[Current Location: SoulCritter Emporium within the human sector of Enig, Sweden at around eleven in the morning.]

SoulCritter Emporium filled to the brim with people, the hyena nearly fell onto the ground. Okay, wow, why are there so many people here? Two, why are there so many castles here, and three, how is he going to be able to afford all of this?! Is he going to have to use some of his emergency krona? No, if he did that, Varg would definitely be up his rump about it, better not. Moving towards the SoulCritter Castle corner, he crossed his fingers. Please, don't let this cost him an arm and a leg! Red haired human walking towards him, he groaned. Please, don't let these cost ten thousand kronas!

"Hello there, Hyena Lass, what can I do for you today?" the red haired human asked.

Lass coming his way, the young adult resisted the urge to giggle. Uh, did it get a little more sparkly in here just now? Stop it, Siorc, focus! Turning his smartwatch screen on, he typed away. How does he say this without sounding like he's strapped for cash here? Think, think, come on, use his brain, think! Oh, that will do, alright.

[Yes, hello, I'm a new SoulCritter Bondee, and I'd like to get my companion a castle. He's a small black cat that walks on two feet. What would you recommend? And, I'd like a bed he can sleep in if that's alright, too? I'm new to this, so please, anything you recommend would be lovely!] An electronic voice said through his smartwatch.

Oh, no.

That isn't a good face.

"Of course, of course, hyena lass, I have just the thing for you!" the red haired human exclaimed. "But, first how big is he?"

[He's pretty small, and I don't think he's going to grow all that quickly. If I had to estimate, maybe fifteen centimeters.] An electronic voice said through his smartwatch.

"Oh, lasise, do I have the perfect castle for you!" the red haired human shouted.

Oh, no.

That definitely isn't a good face.

Large, dark purple cat castle locking eyes with him, his eyes swam over to the price tag. Woah, excuse him, how much, sorry what?! Eight thousand kronas? Ah, why does he feel faint all of a sudden? So much for being able to eat breakfast for the next few weeks. Scratch that, forever. Ah, maybe he can haggle a little? Placing his hand on the side of his hair he tapped away.

[Oh, gosh, mister, this one looks lovely! But, I'm super new to this, you know? Gosh, I think I might have to go to a new bondee store down the road and give them my business. I'm so confused!] An electronic voice shouted through the smartwatch.

"Woah, woah, lassie! Please, don't go anywhere!" the red haired human shouted. "How about we take off eighty percent and I throw in a cat bed for free?" He waved his hands in the air.

Sweet.

[I'll take it, then.] An electronic voice said through the smartwatch.

"Is there anything else you need, lassie? I'll throw in anything else you want, no charge!" Beep, beep, beep. "If not, that will be one thousand kronas!"

Card tapped onto the device, the chimera let out a yawn. Better head home now and put this thing together. Trudging back through the path, he groaned. What time is now? Oh, sigh, fifteen o'clock. Maybe he should have ordered a ride. Too late for that now, better set up the castle before a certain somecat is up his rump about it.

"Mrow, mrow, mrow, mrow!" Mr. Tux shouted.

[Hi, hi, me again, your friendly SoulCritter Translator! What did Mr. Tux say? Well, he said, "Give me my castle, now! I know you have it, peasant!" Okay, bye, bye!]

Kitty looking about ready to hop into the box, the chimera groaned. Alright, alright, he's going to take it out of the box in a second, can everyone hop off of him forever, maybe? Thanks. Groan. Plopping the cat bed down beside his own, he took out the cat castle box. Reading the side, he tried to not fall straight onto his rump. Uh, excuse him must be completely assembled by hand? He's going to be here forever!

Plop.

Parts dropping down on the floor, he read the instructions. Click the parts into place? Thanks, piece of paper! Which goes into which? What is he, building a tent? He may as well have been! Hours going by as the parts came together, his eyes grew heavy. He put everything in the right slot, right? Please, tell him he did. He is so not taking this thing apart! Placing it in the corner of the room, Mr. Tux soon approached it.

Sniff, sniff.

