My memories mean a lot to me, and I hold them close to my heart.
Rathika Apte
Another day, another morning.
Ben woke up from another night sleeping into that luxurious guest's room of the Manechester mansion. By the second morning, he already got use to not waking up on his own bedroom. Also, this time, he got to sleep into some of the fine clothing that was left for him in the closet. Those pajamas of silk fit him like a glove (impressing, considering his body type) and they were super comfortable.
Soon, Ben was taking care of his morning business, what included brushing his teeth and checking his face for any wild whiskers, as well as placing his contacts. He even took time to call his own home and talk to Slizz and Zass through the phone, to make sure that they were okay and not doing anything that they shouldn't. Soon, the plump cheetah was going down to the dinner table for breakfast, only to find it empty.
He was a bit confused for seeing that the table was empty, and he asked a passing maiden where everyone was.
"Oh, we don't have breakfast on the dinner table too often." She said to the cheetah. "It is far more practical having the guests serving themselves on the kitchen."
Ben nodded. It made sense. So, the cheetah soon was moving to the kitchen, and in there, he found someone already in there eating.
Euphemia looked up from her plate as she saw Benjamin coming. She was readying newspaper and eating a celery and cabbage salad. For a long moment, the two mammals looked at each other, before Ben shyly said:
"Good morning."
Euphemia took a few moments to return his greeting, and then she was eating once again. Benjamin soon was serving himself, with some help of a servant on the kitchen. He was now sitting on the breakfast table with Euphemia, and an awkward silence had grown between the two.
After a long minute of them simply eating without saying nothing, Ben finally tried to break the silence:
"So, where is Charles?"
"Out." Was Euphemia's simple answer.
"Where did he go?" Ben asked, and he for a moment could swear that he saw Euphemia's expression became sour. This made the cheetah shrink on his seat and focus on his food. After a minute more of silence, it was Euphemia who broke the silence between them.
"We never had a proper conversation, had we?" The mare said, causing Ben to look at her as he chewed on another bite of his breakfast. She was looking at him in the eyes as she spoke.
"I mean, we never really had a conversation looking in the eyes ever since we first met, right?" She asked again, "Not with all that happened."
Ben looked at her as he swallowed. Once more, he had this feeling that the mare wanted to say something. That she wanted to ask him something that she considered important. However, she was stopping herself just before she could, as if something was holding her back from asking the question.
Dammit! He was doing it again!
Ben lowered his head and continued to eat, trying to keep himself from feeling anything that he was not supposed to feel. How many times he had heard say that it was not polite to pry on others people's thoughts and feelings like that? But damn, it was so hard when these feelings were strong...
Euphemia looked at him, and she said:
"Do you... feel my thoughts?" She asked. There was apprehension in her voice.
"Yeah..." Ben said, only half-mindedly, before he realized it and corrected himself. "I mean, no! I mean... kind of..."
He rubbed the back of his head, very bashful at that moment.
"I... I am getting a few impressions from you. It is like... when someone near you is talking and you just kind of overhear. Sometimes it happens. It is because our practice in resonating our prana with other people, sometimes we just do it out of instinct, especially if the other person is having intense feelings..."
Euphemia continued to look at him, and Ben could sense her apprehension.
"But I am not prying in your thoughts!" Ben immediately said. "I'd never do it! I swear!"
He looked her in the eyes as he said that:
"Whatever it is that you want to ask me, you can do when you feel like it, okay?"
The mare and the cheetah looked at each other for a moment, before he could feel the feelings of apprehension coming from her diminishing. He knew that it was a sign that she was relaxing, and this made Ben relax again. Before he reminded himself that he was doing it again, and it made him feel ashamed of himself once more. He once more focused on his food, and there was a few more moments of silence, before Euphemia's voice broke it once more.
"Do you feel when others are thinking something about you?" She asked, looking at the cheetah, "When they have... hostile feelings towards you?"
Ben took a moment, but he was answering.
"Sometimes..." The cheetah admitted, taking another spoonful of food and swallowing and then speaking:
"It is not a nice feeling. These sensations are... oppressive. It is like having someone glaring at you. Even when you are not focused enough to know their precise thoughts, you can still notice the hostility. The resentment. The anger. It is like there are daggers pointed at your direction, ready to come at you and start stabbing you at any moment... I don't like picking up those kinds of feelings."
She looked at him for a few moments.
"Do you notice it coming from my family?" She asked, and Ben shrugged.
"From your father and your mother. More your mother. Also a lot of it from Charles. But not much from your grandfather... neither from you."
He rose his head, looking at her, and asked timidly:
"You... don't blame me for what happened, do you?"
The way he asked was shy. It was almost hopeful. It was as if he expected her to say that she didn't. For a long moment, Euphemia looked at the cheetah, before she said:
"No. I don't blame you."
Ben looked at her as she said that.
"Really?" Ben said, "You really don't blame me for..."
"You did nothing wrong." Euphemia said. "If anything, you probably only did the right things ever since you got first involved. Everything that went wrong after that were only due to his actions."
Ben said nothing in answer to that.
"Grandpa knows that as well. That is why he doesn't blames you on the same level as my parents." Euphemia added, "He knows that blaming you for his actions would be unreasonable of his part."
Ben looked down.
"I know that you held no blame in what happened." Euphemia said to him. "You don't have to worry about me holding any ill feelings towards you. You probably have enough to worry already. Especially with the attack on the ZPD that happened during the night."
Ben nodded as she said that.
"Yeah, thanks." Ben said, taking another spoonful. He was in the middle of chewing, when his eyes widened.
"W'at?" Ben said, his mouth still full as he looked at Euphemia, she looked back at him.
"You, didn't knew?" She said, "I saw a news report online this morning. It seems Precinct One was attacked during the night. The paramedics are still in the place."
Gabe had a good night of sleep, and he was just walking out of his bedroom for the rest of the week. He was now wearing only an undershirt and his pants as he walked out of the bedroom, and he was ready to head downstairs for the morning when he saw someone walking in his direction.
"Hey, Ben." He said happily. However, he lost the smile as soon as he saw the expression on Ben's face. The fact that the cheetah passed by him without greeting him was enough to make him worry even more.
"Ben? Ben, what happened?" Gabe asked, now going after Benjamin, and the cheetah continued to walk forward, still mumbling.
"Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh."
He walked directly to Judy's room and barged in without even knocking. The bunny was already up, and she was talking with someone on the phone. She looked up in surprise as someone entered in her bedroom and she locked eyes with Benjamin.
