Side Story Ch 5: A Pup No More
Louis! The deer who was revered as the school king. The herbivore who stood among carnivores with his strength. More importantly, he was the only student that Legosi had respected and looked up to before his life had changed so much. Louis was all these things and more until he fell off the face of the earth. Now, this titan of an animal was standing right before the wolf in the most desolate place to ever exist.
Legosi was mere steps away from him, yet all he could was stand there. He just stared at his former upperclassman.
"Yo!" Bill called out while he shook the wolf by his shoulder. "Dude! Louis is right there, go say something!"
Legosi remained silent as he continued watching Louis who was walking away. It was as if the shock of seeing him caused his mind to shut down.
Bill waved his hand in front of the wolf's face hoping for a response. He got nothing of course and so he decided to take action himself.
"HEY, RICH BOY! WHAT THE HELL YOU DOING HERE?!" the tiger yelled out as he ran over to the red deer.
Louis stopped in his tracks as his ears jumped up. He turned around and was immediately met with a large tiger grabbing his arm and dragging him toward an equally large wolf.
"What the hell?" the red deer said in surprise. "Bill, w-what are you doing here?"
He looked forward. "And what the hell is he doing here?"
"Long story, but that's not the issue here," Bill answered.
He let go of the herbivore's hand after they stopped right in front of the still paralyzed Legosi.
"The issue here is that you went MIA with no explanation at all," the tiger explained.
He looked at his investigation partner. "Right Legosi?"
Legosi once again didn't answer. He simply remained catatonic.
"Ok dude, you're freaking me out!" Bill stated.
Louis walked over to Legosi, snapped his fingers in front of the wolf's face, but that didn't work either. "Ok, I was wondering what you guys are doing here but now I'm wondering if the mutt's alright."
Louis walked to the side of him to see if Legosi was at least coherent and to his surprise, the grey canine moved his head to follow him.
"Whoa, he finally moved," Bill said in surprise. "Hey man, glad to see you're good. I started to get worried I'd lost my partner."
Legosi didn't respond, he just kept his gaze fixated on Louis. However, his facial expression began to change. Rather than a look of shock, he made a more intimidating face as his stare became more intense.
"Um… Legosi?" Louis said as he took a step back, causing the wolf to take a step forward. "W-what is up with you?"
"OH!" Bill said, implying he realized what was going on. "This is a carnivore thing. When you meet eyes with one we tend to stare back at you, and we do it more intensely"
"Trust me, I know," Louis responded. "It's the opposite for herbivores. When we meet eyes with someone, our instincts tell us to look away or pretend we're looking past them as if there is something behind them. That way when they look back, we can leave."
The deer shook his head. "Legosi must have been in such a catatonic state that his instincts must've taken over.
"Let's test that!" Bill said cheerfully. He grabbed Louis's torso and lifted him up.
"Hey, what the hell are you-"
"Trust me, this will be hilarious," the tiger answered.
Bill moved to the left with Louis in hand, causing Legosi to move his head to the left. The large cat then moved to the right and as expected, the wolf followed, making sure he didn't break eye contact with Louis.
"Hahahaha! Oh man, this is hilarious," Bill laughed.
"I'm glad you're having fun," Louis said sarcastically. "Now can you put me down, Legosi is really starting to creep me out. I try to look away, but he won't let me."
"Fine," the tiger said in a disappointed tone. "Way to ruin my fun."
He put Louis down, he then widened his eyes as he watched Legosi move closer to the red deer.
Louis tried to step back again, but Legosi picked him up before he could. Legosi then put the herbivore over his shoulder and then sprinted off to the entrance which was still close by, leaving Bill behind.
"HEY!" the tiger shouted. He ran at full speed, hoping to catch up to his two friends. "Seriously dude, you gotta stop doing that," he said after catching up with Legosi who was standing over by the entrance alongside Louis.
"Mind telling what the heck that was about?" Louis asked.
"Sorry Louis, I just… I just felt like I needed to do that," Legosi responded, surprising his two friends.
