Hello everyone,

Just a little story that I wrote for an anthology about kids, but also wanted to share it here. The anthology itself was posted by vulpinewizard on this site and you can read really nice stories there!

Hope you enjoy!

„Hey, freak!" a loud voice called out across the corridor.

Anna closed her eyes and prayed that it wasn't directed at her. Even if it was mere wishful thinking on her part, the girl had always pretended that someone else was called that.

"I'm talking to you, mix!"

Mix.

The word she heard very often, usually combined with 'freak' or in case of really nasty bullies, a 'disgusting mutant'. She instinctively cowered her shoulders, gripping tightly the straps of her school bag.

Why won't it end? Why couldn't they leave her alone? Has she ever done anything to be treated this way? And it wasn't just this school. Her family moved three times already and this would make the fourth school for her in just two years. Whatever small number of friends she had were now far away and she could only talk to them through Furbook. At first, she blamed her parents for this situation, as they decided on moving to other towns, but quickly understood that also wasn't easy for them. In every town, it was always the same treatment for the entire family. Disgusted looks, snickering behind their backs or even plain insults thrown right in their faces. When they ended up in Zootopia things were supposed to be different, but apparently such hostile mindset was common wherever they would go.

Anna couldn't understand why other mammals had so much hate in them. Why? Was it so much of a deal that her parents were of different species? So what if her mother was a painted dog and father was a grey wolf? Anna knew how much they loved each other and also how much they cared about her. How were they different from any other family? Just because her parents weren't…

"You deaf?" the nasty voice was right behind her and Anna's eyes snapped open.

She swallowed with difficulty and slowly turned around, doing her best to look unaffected by their name-calling. "W-what do you want?"

"Whoa! You look even nastier from the front!" a pig boy chuckled in a horrible way. He was really massive for his species and stood a good head above her. Another pig accompanied him, both dressed in black t-shirts and jeans. Several other kids stopped to watch the scene.

The words stabbed her painfully. She didn't consider herself a beauty of any sorts, but was pleased with her look. She inherited her mother's big, round ears, but her fur was almost all grey, like her father's, with the exception of several, colored spots here and there. Another lycaon's heritage. The tail was more like a wolf's though, bushy and long. While her muzzle was in between a wolf and a lycaon, her facial fur seemed to have a problem to decide what color would fit her best. Splotches of black, grey and brown intervened everywhere, making a unique pattern on her face, but at the same time, it was most often targeted by bullies.

With the corners of her eyes getting dangerously wet, Anna spun around and tried to leave, but one of the pigs grabbed her by the bag.

"Hey, I ain't done talking, freak!"

Anna let out a whine and all she could do was to burst into tear-

"Let her go, Swinton!" came a sharp yell and a grey blur swished in the air, landing on the pig's face. Earning a double kick to the cheek, Chuck Swinton staggered to the side, releasing his grip on Anna's school bag. The kicker landed gracefully in front of the mixed species girl and turned out to be a girl too. She twirled around and looked up at the surprised Anna.

"You okay?" the grey furred mammal asked with care, placing her paws on Anna's arms and giving her a quick once-over, probably checking if she wasn't hurt in any way. Apparently, she was not worried that she just kicked someone square in the face. She was wearing a white 'Mammallica' t-shirt and a pair of black pants.

"I-I'm fine…" the half-wolf half-painted dog girl stammered, surprised by the sudden turn of events. Never before has anyone stood up for her, not to mention a rabbit… or… a fox? She eyed carefully her savior and her eyes slowly widened when she realised what she was looking at. The grey girl had long pointed ears, so very similar to a fox in shape, but at the same time her muzzle was very short and didn't have any whiskers. Her tail short, but very fluffy and she stood on slender, but clearly very strong legs. She was also a head taller than a bunny her age should be.

"Sorry, I didn't introduce myself," the girl smiled at her. "I'm Olivia!" she extended her paw in a greeting.

The dumbfounded Anna stared at it, as if she never saw a paw in her life. She had to be dreaming, as nobody in this school ever wanted to be her friend! She was a freak, an outcast! At that very moment, she was hit by a very obvious fact that the girl before her also was a mixed species mammal.

Their strange meeting moment was interrupted when Swinton shook his head and growled at the newcomer. "You!" he took a step forward, his huge frame hovering over Olivia. "I'll make a pelt out of you, girlie!" the other pig was right beside him, smiling in a nasty way.

However, she didn't look frightened in the slightest. Olivia folded her arms and stared back at the pig with narrowed eyes. Then she opened her mouth and yelled one word that echoed throughout the corridors. "ZACK!"

Chuck froze in his tracks, surprised by the reaction, but it lasted only a moment and he looked down on the girl. "What? Calling your boyfriend for help, pipsqueak?"

