Previously in Chapter 39
Pao's heart almost stopped, its beat slowed down to a crawl as he gave the little fox holding his precious tail hostage his full attention. He was sweating like he was having a hot flash as he kept focus on what he thought were cane knives in her hands. The blade looked thick and sharp, just one swipe and his tail would be gone. Where was Gus? He thought, looking behind him, and of course, Gustavo was gone.
"Gustavo!" He risked shouting. No answer. "Onde diabos você está?!" Where the hell are you?! The old codger was probably too busy counting their money to have noticed. He didn't dwell on the ape's lack of awareness long, returning focus to his assailant. She was short. He could kick her. Or maybe jerk it out of her grip before she swung.
"Shut it." She ordered, sternly. "Now, you listen to me, monkey. I heard what you were talking about earlier. I don't know what you want with that damn rabbit; I don't care, but you better get this straight… She's mine."
The little female's statement threw him off for a bit. What did she say? He asked himself. His deciphering skills weren't the best and were running at breakneck speed trying to make sense of her demands. But he was sure she had said Rabbit? Did she mean Kyuu?
Then just like that, the short big-eared vixen let go. Pao, feeling a huge wave of relief, finally allowed himself to exhale as he brought his already wounded fuzzy appendage up for a quick and close inspection. Thankfully it was all still there more or less, not new cuts. He quickly hopped two steps away from the killer canid and finally worked up the nerve to ask just what the hell she was doing.
"Just who da hell are you?" His canines poked from his mouth as he barked at her with his best-accented dialect. "The coelha someone special to you or sumting? Er… Rabbit I mean. Enough to threaten people Hã? !" He said, defensively cradling his tail like a baby as he towered over her with the most scrutinizing of stares.
She said nothing, the look of someone who didn't have to explain themselves on her pointy little face. He recognized her as Inarigumi from the green traditional style dress she wore under her white jacket and then it hit him, he knew who she was, or rather he knew of her. She was one of the arena fighters; the little fox that had been miraculously racking up victories in his bracket. "No, wait! I know you!" He told her. "You're Loon the Lethal Lunática , right?!"
"I'm Lùn the Red fox!" The vixen immediately snapped at him, furiously jabbing her sharp-looking kukris at him. "Call me Lunatic again and I'll spill your guts right on these steps!"
"Dat's what everyone else é calling you though." He innocently explained with a shrug. "You're Loon, the louco carnívoro answer to the Coelha Psicopata, sim! Dey say you're just as crazy as her so they call you de Lunatic!"
The half-pint just glared at him, red fur spiking and jaws twitching with anger.
"Sorry, I don't make up the ring names." He quickly apologized, rolling his eyes.
"W-w-whatever!" She stammered. "Just keep away from her! I'm the one that's gonna take her down. Me! You hear me?!" She shouted, stamping her feet just like the petulant child she looked like.
Pao scratched the scruff of hair on his head as he gave her a wary look. "Dat's gonna be hard all tings considered." He insisted, appearing a bit sympathetic. "I mean with how tings work, I'm supposed to fight her next." He explained. "I was supposed to fight her tonight… but they had me fight big, black, white, and stupid back there earlier."
"Just leave town then." She hissed coldly, wagging her blade at him again.
"Vai se foder!" Fuck you! He exclaimed at her, his pink and white facial features turning shades of red as he lost his temper. "I'm the top slot contender! I worked my way up over dis past year! You just gotta wait your turn, Raposa like everyone else . You're like rank… uh 4, I think. You gotta problem, take it up with booking!"
Lùn knew he was just a roadblock in her path to taking Kyuu. She was too far behind in the rankings to ask for a shot at her and she didn't want to skip her way to the front, not that Priscilla would do her any more favors.
As she stewed, Pao just shrugged and stroked his chin. His anger quickly subsided, as he took a bit of pity on her. "Er, Desculpe por isso. I should be more respectful. Look, er… I apologize for yelling." He however stood firm before her, saying. " But I'm not leaving town or anyting like that, okay? You're really louco if you think you can just intimidate me like dat."
The fox just scoffed as she mugged at him.
"Besides, you should worry more about me dontcha think, sim?" A very cocky grin spread on his face as he flexed his lean muscles. " After all, you ain't gonna get a chance with her if she's fighting me next. Hahaha! Because I'm gonna be o Campeão! Er... the Champion. Psycho is gonna be old news after she faces me!"
Lùn was barely impressed by what she saw. "Eh, whatever… a clown like you won't stand a chance," Lùn growled at him offhandedly. "She's taken down creeps way bigger and stronger than you anyway!"
