Ken knew something was wrong. It didn’t take a genius to figure that out. Maybe Rufu was a bad liar, or maybe he just knew her well enough to tell she hadn’t been honest. Either way, the idea that her family kept her so busy all summer that the two of them couldn’t see each other was complete bullshit. He wasn’t able to confront her directly, but he knew it the instant she said it. It was something he was used to, though. Family was always an iffy subject for her, and asking about it didn’t help. It just made her defensive, vague. The signs appeared not long after they started dating. She barely mentioned her parents’ names to him in the past. Hell, she never even met with him outside of school, save for their semi-frequent workout sessions.

It wasn’t like he could just ask her about this. Her evasiveness and his... issues... saw to that. Damn it. Why couldn’t he at least speak straight around his own girlfriend? Two years of dating, and he still stuttered around her. Her! Even though she meant so much to him! No; His frustrations had to wait. If he was going to find out what was going on and how to help her, then he needed to take some drastic measures. And that was why he hatched this stupid, moronic, idiotic idea.

He’d asked the janitor, a nice lupari named Bubba, to lend him a hand. The wolf-like alien had agreed to let him keep his mech parked in the janitor’s closet at school. He even managed to convince Bubba to carry him to Rufu’s locker. The lupari was very excited about that part, as the thwapping of his tail against his legs below suggested. “So you think this will cheer her up?”

“Y...y-yeah,” Ken answered. “R-Rufu said she’s going to be b-busy all summer, and couldn’t see me. S-so, I’m gonna...surprise her, m...make her break better.” The paw pads beneath him were warm, and the fur was soft and clean,yet Ken felt a little uncomfortable in his hand. It wasn’t fear, not really. Just simple unfamiliarity. This wasn’t exactly his usual roost, after all.

The lupari tensed up. “Oooh, young looooove!” Bubba half-howled.

Fortunately, his wolfish outburst was fairly quiet, but Ken still peered around after it. This was dangerous and foolhardy at best. If Bubba wasn’t such a romantic, his whole plan would have failed before it began. Then again, lupari loved to gush over sweet things. But still, Ken did feel pretty guilty for roping him into this. The last thing he wanted was for Bubba to be punished for complicity, and the old lupari probably smelled it on him. But Bubba didn’t stop him. Why? Ken had guesses. Maybe love had a stronger scent. He’d never know.

“Th-that one!” he pointed towards his target, now just a few strides away for the kindly lupari janitor. Rufu’s locker. It looked just like the others, but he was certain. The obnoxious smell of too much deodorant gave it away. Bubba seemed to recognize it too, as his nostrils twitched and snuffled loudly above Ken. Stepping up beside it, the lupari turned his attention to one of his pockets and pulled out a rope, although to him it may as well have been a string. Regardless, Ken took the offered end, and tied it tight enough around his waist to rub it raw if not for his clothes. The janitor watched attentively, ears tilted towards him with nerve-racking focus.

“Are you sure about this?” Bubba asked abruptly with a sniff. He was correct it seemed, Bubba smelt his uneasiness, which only rattled him more. Ken fought the urge to bite his lip and nodded, giving the giant wolf a thumbs up. “R-ready!” he replied.

Hesitantly, Bubba raised Ken up to one of the slats in the locker, holding the other end of the string with his free hand. Ken immediately stood and slipped his upper body through the tight passage. Already, the waft of Rufu’s many deodorant spray downs had him coughing, but he couldn’t afford to dither about. If he did, Bubba might call this off to make sure he wasn’t hurt, and who would that help? The metal dug into Ken through his uniform, scratching at him uncomfortably, and threatening to whittle down the rope’s fabric. With a bit of concentrated wiggling and a grunt of effort, he managed to slip his waist through with the rope in place, but when the pressure released he almost tumbled the rest of the way in. Almost. A panicked grab onto the metal ledge beneath him helped the young man stabilize himself. With a deep breath, he pulled one of his legs off of Bubba’s hand and slipped it through the slat as well, straddling the inside of the locker. Then came his other leg. He kept his hold on the ledge, but there was no pressure on his arms. Despite instinct telling him he was going to fall if he let go, a far stronger force outside held him up. Ken braced himself and called out, “Alright! S-s-start lowering m-me!”

In response, the rope about him went slack, and he let go of the ledge, stifling the urge to scream. The rope went taut again against his weight, and with great care he was gradually lowered to the floor of the locker. Once his feet touched metal, Ken hurried to untie the rope before banging on the locker door. It was quicker, and easier for him, than trying to call out to let Bubba know he was ok. The lupari seemed to understand, and the rope was pulled away, receding out of a slat far above.

