Josephine Gazay

Joyfox.pi@gmail.com

AFTER BECOMING THE OFFICE

CATGIRL I LEARNED THAT LIVING A
MUNDANE LIFE IS BEST DONE
ALONGSIDE DRAGONS!
by Josephine Gazay

-1-
 Part 1

The doorknob to the small, empty office rattled as J shut it behind him. He made a

mental note to inform maintenance about it once he took his break. After throning himself on his

lush office chair, he transitioned into work mode. Once logged into his terminal, he found what

he expected to see: an overflowing inbox. Taking a gulp from his iced coffee, he picked up the

phone and punched in a number.

“Yes, I can schedule three vans at that time.” J said to the voice on the other side.

“Normally, I’d recommend a bus for that many passengers, however, given the special needs

requirements you sent over three vans would be more than accommodating.” He paused as the

voice spoke. “The thirteenth. Yes. Yes. Great! I’ve added your ride to our calendar. Take care

now!”

By the end the call, he was already opening his next message. The subject of which was

written in all caps containing no more than five exclamation points at the end of it.

“A breakdown?” J sighed. Inside he found a hastily typed message from his employee,

Crimella, and a scan of the towing bill.

“Oh no.” He groaned. “An accident.”

He fired back a reply then began a draft email to their mechanic. As he it sent it off,

something brushed his legs. Looking down he saw an orange, stripped cat staring up at him. It

let out a soft purr as it swaddled his trouser-leg.

-2-
 J leaned back in his chair to get a better angle at the creature. He twiddled his thumbs in

thought, nervous, unsure of what to say. The cat meowed up at him, gray eyes wide and

expecting.

“Hello?” He ventured. “Are you…?” He tilted his head to meet the cat’s face. “An

overtimer?”

Before J could get a reply, the door to his office swung open.

“Sorry Boss, I know you’re busy.” A familiar, husky voice said. “But have you seen my

Lettuce? Lett—Oh thank the stars! There you are!” A man said as the cat dashed out from under

J’s chair.

“Oh, so that’s your cat Reggie.” J said watching him sweep the cat up with his thick

arms.

“You like?” Reggie said enveloping the cat with his fuzzy beard. “Normally I keep him

at home but since we’re allowed to bring our pets now I thought I’d show my prince here around

the office.” Lettuce the cat mewed.

“It’s a wonder you showed up when you did.” J said. “I almost took him for an overtime

worker.”

“The only thing Lettuce does overtime is sleep and eat.” Reggie chuckled. “Aside from

that, if anyone in our office overtimes I haven’t met’em. We’re all counting the minutes we

don’t have to see your ugly mug again.”

“Ha-ha.” J smirked. “You’re too funny.”

“While I have you, want to hang out with the boys after work? The party had a close call

last session with a Zogmother and I know how much you like Clerics—”

-3-
 “Thanks Reggie but I’m swamped. Crimella had an accident this morning.” J explained.

“She’s okay, but I’m going to need to file a lot of paperwork. Maybe another time?”

“No biggie. I’d be a bad friend if I didn’t ask.” Reggie said turning to leave, cat nestled

in his beard.

“Out of curiosity.” J said as the large man was halfway through the door. “Was I the first

person you asked?”

Reggie turned around wearing a crooked grin, the practiced look of a game master. “Do

you want the truth or a comforting lie?”

“I’ll see you later Reggie.”

The accident soaked up the rest of J’s morning. After rerouting vans to cover Crimella’s

schedule and filing an insurance claim, he was about to pounce on the expense reports when the

digital clock in the lower-left corner of his terminal flashed blue. His lunch hour would begin in

a few minutes.

J logged off the computer. Before he did however, more messages popped into his inbox.

He suspected end day more would populate it, all needing his oversight.

He left his office and shuffled down a wide hallway. As he progressed, however, his head

swiveled towards a large, framed picture of a smiling woman. He stopped and stared at her then

let his eyes drift over small placard underneath: managing partner and CEO of Kiyera Transport.

“Afternoon Mom.” J said.

It had been only a year since he inherited the job. After all, Kiyera was a family

company. The pain of her loss lingered deep in his chest. A wound he knew would never truly

-4-
company. The pain of her loss lingered deep in his chest. A wound he knew would never truly

heal. Reggie and others had been kind enough to show him the ropes. They liked him despite his

numerous mistakes. Some of which had been severe enough to threaten their funding. Yet

somehow the team pulled through.

He entered the windowless, box-shaped lunchroom balancing a book under his shoulder.

As he beelined toward the fridge, his foot connected with an empty bowl sending it skittering a

few inches. On it the words LETTUCE were stenciled.

J rolled his eyes while pulling his tuna salad from the fridge. He freed a plastic spork

from the straw-bin and took a seat in the small table in the corner. With one hand began pulled

the manga from the security of his armpit and began to read. Moments later, however, his mind

drifting back to work and dreaded the conclusion it reached.

“I’m going to pull some overtime this week.” He aloud.