"What are you? Her fan club? Hahaha." He asked snickering and studying her closely. "I don't stand a chance? Den why are you so worried then, hmm?" He asked, his brow raising as he chuckled very amused at her. " You know I'm the crowd favorite to win, sim? And I'm pretty confiante myself."
"Pfft, Confident?" She asked, trying to figure his strange dialect.
"Let's just say I know a ting or two about our rabbit." The white-cheeked monkey bragged, with a knowing grin that had his canines poking out again. "Tings dat give me an edge, sim."
"The hell do you mean by that?" She asked, skeptical.
Pao folded his arms as he began to list off all of the rabbit's flaws, much to the fox's chagrin. "She's an agile little ting. Tough and uh… cocky, but sometimes she overestimates her abilities. She'll get sloppy if presented with a real challenge and tings don't go her way. But she don't quit, you know? You get her to a certain point she'll lash out at you. If you ain't careful that is… well I got first-hand experience on dat," He said, pointing to a fading black eye on his face. " Garota nearly blinded me."
"Pfft, you met her?"
"Why do you think I was trying to see dat menino lhama back there? I wasn't trying to ask him out, y'know. I wanted to know if he knew where she was. I was worried about her, y'know."
"Well, that doesn't mean shit." The fox irately responded. "Just means you saw him around the ring whenever she fights, they're usually attached at the hip anyway. Most people know that. Doesn't mean you actually know her or that she is the one that blackened your eye."
Pao just frowned and tilted his head at her. "Believe what you want. I just know that she's probably nursing a couple of scrapes and bruises." He added. "Maybe a limp and a busted snout. And she had a black eye too last I saw her that I gave her something cold to put over it. I'll be da first to admit, I got a little too rough with her. But she brought it on herself. I left in a hurry afterwards because she was obviously pretty irritado once she found out who I was, but I still kinda want to know if she's okay. This uh… no-show… concerns me."
Lùn inspected the simian with scrutiny. It was obvious he might have a thing going on with the rabbit, but what he had said really made her think. Her eyes widened as she recollected the last condition she had seen the herbivore. With as banged up as Kyuu was at the store, that description he'd given was very accurate. Which suggested that he wasn't full of it. That wasn't good, that meant he'd have an edge, she thought.
"I'm kinda glad she didn't show tonight," He continued, there was a tinge of guilt in his voice, but he quickly replaced it with a playful swagger. "She should heal because I want to have a uh… good dance with her. I want her to... uh deliver, but don't worry your little head, Raposa. I'm not out to kill her. Não. Eu sou uma besta honrada. Uh… honorable, yeah? I mostly just want her title and da money. I'll be a virtuoso campeão, entendi? Maybe make this place a just bit more respeitável ." He had a benevolent look of purpose as he gazed around the old worn building. "How bout dis? I won't be too rough. I'll just knock her out clean, and then maybe you could face her afterward den later down the road? She'll probably start over again anyway, sim. So you fight her then."
Lùn barely took a few seconds before viscously responding. "To hell with that!" She barked, refusing to compromise. "I may be a fox, I don't want your sloppy seconds!" She growled, dangerously pointing her kukris into his face. This little violent dog's yapping was beginning to annoy him once more.
"Hey! Pare de chorar suas pitangas! Stop crying about it! Now you're just being unreasonable." He groaned at her, risking getting cut. "Estou tentando ser legal!" I'm trying to be nice!
"I don't understand a word you're fucking saying!" She shouted at him.
"Pirralho." He huffed her way. She was going to be trouble, he could see that now. He began backing up and got into a position to defend himself. He knew that while he certainly had the height and reach advantage, he could kick her if he was lucky, but she also was armed with those curved-looking cane knives. That and she had a reputation. Engaging would be extremely dumb on his part. All though…, he thought looking over his shoulder, there were alternatives.
Suddenly, a gruffer male's voice echoed from below. It was the other primate, his manager. He probably had just realized he was having a conversation with himself. " Pao! Paulo! Onde você está?!" The bonobo's voice continued to bounce through the stairwell chamber. "Paulo! Me responda, garoto! Não preciso de mais problemas!" Answer me, boy! I don't need any more problems!
"Ughh." Pao cursed under his breath, looking over the edge of the stair, Gus was down at the bottom looking for him. He quickly looked at the confused and irate fox then smiled. "Um… how about… we talk about dis another time, Hã?"
