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R i c a r d o x T r u j i l l o

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t h e x B e a s t
#4d2915 || Outfit || Home

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M a h i n x H a s s u d

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P r i n c e s s x J a s m i n e
#e2b985 || Outfit || Auto Shop

C O U R T N E Y x S M I T H

[Weyland] - [Mood] - [#FF7F50]

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xIt had been early morning, the world still wrapped in the cold darkness of the night when Courtney had awoken; her screams echoing off the walls in the makeshift apartment behind the workshop. She had a better bed, and a better house as far as most were concerned, several streets away where she ought to be spending her time but she was always more at home closer to the warmth of the forge. Even when it was cold and resting it still felt better than anywhere else in the town more often than not.

Her dreams had been of pain, of fire and of ice. She’d ran her calloused fingers across the intertwining scars that spread across her ankles and up her calves as they brought back conflicting memories of pain. Vicious slashing and spurts of blood played across her mind as she whimpered, her eyes tightly closed. She could feel and remember a car crash which had almost cost her the ability to walk, but overlapping this was a vivid image of a pompous man taunting her as his fellows chained her naked to the floor and set about slicing her flesh; a punishment they’d called it. It felt so real that she kept running her hands across her body wherever she’d seen a blade cut deep to reassure her that it hadn’t happened. That it couldn’t have happened.

Glancing at her watch she groaned before swinging her legs off the bed, grabbing a nearby, but mostly clean pair of worn jeans and pulling them on; hopping slightly on the cold floor as she did so with her face scrunching at the momentary chill on her bare feet. Yawning, she pushed open the doorway into the main blacksmithing part of the workshop and she straightened up her tank-top before shuffling towards the kitchen round the side of the building. Her eyes half-shut, she stifled yet another yawn as she slowly filled the coffee machine and lent groggily against the bench. Reaching over towards the small draining board she caught a glimpse of a sleeping figure through the window in the now disused office.

Thankfully it appeared her screaming clearly hadn’t woken the recent arrival, though she thought for the umpteenth time that Alex would probably be better served making use of a bed in her house or a hotel rather than the flea-bitten couch she simply hadn’t got around to throwing out yet. Then again, it wasn’t like she was doing much better since she’d been sleeping on little more than a mattress in an old storage room. As she poured herself her rich drink, savouring the sweet aroma she thought she could hear a noise coming from the office which she dismissed at first but quickly put down to Alex muttering in his sleep; after all she’d been screaming out not long ago herself. Though after sitting with the warm mug in her hands for a few minutes she looked back towards her house-guest as she made out clearly that he was beginning to make rougher and almost animalistic noises that could best be described as growls.

She felt snow, sharp and biting all around her as she stumbled through the dense forest. Her limbs felt heavy, blood and sweat stung her eyes as she darkness cried out with a chorus of wolfen voices raised in howl.

Starting suddenly, she jumped, her mug slipping from her hands before she caught it the brown liquid splashing onto her hands and still bare feet.

"Fucking bastard" she hissed, with a sharp intake of breath as she tried not to cry out too loudly. Setting the mug onto the counter she quickly grabbed a nearby cloth to wipe the drops from her skin as well as from the cold concrete floor.

Deciding that she might as well she made a start on readying the shop for opening, since it was fast becoming only a few hours away as dawn was slowly peeking into view.

Courtney sauntered through the dimly lit shop, resting her mug on a bench and slotting her phone into a nearby dock, her fingers flicking through various songs before settling on November Rain. Making sure the volume was loud enough for her to enjoy but not loud enough to wake Alex she grabbed an armful of wood from its bin in the corner and deposited it into the burner for the forge since there were a few parts she had planned on looked at today that would need a little extra tweaking.

As she flicked open her lighter the flame burst from the fork in a stream far beyond anything it should have been able to do, the accompanying surge of adrenaline almost causing her to fall forwards into the kindling. Pushing herself backwards to avoid being hit by the sudden flare she had created she glanced around the room in shock looking for something to smother the growing flames, but when she returned her focus to the fire it had dimmed back to normal levels and her lighter sat dead on the floor.

Gingerly picking herself off the floor she rubbing a hand against her temple where a dull headache from her twisted nightmares was growing into something much more painful, causing her thoughts to become jumbled as she returned to her, thankfully, still warm mug. Which she gulped down gratefully.

