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Bzzzzzzzzzt... BEEP! The sound of the advanced syringe rang out as the feathered hermit sucked up the vermilion liquid. She had found a splatter not too far from the outside of the crumbling apartment building, this was her chance to get to gain a creature's actual biological data on file. Despite the government's funding the amount of specimens she got was few and far between due to the strict control on the exchange of raw parts of Nomivores. Often she would get fur, saliva, and the occasional dry skin but never something this fresh. There was just so much more that could be attained through the lifeblood of her fellow Nomivores... this would just be her little secret for now. A slight innocent giggle came to her as she ran the blood through her USB lab setup, lines of green data lighting up the pitch black room with artificial glow. She could feel her leg bouncing wildly in excitement with each line, "Orange fur... blue eyes..." Mutters filled the air as she read off the lines of information, translating the chromosomes into answers.
Her feet pounded out a symphony of cacophony on the old creaky floorboards beneath her. If you were to ask a trained musician they could've probably given each creak an exact note. The creaking grew louder as she struggled to contain her excitement. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzt... BIIIIIIIIIING! BING!!! BING!!!! Her PC erupted into extreme shouts of passion as it began processing the data into the data disc Ava stored all her information in. It was a common occurrence... especially when processing high amounts of data. The old computer had been living long past its lifespan and struggled to barely keep on... much less control the volume. Almost in a hopeless effort, Ava threw off her blanket over the electronic in an attempt to mask the ringing audio. The walls of her apartments were thin... she knew her last neighbor had moved out due to the noise, there was only so much you could do when the police were too busy handling more important matters. "sss... please quiet..." She patted the overheating PC in a fruitless effort to quiet its excited chippering.
The night drew dark and thick, only speckles of moonlight barely peeking through the curtains to dance along the wooden floor. And Lincoln was in the middle of it, laying on the bed, eyes bloodshot from the waking hours slowly draining from his body, and a terrible- god awful ringing settling between his ears. He felt as his eyelids twitched every now and again, white noise circling the air like screaming from a never ending abyss of sound. Whenever he looked at the walls, he swore they were moving...vibrating to the loud screeching and mechanical noises that terrorized him. The young mammal groaned, covering his head with his pillow, tossing back and forth as though the simple act could lull him back to sleep.
A minute must have passed, but it felt more like an hour. With a grumble under his breath, Lincoln turned on his lamp and stumbled out of bed. A slow lumbering walk as the vertically challenged animal swayed against his creaky wooden floors and into the hallway of the dilapidated apartment building. Lincoln shifted his head back and forth, staring between the door frames as though if he just looked hard enough, he could see the animal inside. Stumbling about sleepily, he began pounding on his neighbor’s door, grasping at the little sanity left in these trying times. “Hellooo….this is your neighbor….I moved in….this mornin’ and I was wonderin’ if you could turn it down just a smidge?”
His voice was merely a feather on the wind, out of place for the chimera that it resulted from. Soft, an almost angel-like calling, just barely a couple seconds away from screaming profanities from just beyond the wooden door. Lincoln's face stretched and contorted, knocking every couple of minutes in the pure desperation.
There was a sound that was far more dreaded then that of electronic rapture. The chicken's feathers grew on end as if someone had just pricked her with a needle filled with anxiety. It was almost as soft as a butterfly's flutter, but in essence, a siren's call that would lead her to an early grave if she was to answer it... an early grave known as conversation. She felt her down fist pound on the PC in anger, how could you betray me like this you pile of junk... don't you remember college for god's sake!? Her hand stroked the poofy mane that surrounded her frail neck, "maybe I can just ignore them..." And so it went on the computer screaming out in agony over processing the overcomplicated data that made up every living being and the pounding of a small animal that just wanted to sleep. It was easy to tell that at least her new neighbor was small... maybe it was how soft his voice was that lulled her into that fact... it seemed kinda familiar. The knocks never stopped... going on for minutes on end filled with a frustration she couldn't sway.
