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Exposure

As I lie there on the couch, Cole's head leaning on my shoulder, I came to the realization that the excessive cuddling wasn't quite as awkward as it once was. I mean, here I was, in a literal furpile in the living room, and I wasn't weirded out at all by it.

I tell ya, the furrier you get, the more cuddly you get. It's like some sort of an equation that I really didn't want to calculate, but was sure to analyze anyway.

I waited till everyone else was asleep for sure, then I made my escape. I had to be careful though, these were all furries now, with heightened senses, and they were all cuddling on one another.

Except Frost, of course. He was lying on the ground, away from everybody else, as usual.

Thankfully, I was a feline, one of the more silent of the creatures of the earth. I was able to evade the rest of them and not alert them.

I put on my cloak again, and I snuck out the door. I was sure to put on the hood, and keep my paws in my pocket. I didn't have a pair of shoes that would fit my feet, so I figured I could get away with calling them my funny boots.

Yeah, people would believe that.

I slowly walked my way out of the plaza and onto the road. The streetlights seemed to bright to my senses, but I was able to adapt quickly.

I meandered aimlessly down roads and through parks, thinking to myself about what I was going to do with myself. I mean, yeah, coming out as a furry to my parents was alright, Dad may have teased me, but it turned out well overall. Sam would love this in me, that's for sure.

But I was thinking more about school or work. I mean, say everything goes well and the world does learn to treat us as equals, what then? What job can I really have? I want to go into broadcasting, but there's little room for a tiger giving you the news. Nobody would hire me, they'd lose credibility over me.

I refuse to work construction anymore, it was hot enough as it is, imagine if I was trying to do that with a full coat of fur, not to mention the cleanup afterwards. That's a lot of shampoo.

Where would I go if I fell ill? Would I go to the doctors or the vet?

Wait, I know a job I'd be good at, I could work at the Zoo, attracting customers!

No, that wouldn't work either, it would end up that I was the star attraction. That's exactly what I need, to be put on display, for the general public to gawk at. That's what we all needed.

Then again, there's always that chance that the more cynical people wouldn't ever believe we were real, and that we weren't just some publicity stunt.

At least there was one thing I knew would work in our favor, there would be no way we'd be discriminated against by the government. We started with the minds of humans so at least the worst we'd get is some sort of mockery.

Truthfully, there's a good chance people would love bringing their kids to see us. After all, we were cute and cuddly.

Every coin had two sides, but for the most part, most people love an anomaly. People love the sensational, and I'd have to say we were pretty sensational. Our magics would be what make us the most impressive. I can summon magic from nothing, and I can control it very well. That's quite sensational.

Then again, a creature that can do that could be seen as quite dangerous.

Dammit, there's so many pieces to this puzzle. I guess when it all came down to it, really the best thing to do would be to just come out, admit our differences and learn to cope. Sure, some people can't do that, but I could. I could always say I'm the only one.

I stopped in my tracks and shook my head. No, I can't do that. I can't betray them if they chose to stay secret.

Then again, I wasn't betraying them, this was my own life. I didn't want to be a celebrity, but I'll be damned if I want to hide myself. I refuse to put up with prejudiced opinions, and if people started calling me a freak, I'd just burn them to a crisp!

That was a good feeling, to know I had the power to silence those who disagree with me, but I knew deep down inside I could never do that. In fact, I was thinking if I was to go public, I'd definitely have to stick to some sort of 'no magic' rule.

I continued walking around the back roads of the suburbs, my mind wandering to all these possibilities and ideas, but what I really wanted to do was be special. I wanted to use my powers for good, not evil.

I wanted to be that crime fighter.

Problem was, I didn't see anyone out and about at this hour. There was nobody to save, nobody to help. London was just too calm in the suburbs. I needed to go uptown.

But that presented too much of a risk. I didn't want to be seen by the club-goers.

Ugh, this was tearing me up inside. I didn't know what to do, I really didn't. Sure, we took this all to a vote, but I've never been one to let others tell me how to live my life. I don't conform to society's norms; hell, I barely follow laws I don't feel are justified. I generally do what I personally feel will make people the happiest.

And right now, I was feeling like maybe it was in my best interest to just walk uptown and tell everyone what I was.

Too confused to continue, I decided to jump up into the nearest tree, which I did with such grace the leaves barely made a sound. Why? Because I could, and frankly, sometimes that's reason enough.

I climbed up higher, until I felt the tree could no longer hold the weight, then I literally let myself fall down, testing my reflexes. I squirmed in the air and dodged all the branches on the way down, then twisted before I hit the ground so I would land on my feet and paws.

