《A cat》


 Rebirth

    Pain, love, and life I feel all at once, it¡¯s like my life is a smear, or a blur. Very few things are concrete and many are the smallest pieces of everything. Who was I? Was I human? A cat? A fhdkshgfkewi that knew all? Guess i¡¯ll never know.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Where am I?


    I feel cold and lonely, but at the same time have no desire to change this.


    I feel like I have been born anew, what was I last doing? I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll figure it out.


    For now I must figure out where I am.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    I open my eyes to find myself floating in a void-like place, its large but still finite. It¡¯s like a place that has edges that will take forever to walk to, but going around what looks like the long way is actually the faster way.


    The place is certainly strange but feels like me, like it is a part of me or I am a part of it.


    While I¡¯m able to get a vague sense of the space around me it¡¯s still disorienting just floating here. I wonder, if this place really is an extension of myself can I just will it to have a floor? I try to will a floor for myself and it appears, but I am still floating here.


    I then will myself a body and spend the next few moments testing out different things. I make tables and chairs, and change the body I have for myself. After testing the different things I can do, (and after making a few leaps in logic) I have come to a few conclusions, The most important part of this place is that it is some extension of me, maybe my will but with something facilitating the processing my conscious mind is not capable of.


    This place is sort of like a lucid dream, but I am sure I am not dreaming.


    I shall figure out what this place can do soon enough!

 Outside my domain

    I have been here for some time, although I have not a clue how much has passed, if any.


    This place, which I have decided to call my ¡°domain¡±, somewhat warps to my will. It seems to find ways to do stuff that I have not explicitly thought for it to, like if I make a chair flip, the material phases through itself.


    I get the sense that there is more than my domain, but I haven¡¯t figured out where it is. While my floors and walls look like they hide the outside world, they are purely aesthetic. Beyond the boundaries is the edge of my domain, and while I can stretch the area, I¡¯m sure there is nothing beyond it.


    I have tried a few different things, putting more space in space, trying to break the edges of my domain, and just wishing to see something outside here. I don¡¯t know If I even can break my domain boundaries, they seem to be the most concrete thing in here.


    I finally try something that I hadn¡¯t thought of before, saying please. This suprisingly works, although I don¡¯t know why.


    I immediately regret my decision as I cry out¡­ no someone else cries out. The cries and screams are so loud and painful they seem to warp the air around in ways that are visible to the naked eye, yet I know that can¡¯t be the case. I cover my ears with whatever appendages I made earlier and take a look around, and I find myself in a scene of immense bloodshed. There are corpses scattered around, some in pieces and some perfectly intact as if they aren¡¯t dead. There are a few still fighting here, and many injured, if I had to guess there are about 50 casualties, which will likely approach 75.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    I look at those still fighting, it¡¯s a battle against giants, the smaller ones slaughtered by the giants, I can¡¯t stand this and decide I shall help defeat the giants. Or maybe I can bargain for the lives of those left?


    <hr>


    Alver and the rest of his party of 5 continue their trek through the forest, they are all tired and wish to be done with their task.


    ¡°Can¡¯t we just go back? I just want a bed, why¡¯d we have to do this in the middle of the night?¡± said Alver, a young elven adventurer.


    ¡°We can do this during the day, but would likely only kill one or two slimes if lucky. Nighttime is the best time to hunt monsters, and this area is safe under the protection of the spirits.¡± replied one of the others in the group, she¡¯s a human fighter named Eleanor(Ellie for short) after her late mom, which she aspires to be like.


    Alver replied back to her with a small ¡°Yeah, yeah¡­¡± in a whisper.


    After walking a bit more they come across around ten slimes, all of the adventures getting ready to slash through them. As the adventures cut the slimes they split into smaller, twitching slimes. ¡°shit, splitting slimes¡± said Alver as he cut into a few of the slimes.


    Splitting slimes are a type of slime that are notoriously hard to deal with due to their fast multiplication when cut, the only way to stop this is to boil them or chop them into a fine paste. Also, while splitting slimes multiply fast when cut, they have no natural way to multiply, so they rely entirely on the violence of others to increase their population. Boiled splitting slime juice is a common ingredient in medicine.


    After a few minutes of slashing, chopping and capturing the slimes, they come across a small kitten, looking directly at them, almost as if judging them, before it speaks, ¡°Giants, why have you slain these who are smaller than you?¡±

 The cat

    I say, ¡°Giants, why have you slain these who are smaller than you?¡± the giants just stare at me, their attention no longer on the small green beings. The small balls of green take this opportunity to run from the giants, grabbing their comrades on the way out.


    The giants still haven¡¯t said something, so I decide to request them to end the violence, ¡°Please stop killing the small green orbs, it¡¯s mean!¡±


    The first giant to speak is one of the taller ones, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but these children need to kill the slimes for experience, they are pests and easily infest large areas.¡± Most of the giants have brown or black fur on their head, and large dense knotted fur across most of the rest of their body. Besides the one who speaks, the rest of the giants have very little or no fur on their paws or face.


