Anima looked up into the eyes of the woman as she looked to it. As Anima was not expecting someone else to approach it the arrival of a large man surprised it, causing it to let out a sharp squeak. It was quieter than the first time when the woman erupted in anger at this wasn't as much of a shock.

"Hey there, my name is Dan. Dan Irving. Sorry for what happened to you, I never expected this city to already be filled with people like him. Anyways nice to meet you...um...slime person?"

"Um... It's Anima. Ah, m-my name that is! My name is Anima."

It spoke, it's greeting broken up with short heaves brought upon by it's sobbing. It's gel quivered with sadness despite the attention from a couple humans making it all the more self-conscious. It shrank a bit down from Dan as his size made it feel small. It wasn't particularly large but this hatted stranger made it feel quite insignificant with his large size and frame.


"Wait, something happened?"

People were intimidating when they spoke so sharply. Though the intent of the woman's words were pure her spontaneity kept giving Anima a bit of a jump. When the woman's eyes settled on it's own green ocular organs it raised a tentacle to wipe the stream of slime tears which poured so readily from it's face.

"Who made you cry?"


"W-well... You see, I-ah I was supposed to go to my new job out at the hospital but I- I didn't know the directions. I can't find my way and I tried asking for directions b-b-but the people wouldn't tell me and t-they... And-and there was a man and he wasn't like the others, he was nice and didn't sound mean b-but he was because he took my bag which had all my money in it. I- I told him to stop but he wouldn't stop. He didn't listen and now I have no money to buy things. I..."

Perhaps describing all the terrible things that had happened to it wasn't the best choice in terms of getting calmer. It was afraid and feeling hurt by those who had taken advantage of it and now someone was lending a metaphorical shoulder to cry on. It almost became a literal shoulder as Anima started forward, reaching it's noodly tentacles out towards the woman. Before it could pull the lady into a hug however it's own fears halted it just short of her. It felt a pang of guilt and worry that if it touched her then she'd be made at it for touching her without permission. It didn't know much about humans but it knew that some species disliked physical contact, females especially. The folks down at the village where home was were understanding but it'd had some negative run-ins with strangers in the past as a result of it's lack of understanding personal space.


Awash with sadness and fear simply couldn't keep it's feeling held back any longer. As it was leaning over before it's inhibitions seized it no longer had the strength to hold it's gooey upper body up, simply falling down before the woman's feet in a pool of it's own tears.

"I just wanted to see the world of humans and make friends and prove that slimes aren't just for eating! Other monster's houses had things but I had much less things and it's so empty It makes me scared at night and when I wake up I went outside and- and the city was so scary! Nobody likes me, nobody wants to be my friend, everyone tells me to go away and I'm lost but no one will listen and they just hate me and then the mean man took my money! I- I just wanted to buy things so people would be impressed by them and would want to come over and be friends! Now I'll never make anyone happy! I'm scared! I'm lonely!
I miss home and I can't stop crying and I don't mean to be burden and I'm very sorry... I didn't mean to bother I... I just...
I'm so sorry."


Anima simply erupted into a wailing mess on the ground, covering it's face with it's tentacles in shame as it babbled on almost incoherently. It didn't want to make a display of itself but it's despairs had simply cracked through the dam that kept it in check. The quivering green mass started to curl into a human's fetal position, it's whole form shuddering with each heaving sob. At this moment it just wanted to be sealed in a box where it couldn't be seen as the embarrassment of it's behavior stung like fire. There was no way it was going to recover from this whole situation and build their impression of it being a self-dependent and emotionally strong entity anytime soon. At this point it was all it could hope for to try and keep them from being utterly disgusted by it.

Dan was not sure whether to laugh, or to remain polite as he watched the woman shuffle back into the fountain and continued to soak herself. In the end he just simply remained quiet and hoped that the wet feeling on her hand was just water and not snot. "No problem, just offering a hand to someone who was having a bath in the fountain." He joked.

One the woman was back onto her feet, he listen to the slime who introduced itself as Anima as it began to tell its story. It seemed like Anima was pretty scared about coming to the city, and was pretty depressed about everything that happened. Dan felt more bade for the slime as with a small sigh he reached into his jacket and pulled out a few thousand Rell. It was not much but he could begin making nice with the monsters. "Here you go Anima, its not much but at least you can buy something with it..." Dan stated as he held the money to her but then realized one little thing, if she was a slime the money would get ruined. "Um...I just now realized that if I handed you the money it would get ruined. I am not sure how you can hold it but maybe we can find some kind of container to hold it in for the time being. Regardless this money in now yours, I hope this helps for the time being until we catch the guy responsible for taking your money..." Dan spoke as he looked around for something to house the money. If only he had his cup with him, that would have been a nice container.

