You tiptoed to the edge of the alleyway, tail tucked carefully between your legs so that it wouldn’t hit anything. Your ears were pressed flat against your head as you peeked out of the alley.

You were a hybrid, one of the millions that now populated every continent. Half human and half animal, hybrids like you were essentially treated like pets.

Most people were kind and loving, playing with their little pup or kitten. Unfortunately for you, you were stuck with a pair of not-so-nice people. But you wouldn’t dare to even think a bad thought about them-they’re  your masters, after all.

Well, they were your masters. You had escaped, thankfully, finally. But maybe escaping during the winter wasn’t such a great idea, since it was cold and you barely had any clothes on. But at least you didn’t have to deal with Masters and their favorite dog- that big german shepard hybrid that particularly liked to bully you, the youngest and smallest puppy.

Avoid everybody. Stay in the shadows. Stay in the shadows. Avoid people. Don’t be seen. Run. Stay hidden. Avoid...Ahh!

You hadn’t noticed that you were at the edge of the city, where fewer people lived and the snow was untrodden, leaving hills of fluffy snow.

And as soon as you stepped into that snow, it sank under your weight. You tripped and fell, tumbling uncontrollably down the small slope. Bumping and rolling your way down, you whimpered helplessly.

Slowing to a halt, you stayed in your curled up position. You noticed that you had landed right in front of a small cabin. Smoke was rising from the chimney, indicating that someone lived there. You could smell the aromatic food being cooked in the little house. Food...meat…

The sun was rising, and you knew you had to get out of there. Stay in the shadows. Avoid people. Too late- wait. Too late?

The door swung open, revealing a human- a woman. She was rather pretty, long, curly, black hair cascading down her back, her body wrapped in innumerable layers of clothing, keeping her warm. She hummed contentedly as she walked past to the mailbox. Shutting the mailbox, she turned around to see you, curled up beside the door, your tail wrapped around you.

She gasped, hurrying over. You quickly unwrapped your tail and sprung up, but she had already leaned over and picked up your small body, cradling you in her arms.

Instinctively, your tail moved to cover your eyes and your ears flattened, anticipating the inevitable slap or punch you were accustomed to. But it never came, and you peeked out from behind your fluffy tail.

“Taetae!” The woman called. “Help?”

“What is it Fany?”

You saw another woman emerge from the place the heavenly smells were coming from. As she approached, you could smell that same aroma lingering around her. Mmmm…

“I found her outside.”

You saw the woman hurrying away before coming back, arms full of the fluffiest blankets you had ever seen, much fluffier than the rags your previous owners had provided you with. She lay one down on the floor with some pillows and the woman holding you gently set you down on it.

Touching down on all fours, you crawled around the blanket, revelling in its softness. Using your tail, you pulled one of the throw pillows toward you. Still a puppy, your arms were barely able to reach around the whole pillow and you decided to wrap your little legs around it too, but you ended up toppling backwards on the blanket, rolling around trying to get back up without letting go of the pillow in vain.

“She’s so cute!”

You paused, looking up at the pretty woman, startled when the little device she was holding in her hand made a clicking noise, pointed at you. You flinched, expecting something to happen, like a dart coming out of that little black circle or something, but nothing did.

“Aww, you scared her, Tiffany. I guess she’s never seen a phone before.”

The other, shorter woman reached out for you and you quickly dove, hiding among the pillows, only your little eyes and ears peeking out. There was another click and you flinched again, retracting yourself into that little pillow fort.

“Hey...it’s ok, we won’t hurt you. Come out?”

You looked shyly at the woman, but you refused to leave that fort.

“Hm...you must be hungry. Let’s get you something to eat.”

She got up again, leaving you with that pretty woman with the weird click square.

She reached her hand out to you slowly and you sniffed it, finding nothing suspicious. More importantly, finding no food. Your stomach growled and she chuckled.

She slowly picked you up, holding you like a human baby(which you basically were-except with, well, ears and a tail) and carried you towards the area where the other girl had just left, towards...food…

“Taeyeon,” she called, and the the shorter girl turned around. Taeyeon smiled when she saw you two.

Your little nose trembled when you smelled that heavenly scent that's been in your mind all day. You tried to move towards it, squirming and kicking as you strained towards Taeyeon. Chuckling, Taeyeon picked up a piece of the food she was cooking with her chopsticks, holding it in front of you.

With no hesitation, your little mouth opened and you scarfed it down, your little rounded canines showing. MMM yesss…beef! My favorite. As soon as you swallowed, your mouth opened up for another bite. Chuckling again, Taeyeon gave in, indulging you as she fed you another piece.

“Must be good, Chef Kim.”

“As expected.” She smirked, earning a slap on the arm.

Tiffany placed you down on the table and let Taeyeon feed you a few more bites before she came back, holding a baby bottle of milk in her hands.

She sat down on a stool and pulled you into her lap, nudging the bottle int