Mason had resorted to manning the filing cabinet himself, and the siege on the armory continued. "One, two! One, two! One, two!"

"Shit, shit put it down!" The pronghorn yelped out.

The whole group let it clang to the floor as Mason stepped over. "You got it Andy?"

"Yeah, yeah it's just…. Ack…" He massaged his slender arm beneath his long-sleeve shirt. "Pulled something, that's it, I'll be fine…"

Legosi stood down the hallway, watching. Nervously he folded one arm across his chest, rubbing his other elbow. Should he offer to help? He didn't know if he really wanted to, he didn't know if he would trust them with guns… but at the same time, the worst they had been towards him was suspicious. Even that had seemed to fade a bit. "H-Hey?" he asked before he could stop himself.

Mason looked over his shoulder at him.

"Do you… want me to help?"

The human boy processed that for a moment… then he looked back. "Know what, I appreciate it. But I think we need to break for now, we've been at this for a few hours even before you showed up." He flashed a friendly smile, before motioning to the rest. "We'll work on it more in the morning."

Legosi nodded, and began to turn, but Mason gestured for his attention again.

"Real quick though, I want to ask…" He crossed his arms, cocked his head and narrowed his eyes. "What exactly is your job for Louis?"

"I'm, ah…" Shit, what was the thing Louis had wanted him to say? He wanted to keep the story straight still. "I'm muscle, you know, to scare people that need to be scared?"

"Uh huh…" Mason bounced lightly on his heels. "Then how come I never saw you before?"

"Huh?"

"My dad's been paying off the Shishigumi for years. I've seen Louis around more than a few times. Why weren't you with him then?"

"Uhhhhhh…" Shit, shit shit shit. "I, uh, just started. Just a couple days ago. Haven't been out all that much."

"Uh huh." He tilted his head the other way, as if measuring something… "You don't seem the type of wolf to get into meat trafficking."

"I-I'm not?"

"Well the fact that you didn't slice my face open at that confirms it," he chuckled, folding his arms. "Right, come on then, how do you know him?"

Legosi gulped. "I…" Dammit, he couldn't keep the charade up any more. "Okay… We were in school together. And then, I was trying to… I had an appointment, with a…" The image of Gouhin smacking his palm with his bamboo staff filled his mind. "With a therapist. I tried to get here when the riot started. Haru texted me before the cell blackout, she was scared…"

Mason turned to look at Haru. She was sitting in a chair, bored out of her mind, but when she noticed the two boys looking at her she straightened up. The human looked down, then back at Legosi. "I can understand. But just so you know, neither I nor any of my friends here threatened her. We found some people acting aggressive, we kicked them out. But I personally promise that nobody here will harm you."

"Well, heheh, that's good then," Legosi gave a slight smile.

Mason nodded along softly… then he reached out, took Legosi's bare shoulder, and turned him away from everyone else. Under his breath he whispered, "By the way, I wanted to know…" The wolf felt one ear twitch, "are you and her… you know, together?"

He bristled a bit. "I mean… if we were, would that be a problem?"

"No," he was quick to answer. "No, no, the opposite in fact." That was what Legosi hadn't been expecting to hear. "I just want you to know that, part of our vision for species equality… we'd support all families. Even a wolf and a rabbit."

Legosi turned to him fully, jaw slightly hanging open. "But… but how though?"

At that Mason just shrugged, grinning. "What's a law but words on paper? And words can be rewritten, my friend. It's all about who believes in them, and if enough people don't believe, then… it's not really real, is it? Or like, what we signed, the proclamation? It's just words on a piece of printer paper, but every person who signed it made those words stronger. And they'll be real if we believe they're real."

The wolf thought to himself. A world where he and Haru might actually have a chance, to not just love each other but to love each other openly. A world where they wouldn't have to choose between having a comfortable life, and their relationship.

"Rest for now," Mason nodded. "We're going to need it. Tomorrow is a big day."

He walked away, motioning to talk to Grace. Meanwhile, Legosi returned to Haru, who had her hands on her knees, her ears askew. "Talking about me?" she teased.

"I… er, sorry, I—"

She laughed. "It's okay, I know you didn't say anything bad about me." And it wasn't said in a leading way; they were sincere words of trust. "What was he asking about?"

"Just, you know, if we were… together."

"Oh? And did he have a problem with that?"

"No. Kinda the opposite actually…"

Haru raised her brow in surprise. "Huh. Well, all the better then…" She thought for a moment. "So what did you say to him?"

"You know, I think he knew. And if he tried to say something bad about it, then…" he huffed.

"You'd show him what a big scary wolf you are?" she snickered.