Juliet's face grew more numb the longer the little slime spoke, to the point that she was no longer aware of the expression she was wearing and could not find the strength to control it again. She simply stared at the quivering mass of green jelly that had collapsed at her feet, too dazed by what it was saying to try to interrupt with reassuring words or reach out and hold its ha - tentacle, or anything. Everything that the slime, Anima, it had called itself, said went against everything that she had believed that this city stood for - the entire project stood for, the entire reason she had agreed to take part in it. The journalist in her heart had already began furiously grafting Anima's words into her flesh and the burn only fueled her anger. She thought she had a bad day, but people would be willing to - or at least, too polite to not - listen to her rant about it, maybe give her some advice on how to fix this problem. How would it feel, to be in that sort of situation, and be too afraid to ask for help, and to apologise for being a bother just because of your species?! Juliet had strived too hard to fight against such lingering discrimination issues, and she was not about to let history repeat itself right in front of her.

"Oh my gosh..." She kneeled beside Anima, briefly reconsidering trying to touch its sticky form, before reaching out an arm around her shoulders and giving her a reassuring (yet cautious) half-hug. It wasn't as gross as she'd imagined it to be, and she was already wet and unpleasant to look at as it was. Dan had already jumped to Anima's assistance and was handing over a couple thousand Rell. Juliet was genuinely touched by this kind gesture, displayed by a man who appeared so intimidating, and now felt under pressure to show Anima the same generosity. However, this was a problem that could not be solved with charity alone. "Sorry, I haven't got anything." She apologised briefly to Dan when he expressed his concerns of the wellbeing of the Rell, her mind too troubled by something else. "The thief isn't the only criminal, here."

With her arm still around Anima, she began to speak with decision. "I can't believe this... You have to report this. If this man robbed you in pure daylight, you must have gotten a good look at him. You have to go to the police, as soon as you can." She looked up at Dan seriously. "You said you saw it happen, didn't you? It would be a good idea to go with her, as an eyewitness. Two alibis are better than one." Especially when the one who is sinned against is discriminated by the entire city. That thought sparked something inside of her and she started to rant with passion, "That's not all you have to report, Anima. Your house - look, I read the information on the housing, of the project - studied it, even, before I came here - and if it's really that much of an issue, if it's empty, you have to report that too. That's not legal, they said in the forms that they are required to give you all the basic furniture and appliances that every house needs, and they have to be of decent quality. I overheard that a woman reported a faulty oven, and some people are coming to replace it. If you report a problem it will be inspected and they'll give you an apology, I'm sure. If someone dared play favourites..."

She closed her eyes and let her head cool. If she had only went for the broadcasting job instead of storming out of there, she could have brought up this issue on air... no, it was fine, she had the rest of the world to educate on this. Her silly vlog was about to become a news report. She got up from the ground and moved over to her handbag, taking out her map. Her fingers left wet patches which would cause it to crinkle when they dried. She was about to hold it out to Anima when she thought otherwise and turned sharply to Dan, holding it in front of her for him to take. "Here, I bought this earlier. Get to the police and..." she glanced warily to the slime, "... Anima to the hospital. I don't need - well, you need it more than me. And, oh -" she rummaged around her handbag to dump a thousand Rell into his hands. "That's for you too, Anima. Here, I'll give you my ph-"

The memory of the tragic death of her phone almost caused a dry sob to escape from her throat.

"... my email." She dove back into her handbag yet again to get her pad of paper, but she had seemed to misplace her pen. Lipstick wasn't an ideal choice, but worked more or less. "Here - just... keep me updated, and I'll want the map back." She shoved her email in his direction while being distracted by another thought and tossed her head around to Anima. Her eyes and tone immediately softened. "Is there any way I can contact you, Anima?"

Anima looked up from below and listened to them. It was overwhelmed by the outpouring of generosity shown to it by these two perfect strangers. Both Dan and the woman who's name it had yet to learn were exceedingly kind. It felt sort of bad for taking so much money from those with such golden hearts.

In face of such positive treatment Anima though still watering at the eyes was able to compose itself enough to carry out a coherent conversation. It lifted itself from the ground, facing towards the two saintly humans.


"I- I'm so thankful I- I can't even say. Thank you! You both are so very kind I..."

