Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A good pup.
Pearl was a good pup. She always did her best to follow in her mother’s footsteps.
She even knows the rules her mother told her by heart:

1. A good pup didn’t growl, grumble or have their ears down. Her mother told her so! She was so nice reminding her whenever they left the house, right before school, and even before her hard-earned playdates. A good pup doesn’t fuss, or whine. A good pup always smiles and grins.

2. A good pup doesn't throw fits. Grian and Jimmy might whine about their talons being trimmed or not flying indoors, but good pups never complain.

3. A good pup doesn't dig in the play area and they most certainly don't feel left out when other hybrids refuse to include them. Wolf pups also don't cry when the other children kill the bugs in their little terrarium jar. It breaks rule number 1 and it's her fault for thinking they would be safe in her cubby.

Pearlie was a good pup. No, She was the bestest pup!
She followed all the rules. She resisted the urge to howl at the moon like she’d read all wolves should. No, instead she would stare at the moon’s glistening beauty in silence, tail wagging with anticipation behind her because that’s what good pups did.

“Such a good girl Pearl.” Her mother whispers, fixing a loose strand of her messy brown locks. She lifts Pearl onto her lap and drives her muzzle into her shoulder nuzzling into her neck, arms surrounding her in a warm cuddly embrace.

Pearl giggles, tail tucking and hugging her mother's arm.

Every night when darkness blanketed them from the dangers of the morning she’d receive showers upon showers of affection. Save for her Father lovingly peeking through the doorway, the moon is the only witness to their love.

Even in school when it didn’t benefit to be a good pup, Pearl gave it her all.

Pearl had no way of knowing she was what bothered the other children.
In time the young girl had realized that while Grian and Jimmy had made many friends in their classes she hadn’t.
Mother had said this might happen. The other kids weren’t used to seeing little girls like her, canine girls were a special rarity in this avian utopia. She promised they'd come around soon.

Pearl nearly jumped when a dog hybrid joined her class! Surely he’d be her friend! They're the same after all! She got him gifts, feathers, bugs, and even a small park squirrel figurine—

“Stop pretending you’re one of us!” He barked in anger, turning his back on her. Her gifts were always thrown on the ground, rejected. He'd step on them and the other bird kids behind him would chirp mockingly in her direction.

Was she just bad at this? Pearl wants to cry, but what would her mama say? She sucks up the tears and she heaves a breath. “A good pup keeps her ears up.” She whispers in the bathroom stall before returning to class.

Then the bullying began, another kid a white cockatoo thought it’d be funny to yank on her tail.

At first, Pearl did her best to ignore it. She even asked them directly to stop.

“Hey please don’t touch my tail.”

“Oh sorry it was an accident. I slipped and needed something to grab onto.” They spoke feigning ignorance.

“Okay just don’t let it happen again. It hurts a lot.”

It kept happening.
For the remainder of the week, the tail yanks persisted. Pearl is trying to be a good pup, but it hurts. The yanking hurts.

Pearlie doesn’t mean it. She didn’t mean it. Pearl is a good pup, but she bit the cockatoo boy pulling her tail. She bit him hard.

The teacher's feathers all puffed up in alarm. He screamed at her, a guttural squawk as he covered the child and pushed his chest outwards.

He told her she was a bad horrible dog. The worst "dog" he’d ever met!
There was a reason she shouldn’t have been allowed to enroll here!

Pearl stared at the floor.
What had she done? She knew what she’d done but-

“He started it!” She whined glaring back up. “He kept pulling on my tail and you did nothing to stop it! It hurts! It always hurts!” She sobs.

He slaps her hard enough to bruise.

Pearl returned home late. She’d gotten detention that afternoon and talks about her being expelled had begun as soon as the boy's parents had arrived. They looked at her with vitriol and cursed under their breath.

Mangy mutt.

Eventually with Grian and Jimmy there to accompany her back home, Pearl dragged her feet onto the front porch. Tail between her legs she glances up at her father, a green Amazon parrot waiting for her with extended arms. Pearl sinks into his plumage.

