The cold, crisp night air hung heavy over Cherryton Academy as the moonlight cast long shadows across the empty courtyard. Legosi stood at the edge of the school grounds, his tall frame barely visible beneath the flickering streetlamp. He hadn't meant to find himself here, not so late, not so alone—but after the long day of rehearsals and awkward conversations with Haru, he needed space to breathe, to think.
His hands slipped into the pockets of his coat as he stared off into the distance, his mind racing with a million thoughts that refused to quiet. Everything felt tangled, chaotic—his fight with Riz, his complicated relationship with Louis, and the way Haru had looked at him, her voice filled with uncertainty.
The events of the past week played on an endless loop in his head, but one moment stood out more than the rest—the moment he had crossed a line with Louis. That raw, primal connection they had forged during the fight, when Louis had pushed him to unleash his carnivore instincts, wasn't something that could be undone. It wasn't just about survival anymore—it was something deeper, more confusing, and Legosi wasn't sure what to make of it.
He let out a sigh, watching the cloud of his breath dissipate into the cool night air. How had things gotten so complicated?
A soft rustle behind him snapped Legosi out of his thoughts. His sharp ears perked up as his eyes darted toward the sound, his body instinctively tensing. It was rare for anyone to be out this late, especially near the edge of the campus. He turned slightly, his senses on high alert, only to relax when a familiar figure stepped into view.
Louis.
The deer approached slowly, his steps deliberate, the sound of his hooves muffled by the soft earth beneath him. His usually pristine uniform was slightly disheveled, and the hard lines of his face were softened by the faint glow of the streetlamp. He stopped a few feet away from Legosi, his crimson eyes studying the wolf with an intensity that made Legosi's heart race.
"Louis," Legosi said, his voice low but tinged with surprise. He hadn't expected to see him here, not after their brief conversation earlier. "What are you doing out here?"
Louis didn't answer immediately. Instead, he stood in silence for a moment, his gaze never leaving Legosi's. The night felt heavier with him here, as if the air itself had thickened with the weight of things left unsaid.
"I could ask you the same thing," Louis finally replied, his voice cool and measured. He stepped closer, his eyes narrowing slightly. "What's been on your mind, Legosi?"
Legosi hesitated, unsure of how to answer. His eyes flicked down to the ground, unable to hold Louis's gaze any longer. "I don't know," he muttered. "A lot of things. Everything, really."
Louis crossed his arms, his posture relaxed but his tone firm. "You're still thinking about what happened, aren't you?"
Legosi nodded, his large hands tightening in his pockets. "Yeah. I can't stop thinking about it. The fight with Riz… and what you made me do. It felt… different."
Louis's expression remained impassive, but there was something in his eyes—a flicker of understanding, perhaps, or maybe it was something else entirely. He took another step forward, close enough that Legosi could feel the warmth of his body in the cold night air. "You unleashed your true potential that night," Louis said, his voice steady. "I pushed you because I knew you could handle it. You had to."
"But it wasn't just that," Legosi said, his voice growing quieter. He dared to glance up at Louis, his gray eyes filled with uncertainty. "It felt like something more. Between us."
Louis's jaw clenched ever so slightly, though he maintained his composure. The silence between them stretched out, thick and heavy, as the reality of Legosi's words hung in the air. Louis had known this moment would come—had known that Legosi, ever the sensitive one, would try to make sense of what had passed between them. But even now, standing under the pale moonlight, Louis wasn't ready to give it a name.
"There's no point in overthinking it, Legosi," Louis said, his voice calm but with a hint of finality. "What happened was necessary. Nothing more."
Legosi's chest tightened, disappointment settling in his bones. He wanted to believe Louis, to take his words at face value, but the connection they had shared—the intensity of it—was too strong to be dismissed so easily. His heart ached with the weight of the unspoken truth between them.
"I know you don't want to talk about it," Legosi murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. "But I can't just ignore it. It changed something in me."
Louis's eyes flickered with something—an emotion too fleeting to catch—before he turned his gaze toward the darkened horizon. His shoulders were tense, his usually confident stance faltering for just a moment. "We all change," he said quietly. "But some things need to stay where they belong."
The words hung in the air like a cold wind, chilling Legosi to the core. He wanted to push further, to make Louis understand what he was feeling, but the deer had already begun to retreat, both physically and emotionally. Louis's back was straight, his eyes distant as if he had already moved on from the conversation.
"Louis…" Legosi began, but the words caught in his throat.
Louis turned, his expression unreadable, his crimson eyes locking onto Legosi's. For a brief second, something flashed between them—a moment of understanding, of connection—but it vanished just as quickly as it had appeared.
"Get some rest, Legosi," Louis said, his voice firm but not unkind. "Tomorrow is another day. We have work to do."
