Updating this chapter as a Reviewer caught an error I had made with the Stats screens in the latter portion of this chapter. also corrected the end results of how some of the points were computed. If anyone spots any other major errors like this please let me know!
Chapter 7
No Place Like Home…
No Place Like Home…
Legoshi awoke with a start and a feeling of dread. He felt a heavy weight on his chest and looked down to see Jack sprawled out sideways on him. The easy rise and fall of his childhood friend's chest put him at ease, telling him he was alive and well.
The Grey Wolf gingerly shifted Jack off his chest and onto the bed. He rolled out from under the covers and stood up with a stiff roll of his shoulders. The morning sun barely crept over the horizon and was not even a true threat of penetrating their seventh-floor windows.
Upon standing in the middle of the room Legoshi was come upon with a feeling of wrongness that pervaded the room. He looked around slowly, his sleep-addled mind now crisp and ready to go.
All around the room, he looked and he never spotted what it was that was making him so uncomfortable. It was only when he looked at the floor did his dread become substantiated. He stumbled back with a yelp of surprise that had him bumping into the bunk beds recessed in the walls. The others yelped as well from the unexpected racket so early in the morning and threw their curtains open. They all trained their gazes on Legoshi before they saw that the big Wolf was nearly petrified with fear. They all followed his gaze towards a pair of large paw prints on the ground just a few feet away from where Legoshi sleeps. They were angled almost specifically at his bunk.
"What the fuck?" Miguno brazenly asked. "Who the hell is large enough to leave fuckin indents in the floor like that!?" He exclaims in shock.
"Legoshi?" Collot asks while rolling out of bed. The Sheepdog instantly felt something was off the instant his feet touched the ground and his fur stood on end. "What in the world?"
"It… it wasn't a dream," Legoshi whined. He slumped against the wall and slowly slid down to the ground.
"What are you talking about Legoshi?" Durham asked as he and Voss came over and knelt beside the stricken Wolf.
"Last night… I saw something, it was tall, taller than me, and it was eating someone's arm or leg or something! I don't remember what exactly… But it looked at me, with its red and purple eyes and it had more teeth than anything I have ever seen and it looked at me with such…," Legoshi sucked in a shaky breath and clutched his eyes shut hard. With an explosive sigh, he looked up at his friends and something shifted in his eyes that set them on edge, made them… Ready.
Jack felt a rush that caused his fur to stand up on end. He felt his senses sharpen and his teeth and claws started to tingle a bit. Collot and Voss felt something similar like they were supercharged with some kind of energy that wiped the fatigue from their bodies. Durham felt like he had gotten a jump-start to his system and his eyes felt sharper while his teeth and claws felt the same tingle that Jack had. Miguno felt his eyes dial in and his teeth felt sharper all of a sudden. His claws became sharp and his nose picked up the scent of blood coming from Legoshi.
"Legoshi? When did you get hurt?" He asks, concerned for his friend.
"That doesn't matter right now, it's fine." Legoshi shivered and stood. "I… We… Get everyone… Jack?"
"Yeah 'Goshi?"
"Go to the Herbivore Dorm with Collot and Voss, grab Ellen and Els. Get them to bring the others from their tower, please," Legoshi said in such a tired and drained voice that, that alone, almost spurred the group to action. Whatever it was that was going on with them was beyond their understanding, and it wasn't something they were going to question. Legoshi needed their help, and he was going to get it.
"Durham, Miguno, please go to the other Carnivore tower and wrangle up the smaller Carnivores, please. I'll go get Bill and Sheila… They can help me get the rest of the Drama club in our tower."
The boys felt almost compelled to follow his orders even though he was the same age as them. It was some sort of urge that pushed at the back of their minds, it made them feel good to follow his orders when he got like that. The young teens nodded fiercely and threw open the door.
The hall outside was rather spars and clear of any obstruction, so it appeared that whatever had gotten in their room hadn't used the door, or tried to break it down.
While the others went about with his requests Legoshi slowly walked down to the fifth floor and gradually made his way to Bill's room. Dorm 534 was just the same as all the rest, though a picture of a Tigress posing seductively sat on the outside door, unlike the rest in the hall that remained blank. He knocked five times on the door and waited for a response.