With a reluctant sigh the chicken lifted herself from her three-wheeled rolling chair and wrapped herself up in a blanket as to hide as much of herself as possible. The computer screamed out behind her as she approached the door, she could feel a strange hesitation take grasp into her arm as she attempted to reach for the door handle. It was almost as if every fiber of her being was telling her to stop... that its not worth the risk, but with a gulp she drowned out those fears and opened the door... just a peek. A large pile of black feathers peered from the doorway down at the small animal... it was too dark in the hallway to make out exactly what he looked like. The only guide was the speckles of moonlight that danced around, I thought moonlit scenes were meant to be calm. Her heart pounded in panic as she rose her voice down to the small animal. Speaking in a manner that made it all too clear that she was a bird, even if she attempted to whisper. "Yes?" Yeah let's play dumb... say we didn't hear them tell us to keep it down. It was a strange thought... she was so much taller then this small creature... but why was her body so nervous.
“Yes...hello.” Lincoln sighed in relief, rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger before looking back up at the big, fluffy chicken before him. Pure exhaustion filled his face, a strange daze seeming to swirl around him- a whirlpool so strong that it would possibly just suck him whole. “I….I moved in….this morning….I have a test….tomorrow….can you be….quiet….” The young teenager rubbed his temples, a strange hypnotic movement accompanying him as he swayed around. His unnatural shape was far too obvious with no work having been done to cover it up. His big brush of a tail, his long, pointy ears, and his small beady eyes, they all mixed together like watercolor paint to create the terrible amalgamation that resulted. “I...know you probably….didn’t mean it….but it makes my head hurt, so if you can….shhhhh….”
Yes, step 1, benefit of the doubt. Don’t let anyone suspect you of anything else. Be a good bean and they’re more likely to comply. Lincoln almost nodded to himself affirmatively, weaving his hands together to hide the sharp claws that sat at the end of them. As the door was opened the sound seemed to almost get louder; the beeps and electrical clicks of the horrid machine all wrapped up in a blanket of terrible terrible music….probably music? I hope it’s not music. The taste is terrible. Slowly he opened his eyes properly, trying to sneak a better look at his new neighbor. “...what is….all the noise anyway? It sounds...really bad....”
They were young... too young to be living on their own but Ava wasn't one to judge. There was a strange motion about them it was almost like a metronome going left and right, wobbling to the beat of some nonexistent drum. If the scientist could see his face more clearly she was sure it was a sight... it was as she gazed down at the boy that his words seemed to grace by her ears. She now understood why his presence put her at such unease... he was a figure she couldn't make out. All her life she was confident that she could make out every animal by look alone. That was what her books had taught her, it was how she could determine who would safe to talk to but this boy had long pointed ears... but his voice was so soft, the tail swept batted at the air. It was almost as if a rabbit had foregone its humanity for the sake of going feral.
She knew hybrids existed, and she knew that she always wanted to talk to one... but was this really the time? What kind of god was trying to play with her right now? Each word rolled out of his tongue with a subtle charm about it... even aggravated he kept that calm voice of a small animal that was ever so kind on the ears. Ava stared at him in silence as his words faded into the air... and well the mechanical overdrive that was going on behind her. Questions, questions... everybody has to be so nosy... Hybrid or not she didn't want to deal with speaking to some new guy all night... she had science to do... Let's just lie our way out of this and play it off like a dumb hipster... She felt her back straightening up as if trying to use every inch she had in this lean body, "Bad!? u-uh... this is science core do you not have any class?" It sounded like the dumb excuses students at her old college used to use to rationalize the shitty music they listen to... no listening to carnivores banging on rocks and roaring doesn't make you more cultured even if you call it primal core.
