Ava dashed towards the strange girl as she fell, barely managing to catch her in time. She carefully checked the girl’s pulse and made sure she was still breathing.

“Oh fuck! What happened? Is she okay?” Kevin’s slightly raspy voice echoed a bit in the enclosure.

“No she’s not okay ya fucking idiot! She’s bleeding all over and she just collapsed!” Erik answered, knocking Kevin on the back of the head.

“Both of you shut up! This is definitely not the time to be arguing. We have to get her to the hospital or something first,” Ava shouted at the two in exasperation. Looking back at the girl lying in her arms, she checked to make sure she didn’t have other injuries before taking her own jacket off and wrapping it around the girl’s neck, hopefully staunching the bleeding. When she brushed back the girl’s hair, she noticed that the horns, which Ava had initially thought were part of a costume, appeared to be firmly attached to the girl’s head. Well that probably rules out the hospital.

“Guys? I think… look, we have to get her to my dad. I’ll explain why later. He might know what to do.” Ava’s dad was a veterinarian, and while she didn’t like the idea of bringing this girl to someone who treats animals, she didn’t have a better option. Luckily the boys didn’t complain as Ava stood up with the girl in a princess carry.

“Should we take that collar off her? It looks like she might’ve been trying to take it off herself.” Erik had a worried expression but he kept his words measured and calm. Ava shook her head.

“Not yet. I don’t want to end up hurting her more than she already is, and we don’t know anything about her situation anyways. Let’s just get out of here.” Ava peered down once more at the face of the bleeding girl in her arms and steeled herself.

The trio quickly retraced their steps back to the security entrance to the zoo. They avoided interacting with Kevin’s uncle, quickly dashing through the door without waiting for him to say a word. They ran for what felt like an eternity.

When they finally burst through the door to Ava’s dad’s clinic, they were panting furiously. A few seconds later her dad appeared in the hallway, half-asleep and carrying an old wooden baseball bat. He had the imprint of an arm across his face and his hair was sticking straight up on one side of his head.

“Ava?! What in the world are you—” He stopped when his eyes fell upon the girl resting in Ava’s arms.

“She needs help. Fast.” Ava’s response was curt, but effective. Her father seemed to fully wake up.

He turned and walked towards the examination room in the back of the clinic. “Come set her down on the table. I’ll do my best, but if she has anything major I’m afraid I won’t be of much help.” That was a trait Ava both loved and hated about her dad. As soon as he saw someone in need, whether it be a human or an animal, he would do everything he could to help them, even if it cost him more than he could afford.

As Kevin and Erik sat down in the waiting area, Ava quickly brought the girl to the back, setting her down as her father had instructed. She brushed the jet black hair out of her eyes, noting the matching black scales peeking out above the collar of her oversized t-shirt. Ava knew it was best to get out of the way after that to allow her dad space to work.

He brought over disinfectant, bandages, and an assortment of other various tools he would need to help treat her wounds. He also brought what looked like bolt cutters, which Ava could only assume were meant for the girl’s… collar. It clearly wasn’t a necklace, nor did it seem to be some strange fashion statement. No, the raw skin around it and the burn marks underneath sent a chill down Ava’s spine.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

She took a seat at the edge of the room. Only then did she realize how unusual this was. She had never even actually talked to this girl, barely interacted with her, and yet—Ava felt a strange connection to her, as if she had been friends with her for a very long time. She felt an unfamiliar, yet almost instinctive need to protect her.

Ava didn’t get much sleep that night. She wanted to be awake when the girl finally regained consciousness. Eventually, just before sunrise, it happened.

Yuki blinked a few times when she awoke, letting her eyes adjust to the harsh lighting in the unfamiliar room. She immediately noticed something was off. The constant weight against her neck, the usual temperature of her enclosure, none of it was the same. She reached a hand up to her neck to find soft strips of fabric wrapped around it, rather than the familiar thick collar.

“Oh, you’re finally awake!” An unusual voice came from the side of the room. Yuki swirled to see who was speaking, only to find the girl she had seen enter her cage the night before. The girl looked… excited for some reason. Yuki growled, her eyes flashing with fear and anger. The situation was giving her a strong sense of deja vu, and she was not happy about it.

Strange hornless men poking her with shiny metal tools; her mother’s screams echoing as Yuki was torn from her grasp; The same men staring at her with glee in their faces as they inspected her.

She was torn from her sudden flashback as the girl spoke up again. “Are you feeling any better? You were pretty beat up—” The girl stopped mid-sentence as Yuki tried to stand, ignoring the lightheadedness that struck her. She immediately lost her balance and started to sway, desperately reaching out for something to steady herself.

Yuki felt the girl’s steady arms grab her and she instinctively flinched away, growling yet again. The girl remained unfazed. For a moment Yuki tensed, awaiting the shock that often came after she growled. Then she remembered the collar was no longer around her neck and she let out a deep sigh of relief, almost forgetting about the situation at hand. The girl’s arms held Yuki up with a surprising tenderness, not at all like the rough grips of the scientists she was accustomed to.

Her mind gradually cleared as the sense of vertigo faded away, leaving only fear and confusion behind. How had she ended up here, where even was here, and most importantly who the heck was this girl standing beside her?

Yuki couldn’t speak the humans’ language particularly well, but she could at least say a few simple words. She hoped that would be enough. “Who you?” Her voice came out raspy and hoarse from disuse.

The girl’s voice was filled with concern as she spoke. “I’m Ava. Are… are you okay? Well, that is—clearly you’re not okay okay, but like, I can help you into a chair if you need to sit down or something. You were pretty beat up when my friends and I found you last night.”

Yuki warily nodded and allowed Ava to guide her over to a comfortable looking chair. She slowly took a seat, wrapping her scaly, black tail around herself. Ava eyed her tail as she did so, a strange look in the girl’s eyes.

“I think I already know the answer to this, but I have to ask regardless. Is that tail… real?” Ava seemed rather skeptical as she asked the question. Yuki just sighed and nodded. No point in lying, not when she had probably examined her while she was unconscious.

Ava whistled. “That is so fucking cool.” Yuki simply nodded in response. Ava seemed to be honest enough, especially considering the immutable truth she had just uttered.

“Shit, sorry, I almost forgot to ask you the important stuff. What happened to you, exactly? Did someone at the zoo hurt you or something?” Yuki stared at the girl as she fired off questions. If she was asking about all this then she probably wasn’t from the zoo; Yuki assumed that most of the humans there would know what her situation was. Besides, she couldn’t answer Ava’s questions even if she wanted to. They would require answers far more complex than Yuki was capable of giving. Instead, she decided she would observe the girl as best she could and hope that she could infer some information based on what she noticed. If Ava wanted answers, she would just have to do the same.