A/N: Yooo, this last Episode was 10/10. No spoilers, but I'm shipping two people so harrrrrrrd right now. :3:3:3
nadillaandlaprasthefireandice;
"Nahhh, there's always a better fic. Definitively bigger ones, lol. Thank you :3"
Tommy423;
"Aww, thanks anyway!"
Elias8807;
"Yeah, I think you will see the reactions sooner than expected. I just need to wrap other characters too. Thanks!"
Guest;
"Ermm, yeah. I cannot tell what happened with her parents, but the first chapters mention that without detail. If there was detail, well.. I would have to change the rating. And... I did read a bit of BFBA (but spoilers), I did read the short and I think I understand what the stakes are being implied in that. Heh, there will be tons of stakes."
Lzman;
"Lmao, good try but I did end up getting the link and... well, I honestly have to make that happen at some point, it's quite inevitable. :P"
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o00o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"Oh, great. Just what I needed."
"Maybe she's just worried you haven't called in a while."
"I called her last week. It's not that long, besides, I really don't think I should talk with her with you around. She hears you, I'm literally screwed."
"Oh? How so?"
"For real? She's been patronizing me about getting a girlfriend for ages, mom can be a bit insensitive when it comes about asking on my... well, relationships."
"Can I talk with her?"
Durham stopped, one of his hands holding his smartphone, the other holding Ellen's. She stood besides him, looking down at the coyote expectantly. He frowned, his eyes glued on the screen as the device was quietly vibrating on his hand, the ID caller already notified him on who was on the other side of the line. The canine was dreading that his mother would call at a rather inopportune moment, and this was one of these moments he simply didn't want or couldn't be bothered about her being nosy. It's not that he didn't like her calling, but he was getting aggravated by her insistence on talking about the same thing over and over.
Ellen's desire to talk with his mother put him on a rather difficult position. He didn't feel like turning down her request, but turning down the call was probably for the best. He glanced at her with a silent plead, hoping the zebra would change her mind, but she just narrowed her eyes at him. He sighed on defeat.
"Fine, here." He said reluctantly, handing over the phone to her. Ellen giggled at his sour mood as she picked the phone with her free hand. She accepted the call with a smooth press on the screen before placing the device near the side of her head. Just like Durham, she didn't feel like risking an explosion of her sensitive eardrums.
"Hello, is this Durham's mother?" Ellen asked, feeling a bit anxious by talking with the other female. A silent pause followed her words, as if someone was uncertain that they called the right number.
"Who's this? Is this Du- Straw's number?" The coyote's mother asked, a tone of suspicion and puzzlement in her voice. Ellen snickered at the nickname she used on him. Durham stared at the zebra with narrowed eyes, unsure of what was being said from the other side of the line.
"Ah, yes, it is. My name's Ellen. I'm with Durham right now, he's-
Ellen paused as she heard what sounded like a yelp coming from the other side of the line.
"Wait... Ellen?! As the one Durham talked about... are you with him?"
"Huh, yes. I am, do you want to talk with him?" Ellen felt an amused grin on her face. Durham looked like he just wanted to disappear.
"No! I mean, yes! Of course! I'm just... huh, I wouldn't mind talking with you first my dear. Say, are you two...?"
"Dating? Well, yeah. It's very recent I should say, like we just started few hours ago."
Another pause. It seemed that Durham's mother realized she decided to make a call during a rather meaningful moment between the two, she felt hesitant about keeping up the conversation, Durham probably wasn't very pleased with her budging in during such special occasion.
"Oh, that's... great to hear sweetheart, say, can I talk with him really quick? I won't bother you two anymore after that." She requested with a strange amount of affection. Ellen smiled awkwardly at how quick the other female was softening up to her, it surely won't be the case if they meet in person.
"Huh, sure. Here, she wants to talk with you." Ellen replied, handing the phone back to Durham. He picked it up wearily, as if afraid that the thing would blow up at any second. Ellen merely rolled her eyes at his behavior.
The zebra watched as Durham placed the phone near his ear, listening to whatever his mother wanted to tell him, but he didn't reply. He had this affronted look on his face, she wasn't sure what had him worked up. It came as a surprise when the coyote closed the call without saying a single word whatsoever. He placed the phone back in his pocket, resuming his walking as he slightly pulled Ellen along.
