Chapter 54 - Sink Into

Louis returned to where San and Kyuu were. "Hey, I'm back."

San looked over at him, beaming. "Oh, hey! Welcome back!"

Kyuu took the cigarette out of her mouth and let some smoke out. "How was Go?"

"Go was...Go. He was acting kind of strange. I don't really know."

"Then Go was Go." Kyuu put the object back in her mouth.

"So, Shi, have you ever fought before?" San asked.

"Not truly, no."

"Have you used that gun, then?"

"A few times."

"Well, do you wanna learn some fighting or self-defense?" San started hopping from one foot to the other. "When you have your chimera it will probably help."

"You keep talking about it. Why?"

"About what?" The alpaca cocked his head at the buck, his long neck bending.

"The Chimera."

"Well, yeah! If Ichi's theory is correct and us branded animals are the only ones that can form one, you should be able to as well!"

"I know, I know. I don't think we'll get into it quite yet," Louis shook his head. "Plus, I use a gun with a silencer it looks like."

San shrugged. "Alright, then. Just come to hang out?"

"We can hang out. Or whatever you want. I'm not really sure how to fit in here."

"Well, you don't live here, so I think you might always feel that way," San admitted.

"Ah...I guess so," Louis frowned. He walked closer. "I still would like to have friends here...maybe."

San chuckled. "I'm your friend, aren't I? How about you, Kyuu?"

The rabbit delivered a roundhouse kick to the dummy before turning to them and staring with her large eyes.

The deer shook his head. "I guess not. Maybe one day."

"Ah, don't worry about it. Kyuu seems cold but she's got a warm, beating heart underneath that ice cube. Right, Kyuu?"

The rabbit said nothing, instead going back to her training.

Louis chuckled. "I get that."

"Hey Kyuu! How about you show Shi your chimera!"

Kyuu stopped again, turning around and looking annoyed. "Why?"

"Well, he's only seen Ichi's, and Ichi's is the only one like it. He should see what his is probably gonna look like."

"Is yours frightening like his?" Louis queried.

Kyuu shrugged while San answered. "Well, you probably noticed how we call them chimeras, but Ichi's isn't exactly...well...a mix of animals. Plus the way he projects it is so effortless. I honestly don't understand it. But Kyuu, show him how you do yours."

The rabbit sighed and turned around. "Okay, fine. Shi? Keep your eyes on me. Also stand back."

The buck moved and turned his head, looking at the bunny.

Kyuu walked over to some rope on the ground and picked it up. There appeared to be a metal, clawed appendage at the one end. She moved to the center of the room again and started swinging the rope. Louis flinched and moved back, still observing. The rope moved faster and faster, moving like liquid above her. Then, in the space above the small herbivore, the apparition of a large, black and white furred animal appeared. It appeared bear-like with long ears. Soon, Kyuu and the ropes disappeared, replaced only by the strange hybrid.

Louis stood, frozen, looking at the creature. "Uh..."

The animal vanished, leaving just Kyuu who was slowing down the rope spinning.

San spoke once again. "See? Usually, there's a physical aspect to projecting your chimera. You have to move in a way that gives it form, if that makes sense."

"Oh? Is that what it was."

"Yep! It's quite tiring. Mine is a mix with a hawk so I have to be in the air for mine. Of course you get to choose how you wanna go about it. Imaginary Chimeras are very personal, after all!"

Kyuu wiped some sweat off her bro and set the rope down. "So you'll have to think about how to emulate the movement of a wolf, then."

"Wait, wolf? How do you know?"

"You don't want it to be a wolf?" she questioned.

"I mean how do you know it will be a wolf?"

"Well, it's sort of what you want it to be, but also what your heart wants it to be, I guess. As for us, we sort of just followed what our masks are. You have a wolf mask, but also a wolf husband, so...it kinda makes sense that your chimera will probably be, like, a wolf with antlers or something."

"That's logical."

"So if you guys could have a kid, your chimera would be what they look like," Kyuu remarked with a smile, which she soon wiped off her face as she got back to training.

"That's...interesting..."

"Heh, there's the classic Kyuu humor. It's kind of rare." San put his hands on his hips and looked on as his friend continued to train.

"So...is it hard to summon a Chimera? Or can I do it immediately once I learn?"

San brought a finger up to his chin thoughtfully. "Well, getting the thing to even appear the first time is the hardest part. It definitely gets easier each time, since you learn more efficient ways to summon it."

"Does it...hurt at all?"

