Chapter 12: A Princely Return
It had been two weeks since the incident at the drama club and all its members were keeping their guards up around Pina. They all agreed that what the dall sheep did was unacceptable and were determined to keep him in check. It was thanks to this determination that the club was able to get a lot more work done and were able to schedule the play sooner than expected.
Meanwhile, Legosi and Jack's relationship had been getting a lot better since then. They were standing up for and supporting each other much more. They even went to speak with Dr. Raiko on a few occasions, something that didn't go unnoticed by their roommates. The 701 pack was happy that the couple was going to counseling more and tried to support them however they could, while also throwing some good natured teasing their way.
Despite all this however, things were far from peaceful. Legosi, Jack, and Kai had been continuing their investigation. However, aside from finding more traces of blood with that strange honey scent, they weren't any closer to finding the culprit. They thought about getting their friends to help, but decided that the fewer people involved, the better.
It was the end of the school day and Legosi was heading to the club. He met up with Jack, who was sitting on a bench and reading a book while waiting for him. The wolf licked his mate's cheek before sitting down to talk.
"How was your day?" Legosi asked as he nuzzled Jack's muzzle.
"It was good, but much better now that you're here," the labrador answered before rubbing his head on Legosi's neck.
"You know, I'm glad that we can have this," Legosi said softly as he brought his boyfriend closer to him. "Now that everyone knows about us, I can hold you like this without worrying about keeping it a secret."
"Yea, but there's something you should know," Jack said as he pulled his head away from his boyfriend. "I haven't said anything yet, but my family wants to invite you to a family dinner this weekend."
"By that, I'm assuming you haven't told them about… us," Legosi said as his ears folded back.
"I know, it's stupid and dumb and they already love you to pieces, especially since you saved my life, but I don't know. I mean, it's one thing for them to see you as my best friend, but it's another for them to accept you, accept 'us' like this," the labrador explained.
"Jack, do you really think they won't accept us?" the larger canine asked.
"No, of course not!" Jack barked. "They love you and I'm sure they will accept that I'm gay. It's just… I don't know. I guess it's one of those conversations that is really awkward to have. I mean, remember when you told me the truth about your grandpa? I could tell you didn't want to talk about it, but you did anyway because you wanted to show how much you trusted me."
Legosi started to scratch the back of his head. "Yea, I was a real mess that day."
"Ugh, god I hate this so much! Why can't this be easier to do?" the yellow dog asked as he started pulling on his ears.
"I'm not the least bit ashamed about dating you. Heck, I'm down right proud of it. I want nothing more than to take you home with me and show you off to my parents, but I keep imagining the worst possible scenario! I would honestly rather try to stop a war than have this talk!"
"Well you know what they say Jack, it's easier to fix other people's problems than it is to fix your own," Legosi said with a small laugh.
"Thanks, I feel so much better," Jack said as he started to pout.
Legosi kissed his boyfriend's cheek, reassuring him that everything would be fine. The wolf said that they didn't need to tell Jack's parents about them at the dinner if he wasn't ready.
Jack was happy to hear this, but also felt somewhat guilty about it. He honestly didn't know if Legosi's support was making him feel better or making him feel worse. Before he could say anything however, he heard someone calling him.
"JACK! LEGOSI! YOU GOTTA COME WITH ME NOW!" they yelled.
The two canines turned their heads and saw Kai running towards them. When they asked him what was wrong, the mongoose said that there wasn't time to explain and that they needed to follow him. They reluctantly agreed and the three headed off to the Drama club.
After a few minutes of running, the trio was stopped by a large crowd of students hanging out in front of the club's building. Kai, having no time or patience to deal with this, shoved as many students out of the way as possible with Legosi apologizing in the wake as he and Jack followed close behind.
When they finally made it inside, Legosi saw Aoba, Bill, Kibi, and Sheila arguing about something.
"No way in hell!" Bill shouted. "You really wanna let him back in after he just up and left?!"
"Look, I don't like it either, but what choice do we have?" Sheila asked. "Els is still in the hospital and we've lost a lot of other members too."
"That doesn't mean we should let him back in so readily," Aoba said as he crossed his arms. "He needs to understand that just because he was one of the best, it doesn't mean we'll just give him his old position back. If he really wants to rejoin the club, then he should start at the bottom, same as anyone else."
"What's wrong, what's going on?" Legosi asked.
"Legosi!" Kibi said in a surprised tone. "It's… it's-"
"It's what Kibi? What happened?"
"It's Louis! He's back!" the ant eater shouted.
"LOUIS!" the wolf barked.
"He's back?" Jack asked in a confused tone.
