Based off the manga, starting in Ch.63
Ch.1 Red Sauce
Jack nervously stuffed his mouth with more barbecue tofu, then washed it down with MaiMai milk as he glanced at the two new students sitting in a booth across the cafeteria. They were about 30 yards away, yet he didn't want to turn and face them completely. Instead, he kept stealing glances from the corner of his eye, fascinated yet scared for a reason he couldn't quite place yet. Legosi, who sat across from his canine friend and ate his tofu more deliberately, simply asked, "Are they the new students we've been hearing about?"
"Yeah, it has to be them," Jack replied, taking another chomp of his food. Feeling nervous wasn't something that occurred to him too often, but when it did, he had a habit of eating more.
"Have you talked to them yet?"
"What? No way! I mean, not yet...They scare me."
Legosi shrugged, sipping his own milk."They don't look too scary to me. They remind me of regular reptiles."
"They have wings Legosi! And they breathe fire!"
Legosi's eyebrows raised. "Really?"
"That's what I've heard. I didn't think dragons still existed. They weren't mentioned at all in my history class, even when we learned about the dinosaurs."
"I think we should go and say hi." Jack almost choked on his tofu, coughing slightly, and looked at Legosi incredulously. "What's wrong? I don't think they're gonna breathe fire at us just because we introduce ourselves."
'Legosi, you can be way too brave sometimes.' Jack thought. After Legosi came back with a furcut and white fur, he's changed, and not just physically. He was no longer the demure introverted wolf he once was. He was still awkward at times, but seemed more bold, confident, and social. Like he was maturing at a faster rate all of a sudden. With a worried undertone and even droopier ears, Jack relented, "Just be careful Legosi."
Legosi began to gather his food tray in his hands. "Aren't you coming with me?"
"Oh! Ah, of course! I'm right behind ya!" Jack mustered as genuine a grin as he could, a complete turn around from his previous anxiety. But as he stood with his tray along with Legosi, he couldn't help but swallow the lump in his throat and grip his tray just a little tighter. From the corner of his eyes he could see the other students of Cherryton Academy, both herbivore and carnivore, practically stare at them as they realized the two canines were heading straight for the two new students. Jack decided to focus on Legosi's back, his tall figure obscuring his view ahead. He took a deep breath and sighed, trying to release his nervousness in one full breath. 'I've got Legosi with me,' he thought confidently. 'If Legosi can be fearless like this, then so can I.'
Straightening up and perking his floppy ears forward to appear more assertive, he tried to slow his thumping heart as he stepped from behind Legosi to stand beside him and face the dragons. 'I can do this!' "Can we eat with you guys?" he croaked with as friendly a grin as he could muster. He hoped he wasn't trying too hard.
His eyes made contact with the male dragon first. At least, he assumed it was a male. He looked big from a distance, but was huge upclose, comparable to a bear even when sitting. He was even taller than Legosi it seemed, and definitely taller than Jack. His yellow eyes seemed to bore into Jack's, freezing him, but his teal scales almost seemed to glitter in the artificial light of the cafeteria. His whole face and head were covered in white scales, and there were two white curving horns on either side of his head that reminded him of a bighorn sheep, yet several smaller ones were peppered along his forehead. Teal scales transitioned into gold once they reached his wings, which were folded tightly against his body so he could fit into the booth. Jack mentally noted that he'd never seen such a color combination on an animal before.
He was broken out of his daze when the dragon suddenly smiled and his hard slitted eyes turned soft with the pupils turning into circles. "Of course! Pull up a chair fellow canines."
'Fellow canines?' Jack thought confusedly. He grabbed an empty chair from nearby, which was easy considering no one was sitting to eat around them. He settled next to Legosi, who, unlike himself, seemed more curious than afraid.
"My name is Legosi, and I'm a gray wolf." He gestured, "This is my friend Jack, he's a labrador."
"It's a pleasure to meet you," the other dragon replied, most definitely a female by her voice. She extended her hand across the table towards Legosi for a handshake, giving Jack a chance to get a good look at her. She also had yellow eyes like her partner, but her scale coloration was much darker. She had purple scales all over her body except for her wings, which were completely black. She had two black horns on either side of her head as well, smaller than the male's, but curvier, almost extending more sideways than upwards. Her body was much smaller than her counterpart, but still seemed taller than the two canines. Her scales didn't shine as much as the other dragon's, but her eyes seemed to glow against the darker backdrop of her face. Jack was sure if they weren't in such a friendly setting, they would have been intimidating.
Legosi shook her hand confidently, as did Jack. Smiling softly, she said "My name is Muru."
"And I'm Sriracha," the male spoke up, also smiling and exchanging a handshake. "We're both dragons obviously."
"Are you siblings?" Jack asked, feeling more at ease as time passed.
"Ah, more like cousins," Muru replied. "We just moved here from our homeland a few days ago, so we're still getting settled in."
"You're the first students who've approached us and said hello," Sriracha added. "I think they're scared of us."
