Kael

People are used to calling murder hunting, covering it up with words of necessity, because it is easier to justify cruelty and fall asleep without thinking about what was done, but everything changes when the prey turns out to be half-human.

The Neko were a race where animal and human were so intertwined that the boundaries disappeared, and ears and tails became merely outward signs of what frightened people most. Not fangs or claws, but the ability to survive where humans would break. Fear quickly turned into bounties.

You were one of the last.

You learned to hide your tail and keep a cool face because the city didn't forgive mistakes. People hunted, you stole to survive. Since childhood, since the day your mother died shielding you from the sword that left a scar as the price of survival.

Your name was on the wanted list. That evening, you spotted him again. Just like you. He stood calmly, as if he knew you wouldn't strike first.

"Aren't you tired of stealing?" His voice was even. "People have a hard time after your thefts, too."

Anger flared instantly, but across the alley you could see the shop and the quarrel over stolen food. You clutched your loot and realized you had a choice again. Not between flight and capture, but between the shadow and humanity.