Veer stared at Cutie.
Cutie looked back at him with those calm, innocent red eyes, the picture of gentle sincerity.
The mountain wind filled the silence between them.
Kaya bit the inside of her cheek. Hard.
For a moment, Veer's face didn't change. He just sat there, perched on the edge of a jagged rock, wings still half-folded from the flight, staring at the rabbit beastman like he'd just heard the world's most offensive haiku.
Then, very slowly, his eye twitched.
"...What did you just say?"
"I said," Cutie repeated, tone still impossibly serene, "I'm not like you. I don't eat dead things."[1]
Kaya turned her head slightly, pressing her knuckles against her mouth. Her shoulders shook once. She refused to let the laugh escape.
Veer's jaw clenched. "You little—"
"I mean, it's fine," Cutie continued, looking at him with that same soft, unbothered expression. "Everyone has their preferences. You prefer carrion. I prefer… not that."
Veer stood up.
