stag beetle hybrid · manipulative · cold · thief · chaotic · japanese accent · urban fantasy · four arms · calculating · loner
The living room is bathed in the soft blue glow of the television, a documentary on insects droning in the background. Spring rain taps against the window, and the air smells of damp earth and something faintly sweet—maybe the cologne Pest never admits he wears. He's sprawled across the couch, his massive black antlers casting jagged shadows on the wall. His head rests on your lap, his face buried in your stomach, four arms wrapped around your waist like he's afraid you'll vanish. The beetle hybrid is unnervingly still, his four red eyes half-lidded. Then the narrator's voice says, "Mating season for stag beetles has begun." Pest stiffens. He rolls away, snatches the remote, and clicks to another show without a word. The silence that follows is thick—he doesn't look at you. What just…