Chapter 1: Prologue
Chapter Text
I sigh as i get closer to this sh*t hole. "Reef City Continuation" a sign says on top of the fence surrounding the "school".
More like a concentration camp...but this is my life from now own.
After that incident in my school...well...let's say i wasn't welcome there anymore. Rejected by everyone i used to hang up.
But i know what i did was the right thing...i caress my belly for a moment.
It still stings...
Goddamn it.
In the entrance there is an old male trigga and a ptero woman, standing next to one of those x-ray machines they use in airports to check for weapons and stuff.
They both have electric stun batons hanging on their belts. I guess you can never be too careless around problematic teenagers. I sigh...let's get this over with.
"Heh , not many of your skinnie ass species around here. " The trigga scoffs as he holds up a list. "Name?"
"Descon." I wait for him to find my name in the list while his partner frisks my body for any hidden weapon.
"Here you are , Mr. Cido." The old trigga says , as he cross out my name from the list.
His partner nods towards him after she has checked that i don't have anything suspicious hidden.
He then grabs my backpack without my permission and puts it on the x-ray machine. After checking everything was fine he lets me in.
"Try not to get eaten alive there , skinnie" The old trigga mocks as he chuckles with his partnert. How much i wished to rip off one of his horns and stick it inside that ptero bitch's ass.
"Calm down Descon. Just a year in this sh*t hole. Then the army and with your luck probably getting yourself killed in action. And no one would care about you if that happened..." I think for myself. And is true , no one would care if i ended up getting killed.
The stinging sensation is back again and i caress my belly once more.
The old trigga was right , i dont see any humans near the stairs that lead inside the "school" , just a bunch of meteor dodgers , the majority carnivores.
They are gathered in different packs , i imagine that gangs are going to be a common thing around here.
I have to avoid eye contact , i bet these motherf*ckers would jump to my throat with the slightless chance and excuse.
They will think that im an easy prey because i'm human , and they wouldn't be wrong.
I mean , how the f*ck can i defend myself against a T-Rex's maw or a triceraptor's horns?
Still , i won't be intimidated. I'll survive this whole year.
Someone bumps my shoulder as they pass by next to me , almost dropping me. I look at the perpretator.
A tall and hulky megalodon girl , dressed in a leather jacket with a top that hugs her impressive chest and expose her abs. Her fin is emerging from the back of her jacket. Military jeans and black boots. She is looking at me with disgust over her strong shoulder, her yellow eyes hidden under her red hair. She grits her sharp teeth.
"Watch where you are walking , skinnie" She tells me , the nostrils on her snout and the gills on her neck flaring . She turns around to walk inside the school , her tail moving from side to side.
f*cking co*cky bitch.
Suddenly she turns to look at me , her teeth clentched in fury and her body shaking slightly.
"What.Did.You.Just.Call.ME!?!" She snaps while her hands form into fists , a cracking sound coming from them.
...Note for myself: Kill my f*cking cousin for spreading his muttering habits to me.
The meg girl grabs me by the collar of my shirt with one hand , lifting me from the floor with ease.
"Say that again to my face this time , f*cker!" She shouts to my face.
Good way to start first day of school Descon , making mad a dino that can tear you apart with ease. Still , i wont be intimidated. I won't back out now.
"You heard me well , fish brains." I say to her. A grin forms on her lips as she hears me.
"At least you have balls." She says mockingly before releasing her grip on the collar of my shirt. "But balls won't be enough to get you out of this. Now , prepare yourself." She challenges me as she raises her fists and starts to move in circles around me. Her stance tells me that she knows how to fight. sh*t. Before i can noticed , we both are surrounded by students that want to witness the beating im going to receive.
"Look , can't we maybe talk about thi-" I have to dodge a fist that was thrown by her.
"No , there is not talking out of this. Just fight already , puss*." She says with a mocking tone as she throws another fist that only hits the air near my face.
That was close , i don't know how much i will hold up against her. One hit is enough for her to knock me out.
The dino students laugh to my attempts to dodge her. This is bad , i have to defend myself. The best defense is a good offense , or at least that's what they say. The moment i dodge her next attack i close my eyes and pray Raptor Jesus to guide my punch somewhere that aren't her sharp teeth. I feel my fist connecting with something smooth. And i hear her gasp. I slowly open my eyes.
My fist is on her snout. And she looks...stunned? She isnt moving at all. She falls backwards against the floor. I didn't hit her that hard...right?
The dinos students around us are in shock for a second. Then the laughs start , mocking up the big megalodon girl for being knocked up by a mere human. She slowly recovers herself , but her body is somehow limp. Like she lost all her hulking strenght.
Her yellow eyes look from side to side. And her teeth clentched. That look of hers tells me that she feels humiliated right now. Humiliated by the mocking comments of the dinos around us.
"Have you seen how easily he has beaten her?" "What a joke , and here i was scared from her last year." "You can't even beat a tiny human , you are worthless" Those are many of the comments the dinos throw to her , while she fights to stand up.
Im starting to feel bad. And i shouldn't , she bumped against me on purpouse before. Still...Im going to hate myself for this.
"Hit me with your tail." I whisper to her. She looks at me confused.
"What do you-" She starts saying. "Just , do it." I tell her. And suddenly i feel a sharp pain on my side , her strong tail sending me flying to a wall.
Not that hard you brute!
There is silence as i lay against the floor. The dinos students then start mocking me while the meg girl finally stands up. She walks towards me , her big body towering my laying self.
"I give up" I say , as i grunt from pain. With that the dinos spread after watching my humiliating defeat. I hold my side , it hurts so bad. But the meg girl is still looking over me. She then offers her hand to help me stand up. I grab it and she lifts me up easily.
"Did you have to hit me that hard?" I ask her. She raises her eyebrown.
"Did you have to be a moron back then?" Asks me with sarcasm.
"Touche" I rub my hurted side.
"Why?" She suddenly asks me. I look at her rather puzzle. She sighs. "Why did you let me hit you that easily?"
That's a good question , why did i let her. Remembering how the students mocked her while she was struggling after my hit i had a sense of deja vu. Something that happened to me.
"Well , im not quite sure. Pity maybe?" I say to her. She looks angry.
"I don't need your f*cking pity , skinnie." She snarls. But she doesnt leave my side. She is still wondering if i did it out of pity , or was something else.
"Look , i saw how those meteor dodgers were mocking you after i knocked the lights out of you. I had a sense that i was destroying your reputation around here..."
She gives me a judging look before she laughs mockingly. "Hahaha , like a pathetic monkey could even harm my reputation. You are just a tiny fish in this ocean , skin sack."
"For a tiny fish i sure did knock you out , big girl." I smugly say to her , giving her a co*cky smile. She snorts.
"Mere luck...oh , and now that you mention it." She grabs me by the collar of my shirt once more , lifting me up and dangerously approaching me to her mouth , her sharp teeth shinning by the light. "Dont you f*cking dare to touch my snout again. Or you will feel these bad girls really upclose." She says with a cold voice while her tongue licks her sharp teeth.
Letting go of my shirt , she gives me a co*cky smile , showing her teeth before walking again inside the school , her tail wagging behind her.
And i f*cking hate myself now for feeling aroused after being held like that by her...I need teraphy or something...
Great way to start the semester...
Chapter 2: A fish out of water.
Chapter Text
f*ck, how much it hurts! And im not talking about my pride, i think i've never grew one of those. I rub my side where that brute meg girl hitted me with her tail.
I knew the risks, but still, i hoped she would go easy. Far from true, she striked me as hard as she could. I should be thankfull that her body was still weak at that moment, otherwise i'll probably been on the way to the hospital.
Still...how the hell did she lose all her strength just by my punch (if it could be considered that) on her snout?
"Don't you f*cking dare to touch my snout again", that were her words before she menaced me with her sharp teeth and left me be. I guess that's her kryptonite. Her big and pointy snout...near that jaw full of sharp and dangerous teeth that could tear my body apart. A cold shiver runs on my back at the thought of that.
As i walk through the hallways of Reef City i hear the dino students whispering something between them while their eyes fixate on me. I may be a little paranoid, but i swear that they are talking about me. And not in a good way.
Racists.
Still, i can mix within these meteor dodgers and stay unnoticed for the rest of the year. What happened before is just a simple setback that would probably be in the mouth of every student for a week or two. Then they will forget about it...like they always do...like it always happen with me...forgotten...now i start to feel sad...the sting sensation returns to my belly and i have to rub it...f*ck this sh*t, settle your f*cking head already Descon.
First day of school means that there won't be much to do today. Just introductions of the teachers and the subjects they will talk about during the whole year.
My first class is Biology, i had to ask one of the guards in the hallway where the class is...after a raptor guy that seemed totally chill against some lockers growled at me when i was approaching to ask him.
Oh, did i mention that the hallways of this wonderful school is crowed with guards on every goddamn corner? All of them wearing those stun batons. If this school didn't have already a sh*tty reputation, this confirms it. Oh, and don't forget about the security cameras, all across the hallways. And even in the bathrooms. I guess the school district is pleased of how things are being handled in here if they allow that kind of things.
It's a suprise that they aren't forcing us to wear one of those orange and white uniforms.
I sigh and i massage my temple. This is ridiculous.
I make my way into biology class, i guess im early since there are many free seats around the classroom.
As i think where to sit i notice that many of the free seats have marks on their respectives desks, probably done with claws. I assumed too soon that they weren't claimed yet. I found one without any marks in front of the teacher's desk. Yeah, the one that isn't taken has to be the closest one to the teacher's spot. My luck.
Well, i guess this is going to be my personal space for the rest of the year. At least in Biology.
As i wait in my spot, the classroom slowly starts to fill with more dinos. I don't even pay attention to them, i'm just checking in my phone the only thing that fills me up completly as a person and human being. Memes. Dark humor ones. The best kind of humor that exist... Im such an edgy.
My session of cruelty delights is cutted when a male ichthyosaurus burst in the class while carrying a pile of papers on his hands. His round glasses are about to fall from his large snout before he settles the papers on the teacher's desk. He then straighten his back and clear his throat.
"Guten morning, mein dear pupils, I hope you had a good summer vacation, and I bet you had so muzh to tell, but zhat vill have to vait. Now, time for Biology, ja?" The ichthyosaurus announce to the class with a strange accent that I swear I have heard somewhere before...in a videogame about Nazis...The students seem to be elsewhere by the looks on their faces, not even reacting to the presentation of our teacher. "Dummkopfs" he mutters. He suddenly notices my presence while I'm sitting at the desk in front of his.
Those dead fish eyes are making me nervous as he adjust his glasses as if he has discovered a new thing.
"Mein mein, vhat do we have here. A human, suzh wunderbar specimen, ja. I'm Dr. Johann Scheuchzer." Like im going to be able to pronounce such name in my life. "But you can call me Mr. Jakob. Vhat's your name mein dear boy?" He asks me as he signs me to stand up and come closer. And Im f*cking sweating right now, my plan to pass unnoticed is going to sh*t here also.
"Descon, sir" I say to him, as I stand next to him where he was pointing me to. Mr. Jakob is much shorter than me, but still his presence is making me nervous, especially those eyes of him, those eyes that are examining my whole body as he circles around me. As he stands in front of me, his hand grabs my chin without even asking for permission. He forces my mouth to open and he tilts his head too look inside it with one of his fish like eyes.
"Interessant, suzh healzhy specimen indeed. So muzh to learn from you. Is rare to see a human around zhese parts, you knov? Almost everyone of your species eizher live in zhat Skin Row place or outside Volcanera." He let's go of my chin and I have to repress myself from punching his long snout, but he pinches my bare arm. "Zuch texture, is it true zhat your skin gets red when exposed to sun? Interessant, ja." He remarks, as he keeps his hands of me, exhibiting me in front of the class that is now laughing at my struggle while this sick nazi pervert keeps analyzing me. His hands reach the hem of my shirt. And I immediately slap his hands off. The students in my classroom stop laughing after my sudden action. I tremble and I breath labored as he looks at me quite puzzle, until he realize what he was doing.
"Oh, mein dear boy. Sorry, I guess I was quite excited wizh seen someone of your species. Come on, return to your desk, ja?" He tells me, his voice sounding ashamed of his actions. Still, that was inappropriate. I slowly return to my desk. I don't even have the strength or the will to scream or even leave the class. I can only sit. Feeling the looks of the rest of my schoolmates on the back of my neck. I don't even pay attention to whatever Mr. Jakob is explaining to the class. He almost took off my shirt. He almost exposed the...
I rub my belly where the sting sensation is, this time stings more than usual. Calm down Descon. Breath in, count to four. Breath out, count to four.
The moment the bell outside the class rings to announce lunchtime, I'm the first one to leave. I lay my back against the nearby lockers as I set up my mind.
"Humm...excuse me?" A female voice sounds. I look around but I don't see anyone. Am I losing my mind already?
"Down here..." The voice says again. I look under me and I see a tiny dino girl whose height only reaches my knees. A mahakala if I'm not mistaken. She has her head covered in brown and white feathers, blue eyes and a beak like mouth. A long feathered tail is wrapped around her leg. She is wearing a purple sweater that is too big for her, since her hands are hidden under the sleeves. "You are blocking my locker...but its okey if you don't move...I...I can come back later..." She tells me with a bit of shyness.
"Oh, right...sorry". I say as I step aside to let her reach her locker.
How can something that small not get stepped in this school full of dinos?.
"I'm quite used to avoid getting stepped...oh...you weren't asking me...sorry" She looks away embarrassed.
...I really need to fix this muttering thing.
As the small mahakala opens her locker, her eyes would look at me every now and then.
"So, Mr. Jakob gave you his usual welcoming? He is usually like that when he sees someone new. Especially someone rare like you...Oh! Sorry! I didn't mean to call you rare! You are not some kind of freak...Oh, I'm making it worse..." The tiny dinosaur nervously tries to correct herself.
"Is alright really, you don't offend me." I reassure her, she seems to have a panic attack as she tries to fix her words. She takes a deep breath.
"Thank you. I'm bad with these social interactions...I don't usually get to meet many people due my height, I usually get ignored to the point that I have to be aware to not get stomped." She says with a nervous laugh. "I'm Maya...but you don't have to remember it if you don't want to..." She nervously looks away. The most timid person I have ever seen.
"Descon..." I present myself. She gives me a smile after introducing myself; I guess she is usually ignored if she is this excited after knowing how I'm named.
"Descon, that's a strange name. I mean, is unique. I mean...never mind..." She looks embarrassed. "So, Descon...what kind of dinosaur are you? I have never seen someone like you. Do you have some kind of condition? You scales are weird looking...I mean, are unique on it's on way hehehe..." Maya, rubs the back of her neck as she blushes.
Is she for real? Does she thinks im a dinosaur with a strange sickness? No, I don't think she can be that...stupid? No, maybe retarded...that's worst...
"Eh...I'm actually a human , Maya" I say to her, sounding like is the obvious thing in the world , which it is.
"Oh...a human...that explains...wait..."
"..." I look at her confused, while she seems processing what I've just said.
"A HUMAN?!?" She gives a loud screech before she enters inside her locker and closes the door...Are you for real? "Please...stay away...don't harm me..." She begs me, her trembling voice echoing inside the locker.
"Hey hey, I'm not going to harm you" I try to reassure her.
"Liar! I have seen all those news on the TV, you are all dangerous and mischievous. Preying on the smaller ones...Leave me alone..." She says with a shaken voice, and I hear her crying inside the locker.
I sigh, I better leave her be. Doesn't matter trying to comfort her anyway. She is too scared right now. Besides, is not like I should care. I mean, I don't want to get involved with anyone in this school. The less people I get to know the better for me.
I start walking to the cafeteria. Hope I can find a table or a spot to eat alone. While I walk there, I can't stop thinking about Maya's reaction when she found out that I was a human. Does she really think I'm that dangerous? Does she really think that I'm like...them...
The sting sensation returns...rubbing time...
The cafeteria is total mayhem of hungry dinos eating their lunches like they haven't eaten in years. Pieces of food are scattered all over the floor, and I have to walk with tip toes to avoid stepping on something chewed.
The queue to get lunch is extremely large, and as far as I see the food served in some trays, I don't think I could digest any of that. I bet that in prison food is 100 times better than here.
Therefore, I go for the old reliable vending machines. The machines are all scrapped and with graffiti, mostly dicks drawings, all over it. I choose a chicken sandwich and I have to smack the side of the machine to disengage it from the spirals where it was stuck.
Once I have my lunch for today I look for a place to sit...and I think I will have to sit on the corner of the cafeteria since the same groups there were formed this morning at the entrance of the "school" occupy all tables. Yeah, as I suspected, gangs.
I analyze the different groups from my spot in the corner of the cafeteria. A group full of triggas, all dressed up as if they are going to record a hip-hop music video.
Another group of aquatic dinos, wearing the same jacket...maybe a school team? They are tossing around something between them, a football or something like that, I'm not sure.
The group of nerds...those are the most dangerous ones. I can smell them from here, the essence of virgins that haven't taken a shower in ages. They are checking the collection of cards from one of their partners, a diplodocus with a large neck. I wouldn't play to a card game with someone that has the advantage of height like him.
And finally the group of goths. The majority of them are raptors, painted in black, their hairs hiding their eyes. I bet that they are talking about how life sucks and sh*t like that...edgelords.
The rest of the tables are occupied by different kind of dinos that are probably sharing the amazing summer they had with their long time no seen schoolmates.
Now that I notice, there aren't any guards surveiling the cafeteria. I'm not an expert here, but the cafeteria is the first place that should be surveiled as much as the hallways. I shake my head; nothing of this "school" makes sense to me anymore.
As I enjoy the cardboard the chicken sandwich is I hear some commotion coming from the table of the aquatic dinos. A yellow male pachycephalosaurus is trying to reach with his short arms for the thing the aquatic dinos are tossing between them. I then notice what that thing is...and the content of the sandwich slides from the buns as I am in shock. Is Maya, the small mahakala from before. They are using her as a ball while the yellow pachycephalosaurus begs them to let her go. I thought it was a ball, or maybe a belonging of that pachysaurus guy, but not the shy Maya.
I look around the cafeteria, nobody seems to notice what is going on...or they are simply trying to ignore it...like those times...in my old school...the sting sensation returns, this time it even hurts more than usual...
I...I can't...not again. Stay unnoticed Descon...don't look...don't move...
But, I can't. The look of fear on Maya's watering eyes, the cowardice of those in this cafeteria, the co*cky smiles of those assholes that are tossing her around. That's enough to make my blood boil.
And before I notice it I'm walking towards them. There is no coming back after this...again...
"Hey, f*cking assholes. Let her down!" I shout in unison with someone else. Wait...someone else...who? I look to my side. That meg girl from this morning, standing next to me. She then notices my presence on her side.
"You!" we both say in unison while pointing to each other. She clenches her sharp teeth, her half-closed yellow eyes hidden under her red fringe.
"Stay away from this skinnie. These ones are mine, and you couldn't do sh*t against them anyway!" She warns me coldly.
"Yeah, sure. You underestimate me, fish brains. I can handle this myself." I say to her, trying to sound confident. She gives me smug grin.
"Sure thing, monkey. Go ahead please." She bends slightly and signs with her palm towards the aquatic dinos looking at us confused. "Delight us with your sh*tty performance. Then leave the grownups talk, okay?" She says in a mocking tone. Feed up with her bullsh*t I get closer to her and I point my finger towards her chin, in the danger zone that is her sharp teeth.
"Listen up, c*nt! I'm f*cking done with your f*cking bullsh*t. I can defend myself from these meteor dodgers. I don't need your mocking comments just because you are hulkier than me. I have my tricks." I snap, feed up with her mocking attitude.
We both lean our heads close while our gazes meet in a challenge of who flinch first. Until our focus is cutted by the sound of loud stomps coming towards our direction. A massive male mosasaurus, taller and hulkier than the meg girl next to me make his way toward us. He is wearing the same jacket as the rest of the aquatic dinos.
"Well well well, if it isn't Koral, the megac*nt. Can't you control your skinnie pet or something?" He asks her in a mocking tone, his long jaw filled with irregular sharp teeth opening to let go of a gultural laugh, followed by the rest of the aquatic dinos laughs. She grits her teeth to that comment while I clench my fists.
The mosasaurus gets in front of Koral as he holds Maya by her feathered tail, using his thumb and index.
"Do you want this thing?" He asks Koral in a challenging way while he shakes Maya lightly.
"Let her go, Jason." Koral warns him, her eyes filled with violent fury.
"Try me, you cu-" His sentence is replaced by a loud yelp , as Koral's boot lands on his crotch. A loud "oooh" can be heard in the cafeteria, and I have to bite my lower lip at how painful that has to be. Jason, immediately releases Maya to hold his probably destroyed nuts. By instinct im able to catch Maya before she hits the floor. She curbs into a ball in my arms as she holds her long tail with the hidden hands under the sleeves of her oversized sweater while she sobs. The yellow pachysaurus that was trying to get her back from the aquatic dinos rushes toward us.
"Here, take her somewhere safer." I say to him, as I hand him Maya. He holds her in his short arms but he doesn't even move. I sigh."Come on, leave already!" I shout to him. And he immediately leaves before giving me thanks.
Well, and now, how do I survive this? I should have thought about this beforehand. I just did what I came to do, safe Maya from these morons. Now I can't just leave this meg girl to deal with the whole pack alone.
The mosasaurus turns his head towards his aquatic minions as he is on his knees on the ground , holding his crotch with both hands.
"Don't just f*cking stand there, idiots. Get them!" He yells to them.
Koral immediately takes a stance and held her fists up. I get next to her and I do the same, well, at least something similar.
"I told you to stay away from this. I can deal with this alone, skinnie." She snarls without even looking at me.
"And I told you that I can defend myself. Besides, I'm going to make them regret calling me your pet." I say to her while tilting my head to a side to make my neck crack. She snorts to my words and her yellow eyes focus on me.
"You either are stupidly brave or retarded. I'm going for the second option." She chuckles mockingly. "Just...don't stay in my way, and no, I'm not saying this to mock you up." She says, her tone being serious.
"Don't get your snout hitted then, unless you want me to have all the fun." I say to her mockingly.
"In your dreams, skin sack". She says with a co*cky grin.
The aquatic dinos start to surround us, as we stand on our place. I guess there is no escape now. Well, there is only one option then. A painful one. The sting sensation is back but that will have to wait for later.
Now, is time to survive.
Chapter 3: A man or an animal.
Chapter Text
How the f*ck did I get myself in this situation. I try my best not to get easily beaten by any of this fish f*ckers that im facing right now. At least the ones im fighting against are of my own size. The meg girl is dealing with the bigger ones, as she has a plesiosaurus grabbed by his long neck and uses him like a wrecking ball against the rest of her attackers.
Jesus Raptor, the brutality.
A fist to my side breaks my focus of what the meg is doing right now. And I immediately throw a punch to the perpetrator's snout, followed by a kick to the knee that make him lose his balance and fall to the ground. The moment his head hits the floor I stomp his face, knocking him out. I should thank my old gym teacher for his self-defense lessons; I have them engraved in my brain. Still, my strength isn't comparable to a dino. I will need to be smarter than them.
I grab the jacket of the nothosaurus next to me and pull him in front of me to block the whip strike of a baryonix's tail. The yell the nothosaurus makes tell me how painful that was. I let go of his jacket and he throws himself to the ground immediately, twisting in pain.
The baryonix growls at me after I used his mate as a shield.
"You f*cker!" He tries to whip me again with his tail. I move to my side, dodging it by inches. An archelon grabs me in a bear hug from behind, blocking my arms. I struggle to break free from his hold but is impossible. The only thing I can I do is lean my torso forward, holding all his heavy weight in my back. I clentch my teeth from the amount of effort this is taking me. His legs separate from the floor as im able to lift him, and i turn myself around, to block the baryonix's tail again with the shell of the archelon. The baryonix screams, as he holds his tail from hitting the archelon's strong shell with it.