"Ah, they'll get used to you," Legosi said. "I didn't have a whole lot of students wanting to approach me either, but I have a bunch of friends now, so I wouldn't worry about it too much."
"That's good to know," Muru expressed. "Despite us being reptiles, dragons are actually pretty social. Of course we like to be amongst our own kind, but we definitely don't mind mingling with others."
"So what do you two have for lunch?" Sriracha asked curiously, eyeing their trays.
"Oh, barbeque tofu and boiled eggs with some MaiMai milk," Jack answered. He looked at his almost empty tray sadly, recalling how he devoured his meal because of his anxiety just a few minutes ago. "I'm almost out though."
"You can have mine," Muru offered, pushing her tray towards him. "I'm not hungry, I already ate some food I brought with me for lunch. I was just curious to see how tofu tastes, I've never had it before we came here."
"Really?" Legosi asked, surprised. "You've never had tofu?"
"No," Sriracha took a bite of his own. "It tastes ok though. We have other plants we used in cooking, and soy just isn't a staple crop where we're from. We also ate insects to supplement too." As Sriracha stopped eating to reach around and rummage through his book bag underneath the table, Jack glanced at Legosi to see his reaction. He knew about Legosi's liking for collecting insects, but he didn't know if he'd be offended that someone admitted to eating them. Thankfully, Legosi didn't seem upset at all. In fact, he was even smiling slightly and seemed to be enjoying the conversation.
'I need to stop overreacting,' Jack thought to himself as the teal dragon sat back up with a small paper bag in his hand. 'We just met and they're being nice, they're friendly, and they're sharing food like it's no big deal. I guess they're not as bad as I thought they were.' Before the guilt of premature judgement could well up in him, a tempting scent wafted through the air, catching his attention. Even Legosi seemed super interested, noses twitching as they both focused on the small paper bag from where the smell was emitting. "What is that?" the gray wolf asked.
Sriracha smirked. "Smells good doesn't it? And I know what you're thinking, and no, it's not meat." He set the bag on the table, opened it, reached in, and pulled out a light brown sphere. "Where we're from, we call this Kui. It's made up of a variety of protein-packed vegetables and grains, a small bit of sea moss for vitamins and minerals, and it's sat in a mixture of seasonings overnight, then smoked for a few hours. It's the smoking effect that creates the enticing smell. It looks plain, but it's delicious." He placed the brown ball between his large hands and dug his claws in gently to break it in half. He offered the canines one half each. "Would you like to try it?"
"Yes, thank you!" The canine duo accepted almost simultaneously, tails wagging as they only took a second to sniff the Kui before stuffing it in their mouths. A second later, their tails were practically blurs as they reveled in the smoky, salty taste.
"It's so good!" Jack said happily, ready to burst into joyful tears. He'd never tasted anything so delicious in his life! Even the tastiest cafeteria food could never measure up.
"Mff defffnitely!" Legosi added with a full mouth before swallowing. "Sorry, most definitely. Do they sell those anywhere in the city?"
"Not that we know of," Muru answered. "We usually just make them if we can get the supplies. Like I said, we've only been here a few days, so we don't know where everything is here."
All traces of nervousness now gone, the usual happy-go-lucky Jack offers, "We can show you around!"
"We can?" Legosi echoed, wiping the remaining crumbs from his white chin fur.
"Yep! I'm pretty sure I'm free tomorrow since it's Saturday, what about you Legosi?"
"I, uh, have to take care of my ailing grandfather remember?" Legosi scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "It's an all day thing really. It's pretty important, ya know?"
"That's fine Legosi," Jack felt a little deflated. "How long will you have to take care of him?"
"Oh, not for long. I can't give an exact time frame, but it won't be forever. I'll find time to hang out after school, I promise."
"I think Jack will suffice for now," Sriracha interjected helpfully. "Besides, taking care of the elderly is like a fulltime job. It's definitely admirable of you to take on that responsibility, especially so young. Most animals would've put them in a nursing home or something."
"Yeah, Legosi is a pretty good wolf," Jack said proudly. "I'm glad he's my best friend. And now we have two new friends." 'Wow, these guys are pretty nice. I got some tasty food and some new friends. The rest of the day and tomorrow is gonna be great!'
"Make that three." As soon as he heard the voice, Jack had to suppress a groan. Pina was the most annoying herbivore he'd ever met, and now here he was butting in with those big horns of his. He was normally just your typical happy-go-lucky labrador, but Pina was a special case that seemed to make him as irritable as a flea he couldn't get rid of.
'Probably because he saw it was safe to approach since we're here.' Jack thought to himself while he tried to ignore Pina's egotistic grin. Pina pulled up a chair across from Muru and next to Legosi, introducing himself to the large, curious dragons. He extended his hand, "My name is Pina, I'm a dall sheep."
"Muru," she expressed with a bright smile.
"Sriracha, nice to meet you Pina."
"My," Pina started, "what big hands you have. You're pretty big for a carnivore." Indeed, the size between his hands and Sriracha's was evident. If he wanted, the dragon could envelope Pina's whole hand in his own like an adult could do to a child.
