Chapter 12: Similar or Different, Common Voice

Yura was about to bolt away but the two couples stopped their 'special' session to stare at her. This was her cue to run but then again, where would she go since this place is carnivore-infested and the herbivores here might as well sell her out.

She raised both of her hands in resignation. "I'm sorry! I won't tell anyone I promise!"

The Komodo dragon buckled his pants while the human gathered herself, fixing her skirt before joining him. They approach her like actual predators while she was merely a prey. The other human had long, lustrous black hair like a mane while her skin was sun-kissed tanned that reflected her eyes. Despite the human being shorter than her, Yura had never felt more intimidated.

"Who are you?"

"Just passing by," replied Yura hastily, her arms crossed around her chest, hoping it would stop her racing heart. The contents of stolen organs inside her clothes were about to spill. But the Komodo dragon huffed and loomed over her.

Her breath hitched.

The only sounds she could hear was his breathing, low with hints of growls. Her heart was literally hammering on the inside that it might as well kill her from this suspense. The Komodo dragon began to sniff her, his eyes widened.

"You are a human too?" he breathed, gesturing to the other human coming out from her hiding spot. The other human was covered from head to toe with a black veil. It reminded Yura of those animals' outfit when they are mourning for their dead loved ones.

"You are with a human," Yura could only answer, eyes still trailing at the other woman in the black veil. The Komodo dragon lowered his hostile stance to pull her up. "I am with a human. Now, who are you?"

Yura opened a bit of her face mask to reveal her lips. She smiled nervously. "I'm Yura. A human making ends meet here. And who are you two?"

The other human lifted up her veil and Yura was taken aback by her visage. Honey-brown skin with matching deep brown eyes that were close to black while her hair was curly ebony in colour. To sum up her reaction, the other human was beautiful!

"I-I'm Qandeel," the other woman introduced herself shyly while holding the Komodo dragon's hand. "This is my beloved, Iko."

Iko bowed in greeting, his reptilian eyes became tender when he held her. "I'm sorry about attacking you because-"

"I get it," Yura raised both of her hands in protest. "I won't tell anyone. But I don't think they'd know about what I am. Can I please go? I'm trying to sell something here before they catch me."

Both the new human and Komodo dragon exchanged glances. "What are you selling?"

Yura was hesitant to answer since she doesn't know whether to trust them or not. Instinctively, she bolted away, carrying the contents hidden inside her baggy clothes. She wouldn't dare to look back, afraid Qandeel would sick her boyfriend onto her.

She just needs to get to the nearest organ stall, load off the stolen goods and leave with the money!

...

Saigo just returned from his workplace.

He would dare say that he was fitting in well with the environment despite not talking much with his co-workers. So as he gets the work done and earned his share, it was enough for him. Working in his opinion is about overcoming challenges everyday, even as little as stocking up napkins at the counter.

When he unlocked the door to his apartment, he saw Yura was on the sofa in nothing but her undergarment. His eyes widened not at the human sitting in his sofa but the mountain of money on the coffee table.

"Oh, hi Saigo!" Yura greeted him cheerfully, not caring that she is in her undergarment. "I was soaked today so that's why I'm dressed in this. How was work? Did you-"

"Where did you get all of this money?" he questioned, interrupting her talk. Yura opened her mouth but closed it. This made the caiman arch his ridge on his eye. "Yura..."

"I thought this might help you," she mumbled, not meeting his gaze. One of her hands started to twirl the tip of her long hair.

"Did you steal this money?" Saigo sighed, sitting down next to her, a scaly arm wrapped around her bare shoulders. He waited for her to answer and he's got time. Because reptiles, unlike other animal species, have great lengths of patients.

"...No," Yura finally replied, lifting her head so that her dark brown eyes met his yellow reptilian ones. "I stole some things and then sell them. I-I thought it might help you."

"What did you steal?"

Yura took a deep breath, pushing his arm aside so that she could fish for something under her baggy clothes that were piled onto the floor. It was a jar containing some sort of phallic organ surrounded by liquid. It was as thick as his tail if he had to put it lightly...

Saigo's jaws has never hit the floor this hard before!

"Y-Yura...I-I," he stammered, pointing at the jar in her hand. "Is that my penis?!"

The young woman's face was shades of red as she nodded. "Yeah...I kinda went there to see if they might have it. But I wanted to help you since I think you needed the money and I did it with what I know best."

"Yura...I don't know what to say..."

In fact, he was speechless! The caiman didn't know that this human would go out of her way to find something he had lost. Are humans really that capable of tracking something down until they got what they want? It was terrifying for Saigo to know Yura could do this but it made him love her more than ever.

"I'm sorry, Saigo," Yura puts down the jar. "I'll return it if that's what you want..."

"No, god, no!" Saigo shook his head. "I'll admit I'm stunned that you went all this way to do this but I have a feeling those guys at the clinic are going to hunt you down and probably me. For now, I'm just glad you are okay and I'm back."

He gently hugs her, Yura leaning into his embrace.

"I met a couple while I was at the Black Market," said Yura, kissing Saigo's snout. "It was a Komodo dragon and another human."

This made the caiman's eyes wide. "What?! So there are other humans out there?"

"I don't know, Saigo. But if there are more, where can they be? And is there anything that relates to human-animal interactions?"

Saigo pondered at that thought. He decided that the both of them should go to the bookstore or library for some answers. But their main concern would be to mask their identity because they both know they are nothing but prey out of this apartment.

"We'll go to the bookstore tomorrow," he announced, carrying her in bridal style. Yura yelped but held onto him. He had a sharp tooth grin on his face. "But for now...Let's spend some time together~"

Yura didn't need to answer because she would love nothing more than to feel him beside her~

Don't worry, we'll see Iko and Qandeel again. After all, more mysteries to uncover in this story!

Who knows, what purpose do the animals have for humans to the point they might be erased from their history?