Really Strange Stuff

=::= Callie's PoV =::=

"This is it," I said as I brought the car to a stop. "This is where it all began."

I paused for a deep breath, then my ears folded back as began in a soft voice. "So that's the Arkansas River over there to our left. A local creek empties into the river about a half mile upstream from here, and less than a thousand feet downstream there's a sand and gravel company. But this area here in between is all parkland."

"It used to be a settlement though," I continued. "Way back before the Civil War, before Conway was founded, there was a port here on the river. They made it into a park to preserve some of the historical stuff. There's a couple old cemeteries, a restored blockhouse, some educational exhibits."

I added, "There's also some modern facilities, like a boat launch and picnic areas, hiking trails, an info centre with public washrooms and stuff. But this is where I did my very first cryptid hunt."

"I remember," Serenity nodded slowly as she looked around from where she was seated to my right. "You were hunting some sort of mud monster, right?"

Luckily it was dark enough that nobody could see how bright I was blushing. My girlfriends probably noticed my cringe though, and they'd definitely hear the embarrassment in my voice.

"Yeah," I replied. "I was so stupid back then, just a bored lonely teenage boy trying to act out some of the shit I saw on TV. Like that was what, twenty-thirteen? Twenty-fourteen? I think the paranormal TV craze was already fading out, but there were endless reruns on cable. And I was big into all that stuff, you know? So I heard some stupid story about a mud-monster lurking along the shores of the river. All I had in the way of gear was a crappy old digital point-and-shoot camera that I modified to take infra-red pictures, and a flashlight. Oh and I had a pocket knife and a big stick I was gonna use as a club I guess?"

I shook my head, "I don't even remember how many nights I came out here, and all I ever got to show for it was a lot of mud on my shoes and some pictures of the ground. Then the next spring I was back here lurking around the old settler cemeteries looking for ghosts."

My best friend reached over and put a hand on my shoulder as she said, "I know stuff like that feels silly when we think back at it Callie? But remember, that's the kind of shit that brought us together. I was into the same stuff, and when I found your monster-hunting social media feed I thought you had to be the coolest kid in Arkansas."

I couldn't help smiling, "Thanks Sere. You were pretty cool yourself, you know? I remember looking at your posts and being jealous. You had way cooler places to investigate, and your gear was way better than any of the junk I cobbled together."

"Hey," she stated. "You did amazing stuff. The fact that you built your own IR camera blew me away. I didn't even know you could do that!"

I blushed again, "I didn't build it. Like I said it was some shitty point-and-shoot? I just followed some instructions I found online, about how to modify it to shoot infrared. And even then it didn't really do night vision stuff. Mostly it just added a pink tinge to everything."

"Sorry to interrupt you two," Bailey finally spoke up from the back seat, "But maybe we can continue the tour down memory lane tomorrow? It's late, we've been in the car all day, and my tail is killing me. Can we just head over to your parents' place now? I'm sure they're wondering where we are."

Before I could respond she added, "I know you're nervous cutie, but I'm sure it's going to be fine."

My ears drooped and I cringed again as I put the car back in gear, "Yeah ok Bailey. Sorry."

I put the car back in gear and drove us back up the lonely road towards the highway. That would have been the quicker option, but instead I took us right into Conway so I could point out a few other notable locations on our way through town.

After another ten or twelve minutes I finally turned onto the long driveway of an old two-story country home that sat on about an acre of land, with some mature trees scattered around. It was an older place but my pa was pretty handy and did a good job keeping the house in good shape. There was a little workshop in a converted shed out back, and both my pa's pickup and ma's car were parked at the end of the long driveway.

The lights were on over the front porch, and in the kitchen and living-room windows. It was only about nine o'clock, so I figured my folks were probably watching TV or something.

My ears stayed folded back and my tail was tucked between my legs when we emerged from the car. The three of us got our stuff from the trunk, then I led the way up the steps onto the porch. And after taking another deep breath to brace myself, I knocked at the front door.

A half minute later it swung open to reveal my mother. Her eyes were wide as she stared at me for a couple seconds, before taking in my two girlfriends.

"Hi ma," I greeted her with an anxious smile. "You're looking good."

