Legoshi liked what they did with the attic. Gradually cleaning up, furnishing it with various interesting knick-knacks, arranging boxes with old props as real furniture, they slowly gave the small improvised loft the appearance of a real living space. He even installed a few good-quality sockets and hung a small chandelier, which was knocked down by Sisu the same evening, and he apologized for a long time afterward. After that, the wolf securely screwed the chandelier to one of the ceiling beams.
Sunday promised to be quiet and calm, at least until the arrival of the new couple, as Eri and Tsutomu promised to drop by. The Order had never gathered in full, considering them. Pina had left for the weekend, citing the need to visit his parents once a month, Louis and Juno had left, and Haru had a work shift. However, she promised to come closer to the evening.
And Legoshi brought a bucket of ice cream with him.
He had to search for this kind of treat format for a long time until he finally guessed to visit a party-themed store. Among other treats and entertainments, the wolf found what he was looking for — a large blue plastic bucket resembling standard paint buckets but with a bright label on the side promising six flavors, and all for a fairly modest money. Happy that Louis wasn't around, who considered Sisu his personal responsibility and therefore insisted on paying for everything out of his own pocket, Legoshi immediately paid for the purchase and headed back to school.
After the necessary manipulations with the door, he climbed up the stairs and opened the hatch. Sisu was asleep. Or rather, she was pretending to sleep, because her breathing was clearly alert and uneven. The wolf pricked up his ears — he wasn't good at deciphering scents, but it clearly smelled like one of them.
"Sisu?" he called out. "Did I interrupt something?"
She opened one eye, then the other, and pretended to yawn:
"Nooo… I just woke up. What did you bring?"
"Remember when we treated you to ice cream?"
"I remember… there was just so little of it," the dragoness pouted, slapping her tail against the pillow. Legoshi lifted the bucket:
"Here. It's all yours, no need to share with anyone."
"Yay!" she exclaimed and jumped around Legoshi in a whirl of white and blue. Sneaking a glance behind her, he noticed another bucket — ordinary, zinc, and seemingly filled with water. Taking the ice cream, Sisu immediately hugged Legoshi, squeezing him so hard his bones cracked.
"Sorry, please," Sisu said apologetically, immediately releasing him onto the floor after a short ouching. Taking a deep breath, the wolf rubbed his ribs with both hands and shook his head:
"Be careful… you'll strangle me…"
"My bad," Sisu said, bowing her head guiltily and then dropping it to the floor. Taking a deep breath, the wolf rubbed his ribs slightly and shook his head:
"Don't hug Tsutomu-kun like that, or you might end up killing him."
"I'm very careful with everyone… I just got carried away for a moment. And how do you open this?"
"I don't know… let's look for it together."
Together they carefully examined the blue bucket until he found a protruding orange tail, which he pulled. Along the edge, a fastening strip peeled off, and the top itself came off, revealing the contents to the world — banana, chocolate, nut, strawberry, vanilla, and coffee ice cream, divided into six more or less equal sectors. Sisu nudged the bucket closer to Legoshi with her fingers, and he shook his head with a smile:
"I won't take a single bite."
"Oh, come on, I'm not greedy!"
"I've already eaten mine," Legoshi lied, feeling that otherwise they would politely argue until sunset. The dragoness licked her lips:
"Mm… I don't even know where to start."
"Spoons of your size weren't available, sorry."
"I can reach it with my tongue," she showed him the latter being approximately a forearm-length just outside her snout. Whether as proof or as a sign of her usual carefree mood.
Licking several times, Sisu dove headfirst into the bucket and clearly grabbed a large piece, slowly savoring it. Flattening his ears, Legoshi raised his hand:
"Wait! Slow down, otherwise…"
Her face twisted.
"Ouch… it's so cold! It's like someone poured ice into my head and it hurts!"
"Don't rush. I didn't think to warn you, sorry," said Legoshi guiltily, approaching Sisu and massaging her temples with both hands. "You can't have a lot at once, slowly, in small pieces. It's better to lick it. I wonder if there are waffle cones your size somewhere…"
"Waffle cones?" Sisu raised her eyebrows. It even sounded delicious.
"Sugar wafers with a scoop of ice cream inside. I never liked them, by the way," Legoshi smiled, sitting down on the nearest free pillow. "As a child, I would eat the ice cream and leave the wafer."
