The Non-Human Society

Chapter Twenty One - Renn - Silence Broken

      Sometimes, the world went quiet.

Not just of people. Not just during that few moments' right after the fireplaces died out, and the popping and crackling stopped...

It was also when the world itself went silent.

The wind stopped eerily, as if it had never blown before. The snow that was falling lightly did so with such ease one didn't even notice when it landed on you.

There were no voices lingering in the distance. No dogs barking, or creaking of wood and stone...

It was almost as if the world had decided to stand still.

Not even the forest ever got this quiet.

I sat on the balcony often. Sometimes multiple times a day. I enjoyed these moments. I liked how I could sit and be alone, even in this massive city. Thanks to the lack of similar balconies nearby, I was out of sight here.

Usually I could sit here and listen to the houses nearby. The conversations of the people living across the street. The business to the left and right of us. The creaking of carts, and the clacking of horses hooves as they pulled them.

Yet today it was quiet. Silent. Eerily so. Not even the birds were chirping.

How was it that a town of humans, some of the loudest creatures to exist, could become quieter than anything else?

And how come it was only for a brief few moments? And randomly?

I'd understand if maybe the humans had an agreement. Like, the few moments during the dawn, but it was purely coincidental. Unplanned. Unheard, too.

Did anyone else ever notice these moments?

I released a small breath, and noticed a faint haze. The world was cold, but not freezing. Not so cold that it should stop people from coming outside... yet...

On this balcony, I could sit without hiding my ears and tail. Yet at the same time, I knew soon I'd return inside. No matter how safe it could be, I still had the instinctual fear of being seen.

Not so much for my own safety, but the safety of everyone else. I'd hate the idea of being the cause of ruining this precious place.

Looking down at my hands, I noticed the way my nails were a little more pointed than usual. I needed to clip them. Most humans wouldn't notice right away, but if I didn't keep an eye on their length then...

"At least they're not claws," I said softly. My grandmother had not just paws like my uncle, but claws too.

She would not have been able to fit in and hide as we did. Even if she hadn't hated humans as fiercely as she did.

Lomi had no tail, and I couldn't remember any other features upon her. Only her ears and eyes had been... non-human in appearance.

Crane had feathers, but hid them beneath gowns and dresses. Lughes had his beard, but it was similar enough to an old man's raggedy unkempt one that he didn't need to shave it.

I had unique ears and a long tail... my eyes were a little odd, but not enough to draw attention... My nails became pointed if I let them grow freely...

Tapping my palm with my nails, I wondered how many generations it would take for my bloodline to become entirely human. A single one? Dozens? Would they lose their tail first, like Lomi, or would their ears be the first to go?

What dictated the loss of our features? When we mated with humans? Or was it just natural? As far as I was aware, the last few generations of my bloodline were all of the same kind. All of us had been cats.