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>The crackle of the grill echoed in Fauna's ears like the sound of distant, roaring flames. The air around her was thick with the greasy, meaty smoke that curled up from the hot coals, clinging to her nostrils and throat despite her best attempts to keep her breathing shallow. She had been invited to another off-collab, another "fun" group stream - Yakiniku night - and against her better judgment, she had agreed to attend.
>She didn't want to make a fuss, didn't want to be the one who ruined the mood. They were all her friends, after all, right? Surely, they wouldn't - couldn’t - intentionally do this to her.
>But the sight before her now made her question everything.
>At the head of the table, one of her senpais - Suisei - was holding up a glistening, blood-red slab of beef with pride, skewering it on a metal fork, and waving it in the air as if she were showing off a rare gem. IRyS was grinning like a maniac, already several bites deep into what looked like the juiciest steak Fauna had ever seen in her life. Even Ame, who Fauna knew had a gluten allergy, was biting into a burger so loaded with bacon and cheese that it practically dripped onto the plate.
>Fauna shifted uncomfortably in her seat, fingers gripping the edge of her chair so tightly that her knuckles turned white. The others laughed and chatted like nothing was wrong. She could still hear Bae's voice echoing from earlier in the night: "Come on, Fauna, it's just a little fun! You're not gonna let a little meat get in the way of enjoying yourself, are you?"
>No one noticed as Fauna's lips pressed into a tight line, her jaw clenched so hard it hurt. She had been smiling. She had been laughing with them. But now - now it felt like the walls of the room were closing in on her.
>One of the girls, maybe Mori, let out a hearty laugh. “Fauna, you gotta try this!” she said, thrusting a plate of grilled ribs in her direction. The sauce glistened under the fluorescent lights, thick and glossy, pooling at the base of the ribs like something far too alive.
>Fauna recoiled, pushing the plate away, her face still fixed in that same strained smile. “Oh, uh, no thanks! I’m... I’m good,” she said, voice trembling slightly.
>She tried to focus on the bowl of salad she had brought for herself, but it looked so pathetic in comparison to the feast around her. It sat there, limp and lifeless, leaves wilting under the weight of their own existence. The others barely paid attention to her refusal, too engrossed in their own carnivorous indulgence.
