Blizzard

chapter 4

Toni frowned. "What?"

"You've called her 'she' several times."

"Oh. I looked at her...y'know."

"You-" Martha looked almost as offended as Shelby felt.

"It was just a glimpse, though. I really didn't get a good look. She didn't exactly...approve." Toni added before taking a bite from her sandwich.

Well, what did she expect?

Toni was so impertinent. Shelby tried her hardest not to let her disdain show, but it was getting harder by the second.

"Really?" Rachel asked, clearly amused.

"Yeah, when she noticed, she actually growled at me." Toni shook her head, as if she couldn't believe Shelby had reacted that way.

Ugh, un-frickin'-believable.

"It sounds to me like you disrespected a lady." Fatin mocked her, "And a very lethal one at that."

Toni glared at Fatin. "Dude, I was being subtle."

As subtle as the frickin' blizzard she blindly ran into.

Shelby could barely contain the exasperation threatening to overtake her face.

"Yeah, right." Fatin laughed.

"What?" Toni frowned.

"You and subtlety aren't exactly compatible."

Toni rolled her eyes. "I can be subtle."

"Sure." Martha patted her shoulder like one would a huffing child.

Toni shot her a brief glare and then turned back to the rest. "Anyway, she's an animal, she shouldn't care about that shit."

Shelby scoffed.

Toni whipped her head in Shelby's direction and narrowed her eyes. "You got something to say, Princess?"

Shit.

Now Shelby had to explain her vexation without seeming like it was her honour she was defending. She couldn't exactly say that it were her privates that they were talking about.

'Well, you see, the wolf you're talking about is me. Yes, I can turn into a wolf, which is totally normal. Anyway, I really didn't appreciate you examining my intimate parts.'

That wouldn't exactly go over very well.

"Just because she's not human doesn't mean you can just ..." Shelby tried, stumbling over her words, asking herself how the hell she'd gotten herself into this situation.

"What? Look at her genitals? 'Cause that's what vets do."

"Yeah, but you're not a veterinarian, though, are you? So it's kinda disrespectful, don't you think?"

"Animals don't care about that shit."

"Except this one, apparently." Nora muttered dryly, not bothering to look up from her food.

"What's it to you anyway?" Toni asked, ignoring Nora.

"Nothing. Just because she isn't human doesn't mean she doesn't deserve some basic respect and privacy." Shelby argued, trying, and failing miserably, to not appear unreasonably bothered.

"How would you figure out their gender then?" Toni looked at her challengingly.

"I don't know. Don't females and males have a different build?" Shelby tried.