Cathy has made it to the town. She passes through the tourist area and goes deeper in. She found a motel online that she could stay at until she figured out her next move. She reaches the motel after sunset.

Cathy enters the lobby of the motel. She finds a man with fox ears wearing glasses that have a strap around the back of his head at the front desk working away. He looks up at Cathy and says “May I help you?”

Cathy is stunned for a moment, but quickly recovers saying “I would like a room.”

The man says “May I see your ID?” Cathy hands him a fake ID she made to hide her age.

The man takes the ID and checks it under a light behind the counter. He can see it is fake and looks at Cathy.

Cathy starts to panic. The man says to her “I have to make a call” and reaches for a headset that he puts in his ear while holding the rest of the phone to the side of his face while dialing a number. Cathy slowly moves towards the door. The man pulls the phone away from his face and snaps at Cathy “Don’t move! Or I’ll call the authorities on you.” Cathy freezes in place.

The man brings the phone back to his face and says into it “Heather, can you come to the lobby. I think I have the stray here.” He hangs up the phone and puts the headset back. Cathy stands there not knowing what to do.

Not a moment later a woman with dog ears comes rushing in and looks at Cathy. She turns to Cathy and says in a calm voice “Hello there, what’s your name?”

Cathy says weakly “Cathy.”

The man grumbles “how unoriginal.” Heather shoots him a look.

Heather says to Cathy “Let me guess, you’re a Gen 1.”

Cathy says “Gen 1?”

The man snaps “For the love of… They didn’t even teach her the basics!”

Heather turns to him and snaps back “Will you shut your trap Thomson! I am dealing with a stray here!” Thomson shuts his mouth and just sits there.

Heather turns to Cathy again and says in her calm voice “Are your parents human, that is not altered like you?” Cathy nods. Heather says “We call people like you Gen 1 or 1st Generation. Because you are the first in your line.” Heather moves closer saying “You probably lived in a predominantly human town.” Cathy nods. Heather says “Were called a freak and stared at.” Cathy nods with tears forming in her eyes. Heather says “so you ran away in hopes of finding a place to fit in.”

Cathy starts crying and says “Yes!”

Heather says “alright there. You are safe. Come with me.” Heather takes Cathy’s hand and starts walking her to the back. Heather takes the fake ID from Thomson as they pass.

Heather takes Cathy to an office and sits her in a chair. Heather says to Cathy “I must make some calls. May I have your real ID?” Cathy without thinking hands Heather her ID. Heather says “Thank you.” Heather turns to her desk and picks up a headset and puts it in her ear. She then starts dialing a number as she puts a phone to her cheek. Heather says into the phone “Hey Danny, I have the stray here. I’ll send you her ID. Can you start an adoption process for her? …. I’m going to have Sassy take care of her for the night. … Don’t give me that! Sassy is good with them, and she is a bit of a night owl. … Thanks, keep me posted.” Heather presses a button on the phone rest and starts dialing another number. Heather says into the mic “Hey Sassy, I have a stray here. … I know it’s late, but she needs a place to stay for the night. … Thanks, we’ll be over in a bit.” Heather hangs up the phone and headset saying to herself “That takes care of the first part.” She turns to a printer scanner and scans Cathy’s ID and starts working on her computer.

Cathy speaks up saying “Can’t I stay here? And why do you keep calling me a stray?”

Heather turns to Cathy and says “You are still a minor and we don’t want Thomson to get in trouble. As for calling you a stray, it’s a term we use for Gen 1 runaways. Now let me finish up here and we can talk more afterwards.”

Soon Cathy is walking with Heather to her car. Cathy gets in on the passenger side and finds a backrest and seat cushion strap to the seat. Cathy sits and finds the backrest and cushion creates a slot for her tail to lay without her having to sit on it. Heather drives for a few minutes and stops at a duplex. Heather and Cathy get out of the car and walk up to the door.

Heather keeps Cathy back as she knocks on the door. A white-haired woman with wolf ears and a bushy tail answers the door. Heather says to her “Hello Sassy.”

Sassy says to Heather “Do you know how late it is?”

Heather says “Yes” and steps side to expose Cathy to her. Sassy looks at Cathy and says “Dear lord girl! You didn’t tell me she was this bad.” Sassy extends her hand to Cathy and takes her in. Sassy says to Heather “I’ll keep you posted.” Cathy watches as Heather turns and leaves her with Sassy.

