As Felix tossed and turned on the ridiculously large cloud bed, he was plagued with the worry: how was he supposed to manage four people with completely different, difficult personalities, when they’re also relying on him for protection, food, and…whatever else human pets needed?

The very prospect was daunting. Sure, they were adults, but the profiles made it clear that in this world, humans depended entirely on their cats for safety and status. Felix felt a pang of anxiety twist in his gut.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

He couldn’t even get rid of his stupid ears and tail, and now he was responsible for the care and livelihood of four humans? The world was asking too much of him. What did he do to deserve this? That brick-purse wasn’t even meant for him! 

Felix angrily stroked his fluffy tail. The injustice of it all!

And then a horrible possibility popped into his head.

“Oh, god.” Felix muttered at the ceiling, ruby eyes wide and clearly with no signs of sleep in them. “What if they take one look at me, realize I’m a fraud, and decide to lead a rebellion?”

The thought of being overthrown by his own pets was almost too shameful to handle. He would be a failure of an owner.

Even if he could go back to his normal life as a human earthling, embarrassing himself in the duration of his visit to cat planet was still unacceptable! 

If there was one thing Felix shuddered at besides responsibility, it was embarrassment.

These humans weren’t just abstract profiles on paper. They were real people, with lives, dreams, and personalities. And now, for better or worse, he was responsible for them.

“I hate couples,” he growled. If he ever gets to go back to his own world, the first thing he was going to do was kick his roommate’s ass.

The weight of responsibility felt suffocating. Back home, he’d been an ordinary college freshman, worrying about grades and the future. Here, he was not even human and with expectations he hadn’t signed up for.

He wanted to whine and tell the powers that be to fuck off. But he couldn’t. This wasn’t the relatively safe world back home. He could get killed here.

Felix had not forgotten that call from the Combat Division.

As he finally began to doze off, his mind conjured up the profile photos.

“At least they won’t be an eyesore, aesthetically speaking,” he grumbled into his pillow. “That’s something…right?”

*

Felix’s alarm blared at 7:00 AM, shattering the fragile peace of his short, fitful catnap. He bolted upright in bed, his heart pounding, momentarily disoriented. The events of the previous day crashed back into his memory like a tidal wave when his reflection in the mirror across the room caught his eye. There they were—the silky white ears twitching unrepentantly at him and the thick, plume-like tail sprawled across the bed.

“Oh, I’m still here. And those things are still there.”

Disappointed, Felix dragged himself to the absurdly luxurious en suite bathroom, his bare feet padding against heated marble floors. The bathroom was obnoxiously oversized, dominated by a fan-shaped jet tub that could host a party. Felix stared at it for a moment, pondering the logistics of bathing as someone with fur.

After splashing water on his face and brushing his teeth, he attempted to fix his hair, but the persistent ears made everything look ridiculous. He gave up with a groan and trudged to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Felix hunted through the cabinets and fridge, searching for coffee. Unsuccessfully. 

Admitting defeat, he could only crack open a can of tuna and a bottle of milk with a resentful cloud over his face. “What’s the point of being a cat boss when I can’t even have a goddamn cup of coffee,” he muttered before scarfing it down.

Glancing at the clock on the microwave—7:37 AM—Felix decided he needed to get dressed if he was going to make his 10:00 AM appointment at the Pet Bureau. Felix knew himself well enough to set apart extra time due to his poor sense of direction even with the use of a smart map app.

The walk-in closet was intimidatingly large, filled with clothes with a streamlined, modern look in a neutral, monochromatic color scheme. Felix sifted through the fancier pieces until he found something more his speed: a thick red hoodie and light grey plaid trousers, though admittedly they had bold graphic patterns and metallic accents. He also managed to find a pair of military-style lace-up boots that he immediately fell in love with. He then stuffed his tail uncomfortably into the waistband of his trousers, tugged the hood over his ears, and grabbed the documents he’d found yesterday, making sure to pocket his city ID that doubled as a transit pass.

