An Oddity Among Beasts (BEASTARS)

Sanctuary

    Todd breathed heavily, pain shooting through his arm. The small but noticeable marks were red, blood starting to seep out. Will was in shock, still pinned to the floor but able to see the result. Todd looked into Alan's eyes, seeing the redness in them secede gradually before widening. He gasped, stepping back shakily before looking at his bloody nails.

"T-Todd...", he stuttered out.

"Alan...", the goat took a step forward, but he stepped back.

"No...nonono...", he shook his head slowly. "What have I done?"

"H-hey...", Bill stepped beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay. We'll sort all this out."

    The words were numb to the human, everything was. All he could hear was Todd yelling his name as he got ready to scratch Will. He didn't want this to happen, he didn't want any of this to happen! It was bad enough that his secret was revealed, but then he scratched his best friend! How can they even be in the same room? How can the goat stand to look at him?!

"I can't be here...", he shuddered. "I c-can't."

"Alan—", he wretched his shoulder away from Bill and dashed past Todd and out the doors.

"Alan, wait—agh!", the goat raised his injured arm out and instantly fell to his knees.

"Hey! You alright?", Bill knelt down to him and looked at his arm. "We need to get you bandaged up."

"What about Alan?", he asked.

"We'll worry about him later. We might as well see about—wait..."

The tiger looked past him, "Where's Will?"

~~*~~

Alan's breaths were stuttered as he stood at the bathroom sink, frantically washing his hands. His body trembled as he shut his eyes, wanting to block out what happened earlier. He can't think straight, he needs to be somewhere else! He needs to be alone, but where can he go?

    He sprinted out into the halls and wandered aimlessly, avoiding everyone he could. He kept his gaze low, not letting anyone see his face. He somehow found himself at a flight of stairs that led to a metal door, a soft light shining through it. For some reason, he was drawn to it, slowly making his way up and peeking through the window.

    It looked to be a garden—and a well-kept one, at that. Flowers were everywhere, some in bloom and others only budding. There seemed to even be a small clubhouse inside, a sliding door being barely visible from Alan's angle. The human opened the door and slipped inside, looking around for a moment. It seemed empty, so he sighed and collapsed against the entrance, holding his head.

"Todd...", he muttered, remembering the goat's arm. He shook as tears formed in his eyes, a dark feeling welling in his gut.

"Ahh!", he screamed, falling to his knees and sobbing. All his anger, all his hatred—everything he felt in that room was let out through broken sobs.

    He kept going for what felt like eternity, curled into a fragile ball of regret. He would've never imagined to be in such a situation. When he first came to Cherryton, he knew it wouldn't be easy. Even so, this was beyond his expectations—beyond any typical-high-school shenanigan he would've expected to get into. This wasn't apart of that, though. This was something he felt only he could experience...

Trapped in the grip of the monster inside of him, barely walking the line between predator and prey.

"Hey, are you alright?"

He froze at the voice, sure that nobody else was there. He didn't bother checking the clubhouse, he realized. Of course, even when at his lowest, he'd still find ways to make himself sink even lower. He looked up slowly, seeing a small rabbit bent down in front of him. On his knees, he seemed to be just below her eye level. She seemed to gasp softly, probably realizing who she was speaking to.

"You're that human student...Alan, right?", she asked.

He wiped his eyes quickly and nodded, "Y-yeah."

She glanced away for a moment, "Sorry. I heard you screaming from the clubhouse, but I wasn't sure about coming over."

"I-it's alright. I shouldn't really be here, to be honest. I just...needed to be alone."

"Well, I'm usually the only one here nowadays. I don't mind you being here.", she said before looking at him. "Did something happen?"

He froze for a moment, "I-uhh. I...messed up really bad, and I hurt my friend."

She looked worried for a second before glancing down, "Your nails are really long."

He gasped, pulling his hands back before sighing, "They grow like that sometimes. I'm...part-wolf."

"Really? You don't really seem like a wolf."

"I do, trust me.", he said quietly. "I only have some wolf traits: good hearing, enhanced sense of smell,"

"And uh...", he held up a hand for emphasis. "These."

"Wow, I didn't think humans could fall in love with animals.", she said thoughtfully before covering her mouth. "Oh! Sorry, I didn't mean it that way! It's just...surprising."

"It's alright.", he waved her off. "Besides, people are gonna find out soon."

She seemed to sense the depressed tone in his voice, "Hey...if you want, you could stay here for a bit. There's a bed in the clubhouse you can use."

Alan started shaking his head instantly, "T-that's alright! I don't want to impose or anything!"

The rabbit smiled slightly, "It's okay, really. I'm the only one who actually comes here, anyway. Most of the gardening club members graduated a few years back."

The human was still unsure of the offer. He wasn't sure of his position with Todd yet—or if he could even bring himself to look at him after what happened. A lot of things went wrong back in that room, and things were absolutely going to get worse! He sighed, maybe it would be worth the change of space. After all, the flowers are pretty.

"Is it really okay with you?"

"Of course!", she stood up with her hands on her hips. "Besides, I could use some help around here for a change. Plus, it'd probably help you take your mind off what happened with your friend."

He gave a small nod, "Alright, thanks, uhh..."

"Oh, I'm Haru. I'm a third-year.", the rabbit held a hand out.

Alan only shook it out of courtesy, despite his insides twisting in many different ways.

~~*~~

A.N: Ladies and gentlemen, we have our rabbit.