“Someone must have had quite the adventure today, didn’t she! You look beat!”

I smile up at Penny as I slowly make my way over to her, hopping up and into her lap where I curl up and get cozy.

“You really ought to take a break, you know. You remind me a lot of myself back when I was alive. Experiencing a whole new world, so eager to explore it and do everything I could to help those who walked that path with me. I didn’t start my journey so gung ho, but with some help, I found my rhythm. I bet Yombroila can see that about you too, she must really take a liking to you.”

It took a bit, but yeah. She does seem to care about me. My tail flicks thinking about it, how it felt to be held by her. No romantic implications whatsoever. It simply felt like she understood me in ways others can’t, besides maybe Cat. Once you get past her rougher, deific exterior, there’s a very kind and gentle soul waiting to offer you a home in her.

“I’ve heard you’ve had chance encounters with another old friend of mine. Oh, Niamh. Always quite the ruckus maker she was. But she looked out for me as well. Yombroila really helped her to open up to that caring side of hers, just like she did with me.”

Even before she was a goddess, she was helping people find their true selves, huh? Guess that’s what made her so qualified for the position.

“...This may be a difficult request to take, but I would ask you to try and show the same understanding to my descendant. I know she’s done many unsavory things to you, and attempted even more, but I can already tell her heart wavers. I’m only here now because I have to protect her, both physically and emotionally, and I can sense she’s struggling. She may try even worse things, but…”

Penny sighs, prompting me to look up at her pained face.

“...No, I’m sorry. Do what you must. I cannot ask you to risk the safety of yourself and your friends over my fleeting hope. Perhaps…?”

The dragon trails off as I lay my head back down, only noticing why once I open my eyes again.

“...Penny…?”

“Yombroila…”

I watch the goddess approach, straining to understand why her light seems to make the area around her appear darker, until I realize her aura is revealing the truth beyond this dream: it’s still night.

“Penny, I… I…”

The goddess looks on the verge of tears as she floats towards us, landing on the ground midway and beginning to walk. With each step, the light from her heavenly body seems to fade, revealing a raccoon girl underneath.

“How…why…?! I… I’m trying to get over you, I’ve been trying for so long! And yet here you are! Is this a test? Some kind of sick joke?!”

“...I’m so sorry, sunshine. My time is limited, even if I cannot do much, I just…wanted to see you again.”

“And I’m here! I’m here, so where are you?! I… I don’t know what to do about this…!”

Penny shifts in her seat, picking me up in one arm and cradling me as she stands up and begins walking towards Yombroila. I find myself squished between the goddess and the dragon as they embrace.

“You know who can help you find the answers you seek, but you also know you may very well have to give up everything for that, and I can’t take that from you.”

“B…but Penny… What if…”

Penny shakes her head and pulls back, smiling at Yombroila, then down at me.

“Look at what you have now. The joy you bring people like Fox. Live for this, not for those who should be gone.”

“But you’re not gone…! There must be some way…”

I look from Penny to the goddess, the raccoon girl’s eyes meeting mine. In them I see a sadness, but also a hope that grows as she looks back at me.

“If that is what you seek,” Penny begins, “you’re going to need to learn to trust once again, sunshine. And I trust, nay, know you are capable of that.”

Alas, before I can hear any more, I feel my consciousness within the dream beginning to fade as my consciousness in the real world begins to return.

 

Unfortunately, my awakening proves to be much less peaceful than my trip through the woods (at least the beginning of it). My ears twitch as Cat and I stir to the sound of talking outside our door. We both sit up, still holding one another as we look from the direction of the commotion, then back to each other with tired eyes. My partner and I lean in and kiss for a brief moment before getting out of bed and getting dressed, though, in my case, it’s more so having clothes thrown at me from the other side of the room. It’s only as I’m putting them on that I realize the penultimate change to our bodies has already arrived: our arms are just like our animal counterparts, leaving only our heads as anything remotely human. Besides the ears of course. Once I’m decked out in a simple sundress and undershirt, I can’t help but twirl and smile down at how liberating it feels to be me. I don’t even mind Cat’s giggling as she watches, walking over in dress pants and dress shirt, the latter just long enough to be tucked in, and taking my hand, squeezing at the fur of my claw.

Finally, we leave our room and slowly creep down the small hall, peeking past the corner with Cat’s head over mine as Sue-Zee makes their case known to whoever is at the door.

“They’re lesbians, Harold!”

