one time.. maybe sometime last year.. we were on our way to the company yard, and i started having flu-like symptoms that got worse on the car ride. and i hate being sick in the truck, so we stopped the car, and i called a ride share, and got my stuff, and said 'goodbye everyone, i will see you at the house later,' and then i went home
julian the cat didn't believe me. julian knows i am slower moving than most humans, and does not trust in my ability to keep myself alive. julian really thought i had randomly rolled out of the car, and that i must have gotten lost and died.
he spent that whole work week staring at my pillow in the bunk just sobbing
he spent all day, every day, screaming crying throwing up, going back and forth between mourning over my spot in the bunk and asking valkyrie for comfort and being confused why she wasn't also devastated
even me talking to him over speakephone didn't help, because he's a smart cat, and he's heard digital recordings of his people before, and he is not going to be fooled by that obvious witchcraft
as much as i felt bad for him at the time, it's very flattering to know that a haughty little guy loves me enough to care if i'm dead
(then he came home and saw me, and just instantly recalibrated: 'oh. guess you're fine? nevermind nbd. when is dinner? feed me, peasant' like nothing even happened. after driving valkyrie to the brink of madness with his mourning screms all week. just to come back on the weekend and behave like the most normal tiny man you can imagine)