When J first rented the office space that was now Kierya’s headquarters, he was

fascinated by the concept: people changing into cats as the night went on. He did his homework,

learning everything he could about the effects it had on those who worked here. How occupants

became more relaxed as the night drew on. How productively skyrocketed and projects deemed

too demanding for small teams became manageable. Every study published, every article he

read pointed to one conclusion: he had to get a space here.

The lunchroom door squealed open, interrupting his thoughts.

A woman with a mousy face and bobbed brown hair stepped in. She broke into a grin as

she saw him sitting there.

“Hey J.” She waved.

“Oh, Currie. I thought you might be in the public cafeteria today.” He said staring hard

-5-
 “Oh, Currie. I thought you might be in the public cafeteria today.” He said staring hard

at the scepter-wielding girl on page twenty and not atop on his secretary’s head.

“I was but I totally forgot my jello from yesterday, so I thought to myself: extra dessert?

Yay!” She explained reaching into the fridge. A moment later she was stood, plastic container in

hand, staring at J with wry grin.

“So buddy, notice anything different about me?”

“You took some overtime.” J said setting down the book. “And grew cat ears.”

“Don’t they look fantastic?” She said running a hand through them. “No joke: this’ll

totally increase my brand. Once my girlfriend sees this she’s going to be all over me.”

J feigned a smile. “That sounds nice.”

“It totally is once you get used to it. Trust me. What I’m really sad about is all my

earrings falling out!” She said hands fanning her face. “If I ever change them back I totally have

to get them repierced. Bummer!”

“Sounds like it.” J said scooping a sporkful of tuna into his mouth.

“Speaking of bummers, what’s up with you? I usually get more than three words from

you around lunch.”

J sighed. “You’ve heard about the accident this morning with Crimella’s car?”

“Uh-huh.” Currie replied.

“Well, it’s put me behind on my to-do list. I’m going to have to work from home again

tonight.”

Currie tilted her head. “You could always, I dunno, work from here right? That’s what

this building is kinda magicked to do or whatever.”

And here it was, the issue J had been dreading for the past month. “I tried that.” He

-6-
 And here it was, the issue J had been dreading for the past month. “I tried that.” He

explained. “And… I’m not doing it right. You remember the contract renewals the team was

working on a few weeks ago?”

“I remember you totally ran around saying that we’d never make the deadline.” Currie

smirked. In truth, she knew as well as J how many sleep-deprived nights he and the other

employees had clocked to make the deadline.

“Well,” J continued. “I went overtime here thinking it would help me focus. But when I

changed it was like I had a bad stomach ache, except throughout my body. I stopped everything

I was doing then and curled up in bed. I shut down. Since that night, the idea of going overtime

makes me want to hurl.”

“I see.” Currie said drumming the lid of her jello with her fingers. “Have you talked to

the witch about it?”

“The what?” J said.

“You know, the witch you silly goat! Who do you think replaces all the flowers pots in

our part of the building? Anyway, she’s super friendly. I’ll bet she’ll know how to fix you.”

“I don’t know.” J said running stirring his bowl. “Seems like a hassle. I’ll—” At that

moment, the secretary placed her hand on J’s shoulder.

“Listen buddy, I’ve been with this company longer than I care to admit. And in the time

under your mother and you I’ve noticed you have something in common: you both work way too

hard at this job. And speaking as the woman who organizes your calendar you, like, need to do

this.”

“I—” J began but Currie already materialized her planner.

“We’ll start by pushing back your meeting with Balmora Care.”

-7-
 “They’re one of our biggest contracts.” J protested.

“And thanks to our company they’ve enjoyed years of top-notch service. They can wait

the forty-five minutes it’ll take for a magical consult.” Currie countered. When the secretary

peered up from her cell phone, she saw J’s shoulder’s slouch. “Listen, if you’re uncomfortable

we’ll pretend this talk never happened. But ever since we moved here, you’ve been cooped up in

your office, nose to the grindstone. Doing that twenty-four seven has got to be a bummer. It’s

time you lived a little! Even if that living is visiting the indoor-garden every once and awhile.”

“This building has a garden?”

Curried cupped both hands to her face. When she pulled them away she said: “Would

you do this as a favor then. For me?”

J furrowed his brow in thought. This might be his chance to get to the bottom of this. He

glanced down at his manga as if seeing it’s volume number for the first time. How many more

could he read before he was caught up? Before curiosity overtook him and he tried again.

Maybe this his was chance to get ahead of the problem.

“Okay.” He said. “If you’re sure Balmora will agree to meet later today, I’ll go see the

witch.”

-8-
 2

J pinched the bridge of his nose as he stumbled to keep up with the demure blond woman

garbed in green linen and a pointy hat. The air in the in-door garden tasted sweet as a cocktail of

pollen and discharge flooded his sinuses. He had begun explaining his plight when the witch

spun around spraying the contents of her watering-can on his trousers.

“You want to know how Cali Co’s enchantment works?” She said ignoring the

watermarks now dotting his pants. “You and everyone in the magical community.”