"Finally!" Bill sighed. "What happened bro, why were you so spaced out? I get that seeing rich boy here was a shock, but you were completely out of it."
"I know, and I'm sorry," Legosi responded. "I actually heard and saw everything you guys were saying and doing, but for some reason I couldn't speak."
He looked at Louis. "Louis, when I saw you, I don't know, it was like I just… shut down. I had all these emotions that just kind of… came out all at once and I didn't know how to react."
"Oh, like what?" Louis said in concern.
"Relief, happiness, sadness, anger, confusion, and so many others. I mean, you just left everyone out of nowhere. The last time I saw you was when I went to rescue Jack and… it wasn't like we left things off on a high note. So when you left I… I felt so much regret because the last thing I said to you was that I hated you and that I could no longer count on you," Legosi explained.
Louis let out a sigh. "It's alright Legosi, I've known for a while I was in the wrong at the time. Truth is, I was wrong about many things in regards to this society."
"What do you mean by that?" Bill asked.
"As much as I'd like to explain, this isn't a good place to talk. We were lucky that no one was around to see us when you guys grabbed me and we're even luckier that there aren't any carnivores coming this way," the deer said as he looked around. "However, I doubt that will be the case for very soon. I suggest you two come with me so that we can discuss this further."
Legosi nodded. "Of course Louis, but can you tell us where we're going?"
Louis turned back to the black market as he crossed his arms. "I guess you can say, it's where I've been staying since I… disappeared."
"And let me guess, we'll have to go through there to get to it right?" Bills asked sarcastically.
The herbivore let out another sigh. "Yes, it's where I was headed before running into you two. That being said, it isn't safe to go through there anymore. I was trying to get through quickly before anyone saw me, but because we wasted so much time here, the market place is sure to be filled with carnivores now."
Louis looked up. "It's also gotten pretty dark so there will be areas that are pitch black. Unlike you two, I'm not a nocturnal so I won't be able to see a thing."
"Got that right," the tiger responded. "Even in the parts of the market that are lit, visibility is still a challenge for animals that aren't good in the dark."
Louis let out a small laugh. "Spoken like someone who's come here before."
Bill put his hands up, "Whoa, before you go accusing me of anything, I want to clarify that I've only been here three other times. The first time was when we got lost during the club trip and even then we only stayed at the entrance. The second time was when I came here to check the place out on my own because I was curious about what the market place was like. It was honestly a lot friendlier than I thought, but I swear I didn't buy anything."
"But what about the third time?" Legosi asked.
"Oh, well a friend of mine told me that there were these guys selling some kind of energy drink or something, but when I came to buy some it didn't smell right so I dumped it and went home. I don't know what was in that drink, but the artificial smell coming from it was so strong that I knew there had to be something in it that they wanted to hide. What that something was, I couldn't tell you," Bill explained.
"You made the right decision Bill," Louis said, surprising the two carnivores in the process. "That group that was selling the drink were part of a gang that was trying to get the younger carnivores to become addicts."
"Addicts?" Legosi said in surprise.
"I'll explain more after we get out of here," the red deer responded.
"Alright, so how do we do that?" the wolf asked.
Louis brought a hand to his chin. "We'll have to go around the market by leaving the area entirely and going through a different neighborhood. It'll be a bit of a walk, but giving the alternative it's definitely the safer option. Most of the animals that live there are either out and about or in their homes this time of night, so there shouldn't be any trouble for us."
"Awesome! Lead the way," Bill said cheerfully.
The three walked off, leaving the entrance behind them as they ventured forth to see Louis' new home.
The three former classmates walked for about twenty minutes when they finally arrived at the neighborhood that Louis mentioned. As the smaller animal said, the streets were more or less empty with only a few animals either just hanging around, talking to each other, or talking on their cellphones. What made it safe was the fact that there were plenty of street lights that kept the sidewalks clear and well lit, the exact opposite of the black market.