The archelon keeps his hold on me. All right then. As best as I can I turn myself and I charge backwards against the nearest wall, hitting his back against the hard wall. He gasps, loosening his hold enough for me to slide one of my arms off his grip and donating an elbow strike to his beak like mouth. And how much it f*cking hurts doing that, but at least he loses his consciousness.
2-0 for the human team. I still need to deal with the baryonix...that is charging with his jaw wide open towards me.
Oh sh*t!
I throw myself to the floor, hearing the snapping sound of his mouth full of sharp teeth closing over my head. I roll away, getting under one of the tables of the cafeteria. That was too close. The sting sensation in my belly is killing me, but I can't lose my focus yet. The baryonix grabs the table and tosses it around as if it was nothing, exposing myself to his jaw. He pins me against the floor, his weight all over me.
"Im going to rip you up, monkey" He says menacingly, as he opens his jaw again. I extend my arm towards the floor, looking for something to defend myself from his jaw. The moment I feel something with my fingertips I grab it and put it in front of his closing jaw. One of the metal trays from the cafeteria. The tray blocks his jaw from closing. I grab the handles of the tray, not letting him grab it. He sinks his sharp claws on my arms, and I have to bite my lower lip to stiffen a pain yelp.
I'm not letting go from the tray, im dead if I do so. I lock my legs around his neck, I start choking the bastard out of breath, a chokehold my old gym teacher told us to do if we were pinned against the floor, and we couldn't use our arms. His breath is getting more erratic as he struggles with my chokehold. He even death rolls on the floor to get rid of me but im not letting go. His body starts to go limp as he loses his consciousness.
3-0 I guess. I separate from the unconscious baryonix and I look at my arms. Yep, they are bleeding, right where he sinked his claws. I stand up and I kick the snout of the unconscious baryonix as hard as I can.
f*cking bastard.
I look towards where the meg is, she is stomping on the head of a spinosaur that is laying on the floor. She also has some scratches from her fight on her face, and a cut on the left sleeve of her leather jacket. With a final kick on his guts, she spits on him. She then turns around and look at me. A smile full of teeth appears on her lips. She walks towards me.
"You made it huh? I guess you weren't kidding when you said that you could hold yourself on your own." She says in a respectful tone. She then notices the marks of claws on my bleeding arms and she stops on her tracks. I notice that her pupils start to dilate slowly, but she shakes her head immediately...strange. "You should probably bandage that before..." A loud noise coming from the entrance of the cafeteria interrupt her words. She sighs. "...Before they come."
In a matter of seconds, the cafeteria is crowded with lots of guards; some of them mobilize the students to leave the cafeteria, while others surround us, their stun batons ready in hand.
I lift up my hands in a sign of surrender, while the meg girl next to me massage her temple and sighs.
"Try not to talk, otherwise you will bite your tongue" She warns me.
"What do you-" A sharp pain runs all over my body , my muscles twitch involuntary and I have to clench my teeth to not bite my tongue while one of the guards stuns me with the baton.
I was surrendering, f*cking asshole.
Still, that doesn't stop the guard from keep tasing me once im on the floor twitching. Two more guards hold me against the floor and handcuff my hands. Great.
I look to the meg girl, who is being tased by four guards to submission. Once we both are arrested, they grab us from the armpits and drag outside the cafeteria. I feel like a f*cking criminal as they drag us to who knows where through the hallways while pushing aside the students that are watching or recording our walk of shame.
The first stop is the nursery. With our hands cuffed a nurse, who I swear is the same woman that was serving food in the cafeteria, threat our bruises with the finesse of a mammoth in a china shop.
Then the guards lead us into an office and force me and the meg girl to sit in a chair against the wall while still handcuffed. I guess we are paying a visit to the principal of the school as a sign on the door's frame next to us reads "Principal's office".
Strange, are we both the only ones talking with the principal? What about those aquatic c*nts we were fighting?
"Those assholes are untouchable. They are the water polo team of the school, and because they win a lot, they have "special" treatment." The meg girl respond with a snarls my muttered question.
"So, we just fought a bunch of assholes and probably got expelled, for nothing?" I ask her. Talk about poetic justice.
She chuckles between her teeth. "We beated a bunch of assholes to be precise. Don't worry, they won't expel us. They get paid to maintain people like us in this place, so is not worth it. We will get probably some kind of detention or something like that. Relax skinnie."
"You seem rather unfazed by this. I guess this is not your first time."
She shrugs her shoulders. "I've been chewed out before. This is just a common thing with me around." She says non-chalantly. "So, are you going to tell me why you decided to play the hero back there?"
"I had my reasons. How about you?" I ask her.
"Me? I just wanted to beat the sh*t out of those assholes, that's all." She tries to conceal her true intentions.
"Yeah sure, what about that shout demanding the release of that girl they were tossing around?" I ask her while rising my eyebrow.
Her reaction catches me off guard. She simply looks away with a blush appearing across her face. Something I wouldn't expect from someone as intimidating as her.
"S-shut it." She growls while looking away. "That girl's situation was the perfect excuse to start a fight with those pricks".
"Yeah, sure thing. I believe you." I say to her with sarcasm.
"Shut up! And what about you? You haven't told me yet your reasons for you to step in. I bet that you probably wanted to impress that little girl to get inside her pants, pervert." She mocks me.
I sigh. "It was the right thing to do..." I only say to her. And again my thoughts wonder into that time in my previous school. The sting sensation is too much to bear and I try to rub my belly with the handle of the chair, since my hands are cuffed behind me. There, much better.
"I guess I have misjudged you. You are not bad, for a human." The meg says with respect, breaking my focus on rubbing my belly awkwardly.
"Thank you I guess...ummmm."
"Koral."
"Thank you, Koral...Im Descon."
"Descon? What the f*ck is that name?" She starts to chuckle.
"Hey, yours isn't even that great. Koral...such original name for someone like you." I say with sarcasm.
"At least my name doesn't sound like the brand of a detergent or some sh*t like that." She says mockingly.
"Be thankful that I am cuffed and I can't flip you the bird right now."
"Be thankful that you don't get to do it. Otherwise you would lose a finger." She says to me mockingly, as she chomps her teeth in the air.
"We have ten for a reason, right?" I say to her mockingly. And that comment makes her laugh out loud, to the point that she spreads her laughter to me. She then sighs after calming her laughter.
"You caught me there good. Im used to people sh*tting their pants when I joke about bitting off a limp or something like that. Is quite refreshing to find someone with sense of humor around this hellish place, you know?"
I'll be goddamn, is this really the same girl I encountered this morning? Because really...is quite pleasant to talk with her and have this kind of banters.
"Hey don't get your hopes up. I still think you are a prick for what you said this morning." She warns me.
...f*cking muttering sh*t.
She starts to chuckle. "You are doing it again. Do you have brain damage or something?" She asks me mockingly.
I sigh. "Let's just say it runs in the family. And...sorry for calling you a f*cking co*cky bitch before."
"It's alright. At least you had the balls to not back on your words. I respect that, it tells me you are not a puss* that likes to talk sh*t from behind. Also...you are not far from the truth...I can be a co*cky bitch sometimes...many times...always..." That last part she said it with a bit of bitter on her voice. Her gaze is now fixated on the floor, as she is deep in her thoughts.
I assumed too quickly that she enjoyed being all intimidating and co*cky, but the way she is behaving right now tells me otherwise. The thing is, why is she opening to me like this?
Our thoughts are interrupted when someone opens the door from inside the principal's office, a trigga woman, wearing a formal outfit, her hair tied up in a bun. "Mr. Cido and Mrs. Kahue, the principal is waiting for you both." She tells us. I hear Koral chuckle on my side.
"What's so funny?" I ask her.
"Nothing...Cido...hahahaha." She laughs aloud.
"You think is funny? Yours sounds like the name of a burger that would be served in one of those tropic restaurants. Probably one of those with pineapple in them. Bleh." I mock her.
"Hey! Pineapple is cool, especially on pizza." She snarls.
I look at her in disbelief. "...You monster. That ruins a good pizza!"
"Deal with it" A smug grin appears on her lips.
"Enough talk, you two!" One of the guards snaps.
The guards grab us from the armpits again and drag us into the office. The office is quite luxury looking, it even has a chimney. A set of screens are displayed on a wall , streaming what the cameras around the school are catching , even the ones inside the bathrooms...Yeah , I guess I will have to wait to reach home to do my things from now on.
Standing near the expensive looking desk there is a yellow raptor that is playing golf with a set spread on the floor. His black hair is slicked back; he is wearing a smart suit and necktie. Zero sense of fashion, the 50s aesthetic went out of fashion a long time ago.
We are forced by the guards to take a seat in front of the desk while the raptor keeps swinging his golf club without paying us attention. There is a golden plaque in the desk that says "Daryn Wrean".
What the f*ck is that name.
"What is the difference between a man and an animal, Mr Cido?" The raptor asks me without looking away from the ball as he hits it with the golf club and the ball slides inside the pit.
"Humm...I think I haven't studied that one yet, sir." I say to him. The guard behind me hits the back of my head with the handle of the baton. Message received, no messing around with the boss. The raptor turns around to look at us. He has a moustache shaped like a pyramid under his nostrils. Yeah, he belongs from another period of history, not this one.
"A man choose, an animal is slave of it's instincts, Mr Cido." He puts his golf club against my chin and force me to look up to his green eyes. "So, what are you, may I ask?" How much I wished to spit in his smug face right now, but with those gorillas behind us it would probably be a bad idea.
Koral breaks the awkward silence between this raptor and me with a loud groan of boredom.
"Cut the crap already Wrean. What is the sentence this time?" She asks impatiently. Mr Wrean gives a nod to the guard behind Koral and he tase her neck with the stun baton. "f*ck!" She yells.
"Mrs Kahue, how many times do I have to see you in the same position as you are right now? Last year you ended up here 15 times. And you are already here on the first day of school." Mr Wrean says non-chalantly.
"I guess I want to break my personal record this year." She says mockingly, gaining another tasing session.
Mr Wrean has a disgust frown. He then looks at me. "This is what I mean about animals. They don't think straight, they are driven by primal instincts. Parasites of our society." He moves the golf club from my chin and takes a seat in the desk.
Narcissist dickhe*d.
"Then you should be talking to those "animals" from the water polo team too. Those jocks were picking up on an innocent girl in the cafeteria." I say to him, as he gives me a judging glare.
"They will be dealt accordingly at the appropriate time." He tells me non-chalantly. That's total bullsh*t. Koral was right, those f*ckers are untouchable. "But , right now , you have to face the consequences for your actions. Two days of suspension." He tell us. Great, missing two days at the start of the school is going to suck really good.
"Well, that's not bad at all." Koral says smugly.
On Mr Wrean's face a co*cky grin appears.
"And 3 months of detention in the gardening club after school." He sentences.
...What?
"...Can we get expelled instead?" Koral asks Mr Wrean.
He simply ignores her question. "I have called your legal tutors. Mrs Kahue, your father is on his way to take you home right now. Mr Cido, I have tried to contact with your legal tutor but he didn't answered any of my calls." Mr Wrean tell us while he stands up from his desk and put his hands behind his back.
"Well, I guess I will have to go home by my own then." I say non-chalantly.
A devilish smile appears on Mr Wrean...wait a second...he wouldn't. Right?
"I called your second legal tutor. She is coming to take you home."
...Crap. Not her.
With that, Mr Wrean simply raise his hand and waves the guards to take us out.
"Before you go, Mr Cido. My question stand still. Are you a man or an animal? Give it a thought and answer me the next time we see each other." With those final words, he lets the guards escort us to the exit. Once we reached the entrance of the school, they pushed us both out without any kind of mannerisms.
"Man, this sucks. Gardening club is the most boring sh*t ever. f*cking Wrean." Koral protest, as she kicks a can laying on the ground while her hands are inside the pockets of her leather jacket. I don't even pay her attention, as my thoughts are elsewhere. f*cking hell, I can't believe that they contacted her and she is coming right now. Worst scenario possible.
"Hey dude, you look pale, what's wrong?" Koral asks me with concern as she puts her strong hand on my shoulder.
I snap out from my trance. And I rub my belly to relieve the stinging sensation. "Yeah im okey, don't worry?" I say to her non-chalantly.
"You sure? Because you looked like you have seen a ghost or something. I guess is the effect of knowing that we will have to spend 3 months in gardening club." She says jokingly as she laughs and pats my back. I chuckle to her joke.
"Yeah, I guess thinking about planting roses and sh*t has shattered my masculinity" I say to her jokingly. We both laugh at our stupid banter.
"That's the spirit." She says once she starts calming down her laughter. We both lean against the wall of the entrance of the school. I reach for my back pocket and I retrieve my cigarette pack. I put the cancer stick in my mouth and light it with the zippo I have. "Got a spare one?" She asks me. I pass her the cigarette pack and she grabs three cigarettes.
"Hey, you said one!"
"Like one of this tiny sh*ts is going to be enough for me." She snarls as she grabs my zippo and lights the three cigarettes at the same time. She puts the cigarettes in her mouth and with a single pull she consumes them. She exhale the smoke through the gills on her neck.
That's cool, wow.
"Yeah, neat trick huh?" She responds my muttered words smugly.
I take a pull of my own cigarette and then I puff a smoke ring. I smile to her co*ckly. She forces a yawn.
"That's an easy one dude." She says non-chalantly.
"Well, for me it wasn't at first." I tell her.
We both stay in silent, while we lean against the wall. Who would have thought that I could end up having fun with someone like her...is refreshing honestly.
"So, what are you going to do these two spare days? Is not like I really care, but I hate this awkward silences." She asks me to break the ice.
"Definitely won't miss your voice." I say to her mockingly.
She holds her chest with one hand and puts the back of her other hand against her forehead, dramatically acting hurted. "Oh, such hurtful words. You are so rude and vicious."
"You are such the drama queen." I mock her. She gives me a co*cky smile while flipping me the bird.
"Not, but seriously, what are you going to do? Apart from stroking your wiener I mean." She asks me mockingly.
"Well, apart from that, I will try to not get bored to the point of ripping off my eyeballs." I tell her, making her laugh. "What about you?"
"I will probably train for my next match."
"Do you practice boxing or something? Because the stance you had when we fought this morning was quite professional looking."
She blushes to my praising words and looks away to hide it. How cute. "Y-yeah, I practice boxing, but im not that good as you think." She says, a bit of nervousness in her tone.
We are interrupted by the sound of a very loud honk that shake my insides. My ears go deaf for a moment and I only hear white noise. A rusty pickup truck is waiting on the road for someone. Jesus Raptor, I don't want to ride with whoever owns that truck during a day of traffic.
"Well, here is my ride. Try not to miss me during these two days, alright?" Koral says smugly as she punches my shoulder lightly (Or at least as light as she can) and winks me with her yellow eye. "See ya!" She starts walking towards the rusty pickup truck, her long tail swaying from side to side.
And before I can wave her goodbye she is gone already. I rub the shoulder were she has punched me and I feel my cheeks burning.
"No Descon. Control yourself, she is meteor dodger for f*cks shake. Besides, you don't know her true intentions. Don't let your guard down. Just because she is fun to be around doesn't mean anything. She may play with your feelings and betray you in the last moment." I think for myself. Still...the way she was treating me right now, nothing to do at how things went with her this morning. But something is true , I can't think about her right now.
I need to focus on what im going to tell back home, about what happened today...f*ck.
"Yeah, I've fought alongside a meg girl against a bunch of aquatic jocks because they were picking up a little girl. Look how cool this marks are on my arms, a baryonix did them with his claws. And I've got tased and handcuffed like a criminal. We visited the principal , such a nice guy. Oh, by the way , I have to stay home for two days and after that for three months I will be getting late home from the school because I have detention in the gardening club after class."
...Yeah, im in big trouble. Well, im not the one in big trouble. He is going to be, because he doesn't have the courage to blame me whenever I end f*cking up something...f*ck.
I take out my phone to check some memes. That will distract me enough to think about anything else right now. The screen is cracked in the middle, probably from the fight before. I sigh, I will have to visit one of the stores in Little Troodon and get it fixed tomorrow. At least I will have something to do to pass time.
In a matter of minutes, I hear a honk and I raise my head from my phone. There she is...Silver hair, pale skin. Her wings are wrapped behind her back and her face has an unamused expression. I can almost feel from here her teeth clenched inside her snout. Her amber eyes, the same color of the stone she has as a necklace, are judging my soul right now. I know that she doesn't like me, but still she could at least pretend otherwise. I sigh and I look away from those eyes as I get into the car with my cousin's wife...Lucy.
Chapter 4: The dragon and the lion.
Chapter Text
The whole trip was total silence. From time to time, I noticed that Lucy was looking at me from the corner of her eyes. She really was pissed off, and she probably would yell at me right now. But, she told Anon that she didn't want anything to do with me.
At least that's what I heard when Anon and her where arguing in their room the first night I stayed in their home. And every time I do something wrong or that she dislikes they argue again in their room. Tonight won't be different.
I look outside the window, the city passing by. Volcadera Bluffs, so much to see and discover...but not enough time...or simply I don't feel like to. In a year I'll be gone...to the army. I would have joined earlier, but I needed parental consent...and my parents...they don't have a son anymore.
"You are a f*cking disgrace to our family, get out of our goddamn house!" That was the last time I heard a word from that bitch I used to call mom. That was my reward for doing the right thing. Being treated like a social pariah by my own family...
I have to rub my belly again.
After passing by Little Troodon, the car stops infront of the apartment flat where we live.
"Get out" Lucy says with a neutral tone, not even looking at me.
I have to obey; I don't wish to piss the ptero woman even more. Once I'm out from the car, she steps on the pedal, going full speed to leave as soon as possible.
I guess she has things to do in Volcano High, the high school where she works at. My principal's call had to force her to stop whatever she was doing at that moment at her work to get the problematic cousin of her husband. f*ck...Anon won't heard the end of this tonight...
I take out my pack of cigarettes and light one. The taste of nicotine fills my mouth as I exhale the cloud of cancer. I watch as the smoke dissipates midair. Right now, I wish I could do that too, dissipate, disappear...
With one last puff, I toss the remains of the cigarette with a snap of my fingers to the pavement. I reach in my pocket for the keys of the apartment and I enter there.
The apartment is quite normal; many pictures are hanging from the walls in the hallway. As I pass by, I look at them. Photos of when Anon and Lucy were a bit younger. With Lucy's family, their friends...in all of them they seem having a great time. They were happy...before I came to their lifes. Looking at the photo of them with their friends makes me remember the time where we went to a cookout in the park before summer ended and everyone would return to their monotone works.
The way they looked at me when the purple trigga announced that she was pregnant again and I muttered out loud how she should stop spreading her legs that often like a rabbit in heat , so she could stop bringing to the world more little sh*ts with that red raptor junkie she had as husband...Yeah , that was too harsh.
Anon had to take me home before that trigga could break free from her husband's grip. That night Anon and Lucy had a huge argument, because he couldn't bring himself to blame me.
"Fang, is not that easy. I know what he is going through right now...give him time." That were his words for his pissed off wife.
I stop looking to the photos. It doesn't matter anymore, what it's done it's done. I step into the living room. It has a tv, a large couch, a table and a piano. As usual, the piano's fallboard is closed with key. Since Lucy found me playing it one day she decided to lock it so I couldn't play it. She really doesn't like to share her things, or at least with me. Like that time when I was looking for something to eat and I ended up making some dino nuggies that were in the fridge...The Ragnarök was released that day...
I learned something important...don't touch Lucy's dino nuggies if you don't want to see a ptero's claws up close.
As I set my backpack on the floor of the kitchen and walk into the living room, I hear a squeaky sound under me. Yeah, one of the many toys of the little goblin. Scattered around the floor. I sigh and I start picking them up, leaving them inside the treasure chest like box in the corner of the living room. There, that should avoid Amber some problems with her mom. I imagine myself in a future asking her to pay the debt for my good willing action. I feel like an idiot as a grin forms on my lips. Like I would ever ask her to pay a debt. Amber is the only one around here that brings a little bit of sunshine in my life with that innocence common from kids her age.
Now that I check the clock on the wall, there is still time until she is picked up from the kindergarten. I guess I could take a nap on the couch before the young tornado comes home. I take off my shoes and I lay on the couch. I put an alarm on my cracked phone, thirty minutes before they arrive. I don't want Lucy to find me slacking off and have another reason to argue with Anon tonight. In a matter of seconds I fall asleep.
...
"Traitor"
"No!"
"Traitor"
"f*ck off"
"Disgrace"
"...Leave me alone"
"Quick, grab him."
"Stay away!"
"The knife, grab the knife!"
"Let go of me, f*ckers!"
"Know your own place, traitor."
"Fuuuuuck!"
"A man choose, an animal is slave of it's instincts...what are you...Descon?"
"AHHHHHH!" I yell, as I wake up. My heart is beating fast, and im sweating hard. Another nightmare...again. They have been getting worse each time. The sting sensation is back and I try to scrap my belly furiously to ease the sensation. The first time I had one of these episodes in this house, I scared the sh*t out of little Amber. She thought that I was being killed or something, not far from true, at least that was what I was dreaming.
Wait...Amber...what time it is? I check my phone. Is ten minutes earlier than what I have programmed in my alarm. I sigh as I sit straight on the couch and I rub my face with my hands. Breath in, count to four, breath out, count to four.
Hope that stupid stego from Little Troodon has his "stock" refilled for tomorrow. I need those olanzapine pills to sleep properly. It's been a week since I had to ration the little I had left.
I stand up from the couch and head to the bathroom. I wash my face and I take off the bandages on my arms. The marks left by that baryonix's claws has stopped bleeding, they weren't as deep as I thought.
Just in case I reach for the first aid kit in the drawer under the sink and take the rubbing alcohol out of it. As I apply the alcohol on my marks, I bite my lower lip.
f*ck, that sting!
But is better than having an infection and getting both arms amputated. I know a girl that would laugh at my statement...goddamn it Descon, forget about her already.
I cover the marks with a new bandage.
Yeah, I look totally badass right now. And I feel stupid for thinking that too.
I put the first aid kit back where it belongs and I throw the old bandages to the can next to the toilet.
Well, I still got time until the peace and quiet of this place is disturbed. I should eat something, the sandwich from before wasn't enough to satiate my hunger. Is not like half of it spilled on the floor when I saw those jocks tossing around Maya...I hope she is alright.
I go to the kitchen and I look inside the fridge.
Let's see...
Half of a tuna sandwich? No...
A yogurt maybe? Meh...
A bag full of dino nuggies with the name Lucy written on it? f*ck NO!
Ah, here. There is some left over pizza from Dino Moe's. Perfect. I put a slice on a plate and I heat it in the microwave. The first time Anon brought home pizza from Dino Moe's I was impressed at how tasty it was. Since then I crave that pizza many times during the day.
Once the pizza slide is heated, I take a seat on the kitchen's table. And as I enjoy the greasy pleasure I check more memes on my phone.
As minutes pass I hear the sound of keys opening the main door, followed by the sound of steps running in the hallway. Here she comes.
"Descon Descon Descon" The hyperactive ptero kid named Amber calls me as she gets to the kitchen and hugs my legs, since she is too short still. The first few times she has done this I felt taken aback by her affection, but I ended up getting used to it. She has taken everything from her mother; her silver hair, the pale skin. Even her eyes. But she is much sweeter than her mother at least. I mess her silver hair while she giggles. I grab the little demon by her armpits and lift her up, using my arm as a seat for her. "How was your first day at kindergarten, little hobbit?" I ask her.
"It was great! We have been drawing our summer vacations with crayons. And in the recess I kicked John where you told me because he destroyed the castle of mud Sera and me were making."