Ken assumed he was alone now. He hoped so. Bubba didn’t need to stick around and risk himself over this. Nevertheless, he was in and there was no turning back. The human spun around to face the dark cloth prison that was his girlfriend’s backpack. It leaned on a wall rigidly enough to tell her books were already inside it, but its front was crumpled in. Grabbing hold of a rubbery zipper, he pulled himself on top of the bag and began to scale it. It was steeper than he’d have preferred, and the cheap fabric crumpling under his feet denied him any solid footholds. Fortunately, he had plenty of ridges and strings to grab onto, and he did not need to go all the way to the top to find a place to stow away. Indeed, hiding in the main pocket with all those heavy books was the last thing he wanted. He instead stopped at a smaller pocket halfway up the backpack. With both hands on the zipper barring his entry, Ken strained and pulled it back with a heave. It clicked and clacked slowly on its way until there was a gap large enough for the little human to fit through. With all haste, he clambered inside, and slipped down a few feet to the bottom of the pocket. He landed with a thud beside some thick rubbery cord and hard plastic. Earbuds? It was hard to tell in the dark, but it hardly mattered either. He was in the pack now, and all he had to do was wait.

~~

Rufu was not happy. She skulked through the drab, bleak hallways, and in her lethargy, every little flaw and irritant grated more than ever. Cracks on the walls gaped wider. Classmates became white noise, garbed in gray blobs, and her uniform strangled her muscles with every move. Practice was long since finished, but she’d taken her time in the shower. Her sparring partners called it wasting water. She called it stalling. Even with her many gripes, she was going to miss spending time here. Miss her Kenny, most of all. But she’d dragged things out as far as they could go. Not many students were left in the school by now. It would be closing up soon, so like it or not she had to leave.

As she passed by rows of lockers, heading towards her own, her eyes scanned the halls for any sign of a familiar white mech. Nothing. Of course, she knew she probably wouldn’t have seen Kenny today. He didn’t have any lingering business. No last-minute classes, school clubs, or sports. He was done for the semester. Lucky him. But his absence today, of all days, just made her dread the coming quarter even more. There was no support for her. No desperate hands stroking her fur for comfort. No patience-testing yet endearing stutters. Not even a glimpse of his neat hair streaking along the wall mounted walkways.

Spying Ol’ Bubba, she waved to the aging lupari. He always treated her decently. She almost thought to ask him if he’d seen Ken, but he was gone by the time the thought came to her. As she reached her locker, she stopped and pressed her thumb to its lock pad. Its metal door popped open a crack, but she let it sit there. The natural mane along her spine rose with tension, spiking out to a shocking length and testing her overstuffed blazer’s resilience. The same worry from last night kept badgering her. What if something had happened to Kenny? If someone did something to him, she would...she would

Rufu growled and butted her head against her locker, rattling the metal from the impact. Control. She couldn’t let fear consume her. Kenny was fine! He said as much, and what reason did she have not to trust him? He never lied to her, so that was that! With a heavy sigh and a flattening mane, she raised her head back up and pulled her locker wide open. Therein laid her black backpack. Stuffed with books, and still rather limp. A passing shadow and the clopping of hooves distracted the asishi from her belongings, and she turned to see a neishor boy open a locker on the opposite wall. She thought she recognized him, albeit faintly. What was his name again? She could have sworn it began with an ‘H.’ Rufu frowned, but couldn’t shake her worries. If she could find any reassurance, then he was worth asking. “Hey!” she called out to the other student.

The taller boy paused and narrowed his eyes at her. “Yeah?”

“Have you seen a guy called Ken around today? Human. White mech. Black hair. Green eyes,” she described.

The neishor’s face scrunched up, and he tilted his head. “Isn’t he your tutor?” he wondered before understanding dawned, and a nasty smirk settled onto his face. “Nope. Not at all. Can’t imagine he wanted to stick out his obligations longer than he had to.”

Rufu’s jaw locked. She fought down the urge to growl and snarl. Obligation? No matter how much that stung she wouldn’t let it show. Control. Remember: control. “I just wanted to know if he was alright,” she answered as evenly as she could. He wouldn’t find the reaction he was fishing for.

“He probably is, now that he’s away from a bug-muncher like you!” the neishor laughed as he grabbed his things from his locker.

Bug-muncher? The fact that he’d compare her Kenny to a bug alone was enough to light a fire under her, but to imply she’d...That she’d...even dare treat a human like--The hell was wrong with this guy?! Her fingers flexed. Her muscles bulged. She was one step away from tearing into him like he was Nashurr himself, but the line remained uncrossed. It wasn’t her sense of restraint that kept her from flying into a rage. It was the wave of disgust that flooded her for entertaining the thought. She wasn’t some animal, and hurting him would only prove his point.