Kyuu let out a curt laugh while the alpaca simply chuckled. "Oh, no no, not at all! You might feel a bit lightheaded at most."

"Well, that's good, at least." He thought about some wolf poses. What would summon his chimera, though?

"There's more to it than that of course. We'll show you when Ichi wants us to."

"I guess I have to do this recon mission first. I'm just hoping Roku isn't annoyed with me the whole time."

Kyuu stopped her training again to speak. "I think you're gonna be the one annoyed."

"Pardon?"

"Has he mentioned Yahya yet?"

"Oh, no."

Kyuu laughed again and San took over. "Yeah, he's a pretty huge Yahya fanboy. Ichi found him doing vigilante work here in the black market because he wanted to be like the Beastar."

"...Beastar..." Louis repeated, quietly.

"Yup. You know about him, right?"

Louis made an unamused face. "Yes."

"He's an over-glorified government tool," Kyuu spat. "It's been years that he's been Sublime Beastar and nothing has changed. He just makes some carnivores disappear sometimes and that gets guys like Roku sucking his dick."

"N-not that a guy sucking dick is a bad thing," San mumbled to Louis.

The buck shook his head. "Roku would never. I don't think he likes gay people."

"It's a metaphor, guys!" Kyuu said in exasperation.

"Most of all, I'm just hoping we don't have to fight because I have no training whatsoever besides with a gun."

"Well, remember if you ever wanna learn fighting or self-defense, me and Kyuu can help with that."

"Well, remember if you ever wanna learn fighting or self-defense, me and Kyuu can help with that."

"I might as well learn. I feel like this is going to go on for a while."

"Wanna begin today?"

"That sounds good. I think I'm a relatively quick learner."

San cracked his knuckles. "Alright, then! We'll go over basics then, and when your antlers come in we can work with those, too!"

Louis didn't realize said training would go on for hours. By the end of it, he was sore, sweaty, and tired. However, it was also the most physical activity he had gotten in, well, years. It felt rejuvenating.

"Well, that covers the basics!" San beamed. "That outfit of yours sure is good for this."

"It really...is. Breathable and easy to move in...Hoo! That was a workout!"

"Glad to see you getting along here."

The three turned to the cell entrance to see Ichi standing there.

Louis blinked, still panting. "How long have you been standing there?"

"I just got here." Ichi glanced over him, a small smile forming on his face. "I see Hachi's work is impeccable as always."

Louis looked down at the outfit. "What do you think? Do I look like one of you?"

"You look the part, yes. The eyepatch adds to it, I must say. Of course, you still have to prove yourself."

"I was just training so I can," the buck smiled, still huffing.

"Yeah! He's slender and nimble, so I think he'll be pretty good with a bit of work!" San explained, enthusiastically.

"Learning without your antlers could be a trap, though," Ichi said as he stepped inside the space. "Accounting for that weight is a huge part of it."

"Not training for months would also be a trap, though," Louis pointed out.

"Not saying that. Just saying get ready to adjust." Ichi stopped before him, staring him down with those green eyes. "If you ever need help with your shooting, I can help with that as well."

"I'm pretty good at it, actually. You'd be surprised," Louis said, looking back with his amber eye.

"You'll have to surprise me sometime, then." The small, strange smile returned to Ichi's face. "Anyway, I wanted to discuss your payment."

"Oh? I guess we should do that in private, then?"

Ichi glanced at the other two animals in the room. "It's not like it's a secret. I spend our funds at the tower to make everyone here comfortable, but since you don't live here I'll put aside some for you. Plus, the matter of the wolf..."

"And that matter is?"

"Convincing him that you're working a job and getting paid, if you remember. Calm down."

"What? I'm just tired from the training."

"I can see that. Anyhow, I was thinking of giving you 20000 yen a week, as long as our money keeps coming in steadily. That shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"That's not a problem at all. But I don't like being on bad terms with anyone here."

"Well, that's a problem you'll have to fix yourself, isn't it?"

San raised his hand. "He's not on bad terms with us!"

"Mhm. But with Go, Roku, and Ni..." His ears drooped a bit.

"Like I said, it's something you'll have to fix yourself. I didn't hear the end of it from those three after the display you gave last time!" Ichi snapped.

"I still believe that you should have known I wouldn't just get on my knees and kiss your feet, Ichi."

The group leader sighed, rubbing his temple. "Are you going home now?"

"Oh? You want me to leave?"

Ichi blinked and looked away. "No. Just thought you'd want to get back to your wolf, like usual. When you're ready to leave, I'll need to show you the cell I set up for you to put your things in."

