Continues from chapter thirteen
The Animal Cafe
Part 1
"Drive faster!"
"I will not!"
"But, we must get there faster!"
"I don't even think they are open this early. We may have to wait outside anyway. Would you calm down?"
"NO! I must see the animals now!"
Syr rolled her eyes at Kitty, whose behavior had been beyond childish since she had learned about her impromptu trip to the animal café. Sitting on the passenger seat, the small Asian girl pointlessly tried to look farther down the road as if that would take her closer to the cake shop faster. She was known to be excitable, but this time it was a severe case.
This surprise had flicked a switch inside her brain. Staying home and being lazy was something she has been mainly doing because nothing was appealing outside her little cat girl world; it was either too uninteresting, like going out shopping, or too complicated, like finding a job and making money. But the opportunity of going out to play with real animals while having breakfast was exactly the kind of unexpected activity that had the potential to motivate her. Her current nervosity showed how veridic that was.
"Hey, Kitty. Why are you so pumped about going there? I knew you liked animals, but… That much?"
"I'm not sure… When I was little, my father and mother used to take me to a petting zoo. That was my favorite thing in the world. I could play with the rabbits, feed them, and play with the baby sheep… Have you ever done that, Syr?"
"Yes, I did. Aunt Michelle took me to a petting zoo once for Easter."
"And?"
"They were just small animals… I don't know. They were cute, I guess."
"Cute? They are all so ADORABLE. You must be broken for not being thrilled about going to the animal café with me."
"Oh… I am Kitty, I am. But not for the reasons you might think."
"What does that even mean? What are you hiding from me?"
Since they have left the house, Syr repeatedly sent blurry messages to her friend, more than likely on purpose. The apparent goal was to confuse Kitty and, perhaps, prepare her for something bigger than she envisioned. The small cat girl was smart, but she still couldn't figure out the suspicious attitude her roleplaying expert friend imposed upon her.
Nothing has worked so far. Kitty had stared at Syr from very close, trying to make her crack and tell the truth. She had even tried to hug her and lick her neck, which had only resulted in a hand in the face pushing her back to her seat. It was useless; Syr just wouldn't give away her secrets.
As the car rolled down the road, Kitty asked the same questions all over again.
"So, are you sure there is a raccoon there? Clara said there was a raccoon."
"Yes, they do. But it's not there all the time. I told you, you have to manage your expectations."
"But, I MUST pet the raccoon! Or else I'll be super sad!"
"If she is not there, we can come back another time."
"SHE?"
"..."
"What do you mean by SHE?"
"The raccoon is a female. I know that much."
"You seem to know an awful lot about the animals they have?"
"Remember, Kitty. The owner is my client. We talk on a regular basis. I've been there too once."
"Is it a big place?"
"No. It's fairly small. It's a small lounge. So you can interact with the animals easily."
"Are the waitresses cute? Clara and Misti were, so, are they waitresses?"
"I'm not sure. You'll see once we get there, I suppose."
Unsurprisingly, Kitty had now shifted her attention to the two cute girls she knew worked there. They had visited her home a while ago to do business with Syr, but she had not managed to pull a lot of details out of them, not for the lack of trying; that Clara girl had a serious problem expressing herself. Did she behave like that because she was shy or because she was trying to hide something? Since Syr clearly hid something, the latter seemed more plausible.
A nasty, nasty thought ran through Kitty's head for an instant, though. What if Syr, Clara, and Misti had not told her much about the café because they feared she would cause trouble? She was aware of her own personality. Playful, childish, and sometimes a bit too intense. For the first time in a long time, Kitty wondered if she had gone too far with this kind of behavior. Perhaps it would be worth considering rebalancing her energy level and relaxing her most annoying behavior.
She sank a bit in her seat when she revisited in her head what she had done to her friends during the past month when refusing to take off her latex suit. It was mainly to be playful, but was it possible that she had hurt her friends a little by going too far? Erika was delighted to spank her every time she broke a rule, but Mark and Syr were more "normal" in general and wouldn't do the same. All of a sudden, Kitty felt a bit selfish.
"Hey… Syr…"
"Yes? What is it?"
"... I'm sorry."
"Sorry? For what? You did nothing wrong."
"Well, I've been a bit annoying recently."
"Annoying? Why would you say that?"
"You know… My… behavior. Sometimes I do extreme things… but I don't mean bad. I'm just… having fun."
"Aaah. We all know that, Kitty. But, yes, you made Master Mark anxious recently. He cares about your well-being a lot, you know. He just doesn't want you to harm yourself with your games."
"Oh, I know that. But he always lets me do all I want. And sometimes, I go too far because he will never say no."
"I don't think it's your fault, Kitty. Master Mark has to learn how to handle you better."
"Uh? Handle me better?"
"Yes. At times, he can be… spineless."
"OH MY GOD! Did you just say that, Syr?"
"... Please, don't tell him I told you that."
"NEVER! But I want to hear more!"
"Well, you know… Sometimes I wish Master Mark would be more… masterly. But he doesn't seem to like that too much."
"Oh, and this is why you blackmailed him this morning? Because you wanted to go on a trip with him during which he would treat you like a slave?"
"You make my idea sound terrible… but yes. That was part of it."
"Niiice!"
