《(Not) 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.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    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.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    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.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    ¡°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?

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    <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.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    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.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    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!¡±The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°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.


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    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.¡±


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    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.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


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


    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.

 8) Questions, so many questions. TOO MANY QUESTIONS!!!!!! AHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

    The walk upstairs is short, the stairs are simple stone and the walls still are stone, but have some chipped paint on them. At the top of the stairs is a doorway, it is intricate and made of some material that I can¡¯t identify, it is intricate, but looks as if parts of it have been sanded down and recarved. There are small wisps of purple swirls in it, somewhat like on the necklace, but they seem more restrained, going in a more clear and perfect flowing pattern.


    Actually, these purple swirls have seemed to be almost everywhere, everything I look at has them. Even before I think they were on literally every object and person, but the patterns always had a constraint to them, except on my necklace-turned earring.


    Inside the room upstairs are more devices similar to downstairs, but there are many that seem unportable, either rooted into the stone or so big that they would require assembly in the building.


    At a desk made of similar material to the doorway a woman sits, she has a collection of devices and flasks. The flasks contain various different things, there is also some syringes and plastic-like storage containers.


    As we enter, I notice a a strong metallic smell coming from the direction of her. I think she is the Alberta person that was mentioned earlier. At first I thought she might be Bert¡¯s sister, but her hair is a dark black, and her features are quite different from Bert.


    She has sharp features and black eyes, with almost perfectly clear skin, her skin is almost pure white. She has clothing reminiscent of the victorian era. So she looks like a vampire, even has some pointy canines to go with it.


    As she smiles she starts to talk, ¡°how peculiar, you seem to be cursed to appear half cat, or maybe¡­ What do you think Herbert, what were you able to find out?¡±


    Bert responds while walking closer to her, ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly what he is. If he is cursed, then it must be quite powerful and complex. He has excellent senses and has some very very mild behaviors that mimic that of a cat. It is possible that someone irrevocably altered him and his nature, although I don¡¯t know how. He is quite certain that he is what he appears to be.¡±If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Alberta looks back at me and then tells Bert to ¡°Get lost¡± while she experiments on me. Herbert leaves me with the possibly evil Alberta before she shoots me one million questions.


    ¡°What are you? Do you know? How did you become like this? What were you before? Why do you look like a cat? Why don¡¯t you have wiskers? Why do you only have different ears and a tail? Why don¡¯t you have the ears you had before as well as these?¡±


    She then paused for breathe, looked at me again and then asked, ¡°Or were you a cat before and then got more human elf or gnome like traits?¡±


    This was a lot of questions, like too many. I stared at her and then started speaking, ¡°Before we start shouldn¡¯t we introduce ourselves? You¡¯re Alberta, and I¡¯m¡­¡±


    I realize that I actually haven¡¯t told anyone my name, nor has anyone called me by it. What is my name? The cat¡¯s was Fuori, as they declared it so, but¡­


    I don¡¯t remember my name.


    Actually, I don¡¯t remember much of my past, who was I?


    Wait¡­ I know.


    I remember.


    I am Fuori


    Fuori


    That¡¯s who I am.


    So that¡¯s what I¡¯ll say


    The influx of information from a while ago had already confirmed this.


    So why am I worrying?


    I realize that I¡¯ve just been standing here after saying ¡°I¡¯m¡±, so I should just say it. I say ¡°Fuori¡± and look at her and she just stares at me.


    And I stare back


    She then answers ¡°Alright, you already know this, but I¡¯m Alberta. So, were you anything before this?¡±


    I nod and then answer ¡°Human, I think?¡±


    Then she grabs out a new crisp journal and some papers and pens. She then starts writing, presumably about me.


    She then goes one by one asking me a series of questions, many of which I had to ask clarification on, as they had to do with magic in some way. Most of these questions I said no or I don¡¯t know as my answer.