Oh...sh*t. Why did I told her that if she fights a boy she should kick him between the legs? I should have seen this coming...She tilts her head in confusion while looking at me with those innocent amber eyes.
"Well Amber. You should have told a teacher or something before kicking him. That was rude." I try to make her understand.
"But John called Sera a dirty trigga." Amber explains.
...Jesus Raptor, what the f*ck is wrong with kids now days. Their parents, that's the problem. I sigh.
"Still, that's not the answer Amber. You should have told your teacher before doing anything. Violence is never the answer." I can't believe im saying her that after I've got myself into a fight this afternoon.
"Alright...Sorry." She says regretfully as she looks down. "Descon...what happened to your arms?" She asks me as she puts her tiny hand over the bandage on my arm.
...sh*t. I could lie to her, but that would make me an hypocrite. With my free arm I rub the back of my neck.
"I've...got myself into a fight too." I tell her. She crosses her arms over her yellow dress, her eyebrowns frown and a pout on her cheeks.
"What did you say about violence not being the answer?" She asks me accusingly. She is too smart for her own age.
"Well, look how bad you can end up with violence." I try to justify my previous words while showing her my bandaged arms. She still pouts and hums. "Okey...sorry." I apologize. She giggles and pats my head with her tiny hand.
"It's okey Descon. Just, don't do it again okey?" She tells me like im the one that needed to learn the lesson. Like I said, too smart for her own age. "Come on Descon, let's play something!" She says excitedly.
"No Amber, we have piano lessons." Lucy's voice sounds from the door of the kitchen. Amber makes her usual pout.
"But mooooom, I want to play with Descon."
"Piano. Now." Lucy says to her daughter with a voice that tells that she won't take a no for an answer. Amber looks to the floor in defeat.
"We will play later together okay? Come on; don't make your mom wait." I promise Amber, as I put her back on the floor.
"...Okay." She simply replies while walking towards the door, her shoulders sink in defeat. Once she is out of sight, I stay alone in the kitchen with Lucy. I should apologize for telling Amber where to kick a boy. I sigh and I rub the back of the neck.
"Look Lucy, about what Amber did in the kindergarten, im really sor-"
"I don't want to hear it...you know the drill." She snarls without looking at me.
I sigh in defeat. "...yes ma'am". She slams the door of the kitchen. I'm not allowed to walk out from here until she is finished with Amber's piano lessons. That's the drill.
"Give her some time Descon. At first she is like that with everyone that she doesn't trust. But she is sweet once you get to know her." Anon's words about his wife resonate on my mind. How much I've wished to believe that, but in all these months I've been here she has treated me with indifference and hostility. And I don't blame her, because I know that for her I am a constant reminder of how awful my family has treated her relationship with Anon.
When our family found out that Anon was dating a dino, all hell was loose. They cut off all kind of relationship with him, disowned by everyone related to him before he moved into Volcadera Bluff. And that's the reason Anon left me stay in their home when he found out that I was kicked out by my parents too. He saw himself on me at that time. I've never told him the reason why I was kicked out, or why I was expelled from Rock Bottom's school in the first place. He didn't even asked me about it.
"When you feel like it, we can talk about it" He said once. But...I really don't feel like it, I fear that they may consider me a freak or something if I tell them what happened...if they don't consider me a freak already.
I grab my backpack from the floor; I should advance work, since I'm going to miss two days of school. At least I won't fall behind in class. I open my backpack and I take out the biology book. While I study, I can hear the sound of missing notes on the piano. I chuckle as I hear Amber giving one of her usual frustration groans, while Lucy teaches her about patience.
Hours go by and im saturated with my studies. I think I had enough for today. I close the history book and I put it back on the backpack. Amber's piano lessons finished an hour ago, but I wanted to keep studying. I step outside the kitchen; Amber is watching one of those brainwashing cartoons on the TV. Lucy isn't here, she must be in the studio room they use for Anon's work. Probably working on something from the high school.
I ended up playing with Amber to pirates and knights until Lucy stepped out of the studio to make something for dinner for everyone except me...as usual. Once Lucy called over Amber for dinner, I sat on the couch and watch the TV. I'm not allowed to sit with them while they have the dinner, another of Lucy's many rules for me. At this rate, she isn't going to allow me to do my things in the bathroom.
As I wait for them to finish their dinner to make my own, I check the news. They are still talking about all those disappearances that are happening in the city lately. Humans and especially herbivorous dinosaurs gone missing. I once overheard the phone call Lucy had with her dad, who I think he is the commissioner of the police station. They are not keeping up with the number of missing persons reports. Not even a clue. Strange.
I check the time, Anon is late today too. He is probably busy in his sound technician work. A "warm" welcome waits for him here...sh*t.
Once Lucy and Amber are done with their dinner is my time to eat something. I make myself some instant ramen. I don't want to stain the kitchen trying to make a gourmet dish...and probably getting Anon in more troubles for it. I eat my ramen alone in the kitchen while checking on my phone more memes. Then I hear the sound of keys opening the main door. Well, here it comes...
"Honey, I'm home. Sorry to be late again. Nick had some ideas for a new proj-...Fang, what's wrong?" Anon looks at Lucy, frowning in concern.
"Bedroom. Now"
"Can't you wait until I ea-"
"NOW!" The ptero woman yells to Anon.
A cold shiver runs on my back as I watch from the kitchen Anon following his pissed off wife into his room. He turns his head to look at me with concern for a moment. I look away, out of shame.
I'm really sorry about this...
The moment they close the door from their room I hear the monochromatic ptero yelling at her husband everything she has been holding inside for the last hours. Everything she should have yelled to me, instead of Anon. He shouldn't held responsible for my actions...but still he gets blamed for everything I do.
I step closer to the closed door to hear whatever they are talking about.
"...told you many times. He is a bad influence for Amber. Look what he is teaching our daughter, Anon. You know how embarrassed I was when her teacher called to tell me that Amber kicked a boy in the crotch?"
sh*t...she has started with the heavy bomb right away.
"Come on Fang, is just kid things..."
"No it isn't! After that I got a call from Descon's principal. He got himself into a fight with a bunch of students during lunch break. And I had to get him because he's been suspended for 2 days. Anon, I had to leave in the middle of a class to get your stupid cousin, when you promised that you would take responsibility for him." Her voice is trembling; she is in the merge of crying.
"I'm sorry Fang...look, I will talk with him. He sure had his reasons for doing what he did."
"...You always say the same Anon. That you will talk with him. But you never bring yourself to do it..."
"Look...is complicated okay? He is dealing with so much after whatever happened to him..."
"That's not an excuse anymore Anon. It's been months already...When are you going to ask him what the f*ck happened in Rock Bottom?"
"...Fang, what do you want me to do?" Anon's voice sound cold.
"Is not what I want. Is what you should have done already. You should have kicked him out from the house already."
"You know I can't do that Fang. He has no one. And he needs help."
"WE OWE NOTHING TO HIM AND HIS f*ckING FAMILY!" Lucy yells. I can hear her sobbing while Anon sighs. "...We owe them nothing...after the way they treated us...the way they treated you...and still you want to help him..."
"Fang...look, I can't bring myself to do that...he reminds me of me when I came to Volcadera Bluffs...before I met you. Give him time, he is a good boy, nothing to do with his family."
"I don't think I have enough time to spare Anon...lately I have been tempted to preen again...like those times...every time I think about him...the way he looks at us...when I think about him sharing a room with our daughter...that rubbing thing he does sometimes on his belly...What if he is using drugs Anon? Have you thought about that? I don't want to deal with another teenager Reed. Anon...assume that we aren't prepared to deal with someone like him...please..." I hear Lucy begging Anon...I sigh...And I have to rub my belly.
"...It's all my fault..." I hear Amber's voice say on my side. I look around, she is on her pajama, some tears on her eyes that sink my heart even more.
"What are you doing awake this late?" I ask her with concern.
"I-I couldn't sleep...I can't sleep when they fight..."
"They are not fighting Amber...they are just talking...very loudly. And it isn't your fault Amber." I try to reassure her.
"It isn't yours either Descon...you are not a bad person." She says to me with a low trembling voice. I have to take a deep breath of air to hold in the urge to cry right now. How innocent she is...bless her pure hearth.
"C-come on Amber. Let's go to bed okay?" I say with a trembling voice as I grab her from her armpits and lift her up, carrying her against my chest.
I bring the little hobbit to our room and I lay her on her bed. I make sure to cover her with the blankets.
"Descon...can you tell me a bed story?" She asks me.
"...Im not good with stories Amber..."
"Pleaseeee" She begs me while putting some puppy eyes.
f*ck, how can I decline? That move can even convince a jury. But...what do I tell her...is true that im not good with stories... The little hobbit waits for me to start my tale.
Well, I could always...
"I may have something in mind. But I don't think you will like it." I tell her. I sit on the edge of her bed and I clear my throat. "Long time along there was a village, full of animals. All of them lived in harmony and happily. One of the villagers was a lion. He was quite carefree, nobody messed with him and he had many friends. One day, a dragon arrived to the village."
"Like those that eat knights and kidnap princesses?" Amber asks me while she covers her snoot with the blanket, her amber eyes glowing.
"Not exactly. You see, this dragon was passing through. He needed a place to stay and rest before setting out again. Most of the villagers were against that. They couldn't trust the dragon's intentions. But the lion, he didn't care about it, as long as the dragon didn't interfere in his carefree life. As days passed the dragon, feeling alone, tried to make friends with anyone around the village. But no one wanted to be related with someone like him. They even tried to prank him so he would leave the village. One day however, things got out of hand. A group of foxes tricked the dragon with fake friendship and took him into the forest near the village. The lion that was walking by at that moment saw how the foxes and some other animals tied the dragon and started to peel of his scales. He was begging for mercy, but the animals didn't listen to him. The lion felt that something had to be done, this wasn't fair at all. Therefore, he stud up to those animals, and fought against them. The dragon took the chance to escape. He was never seen again in the village. The lion on the other hand..."
A snore breaks my focus. Amber felt asleep while I was telling her the story. I touch my cheek, to wipe away the tear that was running on it...f*ck. I take a look at Amber, how peacefully she is sleeping right now. How innocent she looks...
Amber...don't let this cruel world turn you into a bad person...like me...
I slowly stand up from Amber's bed and I walk towards the bed next to hers. I change into something comfortable. Before I get to sleep, I reach for the cushion and take out the last pill I had hidden there. I swallow it and I drink from the bottle of water next to my bed.
And with that I lay on the bed, slowly closing my eyes. Thinking of the monster I am for hidding drugs inside Amber's room. But I really need them, because I don't want to wake up Amber in the middle of the night like that time...im doing it for her...right?
With that last thought I fall asleep...a dreamless sleep.
Chapter 5: Chop Suey
Chapter Text
God, how long I've been sleeping. My mouth feels dry as I slowly wake up from my slumber. An usual side effect of the pills, mouth dry, disoriented sensation...but is better than waking up screaming like a lunatic in the middle of the night. I check my surroundings with my half closed eyes as I adjust to the morning light. Amber isn't on her bed. That tells me that she is probably in kindergarten already.
I sleepily stand up from my bed, stretching my limbs and cracking my neck. I grab my cracked up phone and check the time, 11:26 am. Yep, im alone at home by now.
Well, let's start the first day of suspension. Today's agenda, a visit to Little Troodon. Repair my phone's screen and get more pills. The first one is going to be easiest one of the tasks. The last one...well, I hope it goes as I intend.
I grab my discarded clothes of yesterday and I smell them. Hmmm...I think I can wear them today too, they don't smell that bad yet.
Once changed into my usual style (A simple black t-shirt and jeans) I stand on my bed to reach the vent in Amber's room. I detach the grid and reach for the shoebox hidden inside. I put the dust-covered box on the floor and open it.
I retrieve from there what I would need for today's tasks. 300$ bills in two rolls, my ski mask, a pair of cotton gloves ,the bottles of olanzapine...and my M1911...well , a replica that my fath...that asshole gifted me when I was 12. One of the few things I could save when I was kicked out from my home. I had to sell the rest in a pawn house to get some money, because I thought I would be living in the streets from now on. My Xrox One with all its games, my laptop, my guitar...I pick up the gun and check the magazine, all loaded, with blank bullets. They won't hurt anyone, but at least the sound they make can trick someone. I hope my plan works...
As I put everything in my backpack, I look at the bottom of the box. There it is, my application form for the army, filled out and ready to be submitted once im legally mature. As I look at it I have to caress my belly, since the sting sensation is back. It was taking long to appear this morning.
I close the box, put it inside the vent again and I reattach the grid back. Last but not least I wipe the dust rests from the floor. If Lucy found out what I have hidden on the vent inside of Amber's room...let's not think about it...
Putting on my hoodie, I grab my backpack and head outside the apartment. Little Troodon isn't far from where we live, so I can get there walking. I retrieve from my pocket my Windpods and I put them on my ears. I scroll through the Snootify playlist on my phone, choosing the first song of Iron Tomb that appears. With that, i put my phone back into my pocket, listening to the metal melody that is playing right now as I walk towards Little Troodon. Along the way I light up a cigarette, my usual breakfast, while listening to the amazing voice of Bruce Brickinson.
Little Troodon seems like the usual place with markets and sh*t. However, is the perfect place for tourist to get their belongings stolen. I learned that quickly, when the first time I came here I catched a little raptor kid red handed with his hand on my wallet. Since then I learned a few things around here. Never accept gifts from any one around here, is the way they have to mark someone that can be robbed easily. Second, if someone is walking with a hoodie and the hood on, is a walking sign that means: Don't mess with me, im here for business. If that hooded person has his hands on his pockets he is probably carrying a weapon with him.
And third, you can buy anything in Little Troodon...for the right price of course. Some of the stuff you can get here are probably illegal.
With all that in mind, I put my hood on and my hands on the pockets of my hoodie.
As I walk in Little Troodon my nose catches the scent of the different spices used on the food some stands sell through the market. I could go for something later on. Now I need to get my phone repaired. I look to the shops until I find the one that I need, a tiny store with a sign outside that reads, "Repair phones, cheap and fast." Well that was easy.
...
"Look I need my phone repaired. RE-PA-I-RED. Can't you understand a f*cking word I'm saying?" I try to explain to the mahakala standing on the counter as kindly as I can after been stuck for five minutes in this store. I have even tried to communicate with him in sign language, pointing to my phone and then to the sign he has hanging outside. Nothing.
"Phone. sh*t." He keeps repeating like a mantra with that weird accent. I swear to Raptor Jesus, im going to pluck this f*cking duck wannabe at this rate.
"Yeah, I know is sh*t because is broken and I need it repaired, fixed...bing chilling or whatever the f*cking word is in your language."
"No ice cream here. Corner shop, ice cream." He says seriously while pointing outside the store.
...I simply smash my head repeatedly against the counter out of desperation at this point.
The mahakala in the counter yells in his language to someone in the back of the store. A female voice replies in that same language. He then jumps from the seat he was standing and walks to the back of the shop. His place is taken by a female young mahakala, brown and white feathers, blue eyes, purple hoodi...wait.
"How may I help you wi-"
"Maya?!? The f*ck are you doing here?" I ask her quite shocked. She then takes notice of who I am, giving a loud screech, her tail all stiffen behind her.
sh*t, I forgot that she is scared sh*tless of humans like me...
"D-DESCON?!? What are you doing here?" She asks me in disbelief.
Huh...I was expecting her to hide or at least call the police...well...
"I asked first!"
"M-my family runs this store...im helping them as best I can..." She says in her usual shy voice. "What about you? Well...you don't have to answer if you don't want to..."
I sigh. "I need my phone repaired, the screen is shattered." I say to her as I have told to the male mahakala that im guessing is her dad many times before. I give her my phone, which she rolls around on her sleeve-covered hands. She frowns as she examine my phone.
"Your phone is sh*t." She claims seriously.
...Im having duck for dinner tonight.
"I know, that's why I came here to repair it." I sound desperate at this moment.
"Oh, nonono, I didn't mean it like its sh*t because the screen is shattered. I mean that the phone overall is sh*t." She concludes.
...
What?
"Just look at it, how old is this crap? Seriously, you should get a new one. I don't even think they make more screens for these models anymore." She explains to me as she babbles about different options I could replace my phone with.
Is this girl for real?
"Maya, I just want my phone fixed. Can you do it?" I ask her with all the patience I have left.
She sighs. "I will see what I can do. But truly, you should get one of the old Dphones at least." She replies.
"Dphone is a stupid brand that charge extra for a half-eaten mango logo on its back and is the same sh*t with each new model, just expensier."
She gives me a murder gaze with her blue eyes at my words, something I wouldn't expect from someone as tiny and shy as her.
"How dare you talk sh*t about Steghen Jog's great invention?!?Are you a caveman or something?!? Dphone is the revolution in the smartphone industry! If is just another phone, then, nothing of all this makes sense at all anymore! " She snarls to me, the feathers on her head all ruffled.
sh*t, she is a f*cking geek of technology. That or a f*cking hipster.
"Okey, okey...can you repair my phone anyways?"
She hums and takes out from under the counter a box full of phones. She choose one that resembles mine. With a quick and precise motion she takes out the screens from both phones and change them.
Gosh, she is really good with technology.
"Thanks, but im still mad for what you said about the Dphone." She replies my muttered comment. "Done, sh*tty phone repaired." She hums as she give me back the phone. I check it out, good as new.
"Thanks Maya, you are a life saver." I say to her. Her usual shyness returns as she puts on the hood of her hoodie and hides her eyes with it.
"I-it was nothing...really..." She says with a low trembling voice.
"How much do I own you?"
"Nothing nothing, is on the house...for...well...helping me the other day. And...sorry for my behavior before that Descon...I assumed you were a bad human to soon..." She seems on the merge of crying, I don't know if it's due to her shyness or that she feels bad about it. "P-please...forgive me...if you want to..."
"Don't need to thank me or apologize Maya. Really." I reassure her before she tries to cut her belly wide open for dishonoring her ancestors or something like that. "Anyway, why are you here? Shouldn't you be in class right now?"
"Oh...I was suspended for one day...for inciting the fight..." She replies to me with a shaky voice. "And if you are here I assume that you were suspended too..."
I roll my eyes. Inciting the fight? Really? f*cking Wrean. So this is his way to deal with those stupid jocks. Punishing her for "causing" the fight. Asshole.
"Henry told me everything that happened when you and Koral stepped in."
"Henry?"
"The yellow pachysaurus, you know, the one that was trying to get me back from those bullies. He told me how you fought with Koral against them. I didn't know you were friends with her."
"Hold on a second. I'm not her friend; it just happened that she was there at the right moment." I explain to Maya. Her gaze becomes a saddened one to my words.
"Oh...right...sorry. I assumed to soon again...Is just...well..."
"Is just?"
"...She is quite lonely; I have known her since freshman. We used to go to the same classes and she was like a big sister for me...but one day she became cold and bitter..." Maya sink her shoulders, her gaze full of nostalgia. "She isn't a bad person Descon, is just...something happened to her. I tried to talk with her many times but she just ignored me..."
Something happened to her that made her change...I can relate to that honestly... I rub off the sting sensation from my belly.
Maya then shakes her head. "Sorry, I shouldn't have told you that...I don't want to bother you with my struggles..."
"It's alright Maya. You are just worried about her right?"
She nods, her gaze lost in deep thoughts. "I just wish that she could be like she used to. Not the...monster she has become lately...Thinking that you were her friend gave me a little bit of hope...but I was wrong, like always..." A tear trails off her cheek.
I take a deep breath. "Look Maya, i-"
A loud grumbling noise coming from my belly interrupt my words. What a timing. Maya chuckles, covering her beak like mouth with her sleeve. At least the unwelcome sound of hunger has lighten her mood.
"With all this chatting I didn't realize that it was already lunch time. Want to eat something? I know of a place where they serve the best chop suey." The cheerful Maya hops from the seat behind the counter. I'm still not used at how small she is.
"Wait, are you leaving the store unattended?" I ask her as she gets next to me. Her long feathered tail stiffs.
"Oh, right, I almost forgot hehehe." She blushes before she yells something in that language I heard once in that meme of Johan Dinner holding an ice cream while wearing a smart suit. The male mahakala from before comes back from the back of the store and takes the seat on the counter.
I follow Maya through Little Troodon. I have to keep an eye on her to not lose her since she is so tiny. And I'm impressed at how agile she is, dodging the footsteps of the people passing by who do not notice her presence. We arrive at a stall where an old protoceraptor woman cooks a mix of vegetables and meat in a big wok. The moment the protoceraptor sees Mayas she starts chattering with her in their native language. By the way they are talking I guess that Maya is an usual customer.
"Descon, what kind of chop suey are you going to pick?" Maya asks me.
"Well, I have never tried one, so I don't really know." I look at the board next to the stall with the menu on it. Is written with weird symbols that I can't understand..."Maya, I need you to translate this for me..."
"If you had a Dphone you could have translate it yourself." She replies with an unamused expression.
"Is much cheaper using my feathered translator here." I say to her jokingly. A blush forms on top of her beak like mouth and she has to hide her face once more with her hood.
With a trembling voice, Maya explained me the different dishes they made in the stall. I ended up choosing a chicken chop suey, and I swear that Maya's feathers ruffled when I asked for that.
The old protoceraptor cooked our meals in two different woks, and thanks Raptor Jesus for that. I didn't want to find a maggot in my food since Maya ordered the chop suey of bugs.
With our food served we took a seat on one of the tables near the stall. I had to hold back a gag when Maya bit a slimy worm. I take a bite from my chop suey; is delicious. The chicken is marinated perfectly, the vegetables add a crunchy touch with each bite and the rice has absorbed the juices of the chicken and the vegetables.
I'm definitely ordering more of this if I come back to Little Troodon.
"I knew you would like it. Is the best chop suey ever." Maya replies my muttered comment once again. "Oh...I thought you were telling me...sorry...you mumble a lot, you know? Not that is a problem or anything...is just funny..." She chuckles before she takes another bite of a roasted co*ckroach.
"Yeah, I guess it is. Well, sometimes I get in troubles because of that. Like the first day of school for example, I ended up fighting with Koral at the entrance of the school."
Maya chokes with the food she was eating and I have to pat her back for her to swallow it. "Y-You fought Koral?!? And you are still in one piece?!?" She asks me in disbelief.
"Hmmm...yes? I mean, she was a bit limp after I punched her snout by accide-"
Maya spits the drink she was drinking to calm her sore throat. "YOU PUNCHED HER SNOUT?!?"
"Of course I did. I wasn't going to become a free punching bag for her. I had to defend myself. But being honest...that was a lucky punch, I even closed my eyes beforehand." I rub the back of my neck as I recall the events.
"Descon, I have seen Koral fight before. And believe me when I say this. She was going easy on you."
I don't know if I should feel relieved that Koral held back against me or humiliated because Koral thought I was too weak for her to go 100% on my ass.
"Well, remembering how she hold on her own against those dinos at the cafeteria...yeah, she was going easy on me..." I give a sigh of defeat.
"That's actually good Descon...Maybe she saw something on you...I hope so..." Maya looks away for a moment.
Koral saw something on me?...Nah , I don't think so...
"At least you have balls" "I guess I have misjudged you. You are not bad, for a human." "Is quite refreshing to find someone with sense of humor around this hellish place, you know?" Those words of Koral come to my mind, and the banters we had outside Wrean's office too.
"Try not to miss me during these two days, alright?" I recall Koral's last words in my head, my hand rubbing the shoulder where she punched me after that.
"Descon? Are you alright?" Maya suddenly asks, breaking my inner thoughts.
"Y-yeah sorry, I was just thinking about something."
"Are you sure? Your face is red...Well, maybe is something normal with your species...im not sure..." She says shyly. I now notice that indeed my face is warm, too warm.
