I stare blankly at the wall in front of me. Because of yesterday’s fight all of my body hurts. I open my status screen to confirm it, my numbers are the same.

I am not recovering the health and stamina I used yesterday. I need to find a way to fill them again. Being low on stamina feels like crap. Worst than running a marathon or gym class back at school. Muscles I didn’t know I had hurt. No, since I am no longer human maybe this body does have extra muscles.

I don’t know what being low on MP may do to me but I can imagine what running out of HP means.

“Death”

With that gloomy thought I force my tired body to get up.

There are still some places in this village I had not visited. Yesterday I got distracted with my newfound powers but I cannot delay getting a job any longer. I want a place to rest. I want a meal.

Slowly stumbling around, I walk the main street while covering my face with my hood. I enter the run down pubs I ignored the other day. “I am looking for a place to work. My name is Lily. I’ve been living in the streets since my family got attacked by bandits and I would like to make some money so I can survive on my own” I repeat my made up story again and again.

They all turn me down. “We are not hiring”, “This is not a place for kids”, “We don’t accept your kind here”, They give all kind of excuses for not hiring me. “I have a job for you right here hehehe” Some make rude remarks but I ignore them. I have not sunk that low.

I continue walking. With no stores left in the village I start knocking on random doors. “My name is Lily. I’ve been living in the streets since my family got attacked by bandits and I would like to make some money so I can survive on my own” The frustration and desperation starts to pile up with every failed attempt. “P-Please open” At some point I even started crying. “I can clean, I can cook, I can tutor your kids” I start lying more and more but it doesn’t work. “Please! I want a place to stay!”

They all turn me down. Most don’t even bother answering the door. I honestly had no idea what I was expecting. Feeling completely defeated, my body gives up. Like a puppet with no strings I fall to the ground and everything goes dark.

I wake up still feeling tired. The sun shining high on the sky tells me it has only been a few minutes. Looking around in confusion I notice I am no longer in the middle of the street. I am resting against a wall. My sudden moves seem to startle the small girl sitting next to me. Before I can even open my mouth, she leaps away from me.

The unhealthy slim girl in front of me is even smaller than I am. Her short, brown hair is not combed. One of the triangular cat ears on top of her head has a nasty cut on it. Looking closely, I notice her whole body is covered in similar injuries. Her plain clothes are even dirtier than mine. I don’t even need to look at the collar on her neck to tell she is a slave.

I can’t help but fell taken aback by her appearance. It takes me a while to realize that she must be the one that helped me.

“Sorry to startle you” It would be rude to just stare at her. I probably look just as bad too, I shouldn’t judge her. “My name is Lily”

“P-Please forgive me. You fell in the middle of the street. I t-thought…It looked like you may be sick” The girl that created some distance between us starts apologizing in a panic.

“Wha-Please s-stop that…Thank you for saving me” I grab her by the shoulders to make her stop. She freezes as soon as I touch her so I quickly let go.

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“No need to thank someone like me…” She looks down with very sad eyes. “More importantly, how are you feeling? Is your body okay?”

“Don’t worry, I am fine” I try to smile but her face tells me I did a poor job. “I just haven’t sleep for a few days” My stomach makes an embarrassing noise. “I also haven’t eaten in a while” I cover my stomach with my hand but the noises won’t stop.

With a concerned look on her face she starts looking at our surroundings. Curious, I do the same. People are walking the street as usual but none seem to be paying attention to us. It is not like they can’t see us. They are ignoring us. When I return my gaze to her she is offering me something.

On closer inspection it is bread, or more accurately, it was bread. I try breaking a piece with my hands but it is so hard I start to question whether this is even edible. The catgirl takes the bread from my hands and divides it into two after some struggle. She offers both pieces to me again.

“T-Thanks” I don’t really want to eat that old bread but I don’t know how to turn her down. I politely accept the smaller piece. “You can have the other one”

After some hesitation I put it in my mouth. I fail to take a bite even while pulling at it with my teeth and both my hands. I end up having to use /bite/ to munch on it. It tastes as awful as it looks but for some reason I cannot stop eating. With desperation, I finish eating my bread and then snatch the one in the catgirl’s hands. It is only after that hard mass passes down my throat and I start gasping for air again that I realize that I was starving.

“You were really hungry…” She pats my back to stop my coughs.

“Sorry…Thanks” With a deep breath I make sure the old bread stays inside my body.

“I already told you, no need to thank someone like me” I thought she would be mad because I took her bread, instead I see her smile for the first time. It is a very genuine smile.

“I FOUND THE RUNAWAY! THAT WEIRD MONSTER GIRL IS WITH HER TOO!!”

I turn in the direction of the voice and see a guard half a block away, pointing at us. He seems to be signaling at other guards while reading his sword. With almost perfect timing we both get up and start sprinting.

“DON’T LET THEM GET AWAY!”

We run into another guard. Instead of changing directions we take advantage of our size and slip past him. Now the two of them are running behind us. Soon more and more guards join the pursuit. The catgirl cleverly kicks a wooden box behind us and one of the guards trips on it. We repeat this a few times as we traverse the alleys but they don’t give up. No matter how many wild turns we take they are hot on our trails.

Soon my worst fear comes true. Standing in front of us is the female guard with the huge sword.

On the corner of my vision I see the catgirl lowering her body. It seems she intends to run pass her. Without thinking I take a hard right and exit the street. I don’t want to confront that woman. I keep running without looking back. Some of the guards keep pursuing me but they all give up when I enter the forest.

I collapse next to a tree trying to catch my breath. Deep in my heart I start regretting separating from the catgirl. I tell myself there was nothing I could do.

Some time passes while I rest. I open and close the status screen again and again but nothing changes. I still haven’t recovered any stamina. To make things worst the sun is already gone. The plan was to hide in the forest but I now realize that would never work. The forest at night is too cold and I have no idea what dangers may be lurking in the dark. With my hood on I drag my tired body back to the village.

As if to confirm my worries, I become aware of how many guards there are in this village as I sneak around. The place is filled with them. Searching for that catgirl won’t be an option. I decide to return to my spot instead.

“…I am in danger…They are after me” Sitting on the floor, I hug my legs.

“What did I do to deserve this…”

I realize I don’t know the local law. I may have committed a crime without realizing it. Maybe sleeping in the street was a crime. Maybe being a monster was a crime.

“This…is really bad, isn’t it?” I have no money to pay a fine. I don’t know any lawyers. Do lawyers even exist in this world? I don’t know what kind of punishment I may receive either. A barbaric world like this one may have worst punishments than the death penalty.

For some reason I force my tired brain to come up with a worse case scenario. The catgirl I met today fills my mind.

I look down at my own body as if to confirm my fears and tears start to flow.

“I don’t want that!” My body feels heavy.

“I don’t want to become some asshole’s property” My eyelids feel heavy.

“I don’t…” I try to fight it but my body has long reached its limits.

I fall asleep.