Growing Up

They were right! He behaved so horrendous towards her! "I should apologize personally to that girl. What was her name again?" Both, Kay and Marsh looked at him in disbelief. He lived with her but didn't know her name?! Marsh protested. "If you don't know her name, then it's your fault for not seeing her! I won't help you nor tell you!" Kay agreed with him.

Ivaylo just frustrated huffed over it. Tactically, he chose to be curious and maybe, they will expose her name accidentally, if they start to talk about the young woman. "How did you three meet? Clearly that one next to you hates Beastmen." Kay chuckled. "I met her because of this bully." He pointed at Marsh, who gave him a glare in exchange.

"We all lived in the countryside, where my family owns a farm. Meeting humans over there is normal and since I am what I am... I got bullied a lot by humans and Beastmen, as I mentioned before.

One day, when I was still a small puppy I got picked on by Marsh. Since early childhood, he always hated our kind and made it clear. Marsh was about to hit me and she stepped in and took the blow with the stick protecting me in her embrace.

It shocked and surprised me of course. She shouted at him to be nicer and that I am kid, same as them. This jerk just shouted back, that he did not care. I was suspecting something from her but she was genuinely caring and caressed the top of my head to calm me down.

In the coming days, I began to stalk her. I sniffed out, where she lived, and observed her from the distance. I found out that she lived with her grandmother and Marsh was visiting from time to time.

Then once I got bullied by other Hybrid Beastmen, she again stepped in and protected me. By that time, I knew she wasn't a fake and I could trust her. We began to play and spend time together. My parents weren't thrilled at first, even forbade me to meet with her and restricted my free time outside the farm.

But... after a few years, they got used to her human presence. It even changed their minds about them and now they have human employees and friends. Such a great impact had Paetyn for our lives..."

There! He said it! Ivaylo satisfied, smirked at Marsh, who hit the table with both his fists. "You fool!" Kay realized, what he had done. Still, it's fine... it's just her first name. He won't mention the surname.

"I should have bullied you more..." Marsh proclaimed. Kay grabbed Marsh around the shoulder and pressed him against his body messing up his hair and laughing. "You can try it now!" Ivaylo was watching their interaction. It was giving him strange vibes and feelings. A human and Beastman acting like friends.

"You hate us Beastmen, but here you are buddy buddy with one." Marsh pushed Kay from himself to catch a breath. "You guys mostly are not nice to us either. I accepted Kay and his family but most of the time, I rather avoid interaction with your kin. I have my own bad run-ins with some. Not to mention what Paetyn had to go through in the past and present. I admire her naivety. She is such a gullible person."

Kay leaned on his paw and continued. "She is lovable, caring, and has the biggest heart, despite all the struggles she had to endure." Kay sighed with that love-sick tone. Marsh rolled his eyes. "You should already get over her and find some other female."

Kay with an annoyed side eyes snapped at him. "It's not your business. I know you hated us dating back in the day. But for me, those were the happiest years." Kay turned sad again. "I just wished I was a different Beastman type..." His eyes fell on Ivaylo admiring his physique.

Ivaylo silently thought about what he learned. He never knew humans could be good. Paetyn is the real deal. His desire to reconcile with her grew. Seeing Kay and Marsh teasing each other made him a little jealous. He never had a human friend nor a real friend and it seemed to be kind of nice. He glanced at his reflection in the glass from which he drank. The conversation he was having with them, eased a little his self-hatred.

"Now is our turn to ask. Why did you seek out Paetyn and began to live in her apartment?" That question caught Ivaylo off guard. Well, why did he do that? He was keeping himself in a self-delusion the whole time. The first thing that drove him to her was her scent but he couldn't say it out loud, they would laugh over it. He should keep up with the charade he created... tell just half of the truth.

"She helped me that time and left her scarf with me. By chance, I found out where she lived. I didn't want to meet with her at first, but once I got a little too drunk and somehow ended up in front of her doors with the scarf. I returned it to her and fell asleep inside Paetyn's apartment. It was conveniently close to my job, so I crashed at her place a few times and then made it a habit..."

Marsh was angry. "So you just used her for that? Now, you can piss off. She does not live there anymore, so you don't have any reason to talk to her. Especially not after your bloody stunt..."

Ivaylo put the glass on the table. "I am fine... it was just a minute of weakness." Marsh sneered over him. "Yeah, I saw... It almost got me a heart attack. I thought you killed her." Kay spun his head towards Marsh in a quick manner, dragging his claws over the surface of the wooden table. "What do you mean?" Marsh waved him off. "I will tell you next time, it's for long..."

Ivaylo sighed, shook his head, and began to write his private number, which he left on the table, and asked them to give it later to Paetyn. He would like to meet her personally and apologize. Kay nodded but Marsh didn't show any reaction just stared at Ivaylo. Soon after, Ivaylo departed home and left them sitting alone.

Marsh grabbed the paper with the phone number and walked to the bar, hovering it over the glass container that held a lit tea candle. He stuck the paper into the flame watching, how it slowly burned to ash.

Kay confused was questioning his intentions. "Why did you do that?!" Marsh dusted his hands, turning to him. "We don't need to keep a mentally imbalanced individual in Paetyn's presence. She suffered enough already..."