Sarah Thompson stared up at the ceiling, her alarm clock having woken her with its ringing. A big part of her wanted to stay curled up under the covers and stay hidden, but her rumbling stomach had entirely different ideas. She didn’t want to leave her house, because it would mean that she would have to deal with all of them. Her neighbors. Her fellow citizens. Her community. Her stomach rumbled again, much louder and more intense. With a heavy sigh, she threw the covers off of herself. “Ugh, fine!” She shouted to herself and walked over to her closet, if it could even be called that. Hanging there was a soft wool shirt and a pair of denim jeans that clearly showed their age. It is what happens when you’re stuck in a town where no one wears anything. Well, that wasn’t quite right. When it got colder, some of the town folks would wear a thin shirt, but that was it, and that was only during the three winter months. Sarah groaned as she pulled them from their hanger. It was bad enough that she was already getting more used to sleeping in just her bra and panties. She held up the shirt and stared at it. There were bits and parts of it fraying at the seams. A few times, she has had to repair the little rips and tears that some of the neighbor’s kids accidentally made. A year’s worth of damage and wear and tear showed the effects of time; the color of the shirt having long faded from a crisp red to a pale pink. Her denim jeans were in far worse shape; having been torn and ripped to the point they were more patches than pants. The dark blue has long become washed away from the exposure to the sun and rain. It looked like all it would take is just a simple breeze or a stray claw from a running child catching their paw to unravel the whole thing. With a big sigh and a heavy heart, Sarah opted to leave the jeans in the closet. “It would be better to save these for when I find a way to return home,” she said as she looked at them. As she said that, she felt her heart sink to her stomach. “If… I find a way to return home,” she corrected herself. It had been a year to the date since she accidentally had touched that glowing rock she found in the desert that fateful night. It had been a year to the date that she found herself transported to the town of Monsfield, afraid and confused. It had been a year to the date that she struggled to find a way back home. None of the stars were anything that she knew. None of the townsfolk had heard of a place called America, much less Idaho. In fact, she was the first human that they had seen at all; and in turn, they were the first Anthros that she had ever encountered. Women covered in fur, scales, and feathers lived in harmony here, a peace which had only been disturbed by Sarah’s sudden appearance. Though, she couldn’t quite complain. She counted herself lucky that none of the women had any cravings for human flesh. In fact, they were incredibly nice to her, helping by building her the house that she had been living in and doing what they could to help her adjust. Her clothes had only even survived this long because some of the Anthros were able to make rudimentary washers and dryers.  With another heavy sigh, Sarah put on her shirt over her bra, leaving her panties exposed out to the world. It certainly wasn’t ideal, but it was what she could do for right now. She felt that if she was rescued, being stuck bottomless would be somehow worse than being topless. Sarah closed the doors of her closet and picked up her personal belongings. Once she made sure she had everything, she made her way out the door.  The sun shone down brightly on her, feeling more intense as this was the first time that she really felt the sunlight on her exposed legs. The wind that blew through, tossing up leaves and a few stray pieces of trash, tickled her knees and calves. She paused for a bit, thinking to herself. Maybe it wouldn’t be too late to turn back and just hide away in her house. Maybe the neighbors would be nice enough to just drop off food. She wouldn’t have to leave at all and show everyone- “Good morning Sarah!” Sarah turned to see Gabrielle, the neighbor to her west. Gabrielle, who resembled an anthropomorphic giraffe, was trimming her hedges with a large pair of shears. Just like all the other Anthros, Gabrielle wasn’t wearing anything. Sarah couldn’t fathom how she could just do everything while being nude. Of course, it made some sense considering everyone had some extra layer of protection besides just their skin, like fur or feathers, but to just be exposed and nude? Sarah couldn’t even look at her neighbors but stare at their eyes for about a solid month. Now she was able to at least look at them in a rather casual sense, but still tended to avoid looking anywhere but their faces. “Uh, good morning Gabrielle,” Sarah said, trying to subtly avoid eye contact. She could feel her face turning red from embarrassment at being pantless. Out of all the neighbors to have seen her, it just had to be one with a height advantage. “Did you sleep well?” Gabrielle asked as she reached up and trimmed a few more branches off of the hedges. She turned to Sarah, curious as to why Sarah was avoiding looking at her, but then she looked down. “Well oh my stars! Sarah, am I seeing what I’m seeing?” Gabrielle said as she put down the shears and started to walk over to meet with Sarah. “Uh, depends. What are you seeing?” Sarah said, still avoiding looking at Gabrielle. “Why, you’re without your pants!” Gabrielle said in a cheerful voice as she was now in Sarah’s yard. “Well, uh, my pants are getting very worn, so, well, I figured I’d now save them for special occasions,” Sarah said, blushing harder from how