Rufu let the neishor close his locker and go, even as he laughed all the way out of the building. She didn’t stop glaring at him until he was out of sight. The young asishi took a deep breath. Stars, her chest felt tight, but her blood had only gone from a boil to a simmer. She reached into her locker and yanked her backpack out. Slamming it shut, she began an angry march out of the school. Her backpack swung wide by its strap with each step, as she didn’t bother slipping it over her shoulder. She had a long walk ahead of her.

~~

Why was this a good idea again? Who had it? Oh, right. He did. Every step was like an earthquake. The motion was constant, as Rufu seemed to take no care with her bag. It was a wonder Ken hadn’t lost his lunch yet, and to add to that, it was dark. He could hardly see past his forearm, or what was going on around him. He could only feel it, as each swing of the backpack threw him from floor to roof and scraped him against the cheap, abrasive material. The fabric muffled noise from outside, and with all the chaos inside, he couldn’t hear much of what was going on either. The air in the bag was tight and thin. It was difficult enough to breathe, but the consistent motion and noxiously thick stench of deodorant only made things harder. Soon, anything not zipped up or belted down came loose and fell free. His yutri, his stylus, even his glasses leapt from his face, only to meet a painful end beneath his elbow. His yutri, just before gravity chucked it away, blared out a kitschy ringtone. His mother’s ringtone. Great. Of all the rotten timing! Luckily, he still had a shot at taking it back. The light of the screen shone bright enough that he could follow it, glasses or none. Ken grabbed the device on his way back down in a bout of quick thinking. Being upside down did good things to his reflexes, apparently. Who knew?

“H-hello?” Ken said with a voice crack, kicking with all his might to steer himself away from the remains of his eyewear.

“Kenneth?” crackled his mother’s voice, “whE-r-rr ArrrRrr---” The other line only garbled and warped further. The fabric was devouring his reception, and he panicked.

“Mom?!”

Static burst through his ear. Then nothing. He was on his own. Damn it. Stuck in this stuffy pocket, ripping himself up on his own glasses, it made him want to scream! But he couldn’t if he tried. He was too lightheaded, too dizzy. It wouldn’t be much longer before he passed out. Then, when all hope seemed lost, the constant bobbing and shaking came to an end. He laid limp on the bottom of his fabric cell, trying to recuperate. That warmth. Was that… light? Rufu had opened the pocket. Finally! Ken took in all the air he could stomach. Stamina rushed back into him in an instant. But alas, the break was short lived.

Two furry fingers, backwards and straining for reach, scraped past the zipper teeth and blindly picked away at the contents. Ken shut himself up, not even drawing breath, lest it alert Rufu to his presence. He thought his heart would give out at any moment. All of this would have been for nothing if she grabbed him, or if she hurt him on accident. Finding him now, before she was home, she wouldn’t bring him the rest of the way. He wouldn’t find out what was wrong. He had to move away. Fast. Ken’s hands and knees flopped to the floor and he scampered to the opposite corner, kicking an ear bud away in a frenzy. It bounced into Rufu’s fingers, and the enormous furry digits snapped hold of it. Thank God. In one quick motion, his girlfriend yanked the speakers, cords and all, out of the pocket, and Rufu zipped him away.

That was too close. Another brush with danger like that was the last thing Ken needed. Sadly, he couldn’t relax just yet. The swinging motion started back up again, and he knew that something even worse might be just around the corner, begging to surprise him. He really was an idiot. Rufu and his parents would flip if something happened. He’d put himself in so much peril, and for what? For Rufu, that was what. The girl he loved and the bond they shared were more important than his health. End of story. He had to think of her. He had to pull through this. He had to be determined. He had to-

“My stomach! I-I think I’m gonna...”

He had to throw up.

~~

Shurrashor was not a hub world. Rufu was reminded of that everywhere she went. Oh, there were many other species that lived here, but the neishor were the obvious majority. So things were always done the neishor way. Even here in her neighborhood, with its worn down buildings and unkempt foliage, a free-use gym stood on the corner. It always seemed like a bit of a waste. Not many people from her little suburb actually used the thing, but you couldn’t go more than ten kilovalen in any direction without running into a gym. The P.E. teacher, a human, had compared them to ‘Walmart.’ Whatever that was.

