Nemoi found herself in Ava's office yet again. She was really treading on thin ice now ,and if Nemoi didn't start to get her act together she was never going to get the life everyone thought she deserved. It was true that Nemoi had caused a lot of problems since her arrival at the Academy. It wasn't that she wanted to cause problems, nor did she want everyone constantly hawking over her like she was some sort of escaped convict. Nemoi just wanted a shot at normalcy. Was that so much to ask for?

There were some things that would need to be conditioned out of Nemoi. She had only been at the Academy for about a year now, and she was still incredibly rough around the edges. Really, she wanted to make friends. She tried hard each and every day to try and get to know people, but they were all so afraid of her. What was she doing wrong?

Was it the smell? Was it matted hair? Was it the knots in her fur? Some combination of all three? How much harder did Nemoi have to try in order to win over the affection and attention of her peers? They spent so much of their time pointing and commenting and laughing at her rough appearance. It wasn't the fault of the caretakers ... they tried to keep Nemoi looking 'spiffed', as Nemoi liked to call it. They gave her nice clothes and spent hours brushing out her tangled, messy hair and fur. But Nemoi always gravitated back to her security sweater ... it had been made from the blanket her street mother had given her before she passed. It was all she had left of her, and Nemoi had done a good job of patching it up over the years. But the sweater was getting smaller and smaller with each passing day, and now her midriff was starting to bare itself to the world. Nemoi felt exposed ...

Was it a sign? To shed her old skin and to try new things? Was it time to step away from the comfort her sweater had given her all this time and to finally venture in to this new world at the Academy? It seemed like Nemoi's only hope if she wanted a shot at a real, decent life ...

Nemoi had to try ...