Edited to fix typos and add/remove some lines
Jack quietly proceeded down the hallways, listening to the nervous chatter of the herbivores in regard to the carnivores, he frowned silently, by now, the whole academy knew of the devouring that took place between the previous night and that morning, but he knew that, regardless to the devouring, he'll make this day the same as every other day, he headed to his first class of the day and sat in his regular seat, before turning to JC to talk, only to find that JC's seat was unoccupied, he frowned and looked at a female caribou and male zebra behind him,
"have either of you 2 seen JC this morning?" he asked them, but their response was the same; they hadn't, Jack gave a smile and shrugged, thinking JC was running late, everyone did so every so often, he watched as class started, proceeded, and ended without JC arriving, he got up and moved down to Legoshi who was looking back at a goat silently,
"yo Legoshi" Jack said as he got close "whats going on?" he added, looking up at the goat as well
"that's Els" Legoshi replied silently, "i have to give her something that Tem wanted to give her but couldn't, but I need to do it when we're alone, and I cannot risk spooking her while others are around or I might be singled out as the prime suspect of Tem's murder"
"i see" Jack replied silently, before looking back at Legoshi "anyway, I came to ask, have you seen JC today?"
"no I haven't, he might be sick or something" Legoshi replied,
"maybe, well I guess that there's no reason to panic" Jack said
'hopefully that is the case, because I don't think the school can handle 2 devourings back-to-back'
Jack got up and left the classroom, heading for the infirmary, wanting to see if JC was in there and how he was feeling,
"hm? JC? Yes he was here earlier this morning, he was brought in unconscious, but that's all I can say" said the nurse, a female buffalo "i sent him on his way around 20 minutes ago, told him to check in with the school counsellor for reasons I cannot say as well"
"OK, thank you, I was worried, considering the incident" Jack said,
"that's a natural reaction" the nurse replied as Jack left the infirmary and started wandering towards his next class, he looked down a hall and saw JC emerging from the counsellor's office,
"thanks for the talk, I'll come back in tomorrow" JC said as he bowed respectively and closed the door, turning to see Jack approaching him,
"hey JC, I was worried about you" Jack said as he approached "i was getting worried about you, considering the fact that there was-"
"DON'T!" Jack jumped back in shock as JC stared at him, panting hard, his hands trembling, Jack's eyes widened, understanding that it would be a touchy subject
"OK, I wont mention it, but I was worried, considering" he quickly said, making sure not to say too much, JC panted before inhaling deep and sighing calmly "you OK?"
"I'll be fine, but the counsellor suggests I take the whole day off to try and recover my mental state" he replied, Jack nodded and walked with JC to his cabin "you didn't have to come with me you know" he said as they approached the door
"i know, but as your friend, I don't want you to have a mental breakdown and have everyone think your going crazy" Jack explained,
"when you put it that way, thanks mate" JC said, running his fingers through his hair, Jack realised that this was the first time he saw JC without his signature hat, but knowing him, Jack didn't say a word in regards to it
"I'll get Legoshi to drop in to check on you later today" he said,
"thanks" JC said, going inside and closing the door, Jack silently stared before heading off
'i wonder what all this is really about?'
Jack sat down for his morning lessons, already on edge from the morning alone, first Legoshi woke up looking as though darkness had settled within him, then he snapped at a red fox and painted dog as they got into an argument that breakfast, Legoshi nearly being physically involved if not for Louis, Jack glanced at JC's empty seat, wondering where he would be, a second later, JC stumbled in, looking as though he hadn't slept in a week
"JC, yikes, you look terrible, are you OK?" he asked
"yeah, I'm fine, just a bit" JC replied, looking at the seat on his other side, away from Jack, Jack gently turned JC to face him and gently slapped his face to try and snap him out of it,
"JC, I think you need to see the counsellor again, something is clearly wrong and-" Jack stared as JC dropped off to sleep right there, Jack gently slapped his face again, causing him to wake "come on, lets go" they stood and left the room, Jack escorting JC, making sure that he didn't walk into anyone, anything or even fall down the stairs, the counsellor, an older looking barn owl, looked up from unlocking his office door as Jack approached with JC, he lead JC into the office while Jack waited outside, a short time later, the counsellor opened the door,
"i need you to head to the infirmary and give them this" he said, handing Jack a slip of paper "it's for a sleep medication that'll induce dreamless sleep" Jack's eyes widened a bit, but he nodded and headed off "I'll take him back to his cabin, I'll see you there"
"yes we have those pills here" the nurse said as she looked through a medication cabinet "but I never expected it to be this bad, ah, here we go" she handed Jack a bottle of pills "he's to have one just before he goes to bed, that should put him to sleep, but I recommend him having a lavender scent to assist in his sleep" Jack nodded, knowing where he had to go next, but he knew that he had to be in and out.