Turning down her street, she watched a viliti man with shaggy fur shambling groceries in from his car without even a shirt on. People around here didn’t care about anything. A pity. These older buildings weren’t quite so uniform as most. They had character. This neighborhood must have been really nice a few decades back. But at least her two story home didn’t look so bad, with its clean cut lawn and nice outdoor furniture. Her parents always took care of their belongings, if nothing else. In time, the clacks of her claws meeting the cracked and disheveled pavement faded away. Replaced by the crinkling of leaves and the crusty touch of dry soil. The trees here didn’t wither in winter, so they lost their leaves all year long, even in summer. She gave it a few days before they would have to be gathered up.

Rufu stopped before the front door, her backpack nearly slamming into it. Reaching into her blazer’s pocket, she paused her music, but left the earbuds in. Maybe her parents wouldn’t bother her if they thought she wasn’t listening. Rufu pulled her keys out from her pocket and froze. Did she have to do this? If she unlocked the door, then her freedom would be gone again. But that was the trouble with the breaks that school and practice gave her; they never lasted. She always had to come back eventually, whether she liked it or not, and stalling any further would just rile them up more. So, Rufu swallowed, and the key entered the lock. Her arm lost all feeling. Then the door creaked open.

A wave of scents assaulted her. Spices and meats, frying and steaming. It could only have meant one thing. Dad was cooking. The smell might have been pleasant, if not for the underlying pungence that had long since seeped into the floors and the walls. She managed to ignore the all too familiar stink. It was just an annoyance. Nothing more. After locking the door behind her, she followed the foyer to where it emptied out into the kitchen. Her father, Arkebo, stood at the stove with his back to her, mercifully, with whatever dish he was preparing tonight. A slick, narrow mane ran down his neck into his clothes, similar to hers, but given a dull glimmer from the steam. Her mother, however, had the perfect view of her from where she sat at the table nearby. Taller than her husband even when sitting, her head raised some at her daughter’s appearance. “Took your time on the way, hm?” asked Mildraff. “I guess the buses must have been busy.”

Rufu kept her ears down and pretended not to hear her. She simply kept walking through the kitchen. But all hopes of reaching her room without incident were dashed, as the older asishi reached up and snapped her fingers in Rufu’s face before she could pass by. The teenager was forced to stop and watch her mother make a pinching motion at her ears and pull her fingers back. Rufu grumbled. Left with no choice, she pulled her earbuds out and steeled herself. So much for that idea. “Your father’s almost done cooking,” Mildraff pointed out. She sniffed, then winced and pinched her nose shut. “Take your seat.”

Without a word, Rufu walked to the opposite end of the table from her mother, ignoring some rambling about needing to smell more like an asishi. Her father had already turned off the stove, and began painstakingly plating the food. Rufu stood beside her chair and watched as he bent over the plates and fussed over the little details. Sprinkling seasoning, finely slicing, making sure the dish was garnished just right…

“That’s enough!” Mildraff snapped, a low growl following beneath the current of her words. “Just bring the food, Arkebo. This isn’t a restaurant.”

The smaller asishi’s mane fluffed out and he jumped. He shook his head, before grabbing all three plates with a practiced ease and spinning towards the women. His off-white apron prominently read ‘Shurra Feast 1st Place,’ embroidered in fraying grey stitching. “Presentation is still important!" he insisted. A futile gesture that had Mildraff rolling her eyes. Looking back to Rufu, she pointed at the seat her daughter stood by. “Well? Sit," she ordered.

With a barely repressed growl, Rufu finally pulled back her chair. She tossed her backpack up onto the table, and took a seat just as her father laid the plate before her. Suddenly, a horrid sound came through from the pack. Faint and wet. Almost like choking. She froze. Everyone’s ears stood at attention, until their eyes were caught by the small, damp stain that seeped through the fabric of a small back pocket on the bag. Rufu’s hands shot to her pack and frantically pulled the zipper open. Ripping the opened flap back to expose its contents, her eyes nearly bugged right out of her skull. Laid out on his side was a quietly groaning little human, next to a puddle of his own vomit. Rufu’s mouth trembled.

Oh god no. No, no, no. What was he doing here? How did he sneak in there? Why?! He could’ve been killed! Oh god. He could’ve been killed. She...she--she hadn’t known! Damnit! Was he ok?! Had she hurt him?! “K...K-Kenny?”

Ken’s low, rambling response was slow. Stars, he was barely able to string a word together. Not even her translator could make sense of his delirium.

“No, no, no…”

Rufu’s fingers hovered near his sides, aiming to scoop the human up and take him to a safe place. Shit. If she hadn’t been so rough with her bag, then maybe--

“You poor thing!” Her mother gasped; hands perilously close to her daughter’s. “Here. Let Mildraff take you somewhere safe.”

