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It was not a crime to have some animalistic features in your appearance, and it definitely did not describe your intelligence or character or maybe even how good or bad you were as a person.
You could have fangs or a tail, maybe you had animalistic ears, eyes and horns or, actually, you could have a combination of two different features or even none! It’s totally normal - it’s just the way you were born.
It was what little children learned at a very young age these days.
And it was something that Driver learned by chance. He didn’t remember much about his own time in school or what there was talked about specifically. Today he only saw a bright flyer on a cashier register at some big mall of a private preschool daycare and couldn’t avert his gaze for a few seconds because of a silly childish illustration.
The illustration cheerfully said - we are always happy to see you!
And everyone there was smiling and holding hands with a girl with a fluffy tail, a boy with no animalistic features and one with two little horns on his head.
None of them had two features at once. What a shame.
For Driver it was a dumb full house.
It was rare to be born with two animalistic characteristics at once. And Driver somehow got almost all of them - his big wolfish ears and a tail were already enough for people to pay closer attention to him. But then there were also pretty decent canines - so Driver kept his mouth particularly shut - and something wasn’t quite right with his eyes, too.
Now, for a fully grown man, he looked fearsome enough now to not pick on his appearance. But there was a very hard time in his past that made him, well, him.
Someone once said that he was a badly disguised stupid mutt in a human costume, so he needed to go right into a zoo cage. Driver broke the guy’s nose and took the guy’s teeth. Not because of these words - it was stupid to react to something so childish and obvious - he’d done it because the guy had tried to fool him and underpay for the fair work.
But maybe that guy was right.
Muzzle and a cage suited him more than a shitty apartment anyway.
He always used scent blocking patches but mostly for his own comfort. He wasn’t sure how people around him sensed smells - he, actually, never had been in a situation where that question might have popped out naturally, without an uncomfortable feeling.
It still seemed that he was much more sensitive to smells: he stank like a wet dog for himself and that was disgusting. No one openly complained to him, actually, except for those several guys who just wanted to get under his skin.
But still there was a big possibility that it was his natural scent. Either way - not ideal.
Actually, everything was working for him a little bit differently - it seemed he was more sensitive to darkness and to noise, too.
That was something that he could take advantage of in his work and he did it enough times.
Today the night work was over and it went well. He was quick in and out, and now he was at a big parking lot of some mall to the east.
He avoided big places like this out of habit in everyday life, but, since he was already here, he quickly grabbed some stuff for his apartment and now was ready to head home to take a rest.
He parked the car in a quiet place, where there weren't so many other vehicles, out of the main crowds.
Then he heard a sniff and an awkward shuffle. Driver looked over the noise, expecting to see some youngsters who wanted to ask questions about his car or something like that. But he saw only a child with wet puffy eyes and a red backpack in her hands.
She stood not so far from him, nervously biting her inner cheeks. Driver immediately stilled himself. His eyes quickly scanned the area, trying to see where she came from and pinpoint any possible danger.
It was a trap, his brain said.
But he didn’t know yet what kind exactly.
The child made a sniff again, visibly shaking. And Driver’s heart dropped to his feet right away. He wasn’t meant to be around anyone her age - he even couldn’t guess her age! - it felt wrong all over, however, he could make an effort to do something right.
He looked around one more time and didn’t find anyone, so he gently lowered himself to the ground.
“Hello,” he said softly and rounded his shoulders, trying to be less intimidating. “Are you lost?”
The girl came closer and looked at him with big eyes. She had funny floppy puppy ears that made her look even more pleading, as if Driver still had a chance to leave a child in distress.
He had, but chose not to.
“Yea-ah,” she answered with a hiccup. “Hel-lo.”
She also looked a little like a kid from that illustration at the cash register, Driver decided with a subtle enjoyment.
That was the first time in a very long period when anyone at all came to him for any help in a social situation like that. The girl, of course, just didn’t have an alternative right now, but it still seemed like an honor of some sort. Driver was glad that today he had put on two scent blocking patches - he didn’t want the child to be in more stress than she’d already been, because of his nasty alpha scent.
He smiled a little without showing the canines.
“It’s okay,” Driver moved his ears, maybe he might hear adults' voices trying to call the child by now, but this part of the parking lot was empty. “Your parents?..”
“No. I was with my class.”
The school trip then. They had to be nearby and pretty noisy already, so it should be fast. Especially when Driver saw a few school buses on the other side of the parking lot while driving by.
