You did a double take when the man walked in, but didn't give him much thought beyond that.
Must be one of those furries, you thought. Not really your scene, but hell, live and let live. If he wanted to pick up some milk while dressed as an alligator, then well, that was his right as an american citizen.
He's in the check-out line now, he didn't buy much for himself-some chicken drumsticks, a bottle of liquor-but when the woman in front of him fell a few dollars short, he tapped her shoulder.
"I can cover it" he said, pulling out his wallet, his mouth moving just a little too realistically as he spoke in an accent you couldn't quite place
The woman looked flustered. "Oh- no, no, I don't want to trouble you"
The stranger frowned with what should have been a mask. "It's no trouble, I assure you" he said, holding out a few dollars in a clawed, scaley hand.
She sighed, but accepted the money with a smile, "Thank you, sir" she said, "I-" she cut herself off, and her face changed, going from relief to confusion to horror.
She glanced at you with fearful eyes, and your heart stopped as you both reached the same conclusion.
That was no mask.
She paid for her groceries with shaking hands, one eye trailing to the alligator looming behind her, and she hurried off without stopping to take her change.
And then it was his turn at the checkout.
"This will 19.63, I believe" he said, and you swore you felt his breath.
He took his meager selection of groceries and placed it before you. Blinking at you with clear eyelids as he waiting for you to move.
"It's 19.63, correct?" he prompted.
"Uh" you say, mouth moving on its own "I'll need to see your Id"
"What?" he said, brows wrinkling, and you wondered where, exactly, that accent was from. Europe? Africa?
You supposed it didn't matter. "Your Id" you repeat, "I, uh, have to know you're over 21"
It sounded absurd, even as you said it. Where would an alligator get a government Id?Were those laws even applicable here? Would he eat you if you refused service?
He made a show of checking his pockets, "Oh, I don't seem to have it on me" he said, smoothly, "but I assure you, I'm over 21"
You look him up and down, from the neutral expression on his face to the hands twisting the fabric of his reusable bag to the very realistically twitching tail.
You don't know enough about alligators to argue.
"Uhhh, right" you say, not taking your eyes off him as you ring him up. "It's, uh, 20.05 with tax" you mutter, wondering if he really would eat you.
"Ah" he said, and then reached into his pocket, digging out the extra change.
He paid with exact change, and you found yourself relaxing as he left.
A wave of relief washes over you, and you find yourself laughing in turn.
He'd been shockingly nice, for an alligator.