"Hmmmm… maybe," at that he gave a soft smile. "But… speaking of, I wanted to talk to you about something…"

He sat on a chair at the desk opposite from her, and her eyes grew expectant.

"You might have been wondering, how I ran into Louis when he was at the Back Alley Market?"

"Um… yeah, I guess that's a weird 'coincidence', as he put it."

Legosi ran his hand over his head, making his right ear flatten. "I've been… seeing someone there."

"Seeing someone?" Her tone began to sound suspicious, and Legosi realized how his words could be interpreted.

"A doctor! A doctor, I've been seeing a doctor!" She relaxed again. "And he's been helping me, to control my instincts, so that way I feel safer around you, and you can feel safer around me."

Haru looked up at him, as the realization slowly dawned over her. "For me? You're taking instinct training for me? But that's…" She knew how difficult it was, the kind of regimen he had to endure. And the fact he was doing that, on top of school, just for her sake? Legosi could see it in her eyes, her astonishment.

"That's what I have to do, so that one day, we can kiss. Really kiss. And you won't have to be afraid."

"One day?" She got a smirk on her face as she slid off her chair, coming up to him. "Nah, that's too far away." Suddenly gripped his jawbones, her fingers in his fur, and locked lips.

Legosi felt a momentary panic as his heart leapt and his fur prickled. But as he ran his hands over her body, he couldn't help but pick her up and bring her up onto the seat with him. She gasped, but didn't stop. The feeling of Haru as he held her close against his chest gave him shivers. The wolf wrapped his arms around her, virtually claiming her, but she was still in control. She pushed back and up, her hands on his shoulders now, as she knelt over his torso. Her eyes were confident, flirty.

"Looks like I'm still in one piece. Hope you didn't train too much wolf out of you…"

Legosi was breathless. He glanced over at the rebels, some of the staring. Then he looked back at Haru. Planting one foot on the ground, he rolled the chair back, behind the cubicle walls. Just for a little more privacy…

Hours ticked by, and attitudes in the station were quieting. It had been a wild day after all, and the snacks available in the break rooms were hardly filling. Vigil sat on a rollaway chair, his head on one hand atop a desk, trying to sneak in a few hours of restless sleep.

The stairwell door slammed open.

Vigil jolted awake, and murmurs and light curses rippled through the room as people woke to find Clement bursting in from upstairs. "Hey! Hey," he gasped, hands on his knees and his forehead beading in sweat. "We… we got the…"

Mason came over, the only person who stayed up on guard. He rested his hands on Clement's shoulder, watching to make sure he was okay.

"We got the door upstairs, open!" Another deep inhale. "The Beastar's apartment!"

At that there was a renewed wave of interest, people starting up and forward. Vigil glanced around… and then he also got up.

Jack sitting beside him seemed surprised. "Vigil, I don't know if we—"

"Mind if I go up there?" he spoke, trying to keep his voice assertive. It was an unfamiliar sensation, and he sounded a tad whinier than he wanted. But he shook it off. When he saw people staring at him, he pinched the edges of his shirt and lifted them. "I haven't changed my clothes in two weeks. I wanna shower."

At that he heard good-natured chuckles. Clement nodded, "Yeah, course, it's everyone's apartment now, right Mason?"

Mason nodded. "Go on, get that shower," he grinned.

Vigil rode the elevator all the way up. On his left was a capybara, eyes slightly jumpy, and on the right were a lioness and a human girl. The elevator dinged open, and after one more door they stepped into Yafya's apartment.

Wide windows opened out into the city beyond; aside from a couple burning cars down the street the building sat on, the town seemed quiet, like almost nothing had really been perturbed. Most of the buildings still had power, so their lights still glittered against the black night. Back inside, most people congregated around the counter island and fridge to raid what food they could find. The lioness jumped for a flatscreen in the sitting area, but when she flipped through channels they were all dead. Vigil, himself, stepped forward to the windows to look out. Cherryton looked so different from up here. He couldn't see people down below, and despite teeming with over half a million people it seemed so silent and still. Was it just because of the revolution, or did it always feel like this? Vigil didn't like the way it made his stomach feel, so he turned and made for the other doors, eventually finding the bathroom.

The shower had an overhead nozzle, walk-in shelves, and enough space to fit a car! As he washed, Vigil hung his clothes over some spare towel bars to try to air them out at least a little bit. He wasn't keen on immediately putting back on dirty clothes, but he didn't exactly have anything else to wear. At least after he finished showering, he rinsed his garments and tried to take a blowdryer to them. Better than nothing.

He was in there for a long while, he thought at least half an hour. When Vigil stepped out and came into the apartment again, most everyone had grown bored of it. The television on the wall still played static. He was alone… except for the deer looking out the windows.