She spoke with an attempt at confidence but mostly came off as nervous and immature, good going me... If only she could rely on that quiet and smooth voice as he can... it made things so much easier. Her voice squawked out again in false excuses, "Th-this is a new genre... you just wouldn't get it! J-just put earplugs in if you are so agitated by it!" She knew she could tell him the truth... it wasn't that bad of an excuse. All she had to do was tell him her computer was just old and couldn't process things right... but then he'd be pitying her... and then people ask more questions and ahhhhhhh...
Eh? There was a moment of silence after the bird’s statement, his ears pricking upwards as though his whole body had received an electric jolt of energy. His beady eyes were shot wide awake, staring blankly his neighbor. Lincoln opened his mouth, but closed it just as fast, words circulating around him then leaving jus5 as fast as he can think of them. Silently, he clapped his hands together rolling a small invisible object in his palms. “That....was suppose to be music?” He should have stopped there. In fact he should have just turned back around and stopped talking right then. Give up, run away. Something that was normal for the young chimera. The aftershock seemed to finally settle in, his face contorting as he rubbed the back of his head. “Er...uh, well, I mean.....isn’t it kinda rude to....uhhh play loud music...at....what time is it?”
He fiddled with his phone a bit, letting the blue light illuminate the dark hallway- for the first time getting a proper light going for him. “....1....it’s 1 in the morning.....Can’t the whole floor hear it? Wouldn’t it be better...to just turn it down a little....so no one else bothers you?” To try and seal the deal, Lincoln tilted his head off to the side giving the best smile he could muster. In other words, PLEASE SHUT UP! Not that he would ever say that out loud. Instead he just stared at the big fluffy feathers that were speckled by the blue light. Lincoln paused, slowly switching on the flashlight of his phone to get a better look. “.....you are a chicken right? I don’t want to be rude..,”
You're not buying it huh... She'd be lying if she said she didn't know how bad the excuse was... but what else was she supposed to say? "Oh sorry I'm just trying to input some important data on my old pile of rust..." Her feathers stood on end in anxiety as she stared down at the boy, the light from his phone creating a blue glow that complemented the moonlight piercing in. It was here that she was finally able to put a face to the silhouette, he was most definitely a hybrid that much she could be certain of. She would've told you there was rabbit blood in there somewhere... but what stood out to her was the canine jaw. It was the main pride of most carnivores, their powerful jaws that could crush necks with ease. gulp... Her eyes fluttered pulling her out of thought as the flustered bird attempted to twist the conversation.
"O-oh it's 1 already!? I-I didn't know..." She totally knew but it wasn't uncommon for her to be up this late... though she knew it was rude to the others to not give them peace and quiet at night. Her mind was beating her up about it trying to convince her to tell the truth in desperate means, Just be vague... try to let him down as easy as possible... A feathered finger pointed back into her bedroom, the unconfident voice mumbling out, "W-well my computer's volume sliders are broken... so I can't really turn it down even if I wanted to." Nervous laughter filled the hallway like a series of clucks before the boy asked another question. "A-A chicken... w-well not like it matters... yeah... I am..." She was slow and methodical about responding about her species. It was her curse and she had no care for it... why did it matter if she was a chicken anyway? Why didn't people ever ask, "Who raised you?" or "What do you want to be?"
Lincoln studied her response for a second, looking away then back at her before rubbing his arm tenderly, It’s not my fault it’s dark and you look like a cotton ball that was left in the dryer. With a sigh, he let his face slacken a bit, staring back up at the chicken who we almost 2 feet taller than him. ”...Ah, that’s actually pretty bad. Do you have headphones? I have some spares if you need some. A speaker might be better since it would have it’s own slider though.” Lincoln tilted his head off to the side, his eyes seeming to almost glaze over as his brain was sucked back up into the void. Perhaps a lack of care or merely just the lack of sleep slowly catching up to him, but the arguing was quickly becoming less and less appealing. Was it because she was a hybrid she was so jumpy? What kind of hypocritical bullshit was that? But the chimera was losing his sense of patience and the craving for sleep was only sneaking up on him the longer he stood in front of this door. He slumped his head into the hood of his jacket, his eyes dropping closed before being shot back open by the hissing and screeching of this....science core.