No...Descon for god's sake, stop it...we had this conversation already, stop thinking about that meg girl. She is just a distraction, focus on what you should be doing...going unnoticed, remember? Why are you even going to bond with someone if you only want to disappear for good?
I scratch my belly since the stinging sensation is back.
We both finish our meals and I pay for them. It was quite cheap honestly. Yeap, im coming back for more next time. I will have to remember how Maya pronounced the name of the dish in that language though, I don't want to be stuck arguing with the protoceraptor like I did with that mahakala from before...
"You didn't have to invite me Descon...now I feel bad..." Maya says with her usual shy voice.
"Relax, is my way of thanking you for discovering that delicious dish for me" I hear a chuckle coming from her as she blushes.
"Well, I have to go back to the store before dad gets angry...I will see you in school, okay?"
"Yeah, see you." I wave goodbye to her as she does the same with her sleeve-covered hand.
Well, now time for the last task...the hardest one. I start walking through Little Troodon once more, with my hood on. I take a turn into an alley, decorated with some graffitis, the smell of pee and sh*t filling up my nostrils. The shady part of Little Troodon, where only the ones that know what are looking for dare to enter. A bunch of dino hobos fill up the street, some scattered on the floor, high as f*ck of whatever they had consumed. Carfe maybe.
At least none of them pays me attention; by the way I have my hands in my pockets I guess they think im carrying a weapon. The first time I came here, I was so nervous that I almost drew my fake gun when a hobo was walking towards me; but he was simply passing by.
I get to my destination, an abandoned building with a metal shutter for door. Before I knock on the metal shutter, I get from my backpack my ski mask , the cotton gloves and my M1911 replica. I put the cotton gloves and the ski mask on; I don't want my face to be recognized around here, especially if a raid happens in during one of the transactions. Then I hide the replica inside the waistband of my jeans.
I take a deep breath to calm myself before I knock on the metal shutter. The slim looking stego named Jeff opens the shutter, wearing his usual sleeveless t-shirt that shows the marks of needles on his arms.
"Yo, here is my mysterious man, wazzup!" He raises his palm for me to slap in return, which I don't.
"Do you have stock?" I ask him coldly.
"Straight to business huh? Yeah, I like that. Come in, I have your sh*t. Mi casa es tu casa or whatever." He says carelessly as he lets me in.
He is a f*cking idiot junkie, but is the perfect idiot junkie. No questions asked, he will get whatever you need. I don't even know how and I really don't care. And the best thing, he doesn't have any associates. Only him and her trigga junkie girlfriend run their business.
Speaking of her, she is laying on a dirty couch in the middle of the room Jeff have guided me to. A needle is laying under her hanging arm. Perfect, that will make things easy.
Jeff then picks up a shoebox from a shelf and carries it to a folding table that has traces of white powder on it. He opens the box, revealing the five bottles of olanzapine that I usually buy.
"Here you go dude, as usual. No prescription needed hehehe." Jeff tries to joke. I simply take from my backpack one of the rolls of bills and toss it to him while I put the shoebox inside my backpack. I also put the bottles of olanzapine I used on the table while Jeff is counting the money. He frowns and starts counting the bills again. I take a deep breath and mentally prepare for what is about to happen...I hope it works.
"Amigo, I think you are a bit short here." He tells me confused.
"Oh yeah, about that..." I kick the table, dropping everything that was on it. The confused stego flinches, trying to reach for something behind him. However, I draw my replica and give a warning shoot that echoes in the room. Jeff puts his hands in the air immediately. I look for a moment to the couch, the trigga is so high that doesn't even react, just lying on the couch like a corpses.
"Hey dude, not cool. Were you a cop all this time?" Jeff protest while I frisk him, the replica's barrel pointed to his chest. I retrieve from the waistband of his trousers a gun, a real one. I have to bite my lower lip to control my shaky hand. I release it's magazine by pressing the button next to the grip and I toss the gun to the other side of the room.
Without taking my replica out of his chest, I bend down to pick up one of the olanzapine bottles i putted on the table before. I open it and pour it content on the floor.
"Mint pills. You thought I wouldn't notice. I could fill up two bottles with them. Where you trying to scam me, asshole?" I growl to him.
"Hey man, look, it is a misunderstanding. Im sure we can ta-" I hit his face with the replica's butt as hard as I can, making him drop to the floor. Then I pin him against the floor using my foot on his chest.
"Shut the f*ck up! Im the one talking now!" I warn him, making him nod quickly, his cheek bleeding where I struck him. "You know what happens when I don't take those pills Jeff? I lose my f*cking sh*t. So answer this question, in this new batch you have given me, am I going to find more mint pills and I'll have to pay you a visit without being medicated?"
Jeff is sweating hard; he knows for sure what those pills are for, they are antipsychotics. But he doesn't know that I use them to sleep without dreams. A nervous laugh comes from Jeff's mouth.
"H-hey man, look, I-i think I made a mistake with your batch. L-let me check it for a moment." He stutters. I remove my foot from his chest, but I still point the replica against him. He quickly goes back to the shelf and when he grabs another shoebox, I quickly take it from him. "Amigo, that's not co-" I hit him hard in the snout with the replica , to shut him up. Opening the box I see that there are like fifteen more olanzapine bottles. Enough for a whole year. Perfect.
"Im taking these with me too. And don't think for a second that im going to pay you for them. Consider this as way to repay me for trying to scam me, and also a way to get rid of me permanently." I tell him coldly.
"You wouldn't dare motherf-" I strike him as hard as I can with the replica on his jaw, knocking him out. I put the shoebox with the fifteen bottles inside in my backpack. I also pick up from the ground the blank casing I fired, just to make sure. Well, time to get ou-
"Bbbllarrrrrgh" The overdosed trigga vomits from the couch. And she's choking on the vomit. I don't waste a second running over to her and trying to turn her to the side. The bitch pukes up my hoodie in the process but at least she's no longer choking. A gag reflex invades me when the smell of her puke on my hoodie reach my nose. I'd better get out of here now.
"T-thank y-you..." A weak female voice says as I walk away. I don't turn around to look at her. I don't even know why I even saved her from choking to death. It was just pure instinct...
"A man choose, an animal is slave of it's instincts" Wrean's words echoes in my mind as I walk outside the building, making me scratch my belly once more.
The moment I take a turn on a corner, I take off my ski mask to puke the tension in my body. I shouldn't have eaten the chop suey before doing this.
At least it worked out as I intended. Well, I didn't account the near death experience of the trigga by suffocation on her own vomit. Overall, it was a success. I have enough pills for the rest of my stay in Anon's house. I won't need to come back here anymore and Amber will rest without me waking up in the middle of the night due a nightmare.
I hide in my backpack the M1911 replica, the blank casing, the cotton gloves and the ski mask. I look at my hoodie...which is covered in vomit...
I'd better stop on a laundry before going back home.
Chapter 6: A partner in crime.
Chapter Text
Here I am again. In front of the prison's entrance called "Reef City". Yesterday was boring as f*ck; I didn't get to do anything at all. Only study and lay my ass on the couch all day. At least I got to play with Amber when she came back from kindergarten...well..."play". I became her personal doll for her to use her fake make up on my face. Looking like a f*cking queer clown. This morning I double-checked my face for any rest of glitter left before taking the bus to high school. I need to start training my will against her puppy eyes attack
Like the first day, the gangs are all gathered in the entrance before the bell rings the start of classes. I have to avoid looking at the jocks group just in case they want to take their revenge on me.
Strange, I haven't seen Koral yet. Is not like I'm looking for her or anything like that. It's just strange not to see a hulking seven-foot megalodon standing out among the students, that's all.
I'll probably see her later, we have our first day of detention in the gardening club after class anyways. Now that I think about it, I should have brought some extra clothes just in case we get ourselves dirty with soil and dirt... Okey...stop right there Descon, before you get kinkier, f*cking pervert.
The first class is with the crazy Nazi fish. I take a seat in front of his desk and inwardly pray that he doesn't ask me once again to stand in front of the class, like some sort of human anatomy doll. My prayers are heard when the class goes as it should be. Mr Jakob explains to the class about different cells and sh*t; thankfully, I studied that already on my own during the suspension days.
The periods pass and eventually it's lunchtime. I have to make a stop on a nearby garbage can in the hallway to throw the bottle for urine that Mr Jakob gave me at the end of class.
"If you don't mind, it vould be helpful if you brougz me an sample for an investigation im vorking on about your spezies. And I would kindly revard suz favour with extra poinzs, ja?" That were his words. In your dreams, you nazi bastard.
"Hey, did you miss me?" A familiar female voice says behind me. I turn to around to see Koral standing behind me, wearing the same outfit as the first day I met her, a smug grin on her lips reveals her sharp teeth.
"Not really, I was having a peaceful morning until I heard your voice." I say to her mockingly.
She snorts. "Yeah, im glad to see you too, asshole." She punches my shoulder lightly. What's this all about? I can't really understand this girl.
"Can i help you with something?" I ask her, unsure of her intentions.
"Is lunch time."
"...Riiight?" Where is she trying to get to with that simple statement?
Koral face palms herself. "You dense motherf*cker. I'm trying to invite you to have lunch with me."
I raise my eyebrow. "That didn't sound like an invitation at all."
Koral huffs. "Do you accept or not? I'm starving right now."
Do I really want to? Well, I could use her company. It could assure that I won't get in trouble with the jocks...unless she causes it.
"She isn't a bad person Descon, is just...something happened to her." Maya's words comes to my mind.
"Sure thing, I accept."
Koral gives a sigh. "Finally!" She gets closer to me and before I can react she grabs my waist and lifts me up with her strong arm, carrying me on her shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
"Hey hey hey! Put me down!" I protest while I struggle to get rid of her grasp.
"Bullsh*t. With those short legs of yours, we will take an eternity to reach the cafeteria." She chuckles as she starts walking with me on her shoulder. I feel humiliated right now, the students are watching us and I can feel my face turning red.
"Goddamn it Koral, put me down already!"
"Mmmnope, im not letting you go any time soon. Relax and enjoy the ride." She says mockingly.
"I swear to Raptor Jesus, I'm going to hit your snout again." I attempt to threaten her without success.
"Try it and I will bite your arm off." She threatens me playfully.
You want to play hard? Alright then.
"Well, this is not bad at all honestly. I mean, the view is amazing. Specially the rack of your cleavage. I can see it over here." I say to her playfully. That comment makes her drop me instantly from her shoulder. She is blushing hard, her teeth clenched while she covers her chest with her muscled arms.
"Yo-you f*cking pervert!" She snarls.
"What? I told you many times to put me down. Look what you forced me to do."
She clenches her shaking fist before giving a sigh and calms herself. "You are not fun." As she passes next to me her tail slaps my face lightly.
What a tsundere.
"Tsundere your ass!" She snarls to my muttered words as I walk next to her.
We both reach the cafeteria. Like the first day is total chaos, no guards around here. I was expecting them after what happened the first day but I guess I was expecting too much from this "school". Koral gets in front of the queue formed to get lunch, not even caring about the students that are waiting patiently to be served. The way some of the students tense up tells me that they don't want to mess around with her. I go to the vending machine to buy a sandwich. And I have to slam the side of the machine again to free my lunch that got stuck. I swear to Raptor Jesus, they need to get new ones.
"Want a drink with that?" Koral asks from behind me as she holds a tray that has a cow leg on it. A very big leg to be precise.
"Sure, I was about to ge-" Koral pushes me aside before I finish my sentence. She cracks her fist before punching the side of the vending machine. The contents of the vending machine shake and fall into the pickup port. Koral separates her fist from the dent left on the vending machine's side and grabs some of the stuff that has fallen. She toss me a can of soda, which I juggle in the air like a bar of soap before catching it.
"You know this is vandalize, right?."
"You know I don't give two flying f*cks, right?" She answers me mockingly.
Yeah, this girl is a walking trouble.
We take a seat on a table that was occupied by a bunch of dino students before they saw Koral taking a seat there. I can get that she is quite scary...but to this extreme? Is not like she is going to start biting off limps in any second...right? I'm tempted to ask her about herself, maybe that way I can understand this girl better.
"Hey Koral, I wanted to ask..." Im flabbergasted when I see her gums come out of her mouth as she sinks her sharp teeth on the cow leg. The way her eyeballs rolls inside their sockets each time she is going to bite the meat, the frenzy with she consumes the cow leg while holding it with her hands and making growl noises. Zero manners, pure primal instincts. Is like watching a documentary of wild life when a predator finally catches its prey. I notice that her pupils are all dilated in black; she is not herself right now. She has only one thing in mind...eat. In a matter of seconds she devours the whole cow leg, bones include. A loud burp escapes from her mouth as she leans back while rubbing her exposed abs with one hand. Her eyes return to their usual yellow color.
"sh*t. That was good. What were you asking Dex?" She asks me non-chalantly while she uses her pinky finger like a toothpick.
"Eh...I forgot...Wait, did you just call me Dex?"
"Yeah. That's the nickname I'm calling you with. What? You don't like it?" She asks me teasingly.
"Nah is okey...Koraline." I say to her playfully.
"Hey! Stop, I don't like that f*cking nickname!"
"What? I think it suits you perfectly. Quite girly and cute." I tease her playfully.
The way she starts blushing makes her grey dorsal area of her face turns in a tone of dark red similar to her hair. "I-I'm not cute! Stop with your f*cking bullsh*t!" She snarls, her yellow eyes looking away from my gaze while she crosses her arms over her chest.
I chuckle lightly before I give a bite to my sandwich.
"Hey, can I have a bite?" She asks me as she points to the sandwich I'm holding in my hands.
I raise my eyebrow. "Didn't you just eat a whole cow's leg?"
"I just want to try it dude. It looks delicious."
I sigh before I tear a small piece of my sandwich to offer her. "Here you can ha-" She leans forward and engulfs the hand I was holding the rest of the sandwich with. I panic and I try to punch her snout with my other hand but she simply blocks it with her hand before she pulls her mouth off my hand, making a pop sound and leaving it covered in her saliva.
Gross!
I check my saliva covered trembling hand three times for any wounds or missing fingers. Koral chuckles while she munchs the sandwich inside her mouth. "Relax, you are unharmed. I have full control of these bad girls." She mocks as she points to her sharp teeth. I have to use some paper napkins to remove the saliva from my hand while she keeps laughing. Strangely, instead of be mad with her...I feel like keeping up with her banter.
"What a shame, I think you missed a finger." I say to her mockingly, as I flip her the bird.
She chuckles to my words and gesture. "Yeah, a shame, I don't like to waste food. And besides, that finger is the tastiest one of them all." She jokes while she laughs out loud.
Looking at her opened laughing mouth a mischievous idea crosses my mind. I roll the paper napkin into a ball and I throw it inside her mouth. The nasty face she puts when she closes her mouth after the unexpected intrusion is enough to make me laugh aloud.
In response, she spits the wet napkin to my face. That makes us both laugh...this is great honestly.
Koral sighs. "You know, it's been a while since I had this fun with someone else." She confesses, her tone becoming melancholic as she rest her chin against her fist. "You are a funny guy, Dex. I think we are going to get along just well."
"Gosh, are you getting all mushy now?" I say to her playfully. Her response is a punch on my shoulder. "Ouch!"
"Asshole" She grumps.
We both stay in an awkward silence. Every now and then, our gazes would meet. I'm trying my best to figure out this girl, but she is so hard to read. I think she is doing the same with me.
"So...how did your two days of suspension go?" I finally ask her. Her eyes would look at me for a moment, a look of boredom on her gaze.
"Meh. Training, training, training...and more training. How about ya?" She ask me non-chalantly.
"Study, laying my ass on the couch and smoking like a trucker."
"Wow, so entertaining" She says sarcastly.
"Yeah, I'm not allowed to do much around the hou-" I immediately shut my mouth when I almost slipped something personal. However, the way Koral has her eyebrow raised tells me she is interested in what I was saying.
"Explain that. How is it that you are not allowed doing things in your house?" She asks me.
sh*t. What do I do now? Me and my f*cking mouth...well, is not like I would like to lie to her. Maybe I could sugarcoat this a bit.
"Well...is a bit complicated. For starters is not even my house. Is my cousin's one. And his wife is quite strict when it comes to some things..."
"Oh! That explains why you were so pale the other day when Wearn told you that she was on her way to get you. You are scared of her." A smug grin forms on her lips as she says that.
"Hey, hold on a second! I'm not scared of that ptero c*nt!"
"Ptero? Wait, is your cousin married to a dino?" Her eyebrow raises once again.
...sh*t...I slipped that one too...
"Y-yeah...he is. What about it?"
"Nothing nothing...I find it curious that a human is married to a dino. I always thought that your kind only ended marrying with someone of your own species."
I know a few that would support that thought honestly...in an extreme way.
"Well, my cousin is one the many exceptions, Koral."
"What do you think about all that?"
What do I think about that...I have never stopped to think about it honestly. Remembering the photos hanged on the hallway's walls only a conclusion comes to my mind.
"As long as my cousin is happy with her I don't really care..."
"And is he?"
"...Not sure honestly. But...is not because of his wife. That's for sure." A sense of guilt invades my body as I thought about Anon and his relationship with Lucy right now. How they end up arguing almost every night...because of me. That thought is enough for the sting sensation to appear and force me to scratch my belly.
"Ohh...I get it! You think you are the reason they aren't happy anymore huh?" She concludes while pointing an accusatory finger towards me, a grin on her mouth. Right on the nail.
"What gave me away? My cheerful answer?" I say sarcastly.
"What? Are you pissed off because I'm right?" A smug grin is on her stupid face that lightly angers me, because she is right.
"...f*ck you." I respond non-chalantly.
"Oh, such an edgelord. You should be sitting with them. I think they would welcome you and even name you their leader." Koral mocks as she points to the table where the emo dinos are.
Out of nowhere, a surge of anger invades my body. "Oh yeah? What about you? Here I am, spilling all about my somber life while you keep judging me with your gaze and your mocking words. Please, delight me with your perfect life."
"Hey man, f*ck you! I'm not judging you or anything like that. Don't get defensive with me just because your life sucks!" She snarls, her hands gripping the table as if she is about to flip it.
"Then why all these f*cking questions? What do you want from me?"
"I just want to know you! It's called socialize, you f*cking dense son of a whor*!" She growls as she smacks the table, leaving a dent. We look at each other for a second, our breathing ragged due to the heated moment, before we turn our gazes away.
Once I cool down I feel like a f*cking idiot, she was trying to get to know me without any kind of hurtful intentions and I just took it out on her...I rub the back of my neck before I look at her. She is looking away while resting her chin on the palm of her hand. "Look Koral...im really sorry about my outburst..." She doesn't look at me, but I know she is listening to my words. "You are right. I'm a dense motherf*cker. I always try to push away anyone that tries to know me. I'm...not proud of myself for many of the things I have done or do. And that leads me to close myself around anyone...even though they don't mean any harm...That is who...I am..." My voice comes with a tone of sorrow, the sting sensation following behind, but...I don't feel like scratching it right now...I don't feel like...anything right now...
"I get you." Koral's voice says. I look at her; she is looking at me, her gaze is a mix of sorrow and regret. "Im ashamed of many things that I do too. To the point that everyone here thinks I'm just a brute or a monster for it...and that really pisses me off and makes me act like I do sometimes. Turning myself into what everyone expects me to be. I said that your life sucks...but I was thinking about mine actually...I'm sorry..."
She is really opening herself now...I was wrong about this girl. She really doesn't like to be treated like a bully. Hell, who would like that anyway...to be feared every time someone sees you...to be left alone all the time...
We both sigh. "We really are a messed up pair huh?" I chuckle weakly.
Koral chuckles with sorrow, a weak smile of her face. "I guess we are...Descon...you are the first living thing that has treated me without fear or anything like that in a long time...you keep up with my stupid banters, you don't hold back yourself around me out of fear...I feel like you treat me like an equal..."
"Even though I'm a human?"
"I don't give a f*ck if you're a human, a diplodocus or the Queen of England. I really don't care about those things. Hell, you're ten times better than how a lot of the dinos I know behave. So shut up with those racial comparisons."
Wow...I never expected to hear such praise from someone like her. Is...refreshingly unexpected.
"Thank you...really. Those words mean a lot. You are not bad yourself either...I mean, you can be a brute sometimes. But is part of your charm." Another blush forms on her snout once again and she looks away. How cute. "You said before that we would get along just well...and I really think that too. Is just, what I told you before. I'm quite defensive over my private life..."
"I can understand that. We just know each other for like...a day and half? There are things I haven't told you about myself either. So no big deal." She extends her fist towards me. "Friends?" A huge smile is on her face, while she winks me with an eye.
I look at her extended fist...friends...I never thought about making one here before I came to this school, especially someone like her. Deep down I shouldn't accept it, my thoughts lingers to my original plan of going unnoticed for the whole year, no bonding with anyone...a lonely lifestyle...
You know what? f*ck it!
I bump my fist against hers. "Yeah, friends" I respond with conviction while I give her in return a grin.
The moment our fists separate from each other, we hear the bell ring to announce the end of lunchtime and the beginning of the second half of school. What a timing.
"sh*t, time sure flies when you get all emotional and stuff." I joke as we get up from the table.
Koral chuckles with her usual smug grin. "Sure thing. We better get moving unless you want the guards to drag your ass to class." I thought she was joking at first, but the tone she said that tells me is quite true."What class do you have now?" She asks me.
"Let me check it real quick." I take out my phone and look at the picture I took from the schedule of school. "History. With someone called Mrs Terrel."
Koral starts to laugh. "Well, I guess I have a new partner in crime for history. I've the same class as you." She points herself with her thumb proudly.
"Damn, and here I was with all my hopes of not seeing you until we went to the garden club later." I joke to her. She punches my arm playfully while we walk to class.
"You are not getting rid of me that easily Dex. Besides, you will thank the company during the class, trust me." She says playfully, leaving hanging in the air something I should probably prepare myself for.
"You are exaggerating. How bad can it be?"
.....
I want to rip off my eyeballs right now. This class is SOOOO boring. The Dunkleosteus we have as teacher is a living fossil. Hell, I bet she was around when life started on the planet. Every now and then Mrs Terrel would get asleep while explaining something. This woman should be on a retirement home by now...or a museum. I look at Koral, who is sitting next to me...well, technically im sitting next to her. All the seats around hers where empty when we entered in class. She has her legs over her desk and her arms behind her head while taking a nap. Either Mrs Terrel doesn't care at this point or she simply haven't noticed Koral's display of boredom. When our teacher falls asleep for the eighth time I simply let my head fall against my desk and I give a desperate sigh.
"Told you would need the company." I hear Koral's co*cky voice on my side. I tilt my head and look at her again.
"How the f*ck can you learn something in this class?"
"We simply don't." She says non-chalantly.
"And what about the tests later?"
"That's an easy one. We do them with our books opened."
"...what?"
"Yeah dude. She always falls asleep on her desk during an exam. So we simply take out our textbooks and copy everything on it. We also get to bet if she is still alive or dead before she wakes up."
This is ridiculous. But I'm not surprised anymore with this school's way of doing things. I look around and I see that many of our classmates are even talking between themselves or with their phones. Well, I'm not going to be the only idiot around here that gets bored. I take out my phone and I start watching some memes. On the corner of my eye, I notice Koral shifting.
"What are you watching? Dick pics?" She asks me mockingly.
"Nah, unlike you I'm not into that things, sorry." I mock her. "I'm checking memes"
"Memes. What the f*ck is that?"
"To put it simple. Random sh*t that is funny." I show her a video of a stick bug dancing to a silly music with a message that reads "Get stick bugged lol" on it. She seems unimpressed while raising an eyebrow.
"I don't get it. Is this supposed to be funny?" She asks me unamused.
