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Chapter Text

A stuffy little office in the farthest corner of the city's airport; that was the place where your mind slowly started to catch up with and process all that had happened to you over the course of the last two hours.

"Sit down, sit down, make yourself comfortable," said the middle-aged tanuki who had brought you here. His name was Mr. Nook, if you had remembered that correctly. He was rummaging around in the drawers of the writing desk, and you decided that there could be no harm in following his offer, except perhaps that the chair he had gestured at looked like it might break if you sat down on it. Fortunately, it didn't.

"Ah-ha!"

You flinched a bit at the tanuki's sudden exclamation, but all he did was to pull a folder out of one of the drawers. In contrast to everything else in this room, the folder looked pretty new. Only a few pages were contained inside, and when Mr. Nook opened it, you could see that the uppermost one was printed over and over with text in small black letters. At the bottom, there were two lines for signatures.

"I have the contract right here, yes? One signature, and we will be on our way to your new home. I'm certain that a human as nice as you will adjust quickly, yes, yes."

The tanuki's voice sounded kind; kinder than it had any right to be. You did not trust yokai. Quite the opposite, actually: You were scared of them. And who could blame you? You were human. There were not many of your kind left, and mostly to blame for that were yokai. 

The tanuki did not appear perturbed at all by your mistrustful expression. Not that that came as a surprise to you, seeing that you had been all but enthusiastic about him bringing you here after finding you in the streets of the city, hiding away. Heaven knew how he had found you.

Then again, he was a tanuki.

He had offered you a nice little house to live in, beautiful nature surrounding it, and, most importantly, freedom and peace. It all sounded too good to be true. Maybe it was, but what choice did you have but to accept? You didn't really have a place to live anywhere else in the world, so it might as well be a secluded island. A secluded island inhabited only by yokai and animals. The list of reasons why this was stupid to agree to was immensely long. Still, what could you say but "yes"?

And that was exactly what you had said.

Mr. Nook placed the contract on the desk before you. You barely bothered to read it, instead only finding yourself staring down at the letters emptily without comprehending their meaning. Finally, you picked up the provided pen and put down your signature. It didn't matter much that you didn't read it. You knew that Tanuki were able to alter magically binding contracts as they pleased. You were signing over your life either way. One way or another, you would have been caught anyway; and you doubted that the world would have something better to offer than a secluded island.

If the tanuki had told you the truth, that is.

You naturally had your doubts about that. Yokai that didn't care about humans at all were the best-case scenario; ones that did were usually the ones that raided the sparse settlements left and abducted humans to who-knows-where. To be domestic servants or pets, from what you had heard. For a moment, the memory of flames and your small child hand clutched in your grandmother's ran through your mind, but you shook it off. You had just signed a contract with a tanuki, after all. Thinking about how your parents' and grandmother's sacrifices might have been for naught wouldn't help you in any way. Ever since grandma's death a few years ago, you had been on your own. With no place to go, something like this had been almost inevitable. As far as you knew, there were no human settlements left in this part of the country where you could have hidden away.

A paw on your shoulder tore you from your thoughts and made you jump.

"Come now, dear human," Mr. Nook said, "We don't have time to lose. The sooner we are on our way, the better for you. Wouldn't you say?"

You failed to hear any actual malice in the yokai's voice. Maybe he was a collector, then? Not that you liked the thought of being shown around, but it was certainly a better kind of life than others. And the tanuki had said something about that island of his being inhabited by some animals. Maybe it was some kind of tropical luxury retreat for rich yokai and animals alike, and you were going to be part of the entertainment program. What a lovely thought. You half-expected to come face-to-face with a cage when the tanuki opened the door in the back of the room, but all that you could see was the outside of the airport: Part of the runway… and a small blue-and-white airplane with a dodo emblem on the tail fin parked a short distance away.

"This is the plane that will take us to our destination. If you are ready, dear human…?"

You swallowed past the lump in your throat.

"Sure," you managed to force out, despite not feeling sure at all.

Chapter Text

The air above the asphalt shimmered in the heat of the sun that was beating down onto the runway; therefore, you did not mind the quick pace that Mr. Nook made towards the parked airplane. The heat was stifling, and you seemed not to be the only one to want to get out of that hostile environment as quickly as possible. Of course, it was more hostile for you than for the tanuki. You couldn't help glancing nervously in all directions and especially back over your shoulder towards the airport buildings. The thought of that cage had not vanished at all, and pretty much anything could happen to you out here in the open.

Mr. Nook seemed to be all too aware of that, seeing that he also kept looking over his shoulder to check if you were still there. Or maybe he thought that you might bail and run? You weren't sure which one, but what you were sure about was the fact that running really wouldn't benefit you even if you wanted to try. Running from a yokai didn't promise to be very successful once they knew exactly where you were.

The two of you finally reached the stairs that had been rolled up to the side of the blue-and-white plane. You didn't recognise the logo on the fin or the lettering 'DAL' on the side of the plane, so it was probably some small charter airline. Only now did you also realise that it wasn't a normal airplane: It was equipped with floats, so it seemed to be a seaplane – well, rather an amphibian airplane, seeing that it was currently on land.

Of course, you didn't have much time to marvel at the mildly interesting construction of the plane. Mr. Nook was already halfway up the stairs, and you didn't want him to believe that you wouldn't be following. To your surprise, he turned around in the doorway and held out his paw to you. You stared at it for a moment or two before deciding to take the offer, and the tanuki helped you climb the last step and board the airplane.

You were too busy being baffled by the fact that a yokai just had helped you, a human, up some stairs, to notice that the two of you had by now been joined by a third person. Only when they spoke up did you realise that you were still holding onto the tanuki's paw, and you let go in a sudden flash of panic. The newcomer didn't seem to take any notice.

"Welcome on board, Mr. Nook," he greeted. "Has everything worked out for you? Are we ready to go?"

'Must be the pilot,' you thought, taking note of the bird's uniform. He also sported black aviators, which really made him look the part. Then, of course, he was also a bird – a… dodo? You had never seen one before, and you believed to remember that the original animal species had been thought to be extinct… Driven to extinction by humans, to be exact.

You didn't get much more time to dwell on that since while you had been thinking, the pilot and Mr. Nook had seemingly finished with their short exchange. The dodo turned towards you, and although you couldn't see his eyes behind his aviators, his body language told you that he was curious.

"A human, huh? I don't get to pilot the likes of you often. I'm Wilbur, by the way. And your name is…?"

You introduced yourself a bit hesitantly. Revealing your name had always been dangerous (and still was), but you supposed that now that the tanuki next to you already knew it, you didn't have much to lose by telling it to Wilbur, too.

The dodo nodded and, to your surprise, also saluted. "Pleasure to meet you. Welcome on board of Flight Delta Oscar Delta Oscar 47. How do you feel about codenames?"

'Delta Oscar…? Codenames?' You weren't sure if you'd heard correctly, seeing that the dodo had a rather deep voice and spoke fast. On top of that, the fact that Animalese wasn't your native language gave you some problems understanding him properly.

Mr. Nook saved you from the potential embarrassment by clearing his throat and interrupting the conversation.

"Wilbur, our schedule is quite tight…"

The dodo turned back towards him and saluted again. What a funny guy. You wondered if all pilots were like that, seeing that you had never met one before.

"Roger. If you'd please go to your seats, we'll be on our way in no time." Wilbur glanced in your direction. "Is there any way I can help-?"

"No, thank you, Wilbur," Mr. Nook said, "Yes, I think we'll be just fine, hm?"

The dodo nodded, although you had the feeling that his eyes behind the aviator glasses lingered on you for another moment. You supposed that he rarely got to see humans up close. Most animals didn't, after all; and even for most yokai the sight must have become quite rare.

Mr. Nook called for your attention and showed you towards the passenger seats, but you couldn't help your small flinch at hearing the airplane's door close somewhere behind you. Although you had known before that backing out was not an option anymore, the finality of that sound was a bit intimidating.

"Don't mind Wilbur," the tanuki said to you once the two of you were in the passenger cabin and out of hearing range. "I've known him for quite a while now, and he's a very upstanding bird, yes, yes. Not a bad feather on his body, if I may say so. Now, why don't we get comfortable for our flight, yes? We're going to be in the air for a while, I'm afraid. Have you ever been on a plane before?"

You shook your head no, still a bit overwhelmed by everything. After all, you were now effectively trapped on a plane with a yokai (and a dodo, but that one was the least of your worries).

Mr. Nook nodded sagely as if he had expected that answer.

"I hope you're not scared of flying?"

'I'm currently more scared of other things,' was what you almost blurted out loud, but you managed to hold your tongue. To be honest, you were also nervous about the flying.

"A little bit," you admitted quietly. You glanced out of the small window on your right, looking out at the airport. It was mostly to avoid eye contact with the tanuki, but you found yourself again thinking about what would have happened if you just ran. That probably would have quite literally ended with you in a cage.

Once again, Mr. Nook surprised you. You noticed him offering you something which, upon looking, turned out to be a wrapped piece of candy.

"There might be pressure on your ears when we take off, yes? Eating this should help."

He still sounded kind, as if he held no malice towards you. You took the candy, if only to not have him break his kind façade just yet. Despite not knowing what would expect you at the other end of this journey, you'd strongly prefer to keep your relative peace while on the airplane.

The speakers in the cabin crackled to life.

"Dear passengers, please take your seats and put on your seatbelts. We've got clearance for the runway and are ready to go. Departure is November Oscar Whisker," Wilbur's voice sounded through the cabin.

You shot a glance at Mr. Nook, who had already sat down. "Sit wherever you like, yes?" he said.

You hesitated before choosing the seat on the other side of the aisle from his. It was a small plane with only two seats per row and you'd have liked to bring as much distance as possible between yourself and the yokai, but that could be interpreted as an insult, right?

As the engines came to life and the plane started rolling, you grabbed onto the armrests with all your might. You remembered the candy the tanuki had given you. Quickly unwrapping it, you almost believed to hear your grandma's voice shouting at you: 'Never accept food from a yokai!'

'Too late,' you thought as you put the hard candy in your mouth. You felt as if Mr. Nooks eyes were on you as you did so. 'Never offend a yokai' was currently the more important rule considering your situation.

The plane got faster, so you assumed you were on the runway now. You watched the airport buildings fly by and bit your lip as you were pressed into your seat and the plane lifted off the ground. Soon, you saw the city sprawl below outside the window; the city you were now pretty certain you would never return to. You couldn't say you would miss it with its constant dangers that it offered to the likes of you - for example, random yokai picking you off the streets. You certainly weren't the first human you knew who had that happen to them, but you didn't know what became of any of the others.