Ellen wanted to ask what happened, but she had a feeling he was not in the mood to discuss whatever was said. They kept on a silent walk, the sunset fading in the distance as they reached near the plaza. She knew the coyote was already with a lot in his mind for the day, especially after she opened up about her inner fears and constant struggles after they had finished launch. Durham had been very quiet during her reveal, which she appreciated since it was way easier to say everything she wanted without interruptions.
Durham was slightly taken aback that Ellen has been enduring so much for so long, but the fact that Herbivores had a trait of taking advantage of more massive ones for their own sake was something he never heard of. To say he was shocked was putting it lightly, the idea of abandoning someone they knew solely because they were a more interesting target made him sick to his stomach. Such cowardice was on pair with some types of predators he absolutely loathed. To think someone was ready to give up on Ellen so easily to her death, it filled him with such indignation and fury that he simply could not find proper words to describe what he felt.
They spent the rest of the afternoon debating how they would approach each other in this next level of their relationship. Ellen was rightly hesitant to make any public displays of affection whatsoever, she did not want to give the Herbivores she knew more energy to pester her with their nonsense. Durham wasn't sure either if they should let the others know right away, at least not the ones they weren't sure that would spill by accident about their couple status. Els, Shiira, Legosi, Juno and Jack were the ones they came to an agreement to tell whenever they felt the occasion was appropriate.
Ellen was very vehement on her argument defending Els and Shiira, they were the ones she trusted the most, although Ellen couldn't help the small amount of guilt as she remembered the mistrust she placed on Shiira after Tem's murder. Durham was confident that Legosi and Juno could be trusted, he just worried that Jack could be forced by his other roommates to spill the beans. Yet, the coyote had to accept the fact they would have to know anyways, since the one to get a girlfriend first was fated to be the one cleaning the shower drain for the duration of their time in the school. Ellen merely laughed at his misfortune, but also grimaced as she had a terrible mental image of a moss of various kinds of fur stuck on a shower drain.
"Be thankful that summer vacations are right around the corner, can't wait to get more proper time to know you better." Durham said with a bit more of optimism. Ellen wasn't so certain on that regard.
"Yeah, but that implies we have to introduce each other to our parents at some point." She said, looking considerably worried about the imminent outcome. "I think we should plan on how to do that before anything else." Durham nodded, his face expressing complete resign.
"Yeah, one bridge at a time." The coyote whispered more to himself than Ellen, his mind drifting away to unpleasant thoughts.
"Hey, Durham, Ellen! Over here!" Called the easily recognizable voice of Els from a crowd nearby. They both quickly let go of each other's hands as they made their way to the smaller Herbivore. Thankfully the distinctive couple managed to go this far towards the plaza without being noticed by any passersby. They realized once getting closer that the crowd consisted of the other Drama club members, the only exception in this case being Jack. Durham wasn't surprised at all to see the Labrador present, the docile canine made a promise to go with Shiira on both weekends to the plaza. The cheetah, for once, didn't seem overly stressed about managing the crew to make sure they weren't goofing around. Perhaps Jack's presence helped, or rather compelled, her to be on a more easy going manner towards the other members. Whatever the case it was working wonders as all that were meant to be present were in visual range, instead of lost somewhere else doing who knows what. As they finally were in hearing distance from the group it was possible to make out the muttering coming from some of it's members.
"He's been like that for quite some time, dunno what happened."
"You think him and Juno had a fight? I haven't seen her around yet."
Durham glanced around, noticing that most were looking towards something near ground level. He shifted around to spot Legosi crouching while holding his knees, his eyes glued towards the ground, looking absolutely devastated.
'Ah, great. What happened now?' Durham frowned as he decided to approach the miserable wolf. 'I hope it doesn't have anything to do with Juno.'
Ellen stayed behind to talk with Els and Shiira as the coyote went to see what was wrong with his roommate. Shiira raised en eyebrow at the zebra, a playful smirk on her face.
"Well, look who decided to show up, and with Durham no less." The cheetah said, her voice a mix of a tease and criticism. "I hope you two weren't too occupied this afternoon."
