The "crowd" at the audition wasn't too large. All the previous club members were seated on chairs: Juno, predictably appointed as the lead actress, slightly nervous Tao, Kibi, who unexpectedly found himself heading the costume team and couldn't find his place either. Additionally, to the surprise of the new boss, the raccoon Mokichi and the hippopotamus Dolph showed up for auditions, whom he had completely forgotten. Naturally, they were accepted, with Mokichi now in charge of the decorations, and Dolph, as before, helping the costume team. Although Louis already was thinking to temporary rearrange him for tech. Just to launch some tracks on laptop Dolph's level should be enough.

Louis thought it would be better if he went on the stage. However bad that goat Zoé was in the role of the Spirit of Water, even he would be enough now. But Zoé and Mark graduated last year, and Kai, the scoundrel, somehow managed to finish school early this year. Only about thirty animals of different species and sizes had gathered before Louis, from which about half had to be sifted out – the most charismatic for actors, the most flexible and graceful for the dance team, which currently had exactly zero members except Juno, and also to determine someone to assist Legoshi.

And, of course, lock the hatch in the attic room.

Some were chatting animatedly. He knocked with his cane, demanding silence. Louis tried to walk without a cane with his friends, demonstrating excessive pride, but here it probably added solidity and a tiny bit of drama – made of dark lacquered wood with a handle encircled with copper rings, this cane commanded respect. His projected voice rang over those assembled:

"So… let's begin. My name is Louis, recently an actor of this wonderful club, and now a theatrical director. As you may know, the club has alternately staged the play 'Adler, the Reaper of Death,' so for the auditions, you will be offered various fragments from the script, and you will read them. As you go through the audition, I will make notes for future casting. Any questions?"

"Dances?" a questioning voice came from behind. Louis coughed, then said, "Yes, dances. As you can see, I'm a bad dancer, so Juno will temporarily lead the dance team… or it may be Legoshi," he added barely audible with a malicious grin, "but I expect full commitment and a demonstration of your talents. We have prepared music from the play, but if you've never danced in this style, feel free to come up with your own routines, with or without music. The rest… can be learned."

"Louis-san, will you be on stage yourself?" a small predator from the front row asked. It seemed to be a ferret. The deer shook his antlers in a negative gesture:

"I'm afraid my days on stage are over. But yours, with due effort, are just beginning, so don't treat the theater as a fleeting whim. I, on my part, will try to bring out what is hidden in you into the spotlight."

"Encouraging," Juno whispered to the panther. "As if he's not the Louis we knew. The pride is the same, but tolerance… I've never noticed that in him."

"Ah-ha," Tao nervously nodded. "It's kinda scary."

"Let's go through the list."

Louis took a tablet with the names of the enrolled students and slowly surveyed the crowd. They were clearly nervous – some more, some less.

"Ariyama Tsutomu!"

"Here," an incredibly tired and exhausted voice came from behind. A deep, good voice. Louis had already noted to himself that during stage work, this voice would attract attention. A slender male of a kalong, giant flying fox, with sandy-colored fur, black limbs, and characteristic circles under his eyes, squeezed through from the back rows. It was very hard for nocturnal animals to adjust their biorhythms to daytime schools, so they either attended regular schools in the second shift or were all on medication and energy drinks. This animal obviously belonged to the latter.

"Go straight to the stage," the deer took out a sheet with marked lines from under the tablet and handed it to the bat. He silently bowed and climbed onto the stage, awaiting further instructions.

"Read the lines emphasized in red."

"Why, oh why," he stumbled on the very first sentence, "why have heavy prayers been given to me as a burden? When, oh, when will the unchanging night come to an end, leading… to perdition!"

"Breathing is a bit short," Tao whispered. He felt out of his element, but at the same time, he sensed a certain privilege being one of the old actors. Juno agreed, also in a hushed tone:

" Yes, but overall not bad."

" Yeah."

" Lower!" commanded Louis. " My eyes do not see what you could show me b-but I believe you have no evil intent… no… purpose, like the half-dead whispering lewd words in the ears…"

" That's enough for now. Do you think you could memorize two pages of such text in a few days?"