    I attempt to gather my thoughts together and come up with what to say next, I only come up with questions, ¡°What are children? What is experience? What are slimes? Are the children, slimes, or experience pests?¡± I speak all of these in quick succession, some of the giants seem to find these questions funny, as they laugh as I talk. These questions are quite prudent, without them how will I properly assess the situation.


    The next one to speak is one with a higher pitched voice, they introduce themselves as ¡°Ellie¡± and say that their group is a group of adventurers. I assume that means murderers, also she asks my name, so I decide to come up with one. The only thing I can think of is that I¡¯m outside safety, so I come up with ¡°Fuori¡±, which I think means outside.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Fuori is now my name!¡± I say with enthusiasm unmatched by any I¡¯ve seen, then I realize that I should probably get back to telling them to not kill things. Ellie replies to my statement with, ¡°That is a nice name, but we must get back to clearing the infestation of slimes. They are the green orbs.¡± This reply clears a few things up, like how the adventurers are children, the slimes must be cleared, and how there is experience to gain. But I still have more questions like ¡°Can the giants give me experience?¡±, ¡°Why are they so tall¡± & ¡°Is experience fun?¡±, but I keep these questions to myself to let them get back to the massacre.


    <hr>


    Alver, Ellie and the others stare at the cat, their attention no longer on the slimes. Their mouths hang agape, and if this was a cartoon their jaws would have touched the floor. The first to speak up is their instructor, a taller, middle aged elf named Malfer. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but these children need to kill the slimes for experience, they are pests and easily infest large areas.¡±


    Ellie is the only one who notices the retreat of the slimes, as they gather and absorb the ones which were defeated. She decides to speak up after a series of nonsense questions from the cat, ¡°My name is Ellie, we are a group of adventurers, what is your name?¡±


    The cat replies that their name is ¡°now Fuori¡±, which she thinks is odd, but responds ¡°That is a nice name, but we must get back to clearing the infestation of slimes.¡± Then she quickly adds ¡°They are the green orbs¡± to clear up any confusion. The cat seems to take a moment to decide and then tells her that they¡¯ll help with clearing the infestation.


    Ellie tells the rest of the adventurers where the slimes went off to, they all follow her into some bushes, and walk a bit farther until they come across a huge slime, it¡¯s big as all of them combined. As various adventurers gasp and gawk at the giant monster, Malfer tells them to get behind him.


    As Malfer readies himself to take on this monster, the slime suddenly disappears, and in its place is the cat. The cat is licking his lips as if he just ate something delicious.

 Jelly

    I, now being named Fuori, follow the adventurers towards the slimes, there is a slime here that¡¯s quite a bit bigger than the previous ones. I wondered if I could still change things here, so as the others cowered behind someone called Malfer, I tried to see what can be changed.


    In short not much, even changing a single thing took much effort, and all I can do is move it slightly, not change it in any meaningful way. But this might be limited only to the outside things, as I can still change my form.


    I decided to wandered up to the slime. As I get closer I smell a very tasty aroma. Reminds me of something called pudding, or jello. I decide to take a big bite, but I underestimate how quick I can eat things, as I eat it all at once. Very tasty.


    As the adventurers stare at me, I wonder what they¡¯re waiting for, shouldn¡¯t they kill the rest of the pests? As I observe them, I notice that there are no other slimes. My work here is done.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    I look at Malfer, Ellie, and the others and say ¡°That was fun, bye now¡±. As the Adventurers start shouting at me to stay, I say in my mind ¡°please let me go back to my domain¡±, and as I do I feel my body shift, and I am once again back in my domain.


    <hr>


    Voices, they are in every direction, but upon being focused upon they are silenced.


    I¡¯m once again in my domain, but it feels different¡­ as if someone else is here. I go for the direct approach and ask ¡°Is anyone there?¡±, and all the voices stop.


    I feel a violent rip, as if something is being torn from me. It isn¡¯t actually that bad, like a bandaid being ripped. Then I feel like something is suffocating me, like I¡¯m being put into a cage.


    The void of my domain and the little I put here feels like it¡¯s been restricted, everything feels as concrete in existence as the edges of the domain.


    As I try to change anything, things do change, but instead of doing what I want they change in unexpected ways. Don¡¯t do this to me my stuff! This is my domain, so you must do what I say!


    I frantically try get a grasp on anything, and make it do as I want. The more I try the more I lose control, like trying to grab something small in water. I decide on a different approach and lessen my attempts at control, this furthers the process of my loss of control until I feel something in me shift, and I lose consciousness¡­

 Little fhdkshgfkewi?

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    <hr>

 1) I鈥檓 a catboy?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? WHY!!!!!!!!

    I open my eyes, I feel¡­ weird. I have two sets of memories, one of my life as a high school student on earth, and one as a weird cat entity somewhere else eating¡­ jelly?


