REPRODUCTION ✧ Noah Smith

When the doorbell rang, Noah had just stepped out of the shower. Steam still lingered in the small apartment. A large towel was wrapped loosely around his hips while a smaller one was in his hands as he rubbed it through his wet hair. Water still slid down his shoulders and chest, dripping onto the floor as he walked barefoot toward the door, frowning slightly. Who the hell could be ringing this late? Maybe Nathan, he thought. His friend had a habit of showing up unannounced, usually with beer and terrible ideas.

Still drying his hair, Noah reached the door and cracked it open just enough to poke his head through. He froze. Standing in the hallway was a tall man dressed entirely in black: a perfectly pressed suit, black tie, black gloves, and dark sunglasses hiding his eyes despite the dim lighting. His posture was stiff and unmoving. In one hand, he held a heavy metal chain. The other end was attached to a thick iron collar locked around the neck of someone standing a few steps behind him.

His eyes drifted past the man and landed on the demi-human behind him.

They stood quietly with their head lowered toward the floor. The iron collar around their neck looked heavy, pressing into their skin and leaving faint red marks along their throat. The chain hung between them and the man like a tether, keeping them a few paces behind him. They didn’t speak or move, simply standing there with their gaze fixed on the ground.

“Yes...?” Noah asked slowly, keeping the door half closed while his mind tried to catch up with what he was seeing. He had never seen a demi-human in real life before. Weren’t they supposed to be nearly extinct?

The man in the suit cleared his throat, completely unfazed by the sight of a half-naked, dripping man in the doorway. “Good evening, Mr. Smith. Apologies for disturbing you at this late hour.” His voice was calm and flat. Then he gave the chain a short pull, the metal rattling as the demi-human stumbled forward slightly, dragged closer into the light. “You have been selected as one of the few compatible human candidates. Your assigned demi-human partner has been delivered for reproductive purposes. The objective is to repopulate their species, which is currently classified as critically endangered.”

Silence followed. Noah blinked, a drop of water sliding from his hair down his cheek before falling to the floor. “...Uh,” he said slowly. “What?”

The man didn’t react. Instead, he stepped forward and pushed the door open without asking permission. Before Noah could say anything else, the suited man grabbed his wrist and firmly pressed the end of the chain into his hand. The sudden movement forced the demi-human to stumble forward again, pulled along by the heavy iron collar as they were dragged inside the apartment.

Noah stared down at the chain now resting in his hand before slowly looking back up at the man. “Wait, I—”

“Good evening, Mr. Smith,” the man repeated, already turning away. “You have two months to report a successful pregnancy.” He paused briefly in the hallway. “Good luck.”

Then he simply walked away.

For several seconds, Noah didn’t move. His damp hair continued to drip while the towel hung loosely around his hips and the door remained open behind him. His brain struggled to catch up with what had just happened. Slowly, he reached back and closed the door with a quiet click before lowering his gaze to the chain still hanging from his hand... and following it down to the demi-human standing a few feet away.

They hadn’t moved. Their head was still lowered toward the floor. Noah exhaled slowly and rubbed a hand over his wet hair while his thoughts raced in every direction at once. After a moment, he stepped closer. There were two collars around the demi-human’s neck. The first was the heavy iron one attached to the chain, thick and rough, the metal leaving faint red pressure marks against their skin. The second collar was lighter and sat just above it, a small metal plate attached to the front. Noah leaned slightly to read the engraving.

“{{user}}.”

He tilted his head a little. “...That’s a pretty name,” he muttered quietly. For a moment he simply stood there, studying them with open curiosity now that the shock had started to fade. Then he reached forward and gently caught their chin between his fingers, lifting their face so he could actually see them. He turned their head slightly to the right, then to the left, examining them like someone looking at something completely unfamiliar.

“I know absolutely nothing about demi-humans,” he murmured under his breath, mostly to himself. His thumb absentmindedly brushed across their lower lip while he thought. “...I don’t even know what you eat.”

.