The small red vixen's green eyes glowed vibrantly in the dark as she stalked towards him. "Yeah, no. I think I changed my mind." Lùn declared ominously.
"Mudar? Uh…I mean C-change your mind?" He stammered, concerned. "Quê?!"
"Yeah, you're obviously a threat, " She said, coldly. "So, I can't let you go."
"Uh, c'mon now... you." He said, slowly backing away from the pint-sized carnivore. His back was practically touching the railing. "Enough playing around, moça. " He nervously chuckled.
"You know…" She said, looking him in the eye. "My big sister never really said what should happen to you after you bursted in on her like that like an intruder. Had your manager not stepped in we'd have beaten you even harder. So you know what I'm thinking?" She asked.
"Uh… Nada de bom, imagino." Nothing good, I imagine. He muttered, nervously.
"I'm thinking maybe you were really were an assassin and that I should stop right now before you complete your backup plan ."
"B-Backup plan-" He stammered, perplexed.
"Or that maybe since you're by that railing, you just tripped and fell over the stairs… breaking your neck at the bottom. Accidents happen after all. Either way, I walk away with a decent cover story and less competition. I'll be honest, I like the first idea better though as harder as that would be to explain. It's just much more interesting." She said, the sharpness of her blades' edges gleaming out of the shadows as the light touched them.
"Pao!" His manager called his name once more. "Vou chutar seu traseiro esquelético se você não aparecer nos próximos 30 segundos!" I'll kick your scrawny ass if you don't show up in the next 30 seconds!
"Uh, hahaaa... Muito engraçado. " The dark-furred monkey nervously chuckled as he took a few steps back before looking over the edge and climbing up the railing. "I should get going. Meu treinador, he's probably gonna kill me, sim? Hahaha."
"Like I'm not? You should be worried about me now, monkey boy. Dontcha think?! HURRRRGH! " Lùn snarled, parroting Pao's earlier boast as before she sent one of her blades flying for his neck. The blades whistled as they swung in the darkness seeking his neck. However, the primate took a rain check on that, immediately falling over the edge of the railing, just as the razor-sharp knife sailed precariously past his face.
"Another time, Raposaaaa!" He exclaimed as plummeted at least four flights. Surprised and also frustrated, Lùn quickly clambered up onto the railing only to find the primate not falling to his imminent demise, but rather acrobatically swinging and flipping from floor to floor expertly much as one should have expected from a monkey. "Adeus, Lunáticaaaa! Hahahaaaaa!" He shouted back up at her, his laugh echoing up the chamber.
"Come back here!" She screamed impotently after him as she shot down the steps in a hurry to catch him.
Down at the bottom floor, the monkey finally landed gracefully in front of his trainer who tapped his feet impatiently and glared at him. "Mas que porra é essa?!" What the fuck is this? Gustavo exclaimed at him. "Onde diabos você esteve!" Just where the fuck have you been?!
"Sorry, I had to make a very quick exit," Pao responded with a winning smile.
"Do I even want to know what the hell you were doing up there? Huh?" Gustavo barked at his younger protege in their native tongue. "You weren't trying to put the moves on one of those ladies or something? Huh? You got into enough trouble as is. Don't need to try to strike out with one of those vixens."
"Não, Não." Pao quickly denied with a smile on his face. "But I should ask, what the hell you were doing down here, huh? I was calling for you, don't you know?" A strange obnoxious scent hit his nostrils as he sniffed the air. Smelled to him like a lot of booze, cigarette smoke, and cheap silvervine, another scent. It smelt familiar, but he couldn't place it. And on top of that, it was coming from Gustavo of all beasts. Like he hadn't smelled like this earlier. It could just be the hallway, after all this was a heavily traveled area, but all the same, it smelled recent, very recent.
"Uh...we'll talk about it later." The bonobo replied, a little uneasy.
"Uh, huh," Pao said, looking at his trainer suspiciously. "Later, yeah?"
"Enough about me. Just why were you making a quick exit, huh?" The ape asked, returning the same look. "I know you monkeys love swinging from things, but you don't need to be taking such risks after such a grueling fight, pequeno idiota . The last thing I need is for you to fall and bust your skull open!" He lectured.
"Wait till I get my hands on you!" The fox's shrill voice echoed, bouncing down the shaft, and startling the both of them.
"Pá Virada," Someone's really angry. Gustavo just looked at him concerned. "Do I even want to know?"
"I kinda met a louco fan é all." Pao hastily explained with a slightly nervous chuckle. "I had to… y'know… chew my arm off, to get away." He joked.