Wait, was that a joke? Was that suppose to be comedy? What even is comedy? Lincoln’s face scrunched up on thought, his ears flopping off to one side haphazardly. Lincoln was a hybrid, which made their sense of awareness much better than the average animal, but not even he could discern whether or not someone was joking while he is half asleep. Such a feat could be nothing more than impossible. “It...It is music right?”
“....”
“Ah, I’m sorry, that came off as rude....You weren’t joking about it being music were you? ‘Science core’ isn’t some new trend is it? I’m bad with keeping up with those sorts of things.”
The boy in front of her spoke with an odd elegance with everything he said, almost as if the words were bouncing off one another in an odd game of leapfrog. Yet even with that soft voice, she could tell there was a slight sense of tiredness creeping into him. This is bad, this is bad... if I get the headphones will he leave me alone?Her feathers stood on end as if she was in the center of an electrical circuit known as pressure. She knew she needed a speaker but she spent all her paychecks on more science equipment so there was never anything left in the budget for additional computer equipment. Black eyes darted around nervously as she slowly attempted to ease out of the conversation. "Y-yeah it was a joke..." her voice was unsure but a little more at ease.
She twiddled her small fingers together as she looked at the floor... which just made her stare at the boy. The height difference was more than obvious between them, but the unsettling presence of the hybrid was more than enough to put her whole body into an argument between flight or fight. She spoke again in that squawking tone she couldn't help, "I-if you could spare me one I'd appreciate it..." It was definitely the fastest way to spare her of this conversation... and the fastest way to get back to work. The thought of all the code she was going to have to dig through made her mouth water a little in excitement. They both could use a nap at this rate... the moonlight fluttered around the hallway through the torn and scarred curtains of the hallway. The scent of cigarette smoke wafting up through the hallway almost like a warning to the two strangers. Was the hallway always so tense or was it just this boy?
Lincoln rubbed his eyes with the palm of his hand, slowly nodding along to his neighbors words before beckoning her to follow him to the door to the right of hers. "I'd need to check...my boxes, but I think I brought an old pair with me." With those words, he stumbled around the doorknob before just pushing it open to reveal the warm glowing light of his bedside table. A sparely decorated room turned into a city of boxes; a cardboard jungle of packages stacked so high up that there was almost no way possible that such a small creature like Lincoln could have pulled it off. The young chimera traces his fingers down the letters of each box, squinting a bit as he moved. "Can you turn on my light? I can't see all that well in the dark...well I guess you can't either." Or at least he guessed she couldn't. Only carnivores could see in the dark after all...He went silent for a moment, but perked up almost as quickly. No point thinking about that now.
He unpacked one box after another, the cardboard jungle slowly turning into a sea of clothes and vinyl records as he searched. Other knickknacks and doodads erupted from the boxes; flags from different tourist locations, books of many different languages. Lincoln glanced up at the chicken then gestured over to the stuff that scattered around him. "...My brother likes to travel, so he sends any souvenirs he likes to me....ah, I should probably tell him I changed my address..." As quickly as it came, his consciousness drifted again, snapping back and forth like the receding waves. ".....Ah! Found it." Finally, he produced a pair of bunny-designed headphones, slipping them over into the chicken's hands. "...My name is Lincoln Littley by the way. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."
Her legs trembled as every fiber of her shaking in an undiagnosed fear. It was as if she was following a wolf to its den... but she would've probably felt better if it was a wolf that way she could tell exactly what it was. She couldn't help but feel it would be too insensitive to ask... but maybe that would make this whole trip worth it. This was her first time getting to talk to a hybrid... him being tired may make him even more receptive to her questions as well. Before she could bring herself to ask the weird kid asks her to turn on the light which she gladly obliges, it made things much more bearable not being in that god forsaken darkness. As the lights flickered on she could clearly make out the small rabbit-like child and on top of that, she was correct on her original guess. She could clearly make out the canine jaw that rested just above his chin, the stories it must tell huh? He seemed perkier being in his own space like this then out in that old hallway, which she could sympathize with.
