By the age of five most children have gained an incredible amount of increased independence. Despite the food served by the group home, Lem managed to survive independently each day and was typically outside of the realm of adult supervision. He also discovered that being quiet and listening in on conversations allowed him the capacity to learn without being shunned. He began to accumulate knowledge about the names of shapes, colors, flora, and fauna. He learned that there were things grown in the garden that were edible, and that some things were not and could even potentially cause harm. His increased physical prowess allowed him to climb trees with incredible efficiency and even travel between them. It was also at this juncture that Dante was finally given full-time employment, and the first influence on Lem's life was born and his development was allowed to progress in a manner that it never had before. This issue, however, will have to wait as an understanding of the psychology behind his social stigmatization must be known to understand Dante's influence on Lem's development between the ages of five and six.

Since there are not kemonomimis in reality, and there are not anthropomorphs either, finding a complimentary situation to Lem's is extremely difficult. Unfortunately the only thing that can come close to resembling Lem's situation is the historical plight of biracial or multiracial children in locales where racism and ignorance were rampant. This is, however, a very dangerous path to trod and must be done so with delicacy. In keeping with that, only academic references will be used to examine this aspect of Lem. Factual examination of information stated henceforth can be retrieved from “Black, White or Mixed Race? Race and racism in the lives of young people of mixed parentage” by Barbara Tizard and Ann Phoenix.

Popular opinion states that biracial children, “can be expected to suffer from identity problems, low self-esteem, and problem or delinquent behaviour (sic).” Unfortunately this belief is based in the innately racist assumption that we are divided into, “distinct biological groups according to skin colour (sic), each with its distinct physical and psychological characteristics.” Since this distinction was largely created by the Caucasian race, it originally carried with it a supposition that those of non-Caucasian ancestry are intellectually inferior. While overt racism is certainly on the decline, such assumptions about biracial children are innately historically racist and based more in the passive racism bred in familiarity and aesthetic preference rather than in actual scientific fact. Since Lem is from the United States, the most relevant biracial group to compare his situation to would be that of Afro-Caucasians.

With the rise of the Civil Right's movement, an interesting thing occurred. African Americans became more proud of themselves, and developed a distinct appreciation of their culture, origin, and existence. While this in and of itself was and remains a positive thing, this measure of pride extended to a mutually accepted concept known as “one drop,” which is, unfortunately, a form of racism in and of itself. One drop states that, “[o]ne drop of black blood makes a person black,” and any rejection of black culture by biracial or multiracial peoples, “was seen as a betrayal, a rejection of their black ancestry.” So the biracial child in a town or social situation where the one drop rule is observed who does not embrace themselves as wholly African American causes them to be rejected by African Americans, and not seen as wholly Caucasian and stigmatized by the same innately racist tendencies and suppositions espoused previously. This leaves the person in a middle world where neither race will accept them, and their cultural trust and belonging is left in doubt.

As time has progressed, both in the UK and the United States, these ideas have been largely rejected and have been on the decline except in certain small geographical areas. It is commonly believed now that individuals of biracial or multiracial lineage should be able to simultaneously claim membership in all cultures from which they derive, and be accepted broadly by all races that they are able to lay claim to. Such is the wondrous consequence of time, interest, research, an increased biracial and multiracial population, and a society that is becoming more aware of various cultural differences and origins. Lem's place in this idea is that, as the first of his kind and in a world where history inevitably repeats himself, he would have to be seen as the first biracial and multiracial children were during the time where one drop was a predominate idea.

Since Lem has no parents from which to develop an idea of human or anthropomorphic culture, he cannot assign himself to either; therefor one drop dictates that he will be rejected by both humans and anthropomorphs by default. At this formative stage in his development, this outright rejection would create an inability to establish an identity based on any normative precepts. It is widely accepted that children who are sociopaths are such because of rejection, trauma, molestation, or a catastrophic event that causes them to distrust society as a whole; that is a return to a base need for self preservation without any inclination toward caring about the matters or feelings of others. This can often be displayed in acts of aggression, a lack of manners, actively rejecting rules, running away, or committing crimes. It is a psychosis created by a perceived need of the rejected individual.

By the time Dante became an active part of Lem's life, he was well within the spectrum of sociopathy. Dante spent the last nine months of Lem's fifth year of life trying to earn his trust, but not through normal means. He knew well what Lem's interests were merely those of self preservation, and providing him with material goods, extra food, encouragement, and diminished or non-existent punishment for lashing out at the other children who were mean to him was the most efficient way to earn it. While the way that Lem viewed Dante cannot be perceived as the same sort of trust a child has for a parental figure, it was more of an affection derived from Dante's enabling, his plan did work for the most part. Lem began to talk to Dante more; he was finally able to ask the questions that he was never able to ask, and Dante answered them to the best of his ability. His knowledge about nature continued to grow, and he even learned how to start a fire and other basic survival techniques that would prove invaluable to him in the future. Unfortunately, Dante also introduced Lem to an entirely new concept that he had never been aware of, parents.

