Townspeople passed by; back and forth without noticing me huddled in the far corner of the alleyway across the market. It was dark but enough light to see the huddled figure if you know where to look. Anyway, I am a homeless girl, nowhere to go but takes refuge here and there where there is enough space for me to lie down and take shelter from the rain. I have a secret that I am very proud of: I can turn into a cat. Sometimes, I wake up as a cat. I know it's confusing. It's hard to explain how it happened. Well, I'll tell you and describe as best as I could.

It was a rainy day; I was staying in an abandoned shed, in the outskirt of Magnolia town. The shed was already occupied by a bunch of cats. I was really grateful for fate allowed me to find shelter with creatures I love most. I love cats ever since I was a kid, living with my dad. We had a small house in another town called Clover Town. Unfortunately, my father fell ill and died when I was 7 years old, and I didn't have the money to pay for the house as my father had lost all of our money from gambling. I ran away when the bailiff or whatever his job is called came to seize our home.

I settled down among the cats and covered my small body with a thin blanket that I managed to grab before running away, along with some bread and my favourite bracelet. The cats were afraid at first, hissing and spitting at me but I managed to coax them with some pieces of bread. The rain pours down hard, and it was getting cold. I wished that I was a cat, with no responsibilities or worries, of course apart from hunger, oh not to mention furs. I imagined myself looking like a cat, every detail; the eyes, the whiskers, the tail… and I wished it so bad to be real and fell asleep. Naturally, I dreamt of being a cat, feeling light and warm.

Morning came; I yawned and stretched. The rain had stopped in the middle of the night and some of the cats had disappeared. I stretched again and opened one eye to take in my surroundings. 'Wow, this is weird. My eyesight feels different' I thought to myself. Everything seemed to be more detailed and focused. I blinked and opened both eyes. I blinked again and rubbed them this time with my hands. Or at least I thought it was my hands! It felt like cat's paws rubbing on my face! I looked down at my hands, and they are not hands, they're paws.

'Wow wow wow wow, hang on a minute. This is a dream. Oh, so cool I'm a cat'. A strange noise came within me, like a purr of a cat and I settled back down to sleep. Only to be awaken again by some noises – it sounded like people talking, only with different pitch sounds. The blanket felt unusually big around me. I opened my eyes, everything looked strangely huge. At that moment, I had the shocked of my life… It wasn't a dream; I've turned into a cat. I was a cat for real! Oh my god.

"Ohmygod, ohmygod. Ohmygod" I said repeatedly, walking around and saw my reflection in the puddle. "No no no, this is a dream! This is a dream! This is a dream! A dream. Just a dream, I'll wake up soon in a normal body."

I closed my eyes and covered my cat-ears till a low-pitch voice brought me back to reality. "You ain't dreamin' kitty. Now what's your name?" I took a peek at the voice – seriously oh my god, the black cat in front of me is talking. To me. It's talking human English language! I backed away into a wall.

"You're talking!" My voice sounded like a squeak of a mouse, not worthy in a cat's body.

"Of course we're talking mate. We always talk. Cats talk. Dogs talk. All animals talk!" A high-pitch voice of a brown male cat asked, "What's gotten into her?"

The black cat introduced himself as the temporary alpha of the pack. His name is Saw and the brown cat's name is Zal. "This is wrong. I was a human before- "

A female cat known as Zara cuts me off "We know honey, we saw you last night. Thanks for sharing the blanket with us."

"It was sure warm!" said Zal.

"Huh, you're welcome." I said weakly.

"So, what's your story mate?" Zal asked.

"Umm, I ran away from home as a human because my dad died and I didn't have the money to pay for the house so people came to take the house away so now I'm homeless, sleeping here and there since I was 8 years old and found shelter here with you cats and right now I seemed to have turn into one myself so there." I took a breath.

"Ok. Chill there, breathe!" Zara scolded me. "What's your name dear?"

"My name's Lia. Lia Katmist. I'm 10 years old."

"Well, you're one of us now. We have to get some food."

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"The marketplace, darling." said Saw.

I trotted along with Zara, Zal and Saw, along with other cats to the market. There were plenty of people in Magnolia town. At first, we spread out and meowed at people, begging for food. Most people passed by without looking at us. Finally, a pink-haired guy, a blondie and a weird cat that walks upright and can talk came along; I quickly ran up to the blondie and meowed loudly.

"Oh, aww what a cute cat!" The blondie stroked me, and I can't help but purr. I noticed she has a strange tattoo across the top of her large chest, where her shoulder bones are.

"She wants fish!" The weird cat said.

"Happy, you got fish on you?" asked the pink-haired boy.

"Here you go." The weird cat called Happy gave me a fish. Oh, it tasted so good. Momentarily, I was in heaven. "Natsu, later we have to go catch more fish!"