"You know… mmm… I've heard stories and was amazed — what a wonderful childhood you have. Kumandran people never live like that… I don't know how to say it. Dense and active?" Sisu mused, not stopping the process of consumption. Now much more thoughtful and fluid.
Legoshi inquired, "What do people in Kumandra usually do? Well, if we exclude animal… erm… breeding?"
"You know, out of everyone in the company — the 'order,'" she chuckled, "you're the most interested in the people of my world."
"Well… I'm genuinely curious. What's their childhood like, for example?"
"From what I know, there are no schools. At least not like here — with lessons, teachers, schedules, school uniforms. Some children grow up on the streets of small towns, some start learning craftsmanship from a young age, others help in the fields or with food gathering. There are special cases, of course. For instance, my close friend Raya is a hereditary guardian of the Dragon Gem. For centuries, while most of my… kind was trapped in the gemstone, and I was — you know — lying in a coma, they protected our last shred of magic for generations."
"And humans don't possess magic?"
"As far as I know, no," Sisu shrugged. "Although they can use our artifacts, so there must be some trace of magic in them after all."
Legoshi leaned back, looking up at the ceiling and crossing his bare clawed feet. He even put his hands behind his head. Dreamily, he said, "I remember when Jack explained to me in childhood that magic doesn't exist, I was very disappointed. And then you come along and tell me about all the wonders of Kumandra. I wish I could see it just once…"
Lilac eyes adorned with a blue bucket on the nose looked at him attentively. Sisu hesitated. He didn't pay attention, even closed his eyes; finally, the dragoness muttered into the now half-empty container of treats:
"I… can show you something."
"Seriously?!"
The wolf stared at her with excitement:
"Really? Sisu, has magic returned to you? Louis said he'd dig into some mysticism textbooks, but he hasn't found anything. But… this is wonderful!"
"It hasn't returned yet," she sighed, momentarily sticking out her muzzle, which showed extreme fastidiousness in licking the walls. The wolf tilted his head, hiding a smirk. It seemed that she was in for a shower, or at least a wash. "But somehow I'm gathering strength in your world. Pina said it's through the mane. It seemed to glow, although I didn't notice anything. Do you want me to show you or not?"
His tail wagged even more vigorously:
"Of course, I do!"
"Now… your ice cream is very delicious. Even tastier than the cake Louis brought, although it didn't give me a headache."
If Louis were here, he wouldn't be pleased with such a comparison…
Finally, when the treat was over, Sisu pushed one bucket aside and approached the other, which was indeed filled with water. She said:
"When Pengu taught me, he repeated that the cleaner the water, the better these spells work. Your water is very clean; otherwise, I doubt I could do even this."
Concentrating, she raised herself on her hind legs, bracing herself with her tail. Despite the fact that dragons weren't bipedal walkers, at least their guest could balance fairly well on two limbs, and Legoshi involuntarily made an adorable grimace. With her fingers, she slowly traced a complex gesture, which, even with perfect memory, Legoshi would hardly have been able to replicate, and whispered:
pravvazz
"What?"
She didn't answer. But instead of a response… from the water, contrary to the laws of physics that Legoshi remembered, a small transparent tentacle emerged. It barely glowed, moreover, it trembled and clearly couldn't rise higher than fifteen centimeters, but, in the name of Rex, it was magic! Obeying Sisu's barely noticeable claw gestures, it swayed leisurely, then the dragoness muttered something quieter, resembling "zavarp," and the miracle was over.
"This is incredible," Legoshi said, finding the strength to utter the words, his eyes, round like the face of a wall clock, wide open. "How… how is this even possible? Do you feel anything when you do this? Do you get tired?"
"Not much," Sisu smiled contentedly. "I, to be honest, wasn't asleep when you came in… I just wanted to surprise everyone a little later."
"You're amazing just by the fact of your existence. Magic is like… peanuts in the icecream," Legoshi found, stroking her lush mane. "You can have them, but even without them, it's excellent."
"Do you really think so?" she asked shyly; he just nodded. Then, after a few seconds, he said:
"Louis would say that Pina… sings your praises for a reason. Although I don't know what praises are and why they're sung, but I think it's something complimentary."
She became serious:
"Legoshi… I wanted to talk. About Pina."
"Is everything okay between you two?"
