3 A Little Kitten at That?

"Meow…"

Kate finally calmed down. After all that wailing, crying, and screaming, she was calm. She had to be. She had also accepted the situation. Not that she wanted to , but because she could see no other way out. .

She must think.

Her body…

She could only come up with two possibilities. One, her original body had fused, somehow, with this cat. Two, a soul exchange had occurred and the little kitten then piloted her body out of the classroom. She was more inclined to the first guess since a little kitten would not, she hoped, be able to open the door by itself. 

Kate did not like the idea of having to track down her own rogue body while it's controlled by the soul of a kitten. Not one bit.

Besides, she comforted herself, the door locked automatically. 

However…there was a chance that someone else could open the door from outside. If the kitten did end up in her body, it probably could not speak, much less call for help. But it surely struggled with its new form too. A passer-by might have tried to save it. 

If so, her body might just be out wandering on its own! 

Kate decided to just be optimistic for now and check the door's record later. She definitely couldn't check on her own, so she would ask for help.

Ask for help….

Kate forced herself to calm down again. There was little she could do now except to try waking Professor Kyle. He would understand her.

Wait, would he understand her?

He's this little kitten's owner, so he should be able to understand her, right?

Kate was distressed, but there's no point in wallowing. Uncomfortable as it was, she needed to get used to this body if she was to do anything. 

She attempted to take a few steps forward. It's just walking! Left, right, left, right. How hard could it be? 

Thud!

After walking a few steps, Kate dropped to the ground once more. Kate felt really desperate and uncomfortable.

'Come on, you can do it.'

Cheering for herself, Kate attempted to try walking once more. 

'Left, right, left right, left right…'

Thud!

Learning to walk again was harder than Kate had expected. She briefly wondered if a kitten had less developed legs than an adult cat. Moving all four limbs at once was strange, but she managed by imagining that she was crawling.

Her gait was far from the quick, elegant stride of cats, but it was better than nothing.

At least, she could move!

Kate's delight did not last long. She felt a strange, yet oddly recognisable, sensation in her stomach. 

Hunger. 

Kate hobbled towards Professor Kyle and nudged his hand. He did not move. Kate sighed, or rather, meowed. 

Although Professor Kyle did not seem like an animal lover, he was definitely a responsible man. There should be some food for the kitten in his bag, if kittens had to be fed very regularly… Kate did not know much about cats, so she could only hope. As she made her way, slowly and unsteadily, around Professor Kyle's body to reach his bag, she couldn't help but remember how this would take just a single step in her original body.

Professor Kyle's bag was, thankfully, not properly closed. Kate squeezed under the flap, careful to avoid the velcro. 

In the dimness, among books and papers and files, Kate made out the shape of a small milk bottle. Her eyes lit up, but her heart sank when she saw that it was capped. 

Perhaps she could look for food elsewhere? But this kitten was still very young, and she did not want to risk hurting its body by eating strange things. 

She had no choice again. 

Using one paw to keep the bottle in place, Kate tried to slide her claws between the cap and the bottle. She gave it a push and…

Found herself flung to the other side of the bottle. She had overestimated this kitten's strength. 

Luckily, she did succeed in loosening the cap. It took a little more effort to remove it entirely. 

Looking at the plastic teat, Kate suddenly felt flustered and embarrassed. The reality of becoming a baby, even if a baby of another species, finally hit her. 

'I feel like I've turned into a baby again…'

Kate wanted to cry.

Her desire to survive eventually won over her shame. No one, she told herself, is looking anyways. Even then, she drank as quickly as possible.

There was still some milk left after she had her fill, but she could not be bothered to try closing the bottle. This body was small and weak. She needed to conserve its energy. 

Feeling far better than she did when she first woke up, Kate crawled out of the bag to survey her surroundings. 

Professor Kyle was still out cold. 

Now what?