As they walked through the city blocks, waving and greeting the small groups of various animals, Legosi and Bill couldn't stop wondering about this place Louis was talking about.
What was it like, who was living there with him, if anyone at all, and why did he choose to stay there instead of coming back to school? They were also concerned about what Louis said about being wrong about their society. Was it the reason why he left, did he figure this out after he left, or was there something more to it? These questions lingered in the carnivores' minds and after they gave each other a quick glance, it was clear that they were thinking about the same things.
"Hey, uh… Louis," Legosi said nervously. "Do you think you can tell us what exactly happened that made you leave school, and also tell us more about that group Bill mentioned?"
"Well, I'll start off with the easy one. The gang Bill was talking about was attempting to get young, naive carnivores, for example students, to unknowingly ingest herbivore blood… This would have a high chance of getting those carnivores addicted to the black market's products", Louis explained.
"When carnivores consume meat or blood, it triggers some sort of extreme effect. I don't know if you recall Bill, but the night you and the others came back from the city, you were irritable and a bit dazed. Initially I thought that you were just drunk, but after telling me that you ate some old guy's finger, I can safely say that is what caused it."
The red deer put a hand on his head as a look of concern covered his face. "What's worse is that thanks to you, we now have a better idea of just how bad the situation could have gotten."
Bill frowned with confusion. "Wait, why is that worse? You make it sound like I helped you."
Louis shook his head. "You did you stupid cat, but I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about how effective blood and meat is on you carnivores. You were rendered to an irritated drunken state from only ONE finger. That soda had a lot more blood in it than that. If you had actually drank it, it would have more than likely sent you into a crazed state," he explained.
Both Bill and Legosi's eyes shot wide open. They knew about meat addiction since the school often talked about it and explained it as both a kind of drug that any carnivore could very easily get hooked on, as well as a gateway substance that could cause carnivores to become violent in order to satiate their need for it. However, they didn't think it was so easy to get addicted. All it took was a soda filled with blood.
Bill especially had a hard time believing it. He didn't really think much of the warnings since he thought it was just another scare tactic that adults often made. Another reason why he thought it was nonsense was because he ate an herbivore's finger and didn't get addicted. While it was true he was feeling strange afterwards, he just brushed it off as him being pissed about the argument.
Legosi on the other hand had always believed in the dangers of eating meat and falling prey to his instincts. After all, it was one of the reasons why he was so reserved all the time.
Still, the fact that a soda of all things could be what got him was something he never considered. Then again, going off his own experiences, he had no choice but to believe the red deer's claim. For him, all it took was the mere scent of blood that would send him into a frenzy so a drink filled with the stuff could have easily become a catalyst for him.
The large canine took a deep breath and spoke, "Louis, do you know what happened to them? Were they ever arrested?"
Louis looked to the side while he put a hand on his arm. "From what I heard, it sounded like the Beastar got to them," he said in a somber tone.
Legosi tilted his head as his ear flickered. "Louis, what's wrong?"
The red deer shook his head. "It's nothing. Let's just get going, we're almost there." He walked past the two carnivores and into a nearby alleyway.
Bill then put a hand on Legosi's shoulder, causing the wolf to turn to him. "What was that about?" the tiger asked.
Legosi scratched the back of his head. "I don't know, but it might have something to do with what Gohin told us about him."
"You mean about how the Beastar hates carnivores?" the orange feline questioned.
"...Yea," Legosi said in a saddened tone, his ears folded back and his tail drooping.
He went ahead of Bill and followed Louis into the alleyway, his partner immediately followed.
The three friends continued walking, now with an uncomfortable silence filling the air. After another five minutes they finally arrived at a staircase that led up to a large building on a hill.
"Shall we?" Louis said with a smile.
The two larger animals looked at each other, then looked back at the red deer and nodded. They followed him up the stairs and upon arriving at the large entrance, they saw a lion standing in front of the japanese style doorway. He was dressed all in black, his mane was brushed back, and he had a gun holster on his right leg.
"Who's there?" the lion yelled as he pulled out the gun.