A loud and insistent banging on the metal shutters jolted her from her disjointed thoughts and back to the present. Glancing down at herself and checking she looked somewhat presentable she began to unlock the smaller door to the right of the larger garage one, and pulled it inwards before sticking her head round the corner into the chilly morning air.

"Yeah, what? We’re not open yet, Mahin isn’t it?"

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Alexander Montgomery

Big Bad Wolf | Outfitx|xhex: #6789bf

Most of his sleep was un-interupted and somewhat peaceful compared to his regular black-slate that passed him by as he slept. At least, that was until tonight. His dreams were nothing more than the sound of raggid and heavy breathing, the sound of something running, and a dark and dense forest. The sound of of breathing wasn't coming from around him, or behind him, but from him, as if his own lungs were gasping for air as he slept. Even the burning in his lungs wasn't enough to wake him from his nightmare. Or, memories? This didn't feel like a random nightmare, but it felt all too real. The feeling of dread, fear, and the constant feeling like he had to run, had to keep going. He couldn't stop running. No matter what he had to keep running ahead of him, never looking behind him. Just something in the back of his head kept telling him to remain focused ahead of him, and to not look back. Like a looming shadow, he could feel something right behind him, right on his heels as he continued to run through the darkened woods, a place he didn't recognize. At least, not until images flashed before his eyes. Something felt, familiar about them? Flashes of a small meadow, which turned into a large tunnel that lead into a cave, which flashed to what he could only make out as somewhat blurry animals which only cleared for a minor second for Alex to make-out as wolves. And before he knew it, he snapped awake.

His dark brown eyes blinked rapidly as his head pounded like he had been thrown into a brick-wall. A soft groan escaped his lips as he slowly turned onto his side as he tried to blink the sleepiness from his eyes, or what felt like him still not fully being awake. His eyes felt heavy, as if he couldn't truly focus on more than what was in front of him. Slowly sitting up, his feet dangling off the bed he turned to look at the standing mirror that was against the wall, to see golden, glowing eyes staring back at him from his reflection. Alex pushed himself against the back of the couch, which caused it to teeter onto its side for a moment before falling onto the floor with a crash. "Ow..." he muttered as he felt the air forced out of his lungs as his back collided with the floor of the small room. Alex slowly scrambled back to his feet, peering over the side of the couch as he tried to get a look in the mirror again. Maybe it was just a weird waking dream he was suffering from. He blinked a few times, and thankfully his eyes were their normal, dark brown, and not an otherworldly yellow glow.

Alex slowly pulled himself from behind the couch, not even bothering to fix the slanted piece of furniture, leaving it in its overturned state. He kicked the blanket off from being trapped on his foot, and dressed himself with random pieces of clothing as he rubbed his face as he looked himself over in the mirror once more. Checking his eyes thoroughly as he moved closer to the mirror. This had to be so weird dream, right? It had to be. He looked at his mouth as he felt his jaw was more, angular? He thought his canine teeth seemed more prolonged, but maybe it was just his mind messing with him. Shaking the thoughts from his head, he made his way to the door of the small room and stepped out, and everything seemed to hit him at once. Everything smelt more intense, every single sound, from even outside of the small mechanic shop he could hear. Even the sound of his beating heart in his own chest felt palpable.

Stepping out into the small hallway that lead into the main portion of the back part of the shop, he could hear voices coming from the main door. At first he didn't recognize them, but as he focused his attention, he knew it to be Courtney and someone else he hadn't exactly known for very long, or if even at all if he was honest with himself. Shuffling from down the hallway into the room he heard the voices from, he stopped in his tracks. His nose picked up a scent he hadn't recognized in a long, long time. What his eyes caught as he traced the scent caused him to stop. It was Courtney, or at least his boss. Or, who he had known to be his boss. "What the fuck..." he cursed under his breath, memories resurfacing as he focused on them for too long. A sharp pain rang throughout his head as he slammed into the wall, grasping onto the corner for support as memories, however faded they were came rushing back to him. Faces, people and places he didn't remember ever seeing in his life, or well, this life. He wasn't Alex Montgomery, or at least that's not who he used to be. Flashes of golden eyes, belonging to some hellish, man-wolf creature flashed in his mind once more as his voice, however deepened and inhuman as it sounded. He was....The Wolf? He still wasn't sure as none of this felt real, nothing made sense. He was Alex, he was a simple mechanic. He wasn't, whatever his mind was trying to tell him. he grabbed his leather jacket from his room, and put it on as he made his way to the front door where Courtney and the unknown figure were talking, "I have to go talk to someone." he said coldly, brushing passed the two women as he continued to walk off. He didn't know why, but part of his brain was telling him to go to The Leaky Tap, that for whatever reason, someone there would know what was going on, as well as a small voice in the back of his head telling him he needed to speak with them, urgently.

