Causality functions in very interesting ways. In one universe, someone could be a mild-mannered wolf who rises to power over a peaceful land, while in another, they can be a fierce, determined leader fighting against the system threatening to consume their world. Another could be an adventurous guardian, light-hearted and playful in one universe, and a determined warrior queen, seeking to liberate her people from centuries of oppression in another universe.

Causality becomes more complicated when a plane formed of chaos that bears a strange sense of humor is involved. For example, here we have a spell gone wrong. Perhaps not wrong, but certainly far from the way it was intended to work. The person casting the spell thought that it would simply create a chimeric being to serve as their servant and assistant as they worked to resurrect their daughter. They did not understand the dimension whose energy the spell tapped into. Rather than create the desired being ex nihilo, the other plane sought out and found suitable raw material, which it drew into itself, and combined into the requested chimeric being. Even if that being would not be as compliant as the spellcaster had desired.

The first was a young man from Dublin, Ireland. At the time that he is taken, he is currently running from a group of men who want to make a very unpleasant example of him, so as to show the other gangs what happens to the people who cross them. Now, this desire for punishment is generally well deserved, given what he has done to the gang and the things that he has stolen. However, regardless of the righteousness of their endeavor, it is not to be. As he was running, he lept over some wooden crates, and rather than landing on the pavement on the other side, he fell headlong into a dimensional portal, drawing him into the forementioned chaotic plane.

The second is a tigress from deep in the jungles. She is the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter and her mate is the seventh son of a seventh son, himself. He has sired six sons with her, and their seventh child was to be a son as well, but instead of a son, she bore him a daughter, throwing his plans into significant disarray. We find her out hunting one day, stalking a young doe. She is quite hungry, but she knows to be patient. She pounces at the deer, prepared for a quick kill, and a good meal. However, the deer is spared by another portal opening up in the path of the tigress. The doe is very lucky this day, and very confused. But she is alive, and that is what is relevant at this moment.

The man, whose name is Dorran, finds himself floating in the endless, chaotic void of this dimension, with random objects flicking into and out of existence with no sense of rhyme or reason. At first, the tigress, whose name is Cadi, hurtling toward him, mid-killing-pounce, seems to simply be another of these sporadic random objects. However, as she continues to hurtle toward him, confusion visibly spreading across her face as well, he realizes that she is something different from the other objects around him. He braces for the impact, fully prepared to have a hungry tigress try to devour him, but rather than latch onto him and attack, her body simply... flows into his body, merging the two of them.

Unbeknownst to the two confused visitors of this dimension, and contrary to the terms of the spell, there is a third entity about to join the mix, and unlike the other two, he is not a visitor. He is one of the resident entities of this world, a creature of chaos. Where the others of his ilk are quite content to flit about and flicker through forms, as Dorran had noticed them doing, this one has grown bored of the unconstrained chaos of his home. In a place where literally anything can happen at any given moment, there is no structure. No substance. No meaning to any of the things that happen. Just the whims of his kind.

This being, who calls himself Nothing as a bit of a joke that only he understands, has been growingly displeased with the state of his existence. Unfortunately, the beings of this plane are not simply able to leave for another plane. The magic of the place does not allow them to, somehow knowing that it would lead to mercurial entities of chaos ripping across the universe. It wouldn't even be fair to call them amoral... they simply have no concept of morality. Nothing, however, managed to do something that none of his kind have done before. He managed to open a small window to a tropical island on a planet similar to ours. Another earth, though quite notably with several elements of history having been altered from the way they transpired here.

Among those was that the Incan empire managed to stave off the Spanish conquistadors through the use of their sun magic. Even so, their history followed much the same trajectory as ours. At first, Nothing was only able to observe through the small window, but even just watching the wildlife around his little pinhole window was sufficient. In time, the window grew stronger, and the native humans of the island became aware of it. He managed to overcome their wariness of his presence, limited as it was, and even became able to communicate with them. And what he wanted were stories. They were quite happy to provide stories to this god, as they thought of him, and he did nothing to hide the delight that the tales provided for him.

In time, he was able to do more than verbally express his gratitude for the stories as a portion of his reality seeped through the window. He was able to give them blessings, as they referred to them. Strength and speed, even fertility and abundant crops. In time, the magic of that place began to change them, shaping them into half-human-half-animal creatures. This did not cause them any distress, but instead bonded them closer to their 'god.'

It also happened that this particular Earth was the same one that was home to the spellcaster, which would become relevant with time.

However, for the moment, the most relevant matter is that as Dorran and Cadi were being merged into a new, hybrid being, Nothing saw his chance and he took it. He joined the new entity being created, unintentionally becoming both a kind of glue and also a buffer between the two minds that now shared this form. Ultimately, he would also provide them with great power, including the ability to exert the nature of this plane on the plane that they would end up on, though learning how to harness this was not a simple matter, and it took them quite a while.

Still, Nothing's powers, even early on, allowed them to escape from the service of the alchemist that had summoned them, and they eventually made their way to the island that Nothing had forged a connection with. In time, they, with the help of others, who took on the role of guardians of the island, shaped the place into a refuge for those who did not fit well with the societies of their homelands. Here on this tropical island, they were free to be who they truly were made to be in their hearts. It was rare that newcomers to the island did not become animal people as the natives of the island had done centuries before. They called themselves Furries, and they lived in peace and abundance on the island.

However, returning to the matter of causality, and the peculiar ways in which it works. As the being that was Dorran, Cadi, and Nothing exited the plane of chaos, it had one last barb in its tail for the escaping resident. That universe was not the only one that the triune entity went to. Copies of it were created and scattered across the multiverse.

And here we come to the crux of this story. One of these variant entities took a unique turn. Where in most cases, it was the human Dorran who was in the driver's seat, this particular variant changed the program. Cadi was in control here. Now, this came with its own complications. This Cadi was, like the other variants, a blend of human and animal characteristics, which would be significantly more disorienting for a formerly feral tigress.

Mercifully, the world that she was dropped into was not devoid of other anthropomorphic animals. Though, such creatures were far from common in this world. Present enough to be visible, but at the same time... vulnerable, as a result. You see, this world lacked the proper foothold that Nothing had used to watch the other world. His window had taken root there, but the island had been uninhabited, and so there was no one there to forge a connection with. As such, there was no true refuge for these anthros. No protector watching over them.

The city she arrived in was one that had an enclave of anthros. Or, perhaps more accurately, a ghetto. Walled off from the remainder of the city. The inhabitants were not free to roam beyond the walls. They certainly made the best of what they had and worked together to care for one another. It was a strong community within those walls. In many ways, stronger than the one beyond the walls, but hamstrung nonetheless.

This is the world that Cadi awoke to, in the alley behind a restaurant, owned by a mated pair.