Alley Cats

The terrier was unaware of the approaching felines, preoccupied with the food upon which it snacked, paw lifting to steady the wrappings before dragging the paper, tearing grease loaded potato free in a miniature battle. Many were lost in the attempt and Alexander sniffed at them curious, the terrier flicking out it's tongue idly tasting and rejecting before resuming the still warm feast. Circling about for better access with his tail wagging gently it became an almost frustrating game with Alexander applying human logic on how to best solve the problem without human thumbs . . .


There was a hiss and the terrier suddenly backed up from his find slightly ears lowering then pricking up as his head lifted turning. His jaw tense, eyes alert as he watched the two cats that had found him and he glanced away only briefly, ensuring to keep them in his peripherals before flicking back left ear twitching as he shifted, angling toward them as his stance lowered uncertain before releasing a short sharp bark, shifting closer then stepping back the several steps attempting to both ward off and potentially frighten the two strays, each one just slightly smaller than himself in his current form.


He could already feel himself gearing up, ready to rush forward, pounce and give chase, however Alexander held himself back, fully aware of the pinprick claws and agile movements a cat could make


<Come on, shoo, scat!>


He unconsciously called out, willing the two cats to flee as the terrier lowered it's stance once more, tail up, a slight feral growl escaping him as he met the eyes of both felines. More confident and aggressive in his body language as Alexander began to take the lead, barely paying more attention to the cats than his counterpart and thus completely missing the aura both cats possessed; or more accurately would not have noticed anyway-, as a second bark escaped him, cutting through the silent night air and echoing about them loudly.
 
Veronica hissed again, unmoving, then stepped in front of her sister as though protectively, although Rinji was the older of the two, a guttural yowl issuing itself from her throat as she continued to stare the little dog down. It was not much larger than she herself was, but this dog undoubtedly had stronger jaws, and he could at minimum cause some pain. But she would give as good as she got, if not better. This scruffy little dog better watch himself around her and HER sister-


But Rinji, of course, did not respond in the reasonable, sane manner that Veronica herself was. No, Rinji was as friendly and in Veronica's mind, just plain dumb as a cat as she was as a person, and she saw no danger in padding over to the now barking dog, ears perked, eyes bright, whiskers twitching as though in greeting. Veronica's hiss then was a warning to her sister, but Rinji ignored her.


Who did she think she was, a dog? Whoever or whatever was making them an animal had definitely screwed up when they made Rinji a cat instead of a St Bernard puppy.
 
Jin was certain that any human, er person, walking by might be utterly confused by the scene they had encountered. Jin knew that she should either attack the ferret and make it leave or walk away and find another place to inhabit. But here she was having a stare down with it instead. She was sure if she wasn't currently a tom cat, she might laugh at the scene before scaring both animals away.


Jin watched the ferret. Something just felt...different she guessed. She wasn't able to understand what the feeling was or why she had it. It was almost too difficult to put into words what she had felt. Certainly they were both acting weird, though Jin had little to go off of. She mostly had encounter other cats on her nightly prowls and sometimes dogs. She could recall meeting other cats who gave her a similar weird feeling to the ferret, but at the time she had passed it off for her male body wanting to mate. So she had left pretty soon. Jin was not going to mate as a cat.


Jin blinked lazily when the ferret...spoke? It wasn't speaking really. Not like normal human speech, but she could understand it. <Can...can you understand me?>


----


Daniel landed, getting really confused about what might be going on. Maybe he shouldn't have avoided contact with other animals if this was going to happen. He certainly was enjoying whatever was happening. He was able to talk to other animals! Sure it was other birds, but it was progress. Maybe his bird mind was finally able to link to his human and translate the caws and screeches and hoots into actual words for him so it wasn't just a lot of guessing or relying on the owl.


Daniel would not admit it but he was afraid to hand over complete control to the owl mind that seemed to co-exist with his own human consciousness. He felt if he did he might loose himself and never be human again. Maybe never remember be was human at all.


But those thoughts were rare and never prevented Daniel from enjoying himself as an owl. <Yes. I find it to be so as well.>


 
Madison slipped into the shadows, her glowing golden eyes becoming brighter with each step she took. She looked behind her cautiously, waiting for something to pop around the corner of the dark alleyway, but nothing came. Sighing in relief, she padded off and vanished around another corner.


"That stupid dog almost got me.." She mumbled under her breath, sneaking toward a pile of rubbish.


Sniffing the pile, her pupils became slits almost immediately. She was hoping to smell the delicious scent of a leftover bagel or a cheese burger, but instead, the strong scent of a dog wafted into her nose.