'Idiot, why would you say that?' Jack was getting irritated more and more. Luckily Sriracha seemed to take it as a complement.
"Thank you! You're a decent size yourself," he returned.
"You're the most handsome herbivore I've ever seen," Muru complimented while placing her chin on her hands and smiling. "Jack's floppy ears are pretty cute, but I like your horns too. They make you look regal."
Jack was glad his fur could mask his blushing face, and Pina looked slightly shocked as if he didn't expect her to compliment him like that. He'd never been flattered by a carnivore before.
"Thanks," Jack said sheepishly, wiggling his floppy ears, "you really think they're-"
"I like your horns too," Pina interrupted, focusing on Muru with that charming smile, but to Jack it just looked cocky. He glanced at Legosi, who was trying to maintain that same air of friendliness, but Jack could tell Pina's presence was bugging him too. "So, you two need some help getting to know the city? Maybe I can be of assistance."
"Jack and I already volunteered," Legosi interjected.
"Really? I thought you had a full schedule, between school and caring for your grandfather," Pina said smoothly. "Surely those are too important to set aside?"
"I can make time if I prioritize," Legosi replied, finishing the rest of his tofu.
"Alright then," Pina dismissed flatly, then turned to the dragons, Muru in particular. "Muru, Sriracha, have you joined any clubs in the school yet?"
"Not yet, we're still looking," Sriracha answered. "We haven't joined any clubs before."
"Are you part of a club Pina?" Muru asked. She leaned forward a bit and ruffled her wings, focusing on Pina with eyes that seemed to glow.
"I just joined the drama club, and I like it so far." Legosi cast Pina a sideways glare at that. Jack remembered when Legosi mentioned that Pina wasn't really interested in the drama club itself. He'd only joined to get girls and get more attention by being on stage, which in turn helped him attract more girls. "You should join too. You look like the perfect type to be on stage."
"Really?" Muru glanced downwards bashfully. "I've never thought about acting before, let alone being on stage."
"I'm in the drama club too," Legosi added before sipping his milk. "I help with the stage crew, but I've acted on stage before too. I haven't been in any other club, but I enjoy the drama club."
"I think it's a great idea that you join," Sriracha agreed, reaching underneath to grab another Kui ball. "That way, you'll be in a club where you have two animals there to help you with anything and answer your questions."
"That, and you have beautiful scales," Pina added charmingly. "I bet if the stage lights hit them just right, you'd look like a star."
Jack's jaw-dropped, he couldn't help it. Legosi's fox-like face seemed to be in an equal state of shock. Pina had taken to flirting with a freakin dragon! 'Does he have no limits on what girl he'll try to get with?!' Jack thought to himself. While he liked the idea of Muru having Legosi there to show her the ropes in the drama club, he did not like the idea of Pina also being there attempting to womanize her. She was his new friend after all, and Jack wanted to make sure that her first experience with a Cherryton Academy herbivore wasn't being dragged in the mud by a sheep who couldn't even remember her name weeks later. 'And what about her cousin?' Jack looked at Sriracha across from him, who only smirked while taking a bite of Kui. He didn't interject at all, he only watched Pina and Muru's interaction with a glint of humor in his eye. 'Does he approve of this?'
Muru giggled and grinned, showing her sharp teeth. "That's sweet of you. If you're available after classes today, could you show me how to sign up?"
"Of course," Pina welcomed the offer. "I can meet you outside the door of your last class today and we'll speak to San. He's a pelican, and the director of the drama club."
"Great! I'll see you then Pina." Muru grabbed her bookbag from underneath the table, then scooted out from the booth before standing to full height. Jack, Legosi and Pina could now see her tail, which had two purple-colored flukes near the pointed tip on either end, extending another six feet behind her. "I like to get to class a little early, I'm still getting used to navigating the school."
"I can walk you if you'd like." Pina was already by her side, her height easily dwarfing his. Still, he offered, "I can carry your bag too."
"Sure," she chuckled. She gave him her bag, and he grunted at first under its weight. He straightened quickly though, and gave her his signature charmful look. One could practically see the sparkles manifest around his face. Muru, however, didn't seem to fall for his charm as easily. Instead of gushing at him like Jack had seen other girls do, she simply smirked. "Lead the way."
"I just want to warn you, before things get bad, that Pina is a non-redeemable womanizer, so if something happens please don't eat him or burn him to ash," Jack begged Sriracha. The tall dragon laughed a bit and waved it off as they walked to their class now that lunch was over. Legosi had a different classroom than them, but Jack was surprised to find out that he and the dragon had quite a few of the same classes together.
"There's one in every school I suppose. I wouldn't worry about my cousin too much, she's not as naive as Pina thinks."
"Well, if you're certain she'll be okay," Jack replied. He couldn't help but notice that some of the students were gawking at them, mainly at Sriracha of course, but probably at him too. 'Because I'm not afraid to walk with him.' He looked up at the 7 ft tall dragon, who continued to walk with back-straight confidence, book bag slung over his shoulder, and eyes not bothering to glance at the passing students that blatantly stared at him. "Are you not… uh, embarrassed by all the staring?"
