Chapter 46

Chapter 46

***Chastity***

“This is our mental health ward. When trauma survivors are brought in for medical treatment, they are

brought to this floor so we can also start working with them immediately to move forward from the

trauma they suffer. We also keep the ward open to those that are struggling badly, and need a secure

place to come until they can return to their life. We don’t keep anyone here by force. Once their medical

treatment is complete they are free to leave, or remain until they feel they are ready to go home or

move on with their life. We also keep the playground up here so those here or who need to come here

for a visit, can spend time with the support animals if they don’t want to take one home. That happens

more than we like, but there are times when a trauma survivor’s living situation is not conducive to

having a pet.” Dee- Dee explained as I followed her to a large room surrounded by glass.

The room, or rooms were huge, and seemed to take up an entire section of the floor. There were

several, and the walls were all glass so you could look into, and between all of the rooms. Each room

was filled with pillows, furniture, things to climb on, bowls, boxes, and anything else you could imagine

needing for a small animal. There also seemed to be a clear tunnel that traveled between all of the

rooms, but it was empty. Dee Dee must of have seen me looking at it because she spoke.

“That is for Bandit. He likes to travel between the rooms, cause a little trouble then go to another room.

We also call him our babysitter. When new animals come in he tends to know, and does his part to

make them comfortable. I think he likes the ferrets the most though because he can get them involved

in his antics the most. Ferret can be troublesome creatures, but they are entertaining, and can be very

loving.” Dee-Dee explained.

“I….I’ve never seen a ferret before.” I said, looking into the room that had the word Ferrets printed on it.

They were weird creatures. They arched their backs when they ran. They seemed to be all over the

place at once. They were kind of cute, but not something I could see myself owning. Leila agreed with

me. I definitely had no interests in rats or mice. I had issues with rats from the times I would spend a

day or two in the dungeon after being whipped. When I looked to the room marked Felines, I smiled.

There were several adult cats, and about twelve or thirteen kittens doing different things around the

room.

“We have a pretty steady flow of kittens here. Whenever a stray pregnant female is found, we bring her

here to birth her kittens, and raise them. Once she is done nursing the kittens we spay her. If she

bonds with a trauma survivor she either goes home with them, or stays here for them to come here

whenever she is needed. If she doesn’t, and wants to be released we let her go, but continue to

provide for her. We always make sure that those released have access to what they need. We also

bring any stray kittens we find if the mother cannot be located. Most of these kittens have their mothers

here with them at this

time.”

“Oh. Ok.”

“If you’re ready to go meet them, go into the room behind us, and shift. Have Leila scratch at the door

so I can let her out, when she’s ready.”

“Ok.”

I moved to the white door that was on the other side of the hall for the Playground, entered, and shut to

door. I stripped, and let Leila take over. Once shifted I told her to scratch at the door.

“Are you ready for this Leila?” I asked.

“Yes. All those babies. I want to play with them.” She said with a giggle as she scratched at the door

“Just don’t scare them.”

“I know what I’m doing Chastity.”

“Ok. OK. This is weird though. Don’t you think? A cat, and a wolf. It shouldn’t work.”

“Maybe, but if it helps you Chastity then I’m all for it. Besides they’re cute.”

“Yeah they are. Did you see one that you liked?”

“Not yet.”

Just then Dee-Dee opened the door, and Leila came out of the room. Dee-Dee looked over Leila, and

smiled.

“Hello Leila. Are you ready to go meet the babies?” Dee-Dee asked.

Leila cocked her head to the side, and her tongue lolled out to the side.

“I’ll take that as a yes. Be warned I spotted Bandit in there playing with the babies. He won’t hurt them,

but they do like to wrestle with him some times. He’s like a daddy to them. When he sees you he’ll

probably come over to check you out to make sure you’ll take care of his babies. He may also try to

clean you, or play with you. Don’t hurt him please. He’s a good boy. If he climbs on you, and lays on

your back, he likes you. OK.” Dee-Dee explained.

Leila gave a soft yip in agreement.

“I don’t know about a raccoon, but doctor seems to trust him with the babies so I guess we can too.”

Leila said to me.

“I guess so. We probably have to if he’s protective of them. Raccoons can be mean if they feel

threatened.” I responded.

“Yeah. I don’t want to experience that.”

Just then Dee-Dee opened the door, and let us in. Leila sniffed the air a bit before moving to the center

of the room. It didn’t smell like one would expect when having a lot of cats in one area. I wondered how

they did it. Leila looked back as she heard the door close. Dee-Dee had come into the room with us.