Pearl didn’t look up at him. There was no point in keeping her ears forward was there? They’d been down the moment she’d been screamed at.

He brought Pearl close to her, hugging her with arms and wings. He wanted to shield her and her brothers from harm but they could all hear their mother on the landline phone attempting to calm shouting voices on the other end.

Pearl didn’t eat dinner. She didn’t say a word to Grian or Jimmy who attempted to sway her into watching TV together.

No.
Pearl hid under the covers of her bed, curled up into a ball. Her favorite plush dolls and pillows. It was a quiet safe space to muffle her cries in.

There was a knock at her door. “Pearl?”
It was her mother.

“I’m coming inside.”

Pearl meets her mother at the doorway. She wipes her tears with her jacket and looks towards the ground trying to stifle her sniffles and hide her puffy red eyes. Mother can’t see her like this.

“Pearl please look at me” her mother gently cooed, crouching to her level.
“Moonshine please.”

Pearl obliged, hesitantly.
“Ma. I’m.. not a good pup. I hurt somebody. I didn’t mean to I- but he kept pulling on my tail and-"

Her mother's hand gently caressed her cheek and all Pearl could do was sob even harder.

“Pearl you’re not a bad pup.”

“But I am! I am! I…bit him.” She wailed and wailed till her voice ran dry, arms swinging wildly as she barreled her mother.

She swings and swings and she tucks herself out. Pearl paused, mother's hand resting on her head. Pearl looks up again.

“…Sometimes even good pups make mistakes.”

Her mother smiles at her despite the tears in the corner of her eyes. She’s never seen her so upset, scared, and distressed. It must be her fault somehow, but Pearl can’t control the raucous waves of tears that continue to slide down her cheeks.

Pearl hugs her mother with all her might as if at any moment she’d be ripped from her grasp. Her mother returns the gesture. Pearl hides her face in the crook of her neck.

“ Pearl. You will always be my good pup. As long as I’m here no one will hurt you.”
She clutches her tightly.

“…but mama who would—”

“It’s. You don’t need to worry about it. I’m here, let's just watch the moon together like we always do.”

Pearl gave a slow nod. Cradled in her mother's arms, they stare at their beloved moon together. Mother was right. Pearl had nothing to worry about because her mom would be there to keep her safe.

Chapter Text

Pearl carries the guilt over her mother's passing every day.
She remembers to keep your ears up, to not let anyone see they’ve hurt her.

"You'll do great today sweetie! Let me know if any problems arise okay?"

Her father chirped and gave her a peck on the cheek, his talons clacking on the tiled floor.

“I know dad. I love you too” she said, smiling at him. Her father always put in the effort. He went above and beyond to do his part. She knew that.

He did everything he could to make sure Pearl never felt left out. Grian and Jimmy also did the same. She remembers them all dressed up in wolf ears on her 13th birthday.

At the time, between the constant check-ups, the collar "adjustments", and the supplement listings Pearl had begun wanting to hide being a wolf. She hated her growing body, how she towered over everyone like a hulking giant, how loud everyone's heartbeat beat in her ears, how her new set of canines gave her a bite force to "keep any bird in the hospital."

Her limbs had grown significantly, but the biggest challenge had come in her heightened senses. Noise had never been a problem before, but now she swears her biggest enemy is how loud the world is.

The final notable change in appearance had been more subtle. Peal's fur had begun to change from a bright dark brown to a light hazel almost exactly like her mother's.

It was a conflicting feeling that overcame her.

"Da says I'm a spitting image of her. "

He smiles at her, a tender smile enamored by the thought she'd never have the foresight to understand.

"Sometimes when I hone in on his words, looking at my reflection doesn't feel that bad."

Other times, those "traits" were the gruesome reminder of what she’d lost and of who she was becoming, making it almost unbearable to stand before her damming reflection.

She could always dye it.

Yet, the truth would remain the same would it not? The dye could conceal the truth to the world, but not to her. Pearl knew what lay underneath, and it sickened her to her core.

She asked her father to take the mirror off the bathroom wall. No amount of cosmetics could change the fact she was her mother’s daughter. The visage of what she loathed most.