Once again, you shot a glance over at Mr. Nook. He noticed and offered you a small, encouraging smile.

"Don't worry, yes? All will be well, and in a few hours you can set your eyes upon your new home instead. I understand that you must be anxious to see it. But perhaps it would be best to rest a bit for now, yes? Take a look at the net on the back of the seat in front of you, would you?"

You did as the tanuki said and inspected the array of items in the net: Two magazines (one about gardening and the other about interior design), a bag for you to puke your non-existent lunch into should push come to shove, a card with safety instructions that you quickly skimmed over just to calm your mind a bit, and a white sleep mask with a blue leaf design and the name Nook Inc. printed onto it. Confronted with that, you remembered that Mr. Nook had told you about being a businessman and owning the island that you were currently on your way towards.

In the end, you chose the magazine about gardening to try and take some of your attention off the dread that had settled heavily in your stomach. What, exactly, would that 'new home' and that promised peace and freedom look like? Was there even such a thing for you? What were Mr. Nook's intentions?

There were just too many questions swirling in your head to concentrate on the proper soil choice for hydrangea bushes. You closed the magazine again, noticing now that you were starting to feel very tired. All the events of the day must have finally caught up to you.

You were reluctant to sleep in the presence of Mr. Nook, but your heavy eyelids didn't seem willing to leave you much of a choice. Finally, you gave in and put on the sleep mask, recognising that getting some rest was probably your best option right now.

Within minutes, both the plane's engine noise and your own spiralling thoughts quieted down as you drifted off into a deep slumber, still unaware of what your future would hold in store.

Chapter Text

You opened your eyes to darkness, and for a moment you had no idea where you were. The sounds and the sensations didn't add up with what you were used to. It was warm, and you heard neither wind nor people or cars going by. There was engine noise, but it sounded… odd.

Someone was gently shaking your shoulder.

"Wake up, young human. We are about to land, and you surely want to be awake for that, yes?"

The voice seemed vaguely familiar, but it still took you another few seconds to remember where you were and who that was.

Immediately, you jolted from your sleeping position and practically tore the mask off your face.

Tanuki, airplane, island.

"You're awake, I see! Good, good," Mr. Nook said, and kept talking despite definitely noticing the way you had twisted away from under his paw which had shaken you awake.

"I apologize that you won't be able to see our approach to the island. It's already dark outside, I'm afraid. But do not be too disappointed, no, don't be, because tomorrow you'll be able to go sightseeing as much as you like, yes?"

"Ah… Sightseeing?" you mumbled, not feeling all that tired anymore after that small shock.

Mr. Nook nodded and smiled with his eyes closed. "Why, yes! There is a lot to see on the island, so I can certainly give you a tour by daylight. Or have someone else give you a tour if you'd prefer that, hm?"

You nodded absent-mindedly, turning your head to look outside into the inky darkness. Raindrops were running down the airplane's windows, which already was a drastic change from the weather you had left behind. Below you in the distance, you believed to see lights. Perhaps that was the island already?

As if on command, Wilbur's voice crackled through the speakers.

"Dear passengers, we will soon arrive at our destination. Prepare for a water landing. But don't worry: All will be fine, as this is a seaplane."

You heard the dodo quietly chuckle to himself before the speakers shut off again. Mr. Nook sighed as he went back to his seat.

"He just cannot help making that joke every time, it seems… Even though I have warned him to not scare our visitors… Ah, well."

He turned towards you again. "Would you please fasten your seatbelt again, young human? See, our dear Wilbur is a very good pilot, but water landings can still be quite rough, yes? I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself."

You quickly did as he said while the plane continued its descent. Now you could see the lights outside the windows more clearly, and you believed to see streetlamps and illuminated buildings. It had to be the island. You tried to make out the details of the buildings, but for that to work it was too dark, and you were still too far away.

"What will happen after we land?" you dared to ask, having grown too restless to adhere to the old rules of conversing with yokai (rules that mainly just said to not talk to them, especially not first).

Mr. Nook seemed to take no offence at your conduct. "Oh, of course," he said, sounding almost pleased, "I was about to tell you, but I'm glad that you thought of asking that question first. That will make things easier for all of us, yes?"

You wondered what exactly he meant by that, but he continued before you got the chance to come to a conclusion.

"I'm sure you still have a lot of questions in your head, hm? And you must still be tired, surely, after this long day. I will show you to your new home as soon as possible. But there are a few important things to take care of in order to make sure you settle in well, yes? First thing to be done this evening, I have already made an appointment with the doctor we have on this island so he can check you for any issues, yes."

You looked at him with more than just slight alarm.

"A doctor's appointment?"

"Yes, yes! We want to make sure you are in good health, don't we? I hope you don't feel too offended, but it is common knowledge that city life doesn't treat you humans well. I fear that us yokai are not innocent in that dilemma, yes?"

Unable to look him in the eyes, you bit your lip and looked away. Everyone knew it was the truth, and he dared to sound concerned and regretful as if he weren't part of it all.

That aside, you didn't like the other things he'd said, either. You hadn't had a doctor's appointment in years – unsurprisingly, since human doctors were hard to come by, and other doctors could not be trusted with the knowledge that you existed. It would have been a quick and easy way to be discovered and sold. Needless to say, your enthusiasm about your appointment was rather subdued.

Mr. Nook seemed to pick up on that almost immediately.

"You can trust Dr. Raddle," he said. "He's been a resident of this island for quite a while now and helped us all with one or the other complaint at some point. Yes, yes, I have never had any reason to not trust him with my health. He's a kind man, and very capable. There is nothing to worry about."

'Except that I'm a human,' you thought glumly, but didn't bother arguing. If the tanuki wanted you to see a doctor, then you would be seeing a doctor.

Like every human, you had of course heard the stories of what happened to those entering the service of yokai. You didn't know how many of them were true, but you had once seen a human servant yourself – on the market, where he had been in order to buy fresh produce for his master's household and where you had been in order to steal food for yourself. You had clearly been able to see the pale scar across his throat, and that he only communicated with the merchants by way of signing with his hands.

You hadn't slept well that night thanks to that reminder of what might happen to you one day, too.

And now it had happened. You had been found, and you still had no idea what would become of you. Would Mr. Nook bother being nice to you and trying to convince you that you would have a home and peace if he aimed to make you a servant? Wouldn't it make more sense for him to put you in your place immediately? You didn't trust him still, but you clung to the hope that it would, somehow, turn out to be okay.

Really, this uncertainty was worse than being outright told that your fate was to become a voiceless servant. Voiceless, or worse.

Nausea rose in your stomach. As you looked out of the window to distract yourself, you saw how close the ocean's surface was to the plane now. Ahead in the distance, you saw the lights of a small airport tower signalling where the plane would land, and you braced yourself for the water landing as dark ocean waves rushed past only a few meters below you. For a moment you wondered whether it would be a good idea to grab the sick bag just in case. Before you could do so, the swimmers impacted with the water and you were thrown around in your seat a bit as the plane jumped across the waves.

When it finally came to a stop, you decided that you probably wouldn't need to puke now that you had already endured that. You still wanted to get off the swimming plane as soon as possible.

Fortunately, Wilbur was pretty quick to announce the successful water landing and that the passengers were now permitted to disembark.

Mr. Nook's brows creased in concern when he looked at you after getting up from his seat and standing in the isle. "You're looking a bit pale. Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," you mumbled, and stood on slightly wobbly legs. The plane was rocking on the waves, and your steps were a bit unsteady as you made your way towards the door. The tanuki let you, but you noticed that he was staying right behind you.

Wilbur was already waiting for you at the exit. He gave you a curt nod.

"It was an honour to be your pilot, bellbottom bebop. I hope to see you again soon."

You blinked at him, baffled by both his politeness and the weird name he had used for you. He seemed to be a bit of an oddball, but nice. You doubted he'd see you again – unless Mr. Nook planned to sell you to someone else and fly you out again.

The thought that this was likely the last time you met Wilbur made you almost sad. It wasn't often that an animal was so nice and courteous towards you.

You mumbled a "thank you" and stepped out of the exit onto the wooden planks of a jetty.

It was still raining a bit, but after spending hours on an airplane, you enjoyed the sensation on your skin.

Mr. Nook, however, hurried past you towards the small airport building, so you quickly followed him.

Behind you, you heard Wilbur say something into his radio: "Orville, the passengers have disembarked and are on their way to you. Over and out."

You wondered briefly who that Orville person was, but figured that you'd find out soon. Mr. Nook had quite a quick step, so you had to focus on keeping up with him. As soon as the airport's glass doors closed behind the both of you, he thankfully slowed down.

"It's a shame that your arrival is accompanied by this kind of weather. But thankfully, the forecast promises us clear skies tomorrow. Perfect for exploring the island, yes?"

You listened to what he said with half an ear; most of your attention was on inspecting your surroundings. The airport, as seen from outside, was really small. There was a little baggage claim area to your left, but since you hadn't had anything to take with you, that wasn't of much interest. Everything seemed quaint and well-kept. Someone was clearly taking good care of this airport despite how small it was.

You followed Mr. Nook into the accordingly small entrance hall of the terminal. Immediately you noticed that the two of you weren't alone here. Behind a reception desk sat a dodo, cradling a cup of coffee and sporting an astonishing similarity to Wilbur, the pilot.

The dodo waved at you.

"Welcome back, Mr. Nook! And welcome to the island, Mr. Nook's guest! What's your name? I'm Orville. Responsible for all the administrative work in and around our humble little airport and, as you might have guessed since you've already met him, Wilbur's older brother."

Mr. Nook introduced you before you got the chance.

"This is our newest island resident. I'm especially proud to have our very first human joining us, yes, yes! I'm sure you'd like to talk a bit longer, but I'm afraid that we don't have much time. Perhaps there will be another opportunity, yes?"

Orville shot you a small smile. He didn't wear aviator glasses, so you were calmed by the fact that you could see there was only curiosity reflected in his eyes, not hostility.

"I understand, of course. Maybe we can talk next time. I'm sure you'll feel right at home on this island. And if you ever need our airline's services…"

"Yes, yes; thank you, Orville," Mr. Nook said and started to usher you towards the door. The sudden haste surprised you a bit until he explained hushedly, "Our Orville is certainly friendly, but he does have a habit of talking a lot if you let him. I wouldn't want to keep you from catching some rest longer than absolutely necessary, hm?"

You found yourself nodding mutely as the dodo called out a quick goodbye from behind his desk.