Vigil recognized him, and he felt a chill. For a moment he stood there, not wanting to move. But Louis spied him in the reflection. "I don't bite…"

It did little to calm Vigil's nerves, but he felt now almost obligated to approach this deer, head of the feared lion gang. But, he didn't let himself give in all the way. He stayed back, crossing his arms. "What do you want?"

"I don't know, you're the one who stopped to stare." He absentmindedly pulled a cigarette from his pants pocket, slipping it between his lips. "Happy Rope Day, by the way."

"Why, you're saying that because I'm a human?"

"I'm saying that because you're a human living in one of the exile communities. In fact you're one of the most famous humans from those communities. And I know that you recognize this as a solemn day, so, yes, I am trying to be nice by offering you a Happy Rope Day." He pulled out his lighter.

Vigil bit at his lip, his face still set. "...Right, well it's not really a 'happy' Day of the Rope, it's not that kind of holiday." He could see the deer's eyes flicker in genuine curiosity, and the boy dared to draw closer. "It's more of a… we say, 'Have a peaceful day.'" Louis nodded at that, thoughtful, letting out a long breath of smoke. There was silence… something was eating at Vigil. "You know Haru?"

At that the deer seemed genuinely surprised. "Do you?"

"Yeah, I was in the academy with her. Makes sense that I'd know her. How do you know her?"

He blinked, processing something. He seemed to wrestle with how to intone the words, before finally going with a flat emotionless approach: "...She never mentioned me then?"

"I think I'd remember her mentioning she was friends with a crime lord."

"...I see." It was so stolid, like he meant to bury his heart in cement to prevent anything from showing. And ironically, from that, Vigil could tell the deer was wounded. "No one talked about me to you?"

The pieces began to connect. "Did you… you went to the academy?"

"Dropped out only… I'd say, only a few weeks before you joined." Louis shook his head. "Headmaster begged me to stay, said I would have been a perfect Beastar. But I couldn't do it, not any more."

But Vigil hooked on that last phrase. "Wait, you were a Young Beastar candidate? And you just…walked away?" If Louis had been apparently obedient and ideological enough to be considered for Beastar at all, then… "What happened?"

Louis sighed. "If you don't mind, too many people have already asked me that and I don't feel like reiterating. I didn't want to, end of story." He took a long drag from his cigarette. The deer tried to glance away, but his eyes could still be seen, brooding.

Vigil kept watching. He thought about trying to leave. But something had occurred to him… and if he didn't ask now, he feared it would consume him from the inside. "Do you… have lizards in your gang?"

A scoff. "Thinking of the Dokugumi there. Savage bunch, they are."

Vigil's relief was quickly cut short by disgust. "Don't you sell kids to the meat market? Isn't that what they said?"

A pang crossed the deer's face. "That's old history. They're not there any more. Saw it myself, the Market got torn to pieces. They got saved."

"Yeah, until you get new stock and—"

"We're not," Louis cut him off. "Getting new stock, I mean. We're not doing that any more."

"...Well, that's good, then." Vigil fit his hands in his pockets, the damp fabric feeling unpleasant against his skin. He turned to go back to the elevator, but he heard the deer's voice again:

"Why'd you want to know about the lizards?"

Vigil paused. "...No reason."

"Strange thing to say for no reason."

"...They did something to me." He turned, facing the deer again. This time, the deer also turned to face him. "Long ago, and I just…. It's nothing. Really."

"What if I said yes?" The deer had one arm across his chest, his other elbow rested on it as he held his cigarette up. "Would you have attacked me? Tried to kill me?"

"No, I… I don't know, okay?" But Vigil could see that he wasn't going to let this go so easily. "I dunno, just… would have told you about it. See if it hit your conscience at all. Not like it would."

"I'm just trying to provide a service that carnivores need. It's not my fault if nature made us with monstrous needs."

Vigil just shook his head. "There. Exactly. I don't… you know, I don't know why Dad even had hope this would ever work. All you do is see humans as blood bags because we know the police won't help us!"

"They know what they're agreeing to, they're smart enough to understand—"

"My parents died from it." Vigil finally snapped. "Okay, they got trapped in debt, they couldn't get help because they'd be thrown in jail for selling blood. And then your gangs murdered them."

"The Dokugumi murdered them," Louis corrected.

"Your gangs!" Vigil raised his voice. "All of you! You all do the same exact shit! I just told you my parents were killed and all you can do is deflect it! You don't give a shit! No, I know now why you decided to not be Beastar. Because it wasn't enough for you. You wanted to see people suffer. You threw away being top of an All-Species Academy, all that privilege, to be a blood dealer. You probably had your parents, filthy rich parents who pampered and—"

In an instant the deer had drawn close, his glare dark and fearsome. While Vigil was about eye to eye, Louis' antlers gave an impressive height advantage as he growled, "You have no idea where I came from… the things I had to do to survive…"

Vigil shut up. For a moment he feared he was about to be killed. But the deer kept going, his voice dark and spiteful.