" Maybe… I've never acted in the theater before," Tsutomu hesitated, not knowing where to put his winged hands. The mentor nodded:

" Alright. Simulate a sword lunge!"

With the movements of the flying fox being much worse, awkwardness, even woodenness, was felt, but overall… Louis could imagine him on stage, he thought. He ordered aloud:

" That's enough. You can descend and sit in the back rows." " Thank you, Louis-san," he politely bowed and jumped off the stage, flapping his wings.

" Next… Baba Natsumi!"

A white seagull stepped onto the stage, but apparently too shy, she couldn't squeeze out the necessary lines. Louis conducted the audition in conditions close to "battle" – an audience, stage spotlight, silence. Legoshi somewhere up there, above, sat as a backup for lighting. He recalled his first roles – in those moments, it seemed he was alone against the whole world and the glaring light. Of course, the deer was afraid too, but his late father raised him too stubborn and proud to show it.

" Watanabe Eri!"

" Coming!" the cat straightened up and adjusted her dress. She ignored the school uniform, dressed rather close to the archetype, but in separate skirt and blouse. The difference was that her loose knee-length skirt was much more convenient in motion, and light white sneakers allowed her to demonstrate all her grace.

"I'm in the dance team, Louis-san," she bowed. Louis set aside the sheet and nodded to Dolph, standing by the wall:

"Start the music, please."

The hippopotamus nodded with his massive head and pressed a key on the laptop. A melody flowed from it, disturbing enough to be present in the background of a tragic play, yet soft enough to complement the dance, which Sheila had choreographed earlier. The serval female on stage wasn't that bad either. Her movements lacked precision, the transitions were smoother than they should be, but she compensated with her natural flexibility and feline grace. Juno thought with envy that Louis could simply recruit a few random cats and teach them everything in a week.

Of course, Eri didn't know their dance — she moved to her rhythm and followed her own scheme.

"What do you think?" Louis turned to the she-wolf. She wanted to nod but restrained herself, saying only:

"Let her sit."

"Baba, you can go. I'm sorry," Louis addressed the seagull. She grimly nodded and slowly walked towards the exit. Kibi looked after her with sympathy:

"I wouldn't want it… on the first day." Juno nudged him with her elbow:

"Catch up with her and ask if maybe she wants to join the team of decorators or costume designers?"

"Got it, I'll do it," the anteater nodded and hurried after the bird.

"Kuroda Bryson!"

"It's me," the buffalo bowed low, stepping forward. "To the stage?"

"To the stage," Louis nodded. "Are you an actor?"

"Yes."

"Then take this and read the green lines."

Disobedient lines jumped before Bryson's eyes; he frowned and stared at the sheet, as if trying to calm it down with his gaze. Strangely, but a slight anger overcame the excitement, and the buffalo began:

"Halt, for you won't see your fingers along with the treasures that were sown… strewn if you cross the boundary of this forest! For the last time, I implore you – turn back from what you're abandoning, don't lose your kin, your luck… Return, Liabel, and save fate from the curse."

"Missed one," the deer raised his eyes to the stage. He had copies of all the texts, although, to be honest, he still remembered Adler almost by heart. Too much was connected with him.

"Oh… sorry… '…and the longing that devours your eyes, sacrifice to the gods,'" Bryson read a bit faster. It seems that in the short minute on stage, he managed to sweat, his eyes slightly blurred.

"Good. Get on one knee, as if you're asking for the heroine's hand."

Bryson silently knelt and extended his hand along the stage, where his imagination vividly painted the image of a young buffalo girl. Although, of course, they could pair anyone. Or, more precisely, only those who were available…

"Mhm," something with an unclear sound was noted by Louis, raising his eyes to the stage again. "Is your memory okay?"

"Never had any problems," the buffalo swallowed. A small deer standing below stunned him, suppressing him with personality only. Although Bryson knew very little about Louis, a year ago he was a legend of the school, a future Beastar. And, of course, this made people nervous. Although in life, he turned out to be a bit softer than rumors said.

"Can you really kiss on stage?"