    The questions were all said with a practiced clarity, they were almost elegant in their structure, but her tone was cold and sterile, like she was examining my past as a scientist.


    I think she is some type of scientist, or at the very least academically inclined. I get the sense she is very good at dumbing concepts down for others, but that skill is useless when someone knows so little about the concepts.


    She also goes a little into depth about her theories, I think mostly about curses and demons, with many words that I have no experience with.


    She sounds a little bit how I imagine conspiracy theorists think they sound, but with probably the background to back it up.


    Although, she could just be spouting nonsense If she picked up on my non-understanding.


    Eventually she stops with her spiel and tells me that she¡¯s is going to run some tests on me.

 9) Catboy? More like lab rat!

    It¡¯s been a while.


    I don¡¯t feel fine.


    I¡¯ve been battered with a series of tests.


    Cat-boy? More like lab-rat!


    At least we¡¯re done, but to briefly describe my pain:


    I had my blood drawn


    I had hair plucked from me


    I was poked and prodded by various strange devices


    I had to sit in a vat of mysterious fluid fully submerged, but somehow I could breathe in the substance, but my lungs felt like I was breathing in fire.


    She also attempted to use certain devices on me, but they seemed to require some control of magic, of which I had none.


    I was continuously rotated in some type of machine similar to an MRI I think, which happened for about an hour.


    I was soooo dizzy after that, I was fine after being given some type of concoction, but maybe I should have declined in case my body reacted poorly? I¡¯ll try to take that into account next time I¡¯m given something.


    The effect of the ¡°potion¡± felt similar to the truth serum that Alver and Ellie gave to me, It cleared my mind, but I wasn¡¯t compelled to do anything.


    Once my mind was clear, Alberta started going through the data with me, starting with some hair and blood that she put into various liquids.


    ¡°Your blood has very odd reactions to this¡± she said while pointing to a particular grayish blue tainted liquid. She then continues, ¡°Normally it reacts strongly with either a completely black or blue color to organic material, blue meaning that said material is alive, black being that it is organic but dead. This points to the idea that your life reacts differently to substances than I or anyone else does, that or you are dying as we speak.¡±The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    I decide to ask her a question on said liquid, ¡°What color is it before adding parts of me?¡±


    She responded with a ¡°It¡¯s both, it has a slow shift from black to blue over many hours, oscillating between them. Over time it will either solidify into black or blue, at which point it will have expired. It is also rendered unusable for the same purpose after giving it some life to work with.¡±


    We spent a little more time going over various different results from her experiments. All she could find out was that I reacted differently to almost every single test than would be expected, usually an average of expected results.


    But then we got to the MRI-like scans from earlier, she started to explain what the different lines would mean, but then stopped and grabbed some similar scans from different people.


    She asks a question, although not directed specifically to me, ¡°What?¡±


    I decide to ask her ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± and she turns to look at me and then hands me my scans and then scans from others. Is there no doctor patient confidentiality in this world?


    I look at the scans and a bit of recognition probably goes through my eyes as I stare.


    The scans look somewhat similar to the different swirls and things that I see around me, but in a different way.


    My scan, instead of looking like the more concrete lines that run through the other scans, is more fluid, transitioning from darkness to more bluish spots.


    The ¡°normal¡± scans don¡¯t transition like that, there are very jagged lines that almost look like veins, but when I look closer, I realize that it¡¯s all one continuous line that loops back.


    There is a little bleed from the lines to the darkness, but not as nearly as much as I have.


    The different normal scans also vary in their brightness, ranging from almost completely dull to an almost bright blue.


    ¡°What do you see?¡± she asks me inquisitively.


