Chapter 20

With the Meteor Festival approaching in about a month, it was all the Cherryton student body could talk about, even during classes.

The festival was meant to honor the dinosaurs—the ancient ancestors of animals—but most would treat it as more of a couple's event, especially with the lighting of the candles within the meteor on the final day.

Many were already excited discussing who they would take to the event within the cafeteria. The table with the bighorn ewes was just as animated.

"Gah…Just a month away, and I still haven't nabbed a date?" Rin the white dall ewe moaned, her head slung backwards as she slouched in her chair.

"H-hey, don't be so down. There's still time, and I'm sure you'll find someone in no time," the dark-furred stone sheep attempted to console.

"Carly, you are the last girl I wanna hear from about how hard getting a date is…!" Rin snapped. "I mean, seriously! You got the vice-captain from the BMA team to ask you out. The second-hottest guy there, d*mmit!"

Carly winced before shrinking in her chair, her face turning in deep red.

"Haha, someone's salty!" Zoe laughed. "Still, talk about luck. The guy's been crushing on you for a while and finally worked up the nerve to ask you to be his girlfriend."

The shy stone sheep covered her face as it became more crimson,which only made her desert bighorn laugh once again.

"Uugggh, what-ever! I'm so done with it all!" Rin snatched her bottle of soy milk and began gulping it down with gusto before slamming the container on the table after emptying it.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm gonna see the same exact scene ten years from now…?" Zoe began lamenting to herself. "Anyway…I'm sure it's gonna be a blast this year, and a great way to kick off our summer as seniors. Don't you think so?"

"Mmm...I guess," Maria answered absent-mindedly as she focused her gaze on her sketchbook.

"Hmm, you've been carrying that thing with you a lot lately," Rin commented. "What made you decide to draw more?"

The brown female bighorn paused her scribbling pencil briefly and smiled a little before resuming. "Well, let's just say…I got a little encouragement from someone."

"Oh? From who?" Carly asked as she straightened up in her chair again.

"A guy I know."

"Oooh! Spill! Who is this guy?" the dall ewe questioned excitedly.

"Mmm, someone I've known since we were kids…"

"Oh, a childhood friend, perhaps?" the stone sheep questioned.

"More like…a younger brother."

"Awww…! That's so sweet!" "Hm. Sounds like you two are close." "Yeah!"

"I…guess you can say that," Maria said almost sheepishly. It was almost embarrassing talking about her relationship with Rob, even if it was a good thing.

"So, someone we already know?"

"Hm?" Maria raised her head from her sketch to find her three friends looking at her rather expectantly.

"C'mon, Mars. If he's someone that close to you, we're sure to at least have seen him."

Ugh… I knew I said too much, she grumbled inwardly to herself. "U-um, well...he is, uh…"

While the bighorn ewe struggled to find the right words to somehow evade her friends' questions, or at least change the subject, her eyes suddenly fell upon a pair of long, white ears going past their table, belonging to a familiar dwarf rabbit carrying a lunch tray. Maria began to scowl almost immediately as they met each other's gazes, with the smaller herbivore merely sighing in response and continuing on her way.

"Hmph! Well, my mood's been ruined." Zoe exclaimed indignantly.

"Seriously. She has some nerve–walking around like she's hot stuff even though every girl pretty much hates her." said Rin. "I bet that slut is just prowling around, searching for her next 'meal.'"

"But...she's a rabbit, though," Carly commented as she tilted her head slightly. "You make her sound like a carnivore."

"Well, with all the meat she's getting, she might as well be."

Zoe, who was normally the most composed of the four ewes, sputtered her soy milk while in the middle of sipping it, and the shyer stone sheep turned beet-red as she began understanding the implication of Rin's comment.

Maria remained silent while the others either laughed or groaned. Just thinking that promiscuous rodent made her sick to her stomach. And the fact her ex decided to sleep with such a skank only served to increase her animosity.

Not wanting to dwell on it any longer, Maria went back to her sketchbook, trying her best not to squeeze her pencil too hard before calming down enough.

"...What the? Am I going crazy, or is that giant lion talking to her?"

The ewe flinched, causing a streak to be drawn across her sketch. "H-huh?"

"Yeah, you're right…! They are talking!"

Maria turned her gaze towards the direction of her friends'. She was praying with all her might that it was some other lion. But, of course, she did indeed see Rob conversing with Haru while he was crouched down, his back facing the ewe's direction.

