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Marcus stepped into Melody's room, unsure what he would find there. He even closed his eyes as he entered, trying to temper his expectations. He reminded himself that the dance was an act. As mesmerizing as her performance had been, Melody wasn't some mythical being, she was a living creature just like him. Without the colored lights and music playing, she was a normal person. Well, not normal, but not normal in the same way as him. She wasn't going to be sitting on a cloud in a starfield. Probably.

The jackalope took a deep breath. "Melody, I'm sorry, I didn't mean t-EEP!"

Directly across from him, there was a leather couch, upon which Melody sat. Wearing a delicate purple robe, the thin bikini bottom from her stage show, and nothing else.

Quickly averting his gaze, Marcus's eyes darted all over the room, taking stock of his surroundings. It was bigger than he expected, almost the size of his motel room, actually. Oddly sterile. There was a long vanity across the far left wall, lights on it to illuminate her face while she got made up for the show. A big folding table in the middle littered with magazines and takeout containers. The wall to his left had a long clothing rack on wheels with an assortment of both stage outfits and normal clothes. The lights were warm, dim. Pop music at a low volume came from a radio on the vanity counter.

The unicorn herself sat with one leg crossed over the other, leaned back into the cushions, the robe doing nothing to keep her modest. Not even a belt to hold it together. Marcus couldn't even make himself look. Sure, he'd watched her dancing just minutes ago in even less out in the main room of the club, but that was different. It was the show. He was just a face in the crowd, separated by a pile of cheering men with handfuls of cash.

Now it was just the two of them, in her dressing room. It was a performance for an audience of one.

"Sit," she said, a tilt of her delicate neck indicating the spot next to hear.

"Um... all right..." Marcus replied, hesitantly creeping his way over towards the couch. It was, mercifully, not a loveseat, and so there was space for him to at the far opposite end that put some distance between himself and the elegant equine.

"Well, you wanted to see me," Melody said, her voice as smooth and satiny as she could make it, with a lilting tone befitting her name. She picked a pack of cigarettes off of the table, gently pulling one free with only her lips, locking gaze with Marcus as she did so. "Here I am."

The unicorn watched her guest carefully, paying close attention to where his eyes went and, more importantly, where they didn't go. The hybrid was sitting ramrod straight on the couch, his feet flat on the floor and his hands on the edges of the cushions, gripping the leather. One of his legs bounced anxiously. When he did look her way, there was a pattern to it. Her chest, her face, the ceiling, the floor, a speedy flick of his focus like each location was an escape from the one before it.

He'd come to see her, but he looked like he was looking for any excuse he had to run back out.

Melody lit her cigarette, giving Marcus a few more seconds to stew, while keeping herself in as much contrast to him as she could. He was a tightly wound spring, she was an elegant ribbon. A roll of her shoulders that pushed her chest forward sent the poor teenager searching harder than ever for something else to look at. Whatever he was here to get, he didn't want to ask for it.

"Kid," she began, her voice dropping several pitches. "How old are you?"

Marcus glanced over at her again, trying to force his leg to hold still and his heartbeat to slow down.

"...seventeen," he replied, deciding that lying would likely not help him out right then.

Melody sighed, shaking her head and taking another drag from her cigarette, sending the smoke in twin wisps out through flared nostrils. "Seventeen..." she echoed, sounding sympathetic about it. "And they send you into a strip club to try and catch me."

"I... catch you?" Marcus was taken off guard by the statement, enough so that he wasn't trying to avoid making eye contact anymore. "No... nobody sent me, I was j-"

She cut him off quickly. "Are those even real?" she asked sharply, her eyes going upwards.

Marcus's hand lifted to follow Melody's indication, his fingers traveling along one of his antlers. "Uh... yeah, they are, why?"

Melody snorted out a single, dry laugh, tapping ash away into a glass resting on the nearby table. "Wow, went through all the trouble to find an honest-to-god exo. Guess they thought I'd be more agreeable with one of my own kind. Where'd they find you, anyway?"

