JC silently helped a group of the drama club, including Bill, Tao, Sheila, Riz and Legoshi, tidy up the club room before most of the other arrived, JC feeling a bit more chipper, remembering back to the previous morning
JC shifted in his sleep a bit before waking, he carefully turned to face Juno who was cuddled up into his back, feeling the soft fur of her belly against him, he smiled a bit, remembering her suggesting that both of them strip down to their underwear due to the weather having gotten unseasonably warmer during that autumn night.
he smiled a bit, having decided that he'd have Juno lead on and decide how quickly or slowly the two progressed in their relationship, he then glanced over to Legoshi who looked exhausted and distracted, Haru had told him last night that she took his suggesting into account when she managed to catch Legoshi in the library, she also admitted that she turned down a regular lay when they approached and asked her about it,
"hey, are you gonna zone out, or ya gonna get to work" he heard Bill say to Legoshi, snapping him out of his stupor before he approached Tao who was having trouble lifting a box
"what's in this freaking thing" Tao questioned as Bill stepped over,
"maybe you don't advertise the fact you're such a baby" Bill said as he moved to lift the box "this is a job for a big buff Bengal" he squatted to lift and started struggling, barely able to move it, JC stared, about to suggest to both of them to lift together before Riz approached,
"don't worry, I got this, cat boys" he said, squatting down and lifting the box and hoisting it onto his shoulder with little effort, both Bill and Tao stared, JC approaching them
"he didn't, did he?" he questioned, both of them just staring, processing what happened
"cat boy, really?" the both said in unison, their thought processes getting to the comment,
"now that's what I expect out of a brown bear" Sheila commented
"you're actually kinda weak, aren't ya Bill" Els teased, JC had noticed that her and Bill had been getting closer subtly over the last few weeks, but he didn't question it, he continued cleaning as he heard Bill laying duct tape on the floor for a game he heard in passing a while ago called Jaw War, he stood to the side to watch
"look, think of it of a cultural exchange" Bill reassured Dom and a few others "even if your not competing, it's fun to watch
"as long as it's peaceful" Dom replied
"all right, who wants to go first?" Bill declared, taking a fighting stance and clicking his teeth
"it's been a little while for me" Riz admitted thoughtfully,
"I'll go" declared Kai "i had some bee larva yesterday"
"hey, Ref! He ate bugs, that's like doping" Tao called out, JC stared, knowing that bugs were the only animals around that the carnivores were allowed to eat here
"nope, that's legal" Kai told them "i know Aoba eats bugs too, don't cha?"
"well, i-" Aoba said, trying to come up with an excuse "i'm plenty strong even without bugs" he said defiantly,
"hey Legoshi!" Bill called out "get your ass over here, we're gonna settle things right now"
"nah I'm fine, I don't even like this game very much" Legoshi replied
"listen dude, I wasn't asking you, I was telling you" Bill shot back "and trust me, nobody believes the crap your spewing anyway"
"are you still sour about the brawl earlier this year?" JC questioned, Bill looked at him
"you'll participate, right JC?" he asked, only to be replied by a chuckle from JC
"nah, you guys are on a whole other level when it comes to jaw strength" JC admitted "all of you are able to bite through a bone that's the size and thickness to your own femurs without adverse effects, the most we humans can do is bite though our own fingers, and even that takes some pressure, so, I'll pass, I'd be eliminated instantly either way"
a little later, JC stood to the side as he watched Legoshi and Bill square up, Bill confirming that it was because of the beating he took, he saw Legoshi glance at the ranking on the whiteboard, JC frowned, thinking that Legoshi was considering going through this whole deal just to narrow down who the killer was, but, as they started, Legoshi, probably weakened from his training, fell forward due to Bill's hard pull, Legoshi got up and left the room, JC following a short while after, seeing Legoshi in the changing room, biting into an apple, but barely leaving a bite-mark,
"Legoshi? You OK?" he asked as he stepped in
"yeah, didn't realise that all my training has left me weakened" Legoshi replied "so much for that idea"
"so, what now?" JC questioned, Legoshi glanced around at the lockers
"i know the taste of the killer's saliva" he explained, approaching one, opening it, grabbed a drink bottle and took a tiny sip, JC frowned gently "ok, not this one" JC nodded
"I'll keep watch, let me know if you find anything" he said, heading to the door, listening to the sounds of the "contest" the others were a part of, and the opening and closing doors behind him, a short while later, he heard Legoshi grunting, he turned and approached, seeing a can or something similar crushed effortlessly,
"this has a message to me" Legoshi said, JC looking at him "i'm the one who killed Tem, investigate any further, and that's your neck" he said, closing the door,
"and…...who owns that locker?" JC asked, a hint of fear in his voice, looking at Legoshi.
