Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A horse's vision encompasses nearly a full 360 degrees. There's just a single 10 degree blindspot directly behind them. 

But when seven year old Yafya ran, he didn't bother looking behind him, because his parents were right there. They had his back. 

Yafya's whole world was lost in that 10 degree blindspot.

They were a normal family, out on a normal day. Years later, Yafya wouldn't even remember what they were doing, or what they were talking about. 

All he'd remember was the roar that suddenly shattered the calm atmosphere, and the panic that ensued. And the glimpse of a massive form lashing out with huge claws as his parents told him to run. 

So Yafya ran until he couldn't anymore. It wasn't until he stopped that he realized he was alone. 

At the time, the grownups didn't bother to really explain what had happened. All they told him was that a large carnivore, a brown bear, had gone berserk and attacked the crowd. No one ever talked about why. But he heard a lot of people talk about the terrible strength and devastation large bears can cause.

For years, people would talk about the Aspen street massacre. Over a dozen injured, 5 killed, and several gun clips emptied before the police were finally able to put the bear down.

Yafya's parents were among the dead, which grownups always seemed to talk about whenever they met him. 

Having no other family, the young colt was put into foster care. Due to his good breeding, as he often heard, the government paid a decent stipend for his care. 

For some reason, that pissed Yafya off. 

But then again, a lot of things pissed Yafya off. But being reminded of what he was ‘worth’, seemed to top the list, right along with how lucky he was to have survived the massacre.

It was also made abundantly clear that neither his ‘worth’, nor their pity translated to actually caring about him. It also turned out that his black coat could hide a lot of bruises, something of which a few foster parents seemed to be acutely aware. 

It didn't matter. Nobody cared. He was just labeled as an angry kid that caused problems and got into fights. And the truth was, Yafya was angry. He hated the smelly mattress he slept on. He hated the old hand-me-down clothes he had to wear that never fit, the fact that he was almost always hungry and was never given any fresh produce to eat. He hated the smell the black garbage bag left all over his scant belongings whenever he moved foster homes.

Most of all, he hated his own weakness and inability to do anything about any of it. 

The world was cruel and lonely, and to be honest, Yafya was pretty much always looking for an excuse to fight. And didn't really care about what happened to him.

So taking his frustrations out on bullies was a no-brainer. He didn't care how many there were, how big, or if they were herbivores or carnivores.

Whether it was his current foster father bullying the little mule boy who was the other foster kid in the house, or kids on the school yard, he'd jump right in, swinging full force. 

So, when he saw a group of older kids throwing rocks and insults at someone who wasn't even fighting back, he didn't hesitate. 

“Knock it off!” The pre-teen colt landed a punch directly to a cheetah's face. Before the rest of the kids could react, Yafya swung his leg into the stomach of a teenage boar. 

“What the hell?!” A badger snarled and lunged for the horse. 

Yafya let loose a flurry of blows. Hitting anyone within reach, and not caring about the minor scratches and bruises he got before the pack of bullies ran. 

“That's what I thought! Cowards!” Yafya yelled as he kicked dirt after them.

“I hope he eats you! You freaking psycho!” The boar called back. 

Yafya snorted, wiping the sweat and blood from his face. Only once the others were out of sight did he turn his attention to the one they'd been assaulting.

All the horse could make out about them were green scales covering their arms, still shielding their head, and their tail that was wrapped around them as they stayed curled on the ground. 

Based on the boar's last comment, it was probably a carnivore. The bullies had included herbivores and carnivores, which was odd.

Oh well. 

“Hey, you okay?” Yafya walked over to the cowering reptile. 

There was just a muffled whimper. 

“They're gone now; you can get up. Are you hurt or anything?” After a moment of nothing but some whining sounds, Yafya reached out to touch the kid's shoulder.

“No! Stay back!” The young reptile pulled away quickly, still covering his face. His voice sounded muddled, like maybe his mouth was bloody. 

“I ain't gonna hurt ya. But if you're hurt-”

“It's not that!” He scrambled away again as Yafya, again, tried to reach for one arm to pull it away from his face. “It's my venom!” The reptile turned and finally looked at him, still sitting on the ground and clasping both hands over his mouth. There was clear liquid oozing out between his fingers.

His mouth was full of venom, not blood. And he looked terrified. 

“Oh…” Yafya leaned down with his hands on his knees to get a better look. His scales had a few scuffs and scrapes, probably from being hit by rocks, but otherwise he didn't look too hurt. “So…you're a komodo, right?”

“Mmhmm.” He nodded. “And my venom starts to flow really bad when I get upset…”

He wasn't kidding. Yafya had never seen a komodo dragon up close, but he was pretty sure they didn't walk around with venom pouring out of their mouths like a fountain all the time. 

“Ok…so you just need to calm down…then we can clean you up.” Yafya looked around. 

They were by an underpass that was between the middle school campuses for herbivores and carnivores. The athletic field was just on the other side of the dry canal they were in. Yafya could jump the fence pretty easily. 

“Just wait here, I'll be right back…”

“Okay…” The komodo nodded, still looking uncertain and sniffling a little as he tried to keep his venom from spilling out. 

Yafya ran as quickly as he could. It took a few minutes, but he returned pretty quickly, considering. The komodo was still huddled on the ground, taking some deep breaths. At least it seemed like he wasn't crying anymore. 

“Heads up.” Yafya unceremoniously dumped a bucket of water over the komodo's head. The water was cold but it was a pretty warm summer day. “There. How's that? The water should've diluted the venom right? At least enough that you can walk home?”