Louis walked out of the shadows and onto the dimly lit porch. "It's alright, it's just me," he answered as he waved his hand.
"Louis, it's good to see you made it back. I was honestly starting to worry," the lion said cheerfully as he lowered his firearm. He then immediately raised his gun once more and pointed it at the young carnivores behind him, more specifically Legosi. "What about those two?"
"They're with me," the young herbivore responded.
"Alright then," the adult lion answered, still holding up his gun. "The boss is waiting for you, go ahead inside.
Louis nodded and headed inside along with Bill and Legosi. As the two students started walking past the guard however, he stretched his gun arm in front of Legosi, stopping him.
"Where do you think you're going?" he asked the surprised wolf.
"Umm… I'm going inside with Louis. Is there something wrong?" Legosi asked.
Louis looked back and saw the guard giving his former underclassman a hard time. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?"
The lion turned to him. "Oh nothing. I just want to talk to your friend here."
Louis glared at him. "Crap! I should have known it would be this easy, that guy can't stand canines."
Louis was about to step in, but before he even took a step Legosi signaled to him that he would be alright.
"Don't worry Louis. You heard him, he just wants to talk to me," Legosi barked with a smile. "Go on ahead without me, I'll find you after we're done."
The lion grinned. "You heard your friend, he'll catch up with you guys later."
Louis glared at guard once more before reluctantly turning to enter the building. "Legosi, if anything happens, call for us ok?." the deer said as the door closed.
"Right," the grey wolf barked.
The two upperclassmen headed inside, leaving Legosi on his own to deal with the guard.
After the door closed, Bill started walking toward the main staircase, fully expecting Louis to do the same. As he went up the first step he turned back and saw Louis looking out the window.
"Hey, what's up?" the tiger asked as he started to double back.
Louis let out a sigh. "Bill, isn't it true that canines and felines have been at odds for centuries?"
"I guess," he answered as he tilted his head. "Honestly I never thought about that crap. I was always proud of being born a tiger, but I'd probably feel the same if I was born a canine or any other carnivore. It's for that reason that I never believed in that whole species feud thing. Same goes for my whole family really. It was just one of those things I thought was too freaken stupid to pay attention to."
"You don't pay much attention to anything do you?" Louis asked sarcastically. "Freaken moron."
"And just what is that supposed to mean you stuck up rich kid!?" Bill growled, finally arriving at the window.
The herbivore rolled his eyes. "It means that while it's great you don't believe in that bullcrap that doesn't automatically mean that others don't."
Louis pointed out the window, prompting the large cat to look. "That lion right there, the one who's currently conversing with our canine companion. He fully believes in that age-old feud and hates canines with a burning passion."
Bill looked at the guard who was clearly trying to intimidate Legosi, then turned to Louis. "And you think he's gonna try something?" the tiger laughed. "Hate to break it to ya, but our boy out there isn't the same puppy he was when you went all Houdini on us. The guy's had some serious training since then, and I should know considering I was on the wrong end of it." Bill crossed his arms and made a big toothy smile as if he was filled with pride. "The dude's finally become a real carnivore, so I can tell you that if that guard of yours tries something, he'll be in a world of hurt."
Louis raised a brow. "Wow Bill, I never thought I'd EVER hear you call Legosi of all people a real carnivore. Then again I never thought that pup would ever stand up to me."
"I know what you mean," Bill responded. "It's true I've always wanted him to have more pride as a carnivore, but he was always so meek and sheepish that I thought he was lost cause. These days however he's gotten a hell of a lot more wild and I'm blown away by how much he's changed. We've even become bro's since our fight on stage, something even I didn't think was possible. Makes me happy that I didn't do something I would have regretted like making him into a scratching post."
Louis crossed his arms. "Well you would have if Kai and I hadn't stepped in."
"Yea… I did go crazy that day," the tiger said as he looked to the side. He shook his head, "But the point is, the pup has grown up into a full fledged wolf since then and he'll clean that lion's clock."