The jackalope was navigating a minefield. Melody's words were springing up like triggers, forcing him to tread carefully, on tiptoe as he attempted to get an idea of what exactly was happening.

"What do you mean?"

Another long drag of the cigarette, looking far less sensual than when she'd initially lit it. Her posture had shifted as well, as though she was no longer concerned about putting herself on display for Marcus. She finished it off by tilting her head back, letting the smoke out in a vertical plume that had a quiet sigh at its source.

"I mean you're not from around here, are you," she said, though her voice didn't lift at the end of her question, because she wasn't really asking.

Marcus's brow furrowed. He wasn't liking this at all. No, he hadn't exactly made a good plan of attack before walking into Melody's dressing room, but he'd thought that her inviting him back meant she wanted to see him.

He shook his head. "No, but how do you know that?" the jackalope shot back, though with far less confidence. "Do you know everyone in town?"

Melody snickered, looking visibly impressed that he was at least putting up some kind of fight. "No, no I don't," she admitted, dropping the smoke in that same cup, letting it extinguish in what was left of a drink from earlier in the day. Then, she slid along the couch towards him. It was such an effortless drift that Marcus didn't even realize it was happening until she was right against him. The jackalope swallowed, trying to sink back against the couch's arm and cushions, which only gave her a convenient corner to pin him into.

"But..." she said, with a gentle sing-song tone to her voice, "I know all the exos in town, and I've never seen you before." She punctuated the end of her sentence with a feather-light tap to Marcus's nose that still made him flinch. "So that means you're from out of town. And that means you came all the way out here, right to my club, and kicked in the door demanding to see me."

Despite Melody coating every single word with enough sugar to give cavities, Marcus felt more than a little threatened. Up close, the unicorn wasn't quite as flawless as she'd seemed beneath those flattering stage lights. Her horn was uneven, coming out more from above one eye than the other. The spiral pattern had clearly been carved by hand, there were even chips in it. Her eyes were tired. The stink of sweat, smoke, and too much perfume stuck to her body.

"H-hold on, Melody, just wait a second, okay? I j-"

She inched forward again, one knee pressed down into the couch creeping menacingly up between the jackalope's thighs. "Now you listen here, okay?" she said, her body nearly perched entirely atop his, with a patronizing tone like she was speaking to a toddler. "I am not going to fuck you. Do you understand me?"

Marcus felt his mouth go dry and his face flush. He did not know why she was telling him that, but rapidly nodded all the same.

Melody nodded in return, the tip of that horn in between his antlers. "Good. Now I'm sure the nice officers outside have been waiting for a long time while you got a free show, so you go ahead and tell them that I'm getting very, very tired of their shit, and that I don't appreciate them using a kid."

Marcus let out a whoof of air and a groan as Melody planted her hand on his chest and used it to push herself back up to her feet, walking back over to her vanity and picking up her robe's belt, tying it off and picking a glass up from there, taking a drink. A moment passed, and she turned around, seeing the teen still on her couch.

"...go on. Git. No sale, store's closed," she said, a hint of impatience to her voice.

"I'm not with the cops!!" Marcus squeaked, springing to his feet.

Melody had clearly had enough of the dance. She turned, swiftly walking her way over to Marcus and starting to usher him towards the door. "Uh-huh. Sure you're not. You're just on vacation and you just happened to see me working here. Get the fuck out or I'm calling Dante back here and he can show you the door again."

Marcus yelped, stumbling over his feet as he was pushed along, trying to get his bearings and come up with some way to explain himself. Only one thing came to mind.

"Melody do you know anything about Heaven Hearts Hybrids?"

Time stopped. Marcus and Melody locked eyes.

"...the orphanage?" she asked.

Marcus nodded rapidly. "Yeah! They're... they're in Boston, right?"