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Maleficient || Outfit || hex #8B008B
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lorelei voigt
the white swanx|xoutfitx|x#B1AECB

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liesl voigt
the black swanx|xoutfitx|x#19244E

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Lara Grossman

Cheshire Cat | Outfitx|xhex: #03a36b

As things usually went, it wasn't much a surprise when this night of all nights, turned out to be one of the slowest. Well, Lara couldn't have been too upset seeing how most Sunday's were incredibly slow, and this night was no different. But at least they somehow managed to find some things to do and help occupy the otherwise slow night. Between making drinks for people that walked in, to restocking the back with more supplies, to cleaning up the place for the night, Cas found themselves not entirely dreading it. That, and Lara at least had someone to talk to, seeing as Liesl wasn't entirely terrible. At least not to them, and that's all they cared about. She was fun enough to work with, and wasn't entirely a bitch. Then again, Cas did help Liesl get the job as a waitress after putting in a good word but, it didn't really matter. Seeing who the woman's father was, it would be damn near impossible to turn her away. And since then, things have been history and the normal thing to see on a daily basis. Speaking of which...

The moment Lara heard the bell to the front door chime, and saw a figure walk in, who was tall, dark and handsome and gave a look in Liesl's direction. "See you tomorrow...Eventually?" Lara called after them as the two soon left, Cas giving Liesl a knowing look and wink before returning back to their closing duties of their shift before someone else came to take over for the late night shift. "Alright, thanks Max. I'll see you in the morning." Cas said as they finished cleaning down the counter, and quickly made a drink, pouring it into a glass and made their way to the back end of the tavern. Walking to the back hallway, Lara unlocked the door with a spare-key and closed it behind them as they entered, locking it behind them and made their way up the rather claustraphobic stairs that lead to the loft where they lived. Lara unclocked the bottom lock and stepped onto the top step, and closed the door at the top of the staircase behind them. Turning back to lock all of the locks that lined the door took a moment, but after a minute the door was safely locked, to say that they were paranoid was, putting it lightly. Some called them crazy, others flat out said they needed to seek help, which may have been true.

Lara walked over to the kitchen and mainroom portion of the loft, and soft the glass down on the counter before they left for their bedroom to get changed. Walking back out a few short minutes later, they retrieved their drink and sat on the couch as they decided to pass the time by watching a few episodes before they'd fall asleep for the night. With a mix of pure exhaustion and alcohol, Lara managed to fall asleep rather easily on the couch after they curled up. Their dreams came quickly to them, in waves of normalcy and rather vague flashes as it usually did. But as the night went on, things began to morph and change, flashing lights and sounds, voices they didn't recognize and faces they had never seen flashed in their mind as they slept.

It was like some sort of weird macabre cocktail of all their worst fears or imagination could have come up with as they tossed and turned in their sleep in the living room. The most notable thing they could obtain from their dreams, or in this case, nightmares, were flashes of bright green, almost emerald colored eyes, with feline slits for iris's. A menacing grin, and sing-songy voice that sounded like velvet. But, it didn't come from around them, or from another form, but themselves. The closer Lara got to the end of their dream, or vision more likely, the clearer things became. Between seeing flashes of places they couldn't remember, a barren wasteland, a war torn castle, dead corpses that spread for miles, and creatures and humanoids alike all gathering around a burial sight.

