E - I woke up in the same shitty hotel from before. Good, at least I’m not there. Granted, now I’m the pet of this jackass. Well, let’s just see how long that lasts. Thankfully the handcuffs are gone, he must have realised they won’t keep. I’m fine so far, just a strange tightness around my neck…wait a minute. THAT SON OF A- It’s a collar. A collar designed for pets. I’m going to kill him when I find him. Wait no, people would notice. Okay, I’ll find a way to get him alone and then I’ll kill him. Preferably somewhere where I can escape to. I try to find the collar’s lock and undo it, but it seems to be remote controlled. Which probably means there’s a shock generator. Great, just what I needed. I explore the very tiny motel, hoping to find the man who thought to claim me. He doesn’t seem to be here, probably went to a store or something. Meaning I’ve got the place to myself for a noticeable amount of time. Now what?
	M - I went to the grocery store with my friend Alex. It wasn’t that I needed his help, more that I was glad to have someone to talk to about what had happened.  “I feel bad leaving him.” “Oh relax, he’ll be fine. You said that he would be passed out for a while right?” I look at the fox that is my friend with a look of annoyance. “I said that he passed out, not that I made it happen. I really hope that he stays asleep, or if he were to wake up, not leave.” “Why would he? You explained the situation fairly well. He stays with you, he doesn’t get sent back to his master, he gets released in a year.” I freeze. At that moment I realized to mention the whole one year thing. The one thing that would have made him more cooperable. I turn to Alex, but it seems he guessed from my silence, and he gave me the most shit-eating grin ever. “You’re joking.” “I forgot.” “Dude, no wonder you are scared that he will leave. You probably sounded like a kidnapper.” “Please don’t mention that. That is the last time I ever act tough ever.” “Nah man, you’re in too deep, you gotta keep going.” I turn on my famous annoyed look. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry.” “No, it’s not you. I’m just worried that I’ve screwed this up and he’ll get in trouble.” “Mason, dude, why are you getting so worried? This will literally only affect you if you keep him.” “How am I supposed to leave him?” Alex just sighs and has that look where he looks older, which is weird sense I’m two years older than him. “You’re really a good person.” “Thanks?” “That wasn’t necessarily a compliment. I’m trying to say that you’re too nice for your own good.” “How so?” “Remember that moth you found as a kid? The one with the damaged wing that you took care of for a month?” “Yes, you named him Lamp for the irony.” “And what happened to Lamp?” “He died and I was sad for a whole week. I know all this, what’s your point?” “If you get caught keeping another person’s pet, you will get into serious trouble. Like, go-to-jail trouble!” “I know, I know.” “I’m just saying to be prepared to let him go, since he clearly doesn’t feel like saying.” Feel like staying. “Hey, can I talk to you about something on the way back?” “Sure. What’s up?”
	E - After examining this motel for what felt like an hour, I’ve come to a conclusion. This man is bad at keeping a hostage. He left me alone without any means to keep me here and he didn’t even tell me where he was going. He’s either an idiot or…nope. He’s an idiot. That is the only option. At least there is some food. It’s all snacks, but it will do. I lay on the couch and eat chips upside down while staring at the ceiling. Is this what people do with freedom; sit around, eat garbage, and contemplate where everything went wrong in their life. I wonder what I would actually do if I were free. Probably do what he interrupted, end it all. The world is like a computer program, and I’m a glitch in the system. Maybe I should tell him what I actually am, then he’d see. Where is he? This feeling of having nothing to do but wait for him is too familiar to my liking. I wander to the bathroom, which is odd, since it’s the one room I don’t really need. I check myself in the mirror, examining my face. I look tired. But not in the sleep deprived way, the just depressing-looking way. I decide to examine my back. I don’t know why I’m going to look, it will still be there. And now I can’t get rid of it, now that he’s seen it. I remove my shirt. Scratch that, his shirt and…Oh shit, it’s gone. My brand is gone.
	M - “So…what do you think?” I look to Alex, hoping to hear his opinion. Hoping that he looks at me with that smug look of his and call me paranoid. But he remains frozen, that look of absolute surprise stuck on his face. Finally he says something. “Dude?” “Yeah?” “You better not be shitting me.” “There’s no shit involved.” “How can it be true, he’s human.” “I don’t know, but I know what I saw.” “Then if what you’re telling me is true, then shit just hit the fan.” “You think I’m right?” “I think I’m going to have to check out this pet of yours. And if he is what you’re saying he is, then you have to get rid of him.” “And how do I do that?” “I DON’T KNOW! You just told me that he might be a…a…” “You don’t have to say it, I know how you are around that topic.” “I’m reacting the same way any sane person would. You are not only keeping an illegal pet, but he might be a monster.” “Can you atleast keep calm when you help me with registration?” “You still want to go through with that!?” “I’m in too deep. What else can I do? It’s not like I can turn him in.” “Yes! Yes you can! You just call the police and tell them that you have an-” “And how am I supposed to prove that to them? And what about keeping that fact that I have someone’s pet illegally?” I really wanted to talk about this with Alex, but not if he was going to be irrational. Thankfully, we’ve made it to the motel. “Okay, regardless of our talk, we act like we know nothing. You are just a friend helping me move my things to my house.” “Alright, I’ll play nice.” Good, because the moving thing was real, and I’m so thankful that he’s here.
