Today, Chapter 13 - Sanctuary is released. What is contained in this chapter I have teased all the way back in Across the Pond, so I really hope it shows the idea well. I hope you all enjoy!

Start Previous Next

---

A Matter of Perspective - Chapter 12

“Vhere do you vant to ride zis time, Maleńka? Inside my shorts pocket?” Carlos’ voice trailed off into a whisper.

“Oh, um—,” Zoe’s stammer triggered a chuckle from Carlos before she added, “Shirt p-pocket, dear. Last time I rode in your jeans pocket, I got motion-sickness.”

“Shirt pocket it is,” he cooed down, encouraging a faint, high-pitched squeal from the bunny.

Lupus heard the voices mid-conversation, though he lacked the context. He was curled up on the couch, a blanket Carlos had provided, and the faint crackle of hay keeping him company whenever his weight shifted. The wolf propped himself up, and with half-opened eyes, watched Carlos’ outstretched palm on the table for Zoe to climb on. As the protogen walked out of his room, he slipped Zoe into the side pocket of his cargo shorts. Once he settled his girlfriend, he fastened the velcro shut and caught the wolf watching.

“Good morning, Lupus, ready to go?” Carlos asked, voice chipper and far too awake for the wolf to address.

Lupus was a morning person—emphasis on was. Two days post-growth, his body had yet to adjust to its new size, and craved an extra hour or two of rest. If all else fails, have a cup of coffee.

“Define ready,” Lupus muttered, voice gravelly. He tried to stretch without groaning, but he received groggy protests from his sore joints and heavy limbs.

Carlos chuckled out, “Someone needs a cup of coffee,” and gestured over to a metal water tank, the containers you’d expect to see on Petritan rooftops. “Good zing I have Guaraná beans.”

Lupus listened to Carlos explain that filtered rainwater filled the American water tanks. Inside the tanks, gallons of water that would fill a single Vastelerian cup. The protogen admitted he had no sugar, no milk—just Guaraná beans he picked up from the market. Lupus didn’t mind, even as the bitter liquid slid down his throat. It was the closest he came to a caffeine boost within Brackenmoor.

Only when the mug was half-drained and Lupus straightened up on the couch—did Carlos repeat his question.

“So,” the protogen chirped, a slight smile on its lips, “ready ve go? I don’t vant Zoe to develop motion sickness in my pocket before you finish your drink.”

The wolf rubbed his temples. Having just woken up, Carlos had already got dressed. Lupus, instead, questioned Carlos’s decision to risk taking Zoe out of the house. “Um,” Lupus pointed a finger at the bunny’s outline, “is that a good idea?”

Carlos nodded and ran a hand across the pocket; Lupus hadn’t noticed before, but Zoe had already laid down inside. Probably to brace herself against the constant motion of her boyfriend’s footsteps. It was a tender sight, one that might’ve softened the wolf’s concerns, but they remained.

“It’s ze safest place for her during ze day,” Carlos insisted, slipping a finger inside to stroke the bunny within. “And I von’t keep my girl locked up inside ze house. Besides, I vant her to be vith her friends.”

Lupus did not speak, but he gave the faintest nod to suggest he wouldn’t press it further—at least not now, not here in public.

After Carlos locked the door, his hand briefly stroked Lupus’ shoulder. “Come on, ze meetup isn’t far,” he insisted and picked up pace down the narrow alley to greet the bustling dirt path.

When they became part of the crammed crowd of bystanders, Carlos’ hand felt compelled to cover the pocket completely. The protogen kept his girlfriend concealed as he and Lupus weaved through any pockets of space they could find. Neither of them spoke much. Conversation proved pointless when battling the rising of voices and the clatter of stalls being set up.

Carlos kept Lupus close as they passed the same market as yesterday. However, when they rounded the next corner, he collided with something—someone.

Lupus groaned and raised a hand to rub his temple. He staggered back and looked to see who he’d walked into.

It was a crow, no bigger than his chin. His black and grey feathers puffed as he straightened to his full height. “Hey, watch where you’re going—!” the crow squawked until his beady eyes landed on Lupus and dropped to the ground.

Carlos turned back, asking, “Lupus, are you vell?”

The crow stepped away from Lupus. “My apologies, sir. Please have a good day.”

Lupus tilted his head and offered a hand to aid the bird. “Mister—?” He started, but the crow had already walked away before Lupus could finish. The bird said nothing else as he vanished into the moving current of pedestrians.

