Although it was quiet cold, most of the students of the I.E.S El Cerro had decided to go out to the playground during recess. Sofia and Sara were just under one of the trees, in an area with bushes and dirt paths that gave them a little more privacy. The usual thing was for Dave to be with them too, but Lola had asked him for help with something about biology and he had agreed.

The boy was sitting on a bench next to the girl, who had the biology book on her legs in a demure attitude. The distance between them was just enough so that Dave did not feel uncomfortable, and she was very careful not to touch him even a little. However, her smile and body language gave away her true intentions.

“I can't believe he doesn't realize what Lola is doing. She’s not an idiot, she gets good grades. She asked him for help with biology because she's noticed he's good at it,” Sofia pointed out.

“Dave is shy but not dumb. Of course he knows what Lola is doing, but he's not as rude as you and he doesn't mind lending a hand,” replied Sara as she ate her chorizo sandwich with gusto.

“They deserve it, and you know it. They are as false as a wooden coin and I saw through them from the start,” she spat, crossing her arms.

“Yeah, mate, but you love to piss people off. Sometimes it's better if they think you're an idiot and don't know about their bad intentions, so they don't catch you by surprise. They work harder when they think you're smart, and then they can really fuck you over.”

The irritated expression on Sofia's face softened when she heard those words. The truth was that everyone thought of Sara as a dim-witted brute, something like a good-natured and somewhat goofy big girl, but nothing could be further from the truth. Besides being a good friend, she was a much smarter and more cunning girl than people gave her credit for. Letting them think she wasn't allowed her to have an almost complete control of the whole class and anticipate a lot of situations. Sara would be terrifying if it weren't for the fact that her heart and intentions were noble.

Again she turned to Dave, who was explaining something to Lola with open enthusiasm. There was a smile on his lips that would be wider if he didn’t hold it back. Lola seemed to have misread the gesture, as she began to blush and put a hand to her mouth to show an exaggerated expression of interest that could not have been more fake. Sofia rolled her eyes. She was not as clever as she thought she was, for it was quite evident that Dave's enthusiasm was because of what he was talking about, not that he had fallen for her charms. Sofia had seen him many times in biology class, and whenever Rosa spoke, he always had that very same expression. He was in love, of that there was no doubt, but not with a person but with a science.

While Lola was checking some colorful diagrams drawn in the book, Dave looked up to where his friends were. When his blue eyes met Sofia's, the smile on his lips softened. A soft blush rose to the girl’s cheeks, who returned the gesture almost without thinking. ‘I don't know how he does it, but he always manages to make me smile’.

“And what about this? I mean, I'm sorry, but I don't think I understand.” Lola grabbed the boy by the sleeve and gave him a couple of vigorous tugs to get his attention.

“About what? Ah, this.”

Dave gave his friend an apologetic smile, to which she responded by dismissing him with a wave of her hand, and then returned to his explanations. Lola looked at her too, but in her case it was to twist her lips into a haughty smile, making it clear that she had done it on purpose. Sofia responded by pursing her lips in a grimace of disdain.

“Imbecile...” she muttered, and let a low growl rumble in her throat. She didn't know whether it was her friend's presence, or his indiscriminate use of his natural behavior, but she had noticed that she was making less and less of an effort to control herself.

“Priceless!” Sara laughed out loud. “Seeing Lola's face when she realized that the dude’s only got eyes for you. I would buy a time machine just to be able to see that moment in a loop.”

“Don't talk nonsense, Sara. He doesn't like me.”

“And who said he likes you? I meant as a friend.” Sara put an arm around her shoulders and squeezed her a little.

“Oh, that. Yeah, I guess we're friends.” A shy smile tugged at her lips.

“Wait, wait, wait... are you turning red?” Sara looked at her with so much attention that Sofia became very aware of how much her cheeks were burning.

“Of course not! Why would I be blushing?” As if she wasn't already looking suspicious enough, she licked her lips and looked away.

“Yes you are, red as a tomato from my orchard! Are you getting a crush on him?” she asked, grinning from ear to ear.

“I’m not falling for him, we're just friends!” exclaimed Sofia, who didn't understand why she was blushing so much.

“Yes, yes, just buddies! Of course you are!”

The girl laughed again and that made Sofia blush even more, if that was even possible. Again she turned towards her friend and bit her lip. The boy had finished his explanation and was saying goodbye to Lola, who was no longer smiling so much and had a somewhat strained attitude. That she liked his looks was no secret, but just because she thought he was cute didn’t mean she had a crush on him.

What she had no doubt about was how important he was to her. That night, when she returned home, she crawled into bed hugging her sweater, the same one that had become impregnated with his scent when he held her close to his chest. Among tears of panic and despair she had managed to get some sleep, though not much. She didn't care if he was a cinanthrope, he was her friend and that wasn't going to change. What she didn't want was to lose him to a hunter because of the blood that ran through his veins.

When she woke up that morning, still lulled by his scent, she hugged her sweater against her chest and lay in bed for a while weighing her options. To be fair she had just seen his eyes glowing in the dark, nothing more. For all she knew, he could be a pup who hadn't changed yet just like her. She wished with all her might that it was so, because the only way he would be safe was if he wasn't able to change to the natural form.

“I think I've angered her, and I'm not quite sure how I did it,” Dave said when he reached the two girls, and his voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

Stolen novel; please report.

“I can imagine how you did it, dude.” Sara laughed again. “By the way, have you seen the last episode of Between Class and Class? A new girl came to Argona High School, and she is just like Lola.”

“Yes! I thought the same thing. I said to myself, ‘Look, she's just as much of a cretin’,” answered Sofia, who was grateful to be able to have a day-to-day conversation, so she wouldn't have to keep thinking about cinanthropes.