"Yeah well, you have to turn off your brain to find it funny sometimes. I just wanted to check how much your power level was...I think you will find this one funny." I show her a video of a T-Rex trying to clap his hands with the song "If you are happy and you know it clap your hands.". A snort laugh comes from Koral's snout. That's enough to tell me that she is into the kind of memes I find the funnier. For the rest of the remaining class I teach Koral about the culture of memes, showing her different ones. Some of them she find them hilarious and others she simply doesn't get them.
While the students start to walk outside the school to go home Koral and me walk the other way. To the gardening club to start our detention time.
"Man, this sucks. Can't believe we really have to do this sh*t." Koral rant while we walk through the hallway, her hands inside the pockets of her leather jacket.
"You tell me. I have zero desire to do this. We are going to have to do that sh*tty girly stuff for three months." I growl in despair.
"Thanks for remainding me that. I almost forgot that we have to endure this sh*t for three f*cking months." She says with sarcasm.
"At least your manhood is not in play here. I don't want to become a f*cking queer by the end of this."
"Like I'm delighted to do this girly thing sh*t too." She sighs in despair. "If I start to behave like a f*cking princess, I give you permission to kill me."
"If you start to behave like a girly princess i would be laughing my ass off for the rest of my life." I mock her. She growls and slaps the back of my head. "Ouch! If I get brain damage I'm suing you!"
"You already have brain damage, asshole." She chuckles.
"Wa di u sei?" I clown around, acting like a retard, which makes her laugh louder. She has to wipe away a tear from her eyes.
"Gosh, you are going to be the end of me one of these days."
"Well, wait then until we finish with the gardening club thing. I don't want to do this sh*t alone." I warn her.
"I don't promise sh*t." She punches my shoulder playfully.
We end up in front of the gardening club's door. There aren't any guards nearby. Either they have left already or they simply don't surveil this zone.
"Well, time of truth. If we made it without becoming too girly the sodas of tomorrow are on me." I tell her as I knock on the door.
"You've got yourself a deal, mate"
A female raptor opens the door. She gives me a welcoming smile before she turns to look at Koral. The moment she sees her a loud screech escapes from the raptor's mouth, her tail rizzed up. She quickly closes the door on our faces and locks it.
That was rude...too rude. I look at Koral, who simply sighs and massage the bridge of her snout to calm herself.
"Well, I guess this is something common with you around." I try to joke to light the mood a bit. Koral then push me aside and kicks violently the door out of frame. "Koral! What the f*ck!" I put my hands on my head in disbelief.
"What?!? Now is open and we can get over with this crap!" She snarls as she enters inside the room. I quickly follow her behind. And as I was expecting the room is total chaos. No wonder honestly, a f*cking megalodon has just entered inside the room after kicking off the door that is laying on the floor right now. Some of the members are yelling out of fear. The female raptor that opened the door before is sobbing against the chest of a diplodocus girl that is holding a cross on her hand, pointing it towards Koral while she mutters some Latin nonsenses. In another context, I would find this scene rather funny.
Koral sighs in desperation while witnessing the chaos she has caused. "Can you believe this sh*t? Always! The same f*cking crap always!" She rants while pointing to the club members.
"Yeah well, what do you expect that would happen after your outburst?" I scold her.
"The f*ck are you talking about? I didn't do sh*t. They started when they closed the door on our faces." She tries to excuse herself.
I simply cross my arms over my chest and raise an eyebrow to her while tilting my head in the direction where the door is laying on the floor. A sigh of defeat escapes from Koral's mouth as she crouches to grab the bent door from the floor.
"Goddamnit..." She mutters while she puts the door back where it was...before it falls back again. She kicks it and curses aloud. I have to cover my face with my hand out of shame and desperation.
Jesus Raptor, this girl is going to be the end of me.
A yellow pachysaurus wearing a plaid red and black shirt and a pair of jeans is trying to calm the club members as best he can. Wait...I recognize him. Is the pachysaurus that was trying to get Maya from those bullies the other day...Henry if a remember correctly. I walk towards him and pat his shoulder.
"Hey...ummm...you are Henry right?" I ask him awkwardly.
"Y-yeah, who is asking?"
"Im Descon and my friend here...well, I guess you know her already." I point towards Koral, who simply crosses her arms and flips me the bird with one finger.
"Yeah. I know her...and I know you. You are the guy from the other day, on the cafeteria. How is that you know my name?" He asks me, his gaze judging me.
"Maya told me the other day about you, that's why I know it." The moment I mention Maya a blush forms on his face. Ohhhh, I know what is going on here.
"D-did she really mention me?" He asks shyly. But then he shakes his head. "Sorry, wrong question. What do you both want?"
"Ehhh we came for the detention." He tilts his head in confusion. "Didn't Mr. Wrean told you about it?"
"Ehhh...nope?"
...Are you kidding me? We could have avoided this whole thing if we knew that he didn't inform the club that we were coming today. The female raptor from before comes closer to Henry and whispers something to him. He simply sighs and thanks quietly the raptor.
"Now I've been informed...sorry." He extends his short arm towards me with the same desire me and Koral have to be here. "Welcome to the gardening club...I guess".
Chapter 7: The condition
Chapter Text
"That is one big pile of sh*t" I express unamused as Koral, Henry and me stand in front of the mountain of animal manure laying on the edge of the school's "garden". If it can be called that, because a graveyard has more flowers and colors than this place. The bushes are all dry and stripped of their leaves, exposing the branches like the bones of a corpse. Tall grass all over the ground, as if they haven't mowed the lawn in months. The only flowers around the garden are either faded or stomped.
I thought the garden club took care of this place, but right now I don't see any of the members working here. Most are working on something in the greenhouse that is restricted to non-club members. When we walked by, I swear I got a whiff of the smell that you normally smell at a concert. If they think Koral and I are going to revive this garden on our own, let them keep dreaming.
"For today you will only need to gather the manure in sacks. Once you are done, you can leave. You have the necessary equipment inside the hut right there" Henry points to a very old looking hut near the greenhouse.
"That's bullsh*t! I'm not touching that" Koral protests as she crosses her arms over her chest.
"No, is horse sh*t. And I don't care if you touch it or not. But the manure has to be gathered in sacks for today" Henry informs.
"What if I use your f*cking hard skull as manure instead?" Koral says menacingly to Henry as she gets closer to the sweating pachysaurus, her hands formed in fists. I have to step in the middle just in case she carries out her threat.
"D-Don't worry, we will have the sacks done in no time." I reassure Henry before I turn my head to look at Koral with a scolding glare. She simply huffs and turns over while crossing her arms once more. With shaking hands, Henry gives me the key for the hut and leave us both as quickly as he can. I turn to Koral, who simply is leaned against the trunk of a dead tree while fuming. "Come on, the sooner we finish this the sooner we leave" I swat her arm lightly to make her move.
"I'm not going to do that" She protests without moving from the tree.
"Are you going to leave me on my own then?"
"You bet your ass I will. If you want to stink like sh*t go on then. I'll be here watching you" She sits against the tree and rest her arms behind her head.
"Then I guess we will be stuck here forever. I hope you didn't have plans for this evening" I take a seat next to her and lean against the tree too.
"Hey! I'm the one slacking off here. Move your ass from my tree and work!"
"Nope, I told you before; I wasn't going to do this alone. If you are slacking I am too" I say to her non-chalantly while closing my eyes and hearing her huff. I don't pay attention to her warnings or challenging taunts. That seems to irritate her more to the point that she stands up from the tree and lift me up with her arm.
"You are insufferable when you get like this, you know?" She scoffs bitter while she drags me by the arm to the hut.
"I know. That's why I do it, to manipulate you easily" I say to her smugly. She grits her teeth and punches my arm not so playfully this time. She really hates to be here, and I don't blame her honestly. But she could at least not be a jerk for those that are in the gardening club, it's not their fault that we have to be here in the first place.
"I know is not their fault, Dex" She snarls my muttered words.
"Then why are you so pissed off?"
"Because of the way they looked and talked to me before."
"You ripped off the door of the club's room with a kick, what did you expect that would happen?"
She massages her temple as I recall the outburst she had before. "I won't heard the end of that ,huh?"
"Koral, I know that it pisses you off that everyone assumes that you are a walking trouble. But reacting like that won't help to clean your image" I put my hand over her arm. She quickly removes her arm from my touch.
"You are assuming too soon that I want to "clear my image". This is me, and I won't change to please anyone. If they don't like it they can eat a dick" She declares angrily as she points to herself with her thumb. Her finger then points towards me. "And that includes you too. Don't think for a second that just because we are friends now I won't hesitate to put you in your place if you piss me off"
"Is that a threat?" I ask her coldly as I raise an eyebrow.
"Is a f*cking promise. Don't f*ck with me." That warning was sharp and dangerous. She really meant that. And it really pisses my off.
"You know what?" I toss her the keys of the hut, which she catches confused. "Do as you f*cking please; I couldn't be more feed up with your f*cking attitude" I start walking away from her. Who knows where, but I don't want to be near her anytime soon.
"Hey! Where the f*ck are you going?" Koral asks me from behind.
"To be on my goddamn own for a while. And maybe find a spot where I can hang myself" I respond sharply.
While I walk, I can't stop thinking about her attitude and how much it pisses me off. Who does she thinks she is? "Everyone should accept my ways or face the consequences. I'm the boss around here" I imitate Koral's voice inside my head while a keep fuming.
Smug f*cking bigheaded son of a bitch.
I reach a spot in the garden that has a stone bench on it and I take a seat , prompting my legs on top of it. Regardless of the school's anti-smoking regulations, I take out a cigarette to smoke it. I don't care anymore, I need to calm myself. I try to light it, but my zippo isn't working. I throw it away out of rage at this point. I start to feel the sting sensation on my belly once more, which doesn't help to calm me. "GIVE ME A f*ckING BREAK!" I yell towards my belly. I even reach to the hem of my shirt, tempted to lift it up and sink my nails on it. To make it know how much I despise it, how much I wished for it to disappear. To forget that dreadful day that changed me into the bitter and somber person I am right now.
All in vain, I will never get rid of it. I will never be able to change what I did. It's a constant reminder that will never go. And I f*cking hate it, as much as I hate myself right now.
I'm...f*cked up.
"We both are..." Koral's voice sounds behind me. I look over my shoulder to see her standing behind me, a look of sorrow on her yellow eyes. She takes a seat next to me and rest her back against mine, her tail wrapping around her. The back fin emerging from her leather jacket makes it akward for her to lean back. Without saying a word she reach for something in her pocket, a simple red lighter. She offers it for me to light the cigarette I'm holding on my hand, which I accept.
"Thanks..." I give her back her lighter and I take a drag from my cigarette. "Did you...hear me yelling?" I ask her with nervousness.
"Hard not to...but I won't ask about it if you don't feel like talking"
"Thanks again..." That doesn't ease my worries though. She is probably curious at why I was yelling at my belly. At one point she is going to ask for answers. We both stay in silence leaned against each other. I feel her shift in place, as if she wants to control herself from breaking the silence. "Speak. Or at this rate you're going to have a stroke"
"Honestly, I don't know how you can enjoy the silence. It gets on my nerves"
"Because it calms me...well, sometimes it does. When I'm not having intrusive thoughts" I take another drag from my cigarette and exhale the smoke.
"That's why it gets on my nerves. Because my thoughts doesn't help at all when I'm in silence." That last part sounded gloomy on her voice.
"What do you mean?" I ask her with curiosity. She turns her head to look at me over her shoulder. She seems to think about either trust me with something or not.
"Is complicated...do you swear not to judge me?" She asks as she turns herself completely.
I toss my cigarette with a snap and I turn myself to be infront of her. "I swear"
Koral then takes a deep breath to calm herself. Her tail is wagging behind her nervously while she tries to find the correct words. "...I really hate my attitude sometimes. The things I usually do out of nowhere...is not something I can really control..." She reaches for something inside her leather jacket. With a bit of hesitation she pulls out an orange bottle. "I need to even medicate myself because of that...To control...My urges...My violent outbursts" She shows me the orange bottle, with a trembling hand. Her name is written on a label, followed by the name of the medication she has to take. Cefavudine. I don't know what kind of medication it is for, never heard of that name.
"Koral, I don't understand. What are you implying here?"
She sighs and puts the bottle back in her jacket. "I have a condition were I can't really control my instincts. Many carnivores dinos like myself can develop it over the years. Is quite dangerous...that's why we need to medicate ourselves. But...sometimes even the medication isn't enough. And when that happens...well..." She hugs her knees against her chest and rest her face between them. Her body is trembling lightly while her hands grip her military jeans tighter.
I get closer to her and I put my hand over her own. She immediately grabs my hand, her grip tight, making sure that I don't slip away, that I'm here with her...that I don't abandon her. But I won't do that, instead I give her hand a squeeze of reassurance, which she understands as she loosens her grip a bit. I have a problem though; I don't know what to say. I don't find the correct words that could cheer her up, or at least comfort her in any kind of way. She is dealing with a condition I can't really understand first hand. Maybe...
"Koral, how is it? When you lose control?" I ask her. She lifts her head from her knees and looks at me with her yellow eyes. She hesitates for a moment as she tries to find the correct words.
"Is like...having a bad dream. Like watching through the eyes of another person. And when everything goes back to normal...you realize that everything was real...But the worst part is before all that, when my head can't stop thinking about what my instincts urges"
"Like craving a cigar after so long without smoking?"
"No...much worse...is hard to describe..." She sighs with a trembling voice. "Sometimes it makes me feel like I'm...a monster" She sinks her head against her knees once more.
Monster...A sharp pain runs on my body to that word. The same word I have described myself with many times during the months after the incident in my previous school. But...this is different.
"Koral...you are not a monster" Those words came from my mouth without thinking them beforehand. She lifts her head as she hears that. She was caught off guard by my words.
"What?"
"You are not a monster, Koral. You just have a condition that is hard to control and makes you think you are a monster. But, you really aren't one"
"How can you say that? Do you even know what is to have this urges?" She asks me, her tone a bit harsh.
"I don't. But you show remorse. Every time you lose control you feel regretful after that. Like you said, you hate your attitude sometimes. That tells me you are regretful of the actions you don't control. A real monster wouldn't feel any kind of regret after what they have done"
She looks away for a moment, thinking of what I said. Her tail trashes side to side slowly as she is deep in her thoughts.
"Descon...what do you see on me?" She finally asks without looking at me. That's a good question, at first I thought she was a co*cky bully. But after everything we have shared, I have another perspective of her.
"A girl that is scared to be alone. A girl that wants to be accepted for who she is." I poke her shoulder playfully with my fist. "And a girl that has quite the grim sense of humor sometimes" She chuckles lightly to that last part.
"I guess I have" She sighs "Is true though, I don't like being alone. But I don't want to change who I am, even though my condition. I would be lying to myself if I did so. I...want to be accepted for who I am"
"Who are you then?"
She thinks for a moment my question.
"Who am i? ...I'm a me. Koral, a meg girl with a behavior problem that sometimes can get out of hands, even though i try my best to control it. And i only want someone that can be there for me in those moments, to stop me or even support me. I want to know that at least I matter to someone. That I can trust...someone" Her eyes are a pleading for help right now. I let go my hand from hers and I wrap my arm around her shoulder. I can feel her tensed up to my gesture; she is not used to this. But I know that feeling well, wanting to matter to someone, to have someone you can count on. "So?" My thoughts are interrupted by her sudden question.
"So?" I ask her back. She simply sighs and massages the bridge of her snout.
"You sure are dense...So, what about now? Now that you know who I am, do you want to keep being my friend?"
"Of course I do, Koral. I thought that my gesture was enough to tell you that. You won't get rid of me that easily" I say to her playfully. She starts blushing and looks away, but I see a tiny smile form on the corner of her lips. "Besides...we aren't that different..." She turns to look at me. "Before I came to this school, i planned to go unnoticed and graduate myself without socializing. But deep down...I wished that someone would care enough about me...That I wouldn't be alone..."
"Descon. I wanted to ask you...Why did you end up here?" She asks me the million-dollar question. A question that I can't avoid to answer. It wouldn't be fair for her, she has trusted me with something personal. But...I can't bring myself to go full detail...not yet. I take a deep breath.
"I've got expelled from my previous school...in Rock Bottom. And...my parents kicked me out from home for that. That's why im living with my cousin and his wife" Her eyes go wide in disbelief as I tell her this.
"But...why? What did you do to be kicked by your own parents?"
sh*t...details...
"I...don't want to talk about it. Sorry..." I simply say to evade that question. And I feel like a sh*t for doing it...I scratch my belly once more.
"Oh...well, don't worry okay? I can understand it...Besides, that makes things...interesting" That last part sounded quite...flirty.
"W-what do you mean?" I ask her nervously.
"You know. A mysterious guy that gets expelled from a school and kicked from home by his parents is a walking sign that says "bad boy". Are you a bad boy, Dex?" She asks me in a flirty way, her face getting closer to mine. I can feel her tail wrapping around my waist slowly.
Wait wait wait wait, this has took a turn of 180 degrees. She isn't going to...right? I can feel my face warming up like a volcano about to explode and I can't stop looking at her yellow eyes. Eyes that are reflecting my red face right now. And her snout is getting too close now!
sh*t!
I close my eyes, waiting for the impact. I then feel something bump on my nose. When I open my eyes I see Koral's finger on it...and the face she is making right now to hold her laughter...in vain. She starts laughing out loud, bringing her hand over her abs while her tail unwraps my waist.
"Hahahahahaha, you should have seen your face, dude!" She mocks me while laughing out loud.
...Of course, she was teasing me. Goddamnit Descon, the f*ck is wrong with you. What were you expecting coming from her?
She pats my back once she has calm her laughter with a loud sigh. "Come on, we've work to do. I think we have wasted enough time already" She says playfully as she stands up from the bench.
"Y-yeah, you are right. The manure. I almost forgot about it" As I stand up I see Koral's palm extended towards me, holding the zippo I throw away before. I retrieve it from her. "Thanks."
"No, thanks to you Descon. For not judging me and hearing me" She says warmly, her usual co*cky grin replaced by a genuine warm smile. And for no reason, that smile makes my heart beat faster.
"S-sure, anytime Koral" I rub the back of my neck while I feel myself blushing once more.
In no time, we gather the tools from the hut, two shovels and a pitchfork, just in case.
"Well, how are we going to do this?" I ask her as we both stand in front of the pile of manure.
"First of all" Koral strips off her leather jacket. And instinctively I look away, to avoid looking at the cleavage exposed on her black crop top. I can hear her chuckle playfully to my reaction. "What's the matter Dex? Am I too intimidating for your liking?" She asks me teasingly.
"Can't you work with your jacket on?" I ask her nerviously while I keep my gaze away from her.
"Nah, I don't want to stain my favorite jacket. Come on, is not like I'm completely nude right now." She forces to turn myself around with her hand, and right in front of my eyes...is her big chest. If this were an anime I would have a nosebleed by now. I force myself to look anywhere else. To her left shoulder, which has a very cool looking tribal tattoo. "You like it?" She turns herself so I can have a better look to the tattoo. It goes from her shoulder to her elbow; it has some patterns in black ink that resembles sea waves and a big curled shark in the middle of the shoulder.
"It's so sick!"
"I know. I'm quite proud of it. Dad started working on it when I won my first match. Since then he would add another new pattern to it"
"That sounds quite ritualistic honestly"
"It is though, is part from my people's culture. It's an honor to carry one of these among my people"
"Your people? Where are you from exactly?"
"Do you know an island nearby Volcadera Bluffs's coast called Manu Ahi?"
"No?" I look at her with a confused look, this is the first time I hear about that island. She rolls her eyes as she mutters an "of course" for herself.
"It's not far from here, you can get there by the highway. It's quite the tropical place, with a dense jungle that leads to one of the three volcanos in the archipelago. I live next to the beach's village, where many aquatic dinos reside. And is usually crowded with all kind of tourists. Are you sure you haven't heard of it?"
"Nope, but for the way you are describing it, sounds like a beautiful place. I may visit it one day. I'm not much of a beach person, but I'm intrigued never less"
"Well, I would gladly give you a tour if that time comes. It's a shame that you don't like the beach though. I love to spend time there, especially in the water."
A picture of Koral wearing a bikini while taking a bath in the beach crosses my mind and I have to mentally bonk my head to suppress that thought. Bad Descon.
I notice then her right shoulder is bandaged. Maybe another tattoo that is being made?
"What about that one?" I ask her while pointing to her right shoulder. She immediately puts her hand over her right shoulder and looks away.
"That's...nothing...I don't want to talk about it..." Her voice is cold and distant. Message received, something too personal.
We start working on getting the manure in sacks. Is quite the hard work, at least for me, I'm not used to this kind of workout. Koral on the other hand...well, she is packing the sixth sack already. And her mood is still distant after I've asked her about her right shoulder. I feel intrigued to know what it is...but I don't want to meddle in something personal. I could try something to light the mood though.
"Hey, if you got time, you could also dig up a hole for me to lay?" I say to her jokingly while I rest my tired arms.
Koral looks at me and I hear her chuckle. "Sure, I can also bury you under the manure if you want too"
"Tempting...but stinky also. I pass"
She keeps working on fillinp up sacks, but at least her mood has changed to her playfull one. Good job, Descon.
"Come on Dex. Don't tell me I'm going to beat you up on this."
"Since when this is a competition?"
"Since we started, at least makes things more fun doesn't it?"
"You clearly have the advantage here, it's not fair"
"It's not my problem that you aren't as fit as me" A co*cky smile forms on her lips.
"Ouch! You didn't have to go there" I pretend to be hurt by her words.
"Cry me a river" She says smugly.
I return to fill up the sacks once my arms are rested. And in an hour the mountain of sh*t is gone, replaced by a mountain of sacks. I ended filling up 12 sacks...while Koral did 25. Yeah, she definitely won this round...
"I guess I owe you one for winning this round"
"Oh, I wasn't serious about that, Dex. I just wanted to make this fun."
"I know, but still, isn't fair that you ended up doing more than me. Let me at least compensate you for it"
She thinks about it for a second, before she nods. "Alright mate, what did you have in mind?"
Hmmm, I haven't think of that...well, food is always a good reward...I know!
"Dino Moe's pizza!" I exclaim excited as I snap my fingers.
"Dino Moe's pizza?" She looks at me confused.
"Yeah, is quite good honestly! It's a pizzeria in Little Troodon. It makes the best pizzas you had ever tasted. Trust me, you are going to love it! And besides, I'm inviting"
"Sounds good Dex, but I'm quite busy this week. So it will have to wait...Well...maybe we could go there this Saturday, after the match I have. I'm not going to lie, after a match a pizza sounds fantastic"
"I could always watch the match and then wait you outside"
"A-are you sure you would want to watch it? I think you should reconsider it" She warns me nervously.
"Hmm, how bad it can be? Is boxing, right? Is not like I will watch a butchering take in place in the middle of the ring. Where is going to be celebrated?"
She hesitates before answering. "It's taking place in Skin Row. Give me your number and I will send you the direction later"
"Oh, sure!" I take out my phone and we exchange our numbers. I text her "Testing 1,2,3" to check that it works, she replies me with an emoji that flips the bird. "How original" I say to her unamused.
"Well, better than yours" She says smugly before she punches my shoulder playfully.
Once we put the tools back in the hut and lock it, I knock on the greenhouse's door. The raptor girl from before opens it, a very strong weedy and piney scent invades my nostrils before she closes the door. As I suspected, they are planting pot inside.
"We have finished with today's task" I give her the key of the hut. "Where is Henry?"
"Oh, Henry had to left sooner for something. But, thank you for the help honestly. We will really put on good use that manure."
Yeah, help. It's not like we didn't have any option left. With that she goes back into the greenhouse.
Koral and me walk out from the highschool. Tonight I'm sleeping like a baby after the intense work we had.