"Ok" said the pink-haired boy.

By the time I finished gnawing at my fish; Natsu, the blondie and Happy were gone. I went to curl near a wall, with a content stomach. Saw found me, "Hey, you managed to get something?"

"Yeah, some kids gave me fish. Did you want some?" I asked, feeling guilty for not sharing.

"Nah, it's for you mate. Everyone else look for food themselves. We have to teach ourselves to be independent."

"Hmm, that makes sense."

"Come on, let's go and see if there is anything we can get our paws on."

"Sure, but I gotta pee first. Hang on a sec." I went to a secluded alley to relieve myself, (I'm self-conscious that way), but hey, a girl got to have some privacy. Right, at that moment, I closed my eyes, seeing myself as a girl again. I felt like I wet myself. I mean, I'm a cat so it should feel normal right? I looked down at myself – Holy mother of cats! I've turned into a human girl! I'm me again! I was jumping up and down; groping myself to feel if there are any missing body parts (I'm so weird). I can't describe how happy I was to be a normal girl again. Unfortunately, my pants were wet – I stank of urine. Eww, need to get changed but where am I going to get some clothes from?

I thought, I could steal some pants from the market, but I would have to run really fast. It would be easier if I was still a cat – "Hey, how long do you need to do your business mate?" Saw interrupted my thoughts. "Oh, you're human again." He said flatly.

"Wow, how come I can still understand you?" I was surprised – apparently, I have gained the ability to talk and understand cats. Awesome.

"How did you turn human again? Oh, your pants are wet" He laughed. "You wet yourself?" He laughed again.

"Shh! I don't know! I was doing my business and at the same time I had this picture of myself as a normal human girl, you know?" gesturing at my body, "and the next thing I knew, I'm like this."

"Woah girl, I think you have magic in ya!"

"You think so?"

"Of course, I mean, us normal cats can't do what you did. That's amazing girl. Oh, you got ter do something about your pants."

"I know, I know." I sighed exasperatedly. "Hey, can you go steal something for me to wear? Pleaseeee?"

"Can't you do it yourself since you're a fully qualified human with better chances of stealing with hands than paws?"

"It's a little embarrassing to go out there with wet pants, you get what I mean? Plus, I got no speed and flexibility like a cat." I said sheepishly.

"Ok Ok, I get you girl. Wait here, I'll tell the rest of the crew what's up." He dashed around the corner and disappeared. I waited, and waited - if I had a watch, I'd say 15 minutes or so. Finally, I saw a piece of clothing, which was my new pants, floating towards me at a great speed. The crew of cats followed short after.

"Here ya go, mate. Almost lost my neck trying to get this one so put it to good use!" Zal puffed up with pride.

"Thanks a lot you guys." I started to pull down my wet pants; I cleared my throat and raised my eyebrows. One by one, the cats turned their backs like pieces of dominoes. "Sheesh, we're just cats, and you're only 10 years old." grumbled a cat.

I said "I like my privacy. Plus, I'm turning 11 soon." Some chuckled at my comment.

"Ok I'm done. What now?"

"Why don't you go look around the market and see anything you can steal?" Saw suggested.

"Yea, we've all done our part. Now it's your turn. Get some experience." Zal piped in.

"I shall try." I inhaled and exhaled, with a new sense of certainty – in this situation, I have to learn to survive on my own even if it means I have to steal.

I walked around the market, browsing through clothes, occasionally pretended to put it back on the table but slipped a tank top to Zara, who was hiding under the table. One shop caught my eye: Weaponries. I stared at the shop, didn't realise my mouth was hanging wide open till Zara came up to me and told me to 'close my mouth before a fly gets in'. I have always dreamt of growing up into a mage, or at least to be able to fight and defend myself. I looked up to all mages, especially those from the guild Fairy Tail; they are strong, and they won the Grand Magic Tournament!

Before I knew it, I was already in the shop. Somehow, my legs took me into the shop without me noticing it at all, apart from gaping at all the weapons. The shop seems to be empty of customers, and the shopkeeper didn't seem to be here, or he could be behind those closed doors at the back of the shop.

"Can you stop staring and opening your mouth like that? It is very unladylike!" Zara scolded me.

"Umm you're a cat?" I replied.

"Yes, so what if I am? I'm a cat, a lady cat so I have manners." I think she emphasised the word lady to make me feel, what guilty? Oh, Zara sure has some personality. "Sorry."

"Now, since you have taken some interest in these…" She wrinkled her nose. "Weapons, observe your surroundings."

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused. She tutted, showing her impatience. "Note the doors, the locks, the windows, the security system. This way, you will be able to know how the shop works and make a plan to overcome the security to steal stuff and get away with it."

"You sure have big vocabulary for a cat." I muttered. "I see. Ok. The windows are wooden."

