Since it was my last workday of the week and I had met my hours, I got to leave earlier than Sang and Aubyn. I considered waiting around for them, but I’d be bored out of my mind by myself. Just as I was considering going home and practising my cooking, I remembered Milan.

Milan worked nearby. The DCP building was near a very popular shopping area, and Milan worked at a store there. I’d never seen it, but I knew where he got off the bus before me every morning. Finding the store shouldn’t be too hard.

I couldn’t really consider Milan a friend. It would be an insult for him seeing as he had every right to dislike me when we first met. Now, though, it was more like we had gotten used to each other.

As I walked, I tried to exhale some of the anger I felt towards Af’fy. I wasn’t even going to try to figure out why she hated humans. There was no way to make sense of it or justify her thinking. She was probably pissed that not only had Aubyn decided to father a half-human child not long after they had broken up, but had brought home a human he was rather close to. If she knew just how close we were, she’d lose her mind.

Aubyn. Poor Aubyn. He wouldn’t have introduced me to her knowing this. He couldn’t have. He liked me and was a hundred – no, a thousand – times better than me in every way. If he thought for a second that Af’fy hated humans, he wouldn’t have let me without ten feet of her. Which was why I couldn’t tell him what she’d said to me.

I tried to remember the name of Milan’s workplace. Was it Sera? Senna? Sara? I could read the clothing store signs somewhat. Some of the signs bore stylish fonts which made them hard to decipher. I hoped the ones I couldn’t make out didn’t turn out to be where Milan worked. I’d never been to such a busy shopping area. I’d expected it to be scarce considering the time of day, but there were a good deal of people walking around.

“Aye, Haida!”

I stopped walking and whipped my head around quickly, searching for the direction of the voice I heard over the Alunai chatter that was unmistakably Milan’s.

“Up here, Bean Pole!”

Yep, definitely Milan’s voice. I spotted him with his head out of a window on the second floor of one of the taller buildings around and started in his direction. I was glad he had called out to me. I wouldn’t have guessed he’d be up there otherwise. Most of the windows on the buildings with more than one floor were closed so I hadn’t bothered paying much attention to them.

I crossed the street and just missed bumping into two children holding hands, dressed in matching uniforms. It was the afternoon. Schools must be out already. There was no exterior staircase so I entered the shop on the ground floor.

It was small but the space was used smartly. Clothes were hung on the walls and in racks just like Earth’s department stores, but it was clear that this store stocked a certain aesthetic. They all had an edgy, streetwear vibe to them mixed with the traditional dress of Karysians. Not only that but the clothes were separated with neutrals on the right and bright colours on the left.

“Seara seiruqofei maseo. Dega ni dun y?” 

I hadn’t seen them until they’d spoken They had blended into the darker side of the room too well. He… she… I couldn’t really tell. The voice and their outfit didn’t help but I could make out that they were welcoming me to the store.

“Y mung ho.” The words were followed by quick footsteps from a part of the store that was not in my line of vision. Then Milan appeared. “Amei, ho ov."

“Oh, the human.”

Not today, I wanted to say. I had just managed to calm myself. Just hearing that word made me remember my unpleasant lunch all over again. “Yes, the human,” I replied harshly, but they didn’t seem fazed by my rude tone.

“Relax, relax,” Milan said, grabbing my hand and pulling me past who I assumed was his coworker. “She can barely understand you so don’t be so bitchy. Come upstairs with me. I’m taking a break since it’s slow.”

So they’re a ‘she’.

I trudged along behind him up a narrow flight of stairs near displays of shoes I hadn’t been able to see from the door. “Why’d she have to call me ‘the human’?”

“Because she doesn’t even know your name. She just knows you exist.”

I followed him up the stairs into what looked like a sitting room with a brightly coloured couch and matching rug, and a bookshelf so overfilled with books that stacks had been made atop the shelf. It was colourful and cluttered but cosy in its own way. A living room? An apartment? “Does someone live up here?”

“Somewhat. Shoes. Take ‘em off.”

I obeyed and left my boots by the stairs.

“Kia does – the girl downstairs. She only stays here when she has tons of work to do and she doesn’t want to go home.”

“And she’s fine with you taking me up here?”

“Duh. You think I’d bring you here if she had a problem with it?” Milan let go of my hand and dropped back on the couch. He took a fuzzy cushion and held it in his lap. “You can sit, you know.”

I took a seat at the other end of the small couch and dropped my bag on the rug. I felt so out of place. I’d never been in such a colourfully styled room before.

“What brings you here? I know you didn’t miss me.”

“I was only thinking of burning time until Aubyn got off work. I didn’t want to go home by myself.”

“You’re awfully clingy for someone who didn’t have anyone just a few months ago. Or maybe that’s why- WAIT! I’m sorry. Why have you been so pissy these past couple of days?”

I was ready to leave after his first remark. Being in a foul mood meant I didn’t have the patience for Milan’s banter. “Nothing,” I said.

“Am I supposed to believe that or…?”

“It’s… work. Well, someone at work.”

“What? Are they giving you a hard time?”