"Yes. But, honestly, I don't quite understand him. He's kind… not as soft-hearted as you, but a wonderful friend, very handsome, we spend a lot of time together, he jokes amusingly, tells many life stories… and at the same time, you know, he's somehow… distant. As if he cut off a part of himself and hid it away for a rainy day."
"We all love you, Sisu, but Pina…"
Legoshi shook his head, not knowing how to explain the obvious. He attempted, "But he — more than anyone. He was struck by your appearance, your origin, your unwavering character… your whole personality. At least, I've never seen him voluntarily admit that someone is more beautiful than himself."
"Is that so…"
"I think you've turned his worldview upside down," the wolf chuckled.
"It would be fun to go to school with you, probably," she said with a slight smile and weird look, lounging on the cushions and noticeably changing the topic. "Attending classes, playing in the theater… various sports. I'd probably join several clubs right away."
"Which ones?"
"Well, from what you've told me… I don't know how to fight, and I don't like it."
"Minus judo and boxing," the wolf quipped immediately. Then he looked at his own hand and clenched it, flexing the same ones.
"Then, I don't quite understand what journalism is," Sisu said thoughtfully. "Can't news be told without it?"
"Probably."
"I can't draw…"
"That's minus manga and journalists. Ball games?"
"Anything that's there!" she said excitedly. "And theater!"
"So, volleyball, basketball, and drama club. That's three clubs, not many could handle that. And now, when all the clubs have been put on the same schedule, and two are already a struggle…" Legoshi sighed. "Although I've never tried to join any club except the theater."
Sisu said with curiosity, "I wonder, what would you be in my world?"
"I know too little about it for now," he admitted shyly. "Probably a human, I understand that wolves in your world are somewhat prehistoric. Maybe some kind of Gem Guardian, although I just like the word 'guardian'."
"Yes… judging by what you've told me, you're a protector by nature," she warmly smiled. "Almost like Raya. Although I doubt you handle a sword as good as she does!"
He scratched his neck, "Yes, I'm not very good with a sword. Even with a theatrical one…"
"Oh! Do you have sword fights?"
"As a performance. We had them in 'Adler,' but I… ruined the scene there. Me and a tiger named Bill fought over not a very good reason. No, I won't tell," he shook his head in response to her surprised look.
"But you have such sharp claws!"
"I file them down. So as not to hurt Haru or anyone else."
"Do you file down your teeth too?" Sisu asked teasingly. He smirked, not wanting to share the story of his personally extracted canines:
"No. I won't bite anyone ever again."
"Even if you need to bite?"
"I have fists for that," he clenched his hand and looked at it as if seeing it for the first time. "But it's better not to use them either."
Sisu smiled softly, "You would have been a good Gem Guardian. Although, honestly, I don't understand why they kept it, the gem was still broken. It would have been better to hide it far away…"
"Then there would have been a chance that a malevolent stranger would find it. Or a careless one. And they'd still break it," Legoshi retorted. His pocket vibrated, he got distracted, took out his phone, and read on the screen:
Eri: let us in, please ).:
Legoshi: I'll be down in a moment. Wait.
Opening the door, he found the inseparable couple now without much luggage, both dressed simply and practically. Eri wore large triangular headphones of clever design, casually hanging around her neck, while Tsu wore a plain, seemingly workout tank top, causing his flaps to hang in folds, not neatly tucked along the wide sleeves as on other days.
"Happy Sunday, Legoshi-san," Eri immediately went in for a hug, with personal boundaries as nonexistent as the dragoness upstairs; the cat never had issues with it. It seemed Tsu surpassed her in delicacy by miles. Eri maintained politeness but expressed emotions as straightforwardly as the current club president, which quickly led her to bond with Juno.
However, the wolf didn't particularly mind her presence; the serval's cheerfulness had its advantages, now slightly balanced by Tsu's calmer friendliness.
"Dorm 211… you can't imagine what a mess it is," she complained, releasing them both from her embrace. Tsu snorted, "There's always a mess in the cat room."
"Oh, I've been to yours. Not much better," Eri waved her hand lightly.
"That's not true. With Yagi, we almost have perfect order," Tsu retorted.
"According to whom?"
"To us, naturally."
"And according to me – absolutely no! You guys hang your underwear with T-shirts on the bars!" the cat protested, entering the club and looking around. "Legoshi-san, are you the only one on order duty today?"