After a minute of no sound from the other side, he tried again. He banged on the door louder this time in quick succession. Another minute went by and just as Legoshi was going to knock on the door a third time it was flung open from within and an irate Snow Tiger stared him down with tired eyes.
"What the hell do you want mutt!?" He snarled lowly. "It is five AM!"
"I need to speak with Bill," Legoshi gulped. He felt a strange urge well up in his chest, but he ignored it the best he could.
"Well, Bill's aslee-!"
"Go back to sleep Femor, I'll deal with this," Bill yawned loudly while rubbing the sleep from his face. He looked blearily at Legoshi and saw the broken look in his friend's eyes. "Legoshi? What the fuck happened to you man? You look awful!" Bill walked out of the dorm and closed the door behind him.
"I have something to tell everyone and show them if they don't believe me. Just… I need your help Bill," Legoshi looked up into the Tigers eyes earnestly. The shaken and traumatized look in the Wolf's eyes shocked the Tiger to his core.
"Dude, what the hell happened last night?"
"I'll tell you once we have everyone…," The Wolf turned away, "I just hope you all believe me…," Bill barely caught the words uttered since Legoshi muttered them under his breath. The Tiger felt something uneasy settling into the pit of his stomach, but he wasn't going to walk away. If something was able to rattle such a stoic person and Legoshi, then he knew he should be weary as well; no matter what it was.
Legoshi waited patiently for Bill to get dressed in his school uniform before they walked down to the second floor. They found Dorm Room 257 and this time it was Bill that knocked on the door. He rapped his knuckles against the hard wood several times before the door swung open angrily to show a fierce-looking Sheila in a nightgown glaring up at them. Her teeth were bared and her fur stuck up in several places.
"What. Do. You. Want?" She growled lowly. It was then that she saw Legoshi looking awkwardly down at the ground behind Bill that she calmed down. She caught the agitated state he was in and noticed how he kept clenching his jaw and hands.
"Something's happened." The Tiger gestured towards Legoshi.
"I need everyone from the Drama club, minus Louis," Legoshi's eyes hardened a bit when he said the Deer's name, "Because I found something last night… and I have no idea if anyone will believe me," He forced himself to look her in the eye.
Sheila sucked in a gasp between her teeth and felt a shiver flash up her spine. His eyes were bloodshot like he hadn't slept a wink. They had a haunted and defeated quality to them that tugged at her budding maternal instincts.
"We need to get the other 'Eila," Bill whispered her nickname. She shot him a hard look and quickly picked up on how upset he was by all this. Obviously, if there was something out there that terrified Legoshi of all people, then Bill would be on edge too.
"I'll go grab the girls, you lot get the other boys I guess," She relented quickly after realizing the gravity of the situation. She ran back in and threw on her uniform before running up a flight of stairs to grab the other Carnivore girls that lived in the dorm.
Bill and Legoshi went back up, slowly stopping on each floor to find their remaining classmates in the building. They were able to round up Fudge the Red Panda and Kai before going down to the main lobby. Once there Bill and the other two teens gaped at the damage done to the door.
"What the hell happened here?!" Bill exclaimed while staring at the warped double doors.
"Oh Rex," Legoshi trembled. "It… It got in," He whined keenly and clutched at his chest when his heart began to beat faster in his chest.
The double doors were completely off their hinges and leaning up against the walls on either side of the entrance inside the lobby. The obstacles, which turned out to be the vending machines that used to line the walls, that he had apparently used in his haste to block the doors, were pushed back and partially crushed. There was a lot of blood on the ground outside. It was worse than anything he had ever seen.
"Legoshi…," Bill looked at his stricken friend, "What did you find last night?"
"I never found anything," Legoshi said with a terrified glance back at his friend. "It found me…."
Bill stared at him wide-eyed and looked back at the carnage before them. The group idly notice the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs but were too preoccupied to see who it was. When a scream echoed behind them they turned and saw Juno, Sheila, and an African Golden Cat looked horrified.
"Bill, what the fuck!?"
"We don't know, Legoshi has an idea, but he wants to tell everyone at the same time-!"
"Legoshi! We got everyone!" Jack shouted from outside.