The other kid blinked a few times, staring up at the horse. It was kind of hard to tell since he wasn't very familiar with reptiles, but Yafya was pretty sure he was a little older than him. 

“I'm Yafya, by the way. I'm a first year in middle school. How ‘bout you?”

“I'm Gosha. A third year.”

“You live around here?”

“Kinda…”

“Do those guys bother you a lot?” He thumbed over his shoulder in the general direction the bullies had fled. 

“Not…too often…”

So, yeah. 

“Well, you good to get home on your own?”

“Yeah…” He glanced around, “but I better clean this up better…it's not good to leave venom all over the ground.” He stood up carefully. 

“Oh…alright, come on. I think I saw another bucket near the spigot by the track.” Yafya gestured and started heading back towards the fence with his bucket. 

“You don't have to help!”

“It's fine. Got nothing better to do.” Yafya spared a glance back to see the older kid hesitantly follow after him. 

“But, don't you need to get home? It's getting late…”

“Foster family don't actually give a crap. And I don't care if they get pissed.” He shrugged. 

“Foster…family…?”

“Yep.”

“Oh…I lost my parents too…”

That made Yafya look back. 

“What could happen to venomous carnivores?”

The other boy's head lowered. 

“Sorry, stupid question.” Yafya didn't mean it like it sounded. 

“It's okay. There was a fire…”

“Sorry.” Yafya could see the question on the reptile's mind, so he went ahead and answered. “Mine were killed in a carnivore attack, years ago.”

All the color drained from Gosha’s green face.

“Don't go gettin’ upset all over again and spilling more venom.” Yafya commented as he started climbing the fence. 

“Aren't you…scared…? Being with a carnivore?”

“Nah.” He jumped down on the other side and waited. “If you try to eat me, I'll just kick your ass.”

“I'm a venomous reptile! Don't you understand how dangerous that makes me!”

“And yet, I'm the one who saved you from a bunch of pathetic bullies.” Yafya smirked. 

“Well…I didn't want to hurt anyone…”

“Exactly. I think I'm safe. Come on.” He gestured again as he started walking.

Eventually, Gosha did catch up. 

“So, you with a foster family or you got other relatives?”

“Not family, exactly…but there are other komodos who knew my parents…I kinda bounce around between their homes. I'm grateful…it's just…not…”

“Like a real home?” Yafya filled in. 

Gosha nodded. 

They found a second bucket and filled both with water (getting back over the fence with full buckets was easier with the two of them), and they washed the affected area. There was actually visible erosion where the most concentrated venom had dripped.

“Impressive.” Yafya looked up at the komodo and nodded. “I didn't know dragon venom was that potent…”

“Yeah…” Gosha ducked his head. “We gotta be really careful.”

“So it's hard to fight back because you might actually kill someone.”

The dragon nodded again. 

“Okay. Well, if those guys mess with you again, I'll just fight ‘em for you.”

“You don't have to do that! It's dangerous! What if you get hurt?”

Yafya shrugged as he stood up. “I'm pretty tough. Which way you headin’?”

Gosha gestured. 

“Alright, I can walk that way for a little ways.”

They ended up chatting on the way home. Yafya had never really talked to a carnivore before. Well, he didn't really talk with anyone very often. Yet with Gosha, it just felt…easy. 

After that, Yafya made it a point to be on the lookout for the komodo and his bullies. It turned out, there was more than just the one group. Over the course of just a few weeks, Yafya learned that it wasn't uncommon for random animals that didn't even know Gosha to be rude or even throw rocks at the ‘dangerous venomous monster’ just for being near them. 

Yafya had no idea that kind of treatment was so common for animals like Gosha. 

“Why don't you just hang out with other komodos? There have to be some at your school?” Yafya asked one afternoon, fresh bruises on his knuckles and face after getting into a fist fight with two third year bovines for dumping ice water on Gosha. 

Stupid jocks. 

Now they were sitting in the sun so Gosha could dry off and warm up. 

“There are a few others…I just…don't want to…”

“They jerks, or something?”

“No…it's not that…” 

Yafya looked over at the dragon. He was a little lethargic because of the ice water, but this seemed like a little more. “What is it?”

Gosha looked at him with a nervous expression. “It's just…as a komodo, because of the way we're treated…everyone just expects me to…live a certain life. Most komodo in the city do…because there is safety in numbers…”

Yafya wasn't stupid. Or ignorant. They lived in a pretty shitty neighborhood, not too far from the back alley market. 

“They want you to join the Dokugumi, right?”

Very slowly, Gosha nodded. 

“So why don't you want to? You'd be protected, right?” The horse snorted. “And you are a carnivore. You'll have to use the back alleys eventually, right?”

Gosha's eyes went wide. And his face turned a paler shade of green. He suddenly clapped a hand over his mouth

Yafya rolled his eyes, taking off his shirt and handing it to the dragon. “Use this. It's already torn pretty bad.”

“Thanks…” Gosha tentatively took the shirt and dabbed his mouth dry. 

“It's not like I don't know how the world is.” Yafya stated plainly. He had no illusions that the carnivore next to him would be some sort of anomaly or pillar of righteousness and never turn to eating meat. 

“I know…but I don't want it to be that way.” Gosha sighed. “I don't wanna eat meat. But even more than that…I don't wanna have to fight in stupid, endless gang wars…” There was a low growling undertone to Gosha's words. There was real anger there. The kind that comes from hurt. 

