Amy, Lina and Sam, all three of them proud and beautiful catgirls, marched through the store. Sam had found herself a decent outfit, and all that was left was to get herself and Lina collars that would make them fit to be seen in public.
But when the reached the front desk, they saw the old man selling three leashes to a boy whom they recognized from school. He gave them an odd glance as he stepped aside to let them pay for their clothes. Amy wondered why he didn't leave the store after buying his leashes. As Lina and Samantha pondered over their collar choices, constantly asking the shopkeeper to tell them each one's colors, the boy approached Amy.
"I'm Alex. I saw you girls earlier. Those machines changed you into cats?"
"Yeah," Amy said, a little nervous. She didn't know this kid very well at all. She had only seen him walking through the halls. She wondered how he had noticed them in the store when they had not noticed him.
"It must feel pretty cool," Alex replied. "You have really nice fur."
"What did you come here for?" Amy asked. She figured she might as well ask him about the leashes, since he was asking about their transformations.
"OOOH! That one, definitely!" Lina meowed. Amy glanced back at the counter to see the old man lifting a black and silver-studded collar out of the display case. An odd choice, but Lina had become notorious for accessorizing a little unusual.
Ignoring Lina, Alex continued. "Oh, I'm just in the market for some new pets," he said, looping the leathery straps around his wrist as he talked. Amy wondered why he didn't just go to a regular old pet store. "I've gotta run, but maybe I'll see you three in school."
"Bye," Amy said bleakly. She guessed he was a nice kid, he just acted weird sometimes. She saw that Sam had picked a brown collar with a silver bell on it. The girls finalized their transactions and headed out the door.
"Who were you talking to?" Lina asked, pushing open the door.
"Alex. I've seen him around school, but we've never talked befo--"
CLICK, CLICK, CLICK.
All three girls felt their collars pulling on their necks, but Amy was the first to bring her clawed hand up and find a band new attachment. It was a strap, leading straight behind her. All three girls turned around to see Alex standing there, just next to the shop's door, holding the three leashes that were now connected to each of their collars.
"Hi, girls," he smiled. "I hope you don't mind, but I think you are the three most beautiful creatures I've ever seen, and would be honored to have you as my pets."
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Lina screamed. "You twisted freak!" She struggled to unhook the clasp on her leash, but couldn't quite manage to get it off.
"Magic collars, magic leashes," Alex explained. "I tell them to clamp onto something, and they do. They can't come off unless I remove them personally. They also render you three nearly invisible to the rest of the world."
"Help!" Samantha screamed. "Somebody! Call the police!" She was starting to wish she was still a boy. At the very least she could have been an opposing male force to intimidate Alex from carrying out this insane plan.
"Nobody can understand you," Alex smiled. "The leashes enhance your collars' spells. Now everyone but the four of us consider you nothing more than simple house cats. You say "help," they hear "meow." He meowed a mock feline yowl. It caused all three catgirls to fold up their ears in disgust. "So, shall we head home? I can't wait to show you girls your new room." He tugged hard on the leashes, and the catgirls had no choice but to follow. They tried to resist at every opportunity, but couldn't get away from Alex no matter how they tried. They began to think there was something more about the leashes. Perhaps they had more spells that were rendering them more susceptible to follow their new "owner." Or perhaps they had become just as weak as regular cats. As they were dragged along down the street, all three of them began to fear the future, and what Alex had in store once they got to their new home.