The group of large Carnivores watched as Legoshi trudged through the mangled and bloody mess that was their lobby entrance. They shared a single look and followed him out.
Legoshi stepped around the pool of blood and did his best not to retch at the awful smell. The Herbivores were all staring at the destruction and blood with varying degrees of horror while also giving him a bit of room.
"Everyone here?"
"Yep, Aoba and the other birds should be here soon. I had Ellen send him a text on our way here and he said he'd get the others."
"Good… Good… I guess we just need to wait for them," Legoshi ran a hand through his hair and then ground the heel of his palms into his eyes. "FUCK!" He threw his arms down and balled up his fists. His outburst broke the tension building up in everyone around him and they all looked at him with worry.
"First Tem… now… now whatever the fuck this is…," he hissed flipped around to punch the side of the building. A bit of dust blew away from where he punched, but nothing else happened. Surprisingly his hand was uninjured.
A few moments later and Aoba and the rest of their feathered friends arrived. The birds all gasped and squawked at the mess as the rest had, but after a quick look from everyone else, they quieted down.
"What's going on Legoshi?" Aoba, Bill, Sheila, Collot, Ellen, and Dom asked all at once. They blinked and shared a quick glance before focusing back on the Wolf.
"We need to go out to the field behind Dorm Five. That's where things really started last night and we might find some clues…," Legoshi shivered and the group froze. Legoshi, their calm laid back Wolf, was terrified. Most likely of what they would find, but they wouldn't know until they looked.
"Let's go then!" Bill hyped them up. He pumped his fist in the air and led the way.
"Just… If anyone sees anything… weird?" He paused and licked his lips, something they had only ever seen him do when he was extremely nervous. "Run. Don't scream. Just. Run. I don't care what else you do, but get the fuck out." Legoshi quickened his pace and waked up to keep strides with Bill.
The rest of them shared terrified looks and wondered once more what in the world had happened. They raced after the pair and kept their eyes peeled, it didn't help that a fog bank was starting to roll in from the straight.
Once at the field Legoshi led them in a search. He kept his nose to the ground and literally sniffed out the site of what he had seen the night before. Bill did something similar since his sense of smell was almost on par with the Wolf's. Juno, Sheila, Jack, and the other large Carnivores also copied the two teens. They formed a semi-circle that protected the front of their group and made their search pattern radius rather large.
After a few minutes of searching Kai smelled something to their far-right.
"This way!" He called.
The entire group hesitantly turned right and marched off in the direction Kai was indicating. They quickly found a small puddle of blood, but the telling part was that nothing led up to it. The trail started there.
"Blood leads this way!" Sheila shouted while down on the ground. Her tail whipped around and her eyes narrowed to slits while she scanned the area.
"Legoshi," Aoba whispered from next to him, "Did you see someone die out here last night?"
"I don't know Aoba, I just know I saw something… Evil." Legoshi walked away from the stunned Eagle and sniffed harder. The sea air mixed with the fog was making it nearly impossible to sniff out the blood trail, but thankfully Sheila had it.
"There-!" She froze and jumped back with a shriek. Laying on the ground at her feet was a leg. Well, a portion of a leg. All that was left of it was the lower shin and foot still inside its shoe. Several of the Herbivores passed out at the sight and most of the Carnivores puked.
The limb had been bitten clean through, as indicated by the needle-like teeth still sticking out of the flesh. The Grey pant leg still on it indicated that it was one of their classmates. The size of the foot and color of the fur indicated that it was one of their fellow Carnivores from Tower 3 or 4, most likely a small cat based on the colored spots.
"Let's go…," Jack keened and grabbed Legoshi's arm.
Yeah," Bill gulped and stepped back from the pool of blood. The weird teeth set his skin crawling and made him uneasy more than anything he had ever felt before. Legoshi didn't even unnerve him even near as much.
The whole group agreed quickly to the notion of getting the hell out of there. Legoshi narrowed his eyes and felt a flash of something zap through his veins. He grabbed Bill and Jack by the shoulder and wheeled them around.
"Take everyone and get them inside our Dorm. We have enough room thanks to us all being large Carnivores. I'll head up the back, just get us out of the field." The two young animals stared at him for a moment before nodding. Legoshi murmured to himself, "I hoped it was fake...but this… this is horrible…."