This time, Melody was the one to create distance. She moved back as far as she could in two sleek steps, once again sizing the jackalope up. She was staring deep into him, trying to find what he was hiding now, but there was nothing behind his question. It wasn't leading anywhere. He didn't have an answer he was expecting. The boy really did want to know.

The unicorn rubbed both hands over her long face, taking a deep breath and going back to her cigarette pack, pulling one out quickly with her fingers. "Okay... you have about ten seconds to start explaining what the fuck you're doing here or I am absolutely calling security."

Marcus had no idea where to start. What to say that would "explain" himself. Maybe it was that he'd finally made contact with another hybrid, maybe that his nerves were frayed from the day he'd had, or his eagerness to get on Melody's good side, but Marcus's only idea was to tell her the whole story. He started way back at the fight at Greenwood, getting suspended from school, the fight with his adoptive mother, meeting his real one, the trip to Boston, getting his bag stolen, up to seeing Melody's poster on the club outside.

"...and then that big bear threw me down and ripped my jeans!" he finished dramatically, turning to show the torn hole by his back pocket.

Melody stood in a mild state of shellshock. She'd been hoping for some kind of simple reason why he was there, like maybe he found out about her online or got dared by his friends on a trip. She wasn't expecting an autobiography to be shot at her like a fully automatic rifle. Marcus had barely stopped for breath in between sentences, the entire thing coming out in a rush of words that didn't leave her with any time for any of them to sink in.

"Uh... huh," she said back, tilting her head faintly to peek at the indicated tear. That part was true, at least.

The two stood staring at each other, Marcus pleading with her to believe his story, Melody waiting for another salvo to come her way.

"...you got a name, kid?"

"Marcus."

Melody blew her cheeks out, trying to piece together some kind of coherent thought. "Okay, Marcus... I think you should come with me."

The jackalope blinked in confusion while Melody quickly got herself dressed. She threw her robe onto a nearby chair, putting on a more casual outfit. Well, as casual as a girl like her would allow herself to be. Sharp heeled boots, jeans tight enough to look painted on, a purple top that left some of her midriff bare, and a small bag over her shoulder, every piece of it from the same kind of brands he was wearing.

The unicorn snickered, able to feel his eyes before turning towards him to confirm it. "You good? You're staring at me harder now than when I had my tits out."

Marcus winced, quickly returning to his awkward gaze aversion. "Sorry, just... You look really pretty is all."

She rolled her eyes, passing him up on her way to the door. "Didn't think I'd be able to afford designer?"

Marcus shook his head, putting his hands up defensively. "No! I mean... I dunno, I know how much all that stuff costs, I didn't think..."

Melody nudged him out into the hallway, walking with enough of a trot that he had to struggle to keep up. "Yeah, well. You bought yours with daddy's credit card, I bought mine with cash I got from an old pig who wanted to know what unicorn pussy smelled like. C'mon. You wanted to know if it's just us in town, you're in luck. I was on my way to meet up with some friends and I know they'd wanna meet you."

The pair quickly made their way down the hall, through the back area towards the main room of the bar again.

"Damn, that was quick!" laughed the raspy wolf from before, still working on the pizza.

"Longer than you've ever lasted," Melody called over her shoulder, to another round of laughter before they exited.

Out on the street, Marcus found himself walking as closely to Melody as he could without bumping into her on every step. She had a confidence to her gait that Marcus did not, every single step being absolutely sure of itself. Melody moved like she owned Boston, expecting everyone to make room for her. She didn't seem to notice the stares they attracted, though Marcus absolutely did.

It was a different kind of stare, one that cut deeper. At Greenwood, he was waiting for a snide comment, a dramatic face or gesture hoping for a reaction out of him that they could laugh about with their friends. Out here, they didn't want a reaction. He wasn't part of their lives at all. He wasn't a classmate they felt burdened with, he was just a curiosity on the street. Part of a pair now, which did seem to draw extra attention. A jackrabbit and a pony, with more horns between them than were considered acceptable.

