The pound was a miserable place. And not the type of misery Jade was into. Not the refined sadness of a graveyard or a saltmarsh or a long-dormant battlefield. Miserable like a meat-packing plant; loud, abrasive and utterly hopeless. Even outside the building you could hear the horrific symphony of barks and pained yelps. Jade hated it here, more than any other place in LA. She'd been here once before, but the experience was so overwhelming that she'd given up halfway. But today, she'd promised herself, would be the day she finally liberated one of the poor puppygirls locked in this prison.

She followed an attendant through the facility to a large communal kennel. There were no beds, or toys, or even individual rooms; just a grey concrete box with metal bars and a feeding trough. Jade felt sick just looking at it. As soon as the doggirls spotted her they all shot up, crowding around the bars and thrusting their hands through. Each of them pleaded with her, woofing and yapping, insisting on what good girls they were. It was too much. Jade panicked, feeling an anxiety attack bubbling up in her chest. She had to get out of there. She turned to the assistant.

"I-i'm sorry, I have to g-"

She stopped herself. Something caught her eye. Past the throbbing mass of doggirls, there was one pup that wasn't part of the mob. She sat in the corner, facing the wall, so all that Jade saw was the back of her head. Her hair was bright red. Almost unnaturally red, like a twizzler, but it must have been real; there was no way this place would allow regular hairdye sessions. Her ears lacked the distinctive flop of puppygirl ears; they were upright and triangular, almost like a kitten. She didn't turn or react, just kept sitting there, almost catatonic. The sight of this girl, markedly different from all the others, sitting alone in the corner of the cell, stirred something in Jade. It reminded her of herself.

"I'll take that one."

She pointed over at the red-haired dog. The assistant shook is head.

"You don't want that one."

"Yes I do. How much is she?"

"Fifty bucks. But I'm telling you, you don't want her. She ain't right in the head."

Jade smiled, taking out her purse and holding out a fifty dollar bill.

"Well then, that makes two of us."

Jade was ushered into a waiting area whilst workers prepared the puppygirl for release. She shuddered imagining what kind of horrific treatment this "preparation" entailed, but she knew it was a small price for freedom. She signed the necessary forms and handed them to the assistant, who looked thoroughly uninterested. He sat down and took out a small notebook.

"We need a name."

"Jade West."

The assistant sighed.

"No, I mean a name for the dog."

Jade was taken aback. She hadn't really thought about names, since she didn't see this girl as a pet. She would let her choose own name, and release her to freedom. But for now, she judged, it would be best to just give her some random name.

"I'm not sure. What do you people call her?"

"Well she ain't like any doggirl I've ever seen.
Don't bark, fetch or nuthin.
So we call her Cat, as a joke."

"Alright, put that then."

Cat. It wasn't the most original name, but there were worse things to be called. She waited a few more minutes and then the girl was brought out. They treated her like she was some kind of dangerous inmate; gripping her shoulders as they walked, shoving her so hard that she fell to her knees. "Cat" didn't seem phased at all. She just got back up and continued staring off into the middle distance, eyes glazed over like a sleepwalker. Jade wasn't exactly sure what to do now. She awkwardly took hold of Cat's wrist and lead her out to her car. No reaction from Cat at all. Jade pulled out of the parking lot and began to drive home. Again, Cat was silent. Jade was usually fine with silence, but she felt that at least a little conversation was called for.

"So, uhhh… what's your name?"

There was more silence. Then, the girl mumbled something into her sleeve. Jade couldn't hear her over the engine, and the engine wasn't that loud.

"I didn't quite catch that. What did you say?"

Another high-pitched mumble. This one was just barely audible.

"Don't have one…"

"You don't have a name?"

The girl meekly shook her head.

"The people at the pound called you 'Cat'. Do you like that name?"

The girl was still barely responsive. She mumbled a few indistinct syllables that sounded vaguely like a "sure…", then returned to staring at her feet. Jade didn't feel like pushing the issue. Cat didn't have to talk if she didn't want to. So they drove in silence for another hour. Out of the city. Far away from the bustle of Los Angeles, into the hills where feral doggirls roamed free. She didn't want Cat to be hit by a passing car on the busy freeway, so she pulled off onto the winding dirt roads. She kept driving until they were miles away from any civilization. The car pulled to a stop. Jade reached over to let Cat out, only to be met with a look of terror. Cat flinched backwards and cried out, covering her face with her arms. It wasn't the vague mumble of before. More like a scream.

"A-are you... going to kill me now?"

Her words were loud and clear. Jade was taken aback. She knew she could come off as kind of intense, but did she really give off serial killer vibes?

"What? No? Of course not, why would you think that?"

The meekness returned to Cat's voice. She looked suddenly very embarrassed, but the fear was still there.

"The other dogs, they said…
if I got adopted, it wouldn't be a *real* adoption…
and whoever bought me would actually just do mean stuff to me and-"

No wonder she'd been so quiet in the car, Jade thought. She'd been convinced that she was about to die. She cut Cat off, eager to reassure her that she wasn't about to be murdered.

"I'm not going to kill you.
I have no reason to do that, I don't even know you.
I'm here to set you free."

"Free?"

"Yes, you're free. You can go run wild with the other doggirls to your hearts content."

Jade got out and opened up the door for Cat. She just sat there. When Jade took her wrist again and lightly pulled her out, she again just stood awkwardly still, arms rigid by her side. Jade wasn't entirely sure what to do, so she got back into the car, hoping that would inspire Cat to wander off and find her own kind. She didn't. She kept standing there for another few minutes, until eventually she leant down and tapped on the window.

"Umm… what do I do now?"

Jade didn't know how to respond. She wasn't a doggirl, so she didn't really know what they did outside of captivity. She always assumed they hunted wild boar with their bare hands or something.

