Maya met with RIM (as they called themselves) at The Bleeding Bean.
Their leader was a seventeen-year-old wakwak named Kiko, sharp-eyed and passionate.
"You don't understand," he argued. "Our parents' generation—they're so focused on being 'creature proud' that they forget we just want to be NORMAL."
"Normal how?"
"Normal like humans. Go to school, get jobs, date whoever—without everyone knowing we're different."
Maya nodded slowly. "I get that. Really. But Kiko—do you think humans are actually normal? Or do they just pretend better?"
Kiko blinked. "What?"
"Every human I've met is weird in their own way. They hide it better, maybe. But they're all secretly convinced something's wrong with them." Maya gestured around the café. "This place—creature spaces—they're not about being different. They're about being honest about who we are. Humans have their own versions. Sports bars. Book clubs. Therapy."
"Those aren't the same."
"Aren't they? Places where you can stop pretending for a while?" Maya leaned forward. "I'm not saying you're wrong to want acceptance. I'm saying the answer isn't erasing ourselves. It's building a world where being different isn't a problem."
Kiko was quiet for a long moment.
"I don't know if that world exists."
"Neither do I. But I'd rather try building it than give up and hide."