Kay

This weekend Ivaylo tried to distract himself from thinking about that human girl. At first, he hit the gym after a long time but then, ended up browsing local furniture stores. There, he found some stuff, that was missing, that she had taken with her and he could replace it.

He even caught himself searching for the exact same detergent. He was walking around the aisle and sniffing it out with his closed eyes like a dog.

He should stop with this weird obsession! Ivaylo felt ashamed of himself. Why does she make him this crazy? She is like a witch, who cast a spell over Ivaylo. He now hated it. But still, he grabbed that detergent to buy it.

At the Outskirts home, he sat down at the kotatsu and pondered about everything around. The odor of the brand-new stuff began to mix with the old human furniture. He hated that as well. "How annoying!" Ivaylo was getting more and more nervous about everything.

He sat in the living room... in silence. Resting on his chin and tapping his finger on the Kotatsu table. Only the tap water's rhythmic dripping into the sink broke it by hitting the stainless steel at the bottom.

"I had enough!" Both fists made contact with the wooden surface of the Kotatsu. Ivaylo stood up, grabbing his jacket from the small hall and disappearing into the streets. Where should he go? "Oh, right... I can go to the bar of that Doberman... it's nearby." He didn't particularly liked that establishment, but he secretly admired that Doberman guy because he wished to be the same "Animalistic type" as him.

Looking at some other humanoid Beastman wasn't his cup of tea and the only bar, where at least one was a true Beastman, was that one. He entered that small cozy bar with his hands in his pockets and looked around. Luckily tonight, there were no human customers and just a couple of Beastmen. At least some good news.

The Doberman guy welcomed him out of habit. "Welcome to our bar!" But then, he noticed, who it was and he remembered Ivaylo. "Oh... you again. I hope you won't bother anybody here." Ivaylo vawed him off and sat right at the bar asking for a whisky.

The Doberman guy served him right away and then just kept polishing glasses. Ivaylo tried small talk, which surprised the tall Beastman. "So, how's your business going?!" The Doberman guy came closer. "I have no complaints. It's going well..." Ivaylo looked up at him with serious eyes. "Well? You could have much more customers and profit if you would ban humans. Did you know that?!"

The Doberman rolled his eyes. "I don't really do it for money. I just enjoy having humans around me. I know you hold on to that old belief of them being the biggest evil in the world. Your family probably taught you that... I am past that point. Also, my best friend is a human as well. When I needed help, as I got my both legs broken, she stepped in and fully managed this bar for me in the meantime."

That struck a nerve with Ivaylo. "SHE? A female... huh! Ridiculous!" The Doberman guy didn't play into Ivaylo's mockery. "We grew up together. We are childhood friends, even dare to say she was my first and still to this day my only love." Ivaylo frowned. "A human woman? Love?" He looked him up and down. "How would that work? That is some serious questionable stuff since you are for the most part an animal."

It didn't affect the Beast guy. "You are right... from outside, I am an Animal. I can't deny that, but from the inside, I am a human, same as you." The Doberman guy looked intensely into Ivaylo's eyes as he said that. Ivaylo sighed. The alcohol untied his tongue. "I would prefer looking like you. To be honest, I hate myself for what I am. Not only that, my own reflection in the mirror repulses me, but also how other Beastmen look at me."

This was the first time Ivaylo said that out loud, nonetheless, to a stranger. It was a big step forward in admitting his true feelings to the public. The Doberman guy chuckled. "Same here. I wish I had YOUR Beast type instead, so I would be at least able to be with the love of my life. If it would be possible, I would gladly switch bodies with you. I guess, you are already aware of how much you make the ladies go crazy. I noticed it, every time you were here and every female... Beast or Human was turning heads gushing over you."

Ivaylo leaning into his hand spinning the liquid in the glass didn't even look at the Beast guy as he was saying that. "Yes... for me a very bothersome thing." The Doberman guy was opening another bottle of whisky. "Seems like we are polar opposites, but still have something in common. I am Kay, by the way."  He stretched his paw over the bar. Ivaylo looked at him for a second and squeezed his paw in his hand. "Ivaylo..."

The Doberman continued with the conversation, which turned out to be relatively pleasant. "You don't desire any female? Don't you have someone special in your life? I would kill to hold mine in my arms cuddling her, if that would be possible." The Doberman began to hug himself. Ivaylo wasn't amused at all by that sight. It was pitiful.

"What was so great on that... human woman?!" It piquet Ivaylo's curiosity. The Doberman crossed his arms to help him think. "Hmmm... I was a very small pup at first when we met and got bullied by both, Humans and Beastmen. She was also taller than me at that time but very gentle and caring. Sometimes, she even took a beating instead of me. I avenged her later of course." He winked at Ivaylo.

"Then we began to grow up... from kids to tweens and then came the teenage years, where I started to be aware, that my feelings got deeper for her. I pursued her for a relationship. At first, she was reluctant, for the same reason as you pointed out, but after a time she gave it a try."

The Doberman walked over to Ivaylo sitting down next to him since the other guests departed and they were left alone. Kay uncovered his personal secrets to him. He could smell out lies. Despite Ivaylo being a tough guy, on the inside, Kay felt Ivaylo was a nice guy and he could trust him. And Ivaylo showed interest in the Beastman-Human dating topic.

"Managing the "first base" in our relationship was a little challenging since I don't have human lips and my muzzle was a little bit too much." He touched his face. "At last, we found our way... The second base was a walk in the park and then I tried the third base..."

The Doberman got silent. His face expressed sadness and at the same time, his cheeks were slightly blushing. "But it stayed only by the attempt. Never gone through it... In the heat of the moment, I couldn't control myself and hurt her." Guilt was plastered over Kay's face.

Someone walked inside interrupting his story but Ivaylo didn't see him because Kay obstructed his view. "Since you almost crushed Paetyn and in the process dislocated her shoulder... No wonder it didn't work out with my cousin. Look at your monster size. And don't talk about her in that way with strangers, it's appalling!"

Ivaylo's eyes widen in surprise. That voice! He knew him...