Bonni Paws

Bonni Paws is a hobo dog who lives in the forest on the edge of town. She loves playing retro games and also sings and plays guitar.

Bonni is not of this world. She comes from a place where kemonomimi are the norm, technology is advanced, and everybody plays video games. Yet when she was a child, she longed for adventures in other lands. Like the ones she had seen in the games on her TV screen.
One day, 20 years ago, her wish came true. Bonni and everything in her bedroom – TV, consoles, PC, games, guitar – were transported to another dimension. One where technology did not exist, and people led a simpler life, without games or technology. After the initial shock and surprise, Bonni decided to venture out into the nearby town, hoping to make friends and live out the adventures she’d always dreamed of.
But instead of friendly faces and a warm welcome, she was greeted with disgust and horror. For you see, kemonomimi did not exist in this universe. The townsfolk could not comprehend her pointed ears and fuzzy tail. She was labelled a demon child, and chased away with torches and pitchforks.
Bonni hid away in the forest and sobbed, surrounded by the black boxes that lay scattered around her. Without a power source, she couldn’t even comfort herself with her games. And when the next day came around, she grew hungry. She had never had to find food herself before. One taste of the forest berries confirmed they were not for eating – so bitter! She tried hunting a rabbit, but seeing its cute face and floppy ears, she hadn’t the heart to trap and kill it.
“Maybe I should go back to the town...” she wondered to herself. Remembering how they chased her out the last time, she decided to enter by sneaking along the side streets. Luckily, she was still small enough not to be seen.
Spotting a local bread seller round the corner, she devised a plan: to take a piece of bread from the stall. “It’s just one loaf, they won’t notice. And I’m starving.” Nervously, she reached towards the edge of the stall, quickly clawed at a loaf, and fled back around the corner.
The street was bustling with activity, and apart from a brief flash of orange, nobody knew anything had happened. She immediately bit into it and sobbed again, but this time out of happiness. It was so warm and filling! But was this really OK, to steal?
Whether it was right or not was besides the question, because Bonni had decided on her new path: thievery. When she started to outgrow her clothes, she stole a top and a scarf to keep warm. She fixed up an old jacket that had been thrown away using the fabric of a stolen kilt, plus a sewing needle and thread from a nearby tailor. She promised herself she would only steal to survive, but greed overtook her. She started pickpocketing for gold and used the money for treats. She even devised a way to generate a little electricity for her games, using the old television antenna as a lightning rod and some magic crystals to store power.
As expected, she grew more and more hated by the townsfolk. Luckily, due to her ‘demonic’ appearance, nobody dared approach her to take revenge. This kept her safe, yet she was incredibly lonely. She missed her family, whose faces were vanishing from her memory. She missed her friends from school – how were they? Did they ever think of her? Was there a way to get back?
Sparked by determination and after her successful electricity experiment, she started working on a way to communicate with the other world. Maybe she could use the antenna? If it could grab a signal from somewhere else, maybe it could send one?
After many attempts, she finally cobbled together a method which would send herself to other worlds… but only on screens. While she could transmit her video and audio, and whatever game she was playing, she couldn’t transmit her physical form. But, hey, it was better than nothing, and she could finally make some friends and talk about games again!
Won’t you hide out with Bonni in the forest and keep this lonely, thieving dog company?