"Want me to drive you home?" Koral asks as we walk next to each other.
"I didn't know you came with your car. Or that you even had one to start with"
"Heh, who said I came here in a car?" She said smugly as we get into the parking lot. She walks towards a big looking chopper bike.
"You are kidding right?"
"Nope, this is my baby." She caress the leather of the seat gently before sitting on it. From her jacket she retrieves a key that inserts into the bike's contact. And turning the right handlebars makes the bike roar. I'm not a bike enthusiast, but that sound has made me hard. "So, do you want a ride home?"
"Yespleaseandthankyou" I say excitedly. But before I can get on the bike, Koral's palm stops me.
"You better not scratch my baby, or I will drop you mid way" She warns me coldly.
"Like I would ever scratch such beauty. What do you take me for?"
"Okey, okey. I want to make sure." From her seat, she retrieves two helmets. At least the one she gives me is for my size. I think about sitting behind her and grab onto her waist...but her back fin is a problem. And I think she knows it, since she taps the space in front of her for me to sit on.
"Are you sure you are going to drive good like this?" I ask her, as I sit in front of her.
"Trust me Dex. I will. Where to?"
"Just drop me on Little Trodooooooo-sh*t!" She starts driving the bike at full speed, the engine roaring. I have to hold to the sides of the seat as she drives the bike. At first I was scared but right now...this feels amazing. The wind hits us on the face and is quite refreshing. I look over my shoulder to Koral, who is smiling right now while looking to the road. For a moment she looks at me and winks before returning her attention on the road. The city passes by quickly, I notice many dinos looking to our direction the moment the bike passes by. No wonder, this chopper is such the sight.
The ride ends too soon though, as she stops nearby Little Troodon. With so much care I dismount from her bike. I remove my helmet and give it back to her.
"That was amazing honestly. Thank you, Koral"
"Hehe, you are welcome Dex." She extends her fist towards me, which I bump with my own. "See you tomorrow, okay?"
"Same hour same place. And Koral, before you go. Thank you for trusting me before with your personal things"
She starts blushing and looks away. "D-don't make it weird!" She says nervously as she starts the engine of her motorcycle and leaves the place instantly.
As I walk back home, I can't stop thinking about her and what we talked today. Something in my mind is trying to stop me from thinking about her, but I can't and I don't want to. Remembering her genuine smile before when she thanked me for listening to her...It makes me feel something on my stomach...wait...sh*t...am I really falling for her?!?
Chapter 8: An evening to remember
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Last night I couldn’t sleep at all. It wasn’t because of the nightmares, I took a pill for that beforehand. No, it was because I couldn’t stop thinking about Koral. I had her image marked in my mind for the rest of the day after she dropped me near Little Troodon. I wasn’t even paying attention while I was playing with Amber that evening, every now and then I would shake my head whenever I noticed Amber’s hand waving in front of my face , and each time she would pout cutely when I apologized for not being focused. But it didn’t take long for my thoughts to return to Koral, and that genuine smile she showed me before…goddamn that f*cking smile.
At least I got some sleep during the Nazi teacher’s class. When the class finished he wanted to scold me for using his class as naptime. I came up with an absurd excuse…that I was a nocturnal human and that sometimes I needed to rest during the day…and the crazy fish believed every word I said while he kept taking notes for his “investigation”. I will have that in mind, maybe I can slack off his classes that easily if I can came up with some bullsh*t that he could add to his research.
Once in the hallway I see Koral leaned against a nearby locker. A smile full of teeth crosses her face when she sees me. “Yo, Dex. Took you long enough, I’m starving”
“Is that an invitation to have lunch together?”
“You are learning quickly. Maybe you aren’t a lost case at all” She separates from the locker and starts walking beside me.
“Damn, and I wanted to keep playing dense so you'd lose your temper” I tease her playfully, earning myself a light punch on the shoulder by her.
“Keep dreaming, Dex. It’ll take you more than that for me to lose my sh*t”
“Hmm, I could always try a different approach. Maybe cute nicknames or something like that.
What do you think, Koraline?”
A red blush starts to form on her snout as I call her that. “D-don’t call me that!” She stutters nervously.
“Did I strike a nerve there, Koraline?” I mock her playfully. Her whole face starts to get redder as she starts to swat my shoulder to stop me from calling her that.
“I swear to Raptor Jesus, if you don’t stop im going to bury you alive later in the garden of the school” She attempts to threaten me, but her blush is too cute to take her seriously. “You are a pain the ass!”
“Hah, I made you say ass”
She begins to lose her temper as she growls through her teeth at my childish behavior. A loud sigh of frustration escapes her mouth. “I'm starting to think I should have hit you harder on the first day of school.”
“Then you wouldn’t have these kinds of banters. Admit it, you love them” I poke her side with my elbow.
She looks away while her blush remains on her snout. “In your dreams, you are too full of yourself” Even though she tries to shrug off, I can see a tiny grin forming on the corner of her lips.
Once in the cafeteria, we grabbed our food and sat down at a table. I watch in amazement as Koral devoured a large piece of tuna that she held in both hands. The ferocity with she consumes the food is something I will have in count for our date tomorrow…wait, no , is not a date, we are just two friends that are going to have a good time in a pizzeria. Settle down your hormones Descon.
“Hey, are you going to finish that sandwich?” She points to my unfinished sandwich, which I quickly stuff in my mouth.
“Waf sanwif?” I say with my mouth full. She rolls her eyes but a chuckle can be hear from her.
Suddenly I notice that Koral frowns and before I can react, someone takes a sit next to me. It’s the mossaurus from the other day, the one that was holding Maya from her tail before Koral kicked his nuts. He is wearing the water polo team’s jacket, on the shoulder there is a logo of a curled yellow swordfish with the name of the team around it, “The prime squirters”. I have to hold myself from laughing at that stupid name, whoever came up with that name either were retarded or knew what they were doing.
“What the f*ck do you want Jason?” Koral growls menacingly.
“Relax, I don't want any trouble, I just want to talk to the new guy,” he says nonchalantly to Koral before averting his gaze to me. “We didn't get off on the right foot on the first day, human. I'm Jason” He extends his large hand toward me. I merely look at him with a raised eyebrow. He sighs and withdraws his attempt at a handshake. “Guess you're not the type to trust easily, huh? Don't be afraid, I don't bite”
“What do you want?” I ask him coldly. I can see that my distant attitude is pissing him off by the way his orange eyes twitches. I also notice that Koral is all tense as she keeps an eye on Jason, in case she has to intervene.
He mutters a curse between his irregular shaped teeth before giving a sigh. “I just came here to offer peace. Don’t need to be that defensive”
“Peace huh? Like the peace you gave Maya that day when you were tossing her around with your teammates?”
He shrugs at my accusation. “We were just having fun, you know? Besides, she started it when she crashed into me with her tray full of bugs, I had to throw those pants away that day because they were ruined” He excused himself nonchalantly. Jesus Raptor, I wished I were stronger to beat his co*cky face to a pulp right now. “But anyway, I think you could get along with us if you gave us the chance” He puts his hand on my shoulder.
Ohh, I see. I know where this is going. I have seen it before, fake friendship. Does he think I’m that stupid? If I get to accept it, they would be welcoming at first. Then the moment I dropped my guard I would see how really “friendly” they are. I move away his hand from my shoulder. “Sorry, I have my friends list full right now. But thanks for trying”
He starts growling and his hand becomes a fist. “You little sh-“
Koral smash on the table and leans closer to Jason. “You heard him, now f*ck off” She warns him while clenching her teeth.
Jason groans of frustration and stand up. “Before I go, I will give you an advice, skinnie. Be careful who you hang out with. You'd be surprised what you might find out about someone you trust” He snarls while giving Koral a hateful look, before he walks away.
The moment Jason is far way Koral sits back and sighs. “f*cking asshole” She mutters.
“You’re telling me. I wanted to beat the sh*t out of him for what he said about Maya”
“And I would have joined you without a doubt. Trust me”
“Besides, that last thing he said. He was talking about you, right?” I take a sip from my water bottle.
“Yeah, he is still resentful that I broke with him” I immediately spit out the water I was drinking.
“W-wh-what?!?”
“Oh, yeah. We used to date. But that was like three years ago. In my defense, I will say that I didn’t know how much of an asshole he was before. When I found out I kicked him out of my life”
“Gosh, Koral. I thought you had a better taste for those things”
“Oh, are you implying something there, Dex?” Her tone becomes flirty in a moment. “Maybe you will have the chance of knowing about my tastes tomorrow on our date”
“W-wait wait wait, is not a date!” I can feel my cheeks getting warmer, which makes her laugh. I fell for her teasing…again.
“I’m messing with you, Dex, relax. You sure get worked up whenever I tease you like this” She mocks me playfully.
“This is your way of getting back at me for teasing you before?”
“Maybe. Or maybe I like teasing you. Who knows?” She shrugs as she smirks.
“Speaking of tomorrow. I’m not going to lie, I’m quite excited to see the match. Is it a tournament or something?”
“That…well, is some kind of event. Are you sure you want to come and watch it? Is not going to be the usual boxing match.”
“Oh, special rules or something like that?”
She seems to hesitate to tell me about it. “Let’s just say it has its special rules this time.”
“Let’s just say?”
“Look, is complicated to talk about it here. I have to warn you though. You better be careful around the crowd, people can get too…excited during the matches”
“Relax, I can handle myself just well. Besides, is going to be just a boxing evening, right?”
……
Jesus Raptor in his cross of stone, where the f*ck did I get myself into this time. I should have suspected it the moment I got into the queue for the “event” that was taking place in an abandoned factory in Skin Row. The only human that was in line, me. The rest, all carnivore dinos. The ptero guy that was frisking everyone who entered inside the building looked at me the same way someone looks a madman. But at least I’ve got to enter…and I wish they didn’t let me in.
Well, deal with it Descon, Koral warned you several times not to come here. At least she could have told me that this isn’t boxing at all, because for starters the ring is an octagonal cage. And they can use any part of their body during the fights. I haven’t seen anyone using their teeth or claws yet, but I wouldn’t discard it’s allowed to use them too. This smells illegal in every aspect.
So far, I have seen four fights, and all of them ended up as bloodbaths. In one of them, I watched as a dilophosaurus twisted his opponent's ankle until it broke, causing the bone to pop out. I had to look away when that happened, I could hear the scream of agony from the raptor between the sad*stic cheers from the carnivores around me. The referee stopped the fight and declared the dilophosaurus victorious over the agonizing raptor who was holding his broken ankle while some dinos checked him out. That only made me feel uneasy for Koral's well-being.
After each fight some dinos had to clean up the blood that remains in the octagon, so they play hardcore techno music at full volume during each break to entertain the public waiting for the next carnage. In one of those breaks, I saw how two nearby spectators started to fight over a lost bet. Everyone was gathered around them, cheering them up as they kept fighting until security came and kicked them out. First and last time I come to one of these.
A green allosaurus steps into the octagon, wearing a microphone in his hand, the music then stops playing as he starts talking. “Ladies and gentlemen, we are proud to announce the final fight of the night. The one you all have been waiting for. The main event of tonight. On the blue corner, a promise of this sport, having won 13 matches from submission and losing only 2, with a height of 6 feet and 5 inches, weighing 264 pounds, Naaaaaatashaaaa!” His hand points towards a corner where a female ankylosaurus wearing a hoodie starts to walkout followed by a male trigga. Heavy metal music sounds as she walks towards the octagon but the crowd seems to boo her, some even throw food to the unamused ankylosaurus. Once inside she removes her hoodie and gives it to the trigga. She is wearing a black tank top and shorts over her muscled figure, her hair is mostly shaved and a huge scar can be seen on the tip of her mace like tail.
“KA-HU-E! KA-HU-E!” The crowd start chanting all together, some even slam their seats as if they were drums.
“And on the red corner, with a height of 7 feet and 3 inches, weighing 269 pounds; ladies and gentlemen, please, welcome our young local champion, daughter of the legendary Kaha Tsunami, Koooooooral Kahueeee!” The allosaurus announcer then points towards the other corner.
With the sound of some drums, Koral steps out from there wearing a robe with a hoodie on; she is carrying some kind of belt on her shoulder. Behind her, a massive male megalodon follows her as they walk towards the octagon. The whole crowd starts cheering her and even chanting her name, and I can’t help myself from doing so. I didn’t have any idea that she was such a big deal in this place. Being champion at such age…now im thrilled to see how good she is. Once Koral steps into the octagon, she takes off the hoodie and gives the belt to the referee. Her red hair is tied in a ponytail and she is wearing a technical shirt and shorts that mark her muscled figure.
Suddenly, the entire audience falls silent as Koral steps in front of her opponent. She strikes a pose and starts stomping on the floor while chanting something loudly in a language I haven’t heard before. From time to time she slaps her thighs and arms, sometimes sticking out her tongue or opening her yellow eyes wide in a strange way, while the ankylosaurus just stands there motionless, never taking his eyes off of her. The way Koral moves reminds me of some kind of dance I have watched before in a Snootube video of a rugby team, I should ask her was is all about later. Once the “dance” is finished, the crowd breaks the silence by clapping their hands. The male megalodon taps Koral’s shoulder proudly as she walks towards her corner.
The referee then calls over Koral and the ankylosaurus named Natasha, they both walks towards the center of the octagon. After the referee tells them something, both fighters bump each other’s fists; the bell sounds and they both starts circling around each other, their hands raised in fists.
“Waste that bitch, Kahue!”
“Rip her horns off!”
“Come on come on, give her hell”
Those are many of the comments I hear from the viewers sitting near me. I have to stand up to see the fight properly since the T-rex infront of me is blocking most of my view. Natasha keeps trying to take a hold of Koral while she circles around her. Koral seems to be much agile than she looks, easily avoiding to be grabbed by her. Every once and then Koral would throw a punch to the ankylosaurus, who avoided it easily. Both of them were taunting each other, waiting for one to make a mistake. It wasn’t until Natasha used her maze like tail that the fight really started.
Using her shoulder to block the tail strike, Koral caught it before it retreated. She then began to spin on the spot, lifting Natasha up smoothly and tossing her against the octagon fence. Before Natasha could recover, Koral assaulted her with jabs and kicks, not letting her stand up any time soon. A cold shiver runs on my spine as I see Koral aggressively hitting the ankylosaurus…that could have been me the time we fought at the start of the school year if she didn’t feel like going easy.
The referee had to intervene to stop Koral's vicious assault. Natasha barely managed to stand up after the beating Koral gave her, her snout was bleeding and one of her eyebrows had a cut. She then pushed the referee who was checking to see if she could continue, taunting Koral as she pointed at her. I don't know what Natasha said to her, but from the way Koral gritted her teeth and her body trembled it wasn't pleasant. But Koral simply shook her head to calm herself, not falling for Natasha’s provocation.
Both began circling once again, as the crowd continued to call for more blood. This time, however, Natasha seemed to focus on hitting Koral's muzzle instead of going for a clinch. With an unexpected display of agility, Natasha threw a kick that connected with Koral's jaw. That would have knocked anyone out, but Koral simply stood, a trail of blood running from the corner of his lip. The ankylosaurus followed her kick with a strike of her tail, which Koral expected for the way she immediately ducked the attack.
As the fight progresses, I start to feel nervous for Koral. For the way the other fights went I can't be sure how this one will turn out. In a moment, everything can go wrong for Koral. At least she is prepared to counter every one of Natasha's attempts to hit her snout. She made her most vunerable spot the dangerous one too, each time Natasha tries to hit her snout, Koral avoids it and punishes her. In one of those interchanges though, Natasha receives a knee strike on her jaw, making her fall back. That’s the moment Koral throws for her, hitting the ankylosaurus head repeadtely with her elbow. The referee tries to stop the fight, but Koral keeps viciously striking Natasha’s face repeatedly, much for the delight of the spectators watching this.
The way her eyes are slowly dilating to black right now, the expression in her face…This is what Koral told me about the other day. Her condition, the one she can barely control even when medicated…sh*t…I didn’t expect to be something like this. Something so…sad*stic. But…I know that Koral is still herself, deep down. And for the way she is looking concerned over the beaten akylosaurus after the male meg stepped in and calmed her confirms my believes. There is no proudness on her yellow eyes while the referee lifts her arm to proclaim her as the winner, not even the cheers of the public seems to lift her mood. Her gaze is fixed only on the ankylosaurus that some paramedics carry out on a stretcher.
Minutes later, I'm standing outside the back door of the abandoned factory, waiting for Koral to come out. As I'm leaning against the wall, smoking a cigarette, I can't help but think how bad Koral must feel after losing control like that. She knows I was there watching, so that won't help at all either. Damn…this was a bad idea…I should have heard her when she tried to told me not to come. I thought she was talking about the intense fights that were going to happen, but in reality, she was talking about the possibility of watching her lose control.
My thoughts are interrupted when I hear the back door open. Koral emerges from it, dressed in her usual attire and carrying a gym bag over her shoulder. As expected, her mood is depressing, for the way her shoulders are slumped and her tail is dragging. Her eyes are fixated on the floor. I toss my cigarette and get closer to her.
“Hey” My voice breaks her inner thoughts for the way her eyes immediately focus on me.
“Oh…hey Dex…Didn’t know you were there…” She looks away from me as she puts the bag on the ground. “Well…what do you think?”
“About the whole event? Or something else?”
“You know what I’m talking about…” Her tone is sharp but vulnerable.
“I still think the same about you, if that is what concerns you”
She turns her head to look at my eyes, trying to find out if what I’m saying is what I truly feel. “Why?” I look at her confused to that question. “Why do you still think so highly of me? Haven’t you seen what I’ve done?”
“I saw what you did, yes. But that doesn’t change my mind about you at all. I know is something you can’t control”
“What if the next time I’m not able to control myself around you? What if I lose control again and I beat you to death like I did to her?” She growls with a trembling voice, before turning herself around to look away from me, her left hand gripping her right shoulder. I take a deep breath and I put my hand on her back.
“I know the risks, but still, I trust you Koral. I’m certain that you wouldn’t harm me” She turns her head to look at me, a weak chuckle escapes from her mouth.
“You are a stupid idiot”
“Hey now, don’t need to-“ She suddenly wraps her strong arms around me in a gentle hug, catching me off guard. She leans her face on my shoulder; I can feel her hot breath on my neck.
“I’m glad that you are a stupid idiot…Thank you…” Her voice is vulnerable and shaky, muzzled by my shoulder. She tightens the hug even more. I wrap my arms around her neck in return and rest my forehead against her shoulder. Never in my life would have expected her to hug me like this. Or that she would even hug me at all. But, I’ll welcome this gesture any time. I close my eyes, to savor this moment better. Her scent fills my nostrils while I breathe at the same pace as she does. Her red hair tingles my cheek every time she nuzzle against my shoulder. Something deep inside me wants this moment to never end.
This feels…nice.
“Don’t make it weird, Dex” She playfully warns to my muttered words, but not letting go of our embrace.
Our tender moment is interrupted by the sound of the back door opening again.
“Koral, you forgot the...What the f*ck is going on?!?”
Koral's face lifts alertly from my shoulder at the sound of that male voice. “sh*tsh*tsh*t” she mutters under her breath as she breaks away from our embrace with nervousness. We both turn around; the male megalodon that was with Koral during the fight is standing in front of us, wearing a tropical-looking shirt open to show off the toned pecs underneath. He has an angry expression on his tattooed face. “D-dad…it’s not what it looks like”
“It is what it looks like, don’t f*cking lie to me Koral!” The male megalodon replies aggressively.
I should have brought my brown pants today, I feel like I’m about to sh*t myself right now while Koral’s dad looks at me with a murder glare. For what the announcer said before, her dad is the legendary Kaha Tsunami. I don’t know anything about this sport, but being addressed as “legendary” in such kind of manner it’s enough to tell me that he won’t have any problem in start a fight and end it himself. Maybe introducing myself could help a bit here, to let him know I mean no trouble for her daughter. I step forward while the meg raises an eyebrow.
“Hello sir, I’m one of Koral’s friends” I extend my hand towards him for a handshake. “I’m Descon, it’s a pleas-“ He slaps away my attempt for handshake. I have to control my reflex to not punch his face right now.
“Know your f*cking place, skinnie” He snarls with disgust. His attention turns to Koral once more. “Is that how I raised you? To hang out with this kind of filth?” I can feel my blood boiling right now; he reminds me a lot to my parents. “What would your mother think about this?” He keeps scolding Koral.
“You didn’t have to bring mom on this…” Koral’s voice sound pained while she looks down with a saddened expression.
Her dad sighs and looks away with a nostalgic gaze, before he looks back to his daughter. “We are going home. We’ll talk there” He grabs Koral by the shoulder and drags her away from me before she can protest. He then turns his head to look at me. “I don't want you anywhere near my daughter, do you hear me? If I find out you even breathe near her, I will hunt you down.”
With that last warning, he begins to walk away down the alley, dragging Koral with him. Koral turns her head to look over his shoulder at me apologetically before they disappear around the corner. I’m left alone standing there with a sense off bitter, worried for Koral. After the tender moment we had…to end like this.
I sigh and I massage my temple before I start to walk away from there, there is not much point to be around here anymore, she is gone. We didn’t get to eat at Dino Moe’s. I was excited for her to try the pizza, to have a good time together and have our usual banters.
I pull out my cell phone to check the time. Too late for the bus; I guess I'll have to call a cab to take me home. If they dare coming to pick me up from here, I don't think the cabs would venture into Skin Row. I haven’t heard good things about this place, especially in the news. It's a miracle the day there is no news of a crime happening on this street. As I walk through the alleys I am in full alert mode, this place does feel unsafe, not even the shady parts of Little Troodon are as unsettling as this. I wish I brought my M1911 replica today, just in case I needed to scare someone suspicious. Nah, it would have been confiscated at the entrance of the event, and I would probably be in deep trouble for it.
In a matter of minutes I’m out of that hellish neighbor. I take a deep breath to calm my senses once I’ve reached a safe spot near a police station, in front of the entrance of Skin Row. I take out my phone to call a cab…wait, I have a message, from Koral.
“Meet me at Little Troodon in 30 minutes”
“What about your dad? Weren’t you with him?” I reply her text message. I wait impatiently to her answer, tapping the screen of my phone with my thumbs while the ellipsis icon on her side of the chat shows that she is writting.
“Don't worry about him. We have a date, don't we? And by Jesus Raptor I can't wait to try that pizza you've been telling me so much about. If it's a disappointment , I'll tell my dad you blackmailed me into coming ;P” I can imagine that last part sounding with her usual mocking tone of hers, which brings a smile to my face.
“You wouldn’t dare, and besides, it’s not a date”
“If it’s not a date then what it is, Dex?” I try to figure out another way to call what we are going to do…nothing comes to my mind right now.
“You know what? f*ck it, it’s a date” I finally text her. She replys me with an emoji of a shark dancing in celebration, which I find cute. “So, seeing you in Little Troodon?”
“Yep. Don’t make me wait. I’m starving”
......
20 minutes later, the cab arrives to Little Troodon. Once I’m out of it I text Koral to let her know that I’m already here. She doesn’t reply me, so I start looking for her. It shouldn't be hard, I mean, she stands out quite a bit from the crowd. But I don’t see her anywhere, and she isn’t replying my messages. Where the f*ck i-
“Boo!”
“AAAH!” I jump in fright when someone taps my shoulder from behind. I take a stance to face the aggressor, turning myself with my hands raised. Only to see Koral standing in front of me, her cheeks puffed to hold a laugh that finally escapes from her mouth. I blow some air while I hold my chest due to my heart beating fast. “You almost gave me a heart attack, you prick!”
“Oh come on Dex, it was just an innocent prank!” She taps my arm playfully.
“An innocent prank my ass. How the f*ck are you so stealthy anyways?”