Ellen immediately stared daggers back at Els. The fluffy Herbivore, despite the sheepish smile, had the decency to look embarrassed.
"I couldn't not tell Shiira, especially after she was being pricky about you being late." She justified, an apologetic tone on her voice that eased Ellen's irritation.
"I wasn't being pricky Els, I was just worried." Shiira justified with an indignant huff, her attention returning to the zebra with a look of intrigue. "Anyways, how did things went between you two? From what Els told me you two were together for several hours."
Ellen hesitated, she wasn't going to object telling these two about how things went and ended, but this wasn't the best place to spill her little adventure.
"Not now, somewhere else I will tell you. I don't want to spread the news." Ellen replied, her eyes shifting around, concerned that someone would eavesdrop into their conversation. Els and Shiira agreed to wait with silent nods, both fully aware this could be a problematic topic to be discussed so openly. "Say, where's Juno? I haven't seen her around yet."
Els and Shiira exchanged meaningful glances.
"Weeelll, I think she said something about getting a look around the plaza. Though she hasn't really told anyone exactly where she was going. Besides, Louis was here a few moments ago, but he left short of notice and Legosi's being acting weird ever since. I have no idea what is happening." Shiira explained, unable to mask the tone of annoyance as she spoke. "Last I checked we were, supposedly, to be acting all dramatic on stage, now it seems everyone has turned upside down for whatever reason. I'm glad Jack has his head on his shoulders unlike most of them."
Ellen couldn't help the curiosity as she asked about her relationship with the labrador. Shiira's frown softened as she tried to find words to explain how they both were faring so far, she had no worry about listeners since most of the group, including Jack, moved away to inspect the decorations that had been set by the stage and art crew.
"Jack's more than meets the eye, especially after you get past his dorky, clumsy act towards other girls." She said with a chuckle."He was such a mess when I first met him. I honestly didn't think he would be able to pull through... you know, me." She said, looking somewhat awkward all of sudden. "I haven't really told him much yet about myself, nor I intend to. There's things I rather not talk about."
Ellen and Els gave her sympathetic looks in return.
"I don't think he would judge you for that Shiira, we all had difficult things we went through. Not that I'm trying to compare, it's just... keeping it to yourself it's not going to last forever, especially if you think Jack is worth keeping." Els advised, worried that the cheetah might scare herself away from the canine due her past. Shiira frowned, conflicted about what was the best course of action.
"He's so innocent." She said, a touch of sadness on her voice as she contemplated the labrador a few meters away. Jack was engaged on a conversation with Dom and Kai, the three currently discussing whatever had Legosi upset. "He barely knows much about anything out there, his life has been mostly about being joyful and hopeful for whatever, or whoever, came into it. The amount of sadness he displays towards simple things is... surprising. Common things like the ostracizing looks of the Herbivores..."
Ellen and Els shared a guilty look as the cheetah mentioned that particular behavior, not that they could be entirely faulted for it.
"...he has no idea how much worse it actually is. For both Carnivores or Herbivores. Instinct doesn't flare on him like it would any other Carnivore, but he doesn't have to live under constant fear either."
Ellen raised an eyebrow, confused at her implication.
"I thought Carnivores didn't have to struggle with fear. Well, I didn't think any would until I met Durham." Ellen added with a awkward chuckle. Shiira stood in contemplative silence, her eyes seemingly out of focus as her thoughts drifted away back to hopeless times. When she spoke it came on a low whisper that the other two were barely able to hear.
"Perhaps, but whatever fear he experienced is not really the kind I did. That simply because he is a male. I may not have experienced what Herbivores do, but I do wonder at times... how much fear would be in an female Herbivore? One that has been kidnapped, raped, and forced to submit her body to sustain herself? Imagine that fear added with the one of being devoured by those same that use you..."
Ellen and Els remained quiet, fully aware of what Shiira was talking about and unsure of how to reply. It was one of these rare moments that the feline would mention anything about her previous life, especially being distracted while doing it so. Ellen would never cease to be horrified about what the cheetah went through, it was a major reason why Shiira was the only Carnivore the zebra felt she could put any sort of trust on before she met Durham.