At 15, Pearl and her brothers had been the subject of a lot of discussion. It couldn’t be helped. A wolf hybrid claiming to be blood-related to two bird hybrids wasn’t particularly easy to believe.

Teachers initially assumed she was adopted to justify the physical disparities between them. They dismissed her "eccentricities" and assumed her living situation was the source of her "problematic" track record.

Being a "problem child" kept several students at a distance from her, but her docile nature seemingly intrigued the rest. A part of her mockingly wonders if they're expecting her to lash out in a frenzy.

Then a snowy owl approached her during lunch. His blue and cyan hair shimmered like the stars themselves had been placed upon them. She knew in truth, it was hair dye and glitter, but any reference to the night sky placed her anxieties at ease.

“Hello there. You’re Pearl right?”

Pearl swallowed.
“Yeah, that’s me. To whom do I owe the pleasure?” She gave a polite smile, but with her new canines often scaring off others she couldn’t help but refrain from grinning too widely.

“I’m Scott. I wanted to formally introduce myself." He bowed to her like a royal would. It was graceful and out of place, yet somehow so in line with his demeanor.

“We take history class together. I’m sure you’re charmed by their depictions of your species. " He spoke jokingly and with pained sincerity on his face as though he understood her plight.

She chuckled. “No, they got so many things wrong.” She mumbled into her drink masking her amusement.

“So, you’re saying wolves don’t eat other hybrids? That’s so surprising.” Scott said sarcastically. He rolled his eyes giving her a sideways glance.

“I never said never.” Pearl shrugged mirroring the gesture.

"Oh?"

“Who knows I might be tricking you into a false sense of security so I can gobble you up later.” She leered at him, teeth fully bare. She wasn’t sure why she’d done that.

Scott didn’t laugh nervously or move away. He just …stood there.
He took her comment in stride.
“The wolf raised by parrots is going to gobble me up?” Scott spoke, eyebrows.

“Hey now! You - you birds are pretty dangerous too. You should see how sharp Grian and Jimmy’s talons can get. My- I swear they're a bigger danger than I am.”

Talons that were too sharp could eat through furniture like paper. She witnessed firsthand how the couch cushions struggled against Grian’s talons several times. How he'd lift one and his claws would eat through the cotton leaving a flurry of stuffing layering the living room.

Their father's feathers ruffled trying to convince his sons to trim their weapons.
It was his version of her mother's sermon, but often lacking her grace and elegance.

“A good bird keeps their claws trimmed!” He’d squawk, chasing after his sons in a flurry of colorful feathers.

Pearl would observe it all unfold from the comfort of her seat on the couch. She’d giggle and sway in her seat until the cacophony of bird calls became too much for her ears to handle.

Scott didn’t seem like the loud type. Did owls make much noise? Deer for that matter? She's finally noticed the antlers and hooves. She wonders what being part prey and predator is like although based on his slender complexion he is severely lacking in muscles.

'It could be health related'. Pearl supposes.

“I’m actually …friends with Jimmy. He’s spoken about you a lot.”

Pearl’s ears flicked upwards in alarm.
“Oh, is that so? Good things I hope.” She grips her lunch tray just a little tighter.

“Of courseee. He tells me he’s really lucky to have a little sister. like you”

“Oh, Jimmy.”
“He’s a great brother. Do you have any siblings?”

The conversation flew by, seconds turning into minutes.

Around halfway a snake woman stepped up to join them.
They looked gorgeous.

“Am I interrupting something?” Cleo spoke
Their tail coiled around elegantly. They were wider set than Pearl or Scott, with burning red hair and long piercing fangs. They wrapped their arm comfortably around Scott, but their gait faced Pearl as if… sizing her up.

No wonder, Scott didn’t fear her.

“Cleo! Yes, everything is fine. You should join us.” Scott offered

“Yeah, I’m Pearl. It's nice to meet you.” She muttered.

“Wait- I don’t see wolves too often. What kind are you?”
Cleo asked curiously. The metal bench creaked as they sat on the table alongside them.