Exiting his apartment, Felix entered the elevator, his tail twitching awkwardly against the fabric of his plaid trousers. He was acutely aware of every movement, the appendage seemingly determined to draw attention to itself.

On the way down, he encountered other residents of the building. It didn’t take long for him to figure out who was a cat and who was a human. The pets acted with a spoiled, carefree demeanor, clinging to their owners or chattering with an exaggerated cheerfulness. The cats, on the other hand, carried themselves with a mixture of indulgent patience, preternatural grace and, well, prideful regality.

Felix noticed a few passing glances at his ears and tail, which twitched in defiance of his attempt to hide them. His anxiety rose with each passing floor.

What were they staring at? Don’t they have ears and tails of their own? Felix fought the urge to roll his eyes at them.

Finally, the elevator dinged open, and Felix slipped out into the bustling lobby. He kept his head down as he crossed the shiny black-and-gold marble floor, gripping his documents tightly.

The streets outside were a mix of decopunk architecture and futuristic technology. Towering skyscrapers with intricate, golden embellishments loomed above, while sleek silver vehicles zipped through traffic. Felix’s apartment building, Sphinx Tower, stood very near the heart of Mzia where all the important buildings were located.

Felix navigated the streets with the help of the map app on his phone, which occasionally chirped directions at him in a robotic voice. He eventually found his way to the nearest transit stop. A sleek, bullet-shaped silver bus arrived within minutes, its doors sliding open with a soft hiss.

As Felix boarded, he couldn’t help but admire the efficiency. The interior was spacious, with wide windows offering a view of the city. He found a seat near the back and settled in, still adjusting to the bizarre world around him.

It wasn’t long before something caught his eye—a group of children at the front of the bus. They all wore the posh white uniforms of the Ivory Sanctuary with the crest emblazoned on the brooch attached to the lapels. But what caught Felix’s attention was that these children, who looked barely more than six years of age, had fluffy ears and tails peeking out of their otherwise humanoid forms. They chattered and giggled, trailing behind a pretty looking woman who was clearly the teacher or caregiver in charge of them during this outing.

Felix’s stomach sank.

“Wait… kids can’t control their ears and tails?” he whispered to himself, a growing sense of horror dawning on him. “Does that mean…?”

He glanced at his reflection in the window. Despite his best efforts, his ears twitched in rhythm with his rising panic, and the telltale bulge of his tail was visible beneath his hoodie.

Internally groaning, Felix tried to flatten his ears over his head and awkwardly shifted to sit on his tail. It didn’t help much. He could feel it pressing uncomfortably against his back.

The embarrassment was nearly overwhelming. He imagined the other passengers staring, whispering about the “grown cat who hasn’t mastered basic form control.”

“Great. I’m a walking neon sign that says, ‘noob.’ Might as well hang a banner.”

Felix kept his head down for the rest of the ride, silently praying that no one would comment on his conspicuous appendages. When the bus finally reached his stop, he bolted out the door with a speed that probably confirmed everyone’s suspicions.

The walk to the Pet Bureau gave Felix time to cool off the heat coloring every inch of his fair complexion pink.

“Okay, Felix,” he muttered, clutching the documents to his chest. “Deep breaths. You’re still alive. You’re in a ridiculously privileged position. You’ve got powers—probably. And you’re going to figure this out.”

But the pep talk did little to ease the gnawing anxiety in his chest. As he approached the towering building that housed the Pet Bureau, Felix couldn’t help but feel like he was walking into a final exam for a class he hadn’t studied for.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

For now, though, all he could do was take things one step at a time. And the first step was figuring out how to keep his ears and tail under control.

With a sigh, Felix adjusted his hood once more and squared his shoulders. “Let’s get this over with,” he muttered, stepping through the Bureau’s gleaming glass doors.

AN: Thank you to those who gave this little story a chance! Please continue to let me know what you think! I enjoy hearing speculations, ideas, even wishes on what readers might want to see more of!