"Ben." Judy said, looking at him. The cheetah looked back at her for a few moments, before his attention turned to the television. It was showing a reporter in front of the ZPD. The camera then gave a close at a number of officers unconscious and being transporter in hammocks to the ambulances. In one of them, was possible to see Bogo being attend by two doctors.
"Ohmygohohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!"
"Ben! Benjamin!" Judy said, rushing to him and trying to calm him down. "It's okay! Chief Bogo is fine! I just talked to Clawrence and the Chief is fine! See? They are liberating him already!"
Ben looked at the television once more, and he saw that Bogo was already leaving the ambulance, walking normally. This tranquilized Ben a little bit, but not as much, as he saw that the doctors actually seemed like they were trying to get Bogo to return to inside the ambulance, while he dismissed them.
Were they trying to convince him to go to a hospital?
"I gotta call Bogo!" Ben said, and he immediately left the room, leaving Judy behind. As he passed by Gabe, the deer looked at him, before following right behind as the cheetah went right to his bedroom.
As soon as Ben was on his bedroom, he immediately put himself to search for his phone, and as soon as he had it in his paws, he dialed Bogo's number.
He waited for the number to dial, and soon, as familiar, annoyed voice was coming from the other end:
"Who is it!?"
"Chief, are you okay?"
A small silence, before Bogo said:
"Clawhauser?"
"Yeah, it's me. I just heard of the attack! What happened?"
On the other side, he heard Bogo sigh:
"They caught us by surprise." The buffalo said, "Percy Colter and a Doberman came yesterday."
"A Doberman?" Ben asked.
"Yes. The two have attacked the station and freed a mage that we had under custody. We are assuming that they came here with the specific purpose of freeing Desmond Rotun."
"And they attacked everyone?" Ben asked, "They attacked you?"
"One of them did. The Doberman hit me in the chest with some iron balls. I thought that it had broken my ribs but they only got bruised. I am fine."
"You sure?" Ben asked, "Because I saw on the tv that the doctors seemed to be trying to take you."
"They wanted me to go to the hospital to take an x-ray to be sure that I didn't fractured anything, but I don't need. They already confirmed that my ribs don't seem broken and I don't even feel pain anymore."
"You should go with them!" Ben said, "I mean, you could be hurt and don't know! You need to go to the hospital and make a check up!"
"I will if I feel anything." The buffalo said, in that tone of voice that told that there would be no discussion.
"But, Chief..."
"Right now I need to focus on this." The buffalo insisted. "All of our night staff is on their way to the hospital already, I can't afford to go as well. The enforcers are on their way, and I'll be helping them investigate this on top of all the rest that is happening."
"Wait, what happened to them?" Ben asked, to which Bogo confirmed.
"Everyone who was at the station seemed to fall ill and lose consciousness. It happened before the horse and Doberman walked inside, and I am pretty sure that they caused it." Bogo explained, "Not only that, but whatever they did also affected anyone who walked inside after they came in. All the cops who came back in answer to the request for backup and entered the building fell unconscious right after passing the doors."
Ben took in all what Bogo said.
"They must have used a bounded field." Ben said to Bogo. "They must have placed a barrier around the station that cursed everyone inside. It is possible to use bounded fields like that, making them affect the inside rather than the outside. They must have placed the anchor points somewhere to delimit the area of the barrier. Look around and seek for markings in objects or surfaces."
"Yeah, I'll do that. Thanks a lot."
"And you really should go to see the doctors when you have a chance!" Ben insisted. "See if your ribs really are fine! You should go immediately if you feel any pain, or have difficulty breathing, or feel lightheaded-"
"Okay, okay! Geez, you sound just like my mother now." Bogo said, and after a few moments of silence, he said:
"I'll talk to a doctor if I feel anything, alright? But right now, I have to focus on solving this and... great, someone's on the other line as well. I gotta take it. You continue to take care in there, okay? Be careful."
That was half an order and half a request, and Ben could only said:
"I will. You take care too."
And with this, Bogo hang up. Ben looked at his phone and repeated:
"Take care..."
The cheetah then held the phone close to his chest.
He failed to notice that Gabe, who had followed him ever since their first crossing on the hallway, was standing just outside of his door, and looking at him as he held that cellphone close to his chest. He had heard every word on Ben's side of the conversation, and he was able to see the expression that the cheetah had on his face.
He wasn't sure on how to feel about that expression...
Soon everyone was waking up, and were mostly serving themselves at the kitchen. Some of them chose to remain on the kitchen eating, while others chose to go somewhere else to eat.
Judy was eating sitting by Euphemia's side. She was still worried about what was going on with the guys from Precinct One, mostly because nearly everyone who was at the night shift ended up in the hospital in state of deep unconsciousness with signs of having a stroke. The only ones who escaped were Bogo, Fanghanel and Clawrence, and the cops who didn't entered the station in answer to the request to backup, and among them, Eliot complained about partial loss of hearing, Clawrence had a gash on his head and light concussion, and Bogo had bruised his ribs. All of that done by three mages.
It just served as another proof on how the ZPD was not ready to deal with this kind of challenge.
And where were the enforcers when that happened?
Judy ate another spoonful of her mashed carrots with ginger as she thought of that. She barely noticed someone else talking to her, until she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned her head to look at Gabe, asking if he could sit near her.
As the deer sat, soon he was making conversation with her, a conversation that Euphemia was soon joining.
"Well, I hope that all of the officers will make it out okay." Euphemia said, as Judy finished giving them an update on the situation.
"It will depend on what kind of curse inflicted them." Gabe said, "And on how much power they put in it. Some curses can only cause a minor discomfort that passes after a few hours, while others are made to infect and develop like a sickness, getting worse as time passes. I am impressed on how they managed to curse an entire place. The most probablr way they did it was infusing a curse into a bounded field. You need to be really skilled to do something like that."
Judy ate more of her food.
"And Chief Bogo and other two officers got wounded." Judy said, "Apparently they faced one of the invaders while the other went to free their friend. He attacked them with a magic chain and iron balls. They all claim to be fine now, but still..."
Gabe nodded.
"Right... Bogo... He was the one Ben was worried about." Gabe said, and this caused the two females to look at him. "He was... really worried with him."
The two females continued to look at the deer, both with raised eyebrows. Gabe noticed that they were looking at him, and he said:
"Well, I guess it is natural, right? After all, they both work together. Everyday. Together..." Gabe said, looking away, and after a second, he turned to Judy and asked:
"Do they get along well?"