The group almost sprinted towards the Dorm Tower 3. The Carnivores subconsciously acted like a moving wall that sort of protected the other Herbivores from anything that could have tried to get at them. Thankfully they were not once assaulted or stopped. They all maneuvered over and around the pool of blood at the entrance of the building and moved as a group up to the Seventh floor. One there Jack led them into Dorm 701 and motioned for everyone to find a comfortable spot.
Just as everyone turned away from him Legoshi brought his watch up and muttered the command to bring up his Main Menu.
"Quests!" he snarled once the world had gone Grey. He looked down the list of Quests and zeroed in on the most recent one.
{Q – Practice At Midnight!
Louis has decided he will practice with Zoe
every other night to get the goat up to par!
Rewarded At End Of Each Night Completed!
+Update = nights missed will have consequences!+
Complete the Following:
Stand Guard Every Night For Louis Until Adler is Complete!
Become aware of the I̸̻̯͈͒̉̈́n̸͎͗s̴͔͖͈̗̿t̸̻̀̚i̷̧̘̺̰̾ṅ̷͖̪̪̹͔c̷̪̮̙̬͒͋͛̈́͝t̸̮͓̋̈́ ̴̬̬̣̙̾̓̾͘͝M̴̭͘o̵̗͓̹͕̤̓͛̇n̴̛̙̽s̶̮͇̦̩̜͂̋̂̊͠t̵̬̲̠͉̎̿͒ę̴̢͇̽̾r̵̛̬̒͒͗s̸̼̩̞̹̈͜ - x1
Survive the Night Intact! - Until End Of Quest
Keep Louis Alive!
Keep Zoe Alive! - Optional
Failure If:
Legoshi Dies
Louis Dies
Zoe Is Devoured
?
"FUCK! I can tell that reads monster, of some kind… What the fuck!" Legoshi screams. He fists his hair and pulls in broken screaming sobs. He falls to his knees and stares at the screen. "How the FUCK are we, am I, supposed to fight these things!? How is anyone!?" He curls over and pukes on the ground from stress. "Fuuuuu…," he heaves and watched with blurry eyes as bile poured out of his mouth and cooked the ground.
It wasn't often that he saw his Komodo Dragon genes at work, and the fact his stomach acid was strong enough to burn the ground was not news to him.
"What the fuck were my rewards for this shit show?" He looked up and looked was, ironically, rewarded with the rewards screen.
[1500] EXP
[¥50,000] Currency
[1] Rusted Katana
[1] Iron Bar
"What in the world?" He jumped to his feet and called out his Inventory.
Inventory
Weapons [ Apparel ] Aid Misc Junk
╢ Boxers╟
╢ White L-Sleeve Shirt╟
╢ Grey Pinstriped Pants╟
╢ Brown Shoes╟
╢ White Sock X2╟
╢ Suspenders╟
╢ Black Belt ╟
╢ Black Tie╟
Legoshi turned over to the weapons tab.
Inventory
[Weapons] Apparel Aid Misc Junk
╢Rusted Katana(Good Quality) X1╟
He stared at the Rusted Katana for a minute before tapping it and equipping the weapon. In a daze, he felt something settle on his left hip and looked down in astonishment as the Rusted Katana, in a battered sheath, was now nestled gently against his side. It was very bland looking, black on black on black with rusted wires helping to keep it together.
Legoshi gingerly pulled the sword from its housing and held it out in front of his body. He admired the blade and felt a bit of excitement well up in his chest, but he quickly tamped it down with thoughts of his friends and the Monsters lurking in the night.
It was at that moment that he noticed another of his icons was blinking at him. The Character screen was all but trying to flag him down.
"Character Status Screen!" He intoned deeply in a voice he almost didn't recognize.
Character Status Screen
[LVL: 5] [HP: 405/405] [SP: 275/275] [MP: 10/10]
[EXP: 3600/1012]
{LVL UP! X2}
Head: [100/100]
Torso: [110/110]
Left Arm: [110/110]
Right Arm: [110/110]
Left Leg: [110/110]
Right Leg: [110/110]
[Buffs & Debuffs]
Hybrid: +50% HP RG
Hybrid: +50% HP
Hybrid: +25% SP
Hybrid: +15% MP RG
Dense Muscles: Limb Durability +10%
Hybrid: -10 Relationship Gain (Everyone)
Carnivore: -30% Relationship Gain (Herbivores)
Legoshi froze.