A low growl formed behind her, and before she knew it, there was teeth digging into her neck and ripping violently at her fur. Letting out several high-pitched yelps, the small black and white fox scrambled away from it's attacker, running down the sidewalk. The Humans around her gasped slightly and leaped back as the huge dog began tearing after Madison.


Crap.. Right when I thought it was gone. She thought to herself, gritting her teeth as she sped forward, running as fast as she could go. She looked around.


I have to escape from this dog.. But where to go?


She looked around once more, than spotted a tiny alleyway that the huge dog definitely could not squeeze through. This was going to be risky. Leaping with every amount of power she had left, she leaped straight into the small alleyway and skidded to a halt.


Glancing back, the dog tried to leap after her, but it was stuck, and instead continued to growl and bark at her repeatedly. She collapsed, the pain from her injury causing her energy to drain out of her body. Panting, Madison tried to stand up. But it was too much and she fell back onto her side.
 
Ophelia grew somewhat restless as the time approached. It had been six months like this. It felt like a lifetime, no, more so like her life had restarted. A smile edged on her pale face as she stretched her limbs out, one of her few ticks, or mannerisms as she called them. She thought back to the first change, waking up in the middle of the night and being one of fur, a black coated wolf to be exact. It was a night to be remembered for sure.


She had thought it to be a dream at first, a vivid dream of sight and smells beyond her capability, not to mention all the things she could take notice of with her increased hearing ability. By the end of that first supernatural night she had been questioning the validity of her so called dream, and when she awoke and found a scruff of fur at her open bedroom window she just knew. Since then she spent her nights walking on four agile limbs instead of the limiting two of her human form; She spend her nights prowling, and her days she spent more time than she would admit out loud, thinking of her nights.


By the second night she was feeling expectant, knowing that it had to be real, but not quite sure how it happened, if it was going to happen again, and if it did, when. But she had a feeling,a hope, almost a need. As the night started to tick away Ophelia began to worry, her faith faltering, but she barely registered the clock striking one before blacking out and waking up outside, once more in the body of the beast, and she was home. For six months this change continued to overtake her and she felt as if she were coming into her own, not realizing subtle changes overcoming her during the daylight hours.


And now the youth known as Ophelia stretched out the remainder of her body with a hidden grace while she looked towards the everslowly moving clock, her gaze searching to make sure the window was open so that she could escape easily during the time she could never recall, the beginning. Thoughts drifted to how beautiful the moon looked tonight before her eyes closed and she awoke in the park, stretching out her limbs in her changed form.


To the untrained or disbeliefed eye she looked nothing more than a dark coated dog with piercing blue iris'. Using this to her advantage Ophelia began to stalk around the park, keeping a careful eye for humans none the less, but that was in the back of her mind, for now she was free and wanted to run.
 
Julian actually almost fell out of the sky. The hawk was usually flying on autopilot, regardless of what he was doing, but here animal instincts were drowned out by surprise. What-!


Trying to turn around, or back up, or do some other human thing, the hawk found that his wings couldn't actually make him spin in midair. Julian faltered and fell, loosing the air under his feathers, before righting himself and flapping back up to the owl's level.


<This is incredibly amazing,> the crow said. Nearly bumbling up his landing on the rooftop, Julian gave a surprised stare at the black bird. It seemed to notice and hid behind a vent.


The owl was closer anyways. Shifting his talons to turn to the bird of prey, Julian asked incredulously, <You can hear me?> He paused, then added, <Did you hear the crow?> Then, he gave a wordless screech of confusion. How? Were birds really sentient? If they were, then he had some stern words to say to the pigeon who'd tagged his new sneakers last week.


Then he blurted- <Are you human?>


He couldn't be the only one!
 
Taking several steps further back as the Calico started forward Alexander growled lowly, his fore legs lowering into bow adding emphasis to the display as he barked a third though uncertain time.


He was not quite sure what to do next as he observed it's nonchalant air and the twitch of whiskers. A shared thought that the cat was not normal passing through it's mind and the terrier's hind legs soon followed suit of the fore, his body lowering into a less threatening crouch, creeping back to keep range between him and it and barking again more in experiment to confirm what it already know, it's head turning and tail beating slowly several times, eyes watching.


This Calico was not threatened of him as most cats he had encounted previously and found to be, the way the burmese behind it evidently was. Nor was it intimidated or even slightly fazed or scared by the Terrier's sharp mouthed display and Alexander could not help but find the prospect curious. One thing was for sure though, he did not believe the Calico had any intent to harm him, nor the burmese for that matter, no doubt both parties startled by the appearance of the other, natural 'enemies'.


