And shocked the shit out of them when we went to a large, popular coffee shop. I realized a mistake when all of the supes working froze at our party and were on edge. I hurried to tell them in German that it was fine and to please act like normal and they were friends.
“They are all supes working here,” one of the leaders whispered. “Openly?”
“Yes,” I confirmed as I moved us off to the side. They weren’t happy when we didn’t get in line. “Watch how fast the queue moves. You’ve never been here and need a moment to figure out what to get. The menu is extensive and good.” I cleared my throat and tried not to push too hard. “All made by the shifters who own this chain.”
“Openly?” that same leader asked.
“Yes,” Elijah, Rita, Arthur, and I answered together, Elijah continuing. “Germany has no difference in citizens. It’s against the law.” A few snorted and he accepted that. “And actually enforced. Nothing is perfect, but it’s enforced.”
“The proof is in the pudding,” I added, gesturing to the incredibly busy and very large shop. I glanced at Arthur. “How many places do they have?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I just know they’re my favorite.”
One of the baristas moving faster than most could keep up with cleared her throat and shot me a glance. “They just opened their twentieth location in Germany. It was a huge milestone.” She nodded to my right. “It’s why the promotion.”
“Thank you,” I replied, not upset she was eavesdropping.
We were talking in public.
“The humans accept this,” someone whispered in awe as they watched person after person line up and order, quickly getting their drinks and food. It was so normal that all they cared about was that it was fast and good.
I nodded and faced the group. “Nothing is perfect. Nothing. There is racism, sexism, and problems with species always. Even among supes, but—I will show you. This is not a fluke, but the norm in Germany.”
We ordered and they even sat for a bit to enjoy their coffee and pastries, chitchatting a bit about how good it was or that it was nice to have an outside meeting. No more than twenty minutes really, but notoncewas there a human who bitched that a supe touched their food or a vampire was behind the bar.
No one accused anyone of trying to get blood or… It was like any other coffee shop.
We got more to go since we were spoiling them and supes were always hungry but then moved on to what was next. Iactivated the portal and went through first, ignoring when the demons flinched as they realized where we were.
“Just hear me out,” I begged when the other shifters started to get clued in.
“This is adog parkfor our people,” the wolf growled even as he stepped away from me to show he wasn’t being aggressive towards me.
“Yes and no,” I sighed. “It wasdesignedby wolves. It’s managed by them and shifters, but with government funds.” That instantly chilled the annoyance and aggression from the shifters there. “Yes, it’s a park, but—just look. We’re in the middle of a busy city and it’s asafe placefor them to shift and run, play, and get their energy out safely.”
“And for humans to gawk at like the zoo,” one grumbled, focused on a particular bench where a few humans were sitting and watching several wolves play.
Elijah waved me off and stepped up, not just because it was wolves involved, but because they would be more receptive to hearing this from him as an ancient. And a man.
It was best to just be honest about that.
“You’ve people-watched,” he countered. “I’ve sat at the park and watched children play and let the innocence fill my soul. I—there is a park near my residence and sometimes I take lunch when I know the high school teams will have their games. Watch the games that were not in existence when I was born and sports that were not like that for us as children.
“Simply enjoy and think of another life where I could be one of them.” He gestured to the humans. “They think the same. Their minds wander and they enjoy the fun. It’sunderstandablewhere your mind goes given how much you and yours have suffered and for so long. It is.”
“We know that well even if it’s not the same,” Arthur muttered. “And it has not gotten better with comic books and‘Hulk smash’ nonsense to throw at us. We all suffer. We do not make light of that.” He nodded towards the wolves playing. “But this is not humans buying peanuts to feed the elephants in an enclosure. See it without your pain.”
“They look so free,” Ricco whispered after a moment, wincing as if realizing he said it out loud. Then he slowly looked at me. “Are you saying that is what it’s like for shifters born in Germany now? This is all they’ve known? This freedom and ease?”
“No, nothing is that simple, and I have no idea if they are that young,” I admitted, pulling out my tablet. I loaded up what I had prepared. “But according to the reports, there have been two instances here in the past year. One was teenage vandalism. Spray paint.” I nodded when a few snorted. That was everywhere.
“And one was a man harassing a woman,” Arthur said without even having to look. He nodded when I blinked at him. “I remember. It wasn’t even about her being a shifter. A vile man is a vile man. There was a shifter hate incident the year before. It does happen. We have issues now and again.”
“But one in two years at one location is…” someone whispered, staring at the wolves playing.
“And from a place that had the most hate of all supes at one point,” I said gently. “Never forget that Germany had a darkness that most could never rival and more recently than most would like to admit.” I nodded towards the park. “We did this. We did this for all of us. Not demons. Not shifters—all people. This peace. This acceptance. This…”
“Harmony,” the only female leader whispered, giving me an impressed look. “This is true harmony. Nothing is perfect, but I felt that harmony in the coffee shop. One was nervous and I would bet they were a new resident or visitor.”