Carlos stepped closer to Lupus. “Vat happened?” he muttered.

“I…don’t know. I accidentally walked into the poor man,” Lupus’ voice trailed off as he tried to find the man in the crowd.

Carlos turned his head slightly to glance back at the wolf. “Hey, watch where you’re going—!”

Lupus didn’t challenge Carlos. He continued observing P.A.T.H. Tech plates, then reached the protogen. Without a word, Lupus reached out and let his hand glide along Carlos’ mechanised and fluffy arm.

Halfway down another narrow, shadow-drenched corridor, Carlos halted by a door fitted with a wooden peephole. He knocked it twice while his free hand brushed across the bunny’s outline.

A moment later, the slit slid open, and a rectangular beam of light spilled out across Carlos’ visor. “Password,” a velvety voice demanded from behind, triggering a snicker from the protogen.

Carlos chuckled under his breath. “Come on, Alex, you know it’s me.”

Lupus paused, believing for a moment they were unlocking the door. Then, the voice reappeared, warmer this time. “Password.”

Carlos sighed, the corners of his mouth’s illumination now stretched to the visor’s edge. “Really?”

“You know how it is,” Alex replied, now more casually. “Rules are rules. Say the password.”

“Fine,” sighed the protogen, who leaned in toward the peephole. Lupus noticed how Carlos’ hand cupped his mouth from Lupus.

Whatever Carlos had whispered stirred several giggles from inside. Not enough to make Lupus anxious, but aware that there were fresh faces inside. From what Carlos told him, they belonged to both Vastelerian and Petritan’s, even if the larger species’ laughter drowned out their smaller counterparts.

As the door opened, Carlos slipped a hand into his pocket to retrieve his tiny girlfriend and stepped inside.

A slim shark then appeared, half a head shorter than him. More strut than walk, they swayed their hips and moved one leg in front of the other. Sporting torn denim shorts, fishnet stockings on their arms and legs, a vest unzipped to reveal a scaly grey-blue chest, and an old anchor hanging from a chain around their tail. They took Lupus’ hand in both of theirs, crimson eyes lighting up as they exclaimed, “Oh my god, you’re an arctic wolf?! You must be Lupus, I’m Alex!”

Lupus nodded, but as he opened his lips, Alex tugged him inside. He kept his balance as he got pulled into a living room almost similar to Carlos's. Ladders adorned each piece of furniture; three Petritan figures graced the coffee table: a fennec fox, a bat, and a lion.

A simple sight that echoed the sight of the interview room. “Oh,” he stepped back in retreat from the table. “Hello,” he whispered to the shark while he looked over to the protogen.

Carlos had settled onto the couch, helping Zoe gather with the other three Petritans. To the protogen’s left, a green-scaled gecko in a brown leather jacket, belt, and old jeans.

Already the friendly atmosphere was contagious to Carlos, yet Lupus remained immune. Understanding the feelings of both sides in that situation, he still found it hard to contribute. All of them seemed deep in discussion until Lupus looked at the table.

One by one, they all turned to face him with mixed reactions: the gecko nodded to him, the bat’s ears perked in surprise, the lion looked away, and the fennec stood up to walk towards him.

“Guys, give ze dude a moment. Zis is new for him,” Carlos informed the group, yet failed to halt the fox’s advances.

Lupus felt discomfort because of his inexperience being highlighted, yet he scanned the room, a subtle smile gracing his lips.

“Come sit down next to Noah and me, Lupus!” the protogen insisted, patting the vacant seat cushion next to his right thigh.

Just as he stepped forward, a voice piped up, “Welcome!” below. Looking down, Lupus saw a vanilla-furred fennec fox in a purple hoodie—he looked oddly familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it.

Closer to the table’s edge, the fox stood. Lupus’s protective instincts drowned out the memory of the interview. He crouched, palm flat near the edge, ready to catch the Petritan.

“It’s so nice to meet you, sir!” The fennec beamed up and placed a paw politely over his chest. “I’m Arthur.”

‘Arthur?’ he pondered while he studied the fennec’s expression. Although Lupus lacked Carlos’s polygraph, he did not need it to understand the fox’s reaction.

Wonder, not fear or dread, filled the fox’s amber gaze. He couldn’t tell if his size or the rarity of arctic wolves inspired the fox’s awe, though both seemed to contribute. An unmistakable expression, one he wore whenever seeing a Vastelerian on Vastelerian-Vision.

