Lonely Kitten

1

For the past two years Minho had been on his own. His parents had died when he was twenty-one and he missed them dearly. There was a reason Minho had still lived with his parents and had been really dependent on them. He was a hybrid, like his mother had been one, a cat hybrid to be exact and in a world where hybrids were often sold and treated as slaves, the family stuck together closely to protect each other.

The day his parents had died in a car accident, the young hybrid had felt his entire world shatter. While he was still coping with the loss of the two people, who had meant the most to him, Minho enrolled in a dance academy. It was the only thing he still felt passionately about and wanted to pursue because his parents had supported his career dream of becoming a professional dancer. For almost two years, he had continued to live in their rented apartment, paying the rent by working as a barista at a local café and teaching children's dance classes, while taking his own dance classes.

That was also the time Minho had discovered his headspace. The trauma of losing his parents in a world where the odds seemed to be entirely against him, brought the hybrid back to a time where his world was still intact. He hadn't had many friends before, for the fear of accidentally revealing his true identity to them. That sadly meant that the moment his parents were gone, he was completely on his own. His only comfort was the pacifier, he had dug out of box of childhood relics, his parents had kept for emotional reasons, and his soft baby blanket. Most nights after work, he curled up on his parents' abandoned bed with his balnket, sucking on his pacifier and crying himself to sleep, just to repeat the same pattern the next day.

A few months ago though, his landlady had discovered that Minho was a hybrid and felt that it violated her 'no-pet-policy', kindly asking the young dancer to leave and find housing somewhere else. Unable to find a new place to stay that quickly, especially one that he could afford with his meager pay. Sleeping in the streets, the hybrid hadn't been able to take a shower for quite some time and had to attend his barista job, looking disheveled and smelling like the backstreets he slept in. It didn't take long for the café owner to kick him out too, afraid they'd lose customers if one of their baristas looked that shaggy. It wasn't like Minho needed the money to pay the rent anyway but being able to buy himself some food would still be lovely. Not long after that, Minho also lost his job as a dance teacher for children as multiple parents had complained about his messy appearance, stating that they didn't trust him to interact with their children.

Minho still had his own classes to attend but after sleeping on the streets during a particularly cold week, the hybrid had fallen ill. Afraid to miss his classes, he had still attended them, despite feeling more than just a bit under the weather. He had been incredibly stuffed up, sneezing every few minutes, while barely having any voice left. Usually, Minho was very good at controlling his shape, his mother had made sure to teach him. The only times he struggled were when he was really tired or sick and that day, the poor boy had been both. During a particularly harsh and painful sneezing fit, he had slipped up, accidentally revealing his cat ears, which had earned him a bunch of threats and less than friendly words, resulting in Minho not daring to go to his classes again.

Having lost the last thing that had still kept him going, Minho shifted into his cat-form and decided to stay that way, as it seemed to be easier if he intended to survive out on the streets. His fur kept him warm and his claws helped him to defend himself, being that small, he also needed less food and managed to either hunt some rats and birds or find something edible in the trash. The small cat easily found shelter behind trashcans or on doorsteps and sometimes kind people gave him some leftovers to eat. To Minho there were only advantages of being in his cat-form.

Or so he thought.... The hybrid soon had to realize that small animals easily became prey. Stray dogs chasing after the small cat were no rarity and soon became his biggest fear. Even worse than storms and heights. One afternoon, a bunch of stray dogs had chased Minho down and after running for close to an hour, the hybrid was exhausted. A few meters ahead of him, he saw a tall fence and while he'd usually avoid anything that included climbing, he felt it was his only option. Scaling the fence, Minho tried to avoid looking down at all costs. He made it up the fence but when he accidentally glanced down, he felt his head spin. Heights were really not his thing. Closing his eyes, in an attempt to ignore how far off the ground he was, the small cat balanced on top of the fence hoping to follow it away from the dogs as far as possible.

With his eyes closed, it was only a matter of time till he tripped himself, losing his balance and falling off the fence. Luckily, he fell towards the opposite side from where he had come from, so he had the fence separating him from the stray dogs. Not so lucky was his landing. His left front paw twisted and gave out, sending a sharp pain up his arm. Hesitantly trying to put some weight onto it, Minho had to realize his paw was most likely sprained. On one hand, that was good because it would heal without needing medical treatment, on the other hand, it was a huge disadvantage when it came to running away or defending himself. In his human-form, Minho was left-handed, but in his cat-form it barely made a difference, which paw he had injured. Tiredly limping away from the fence, the hybrid found shelter behind a garden shed and deemed it safe to rest for a bit.