Before you knew it, the automatic doors of the airport opened and you finally made your first step out onto the soil that was to be your home from now on.

Chapter Text

The soles of your worn shoes met the wet cobblestone of the boardwalk outside the airport.

Looking around, even through the veil of rain, everything seemed so… quaint. Old-fashioned streetlamps lit up the road that led away from the airport towards what looked like the outskirts of a village or small town. Aside from you and Mr. Nook, no-one seemed to be outside at this time, but there was light shining from the windows of some of the houses. You wondered who lived there, and whether you would end up meeting them.

Mr. Nook sighed next to you. "I had hoped we would arrive sooner and in better weather, but there's nothing I can do. Perhaps it's better that there's no welcome committee, hm? Something good has to come from this."

He plucked a leaf off of one of the ivy vines growing up the side of the airport building. You gaped when, accompanied by a quiet 'poof,' it turned into a perfectly normal-looking umbrella in his paws.

Mr. Nook noticed you astonished expression and said, "A clear perk of being a tanuki. It doesn't matter that I keep forgetting my umbrella."

He laughed quietly and swiftly opened the umbrella, holding it over the two of you. It was both stunningly realistic and stunningly functional for being illusion magic.

"Now, let's not keep standing around here in the rain. Dr. Raddle was so kind as to wait for our arrival even after closing his practice for the day, so let us not make him wait any longer than necessary. It's only a short walk there, thankfully."

Your short moment of excited astonishment at seeing tanuki magic for the very first time quickly vanished at the mention of the doctor. Again, you remembered the scarred servant and the stories you had heard from other humans – the cruel things that yokai did to those they found.

When Mr. Nook offered you his arm for the walk, you didn't take it. A small show of defiance that might cost you dearly later on, but you were tired of this treatment. The tanuki acted as if he respected you, and he kept assuring you that everything would be fine, but he didn't tell you anything more than that. Fine for whom? What did a yokai even think a human would want or need?

Despite all of it, you still kept walking. Mr. Nook seemed unperturbed by the earlier act of rejection and hurried through the rain, still holding the umbrella for the both of you. Once again you had to struggle to keep up with him.

The two of you hurried past the first line of houses into what you now suspected was more of a village than a town. You crossed a plaza with a small fountain in the center, surrounded by benches and concrete planters. Everything looked rather new, as much as you could tell with only the lanterns' yellow light to illuminate it. Even the houses looked new.

While glancing around, you failed to pay enough attention to walking and your feet slipped on the wet cobblestones – your shoes didn't have much of a profile anymore after having been worn for years. You only had the time to let out a quiet yelp before Mr. Nook was by your side to catch you. He generally moved faster than one would expect when looking at him, you thought dimly.

"Careful, young human." He shook his head as he helped you back up into a standing position. "I don't want to approach our dear doctor with an emergency, after all."

"Sorry," you mumbled, wondering about the tanuki's lack of pettiness. For refusing his help earlier, he should have let you fall – at least by what you knew about yokai. Vengeful, petty, prideful… So far, Mr. Nook had shown to be none of those things. You earnestly wondered whether you would have been calmer if he had proven to be what you expected.

"I should ask on what date Kicks plans to pay us a visit again…" he mumbled, more to himself, while glancing at your shoes.

He didn't let go of your arm again and he walked more slowly after your almost-accident. You were thankful for the latter and tried not to let the former bother you too much.

"We'll be there soon," Mr. Nook said. "I'll be thankful for getting out of this weather. My fur is getting all clammy."

Your clothes were, too, but that was the least of your issues. You had already spotted the sign next to the entrance door of the house ahead, marking it as the doctor's practice. It was a brick house like most buildings you had seen on the way, with a cozy little garden in the front. Behind two of the windows on the first floor burned light.

You followed Mr. Nook down the small, paved path to the entrance, hesitance in your steps; and you flinched a bit as the tanuki rang the doorbell. The sound cut through the quiet of the evening and you waited, wondering what kind of person would open the door.

After a few moments, quick, small steps were heard from inside of the house. When the door swung open, you found that you had been looking too high up: The house's inhabitant was shorter than you'd expected. A frog, black with yellow spots, wearing a facemask, gloves, and a doctor's coat. You assumed that this was, in fact, the Dr. Raddle that Mr. Nook had spoken of.

The frog looked you and the tanuki up and down once and ushered you inside without a word of greeting. You would have preferred to keep standing in the rain, but you accepted that the choice wasn't yours.

"I apologise for making you wait," Mr. Nook said to the doctor, one paw placed on your shoulder. "Thank you for seeing us at this time of the day."

"No apology needed. I'm sure you weren't wasting your time, and I understand the urgency." The doctor spoke noticeably slowly, with the slight croak most frogs seemed to have in their voices. In contrast to Wilbur earlier, you had no problem understanding him speak.

He turned his attention to you. "Hello. My name is Raddle, or Dr. Raddle, if you prefer. Either way doesn't bother me. Do you want to tell me your name, too?"

You saw no point in not doing so, but you also didn't know what to think of the doctor – he didn't seem quite as dispassionate as you'd expected.

Mr. Nook chimed in again, "As I told you on the phone, our dear human here comes from-"

"Mr. Nook," the doctor firmly interrupted him, "I must ask you to please take a seat in the waiting room while I do my check-ups. If I have any questions for you, I will let you know – but I'd like to hear the story from the patient themself."

You were a bit shocked when the tanuki merely nodded and agreed – he must really have a high opinion of Dr. Raddle if he let him tell him off like that.

"I will wait for you, then. You will be fine, yes?" he asked you, which wasn't something you felt like you could give him a satisfying answer to. Still, you nodded, and watched as the tanuki retreated to the waiting room – not without a last encouraging nod in your direction. You weren't sure whether you felt glad that he was gone for now or not.

"Would you come with me, please?" Dr. Raddle asked and led you into a room in the back of the house. You didn't know what to expect from a treatment room since you couldn't remember ever having been in one, but on first glance you didn't see anything too disconcerting: A chair, a desk, a treatment couch, a cabinet…

"Please sit down," said the doctor, gesturing at the couch. You turned your attention back to him, remembering that he was the potential danger, not your surroundings.

"Why am I here?" you asked, making no move to sit down. You looked Dr. Raddle up and down again – since he was a frog and therefore quite a bit shorter than you, you might be able to shake him off should he try to grab you. Even then, Mr. Nook was still too close by for any chance at an escape; but you weren't hesitant to at least try. Maybe it was the fact that the tanuki wasn't in the same room anymore that made you so determined. If they planned to hurt you, they'd have to put in an effort.

The doctor, in turn, also looked you up and down: Probably taking in the way you had tensed in preparation to fight and coming to the same conclusion.

"You're here for a general health check," he said in a tone of voice that was clearly meant to be calming. "I will look whether you have any illnesses or conditions that warrant treatment. That is all that will happen today, and we'll see how to proceed after that."

When you still didn't relax, he frowned a bit. "Has Mr. Nook not told you anything?"

You wondered whether you needed to apologize for not knowing, but you honestly couldn't remember what exactly the tanuki had said. Your mind had pretty much hung itself up on the fact that you had a doctor's appointment in the first place. Thankfully, Dr. Raddle didn't seem to expect an answer.

"I'll have to talk to him about that," he mumbled. "Brings a human here and doesn't explain himself. No wonder they'll be scared."

More loudly and to you, he continued, "You don't have anything to fear from Mr. Nook. He has at least told you what he told me, yes? That you are going to live on this island as a free person?"

Warily, you answered, "He's told me that, yeah."

"You don't believe him."

"Why would I!?" you burst out and gestured around aimlessly, convinced that there were instruments meant to torment you somewhere in this room or at least this building. "I'm not stupid. I know the only reason yokai take in humans. So if this is an attempt to lure me in…"

You trailed off, not sure what more to say. You weren't really in the position to make threats. A few minutes ago, you had been ready to fight; but what for? Yokai had their ways of breaking a human's spirit if they were dumb enough to not comply.

Suddenly, you felt only exhausted. You turned around without another word and walked over to the couch, finally sitting down like the doctor had told you to.

"Whatever," you said quietly. "It's not like I could do anything either way. Let's get it over with."

Looking back up at the doctor, who silently returned your gaze, you added, "But I'd be thankful if you'd at least tell me what's really going to happen. I don't know what Mr. Nook wants for me - maybe he intends for it to be like this, but I'd just like to know. I-"

For a moment, you weren't sure whether you were finally going to start crying or not. You wanted to know. You also didn't want to know. Everyone was being so nice to you, and it was just cruel.

Dr. Raddle said nothing for a long moment. Then he sighed.

"You come from the street, don't you? Never had contact with a yokai before?"

You shook your head no.

"That's good to hear – the second part, at least. I'm sorry that you never had a safe place to live. I imagine that you've still come into contact with the ways many yokai choose to treat humans, which is why I can understand that you're scared. But Mr. Nook doesn't want that, and I can assure you that it's the truth."

"Yokai are never kind to humans," you mumbled, refusing to look at him again. "They only want us around as playthings, nothing more. Why would any yokai be different?"

"I have met those kinds of yokai where I used to work," the doctor said seriously. "I know very well that you have reason to fear them. It's true that the predominant culture sees humans as lesser beings who have forfeited their right to be treated with respect. But as far as I have seen, the truth is that even among yokai, there are those who think differently – even those who already thought differently two centuries ago."

Two centuries ago, according to the stories, was when yokai had risen and first started to chase humans from their homes and kill them. The stories you had heard had never said anything about not all yokai agreeing.

"And Mr. Nook does so, too?"

"Yes. I've known him for a few years now, and I know that he can be trusted. He won't make you his servant or anything of that kind."

"But why would I trust you?" you asked warily.

The doctor was silent for a moment.

"In all honesty, my word is all I can give you for now," he said. "I promise you that you won't be hurt. Mr. Nook wants to make sure that you are safe, and that's what you are here for."

He sounded earnest, but that wasn't enough to convince you. You wanted to trust him – you wanted to be able to believe that what you had been promised was true; that you would have a home where you would be safe and where you would be treated with kindness and respect. Something like that had been your hopeless dream for years. And even though your rational mind told you it had to be a ruse, the part of you that was still able of desperate hope conjured up images of the life that Mr. Nook had offered you. You wished you could trust him and Dr. Raddle.

"How did you meet Mr. Nook? As your patient?" you asked, remembering how the doctor had mentioned having met many yokai where he used to work.