"You can take me now, then."

Ichi turned on his heel and walked off, hands folded behind his back. "Come along."

The two ascended back to the cells, Louis thinking about what he has learned in training. He wondered if Legosi would find it cool.

As it turned out, the cell Ichi set aside for Louis was a fairly small one, a rotting mattress and a large chest the only things in it. He handed Louis a key. "This opens the chest. Put your things in here so you don't have to hide them at home."

"I guess that makes sense. It doesn't smell very good in here. You really went all out."

"You don't live here, so I gave you a room nobody wanted to store your things. Buy an air freshener if it bothers you enough." Strangely, this snide quip was delivered with another small smile from Ichi.

Louis rolled his eye. "Maybe I will."

"I'm partial to apple cinnamon myself," the other buck informed.

"Then maybe you'll be smelling that in the future."

"I look forward to it." Ichi stared off into the seemingly empty corner. "Do you need an escort back today?"

"As in...San?" Louis tilted his head.

"I suppose. I need to go out and run some errands, so I could do it on the way as well."

Louis wagered this. "I guess...if you want to. It might be safer."

"Especially since you look beat as hell. I'll be waiting at the exit for you to get back into your regular clothes and stuff." And with that, Ichi walked off.

The buck watched him leave, before stripping down and returning to what he arrived in. He tucked everything he had been given today into the chest, vial of blood included, and made his way all the way down to the exit.

When he arrived, he saw Ichi and Ni talking.

Louis blinked, standing back and waiting for their conversation to finish. They apparently didn't seem to notice him.

"I'll get something nice for Sunday, I promise," Ichi said, his voice soft.

"...I guess I will, too, then. No talking about Shi this time, though."

The stag sighed. "Fine. I'm sorry."

"Especially now that he's here. It makes me feel weird, Ichi."

Louis furrowed his brows. What were they on about? Sunday?

"You and me both, Ni. He's definitely not what I expected."

"That's your fault and you know it." The goat crossed his arms. "You made this ideal version of himself in your head. No one could have expected him to fall in love with a wolf. At least he's going to make an effort to change."

"Yeah, I know," Ichi rubbed the back of his neck, looking vulnerable. "He was training with San and Kyuu for hours today, so I think he might be warming up to us. I just wish he would stay on his own volition while also not telling the wolf."

"If he cares about him...he won't..."

"And he does. I still can't understand it. I can't understand how someone who went through the things we did could care that much about a meat eater."

Ni put a hand on his shoulder. "You always have me."

Ichi chuckled. "Wh-what does that have to do with it?"

"I'm just saying." His eyes had a very serious look in them.

Louis turned around and slowly exited, then returned back, making loud noises as he came in and Ni's hand was already gone from Ichi.

Ichi cleared his throat. "Ah, Shi. I take it you're ready to go now."

"Yes. I am." He grinned and came over. "Yo, again, Ni."

The goat looked at his leader one more time, then exited, walking past Louis with no words or glances.

Ichi also said nothing, walking out and down the stairs with Louis following.

"I think I could actually be a pretty good member out there, you know. I have a pretty skinny body and my outfit allows me to move fast. I'll get better once I learn how to use my Chimera—"

Ichi turned quickly to face him as they continued walking. "Do you really think that, or are you just saying it?"

"What? Why would I just say it?"

"Just seems like a huge heel turn from the last time you were here. Unless your time here today made you feel better about the whole thing."

"It did, honestly. I mean, you were kinder for one. Showing me my parents meant a lot, as I said before."

"I only return what you give me," Ichi stated. "I'm glad you feel that way, though. I'm glad I could help you find some closure."

"Me, too. Really. Then seeing everyone act normal, playing pool, training, that sort of thing...It was really nice."

"What, did you think we're all robots or something? We live here. They like to have fun like any other animal."

Louis laughed at that. "I'm half expecting your battery to die at any moment. Then I'd have to carry you back."

Ichi smirked and punched Louis lightly. "I'm not that bad."

"Ah, so you do have a soul."

"Of course I do!"

"Good to know. You do have a nice smile. You should let them see it more."

Ichi turned away, saying nothing. They made it to the hatch that led outside.

The two climbed out and walked out into the late afternoon sun. Louis could hardly believe how long he had spent there. He was hungry. The deer rubbed his stomach. "Thanks for escorting me."

"Not a problem. Like I said, I was going out anyway," came the quick answer from the mysterious buck.

"Mhm. When do we separate?"

"I'll walk you to the main streets."

