As I suspected, Hunter was indeed a monster. But it was still strange. I’ve never seen a lone shapeshifter pup before. Was this a trap? Was the mother somewhere nearby? Why had it let me go so far with its child?

“What do you want with the orphanage?”

“Are you going to kill me?”

“I-…”

Why was I so caught off guard by that question? Of course I was going to kill him!

“Answer the question.” I avoid his question completely.

“I heard it was an easy place to find food…”

“Tch. Figured. Just another monster looking to eat humans.”

His fearful look takes on a hint of disappointment. “Oh… Do they only serve human at the orphanage? I don’t really like that kind of meat…”

I back off some, a bit confused. He didn’t seem like he was lying, nor did it seem like he had ill intentions. If anything, he seemed truly confused… But what if he’s just a really good actor?

“Who told you that you could get food from the orphanage?”

“Um. The gooey spirits are always whispering about it. They say they’re always eating there.”

Well, this is news to me. I wonder if Mallory has anything to do with this… After a moment of thought, I lower the spear and give the kid some space.

“Alright. I’ve just got one last question.” I place a hand on my hip. “Who is Hunter?”

He gives a small shrug. “He was one of Andy’s friends. I think one of the demons killed him? …I thought it’d be okay to look like him since he was gone…”

Well… I guess I won’t be killing him. Not because I've gone soft, but because he hasn’t done anything wrong. He doesn’t even have plans to do something wrong. And how could I kill something with such big puppy eyes like his?

…Oh jeez, is this how Mallory feels about demons? I feel like this situation is a little different, though. He’s a cute little kid, with a normal amount of eyes and mouths and limbs. He shows fear! And he doesn’t stoop to killing humans just because he’s hungry.

“Well, I can buy you a snack or something.” I sigh, putting my spear away once again. “But, you need to get back to the forest ASAP. It’ll be a problem if your mom starts looking for you.”

“Oh, uh… I think my mom got caught by a hunter…” He trails off.

Well, shit. This is not a problem I expected in my near future.

“I guess you can stay for a bit, then.” I clear my throat awkwardly. “You can eat whatever, right? There might be some snacks in here… Somewhere.”

I head back towards the entrance and flick on the apartment’s dim lights. The place was pretty bare bones. In the far corner by the window was an old, shitty mattress thrown on top of a metal frame. Out of view, down a short hallway, was a bathroom with no shower or bath. I guess it’s more like a toilet room.

“I’m, uh, J.L. What should I be calling you?”

“Teriyaki.”

Hunter—or, I guess, Teriyaki had made himself comfortable on the bed. He sits cross-legged and stares forward for a few seconds. He gives the air a few sniffs, the look on his face unreadable. I wondered what he could smell that I couldn’t.

I watch curiously as he seems to hone in on the smell—the folded up pile of blankets on the bed next to him. He moves in closer for a whiff and scrunches his nose at the scent, jerking away quickly. He then scoots away from the pile, and opts for observing the apartment.

I go into the kitchen area, which was truly a cubicle of an area. I doubted I’d find any kind of food in here, but it was still worth checking. Mallory often crashes inside the various bases when she needs some isolation, so there’s sometimes snacks left behind.

However, the cabinets here were barren aside from various cleaning products. Pointless as it was, I check the fridge too. When I look inside, I notice that all the shelves had been removed—presumably to make space for the pale skinned, dark haired girl sitting inside.

She stares back at me, shocked. Probably seeming more surprised than she actually was, as her fangs seemed too big for her mouth—forcing her mouth to be perpetually slightly open.

“S…Surprise?” She smiles awkwardly.