"Hey, Legosi! Wait up!"
"Huh? Durham? Do you need anything?"
"Sure thing! You heading for the storage house?"
"It's more of an auditorium..."
"Yeah, sure. We can call it that. Anyways, I kinda need to go with you."
"Huhhh, go with me?... why?"
"Well, I need to talk with Els."
Legosi blinked. His body slowly turned around to adress the shorter canine. A dubious look on his face as the wolf tried to make sense of Durham's intentions.
'I don't understand. None of the others ever bothered about anyone from the club. Yet, ever since his last visit, Durham has been asking about everyone in it. Normally I wouldn't mind, but there has to be a reason for him to be acting up like this.'
Legosi tried yesterday to ask Jack if he knew anything, but Jack made it very clear that he wasn't getting involved, whatever that meant.
'Should I ask him why? I don't want to pry into his business. Still, I can't help but to be worried. I don't think Durham would ever hurt anyone, but talking with herbivores out of the blue like this would raise suspicion... just like talking with Haru.'
"Legosi, are you done staring into my soul?" Durham asked crudely. The wolf blinked as he became one with reality again, finding himself looking at Durham's joyful grin.
"Oh, huh. Sorry. I had a lot to think about these days." He replied meekly.
The apology intrigued the coyote. Durham wondered if Jack's suspicions about Legosi have some validation after all.
"Shall we get going? I don't know much about it, but I think that deer friend of yours wouldn't like for you to be late." Durham asked while walking past the troubled wolf.
Legosi slowly followed after Durham, seemingly hesitant about voicing his own opinions on the matter.
"Louis wouldn't be too bothered about the lack of one stage crew member. Although Kai still is getting familiar with the lighting sets, I should be looking on him just in case." Legosi said, his voice devoid of any concern despite his words.
"Riiiight. Say, why you work on backstage again? I mean, is it true what they say about the members of that club?" Durham asked, glancing at his roommate with a frown of concern. Legosi returned the glance with his own impassive expression.
"Well, I work there cause I like what I do."
"Huh, fair enough."
"And... what's the rumor that you heard about the club?" Legosi asked, genuinely intrigued by what could be the gossip. He rarely heard people talking about clubs in particular, but after Tem's death the amount of popularity the club gained was mind-blowing. It was also somewhat infuriating.
"Eh, just that people that join the club had bad things happen with them in the past." Durham pushed the exit door open, grabbing the lever and keeping it from closing back so Legosi could follow without trouble. The wolf thanked him with a nod.
"Well, I guess it's somewhat true. Everyone I know there has... faced issues. Although I don't know about some members. Kai knows a bit more about that than I do. Where or how he found out I have no idea." Legosi explained, he occasionally wondered if his own background was one of the main reasons to be accepted. One would think he was just too peaceful to have faced anything difficult. "I don't know why having a troubled past would need to be a thing to be part of the club. Is a bit odd. I never realized it until Kai talked about it."
Durham nodded, his mind racing with awful thoughts about what could've been the reason behind Ellen's acceptance. His attention wavered as he watched the empty pathway towards the storage compound. It was getting late, for whatever reason the Drama club scheduled their practicing acts at each end of afternoon.
"This is odd, isn't it?"
"What you mean?"
"You and me hanging out, just the two of us. It's kind of a first. I don't think you ever go somewhere with any of of us other than Jack. Unless we're all grouped up."
Legosi remained silent. Durham made a good point. The wolf never really hung out with his other roommates individually, Jack being the obvious exception.
Perhaps Legosi should try to variate his inner circle of people he usually talks with.
Durham was an oddity among his group of canine roommates. The coyote rarely got upset at something or anyone. His disposition to help others was quite admirable, although his sarcasm and smugness at times could be quite irksome. The coyote could be quite shrewd when he wanted to, his uncaring attitude towards Herbivores commonly mistaken by distaste.