"What?!" Juno couldn't hold back. Louis turned his head a couple of degrees in her direction and barely perceptibly smirked:

"A joke. Actors usually need to convincingly portray a kiss. Could you?"

"I don't know… probably," mumbled Bryson, sweating even more. He thanked fate for Chiro's eternal jabs, thanks to which he managed to endure this seemingly harmless needle, it seems, not even aimed at him.

"Sit down. Next is… Kimura Kobayashi."

A jackal in a light three-shades-of-blue Cherryton polo jumped onto the stage, rubbing his cheeks with his palms. It seems that he was a little nervous too, but much less than the previous candidates.

"I'm a dancer. Do you have a place for guys, Louis-san?" – he asked right away.

"We'll find. Are you going to play the music, or did you bring your own?"

"Mine, if it's okay."

The carnivore carefully placed the phone on the edge of the stage, and from there flowed an unsophisticated folk-style melody. He made a few circular movements with his legs, not moving his torso, then support, a full turn. In terms of plasticity, he was inferior to Eri, but clearly surpassed her in technique. Without waiting for the end of the melody, Louis stopped the dancer:

"Very good. Have you practiced somewhere else?"

"Mother is professionally engaged in ballroom dancing," the high school student responded, slightly embarrassed. Louis nodded towards the seats behind:

"Sit down."

The anteater returned, shaking his head negatively in response to Louis's questioning look. Bad luck.

Ten more animals went through the audition one after another. The deer reluctantly eliminated a small grimacing mongoose and a girl, a red panda, who stumbled and fumbled with words, but had a hint of sensuality inherent in the best actors. It seems like I'm trying to replace the departed with their closest analogs, he ironically thought. But when a badger stood on stage desperately trying to deliver a monologue as the knight Rico, something unexpected happened. The club's door creaked open, and a sly voice filled the room:

"I was thinking it's a joke. Is there a place by the creative bonfire for a slightly action-starved and still splendid ram?"

Tao jumped up, resting on his knees on the chair; his eyes widened in surprise. Then he ecstatically clenched his fist and triumphantly moved his elbow down, exclaiming:

"Yes-s-s! Pina, you piece of sheep, I told you about the club! But now, with you, all the oldies are back, oh yes!"

Louis succeeded at not smirking aloud, sounded nickname was certainly a bit rude but also hilarious.

"If my not too enthusiastic reaction disappoints you, Tao, forgive me. I'm used to attention," Dall's ram, said with an arrogant and sophisticated smile, adjusting the locks of his long and well-groomed wool on the go. "And this, apparently, is the legendary Louis-senpai in person? Very pleased, my name is Pina. You look older than those photos, senpai…"

"It's all the cane's fault," Louis dryly replied, making another note. "It adds age to me and gives me more opportunities to rein in the particularly insolent ones."

"Pina may be a rare scoundrel, but he's a talented rare scoundrel," Kibi confirmed, biting his lips.

"Oh-oh-oh, Kibi, am I not good enough? Or perhaps I haven't paid enough attention to club life? Please forgive me in that case – I'll try to limit my meetings with five or six a week to a necessary minimum of two," Pina responded, sitting grandly on a worn chair, a permanent club member.

"Pina, be quiet. Dave, continue."

"Not… uneven fight as a sign of the highest… noble… strength…" the badger squeezed out, got lost in the text, and finally fell silent, fumbling with the paper with his fingers.

"Maybe you want to try yourself somewhere else?" Louis suggested, feeling sorry for the guy. He silently looked at him; it seemed like he didn't understand the question. Maybe he didn't want to join the club, and parents or teachers pressured him?

"What else can you do?"

"Draw," he replied monosyllabically.

"Don't want to help the club with decorations? You'll be under Kibi's supervision, but overall, you're on your own. Oh, no, my bad, now Mokichi is in charge of decorations."

Dave silently nodded and lumbered off the stage. Well, there were also such cases.

An hour passed, and the auditions were almost over. The last one was a horse, trying out for the dance team. Despite having a good figure, her movements were disgusting. Louis exchanged glances with Juno, who barely nodded. The student saw the gesture, and her eyes sparkled.