It was impossible to tell what the two animals were talking about, but it was clear from the white rabbit's small giggle and gentle expression that they were unusually close. After about a minute, Haru patted Rob's head before continuing on her way, with the young lion sighing and rubbing the back of his head.

Q The bighorn ewe's mouth almost fell open in astonishment, not knowing what to make of what she had witnessed

"What the h*ll was that!?" Zoe cried, echoing Maria's thoughts.

"That...wasn't normal…" Rin said, her gaze still fixed in the lion and rabbit's general direction. "Hey...you don't think–?"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

Everyone at the table jumped while the students in the surrounding area suddenly swerved their heads towards Maria, who once again became embarrassed by her unusual outburst.

Gritting her teeth as she flushed, she straightened herself in her seat and cleared her throat. "L-look, we don't know what's going on, but I highly doubt that they are doing anything...inappropriate."

Maria could feel herself almost gag at the idea. Haru may be a slut, but there was no way she would try to seduce a carnivore, especially Rob.

"B-but...they do seem to hang out pretty often," the brown stone sheep muttered shyly.

"Hm? What makes you say that, Carly?"

"Well, I...uh." she looked down at her twiddling fingers for a moment. "I-I saw them together. The other day."

"Say what!?" "No…! You mean like 'together' together…!?"

H-hold on…! That can't be right! Maria couldn't tell whether her mind was racing or if it had gone completely blank just now. Rob had told her that he's started "sort of" going out with a tigress recently. He's never really hung around with any other girls besides that horrible ex and maybe some of his female clubmates. Why would he…?

"Where did you see them?" the bighorn ewe asked almost forcefully.

"What…? Um, why do you want to–"

"Where. Did. You. See. Them?"

"Eep–! B-by the stairs to the gardening club!" Carly squealed, shrinking in fear.

Maria's heart sank. That's the place guys would normally go to meet up with that rabbit when they are thinking of sleeping with her. It was also the place where she caught her former boyfriend flirting with the small herbivore almost two months back.

"Woah, Mars. What's gotten into you?" Rin asked with a perplexed expression.

Maria sighed harshly as rubbed her eyes with one hand. "Sorry, sorry...didn't mean to get bent out of shape like that."

"Hmm, can't say I blame you, after what that pint-sized skank did," said Zoe. "Still, what kind of loser would go sleep with some rodent with you as a girlfriend? Glad you dumped his ss right then and there."

"I know, right?" the dall sheep scoffed. "Heh, maybe if we're lucky, that giant lion will gobble up "Whore-u" in one bite."

"R-Rin! That's mean…!" Carly cried.

"Haha! I doubt anyone would miss her anyway! In fact, that carnivore would be doing all of us a favo–Wha…Mars? H-hey, Mars! Where are you–?"

Maria had already gotten up and was storming off across the cafeteria by the time her friends noticed her departure. If she had remained any longer, she knew she would eventually lose control of herself.

Even now, the feelings of betrayal and frustration from that day still felt somewhat fresh. And now with concern, fear, and worry over the revelation of Rob fraternizing with her mingling with the rest inside her as well, it was just…

As she exited the open twin-doors, she then leaned her back against the wall next them, trembling a little as she hugged herself.

"D*mmit, Robbie…" she muttered pitifully. "Why are you always doing this to me…?"

The school day had finally ended with the students hurriedly exiting their classrooms.

As always, Rob and Baako walked side-by-side down the hall, with the young boar tapping away once more on his laptop while the large carnivore occasionally glanced at its screen.

"S-so, uh...f-find anything yet?" Rob asked.

"Mmm, no…" Baako said dejectedly. "At this point, it'd take some actual detective work to figure out who done it. Sorry, dude…"

"Mm-mm, i-it's okay. Th-thanks for…

t-trying so hard."

"Yeah…still, this could end up being part of the long list of cold cases for predation."

"Huh? Th-there's more uns-solved ones?"

"'Course there are. You hear about herbivores getting eaten all the time, but there are plenty of perps that end up slipping through the cracks. It's been a big problem lately."

"Oh…" Come to think of it, he did remember hearing about those kinds of cases on the news over the years.

Honestly, he'd hate to think that whoever killed Tem could still be somewhere in the school. If only he could remember who they were…

"Well, let's just put that to the backburner for now," the young boar said as he closed his laptop. "Anyways, you free this weekend? Been a while since we could just hang out."