Rufu kept still, but her mane crept up when her mother began to pout. What was she up to? She found her answer when Mildraff stole Ken away, covering him in her hands. Rufu bit her lip. Her mane continued to rise. It took every drop of her self-control not to snatch her boyfriend out of her mother’s grubby mitts. But she was stifled. Glued to her chair by none other than herself. She did this to him. Her guilty conscience kept reminding her of that. Though when Ken suddenly yelped, Rufu stood so fast her chair fell over. Her hands shot under her mother’s in case she dropped him, but while the older asishi’s head jerked back her hold on Ken remained steady.

“Mom! What are you--”

“Shame on you!” Mildraff barked at her, moving Ken closer to her bosom. Rufu’s hands pursued her, staying underneath, while her mother nearly shoved her nose in the human’s face.

“Can’t you see the poor thing is in pain?”

Rufu opened her mouth to speak, but seeing Ken so pale, so disoriented? That shut her up. Mildraff filled the air with her bile shortly after. “Forgive my daughter’s awful judgement, little one. You’re safe now.”

“Safe?” Rufu protested, finding her voice again. “No, no, not with you!”

“Excuse me? Whose bag was he stuck in?”

“S-stop!” cried a hoarse voice from Mildraff’s hands. Ken, he was speaking again! Rufu was so shocked her hands fell away, and her father blurred past her peripheral vision. He wanted an eyeful of the scene now, it seemed. Or he just wondered why everyone stopped paying attention to his food. Either way, three sets of eyes were on Ken. Not good.

“What’s-” he coughed, “what’s go-going on? And why is...” Ken stared down at his shirt and choked back a retch. He began to tremble. Whether from nerves or disgust was anyone’s guess.

“Aw, he’s…” Mildraff’s concerned coo broke for a second as she grimaced, “...shaking.”

Of course he was trembling! Rufu could see the garish yellow stain on his shirt. He just lost his lunch, he had no energy, somebody he’d never seen before had him in her hands, and she wasn’t even holding him right! Completely open, fingers flat; what if he started to move? What was she thinking? And heavens knew what he just went through in her backpack. She’d be trembling too if she was in his shoes! She was almost trembling now, knowing her mother was holding him! “Do you think he’s hungry?” Arkebo wondered.

Rufu shot her father a sidelong glance. Really? Of all the awkward things to ask about! Her gaze quickly returned to Ken. His normally neat hair was a mess, and his glasses were entirely missing. Stars above. He needed help, not to be gawked at! Swallowing her pride, Rufu pressed her hands to the back of her mother’s and asked, “Mom, please, let me take him to the bathroom and clean him up.”

Mildraff quirked a brow at her. “After what you put the little one through?” she rebutted.

Rufu’s ears peeled back. She wasn’t the one who--no! She stomped out her anger. Now wasn’t the time for it. Besides, as much as it stung to admit, her mother was right. Ken was like this because of her. “P...p-p-please,” Ken stuttered. “It wasn’t...w-wasn’t...her fault. I...I-I-I wanted to surprise h-her. Sh...sh-she didn’t know. D-don’t be mad at her.”

Mildraff was quiet for a moment. The cogs were turning in her mother’s head, but Rufu couldn’t afford to let them. “He’s covered in his own puke, mom!”

Her mother’s hands slid apart and snapped to her chest, only for Ken to drop right into Rufu’s mitts. The human landed on his side, and she cupped her hands and fingers around him. There. Safe again. She pulled him close to her bosom, protecting him as much from the elements as her parents’ greedy stares. As Mildraff stood stiff and smiled wide, Rufu swiftly marched away from the table, barely muttering, “We’ll be right back.”

Rufu stormed through the halls to the nearest bathroom, and promptly kicked the door closed behind her. With all the care she could give, she set her boyfriend down onto a hand towel. She never looked away from his little body, not even when she reached over to the door and locked it. They were alone again. She was free to examine his injuries firsthand, and, stars, was she in for a sight.

“Oh no…”

His face was pale. His arms were red and crosshatched, imprints from the fabric of her bag. His jeans rolled up from the tossing and turning, revealing cuts and bruises along his shins. On his forearm ran sharp scratches, freshly reopened after her mother laid him down. “That standing-pisser,” she muttered, as she knelt down to search through the cabinet below the sink. Those cuts were bad. It didn’t take a doctor to tell. There had to be something in here to mitigate the damage, or at least disinfect them. Her mother would have made sure of that.

“R-Rufu?” Ken stuttered from above, sitting next to the faucet.

“Take your shirt off. It’s filthy,” she ordered, “I’m searching for disinfectant.”

