Venos paced around, in front of the house, deciding on what to do next. She doesn't feel like waiting until the night comes, but she certainly doesn't feel like going back. What if Karlo and Felicius are still fighting?

Venos liked to think that she didn't hate anything, but if something were to come close to it, it's probably fighting.

Physical fights were not a problem, however. The problematic fights would be the ones that Karlo and Felicius are having right now, or at least they had before Venos went outside.

If she was to go back right now, she would either find them being chill with each other or...

Venos didn't like any of the other options. She remembers the silent treatment her old classmates would give each other after fights and the amount of tension she could feel every time they happened to be close to each other.

Other times, it was even worse. They would end up injuring each other. She never cared about it much before, but it's different when it's all happening in your own room and also because, unlike her old classmates, Venos actually has some kind of bond with her roommates.

Then again, she will have to go back, eventually. Suddenly, Venos placed her hands on her head, holding it as if it would fall off her shoulders otherwise. All this thinking is hurting her head.

'Venos, you can just wait for the hybrid and save yourself from all this conflict.' 'I can only save myself for now and then later I'll have to do this all over again.'

'How so? You have to get back before tomorrow, right? So, now you wait and then go back later, is that so hard?' 'It's not just that, I can't prepare myself for those kinds of fights. All the tension, all those morally confusing questions, that I still think of and can't stop-'

'Venos, do yourself a favor and sit on the grass near the house and breath.' 'I'm already breathing.' 'Do it slowly, like deep breathing.'

Venos placed herself on the grass and observed the city. She really is going to wait for the night, isn't she? The last time she checked, the hybrid wasn't very pleased to see her. Still better than going back, however.

---

As the clouds changed their shapes, citizens changed their clothes. They tried one outfit after another and if the citizen happened to be of lower status, they had trouble deciding on how to wear an outfit they had.

In a second, stars filled the sky as the crowd encircled the house. People's sudden appearance startled Venos. She ran towards the house as fast as she could. After all, she waited too long for her to be the last in a row.

Venos waited patiently behind a tacky-dressed couple. "Ey, Alberto! Good to see you, man. How much do I owe you?" Venos froze as the realization hit her. 'Voice? VOICE? I have no money.' 'Oh sure, you do.' Venos searched her pockets, expectantly. 'Where?' 'In that guy's pocket, of course.'

'Stop playing with me voice!' 'I'm not playing with you, kid.' 'Don't tell me you knew I'm gonna need money this whole time and you said nothing!' 'You'll need that money for food.' 'What now?' 'Just pretend to be someone's kid 'cause as you can see, only men pay for their family.' 'What does that mean?' 'If you're not a grown man, you don't have to pay.'

Venos looked around herself, in hopes of finding someone who resembled her appearance. She settled with a couple in fancy clothes. The main reason weren't the clothes, aside from their physical similarities, Venos noticed the tiny letters on a woman's arm. She wasn't able to see the whole word, but it seems like she's a part of a certain matriarchal clan.

They were the only couple where a woman paid to enter. This made Venos' lips curl slightly. She followed the couple inside and found the same scene as she did the first time. Men and women started to separate.

The majority of women occupied all the seats near a man who seemed to be the host of this thing. He counted his money before putting it in his pockets. Other guests prolonged their walk and didn't settle until they reached the dark room.

This night differed from the first night Venos spent here. There was no intense silence from last time, no laughter, at least not yet. This time, the silence was soon broken by the... music.

Venos can't quite remember the last time she heard it. It is a pleasant sound, for sure. She looked around to see the instruments, but couldn't recognize the ones she saw in her school books. 'It is a different place, I guess.' She sighed

Suddenly, the room lit up, but only in one spot. Needless to say, the spot drew attention. This caused a slight commotion among the audience.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Inside the spotlight, body parts appeared, revealing an all known figure. With this, the commotion arose.

---

Anthrax tried his best to ignore all the comments, but some of them still found their way to his ears. "Look at the horns on that! Must be fun to pull them while..."

It took some of his strength not to visibly cringe at that. 'On that.' His mind repeated. Of all the things he could have chosen to say, he went for 'that'. Not 'him' nor 'her', but 'that'.

As much as he would like to hold a grudge against this guy, he couldn't pretend this wasn't an everyday thing. Which bothered him the most. These comments were just another reminder of his existence, which is as pitiful as can be.

After all, Anthrax isn't an ordinary person, in fact, he isn't even a person. He has no real name, instead, he's identified by a number. A number that's engraved on his own skin. Who would have thought that just a simple number, at the back of one's shoulder, can make such a difference for one's existence?