“We train the cats to use the toilets over in the corner. Not many people know you can teach a cat to

use the toilet. All of the cats in here have been taught how to, that’s why it doesn’t smell like cat pee.

Lay down in the middle of the floor so the mamma cats can come check you out, and make sure you’re

safe Leila.” Dee-Dee explained as she sat down in the middle of the room.

Leila followed her, and laid down, placing her head on her paws, and moved her eyes to look around.

The first one to come to her was actually a huge raccoon. I could feel Leila tense up as it came closer

She still as was surprised when the raccoon touched noises with her She did the best she could to

remain the raccoon came closer, and began to sniff her. When he climbed on her back, and curled up,

she calmed

“Well you have Bandit’s vote Leila.” Dee-Dee said, and Leila turned her eyes to look at her.

Dee-Dee was petting a cat who was all white except of from brown on it’s ear, and tail. Eventually the

cat came up to Leila, sniffed her, then rubbed against her. Leila calmed more at the cat’s purr.

Eventually all of the adult cats came to check out Leila, and approve of her.

“Ok Leila, you may get up, move around the room, and check out the kittens.” Dee-Dee said.

Leila was about to stand up when she remembered she had a large raccoon asleep on her back. She

turned her head, and looked at it. It didn’t move.

“Don’t worry, he’ll get down when you stand up. He just seems to like you, and isn’t ready to give up his

spot, but he will.” Dee-Dee said with a laugh.

Slowly Leila started to stand up. She didn’t want to upset the creature on her back. Eventually he

chattered, and got down. As she moved around the room, looking over the kittens, the raccoon

followed her, and sniffed every kitten she did. She was startled when he suddenly ran past her quickly.

She glanced to where he went, then went back to sniffing a larger black kitten. The two were looking at

each other curiously when the raccoon came back carrying a tiny kitten in his mouth. It had blue eyes.

Was white with black, and orange spots. The raccoon pushed away the black kitten, and dropped the

spotted kitten right in front of Leila, looking proud of itself

“Ah. Yes. I forgot about that. Some times Bandit will watch a wolf with the babies for a bit then offer a

baby he thinks the wolf will like best. It seems he thinks this little one is the one Leila will favor. If he

offers you one of his babies, listen to him, and check the baby out He gets offended if you don’t ” Dee-

Dee explained from her spot on the floor.

Leila looked back at the raccoon who seemed to stare at her expectantly. Finally she laid on her belly,

and started to gently sniff the kitten. The kitten looked fearful at first. When Leila put her head on her

paws, and whimpered at the kitten quietly it moved toward her slowly. It was very small, but very cute. It

started with sniffing Leila’s paws, and batting at her claws. Leila huffed a wolf chuckle. When it started

to sniff her nose, she stuck out her tongue, and licked it’s chin. The force of the lick caused it to fall

onto it’s back, and expose it’s belly Leila sniffed it’s tiny belly as it batted at her nose

“This is the one Chastity. I want her.” Leila stated happily.

“How can you tell.” I asked.

“She is lonely, and in need of love. She is sweet, and smells a little like us.”

“You can smell your own scent?”

“Of course I can.”

“Oh.”

“She is for us.”

“Ok”

Once the kitten was back up, and sniffing at Leila’s paws again, Leila looked back at Dee-Dee who was

watching us.

“Is she the one?” Dee-Dee asked.

Leila gave a soft yip as to not scare the cats.

“Alright then. That poor little girl has been here for a few weeks. One of our pack wolves brought her

here. He found her in his barn, alone, and almost starving. His wolf wanted no parts of her, and he

couldn’t bring himself to just throw her into the woods by herself. He knew she would be as he found

her mamma’s body It looked as though hawk or something got to her. Poor thing here was all alone.

She is a little timid, but very sweet. You’ll have to name her as we don’t name the animals prior to some

one picking them. We feel that is part of the bonding between the two.” Dee-Dee explained, “Why don’t

we go out so you can shift back, and Chastity can meet your new baby?”

Leila gently licked the kitten one last time, and stood up. The raccoon began chattering at her as soon

as she was standing. Leila looked at him, and he seemed upset. I didn’t understand the problem, but it

seerned Leila did. She yipped softly then lolled her tongue to the side. That calmed the raccoon

immediately. He went up to the kitten, and seemed to be grooming it.

“He’s keeping her from hiding so when you come back you don’t have to go searching for her.” Leila

explained.

“How do you know that?” I asked.