It only took a moment, but she spied a bottle of rubbing alcohol. She snatched it up and set it on the counter not far from Ken. The bottle towered over him, but she paid it no mind herself. Watching the human while he slowly stripped himself of his stained shirt, she frowned. On one hand, she was glad to see him, and that he wasn’t any worse off. On the other, she was in disbelief that he’d done something so dangerous, so stupid. “The hell were you thinking?” she demanded in hushed tones, as she unscrewed the bottle’s cap.

“I--j-j-uh...Y-you were...” Ken was startled by the abrupt questioning. He paused and tossed his soiled shirt into the sink. “I-I just--”

After unscrewing the bottle cap, Rufu carefully poured a drop of the alcohol into it, before fixing her stern gaze onto her boyfriend. “Kenny, give me a damn answer,” she pressed further.

Looking back at the bottle cap, she already knew it was too much alcohol. Stars above, why did humans have to be so tiny? Setting the cap down, the asishi knelt and reopened the sink cabinet. Cotton swabs. Where were the cotton swabs? “Y...You w-were acting st-strange.”

“Strange?” Finding the pack of swabs, Rufu took a single one of the small tools out and stood once more. She drowned the soft end in the alcohol she’d poured out and ordered, “Hold out your arms.”

The human obeyed, and, gently, the asishi rubbed the alcohol-soaked cotton over his cuts. There was no way for her to be precise. His entire arms wound up coated in the substance, and no matter how little force she applied, his limbs moved about in the process. She couldn’t avoid it. A minor annoyance that would have built into a frustrated anger if not for their conversation. Ken clarified with, “I...I-I was...worried about you.”

As Rufu took the cotton swab back away from Ken her expression softened. Him? Worried about her? That was the last thing she expected. Granted, she couldn’t think of any good reason why her Kenny would do something so stupid in the first place, but still, to do all this because he was worried? Now that he was here, though, it was her turn to worry. She needed to tell him. With a humph, Rufu flicked the cotton swab into the garbage. “Kenny--”

The doorknob jostled, and her ears flicked in its direction. A drumroll of knocks followed, and Mildraff’s voice intruded, “Is everything alright in there?”

Rufu choked back a growl and answered, “Yes! Everything’s fine! We’ll be out in a sec.”

“Okay. I’m just checking on you,” her mother answered in a sickeningly sweet tone.

Rufu waited a few moments, listening for the steps to indicate her mother had left, before returning her attention back to her boyfriend. “You didn’t bring any spare clothes, did you?”

~~

Wearing wet clothes wasn’t a particularly pleasant feeling, but it was leagues above wearing the vomit-encrusted shirt he’d have been stuck in otherwise. Ken was grateful Rufu had scrubbed it, but it was just another blunder among many. The entire experience of riding in her backpack was horrible, and she must have felt just as awful about it, but ultimately, it was all his fault. She would’ve dodged his questions if he had asked her directly. How else could he have helped? Of course, calling this ‘helping’ was a stretch. All he’d done was stress her out and pepper himself with injuries. His cuts still burned from the rubbing alcohol, every flare-up a reminder of his own ineptitude. It wasn’t all bad, though. His spare glasses, kept out of habit, were completely undamaged when he brought them out of their hard case. So he could see. Fantastic.

He sat upright and stiff in Rufu’s hands, as she carried him back to the dining room, running his fingers through her fur to calm down. He had to ask himself, why was he panicking? No one was mad at him. Rufu had cleaned that rancid smell off of him. Things were fine, and maybe everything was fine here too. Maybe it was all his imagination. A few weeks down the line and Ken was sure he and Rufu could sit back and laugh at this. She’d probably tease him by offering him rides in her backpack. Ha! Yeah. Everything was fine.

As they passed through a door frame and came to the table, he just barely caught Rufu’s parents straighten up in their seats over his girlfriend’s protectively cupped fingers. “Is he alright?” her mother, Mildraff if he recalled correctly, asked so sweetly he almost wanted to gag.

“Y...y-yeah.” he answered for himself, drawing the asishi woman’s gaze down from Rufu to him. “I’m...s-s-sorry about i-interrupting y-your dinner.”

Rufu’s father, Arkebo was it? He opened his mouth as if to say something, but there was a thump under the table. He snapped his trap shut, and instead gestured to the side. “Please, sit,” was all he ended up saying.

Rufu moved to her seat, only to suddenly pause. When Ken looked over her fingers at the table he saw why. A dwelling (table was an overstatement) had been set for him in the center. There was a neatly folded napkin missing a corner in front of a glass salt shaker turned on its side. Several fist-sized chunks of salt littered the table beside it, while atop the saltshaker was the missing corner of the napkin, serving as a stopgap plate for a chunk of red meat half his height. Ken frowned. It almost would have been better if they had left him on Rufu’s plate. It wouldn’t be the first time. He didn’t even see any utensils. Was he supposed to eat with his hands?