She stared at me for another second or two before smiling back, "Hello hon. Sorry for staring, I just... It's a real shock seeing you in person. You're so small!"

I felt my cheeks heating up again as I shrugged, "Yeah I shrank a bit when I turned into a catgirl. I don't mind it though. It's..."

My voice trailed off as my pa came to the door. He was a big bear of a man, even before the plushie I was small next to him. Now I felt like a little kid by comparison, as I stared up at him.

He was staring back down at me as well, and his eyes trailed over my ears then back to my tail. From the expression on his face I could tell he was struggling to figure out what to say, while the rest of us just waited quietly.

"So this is you now huh?" pa finally asked. "My youngest boy's grown up to be a tiny catgirl."

I gulped then nodded, "Yeah pa, it's me. Like I said on the phone and in my emails and everything, I've changed my name to Callie. And like you can see, I'm a girl now."

"This here's my girlfriend Serenity Varela," I added as I gestured towards the tall sexy catgirl to my left. Then I motioned to the right as I continued, "And this is my other girlfriend Bailey Hoffman."

I kept going, "Sere, Bails, these are my folks, Marcie and Jim Wilson."

Everyone exchanged polite greetings before ma exclaimed, "Goodness where's my manners at, leaving you girls standing on the porch like strangers! Come on in, let's get you all settled. Did you get dinner on the road, or can I fix you up something to eat? And how about something to drink?"

We ended up taking our things upstairs to the guest room, which was originally my brother's bedroom. All Dean's stuff was long gone though, now there was just a queen sized bed and a dresser in there, which was good enough for the three of us. Fortunately neither ma or pa had any trouble with Serenity and Bailey and I sharing a room or a bed during our stay.

Then all five of us got seated in the living-room where my ma served up some refreshments. My girlfriends and I just had sodas, but my folks had some alcohol mixed in with theirs. And ma put out some chips and veggies and dip, incase anyone was hungry. We'd already eaten but everyone nibbled a bit on the snacks as we talked.

Both my parents were curious about our work, they wanted to know how the podcast and channel were doing. And how the three of us were enjoying life together in Chicago. They had more questions for Serenity and Bailey too, like they made an effort to get to know both of my girlfriends better.

We all decided to turn in for the night around eleven, since the three of us were tired from the long drive and both my parents had work the next day. My folks let Bailey and Serenity and I sleep in the following morning too, by the time we got up we had the house to ourselves, according to the note ma left on the fridge.

After a late breakfast my girlfriends and I spent most of Tuesday touring around town. I showed them the UCA campus where I studied journalism, and drove by my old high school. I pointed out the public school where my sister taught fourth grade. At one point we drove past the hospital where mom worked as a nurse, but we didn't bother visiting the industrial park where pa worked as a machinist for a big tool and die business.

And of course I took Bailey and Serenity to all my old haunts, places I used to look for ghosts or cryptids or magic or whatever. There were old abandoned farmsteads, burnt-out factory buildings, more settlers' gravesites, all that good stuff.

Wednesday was more of the same, but Thursday was a little different. Ma was off work so we spent most of the day hanging out around the house with her, and she ended up telling my girlfriends some embarrassing stories of when I was younger. She was really good not to deadname or misgender me though, even talking about all the stupid stuff I did in my teens.

By the afternoon the four of us were in the kitchen, my girlfriends were relaxing at the table while I helped ma prepare a big family feast. It was a little unusual for the family to get together on a Thursday, but my girlfriends and I were heading back to Chicago on Friday the thirtieth, so the three of us could do new years eve together at home on Saturday. So ma invited both my siblings over for dinner, which had me feeling anxious all over again as I worried how they'd react.

Savanah showed up first, she let herself in the side door just before five in the afternoon. And she stopped and stared as soon as she saw us in the kitchen. She was a tall slim attractive blonde, and despite her being two years older than me we used to be mistaken for fraternal twins back before I got my plush kitty.

"Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed as a wide smile settled on her face. "I've seen the videos, but I had no idea you'd be this cute in person Callie!"

She looked to my girlfriends next as she continued, "Damn my baby sister got lucky. Not one but two beautiful girlfriends."