Without a number, you're a free person, able to make decisions about your own life, and with it, you're just another object to be used by a person and then thrown away after your body has reached its limit.

He separated from the spotlight, unhurriedly. He wanted this to end so badly and yet he couldn't find the strength to move away from the scene.

His whole body's betraying him. Interesting how it never does it while he's dancing or cleaning around the house, but only when he wants it to himself.

Anthrax moved to another room, hoping with his full being, or at least what's left of it, that tonight he won't have to do any favors. He closed his eyes and laid down on a bed, trying to shut all the sounds away from himself.

For what felt like a few seconds to Anthrax, he heard a young male voice. "Hey hot stuff, mind doin' us a little favor?" He can't deny this directly, the favors are what's keeping him and this house famous and therefore they're keeping him alive, but he will make sure to drop as many hints as possible, that they're very much unwanted.

---

After hearing out their favor, he figured he really doesn't want this. The sum of money they're waving in front of him is quite big, not like he'll be using it anyway. That big sum is for his master Alberto, but the more the money Alberto makes, the bigger the chance that he'll want Anthrax to stay alive.

What would attract the audience, if not his Anthrax?

He figured that he can't decide on what to do, so he started talking in hopes that they'll make the choice. Once again, the talking died down a bit when he spoke.

"So, you guys want to do this at the same time. How?" They looked around, only to find themselves in the invisible spotlight. "Quite simple."

The laughter finally arose. "Are you sure? This is the first time someone requested this. I don't know how much experience you have, but I think this needs more conversation if you want it to work..."

Two friends kept glancing at each other, waiting for him to finish. "As I said, if you still want to do this I won't say 'no', but I think you need to do a bit more thinking."

Fortunately, two friends took his advice and decided to let it rest. "Well then, I guess we'll see you tomorrow or something." He smiled in return. "Good."

Just as soon as the silence appeared, it disappeared. Anthrax smiled in victory. No experiments for tonight, but he'll probably still grab some money tomorrow. Turning around, he realized that there wasn't a single person he could share this moment with.

He opened a window and gazed at the starry sky. How he wished he could have someone to genuinely talk to. In a moment, next to him appeared a new figure, much to his annoyance.

Anthrax prepared himself for a favor-free night, but this guy just ruined his plans. "Hi, it's me from earlier." This guy was none other than Venos.

While she waited for a reply, Anthrax waited for another request and so, an uncomfortable silence surrounded them. "Uhm, y-you said you'll see me when the night falls and here I am."

Anthrax didn't know what to say to make things go faster. "There's a free room on the next floor." He whispered. Venos felt the need to respond. "Great."

The first thing Anthrax asked, after closing the door behind them in a new room, was; "How old are you? You seem kind of young to be screwing around in here."

Venos didn't know what to say, actually, she didn't understand anything after the question, so she decided to just reveal her age. "I'm ten years old." She wasn't exactly finished yet but wasn't sure what to add so she just stared at her fingers.

"Yup, definitely too young. I believe I'm not going to do any kind of favors." Venos stared at Anthrax, now. "I don't get it. I just wanna talk to you." "Well too bad, you're not gonna get anything from me. Besides, you have a few more years, enjoy your life a little."

"Why can't we just talk?" Anthrax wanted to make an insulting remark, but when he saw Venos' serious expression, he asked. "Talk about what?"

"Anything." "Well, considering that you waited all day just to talk to me, leads me to think that you have this certain thing you want to talk about and that would be..."

"How's life going?" Before answering, Anthrax's mind stopped working for a bit. "It's going..." Has anyone ever asked him that before? Venos still wanted to know what is life like for a hybrid. "Also," this word scared Anthrax. Could it be that this was just a build-up for whatever Venos is about to accuse him of?

He remembers how Venos pointed that accusatory finger at him, before. This person wouldn't follow him around the house for no reason, either. Except, he doesn't remember what he did, but then again, even if he didn't do anything, accusations always find their way to hybrids.

"I was wondering, what is life like for a hybrid, like you, in this city?" It wasn't an accusation, but it made Anthrax jump from his seat.

"Woah! You have some serious guts, asking questions like that." He quickly observed the room, trying to find anyone and then he checked to see if the door was closed, properly, and even closed all the windows in the room.

"I'm afraid I can't give you an honest answer to that unless you give me something in return." Venos blushed. "I don't really have any money." "Who said it has to be money, give me some facts about yourself, that I can easily use against you if you decide to spread my answers."

'Alright voice, what now?' 'Do you have a single reason to spread his answers?' 'I guess I don't.' 'Then say that you're a girl who goes to an academy.' 'Why?' 'Trust me.'