"Make more specific observations. Continue."

"What are you? A spy cat?" I asked, sarcastically, making her roll her cat eyes.

At that moment, the shopkeeper decided to present himself. A big belly bearded man greeted me, "Hello, did you see anything you like? Aren't you a bit young to buy weapons?"

"I'm just looking around. Oh, what's this weapon?"

"It's called a sai. It is a two-handed weapon." He rubbed his already bloated tummy and said, "Well, I will be at the back of the shop if you need anything." I nodded.

My observations: Wooden windows and doors. One for the entrance and one that leads to the back of the shop; the entrance door had a medium-sized gap, big enough for a cat or a dog to squeeze through; weapons are kept on the table in the middle of the room or in the shelves at the sides with glass doors; there were more weapons grouped together in a square basket at both sides of the table.

I gaped again, quickly closing my mouth, remembering Zara's comment. Look at all these weapons! There were plenty of bows and quivers full of arrows, and different types of axes, hammers and swords and whips and many more! I could try to steal all of these, suddenly feeling all gleeful. I felt a little guilty but I don't have any money, so I'll have to settle with the less civilised way of getting what I want.

Next, I ventured into the armoury shop with Zara accompanying me. I observed again, looking for discreet ways to get in and out. This shop has a small opening in the window. I can easily slip through it, in cat form. The shopkeeper took me in as a bored child, that slipped away from her mother while she is busy bartering. Evening came; we went back to the shelter. I told Zara about my plans, "Good. Excellent plan! Make sure you don't get caught."

"Now darling, you need to practice your magic."

"Huh?" I tilted my head to the side in confusion.

"Darling, you need to get the hang of changing your form back and forth from human to cat and back to human to be able to do this plan right?"

"Oh, I see your point, but I don't know how I did it." Zara made a tut-tut sound again, showing her impatience.

"Now, now you told me how you did it earlier." Saw said, trying to be helpful. "You said you saw it in your head."

"Right, yes but just imagining it doesn't mean it will happen."

"Just try will ya? Channel your energy or whatsit to your imagination; I think that's what those mages called it." Zal said.

I sat cross-legged on my thin blanket and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. Slowly, I exhaled, all the while having a vision of myself in a body of a cat. I tried to 'channel' my energy into that vision. I frowned and pushed harder, but my vision jumps to images of weapons and armours. "Dude, you look like you need to do your business." A cat said to me. They laughed.

"Shhh!" Zara scolded them. "She's trying to concentrate." She turned to me, "You're not changing honey, try again."

I repeated the process, this time willing myself to concentrate, 'Come on Lia, focus!' I kept to my vision, seeing myself as a cat, and felt my energy vibrating to all part of my body and a tingling sensation at the tips of my fingers and toes. "Whoop, you did it mate! You transformed!" Zal exclaimed. Zara and Saw, along with the rest of the cats cheered.

I padded back and forth on the thin blanket, feeling my new paws and flicked my tail around. I sniffed other cats – Oh my, my nose is strong. I stretched and scratched the wooden crated. "Claws and teeth are our only weapon." Zara said.

"No, I can get the humans weapon too." I argued.

"Well not us." Saw said. Zara looked at her claws and said, "I prefer my claws."

Then I jumped on the crates, testing my new flexibility and jumped back down onto the blanket, landed on all fours. "Back to human form now." Saw instructed me.

"You can do it!" The cats encouraged. I repeated the process again, this time having a vision of myself as a little girl with black hair, and brown eyes. An image of sharp fangs and cat ears flashed through quickly in my mind. I shook my head and focused again. I felt the energy going through my body and the familiar tingling feeling. More cheers – I did it. However, I did it with a slightly different outcome.

There were mutterings around the room. "I did it right?" I beamed at the cats.

"Yea, you did it but you kind of, umm, added an extra thingy in your appearance." Zal said.

"But it's cute!" Saw added. "Very useful too!" Zara piped in. "Yeah, it fits you very well!" The other cats said.

"What are you talking about?" Now, I felt a little panicky. "There's something wrong?"

"No no, you look fine" Zara said.

"There's definitely something wrong. You guys have that expression on. I need to see myself! I need a mirror!" I said quickly. Some cats ran out of the shed while I paced back and forth, feeling my face and my head… It felt normal, yet something was not quite right. I felt my head with my right hand, it's higher than usual, and softer despite the fact I haven't washed my hair for days. I felt the other side with my other hand, well that's good news - it's symmetrical.

"We found some broken mirror at the trash place!" The cats yelled, dashing into the shed with large pieces of broken mirror clung to their sharp teeth. I licked my lips. 'Wow, unusually sharp teeth?' I thought to myself. The cats helped me arranged the broken mirror and I saw my 'slightly different' reflection as the cats said.