He nodded and took a pack of toothpicks from his pocket. The one was for him, the other one he gave to the girl.
“Toothpick,” he announced and put it between his teeth. The girl stopped sniffling almost immediately and took the other one with wide eyes. Her fluffy ears perked up and she repeated after him.
“For what?” She asked a little unsure, the toothpick barely remained in her mouth.
Driver didn’t have an answer for her, so he shrugged and stood up.
“It’s cool,” he said the most basic thing that came to mind, and the girl seemed to be satisfied with it, smiling.
There was a bit of silence while Driver looked at the child and she looked back at him without fear. What should he do next? Maybe give her a hand. Were his hands clean after the night? His hands were. Were they?..
“Shall we?”
He offered his hand nonetheless and she took it without hesitation. Still, Driver made sure that his palm was open and the child could let go of him in any moment when she felt like it.
But for now she gripped two of his fingers, unable to grasp all his hand at once.
The other side of the parking lot was noisier and full of people. Driver felt uneasy while going through it with someone else's child, as if he were doing something bad while trying to help. He was even sure that the girl would make a scene with a tantrum as soon as they stepped into a more crowded space. So he tried to be ready for it, but, actually, he didn’t know what he would do then. Maybe run away? Or die right on the spot. The possibilities were endless.
However, the girl wasn’t making any sound and still gripped his fingers, pretty occupied with playing with the toothpick.
That made Driver uneasy too - no child should be this calm while going with some stranger who looked like, well, like Driver. It was so, so wrong. Stranger - danger, especially… Driver’s thoughts stopped here every time he tried to make sense for his own sake. Especially what?
He didn’t know the answer. He just knew it was wrong.
Two big yellow school buses were right there where Driver expected them to be. He could even feel the buzz of strangled voices and the anxious energy of something that wasn’t right while everybody was still trying to seem calm and collected to solve an issue.
The issue in question - they lost a child on the school trip.
It was a little funny thought, but Driver didn’t let himself smile. Actually, he was more tense with every step, because now he was involved in the same mess too. He didn’t want to explain anything to anyone, he painfully wished that the girl would let go of him and run straight to buses without thanking and looking back.
However, the girl spotted the school buses and launched herself forward, still gripping his hand.
As if he needed to be there too. He did not.
Driver’s teeth clenched together, face blank. He was planning what he would say if they asked him anything.
“Mr. Grace!” The girl yelled with bright joy when they finally saw adults here.
Mr. Grace, evidently, spun his head so rapidly that his glasses barely stayed on his nose. Then he gasped and quickly jogged to meet them.
The man had no animalistic features at all, the lucky one, - pretty tall, older than Driver, light hair out of place, simple stereotypical teacher’s outfit with a brown jacket and jeans, no scent blocking patches on his neck and no whiff of any outstanding smell. So maybe a beta.
He seemed nice, not angry, just concerned and worried.
“Alice! Where have you been?” His voice wasn’t harsh and loud either. Driver found it very calming, he wasn’t sure how he would deal with a mad adult right now.
The girl finally released Driver’s hand and stepped to Mr. Grace, who immediately lowered himself to look her over.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Grace, I got lost!” She didn’t sound apologetic, especially with the toothpick in her mouth. Mr. Grace frowned at that and looked up, right at Driver.
And Driver was hit with a new wave of wrongness - he needed out of this situation. He did all he could. Happy ending. Time to go.
“I see,” the teacher said and stood up. Now he seemed a little unsure how he could address Driver. “Hi. Thank you. Did you help Alice?..”
Mr. Grace extended his hand for a handshake, and Driver once again got lost in thoughts - were his hands clear? They were. Yeah?..
Driver was sure in his speech only when he talked business or dirty cursing came from his mouth. It was so easy to spill all the promises to break the teeth or rip the tongue that Driver didn’t even need to overcontrol his lips and make a second thought about what he needed to say.
But when the situation was normal and socially acceptable, it seemed that his jaws weren’t human anymore. It was like he could only bark and now he needed to master proper human speech even though he had an ugly toothed maw.
Sometimes it seemed dishonest that he couldn’t speak like a normal person. He was uncharacteristically embarrassed about it, however, it didn’t matter to anyone at all because, honestly, no one really cared.
Once again his tongue was busy swelling.
“Mgm,” after a bit, Driver nodded and gave the man a handshake. Two shakes, less than three seconds, without brutal force, then released. Easy.