Yafya recognized that kind of hurt. 

“Is that…what started the fire?”

Gosha's head lowered. “Yeah. My folks were Dokugumi. There was a turf war. They were fighting in this old warehouse. Maybe a shot hit the old wiring or something, but the place caught fire.” He sighed. “It took forever for the fire department to even show up, and when they did…well, they were worried komodo venom would corrode their protective gear…”

“So, they just left your parents to die?!” 

Gosha shrugged. “My mom ran in to try and get my dad ‘cuz she knew no one else would…but the smoke must've got to her…I dunno if either of them were alive by the time the firemen went in…but they pulled out some of the other animals that were there, and they lived…but all the komodos were left.”

“I'm…sorry. That's beyond messed up.”

Gosha shrugged. “Our venom is dangerous. It can burn through clothes…” He held up Yafya's shirt, which now had sizzling holes in it. “I can't really blame the firefighters for not wanting to risk themselves even more…”

“But still…” Yafya shook his head. “There has to be material that would be resistant to stuff like your venom. Why don't they use that, or treat the firemen's suits somehow so they won't erode?! I swear, grownups are stupid! They don't even try to fix problems that should be easy!”

Gosha just…smiled at him. 

“Why aren't you more angry!?” Yafya spread his arms wide as if gesturing to the world at large. 

“I am angry. But that's why…I want to do something different…maybe when I grow up, I'll be a fireman. Or design new materials that won't corrode as easily…or work in construction so buildings are safer…or something.”

Yafya stared for a minute, then a small smile tugged at his lips, for the first time in who knew how long. “Yeah…maybe we can do something to actually make a difference.” He snorted, almost amused by the idea. 

“You definitely can!” 

The komodo's bold declaration made Yafya stare at him again. “Huh?”

“You're an herbivore, but you actually bother to help…well, someone like me. There's a lot you could do!”

Yafya scoffed. “I dunno about that.” Yafya definitely didn't see himself as a hero or a particularly good or righteous person. He wasn't even a very good student. All he was good at was fighting. But the least he could do was throw his fists at those who were hurting others. But how much could a single horse really do?

*

Months went by. Summer turned to fall. The fairs grew shorter. And yet Gosha found himself spending more and more time with the younger black horse. 

Yafya was a good fighter, but it didn't take long for the komodo to realize there was a lot of pain and anger behind his actions, or to realize that he didn't seem to value his own life very much. 

He never hesitated to jump into a fight, no matter who it was against. 

A couple high school moose harassing a girl? Yafya did give them a warning, but when one guy shoved him against a wall, he came back swinging. It didn't matter that he was half their size. Once the girl ran off, at least he was willing to run when Gosha ran in and grabbed his hand to pull him away. 

But one day, they came across a group of canines that were beating up a much smaller fox behind a convenient store. Before Gosha could think, Yafya was landing a flying kick to the back of a dingo. 

These were not school kids. These were adults. And they were pissed, and ready to take chunks out of the young herbivore, if not worse.

Gosha's tail connected with the right side of a jackal's face as he lunged for the back of Yafya's neck while the colt was dodging a coyote's claws. Pulling Yafya back from the fray, the komodo spun around to face the group, fangs bared, venom dripping. 

“You damn punks!” The wild dog snarled.

Gosha wiped his mouth and flicked a bit of venom at his feet. The drop that landed on the canine's shoe sizzled.

“Oh shit!”

Gosha gathered more venom on his fingers with a hiss.

They ran.

So did the fox. 

“Wow…you're a badass!” Yafya chuckled and put a hand on his shoulder, while he still had venom on his claws. “Thanks for having my back.” The horse smiled at him and casually walked off. “Come on, let's go wash up.”

Even after seeing him fight, the young horse still wasn't scared of the komodo. Not even a little. 

From that day on, Gosha never hesitated to jump into a fight right alongside Yafya. He didn't want to use his venom on anyone, but sometimes just the threat was enough. But for good measure, he started practicing how to fight so he wouldn't need to rely on his venom. 

Yafya trained and even sparred with him. They'd spend hours after school running around, building endurance, and practicing moves. It was actually kind of fun. They even started doing these breathing techniques they'd seen on tv that's supposed to help martial artists stay calm and in control during a fight. 

Yafya thought it might help Gosha control his venom. Gosha thought it might help Yafya control his temper.  

And it seemed to work, for both of them. 

Gosha found that he wasn't getting upset as easily and his venom wouldn't start pouring out of his mouth nearly as readily. And Yafya…seemed…happier. Lighter. Not always looking for a fight, and actually willing to just relax sometimes. 

It got to where they were spending all of their free time together. Sometimes they'd even do their homework, though it wasn't either of their strong suits. And sometimes, especially when it was raining or really cold outside, they'd just go to the public library and read manga where no one would bother them. 

It was nice, but it was hard to ignore the fact that Yafya never wanted to go home. He didn't really talk about it, but it wasn't hard to piece together that his foster father was cruel. But he said it wasn't the worst foster home he'd had, which was its own kind of disturbing. 

Gosha's homelife, if you could call it that, wasn't bad. No one was technically his legal guardian, so nowhere was technically his home. He was already enrolled in middle school when his folks died. For high school, he was sure someone would sign his transfer papers. But there was a pretty set culture in his community that Dokugumi take care of their own, and don't involve the government or anyone outside their community. 