J would have made a point about his waterlogged socks if not for the glare of a small,

animated lion with a yellow, flower-petal mane perched on the woman’s shoulder. Instead he

plunged on.

“Miss Drevious—”

“My friends calls me Maggy.” The witch interrupted. “And if you’re Currie’s than we

are too.”

“I’m her boss.” J shrugged.

“Regardless hun, she vouched for you. That’s gold in my book. So it’s Maggy,

understand?”

J nodded sheepishly. As he walked astride her down the long stretch of planter-boxes, the

animated dandelion crouched as if preparing to pounce on him, weaving it’s stem-tail to-and-fro.

“T-The articles I read made it sound like the how was way over my mundane head. Not

that it was a mystery.”

“I can tell you’ve never been in academia. Trust me, the magicrats would rather eat a

-9-
 “I can tell you’ve never been in academia. Trust me, the magicrats would rather eat a

hairball than admit they don’t know why something magic works. The first thing you learn

growing up with our kind is that with big power comes a bigger ego.”

J would hardly consider himself people-savvy but he got the vibe that this woman carried

a large chip on her shoulder.

“There have to be other places like this out there though, right?” He asked.

“An infinite and immeasurable supply of magic capable of reshaping someone that’s

both pain-free and without lasting consequences? It’s a miracle of modern magic. You’re right in

that there are others like it, but none are so eager to let you grow whiskers and a tail.”

They stopped by a tall, wide tree sitting in the middle of the plaza. She reached up,

pulled a branch down and studied an oddly-shaped fruit.

“The apricats are ripening.” She said massaging the flat-feline face behind it’s ears. It

might have been J’s imagination, but he could swear it was purring. His suspicions were

confirmed moments later as the creature began to vibrate in Maggy’s hands. Just a few more

weeks and kitty will be ready to join the litter

“Cali Co turns fruit into cats too?” J asked, eyes wide.

“And baseball bats, cell phones and paper weights.” The witch explained. “Thank

Goddess the magic running in this building doesn’t care about plumbing, otherwise we’d have to

condemn the place.”

“But why does turn people into cats?” J asked. “And not… I don’t know, zebras or

something?”

Maggy let out a long sigh. J had a hunch this wasn’t the first time someone asked her

that. “Are you familiar with the theory of conjunction?”

- 10 -
 “I remember reading about it.” J said rubbing his chin in thought. “Something about

finding a twenty dollar bill or—”

“Not quite.” The witch said. “It’s about finding the same twenty dollar bill after throwing

it out the window of the first floor only to find a pigeon building a nest with it outside your

office window. It’s coincidence on caffeine. And conjunction, in a magical sense, is the

coincidence of cat. If you take a spa day here, you can end up puring by day’s end. Cat-like

things will happen here and if allowed, to you. Size, shape, even gender, if it’s skewed towards

cat, it’s possible.”

J frowned. “It doesn’t feel like any of this should be possible.”

“I told my gram-gram the same thing when she first taught me magic.” Maggy said, a

far-off look in her eyes. “And if you told me I’d devote my life to studying and working in this a

place, I would have strolled to the other side of the street. Yet here I am petting a cat-fruit.” At

that, she gave the plump, feline-head a motherly-pat, releasing her grip on the branch. “That

cat’s going to need a new home soon. You looking to adopt?”

“No thanks.” J said. “And while we’re on the subject of overtime, it’s… not easy for me

to change nor is it pain-free. The last time I tried, I nearly blacked out.”

“Interesting,” the witch said as the plant-beast leapt onto J’s shoulder. Briefly, the

creature stared out in the distance overlooking blossoms along the row before squeaking

proudly. A moment later, Maggy scooped it back into her open hands.

“You haven’t come to file a complaint, have you? You’d want to take that up with a girl

I know, Tess. I can give you hear num—”

“It’s not that.” J said shuffling his feet. “I want to know if there’s a way I can fix it.”

- 11 -
 “You say you feel discomfort when changing forms.” The witch surmised. “I can help

but I’d like to know something first: why do you think the magic failed on you?”

J stopped walking. “I don’t know. That’s why I’m coming to you. I thought you might be

an expert on this.”

“I am an expert but part of shapechanging, really magic in general, has to do with the

user’s intent. There’s a reason why magic at large categorizes this place at miracle-level: it’s

because all transformations are willing. So bear with me, why do you think the change failed?”

J thought about this. He remembered how frightened he felt. How out of sync with his

own body he was. How he squeezed his tail just to numb himself out to the sensation of having

one. In that moment a lightbulb switched on in his mind.

“It wasn’t the form I wanted.”

Silence bloomed between them as the witch used a nearby hose to refill to her watering

can. When she turn around, she saw J crossing his arms in thought.

“Hun, the next overtime: be honest. Think carefully about the form that would make you

the most comfortable. Table your expectations as they’re doing you no favors, and most

important, ease yourself into it. The great thing about this place is that you can always revert in

the morning.”