Anima turned it's eyes to the ground, bowing it's head to them in humility.

"I sort of feel bad for taking so much of your money. I may have lost a lot but that is no reason for either of you to part with your Rell. You are both so kind, I just hope I'm not being too much of an imposition. I don't want to ruin your day, I just want everyone to be happy."


Just then the woman put her arm on it and got real serious, something which mildly intimidated it into listening closely.

"I can't believe this... You have to report this. If this man robbed you in pure daylight, you must have gotten a good look at him. You have to go to the police, as soon as you can." She looked up at Dan with a firm expression. "You said you saw it happen, didn't you? It would be a good idea to go with her, as an eyewitness. Two alibis are better than one."

"That's not all you have to report, Anima. Your house - look, I read the information on the housing, of the project - studied it, even, before I came here - and if it's really that much of an issue, if it's empty, you have to report that too. That's not legal, they said in the forms that they are required to give you all the basic furniture and appliances that every house needs, and they have to be of decent quality. I overheard that a woman reported a faulty oven, and some people are coming to replace it. If you report a problem it will be inspected and they'll give you an apology, I'm sure. If someone dared play favourites..."


It just remained still and nodded along with what she was saying. It was a lot to absorb all at once and she made matters sound quite dire. Talk of police and reports all in a serious tone which held Anima's attention captive. It couldn't respond to much of what she said as she had gone on in her rather fiery speech leaving Anima in wide eyed pause.

"Is there any way I can contact you, Anima?"

At last the woman finished on a question, waiting for it to respond. While Anima didn't see this person in a negative light in any sort or way she certainly had a lot to say, confusing it a slight bit with the flow of information, parts of which it had yet to become familiar with.


"E... Mail?" It worded out loud, not familiar with the technology she had spoken about.

"Ah, I do have a mail box. It's red and sort of box shaped but not really box shaped. I read that humans communicate by passing letters to each other through a post office. That's that place where humans take people's letters to other people's mail boxes, correct?"

Anima had read up on the human world but there was much to their realm that it had yet to understand. With large curious eyes Anima stared up at her, tears no longer running from it's eyes.

Rosaline made her way to the park and glanced over the bustling activity within. She could feel her heart rate increasing, her eyes lids fluttering momentarily before closing them and taking in a deep breath. You can do this, just take it in slowly and calmly and everything will be fine. With this she perked her ears up, put on a wide smile and skipped in. She takes a few moments to set up her phone before throwing her arm up with it and then streaming.

"Rose here at the Watauchi City park to do my part to bridge the gap between all people!" Rosaline says, exuding a high amount of energy. She grins, spinning about before sitting in the grass and places a hand on her chest. "Because in reality, what is it that makes us different? How we look? How we act? We all fear, we all hurt in some way, we all cry, and we all love. You, my lovely viewers, will see that we too are..."

She pauses for a moment as she begins to take notice of a small group of people gathered around a slime. "'Ey, what's goin' on over here?" she asks. She pops up to her feet and wipes off her clothes then walks over to see what the commotion is about. She quietly slipped in and looked about at everyone. The human male was familiar, she recognized him from the boat, and had a sinking feeling she, at one point, nearly whacked him with her tail. The air was somewhat tense, something had happened here and she was uncertain as to what. She bit the bottom of her lip, took a deep breath, exhaled, and...

"Hello~! I'm Rose, such wonderful weather we are hav-" she paused again and looked at Anima's helplessly tearful face. Then looked over at Juliet who was somewhat wet from the fountain, the grin slowly fading from her face. She squints one eye and tilts her head to the side quizzically, one ear flopping to the side. "-iiinnnng... oh... dear... you guys... didn't get into some kinda fight did you?"

When Dan received the map of the city, began examining it for directions the police station. The city was quite large since it needed to house a large number of people but before he could even spot the park they were at, he soon had a few thousand Rell dumped into his free hand followed by the woman's email address. "So you need me to take Anima to the police department to file a report then take Anima to the hospital? Well I can do that, I might be late for my job on the first day but better late then never I suppose. Alright then, I will send you a message when we get to the police department then another one when we reach the hospital. Afterwards we can meet at this park again so I can give you back your map." Dan spoke before turning his attention to a voice.

When Dan turned to face whoever called out to them, she appeared to be human but that did not matter to him. "We did not get into a fight miss, we are just simply helping this slime after it got robbed. I am going to escort it to the police department." He called out to the woman before turning his attention to the map and soon located where the hospital and police department was, he also found out which park they were at. The Zullion Park, it was a name at least. At least they were just a couple of miles from the police department, maybe a ten minute walk at least.