That meant no legal adoption, foster care, or any official paperwork that required government oversight. He was just invited to stay with different members of the gang. He pretty much had free range. Reptiles tend to expect their youth to be pretty independent, so no one seemed to think it was strange. He'd just go wherever he felt like he wasn't being a bother. And no one really kept tabs; if he wasn't at their house by a certain time, they just assumed he was at someone else's. 

Which meant it wasn't a big deal for him to stay out with Yafya as late as he wanted. Which also helped him avoid the individuals who were pressuring him to join the gang. That wasn't the life that he wanted, and as naive as it may have been, hanging out with Yafya, it actually felt like he could choose a different life. 

And he wanted to hold onto that, for as long as he could. 

Chapter Text

Things at home were the same, but Yafya didn't care as much. He was hardly there anyways. And with Gosha, he was actually getting into fewer fights…well, most of the bullies in their neighborhood were certainly keeping lower profiles.

He and Gosha had even gotten a bit of a positive reputation, which was weird…but there were kids from both their campuses who talked about how an herbivore and a carnivore pair had saved them from being bullied or harassed. 

Honestly, Yafya didn't really care for the attention, but it was nice seeing the change in the neighborhood, small as it was. 

But what bit of peace he had found all came crashing down one night when he got back to his foster home. 

He had stayed out fairly late with Gosha, but it had been a chilly day and even chillier evening as it got dark, so he didn't want to keep the reptile out even later. The guy never complained, but he was definitely looking a little sluggish, so Yafya bid his friend goodnight and they parted ways. 

He was walking down his block when he saw them: large carnivores. 

Tigers from what he could see, were throwing Martin, the mule boy he shared a room with, into the back of a large van in the alleyway behind the house. 

He only saw a glimpse, but Martin was bound, gagged and clearly terrified. 

“Hey!” Yafya shouted, trying to get their attention, anyone's attention, as he ran full speed straight at them. But the tigers that had been carrying the young mule were already in the back of the van, and whoever was in the driver seat took off as they slammed the doors. Yafya tried to catch them, but quickly realized he wouldn't be able to. 

Breathing hard, his heart pounding in his chest, he turned and ran back to the house, bursting through the door, yelling what had happened and that they needed to call the police.

What he saw, took a moment to comprehend. His piece of shit foster father was leaning calmly against the kitchen counter, counting a stack of cash that looked way too large for him to have. 

“The fuck are you doing here? Figured you'd be out for a few more hours at least.” The large horse, Amos, scoffed. 

“Carnivores took Martin…” It only took about half a second to see that the bastard didn't look shocked or disturbed. “What did you do!?” Yafya would've been growling if his vocal chords worked that way; his fists were clenched and his whole body was shaking with rage 

“None of your damn business. Just go to your room and shut the fuck up.” The bigger appaloosa stallion stood to his full height, pocketed the cash, and smirked at him.  

“YOU SOLD HIM!” Yafya flew at the stallion, but the taller man was ready, his fist colliding with the colt's face, and then he caught the collar of his shirt.

“Nobody gives a shit about some dimwitted hybrid brat!” The stallion shouted, sneering in Yafya's face. “But don't worry, you're a pureblooded friesian! You're worth a lot more alive, as long as you don't cause too much trouble! So go to your room and SHUT. THE. FUCK. UP!”

Yafya grabbed the man's wrists, fighting to stay on his feet as he was roughly shaken with each word.

“You won't get away with this! Social services-”

“Oh, please!” The stallion laughed. “You think they actually care? I'll report the kid as missing in a few days. Just another runaway. You know a lot of those hybrid kids just ain't right in the head, and that one clearly wasn't all there.” He scoffed, “They'll put out a notice to keep an eye out, and that'll be it.” The bastard snorted his Yafya's face, looking sickeningly smug. 

“I'll tell-!” Yafya's threat was cut off as he was slammed backwards against the counter. 

“You think anyone will believe you? You've been nothing but trouble since you got in the system! Always starting fights…hanging out with that venomous reptile…” The stallion's face took on a wicked grin. “A Dokugumi kid? Hey, maybe you're the one that sold out your poor, little, mentally challenged foster brother, trying to get in good with the gumis like the delinquent you are.”

Yafya's blood was boiling. The bastard looked so freaking smug, like he was untouchable. Like Yafya was powerless. 

There was no point arguing with this asshole.

Yafya clamped down on the stallion's wrist as hard as he could with his blunt teeth, earning a yell and string of curses. But once the grip on Yafya's collar was loose, he put all his strength into his legs, then channeled it all into an uppercut right to the bastard's chin. 

Despite the size difference, that had the stallion stumbling back. 

As much as Yafya wanted to pummel the guy, there was no time. He bolted out of the door, jumping the front steps to the sidewalk and tearing off down the street. 

There was no point going to the police. Chances were, by the time he could convince them to take him seriously, it would be too late, even if they actually did go to look for Martin. 

And then he'd have to deal with that asshole trying to frame him and Gosha. Who would the cops actually listen to? 

No. Trying to get anyone else to help would be a waste of time. If Martin was gonna have a chance, he needed to find him, quick! The carnivores took him alive, but who knew how long they'd keep him that way? 

“Gosha!” Yafya yelled as soon as he reached the block where the komodo usually stayed. Neither of them had ever bothered to invite the other over, so they didn't have each other's addresses. But Yafya knew there were a couple apartments and a small house around here somewhere that Gosha referenced on occasion. “GOSHA! WHERE ARE YOU!?”

“Yaf!” A very nervous voice hissed at him and the young horse could see a figure heading towards him at the edge of his vision. 

