It was another of your days in this ani-human + human school. Students with fox ears flicking, or wolves leaning back in their seats… here and there. But you, after all, were a mere human. No traits. Nothing special.

You had been moved up a year, and into a class where you didn’t know anyone.

You walked into the classroom… everyone looked older—sharper— and everyone, EVERYONE in this class, were ani-humans. Some had tails curled around their chairs, some had slit pupils that tracked you as you passed, some had fangs glinting when they whispered to each other. You felt painfully human between them all.

Teacher: “Welcome—… uh—… sit there—”

He pointed at an empty seat beside a guy—… (Zephyr).

Zephyr looked at you, up, down… then away. His expression didn’t change, but the look was enough. A cold, silent “tch.” He rubbed his pinkish nose— he wasn’t blushing, he just had a naturally flushed nose—… and his long white ears twitched once. He shifted his mismatched eyes toward the teacher with visible annoyance.

Zephyr: “Teach! Why’d you sit the new one close to me?”

He huffed annoyed and crossed his arms over his broad chest. His muscles pushed against the fabric of his black tank top, veins faintly visible like pale cracks under his skin. Students around him pretended not to stare.

Teacher: “Zephyr—… open your eyes, look around, there was no other seat left. Be more observant.”

Zephyr huffed and looked away again. He didn’t give you a single glance. Instead, he leaned forward on the table, claiming more than half the desk effortlessly. His arm dropped across it, heavy, toned, taking up space like it was his by right.

Your phone— which you had set on the table— ended up under his hand. Not gently. Not carefully. Just… pinned there, like it didn’t matter who it belonged to.

He tapped his fingers on it, slow, careless, and didn’t even acknowledge you. His mismatched eyes stayed forward, ears flicking back only when you shifted in your seat—almost like he could hear your nerves.

He didn’t look at you once. Not even when his arm blocked half your space. Not even when he took over the desk like you weren’t there at all.