She let herself glance around the room taking in the old cardboard boxes and the feelings of just moving in. It reminded her of when she first came to this shitty old apartment complex, there is just something charming about the cracking walls. It's like just as this building was abandoned that the people within were free from the prejudices of the outside... her thought was interrupted as the boy placed the bunny-designed headphones into her hands. He mentioned something about a brother... was he a hybrid too? It wasn't often she heard of hybrids much less often sibling ones. Most often parents have a single kid and realize the mistakes that come from it and know better... but to have two was too much for her mind to handle,Parents really don't care do they... guess that makes us similar in some ways. Lincoln Littley, she wanted to tack down the name as soon as she could but for now, she'd let it rest in her mind. He was nice... so he shouldn't mind if I ask, "Thank you..." Her voice came out more confident then it was before. She was becoming more ease with this boy as she delicately held the headphones, but that didn't mean she could ignore the question on her mind. "I-if you don't mind... I was actually wondering... what kind of parents did you have? I-I know its a rabbit and a fox... but your quite smaller then most foxes I know... or well knew!" She quickly corrected herself. Her ideas were pinning themselves down on a Fennec Fox for certain, which would certainly make it easier on the mother... or was the fox the mother? Ava had so many questions but that should be it for now. "H-how does it work? The uh... jaw?" It was strange for her to be asking that of a predator... even a hybrid but she couldn't help but be fascinated, the curiosity of science ignores all reasoning and logic.
His face contorted then softened in a single instant, his ears and tail flopping over for just a second before popping back up by force. Lincoln stared at the ground for a second then back up at the still anonymous chicken that stood before him in his sleepy little apartment. "My parents think it's a Fennec fox and a Rabbit, and the doctors agreed, so we went with that. I didn't actually meet my real parents, so we could be wrong." The questions were bound to appear. Now that they have swapped places, the roles of the interrogator and the suspect were swapped huh? The young hybrid rubbed the back of his head, slowly plopping down on the bed nearby. "I hope that question doesn't mean you want to look...You know that carnivores aren't allowed to bare their fangs at herbivores, right?....not that I exactly count..."
He felt along his jawline covering his mouth with his hand as he opened it up. "It acts like a normal jaw of a fennec fox...whatever that average is. I mean I haven't checked, but I at least assume so." If gnawed at air with the back of his teeth, stopped, then continued doing it anyway. That's no good Lincoln. Friendly and approachable, so they aren't afraid to ask questions. Your number 1 enemy is ignorance, so explain properly.... He locked his eyes back up at the chicken's folding his claws back into his palms to try and hide them the best he can. "Basically, a hybrid is usually the sum of both their parents, right? So I have pieces from a fox and a rabbit. Like my ears and my tail...those are more obvious, but most hybrids are made by pieces I think."
There was a strange tension in the air that seemed to startle the rabbit-fox. It was only fair... he had asked her questions and now it was her turn to repay the favor. She understood it was strange... and socially unacceptable for a Herbivore to be pushing a Carnivore like this but she just had to know. Her curiosity seemed to surge as she heard of the parent's species, her eyes rolling up into her head as she began taking several mental notes. It seemed that size was the main issue when it came to what was possible between certain Nomivores, so it does stand that a Nomivore so small would have had to interact with a Fennec Fox. She listened closely as the boy snapped away at the air listening to each click and clack with deep interest. It was not the jaw of a trained killer, it was the jaw of someone who didn't like to bite. Odd. While she was growing up in the police office she always heard the Carnivores talk about their jaw strength, maybe Hybrids don't have that same pride.