That last bit of conversation cheered Kitty right back up. Not only did she not feel nearly as guilty for having caused Mark some healthy distress, but her friend had validated that she wasn't the sole responsible person for the recent chaos at the house. It was great to have a friend like Syr, who could bring in a different perspective on things.
The car slowly made its way downtown, where the café was apparently located. Looking left and right for a parking spot, they finally decided to get inside an underground lot. It was simpler than trying to decipher the numerous parking signs out on the street, and with a long-term parking spot, they wouldn't feel pressured to leave if they had a good time and wanted to extend their stay.
After exiting the car and slamming the door behind herself, Kitty discovered something remarkable about underground garages. She began yelling like a mad girl…
"SYR IS A PERVERT!"
"KITTY! What are you doing?"
"It's echoing. It's fun! I can hear my own voice back."
"Cease this at once!"
"SYR IS OUR SEXY MAID!"
"That's it. We are going back home! No animal café for you. Get back in the car."
"NO! NO! I'm stopping! I'm stopping!"
"I thought you would."
"So serious… But you are still our sexy maid."
Syr slid a few fingers under Kitty's pink collar and yanked her toward the exit.
"Ack! You are going to snap my delicate neck!"
"There it is, Kitty… Just across the street! Look."
"The cakes and pets? That's a cute name for a café."
"I hope you like… Hey! Come back, Kitty! You have to look at both sides before crossing!"
"I did! Hurry!"
At that moment, Syr had regrets for not having brought a leash to control the uncontrollable. Being a stickler for the rules more than her friend, Syr nervously crossed the street, feeling delinquent even though there were no moving cars around. It was too early in the morning, plus it was the weekend.
Kitty, of course, arrived at the glass door first, just to hit her nose to an undesired closed sign dangling at eye level.
"NO! NO! That's not faiiiir!"
"Oh, it's not open yet. I told you. We are too early. We had no reason to rush."
Trying to look through the window, using her hands to create some shade, Kitty hoped to see some little critters.
"I don't see anybody, but there is some light."
"It doesn't matter, Kitty. Come. There is a park not far from here where we can go and wait. We can come back in half an hour."
"No! Look! The door is open!"
"Kitty! Close that door immediately! They are not open. It doesn't matter if it's unlocked or not."
It was another broken rule that made Syr cringe, but since Kitty wouldn't listen and walked into the café, she had no other choice but to follow her.
Once inside, there was nobody around. The lounge door was closed, and there was a vacant reception desk. Syr suspected that Lucy was probably upstairs, preparing her pets for the day, but that was not something Kitty nearly suspected.
To prevent further misbehavior from her friend, Syr took charge and called the owner over.
"HELLO? Lucy?"
"Where is everybody?"
"She runs the café by herself. Give her a minute. Don't be so impatient, cathead."
"Only Mark can call me cathead. You must not! Come on, Syr. I want to see the animals. That shy girl said there was a raccoon… I never petted a raccoon before. I must pet the raccoon!"
"Kitty. Stop bouncing like that and relax a bit, would you, or else we are leaving. HELLO?"
Nothing. Not a sound. But after a few more seconds, something unexpected happened. A small woman with brown hair creepily emerged from behind the reception desk, with a terrified look on her face. It was Clara, the same girl who had visited their home with Misti not long ago.
"Oh? Clara? What were you doing behind that desk? Is Lucy around?"
"... N… No."
Something wasn't right. The poor thing was shaking, and her wet eyes betrayed obvious distress. What was happening here? Why was Clara in such a disturbed state… and why was she hiding behind the reception desk? It was just bizarre.
"Wait… Clara? Are you crying? Are you alright?"
"... No. I… I messed up… everything."
"Where is Lucy?"
"At… at the hospital…"
"WHAT? Is she okay?"
"Yes… yes… A pet got hurt... and… I messed up. I don't know how to take care of the café..."
"Aaah. Okay. Well, it seems we've picked the right day to visit then."
"Meow! Yes. Syr is our slave! She does everything around our house."
"Kitty, I'm not your slave! Why would you say such a thing?"
"..."
But Kitty wasn't entirely wrong, and she had understood what Syr had suggested a second ago. For her friend, being a self-made maid, the words "taking care of a café" had resonated loudly within her core. The prospect of assisting in running a small coffee shop like this one was extremely attractive, and she was beyond confident that she had already acquired the qualifications to perform well. For years, she had role-played a maid at home, secretly at first, then openly with Erika, and then even more around Mark and Kitty. She was ready for any household challenge that she would have to face.
"Kitty and I will help you. Kitty, do you want to go take care of the pets while I'm talking to Clara and figure out what needs to be done?"
"WHAT? SERIOUSLY? CAN I?"
"Yes… But I tell you… It might not exactly be what you expect."
"Stop being mysterious, Syr! I've taken care of cats and dogs before. I'm super good with small furry critters."
"Right… You are in for a shock. Clara, could you let Kitty into the lounge? While she is meeting with your friends, we will see what we can do for you. I suppose the amount of cake icing on the floor has something to do with your bad day."
"Y...yes… O… okay."
Clara wobbled around the desk, access card in hand, and approached the lounge door. Kitty amusingly crouched, more than likely expecting that a small cat would try to escape the room as soon as the door would crack open, which confirmed Syr's apprehension; her friend still had NO clue what was waiting for her behind that door.
