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Mongrel, what are you doing here?! Get away! I felt the harsh blow to my face as the words stung my heart. Filthy little beast. You're unwanted here! Get out of here you damn mutt! Another blow, another do you hate me? Because of what you are. What am I? Who am I? Nothing. What? Nothing. No I- Nothing! No. Nothing! No! NOTHING!

"NO!" My eyes snapped open as the nightmare echoed in my ears. My eyes burned from the tears, my throat felt raw from screaming. The pain still felt so fresh, it's hard to believe that it all happened so long ago. Shakily sitting up, I scooted closer to the far wall of the abandoned boat in an attempt to shield myself from the cold. It's really a wonder how I have yet to catch a fever...or worse. I suppose that's thanks to... 'What you are.' I shuddered as those words swam in my head. God but I hated remembering that day. Everything came crumbling down; they turned on me, I was cast out of the only home I had ever known, and the very mention of the poor boy named Balto was considered taboo. I sighed as I pulled on my thick, though slightly frayed, gray wool shirt over my head. It was actually big enough to fall over the thighs of my faded black jeans. The bitter chill of the afternoon almost inclined me to wear my boots. Almost.

"I'm heading out, uncle!" I called to no one. It had become a habit of mine to tell my adoptive Uncle Boris when I was heading in to town. He would always chuckle and hand me my scarf saying, "Don't want your bones to turn to cycles and break." I chuckled ruefully as I donned said scarf, shedding a single tear at the memory of my now deceased uncle. Get out of here you damned mutt! His words had hurt the most.

My mood steadily picked up as I got closer to town. Even though I had lived in the area for the better part of a year, everything was still so new to me. The sweet scent of freshly made bread made my mouth water and my stomach growl, but I knew to just shut it out and keep moving. I had no money to pay for it anyways. Besides, I could always swing back towards the end of the day when the baker threw out the unsold and less than whole scraps. It wasn't much, but food was food. The same train of thought continued as I passed the butcher, a few fruit vendors, and even a teashop. I hummed pleasantly as I thought of the sweet gooey pastries when I smacked right into what felt like a wall with a resounding Oof!

Wait...walls don't go "oof"...

SxB

Damn what a bad day! It all started when I woke up almost a half hour past my original alarm setting because apparently my roomies thought it would be hilarious. It wasn't. This led me to be-surprise, surprise- LATE for the sled race sign-ups. Needless to say I was pissed. After burning off some steam via beating the hell out of my asshole roommates, I decided nice lunch with my girlfriend, Jenna, would be a great pick-me-up. Oh, but of course fate decided to be a bitch today, for I found the so-called love of my life being shagged by one of my would-be competitors. I was furious, but more so because she was a total cunt about it, got in my face, and threw me out. Like I was in the wrong! As I trudged through the snow contemplating how much ale should be ingested before this day faded from memory I failed to notice what direction I was heading in. I let out a startled grunt as something, or rather someone, ran right into me, throwing me slightly off balance. Righting myself, I struggled between storming away and all out throttling the guy. What the hell is with people and annoying the shit out of me today!?

"Hey dipshit, why don't you watch where the hell you're-" The bite in my words instantly died when I saw him. Damn if he wasn't tiny! Small shoulders that seemed to be trembling under his oversized ratty sweater, long legs tucked in old jeans, and...no shoes? Why the hell was he barefoot in this weather?! My eyes traced back up to his scarf which was wrapped around what I assumed to be a thin neck. His shaggy hair was an interesting shade of brown, sort of like oak bark in the winter, and his smooth heart shaped face was...scared-looking. I was a bit taken aback by this little fact. Instead of angry, or offended, or sheepish, the guy looked genuinely afraid of me. So scared in fact that he hadn't moved from his spot on the ground where I had unwittingly landed him. His brows were scrunched in what looked like concentration and his eyes were squeezed shut. As I took a step closer to him he visibly tensed. Odd, most guys around here would have been in my face by now. What's with this guy?

"...hey man, you need a hand?" I asked as gently as I could. He seemed to relax just a hint, but now his face morphed from fear to confusion. That's when he opened his eyes. They were the color of warm honey; a deep yellow hue with flecks of gold. Never in my life had I seen eyes like those. I mentally shook myself as I realized I had been staring.

