Chapter 31: Calling Clawhauser! Cats And Dogs CAN Get Along!


Three days later, Alex was wandering around the school. He needed a quiet, secluded place to think. But where in the school would he be able to be practically uninterrupted with the ability to be alone in his thoughts on the investigation? He pondered this for a minute, before it hit him. The library! Of course! Hardly any kids these days read actual books.

Alex started running towards the school library. On the night where Legosi had accidentally brushed up against the Night Howler flower, the gray wolf had taken Alex on a tour of the school grounds to pass the time. He got to the library and opened the door up. The librarian clerk looked up from her desk. "My word, hello there! We rarely get students in here nowadays," the librarian, a female gazelle, said excitedly.

"That's a shame. Let me guess, is it because the internet makes it much easier to access information?" Alex guessed. "You're exactly right," The gazelle confirmed.

"The internet is nice and all, but nothing beats the feeling of touching a book and turning the pages, having your eyes glued to the contents of the book," Alex sighed happily.

The librarian put a paw to her chest, her eyes fluttering in appreciation. "Few people these days really appreciate the feeling of a book in your paws. Aside from Jack-kun, you're one of the only students I've seen here," the librarian told him.

Alex's ears perked up. Jack was also here? "Jack comes here too?" the white wolf asked.

The librarian bobbed her head up and down. "Yes, in fact, he's been in one of the rooms on the upper floor for a few hours now. Over the past few days, this cheetah girl has been frequenting the library as well. She always comes and visits Jack," The librarian continued. Alex thanked the librarian for having a conversation with him before climbing the stairs and finding the room that Jack was in.

Using his nose, Alex was easily able to identify the labrador's scent and trace it to one of the rooms. He opened the door and saw Jack and Sheila holding paws, sitting across from one another at a desk table. The cheetah and canine were staring into the other's eyes, and Alex instantly knew that the two of them were in a relationship. The sound of the door opening alerted the two lovers to Alex's presence, causing them to break holding paws and heavily blush in embarrassment.

"O-oh! Alex! I-I didn't know you went to the l-library!" Jack squeaked, extremely nervous.

"Libraries are a magical place. I literally lived in a library for a few years of my life," Alex responded. Jack's eyes widened. "Really? I didn't know!" Jack replied.

Alex then looked at Sheila, causing the cheetah to blush. "And Sheila, what are you doing here?" Alex wondered.

Sheila anxiously drummed her paw digits on the table, searching for an answer. "Jack asked me to review his paper, so I came to help him out," Sheila answered. It wasn't entirely a lie- she had come to look over Jack's paper.

But then they had gotten to talking with each other and lost track of time, which was how she found herself in her current predicament. Even though she trusted Alex enough to tell him about her family, she wasn't ready for the whole school to learn about her relationship with Jack.

"A paper, eh? What kind of paper is it?" Alex asked, intrigued. Jack opened his computer up and pulled the document up before showing it to Alex. The wolf scrolled through the document, his eyes scanning through the words and absorbing the information at a rapid pace. Alex was having trouble believing what was in front of his eyes.

This was no ordinary high school paper. What Jack had written was much more advanced than anything a normal high school would require. Alex could tell that Jack had been very passionate about writing this essay, and had put his heart and soul into writing it.

The topic that Jack was writing about was the way that carnivore/herbivore relationships worked. The amount of research that the labrador had done was immense, even including information on his romantic relationship with Judy Hopps.

"What the hell?" Alex muttered. Jack's ears drooped in disappointment. "Do you… not think it's good?" Jack shamefully murmured. "No, not at all Jack. I said 'what the hell', as in, 'what the hell is a high school student doing writing a college graduate thesis?'" Alex replied, complete awe and amazement filling his voice.

Jack's eyes lit up and his tail started wagging rapidly. "You really think it's that good?!" Jack excitedly said. "Absolutely! You're a lot smarter than your standard run of the mill dog, Jack. You're like, a super genius. The level of quality this paper has is even higher than the thesis paper I wrote to graduate from the ZPD academy," Alex told Jack.

As soon as the words left his mouth, Alex instantly knew he had slipped up. He slapped himself in the face, angry at his stupidity. "Oh, don't be so upset Alex. Jack figured out that you were a cop a month ago. I realized his theory was right after you talked to me in the drama club earlier this week," Sheila reassuringly said. Alex shook his head, clearing his thoughts. Change the topic, the wolf told himself.

"So, Sheila, Jack. How long have the two of you been an item?" Alex asked curiously. The feline and canine couple blushed. "Two months now," Jack sheepishly admitted.

"That's wonderful! Sheila, have you told your dad?" Alex asked. The cheetah shook her head. "Not yet," Sheila revealed. "You should," Alex advised.

"Really? You really think that I should tell him?" Sheila asked. Alex nodded in response. Sheila gazed at her phone, a little nervous. "But what if he rejects me?" Sheila wondered.

"Sheila, don't worry. Even if your dad rejects you because you're in love with me, I'll always stand by you," Jack reassured her.

"I worked with your dad for several years on the police force, Sheila. He fully supports interspecies relationships… In fact, he's the biggest WildeHopps shipper in the department," Alex revealed. 'Wildehopps' was a pet name that had been coined after Judy and Nick had been credited with saving Zootopia.