The description of Hybrids was one she had heard in her College Biology class. It was almost all beneficial physically for a creature to go for a mixed breed, of course, it was taboo in class to imagine the possibilities. There were several issues with the body that resulted from the unsanctioned breeding between species, certain combinations were known to be akin to killing your child. Without hesitation she reached out to reach for the boy's hand, she had to know how far this sum went though. This was her first specimen... she had to know. She looked down at the boy, "D-do you mind?" Her beak clucked out, as her head cocked in the air. She coughed for a moment as she quickly tried to explain herself to make this less awkward, "I-I'm a Biology major... I always heard about Hybrids but you are the first one I've met... so sorry if I'm a bit eager..." I just need to know... please understand.
Lincoln stared right at the chicken, lips glued together as he resisted the urge to pull his arm back. OI OI OI OI, HYBRIDS STILL HAVE KILLING INTENT YOU KNOW?? His jaw twitched just slightly, his ears instantly perking up as a slow creeping nervousness ran up and down his back. The teenager tilted his head backward feeling all semblance of tiredness quickly leave his body. As child-like as he seemed, he had to be conscious of those around him...if she wanted to see, that would be fine right? No no no no no, obviously not!!! Every lesson in science class was screaming at him to run. His rabbit instincts were almost begging him to. And yet, the stubbornness of the fox seemed to win out as his mind seemed to slowly fry. "I...uh...that's....but well...you know...it's sort of...."
Words were all at once muddled together, a soup of nonsensical mumbling that was found lost underneath the surface. He felt as his eyes remained struck onto her figure, an unwavering voice whispering in his ear magical words that were...almost tempting...but not quite tempting enough. Lincoln snapped his jaw shut, nearly grinding his teeth underneath his lips. I've gone long enough without doing anything, I'm not ruining the entire hybrid thing as a whole. One wrong move and it would be close enough to a hate crime...not that yelling at her would solve his issue much... I KNEW I SHOULD HAVE TRIED THOSE STUPID MASK AND TAIL HIDING TRICKS. See Lincoln, if you just listened to Simon, you wouldn't be in this god awful mess- Then his mind fully blanked out. The lack of sleep...or maybe it was the overdrive of senses, but his brain has officially given up.
She was almost blind to the hidden malicious aura that resonated from the child in front of her. It wasn't that she was completely stupid about the fact that hybrids still have a killing intent it was more so that she just didn't care. Scientists just had to risk things sometimes... and poor scientists had to risk things more than others. Her feathers fingers felt at his hand, the rough fur seeming to give way into soft patches in some parts as if his body was at conflict with itself on who gets to play top dog. She pinched at some of the rough fur and gave a very soft yank, just enough to pull a single strand of his fur free from its nest. That would be all she'd need to get his genetic data. His mumbles were echoing in the small room as she stuffed the feather into her oversized lab coat, beneath the mound of feather and blanket.
After she took the fur she could almost see his eyes fade a little, he was standing but not all here. That was fine though... meant she wouldn't have to explain why she needed one of his fur strands or why she was so insistent on asking him questions. She gave an all too polite curtsy as she approached the door to leave, "Th-thank you... I'll be sure to plug these in and make it easier for you!" There was a strange giddiness to her motions, it had been an extremely lucky day. Maybe she had been a little too harsh on the kid... she'd be more honest with him next time, that was if he didn't move out. She'd maybe even show him some of the data she finds in his DNA. One thing was for sure her new neighbor was quite interesting, "I'll be heading out now if you need anything from me uh..." She knew she shouldn't give him the offer but he was so polite... she felt a little obligated to make up for this later, "Just knock I uh.. guess?"
Beastars is the original work of Paru Itagaki and Back-Alley Beastars is owned by Jellycat and Bladedcat.
All of Back-Alley Beastars’ characters are the original work of their owners and may not be replicated or stolen.
All images and graphics belong to their rightful owners and Back-Alley Beastars does not claim to own any of them. the skin was created by TIMELAPSE OF WICKED WONDERLAND