"Everyone wants to be on stage, Yuki. Maybe you know how to sew or have skills in cutting, for the costume team? Or are you good with computer programs?"

"Only… with text editors," the horse said, almost crying. Suddenly, Bryson's voice came from behind:

"Wait… Yuki? Louis-san, I know her. Not very closely, but she worked for the univercity newspaper last year. Even had her own column."

"Exactly in the univercity one, not the school's?" Louis clarified. If he meant Southern University, then the text skills there should be at a high level.

"I… was in touch with the editor of the Kansai University 'Herald'. Not a separate column, but I selected and reworked material for articles from our region," the horse whimpered. "But I want to dance…"

Louis twirled a pencil in his fingers, thoughtfully humming:

"Hmm. For now, sit down. Some club members and I will discuss everything in my office, and in five to ten minutes, we'll announce the results. Juno, Tao, come to me. Legoshi! Get down from there and come to me too."

"Okay," came a voice from above.

"Pina, sit."

"Do I look like a dog?" the ram smiled sweetly with a huge dose of venom in his voice. "Moreover, Louis-senpai, forgive me for being cheeky, but I could give you some advice on new members and their… ."

Louis looked at the ram, who reached his height and yet looked disgustingly well-groomed, as if spending at least five hundred thousand yen a month on beauty salons. He asked:

"Why do I have the feeling, Pina, that you will become a constant pain in my ass?"

"I don't know, Louis-senpai, perhaps it's just a deceptive premonition or a spontaneous desire?" the blue-eyed ram answered with a smile, not staying in debt.

"Okay… let's go," the deer grumbled. Surprisingly, this time Pina remained silent.

"What about Yuki?" Juno immediately asked as soon as the door to the office closed. Previously, the small room with a massive desk, light green walls, and bookshelves belonged to Sanu the pelican, but now, occupying his place, Louis had to admit that the previous teacher, may Rex take him, managed to snag one of the most comfortable chairs in the world. He didn't really want to leave the seat anytime soon, but the results still had to be announced.

"Nothing about Yuki. I would like you to work with her for a while while I try to convince her to take on the role of a scriptwriter. If the editor of junior 'Kansai Herald' values this girl so much, maybe she can rewrite the script in disputed moments," Louis explained.

"A good decision," Tao nodded. Even Pina nodded seriously as confirmation.

"Are we taking it seriously or just pretending to teach dancing?" Juno asked.

"Seriously. Even if she doesn't end up writing scripts for us, at the very least, she will learn to move a bit. You didn't know everything right away either," Louis pointed out. Then he continued:

"So… What did I decide about the teams? Set design Kibi, Mokichi, Mika, Dave. Costume designers… Kibi again, he will be our chief designer, that tiger girl with the hungry look, Beatrice, Ayako, Keoji. Dancers… here it's more complicated. Temporarily Yuki. Permanently definitely Kobayashi and Eri, but two are not enough. I think that young white lion with a scar, Goro, might fit there as a scenic counterpart to Kobayashi he moves slightly worse, but cat-like grace saves him."

"Two tall dancers…" Pina shook his head.

"On the edges of the stage or in strong solo scenes why not? But let the costume designers deal with making sure they don't draw attention away from the main actors."

"I'm still against Goro. As dancer I mean. It's better to take him into our acting team; they, along with the buffalo, make two decent scenic beacons. We can distribute them one to the antagonists, one to the protagonists," unexpectedly revealed Pina's deep understanding of the subject. Louis looked at him for a few seconds, trying to understand Dall's ram mood, then nodded:

"Noted. Useful remark."

"My remarks and suggestions are al…" Pina began but felt Juno's heavy hand on his shoulder.

"Pina, shut up and don't ruin the impression of yourself if you've said something smart."

"Understood. 'Noted,'" he ironically replied.

"Next. Tia?"

"Yes, Tia. She's small, but I like her," Juno nodded. "Very lively for a Vietnamese pig. I'd also take Nora and Ratee."

"Is she Ratee or Rati?" Louis asked.