"Hm? O-oh, yeah. Y-you're right. I, uh, w-would love to, b-b-but…" Rob looked away almost guiltily as he scratched the side of his muzzle.

"What? Already booked or something?" Baako asked, chuckling.

"Well...k-kind of…"

"Ooh, another hot daaaate?"

"N-no, not ye–I-I mean, no…!" he said, feeling his face getting a bit warm. "I, uh, p-promised the others th-that I would...h-hang out and do k-karao–karaoke and s-stuff…"

"'Others?'" The smaller herbivore tilted his head slightly to the side before his ears flicked up in realization. "Oh, you mean those other lions you've been hanging out with lately?"

"Y-yeah, them."

"Hmm…I see." Baako was smiling, but he was simply looking ahead of him and not in his usual cheerful or impish way.

"Oh...I-I...d-didn't mean to d-disappoint you…" Rob said quietly as his gaze fell.

"Hm? Nah, it's not that," the young herbivore said, waving his hand dismissively. "I'm actually glad you found some more lions to hang out with. Just...wondering how you're handling those kinds of lions."

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"Well...I've been learning a lot about the carnivores in our school recently, including that "Richie" guy. And..." Baako extended his tone for a bit while smiling awkwardly. "Let's just say he's kind of a punk."

"'P-Punk?'"

"Yep. Talking back to teachers, getting into fights for kicks, suspended a few times...the classic M.O."

The young lion didn't know what to say. Richard and the others didn't seem like bad people. Sure, they have a tendency to be loud and rowdy at times, but they've always been so welcoming and nice to Rob. It never really occurred to him he would be spending time with a delinquent.

The young lion then felt hard pats on his lower back.

"Hey, don't make that face," said Baako. "Just telling you this just so you can keep an eye out is all. You do tend to be pretty clueless about your surroundings."

"Mmm...I g-guess…"

"Although," he continued with his usual joking manner. "This could be a good chance for you to finally toughen up a little. Can't stay a big, soft baby forever!"

"B-Baako…"

The boar laughed as he strode ahead of his grumbling companion with hands behind his head. He then turned his gaze to him as he slowed his steps a bit.

"Still...watch your back, okay? Don't want you getting into any more trouble."

"Uh...o-okay," said Rob, flicking his ear a bit. "I'll b-be careful.

The large carnivore extended his stride, catching up to Baako easily. They continued chatting normally, but Rob frowned a little bit as his mind became preoccupied from what his friend said previously.

He understood what the boar was saying about being wary of Richie and the others–aside from Lorde–but he couldn't bring himself to agree with him that they could potentially cause trouble for him. Even if he didn't have an…"exemplary" record, the lion welcomed the young hybrid into his group with open arms, and was really enjoying his short time within the "pride."

Not only that, Rob couldn't help but be reminded of how his own father acted out when he was in high school, and that was only because he had a really difficult upbringing. It could also be the case for Richie.

The large carnivore knew that he was actually a good person deep down, in spite of rough edges he may have…

The sun had just about set and Richie, Ludo, Tyson, and Lorde laughed and jostled against one another as they exited the karaoke building.

Rob, on the other hand, found himself still reeling from the increased volume of the stereo within the karaoke room and hobbled behind them. The young hybrid was not used to such aggressive and loud music that the others chose to sing.

"Hey, you doing alright there, 'King?'" Ludo called out to Rob.

"Ugggh…Y-yeah, I'm okay…" he answered while he stuck his pinky in his still-ringing ear. Geez, did they have to pick a hardrock song every time?

"Haha! Man, you still sucked as always," Richie laughed as he draped his arm over Lorde's shoulders.

"Yeah...still pretty tone-deaf. What can I say?" the red-maned lion chuckled unconfidently.

"Heh! But 'King,' on the other hand…" The leader of the group turned his head towards the large hybrid. "You're one h*ll of a singer! How come you're stuck doing the grunt work in that club of yours instead of on stage?"

"U-uh, well…Th-thank you," he said somewhat bashfully. He was still not used to being nicknamed 'King.' It.

"Th-though, there r-really isn't… a-any singing parts during our p-plays, so—"

"Hmph! Well, if you ask me, that's a total waste of a guy's potential right there," the white-maned carnivore continued unabated. "Bet that Louis just wanted to make sure he stayed the star of the stage."

"Huh? N-no, it's not…l-like that. I'm j-just not v-very good in f-fro—in front of an a-audience, is all."

Also, it's a Drama club, not choir…

"Hm...Still, don't see why they'd let some scrawny deer call the shots. He's not all that great."