Sassy leads Cathy up to a small bedroom and says “You’ll be sleeping here for the night. You can take a shower if you want, which I would recommend.” Sassy then leaves Cathy alone.

Cathy decides to take Sassy up on her offer and takes a shower. Sassy enters Cathy’s room after Cathy has taken her shower. Cathy is combing her head hair while sitting on her bed. Sassy has a box with her and says to Cathy “Good, here let me take care of your tail for you.” Sassy sits on the bed and takes out a brush. Sassy starts brushing Cathy tail with some effort. Cathy yelps as Sassy brushes Cathy’s tail. Sassy says “Sorry deary, your undercoat is a mess.”

Cathy says to Sassy “My undercoat?”

Sassy flips her tail onto Cathy’s lap while saying “Your tail has two layers of hair. The outercoat is like your head hair. But like most animals with fur, you have an undercoat. It keeps your tail warm, but it also must be brushed to get the dead hair out. Otherwise, you might get lice or worse, dandruff. I spend an hour almost every day to have mine that fluffy.” Cathy runs her hands over Sassy tail and feels it is indeed one of the softest things she has felt. Sassy whips her tail away from Cathy and goes back to work on Cathy’s tail.

Sassy finishes up on Cathy’s tail after a bit. Sassy then says to her “Okay, I want you to sit on the floor in front of me. I want to check and clean your ears” Cathy looks confused but follows Sassy orders. Sassy grabs Cathy head and starts cleaning in Cathy’s ear with some effort. Cathy starts squirming under Sassy’s grip as Sassy seems to be digging painfully deep. Sassy says to her “Sorry deary, but this is what happens when you don’t take care of your ears properly. How you can even hear amazes me.”

Sassy lets Cathy go after finishing with one ear. Cathy rubs her ear for a moment, she soon feels a difference between them and can hear a little better in the one that was just cleaned. Cathy looks at Sassy’s tools and sees they are covered in wax and hair. Sassy says to her “you have hair near your ear to help flitter out dirt and keep your ears warm. But some of that hair can get in and block your hearing.” Cathy moves back into position and bares with Sassy cleaning her other ear.

Sassy finishes up and collects her gear. Sassy says to Cathy “Now try and get some sleep deary, you may have a busy day tomorrow.” Cathy settles down and gets to an uneasy sleep.

Cathy wakes to the smell of food. She gets up and heads down to see what Sassy has cooked up. Cathy finds Sassy had just microwaved some frozen breakfast meals for them. Cathy feels a little deflated at the food. Sassy says to her “Oh good, you’re up. Danny will be here shortly. Get something to eat before he gets here.”

Cathy looks at the chair and sees that it has a slot for her tail to slide through while still having a backrest. Cathy sits and leans back. She smiles at not having to worry about her tail. Sassy says with a smile “The simple things in life people take for granted.”

Cathy eats in relative quiet as Sassy reads the news and drinks her coffee.

Soon there is a knock at Sassy’s door. Sassy says “That must be him” and gets up to answer it.

Cathy sees a man with bear ears walk in carrying a briefcase saying to Sassy “Thank you Ms. Saki.” Cathy can almost sense he works in a legal office.

Sassy says “Danny, you can call me Sassy you known.”

Danny spots Cathy and says to her “You must be Cathy” and shakes her hand.

Danny sits with Cathy at Sassy’s table while Sassy sits on her counter while slipping her coffee. Danny pulls out some papers and then says to Cathy “Just to let you know, I contacted my friends in our police department. They were able to contact your hometown department and let them know you were safe in our custody. I just heard your parents came in this morning to file a missing child report. They know you are safe, and we have asked them to not contact you until we resolved this.”

Sassy says “So they do care about her. Good.”

Danny glances at Sassy for a moment then goes back to Cathy. He says to her “Now I have found a family willing to adopt you.”

Cathy says “adopt me?”

Danny says “It’s the best word for what we must do to help you fit in. You are going to have to learn our ways and blend into our community if you want to live here.”

Cathy says “What about Sassy or Heather?”

Danny says “Heather is too busy to take care of you and teach you. As for Sassy…” he glances at Sassy for a moment and then says, “Let’s just say she is better at cleanup and short-term care than long term care.”

Sassy says “That’s his way of saying I can be rough around the edges and like my personal space.”

Danny says “The family I found are Nekos that looks to be of your subtype.”

Cathy says “Nekos and subtype?”