Children constantly cycled in and out of the group home. Some went into foster care, others were adopted. Lem saw these adults from a distance but having never been introduced to the concept of what parents were, had no true idea what it meant. He expected that as long as he remained outside the majority of his days, he would remain exactly where he was and the controlled world that he had created could continue unabated. When Lem took the opportunity to ask Dante where the children went, Dante explained how adoption worked. He explained that, typically, a male and female adult would take in a child or cub and raise them. They would buy them clothes, prepare them food, hug them, give them guidance, and support them. Dante even took the opportunity to allow Lem the knowledge that he would never be adopted, and that Dante was the only adult that Lem could ever trust.

Having no reason to disbelieve Dante's assertion, but incredibly curious about the idea of parents now that it had been introduced, Lem began to quietly watch the adults as they came and went. He watched as children's hands or paws were held, hugs were given. He watched how happy and complete the children seemed to be, and Lem's hatred of himself began to grow to previously unseen levels. He was not happy being different, and wanted more than anything to be either wholly human or anthropomorphic, without preference for either. He began to wonder how hugs felt, what it was like for an adult to admire him, and he began to determine, to the extent that he could, that the caring Dante gave him was entirely different from what parents provided. Lem tried to hug some of the other children, cautiously, and was either hit, rejected, or called a freak. He learned in time that the youngest children would let him hug them. These were often toddlers that, while recognizing Lem's difference at some innate level, were not intellectually mature enough to reject him or be cruel to him. The adults at the group home, however, took notice. Knowing his sociopathic tendencies they feared for the younger children he was hugging, and forbade him to continue the practice or risk severe consequences.

The practice and exploration had, initially, been positive for Lem. He had finally encountered physical affection and he enjoyed it. It was a new concept, and different, but it made him feel happy and gave him a sense of conscience about the way he treated the younger children. When he was denied the ability to continue, he realized that the place he was at wasn't satisfactory, and that the only person he could rely on was Dante. It was also about this time that Lem, once more eavesdropping, learned of Dante's plan.

Dante had made a deal with a local carnival operator to sell Lem for a sizable profit. He would be displayed as a freak, and taken from town to town as an oddity to be viewed by those who would pay to see him. At the age of six a child does not have a complex ability to reason, Lem being much the same, but they can make assertions based off of known facts. Lem knew that he did not want to be trapped anywhere ever again, the ability to remain outside each day made him happy. Lem knew that the only individuals that he could interact with without being rejected were younger children, but that he was not allowed to do so. Lem knew that the only adult he could trust was Dante, and that by putting him in a trapped environment where he couldn't retain the relative freedom he enjoyed, that trust had been broken. The usefulness of Dante in his life had expired, and with that expiration came any need to remain at the group home. That evening Lem, packed with what little possessions he had, escaped into the night and never returned.

The next couple of years taught Lem a lot of important lessons that he wasn't able to learn in his two previous living situations. He knew that children who ran away were often caught and returned to the group home, and that he had to remain constantly on the move in order to avoid that fate. He felt strongly that if he ever returned, he would be trapped forever. He refused under any circumstances, even until this day, to ever be trapped again. As Lem traveled he managed to subsist on the nuts, berries and fruits that he found in the forest that he knew to be edible. He remembered what he had been taught could be potentially harmful, and avoided it regardless of how hungry he became. He learned how to locate civilization, and at first begged to be fed when what he found in nature was not enough, but was mostly met with deaf ears or rejection. Occasionally he would find individuals that were willing to feed him, patch his clothing, or provide him with goods to sustain him on his endless journey. He noticed that these people, unlike the prior ones, often had very different expressions on their faces. With this knowledge, emboldened by the fear of being caught, he became very adept at determining intent. He would often hide until he felt he had analyzed a person enough to make an educated guess concerning whether they'd be useful, and he would then approach them only if they were alone. After a couple years of stumbles and misjudgments, he had essentially mastered the concept.

The adults that did help him, or at least a good number of them, seemed fascinated by his appearance in a way that no one ever had. They were fond of it, and instead of rejecting him or treating him poorly often doted on him instead and called him unfamiliar words like 'cute' and 'adorable'. Lem knew that the world and its people were not wholly bad, but he managed to retain his preconception that the vast majority of individuals wanted to harm him, and would only stay in a single place for two days at most. He learned from these adults about how the rivers flowed, how the South was warmer than the North and that one could find the Mississippi by following rivers and streams to their logical conclusion. This ability to ask questions of people other than Dante, who meant well and were a part of the global village that sustained him, finally gave Lem an ability to create a moral code.