Again? Rob sighed inwardly.

"I mean, what's he got going for him? Deep pockets? Good looks—according to the girls? Pfft, give me a $#@%* break!"

The young liliger slumped his shoulders as he huffed softly. He was really hoping not to hear another rant session from Richie, especially on a weekend get-together.

Three or four times were already too frequent for him.

"Anyway, let's forget about him! Let's go get some real eats! Those bite-sized snacks just weren't cutting it."

"Sounds good to me!" said Ludo. "So, where to, Rich?"

Richie thought for a bit before flashing a large grin towards Rob. "Y'know what? We did say we needed to show 'King' here a good time. What say we go to the usual place?"

"Ohoho! Now we're talking!" exclaimed Tyson. "Man, I've been craving the grub there like ya wouldn't believe."

"Oh? Wh-what kind of p-place are you…t-talking about?" Rob asked.

"Oh, you'll see!" the white-maned carnivore said with a chuckle. "It's a pretty popular spot. 'Specially for us carnivores."

The young hybrid tilted his head curiously as he wondered what kind of eatery he had in mind. Though, judging by how the Asiatic lion twins and even Richie began salivating incessantly, it must be a very good place.

"W-wait a minute…!"

Everyone swerved their heads towards the red-maned lion, who has his hand extended out slightly with a look of trepidation on his face. "I, uh…d-don't think we should go there."

Richie cocked an eyebrow as he merely stared at Lorde.

"U—i-it's just…there are plenty of other great spots we can take Robbie and I don't think he's ready to—"

Lorde ceased speaking immediately as the whitish-mane carnivore draped his arm over his shoulder once more with an almost-blank expression on his face.

"Say, Lordie. Remind me: how long has it been since you joined us?"

"...Mm—five months…I think?"

"Right, right…not that long, huh?" Richard then leaned his head a little closer with an almost stern look in his eyes. "Still, you already know how we do things around here: bring the newbie for some prime cuts and officially welcome him to the gang. And we got a real good one this time."

Rob blinked as Richard pointed his thumb towards him. He probably should be flattered by his comment, yet he couldn't help but feel uneasy. And, "prime cuts?"

"C'mon, we're here to show 'King' a good time, like we did with you. Or...what? It wasn't good enough for you?"

"N-no…! That's not–"

"Lordie, I'm heartbroken…! After taking you under my wing, too. Showing how to better get the ladies, teaching you some 'techniques' to satisfy 'em...man, you were really shaping up to becoming a real lion there."

The red-maned carnivore cast his eyes to the ground with an almost shameful expression as Richard simply smiled.

"C'mon, pal. We're having such a good time, and it'd be a shame if it were to go south...right?"

"I…I guess," Lorde mumbled while his ears began to flatten pitifully. "It's just—"

"Awesome, glad you get it!" the light-colored lion exclaimed with a supposedly-friendly headlock. "Alright, let's roll!"

Ludo and Tyson cheered as they followed Richard down the street, with Lorde still being held by him as he was almost dragged along.

The young liliger merely stared at the other lions' back as he stayed behind. He wasn't sure what had made his roommate so agitated, but he couldn't help but have a bad feeling about this eatery that they seemed so eager to get to.

"Hey, King! You coming?" RIchard called out.

"O-Oh…! Yeah, s-sorry!" Rob answered, trotting quickly as caught up to the rest of the group.

"Hehe, don't worry! The grubs on me today."

The large hybrid gave a small smile while nodding, yet he was still ill at ease. It wasn't like Lorde to act so nervous or fearful—about anything!

Rob wanted so badly to believe that everything was fine–that he merely misunderstood his behavior. Of course, that would be asking too much, especially when he's known his roommate much longer than Richard, Ludo, or Tyson

Dang it…Now what do I do?

The sun had already sunk below the horizon with only a small glimmer of red peeking out. Rob hadn't noticed at the time, his thoughts being very preoccupied, but he and the rest of the large cats had been walking quite a ways. What's more, they seem to have been going away from the main streets and into the alleys.

The young hybrid quickly got out his smartphone to check where they were exactly.

"Um, g-guys…? Aren't all the...r-restaurants in the other d-direction?" he asked, tilting his head slightly. "A-are we lost?"

"Nope! We're on the right track," Richard said cheerfully.

Rob looked around the dark alleyway, a little skeptical of the white-maned lion's words. His sense of direction may not be the best, but even he can tell from the small blip on the map that there were no known eateries in the direction they were going.

