After “goodnights” had been exchanged between Stella and him, he noticed her glance back. Probably looking for one last peek at Tesla, he thought. He shrugged it off, not bothering to consider any other viable reason. Anton hoped that she would be okay without her companion for the night. He figured Stella was probably like him, in that they never took their pets for granted. Oh sure, they were always around, doing what they do best, which was mostly napping. But even that inactivity had its own charms. It’s when they weren’t home that their absence was most glaring. To be fair, one of these nights, he would offer to have Licorice spend the evening at her place. That way, the sleepover would be on Tesla’s home turf, with all of his familiar surroundings.<br/><br/>Since he didn’t feel like going to bed anytime soon, he considered how best to entertain Licorice and her guest. Just then, some tinkling of ivories began, with Stella kicking into full song not much later. Anton was beside himself as he struggled to identify the female artist. I should know this, he thought, frustration building. He was pretty sure Evangeline liked this singer, and if that was true, there should be at least a couple of CDs in their collection. With that, he took a step toward the racks of music, but stopped abruptly. Without a first or last name, a search would prove fruitless. And he wasn’t about to look disc by disc, because as the musical fates would have it, the woman’s last name probably started with a W or a Y. How long would it take him to reach that far into the alphabet? Nah, he thought, I’ll just ask Stella when she comes for Tesla.<br/><br/>Thinking of the mountain-of-a-cat’s name, he was reminded of what he was doing before Stella’s playing and singing distracted him. The pair of felines were grooming themselves, having just dined on a combination of duck, lentils, and (what the bag termed) salmon tunachovy. It was actually a combo from two bags of cat food, rather expensive bags at that. Anton didn’t care, as good, quality food for Licorice was well worth the extra expense.<br/><br/>He reached into a little basket on a shelf of her cat toys. Spying his intended target, he pulled out what looked like a bullet on a key chain. It was actually a laser pointer for cats. Two interchangeable heads offered a basic red laser dot, while the other one showed a red outline of a mouse. When he turned to engage them, Licorice was already staring at him, knowing what was coming. Damn her, he thought, she so knows the rattle of that short chain. Tesla, on the other hand, had switched to grooming his head, oblivious to all around him.<br/><br/>Anton clicked the laser on, aiming it toward the front door. Licorice immediately took off after it. Tesla finally glanced around, wondering what all the commotion was about. As he watched her chase after the laser mouse, a light bulb blinked on inside: PLAY TIME! He quickly joined in the pursuit, nearly bowling her over in his haste for laser mouse capture. Screw that<i>one for all, all for one </i>crap! It was clear to Anton that this was all about<i>me, me, me! </i>Every kitty’s on their own! For obvious reasons, Licorice was the distinct underdog, er, undercat.<br/><br/>The laser mouse tore around the apartment, zigging this way, then zagging that way. Both cats couldn’t get out of each other’s way, as their focus was more on the red target than each other. With the laser mouse hovering on the bottom portion of the couch, Licorice was in the lead and he knew she was already tasting victory. So close to capture, Anton shut the laser off, removing his thumb from the button. Licorice tried to stop, but since she was on the hardwood part of the floor, she slid toward the couch instead. Tesla, who was right behind her, also skidded toward the furniture. As neither was able to cease forward movement in time, the Maine Coon plowed into the Persian, sandwiching her between the couch and himself. Now at a standstill, he gathered himself to continue the hunt. Licorice, meanwhile, staggered to her paws and shook her head vigorously, somewhat dazed from the collision. It required extreme effort from Anton to not laugh out loud, even at the expense of his roommate. Still, a couple of snorts did escape.<br/><br/>For the entertainment and effort, both cats deserved some kitty treats. This was going to be<i>Feline Greenies </i>(one of her favorite brands), Ocean Fish Flavor. He noticed how they were breathing hard, as their sides expanded and contracted steadily. Ah yes, he thought, we’ll all sleep well tonight. Music from #608 continued on.