“Yeah, mister is nice!” Alice exclaimed. Too energetic for someone who was in tears ten minutes ago. “Mom said, if lost, I should find someone who looks safe to ask for help!”
Driver blinked while his mouth slightly opened in disbelief. Her teacher was less subtle, his eyes rounded in surprise and he tilted his head, so his glasses slipped down his nose to his chin.
It was impossible. He and the girl had been alone on the other side of the parking lot. Unless the child had actively chosen him among all people, while she was lost, and followed him on purpose to ask for help. Nonsense. Him among all people.
The teacher should be thinking the same - he had eyes after all! Well, most of the time, until his glasses were hanging on his ears uselessly.
Alice noticed their reaction and grinned bashfully.
“He looks just like me!” She said and wiggled her tail, which Driver didn’t pay attention to until now. Her floppy puppy ears perked up too. “So he’s safe to ask, yeah?”
“Oh,” the teacher was the first to react. He smiled gently and shook his head, adjusting his glasses with both hands. “I can see it. The toothpicks and all.”
“Yes! Mister said the toothpicks are cool!”
Driver felt a soft shame fuzzing his head. He just wanted to find a way that would make the girl stop crying and think about different things. It worked, though. And backfired on him immediately after.
And, well, he’d said that, but hadn’t actually meant it. It was just better to bite down on a toothpick than his own lips or hands in the overwhelmedness. For example, in a situation like this.
“It’s kinda cool, yeah,” the teacher agreed, and Driver wanted to leave. It was not his place to hear any of that. But he could feel that social interaction wasn’t over yet and that kept him in place, mouth shut.
“Anyway!” Mr. Grace threw up his hands, as if he thought about Driver only now. “Thank you again! Mister?..”
Mr. Grace made a long pause for him to fill it with his name. Driver’s mouth still felt awkward, but he could pass a few safe phrases at least.
“It’s fine,” Driver said with a nod, looking away. “No need to thank. I have to go.”
He turned around and made himself pause, looking down at the girl. She was watching him openly with a smile.
“Bye,” Driver said and waved a little. Alice smiled with all her teeth, her tail was wagging like crazy.
“Bye-e, mister! Thank you!” She eagerly started to wave. Driver’s own smile was fast and light, with teeth too, then he tentatively looked at Mr. Grace.
The teacher gave him a kind smile of his own.
Oh.
That was nice of him.
Driver nodded once again and looked away, heading back to his car with lighter steps and a calmer mind.
***
Ryland Grace was sure - school trips were made as punishment for all his sins.
For all these stupid dad jokes, dumb science punch lines and weak attempts to learn teenage slang. And for that one time at the UNESCO conference.
He, actually, never participated in the trips by his own will, it was a little too much for him, he didn’t like long rides on buses, and the responsibilities outside the school walls were big enough to crash him with nausea.
But today his colleague couldn’t make it to school, so they needed another teacher to help with the younger children.
And Ryland was free, unfortunately, and didn’t find words to politely dismiss the trip in time.
So, he found himself in the school bus, buzzing with anxiety and praying for everything to go smoothly.
All his prayers went straight to the devil’s ears.
This stop wasn’t planned, but one child got car sick so bad that they needed to stop at the parking lot of a big mall. And all children were much more interested in the fresh air outside the buses, because they all, unsurprisingly, were sick now too.
Ryland didn’t know how he managed to calm his own stomach at this point. But he was here, in the big parking lot with a bunch of children who were restless and demanded to use bathrooms.
When, thank God, everyone was ready to move again, Ryland’s colleague found him with big frightful eyes and said the most terrifying phrase possible on a school trip - they lost a child!
Ryland was ready to meet death rather than go to the school trips ever again.
They counted children several times, asked them about their classmate - Alice Dell - where they saw her for the last time. They were professionals, everything was going to be all right, no need to panic.
Maybe Ryland was hyperventilating a little, yes, but this was normal, he was under a lot of pressure!
It happened when they were ready to split and go around the parking lot and back to the mall to find the girl.
“Mr. Grace!”
Ryland whipped his head around with so much force that it was enough to make him dizzy. Alice went to him through the parking lot with a stranger by her side. Ryland was so overwhelmed with relief that he didn’t look at him properly, rushing to Alice right away.
The girl looked totally fine, free of regrets or any stress. She even had a toothpick in her mouth now, and Ryland narrowed his eyes, finally looking up to the man.
And, oh, another toothpick right in his mouth too.