"Yes. The others have scattered," the wolf replied, not delving into details, shrugging and closing the door behind the newest adepts of the "order." "By the way, the winged ones often have a habit of hanging their undergarments high and in plain sight. So, by Tsutomu's standards, everything should be fine there."
"But I don't want to smell it!"
"It's clean…" the flying fox weakly protested.
"You better take a cue from Legoshi," she taunted. "Now, there's someone who's learned well, clearly."
"Um… Eri-chan, I highly advise against taking an example from me. I got expelled from school," the wolf guiltily lowered his head, climbing the familiar slightly creaking stairs.
"Are you kidding?" she exclaimed.
"True. Not because of grades, but the incident was… hardly an example to follow. Although, honestly, I wasn't much of a student. Dreamt and slept in classes."
"I sleep in classes too," Tsu said with a smirk, diving into the hatch. "At least, in the early ones… and not always."
"Sisu!" the serval exclaimed happily, walking ahead with outstretched arms. Everyone knew the ritual of bonding with the fluffy dragon by heart – it's just that not everyone followed it with as much enthusiasm as Eri or Haru. After embracing them both, the dragoness gently lowered Tsu, then asked with interest, "You can hang from the ceiling, can't you? I wanted to ask last time, but I thought it would be rude."
"Yes, but I need to take off to do it. And it's harder for me than for birds," the flying fox nervously swallowed at the sudden interest. "Especially in confined spaces."
Without much ceremony, she lifted him in her arms and brought him, leaning over, straight to the ceiling beam.
"How about now?"
"Wait… let me take off my shoes," the poor creature squeaked. First, one white sneaker fell from above, then the other, loudly slapping the floor. Eri, covering her mouth with both hands, burst into uncontrollable laughter, watching her cavalier in such a precarious position. Finally, Tsu freed his long clawed toes and hung, clinging to the thick tree. The tank top rode up and slipped onto his face; he asked grumbly, looking down, "Satisfied?"
"Can you sleep like that?"
"In childhood, that's how I slept, wanted to be a real flyin' night terror, then realized sleeping in a bed is much more convenient," the fox spread his arms, stretching his wings and fearing to lose his shirt as well. Then, as best he could, he tucked it into his jeans. "But it only seems difficult from the outside, honestly. I can fully relax, but still hang."
He gathered his strength and released the claws of one leg, hanging literally on a few fingers, swaying and spinning.
"Incredible," Legoshi shook his head. "I've always marveled at how many interesting things other species can do."
"Well, I'm not much," Tsu hesitated and raised, rather, lowered her head, looking at the roof. "Look at servals, for example; they run and jump so cool, and their hearing is something beyond."
"Well, nature didn't give me these locators for nothing," Eri chuckled, putting her palms to the head. Her fox snorted, watching from above, "Are you sure palms were necessary to enhance the effect?"
"Just wait till I bite…"
"Why don't you jump up here then," he teased, sticking out his tongue. Eri solemnly declared, "Sisu will help me."
"I'll help," nodded the dragoness, contrary to her own words, curling up like a bun and resting her head on her own back. "But not now, let him hang for a bit. Like a toy on your trees at Rexmas."
"I'm not a toy! I am the terror that flaps in the night!"
"Unless you consider Darkwing was a duck, everything matches," smirked Eri, climbing into the dragon donut. She patted Sisu's side thoughtfully. "We could pour water in here – it'd make a cool pool, albeit a small one."
"I'm not a pool, I'm an ancient magical creature…"
"Okay… a terror flapping in the night, an ancient magical creature… Legoshi-san, who do you want to be?" she enthusiastically asked, using Sisu's body as a windowsill.
"I'm happy to be who I am now," the wolf softly smiled, watching the animals going crazy with affection.
"Good. And I'm a messenger, delivering a great artifact. Behold, Sisu, for this is the Telegrawr!"
"What?" the dragoness asked bewilderedly, watching the girl's hand reaching upward. Something small and strange was clutched there. Perhaps another device from their world…
"Some kind of technology?"
"Well… sort of," nodded Eri. "It's a flash drive, although Louis said you have internet. But just in case, we copied the program installer."
"You what?"
"We'll send you a thing – to your laptop – that'll allow you to communicate with all of us remotely! Through text."
Sisu grumbled, nudging her shoulder with her nose, "Why didn't you just say that from the beginning? Instead of 'installer'… 'program'… besides, text is still difficult for me. Better voice."