Juliet nodded distractedly at Dan, her molars pinching the side of her tongue. She shook her head slightly at herself and spoke gratefully and with decision, "Yes, thanks. That's the plan. Thank you." She turned her head slightly to view Anima, her eyebrows creasing in concern for how little the slime knew of the world it had volunteered to be a part of. She smiled kindly and tucked her wet hair behind her ear. "Well, some people still do... I guess. The only thing you're likely to find in your letterboxes now are bills and shopping catalogs. Besides, I won't be able to send letters when I don't know where you live or your postcode." It was unlikely that Anima would be aware of its postcode. Juliet's smile turned to an unintentional grimace as she waved her hands. "You don't have to tell me, it's fine. Just stick close to this nice man and you'll be safe."

"Hello~!"

She raised her chin with a jolt to look at the one who had chimed out a greeting and observed the newcomer warily for a maximum of two seconds. It was a tall female with bright red hair, who was taller than both her and Dan yet with her youthful features could be determined a girl, rather than a woman. Juliet first recognised her as human, until she noticed the pointed ears and something long trailing behind her... a tail? The girl's smile fell when Juliet's eyes locked with hers, like she had been presented a cake then discovered it to be iced by toothpaste. Juliet couldn't help but clasp her forearm and shrink, feeling both small and unattractive compared to the tall stature of the girl and clean and preppy (and dry) presentation. She distracted herself by grabbing her phone from her handbag to check the time, then remembered that the luxury of being always informed had been recently crushed. She swapped the phone for her sunglasses and hid her eyes behind them.

"And I had an accident, that's all..." she continued on from Dan's explanation. Her eyes flitted around as though looking for an escape route. She needed to get out of there before they attracted any more attention and more people came to gawk at her embarrassing state. "Well, anyway, I should get going. I'll see you later, Dan. It was nice meeting you. I'm honestly glad people like you are still around, after only meeting people like Liz - I mean, hearing about that thief." She instinctively touched Anima's shoulder briefly. "I'm glad I ran into you too, Anima. If you need anything -" She paused, realising that she really had no way to contact the unlucky slime. She couldn't remember her own address, and she didn't have a job that it could meet her at. "- I live at the street where -" There was nothing remarkable about her street, either. "- I'm sure we'll see each other around. Good luck." She turned to leave but almost bumped into the tall girl, Rose. She smiled up at her and waved casually, "Thanks for not ignoring us or just staring. The weather is pretty nice. See you!"

She began fast walking away, waggling her fingers over her shoulder, before speeding up her pace until it almost became a jog. After that little piece of drama, she was back to square one, or, square -1, now that she didn't even have a phone to be contacted with, making her life just that little bit more difficult. She still needed to find a job, a goal she had set for herself that was to be completed by the end of that day. She helped Anima, and that meant she could help herself - or, she should have been able to help herself. Helping herself was something that didn't come as easily as bending down for others. She just needed to get home, clean up, print off more resumes and collect the map from Dan. The position of the sun suggested that she'd have just under half a day to find a job, something that she was more than capable

Wait.

Juliet halted, turned her head, and took three steps backwards. There was a sign hanging in a window, the bold words Help wanted, inquire within. printed on it in dark ink. Juliet hesitated to celebrate, wondering whether it had been left up by accident. Surely, a sign like that in a busy location like the one she had been trying to hurry through without attracting attention had already caught the eyes of other job hunters that had started much earlier than she had. How long had it been up for? Biting her lip, she looked up at the building. The Sleeping Squid Inn and Tavern. Her tongue ran over her teeth, one eyebrow raising with disdain. Her interest was already wavering just from reading that name. It sounded like a location in one of those roleplays that her brother Ruben was so absorbed by. A job at a tavern with a name like that suited some half-elf mage-in-training or wannabe pirate king rather than a city savvy woman like Juliet who had a reputation to preserve. She clawed the back of her hand with her fake nails, inhaling sharply. She didn't have the luxury to be picky about this! It was a job, wasn't it? Wasn't she just thinking about how much she needed one? She wouldn't be able to help herself if she always let her fear of judgement get in the way. Come on, you said your new life started now! Break this looping habit, already!