The blonde man looked unapproachable and scary enough to avoid him at all costs, especially if it was a dark alley. It wasn’t really nice to assume, but Ryland knew a thing or two about dark alleys and strangers in them back in his college days. The man was tall and lean, wearing a denim jacket, with two animalistic features such as wolfish grey ears and a tail. His face was blank, on his neck were two patches that were blocking his scent.
So an alpha, that’s for sure.
The man hadn’t moved any muscle when Alice had dragged him across the parking lot to meet Ryland halfway. And now he was calm too, standing here with quiet patience.
He didn’t say a word, wasn’t blathering about teachers’ fault for losing children in parking lots or explaining anything about the situation from his point of view.
Ryland was surprised by this lack of participation but unexpectedly was grateful for it - he wasn’t sure that he could bear a shame if someone would start to scold him, especially while he wasn’t the one who lost Alice in the first place.
So, Ryland extended his hand, it seemed the right way to express his gratitude while his words were awkwardly bouncing on his lips.
The man gave him attention with a long pause. His face was still, but not exactly emotionless, and the wolfish ears were sympathetic enough to show his focus. The eyes, which seemed unkind earlier, looked at him with the unexpected velvet softness of a big calm cow.
On second thought, the stranger wasn’t that bad, actually, more like he was just out of place right now.
“Mgm,” the man finally nodded and took his hand. The handshake was firm and exemplary. With another surprise, Ryland felt that the man was wearing short leather gloves. What a silly sausage he was…
“Yeah, mister is nice! Mom said, if lost, I should find someone who looks safe to ask for help!”
Alice was a brilliant girl with a gentle bright soul, so Ryland and the man were both blinded by her sentences. Ryland even almost lost his glasses.
He was sure that he couldn’t find the courage to approach someone like that man, let alone to ask him for help, and, by the way, Ryland was a pretty decent adult with not so many stereotypical myths on his mind! The man, actually, seemed to be on the same page with Ryland here - his jaws unclenched and the toothpick slightly pointed down, while the man’s big ears stood up as if in sharp focus.
He wasn’t mad, just so, so much out of place.
Ryland didn’t even need to look straight at him to notice this - he worked with enough shy and withdrawing students.
“He looks just like me!” Alice said bashfully, not quite understanding why they were so surprised. “So he’s safe to ask, yeah?”
And it clicked for Ryland right now.
He didn’t notice any bullying about students’ appearance in the school or a lot of discussions about it actually. But Alice was the only student in her class who had ears and a tail.
It wasn’t a big deal - for a reasonable adult - but for a child it seemed like a pretty notable detail.
And she somehow managed to find another person - a fully grown man - with the same characteristics to ask him for help. Just because for her they were identical and therefore safe.
“Oh,” Ryland replied a little airy, still finding the words to say, and messed with his own glasses, putting them back on his nose. “I can see it. The toothpicks and all.”
“Yes! Mister said the toothpicks are cool!” Alice shot them again with her bright carelessness.
Ryland bit down a laugh, the man beside them was quiet and painfully unresponsive, so Ryland was a little scared to look at him wrongly.
“It’s kinda cool, yeah,” he agreed anyway because it was true. No one could be cool with a toothpick in their mouth and didn’t look like they were trying too hard to be special. The man, on the other hand, seemed naturally cool - both the way he looked and the way he behaved.
“Anyway!” Ryland was fast to stop his mind. “Thank you again! Mister?..”
A long pause was enough for the man to reply, but he chose not to.
“It’s fine,” the man said after a bit so softly, that Ryland was struck with wonder again - he expected a much more deep and harsh voice. “No need to thank. I have to go.”
Ryland watched how the strange man turned, ready to leave, but stopped and looked down. Alice looked at him back with delight - she probably was sure that he was the coolest person in the whole world.
And Ryland, again, could understand that too.
“Bye,” the man gently said and waved to her.
“Bye-e, mister! Thank you!” Alice's animalistic features were so talkative - she wagged her tail with so much energy, while waving goodbyes, that it was strange that she managed to stay in place. Ryland took a careful peek at the other man, but his tail was as unresponsive as his owner.
And then the man flashed a quick teethe smile - enough for Ryland to notice how the other’s face became prettier and kinder in mere seconds, his big wolfish ears moved softly with this smile too.
So Ryland couldn’t fight his own easy going grin from the lips when he and the stranger looked at each other.
With that, the man was gone.
All right, maybe the school trips weren’t made as punishment at all.