Damon stomped through the halls after classes let out. One twenty-kilo sack of garden lime was clenched in his left fist and two twenty-five bags of fertilizer sat on his right shoulder, acting as a repellent to most of the mammal students whose senses were assaulted by the pungent aroma that emanated from said bags. Dammit, why couldn't those garden supply guys bring this stuff up?
He had gotten a message from Haru during Nomad's game about signing off on the delivery as she couldn't make it. The young man had to leave early just to make the train back on time. Not wanting to just leave the materials out, the medic had taken it upon himself to bring it. His ascension up the stairs was uneventful and lacked difficulty with his level of conditioning. He stepped out onto the rooftop garden and went to place the bags near the sink under the little overhang structure. Once he completed that task, he went to the brick archway to grab the clipboard, figuring now was as good a time as ever to check on the greenhouse. Spring was on its way, along with an extensive list of duties that the rabbit said took most of the season. She liked to have a plentiful collection by the time the Summer Festival came around.
For the briefest moment, the Spartan thought he heard someone yell on the rooftop above him as he approached the glass structure, but the wind picked up and made any voice indecipherable. I'm sure it's fine. Even if something is wrong, best to not get involved. We're still trying to recover from our last little escapade.
Turning his head around, two profound questions came into Damon's mind, spurred by the shameful image he bore witness to. What choices in my life have led to this? Why me, God?
"Fuck-ing hell you two!" He immediately covered his eyes and turned away like he'd been flashbanged. Once again his better-than-perfect vision and near photographic memory were proving to be curses rather than boons. If he could take steel wool and scrub out this memory from his mind he would do it. Instead, he would forever be traumatized by the bare brown-furred ass of a red deer that was mounted above two small white legs.
There was concerned mummering followed by a thud and the cracking of a pot. More mummering followed, the skittering of feet, and finally, the glass door swung open. The handle hit the side of the small building and the door bounced back.
"Careful Louis! You already nearly killed this marigold." The dwarf rabbit was cradling a deep yellow plant with a puffy bloom over to the overhang area. There she grabbed a small pot from under the sink and noticed the bags she'd ordered. She cursed herself for not thinking that the large creature would bring it up here himself. "Thank you for bringing the fertilizer and lime, Damon."
He dropped his hand from his face and let it slap on the thigh of his pants. "Yep. Sure thing. Anytime. Happy to help." He said in rapid succession.
The sound of a jingling belt buckle being secured came from behind him. Damon turned about once the jingling stopped and saw the Drama Club Captain adjusting his turf green jacket. Instead of his usually mature and composed self, he saw a completely embarrassed teen who couldn't look him in the eye just yet. "I apologize that you… had to see that."
Damon just sighed, shook his head, and only spoke once he'd hung up his clipboard. "Well, at least I know your flame is burning strong. Just, put your tie around the door knob or something. Jesus..."
"Who?" Haru asked as she toted the freshly potted plant back to the greenhouse.
The Spartan had to give a half-laugh at the absurdity of the question within the context of his situation. "Nothing. Don't worry about it." He just looked at the ground for what felt like a long while. "I think I'm going to start trying out some different clubs, or just… not be here. So… yeah. Later." He gave a rigid and awkward wave from over his shoulder as he walked back the way he'd come up. Neither of the two animals could justify trying to speak to him further.
Damon rapped on the door labeled 405. "Hey bigshot, open up. I want to know how the game went."
Nomad opened the door wearing his loose-fitting athletic clothes. His left forearm was covered in a white gauze wrap. The medic could tell his brother had done it himself.
"What have you done this time?" His exasperated voice let out in sighing words as he grabbed his twin by the elbow to examine.
Oddly enough, the typically more brazen of the two didn't try to tug away. He let Damon undo the wrap, checked to make sure the sterilizing pad was in place, and resecured the gauze. "I will have you know that I was actually solving a problem, not creating one this time."
"Really? Who are you and where is my brother?" Once he was sure that his twin was fine, Damon flicked the wound as he walked further into the room. "Also, did the resolution result in killing or maiming?"
"No, also ow." He said, rubbing the spot as if it actually hurt. "Just a few bruises on our labrador friend. Nothing some rest and a couple of ice packs won't solve."
Damon had already started sifting through a clothes drawer when he heard it had been Jack who Nomad fought. "Wait, how did you get him riled up enough for a fight?"
"He had been wanting to ever since our little miscommunication. Seeing me take down his friend like that… actually, I'd be more inclined to say they see each other like brothers. Anyway, you've seen how bad grudges can be. Shit, you know I still have mine."