His girlfriend must have been having similar thoughts, because she hesitated to lower him down towards it. When she did, though, he gave her finger a good squeeze before standing. There was no sense in being rude, when her parents troubled themselves so much over setting up something for him. He was sure it was the best they could have done. Ken walked out of Rufu’s hands, and awkwardly knelt down on the napkin. The table below was hard, and the paper didn’t give enough cushion. This wasn’t gonna work. Hoping not to let on, he spoke as clearly as he could, “Th-th-thank you.”

That seemed to satisfy the parents, as they promptly began eating. Ken curiously studied the food before him. The slab of meat was much too big for him. There was no way he was going to eat it all. He checked around again, but there were definitely no utensils for him to use. They must have not had anything for someone his size then. Had Rufu never mentioned him? If she had, then they might have had some things set aside just in case, but that clearly wasn’t what had happened. Ken took a deep breath. He had to be overthinking this. Looking over at their food, the asishi family had something that appeared to be fried eggs oozing over their meat. They probably gave him a dry cut because he had no tools. Shit. He really was going to have to eat with his hands. With a quiet sigh, Ken readjusted himself to sit cross-legged and take the pressure off his knees. “So, young man...” Mildraff began over a wet smacking.

Oh no! Did they hear him sigh? He didn’t want to seem ungrateful if this was the best they could do! In a panic, the young man took a handful of meat and tore a chunk off with a grunt. Quickly, he bit in. As he chewed, however, there was a certain metallic hint to the food. Something wasn’t quite right. There was blood in his mouth. It was rare. Ken chewed as quickly as he could and swallowed with a shudder. He didn’t care for blood in his meat. Ken broke into a cold sweat. If this was the best they could have done, then the near future didn’t seem too bright. All of the worry appeared to be for nothing, though, as Mildraff continued talking without a care through a mouth full of food, “...How is it you know our daughter?”

The young man furrowed his brow. Wait, had Rufu really never mentioned him? “I-I’m...K-K...Ken Dru-Drummond. Y-you don’t know me?”

Arkebo lapped up a bit of egg off his collarbone as he asked, “No, should we?”

Rufu loudly cleared her throat before he had the chance to speak. Looking to her, she was just wiping her face with a napkin. Setting the disposable cloth aside she answered, “We’re friends.”

Ken felt like the ground gave way beneath him. His shoulders slumped. Friends? Just friends? Why would she say that? How come she’d never told her parents about him? She just told him last night that she loved him. So why lie? “R-Ru--”

“Why didn’t you tell us you had a human friend?” Mildraff talked over him.

Ken’s mouth locked up tight. He couldn’t even bring himself to lift the chunk of meat in his hands and eat. Words were exchanged above him, but he barely registered them. Something about how Rufu shouldn’t hide things. It didn’t matter. He was lost in his head, as a deeply upsetting question echoed louder within it. Why was she hiding him from them?

“I don’t see why it’s important,” Rufu said.

Mildraff didn’t agree. “Oh, but it is,” she insisted. “Think of the danger he’s in. You must’ve heard about that Nashurr!”

Ken dropped the chunk of meat in a mix of hurt and fear. He didn’t need this. Just hearing that name made him hang his head low, and, unfortunately, Mildraff picked up on it with ease. “See? He’s scared! Isn’t he scared, Arkebo?”

Arkebo looked up from his food for a moment. “Hm? Oh, ah, yep.”

Mildraff sneered at her husband. As her attention returned to Ken, Rufu stiffened up. “No wonder the poor dear stowed away with you. It’s not safe out there! Well, you don’t need to worry, little one. If anybody tried to take you away, I’d chomp his ear off!” She scooped up a portion of her steak, ripping off a chunk with her teeth and gulping it down for emphasis. “Just like that!” She grinned, chin bloody, but showing no teeth.

“Uhh…” Ken couldn’t find the words. He tried to hide his shaking, and leaving it at ‘uhh’ would’ve been a faux pas. But that display was far from reassuring. “Th-t-that’s ni-”

“You’re welcome!” Mildraff chirped.

Ken became aware of a subtle shaking riding through the table. Then he realized he was hearing a low rumble. He stared off to the side at Rufu. She was growling quietly, her mane standing on end. “Mom let him talk,” his girlfriend insisted.

An ear flicked, and Mildraff’s smile wavered a tad. A tiny crack in her demeanor. “Hush, child. He needs to know that he’ll be safe.” The older asishi continued to stare at him, hardly blinking.