This time, that look is meant for him. Lupus searched for a word, any word, that could capture the feeling warming his chest. He wasn’t sure such a word even existed. Before he could try to find one, the little fox interrupted him, lifting a hand toward him.

Lupus didn’t have to think—instinct guided him. He extended his pinky finger for the fox to shake until Alex’s hand slapped onto his shoulder.

“Having fun, dear?” Alex snickered with a toothy grin.

Arthur piped up excitedly, “I am!”

Alex laughed again. “Oh, I know you are, Arthur. When aren’t you around us?” they said, shooting the fox an affectionate glance. Then they turned their attention back to Lupus, offering a sly wink as they gently bumped their shoulder against his. “But I was talking to our arctic wolfie friend here.”

Instinct compelled Lupus to lean back. Despite his non-shy disposition, he wished not to interrupt their discussion or frighten the two Petritans present. So, he held his smile, softened his posture, and stood back up. Just when took a step towards the sofa, Alex’s hand caught his, and halted him mid-step.

“You good, dude?” Alex asked as they stood.

In such a situation, Lupus’ left hand would squeeze his other wrist. Not this time; someone had beaten him to it. His left hand compromised and rested on Alex’s hand. “Yes, I am. Thank you,” Lupus replied, offering Alex a wider, more assured smile before casting it down to the fennec fox. “I’m gonna sit down though, alright?”

With both eyes scanning the floor as he moved, Lupus took cautious steps toward the sofa. Though he trusted that the other Vastelerian’s would’ve warned him if any Petritans were wandering the wooden floor below, he refused to take any chances. His approach was justified, but that didn’t stop him from feeling all those eyes, big and small, tracing his every movement. Even when he knew the couch cushion was clear, he still looked behind himself to ensure no Petritan would find themselves beneath his posterior. Cautious and slow, he sat down.

“Pleased you could join us,” Carlos jeered, settling onto the sofa. His robotic thighs adjusted, so they intruded little.

When Lupus opened his mouth, a scaled hand reached around in front of Carlos to him. “Sup. Welcome to the chaos,” the lizard, Noah, said as he shook the wolf’s hand.

“Hey, toaster,” Alex spoke with a flash of their teeth, summoning a narrow glare on Carlos’ visor. “How much did you actually tell Lupus about these meetups?”

Lupus leaned forward slightly to look at Carlos. “Toaster?”

Alex jumped in with a quick grin. “It’s a nickname,” they said, almost too cheerfully.

“One I despise, and my Ziomek's know that,” Carlos interjected with a flat tone and sighed out, “Anyway, I did not tell Lupus a lot. Let me fix zat.”

Carlos mentioned it began with the Big Heart Foundation twenty-five years ago with the mission of restoring cohabitation. Initially modest-sized, membership expanded. One of their boldest efforts had been the protest in London.

Lupus understood that. He knew the history and mission of the Big Heart Foundation. He couldn’t fathom their role in this situation. When he posed that question to Carlos, no sooner did Noah and the protogen stand up and ask Lupus to follow.

“Alex, do you mind looking after the others?” Noah asked the shark who was smiling down at the four Petritans in front of them. “I want to show the wolf something.”

“Of course I don’t,” Alex replied, glancing up at the protogen with a flick of their fin.

Carlos’s circular eyes inflated. "Are you suggesting ve take him into your basement?” He asked in a mutter.

“I thought you said I wasn’t ready,” Lupus interjected, earning the room's attention. Yet the wolf’s eyes focused on reading the protogen’s response.

Carlos exhaled. “I vill come vith,” they whispered, tone firm but not unkind. Then he turned to Lupus as his visor softened with a pulse of light, “But Lupus, please, keep your distance.”

Guilt knotted in Lupus’s stomach. He nodded anyway, because Carlos’s reaction wasn’t unjustified. Though he hated it, he understood it.

Carlos exhaled. “Ven I come back,” he said, motioning to the Petritans on the table, “I don’t vant to untie zem from your fishnet stockings again.”

Noah, whose scaly hand had been fishing out a set of keys from their pocket, chimed in. “And no hunting them down, either.”

Alex threw their hands up, feigning innocence. “Hey! Your boyfriend loves running. I was encouraging them to beat their personal best track time by avoiding my webbed feet.”