“Oh. I’m a…gray wolf.” Pearl mumbled playing with the strings of her hoodie. It did explain a lot, her size, ears, and her lanky limbs.

“W-what about you? I haven’t seen many snakes. They're usually too curled up in their own business” Pearl said.

Cleo seemed amused, hand holding up her face. Their iridescent eyes glimmered. Pearl wished she could sink into them.
“I’m a bush viper.” They spoke earnestly.

“Oh, and you don’t wear caps on your fangs?” Pearl’s eyes lit up with something.
Cleo couldn’t place it.

“Caps?” Scott at this point stared between them both. It felt like they were having a conversation he didn’t fully grasp.

Cleo knew exactly what she meant. They ran a hand through her curly locks, jostling them to one side. “Used to, but it was very uncomfortable. Most snakes just make sure to empty our fangs before going out. Then we sell the venom for use. Hospitals pay a lot for that stuff.”

“Ohhh. That's why you always have spare money in hand,” Scott continued.

“Which is Scott’s way of saying that he leeches off me for everything.”
Cleo sassed a hiss to their voice.

“Scott you should sell your feathers. Bird feathers also sell well” Pearl chimed in
“The prettiest ones go to nest making. Im sure, you know manic bird things, but the rest do sell okay.”

Cleo’s staring at her pretty intensely.
She should speed this along.

“Jimmy’s been going crazy about needing his bedding to be perfect recently.”
Pearl snickers. “Grian thinks he might have a crush on somebody.”

Cleo wore a knowing smirk as they turned to Scott. Scott looked to the side bashful, feigning distance and disinterest. He turned back to the conversation a few seconds later.

“What about your fur?” Scott questioned
“I know some dogs and cats sell theirs and your coat seems cut pretty short.” He explained

“Oh. I… I don’t sell my fur.”

You can’t sell something that gets stuck in the drain. Can you?

“Maybe we should talk about something else! We’ve been having hybrid small talk for a while now.” Pearl grins.

So they do, and after months of loneliness Pearl feels she’s a step closer to actually having friends even if she’s masking her occasional discomfort to please them.

After school, Pearl returns home with Jimmy. He smiles at her bright and sunny before ruffling the hair on her head. Pearl doesn’t protest giggling.

“How was today buddy?” Jimmy grins

Pearl hummed. “It was alright.” Her tail betrays her as it sways and wags behind her.

“Alright huh? Your tail says otherwise. C’mon Pearl you can just say you had a good day.” He elbows her shoulder gently.

Pearl hums again.
“Yeah. I guess I did have a good day”. She finally returns Jimmy the small smile he’s looking for.

“Grian will be so happy!” He jumps from side to side, flaring his wings open before moving his hands behind his head. Calm, relaxed.

“Where is Grian?”

“He’s out with his friends again. You know how it is.”

“Sam, Chan ,and Dom might not ever see me again if I go to college! “ he mimics Grian’s voice to perfection. That’s bird mimicry for you. Uncanny.

“He sounds so certain he’ll be accepted into EVO.”

Pearl wonders if they’d take in someone like her too.
“Are they pro-all hybrids?”

He nods. “They are. Grian says I should apply too, but I’ve got it good right here! You know?” His bright yellow wings flutter, but his eyes betray him.

He’s been thinking about it, about leaving. All birds need to leave the nest at some point. Pearl knows this,yet she can’t help but wonder where she’s gone awry.
Jimmy walks ahead, head held up.

“I still have a whole year to think about Pearl! Oh and there’s this boy—“

Pearl tugs his sleeve gently. She smiles but it doesn’t meet her eyes.
“You don’t need to stay here because of me Jimmy.”

She knows she’s the only reason actually holding him back. She’s sure whatever he’s got going on with everyone else, even that boy whose mention tinted his cheeks rosy isn’t what would keep him here.

It’s her.

“I’m just a little worried is all.”

“I won’t get into any trouble. I promise! I can take care of myself Jimmy. Dad will be there too and …and maybe, I’ll also go to EVO. Grian said there’s a good architecture program there.”

Jimmy’s smiles. “They’d be fools not to accept you sis.”