"Well, as far as I can tell they do." Judy said, "I mean; they are always nice to each other. Actually, the Chief is nicer to Ben than he is to most other officers."
"Nicer how?" Gabe asked, "Regular nicer or special nicer?"
"Special?" Judy asked confused, as she looked at the deer. Gabe looked away, and after a few seconds, he asked her:
"And Ben likes being around him? Does he seems happy when he is around this 'Bogo'?"
Judy looked at him, and she thought about it.
"Well, I never paid attention much but... on the times that I've seen then together Ben was smiling. But he is normally smiling, so I am not sure that it means a lot."
"So, maybe he is just polite to him?" Gabe asked. "Maybe he is just worried with this Bogo because he is his boss and Ben is sympathetic? I mean, it is possible. Ben has always been sympathetic with nearly everyone he met. He could just be being Ben, you know? Maybe it is not something serious."
Judy and Euphemia continued to look at the deer, and he once more noticed:
"What? I am just saying!" he said, immediately said, as if in his own defense. "Maybe there is nothing going on. But, it wouldn't be a problem if it was. I mean, I am not Ben's owner or anything, after all we are not..."
Gabe trailed, and as the two ladies looked at him, they could see his expression become sadder.
"We... are not engaged anymore..."
He was now looking down, and both Judy and Euphemia looked at him without saying anything for a few moments, before they both looked away. No one really said a word for good part of a minute, before Euphemia asked:
"Mr. Deerbrook?"
This caused Gabe to look at her.
"Huh?"
"Excuse me, but I am somewhat curious." Euphemia said, looking at the deer. "How did you and Benjamin Clawhauser became engaged?"
Gabe looked at her for a few moments, and she explained:
"I am aware that, among mages, engagements happen mostly due to agreement of the families, if the word of Zillah Ferron can be believed. Arranged marriages still happen nowadays on other cases." She said, looking at the deer, "So, I'm sorry, but I have a hard time picturing an arranged marriage between a cheetah and a deer, especially both being males. It would not be convenient in terms of producing an heir."
She was being rather reasonable as she spoke that.
"I mean, I assume it is something that can happen, but it would be very unorthodox for two families to make such an agreement. So, I am assuming that you two became engaged out of love? Did you families accepted this engagement?"
Gabe looked back at her, and after a few moments he sighed:
"Yeah, you are right." He said to her. "Two males of different species getting married is unorthodox among mage families."
He looked away and then smiled:
"Although, many things about my relationship with Ben were unorthodox. Starting with the day we met... I still remember it clearly."
It was a sunny day on the state of the Deerbrook clan. I had just finished one of my lessons, and I was allow to wander our garden before lunch to play. I could go anywhere, as long as I didn't got out of the property. We didn't worried that much about invaders, to be honest. Our reputation was enough to ward off nearly anyone who wanted to bother us.
It really pays to be part of an influent clan, you know?
So, I was basically gave free reign nearly every day between eleven and midday every day, what was basically all that little five-year-old me could want. I could run around the garden, hide in the bushes, smell our flowers, even climb on the fence (there was literally no one in there to supervise me). It was perfect.
It would only be better if I had someone to play with me.
As I played, I came very close to the edge of our territory. Dad made sure I knew exactly where the limits of our property were, so I would always know to stay within it. As I played around, I noticed a voice. It was a voice I didn't knew, so I immediately was on guard.
I might have been just five, but my father made sure to let clear to me that we had enemies, and that those enemies would want to hurt me if they ever caught me, simply for being his son, or that they could take me away and use me to force him to give them something. So, he taught me that I needed to be careful. It was one of the reasons why I was not supposed leave the property.
I also knew that we had a barrier around our house (when I got older, I understood that it was a bounded field), and that it kept intruders away. The only way for someone to break into our house was if they were strong mages.
So, I knew that this intruder, who or whatever was, was strong.
Now, the logical thing to do in a moment like that would be to run. But I was a five-year-old who had just got out of a lesson in magecraft to which my tutors said that I did very well. Besides, Dad said that sooner or later I would have to start defending our land from invaders, just like he did, for I was the heir of the clan.
So, I made a decision: to face this intruder and make them leave.
Of course, it was a stupid decision, but children make stupid decision on a daily basis, right?
So, very carefully, I approached. The voice of the intruder became clearer and clearer.
"Mama!" The intruder said "Papa!"
I approached from behind a bush, and I could take a good look of the intruder. He was some kind of cat, around my size and with big eyes. He kept looking around and calling out for "Mama" and "Papa".
Looking back, he did not seemed dangerous at all. Still, my five year self only knew that he was an intruder, and that I, as the heir of the clan, had to take care of it. Dad would definitely be impressed if I did.
"Halt, intruder!" I cried out as I jumped from behind the bush. The cat squeaked as he jumped back.
"W-who are you?" He asked as he looked at me.
"I am Gabriel Deerbrook Junior!" I said to him. "I am the heir of the Deerbrook clan, and you have trespassed on my family's home!"
The cat looked back at me.
"S-sorry..." the feline said. "Have you seen my mama?"
"You are an intruder in my home!" I said, ignoring his question. "You are not supposed to be in here! You have no permission to come!"
"I am looking for my mama." The feline said, shrinking. "We were having a picnic, but I got lost..."
"It matters not!" I said to him. "You are an intruder! And now you are going to pay for intruding, you cat!"
"I am not a cat." The feline said, "I am a cheetah."
"Be ready!" I said, getting ready to lunge at him, and he squeaked again and immediately went down on his knees, covering his head with his arms.
"Please, don't hurt me!" He said, his voice was full of fear, and it actually made me stop.
Why was he doing that? Shouldn't he be ready to fight?
"Hey, what are you doing?" I asked him. "Get up and fight me."
"No!" He said.
"You have to get up! I cannot fight you if you are on the ground!" I said back. "You have to get up so we can fight!"
"I don't wanna fight!" The feline said, "I want my mama!"
"Get up!"
"I want mama! Mama! Mamaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" He cried, and soon, he was mewling. Tears ran down his cheeks as he started bawling right where he was.
"H-hey. Stop it." He said to him, but he continued to cry, letting out mewls as more tears ran down his cheeks.
Now, do you know that feeling when you see someone laughing and you feel like laughing too? Or when you feel like yawning when someone else yawns?
Well, in that moment, seeing that cheetah cry was making me want to cry too.