"I think it's Ratih," Legoshi, who had been silent until now, said. He was always attentive to his surroundings… and ruthless to himself. "She just pronounced it too shyly."

"Shyness expert here, huh? Well, we've got labrador retriever and rhinoceros. An interesting composition will turn out. But, in any case, as dancers, they are the most promising," Louis sighed and drew another line with a pencil. "And dessert. For the sweet, we have the acting ensemble."

"Bryson," Legoshi blurted out, wagging his tail. The deer smiled, "He's clearly had some practice beforehand, but I don't mind. Also, Tsutomu and Ryu," Louis suddenly snorted at the last name but closed his mouth with his hand. Juno looked out the window, suppressing a smile, and Legoshi didn't understand. Which was not surprising for him. Despite encountering it often, the likelihood of a student whose name literally means "dragon" showing up at the audition right now was quite low.

"Do you think Tsutomu can handle the daytime schedule?" Tao asked with concern. Louis shrugged, "He's a second-year. If he couldn't keep up with the others, he would have been out in the first year."

"Hm. That's true."

"And club time starts pretty lately so to mention. We still need three or four more. Even if we don't consider that you'll all leave…"

"Except me," Pina raised his finger.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm also a second-year, Louis-san."

"I was hoping this introduction would be fleeting," the aspiring theatre director said with a wry smile. Mirroring the smile, the ram replied, "Nothing lasts forever, senpai. I think about the crane, the gharial, and that little skunk female."

"Like about actors or just in general?" Tao teased him.

"Like about you, sweet. But your heart already belongs to Kibi…"

"I can't believe that this elegant scoundrel is dating females at all," Juno said, pretending to widen her eyes in amazement. Louis cut off the initiative, well aware of where such a conversation would lead, "Stop the off-topic conversations. I also thought about Fumiko, Pina, but the other two… Akihiro has a very unpleasant voice. No offence. I mean like, objectively. Of course, we can give him roles with minimal lines, but it's easier to teach him to speak in a whisper and with a sigh. Then it might work. But Izumu? A gharial on stage?"

"Louis-san, you are a speciesist," Tao said with feigned reverence.

"I'm not. It's just… I can't picture a gharial fitting into anything. Not in Adler, not in other plays," Louis said, rocking in his chair. "Take a mouse for the role of Adler."

"A speciesist," Juno said sternly. Legoshi, standing by the door, nodded seriously, "Exactly. And who do you think of, Louis?"

"Besides Izumu? Honestly, I liked Philip."

"Beaver? He's nothing special. And with a speech defect," Pina grimaced. The wolf, the Doorkeeper, cornered him, "Pina, all beavers have slight speech peculiarities directly related to their teeth, but not choosing a beaver because of this is even more speciesism than with Izumu."

"Okay. Then I'll take both," Louis decided, crossing out the remaining names one by one. "Anyway, we'll need reserves. Actors free from the play will, in turn, help other teams."

"Great. I'm so happy!" Tao couldn't contain his excitement and suddenly hugged Louis. The deer patted him between the ears and freed himself, saying, "We still have a lot of work. That's why I need all of you in key positions, without accidents or any troubles. Don't break your limbs, don't catch colds, don't stand aimlessly in the pouring rain. Got it?"

"Of course, Louis-senpai," Pina said with slight indignation, getting up. "You can count on me."

"On us," Juno roared.

"On us… I don't know, I don't know…" the ram said thoughtfully. As if the surrounding animals needed more reasons to kill him.

Louis left the office with the list in his hands, noticing that they had been sitting there for almost twenty minutes. The students were nervously shuffling outside the door, waiting for the verdict.

"Alright! Those I call, group on the left." A light murmur ran among the audition participants.

"Mika and Dave set decorators. Your senpais are Mokichi and Kibi, who also will be a head of the costume team" the designated anteater waved his once-detached hand, and the raccoon simply nodded. An inconspicuous polar fox and a badger approached them.

"Beatrice, Ayako, Keoji costume designers." The tigress and two tube-toothed went to Kibi.