positive Gabrielle was being about this. “You getting more comfortable?” Gabrielle said as she bent down to get more on eye level with Sarah. “Uh, I guess you could say that,” Sarah said, finally stopping trying to avoid eye contact with Gabriella. She turned and saw Gabrielle’s smiling face and something about that filled her with warmth, like an artist getting positive feedback about their latest art piece. “Wonderful!” Gabrielle said as she clapped her hands together. “This calls for a celebration!” “No no!” Sarah said as she blushed hard again. “There’s no need to celebrate and make this a big deal.” Gabrielle huffed a little, but then snapped her fingers as an idea came to her. “Well, then it’s a celebration for your one year of coming to Monsfield.” Gabrielle put her arm around Sarah. “Come on. At the very least, let me treat you to breakfast at Monique’s!” “I… Alright,” Sarah said reluctantly, but she couldn’t help but feel a bit of building optimism in herself. Gabrielle’s response to Sarah going pantless was, while not surprising given the community, a welcomed one. The two of them walked their way over to Monique’s, passing by a few other citizens of Monsfield. Despite Sarah’s hesitation, everyone gave her a warm thumbs-up at her showing off her legs. A group of joggers even complimented her legs, which given that they were all Anthros that were anthropomorphic cheetahs, made Sarah feel even better. After a bit, the two of them opened up the front door to Monique’s. “Gabrielle! Sarah! Welcome darlings!” Monique chirped from the kitchen over the sounds of the grill. Sarah always admired how Monique, despite being an anthropomorphic toucan, never let it get in the way of the quality food that she made. “Looking even chipper than usual. What’s the occasion?” “Have you forgotten already?” Gabriella said as she took a seat at the counter, with Sarah taking the seat next to her. “Monique, we’re celebrating Sarah’s one year anniversary of her arrival in Monsfield!” “My my! Has it been a year already!” Monique came out from the kitchen and stood on the other side of the counter from the two of them. As usual, she was wearing nothing but a cooking apron. “Time really flew by quite fast, didn't it?” “Yeah, it has,” Sarah said as she crossed her legs a bit in embarrassment. At least here at the counter, few people could see that she wasn’t wearing pants and had her panties out on display. “Well, what do you want dearie?” Monique asked, smiling at Sarah. “It’s on the house.” “Oh no, please, I couldn’t possibly!” Sarah said, but Monique just put a feather up to Sarah’s lips. “Nonsense. We have to celebrate the anniversary of the arrival of one of our favorite people,” Monique said as she gently lowered the feather. “Now, what will you have?” “I guess I’ll go with the Breakfast Salad with a side of Wonton Bacon,” Sarah said as she looked over the menu. “And I’ll go with just a fruit salad,” Gabrielle said. “Not a problem dearies. I’ll get right to work on that.” Monique poured the two of them glasses of water. Then, she headed back into the kitchen and got to work on their orders. “So, besides this,” Gabrielle said as she turned to Sarah, “What other plans do you have today? How else are you going to celebrate?” Sarah looked down at her water, gently swirling it around. “I… don’t really know. A part of me doesn’t want to accept that I’ve been stuck here a year.” She quickly realized what she said and turned to Gabrielle. “Shit! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean stuck in a bad way! I mean like-” “Relax,” Gabrielle said as she patted Sarah on the back. “I’ve dealt with you as a neighbor for a year and been your friend for most of that time. I think I know what you mean.” She took a sip of her water and sighed, relaxing. “I’m sorry that you haven’t had any success getting back to your world.” Sarah sunk into herself a little, still feeling a little guilty about what she had said. “You. Monique. Everyone here in Monsfield has been incredible to me.” She gently rubbed her finger along the edge of her glass. “I just…” She looked down at her legs, gently uncrossing them. “I guess a part of me has been hesitant to accept the way things are here. I’ve always felt like an outsider and it was better that way. Because, when I do accept things, then this place will start to feel like home. And, when that does…” “What happens then with your old home then?” Gabrielle said, finishing her sentence and taking a sip of her water. “Yeah,” Sarah said. “There’s a bunch of stuff and people that I left behind. I just feel like a betrayal if I were to just give up on them.” “But you aren’t betraying them,” Gabrielle said as she turned to Sarah. “You said that there was a certain phrase that you humans had back on Idaho. Something like when in Rome, do the Romans?” “When in Rome, do as the Romans do,” Sarah said as she looked down at her thighs again. “It means that, when you’re someplace, you should respect their traditions and customs.” She turned back to Gabrielle’s smiling face, and then thought about the positive response that she got from just showing off her legs. Sarah took a big gulp of water and then stood up. Slowly, she reached down and gripped her thumbs underneath the waistband of her panties. Gently, Sarah pulled them down, exposing her bare ass and crotch to all the patrons in the restaurant. Most of the patrons were looking at her, not with disgust or judgment, but with positivity and ecstatic joy. It was also the moment that Monique had walked out of the kitchen and was on the other side of the counter, also enjoying the show. Then, Sarah’s panties fell to her ankles. She stepped out of them and took a deep breath again. She allowed the air to lick at her exposed skin and shuddered a bit in delight. There was just something about it that was freeing and exhilarating. She bent down and picked up her panties and bundled them into a ball.  