A/N: So, before we proceed to the next chapter, I just want to let my feelings know in regards to the finale of season 2. (SPOILERS) Ehh. I didn't like it? As in, it felt odd, out of place at times, Legosi's whole training to overcome meat consuming was pointless, and the fight was incredibly lackluster and rather anticlimactic. Ibuki dying was... odd. Dunno why he would just go out like that. Some characters made questionable (quite stupid) decisions in this episode. Also, I hated the fact Pina didn't die, why you baited his death like that show? I hate that kind of stuff. The seriousness of it went out the window. You don't make a fight about trying to match strength only to end up with "Oh, you win. I don't feel like it anymore." Seriously, this episode was so bizarre.
Legosi dropping out of school is a total WTF moment, it doesn't make sense. Haru added nothing to the scene in the end, aside pointlessly complaining to him, like that would work anyway. 12 episodes of build up just to end up with 'Let's sit down and discuss our feelings' or something. Rushed beyond belief, I'm very disappointed. Now that Legosi is not going to be in school anymore I'm very unsure in regards to the other characters. Hopefully Louis will go back to school, I really don't know. I feel gutted.
On a side note, it was hard to write this chapter with a serious face.
nadiallaandlaprasthefireandice;
"I mean, yeah, I get Legosi is trying to be reasonable and all, but poor timing. Not surprising, Legosi ain't the social expert anyways. :P
Guest;
"It was kinda more of a shock than cute, but I don't disagree. :)
KitsuneKaze;
"Haha, now that's a thought. It's going to take a good amount of chapters to get to that point. Although I can get to him driving during this summer vacations. Writing about driving will be something entirely new, so I need to work that out beforehand."
Tommy423;
"Thanks!"
Elias8807;
"Hehe, true to an extent. I think both were not being reasonable here, but I would fault Durham less, let him be happy for a few seconds! ;_;
LzMan;
"Yeah, true. It can happen, but the amount of people in this mixed world, and the way they make it like it can just explode on any Carnivore, makes me amazed it doesn't happen on a much larger scale."
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"Hey."
"Hey."
"Say, you're doing okay?"
"I feel like I could ask you the same, judging by the way you sound."
"Heh, you got that right, just... a lot in mind lately. I can thank Legosi for it."
"Oh... he's been giving you a lot to think about too?"
"You could say that."
Juno sighed, her arms crossed over the table, her face looking downwards, a mask of uncertainty that had become rather common as of late for her. It was clear that she wasn't in really high spirits, and Durham could relate to that somewhat. The coyote glanced around the empty cafeteria, thankful that they would be alone for this conversation.
With the approach of summer several students hastily packed early, most Herbivores were already back at home, which was a rather normal occurrence for any school around town but, in Cherryton's case, it was almost a necessity. The risk of Herbivores mixed in classes with Carnivores would make parents very eager to see their kids home earlier than usual, something the school could never deny them. Even the teachers knew better than to push any kind of tests or tasks that close to a summer exit.
Durham wasn't feeling at the best of his mood. Legosi irked him with his attitude, but the coyote couldn't deny the truth of his intent, even if the time was not appropriate. He hadn't feel so good in regards to himself until Ellen kissed him, but the wolf had to open his mouth and crush his dream state with the cold reality of their fucked up world. Never Durham thought he would've wished for Legosi to have kept his mouth shut.
'Ellen deserves to be with someone that won't kill her by accident, I suppose.'
It was a mundane thought, but not entirely wrong, which only worsened his mood.
He slammed both his hands over the table in frustration, completely forgetting the company he was in. Juno jumped, looking at him fearfully for a second, the coyote grimaced at his lack of self control.
"Sorry, I just..." He sounded so frustrated, so unsure. Juno must've feel his distress with ease, for her face softened, going as far as laying one of her hands over his.
"What happened? Is everything okay?"
Durham laughed, but the laugh sounded nothing like the way he remembers. It was akin to an anguish cry rather than a joyful scream.
"Okay? Okay?! No, everything's fucked! EVERYTHING!" He shouted, but without the anger to build it for any longer. "I... I don't like being a Carnivore. I don't want to spend the rest of my life being afraid that I will kill someone, because of something I have no clear idea how it works!"
Juno remained in silence, surprising him by not flinching once during his outburst. She waited for him to elaborate but, once it was clear that he wasn't going to delve any further, she took control of the conversation.
"Tell me what happened, we can work from there. Otherwise screaming won't do any good." She said sympathetically enough. It was a reasonable way to start and Durham couldn't really deny it.
"Well, how do I put this? Legosi decided it would be a good idea to remind me of the issues we, Carnivores, have when it comes to Herbivores. After you left, Ellen just kissed me and he co-
The coyote paused as Juno gasped at the revelation of their kiss. She blushed for a moment, bringing a hand over her muzzle.
