Flo

  It quickly turned out that his new pet preferred meat. Since he didn't have one, he offered the animal the usual meat substitute. The wolfcat ate it disgruntled, almost offended.

  "I'm sorry, Kitten. I really don't have anything else."

  "Mew!"

  "Or do I call you little wolf?" Flo was still at a loss when it came to a suitable name for the animal child. "At some point you're too big to be called a wolf or a kitten..."

  "Mew!" The little creature put a paw on the pte, which stood for it on the floor. It had eaten everything. "Mew."

  "Are you still hungry? I don't have any more meat substitutes..." And this product was incredibly expensive. He could rarely afford it. What do I do... Nevertheless, Flo got up and looked for something else in his old, constantly rattling refrigerator. Inside was grain milk, ready-made porridge, a tiny cucumber, two equally sad tomatoes... Frowning, he took the porridge out of the fridge and put some of it on the kitten's pte.

  Previously, it had hissed when he held the porridge under his or her nose. But now he had nothing else to offer. "That, or oat milk. Something else is not avaible. I hope your stomach can tolerate this..."

  "Meow?" Skeptically, the little animal sniffed the porridge again. It hissed. "Mew?"

  "Eat. You're hungry."

  "Meeeeeeww... Waff! Rraff!" If a wolf cat could roll its eyes, it would probably have done so now. At least that's how it seemed to Flo. But in the end, hunger won out and the wolf kitten ate after all.

  Flo, on the other hand, devoted himself to his purchases and non-purchases. They were waiting in the sales room. Therefore, he left the animal child in his living space. He sorted everything into different drawers and shelves, tested everything to look for further (possible) damage. One of the light bulbs was broken. He could not sell it.

  "Raff!"

  Bam. BOOM.

  Startled, Flo looked up. The animal child no longer sat in front of the pte. Instead, it was sitting on the counter in his shop and had thrown down Minnie's projector. Fortunately, the opened casket was very stable. Minnie was now sitting on the floor and looking around, blinking. The next moment, the little animal jumped off the table and sniffed her curiously. Of course, she didn't smell of anything. Confused, the little animal took a step back and growled.

  Flo sighed. He had been exposed faster than he had expected.

  "Flo? There's a wolfcat cub in your shop!" Minnie stated in a monotonous, high-pitched child's voice.

  "I know," Flo answered. He picked up the casket and put it back in its pce. Minnie seemed to fly as her image followed the box. Then he lifted the animal child and held it carefully in his arms. "I brought it here."

  "Ah." Minnie, now sitting on the counter, crossed her arms.

  "Will you inform Mina?" Of course, he was aware that taking a mutated creature with him would catapult him into trouble. But when he took the animal with him, he hadn't thought of it. At that moment, he just wanted to save it. Protect it.

  "No."

  "No?" However, he really did not expect this answer.

  "No," Minnie repeated. "The cub is female. Only the females are patterned in this way. As a young animal. Most of the dots disappear when it is fully grown."

  "A girl, then!"

  "No. She's not human, Flo. That's an animal", Minnie informed him. "A female wolf cat."

  "Thank you. I would never have noticed that," he grumbled sarcastically. But then he grinned. The little creature snuggled up to him and purred. "Really, thank you very much. Minnie, thank you."

  "For what? Certainly not for me to compensate for your apparent ck of education? “

  Flo could have ughed out loud, he felt so relieved. She doesn't tell Mina? And... Was this just a joke? Or... No. She is not real. She can't joke. "No! I know she's an animal. No, no. Thank you for not informing Mina."

  "Ah." Minnie nodded. "Yes. We're friends, aren't we? Did you assume that I would call mother immediately? And the city guard? You don't trust your friend? If you were arrested, it would be difficult for us to talk. That would not be a positive development."

  "Of course I trust you!" Flo replied quickly. It was a half-lie. In a way, he trusted this artificial intelligence. Nevertheless, he remained vigint. "Minnie?"

  "Yes?"

  "The wolfkitten needs a name..." And he couldn't think of anything good. "Do you have an idea?"

  "Meow!" the animal child agreed.

  "Fluffball." Minnie looked at the fluffy creature with her head tilted. "She's a fluffy ball. Very fluffy."

  Flo, on the other hand, grimaced. "I don't know..." It won't stay small and so fluffy... Wolf cats are... The animal child licked one of her paws, here was her otherwise brown fur with yellowish spots, slightly silver. "Silverpaw", he finally announced. "Her name is Silverpaw! Her Majesty the Silverpaw."

  "Her name is Fluffball."

  No matter what Flo tried, the artificial intelligence stuck to its decision.

  "Mew?"

  sasi