Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Cherryton, District of Carnivoria, The Claw Confederation – December, 1996

Legosi was running.

As the wolf sprinted through the dense thicket, his chest heaved with each ragged breath he drew under the indifferent light of the full moon. So much for being an apex predator; for the first time in his life, he was the one being chased. All around him, the trees were dense and obstructed his path, forming a maze of blackened trunks and foliage that he batted out of his face, the brambles tearing into his fur as he ran.

Behind him, his pursuer lunged at him from the darkness, its jaws snapping and clicking at his heels with an insatiable ferocity. It roared, and Legosi desperately tried to pick up the pace, eager to avoid whatever fate awaited him should he do otherwise. The wolf swiped another thick branch out of his way, its thorns ripped into his arm, drawing out streaks of crimson. He howled in pain, but what use was that with no-one to hear him?

It seemed that no matter how fast Legosi’s powerful carnivore legs could take him, he could never quite outrun whatever was after him. While he flagged, exhaustion overtaking his body, all the shadow figure seemed to do was close the distance. He eventually stumbled, a stray root curling itself around his foot with a vengeance, and the grey wolf fell flat onto his stomach with a painful thud.

He scrambled back into a familiar clearing, the macabre moonlight illuminating his features. Why was it so familiar?  He frantically tried to put distance between himself and his pursuer, but it was futile while he was down. This was really it. Oh Rex.

As the creature circled in, jaws dripping with hunger, Legosi wondered to himself for the first time in his life: “Is this what it’s like to be prey, then?” As his heart thrummed in his chest.

“Who are you?” He cried, or at least tried to cry. His throat was blocked, unable to scream for help; the plea came out as a strangled whine.

The shadow said nothing, opening its maw for the kill. And yet—its teeth were… flat? What? Why did Legosi feel like he had seen this before?

He closed his eyes and braced himself as the creature lunged, consuming him. But what Legosi felt wasn’t pain—what was this? A hint of déjà vu, and a peculiar sense of completeness, but also-

“…now, if you have any other questions about the essay, my office hours are clearly listed on my door. I expect this assignment to be turned in before the deadline in January, citations included; failure to do so will result in punitive marking! Have a great holiday, everyone.”


Legosi lurched up from his desk and was just about able to make out the vague outline of his professor leaving the dim lecture theatre. That, and the blank pages of his notebook, now covered in a generous drizzling of canine saliva.


“Shit.”


He slumped back down onto the wooden desk, burying his head in his arms. His head throbbed with sleep deprivation, compounded by the myriad of other similarly overdue or uncompleted assignments currently piling up on his mental agenda. What had he been thinking, trusting Jack about doing this degree? 

“It’ll be fun, Legosi! It’s got great employability potential, you’re a great fit for it, and you’ll be with me!” Jack had said as they sat in front of the school’s old computer looking through the university’s confusing website.

And yet, here he was. Another lecture missed, another explanation owed to his father about why his grades were on their current irreversible downhill trajectory. Just thinking about that future conversation made his ears ring. The “Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae” really wasn’t quite what he thought it would be. Rex, he’d half-worked himself to death to get here, and yet each day seemed to get even worse than the previous. He groaned into his arms, head already awash with the inevitable scolding and additional, bonus lecture he’d be receiving from his father about his poor attendance, when a light hand gently patted his back.


“Hey, Legosi~ are you awake?”


Legosi’s mind stilled, a light seemed to shine through. It was truly a wondrous thing that a certain familiar voice could brighten his day with just those five words, as the wolf looked up to gaze upon the animal sitting next to him. The wolf’s eyes roamed over his childhood friend’s gentle facial features: the soft snout, framed by two brown, comforting eyes, and a pair of drooped ears to match, all covered in a layering of warm golden fur. It went without saying, Jack was truly an animal designed to accommodate and please, someone who had an innate ability to draw out affection from all those around him. Legosi's eyes flitted to the Labrador’s notebook on the desk beside him, its pages bursting with information gleaned from the lecture. Oh, to be like Jack… what Legosi would give to be like Jack…

“Legosi…? Legosi! Is everything ok? You seem… more out of it than usual today.”

For the umpteenth time that day, the wolf snapped out of his trance and was able to make out his increasingly concerned friend’s hand waving in front of his face. He nodded slowly.

“Yeah, sorry. Uh, just didn’t sleep well again.”

Jack frowned. “You don’t seem to sleep well most nights nowadays. Maybe you should be seeing someone about it?”

Legosi sighed, he knew Jack was just trying to be a good friend, but it did get exhausting that the Labrador was still trying to parent him at the age of 19. “No, don’t worry—it’s fine. Honestly, I just need to… sleep it off some more, I think.”

He didn’t bother trying to justify his non-answer; the wolf had bigger priorities as of late. He got up and began packing his stationery away into his bag, hands moving gingerly over the worn zippers. It seemed to satisfy Jack at least, who bid him farewell and turned away to shuffle down the row into the corridor.

Legosi picked up his notebook, its blank pages glared back at him.

“Hey, Jack—wait!”

Legosi quickly sprinted down the aisle and burst out into the heaving corridor. A sea of carnivore heads turned to face him, and Legosi wished for probably the millionth time in his life that he wasn’t so goddamned tall.

Amongst a series of nondescript student group flags, a large banner hung from the ceiling:

“KEEP OUR CAMPUS SECURE: REPORT ANY SUSPICIOUS BEHAVIOUR TO FACULTY IMMEDIATELY.”

This was accompanied by a cartoon drawing of a sharp-fanged smiley face juxtaposed against the frown of a nondescript horned creature.

Fortunately for Legosi, the crowd quickly lost interest as he slouched over and flattened his ears in an attempt to appear more unassuming. From down the corridor, the Labrador turned around and tilted his head slightly to the side in typical inquisitive canine fashion.

“Yes?”

Legosi strode briskly up to his friend, mentally rehearsing his request.

“Hey Jack, can I ask you something?” He fidgeted slightly with his claws—force of habit. “What the lecture was on- because, uh, I really need to pass this assignment, or they’re probably gonna kick me off the course.”

The wolf then had the pleasure of remembering, as of the last time he’d checked, that his grade average was currently sitting at a woeful C-.

He let out a frustrated groan. “Never mind, they’ll definitely kick me off the course if I don’t. Listen, um, I’ll pay for your lunch if you let me look at your notes. Please…”. He gave his best attempt at canine puppy eyes; although the irony of a six-foot, sleep-deprived grey wolf doing this was not lost on him.

Jack, for the most part, maintained his composure. However, a small laugh did manage to escape his lips, coupled with a knowing smile.

“Legosi, you can always look at my notes, you know that!” He booped the wolf on the nose playfully. “That being said, I also wouldn’t say no to a free lunch.”

Legosi sighed with relief, and drew his friend a gentle hug.

“Come on then, you know where we’re going…” the Labrador squirmed slightly under his grip.

Legosi presumed they’d be going to that one café that Jack seemed to love in the neighbourhood over. But for now, after quite possibly one of the most taxing days in his life, all he could think about was having the comfort of another living being in his arms.

Rex, Legosi had needed this today, just a bit longer wouldn’t hurt…

“Legosi…? Legosi—you’re crushing me!”

“A-ah, sorry!”

The pair had walked over to the café in the heavy snow, unwilling to brave the dense crowds of the subway at rush hour. Inside, the décor of the Rainfurrest Café could really be summed up with one single word:

Plants.

Plants on the walls, plants on the floor, on the ceilings, the windows; plant-based food. Were it not for its vegetarian offerings, the café could have easily rebranded itself as a euthanasia centre for animals allergic to pollen, with a 100% guaranteed fatality rate. Legosi had to be careful when walking in not to tread on the roots of some mysterious, exotic fauna as they snaked across the floor.

“That’ll be $39.99, please.” From behind the till, the cashier, a short grey-eyed panda, eyed the wolf with suspicion. He couldn’t blame her, really; she was almost half his height.

Legosi mentally groaned as he pulled out the cash from his wallet, each note thudding onto the counter a searing reminder of his fiscal irresponsibility as of late. His family was not short of money by any means, but with his personal allowance not due until next week, he’d have to find a way to make this last. That, or he’d risk giving his father another thing to shout at him about.

As for why Jack insisted on coming to this one specific café every day for lunch, Legosi did not know. It wasn’t far from campus, but it wasn’t exactly close either—about a 30-minute walk, straight towards the centre of the neighbourhood adjacent to the Galdona University campus, Stoneybrook.

“You must never go to areas like Stoneybrook, they’re very dangerous”, he remembered one of his nannies telling him as a child. Well, it was too late for that now, sorry Nanny McPheasant. The café itself wasn’t actually situated in Stoneybrook, but the street it was on was widely agreed upon as the boundary between it and the next neighbourhood over, so it might as well have been. The clientele was certainly overwhelmingly herbivore, and Legosi had never really felt quite so out of place in his life. They had stared as the pair walked in, sharing whispers and nervous glances with each other. A few mothers with young children had gotten up to leave, hurrying out through the front door into the cold with their offspring in tow.

As for the food: it was hard to eat at best, a culinary tragedy at worst. Grilled tofu on rice, in his opinion, could never even begin to match up to a steak. Not to mention it was also eye-wateringly expensive.

From afar, Legosi watched as Jack contentedly placed his head on his hand and took a deep inhale of one of the flowers at their table. The Labrador seemed completely unfazed by the looks the other customers gave them, perhaps he was used to it? His friend had always seemed oddly at peace here; Legosi supposed the plants did something for the Labrador that a cut of meat never could. It was honestly all beyond him.

As he awkwardly placed their bowls down, and the Labrador slid over his notebook in exchange, Legosi could feel not only Jack’s eyes on him, but the rest of the café’s as well. His friend was giving him the look. Said look was what Jack gave him whenever he was about to launch into one of his ‘concerned friend’ psychoanalytic routines. In the hopes of avoiding it, Legosi began eating and reading Jack’s notes immediately.

“So, you wanna tell me what was on your mind earlier during class?”

Rex. Legosi would have been thinking wishfully if he thought he could escape the inevitable. The wolf looked up mid-page and mid-chew, his intake of both information and nutrients interrupted. He shook his head and continued read-eating.

“So, would you rather tell me about the bones of the wrist? It was the topic of the lecture today.”

“Mm-mm.”

“What about the blood vessels that supply it?”

Legosi let out a low grunt through a full mouth as he kept his eyes focussed on the table; suddenly, the patterns in the wooden surface had become very interesting.

“I’ll take that as a no.”

“…”

“You were also talking in your sleep.”

Legosi coughed violently, tofu and rice flying from his gullet and onto his immediate vicinity, his eyes bulging from their sockets. He saw another pair of customers leave hurriedly, and immediately shrank back into his seat.  He looked Jack dead in the eyes, a piece of rice falling from his slack jaw before he promptly closed it as he shifted uncomfortably on his chair.