"S-Sorry, I... didn't expect that at all."
"What? That she would kiss me?" The coyote asked, mildly intrigued by Juno's opinion. The female wolf shrugged.
"Well, maybe more the fact she would do it so on the open. I thought you two were trying to keep it low. I'm... kinda sad that I wasn't there to see it though." She added, looking somewhat disappointed. Durham chuckled, finding some solace on that comment.
"Well, I can always kiss her when you get to be around, it's not like she would complain anyway." He suggested with a smirk. Juno chuckled sheepishly.
"Oh, errr, well, I suppose? But... we still haven't discuss the... wait, Legosi was trying to warn you right after you got kissed?" She interrupted herself, looking mortified for a moment. Durham nodded. "Oh, that's... rather insensitive, even if he's not entirely wrong about being worried, I think."
"So you agree with him?" Durham pondered, feeling his hopes diminishing at the prospect of having Juno also thinking that the coyote was bound to lose control at some point. She shook her head slowly, which surprised him.
"I'm not entirely sure you can, you have a defective nose, which kinda already makes it a lot harder to be susceptible to such, huh, incidents." She said, a hand under her chin, a thoughtful look on her face as she contemplated the possibilities. "Yet, there are other things that could make you... dangerous."
"Such as?"
"Taste."
"Taste? Huh, that's sort of what Legosi said, but, wait!" He exclaimed, looking troubled. "Does that mean I will never be able to lick her? At all? How about kissing then? I can't just keep away!" Juno frowned, her mind racing for an answer, sadly there wasn't much she could think about it. The female wolf was not one to worry about such technicalities since she never intended to date a Herbivore in the first place.
"I mean, perhaps, get used to it? Until you feel it won't cause any reaction?" She suggested unsure. He gave her a puzzled look.
"What? You mean... taste her? Like... constantly?" Durham couldn't help but feel his ears heating up at the strange turn the conversation was taking. Juno shrugged.
"You could try it by shy attempts of affection. Something rather simple that won't build up to something more, huh, personal." The wolf ended with a mischievous smile that made Durham wary.
"Could you give me an example then?"
"Maybe... suck one of her fingers?" Juno said, to which Durham bolted upright.
"The hell?! Juno, what are you saying?" She sighed in frustration.
"I don't know! What else I'm supposed to suggest?! I just think that maybe you need to get a taste of her to get accustomed with her... urgh, can't believe I'm saying this... her flavor!"
Durham started laughing at how silly this just turned out to be, especially with how embarrassed Juno was looking at that very moment.
"Yeah, laugh. At least I'm trying to help, I don't hear you making better suggestions." She huffed, looking irked that the coyote was just making fun of her.
"Hah, hey, hey. I don't mean to u-upset you, but... "Durham paused, finding hard to contain the chuckles, although he did got his act together under Juno's deadly glare. "Say, you want me to just go there and suck her? Juno, that's..."
"What?"
Durham paused. He was not sure he wanted to keep talking this through, the whole thing just turned upside down. It was so bizarre that a girl was suggesting such things to him in regards to another female, but Juno may be more understanding of what has to be done considering she is of the opposite sex after all. The idea was somewhat reasonable, but the execution might be excruciatingly awkward. How the hell was he supposed to convince Ellen to just let him suck her limbs?!
"Fuck, this will be the death of me. Even if we are dating, I don't think she will let me have that much liberty with her body." The coyote said, looking exceedingly anxious about executing such plan of action. Juno rolled her eyes, much to his dismay.
"Well, that is what you get for now. I have no other suggestions to make. Nothing else comes to mind in terms of what might trigger a reaction from, well, us." She ended with a tone of nervousness. That shift of tone in her voice made Durham realize that Juno also was fearful of her own self in a way. "Still, if she loves you that much, she shouldn't mind that you want to be affectionate, even if in a weird way. You can even say it's a f-
" I. AM. NOT . Calling it a fetish." He declared with finality. Juno giggled much to his inner fury. "You're evil."
"Some good deeds come along with questionable ones. In the end, all it matters is that you do it for her sake." The wolf said, looking far too pleased with herself. "Make sure to tell her what the intent behind these are meant for. Who knows? She may even like it." Juno added, a very suggestive smirk on her face that Durham wouldn't forget for some time.
"Never took you to be that type of girl." The coyote said with some exasperation. She snorted humorously.
"You're a coyote dating a zebra. Me being more... spicy than I look is the least strange thing here."
"Touche."
Juno sighed, looking around without expecting to see anyone at all. The school has been very quiet for the last few days, it was somewhat peaceful, yet lonely to witness.