"S-stop... don't cry." I said, and he continued to cry, and I could feel my eyes feeling with tears.
"Y-you can't... you are not... you..." I tried to say, before I eventually caved and started to bleat loudly as my own tears started falling.
So there we were. A deer fawn and a cheetah cub, both bawling our eyes out in the garden with no adults around.
"...it took a while before we stopped crying and looked for an adult." Gabe concluded. "Then we worked into finding Ben's parents. They were really worried with him, and looked really happy when they found him again."
"Wow..." Judy said, as she looked at the deer, and Euphemia was looking at him as well.
"Yeah." Gabe said, shrugging. "After that, Ben started visiting regularly. He always came to play with me, and I even made the servants take me to his house so I could see him. We became best friends after that."
The two females took in what they had just been told, and Euphemia asked:
"And from there you became fiancés?"
Gabe looked at her.
"Was it by your own initiative, or of your families?" Euphemia asked, and Gabe soon was answering:
"Our own. Well, Ben's, mostly. He was the one who asked me. Quite bold for a seven-year-old..."
It was the end of summer and beginning of fall. The leaves were starting to change color, and the days were getting colder. Ben was once more visiting our property, as one of his servants had come to bring him on their car, and was watching from a distance as we played.
It always fascinated me how Ben's family had all of those things, like cars and cellphones. I asked Dad why we couldn't have them, and he only said that the Clawhausers could do whatever they wanted, but that the Deerbrook would remain loyal to the traditions. Of course, I was young to really grasp this tradition thing, and I only understood that it meant that we were not having those cool things, what bummed me out.
Of course, Ben was always bringing those things for me to see. He let me use his cellphone, and he taught me how to call numbers. He brought some other things like radios to hear music and stories from the radio stations, and small televisions for us to watch cartoons together. He also brought candy.
Jelly beans. Chocolate hugs. Peanutbutterfingers. Fun Licks. Bubble gums. Candy bars. Pawsicles. All of those things that other kids had and that my father normally would never allow me to eat. Ben always brought some with him and we ate them on the garden, away from my father's eyes. Ben was great at bringing them without my father knowing.
That morning, he had brought ring pops. I was marveled when I saw those rings with those sweet gemstones on top that you put on your mouth and suck. It was like having a lollipop that would not drop from your hoof.
"Mine is grape and yours is strawberry." Ben said as he showed me the packaging of the delicious treats. He was already licking my lips when I looked at it.
"Are they good?" I asked, already looking forward to having one on my mouth.
"They sure are!" Ben said. "All of them taste really good! Mom loves them. She said that if Dad had given her one of those for an engagement ring, she would have married him sooner."
"Huh?" I asked, not understanding. Ben looked at me.
"An engagement ring." He said, looking at me. "You know, that's how adults do. When they want to marry someone, they give them a ring. If the person keeps the ring this means that they accept, and they will be married and start their own family."
"Oooooh." I said, amazed by this new piece of information. Of course, I knew about marriages. My dad already told me a few times that one day I would be getting married, when I was an adult and ready to have an heir. Of course, for what my dad told me he would be the one choosing my bride for me, and we would probably only meet for the first time on the day we were to marry. He didn't said anything about giving her a ring. Maybe it was one of the things that he said the non-mages did and that Ben's family did? It seemed possible.
As I reflected on that, suddenly, a thought occurred me, and I looked at Ben.
"Wait." I said, causing the cheetah to stop midway into opening the package of the candy and look at me.
"If you give me one of those, and I accept, does this means that we will have to get married?" I asked him. Now I know that it was a dumb question, but come on, I was seven. It seemed like an important question at the time, and Ben apparently thought the same.
For a long time (to children like us), we just said nothing, and kept reflecting on it.
"I... don't think that we need to get married." Benjamin said, "Mom said that it is for adults, anyway. So, I don't think it applies to cubs."
"Oh, that's good." I say, without really thinking on what I was saying. That caused Ben to say:
"Why is it good?" He asked, making me look at him. "Would it be bad to marry me?"
He was looking right at me with his round eyes.
"You... you don't like me?"
"No!" I said. "I mean, yes! I like you. Is just that... well... I don't know..."
More silence followed those words, and then Ben said:
"So... you don't want the candy?" His voice was timid, and it made me look at him.
"I do. Is just... I don't know... My dad always says that I should get married to a doe one day. You know, a girl."
"So, you cannot marry a boy?" Ben asked, looking at him. "Mom says that there is nothing wrong with boys marrying boys and girls marrying girls, even though some think it is wrong. Do you think it is wrong?"
I thought about it, and then I answered:
"I never thought of that. I guess I don't think it is wrong but... You are my best friend. I guess I should not marry my best friend. It would be weird, wouldn't it?"
"The best marriages are those were the two mammals are friends." Ben said to me. "That's what Mom says. She says that she is happy with my father because they are the best friends, and that is the best kind of marriage."
I was silent at this. I reflected on what Ben said, and it did made sense.
"Would... would you want to marry me?" I asked, and Ben said:
"I guess I would. You are my best friend. I really like being with you."
He was sincere as he spoke that, and hearing he say that made me feel a funny feeling on my stomach. I smiled.
"I like being around you too, Ben." I said, and that was as sincere as it could be. "And I wish that I could stay around you forever."
Ben smiled back at me and said, "I'd like to be around you forever too." He then looked like he was thinking of something.
"Mom said that married mammals who really like each other stay together forever..." He spoke, seemingly more to himself than to me. Then, he had what seemed to be a determined look on his face, and he opened one of the ring pops. He then offered me the plastic ring with a red candy gem and said:
"Gabe, will you marry me when we are adults?"
I was surprised, maybe even a bit in shock. I guess that I half-expected him to suddenly start laughing and say it was all a joke, but his face was dead serious as he said that, so I assumed that he was being serious.
"Y-you mean... being your fiancé?" I asked, to which he responded:
"My what?"
"Fiancé." I told him, "Dad says that that's how you call the mammal who will one day marry you. When it is decided that a mammal will marry you when you are both older, that mammal is your fiancé."
"Oh." He said, after I finished explaining, and continued: "So... Gabe, will you be my fiancé?"
He was once more serious, and I knew that he was truly asking.
Maybe I should have thought better on this. Maybe I should have reflected on the implications of it, or at least on what my father would have to say about it. But I was only a child, and I guess that I only went in the moment when I said "yes", without a shred of doubt.
Ben smiled, and then, he placed the ring on my finger. I then opened the other and put it on his finger as well. After we both had our "engagement rings" on our fingers, I asked:
"Now what?"