"They've never seen a dragon before," Sriracha cooly replied. "It's understandable."
Jack chuckled, "They probably think you're going to burn the school down or something." Immediately he tried to apologize, "Don't take it the wrong way-"
"Relax Jack," Sriracha cut him off, "let them think what they want to think, it's of no consequence to me. And it's not like I'm an arsonist or something. Don't worry, if anything bursts into flames it won't be from me. But if you want, I can show you a demonstration sometime."
"Really!?" Jack's eyes shone with excitement, tail wagging to express it. "That'd be so cool!"
"We'd have to find a safe spot of course. Wouldn't want to start an uncontrollable fire."
"Oohh, I can't wait to tell the other canines! Can I invite my other friends too? Then you can meet them as well."
"Well-"
"Oh wait! You'll be heading to your dorm after classes right? We can just meet today!"
Amused at his labrador-esque happiness, Sriracha rubbed Jack's head for a few seconds, especially getting behind the ears. "You're the most expressive canine I've ever met."
"Oh, uhh, thanks," Jack replied, a little ruffled from the head scratch. It had happened so fast he thought Sriracha might scrape the skin off his skull. But he had been surprisingly gentle, even with his claws. And he had to admit, that one rub behind the ears did feel good. 'I hadn't gotten rubbed like that since I last visited my parents.'
"Sorry, did I offend you?"
"No, no. You uh, give pretty good head rubs. I wouldn't mind…. Getting some more…" Sriracha laughed out loud, loud enough for students to turn and wonder what the heck that labrador said that was so funny.
"So, can you fly with those wings or are they just for show?" Pina asked. He was trying to distract himself from how tired his arms were getting from carrying the dragon's bookbag. She had also slowed down to allow his shorter stride to catch up to hers. Normally he would dislike the fact that she, a carnivore, slowed down for him, but his steadily burning arms allowed that to slide.
"Hmm," Muru hummed, her tail swishing beneath the frills of her uniform dress. "Both."
"What do you mean?" Pina ignored the shocked looks of a few of the girls he was dating as they were passed in the long hall. Of course, they didn't know that they were all sharing the same guy. Besides, he'd deal with them later.
"Well, I can definitely fly. I'm not as fast as some birds, but I can outmaneuver them like a bat can." They turned a corner and she stopped suddenly. The hallway they were now on was empty. She turned and faced Pina, looking down at him calmly. He met her gaze with the same energy, wondering what she would do. Then she smirked, and her wings unfurled to their complete span of 18 ft. She then grabbed Pina by his shoulders and pulled him close to her, enveloping him in her wings completely. Pina didn't move except for dropping her bag. The sudden darkness caused the heat emitting from her body to feel much more acute, and the only thing he could smell was her unique scent, reptilian and, strangely enough, very minty. He could feel her heartbeat, steady and in contrast to his thudding one. Her arms were wrapped around his body, and he could feel her claws pressed into his back and shoulders. Her breath tickled his ear as she whispered "It's also good for doing this. Have you ever dated a carnivore Pina?"
"No," his voice nearly wavered.
"Don't ever let your guard down around a carnivore. Especially a female." She released him from her wings and arms. He just stood there and watched her stretch her wings out as if finishing from a long flight. She looked even bigger that way, more powerful. She shook them once then folded them to her back again. "Thank you for walking me to class. And carrying my bag of course." She reached to pick it up, but Pina beat her to it. Smiling again, he handed it to her with two hands to support it.
"You're welcome," he said smoothly, as if what had just transpired hadn't happened. "I'll meet you here at the end of the day." Muru took her bag from him, staring at him thoughtfully. Then she smiled back.
"Ok. I'll see you Pina." She entered the classroom only a few steps away, leaving Pina there to process what had just happened. After taking a few deep breaths and slowing his heart rate, he reached over his shoulder and traced the areas where her claws had pressed. Not enough to pierce his flesh, but enough to leave indentions. He'd never had a carnivore do such a thing to him. Many were too afraid to even touch a herbivore too roughly for fear of being accused of attack. And yet, a new student who had developed no rapport with the school, it's staff or students, had acted like she was going to eat him the first day they met.
He was going to be late for class but he didn't care. He couldn't get the memory of her heat and unique scent out of his mind. He didn't know if it's because he liked it or because it was so shocking it was locked in his mind for the moment, but he didn't care about that either. He smirked to himself. 'She wants me.'
"Mr. Gouhin? I just want to mention one more thing about today. Besides what's been going on between me and Haru, I met two dragons at school today. My friend and I had lunch with them."
"Two dragons huh?" Gouhin took a drag from his cigarette, exhaling the smoke more deliberately than usual. He stared at Legosi for a moment from the doorframe of the walk-in freezer. The wolf was standing across from the hanging slab of meat, holding his hands against it and staring at with a quiet determination Gouhin hadn't seen in his previous training a week prior. "That's a first for me. Never thought I would see one, and yet you, a damn 17 year old, saw two in one day."