“What… what did I say?” He asked in a low tone.

His mind was racing with possibilities. “Oh Rex, oh Rex, please not now.”

“Well, for starters, it seemed like you were running; you kept kicking your leg against mine.”

“Oh.” Already off to a flying start.

“And you were mumbling something; it sounded something like ‘please, who are you, please’?.”

Were Legosi’s fur not the grey colour as it was, it would have been painfully obvious to his friend sitting opposite him the deep shade of crimson that was now rushing to the wolf’s cheeks.

Jack continued, undeterred. “Legosi, is everything okay? Are you sure you don’t want to see someone about this? Because I totally get it if you’d rather not talk to me, I have contacts that I could refer you to if you needed-”

A coup de grâce, Legosi’s phone buzzed in a moment of salvation:

Juno, 4:10pm — Heya Legosi, we still on for dinner tonight, 7pm?

Juno, 4.10pm — Thought we could go here: [Link: “Meat Meet Steakhouse, Menu & Reviews” — FangsOut.cc]

Furiously typing into his phone to avoid the awkwardness of his friend’s conversation, Legosi hastily replied.

Legosi, 4:11pm — yea, i’ll book it, see u there

Legosi, 4:12pm — [thumbs up sticker]

“Legosi?”

While the wolf had been engrossed in his phone, he had the guilty realisation that his friend had been pushing his salad around on his plate, waiting for him to finish texting. He hastily took some pictures of the notebook in front of him and snapped it shut. However, as much as he appreciated that Jack was picking his brains out of a place of concern, it didn’t make each time it happened any less excruciating for him; particularly in a café filled with scornful clients and fearful eyes. He really needed to get out of here.

“Is everything okay?” Jack asked earnestly, his eyes filled with pleading. The Labrador was unbearably genuine, and Legosi still wondered to this day how they’d become friends, let alone stayed as such.

“Yeah… I’m fine, please—don’t worry.” He tried his best to smile without showing his fangs and pointed at his phone.

“Listen, Jack, I uh—I gotta go, um- Juno”

The wolf mentally cursed his stutter.

“J-Juno, she needs something! Like, now, right now.” He glanced down at his half-finished food—even being waterboarded wouldn’t be able to make the wolf eat the rest of that. “It was really nice having lunch with you, Jack. You can have the rest of my portion. I’ll see you later, thanks for the notes!”

And with that, the wolf hastily got up, gave his friend a brief yet crushing hug, put some cash down for the bill, and dashed out of the café with relief—nearly tripping over one of the floor-roots in the process. Jack sat at the table, part motionless, part dumbfounded by the brisk explanation and farewell. He sighed and continued eating, watching through the window as the wolf hurried down the street.

It wasn’t until he reached the subway station that Legosi remembered—he’d already paid.

“FUCK.”

Later that evening, after a furious remedial cramming session in his room with Jack’s notes as an aide-memoire, Legosi had finally decided it was time to leave for dinner with his girlfriend. He’d felt slightly guilty, leaving his canine friend alone in the café. But the fearful glances of the other customers, the anxious whispers—they’d eventually gotten too much for the wolf to bear.

He checked his watch as the train pulled into the station: 7.04 p.m. He was late, although not as much as he’d worried he would be. Legosi knew that his father disapproved of him taking public transport, he’d talked his ear off about all the potential risks; but he’d much rather stand in the newly-established mixed carnivore-herbivore carriage, than sit in the back of a dull private limousine. All the scents, all the sights of the different animals who dared to co-mingle in that compact shared space; there was an odd harmony to it. He’d hated the way they’d looked at him in the café, made him feel like an other. But here, it was different. When he got on, no-one stared or made space, they just simply were. And to the wolf, the thrill of that felt more alive than a limo saloon ever could.

Rex, were shirt collars always this itchy? It certainly felt like it, as the wolf practically barrelled through the fare gates and  sprinted up the stairs to the entrance.

Under the dim glow of the restaurant sign, Juno stood outside in the lingering cold, dressed in one of her many elaborate mink fur coats. She smiled forgivingly as she spotted Legosi stagger over to her, each breath he took heaving misty clouds into the cool winter air around them.

“Lost track of time?” There was a playful undertone to her voice as she quirked an eyebrow.

“Yeah—was studying.” Legosi managed to rasp out.

“You need to start taking better care of yourself, ‘Gosi. One of these days you’ll just drop dead and I’ll be left all alone”. She stepped in and took his head in her hands, before bringing her mouth to meet his. Legosi reciprocated.

They stood there a while as he caught his breath, the still air around them acting like a cooling blanket. His eyes occasionally drifted away from the she-wolf and over to the large rotating cuts of meat in the fogged-up restaurant window, each one glistening as the tender juices rolled down their sides. A deep growl emerged from his stomach. Fuck that tofu shit, nothing would ever beat eating this.

“Let’s go in, sorry I kept you waiting”. He broke away and took her hand in his, and they stepped into the warmth of the foyer.

Inside, the restaurant had all the bells and whistles of an uptown restaurant characteristic of the area; it really couldn’t possibly be further from the café in Stoneybrook. A crystal chandelier dangled languidly from the ceiling and the walls were plastered with an ornately patterned paper, with plush furnishings and carpeting throughout. This was, of course, coupled with a set of equally expensive-looking clients to match. Upon approaching the host, an elegantly put-together snow leopard, she immediately snapped her fingers at two of the attendants to take their jackets.

“Ah, Mr Greyson, Miss Fangbourne. What a pleasure for you to be dining with us tonight!” She had a foreign accent that Legosi couldn’t quite put a label on. “I have your reservation right here, please, let me take you to your table.” The snow leopard clasped two heavy leather-bound menus against her breast and gestured for them to follow her.

“So, how was your day?” Juno inquired after they had ordered.

“Tiring, I had lectures from nine till three. Then lunch with Jack at that strange veggie restaurant he loves going to, then went back home to study some more.” He decided to omit the details of his dream and took a sip of his wine. An earthy, sweet beverage of Juno’s choosing—she certainly knew her way around alcohol. “How was yours?”

“Oh, you know, busy as usual.” She shrugged. “I had to restructure the company’s portfolio in time for the new tax year and address some of the local residents’ concerns about the new construction work down by the harbour. That, and of course the new IP we’ve acquired which we had to….”

Her eyes, Legosi had always found them so captivating, the way they glistened blue against her brown-cream fur under the fleeting light of the chandelier above. Juno was truly beautiful for a carnivore… why did he need to specify the part about her being a carnivore? She was beautiful, simple as that. And was also eloquently spoken, brilliantly intelligent, had graduated early, and now worked at her mother’s company. He supposed his father had indeed always had an eye for quality.

“That all sounds really impressive, Juno—I’m really proud of you for working so hard. I could definitely learn a lesson or two from you.” Legosi smiled, and Juno blushed and reciprocated.

Her expression briefly turned serious, and she let out a sigh. “I’m serious though, ‘Gosi; you know that what you’re doing currently isn’t sustainable, you’re basically working yourself to death…”

She leant over and clasped his hand in hers on the soft tablecloth, her claws dug into his wrist slightly, but he decided not to mention it. He wasn’t sure if she was even doing it intentionally.

“Promise me you’ll at least try to get seven hours of sleep each night this week?”

There were those eyes again, hauntingly blue in their colour. Legosi could practically swim in them.

“For me, please?” She pleaded.

Legosi nodded and mumbled something about trying his best with all his deadlines. He wasn’t prepared for what came next.

“Have you considered course transfer?” She leant in, and whispered. “I certainly did a few times while I was at Galdona.”

“Wait, you did?!” Legosi’s voice failed to match the softness of Juno’s, but he had always bee under the impression that she’d been set on studying economics since day one.

Juno gestured at him to lower his voice, the other patrons were staring, after all.

“Of course I did. During my first year, I felt relentlessly overworked and unhappy, although ultimately it did get better. However, if you’re unhappy on your course, you should absolutely consider changing—I’d be more than happy to write a letter of support for you!”

Legosi nodded and thanked Juno for her support. It felt good to have someone offering a different solution, for once.

Their courses arrived, and Legosi immediately set about slicing up his steak and stuffing it into his mouth, eager to expedite ridding his mouth of the bitter taste of the earlier tofu. Thank Rex he was having this now; he honestly might’ve gone feral if he’d had to wait any longer. Juno, by comparison, eloquently placed pre-sliced cubes of chicken breast into her maw with an almost practised precision.

How many meals they had eaten together like this over the course of their lives, Legosi probably couldn’t even count at this point. It seemed he’d known Juno since before he could even remember, perhaps even longer than Jack. Once, they had been a pair of helpless pups playing house with their plastic food; while their respective armies of nannies helicoptered around them frantically with worry. Now, they were two matured apex predators, in a relationship, and dining at an uptown restaurant by themselves. Had their parents always been planning for this eventuality? He wondered to himself.

“How are your parents, Juno? I saw your Dad’s recent election result in the news; congrats to him for that, he doubled his majority or something, right?”

Juno nodded eagerly. “That’s right. The campaigning on local issues really paid off! It’ll be his third term in the Senate, so 12 years so far now. I didn’t know you followed local politics so closely!”

He didn’t, really, but Legosi had lived long enough to know that sometimes a white lie can go a long way.

“Yeah—I uh, like to keep up with this stuff because it’s important, you know? My Dad’s always telling me about the goings-on in the Senate haha.”

His partner smiled in agreement as she finished up her last few bites of chicken.

“I couldn’t agree more. And your father, ‘Gosi? How is he—I’ve been seeing his campaign adverts for the past few weeks now. I must say, I’m a big fan of the herbivore repatriation project proposal, it seems like something that would really help improve societal stability! Especially given the recent actions of the Militia, it’ll certainly send a message to those no-good leafeaters that their actions will not be tolerated.”

Legosi bristled slightly at the mention of that. He’d forgotten about the ‘repatriation’ scheme his father had been promoting. “Repatriation to where?” He wondered.

“Yeah, he’s well. Um, he’s been quite busy because of the upcoming Beastar election and all… so I haven’t really seen him much recently. I’ll be sure to pass on your well wishes though”, he swilled his wine round his glass.

Juno, for her part, took his noncommittal answer with remarkable grace.

“I’d love it if you could do that, ‘Gosi. Please do also ask your father if he needs any help with the draft legislation! I certainly have some ideas on how to make sure we keep the country’s carnivore and herbivore populations separated as much as possible.”

There it was again. If there was one thing that Legosi had to pick out about Juno, which he thought marred her almost flawless character, it would have to be her… how could he put it? Her ‘enthusiasm’ for carnivore-herbivore segregation. He had just never been able to quite understand the degree to which she cared about it.

“That’s… kind of extreme, isn’t it…?”

