"Is it true? Did she really broke up with him?"
"Yeah, she told me last night. I would advise to not bother her with questions. She's really not in good spirits right now."
"What happened anyways? Last I heard was that Aoba and Legosi came back later than usual. Is it true that-
"Yes. We don't know the details yet, but... if what Shiira told me is true, th-
"Both of you! Less talk! Are you done warming up?!"
Els and Juno jumped in fright at the sudden shout coming from somewhere close to where they stood at. Both quickly turned around, coming face to face with a very pissed off cheetah. Their only response was smiling awkwardly as they scrambled their brains in search of an excuse.
Shiira has been in a particular bad mood ever since she found out that Tao, alongside Bill, had been at the forbidden market downtown. The amount of yelling that Tao endured was nothing short of impressive. Her fury and indignation towards Tao scared even Louis away from the onslaught of profanities that surged from the cheetah's mouth. Everyone had been doing their best to avoid her until she managed to cool off. Unfortunately her bad mood persisted through several days, mostly due Tao's presence at the club.
Tao himself was in the lowest of spirits, he looked completely miserable ever since the incident, and it was clear that he regretted following Bill to that forsaken area. He has been very quiet the last couple of days, barely talking with anyone and keeping himself hidden from Shiira as much as possible. It was notable that Tao was also avoiding Bill. The tiger suffered no repercussions from visiting the black market and that made all Herbivores, and a few Carnivores, very irritated. Louis, for whatever reason, decided to turn a blind eye to Bill's transgression of previously set rules, such action that made several members mutter angrily whenever the deer had his back at them.
Meanwhile, Ellen, not for the first time, entertained the idea of just quitting the Drama club and trying out for the Sports club but, with Durham's suspension, whatever motivation she had died out. Not to mention that she haven't spoken with the coyote ever since the Adler's second weekend presentation. The zebra asked for aid from Juno and Els, but both girls also had no signs of Durham for days. The only time they ever spotted the coyote was at the cafeteria, but reaching him was extremely difficult, especially since he would be quick on finishing his meals and leaving before they could get close enough to talk with him. Ellen was starting to get infuriated with his shitty avoidance attitude.
Juno was saddened to see so many bad things happening with her friends. She wished she could help Ellen or Durham somehow, but there was so little she could do, most of their problems were out of her range, it disheartened her to realize how incapable she is. The more Juno realized how powerless she is to help anyone, the better she understood of why Durham saw no value on Beastars. The unexpected heated shouts from Shiira towards Tao made Juno's view on her own society even worse. The female wolf was fully aware of why Shiira didn't want to relate with someone who would drive himself into a meat market. The cheetah had suffered enough from her past life, she still suffers prejudice from Herbivores. Shiira hated the possibility of someone thinking she was some kind of vicious beast that would murder anyone, which is why she lost her cool with Tao. Her hopes of having found someone that wouldn't pursue the temptations of flesh had been in vain.
"Where the hell is that damn coyote? I swear I'm gonna drag his ass here if he doesn't show up."
Juno and Els immediately turned around towards the source of the threat. The girls wanted any excuse they could get to look away from Shiira's deadly glare.
"Ellen? I don't think he's showing up yet. Or even if he will want to. Not after someone told him out." Els tried to reason with the zebra, but Ellen looked far from relenting.
"Like I care! I don't see the point of keeping himself away, if someone has a problem with Durham you can come and tell it to my face! Whoever you are you damn asshole!" The equine shouted loudly towards everyone that was present. Most members stared at her as if she had lost her mind. Shiira only shook her head at the display.
"If you really want to get things done you should just chase him down." The cheetah suggested. Ellen turned her head towards Shiira, surprised to hear the feline talking so calmly. "Whatever reason he has to be avoiding us won't be know, unless you give him no choice. I'm pretty sure he would, at least, talk with you."
"Yeah, you're right. I will look around. See ya girls later." Ellen made her way towards the exit, but she found herself facing Louis instead.
"And where exactly are you going?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at the unexpected departure. Ellen frowned at him, irritated for being questioned for something that did not concern the deer. "Ellen, everyone has to prepare themselves for the upcoming Festival. Surely you wouldn't want to miss that?"
The touch of irony that permeated his voice made the zebra's blood boil. It took Ellen a lot of self control to not punch the upperclassman out of her way.
