.” the woman, Taiga, said. Lööp spent a few more seconds watching the area where the sound had come from before deciding that it was in fact what Taiga had said it was.

Taiga stood up, and made her way towards the back of the restaurant, Lööp following close behind. When she got there, a waiter noticed her. “Do you need something?” he asked.

“Can I get some milk, please?” she said. The waiter nodded and went behind the counter, returning a few minutes later with the order.

She thanked him and went back to her table, setting the milk in front of Lööp. The serval licked his lips before diving in. “Don’t drink too much,” she warned, sitting down. “You know what that does to your digestive system.”

She could have sworn he glared at her. She laughed.

Lööp looked up, a milk mustache added to the white patterns he already had on his face. So what did you want to talk about? he seemed to ask.

Tiaga sighed. “That stupid magician is lying to me again, I’m sure of it!” she growled. “For once I wish that people would tell me the truth!”

The waitress came back with their steaks. She started slightly noticing Lööp at the other end of the table, but recovered quickly. “Here you go, honey.” she said, setting them down before leaving.

Lööp greedily started munching his steak, but Tiaga, despite steak being her favorite food, was suddenly not very hungry, and just pushed hers around on her plate, her head in one hand.

“… and then Julian left, and he didn’t even tell me!” she finished, and angrily wiped her eyes, which were watering. Lööp hopped almost all the way onto the table and put one of his paw on her shoulder.

I tell you everything, he seemed to say. So stop worrying about those other people and eat your steak!

Taiga giggled. “Alright, Lööp.” She took a bite of her steak, and found it juicy and delicious. She quickly ate more, then washed it down with a few sips of her root beer, and licked her lips contentedly. She stood up, pushing back her chair.

“C’mon, Lööp, let’s go give our complements to the chef!”