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Osmophobia. Chapter 2. Surrounded. The city woke

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up fast. It always did. Jade liked to believe

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there was a window, a fragile stretch of time

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where the city hadn't yet decided what kind of

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day it was going to be. Quiet mornings were calm.

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Late mornings, not so much. By the time she reached

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the edge of the park, the sidewalks had filled.

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Footsteps overlapped. Voices layered, different

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scents mixed together from the city's musk to

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a nearby bear's cologne. She took a deep sigh

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of preparation and checked her phone. No notifications,

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no messages. Capclaw refreshed itself once more,

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feeding her videos she barely registered. A clip

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of a panther falling off a skateboard. A lioness

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dancing confidently, yet still kind of funny.

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A fox doing a daily vlog. Jade smiled despite

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herself. Here we go, she whispered to herself.

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Eyes down, shoulders in, keep a distance. That

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was rule three. The sidewalk spilled into Main

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Street just outside of Emerald Park. Jade slowed

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instinctively. Her steps shortened. Her tail

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twitched in a low sway behind her, already tense.

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She exhaled through her nose and stepped forward.

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Someone brushed past her arm. A fox, maybe? A

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strong smell of cologne on that one. Too much.

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Always too much. Another body followed. Warm,

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woolly, smelling faintly of coffee. Jade's ears

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flattened and she continued in a straight line.

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She felt it then. That familiar tingling on the

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back of her neck. People were just now noticing

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her in the street. Don't react. Don't apologize.

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Don't make eye contact. Her phone buzzed. A meaningless

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notification, but she welcomed it like a moth

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to light. She stared at the screen, thumb moving

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automatically, even though she knew she was being

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watched by, well, everyone. A mutter from behind

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her. Obvious long stares. A young leopard pointing

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and whispering questions to their mother. Jade's

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jaw tightened. She didn't turn around. She didn't

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speed up either. Just a straight black and white

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line through the sidewalk. She reached the intersection

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just as the light turned red. Stopped. Trapped.

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Great. The crosswalk filled in. Bodies pressing

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closer, but not toward Jade. The scent of damp

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fur, deodorant, breakfast sandwiches, and stress

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filled the air. A generous six to seven foot

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radius of strangers around Jade was so clear

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you could easily mark it with chalk. She focused

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on something neutral. Something boring. Concrete

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cracks. A faded gum stain near her shoe. The

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rhythm of the walk signal slowly ticking down.

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A polar bear beside her did a double take in

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Jade's direction. She felt it like a physical

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sting. He leaned away, not dramatically, but

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enough. Enough to notice. Her shoulders curled

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inward. She tried to make herself smaller, though

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her huge tail already took up quite a bit of

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space. Years of practice had made that second

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nature. The light finally changed. She moved

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immediately, crossing fast but not running. Running

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invited attention. She power walked up to a cozy

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bakery across the street. People were lined up

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and crowded on the sidewalk. Everyone was getting

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breakfast and coffee. The crowd was giving her

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dozens of sour looks and scowls. She tried not

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to notice. Too late, though. Jay gently sidestepped

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into the alley beside the bakery. She leaned

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against the brick wall, closed her eyes, and

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took several sharp breaths. Okay. Okay. She exhaled

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slowly. Deep breaths. A smell of fresh bread

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lingered faintly in the bricks. Coffee. Sugar.

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Warmth. It helped. She checked the time on her

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phone. Too early to go home. Too late for a public

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breakfast. Just in time to look weird hanging

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out in the alleyway. Jade straightened, cracked

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out her knuckles, and started gently bouncing

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on her feet to get some adrenaline going. She

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glanced to her right. Her reflection stared back

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from the dark bakery window. Striped fur neat.

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Green eyes, a little sharper than she liked,

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but steady. She looked fine. She always did.

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That was the cruelest part. No one in this world

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gave her a chance. Jade pushed herself forward

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out into the street and kept walking, choosing

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a route with wider sidewalks, fewer shops, and

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more sky. She let Capclaw autoplay nonsense until

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her breathing evened out again. By the time she

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was actually chuckling over some stupid cap claw

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short, she heard something strange over her shoulder.

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Someone out of breath. Running. Jade was used

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to the joggers and fitness buffs in the city,

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but this sounded like someone who hadn't run

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in a while. Well, well. Ma 'am. Jade's stride

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broke for half a second, but she kept forward.

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Who would be talking to her? Excuse me, ma 'am.

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Jade froze. and slowly turned around. A tall,

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slender wolf stood just a few feet in front of

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her with a bracelet in his hand. This has been

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Osmophobia. The story continues.