Danny says “oh boy. We Kemonomimis fall into several types. For instance, I’m a Kumas type because of my bear ears and tail and Sassy is an Okamis type because of her wolf ears and tail. You are a Nekos type because of your cat ears and tail. As for subtypes, Like many animals that fall into smaller groups or breeds, we have subtypes as well within the types. You look to be of s house cat subtype which is a very common subtype for Nekos.”

Danny says “at least meet with them. They have helped others like you find their place here.”

Sassy says “Which family?”

Danny says to Sassy “The Johnsons.”

Sassy says “Oh, they are a good choice.”

Cathy says “You all have been nice to me so far. So, I guess I’ll trust you.”

Cathy gathers her stuff and gets ready to go with Danny. Sassy gives Cathy a brush for her tail before she leaves. Danny clears his throat as Cathy is about to leave. Danny says to Cathy “at least thank her for taking you in last night.”

Cathy turns to Sassy and says, “Thank you Sassy.” Sassy nods to her and closes the door.

Cathy finds that Danny’s car has the same backrest and padding that Heather’s had. Cathy says to Danny as he drives “what about my parents?”

Danny says “Heather is taking care of that part of this. She is better with people, where I am better at the legal matters.”

Danny pulls up to a house with a yard and looks like any pictured family home. Danny rings the bell. A woman with cat ears answers the door. Cathy swears the woman could be a long-lost family member if she had met her any other way. Danny says “Ms. Johnson.”

She says to Danny “Danny” She then looks at Cathy and says “Is this the girl you were talking about.”

Danny says “Yes, this is Cathy” he turns to Cathy and says “This is Ms. Sarah Johnson.”

Sarah says “Please come in.”

Cathy is soon sitting on a couch with a groove for her tail to rest in. They are in the living room. Cathy is almost in heaven as she can lean back on the pillow without worrying about her tail. Danny is watching her with a smile on his face. Sarah joins them saying “My husband will be home shortly. He just had to pick our daughter up from school.”

Cathy jumps at those words. A daughter! She had never seen another Kemonomimi child in person before. What was her life like here? Did she have friends?

The door opens and Cathy hears a man’s voice playfully yell “Honey, we’re home!”

Sarah yells playfully back “Back here!”

A little girl comes running into the room with cat ears yelling “Mommy, mommy” and jumps into Sarah’s lap. Then a man walks into the room with cat ears as well. He stops and looks at Cathy with a smile. The little girl finally realizes Cathy is there and says while looking at her “Who’s that Mommy?”

Sarah says to her daughter “She is here with Mr. Danny.”

The little girl says to Sarah “Is she going to be my new big sister?”

Sarah says “That’s why Mr. Danny is here. Why don’t you go to your room and play while we talk?”

The little girl says “Okay” and runs to her room.

Sarah says “That’s my daughter May. We had been trying for some years before she was born.”

Cathy is stunned at those words. It sounded like May was conceived naturally. Could Cathy have kids of her own too. She knew it was hard for humans and Kemonomimis to have children together, but she had never thought about two Kemonomimis having children.

Cathy starts to feel like she would ruin this prefect picture. Cathy says “I don’t want to be a problem to you.”

Sarah husband says “We wouldn’t have agreed to meet with you if we thought you would have been a problem. I’m Sam by the way” as he sits down next to Sarah.

Danny says to Cathy “Give it a night or two. At least until we can talk to your parents.”

Cathy looks at Sarah and Sam then at Danny and says “I’ll give it a try.”

Cathy is taken to her new room and finds it has all the basics for her. Sarah says “It’s not much, but you can make it your own.”

Cathy joins the family for dinner and finds the chairs are like the ones Sassy had. Sam says to Cathy “You haven’t seen these chairs before.”

Cathy says “No, my parents never got me one.”

Sarah says “Well it can be hard to find them on the outside and can be expensive too.”

Sam says “We got them here in town.”

Cathy sits down and starts eating.

Cathy wakes the next morning refreshed and happy. Cathy is getting dressed when Sarah comes in. Sarah can see Cathy’s skirt is designed for someone without a tail. Sarah says to Cathy “How about we go shopping together and get you some clothes made for us?” Cathy looks at Sarah with a smile.

Cathy and Sarah head to a shopping district to buy Cathy some clothes. Sarah says to Cathy “Let’s get you some new skirts and pants first.”

Cathy says with a smile “okay.”

Cathy finds that skirts and paints in the shops have varying hole designs in the back for tails. Most have straps or buttons to adjust the hole size for larger or smaller tails. Cathy tries on several designs and enjoys the experience.

