"You want me to run for Vice President?" Toma repeats incredulously.

"Not run. Win." Hafsa chomps into her egg roll emphatically. "I know you can. Just trust me."

The panther seated opposite to her lowers his ears, distraught. With slacked jaw, he gapes at her as she finishes the last bites of her dinner.

"I-I dunno, Hafsa…" He stammers. "You've been really cool to me so it's not like I don't wanna help you out but… I'm not cut out for student council stuff."

"Why not?" The serval insists. "Your grades are excellent. You got a good head on your shoulders. You're exactly what Noah's Arc is looking for!"

Her buddy's face twists into an even more uncomfortable grimace. "I'm not really a p-people person. Putting myself out there like that… I'd rather just keep doing my own thing."

"Modesty doesn't suit you, big guy." Hafsa's lips twitch upwards, her eyes glimmering with ambition. "You're just a little… rusty when it comes to socializing. I'll help you out with your campaign. Not bad, huh?"

The panther's expression tells her he's far from convinced. Looking at his tensed disposition, the female's smile slowly fades, sobering into a more serious stare.

"You're scared of Ezekiel, aren't you?"

"Well, it's not like I'm not…" Toma answers quietly. "But all of it freaks me out. The speeches, and the questions, and the audiences. I don't wanna be… looked at."

Hafsa's brow raises in surprise. "You don't wanna be looked at…? That's impossible."

"What do you mean?"

"Everyone wants to be looked at, Toma. Every single animal on this earth wants to be liked. Are you telling me you don't want to be popular?"

The dark cat falters. With shameful eyes pointed down at his empty plate, he shakes his head.

"Of course not…" The serval's voice is warm and understanding. "All your life you've been hiding in a corner, haven't you? Too scared to turn around because as soon as you do, other animals will run away in fear, won't they?"

Toma nods.

"You must have been so lonely… For others to always expect the worse from you, when you're really so kind… Isn't it unfair?"

Toma nods again.

"It would be even more unfair for a cretin like Ezekiel to become Vice President and harass you and other carnies, forcing you back in that corner, don't you think?"

Toma nods once more.

"With a little help from me and the student council, you can finally break free from that corner. No more hiding. No more being scared. Everyone would be your friend. Doesn't that sound nice?"

Toma nods.

"So, what do you say?"

Toma looks up.

"I… gotta think about it."

Hafsa's smile hardens, betraying a glimpse of disappointment. "Take your time."

It was too awkward for Hafsa to guide Toma home. He politely dismissed her from her buddy duties for the day. The serval, being the master of social protocol, showed no signs of distress or frustration over this, bidding him a cheerful good night before returning to her dorm. Though the panther knew he should follow her lead and go back to his room as well, the unrest building in the pit of his stomach warned him that there would be no rest for the next couple of hours. Being cooped up in his dorm is not what his body wants right now.

With great difficulty, he begins the treacherous journey around the campus grounds. It's still early in the night; dusk still looms in the distant horizon, tinging the sky with an eerie strip of color ever more suffocated by the encroaching darkness. Other students pass by, shooting him looks ranging from bewildered to fearful. Their paces quicken, their courses swerve around him, their clutches on their bags tighten.

Nothing new. It's always been like this, even before that damned collar got strapped on his neck.

The feline stumbles, nearly falling face-first into the dirt path. His whiskers just can't seem to grow back fast enough. Even though he can feel newborn strands beginning to peek out from his fur if he presses his fingers on his muzzle, they lack the ability to orient him yet. Not wanting to scuff up his clothes, he resorts to hobbling with slowly careful steps down the campus's incline.

The sun is completely out of sight by the time he reaches the bottom of the hill. The terrain shifts to an unsteady gravel. The parking lot. The panther tiptoes on the pebbles, which give way under his weight. The shifting surface unnerves him, but even still, he staggers on until he reaches the sealed main gates of the academy. Beyond the steel bars, he can see wandering guards patrolling the outside area a couple of yards away to the tune of a tangled choir of cricket chirps.

Toma wraps his fingers around the bars, internally flinching at the cold sensation of the night-chilled metal. He rests his forehead against the gate too, and settles for staring blankly at the coordinated movements of the guards' flashlights. It seems Noah's Arc had to upgrade its security recently. Some incident that went down last year, as Desmond had once told him.

It had to be some kind of predation, thought Toma. If that's true, then I really have no business being here.

He wants to go swimming. Even now, it's his natural response to this feeling. Whenever his father called him a beast, it made him want to swim fifteen laps. Juvie had a pool, but only the non-collared could use it. It called to him as he passed by, a call he could never answer.

The nylon strangles him. The shocking mechanism weighs a ton. He just wants to rip it off. He just wants to be free.