- 12 -
 3

“A thousand years. A thousand years of eternal night!” The woman with the black

lipstick swore, her equally black, painted fingernails carving into J’s desk. The CEO of Kiyera

twiddled his thumbs, ignoring the miasma emanating from the Sorceress’s body, absorbing the

light in the room.

“It’s only for a week or so Crimella.” J explained feeling sweat trickle from his forehead.

“The council just needs more time to complete their inquires.”

“Honey words. Nothing more.” She growled crossing her arms. “They will stop at

nothing to seize my livelihood.”

“I know,” J began. “That you’re afraid without a license you’ll be sent back, but that’s

not true. This is your home now.” Amidst the tangle of robes, he saw Crimella slouch her

shoulders.

“I have grown too fond of the mundane world’s treasures, I fear.” She explained. “Like

those dry, serrated rations you gave me as tribute—”

“The ramen I got you for Christmas?” J asked, eyebrow raised. “You’re supposed too

boil them, if you have some left I can show you—”

“There’s no time now.” Crimella interjected, head disappearing fully into her robes.

“Seal me on consecrated ground again, to sleep for another hundred years!”

J leaned back on his chair. In truth, he anticipated this reaction the moment the email

appeared in his inbox. Which is why when he opened the front of his desk drawer did he find the

small, thin box staring up at him. Silently, he thanked conjunction, or whatever force that had

- 13 -
small, thin box staring up at him. Silently, he thanked conjunction, or whatever force that had

delivered this to his office earlier this morning.

“That wasn’t the only reason I asked you come in.” J said placing the item on his desk.

“This is addressed to you.”

The miasma cloud flickered for a moment.

“From Mendoza Homecare.” J added. The second the words left his lips, the package

was in Crimella’s hands.

“If you mean to assuage me with gifts.” She said, fingernails ripping the cardboard away

with a flick of her nails. “Your feeble attempt—” The words died on her lips as the last of the

wrapping paper fell to the floor.

“The photo you took with the residents last month.” J said. “The ones we brought to

Cloverleaf. I included a wallet print as well.”

Crimella said nothing for a long while, fingers treading across the faces in the photo. The

miasma emanating from the Sorceress’s body faded completely and, much to J’s relief, light

spilled back into the room.

“I hope they’re doing well.” She muttered more to herself than him.

“I’m certain they are.” J said. “And one day, you’ll find out for yourself.”

The Sorceress stared at the photograph a long while, face unreadable. The clock

flickered in the corner J’s terminal which he hastily put to sleep. Finally, slowly, Crimella lifted

her head. “It is my greatest wish.” She said.

“In the meantime.” J said, reaching for his keyboard. “While we fight this, I’ll ask

Dodson to cover your calendar. I’m sure he—”

“She.” Crimella corrected.

- 14 -
 J froze. “Wait, what?”

For the first time since the Sorceress stepped into J’s office this morning, he saw a grin

cross her face. “It escapes me at times that you almost never work out in the field. Yes, she.

Came out two or three blood moons ago.”

J cradled his face in his hands. “Three months…?”

“She told me she sent out a female to deliver the message.” Crimella explained.

“You mean an email?” J asked.

The corners of the Sorceress’s lips turned upward. “Ah, yes, I must have misheard her.”

She looked up and saw J slumped over his desk. “You look troubled? I was told the changing the

genders was a joyous occasion.”

“Of course, of course!” J said scouring his email like a hungry dog ferreting through an

Arby’s dumpster. Sure enough, buried deep in his Spam folder was an email from his

subcontractor. As he skimmed the few paragraphs of the heartfelt message, he deflated. Leaning

back in his chair, J let arms hang limp on their armrests.

“You are the lord of this business, correct?” Crimella asked, laying the frame on her lap.

“Is not a minion required to inform their master of such proceedings?”

“Dodson’s a subcontractor,” J droned. “Independents we use when we need the extra

help. All I need from hi—her is a W9.” J let out a long sigh before he spoke next. “Am I…” he

said looking back at Crimella. “Working too hard?” The question was out of his before he

considered who he was asking.

To his surprise, the Sorceress answered: “Certainly.”

J looked back at her. “Pardon?”

- 15 -
 Crimella snapped her fingers and small teacup materialized between her fingers. “Before

I emigrated here,” She began. “My followers would often task others to do their bidding:

building dungeons, setting traps, ambushing adventurers. All while conserving their own power,

waiting for the right moment to enact their plot. Sometimes it was a powergrab, revenge or other

times…”

“Other times what?”

“Other times to get a day off.” Crimella smirked. “Maintaining the status of a Dark Lord

is tiring. Day-in, day-out, always living in fear their plots will be foiled by dogooders. But

necromancers need to play fetch with their hellhounds, usurpers need to finish their haiku's, and

Capitalists need to remember to flush.”

“You’re point being?” J asked.

“Since your ascension to the rank of CEO, you have been working nobly, fearful that

you are not filling the role your mother left you.”

“Yes.” J said voice suddenly caught in his throat.

“That is a heavy burden.” The sorceress said taking a sip from her cup. “To carry

everyday.”