"There are calls too… there's a lot on there," reassured the serval, then scanned the room and, not finding what she was looking for, asked Sisu, "Where's your laptop?"
"I have it," proudly replied Sisu, lifting a part of the cushions under which the technical marvel was hidden. At least, for her, although her friends also admitted they could never do such a thing in their lives. Craftsmen – or, as the deer called them, "industry" – were top-notch here.
They jointly opened the elephant-sized gadget, Sisu lightly tapped the power button with a claw, and the screen lit up.
"Yep… subscription, more subscription. Movies, series, shows… you're not wasting any time," chuckled Eri. Wings flapped behind – Tsutomu landed. Legoshi also came closer, dragging a large lilac flower-shaped pillow and sat aside, leaning against the box. "What do you usually listen to?"
"Listen?" the perplexed Sisu asked, looking quizzically at the small cat. She twirled her hands in the air, "Well, music."
"Ah… they let me listen to a few recordings, but I like the ones in movies better," confessed Sisu, smiling sheepishly.
"A few recordings?!" They all exchanged glances. Eri's outraged tone sounded as if the tight-knit company had committed no less than a crime. However, from the girl's point of view, it was exactly that.
"So, you have a secret guest who just arrived, you could say, from another world," Eri began her tirade indignantly, unaware herself of how close to the truth she was, "and you didn't let her listen to Vam, King, Supremes? Aznavoir? Bob, for goodness' sake, Jeyran?"
"We're not that good with music, Eri-chan…" Legoshi began, but she indignantly cut him off, "That's no longer music! It's part of the culture of our world, on par with Beethoven!"
"Who's Beethoven?" the clueless Sisu asked, shifting her gaze from the wolf to the cat. Tsu replied:
"A saint bernard composer. Deaf as a black market alley and talented as twenty Pinas. Although I think he made a greater contribution to music than the band 'Vam'…"
"You're a retrograde," waved Eri at him. The fox responded offendedly:
"I try to evaluate objectively."
"And I go by feelings. And according to my feelings, modern… 'kay, a bit newer bands evoke no less response in the heart than classics overgrown with moss! Besides, I usually trust those feelings and heart…"
"I don't understand anything," whispered Sisu, leaning her head towards Legoshi. The wolf helplessly grinned, "If it comforts you, neither do I. But we're idiots for not getting you a subscription to some music service. There's really a lot of good music in our world. Plus, I knew a couple of musicians. For example, my former roommate and part of 'Pack 701', Miguno. He seems to be playing in some rock band now."
"Not just some, but in 'Megalodon'," clarified Tsutomu, who had heard the whole conversation despite Eri's grumbling. "The guys from the club went to their concert on Thursday. They didn't invite us, though, but…"
"…we wouldn't have gone anyway," sighed Eri, lowering her head. She playfully punched something on the keyboard, opening Zootube – the first music video blasted through the room, making Legoshi press his ears.
"Oops… sorry," Sisu jumped, rushing to her personal box, causing the serval sitting comfortably on her tail to tumble into the pillows. Eri threatened her with a fist as she got up, but the dragoness didn't notice the cheeky gesture, rummaging through her personal belongings and treasures, "Now… where did I put them?"
"Looking for headphones?" guessed Legoshi. "There, on the fridge."
"Good spot," snorted Eri. The flying fox also smirked, "I once – about five years ago – somehow forgot shampoo in the freezer. When I finally found it, the bottle was completely shattered, and I had to wash myself with a cold bar of soap."
"Untidy," affectionately tousled his cheek the cat, Tsu raised his eyebrows, "Willing to say 'messy'?"
"Well, you know, careless. Idler," she chuckled.
"Even my grandfather doesn't use those words anymore," said Legoshi, swaying his tail and wondering if Haru would call him 'messy' or not.
"And who's the retrograde now?" playfully teased Tsu, tugging her tail. Eri also joked, wagging her tail:
"Someone's going to get it… anyway, Sisu, watch. I'm leaving Zootube open – it's the channel of a cool wart-hog, he posts the best hits of old times, including those that weren't on the charts. Now I'll install Telegrawr…"
"Telegrawr is for chatting?" clarified Sisu.
"Yup."
"And Zootube is for music?"