Juno, realizing the danger that Louis was walking himself into, decided to aid her fellow member by addressing the deer.
"Oh! Huh, Louis! I need to talk with you." The female wolf said somewhat urgently. Louis looked her way, puzzled at what had Juno so concerned. He stared her down for a second before coming up with a reply.
"If you say so. Meet me at my office after the t-
"It has to be now."
Louis quiet down at the sharp uncharacteristic tone that Juno used. She looked far more serious than he ever thought it would be possible, Juno wasn't the kind to show signs of being upset or angry. The deer huffed, bothered that he has no way of talking himself out of such request.
"Fine, then follow me. Ellen, get back to the line with Els." He ordered before turning around and making his way to the administration office. Ellen silently replied to him with a very rude gesture of her arms, such went unnoticed by the deer. Juno laughed quietly as she passed by a relieved zebra.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o00o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0oo0o00o0o0o0o0o0o0o00o0oo0o0o00o0
"So, what has you so mindful? Hopefully this isn't about Legosi again." Louis asked warningly. The deer was busying himself with a glass of water, sitting on a rather comfortable chair while Juno stood across the other side of the table. She narrowed her eyes at the clear dismissive treatment he was giving her.
"No, it's not. It's about few other things. Mostly about the things that are happening in this school." Juno replied, keeping her eyes locked with his. She never noticed before how pretty the deer's eyes are. If only his personality could match his appealing appearance. The wolf couldn't lie to herself by thinking that Louis wasn't a rather attractive Herbivore. It resembled her of Durham's admiration for Ellen. Both were exotic Herbivores with their own respective qualities and flaws but, while Ellen was a strong and tempered zebra, Louis gave Juno the impression of a cold and judgmental individual.
The deer seemed far more interested once Juno revealed her concerns towards the school itself.
"Well, before I start... I decided that I don't ever want to be a Beastar."
Juno couldn't help the giggle once she saw Louis shocked expression. She was fully aware of how she previously revealed her intents of becoming a Beastar, especially when she had him pinned down on the floor few days ago. She didn't know why, but that moment was one she kept thinking about for several times. Something about Louis had her worked up, but she still couldn't figure out what this deer has on him that made her unnerved ever since.
Louis stood emotionless, observing the wolf with some akin to betrayal. His mind couldn't comprehend the sudden change of Juno's intentions. He actually was looking forward to see her trying hard to become a Beastar, even if he didn't put any faith that she would accomplish such. Hearing her giving up on it so blatantly was harder to take than he would ever imagine possible.
"That's it? Giving up so quickly? Did you suddenly realize how incapable you are to reach such level of importance?" He asked rather aggressively. Juno glowered at him, the edges of her mouth curling and showing a bit of teeth. The deer felt a bit anxious at her reaction, wondering how much it would take for Juno to finally snap at someone.
"Perhaps," She said, keeping her face of intimidation. "Or maybe I just came to realize how pointless it is to achieve such fallacy."
"Fallacy?! How dare yo-
"SHUT UP!"
Louis blinked in astonishment. Never he heard Juno shout at anyone before, neither he would be able to imagine such ferocity coming from her. Possible? Yes, but not expected. The gray wolf had her arms trembling as she tried her best to calm herself, the way she stared icily at him being very unnerving.
"Louis." Juno said rather breathlessly. She was apparently amazed at herself for losing control momentarily. "What's the point of being a Beastar? Why would one think they can actually do anything that would change our society? You really believe you can stop the prejudice? The misjudgment? The murders?"
"I do not think, Juno. I know it! I will be the greatest Beastar this country has ever seen. What makes you think I can't?" Louis retorted, glaring at her with disdain. He wondered why she decided to talk nonsense of things she knew nothing about. Juno sighed, staring at him with incredulity.
"Aren't Beastars supposed to help others? To stop these bad things between Herbivores and Carnivores?" Louis nodded quietly.
"Yes, though there are several other things they also have to do."
"Tell me, Louis, how many did you save?"
"...what?"
"You want to be a Beastar, right?! How many you saved Louis?! Who you actually helped in this school? When have you ever step into a Herbivore and Carnivore conflict? Don't you dare lying to me! I asked many others that have been with you since you joined the school. Carnivores fighting other Carnivores doesn't count! When you did anything more than just being a proud member of an acting club?"