Sarah sat back down in her seat, allowing herself to truly feel the subtle textures of the chair. She reached over and handed the panties to Gabrielle. “When I do leave and return back to Idaho, you can give those back to me. Until then, I’m going to do as the Anthros do while I’m here in Monsfield.” The people in the restaurant cheered at Sarah’s decision to start to really embrace their way of living. Gabrielle gave Sarah a nod and a smile as she took the panties. “I’ll keep them safe and be sure to return them to you.” “Now that’s another reason to celebrate!” Monique chirped delightfully. “Now, eat up you two! I don’t want to see my hard work go to waste.” Sarah and Gabrielle both nodded and began to eat their breakfast, though Sarah ate with a renewed vigor. There was a wide smile on her face as she ate her breakfast. She felt refreshed and renewed, like she had just been reborn. Even the food felt like it was the first time eating it. After a short bit, the two of them finished up their meals. “So, how else are you two going to celebrate Sarah’s anniversary?” Monique asked as she picked up the plates. Sarah pondered to herself. “I don’t really know,” she said, still smiling. “Maybe I’ll see what work needs done around town on the bulletin board.” She hopped off the chair and Gabrielle shortly followed after her. “I’ll see you around, Monique!” Monique waved back to her. “And I’ll be happy to be seeing more of you!” With that, after a short trip back to Gabrielle’s house so Gabrielle could put the panties away safely, they went about their day. The smile almost never left Sarah’s face, and only increased each time she was complimented about how good she looked bottomless. For the first time in a whole year, Sarah was starting to feel like she could really find a place to fit in in Monsfield. And being with Gabrielle was really helping her. She could get used to this feeling, both the compliments and the freedom of being bottomless. Maybe one day, she’d even go without a top, but that was quite a bit away. For now, she would enjoy her day.  One year later, Sarah awoke to her alarm again. She groaned as she reached over to turn off her alarm. She curled herself back into her blankets, wanting to stay in its warm embrace.  “Good morning gorgeous,” Gabrielle said as she wandered into the room. As usual, she was wearing nothing at all. She bent down and planted a firm kiss on Sarah’s lips and gently cupped her hands around Sarah’s face to slowly drag her out from her blanket cocoon. “Happy Arrival-versary.”  “Thanks darling,” Sarah said as she, reluctantly, broke the kiss between them.  “If you want breakfast, you’re gonna have to get out of bed,” Gabrielle said as she lifted up the blankets and began to fold them.  “Evil,” Sarah said playfully as used the opportunity to rub her hands over Gabrielle’s fur. “Oh, someone’s quite handsy this morning,” Gabrielle chuckled as she enjoyed the sensation of Sarah’s fingers coursing through her fur. “Did you not get enough last night?” “We both know that I could always want more from you,” Sarah said as she pressed her naked bosom against Gabrielle’s arm. “Come on. Don’t you wanna give me a little bit more right now?” To that, Sarah was met with a blanket to the face. “Later gorgeous. You’ll throw off the whole day that I have planned for you.” Gabrielle turned around and kissed Sarah on the cheek. “As punishment for being impatient, you get to put the sheets away today.” With that Gabrielle stood up and jiggled her ass a little bit for Sarah. “I’ll be in the living room when you’re ready.” Then, she walked out, her hips swaying in just the way that Sarah loved to see. “Hate to see you going, but love to watch you leave!” Sarah shouted after her. She sighed and refolded the blanket. Sarah made her way over to the closet and looked for an open space to put them, sadly seeing that the only open space was near the top. “Of course she couldn’t just leave a spot where I could get it. No, it just had to be high up where she could get it with ease.” Sarah stretched her arms up, getting onto her tiptoes and tried to put the blankets away. However, it wasn’t enough and her hand caught on the rest of the blankets, bringing them tumbling down. Sarah was covered in nice sheets that had been folded and something unusual. Something that didn’t quite feel like a blanket. Sarah pulled all the blankets off of her to find out what the strange thing was, only to find that it was a pair of denim jeans that had been torn and ripped to the point they were more patches than pants. The dark blue had long become washed away from the exposure to the sun and rain. She looked at them with a bit of a strange curiosity. “So that’s where you had gotten off to,” Sarah said to her pants as she held them. A gentle smile drew across her face. There was a strange longing to put them back on, but on the other hand, it felt almost alien to her now. Having lived the last year nude had really freed her from the bonds of her old ways. “I’m still gonna keep you,” she said as she gently folded the jeans. “After all, I still have some hope that humanity will find me, but while I’m here in Monsfield…” Sarah placed the jeans back into the closet, and then spent the next few minutes refolding all the blankets and stuffing them back neatly. She shut the closet doors and then headed out to meet with Gabrielle. “...I’m gonna do as the Anthros do, and enjoy a world without pants.”