“That’s a long way of saying I need to take a vacation.” J remarked.

“Even queens need to leave their throne, if only to remind themselves that they began

life without their seat.” Crimella said. “But no, search for something greater than that. Take a

risk you would not otherwise take. Have fun. If not you may awake one day to find your one,

mortal, chance at life spent.”

- 16 -
 J fiddled with the button on his cardigan long after Crimella left his office. The Sorceress

was right about many things, which is why J felt comfortable confiding in her. And, once again,

she had identified his problem: he never risked.

He never made the decisions that landed him in his mother’s seat. It had been

circumstance, tragedy, that J was even here at all.

On his drive back home, his thoughts returned to Dodson’s email. If J had been honest

with himself, he might have admitted to having more on his mind than a writing a hearty

congratulations. He might have had questions. Some of a deep, personal nature.

Instead, upon returning home, J found a manga delivered to his mailbox. That night he

marathoned twenty chapters while filling his belly with ramen. The series had enraptured him

since he received it at a white elephant Christmas party. The real gift had been a card

redeemable to the tea-shop, Bubble Beans, enclosed in it’s pages. Over time though, J had

gotten more use out of manga than than a few Catberry Cremes had. Especially during his

breaks on days when any literature was better than none.

Had anyone told J that the series’s target demographic had been young women, ages

fifteen to twenty-nine, he would have tilted his head in confusion. And had J been more honest

with himself during his reading, he would have admitted he saw more in common with the

series’s co-protagonist You rather than any of the boys in the cast. As it stood though, neither

thoughts occurred to him.

Only when his copy of Imaginary Friend: You slid onto his bedstand and enveloped

himself in soft, maple-leaf patterned blankets did he give words to the feelings bubbling up

inside him.

- 17 -
“No one would know.” He thought. “If I went overtime as an imaginary girl.”

- 18 -
 4

J sat stock-still in his station-wagon parked in the vast Cali Co parking garage. A parcel

sat next to him on the passenger seat. Every once and awhile, he would break eye-contact with

his driver mirror and check the time on his cell phone. For him, work was forty-five minutes

over. He knew if he stepped back into the building, he would have a small window before the

change occurred.

J practically sunk into his seat as a stranger walked behind his car. He waited for a

minute for the figure to pass to continue their jog up the steep incline. When the echoing

footsteps died down, J exhaled. His hand gripped the parcel as if afraid it might grow wings and

fly off. Again his eyes flicked towards the arched entry-point into Cali Co.

“I’m making a leap of faith.” He said to himself unlocking his door and stepping out,

cargo in hand. The sound of his shoes felt loud to his ears as he scooted down the vertical path

into the building. Immediately, he began making his way to the elevator. Once he got inside,

however, navigating to the floor he wanted became tricky.

J wished he had asked more about Cali Co during his conversation with Maggy as he

found himself staring buttons that shifted and changed. Adding to the confusion, the buttons had

names, not numbers. Had it always been like this? How hadn’t seen this during his time here?

Could this be the effect of the overtime as well?

The time to dwell on this fell short as one of the round, blue elevator buttons caught his

eye. Wasting no time, J thumbed it. The door snapped shut and he felt himself sliding down. His

only companion the soft hum of machinery. Minutes passed and J stood upright, package lodged

- 19 -
only companion the soft hum of machinery. Minutes passed and J stood upright, package lodged

under his shoulder and armpit. It could have been J’s mind, but he could swear it was getting

heavier.

Finally, the elevator doors opened to narrow hallway of concrete flooring. With a sweaty

hand, he unslung the lanyard necklace fastened around his neck displaying his ID, and stepped

out. As he left the elevator, the button labeled CLOVERLEAF flickered out.

As J walked down the gray, empty hallway under dim light he felt certain a pair of eyes

were scrutinizing him.

“Why did I come here?” He wondered to himself for the umpteenth time. When he had

forced his intent on the magical elevator, he asked for a safe place to change. And when one of

the buttons had shown the name of the foundation his company worked for, he assumed the

magic meant well.

That confidence was crumbling, however, as a pair of large, glowing, slitted eyes peered

back at him from above. It was only then he marveled at just how tall the hallway was, tall and

spacious enough to let large, bounding shapes dart to-and-fro.

As J stared unblinkingly into the creature’s eyes, he felt something flicker in it’s depths

and then it was gone. Only a faint bluish electrical glow remained and a few moments longer

that vanished as well.

The task of walking from the parking lot to the private restroom took only ten minutes.

To J though, it felt like he had jogged an hour as he pushed his way into the lavender-scented

room. He was careful to avoid looking into the mirror above the sink. He passed in front of the

bar-patterned couch and forced himself in the larger of the bathroom’s two stalls. There he sat

- 20 -
bar-patterned couch and forced himself in the larger of the bathroom’s two stalls. There he sat

down, cupping his hands to his face, fear and doubt threading through his gut.

