Christian's P.O.V.-
Football practice had been cancelled today; the team was still recovering from Tom's untimely death. This meant that I didn't have much to do after dinner. Jason had an essay to write and everyone else was doing their own thing. I meandered through the school's main building's corridors aimlessly with my hands buried in my pockets. I hadn't intended on going to the cafeteria; that's just where I wound up.
I entered in time to see a fight break out; or perhaps the end of the fight. It was clear to all who had won. It's rare to see herbivores fight but they do on occasion. Spectators had gathered around, both carnivores and herbivores alike, to watch the carnage and cheer. As I approached the crowd, I realized to my utter shock that one of the fighters was someone I knew personally; the quarterback on my football team. I gawked as Paul Clayton held the stallion by the collar of his shirt in a very threatening manner. The stallion looked as scared as you can image, though more at the prospect of being beaten up by someone more than twice as strong as he was.
"If you ever try and kiss her against her will again, I swear I will rip out that gaudy mane of yours!" Paul's voice boomed. Her? I wonder who's he talking about. The stallion's hands went up in a show of surrender. "I-I won't, I promise! I'll never do it again!" Man, was his voice trembling. This promise made some around me chuckle, while others simply shook their heads. "Well, what did he expect? Pissing off Paul like that?" One girl whispered to her friend within earshot. "I know; what an idiot. A stallion and a rhino- it's no competition," another guy agreed. No competition, huh? My gaze wandered back to the two figures.
"You stay away from her!" Paul barked. "I-I will! I'll never talk to her again; I'll won't even look at her. N-now please let me go," the stallion seemed more and more desperate. With a pathetic tisk at his opponent, Paul finally released him, watching in glory as he scrambled off; the observing crowd cleared a path for him along the way. Everyone watched him run away, while Paul stood there in a sort of humbled pride- if that makes any sense. "Bastard," he muttered before wiping his mouth with his hand. I know Paul didn't like fighting, but he was certainly strong enough to win; he could even take on predators which said something.
In our society, you're judged primarily by how physically strong you are. Doesn't matter if you're an herbivore or a carnivore- but carnivores are usually stronger of the two. Most of the time carnivores compare themselves strictly to other carnivores; it's the same with herbivores. Plant-eaters like Paul were considered at the top of the pecking order because they are the strongest of all herbivores. It's the same with me and carnivores; I'm what you might call an apex predator. However, unlike herbivores who revel in their strength, mine is more of burden on me. It's easy to be strong in a sea of various species when you don't naturally use that strength to kill; it's harder when your strength is meant to assist you killing. I had to shut my eyes and give myself a mental kick. No, I ordered myself. You're not going to think about any of that, Christian; no thinking about any predator instincts… You can control them; you can!
"Christian!" My eyes instantly opened, and my head spun sideways to see Paul coming towards me. "P-Paul?" I don't know why I gasped; I wasn't surprised to see him. He put his hand friendly on my shoulder. "Tell me you didn't see all that just now." "Er… well…. uh….. n-not exactly," again, I stumbled with my words, and I have no idea why. After all, it's not I see Paul as prey or anything….
Realizing this, I made straighten up and get a grip. I looked at Paul head on and relaxed my face muscles. "What was that all about?" I asked in a much more confident tone. Paul let out a long sigh. "He just messed with someone precious to me, that's all. Had to make sure that won't happen again," he ended his sentence with a telling smirk. Someone precious? I know Paul has a lot of female- and platonic male- admires, but he's never said anything about a girlfriend before. That would explain his show of strength- the protective instinct is powerful, so I've heard.
"But about you, wolfman? What are you doin' here?" Paul patted my shoulder a couple of times before removing his broad hand. "Me? Oh, nothing. Just wanted to get of the dorm house," I shrugged casually. "In that case, why don't you come with me? I wanted to visit Tom's memorial again today." Tom and Paul weren't really close friends, but you could tell it hit the herbivores on the team severely. I nodded and we set off.
Paul and I weren't the closest of friends, but we'd develop a sort of repour since we signed on to the same football team. Paul wasn't like most herbivores in the school; he had a lot of carnivore friends and acquaintances. Being one of the strongest herbivores on campus, he wasn't so afraid of us. Heck, I bet Paul could beat a majority of us to a pulp. He acted like a bridge between the two species-types, having contacts on each side. And I liked Paul; he was the no-nonsense kind of fellow. He said it like it was and wasn't afraid to give you shit, regardless of what species you were. It was refreshing to have someone like him around. I didn't have many plant-eater friends, but I'm glad he was one of them.
I didn't have to worry about my own strength so much around him like other herbivores…
We stayed at Tom's memorial site for a while, discussing several things. Ironically one thing neither of us brought up was why Paul was beating up the stallion earlier or who this "her" was he mentioned. Oh well, I trusted that he had his reasons for keeping it personal. None of my business, I'm sure. Instead we talked about the team, our classes, and how weird it would be never seeing Tom at any games or practice anymore. "He was a good kid," Paul would say, staring forlornly at Tom's photo. "Yeah," I'd concur, also gazing at it. Paul was right, and this was a tragedy; no getting around that. And to think it was a species-based attack….
Paul blinked over to me when I got unknowingly and unintentionally quiet; my eyes drifted down in a contemplative fashion. "Christian?" "Huh?" "You ok?" He questioned me. Am I ok? Of course I'm ok; it's sad but it has nothing to with me. It doesn't matter that Tom was a herbivore and I'm….. not. "Y-yeah, I'm fine," my fingers twitched as I said this. Paul eyed me for a minute before spinning his head back forward.
"Don't sweat it, man." "Sweat what?" "You know…." We glanced at each other. Oh…. oh! My lips morphed into a thin, understanding line as my eyes lowered softly. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Paul." "No problem. You can't help these things." Yeah, I guess I can't… I was about to say something until another familiar voice cut me off. We both glanced to see Rob, one of the cheetahs on team running over to us.
"Paul!" "Oh, hey Rob," we greeted sociably. "There you are, Paul! I wanted to ask; would you mind practicing a few plays with me?" Rob panted like he had been running for a while. Paul looked startled. "Now? But the field closes at seven." "Please! Couch said I need to work on my passes or I'll have to sit out the next game. Pleeeeeeeease? You're the best player on the team," Rob clasped his hands tightly together. Paul and I looked at one another. Paul gave me one of those "should we?" expressions. I responded with a shrug. Then our quarterback sighed relenting.
"Alright, let's do it. But only if you'll keep watch for us, Christian." "Huh?" I don't remember volunteering for that. But Paul gave me a pleading look. "It's after seven and the field will be closed by now. You'll need to keep watch while we practice." "I dunno….." I hummed and hawed. "Please, Christian! I really could use the help!" Oh great, now Rob was begging me. After observing them for a second, I rolled my eyes and nodded my head. "Oh, thank you! Thank you, you guys!" "Yeah, yeah; just keep this under wraps, ok? Or we'll all be suspended from the team," Paul told him. Rob nodded excitedly. Then we got up and made our way to the men's locker room.