Dr. Raddle shook his head. "I used to have my practice in a big city. Mr. Nook had heard that I was planning to give it up and asked me whether I would be willing to open a new practice on his private island because his customers would be needing a doctor on site. I accepted, so I was among the first people to move here."

You wondered why a doctor would willingly move from a city to a secluded island in the middle of the ocean. Money, maybe. You were sure that Mr. Nook had paid the doctor a handsome sum to come to his exclusive island resort – or whatever this island exactly was. So far you only knew that it belonged to the tanuki and that people, apparently his customers, lived on it.

Because you didn't give him any verbal reaction, Dr. Raddle continued to speak, "Mr. Nook is of course a businessman, but he takes good care of the people here. This island is his pet project."

You couldn't help but scoff quietly and wonder whether you were also a so-called 'pet project.'

The doctor, who had only heard your scoff, added, "I'm sure you will meet the other islanders soon. Perhaps their accounts on Mr. Nook will also help to quell your fears a bit. Until then, I'm afraid you'll have to take mine and his word for it."

"I see," you mumbled and found yourself thinking about the two dodos, Wilbur and Orville, who had been so nice to you upon meeting you. Maybe it had been just out of respect for Mr. Nook, but even then – most animals ignored human servants. If you really weren't going to be a servant…

When Dr. Raddle spoke up again, you were a bit more willing to listen to him. "For now," he said calmly, "will you allow me to check your health?"

You hesitated for a moment before making your decision and said, "If it's just that… I suppose it's okay."

You couldn't see the doctor's mouth behind his mask, but you got the feeling that he was smiling at you.

"Wonderful. But please don't hesitate to tell me if you're uncomfortable with anything, alright? I promise I will listen."

Whether those words could be believed or not: Being told that put your mind a bit more at ease, so you just nodded gratefully.

Dr. Raddle took a pen light out of one of the pockets on his coat and asked you to try not to blink while he shone it into your eyes. You tried your best to answer when he asked you whether you had any problems with your eyesight.

"Mr. Nook already told me on the phone where he found you," the doctor commented once that was done. "How long have you been living in that city and where did you live before? If you don't mind telling me."

For a moment, you wondered when the tanuki had had an opportunity to call Dr. Raddle – but then you remembered that you had been asleep for most of the journey to the island.

"I don't know exactly," you answered truthfully. You had tried to keep track of the passing of time as best as you could, but you had no idea what year it had been when you and your grandma had fled the rural region where you had grown up. You didn't even know exactly how old you were. Still, you tried to give the doctor all the answers to the questions he was asking – and there were a lot of them. He checked your ears, throat, and whatnot; thankfully, though, it all was uncomfortable at worst. And all the while, he kept inquiring about any health problems known to you, and the life you had led so far.

"I'd say we're almost done here," he finally said after what had felt like hours worth of tests and inspections to you. Still, so far there had been zero mention of any surgeries or anything Mr. Nook wanted. But 'almost done' could mean anything, so you felt yourself tense a bit when the doctor spoke next.

"One more question," he said, putting the pen light away, "What is your diet like?"

You blinked, needing a moment to come down from your adrenaline high and understand the question. "Uh… anything I could find?"

Dr. Raddle looked at you, nodded like he had been expecting to hear that, and said, "We'll do a blood test. If you don't mind. When was the last time you ate something?"

You sorted through the events of the day in your head until you found the answer. "When the plane started, I had a candy."

Realising that that had been hours ago, you now came to notice the emptiness of your stomach and the fact that you were feeling hungry. You were used to it enough to ignore it most of the time – and the unusual and stressful day had done the rest to make you forget about it – but this was the point that it caught up to you.

Dr. Raddle sighed. "That's a good thing in the way that we can do a blood test right now, but I think I'll have to have a word with Mr. Nook that he needs to make sure you get regular meals. You'll need to get used to eating the proper amount. Now, as for the blood test – Would you come with me, please?"

You still couldn't say that you fully trusted the doctor yet, but you followed him into the next room without thinking about running away. That was progress in your book, although the part of your brain that had been conditioned to be wary and had kept you alive in the streets was disturbed by how easily you went along with what the frog told you.

As asked of you next, you sat down in a padded chair and watched as the doctor gathered his materials. Despite never having one done, you had an idea what a blood test entailed – and sure enough, there was a needle on the tray Dr. Raddle had prepared.

You took it all in – small needle, cotton swab, bottle of disinfectant; no syringe or sedative you could see, at least. It wouldn't be too difficult to catch you off guard, so you had to be distrusting of everything – you still couldn't shake the very real (to you) fear of waking up on an operating table without a voice.

"It will be just a small sting," Dr. Raddle said, standing away from tray and making it a point to demonstrate to you that his hands were empty. "I'll take a little bit of blood and then that will be it. After that, we'll be finished here. Is that okay?"

You looked at him, standing there and trying to be so considerate and calming. His eyes were tired – you still couldn't see his expression behind his mask, but you imagined it to be just as weary. It all seemed as if he had done this kind of thing before, or at least as if he knew exactly how to act in this situation.

"Do you do this often?" you asked instead of answering his question.

"Do what often? Blood tests? Actually, yes." There was a bit of a forced laugh in the doctor's retort. The joke didn't make you smile.

"Deal with humans," you said. "Does Mr. Nook often bring you one of us? Is this a regular thing he does?" Accusation and fear came through in your voice. You had several suspicions, some worse than others: Most prevalently, though, that Mr. Nook, the businessman Mr. Nook, had brought you here to be fixed up for his next customer so that the stay on this island was only a short postponement of your future suffering.

"Will I be sold?" you finally asked, angrily. Angry at the tanuki that had tricked you, the doctor that had lulled you into a feeling of safety, but most of all yourself who had believed them both for a moment, who had allowed yourself to hope a bit. You should have known; no, you had known from the start – you should have listened to the rational part of your brain.

While your thoughts were spiralling into darker and darker territories, Dr. Raddle seemed honestly taken aback.

"No. Heavens, no – I should have been upfront… But no, Mr. Nook doesn't plan on selling you, and you are the first human I know of that set foot onto this island," he asserted, voice having lost a bit of its prior calmness. "I have to admit, though, that you were partly right about one thing: I used to often deal with humans. Not anymore. You're the first one in years."

You calmed yourself down a bit and watched closely as he sighed heavily and continued, "I suppose you can imagine why that was. I priorly had my practice in a wealthy part of a big city before coming to this island. I specialise in treating mammals, so I had many yokai clients who brought their human servants to me."

"So that's why…" you began quietly, meaning to say something about Dr. Raddle's suspicious knowledge of humans, but the doctor finished the sentence himself:

"…Yes. That was the reason why I eventually gave up my practice and was looking for something else when Mr. Nook approached me. I know I can't demand of you to believe me, especially not after trying to keep this information from you – but I wanted to distance myself from all that. I never liked having human patients, at least not in that way."

You needed a moment to take all that in – then, to both Dr. Raddle's and your own surprise, you started to laugh. It wasn't a joyful laugh, but it wasn't resigned or bitter, either: You felt relief. You weren't quite sure why – you weren't quite out of danger – but you felt as if your hope hadn't been unfounded and as if Mr. Nook's intentions could really be good. You felt as if you could trust the doctor. There wasn't a cage prepared for you, no buyer, no future in silence and servitude. Maybe. Probably.

"And then comes Mr. Nook and brings you a human, when you thought you were done with that," you forced out between desperate, relieved, breathless giggles.

The doctor was silent for a moment before you heard a small, croaky laugh: "You're right. That wasn't really part of my expectations. Mr. Nook wasn't kind enough to warn me in advance that he was planning to have a human move to this island."

Once he had sobered up a bit, he added, "All jokes aside, I'm thankful that I'm here and I'm glad that you're here. No human deserves what you've been through, let alone what all of those others have been put through."

"Oh," you said simply, and that was the last thing you managed to say before your long-repressed tears finally broke free and you started to cry.

"Oh dear, oh dear…" said the doctor and quickly handed you a box of tissues. He watched you for a while, how you sat there sobbing, before commenting, "You look like you could use a hug right now. Unfortunately, I can't really provide that. I'm a poison dart frog. It would be a bad idea."

Upon hearing that, you forgot to cry for a few moments and looked up at him in surprise and wonder. "A poison dart frog?"

Dr. Raddle nodded. "That's why I'm wearing gloves at all times. I promise that it's safe. Please do try to avoid touching my face, though."

You couldn't help but laugh again at the blunt way the doctor stated the fact.

"A hug would've been nice, but I think I can manage," you blubbered.

Dr. Raddle wordlessly handed you a blanket, and you cried some more – feeling safe in the most unlikely place of all and in a situation that your brain still had problems catching up with.

Chapter Text

When Dr. Raddle led you out of the room after you had managed to calm yourself down somewhat, Mr. Nook was already waiting in the hallway. He must have heard the door and left the waiting room; you didn't think he would have stood there all that time. Actually, how long had you been in there with the doctor? It had felt like hours, but had probably been more like thirty minutes or an hour max. You had neglected looking at the clock on the wall in favour of… other things.

"There you are!"

Mr. Nook looked you up and down once. He could probably tell from your puffy eyes that you had been crying, but he didn't remark on it. Not directly, at least.

"Now, I hope that everything is alright?"

That question had been directed at Dr. Raddle, who answered, "For the most part, yes. I will send you the report."

"Wonderful!" The tanuki clapped his paws together and smiled a closed-eyed smile at you. "That relieves me to hear! Then I suppose that what is left for me to do is to show you to your new home, yes? You must be exhausted."

"First," Dr. Raddle said slowly, "First you should give them something to eat. Humans don't live off of air and sunshine, Mr. Nook."

You flinched a little at his strict tone. You still hadn't gotten used to the fact that the doctor spoke so freely to a yokai. Animals, too, tended to treat yokai with reverence and respect.

But once again, Mr. Nook didn't seem bothered much by being addressed so bluntly – he did look startled, though.

"Oh, I have to apologize. That, of course, needs to be rectified. How neglectful of me to forget."

He turned to you, looking apologetic. "I'd been so busy arranging everything that I forgot that neither of us had dinner yet. But don't you worry!"

His expression lit up a little and he pulled something out of his jacket pocket – a phone, you realized.

"I think I can arrange something."

Dr. Raddle sighed, and it was the long-suffering kind – as if this hadn't been the first time something like this had happened. But he didn't say anything else, instead only patting your shoulder in reassurance – which was a bit funny considering that he had to stand on his tiptoes to even reach your shoulder. You were still grateful for the gesture. The doctor had been so kind to you, and now that he was handing you back over to Mr. Nook, it was just the reassurance you needed.