Flattening his body against the cool pavement subdued, he gave up the gun and allowed the cat it's approach. The gesture more to reassure the burmese that he bore no ill intent after such feisty aggression than in response to the Calico, and as Alexander's tail swept across the dusty surface gently his eyes glanced between it the burmese and nothing in particular in it's deference and calm. Nonetheless remained alert should either become tricksy as he waited to see what would happen next.


Alexander a firm believer that cats, much like dolphins, were to damn clever for their own good and not putting it past them to form some kind of trap.
 
There was no way… No possible way that in a ferret body, Aubree was able to talk to a cat. Didn’t they make different sounds? Were all animals able to understand each other like them? She hadn’t really tried talking to anything before… Here she was though… Understanding a cat.


<…Yes?> she is almost tentative, but didn’t know if that would come through in her… Dooks? Thoughts? How were they able to talk even? Aubree didn’t understand it, but she was still intrigued, interested enough to say <I didn’t know I could understand other animals.>


It was a slip, and she recognized it right away; if all animals could understand each other then they cat would think she was crazy.
 
Rinji's tail pumps up and down in brief bobs as she observes the dog moving aside for her and Veronica, as though to let them pass in a gentlemanly fashion. Turning back to Veronica, she lets out a short meow with an excited, friendly tone to it, going back to her sister and rubbing against her again before walking back and forth in front of the dog without actually passing him. To Veronica, it rather looks like Rinji looks as a human, when she is exaggerating her walk to flirt with someone.


Is her sister FLIRTING with a DOG?


Veronica gives another short hiss, and stays back, eyeing the dog for a few more moments without moving. It appears to her, though, that he is not dangerous, not going to chase them...not unless he's waiting for them to walk past first. In fact...is he trying to communicate with them? Like a human might?


No...it can't be THAT. He couldn't be...no one was in the same situation as them.


Right?


Cautiously she started forward with Rinji. Several feet from the dog, she stopped, then, using the dust and dirt in the ground, briefly rubbed a question mark for him to see with her paw. Immediately after she licked it, hating the way she had dirtied herself.
 
He smiled internally at the way the Calico appeared to sway with its muted steps, much like a human woman moving to impress in tune to her own music, and quietly Alexander watched, his tail picking up slight speed at the game she played, a muted growl followed by a playful bark in response. Something about the feline indeed seemed almost. . . human.


His head shook suddenly in attempt to rid himself of such thoughts, a paw moving to drag over his nose irritably as he straightened, pushing himself upright to sit as he found the at present animal aspect of his mind fixated on the curve of the feline's body as she directed herself before him, hypnotized, whilst that which was human remained neutral and found it amusing that the cat appeared to be. . . Flirting almost, much like the women at work, emboldened after several drinks.


As he focused once more moments later it was to find the burmese cat had moved closer and for that he was glad that it felt more comfortable as its paw began to draw through the dirt between them, and glancing back at he calico briefly his own eyes shifted downward. . . Jumping up suddenly and backing up at the symbol the burmese drew in the dirt the terrier looked up at her with all to human eyes as his gaze locked on it, moving down to the cats paw as though it were an alien appendage as he crept forward, lowering his head in unconscious investigation as though to sniff the appendage. . .


He caught himself lifting his head, his tail already wagging excitedly as he lowered his front in bow once more, this time in play, and if you didn't know any better it would seem as though he were smiling as he looked between the two cats, moving his head in a nod to it's unspoken question as its forepaws spread wide open almost in a would be welcoming and encompassing gesture were he human and standing upright, appearing to show off.


All this time he had never come across anyone... Or well, thing, to confirm that their were others, and now like buses after so long a wait two appeared at once; humans?!
 
As the dog nods, then spreads his paws, as though to smile in answer to her question, Veronica's fur slowly lies down flat again, and though she remains tense in her posture, her whiskers twitch, as though in returning smile. Though she gives little indication of her thoughts, she is inwardly stunned.


Throughout the past six months, how had it NOT occurred to her that if she and Rinji were having this happen, maybe they weren't the only ones? For all she knew, half the humans in her area were going through this!


Veronica glanced at her sister and saw that Rinji too had connected the dots. Rinji began to purr, then boldly stepped forward and rubbed her head briefly against the dog's leg, as though in greeting. Watching this, Veronica actually rolled her eyes. Relieved to see they weren't alone or not, her sister was ridiculous, in her eyes, in her boldness.


Veronica thought again, then carefully drew in the dust. It took longer and more effort to write out first her name, then Rinji's, with little arrows pointed to the correct person, and she looked up at the dog again after to make sure he got her point.
 