"Lesson one, don't make eye contact, don't even acknowledge them," Melody said, pulling her phone out and tapping at it with her thumb. "You have every right to be here. If they can't handle seeing an exo, tough shit."

Marcus took an extra quick skipping step to catch up, having started to lag behind. "Hey, uh, dumb question. You keep saying exo, is that..."

"Exotic, yeah, good job," Melody replied, leaving him feeling that yes, that was indeed a very dumb question. "I'd like to say we've got a whole secret language but that's pretty much it."

He had to admit, Marcus was a bit disappointed to hear that. From the moment he'd heard there were people to meet, he had this image of an underground society of exotic hybrids, speaking in code with each other and using hand signs out in public to signal one another silently. Maybe with cool robes and badass titles and then they'd get tattoos under their fur that only show if they want it to.

But no, it was nothing quite that provocative. It turned out Melody was leading him further down the road, in the same direction Marcus had run to catch his thief in fact, until they arrived at a small bar with a sign above its door that looked hand painted.

TULUNE'S SALOON, it said in big letters made to seem old fashioned, with a pair of stylized birds beneath it, their beak crossed at the center.

"Heyyy, Mellie," a voice called from the bar as they entered.

The speaker, a middle aged bird with a jet black head and a pair of glasses perched atop his beak, squinted when he realized the unicorn hadn't come in alone. "Who's the kid?"

Melody waved back, her stride not breaking as she guided Marcus through. "Just a friend."

"He don't look twenty one..." the old bird continued, clearly with an unspoken second half of his sentence.

Just as Marcus was about to turn and say something, Melody made sure they continued their journey toward the back of the bar. "He's fine, Tommy, don't worry about him."

The pair settled at a table in the rear of the bar, a larger one that would be necessary just for the two of them, but not one that indicated they were expecting a massive party to come in.

Then again, Marcus should have guessed that this wasn't some meeting of a international league of hybrids. This was something closer to how Marcus had always seen old timey taverns in western films. Unlike the neon lights and shiny surfaces at Temptations, Tulune's entire interior was made out of carved wood. A long bar stretched along one side, with a smattering of tables filling up the remaining space, and a few televisions playing sports. Just like Temptations, there was music playing over the speakers, though here was some meat and potatoes rock, stuff to drink a beer and sing with, not watch a striptease.

All in all, it was... a bar. Just a bar.

Melody got something brightly colored drink of some kind in a glass as curvy as herself, while Marcus found himself with yet another soda. The atmosphere was more laid back, less intimidating, and given that his new friend was now wearing actual clothing, the jackalope found himself more at ease, even if he wasn't entirely sure what to expect next. He held his glass in both hands, legs fidgeting beneath his table as they so often did.

"You want somethin' to eat?" the unicorn asked. "Kitchen's pretty good here."

Marcus paused, the memory of what happened to the bulk of his money coming back to him. "Uh... it's not too expensive is it? Cuz... my money was kinda in my bag..."

Melody chuckled, shaking her head. "I got you covered."

The teen winced. Saying he was used to being self-sufficient wasn't terribly accurate, since none of the money in his bank account or that went towards his credit card bill was actually his, but he still didn't like the idea of someone else paying for him. At least not when it was someone whose money he didn't feel entitled to.

"You sure?" he asked, uneasily. "I mean, that's really generous and all, but like..."

She gave him a playful push beneath the table with her foot, careful to avoid using that sharp heel. "You're my guest, okay? This my town, let me treat you a little. Besides, us exos gotta stick together. Life's tough enough without having to do it on your own. Just promise me you'll pay it forward, okay?"

Marcus looked confused. "Pay it forward?"

Melody sipped from her glass. Everything she did was elegant, and Marcus found himself staring again. "Mm-hm. I'll help you out while you're here, then once you're gone you help out any other exos you can, deal?"

Marcus nodded rapidly. "Of course!"

She smiled. "Good. That's lesson two."