“I’ve come this far.” J said carefully pulling the parcel out from his shoulder. He stared

at the package once more then his fingers went to work and unsealed it. A moment later, he

shuffled one of the two outfits he had purchased into his pack. Just looking at it made him flush.

The other, however, he hung up on the coat hanger hook. With the last of his prep-work out of

the way, he reached for his cell phone and began to type.

The tingling across his body began slowly, as if a crack opened up inside him. He

remembered Maggy’s words and let presence pouring into him know that it could take it’s time.

When next he blinked next, his phone had slipped out of his hand and onto his lap. He then

wondered what fun it would be to let it skitter across the floor.

A warmth was spreading throughout his body now but that was familiar to him. What

hadn’t been was how appealing crawling under the stall seemed. How his instincts told him to

keep his eyes level to the ground to keep track of movement.

J’s cell phone slid through his fingers, plummeting towards the floor. With a graceful

flick of his hand, however, he caught it then shoved it into his bag. When he pulled his hand out

of it, he found the hair dotting it shifted from black to blond. What made the effect stranger was

that it contracted in size.

J always considered himself hardy so it came as a shock to him when he began to shrink.

The stall grew larger and his trousers loosened. All the while strands of long blond hair sprouted

from his gaps in the fabric of his shirt. The clap of rubber slapping hitting tiled floor filled him

with fear.

“Danger?” J thought. It took only a second for J to realize he was one boot lighter. A

- 21 -
 “Danger?” J thought. It took only a second for J to realize he was one boot lighter. A

primal part of his brain rebelled as the stall grew larger. Being big, it reasoned, would protect

him predators. If anything, shrinking was a sign of weakness. He should be larger, powerful.

That was right for him, surely. And yes, his first overtime had sent him careening to the floor

incapable of forming thoughts without bursting into tears, but all that meant was he needed to try

harder. Barriers were beginning to erode inside him. Ones he knew when broken, were difficult

to mend.

J blinked and found himself on his hands and knees, staring out from the gaps of the stall

door. Through the cracks, he saw the couch again and the urge crawl out dominated his thoughts.

Fear flashed across his increasingly smooth face. Then he remembered that this room, along

with the rest of the this floor, was guarded. Knowing that, leaving the protection of the stall was

a cakewalk.

It took a moment for J’s eyes to adjust to the restroom’s halogen lights. He blinked

several times as red-purple striped couch’s fabric grew sharper in color. The cartilage in his

fingers grew sore and flexed them in response. A heartbeat later, he dug his fingernails into the

couch’s fabric and let out a relieved sigh. At first, he only succeeded in making divots and

grooves into the material, then as the soreness ebbed, scored long vertical cuts. And while there

were significant changes happening in the lower half of his body, instinct assured him that what

mattered was sharpening his claws.

J’s ears popped and the room went quiet. His hand instinctively went to his head, but

when it got there he found the sides of his head smooth and earless. A moment later, his skull

radiated irritation and his hearing went from non-existent to crystal clear. Still irritated, he

scratched behind his ears. It felt good. Really good. Enough for a curious, warm sensation to

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scratched behind his ears. It felt good. Really good. Enough for a curious, warm sensation to

radiated across his torso.

“Am I purring?” He asked in a voice he would never codify as male.

The warmth was reaching his head now and it made thinking fuzzy. The who and the

where were still there, but his body had surrendered as any tension in his muscles faded, locked

in relaxation.

It felt like hours passed before the gentle rumbling in his chest petered off. Exiting his

trance, he found his back to the ripped couch. He peered down to see his shirt larger in some

areas and much, much small in others.

J felt his face flush as he sat up, letting the new weight of his torso settle. Strangely, at

least to him, the addition hadn’t elicited the rush of adrenaline and fear that changing into a cat-

man had. Before he could muse further on this, the stall door inched open as the air conditioner

vents turned on.

When J caught sight of the outfit, the haze in his mind cleared. He rose on wobbly feet

and rushed back into the stall to change. Growing up, fashion choices had been simple for him:

jeans and a t-shirt and after graduation he traded up for trousers and necktie. Now though, he

was dealing with a scandalous lack of material. He kept adjusting the waist of his skirt, as if

fidgeting with it enough would make it grow in length. Were the straps of a bra supposed to

show like this? Not for the first time, he wished Currie were here. She could have guided him

through all this. She may have even talked him out of making an impulsive decision, though he

doubted it. As it stood, however, he was going to have deal the butterflies in his belly on his

own.

J took one last glance at his ensemble before stepping outside. Already, he could feel his

- 23 -
 J took one last glance at his ensemble before stepping outside. Already, he could feel his

heart thumping and ears standing on end as he approached the mirror. When he saw his

reflection, however, he froze.

Staring back at J was a young woman. Granted, a young woman with pointed feline ears,

slitted pupils, and a fuzzy, yellow-black stripped tail weaving to-and-fro from her backside. He

thought his curled platinum blond hair contrasted his gray business suit-top combo neatly as it

clung to his now soft skin.