Louis wasn't sure what kind of response she wanted. Was Juno expecting him to meddle into the conflicts that permeated their society since ages?
"I... I'm not sure what you're trying to imply here." Louis replied slowly. Juno huffed angrily at his lack of a satisfying response.
"Who killed Tem?"
Louis recoiled at the unexpected question. The topic of Tem was always a very sensitive one and most members knew better than to openly discuss it. Yet, Juno seems she couldn't care less, as she stared down at him with the most intimidating attitude he has ever seen from a female. He crossed his arms, unsure if he should even bother answering such question.
"Why do you expect me to know this? No one does."
"Why?! Why can't you try to find out then?! Is that it? A friend of yours was murdered under your nose and you're just gonna move on and leave it be?! Is that how you go at building yourself to be a Beastar? Someone murdered Tem and it is very likely it was someone from this club! Tem wouldn't have walked so late at night for no good reason! I knew him for two weeks, but I was able to learn more about how he did things than I learned any of what goes in your egocentric head!"
"Tem's death was a terrible incident th-
"Stop, Louis, please, stop!" Juno pleaded, looking at him with despair. Louis actually got a bit scared by her sudden change of tone. He heard some commotion outside and it was most likely caused by Juno's screams.
"Juno... calm down. Okay? What.."
"Beastars have been around for so long." The wolf said, her view becoming unfocused as she kept voicing her feelings on the matter. "I've been afraid of the outside for so long... and I also fear what's inside. It's not only predation incidents that scare me, but the aftermaths. Our parents tried to-
But the gray wolf was interrupted by the door been brutally forced open by a powerful kick. Both wolf and deer stared at the sudden entrance of a very crossed zebra. Ellen quickly recovered from the action, being caught off balance by how weak the door was from what she had previously assumed.
"Ellen! I told you to wait!" The irritated voice from Shiira came from outside the office.
"I ain't waiting around for the douchebag to hurt Juno! Besides, I wasn't even d-
Ellen stopped her tempestuous reply as she took notice of Juno standing on her feet, Louis was sitting at his chair behind the desk. Both were giving her bewildered looks. The sight was enough for Ellen to understand that nothing really bad was happening with anyone.
"Oh." She said rather awkwardly, her eyes traveling across the room for any signs of a fight, but nothing came to view. "I guess it was just a false alarm."
"Woah, Ellen, have you been working out? The door actually flew from the hinges." Bill asked humorously as he inspected the damage. Ellen replied with a middle finger. "Heh, you're so cute when you're rude."
"Fuck off, Bill. Unless you want to end up like the door."
"Oh, feisty! I like that."
Ellen glanced back at the tiger with incredulity. Hearing such sort of thing from him was far much more awkward than hearing it from Durham. She decided to ignore him for now and focused her attention back to a gobsmacked Juno.
"Are you alright? I mean, I heard you pleading from the other side of the storage house, not to mention all the shouting."
"Oh, huh, no, no. That was just...well, me and Louis were kinda having a serious discussion." Juno replied, looking clearly embarrassed by the unfold of events that her shouting caused. Louis snorted, mixed between feeling humored or upset by what just happened with his door. Ellen blinked.
"Okay... if you say so... were you confessing or something?"
"NO!" Both Juno and Louis shouted at the same time. They shared a quick glance before looking away. Ellen raised an eyebrow at the exchange.
"You two are looking very suspicious right now." She said with a devious smirk. Louis felt affronted that Ellen dared to think he would ever consider being with someone like Juno. A Carnivore no less. Juno giggled nervously, not really that worked up by Ellen's teasing.
"It's alright. We were just talking. I may have gotten a bit carried away."
"A bit?! Juno, no one ever heard you scream like that. It seemed far more than just 'a bit'." Ellen replied, looking at Louis expectantly. "Surely you don't have anything else to add to this? I would like to hear your side."
Louis never had the chance to reply. A familiar face, that decided to pass through the empty space were once there was a fine wooden door, suddenly popped up.
"Hey, Louis. I liked the new decoration. I gotta say though, couldn't you have just opened a window or something?"
Ellen quickly turned around, her mouth agape as she saw Durham standing at the office's entry with that annoying smirk of his.
"Durham? I thought we wouldn't see you again." Juno said, surprised and somewhat happy that he finally decided to show up. Durham winked at her before turning his attention to a shellshocked Ellen.