"Alright," Juliet breathed, taking the advice of the flame flickering by her ear for the second time. "New life, alright. I start my new life as a... dungeon master, wizard, pirate or whatever." She moved closer to the sign and read it over again for the sake of confirmation. Yup, it definitely said what she already knew it said. She raised her sunglasses and settled them on top of her head then shielded her eyes to get a better look at the inside of the tavern. It wasn't that busy, but she supposed it would be unlikely for an inn to be filled with people so early on in the day. The traffic would pick up during the evening, she was sure. Other than that, it looked clean, well-furnished and somewhere she wouldn't have minded to visit even if she wasn't job hunting, well, if she hadn't been warded off by the name. It was decided. She'd rush back home, shower and make herself job interview ready, check the emails that Dan would have already sent by that time, pick up the map then run back here and pray that the spot hadn't been taken in the time it took for her to do all of that.

Just as she had decided on this perfect plan, Juliet made eye contact with someone on the other side of the glass. Someone who had most definitely noted her interest in the position, and someone she swore lurched slightly towards her as though they were about to charge over. Her paranoia slapped her across the face and she jumped away from the window, looking down at her damp clothes and wiping at the smudged mascara beneath her eyes desperately. She couldn't run, that would look strange - but she wasn't ready to show herself to a possible employer, not looking like she was now!

Please don't come over please don't come over please don't walk over please let me go home and shower please -

Chester began to go through the files on the computer at the booking desk and he vaguely remembered someone on the boat mentioning that all those who registered an email with the directors of Zeritau would receive more information by email after moving in to their new homes. He quickly went to his email service and checked his inbox. Sure enough there was an email from the directors with the subject line “New Job” He clicked on it to find the usual welcome information and kept scanning until he got to the information about his job.
“Your job title is General Manager. Your duties will be the similar to your previous position, however, you will be in the primary person in charge. You will be responsible for insuring that other employees perform their jobs properly. You will also be responsible for filling the following positions: Cook, bartender, security, and wait staff. We have already hired a young college student, Ericson Thomas, as a bell hop, but he is equally qualified for a waiter position as well, so you may want to work out an alternating schedule to foster growth in the industry.”

Chester was a little relieved that he wasn’t going to be stuck here by himself, but he was also a little irritated that the directors hadn’t bothered to fill some of the major positions.
“Crap! I can’t believe this! I gotta find a cook, bartender, a bouncer and some wait staff. Oh and while I’m at it I gotta run the front desk as well. Not that anyone is gonna be coming in to an Inn when the whole town is getting brand new houses.” He muttered as he put his face down into his paws in frustration.
It was then that he heard quite a bit of commotion outside, but the walls were insulated well enough that he couldn’t make out what was being said. He glanced out the tinted window and saw a group of people gathered around a feminine-figured slime at a fountain. He went back to checking his email when he saw one of the people from the fountain come walking toward the Inn with a determined look on her face, though her makeup suggested she had been crying. He couldn’t blame her, right now he wanted to cry with how hopeless his situation was beginning to feel. As she walked closer, he also noticed her clothes were damp and dripping a little.
“Did she fall into the fountain?” He muttered to himself.
The woman walked past the window, then he saw her take a few steps backwards to look at the sign in the window. Chester got excited and his tail began to twitch as if it had a mind of its own. He saw her peer into the window and she made eye contact with him. In his excitement he got up to go out and greet her when he noticed the woman jump backward. He figured his cat-like appearance must have been a bit frightening so he slowed his pace. He walked out the front door and his acute hearing picked up the woman's whispered chanting “Please don't come over please don't come over please don't walk over please let me go home and shower please-”
He was already out the door and turning back would look odd, so he tried to ease the woman’s discomfort.
“Forgive my intrusion, miss, but I couldn’t help but notice you taking an interest in my “Help Wanted” sign. Normally I wouldn’t approach a random person like this, but I just found out this morning that I’m severely under-staffed, so I’m a little bit …desperate. I have positions available for a cook, waitress, bartender and even a bouncer if you’re interested. I understand if you’d like to go change into something more comfortable first, it looks like you took a nasty spill in the fountain there, but rest assured that your appearance won’t affect the interview in any way. The dress code is pretty casual around here.” He extended his paw for her to shake. “My name is Chester, I’m the general manager here.” He said with a grin that exposed his sharp, pointy teeth, yet still came across as endearing.

"Well, some people still do... I guess. The only thing you're likely to find in your letterboxes now are bills and shopping catalogs. Besides, I won't be able to send letters when I don't know where you live or your postcode. You don't have to tell me, it's fine. Just stick close to this nice man and you'll be safe."

Anima nodded to the lady before looking up to Dan. "Okay. Again, I cannot thank you both enough for just how kind you've all been."