There was a sight rumble when heavy steps could be heard from around the corner and after a moment they stopped just behind the pigs.

"Nope," Olivia showed Swinton a smirk. "My brother."

Two massive paws grabbed Chuck and his buddy by the collars of their t-shirts and lifted them in the air. "You called, sis?" said a deep voice and both pigs looked around to see a truly huge figure. The pigs weren't small, even for their species, but this one kept them in the air, several feet from the ground, without any visible effort. He had a head similar in shape to that of a lion, but without a mane and was adorned with numerous black spots and short stripes. The mammal showed a smile full of teeth.

"Yeah, these two jerks were mean to me and my friend," she pointed at Anna over her shoulder. "Oh and one of them said that he'll make a pelt out of me," she added with a mischievous grin.

The huge feline's expression changed instantly. Now it was full of irritation, if not bordering anger. "You threatened my little sister?!" he hissed into Swinton's face, pulling the pig closer to him.

The teenager squealed, along with his friend. "S-sorry! I-I didn't know she was your sister!"

"Yeah, one could write a book about things you don't know, Swinton," these words came from beside Zack's knee and Anne saw another mixed species mammal coming into view, similar in appearance to Olivia, but with red fur and slightly longer muzzle. He was also a bit taller. His choice of attire was an untucked, button up green shirt and plain jeans. Still, his eyes were the most intriguing thing about him. While Olivia had a pair of emerald green orbs, this boy had dual colored eyes – one green and one purple. He was casually holding a book in one paw.

He noticed her gaze and pulled off a lazy salute with two fingers. "Sup? I'm Walter, Olivia and Zack's brother," he introduced himself with a smile.

Meanwhile, Zack was giving the pigs a short lecture. "If I ever even hear that you're being impolite to my sis or any of her friends, then we're going to have a less friendly chat. Got it?" he growled straight into their faces. Swinton started nodding so eagerly that his head was in danger of falling off.

Once released, both bullies took to their heels and disappeared in one of the corridors.

Olivia shook her head with a huff, watching after the escaping pigs. "Jerks!"

"Um…" Anna mumbled, not sure what to say to the trio of mammals. "Thank you…"

She felt a friendly arm around her shoulders. Olivia showed her a brilliant smile. "Don't sweat it! I hate when guys like that bully others! Oh gosh! Sorry, I totally forgot to ask for your name!"

"It's… Anna," the girl muttered, still slightly taken aback with how open these mammals were. "Anna Howlee," she extended a paw and the mixed species girl shook it with a wide smile. "Olivia Wilde! Nice to meet you!" after that she pointed at the two guys. "You've already met my brothers, Zack and Walter.

"Hello!"

"Yo!"

Anna's eyes lingered a bit on the massive mammal. "Brothers? But…"

Zack noticed her gaze and pointed a finger at himself with a short laugh. "Oh! I'm adopted!"

As he said that, the boy by his side let out a dramatic gasp. "No! Tell me it is not so! All these years I thought that we're blood related!" his face spoke of faked shock.

The taller brother simply laughed again.

"Anna? You okay?" Olivia asked her new friend as she noticed her slightly glazed eyes.

"Huh? Sorry, I just… I've never met any other… mixed species mammals…" she muttered, blushing a bit.

The grey furred girl gave her another smile and shrugged. "Well, welcome to the club. We're all freaks here!" just as she said that, Olivia noticed how Anna flinched slightly. And, to the wolf-lycaon girl's surprise, she laughed.

"You worry too much, Anna! Don't let them see that they get to you! That's what our dad taught all seven of us."

"S-seven?" the girl stuttered, the sting from the offensive word now forgotten.

Walter joined in with a chuckle. "Yeeah, mom sometimes says that it's the fault of 'that dumb fox' that there is so many of us, but we all know how she loves dad, him included."

Anna tried to process this new information. "So… so you're all… mixed?" she dared asking.

"Yep," this time Zack decided to speak. "I'm a liger and our parents adopted me when I was already bigger than them. I heard that mom insisted that she'll manage to take care of me. She's one tough bunny!" he smiled fondly while speaking of his mother.

Olivia nodded. "The rest of us are like me and Walter. I mean, I'm a funny and he's a box."

"Hey!" her litter brother protested out loud. "I'm the funny one here!"

"Yeah, dream on!" she stuck out her tongue at him.

Anna let out a small giggle at the siblings' antics.

"Say," Olivia addressed her cheerfully, joy seeming to be the main feature of her character. "Want to eat lunch with us?"

The wolf-painted dog girl looked at all three smiling faces, feeling a genuine smile tugging her own lips upwards.

"Sure! I'd love to!"

For the first time in two years, she felt truly happy.