Coffee and Claws

"How do you live with these, girls?" I look at Mom and Teia alternately. "They're so sensitive; I touch them and lose my train of thought," I finish, giggling. Mom and Teia look at me and smile too.

"You'll get used to it," Mom smiles with her new, raspy voice. They exchange glances with Teia, and Teia runs to her. They embrace, and then something probably never seen before happens: they wrap their wings around each other and seem to merge.

"I became a kitty for Mom and a girl for my sister, and they still don't accept me into their club," I say, feigning offense. They turn their attention to me and laugh with their new voices, opening their wings towards me, inviting me into this crazy duo.

I hug them, and the wings close behind me. We embrace, calming down. I instinctively rub my face against theirs; it truly feels normal and right.

"Girls, let's go downstairs, have some coffee, and try to calm down?" Mom rasped. Teia giggled high-pitched and nodded.

Our monster family went down the stairs almost in formation, all of us still in a state of surrealism. We even forgot to get dressed. Teia and Mom were in torn nightgowns due to their wings, flashing their breasts, and I was in my boyish sports shirt. Mom approaches the coffee machine, and Teia and I sit at the table as usual in the morning. This morning shouldn't have been any different from any other. Mom stands by the coffee machine for a very long time, visibly twitching. Teia twitches to help, but I stop her and go to help Mom myself, understanding that Teia also hasn't learned to use her nails yet. I approached Tracy, put my hand on her shoulder, and moved her aside with a smile. Mom understood; fear gripped her eyes again. I set up the coffee machine to brew coffee.

"She just doesn't have dangerous claws like ours, Mom," Teia smirked. "We'll get used to it too, Mom."

I smirked, showing them the trick with my retractable claws. "You have more," I smirked, "but I can do this."

"Kids," we saw Mom trying not to swear, choosing her words. "Something crazy is happening, we... we're monsters..." At these words, she started to break down, her raspy voice turning into some kind of cawing. "Tyler, do you know more?"

I pour coffee into three cups and hand it to Teia and Mom. "Actually, I don't know anything either. I woke up a little earlier; at first, I thought it was just me and was afraid to show myself to you. But when I realized that I was her and not human, but a cat, and saw you, a simple question arose: it wasn't limited to me, but was it limited to our family? That's the question." And this question hung in the air. Teia went to the TV with her paws, took the remote, and nervously poked it with her claws. I approached to help, gently hugging her from behind, but she pushed me away. She focused her claw and pressed the power button. I still took control to turn on the news channel, and we froze, watching the anchor's speech. Instead of the usual Connie Swift who hosted all the news, there was Stan, the host of the nightly news:

“…this is unbelievable, I look and I don't believe it, my girlfriend Agnes, whom you all know, woke up with me in the form of a zebra. All women look like animals; my friend's daughter turned into a bird. Friends, we all don't know what's going on and are waiting for comments from the government. Please, all residents of the city, stay calm and do not panic. If you have changed, do not go outside and call the number on the screen. We have just been informed that the National Guard is being deployed in the city. Please stay calm if you see people in uniform; we have an emergency situation.” At this moment, the TV switched to some old series.

"It's not just us; it's the whole city," Teia almost squeaked with her new voice. "We're not monsters; we're part of a city of monsters," Teia summarized, clutching her head with her paws.

"I don't understand; did everyone transform, or just half? What's the principle?" Mom rasped. "How do we live now? What's happening to us?"

"I don't like coffee," I said, trying to stay rational. I think I realized right after waking up that I wasn't hoping for happiness and that everything wouldn't return to normal.

"Don't you care that we're monsters?" Teia exploded. "You're fine; you're a cute kitty. You can live in this world; you're even desirable now."

Desirable? I'm cool? Yesterday I was a football player; I peed standing up. I was going to be the head of the family; I loved a girl. I just knew how to live; I just knew how to pee. And you, my sister, one of the closest people to me, are sitting here feeling sorry for yourself. You can't imagine that I can't recognize myself in the mirror, that I, like you, can't recognize my family, that I was a guy just an hour ago. We all became monsters, but I had to pee in the bathroom because I don't remember how to use the toilet, and I peed in the bathroom without a penis and cried because I didn't understand how to pee." It all poured out of me; I realized how much pain and discomfort I was in. I focused on the family and forgot that I was now a little girl, which imposed a certain emotional imprint. And besides, like them, I am in shock from what is happening.

"Tyler, thank you; you came when I wasn't myself," Mom said timidly. "Thank you, son. I'm sorry I acted that way at first."

"It's okay, Mom. I'm sorry if I offended you. You handled it great, better than I did when I woke up."

"Tyler, let's go to my room; we'll find you some underwear and clothes," Teia extended her pale, clawed paw. "And I need to get dressed too."