The two continued along. "I really am sorry for acting like such a jerk when I arrived."

"I get it. I forgive you." Ichi continued to face forward.

"Do you really?" Louis asked.

"Yes. I'm glad today treated you better."

Louis grinned, meeting his eyes as they did. "I will cooperate from now on. So you don't need to worry."

"You'll find that'll be best for everyone," Ichi sighed. "Understand that I did not wish to resort to such a brutish tactic as threatening you, but you wouldn't have taken my offer any other way. Now that you're here, I'm sure you'll find your place."

"Mhm. And you won't call me insufferable any longer."

"As long as the glove doesn't fit." Ichi smiled again.

"The glove does fit, though. Didn't you see?" He joked.

"Oh yes. Honestly I don't know how Hachi gets measurements just from looking at someone for a few minutes. Perhaps it's the same way they size up an opponent in battle."

"Perhaps. It's a talent, nonetheless. I wonder what mine will be."

"Hmm." Ichi looked up to the sky, thinking. "Perhaps...carnivore tamer?" he joked.

Louis just genuinely laughed at that.

Ichi allowed himself to laugh as well. It sounded a bit like he was gasping for air.

The buck just laughed harder at the sounds.

"Was it really that funny?" Ichi asked through his gasps.

"It's more funny than you know, Ichi."

"It's true though, right?" he was still laughing. He seemed like a totally different animal to Louis.

"It is true. I guess I could...use my charm to help us on the field. Maybe?"

"If you want to try and fuck carnivore gangsters, be my guest. Just know when they say they want to eat you, it probably means literally." Ichi immediately turned away as soon as he said that and mumbled, "Oh god, that joke was bad."

"Wow. I can't believe you made a joke like that." He snorted, shaking his head. "Of course...I don't want to have sex with any gangsters. For all we know, that might be their favorite part to eat."

"And I don't think we would have a good window to ask them," Ichi remarked as he came off of his laughing high. "Really, though, I do hope your softness for carnivores doesn't get you hurt."

"Knowing me, that's likely." The deer pointed to his eyepatch.

Ichi's expression became gloomy. "Please be careful, Shi."

Seeing Ichi show some care alarmed him. "...Hm?"

"I said be careful! The carnivores back here will seriously want to hurt you, and not just for food."

"You be careful. You almost sounded worried there."

"You don't think I care about you?" Ichi asked, incredulously.

"Uh...It's hard to tell."

"I do." They stopped at the end of an alleyway and Ichi crossed his arms. "Here we are."

"Alright. Well, thank you again. I'll be seeing you."

"Yes. Tomorrow in the afternoon. The operation will start at 10 PM."

"Night time. Alright, then. Sounds good. I'll be there." Louis turned and began walking off.

"Goodbye, Shi." Ichi's voice was quiet.

Louis got home first, before his husband was there. He huffed, already missing him. Spaghetti was on the menu tonight. He threw on some jazz music and got right to work, even though his muscles ached from the workout.

For once he didn't strip when he got home. He continued to cook food but while he was waiting, he collapsed on the futon, almost dozing off from the exhaustion.

Louis didn't hear the fiddling with the door about an hour later, nor the hurried footsteps that came to his side.

"Lou? Lou, are you okay?" came the panicked voice of his beloved, shaking him gently with his large, clawed hands.

The deer's eye widened. "Hah! Legosi! What are you doing?"

The wolf jumped back. "Oh! I saw you laying there and thought you had been hurt!"

"Oh my goodness, Gosi. I'm just resting."

Legosi had fallen back on his cute butt, his legs out to the side and his hands pressed on the floor between them. His ear twitched with a cocktail of his head, a small, confused whine following.

The buck chuckled, moving his hands to rub the wolf's legs. "I have obtained no injuries today."

"That's good, but what about everything else?"

"Mentally? I'm...really...I don't know. I think I'm good?"

Legosi crawled over to him, his nose wiggling. "You smell...strong."

Louis covered himself. "Ah! Well...Sorry! I did some training..."

"Training? What kind of training?" Legosi's voice was clearly concerned.

"Just...regular training..." Louis felt self conscious. "Maybe I should shower."

"We can go down together later. First tell me what happened today."

"Nothing, really. I got there and Ichi told me that...Well...He showed me my parents." He kept himself covered.

Legosi blinked. "Th-that's not nothing, Lou! Your parents were there!?"

The buck looked at him, blankly. "...No, Gosi. They weren't physically there. They were in a record book."

