"Excuse me," I said loud enough for the scalehoofs in the Building Two of the stables to hear me. "It's me...the one you call beast. I'm going in."

Awkward, for sure. Thankfully though, none of the people present laughed at me. And so, gathering my courage, I entered the stable, receiving the reaction I had expected, but not hoped for.

»You beast, go away!« Lyl'ra immediately bellowed, while a good half of the scalehoofs joined in to express their displeasure with me in their home, albeit not as loudly.

"Beast talk has always fascinated me," remarked Stable Master Hale, following in my footsteps inside just like his black dog, Scoresby, and Ria. "It sounds like she's speaking Standard, but the scalehoofs understand her."

"Better than your hooting."

"Hooting?" Ria asked at Scoresby's comment, beyond curious.

"It's not hooting, but...watch this, little one," the stable master said, taking a wide stance, puffing his chest. Then, he looked around at the scalehoofs and made a sound that couldn't be described other than a neigh.

As strange as it sounded, it was even weirder that I understood him.

»Take it easy, my friends!« That was what he said.

Quite puzzling, actually.

'Didn't he want me to show him how the scalehoofs accept me? Why was he helping me?'

"Don't overthink it, girl. Would do that for any newcomer. It shows the animals that I know about you, that you're here with my approval."

'Fuck me. How did I not notice this before?'

Baffled, I couldn't help but curse at myself for not noticing until Stable Master Hale neighed. The strange man he was, his words spoken in Standard, were backed by intent. Obviously, the stable master himself didn't realize that, but the meaning was there, expressing what he wanted to convey, whether it was to animals or humans.

'Was that true of other people?'

Well, if I had to guess, then yes. At least to some extent. When they spoke, they did so with intent, without being aware of it.

'Seriously, how did I miss that?' That was how I listened to scalehoofs, mossbears, and squirrels; that was how I talked to them by giving meaning to my words.

'Wait! Was what I did unnecessary?'

"You alright, Grey?" the stable master asked, seeing me waver, the meaning now obviously behind his words. His efforts to learn the tongue of scalehoofs, as misguided as they were, strengthened his inner voice as opposed to other people. Nevertheless, weak as their inner voice might have been, it had to be there.

'I wasn't wrong, was I? That had to be it.'

That was how animals and beasts understood humans while they remained deaf to it.

'Good to know, for sure. Useful, though? Hard to say.'

If anything, it showed me how the meaning behind words was important to the animals and beasts - and to humans, too, for that matter. It wasn't rare to hear someone say no when they meant yes, and vice versa.

'Wait. Wait, wait, wait. Does that mean that animals and beasts can't lie?!

Was it possible to express in that way something you didn't mean? Actually, a question the scalehoofs could answer for me and quite possibly the solution to finding my way to them.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine, Mr. Hale. I just realized something," I said truthfully, looking at the young mare pressed against the back of her stall. Her look said it all. She'd rather run away than be here with me.

"Ah, I see. And what is that? That you don't want to work here?"

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"What? No! No, I...I want to..."

"Just messing with you. But seeing the reaction of the scalehoofs - let's just say you have a lot of convincing to do."

"Yeah, I'm aware."

"Good. Just so you know, scalehoofs are herd animals. So if you wish to work here, I want to see that mare, your mare old man, not be afraid of you."

'Shit!'

"You mean Lyl'ra?" I asked with the slight hope that I had misunderstood him.

"Knowing her name is a good start. But yes. Convince her, and the rest will be a breeze in your undies."

'Should I just give up?'

Seeing the frightened mare, it seemed like an impossible task. But walking away wouldn't just mean losing a job opportunity. It would be akin to admitting that I was the beast they saw and feared. This was a chance to prove not only to them that they were wrong about me, but also to myself that I was still human, one not to be feared. The question, however, was how to show them that.

'By being sincere.'

Gathering my courage and collecting my thoughts, I approached the mare's stall. Not all the way, just enough to face her so she could see all of me.

"Hello, Lyl'ra."

»Go away, beast! Leave me alone!«

»Yes, leave the young one be,« the other scalehoofs whined.

»Find someone else, Oswyn.«

"You know me. I'm Korra, the one you drove to the city. You know I wouldn't hurt you." Ignoring the other scalehoofs, I tried to put as much sincere meaning into my words as I could. "I promise I won't hurt you. I wouldn't hurt any of you."

»You a beast, and beasts cannot be trusted,« Lyl'ra neighed, frightened, stubborn.

'Shit! She's said that before. Did that mean... that there was a slight flaw in my plan?'

"May I ask you something - all of you?"

»Keep questions to yourself, beast.«

»Not care.«

»Speak.«

"Do the beasts lie? Is it possible to lie with the beast tongue?"

Silence fell over the stable - a short one.

»No.«

»No, lies.«

»Deception only.«

»Not telling the whole truth.«

»Beasts sneaky.«

»They lurk.«

»Lying in wait.«

»Hidden from sight.«

»Away from the ear.«

»Just like you, beast.«

'Oh. OH. Shit!'

They knew about the beast deep within me. It wasn't me they were afraid of, but the beast I was afraid of, too.

»Beasts cannot be trusted,« Lyl'ra neighed again, a little calmer now that all the scalehoofs in the stables stood behind her.

»Show yourself, beast.«

»Come out.«

»Let the beast talk.«

That was easier said than done. What they wanted me to do was essentially get overwhelmed by the beast, to shift, to give up my free will.

'If so, it was better to give up this job.'

»Is there no other way?«

»No.«

»Let the beast tell its intentions.«

»I do not know how to do that.« At least not without shifting into my beast form.

»Afraid?«

»Fearing herself?«

'Yeah, I know.' It was pretty hypocritical of me to ask them to put their trust in me when I couldn't trust myself.

'I really was better off walking away, wasn't I?'

I mean, it couldn't have been as hard to find a job as Scoresby and the others said, right? But the Tender Way business card in my ring storage and the last words of those two recruiters, "They always come. Just give her time to get a taste of the city", were like a harsh reminder of what kind of work awaited me out there. Not necessarily the work of a whore, there must have been other jobs in Castina. But unless I was willing to sign my soul over to the devil in the form of Seeker Companies, I couldn't expect to find anything much better.

'O-okay!'

"Fine," I said, willing to give it a shot. After all, it was just a matter of letting the beast intent speak through me. Nothing dangerous, right?

Yet I felt the need to warn others, nonetheless. "If anything goes wrong, run."

"Hold on, Grey. What are you talking about?"

"Mr. Scoresby, please promise you will take Ria and run."

"Sure, but..."

"Hey, geezer, what is this about?"

"I don't know."

Not really listening, I tried to reach out to my inner self. Not to shift, of course, but to let that feral urge deep down there bleed into my voice. Stupid? No doubt. I was playing with fire, threatening to hurt those around me, when that was the last thing I wanted to do. For that reason, I almost stopped just as I touched that feral wildness dwelling deep inside me.

As I had feared, it was so easy.

The beast was waiting there, just like the scalehoof said, ready to pounce as soon as it got the chance.

"Look, Grey. This is enough..."

The moment Stable Master Hale's hand touched my shoulder, I shot him a look, bared my teeth, and let out a warning growl. The beast was ready to talk.