"It was pretty surprising to me too. They seemed friendly, but no one wanted to sit and eat with them."
"From what I've heard they're huge, fire-breathing menaces. Extremely rare too, so rare even photos of them are old. Do you know what they're doing here?"
"I, uh, didn't think to ask about specifics. They said they moved from their homeland recently."
"And what's their homeland called?"
"I didn't think to ask."
Gouhin sighed another trail of smoke. "Dumbass. If you're going to hang around such dangerous creatures, get to know them some more will ya?"
"I will. They're officially friends now," Legosi smiled slightly.
"Already?" Gouhin muttered. "Just like a canine I suppose."
"They also gave me this really tasty food called Kui. Have you ever heard of it?"
"Yes," Gouhin answered, surprising Legosi. "It's completely plant based if I recall correctly. It's also not easy to make because of the ingredients, but it's very nutritious. I've only had it once my entire life."
"Do you think that Kui can help me control my urges?" Gouhin was silent for a few seconds, then replied ambiguously,
"Maybe. We'll see."
"Ok. Also, could you get all of the bodies we used out of the fridge?" Legosi took down the slab of meat from the hook, holding it in his hands. "I know you switched them on a daily basis."
"Why?"
Legosi looked at him squarely. "I want to do something for them. For the herbivores that died."
Gouhin sighed again, but put his cigarette out and walked away to get a knapsack to place all the bodies in. The wolf kid irritated him, but he was curious to see what he had in mind.
A few minutes later the wolf and panda were walking down the street, the sliver of light from the crescent moon above providing just enough light for their predatory eyes to see. They walked along in silence, Gouhin behind the wolf with his hands his pockets, and Legosi in front carrying the knapsack full of aged meat on his back. As the dull roar of beach waves up ahead grew in volume, Gouhin studied the white wolf intently as they stepped onto the sand. He didn't help to gather stones for the dead, nor did Legosi ask him he turned to face the open sea and sky, staring out at it in thought for a few minutes before turning to Legosi to see what he'd done.
Legosi had buried all seven slabs of meat, each topped with a pointed tombstone with names on them. "Hey, you- How do you know all seven of those names?" Gouhin asked a little angrily.
"Oh, well, you told me that I should buy my own meat, so whenever I bought meat, I would ask the shop on info on the animals while they were still alive. If there were shops that couldn't tell me anything, I would go to hospitals and funeral homes for info. That's why I've been late to training… sorry." Legosi turned to half way face the tombstones and pointed to one of them. "Mr. Joel was single. He was a popular customer in a bar he went to on weekends." He pointed to another. "Ms. Linda worked part-time at a convenience store and still gave her daughter an allowance." Gouhin hummed, but said no more. Legosi continued, "Since their bodies were in the Back-Alley Market, they probably didn't live completely happy lives, but-" The sucker punch should have caught him unawares, but he reacted instantly. Gouhin's right fist was firmly gripped in his left hand. Though there was definitely power coming behind it, Legosi had caught it almost as if it were second nature.
Gouhin smirked, lowering his fist. "You've got what it takes Legosi. You've cleared the first stage." Legosi looked confused at first, then realization dawned on him and he smiled softly. "However, I need you to do one more thing as part of your training."
"Hmm? What's that?"
Gouhin pulled out another cigarette, his last one for the night. He spoke as he lit it, "Ask that male dragon, Sriracha I think you said, if he will be your sparring partner as well."
"What?" Legosi looked genuinely confused. "Why? I've just met him, would he agree to something like that?"
"From what I've heard about dragons, they all know how to fight professionally starting from a young age. It's a guarantee he can teach you a thing or two, considering he's been on this earth almost the same time as me."
"But that's impossible, he's the same age as me I think. But he's a third year, which is strange."
"It's not strange. He's probably smart as hell, and he's actually twice your age, dragons just age slower. They couldn't put 34 on the school paperwork, so they put down the equivalent, which would be 17."
"Wow." Legosi looked out across the sea. "He didn't tell me that."
"You didn't ask dumbass." Legosi had to keep his eyes from rolling as Gouhin smoked his final cigarette. "If he's as friendly as you say, then he'll say yes. If he says no, I'll just make your training more intense to compensate."
Legosi sighed, but relented, "Alright. I'll ask him tomorrow. Goodnight Mr. Gouhin."
"See you tomorrow," the panda replied. He stayed long after Legosi left, smoking and basking in the calmness of the ocean waves. It was the first time he'd felt this at peace in a long time. 'And it's not gonna last.'
Legosi continued to wait patiently at the small square table, sipping every so often at his carton of milk. He looked out the window that was level with the bare trees of winter. He expressed his thanks to whatever natural powers there were that the same clear sky as last night was there that morning. With his all white coloring and thinner fur, keeping warm when it snowed might be a challenge for him.
