The shop front glass revealed a surprising form. I was not human, not at all. I had some of my mother's features. Her height, her segmented jaw, and the bony plates of armor outlining my thighs and shoulders. But I was covered in dark mottled fur where those plates were not, and my feet were twisted and shaped like those of a large cat. A tail lashing behind me seemed much like that of a cat but ended in a bony spike that I could tell could split open into an additional mouth. I was wearing a pair of jeans that had been cut to accommodate my paws and tail, and a collared shirt with a badge on the breast. Unlike my nude mother, I was dressed and examining the badge it seemed to be for a school! A private school of some kind?
My mother smiled at me, and I felt her face quite pretty though instants before it had frightened and disturbed me. She spoke with a whispering sibilant tone and asked, "Darling J'ak, what are you doing out by yourself today? You know you frighten the fragile ones." I glanced around, taking in the street, the few people nearby giving us a wide berth.
"Yes..." I said, cautiously, scratching the back of my leonine head through the tangled tentacular locks. "I was just uh- missed the bus."
She made a tsk-tsk sound, all the more sharp due to her alien mandibles. "Well, that won't do. I'll give you a ride home instead." I nodded and she took the lead. I thought about wishing for understanding, or even just less fear from the passersby, but I let it be for now. Instead my mother led me to a hovering oblong vehicle that thrummed with power. An alien machine!
She pressed a clawed hand to the side, her own tail coiled around her thick armored thigh and the hatch opened with a hiss, revealing an interior that was moist and fleshy. I felt no discomfort as I entered it, and in fact its warm and wet embrace felt familiar and comforting. As my mother took the bony controls in her claws I realized what I was going to do. I would...