My school project was due, another stupid assignment about the old world. The white haired librarian had suggested I try the back archives.

I trudged up the metal stairs of the library, my boots clanging on every step. At the top was a small room with some historic wooden bookcases, very different to the iron ones that housed the main book selection. A rug covered the floor in the middle of the r...

Julie and Brandon had told me about these once. Non-human animals, creatures that were purely something else and came in all sorts of shapes and sizes. They were nothing like I had imagined they’d be.

I was currently staring at what was most likely one of the oldest prehybridization records in the world. I had been sifting through an old, forgotten city deep in a mountain when I found it.

The b...

Cat

What’s that

matter of fact

cat was all that

A pet and a pat

Whiskers...

“These beings were often kept as pets, meainging they formed close bonds with humans. They lived in their spaces, ate their food, drank their water, and, as can be seen from the photo on the right page, were smaller creatures. No larger than your fist, sometimes, it was said, although we’ve lost all physical records so this cannot be corroborated. They boasted a tail like the serpent of legend, tw...

“Let’s say…18 inches in head-to-body length and 9.1-9.8 inches in height. Looks all good…skeleton I’ve double checked. Strictly adhere to cat anatomy and should allow maximum mobility and balance… What’s next…For claws we have four, each with toes…”

The workroom is dark, filled with rusty smell. Bunch of wrenches, nails and tin lay around the corner, spread out messily like they’ve been turned ov...

I walk through the library, hoping a book title would jump out at me and inspire me to finish my paper with the hour I have left.

There were books about technology, human history, the polluted air - and then I saw it. It was a thick book I hadn’t seen before.

I pulled it off the shelf and flipped to a page.

It spoke of creatures from before the great Ending. Of wings and feathers and beaks ...

An inquisitive little creature with a long, winding tail. Eyes sparkling with curiosity. Sitting in a prim and proper position, but always alert for any danger that may be near.

I wonder what his name was. Perhaps something strong, like Prince or Rufus. Commanding authority amongst his peers. Maybe a practical name, Orange or Fish. His color or his favorite snack might have been a good fit. I am ...

“Commonly known as cats these creatures used to be domesticated as small pets or large creatures you lived all over the world.”

I brushed my finger over the drawings of the now extinct creature.

“Domesticated cats were often known to be independent and not very social. While there were exceptions, many of these furry felines were known to only be attached to the one person who feeds them and lends...

Once the clouds have boiled away

And our demise is without doubt

Scholars still won’t know why this cat

Wants to be in as soon as he’s out

As pockets of doomsday preppers

Emerge from ashes to again begin

Scientists’ll wonder why this cat

Wants to be out as soon as he’s in

Dystopian dynasties rise and fail

Neglecting nature’s driving clout

Damn I just—Stop yowling cat who

Wants to be in as soon...

In my world fur only comes of the clothes, but to see something carry fur as their own skin is intriguing....