Snow Leopard (bxb)

Chapter 73- New Light

Nobu's POV

It had hurt me to see Otto segregated because of what he was, hybrids being so rare I hadn't seen the prejudice towards them before, nor had I heard of it. Shifter information wasn't common knowledge, we didn't post anything about our kind online, we were private people, there weren't many books about us either. Our culture limited our children's exposure to certain things until they'd reached an age deemed fit when they saw us as old enough to know such things. Like aura's, I'm not sure why we had to find that sort of thing out by ourselves, maybe it was the experience that was important, to feel it unsullied by other people's recollections. It was an interesting way to learn, I definitely can't say I'm fond of it though.

I was angry and upset, I was disappointed in Jax for allowing it to happen, sure he didn't know Otto all that well but he'd spent enough time with him to know that Otto wasn't this monster the stereotype made him out to be. I'd watched him walk off, his shoulders slumped even more than usual, he'd looked so dejected, so lonely in that moment, it brought tears to my eyes seeing someone I cared about hurting so deeply, he just accepted the social exclusion, from that I could tell this was far from the first time.

It brought up a whole heap of questions, was he treated the same at Uni? Were people too scared to be his friend? His partner in class? Why was this the first time I was hearing of this? The council sucked on a whole new level now, they cultivated this secretive culture of ours, they were the ones who started these stigmas about certain shifters. Just because you were called something didn't mean it presented the same as everyone else, not everybody who was autistic was male, female's might present the neurological condition differently but that didn't mean they weren't autistic and vice versa. People see conditions and disorders as a box with set parameters, but that just isn't the case, everyone is different, in fact, it can be harmful, being told you had to be a certain way, that a certain thing must be wrong with you to get the recognition and treatment you deserve.

Otto is a hybrid, yes, and I'm sure the mix of two different animals can cause unrest in the shifter, but that doesn't mean it has to, Otto's apparent 'condition' can be seen visually, so it's not like what he is can be disputed, but why can't the other symptoms be seen as situational and individual like their appearance? Every hybrid isn't identical, Otto's animals were quite similar, both big cats, they were close enough genetically to produce offspring in the wild. Otto grew up in a loving household, and our parents did the best they could in raising us, our parents had both taught him what it meant to be a lion and a tiger, he had all the support he'd needed to be at peace with what he was, so why was is such a surprise that he didn't present the typical behavioural issues associated with hybrids?

I stared at Jax and Bos in a new light, I didn't think they'd be so closed-minded about something like this, that Bos would refuse to have Otto join us because of some stupid stigma about hybrids, which was by the way completely untrue in my experience.

When I just continued to stare they grew uncomfortable. "Nobu... you must understand..." Bos tried to defend himself.

I snorted loudly. "Oh I understand perfectly, it was my fault I didn't realise I was surrounded by bigots." I focused more on Jax, even more hurt that it was him, I'd really liked him, he'd always been so nice, for what he supported it was a big surprise he'd think in such a close-minded way. "How could you believe such a thing? I thought you supported and protected every type of shifter, especially those shunned and made an outcast by the council and their influence." I crossed my arms, getting more angry than upset now, and I'd seen Sisa slipping away and heading in Otto's direction, at least she didn't believe all the nonsense the council spurted, I'd never been so happy that I was right, who knew I'd be good at matchmaking?

Jax frowned at my words and looked towards where Otto had headed. "I know you don't know Otto all that well but the times you've been around him has he ever come across as aggressive or prone to unprovoked violent outbursts? Honestly?" I sighed, feeling very exasperated.