Kai and Legosi ran into the club room while Jack stayed behind. When they opened the door, their eyes became as wide as dinner plates and their tails and ears jumped in disbelief. There, standing in the middle of the room, was their old club leader that had disappeared all those months ago.
"L-Louis?" Legosi said with a whimper.
"Ah, Legosi, it's been a while," Louis said with an amused grin.
Legosi's eyes grew even wider. The upperclassman he once looked up to was really here. Louis, the red deer, Louis, the prince of Cherryton High, was really, truly here. It was such a big surprise that all Legosi could do was stare at the herbivore.
"What's wrong Legosi, cat got your tongue?" Louis asked as he approached the wolf. "Don't tell me that you're still the same shy pup I knew from before. Surely the hero of the school would have the guts to talk to me like a normal person."
"GET OFF YOUR HIGH HORSE ALREADY YOU DAMN ASSHOLE!" Kai screamed, getting the two's attention. "IF ANYONE HASN'T CHANGED IT'S YOU! YOU DISAPPEAR FOR MONTHS AND THEN YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO COME BACK AND ACT LIKE NOTHING'S HAPPENED! WHAT THE HELL, YOU BASTARD!"
"K-Kai," Legosi said in surprise.
"Hmp, well you certainly haven't changed," Louis said with a smile before turning back to Legosi. "As for you Legosi, despite my little joke, it's clear you've grown quite a bit judging from your new physique."
"Oh, yea, I guess I have," Legosi said awkwardly as he scratched the back of his head. "I'm sorry, I'm still trying to wrap my head around this."
"Understandable, given the circumstances," Louis said with a smile. "I mean, it is just as Kai said. I left all of you to fend for yourselves without so much as a note. That isn't to say that I had no faith in your abilities to run the Drama club without me, quite the opposite. I should have handled matters a little better though."
Legosi looked down as his ears folded back and tail drooped. "Louis, where did you go? Why are you back after all this time?"
The red deer let out a sigh. "You can thank my father for that. You see, despite my protests, my father wanted me to learn more about the family business and gain some experience in running it. Obviously I told him I would do it over the summer, but given what was going on at the time, he was rather insistent."
"By 'what was going on at the time', are you talking about what happened during the school festival with the dog gang?" the large canine asked.
"Well, I'm fairly certain that was part of the reason, but I highly doubt it was the main reason. I can't really go over the details, but my father's company was dealing with some problems of its own and he wanted me to be there so I would know what to do during times of crisis."
"That still doesn't explain why we haven't heard anything," Kai said with frustration. "I can buy you needing to go look after your dad's company, but there was no reason for keeping us in the dark."
"He's right Louis," Legosi said sadly. "I mean, not even the school would tell us anything. Not to mention all the other stuff that's been happening."
"What do you mean?" Louis asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Guess our 'prince' really is out of the loop," Kai said with venom in his voice. "Els is in the hospital."
"What?" the herbivore asked in a more serious tone.
"Els was attacked," Legosi whimpered. "What's worse, we think it was the same animal that killed Tem."
Louis's eyes widened as he looked at Legosi in disbelief. "Are you sure about that?"
"It's true. She was laying in front of the door to the herbivore dorms half dead, with claw and bite marks all over her face and torso. You may not know this, but the claw marks were identical to the ones found near Tem's remains," the large carnivore explained.
Louis brought a hand up to his chin in an unusual manner, something Legosi recognized. The wolf knew Louis would always do this when something 'intrigued' him.
"Leogsi, if you don't mind me asking, has anything… 'changed' for you recently?" the red deer asked after gathering his thoughts.
"What do you mean?" the large wolf asked.
"You know, have you taken up any new hobbies, are you doing anything after school, are you seeing someone, things like that," Louis answered.
"Well uh… I started dating someone after you left," Legosi said with a blush.
"Is that so?" Louis asked with a bit of a smirk. "And who is the unlucky girl?"
"Hah, you're hilarious," Kai said in frustration.
Legosi looked to the side as his ears folded back.
"It's um… Jack. I'm dating Jack," the wolf answered with a slightly nervous tone.
Louis' eyes widened when he heard this. He knew Jack was important to Legosi, but he wasn't expecting this. In all the time he knew Legosi, Louis never once thought that the wolf was into other males.
"I-I see," the deer said in disbelief.
"Come on, it's not that shocking," Kai said as he crossed his arms. "I mean sure, Legosi being gay was a little surprising, but it's pretty clear just how much he cares about Jack. Or at least it would be, if you'd ever bother talking to him."
"Hey, I did talk to him," Louis argued.
"No, you criticized him, talked down to him, and ordered him around," Kai retorted. "Seriously, when did you ever have an actual conversation with him that didn't involve any of that 'carnivore this' or 'herbivore that' nonsense?"