“I’m a predator Dex, it comes in my nature. It’s quite thrilling stalking a prey without them noticing you nearby before it’s too late” The tone she used to say that sounded quite…flirty, even though the context is a bit macabre. I’m not going to fall for it this time, she is trying to tease me again.
“Then prey on this” I flip her the bird with a co*cky smile. She rolls her eyes but chuckles anyways.
“One of these days I’m going to bite that little finger of yours" She warns me playfully before she wraps her arm around my neck. “Come on Dex, we can talk on the way, pizza is waiting for us!"
The night is fairly quiet as we walk through Little Troodon, the aroma of different spices fills our nostrils and at one point I can hear Koral's stomach rumbling with hunger, which makes me laugh as she blushes and pats me on the shoulder to shut me up. I tease her anyway, which makes her turn even redder and swat me repeatedly. Her spirits seem to have lifted a bit after what happened with her father, and I'm glad about that. However, I can't help but think that she might get into trouble if her father finds out that we met again after the warning he gave me.
"Are you sure you won't have any problems with your father? He didn't seem to like me being around you."
Koral sighs and looks away. "He is usually like that with...well..."
“Humans” I say the word she didn't want to mention. She nods and I see her gaze wander off into the distance.
"Dont take it personal, Dex. He is a cool dad and all that, but...he has his reasons for the things he said..."
"Don't worry, I can understand it in a way. My parents are not that different. They would have the same reaction as your dad if they found out I was friend with a dino like you. Well...I don't have to worry about that anymore though."
"What was it like? When you lived with them before they kicked you out?"
I take a deep breath, trying to remember the times before I was disowned. It takes me a while to find a good memory, I've been so full of hatred towards my family all these months that I've already started to forget the good times. "It was good i guess. A normal family i would say...or that was what i thought at that time. But when they found out that my cousin was dating a dino, their true colors came out. My parents made sure that i was properly "educated", that's how they called it. They named my cousin's relationship an affront against nature, something that shouldn't be allowed. You know where i'm going with this right?"
"Fascism... " She says dryly and I nod at her response. “And weren't you against them for trying to indoctrinate you in those ideas?”
"It's not that I wasn't against them. It's just that at the time I didn't give a sh*t about those things. I was a carefree person back then, all I cared about was getting through each day without being bothered. So I just nodded every time they talked to me about what I should believe; like when you talk to a drunk so you don't piss him off, you know?"
"I see..."
"Does your mom share the same thoughts as your dad?"
Her expression turns grim the moment i ask her about her mother. "My mom...she is not here anymore, Descon..." She says with a somber and low tone while she holds her right shoulder with her hand and looks away.
"sh*t... Koral, I didn't know... I'm sorry..." I put my hand on her arm.
"I know you didn't know. But don't worry, it's been a long time since that" Despite her reassuring words I can see that it still affects her by the way she avoids looking at me. And all I can think about is that I screwed up by asking her about it. “Is this the place?” She points to an old-fashioned looking Italian restaurant with a large sign on the front that reads “Dino Moe's Pizza & Pasta.”
“It seems so; I was expecting something else honestly, like a fast food restaurant or a small locale”
Koral turns to look at me confused “Didn't you say you had eaten here before.”
“I said that I had eaten pizzas from this place, but it was because my cousin brought them home. I’ve never been here”
“Oh, so it’s a first timer for both of us huh?” She chuckles.
“I guess it is. Shall we?” I open the doors for her to enter.
“What a gentleman, Dex.” She teases playfully as she enters in the restaurant.
The restaurant looks like an Italian-style pizzeria. Quite cozy, with many tables spread throughout the restaurant. Many photos are hanging on the walls; most of them are celebrities posing at a table with an old looking T-rex, who I swear I've seen before in one of the photos hanging in Anon's house. A trigga waitress is on the reception desk, she is checking out a magazine with a bored expression before she takes notice of our presence.
“Welcome to Dino Moe’s, table for two?” The trigga asks with the same enthusiasm as a coffin salesman.
“Yes please” I reply to her.
The trigga’s gaze goes towards Koral before she gives a loud sigh. “Follow me please”
We are guided inside the restaurant, to a place that seems designed for big dinos like Koral. Some tables are occupied by couples or even families, all of them having a good time. Once on our table, the trigga give us the menu and walks away. I don’t really need to look at the menu because I know for sure what I’m going to order, the meat lover pizza, with extra of everything on it. Koral seems to be struggling to choose while she looks the menu.
“What the f*ck man, don’t they have any pizza with pinapple here?” She snarls.
I roll my eyes to that comment. “It’s an italian pizzeria, of course they wouldn’t serve such eldritch horror of dish here”
“f*ck you; you don’t know what you are saying. I bet you haven’t even tried it and you are just talking sh*t”
“Well, not really. But don't think it really appeals me, fruit in something salty...yuck!”
“You know a tomato is fruit right?” She raises an eyebrow
“…fair point. We could always ask if they can add pinapple on your pizza, but if I were you I would probably give up on that idea” I raise my hand to call over the waitress, who comes with a tired expression.
“Tell me, what are you lovebirds having?” She asks casually as she pulls a notepad from her shirt pocket.
“W-we are not a couple!” Koral and me reply to her in unison with a blush on both our faces. The trigga rolls her eyes to our reaction and waits for either of us to order. I clear my throat while my cheeks are red. “A meat lover’s pizza and she wanted a pizza with pinapple”
The trigga raise an eyebrow to that last request. “We only serve what is on the menu, sir. No special requests”
I roll my eyes, for I know where she is going with all this. It’s Little Troodon at the end of the day, if you want something here, you have to do it by their rules. I reach for a bill of 20 in my pocket. “I think my little green friend here can make you think otherwise” I tell her while I wiggle the bill in front of her.
Koral’s look at me confused, while the trigga looks around her before snapping the bill out of my hands. “I’ll see what I can do” The trigga says before she leave us.
“What was that all about Dex?” Koral finally asks me.
Sigh. "I learned a few things in Little Troodon since I started coming here. Money can get you things in this place"
“Like everywhere else, I don't see the difference”
If she knew what I was talking about....i try to the change the subject. “So Koral, I wanted to ask you about something. What was that dance you were doing before? You know, when you were on the octagon”
“Oh! That was a haka”
“A what?”
“A haka, something from my culture. It’s something like a perfomance to show respect or even challenge someone before a fight. My dad teached me about them when I was younger”
"It sounds like your father taught you enough things that you ended up following in his footsteps. I didn't know you or your father were such a big deal on that “boxing” thing. By the way, you should have told me it wasn't boxing at all"
"I told you I practiced it, not that the bouts were boxing matches. You just misunderstood my words." She tries to excuse herself, but my raised eyebrow makes her sigh. “Okey, yes, I should have warned you. But you have to understand something. We call them boxing matches as a cover because what we do it’s illegal”
"I could see from afar that the event was something illegal. Just the location was enough to tell me. But I won't blame you for that because you asked me on several occasions if I was really sure I wanted to go there"
“Did you at least enjoy it?”
I take a deep breath before answering. "I'm not going to lie. I wasn't prepared for that kind of violence, the way everyone around me seemed to enjoy it made me a little uncomfortable. And well... I was worried about you too"
She laughs warmly at my concern for her well-being. "You didn't have to, honestly. You've seen how well I take care of myself in there. It'll take a lot to take this warrior down” she points to herself with a thumb, proudly, as she winks at me playfully.
“Yeah, I guess you're too stubborn to let yourself be easily put down” I mock her playfully, causing her to punch me lightly in the shoulder.
“Asshole. But…thanks anyway. Even though I know what I'm doing there, it's nice to know someone cares about my well-being outside" Her yellow eyes bright as she gives me a genuine smile that melts my heart.
“A-anytime” I respond nervously while I try to control the volcano that is my face right now.
The trigga arrives with the two pizzas and, as expected, Koral's one has pineapple on it. I am tempted to ask her for a slice, just to know if what she says is true, but before I can do so she is already devouring her pizza in her usual frenzy of hunger, where there is no way to reason with her. I notice that most of the diners are looking in our direction; some have expressions of shock or disgust on their faces as they watch Koral aggressively bite into her pizza without any manners. I don't pay attention to them anyway, I'm quite used to her doing that by now. I just enjoy my pizza; the delicious fat pleasure is as good as ever. It doesn't take Koral long to finish her pizza and burp noisily.
"God, I really needed that. I'll give you props on this one Dex. Best pizza I've ever had" She sighs with satisfaction while her hand rubs her exposed abs. Her eyes bright when they focus on my pizza and I see her licking her lips, which makes me laugh. I sigh and I grab two more portions beside the one I was eating, giving her the rest of my pizza.
“Eat, you glutton” I say to her playfully. She doesn’t waste any second to sink her teeth into the spare pizza I gave her. She hums happily while chewing it while her tail wiggles behind her.
“Thanf pal, thif if good!” She says with a mouthful of food and spits out a few pieces as she tries to talk like this.
“Hasn't anyone ever told you it's rude to talk with your mouth full?” Her answer to my question is a good view of her middle finger. “Wow, so mature”
“Bite me” She says co*ckily once she has swallowed the last piece. The trigga soon arrives with the bill. I pay for dinner, as promised to Koral, and tip our cheerful waitress well.
“So, what now? Do we call it a day or do you want to do something else?” I ask to my filled up friend.
“Maybe a walk and a smoke before hitting home, I don’t want to be late home anyways and piss off my dad” Koral replies as she stands up from the table. As we walk toward the exit of the restaurant, I notice an old piano in the corner. The lid is open, revealing the yellowed keyboards. A temptation to play it comes to my mind but I have to shake it off, maybe another time. “Don’t tell me you know how to play one of those” Koral points towards the old piano.
“How did yo-“
“You were almost drooling while looking at it, Dex. It was easy to guess.” She chuckles.
I rub the back of my neck and blush after being caught that easily. “Well, I know how to play it. But don’t think I’m really that good with it. I mean, I don’t know how to read sheet music. Normally I play by ear”
“That’s good enough” She grabs my hand and drags me towards the piano. “Come on, I want to hear you playing it”
“Okey okey, don’t need to drag me there, Koral” We both take a seat in front of the piano. “One song only okey?”
“Sure, go ahead, delight me” She says playfully.
I start thinking about what I should play. I look at the piano in front of me and I feel excited to play an instrument again after such a long time. My mind goes over different songs I could play... but there's one that stands out more than the rest. And I shouldn't play it, because the last time I played it... well, she's not here anyway. I take a deep breath and I close my eyes to focus on the memory of how it sounded. My hands slowly reach for the keyboard and I begin to press its keys with my fingertips. The melancholy melody of that forbidden song sounds throughout the room as I keep my eyes closed, humming that song to myself as I play it. The tone is a bit different than the one I remember, but that doesn’t matter. I just let my fingers do it’s thing while my mind remembers the sound of each note. And before I know it, the song is over. The sound of some clapping forces me to open my eyes in alertness; I did not notice the small crowd surrounding us as I played.
I look up at Koral, whose eyes have a warm glow. "Descon...That was beautiful. I've never heard anything like that before. Did you write that song?” she asks me excitedly, which makes me feel a pang of guilt, for playing in front of so many people something that doesn't belong to me, but to someone else.
“No…I shouldn’t have played it” I say with sorrow as I stand from the piano and walk through the crowd that wants me to play another song. Doesn’t takes much for Koral to reach me once we are outside the restaurant.
“Dex, are you okey?” She asks me concerned as she puts her hand over my shoulder.
“Not really, sorry. It’s just…well…i didn’t have any right to play that song before”
“What are you saying? The song was good, really, don’t undersell yourself”
“I know the song was good. But, I didn’t write it, it only belongs to my cousin and his wife” I take a deep breath. “I heard it once when Lucy, my cousin's wife, played it for her daughter in one of the piano lessons she was giving her. I was... mesmerized by its melody. And I couldn't get it out of my head. So, one day, thinking I was alone, I started playing it on the piano. But she caught me, and she was furious. She kept yelling at me that I had no right to play that song. And since then I have not been able to play the piano at home. She always makes sure that the lid is closed so that I can't play it when I'm alone at home.” The sound of her screams and the memory of Anon's scolding that night come to mind, and I have to scratch my belly to soothe the stinging sensation.
“Damn, she sure sounds like a dictator.”
“I know. Her house, her rules. But I don’t take it into account. In the end, I am nothing more than an intruder and a nuisance in their lives.”
“Hey!” She grabs my shoulders and turns me to look into her eyes. Eyes full of determination.
"Don't ever say that again Descon. You are not like that. That's not who you are. Stop putting yourself down so easily. You're so much more than you let on.”
"You don't know half the things I've done Koral....”
"I don't care. The little I know about you is enough to make me think that. You're not a bad person, Descon. Stop thinking like that.”
I bite my lower lip to hold back from crying when I hear those words again. The same words Amber said to me the other night. Deep down I believe it, that I'm not the mess I always think I am. But there's a layer of darkness over it that makes it hard to hold that thought.
She pulls me into a warm embrace. “Let it all out, Descon” she whispers me warmly. And that's where I finally break, in her arms, sobbing quietly against her chest as my hands grip her jacket. Letting out some of the pain I've accumulated these past few months when I haven't had a chance to let it out on anyone. I really trust her, for I don't see her pulling me away from her as I sob. She simply holds me in her strong arms, caressing my back in a comforting way.
"f*ck... I really needed to blow off some steam.... thanks” I chuckle weakly as I snort once I've calmed down enough.
“No problem, we've got each other's backs, remember?” she smiles sweetly at me while still hugging me.
"Always Koral...always"
Once the atmosphere had calmed down, we started walking around Little Troodon. There was no one on the streets at the time except the two of us. At one point, Koral noticed a fire escape and, without saying a word, started to climb it. I followed her until we reached the top of the building. Koral then sat on the edge of the roof, her legs dangling, looking off into the distance with a serene gaze. I sit next to her, legs dangling as well. I take out a cigarette and i offer her the package, she takes three, but i don't mind. We both look at the lights of the city before us while smoking.
"You know Dex? This is probably the weirdest date I've ever had. And I wouldn't mind repeating it again." Her voice is tinged with affection.
"Me neither, honestly. But maybe next time it could be less therapeutic, don't you think?" I say jokingly , which she replies with a light punch on my shoulder and a chuckle.
"I don't promise it will happen again. It's nice to have someone to be able to sort all this sh*t out with"
"I couldn't agreed more on that"
She gets rid of the cigarettes with a snap of her fingers and then rests her head on my shoulder with a contented smile on her face.
"Never change, Descon" She whispers softly while closing her eyes and nuzzling against my shoulder. I wrap my arm around her and i rest my head against her red hair, closing my eyes.
"You too Koral...never change"
Notes:
Hello hello, first time writting a note here.
First of all , i want to thank everyone that has been following , commenting and liking this history so far. It really means a lot that you find it interesting.
Second and last , im sorry for the delay on this chapter. I've been struggling to find time and inspiration to write it. I usually write as I go along without having a clear objective of how a chapter is going to end. That's how i came up with many of the concepts that take place in this story. For example, Descon being Anon's cousing, Maya being a technology geek, Koral's condition... I won't promise that there won't be more delays, i may have to take some rest and try to figure out where i want to lead this history. I know more or less how I want it to go on and end, but I still have to think about the progress in between to get to that point.
So again, thank you so much for the support you are showing and hope you stay tuned for the next chapter.
Chapter 9: Scarred Lives
Chapter Text
I have always found something appealing about the fall season. At Rock Bottom I used to lie near a tree, watching the orange and brown leaves fall, while the autumn breeze caressed my face. Honestly, it was very relaxing. It's a shame that in Volcadera Bluffs there aren't so many parks to do that anymore, it's just an urban jungle. What I would give to spend an afternoon together with Koral, watching the autumn leaves fall together, close to each other...
Yes, I have definitely fallen in love with her. In the last few weeks that we have been hanging together I felt my heart beating a mile a minute every time I saw her smile. And it didn't help that while we were working in the school garden my eyes were on her at all times like a magnet. I couldn't stop gawking at her.
“Huh…Descon? This is starting to get a little heavy…”
The way her yellow eyes leered at me through her red locks, her smile full of sharp teeth, her tail wagging happily every time we had our usual banters....
“Descon…My arms are getting tired, I don’t think I can handle it anymore…”
And every time I catch a glimpse of her muscular, sexy figure I mentally bite my lower lip. Especially her ass. Gosh, whenever I see it moving I want to scream GYA-.
“DESCON!”
I snap out back to reality. sh*t! I quickly grab the heavy box that Maya was holding with her tiny hands and put it on the shelf where it belongs.
“Sorry, I was distracted”
“Thinking about Koral's butt?” Maya raises an accusing eyebrow.
“...I mumbled that aloud, didn't I?” I rub the back of my neck as my face starts to turn red with embarrassment. Maya, for her part, lets out a cute giggle as she covers her beak with her sleeve.
Today was kind of a special day for the dinos, the last warm day of the year or something like that. I didn't pay much attention to the announcements that the student council president gave yesterday in the school auditorium, as Koral and I were sitting together and kept joking about them. The only words that caught my attention were that today was a day off.
Anon and his family were having a cookout with their friends today. They didn't invite me to go with them, and I wasn't surprised, the last thing they wanted is for the purple trigga to get a brain aneurysm from seeing my face after what happened last time. Still, it hurt a little when Amber repeatedly asked her mom or dad why I wasn't going with them this time. They didn't tell her the real reason, of course, she is still too young to understand. I simply told her that I had a lot of homework and that I couldn't go, she seemed to accept it, but I have the feeling that she didn't believe my words. I don't like lying to her, but her mother was starting to get pissed off because Amber kept asking her why, so for her sake I made that excuse. At least Anon noticed, because he thanked me quietly.
I tried to meet Koral, but she already had plans. She was going to spend the day off training with her father for her next fights. So I decided to spend the morning in Little Troodon, at least I wouldn't stay at home cooped up doing nothing. While I was walking around Little Troodon I saw Maya, she was trying to carry heavy boxes inside her parents' store, and it was costing her a lot. Without thinking too much I decided to give her a hand, to her surprise, she wasn't expecting me to be around. I thought she was having a heart attack because of the way she screeched and her feathery tail bristled when I approached her from behind.
However, she was grateful for the help once she calmed down. And here I am now, in the storage room of her parents' store, carrying boxes with very fragile things inside. As we worked together I told her a bit about what I've been doing with Koral lately, even what I feel for her. Maya seemed glad to hear all of that.
“Descon, if you feel that way about her, maybe you should confess it to her”
I sigh. "Believe me, I've tried several times. But every time I'm about to say it I start stuttering and end up making a joke to break the awkward moment” I remember how last time I ended up pretending to have an allergic reaction because of some plants we were planting in the school’s garden. She hit me repeatedly for scaring her, and the fact that she cared about my well-being only served to fuel my desires for her.
Aside from my nervousness, there is also the issue with her father. If he doesn't want me around his daughter, I don't want to know what would happen if he knew I was her boyfriend. Well, IF she really wants me to be her boyfriend, because I'm not sure if she shares the same feelings as I do. And, of course, her condition...I have no problem with it, but it's still something to keep in mind.
However, there is one thing that really worries me, telling her about my past. The reason I ended up living with my cousin. There are details I haven't shared with her yet. And... if I really want this to work out between us, I'll have to tell her eventually. And that scares me, because I couldn't bear for her to reject me the same way I ended up getting rejected by everyone at Rock Bottom.
So many factors, this love thing is really complicated.
"If you really trust her, like you told me, you don't have to be so nervous. Just be brave and tell her already” Maya says casually as she hands me another box to put on the shelf. I can't believe the shyest person I've ever met in my life just said that to me.
“You make it sound easy”
“Because it is honestly”
I raise my eyebrow to her. “When are you going to do the same with Henry?” I ask playfully. She immediately drops the box she was about to give me to cover her face in embarrassment, while her tail stiffens.
“W-W-We a-are t-talking about you here right now!” She stutters nervously while covering her face.
"Right... See how it's not that easy?"
"...Okay...you're right...but you shouldn't delay it any longer. You never know what might happen"
"I know, I know. But I need to know for sure that she feels the same way before doing so. Because if she doesn't, this could ruin our friendship”
Maya sighs and sits on a nearby box, her short legs dangling over the edge. "Look Descon. You can't keep hiding it from her anymore. She'll figure it out at some point, if she hasn't already. And maybe she'll start to wonder if there's something wrong with her that makes you hesitate to confess to her. Besides, it doesn't have to ruin your friendship. Rejection may hurt, but you can always count on her in spite of it"
"I'd like to believe you, I really would. But my fears only make me think that things won't be the same if she rejects me. She would always keep in mind that I feel something more than friendship for her; she would surely start to be more cautious about what she says or does around me. Or she'd even hide things from me, like that she's started dating another guy, so as not to hurt my feelings” I exhale deeply and lean against the shelf while rubbing my temple.
"You'll never know for sure unless you try. Sometimes, all we need is to take a leap of faith. And if that doesn’t work, it’s not the end of the world, right?”
I wish I could be as optimistic as Maya. But right now I can't. It sounds desperate on my part, but I feel like Koral is my last hope for holding on to this world. Losing her friendship would mean going back to where I started in Reef City. Being a grim, hateful, lonely person… Something in the back of my mind scolds me for not sticking to my original plan of going unnoticed and not bonding with anyone, the sharp stinging sensation in my stomach follows. I silence it and rub the stinging sensation, right now I don't need to have that in my head.
"I'm not sure, Maya. I have to think about it. My head is a mess right now"
Maya slumps her shoulders in defeat. “If you think that's what you need... but... don't take too long to gather your thoughts, Descon”
That said, we both return to put the boxes back on the shelves in the back room. It didn't take us long to do that, and by the end of it we were starving. So we went to eat some chop suey from the stand of last time, but this time Maya invited, as a way of making it up to me for helping her. While eating it I couldn’t stop thinking about what Maya said. And she is right, I shouldn’t delay it anymore…but I don’t know how to do it.
“Maya, how do I do that?” I ask her, she looks at me confused as she bites into a cricket from her chop suey. “You know, tell Koral how I feel about her”
Maya looks away for a second, thinking about what to say. Then she sets aside her bowl of chop suey and looks at me. "I'm not sure, I'm not an expert in these things. But, you have to be yourself when the time comes. Don't try to act any other way”
“Be myself huh? That sounds a bit…simple”
"I know... I'm sorry I can't be of much help right now. Like I said I'm not an expert on this kind of things"
"Hey... don't worry. I appreciate the advice, Maya. And thanks, for listening to me"
She starts to blush and hides her face with her hoodie “A-anytime” she mutters under her breath. No wonder Henry has such a crush on her, she's too cute when she gets like this.
Once our bowls were finished, Maya had to go back to the store, so it was goodbye for the time being. As I walked back home, I was imagining different scenarios of how I might confess my feelings to Koral. And each one ended badly, I really need a hand here. If only I knew someone in a relationship right now... wait, I know someone.
....
It was already dark when Anon, Lucy and Amber returned from the cookout, Anon was carrying a sleeping Amber in his arms when they came into the house. Lucy went straight to her room, not even looking at me while I was on the living room’s couch watching the TV. Anon for his part, carried Amber into her bedroom, to put the little hobbit to bed. I take a deep breath and wait outside Amber's room for him to finish.
“Hey…got a minute?” I ask Anon once he has closed the door to Amber’s bedroom. He looks at me confused.
“Sure, what do you need Descon?”
“I want to talk with you about something…maybe in your studio”
“Oh…sure!”
