Do Hugh know your place? Solo

The length of his figure sat hunched at the bar, but even with his head down, the half-giant looked like the owner of the establishment had added an extra pillar in the midst of all the bar seats. Though, the occasional movement would give away Hugh's involuntary disguise.

The young man sighed as he rapped his knuckles on the wood. Signalling the barkeep for another drink. In just a few seconds, Hugh would notice another tankard sliding his way.

"You've started to become a regular here." They remarked. But Hugh showed them little interest. After taking a sip from his new drink, he swallowed loud and growled to clear his throat. "I work close by." Hugh shared. "I'm supposed to meet someone tonight, though."

The barkeep nodded. "Do they happen to have a thick beard and dishevelled look to them? Like they've been sick for days?" They asked with a smirk plastered to their face.

Hugh frowned and look up to meet their gaze. Their eyes were glinting with hidden knowledge. "How did you know th-"

"There's a fellow that entered some five minutes ago, they've not taken their eyes off you for one second."

The half-giant's stool creaked under the effort of his body, turned to look over his shoulder. Slowly, Hugh would turn back and nod in acknowledgement. "Yup, that's me" he said as he got up from the bar and slid some coins the barkeep's way. "Thanks mate." He winked. The barkeep nodded in thanks and started wiping down Hugh's side of the bar.

The dishevelled man seemed eager yet nervous to meet Hugh's gaze. But above all gave the surrounding patrons frightened looks. Hugh pulled back a chair and tried to make himself as small as possible. Just enough so he wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb to anyone who entered. He scratched his sideburns and smacked his lips. "So... How've you been?"

"You know damn well how I've been. Just look at me." The man laughed sardonically. "Can't believe you actually got me to meet you in here." He hissed as he looked over his shoulders. As if anyone would start casting any second now if he did not catch them in the act.

"No one is going to start something here." Hugh assured him. "It's too public, and there's no way of knowing how many supporters there are in here."

"They might think twice about going after a giant here, even a half-one. But someone like me is easily removed from a crowded scene." The man retorted. Hugh nodded in agreement and shrugged.

"I read the article about Iwasaki." A sensitive topic to say out loud these days. Any werewolf sitting close by would surely start tuning in and listen carefully on what they were about to say. Then again, any regular witch or wizard would do the same just for the sake of sating their curiosity.

"Shht." The man jumped in. "Don't say that name now. You'll draw attention." He shook his head and buried his face in his fists. "It was a mistake to meet you here."

Hugh sighed and placed his hand on the man's. Slowly he forced it down to the table. "Very well. But I need to know what you guys are planning."

"Planning? Like we're some sort of army?" The man frowned, confused. "We're stragglers, fugitives. It's not like we have some weekly board meeting to go to. Where they neatly note our attendance, and we all play a ball of catch together."

The giant lifted his hands, trying to stop the man's rant. "Surely there's plenty of you who'd like to speak out after a trial like this?"

"No!" The man exclaimed angrily. And this time a few heads did turn their way. One look from Hugh made them quickly turn their eyes back to their respective tables. They both leaned in towards each other, bringing their volume down to a whisper. "If we come out in force on the streets, they'll have found us all, and they'll round us up in one clean sweep. Does that sound smart to you? Just make it easy for them, right?"

Hugh shook his head. "So the plan is to once again do nothing?" The giant could not look less impressed. There was a hint of disgust growing in his eyes. "We don't have the luxury to be as loud as your little SCAR buddies, Lowe. Or is it SCARAB now? Who knows these days. Point is, we're weak and we're easy targets. People still treat us like we're contagious and are quick to rat us out if the ministry merely points at them."

"If we all band together-"
"That's rubbish." The man interrupted. "You're a nice kid, Lowe. But you're young. That size of yours may give people the wrong impression, but just to hear you talk makes it obvious you still have pretty little naive dreams stuck in your oversized head."

The half-giant arched an eyebrow at that last line. But figured he best let it slide this time around. Besides, he hated when older people pointed out his youth. It was comments like that that put him in a corner. There was no easy way of convincing old folks that your voice was worth something despite the lack of experience. It was an easy fix for them to shut the kids up. "I agree now that meeting here was a mistake." He finally said.

The man nodded in agreement and gave Hugh an apologetic look. "Hey, thanks for caring, kid." He confessed. "But the world's just a harsh place. And life ain't fair." The man sighed and let his shoulders slump even lower than they naturally hung. "There's nothing anyone can do for us. Who's gonna show up for someone like us?"

Hugh had no answer for him. He was a giant himself. A filthy half-breed. Only tolerated in certain spaces because of his name and his grandfather's long, but straining, arm of influence. Hugh had this lingering feeling that his grandfather would soon need to pay the price for sticking his neck out this much. The Lowe family was getting dangerously close to being called “rebellious”.

Some few minutes later, Hugh would find himself walking back to work. Not really succeeding in giving the hopeless man's comments a place in his heart. Was he actually meant to accept his place in this world? That of a subordinate? A lesser being? But the man had been right. Everyone was alone. Even Hugh had not heard from Brock or anyone from SCAR or SCARAB or whatever these days. It was like he had just been pushed into a quiet corner of the world and was being left alone. Still with enough disgusted faces aimed at him, of course.

Not a day went by where he wasn't reminded of what he was and how lucky he should be feeling to even be allowed on these grounds.