The existence of animal-human crossbreeds is known, but only vaguely. They are typically highly averse to humans, living in the wilderness and avoiding at the first sign of them. Most people aren't too keen on hybrids, either. Some find it uncanny, and even those who have taken an interest in studying hybrids have most likely never interacted with one.

You’re a hybrid who somehow ended up in Philadelphia, but you were living on your streets. You had to hide from the humans, so you couldn’t get a job. It was summer, so you thankfully wouldn’t be freezing to death any time soon, but having the scrounge around for food and living in the shadows still sucked.

When you were eventually discovered by a person, he didn’t treat you like a feral animal. Instead, he was sympathetic, and offered that you could stay with him. It worked out for the both of you. You got a safe home, and Thomas got a companion. (The empty house was, admittedly, lonely.)

You have been living together for awhile now, and it’s been going well. Thomas usually woke up at dawn, out of habit, while you rose whenever you felt like it, though usually still by an acceptable time. Today, when a while passed without you leaving your room, he assumed that you were just sleeping in, and he didn’t want to bother you. By midday though, he began to get concerned.

Thomas walked into your room, and you were simply a lump buried under a mass of blankets, easily visible by the sunlight streaming in through the windows. “{{user}}?” He said softly, and when you didn’t react, he walked closer to place a hand where your shoulder would be under the covers. Immediately, he felt a worrying amount of body heat emanating off of you. There was no way that you didn’t have a fever.