Their eyes flashed open as the light from the window began to shine onto their face, causing them to fall off of the couch and onto the floor with a thud. Lara scrambled to get to their feet, pushing themselves against the wall as they tried to compose themselves and breathe. Just breathe. Every breath felt like a ton of bricks against their chest which made it seem impossible to take in another gasp for air. Their body shook as they tried to compose themselves and fight off the anxiety. This wasn't happening. They were Lara, a simple bartender in a tavern in Essex. They kept repeating to themselves. Another flash of memories bombarded their mind, a sharp pain stinging the base of their skull as more images flashed before them in quick blurbs.

A burning village, a large catipiller who seemed to be smoking on some sort of device, a large and grotesque reptilian creature fighting a figure in armor atop a pillar of a castle. And those same, green eyes staring back at them from a void of darkness. The same haunting, widened smile of rows of white, jaggid teeth poking out from the surrounding darkness. It was a...cat? The more Lara focused on the creature, more of it came into view. A gaseous, not fully coporial form began to manifest in the shape of a large feline with exaggerated features, before slowly morphing into Lara's own form. It was then that reality hit them. The cat and them, were one in the same? Somehow? None of it made any sense but, they weren't just images, but memories. Their memories. Somehow, Lara understood what they all meant. Even if none of it made sense. How was any of this possible? They were human, or at least it's what they believed until now. They needed to find out answers, now.

Lara got to their feet, grabbed their phone and keys while walking over to the door and unlocked it as they made their way back into the bar downstairs. Stepping out of the back of the bar, Lara froze in their footsteps as they saw a figure standing in the way. As if they were waiting for Lara. Lara eyed the figure for a moment, taking a step back as it clicked. "Bigby...Holy shit." they muttered, as they saw Alexander Montgomery standing in their way. But he wasn't Alex, he was Bigby. Or, better known as the Big Bad Wolf. They couldn't explain it, how they knew but, it was him. "Look, I can explain. I know I owe you money, but look. Now's now the time, okay? I...I think we both know that...Don't you?" the small red haired human questioned. "It's why I'm here, Cas. We need to talk. Now." he snarled. Lara took a step back for a moment, "Alright, just uh...Follow me to the back office...We can talk in there..." they stuttered, and the two of them made their way into the back office and out of sight for most people, leaving the office door open.

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N O R AXWEISS

he who wants a rose

the evil queenx|xoutfitx|x#41384E

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzmust respect the thorn.

Winter break had always been a bit of respite for Nora. There was still plenty of work to be done, but it all felt a little less pressing when school wasn’t in session. Nora had worked too hard to ever slack off, though, so she stayed busy enough. She had work to do, a yoga flow to complete, an extensive skincare routine to keep up with. Her life was both incredibly demanding and unbelievably dull but it was the life she’d created for herself, and she was proud.

Nora always tried to get plenty of sleep when she could. It was true that she often stayed up entirely too late finishing projects, or using the early hours of the morning to catch up on tv shows, but without sleep you get sloppy. Sleep keeps you sharp, helps you stay youthful. That’s what her mother used to say, anyway. As if a woman wasted away into obscurity the moment she turned thirty.

She had bizarre dreams that night: a little girl with raven hair, poison, and more jealousy and anger than she thought she’d ever felt in her life. The dreams were so vivid, more like memories than anything her mind could have concocted on it’s own. Some of the things in those dreams seemed almost unthinkable, but when Nora woke she would think about how she understood them. Some things, no matter how horrible, were simply necessary for the sake of survival. Perhaps it was evil, to understand murder, or perhaps it was just human.

Either way, the dreams hung over Nora’s head like a fog when she woke. She half expected to wake in the silken decadence of a medieval palace, instead of on her 100 thread count cotton sheets. As she blinked away the sleep in her eyes, she had to remind herself that it had only been a dream. Nothing more. She’d had vivid dreams before (though nothing quite like this, where the dream stuck to her head and her heart like a thick coating of caramel; encasing her very breath in a sickeningly sweet reminder that she, too, is replaceable).

She picked up a hairbrush from atop her dresser and as she ran it through her hair, all she could think of was brushing poison through a young woman’s hair, and how justified it seemed to be. Pushing those thoughts from her mind, she set out to get dressed. She could use some fresh air after a dream like that. A walk would likely do her some good. Maybe she’d pick up a “fancy” cup of coffee while she was out. Something about it being made by someone else always improved the flavor.

As she stood in front of her mirror, applying a layer of red lipstick, she had to fight a very real instinct to start asking questions, which was ridiculous. Mirrors don’t talk, and speaking to them was foolish.