"Well, there are more videos there," shrugged Eri, "but there's music too. With lyrics displayed, very convenient. Like karaoke."
"Like what?"
"Forget it… Darn it, Legoshi, how did you show her movies and never looked at Zootube even once?"
"Louis said there were a lot of pirated recordings…"
"Louis may say what he likes… no, of course, I respect our director, but sometimes he can be wrong about certain things," angrily snorted Eri, flicking her tail. She felt hands with membranous wings embracing her from behind, automatically leaning her back against Tsutomu. He softly said:
"They're, of course, terrible criminals and committed sacrilege, but… you'll fix it all, won't you?"
Eri shuddered, feeling the fur on her back bristling, and goosebumps running down her skin. She replied even softer:
"Your voice… melts me…"
"I'll try not to do it too often," he said slightly louder, smiling, "so as not to cause habituation."
"What if I want to get used to it?…"
With some difficulty, she managed to complete the straightforward installation process and immediately added Sisu to the chat. Sisu watched with curiosity as she navigated through the messenger's interface, getting lost in its simple layout.
"There… for now, I'll leave just one chat open to make it easier," said Eri, reluctantly freeing herself from the fox's wings. "Here you type, then send the message with the Enter key, and read above. We're all signed with our names, I registered you as Sisu… okay?"
"I don't know," replied Sisu with a strange expression on her face. "Probably okay. Messenger is like very fast letters, right?"
"That's the best analogy I found," shrugged Legoshi. The serval nodded, "Yeah, but… lots of animals chat at once. If you want to write to someone personally, you click here and press 'send a personal message'. No one else will see it except you two. Try writing in the group chat first."
Sisu tentatively tapped the keys with one claw – although the laptop looked too small for her, as it did otherwise for everyone else.
Sisu: hello
Juno: Hi, Sisu! now we'll always be in touch :)
"Brackets are used as smiles. Many people use ready-made emojis, they are drawn faces. But we're unlikely to find anything similar to you," explained Eri with regret, glancing at Tsu. He scratched his chin thoughtfully, looking at the screen:
"Maybe stickers?
"Later," Legoshi reassured. "Let her get used to it."
"I learn very quickly," proudly declared Sisu and triumphantly wrote in the chat:
Sisu: thanks eri she is a miracle
Juno: :) :) you write like Pina!
Pina: hey
Juno: You infected her)
Sisu: with what
"With spelling," Eri grinned. "Pina always writes as if someone is chasing after him."
Sisu sighed loudly and sadly, the cat jumped up and rushed to comfort her, rummaging and stroking her mane:
"Hey, it's not bad! We're not laughing at the fact that you write poorly, but at how similar you are.
"Really?" Lilac eyes sparkled. Tsu supported his girlfriend:
"Of course! And it won't be long before you write perfectly.
"Although too perfect is also not necessary. It's boring," the cat wrinkled her nose, continuing to stroke the dragon's neck. "In chats, everything is usually… easy, relaxed."
"For now, it's hard for me to keep up with you guys," Sisu admitted, tilting her head slightly in dissatisfaction that she couldn't do everything at once. "But I'll try!"
Legoshi chuckled:
"And we'll help. The power of the Dragon Order knows no equal."
As the company immersed themselves in listening to and discussing music, alternating different tracks with remarks of admiration and condemnation — Tsu and Eri had such different musical tastes that it seemed amazing how they even got along — Legoshi felt like a stranger at this celebration of life. He didn't like drowning out the world with music, preferring to listen to the world instead, although he respected others' tastes. When the wolf stood up, all three of them simultaneously raised their heads. Tsu asked:
"Where are you going?"
"Are you going to be here for a while?" Legoshi answered a question with a question.
"I don't know. A couple of hours for sure, and what? We weren't planning to stay overnight," the fox shrugged.
"Okay. Then I'll go for a run," Legoshi announced. "I'll lock you up. But if anything, Sisu knows where the spare key is."
"Okay, Legoshi-san," Eri nodded. "We'll be busy educating Sisu in music for now."
"More like musical seduction," Tsu chuckled.
"Glam rock is not seduction!"
"Tell me… they would have performed naked."
"There's nothing wrong with being naked," Sisu cunningly remarked, after which these two glanced back very surprised. Legoshi said with a smirk:
"It's not obvious at first glance, is it? But for marine animals, on the contrary, nudity is common."
