[Author's Note: The people in this are not anthropomorphic animals like in Zootopia. They look like ordinary humans on the outside but have animalistic spirits, or spirit animals (all humans have this too; there are no animals in this world). Herbivores must be vegetarians while carnivores historically have eaten herbivores, although most elect to eat soy products in the modern age (FYI, they don't see this as cannibalism; although they all look the same, all people identify with their animal spirit as their true species). One's animal spirit is determined at birth; one will always have the same animal spirit as their parents. Crossbreeding does occur on occasion, but it is the exception and not the rule. For the most part, species mate with their own kind. The biggest taboo in all societies, however, is a carnivore marrying an herbivore.
I know this is a lot of pre-story information; I hope you find it useful. My most requested Fifty Shades story idea is supernatural. This story was inspired ironically not by Zootopia but the anime, Beastars. I strongly suggest you watch Beastars's opening on YouTube; it fits this story perfectly. Please read and enjoy; comments are always welcomed!
Thanks again lovely readers!]
It started with a murder.
Everyone in my dorm house woke up to the sounds of sirens ringing. "All students report to Common Room! All students report to Common Room!" I rubbed my eyes, sitting up in my bed. A check of my phone revealed the time: seven o'clock. Great. With all the strength I could muster, I forced myself to get out of bed, grab my wool poncho- yes, a lamb wearing wool; like I've never heard that one before- and dragged myself out of my single dorm room.
All my flatmates were groggily exiting into the hallway too. I live a few doors down from one of my best friends, Kate. We met each other in the middle of the hall; both of us were still in our pyjamas. "Nugh, what's this about?" My hand tried to rub the remaining sleep out of my eyes. "Don't know," Kate yawned. Kate's animal spirit is a red panda, so she's a bit of an earlier bird than me. A bit, but not by much. Along the way, our friend, Jose, joined us; he was tall and lanky, as one would expect a giraffe to be.
"Hey, do you know what's going on?" He inquired to us. We shook our heads. "No clue." "Ugh, this is child abuse; making us get up this early," Kate groaned. The three of us entered the Common Room, where everyone from our floor was congealing- herbivores and carnivores alike. They didn't segregate the spirit species anymore. "Herbivores on the right! Carnivores on the left! Shortest in front! Tallest in the back!" Well, most of the time. Our dorm parent, Mrs. Crumb, was of the old-fashion sort.
We all shuffled to our positions. Kate, Jose, and I were all in the same side of the room, but in different rows. I, being one of the shortest, was in the front row while Jose was right near the back. I looked at Kate, then Jose, then Mrs. Crumb. The owl cleared her throat before addressing us. "Children," she was fond of calling us, despite all of us being in our late teens. Of course, no one said anything, and she continued. "Children, I regret to inform you that there's been a murder on campus. Last night, Tom Alister was killed outside the library."
No one said anything; what could we say? A murder of a fellow student here on campus? How… How did this even happen? I wouldn't say I knew Tom Alister personally; he didn't live in our dorm house and we had no classes together. We never actually spoke to each other. It's just…. to know that he was dead…. That was an unfamiliar and very unpleasant sensation. Kate and I merely gave one another one of "those" looks, as did many of our floor mates. After letting the initial shock set in, Mrs. Crumb saw fit to carry on.
"We have no leads as to who his attacker is yet, but authorities have reason to believe that this was a species-based assault." Species-based. That's the modern way to say when "carnivores hunt herbivores". Tom was an antelope, I should note. Obviously this caused immediate tension in the room, with us herbivores glancing to one another, then at the carnivores on the other side. They all jostled uncomfortably and didn't look us in the eye. It should be noted that Mrs. Crumb herself was a meat-eater too. She cleared her throat again, as if attempting to banish the uneasiness permeating the air.
"Now, now, settle down; settle down," her hands waved in the air like we weren't already morbidly silent. When literally none of us reacted, she lowered them. "Until the police resolve the matter, there will be some new rules implemented for all students, irrelevant of species." Then Mrs. Crumb paused for a moment, like she was expecting us to start rebelling or something. When we still did nothing, she proceeded yet again. "A curfew will be enacted for all students; you are to be in your dorm house by eight o'clock sharp. Students will also not be permitted any visitors on campus until further notice. You are to report any suspicious personale or activity to an appropriate authority. Am I understood?" The last question was asserted with a firm, adult tone. "Yes, Mrs. Crumb," we all sighed in unison. She nodded, seemingly pleased by this.
"Very good. Now return to your rooms. Breakfast is at nine sharp," her hand now shooed us away. We left the Common Room in a stunned silence. Jose was the first to enter his room without a word. Then Kate and I gave each other one last, noiseless look before we parted. I went into my room and over to my unmade bed. I sat on the edge, staring into space for a long minute. There was so much on my mind and yet, nothing at all. After a while, I eventually laid myself back in bed and pulled over the covers. I did my best to empty my head before drifting back to a dreamless sleep.