The young liliger then heard what sounded like slow, raspy breaths close by him. A little spooked, he began scanning the direction from where the wheezing originated to then find what appeared to be a skinny and decrepit-looking old pangolin in an old, ragged cloak sitting crossed-legged against a nearby wall.

The old animal's glazed eyes then locked onto Rob's. He looked like he was about to speak, but the young carnivore quickly strode away. There was just something very unsettling about the old man and he did not want to linger there any longer.

"G-G-Guys…!" Rob muttered frantically as he caught up to the group. "L-let's turn back. I d-d-don't think we stay here a-an–any longer…!"

"What are you talking about?" Richard exclaimed with a grin. "We're already here!"

"Huh?" The young liliger blinked, a little perplexed, but then finally noticing light radiating from around a corner. He even began hearing chatter and the bustling of other animals.

"Alright! Finally!" hollered the twin lions as they trotted towards the corner of the entryway.

"C'mon, King, let's go!" Richard beckoned with a large wave as he went ahead, with Lorde still being somewhat dragged by him.

Rob flicked his ear curiously as he continued listening to multitude of voices nearby.

Is this some kind of marketplace? he wondered.

Just before he entered the entryway and his eyes could adjust to the light, he was immediately assailed by a torrent of unusual scents. It was impossible for the large carnivore to identify what they were, but he could tell they were things that were prepared for food with the salts and spices mingled in.

Rob gulped, almost completely mesmerized by the indescribable and almost savory smells. But he immediately froze as the scent of blood began wafting into his nose.

Blinking a few times, Rob could see that he was indeed in some sort of marketplace, with rows of vendors and stalls lined up in rows against either walls. Some of them had several carnivores preparing some sort of dishes. As for the ingredients, the young hybrid spied several body parts with cut flesh and bones laying haphazardly next to them.

"Hhhhaaa–! Wh-wha–what is all th-this…!?" he gasped in horror as covered his mouth, feeling all the heat drain from his face.

"Black market, of course!" Richard exclaimed cheerfully and unperturbed by his surroundings. "It's where all us carnivores can go to eat the good stuff!"

This is the black market!?

Rob's eyes darted around as he watched all the animals casually eating from the stalls while some even cheerfully sauntered around with skewers of cooked meat as though they were in a festival.

The young liliger was fully aware of the market's existence, and how it is where they call home, but he never imagined it would be so...morbid.

"...Hey. You alright there, King? The others are waitin'." Richard asked, peering into Rob's now-pale face. "Oh, right! This is your first trip here after all. No worries! It's perfectly normal to be feeling a littl–"

"H-HOW IS THIS N-NORMAL?!?!" Rob loudly blurted out, causing many carnivores to turn their heads. "Y-you're–! Y-y-you're all ea–eating–!"

"Woah, woah, hey! Easy there! What's with you!?" the white-maned carnivore exclaimed in shock. Ludo, Tyson, and Lorde turned their heads around after hearing Rob's shouting.

The young hybrid's whole body quaked as his hands balled up into a fist, with a mixture of disgust, horror, and anger growing inside him. "Th-this is...a-all wr-wr-wrong! How are y-y-you okay with e-eati–with eating meat!?"

Several predators within earshot whispered and gave Rob odd looks. Other individuals simply laughed at the young carnivore, some even calling him a "meat-virgin" or "just a kid" among other things.

"C'mon man, what're you so surprised for?" Richard asked frankly. "Every carnivore finds their way here sooner or later. We're meat-eaters. It's just who we are."

Rob stared at the white-maned feline with his mouth agape. How could he say something like that so easily?

"Look, I get this is all new to you," Richard sighed. "But, once you get in your first bite, you'll be feeling much be–"

Rob quickly jerked his arm away from the white lion's touch as he began backing away.

"Hey, what the h*ll's wrong with you!?" he said angrily.

"Wh-what's wrong with m-me…!?" the liliger snapped back, continuing to slowly move away while crouching down a little. "H-h-how could–how could you th-think all this is...o-okay!? Y-you can't j-just–!"

Rob then felt the back of his arm touch something soft and a little moist. Turning around quickly, he saw he was feeling the leg of deer with the fur still intact and dripping a little with blood and fluids.

"WAAAGGHHH—!" The young liliger yelped and panicked as he fell to the ground, practically writhing as he felt the bit of liquid seeping into his fur.