"Hello~! I'm Rose, such wonderful weather we are hav-"

Anima turned to see the being who had greeted them.

"-iiinnnng... oh... dear... you guys... didn't get into some kinda fight did you?"

"O-oh no, not at all. These most wonderful people were helping me."


Anima was quick to answer, hoping the person hadn't drawn the wrong conclusion from the scene. It's new acquaintances were quick to also confirm there was no ongoing situation there.

Of course the woman who stopped to help her bid her farewells, rather quickly it seemed but all well enough.

"I hope to see you again too. Good fortunes to you as well."


It turned it's attention to the new lady named Rose who had approached. She was quite tall with pointed ears and a tail, clear marks of a non-human. Anima wiped the tears from it's eyes with a tentacle, the slime mixing into the slime on it's limb and dripping off the end.

"Hello. My name is Anima. It is good to meet you Rose. These people were helping me after I lost my way in the city."

Anima motioned to the man near it.


"He is Dan. We are going to go down and report what happened."

Anima worked up a smile to present to Rose. With such wonderful company it was starting to come free from the gloom which had cast it's shadow over it's day. Though one of it's new acquaintances had left it was enjoying the company it still had. Perhaps the metaphorical rainy day it was having would end in a rainbow after all.

"We did not get into a fight miss, we are just simply helping this slime after it got robbed. I am going to escort it to the police department."

Rosaline blinked at his words, running that thought through her skull. Robbed? There is already robberies going on? Where are the police, where is the law period? Her tail and ears twitched in a jerky motion as she tries to process a clear injustice. She had gotten ready to respond before hearing the woman explaining her state as an accident, then leaving the scene, taking a broken phone with her. She clutched her own phone and looked at it. Is everyone having a bad day?

"Y-yeah, sure," she muttered in response to Juliet as she left. She watched briefly then looked around for any patrol, any officer of justice. It would appear this experiment may have forgotten a few... features. This is ridiculous, back home this would never be tolerated, never, never, never! I cannot believe this! She narrowed her eyes staring off and scanning the surroundings, the creak of the plastic in her phone coming to her ears to break the tension. She holds it out in her hands and realizes she had still been streaming, she fumbles with it nervously before cutting the stream. I can't lose it here, just put on a smile and be warm and friendly. They are reporting this, they have it handled. No need to... take matters into your own hands. Rose takes a breath while holding the phone to her chest, then turns to the slime who had begun speaking directly to her.

"Hello. My name is Anima. It is good to meet you Rose. These people were helping me after I lost my way in the city."

Lost your way..? Rosaline forced on an energetic smile and perky expression, something a figurehead like her has learned to play for years. "That is really quite considerate of them, Anima! I'm really sorry I only came in at the end of it, if only I didn't oversleep this morning I woul-," she cuts herself off and shakes her head and forces a chuckle. "What an interesting name by the way, if my older brother was here he'd probably say something along the lines of how it means life or soul. He's a book reading type... and I'm not exactly sure where he is right now... maybe helping grandmas across the street or cats out of trees." She had previously been mad at her brother, but then found herself giggling on how silly it'd be to be mad at him in the first place. He was definitely nicer than her older sister, and spoke more than her younger sister.

She takes another breath and takes a courteous bow. "It is nice to meet you, Anima, I hope that this issue gets resolved. If not, well, count me as one who's willing to speak out as well. Not to brag, but I got a bit of a voice, and I'm willing to use it against injustice." She then turns to Dan with another bow. "As for you, sir Dan, it is comf- er... it is great that you guys are sticking your necks out for Anima, I mean, it really means something and-" Her phone lets out a cheerful chime and she slowly looks down at it.

1 New Message from Big Sis

I saw the stream and found it concerning. Are you safe? If this turns violent. You can tell me and father. We will support you.

Her eye twitches, this was the last person she wanted to see the stream. No, no, no, no, no! You just want an excuse to wage war against humanity! She takes a breath and responds.

Totally fine here. Just a bad day for a few peeps but we are handling it. Thanks for concern tho sis, love you!

Send

She sighs, hopefully diffusing another disaster with that. Last thing she wanted was the rest of the family getting involved...

Dan waved goodbye to Juliet as she left. But before he could get a move on, the woman who he originally thought was a human came close and began to talk to Anima. Once he got a closer look he noticed the tail jutting from behind her. He decided let the two of them chat for a bit, he was not in a hurry. As he listened to their conversation one phrase in particular raised his eyebrow. "That is really quite considerate of them, Anima! I'm really sorry I only came in at the end of it, if only I didn't oversleep this morning I woul-," She then stopped and shook her head. He guessed she meant beat up robber, heck if he was much closer he would have done the same thing.