The medic began laying out a black outfit with a long sleeve and joggers. "You say that like we don't share it."
"I don't know." He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall on the far side of the room. His teeth started to gnash on his cheek. "I could feel it in most of the rest of the company, but you… you have always felt so level-headed. Not that it's a bad thing of course. It made you the team leader for a lot of our exercises."
Damon wanted to be mad. He wanted to somehow prove that his blood still boiled when he thought about what had been done to them, but it just didn't. "Guess I just hide it better." He said and shrugged.
"Yeah." This seemed to appease Nomad, his eyes now going over the outfit his brother would likely steal. "Trying out a new look?"
"Planning on taking an outing." Damon said as he reached under the bed to pull out faux leather gloves, a balaclava, and a pair of sunglasses. Items they had purchased for just such an occasion.
His counterpart put his hand over his mouth and feigned a shocked expression. "My goodness, don't tell me you are going to head out without checking in with the Lieutenant Commander. I should report you right now."
"You probably should, but you're not going to."
"Why's that?"
"Because I will offer you my help with… the thing."
Nomad narrowed his gaze and pushed himself off the wall with his foot. "You said you'd never help me with… the thing."
"That's because the thing is a very stupid idea. It will most definitely get us in a shitload of trouble, but it is definitely worth a few favors if you still insist on going through with it when the time comes." The Spartan was so confident in the negotiation that he was already putting the outfit on. "Not to mention we could probably get Ana in on it too."
"How do we do that?"
Damon slid the gloves on, flexing his grip to make sure he had the mobility he needed. "You know she loves to tinker. She'll probably flat-out deny us at first, but the opportunity to get her hands greasy will be too much of a draw."
Nomad just nodded in agreement. "You know people too well."
"So here's the final deal. Outfits whenever I need them and no blatant exposure. I won't ask you to lie for me, just try and sidestep wherever you can." Damon pulled the dark mask on, adjusting it so that the eye holes were properly lined up.
"What are you even going to do out there? Someone has to know in case you miss a check-in."
The medic finally slipped the shades on, covering the last bit of skin. "I'm going to get a job."
"That is…"
"Weird? Yes, I know. I am just going a little stir-crazy here on campus. I'm not getting that tension anymore, so I know the implant is working." He scratched the dry-fit material on his chin, trying to decide whether or not to bring up what happened on the roof. Whatever. "It may also have something to do with me seeing that deer laying it into the gardening club rabbit."
Damon turned his head to Nomad after he finished. They stared at each other in an uncanny silence. Damon's face was only black material. Nomad had no discernible change in expression but broke the quiet after a few seconds.
"Guess that makes her the cheapest prostitute I've ever known."
Damon cocked his head. "How so?"
"She's under a buck."
The medic straightened his head back up. Another instance of silence followed before Damon decided to respond. "I wish you had gotten glassed."
This brought a morbid grin to the other twin's face. "Same."
Damon made the signal for a smile on his balaclava. "Try not to assault any more of our friends while I'm out." He said as he left the room.
"No promises."
Leaving campus wasn't much of an issue. There was a forest that spanned the backside hill of the campus close to the dorms. A short leap from his bedroom window landed him in the treetops. From there he utilized his agility and speed to keep shrouded in the canopy as the sun went down. One last vault over the academy's fence and the Spartan was free to roam. He took one last precaution, pulling out a small spritzing bottle from his pocket. Using some peroxide, distilled water, and some baking soda he had made some DIY scent blocker. With any luck, nobody would notice the human's smell, or at least be able to discern it from any other ape.
Damon scrolled through an online 'Help Wanted' page on his burner phone. He had taken a page out of Ana's technical playbook, programming his actual phone to forward any messages and calls to the one he currently carried. It offered a way for him to keep in touch while not exposing his true location to his commanding officer.
Damon, is this how far you've fallen? Undermining your superior to work a part-time job? He had to admit it was one of his less than well thought out ideas, but he just needed something to do after school that wasn't so damn awkward or drama-filled. The young man was genuinely glad that he had helped a relationship prosper, but it was still just too weird to even be around.
One job description caught his eye. Wanted: Large Carnivore/Herbivore for Loading and Unloading Construction Supply. No Prior Work Experience Required. Apply On-Site.It then had an address for an area uptown that was primarily residential. Too far to walk conveniently. The train ride would be around twenty minutes. Guess I'm buying a pass.