Speaking of the tanuki: He was dialling a number in haste, mumbling something to himself. "I hope she's still awake… I hate having to disturb her at this hour, but alas… Ah, good evening, Isabelle!"

He raised his voice for the last part, greeting his conversation partner on the other end of the line.

"Yes, yes, I'm aware that it is terribly late in the evening – No, there is no emergency, no need to worry… Well, I suppose it is a small emergency. – It's not that I'm out of my favourite honey; Isabelle, please, that happened once. – No, I happen to have a guest with me here – a new resident, to be more accurate, and they haven't had a chance to eat anything yet. I was wondering if you might ha- Pardon?"

He listened, and so did you and Dr. Raddle as frantic words came from the other end of the line: Frantic words that you sadly couldn't understand due to how quiet and muffled by the speakers they were.

Having been so focused on trying to listen in, you flinched a little when Mr. Nook suddenly spoke up again.

"Yes, yes; that sounds like just the right thing! Wonderfu- No, not by any means! Isabelle? – No, Isabelle, don't trouble yourself too much; that will be entirely sufficient-"

Mr. Nook stopped in the middle of his sentence and lowered his phone to look at the screen with a puzzled expression.

"…And there she went and ended the call."

"She's certainly a very loyal employee to be answering your calls at this hour," Dr. Raddle said drily.

"And I am very grateful for that. You can believe me," Mr. Nook replied.

He turned to you again: "Isabelle is my secretary and assistant and helps me with all the work that comes up managing an island like this one. She has kindly agreed to bring us an evening snack. Though I fear that she might go a bit overboard…" He sighed.

You wondered what this 'Isabelle' looked like and whether she was another yokai. You didn't bother asking, though, considering that everything sounded as if you would be meeting her very soon.

"I would have thought that you know her well enough by now to realise that this exact thing would happen," Dr. Raddle said while you were busy imagining what this new character would turn out to be like. It certainly seemed like she was very devoted to her job.

Mr. Nook sighed. "I really should, shouldn't I."

It didn't seem like much time had passed at all since the phone call when the doorbell rang, although your stomach had growled a few times while the three of you had been waiting, much to your embarrassment.

"That must be Isabelle," Mr. Nook supplied, shooting you a reassuring look as Dr. Raddle went to open the door.

You craned your head to look.

"Isabelle! Good evening, and thank you for coming to our rescue at this hour," the doctor greeted, confirming the newcomer's identity.

Isabelle stepped inside, wearing a long yellow raincoat and rainboots and carrying a large picnic basket in the paw that wasn't holding her umbrella.

She tugged the hood off her head, revealing the face of a yellow and cream-colored dog with large floppy ears and a hairdo that was held in place by a little ribbon with a bell attached to it. It chimed prettily when she shook her head to dislodge a few droplets of water from her hair.

You shyly lingered by Mr. Nook's side, waiting for her to notice you. You didn't have to wait for long – a cheerful smile spread on her face as her eyes met yours, and she hurried over to you, grasped your hand in her paws and shook it. She had kind eyes.

"You must be our new villager! I'm Isabelle, Mr. Nook's assistant. Welcome to the island, I'm sure you'll love it here!"

She turned her head towards the tanuki. "Mr. Nook, why didn't you tell me earlier? I would have given them a proper welcome at the airport!"

Not even waiting for his answer, she addressed you again, "I'm sorry that I didn't prepare anything! Here, I've brought you something to eat… It's terribly inadequate, but it's all I could manage in the time I had. You must be so hungry! I… ah! I don't even know your name yet!"

Her being a dog, her expressions blessedly were much easier to read than a dodo's or a frog's. You relaxed a bit and even managed a smile as you told her your name.

Your stomach chose this moment to let out a loud growl.

"Sorry," you mumbled, feeling the heat rising to your face.

Something in Isabelle's expression shifted. Her cheerful smile made way for something determined.

"Dr. Raddle, may we go to your kitchen?"

The doctor tipped his head. "Of course, Isabelle. This way."

The picnic basket was hoisted onto Dr. Raddle's small kitchen table with a loud thunk.

"Come here, sit down, sit down!" Isabelle said sweetly and waved you over to one of the chairs. "You don't mind me offering your guest a chair, do you, doctor?"

"Of course not," Dr. Raddle said. You could almost hear a hint of amusement in his voice. Just like Mr. Nook, he abandoned you to your fate as Isabelle opened the picnic basket and unleashed the buffet.

Sandwiches, tarts, pies, grapes and other fruit, thick slices of fresh bread, cut vegetables and dips – it had been a good while since you'd seen such amounts of food at once, and you could have sworn that the table was creaking under the weight.

You stared, half awed and half intimidated as Isabelle clapped her paws together, smiled, and said, "Dig in! It's all for you!"

Stunned silent, your eyes wandered back to the food. So much food – you couldn't remember the last time you'd eaten a meal that left you sated. This… was a whole other magnitude.

"It's just what I managed to scrape together on such short notice… Don't worry, I'll make sure you'll still get a proper welcome party!" Isabelle said, probably misinterpreting your silence.

Behind you, you heard a muffled snort – you were pretty sure that had been the doctor. Good to know that he wasn't too worried about his table.

"Uhm…"

You shot her another look before daring to reach for one of the sandwiches. Her encouraging smile did not dim one bit. You took a bite. Still, everyone seemed to be perfectly fine with that. Encouraged, you started chewing.

And… oh. That was one really good sandwich.

With that, you lost all ability to hold back. For the first time in who knew how long, you had plenty of food with no fear of running out. Before you knew it, you had devoured that first sandwich, along with one of the pies, a second sandwich, and a generous helping of the fruit (of which you were cheerfully informed that they were harvested locally on the island).

After that, you had to announce your surrender.

"I'm sorry… I'm full."

It was hard to say, given that it almost hurt to let such an opportunity for good and plentiful food go to waste, but you also knew that eating more would only make you sick. You could only hope that you declining more of the food wouldn't offend Isabelle (or Mr. Nook, even) after all the work that had been put into getting you something to eat.

"Oh, don't worry about that! I'll just give you the leftovers to eat tomorrow."

Isabelle started gathering the foods back into the picnic basket, and despite you having eliminated a good chunk of them, you were still impressed that she managed to fit it all into there.

While she was packing, Mr. Nook got your attention.

"Now that you've strengthened yourself, we should perhaps no longer keep our dear doctor from enjoying his nightly rest—"

"It was no bother at all, Mr. Nook," Dr. Raddle interrupted him. You still flinched when he did that.

Mr. Nook seemed as unphased as ever. "Still, I am certain we can all use some rest, yes?" He shot a meaningful look in your direction. You averted your eyes – and saw that Isabelle had just finished packing up.

"All ready!" she said, hoisted the basket off of the table, and peered out of the window. "Oh, it looks like the rain has cleared up a bit!"

"Then let us take our leave," Mr. Nook said. "But before we do so…"

He reached into the pocket of his knit jacket and pulled out something flat and rectangular. Only when he held it out to you did you recognise it as a smartphone, looking much like his own.

"…I've wanted to give you this, before I forget about it."

You stared at the contraption.

"For me?"

"Yes, yes, take it! It's a gift from me, hm? And I'm sure it will be of great help, especially if any emergencies should arise. Which, of course, we don't expect to happen… But you've seen that it can be a lifesaver if, say, someone forgot to plan for dinner, yes?"

He laughed a belly laugh, and you hesitantly took the offered phone, weighing it in your hands. You peered at Mr. Nook.

"I've… never had a phone before," you admitted.

"Oh." Mr. Nook blinked at you a bit sheepishly, but a moment later, his face lit up again.

"But that's no problem, not a problem at all! I'm sure Timmy and Tommy will be so kind and show you how to use it."

"Timmy and Tommy?"

"They're my loyal employees! I'll introduce you tomorrow, yes? I assume you've had enough excitement for today."

You couldn't agree more. Pocketing your new phone (you hoped there wouldn't be any reasons to call the tanuki, ever), you followed him and Isabelle to the front door.

Dr. Raddle saw the three of you off, and when you said your goodbyes, you could have sworn that he smiled at you – though behind his mask, it was hard to tell.

"Don't hesitate to come to me with any issue," he said to you as you walked past him.

You swallowed, nodded, and hurried outside before the tears actually caught up with you. You had gotten over the brief desire for a hug from the poison dart frog, but deep inside, you believed that his kindness was genuine.

With Mr. Nook, you were still not sure.

The tanuki, after waving goodbye to Dr. Raddle and thanking him one last time, turned to you and said, "Let's finally show you to your house, yes?"

You almost stumbled over a cobblestone, causing Isabelle to yelp in alarm.

"A… house?" you said, staring at Mr. Nook.

"Yes, yes, a house! Where did you think you would live? …Didn't you read the contract you signed?"

For the first time since meeting him, Mr. Nook appeared to be disappointed with you. You tensed and mumbled an apology.

Mellowed, the tanuki said, "Of course you will have a house. Everyone on this island gets their own, that's part of the deal! Part of the island life, so to say."

You forced your feet to start moving again. A house. You had honestly expected to move into a room in Mr. Nook's place of residence, and even that would have been the best-case scenario.

The image of the cage that had haunted you for the last few years wasn't going to leave that easily, that much was sure.

"Careful with your steps! The stones are slippery," Isabelle's voice tore you from your stupor. Despite her carrying that surely still heavy picnic basket, she seemed quite nimble on her feet. She drew closer and leaned in a little, as if to keep her words away from the ears of Mr. Nook, who had turned around again and was leading the way.

"Don't worry, Mr. Nook isn't actually angry at you. He's just concerned! Trust me, I've known him for a while now. He's always been a worrier."

She giggled quietly, probably recalling some related memory. Like everyone else associated with the island that you had met so far, she seemed to lack the kind of subservient respect that animals usually showed towards yokai.

That didn't mean you were going to be as careless.

"We will be there soon, it's just at the end of the road," Mr. Nook announced from ahead of you, and you wondered whether he truly hadn't heard anything of what Isabelle had said.

"Oh, I'm so excited to see how you like it!" Isabelle exclaimed.

And to be honest, the more you walked and the heavier your legs and eyelids seemed to get, the more convinced you became that whatever was waiting for you at the end of the road couldn't be so bad as long as it contained some kind of bed.

Chapter Text

A beam of sunlight that had made its way through the narrow gap between curtain and window frame was the thing that awoke you, falling right onto your face.

You had been exhausted enough to drop into bed and fall asleep pretty much instantly last night, the tiredness drowning out the nagging anxiety in your mind.