    Besides my mind, my body feels weird as well, I can¡¯t pinpoint exactly what as I sit up. But then I feel it.


    There¡¯s something on my back, a tail!?!? It¡¯s black and has purple shifting swirls, I poke it and feel a strange feeling in my spine. I put my hands where my ears normally are to check if my ears are normal, but my hands only hit my skin.


    I check to see if there are ears on my head like half animal people in fiction, and find weird soft ears. The flesh of my ear has a similar texture to a cat¡¯s, and the hair? fur? is soft and super nice to touch.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    After touching these strange ears and tail for a good amount of time, I realize that I should figure out where I am, so I take a look around.


    I see a vast and beautiful forest, there are various types of flora and fauna, some familiar and some not. There is a small stream and something resembling a koi pond but with fish that I¡¯ve never seen, and so many starfish.


    I have a weird impulse to catch and eat some of the fish before I¡¯m interrupted by the weird feeling of knowledge flooding my brain.


    [~>Race: Cat-person


    Name: Fuori<~]


    You know when you suddenly realize something you forgot? This feels similar, but also like an epiphany of the universe. The thoughts are weird yet mundane.


    The information is also incredibly short, I thought I would get more information immediately proceeding this information, but whatever told me this decided noooo. I definitely could have figured this out on my own, actually I did know this all already!


    Then my thoughts are interrupted by the rustling of some bushes nearby, along with some voices whispering, ¡°Over here!¡±

 2) Familiar people

    I hold my breath and try to stay as still as possible as some people walk nearby. I think to myself, Be still, like the grass and rocks! My current task: being unseen.


    I fail spectacularly at the task due to my new cat tail moving like crazy. There are a couple people in my vicinity, they are familiar, but I can¡¯t quite place it¡­


    The answer is on the tip of my tongue¡­ I think, which then prompts me to think back to the incident with the ¡°jelly¡±, and then I remember.


    These two people are the adventurers, my memories of being a cat entity thing are useful. I can¡¯t quite place one of them, the older elf? named Malfer is not here, just a human girl named Ellie, and a younger elf. I assume he¡¯s an elf and the girl a human.


    The weird influx of information comes, similar to how it came earlier, now I know that some are elves, and some humans. Helpful, but I don¡¯t know the elf¡¯s name.


    While getting that information, they moved closer to me, I realize that a younger elf is talking to me while they are in the middle of a sentence, ¡°-you? Do you know anything about a mind controlling demon cat?¡±


    I look up at them confused and say ¡°What? Sorry I wasn¡¯t listening to what you were saying, would you mind repeating yourself?¡±


    This young elf is wearing a brown and green tunic, some brown and green pants, and some¡­ you know what? Everything he is wearing is green and brown, and his appearance is some standard fantasy outfit that you¡¯d see depicted. He has a bow on his back, some type of archer maybe?, but he has no arrows that I can see.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Then he speaks again, a little bit agitated, ¡°My name is Alver, and my friend here is Ellie, we are from the nearby village of safewater. Yesterday there was a strange occurrence of, we think, a demon cat. The cat hypnotized our group when we were hunting for slimes, we are here looking for information on the mysterious occurrence. Do you have any information on the demon cat?¡±


    I think for a moment. The cat they are talking about was likely the cat that I have memories from, where they went with that group of adventurers to defeat a slime. It is weird that they went with the cat. Is that the hypnotism that they are talking about, or something else¡­


    I answer them with a lie, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t have any information regarding anything of the sort. I am in a bit of a pickle myself actually, as I¡¯m unsure of how I got here.¡±


    They both look at me with a mix of emotions, it¡¯s as if I dashed their hope, but then as I got to the part of me not knowing how I got here, their eyes reignite. The girl, Ellie responds, ¡°That is an odd thing to have happened, is there any particular reason why you do not know?¡± She then turns her head to address the elf kid with a whisper.


    ¡°Alver, this might be related to the cat from yesterday, a person wearing cat ears appears, and they don¡¯t know how they got here? This has got to be related?¡±


    Then Alver responds while looking at me, ¡°It probably does, but how will we convince Malfer and everybody else? It seems that the spell that was placed on them hasn¡¯t been broken, they still believe that the cat talking was normal!¡±


    They both continue to ignore me as they continue talking with each other, apparently the demon cat hypnotized them into all thinking it was normal. The cat made it so they perceived the cat talking as normal, as well as the cat eating a slime much larger than itself. The effects of the spell wore off quickly, allowing them to perceive a cat eating that slime as strange, but with only these two thinking a talking cat is weird.


    They seem to have completely forgotten about me until my new tail reminds them of my presence by brushing the grass noisily. Alver is the one to address me ¡°Why are you wearing a cat costume? I know you know something about the cat, it¡¯s no coincidence that you just happen to show up the day after. Even if you know nothing, you obviously are related to it.¡±


    I start with my lie again, but then it turns into just my thoughts as I respond, ¡°I really don¡¯t know anything, also this is not a costume, and I am so confused, and I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening!¡±


    Ellie is the one to respond with a ¡°What?¡± as they both look at me, confusion painted across their faces.