“Not at all—it’s because they’re different from us, Legosi! Different groups need to be kept separate, because interspecies mixing has always been shown to lead to conflict. We saw the result of that with the War. Like your father says, power should always lie with those best suited for it. And clearly, that means carnivores.” The she-wolf was truly, sincerely spoken—in the worst possible way.

Somewhere within him, Legosi could sense what felt like the pangs of discomfort forming in response to Juno’s speech. Thank Rex the wine was finally beginning to act on him, dulling his emotions. Wait—how much had he had? He glanced over to notice that he’d already had three glasses. Time to slow down perhaps…

“Right, um, yeah, maybe… I guess I can see what you mean…” He chuckled nervously.

“By the way, has anyone told you that you have such pedigree features, Legosi? I can see your father mirrored directly within you. I’ve researched his lineage; it’s certainly impressive. I’m sure your mother's must have been too!”

Legosi shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Thanks—yeah, uh, it’s something that my family’s definitely really proud of. How far back our uninterrupted wolf lineage goes.”

He wasn’t lying, technically. In the eyes of the law, Legosi was a purebred grey wolf. So what if it wasn’t true—that was the price of peace, wasn’t it? Letting the people see what they wanted to see. Legosi swallowed as he wondered what Juno’s reaction would be if she ever saw his mother. Wondered if she’d still hold his hand in the same way, if at all.

“Obviously! It’s why you’re such a handsome devil!” She giggled and leant over to kiss him on the cheek, eyes sparkling with intrigue. “Now, tell me about what’s going on at Galdona lately. I’ve been meaning to visit since I graduated, but just haven’t had time!”

Legosi exhaled, it was over—for now at least. “Oh, well…”

They decided to skip dessert and instead just ask for the bill. Juno had never been a particular fan of sweet foods. And as for Legosi, well, for some reason the usual sweet treats he loved had never seemed more unappetising. He paid, as was custom for these dinners. At this rate, he was almost certainly going to have to ask his father for more money, a conversation he wasn’t looking forward to in the slightest.

The host bid them goodnight, brought them their coats, and saw them out into the cold. It had begun snowing again, not unusual for this time of year, although the downpour seemed rather excessive for a lone pair of wolves in the city night. Legosi waited dutifully beside Juno on the pavement for her driver to collect her, arms intertwined for security. He shivered slightly; even his winter coat wasn’t quite enough for this weather. Glancing over at Juno, he felt slightly envious of the collection of furs which his partner had draped herself in.

She looked up at him. “Are you cold, ‘Gosi?”

“Just a bit, trimmed my winter coat too short. Don’t worry about me, though—I’ll be fine.” He shivered slightly.

“Then, why don’t you come back to my place tonight?” Juno sidled up to him.

And with that, all notions of being cold were immediately dispelled, as Legosi felt an abrupt wave of heat surge through him; blood rushed to his cheeks.

“W-what?”

“I said, why don’t you come back in the car with me? It’s plenty warm, and my parents would be delighted to see you—not to mention it’s been so awfully long since we spent a night together,” she looked up at him and batted her eyelashes. “What do you say, ‘Gosi?”

Time seemed to stand still, and Legosi’s jaw tightened as his head hung low. He knew spending a night with Juno could only mean one thing, and quite frankly, he was neither prepared nor willing to go through that again after the disaster of last time. Oh for Rex’s sake, why did this day keep having to find new ways to test him?

Juno blinked, and Legosi realised that his girlfriend was still waiting for an answer. He tried his one and only, most tested tactic: 

“Oh, Juno. I’d love to, but uh—my uni work, I’ve got a major assignment due and I really need to get to work on it. Sorry, um, baby.”

If looks could kill, Legosi would probably be a pile of singed fur on the pavement, as he felt Juno’s eyes bore into him.

“Is that so?” His girlfriend exhaled sharply and let go of his arm. “Legosi, how long have we been dating?”

The question hit the wolf like a brick, because he didn’t actually know.

“Uh, a few months…?”

“Eleven months, actually, Legosi. We’ve been dating for almost a year now.”

He winced at that. It was one thing to get the number wrong, it was another to be so far off the mark. Juno continued, her voice becoming increasingly strained.

“And in that time you’ve been over to my place once. Once! You’ve even never had me over to yours. Why is that? Can you explain that to me, please? It’s certainly not like you’re lacking in guest rooms.” The she-wolf spoke with a tone of despair. Legosi remained silent.

“Well?”

He mentally scrambled for a response, mind reduced to an incoherent jumble. “Juno, I- I’m really sorry about all this and that you’re feeling that way. I didn’t mean to upset you, honestly… it’s just—I’m so busy these days, and I don’t feel ready, so–“

“Then when will you be ready, Legosi?” He saw his girlfriend pull on her ears in a telltale sign of canine frustration and desperation. “I’ve been waiting for you to be 'ready’ these past eleven months. Eleven MONTHS! I’m tired of just having dinner dates and walks in the park! How much longer do you want me to keep waiting? Until our parents are rolling in their graves? Until the next meteor strikes?”

The city around them was quiet; Legosi hadn’t seen a single car or pedestrian since they had stepped out into the street. And yet internally, his mind was loud as ever. Because Legosi didn’t have an answer to that. He didn’t know when he would be ready; he didn’t know if he’d ever be ready for what Juno wanted from him. She was truly beautiful, there was no denying that. But somehow, the idea of being with her like that; to be intimate with someone he considered a friend—it made Legosi recoil.

“I-I don’t know.” He dipped his head to face the snow-covered ground.

Now he’d done it. He’d seen the tears streaking across Juno’s face, causing her eyeliner to run in brilliant black streams across her fur. He couldn’t bear to look at it, the mess of his own doing. They stood there in silence for a while, a tragic counterpart of how they had stood in the very same place when they had first arrived. The snow kept falling, each flake illuminated by the dimming glow of the closing restaurant behind them.

“Legosi, look at me.” He felt Juno’s hands caress his jaw and bring his face up to meet hers.

“I think…”

She took a breath and shuddered.

“I think, we should take a break for now.”

“…what?”

“I said, I think it’s best if we take a break. Clearly, you need some space to sort out your life, and I could do with some for mine as well.” She withdrew her hands and wiped her face with her handkerchief. Legosi’s mind somersaulted.

“But—w-what about our parents? What will they say? T-the contract!”

“I’ve told mine already, and they’ve given me their blessing to suspend it should the need arise.” She turned away from him. “As for your father—I suppose you’ll have to tell him yourself.”

Her car arrived as if on cue, and she briskly went to open the door by herself.

“Goodnight, Legosi. Do let me know when you’re ready.”

Before Legosi could say anything else, the car door shut, and the vehicle roared off down the street and into the night.

And with that, Legosi was left alone on the pavement, deep within the snow-drenched metropolis. He didn’t even have time to think before a notification illuminated his phone screen:

[MYMETRO: LINE 2 SUSPENDED DUE TO PASSENGER CASUALTY ON TRACKS]

He stared at it for a moment.

“Lucky bastard.”

The wolf sighed, walking wouldn’t be an option in this weather; it was too far. He opened the maps app on his phone and tried to find a new route.

AVAILABLE MASS TRANSIT ROUTES:

Bus: 58 mins

Subway: 1hr 12 mins

Groaning, he tapped the ‘driving’ tab.

DRIVING (fastest route): 20 mins

Time to tough it out in the name of convenience. Legosi reluctantly opened his contacts and scrolled to the bottom of a fairly short list. The wolf hesitated, and then sighed as he put the receiver to his ear.

It rang twice before a gruff voice picked up. “Yes?”

“Hey, Dad. Can you send someone to pick me up, please? I’ve sent you my location, thanks.” He hung up before the older wolf could respond.

Someone would be here soon at least. While he shivered alone on the snow-covered pavement, part of Legosi wondered which spirit he’d managed to anger into giving him a day like the one he’d just had. Rex’s sake…

…when was that obstetrics paper due again?

Chapter Text

Galdona University Admissions Office
1 University Street
11298, Galdona University District, Cherryton
District of Carnivoria, Claw Confederation
[email protected]

1 December 1996

Louis Buckhurst
Flat 41, Dandelion Court
14829, Stoneybrook, Cherryton
District of Carnivoria, Claw Confederation

Dear Mr Buckhurst,


I am writing to you concerning your recent application to our BSc (Hons) Economics Programme for 1997 entry at Galdona University.


Due to your ineligible status under Section II of the Universities and Higher Education Act (1946), we regret to inform you that we are unable to offer you a place on our programme. We would like to instead advise you to apply to other higher education institutes within the metropolitan area, such as the Institute of Applied Herbivorous Studies and Cherryton Herbivore Polytechnic.


We understand that this information may be difficult to process, and would like to therefore extend our heartfelt congratulations to you for your performance on our recent admissions test. You scored in the [1ST] percentile of all applicants. 


We are confident that this should set you up in good stead for any future academic career aspirations you may have, and the fee you paid shall be refunded to your account in full within the next [FIVE] working days.


With sincere regards,

The Galdona University Admissions Team


Louis stared at the letter for a whole minute, his hands trembling slightly as he held it, before he looked up at the eager faces of his siblings seated around the table in their crowded flat. The kitchen seemed so awfully small, as if its walls were closing in to consume him. To devour him.


“Well?” His brother, Charlie, broke the tense silence. Louis looked over at him, saw how his eyes were filled with concern. They were close in age, and Charlie had always been Louis’ closer brother, his confidant. The buck had told him all about the plan: his application to Galdona, the intention to study economics, to work at a financial institution and single-handedly get their family out of Stoneybrook; Charlie had nodded along and heard about it all. But now, with the rejection letter in his hands the culmination of his efforts—what did Louis have to show for it?


Hesitating, the buck shook his head, but he furiously bit back the tears that threatened to form in his eyes. Louis Buckhurst didn’t cry, not in front of others; he had his siblings to do that for him. The deer opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out, just a breath laced with anguish and a longing for what could have been. Charlie said it for him, as he wept and took his younger brother into his arms, holding him tight as he had done when they were younger; when Louis had fallen over, when he’d lost something.


The buck stared at the piece of paper strewn across the table. Then he picked it up and threw it into the bin. It was just a reminder now—a bad memory of a future that had been extinguished before its wick had even caught light. So, Galdona hadn’t wanted him? Fine. He’d just have to find work elsewhere. Louis let his brother keep holding him for a while, realising that Charlie probably needed this physical comfort just as much as he secretly did. And, somewhere deep within the now 18-year-old buck, a small fawn shed a tear.


“Carni bastards,” came a deep voice from the corner of the room. Alexandre leaned on the doorframe, his imposing antlers casting jagged shadows into the room. He was the eldest out of them, and it showed. The stag was taller, broader, hardened. 

“Can’t you all see it?”