Jack stood before the door leading into the gardening club, having heard the rumours of the dwarf rabbit within, he breathed in deep and sighed, pushing the door open, looking around, he was met by the many scents of the flowers and he gave a smile, he paused as he saw Haru looking over some chrysanthemums before standing and looking at him,
"oh, hello there" she said politely "can I help you with anything?" Jack swallowed hard,
"y-yes, I need s-some lavender to help a friend" he said nervously "n-nurse's orders"
"oh, I see" Haru replied "right over here" she headed to a patch of lavender, Jack noticed the bandage on her left arm but didn't question it, he watched as Haru carefully dug a lavender plant out and put it into a pot, then adding more soil "tell me, who is this friend of yours?"
"oh, well" Jack said, trying to figure out hot to describe him "he's unique in many ways, very creative" Haru smiled to herself, trying to picture this individual "often very reclusive, sometimes to the point of anti-socialism, never seen without his hat, until recently" Haru's eyes widened a bit, thinking she knew who Jack was talking about, but needed to make sure
"very interesting" she said, making herself look busy with the plant "what's his name?"
"oh, I doubt that you'd know it, but it's JC" Jack replied with a chuckle, Haru's eyes widened a bit as she stared into the lavender, remembering something that happened a few days ago.
Haru pulled off her uniform to get into her club outfit, she turned suddenly as the door opened, she saw JC standing there, staring, a bright blush on his face,
"s-sorry Haru, i-I'll leave you be" he said, turning to leave
"JC wait" he looked back at her "you do know about what I do here, and I'm guessing that, eventually, you'd want to do the same, so, why don't we-"
"no Haru" Haru looked up at JC who kneeled "honestly, i don't care if you do this or not, its your life and your decision, but, to be perfectly, and completely honest, I'm not ready for something like this" she looked him in the eyes silently before he gently hugged her "but know this, I respect you as a woman, not as a vulnerable rabbit, nor as a "play-toy" for males, and that will never change, no matter what happens" Haru silently closed her eyes, returning the hug, just enjoying the moment for what it meant for them.
Haru stood up with the pot with the lavender before handing it to Jack
"make sure your friend is alright" she told him "and tell him, I'll be along to care for the plant daily, if he wants" Jack stared at her, the rumours he heard mentioned that she would try everything to get in with any male, but she hadn't tried anything with him
"ah….o-OK, I'll do that" Jack replied before leaving, Haru silently watched him leave before heading into the club room, looking up at a sketch that JC did of her on that day she remembered, a portrait of her sitting on a bench, holding a pot of daisies and a carnation behind her ear
'hope that your alright JC, I do appreciate your company'
Jack walked up to JC's cabin as the counsellor stepped out
"ah, there you are, you have the medication?" he asked
"yeah, the nurse recommended that I get some lavender as well" Jack replied
"excellent thinking"
Afterwards, Jack returned to class, managing to get to the remainder of the morning class, but he couldn't stop thinking about what happened
'first, JC is administered to the infirmary before being sent to the school counsellor, this morning, he comes in a bit later then normal, looking like a zombie from lack of sleep, as such, he needed sleeping pills and lavender, speaking of which, that rabbit in the gardening club, I've heard the rumours, but when I mentioned JC, her demeanour changed'
he frowned quietly before looking down at Legoshi,
'a lot has been happening these last couple of days'
JC sat in the drama club rehearsal room the main members practised for the upcoming Alder performance that weekend, he looked over the performance script for the production, silently listening to Legoshi and Kai the mongoose talking about the other members of the club and why they were scouted, Sheila the cheetah being a dominatrix from age 14 to make ends meet, Mina the giraffe having trypophobia, Moro the rhino believing her horn is a guardian angel, and Kai himself being abandoned by his parents and being raised by hyenas, JC flipped the page and stared, seeing that there was a lack of plot after Alder's fights between the 2nd and the 3rd villain character, he stared for a moment as he heard his name mentioned by Kai,
"what do you mean by that?" Legoshi asked,
"well, based on what I said, what secret do you think JC has from his past that makes him qualified to be here?" Kai questioned
JC looked up at Louis as he practised his swordplay on the stage as Sanu, the pelican who was the president, watched on, JC tossed down the script and approached them
"wonder whats going on now?" Kai questioned as JC passed Bill and Tao, a black panther, the two watched him approach
"Louis" JC said as Louis looked down at him "i have an idea for part before the final act, but I wish to run it by the 2 of you first" he looked at Sanu as he said this
"well, we're not adverse to a bit of script changes, no matter now minor" Louis replied, rolling his left leg, JC frowned as he noticed that he had been doing this all session, but said nothing about it
"yes, I'm also quite interested in what you have in mind" Sanu added.
