I wish I could point to a single inspiration to this story, but in all honesty it's the culmination of several things. It's from my frustration in people who are so focused on being perfect that they forget to be human. It's from my growing concern that people are losing respect for the sanctity of life. It's from my fear that more and more people seem to grow so singularly narcissistic that they're willing to ruin someone else to get something they want. I'm not making a statement about religion or sexuality or politics. Just a simple observation through the lens of Three's eyes.

Copic marker on 4x6 bristol with some gelpen for details. If you like this then you can thank Wolfteller for funding the story and artwork's early release.

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I don't remember the name of the race that birthed me. I remember images of faces though, and I remember some stories of history. Genetics and evolution were so important to my people that we heard these stories constantly. Instead of fairy tales as children we'd hear about our legacy, in school they'd teach us where we came from, and for entertainment they would show us movies and tell us stories about what we might become in the future.

Because of that, I know I am a predator. My world had an imbalance of predators to it and that resulted in several species either specializing or simply evolving to be the best. Perhaps that's where the drive to improve came from.

I've seen images of what they think the creatures we evolved from look like. Many of you probably think it must be something that resembles a large feline of your species, right? But that's only because I'm your base for that image. If you saw what a male looked like you'd probably think we were more canine. That was probably why Barius... well... that's probably why races with canine features seem to always catch my eye even if I don't want them to.

Like your race, the females were smaller, but we were built to be keen, agile, and stealthy. I know how to move when you're not looking, I know how to slip out of someone's grasp and dodge their blows, I know where to find places to hide and wait, and I know when it's time to lunge and chase.

As you can imagine, the males were a counterpart. They were strong and rugged and unwaveringly determined. A female could catch you with speed, but a male would simply chase you until you dropped from exhaustion. They had slightly longer muzzles and, well, you know this hair that grows on my head? Our males had big ruffs of it on their necks. Not quite like a lion's mane, but it's the closest comparison I can think of.

Of course then we went and became civilized. So now there's a balance between instinct and intelligence. You have it too but since it's such a natural thing and something everyone has that you probably don't notice it most of the time. Our instincts are the instincts of hunters, and that means we're competitive, we can spot a weakness in a person, and the smell of fear and blood is almost euphoric.

That's why my race didn't blink at the idea of euthanasia if it meant making the race stronger. If a member of a pack of hunters is maimed or wounded, they're killed so they don't weaken the strength of the pack. If a stronger predator takes over a pack, it will often kill the cubs of the previous leader so that those stronger genes will be carried on. The weak must die so that the whole may grow stronger.

And that is where I think we lost sight. Instinct isn't always right. Sometimes it tells you to hurt people who don't deserve it, to take what isn't yours, or worse. I mean, isn't the point of evolution to become something more than a simple animal? I wonder if any of the people pushing the euthanasia considered the idea that resisting it was a testament to a sentient's ability to use their evolved intelligence to overpower base instinct.

People ask why I have never taken a real name for myself even though I could do it so easily. Why I instead carry the brand that claims me as an outcast and a nothing. I do it to remember the cost of perfection, and the consequences of acting too much like an animal.