PROLOGUE
It has been around four months since the Interspecies Exchange Bill was passed... four long, excruciating, painful months. The reason for those thoughts may have seemed silly, if not childish to most. However, most people or even some other non-human species were not in the same boat as I was.
You see, some non-humans are very wanted by humans. Species like Harpies, Centaurs, various types of Cat and Dog species, and even things like Mermaids were very common to see out in the public now, easily maintaining daily lives amongst humans. However, I wasn't one of those lucky ones that were quickly chosen for Home Stays. In fact, I was almost to the point where I thought I would never be picked for a Home Stay...I didn't even have a coordinator yet. There was an obvious reason, and it was even more obvious that it had to do with my species.
I was a Griffon.
Griffons are very rare, even in non-human standards. We were also one of the few non-human species to have both males and females amongst us. We were large, having bodies that could reach anywhere from six feet to eight feet tall. A common human description of Griffons was that we were like Dragonewts if they had feathers instead of scales. I couldn't exactly argue with that though, as it was fairly true. Griffons indeed had wings very similar to a Dragonewt when it came to their structure and placement, however Griffon wings were slightly larger in wingspan and even gave Griffons the ability to fly for short periods of time. There were also the highly distinct arms of the Griffon Species, which followed the same concept of a Harpies bird-like legs when it came to the material they were made of and how they looked. They primarily cover the entire arm, starting a few inches up from the elbow and continuing to cover all the way to the tips of the fingers. They even had the same distinct yellow color that most bird related non-humans had. We even had very similar talons to the Harpy species, as they were razor sharp at all times, and able to cut through most soft materials and even some soft metals. However, these claws were considered more of a burden in modern times, as they were originally used for combat purposes back in the days of old. Nowadays all Griffons are required to wear specially made leather gauntlets and gloves to keep us from damaging public property. The only other external animal-like feature that Griffon's had was the tail. A griffon tail was exactly the same as a Lions, just slightly longer. The tuft of fur on the end of a Griffon's tail almost always matched the Griffon's hair and feather color, which would usually consist of browns or blacks.
However, these things weren't the primary reason of why most humans didn't want to allow Griffon's to stay with them... but I can still admit that they didn't exactly help either. Instead the main reasons that most people didn't want Griffons was because of our violent nature that most of us had... key word: Most. It may have been true that all griffons were strictly carnivores, or that we all had very strong defensive and protective instincts. It was also true that we all had a temper of sorts. All that said, the labeling of violent was mostly false. Griffons have come a long way since our species' past. We tried to suppress our violent ways in any way possible, and it worked for most of us. However, it only takes a few members of a species to completely ruin something for the rest. There will always be a few Griffons who will remain stuck in our violent past, and it's because of those few who completely screw things over for all other Griffons who are actually trying to be accepted into human culture.
So that was my problem. It seemed that no matter how hard I tried, that there was no possible way that I could even have a lasting chance at any sort of Home Stay. I've even had coordinators turn me down before even having a chance to meet me. I guess that was how things were going to be for a long time.