She continued, a despondent look on her face as she watched the labrador's confused expression as he and Durham were talking with the downcast Legosi.
"I envy him. For not having to know any of these things. To be so blissful ignorant and still go through life with that beautiful smile of his. Hardly letting the negatives wear him down, something that we all got used to and no longer pay any mind to it. For the first time... I feel hopeful... that I can actually live a decent life, unafraid of deception from those I trusted the most."
Ellen clenched her fists, fully aware of where the cheetah was coming from. That kind of pain was one that she could relate very well. Shiira shook her head, realizing she has been rambling for far too long. Her sullen look being quickly replaced by her usually stoic expression. She sighed before addressing the other girls.
"Come on, let's get a look around, make sure none of the boys got lost, and then we can all call it a day and go back to our dorms. I'm done with being out here doing nothing."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"What's up with you? I know we all had some bad moments, but public display of self pity ain't really your thing, Legosi."
"Give him some time Durham, he's been having, huh, a lot in his mind?"
"Looks like you're on pair of everything, Jack. Has Legosi been keeping something from you?"
"Errr, well, maybe?"
Durham only shook his head as he returned his attention back to the brooding wolf. It has been a rather challenging task to get any proper response out of Legosi, while Jack tried his best to get his best friend to open up rather unsuccessfully, the coyote was debating whether he should start being a bit more bold towards the wolf. He knew Legosi had issues with talking with others, but it was starting to get on his nerves that the taller canine would shut them out whenever he got himself into some sort of conflict, even Jack seemed somewhat frustrated.
"Legosi, how abou-
Durham never managed to finish off his sentence as, all of sudden, all lights from the plaza, from the sets of barracks and improvised shops, to the gigantic dinosaur structure (a remarkably crafted allegory made by the art, design and stage team, installed with internal illumination.) went off. The entire area was bathed into absolute darkness. Due the cloudy atmosphere that day there was no moonlight whatsoever to provide any sort of light. The plaza was located in a sizable park, surrounded by thick tree cover, the buildings nearby incapable of providing any sort of brightly guidance.
"What the actual..." Said Jack, his eyes widening, looking around as his vision slowly adjusted to the absolute pitch blackness.
The immediate panicked screams of other teenagers and adults reached their ears, mostly from other Herbivores. Durham, realizing the danger, immediately searched for the others, he heard Legosi standing up quickly, his footsteps announcing his departure as the wolf made his way to the rest of the club members.
"Dammit Legosi, wait for us!" Durham called, pulling Jack along with him as they followed suit. "I hate when he just runs off like that."
Jack didn't say anything, the anxiety on his face went unnoticed as he stood near Durham, they closed in on the rest of the group rather quickly. Several adults, from all types and sizes were rushing around, some screaming, while others stood paralyzed. Some of the Carnivores adults were trying to calm down the Herbivores, but even some younger Carnivores were getting antsy, as they had more difficulty to adapt to the sudden change of environment. Durham noticed that every Carnivore present from the club had formed a circle around the fewer Herbivores, to which included Ellen, Dom, Els and two others. The coyote wouldn't ever forget as he witnessed the look of absolute fear on Ellen's face, something he never thought possible. The darkness had her and the other Herbivores at their absolute mercy. If only they could see...
Durham stopped near the group, suddenly the feeling of utter annoyance filled his chest.
"What are you all doing?" He asked, eyeing them carefully as Legosi joined the circle formed around the Herbivores. Bill scoffed at him.
"What are you doing? Stop wasting time and get in line already! We gotta make sure no one gets snatched in this mess." The tiger said rather patronizingly.
"Jack, you too. The more, the better." Shiira added, her eyes scanning around to make sure no one approached them rather suspiciously.
"Huh, sure?" Jack said, looking completely baffled by what was happening as he approached the circle. Durham raised an eyebrow.
"So... I take you all doing cause they can't see." Durham said, scratching his chin thoughtfully. Most of them, at least those who could see, stared at him with mixed looks.
"The fuck you're on about? Get in here Durham!" Ellen said, not looking, nor sounding, nowhere near as threatening as he expected when she starts cursing. He hated seeing her like that.