"I'll have you know that Legosi and I have spoken about personal matters plenty of times. In fact, it was thanks to him that I was able to improve myself," Louis explained.
"Ha! By personal matters, I assume you mean all those times you tried to get some dirt on him. You were always trying to find his weakness because you hated that you couldn't control him!" Kai snarled.
"ENOUGH!"
The two animals looked at Legosi, who frowned in disappointment.
"Look, I get that you two don't like each other, but please don't bring me into it or use me as a reason for why you can't get along. Louis, Kai is my friend and I won't let you talk down to him anymore. As for you Kai, Louis may not be the nicest guy in the world, but I still have a lot of respect for him. So, whatever your feelings are, you need to put them aside. The club is already dealing with a lot and the last thing it needs is more trouble," Legosi explained.
The two smaller animals looked to the side as their ears folded back.
"I'm sorry Legosi," Kai said, surprising Louis in the process.
"It's ok Kai," Legosi said as he petted the mongoose's head. "Believe it or not, you handled that pretty well."
"Yea, I guess that's true," Kai said with a laugh as his face turned red. "The old me would've decked him by now."
"Got that right," the wolf responded, his tail wagging happily.
"When did those two become so close?" Louis pondered. "I mean, I knew they had become friends, but Kai hates being touched. Yet, here he is, letting Legosi pet him like it's nothing."
What happened next shocked the red deer. Legosi grabbed Kai by the shoulders and gave him a lick on the cheek before tickling him a bit. Louis was completely dumbfounded by the acts of affection the wolf was giving and even more so by the mongoose who gladly accepted them.
"So, have you calmed down yet?" Legosi asked happily as his tail wagged even faster than before.
"Yea, yea, now get off me already, and quit slobbering," Kai laughed.
Before Louis could say anything, Jack came into the room. He looked at Louis in surprise before turning to Legosi. When he saw his mate licking Kai, he let out a smirk before joining in.
"WHAT THE HELL?!" Kai yelled. "Jack, get off me!"
"No way! Legosi is licking you, so I will too," the yellow dog barked.
"That's right," Legosi laughed. "You lost your temper, so now you gotta pay the price."
As the two canines continued their affectionate assault, Louis let out a cough, catching their attention. They got up and addressed the deer while Kai wiped the saliva off his face.
"Sorry about that Louis," Legosi said with an awkward smile as he rubbed the back of his head.
Louis stared at the wolf for a moment before turning his attention to Jack. He couldn't put his finger on it, but the labrador also seemed to have changed in the time that he'd been gone.
"So… Louis, you're really back," Jack said awkwardly.
"I am," Louis answered. "Though I must say, I wasn't expecting any of this. The Drama club is in disarray, another one of our club members was attacked, and now I'm finding out that the pup I once knew is now all grown up and dating you."
"Hahaha, yea, I get that it's a lot to process," Jack joked, trying his best to lighten up the mood. "Anyway, you must be glad to be back."
"I am," Louis responded. "However, you should know that I have no intention of returning to the club."
The three carnivores looked at the red deer in disbelief.
"W-What do you mean you're not coming back?" Legosi asked with a shaken voice.
"Just that," the red deer replied. "Believe me, I'd like nothing more than to come back, especially after seeing that you clearly need my help. However, due to certain circumstances that I cannot divulge, I have to focus my time and effort into my studies and the work I will be doing outside of school."
"You're working outside of school?" the wolf asked in a much clearer voice.
"To an extent," Louis answered. "I'm still training to inherit my father's company, only now I will be gaining real world experience by working for one of my father's partners."
"Sounds tough," Jack said as he put his hands behind his head. "Don't get me wrong, it's great that you have a secured job but it must be tough having to jump through all these crazy hoops.
"It is what it is," the red deer said with a sigh. "Anyway, that's all I came here to say. I will be attending school the same as I did before, I just won't be a part of the club anymore."
"About time we got some good news," Kai said under his breath as he looked to the side.
Just then, the rest of the club entered. They started asking Louis what his plans were now that he was back and he gave them the same explanation as before. They wished him good luck and he was surprised by how well they took the news.
The young herbivore remembered how popular he was and was sure that at least some of the girls would try to convince him to stay. Still, a part of him was happy to see this. For him, it seemed like this was a sign that they had grown up and that they would be fine without him. With this in mind, Louis gave his final goodbye and left, leaving the club room for the last time.
Here's this chapter's secret.
Did you know that Louis' father's business is called the 'Horns Conglomerate'? It's the biggest herbivore owned company in Japan and even deals with clients overseas. What's more, it's only run by herbivores as Louis's father doesn't employ carnivores.
