Cathy is working hard at John’s shop. Sarah and Sam come by occasionally to check up on her. She is surprised how fast she has gotten use to having Humans complimenting her ears and tail. She also doesn’t feel like she was hired for her ears and tail like she did back home. She sees Bob almost every day as he works at another spot along with her other friends at other places in the tourist district. Cathy even thinks she sees Tammy shadowing her mother at work. Cathy does wonder if Tammy is okay with her role.

Cathy and Bob are walking home together after work one day and are just talking about work when Cathy thinks she sees someone she hasn’t seen before. It is a female Nekos around her age if not younger. She has a backpack and not much more.

Cathy says to Bob “Have you seen her at school before?”

Bob says “No…but look at her.” They study the new girl for a few seconds and watch her. Cathy can see her dress has no tail hole. The hair near her ears is a bit of a mess and her backpack looks to have cloths in it. She also seems to be looking at the buildings while trying to not draw attention to herself. She also seems to be surprised by all the Kemonomimis in the area.

Cathy says “No tail hole.”

Bob says “Her ears.”

Cathy says “backpack full of cloths.”

Bob says “I think she is looking for a place to stay.”

Bob and Cathy says together “A stray.”

Cathy says to Bob “I’ll try and talk to her. You get to the other side of her incase she runs.” Bob nods and quietly moves past the girl and into position.

Cathy takes a breath and walks up to the girl while saying “Hello there.”

The girl jumps as Cathy speaks. She then says “um, hello.”

Cathy says “Can I help you?”

The girl says “No, I’m good.”

Cathy says “You look lost.”

The girl says “I’m good.”

Cathy says “Where are your parents?” The girl looks around quickly. Cathy says “You’re not from around here are you. We would like to talk to you about that.” The girl bolts away from Cathy, but Bob is quick to catch her and spins her around and back to Cathy. Cathy and Bob quickly move in, and they pinned the new girl near a wall. Cathy says “It’s okay, it’s okay. We just want to ask you some questions that’s all.”

The girl says “What questions?” as Bob lets her go.

Cathy says “Are your parents human? That is not altered like you.” The girl nods yes. Cathy says “Then you’re what we call a first generation here, okay.” The girl nods yes.

Bob says “Do you live in a predominately human town?” The girl nods yes. Bob says “and was viewed as a freak?” The girl nods yes again.

Cathy says “So you ran away from home to find a place to fit in and start a new life?”

The girl says “How do all of this stuff” as she is almost on the verge of tears.

Cathy looks at Bob and then says to the girl “Because we are like you. We ran away from home too. We came here and they took us in.”

Bob says “We what are known as Strays here. We know people who can help you stay here, but you have to trust us.”

The girl says “who are they?”

Cathy says “The community here. They have families that will take you in and help you learn about yourself.”

The girl says “I know myself.”

Cathy says “Then how do take care of your ears?” Cathy points to her ears and takes out a mirror to show the girl her own ears. The girl looks shocked for a moment when she sees the difference between their ears.

Bob says “Your tail also looks to be in bad shape too.”

Cathy says “Do you even know what your type and subtype are?” The girl looks confused. Cathy says “trust us and let us call someone to help you.” The girl nods.

Bob sits the girl down on a bench and asks her for her name while Cathy calls Heather. Cathy says to Heather when she answers “We have a Stray.”

Heather says “Where are they? Can you give me a description?” Cathy gives her address and what the girl looks like. Heather says “Try to keep an eye on her and don’t approach her.”

Cathy says “Too late for that. We are talking to her right now.”

Heather says “I said don’t approach them!”

Cathy says “It’s Bob and I. We are both Strays. We know what she is going through right now. So we thought we could talk to her for you and keep her calm until you got here.”

Heather says “Okay, you used your own history to connect with her. That’s good. But next time, let me handle them. I’ll be there shortly.”

Cathy and Bob sit with the girl until Heather pulls up. Heather gets out of her car and walks over to them. Bob has already gotten a lot of details out of the girl, like her full name and where she is from. He has the information on his phone and texts Heather the info.

Heather speaks to the girl for a bit. She then takes the girl to her car. Cathy thinks she hears Heather say under her breath “This is the third one today” as she leads the girl to her car. Cathy and Bob wave to the girl as Heather drives away with her.

Cathy says to Bob “Well that was fun.”

Bob says “Let’s just hope it doesn’t keep happening.”

The summer is halfway through, and Cathy is getting better at work. One day she bumps into Tammy dressed as a Miko behind one of the buildings. Cathy says to Tammy “Hey Tammy, how’s it going?”

Tammy says “Fine I guess.”

Cathy says “Are you okay doing this?”

Tammy says “Mom says it gets easy once I get the hang of it. She also has me speaking with Japanese cultural representatives she works with to make sure I am doing everything right.”

Cathy says “Do you want to do this?”

Tammy says “Mom asks me to do this for at least the summer and the pay is good.” Cathy isn’t sure how Tammy really feels about work as a performer. Tammy says “Mom says that we wouldn’t do this if we had a Japanese Kitsune living here. Besides she can’t play shrine maiden forever.”

One of the handlers walks up and says to Tammy “Are you ready Ms. Brown?” Tammy nods and follows him. Cathy watches as Tammy is lead out to get her picture taken. Cathy thinks she sees Tammy’s mother wearing a passing hat in the crowd.