"Mrow, mrow, mrow, mrow, mrow, mrow, mrow, mrow!" Mr. Tux shouted.

[Hello again! It's me again, your lovely SoulCritter Translator here! What did Mr. Tux say just now? Oh, I think you know! But, okay, I will do my duty like I'm supposed to! He said, "This castle isn't big enough, peasant! Go get me the biggest one!" Okay, yawn, bye! Can I get a vacation pretty please?]

Arm folded into a fist, his tail coiled around him. Excuse him, not big enough, not big enough?! This thing at normal price costs eight thousand kronas! Oh, he'll give him not big enough alright! No, stop, deep breaths. It's fine, maybe he can buy a second one at some point down the road. Keep it down a bit.

[You'll have to make do with this right now! I don't have unlimited money!] A page from his communication log shouted.

"Mrow, mrow, mrow, mrow!" Mr. Tux shouted.

[Hi, hello, tired SoulCritter Translator here! Mr. Tux said, "You'd better get me a bigger one as soon as possible, peasant! Your money is mine!" Well, gotta dash!]

Going through the clothing bag, the chimera reached for the little purple bowtie. Slapping it on, he scribbled on the name Mr. Tux around the center. If he doesn't like this little thing, tough, because it's staying on until he takes it off! Black kitty hopping into the castle, he crawled into his own bed. What time is it? Oh, ten. Sorry, his bad, looks like he missed dinner, goodnight, zzz!

[Current Location: Freshly Hatched SoulCritter Bondees Support Group in Enig, Sweden at ten in the morning.]

Coiote plopping him in front of the Support Group office the young adult groaned. As if he needs to be here. Please can he just rot in his bed until he has to go back to work tomorrow? Ha, too late for that now, there she goes. Pressing on towards the door, he cracked his knuckles. Here goes nothing. Let this be the one and only time he's ever here.

Finding himself in a large circular room filled to the brim with chimeras, the young adult's eyes wandered. There's no humans or demons in this room, is there? Phew, what a relief. Sinister looking smirk soon coming his way, he broke into a sweat. Uh, can he go home, please? Nope, if he texts Coiote now, he would most certainly be told he's staying for the whole thing. Whatever.

"Hey there, fresh meat!" an oddly familiar voice cried out to him.

"Fresh meat!" a soulcritter cried.

Standing in the center of the room had been a tall lynx chimera person with blond hair pulled into two high braids. Pointy ears on the top of their head, their blue eyes looked rather familiar. Orange shirt with spots on it, their blue pants were rather baggy. Orange lynx sitting in the chair next to them, he gazed at their nametags. Naofa and Jor, the lynx. He sees. Huh? Weird, he think he went to college with them.

Sitting in the seat next to them had been a slightly shorter dark skinned jackal woman with long sky blue hair pulled into a high braid draped over her shoulder. Pitch black shirt with hearts on near the chest area it slightly exposing her stomach, her pants were the same shade. Mismatched light blue and orange eyes, next to her had been a little brown prairie dog with the nametag Ola. Aega underneath her chair, he scratched his cheek. A prairie dog can be a soulcritter?

Very short rat woman with short chestnut brown hair barely even noticeable on the chair she was sitting on, the chimera studied her nametag. Krysi, huh? He sees. Blue winter outfit on her, her eyes were almost the same shade as her clothes. Grey mouse almost about half her size, he read the critter's name tag, Zane? He believes that what that said.

Standing looking like he thought he was the most important person in the room had been a short young adult penguin guy with golden blonde hair pulled into a high ponytail. Penguin crests looking about ready to catch on fire, he had been rather fancily dressed for a support group. Blue suit with a golden bowtie, he almost tripped on the ground at the sight of his soulcritter next to him. Koro the dolphin, the dolphin. What's a dolphin doing here?! How is it alive?! Gazing at the other guy's name tag, he broke into a sweat. So, this guy's name is Prinz, he sees. But, uh, hi, hello, a dolphin?! What's up with that, huh?! Whatever, better introduce himself, he guessed.