“Wh-what are you talking about?!” the old man stammers, completely baffled by what I’d assume is a long, exhausting conversation with Zee.

“Those two were boys when I allowed them to live here! They can’t just become lesbians months later! What’s gotten into you, Zee?!”

Cat and I pull back behind the corner and look at one another.

“Why is Harold at our house this early in the morning?!” I wonder worriedly, finding Cat’s hand on my head soon after.

“He’s always had a particular disdain for us both,” Cat says.

Admittedly, she’s right. For whatever reason, he’s always hated us yet still let us have this crap shack.

“After last night, his first instinct was probably to come and accost us,” my partner adds as we sneak a look at Sue-Zee once more before retreating to our room, grabbing our ear pieces and opening the window.

“We’re heading out from the back, you two, thanks for keeping the old man occupied.”

Keeping our ear pieces in for a moment we hear the last bits of their conversation with Harold as we climb out of the window and close it behind us, beginning our run out of town.

“Krzt-- Well, they’re not even here right now, so go back to doing train things and we’ll get back to you or something.”

“N-not here?! You literally just said they were sleeping in moments ago!”

“And now they’re not! Shoo! Unless you’re offering the girls something to eat, there’s nothing here for you! Go!”

That’s the last of that we hear as we take our ear pieces off, looking at one another and giggling at our helpful navigators.

“I’m gonna miss living in the same town as those two,” I sigh.

“What, you think moving is gonna stop them from nearly breaking down our door on a nightly basis?”

I laugh and nod at Cat, she’s not wrong if Zee’s ability to drag Sue into whatever oddball scheme they whip up says anything on that subject.

“So, we’re looking for where all the other Ascended folk have been going, where do we even start beyond ‘east of Monorise’, huh?” I ask, slowing my run somewhat as my hand comes up to hold my cheek in thought.

“I’ve got a hunch,” Cat answers, “and a feeling. Something tells me I’m gonna be awfully familiar with this place…”

While I can’t share the sentiment of familiarity, I have a feeling too, more than a feeling honestly. It’s like some unseen force is gently guiding me in the right direction, and looking at my partner, I can’t help but feel it’s the same for them. We nod at one another, and I let her take the lead, following close behind her as we dash off into the wide open fields of the day.

 

We eventually make it onto an unfinished road leading out of Monorise that dies out after an intersection leading god knows where, leaving nothing but a once well trodden dirt road for us to follow. The fields surrounding Monorise already had a very natural, unkempt feel to them, but the further we walk this path, the more that naturalness turns into a wilderness, grass rising up to my hips and the grains rising even higher than that.

Ahh. So that’s why it’d be familiar to Cat.

Walking down this dirt road soon finds us approaching somewhere neither of us have been in a very, very long time. Cat used to live here before she and her dad had to move to the big city for better job opportunities, but once Cat was old enough, her dad found the work to be too much, and Cat helped him move back here. Meanwhile, I’d only ever been here once before. I grip Cat’s hand tight as memories so fresh yet so long ago flood my mind.

This is where I’d first met Cat.

She was so good at hiding away in the crowd of our class, but a field trip here gave me the first chance to see her for herself.

Cat’s walking seems to slow down and I pace myself to match, emotions getting the better of the both of us as we reach just outside of town.

“...I’m home, Dingeton,” Cat mutters.

It’s a small town, smaller than even Railsent, and much, much older too. The buildings  are over a hundred years old, which was originally one of the reasons this place was abandoned in favour of Monorise, but once everybody started leaving, nature seemed to take this place back. These old old buildings now find moss rising up their sides, vines coiled tightly around their rickety frames and holding it all together. Even the streetlamps have flora wrapped all about them, flowers rising from the broken concrete and blooming in spite of the town’s rugged features. Same goes for the benches, mail boxes, everything here looks as if it’s been reclaimed by the wild… Or, perhaps reclaimed isn’t the right word.

This is nature working with us.

The way the plantlife narrowly avoids covering doors and other openings, how it all encapsulates the old world like a delicate picture frame… It’s beautiful, but nothing like what I remembered. I recall overgrown flora, but this takes it to a level you’d expect after thousands of years of no human intervention. Things start to make a bit more sense as we see someone’s scythe-like appendage rising up the side of one of Dingeton’s buildings, the plantlife moving as if orchestrated by their arm and helping the structure remain secure using the foundation of flora. Once satisfied with their work, the owner of the mantis scythe smiles softly, only to look our way, a gentle surprise evident on his face.