"Attributes Menu!" he commanded.
Status Menu Attributes Menu Skills Menu
[-|+]
Str: 20 [←|→]
Vit: 10 [←|→]
Dex: 12 [←|→]
End: 15 [←|→]
Per: 16 [←|→]
Cha: 10 [←|→]
Int: 18 [←|→]
Wis: 14 [←|→]
Luk: 10 [←|→]
Points: 20
Legoshi stared at the twenty points and realized what was going on. He paled and gripped the sword so tightly that he almost broke the handle.
"How fucking under-leveled am I?" He gasped. He did the calculations and realized that with this single portion of the Quest he had been leveled up twice. And that was thanks to the fact that he was completing minor quests throughout the day. He was being Force Leveled by the System and it was not having any of his shit by ignoring it.
"Fu~ck…," Legoshi rubbed the keel of his palms into his eyes and groaned. "Guess I should allocate my points… Cuz I might die if I don't…," he groused with self-pity while what could only be hysteria leaked into his voice.
He dumped five points into Perception, four into Intelligence, and then Ten into Vitality. His last point he dropped into Charisma.
Status Menu Attributes Menu Skills Menu
[-|+]
Str: 20 [←|→]
Vit: 20 [←|→]
Dex: 12 [←|→]
End: 15 [←|→]
Per: 22 [←|→]
Cha: 11 [←|→]
Int: 22 [←|→]
Wis: 14 [←|→]
Luk: 10 [←|→]
Points: 0
Legoshi felt his body writhe and roll suddenly with the sudden changes he made to himself. He felt his vision sharpen and his sense of smell increased again. His spatial awareness increased and his everything seemed to roll in on itself for a moment before, like a rubber band, it snapped back into place. Everything was normal once more and he no longer felt like he was being pulled in a hundred different directions all at once.
Legoshi realized he was on the ground then, coughing up a fit. He got to his feet and used the Katana as a brace to help himself up. He then brought his Status Screen back up and looked at the changes his increased points had wrought upon him.
Character Status Screen
[LVL: 7] [HP: 540/540] [SP: 405/405] [MP: 10/10]
[EXP: 1070/2278]
Head: [121/121]
Torso: [121/121]
Left Arm: [121/121]
Right Arm: [121/121]
Left Leg: [121/121]
Right Leg: [121/121]
[Buffs & Debuffs]
Hybrid: +50% HP RG
Hybrid: +50% HP
Hybrid: +25% SP
Hybrid: +15% MP RG
Living Computer I: Mental acuity +10%
Hard Skin I: +10% Limb Durability
Sixth Sense I: Observation Function Now Available
Dense Muscles I: Limb Durability +10%
Hybrid: -10 Relationship Gain (Everyone)
Carnivore: -30% Relationship Gain (Herbivores)
"Did… Did I just unlock more of this stupid game-system-thing?!" Legoshi huffed raggedly. He pushed his finger firmly against the Sixth Sense and read the Description.
Sixth Sense I: The First Rank of Sixth Sense unlocks the Observation Function which allows the player to look at a person or object of interest and mentally use the mental command 'Observe' to get a quick synopsis of whatever it is they are looking at. Subsequent Ranks will increase both the level of detail and range at which Observation can be used while also giving other bonuses.
"Well… That… That is interesting," Legoshi blinked, shocked. He racked his brain and realized that it might help him find clues on Tem's killer, or whatever it was that actually killed him. With these monsters about he wasn't sure if it was even an animal that killed his friend anymore.
"Fine…," Legoshi stares at the only screen still up. His Status screen almost glares back with its baleful blue light and mocks him in this moment. He feels his hackles raise and his heart hammers in his chest suddenly. His eyes narrow and his teeth grind. His body warms and his flesh tingles. He sneers and his lips fly up into a snarl the likes of which would quell any mortal being. He raises a clenched fist and points a shaking finger at the screen.