And with that, Louis turned on his heel and disappeared into the shadows, leaving Legosi standing alone under the flickering streetlamp, his heart heavy and his mind racing with questions that had no easy answers.
Legosi stood in the cold night air for a long time after Louis had left, his mind swirling with thoughts he couldn't untangle. The deer's words, as always, were calm, measured, and final—but they left an emptiness inside him that gnawed at his gut. He turned and headed back to his dorm, his large paws crunching softly on the gravel path, his ears twitching in time with the distant sounds of the night.
The dormitory was quiet when he arrived, the rest of the students already asleep or quietly winding down from the day. Legosi moved through the dim hallways in silence, the shadows of the night following him like a weight he couldn't shake. He climbed into bed, pulling the thin blanket over his body, but even as he lay down, his thoughts wouldn't settle.
Louis's face, his touch, the way his breath had felt against Legosi's skin that night—it was all too vivid, too fresh in his mind. He could still feel the heat of it, the way Louis had pushed him to the edge of his instincts. Legosi turned over, staring at the ceiling, willing himself to sleep. But when his eyes finally drifted closed, his dreams were anything but peaceful.
In his dream, Legosi found himself standing in the Black Market district once again, the same eerie moonlight casting its pale glow over the deserted streets. The air was thick with tension, the kind that made his fur prickle and his instincts come alive. He looked around, confused at first, trying to make sense of why he was here.
And then, from the shadows, Louis appeared.
The deer moved toward him, his eyes glowing with the same intensity they had that night. His movements were slow, deliberate, like a predator stalking its prey. But there was no malice in his gaze—only something deep, something that made Legosi's heart race.
"Legosi," Louis said softly, his voice smooth and commanding. "You know why I'm here."
Legosi swallowed, his body tensing with a mix of anticipation and confusion. "Louis… I—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Louis was in front of him, his hand reaching out to gently cup Legosi's cheek. The touch was electric, sending a shiver down Legosi's spine. Louis's fingers were firm but tender, his presence overwhelming as he stepped closer, their bodies almost touching.
"You can't deny what we shared," Louis whispered, his breath hot against Legosi's ear. "You felt it too. The power, the connection."
Legosi's heart pounded in his chest, his body reacting instinctively to Louis's closeness. He could feel the heat between them, the intensity of Louis's gaze drawing him in. He wanted to say something, to respond, but the words wouldn't come. All he could do was lean into the touch, his eyes closing as he let himself be swept away by the moment.
Louis's hand slid down Legosi's neck, his touch trailing fire across his fur. The sensation was intoxicating, and Legosi's breath hitched as Louis's fingers moved lower, tracing the lines of his chest. It was like nothing he had ever felt before—raw, primal, and overwhelming.
But then, something shifted.
The warmth of Louis's touch began to fade, replaced by a cold, unsettling sensation. Legosi's eyes snapped open, and suddenly, he wasn't alone with Louis anymore. Haru stood a few feet away, watching them with an expression that sent a chill through his body.
"Haru?" Legosi whispered, his voice thick with confusion. He stepped back from Louis, his heart racing for a different reason now.
Haru's eyes were soft, but there was something sharp beneath the surface, something that made Legosi's stomach twist. "Louis did it for you," she said, her voice quiet but firm. "But I'm here now."
Legosi looked between the two of them, his mind reeling. The dream had shifted, and with it, the intensity he had felt moments ago dissolved into something far more complicated. Haru took a step closer, her small frame casting a long shadow in the eerie moonlight. Her eyes held something unreadable—something that made Legosi's fur stand on end.
"Haru, I—" Legosi started, but she cut him off with a soft smile.
"You don't have to explain, Legosi," Haru said, her voice gentle but unnervingly calm. "I've always known. Louis did what he had to. But he's not what you need. I am."
The words sent a shockwave through Legosi's chest. Haru's presence, usually comforting, felt strange here in this dreamscape. Her voice, though sweet, had an edge to it that made Legosi feel trapped. He looked back at Louis, but the deer's expression had shifted too—no longer commanding, but distant, detached.
"What are you saying, Haru?" Legosi asked, his voice barely a whisper. He took a step back, his body tense, his instincts screaming that something wasn't right.
Haru's smile widened, but it didn't reach her eyes. "You've always tried to protect me, haven't you, Legosi? But I don't need protection. I need you. You and I—we belong together."
Legosi's heart raced, confusion and fear battling for control. He felt Haru's presence looming closer, her words wrapping around him like a snare. He tried to back away, but the space around him seemed to shrink, the shadows growing longer, darker.
Louis, who had been so close moments ago, now felt like a ghost in the distance, watching but not intervening. The warmth he had provided was gone, leaving Legosi cold and vulnerable under Haru's gaze.
"Haru…" Legosi's voice trembled, the dreamscape warping around him. "This… this isn't right."
But Haru stepped closer still, her small hand reaching out to touch his arm. The touch was gentle, familiar, but it sent a jolt through Legosi's body like an electric shock.