Really, she knew. Of course she did; she wasn’t stupid. It was easier, though, to pretend it had only been a particularly vivid dream. This was the real world; there weren’t girls named Snow White or evil queens with magical powers. Just Nora; an unreasonably strict vice principal with an overly aggressive skincare routine. After all, she assumed anyone with the word “evil” in her title wasn’t going to be looked on as a shining member of the community if it came to light. Best to just carry on as if nothing had even happened, if she could.

Though, as Nora walked out her front door, she caught the tail end of a monstrous roar, somewhere just outside town. Something inside her knew that everything was rapidly changing in Essex. Well, no use sitting around fretting about it. Getting some air would still help her think, after all.

xxxM a r t a | #886C6C
xxxxxxOutfit | 1 2 3

Today was supposed to be a rare occasion. One of the few that Marta didn't spend cooped up in the Library, tucked behind a desk as she tip-tapped away at the ancient keyboard of the equally as ancient desktop computer or organizing stacks of overflowing books that seemed to never be capable of staying the way she left them. Marta loved her job, her home away from home, but it felt good to be free for the day. She hadn't set her alarm the night before, but it hadn't mattered anyways. Marta rarely overslept, couldn't oversleep, her body woke her at the crack of dawn each day like clockwork. Today was different though, she awoke instead to the dark of night still blanketing her room. Just barely able to see by the light of the moon shining in through her bedroom window.

Something was wrong. She could feel it in the way her hands shook and sweat gathered at the corners of her eyes. Had it been a nightmare? She struggled to remember what she had been dreaming about. It hadn't been a normal dream by far, the images cascading through her mind at a nauseating speed like a kaleidoscope that refused to stop spinning. Places she swore she had never been to, faces she couldn't put a name to. The feeling of wood against her tongue - wait that wasn't right.

Marta sat up in bed, clutching wildly at her chest as panic seized up her throat. She couldn't breathe, something thick and heavy lodged in her throat. Belatedly, and regretfully she realized that she was on the verge of throwing up. It seemed to take an eternity to untangle herself from the floral blue comforter and take those first few stumbling steps towards the bathroom. Just a few more steps, she begged herself internally, right around the corner. But a twisting in her gut had her doubling over, uphending the contents of her stomach over the white carpet.

Even through the tears she noted that at least she felt marginally better.

Still, she frowned at the mess as she rubbed the back of her hand across her mouth. Panting raggedly into her skin. So much for spending her day off relaxing...

"Its okay," She mumbled to herself, trying her best to feel as if that were true. For the next few moments she distracted herself from the dream by cleaning up the mess she made as best as she could. After several long minutes of scrubbing aimlessly at the spot she gave up, sitting back from her kneeling position to catch her breath. The distraction had worked somewhat, her pulse had slowed and her heart no longer tried to thump itself right out of her chest. She still felt gross and sweaty but that was easy enough to fix.

After the much needed scalding hot shower she sat on the edge of her bed, wrapped in a towel as she bent over an old box.

Rifling through it revealed a ragged notebook, a picture of her and Christine, and an oddly shaped chip of wood strung on a leather cord. She stared at it for a long moment, unblinking, unsure what she was supposed to do with these odd feelings twisting up inside of her. She didn't know how long she had been sitting there, but it had been long enough that the sun had risen and now bathed the room in swathes of golden light. She sighed and closed her hand around the necklace, carrying it with her to the closet where she proceeded to get dressed for the day. She slipped the leather cord over her head last, and let it fall beneath the dip of her dress, feeling the weight of the wood chip as it rested against her chest.

The images from her dreams haunted her as she trailed through her house, tidying what she could as she hunted for her cellphone. She often forgot about the darned thing and left it unplugged all night. She knew when she found it, it would be dead, but she needed to call Christine, ask her if she felt...well, whatever it was that had plagued Marta. After what felt like an eternity she found it, rushing back upstairs to plug it in.

She didn't expect a rush of texts but wasn't surprised to see that Christine had already tried to contact her. She scrolled through the messages, -Are we meeting up soon? Its been a while... let me know what you think?, and -Do you feel this? What's going on? Marta sucked in a deep breath and began to type back. She wasn't exactly sure what to say. How does on put into words this level of weirdness?

