A day at the park.

The park is a surprisingly large affair. It's surrounded by a tall fence, but the gate is invitingly open. As you step through you see a colorful meadow, unmowed and sprinkled with wild flowers. It's bisected by a well-maintained path, and flanked on both sides by long rows of shade-granting oak trees. The trees continue at the opposite side of the park, so the fence is only visible at the entrance.

The path is lined with benches, none of which are occupied right now. The main attention-grabber is a large game of frisbee on the wider section of meadow to the left of the path. There are over a dozen participants: cat girls, dog girls, a striking bird girl with a costume of iridescent feathers, and of course several regular men and women, all hooting and hoollering as they chase the flying disc.

On the other side of the path, a teenage girl is eating at a picnic table with her chipmunk pet, chatting like old friends as they watch the fun.

Ashley looks around in awe, but Tibby takes her and you by the hands and leads you down the path until you reach the trees at what you thought thought to be the other end of the park. But far from ending here, the path continues into a narrow forest that continues quite a ways on.

And you're not the only ones here either. Just a few yards off the path, you spot a man sitting with his back against a tree and a woman on his lap. She must be in her mid forties, and she's as naked as the day she was born. The only thing covering her dark skin are stripes of orange paint in the pattern of a tiger.

Despite her nudity it looks like an innocent and wholesome scene. Until you walk far enough that your side-view turns into a frontal that lets you peek between her legs and understand her blissful expression: the man has one hand on her love button, slowly massaging it while the fingers of his other hand dip into her hony pot.

Ashley quickly looks away when she realizes what they're doing. "Are they allowed to do that in public?"

Tibby titters. "They are being naughty, but we're not exactly in public here. Let's give them some space."

The girls increase their pace, dragging you with them. You glance over your shoulder just in time for the tiger woman to catch you looking and smirk at you before she's obscured by trees.

Moments later the three of you emerge into a small clearing. There's a round pond in the middle, and a group of cat girls clusters around it, peering into the water curiously.

A large muscular man is keeping an eye on them from a bench near the edge of the clearing. When he notices the newcomers, he stands up and calls for the group's attention. "Girls, I think there's someone here to see you!"

One by one the girls straighten up and look around to see what he means. Then, almost acting as one, they spot you and come running over.

"Tibby! Is this your new owner? Who's that bunny? Tibby! He's so handsome! How have you been?" They all speak over each other in a rabble as they dart around excitedly. They're not at all the quiet, kneeling pets you remember from the store. You and Ashley stand motionless, overwhelmed, but Tibby seems unfazed.

"Girls, sweethearts, one at a time," she laughs good-naturedly as she starts passing out hugs. "I've missed you lot too."

It takes a while, but eventually all the cats have quited down. Tibby looks at them with the fondnes of an older sister. "Ok, you can start asking questions now."

"Is that your sister!?" a bold one shouts immediately, her finger aimed accusingly at Ashley. "You told us you were an only child!"

"I sure hope she's not," Tibby responds just as boldly. "It would make things pretty awkward since she fingered me yesterday."

Several of the girls giggle, while others turned red. The cat who had asked the question, a tiny but fierce looking thing, is among the latter. She wears a black leotard, a long tail wrapped around her left leg in a descending spiral, and her little button nose and cheeks are made up to resemble a cat's snout with whiskers.

Another cat, a chubby asian girl with folded-down ears and paw-shaped mittens, steps forward. "So who are they?"

"Well, this here is John, my new owner. The kind of impulsive man who picks you up and carries you home within ten seconds of meeting, but you already know that since you saw him do it to me. And this cute little bunny is Ashley. She's his best friend and not related to me at all, at least I'm pretty sure she isn't, it's just a freaky coincidence!"

"Is he nice?" a third asks, but you miss Tibby's answer as the large man, presumably a Friendly Pets Inc employee, catches your attention and you follow him over to the bench.

"So you're the young man who adopted Tibby," he says once you're both seated. His voice is deep and friendly, with a mild undertone of concern. "And I see you have another pet too. You're both getting along with her?"

"Yes! Of course," you respond without hesitation, looking fondly at the group of girls who are moving back to the water's edge, your pets in their middle. "She's the best, I can't imagine treating her the way her first owners did."

"She told you what happened then?"

"Not in detail, no. I just know their daughter was her best friend, and she hasn't heard from any of them since she was kicked our for, well, for being herself I guess."

"That's it? I should probably tell you what lead to her being kicked out then, so you know how to handle her properly."

"Don't," you stop him firmly. "I'll gladly listen if she tells me herself, but if she doesn't want to talk about it I don't want to hear it. She's shared enough with me that I know I can't treat her like the average pet, and I don't want her to be average either. I love her just the way she is."

"I can tell that you do," he says with approval. "Thank you for putting my worries to rest. I don't want to see her hurt again."

There's no need to say anything else. After sitting with the large man in comfortable silence for a while, you get up to see what's so captivating about the pond everyone's gathered around.

When you join the group at its edge, several pairs of eyes look at you with wonder, and you wonder what Tibby has told them about you. Ignoring their inquisitive looks, you gently move through the crowd until you can see the water.

It's a shallow pond with lots of plants growing at the bottom. Sparkling minnows dart around between the greenery while avoiding the larger, slow-swimming koi in their midst. It's this spectacle that has captured everyone's attention, including your own. You watch their calming dance until a small form nudges your side.

Tearing your eyes away from the fish, you turn to see the first cat that had spoken earlier. When you notice her she slips a tiny hand into your own and hugs your arm, smiling up at you. "Thank you so much for adopting my friend. She always looked out for us other cats 'cus she's the oldest, but we've never seen her this happy. It gives me hope that the rest of us will find our perfect owners too."