Daniel turned his head to face the hawk. Something odd was occurring. Either he was slowly losing it, which really wouldn't surprise the man at this point. He was lonely and he had told no one this secret. Even if he did like his nighttime adventures as an owl, he felt secluded from people in the daytime. Daniel was still a people-person like he always was, but he found himself hesitate to form friendships or to make plans. He was even keeping it from his girlfriend which was getting pretty hard for him.


So him thinking he was hearing other animals talk? Yeah it might fit into the insanity slot. But he could be sane and not alone. Someone else could be going through the same madness as himself. The same wonderful experience.


<I am human> Daniel said looking at the hawk. <Are you?>


----


The ferret was talking back to her. This was almost too much for the girl to handle. First she had to go through being a male cat nightly and now she was having a conversation with a ferret. Could things get any weirder?


'Well if you have to ask, they probably will,' Jin thought grimly, wondering what could happen next. How could it get weirder? She decided to focus on what was going on though.


<Neither did I. At least not like this.> Jin wanted to ask the question. She wanted to know if maybe she was not alone after all. She had that feeling with those female cats before. And now this was happening. Was it possible she was not the only one to be experiencing this weird experience? Was she not alone and if she wasn't did any of the others know what was going on?


 
The terrier's growl reverberated from it's throat as he pushed itself upright, though there was no aggression there, rather it was more friendly, and Alexander attempted a absent minded nip at the Calico's tail. Missing just slightly as it swished absently across the side of it's face in tease as she moved against his flank.


His own tail beat a steady rhythm as the terrier's head turned to follow her in his peripherals once more, shoulder and neck curving in a gentle arc before standing upright taking steps back, it's body turning slighting and moving about behind her to the opposite side, nose nudging against the soft fur of her side, unconsciously familiarizing with her scent as he sniffed absent mindedly, his own body bumping hers playfully as he moved beside her, drawing beneath her chin as he drew full circle. The terrier's movement was almost clumsy beside the graceful feline, though agile, quick and sharp nonetheless . . .


Alexander forced himself to focus as he noticed the Burmese's paw scraping the ground once more, body lowering as he willed the terrier to calm once more tail slowing to a halt. Eyes catching her directly in their gaze as he watched with curiosity. . . his tail moving once more as he registered the letters, barking in confirmation at the names she provided him as he found himself on his feet once more, paws unsettled as the tap danced across the pavement impatient for her to finish, body moving back and turning slightly with the steps, his own excitement mingling with that of the terrier's and making it difficult to contain.


'Veronica', he barked once more, bowing in play and second greeting tail wagging, hind legs dropping to flatten his body against the pavement once more as he turned to the Calico at the revelation of a second name, 'Rinji'. Snuffling the ground as he stood once more, neck stopping low he sniffed at the names before making quick dig like motions, paws dragging across them, failing and giving up up on the regular 'paw' writing of his full name after several attempts of failing to write 'Ale'. The terrier not so fine or focused in it's movements despite the human mind riding it and settling for rough child like block capitals of his more commonly used shorter name instead. Tongue poking out slightly to one side in his concentration much as it would have in his human form.


SASHA.


He barked, mouth parting in 'smile' once more at the burmese as he took several steps back from the not quite though nonetheless finally accomplished master piece <Alexander>
 
Sasha? The dog-man's name is Sasha? Veronica cuts her eyes to Rinji, as though questioning this, for the first Sasha that comes to her when she thinks of the name is Sasha Obama- and the Bratz doll. She has never thought of Sasha as a male name.


But her sister, being a tattooist, takes this in stride, as though she meets scores of male Sashas every day. Maybe she does, Veronica wouldn't know. Then again, it was her sister, who took a perfectly normal name like Lindsey and insisted it shift around to become something weird and foreign like Rinji. Whoever heard of a blonde white girl with a name like that? But then, Veronica guessed that was the point.


Rinji is still purring as she too starts to write in the dust, and Veronica eyes her, sitting back on her haunches and continuing to lick her paws, cleansing herself behind her ears and neck absently. When Rinji has finished and looks up at Sasha, again briefly nuzzling him, Veronica rolls her eyes, letting out a short, exasperated meow.


Her sister had written her phone number in the dust. Figures. Yeah, it would be sort of interesting to talk to a guy who was going through the same thing, informative. Veronica could understand wanting a way to contact him as a human. But did she have to NUZZLE after, like it was an invitation for a date?
 
​The terrier's head craned about, body shifting though unmoving as the calico began to nuzzle against its fur. It's jaws parting to catch the felines ear between parted lips playful and tugging, teasing in response to the action with shielded teeth, a pink tongue idly and unconciously flicking out in dog like soothe before Alexander forced it's distracted attention return to the number pawed across the ground.