"Say, I can try to offer you something that won't make her feel extremely unease about it." She offered, but the coyote merely shrugged, looking determinate all of sudden.
"Nah, I think your idea has its merits, even if rather extravagant somewhat. Don't worry, I can be subtle about it."
Juno was pretty sure that wasn't truth at all, but she merely watched as the coyote vacated his seat, walking away in search of the female zebra that was turning his life upside down. It was only after he was far away that she allowed herself to speak her mind.
"Dating an Herbivore... foolish."
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"Hey, Stripes!"
"Huh, Durham? What is it? It's kinda late, I need to get back to my room soon."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm aware, but then it wasn't easy to find you. Where you not at school grounds?"
"I was with Els at the park. Why didn't you text me?"
"Huh, right. I would, if I hadn't forgotten my phone with Jack. Turns out he had battery issues and borrowed mine for a moment. A moment that turned into hours apparently. I need to look for him soon."
Ellen gave him a rather intense glance, it was clear the she wasn't entirely convinced with his excuse, but let it play out eventually. Durham hesitated, fully aware that he was already walking on thin ice, and the next few minutes would be exceedingly important to their relationship. He scanned the hallway, looking for a suitable place for them to have a conversation, his eyes landing on the doorway leading to a rather small classroom.
"Say, I gotta talk with you, something really important."
"Can't this wait till tomorrow?" She said, looking somewhat aggravated. "It's getting late, Durham. I don't want to go back to the dorms during night."
"I can just walk you there after we're done." He insisted much to her chagrin.
"Fiiine. What is it?" She relented, wishing to be back at her dorm soon and having a relaxing shower after a day of walking around for so long. Her legs were sore, her feet were sore, and her head would be sore too if she kept delaying herself for too long.
"Let's talk in there." He said, pointing a finger towards the classroom. Ellen frowned.
"What? Does we really need to hide away?" She asked, looking puzzled and annoyed. It was unlikely the conversation was going to be brief if there was such need for secrecy. He nodded, looking serious all the same. "Urgh, let's go then, I can text Els that I will be late." She conceded with resignation while pulling up her phone.
Durham led the way towards the classroom with Ellen close behind, he slowly opened the door, his head peeking as he made sure the area was clear of any janitors. No one was present in the classroom that was poorly bathed by the sunlight from the star that's descending on the horizon. It wouldn't surprise him to see someone from the cleaning staff this early, the school being emptier allowed the cleaning team to start on their routine right at the end of day, which would allow them to go home earlier than usual. He signaled the zebra to get inside, he closed the door with care as she passed by.
"Let's get to the top level. We can hide underneath the desk." He suggested, the zebra nodded hesitantly. She was already confused to why they were hiding away in a classroom, but to be hiding inside the classroom aswell? Ellen felt a bit anxious all of sudden. She didn't think Durham was up to do something bad, but the situation felt ominous enough.
She followed him upstairs, the classroom was similar to most lecture hall rooms, but in a smaller scale. Durham went by the small staircase all the way up to the last floorboard. He took away the few chairs that were carefully placed there, allowing them enough room to get underneath. She hesitated as he crouched and made his way under the wooden object, a sense of unease spread across her body.
"What's the matter?" He asked, noticing her hesitation. She stumbled to find words to explain her dilemma.
"Errr, this is rather weird what we're doing." She said, looking at him with worry. He nodded in agreement, which surprised her.
"Yep, it is, but I have enough reasons to not risk being caught by any unexpected visitors. Trust me, Ellen."
"...ok."
She ducked underneath the table to sit with him, but found that it would be rather difficult since she's taller than Durham, and the coyote's head was already scratching the desk above him. She grunted as her massive legs couldn't give her proper room to sit comfortably underneath. The coyote chuckled at her predicament.
"Just stretch your legs, it will be easier that way." He said sympathetically. Ellen huffed.
"You're in the way of said legs, if you didn't notice." She replied with a grunt. Durham shrugged.
"Then just spray them at my sides, it's not like I would mind." His response had Ellen feeling a bit unnerved. "Ellen, I'm not up to hurt you or anything of the sort, by the contrary. I want to talk about... well, us." He said, his words sounded genuine and she could tell he was clearly worried. She sighed.
"Fine, just help me with it, I'm already numb by keeping them bent like this."
The coyote nodded as he helped her by pulling both her legs by her ankles, guiding each limb to his sides. Although it left her in a rather awkward angle, with her legs wide open right in front of him. The zebra was blushing madly, but Durham pretended to not notice the awful position she was in.
"So... I was thinking about our... couple status."