And some kind of bed that was. You slowly sat up, stretching a little against the stiffness in your shoulders – you weren't used to sleeping on something so soft.

Reluctantly throwing off the heavy quilted blanket that had covered you so comfortably, you let your eyes wander over your surroundings to assure yourself that everything hadn't been just some yearning dream conjured up by your exhausted mind.

You were, in fact, inside a house.

The bedroom was spacious, the wallpaper simple, and there was not much inside other than the wide bed, a wardrobe, and a desk. But it was your bedroom.

Mr. Nook had shown you around the house yesterday and you thought you remembered him saying that you could change anything about it to suit your tastes, but you had been too tired to pay much attention, and besides, changing anything about the house was the last of your concerns at the moment.

It was your house.

You still had difficulty believing it.

Your eyes fell onto the folder placed on the desk: It was the contract you had signed, put there by Mr. Nook.

"Please read all your contracts closely from now on," he had said before leaving you alone for the night. You were tempted to follow his advice right now and read through what, exactly, you had signed – but your stomach growled, and you remembered the leftovers you had unloaded from Isabelle's picnic basket into your fridge.

Because you had a kitchen now. And a fridge.

Sure, everything still belonged to Mr. Nook in the end, but you were allowed to use it as if it were yours, and that was enough for you. When did you last have a warm, dry place to stay?

As for how safe it was – well, the concept of safety was always nebulous and unreliable for a human in this world. You'd enjoy the situation for however long it lasted, you decided while chewing on one of the leftover sandwiches. It was still delicious.

A glance at the clock on the wall told you that it was already past the time you were used to getting up at – although you could have told without the clock, seeing as you usually rose with the sun while you lived in the streets.

You took another bite, getting a strange sense of disconnect as the seconds ticked on. Everything about your situation felt… off. The change had been so rapid that you were still reeling from it all.

A ringing noise suddenly cut through the quiet of the house – you needed a moment to realise that it wasn't just in your head, but instead the sound of the doorbell that you were hearing.

You jumped up from your seat and hurried to the front door, wondering what was waiting for you now.

Through the small round window in the front door, you saw a familiar head. Fortunately, it wasn't Mr. Nook – you hadn't even read the contract yet.

"Good morning!"

Isabelle greeted you with a cheerful smile on her face as soon as you opened the door.

"Good morning," you mumbled back, hoping that you didn't look too much like a mess.

"I hope you slept well in your new bed," Isabelle said. "I know I had some problems adjusting when I first moved here!"

She peered over your shoulder curiously – she had excused herself at the gate last night and not come in together with you and Mr. Nook.

"Oh, I remember when my house still looked like that! Mr. Nook creates all houses the same, and it's up to us to make them look just the way we want."

You were confused with her choice of words for a moment, before remembering that Mr. Nook owning this island technically made him its lord, which explained why he could create entire houses with probably not much more than a wave of his paw. Yokai had more power in natural environments, and they ruled over the countryside – hence why it was safer for humans in cities where yokai were less in touch with their magic.

It worried you a bit how much untouched nature there seemed to be on this island – you couldn't help it; those were environments you'd wisely stayed away from for most of your life. Of course, it made sense that a secluded island would have lots of nature.

It was truly strange. Mr. Nook, if he owned an entire island, must be a powerful yokai – and yet no-one here in his domain seemed all that scared of him. No-one you'd met so far, at least.

"…Anyway, I'm sure many of the others would help you renovate! If you need help, I mean."

You realised that you hadn't heard half of what Isabelle had been saying. You smiled and nodded a bit sheepishly and hoped that she hadn't noticed – she'd been so nice to you, and you weren't paying attention.

Isabelle wrung her paws, looking a bit sheepish herself.

"I'm sorry – I didn't mean to ramble. I just get so excited every time someone new moves in!"

She cleared her throat. "Anyway, I visited because I'd love to give you a tour of the island! If you have time right now, of course. Have you had breakfast yet?"

You nodded, and Isabelle gave you a bright smile.

"Wonderful! So, if you're not busy with anything else right now, would you like me to show you around? Everyone's really excited to meet you!"

Despite the uneasy feeling building in your stomach at the thought of meeting the island's other inhabitants, you agreed to let Isabelle give you a tour. She seemed absolutely thrilled to do so.

You threw on your jacket – you had slept in your only set of clothes, so there was no need to get dressed first – and headed outside.

The sky was clear and blue just like Mr. Nook had promised at your arrival; wonderful weather to explore your surroundings, as even you had to admit.

"Mr. Nook is busy with business matters today, otherwise I'm sure he would have loved to show you around, too. Now, where should we go first?" Isabelle wondered out loud while you drank in the scenery. Now, in daylight, you had the chance to appreciate the carefully planted flower beds flanking the paved road leading away from the house, and the painted picket fences.

"Oh, I know!"

You momentarily let yourself be distracted from the quaintness around you and looked at Isabelle questioningly.

"Mr. Nook said you should go meet Timmy and Tommy, didn't he? Maybe I could explain your phone to you, too, but I'm sure they can do it much better than me. And they operate the general store on this island, so they're really important to get to know, anyway!"

"Sounds good," you muttered, not all that thrilled to meet Mr. Nook's employees, as he had called them.

Isabelle looked like she had picked up on your trepidation, but she didn't comment on it.

"This way," she said with an encouraging smile, and started walking ahead. You quickly hurried after her.

The closer you got to the town centre, the more houses stood on both sides of the road. They all looked quite different from each other, not at all like ready-built homes. You couldn't help but wonder what kind of people lived in them.

The two of you passed by a small park with a marble fountain framed by young birch trees. A white bench stood at its edge, facing the road – and on it sat a person. Isabelle had seen them before you had, and was already waving at them.

"Good morning, Dobie!"

The dog – or perhaps a wolf? – on the bench turned his head towards you. As you got closer, you saw that his face and long muzzle were wrinkled and that his greenish-grey fur was already turning silver in some spots. Next to him, a walking cane leaned against the bench.

"Good morning, Isabelle. Who's that?"

He squinted at you with furrowed brows, and Isabelle laughed.

"That's our newest resident! They arrived late last night; Mr. Nook brought them here."

The elderly wolf grunted.

"I see. A human, isn't it? Either way, the name's Dobie. And yours?"

His gruffness gave you pause; you stuttered out your name and tried to stay behind Isabelle. She, on the other hand, seemed utterly unperturbed.

"It's a lovely morning, right? Perfect weather to show them around the island. It's just what we needed after all that rain!"

Dobie turned his attention back to Isabelle. "Hm. My rose bushes appreciated the water."

Isabelle nodded empathically. "Yes, I've seen them! They've turned out gorgeous! Did you get them from Leif?"

"Where else," Dobie groused, "He's the only one who sells them around here."

Isabelle gave first him, then you a beaming smile.

"We were just on our way to Timmy and Tommy, maybe we could convince them to stock some plants in the future, too?"

You weren't sure what you were supposed to say to that, but thankfully, an answer didn't seem to be expected.

"Pah." Dobie leaned against the backrest, squinting into the sun. "No need for them to get their paws on all the plants, too. Leif's doing a decent job. Don't have much to complain about there."

He peered at you. Involuntarily, you straightened a bit.

"Don't let those Nooklings pull you over the barrel, you hear me?"

"Uhm…"

"Dobie!" Isabelle admonished, "Don't unnerve them! It's their first day on the island!"

She turned to you, saying, "Don't pay too much attention to all that. Timmy and Tommy are trustworthy, Dobie is just grumpy that they wouldn't go down with the price of their shovels just because he goes through so many of them."

Dobie huffed. "Have a bit more respect for your elders instead of gossiping," he muttered under his breath.

Then he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. "Don't you two have to be on your way now? I actually meant to enjoy the sun… and the quiet."

"Of course! See you later, Dobie," Isabelle cheerfully bid him goodbye. You quickly mumbled that it had been a pleasure to meet him – he grunted in response – and soon you and Isabelle were on your way again, leaving the small park behind.

"'Nooklings'?" you asked as soon as the two of you were out of listening range.

Isabelle blinked. "Oh. Timmy and Tommy are often called that because… well, you'll understand soon!"

You wondered whether you were supposed to consider that the ominous warning it sounded like.

"Oh, and don't let Dobie get to you too much. He can be a bit grumpy, but he's very nice underneath all that. He just doesn't like to admit that he's a real softie." She giggled to herself.

You remained silent for a moment, wondering whether to voice what was on your mind or not – in the end, you mumbled, "He must not like me very much."

Of course, it was stupid to assume that all inhabitants of this island would take to you as kindly as Isabelle or Dr. Raddle or the dodo brothers. They already were the exception, not the rule – most animals didn't have much love for humans, as you had learned back in the city.

Isabelle looked at you all puzzled, before laughing again.

"No, no! You're getting it all wrong! He clearly likes you already."

You shot her a dubious look.

"I mean it! He wouldn't have told you to be careful otherwise. He's looking out for you!"

She coughed.

"Although, of course, he's still exaggerating."

You remained silent as the two of you kept walking. The last time you'd had someone looking out for you had been when your grandma was still alive, and your mind stumbled over the concept of an animal stranger you'd just met caring for your well-being. One who was not an affiliate or employee of Mr. Nook, you internally amended with a side glance at Isabelle. If the tanuki was trying to lower your defences for whatever reason (selling you, for example; which was a concern you were still unable to shake off), he would have of course told his employees to treat you especially nicely.

Isabelle's cheerful voice tore you from your thoughts.

"Here we are!"

You had by now arrived in what looked like the main plaza at the town's centre, and right in front of you lay a wooden building with striped awnings over its large showcase windows. A sign above the building's wooden double doors proclaimed it to be called 'Nook's Cranny'.

"Let's go inside; I can't wait to introduce you!"

You felt less enthusiastic, but trudged after Isabelle when she held open the doors for you. As you entered, you read what was posted to the wooden board next to the entrance: 'Looking for tea sets! Will pay extra!'

A shop bell rang as you stepped through the doors, and a voice sounded from somewhere in the back.

"Just a moment, please!"

You used the moment to look around at what the shop had to offer, spotting a display of furniture and wallpapers as well as a corner dedicated to what looked like gardening tools. Home décor items were displayed in one of the windows, some of them looking quite high-end. In the other window, you spotted sand toys and teddy bears next to home appliances.

Although the wares on sale here seemed like an eclectic mix of everything, the store looked quite orderly and well-kept. It seemed like it aimed to offer whatever the island residents could want; the only thing you couldn't see offered here were groceries.