Ben was surprised, as apparently he too didn't thought much ahead of time.
"Oh, we... hold paws!" He said, "Mom said that this is what two married adults do. I guess fiancés do it as well."
So we did. We expend the rest of the morning walking around the garden like that, with his paw holding my hoof. The rings were on the other hooves, so we could hold hooves and suck on the ring pops at the same time.
Now, at the time, I associated it with the ring pops, but as I held his paw, there was that funny feeling on the top of my stomach again. I barely gave much attention to it though. I was busy thinking how special holding Ben's paw felt at that moment.
I was holding the paw of my fiancé and, at that moment, I realized that I wanted to hold his paw many more times in the future.
"D'awwww." Judy said as Gabe finished explaining. She and Euphemia were both looking at him, and the mare was just staring at him.
"That sounds... adorable." Euphemia said, and Gabe shrugged.
"It was a child thing." Gabe said, looking at his food. "We had a more formal engagement as we became older, but Ben always insisted that the real moment when we became engaged was at that end of summer, with those grape and strawberry ring pops. Honestly, sometimes I do think like that, especially when I remember how special it felt holding his paw while I thought of him as my fiancé."
Gabe had a longing expression as he said that, before he spoke:
"You could say that Ben and I were each other's sweethearts, before we even knew what a 'sweetheart' was."
"D'aaawwwwwwww." Judy said once more, and Euphemia nodded. She just... nodded, with a weird expression on her face, as it seemed that she was reflected on what she had just been told.
Gabe chuckled.
"Yeah, we got a lot of that. Especially from Ben's family. Not much from mine, though."
"Oh, they didn't appreciate the engagement?" Euphemia asked.
"You... could say that." Gabe said, "I guess it weirded them out, and they never got used to the idea. After the end of the engagement, they started pushing me to find a 'real' fiancé. One that would give me an heir. They said that it was only natural for me to move on, especially with how things were between our clans after it ended."
"You were not on good terms?" Euphemia asked, and Gabe shrugged.
"I assume you can say that." the deer said, "Things got really awkward between the Clawhauser and Deerbrook clans after the end of the engagement, there were... some really bad decisions. Things are still tense between them. Some are ready to go at each other's necks."
Judy and Euphemia shared looks, as the deer sighed.
"The two clans really are not on the best terms." He said, and then Judy said:
"Marcy and Josh seemed not to have problem with you."
"Yeah, they are fine with me because I was engaged with Ben and they always liked me." He said, "But if it was my father or one of my brothers they would surely not have been as welcoming."
The two females nodded.
"And saying that you don't hold grudge against Ben for ending the engagement would be an understatement, considering all that we saw last night." Euphemia said, stating an obvious fact. Gabe shrugged.
"Yeah, I still hold a torch for Ben." Gabe admitted, "I mean; he was such an important part of my life for so long, and we passed through so much together. My feelings for him wouldn't just disappear, even after seven years. And, being completely honest, I guess I always had the hope that we would meet again one day and take up from where we left."
Both females were silent after this. Then, Judy asked:
"Is that why you left that graffiti?"
Gabe looked at her.
"Excuse me?"
"That graffiti that appeared on the outside of the mansion yesterday morning." Judy said, in a hushed tone, to avoid the other mammals on the kitchen from hearing. "It said 'I still love you Benji'. It was you who left it, wasn't you?"
"What? No." Gabe said.
"It appeared in the early morning." Euphemia said, "You admitted to have found out that Ben was in here by the morning."
"I did. By the end of the morning." Gabe said. "I only actually came here by late afternoon, after convincing myself to come in and look for Ben. I know nothing about any graffiti."
The two females looked at him.
"I swear."
They shared a look. Judy looked confused.
But... if Gabe didn't made that graffiti... then who did?
They were so focus on their conversation that they completely failed to notice two mammals who had walked into the kitchen and were having a hushed conversation of their own. A conversation that continued as one of them fussed on the freezer looking for a snack and then walked out of the kitchen.
"Melon, I am telling you that I have smelled it!" Legoshi said to the hybrid who walked by his side. "Someone peed on the carpet!"
Melon said nothing in return, he only looked at the piece of half melon that he got from the freezer. It was still cool. Good. Melon then looked at the wolf, and they locked eyes. Melon had stopped wearing masks since the previous day, when everyone in the mansion found out he was a hybrid. He no longer saw any point on wearing a mask anymore.
"That's unhygienic, ain't it?" Melon asked the wolf, before he spoke:
"Guess someone could not hold it, right? So, any clue at who it was?"
"Well, not really?" Legoshi said. "The smell was very faint, and I nearly missed it, but it certainly is there. I am not sure who it came from, but I am sure that it is a canine. The smell is there, but it is a strange smell. Oh, and I know that it is a male."
"Well, that narrows it down, doesn't it?" Melon asked.
"So, what do we do?" Legoshi asked.
Melon looked at him dead in the eye and said:
"Nothing."
"Huh?"
"We don't do nothing." Melon said, looking at him. "We don't need to."
"But, Manechester-sama hired us to-"
"There is no need to do anything about it, Legoshi." The hybrid said, looking at him. "There is no danger, there is no problem, there is no crisis. It is just a dried stain of pee on the carpet, which is not even visible at this point. Don't make a big deal about it... Oh, and don't tell anyone that you smelled it. Adrian might have more reason to yell at us if he hears about that."
Legoshi looked at the hybrid, and then he looked down.
"W-well, I'll go check on my familiars and on the bounded field, just in case." He said, walking away.
"Suit yourself." Melon said, shrugging, as he walked to the couch while the wolf walked away. He preferred to sit to eat, like most mammals. As he approached, he could pick up the conversation of the two mammals already sitting on the large couch.
"So, the cops will be okay?" Gazelle asked to Nick, and the fox sighed:
"We still don't know. Car-Hopps said that the guys are on their way to the hospital. Everyone who was on the night shift save for the Chief and two officers went down with something. Apparently the guys who got inside used some kind of freaky magecraft to bring everyone down."
"That's awful." Gazelle said, looking at him. "I still don't know any details, I couldn't find my phone this morning. What is strange, because I was sure that I left it by the nightstand..."
"Excuse me." Melon said, as he sat on the couch seemingly without any regard for the other two.
He then started eating his half of melon. He took big bites and chewed slowly. He looked around, looking for something, before setting his eyes on a finely decorated ashtray, which he promptly used as a dispenser to spit the seeds of the melon he was eating, before he swallowed what he was chewing.