As soon as the door unlocked and Clara opened it, Syr grabbed Kitty by her collar and firmly shoved her into the lounge.
"Close the door, Clara! Quick! Quick!"
"Ow! Syr! What was that for? I could have landed on one of the pets and…!"
Lying flat on her belly, annoyed by the sudden and unnecessary treatment, Kitty pushed herself back to her knees while whining. But her words ceased when she noticed something staring at her in the eyes, about a foot from her face. Two big black eyes were piercing her soul. In shock, she fell on her ass, and her back hit the door.
In front of her was a creature. Something she didn't know existed before. Her playfulness was gone. Her expectations turned to ashes. Her rational mind kicked in, but it couldn't comprehend what her eyes were seeing. And then, something that hadn't happened in a very long time happened, she trembled. The smile that had accompanied her since the first second she was told she would get to play with small animals was utterly gone.
Making two steps closer and sitting right in front of her was a giant raccoon. Kitty's brain attempted to rewire as if she had been injected with an experimental drug. It didn't feel real at all. It didn't feel possible. It didn't feel normal. Her head started spinning…
"Oooh… I… I don't feel... so good…"
Her teeth and cheeks began tingling, and her breathing accelerated. As her heart pounded relentlessly inside her little chest, her body turned limp and slid down the door like a ragdoll, and her eyes rolled up.
Everything went dark.
A few minutes after listening to Clara's story, Syr was already in control of the situation. She had sent Clara upstairs to fix things with her friend Oreo and immediately began cleaning the place. It was nothing worse than the trail of disorder that Kitty occasionally created at home. That said, she could understand how such a small event could have scared Clara if she had never faced similar situations before, so she didn't judge her for being unable to handle a minor kitchen incident. Perhaps she only had a stressful day.
It took a mere few minutes to clean the cabinets and food bottles. The chocolate cake that had exploded on the floor was a bit more work, and it was very tragic, but overall, this was just regular maid work, so Syr was happy to do it as efficiently as possible. Being helpful was her favorite feeling.
The main thing left for her to do was fixing the cakes that had fallen from the fridge to the floor and mopping the place. Somehow, there was cake icing everywhere, all the way to the reception desk. It seemed that Clara had panicked and dragged her feet here and there, trying to figure out a solution to her misery. That young girl seemed quite the anxious type.
Before tackling these tasks, though, Syr decided to go see how Kitty was fairing, surrounded by her new friends. Clara had left her access card on the countertop, so she grabbed it and headed to the lounge.
When she opened the door, a panicked black latex cat girl immediately gesticulated in front of her. Syr knew who she was because she had created her.
"Hi, Misti! So, how is my friend doing?"
Misti wrapped her arm around Syr's and pointed in the direction of a pile of pets that were quite agitated around a girl who was lying flat on her back.
"What in the world? What's going on here?"
As Syr approached, Kitty began moving slowly while groaning.
"Kitty?"
"Mmmm… aaah."
"Kitty? Are you okay?"
"S… Syr…?"
"Everyone, give her some breathing room."
All the rubber pet girls stepped away from the poor Asian girl who was slowly emerging from her unexpected nap.
"What happened, Kitty?"
"I… I don't know… I had this weird dream… About a giant raccoon…"
"..."
"Oww… That was weird. Maybe I was a bit too excited to come here."
"I would say… Did you faint when you saw the pet girls? That is kind of funny, actually."
"The… pet girls? Are… Are you saying that… I didn't dream this?"
"Oooh. Poor Kitty. Look behind you."
Rapidly coming back to her senses, Kitty had trouble making heads and tails of her weird dream and what had happened to her. And now that Syr talked about pet girls and asked her to turn around, she didn't want to believe that what she had not yet seen was real, so she feared looking anywhere else than in her friend's eyes.
"Come on, Kitty. Look."
"..."
With a great effort, Kitty managed to turn her head, apprehending the giant raccoon again. But no… her eyes first landed on the cutest thing she had ever seen, an adorable red fox. Syr walked to the animal girl and placed her hands on her shoulder.
"So, this is Vix… The red fox. She is the first pet I ever created for Lucy."
Misti rushed to Vix and wrapped her arms around her friend.
"And that one is Misti, the black cat. Yes, the same girl you saw at our house. Isn't she cute wearing this costume?"
Kitty's mouth was stuck open, and her throat was paralyzed. It couldn't be. Looking at Syr walking around those creatures so comfortably just didn't make any sense.
"And this is Meeka, the raccoon. Be careful, Meeka, Kitty wanted to meet you so badly. Oh! And the one over there, one of my most recent work, is Asha, the snow leopard. She might be my favorite one."
Embarrassed, Asha wrapped her arms around Syr and buried her muzzle in her chest.
"..."
"Don't you want to at least say hello to them, Kitty?"
"H… Hi…"
That was too much. Kitty didn't know where to look at anymore or what to think. For so long, she had dreamed of visiting the animal café so she could pet small furry critters, but now… She faced a bunch of surreal latex pet girls who came out straight from a fetish magazine. How was this even possible? The maths were hard to make but finally, the wires connected, and she managed to build her first intelligible sentence since she had entered the lounge.
"S… Syr!"
"Yes?"
"You… YOU LIAR!"
