Another day, another chapter please enjoy.
- MalMetal
CHAPTER 27: Rain Parts Leaving Humid Sunlight
The afternoon was young and full of life as Cherryton's cafeteria filled up for its designated eating block. All of the school ate together becoming a melting pot of different species of herbivores and carnivores alike. This crowd welcomed Juno and her roommates who spoke amongst themselves. Juno stepped into the cafeteria and searched the room for the scent of a certain dall sheep. An effort that proved fruitless because of the myriad of smells distracting her nose's focus. Her memory of the Black Market came to the surface which she quickly shook off. Composing herself, Juno returned to conversing with her friends who did not seem to notice her change in behavior. The group eventually got through the long line and sat down together where Juno searched the best she could with her ears, eyes, and nose. She managed to narrow her focus to herbivores but that did little to help her search. Their distinct scents were too numerous to pinpoint the one she needed to find.
"Who are you looking for?" Juno's roommate asked.
"Why don't you mind your own business, Olivia, she's clearly looking for her boyfriend." The husky shot a look at the fox on her right who went back to eating her lunch. Juno's eyes combed through the crowd of animals looking for Pina of all people. Lunch was her only free time during the school day and she wanted to speak with him before the next club meeting.
"There he is! Legoshi, over here!" Olivia stood up to wave the wolf over.
"Leave him alone! I'm not looking for him!"
"It can't hurt to see him, could it?" Juno frowned at her roommate and told her to wave him away but it was too late. Legoshi appeared behind his friend, making her jump.
"Hey Juno, did you need something?" He asked.
"No, Olivia did though." Juno pointed across the table.
"Sorry… I just thought she wanted to see you." Olivia stumbled over her words.
"Oh, Okay."
"Actually I do want something! Do you know where Pina is? I can't find him anywhere." Legoshi closed his eyes to hone his sense of smell after a few seconds he pointed to Juno's left saying he was at that table crowded by several female herbivores.
"I should've guessed." Juno stood feeling a bit disappointed. "Thanks for your help."
"Of course. Anytime." The two met gazes, making both a bit flustered but Juno's was more obvious. She left to confront Pina while Legoshi's tail wagged slowly as he walked away.
"You see that Olivia?" The fox asked.
"Yeah… he's not my type anyway," Olivia responded.
"Then what happened next?" A female sheep asked Pina.
"Well after that I-"
"Pina, we need to talk." Juno's voice drew everyone's attention. Her presence gained frustration, annoyance, and a slight amount of ire from the girls surrounding her. Feeling opposed to the negative mixture of emotions, Pina was interested. However, he decided to play coy.
"Can it wait a moment? I'm finishing a story with these wonderful ladies."
"It's about your behavior during club yesterday."
"Hm. Alright," Pina left his crowd of admirers to follow Juno outside. They moved to the side of the building where she ate alone on her first day, giving them ample privacy.
"So what's the problem?"
"I'm sure you know that not everyone enjoyed hearing about your beliefs, myself included, I could deal with it but not everyone else. I'm not going to tell you to apologize but I will ask you to keep it to yourself, we've all been through enough so making yourself a problem doesn't help anyone."
"I can't help that. It's who I am."
"Then you can leave the club," Pina smirked, placing his hands up.
"You called my bluff. If it means staying then I'll gladly play along with you all as my treasured club-mates. However, I would like to apologize to three people in particular. Bill, Riz and Legoshi. I seemed to rattle them pretty badly with my "beliefs"."
"Why are you telling me? You can talk to them yourself."
"That's where you come in, you've known far longer than me so I need some tips on how to approach."
Juno wanted to reject his request but she wanted to make peace above all else. Explaining each of them to Pina revealed to him how complex they were and how much Juno really knew. She ran through several ways interactions could go in different settings, ways to tell what kind of mood they're in, and even what type of food they like. Naturally, she got carried away speaking about Legoshi which Pina took note of. Their conversation ran over the allotted lunch time.
"Before you go, is there anything I could help you with? As an apology for my disrespect to you." Pina's offer stirred up a mixture of surprise and happiness that took Juno for a moment.
"This afternoon I'm helping different clubs with their activities. If you could give me a hand that would be great!" Pina agreed with no objection.
The two met each other outside of the gymnasium after classes where Juno introduced Pina to the volleyball club. She had been volunteering to help clean up the gym for a while now, even making friends with them. Herbivores tended to one side while carnivores did another. They existed peacefully within this space, it wouldn't be long before the pair headed to their next destination. This time it was the engineering club, a place where Pina was completely useless. He was quickly relegated to the position of fetching materials while Juno worked on a project with a group of herbivores. They seemed to value her insight quite a bit. Noticing Pina's menial job, a bobcat offered to help out with a more basic project. He was reluctant for a moment until a small push from Juno changed his mind.