“We animals can understand each other.”

“Why did he seem so upset?”

“He picked her for us, and he thought I was rejecting her. He is really protective of her. I think because

she is alone.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Lets go so you can meet our new baby”

Leila followed Dee Dee out of the room, and into the hall. Dee-Dee let us into the changing room. Leila

quickly shifted back, I dressed, and went back into the hall. Dee-Dee was standing there talking to a

nurse when I entered the hall.

“Ah Chastity Are you ready to meet your baby?” Dee-Dee asked with a smile, and I nodded.

“Chastity’s wolf picked the little calico. She’ll be taking her home today” Dee-Dee explained to the

nurse

“Oh good. That little thing needs love ” The nurse said happily

“Alright. Lets go meet her “Dee-Dee smiled, and I followed her back into the playground.

I walked right up to where Bandit was still grooming, and playing with the kitten Leila had picked. I sat

down beside Bandit, and he looked at me. Keeping a paw on the kitten, he sniffed at me for a moment.

He then reached down, picked up the kitten, and dropped it into my lap. He sat back, and watched me

with her I let her sniff my fingers then gently ran my fingers along her cheek, and behind her ear She

instantly started purring.

“A few things you should know about your new baby. She is shy, but very sweet. I bet a bit like you.

She is trained to use the toilet as her litter box, so always make sure to leave the lid up, and the

bathroom door open. She is not spayed yet as she is too young. You will need to bring her back in a

month so she can be spayed, and have her shots. We don’t believe she will get very big as malnutrition

may have effected her growth in the long term. As for her care, she will need to be on kitten food until

she is six months old. We don’t recommend wet food, or any table scrapes of any kind. If Leila decides

to bring her something she killed, that is fine, but nothing that we as humans eat. Especially not milk.

Cats bellies cannot handle milk. As far as toys, no strings, yarn, jewelry, or ribbons. You’ll want to get

her a scratching post or, as they are called, a cat tree. Cats like to climb, and will scratch on things to

sharpen, as well as shed their nails. They also do this to mark their territory as they have scent glands

in their paws, just like wolves do. We do not declaw, and do not recommend it.” Dee-Dee explained.

“Declaw?” I questioned as I had never heard of such a thing.

“Yes. It’s where the end of the toe is cut off to remove the claw, and nail bed completely so the claws

won’t grow back.”

“Oh that’s terrible ”

“It is, but before you leave with your baby today we will show you how to keep her claws trimmed so

they are less painful if they catch your skin. It also keeps the claws from growing into the pads of their

paws.”

“That happens?”

“Yes as cats claws are more curved than wolves, and the continue to grow like nails, they can

eventually grow into the pads of their paws. It’s quite painful for them.”

“Aww. That’s so sad.”

“It is which is why we teach you how to maintain their nails for them as they are not able to. Do not

attempt to force affection on her though, follow her cues. Some cats like to be picked up, carried, and

held, some do not. She will let you know what she likes. Pay attention to her body language, and

behavior

to know what she likes. You two will trust each other more if you do as she will be doing the same with

you. We also recommend to those who give a home to one of our babies that they leash train them.”

“Leash train them?”

“Yes, like pet dogs, cats can be taught to accept, and walk on a leash with a harness. We recommend

leash training so you can take her outside with you, and let her explore, but you can keep her with you

so she doesn’t wander off and get lost or hurt. Because she is so young she should learn quickly, and

do well to walk on a leash. Teach Leila how to carry the leash in her mouth so they can talk walks

together. We do ask that you keep her out of the woods though as there are many dangers to cats in

the woods that Leila may not be able to protect her from, such as large hunting birds.”

“O….ok. There is a lot to know.”

“Yes there is, but I’m sure that this will be beneficial to you both.”

“Ok. Thank you.”

“I have two more things to ask of you. More of a favor then anything.”

“Um. Ok.”

“Bring her back to see Bandit as much as you can. He loves his babies, and misses them when they

leave. He also remembers all of them. He gets quite excited when they come to see him. Also, bring

her with you for our sessions. She may help keep you calm as you talk.”

“O…Ok. I can do that.”

“Very good.”

“Um… Can I take her now?”

“I ask that you go get the supplies you need for her from the department store first. You can come back

to get her when you’re done. We’ll have her ready for you. We want to chip her to you first.”

“Chip?”

“It’s a microchip that we insert under the skin via needle that if she is lost, if found by someone they can

scan her, and get her back to you. It will have your information programed to it so they can contact

you.”

“Oh. Ok.”