"Oh..." Legosi looked away in embarrassment. "Well, what did you find out about them?"

"My father's name is Ichiro and my mother's name is Tsubaki...She looks really tired...Or looked, I don't know."

"Did it say why they...you know..."

"They moved to America."

"Oh." Legosi crawled closer, taking Louis' hands in his. "How do you feel about it?"

"I feel...like a weight's lifted, somehow? I'm so glad I know who they are...No more wondering."

"But...you don't know why they did it..."

"Why they put me in there?"

Legosi nodded, squeezing his hands.

"Because they...moved to America..." He swallowed. He really didn't know, did he?

"They could have brought you." Legosi scowled. "But...if you had...we never would have met."

Louis pulled him closer. "I know...I know..I guess I'm not sure why they left me there."

"I'm sure they didn't want to," Legosi said, his voice almost a whisper. "No parent would choose that."

"...She looked sad, Legosi..." He felt tears. "This is dumb. I shouldn't be upset. I was fine before I knew. It's not like anything's changed."

"You know she probably loved you...that changed."

"...But do I?"

Legosi closed the gap between them and gave the buck a tight hug.

Louis blushed. "I still smell bad..."

"You smell wonderful."

"Ugh, you're just saying that to make me feel better."

Legosi shook his head. "No, I'm serious. I can't get enough of your smell, and now it's just...enhanced." He took a long, deep sniff.

The deer was red, pushing against him a bit. "You're making me blush..."

"I know, and I love it." The canine nuzzled against him.

Louis laid back, Legosi looming over him. "So...h-how was your day?"

Legosi lay down next to him, his torso beside him, but his lower body on top of him. "Well, learning how to do all of the ordering for the store and stuff. It's easier than I thought it'd be but the text on the paper is so small it makes my eyes cross."

"Cross? What do you mean?"

"I mean it's hard to focus. It gets all blurry and I have to squint," Legosi pouted.

Louis' brows furrowed and he turned his head. "Has that happened before?"

"Hm? Well, sometimes. I've had trouble reading small things for a few years now, but it never get in the way too much."

"Was it like that the whole day?"

Legosi snuggled in closer. "Mhm. It's not that bad."

"Do we have anything with small text around here?"

"Um, maybe on one of the food boxes?"

Louis got up and went to the kitchen, taking out a box of rice and coming back over, getting on his knees. "Does anything look blurry on this?"

Legosi took the package and turned it over. He squinted. "Um...the back of it."

The deer turned it around and checked it. "It looks fine to me...and I have one eye."

The dog grumbled. "I can still kind of read it if I squint."

Louis held it a bit farther back. "Now?"

Legosi blinked. "Well, now it's too far away."

"Is it blurry?"

His husband shrugged.

"What do you mean! It's a yes or no question!"

"It's, like, double."

"What? What do you mean?"

"Like there's two words superimposed on each other, but slightly."

Louis blinked. "Legosi, I think you might need glasses."

"Glasses," Legosi repeated, but said nothing else.

"Are you okay?" Louis asked the wolf.

Legosi leaned forward. "I'm fine, but are you okay? What else happened today?"

"After that, he gave me some equipment and my outfit and then I talked to more of the members and got to know them more."

"What are they like?"

"The outfit has exposed shoulders and detached fingerless sleeves. It's all black."

Legosi cleared his throat. "I mean the members."

"Oh...Ichi was better today...I got him to laugh."

"Really?" Legosi smiled a bit.

"Yeah. He sounds like he got punched in the stomach when he laughs."

That caused Legosi to laugh, himself. Louis took the time to rediscover it: a sound much higher pitched than his speaking voice and coming out in rapid hisses.

The buck blushed. "Gorgeous..."

"So, what are the other members?"

"Ni is a goat. I don't think he likes me very much. Roku is a horse. Also doesn't like me. Go is a red panda. Doesn't like me either. Kyuu and San are actually pretty nice, which is a relief. They taught me some cool moves. Hachi can't speak at all. They're very mysterious, but I think they're friendly. And...Juu is a sparrow, the one that watches us. She doesn't watch us have sex but I assume she's seen us naked...which is strange. She also...knows you know they exist."

Legosi sat up. "What!" He then covered his mouth and looked around frantically.

"Yeah...I guess it's not that hard to figure out. She's not going to tell if we give her 5000 yen a week."

Legosi blinked. "What? That's like, nothing."

"I'm not going to argue with her. She said she was going to use it for ingredients so they can eat..."

The wolf cocked his head. "Are they starving?"

"No, I don't think so."