"Who me? Never… I'd never lie. Master Mark would never allow me to… EEP!"
Out of the blue, Kitty sprang to her feet and rushed to Syr. She threw herself in her chest and wrapped her arms tightly around her waist to give the strongest hug she could give despite her lack of muscle. Asha barely had time to dodge before the incoming bullet-girl hit.
"SYR! THAT'S AMAZING!"
"I suspected you would like them."
"WHY? WHY?"
"Why didn't I tell you before? We can talk about that later… I have to go back to the kitchen to help Clara. Will it be okay if I leave you alone with them? No more fainting?"
"YES! YES! TRIPLE YES!"
"Okay, but be gentle. They are worth more than gold to Lucy. So don't do crazy things to them, okay? Or else we are leaving."
"I won't! I won't!"
After peeling Kitty-velcro off her torso, Syr walked out of the lounge, confident that her friend would figure out what to do from there. Finding her out cold on the carpet was a bit unexpected, but she had quickly regained her vitality once she put her bearings back together. That little incident was a testimony of success. The surprise had worked flawlessly.
Kneeling on the floor, Kitty observed the pets who weren't too sure how to behave. The Asian girl had passed out once, and they didn't want that to happen again. Talk about a weird introduction.
The first one to move was Vix. She walked to the nearest table and grabbed a bottle of water that Lucy kept at all times on the tables. A choking client was never a good thing, so water bottles provided free of charge were a small price to pay to prevent them from ending up at the hospital because they ate their cake too quickly.
With the bottle between her two cushy paws, she approached Kitty, who was still mesmerized by what she was seeing.
"Aww… Water for me? Thank you. I have to admit I'm a bit lightheaded. You are Vix, right?"
Vix nodded and sat next to Kitty before wrapping her arms around her waist. She and Kitty were pretty much the same size, so they could easily look each other in the eyes.
"You are so cute! It's unbelievable. Okay, so you guys are Misti, Asha, and Meeka?"
That was quite impressive. For some reason, Kitty had managed to memorize all their names effortlessly, which earned her a round of applause from the pets. She took a big gulp of water, which rehydrated her throat.
"Can you guys talk?"
All the pets shook their heads asynchronously.
"Cool! That's hot. So, Vix? Syr said you were the first costume she made. When was that?"
The small red fox tilted her head to the side and brought a paw to her chin as if trying to remember. Was it two years ago already? Maybe a bit more? She pawed the carpet twice.
"Two months?"
Vix shook her head and pointed upward with her paw.
"TWO YEARS!?"
Vix nodded.
"I didn't even know her two years ago. Why didn't she tell me she was making those costumes?"
Poor Vix had absolutely nothing to do with this. Until now, she had never met Syr and didn't even know her under that name anyway. Elizabeth was the creator of the costumes. Was Syr her nickname or something? She didn't know and had no means to ask. So she shrugged.
"Have you met her before?"
Vix shook her head.
"Oh, I see. She really kept this a secret then. So, Misti and Clara were the first ones to meet her?"
Misti nodded. She was indeed the first one who had uncovered the mystery behind the costumes after she had ripped her tail off, and Lucy forced her to visit the creator of the pets in person to apologize. That little adventure had been very embarrassing but also very useful because she took much better care of her costume after that.
The black cat had also met Kitty, which didn't go super well. Kitty had pushed very hard to squeeze information out of her about their business and had even terrified Clara. But today, Kitty seemed a bit more vulnerable. She was just sitting there, on her knees, and had not even returned Vix's hug yet. Usually, nobody could resist Vix's charm, so that was a bit odd.
"So, Clara is a pet too?"
The pets shook their heads.
"Oh, she is not a pet? Odd. I thought she would be. She is all small and cute."
The pets nodded on that one. It was an accurate description of what Clara was.
"Sooo… Nobody told me anything about you guys. I don't know what I'm allowed to do or not. And since I'm a little bit out of control when I'm around people wearing rubber… I'm a bit scared to mess up. Can… Can I… touch you?"
The pets nodded.
For one rare time in her life, Kitty was uncomfortable. It somehow reminded her of when she first visited Mark at his townhouse. She was so shy to interact with her instant crush that she had messed up big time. Not only had she got drunk within fifteen minutes, but on top of that, she had decided that it was a good idea to put her latex catsuit on at the same time without even telling him. Things had turned out fantastically well, but it could have gone very wrong very quickly.
And now, with these incredible pet girls, she didn't want to remotely take the risk to mess up because she already knew in her heart that she wouldn't be able to survive away from them. So she disconnected her sexual brain for a moment and adopted her best behavior. Losing the most incredible thing she had ever seen was not an option.
Since the pets had granted her permission, she carefully rubbed Vix's back. Rubber was very familiar to Kitty, of course, but this felt different. It was not like cuddling with Erika to obtain sex. She had no idea who was in the fox suit and couldn't even have a chance to understand what the wearer was thinking because of the black lenses covering her eyes. It was like cuddling… a real animal. A latex red fox. Not a human.
The very familiar scene of Vix getting the first cuddles of the day had annoyed the other pets, though, so they all converged on Kitty to get some affection too.
"Hey! What… What are you doing? Haha! Wait! Wait! Syr will scold me if I cause problems."