He stepped further into the room, his eyes dark


“They don’t want peace; they want obedience. All so they can keep flashing those polite smiles at us, whilst their fangs are still dripping from the last one of us they tore apart.”


Charlie spoke first. “Oh Alex, for Rex’s sake, you know damn well that now isn’t the time. Our little brother is upset—what is it with you and making things about yourself?”


Their older brother grunted with indignation. “I’m not making things about myself, Charlie. I’m using what’s just happened as a way of demonstrating something that all of you are unable to see.”


Louis sighed, here they went again.


“What did they used to say to us at school? Study hard, keep your head down, don’t make trouble. You and I did that, Charlie—and now?” He scoffed. “I haul bricks, and you wash dishes.”


“I don’t just do that, I’m the head housekeeper!” Charlie protested.


He dismissed Charlie’s retort. “Sure you do. But look at Louis, our Louis. He did all those things too, and more. And what did that get him?” He pointed at the bin. “A rejection letter, printed on crappy paper. And a heart full of broken dreams.”


Louis wasn’t sure what his eldest brother took himself to be whenever he went on a monologue. A martyr-in-the-making of sorts, perhaps? If so, he certainly hadn’t done the dying part yet. 


He lifted his head slightly. “You know, being loud doesn’t make you any more right, Alex.”


His brother sighed with his usual cynical exasperation. “Loud? Yeah, I am. But I guess I’m not supposed to be, right? We’re herbi, after all—quiet, discreet, cautious. Breaking our backs our whole lives so that maybe, if we’re lucky, they’ll let us die in a slightly nicer shit hole than the one we were born in.”


“Alex!” Charlie cried.


“What, Charlie? What do you want me to do? Sugarcoat the truth; pull the veil back over our eyes like they’ve done our entire lives? Not fucking happening. But of course, you’d want that, wouldn’t you? Kneeling down for them daily, licking their shoes like a good little herbivore.”


Charlie pulled on his antlers with exasperation. “You– you know that’s not what I meant! You’re not helping him, Alex! You really think this is what Louis needs right now?” 


They both cared, Louis could see that. But all their noise, all their bickering—it wasn’t helping. 


Their sister, Azuki, watched from the windowsill in silence. She stared at the two brothers’ shouting contest, with an analytic look hung on her face that betrayed nothing. The doe drummed her fingers on the wood of the sill with a sort of restlessness, eyes lazily moving from one brother to the other as they took turns bellowing at each other. Azuki was the youngest out of the four siblings, and yet Louis took her to be more mature than both of his brothers combined. He supposed that the circumstances under which she’d grown up had necessitated that.


It seemed like the two brothers were about to lock antlers, when the abrupt slam of the front door made the siblings jump.


“Everyone.” From the hallway, their father’s voice cut through his sons’ arguing, with a stern edge to it, and the room fell silent. Walking into the kitchen, the stag undid his tie and set his briefcase down on the table with an authoritative thud, while he glared at his children. “This is not the time for arguing. All of you, go to your rooms at once, please.” He glanced down and noticed the opened envelope with the Galdona emblem on it. 


“Except, Louis.”


Oguma adjusted his glasses as the rest of the siblings trundled out. The two brothers resumed their argument in the other room, the paper-thin drywall drowning out little of their quarrel. He turned to face Louis, who was currently sweating bullets through his linen shirt. The buck knew, from experience, that these types of conversation with his father had never boded well for the recipient. He also found himself almost subconsciously setting a glass of water down for his father. 


Oguma took a sip from the glass, for what Louis felt like an eternity, before addressing his son. Here it came, Louis was finished.


“I take it… things did not go as planned?”


The buck hung his head low and shook a feeble no.


“That’s a shame. I’m sorry to hear about that, Louis—I did place great confidence in your ability to succeed, despite the odds.”


Louis grit his teeth. “I’m sorry, father. It appears that your confidence was misplaced.” 


The stag stared at his son, expression unreadable, and Louis began to wonder if what he’d said had been a faux pas on his part. His father dismissed him with a gesture of his hand.


“No matter, we will find an alternative solution to this.” He opened his briefcase and began setting various students’ papers onto the kitchen table. 


His father’s disinterested tone puzzled the young buck; out of all the possible outcomes, he had not factored this one into his contingency planning.


“So… you’re not mad?” Louis asked, cautious. 


“Of course not, my son.” Oguma didn’t even look up from the papers as he took out his pen to begin marking.


Louis blinked. That was it? No lecture, no moralising about how Louis could have tried harder? No scolding for being a disappointment?


“Just—nothing?” He thought to himself.


“So, that’s it?” Louis asked, his voice laced with a quiet fury. “You’re going to move onto the next thing, just like that?”


His father sighed and looked up from his papers, his face painted with a tinge of irritation. “Louis, I, like most well-adjusted adults, acknowledge that setbacks are a part of life. While they are certainly frustrating in the short term, they are not the end either. All this means is that a recalibration and alternative trajectory is required.” 


He went back to marking, “I have contacts; we will tide this over.”


There it was again, ‘we’. As if Louis were a child and needed all his decisions made for him. 


“You talk about this like it’s some sort of route charted out for me, like I’m just some project that you work on in your free time.” Louis said bitterly. “Not your own son, who’s just had his future crushed.”


The stag scoffed. “You’re being dramatic."


“I am not being dramatic.” The words came out with an acidity to them that even Louis was surprised by. “I worked years for this. While my brothers were out having fun and enjoying their youth, I was sat inside studying. Stuck in a freezing bedroom, using a desk on its last legs, with a series of outdated hand-me-down textbooks that you gave to me. And for all that to amount to nothing, because I had the misfortune of being born with flat teeth instead of fangs—you call that being dramatic?”


Oguma closed the paper he’d been reviewing, setting his pen down on the table with an irritated clack.


“Louis, you seem to mistake composure for apathy. Of course, I am disappointed. But unlike you, I do not allow my emotions to interfere with my rationale. What we need here is strategy, not petulant outbursts.”


Louis almost laughed at that, each rare glance he was allowed into his father’s world revealed more about how ridiculous it was. Life and all of its complications—whittled down into a series of calculations and variables, nothing more. 


“You know, Alex says this whole thing is rigged,” he muttered, slightly louder than he intended. “Says that we’re all just warm bodies that they grind down until we’re easy pickings.”


Oguma’s jaw tightened ever so slightly, a single ear flick betrayed his usual immaculate composure. “And you agree with him?”


Louis hesitated, then decided to test the waters. “I don’t know anymore, but perhaps I do. What if he’s right, father? What if our lives truly are just condemned to be spent wasting away under the yoke of those who eat our kind for pleasure?”


The stag sat motionless, and Louis knew that if his father’s jaw muscles weren’t as well trained as they were, they’d probably be through the ninth floor by now. He took a shaky breath before deciding to press on. “Maybe he has a point. Maybe we really do need to take more drastic action. The kind the Militia-“


“Enough.”


The stag’s voice was calm, still level. But Louis could sense the storm beneath.


“You know very well that violence—especially that so-called ‘Militia’s’ extremist idiocy—is no panacea for this society’s ills. It is a shortcut to chaos, to societal ruin.”


Louis rose from his chair, slamming his hands down onto the table, the glass of water next to his father shook violently. “Then what is the panacea, father? Picketing the university to death, presenting them with a petition signed entirely by those unable to vote? I’m sure that’ll certainly turn up the heat. It’s not like you haven’t been doing that since the 80s—look at all the good it’s done for us since then.”


For a brief second, Louis saw his father’s eyes narrow, and his voice cracked ever so slightly.


“Louis, I say this to you again. Your late mother and I named you and your brothers after kings, because we hoped that all of you would be destined for greatness; I have done my best to guide and support you all in that journey. But if you also decide to throw away your life following in the steps of fanatical extremism like your brother has, then you too will disgrace the name that we chose for you.


The buck blinked, a deer in the headlights of paternal cruelty. The fawn within him wept, but Louis simply grit his teeth. Not now.


The stag in front of him opened his mouth to say something, but promptly shut it, as if trying to reel in the words he’d just said. “Louis-,” Oguma reached out to take his son’s hand, seemingly unsure whether to grasp or restrain it. His voice was quieter now, softer. If Louis had been paying attention, he might have just seen the flicker of something within the stag’s eyes; but the deer simply swatted him away without hesitation.


Right now, he wanted a walk—and a particular type of tea.


“I’m going out,” the buck muttered curtly, walking into the corridor. He took a set of keys from the shared bowl and slid into a pair of shoes—probably Azuki’s. It didn’t matter, they fit well enough. He strode past the lift; it hadn’t worked for years anyways, and quickly began descending down the thirteen flights of ankle-twisting stairs that awaited him.


“Louis, wait–!“ He heard his father say in the distance, a degree of urgency highly uncharacteristic of the stag. But he was already gone, the door slamming behind him.

Inside, the stag stared at the door blankly as he let his arm slowly fall to his side. 


“Damn it,” he said to no one in particular, and the flat was quiet again.

The air outside was suitably crisp, and the deer silently cursed his decision not to bring a jacket as he trudged through the ramshackle streets of his neighbourhood.


Children in rags were playing with the muddy snow that had accumulated on the sides of the road, while their mothers busied themselves with hanging up their washing on haphazard lines that streaked across the narrow street. There wasn’t any concern for road safety here—herbivores couldn’t afford cars. And if any could, they certainly weren’t going to be driving anywhere near this side of town.


He reached the edge of the estate and looked across the road at the properties on the other side. Their facades were much better kept, and it was almost possible to see the line down the middle of the street where one borough’s responsibilities ended and the other’s began. A proud sign proclaimed the start of the Galdona University District, and Louis felt a sharp twinge of pain in his chest. Yesterday, he’d dreamed of belonging here. Today, it was a reminder of his inadequacy.


Turning briskly away, he continued down the street, ducking into a familiar shop. Inside, amongst a dense foliage of plants, a short panda stood at the till, reading what looked to be a book on tea-making. She recognised him almost immediately and beamed as he walked up to the till.


“Hello Louis! How are you today? What can I get for you—locals’ price, of course.” She winked and produced a laminated menu from underneath the counter. Louis shook his head.


“Hey Maisie, I was actually wondering if your Dad was in right now?”


“Oh, you’re looking for Dad? He should be somewhere in the back—I’ll grab him.” The curtain rippled as she disappeared behind it.


Louis took a seat and massaged his temples, letting the warmth of the café envelop him. He’d been coming here since he was a child; his mother had always loved this place, and so had he. Fond memories of sitting here with her, laughing over iced lemon tea on a hot summer day. Now, the sight of so much greenery in the otherwise dull concrete jungle still brought him a sense of inner peace, albeit one tinged with absence. A slight itch pulsed from his antlers, but he forbade himself from scratching. It wasn’t even remotely close to shedding season, yet his body seemed to have decided otherwise—he chalked it up to stress.