"Isn't it?" she whispered, her voice filled with a strange kind of certainty. "You can't deny me, Legosi. You never could."
Legosi's heart pounded violently in his chest, the weight of her words pressing down on him like an invisible force. The shadows seemed to swirl around them, thickening, suffocating, as Haru's small figure grew more imposing in the dim light. Her hand, still resting on his arm, felt heavier now, almost like a shackle binding him in place.
"I... I don't understand," Legosi stammered, his breath coming in short gasps. His eyes darted to Louis, who stood farther away now, his figure fading into the background like a phantom—silent, watching, offering no help. Legosi's mind screamed at him to move, to break free from whatever strange hold this dream had on him, but his body wouldn't listen.
Haru's grip tightened, her fingers digging into his fur, and Legosi flinched, the sensation both familiar and foreign. Her voice, once so sweet and soft, now carried an undercurrent of something dark, something possessive. "You don't need to understand, Legosi," she said, her tone laced with an unsettling calm. "You just need to accept it. Acceptme."
The darkness around them thickened, closing in like a living thing, wrapping around Legosi's limbs and chest. His breathing became ragged, his vision blurring as he struggled to make sense of what was happening. It was as if the world was collapsing around him, the shadows swallowing up the space between him and Haru, between him and Louis. He couldn't move—he couldn't breathe.
"Haru, please…" Legosi's voice was hoarse, barely a whisper. His heart raced faster, a panic rising in his chest that he couldn't control. The air felt thick and suffocating, the weight of Haru's presence crushing him under its intensity.
She leaned in closer, her breath hot against his fur, her voice a chilling whisper in his ear. "You can't run from this, Legosi. You can't run fromme."
Legosi's pulse roared in his ears, his entire body trembling with fear and confusion. The walls of the dreamscape seemed to close in around him, the shadows pulling him down into the suffocating dark. His mind screamed at him to wake up, to escape, but the harder he tried, the deeper he seemed to sink.
And then, just as the darkness threatened to consume him completely, Legosi's body jolted violently.
He awoke with a gasp, his eyes flying open as he shot upright in bed, his heart thudding painfully in his chest. His breath came in quick, shallow bursts, and his entire body was drenched in sweat, his fur matted and damp. The room was dark, but the familiar sight of his dormitory offered little comfort. The dream still clung to him like a heavy fog, his mind reeling from the intensity of it.
For a moment, he just sat there, breathing hard, his wide eyes scanning the room as if expecting Haru or Louis to materialize from the shadows. But there was nothing—only the faint sounds of the night and the steady rhythm of his heartbeat, slowly beginning to calm.
Legosi's large hands trembled as he ran them through his damp fur, his mind racing to catch up with the reality around him. It was just a dream—a twisted, vivid nightmare. But it had felt so real, the weight of Haru's voice, the pressure of her touch. And the way Louis had just... faded away.
Legosi swung his legs over the side of the bed, his large feet touching the cool floor as he sat there for a moment, trying to ground himself in the present. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, his body still trembling from the aftershocks of the nightmare. His tail swished nervously behind him, betraying the lingering anxiety he couldn't quite shake.
Why had Haru's presence in the dream been so unsettling? Why had it felt like she was trying to take something from him? And why had Louis been so distant, so unreachable? The questions buzzed in his mind, but no answers came. Only the uneasy feeling that something between him and both Haru and Louis was changing, something deep that he couldn't yet understand.
He stood slowly, his body feeling heavy with exhaustion despite the adrenaline still coursing through his veins. His eyes darted toward the window, where the moonlight cast a faint glow over the room. The world outside seemed so calm, so different from the storm raging inside him.
But even as he stood there, staring out at the quiet world beyond the glass, the lingering whisper of Haru's voice echoed in his ears, soft and insistent.
"You can't run from me."
Chapters posted one day early on our non-profit writing group blog dedicated to making audioworks & writing on a schedule (writers receive no profit from any works) at (fictioneers)(.thinkific)(.comm)(/pages/blog) - remove the second m in comm.
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"Just follow my lead, big guy. You've got more fire in you than you realize. Let it out."
The scene began. Pina's voice cut through the silence, sharp and taunting, as he played his character's part with ease. His movements were fluid, his gestures confident. He circled Legosi like a predator toying with its prey, his words laced with venom.
But Legosi struggled. His voice was shaky, uncertain, and his movements felt clumsy under the weight of everyone's gaze. His mind raced with thoughts of failure, his body tense as he tried to keep up with Pina's performance.
Pina, sensing Legosi's hesitation, pushed harder, his voice growing more intense, more biting. "Come on, Legosi," he hissed through gritted teeth, his eyes gleaming with challenge. "Is that all you've got? Where's that fire I saw back when you took down Riz? Where's that wolf inside you?"