“You…” Rufu’s growl rumbled louder, and her claw dented the table. Ken thought he was going mad. All this growling and grinning and threatening grievous bodily harm, just because of him? He wanted to run. Had to run. But where could he possibly turn to?

“Guh-gu-guys-”

“What is it?” Mildraff asked, further infuriating her daughter.

“Mom, what did I just say? Let him talk!”

“Is he talking now?” she chided. “No, because you are. You really should take your own advice, child.”

Rufu buried her face in her hands, far too frustrated to argue further. “Now, what were you trying to say, little one?”

“I...I-I...” Ken’s eyes darted around the room as he tried to think of some escape. He couldn’t handle this. It was too much. Too much at once! “I...uh.uh-uh…”

Mildraff kept that belittling toothless smile in place, but rolled her hand expectantly. “...C-c-can I go t-take a bath?” he blurted out in a rush.

Mildraff gaped at him as if he’d spoken some eldritch tongue. “Nonsense. You two smell just fine. Now eat your food before it cools, little one.”

Oh. Ken futilely poked at the slab of meat before him. He wasn’t quite sure what to say. His breathing picked up pace along with his heart, but the others didn’t seem to know or care. Rufu’s parents shifted the subject to start talking about their day. “…So, mid-route the cop actually pulled me over…”

All sound was drowned out by a loud ringing. His breathing grew faster, shallower. Before he knew it, there was an enormous, furred finger in front of him. Ken latched onto it and never looked back, running his hands through the soft warm fur. Gradually, his heartbeat steadied, and the panic melted away. It was pathetic, but he’d never been happier to have Rufu than right then.

~~

“We’ll be fine, mom!”

Rufu kept arguing as her mother thumped up the carpeted stairs. It was not her hands that carried Ken away, much as he wished. He was instead in Mildraff’s custody, and once again in her flat, impersonal hold. “None of that, now. We have a perfectly fine guest room that’s never used. Ken will have a pleasant sleep in there,” the older asishi rebutted.

Rufu refused to give in, as they stopped outside the door to her room. “By himself? Really? Just let him sleep in my room!”

“Now, child, you really shouldn’t be so restrictive of your little friend. He doesn’t need you to chase away all his bad dreams. He is a young man.”

Rufu looked down at Ken with big pleading eyes, begging him to stand up for himself. He couldn’t. He didn’t want to cause any problems. Besides, her parents were being as hospitable as they knew how. It wouldn’t be right to throw that back at them. He turned away from his girlfriend’s face and focused on the padded palm on which he sat. “I...I-I’ll be fine, Rufu.”

He caught a glimpse of her arms going limp in the corner of his eye. He grimaced, but Mildraff chirped quite happily, “See? Your friend’s just fine. Now sleep, child.”

The older asishi turned and started walking down the hall, killing any chance to respond before its time. Ken bit his lip and kept quiet. It wasn’t long before the asishi opened a door and brought him into the room he’d be staying in. Small by non-human standards, but it stretched out like a warehouse to him. The undecorated, sickly orange walls didn’t help matters. The lack of anything on them just made it feel that much bigger, and that smell! Rufu washed him off, and yet it just didn’t want to leave him be. What was it? The monotony was only broken up by a closet door, an old dresser, a nightstand, and the bed he’d be sleeping in. That alone, with its garish flower-print covers, was large enough to rest a human-only shuttle on. Maybe two.

Unaware of how vast and empty this seemed to him, Mildraff carried Ken over to the bed, and set her hand down on one of the pillows. Ken stood up and walked out of her palm, too mentally exhausted to object. When he stepped onto the pillow; his feet sank in past the shins. The boy lost his balance on the soft surface and fell to his hands and knees. Mildraff reached under the blanket and pulled the sheet’s lip halfway up the pillow for him. He didn’t fight it. Standing on the pillow was a losing battle, and thus he gave up. Instead, he flipped over onto his back. He caught Mildraff wiping her hand off on her pants, as she straightened her spine with militaristic pomp. “Alright. Sleep well, little one.”

“Th-th-th-th...th-thank--”

The lights shut off, and the door to the bedroom slammed before he could finish. Ken shuddered. The darkness closed in around him in this enormous room. As his eyes gradually adjusted to the dim light, he took his glasses off, and stored them away in their case, which he set to the side. Then he slipped under the sheet that had been pulled up for him. Laying down, still in his day clothes, the young man stared up at the ceiling. It was too far away for him to see. This bed was too big without another body in it. He went here to help Rufu, only to sleep in a separate room with no hope of reaching her. It was all so isolating. Closing his eyes, Ken did the only thing he could and slept alone. No bed had ever felt colder.