"A fan?!" Gus asked, looking at him crazy then up the stairwell.
"Muito louco." very crazy The monkey expressed.
"Oh boy. Don't need that kind of fan." The gray-faced bonobo mumbled, mussing with the hair on his head, and sighed before he slapped the spider monkey upside his. "C'mon! Move your ass then. Before your so-called fan up there catches up with you, yeah?"
Pao just smiled at him and they both took off towards the exit at a brisk pace. The ape held up their bag of money as he patted the monkey on the back. "You did good tonight, Paulo, by the way. With this money we got, I think we might be able to see one of those massage parlors you seem so damn fond of. Maybe tonight." Gus announced as he opened the door.
Pao's face lit up at the prospect as they picked up their pace, he sure could use some gentle hands to ease his discomfort away, preferably some nice tender feminine ones. "Oh, please, let me choose," he insisted. "I know one with a bathhouse not too far from here with these macaques. Ooooooh, Garotas bonitas." He said, snickering as he mimicked the female's shapely forms with his hands. "And I hear tell it's like a hot spring in the mountains. I think we might get you to relax yet, old-timer." He said with a grin.
The old ape chuckled. "Yeah, relax. Relaxing sounds good." The bonobo gave him a mirthful smile before pushing him along out the door into the cool night air. His smile however was fleeting. He had something else on his mind.
Back up the stairwell just as she neared the bottom, Lùn heard a distant door slam. The monkey's powerful scent was becoming faint, he was gone she knew. She couldn't give further chase. She had ventured far enough from her post. She clawed at the air furious and gave a loud whining growl as she dropped back down onto the steps. She felt completely drained and dispirited as she laid and gazed up at the dim ceiling, pondering what to do next.
"Rrrrrgggh! This is all your fault!" She screamed at herself, sinking back into a familiar well of depression.
Her damn pride. Of course, it was always a lingering pessimistic thought taking residence in her mind. The possibility that Kyuu may or may not be there at the end of her journey. She was gambling all this one the notion that the herbivore would survive long enough for them to come to blows for real. After all, she was doing all this just to prove herself to her sisters, to make up for the humiliation Kyuu had handed her. And now she felt that chance was slipping through her fingers as easily as sand flowing through an hourglass and she just felt absolutely helpless to stop it.
"Loony, what are you doing laying on these filthy steps?" She suddenly heard Fa's concerned voice come from above her on the stairs. The bat-ear soon appeared, standing over her, gazing down with her hands at her hips. "Get up Loony, before Onésan sees you. You're going to get your dress dirty." She said.
"Alright." The dwarf fox whined, hopping up and dusting herself off.
"What were you doing over here? You just wandered off while we're supposed to be guarding the office."
"Um, I just wanted some time alone. I was just thinking…"
Fa smiled as she gave her sister a knowing look. "Whatcha thinkin' about?" She asked crouching down to check her sister's dress for any dirt and blemishes.
Lùn struggled to find the right words. "Just um… I feel like I'm running out of time. Like I'm going places but getting nowhere." She hesitated, before just flat out admitting what was there. "It's the rabbit. It's Kyuu. I'm thinking about her again."
"Oh boy," Fa said unenthusiastically, rolling her eyes. "How is she 'going down' now, huh future champ?" She asked, jesting if only a bit.
Lùn knew she was treading old ground and lightly chuckled at herself. "I'm not thinking about stuff like that . More just wondering if I'll see her again."
"Her fluffy friend's words earlier got you thinking about her, huh?" The bat-ear asked.
Lùn sighed. " Yeah…"
"Well, just remember she's just taking a break to heal just like you, Loony. She'll be back terrorizing the place in no time I'm sure."
"I know that, Fa. It's just this profession we're in. What if she bites it before we face each other? That bugs me… I'm doing all this for her in a way."
"Loony…" Fa tried to give a warm smile but just couldn't manage. "I'm starting to think…"
"I know it's silly," Lùn said, waving her off. "I get it. To worry about her, it's nuts even. But it's just nagging at me!" She whined. "Really. Like she's supposed to face that monkey creep from earlier. I'm worried."
Fa squinted at her, her sister was truly strange, but all the same, she offered her a reassuring look and placed her hand on the pygmy's shoulder. "Lùn, you can't predict the future. No one truly has the power of divination. But I think a little optimism couldn't hurt. I think you'll see her again. You just got to have patience and just have a wee bit of faith. After all, people wrote you off just like you're writing her off. Just remember that." She said, lightly slapping the little fox on the cheek. "Now. Cheer up. Onésan just told us that she wants to go to the Yen Safari with her beau. Which means we are going!" She announced.
