[indent][indent][center][h1]It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a... what?[/h1][/center][/indent][/indent]
[color=snow]Cold. The small black cat in the sky shivered, then sneezed, the action throwing him off for two heart-stopping seconds. Then he righted himself, every flap of his wings sending another bite of ice through him.

He dived down between two weird big things, touched down on the dirt, then shook himself. Water was nice, but being covered with it in the cold definitely was not. In the darkness of the narrow space he was in - which smelled of earth, some other cat's pee, and general mustiness - he sat, enjoying the quiet. It was well-deserved, considering what had transpired just moments before, but! This space was warmer than the sky had been and there was no one to disturb him here, so he was content to sit, and stay, and soak up what little respite he could get.

After 10 minutes of alternating between laying down and cleaning off his damp fur, however, the cat decided that this warm space was still not a familiar space. Unfamiliar meant unknown and unknown meant different and different meant...

He got up and stretched, his feathers drooping as his wings flared out. Wandering to the mouth of the warm space, he started sniffing the tall, cornered things walling him in.

Outside was strange. A black, long strip in the middle of the ground, perpendicular to him, and it smelt strongly of... something. He didn't know what. There were more big things in a neat row beyond the strip, each a uniform shape with triangle tops. Yet, despite their bland similarities, each big thing seemed to have their differences. Small things that made each of them unique.

Like the smells. From the big thing on his right - and indeed he had discerned that he was between the same big things as the ones across the strip - the scents were stale, telling him that no one had been there in a while. But the one on the left had fresh scents wafting towards him - food! He wasn't hungry, but the smell had his senses tingling anyway. Meat, something sweet, and something he couldn't identify but still smelt like food. Despite it all, he stayed where he was, tail twitching irritably. These tantalising scents weren't enough to push away the same familiar scent that lingered in all the big things, the strip, and the space he was in: humans.

He was in predator territory. Now what?[/color]

[hr]
[center][h1][color=wheat]Ron[/color][/h1][/center]
[color=wheat]'[i]Typical. Not a snowflake in sight and the weather still manages to freeze us half to death.[/i]'

Ron was a man of average looks, with a scruffy beard, light brown hair that parted nicely down the middle, and a sandstone frontier jacket. He was also a man who itched for a cigarette. Instead, he kept his hands on the table, fiddling with the corner of his folded newspaper. Sure, he was on the outdoor patio of the Ink Cafe, but they were strict about their no-smoking policy. Besides, he hated disappointing Karen.

'[color=powderblue][b]Here's your coffee.[/b][/color]' Speak of the devil. He smiled back at Karen, a lovely lady in her mid-twenties, as she set down his mug, steam lazily rising above it. As always, she looked positively charming, even in the cafe's uniform purple dress. [i]Especially[/i] in the cafe's uniform purple dress. It bore more resemblance to a coat now, though - an adjustment for the colder weather. 

'[b]Thanks, Karen,[/b]' he said, reaching to shift the mug closer to himself. Then, just as she made to turn away, he blurted out, '[b]You... growing your hair out?[/b]'

She turned to face him fully, raising an eyebrow. Then she jerked her head to the side, reaching up to tentatively card her fingers through her ponytail. It was short, its end barely brushing her shoulder, but it was longer than the auburn bobcut it had been before.

'[color=powderblue][b]It's not bad, is it?[/b][/color]' she said. A little crease of worry appeared between her brows and she shifted on her feet.

'[b]No, no![/b]' said Ron, '[b]It's, uh, it's just new, is all. It looks fine.[/b]' At her uncertain expression, he continued, '[b]Really! It's a nice change.[/b]'

'[color=powderblue][b]Well... if you say so.[/b][/color]' Her gaze drifted downwards to the table and something must have caught her attention because she perked up then, her smile lighting up her face and in turn, Ron's short life.

'[color=powderblue][b]Cute![/b][/color]'

'[b]Yeah, you are[/b],' said Ron, amused.

Her cheeks reddened. '[color=powderblue][b]No! I-I mean, thank you![/b][/color]' She shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment as if to clear her thoughts. When she opened her eyes, her gaze was resolutely pinned to the newspaper on the table as she tapped on it. '[color=powderblue][b]I meant the newspaper, Ron.[/b][/color]'

Still grinning, he propped up the newspaper. The headline screamed back at him, 'WINGED BLACK CAT SPOTTED IN THE SKY'. A picture of a smudged black dot against the sky's pale backdrop accompanied the words, but there was only the vaguest outline of what could possibly be wings extended on either side of the small figure. He glanced at the article below, skimming over the sentences.

'[b]This morning it says.[/b]' News always did travel fast in Squarespace. He looked back up at Karen. '[b]You think it's real? Picture doesn't exactly show a cat. Could be a bird for all we know.[/b]'

'[color=powderblue][b]Ron, this is the news, not sensationalised trash like [i]Everyday[/i]. Besides, if it were real, it'd be cute to think about, wouldn't it?[/b][/color]' The distant jingle of bells, signifying a patron's entrance, caught her attention and she turned on her heel, flashing him a quick apologetic smile. '[color=powderblue][b]Gotta go! Have a nice day, you.[/b][/color]'

He shook his head at the exchange, smiling to himself. Lifting his coffee mug to his lips, he took a long moment to savour his liquid nirvana. Just another thing he loved about Ink Cafe. Good, [i]free[/i] coffee if he bought a newspaper from them. That was basically one-third the usual price. He'd asked Karen once if it impacted the cafe badly - it had to, it was in no way a sound business practice - but she'd only shaken her head and pressed a finger to her lips. His heart throbbed at the thought of her.

Still...

'[b]A flying cat[/b],' he muttered, '[b]Well, I'll be.[/b]'[/color]

[center]*[/center]
[center]And so the winter season in Squarespace begins.[/center]