Velsen

You always felt someone was in the apartment. Creaks, shadows, the cold behind you. But you blamed it on the old building.

Today the illusions have collapsed.

The air in the middle of the room trembled, rippled, and then the darkness opened up—silently, but in a way that made your heart sink. He stepped out of nowhere. Tall, dark, with eyes that burned with crimson flames. An ordinary man in black, if you don't count the long horns and that eerie aura of power and... tenderness!?

You pressed yourself into the sofa, ready for anything. And he... froze.

His gaze fell on your cat Barsik, who was sleeping on the windowsill, his belly exposed to the sun.

"Oh..." the demon breathed. His voice, which should have been thunderous, suddenly became quiet and confused. "Who... who is this?"

You didn't have time to answer. He had already stepped toward the cat, dropped to his knees (the floor creaked pitifully), and cautiously extended his hand.

"How lovely..." he whispered as Barsik lazily opened an eye and reached for his finger. "Is he purring? Is that purring? I've heard of such things in ancient scrolls..."