Kai, from across the table, fluttered their wings at the remark. “You call that encouragement?! I legit thought you’d step on me.”

Laughter rippled through the group, while Alex shifted closer to the little bat. “Honey, if I wanted to step on you, I would,” they whispered. “But that would ruin the fun. It’s much better keeping you around for, ya know, entertainment.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure they behave,” Arthur spoke up, gesturing to his chest with a thumb.

Milo, silent throughout much of the discussion, raised his head when the laughter subsided. “Um, yeah, good luck with that when you’re no bigger than their feet, Arthur,” he responded and brushed a hand through his golden-furred mane.

The group broke into another round of laughter, slightly louder this time.

“Oh! Betrayed by the quiet one!” They exclaimed and moved a webbed hand to brush a finger down the back of Milo’s mane. “By the way, little lion, I’m more than happy to host you if you’d ever want to watch a match together.”

Milo’s cheeks flushed a subtle pink, and he quickly found interest in staring at the table below. His shy smile betrayed him, though.

“I wouldn’t, dude, it’s a trap–” Kai’s wings extended in alert, until Alex raised a thumb to hover over the bat. “Okay, okay! I’m sorry!”

Milo was the only one who snickered. “One day, Alex…”

Alex’s lips widened. “Oh?” they cooed and withdrew their thumb from the bat—only to slap it down right behind Kai.

Kai yelped and swooped a few feet away from the shark’s thumb.

Carlos sighed, but he couldn’t help the small smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Alright, alright. Alex, vill you behave zis time?”

“Yes, I promise,” they replied sweetly.

Carlos gave the shark a long, skeptical look. He held it for a moment longer, but let it slide, and followed Noah to lead Lupus to the basement door. As the lizard slipped down the stairs first, the protogen signalled Lupus to follow. Without a word, Lupus complied, with Carlos walking down behind him into the darkened basement.

Carlos, speaking from behind, explained, “Ze Foundation’s initial aim involved fostering cohabitation, but plans changed after one Custodian patrol.”

Reaching the stair’s end, Lupus surveyed the basement, observing countless miniature lights dotting each wall—similar to a starry night sky. He made a rational assumption, which proved true when he spotted a glow-in-the-dark moon sticker on the ceiling. He would have brought that up with Carlos or Noah, but the protogen keenly continued his explanation.

Carlos recalled a patrol three years prior where his unit met some Petritans attempting to infiltrate into Brackenmoor. It was standard Custodian protocol to detain them, but for both Carlos and Noah, it proved difficult.

“We couldn’t stomach that, mate,” Noah added in. “Neither of us could.”

Carlos insisted, “Hence, ve sheltered zem,” moving from Lupus. He extended his hand, feeling the wall to locate the light switch.

Carlos said that a few years ago, out on patrol, they had caught sight of the little group standing near the Brackenmoor wall. When the protogen and lizard approached them and requested them to vacate the area, Arthur stepped forward and pointed his camera up at them.

Curiosity overcame Carlos; he requested more information. That was when the two Custodians learnt about VastelerianVision.

By law, the matter should have ended there. The Custodian protocol dictated only two options: send the intruders away or take them in for processing, which meant incarceration.

It was the first time either of them had faced that decision. To obey the law would rob Petritan’s of content that encouraged size interactions, and so soon after pledging themselves to the Big Hearts Foundation. Neither he nor Noah could bring themselves to take care of the content creators.

While they both wrestled with indecision, Arthur had proposed an offer on the group’s behalf. The fennec fox suggested they live with the Custodians and, in return, produce content that showcased the goodwill of Vastelerians to the masses. However, they would only release any content after The Division was over.

Carlos recalled how he and Noah had stepped aside afterward to discuss the proposal. They understood that what the content creators provided could bring the recognition they sought. Despite its prospects, they couldn’t deny the risk, nor what discovery might cost them.

As the Custodians understood, Arthur had broken away from the group and approached just shy of the lizard’s heel. Carlos remembered crouching down until his visor reflected the fennec fox’s determined expression back at him.

In that instant, Carlos offered their response. Should they choose this path, should they choose the security Noah offered, they must abandon their previous lives. For Petritans living in Brackenmoor, it meant severing ties, waiting in the shadows for The Division’s ending. “Once zey agreed, ve took zem with us. Ve have protected, cared for, and helped zem ever since.”

‘Why did that sound so familiar?’ Lupus thought to himself as his claw tip scratched his chin.