"Well… as long as everyone is okay with it," Tsu said, blushing and turning away. Sisu grabbed him and Eri together with her paws:
"You're so shy! And cute…"
The wolf coughed, deciding to show at least a little responsibility:
"One condition — it applies only to Sisu. If the school authorities find out that the theater club has become nudist, we'll be closed for good."
"If they find out that there's a dragon living in the attic…" the cat muttered deafly from the bluish-lilac mane.
"Louis handles that. All right, I'll be back soon."
The wolf's spare clothes were stored in the same place as all the others — in the locker rooms downstairs. However, Legoshi mainly used it for work, but training should not be completely abandoned. He didn't know if he should go to the school gym, after all, he couldn't match Bill in terms of physical strength, but maintaining muscle tone during work at Gouhin's had become something like an immutable rule. Lacing up his old worn sneakers tightly, adjusting his pants, and pulling on his T-shirt, he walked through the rehearsal room and out, locking the door behind him. It was getting late, the sun was gradually disappearing behind the trees of the school park, casting long shadows swaying in the light breeze, and it, in turn, carried a multitude of separate scents that the wolf's nose picked up and diligently arranged on the shelves.
There's someone nearby, in the campus, cooking with an open window, it smells like tomato sauce and fresh herbs, somewhere a tree has broken, spraying into the air the scent of fresh, juicy wood, to the left of the club, it always smells like flowers, and the fountain at the front door added a note of flowing water with shades of iron to all this. Legoshi took a deep breath, descended from the porch, and started running.
He chose to run not just because during a nightly half-hour jog to the black market, the wolf felt that his legs were starting to give out. He needed to train more if he wanted to, in case anything happened, protect his friends.
Gradually, he picked up speed and began to run quite fast but in a steady rhythm, first evening out his hurried breathing. Of course, the weather was more conducive to a brisk walk, but the wolf wasn't inclined to do things halfway. Frankly speaking, a stadium would have been more suitable for this kind of run, but Legoshi didn't like circling around on artificial turf — his element had always been nature. Therefore, the approaching sound seemed even more surprising to him. The wolf glanced back while running — no, he hadn't imagined it, another runner was indeed catching up with him.
And not just any runner. The best of runners. A young, looking about twenty-five, cheetah in a white T-shirt with a black and blue sports jacket tied around his waist, seemed to have no difficulty at all with his breathing, unlike many other animals.
"Good day," the wolf greeted when the cheetah caught up with him. The cheetah waved his hand.
"Or evening! Wutenga."
"Is that your name?"
"Yeah. I didn't expect anyone else to be jogging on a Sunday evening! Are you a colleague from the Academy?"
"Me? No… Not a teacher, just a technician from the club. Name's Legoshi," the wolf awkwardly extended his hand while still running, not intending to stop. Wutenga also didn't bother with formalities, simply slapping his narrower but clearly not weak hand.
"I recently transferred… lead sports classes, or rather, I was supposed to. Thursday was supposed to be the first lesson on the schedule… I'm still getting used to the layout of the school buildings."
"Condolences…"
"No big deal," he waved his hand, easily slicing through the air and pulling ahead a few steps. "The ones really suffering now are the students. Although it doesn't seem like they're too upset about the sudden holidays, but school rearrangements are never good. Any sudden changes are never good."
Legoshi cught up with him, not exerting too much effort for now, and asked, "Are you from Cherryton?"
"Yeah, I'm local. Though, taught not here, they sent me straight to the east coast after college, to a place called Osui. Just transferred, promised a higher salary and a more prestigious position. Hey, you're not doing too bad, Legoshi! Been keeping busy with something?"
"Sort of," the wolf answered evasively. Wutenga smirked.
"Don't be shy. Carnivores sometimes really do have… a strange past. And judging by your scars, it seems like it was tough."
"I'm content. Or rather, I'm content with what I have now. If I could get rid of the scars, I would, to avoid frightening herbivores unnecessarily."
"I've heard you have a lot of them."
"Scars?"
"Animals! Herbivores in the drama club."
"Oh… yeah. We have a mixed club, like many others."
"Shall we pick up the pace?" Wutenga offered with interest. Legoshi nodded and added a couple more kilometers per hour, this pace was already beginning to strain his body.
"Listen… what happened to Gon?"
