The lights were hot. This blouse was not my size but it was cheap and not a stained t-shirt.

“We have Ranger Mindy Lin Young with us today to tell us her experience with the aliens. Thank you for joining us Ranger Lin Young. New Yorker born and raised?” I blinked, caught off guard so badly that my brain froze. I wasn’t sure if the blonde woman was doing it on purpose or not. “Uh thanks for having me. From Queens; take the 7 daily. And it’s Yun, Minji Yun. Former Ranger…” “Right, like James Bond; now Mindy you were the first person to meet the aliens when they landed. How frightening was Warrior Dad when you met him? You were so brave.” “Brave? Nah, I count to four and move forward. Warrior? You mean Oorow? Protector Oorow Bobtail is a tired parent, not a dad. They are always operating on like 2 hours of sleep yet put everyone to shame while holding a baby.” The host’s laugh sounded robotic and was more rehearsed than the questions she asked. “More men could take notes then right? What about Sunglasses? Did you ever get your sunglasses back from him and some say that this is going to be a trend of the aliens taking from us. What’s your first hand take?” “You mean Ekoko Tornclaw. They,” I emphasized the word, “look better in them than I did in those aviators and the Felivar are refugees. They aren’t-“ “Moving on…”

Oh I wanna slap her… Heather, Hannah, whatever her name was; she obviously doing it on purpose now. She adjusted her earpiece. The producers must have been telling her to move along.

“What do they want from us miss Young? Does the Cat Pope want tot convert us all into some strange religion?” “High Priest Niikri Softpaw would tell you that the Felivar need a home and will be good neighbors. They’re refugees for-“

“But some people say this is a ‘soft invasion,’ not a crisis.

“Those people are liars and fear mongers then,” I say it flatly like water is wet and

Her eye twitched at that. Oh that one hit home then.

“And what do you say to the people that say you’re compromised?”

“Bite me. Say it to my face.” “Thank you! We’ll be right back.” Cut to commercial.

I squeezed my fists tightly as I was escorted off by producers. My palms stung just like the seams of this cheap top. I wasn’t playing along with their narrative and I wasn’t going to be twisted into fitting it. I opened my phone and could see the thousands of notifications I’d received since being placed on ‘indeterminate leave.” The memes were everywhere: Images of Ekoko in sunglasses as the ‘most photogenic feline.’ “Will steal your girl and your tuna,” ”We come in peace, are you Peace?” “The best thing in sunglasses since Top Gun.” Ekoko actually loved them and used them as an exercise in learning English. Tavy couldn’t stand them, such a scholar. Ekoko just thought Tavy was jealous.

You could tell how someone felt about the Felivar via the images people shared of them. Peaceful? Softpaw. Strong and compassionate? Bobtail. Irreverent? Tornclaw. Completely neutral? Blackwhisker. Fear and hatred? They don’t even show a Felivar, they share a generated image of a lion in clothes or something that looks more like a feline werewolf.

I smiled as I thought of my friends though. They just needed help like everyone else.

I went to open my email when I felt a sudden headache that made me nauseous. I looked up snd saw them, three men dressed all in black. They had the same unblinking dead eyes just like Ramirez had. They adjusted their ties in the same exact way at the same exact time. The men hovered around the exit and Minji felt her heart pounding as they looked toward her. Then I heard low purring. I turned around slowly to see two Felivar, one thin and graceful with ear tufts and the other was much wider and with black fur. They about as tall as Oorow, over six feet. They wore green and brown tunics with ill fitting blazers over the top of them. They were the same exact department store jacket, the thin one was drowning in fabric and the wide one was nearly splitting the seams. “Shær Minji Yūun,” said the thin one, “Pro-tech-tour Oorow send.” Then came a low vibration that I felt in my fillings and ribs. The large dark Felivar was staring down the men dressed in black suits. Oorow had sent these two for my protection? That was sweet of them. “I guess that title of theirs is literal,” I touched my own forehead as the headache was getting worse. The thinner one smiled softly, “Protector? Yes. We are guard.”

“Cool. Bodyguards.”