Once Rose finished speaking to Anima, she turned to Dan with another bow and thanked them for helping a fellow monster. "No need to add the sir, just Dan is alright. Anyways don't mention it, the reason why we are in this program is because we volunteered to see if monsters and humans could co-exist together but it would seem most people here had a sudden change of heart. This is no trouble at all, all this is doing is make me late for my job on the first day but getting Anima to the police department and the hospital is more important than punching numbers into a cash register. Anyways, Anima. We should get a move on, it was nice to meet you Rose but I should get a move on before I get too late for my job. I rather not get fired on the first day then go searching for a new job, Feel free to tag along if you want." He stated before turning around and motioning to Anima to follow him. Of course he was not sure how fast slimes could go so on the safe side we walked at a slower pace.

Quietly, the Id began to manoeuvre the sinuous paths in the yard outside of the Library. As she locomoted: she was a shelter for a small shadow of hers, which she looked down upon with strained and noneffective animality.

Her footsteps were vast and heaving as with relative ease she surfed over the powdery mortar and gravel with a saturnine silence that respired gloom. She disorganised her hands to play small and tedious games with her hampered eyesight.

Rubbing her chin: she smiled a very novel amount when she discovered the fountain had leapt into immediate perception. She sat upon such a fountain and crossed her legs, observing, contrary to the direction she was facing: the glossy and salubrious trees to her left and right.

Her trenchcoat rendered her ghoulish and caliginous as the loose and featherweight fabric frayed in a random flight before her in the soft breeze.

Though, an inebriation-parasite macerated on her jovial optimism yet: it was the hallowed and distorted plaza of economics that had to circulate through all developed creatures, apparently. She did not have foresight of this arrow; it was phantasmal as an outside idea, but the internalised idea of money, of supply and demand, of so many other words of linguistic abasement: inhabited the mind with a bite that was unpredictably fatal.

She began to belt towards an expression and posture very closed in its nature, and ended up putting one shoulder on her knee and holding her head in her hand; a posture now known as "philosophical".
"Hitherto I have never had to not prohibit such an unorthodox property into a world of generally venerated simulacra", she commented.

"I don't think I can uphold the same amount of veneration for this item that does not exist: economics!" She very briefly and discursively snapped, before counting her options.

"If, should I happen to find a book on economics in this library..."

She preffered to look at the library henceforth, a massive spool-shaped building that was made out of slate, and bore a sign written in a serif typesetting that proclaimed "Library" in large, aubergine-coloured, bold and capitalised letters.

"I shall have to dismiss my reluctance to rent it!"

Damn it - she was staring. Juliet's eyes scanned the friendly cat-man for anything that she could focus on without appearing too fascinated or rude and fixated them to his eyebrows for just a moment too long, long enough for it to now be weird if she quickly looked away. At least they were close to his eyes and he wouldn't be able to tell what she was focusing on. Meeting new monsters was a hazardous experience for a curious human such as her, as she'd always find herself gawking at anything unusual. In fact, ever since she came to the city, she had even found herself secretly observing other humans just in case she missed anything that could be considered monster-y. She knew that to stare or comment was considered rude by the more easily-offended monsters and thus had been trying her best to not look at the more obviously monster-y city dwellers at all - but even then, that was considered rude by others! Alas, it was too late, a habit had already taken form, much like the habit of saying 'sorry' to others she barely brushed, in paranoia that they may be offended in some way.

Thankfully, she didn't have to explain the puddles that she was leaving in her wake. He already knew the reason behind her dripping clothes, something that took her by surprise and urged her to turn her head and see how far the fountain was from the tavern. The ambitiously spacious park was just across the street, and the fountain was still within eyesight. Her tired feet were disappointed by the lack of distance she had walked while she had been lost within her mind, as in there, they had walked a lot further. A relieved smile tugged at her lips as she saw a sturdy figure with large strides shepherding a little gliding green humanoid blob. Two short breaths escaped from her mouth, a low, barely registered sound that didn't have enough effort put into it to be considered a chuckle. Calmed, she gave her hopefully to-be employer a charming half-smile that almost matched his level of charisma.