He whirled around to his friend. “Gosha, I need your help!”

The komodo grabbed his wrist and dragged him down the street. “Are you crazy! This is a carnivore neighborhood a block from–” He grunted, “It’s after dark, what are you doing here?” He pulled him into an alley and turned to him with a very worried expression. “What happened? Did…your foster dad…?”

“I'm fine! But that asshole sold Martin!”

“What?!” The komodo's eyes went wide as his face paled.

Yafya quickly explained what he'd seen, and the stack of cash and his confrontation with Amos. “I'll deal with that bastard later, but I need to find Martin!” He grabbed the komodo by the shoulders. “Cuz that asshole is right! The police aren't gonna raid gumi territory for some hybrid foster kid!”

“You can't go into gumi territory to look for him either! What are you gonna do!?”

“That's why I need your help! You don't have to come, but you know where the black market is, don't you?! You have gumi ties! Surely you can find out something! Someone has to know something about who would buy an herbivore kid! Or maybe saw the van going to the market! Anything! You at least know who to ask! Where to start!”

Gosha took a deep breath, looking torn between angry and hopeless, “I can ask…but…it's too dangerous-”

“They're gonna devour him! He's not even ten years old! He's a freaking elementary school kid, and no one gives a crap!” Yafya's vision blurred behind his stinging eyes. “Somebody has to care! Somebody has to be willing to at least try! Or what good is this world! What are we even living for if we're just gonna accept shit like this happening!”

Streaks were burning paths down the sides of Yafya's face. He couldn't accept this. He couldn't just go about his life if he didn't at least try. He couldn't live with himself if he was just going to be a useless bystander. 

If no one else was willing to fight, he would! 

Gosha's face was set like stone. “Alright, come on.” He grabbed Yafya's wrist again and began pulling him down the alley. “For the record, I wasn't gonna do nothing! I was gonna go look for him myself because it's safer for me, but knowing you, if I leave you alone, you'll just go off on your own, half cocked like always!”

Gosha was gonna go look on his own. He didn't even hesitate to decide to put himself at risk for someone he barely knew. An herbivore, no less. Somehow, that seemed to lessen the vice gripping Yafya's chest. 

“You're right! There's no way I'd let you go alone. It's better if we have each other's backs!”

The komodo briefly smiled back at him. 

En route, Gosha let go of his wrist and leapt up to grab some things hanging down from a clothes line. 

“Here. Put this on.” Yayfa was confused, but obeyed, pulling the large black hoodie being offered over his head. 

Gosha helped pull the hood up. It was baggy enough to almost completely cover his muzzle. Then the dragon grabbed the horse's tail. 

“Hey!”

“Keep your head down and try to keep your tail hidden.” Gosha wrapped a scarf or something around the horse's tail and then tucked it under the elastic band of the hoodie. “If we're going into the market together, you can't let anyone see you're an herbivore or it'll be big trouble and we'll be too busy saving our own hides to save Martin's!”

Yafya nodded. 

Gosha stepped back and looked him over. “Agh, that'll have to do. Just stay close to me, and don't say anything!”

Yafya nodded again, wiping his face and pulling the hood as low as possible to hide his features as he followed Gosha out of the alley. 

“We're heading into the market…” Gosha whispered, “where they sell meat…it's gonna look…bad. Try not to react…”

With a silent nod, Yafya tried to steal himself. He knew about the market, but he really didn't know what to expect.

As they rounded a corner, and headed down a narrow alleyway, his senses were assaulted with an array of new smells and sounds, all of which were making his instincts to run scream at him. And then they left the alley, entering the lantern lit street, lined with booths and dozens of people bustling about. All carnivores. 

And Yafya saw meat for the very first time. Hanging from hooks under the booth awnings, laid out on counters. Raw meat, still red with blood…some still with enough fur or unique shape to identify the species, some cut into strips or chunks that were hard to believe came from a living person. There was also meat cooking over fires, on grills or in pots, coated in various spices that created a mixture of alien scents. And carnivore teeth were ripping and chewing some of those pieces…

It was an herbivore's worst nightmare. But Yafya couldn't afford to react. Couldn't afford to think about where all that meat had come from…if Martin was already among the wares being sold here…

No. They still had time. They had to. 

Gosha glanced back at him frequently, but Yafya kept his expression hard, his eyes forward. 

Did Gosha…eat here? Or would he, someday? 

No, now was not the time to think about that. His friend would never be okay with kidnapping and murdering innocent people. He didn't even have to ask to know that. Any other questions could wait. 

They made their way through where meat was being openly sold. No one seemed to notice them. Then they finally reached a building that was Gosha's destination. 

“Just wait here. Head down, don't talk to anyone or even look at them!”

“What are you-” Yafya began to ask. 

“I know a guy here who might have some intel on who would be dealing in live kids, or maybe mules, specifically…but he won't talk if there's a stranger present, especially if he realizes you're an herbivore! So just stare at the wall and pretend to be deaf or something if someone talks to you! I'll be as quick as possible.”

Yafya gave a curt nod and shifted over to stand next to the wall. He couldn't bring himself to keep his back to the street full of meat eating carnivores, but he angled himself to be as inconspicuous as possible, even crouching to the ground to make it less likely for a shorter species to see under his hood, and to hopefully pass as just someone resting for a minute. 

Carnivores of all shapes, sizes, and ages passed by. Even families with small children. Many were chatting casually. Some were even laughing. 