    I reply ¡°I don¡¯t know, I don¡¯t know what these are even, I¡¯ve only a vague recognition of these patterns. I only know that something about me is off.¡±


    She looks at me and then asks ¡°Recognition, where? Have you seen magic scans before? You don¡¯t seem very familiar with the concept.¡±


    She then decides to elaborate on what the scans are, apparently they are a scan of your magic capacity and ability. The brightness shows how much magic you can channel, the machine works by beaming magic into you and seeing how much magic you retain over a period of time, like how much seeps out. It¡¯s not perfect, as some may retain a lot of magic for a longer period of time, or contain a lot of it, but then release it quickly. But this device is generally right in its detection of magic capacity. She also went into how magic was more easily channeled by those with less jagged magic, but greater control outside the body required more intricate magic ¡°viens¡±.


    She also told me how she was absolutely stumped on what the scans meant for me, whether or not this was good or bad she wasn¡¯t sure, she had two main theories:


    Either, my veins would be so fluid that I¡¯d have no magic control, and all magic would just go in and out of me barely controlled, the most I could hope with this would be being a battery.


    Or, my veins would mean that I have perfect magic control, meaning I would be quite powerful and could channel specific patterns in my veins that wouldn¡¯t be possible in other people.


    I would prefer the second one, as that would be a lot more useful.


    She takes me back into the hallway, where Malfer greets me with a new cloak, this one has a hood, but he assures me that I don¡¯t need my hood up, I assume something to do with magic, but he doesn¡¯t elaborate and just smiles at me.


    After Malfer talks to Alberta a bit about what she found, he takes me to leave the herbalist¡¯s/doctor and scientist¡¯s shop.

 10) New cloaks and curses

    As we exit the building, I note the differences between this cloak and the last. The hood before was a little restrictive, It didn¡¯t fit as well. But this new cloak is amazing, it fits my body perfectly.


    Me and Malfer start walking around the plaza, so I decide to ask him a question, ¡°Why don¡¯t I have to wear the hood on the cloak, Is it something to do with magic?¡±


    He answers me with a ¡°Yes, indeed.¡±


    So this cloak is magic, good to know. I wonder if it¡¯s some type of spell/enchantment, one that either makes me unnoticeable, or one that casts an illusion. It is strange that he didn¡¯t elaborate much.


    I decide to ask him what exactly it does, ¡°What exactly does the cloak do?¡±


    He answers once again, but this time with a more in depth answer, ¡°It nullifies curses, and it¡¯s a good I idea to wear it whether or not you are cursed. If you are cursed, then it will slowly nullify it, and if you aren¡¯t then this is good cover. We can still tell people that you are cursed!¡±


    I don¡¯t really want people to think I¡¯m cursed, If curses are viewed as diseases or something similar here, then I fear exile or worse.


    ¡°Hey Malfer?¡± I ask with a teeny tiny bit of worry in my voice, and he responds in a calming but curious voice, ¡°Yes?¡±The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    I start with my questions, ¡°What exactly are curses, how do you get them, and also how do you get rid of them? If I do have one, or even if I don¡¯t, what will people think of me?¡±


    He answers my question with a couple questions, ¡°should you judge someone for being cursed? Does it even matter if you are or aren¡¯t?¡±


    That¡¯s vaguely inspirational almost, like something you say to someone to help their view of themselves. I think he¡¯s getting the idea that I¡¯m scared of what society will think of me, I mean I am, but not in that way. My questions are analytical, and there isn¡¯t much beyond that.


    So I respond to his questions with ¡°can you give me a more direct answer? I truly know little about curses, and I feel that knowing what people will think will help me understand how to act.¡±


    He sighs and looks at me as we stop in a corner near some barrels, ¡°In general, you get curses in one of 3 ways, by someone who specializes in curses, by angering a god, or by making a deal with a demon. Curses tend to be stigmatized due to the fact that you had either done something bad, or in the case of curses placed by a wizard, you usually had to have been involved in dark arts. Most view cursed people as bad luck, and a lot of the time they are.¡±


    He pauses and gestures for me to continue walking.


