Episode 02 – Just the Receptionist

The tour wasn’t official. Not yet. But Charles insisted she “get a feel for the place” before her actual first day. Olivia followed him past corkboard-covered hallways and flickering monitors playing shows she didn’t recognize—black-and-white detective dramas, bizarre cartoons, and something that looked like a cooking show but involved a lot of screaming.

The staff passed them in ones and twos, nodding politely.

They were all in costume, but the kind that made her jaw tighten with envy.

A ghoulish woman in Victorian garb floated by with a cup of tea, her eyes too large and glowing softly. A man in a lab coat with three sets of glasses layered over his eyes muttered about “temporal reruns.” A shaggy figure with moss growing from its sleeves tipped its hat as it passed.

Olivia smoothed her hoodie over her faux fur tail and adjusted the headband with her German Shepherd ears. These people were committed. No judgment, no second glances. One woman even complimented her markings.

It was the first place she'd been where she didn’t feel like the odd one out for being a Furry.

Which was weird—because she was pretty sure they weren’t.