Hafsa's words ring in his ears.

"All your life you've been hiding in a corner, haven't you? Too scared to turn around because as soon as you do, other animals will run away in fear, won't they?"

Yes.

He's behaved all his life. All he's ever wanted was to be loved. Or at least to be liked. And look where that's gotten him.

The inside of his mouth suddenly tastes horrible. Despite having just eaten dinner, his stomach growls.

Ah, yes. Besides wanting to swim, this feeling always makes him hungry for eggs.

That's when he heard a peculiar sound in the distance.

The male herbivore common room is abuzz. A swarm of animals, most of larger scale, all circle around one particular white rhino, who laughs boisterously along with the rest.

"You've got my vote, that's for damn sure!" An elk says amongst the havoc.

"Ezekiel for vice, hell yeah!" A hippo agrees emphatically.

"It's about time!" A zebra adds. "I got a little sister who goes here. She was in the same class as that crazy tiger bitch, too. She could've been killed!"

"Noah's Arc needs to be safer for herbies," A bison bull snorts. "The current student council doesn't give a shit, though. Those damn carnies only look out for their own kind. I bet they kicked the sheep out!"

"I wouldn't doubt it." A tapir nods his head. "They probably want to put another carnie in charge. The pigeon's next to go, I'm calling it."

"Next thing you know, they'll be mandating monthly sauce baths for herbies just to make it easier to eat us." A Galapagos tortoise sneers.

Ezekiel's voice rises up against the clamor. "I'm just honored you gents would support me. Means a lot."

"Are you kidding me?" The hippo slaps his back. "DAVID's got you all the way!"

"Not just DAVID, too." A mule speaks up from the crowd. "All us herbies know how much you care for us and the academy. You're always there, helping those who need it."

"Damn straight." The zebra chimes in. "Most of us herbies are scared out of our wits nowadays. If it weren't for DAVID, I'm sure most of us would've booked it by now!"

Ezekiel huffs at this. "Well, you're right to stay. Why should we have to leave? We're normal, honest people. It's the carnies who should leave. They're the ones who are dangerous! They're the ones dragging this hallowed academy's name though the mud! They're the ones who killed those good animals last year!"

The horde roars with cheers. Stomping around wildly, they chant 'Ezekiel for vice!' nonstop. The chorus shakes the very foundation of the building itself and echoes in the pitch black atmosphere, engulfing the entire campus within.

The white rhinoceros hero shuts his eyes, content in feeling the tremors of his adoration. It feels entirely right.

These are the animals he loves. The ones he will protect by any means necessary from bullies. Those mangy student council cats can try their luck against him, but their power is meaningless in the world of the just and the democratic.

He will win. And he will relish it.

Hafsa is unsure as to whether she should wait outside the male carnivore dorm. She glances around the area, observing the steady stream of animals that exit the building in lively groups headed towards the Noah building.

She was more assertive last night than she had ever been. Something inside her is growing impatient. The war cry she heard yesterday only further rattles her nerves. She has five days to find a potential candidate until the campaigning begins. She had hoped that Toma would have said yes (she made a hell of a case for herself) but perhaps she isn't as persuasive as she would like to believe. She could've sworn she was a better manipulator in her past. Curse the student council for turning her soft.

Despite the awkward limbo she finds herself in with her panther buddy, she is nonetheless responsible for him. She'll have to put her feelings aside and carry on walking with him, same as any other day. Once she spots the black feline, she greets him with a friendly wave.

"Good morning, Toma!" She chirps.

"Morning…" He replies with not even a quarter of the enthusiasm.

The serval tries to gauge if his apathy is due to his usual sleepiness or a potential grudge against her.

Before she can begin her famous smalltalk, however, Toma whips out a slip of paper and holds it to her face.

"I asked Solomon to give me this last night." He blurts. "Had to wake him up for it, too."

Dazed, Hafsa forces her eyes to focus on printed words of the paper. "You… filled out the candidate application form?"

"Yeah."

A surge of emotions attack Hafsa's nervous system. Astonishment, elation, pride, worry, to name a few.

"Wha...? Why did you change you mind?"

Toma's eyes are fierce but as clear as water. "You heard it too, didn't you?"

She understands.

The panther smirks.

"Let's go win this thing, then."

AN: Thank you for reading. This chapter is a bit on the shorter side, my apologies. Sometimes pacing ends up like that.

I like writing Toma. Okay, I like writing everyone. But I think his struggles with his identity are so different to Hafsa and Sol. Thinking about the nuances in how a carnivore processes their struggles is a lot of fun. Especially with Toma's backstory, which was hinted at this chapter.

Take it easy and stay safe.