It was hard to know if that was reassuring, like these were just ordinary people, clearly not involved in anything nefarious, or…if they were all psychopaths who didn't care where their food came from…or who was killed for them to eat.

Did they know that kids were being bought to be devoured? Did they care if the meat they were buying and eating off a stick was a child like Martin? Or someone's parent, loved one, or friend? 

Maybe they did care…maybe that's why kids like Martin, who no one supposedly loved or would miss, were the ones that ended up here. 

It was a lot to take in. A lot to process and consider. 

Thankfully, Gosha returned after only a few minutes. 

“Come on, I got a lead.”

Yafya got to his feet and followed, pushing all other thoughts aside for the time being. 

When this was over, he would ask Gosha to explain everything he knew about the meat market. For now, he needed to focus. 

They ended up in a much less crowded area. 

“What did your contact say, exactly?” Yafya whispered when he was sure no one else was around. 

“He's heard some rumors…” Gosha replied in a hushed voice. “Dokugumi don't traffic livestock, but there's been rumors that the Toragumi have held auctions…that MIGHT include live bait…”

“Live stock? Live bait?” Yafya's nostrils flared and he clenched his fists. 

Gosha winced. “Those are the typical terms…this sort of thing isn't common or widely accepted, so it's not talked about openly. People use euphemisms…Most carnivores wouldn't be okay with people being hurt! It's just…there really isn't anyone who stops the ones who are. For the most part, the gumis are the ones who police the market. Dokugumi and Shishigumi have fought with Toragumi for years over this kind of thing, sometimes even forming alliances to try and take them out or at least limit their activities. But the Toragumi are well funded and well armed…” Gosha caught the horse's eye with a serious expression. “Do you understand what that means?”

“They will almost definitely have guns. And if they find out who we are, they might come after us.”

Gosha nodded. “It also means that the Dokugumi aren't willing to get involved…they can't afford another big gang war right now. It's barely been over a year since…they lost a lot of members.” There was a sadness to Gosha's voice, but he shook it off. “So we're on our own, and if we get caught…”

“We're dead meat. And can't give away your source so the Dokugumi don't get blamed.”

Gosha nodded once. “I don't want to join the gang, but I don't want to get them killed, either.”

“You don't have to come. Once we find the place-”

“Don't start.” Gosha rolled his eyes. “I'm your upper classman! I can't let you go alone! Besides,” The komodo grinned at the black horse, “You're tough, but hardly invincible, and you still need someone to watch your blindspot.”

“Thanks.” A small smile tugged at Yafya's lips. It felt good, having someone he could count on. And while he was generally pretty wreckless, this was different. And it wasn't only his life on the line. 

“No problem.” Gosha smiled back and continued to lead the way. 

They were approaching an old building that used to be a bar but was closed down. Supposedly. But Gosha explained that it was in Toragumi territory, and rumored to be used in their smuggling operation. 

It seemed like a good guess to check out, based on its proximity to the foster home and the fact that it was accessible for vehicles. So they carefully crept around the perimeter, hoping to spot some sort of clue…

“That's the van!” Hidden in an alley behind the bar, parked facing away from a backdoor. Yafya practically growled near Gosha's ear. “He has to be here!”

Gosha nodded. “Let's find a way in. Quietly.”

There were no guards outside.

Why would there be? Not like they had any reason to expect someone to come looking for the kid sold to them by his own foster parent. Who else would care enough to bother? 

Yafya huffed quietly to himself as they found a boarded up window they could reach by climbing on top of a dumpster. Yafya wasn't sure how to make an opening without making too much noise, but Gosha took care of that: a fair amount of venom on the nails holding the board. It only took a few moments for them to corrode enough to get the board off, revealing a broken window big enough for middle school boys to slip through. 

They entered a disused restroom. The door was unlocked and they made their way into a hallway. They could hear voices so made their way in that direction.

There were crates of booze and other merchandise, and Yafya spotted a crowbar that was likely used to open them. Going up against large, adult, carnivores, Yafya decided a weapon would be useful and carefully picked it up without letting it hit anything. 

“Sure we can't just have a bite? If we just take an arm, we can still auction off the kid for a pretty good price.” A deep male voice was complaining.

“No, we're to keep the kid intact. Last time you got greedy, they bled out and we lost good merchandise!” Another deep voice growled. 

Yafya got low to the ground and peaked around the corner with Gosha.

Two tigers were sitting at a table near a door behind the bar across the room from them. 

“Well, how long do we just have to sit here?” The first asked. 

“You know how these things go. Now that we have the merchandise-”

Martin!

“- the boss sent messengers out to the potential buyers. They'll start arriving any minute. We let them take a look, and make sure NO ONE tries to take a bite until the boss arrives and starts the auction.”

They were running out of time. Other carnivores were going to start showing up. 

“I'm just bored…and hungry! When's Raul gonna get here with the food!”

At least one more tiger was also due to arrive. Now might be their best chance, their only chance! 

Gosha seemed to know it too. Yafya could feel the reptile tense, and saw in his periphery that his friend seemed to be looking around for a path to take, to sneak up on them. 

But there wasn't much of a chance of that working. The bar was a fairly open room. Very little cover. No way they'd be able to get close without being noticed. The longer they waited, the bigger the chance of the tigers smelling or hearing them, or of more enemies arriving. 

Gripping the crowbar tight, Yafya made the only move he could see, and charged straight for them, head down and without a word.  

The two tigers turned at the sound of footsteps rushing towards them, but seemed too stunned or confused to react instantly.