"Wow." Nick said, causing the hybrid to turn his head to look at him.
"Now that is a scene of cannibalism, if I ever saw one." The fox said, smiling at the hybrid. Melon just stared at him with an unamused expression, before he turned his attention back to the fruit he was eating and taking another bite.
"Though crowd, huh?" Nick asked, looking at the hybrid, who seemed to have chosen to ignore him.
"Melon." Legoshi said as he approached once more, and the hybrid stopped eating to look at the wolf. The other two mammals also looked at the wolf, who looked back at them with his ears a little flat.
"Uhhh, excuse me." He said, and turned to the hybrid and spoke. However, he spoke in a different language, one that neither Nick nor Gazelle understood.
"Melon, I really think that maybe we should tell someone what happened." The wolf said, and the hybrid looked at him, before he said:
"Legoshi, I told you. You don't need to worry about it. Telling anyone would only get us two in trouble with Adrian, and I don't want to get in trouble for nothing. After yesterday, he probably just needs one more thing to fire us, and that would be bad considering that we still haven't completed our plan yet, right?"
The wolf looked down, and he said:
"But what if-"
"Everything is alright, Legoshi." Melon cut him, "I promise. Now don't worry with it, okay?"
Legoshi looked at him, and nodded.
"If you say so... but, I still need to check on the bounded field. Where are the corners of it again?"
Melon answered to Legoshi, and the wolf nodded and answered something. Then he turned to Nick and Gazelle and said:
"Sorry for disturbing you."
With this, Legoshi soon was moving away, leaving the two mammals to look at him, while Melon continued to eat his melon.
"Soooo, what language was that you two were speaking just now?"
Melon chewed and spat the seeds, before speaking:
"Nipponese."
He said nothing more, and after a while, Nick asked:
"So, what were you talking about?"
"Work stuff. Nothing important." Melon answered.
"Really, because by his expression it seemed to be quite important. Or at least he thought so." Nick asked, "Are you hiding something, Melon?"
In that moment, the hybrid's face turned to look at Nick, and the fox actually recoiled from the venom that there was on that glare. Of course, it only lasted for a few seconds, before he looked at Nick with a calm expression, and said:
"My name is Melor, Officer Wilde, with an 'r'. Mister Horne to you. Only Legoshi can call me 'Melon'."
Legoshi looked back at him.
"As you wish." Nick said, looking at the hybrid "By the way, I have to congratulate you for the psycho glare. Bet it is really good to make others leave you alone."
"Most of times." Horne said, eating more of his melon, and speaking with a mouth full:
"But, sometimes I meet someone like you, who don't get intimidated easily."
Nick shrugged.
"Yeah, guess that with that partner of mine I just don't get intimidated like I used to. Seriously, that bunny looks adorable but she can be frightening as heck when she wants to."
"Yeah, I believe that." Horne, said, and then Nick asked:
"So, you are really not going to tell me what you were babbling in Nipponese?"
"Nope."
"Will you at least tell where he went?"
"Check on our measures to be sure that they are working fine." The hybrid said once more, looking at the fox, "After all, we need to make sure that everything is fine and that we won't have any surprise, right?"
He then looked at Gazelle.
"Not that there would be any surprises, of course. Everything is perfectly normal. It is just a precaution after those guys played that prank."
The popstar looked at the hybrid, and nodded. She was not so convinced of it, not since she heard Joshua Clawhauser accusing Adrian and revealed that he knew he was lying for he could read his mind. Adrian was obviously hiding something, and now she had the impression that Horne was helping him.
"Sure, sure." Nick said, "But... why aren't you helping him check on everything? I mean, you helped set the protection, right?"
"Nah, I don't see much point." Melon said, "Everything is fine, and I am sure that we don't have to worry. But, Legoshi insists, so I just gave him a few instructions on how to look at it so he could have a little peace of mind. Besides, that would involve checking on all of his bugs, and I am not getting near those creepy-crawlies unless I have to. I hate bugs."
Nick looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"And you work along with a guy who uses bug magecraft?"
The hybrid shrugged.
"As long as he keeps the bugs away from me it's all good. Besides, I like Legoshi enough to be able to ignore those things."
"So, you really are friends, aren't you, Horne?" Nick asked, and Horne once more looked at him.
"You can bet your fluffy tail that we are, fox." He said that in a way that verged on a threat. It was nearly as if he was warning Nick that he would face hell if he tried to do anything to that wolf. This caused the fox to look at him with a raised eyebrow.
Gazelle noticed the tension that built up, and she decided to do something about it.
"Well, Mister Ogami is really sympathetic." She said, and Melon looked at her.
"What? Oh yeah. Legoshi is a friendly dude. Typical canine."
"Yeah, unlike you, huh?" Nick asked, and Horne looked at him.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, not wanting to be rude but, it means that you are not exactly the friendlier type." Nick said, "I mean, you are polite and all, but you just have this 'get away from me now' aura that seems to repel people. That wolf looks like he wants to be closer to others, but he feels uncomfortable, while you actually makes others feel uncomfortable."
Horne only continued to look at him. So, Nick continued:
"Seriously, you guys are so different. He is soft-spoken; you are loud. He is very polite; you are kind of rude. He looks like he is trying to please others and make them more comfortable; you seem like you want to piss people off. He looks like he wants to vanish on the background; you seem like you want all eyes to be on you."
The hybrid continued to look at the fox as he spoke all of that.
"And, on top of that, he liked bugs enough to make them his thing." Nick said, "And you just said that you hate bugs. It kind of makes me wonder how the two of you became friends."
Horne looked at him. It was not hostile like the last glare, but that one definitely was not friendly.
"Mister Horne?" Gazelle asked, causing the hybrid to shift his gaze from the fox to the popstar. "How did you and Ogami met?"
For a long moment, Horne said nothing. He looked at Gazelle, and then down at Nick. They both looked like they really wanted to know. The hybrid then looked away and took another big bite of his melon, chewing it and spiting the seeds, before he sighed. After a few moments, he spoke:
"Our mothers went to school together." He looked at the two. "They were best friends, and we ended up becoming close because of it... But, if you really want to hear how Legoshi and I first met, I must warn you, it is not the happiest of tales. But then..."
He ate more of the Melon.
"Most stories of my childhood are not."
It is very easy for people to say that you can understand someone's pain. That you know what they go through and what they suffer on their everyday life. But you definitely cannot understand what someone goes through unless you go a mile on their hooves. The same applies for hybrids.
