The events of the Wolf Room were soon being talked by the students of Cherryton.

I mean, two carnivores going into a fist-fight into what was supposed to be a place of relaxation and peace within the school was a great thing.

A serious thing.

And things like that opened space for gossip. Soon, the story of making being knocked out and losing three teeth from a single punch turned into the story of Legoshi single-handedly beating every single male wolf of that room into a bloody pulp.

According to some, as a way of asserting his dominance as an alpha male and compensate for not being a purebred wolf.

Rumors aside, the fact that there was a fight in one of the Biology Rooms was more than enough to call the attention of the school's authorities, who had both the involved carnivores called, as well as everyone present in there, in order to get their testimonies on the events.

Maki, naturally, pinned the entire blame on the hybrid, while Legoshi only recounted the events. The other wolves of the room only retold what their remembered, what were mostly consistent stories of how Maki had come to Legoshi and ordered him to leave, and then he was punched by the hybrid, but only after Maki himself tried punching him first.

The decisive factor, however, was the testimony of a "school employee" who had witnessed the entire event and gave their testimony, which turned out to be in favor of the hybrid. Maki had, indeed, been the one to start the fight, and he had been the one to throw the first punch, while Legoshi only reacted.

In the end, both were let go with warnings. Maki was told that Legoshi had as much right to use the Wolf Room as any other of the students, and that it was not Maki's decision if he could stay there or not. Meanwhile Legoshi was told to mind his strength in the future, because he could have seriously hurt Maki, since he punched him hard enough to knock the fangs out of his mouth.

Legoshi was still sure that he had held his strength back when punching the wolf's face...

In the end, they were both told to never try and start fights again, especially on the Biology Rooms, and let go.

Maki cast one final glare at Legoshi, before going his way, with the hybrid going his own way.

And, just like that, Cherryton moved on from yet another event and life continued for everyone.

They all had more to worry about, like the upcoming Meteor Festival.

The Drama Club, in particular, was very focused on what they needed to do in order to get the show they would be making ready in time.

And two teams that were doing their best were the dance team and the stagehands.

And two members of both those teams were currently on the club's main rehearsing space, which was somewhat like a dancing studio, right now.

One of them was a certain female hybrid, who had been tasked with swiping the place. She had been doing it for while now, even as the other animal came to rehearse the dance.

She was a bit distracted to actually swipe the place with her broom. She was busy looking at her own hands, covered in fur, and thinking of how it felt when a certain animal held them.

It felt strange when he held my hands... I... felt calm... Kiira thought, and then she looked at the mirrors, seeing her own reflection in there. And he said my beak was beautiful...

The looked at her own beak. The same beak that, many times, she heard others say that didn't belonged on a face like hers'. And someone other than her mother had told her that the beak was beautiful...

"Kiira!"

The voice suddenly reminded Kiira that she was not alone in there. She looked at the person talking to her. The person whom she has known since she was a cub. The only person other than Legoshi-senpai who knew about her beak.

"Did you heard what I said?" Juno said to her friend, and Kiira was a bit bashful, saying that she was distracted. "I asked you if my dance is okay? You know, I have to dance for the festival, remember?"

Kiira nodded. In fact, she remembered that.

She remembered because she had been paying attention as Shira taught Juno and the others the choreography.

It was a nice one.

"Any problem with it?" Kiira asked.

"Yeah, I don't think I can get to get it right." Juno said, "Do you help me?"

Well, Kiira more certainly was going to do that.

Not only because Juno was her best friend, and she would do most anything for her, but also because dancing was, and has always been, a great passion of Kiira.

Asking her to dance was like asking her to eat her favorite food, and it was something she would do for free at any time.

And she was more than glad to repass the choreography with Juno. They both danced together, and Kiira showed that she was very flexible, agile and nimble on her feet. She made the whole choreography perfectly, while Juno had to struggle a little to keep up with her, but she mostly got it right by following Kiira's examples and instructions.

"Just remember to have a good time while dancing." The hybrid said to her wolf friend. "If you are enjoying yourself, then you certainly will put a good show for everyone watching you. They will see how you are glowing, and you will look even better."

Now, that could not be the advice of a professional dancer, but it was the advice of a person who loved to dance, and who had danced on her own and studied dancing by herself since she was five.