“You two…!”

“Hazar…!” I say in response.

Cat and I wander over to say hello to the man we’d rescued just days ago. He folds his scythe hands over one another in front of him, bowing slightly and smiling at us.

“It is good to see you both. Though it was but recently, it feels as if ages have passed since we last met. Have you come to join the rest of us?”

My partner and I look at each other, then back at Hazar, Cat putting a hand on her hip as I cross my arms and smile back at the mantis man.

“Possibly,” I answer. “Figured we’d check the place out before anything.”

“We don’t really have any other place to go, so take that as a yes,” Cat adds.

Hazar nods at us, then looks off to the side and down the road. “You’re free to take just about any unoccupied home for yourself. Not only are you one of us, but I’m sure you’ve done more than enough for all of us as is. If you’re still itching to help, though I’d recommend you two take a rest after all you’ve done, you can speak to the town head to the north of town. Even if she won’t accept the title, she’s the one who’s helped us all to find our place here, and to help us find this place in general.”

“Oh? Is that what that guiding feeling was?” I think aloud.

Hazar nods again. “Her magic guides Ascended folk to their homes, and in most cases, this is our new home. I’m still quite new to this all, so you’d be better off speaking to her directly--”

Our buggy friend is then interrupted as the flapping of wings precedes the fiery bird friend we’d seen him chasing after just nights ago lands next to him and literally pecks a kiss on the bug’s cheek, rendering him huffing and blushing with annoyance.

“Hey, you, who do we have here?” he says in a confident if comforting voice.

“Rocket! Please… These are the two that aided me three nights ago. I’m a bit busy now, if you’d be so kind as to help guide them to Bunny’s house.”

Rocket chuckles, pulling Hazar into a quick hug which he happily leans into before shooing him off. The bird gestures for us to follow as his talons click-clack along the sidewalk.

“Thanks for saving my husband’s ass, by the way. My name’s Rocket, in case you didn’t hear.”

“Fox. Fox Vixen, and this is Cat Kitten.”

“...Oh, you two are gonna love Bunny, I can just tell.”

The two of us look at one another and tilt our heads in confusion while Rocket laughs, picking up the pace to get us to our destination faster. Along the way, I’m able to take in the sights of this new Dingeton, and it’s something to behold, but not in an architectural sense.

Ascended folk. Everywhere. All just living their lives. Walking about the streets. Handing food out to others who happily eat away. The mutual understanding we all share, I feel it in my heart, and on my face in the form of a bright, wide smile. People here are happy. Our people are happy here. And they can all be themselves.

“...We found it, Cat.”

“...Yeah.”

“This is where we belong.”

“You two sound like you’ve had it rough,” Rocket chimes in, slowing his pace as he turns his head to us. “Bunny’s house is just ahead, trust me, you can’t miss it. Why don’t you take some time to take everything in, relax a little?”

We turn back to Rocket and nod, smiling at him as he spreads his wings and takes to the skies.

“I’ll see you two around, then!”

We send the bird off with a wave from each of us, turning to walk down something of a market street, looking at all the different people around. A bright pink deer in baggy clothing, a very big brown cat with stripes and two tails, a smaller white cat who-- Wait, no, they’re a slightly taller white fox now, standing next to another fox with wings and who appears to be made of candy and cake. There’s so many different kinds of Ascended folk, all so happy with who they are, and among them is someone quite familiar and much less enthused than others.

 

“Meowdy doo, y’all!” Cat calls out as we approach the small kobold person who’s claw is held up high so they can hold their wife’s hand. They scowl at us, only for Mrs. Rosestein’s hand to come down and pat their head.

“Cat, Fox!” she exclaims, smiling at us both as the drink stand owner they were speaking to turns to us as well. “It took you two long enough! How’ve you been?”

I shrug and smirk, “Oh, you know, a few new holes stabbed through me here and there, no biggie.”

The baker lady snickers and punches my arm with a surprising amount of force, despite how obvious it was she was holding back. I laugh with her, rubbing the side of my arm.

“Oh, my bad! Sorry, I’m still getting used to the wife’s new powers. Empowerment by emotions? Something like that.”

The small kobold only seems to get more flustered at the mention of her new status as ‘the wife,’ but her wagging lizard tail cannot contain her excitement over it.

