check out the return section

As you talk with the clerk, you glance over the doorways nearby. Most are labeled, some not. One falls between those though, was something not really of either. It was clearly labeled RCH, but what that could mean is beyond you.

?What?s RCH stand for??

The clerk looks up at the door and nods towards it. ?Reclaimed Creatures Habitat,? he says briskly. ?It?s where we keep the animorphs who were already sold or given to owners who brought them back. Something like a bargain bin, for those spending, but not such an issue in your situation.?

?Why are they brought back??

The clerk shrugs. ?Lots of reasons. Personal chemistry, unforeseen flaws, unable to house the morph because of personal reasons. They?re ready to be put in society, we?re just trying to find them owners again.?

Your curiosity and a bit of a charitable side sparks up inside you. ?Can I see them?? you ask.

The clerk shrugs and sits back up. ?Gladly,? she says, leading you inside.

The inside seems much more sporadic than the other places you?ve seen. Rather than a jungle or a desert, the place resembles a simple city street. It has a number of homes, and no real theme seems to be present in the animorphs that populate it, walking and speaking in their animal language and doing simple jobs as if it were a fully functioning town.

The first that catches your eye on the way is a dark-furred anthro leaning over a balcony. She has a full and shapely figure, very femininely sculpted. It takes you a moment to look over her features before spotting the white strip of fur, marking her as a skunk. It seems a minor note after a moment, as you can see several patches where her fur is thin, even bared to the dark skin at some points. You catch her eye just in time to notice her staring, and the skunk blushes before pulling back slightly towards the door into the house?s second floor. She keeps her eyes on you curious, but clearly a bit startled by the incident.

?You noticed Sheila, did you?? the clerk asks idly.

?Yea? is she unusual, or are all the pets in this department like that??

?No, Sheila?s a special case even for her. Her master was going to return her, but not before we took her back anyway.?

?You take pets back?? you ask curiously. You don?t want to blow your one chance at an intelligent pet lover, after all.

?In her case we do,? the clerk says, his voice lowered and a bit darker. ?When the master does those sort of things to their pet?? He shakes his head, regaining his composure a bit. ?I?m sorry. We understand there are fetishes and that the pets are here to serve, but not in the way that leaves multiple scars?

You shudder a bit, realizing where those bare patches came from, and sympathy and pity pangs in your chest for her.

There?s a low snort that demands your attention, though, cutting off that train of thought. You follow the noise to near an alleyway, where a rather tall black mare stands. She has nearly a foot on you, and she?s covered in bodybuilder-level muscle, especially on her toned and bulging arms. She has pierced nipples and ears, with black fur except for a white mane that goes down to her middle back, a few inches above her sculpted ass and equally white tail. Everything on her exudes strength and authority, to the point where you haven?t made up your mind but you feel like she already has decided for you.

?Nightmare,? the clerk says, apparently pointing her out and greeting the mare all at once. She lets out a low huff of air again, slowly following you along several long strides behind you. Her body seems so tight with muscle she moves like an authoritive living liquid. ?She?s strong and dominant, and a real bother if you?re trying to tame one. But passionate as can be, and don?t doubt that she?s without feelings.?

?And she?s here because???

?Last owner was looking for a pet, not an owner. And Nightmare is definitely on the dom side of things.?

You swallow heavily, though can?t help but be turned on some by the idea.

?Raww!?

A cry from elsewhere in the streets cuts you off. You look to the source, surprised to find not a animorph but another human. She has short red hair, and is lean but athletically built. She?s also on all fours, wearing a collar, and totally nude. You have to stare at the young girl, who apparently keeps making her ?Rar! Row!? noises at you, somewhere between a bark and a meow made by human lips.

?And? what?s that exactly?? you have to ask.

?That?s Mel. C?mere, Mel!? the clerk pats his thigh, the girl running up to him and padding around him on all fours like an excited puppy. He pats her head, scratching behind her wholly human ears as you look baffled.

?She?s something of an error on our part. She started out as a puppy experiment, but wound up more human than we planned.?

?What?! How can that happen!??

?It?s not an exact science, really??

?Putting animal and human DNA together ISN?T an exact science!?? you blurt out.

The clerk has to laugh. ?Well rather, it?s an INCREDIBLY exact science. But little screwups can throw things off wildly. You know how humans and most animals have about 2% difference between them? A slip of the hand, a misread note, and an animorph can go to far. So what Melanie here is, is basically a human pet, if not with a more animal mentality. Wasn?t quite what the owner was looking for, but I?m sure someone will pick her up all the same.?