1 Cold (1)

He took the bus, that's what he did every morning, it was eight am on the dot, the same time the bus always went by the market, it was dangerous to take the bus for someone like him, but he did it anyways. He was the only herbivore there, standing still and quiet, the same spot he always stood as the bus passed the market and made it's way to his stop, only one block away from work, three blocks away from the market and six blocks away from his parents' house.

The bus came to a stop and he gingerly hopped down the steps and quietly walked along the path, his eyes were sharp and so was his hearing as he put one foot in front of the other, repeating this while focusing on everything but his feet. He focused on the wolfman across the street, or the lionman walking in the opposite direction as him, anything but the snake that stared at him through narrowed eyes, he wasn't scared of them, not when they were so much smaller than him.

He needed to be careful, he always was, he knew there was a strong divide between humans, carnivore werefolk and herbivore werefolk, whilst omnivores kept to themselves. He didn't need help from anyone, he would be safe as long as he stuck with his family, he would be safe as long as he didn't interact with carnivores either. Carnivores were usually peaceful, only eating normal animals and not werefolk, but there was still a large group of them in his city that enjoyed preying on those weaker than themselves. Maybe it was their natural instinct, maybe it was fear, or maybe it was pure darkness that made them act that way. He didn't like having to think about it too much, he just decided to avoid carnivores so he wouldn't be murdered brutally and then eaten, especially when everyone was still scared the humans would decided to attack and kill werefolk again, he didn't want to take his chances with the carnivores right then.

He reached work and headed inside, ducking down so his antlers wouldn't be caught on the curtains. He grabbed himself a coffee and then got to work, hoping his boss would be satisfied with what he was doing at the salad bar of his work. He was only allowed to work in human form, since humans didn't like to eat at restaurants with werefolk serving them, so he had to pretend like he didn't have horns. He rarely ever saw carnivores show up at his place of work, considering it was a mostly vegan or vegetarian restaurant, but his boss was a carnivore, meaning every once in a while other carnivores would come by to visit him.

He usually pretended he wasn't there when it happened, but sometimes they would stare at him, and he couldn't help but look at them and imagine their sharp teeth ripping through his flesh and tearing him to bits. He shuddered and cleaned the dishes as everyone got food ready and customers came flooding in, he could see a carnivore already, knowing it by their sharp teeth and focused eyes.

As he got a better look at this carnivore, he could tell it was a fox, but it's snout and ears. He almost jumped out of his skin when the fox looked right at him, then he remembered foxes didn't hunt deer and relaxed, knowing this carnivore wouldn't care much for trying to kill and eat him.

He served customer after customer, slaving away all day until he was finally done his day at work and headed home.

He began his walk of six blocks, always going to the bus stop in front of his parents house so he could visit the herd. He kept his head down as the sky darkened and he walked. Six blocks, that's how far he would walk, six blocks alone in the dark. He could feel his heart pound like it did every night as he walked the same path. No other herbivore liked to walk down this road at night, he was the only one, he hoped that made it less of a chance a carnivore would be lurking to try and catch him.

He walked in half form, allowing his antlers to show. He did this to make sure anyone who went by him knew he could defend himself. He kept walking until he noticed a change in his path, the street light above the street shone light on a bright flash of yellow. 'Caution tape..?' He wondered, walking carefully forward until he was right in front of it.

The crime scene blocked his path, meaning he would have to cross the road, but that was indeed the least of his worries, as he could see the body of a dead deer, lying motionless in the spot surrounded by caution tape. It was a young one, of his former herd, he shivered and took a step back, wondering who could've done such a thing.

Then he felt it, the darkness that loomed over him. The streetlight went out and the sound of large paw steps could be heard. He then heard the sound of teeth tearing through flesh and fur and tried to not to throw up. There was someone there, and they were eating the dead deer, he could just barely see their silhouette.

He thought maybe he could make it back to the bus stop, so he turned into his full form and ran, as fast as he could, only to hear the sound of fast footsteps chasing him along the sidewalk.

His eyes widened and he screamed at the top of his lungs when he felt sharp claws dig into his flank and pull him down. He struggled and kicked at his attacker, trying to free himself, only for claws to drag down his side and tear through his organs. He coughed up blood as the carnivore bit his antlers, keeping his head steady.

Everything went cold and dark as he heard a loud snap.