She grabs her laundry from a drier and returns it to her dorm where she hid after the cafeteria incident for an hour. Her phone vibrates with a text notification. Placing her bedding and panties on her bunk, she reads the text from Amaterasu.
Meet in library. Now!
With a soft sigh, Juno walks into the main building again, avoiding eye contact with the crowd. Snarling at the puma in a public place, like the cafeteria, was a horrible action. She is lucky the police or staff haven't gotten involved, yet. She stormed out afterwards to avoid any retaliation the puma might do. The star of the play, The Adler, delivering an aggressive response to a new student. She was alone, no one would take her side and see it as a canine's hatred for felines. They might remove her from the play for this. With each step, the eyes stare at her. She feels them on her back. Her fur tingling, making her pick up her pace, with the cafeteria staring at the one wolf they trusted. The one they thought they knew.
The hallways are empty enough for her to reach the library with very little time wasted. She wears her fake smile as she looks for the white wolf to avoid any other aggressions. Amaterasu waves Juno to her corner table, she's missing her glasses. The brown wolf sits beside the white one with a hand held out for her to take. Ami takes Juno's hand and holds it tight. Ami is a malnourished; scrawny wolf with very little muscle. Incapable of defending herself. A red mark forming under her white fur from a slap.
"They stole my glasses and my books." Ami says in a broken voice, "I didn't fight back because I didn't want to get in trouble."
Amaterasu, the youngest of her dorm mates, isolated herself during the early mornings where she could draw without being bothered. She is getting bullied, much like Juno was. The wolf is angry that the kindest girl she knows is being treated like this.
"Okay. Who did it?" Juno asks tightening her free hand, "Where is she?"
Ami squints to see Juno with a silent growl growing in her muzzle lips. Pulling herself close to Juno, Ami hugs her with a thanks.
"In the gymnasium. Yukio and her boyfriend." Ami whispers closing her eyes.
"I'll be back in about ten minutes." Juno let's a small growl slip.
Twenty minutes until classes start, Juno can make it. The bull mastiff is going to pay for picking on the wrong wolf. Yukio can deal with it later. No one bullies Ami. The halls are still clear as the animals stay in their dorms or hang out.
Juno walks through the cafeteria again, where less animals stare as she quickly walks to the gymnasium, raised hackles on her neck tell them a story. Whoever made Juno mad is screwed. She barges through the double doors to see the mastiff sitting in the floor with a Chihuahua and Yukio. The trio laughs as they sit there. She sees the books stacked between them.
The tan mastiff is two heads taller than Juno, but lacks muscles like hers. Juno could take him in a fight, but she would rather keep any snarls and growls to a minimum. Barring her fangs twice is not a good way to start. She runs her hand down the back of her neck hiding her hackles, and steps forward to the mastiff. As much as she would love to hit him, she will try to get Ami's glasses and books back without a fight.
"Look who just showed up." A Chihuahua says with an over exaggerated howl of desire, "So sexy. Heard your available. So, how about it?"
Keeping as calm as she can, Juno ignores the Chihuahua and speaks to the mastiff.
"You stole my friend's glasses and books." She fakes politeness with a half-smile, "I would like for you to return them, please."
The group laughs, as Juno doesn't demand, but instead asks. Like a child.
The mastiff responds pointing to the Chihuahua, "You didn't answer his question."
Groaning she answers the small dog, "No. I done with males. Give me her glasses and books."
The mastiff stands, towering over Juno, "Why should I? You're both carnivores. Killers. Bitches."
Growling, she looks to where the wolf was sitting. Ami's glasses are broken, her books vandalized, and one of the culprits is a dorm mate. Forming a fist, Juno punches the mastiff in the guy. He folds over where she shoves him onto the floor. The Chihuahua makes to defend his friend, but a glare from the taller Juno makes him stay put. Yukio stands and slaps at Juno's muzzle. Juno pushes the beagle back to the ground.
"You're going to apologize to Ami and buy her new glasses and books." Juno growls looking at them, "Yukio, you're finding a new dorm. Touch Ami again, I won't be as gentle."
"Juno!" one of the staff members, a lioness, calls out pointing to the floor in front of her.
With a soft growl she leaves the trio, ready to be yelled at by an adult who won't hear the story. The lioness escorts Juno out. Taking her down the hallway to an emergency exit, propped open by a small piece of plywood. Juno looks over the lioness, she's unfamiliar. With a small sniff she picks up a faint scent. One she hasn't smelled since childhood; one she knows too well. Opening the door, she hears a deep growl.
"Hello, Pup." The lion greets.
The Shishigumi.
"Where's the rest of our money?" he growls, placing his left-handed claws under her chin.
The Shishigumi has finally come for her.
"Come on, Pup, don't you remember? We never got our money." He nicks her chin with a smile.
How could she forget about the rest of the debt? Her life is in much more danger now that they know where she is. Her heart beat threatens to burst out of her chest. Five lions surround her and watch as she falls silent. Her ears flatten to her head; her tail trying to curl between her legs. Her knees fell like giving out as she stares the lions in their eyes. They're much bigger. In height and muscle mass.
"I'll ask again, where's our money?" the lion puts both hands on her head, thumb claws under her fear filled eyes.