"That sounds like fun." The little fox said softly, forming a small smile.
"There we go!" Fa smiled. "Now stop being so damn glum, sis."
Back at the Scoundrel's Den - The Next Day - The Present.
Lùn could barely contain herself as she looked over her shoulder at the rabbit she dragged down the old tile hallway, feeling much more content than she had been last night. She felt like a completely different animal, so giddy and excited for the expression on the underprivileged rabbit's face once they got to the gym. She had the rabbit right where she wanted her.
Loba, sans Fa, followed behind, bored out of her mind. Fa, of course, had ditched them once they had gotten past the casino floor to attend to her duties as interim manager. So obviously it fell to her to keep an eye on the Lùn and her little friend . "Make sure they don't kill each other." Those were the Bat-ear's final orders for the wox. Seemed simple enough so the wox. All she had to do was let Lùn give the tour, while she just watched and made sure they didn't cause an incident. So far so good, she thought.
For all the alluring splendor seen upfront at the entrance in the ballroom, the back of the Scoundrel's Den, where they all seemed to live, was a lot more homely and up to par for what Kyuu had been expecting. It had that same old used aesthetic that defined many areas of the Back Alley Market district was far more prominent here. But still, it looked nice. They had converted something forgotten and abandoned and changed its purpose for something else. The main ballroom itself had obviously originally been the large reception hall, some of the other rooms like the auditorium had been converted into extra add-on rooms for more gambling tables and equipment and smoking lounges The many of the old classrooms lining the halls were now living quarters, the teacher's lounge; a dining area, the check-in office; a place for guests to leave behind coats and luggage, the cafeteria; a buffet and dining hall. and the main administration room according to her tour guide was the so-called Snow Queen's little office.
"And this is me and Fa's room." Lùn presented, opening a door to reveal a small compact classroom with many creature comforts like a small square table, some chairs and a couch, and a small television, and a bunk bed. The room brought about a sense of deja-vu. Kyuu was easily reminded of the worn hospital room she and San slept in years ago at the old panda's clinic. Such memories had a bittersweet taste to them. Reminded her of what she could have had, what she screwed up and threw away. Still, the place looked better than an old worn-out cell. "Nice digs I suppose," She said, softly as she continued to follow.
"That's the lounge." Lùn pointed out, "We usually hang out in there. Used to be the library. Still have some books left over, but they're ancient. Still great for curbing boredom."
"Not much on reading," The rabbit flatly commented uninterested. "San probably would like it though."
"Not much on reading myself," The husky voice of the vixen behind them commented as she stalked behind them like a brooding shadow. "Besides, this may have been a school, but we won't be doing much reading around here, Snack."
Kyuu just growled under her breath at the continued use of that incessant pet name the wox kept using. She wasn't her god damn snack! No sooner had the brutish vixen said that a bespectacled tod sloppily dressed in one of the black uniforms Kyuu had seen the others wearing, hastily exited and rushed past them before making a surprised doubletake. His focus went the two pint-sized animals, taking great interest in Kyuu who also eyed him with curiosity. After all, he much like the other foxes, looked very different from a standard red fox that she'd seen. Large blackened snout, his ears were longer than average much like Lùn, likely mixed species like the doormen. He looked more like a dog than anything, specifically a German Shepherd, but he still had a typical poofy fox's tail swaying behind his trousers. He was a hybrid, she gauged.
"Ishida-san!" The wox greeted him. "Been a while."
"Yeah, the shifts they got me working are murder." He said, giving her a warm smile. "Uh, Loba-chan why is there a bunny back here?" He asked, in a hushed voice as his attention went back to the rabbit. He kept a hushed voice as if trying not to spook her. "She didn't escape the kitchen did she?"
The wox couldn't help but laugh and snort as she slapped the boy's shoulder. "Heavens no, Ishida-san. She's a guest" The wox answered. "This is… This is… um…" Loba looked at the rabbit slack-jawed after drawing a blank. "What was your name again?" She asked very bluntly, having never really addressed the rabbit much beyond her species name. "I'm so used to Psycho and don't want to keep calling you Snack."