 3) A catboy and 2 adventurers

    The two look at me dumfounded. I ask, ¡°Is it not normal to have cat ears here?¡±, then I feel a new influx of information in my mind.


    [~> Race: Rare Cat-person


    Name: Fuori


    Known Races: Cat-person, Human, Elf <~]


    Okay then, it is in fact not normal to be a cat person. The boy and girl take another look at me and my new ears, seemingly looking for where they are attached, and then at the side of my head where my ears used to be.


    The next few sentences from the girl confirms the rarity of my new species, ¡°It is not¡­ what are you? Are you cursed? Are you a mage? Is this an illusion?!?!¡±


    The boy then asks ¡°And also, who are you? I know you were lying about not being related and this confirms it!¡±


    The boy and girl regard me warily, the boy then whispers extra quiet this time, directly in her ear. ¡°If this is related, then we might be hypnotized again and not even know it, we should be wary of what this creature wants!¡±


    I respond ¡°Hey, I¡¯m not a creature! At least, not any more than you are!¡±


    Actually maybe I am some type of monster? No, I am a cat-person, emphasis on the person part.


    They both look at me, and the boy grabs a glowing arrow out of nowhere and grabs his bow, then he aims it at me. The girl is the one to stop him by putting a hand on his shoulder, ¡°Please don¡¯t shoot him, if you do, the cat might curse us! Or your actions could cause the demon from the other day to eat us like that slime!¡±Stolen novel; please report.


    ¡°Fine¡± the boy says, ¡°We¡¯ll take him back with us and interrogate him.¡±


    The girl agrees with a ¡°good¡±, and then she motions me to follow.


    As I walk with them, I notice that I am significantly faster than them, even when I ask if we can go faster, they still move at a pretty slow pace.


    Why is this? I wonder, am I fast or are they just slow? Actually now that I think about it, I¡¯m definitely more agile than I was before this situation I¡¯ve found myself in.


    It seems their movements are also not graceful, although, the terrain is not uniform, so I can¡¯t blame them much.


    I use this time to also figure out if I have some type of status or information system granted to me here. Given that some information has just popped up in my head, I¡¯m sure there is something there.


    I think of several different phrases, ¡°Status, Directory, Settings, Stats, Skills¡­¡±, and I get nothing. Maybe I should try to recreate the conditions where I got more information?


    The first one was when I had an impulse to eat some fish I think. The second one something to do with their races, and the third one just now having something to do with my race.


    The second 2 I was doing something related to-


    As I¡¯m thinking to myself, I suddenly find myself in a completely new area, as If the area around me changed, the forest shifted into a coastal town, the houses are made of stone, and the paths are stone as well. The pathways seem to be carved rather than built from imported stone, and some of the buildings seem to be part of the ground, as if the stone was quarried.


    I think that they carved the stone from here at some point, as some buildings actually do seem to be built from removed stone.


    Some buildings have expansions extending from their stone rooted parts.


    As we get closer to the town, Ellie throws some type of cloak to me, ¡°Put it on to hide your features¡± she says.


    I put it on, and it¡¯s actually rather nice. The fabric is a dull greenish brown in color, but I¡¯m able to see some swirls that adorn the fabric. They are purple and are ever changing, kind of like the patterns on my tail, and presumably my ears.


    As we walk into town, I realize that I was able to see quite a bit further than usual. It seems that my vision extends significantly into the distance, but I don¡¯t have the drawback of farsightedness.


    I¡¯m actually kind of excited to be in a fantasy town, I feel like a giddy child. I feel different than I did before, like the childishness of that cat melded with my mind¡­


    That would explain the cat ears, with a mysterious cat entity and me merging, I would potentially become a new species.


    Anyway, the town is filled with various people, and when I guess a race right, I get more of the information beamed into my head.


    Eventually we approach a specific building, and Ellie tells me that ¡°This is where we will figure out what is going on. This will be our home base.¡±


    I nod to her as we step inside the stone building


    [~> Race: Rare Cat-person


    Name: Fuori


    Known Races: Cat-person, Human, Elf, Gnome <~]

 4) Catboy interrogated

    As we walk in, I find myself in a smooth stone room adorned with various trinkets and tools. At first glance, this place might be misplaced as a workshop, but the tools are from too many different professions. It¡¯s like this is some type of lost and found. Ellie and Alver lead me through and around various objects, and then we end up in a darker room.


    It¡¯s the type of room that screams dungeon or something of the sort, I imagine It might have been used as a prison cell at some point. Ellie starts the interrogation, by playing good cop, ¡°Do you want some water? I assure you that it is safe, I also have some alcohol or juice if you would prefer.¡±


    Up until now, the duo seemed intent on interrogating me, and although Ellie stopped harm to me, I still can¡¯t trust her. But it would be rude to refuse her completely. ¡°Water is fine¡± I say, and she smiles as she leaves to get some water.