"There we are! What can we do for you?" you heard the same voice as earlier, now much closer. You quickly looked in the direction it had come from and saw two short furry figures walking through a doorway that must lead to the back of the shop.

You tensed involuntarily and had to blink a few times: For a moment, it looked to you as if there were suddenly two Mr. Nooks on this island, only that whatever copying process was to blame had resulted in both of them being a good bit shorter than the original.

Then you realised that no, these two were children.

And they had now spotted you – their steps slowed, and they stared at you with big, round eyes as you still stood frozen.

Yokai children were no less dangerous than adult ones – and tanuki had very long lifespans, so you couldn't even tell whether these two really were younger than you.

They were adorable still.

"Ooh, it's a human!" one finally broke the building silence.

"A human!" the shorter of the two echoed, equally as astonished.

They both were clad in shopkeeper uniforms and looked so much like Mr. Nook that it was unnerving. Wide-eyed child versions of Mr. Nook, that is. 'Nooklings' indeed.

"May I introduce you to our newest resident?" Isabelle said from your left. You had almost forgotten about her in your shock that there was more than one yokai on this island.

"Hello!" the tanuki said, in unison.

"Welcome to Nook's Cranny. I'm Timmy!"

"And I'm Tommy! Is there anything we can help you with?"

You tried to look for ways to tell them apart. Tommy was a bit shorter, and Timmy's fur looked a bit curlier than his brother's (because they had to be brothers, right?) – but that could just as well be your imagination. Hopefully you'd never confuse them. Who knew how they would react to such a faux pas…

Isabelle gently nudged your arm, causing you to jump a bit. The tanuki were looking at you expectantly, and you slowly remembered why you were here. You nervously cleared your throat.

"Uhm. Mr. Nook gave me this phone, and-"

You swallowed; your throat felt so dry all of a sudden. You had never asked a yokai for a favour, and it was hard to get the words out even if Mr. Nook had said you should ask these two.

"…Well, I've never had a phone before, and Mr. Nook said you could tell me how to use it?"

You hoped that that hadn't come out sounding too demanding.

Timmy and Tommy exchanged a look – and nodded eagerly, shooting you two identical close-eyed smiles (reminding you a lot of Mr. Nook, too).

"Of course," Timmy said, "We know the NookPhone almost as well as Mr. Nook himself. Show us yours!"

"Show us!"

What followed was an exhaustive and almost professional introduction into the workings of the NookPhone – your mind was swimming with all the options that little rectangle gave you beyond calling someone. It turned out that Mr. Nook was registered as your emergency contact, which Timmy and Tommy reacted to with an impressed "ooohh". You supposed that it only made sense.

"Did you understand everything?" Tommy asked after they had explained what they called only the most important functions (you weren't sure whether the bug encyclopaedia was that important, but you weren't going to argue).

"I think so. Thank you," you said – and, for good measure, added that at least you definitely knew now how to call Mr. Nook in an emergency (even though you still had no intention of ever doing that).

"And don't forget about the shopping app!" Timmy said. "Wouldn't you like a case for your NookPhone? We even have ones you can customise any way you like!"

"Any way you like," Tommy repeated and showed you one of the cases in question. "Or maybe you want to camp out on the beach one of these days? See the sunrise in the morning? We have tents and any other supplies you need for the perfect camping trip!"

You suddenly understood what Dobie had meant. Timmy and Tommy certainly were enthusiastic about leading their store.

Fortunately, Isabelle chose this moment to intervene.

"Unfortunately, I'd like to move on to the next stop now – we still have most of the island tour before us! But I'm sure we'll be back, won't we?"

"Uhm… Yeah, of course," you managed to say as Isabelle gently ushered you out of the store.

"Well, then, see you later," Timmy called after you.

"Later!" Tommy added, then the door closed between you and the two tanuki.

You exhaled a small sigh of relief.

Isabelle adjusted her hair tie and shot you a sheepish smile. "Sorry for creating such a hurry… But if they'd gotten into their full sales pitch, we wouldn't have left for a while."

You laughed weakly, putting your NookPhone back into your pocket. "I don't even have any money…"

In fact, you had nothing to your name but the ratty clothes you were wearing at the moment.

"Oh, don't worry about that now!" Isabelle said, as if it weren't an issue at all. "You can take your time figuring out if you want to earn something extra to buy new furniture, or whatever else you want."

"But what about food?"

Isabelle stopped walking and looked at you, at first confused before something akin to pity snuck into her expression.

"You don't have to worry about that, either," she said softly. "Groceries and anything else you need to live are free for all residents."

She gestured at the pocket that you had let your new phone disappear into.

"You just need to order it through the shopping app, and it will be delivered to your house."

You stared at her, uncomprehending.

"Food is just… free?"

Could you have even heard that correctly? Getting enough food had been a constant struggle for you, where most of the time you had had to resort to stealing – and here it was just given to you? Just like that?

Isabelle nodded enthusiastically. "It's all part of Mr. Nook's island life package. You only need to pay extra for things like new clothes or decorations or hobby supplies."

"Oh," you said – you couldn't think of anything else to say.

Suddenly, a soft paw took hold of your hand – you looked up and saw right into Isabelle's determined face.

"You don't have to worry anymore," she repeated, and covered your hand with her other paw. "I can't say I know about anything you've been through, but I can guess. And it's behind you now. You don't have to be hungry again, or sleep in the cold. Mr. Nook brought you here so you would have a safe place to stay."

She sought your eyes and gave you a gentle smile, although it looked a bit sad as well.

Without further warning, she pulled you into a hug.

"I'm glad you're here," she said as tears rose to your eyes.

And all you could think about was how she had said that the house, the food, the safety were all part of the island life package – the thing Mr. Nook was selling to people like Dobie. It must cost him so much money to just give it all to you.

Again you were wondering just why he had brought you here.

So many good things – they couldn't be without their price.

You sobbed into Isabelle's neck as she murmured soothing words you could barely comprehend, probably misunderstanding your tears. You couldn't bring yourself to tell her how scared you were.

When was Mr. Nook finally going to reveal what he had planned, doing all of this?

"Would you prefer to go home?" Isabelle asked gently.

You shook your head and freed yourself from her embrace. You tried to wipe your tears with your sleeve, but Isabelle offered you a handkerchief that you gratefully accepted.

"I would like to see more of the island," you said. "If that's okay with you."

Isabelle smiled. "Of course it is. I know a nice place to take a little break."

You sniffled and swallowed another sob.

"That does sound nice," you said.

Chapter Text

You let Isabelle lead the way towards the “nice place” she’d mentioned. She never let go of your hand, like she was afraid you would get lost if she did.

Maybe that was a valid concern. If she hadn’t been holding on, who knew: You were deep in thought, so deep that you might have stopped walking and lost sight of her without noticing if she hadn’t been pulling you along.

Your eyes glanced past the building fronts and small shops of the town centre, hardly really noticing any of it – but your senses, honed for such things, did pick up on the looks you were getting from the handful of people milling about at this time of day. You always knew when someone was looking at you – a survival instinct developed over many years of existing in the city. You wondered again how many people lived on this island. All of them would be either Mr. Nook’s employees, or those wealthy enough to afford what he was selling.

A wildly dangerous environment for a human to be in.

Obviously, the biggest danger here was Mr. Nook himself. Animals on this island wouldn’t – and pretty much couldn’t – touch you no matter how rich they were, as long as the tanuki disagreed. Therefore, it was useless to focus on those other inhabitants. Instead, you needed to figure out what was truly going on here. Dr. Raddle and Isabelle had told you a lot of confusing things, but the point of the matter was that you needed to learn as much about Mr. Nook as you could.

And you decided to start right here, right now.

“Isabelle?” you ventured carefully.

She immediately turned towards you, slowing her steps a little. A hint of worry lay in her expression, but her voice was cheerful as she said, “Yes?”

You swallowed. You still had to fight against your experience that told you you weren’t to speak unbidden to either yokai or animal.

“Are Timmy and Tommy Mr. Nook’s sons?”

Isabelle blinked.

“Oh!”

A bright smile spread on her face.

“They’re not – well, at least that’s what all three of them will tell you. According to them, they only have a business relationship. But the little ones live with Mr. Nook and he clearly cares for them deeply, so none of us believe them.” She giggled quietly, “They even chose their names after Mr. Nook’s, after all!”

Timmy and Tommy because- right.

“Chose their names?”

Isabelle’s mirthful expression dimmed a bit.

“They were orphans living in the streets when he took them in.”

“…Oh.”

You reeled from the impact this new information had on you. You did feel bad for the two little tanuki. Apparently, even some yokai children ended up abandoned… You didn’t know how old they were or what they had seen of the world, but no-one deserved to be left behind like that.

But more than that, you started to wonder whether this was some kind of hobby for Mr. Nook – finding lonesome creatures with nowhere to go and taking them in.

…Did that mean that you were his employee now, too?

The thought was absurd, and it must have shown on your face, since Isabelle shot you a strange look. You hoped you hadn’t accidentally smiled. “That was nice of him,” you quickly said.

“That’s just how Mr. Nook is,” Isabelle replied back, a small but knowing smile on her face as she looked at you. “And you wouldn’t find anyone on this entire island more loyal to him than Timmy and Tommy.”

“I can imagine,” you mumbled, and made a mental note of it.

The more you heard about Mr. Nook, the more exceptional of a yokai he appeared to be. Everyone kept praising him and insisting that he was really that nice, and what’s more, when you looked at Isabelle, you didn’t even think that she was lying to you. At the very least she herself seemed to believe that she was telling the truth.

While you were still pondering this, the two of you had stopped in front of a charming little brick building by the town square. Its large windows were shaded by pastel green-and-white striped awnings, while the writing on the glass door advertised this to be ‘Tia and Merengue’s Tea House and Patisserie.’

The tables and chairs set up outside the store-front were empty, but of course, it was still pretty early in the day. Still, you weren’t surprised when Isabelle gently ushered you through the door with a, “This is the place I was talking about! Oh, I’m sure it’ll become a favourite of yours, too!”

The store’s interior was charming and looked cosy, keeping in with the theme of the outside décor. Small tables and comfy-looking seats in that same soft green were surrounded by large planters and wooden lattice partitions that gave everything a calm and relaxing atmosphere. Against one of the walls stood a piano.

And on top of all that, a delicious scent of tea leaves and pastries wafted through the air from the counter at the back of the room.

“Welcome!” a voice sounded from that same direction, and while you couldn't see the speaker, you thought that the voice sounded sweet and feminine, “One moment, I’ll be with you shortly!”

