Running

Something licked my face- something fluffy that purred.  I looked up to find Samael offering me a fat alley cat so old, patches of fur had fallen from its skin.  Its ears were torn, and its body was riddled with the scars of harsh survival.  I took it, surprised, and it mewed, curling up against me. 

“The cat's the one that's dying?” I said, voice shaking with relief.  “I thought you meant a human.”

Samael looked at me like I was an idiot.  “Yes, Callie, a cat.  Do you think I would give you something so traumatizing?  It only has a few moments left, poor thing.”

I looked down at the pitiable creature, stroking its fur.  “I thought you...”

“Cats and dogs are never afraid of Death.  They can always see it, even when I haven't come for them.  That's why dogs bark at nothing and cats stare at empty spaces.  No, it's the living t