The menu at Tulune's wasn't expensive, but finding anything that seemed even remotely healthy was a bit of a fight. It seemed like they'd made an attempt to make as generic of a menu as they could, with an emphasis on what would sound good with a belly full of alcohol, so everything looked like it was deep fried. Even the salad menu looked like every entry would have a day's worth of calories. He settled on one that mentioned being piled with french fries, cheese, and ranch dressing and just asked for all of that to be light, hoping it wouldn't look like a pizza had its topping all dumped onto a bowl of lettuce.

When it did arrive, that was exactly what it looked like, but after the day he'd had, Marcus's stomach seemed to be craving something heavy, so he tore into it. The menu was beginning to make sense.

"So, um," he said, speaking around a mouthful of what passed for salad. "Who all we waiting for? Like, is this a big group?"

Melody, already amused with how greedily her visitor was going at his meal, let out a small chuckle. "You really don't understand how uncommon we are, do ya? No, it ain't a big group, sad to say. You're our fourth."

Marcus swallowed his bite somewhat awkwardly. Four total, counting him? That was... quite a bit lower than he'd expected. The teen was getting the feeling that he would need to keep his hopes more tempered while he was in town. It did drive the lesson home, though. He realized that his lack of exposure to other hybrids like him wasn't solely because he was isolated in a tiny pocket of the world.

"Seemed like you know the owner?" Marcus said after a bit of silence. "Guess not everyone's that rough on us exos out here." He mostly said the last bit to get a feel for the word. He liked it. Exo. Even if it was the only bit of slang he picked up on his Boston trip, he enjoyed it. For the first time in his life, he felt like he was on the inside. The jackalope pictured himself angrily telling someone else that it was his word, not theirs, and being all righteous and vindicated in it.

Melody got closer to the end of her drink, looking at the last inch of it before turning towards the bar and lifting the glass up, indicating a refill. "Tommy's a regular at my bar, I'm a regular at his. So we give each other discounts."

Marcus came dangerously close to asking what kind of discount that meant the old bird would be getting, but quickly stopped himself. A quick glance from Melody got the whole message across.

"He hasn't stuck his dick in me, no," she clarified, making sure to put enough emphasis on the word to make Marcus squirm. It was cute. She liked it. "But there's lesson three. You can't change what you were born with, but you can use it to your advantage."

For a moment, Marcus wondered if Melody actually had a list she was pulling from. She certainly did sound like this was a series she'd explained before.

Before he could follow that up, Melody's attention turned towards the front door. He only realized then that she'd taken the corner spot for a reason. Her back was to the wall and she had a perfect view of the rest of the bar.

"There they are. Marcus, meet the exos."

A pair of waving arms from across the room indicated who she was talking about. It could have been underwhelming, given that the first look showed nothing but two fairly ordinary looking guys. No grand entrance, no fanfare, they didn't get the fancy lights that Melody had when he first encountered her. At first glance it was just a regular eagle and a horse walking in, making their way over to the corner table.

The eagle was massive, with a presence to him that couldn't have been more different to Melody's. Broad shoulders, a trucker cap atop his head with a frayed brim, he had a worn black t-shirt covering his white-feathered body with the name of a rock band from decades ago across the front of it that looked like he'd bought it when they were still current. It wasn't until Marcus saw his lower half that he realized what made the man an exotic. Out from the lower half of his ragged jean shorts sprang two thick calves, unmistakably equine down to the thick hoof nails on his toes, visible thanks to the sandals on his feet.

The horse was more difficult to pin down. Slighter in frame than his companion, with a mane that had been cropped short, a white coat with dark speckles, he didn't seem to have anything unusual about him. His outfit was less blue collar as well, with a polo shirt tucked into belted khaki slacks and a pair of shoes that were just on the business side of business casual. Nothing stuck out on him, though, and Marcus was more curious than ever what made him part of their group.

"I was wondering where you two were!" the unicorn said as they approached.