Working alongside a group of carnivores, Pina managed to make a small pulley system that he was excited to have been able to make. Juno giggled at his reaction causing him to calm himself. Not long after they moved to another club and another after that. This enlightened the sheep to another side he'd never seen. Carnivores and herbivores could forge a relationship based on mutual respect, for a brief time everything was colors and rainbows. Until something dawned on Pina. Throughout every single club, the herbivores and carnivores demonstrated respect for each other's presence but they were separate. All of them were keeping up appearances. Amongst them only one person was genuine.
"That's the last one!" Juno stretched her arms and let out a yawn as she spoke. "What did you think of them?"
"They were… fun. Do you visit all of those clubs every day?" Juno shook her head.
"At least once a week if I can. It's what a Beastar should be doing."
"Sounds like a shallow reason to visit all of these clubs."
"I said that wrong. I needed to see everyone for who they were regardless of whether they were carnivores or herbivores. I couldn't judge them. I've been trying to get them to intermingle more often but it feels like I'm just making friends with them separately rather than actually unifying." Juno's self-critique hit a cord within Pina.
"How strange. Forgive me for saying this, but I doubt someone like you would pick up something like that on your own. Where'd you learn something like that?"
"Legoshi." Interest swelled within the sheep's chest.
"I see. He's certainly a character." Juno looked at him confused. "Scars, somewhat isolated, and nothing to say. I'd love to talk more with him. Thank you for today Juno. I've gained a new perspective on both our species, I hope to see you again soon." With that Pina took off, leaving Juno confused by his choice of words. Once he was out of eyesight, his hand began to rattle away at the notebook he kept. Legoshi and Juno had new details added to their profiles.
Haru covered her body with the thin sheet on her bed. Her mind stirs with the temporary cure to the poison in her mind. She was wet with a bit of sweat but not enough to feel she needed to shower right away. Mizuchi's boyfriend dressed himself, breathing a sigh of relief.
"I know you're seeing different guys and all that, but I've gotta be the best right? I mean we are anatomically correct for one another." He smiled with a strong sense of pride.
"It's not some competition."
"What if it was? How do I stack up?"
"Don't you have a date to keep with Mizuchi at 5:30?" The boy checked his phone and saw it was a little past 6. He quickly buckled his pants and opened the curtain, Bill and Legoshi were on the other side.
"Oh… I guess there's no comparison for two of you guys at the same time!" The boy said as he ran past them.
"W-wait! We're not here for that!" Legoshi yelled after the rabbit.
"Don't worry about him." Bill turned Legoshi's attention to Haru who looked away from them, cowering at the furthest edge of her bed. Bill took a step forward, creaking a floorboard underneath his feet.
"Stay back!" The tiger backed away at her panicked cry. "Please go away, both of you! I don't want to talk!"
"Hey-"
"Leave me alone!" Bill stepped back again.
"Haru," Legoshi said the girl's name to no response. He lowered himself to the ground sitting below her own level on the bed. "We came to see how you were doing. We just want to help. It's been days since we've seen you."
"I've told you how you can help," Haru forced herself to say.
"That wouldn't change anything. It's been a month of hiding from us and the one time we get to see each other you run away from us! We aren't the bad guys!"
"Don't you think I know that?!" Haru retorted. "You both saved my life, you made me want to continue living! I hate that I feel the way I do towards you, but I can't just get over my fear! I see them all the time, their fangs and their grins, they won't go away! No matter what I try! I don't hate carnivores… but I can't… I can't feel anything else except scared when I'm around any of you. I'm sorry." Haru unveiled her tearful gaze, and guilt poured from her glassy eyes. The thin sheet that shields her trembles with her. Bill felt an anger he'd never felt before, although he knew nothing of her struggles, empathy stained his heart as much as hate did. Legoshi silently moved into the shack, crawling over to Haru without so much as a sound. He sat back again to make himself as small as possible and pointed his muzzle to the floor. Haru did not move or say something despite seeing him come closer. Bill just watched their interaction from afar, the way the wolf maneuvered seemed so different than anything he thought a carnivore would ever do. Legoshi was a few feet from Haru and did not utter another word for several seconds. Vulnerability began to dwindle a slight bit from Haru. Her feet lowered a couple of inches off the bed's edge, and once more the wolf's presence soothes her.
"I'm scared."
"Okay." Legoshi kept his muzzle to the floor and crawled back to the doorway. He tapped Bill on the shoulder, signaling them to leave.
"...Thank you for checking on me." Legoshi nodded, Bill just gave a somber look that stuck to his face. Haru watched them leave and then buried her face in her knees. "Please come back."
The echo of the metal door closing behind the boys stabbed them. Bill froze in time, locked in anger's vice grip.
"Is this the type of stuff they go through all the time? Did they all feel that way? Too scared to even think about anything else? Scared of us all the time?" Bill gritted his teeth. "Tem-" A loud smash startled him out of his speculation. Legoshi created a small crater in the wall with his fist, his hair standing on end.
"There's no point in wondering," Legoshi felt the wall. He felt utterly useless. "Dinner is going to start soon, we should get going." Bill looked on as the slightly slouched-over wolf descended the staircase in defeat. He couldn't help but wonder why Legoshi gave off the sensation he did after doing something Bill himself could not.