Every carnivore gaped and stared at the large, frantic feline, not knowing exactly how to react to the spectacle.

Richard's mouth curved into an awkward grin as he chuckled nervously.

"What the $#@ is wrong you?" he muttered while the other teenage lions looked on in bewilderment—with Lorde's face strewn with an expression of guilt.

Rob managed to wipe the little bit of bloody liquid after scraping his arm on the ground, but the memory of it almost touching the skin underneath his fur was still very fresh in his mind.

Panic continued to rise in him until he could not take anymore, scrambled to his feet and ran. Most of the other animals quickly got out of the liliger's path, though one Siberian tiger was not able to on time and tumbled backwards on the ground as he pushed past.

Rob recognized that striped feline as their eyes met briefly, but he continued running. All he cared about was to escape this god-awful place.

He continued sprinting down the row of stalls, disoriented and growing ill from the stench of raw and cooked meat…

Rob threw up the last bit of what he ate during karaoke an hour or so ago as he propped himself against a wall at a corner of a dead end in the alleyways. Gasping and coughing, he staggered a small ways away before finally crouching down and beginning to sob.

He felt like he just witnessed something straight from a horror film. And yet, every carnivore there carried on as if they weren't doing anything wrong. Did they even realize they were eating something, someone, that had–

Once more, the image of Tem's remains flashed across his mind as he flinched and whimpered, clutching his head. Just how much more death does he have to keep seeing around him? And by the hands of another carnivore, no less…?

Rob now felt just as scared, helpless, and alone as from that horrible day.

"Nnngg–! D-Daddy…"

"Sorry, don't think your 'Daddy' will be coming for ya."

The young lion gasped, turning around and scooting his back against the wall.

Standing before him in the dimmed light was what looked like a large, white bear with black ears and distinctive black spots around his eyes. Clearly he was a panda, but there was something strangely intimidating about him.

Slung behind his back was some sort of long staff which he held with one hand while holding a cigarette at his mouth with two fingers on the other.

The panda puffed out a small cloud of smoke as he briefly looked around the small area they were at.

"Hm...not a whole lotta room here. Ah well…" he mumbled before flicking his cigarette to the ground. "Now then…"

The gruff panda began slowly approaching the young hybrid. He tried retreating, but Rob's back was already pushed against the wall.

"S–S-stay...b-back…" he stuttered feebly.

"Sorry, no can do," the older carnivore said. "Be best if you'd come quietly."

"N-n-no…" The young feline's ears became completely flattened as his breathing became much more erratic.

"C'mon, it'll be easier on the both of us if you don't kick up a fuss."

The panda lifted up his hand slightly toward Rob, triggering yet another memory of a clawed hand holding a gun.

"Aaauugh—!" Rob curled up even more as he defensively raised his hands over his face.

The bear stopped midway, seemingly a little surprised at Rob's reaction.

"Hrrrrmmmm…looks like I gotta take a different approach," he grumbled to himself while scratching his head.

He then crouched down in front of the trembling liliger while reaching into his pocket. At that point, Rob had tightly shut his eyes, not wanting to see what the bear was planning to do.

"Easy there, bub," he said in a somewhat kinder tone. "Only here to help out."

The young carnivore's body continued quivering, albeit a little less as the panda kept speaking.

"Name's Gouhin. I'm a doctor around these parts."

Rob's ears twitched a little.

"D...D-D-Doc...ter…?" he mumbled, the shaking beginning to lessen.

"...That's right," Gouhin confirmed, letting out a small sigh of relief. "Specialize in carnivore psychotherapy. Heh, not exactly the first place you'd think to find one, huh? Doubt the old profs back at Shibe coulda predict I'd end up here."

Shibe?

The trembling soon became imperceptible as the young liliger very slowly lowered his hands away from his face.

This panda went to Shib—?

Before he even completely opened his eyes, he felt a moist cloth covering his snout and mouth. He let out a muffled cry and began pulling the panda's arms off, but soon found his strength leaving him as his mind began to darken and become foggy.

"Sorry, but I'm gonna need ya to sleep for a bit," Gouhin grunted, straining to keep the cloth over the lion-hybrid's muzzle.

Rob could feel his consciousness slipping away even further as his arms began to droop to his side. The image of the older panda became greatly blurred, until everything faded to black…

Author's Note

Sheesh!Life, let me tell you! Been busier with everything more than I wanted to, with work and social obligations, but at least I'm finished with the next chapter!