Yafya took the opportunity to kick a small table at the tiger on the left. He could deflect it, but it distracted him and his companion, delaying him momentarily as he reached for his gun.

That was enough time for Yafya to close the distance and swing at the tiger on the right. Swinging up to catch him under his jaw, then back down to knock the gun he was just pulling from his holster out of his hand. 

The other tiger roared as he threw the table that had hit him to shatter against the wall. 

Apparently foregoing his gun, the tiger slashed towards Yafya with his claws. One solid strike would probably be enough to kill the young horse, but Yafya saw it coming and dodged out of the way. He was also able to see Gosha approaching quickly, on surprisingly quiet feet. 

The two tigers were more focused on the enemy who had just blindsided them and didn't notice the second one charging in. 

Yafya side-stepped and leapt backwards to draw their attention further from Gosha and prepared to swing again. 

“A fucking horse!?” The first tiger roared, then laughed. “Dinner is served!”

The tiger lunged. 

The komodo collided. Sharp, venom coated fangs clamped down on a stripped arm. 

The two hit the ground. The second tiger, having already recovered, lunged for the reptile biting his comrade. And Yafya leapt forward, landing a second blow to the back on his head. The tiger stumbled but didn't go down. 

Yafya jumped away, his back now against the door Martin was hopefully behind. Gosha leapt to his side, spinning to face the two tigers with a gravelly, hissing snarl.

“Better get to the hospital if you wanna live! Even then, you'll be lucky if you only lose your arm!” Gosha snarled wider, venom and blood dripping from his fangs. 

“Dokugumi?!” The second tiger growled. 

The one Gosha had bitten, writhed and yowled, horror draining any anger or bravado from his face as realization dawned. 

“Dokugumi wear masks to keep their venom at bay! They believe in fighting fair, with honor! I'm not so nice!” Gosha roared, brandishing his claws and his venomous fangs.

He looked truly terrifying. 

Amazing…

The bitten tiger, the one that had so callously mentioned wanting to eat Martin's arm, scrambled away, looking like he did intend to run for the hospital or something. The second hesitated, glancing between the komodo and his companion.

Yafya wasn't going to wait for him to make a decision. He sprung forward, bringing the crowbar up to the tiger's jaw again, aiming for the same spot as his first strike. The tiger stumbled, bringing his head into range for a round house kick. 

The large feline went down. It looked like he would stay down, at least for a while. 

“Come on!” Yafya ran past Gosha to the door. It was locked. Horses have strong legs, so even at 12 years old, it only took two kicks to break it open. There were stairs. It was dark. Yafya found a light switch and ran down the steps two at a time. 

He could hear Gosha right behind him. 

They reached the bottom of the stairs and found a basement with rows of folding chairs. And at the front, a cage with a brownish figure and familiar old pajamas curled up. 

The little mule flinched at the sound without looking up, but he was alive and conscious. 

“Martin!” Yafya shouted and crossed the room, going straight to the padlock on the cage door. 

The young boy peaked up at him, big brown eyes wide with terror and wet with tears.

“Gosha! We need to get the lock off!” Yafya shouted without looking back. He didn't know if he would be able to break it…

“Here!” Gosha joined him and immediately bit down on the lock. His venom was something else, but it wouldn't melt an iron lock that quickly. 

Yafya turned to watch the door, crowbar at the ready. “Try and weaken it, then we need to bust it! Martin, get ready to run, there's no time to hang around!”

“It's corroding, but not breaking!” Gosha shouted, sounding frustrated. 

“Move!” 

The komodo jumped away and Yafya swung with his full might. Then took aim and swung again at a downward angle. The lock clanged to the floor. 

“Yaf!”

Yafya didn't need to look, he could hear footsteps coming down the stairs. 

No time to waste. Throwing the cage door open, Yafya reached in and grabbed the smaller boy and dragged him out. There were a couple small basement windows they should be able to reach and fit through.

“Duck!”

Yafya pushed Martin's head down and covered him with his own body as the gunfire started. They had to get to the window.

“Kill the komodo! Try to keep the herbivore brats alive!” Somebody shouted.

Gosha hissed and there was the sound of a metal folding chair being chucked, and angry roars in response. 

Yafya needed to focus. They needed a way out. He got Martin to the back side of the basement, behind some crates and another cage. 

He chanced a glance back. Gosha had charged into the group of three tigers. At least they couldn't shoot him without risk of hitting each other, and they were too preoccupied avoiding his fangs and venom to focus on shooting at the herbivores. But their claws and fangs were also dangerous and Gosha was outnumbered by adults who were likely experienced killers.

Yafya jumped up on the cage and broke the window with the crowbar.

“They're getting away!” A tiger shouted and raised his gun, to only be tackled by the komodo. 

“Run! Get out of here!” Gosha yelled. 

Yafya yanked Martin up by his arm and gave him a boost to the narrow window. 

“Go! We'll be right there!” Yafya ordered as the trembling, crying boy climbed out into the night air. 

“Come on!” Yafya shouted back to Gosha. 

“Go! I'll cover you!” 

There was no way Gosha could run without being shot in the back. 

Yafya leapt from the top of the cage and ran full force into the fray. Swinging with the crowbar, and kicking with his powerful legs that connected with carnivore bodies that felt like solid muscle. 

Getting caught by those claws would mean death. Those fangs could shatter his bones or crush his neck. It was hard dodging so many dangerous enemies at once. But Gosha somehow seemed to keep his back to Yafya's, allowing the horse to focus on the terrain and form a plan in the chaos. 