He made sure to read it over and over speaking it to himself several times in check until fully satisifed in order to commit and burn the string of numerals fully to memory. Unwilling to let the opportunity pass him by, not just in regards to meeting others like himself, a human trapped within an animal body, but as much curious to meet the counterparts of the feline's before him, the tempting Calico and the thoughtful Burmese.


He could tell already that they knew one another, could practically hear Veronica's eyes rolling in response to Rinji's tempting, friends perhaps, the burmese no doubt the older of the two. . . although then again perhaps not. Veronica's responses to the Calico's 'flirtation' resembling those of an embarrassed child or one who had long since accepted the other's ways and yet still found the other to be . . .


The terrier's head had cocked itself curiously as Alexander stared straight at her, attempting to discern her thoughts, and turning away nonetheless keeping the burmese in his periphrals as he caught himself, he gestured his nose in Rinji's direction before drawing back to Veronica, pointing at her with the brief rising of a paw in question, Friends, family? They knew each other right? That is to say beyond the animal world they currently inhabited.
 
Sasha gestured between her and Rinji, and Veronica's whiskers twitched. She did not understand what he was trying to indicate. She had already shared their names...did he want their ages? Or her phone number? Was he asking for Veronica's as well?


Veronica shook her head, but again, it appeared that Rinji understood him. Or else she really wanted to annoy her today. Rinji sashayed back to Veronica, her tail flicking back and forth, and now nuzzled her head against hers, briefly pausing it so they were standing cheek to cheek, and purred, flicking her tail to indicate first her face, then Veronica's, as though to point out a family resemblance. There was none, whether in their feline forms or their human ones, but Veronica supposed it got the point across.


Rolling her eyes again, she pulled away from her, and Rinji playfully biffed her nose with her paw, causing Veronica to hiss lightly in response and biff her back slightly harder. That action, in her opinion, was more representative of their sisterly status than the other.
 
The terrier was on it's feet once more, barking, jaws parted as it growled eager to play, and Alexander could not have prevented the tail that whipped from side to side even if he tried as the Calico Rinji moved her tail in indication. A somewhat 'can't you see the resemblance' manner, before buffing what Alexander now assumed and was more certain was a relative. The thought of appearance provoking another more idle one in regards to whether the girls were of asian heritage. Rinji's name itself certainly pointed in that direction, and he began to imagine dark features hidden behind the cat's eyes. . .


The terrier's head whipped around at the sound of a door opening, and Alexander yelped, a short high pitched bark as an object flew towards him, catching his back legs before he could register what was occurring.


"**** off with ya yapping! Stupid mutt!" Shouted a male voice.


A growl emitted from the terrier as he tensed turning, staring down his assaulter, a large robed man doused in lamplight. A low pitched bark escaped Alexander in warning as the man stepped outside moving closer, sounding from the terrier's chest, though he backed up as he sighted the metal object in the man's hand with an undulating growl, it's smooth surface glinting threateningly. No longer certain of his aggression and wanting to run as much stand his ground. Though as the human raised it, swinging it experimentally, the terrier slowly turned tail, keeping the man in peripherals should he attack, the decision made for the canine by the human riding inside.


He was little. This man was big. . . he also wielded a baseball bat. It didn't take a genius to figure the outcome of this match up, and not one to act the tough guy or take needless risks to impress, he didn't even consider what the two girls may think of his somewhat fearful retreat as he purposely bumped and nudged into them, ensuring to scuff the number that Rinji had pawed across the pavement in the process. Indicating that he would much rather not find out if the man's anger extended to them, guilty by association.
 
Their interaction was interrupted by a large man, who immediately shouted at Sasha and held a baseball bat up high, as though threatening to swing. From Sasha's quick, fearful retreat, it appeared that he knew the man. Someone he knew in his personal life, someone who hated dogs, or perhaps all animals? Or someone he just knew to be a cruel person?


Veronica didn't know, but she wasn't about to linger to find out. With Sasha's bumping form giving her added incentive, she began to run, meowing loudly for Rinji to follow, and was relieved when her sister sprinted ahead with her. Tail raised, ears perked, Veronica and Rinji ran ahead of Sasha, assuming he would follow. Veronica started to jump up a nearby alley's fire escape, poised to do so, but then, glancing back at Sasha and realizing he could not follow, instead resumed her stride.
 
His paws padded heavily against the pavement as he began to move, noisy in comparison to the silent steps of the two felines that ran on ahead, taking the opportunity to turn, pause and look at the large robed man at the mouth of the alley as the distance between the human and the strays increased.