"Kiira, you dance so well." Juno said to her, a smile on her muzzle. "You should be the main dancer. You would do it so much better than me."

Kiira looked at her, and her smile left her beak.

The beak that, whenever anyone saw, only caused them discomfort and uneasiness, all because it clashed with the rest of her body.

How would they react if they saw a dancer who looked like her?

This thought was what had kept Kiira from joining the dance team of Drama Club.

"You will be better to perform than me..." Kiira said, "People will like your face better."

"Kiira!" Juno said. Once more, she put herself to defend Kiira, telling her that she was talented and an amazing person, and that anyone who said otherwise to her only because of her beak was an idiot who didn't knew her.

"Believe me, your beak is not something that gives people the right to judge you!" Juno said to her friend. "I said it many times, and I'll keep saying it! You are one of the most amazing animals I ever knew, and your beak only makes everything about you even more special!"

"That's exactly what my mom says."

"Well, she is right!" Juno said, "Kiira, you are special! That is the truth! You are sweet and kind, and you are one amazing dancer! And you never had any actual classes! You learned to dance all by yourself, and you do it like a professional! That's amazing no matter how you look at it!"

"And you know what? Your beak is beautiful!" Juno said to her, and Kiira looked at her for a few seconds, before looking down.

"Legoshi-senpai said the same thing."

"Eh?" Juno said, surprised. "Legoshi-senpai?"

Kiira then looked at Juno and, for the first time, she told Juno about the incident on her first day with Legoshi back on the storehouse.

"Kiira!" Juno said, "That's important! Why didn't you tell me!?"

Kiira looked at Juno, noticing how excited the wolf was about the subject, and then she only said that she didn't really thought of sharing it at the moment.

"And he just told you that your beak was beautiful, just like that?" Juno asked, all of a sudden being the eager teenage girl she was, wanting nothing more than to hear about her best friend's experience with a boy.

Kiira retold her experience with Legoshi to the wolf. Juno was used for hearing that Kiira was still so sad about being treated differently because of her beak, what only proved that she was still as self-conscious about herself as a hybrid as ever. However, hearing that Legoshi comforted her the best he could made a new emotion surge on her. She mentioned how romantic that was, but Kiira was quick to say that Legoshi was just doing his part as her senpai to comfort her.

"Besides, I did help him back..." Kiira said, and that caught Juno's attention.

"You remember the event of a few days ago? When Legoshi-senpai had a fight with some wolf in the Wolf Room?"

"Oh, yeah! That..." Juno said, "I heard about it. I only went toe the Wolf Room later that day, but I heard people talking about it. It seems the wolf provoked Legoshi-senpai or something, right?"

Kiira nodded, and she then told Juno of her experience following and then supporting Legoshi when he was distressed about getting int trouble due to the events of the Wolf Room, and that he was also in trouble because he discovered something about his father's past that left him disturbed, and that Kiira gave him support on both of the problems.

"And he thanked me for that after the talked to his dad..." Kiira said, "He held my hands..."

Juno gasped. Kiira didn't noticed, as she was too busy looking at her hands.

"I felt weird when he held my hands..."

"Oh, you did?" Juno asked, "I wonder why...~"

"... I think we will learn about it on the biology classes next year..." Kiira said, "I heard the older students talking about it. Something about touching an animal of the same species having a calming effect. Legoshi-senpai and I are both half-lion hybrids, so I guess that when he touched me it made me feel calmer... but, it also made me feel weird inside. Like my stomach was full of bugs or something."

"Do you mean butterflies?" Juno asked, looking at her friend.

"Hmm, yeah, I guess? I mean, butterflies are bugs, right?"

"Oh, Kiira!" Juno said, looking at the hybrid, who then looked back at her.

"What?"

"My dear friend!" Juno said, "Sometimes you can be so clueless!"

"What?" Kiira asked.

"Kiira, what you felt when Legoshi held your hands is not just some biological reaction!" The wolf said to her. "It is so, so much more!"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, that he comforted you and then complimented your beak! That is not something senpais usually do for anyone!" Juno said to her. "And then you helped him as well, making him feel better and patch things up with his dad! And then he held your hands and gave you butterflies! Kiira, I was expecting you to know that from all of the romance novels that we have both been sneaking from your mother's collection since we were thirteen!"

"Huh?" Kiira said.