No matter how much you say you understand what a hybrid like me goes through. You cannot really understand what a hybrid goes through unless you are one as well.
You might think this is a "no one understands my pain" kind of drama, but I am only saying what I think.
As I grew up, I soon understood that I was different from everyone else. That the others would not understand me, and that I would not really fit anywhere. The few times that I tried to look for friends, it backfired horribly. I soon understood that no one wanted to be friends with a freak like me. So, I decided to just stay alone. It seemed simpler.
Of course, only because others didn't wanted to be my friends, didn't meant that they didn't wanted to interact with me.
They would always come to pick on me. To throw dirt and pebbles one me. To call me names. To mock me. To sing things like "weirdo, weirdo, go home and hide; weirdo, weirdo, it would be better if he died". Yeah, they actually sang things like that.
And, of course, they took away my things from me and played keep away. Sometimes it was one of my books. Sometimes it was my backpack. Sometimes it was my shirt (they actually went through the trouble of taking my shirt from my body to keep it away from me). Oh, what a fun way for a bunch of seven-year-olds to play. I was seven myself, and I already understood what I was their favorite little target.
On that specific morning, it was a necklace mother gave me.
It was the traditional way they liked to play. They would run around, tossing the necklace at each other and keeping me from getting it. All the while, I continued to run after them, trying to get my necklace back, and they continued to mock me and sing that stupid little song.
Eventually, we ended up running on a bridge over a lake, and they continued to toss the necklace around. Then, as one of them tossed it, the other failed to grab it, and the necklace fell over the rail and right into the lake.
That was a necklace that my Mama gave to me. It was important, and I needed to get it back.
I looked down at the lake, knowing that the necklace was somewhere down there. Meanwhile, one of the kids continued to mock me.
"Oh, the weirdo wants his thing back?" He said, in that cruel voice. "Well, if you do, then jump after it!"
That was all it took for all of them to start chanting: "Jump after it! Jump after it! Jump after it!"
Their voices were so annoying. I knew that I could not go back home without that necklace. I had to get it back. I started to climb the rail before I even realized what I was doing. I was standing on the rail, looking down at the lake where my necklace was, and I was ready to go after it.
"Yeah, that's right, weirdo!" The leader of that little group said. "Jump and die!"
And they all chanted: "Jump and die! Jump and die! Jump and die!"
Horne took another bite, interrupting his story and eating his melon while the two other mammals looked back at him.
Gazelle had a horrified expression on her face. Nick, meanwhile, didn't looked as horrified, as he already knew from experience how cruel kids could be, but he did looked disgusted.
"That's awful!" Gazelle said, her voice denoting the same horror that was on her face. Horne simply spat more seed into the ashtray, which by now was full, and didn't answered to her exclamation.
"Was... was Ogami one of those children?" Gazelle asked, to which Horne was quick to answer:
"No!"
She flinched with the suddenness of his answer, and the hybrid was soon speaking in a calmer manner:
"Legoshi was not one of them... but, he was drawn by their chanting..."
They continued to chant that same line, over and over.
"Jump and die! Jump and die! Jump and die! Jump and die!"
My hooves were clenching in fists. I had my eyes closed, and me breathing was deep and labored. Was my heart beating faster? I was sure that it was. Was it even normal for a seven-year-old's heart to beat so fast?
My necklace was still down there, somewhere on the lake. My mother gave it to me, and it was my father who had gave it to her. I could not go back home without it.
They were still chanting that stupid line. It was so hard to think with them talking! Their voices were so annoying!
Suddenly, there was a tugging from behind. Someone was grabbing on my tail and pulling it.
I snapped my head back, ready to scream to whoever it was. However, I saw that it was none of the kids who were chanting. They stepped back when I snapped my head baring my fangs. However, the one who pulled my tail was still holding it.
He was a wolf. That much I could tell even at my age. And he was younger. All of the other kids who had been picking on me until that moment were around my age. Two of them were a bit older. That little wolf who was holding my tail should be one or two years younger than me.
And he was looking up at me with those round eyes.
"Who are you?" I said. "Let go of my tail!" I pulled my tail free from his paw, and he continued to look up at me.
"Why are you up there?" He asked.
"I am..." I said, but trailed. All of sudden I realized that I didn't really knew why I had climbed on the rail. "I was just..."
"He was just about to jump!" one of the older kids said. "Right before you interrupted him!"
The wolf looked at that older kid, and then he looked back at me and asked:
"Why?"
I looked at the wolf, and I said:
"They threw my necklace down there!" I pointed at them. "The necklace my Mama gave me! It is down there on the lake!"
The wolf looked at me, and then he was peeking over the rail, looking down at the lake bellow. It was not a small drop, mind you. It should be around twenty feet all the way down.
"My Mama gave it to me..." I repeated, as I turned back to face the edge of the rail. "I need it back..."
"Then you gotta go after it, weirdo!" one of the kids said. "Go on and jump! Jump and die!"
He started chanting it once more, and soon, all of those kids (save the wolf, who continued to look down on the lake) were chanting once again.
"Jump and die! Jump and die! Jump and die!"
That darn chanting! That darn noise!
They had such annoying voices!
I couldn't take it! It was making me nervous! I couldn't think! My body was starting to shake, tears pooled on my eyes and I was about to start crying.
I couldn't take it. I just couldn't take it anymore! All that ugly feeling was building up on me and about to explode, when all of sudden:
"I SEE IT! DOWN THERE!"
That was not my voice. It was someone else's. Who had spoken?
As I tried to think, I felt a movement by my side. Something passed by me. The other kids finally stopped chanting, and then I heard a splash.
I opened my eyes. I blinked.
I then looked down. The water on the lake was moving as if something had just fell on it.
There was only silence. I looked back, and saw that the kids were no longer smiling, like they were when they were teasing me. Their eyes were wide and their mouths were open. Two of them had ran. They looked shocked.
I noticed that there was one of them that I couldn't see anymore. I looked around for him, but I couldn't see him.
I couldn't see that wolf boy.
I blinked, wondering where he was, before I realized... I looked back at the lake bellow. The surface was still rippling from whatever it was that feel on the water. A single bubble raised to the surface and popped. Then... nothing.
I stood in there, frozen, looking down at the lake. Then something broken the surface coming from under the water. I was so startled that I feel back from the rail, landing on my butt on the ground.
I was rubbing my butt when I heard:
"I found it!"