The hippogriff grunted, pulling a chair out and dropping down onto it. "Yeah well, guess who let his car break down and needed a lift?" he grunted in a voice that was so deep it seemed to come directly out of his chest.

The male equine rolled his eyes, looking sheepish. "Oh come on. I didn't let it break down, I just didn't... look, I don't understand cars, okay?"

"When yer fuckin' engine light goes on, get it checked! God damn..."

That was when the both of them realized Melody hadn't come alone.

The half-eagle spoke up first. "Whoa, shit, we got a new member! Where'd you come from?"

The teen's ears went hot at being discussed like he wasn't sitting right there at the table with everyone else, but he stayed quiet for the moment. Even knowing that he was a friend of Melody's, Marcus felt intimidated by the brash hippogriff.

Melody helpfully covered for him. "Believe it or not, Temptations."

That sent the half-bird into a fit of laughter, while the other horse tilted his head to get a closer look at Marcus. "Are you even old enough to go in there?"

Once again, Melody came to the rescue. "Nope. Just kicked in the door and said he wanted to see me. And guess what? He's a graduate of Triple H."

The new arrivals got their drinks from a bartender coming over, with the hippogriff taking a beer bottle and the equine a glass that looked just like Marcus's, though likely with some alcohol mixed into it.

The other horse blew with his lips, while the avian snapped his beak and laughed. "Probably coulda guessed that from the clothes. So what are your parents, huh? Investment bankers or some shit?"

Melody held up a hand. "All right, easy does it. He's had a hell of a day. Marcus, this is Karl and Dylan."

Marcus waved sheepishly at the pair. He was used to feeling on display back home. Whenever his mother took him to seminars, or his father to corporate get-togethers where having family around was helpful, he was always held out like some kind of museum exhibit that everyone was supposed to ooh and ahh over before making comments about how forward thinking the Lewises were. He didn't need to do anything but sit still and not cause a fuss. He didn't care what any of them thought about him.

Here, he cared very much what they thought of him.

"Are you guys from Heaven Hearts Hybrids, too?" Marcus asked, his gaze traveling from one to the other.

"Guilty," Melody said, holding a hand up.

"Class of 2000," Dylan, the horse said, lifting his glass.

"Nope, little too old for that one," laughed Karl, finishing off his beer in impressively quick time. "God damn, I'm even a minority around here. Gonna need to start my own little club where you assholes ain't invited."

Marcus couldn't stop himself from laughing as well. Despite his voice being loud enough to give the jackalope's ears a bit of a ring, Karl had a friendliness about him. Come to think of it, they all did. Even with the age gap, Marcus felt comfortable enough to actually add to the conversation.

"Hey, I'm the only one who isn't part horse, maybe I should be the one making my own club!" he offered, praying inside that he wasn't making a fool of himself.

It was a success. The other three laughed right along with him, complete with Karl clapping a big feathered hand on his back enough to make him wheeze.

"I like him! Can we keep him, mama?" the burly half-eagle said to Melody, trying to make his brassy voice sound younger and more pleading.

The unicorn stuck out her bottom lip, fighting off a grin. "Awww, how could I say no to that face?" she teased, even if Karl's avian qualities made it a touch difficult for him to come across as anything resembling "cute."

Dylan snorted, shaking his head. "Sigh," he said. He actually said the word aloud as he did its namesake, making sure to drizzle as much melodrama on the gesture as he could. "I'm sorry, Marcus. I'm sorry for whatever terrible fate may befall you as a result of meeting a group of misfits like us."

The three laughed again, ordering a nice massive bowl of nachos for the table to share, with various toppings and sauces brought in smaller containers so each could have their pick. Marcus was smiling so hard it made his face hurt. Back at school he generally ate his lunches alone. Even when Corey would sit with him, it made him feel more like a charity case than a friend. For the first time, Marcus really was a part of the group. For once, Marcus Lewis felt like he belonged.