Legosi's thoughts were interrupted as both reached their destination. The wolf opened one of the main doors of the auditorium, allowing him and Durham to enter a vast darkness, where the only source of light available was coming from the sizable stage.
At mentioned stage some members were already practicing their acts. Durham took no less than a second to spot Ellen onstage along with Louis, Tao, and two other members he didn't recognize. It seemed they were just finishing perfecting one of Adler's scenes.
Louis voice boomed across the spaced room, his speech firm and imposing. His glare rather unsettling to witness. Such ferocity his face expressed that Durham couldn't help but admire him.
At least until he grabbed Ellen's hand and ran around the stage area, the other hand holding some sort of stick while being chased by the other three actors. Ellen's distressed voice reached the coyote's ears. For nearly a brief moment Durham wanted to rush after her. He had to beat his own self into reminding that this is just an act, nothing bad is going to happen.
Although the spark of burning jealousy had been ignited. He couldn't help but glare at the way Louis dragged her around the stage, Ellen's acting wasn't fooling him. Despite her fake terrified face, he could see in her eyes, even at such distance, how much she was enjoying herself.
Durham hoped it was the acting that she was enjoying. Not being pulled all over the place by the flaunting deer.
"Ah, Legosi, we were looking for you!"
Both Durham and Legosi averted their attention from the stage to the familiar figure of Dom standing nearby an open side soor.
"Sorry Dom. I was busy with homework. Are the others with you?" The wolf asked apologetically.
"Oh, yes. We are rearranging the uniforms and costumes. If you don't mind helping us."
"I'm coming right away."
Dom nodded before gracefully exiting back through the door. Legosi sighed as he addressed the coyote.
"I have some errands to do. Will you need anything?"
"Nah, don't worry. Besides, I think I saw Els near the stage. I will find my way around."
"Just... be careful."
"Heh, don't worry Legosi. I won't eat anyone."
The wolf flinched at the joke. A reminder of an awful event from recent days. Durham noticed this strange reaction but said nothing on it.
"Hum, right. I should go."
Durham watched as Legosi walked away despondently. The coyote couldn't help but worry about him, it was clear that something was causing turmoil on the taller carnivore.
"Alright everyone, that was a great rehearsing!"
Durham blinked, his eyes focusing back to the stage. Louis was standing still with Ellen covering behind him. A pelican approached them, his words inaudible at the current distance.
Durham observed as Louis handed his training stick towards Ellen. He ignored her entirely as he focused on whatever the small avian was telling him about. Ellen bowed to Louis, although the gesture was rather awkward as he had his back facing her. The zebra turned around slowly, her disappointment quickly masked once she was greeted by Els.
Durham felt genuinely bad for her. It was obvious that she had hopes of being acknowledged by the deer, but Louis indifference was a slap to the face.
He felt so bad that he simply could not miss the chance of rubbing it on her face. Maybe now she would understand how he felt every time she ignored him.
He approached both girls quietly. Both were observing as Louis directed more of his grandiose towards the Carnivore actors. Durham whistled as he got close enough. Els heard the whistle and turned her head his way, but Ellen remained fixated on the deer.
"Oh, Durham, hi!" Els greeted him with a rather cute smile.
The coyote was taken aback by the fact the goat girl actually remembered his name. Not to mention how strangely fondly she addressed his presence.
He waved at her, an approving smile on his face, thankful that she actually acknowledged his existence with some care.
The mention of his name broke Ellen from her stupor. Her eyes widened as her head slowly rotated to meet the coyote's intense gaze. Her mouth opened slightly, as if she tried to find words to express her shock of seeing him so close, at such place yet again.
"Oh, hey Ellen. Nice to see you again." He greeted smoothly. "How's your foot by the way? I actually forgot to ask. Hopefully my carelessness didn't do anything permanent."
Ellen did her best to not shout back at him. The shit-eating grin on Durham's face was making her blood boil at an exceptional alarming rate.