“Ah! That’s right! I don’t believe we’re all that well acquainted with your ‘the wife,’” I say, looking down at the lizard lady, then back up to her wife.

“Oh ho, well… Honey, would you like to introduce yourself--”

“I’ll bite your nose off, you sissy fox.”

Normally, that’d make things pretty awkward, but her cartoonishly high pitched voice makes it impossible to take her seriously at all, earning her a snrk from everybody standing around, even the drink vendor.

“D-don’t LAUGH AT ME!! I’M SERIOUS!!”

“Honey, please… Everyone, I’m Anne Rosestein, and this is Brianna Rosestein, my wife.”

Aw. I can’t help but smile at the fidgety kobold.

“Well, Brianna,” I begin, the mention of her name making her jump somewhat, yet she seems pleased all the same, “it’s a pleasure to meet you finally.”

“Y-yeah, whatever,” she says, arms crossed and pouting. “I’m leaving. Good. BYE.”

Anne chuckles and shrugs, giving us a wave as she trots on after her huffing and puffing wife.

“We’ll catch up another time! Take care!”

We nod and wave at her, then look to our side at the shopkeep who’s had to deal with Brianna’s bickering at us.

“Sorry about that…?”

I trail off as I finally get a decent look at them. At first I thought they were sitting on a chair, but upon closer inspection, I see that they’re actually a centaur laying down! Err, cow-taur? Their lower half is that of a cow, while their upper half is more like us, only a wolf with the coat of a cow.

“Curly. It’s good to see you two again.”

I look up at the drink vendor and squint. Wait. Drink vendor. Curly. Curt…

“...Oh my god! It’s-it’s you! Aha! Holy shit, I can’t believe it! Wait, but where’s…”

The cowtaur chuckles and shakes their head, “She’s here too. We’re both here. The moment we turned, we hugged and danced and, next thing we knew, we’re a whole lot bigger, and much closer than we’ve ever been before!”

God, that’s so sweet. I offer them both a big smile, only for their claws to surprise me as they hold out a glass bottle for each of us.

“Milk for the cat and chocolate milk for the fox.”

They smile back at me as my eyes dart from the drinks to their cow-like lower half, then back to the drinks.

“Don’t think about it too hard.”

I stand there for a moment, then take their advice, grabbing the drinks and handing Cat’s to her’s, the girl practically drooling over her bottle.

“Are you sure?” I ask, “We didn’t bring any cash with us…”

But they shake their head, “No one uses cash around here. We all help each other and the town as a whole to prosper, though, everything is all very new, so the town is still sorting out a proper system. Anyways, our way of helping is making sure everybody’s thirst is quenched.”

Huh. I guess that’s what Hazar was talking about. I smile and nod at our friends before turning in the direction of Bunny’s place.

“Thank you so much, Curly. We’ll see you again soon, I promise.”

The cow-wolf nods and gives us a wave as we walk off, popping off the tops of our drinks and clinking them together before taking a sip.

“Ahh… I didn’t think there was such a thing as ‘better milk,’ but I’m happy to learn something new.”

I chuckle at Cat as we approach what is clearly Bunny’s house, a small little shack held together by love and flowers, surrounded by tacky garden ornaments, all themed around rabbits. I look at my partner, only to find she seems deep in thought.

“Is everything alright, kitty?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah. Sorry, got thrown down memory lane for a second there. My dad used to collect rabbit trinkets whenever he could, and some of these look like the ones he had.”

Ahh, that makes sense. I give her a nod, finding ourselves standing before the door to Bunny’s house and giving it a good knock-knock. A thump can be heard on the other side, giving way to the sound of walking that gets closer and closer by the moment. Through the front door’s window, I see a pair of floppy bunny ears bouncing until they’re close enough for their owner to open the door.

“Hello there, young ones, have you come to…?” she trails off, looking at me, then way up at Cat. 

She’s a small, delicate looking old lady. Her bright yellow hair is even longer than Cat’s, framing the light cream coloured fur on her face, while the rest of her is covered by baggy, comfy looking robes of pink and white. She continues to stare at Cat, and looking up at my partner, I find her staring wide-eyed right back at the lady.

“Uhm…” I begin, “would you happen to be Bunny…?”

“...Cat…?”

Cat’s tail flicks from side to side as the bunny lady says that, her paws grabbing at the ends of her hair again and again, staring in awe at her for whatever reason.

“...Duh-- BUH-- MOM?!”