Chapter 7: The Stage of Hopes And Dreams That Lights Up His Future!


The next morning Alex woke up and saw Legosi in a depressed mood. "Ah, you're still hung up over last night?" Alex asked. Legosi nodded in response. "Legosi. You can't blame yourself for what happened last night. Hell, you shouldn't be blaming yourself for anything. No one got hurt, and your control over your actions was extraordinary," Alex whispered.

"You're right, but… The feelings I had when I touched that rabbit… I'm still trying to make sure of what emotions were running through my head. Lust? Love? Hunger?" Legosi mused.

"I'll explain everything later when we can separate ourselves from the rest of the dorm," Alex promised as they walked through the cafeteria with the rest of Legosi's dorm. They sat and talked. When Legosi couldn't bring himself to eat his egg sandwich, Alex gave him one of his peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, which Legosi promptly chowed down on.

The peaceful atmosphere was soon broken by the sounds of a commotion. Something about someone stepping on another animal's tail. Alex sighed. This sort of fight was common for the citizens of Zootopia who had homes and regular living conditions. However, Alex was taken aback by how quickly the situation escalated. The fox bit into the other animal's arm, and they started tussling. One of them began to strangle the other with their arm.

"STOP IT!" Legosi and Alex yelled out together in unison. Legosi gasped and covered his mouth in surprise.

"What did you say?" One of the two hissed menacingly. Alex put a paw on Legosi's shoulder.

"Chill out, Legosi. I got this," Alex assured the gray wolf. He stood and turned to the fox, who was advancing on him.

"Just because you're a large carnivore, you think you can take me on, transfer student?!" The fox sneered. Alex chuckled.

"Try me. I'm sure you will be surprised by the results. And my name is Alex. Remember that," Alex calmly replied. The two locked eyes, and the fox could see the conviction in the white wolf's demeanor. Then Alex smiled deviously, with a hint of malice in his grin as he exposed his fangs, and his aura intensified, striking fear into the fox's heart.

The fox wilted and stepped back. "A-all right, you win. It's not worth fighting over anyways," The fox meekly said.

"Exactly what I was thinking. Be grateful that the animal stepping on your tail wasn't an elephant; if he had been, your tail would be broken and if you had tried to fight him you might have ended up as a bloody stain on the floor," Alex replied. The white wolf then turned to the victim who had gotten bitten.

Using his claws, Alex tore off a large piece of his t-shirt and used it as a bandage, wrapping it around the bite mark which was still bleeding. "Go to the infirmary and get that wound cleaned up," Alex advised.

As the bitten animal left the lunchroom to get his wound treated, the wolf heard clapping. Louis slowly walked towards the white wolf, clapping his hands together. "Bravo, Alex. Simply put, bravo! That was quite a feat you did. Though I would like to know why you stopped that fight?" Louis asked. Alex sensed no intention of mockery or malice in Louis's tone, just curiosity and intrigue.

"Stepping on someone's tail is a stupid thing to fight over. There are much more useful ways to exert energy than by squabbling with someone over such petty problems," Alex answered. Louis smiled, and shook Alex's hands. Everyone started clapping and cheering for the two of them.

The rest of the day flew by until it was drama club time. Alex watched the drama club members rehearse their lines and their scenes for the upcoming performance of their play, Adler. "Water, wind, and fire. All the forces of nature want you dead," Louis gravely told the female zebra who he was protecting.

"These guys are a part of them?!" the zebra exclaimed fearfully.

"Stay behind me. Killing you… is my job. Until then… I will not allow them to lay a finger on you!" Louis declared.

"All right, that's a wrap for scene fifteen! We will now take a break!" the drama club president declared. The president then pulled Louis aside, asking him if he was okay. Louis told him he was fine, but Alex could tell that the deer was in pain. Then, Louis started acting kind of crazy, telling the carnivore actors to literally attack him with the intent to kill.

Alex decided that this was the point where he needed to step in. "Louis! If you want to spar with someone like that, spar with me!" Alex announced. This turned quite a few heads.

"Hey, is Louis really going to spar with him? For all we know, he has no acting experience!" Sheila the cheetah whispered to Els.

Els looked long and hard at Alex, shuddering as she recognized him as the mysterious wolf who had appeared to her the night after Tem's murder. "Something tells me he's a really good actor," Els replied.

Louis bent over and tossed Alex one of the spare wooden poles, before putting his Adler mask back on. "I must say, Louis-san, you look quite stunning with that mask on," Alex complimented. The red deer grinned. "Thank you," Louis replied. "Now, en garde!" Alex exclaimed, before the two of them began their mock swordfight.

The battle raged for minutes, each side determined not to give up. Their intense bout of swordplay had attracted quite an audience; almost all of the drama club was watching at this point. But a quick jab that poked Alex in the shoulder caused him to stumble, and the white wolf fell promptly on his posterior. The wolf got back up to his feet, and turned to face the crowd. For the second time that day, animals were applauding him and Louis together. Alex bowed gracefully, taking in the cheers and excitement.

Alex then noticed that Louis had left the stage. Using his nose, Alex followed Louis's scent trail and found the deer sitting down and looking at his bloodied leg. Alex gasped upon seeing the injury. "What happened?!" Alex demanded.

"I fell off the stage last night when I was helping Zoe practice," Louis groaned. Alex pulled out his bag and began searching through it.

"All right, I'm going to give you a powerful painkiller pill. It should last up until the end of the first performance, but after that you'll be on your own. I can't give you any more than one or else you might develop an addiction," Alex instructed. He pulled a pill bottle out and shook one of the opioid pills out, before retrieving an unopened bottle of water from his backpack.

Louis drank the bottled water and took the pill. "Now, you're going to want to use that wooden pole as a cane. Keep your weight shifted to your uninjured foot. This medicine won't prevent your bone getting sprained or broken," Alex continued.

Louis looked at Alex, mystified by how far the wolf was going to help him. "Why are you helping me? Wouldn't it be better if you didn't help me so that some predator at this school could become the next Beastar?" Louis asked.

"I've seen prey get abused or taken advantage of by predators too often. The world needs more prey animals like you- noble souls who provide a shining example that inspires others," Alex responded. Louis was touched by Alex's response.

The wolf helped Louis stand back up. It was at that moment that Alex realized how important the stage was to Louis. For the red deer, the drama club was the circuit of hope and dreams that lit up his future. "Louis, I promise that I will do everything in my power to make sure you become the next Beastar," Alex vowed.