From afar, he could see what appeared to be the back of a canine—a Labrador? How peculiar, it was rare that you saw those in this part of town. If he was looking for meat here, he’d be sorely disappointed.


The curtains parted and the tall, well-built panda emerged, cigarette in mouth. Upon seeing Louis, he sighed and gave him a knowing beckon. They walked past a series of shelves with boxes and boxes of tea, before reaching a door which Gouhin unlocked.


Inside was a familiar room: a mahogany table, a worn armchair, and a stained chaise longue. Also known as Gouhin’s living room.


“You know, out of all the clients I still see these days, you’re certainly the most frequent.” The panda took a drag of his cigarette as he poured out a cup of steaming tea for himself and Louis and sat down in the armchair. “You do know I’m retired, right?” The panda opened with his usual snark, to which Louis would usually respond in kind; but not today.


The deer gave a tight smile as he adjusted himself on the chaise longue. “It certainly hasn’t stopped you yet.” 


He took a sip of the tea, a strong bamboo concoction that only Gouhin could really drink. Well, now Gouhin and Louis. At first, the deer had thought it tasted like battery acid—but over time, he’d come to appreciate how its earthy taste was always able to ground him. He needed to ask Maisie for a refill to take home.


The panda grunted. “Well? Talk to me kiddo, or you’ll be wasting both our time.”


Louis took a breath. “I got rejected from Galdona. Said they couldn’t offer me a place because I’m herbi.”


Gouhin leant back in his chair, expression completely unreadable beneath the dark patches of fur around his eyes. “Sorry to hear that, kid. But, any surprises there? Hate to sound like a broken record, but they do say that they only admit carnivores.”


“It was my father’s idea. He was the one who told me to apply. And I guess…” The buck shifted his gaze to the floor. “I guess I just thought, if I tried—if I did my best, they’d look past that.” He balled his fists in his lap, digging his nails into his palms. “I probably got one of the highest scores in the country on that damned admissions test… half of the students at Galdona don’t even have to sit it—because their parents went there!” He wrapped his hands around the base of his antlers and tugged at them in frustration.


A beat followed, filled only by the sound of the space heater in the corner of the room. The panda crossed his arms.


“You do realise that this isn’t the end of the line, right? You can still go and study the thing you want. It’ll just have to be at a different college.” 


His father’s words echoed in his head, and Louis’ jaw tensed slightly. “Nowhere is as high-ranked for economics as Galdona. It’d be pointless.”


“Well then, who said you have to study economics?”


Louis looked at him aghast. “I did! It was all part of the plan: study economics at Galdona, build up a portfolio while I’m at college, get a job in finance, get rich, get out of Stoneybrook…”


Gouhin raised an eyebrow. “Sounds like quite the plan for a 19-year-old. You come up with all of this yourself? I’m impressed.”


“Well, no, not entirely…” Louis shrugged.


“Then, who did?”


“I guess… my father had some involvement in it. He was the one who wanted me to study economics, and who told me to apply to Galdona. My mother always wanted me to go there as well, before she passed.”


“Right.” The panda stubbed out his cigarette on the ash tray beside him, before leaning forwards in his chair. “Describe the level of ‘involvement’ we’re talking about here?”


It came back to Louis with alarming ease. 


The torturous sunny days that he’d been locked in his roasting bedroom by his father, forbidden to go outside until he’d memorised a section of the textbook. Lonely winter nights spent crying himself to sleep, as he longed for his mother’s approval that he could now never have. 


“A fair amount. Let’s just say that my father took a rather active role in directing my studies. As for my mother…” He let out a longing sigh. “Well, I guess she sort of still influenced me, in a way. She told me her dream was to see at least one of her kids go to university.” He laughed bitterly. “Not that me getting in would have changed that.”


Gouhin nodded and went to pour out another cup of tea, but the teapot was empty. He set it down and leant back in his chair for a moment, before lighting a new cigarette and sitting with it for a short while. He then stood up without a word and went over to the kettle to prepare more tea. 


“Louis, can I offer you a thought?” He said from the counter, back faced towards Louis.


The kettle began to boil, Louis swung his legs off the chaise longue and sat up. “Go on?”


Gouhin didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he remained motionless at the sink, watching the water in the kettle slowly begin to move, his brow furrowed.


“It sounds to me that for most of your life, the majority of the big decisions haven’t really been yours. Your father directed them, and your mother’s dying wish has loomed over you.” The kettle hissed, its spout now billowing steam. “But these aren’t the things you should be letting control your life.” 


He paused. “What happens if you stop chasing that approval? What happens when you start doing what Louis wants?”

He turned slightly over his shoulder to look at the deer. “Because trust me, you don’t want to wake up at 30 and realise that you’ve wasted your entire life, having lived it for someone else.” He sighed. “Because I’ve been there, kid. And I can tell you—it ain’t worth it, not one bit.”


He poured the boiling water into the teapot, letting it steep with the bamboo leaves, watching as it turned a vivid shade of dark green. Louis watched him in silence, unsure of what to say.


The panda finally turned around and held up the teapot. “More tea?”

Charlie, 5:14pm: Lou, u there?

Charlie, 5:15pm: where did u go?

Charlie, 5:20pm: pls respond, we r worried abt u


From the crowded subway carriage, Louis gazed at his cracked phone screen, wracking his brain to give him a reply. He pocketed the phone quickly, not wanting to think about it anymore. He didn’t have the words, not yet. Not for Charlie, not for anyone. The herbivore car was more crowded than usual today, the transport authority having recently reduced the number of carriages exclusively reserved for them; but Louis would sooner die than ride in the mixed carriage. He’d also considered walking to his destination, but the heavy snowfall and his lack of a jacket had made him think otherwise. The fare was worth still having all his fingers, after all.


The announcement for his stop came, and the deer practically fought his way out of the doors, mindful not to gore anyone with his antlers. The station itself had certainly seen better days, the platform in a state of disrepair, and a few homeless animals sleeping in blankets near the entrance. He took the exit for the herbivore market, placing his hands in his pockets in preparation for the brisk walk. As he walked down the bustling street, he noted the stalls brimming with various decorations for Rexmas. Tired sellers wrapped up in several layers of clothing, which were undoubtedly warmer than Louis’ thin jumper, hawked their goods to passers-by in the dimming sunlight. The decorations were simple products; herbivores had to make do with what they were allowed to buy after all. But each one’s imperfections, their intricate differences—Louis believed it gave them soul.


He purchased some food from one of the stands, manned by an old sheep who specialised in spicy, chewy rice cakes paired with mushrooms and tofu. The buck watched as she expertly packed the generous helpings into impossibly small Styrofoam containers, heaping them in with a deep red sauce and toppings. He thanked her and continued on his way to his destination, ensuring not to make eye contact with any of the other vendors—wary that they may try to pry a product into his hands. Beneath his feet, the ground was littered with posters for recent marches and rallies, a few with his father’s face on them. He sighed and kept walking, hoping that ignoring the posters would make them go away.

“CONEY FL WERS”

It was missing an ‘o’. Repairs were expensive though, especially in this part of town. A bell dinged as he entered, and a lackadaisical voice from the back of the store murmured:


“We’re running low on stock because it’s the middle of winter and it isn’t growing season, so our prices might be higher than usual.” He followed the voice to its source, a pair of long white ears sitting behind the counter.


“Hello, Haru.” He greeted the rabbit, who was in the middle of a magazine, and watched as she looked up at the horned creature staring down at her and nearly fell off her stool. 


“Rex, Louis! Give a girl some warning, will ya?!” 


The buck apologised and accepted the rabbit’s hug. He wasn’t one to do them often, but it had been a while since they’d last talked, and today was certainly one that merited an exception. 


“So, what can I do for ya?” But before Louis could open his mouth to speak, she cut him off.


“Because I hope it’s not flowers you’re after… Ma and Pa had me put the prices up by 50%. Said it’s cuz of a supply shortage, but really it’s cuz it’s almost Rexmas. I just know it is. Got all sorts of animals coming in to top up their emergency table centrepieces.” She pointed a finger at him. “You’re not one of them, right?”


Louis blinked. “No—I’m not.” He lifted up his arm to show the takeaway containers. “I brought dinner, you said your parents are out of town for a few weeks, right?”


Her eyes lit up and she smiled. “That’s right—I’m impressed you remembered.” She looked around the quiet store; Louis was the only remaining customer. “Let me just close up shop then, mind giving me a hand?” Together, they set about rolling down the various large metal shutters and grills on the storefront, before engaging a series of deadbolts on the door.


Then, having gone up a flight of rickety stairs into the family flat above the store, Haru called for her younger siblings to come downstairs for food. They tumbled down the stairs in a stampede of white fur and long ears, before eagerly seating themselves at the table as Louis placed the containers down. He portioned some out for them, himself and Haru, before sitting opposite his friend. 


Louis looked around the flat, noticing how little had changed since he’d first come here after school with the rabbit as a child. There were the same family photos, the worn carpet, an old TV in the corner—all tied together with a floral wallpaper cursed to always look slightly dated, no matter the decade. It beat the comparatively sterile nature of his own flat that had come about after his mother’s death; although he supposed that only Oguma, of all animals, would use meticulous cleaning and order as a means of coping with grief.


“So, tell me, what’s been going on with you?” Louis asked mid-chew, as his flat teeth bit into the chewy rice cakes. 


“Oh, same as usual. Shopkeeping and babysitting this lot. Business has been good though, we’ve been able to keep on top of our rent while still turning a profit, despite the landlord doubling it.” She rolled her eyes slightly before forking another rice cake into her mouth.


“And you? How’s your tight-ass Dad.”


Louis scoffed. “Oh, he’s fine—rigid as ever.” He sighed. “As for me, well… I got rejected from Galdona today.”


Haru stopped eating for a moment, before ordering the younger kits upstairs. She watched as they sulked up the staircase, before turning her attention back to the deer.


“You okay?”


“Yeah, I’m fine—I saw Gouhin earlier today, helped me figure some stuff out.”


“I’m glad to hear. What did he have to say?”


“Oh, he gave me his usual snark. But we also talked about my Dad—Gouhin said that I needed to start ‘doing what Louis wants’—whatever that’s supposed to mean.”


A silence fell over the table, as Haru paused for a moment and chewed thoughtfully.


“So, basically, you’re saying that he told you what everyone else already knew.”


Louis raised an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”


Haru leaned in, a mischievous grin on her face. “Can’t you see it, Louis? He told you that you have…”


She paused for dramatic effect.


“Daddy issues.”


Louis almost choked on his rice.


“WHAT?”


The rabbit giggled. “It’s true! Think about it, did you ever really want to study economics? He had to lock you in your damn room so that you’d read all those boring books, instead of coming out to throw snowballs with us like a normal kid.” She was clearly enjoying this, as a wide grin spread across her face. “Not to mention, it’s the course with one of the highest dropout rates in the university—life as a Galdona economics student is miserable!”


