"What's this about you inviting our daughter to stay here?" Seung-yeon's mother asks Adelheid. "I probably wouldn't have needed to do that, if you two weren't neglectful and abusive!" The mother scoffs. "How dare you tell us how to raise our child? What do you care for the well-being of this Mutt anyway?" Adelheid looks appalled. "How could you say such a thing about your own child?!"

"She is my daughter and I will refer to her however I see fit!" I'm starting to get confused. "Adelheid, what does 'Mutt' mean?" She turns around. "I'll explain it later, now's not the time." Seung-yeon's mother turns to face me. "Why, it's just the proper term to refer to these half-breeds that some even call human." Adele immediately turns around to start yelling at the woman. "How could you say that a slur is the right way to refer to someone, much less your own family?!"

"A slur?" Adelheid turns around again. "It's a derogative way to refer to people, usually minorities, such as hybrids in this case."

"Ah, so this is that racism thing you were talking about?"

"Yes, Viv, it is." She turns to face Seung-yeon. "Tell me, do you want to stay with your parents or do you want to stay here?" The little half Kumiho starts walking towards Adelheid, to then hide behind her like children do with their parents. At this point, I decide to also walk up to the door and stand next to Adelheid. "You will not have our daughter! You come back now young lady!" Seung-yeon tries to hide even more behind us. "I said now!" Suddenly, all of the motherly instincts that my brain never got to let out for 25 years come rushing to me. An anger I've never felt before fills my body as I stare down Seung-yeon's parents. My hand, now more similar to the claws my wings were once attached to, clamps down on the side of the door frame, crushing it. Acid drops start pouring from the corners of my mouth, small embers spew out whenever I open it, though the air coming out from it is cold as a glacier, and my voice crackles like lightning. "It is her decision to make." They look startled for a second, but quickly reply. "We'll have you know we own the biggest law firm of the city! If you dare take our daughter from us we'll make sure that you'll end up in a cage for the rest of your life like the Mutt you are!" I feel horns sprouting from my head, scales covering parts of my skin, a tail forming from my spine and a membrane forming between my hands and the sides of my body. "You don't seem to understand. I could not give less of a shit about who you are. I have spent my whole life facing monsters that you can't even begin to imagine, a couple of limp-dick lawyers mean nothing to me, because if they dare to try and return this child to you two I promise there won't be any corpses to mourn. Now get out of my house before I decide your heads are worth the calories it'd take to chew them." I slam the door in their faces as I hear them scuttle away. I turn around to see Seung-yeon hiding behind a very surprised Adelheid. "Did you just threaten the lives of someone who could put all of us in jail without even putting in any effort?" I stop to think for a second. "Well, aren't they neglecting their child? If they tried to put us in jail, wouldn't they also get in trouble?" Adele puts a hand to her face. "Vivienne. It's not just some people that are racist, it's the system as a whole, do you really think they care if a hybrid gets abused? And to make the situation worse, they now know you're also a hybrid! What were you thinking?!" Oh. "I... I'm sorry I guess I wasn't really-" Suddenly, I feel something wrap around my waist. "Thank you, Vivienne." Seung-yeon is hugging me and bawling her eyes out. I put a hand on her head to reassure her and notice that my body still hasn't gone back to normal. "Hey, Adelheid am I seeing things or is my body still... still..." A loud noise fills the room as I fall unconscious to the ground.


A couple hours later or so, I wake up to Adelheid laying down next to me, caressing my side and being clearly worried for me. "Mhhh... What time is it?" Adelheid's hand jolts. "You're awake?!" I nod. "Is Seung-yeon alright? I didn't fall on top of her, did I?"

"She's fine, I gave her something to eat just a couple minutes ago. Vivienne, I really appreciate what you did for her, but you better pray they listen to your threat and don't send lawyers against us, cause we will get thrown in prison for the rest of our lives, if not worse. Anyways, how are you feeling?" I look at my arms and notice my body is back to that of a human. "Well, I've been way worse, at least I got some rest. I'm just glad I'm not stuck as a hybrid, that could've caused issues." Adelheid snuggles up to me. "It seems that the more you transform, the more the transformation lasts. You should probably avoid doing that again, unless you feel like turning into a hybrid permanently. Not that I'd mind, of course."

"You seem to have gotten more comfortable with being my girlfriend? You would've never snuggled up to me just yesterday."

"Well, first of all, I really liked what you did for Seung-yeon, so you deserve a little reward. Second of all, you might've cost me everything I own, so I think letting me snuggle up to your boobs is the least you could do." I hesitate a bit before putting my hand on her head to caress her. Despite the issues I've caused her, I don't think I've ever seen her smile so much. Seeing her happy makes my tummy feel quite warm... Is this what Adelheid meant when she said that we're girlfriends and not mates? I slowly move my head closer to hers until I'm able to look her in the eyes. I put my hands on her cheeks as she looks at me like a lost puppy, and move my lips closer to hers. I let my tongue slip inside her mouth and try my best to make it feels as nice for her as it does for me. Once she lets go, I bring her head lower before slowly taking off my shirt. "Hey, is Vivienne awake yet?" A voice asks through the door right before the shirt reaches my chest. Adelheid suddenly becomes redder than a pepper before replying to Seung-yeon. "Oh. Uhm. Yeah! She just woke up, I'll bring her to you in a minute!" She then moves her gaze towards me. "That was- I'm- You. It was nice but, maybe we should wait a bit before doing it again..." As I stare into her eyes, emotions I've never felt before start flooding my whole body. I feel warmth all over and yet inside I'm shivering. "Adelheid... Do you love me?" Her face turns a shade of red I didn't think human biology allowed, her eyes begin rushing all over the room and her mouth softly opens. "I- What are you saying?!" I bring my head closer to hers. "Do you love me?"

"I thought you didn't understand what love was?""

"Maybe I still don't, or maybe I do but only partially. Regardless, I want an answer. I'm not gonna force you to be with me after the issues I've caused." Adelheid starts shaking her head. She looks at my face in confusion, before her eyes begin darting again. "I... I don't know. And I don't think you know either. Vivienne, we've known each other for just a few weeks, and while I played into us being girlfriends because I... felt lonely, I don't think I can do this to you anymore, not if you think you love me. I want you to really think about this. Once you've made up your mind, I'll be able to tell you how I feel." I feel my guts wrench more with every words she speaks. "Can we... kiss one last time." Adelheid looks around a bit before settling on an answer. "I don't think we should. I don't want to cloud your judgement any further, I'm sorry. I'm going to the living room where Seung-yeon is, reach us when you feel like it. As Adelheid closes the door behind her, I find myself alone in the darkness of the room. After a short internal silence, thoughts begin rushing me. Did I do something wrong? Did I go too quickly again? Did I push her too much? Why am I feeling like this? Why do my cheeks feel wet? Am I... crying? I use the bedsheets to hide and to wipe my tears as I curl up into a ball. I feel my thoughts slowly fade as the sadness takes over, bringing with it many memories, some of which, despite my best efforts, I clearly was unable to forget.