"You think you're the only one who lost people to the Back Alley Market? You think you have a sob story? I was born in a cell. I know what happens in the market. You don't think I know how awful it all is?" He scowled, shaking his head. "When you're born in a place like that, you get hardwired to survive. It means pushing your way to the top of the pack, no matter where you are, and staying there. And sometimes that means playing politics. You trade things, trade people. If I'd ended up in charge of a company, or a bureau, it'd be the same game, except I'd get to pretend to be respectable."

His cigarette had run out. With a groan he plucked it from his lips and tossed it to the tile, where it rolled away quietly smoldering. He finally stepped back from Vigil as he went for another cigarette, pulling out the lighter at the same time. Another inhale of smoke, and a long exhale into the air above their heads. Louis' head stayed tilted back, pointed up to the ceiling..

"Crazy to think I might have ended up here…" He turned, gesturing his cigarette around him. "I might have been Beastar, and doing the same thing I do now. I thought about it sometimes… what kind of Sublime Beastar I would have been. Probably a businessman, inheriting my adopted father's company, one of the biggest enterprises on the planet, turning it into the biggest. And I'd be up here… and still, whenever I'd close my eyes," he did so, "I would still see their faces. Friends I saw get dragged out of their cells, auctioned off to a hungry carnivore." He opened his eyes again, and something different seemed to have come over him. A kind of deep-rooted sadness… and when he spoke again, there was a crack in his voice. "So don't think you can judge me for trying to get by. Because even if I did tear down the market, brick by brick, I will still close my eyes and see them. That will never go away."

Vigil took a shaking breath. He realized he hadn't blinked in a while, and tried to drop his gaze. His face burned.

"You don't have to accept this if you don't want," Louis looked at him, his eyes no longer cold and detached, "but I am sorry about what you went through, and the way your parents got trapped." He gave a long sigh, screwing his eyes shut, pressing his thumb between them. "Sometimes, I forget that there are people who weren't born there, who don't feel trapped there. People who have never even seen it. And it can make you feel like there's not even a world beyond the archways, a world with different morals. With better morals…"

"Better morals?" He was surprised to hear the deer say that.

"I haven't really talked to the others, but when this is all over, the Market's going to change. It has to. And I don't give a shit what anyone has to say about it."

A news stinger blared behind them.

Vigil whirled around as the Breaking News segment played, the signal restored. He consciously backed up to keep the deer in his sights, but Louis didn't seem to have any plans. Instead they stared as Kyo appeared, the ferret in a thick winter coat, standing outside on the dark streets. He clenched his microphone tight, "An update from the city of Cherryton, where deadly riots have terrorized the citizenry. The office of the Beastar has confirmed that the violence was instigated by human restorationist groups, in retaliation for the apprehension of Sage X earlier this week." As he spoke, an inset window showed footage of tear gas clouding the streets, people swinging signs and breaking windows. "There was even an incursion into City Hall, which you can see just behind me, disrupting the annual Mayoral Ball and causing the deaths of several prominent figures including Mayor Leonard, Oguma of the Horns Conglomerate, Representative Aga…" The cigarette had fallen from Louis' fingers, his hand still in place, shocked into silence, "...as well as Father Reed, head of the local human outpost who according to witnesses had been…"

No.

Vigil felt his heart stop. No, Dad, he was… no, but then who would… Dad… His throat cracked. At first it didn't even really sink in. It was like cold water upon soil, percolating slowly deeper and deeper as he realized it.

Dad was gone.

The words on the television didn't register any more. Haze seemed to fill his peripheral vision as his breath came more heavily. The village, it'd… it'd be Flint next, in charge. That was virtually certain. The political side of things would be filled as they needed to be. But that still left Vigil feeling more alone than ever.

He was so overwhelmed by processing it all that he barely noticed Louis sitting at the table. The deer looked as if he'd be sick. With trembling fingers he pulled a silver coin from his pocket, staring at it, turning it over…

Vigil looked back at the ferret on TV, the pictures of the dead behind him, as he went on about the attack. The deer… Vigil realized what had happened with another twist in his gut. He could just make out Kyo assuring the viewer that boots were on the ground. Armed forces were securing the city, order was being restored. Animals with automatic rifles and black masks patrolled the academy, closed highways, rode armored trucks through the streets. He could barely gulp, making a choking sound. But that was enough to get him moving, hurrying to the elevator. They had to get out of here, all of them.

Help wasn't coming.