Of all the possible reactions I imagined my sister would have, that was not one of them and it left me blushing again. I also couldn't help wondering if she was just saying that to be polite, or if maybe she had some secrets of her own that I didn't know about. I wasn't about to ask in front of our ma though.

"Hi Savannah," I replied, before introducing her to my girlfriends.

She greeted them both politely, but was back to teasing me again as she joined ma and I with the rest of the preparations.

Pa got home from work at about six, and it was half past when my brother finally turned up. He let himself in the front door and called out "Hi ma, pa, sis. Dinner smells good, sorry if I kept y'all waiting!"

We were all in the living-room at that point, and once again I felt myself cringing. Dean walked into the room a moment later then stopped as his eyes swept over my girlfriends before settling on me.

Where me and Savannah both got some of pa's height but most of our looks from our ma, my big brother seemed to get most of his genes from our old man. He had the same short dark hair and dark eyes, and while he wasn't as bulky as pa he was still a big strong tough-looking guy. He had the kind of body that made folks think he was a bouncer or something, instead of a network engineer. He'd always been taller and bigger than me, and being almost five years older meant I got most of my bullying from him, rather than any of the kids at school.

"So," Dean finally said as he continued looking me over. "It's Callie now, is it? This is what you got to show from eight years of chasing ghosts and supernatural nonsense?"

My ears folded back again as I looked up at him and nodded. I tried to act a lot more confident than I felt as I replied, "That's right Dean. What I got is proof of real magic, live on camera. I also got a few thousand fans and supporters. Oh and not one, but two beautiful smart amazing girlfriends. All that and I'm doing work I love, with my two favourite people in the world."

My brother stared at me for another second or two, before his expression softened into a smile. "Sounds like you're living the dream, baby sister. All that and no bosses or managers either? No unpaid overtime, no working late hours or weekends at the office."

My girlfriends and I all relaxed, and I couldn't help smiling back at him. "We actually work a lot of evenings and weekends, but we don't have nine-to-five hours. And a lot of times it doesn't even feel like work. We're just three girlfriends doing stuff we love, and getting paid to do it."

With that my brother and I settled into some familiar teasing. He pointed out that I didn't have health insurance or a retirement plan, I reminded him that I got to sleep in whenever I wanted. And now I could take catnaps with my girlfriends whenever the three of us felt like it. He bragged about his six-figure salary and the fact that he owned a big home and drove a fancy new car, I countered that I was happier sharing a small cosy rental place than if I was all alone in a big empty house.

Right on schedule ma yelled at the both of us to knock it off, and anyways by that point it was time to eat. So everyone else got seated in the dining room while ma and I went into the kitchen to get the food out.

Conversation during the meal was actually really nice and civil, with Dean and Savannah both getting to know my girlfriends better. My siblings seemed genuinely interested in how we all felt about our transformations, and likewise my girlfriends got to know my brother and sister. Then after everyone had enough to eat Dean and Savannah and I all pitched in and took care of the dishes, just like when we were younger.

"Tell me the truth," my brother asked as we stood next to each other at the sink. "Are you really happy like this? I mean, you're tiny. You're a girl. You've got fuzzy ears and a tail. And you're dating two girls at the same time?"

I blushed but smiled as I nodded, "Yeah Dean. It's like I said on one of those videos I sent y'all? I screwed up, but since I got over the surprise things have been really good. And being in a polycule with Bailey and Serenity is honestly the best. So yeah, I'm a very happy little kitty."

His expression shifted to a thoughtful frown as he rinsed off another plate before handing it to me to dry. Then he sighed, "It just seems so totally unconventional to me, you know?"

That actually made me laugh. My ears stood up and my tail flicked around as I said, "Dean I'm a catgirl living working and sleeping with another catgirl and a foxgirl. And the three of us are supernatural investigators. Unconventional doesn't even begin to cover how fucking weird and wonderful my life is! But I love it, and I wouldn't trade a second of it for the world."

"All right then baby sis," he smiled. "In that case I'm happy for you."

Savannah took the dried plate from me as she added, "Same. I'm glad you're happy Callie, I'm glad things are working out for you and your girlfriends."