They managed to move the fight nearer to where they needed to be. The agile youth dodging and keeping their foes at a disadvantage. 

Then Yafya managed to grab one of their guns right from their holster.

He only had one ally to worry about and could keep track of him easily.

BANG! 

A tiger yowled as a bullet hit their shoulder. 

Yafya had never fired a gun, but it didn't matter. Gosha was at his back. Their exit was behind them. Yafya fired the gun several more times, forcing their enemies to dive for cover. 

“Go! Now!” 

Gosha apparently didn't need more instruction. He leapt for the window as Yafya took cover. Their opponents were now firing as well, but he just had to keep them from being able to aim. 

“Here!” Gosha was out the window and reaching his hand to Yafya. A bullet ricocheted off the metal window frame. Yafya fired back wildly as he jumped. Gosha caught the wrist of his free, outreached hand. The gun in his other hand began clicking uselessly as the clip emptied.

Dropping that, Yafya focused on getting out the window. 

“Run!” He shouted as he got his feet under him on the pavement. He spotted Martin huddled against the opposite wall and grabbed him as they went. 

“This way!” Gosha led. He knew the area better. There was shouting and roaring behind them, but getting more distant. The big tigers couldn't fit through the small window; they'd have to go all the way back up the stairs to get outside. 

“Where should we go?” Yafya asked, his own mind racing. 

“How the hell should I know?!” Gosha shouted between heaving breaths, “Outta Toragumi territory! Away from the market!”

“We can't go back to our place…is there anyone you know who could help?”

“Not really! They can't…not without risking a gang war…everyone…everyone will have to disown me!” Gosha breathed heavily as they ran. Yafya hadn't considered that. 

“I'm sorry…”

“It's fine!” The komodo looked over at him. “I'll be fine, but we need to figure out our next move! They will be hunting for us!”

Yafya could only think of one idea. “We have to go to the police!”

“What?!” Gosha's eyes went wide. 

“What choice do we have?” They paused next to a building, checking their surroundings and catching their breath. “They wouldn't have been able to help fast enough before, and that bastard said he'd pin it on me and you if I reported him, but now that we have Martin, we can prove we rescued him, and obviously didn't sell him! And if we go fast enough, maybe they'll be able to find that stack of cash or some evidence to prove Amos was involved!”

Yafya knelt down in front of the young mule who didn't look like he could keep up much longer. “Come on, get on my back.” 

The boy obeyed, and Yafya stood back up, adjusting him. “And like you said, those gumis are gonna be after us. So we can't just run and hide and what? Live on the street…the three of us?” He glanced back at Martin. There was no way they could keep him safe on their own. 

“Okay. Let's go.” Gosha nodded. Checking the street again, they continued their mad dash to the police station. 

A few times they had to change directions because they thought they heard voices looking for them, or saw suspicious cars they didn't want spotting them.  

Other than that, they ran as fast as they could, especially once they got to the main streets. They got a few odd looks and people shouting after them, but they kept running. 

“I think that was an officer!” Gosha called as they continued to run after a big shepherd dog shouted for them to stop. 

“I don't care! Everyone knows there are crooked cops! We're going straight to the station where there are the most witnesses!”

“I think…you're a little paranoid!” Gosha chuckled.

“With good freaking reason!” Yafya didn't slow down. They ran full speed the last few blocks. 

“Hold it right there!”

“Freeze!” 

There were officers outside the station, walking in from patrol cars. One held up his hands at the running boys, the other drew his gun.

“Whoa! I'm not chasing them! I swear!” In his periphery, Yafya saw Gosha put up his hands and stop.

“He's with me!” Yafya yelled, running back the last few steps to grab Gosha's hand and pull him along with him. “They're after him, too!” He barreled straight passed the officers, who looked dumbfounded.

Once they were through the station doors, they finally stopped running. Yafya put Martin down, but quickly put his arm around Gosha again as they were approached from multiple directions.

“We need help!” He shouted between breaths, his lungs burning, but he wanted as many people as possible to hear. “Our foster father, Amos the appaloosa, sold my foster brother to the Toragumi! My friend and I just saved him and barely got away!”

“Now hold on, if this is some kind of prank…” A tall hippo approached with her hands out, looking nervously between him and Gosha. 

“It's not a prank!” Yafya shouted, his legs were trembling. “We probably have gunpowder and tiger blood all over us! At least one tiger probably went to the hospital for a komodo bite to his arm! It was self defense! I got one of their guns and shot at least one before we got away!”

“Alright, alright, come this way, and we'll get your full statements…Ming, call social services and get a minor advocate here.” The hippo called to a stork behind a desk as she ushered the boys down a hallway.

Yafya kept hold of Gosha and Martin as they followed the hippo to a briefing room of some sort. 

There, they all gave their full testimonies. Martin struggled…he wasn't very talkative…but he confirmed that their foster father had called him from his room, and had stood by while the tigers took him. 

A police car was sent to the foster house. Neither Amos the appaloosa, nor the money, was there. But there were signs of a struggle. Yafya wondered if the asshole had run, or if the Toragumi had been pissed enough to go after him for information on the kids that had just stolen their ‘merchandise’?

Afterall, it was quite a coincidence that a young horse had rescued the kid they'd just bought from another horse. It wouldn't take a genius to guess the two were connected somehow.

Yafya didn't care what may have happened to Amos. All that mattered was what would happen to them next.