A while later, some more of the drama club members were doing exercises and practice, JC sat off to the side, silently watching Pina practice his swordplay, not seeing Legoshi come in to speak with Dom, but his and everyone's attention shot over to Ellen as she screamed in terror, JC's eyes widened and stared, his breath becoming ragged, he stared down at Kibi, clutching his shoulder where his left arm was meant to be, now a bloody stump, the arm itself being held by a frantic Tao, everyone surrounded Kibi, a second later JC fell to his knees, Juno glancing over and going over to him,
"JC, are you OK, say something" she said, but he didn't respond, Sanu turned to see this after Legoshi and Riz left carrying Kibi and his arm respectively
"he's suffering a PTSD relapse" Sanu said as JC started gagging a bit, Dom rushing over with a bucket used for cleaning and holding it in front of JC's face seconds before JC started blowing chunks into it "Bill, help get him away from the blood, hurry" Bill came over, then he and Juno dragged JC out into the corridor, Dom holding the bucket in place just in case,
"will he be OK?" Dom asked Sanu,
"i'm unsure" he replied "Juno, stay with him, let us know if anything else happens" she nodded as the 3 males went back into the main room, JC coughed a bit and looked up at Juno
"j-Ju-no" he said, struggling to speak
"it's OK JC, I'm here" she said, holding him close, not caring if any of the others saw, Pina passing them as he took Kibi's bag to the infirmary
"k-Kibi….."
"he'll be OK, Legoshi and Riz took him to the infirmary" at the mention of Riz's name, JC's eyes widened a bit but he groaned, not in shape to move anywhere "do-do you need anything?"
"j-just some water" Juno nodded, got up and went to grab a cup, JC carefully sat up, pushing the bucket to the side, panting gently
'a relapse, now? After all this time? The last time was nearly 4 months ago, and yet I managed to overcome it then, so, why after so long, I suddenly have another attack, from a torn off arm of all things'
he looked up as Juno returned with the cup of water which JC downed quickly, Sanu coming out
"how are you feeling JC?" he asked
"shaken, and a bit drained" JC replied quietly
"i've decided to cancel drama club for the day while I make up the incident report, I suggest you get back to your cabin and rest, Juno, can you escort him there?" he asked
"of course" she said, helping him up and guiding him to the cabin, various students noticing but saying nothing.
Juno carefully laid JC onto his bed, he was still panting gently, his brow slick with sweat, he glanced up at Juno as she gently kneeled beside him,
"hey, how are you feeling?" she gently asked
"heh, like crap" JC responded quietly "but thank you for asking Juno" she gently smiled and stood
"well, I should get back and gather my things" she said before turning to leave, stopping when she felt JC gently grabbing her wrist,
"please, don't go" Juno looked at JC silently before taking that hand in hers and kneeling again
"i'll come back to keep you company, I promise" she told him, giving him a gentle kiss on the cheek before heading out, JC slowly looked at the ceiling, glancing at a corner where a small spider had spun it's web, he silently remembered back to when Juno brought it to his attention..
"ahh! you have a spider up there" Juno nearly shrieked, grabbing a notepad to throw at it,
"easy Juno, it's not going to harm you" JC said, gently taking her hand, she silently looked at him "it'll only bite you if you aggravate it, so I just tend to ignore it, and anyway" JC looked back at it "it being there reminds me about how truly alone I am here, the lone human, amongst the plentiful animal species" Juno stared at JC before looking at the spider's web
"i guess it'd be lonely too if I was the only wolf here" she said, putting the notepad down, calming down enough to notice that the web was out of the way of everything else in the room
"just ignore it tonight Juno, this night belongs to us"
JC stared at it more, before opening the draw of a beside table and pulling out Kelsey's character sheet, he stared at her Lycan form before looking at the start of a new Armoured Warrior form next to it before putting it away again as Juno returned.
A few days later, Juno silently sat in the drama club as Sanu put the situation of recent events to a vote, asking the other members if they wanted to follow the new rule of segregation, or to protest it in some way, in her mind, she wanted to segregate so that only to protect the herbivores from herself, she glanced around as Bill and Els burst in, claiming that they didn't want the segregation, she frowned gently, then realised something, apart from Tao, who was suspended due to the incident, and Kibi who was currently in the hospital, someone was missing,
"hey, has anyone seen JC recently?" she asked, knowing that after the night she stayed with him until he peacefully got some sleep, she hadn't seen him,
"i don't think anyone has seen him since the accident" Sanu said,
"come to think of it, JC didn't go to Tem's memorial until after he got over his PTSD the first time" Riz admitted,
"and for good reason" Els explained "jc told me after summer that he was afraid, afraid of triggering an episode if he even approached lecture room 2, that's probably why he isn't here today" everyone looked at her, they all knew JC wasn't the strongest physically or mentally, but they knew that he was adaptable, able to rise to the challenge given time to do so,
"if that is the case, what do you think he'd say to this?" Bill questioned, Legoshi looked at him silently
"whatever I'd say, it'd better be the right decision" everyone looked to the doors as JC stepped in "sorry I'm late, I'm afraid that I was getting over feeling sorry for myself about being scared, well I say, no more" he approached and sat behind Legoshi, glancing over at Juno and giving her a gentle smile, she returned it and looked back towards Sanu as he resumed talking
'in spite of what happened, he looks as if nothing ever happened, Els did say that he would rise to the challenge given time, so I guess that he managed to get over it sooner this time, but I'm willing to bet that he's much stronger then we give him credit for, and that's why I love him'
Juno's smile broadened a bit while she thought this
'but then, what would he say to this unity vs segregation talk?'