"Dancers! Eri, Kobayashi, Tia, Nora, Ratih. Yuki… you're on probation for now. If you won't practice with Juno, you can leave right now. The potential is good, but the current state and skill is really bad, and we might rightfully be asked why we didn't choose someone better."

"I'm so grateful, Louis-san…" she murmured, looking down and holding her hands together.

"Excellent. Now… actors. Oh, yes… almost forgot. Oris!"

"Yes, Louis-san?" the lanky gibbon stood up from his seat.

"You… are not suitable for acting yet, but perhaps you want to try yourself at a different height? Work with spotlights under Legoshi's guidance; we need more lighting technicians."

"I… yes. Yes, thank you, Louis-san. I'll manage," he thumped his chest with his fist. Perhaps it was speciesism, but monkeys, apes and the others were naturally designed to climb trees. And the cables and lighting beams of technicians did not differ much from the tree branches.

Or it wasn't speciecism if you choose any of the effective sides?

"Sorry for the dramatic delay, but after all, we are in the drama club," Louis smiled, spreading his hands. "So, actors: Tsutomu, Bryson, Ryu, Fumiko, Izumu, Philip, Akihiro… Goro. That's all. Those we didn't name, don't despair; perhaps your talents lie in other areas. Or maybe we were not skillful enough to uncover them here, at the audition. Have a nice day! For those who passed, I announce that the club starts tomorrow at 16:00. Does anyone have additional classes? No? Great. Thanks for your efforts and see you tomorrow."

"Thank you, Louis-san," a dissonant chorus of voices rang out amid cheers and despair. And we still don't have a single sound engineer, he thought irritably. He approached the hippopotamus and quietly asked:

"Dolf, can you stay on sound for now? When we find a suitable student, I'll replace you."

"No problem, Louis-senpai," he shrugged. "But if anything, give me hints… I'm not very good with the computer side of things."

"Agreed," the deer nodded with a glued smile. He turned and saw a white lion in front of him, large but lean. Goro looked at him inquisitively:

"Louis-san… I haven't said a single line. Why am I suddenly assigned to the acting team?"

"We planned to shuffle you back and forth between dances and the main stage. There are plays where dances are not needed at all, and there are those where a strong carnivorous antagonist is required. I can't promise anything yet, but you have a good physique and a pleasant voice."

"I see," the lion sighed and stepped aside, barely wagging his tail. It seems he's not happy, but not enough to protest against the director's decision.

Sisu gazed thoughtfully out of a small window. After the room was cleaned, a couple of carpets were laid, and some cushions were placed, it became suitable for living, but not more than that. In the morning, Louis left several bags of fruits and ready-made food from the nearest noodle shop, and she almost ate it all. However, the long day did not want to end, leaving Sisu alone with her thoughts. The laptop with movies, which the dragoness learned to start on her own, was taken away during the auditions. She didn't understand the text in books and only looked at the pictures – although the book with illustrations of animal species and their insides was strange but fascinating. Apart from staring out the window and thinking, she couldn't find any other activities. Sometimes students passed by – in groups, pairs, large companies. Sometimes animals not in school uniforms buzzed around, probably staff. What seemed surprising was the coexistence of so many species, large and small, in one place.

Yes, from the words of the wolves and the deer, Sisu knew that not everything was as peaceful and smooth as one would like, but the foresight and mutual aid of the community of children amazed her. Large animals looked down, small ones moved along the walls. Carnivores helped herbivores, and in return, herbivores performed small and precise actions that predators couldn't do due to their claws.

It's good they didn't add either fishes here. I wonder how that would look?

Honestly, any foresight and adjacent mind discipline always amazed Sisu. It was the magic that she hoped to master someday, maybe in a hundred years, but due to her innate recklessness, the timeline could easily double or even quadruple. Perhaps, after a few centuries, she would become a wise dragon capable of not sneezing into the spatial exchange spell, but now… she let out a muffled groan of shame and annoyance. The world around was very pleasant, and the animals were friendly, but she wanted to be back home as soon as possible…

After a few moments, her attention was drawn to a small scene around the corner of the nearest building. Two animals, a tall tiger in glasses and dark blue clothes similar to what Louis wore, and a stout creature with a black fur and wide white stripe on the back of the head, whose species Sisu couldn't identify, were talking to each other. It seemed the tiger was angry about something, while the other remained calm… but the air between them almost flared with the flames of hostility. From the tiger's movements, it could be thought that he was about to pounce on the interlocutor. The latter just shrugged indifferently, showing no fear of the massive predator. Then he said something, pointing with his hand to one of the school buildings. The tiger's tail twitched nervously.