"I swear! I will have my peace for Tem's death! You can help me or hinder me!" Unbeknownst to the Wolf, his eyes flash golden blue and his iris became reptilian for a moment before they turned back to normal. "But I will do whatever it takes!"
Legoshi put the Katana back in his Inventory and took a calming breath to get his body back under control. As much fun as it would be to come out of Pause and be in a completely different state than he was before, he didn't want to cause his friends any more needless stress than he already had.
The Wolf followed behind everyone and stepped into Dorm 701 just as jack walked over to close the door. The two shared a broken look and shuffled past each other. Jack closed the door and Legoshi squeezed past everyone until he was in the middle of the room. He didn't like it but he brought everyone together to give them a story and a reason for what he was going to be asking them.
"Legoshi… Dude, What the fuck is going on around here anymore?" Fudge the Red Panda asked. He looked around and saw that everyone was giving him blank stares. The small Carnivore fidgeted and looked down.
"As much as I would not have put it that way," Dom cut into the silence as gracefully as he could, "But Fudge has a good point," Dom moved from foot to foot while trying not to sound hysterical.
"Last night," Legoshi swallowed the saliva in his mouth and coughed to clear the thickness in his throat, "Last night I went out to guard Club Room Seven for Louis and Zoe-"
"Yeah, Louis is helping me with the lines for Adler…," Zoe gulped and shivered. "He made Legoshi watch out for whoever might try to get us in trouble for practicing late…," Zoe ducked when a few hard looks were passed his way.
The likes of Sheila, Bill, Dom, Aoba, and Mokichi almost glared at the Goat before sharing a look.
"Like I was saying," Legoshi cut back in before someone else could derail the conversation, "While I was on watch last night I saw something in the forested spot near building seven to the northeast. It's what started all of last night. It was tall, easily nine or ten feet tall, and wide at the shoulders. I first thought it was a student or a teacher taking a stroll and watching to see what I'd do… But Louis and Zoe burst out of the building behind me and distracted me for all of a second. When I turned back it was gone. So, I thought it was just a figment of my imagination. I walked Zoe and Louis back home to Tower 7 and made my own way back here…."
The entire room could feel the fear that rolled off the Wolf in that moment as he paused his retelling of the previous night. Legoshi shivered visibly and his whole body became a single hair stood on end with how fluffed he became. If not for the situation it would have been hilarious. As it stood it was terrifying.
"On my way back here I was passing between Towers two and Five when I felt an overwhelming sense of dread. I heard something from the field we looked in, and I … I saw something… something monstrous shambling around with something in its hand… It looked at me with these horrible red and purple eyes and opened a mouth too small to house the amount of teeth I saw in it … those horrible needle teeth… and it took a bite out of whatever it was and I bolted. I came back here. Barricaded the doors, raced up to my Dorm, and the rest was history." The group digested what he had said and each of them looked disturbed by the tail, as they rightly should be. When the Wolf continued though, they felt a new sense of dread.
"When we woke up this morning we got a surprise…," Legoshi gestured for everyone to move away slightly room his bed and moved a rug that had somehow been shifted over what he had wanted to show them. He shot Jack a look and got a brief nod confirming it was one of his Dorm mates that had done it if not Jack himself. "This greeted us," He pulled back the rug and revealed the pair of large paw prints that had dented their floor. The collective gasp from everyone seemed to suck all the air out of the room.
"It was here?!" Bill asked incredulously.
"Yes… The door was still locked, and barred from the inside… But it was in here with us… I have no idea how I'm still alive after last night but," Legoshi looked up and stared each of his friends in the eye. "I cannot, in good conscience, say that it is okay for anyone to be out late at night by themselves anymore. I'm going to report what we found to the Headmaster… But I don't see anything being done about it… But I want everyone to bring at least two other people with them if they have to go somewhere. I don't care if it's a trip to the restrooms or running back to your locker, bring some friends or wait until you can go in a group. I… I don't want to lose anyone else. This goes for everyone, Herbivore, Carnivore, I don't care. Whatever it is that is out there killed a Carnivore student and ate them, it chased me down and actually got in this room."
Legoshi stood up to his full height and reminded everyone of the fact he was a Wolf, not a dog.