"After reading so much about people finding their soulmates, you didn't notice when you found yours!" Juno finally said to Kiira, a smile on her muzzle as she looked at her. "Kiira, you fell in love and you didn't even realized!"

Kiira blinked, looking at Juno.

"I... I am... in love?"

Kiira looked down at her own hands, as Juno continued to say how romantic it was that Kiira found love like that, and how happy she was for her best friend for finally getting to know this feeling.

Kiira was only half-listening. She was too busy processing the idea of her, of all possible animals, being in love...

Are we in love?

Haru once more asked this question to herself, as she and Louis were in the middle of the deed.

She once more caught herself wondering what love could ever be.

Was it attraction? Was it just sex? Or where they only trying to relief each other's loneliness?

Was love even an actual thing? Or was it just something animals came up with to try and make screwing and humping seem like something more elegant than just two animals leading each other to orgasm?

Haru wondered that many times on her life, mostly when she was with boys and she wondered if any of them actually felt anything that was really love.

I mean, they were all loving and sweet in the beginning, but they all left as soon as they realized that she was not what they were expecting of her.

They all just played with her, had their fill and then they moved on.

All of them.

Except for Louis.

The deer continued coming to see her.

He continued coming to her. He talked to her about his grievances and about the things that bothered him. He would kiss her and hold her on his arms, and then he would take her to bed and make her feel special.

Perhaps more than the other boys she has been with ever since.

The fact that he came to her. The fact that he would look for her and search for her touch and embrace again made her feel like she was not alone. That someone actually gave a crap about her.

Even though, whenever the two of them were together, they rarely did more than trade a few words during sex, and then after.

Mostly, Louis would just rant about his problems and then take her to bed, and Haru would go along with it, giving him only the kind words she believed he wanted to her and then it would basically be it.

Then Louis would leave once more, and she would go back to her lonely routine until either Louis or another boy came there to see her.

"Relationships require work! They are not easy!... You gotta make your part to keep a relationship!"

Those words came out of her mouth as she spoke of them to Legoshi.

And they were coming back to her as she watched Louis get dressed after they were done.

"Uhhh, Louis?" Haru said, and this caused the deer to say "Hmm?" even though he was not stopping putting on his clothes.

"Would you... like to hang out later?"

This time Louis did stop and looked at her, mild surprise on his face.

"I mean, maybe we could go together to grab some ice cream, or maybe take a walk on the park?" Haru said, looking at the deer. "You know, maybe we could enjoy one of those days, it is nearing summer and the afternoons are getting so nice. It doesn't seem good to stay cooped inside in days like that."

Louis looked at her for a few moments, before sighing.

"Haru, we talked about this." The deer said, "We cannot be seen together in public. It could give rise to some unsavory rumors."

"We can go to some secluded place." Haru offered, after recovering a little from having flinched from the way Louis said that. "I know a few places around campus where the people on school don't go. Or maybe we could use a weekend to go out of school. No one would mind if they saw us in the city. No one we know, a lot of other animals around, there would be no rumors in that case, right?"

She was hopeful as she looked at Louis. She was waiting for his answer and hoping that he would say it was a good idea. However, once more, Louis once more shot the idea down.

"Haru, I have a fiancé who I am expected to marry and have children with." The deer said, repeating something that he already said to the bunny a while ago. "If any rumors about me going out on a date with another woman went around and made it to her, this could put my entire engagement in jeopardy. This is not something I can afford to let happen, once much of the future of the Horns Conglomerate hinges on my future marriage. I know you understand."

I understand that you see no problem in having fun with your side-piece behind your fiancé's back but you don't want to go out with her on a date, you jackass! Was what Haru wanted to say right to Louis face. However, she once more looked down, and said nothing on the subject.

She was, however, with a sad expression on her face, what the deer who was with her quickly noticed, and he soon was going to her, kneeling by her side and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Let's just keep things the way they are." Louis said to her. "It will be better for both of us. It will protect us from further rumors that could damage both of our images."

Haru said nothing, and she just got up and started to get dressed herself.

She didn't directly look at the deer as she got dressed. This was her way of showing that she was not happy with what she heard from Louis, even though a part of her knew that the deer is right.