'I wonder how dragons do in the cold,' he thought. 'I know most reptiles prefer to avoid it when possible. And they tend to get sleepy too.' He cemented in his mind that he would ask Sriracha when he arrived. Legosi himself had gotten to the cafe early. He looked at his watch. It was almost time. That gave him a few more minutes to figure out how he was gonna ask the dragon to be his sparring partner.
"Good morning." Legosi almost jumped when a firm hand came on his shoulder. He looked up and there was Sriracha, tall, imposing and smiling. His yellow eyes didn't seem as intimidating now as when they first met, they even sparkled with good humor. He was wearing a simple red long-sleeved shirt and jeans. Legosi smiled back and returned, "Good morning. Thanks again for coming to meet me. I know we've just met."
Sriracha slid into the seat, and he placed his cup of coffee and a brown paper bag on the table between them. "No worries. I just met Jack too, but he was eager to show me to his fellow canines after classes last night. We had a good time. I brought you some more Kui since you seemed to like it so much."
"Ah, thanks!" Legosi reached for the bag, ready to dig in, then paused. "Um, I need to ask you something before I take it though. Well, I've got a few questions actually."
"Hmm?" Sriracha drunk his coffee without even blowing on it to cool it down. Judging by the steam rising from it, it was still piping hot. But the dragon didn't even flinch.
"Um, where exactly are you from? You just said you were out of town."
"I'm from a small country in the Southeast hemisphere, called Dracane. It has the most concentrated population of dragons in the world." He took another sip of coffee. "This is good by the way. You should try some, very warming."
"That brings me to my next question actually," Legosi took the brown bag and pulled the Kui out, his mouth watering as the smoky smell wafted to his nostrils. "How do dragons handle the cold?"
"Well," Sriracha thought out loud. "It is true we prefer warmer climates, but we can live in places where the winters are harsher." He gestured to himself. "As you can see, I'm just wearing a shirt and jeans. No coat, hat, scarves or gloves. That's because my ability to breathe fire keeps my body at a certain temperature."
"Hmm," Legosi took a bite of the Kui, then sipped his milk. "That's cool."
"Jack said the same thing," Sriracha leaned back in the chair, one arm around the top of it. "Any other questions?"
"Will you be my sparring partner?"
Sriracha cocked his head and set his coffee down. Leaning forward slightly, he asked, "Why?"
Legosi decided to be honest. "I'm training myself to be strong without eating meat. But I also want to learn how to fight properly. I need to learn how to do this in order to fight the criminal that murdered a student before you arrived. He was an herbivore named-"
"Tem. I remember seeing that in the newspaper." There was silence for a few moments, then he asked "Do you know who the killer is?"
"Not yet, but I'm on his trail. I think he's a male, a mammal, and he goes to our school."
"How do you know that?"
"I, uh, well. He attacked me one night and I managed to see how his teeth felt. I know a reptile's teeth are even, and a mammal's are uneven. His fangs were also large, which means he was a male."
"You couldn't smell him?"
"I was sick and my nose was stuffy."
"Hmm." The dragon downed the rest of his coffee. "And what's in it for me?"
'Damn it, I didn't think about that.'
"And what happens if you get seriously hurt? How do I know you're not going to blame me for it and get me in trouble?"
"For the second question, I promise I won't tell on you. You have my word that I'll take responsibility for any injuries I get."
"...Ok."
'He doesn't believe me,' Legosi thought flatly, but continued. "As for the first, what do you want from me?"
"Hmm." Srirachi's eyes traveled around the cafe, taking stock of every inhabitant. Most of them quickly averted their eyes when he caught them staring. "I haven't been in a good scuffle in a while." He looked back to Legosi. "If the murderer you speak of is as you described, then he's big. Realistically, you may not be able to handle him alone, especially if you don't eat meat. Obviously this guy has no problems eating it, and will likely continue to eat it. That means he's very strong as well. If you find out who it is, I want to help you fight him. And kill him."
Legosi glanced around him to see if the other patrons of the cafe overheard. It seemed like they were far enough away they didn't hear what was said. "Ok-"
"And then I want to eat him. You don't have to of course. But we do need to dispose of the body afterwards so we aren't caught. Plus it's not cordial to leave a dead body out in the street."
"What? You, want to eat him? But he's a carnivore."
"Reptiles typically don't care about having a particular kind of meat. Us dragons are no different." Srirachi leaned forward even more, causing Legosi to get closer as well. The dragon's yellow eyes bore into his own unblinkingly. "And this is a murderer we're talking about. If you still feel sympathy for whatever happens to someone who could kill their own fellow student in cold blood when there are other ways to get meat, I can't trust you when the time comes. You could change your mind in the midst of the fight, right before making a final blow, and end up dying for it. I can tell you've never been in a real fight for your life before. It's unlike anything you've ever experienced." He leaned back and sighed. "However, if you're committed to going all the way without hesitation, then I will help you all the way. But if you hesitate in the fight for sympathetic reasons, I won't save you."
Legosi nodded firmly. "I understand completely, and I agree to your proposal. So we have a deal?"
"Yes." The two carnivores shook on it. "When do you want to start?"
"Tonight, if possible."