"What about it?" Ellen asked, thankful they were getting to the point, she was feeling rather exposed sitting like this in front of him. Her back touching the end of the wooden table, allowing her to face him more directly, while the coyote was crouched with his back angling forward. Durham rubbed his chin with a hand as he thought his response with care.
"I... I'm worried about my instinct. Especially when it comes to physical contact." He said with sincerity, finding no other way to talk this through without being objective. "I want us to work this out, so that I won't end up hurting you because of something that I could not anticipate."
Ellen was surprised he was bringing instinct up, it wasn't like him to be worrying that much of such things, even if they represented a danger to her. Ellen thought Durham would be far less likely to end up losing his senses due the lack of sense of smell, which was the major cause for Carnivores to fell to their inner demons.
"Really? What exactly you think we can do about it then? If it will help you be able to control whatever it is, I'm down for it." The zebra said, sounding far more confident than she was seconds ago. Durham grimaced. "What?"
"Well, I'm happy that you want to help me, but... the way to do this may be... awkward." Ellen blinked, looking a him with confusion and expectation. "There's more ways for a Carnivore to fell to instinct than just scent."
"Oh, like what?"
"Taste."
"Taste? You mean... physical contact?" She asked, although her eyes widened once she realized what he was suggesting. "Hold on! Are you... you want to lick me?!" Durham raised an eyebrow, both impressed and confused.
"Huh, don't couples do that anyways? So, wouldn't it be a matter of time until we got to that point?" He asked, feeling slightly embarrassed for pointing that out. Ellen clearly had no real answer to that, she opened her mouth to argue, but the silence that followed was very telling of her lack of response. "Yeah, I don't like that this can be an issue that could drive me to become a danger, but... maybe..."
"Maybe... what?" Ellen asked, looking at him with concern. Durham's eyes where all over the place but on her, it was clear that he was struggling to find courage to keep the topic afloat.
"Maybe... I could get control...by, you know... getting accustomed to it."
Ellen dignified him with a blank stare, her eyes locked on him, almost as if expecting him to shout at her that he was joking. Yet, his ashamed silence only cemented the reality of her predicament.
"Huuuuhhhhh." Was all she could think of saying, unsure of how to react to the possibility that Durham wanted to get used to tasting her body. The coyote sheepishly played with his own tail as he kept his gaze locked on the floor.
"So... if... huh, maybe you I could, you know,... suck a finger or something."
"What?!"
Ellen gaped at him, not believing what she was hearing. Yes, she completely understood what he was aiming for, but the way he was going at it stunned her completely. The coyote frowned, he was feeling embarrassed enough for himself, but he knew that this was something they have to do. The determination gave him enough courage to keep up.
"Ellen... if you don't want me to do it, I get it. Yet, at some point, we love each other, and we will end up doing more than just silly licking as long we keep being a couple, aren't we?" He asked, feeling anxious and hopeful at the same time.
"I-I-I mean, we, yeah, at some point." She replied, her words fumbling as her brain struggled to catch up. "But... you, this is so weird."
"I-I know." He quickly agreed. "But we have to, I don't want to hurt you. And..." Durham was pretty sure there was vapor coming out of his downed ears at this point. "...I wouldn't mind licking you. I'm kinda curious to be honest."
Her ears perked, her cheeks flushed a deep shade of purple that were clearly visible despite the poor illumination in the room. A hand gently brushed under his muzzle, raising his head up towards the flustered zebra.
"I..." She stopped, looking conflicted for a moment, but that feeling was quickly smashed away as she became resolute. "...grant you permission to lick me."
Durham opened his mouth to express his shock, but the zebra held it shut a moment too soon.
"But." She said, suddenly the ghost of a smirk forming at the edges of her mouth. "I will decide where you will lick me."
Durham had a bad feeling about this. What had he awakened? Suddenly he felt that he no longer wanted to work this issue at all.
"Huh, okay?" He managed to say, his mouth partially held by her hand. Ellen chuckled before releasing him from her grip.
"Well, since we are on an agreement." Ellen started, sounding rather joyful, to which Durham felt a cold shiver go up his spine. "I had a very long day walking all over the place. You said yourself that I have thin, weak legs that could use a better treatment. The end result of today being me feeling very sore all the way down. Imagine my... disappointment at being denied a proper relaxing occasion just for the sake of a chat."
Her words were scarily sweet, and carried an undertone that made Durham slightly concerned. He nodded quietly, feeling that his voice just disappeared for whatever reason. He felt something shift at his side. Before he could look towards the disturbance a giant gray tennis landed on his lap. It took him a moment to realize that Ellen placed her sizable right foot on him.
"So." She said, narrowed eyes and a devious smile on her face that would haunt the coyote for many days to come. "Time to get accustomed."
'I'm so fucked.'