The puppy barked playfully in taunt finding dark amusement in the chase and it got the man's attention focused on him at the least if nothing else, even if it was somewhat out of spite and tail wagging in time with it's thundering heart he saw the man pick up sudden unexpected speed, dashing forward in baited anger. Within Alexander smiled at how easily riled the man was in his exhaustion, any guilt at having been the cause of his waking non existent from the off having had what he now realized was a dusty gray croc shoe, thrown at him and finding dark amusement in the man's evident discomfort.


He didn't pause as he watched Veronica practically skipped up the fire escape, rather somewhat impressed and not a little envious at the cat's agile physiology. Though nor did he count on her hopping back down, and darting beneath the stairwell in time for her to land beside him he skipped sideways, somewhat startled by her sudden appearance considering the man chasing them. Alexander nudged into her body with his own gently in response, amused that she would put herself back in harms way because between her and Rinji she seemed the more sensible of the two, having unconsciously decided she was not the type to concern herself with a stranger.


Alexander turned his head slowing to a halt as the man finally gave up mid way down the alley, giving up the gun entirely in regards to catching the annoying dog, all the while muttering as he returned to the comfort of his bed, and panting the terrier barked communicating it's excitement much like a pumped up child causing the man to turn and flip him off at the exit to the alley as the terrier busied itself looking for Rinji before looking at the burmese beside him.


Considering her for a moment as the terrier calmed and sat, Alexander made a growling sound that could have been a chuckle as he lifted a paw and rested it upon the top of her head in a friendly, all to human like gesture tail swinging gently, as though poised to ruffle her hair before letting it fall, leaning in and idly nudging Veronica's neck with his nose, more in curiosity than flirtation as though she were something foreign, snuffling for a moment before lowering his body where he sat into a more relaxed position, sprawling himself out slightly as his eyes returned to the Calico, body moving in time to the rapid breathing.


He made no sound this time, no barks to communicate his questions, but rather his tail picked up in speed of it's beating, as he looked around as though to ask; <so what happens now?>, eyes shifting between the two cats. He had never had to consider what other animals did as they roamed the city, let alone those steered by humans. Had never had to question it until now, his own time when taking the lead from the canine spent exploring those areas and reaches of the city he had never been to, satisfying his human curiosities between lazing and catching up on the sleep that would be otherwise missed.
 
They lose the man quickly enough, and as the girls slow their pace for Sasha to resume walking with them, Veronica thinks to herself how they must look walking together. Two cats and a dog, side by side? Anyone watching would think it was very weird, and she had learned by now it was best to not draw attention to herself in this form, and to keep Rinji from doing so too if possible. It wasn't that she really thought something bad would happen, but it could. Her feline body was smaller and weaker than her human one, and it was pretty well known that a lot of psychopaths out there had it in for cats.


Veronica startled when Sasha patted her head, flattening her ears and ducking from under his paw with a hiss, eyes narrowed, fur bristling briefly before she edged away from him. Human he might be, but she didn't even let human guys pat her head, whether she was a cat or a person, let alone a dog. Rinji looked at her as if not understanding what her problem was, and then, suddenly making a pleased meowing noise that Veronica, if not Sasha, recognized it as an idea striking, darted ahead of them, her tail flicking as though asking them to follow. She circled back, nuzzling first Sasha, then Veronica, and then ran ahead again, appearing to be making sure they understood her request.


Veronica was puzzled but with a glance at Sasha, followed her sister. She had no idea what Rinji had in mind, but she had nothing better to do, so she went along with her wishes, checking to see if Sasha was too. He was sort of irritating, but chances were they weren't about to run into another like them any time soon. They might as well stick together.


Still, did the one other person who had this happen to him HAVE to be a dog?


A couple of blocks found them in front of Cherry Bomb, the tattoo shop where Rinji worked. Veronica had started to suspect this the moment they turned onto its street, and as they stopped in front of it, this having clearly been the intended destination, she sat on her haunches with a short meow of annoyance and shook her head in a very human fashion, then started to clean herself, ignoring her sister. Rinji walked back and forth in front of it, head held high, tail flicking back and forth as though in pride, and she nuzzled Sasha again before turning back to the now closed building, flicking her tail at it as though in ownership.


Yeah, something to be proud of, all right. An old building, with a weathered, slightly peeling sign, a neon arrow half burnt out, and though it was clean on the inside, it wasn't exactly attractive and impressive from the outside. And Rinji thought that attempting to demonstrate that she was a tattooist for a living would impress this guy HOW? For all they knew, he was an accountant, or a millionaire.


And her sister wondered why she couldn't keep a guy for more than a month or two at a stretch.
 
<Well,> Julian said, his eyes boring into the owl he now knew was more than a bird. <Right now I'm a hawk. But usually I'm human!> If he hadn't had his beak, he would have burst into a grin. <So I'm not the only one!> he exclaimed, flapping off of the roof and spinning a completely un-hawk-like circle in celebration. The animal mind seemed a little confused about what it was doing.