Lem's sociopathy was the result of the cruelty he had sustained in his youth. While typical sociopaths remain as such without intensive counseling and treatment, Lem's was the result of a need for primal self protection created by circumstance. He sought out young children that were alone and unguarded to talk with and play with, but it had to be in a place where he could quickly escape if need be; he was never cruel or mean to them, just as before, but despite the dangers he knew the interactions could cause he had an addiction for the physical attention that he felt he could only get from them. From the adults that he knew had good intentions, he never stole or deceived them. He answered their questions to the best of his ability and tried to match their mode of communication and interest as best as he could, via mimicry, so that he could make them as comfortable as possible. Around the people that he felt harbored ill-intent, he lacked manners and courtesy. He would steal from them, lie to them, but would avoid physical contact entirely and would flee as quickly as he possibly could.

It could be argued that his chameleon-esque identity around those he determined to have good intent, and his continued stealing and sedition around those he determined had ill intent, is still a form of sociopathy, but in reality Lem was, at this juncture of eight-years-old, still too early to have gained a sense of social self and a complete individual identity. While he never developed academically or received nurturing, stunting his development and making him somewhat of a quasi-feral child, his development in the areas of survival, adaptation, intent perception, and the development of an independent moral code shows a vast measure of survivability that someone of his age, given a typical upbringing, couldn't hope to achieve. Lem is as much advanced in half as he is repressed in the other, a quandary even to the most astute.

Beyond eight life continued much the same except for his meeting Davy Cricket. Davy is the only long term companion that Lem has, and it is the fact that Davy is apart from the normative human/anthropomorphic world that their relationship works. Davy is, of course, unnaturally intelligent, long lived, and capable for being an insect; he is as much a rarity as is Lem, but in their relationship is the proof that Lem is no longer a sociopath. Lem recognized Davy's insistence at their meeting as a want to not be eaten. Despite the fact Lem was hungry, he abstained from eating Davy even though he could have, denying a base need. He took pity on the tiny insect and while Davy followed Lem of his own volition, Lem is keenly aware that Davy can only handle so much. Lem makes sure that Davy is fed along with himself; he ensures that Davy is never put in harms way; he protects Davy from the elements and keeps him as safe as he is able to. Since Lem has no concept of the idea of a pet, Davy is truly the only friend that Lem has. Lem has very little concept of what a friendship is, except for hearsay, so Lem treats Davy in the way that Lem, himself, desires to be treated. This is a display of an ability for logical reasoning, attribution, and compassion that a sociopath could not display.

So now that we are in the current day with Lem being eleven-years-old and him largely remaining developmentally where he's been since he met Davy, a new and tremendous journey awaits him. Lem is beginning to go through puberty, and has no idea what the differences are between the genders except for what is visually apparent. He has no concept of sex or of what a romantic relationship is. It has been argued that the truly feral child would seek food, shelter, and a mate as they aged. Lem, however, had enough interaction with humans that he has a vocabulary, a loose sense of self, a moral code, and, as a result, a stunted capacity to go beyond where he presently is. As a result the only conclusion that can be made concerning Lem is that, barring direct capture and intervention, he has become an eternal child incapable of progressing past his current stage.

Looking at Lem's profound ability to adapt, change, create a moral code, overcome sociopathic tendencies, survive in a world that largely rejects him (with a few exceptions), and an inability to ever acclimate and enter into the civilized world, Lem is left at the developmental stage that he is presently in. While puberty and aging will present challenges that Lem will have to independently overcome and deal with, his poor rearing and self created independence have left him apart in more ways than just his existence as a kemonomimi in a world where no others exist. The most unfortunate aspect of this part of Lem's life is that he is in the waning days of being able to depend on anyone. Once his childhood has passed those that consider him cute or take pity will continue to diminish in number. The only path that could be taken would be Lem learning how to be wholly independent and cook, being able to completely separate from society and become a hermit, or Lem giving up on being afraid of being trapped, something so essential and central to his development that it would be an impossibility. These of course are the most positive outcomes, the alternative being a return to being a sociopath and becoming a scourge on society.

Perhaps then it is most fitting that Lem be around at the age that he is now. He has perhaps one or two more years to enjoy the height of his developmental prowess and faith in the world that he has divined. The inevitable conclusion to his childhood promises to be a dark path that seems to only predict an unpleasant outcome. It is an unfortunate realization to come to, but perhaps it can at least present an appreciation for the magic that is childhood. Whether stunted, flushed out, confused, reconciled, broken, or alternatively arranged, the years before becoming a teenager are a time where things can change rapidly, and compassion, kindness, and good are still a tangible reality. The road to becoming an adult is fraught with challenges for most, but for Lem that road promises to be impassible. The pebbles of teenage-hood will become boulders, and the inevitable fall from grace will become his undoing. But at least, for now, Lem is safe.