So it's true, even anthro cats always land on their feet. Or maybe it was just Runa.

Amazing how I was already referring to myself in the third person.

I looked around, and I realized I had no idea where in the hell I was. I wasn't keeping track of where I was going, so I had no idea how to get back to Strype's.

I sighed heavily and climbed onto the nearest telephone pole and scaled it to the top, careful to not touch the wires.

I had to be sure to dig my claws into the wood so I didn't fall as I scoured the surrounding area. I was barely able to see over the houses and trees, but I could see what looked to be the apartment complex that Strype lived in. I jumped down off the pole and landed silently on the street and quietly made my way back to the apartment.

While on the way, I decided to check out my cellphone, see if there were any messages. There weren't any new ones, but it was quarter after four in the morning.

Back at the apartment after 20 minutes of walking, I silently made my way back in the front door, and I went back up the stairs, where I we greeted by a not so happy Ember.

She was standing there, tail flicking rapidly, staring straight at me. She didn't speak, but I could tell she was upset with me; probably for going out on my own. She just shook her head and laid back down on the floor in front of the couch.

I curled up beside her and fell asleep as well.

When I awoke, only Lethias, Ember, and myself were in the room. I half expected myself to be human again, but I wasn't. I was still a tiger.

I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. It would have been nice to wake up from a dream and be back to normal in my own bed, but apparently it wasn't happening.

I yawned and stretched, careful to not wake Lethias or Ember.

I walked over to the window and looked out. People were busy outside. A man was cutting his lawn, another car was backing out. I even heard dogs barking out further away.

"Hey Runa." I heard Frost call from the kitchen. I hadn't seen or heard him there.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"You hungry? We have some pizza pops if you want."

I shrugged. "Sure, I haven't eaten in a while." I took him up on his offer and put a couple of pizza pops on a plate in the microwave. "So where is everyone?" I asked.

"Well, Tron and Madius went back home, Cooper is in the basement playing with some bottles or something, Cole is upstairs having a shower, and we still don't know where Strype is."

I hummed gently. "Still no idea where in the hell Strype is, eh?"

"Nope, don't really care either. I've learned to not but into his business. I'm sure he's fine."

The microwave beeped, so I took out the plate of pizza pops. I noticed that it didn't feel hot, but just warm. I figured that was because of my new body. I took a bite, then spat it out.

"Pthb! Ack!" I gagged as I spat the pastry into the sink.

"You okay?" Frost asked.

I licked my lips and spat the rest out of my mouth." Yeah, I should be fine, but those taste gross. Got any pepperettes?"

He just shook his head. "Nope, got macaroni and cheese, Mr Noodles, nothing special unless you're looking to have a drink."

I shook my head, "Naah, I don't drink. You got any meat?" Something told me that I was a carnivore now.

"No."

I just sighed and walked downstairs to the basement, where Cooper was setting up a series of bottles. "Hey Coop. What're you up to?"

She walked to the other end of the room and faced the bottles. "I'm just checking out what I can do. Watch this!" She pointed her paw out to the bottles, and one of them shattered without a sound, falling to the ground.

"Cool." I said. "How are you doing that?"

She just shrugged and broke another glass. "Not sure, but this is fun!"

I decided to join her in her fun for a while, using the fire and ice to superheat and supercool the bottles to the point of melting or shattering. It was a lot of fun till the melted bottle caught a piece of wood on fire, which I had to extinguish by cooling the area off with magic.

After that incident, Ember came downstairs to chat as well. "Hey guys."

Cooper and I both waved over. "G'morning."

"What time is it?" Ember asked.

I just shrugged my shoulders. "I have no idea, Coop?"

"It was about eight when I got up, that was an hour or so ago." Cooper said, then destroyed another glass, the fragments falling to the ground.

The three of us enjoyed some quiet time before going back upstairs. Cole, Frost, and Lethias were all waiting there for us. Cole was still a little wet from his shower.

"So guys, I was thinking it would be a good idea to tell Stitch and Sunie." I said quickly, before anyone had a chance to say anything.

Cole punched his fist onto his knee. "I agree." He declared.

Lethias raised a claw as if about to say something, then dropped it. "I don't see why not." Then he tried to stretch his wings, but there wasn't enough room, so he did one at a time.

"That's gotta be uncomfortable for ya man. No room." I pointed out.

"I always thought dragons would be claustrophobic." Ember wondered aloud. "You feeling a little closed in?"