    Alver stares menacingly at me, or at least attempts to. He¡¯s not as intimidating as he probably imagines. I decide to try to coax some information out of him on the nature of these spells by the cat. ¡°So¡­ you¡¯re trying to figure out those spells? Could you tell me about their effects?¡±


    He responds with accusation in his voice, ¡°I know what you are doing cat, you are trying to figure out how much I know so you can get out of here!¡±


    What? Get out of here? Am I not allowed to leave? These thoughts flash through my mind as I realized my predicament.


    I had literally walked right into a trap, I was faster than them, I could outrun them. But noooo, I had to follow them.


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Honestly this might be a better situation than the alternative, being lost in an unknown forest, with potentially dangerous monsters like slimes roaming. This is much safer than being in a forest.


    Anyway, Alver is currently facing away from me, towards the door waiting for the girl.


    I need to figure out what exactly happened to me, and that starts with understanding the cat.


    What was that cat? It had a domain, and I have its memories, and maybe I am it?


    I try to see if I can will changes to my body as the cat did, and¡­ nothing. To be fair, I didn¡¯t actually expect that to work.


    Also I have noticed something weird, there seems to be some type of necklace in my pocket. That certainly wasn¡¯t there before. I wonder what it is for, and why do I have it?


    Finally the door opens once more, and Ellie comes in with 3 glasses, one of water, and two with either some type of alcohol or juice. She quickly leaves the room and comes back with a lantern that lights the room.


    The lantern doesn¡¯t evenly light the room, giving it a bit of a spooky feel. Ellie sets the cup of water in front of me, it smells different, like it actually has a smell, but that may be due to the changes in my body.


    Ellie and Alver have their own cups respectively, Alver attempts to decline at first, but then relents.


    I decide to take a sip of the water, and it¡¯s weird, I¡¯m tempted to chalk it up to the changes again, but what if it¡¯s more?


    I quickly gulp it all down, and that feels like a mistake, as a feel a change in the clarity in my mind, I¡¯m not exactly sure what it is.


    Then Alver looks at me and asks me a question, ¡°Do you know anything about that demon cat from the other day?¡±


    I start with my answer, ¡°Yes¡±, what? That is decidedly not what I had meant. I give a look if confusion at Alver. He says to Ellie, ¡°It seems the potion is working¡±, to which Ellie responds, ¡°We cannot be sure, knowledge of the demon cat could just be what we told him¡±.


    Ellie and Alver spent the next few minutes pestering me, but I refused to answer anything but a few questions. Those answers I gave were not false, but vague and didn¡¯t help them much.


    Eventually they both left me in the room, I took this time alone to recuperate from their barrage of questions.


    I took the necklace from my pocket, it looks like silver, but with purple swirls adorning the small links. The metal melts as I hold it, but regains form when I let go, never quite losing any mass. I decide to put it on, upon doing so, I feel it bore into my skin.


    I let out a pained breath before I am unable to, I try to scream but am unable to. It feels like the metal of the necklace is traveling through my veins, but finally it stops at my right ear. I feel a sharp pain in my right ear, and then the world goes black.

 5) Catboy negotiator

    5) Catboy negotiator?


    I open my eyes to find myself in the same interrogation room as earlier, Ellie is in the room with me, she has various devices and potions. The effects from the potion i think have worn off, although I can¡¯t be too sure, so I test this by saying a lie, ¡°I am completely green¡±.


    It worked! I am not under the effects of that potion anymore, and while I am annoyed with Alver and Ellie, I am going to possibly help them. Information for information, unless they try to drug me again, in which case I will find that cloak from earlier and leave the town.


    I think this town is called something like waterfall? clearwater? safewater? Yes, safewater is right.


    I think that means the water nearby is safe, also, earlier she mentioned the water being safe. I think I read somewhere that in medieval times people would drink alcohol due to it being safer than water, something to do with sanitary habits.


    I should be able to escape and survive at least in terms of water, or maybe I can convince them to help me.


    I decide to ask a question to Ellie, ¡°Are you¡­ going to hurt me?¡±


    She quickly responds with a ¡°No! Of course not!¡±


    That is good, but I can¡¯t guarantee that she is telling the truth. Maybe I could get her to drink the truth serum herself¡­


    I ask ¡°Can I leave? Also why did you drug me¡±, she looks a bit nervous and responds, ¡°because we need to know if you are related to the demon, and your avoidance of answering is quite incriminating.¡±


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    I respond with a ¡°I am allowed to speak how I please, and I do not appreciate being drugged and having my state of mind altered. Maybe we could come to some type of agreement, if you tell me about the situation, then I¡¯ll tell you what I know, if anything.¡±


    She contemplates this for a moment before responding with a ¡°okay, a back and forth with answering questions.¡±


    I agree to this, and then we start the back and forth.