After he'd purchased a yearly pass and made his way into the underground, he found the line that ran close to his destination. He was going to sit in a large animal seat until a pregnant hippo stepped aboard, or, at least he thought she was pregnant. Regardless he opted to stand, the courtesy greeted with a smile and thanks. The next stop only brought on more creatures from almost every mammal genus he could think of. It got cramped quickly. Probably the end of the work day for all the daytime animals. A short wallaby that was standing next to the massive black form took a curious sniff, not thinking the creature would notice. He immediately got a confused look on his face. Damon caught him out of the corner of his eye and grinned a little at his befuddlement. Guess that scent block I whipped up is working well enough.
A great mass of the animals poured out at his stop, so he followed along. Rising out of the underground, he found himself amongst much shorter buildings, the max height now being around three stories tall. Some had little decorations such as plants and banners. He continued to follow the directions in the ad until he heard the sounds of beeping, thudding, and instructional yelling. Passing by a plastic-covered fence, he entered through a gate that had track marks in the dirt below. He scanned around until he found the foreman's shack and let himself in.
A bald bonobo was behind a computer, carefully inspecting a spreadsheet when a huge dark shape plodded into the trailer. "Can I help you?"
The black cloaked Spartan turned to the voice and nodded. "I saw the job ad online. You were looking for large species." Damon just realized there was no way he could use his real name. He decided to use a word from an old language his father spoke. "I'm Zuya."
"Right. Good to have you stop by Zuya. I'm Ouvier, the Head Foreman of the site here. Please come and take a seat. The interview is not too long. As you probably already know, the position is simple and does not require a formal education. Just need a quick background check."
Damon had just placed a hand on the chair across from the foreman when he stopped. "Uh… background check?"
"Yes… a background check." He said slowly, his suspicions now rising from the apprehensive reaction from the creature. The bonobo looked the hulking newcomer up and down, trying to pick out any defining characteristics. "What species are you?"
The young man manifested a lie on the spot. "I'm a hybrid. Mother was a gorilla, and father was a chimp. They… passed here recently. I was never registered, so I got my hopes up when I saw this job didn't need any prior experience."
The foreman studied him for a moment longer before he let out a sigh of sympathy. "That's a tough break, my boy. I got to ask though, why the getup?" He asked, hand gesturing to the void of color.
"Same reason my parents aren't around. Car accident. I got burnt bad. Hair never came back right. Most of the money that I would have inherited went straight to medical bills." Who are you? You're lying like Nomad.
A hand lifted from the foreman's computer, coming to rest on the top of his clean scalp. When he spoke again, there was a slight shakiness to his voice. "You have my sympathies. I can start you today. We've got a shipment that just came in. They're likely working on it now. I can pay you under the table bi-weekly. Take a blank clock-in ticket and make a dash where the name is, then punch once when you come in and again when you leave. I'll tally it up."
"Yes sir." The Spartan said, almost in disbelief that he was pulling this off.
"Alright. Go see the Komodo Dragon outside, he's the supervisor of the heavy lifting here. Be sure to let me know if there is anything else I can do. We Great Apes have to stick together in this world of fanged snouts and claws. Don't let it get you down my boy." The foreman then returned his attention to the computer.
Damon spun about to make his way to the door, spotting the clock-in station on the wall. He grabbed one of the tickets and did as he was instructed, clocking in for the day. Once he was out of the trailer, he let out a sigh of relief, glad the bonobo had bought it. He then started scanning the work yard, looking for the reptile that was mentioned. It would have been hard not to notice the beast.
"Holy shit." He said under his breath in English. The dragon was carrying a three-meter-long steel I-beam… by himself on his shoulder like it was nothing. He had seen diagrams of the shorter buildings before in his arithmetic class, having to plug in variables such as thickness, length, and width to determine the final weight. If he had to guess, the steel looked like a medium width and thickness, making it around 95 kilos a meter or nearly 300 for the full thing. He silently waited for the lizard to stand the piece upright in its cement slot. The scaly carnivore dusted his hands off before smiling, obviously happy with his work.
Instead of speaking to the worker directly, Damon chose to clear his throat to announce his presence. Haven't been this nervous since I first met Commander Ambrose. Something about the kind but experienced face of the lizard reminded him of the officer. "Excuse me, sir. I was told by the foreman to speak to you for instruction.'
"Oh? Oh! You must be a new helping hand. Follow me and I'll show you around. I am Gosha, or Old Man if that suits you better." He laughed warmly as he started to stride back to the flatbed with all of the materials, not offering a handshake.
"Zuya. Pleasure to meet you, sir."