Giddily, J ran a hand over his sleek jawline then upwards to tug back errant strands of

hair poking out from his ears. All the while, tried comparing his appearance to that of the co-

protagonist of his manga: You. Yet he found another face mixed with it. A younger, albeit cattier,

version of his mother. And the thought alone was enough to power a furnace.

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 5

It wasn’t the thud that caught J’s attention, but rather the plodding steps and deep,

rhythmic, rumbling that came after it. He was moments out of the bathroom, after shoving as

much of the couch stuffing back as he could, and wobbling his way to the elevator when his

newly installed silent alarms blared. In seconds, something large was behind him making no

effort to conceal itself.

“Should I run? No.” J thought sullenly. His legs were spry, yes, but they were also new.

With his new musculature, he could walk himself to the elevator, but only just. Sprinting was

laughable.

The fur on the back of J’s rose as the bluish glow enveloped the corners of his eyes. The

rumbling growing louder. An odorous expulsion of breath drowning out—

“Wait,” J thought. “Is that… cat breath?”

Slowly, he rotated and looked into the glowing, slitted eyes of a giant, winged feline.

“Mowww…” The beast said pushing it’s head into J’s left hand. It flipped over onto it’s

back unceremoniously, wings folding into it’s sides. All the while, the sapphire light emitting

from the crystal at the tip it’s tail flickered. The rumble from it’s chest was enough to vibrate his

canines.

“You’re a big softie.” J smirked scratching the creature behind it’s ears. The creature

meowed once more sliding him backwards with each press of it’s wet nose. The two stayed like

that several minutes before it flipped back onto it’s legs.

“Hey—what!” J said as it circled around him to press it’s nose into his backside. “T-The

- 25 -
 “Hey—what!” J said as it circled around him to press it’s nose into his backside. “T-The

elevator is the other way!”

“Mow!” The winged cat-beast said in reply. It’s tone left no room for rebuttal.

The two walked down the much taller and wider hallway than J remembered. Had it

always been this well-lit? Seeing that he was complied or, J guessed, that it was tired of pushing

with it’s nose, the beast moved to his side.

“Can you at least tell me where we’re going?” He asked putting his hands on his hips. A

pose he had seen You drawn as several times.

“Mow.” The creature replied.

J sighed. “You know ears and tail and… other things aside, the ability to talk to cats sure

would come in handy right now.” He said to no one.

“Mow.”

As the minutes passed and two twisted down the hallway, J’s tensed at the thought of all

the untouched work waiting for him. If he could just use his smartphone maybe—

The creature mewed loudly before J could punch in his security code. He looked up,

eyes readjusting to the dark, and tilted his head. For a moment, the CEO of Kiyera

Transportation scratched his left ear, trying to make sense of what he was seeing.

“It’s a…” J said staring at the massive carving of two pointed ears. “A cat-door.”

The winged feline cleaned it’s front paw with a sandpaper tongue.

“Do I just go in?” He said gesturing at the square, metal flap.

Without prompting, the creature began to nose J inside.

“H-Hey! M-My shirt’s riding up! I… whoa…” His voice trailed off as he walked inside.

- 26 -
 J knew, empirically, that Cali Co was a tall building. Tall and wide enough to baffle

those attempting to count it’s floors or measure it’s circumference. It was that uncertainty that

kept his rent at a reasonable rate. Yet for all his knowing, it still came as a shock when he

stumbled into a forest. He squinted gazing upwards into the artificial moonlight spilling from the

plastic branches of fake trees. His nose wrinkled at the welcoming scent of pine and turf.

J turned to face the winged-cat. “Do you live here?” he asked.

Instead of creature’s usual reply, it padded him between two columns dressed in wood-

chips. It turned it’s head to stare at J, pupils large. Behind J, the metal flap finally settled.

“Guess I’m following you?” He said.

“Mow!” The cat-beast said before bounding off. J, dressed in a gray business attire and

flats, in an unfamiliar body, pursued.

Minutes later, J stood panting, hair covered in plastic twigs, facing a tower decorated in

leaf filigree. At it’s top rested a round orb with a small hatch. Connected to it was a narrow tube

which funneled to a bowl as long and wide as himself. It was empty save for a few small pieces

of kibble, the same brand, J recognized, as the one Reggie fed his cat Lettuce.

“This is a food dispenser?” J asked eying the crank

“Mowwww…”

“This place is huge.” He said glancing around. “There has to be more than one of these.”

The cat-beast pawed towards J. It took him a moment to realize that it was pointing at his

badge. He looked down at himself, trying to ignore his now flat-less left foot, swallowed up by

the faux forest as tribute for his passage.

- 27 -
 “Do you think I work for Cloverleaf?” He asked. “Well, I mean, I do, but that’s for

transportation not—”

The winged-cat cut him off with a snort then focused him with wide-watery eyes. The

effect would have been cute, if not for the fact they were the size bagel-plates.

J sighed and shuffled towards the stepladder attached to the side of the tower. His feet

were still throbbing from the sprint over. And only now, as he ascended the first rung did his

heart-rate taper off. When he reached the top, he peered down to see the creature licking their

lips, body tensed as if ready to spring.