To this day, Alex was still a little miffed that he hadn't gotten any of the credit, but he supposed it was due to the fact that he was under the effects of the Night Howler serum when Bellwether was arrested.

Sheila cracked a smile. "All right, I'm in. Let's do this," Sheila said. She fired up the Swype app on her computer and started a video call with her dad. It rang for about half a minute before Clawhauser picked up on his end.

The chubby cheetah's face filled the screen. Clawhauser was sitting at the ZPD front desk as usual. "Sheila! Sweetie, it's great to see you!" Clawhauser gushed, excited to talk to his daughter.

Sheila couldn't help but smile. Her dad was a great animal to be around or listen to. Something about his bubbly, euphoric personality brought smiles to animals all around. "Hey, Dad. It's great to see you too," Sheila greeted her father. They talked about how their days had gone for a little while before Sheila decided it was time to tell him the truth.

"Hey, Dad, I didn't tell you this earlier, but… I've been seeing someone for about a month now," Sheila told him.

"You've been seeing him for a month and you didn't tell me?" Clawhauser exclaimed. Sheila blushed.

"Y-yeah… I was afraid you wouldn't like him. But after a bit of helpful advice from a friend, I thought I should tell you," Sheila explained.

"Well then! Who's the lucky boy, or girl?" Clawhauser inquired. The cheetah was no stranger to LBGT. "Well, dad, it's a guy, and his name is-" Sheila began.

"My name is Jack!" The labrador cut in, but he was still off-screen. The fat feline grinned. "Oh, so he's with you! Come on, don't be shy! I want to see his adorable face!" Clawhauser insisted.

Both Jack and Sheila hesitated for a second before Jack walked into the camera's view. Clawhauser gasped as he saw that his daughter was dating a dog. He grabbed the screen and pressed his face up to it, wanting to make absolutely sure that his eyes weren't deceiving him. "Sheila, is that a LABRADOR that you're dating?" Clawhauser asked, curiosity in his voice.

His daughter shifted nervously, anticipating a highly negative reaction from her dad. "Y-yeah… Jack, meet my dad. Dad, meet Jack. He's one of the smartest boys in the school, and he's MY good boy," Sheila told her father. Hearing the words "good boy" made Jack smile and wag his tail excitedly.

The cheetah backed his face away from the camera, before smiling. "He's absolutely ADORABLE !" Clawhauser squealed.

Sheila blinked. That certainly wasn't the reaction she had been expecting. "Y-y-you… like him?" Sheila stammered. She thought he'd be upset, or critical, not… happy for her!

"Oh, Sheila. The species of animal that you fall in love with doesn't matter. It's their soul that matters. Our family has the souls of heroes, and a smart boy like Jack would easily fall for a hero like you," Clawhauser revealed.

Sheila shifted her weight around uncomfortably. Her dad had always talked about how his side of the family was descended from some ancient hero who was a member of some guardian society called "The Lion Guard". But she didn't WANT to be a hero. She wanted a normal life with Jack.

"When you graduate, Sheila, maybe you and Jack could come and visit me in Zootopia!" Clawhauser then suggested, bringing Sheila out of her thoughts.

Jack nodded enthusiastically. "I've always wanted to visit Zootopia!" Jack enthusiastically responded. "Yeah, and maybe you could come and attend the graduation ceremony!" Sheila said.

Clawhauser slapped his face playfully. "Gosh, why didn't I think of that! That's a wonderful idea! Of course I'm going to come to your graduation, Sheila sweetie. I'll take the two of you out to dinner somewhere in Cherryton," Clawhauser told them. The feline and canine couple nodded their heads in agreement.

"It was great meeting you, Mr. Clawhauser!" Jack told the officer. "Oh, the pleasure is mine, pup! Sheila, I will always love you. Remember that. Bye~!" Clawhauser reassured his daughter, before hanging up.

Jack and Sheila sat in silence for a minute, before they embraced and hugged each other happily. "He likes me!" Jack squealed joyfully. He felt drops streaming down his face, an unfamiliar sensation for the labrador. Alex gasped. "Jack… you're crying!" the wolf exclaimed.

"I-I am?!" Jack gasped, finally noticing the tears that were streaming down his face. How was he crying? Dogs couldn't cry. That was the whole reason he cut up onions when he was sad, so he could force himself to cry.

"Let me offer my two cents on the situation?" Sheila offered. The cheetah girl had an idea as to how Jack was able to cry in this situation. Alex gestured for her to continue.

"Jack, these tears aren't because you're sad. They're tears of joy!" Sheila explained. Alex realized she was right. Sadness wasn't the only emotion that could evoke crying within an animal. Extreme states of happiness and joy were also able to provoke such reactions.

"Sheila-san… I'm so happy I could kiss you!" Jack sobbed. Sheila didn't hesitate for a single second. She locked her lips with the labrador and the two made out with each other, sharing the most passionate kiss that had ever been seen in the library.


Next chapter, we check in on Louis and how he's doing as the new boss of the Shishigumi! He acts all fine, but is our favorite red deer really feeling 100%? Stay tuned for the next exciting chapter of BEASTARS: Converging Destinies!

Chapter 32: The Treasure Chest In The Manor's Basement! The Shishigumi Dad, Ibuki!