"Damn, why me..." Durham said to himself as he picked up his phone and unlocked the screen. The light the device provided was enough for all of them to see his expression of absolute annoyance.
"What?! This ain't no time to check your damn phone! Get in- AAAHHH FUCK!" Bill exclaimed, his vision going complete white as the brightness of a LED flashlight burned into his retinas. The other Carnivores flinched, and turned their heads away, as the light coming from the coyote's cellphone stormed the darkness away with ease. The Herbivores stared dumbfounded as the canine lowered the device to avoid blinding them further.
"Are you done? I'm sure everyone here has phones, so..." He said, looking at them while gesturing with his free hand for them to catch up. Several mutters followed, some angry at themselves, others annoyed at him for acting like a smartass. The action provided extreme relief around the plaza, as the light coming from a single phone brought everyone to their senses. Soon the entire place was bathed in lights coming from several different devices, it was like a Disco club had just been set on that area.
"Well, that solves the bigger issue." Jack said with a hearty laugh. Shiira facepalmed at the sheer stupidity they all displayed, hers included.
"Let's thank that Durham here didn't give a shit and decided to do the most obvious thing." The cheetah said, looking really upset by the turn of events, but nevertheless relieved that the Herbivores were out of imminent danger. "Is everyone accounted for?"
A quick check of heads confirmed most to be present but two.
"Huh, Legosi ain't here, nor Louis." Juno said, surprising literally everyone else.
"Ho-wha-when did you get here?!" Both Kai and Bill asked, surprised and stupefied as the rest of the group.
"That ain't important! Go find these two already!" Shiira ordered, looking ready to punch someone if they as much dared to refuse. The Carnivores started to split up, but the cheetah calmly requested for three of them to stay behind with the Herbivores.
Durham watched alongside Jack and Tao as the rest of the group walked away, phones aimed at chest level, in search of the two missing members.
"Damn, haven't seen her this upset since..." Tao commented, only to pause as he realized that the labrador was standing at his side. "So... you're Shiira's new boyfriend I believe."
Jack blinked, looking back at the panther with curiosity as he never talked with him previously.
"New boyfriend? Errr... we aren't really a thing." He replied with a bit of awkwardness. Tao merely chuckled, a sad smile on his face as he crossed his arms, his attention shifting back to keeping the watch.
"Yeah, maybe not yet, but soon. She ain't one easy to impress, nor get a talk going but, if she bothers to spend time with you, it means you're worth something to her. I stopped being the case once I slipped up. All because of that damn Black-
"Tao, shut the fuck up."
Tao glanced sideways, Durham was giving him a very intense glare. Jack's ears perked, sensing the tension building up for whatever reason. The panther blinked, wondering what had the smaller Carnivore on edge.
"Something I said?" He asked, feeling confused and a bit annoyed.
"Rather something you shouldn't say. Not in the present company." Durham replied, looking on the edge of snarling at him.
"What's up with you two? Is everything alright?" Ellen asked as she approached the Carnivores. "What were you saying Tao?"
Tao paused, his face going pale as he realized that he nearly fucked up completely. There was no bigger mistake for a Carnivore student to commit than talking about the Black Market near Herbivores, especially others near his age. That and Durham was not risking Jack hearing about that place.
"Errr, n-no, nothing. Just gibberish. Erm, you alright?" He asked back, trying to keep his composure. Ellen snorted.
"Aside the scare I'm mostly alright. Though my pride has been severely wounded after Durham decided to make everyone here look like an idiot." She replied, looking nowhere to be upset about it. In fact, the smile of absolute pride on her face made the coyote's cheeks flush for a moment. "So, how about we go buy something to eat? The vendors are back into business after everyone stopped freaking out. I might get something while we wait. Dom said that there is a big table back at the crew barracks and some chairs, we can wait there in the mean time."
"Sounds great to me. Let's all go together, will be better to keep things at ease. I don't want Shiira ripping my head off for leaving someone out of view." Tao said in agreement. Durham snorted.
"At the rate things are going I would be surprised if Jack will have both his heads by the end of the semester."
That earned him a hearty laugh from Tao, and a smack to the back of the head from Ellen. A confused and scared Jack stared at them before asking;
"Did I do something wrong?"