To his right, Noah chuckled. “I forgot how shy Kai was,” he snickered to Carlos.

Lupus’ ears twitched. He lowered his voice and asked Noah, “Sorry, but… what did you say?”

“Kai? The bat upstairs. That’s him,” Noah responded, casual.

“The Petritan’s upstairs, the bat…” Lupus collected his thoughts. At that moment, it clicked. If Kai was the gamer known as ‘Kai-ju’, then that meant Arthur, none other than ‘King Arfur’—renowned for crafting Vastelerian-scaled worlds in virtual reality. No doubt Zoe and the lion were two content creators, but he struggled to place them.

The wolf’s mouth hung open, but words came to express his shock. He had stumbled upon the truth behind the content creator’s disappearance. An event that sparked speculation and lore around it, stretching from the absurd to eerily accurate. Unbeknownst to them, some neared the truth’s proximity. “He’s one of the missing content creators!”

Thanks to Carlos’ illuminated visor, he picked up on the protogen tilting his head. “So you know zem?”

Lupus told both of them some names he remembered seeing on the Missing Content Creators sub-section on Vastelerian-Vision. He spoke them out loud: King Arfur, Mega-n, Milo-meter, Kai-ju.

Noah, just a few steps further away, chipped in. “They’re definitely experts in filming, especially Kai.”

The protogen chuckled under his breath. “You have yet to show me zose homemade monster movies you made vith your boyfriend.”

Lupus listened in silence as he realised he knew the truth of what happened to the ‘Missing Content Creator’s’. Fantasies on VastelerianVision suggested they were whisked away to live a life with Vastelerians, and these fantasies were true.

Carlos and Noah offering sanctuary to the small content creators brought Lupus’s heart warmth, though he held questions. Despite the nobility of their gesture, he could not fathom how Petritans survived in a town never designed for their scale. Lupus praised independence, yet worried about the mental toll on a Petritan if their life depended on either Carlos or Noah. “Aren’t you worried about undermining their independence?” he asked.

On cue, Carlos turned on the basement lights. It bathed the basement in ambient light and revealed an enormous table dominating the room. Atop it sat a miniature village: clusters of model buildings, winding paths, tiny trees and shrubs dotting the landscape. A glass barrier lapped around the table's edge. Handcrafted, living diorama to serve as a Petritan sanctuary in secret.

Stepping nearer, Lupus scrutinised the model’s captivating form. It was beautiful, even serene, but it was empty. Not one Petritan could be seen roaming inside. He wished their inaction stemmed not from fear of him, though such apprehension was conceivable.

“They’re not in there,” Noah said, already expecting the wolf’s next question. “None of them use it a lot. Actually, every one of us has a similar setup like this in our basements.”

Carlos chimed in. “Zat’s not just because ve have a tiny number of Petritan members, either. Ze truth is…ze Petritans ve’ve taken in? Zey prefer being around us.”

Noah approached the display’s border, placing his clawed hand upon its glass barrier. The models, he explained, were built to give the Petritans a place scaled to their size. He recalled with a smile a morning when he sat nearby with a book while Kai ran laps through the little town.

Carlo added Zoe would use one model to game together with him and keep in contact with a few trusted friends from her old life.

Lupus’ eyes widened. He realised that if Zoe talked to people outside, did that mean he could reach out to Liam?

The protogen was quick to clarify, though—Zoe didn’t use her real name. She operated under a different alias, one only a select handful knew how to trace back to her.

Lupus understood that. Yet, as he looked at the tiny village and thought of Zoe’s means to connect with old friends, Lupus hoped to ask if they’d help reconnect with Liam.

The protogen approached him, his expression serious. “Zis can’t leave ze room,” Carlos told him. “No one outside ze Big Heart Foundation can know zese models exist or zat ve have taken in Petritans. Zat’s vhy I had to make sure you vere ready.”

Carlos explained that when Lupus joins them out on patrol, if they spot a Petritan attempting to slip through the border, they will ask them to explain their intentions. Depending on their answer, they’ll either seize their footage and guide them away, or in the most severe and dire of situations, they would bring them to one of these hidden sanctuaries.

Once safe inside a model house, one of the Petritan members would meet them and help them ease into life inside Brackenmoor. The sanctuaries were not official, nor was it lawful, but it helped the Petritans to feel comfortable—and that mattered more.

