Beastars: A Symphony of Life

Chapter 83: Half a Gram

It wasn't much. Half a gram at most, but it was still a gain. Haru was weighing herself on the smaller scale, still at home and 'sick'. She was taking on very small, fractional amounts of weight, and didn't like it. She stepped off and redressed, just as a knocking sound came from the door.

"One minute," she called, pulling her shirt on over her torso. She went up to the door and opened it, Sebun standing there with a bottle in her hand.

"May I come in?" she asked.

Haru nodded and let the sheep pass. She closed the door behind her, leaning against it with her microscopically increasing weight.

"So how are you feeling?" her neighbor asked.

"Physically," the rabbit started, arms crossed around her chest. "On a bodily level, there's nothing wrong with me. However mentally and emotionally I have no idea which way is up."

"Hormones can do that," she said. "Chemical imbalances mess with one's psyche."

"How would you know?" Haru asked.

"I have an older sister," she said. "Speaking of which, she always drank this to help deal with the effects of the imbalances."

"What is it?" she asked, stepping forward to the outstretched bottle.

"A tea," Sebun answered. "A mixture of herbs and roots that soothe the chemical reactions. You'll have to go back to work soon; stomach bugs don't last for months, you know."

"I'm aware," she said. She unscrewed the top from the bottle and sniffed the aroma through the top. It was bittersweet, as tea normally was. She tried to detect what was in it but couldn't pinpoint exact plants. All she could smell were some mushrooms and herbs. Nothing out of the ordinary.

"Don't worry," Sebun smirked. "I'm not part of some underground witch coven trying to raise the anti-rexx through a spell and concoction."

Haru raised an eyebrow.

"That's an oddly specific thing to say," she said.

"It's from some horror movie I watched a little while ago," she said. "I dunno, the situations seemed similar."

"Feels like it," Haru said, screwing the top back on the bottle and putting it on the countertop.

"Does he know?" she asked.

"I haven't told him outright," she said. "But I think he's catching on."

"I'm not surprised," the sheep said, crossing her arms and leaning on the cabinet next to the rabbit. "A canine's sense of smell can pick up almost everything."

"Well, if he picked up this, then hasn't told me. Or done anything to let me know the fact that he knows. If he does, I just wish he'd tell me. It's driving me insane. I feel like he does, but he's not saying so. He's very frustrating."

"What man isn't?" Sebun asked. "Even when you're not married to 'em, just working with them is annoying. Especially carnivores. It's like they don't know how to act around female herbivores."

"That's why we have to be the one to put our foot down," Haru said.

"Easy for you to say," the sheep jeered. "You've been married to one for a few years. Things are different for you."

"It had to start somewhere though," she said.

There was a silence in the apartment that hung like stagnant air.

"But seriously," Haru continued. "I don't know how to tell him or when."

"Just do it," Sebun said. "Like ripping off a bandaid. Get it done and over with."

Haru breathed deeply and was overwhelmed by another wave of mental weight. The gravity of this situation was heavy on her. This child was going to be a hybrid. And not just a fifty-fifty wolf-rabbit hybrid. Legoshi was also around twenty-five percent komodo dragon as well. There was no guarantee that that part of him wouldn't be carried over. Twelve point five percent probability? She wasn't good with the genetics of animals. That was the reason she stuck to plants: they were easier. It wasn't the fact it would be a hybrid that concerned her, it was the timing of it all. Hybrids didn't really have the best reputation. With Melon a few years ago and now the Jade Hybrids. There was the oddity of interspecies relationships, which was becoming a bit more accepted, but there was still the stigma of a hybrid's existence and what that did to their family. Not all hybrids were 'bad', but the select few that stood out as criminals soured their overall image.

"Haru?" Sebun asked. "You zoned out for a little while there, are you okay?"

"Yeah," she said, shaking her head a little to clear the haze. "I think I'm just gonna let him figure it out."

"What?"

"I don't know," she responded. "It's kind of fun to see him chase things and hunt down answers. One of the benefits of him being a canine. It's a little entertaining to me and he likes the mystery."

"If that's what works for you guys go right on ahead," Sebun said, pushing off from the cabinets. "You really should consider going back to work though. If you ever plan on getting out of here, then you might want to keep working. Can't buy a new place with no money."

"Yeah I get it," Haru said. "I'll get back into the normal swing of things tomorrow. Speaking of work, why aren't you-?"

"Boss told me to take the day off," she said. "Something about using the unused vacation days I have built up."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Can't keep them adding up, so..." she trailed off, what she was going to say could be inferred. "Well, I'll be off. Just came by to check in and drop that off. I'll see ya around."

"Take care," Haru said as the sheep went for the door.

"And seriously," she said, pausing in the door. "That tea works. Drink it."

"Noted," the rabbit said with a nod.

The sheep gave a small smile and closed the door behind her, leaving Haru alone again. The silence got to her quickly, and she went to the scale again. Now it was reading that she had lost half a gram. Electric at-home-scales weren't the most accurate of measuring tools. Maybe she really did need to go to work. It would help get her mind off things and get her out of the house. Her phone rang, and she picked it up. It was Legoshi.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Hey," he said. "Just checking in to see how you are. If you're doing any better?"

"I am actually," she said. "Sebun brought over some strange tea she said helped her sister with...uh...stomach aches. It is proving to be very relieving."

"Well that's good," he said.

"I'll be back to work soon," she said. "Hopefully tomorrow."

"Well," he started. "I'm going to stop by my grandfather's place on my way home and see how he's doing. I'm gonna call Jack on my way to see if he's doing any better. Everytime I go to his place, he doesn't seem to be there."

"Just be back here before the curfew," she said. "I don't feel like having to bail you out of prison during half martial law."

"Don't worry," he said. "I leave at a time that I can get there and back. Mika takes over for me then."

"Alright," she smirked. "I'll see you later."

"Love you," he said.

"I know," she responded, with a little chuckle and roll to her eyes. "We'll see you later."

She hung up before he had a chance to process her words and ask more questions. Now the game was afoot.

~~~

We? he asked himself. Maybe she was having people over, friends from work. Which seemed odd, given her sickness. But then again, maybe some form of group immunization. That was popular among herding animals and creatures that lived in groups. He shrugged it off and went back into the restaurant