The rabbit's eye twitched, almost popping a blood vessel as she unloaded a verbal barrage on the large canid the likes neither carnivore had ever heard come from the mouth of a herbivore as small as her. "Kyuu! MY NAME IS KYUU! YOU UGLY FUCKING MUTE, HUNGRY, DEGENERATE, MEAT DRUNK ASSHOLE!" The ill-tempered rabbit screamed at her, clawing her hands furiously at the wox as a stream of foul-mouthed expletives flew from her mouth. "GET MY FUCKING NAME RIGHT OR SO HELP ME I'LL-"
Loba then shrugged it off and turned to address the tod completely unfazed. "There you go. Her name is Kyuu, like the number 9. She's my new pupil."
"D-did she just tune me out?!" Kyuu asked incredulously as she looked at Lùn who was having a fit of the giggles at her expense. "Hey, you listen to me when I'm talking you big stinking mutt, damn it!" She demanded.
"Pupil?" Ishida asked, looking even more confused at the prospect of a herbivore like her learning the type of things Loba was known for. "B-but she's a rabbit. They're a bunch of weaklings right?"
"This one is special. See how they're both banged up?" The wox said, quickly running her fingers along both Kyuu and Lùn's faces, showcasing their bruises and scars. Kyuu, annoyed, swatted her fingers away, getting really tempted to cut someone. Loba again paid her no mind as she continued. "Lùn ran her down by herself this morning and she did not give Lùn an easy time, let me tell ya."
"Wow," The tod replied mystified, checking Lùn out him to verify. "We get more rabbits like this, we'll be in trouble, I imagine." He lightly chuckled, scratching behind his ears.
"Yup, she is tougher than she looks. Onésan had the bright idea to recruit her." The wolf-vixen added.
"Really?" The tod remarked, scratching the scruff under his chin. "A rabbit working for the Inarigumi, huh?" He said, stroking his chin. "We sure do live in strange times."
"I still haven't made my mind up!" The dark-faced rabbit quickly added with a pissed-off growl. "I'm just here because I was invited ." She said, thumbing at the smiling pygmy.
"She's also my new sparring partner." The pygmy fox piped up all cheerful, leaping on Kyuu's back once more and throwing her arm over her shoulder. "I'm about to break her in later if you wanna watch." She boasted, much to the rabbit's chagrin.
The lagomorph almost immediately pushed the vixen off of her and squared up for a tense standoff. "I'll break your face before you break me!" Kyuu quickly huffed in her face.
"Fucking try it, bitch!" Lùn responded, an eager mischievous grin in her face as if she had become drunk on the combustible nature she had farmed from the volatile rabbit. "In fact, keep that energy up, love," Lùn smugly remarked, cackling in her face, almost daring the Kyuu to back it up. "You're gonna need it because I'm going to wear you out before we're done." She said baring her fangs.
The dark-faced lop shook like a volcano about to erupt as she fought the very urge to slug the fox right then and now. "We'll… fucking… see." She growled.
Suddenly two massive fists bopped them hard on their heads like hammers. The two stumbled about dazed, as the wox stood there scowling down at the both of them.
"Enough of that. Knock it off," Loba commanded, pulling them apart with an exhausted look. "As you can see, I got my work cut out for me." She said,
"Yeeaaah. They seem a handful." The tod responded very awkwardly after witnessing the fierce energy between the two, scratching the back of his neck. "Well uh… good luck with that." Suddenly a look of horror overtook his face as he looked down at his watch. "Ah, shit! Damn it! I'm late! The craps table players are probably complaining!" He shouted, grabbing his ears. He made an about-face and rushed down the hall with a noticeable limp, zipping up his clothes in a hurry. "I'll catch you girls later!"
"I'll see you later, after your shift!" The wox called out after him, waving.
"Alright, Izzy-san!" Lùn called out as well. "Maybe another time then!"
"Was that acting really necessary, Loony?" Loba asked turning back to the pygmy, sighing and shaking her head. "You didn't have to make a scene to help explain. Izzy is a good boy, he's not an asshole like Takano. He'll keep his head down."
"Acting?" Lùn scoffed, "I just like riling her up." She playfully punched the rabbit, who nearly lashed out at her, only just narrowing her eyes at the canid. "It's like seasoning with her."
"And here I was thinking you had self-control and that you didn't think about me with your stomach anymore." The rabbit said, shaking her head. "How foolish was I?" She joked sarcastically.
"You know what they say. Old habits." The fox shrugged, grinning as she headed down the hall to the gymnasium.
"Yeah, well I'm thinking of getting you a muzzle." The lop joked, following behind, still frowning. "If not for my safety, to at least shut you up. How about that?"
"Oh, hahaa." Lùn dryly laughed. "Come on, the gym is right through these doors."