"Tonight? What time tonight?"
"Um, how about 6?"
Sriracha took out his cellphone and fingered through it. "Ok. I'll let Muru know I'll be out at that time. And if I'm going to be training you essentially, I want to choose a place where we won't be interrupted or spied on. There's a clearing on the edge of the city we can go to. I'll text you the coordinates for it and you can put it in your phone's GPS. Could you give me your number?"
"Sure." Legosi recited his phone number and quickly received the text. "Hey, if you've only been here a few days and you don't know the city that well, how did you know about that clearing?"
"I'll tell you after we defeat this criminal." That immediately made Legosi suspicious, but Sriracha didn't lie to him either. He realized that he was putting his trust in a rare animal that no one hardly knew about, and was going to a place no one went too often either. If Sriracha wanted to, he could kill him at the clearing and dispose of Legosi's body and belongings. No one would ever find out.
'But why would he kill me? That's like asking why someone would kill Tem. He did say meat was meat…'
"Alright, it's settled. I'll see you tonight then?"
"Yeah." Legosi agreed. Sriracha nodded and stood up, smiling again.
"Have a good day in the meantime Legosi. Be safe." He then made his way across the cafe and out the door, customers quickly stepping aside to allow his passage. Legosi sighed and looked at his watch. He figured he'd better relax and get some rest before tonight. And finish up homework of course.
"Pina, I appreciate all of this, but you don't have to pay for all this food. I have money." Muru, who wore a sky blue turtleneck with a matching wavy skirt, looked down at all the plates full of food that was covering their table. While the brunch certainly looked delicious, it didn't come without a price. She'd seen the menu and it wasn't cheap. Pina didn't look concerned however, and smiled that charming goat smile of his.
"A pretty dragon such as yourself doesn't need to worry about something like that. Trust me, I don't spend money I don't have." He grabbed a slice of french toast from one of the plates that was piled with them. "I thought you'd have a big appetite, but I can definitely help you finish this if you'd like."
"Thank you. I think I might take some back to the dorm though, if that's okay."
"Of course! I'll be glad it won't go to waste." Pina took a bite of his french toast, thoroughly enjoying the taste of the expensive bread, as well as how the natural light from the restaurant window caused Muru's scales to gleam. Since his near scare that took place the day prior (he wouldn't admit he was actually scared), he planned on taking Muru out to eat the next day. As promised, he'd walked with her to the Drama club room after classes were over, to speak to San. The pelican went on to rave about having two new students in his club, a wolf and a dragon no less! He even expressed his surprise at Pina's willingness to put in the effort to bring new members, and though the sheep wanted to insult him for it, he held his tongue and took it gracefully. Afterwards he basked in the blatant shock of his fellow students, herbivore and carnivore alike, as he asked Muru if she wanted to eat out the next day, and she'd accepted. So he was in a pretty good mood today.
He watched her take a few tentative bites that turned into more confident ones as she realized how tasty the food was. He watched her clear one plate, then two before she offered him a blueberry muffin. "This is really good, try it!"
He took it from her and bit into it. It was just as delicious as he thought it'd be. 'That's why I chose this place. Can't go taking someone as rare and powerful as a dragon to some cheap coffee shop.' They were at a more higher-end restaurant that served full course meals as well as breakfast and brunch. The customers were also a bit less nosy and tended to stare less. Probably because they wanted to focus on their own expensive meals. 'It would also be annoying if I ran into any of my other girls. They definitely don't frequent here I'm sure.' ""It is good," he stated, eating the rest of it and spilling some crumbs on his wool. Before he could grab a napkin to wipe it off, Muru reached across with her long arm and used her claws to swiftly yet gently remove them.
"You had some crumbs on your wool there."
Unfazed, Pina simply smiled. "Thank you."
She smiled back. "You're welcome. You know, I haven't told you much about where I'm from." She sipped her fruit & veggie juice mixture. "You're probably curious. My cousin and I come from a small country called Dracane. We grew up there pretty much our whole lives, though we traveled every so often. We've never been this far northwest though."
"What brought you here? Just education?"
"Partly. We've been isolated from the world for a long time. So our country thought it was finally time to mingle with the rest of the world. And considering the fact that Cherryton Academy is an elite school, they wanted to start, um, at the top I guess you could say."
"Are you aiming to become a beastar?"
"Oh, no. I'm more interested in the medical field. What about you?"
"I'm not really beastar material. I'm too free-spirited I suppose."
Muru smirked and took a bite out of another piece of food before replying. "Yes, I've heard how much of a lady killer you are."
"The rumors are exaggerated greatly, I assure you."
"I bet they are. I'm not upset though. In my country, monogamy is as rare as polygamy is here. Of course the males can't just sleep around and not take care of the children they make, but it's pretty much the norm there. Monogamy was just implemented to control the population, that's all."
"Heh, try explaining that to the girl's here."
"Oh, I'm sure you'll find someone who understands. There's more dall sheep than dragons in the world. Perhaps traveling will do you good, and you'll find what you're looking for."