Louis, on his end, only went back to putting his own clothes. Normally he would keep silent, as he knew that Haru was not on the mood for talking now. However, there was a subject that he had been wanting to talk to her for a while:

"Speaking of rumors, I heard on recently..."

He looked at the bunny.

"One regarding a certain... carnivore who has been seeing you."

Haru stopped, and then she looked over her shoulder.

"You're talking about Legoshi, aren't you?"

Louis nodded.

"I heard that he has been coming here at least two times a week for months now." Louis said to the bunny. "Not only that, but recently you two have been seen hanging out around campus. Something about him taking you for dinner?"

"What if he did?" Haru looked at him, and then she saw the subtle change on Louis' expression.

Was that jealousy?

"Haru, I know how... adventurous you are." Louis said to her. "But still, I didn't expect you to do something as dangerous as getting this involved with a carnivore."

The way he spoke made it seem as if he disapproved. Haru only looked back at her.

"Okay, I am not hearing that from the guy who is sleeping with me when he has a fiancé." Haru said, not actually feeling as if she had to say something back to the deer. And this time, she actually made Louis flinch with her words, and he seemed genuinely surprised for her saying something like that to him.

"Besides, it is not what you think." Haru said, going back to getting dressed. "He just comes to help me with the garden. He carries thinks around and helps with the heavy-lifting. That's about it."

Louis looked at her.

"I did notice that he had been leaving Drama Club earlier on certain occasions..." Louis said, and Haru confirmed that he had been coming to help her with the garden.

"And he just started helping you out of nowhere?" Louis asked, "Or, did you actively ask for his help?"

"Well, I joked about how he could help me with the garden, and he took it seriously." Haru said to the deer. "That big guy is pretty helpful."

"Yeah, that sounds like Legoshi..." Louis admitted, remembering how the hybrid has always been keen to do anything he could to help with the club, from fixing the lights to swiping the floor. "So, you two are not..."

"No, we are not." Haru said to the deer. "And, even if we were, you kind of made very clear that we are not exclusive, Mr. I-have-a-fiancé-but-don't-mind-sleeping-with-my-sidepiece."

Louis flinched once more.

Why did Haru became so incisive all of a sudden?

"I'm just worried about you." Louis said to the bunny. "Being around a carnivore for so long with no one else around can be dangerous."

"Seriously?" Haru said, looking at him. "Aren't you with carnivores all day after school? Don't come with this crap to me now. Like you said yourself, Legoshi has been coming to Gardening Club to help me two or three times a week. If he wanted to eat me, he would have done that already."

Louis was not lying. He was honestly worried about Haru's safety from being around a carnivore all day with no one else around. However, for some reason, that was making Haru mad at him.

Did she... actually care about that hybrid?

Was she... no, that could not be it. Of course, he would not put it above Legoshi to actually be interested in her, considering that both his parents and, at some point, grandparents, had decided to fool around with animals from outside of their species. However, from what Haru was telling him, it didn't seem that she had "that kind" of interest in that big carnivore.

He probably was more like a pet to her.

She was probably offering him a helping hand and kindness, just like she did back when she and Louis first met, when he was bleeding from his head from losing his horns.

"Just be careful around him." Louis said as he finished getting dressed, and so did Haru. "Consider this an advice from a friend if you want to. Sometimes, carnivores can lose control when they are alone with an herbivore, no matter how kind they are. Especially if they are hungry."

With this said, Louis opened the door to leave.

And who was right on the other side of the door if not the very same animal who they were just talking about!

"Oh!" Legoshi said in surprise. "Louis-senpai!"

Louis flinched a little bit, his herbivore instincts immediately making him weary due to suddenly bring faced with such a huge carnivore. However, he kept his composure, as always, and simply said:

"Legoshi."

"What are you doing here?" Legoshi asked to the deer, and he looked over, seeing Haru standing behind him.

"I came here to discuss some things with Miss Haru." Louis said with a professional stance. "For the Meteor Festival. She is going to have a stand in there, and I thought that it was worth having a word with her about it."

"Oh, right! The stand!" Legoshi said, "You still want my help with it, Haru-chan?"

"Only to have it settled." Haru said to the hybrid. "And I'll be needing your help to place the bigger vases. Hope that is not a problem, Louis. To borrow your big and strong carnivore, I mean..."

Louis looked over his shoulder, and then he shrugged.