Sisu decided that she had seen enough and needed to call someone, but, unfortunately, the voices of the animals who came for the audition still reached the slightly raised lid of the hatch. She glanced out the window again – it seemed the couple wasn't rushing to kill each other – sighed heavily and stretched out on the makeshift bed of triple length. If only Raya or someone who knew how to act stealthily were here… After all, Cherryton was essentially just a crowd of teenagers. Yes, some of them had impressive fangs and claws, but their combat experience was unlikely to be significant. She tried once again to cast magical signs, traced a few in the air – perfectly accurate, Pengu would be proud of his wayward sister – but without success.

Cursed magic… Sisu suddenly widened her eyes; a suspicion pierced her mind. If she could perform the exchange so easily, why couldn't her brother do the same, exchanging her from this world for something of equivalent size in Kumandra? Or… he really couldn't find her without knowing the world? Anxiety crept into her core. While she was making acquaintances and little friends here, something truly terrible could happen back home. Sisu took a slow breath, then exhaled just as slowly. No reason to panic yet. Perhaps, to pull her out of here, one had to know precisely the world where the object was… and good knowledge would work only within the same world.

Unable to continue her breathing exercises, the dragoness got up and nervously paced from corner to corner.

The hatch creaked. Startled, she turned around, but it was just the wolves. Legoshi nodded friendly, while Juno immediately noticed that something was wrong with the mythical creature. She approached and silently embraced her around the neck, burying her nose in the soft mane and inhaling the scent. She said softly:

"Everything will be fine. Your friends are fine."

"How do you know what I'm thinking right now?" Sisu asked, standing on her hind legs, while her front ones embraced the she-wolf, pressing her head against her.

"I'd be thinking the same," Juno sadly replied. "We'll help you… in any way we can. And, even though we're just students, Louis and Legoshi have useful connections…"

"And Juno will help emotionally," added the gray wolf, embracing the whole sculptural group with his paws. Sisu, with a fleeting smile, said, feeling the receding tears, "Thank you, friends."

The barely sensed rustle of two wagging tails sounded like a good response. Juno stepped back and said, "Listen… I just wanted to say that the laptop is free now. Dolph will disconnect all the connections, and I'll bring it to you. But there's one question. Can I bring you some basic language textbooks?"

"But I can already speak with you," Sisu replied.

"But you can't read," Juno pointed out.

"Yes, it's… inconvenient," she awkwardly shrugged, half of her body lying back on the bed.

"I can help with reading," Legoshi volunteered. "Louis has a lot of work, and Juno shouldn't forget about studying, especially at the end of the year."

She retorted, "I'll still spend evenings in the club!"

"As well as our new club members," the wolf pointed out fairly. She just pursed her lips, not wanting to admit he was right. "Sisu, you need at least a phone to contact us if necessary. I'll look for cheap models for old animals."

"Why for the old?" the dragoness took offense. He chuckled lightly, "Don't be offended. These models just have convenient buttons. Even elephant models with touch screens would be small for you. Besides, they make them reliable, and the battery charge lasts a long time."

There were no longer any sign of listening to him. Sisu looked eagerly at the only way out of the room. She turned her head to Juno, "New animals? Can I see them?"

"Just the question we were afraid of," Juno said grimly, guiltily looking at the floor. "Sisu, it's better if nobody sees you at all, except us. Absolutely and completely nobody."

Sisu sighed loudly, hitting the pillows with her tail. Her little friend just grimaced in a gesture of discontent, "I understand you. Let's take a photo tomorrow after the club meeting and show it to you? Also, the day after tomorrow, on Sunday, the club is closed, which means the entire building will be at your disposal."