“No need to rush,” Isabelle replied, while you decided to just wait and see what happened.

A moment later, an elephant woman clad in a dress and apron hurried out of the double doors leading to what you presumed to be the kitchen.

“Isabelle! You’re here early today! But of course, it’s always great to have you. And you’ve brought—”

Her eyes fell onto your form, and her voice cut off.

“Um… hi,” you dared, trying not to stare too much in return.

When the yokai had elevated certain animals to sapience, some had evidently… experimented a bit. An elephant with a somewhat teapot-like head and porcelain patterns on her smooth white skin was by far not the weirdest thing you had ever seen, but still, you were seeing it for the first time.

The elephant lady gasped.

“You’re the human I’ve already heard so much about! Welcome to the island! It’s so nice to meet you – I’m Tia, by the way!”

She rushed over to you, clapping her hands together in excitement.

“Oh, you’re so much cuter than I imagined! Your round head, and your adorable little nose…!”

You blinked at her, a bit surprised by her enthusiasm. You had never thought of your nose as especially small, but you supposed that to an elephant, it was.

Tia trailed off – then you could watch a delicate blush spread across her cheeks.

“Oh no, I’m sorry! I hope I didn’t offend you. That was a bit insensitive, wasn’t it?”

“It’s fine,” you hurried to assure her, because she looked genuinely distraught at the idea of having insulted you.

Tia sighed, relieved. “I’m glad. Still, I’m sorry for letting my excitement get to me. I’ve never met a human before, you know; and when I heard that one had moved here to the island, I was really looking forward to meeting them. Meeting you!”

She turned to Isabelle, “I didn’t expect you to bring them over so soon.”

“I’m showing them around, so of course we had to stop by. That said, news sure spreads fast around here,” Isabelle said with a laugh.

Tia winked. “I heard it from Wilbur today when he came in to get his morning coffee.”

“Right, Wilbur’s never been able to hold his beak about such things for long…”

They both laughed brightly at that, and you couldn’t help but smile along. Apparently the pilot was a bit of a gossip. You could only hope that he’d said only positive things – at that thought, your heart sank a bit. He’d been the first animal in a long time that had been kind to you.

“Sit down, you two, sit down,” Tia said, unaware of your musings, and ushered you to a table by one of the large windows looking out towards the plaza. You sank into one of the comfy chairs, growing a bit more confident about being here with each passing moment even though, of course, you’d never visited a café let alone a tea house and patisserie before.

“Do you already know what you’ll have, or should I bring you a menu…?”

“A menu would be nice,” Isabelle replied with a look in your direction. Grateful for that, you simply nodded.

“Of course,” Tia replied brightly and disappeared behind the counter for a brief moment before returning with two menus, one for you and one for Isabelle.

You stared at yours, overwhelmed by the options and barely recognising half of those words. Knowing from experience that showing your ignorance of Animalese vocabulary usually resulted in derision aimed at you, you didn’t really want to ask for help – but when you accidentally glanced up at Isabelle anyway, you saw that she hadn’t even picked up her menu.

“I already know what I’m going to order,” she said with a smile, “Do you want to hear my recommendations?”

Relieved at the easy out she’d given you, you nodded again.

Isabelle began telling you about her favourite pastries (and she seemed to have many of those since she went through pretty much every item on the menu with you!), but it wasn’t long until the two of you were interrupted by Tia, who was returning to the table carrying a serving tray.

“Jasmine tea,” she explained as she placed one steaming cup each in front of you two. The blue flower pattern on the porcelain looked similar to the one on her skin, and you wondered if the cups had been custom made. “These are on the house.”

“Oh… thank you so much,” you mumbled, inhaling the soft floral scent of the tea. “That really wouldn’t have been necessary…”

“Nonsense,” Tia said, waving you off. She still seemed a bit apologetic for earlier. “Just consider it a welcome gift!”

You were about to thank her again when another voice came from the direction of the kitchen.

“Darling? Do we have customers…?”

All three of you turned towards the voice, and you saw a rhino walk out from behind the counter, wiping her flour-covered hands on her apron.

“The cream puffs are almost done, and I- oh!”

Her gaze met yours, and just like with Tia, you had a moment of being mesmerized by this newcomer, whose horns were similar in appearance to a strawberry and a dollop of whipped cream respectively. Her voice was soft and high, and her whole demeanour was far more delicate than one might have expected from a rhino.

Her small ears twitched attentively as a smile spread on her face.

“A new face, and what a lovely one! What’s your name, dear?”

You introduced yourself for the nth time that day, not that you minded. You weren’t used to people referring to you by your name; it was a pleasant change.

“I’m Merengue,” the rhino lady said, “I’m the pastry chef here. Pleased to meet you!”

You couldn’t shake the question of whether Merengue had chosen to become a pastry chef because of her looks, because she looked like a cake herself. You didn’t ask, of course, because that would have been rude.

“The most excellent pastry chef,” Tia said, walking over and giving Merengue a little peck on the cheek, “and also my lovely wife.”

Merengue’s pink cheeks deepened in colour and she swatted playfully at the elephant, “Oh, quit it. You’re embarrassing me in front of our customers with your flattery! You should better tell me if you’ve already taken their orders.”

Without waiting for her wife to answer, she turned back to you.

“What will it be, dear?”

Your eyes darted to Isabelle and her encouraging smile, then back. You cleared your throat, “Um… I wouldn’t mind one of those cream puffs you mentioned, if that’s possible…?”

“Certainly! That is, if you’re okay with waiting a few more minutes for me to finish making them…?”

“We have time,” Isabelle quickly said, not giving you the chance to feel like you’d made the wrong choice.

“Wonderful,” Tia chimed in with a smile as gentle as the aroma of the jasmine tea, “So, one cream puff… and the usual for you, Isabelle?”

“Yep!”

Tia nodded, and her and Merengue disappeared back into the kitchen with a promise that their order wouldn’t take long at all.

“Sweethearts, aren’t they?” Isabelle said when they were gone. “And just you wait until you’ve tasted Merengue’s pastries. You couldn't find better ones even on the mainland!”

You doubted that you’d ever get the chance to verify that for yourself, but you were ready to believe her.

While the two of you waited, you took the time to watch the town square outside, enjoying the warm sunlight filtering in through the window. Isabelle didn’t interrupt; you both sipped your teas in comfortable silence as you watched the passer-bys outside the store. The streets had grown significantly more lively as the day progressed, and you could see a variety of different animal species milling about the plaza. None of them looked to be in any particular hurry, unlike the city populace you were familiar with. You supposed island life was a lot slower and more relaxed – probably because nobody here was under the pressure of having to earn enough bells to survive.

Still you couldn’t believe that Mr. Nook was willing to hand you that kind of life on a silver platter. Just like that. There had to be some kind of catch that you were going to find out about sooner or later.

You caught yourself harbouring the silly hope that it would be later – to be honest, you were looking forward to enjoying all these amenities even if it was just for a bit. If you were doomed anyway, you should at least take the time to try all the pastries and see all the beach sunsets and enjoy your own house to your heart’s content.

Though that left you with the question of how you could get the money to spend on such things, since Isabelle had told you that they weren’t included in the island package deal (that you hadn’t paid for in the first place. Yet).

You were still pondering this when Tia returned from the kitchen with two plates.

“Here you go,” she said brightly, placing your ordered cream puff in front of you. A crispy brown pastry, loaded with whipped cream, and topped with a light dusting of powdered sugar – it looked more perfect and delectable than anything you’d ever eaten. You wondered if Dr. Raddle would approve. Cream puffs probably weren’t on the list of optimum nutrition for a human.

You doubted that it mattered, though.

Isabelle, who had ordered a similarly delicious-looking lemon tart, watched with visible delight as you finally dug into your treat.

“It’s so good,” you sighed between two cream-laden bites.

“I’ll tell Merengue you said that,” Tia chirped – she’d been lingering at your table, probably because she was aiming to see your reaction to her wife’s baking. Not that there were any other customers she had to tend to at the moment, so you wouldn’t fault her for that.

“See?” Isabelle beamed at you. “I told you you’d love it here.”

“Yeah… yeah, I do.”

You sighed again, though this time it was more wistful rather than simply full of joy.

“I wish I could come here every day.”

Tia tilted her head, a kind smile on her face. “We’d be happy to see you around more often.”

You smiled back at her, a bit apologetic.

“I think I currently don’t have the-” you glanced at Isabelle, “-the funds.”

“Don’t worry too much about that,” Isabelle said, “You’ve only just arrived, after all! In time, I’m sure you’ll find something you’d like to do if you want to earn some pocket money.”

Tia blinked.

“Well,” she began slowly, like the idea was still forming in her head, “I’m usually the only one waiting tables, and it can get a bit hectic on busy days… If you want to, maybe you could help us out in here as a server?”

“Uhm…”

“Of course, I’d have to talk it over with Merengue first, but I’m sure she wouldn’t be opposed to hiring some help for the weekends.”

Isabelle clapped her paws together. “That sounds like a wonderful idea!” she exclaimed, beaming first at Tia, then at you. “And it’s the perfect opportunity to get to know everyone, too! Most of the island residents come here at least occasionally.”

You pulled up your shoulders, a bit overwhelmed by it all. “I- I don’t know…”

“There’s no rush,” Tia reassured you. “You’ve only just arrived on the island and I’m sure you’re still exhausted from everything. Take a few days to adjust and think about it, okay? No pressure. I know this isn’t a job for everyone, but the offer stands.”

Blushing a bit, you nodded.

“Thank you.”

Tia’s expression softened.

“Of course. You’ll find that people on this island like to help each other, so make sure to ask if you need something, alright? I’m sure everyone will be happy to assist their new neighbour. They’re an interesting bunch, but all of them are nice people. Some need a bit of time to warm up to new faces, but I’m sure they will treat you kindly.”

There was a lump in your throat, but fortunately, neither Tia nor Isabelle pressured you to speak.

Giving you some space, they entered a conversation about the weather and news from the mainland and similar small-talk while you willed yourself not to cry again. You’d already lost enough water today.

The opportunities before you were almost petrifying. You’d been fending for yourself since your grandma’s death and were never under any illusion that this could ever change – the only alternative was a vastly worse fate in your eyes. You were a human, after all, and this wasn’t your world anymore. You could hardly even imagine what that time was like.

But here, apparently, none of that mattered. Because of Mr. Nook? You didn’t know.

You knew very little, and it was high time you started learning.

You ordered another cup of jasmine tea.