Bill unsheathed his claws. "And if something goes wrong I'll run out there and show everyone that lions aren't all their cracked up to be!"
Outside, the lion guard wrapped his arm around Legosi while keeping his gun near the wolf's face in order to subtly intimidate him.
He kept shaking it, spinning it, and playing around with the firearm to see if he could make the large canine sweat. Legosi, who was understandably nervous, tried his best to hide his feelings while the guard continued taunting him.
Seeing this, the adult carnivore sneered, then decided to up his game. He brought his gun down and pulled Legosi's face closer to his, he then gave the wolf a small lick on the side of his face before bringing his gun back up and pressing the barrel right where he marked the young carnivore.
"Come on pup," the lion teased, "Show me how brave you are!"
Legosi was terrified, so much so that he was about to break. Before he did however, he remembered what Gohin told him during his second month of training.
"Remember Legosi," the muscular panda said in the wolf's head, "This place isn't anything like what you're used to. I know I've already explained this to you, but you still don't seem to fully understand that. So far you've been lucky because all the carnivores I've sent you to go after have either been people who you were able to talk down and convince into becoming patients of mine or guys that you only had to get a little more rough with. That however won't always be the case."
"As you know there are a lot of gangs and criminal organizations here and they aren't shy about guns. So if you ever run into someone who's packing you have to stay in control."
"No matter what they do, don't let them see you're afraid or surprised because that's how they'll know you're vulnerable. So even if you have to completely shut down, don't let them see that you're intimidated. Instead, stay calm and keep control of your emotions. If you can do that, you'll have a mental advantage over them." Gohin explained.
Having remembered the doctor's speech, Legosi took a deep breath and gave the lion a calm and collected look. The wolf even went as far as to give his assailant a small smile.
"Tch, what the hell are you smiling for you damn mutt?!" the guard growled. "You realize I can blow your freaken head off with a small flick of my finger right?"
Legosi didn't answer, he just continued showing the lion how calm he was despite the situation. It was at this point the wolf remembered the next part of his teacher's council.
"I'm glad that your training is coming along nicely. So far you've managed to stay in control of yourself despite being exposed to both the temptation of meat and the dangers of the black market." Gohin said.
He pulled out a model gun and pointed it at Legosi. "Now comes the most important part. I'm going to show you how to go about fighting someone with a firearm. I know I said that keeping calm will give you an advantage but that isn't enough. In this situation I'm still the one in control because of this, so you need to remove the element of the gun in order to gain control. Once you do, you'll be able to take the opponent down like you would anyone else. Now, let's begin."
From there, Legosi remembered the many tricks that Gohin had taught him. He remembered the various holds, the different ways to disarm someone, how to move quickly, and most importantly, how to wait and look for an opening.
"You know what kid… YOU'RE STARTING TO PISS ME OFF!" the adult carnivore yelled as he raised his gun up in order to strike the wolf with it.
This was it, the opening that Legosi needed. He quickly stepped to the side then grabbed the lion's gun arm with his right arm, then used his left palm to strike the older animal's hand causing him to drop the gun.
"GHAAA!" the lion cried.
Before the lion could react, Legosi turned his body so that the lion was behind him while still holding on to his arm. Legosi then threw the guard over his shoulder, slamming him into the ground. With that done, he turned to where the gun had landed and kicked it away as far away as he could.
Having believed he had successfully ended the fight, Legosi took a deep breath in order to calm himself down. However, he was wrong to let his guard down as the lion swept his leg, causing the wolf to fall forward onto the stone path.
He looked back and saw the lion looming over him. The lion then went in for a stomp, but Legosi rolled out of the way. He then kicked the lion's leg causing him to fall back down.
Legosi got back up on his feet as fast as he could and pulled out the kendo stick that he had been hiding all this time. As soon as he did, the lion got back up as well and unsheathed his claws, making it clear he was ready for a real fight.
Meanwhile, back inside the entrance hall Louis and Bill were watching the entire thing unfold. They were both getting nervous as the situation escalated and began to wonder if it was time to step in.