It was useless to resist the pets. Like a small cuddly rogue wave, they all crawled over Kitty until she ended up on her back with a bunch of cushy paws rubbing her all over. Was this even permitted?
There was nothing Kitty could have done against this, so she abandoned herself to the pets.
A bit later, still buried under the cuddly pets, Kitty heard the lounge door opening, but nobody came to tell her to leave the pets alone, which was a relief. The only worrying time was when a new pet she hadn't seen before, a black and white cat, pulled Misti away from her by force.
From afar, Kitty saw Clara sitting at a table and placing a bunch of plastic bottles in front of her. Then Misti climbed on the seat and laid down on her lap. Clara selected a bottle and did something with the black cat.
A bit curious about this strange activity, Kitty sat up to observe the scene better and asked Meeka about it.
"What are they doing, Meeka?"
Meeka briefly looked behind her and turned back to Kitty. With her cushy black paw, she poked her new friend in the stomach.
"Haha! That tickles. What do you mean? Is she feeding her?"
Meeka nodded.
"So, you guys don't take lunch breaks?"
Meeka shook her head, no.
"Are you saying that you are wearing this restrictive costume all day?"
Meeka shook her head, no, and rolled her paw, trying to say something else. It was interesting to see Kitty paying attention and grasping most of the non-verbal dialogue the pets threw at her. That made her look even cooler.
"No? You mean, you wear it for more than a day?"
Meeka nodded and clapped.
"… I'm doing the SAME! At home, I wear my latex catsuit all the time. I don't want to take it off, but everybody is asking me to. It's so annoying!"
Meeka nodded. Indeed, taking off her costume wasn't fun. But aside from that, when Kitty said she wore a latex catsuit at home, it made this little client even more intriguing.
"And do you sleep at the café too?"
Meeka nodded.
"So cool! And why can't you talk? Are you gagged or something?"
Meeka cocked her head to the side for a second, then made a "kind of" gesture. That was not really an angle she had looked at, so she had to think about it. Her mouthpiece was mainly there for comfort to allow her to stay in costume for longer, but Kitty had a point; it was an efficient gag as well. She had never discussed the "why" with Lucy because there was no need to. A silent pet was somewhat cuter than a talkative pet. If they would have been allowed to talk, Meeka could only imagine Trixie and Misti arguing all day long about random things. All the clients in the café would have left with bleeding ears. It was definitely better to prevent the pets from talking. Additionally, it brought a different dynamic. It forced everyone to take the time to listen to each other, the pets and the client alike. Today's society was an overload of pointless discussions, opinions, and arguing, so taking the time to listen and observe was almost a necessity these days.
"So, is this a job, or are you slaves?"
The three pets sitting next to Kitty all fell to the floor and started rolling around.
"Heeey! Don't laugh! I don't know. Syr didn't tell me anything about this place."
For the next little while, Kitty kept bombarding the pets with questions about the café. It was rare that a client had such a strong interest in what was going on here. Usually, they came to the café to pet the girls and eat some cake, but it was because THEY wanted to feel good. Those clients wanted to cuddle, feel the warm rubber with their hands, experience what it was like to be so close to cute kinky girls, a bit as if they wanted to convince themselves that they were capable of entertaining a relationship with a loved one without being rejected.
But with Kitty, it was different. The small Asian girl had a genuine desire to get to know them and understand how the café was working, and even why it was there in the first place. Obviously, she liked the latex costumes, but it didn't seem the most important part. She was much more interested in the "why." Why was Meeka a pet? Why was Vix so adorable? Why was Misti so playful?
One at a time, the pets went to eat in Clara's arms, which was fascinating to watch. But then, a few more clients entered the café to get sweet cakes and warm drinks. It was funny to see the pets happily climbing on these strangers to get and offer some cuddles. It was also entertaining to see a very anxious Clara running around trying to get their orders and keep things relatively under control. Soon enough, Kitty was alone with Meeka and Asha. It was a bizarre feeling to sit on the floor with them while the others got to work. It made her feel like a pet too. If more clients were to walk in, perhaps she would have to play with them too. It was not the reality, but it felt like it.
Syr pulled her out of her daydreaming when she entered the lounge with two plates.
"Kitty, I prepared you a little breakfast with what I found in the kitchen. Come eat."
As Kitty stood up, another client entered the lounge right after Syr. Since there were only two pets left, Meeka pulled on Kitty's arm.
"What is it, Meeka?"
Meeka pointed to Asha and then to herself.
"You want me to choose?"
The two pets nodded.
"Oh, that's easy! I want the raccoon!"
Asha, almost offended, glared at Meeka, but that earned her a raccoon paw in the face. She decided it was better to just trot to the new client. It was part of life at the café.
"Come, Meeka. I'm starving."
Arm in arm, the two friends headed to the table where Syr had placed the plates. Meeka climbed on the seat first, followed by Kitty, who sat right next to her. The next few minutes would certainly be interesting. After having kept this place a secret for so long, Syr certainly had some explaining to do.
"So, Kitty… How do you like the animal café?"
"…"
Instead of answering, she poked a potato with her little fork and put it in her mouth. Not only did she not know how to answer that question, but on top of that, Syr already knew the answer.
"Are you mad at me for not telling you about it?"
"No."
"So, why the long face then?"
