"Thank you all so much! You've been a wonderful audience!" Were the words of a yellow purple-haired mongoose as she waved to the crowd applauding before her. It was the end of yet another show, and now the idol was ready to return home.

She made a quick trip to her dressing room, taking off her idol costume and replacing it with a black tank top, light brown shorts and blue boots. She inspected herself in the mirror and smiled, nodding in satisfaction. Now, it was time to return home.

Mina couldn't help but smile as the cool night air washed over her. Yes, she rather enjoyed her nighttime walks back home. It was quiet and peaceful, with very few fans to deal with. Of course she loved her fans, but she needed time to herself as well.

The mongoose idly hummed to herself as she began the walk home. For the longest time, the only sounds were her footsteps, her humming and a light cool breeze. That was, until, she heard a rustling sound coming from a nearby alleyway.

Mildly curious, Mina turned to look, expecting to see one of those weird non-sentient quadrupedal cats or dogs digging in the trash for food. She ended up doing a double take at what was really there...

It was a tiny human boy. VERY tiny. As in, about up to her knee tiny. He had messy dark hair, and wore nothing but an oversized shirt... And he was digging in the trash.

Mina was...concerned, to put it mildly.

"Hey, sweetie?" The mongoose called out as she approached him. The child gasped and turned to look at her with wide eyes. "Sweetie, what are you doing out here?"

The child began to shake from head to toe. Mina tilted her head, a concerned frown on her face. "Sweetie?" She took a step forward...Only for the child to let out a pitiful whimper and run in the opposite direction.

Mina's eyes widened in surprise. "No, wait! Please don't run away!" The mongoose took chase. She could have very easily caught up to him... However, she didn't want to scare him. So the mongoose used just enough of her speed to make sure he stayed in her line of sight.

It wasn't a very long chase. The child was small, malnourished, tired and injured. As a result, he ended up collapsing to the cold, hard ground.

Mina gasped and rushed to his side, putting a gloved hand on his cheek. "Oh my goodness, are you all right?!" She asked worriedly, to which the boy responded by whimpering.

"Please don't hurt me..." He said softly. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean whatever I did... I don't wanna be hurt... Please..."

Mina could almost hear the alarms sounding off in her head. Gently, the yellow mongoose cupped the child's chin in her hand and tilted his little head up to look at her.

"Why do you think I would hurt you? You didn't do anything bad." She said gently.

"B-Because I'm a freak... Freaks are supposed to get beat up..." The child responded pitifully. Mina looked at the boy sadly and began to caress his cheek.

"Aww, sweetie, who told you that?" She asked softly. The boy looked down.

"My...My aunt and uncle... They...They got rid of me 'cause I'm too freaky..." Mina gasped and clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Oh, honey..." She breathed out softly. Then she snatched the boy into her arms and hugged him tightly. She felt the poor thing go as stiff as a board in her grip. "Please listen to me, sweetie... You're not a freak. You're not." She said softly. "Those bad people lied to you because they feel bad about themselves and wanted you to feel bad too... Leaving you on the street was an awful thing to do and I'll do what I can to get them punished for it." The mongoose sat down on a nearby bench and cuddled the child against her chest. He was looking up at her with a confused, nervous, contemplative expression. "Now how about we get to know each other? What's your name?" The child looked down.

"H-Harry, ma'am..." Mina giggled.

"Awww, Harry... Aren't we both?" She joked, looking down at her fur. Harry looked at her and opened his mouth, as if to say something, but stopped himself. Mina tilted her head with a warm smile. "Go on ahead, sweetie. What do you wanna say?" Harry hesitated.

"Um...Are...Are you a...a bear...?" He asked softly. Mina blinked owlishly before bursting into laughter.

"A bear?! Hahaha! No, you silly! I'm a mongoose!" She said in between laughs. Harry looked down.

"I'm sorry..." Mina cupped his chin and made him look up.

"Don't be. It was really cute." She said with an encouraging smile. Harry gave his own weak smile back. "Oh! D'you know who I am?" She asked, tilting her head curiously. She had many fans, human and mobian alike, so perhaps Harry recognized her...

"Oh...Um... Should I...? No... I don't... I'm...I'm sorry..." The boy whimpered out. Mina gave a sad smile.

"You don't have to be scared, honey." She cooed, stroking his hair. "My name is Mina Mongoose. I go on stages and sing songs to make people happy." She explained. Harry looked up at her.

"I...I like songs.. I...I think my mommy used to sing me a song before she..." He trailed off and looked down sadly. Mina gave him a sympathetic glance.

"Oh, honey..." She said softly, rubbing his back. "So that's why you were with your aunt and uncle then..." The bpy said nothing. He just began to tremble in her arms. "...You want to cry, don't you, sweetie?" The mongoose asked, tilting his head up to look at her and moving some hair from his eyes. Harry whimpered in response. Mina smile at him. "Go ahead, sweetie. Just go ahead and let it all out." Then, she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his forehead. That was the trigger that broke the floodgates.

Harry practically threw himself into Mina, burying his face into her chest and crying his little heart out for the first time in years.

Mina was taken aback for a moment or two, but her gaze quickly softened into one of sadness and pity. She held the little boy tight, gently rocking him back and forth in an attempt to ease his pain.

When Harry was still crying after fifty minutes, Mina decided a lullaby was in order...

"Hush little baby, don't say a word... Mama's gonna bjy you a mockingbird..."

It was a simple, classic song, but it certainly did the trick. As she sang, she felt Harry's sobbing die down slowly. By the time the song was done, he was completely still. Mina smiled warmly when she heard his soft snores.

"Poor, sweet baby..." Mina said softly, rubbing the boy's back. As she looked down a Harry, tiny, vulnerable, damaged Harry, she felt a fire in her heart. She knew what she was going to do. She gently kissed the boy's cheek. "...It's gonna be okay from now on, honey... Mama's here...Mama's got you..."

The mongoose rose to her feet, carrying the little boy home. His new home...