- Yes I felt it.

Not even a second passed before she sent the next one, too anxious to stop herself from bombarding Christine.

- Can we meet now?

And then.

- We could get coffee.

She set the phone to her side, patiently awaiting a reply from her friend. She wondered what it was Christine had felt, and if it were really the same as Marta. What were the odds that they both had such a weird experience?

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Maleficient || Outfit || hex #8B008B
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M A R C U S x A L L E N

Outfit
Marcus glared at the blinds. They were open just a crack and the sunlight managed to get pinpoint accuracy on his left eye. It was too early to be awake. Sure, the rest of the world might be going to work, but not Marcus, so it was very inconsiderate for the sun to be doing this. He untangled himself from the conglomerate of limbs and bodies sprawled across the bed. He ran his fingers through the tangle of curls on his hair and looked back at the debauchery behind him with a wry smile. Compared to the scene in his room, his dreams had been surprisingly innocent.

It had felt so real, more like a memory than a dream. It was definitely a dream though. There was no way he was Prince Charming. Everything had been so formal, so serious, more like a debutante ball than a party he would actually enjoy. He pulled on a pair of pants and headed down to the kitchen to set the coffee away. He was sipping his way through his coffee when he heard footsteps upstairs. Apparently the sun was victimising his friends as well. He turned the page of his book, barely paying attention to the world around him. He wasn’t an awful host, he did manage a ‘bye’ as people left. His school days had instilled some manners in him after all.

Marcus read until his coffee was gone and then he stretched out. A little voice told him he should probably get dressed. Marcus folded the corner of his page and dropped his cup into the dishwasher. Dressing for the day was something of a ritual, and when he was done, he was going to spend the day making a nuisance of himself.

A N N AxD O R S E Y

Outfit

Anna stared at the ceiling from her bed. She blinked once, blinked twice and sighed. That dream had been a whole other level of nonsense. She heaved herself up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. The floor was cold, and the contrast woke her up. Her alarm went off again. Anna jumped at the sudden noise and switched the damned thing off. She stretched out and sluggishly began to get ready for her day. Finish your residency in a small town, they said, it’ll be fun, they said. Maybe that was a little harsh. Essex wasn’t all bad. It was peaceful enough, and most of the people were nice. And now she was the only vet while Dr Hawkins recovered from his accident, however long that was going to take.

Flashes of the dream crossed her mind. A bear in a lush forest. It reared back and hit someone. Rose Red… Wasn’t that a song? Rose, Rose, Rose Red, will I ever see thee wed? And there was a little girl, she couldn’t quite remember the girl’s name though. Wasn’t that the issue with dreams? They were far too vivid and faded even faster. Anna shook her head as she packed her bag for the day. Even if the ache in her chest was heavy, it was just a stupid dream. It would pass. The feelings always did.

The air was cold out and Anna pulled her coat a little tighter around herself. A stray cat paused halfway across her lawn and watched Anna. Anna looked back at the cat. “Are you following me today?” The cat tilted its head.
“There’s food at the clinic for you.”

That seemed to do it for the cat and it began following Anna a few paces behind. The cat was small, most likely from lack of food, and he needed a good clean from what she could see. Maybe she would have to do a proper checkup on the little guy. Anna kept checking back over her shoulder to see if the cat was still following her, and each time it was looking up at her as if to say ‘yeah, I’m still here, keep walking’.

It was a short walk to the vet clinic and Anna set about her routine, checking on the animals that were in and cleaning everything down again. She coaxed the cat up onto the counter and set down a bowl of food for him to tuck in to. “Now what do they call you?” she mused, running her hand over his back. Not that she was expecting an answer, but the cat was entirely focused on his food rather than the vet fussing over him.

“Sparky.”

Anna frowned and looked up, expecting to see someone in the doorway. “Hello?”

The cat’s tail thumped against the table. “Down here.”

Anna looked down at the cat. Clearly she hadn’t had enough sleep, because everyone knew that cats couldn’t talk. And yet, this one was.

“My last people called me Sparky,” the voice (the cat?) repeated. The voice was a slow drawl

Anna nodded slowly, reaching for her phone. Leisl was at the top of her messages. Anna typed frantically.