<My name's Julian. What's yours?> he asked, landing back on his perch a little closer to the owl. As his talons gripped the rough shingles, he turned to see what the crow was doing as well. He now suspecting the true nature of the black bird; he wondered when it would come out?


The hawk mind was still protesting against the other bird of prey, but it was calming down now- in a wary sort of way. It wasn't a rival Great Horned Owl, he was pretty sure by now. And it wasn't attacking. Besides- the rooftop was higher than the owl's perch, so he'd have the advantage in a fight. Julian certainly hoped there wouldn't be one.
 
The tomcat’s response wasn’t what Aubree suspected, and by now the girl was totally lax in front of the previous enemy. Over analyzing the statement, the girl finally takes a chance and speaks out, <A-Are you… a Human?> the pause afterward made her nervous. Skittering slightly closer to the cat, she thought it over once again and found herself saying, <You have to be human nothing else makes sense>.


With the final judgement call, Aubree had confirmed what the strange feeling she got around certain animals was about. They were human! Much like she herself snapped out of her furry male ferret form and reverted back to the oldest sibling of the Clayton family. It meant that there were others like her, and it was something that she noted in the back of her knowledge reservoir.


She was happy enough to be jumping around and tumbling forward in a dance that much would recognize as a weasel war dance. It was an invitation from her towards the tom cat, it was time to play.
 
Following the two felines, it didn't occur to him the odd appearance the three of them must have made as Veronica did, the small details lost on him until forcibly brought to the surface, rather he was taking the terrier's distraction for granted as it focused solely on running, though once or twice a stray thought involving one of the two felines' tails slipped through and he was forced to shake it off as he felt the urge to pounce and nip at them.


After six month's he had long since accepted his ritual changes as a part of life and long since stopped dwelling so deeply, realizing that the vast majority of his questions; particularly the why and how-, would never be answered. However now, with Veronica and Rinji's appearance the questions were resurfacing, albeit different, there were others like him-, like them? Were they scattered over the city? The world? How many were there? Did they know they were not alone? The most prominent of his questions however as he eyed he two felines ahead of him was a simple one, did they suffer side effects too?


Waking up one day two months ago to realize the world had been steadily shifting in tone, draining of color and had since seemed set to steadily fade to black and white like that of his animal counterpart until nothing remained had by far been the only thing that troubled him about the whole deal, and he wondered if the side effects of whatever this was were shared by others. . . As the terrier came to a stop Alexander was yanked from his thoughts and he looked about him to gather his bearings to take in the , before looking at Rinji, then at the run down and somewhat debilitated building to their side at which Rinji was apparently showing off with a flick of her tail.


'Cherry Bomb', it looked old and beaten, the letters fading and the paint peeling, the white neon flickering one of it's edges evidently burnt. It was not the sort of place you would expect to have to find yourself in but rather walk on by, barely wanting to notice it's seemingly shady existence at all. The terriers jaws parted to feign bite against the back of the Calico's neck with shielded teeth as she nuzzled against him once more, foreleg pawing at the air gently, and shifting his body against the length of hers almost in encouragement as he moved forward to explore, his muzzle pressed into soft fur nonetheless seemingly enjoying the shallow affection even as he tried to shake the distraction.


Head bending to sniff along the wall in autopilot before hopping and leaning upon it with forepaws, stretching up, nose tip just about reaching the glass . . . The terrier barked, Alexander couldn't help it as he pushed away from the wall in amusement before circling then heading for the door encountering the same problem as his muzzle just about reached the glass. Moving back looking up at the building working out how o go about the problem before he suddenly reared up on hind legs, back paws moving unsteadily as his head turned catching glimpses of what was beyond the window panes before falling forward once more tail wagging excitedly.


Inside was more interesting and well kept and from what he could tell there were intricate cutouts, artwork, decals and graphics decorating some of the walls, and from their appearance he could already guess what it was that went on inside, what Rinji had been intending by bringing him here, and as he glanced toward the Veronica, he took her disinterest as confirmation that she had been here before and done that, and there was nothing new to see. Rinji was a tattoo artist?


He was unable to take more from the Calico's gestures however, the point of ownership lost as he assumed it to be pride in her life work, her art and with good reason. Like most people he had always wanted to ink his skin with some grand, intricate and unique custom design but had never had the courage to go all out, settling for a name across his wrist, and muzzling into her neck idly he moved to her side and was suddenly using body for support in his thoughtless play as both forepaws came up to rest upon her back in order to glance one more time beyond the window, much as a human would use another person's shoulders to push themselves higher, dropping seconds later and drawing his chin over her back in apology and realization, unsure if he had hurt her with his weight. He may have been small after all but it didn't mean he wasn't heavy, <sorry>.