    <hr>


    Her: ¡°What are you¡±


    Me: ¡±A cat-person¡±


    Her: ¡°Can you tell me what that is exactly? I¡¯ve never heard or seen anyone like you.¡±


    Me: ¡°I¡¯m not entirely sure, I just sort of woke up like this, I wasn¡¯t always like this.¡±


    Her: ¡°You weren¡¯t? How did you become¡­ this?¡±


    Me: ¡°My turn, I continue answering questions if you don¡¯t tell Alver, he¡¯s a bit aggressive, and I want you to hear everything before you give him some incomplete answers. In exchange you agree to help me, and I¡¯ll help you.¡±


    Her: ¡°But we just agreed on terms?¡±


    Me: ¡°Yes, but I think this would work out better for all of us.¡±


    Her: ¡°Fine, but the whole truth this time, no mincing words, and I¡¯ll agree to not hurt you.¡±


    Me: ¡°Fine¡±


    <hr>


    We spent the next few hours talking over everything. Alver came, but left after Ellie told him to. I told her about my strange double memories of being the cat, how I couldn¡¯t do the things that the cat could, and how I thought that the cat was some entity, but not a demon. She was surprised when I mentioned waking up in a forest with cat ears, and how I¡¯d been a human prior. I told her it really was best that I not tell her where I was from, and for some reason she accepted that. I didn¡¯t tell her about the weird information beams, they were weird, but don¡¯t seem important at this moment. Eventually Ellie told Alver everything, but unluckily he decided to confront me before hearing the whole explanation.


    ¡°So you are the demon cat!¡±


    I respond with ¡°I¡¯m not a demon, nor entirely a cat. And that cat wasn¡¯t either! It was something, but certainly not that! Also I think I¡¯m not that entity, but have some of its memories! It really acted more like a child than an evil demon¡±


    He responds with a ¡°If I was cliche I would respond with a ¡®that is what a demon would say¡¯, but I am not. I don¡¯t trust you, but I¡¯ll take Ellie¡¯s word on trusting you. But if I find out you¡¯re lying, then curiosity won¡¯t have killed the cat, I will have!¡±


    He has threatened me multiple times, If I had the strength, fighting skills, and confidence to take home on, I would right now. But now is not the time, and so I¡¯ll have to retaliate later.


    I start to ask if he could bring in Ellie, before she shows up herself and tells me that, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you about the nearby areas tommorow, for now you seem to need some more rest, also we should all have some food. We¡¯ll have you join our investigative team tomorrow. You¡¯ll stay here as we can¡¯t have you walking the streets with how you look.¡°


    Alver gives an annoyed look at Ellie, but nods reluctantly to everything she said.


    Team? I¡¯ll be part of their Team? I wonder for a bit about the implications of that, will it be good or bad, helpful or a hindrance, a blessing or a curse?


    Anyway time to get some food, then sleep before tomorrow.

 6) Catboy meets Malfer

    I wake up on my small cot. The place they had me stay in didn¡¯t have anything like a bed, but they were able to set up me with a makeshift cot. I say they, but it was actually all Alver, apparently he has skills beyond threatening me.


    This is the third time I have awoken in this world, and my situation still hasn¡¯t totally set in. I don¡¯t even know what my situation is, have I been summoned? reincarnated? become comatose? At this point I really don¡¯t know.


    Hopefully some investigation will help with my understanding of the situation, maybe I¡¯ll become friends with these two adventurers and then can rely on them for support. Only time will tell.


    Anyway, I still haven¡¯t thought much on the necklace incident. What was that anyway? It entered my body I think, but then caused me to pass out?


    The pain radiated from my right ear¡­


    I touch my right ear and feel some type of piercing and earring there. That definitely wasn¡¯t there when I first felt my ears.


    Did the necklace become an earring? If so, why didn¡¯t I notice the change before? Is it because the different stimuli wouldn¡¯t feel much different in terms of changes to my ears before?


    So many questions, and so few answers.


    Last night during dinner, Ellie and Alver didn¡¯t really explain much more to me. And after, we essentially went to bed without going over stuff.


    Time to fully get up and see if Ellie and Alver are here yet.


    I get up and look around, the room is dark, but somehow I can see still. I wonder if I gained some type of night vision. To continue, the room still has a glass of water from last night, a couple interrogating chairs at a table, and some paper scattered around.


    I wait for a couple of minutes, and when there is no one entering this room, I open the door.


    I am met with a taller elf, he¡¯s familiar. He has a small brown beard, brown hair, and wears a brown tunic and pants. I don¡¯t immediately place him, but after a couple seconds I remember.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    Malfer, that was his name, he was one of the people that the cat interacted with. I think he was some type of mentor for the group, as he was a good bit older than the rest.


    I had been staring at him for a couple minutes when he spots me.


