On the ride to the Javits Center I had tall and thin Damsæ and on the left Enno was tall and wide. They didn’t mean to squish the two of us in the back seat, they couldn’t help it. They held their tails in their laps, I tugged at the uncomfortable blouse, and poor Damsæ’s ears were folded against the ceiling.

Enno looked like they were all dark gray and black fur and fluff and Damsæ had an uncanny thinness. A feline sumo wrestler and a spotted, furry elf.

“Shær Yūun, who those humans?” Damsæ wanted to know if I knew them.

“I’ve seen one like them before one the first day.”

Damaæ nodded then winced, they forgot about their cramped ears.

Enno’s yellow eyes were scanning the streets through tinted windows like a… well like a stalking cat. Then my phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Good afternoon. Tavy here. That human was…” Tavy Blackwhisker knew the term they wanted to use but was looking for a more polite one. “Very difficult.”

“Yeah let’s go with that,” I said as I shook my head. I could have said a whole bunch of forget words and meant every one of them. I just wish I could have said them to her face.

“Talk like that gets people hurt. It can hurt cubs. It can hurt you! It… it…”

“Breathe Tavy. Breathe.”

They took a deep breath. “Ón. Chú.. Rri…Fré…. Excuse me. I am alright…” Just like my grandmother teaching me to count to four in Korean, Tavy counted in Felivaren. It was one of a few things that we had in common, like dealing with idiots.

“Yas Queen come to castle!,” Ekoko Tornclaw was in the background. They confused Queens with actual queens and sometimes actual queens with drag queens. The Javits Center was certainly like a glass fortress.

The sky and river reflected off the building and it was surrounded by flashing lights and protestors. Usually it held events; cosplayers, trade shows, political rallies and more but for some time now it held fifteen thousand Felivar and was one of many places being used for temporary shelter.

‘Temporary’ seemed to be more permanent as another month went by. Sports arenas had been converted to shelters and hastily built camps had been erected by the military. The triumvirate of Ekoko, Oorow, and Niikri was seemingly in constant talks with leaders here and around the world with Tavy translating for them. Tavy was sounding worn and the fatigue showed in their eyes and on their fur as they slowly gave up on grooming.

“Minji, I have taught cubs new words with my streams. No curses this time!” Ekoko’s grin could practically be heard through the phone. Tavy’s sigh was very audible.

“Human kids also pick those up.”

“They do not forget. Ever…” Tavy was grumpy and it made Ekoko all the more insufferable. “Not even when begged…”

The chants and drumming of protestors for and against the Felivar could be heard. The flashing lights of squad cars and the rumble of military vehicles reminded me that we were approaching the Javits.

“Back to Oz I guess…”

Enno made an inquisitive noise and Damsæ shook their head as I tugged at my sleeves. I was glad to see there were more ‘pro’ than ‘anti’ today. Damsæ’s big ears twitched and then I heard the sound of a helicopter’s rotors beating the air as hard as people were drumming.

“It’ll be good to see you again Shær Yūun,” I could hear the smile in Tavy’s voice.

“You too; hey, is there a spare shirt lying around?”

The car parked and both my bodyguards exited. I slid out Enno’s side and Damsæ followed us inside the convention center. I could hear cheers and shouts of ‘race traitor’ mixed with my name. It made my skin prickle all over so bad it hurt.

“I’ll see what I can find. See you soon!”

Tavy didn’t hang up immediately and neither did I. The loud noises caused my anxiety to spike again. Then i felt the vibration in my chest again, my bodyguards were purring to calm me down. They could probably hear my heart slamming against my ribcage.

“Thanks guys… really.”

I passed cots, cubs, and volunteers as we walked to the offices.

“Shær! Minji! Welcome home!” Tavy hurried over with a bright yellow shirt and a smile. They pressed their cheek to mine on one side, then the other.

“Hey there Tavs. Did I miss anything?” I took the shirt, gratefully.

“High Priest Softpaw is to speak to the United Nations.”

“Ok so how’s your voice holding up?”

“I will not be their voice…”

“Oh? Oh! They’re going to wing it? They’re going it themself?”

“It seems that way… I advised against it but they insist that the gods will make sure they’re understood.

After popping into a bathroom and ripping off the offending top I was met with the high priest themself next to Tavy.

“Shær Yūun! Good to see on the screen.” The elderly priest smiled and slowly, carefully pressed their cheek to mine.

“Thank you, your… thank you Shær.” I was still unclear on Felivaren honorifics and how to pronounce them but Shær always seemed to work.

“There is human. Cubs watch him on screens. Speaks like priest.”

My heart sank, the cubs were not to be exposed to televangelists. They were only supposed to get educational streams, especially if it had anthropomorphic animals. What were the volunteers thinking? “Oh no I’m so sorry.”

“No need. Human named Rogers. Speaks of neighbors, of helpers; sound like priest of the Moons.”

It clicked then and I was reminded of my grandmother’s rug, cereal, and a kind man ritualistically exchanging his sport coat for a cardigan and his loafers for sneakers.

“Mr. Rogers. Not a priest but a good man.”

“Yes! Shær Rogers is good. So good. Must meet yes?”

“He died a long time ago I’m afraid.”

“Shær Rogers, may they be blessed, would have been good yūun, good neighbor.”

The priest smiled, touched their cheek to mine again and said something in Felivaren that I’m sure was a parting blessing. As they passed a volunteer they said “hello neighbor, is good to see you again…”