“I’m looking to adopt a cat, or maybe two, so they can have a friend,” said the female Avian in front of me.

I blinked. “Okay. Did you speak to a Pet Guide at the front about what pet might best suit you?”

“Oh yes, she told me where the find this section. I already knew I wanted a cat. I’ve seen videos online.”

“Do you recall the name of the Pet Guide you spoke to?”

“Um…no. Sorry, it was a human name. But they had very long brown hair.” The woman cocked her head. “Is there a problem?”

Ashley. I swear, if she doesn’t start doing her job… “Sort of. I’m not sure a cat is the best pet for you, because of your species.”

The feathers on the top of her head and down the back flared like a cockatoo’s would, clearly indignant. “Excuse me? Just because this store is run by humans doesn’t mean you can be specist!”

“That’s not it at all,” I assured her. “To be honest, your feathers are absolutely beautiful. Humans on Earth have decorated themselves with feathers for years, and there are cultures whose religious ceremonies involve incredible headdresses completely made of them.” That was true. The feathers the woman had in place of a human’s hair slid a gorgeous gradient of red near her forehead through purple and down the blue in the back. Purple feathers also flared gently down the sides of her neck.

Gradually, the flared feathers on her crest lowered as she took in what I said. “Then what’s the problem?”

“Cats love playing with feathers. They would think your head is decorated with toys.” I motioned to a shelf a dozen feet away that held toys, a few of them with bundles of feathers.

She looked at them and then looked back, staring at me, blinking. “That…that’s ridiculous. Why do they like feathers?”

“They evolved on Earth and often catch birds, our flying animals.”

“Cats can fly?” she shrieked.

Laughter burst out of me and I quickly smothered it into coughing, clearing my throat. “No. No, of course not, but they can jump, they’re fast, and they’re excellent hunters.”

Taking a few steps around me to look at one of the cat rooms, the woman folded her prim, sleek arms in a startlingly human motion. I noticed several of the cats eying her plumage curiously already. “But I would be its owner. It would realize I’m not a toy, surely.”

“My cats attack my feet sometimes. Just…because they move.”

She stared at me some more in disbelief.

I let out a breath and went into the cat room, (through the ‘foyer’ gap, to prevent escapes) closing each door behind me. Cat toys were everywhere and, as two cats twined their way around my ankles, I picked up two bundles of feathers. Putting them on my head, I walked over to one of the cat trees. I stood in front of it as two cats on one of its higher shelves stared at the toys, eyes dilating. Then I moved to the left, and one of them jumped, grabbing the toys and flinging them off my head. I flinched as I felt claws flail against my hair.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Once I’d run my fingers through my hair to straighten it and turned around, I saw the woman already rapidly making her way back toward the front of the store.

***

“All the colors are in together?” asked the Harkilin standing next to me as we gazed in at room two.

“Yup. Do you like certain colors or appearances?”

“I want a cat because my human neighbor has three, and I love spending time with them,” he told me. “They’re delightful! Two of them are orange, and one of them is black and white, but Gary said that one is an ‘honorary orange cat’.” He looked over to meet my gaze. “I’d like cats like that. Do you know what I mean?”

I looked down the hall in the direction of room four. “You know, I think I have a cat you’ll really like.”

***

“Dad said I could get one if I took care of it.”

I stood outside room one with a wide-eyed young girl and her parent, Shas and Mashil, two Reptilians eager to meet some kitties. (Boy did the government the pull out all the stops to get humans to call them anything else, but that was hopeless.) Mashil wasn’t male or female; their species only specialized in one or the other when it was time to make babies. Only the youngsters assigned themselves gender, in a curious exploration of gender roles.

“Honestly, he sort of flared and said, ‘Fine!’, and changed the subject,” Mashil told me. I assumed ‘flared’ meant the flaring of the umbrella of skin around their heads, likely used to scare predators in the earlier days of their species. “But we’ve been coupled for ten years and I know them. A week from now, they’ll be sitting in the living room patting the soft, warm cat sitting on their lap.”

I smiled. “Sounds quite similar to a cliché about human fathers,” I told her. “So, what exactly are you looking for?”

“Any cat that we just…match with,” Mashil answered. “A little playful, for Shas. Not too shy or too high-strung. Coloring doesn’t really matter.”

Nodding, I motioned to the room. “All right then. The best way to do that is to spend time with them, so we’ll start with room one.” I led the way to the door, opening it and holding it politely.

Mashil took a few steps and realized Shas was still staring at the cats through the glass wall. “Shas?”

“I’m nervous,” she said, the skin around her neck fluttering.

“You weren’t before. Why are you suddenly nervous?” her mother asked.

I let the door close and walked over. “Is it the teeth and claws?” Shas nodded. “I’m surprised. You’ve got superpowers!”

“What? No, I don’t,” she told me skeptically, shaking her head.

“You do when compared to me.” I rolled up my sleeves and showed her my arms, which were often uncovered when I was at home playing with my cats and they released the murder mittens.

“Oh my gosh!” Shas exclaimed. Her eyes darted to mine. “Did that hurt?”

“Yeah, a little,” I admitted, “but my cats are pretty cute, so I tend not to hold it against them.” I rolled the sleeves back down. “You’ve got super-skin compared to me. They’ll practically be playing with another cat. That’s how they don’t hurt each other; they’ve got so much floof. And besides, they don’t try to hurt you. They play, and sometimes they get over-excited.”

“Okay…”

“You know, if you get startled, they’ll probably be scared of you if you flare,” I told her. “Humans don’t do that, so the cats will be really surprised and run away. Can you help them be brave, and make sure you don’t flare too big if you’re nervous?”

“Aww…” Shas nodded. “Yeah, I’ll make sure I don’t flare real big.”

“All right.” I motioned toward the door and walked over, opening it again, letting both child and parent inside. Mashil nodded once to me, presumably in thanks. Then I opened the second door and we walked in.

After the usual suspects came to greet me, we walked over to a bench and sat down. A tabby walked over to Shas and sniffed her leg and then headbutted it, giving it a fully-body rub as he walked past.

“Oh my gosh,” Shas whispered. “It’s so soft.”

“That’s Henry. You can pat him if you want.”

Shas leaned down slowly and lowered her hand to pat his head. Her eyes widened in wonder. “I think this one likes me,” she said, her voice still quiet.

I suppressed a grin. “I think he does too. But we just got here. Time to settle in and see who else wants to meet you.”