"No one's ever told me that before. I'll definitely take that into consideration. Not only are you pretty, you have great ideas as well."
Muru grinned. "You never run out of compliments do you?"
Pina just smirked and drank some veggie juice. "Only if they're genuine."
They ate in a comfortable silence after that, Muru finishing off the pastries,flour-based foods and juicier fruits, like grapes and cantaloupe. She left the vegetables and only ate a few of the eggs. Pina took a mental note to remember that she prefers pastries and juicy fruits. After a few minutes passed, Muru pulled out her cellphone and began texting.
"I think I might get this to go. I'm supposed to be meeting with Sriracha and Jack in a few minutes." She waved a nearby waiter over, a male red-ruffed lemur, and asked for a to-go box. The waiter bowed and left to retrieve one. "Thank you for showing me around and taking me here. I had a good time."
"That's great to hear," Pina replied, drinking the rest of his veggie juice. When the waiter returned with the box, he told him "Put this all on my tab."
"And here's your tip." Muru pulled out some bills and handed it to the waiter, who thanked her graciously. Pina couldn't see exactly how much it was, but when the waiter saw it, his eyes widened and he bowed deeply, expressing another bout of thanks to the dragon before walking away.
"How much did you give him?" Pina asked. "Just out of curiosity."
Muru smirked as she loaded what food remained into the to-go box. "Don't worry about it. Just know I like to be generous when I can. Also, I apologize for scaring you yesterday at school. I was just messing with you, but it won't happen again."
"No need to apologize, it was good advice. I admire your boldness though, not many carnivores would've done that so openly." They stood up and Pina walked with her out of the restaurant. The air was cold and crisp. Luckily his wool kept him warm, and he only needed a light jacket. Muru was dressed lightly, but didn't even shiver when the wind blew. Pina guessed her fire-breathing ability kept her warm enough. Across the street he could see Jack and Sriracha walking toward the crosswalk. The labrador was busy pointing this way and that, talking a mile a minute and tail wagging happily. He wore a light brown, zipped up coat and jeans, while Sriracha had on a red long-sleeved shirt and blue jeans. They hadn't seen them yet, and Pina figured it was time to take his leave. He realized early on he preferred one on one activities, especially with girls. He turned to Muru and took one of her large hands in his. "Thank you for agreeing to go out with me this afternoon. I look forward to seeing you Monday." He raised her hand and bent his head to plant a kiss on her knuckles. Then he turned on his heel and walked away, a smug look on his handsome sheep face as he passed other shocked civilians who were trying to process what they'd just seen. Muru lowered her hand slowly, replaying what Pina had said to her.
"Did he say go out?"
"Muru! Hey Muru!" Jack's voice broke through her stupor as he bounded over to her excitedly. "We found you! Did you get some food too?"
"Um, yes, I just finished eating breakfast. I've got plenty left, you can have some once we find a place to get settled." She ignored Sriracha's smirk. He probably saw what happened between her and Pina, and Jack had missed it.
"Really? Thanks, you guys are always sharing good food!" Jack waved them over, "Follow me, I know a nice park nearby with a lake, a walking trail and tables to eat at. I was just telling Sriracha about it."
"Finally," Muru sighed as she followed Sriracha into their shared dorm room. "I feel like we've been out all day."
"It's only been a few hours," Sriracha replied as he sat on the bottom bunk bed. "I still have a couple more hours to create a training slash sparring plan for Legosi before I meet him tonight."
Muru set down her shoulder bag on the dresser and walked over to the window that overlooked the school grounds. There were various students walking around, some studying, some in groups just hanging out, others were couples kissing and cuddling. "So he's serious about becoming stronger without eating meat?"
"Yes." Sriracha reached underneath the bunk bed, rummaging around for something. "I know it sounds ridiculous, but he agreed to let me eat the criminal and take the body. Plus I'll be there to make sure he doesn't die."
"Well, as much as I'd love to see that fight, I'm going to continue to get to know the other students and staff in the meantime. Especially this tiger named Bill. I only met him briefly yesterday, but I caught a hint of blood on his breath. It was faint but it was there. I want to know where he's getting it from, then maybe we won't have to eat Kui everyday."
"Do you think he's the culprit?"
"I don't know. I can see if I can find that out for you." Muru looked over to see Sriracha sitting up with two items in either hand. One was a Kui ball, the other was a red condiment bottle with the label "Red Sauce" stuck across it.
Her cousin offered, "Would you like some?"
"No," Muru declined, "I'm full from this morning. Just save me some of the sauce if you can." Sriracha nodded and squirted some of the thick, scarlett sauce on the Kui ball, covering the top of it before biting the top half and swallowing. He continued until the Kui was gone, then returned the bottle underneath the bed. Licking the crumbs from his maw, he reached in his pocket and pulled out an almost empty tin of mints.
After he upended the remaining contents into his mouth, he said to Muru, "Also, when you have some free time, please buy some more mints, probably a few of them. Get the extra strong kind, even Jack couldn't smell the blood, and I've heard dog's have a great sense of smell."