Among the group of parents in the park, Katsuo knew he stuck out like a sore thumb. But if it weren’t for his baby boy, he would’ve been overwhelmed. He knew he was a big lion man that towered over everyone around him and with his overbite that highlights his fans along with his resting face…he was not really approachable to people. Feeling a tiny squeeze from his hand, Katsuo glanced down at Michio who was watching all the other kids around him. His ears twitched down and his lips curled into a thin tight line.
“You’re feeling shy, Michio?” Katsuo asked and smiled softly when Michio didn’t lift his gaze from the ground but still nodded. He hummed thoughtfully and gently tapped his shoulder so that Michio could look up at him. “I’m feeling shy too, so you’re not the only one. How about we go around and mingle?”
“Can I stay with you?”
“Of course you can,” Katsuo answered astutely and they began to walk towards potential people they could talk to. A human couple with a little boy of 5 years old, exactly Michio’s age. When the two of them came into the couple’s vision, their eyes widened before walking the other way. Katsuo stopped in his tracks and frowned as he watched the two of them walk away. As they continued to walk towards various families, he watched as these various families gave the same reaction. Out of the corner of his eye, Katsuo’s heart broke as he watched Michio’s ears droop down.
He knew that none of this had to do with Michio, but for little baby Michio, he didn’t know that. Katsuo sighed softly and rubbed the top of his head. Just as they were about to walk, an unfamiliar small hand tugged at his pants. Startled into stopping, he found a little wolf girl staring up at him. A little older than Michio, but not by much, she had smokey gray round eyes that stared expectantly up at him. Her white hair was tied into two pigtails, highlighting her ears that had white fur surrounding them. And he kept himself from cooing at the quick tail wagging from this little girl.
“Aya!” A voice called out and Katsuo watched as a wolf woman jogged over to kneel in front of the pup. “You know you don’t need to be running off like that, there’s a lot of scents here and that makes it harder to track you.”
“I’m sorry mommy, I was just wanting to invite the two big cats over to talk to us. They looked lonely,” Aya–as Katsuo would realize–would point out matter-of-factly. Katsuo smiled softly at the gesture and he watched as Michio’s grip on his leg would loosen a little but not fully let go. The wolf woman sighed softly and she looked over at Katsuo and Michio both then down at little Aya.
“Is it alright with mom?” Katsuo asked with a nervous smile and the wolf woman’s ears relaxed, rubbing the back of little Aya’s back as she stood up straight. Standing tall, she was a pretty broad and muscled woman herself that towered over some of these other parents herself. Seeing where Aya shared her features from, he couldn’t help the shiver from how dangerous her stare was. Watching him, reading him from the inside and out. This pair of silver eyes has seen a lot in her life, he deduced.
She nodded slowly and she stuck her hand out, Katsuo noting the natural black claws that curled out from her fingers. He had to make sure he was on her good side with the damage she could do with those things. Grabbing her hand with a delicacy that never matched his side, he felt his own claws grazing her hand.
“Katsuo,” he says, slowly shaking her hand.
“Mika.”
“That’s pretty,” Michio pointed out, finally looking up from the ground and up at Mika. Mika’s eyebrows raised momentarily, but smiling softly at Michio’s compliment. Katsuo knew his own surprise couldn’t be contained at hearing Michio initiate a conversation so easily and without his help.
“Well thank you, sweetie,” Mika says softly, her voice much less stiff towards Michio. She moved to kneel in front of Michio, looking him directly in his eyes, “if you would like, Aya could come take you to introduce one of her friends and all the grown ups can hang out. Is it alright with dad?”
“Yeah, that’s alright with dad,” Katsuo agreed and his smile widening when he watched Michio nod over at Mika. He watched as Aya took his paw and they both began to run over towards another little girl and her grown up that were sitting on a bench together. Two girls sharing the same dark brown skin color, the little one he knew had to have been exactly Michio’s age. Her black hair was tied into two buns and her big brown eyes were lost in her own world as she stared at everything around her. She made eye contact with Aya and Michio and her smile stretched from ear to ear, waving rapidly. The three of them all huddled together and began their own little conversation as they headed to the swings close to the bench.
“That’s Anaya,” Mika said over to him with a small smile and Katsuo looked back over, “she’s one of the sweetest little girls I’ve ever met.”
“Is the woman with her her mom? She looks really young,” Katsuo pointed out and Mika shook her head, her smile dropping slowly. He frowned at how intrusive the question is and shook his head, “that isn’t my business, I shouldn’t-”
“Seraphina isn’t Anaya’s mom, but her aunt and Seraphina’s sister,” Mika noted and Katsuo hummed, his lips thinning into a thin line, “what happened to her mom was sad, but it’s not my story to tell.”
Katsuo nodded slowly, his guilt at his intrusive question still not fading away even at Mika’s attempt of reassurance. Following Mika, he watched as Anaya’s grown up–Seraphina, he noted–stood up and stared over at Katsuo. Same cautious stare, but a flash of curiosity flashed in her brown eyes, even when he towered over both Mika and her. Katsuo kept his shoulders slouched and he provided a nervous smile for her. As they stood in front of each other, Seraphina stared up at him with her head tilted to the side.
“You’re tall,” Seraphina pointed out at him, no trace of worry and fear in her voice. Just curiosity, pure fascination that he’s never been on the receiving end of in such a casual setting.
“His name’s Katsuo, actually,” Mika teased lightly and Seraphina’s eyes widened as she winced at what she just said.
“Sorry, Katsuo. I’m Seraphina. You just stand out.”
“Yeah, I’ve been told,” Katsuo laughed, his voice cracking in his laugh and he cleared his throat to conceal his voice cracking. While Mika didn’t notice, Seraphina raised her eyebrows at the statement and crossed her arms over her chest.
“I didn’t say it was a bad thing. You look really cool,” Seraphina stated and out of the corner of his eyes, the three children all walked up to Katsuo. The three of them were led by Anaya who was looking up at him with a failed attempt of a grin. He looked down at her and raised his eyebrows.
“Well hello there.”
“Hi Mister Michio’s dad!”
“You can call me Katsuo dear,” Katsuo reassured her and Anaya hummed, taking this in like she learned long division.
“Okay Katsuo, can I ask you a question?” Anaya asked and he nodded, gesturing for her to ask her question. She beckoned him to come closer and he squatted, ignoring how much taller he still was at this point. She leaned up on her tiptoes and cupped both hands around her lips to whisper, “can I braid your hair?”
Katsuo hummed inquisitively, playing it up for Anaya and covering up her catching him off guard. Warmth spread through his chest, finally not being seen as something terrifying. Something to keep others away from. He nodded astutely and mirrored her equally wide smile.
“Tell me your plans, kiddo.”