"It's okay," I whispered as I slowly knelt closer to him, "I won't hurt you." I'm going to be honest here; despite my earlier irritation I really couldn't see myself hurting him in any way. I offered a hand to help him up, but this only served to put a bit of the fear back in his eyes. I took special care not to move, letting him see I wasn't a threat. Jeez, it was like dealing with a scared squirrel!

He looked at my hand, then back to the ground, then around him as if looking for an escape. Finding none he apprehensively put his hand in mine. I inwardly sighed in relief as I pulled him to stand up. I was correct to assume he was small. Hell he barely came up to my shoulder, if that! He kept his gorgeous eyes downcast, choosing instead to focus on our hands, which were still joined. Speaking of which, his hand was hella warm. How could his hand be that warm? He wore no gloves and just seconds ago it was buried in snow…

The sudden loss of the appendage startled me a bit, but before I could do something unspeakably stupid like ask for his hand back he tucked them into his pockets, refusing to meet my eyes. His posture reminded me of a trapped puppy, complete with averted ears and tucked tail...wait

SxB

Oh man, ohmanohmanohman I'm going to die. Or maybe I already did and this is a not-so-stereotypical version of Heaven. Yeah that must be it because there is no way that someone this gorgeous could be interacting with me otherwise. Running into him was scary, especially when he started yelling. As his deep voice began its harsh tirade I immediately braced myself for a blow that never came. He stopped yelling. Why is he so quiet all of a sudden? Is he still going to hit me? Oh God, he's getting closer!

"...hey man, you need a hand?"...okay I didn't expect that. I slowly opened my eyes to see if what I was hearing was the actual one-eighty personality switch I thought it was, and was dumbstruck. He was looking right at me, more like staring really, but he seemed to be more curious than mad. At least that's what I could tell from the slight furrowing of his dark brows and the contemplative set of his jaw. He had short jet black hair that was a bit windswept, but otherwise perfectly combed out of his face. His eyes were...wow. They were a crazy shade of blue; kind of like the sky when it first hits spring or a freshly thawed lake. They were strangely hypnotic, but at the same time frightening. Then he started speaking again. His voice was reassuring, but...damn there is really know way I can get away from this beautiful person without opening myself for attack. Wait, hold on, "beautiful"? Movement caught my eye. Was he going to hit me after all? No stupid, he just offered to help you up. The black leather gloves did look soft and warm, and I honestly couldn't say no. Seriously, my voice wasn't working at the moment. He pulled me into a standing position with ease and I realized just how small I was compared to him. His build was that of an athlete; tall, broad-shouldered, prominent muscles, but not excessively bulky. I couldn't bring myself to look at his eyes again, but I knew they were still fixed on me. I swiftly removed my hand from his grasp in favor of my pockets.

No, I couldn't be dead. My heart was going way to fast and I was quite possibly the most scared I've been in a long time. In my anxiety I hadn't noticed that I had started to... show myself. My wolf-like ears, though flattened to my head, were in plain sight and I felt a clenching in my lower back as my previously hidden tail curled downward in fear. Oh shit, I had to run. I needed to get away now!

I looked up one last time at him, turned, and ran as fast as I could. Only later did it occur to me that he didn't look angry or disgusted. In fact he just looked surprised.

I was still contemplating whether that was good or bad when the chilly night air hit me square in the face. In my musings I didn't realize how late it was! I considered going back into town to scrounge up some dinner, but I didn't want to risk running into him again. I let out a mournful sigh at the loss of a good pastry, but began humming to myself when I thought of possible game near my home. My legs were on autopilot as I gazed up at the starry sky. I had made it a pretty far distance from town and was approaching the sparse wooded area that gave way to the forest. I stopped humming as I climbed the jutting rock near the lake and sat, staring at the moon's brilliant reflection. I closed my eyes inhaling the scent of pine and the approaching spring, and for the first time that day, I smiled.

A/N: Hey, everyone. Just wanted to apologize for how long this took. I've been busy with end-of-the-year projects, figuring colleges out, and dealing with my own personal things. I appreciate the encouragement to continue my stories, and I will try to do better. All I ask is that you be patient with me.

Thank you,

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