"Likewise." On his way, the old man started listing off all the names of Zuya's new coworkers. The ratio of carnivores to herbivores seemed to be around equal, but the majority were all large sized and not a single one was an avian. "We have a solid team here, Zuya. I'm sure you'll fit in just fine. Oh, and before I forget." Gosha did a little jog over to a tool station, dropping to a crouch and opening a drawer. He retrieved a yellow dome and returned to the Spartan. "Safety first. Now most of the new shipment is just steel, so I'll call over another worker to give you a hand for buddy carries."
Damon twisted a knob to fit the helmet properly to his head. "Thank you, sir, but respectfully I believe I can do it on my own." The black clad creature walked up the cargo ramp and found the center of one of the beams. He then lifted it by the top of the "I" and rolled it onto his shoulder. While it was quite more than he ever carried regularly, it was not the most he'd ever had to before.
This made the lizard chuckle as he carefully passed by the Spartan to grab a beam himself. He talked casually from behind the newcomer as they made their way to the new ground floor of the building. "Young and strong. Looks like the foreman has already got my replacement ready." His tone had no indication of offense, and if he was put off by Damon's outfit, he sure hid it well.
The obscured medic did just as he'd seen the dragon do, putting his beam in place. "I'm just here for a little while. I'll be out of your, uh, scales before long."
"In that case, I guess I better keep going strong in the meantime." He said with a uniquely calming grin. Something about the dragon seemed familiar to Damon. Those eyes. I could swear I'd seen them somewhere before. He just dismissed the thought and got back to work.
Gosha got in line behind Damon as they moved to clock out. The sun had long gone down and the nocturnal crew had clocked in. He noticed that the reptile gave him a lot of space, and the animals that got behind him did the same. Huh, that's odd.
Once he was done, the Spartan checked his phone. One new message from his brother assumed the newly employed of the two would not be joining them for dinner anytime soon. In turn, he had told everyone that this would be the new arrangement from now on as there had been a schedule change. Not being entirely a lie was good enough for Damon. He put the phone away and started to head back to the metro stop. As he moved along with a couple of other workers, he got the feeling that he was being watched. It went away as soon as he went into the underground, but it was alarming nonetheless.
After stepping off at a stop near Cherryton, the medic made sure he wasn't being watched as he slipped into the same forest he'd snuck out from. He had grown a small smile when he thought about how he probably looked like a ninja right now, but it was quickly wiped from his face when he heard a voice from closer to campus. The Spartan immediately climbed up a trunk closest to him and wrapped himself around a sturdy branch. Twigs snapped, leaves rustled, and the voice grew louder as the person approached. He knew he'd heard the light and nervous voice somewhere before. He ruled out it being a carnivore, but it only made sense when it turned out the voice was only talking to himself.
"Calm down. You've already written the note. The hardest part is over right? Now you got to give it to her. You don't even really need to say anything. Hand it over and… Wait, no. She'd probably think that's weird to just receive a random letter and not say anything. Oh man, how does anyone even do this? Maybe… maybe it's just timing? Okay, that's good. I'll find the perfect time to tell her."
The black lump hanging from the tree rolled his eyes as he was forced to listen to the monologue. Oh fuck me, another star-crossed lover. There is no way in hell I'm helping another animal secure a roll in the hay.
"But when? And where? We hardly ever meet outside of the club. Even then we barely talk beyond a greeting. I wish I could get you out of my head, but you're just so beautiful. I've never seen anyone like you."
When did I drop into a damn romantic drama? If this is what human teens were like planetside I probably would have dropped out to join the Corps.
"Your radiant flowing hair and beautiful snowy skin."
Wait what…
"Oh Ana, I wish I was a human too."
WHAT THE FU-
Damon's phone started to ring, a catchy little jingle cut through the night, and a mortified alpaca turned to the sound. Immediately, Tem gave into his prey instincts and turned tail to sprint off back to the school. The young man, no longer having any reason to hide, dropped from the tree and answered.
"Hey man, heading to bed. You back from getting your snack yet?" Nomad asked, obviously just looking for a plausible reason to check-in.
He answered back in a hushed voice as he quickly flanked around to the carnivore dorms. "Almost. Ran across a student from Drama Club and, apparently, Ana's got a secret admirer."
"Oh, that's perfect."
Damon checked around him as he sprinted from the trees to the shadow of the first building. "How so?"
"Because now I've got the ammunition I want."
The medic shook his head as he stopped at the balcony a few stories below his room. "Alright then, try not to waste it all on something stupid like you usually do. Heading to bed now too. Night."
"Night."
Damon put his phone away, this time setting it to silent mode as he scaled the side of the building. After a few leaps, he clambered through his window and closed it behind him. He stretched his body back and forth a few times, hearing a few bones pop from the releasing pressure. It had been a long day. A shower and some sleep sounded pretty good about now.