“Listen,” J said cheeks reddening. “I’ll it an honest look but if I don’t find anything, will

you let me go?”

“Mow!” The cat said. J took that as an affirmative.

“Okay.” He said lifting the latch. “Let’s see what I can find.”

It took ten minutes for J to identify the problem and a fraction of that to fix it.

“The churning mechanism was jammed,” He explained over the whirling machine as he

descended the ladder. “A lot of food was dumped in there all at once so the dispenser cutoff the

power to prevent cramming it all through and damaging it.”

The cat-beast said nothing at it swept off kibble from the bowl.

“And that,” he said patting his paw-hands. “Proves that Home Ec class I took in college

wasn’t a waste of time.”

“Mow!”

“I should be getting back—” J began then froze. Carefully, he piloted around the

creature’s side to get a better look at the copper-plate embedded into the bowl.

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 “Ocilight.” J read, voice quivering. “From Loma.” He facepalmed. The glowing eyes

and tail, the forest, and the fact that the creature couldn’t speak. He didn’t understand the

winged-feline for the same reason parents couldn’t understand their newborns when they spoke.

“You’re a hatchling from Loma. From the other side of the Cloverleaf. From…” J said

feeling his chest tighten. “From home.”

- 29 -
 6

“My mother told me the Molabore were the finest protectors of the realm.” J said

rubbing Ocilight’s belly. “Even finer then the Vented Knights.”

The two reclined on a soft bed of artificial grass facing a pond cycling in fresh water

from filtration pipes. Not for the first time, J wondered who built this place. He suspected why

though.

“Your moms saved a lot of people, the Molabore Trio. The dragons who fought a

sentient continent and her death knights. All so they could buy enough time for people like me

and my Mom to escape.”

Ocilight purred softly as J scratched them behind the ears.

“When we heard about the Cloverleaf, my Mom was floored. ‘A new world to explore’

she said. ‘A safe place to grow up!’ And the next thing I knew, I was teetering over from all the

pencils and binder paper she was shoving my backpack.”

“Mow.” The cat-dragon said.

“I guess someone took a look at you and said, ‘you deserve that too!’”

A moment passed where the artificial twin moons were eclipsed by the fronds of a

nearby tree. J wondered how late it was but dared not look at his phone. Fearing that if he did,

he’d force himself to leave.

“I think she took to life over here better than I did.” He said. “I didn’t make many

friends, even in college. I remember nights where I locked myself away, disconnected from

everyone else. But after I joined Kiyera things changed. Reggie is always looking for players.

- 30 -
everyone else. But after I joined Kiyera things changed. Reggie is always looking for players.

Currie trying to introduce me to everyone in the building. And Crimella… I’m pretty sure used

to be a Goddess. And they’re my friends.”

In his mind’s eye, J saw a child wandering by themselves among the trees, playing with

his imaginary adventurers. Then his mother’s voice cutting through the windswept forest, as if it

were only yesterday. Blinked, looking down to see droplets staining his skirt. Had he been

crying?

“I think she’d be proud.” J said wiping his eyes. “Of who I’ve become, of who I could

—”

At that moment, Ocilight licked the side of J’s cheek.

“Hey!” He squeaked.

“Mow!” The cat-dragon said before darting into the forest. Given no indication to follow,

J stayed put. A few minutes later and he saw new appear in the direction it had vanished off too.

A sound escaped J lips as the feline peddled a round, lime-green ball of yarn around it’s size his

direction. Instinct booted him from the driver’s seat and an instant later he spread-eagled onto

wound ball of fabric. The rest of his thoughts vanished in lieu of attacking this round thing

bouncing towards him.

By night’s end, J had lost the other shoe, his pack and suit were decorated with splinters

and his hair was a sweaty, knotted mess. It had also been one of the funnest nights of his life. He

stood facing the metal flap, cell phone in one hand, strap in the other. No matter how he squared

it, the CEO of Kiyera Transportation would complete none of the work he set out to finish when

this night began. Behind him, the Ocilight’s tail dimmed visibly.

- 31 -
 “I have to go.” J said cocking his head to face the cat-dragon. “But how about I come

back here sometime?”

“Mow!” It said. J was on reasonable ground to assume that meant: ‘yes’.

As he walked towards the elevator and down (or up) to his office, J wondered how had

found this place to begin with. Maggey told him cat-like things would happen here. Had Cali Co

really him lead him here? It was too big of a coincidence to dismiss offhand. How else could he

explain reconnecting with his childhood home? How else did he make friends with the dragon

whose parents so long ago saved his life? These thoughts and other, deeper ones, lingered in his

mind as he entered his office.

With the night drawing to a close, J chanced a few hours of rest with a sleeping bag he

kept on hand. After several unconscious attempts to wiggle out from the covers, he settled on

curling up on top of the blanket and made biscuits before sleep took him.

As he drifted off though, he wondered if his new dragon friend had ever tried catnip.

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