"As long as you don't distract him from his duties as a stagehand." He said, and then he passed by Legoshi, wishing him a "good day" while going to take care of some other business, leaving the two of them alone on the garden.

Legoshi blinked, looking at Louis as he left, and then Haru came forward, and asked Legoshi for some help with some of the bigger plants, which had been needing a little bit of work lately. She wanted them to be healthy and green for when she took them all to the city for the Festival.

Legoshi was more than ready to help.

However, as he helped Haru with the plants of the garden, he did notice something on her.

There was a scent coming out of her that was not her own.

And it was not the smell of the plants, of the fertilizer, or even of the sprays she used to protect the plants from the bugs and lice.

The smell that was coming out of Haru was just like...

"Louis-senpai..."

"Hmm?" Haru said, looking at the hyvbrid, who was looking back at her.

"Haru..." Legoshi asked, looking back at the bunny. "You... you and Louis-senpai... how close are you two?"

Haru looked at the big carnivore for a few moments, and it nearly seemed that she was deciding if she should answer or not. In the end, she just told him to "not worry about it", and then urged Legoshi to go back to helping her with the garden.

Still surprised, and a bit confused, Legoshi just went along with the work that he had to do.

The smell of food was filling the house. This was a smell that Ibuki was familiar with.

The smell of the food that he cooked himself.

Funny, on his young years Ibuki never fancied himself a cook by any means. However, there he was, cooking food for his family while wearing a pink apron, like he did almost every day.

Ibuki had come to enjoy cooking. It was a way for him to distract himself and keep himself busy. It also made him feel like he was being useful, especially since he was cooking for the most important people on his life.

Speaking of which, two of them were coming at him.

"Dad! Dad!"

"Daddy!"

Ibuki looked to the side, to see two young girls running to him. They were both eight-years-old, and they were identical, as one would expect from twins. They were both young lionesses with sand-colored fur and hazelnut-colored eyes. Behind them, there were identical wolf tails that wagged as they both run to their father, showing how happy the two were. They were even wearing identical yellow dresses and black shoes, making them really seem like perfect copies of each other.

The only difference between the two of them was that one of them had a small mole underneath her left eye, what the other one didn't. That single mole under Zana's eye was the one thing that allowed anyone who was paying close attention to tell her apart from her identical twin, Zora.

"Oh, hi girls." Ibuki said, a smile on his face.

"Daddy! There the new neighbors are here!" Zana said.

"They just moved in! They are a bunch of cheetahs, and they have two girls!" Zora said.

"Oh, really?" Ibuki said, looking at how fast his daughter's tails were wagging at the prospect of having two new friends to play with.

"Yeah! They were nice to us!" Zora said.

"But they have a big brother who is a jerk!" Zana said, "He blew a raspberry at us!"

"So we blew a raspberry back at him! Like that!" Zora said, and both she and her brother showed their father how they blew raspberries at the boy they were talking about.

Ibuki looked at the way his daughters' tongues, long and forked, flickered at him, knowing that the boy of the neighbors saw the exact same thing.

"Well, that must have surprised him." Ibuki said casually.

"It did!" Zora said. "He fell to the ground and then ran inside of the house!"

Oh, boy... Ibuki thought as he could very well picture what the new kid was doing after having witnessed that. Way to make a first impression...

"Can we go to visit them later?" Zana asked. "And maybe set a playdate? Please, Daddy! Please!"

Ibuki could only look bat at his daughters, who were about as excitable as ever.

"Well, I assume we can, someday soon." Ibuki said, "But, not right now. They just arrived, and we should give them some time to make themselves at home before going to see them asking for playdates, right?"

"You both should listen to your father, girls." Said another voice. "He certainly knows what he is talking about."

"Mommy!" The twins said, as they rushed to their mother, their tails wagging even faster, both of them speaking about the new neighbors and how they had two girls who they would like to make friends with.

"Well, that seems great." Leano said, "Guess we should go pay them a visit later to welcome them on the neighborhood."

She was looking at Ibuki as she said that.

And check if they are accepting people or a bunch of bigots who we need to warn not to try and do anything to upset our little girls. The lion added mentally as he saw the way Leano was looking at him.

They had already made the mistake of assuming the new neighbors would be accepting of their young son and treat him right. They would not be repeating the same mistake with their little girls.