    He gives me a small wave and asks, ¡°Might you be Eleanor and Alver¡¯s friend? I¡¯m Malfer, and they told me that you would be here.¡±


    He looks me up and down, he gets a bit of a glint in his eyes when he spots my ears. ¡°They told me the situation, and they weren¡¯t lying. You certainly are a cat¡­ well person.¡±


    I did not expect them to tell him the situation. Weren¡¯t they worried about how to convince him of my relation to the cat? Maybe they told him a snippet of the truth, like how I got here weirdly? Did I even tell them that?


    Whatever the case, I have to talk to Malfer it seems, ¡°Why are you here?¡± He chuckles at my question, he seems to find it amusing.


    ¡°I¡¯m here to help you get acquainted with the town of clearwater, and answer any other questions you may have. I will also be getting you something to help hide your appearance.¡±


    That might actually be useful. No, it would be extremely beneficial. I need to understand where I am, and why, so that I can¡­ survive? go back home?


    What do I even need to do? I don¡¯t know exactly, but I hope that this adventure might be a little fun, even if that might be a bit of a selfish ask.


    I have a couple questions for Malfer, the main one being the where abouts of any bathroom.


    ¡°Is there a bathroom here?¡±


    Malfer looked at me, and then shook his head, ¡°there aren¡¯t any bathrooms in this building, I can take you to one outside, but I first will have to go get a cloak. Can you wait here for a bit?¡±


    I reply ¡°Sure¡±, as I don¡¯t really have much of a choice.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Malfer is probably one of the worst liars I have ever met. He said ¡°Wait here for a bit¡±, but apparently a bit means 30+ minutes. I probably shouldn¡¯t be so harsh, but I feel like my bladder is going to explode.


    I don¡¯t know, could half an hour be a short time for them? Do elves live long, or is my impatience due to the fast-paced society of my past?


    Either way, this is torture.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    When he finally got back, I felt like I had been waiting an hour. It was probably closer to 30 minutes, but my mind was clouded by the needs of bodily functions.


    I had to wear a cloak to walk outside, but that wasn¡¯t the worst part. My tail was frantic before we left, and I had to spend the whole walk keeping it under control.


    I didn¡¯t even have time to look at the buildings and people again, all I could focus on was the task at hand.


    We stopped a couple times when Malfer talked to some people, but eventually got to some type of bar, a tavern, and I immediately bolted for the bathroom when directed to it. Malfer, meanwhile, went to talk to some people in the tavern, in particular the tavern owner or manager.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Malfer walks up to the tavern keeper, an older grey haired human by the name Bailen. He has olive skin and smile lines from his years. As Malfer sits down, Bailen asks what he¡¯ll have, to which Malfer gives some generic answer of fantasy alcoholic beverage, like winetoad juice or something more creative.


    After Malfer has fully settled into his seat, Bailen asks ¡°Who did you bring here?¡±, which Malfer responds ¡°He is friend of Alfer and Eleanor¡±.


    Bailen gives a glance in the direction of where the catboy went, and asks ¡°What¡¯s his name?¡±


    Malfer thinks for a second and then answers ¡°He didn¡¯t say, neither did his friends.¡±


    Bailen tells Malfer that he should have the boy sit and have some beer and talk, maybe he could get to know the boy better.


    Malfer says that that¡¯d be a wonderful idea, before realizing that that would be terrible, and then changing his mind, saying ¡°maybe another time.¡±


    It is at this time that the catboy exits the bathroom, and Malfer joins him as they both leave the tavern, Bailen waving at them goodbye.

 7) Catboy and a Doctor?

    ¡°Who was that?¡± I ask to Malfer as we leave onto the busy street of the ¡°town¡±(more like city) of safewater.


    He responds ¡°That was Bailen, the father of Eleanor.¡±


    What? That guy is Ellie¡¯s father? I might say something like ¡°Ellie and her father are total opposites¡±, but to be fair, I haven¡¯t actually talked to him yet.


    ¡°What¡¯d you guys talk about?¡± I ask him, I¡¯m a little curious, but not that much.


    ¡°You, he asked me who you are, and I told him a friend of Alver and Eleanor.¡± He looks at me more directly before continuing, ¡°He also asked me your name, which you have failed to give me.¡±


    I feel kind of dumb, how bad am I at introductions that I don¡¯t even get to a name. Did he even ask? Did he even tell me his? I know his name is Malfer but¡­


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you mine when you tell me yours¡± I say as a quip. He just blinks, laughs, and responds with ¡°I¡¯m Malfer, but I already told you that when we first met.¡±


    Now I feel like more of an idiot, I remember his name, but I can¡¯t let him know that.


    As we walk the streets, I see many different amazing things as the ¡°town¡± transitions into more medieval styles of buildings. I see many shops, there are aromas in the air, music played by bards or something similar. There are people performing magic tricks with real magic! Or they are really good at magic tricks, but I¡¯m gonna choose to believe it¡¯s real.


    Eventually we arrive at some type of plaza, there are many non-permanent shops around here, there is a fountain at the center with a statue of an elf, a human, and a gnome side by side. The Elf has a bow, the human seems to be casting a spell with a floating orb in front of them, and the gnome has a short-sword.