"I don't know… they say… he was shot at the black market," the wolf answered with noticeable pauses. Flattening his ears, the cheetah said:
"Nightmare. Such a stain on the school's reputation…"
"Perhaps that's why… the police aren't disclosing… the investigation results."
"Or they just don't have anything to go on."
"The black market is a bad place," Legoshi said, breathing heavily. His unexpected running partner and dialogue companion retorted:
"But a necessary one. Have you ever eaten meat?"
"Once. Out of necessity. Otherwise, I would have died…"
They ran in silence for a while, except for the sound of gravel beneath their feet, only the heavy breathing of the wolf and the panting of the spotted cat could be heard. Then the cheetah asked,
"And since then — never?"
"No."
"Wow…" the cheetah exhaled, turning onto a side path, shadier than the main one. "A matter of principle? I'm guilty myself, but I've only been there a few times."
"I…" Legoshi began and then fell silent. Even he found the topic dangerous — why would he spill his entire biography to a new acquaintance?
"What?"
"Nothing. I'm out of breath already…"
Wutenga smirked cunningly:
"Then we need to push our bodies even harder. Let's turn right again and head to the club—who's faster?"
"Let's do it," the wolf said heavily. A feline switch seemed to have been flipped in his body—he sharply turned onto the path intersecting theirs and dashed forward, like some international competition medalist. Not willing to give up so easily, Legoshi followed suit, feeling the pain and fatigue creeping into his muscles and tendons, feeling the hot blood rushing along his long limbs. The spotted long tail waved ten meters ahead, the wolf gritted his teeth and pushed himself even harder, the cheetah's figure gradually began to approach.
They covered the return distance in barely three to four minutes, bursting out from under the shadows of the park alleys, like two bullets. Wutenga heard breathing and footsteps behind him, and also ran as fast as he could, slightly bending his head. When they reached the club, Legoshi lagged behind by barely five meters.
"H-ha," Wutenga grinned, leaning on his knees and slightly sticking out his tongue to lick his parched lips. "For a wolf, you're even too fast!"
Legoshi, feeling like he was about to cough up his own lungs, said between hoarse breaths,
"I… just don't… give up easily. Not even to athletes."
"I'm just a PE teacher," the cheetah chuckled. "But you have to stay in shape, otherwise your own students will laugh at you. Phew, and don't overload your bladder if possible… Can I use your bathroom, Legoshi-kun?"
"Yes, of course, I'll open it now," Legoshi nodded, gradually catching his breath and internally freezing with worry. Sisu wasn't quiet unless specifically asked, and right now, there was a local music festival going on… what to do?
Right, I've been added to chat!
Heading towards the club's door, he discreetly took out his phone from his pocket and typed a short message in their secret chat:
Legoshi: Quiet, guests are here.
"What's up?" Wutenga asked, walking slightly behind.
"I was looking for my keys," Legoshi lied not so smoothly, "and my girlfriend messaged me right away."
"You keep your phone on silent? What if someone important calls?"
"If I don't hear it, I'll call back myself. But usually I… feel the vibration. Here. Down that hallway and to the right, near the changing rooms."
"Thanks, Legoshi. You're really saving me," Wutenga nodded gratefully and headed towards the bathrooms, glancing around with interest as he went.
Returning after a couple of minutes, he remarked, "You guys have quite the plumbing here. Many people don't even have this at home."
Legoshi shrugged, "We just recently renovated. The school was… generous in sprucing up the club. The drama club president and director decided it would be best to start with the showers and toilets."
"Ah, the most repulsive place in any public school," he smirked. "I remember ours — it was a nightmare, not a restroom. But yours in the club seems livable. Well, sorry for barging in, Legoshi-kun."
"It's nothing," the wolf muttered, catching his breath. Wutenga raised his fist, then his elbow, and Legoshi tilted his head, not understanding what the cheetah wanted to do. Then, the cheetah silently gestured towards his own hand, and when the breathless and bewildered technician mirrored his gesture, Wutenga lightly tapped his fist.
"It was fun. Want to run together again? The others are too slow to keep up with me."
"I couldn't catch up to you either."
"But you're the only one who's made me catch my breath," he grinned. "I'll be running every other day around this time, it turns out, every even-numbered day. If you want to join, feel free."
"Alright, Wutenga-kun," Legoshi flicked his tail. He was still tired from the excessive conversation, but he quite liked the young and open-minded teacher.