Sightseeing in both countries was fun. Neither Usnos nor Eswa were metropolitan cities. Both still had their quaint charm. They could see plays and movies there. The museum was something that Rhys really enjoyed. It had art from the founding of the countries up until some modern and post modern art. The vibes of the country were much different. Ceclar really elevated omegas. None of them had to wear collars. It seemed like they could walk freely without a care in the world. It was the alphas that had to walk with a chip on their shoulder. They had a metal facemask that covered everything below the nose. It was to keep them from biting during a rut. The jagged tooth design on them showed what society thought of them; they were a massive danger. Still, there were alpha-omega couples. That was biology. It was the happy, cute omegas leading their taller, stronger alphas around. It was like a kid walking a pitbull. Anna was sure alphas in Keblya would be sick if they saw this. In Glondar, it was similar. Alphas were masked up. There were visible beta-omega couples.
Anna was not blind. Nor was she a hypocrite. She knew this was also very fucked up. Neither alphas nor omegas could help how they were born. Collaring omegas like they were pets to keep, or muzzling alphas like they were rabid dogs were both extremely damaging to their well being. Omegas were seen as incapable of anything but being sex slaves or domestic workers in the more traditional and conservative countries. Here, alphas were made to feel like monsters that needed to be brought to heel before they did something bad. A sense of guilt and shame was imparted to them by society if they ever attempted to use their natural gifts to win over a beta or omega in progressive countries like these were. It was not right. Honestly, they should just be seen as equals under the law and complimentary to each other in culture. When the topic came up, Anna made her feelings known. Charles and the boys agreed with her. "Kevin would never hurt an omega. He is a protector, not a predator. I'd rather die then see him muzzled up." Charles said. He still had his black metal collar.
Betas and other omegas gave him weird looks. People from here had never seen one before. Some of the braver and nosy passersby came up to him to compliment him for it or inquire. They thought it was a fashion statement that he chose to have on display. They all were repulsed when they knew what it was for. "Oh my gosh! You do know that we have concealer for the marks, right!? You can cover it up that way." one omega female in Ceclar said to him. A beta male in Glondar said "I'm sorry you had to go through that." The pity in his voice ticked Charles off, but he said nothing. In his own way, he was still looking down on this omega male. It was not until they were a block away that he hissed "Fuck that guy!" Evan and the Idut brothers were not wearing collars and so therefore were not given this treatment. In Breaca, not wearing it was seen as a subversive or defiant act. Here, it was just the normal thing to do. Charles was fuming. "They want to see my marked neck, huh!? Why!?" he mumbled. It was a culture clash. Anna looked at him. "They see collars as demeaning."
Putting it like that finally got to Charles. He stopped in place. "De-demeaning? That's why I'm getting these looks all over the place!?" he whispered. He had probably felt it coming from all over. In both countries. He was the only one doing it. "These whores would not last a day in Aflen!" he spat. Charles was triggered. Anna stood in front of him. "It's part of their culture. Ceclar and Glondar both have founding myths based on resisting the tyranny of alphas. They take great pride in giving freedom and autonomy to omegas. They just are hypocrites that take that fear and disgust and place it on alphas." "That's so wrong though." Charles said. Anna crossed her arms. It was time for a reality check. "When we crossed the border into Keblya, the border guards abducted Ronan. 5 soldiers were going to gang rape him if not for me. They did it because Ronan is beautiful and because Natural Law says alphas can take whatever they want. The free will of omegas be damned. Those types of alphas should be muzzled. They're not. All omegas should be as free as in these countries."
