"Look what the dumb fucking Döbian got us dragged into." I had heard the Möhin Sergeant say with disgust as the body of the dead Möhi bruiser was bagged and tagged. "That mutt is going to get us all killed. He's too stupid to know when to walk away."

I pretended not to hear him from behind my darkened shades. Years of working the night shift had made my eyes sensitive to sunlight to the point where I rarely came out in the daytime.

Adding to my discomfort was the blood stuck to my fur and uniform where the bruiser had leaked all over me. I was covered from my chest to my balls in blood and as it dried I could feel it tugging on my hairs whenever I moved.

Every officer that arrived on scene had made it perfectly clear that they wanted nothing to do with the case. That meant my beacon footage would go missing along with all of the physical evidence. They were too afraid of the Bone Syndicate to put their necks out for a Döbian, even if he was one of their own.

I didn't blame them. Nobody in their right mind would want to piss off the Bone Syndicate. I had only gotten involved because the bruiser had forced the issue by trying to rip out my throat.

Sacher was standing out in front of his restaurant smoking a cigarette and talking with the captain. The remaining bruiser was handcuffed as politely as possible to the front of a cruiser while they figured out what to do with him.

The Captain beckoned me over. "You want to explain what you were doing off shift and still in uniform?"

I could have told him that I preferred to change at home so I wouldn't have to deal with the Möhin officers talking shit in the locker room. I could have told him that I lived in a dangerous neighborhood and a uniform meant I would come home safe.

Instead I let out a sigh. "It's my großer schwanz, sir. It's a curse I suffer as a Döbian and the other officers find it disturbing to look at."

The human heard me and almost choked on his cigarette. I could see his stomach heaving as he tried to contain his laughter, which was no mean feat because his lungs were full of smoke. Thin curls of it wafted out of his nostrils as the laugh fought to escape.

"Is it a serious affliction?" Asked the Möhin captain, who thankfully had never bothered to learn Döbian. "Can it be treated? Is it contagious?"

"I find a good rub helps diminish the symptoms but no, there's no way to get rid of it completely. I inherited it from my father and he from his father." I made a pained expression. "It's passed through the male line and quite common where I come from. But here, I'm an oddity so I prefer to change at home."

"He speaks the truth." Sacher said, tears beading in the corners of his eyes as he fought to keep a straight face. "Döbians are well known for their großer schwanz."

"Does it affect the females of your people or only the men?" The Captain pressed.

I shared a look with the human. We were too deep now to stop. "I would say it affects all females but it's not an affliction for them." I told the Captain.

"Großer schwanz can cause some discomfort and trouble walking for females." Elaborated Sacher. "But the effects fade quickly so it's not dangerous to them. Best not to bring it up though, it's a sensitive subject for the Döbians."

"My großer schwanz is very sensitive." I agreed. "Best if we steer the conversion back to the subject at hand."

"Yes… quite." The Captain replied, eager to talk about anything else. "I'm afraid we are going to have to let Mr. Muskel go free."

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

"Who?" I followed his gaze to the bruiser handcuffed to the police cruiser. "Oh, shit head over there? Ja, let him go. He already rolled over on his boss so he's useless to us." I made sure my words carried and that every crooked cop could hear them. "He was more afraid of Iron Hand here than Ruhern. We've got him on record so there's no point in keeping him around."

The bruiser looked up at me with hate in his eyes, the muzzle on his face stopping him from speaking. He was putting on a brave front but I could tell from how hard he was breathing that he was scared.

I leaned in close until we were nose to nose. "Please, send my best to your boss." I whispered. "Normally I'd tell you to try for police protection in exchange for testimony, but in a precinct this bent that would just be suicide with extra steps."

I straightened up. "Please forgive us for our mistake, Herr Muskel. Do have a safe journey home."

The Captain shook his head in disgust and walked away, no doubt hoping to get as much distance between us as possible. In fact I seemed to be surrounded by an invisible bubble from the way my fellow officers shied away from me.

"You ever kill another being before?" Asked Sacher in Döbian, standing next to me and watching the other police as they milled around. He handed over a lit cigarette.

"No." I answered, taking a drag of the barely legal carcinogen into my lungs. "You got any beer from back home? I piss better beer than the garbage they serve here."

"Ja, I've got a keg. I always bring one with me when I travel." He beckoned for me to join him inside the restaurant.

My boots stuck to the floor as I walked through a pool of blood. I remembered how pathetically the Bruiser had whimpered as he crawled for the door, bleeding from what I would later find out were three gunshot wounds. My first shot through the counter had grazed his arm and prevented him from activating his weapons, something which had probably saved my life.

The human poured two pints of beer in frosted glasses. I took the first sip in silence, savoring the sweet clean fermented grain.

"You have had a smoke and a beer, now you just need a fuck to have the post kill trifecta." Sacher joked, his metal hand clinking against the glass of the mug. "You have to put that großer schwanz of yours to work while it's still attached to your body."

"Are you offering?" I raised an ear. "I've heard stories about you humans…."

"No, no. My tastes run strictly to conventional pairings, both in food and in love." Sacher laughed. "I've got a wonderful human wife back home. She's a cook too, you know. That woman makes me look like a buffoon by comparison, the way I stumble around the kitchen."

"Sounds lovely." I drained the rest of my mug and gestured for a refill. "Any little humans running around?"

The human seemed to tense up like a spring was being wound inside his heart. "No, we were not blessed with children." He finally said, filling my mug. "Living in a world that hates us even though we love it so much… no. That is not a life I would wish on any child."

"So who is Kasha?" I pushed, still a police officer at heart even though my whole department had turned their backs on me.

The human looked across the bar at me. "If I tell you, what would you do about it? Nothing. So don't ask."

"Fair enough." I drained the rest of my beer and stood up, the alcohol making me unsteady on my paws.

The human reached underneath the bar and handed me a heavy paper wrapped parcel. "A taste of home for you to take with you in case you find yourself entertaining unexpected guests."

"Ah yes." I tucked the package underneath my arm. "It would be rude of me to be unprepared for company. What would they think if they showed up and all I had was my schwanz in my hand?"

The human laughed and walked me out into the sunlight, clasping his metal hand on my shoulder kindly. "Watch your back, those gangsters don't fight fair."

I pointed to the eyespots on the backs of my ears. "Good thing we Döbian have eyes in the backs of our heads."

I strode over with purpose to the corpse of the bruiser, my bladder was full and I had a long tram ride home. Mr. Muskel watched me as I opened the body bag.

"Your friend looks thirsty. Perhaps he could use some good old fashioned Möhin beer?" I asked mockingly.

The other officers made a big show of not noticing as I unzipped my trousers and relieved myself directly onto the face of the fallen bruiser.

"Oops." I said as the stream ended. "That was piss… but you can't hold that against me. It's an easy mistake to make."

I walked over and wiped my hands on the remaining bruiser's shirt, rubbing my scent all over him. He fought against the cuffs and muzzle, the police cruiser shaking with the force of his fury as he strained to get at me.

"I guess we will have to finish our business later." I whispered into his ear. "I'll be waiting at my apartment in Rottweil. Bring some friends, if you have any left."

Then I walked away to catch the tram home. If I was going to die it would be on my own terms and I wouldn't go out sulking or hiding. I would walk proudly into the sun with my head held high. That was the Döbian way.