"Damn, I knew it would get bad, but I didn't think that idiot would actually draw Legosi into a fight while I was here," Louis said as he glared at the guard.
Bill brought his hand up to his chin. "What I want to know is, where did Legosi get that sword. He didn't have it the whole time I was with him."
Louis shook his head. "Actually he did. He did a good job hiding it, but I managed to spot it as we walked even while it was wrapped up in cloth. Once I saw something sticking out from underneath his backpack, I knew he must have had a weapon since I was taught to hide my stuff in a similar way."
"Wait, really?" Bill asked as he looked at the red deer in surprise.
"Of course," Louis answered. "I never brought it out since there wasn't a reason for it, but while I was at school I had a gun that my father gave me. He told me that it was something to help make sure nothing happened to me."
The tiger's eyes widened. "Wow, in all the time I knew you, I had no idea you were packing."
The young herbivore shrugged his shoulders. "Well I mean, I never really felt a need for it. It always felt like it was going too far. I admit that I did think about using it to threaten you when you were blackmailing me, but I ultimately decided against it."
Bill's ears folded back. "Oh, well… thanks for that."
Bill looked to the side, then back at Louis. "Seriously, thanks for not going through with it even though I deserved it," the tiger said sadly.
Louis looked at Bill and smiled. "You really have changed haven't you?"
Bill shook his head. "Anyway, it looks like Legosi has the advantage now."
"Yes it does, but having the advantage and keeping it are two entirely different things," the red deer explained.
"That's why I hope Bill was right when he said you've grown. If you have truly broken out of that meek shell of yours, then show it to me Legosi. Show me that you can not only survive, but that you can win, and that you can do it on your own."
Back outside Legosi took his stance and pointed his wooden sword at the lion.
"I'd prefer if we didn't do this," the wolf said sorrowfully, his ears folded back and tail drooping. "Please… just let me go so I can catch up to Louis."
The lion laughed. "Oh no no no no no no, don't try to take this chance away from me. We felines have always had a strong aversion towards you canines. We're both ferocious animals, but all you do is wag your tail, do stupid tricks, and socialize. It gets on our nerves and now I've been given the chance to kill a grey wolf, a representative canine. This is nothing short of a reward for me," he taunted.
Legosi closed his eyes. "You know… I've met so many different animals in such a short time. I've learned about them, what they do, why they do it, and honestly, I can safely say that when they did turn to violence, they did so for a reason. Even if some of those reasons were less than ideal they still had a reason."
Legosi opened his eyes and stared at the confused lion. "But you, you're driven by something so petty that I can't even bear to look at you." He then lowered his sword, showing that this isn't a fight worth having.
These words and this action were the final straw for the guard. Without any warning he lunged at the wolf and brought down his claws with the force of a meteor.
Legosi quickly jumped to the side, hoping to avoid the assault. He didn't get away unscathed however, the bottom half of his shirt was ripped to shreds in an instant.
Realizing that there was no way out of this, Legosi dashed at the lion and swung the weapon with all his might. He hit the adult carnivore in the ribs, and as his opponent gritted his teeth from the pain, Legosi spun around and elbowed the lion in the snout, knocking him back.
The lion guard refused to go down however and landed on his feet. "DAMN YOU!" he yelled. He made another sweep with his claws, this time aiming for the young canine's neck.
Legosi however, had a few of his own moves ready and used the kendo stick to force the lion's hand away from him. With this opening the wolf spun around and drove his elbow into the guard's back, causing him to spit up blood as he fell to the ground.
"Stop this! I don't want to fight with you," the grey-furred carnivore pleaded. "I don't care that canines and felines are rivals because something like that isn't worth believing in. Please… I'm just one wolf so you killing me won't do anything, especially since no one will even know about it. Just let me go be with my friends."
"SHUT UP!" the lion said as he got up. He cleaned the blood from his mouth and spoke. "You're a freaking moron if you think you're getting out of this. I am a lion, the king of all beasts, and I refuse to lose to a worthless mutt like you!"