    As we walk a bit farther I notice some people staring at my ears, but eventually that stops when we start walking out of the plaza and in an area I don¡¯t recognize. He smiles before saying, ¡°We¡¯re going to meet up with Eleanor and Alver, there¡¯s some big news, but before that let me show you some useful things with your cloak!¡±


    He spends the next few minutes showing me several features of the cloak, like how it¡¯s self fitting, mildly self-repairing, and most importantly has something like a bag of holding for the pockets.


    There also are some things in the pockets already, some books, some jerky, and even some pouches of water. There is also a letter, but Malfer is quite adamant that I not open it now, and despite my curiosity I didn¡¯t.


    Eventually we make it to some strange type of structure, it reminds me of a church, but it seems more like a town hall. Outside there is a man with a bell yelling something, I think they are called something like a town-crier?


    The town-crier is busy yelling something about a grand quest and something about someone named Donna.


    Malfer tells me that we need to hurry to get to something, and we walk into the church like town-hall like building.

 11) Suddenly a Quest!

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

 12) Part 1/3 - Bandits

    We haven¡¯t done much the past few days, Alver shot a few things with his magic arrows, Ellie stripped the meat, and I have learned a couple things. I originally thought that i¡¯d only keep track of our stuff, and I do, but Ellie and Alver still want to include me.


    Alver has warmed up to me mildly, he showed me how he manipulates magic to make arrows that are stable, but I am currently unable to do such a thing.


    Apparently the manipulation of magic on the fly is quite a hard skill, so the most I was able to do is shatter one of the arrows he made.


    I feel hugely disappointed at my lack of great skills, but maybe I¡¯ll have time to learn on this quest.


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    The two have asked more about me, and while I have given small details like my interests, I have noticed that my gap in my memory is still there, it is getting bigger.


    It isn¡¯t like normal memory loss in how I¡¯ve heard it described, my memory is perfectly fine until about a month ago, when It¡¯s just gone.


    My memory even seems better for most of what I do remember, but individual things from about a month ago keep slipping away.


    Also that weird information thing seems to be messing with me. I have two sets of information sort of, the random pieces of information override almost all that was there before.


    Like my name, I¡¯m uncertain what it was before, but every fiber of my Being screams it to be Fuori.


    What I was before certainly was human, yet every day that passes, I lose a little bit of that.


    How is it that I know certain things but yet not others? Also, why did I get those few pieces of information?


    I only hope whatever is causing this didn¡¯t change me on a fundamental level.


    Anyway, me Ellie, and Alver continue our journey through the forest, stopping at a stream to bathe, hunting and training our skills of survival.


    A couple of days before we get to town, we suddenly get stopped by some bandits, eager to rob us due to our lack of visible manpower.

 12) Part 2/3 - Bandits(has blood)

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 12) Part 3/3 - Bandits(Blood)

    Alver and Ellie stare horrified at the bandits while they stab Fuori, and when they find resistance still when trying to cut through his ears, they cut off the entire ear. The blood leaves a vibrant red that highlights his hair, which now clumps on his scalp due to the blood.


    Ellie has a horrified look on her face, showing her horror of having brought him onto this journey, only for this to be his fate.


    As the bandits bring Fuori¡¯s earring and ear to where ever they keep it, Alver notices as the purple that vaguely streaks Fuori¡¯s hair, slowly begin to cover the entire body.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    Ellie stares at the earring that the bandits decided to value over one person¡¯s life, and she watches as the cat ear and blood slowly disappears, leaving a single pristine silver earring.


    Ellie¡¯s attention is brought to the attention of the corpse as it slowly starts moving¡­ no changing.


    The corpse regrows its cat ear, and the bones seem to start to contort, even ripping the flesh as they reposition.


    The bones compress and break, bringing the entire corpse into a vaguely catlike shape, it¡¯s like if someone tried to shape a cat out of a human corpse.


    The bandits don¡¯t notice this process until the very end, when the purple swirls start coating the mutilated corpse, bringing a black coloring close behind them, until what¡¯s left seems to be a black cat with purple streaks lining the fur.