There was a furry at the mall today.
I was at the mall doing some Christmas shopping. (along with everyone else in town it seemed) On my way out through my favorite store (Macy's) I saw a group of three teens heading into the main part of the mall. This wasn't unusual. Since the invention of the shopping mall, teens flock there on weekends to buy frappucinos, check out clothes, and to check out other groups of their peers.
With just one glance you could tell that these three weren't part of any popular clique. Their clothes were a little sloppy and not all that stylish. The two walking in the front of their little group weren't all that odd looking. It was the third that stood out. It was the one in the back.
His head was down. His brown hair was buzz cut, perhaps shaved down by his mother. His face was round and lightly covered with acne. I could not tell the color of his eyes under his shaggy brows. Hands were stuffed in his front pockets of his pants.
His pants.
As the group passed me I saw in my peripheral something hanging from the back of his JNCO's. A tail. A long tail made of fleece. It was orange and black, dragging along the tiles. Because of this, it was dirty and worn looking. I craned my neck back as they walked away and noted that this teen had color coordinated all clothes. Everything was either orange, black, or dark gray.
I've seen maybe two furries before. One was identified by a tattoo on her arm of her fursona. The other also had a tail in day glow colors but may have not even been a furry at all. She may have just been a clueless, raver chick. Her tail was obviously bought in a store and pretty small. She was also wearing it at night; not in the middle of the afternoon on a drizzly December Sunday.
His clothing said "I'm someone. Look at me. Pay attention." but his body language, the hands stuffed in his pockets, the shuffling of his feet, and his lowered eyes said "Don't look at me. I don't want to look at you. Leave me alone."
Most if not all teens seem to feel that way. I know I did. Your teen years are incredibly confusing. You struggle for a sense of being, not knowing that that sense doesn't come until later or perhaps, for some, not at all. This struggle was plain as day in this teen.
Pictured below was his outfit minus the worn, black skater shoes and his necklace which was surely purchased at Hot Topic.