“No, not really.” I chewed on my lip. It wouldn’t hurt to tell someone about it. It helped that Milan didn’t work with me. “I met Aubyn’s ex a couple of days ago.”

“Ah, you met Af’fy.”

“You’ve met her?” I asked, sitting up straighter.

“Unfortunately. I don’t think she likes me much.”

“She doesn’t like me either, but I’m not so surprised to hear she doesn’t like you.”

“Hey!”

“She doesn’t like humans. She told me herself today.”

Milan’s eyes narrowed slightly and his brows furrowed as if he was trying to understand what I’d said. “Ah, I see.”

I scoffed. “Really? That is your response to hearing that there’s someone close to Sang who hates your entire race?”

“You have to understand, Zed. I care deeply about very few things in my life. Sang, myself, Aubyn, and Coen are at the top of that very short list. They all adore me and that’s fine with me. The preference of some woman Aubyn used to date is really not my concern.”

“How can you be so unbothered?”

“Ask yourself why you’re so bothered instead.”

I sighed heavily. “I know you didn’t attend school on Earth, but in history class, we’re all taught about racism and how bad it was a thousand years ago. Even though it’s hardly present these days, discrimination and stuff still exist. Even Aubyn had to deal with hateful people. I thought things were different here, but it turns out that there are vacura who hate humans. Af’fy can’t be the only one.”

“I mean…” Milan folded his legs under him and rocked from side to side. “Humans, in general, don’t have the best reputation here. Maybe she has a hard time letting go of what happened.”

“And what exactly happened?”

It was Milan’s turn to sigh. “I don’t remember them all, but Sang told me stories about humans who lived in Karys a few hundred years ago. They didn’t get along with the vacura, people died, some were put in prison… Ah, something like that. What I do remember clearly, is that humans are banned from Karys because of shit they pulled in the past. Vacura live a long time, so some vacura are old enough to have been around back then. They remember or have been told the stories, so they may be wary of humans now even if you weren’t directly involved in what happened.”

I didn’t know that humans once lived in Karys. They must have done something terrible back then to get all humans banned. I’d heard humans weren’t allowed on Karys unless through special circumstances and just thought it had always been that way. I’d thought that it was because Karys was dangerous or the lifestyle wasn’t suited for humans. If Karys had a bad history with humans, it would explain Af’fy’s dislike for me. If I got bit by a dog once, I’d be wary of all dogs. Nonetheless, I still thought her lumping me in with evil humans from a time before even my parents were born was too much.

“Is that why humans now need guardians to live here?” I asked.

“I think so. The guardian system, Sang says, is a way to keep an eye on humans so the past doesn’t repeat itself.”

“So, what? Am I a ticking time bomb?”

Milan shrugged. “I dunno about bombs. What I do know is that Sang is my Master, guardian and husband and I wouldn’t want it any other way. I don’t care if the government wants to keep track of me as long as I can live my life with him as I please.”

“Yeah, but you’re weird,” I pointed out. “What about humans who want to break away from their guardians?”

“Not in this country. If a human wants to come here, they have to abide by the rules. Don’t wanna follow the rules? Don’t come.”

“Sounds like the guardian system is a leash for humans.”

“Yep.”

“Seriously, how does this not bother you?”

Milan shrugged again. “I’m a simple man. I have my Master and he’s all I need. The rules are put in place for a reason. A lot of people died back then. You can’t really blame the royal family for wanting to prevent that from happening again.”

If Aubyn’s feelings for me dissolved and he no longer wanted to be my guardian, I’d be sent back to Earth since I couldn’t stay in Karys without him. The thought itself made me queasy.

“Anyway, Af’fy has her reasons for hating humans that make sense to her. You’re not going to try to change her mind, are you?”

“Nah.”

“Good. When people believe in something strongly, especially if it’s tied to an emotion, it’s hard to get them to change their minds or even see things differently. I’m talking from experience.”

Milan had been raised in a rather unique, sheltered situation. Masters, training, branding, dolls… it was a lifestyle drilled into him from a young age. He hadn’t known a life outside of that even into his adult years, and transitioning to ‘normal’ was hard on him. Thankfully, he’d met Sang who, though unwilling at first, was open to meeting him halfway. Sang gave Milan the comforts he needed, while also helping him adjust to a new world.

I had no plans to change Af’fy’s mind about humans when I didn’t know her story. As Milan had said, she had reasons that made sense to her. Even if they wouldn’t make sense to me, Af’fy was Af’fy. I was grateful that she wasn’t aggressive with me despite her distaste for what I was. She’d simply pretend I wasn’t there. As long as she didn’t get aggressive, I could handle it.

“On to lighter topics now. When are you and Aubyn leaving?”

“We’re not going anywhere.”

“Yeah, you are. Aubyn and Sang picked the dates for their vacation today. Did Aubyn not tell you about it yet?”

No, he had not. “He’s probably going to tell me this evening.”

That was what I thought. I waited for Aubyn to tell me about the vacation I’d been waiting so long for but it never came. I knew I was more excited than he was, but I was going to see his home for crying out loud. How could I not be excited?