"Hey, Stripes...long time no see."
Ellen found no words to respond. A mix of feelings turning inside of her with the fury of a tornado. She wanted to do many things right now, the first being a well deserved punch to the coyote's face. Yet, for whatever reason, she couldn't bring herself to hit him this time.
"W-Where were you?..."
Durham felt awful at hearing the sad tone that she used. Her clear expression of hurt and disappointment was far more painful than the amount of times she punched him put together. He waved his arms meekly, seemingly at loss for words.
"I... was not in the right mind after what happened. I didn't want to end up being unpleasant to anyone. I needed some time to myself, also to talk with my family about what to do. I just recently decided to... well, just get back to normality, I guess. I... I'm sorry."
"You better be fucking sorry! You ass! I can't believe you avoided m-us!" She yelled at him, looking uncertain of whether to be mad or relieved. "I was about to chase after your stupid face! Should've done that a lot sooner!"
"Are you all done yelling?" Interrupted Louis, his face looking strange, as if he was struggling to maintain a blank expression. "I would kindly request for you all to leave and have someone to fix the door that Ellen just decided to... eh, replace."
Durham and Ellen both glanced at him briefly before resuming their conversation.
"Say, did you talk with your family?What they said about what happened?" Ellen asked, looking far more calmer. Louis frowned at their disregard for his request. He raised from his seat to address the situation more properly, but Juno stopped him by placing one of her hands on his shoulder.
"I know a place were we can finish this conversation. Let them be for now. Ellen and Durham have a lot to...talk about."
"What could they possibly have of such importance that I'm required to leave?" Louis replied on the same whispering tone. Juno only smiled while shaking her head.
"Let's go. Say, are you hungry? It's getting late. I could use a tuna sandwich. Mind joining me?" Juno asked, looking at him eagerly. Louis was taken aback by the sudden change of topic. He was too uncertain of what to say and was only able to nod numbly at her proposal. She dragged him by the arm. They both passed the distracted zebra and coyote, followed by most of the other members that were standing outside of the office with puzzled looks.
"Bye Shiira, bye Els! See you all tomorrow!" Juno said as she went by with a despondent Louis on her tail. Everyone could only stare as the prominent star student was dragged away by a chipper wolf girl.
"What just happened here?" Asked Kai, looking from the departing duo back to the other duo still in the office. "Is this place even normal anymore?"
"I don't know. Honestly, who cares at this point? Let's just do our tasks and get back to our usual activities." Shiira said tiredly. She waited until all the members had dispersed before heading into the office.
"Durham, glad to see you around again." The cheetah took notice of how unnerved Ellen seemed before their conversation was interrupted.
"Oh, hi Shiira. Yeah, my bad. Tough stuff after what happened. I'm doing better now, just had to work out some issues and changed my schedules." He replied, although without the usual confidence he normally displays. "Speaking of schedules. Is Jack still coming for practice? I haven't talked with him much either."
"Oh, yeah, he comes. At least he's a far improvement from the first time. He just need to work his anxiety a bit more."
"Heh, that would be difficult. Anyways, I kinda have to make up for my absence, what do you all think of we got out somewhere downtown this weekend?"
"We?" Asked Ellen dubiously. Durham shrugged.
"Me, Ellen, you and Jack. I was gonna ask Juno, but she clearly has plans with Louis." The coyote smiled suggestively. Both Shiira and Ellen scoffed at him.
"Farfetched to think Juno would want anything with Louis." Shiira said firmly. "Or that Louis would ever dare to cross such line. Not like y- huh, some students that I know of."
"That's fine. It's fun to spread gossip about Louis. Imagine the fires that would ignite if the entire school came to know that Louis is dating Juno." Durham said, looking far too excited about the idea of seeing the school burn.
"You have issues, you know that?" Ellen said, worried for his state of mind. Durham only rolled his eyes.
"You ain't no fun. Besides, what harm could a silly gossip like that do?"
A/N: Okay, this pause took far longer than necessary, but then I had been doing some re-writing to work around the fact that I don't want to delve into the second season so quickly. It's gonna be tricky to avoid future events so I will try to do as much world building for the next, huh, twenty or thirty chapters. Sorry for the delay. There are some characters that I have some... worry on how to portray them.