“I used to watch it, but where I live now there's no TV and I can't watch it anymore,” commented Dave with a shrug.

“It's not a problem, man, what do you say we meet at my house on Wednesdays for pizza dinner and watch it?” suggested Sara.

“I'd really like to, but I don't want to be a bother.”

“You're no bother. My sisters love visitors and pizzas, especially pizzas. It's a good way to bribe them.”

“Thank you, Sara,” said Dave with a grateful smile. He then turned to Sofia, much more serious. “About that, where I live... it's near the woods. It's about what we saw, the snare. I didn't recognize the trap and it would have caught me for sure. I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind showing me more traps and how to dismantle them, just in case I come across them,” he asked lowering his voice to avoid being overheard by their classmates.

Sofia bit her lip. Yes, she could show him a few traps but it wasn't something she was excited about. Doing so involved telling some things about her mother that she'd rather not have to tell. He had been on the verge of being caught by a snare, though. It wouldn't have done anything to him but a foothold trap was something else altogether, and after the encounter with the hunter, it was obvious that the forest was becoming dangerous. If she denied him that knowledge to protect herself and something happened to him, she would never forgive herself.

“Come with me after class. I'll show you some traps and how to dismantle them, and in case you're wondering, I'm not happy with my mother’s hobby, but it's not like I can stop her.”

“We didn't choose our parents, but I appreciate you helping me with this,” said the boy in a quiet voice. “By the way, how are you? I was worried last night.”

Sofia bit her lip and looked up into his eyes.

“I'm sorry I left like that. For a moment I thought I was going to lose you and I got scared,” she said, her voice so weak it was almost a whimper.

“I know we've only known each other for a short time, but if you need to talk or anything else, don't hesitate to tell me,” he said, taking her hand to give it a gentle squeeze.

“Thank you,” Sofia said, with a weak smile. Things were not that easy. To be fair, they had just gotten way more complicated.

The rest of the day went on as usual. After class, Sofia and Dave took his motorcycle and drove to her house. As soon as Sofia opened the door, Kas ran up to the two teenagers and greeted them, whimpering and wagging his tail so much that he seemed to be dancing. Dave responded with caresses and a smile so wide that his little fangs became visible. Sofia felt a little jolt of fear because she knew what they meant, but it was buried under the pleasant warmth she felt whenever she saw them interact. ‘He gets more and more relaxed when he's with me’ she observed, well aware of the blush that was creeping back into her cheeks.

“Come on, Kas, don't be a pain.”

Sofia pushed the dog away, who ran into the house, and then invited her friend inside. The house itself was nothing special. Most of the furniture was wooden and older than she was. The fabric on the sofa was worn and the paint on many of the doors was cracked. As they crossed the hallway towards her bedroom, Sofia saw Dave wrinkle his nose and press his lips together to hold back the growl that rumbled in his throat. The hair on the back of his neck was bristled.

“Tanned skins don’t smell very good, I'm sorry,” she said, and licked her lips.

“I'm... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...” the boy stammered.

“No, it's all right. I don't like it either,” Sofia said with a reassuring smile. “Wait here. I'll be right up with the traps.

After leaving Dave and Kas in her small bedroom, she went down to the basement and grabbed a handful of old foothold traps and some more snares. She could not allow him to see that room that smelled of death and misery, that place where her mother stored the cinanthrope hides, claws and fangs that she sold on the black market. The idea of him discovering what her mother did, what she herself had done, terrified her.

“I'm not proud of what my mother does, but thanks to her I can recognize and dismantle these traps. I can save lives,” Sofia said as she returned to the room where the boy was waiting. “Kas, go outside. This is dangerous.”

“You said it yourself, it's not like you can choose what your family does for a living.” Dave turned his gaze away and licked his lips.

After getting the dog out of the room and closing the door, Sofia left the traps and snares on the floor. The boy looked at them with some interest but there was a certain tension in his jaw that matched the shadow in his gaze. The hair on the back of Sofia's neck bristled and a shiver ran down her spine. She had no doubt that her friend would never accept her past.

“You already know the snare, but it's important that you understand how the foothold trap works. This can hurt you, and if you don't know how to open the mechanism it will trap you too. They are illegal but people use them regardless. Look, you have several models, I will show you how to deactivate them safely and how to open them if you step on one,” said the girl while she showed the traps.

For a while Sofia taught him how those instruments worked and how to disable them. She made him practice with her until he had a good understanding of how the mechanism worked, and also showed him different types of snares and some more rudimentary traps that could be made with stones and a couple of sticks. Dave paid attention like a good student, but the way he frowned and kept his lips pressed together to avoid baring his fangs gave away how he felt. He wasn't interested in learning about traps, he only wanted to know how to dismantle them.

“They are illegal, why does your mother have them?” He picked up one of the snares and held it as if he were touching something that made him sick. From the way he twisted his mouth, that was probably the case.

Sofia bit her lip and looked away. Without wanting to, she began to tremble.

“My mother uses them as a model to make prototypes of her own inspiration. So far she hasn't gotten what she's looking for, fortunately, but if you see a contraption that's different to what I've shown you here, don't come near it,” she said with her eyes locked on him in a gaze that begged him to stay away from anything that smelled of her mother.

“Why? You've already taught me how to open a trap. It shouldn't be that hard to dismantle one of her traps.”

Sofia shook her head as slow as if the air had turned viscous. Her eyes were so wide with fear she couldn’t even blink, and a high-pitched whimper seeped into her voice.

“Not this one. It's meant to catch animals with prehensile fingers, like primates. If you fall into it, you won't be able to free yourself.”

“God... what kind of monster is your mother?”

“You don't want to know...” she answered, her voice as faint as a whisper.