Louis sat there, speechless. He didn’t say anything, just chewed. Haru had no idea how lucky she was that he’d known her for this long. Most animals wouldn’t get away with speaking to him like this; maybe not even Gouhin. 


“But really, Louis, maybe it’s time that you stood up to him a bit more. He’s always preaching about peace and order at those rallies he organises, but maybe it’s time you switch it up. Do something that he doesn’t like, something crazy maybe.” 


She leant back in her chair as she popped the last rice cake into her mouth.


“But of course: my version of crazy, and Louis Buckhurst’s version of crazy, are probably very different,” she laughed. 


Louis didn’t laugh; he stared down at his empty container, the rabbit’s words still echoing through his head.


“Something crazy…” he muttered.


Haru shot him an inquisitive look. “Wait—what are you thinking?”


“Nothing. Just wondering what my version of crazy… might look like.”

Louis thanked Haru for having him for dinner and told her to keep the leftovers, as he trudged back through the snowstorm. The market, bustling only a few hours ago, was now empty. The subway car was, thankfully, less crowded on his journey back. 


The buck took out his phone and finally punched out a short text to his brother—it was only four hours late.

Louis, 9:39pm: im alive

Louis, 9:40pm: omw home

Louis, 9:40pm: tell alex 2 wait

Charlie, 9:40pm: lou where u been???

Charlie, 9:41pm: ok… told him

After walking up the 13 exhausting flights of stairs, Louis finally got back to the flat much later than he usually would. His father had already gone to bed incredibly early, as usual, as had his sister. Charlie rushed up to him and gave him a tight hug, before admonishing him and ordering him to say something if he planned to stay out late again. Louis nodded and asked after his older brother, after which he was directed to the living room. 


Alex sat upright on the couch, dumbbell in one hand, TV remote in the other. The channel was set to the evening news, where interviews with various leaders of the equality movement were airing. When their father came on to give a brief statement, Louis saw his brother visibly scowl.


“Hey, you busy tomorrow?” Louis asked, setting down his keys.


Alex glanced up, eyebrows slightly raised. He put the dumbbell down with a soft clunk and muted the TV. “Depends. You okay?”


Louis hesitated, before shrugging. “Yeah… just wanted to check something out. Thought maybe you could take me.”


Alex looked at him for a second longer than usual, his brow furrowed. Then he nodded. “Alright. Just wake me if I’m still not up.”

Chapter Text

It wasn’t often that Legosi saw his father these days; Miyagi Greyson was, after all, far too preoccupied with furthering his glittering political career. But if he did, it would most likely be on Saturdays—for their weekly scheduled brunch. The wolf wasn’t quite sure how long they had been going on for, a few years, maybe more? But one thing never changed: their inevitability.


‘Yes, that’ll be fine.’ ‘Can we circle back to this later please?’ ‘I’ll see to that in a moment.’


Sitting dutifully, the young canine observed his father’s entourage of staff swarm around the opposite end of their painfully long dining table, each one eager to extract as much attention out of the politician as possible during their short allotted meeting time. It reminded him of his high school biology lessons, studying ancient vultures that circled the dead, waiting to eventually consume them. He recognised some of them from being around when he was a pup, yet he knew none of their names—any attempt at conversation with his father’s staff had never gone beyond a simple greeting, if anything.


The winter sun shone languidly onto their meal through the tall arched windows of their private dining room. They revealed a scenic vista overlooking the affluent neighbourhood of Rexington Heights; its rolling hills dotted with large houses, now coated entirely in a thick blanket of sparkling white. And Legosi, despite his disdain for these compulsory lunches, had found he did have some use for them: extracting concessions from his father was almost always easier when done in person. That, and he couldn’t deny that the food made by the house chef–Fumio–was almost always delicious as well. 


Legosi pondered for a moment how best to phrase his request, but his attention snapped back to the present as his father waved his assistants away. They trundled out of the door with a definitive click as it closed behind them, leaving the pair alone. Legosi fixated his gaze onto the plate, scrambling runny egg yolk onto his muffin like his life depended on it.


‘Son.’ The gruff voice reverberated across the room and Legosi winced slightly. His father was now staring directly at him. The two wolves weren’t dissimilar, both sharing the same coat of dark grey with distinctive cream pattern. But Miyagi was taller, broader, and his coat was thicker. His eyes, unlike Legosi’s unexpressive pinpoints, were dark and full of mystery.


‘Yeah?’ Legosi pushed a leaf to the edge of his plate. His father didn’t speak for a moment as he placed a slice of bacon into his mouth, the room filled only with the sound of clinking cutlery. 


‘I’d like you to tell me about your week.’ 


Legosi twirled his fork in hand for a moment while considering his response. Usually, their conversations were uneventful—to say that the wolf’s life was exceptionally dull would hardly be an overstatement. But as the events of his dinner with Juno flashed through his mind, Legosi began to feel quite inexplicably warm. Rex, was it getting hot in here? Maybe it was time to open a window…


He shifted awkwardly in his seat. ‘It was good. I had lunch with Jack and caught up on some of my uni work. Oh, also I’m on Rexmas break now, so, more time to study, I guess.’ He picked up his fork and continued eating.


‘That is all?’ His father raised an eyebrow.


‘Uh, y-yeah.’ He cleared his throat slightly—it was time. He braced himself.


‘Also, father, I was wondering if…’ He placed a hand behind his head and forced himself to concentrate. ‘…if I could go and visit mother today?’


An uncomfortable silence fell over the table, broken only by one of the servants shuffling over to refill Legosi’s coffee before retreating back into the kitchen. The wolf wished so badly that he could go with him.


‘Slightly discourteous to demand things from me, without even asking me about my own week—wouldn’t you say Legosi? I thought I raised you better than that.’ His father tutted and sat back in his chair, an unreadable expression drawn across his face as he took a sip from his cup.


‘Well, before I consider your request, I suppose I’ll indulge you first, and tell you a bit about my week.’ Miyagi got up and strode over to the window, resting his arm on the windowsill.


‘You see ‘Gosi, the most peculiar thing happened the other night—I received two calls direct to my mobile.’ Uh oh, this couldn’t be good. People never called his father’s personal phone; not unless it was serious. Legosi sat up slightly.


‘The first call was from your university, your supervisor. He told me that you’ve been missing lectures; and of the ones you do attend, sleeping through them.’ He rapped his claws on the glass. ‘Your overall attendance for this term was 40%.’


Legosi opened his mouth to defend himself, but his father cut him off with a frustrated flick of his wrist.


‘As for the second call, it was from Senator Fangbourne.’ The older wolf studied the snow-laden gardens outside, before turning back to face his son. 


‘Senator Fangbourne doesn’t often call me, as you may know. Granted, we see each other enough in the Senate as-is.’


He sighed.


‘But I suppose this particular occasion warranted an exception, since he seemed rather incandescent over the phone. Said that you and his daughter had a… slight falling out over dinner?’ 


The hackles on Legosi’s back stood to attention as he gripped his cutlery with force. 


‘Shit.’


‘Slight falling out’ would be a generous way to describe the events of the other night with Juno. But Legosi wasn’t one to fan flames—the ones currently licking hungrily at his heels were hot enough already.


His father’s gaze narrowed onto him. ‘Care to explain what he meant by that?’


Legosi flailed about in his head, his mind lurching into answering before he could think.


‘I-it’s not what you think! I was just trying to-‘


‘Trying to do what, exactly? Break her heart, drive her away? Damage the relationship between our families that I’ve so painstakingly kindled over all these years?’ Miyagi’s stern face swept over the younger wolf, triggering a defensive stance he’d known instinctively since he was a pup. 


‘Legosi, do you have any idea how important this arrangement was!’ His fangs were out now.


‘I was just trying to tell her the truth!’ Legosi pleaded.


His father almost laughed. ‘Oh, please—do enlighten me, Legosi. What “truth”?’


The young wolf opened his mouth to answer but abruptly shut it, letting the words die on his tongue. A profession about his romantic preferences to someone like his father was absolutely not a good idea; in this moment, it would probably see him skinned alive. If not, worse.


He dropped his head and stuffed another forkful of egg into his mouth. ‘N-never mind, it’s nothing. I’m sorry, father.’


His lie was evident, and he knew his father could tell; the latter’s acting roots had never quite fully left him, after all. The older wolf regarded him with a scornful gaze, frustration plastered across his face.


‘It goes without saying that I’m very disappointed in you, Legosi.’


A beat followed, and Legosi sat in mournful silence as his father considered a worthy punishment for his unruly son. 


‘I’ll be cutting off your allowance until further notice. You will also not be seeing your mother today, nor for the foreseeable future.’


Ouch. Legosi hadn’t seen his mother since term started, that was almost 4 months ago; and last time he’d said he’d visit again as soon as possible. Not that that information was of any importance to his father, as he walked over to Legosi and leant down to glare at him.


‘Have I made myself very clear?’ He practically growled.


The young wolf felt his ears droop behind his head.


‘Yes, father…’


‘Good.’


And with that, Miyagi turned to leave, his tail flicking from side to side in irritation from behind his pressed suit.


Legosi leapt forwards before his father could turn away, his chest tightening with panic. He couldn’t lose this opportunity, not now. ‘Father, please! Wait!’


Miyagi continued towards the door, quickening his pace.


‘Just listen, please… I haven’t seen mother since September, I–.’ His voice cracked slightly, as the words spilt out of his mouth faster than he could catch them; the wolf wasn’t used to begging like this. 


‘Father, I’m sorry about Juno, I’m sorry about not going to class. I–I know I’ve messed up’. He caught the edge of the door frame in a desperate bid to stop it from closing.


‘Just please don’t shut me out. I–I’ll find a way to make it up to you. Anything! Just let me see her, please!’


That was a stupid thing to say, and Legosi knew it. But he couldn’t bear the thought of not being able to visit her before Rexmas. He’d never not gone, not since she’d been admitted.


In front of him, his father stopped, and turned round to face him. 


‘“Anything” is certainly a bold bargaining chip to offer, are you sure?’


Legosi gulped, this was either about to work out in his favour or massively against it. He nodded.


His father paused for a moment, lips pursed slightly. ‘Very well then.’


‘Legosi, as recompense for your suboptimal performance this term, over this winter break you’ll be working on my campaign team. I expect you to take part in canvassing, administration and policymaking as well as any other activities I see fit.’


Well—Legosi couldn’t say he’d had high hopes for any deal his father would propose, but he hadn’t expected it to backfire quite so badly either. Though, if it meant being able to see his mother, then he supposed he would simply have to endure. He muttered an acknowledgment, unwilling to back down


His father paused before continuing so he could straighten his tie, while Legosi processed the information.