I opened my eyes, and then I rushed to the edge of the bridge and peered over the rail. I could see the face of that young wolf down there, drenched in water and looking up at me, waving his paw above the water.
"I found it!" He said again as he waved his paw, and I could see a glow on his paw, as the object in it reflected the sunlight.
He had my necklace on his paw.
The rest felt like it passed in a rush after this. I don't know what the other kids did after. Maybe they went back home? I am not sure, even to this day. I don't even recall how I moved from that bridge to the edge of the lake to where the young wolf swan. But I do remember that he is on the edge of the lake, all wet, and that I am approaching him slowly as he got up.
"A-are you okay?" I asked him, and all that he did in answer was to offer me necklace back to me.
"This is yours." He said, and I looked at it, before I looked back at him.
"You jumped on the lake just to get it back?"
"Yes." His answer was so quick and so direct that it left me stunned for a few moments. Then, when I could talk again, all that I could say back to him was:
"Why?"
He looked at me curiously, as if he didn't understood the point of my question.
"Because you needed it back." He finally said, and I just stared back at him. Slowly, I reached for my necklace, taking it from his paw, and he looked at me for a few moments.
"You have fangs." He said, making me look at him again. "And you have horns too... I never met someone who had both horns and fangs."
I covered my mouth with my other hoof, and he continued to look at me.
"Is that why those kids were calling you weirdo?" He asked, and at this moment, I felt my blood boil.
"Yes it was!" I screamed back at him. "That is the reason why they were calling me that! And why they wanted me to jump! And why no one wants to be my friend!"
For a long moment, the wolf boy only looked back at me, and he then said:
"So, you have no friends?"
I looked away and said: "No."
After a few seconds, the wolf surprised with his next question:
"Can I be your friend?"
I immediately looked back at him.
Was he serious? Was he mocking me like the others? No, it didn't seemed like it. He didn't seemed to be mocking me. He seemed to be serious. I... I wanted to believe that he was being serious.
"Do you... want to be my friend?" I asked, and the young wolf nodded.
"Yes." He said. And for a moment, I didn't really knew what to do. That was... new. I was not sure of what came next.
"Well... I don't really know you, but you got my necklace back." I said, sounding a bit unsure. "So, I guess that we can be friends."
"Really?" The young wolf said, "That's great!" His tail wagged behind him as he smiled at me.
"My name is Legoshi." He said, looking back at me. "What is yours?" I took a second to answer:
"Melor..."
"Melon?" He asked, "Like the fruit? That's cool!"
I blinked. I felt so stunned by what just happened that I didn't even tried to correct him. He looked at me, and then a voice was calling at the distance:
"Legoshi! Where are you? Time to go home!" It caused the young wolf to perk his head.
"Oh, that's my grandpa!" He said, and then turned to me. "I have to go now, Melon! I am going to tell my Mama and Grandpa about you and how you are my new friend! I'll make them bring me back so I can see you again! See you later, Melon!"
He said, and turned to leave just as the voice called for him again, leaving me behind, looking at his departing form. It took a few seconds before I was able to mutter:
"That's not my name..."
Little did I knew that, from that day on, that wolf boy would spend the following years calling me "Melon"...
Nick and Gazelle both looked at Horne as he finished telling his story. He reached out inside his shirt, and pulled something that was underneath. It was hanging around his neck by a chain, and in the end of it there was what seemed to be some kind of emblem made with two triangles inside two concentric circles.
"This is very important." Melon spoke. "It doesn't looks like much, but it is a very important thing. My mother made sure to tell me that on the day she passed it to me, and was sure to emphasize on how I should take good care of it. I wasn't really very careful..." He played with the thing on his hooves, and then he chuckled. "Well, I guess that is good. Otherwise, I would probably not have made friends with Legoshi when my mother introduced him to me as 'the son of her best friend'."
"Wow." Nick said, while Gazelle said:
"That is a very sweet story."
"Did he really jumped twenty feet into a lake?" Nick asked, and Horne shrugged.
"Legoshi was not very keen on self-preservation back on the day. I guess he didn't truly understood the concept. Sometimes it seems that he still kind of doesn't." Melon admitted. "But he always was the kind who loved helping others. He is always willing to do something to help who is in need."
The hybrid sighed.
"I do appreciate him for that."
"For getting your necklace back and keeping you from jumping?" Nick asked.
"For having become my friend." Horne said, looking at the fox. "And, to be honest, he didn't really kept me from jumping. Not as much as he kept me from throwing all of those kids off the bridge."
Nick and Gazelle both looked at him for a few moments. The hybrid chuckled at their expressions.
"Yeah, Legoshi did saved them from me back then, because I am pretty sure that I would have done that." Horne said, "These guys wouldn't have stood a chance."
"Wow, you were a psycho on the making back then, right?" Nick asked and, surprisingly, Horne agreed with him.
"Yeah... I was." He said, seeming like he was reflecting on it. "I hear more about psychos when I grew up but, looking back, I see a lot of how they turned into psychos on myself back on the day. Being bullied by everyone. Thinking that they don't belong with the 'normal' mammals. Thinking that everything sucks. Wanting to smash the heads of those who mock them. Yeah, I definitely felt a lot of that when I was seven... then I met Legoshi."
Horne sighed.
"That wolf changed my life. He was the first friend I ever made. The only friend I ever made." Horne said, "He was the first one who wanted to be my friend. The only one who never made fun of me for being different. To everyone one else I was a weirdo, a freak, or a monster. But not to Legoshi. To him I was just another mammal. He's always been there for me since that day, and I always could count on him. Seriously, if I hadn't met Legoshi, who knows where I'd be today. I really appreciate him very much."
Nick and Gazelle both nodded as they heard that. It sounded heartwarming.
"That's why I don't accept anyone threatening or hurting that wolf." Horne said, looking away from them. "And that's why, if anyone ever tries to hurt Legoshi, I'll rip their eyes out of their sockets and shove them down their throat! So they will be able to see my fangs piercing their stomachs as I bite through their bodies until I have cut them in half!"
Just as he finished saying that, the hybrid opened his jaw wide and dove into the melon, biting into it as if he was biting at someone's neck. He took a huge chunk of it, and chewed very calmly. He seemed not even to notice that now Nick and Gazelle had both retreated to the corner of the couch and were looking back at him as if they were afraid that he could suddenly lunge at them.
"Nurse, we are ready to leave." Nick said, as the hybrid spat more melon seeds on the ashtray.