"School is no longer safe for anyone… Whether the staff believes me or not when I report this, I don't care. We know and that's all I care about," Leogshi grimaced and held his hands in front of him in a shaking grasp. He slouched and looked at each of his friends. "Be safe, everyone. that's all I really care about."
The Drama Club and the Canines from Dorm 701 felt sick to their stomachs. Even though the 701 guys had already heard the story from Legoshi, in part at least, it still turned their guts to hear it all from start to finish.
"I'll be the first to say that I believe you," Bill cut through the silence and looked hard at the Wolf. "For all the time I've known you, you have not lied to me about anything. I don't see you starting now." Bill did something then that shocked the other Carnivores, and a few Herbivores, while also puzzling the other Herbivores.
The Bengal Tiger raised his head and exposed his throat towards Legoshi. The wolf choked on air and his eyes bugged out of his skull. It was a particular gesture to Wolves that showed their trust, but it was generally shared among most Carnivores for how blatant the gesture was in its meaning. It was more generally accepted than a hand shake ever would be among the Carnivores.
Collot, Voss, Jack, Durham, Miguno, and Fudge made the gesture next. All but Fudge were unsurprising as they all lived with the wolf. The others sent a look at the Red Panda but he stared hard at the floor afterward and didn't notice.
Sheila looked hard at nothing and then raised her own head. The African Golden Cat did the same. Juno hadn't even hesitated and had had her throat exposed the whole time, it only took them a moment to realize what she was doing.
Kibi was the first Herbivore to expose his throat.
"You're my friend, Legoshi, just like Tem was. I believe you!" He said as an explanation at the shocked look he got from the Wolf. Tao followed next with Ellen, Els, Zoe, and Dom following suit right after. The rest of the Herbivores then followed suit.
The only one not to raise their throat was Kai. The Mongoose looked stricken and a little dazed for some reason.
"So," he said in a quivering voice, "We're all just going to believe the large Carnivore… just like that?!" He looked at Legoshi with a crazed look in his eye. "You all want to follow him so badly," He jabbed a finger at the Wolf while casting his bloodshot eyes around the room, "That you won't even think for a second he's lying?!"
"What the hell's gotten into you Kai?" Bill asked, shocked at the outbursts coming from the mongoose. He knew he was a hothead, but this was beyond the pale for the brown Carnivore.
"What the hell's gotten into me?! What the hell's gotten into you!?" Kai shouted and rushed from the room. Almost breaking the door from its hinges as he did so the Mongoose fled and raced out of the building. The rest of the room was shocked still and completely silent.
"What the fuck?" Kibi asked no one in particular.
"I have no idea dude," Tao muttered, in shock as he was.
"Guys… we… we need to get get more sleep before school starts... Classes start at 10… it's almost six-thirty," Dolph the Hippo spoke up from the back. The tired-looking animals all shared a look and they could all tell the same thought was fluttering through their heads.
None of them wanted to go back out there after what they had found.
"Well… We could stay here," Els suggested with a look towards the boys of 701. The six boys shared a blank look and shrugged.
"If you all don't care then we don't care. We have extra blankets in the closet," Jack muttered. The Labrador was still in shock and knew that he was going to crash soon from the stress and the emotional overload. Autopilot and perfect manners were all that was keeping him going anymore.
The others shared a look and everyone seemed to agree on the single thought at once.
"We'll stay!" They declared in unison.
Legoshi shuffled from foot to foot and jumped to Jacks's aid when his friend started diving up blankets and pillows. They broke out several futons from the janitor's closet, and what ones they had scrounged together with their own money, and laid them all out on the floor side by side. They even took the mattresses from their beds and laid them out on the ground. By the time they were done, they had covered almost the entire floor in beds and almost everyone had a place to sleep. The Herbivores had grouped up and were slightly spread out on one side of the room while the Carnivores, based on species, were either draped over each other or just piled in a corner like what happened with all the Canines.
Legoshi, Collot, Durham, and Miguno formed the bottom of the dog pile while Jack, Juno, Voss, and an Irish Wolfhound filled out the top and sides. The cats were a huge mass of fur and blankets, similar to the dogpile, but it was more organized than the dogs.
As the stress of the morning and the fact that most had only gotten a few hours of sleep, the entire dorm quickly succumbed to their exhaustion.