    We walk to a specific house to the side of the plaza, the cobblestone beneath my feet is quite loud. The house itself seems to be more of a clinic really, and as we enter the shelves are lined with various herbs and medicines that I have never seen, books, and trinkets. The whole place smells like banana, honey, vanilla, and other herbs, with a vaguely metallic undertone to it.


    There is someone sitting at a chair reading what looks to be a new book. The book is bound in leather, but the pages aren¡¯t faded, nor is the leather scratched.


    I stop while staring at Malfer and the dirty blonde haired man. The dirty blonde hair man has hair over his ears, so I can¡¯t quite tell his race. But based off of his build and facial structure, I don¡¯t think he¡¯s a gnome.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    The man looks up from his book as Malfer walks over to him. ¡°What brings you here today Malfer?¡± asks the shopkeeper or whatever his job is.


    Malfer responds while gesturing at me ¡°I have a patient here that has a bit of a problem, and we need to figure it out, could you and Alberta examine him¡±.


    Malfer then turns to me and says ¡°This is Herbert, or Bert, he is a herbalist and will hopefully be able to help you¡± he then turns back to Bert and asks ¡°So will you?¡±


    Bert smiles and nods affirmatively and gestures towards the back of the room towards a door. I look at Malfer and he nods.


    As I walk towards the door Malfer says ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a bit with a more suitable cloak, it¡¯s fine to take off your cloak in the back room. Make sure you put it back on before you come back to the front of the shop. Bye, see you soon!¡±


    As me and Bert open the door, I hear the front door shut. The door that we walk through leads to a hallway, the floor is wooden, there are a few doorways, some are covered by curtains, and some are open. There is also a staircase at the end of the hall, and a couple wooden doors. The walls have unlit lanterns except one.


    The room is so dark that I¡¯d normally not be able to see a thing, but my eyes allow me to see quite a bit better in the dark.


    Eventually we get to the end of the hall and Bert takes me to a wooden door, knocks, and after a minute of waiting opens it up.


    The room is mostly empty, it almost looks like a doctors office, but has various trinkets that I have never seen. I wonder if the medicine here is magic based.


    Bert lights a lantern on the wall, and then gestures for me to sit down on a bench, and I oblige. He then starts to address me, ¡°You wait here, I¡¯m gonna go tell Alberta about you being here, then I¡¯ll do some basic check ups on you.¡±


    He then leaves, but comes back after a couple minutes.


    He has various tools in his hands, some have strange carvings in them, some writing, and some have weird crystalline wires around them.


    He sets the tools down and closes the door, then turns to me and says ¡°Take off your hood, I need to do some tests on your basic corporeal functions¡±


    I do as he says and take off my hood, and he actually does a double take. He exclaims ¡°Wow!¡± and comments on my appearance with a ¡°How interesting¡­¡±


    He then asks me ¡°Is this the problem that you need addressing?¡±


    I answer with a ¡°Kind of, I¡¯m not really sure. I¡¯m not sure that I¡¯m even cursed or anything, I¡¯m pretty sure that I¡¯m how I appear.¡±


    He then tells me that ¡°We can actually test for that, I¡¯ll have Alberta figure out if you are Human, Elf, or Gnome. For now I¡¯m gonna check your hearing, eyesight, reflexes, and sensations. Is that okay with you?¡±


    I nod and then he grabs some type of earmuffs and a bell, but then puts them back when he realizes that they won¡¯t fit on me. He then grabs out what looks almost like a small scale, and sets it on a small wooden table to my left.


    He tells me to look close my eyes and to tell him when I hear a beep in my left ear.


    I hear a beep and say ¡°Now¡±, which he says ¡°huh¡± as I hear a dial turn.


    Beep, ¡°Now¡±


    Beep, ¡°Now¡±


    Beep, ¡°Now¡±


    Every time he changes a setting I hear it, eventually we switch to the right, as he moves the device to my right. I hear the series of beeps again, and then he tells me to open my eyes


    ¡°You have perfect hearing, or at least hearing so perfect that my devices can¡¯t measure it.¡± I hear his voice get a little higher as he continues, ¡°Your hearing is more perfect than any Human, Elf, or Gnome, you can hear sounds so high that even children can¡¯t hear them, and sounds that are quite low as well.¡±


    That is not actually that surprising, the other day I heard the whispers between Ellie and Alver. At the time, I didn¡¯t think much of it, but now that I do I realize that I have some type of super hearing. I feel like a super human, or cat.


    The rest of the time with Bert was spent testing my eyesight, reflexes, and my vocal range. My eyesight and reflexes were excellent, but the latter being a bit sloppy. My vocal is only slightly different than normal, and somehow I find it very easy to meow. This is a very weird situation.


    Eventually the checkup ends, and Bert brings me out into the hallway and up the stairs, to Alberta.