Legosi closed his eyes as he took a deep breath. It was clear that there was no other way out of this. He opened his eyes and charged at the lion with everything had.
The lion once again made another sweep with his claws. This time however, he also went in for a bite and just like before, he aimed for the wolf's neck.
Legosi didn't falter, he kept charging forward and swung his kendo stick at the adult carnivore. He caught the lion's claws and then pushed the sword even further until it was right inside his opponent's mouth. As expected, the guard broke the wooden weapon with ease, not knowing it was just a distraction. As soon as Legosi's stick broke, he kicked his knee straight into the lion's stomach.
"GAAAH!" the big cat yelled in pain as he staggered back.
"Now's my chance!" the wolf thought.
He grabbed his enemies head and with a headbutt, he smashed the lion's nose into a bloody mess. As the older carnivore fell back onto the hard stone path, Legosi knew that it was finally over. He wiped the blood off his face and stood up triumphantly over his fallen foe.
"Alright, I'm happy that I don't have to fight with him anymore, but… was there really no other way?" Legosi said to himself as he looked down at the unconscious guard.
"Holy CRAP!" Bill yelled in amazement. "You saw that too right? Tell me you saw that!"
"Bill, I just saw my friend fight for his life against an idiotic and bigoted lion. What do you think I was watching?" Louis said sarcastically.
Louis brought his hand up to his chin. "Still, what I just witnessed was nothing short of amazing. Although that one was just a grunt, he was a trained fighter. Despite that, Legosi took him out with relative ease, the only damage he took was the tearing of his shirt."
Louis took a deep breath. "It really is just as Bill said, Legosi has had training and some pretty intense training at that given his new fighting abilities."
Just as Louis finished his thought, Legosi walked in. He looked around and saw Bill and Louis staring at him.
"Um… hi guys, I thought you went on ahead," the wolf said awkwardly.
"DUDE! That was the most badass thing I've ever seen," Bill exclaimed.
He ran at Legosi and wrapped his arms around the surprised wolf, bringing him into a tight embrace. "Seriously man, you've become such an awesome carnivore that I can't help but feel proud."
"Um, thanks," Legosi mumbled, his face turning red. "Can you let me go now?"
Louis came over and pulled Bill off. "I don't know about all that carnivore pride nonsense, but I will admit, you did quite admirably."
A gentle smile played over Louis's face. "You are most certainly not the pup I once knew."
Legosi began to blush even more, his tail visibly wagging with joy.
"HA! There you go again with the tail," Bill laughed.
Louis rolled his eyes, he then grabbed a hold of what was left of Legosi's shirt. "You might as well take this off considering it's nothing more than a few ripped pieces."
"Oh, uh… right," the wolf responded. He followed the suggestion and took off the torn rag that was once a perfectly fine article of clothing.
"Um, do… do you maybe have something else I could wear?" the large canine said with an embarrassed look on his face as he used his arms to cover up.
Louis shook his head. "It's fine Legosi, after all the time we've spent together at the club, you must realize this isn't anything new."
He looked at the wolf's newly sculpted body and placed a hand on Legosi's torso. "Beside, considering how much work it must have taken you to get this, I see no reason why you wouldn't want to show it off." Louis took his hand off. "As I said, you're no longer the meek wolf I worked with. So just consider this another proving ground for you."
Bill wrapped an arm around the blushing Legosi. "He's right bro, you worked hard, so just roll with it."
Legosi, seeing that there was no way out of this, took a deep breath and slowly brought his arms down, showing off the muscular body that he attained from training with Gohin.
"Alright, I guess I'll just try to get over another shyness of mine," the wolf said with a defeated look.
Louis smiled. "good."
"Awesome," Bill said cheerfully.
Louis walked past the two young carnivores and motioned for them to follow him up the stairs. "Come on, it's time I told you everything."
They looked at each other and nodded. They cautiously followed their former leader up, hoping that they were finally going to find the answers they seek.