"I'm… not sure."
"You like latex and animals, no?"
"Of course I do. You know that! But… this is different."
"It is, Kitty. It is."
Between two bites, Kitty watched Meeka, who just sat there, looking adorable. Since she had set foot in the lounge and discovered the rubber pet girls, she still hadn't managed to wrap her head around this whole experience.
"Kitty, why don't you tell Meeka about what you are doing at home."
"What… am I doing at home?"
"Yes, your little habits."
"Oh, I already told her some stuff. I don't think I can tell her everything."
"Of course you can. Isn't that right, Meeka?"
Meeka nodded, suspecting what it might be, but she was surely interested to hear it from the horse's mouth. Kitty turned to her, a bit embarrassed to spill the beans in front of someone who was seemingly taking things even farther than she had been.
"Mmm… So, Meeka… I like wearing latex too… You understand that, right?"
Meeka nodded. Of course, she did.
"… And… I like to wear a restrictive suit, but now that I saw yours, mine doesn't feel that extreme anymore. Then… I like when my partners play with me… like… "play" with me…"
Meeka giggled inside her mask. What she heard just now wasn't very surprising. Sex and latex were a perfect match, and it was fantastic to know that Kitty was already comfortable with this combo. But the raccoon girl had a question burning her muzzle. She pointed at both Syr and Kitty at the same time and then brought her paws together.
"… You want to know if Syr and I are together?"
Meeka nodded.
"No. She is my friend. But I do have a boyfriend and a girlfriend. I know it's weird, but they are super nice. They tie me up and then… oops… I didn't mean to say that."
Déjà vu. Meeka had a friend, Oreo, who was into bondage big time. Nothing shocking slipped out of Kitty's mouth. Honestly, it was very common for people into latex to also like bondage. But what caught Meeka's attention the most was that Kitty seemed to be bi-sexual, which potentially opened the door wide to some extra fun.
Syr smirked as well since Kitty's behavior had drastically changed since they arrived at the café. The catgirl, who was generally inappropriately sexual, self-confident, borderline abusive, and clever, had turned into something much more toned down, which was incredibly surprising. One would have thought that being surrounded by her favorite things in the world, restrictive latex suits and cuddly cute girls, would have put her mind into overdrive. But no. Instead, she barely touched the pets, didn't address them with her usual dirty language, and even seemed to feel bad for having brought up her sexual habits. Something strange was going on.
"Kitty, what's wrong?"
"What do you mean? What did I do now?"
"Nothing. I just can't help but notice that you are not yourself since we got here. I thought you'd be happier than that."
"I AM happy, Syr. But I'm scared!"
"Scared!? Why? Scared of what?"
"Well, I know you… If I do something you don't like, you'll scold me, and we will have to leave."
"I wouldn't do that."
"Yes, you would. You are all protective of your work and hide it from me all the time. All those costumes are your work, so if I do something slightly inappropriate, you'll kick me out."
Instead of denying it, Syr lowered her head, reflecting on what Kitty had just said. Meeka moved a bit closer and rubbed Kitty's back, sensing a hint of frustration in her voice. The café wasn't a place where people should feel anxious. It was a place to have fun, get sweet cuddles, and enjoy the overall experience.
It was true that Syr had been very secretive, always using the pretense of preserving her client's privacy to deny Kitty's access to her workshop. But it was also true that she did this a lot for herself. She had hidden the animal costumes for a long time because she feared Kitty would incessantly bug her to get one too, something she couldn't do because of her contract with Lucy.
Only now, she realized that it was a bit mean and realized that it had affected Kitty more than she thought. Sure, Kitty was playful and expert at annoying people just for fun, but she didn't mean bad. Being prevented from seeing what was going on in her workshop over and over had perhaps caused some unnecessary distrust. And now that Syr had finally decided to share the incredible work she had done for the Cakes and Pets with her friend, that was enough to cause a conflict. She had stretched the rubber band too much, and it had just snapped in her face. Asking Kitty to share with Meeka her private life had been the opposite of what Syr had done about her workshop.
She felt selfish.
Her eyes returned to Kitty, who was stuffing her mouth with eggs and potatoes while playing with her new raccoon friend, not too sure how much she had hurt her.
"I'm… sorry, Kitty."
"What for?"
"For not telling you earlier about this place."
"I would say, yes! You knew I would have loved it."
"Yes. And… this is why I didn't tell you."
"… and what is that supposed to mean exactly?"
"I thought… you would bug me… to get a costume… But you know, I can't… because of the contract with Lucy… It's not that I don't want to make one for you… it's just…"
"Woah woah! Stop! Are you saying you thought I wouldn't be smart enough to understand that?"
"… No… It's just…"
"Syr… I'm almost thirty years old! Come on!"
"… I'm… sorry."
"Shhh! Not another word. I have decided what your punishment would be for underestimating me…"
"… punishment? What are you talking about."
"Shhh! Brace yourself!"
Kitty turned to the rubber raccoon and whispered something in her animal ear. Did she even realize that her raccoon ears were not her real ones? Nevertheless, Meeka understood everything Kitty had told her and stood up on the bench. She then expertly stepped on the table and crossed over to the other side of the booth, right next to Syr, who stared at her from below, a bit intimidated; she had created those costumes, but it felt quite different when they were animated by skilled girls.