“Alright. Why don’t we call it a day. I will get you a list of what you need for her You go get it, and set

everything up for her, and then come to take her home.”

“Alright. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome”

The kitten was curled up in my lap, purring softly. She looked so content, I didn’t want to disturb her, but

I needed to go get what she had to have so I could care for her properly. Leila was also purring in my

head. at the sweet baby in my lap. I ran my fingers gently through her fur one more time before looking

up. I found Bandit staring at me. He seemed to be waiting for something. He was such a weird

creature.

“Thank you Bandit. She is going to come home with me in a little bit. Will you take care of her until I

come back later?” I asked the raccoon as if he understood.

He couldn’t possibly understand me. He didn’t speak human. He tilted his head at me, then wandered

up to me, reached his head into my lap, and picked up my kitten. I watched as he walked a bit away

from me, set her down, and started to clean her again. I guess he could understand me. I shook my

head, and followed Dee-Dee out of the Playground, and down the hall, where she handed me folder

with Calico. Kitten written on the tab. I took it with a smile, and left.

I stopped by my room first to drop the folder off, and to grab the little purple purse Molly got me. After

making sure I had my wallet, phone, and the list of the things my kitten would need, I headed to the

department store. As soon as I found the cat section, I was in shock. There was so much stuff. I made

sure to grab the recommended cat food first. I next grabbed a food bowl. It was pure white porcelain

with flowers around the outside. I also got a water bowl that had what looked like a water jug on top so

she had constant water. I grabbed a small bag of chicken flavor treats. They didn’t smell very good

through the bag, but my list said she would love them.

After some searching I found the leash and harnesses. The number of choices was crazy to me. So

many different colors, and designs. Why did one need so many? Eventually I picked a purple harness,

and leash set. The package said small so it should work. Finally off to the toys, cat trees, and

scratching posts. That selection was even bigger than the leash and harness section. I settled on a bag

of plastic jingly balls, a pack of fuzzy toy mice, single fish with a feather as a tail, and what they called a

cat wand. It had a stick. with a string on the one tip, and feathers attached the end of the string. I hoped

the kitten liked this stuff.

The cat trees, and scratching posts took the longest. There were so many. Some were really short,

barely to my waist. Others were almost 6′ tall with all kinds of different places for a cat to lay on. They

also had different pieces of carpets, wood exposed, and even fuzzy, rough string wrapped around

posts. The list said that the different materials were good for cats to scratch at depending on what they

needed for their claws. I ended up picking a cat tree that was about 4′ feet tall with two platforms, one

straight, and one curved in a half circle. It was covered in white carpet with one post being exposed

wood, one was carpeted, and one had the string wrapped around it. I also got a cat shelf to hang at my

window as the list said cats loved to look outside. Finally I grabbed nail trimmers, a brush, and a kitten

safe rub to keep fleas and ticks away.

Once I made my purchases, I took everything back to my room, and set it up. After I was happy with

what. I had done, I went back to get my kitten. When I arrived she was in a small cage, waiting patiently

for me. I made an appointment to bring her back in a month for shots, and to be spayed then I took her

home.

I was walking into my room when I realized I should probably call Dimitri, and let him know about the

large purchase I made today so he wasn’t surprised to see it. I hoped he wouldn’t tell me to return

everything, and give the kitten back: I was excited about this, and thought maybe she could help me. I

let my kitten out of her carrier, and called.

“Hello baby girl.” Dimitri answered after the second ring.

“Hi.” I said brightly.

“How are you? How is it going so far?”

“I’m ok. It’s an adjustment, but I like it so far. I even made two friends yesterday.”

“That’s wonderful. I’m so glad. How was your first class?”

“It was pretty easy. We mostly went over to the textbook, and what will be expected of us.”

“Ah.”

“Yeah. He said it will get harder from now on. He also said it’s the only class that will last the whole year

instead of half of it because there is some much to learn.”

“There is?”

“Yes. We have to learn about the entire body, and their systems, not only for humans, but also wolves.”

“That does make sense. How was your first self defense class?”

“It wasn’t too bad. We just covered stretching, and how to do it properly.”

“That’s a great place to start.”

“That’s what the instructor said. He’s a warrior for Dark Moon. That’s where I met my new friends, or

well after that, but it was where I saw them first.”

“Tell me a little bit about them.”

“Well there is Norm. He’s the only male in my class this year He’s a member of Dark Moon. His major is

Emergency medicine. He wants to work with the immediate treatment. He’s also an Omega, like me.