‘If, and only if, I am satisfied with your performance by the time you return to university, I will reinstate your allowance. That, and you will be allowed to visit your mother without requiring my prior approval from then on out.’


‘Wait, what?’


‘You heard me. Furthermore, to motivate you in assuming your new responsibility, I shall also permit you, for today only, to visit.’


Legosi nodded, slightly unable to believe what his father had just offered. Was he being serious? Perhaps this would end up working out for him after all…


Miyagi turned once again to leave, this time with a more satisfied spring in his gait.


‘Brilliant. I’ll have Bill forward you the details later, then.’ He flicked his wrist to check his watch. 

‘Oh and Legosi, you’d best get going soon.’ He tapped the face of his watch. ‘The sanatorium’s visiting hours are shorter on Saturdays—have a pleasant day, son.’


Legosi opened his mouth to reply, but the large door shut in his face loudly, leaving the wolf alone with just his thoughts for company. 


He sighed—what new hell of a mess had he managed to get himself into now? He checked his own watch and realised that he had little time to dwell on it, as he hurried to get ready to leave.

The car bumped gently as it rolled along the windy hill road towards the sanatorium, and from the backseat, Legosi could see Ibuki squinting at the SatNav to try and figure out where exactly it was that they were going. He carefully balanced the Tupperware on his lap as the car wound around the road’s various bends. Generally, he preferred to make the trip himself—but given the sanatorium’s reduced opening hours, and the fact that the nearest subway station was a 30 minute walk—he’d found it necessary to expedite his journey by car. 


Ibuki was a kind soul, the lion had worked for his father since before Legosi was born. The wolf had fond memories of going to the seaside with him as a pup to get ice cream—a simpler time. But he had always been duty-bound to report back to his father, and as the wolf had gotten older, their trips had become more infrequent before eventually fading to nothing. After all, the last thing Legosi needed was a tighter paternal leash around his neck than the one he already had.


The car eventually came to a stop at the top of the hill, in front of a large, familiar building. The building itself was mostly featureless, a drab hunk of concrete set in a mostly scenic area of natural beauty, it truly was an eyesore. Its only distinctive features were a large set of cast-iron gates, and enough fences to form an obstacle course surrounding it. A worn sign adorned the entrance:

‘CHERRYTON SECURE CARE FACILITY’


Ibuki made eye contact with Legosi in the rear-view mirror. ’Are you sure you don’t want me to wait, kiddo? Because I’m more than happy to just read a newspaper if you-’


‘I’m fine, Ibuki. Thanks for offering, though,’ the wolf cut him off before he could finish.


The lion nodded curtly, before opening the door for Legosi to step out. The wolf walked up to the checkpoint, expecting to hear the car engine start as Ibuki drove off. But no such sound came, and Legosi mentally groaned when he glanced back and saw the car still sitting on the curb—probably under direct orders from his father. Legosi had been foolish to think that he would be free from surveillance, even here.


Sighing, he walked up to the security guard and provided his ID, before being promptly waved through to security for a thorough patting down and body search. Once through, he checked his watch and realised with alarm that only twenty minutes of visiting time remained. 


A tall, unsmiling bear escorted him down the many winding corridors of the institution. No matter how many times Legosi had walked down these halls since his mother’s institutionalisation, the uniform glare of its white walls had never become any more familiar. They reached a nondescript door where the bear brought him to a stop with his arm.


‘You have 15 minutes—make it count.’


He opened the door, and Legosi stepped into total darkness as it shut behind him.


He inhaled for a moment, taking in complete pitch black of the room. Appearances had always been important for his mother—he supposed that absolute darkness was a way of protecting herself from the judgement of others. Legosi called out into the void:


‘Mom?’


A moment of silence filled only by the echo of his own voice followed. The wolf’s night vision, though more advanced than most, still struggled to make out just about anything within the room. The last time he’d been here, he’d been helping her fix the tape over the wall mirror—he wondered if he’d need to do it again.


‘Legosi.’


A pair of hands found him from the dark, guiding him gently towards the corner of the room, where Legosi was just able to make out the outline of a bed. Once they sat down, the hands wrapped around his snout, they roamed around the back of his head and down his back, found his arms and stroked the fur up and down on them. She’d always done this, but Legosi had only recently realised why:


She was checking for scales.


He sat patiently through the examination, until a sigh of relief finally came from opposite him and the hands withdrew from his fur into the black. Legosi tried to find his mother’s hand, and after some failed attempts, managed to take it in his.


‘Mom—uh, how are you?’ He picked up the containers and offered them in the direction he thought his mother was sitting. ‘I brought your favourite, the egg noodles and shrimp that Fumio makes…’ He held out the Tupperware into the darkness.


‘Thank you, Legosi.’


The hands took the Tupperware and vanished into the shadow again.


‘And, to answer your question, I’m fine. Thank you for asking.’ 


Legosi could sense the forlorn tone in her voice, but it was pointless inquiring about it—the answer was never any different. But uncharacteristically of his mother, Leano struck a more positive tone in her next sentence.


The new director here… is a kind man. Much kinder than the previous one.’


She shifted her weight further back onto the bed to rest her back against the wall.


‘He’s told the staff to be more respectful, of my privacy that is. And they’ve given me a hat and shawl to wear when I want to leave my room and walk around the facility gardens.’


‘So at least, there’s that.’


‘I’m really glad to hear that, Mom.’ Legosi gave his best smile, but he wasn’t sure whether she could see it.


‘What about you, Legosi? I don’t remember the last time I saw you—time runs differently in here, especially since I so rarely get visitors.’


‘I’ve–’ His voice faltered as he tried to find the right words to say, his brutish maw unable to spell out what he wanted to convey. ‘To be honest… I’ve been better, Mom.’


‘What’s wrong?’


‘Just… life.’ The wolf lay back onto the bed to stare up into more nothingness. ‘I’m uh—getting these nightmares, where I’m being chased… where I get devoured. They’re keeping me from sleeping at night, and it’s messing up my life…’


‘Have you tried seeing someone about it?’


‘Yeah, Jack’s told me he can recommend someone—I guess I can go see them…’


They fell into a deafening silence, both unsure what to say, before his mother finally spoke up.


‘That’s not everything though. Is it, Legosi?’


Legosi wondered what to say. At least in here, in the total darkness, he was safe from his father’s prying eyes—a rare place where he could be completely honest with others. Perhaps even himself.


He exhaled slowly, pondering how to best phrase the absolute mess that was currently his life. ‘I guess you could say that…’


‘Tell me?’ Her hand tensed slightly around his wrist.


‘Well, a lot of things don’t seem to be going right for me right now. I’m failing school, can’t stay awake during lectures, bad attendance.’


‘Maybe it’s the course? I remember you saying you weren’t sure about it—have you considered changing, maybe?’


‘That’s what Juno said to me as well… oh, Juno.’ He groaned as the events of the night at the restaurant came back to him again with searing clarity. ‘I also…’ He hesitated again—but what use was there being evasive? There were few people who he could talk about this with, and his mother was probably one of them. 


‘I screwed up my relationship with her—we got into a fight. And now Dad’s more mad at me than he usually is because of it…’


He brought his hands up to cover his face. It wasn’t for anyone else to see in particular, not that they could anyways—just for his own sake.


He let out a long, deep sigh.


‘I just don’t know what to do, Mom.’


His mother didn’t say anything for a while, and the two wolves simply sat in silence, each processing their own thoughts, before she finally spoke up.


‘Legosi.’ She took his hands in hers and squeezed it tightly. ‘That really does sound like a lot—I get why you feel like everything’s slipping out of your control.’


Her voice softened slightly. ‘But—in the eight, beautiful years that I got to watch you grow up, I saw you overcome challenges that were much greater than these, why should this be any different?’


‘Mom, the problems I had back then weren’t nearly as big as the ones I have now, you know that.’


Leano sighed nostalgically. ‘I think you’ll find that they’re not as dissimilar as you think actually, Legosi.’ The wolf heard the bed creak as she shuffled towards him ever so slightly.


‘Do you still remember when you were little, and the other kids at school used to make fun of you for how quiet you were?’


Legosi nodded.


‘Most wolves would lash out, snarl, bite—but you never did any of that. I used to get so worried when I came to pick you up, worried that one of the other kids had finally managed to push you over the edge.’ She laughed sadly.


‘And yet time and time again, you always proved me wrong—always staying kind, even when it really hurt. It’s that which has brought you further than you think, Legosi. It’s why you have friends like Jack, people in your life who truly care about you—even when those who should, don’t.’


‘I know things are difficult right now… and I know it seems like nothing’s going right. But you’ll find a way to get through it, I know it. And you’ll always have people looking out for you along the way, myself included.’


His mother paused for a moment, and Legosi’s heart spoke faster than his head.


‘But what about Dad?’ He blurted out abruptly, before trying to regain his composure.


He exhaled raggedly. ‘He forced me into working on his campaign, and I’m still meant to fix things with Juno. I’m not even allowed to see you until I’m done with it…’ 


Legosi balled up his fists and gripped the sheets covering the creaking bed frame. 


‘I don’t get to choose anything anymore. Dad says, Juno says, Galdona says—and then it just is. And I’m just left here, left stuck here…’


He felt what seemed to be tears pricking at the corners of his eyes; Legosi didn’t cry often—he wasn’t allowed to. But here in the pitch black, in his mother’s embrace, it was getting increasingly difficult not to. 


Perhaps for once, it was okay to do so.


‘I don’t know what to do, Mom… but you’ve got it worse, in here. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t even be talking about myself–’


Leano cut him off. ‘No, Legosi. Do not say that. Your struggles… they matter too.’ She trailed off into silence.


In the dark, all he could her was the sound of his racing heartbeat, and her soft breathing. For a split moment, he wondered if she could even answer what he had just told her, but then—


‘Legosi…’ her voice wavered for a moment, and it became painfully apparent to the wolf just how small his mother seemed, all alone in this dark room. ‘Believe me, I know what it’s like to be trapped—to feel like your life is being decided for you.’


She sighed.


‘But you’re not me. Your life—‘ She hesitated, searching for the right words. ‘You’ve still got so much of it ahead of you, so much of it still undecided. Please, don’t let anyone—your father; Juno; or your fear of them, convince you otherwise.’


And then Legosi’s mother did something very rare—she hugged him. And Legosi, for the first time in a long time, did something even rarer. 


He let himself cry.


He tried clenching his jaw, squeezing his eyes shut—but it was no use. The tears streamed down his face in a hot, ugly and wet mess, as Legosi’s mother held him close. He took in her scent; the unique softness of her fur interspersed with smoothness of scales, as she ran her hand over his ears and down the back of his neck in a soothing motion. Legosi could hear the emotion breaking in her voice as she spoke.


‘Legosi… all this, I know it’s hard—it’s so, so hard’. She sounded quiet, pained, as her voice caught on her words, and her hands trembled slightly as she held him.