Meeka then raised her paws high in the air as if she was going to smack Syr in the face, but instead, she let it fall softly on top of her head, which had been enough for her target to lower her head and raise her shoulder. A gentle head rub ensued, ruffling her short blonde hair. Meeka was petting her, to Kitty's great satisfaction.
"Ha! Syr! You are such a cute pet!"
"…"
"I'll totally tell Mark to force you to wear a cute animal costume at home. You wanted him to be more masterly, no?"
"… No! Don't tell him that. I'm not a pet!"
"Well, what are you going to give me in exchange for my silence, then?"
"… Are you blackmailing me? … Meeka, please, stop petting my head."
"No, Meeka! Keep going… She likes it!"
Of course, Kitty knew Syr wouldn't push the cute raccoon away, which was hilarious.
"Fiiine! I won't keep secrets from you anymore."
"So… I can go sit in your workshop whenever I want to?"
"… Yes… I guess it would be okay."
"And, I can touch the pets a bit more without you scolding me?"
From afar, unaware of what the little trio was discussing, Clara noticed Meeka standing on the couch and reprimanded her.
"Meeka! Lucy told you not to stand on the couch. You might fall, and then she is going to be really mad."
Meeka crouched down, just enough to reach the legal limit of height. Syr sighed and rubbed her neck while reaching for her coffee cup.
"Kitty, I don't have a word to say here. It's Lucy's café, and Clara is the one enforcing the rules today. She will tell you if you go too far."
Meeka nodded.
"Meeka, you'll tell Kitty too, right?"
Meeka nodded again.
"Alright then. Finish your food and go play. We won't stay here all day."
"I'm done eating already! Come Meeka! That pile of fluffy pillows at the back looks super comfy."
Meeka crawled under the table to get out, and Kitty ran after her.
"Kitty! You didn't even finish your plate… aaaah! Whatever!"
Trying to reason with Kitty was pointless when she was in that mood. Plus, the animal café was her surprise, her gift. It wouldn't be the right thing to do to prevent her from having fun, not after understanding that she could be trusted. Syr had understood her mistake, and how it had hurt her friend, it would be a long road to breaking that habit of being too secretive. The whole point of having friends was to share life together after all.
Kitty quickly reached the pile of pillows in the corner and let herself fall flat on her back.
"Oof! That's like a giant pile of marshmallows. Haha!"
The raccoon girl didn't wait one second before climbing on top of her. There was something about Kitty that was so familiar. That girl was very much like a playful pet, a natural, as they said. And now that she had been freed from her invisible leash, it was even better. Kitty finally let her true personality out, and her hands traveled on Meeka's rubber body, including butt and boobs, discreetly, so Clara wouldn't notice.
For the small cat girl, this was a perfect day.
Two days later.
"Mark! I'm going out on a date!"
"A date? Shouldn't you let Erika and I know before adding extra lovers to our already messed up relationship?"
"I'm telling you now!"
"Okay, cathead, what's the deal?"
Kitty has always been like that. She climbed on me out of nowhere and spat some non-sense, trying to provoke me for entertainment purposes. But it didn't work as well as before. I had developed a certain immunity over time. That said, this time around, it was a bit strange. Kitty never left the house on her own, and she had dressed up much better than usual.
"Okay, I'm not really going on a date. But I'm going out with a friend."
"…"
"Whaaaat!?"
"Kitty, you don't have friends outside Syr. What's going on? What friend?"
"You don't know her. But she is a cute girl. You'd like to fuck her."
"No, thanks! With Erika, Syr, and you, that's pretty much all I can handle if I want to keep my sanity."
"Mark, your sanity was obliterated a long time ago."
"Right. So, who is she?"
"Just a girl I met when I went downtown with Syr the other day."
Since Kitty went to that animal café with Syr last weekend, her mood had been a hundred percent better than recently. She had respected her word not to wear her latex suit all the time, and her relationship with Syr had greatly improved too. It was like they were closer to each other all of a sudden, not that there was anything wrong with it.
I pinched her cheeks and pulled them out to give her a funny face.
"Kitty, you text me if you need me, okay? Don't do anything stupid."
"I wooon't. I'm not a child."
"Do you need a ride?"
"No, Syr is giving me a ride already."
"Syr? Alright? Why not Erika or me?"
"Because Syr is prettier."
"You know you are going to pay for that comment later, cathead."
"Yes! Please! Be rough and dominant! You can choke me and slap me and…"
"… Seriously. Get out of here. Go have fun with your new friend."
Kitty leaned forward and kissed me. Definitely, someone was in a good mood.
As my small cat girl walked away to find Syr, who waited for her outside, I couldn't help but notice that she looked awfully normal for once. Something had happened to her. I didn't know what it was, but it was good.
I decided to escort her to the car. She brought her little backpack along, the same one she had the first day we've met, and it felt like I was walking a kid to the bus stop for her first day of school. Kitty had never gone out with friends once. It was a very strange feeling to let her go on her own. Half of it was worry, and the other half was pride.
After Syr got in the driver's seat, I rested my hands on the top of the door, leaning forward to squeeze some info out of her.
"Do you know who her friend is?"
"Yes, Master Mark."
"You aren't going to tell me?"
"No."
"Even if I order you to?"