Legoshi looked out the small window, introducing a silent pause. Then he said steadily, "I… am not sure we can hide Sisu. She's too big. Perhaps it would be safer to move her to Louis's mansion."

"But then I won't be able to see you!," Sisu protested with despair, pounding her tail on the pillows.

"You will. We'll visit you on weekends. Besides, in the Horns Manor, as far as I understand, there's usually no one except Louis and some old Oguma's servants. It's almost like an ancient castle," Juno chuckled. "Also, dragons and castles are a good match."

"But Sisu is a water dragon," Legoshi raised an eyebrow in slight confusion.

"Sorry, there was no water castle in the set," Juno retorted sarcastically. "I'm going for the laptop and back."

The wolf nodded silently and watched her go. Sisu looked thoughtfully at him and whispered, nudging him in the shoulder, "Do you like her?"

"Yes. I mean, no… not in that sense. Juno is beautiful, kind, bright. But I already have Haru."

The dragoness grumbled, "Haru, Haru, Haru… you talk so much about her, but I've never seen her."

"Oh… sorry," the wolf awkwardly fumbled his fingers into his pocket and pulled out the phone. He pressed different areas of the screen for a while, frowned, finally turned the device's screen to Sisu. "Here. This is us… when the police almost arrested us. They thought I attacked her."

The photo featured the smiling face of a little rabbit standing on a bench somewhere in the park, and in the background, Legoshi, his tail slightly blurred, clearly due to its wagging. His strange eyes looked serene, and the light smile dancing on the edge of his lips very clearly expressed the wolf's feelings… as did the clawed hand hugging Haru by the waist.

"You… like two opposites," Sisu shook her head incredulously. "And is this really possible? Wolf and rabbit? In our world, you would have just eaten her."

"I…," Legoshi swallowed, obviously hurt by Sisu's last words. "I had difficulties. But not anymore. Now I don't feel hunger at all if I see or smell meat. Even blood."

"Sorry," she hastily blurted out and hugged him by the shoulders. "I have a terrible sense of tact."

"It's okay," the wolf said almost inaudibly, stroking her cyan-and-white fur with his fingers. Changing the subject, he said, "Do you know who really builds water castles? Or rather, air castles in the water?"

"Well?," she asked interestedly.

"Water spider. They take air bubbles from the surface on their abdomen, and underwater, they combine it with others until they get a big 'mansion' of air. I'll show you a video later… they are very graceful."

Sisu, with a smirk, asked, "Do you know everything about insects in general?"

"I like them," he answered shyly. "I guess I would like to work in a pet store, where they sell specifically beetles."

"Why did you end up working at the school then?" she inquired.

"I don't know. Felt the need to come back. All I know is that we met Louis at the director's doorstep without coordinating. Perhaps certain events influenced both of us."

"Good or bad events?"

"Depends on who you ask," Legoshi shrugged, rubbing his eyes. Sisu pouted, "Another mystery…"

"It wasn't the most pleasant experience. And the mystery is not just mine but also that of our red deer. But I guess there's no need to hide it from you and Juno," Legoshi explained.

"What to hide?" Louis's voice was heard. Legoshi turned around and saw the deer in loose cargo shorts and a T-shirt a couple of sizes too big for his slender body. He shook his head, gesturing towards the prosthetic leg, "This… or rather, everything that happened afterward."

"I don't want to ruin the reputation of our world in front of the guest," Louis smirked. Then he heard a female voice whispering by his ear, sending shivers down his spine, "Then how about a deal? I won't bite you, and you'll tell where you disappeared and why our modest Legoshi shares so much unsaid with you…"

"Be careful with blackmail," he turned sharply and, squinting, stared into Juno's eyes. It seemed the innocent joke indeed touched Louis, although he still held himself together perfectly. "Sometimes getting what you want is the worst option."

"Let's do it this way," Sisu said wearily, "I won't eat any of you, and in return, Louis and Legoshi will finally tell about their adventures. What could be there that you haven't shown in one of your 'movies'?"