Moving about her he nudged the Veronica gently with his nose, snuffling her scent briefly in the process, before gesturing with a look toward the shop; 'you work here too?'
 
Rinji watches with continued pleasure and pride, or so it appears to Veronica, as Sasha investigates the building as thoroughly as possible from the outside, clearly interested in what Rinji is trying to show him. She purrs when Sasha nuzzles her again, closing her eyes and lifting up her chin as though to convey how much she enjoys the physical contact. To Veronica, this is akin to a full-bodied hug, and she turns away, embarrassed for her sister, since her sister clearly doesn't have the good sense to be embarrassed for herself. She just met this guy, she doesn't even know what he looks like as a human, and he's a DOG right now. His canine smell alone ought to turn her off, and here she is practically sitting in his lap, if they were both human.


She only hopes that Rinji won't start licking him too, because the last thing she can handle right now is a makeout session.


She turns fast though when Rinji lets out a brief yowl that sounds pained, and sees that the terrior is putting his paws on her back. Veronica rushes over to him with a hiss, thinking that he means to squash her to the ground or pin her down, but even as she reaches Rinji's side he is already backing away, apologizing to Rinji with another nuzzle. Veronica stares at him with narrowed eyes. What the hell was he thinking, what was he trying to do?


But then she hears him speak inside her head, telling Rinji he was sorry, and Veronica is stunned. She had thought that only she and Rinji could speak to each other in that way and understand, that it must be because they were both cats and humans, and possibly because they were related too. But they can also hear this guy?


Rinji, of course, is thoroughly excited, and her tail flicks as she walks in a circle, nuzzling them both and speaking excitedly. <You can speak to us like this too?! This is great?! Veronica, isn't this great? Veronica, we can understand him!>


She rubs the side of her face into Veronica's neck, and Veronica hisses at her, but half-heartedly, not bothering to detach. When Rinji gets in this kind of mood she knows better than to waste energy protesting. Her sister is over the moon about this newest discovery as she turns to Sasha, addressing him too.


<I'm so glad! I thought we were the only ones!>


Veronica flinches when he nudges her, edging away, and when he gestures to the shop, as though asking if she works there too, she is horrified and immediately shakes her head, hard. <No! I'm going to COLLEGE.>


If that sounds a little snobby, she doesn't care. Her sister's chosen life is definitely not hers.
 
Alexander lifted a foreleg to paw at his nose unsteadily as he backs up, much like a human containing laughter as he emits a low growl, lowering his body to the pavement and willing himself not to bark. His tail picking up speed, beating quickly rapid from left to right giving away his excitement as he is assailed by a feminine voice. Her voice. Unable to comprehend it fully, taking a moment as though to be sure he is not imagining it, more certain as she continues the stream of excited speech. The growl undulating with his inward chuckle as he watches the interaction between the two siblings.


As Rinji brushes against his side the terrier rolls onto it's back, pawing at her in attempt to reach as the bark finally escapes it, Alexander's excitement mingling with the pup's own and it's enjoyment of the continued contact. Flailing for a moment as it unsuccessfully boxes the air in the attempt to reach her before suddenly stilling as Alexander becomes more subdued, regaining composure and control. . . they could hear him now? How? They had not been able before? But then, he had not heard them either . . . He stares directly at Veronica as the thought's pass through his mind.


Suddenly rolling back over and shaking his head with what appears to be a sneeze, Alexander's ear perk up as his jaw parts, in 'smile' as he finally registers her response through the revelations. He definitely was not imagining it, Veronica's response, her voice now suddenly replacing the first, entirely different than the first and not a little indignant in it's tone, it made the terrier bark in amusement. . . college?


He pushed himself up into a sitting position, head tilting almost 45 degrees at the revelation, this more shocking than the ability to hear what the felines were indeed saying; because having turned into a Jack Russell every night for the past six months, not much shocked Alexander in the way of disbelief that should have-, and he looked between the two cats in open curiosity, not quite stating the question he wished to ask as his tail slowed. Not quite sure what it was he wanted to ask in the first case with 'Are you kidding me?' springing to mind. He had thought her older than that with such an air of maturity and it made him curious now.


He is saved from possibly offending the feline the way his siblings may have been upon being asked their age as he becomes distracted once more, suddenly realizing the Burmese has backed off as she spoke, and his tail begins to wag once more in entertainment. Not just at the action but at having to respond with such a cliche, amusement in and not to mention disbelief that he was even speaking the words aloud evident in his tone.


<I don't bite that much.>
 
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