The process, Lupus had to admit, was undeniably wholesome. Every detail showed care to ensure Petritans could integrate into Vastelerian life. Except Lupus used to be one of those Petritan who grew up near Brackenmoor. He had thought about sneaking inside more times than he could count, but he couldn’t stomach the consequences.

“Custodians perform such duties,” the protogen remarked, placing a limb upon Lupus’ upper torso. “I couldn’t mention zis when ve first met, nor at my place. You needed to see it for yourself, although I’d rather ve vaited a bit longer,” he muttered to the lizard.

Noah’s ears twitched, and he let out a soft, almost amused hum. “Carlos, relax, he's chill. Remember, you vouched for him,” he defended and turned to Lupus.

Lupus’s eyes darted to the protogen. The knot in his stomach loosened just a fraction, but he still maintained his distance from the model. “Why are you telling me this?”

“You’re a Custodian like us,” Noah said as he walked over towards them. “While Custodians protect both species, on the side, we try planning for an integrated society.”

Beneath Lupus’ warm smile, he weighed up whether this was the right approach. Kind, yet also cruel in its fashion. To give someone the chance to live among Vastelerians at the cost of abandoning the life they knew and live in the shadows.

Ascendant status denied Lupus such an option; however, this did not prevent his sympathy toward the Petritans. It wasn’t fair. Considering the legal ban on their coexistence, what alternative existed?

“At least you know Zis before you join Noah and me during Monday’s patrol,” Carlos sighed and looked at the wolf to add, “but I planned to tell you after Ze first patrol to know if you are ready.”

Lupus went silent. His eyes deviated to the empty model town below. He imagined the feeling of granting a Petritan their wish, the same wish a younger Lupus harboured before his aspirations faded. It didn’t undo the ache of not being that fortunate Petritan himself, but it stirred something deeper. Maybe in not having his own wish granted, it deepened his commitment to make sure others had theirs fulfilled.

Carlos and Noah met the wolf’s gaze. “I understand. I’ll keep this secret,” he responded with a smile that crept across his maw.

Carlos nodded with glee. “Great,” he said with a lightened tone. “Ve should head back up before Alex makes a Petritan sandwich.”

Lupus’ ears perked up in alarm, and he shot a concerned glance toward the stairs. “You are joking, right? That would terrify them,” he said, while the protogen merely grinned back at him.

Noah chuckled, already making his way towards the steps. “They’ve all known Alex for years now,” he assured Lupus. “The Petritan gave them permission to tease like that long ago.”

The wolf's doubts remained, but he nodded. “Okay, if you’re sure,” he whispered and made his way up the stairs. Alex’s voice came from behind the door. When he opened it, what he saw next made him halt.

Alex had lowered themselves down and rested their pointed snout on the table. Jaw agape, gleaming teeth loomed inches from the Petritans, but all four tiny figures appeared at ease. Zoe reclined against a thimble-sized chair, Milo leaned on an elbow, smirking, Arthur was sitting cross-legged, and Kai casually tossed a balled napkin at Alex’s nose in retaliation.

Noah arrived just in time to catch the tail end of Kai’s defiance. With a bemused sigh, the lizard folded his arms and fixed his gaze on the little bat. “Hun,” he called out, the affection clear in his voice, “do you really want to be stuck inside their mouth again?”

Kai’s head snapped back around, while his wings closed like curtains around his crimson cheeks. “That was one time,” he muttered behind his wings.

Alex’s grin deepened. “It won’t be the only time,” they purred. With a slow lick of their lips, the shark added, “If you’re as sweet as Noah says, I would love to devour you.”

Kai visibly bristled, while the Petritans around him giggled. “Y-You wouldn’t dare,” the bat squeaked, trying to mask the fluster behind his wings. “Milo, back me up here!”

The lion shifted from Kai, speaking quietly from his lips. “I’m smart enough to know that disagreeing with Alex is not a good idea. Plus…” he gingerly smiled, “I’m sure someone who used to call themselves Kai-ju can handle a shark, right?”

“Eating you won’t be difficult,” Alex replied with a fang-filled smile. “You’re a crumb.”

Unable to hold it back, Noah snickered too. “He’s my lovable crumb,” he cooed down tenderly.

Alex’s crimson eyes locked onto the bat’s as their lips parted to reveal two rows of pointed fangs. “Teasing you tiny dorks is soooo entertaining.”

