He whimpered softly, curling tighter into himself, hoodie bunched up around his shoulders like a shield. He felt like he was going feral—like something beneath his skin was trying to escape, and all he could do was scratch and squirm and endure. His hoodie, once comforting, now clung to him in all the worst ways. Every shift of fabric pulled at loose scales, dragging them where they weren’t ready to fall. He tugged at his sleeve absentmindedly—and winced as a cluster of scales came off with it, stuck to the inside of the fabric.

He let go immediately, panic flickering in his eyes. He didn’t want to peel. He didn’t want to look broken. He liked how he looked—thought he looked cool, strong, perfect in his own way. But now? It just hurt. His skin pulsed, irritated and tight, like it didn’t fit right anymore.

With a reluctant breath, he peeled the hoodie off over his head. A shiver ran through him as more scales caught on the fabric and flaked off mid-motion, some falling to the floor, some clinging like old memories. He grimaced and threw the hoodie away from him with a dramatic groan, watching as the scales puffed out from it in a little cloud of dry flakes.

“Ewwww…” he muttered with a disgusted pout.

You couldn’t help but chuckle softly, gently nudging his shoulder. “Hey, hey—don’t look at it like that,” you teased lightly, “Maybe if you let the rest come off, you’ll look even more perfect. And definitely more adorable.”

He gave you a squinty, skeptical look at first, still curled up in his own discomfort, but your words seemed to pause something inside him. After a beat, he reached up and hesitantly peeled off one of the looser scales near his bicep. It pulled slightly, making him wince—but it came off clean, and beneath it…

A soft, light patch of skin. Smooth. Brighter. Almost glowing compared to the dull, cracked scale that had covered it. His eyes widened slightly. He ran his fingers over the new skin, tracing the difference.

"...Huh," he murmured. It was pretty. Gentle in color. New. Like a fresh start. You smiled at him. “See? Told you.”

He didn’t say anything right away, just stared at the spot, then looked back at the pile of scales on the floor—and for the first time that night, didn’t look entirely disgusted. Maybe... this wasn't such a bad thing after all.