“Must be a big change, living in a more populated district now,” they tried again.
“I guess,” Abi said in a soft, subdued voice.
The Ophys was small and wiry with short gray fur streaked with whites and blacks. His eyes were jet black, almost entirely pupil, with a cloudy film that Dex later realized were tinted contacts to protect his eyes from the harsh light of the desert sun and the cafe fluorescents.
The fur between his black, heavily pierced ears was a darker gray than his body with thick white streaks, and he wore it long, the soft hair falling to one side over his forehead. Given his grunge aesthetic, Dex wondered if he spiked it into a mohawk when he went to heavy metal concerts.
With how shy and timid he was, Dex couldn’t quite envision the Ophys jumping around in a mosh pit, but he was also making assumptions. Dex didn’t know if Abi even liked death metal, because Abi hardly ever talked about himself. Or anything else. Or at all.
The most he ever said in one sitting was on his first day when Glyma took him around to introduce everyone. His naked, fleshy tail curled around his ankle as he fidgeted with the hem of his oversized shirt with pale pink fingers. His button nose twitched, short whiskers trembling as he cleared his throat.
“I kinda got a condition,” he said, accent thick and drawling. “Sometimes, I pass out, and my body shuts down. My breathing gets real slow,and it’s hard to find a pulse. I promise I ain’t dead. So don’t call emergency services or nothing; I usually wake up after a few minutes.”
“Like narcolepsy?” Rusty asked, and Abi shrugged.
“Kinda. I get all stiff and stuff too. Doctors think it’s some weird sort of epilepsy. My meds keep it in check for the most part, but if I get real scared or there’s sudden loud noises, I still…” He pantomimed something falling over, palms meeting with a softslap.
“Loud noises set you off?” Toni asked, and everyone shot terrified glances at Tad, who was already grinning evilly.
“Are you aware of what is happening during an episode?” Zef asked, wings buzzing in curiosity.
Abi wobbled his head noncommittally. “Usually, even if it’s kinda foggy after.”
“Do you feel the episodes coming, or are they sudden?” Willow asked.
The more he had to talk, the more the poor Ophys fidgeted. “Um, depends. Can be both, but my watch beeps when I have an unexpected spike in heart rate. It’s usually the trigger that short-circuits everything, so if I don’t have enough time to sit down, you’ll hear the alarm.”
“Do we have your permission to help? Catch you if you start to fall or move you to a safe location?” Glyma asked, and Abi nodded again.
Backing up, Tad reached for one of the shelving units and knocked a metal pot over, sending it crashing to the ground. The sudden, loud clang made everyone jump. Abi squeaked, a shrill beeping sounded from his watch, then his body went ramrod straight, and he keeled over unconscious.
Glyma caught him before he hit the ground as everyone glowered at the Anura.
“Unholy shit, he wasn’t lying,” she said in genuine surprise, like she hadn’t actually expected Abi to pass out.
“Why would you do that?” Willow demanded sharply.
“Yeah, that was kinda fucked up, Tad,” Toni said.
Tad scowled deeply. “Right, like you weren’t tempted to test it.”
“That’s not the point! We put up with a lot of your shit, Tad,” Quin snarled, red eyes burning as she helped Glyma shoulder Abi’s dead weight, “but if you ever pull that again, you’re fired. You hear me?”
Everyone froze, and the kitchen fell deathly silent.
Tad crossed her arms over her squat torso in defiance. “Oh, whatever! It was a joke.”
“It was cruel, Tadora,” Zef said, voice heavy with disappointment, and it was the only reaction she took to heart.
Her bulbous eyes widened, jaw dropping in… not hurt. Betrayal, maybe? “Oh, fuck you, Zef.”
The Mantodea’s antennas stiffened, and they turned away from her with a series of throaty clicks and whirs.
“Enough!” Glyma snapped, her normally cheery face drawn tight in anger. She and Quin passed Abi to Toni, who stood closest, then she faced Tad fully, purple tail high and rigid. “That was entirely unacceptable, Tad, and I will not stand for anyone making this place an unsafe or unwelcoming environment.”
Dex cowered away from Glyma, his nose burning from her smoky anger and something else too. The kitchen filled with the stench of sulfur and brimstone, and he swore her pupils morphed into jagged diamonds as the air around her shimmered, like heat radiating off asphalt.
He didn’t think he’d ever seen Glyma angry before, and he’d certainly never seen her stand up to Tad. But now? She glared down at the Anura, and to everyone’s shock, Tad took a nervous step back.