"Like I said, you're free. You don't have to stay with me, you can go off and find someone else to bother."

Cat stopped to think. It was clear that she didn't "stop to think" very often, as it seemed like a very labored process for her. Her face scrunched up and she brought a finger up to her temple. Then she realized something, and suddenly looked rather distressed.

"Wait, does this mean you're not going to be my daddy?"

Jade blinked a few times.

"Your what..? I… No, honey, I'm a woman, I can't be your 'daddy'."

Cat looked disappointed.

"Oh… It's just, all the other dogs used to talk about being adopted by a kind daddy..."

"I'm starting to think these 'other dogs' had ulterior motives…"

Cat looked around. They were surrounded by desert hills and shrubs for miles.

"Umm… Do you think I could still get adopted out here..?"

Jade dragged a palm across her face, sighing.

"No, listen, you've already been adopted."

Cat's ears pricked up, twitching like crazy.

"Really? When? By who?"

"Me, dumbass. How much clearer do I have to make this-"

"So you are my daddy?"

Jade was glad Cat was outside the car, otherwise she would have started shaking the poor girl by the shoulders. She tried to speak as slowly and clearly as possible.

"I am the person who has legally adopted you, but I am now nullifying that adoption so you can be free. Now you get to live in the wild and become someone else's problem. Understand?"

Cat nodded, the disappointment from before returning to her face. Jade started the car and began to drive off, back towards the highway. Cat kept standing where she was, unmoving. Jade tried to ignore it, knowing that she'd eventually move on. She wouldn't just stand there forever. Surely. Jade focused on the road ahead, but through the rear-view mirror she could still see that bright red hair. It got smaller and smaller until it was just a tiny little dot on the horizon. And then it was gone. This was for the best. Doggirls were supposed to live in the wild. Cat would adapt to her surroundings. Just like Jade had adapted to her own surroundings. The sad, quiet girl huddled in the corner would eventually be crushed by the world, flattened into a semi-functional being. Her soft edges would be sanded off and she'd realise just how cruel this world was, and she'd learn to match that cruelty. She'd become just like Jade, hardened and tough and emotionless. That was for the best, right? There was no other option, right? Surely? She got off the dirt roads and onto tarmac, once again surrounded by other cars. She came to a stop-light. Another red dot. This one was right in front of her face, but it was already blurry. Jade blinked a few times, before realizing she was crying. She'd been crying for a while now.

"Fuck…"

The light went green, but she didn't pull forward. She sat in her car for a few seconds, long enough to cause angry honks from the folks behind her, before drastically swinging the car around and heading back the way she came. It was a one-way street but she didn't care. She nearly crashed, multiple times, but she just kept driving. Careening off road, plowing through bushes, trying to find the specific dirt path she'd taken. It was almost impossible; there were no landmarks at all out here, just featureless hills and scrubland. She found a spot that was *maybe* right, but it was so hard to tell. Cat wasn't there. Jade got out the car and began calling out, shouting as loud as she could.

"Cat? Cat!? Are you there? Cat!?"

No response. Jade began to panic, screaming until her voice was hoarse. She ran from the road and into the bushes. It was already 8pm, and starting to get dark. If night came along, there was no way she'd find her. Jade wandered until her car was just barely visible on the horizon. She daren't go any further, for fear of getting lost herself. She screamed, clenching her fists in frustration, before dejectedly heading back. Tears blurred her vision yet again. So much so that she could swear she saw that red dot once more. She knew it was just an illusion, but it wouldn't go away. She wiped away the tears but it was still there. A clump of red amongst the green and yellow shrubs. Jade assumed it was just a weirdly out-of-place bush, but she still decided to check it out. Just in-case. As she got closer, she could ragged clothes underneath the red. It was Cat alright, but she was lying face down in the dirt. Jade rushed over as fast as she could, bending down to check on her.

"Oh god Cat, are you alright?"

Jade flipped her over onto her back. She was still breathing, thank god, but her eyes were glazed over like before.

"I'm sorry…
I tried to go be with the other doggirls, but I couldn't find them… I didn't know what else to do, so I just kinda laid down, and…"

Jade wiped away her tears, trying not show any weakness. She took a deep breath, trying to compose herself. She knew this was a mistake, but she also knew it was something she had to do. She had to at least ask.

"Cat. Would you like to live with me?"

Cat blinked in confusion.

"So, you *do* want to be my daddy?"

Jade laughed. The exasperated kind of laugh that only comes out after you've been crying for far too long.

"Sure. Fuck it, why not. I'll be your daddy."

Cat seemed too tired to have the same big reaction she did the first time, but she did smile, before closing her eyes and passing out. Jade picked her up and found she was concerningly thin. It made it much easier to carry her over to the car, but Jade worried about what exactly they'd been feeding this poor girl. She lay her down on the backseat and began driving home. The horrible guilt in her heart was gone, but new worries quickly replaced it.

How on earth was she going to take care of this girl? She'd never actually intended to keep one of the doggirls, she had no space to do that. Or any money. She barely earned enough to feed herself; she couldn't afford to add a second mouth. She'd have to take up a second job, but that would mean leaving Cat at home for long hours at a time. That wasn't healthy for puppygirls, they need enrichment. Jade's grip on the steering wheel tightened. She was already stressed before, last thing she needed was more bullshit. But, whenever she glanced up at the rearview, her grip loosened. Looking at that tiny girl curled up in the back, sleeping peacefully as she idly sucked her thumb, and it was hard to stay stressed. She'd find a way to make this work. For Cat's sake.

- Thanks for reading chapter 1 of my fic. if you'd like to leave any comments or feedback, please do it on the ao3 version ( /works/49906456) as i'm unlikely to see it here. Peace!