Els giggled as she switched her view between each of them, seemingly expectant of something interesting to happen. Ellen was far from being humored.
"Els, can we talk in private?" Durham asked, sensing imminent danger as Ellen struggled to maintain a passive behavior. Els nodded, surprised by the suggestion and lightly concerned.
"Hum, sure. We can go to the backstage." She offered as she walked by the zebra. "I will be right back Ellen."
The zebra merely huffed in response. Els frowned at her but said nothing else. Durham climbed the stage to follow after Els, lowering his voice as he passed by the zebra.
"Doesn't feel nice to be getting the cold shoulder too, now does it?"
Ellen remained still, her hands closing into fists, her body starting to shake from sheer anger. Her face screamed promises of endless pain, her eyes narrowed in a way that would make any Carnivore proud.
Durham couldn't help the chuckle as he walked away. If she wanted to be like that so be it. He would poke on her pride as much as he could.
The coyote stopped as he found himself alone with Els on a rather dark area. He could sense her uneasiness from a mile away. The goat stared back at him apprehensively. Durham felt gutted by seeing her discomfort.
"Els, you're not scared of me, right? I may be a Carnivore, sure, but I'm Durham above everything. I may be an ass, sarcastic and rather full of myself at times. Despite all those things I would never want to hurt anyone, unless they assault me or ask for it."
She smiled sheepishly at his own self description. Despite her reasonable reasons to feel concerned the girl was brave enough to look him in the eyes, something that the great majority of Herbivores avoided.
"No, it's okay Durham. I just need to get used to this. I spent most my life being educated on how dangerous Carnivores are. Nobody ever cared to explain that, well... they are animals too. They feel and they hope just like us Herbivores. Legosi helped me saw through most of it. Gray wolfs have a bad reputation and he proved me wrong on everything I thought about him. I guess... that's why him and Tem were so close."
Her crestfallen expression at mentioning Tem was gut-wrenching. The coyote hoped dearly he never has to experience something like that.
"You know, I also had my own biased views on Herbivores. Not until I met you and Ellen I always thought the Herbivores to be spineless and manipulative. Guess we all learn things if we just bothered talking with each other." He added bitterly, his thoughts going back to the stubborn zebra.
"You like Ellen, don't you?"
That question coming out of the blue made Durham jump for a second, he stared back at the goat with incredulity. His thoughts scrambled as he desperately tried to search for a convincing response. Els giggled at his reaction which caused Durham's face to become increasingly hot.
"It's alright, I won't tell her. I kinda had a suspicion when she talked about you sitting next to her in one of her classes. It surprised me you're still going after her despite the way she hurt you." She said sympathetically. Durham could only partially agree.
"Oh, well, I don't mind her hitting me and all. It's kinda endearing actually. It makes her even that more amazing. She's so fierce and strong when she wants to be, yet graceful as gazelle when the occasion demands."
At Els visible confusion the coyote smirked unabashed. Fully aware that he needs to explain it.
"Eh, I may have seen Ellen practicing her dances without her knowing it."
"Durham!"
"What? I didn't mean to! Not entirely though. It sorta happened and, well... she's breathtaking."
Els couldn't help but feel elated that the coyote thought so highly of her friend. That dreamy stare of his was a huge giveaway of how much he fell for the zebra. She was both happy for Ellen and somewhat sad for Durham. Ellen was a very difficult girl even among Herbivores. Durham's chances of swaying her heated opinions of Carnivores were just nearly nonexistent.
Yet, she wanted him to get a chance to prove Ellen wrong about Carnivores, just like Legosi did for the goat.
"Say... does she like Louis?" Durham asked, turning serious as he narrowed his eyes, Els frowned in thought.
"I... think she might? She shares some traits with him, but Louis is... complicated. I can look at Ellen without feeling like I'm being constantly judged."
Durham nodded. He particularly felt the same in that regard. Having Louis undivided attention could be rather unsettling. The coyote had that experience in his first year, he never went near Louis ever since.