He’s pretty funny.”

“A male huh? Rowen may not like that.”

“Norm is gay so.”

“Ah. What about your other friend?”

“Her name is Lexi. She is actually the Gamma’s daughter She’s a little rough around the edges, but

she’s recovering from a heart break because her boyfriend found his mate I think she’ll be ok though.

She just needs friend right now”

“Well you’re the perfect friend to have. What else have you been doing?”

“Well I meet Dr Driscle today”

“Oh. How did that go?”

“She’s nice. I like her ”

“Do you think she’ll be able to help you heal?”

“Yeah I think she will. She actually….um….well she helped me get an emotional support animal today”

“What is that? Don’t our wolves help us with that?”

“She said they do to a point, but because they are us, and we are them they aren’t able to give us the

physical touch we may need to calm down. Yes we have mates who can do that too, but if someone

doesn’t have their mate, or in my case is away from their mate, a support animal can help.”

“Huh. I never considered that. I guess I could see how that could help. So you got a dog to help?”

“No actually. She said that because dogs are so much like wolves we tend to see them more as pack

members than emotional support.”

“I can see that. So what animals are good for wolves?”

“Um. well small animals like cats, ferrets, rats. Stuff like that?”

“That’s strange Wolves usually see those animals as prey.”

“She said the same, but for those who have experienced trauma, their wolf is more protective than

hunter They see smaller creatures as something to protect then kill. Especially cats, and kittens. They

see them as defenseless, and needing protection.”

“Huh. That’s interesting. I never thought of something like that. So what support animal did you get?”

“I….ummm. I got a kitten. Leila picked her actually With the raccoon Bandit they have with the other

support animals. He is a weird raccoon. Not that I have any experience with them, but he was pretty

smart.”

“A kitten? Wait. Did you say a raccoon, and your wolf picked a kitteri?”

“Well yes. Leila has always loved kittens She’s protective of them. Dee-Dee said that Bandit has

always lived in the sanctuary, they call the Playground She said he helps care for, and plays with the

animals they have there. He also seems to know which baby will pair best with the one looking. He

brought the kitten to Leila after he watched her checking out the kittens for a bit.”

“That is a weird raccoon.”

“Yeah he is.”

“So you got a kitten today. Tell me about it?”

“Well it’s a girl. She’s really small with blue eyes. She is all white with orange, and black spots. Dee-

Dee called her a calico. She’s about two months old. She is sweet, but shy I um…had actually called

you to let you know I had to make a big purchase today to get what I needed for her. I’ll find a way to

pay it back. I’ll get a job if I have to.”

“Chastity sweetie, calm down. Remember what I told you? That money is yours, from you mom. She

left it to you. That money is for you to do with as you please. You do not need to get a job or pay it back

as it is yours. I want you to focus on school, and you. OK?”

“….uh…ok.”

“Good. Well I am glad things are going well for you so far. Keep at it I need to run as I have a meeting

to get to. I love you baby girl.”

“Ok. You too. Bye.”

I hung up, and looked to my kitten. She was sniffing at her toys on the floor. She eventually started to

bat at one. She jumped a little with the ball rolled and jingled. Next thing I knew she was wiggling her

little butt, and jumping on the ball. I watched her play for a bit, and giggled at how she pounced, and

hoped after the ball. Eventually she came up to me, sniffed my fingers than rubbed against them. I

scratched under her chin, and along her cheeks. She purred softly as she moved for me to run my

fingers along her back, and tiny tail. She finally curled into my lap, and fell asleep, purring happily. Leila

was also purring.

“What should we name her Leila?” I asked.

“Lilac.”

“Lilac? Why?”

“Because she smells like lilacs.”

“Hmm. I don’t know.”

“Makes sense to me.”

“I guess that could work. She seems more like a butterfly to me though.”

“Why?”

“Well she was shy when I first met her. No she seems like she came out of her shell since she got

here.”

“Hmmmm. That could work.”

“So butterfly?”

“Kind of a strange name, but if it’s what you want, sure.”

“You prefer Lilac?”

“Yes because that is what she smells like ”

“Hmmm….Ok. Weli Lilac is a shorter, and sweeter name. So Lilac it is.”

“I love her already.”

“Me too.”

“She’s our baby now.”

“Yeah.”

Eventually I moved Lilac off my lap gently, and put her on her window shelf. After petting her one last

time, I headed to my self defense class. We were going to do more stretching, and start learning to

work with smaller weights. I was kind of looking forward to seeing Lexi, and Norm.