“What the hell?! I’m way bigger than a crumb, you know! Petritan’s aren’t that small!” Kai shouted up to the lizard standing at the doorway.

Noah raised an eyebrow. “Could’ve fooled me,” he replied.

Kai stared back, jaw-dropped. “So, what, you’re dating a crumb?”

Noah gave a lazy shrug, already moving across the living room to sit on the couch cushion directly behind Kai. “Eh, I’ve dated worse,” he said with a grin.

Milo snorted with laughter while Arthur stifled a grin behind his hand. Even Zoe cracked a smile from where she lounged, which grew bigger as Carlos stepped towards her.

“Excuse me?!”

Noah smirked, extending a finger to nudge Kai’s flank. “Yup. You’re tiny, but you’re my tiny, my tiny crumb.”

The bat huffed, folded his arms, and looked away. “You’re lucky you’re handsome,” he muttered.

“I’m very lucky,” Noah said with a wink. “I have you,” he breathed, moving to let Carlos sit.

After Carlos sat down, Zoe stood to greet the protogen, and as she did, Carlos shifted his legs forward until his knees brushed under the table. “Hey, honey, how is my big toaster?”

The protogen’s eyes shrank into purple crescents. “You know I am not a fan of zat nickname, hon.”

“You love it when I say it though, babe,” Zoe chimed in from the table.

Carlos’s head tilted down to meet hers. He leaned in ever so subtly towards the bunny. “Oh, do I?” he challenged her. “Like you love being inside my—”

Zoe’s ears shot straight up. “W-Wait, no—hang on,” she sputtered, waving both hands to sway away the implication.

Carlos extended his left leg forward until his kneecap brushed against the table's edge. “After zat comment, babe, you’ll be riding inside my jean pocket during ze walk home,” he said, tapping the boot rim with one claw.

“W-What?!” she squealed.

“Get a room, you two,” Alex snickered, rolling their eyes. “And you accuse me of teasing Petritans too much,” they taunted, folding their arms and raising a brow at Carlos.

The bat resting upon the table then spoke, “Isn’t your teasing a little much, though?”

“Which is why I only tease you guys, Kai,” Alex insisted, sliding their maw further along the table to meet the bat. “Would you prefer I didn’t tease you?”

Kai crossed his arms. “Honestly, I’d prefer if you teased the others for a change.”

Alex’s snout curled into a mischievous grin. “Yeah,” they said with an amused growl, “but you’re much more entertaining. Deal with it.”

Lupus lingered at the basement doorway, arms loosely folded, his gaze moving from one face to the next as the group’s banter continued. He wasn’t concerned—far from it. If anything, he found the light teasing between the sizes captivating and encouraged him further to be a part of it.

“Oi, wolfie, get over here,” Alex called to him, snapping Lupus out of his train of thought.

“Come on, don’t be shy!” Zoe chimed in, waving an arm no bigger than Lupus’ finger.

“Zere’s space next to me,” Carlos followed up the bunny’s comment.

Lupus let out a nervous chuckle, while his tail swished into life behind him. He hadn’t known these people longer than one afternoon, but already, they would include him.

Moving then, he stepped away from the doorframe, traversing the room with care. He took the same spot beside Carlos, who gave him an affirming nudge with an elbow.

Lupus settled, and the discussion resumed. He spent the next half hour listening to the group’s conversation. At first, they exchanged updates—work stories and crazy antics that came along with mixed-sized roommates, tales he never thought he’d hear in the United Kingdom. It offered him a basic introduction to who they were, but when the talk drifted toward weekend plans, Lupus learnt more and more about them. The strangers around became defined; his curiosity increased.

Gradually, though, their questions directed to Lupus were to weave him into the discussion—what he did for a living, what he enjoys doing, and where he grew up? The last one he struggled to answer in its entirety, but he danced around it and told them he grew up in a village near Brackenmoor. To his relief, no one asked any follow-up questions, perhaps out of politeness.

❆ ❆ ❆ ❆ ❆

Hours had passed like minutes, and already Carlos and Zoe were ready to go. The protogen offered a hand for his girlfriend to climb onto.

Carlos, true to his word, slipped Zoe into his top pocket. Once the bunny was secure, he stood up.

Lupus thought he heard her tiny voice inside. Zoe, sheepish and barely audible, mutters a “thank you” to her Vastelerian boyfriend.

The wolf offered himself a smile, commencing their walk home together.