	M - We entered the motel, and were greeted by the sight of a perfectly normal looking room. Is it normal to scream internally at this, isn’t it good that nothing happened? I turn and see the human sitting on the couch reading a book, and sigh with relief. I cough, to get his attention. He looked at me with a look of annoyance, like I was intruding on something. It made me feel put on the spot. Thankfully, Alex took the incentive and began talking. “Wow, so this is your new pet that you were telling me about. He is adorable.” He went to go and pet him, but he hesitated when he looked at him with a stare that conveyed absolute apathy, yet it still strikes fear into the hearts of anthros. Alex immediately retreated his hand, looking unfazed. Thank god he can bluff his way through anything and everything. Wait, that’s racist. “Well he seems nice. So, shall we get to packing the van?” “Oh? Oh yeah, let’s do that. You get the boxes, and you…” I pointed to him without really knowing what to say. “I’ll go and carry some of the boxes in the back to your van, Master.” The way he said that word carried a hateful after sound, it made me feel very unsafe. But true to his word, he went to collect the boxes in the bedroom. “Okay, rough start but at least he talks…Was he reading that book upside down?” “Thank you, I thought it was just me!”
	E - The two of them bring boxes from the motel room to the van and I helped every now and then. We don’t speak, but I can tell they are terrified of me. Good, it lets them know where we stand. They pack the boxes into the van, leaving aside a space for me in the back. After all of that is done, we make our way to the van. It’s cramped in the back, but I’ve dealt with worse. Once you’ve snuck on board a ship and have to hide squished between giant crates for two days, nothing really fazes you. The two of them are talking up front, obviously about me. I can tell that they don’t know what to do with me. It seems that the fox is an actual pet owner, given by the advice he is giving the panther. But I can hear tension in their voices; something they don’t want to bring up, but it is still a pressing matter. I don’t know exactly what it is, but I can guess. He might have seen the brand fade. A stupid subconscious descion of mine. I can only hope that he doesn’t consider that an option, I’m hoping that my appearance helps misdirect him from the truth. We finally made our way to an old house. Like, a wooden house. It seems to reflect an eastern style of architecture. It has sliding panels of paper instead of doors and windows, utilizing natural lighting over electricity. It’s surrounded by a lawn containing more green than anywhere else in the city, except for maybe a park or something. It wasn’t impressive, just a bunch of grass. We carried the boxes into the house and left them in the living room. Apparently, the panther had only moved here recently. He chose this house for it’s japanese style and the distance from any large apartment complexes. A hidden gem in the big city, he called it. I couldn’t care less, it was just another cage to me. After unpacking the boxes, which didn’t contain much, the fox left. Now it was just the two of us. After ten minutes of awkwardness, I finally broke the silence. “What is your plan?” “What?” “What do you plan to do now? You clearly have no intention of owning me and you have yet to turn me in. And don’t even try me with that bullshit “tough guy” impression, I saw through that the minute you returned.” He looked as if he wanted to respond, but he had nothing to say. “Look, I’m going to be honest with you. I found you dying in the snow and I wanted to help. You clearly don’t want that. If I make you my pet, then I can legally release you after a year. So that’s what I’m asking, for you to live for a year. After that, you can do whatever.” I was honestly caught off guard by his response. I thought he would try something, but he seems honest. “Very well, so be it.” “What?” “I will remain your pet for a year. After that, we will never see each other again.” “Oh, good.” “But I have a couple rules. One, no questions about my past. Two, I will act the part of an obedient pet in public, but no here. Three, I will cook and clean for you. Think of that as compensation.” “O-Okay. Those sound reasonable. I will keep that in mind.” “Good, now where do I sleep. And if you point to the floor or a cage, so help me-” “No, no. There’s a guest room down the hall. But can we-” “Then goodnight, and see you tomorrow.” “WAIT!” He turned towards me as I was halfway to the door. “Yes?” “Are…are you…are you an Abnormal?” I closed the door with more force than I intended. Damn it, he did know. Damn it. Damn it! DAMN IT! I fall to the floor, seated against the door. A single question echoes in my head. What now?