"You, again?" the veterinarian asked, looking at Naia returning to her clinic within the same day. "Did something happen to the snake?"

The vet sounded genuinely concerned. "It’s not the snake this time," she said, directly placing the box on the table. "But this one needs you more."

The woman’s face paled, and she immediately brought the cat to the testing room without another word. Before surgery, they had to do x-rays and things like that to ensure they didn’t worsen the injury.

This vet clinic was one of the largest in the City and its equipment was complete. Even when it was not as big or ’official’ as an animal hospital, it even had CT scans and MRIs.

Its owner definitely had money to spare.

Naia had a fairly good impression of this vet, who was also the owner of the place. Her name was Cynthia, and she happened to be fond of goth fashion.

Today, she was wearing what she called ’romantic casual goth’ with a lace-detail black blouse, dark midi skirt, ankle boots, and raven or moon themed jewerly.

While waiting for some test results, the two of them chatted a lot about things, and the other woman tended to overshare when she was amicable with someone.

Naia, who rescued a wild, poisonous snake, happened to be someone she was amicable to.

Of course, there had been some suspicions at first, including Naia possibly trading exotic animals. Adder snakes weren’t considered a rare species though, so it was not illegal, but trading them was still looked down on by many animal activists.

Naia proved that she was amicable to the snake and was liked by it by placing a finger on its mouth. Instead of biting, it fondly wrapped around her arm instead.

Needless to say, the action impressed the vet and even gave her a massive discount then and there, as an apology for her doubts. This discount should carry over with the kitten.

Cynthia was actually in her mid-30s already, but her baby face, along with her preference for goth fashion, made her look ten years younger.

When Cynthia saw the results, she didn’t delay another second and went straight to the surgery room.

The vet emerged about two hours later to see a Calico cat on Naia’s lap. When Naia entered, this cat wasn’t here.

"Are all these your pets? What happened to that one?" she asked, referring to the cat in recovery.

Naia didn’t answer the first question. After all, they technically were just picked up randomly.

"I have a high affinity with animals," she said, rubbing the calico’s head, making it purr a bit. However, its mood was down, and its body language showed depression. This was natural. His friend’s life was unknown, after all.

"This one got my attention while I was walking on the street. He must be her husband. If not, at least her friend." She somewhat felt like it was the former, though.

In retrospect, the adder snake husband called her to treat his wife, too.

Look, the animal kingdom had so many responsible males!

She couldn’t help but recall the sperm donor and couldn’t help but tut. Worse than an animal, that one.

She shook her head and looked at Cynthia, who had now sat next to her and patted the cat along with her.

There were other customers at this time, but there were also other vets and assistants with Cynthia, and Cynthia obviously wanted to focus on her and her cats.

"How is it?" she asked.

"She, the white cat, was probably hit by a car. She ricocheted to the street, at least, so she only suffered one hit and survived. Of course, the injury from that one hit would’ve killed her had you taken her an hour later than you did."

Then, she paused, her bright eyes dimming a bit. "Sadly, I could not save the kittens."

Naia flinched, the hand on the cat’s head pausing for a moment before it resumed. She realized this one must’ve been depressed, not just because of the white cat.

"I see..." She didn’t even know the cat was pregnant. Poor kittens.

"Does she have an owner? Check this one, too." Neither cat had a leash nor a collar, but nowadays they could have chips instead.

She wasn’t sure whether or not to hope they had owners. In the apocalypse, she was confident she could at least feed them, not feed on them. She couldn’t say the same for others.

Cynthia nodded and checked for chips. She stood up to take a handheld microchip scanner. She went to the recovery room to see the white cat first before returning to check the male one. After a while, the results came in.

"This one," she said, pointing at the Calico. "...is ownerless. It’s not even neutered yet." Half of the dead kittens also looked a lot like it, so she reckoned he was the father. "Should I?"

The cat: !!!!

MEOOOWWW!

Naia coughed. "No need."

"I see."

"The other one has a chip, but I called the number, and it was no longer available. The cat’s condition underneath the bloodied fur was very bad.

"It has extremely overgrown and mottled fur, overgrown claws, signs of malnutrition, and ticks. The persistent skin infections are alarming. It was either abandoned or its owner had died."

"I’ll keep them both, then."

"The cost of recovery would not be low. You’ll have to keep her here for a while."

Naia nodded and paid an advance. She also paid for various vaccinations and the like for both cats, with the Calico getting its first injections right then and there. Naia also ordered another batch of cat food and other accessories.

Cynthia looked at the pretty young lady and then took out a calling card when she was about to leave.

"You say you have a high affinity with animals," she said. "So you might need my advice here and there in case you find new ones."

Naia chuckled. "I have a feeling we’re going to have a lot to talk about in the future."