A short time later, JC stood on the stage a short distance from Louis, while Louis had his back to him
"OK Louis, all you need to do is act naturally as if the situation is happening for real" JC said
"understood" Louis replied, looking back at JC "the lines I'll ad-lib will come out as naturally as how you described it" JC nodded at this and took a step back, grabbing one of the wooden practice swords, the rest of the drama club watched as Louis posed as if he had slain a foe in combat,
"no one will harm this lady in my presence" he said, glancing towards where the actress would've been, JC stepped forward, making sure his footsteps were heard,
"so, Adler" JC said, causing Louis to turn and face him "we meet at last, face to face"
"your mask and hat might hide who you are, but you will not harm this woman"
"I'm not here for her Adler, I'm here for you" Louis straightened up to simulate surprise,
"me?"
"yes, you see alder, I've been tracking you for a while, and I've watched your fights, and I'm impressed, I've been seeking a worthy foe to defeat to lift my curse" JC slid the sword out and pointed it at Louis "and I've chosen you"
"very well then" Louis and JC went into the sword ready poses before Louis charged, JC blocked and parried the strikes before blocking and holding a strike,
"incredible, you don't disappoint, especially after your, recent confrontations" JC, using his eyes and head, silently told Louis to back away to the stage edge as the fight resumes, Louis gently nodded before pulling his sword back to strike, JC stuck first, managing to get Louis close to the edge, with 1ft to go "hold up" JC said, he and Louis relaxed their stance "this next part will require quick co-ordination" Louis stared at him
"how so?" he questioned
"for drama, and the fear that your life might end in the middle of the whole thing" JC explained
"intriguing, go on"
"i take a swing, you move back slightly and fall, I grab your arm, a brief line exchange, then I pull you back" JC said, looking at the others watching "the hard part will be me managing to catch Louis before he falls and injures his back"
"I'm guessing, so that our lines are perfect without the adrenaline in order to see if this will work, we do our lines, then the pull up, correct?" Louis questioned,
"that's right Louis, shall we?" Louis nodded and the two grasped their arms together as JC carefully moved forward, making it appear like Louis would fall if he let go, JC glanced to the floor as his foot slightly slipped "we might need a brace or something on the stage so I don't follow you onto the floor" JC quickly suggested
"I'll get someone on that" Sanu said, JC nodded
"OK Louis, lets continue" Louis nodded gently, then glanced at the floor behind him, then back up at JC
"what? Why?"
"letting you fall of this cliff would be cowardly and dishonourable, and it wouldn't free me from my curse" JC pulled Louis back up and stared at him "you are a worthy fighter, Adler, I look forward to sparing with you again" JC tipped his hat and headed backstage, then came out, the sword resting on his shoulder,
"you've made your argument well JC" Louis said, with a smile "we shall make this scene a memorable highlight of the production" JC nodded
"if we can nail the catching part" he said before looking around "yo Riz" the large brown bear looked over at them "mind standing behind Louis so that you can catch him before he falls?"
"sure, I can do that" Riz replied with a smile, walking over to where they were, standing behind Louis as he and JC got ready
"ready Louis?"
"yeah"
"how about you Riz?"
"ready" JC nodded and started a swing, Louis stepped back, and lost his footing, JC reached out to grab at Louis' arm, and missed it, Riz managing grab Louis by his shoulders "you OK Louis?"
"I'm fine" Louis replied as Riz pushed him back up
"like I said before, this part will need to have the most practice and preparation need" JC said as Louis patted his shoulder,
"I'm sure we'll be ready before this weekends opening performance, and I foresee a success with nothing going wrong" Louis proclaimed to not just JC, but to the whole drama club, JC looked at him
'why do I have the feeling that he's tempting fate?'