‘And I know firsthand how bad your father can be. I really do.’


She took a deep breath and steadied her voice. Legosi felt her hand stroke the base of his ear, slow and steady.


‘You know that I can’t fight this for you, not while I’m stuck in here. But… I’ve always noticed how you’ve always had this certain way about you… a kind of gentleness.’


Legosi sobbed into his mother’s shoulder, unable to form a coherent response—but he didn’t need to, she had him.


‘Your father might tell you it’s weakness, I know. But it’s not, it’s stronger than you think—stronger than those nightmares, stronger than him.’ Her fingers moved over his knuckles, the palm of her hand warm against the back of his. 


‘Promise me that you won’t let anyone beat that out of you, not even him.’


She took his hand in hers and squeezed it. ’Can you do that for me, Legosi?’


The wolf managed to choke out a yes, before a loud knock came from the door.


‘Visiting hours are over! Please exit the room.’ Came a muffled voice in the hall.


But Legosi wasn’t listening—he was content being here, in a pitch black that he would be happy to stretch on forever, so long as it meant he could be with his Mom. For the first time in a while, he’d finally felt seen; he’d felt heard.


‘I love you, Mom.’


‘I love you too, Legosi.’

They’d stayed that way until the security guard had begun threatening to kick down the door. Legosi had to bid his mother a brief, yet tearful goodbye. 


The wolf rubbed his eyes furiously as he walked down the industrial white corridor, partly to adjust to the glaring light, partly to obscure the fact that he’d been crying.


His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he reluctantly fished it out like an unwanted visitor. 


[UNKNOWN NUMBER ~“BILL TIGRIS”]


~Bill, 2.31pm: Hii Legosi, this is Bill! I’m your Dad’s assistant. :)


Legosi audibly groaned; he knew damn well who Bill was—they’d had the misfortune of going to high school together. 


Legosi, 2.32pm: hi

~Bill, 2.32pm: Hi!!

~Bill, 2.32pm: Your Dad’s having a rally this evening, said you’d be coming!

~Bill, 2.32pm: I’m sending you the de–


The wolf pocketed his phone before the tiger had the chance to finish typing out the message; he’d think about whatever it was the striped sycophant wanted later. 


Upon exiting the facility he saw Ibuki leaning on the car, cigarette in hand. Rex, now would’ve been the perfect time for Legosi to have a destress-cigarette—that was, if he smoked. The lion opened the door for him, and the wolf gave him the order to drive home.


He had a long night ahead of him yet.

Fur gel, a whole lot of fur-gel—that was all Legosi could really smell as he sat rigidly in the back of the car on the way to his father’s rally. He’d felt like his father’s stylist had practically assaulted him when the time came to tame the young wolf’s messy coat; vivid scenes had ensued involving pulling furiously with furbrushes and applying gallon after gallon of gel to smooth out unruly patches. Not a single strand could be allowed to stand out of place, not when in the company of Miyagi Greyson.


‘Be there in about 5 minutes, kiddo’ said Ibuki from behind the wheel.


Legosi nodded and rested his head on the car windowsill, nose wrinkled slightly to reduce the chemical smell overwhelming it. He’d considered texting Juno, but it didn’t feel right—he didn’t even know what to say. As they approached the stadium, the car slowed, and Legosi overheard shouting. He craned his neck to see the source. 


From behind a tight police barricade, a small, yet fierce group of herbivores were picketing the venue. They brandished signs scrawled with various slogans and chanted slogans that Legosi couldn’t quite make out. 


The car crawled agonisingly slowly past the demonstration and into the stadium parking lot. Legosi was subjected to his second patting down of the day, followed by a metal detector, and proof of ID. To add insult to injury, once he was finished with the gruelling security process, he was presented with a familiar yet unwelcome face: that of Bill Tigris.


‘Gosi! So good to see you—been what, two years since we last saw each other?’


The tiger strode up to the wolf and pulled him into what could be best described as a smothering ‘bro’ hug. Legosi wheezed in acknowledgment, trying his best to wriggle free of his iron grip. The tiger hadn’t changed one bit since he’d last had the misfortune of seeing him—at graduation. Bill checked his watch and Legosi saw his expression drop.


‘Okay, ‘Gosi, we gotta be quick—speech’s starting in five’


‘It’s Le-gosi.’


‘Yeah, yeah whatever. Through here.’


Legosi was ushered hurriedly through a series of corridors populated primarily by staffers, before being shoved abruptly into a dressing room.


From the far end, he saw the imposing outline of a wolf seated in a chair, attended to, of course, by a small army of beauticians. When he spotted Legosi walking towards him, he ushered them all away with a flick of his hand, and turned to face his son.


‘Glad you could make it, son. Please, take a seat.’ He gestured to a chair opposite him. 


Legosi sighed softly as his father began to list out—in excruciating detail—his expectations of his son during the speech. That, and political rally etiquette: when to stand, when to clap, to sit up straight. The list was dizzyingly long, and Legosi’s mind wandered. What was Jack doing right now? 


‘He’s probably studying, isn’t he? Or maybe eating. If he is, it’ll most likely be some of that nasty tofu stuff as well—yuck…’


His father’s voice cut through the daydream. ‘Is that all clear, Legosi?’


The wolf nodded with gusto, eager to escape the searing gaze of his father.


Miyagi raised an eyebrow. ‘When are you supposed to stand?’


‘Uh… when you start speaking?’


His father pinched the bridge of his nose, before starting from the top, tone even more irate than before. The young wolf was only saved by a staffer timidly announcing from the doorway that it was time for them to go on stage.

“LADIES AND GENTLEBEASTS, PLEASE WELCOME TO THE STAGE, YOUR SENATOR: MIYAGI GREYSON!!!”

Legosi winced slightly as his father’s name blared out on the loudspeaker. He shuffled awkwardly towards the chair allocated for him on the grandiose stage, praying that his furgel didn’t come undone as he began to sweat under the intense headlights pointed directly at him.


In front of him, he saw his father stroll up to the podium; a dossier in one hand, refined confidence in the other. Quite frankly, it was a biological wonder that the two were related at all. The crowd roared as Miyagi placed his papers down and spread his arms wide as if to embrace them, carnivore fans of all shapes and sizes. Some held up large placards with his father’s name on them, while others screamed his name. There were even some pups in the crowd, hoisted up on their parents’ shoulders—Rex, wasn’t it too loud for them in here?


Thankfully, the crowd didn’t pay him any attention—it was all centred on the wolf at the podium, after all.


Eventually, the pandemonium died down as his father gestured for the audience to be seated, and he adjusted the microphone to his height.


‘Everyone, thank you all for coming tonight! First of all, I would like to thank all of those here who voted in the recent Senate election—it was YOU who ensured stability and prosperity for our great nation. I am indebted to you all, truly.’


Legosi jumped as the stadium erupted into cheers, animals began chanting his father’s name and the sign-holders began jumping up and down frivolously.


‘Never again.’ Legosi thought, as he tried his best to resist the urge to cover his ears on stage.


Miyagi then launched into his carefully pre-planned speech, primed to sound authentic with its various quips and seemingly original jokes slotted in appropriate places. To most, it would seem that the wolf was a talented orator, as he proudly extolled the values of national pride and patriotism; but Legosi knew that the words scrolling along the teleprompter were barely his father’s, instead having been assembled by a fleet of staffers, with minimal involvement from the former. 


His father listed various campaign promises for his next term in the Senate, while Legosi barely listened: more funding for local schools, tax breaks, the abolition of the Herbivore Senator role and criminal investigations into its current holder, Yafya Galahad. Legosi had heard his father complain to no-end about that horse, but realistically, what was there to complain about? The Herbivore Senator was by their lonesome in the Senate, and didn’t have voting power—their power was solely through words. He remembered that much from high school politics, at least.

But then his father arrived at the crown jewel of his speech its climax—his ‘herbivore repatriation proposal’.


‘Ladies, gentlebeasts, I don’t need to sugarcoat it. We’ve all seen it, the scourge that run on our streets, making our neighbourhoods unsafe, spiking crime rates. Need I talk about the h word.’


The stadium burst into an angry frenzy, animals began booing, showing their abject hatred to the nation’s underclass—what they viewed as a blight on society.


‘Ladies, gentlebeasts! Please! Worry not—we, your representatives have heard you! That’s why our party have devised a six-point plan for herbivore deportation and repatriation.’


Miyagi gestured at an infographic on the board behind him, depicting caricaturised herbivores being rounded up in detention centres, sharp horns and devilish grins on their faces. They were then forcefully loaded onto boats and sent away, pushed out to ‘return’ to a promised land that Legosi had only heard of in fairytales from his nannies as a child. 


The wolf couldn’t help but feel slightly perplexed as the crowd cheered on what his father proposed. Didn’t it all seem a bit… inhumane?


No matter, based on their reaction, the crowd absolutely loved it. His father stumbled for a second, and Legosi looked up from the floor of the stage to see what the issue was. The teleprompter had turned off, and the technical staff scurried around the stage, trying their best to remain out of sight. His father chuckled awkwardly, the continued regardless, in what Legosi assumed was an attempt to proceed as normal—someone was definitely losing their job today.


‘Now, ladies and gentlebeasts; I know I’ve bored you enough with my campaign policies, but I have one more key piece of information to announce!’


The stadium went deathly quiet, eyes transfixed to the stage. Even Legosi waited with bated breath—with the teleprompter broken, his father was, for once, speaking off-script.


‘I know that there have been rumours flying around, and I’ve seen the opinion pieces, the speculation.’ He placed both hands on the podium and leaned forwards towards the audience. ‘So, I would like to proudly announce that all of that ends today.’


‘I…’


The audience waited, the teleprompter flicked back on, and Legosi’s heart dropped when he saw what was written on it.


‘Would like to announce my candidacy for Beastar!’ 


A terrible cracking noise ripped through the air, and the stadium went silent before it could begin cheering.


It had happened before Legosi could even process it, as he felt a warm, sticky substance begin trickling down from the top of his head. He reached, his hand shaking, to feel the top of his ear—or what was left of it at least. Around him, animals began to scream, then the whole stadium began to scream. His father turned around to look at him, shock written on his face, before he was immediately surrounded by his security detail in a protective clump. 


‘Legosi, Legosi!!’ Someone cried, from somewhere.


‘We need an ambulance—now! Evacuate the stadium!’


The screaming continued, animals climbed over rows to get out, others wrestled with each other to find the exit. The wolf felt faint, while the blood continued to pour down the side of his face, onto his clothes. He tried to stand, but instead fell sideways out of his seat, as his vision darkened. Blurred figures ran towards him, while the world narrowed into chaos, blood and panic.


But his final thought was simple. That right now, if this was where it ended, Legosi only wished for one thing.


His mother. 


That she could hold him.