The echo of voices reached their ears. It was clear that the actors were rehearsing again.
"We should go back. I kinda need to keep my eyes on their play." Els warned him. He nodded in agreement, walking back to the source of light alongside the goat.
"Hey, Els?"
"Hmm?"
"I... thank you. You know? For... listening. It's nice to know that there's an Herbivore out there that will hear me out."
"You're welcome. Also I'm happy to know there's more than just one Legosi out there."
Durham gasped dramatically at the comparison.
"You just did not compare me with Legosi! Girl, shame on you!" He retorted, pretending to be offended by her words.
Els laughed at his joke, looking far more comfortable around him this time around.
They both reached the more illuminated stage, watching as Louis repeated the previous scene, although the fight seemed even more fierce this time around.
Had Durham not been much closer as he was previously, he would've failed to notice Louis strange movements. His running was oddly paced, one leg going further than the other, his sidestepping was wobbly at most of the time. It was plainly obvious something was wrong.
'What's wrong with him? It's like he's either tired or in pain. Did no one addressed this?'
"Hey, Els?" Durham asked while keeping his eyes on the deer. The goat hummed as a response. "Why does Louis looks about to fall over himself?"
Els blinked. She stared at Durham for a second, but since he wasn't looking at her she averted her eyes back to the actors few feet away. She kept her eyes glued on the deer, wondering what Durham was talking about. It was only when Louis clearly struggled to keep on his feet after a short jump that she understood what the coyote was getting at.
"I think he's hurt." She said calmly. "It's that what you saw?"
"Yeah, he seems totally off. Trust me on this, I'm part of the Sports club. We have an eye for this sort of stuff. Now I just wonder if it's just muscle fatigue or anything less serious."
Els nodded, internally pleased to know more about the coyote aswell.
"What you two yapping about?" Came the voice of a very familiar tempered Herbivore.
Durham only briefly glanced at Ellen this time around, his concern for Louis health more of a priority than dealing with her temper. Els was a totally different story.
"It seems that Louis might be hurt somehow. Didn't you notice him being awkward at any time when he moved?" Els asked anxiously. Ellen was surprised by this question. The red marks on her cheeks became painfully noticeable to any that looked her way.
"Huh, mayyybe? I wasn't really focused on the way he moved." She admitted sheepishly. Durham snorted.
"Probably too busy staring at his butt."
Ellen's temper flared just like an erupting volcano. Els was too busy giggling at his side to notice the danger.
"Hey, fuck you! No one asked your stupid opinion!"
"Judging by your reaction is more like a fact at th-
A fist was halfway to his face before Durham ducked underneath. Ellen's enraged expression was replaced by shock at the sudden dodge.
"What's the matter stripes? Can't hit me?" He mocked, showing off his tongue just to piss her off.
Ellen immediately tried to hit him across the face with an elevated swift kick. He dodged again, although surprised that she could pull that move with such ease. Her elongated legs gave her a nice reach of assault.
"Not bad. I guess all those dancing lessons are finally paying off."
"You're dead meat Durham!" She yelled ferociously. Both Durham and Els widened their eyes at this.
"Ellen, please calm down. It was just a joke." Els pleaded to her friend.
Before the zebra could reply the authoritative voice of the lead actor reached their ears. Durham tensed at feeling the approach of one of his least favorite Herbivores.
"What's the meaning of this?! Ellen, explain yourself!" Louis demanded strictly. A fiery glare aimed at her.
Ellen was struck by the way he spoke to her, that unsettling glare of his spook the zebra into absolute silence.
Sensing her silent panic Durham couldn't help but feel obligated to come to her aid.
"Hey, chill deer boy. She didn't do anything. We were just playing around." Durham replied, his challenging smile showing off more teeth than necessary.
Some gasps were heard nearby. Obviously the other members held Louis with a high amount of respect. To hear him being addressed so casually was unheard of.