Meanwhile, Heather is standing at the bus depot with a sign with Cathy’s last name on it. Cathy’s parents step off a bus and walk up to her. Heather says to them “You must be Cathy’s parents.”

Cathy’s mother says “Yes! Where is our daughter?”

Heather says “I’ll take you to her.”

Heather walks them though the tourist area and deeper into the town. They are soon walking along a shopping district. Cathy’s parents start getting the feeling they are being stared at as they look around and see all the different Kemonomimis. Heather stops and turns to them saying “How does it feel?” Cathy parents look at her with some confusion. Heather says “To be the outsider or freaks.” Cathy’s parents look around at all the Kemonomimis looking at them. Heather says “Why didn’t you contact us? We are only hours away. We could have helped you. You could have reached for us at any time. Instead, she had to run to us to feel like she was normal.”

Cathy’s mother says “Where is our daughter?”

Heather says “You walked right by her.”

Cathy’s parents turn around and see Cathy in a shop trying on a hat with Sarah. Cathy is overjoyed to find a hat with space for her ears to stand up and hear through. Sarah has a bag full of clothes for Cathy on her arm. Cathy even hugs Sarah for helping her find the perfect hat for her.

Cathy’s parents stand there stunned at the sight of seeing their daughter smiling and looking well. Heather steps up to them and says “shall we go somewhere else and talk about what is best for her future.” Cathy’s parents quietly nod and walk away with her.

Cathy’s parents are sitting at the Johnson’s dining table across from the Johnsons with Heather and Danny sitting at one end. Sassy and Thomson are sitting in chairs nearby. Heather took them to the Johnsons home after their time in the shopping district. Sarah says “We would like to adopt Cathy and make her part of our family for the time being.”

Cathy’s mother says “You want to take her away from us?”

Sam says “co-parent, co-parent. We want you to be part of her life still. Just live here with us. Among…her…kind.” Cathy’s parents give him an odd look.

Heather says “Everyone in this room has touched Cathy since she got here. She needs to be with people who can teach her our ways.”

Cathy’s father says “Your ways?”

Sassy gets up and lays her tail on the table in front of Cathy’s parents. Sassy says to them “Look at my tail. Do you know how long it takes me to take care of it. Your daughter’s undercoat was a mess when I brushed it, and her ears were in even worse condition. She needs to be with people who know her body well.”

Danny clears his throat; Sassy takes her tail off the table and sits back down. Danny says “We are not saying you are bad parents, just not equip to handle her at this time.”

Sassy says “Why don’t we let Cathy decide what she wants. She’s old enough and has been listening to this the whole time.” Everyone looks at Sassy, then to a dividing wall.

Cathy steps out from behind the wall. Cathy looks at her parents and says “Mom, dad, I know you love me. But…I’m not happy at home.” Cathy begins to tear up as she continues “You don’t know what it’s been like for me. I was able to sit in a chair and not have to worry about my tail for the first time in a long time. I have a hat that I can wear and still hear people talk.”

Cathy’s mother gets up and faces Cathy while saying “We can buy those things for you.”

Cathy says “It’s not just the items. It’s this place. I wasn’t gawked at while shopping, and clerk knew all about my clothing needs. I feel welcomed here.” Cathy starts to want to beg but doesn’t “Please let me stay here. Let me be with people that get me.”

Cathy’s mother says “We don’t want to lose you.”

Cathy says “You won’t.”

Sam says “You can call her everyday if you want or video chat.”

Cathy says “Please.”

Cathy’s father gets up and stands next to his wife. He says “I think we have accept the fact that she is growing up and needs to be with people that love her other than her parents.”

Cathy’s mother nods. Cathy hugs them. Danny says “Well now that that’s been settled. All we need to do is sign some paperwork.”

May comes running around the corner and gabs Cathy’s leg saying “YEA, I have a new big sister!” Everyone looks down at her.

Heather says “While don’t we all stay for dinner as well. Sarah is a great cook.”

Thomson says “Aye, now that sounds like an idea.”

The house takes on a more party atmosphere after the paperwork has been signed. Cathy’s mother and Sarah bond over Cathy and May of all things as Sarah cooks dinner. Cathy’s father and Sam sit in the living room and talk while watching sports with Thomson and Danny. Cathy plays with May while Sassy and Heather talk.

The Johnsons give Cathy’s parents their phone number. Danny gives Cathy’s parents a book and some information on Kemonomimis and some simple things they can do at their home when Cathy comes to visit.