"As long as she doesn't tell anyone, I don't care what the money is for. As long as you're alive by the end of this...Whenever that is."

Legosi seemed to recover from his previous surprise. "Okay...did you learn anything you think we should tell Melon-san?"

"Not really, no. Besides the fact that I have to do recon tomorrow at this place that sells carnivore parts and herbivore kids," Louis explained.

The wolf's triangular ears flicked back. "Th-that sounds horrible! I didn't even know the black market sold carnivore parts, too."

"Yeah...It might not be such a bad thing if we stop things like that. This is all very morally confusing."

"I've said before that it seems like those herbivores do good things. They also do weird things like spy and threaten to kill me." Legosi's cheeks puffed out as he tried to look angry.

Louis grinned. "Once again, gorgeous."

"Well, anyway, recon means like, scouting, right? So you won't actually be going into the place or anything, right?"

"No, I won't. Aww, are you worried about me?" he joked.

Legosi slammed his hands on the floor. "Of course I'm worried about you! This is a horrible situation and you woke up crying this morning because of it! How is this suddenly something you're talking so normally about?"

"...I'm still terrified of losing you! But this is my life now. Do you want me to sulk forever about it?"

Legosi sighed. "No...sorry for lashing out. It's just...last night and this morning you were so...torn up. It hurt so badly to see you that way. Did today just...go well then?"

"I guess so. I'm sorry I burdened you with that this morning."

Legosi went back to hug Louis. "It wasn't a burden. It's what we do for each other."

"What do I do for you other than put your life at risk?"

"You love me and accept me and make my life better," Legosi said with a kiss.

"Forever! I'll do anything for this to work! It works on its own but everyone just wants to get in the way..."

"I wonder when Melon will text us," Legosi pondered.

As soon as he said that, Louis' phone went off, causing Legosi to jump. "Oh wow! That's scary!" he whined.

"Again?" Louis frowned. He checked his phone.

Riley: hey Louis it's Riley. I thought I should text you eventually and see if the number was right

Louis grinned and immediately responded.

Louis: Hey, good to hear from you. You got the number right.

Legosi cocked his head. "Oh, is it not Melon-san?"

"No, it's not."

"Who is it?"

"It's just Riley."

Legosi's ear twitched. "Huh? Who?"

"Just the coyote who attacked me last time. But don't worry, he's cool."

"What!? Where did you see him again? What's going on?" Legosi clutched his head, rocking his body back and forth slightly.

But Louis didn't respond as the coyote messaged him back.

Riley: okay good. That wouldn't be the most awkward thing to happen between us but yeah

Louis: You wanting to kill me was definitely the most awkward thing, yeah.

Legosi whined. "Lou! What's happening? How are you talking to him? What happened?"

"He messaged me. Don't worry, it's totally fine," Louis responded.

"But how? When did you see him again? Why did you get his number?"

"I saw him at Gouhin's. You remember I visited him, recently."

Legosi nodded. "Yeah, yeah." His ears perked, looking like something clicked in his mind. "Oh, so he's being treated there?"

"He is. And he likes pets just like you do. Figures, for a canine," Louis chuckled.

"Y-you pet him? After he tried to eat you?"

"Well, he was calmed down at that point."

"I see." Legosi cocked his head. "Does he know about me?"

"Of course. I tell everyone about you."

"Mmm." Legosi moved to lay his head in Louis' lap. "Were you making something? It looks like there's things set up in the kitchen."

"I was making spaghetti that I completely forgot about."

"I like spaghetti," Legosi stated, plainly.

The phone buzzed again.

Riley: Again, I am so sorry for what I did. I don't know if there's anything I can do to make it up to you

Louis: Give me all your money and we can talk.

Louis: That was a joke.

Riley: So was I

Louis: So...you're not poor?

Riley: Oh no I am still very very poor

Legosi grunted and shifted in Louis' lap. "When are you gonna make the spaghetti?"

"Give me a second."

Louis: Sorry to hear that. If it makes you feel better, I don't have a job.

Riley: That sucks. I hope your guy does at least

Louis: He's a good boy. Of course he does.

Riley: Haha! Let him know he's a good boy. We canines love that

Louis looked down at Legosi, stroking his cheek. "You're such a good boy. Did you know that?"

Legosi let out a huff while his tail thwapped against the floor and his legs shifted.

"Mhm~" Louis leaned down and kissed his nose.

"Gonna make the spaghetti now?"

Louis sighed. "Fine, I'll text after I feed my hungry carnivore."