I knew I'd forgotten to tell you something! My best friend Molly is a shapeshifter. She has several canine based forms due to her family’s lineage, they discovered shapeshifting is genetic not disease that can be transferred. That was propaganda use to make people scared to try to stop them from going public. It had been like that until the courts amended the laws to include all creatures with sentience but even then that was just so they’d be bound by our laws and not out of kindness. They thought if they were bound by our standards all creatures would be under control though the penalties are harsher for them they say its due to their strength and dangerous nature but I think its just a preemptive strike to stop the vanilla humans from finding out that shifters are just literal humans with extra abilities thats all. That is one of the reasons I wanted to go into preternatural law and I was close to the top grades in all my classes until I had to drop out when I was 17. 

I was passionate to help after seeing the pain those others put Molly through, a reason why Molly was tough enough to stand up for me in the first place. I was shocked when she felt comfortable enough to show me, and I instantly understood why the other kids and adults were so cruel to her and didn't mind her not showing up, except she wasn’t invisible like me, the words had also spread around town that the ‘weird shifter scum’ existed but no one, not even me knew where she lived, I'd never been to her house or met her family but I never wanted to pry I knew how horrible unwanted attention was. I’d watch eyes follow her and people sneer every time we were out in town; my insecurities and treatment from my peers had made me feel like it was all directed at me which I had thought was fair as it's all I knew.

 My heart broke when I learned it was actually at Molly she was the sweetest person and if they’d just get to know her they’d realise but she had just moved to town from the city when we met, due to threats she was receiving due to pushback from those not ready to accept shifter’s having legal rights as the humans they are its the same as any genetic condition and they deserve kindness not threats of violence. 

I give Molly a scratch on her head and speak in a puzzled voice 

“What are you doing in this form? 

She trots over to her speech buttons, yeah turns out they’re good for shifters in animal form too as sometimes they cannot switch out of their form at an instant. 

“Vina” “Stuck” “okay” 

“Do you mean you’re okay being stuck” I ask with bewilderment, I could never understand it but usually after a few hours she could change back. She never tried to explain it to me because honestly I don't think she knows either.

“Okay’ 

My next question was simply “do you need me to put the tray out?”

“Please” 

I try to hold back giggles at how ridiculous it seems but when Molly is in this form she needs me to put out a tray for when nature calls, well she cant just walk herself out the door or animal control or some well meaning stranger would take her for sure, or worse some not well meaning stranger, Im the only one that knows about her secret she’s still distrusting of others and I do not blame her. I really am trying not to laugh at the thought of calling into work sick to say sorry I have to stay home to take my roommate to the toilet, but I end up failing miserably. 

“No” “funny” “fuck you”

“Im sorry it kinda is ridiculously absurd.” I say between laughs, laughing even harder because things are awkward and I can't stop. Thats one thing about me, when Im uncomfortable I cannot shut the fuck up be it laughter or an avalanche of word vomit. 

Molly just shakes her fluffy head with a look of disdain.

“Okay okay Im on it” I say moving to get the tray and place it down with a few absorbent puppy pads. 

“Do you want me to head to my room?” she nods her head.

“Okay night”

I’m in my room of soft pastels with dim christmas lights, I refuse to associate something so sweet and gentle like beautiful lights with them. I stretch as I strip off my coat, then my dress and finally my tights before slipping into my favourite cotton long sleeve pyjama set a pale blue set with one of arguably the greatest characters of all time Eeyore I just love the sad little guy so much, I wish I could give him a hug and tell him everything will be okay, the same I way I had wished that someone would tell me everything would be okay. 

I pull back the canopy on my bed, pink of course, I just love it. It's big and has beautiful metal work. It's the style of bed I’d always dreamed of having. Can you believe someone put in our building's foyer deconstructed with a free sign on it? Sometimes I can be really lucky like that I have a tendency for lovely things to cross my path, I love shopping at second hand stores and rescuing broken and forgotten things.Grabbing my laptop I crawl in an let the curtain fall, creating a semi opaque veil, albeit a thing sheet of material I already feel instantly better, closest to safe and secure I've felt all day. I bury myself into buttery soft sheets under my plushes.

 I sigh as I lean into my big pile of friends, like Molly and I, they know what it’s like to be unwanted so of course I had to take them all home. I don't even get to turn my laptop on before I crash deeply asleep pure exhaustion, clutching Martha.