"No. Kitty is your girlfriend. Not mine."
"Yes… I guess you are right. Alright, see you later, you two."
The car backed out the driveway, and as they drove away. Kitty waved goodbye at me through the open window and shot me with one last bullet.
"Byyye, Mark! See you tomorrow!"
"… wait… WHAT? KITTY! What do you mean, tomorrow? Hey! Come back, cathead!"
If there were one thing I would never learn, it was that I could trust my girlfriends to continuously play with my head, even when I least expected it.
"Haaa! That's what you look like!"
"Haha. Yes. How are you, Kitty?"
"OH! You can talk too?"
"Indeed."
Shortly after Syr had dropped Kitty off downtown and drove away, Meeka had shown up, out of costume, at the pre-arranged meeting spot. The two short girls hugged each other. It was early in the morning and surprisingly warm for this time of the year; wearing a jacket was almost unnecessary.
"Aww! You hug me the same way as the raccoon!"
"It's because I'm the same person. Haha. Let's go grab a hot drink and chat. Do you like coffee?"
"Yes. But I always drink whatever Syr serves me."
"Haha, Kitty. You keep calling her Syr. I know her name is Elizabeth. Where does that nickname come from?"
"It's a long story, Meeka. I'll tell you all about it later. It involves sex and slavery!"
"You are so weird! But, yes, please. We all admire her, yet, we barely know anything about who she is. All we know is that she is sooo pretty! When she showed up with you at the café the other day, we all fell in love."
"Haha. You should see her wearing a swimsuit. But, she is into males and males only, so don't dream too much. I tried to coerce her to no avail."
"That's fine. Dreaming doesn't cost anything. Alright, let's go."
The two girls trotted to the nearest coffee shop and ordered a little something before sitting at a quiet table in the corner of the room. Kitty, unused to ordering anything by herself, opted for hot chocolate and a carrot muffin while Meeka simply went for a black coffee.
"Drinks must have sugar in them, Meeka!"
"You sound like Trixie. She is such a glutton."
"Trixie? Mmm, I don't think I remember who that was."
"You don't know her. She wasn't there when you visited. She is a white rabbit."
"Oooh… Right. The one who broke her arm. I heard Clara talk about her at some point. Is she okay?"
"Yes. She is going to be on sick leave for a while, though."
"That's sad."
Meeka watched the steam rise from her coffee. This topic, a priori common, had made her uneasy a bit faster than she had expected. Something weighed on her soul, and she knew keeping it bottled up was probably not the right course of action. She just needed to find a good way to bring it up.
"Soooo, Kitty… I invited you to spend time with me because I thought you were awesome."
"Uh? I know that! Haha! I'm amazing! I tell Mark and Erika all the time!"
"Haha. Your partners, right? It looks like you are open-minded."
"Yush! I love them! I'm fortunate to have them. But they keep telling me that I need to make new friends. So here I am."
"New friends are good. Buuut… Hum…"
"Uh?"
"Well… I didn't tell you the whole truth when I invited you over yesterday."
"Are you going to rape me, Meeka? Because if you do, I'm totally in! You can do it as often as you want! Until I can't move anymore…"
"What!? No! Haha! You are nuts! No… okay… Let me give it to you straight. I'm one of the three original pets. Vix was the first, then Trixie, then me. So I've known Lucy for over two years now, and she trusts me a lot."
"Okay?"
"So, since we lost Trixie, who is a crowd favorite, we are going to be short-staffed. So, I told Lucy that I knew a friend who was willing to try to be a pet for a day, mostly to give Lucy time to get her bearings together and rearrange our schedule."
"…"
At that point, Kitty's jaw fell to the floor and pretty much stayed there. Mouth wide open, she stared at Meeka with a blank face as if what she had just heard broke something inside her brain.
"Uh? Kitty? You okay?"
"…"
"You… you don't have to say yes… I mean, you told me you liked to wear latex so… I just thought that…"
Kitty sprang to her leg and carelessly slammed her two hands on the table, making their drinks wobble dangerously. Good thing Meeka was quick and grabbed the two cups.
"YES!"
"Aaah! You scared me!"
"YES! YES! YES!"
"Oh… So, you want to try?"
"YES!"
"Good… This is also why I asked if you wanted to sleep over. If you don't piss Lucy off today, she agreed to let you sleep with us at the café. But you don't have to wear your costume at night, of course."
"Bahaha. This is awesome, Meeka! You have so much to learn about me! I could wear a latex suit for months in a row!"
Little did Meeka know that Kitty was actually serious. Spending a night in latex was not only very easy for her, but on top of that, she needed it. This day was quickly turning into something better than Christmas for the small Asian girl. Coming here at first just to spend time with Meeka and get to know her, that plan went out the window real quick and was replaced with something a thousand times better. She would get to spend time with Meeka AND wearing one of those incredible animal rubber suits.
"So, it is a yes?"
"YES!"
"Alright then. I think Lucy has a new trainee she found as well, so you won't be the only newbie."
"The more pets, the merrier!"
"I can't disagree with that. Finish your muffin, and then we can go to the café."
As a kid would do out of innate generosity, Kitty used her little fingers to rip her muffin in two halves and give one of them to Meeka.
"There… if you help me, it will go faster."
Continues in chapter fourteen (part 2)