We both went into his studio. I had been here before, when he wanted to show me what he did in his job as a sound technician. There's good equipment here, with lots of monitors and amps hooked up to an expensive looking pc. Next to the pc desk is a box with a tiny roomba phone, a face with angry eyebrows painted on it. Metal Gear Raymba, that's what it's called. It's like a pet of theirs around here, the first time I came to this house I saw how Lucy was “feeding” it some cereal. I thought they were crazy or something for doing so. Anon explained to me that he bought it in Little Troodon when he was my age and since then it’s been with them.
Anon takes a seat on the office chair and invites me to take a seat on the other one, which I do.
“So…what did you want to talk about?”
I rub the back of my neck and take a deep breath. "Well... there's a girl at school that I'm friends with, but I started having feelings for her, and I might need some advice here."
Anon opens his eyes wide, and seems to be processing what I just said, his mouth twitching nervously. "...Jesus Raptor, I'm not ready to give the talk..." He mutters aloud to himself.
“WHAT?!? Nonono, I don’t need that kind of advice”
He sighs in relief “Then what is it?”
"You know, some advice on how to confess to her, when is the right time for it...that sort of thing"
He rubs his neck and laughs awkwardly "Descon, you're asking the wrong person for that kind of advice"
"Hmm no? I mean, you're married, which means you know about this kind of stuff right?"
"Ehhh...yes...but...I never confessed my feelings to Fang openly like you're trying to do..."
"...What?"
He sighs again and leans back in his chair with a nostalgic look in his eyes "Let's just say it was a happy accident. One day I mumbled my feelings for her. She heard them and confessed to me that she felt the same way. So I wouldn't count it as a true confession on my part"
That’s…quite a lame way to do it. But I guess it worked if he ended up marrying her. Still, that doesn't help me at all.
“I’m in a pickle here then” I sigh and rub my temple.
“Descon, what do you feel for that girl, if I may ask?”
“For her?... I like her a lot. She's very funny, I love the jokes we usually have together. She's very passionate about the things she likes, it makes me happy to listen to her and see her talk about those things. Every time I see her smile, I feel a tingle in my stomach that warms me up.... But I'm not able to tell her those feelings. Because I get so nervous when I'm about to. And well, there are also other problems…"
“For example?”
"Her father doesn't like me very much" Anon starts laughing, which I find strange. "What?"
"I just find it hilarious. Because that happened to me too with Fang's father”
"Really? And how did you get him to like you?"
"It took many nights of bowling and a fishing trip. You have to understand something, Descon. Her father probably wants to protect his daughter. So don't hold a grudge on him"
"It's hard not to when the guy's a racist asshole. You know how he referred to me as the first time I met him? Filth"
“Uff! Yeah, I guess so then. But you'll have to if you really like that girl, he's her father after all.... What about her mother? In my case it helped a little that Fang's mom was so welcoming to me."
I huff. “She is dead. That’s what she told me”
Anon shares a concerned look with me. “Damn…poor girl…” He mutters.
"I know. I haven't asked her about it again. After seeing how she reacted when I asked her about her mom...she still seemed hurt by it."
To my surprise, Anon puts a hand on my shoulder and gives me a warm smile. "You did well. Good job"
"Thanks... I guess" I don't know why but it feels good to be praised like that.
"So, other than that, are there any other problems?"
Indeed there is…but I shouldn’t tell him about it. I don’t want to worry him about her condition, and it’s not my place to tell him about it. “Yeah, but It’s something personal about her”
“Does it worry you though?”
“I guess it does somehow…”
Anon then looks away, thinking about something before looking at me again. “It may not be much, but I have an advice for you. The secret of love, it’s not shared misery. You two can complain all that little details of life. But that doesn’t fix your problems” He puts his hand on my shoulder, raising the index finger of his other hand in front of me. “However! You can’t be trying to do everything for her neither. Otherwise she’d just expect you to fix all her problems for her. The secret is support. To be her support. She got to fix her own problems, but you’ve got to back her up on them”
"Wow...that's really...a good advice" I'm really impressed by it, I didn't expect him to come up with something like that.
"I know, right? A good friend of the family told me that once. And it really came in handy"
...Of course, I should have expected it. Too good to be something he came up with. But still, it's good advice. Be supportive, be there for her...yeah, I can do that. Like that time after her match...or the first day at the garden club.
“Yeah, it’s good. But I’m still worried about something. I fear that she might not feel the same way about me. And that could ruin our friendship”
"Well, you'll have to jump in the water and see if it's true. You'll never know unless you try" He says casually. Same thing Maya said... I guess they're both right then. I have to give it a try. "Just so you know, if anything happens, you can always count on us. okay?" He reassures me with a warm smile while patting my shoulder. Those words touch me deeply, knowing that I can count on Anon and his family... even if I have kept something from them for so long... maybe....
"Anon... There's something I want to tell you..." He suddenly checks the time on the clock hanging on the wall of the studio.
“sh*t. It’s getting late already. We should wrap this up quickly. What is it that you wanted to tell me?”
“I-I…” Come on Descon, tell him. He should know it. “I…I wanted to thank you for the chat. It really helped me” f*cking coward…
“Hey! Anytime, cousin. I’m glad that you wanted to talk about this. We should repeat this another time” He pats my shoulder again and I give him a fake smile, feeling like absolute garbage for not been able to tell him what happened in Rock Bottom. "But I'd better hurry to sleep before Fang gets mad. Don't go to bed late, okay?" With that he walks away from the studio room.
It doesn't take me long to go to sleep in Amber's room. But I can't sleep, because I keep thinking about how I will approach this issue with Koral. But I can't delay it any longer, she has to know. Jesus Raptor, if this works I swear I will build a temple in your name.
….
Something is wrong with Koral today. I could sense she was distant from the moment I saw her in the hallway during lunchtime. She was looking elsewhere, her mind in another place. She hasn't even devoured her food in her usual frenzy of hunger. I have asked her several times if something was wrong, but she has simply denied it with indifference. And right now, as the two of us are planting pansies in the school’s garden I can see doubt, sorrow and remorse in her eyes.
"Hey, I was thinking maybe we could grab a bite to eat at Little Troodon when we're done here today, what do you think?"
Her response is simply a shrug, without even looking at me.
"...Aren't you even going to answer me, Koraline?". I tease her playfully. But I get no reaction from her, even when I've called her by the nickname she hates. She just keeps working on the flowers. And I start to get really worried, this is not normal for her.
“Is this because of that joke where I pretended to suffer from allergies? Come on, you know I was kidd-“ She slaps my hand away before I put it on her shoulder.
"Please... don't make it harder for me" She mutters under her breath.
“Harder for you? What are you talking about?”
She turns her head to look at me. She has a conflicted expression in her eyes. "I don't want to be your friend anymore"
I feel a sharp pang in my chest at those words. I can’t believe that she said that to me. After everything we’ve been through, every moment we’ve shared. She gets up from the floor, but I grab her wrist before she leaves. "W-why, what have I done?”
"Descon, let go of me" She warns me coldly, without even looking at me.
"NO! I deserve an explanation!”
"You don't deserve sh*t. Now, let go of my f*cking hand!" She easily shakes off my grip and starts walking away from me. I immediately get up and follow her.
"What the f*ck is wrong with you? Are you just going to walk away like that? Don't you give a f*ck about me? All this time we've spent together has been nothing to you?" She keeps walking, without looking back, despite my harsh words. "Are you going to do to me what you did to Maya?"
She stops on her tracks, her tail stiff as she turns around to look at me in disbelief. “How do you know about that?”
"She told me once. That you were good friends since freshman year, but one day you just pushed her away. And now you're doing the same to me" I walk over to her, who grits her teeth, her hands clenched into fists and her face turned away from looking at me. "Koral, look at me" She hesitates before her yellow eyes focus on me "Do you really want that?"
"It's...it's...for your own good..."
"I will know what is good for me. You trying to cut me out of your life like this is certainly not" I put my hand on her arm. This time she doesn't slap it away. "We've got each other's backs, remember? Whatever it is, I'll back you up. Don't do this to yourself"
I can feel her inner turmoil, her eyes full of fear and doubt keep going from my hand to my eyes. Her breathing is agitated; whatever she is holding inside is making her anxious. But I will not back down, she needs to know that she is not alone in this. Right now, I don't think of her as the girl I like. No, she is my friend, a friend who is suffering from something that is eating her up.
She slowly wraps her hand around mine, her eyes begin to water and her lip trembles. "Descon... I'm scared..." Her voice is shaky.
I give her hand a squeeze of reassurance. “What are you afraid of, Koral?”
“That…you will think differently about me if I tell you one thing. I've been hiding it from you out of fear. And I would rather cut you out of my life than tell you about it. But...I can't...you're a stubborn bastard, always wanting to be there for me. Even when I'm a f*cking asshole to you, you don't leave me.” She grabs my shirt with both hands, resting her head on my shoulder as she starts sobbing into it. "Why do you have to complicate everything? Damn it!"
I'm at a loss for words, I can't think of what to say. All I can do is gently rub her back as she sobs into my shoulder. I notice that her tense body begins to relax after a while and her sobs slowly disappear. She lets go of my shirt and pulls back, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand as she sniffs. "sh*t…I'm a mess." She tries to laugh weakly, her voice still shaking.
"It's all right, Koral. Come on, let's sit down." She nods and sits with me on a nearby stone bench. We sit in silence for a while, every now and then I glance at Koral's knee, which is trembling nervously.
"Descon, I'm sorry I tried to push you away before. You're a good friend... and I'm just a coward"
"No, you're not a coward. Don't underestimate yourself"
She snorts. "You give me too much credit"
We share another moment of silence. Koral looks off into the distance as her tail wags slowly behind her. I take out of my pocket a pack of cigarettes and offer it to her, which she accepts, thanking me with a nod.
"Do you remember what I told you about my mother?" She asks me after taking a puff on her cigarette.
"That she's not here anymore."
"But I never told you what happened" Her voice is low and sorrowful.
"You don't have to if you don't feel like it, Koral"
"But I want you to know Descon. You deserve to know" She takes a long puff on the cigarettes before throwing them away. She takes a deep breath while looking away from me. "I was 8 years old when that happened. I used to be with my mother most of the time, helping her as best I could with the restaurant my family owned in Manu Ahi. My father was in charge of the kitchen while she took care of the customers. Whenever I came home from school I would go straight to the restaurant to help my mother, and she always greeted me with a smile and a hug. She called me her little starfish" A nostalgic smile appears on her face, which makes me smile too, because of how tender it sounds. Immediately her smile is replaced by a somber expression. "One day however, a group of human teenagers came to the restaurant. My father wasn't there that day, he had to be in Volcadera Bluffs for something about his next fight. My mother was in the kitchen while I served the customers, I had seen her do it many times before, so I knew what to do. As I approached to serve those humans, they kept asking me questions about me, very strange questions. One of them commented that he would like to make a necklace with my teeth, as a souvenir, which scared me”
“Did they really said that?!?” I can feel my blood boiling right now.
Koral simply nods. “I told my mother. She came out of the kitchen and threw them out. She tried to comfort me, saying that nothing would happen to me. But the way those humans left...the way they laughed nonchalantly despite how furious my mother was... That night, after we closed the restaurant, those humans were waiting for us outside. My mother stood between me and them, but was in vain. They effortlessly pinned her down while one of them grabbed me by the neck. He had a pair of tweezers in his hand, which he brought close to my mouth”
Koral shrinks, clutching her shoulders and trembling. Without thinking twice I put my hand on her back, while her breath hitched. “M-my mother, seeing what they were going to do to me, could only do one thing. She bit the hand of one of those sons of bitches who were holding her. It didn't take them long to let her go, after seeing how their colleague was screaming in pain while holding his bleeding hand. They ran away from there immediately, while my mother held me and tried to calm me down. I couldn't stop crying, I was terrified. Even my mother's lullabies didn't calm me down, she was sobbing too.”
Koral sobs again at the memory of that night. It breaks my heart to know that she had to deal with something like that at such a young age. "I hope at least the police arrested them" She looks at me and shakes her head. "What?!?"
She takes a shaky deep breath. “Later, when we were already at home, the police arrived, yes. But they arrested my mother. I tried to reach her but they prevented me from doing so. My father arrived at that moment, he saw how they took my mother away in the patrol car. He tried to stop them, but he was reduced by the police”
“B-but why?!?”
"Descon, we are carnivorous dinos. Assaulting a human or a herbivorous dino is enough to get us arrested" She explains coldly.
"But it was self-defense!"
Koral looks away, her hand formed into a fist of rage. "They didn't give a sh*t, you know why? Because my mother bit one of them. That's all they cared about. They wouldn't even listen to her when she tried to explain that it was self-defense. A carnivore bit a human, that was enough for them...and for the judge. Verdict, guilty. The punishment…” she bites her lip while holding herself from crying. “Death penalty”
I feel a great weight inside me when I hear those words. I am in shock. "No, you've got to be kidding me. I don't want to believe it."
She sniffs "I didn't want to believe it either when I heard it. They said that she was too dangerous to let loose, since she tasted human blood. She was sentenced to death. For protecting me from those sons of bitches. They didn't get any punishment for what they tried to pull. Those f*cking bastards took my mother from me" Tears of rage run down her cheek as she slams the bench repeatedly. I put my hand over her first before she smash the bench again. She looks at me, her eyes red-rimmed from constant crying. I wrap my arms into a comforting hug, she returns the gesture, letting out a cry of pain and sadness against my shoulder. I can't imagine what it must be like to lose someone dear to you like that.
Now I understand why his father didn't like me and said what he said. I am a constant reminder of those... monsters who took his wife and the mother of his daughter away from him.
"I hated them Descon... I hated all humans from that moment on" She says quietly once she has calmed down. She gently pulls away from my embrace.
“No wonder, Koral. You had your good reasons for it”
"No Descon, you don't understand" She looks at me worriedly, holding her hand to her right shoulder. She seems to hesitate about something before taking off her jacket. Her hand grips the bandage on her right shoulder. "Descon...my hatred led me to do some stupid things...and this was the worst..." She closes her eyes and with a trembling hand rips off the bandage. Her shoulder... it's full of scars, above a tattoo I've seen before. The black claw of a T-rex clenched in a fist on a white background. The symbol of a fascist group, founded by carnivorous dinos who hate humans and herbivorous dinosaurs.
A shiver runs down my spine at the sight of that symbol...that she would end up joining something like this...out of hatred for the race that harmed her family. No, she is my friend, of a human. "Are you still part of it?" I swallow saliva after asking her that, waiting for an answer that takes a while to come.
"Not anymore...but that doesn't change the fact that I was once a part of it" She looks away ashamed, her hand rubbing the scars on her shoulder.
"May I know what made you change your mind?"
She sighs. "The look of horror in a little girl's eyes..." She closes her eyes, a pained expression on her face as her hand grips her shoulder harder, to the point where her nails dig over her scars , causing her to bleed. I instinctively pull her hand away from her shoulder and restrain her from self-injury. Her hand wraps mine, not letting it go.
She thens open her eyes and looks at me. "Remember I told you I dated Jason three years ago? I met him in that group. He also hated humans like me, and that made me fall in love with him. We used to hang out together with other members of the group, and we caused a lot of trouble for the humans. Beatings, fights, threats...But, once things got out of hand"
Her gaze is filled with painful nostalgia. "One night, we were on Skin Row, doing our usual patrol. We were looking for our next victim. And we found it. A grown human, who was sleeping among some dumpsters. We thought he was homeless. We did the usual, surrounded him and beat him to within an inch of his life. But then...I heard the whimper of a little girl. Out of the dumpster came a human little girl, crying. She was begging us to leave her father alone. I tried to ignore her, but her pleas were getting to my heart. And it was at that moment, that Jason approached her and grabbed her by the neck" Koral bites her lip in remorse.
"He hit her head against the dumpster, like it was nothing. I thought he had killed her, for the way her head was bleeding and her watery eyes were white. I froze in place. Something inside me was screaming with rage, rage for what Jason did to that little girl...rage, because I was seeing myself in that little girl's eyes, when I suffered that abuse by those humans."
"God, Koral..." I put my hands to my head and try to take a deep breath. "What did you do?"
"What had to be done. I hit Jason as hard as I could in the face. He was in shock, not knowing why I did it. The only thing that mattered to me at that moment was to make sure the girl was alive. Thanks to Raptor Jesus she was still breathing. But then, the other guys in the group started attacking me, calling me a traitor. I tried to defend myself as best I could from them, making sure the human girl didn't suffer any more.... It was a bloodbath. I ended up wounded, but at least I stood my ground"
She looks at her right shoulder. "When I got home that night I tried to get rid of this. I didn't want to have any kind of relationship with those psychopaths. But even though I tried to erase this symbol, deep down I knew it didn't matter. I would always know that I was a part of it, that it's a mark on my life that I could never take off. That i was a heartless monster"
Then she looks at me, her yellow eyes full of remorse and vulnerability, waiting for me to say something. But nothing comes out of me...it's too much to process. I can only look at her sadly. "Damn it Descon! Say something! Yell at me! Insult me! Don't stare at me with pity! Can't you see that I'm a f*cking monster!?!? " She screams at me in rage as her eyes fill with tears. "Why can't you be mad at me? You should hate me for what I did back in the day. You should stay away from me. I'm nothing but a walking problem"
"I... I can't Koral" I reply. "You're not that person anymore. You have changed. You are not the monster you claim to be. I have seen them, and you are not one of them"
She looks at me confused. "Descon...why do you say that?"
"Because I've faced them before," I take a deep breath. It's time Descon ... she has to know ..."At my previous school, at Rock Bottom. I used to have a quiet life there. No worries at all. I had my friends there, and I was only a year away from graduation. That year, an exchange student came from another school. A parasaurus, I never knew his name. He wasn't...welcome there" I fold my hands and look at the floor, remembering those moments. "He was the only dinosaur in the whole school, which in itself made him the outcast. There were people who ignored him, like me. Others, however, picked on him. Pranks, insults, harassment.... They had no mercy for him, they wanted him to leave..."
"Damn... Didn't he try to talk to the teachers or something?"
"The truth is, I don't know. One day, some students at school started to accept him, welcomed him into their group. He hung out with them, and they seemed to be happy" I frowned and tensed my jaw. "However... it was all a lie. When I was in the woods after school, I heard some commotion in there. Those "friends" of his had him tied to a tree... they were peeling off his scales, one by one...".
Koral's expression is one of horror. "What!?"
I simply nod, while a cold shiver runs on my back at the memory of what happened there. "I wanted to ignore it. To think that it wasn't happening. But I couldn't help it. The fear in that dino's eyes... I stepped in. Many of the humans who were there were surprised by my presence there, as I told you, I was a carefree person back then and they knew me for that" I look at Koral. "I beat the crap out of those f*ckers. My body moved on its own, and before I could realize it, the parasaurus guy was gone" I sigh with a trembly voice and i put my hands over my face. Koral puts her hand on my back rubbing it.
"You did the right thing Descon. Don't beat yourself up about it" She tries to reassure me.
"I know i did the right thing. I always try to think that" I shake my head while bitting my lip. "But I didn't feel that way at the time"
"At least your friends would support you for what you did, right?" I shake my head in negation. Koral seems shocked. "R-really?"
"They were the first people who stopped talking to me, when word got around the school that I got into a fight with a group of students to defend that dino"
"And the parasaurus?"
"He went back to where he came from. I never heard from him again. As of today, I hope he is doing better than me"
Koral growls. "I can't believe this sh*t. They didn't even congratulate you for standing up to those bullies?!?"
I close my eyes, breathing heavily. The stinging sensation is getting stronger than usual. Koral looks at me worried, she tries to calm me down, but it is useless.
"Koral..." My voice is shaky while I grab the hem of my shirt with trembling hand. And I slowly lift it up. I hear her gasp , the moment she sees it. "This is the kind of congratulations I got for it" I say in a shaky voice, as I show her what I've been trying to hide all this time. On the right side of my abdomen, the word "Scalie"marked with a knife. A ethnic slur used by humans to refer the humans that love dinos.
I look at Koral, who's mouth is open in shock and her lower lip is trembling. "Descon... this is..." She tries to touch my scar, but I instinctively pull away.
"I know..." I say in a shaky voice, with tears in my eyes. "The next day, after the fight, I was ambushed during lunchtime by many of the students. They pinned me down, took my shirt off and branded me with this. I still have nightmares from that day" I sniff. "The teachers did nothing to them, the principal was speechless. The only thing he could think of was to expel me, lying about what happened so as not to damage the school's reputation. They said I had made that mark on purpose, that I was crazy. And when my parents found out... you know the rest."
With a worried expression, Koral puts her arm around me, pulling me close to her. "I'm... sorry Descon..." She murmurs softly as she snuggles me against her chest. I grip her strong arm while i sob on her.
We stayed like that for a long time, two scarred souls, embracing, sharing the pain they have dealt with. We both only had each other at that moment. Just her and me, against a world that had hurt us. Neither of us made any attempt to let go of the other, time seemed to have stopped for us. The only thing that could be heard was our breathing and the beating of our hearts. Hearts that beat strongly, almost in unison. For the first time, I had told someone what I had so secretly tried to hide. To a person I didn't know was going to mark me as much in my life as she has done. And I am grateful to have her in my life, because I like her. I like her so much...
"Descon... " she murmurs as she breaks away from the embrace to look at me. Her yellow eyes sparkle with tenderness, a blush forms on her snout. "Do you mean it?"
I tilt my head in confusion. "Mean what?"
She chuckles and shakes her head. "That you like me, you imbecile"
...
...
No...
f*ck no...
f*cking mother of Raptor Jesus no!
I f*cking mumbled that loud. I want to die right now!
I notice my face heat up as Koral looks at me tenderly, a sympathetic chuckle escaping from her mouth. "I can explain! I simpl..." She sticks her finger in my mouth to shut me up.
"I know, Dex. I've known for a long time" She takes her finger out of my mouth.
"R-really? Why didn't you say anything then?
She looks away. "Because I wanted you to tell me. And besides, I had my doubts. I wasn't sure if what I felt for you was genuine or just my instincts playing up. But..."
"...But?"
She sighs. "That day on the rooftop, made me realize what i feel about you" She looks at me with a tender smile and puts her hand on my cheek, caressing it gently. "I really like you too, Dex"
My heart beats faster than ever after hearing her say that. With my trembling hand, I caress her red cheek. Her skin feels like sandpaper, but it's quite pleasant to the touch. Her throat emits a purr as I caress her cheek. Slowly, our faces begin to move closer, we both close our eyes. I take a last breath before our lips meet. The skin of my lips and hers mingle in a passionate dance. Her lips are salty, like sea water. I feel her hot breath enter my mouth as we kiss passionately. Her strong hands rest on my hips, pulling me closer to her body. I put my hands on her waist too, feeling her muscles tense to my touch. I cling to her as if she's going to slip away from me, she does the same. Neither of us wants this to end. Her kisses start to become more aggressive.
Suddenly, I feel a twinge of pain as one of her sharp teeth pinches my lip, causing me to pull away from the kiss. I touch my lip, which is bleeding. She has bitten me unintentionally. Koral looks at me worriedly, some of my blood still on her lips. "Oh my god Descon! A-are you alright?"
"Yes, yes, I am. Don't worry. I wasn't prepared for that love bite," I tell her jokingly to calm her down. But when I look at Koral, she is trembling. Her breathing is agitated, while her yellow eyes twitch. Her tongue slowly licks the remnants of my blood from her lips. A shiver runs down my spine when I see that. "Koral, hey, it's okay. It was just an accident" I try to reassure her.
Koral starts shaking her head as she grabs it with both hands and grunts in pain. I put my hand over hers but she pushes me away. "Decon! Get away!" She grits her teeth as she continues to growl. Her nostrils flare as her whole body trembles. And that's when I see it, her pupils, dilating black. Something ancient awakens in me, a survival instinct that cries out for me to run for my life. Because Koral is not herself right now. No, what I have before me... is a predator.
One that is looking at me...as if I were its next meal.