Lethias huffed. "A little? This is killing me, but I know I have to. That's the only reason I'm not panicking." he shook off again, then crouched down on the ground, his claws holding him up, his wings stretched as far as the room would allow.

Ember came up to me and started rubbing up against me, her tail wrapping around my leg as she purred gently. It was very cute, but not like her at all. "Um, Ember...." I trailed off.

She seemed to shake out of her funk and back away. "Sorry, I just....aww, you know you liked it!" She smiled and rolled her eyes.

She was right, I did, but I wasn't going to tell her that.

I shook my head and faced the people again. "Anyway, I've made a decision. I don't care what you guys do, I'm going public." Everyone looked at each other, eyes wide in surprise. Lethias was about to say something, but I cut him off. "No, this isn't your decision. If you guys want to stay secret, I won't tell anyone about you, but I don't plan on living the rest of my life in secrecy. What you all do is up to you, but I'm going to just go out there, see what people say."

There was a stunned moment of silence.

"Didn't we just take a vote on this last night?" Frost asked.

"Dude, if you tell people, it's only a matter of time before they find out about us!" Lethias protested.

I shrugged. "It's gonna happen anyway, unless you all plan on living as housemaids in someone else's house who doesn't mind keeping you as a pet."

"Runa, are you sure that's what you want to do?" Ember whispered beside me.

I looked back at her. "Of course." I looked back to the rest of the furs. "I don't know how I'm going to do it, but like Tron said, it's gonna happen anyway. Someone will see us, we might as well be in charge of our own fates. I know I am."

I saw Frost leave the room and go into the Kitchen. "Up to you, I guess. But if that's gonna be how it is, I think it's best if you don't let people come here. The last thing we need is a mob at our front porch."

I nodded in agreement. "Of course. Now all I need to do is leave. I don't want to put you folks in danger, so I think the best thing for me to do is just be on my way. Of course, I won't leave till tonight. Lot's of prying eyes in the neighborhood would see me walk out your front door and connect the dots."

"Well I appreciate that, but I don't think any of the other furs would be too happy that you're just going off and doing your own thing." Cooper said. "But I'm totally with you. I think I'm just gonna stay here till Strype gets back though."

With a sigh, I slumped down in the couch. Lethias cracked his neck, Ember sat on one of the chairs, and Cole sat beside me on the couch. Frost went back to mixing drinks.

I don't know what came over me, but I almost instantly had a change of heart.

I turned my head to the back window, opened it telekinetically, then an a coulpe of bounds, I leapt up and dove headfirst out the screen window.

"No! Stop!" I heard some protests from the fellow furs before I burst into the air and out of the apartment.

I landed swiftly on my paws in the middle of his backyard. I quickly took the hood and put it over my head as I stood up.

With a quick salute to the furries in the apartment, I nodded and turned around, jumping high onto the roof of the nearest home.

Running at full tilt, I ran from housetop to housetop, sure to make as much noise as I could. When I hit an intersection that I couldn't clear in one bound, I jumped down in front of a stopped car before leaping up to the next home.

I continued this, leaping from building to building until I was in a more commercialized zones. Flat roofs on two story lots. I was sure to run by the front of the buildings as I ran, making sure that as many people on the street saw me as I could.

I wanted to be in the paper.

I just didn't want it to be for destroying things.

I kept at my pace for a solid half an hour until I was in the heart of London. Many eyes were on me when I dove headfirst into a crowded street corner, grabbed onto a headlight, flipped around twice like a gymnast; I let go, and landed on the other side of the street.

I took off my hood, did a small bow, then I ran away into an alley, jumping up onto a second story fire exit, which I followed to the roof.

I think I made my point, now it was just time to put my ear to the street and see if anyone was talking.

There was some murmuring amongst the crowd. "What was that?" "Looked like he was wearing a cat mask!" "That was some awesome jumping!"

Damn, not quite the reaction I was hoping for, but it's enough, and it was right in the middle of town.

I hummed and hawed until I thought of another place or location to interrupt so that I would elicit a proper response.

After only five minutes, I thought of the perfect place to cause a ruckus. It was about that time of year again, and the beginning of August, and I was in the middle of the town.

Ribfest was in town. Thousands of pounds of delicious ribs, hundreds of spices and mixes.

And to think of it, I was fuckin hungry, there were a lot of people there, and lots of dogs in the park.

Frankly, it was the best place I could think of.

With a running leap, I was jumping into the abyss and onto the next building. I had a mission to accomplish. I didn't have time to think about what others thought. I was going to cause a whole mess of commotion.

I also had to show them all that I was perfectly safe and cute.

Yes, cute.

Excellent.