WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.360 Osmophobia. Chapter 1. Alone. Jade liked the 00:00:05.360 --> 00:00:08.539 city before it awoke. Early mornings were kinder. 00:00:08.599 --> 00:00:12.099 The sidewalks hadn't filled yet. The buses still 00:00:12.099 --> 00:00:15.060 sighed instead of groaned, and the air belonged 00:00:15.060 --> 00:00:18.539 to no one in particular. At this hour, the city 00:00:18.539 --> 00:00:21.500 didn't stare. She crossed the street with her 00:00:21.500 --> 00:00:24.679 phone in her hand, screen glowing faintly against 00:00:24.679 --> 00:00:27.519 the gray of dawn. She wasn't reading anything. 00:00:28.120 --> 00:00:31.120 just swiping randomly through Capclaw. The soft 00:00:31.120 --> 00:00:34.460 glow of her phone was a sanctuary, a polite excuse 00:00:34.460 --> 00:00:37.700 to keep her eyes down and her thoughts, well, 00:00:37.880 --> 00:00:41.240 elsewhere. It was easier than watching random 00:00:41.240 --> 00:00:44.799 faces do that thing when eyes squint and the 00:00:44.799 --> 00:00:49.100 jaw tightens. Hate that. Emerald Park was just 00:00:49.100 --> 00:00:52.579 up ahead. It was a lush green heart of coziness, 00:00:52.640 --> 00:00:55.799 surrounded by the cold steel and concrete of 00:00:55.799 --> 00:00:59.000 the city. The moment Jade stepped into the park, 00:00:59.179 --> 00:01:03.600 her posture visibly relaxed. Just a little. Open 00:01:03.600 --> 00:01:07.959 air. Trees. Distance. Space for scent to thin 00:01:07.959 --> 00:01:10.200 out and behave itself instead of hovering around 00:01:10.200 --> 00:01:13.859 her like a smelly ghost. Or, well, maybe a putrid 00:01:13.859 --> 00:01:18.260 phantom. Or, no, no. A belching banshee? Or, 00:01:18.280 --> 00:01:22.379 well, you know. The park didn't care. That alone 00:01:22.379 --> 00:01:25.140 made it better. She followed the same path she 00:01:25.140 --> 00:01:28.230 does every morning. Routine mattered. It was 00:01:28.230 --> 00:01:30.950 nice to have structure. The bridge over the pond 00:01:30.950 --> 00:01:33.530 was like something out of a fairy tale. Gray 00:01:33.530 --> 00:01:36.670 stone with age, softened by years of footsteps 00:01:36.670 --> 00:01:39.609 and weather. Her bench waited on the far side. 00:01:40.269 --> 00:01:42.689 Jade sat and crossed one leg over the other. 00:01:42.909 --> 00:01:45.650 Her large, flowing tail wrapped around her legs 00:01:45.650 --> 00:01:48.489 gracefully. She lounged like it was her own couch 00:01:48.489 --> 00:01:51.530 in her apartment. No one was around. No one would 00:01:51.530 --> 00:01:54.730 be looking at her anyway. This was her safe space. 00:01:55.400 --> 00:01:58.000 She scrolled through her phone lazily, a video 00:01:58.000 --> 00:02:00.379 of some guy getting his face stuck on a plunger. 00:02:00.739 --> 00:02:03.459 Messages she'd already read, reminders to work 00:02:03.459 --> 00:02:06.920 out she ignored hours ago. Jade sighed as her 00:02:06.920 --> 00:02:09.800 tail twitched and swayed. A cheetah jogged past. 00:02:10.099 --> 00:02:13.479 His eyes grew wide as he slowed just a fraction 00:02:13.479 --> 00:02:16.780 before veering wider than necessary. Some lynx 00:02:16.780 --> 00:02:19.939 guy in a blue peacoat turned the corner, spotted 00:02:19.939 --> 00:02:22.439 her, and awkwardly turned the other direction. 00:02:23.020 --> 00:02:25.759 Jade pretended not to notice. Being the only 00:02:25.759 --> 00:02:28.840 skunk in a city full of judgmental did that to 00:02:28.840 --> 00:02:32.139 you. You became very good at pretending. Even 00:02:32.139 --> 00:02:35.280 better at ignoring. A master of knowing exactly 00:02:35.280 --> 00:02:37.759 how much space to give someone so they wouldn't 00:02:37.759 --> 00:02:41.039 have to ask. Ten feet was good. Not showing up 00:02:41.039 --> 00:02:44.080 was even better. A cool breeze drifted over the 00:02:44.080 --> 00:02:46.680 pond, sending ripples cascading over the water. 00:02:47.150 --> 00:02:49.830 Jade closed her eyes and tilted her face toward 00:02:49.830 --> 00:02:52.969 the wind. She could smell the grass, crisp air, 00:02:53.150 --> 00:02:56.550 and a hint of herself, who, despite everyone's 00:02:56.550 --> 00:02:59.909 expectations, smelled of roses. Jade kept herself 00:02:59.909 --> 00:03:03.169 incredibly clean. She kept her fur exquisitely 00:03:03.169 --> 00:03:05.810 pristine. Plus, it didn't hurt that the shower 00:03:05.810 --> 00:03:08.610 was another of her safe spaces. She stretched 00:03:08.610 --> 00:03:11.090 her arms to the sky and arched her back with 00:03:11.090 --> 00:03:14.469 a groan. While her hands were sky high, she started 00:03:14.469 --> 00:03:17.509 playing with the bracelet on her left arm. Thin 00:03:17.509 --> 00:03:20.969 leather cord, dark green jade charm that clicked 00:03:20.969 --> 00:03:23.750 softly as she moved. She got it from her mother. 00:03:23.949 --> 00:03:27.969 It was familiar. It was safe. Jade leaned back 00:03:27.969 --> 00:03:31.110 against the bench and listened, the breeze swaying 00:03:31.110 --> 00:03:34.069 the nearby branches, the distant hum of traffic, 00:03:34.270 --> 00:03:36.969 someone laughing far enough away that it didn't 00:03:36.969 --> 00:03:40.090 feel directed at her. She checked the time. Ten 00:03:40.090 --> 00:03:43.789 minutes. Plenty. Generous, even. Jade stood, 00:03:44.129 --> 00:03:47.379 brushing off her shorts. and took one last look 00:03:47.379 --> 00:03:50.180 at the pristine pond. She liked to leave before 00:03:50.180 --> 00:03:53.500 the day started, before the park filled, before 00:03:53.500 --> 00:03:57.000 the mood changed to prejudice. She walked away, 00:03:57.219 --> 00:04:01.379 eyes trained on her phone. On the bench, unnoticed, 00:04:01.460 --> 00:04:03.819 her bracelet lay where it had slipped from her 00:04:03.819 --> 00:04:07.199 wrist, the jade charm catching the golden morning 00:04:07.199 --> 00:04:11.580 light as the breeze stirred. This has been Osmophobia. 00:04:11.900 --> 00:04:13.259 The story continues.