[Yes, hello. My name is Siorc, and I recently found my SoulCritter, he's a small black cat named Mr. Tux, and I don't know the first thing about what to do to get to know him better.] A page from his communication log cried.

"Are you serious, flea?" Naofa asked, laughing. "What did you live under a rock your entire life, or something?"

"This dude lives under a rock!" Jor shouted.

"Naofa, stop, maybe he lived on the side of Enig that doesn't really teach all that much about SoulCritters," Aega said, hands up in the air.

"Yip, yip!" Ola exclaimed.

[Hi, hi, it's me again, the SoulCritter Translator! Okay, so. This is what Ola said, "Please, be gentle with our new member! He's here for the same reason we are!" Okay, translator out!]

"Uh, well, to be honest, I didn't know much either before I met Zane, after all," Krysi said, voice shaking. "Um, over in Russia, they don't really, you know, teach us about that stuff. They act like everyone already knows it, and stuff. Right, Zane?"

"Squeak, squeak!" Zane squeaked.

[Hi, hi, your fellow SoulCritter Translator here! What did Zane say? Honestly, you don't need me for this, but he said, "That's right!" There you go, okay, I'm off, tootles!]

"Okay, that might be the case for you, flea, but it's not the case for any of us!" Naofa shouted. "Right, Prinz?"

"I ask you not to rope me into your unintelligent ramblings that are egregiously incorrect in order to get a rise out of me," Prinz said. He had a heavy British accent evident in his voice. "I don't know the next thing about SoulCritters. That's why I'm here. Which, might I remind you, I took time out of my precious study time for upcoming exams for this."

"My man is at the top of all of Sweden!" Koro exclaimed.

"Tch, whatever you say, cockroach!" Naofa shouted at the top of their lungs. "You Brits should stick your tongue in your tea and burn them off!" They then sighed. "Fine! Well, I guess I have one suggestion with you! Take your soulcritter to a cat café and pamper him like he's a little king! And, I don't know, have him meet other cats or something!"

"Fresh meat needs to meet fresh meat!" Jor exclaimed.

"That's right, fresh meat needs to meet fresh meat!" A smirk painted their face.

Cat café brought to his attention, the cat tailed individual, blinked. Uh, sorry, what? What kind of advice was that? He doesn't get it. But, it's not like he had any ideas. Where were there any around here? Ah, right, there might have been one or two in demon junction, maybe, at least, last time he checked. Should he really go there? Why does he feel like this would be like stepping on a hundred needles barefoot?

"Wait, Naofa, you're forgetting an important question," Aega said, hands up in the air. "What is Mr. Tux like?"

[He acts like I'm a peasant, and he wants everything that I can't give him like he's some kind of king!] A page from his communication log shouted.

"Oh, no," Krysi said, shaking. "You might want to take him to The Queen's Litter, then. I took Zane there, he had fun there, right?"

"Squeak, squeak!" Zane shouted.

[Hi, SoulCritter Translator here! What did Zane say! He said, "I guess!" Okay, buh bye! I got a show to catch!]

"What do you mean, you guess?! Don't say that, you know you had fun!" Krysi cried. "Um, the SoulCritter Cafe palace isn't um, just a cat café, by the way, but they'll you know, turn it into one just for you if you reserve in advance and stuff. I say take him there."

"Are you serious right now? Do you actually thing that demanding little cat will be satiated with such a gesture?" Prinz asked. "Laughable!"

"What a despicable notion!" Koro shouted.

[It's worth a try, you know. I guess I'll book an appointment on my next day off.] A page from his communication log said.

"We'll help you book it right now if you want, we'll help you with the phone call." Aega took the phone off the hook.

Hours spent discussing things further, the late evening rolled around. Family dinner droning on and on, the chimera dropped down onto his bed. Please, can anyone just, let him breathe for two seconds, maybe? No? Whatever, ugh. Zoning out as the television played in the background, one last thought dragged him to sleep land.

Guess he's going to the cat café at the end of the week.

Will this even matter at the end of the day? No, probably not.