The one in front had sharp, vivid blue leopard ears and seemed to be the leader. The other two, with light blue and green ears, stood beside him with a threatening posture. They blocked Judy's path, surrounding him in front of the wagon.
Judy took a step back feeling scared, and the blue-eared leader boy looked down at him with eyes full of contempt. Judy's ears drooped and he shrunk into himself, clearly afraid.
"I thought it was trash on the ground, but it was just a pair of sewer-colored rabbit ears! What a filthy color!"
The boy with vivid blue leopard ears spat the words out with a mocking tone.
"Wow, you're right! It's dirtying the whole town! How can anyone walk around with a color like that and still show their face?"
The boy with light blue fox ears twisted his mouth into a sneer.
"If it were me, I'd die from embarrassment. How can he act like nothing's wrong? Kids with such filthy colors must have filthy hearts too."
Even the smallest boy, with green leopard ears, joined in with a cruel insult.
At first, Bao Bei was too stunned to react. Then, his little fists began to tremble with tightly held frustration. Judy who is standing beside him, gently held him back and whispered in a small voice, so only Bao Bei could hear.
"Don't do anything. I'm okay. Just stay still. It's not worth it."
But the boy with the vivid blue leopard ears turned around arrogantly and barked an order at the brown dog-eared boy who stood behind them silently.
"Hey, mutt! Looks like there's someone even lower than you. Go on, laugh at him. Say his color's disgusting."
The dog-eared boy glanced nervously up at the blue leopard-eared boy, clearly used to being ordered around.
"Come on! Laugh!"
"H-ha… haha… hahaha…"
"That's it. Wahaha, look at that filthy rabbit! Hahaha!"
"Haha… hahahaha… dirty color… hahaha…"
"The lowest color there is. Hahahaha!"
Then the blue leopard-eared boy picked up a stone from the ground and handed it to the dog-eared child.
"Throw this at him. Trash like that shouldn't be allowed in town. We should drive him out. Right? Isn't that right?"
"Huh? But… if it hits him, it might hurt…"
"Who cares? No one would give a damn if a sewer-colored freak like him got hurt or even died. Or are you saying you're going to defy me?"
"Come on, throw it!"
"Do it already!"
The other children laughed, taunting the dog-eared boy as he stood frozen, his face pale. His hand clenched tightly around the rock.
Unable to bear it any longer, Bao Bei stepped out from behind Judy. His fur bristled all over, and he let out a sharp, trembling growl. Even surrounded by the larger boys—whose size felt like a wall pressing in—he stood there shaking, but shouted with all the strength his small voice could muster.
"Don't bully Judy! No throwing rocks!"
"Huh? The tiny one's yapping now."
"What's with that weird color? White? Black? Brown? What is he supposed to be?"
Now the group's attention turned to Bao Bei, who they hadn't noticed before, hidden in Judy's shadow.
"Looks like a patchwork. Creepy!"
"Maybe he's a monster?"
At their words, Bao Bei puffed up his chest and shouted in defiance.
"I'm not patchwork! I'm like Mama—I'm a pomerians!"
"Getting cocky, huh?! Let's beat this one up too, along with the rabbit freak! Monster extermination time!"
A rough, violent tension filled the air, encircling Bao Bei and Judy. The boys' eyes gleamed with a hunger for cruelty, sparked by the chance to torment someone small and weak. Their mouths twisted into warped, gleeful smiles.
Sensing the danger, Judy's ears flattened tight against his head as his body froze. Terror gripped him so firmly that he couldn't even move to run.
Bao Bei who is still bristling all over, pressed both hands to the ground. His tail puffed up to twice its usual size, and his large green eyes narrowed until his pupils were razor-thin slits.
"Hhrrrnnn!"
He let out a fierce hiss, standing his ground like a tiny wildcat. The boy with the vivid blue leopard ears laughed mockingly at the small child with dog-like ears.
"What's this? You gonna fight back? Stupid little freak. What, do you want us to beat you senseless?"
Bao Bei dropped down on all fours, claws extended and digging into the ground. He was just about to kick off and lunge at them when—
BANG!
The back door of the shop burst open with a loud slam.
Everyone turned sharply toward the noise.
"What's going on here?!"
A furious voice rang out—it belonged to Boris. Behind him stood the shop's owner, a huge black wolf-eared beastman.
"Crap!"
The blue leopard-eared boy face turned paled and he bolted without another word. The light blue and green-eared boys scrambled to flee after him in a panic.
Left behind, the brown dog-eared boy looked around in confusion. Then, clutching the bags he had nearly dropped, he hurried to chase after the others.
"You kids alright? Were they bullying you?"
Boris rushed over and scooped up Bao Bei into his arms.
"Judy and Bao Bei did nothing bad," Bao Bei said, his voice still trembling but full of innocent confusion. "So… why do people bully us?"
It was a question spoken from the heart—simple, honest, and painful. Boris could only rub Bao Bei's back in silence, offering comfort in the only way he could.
In the Rodentia Village, where they'd come from, there were many children born with what the world called "low-class colors." Because of that, the people there didn't think too much about social rank based on fur color.
But as they moved from the village to the town—and to towns even larger—the differences became stark. The more people there were, the more obvious and cruel the class distinctions tied to fur color became.
That harsh reality revealed itself again when they tried to choose a place to stay for the night. Boris brought them to an inn he often used—affordable, with a relaxed atmosphere. But the moment the landlady saw Judy and Bao Bei standing beside him, her expression turned sour.