Louis stared at the coyote, glowering at him with surprising ease.
"I did not ask the Carnivore that has no place in this club." He remarked severely. Durham whistled, finding this situation to be quite entertaining.
"Oh, is that so mister Beastar? What you're gonna do then?" The coyote paused, then walked straight up to the deer. Louis tensed, one of his hands moving behind his own back slowly.
That particular movement confirmed what Durham saw during the practice. Louis had a strange volume on his back every time he crouched, at first Durham thought he was seeing things, but he knew that ignoring the signs was a terrible idea. His father taught him well on that regard, now that he tested his theory Durham could play his upper hand on this.
Durham stopped inches away from the male Herbivore. He could easily see his own reflection on Louis incredibly big and brightening eyes.
"You have really nice eyes. Not as pretty as Ellen's though." He commented. Louis blinked, confused by this random comment. Ellen heard that, she eyed the coyote with intrigue.
"Now that we are face to face you don't have to worry. I just wonder what else it will take for you to pull up that gun and shoot me. I'm amazed you haven't done it already."
Louis jumped back, shocked and fearful for a second. He stared at Durham with incredulity. The coyote could only shrug as a response.
"H-How?... how did you know?" Louis whispered frantically. His eyes shifting to the sides quickly, hoping that they were out of earshot.
"My father is a cop. He wanted me to follow on his steps. I learned a lot from him. You're not doing the greatest efforts on keeping that hidden every time you shove your deer butt on the air. You should use a leg holster instead. Oh, and how did you hurt your leg?"
Again Louis rewarded the coyote with an scandalized look of his own.
"My leg is none of your business. Why you're here anyways?"
"My only reason to be here is Ellen, nothing else. I imagine you want me to keep your little secret?"
Louis tensed. He knew the really bad repercussions that having a gun with him would bring to his future and the academy as a whole.
"Yes, what do you want with Ellen? She's a problematic individual."
"Says you. Shame, I can tell she likes you a ton."
Louis stance relaxed for a second. Durham wondered if it was sadness that he saw on those beautiful eyes of his. A troubled look on the deer's face as he kept whispering.
"I'm afraid I'm already committed with someone else. What can I offer for your silence?"
"Easy, let me visit the club whenever. We cool?"
Louis wasn't very keen on the idea of seeing the coyote more often, but it was better than having his secret exposed.
"Fine, just don't aggravate my members."
Durham nodded before walking away slowly, much to the confusion of everyone that witnessed the silent face off.
Louis followed the coyote walk away, his glare resting on the zebra standing on his path. Several thoughts raced through his head. He sighed before addressing the other members.
"We're done for today. Back at the same hour tomorrow."
Slowly the other members started preparing to leave, some tried to question the deer but he ignored them.
"What was that all about?" Els asked, perplexed by the confrontation.
"Just me and deer boy catching up. It's not the first time we had a sweet talk." Durham replied, feeling more tired than usual. He nearly forced an Herbivore into panic, which could've ended on him getting shot. His mother would be so pissed at him if she knew it.
"You and Louis don't get along?"
Durham was thankful he saw those words coming from her lips, otherwise he would've not believed that it was Ellen who asked.
"Not quite. We just have... different opinions on things." The coyote explained hesitantly.
Ellen nodded slowly, regarding him with a stare that was alien to the coyote.
"Say, I think we should talk. Not during class or here, but outside. If you gonna keep annoying me I just will lose it. Whatever you want to talk about, fine by me. Just don't expect me to be nice or anything of the sort."
Durham couldn't believe it. Ellen was actually giving him a chance to speak?! He would've jumped and singed on utter joy if not for the fact of how embarrassing that would've been.
"Sounds fair. I know a place we can meet up tomorrow." The zebra shrugged.
"Fine, don't be late. Otherwise I will break your stupid face."
Durham didn't doubt of that in the slightest.