"Hi, Chester. I'm Juliet, it's nice to meet you." She accepted his handshake and restrained from flinching upon feeling his claws, her fingers only twitching slightly, "That's unfortunate, really... don't worry though, you're not the only one. Everyone's been having your sort of day." Her chin dipped slightly in an unconscious gesture towards herself. "I - I am interested, in working here. I mean, obviously, I can't go for an interview like this - no matter what you say about it, I'm not going to make a mess on your floors - I was just curious about the positions available, and I think I qualify for about two of them...? Just keep me out of the kitchen." She laughed, the way people laugh when they're taking too long searching for change at the shop counter, and smiled again, glancing up at the top floor of the building to avoid making eye contact for too long. Then, with a jolt like she just remembered something, she brought her notepad and... agh... lipstick out again and scribbled her email down. "Here - I, I really want to organise an interview if that's okay, I can't do it right now. I'm expecting a couple emails from someone soon and have to meet him again later... but I'll be free after that, and it looks like you need staff as soon as possible - so is it okay if I drop by in the evening? If not for an interview, just to check this place out? You can email me an interview time that suits you if you like, I'm sorry, my phone's inactive." She held out the page, her head slightly tilting to the side without her notice. Her heart was holding a dance party and everyone was invited. Juliet was feeling inclined to have a boogie herself. She'd wait behind closed doors, of course, it wasn't like she was even hired yet.

Looking up at the tall red haired woman's friendly smile warmed Anima's core. It was good to see something more familiar when everything was so foreign to it.

"That is really quite considerate of them, Anima! I'm really sorry I only came in at the end of it, if only I didn't oversleep this morning I woul-," She pauses, lightly laughing off the train of thought she had been down it seemed. "What an interesting name by the way, if my older brother was here he'd probably say something along the lines of how it means life or soul. He's a book reading type... and I'm not exactly sure where he is right now... maybe helping grandmas across the street or cats out of trees."

Anima nodded. "He sounds like a nice person. I'd be happy to meet him if we ever run across each other again."


As much as it wouldn't of minded speaking with a friendly monster it had places to be. It looked up to the large man standing next to it.

"No need to add the sir, just Dan is alright. Anyways don't mention it, the reason why we are in this program is because we volunteered to see if monsters and humans could co-exist together but it would seem most people here had a sudden change of heart. This is no trouble at all, all this is doing is make me late for my job on the first day but getting Anima to the police department and the hospital is more important than punching numbers into a cash register. Anyways, Anima. We should get a move on, it was nice to meet you Rose but I should get a move on before I get too late for my job. I rather not get fired on the first day then go searching for a new job, Feel free to tag along if you want."

He turned and begun to lead towards their destination. Turning and following suit it crawled along after him, it's bottom surface undulating in a precise wavelike pattern not dissimilar to the locomotion of a snail.

---

Fifty minutes later...

---

"Ah, I see the police station." Anima perked up after the long trip there. Ahead of them stood the station, a rather plain building with several cruisers parked in front of it. On a side it had a sign denoting it's status as a police department near the entrance.

"Here - I, I really want to organize an interview if that's okay, I can't do it right now. I'm expecting a couple emails from someone soon and have to meet him again later... but I'll be free after that, and it looks like you need staff as soon as possible - so is it okay if I drop by in the evening? If not for an interview, just to check this place out? You can email me an interview time that suits you if you like, I'm sorry, my phone's inactive."
Chester took the piece of paper and made sure he could read the thick lines of the lipstick writing. “That shouldn’t be a problem, I don’t think we’ll be all that busy these first few days. Any time you want to stop by and check the place out is fine.” He smiled at her. “You probably want to go get changed, I know I can’t stand to be wet like that for very long, so I won’t keep you. But at least it’s a warm day, so you might dry off a little quicker.” He waved goodbye and went back inside.
He did his best not to get too excited by the prospect of another employee. He still needed to find a few more people to fill the remaining spots, but this was at least a start. He looked back to the email he had received earlier. “Damn, of course it doesn’t say anything about what day or time this Ericson guy is supposed to start and there’s no contact information either. Lovely.” He sneered as he glared at the email again. His mind began to ponder promotions that he could try to get some business through the door, if nothing else just into the tavern. He got onto a word processing program on the computer and printed out a sign in big colorful letters that read “Grand Opening Drink Specials. This Week Only!” and he hung it on the front door in the hopes of getting some new faces in the tavern.

Thomas had been busy getting set up with his schedule at the college he almost forgot to go meet his boss. He rushed down the streets to the tavern where there was a sign that Grand Opening Drink Specials. This Week Only! on the front door. He opened it up to find a human-like feline man inside.
"Excuse me," he said exhausted "do you know who runs this tavern?"