Soon, Leano was urging her daughters to come back to their room and was their faces and paws, as they needed to get ready for eating, and the two of them rushed upstairs, where the bathroom was.

This gave the adult female hybrid the chance to talk to her husband alone. And to give him a long kiss on the lips, like she did whenever she arrived home.

"So, how work doing, darling?" Ibuki asked her.

"Just peachy, dear." Leano said back, "That you are cooking smells really good."

"Thanks." Ibuki said, "I'm trying some new seasoning. Hope you and the girls will enjoy it."

Leano looked at the pans on the oven, and what Ibuki was cooking did look as good as it smelled. She was sure the girls would love it. She then noticed the package that was right by the counter.

"And... is that...?" Leano asked, and Ibuki nodded.

"Sagwan brought it yesterday." The lion said, "I'll cook it for myself as soon as you and the girls are done eating."

Leano looked at her husband. She fully understood that he needed to eat it.

It was a consequence of his past.

She did, however, sometimes wished that he would not have those things brought to their home.

Their daughters were there during most of the day, after all. And Leano didn't even wanted to imagine what it would be like if the neighbors found out.

"Don't worry." Ibuki said to his wife. "You know I am careful."

"Yes, I know..." Leano said, looking at the package.

She could smell it. She knew exactly what it was. However, the smell had surprisingly little effect on her as it would have in any other carnivore.

That was an advantage of her being half-Komodo dragon, as reptiles were far less susceptible to those things than most mammals and birds.

Even though...

"Leano?" Ibuki asked, as he saw her expression. "Something wrong?"

She looked back at him, and then she sighed. Then she opened the front of her blouse, opening the buttons and letting Ibuki catch sight of her chest.

"My scales are advancing again." Leano said to him, and he could see.

As her husband, Ibuki saw Leano naked a number of times, and he knew her body well. He could see the line of her scales, where the fur ended, and the green scaly skin started. The scales had indeed advanced. Very little, but they did, that much Ibuki could tell. They were moving up from her left breast in direction to her collarbone.

"At this rate, they are going to reach my neck... maybe even my face..." Leano said, and Ibuki could only look back at her and comfort his wife the best he could.

"Would you still love me?" Leano asked him out of nowhere.

"Would you still love me if my face was covered in scales?" She asked, looking at her husband and wanting to know what his answer would be.

Ibuki had the right answer for this, saying to her he would still love her even if all her fur fell off her and her entire body was covered in scales. That this would not change the fact that she was the woman he loved and the mother of his children, and that he would love her regardless.

He really meant those words, and that was more than enough for Leano, who kissed him again, letting him know how grateful she was for his love.

However, there was something bothering Ibuki as well.

"You still plan to do it?" Ibuki asked her. "At the Meteor Festival?"

Leano looked back at him, and she nodded.

"Yes... I already made the plans." Leano said, "I already discussed with the boys, and they all agreed. We are already with preparations on full gear for the Festival. We will definitely be doing this."

She then noticed the look on her husband's face.

"You think we shouldn't, don't you?" Leano said as she looked back at her husband. Ibuki then said that, if this was what Leano wanted to do, then he would support her. That he knew that she was doing it for a reason. He knew that she made this decision after their talk with their son and after finding out about what happened at that play.

He knew full well her reasons and, even though he was worried about what the repercussions would be, he had her back until the end, and he would support her.

This was all that Leano needed to hear, and she once more was glad that her husband was on her side, come what may.

"The Meteor Festival..." Ibuki said, "It certainly brings memories, doesn't it, Leano?"

She smiled back at him, as she knew what he was referring to.

About the time when they were both young and dumb. Just a pair of animals on their late teens going into the Festival along with everyone else, celebrating the passage of the meteor that ended the dinosaurs on the summer millions of years ago, and paying their respect to the old extinct critters that were like gods on their culture.

And they even took part on that one tradition of the festival.

Leano was never as superstitious as Ibuki, who was a feline. She was still not sure if she believed on that old thing.

She only asked Ibuki to light a candle with her back then as a joke, and she admitted it had been fun to see his reaction when she asked it of him.

They ended up doing it anyway.

And now, seventeen years later, as he held that same female wolf, now his wife whom he loved with all his heart, on his arms and pulled her into another kiss, Ibuki was still glad that they did...