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My Breakfast with Androcles

Epilogue

Conroy the hyena could sense something different in the dorm room the moment he and Mustang entered. Gently, his paw prevented the young human from snapping on the light switch, softly whispering; "Wait," as his nose took in the scent. Through his surprise, Conroy immediately grasped the situation and indicated for Mustang to stay put by the door while he quietly walked to the bed, pausing a moment to fully gauge the condition of the occupant. "Andro, is there anything you need?" The question was barely audible but resulted in a slight stirring of the covers.

"Time, my friend," was all Androcles the lion sleepily whispered back, turning his head just enough to catch the hyena's concerned gaze. "Just time."

Conroy placed his paw on the reclined lion's shoulder and he felt a tear slowly trail down his cheek. "Of course. I'm here when you need me, my brother." Slowly turning away, he silently guided Mustang from the room, closing the door as quietly as possible.

In the hallway, Mustang's concern could no longer be contained. "What is it? What happened? Is Andro...?"

Conroy tenderly touched his paw to his friend's lips. "Shh. He'll be fine," he said, another tear forming. "He... he took in Jimmy." Saying the words opened the gates of emotion for the hyena. Having recently taken in - or eaten - someone himself out of anger and self-defense, he was also fully aware of the other end of the spectrum where anthros are taken in out of love. Throwing his paws around Mustang, he hugged him tightly, feeling both happy and sad for Andro, understanding that recent events had led to this; not simply one giving himself to another.

Initially too shocked by the revelation to respond to the hug, Mustang eventually put his arms around his hyena friend as his mind raced through the past few days. This makes the third human eaten since he arrived at Anthro Alley a week ago. He had witnessed Conroy take in Doug, the jock who had attacked them, then learned of Russell the bear's confession of eating the missing student. And now his roommate - also his friend and anthro brother - has taken in Jimmy, the reporter he had fallen in love with. Mustang had understood Conroy's actions, since Doug had clear intentions of killing them both, but Andro eating his lover? Although he felt safe in the embrace of his hyena brother, there were a lot of questions forming that needed answers.

* * * * *

Androcles opened his eyes as the first rays of Sunday phased through the thin curtains of the single window in the room. He lazily glanced over to see Mustang's bed undisturbed, noting that Conroy had granted him the time to let his body complete its absorption of Jimmy, the man he had loved so briefly. Melancholy wouldn't describe it, but since humans can't take in their lovers, they simply don't have a word that can come close to how the lion feels. Compassion, joy, contentment and love; knowing he'll never be without the spirit of his human partner. But always with an underlying sadness that he can never again converse with him, or hold him, or look into his eyes.

Sitting on the edge of his bed, his large hind paws spreading over the cold floor, Andro had a sensation that he knew came from Jimmy; a tinge of guilt strong enough to not disperse as his body became part of the lion's. Andro smiled wistfully, acknowledging that he would journey to the hospital to check on the condition of the man Jimmy had accidentally hurt. The lion knew the nature of his lover; that he wasn't driven by anger, but that events became more than he could handle. They hadn't fully discussed what happened, but Andro knew Jimmy wouldn't intentionally harm anyone, and respected him for having such strong feelings that they carried over beyond his death.

* * * * *

Jeff glanced up from his hospital bed and immediately scowled at his visitor. As editor of the_Eagle's Nest_, he rarely had to deal with anyone other than his staff, allowing him a sense of control over his environment. He functioned best through the printed word and saw human interaction as a distraction to reporting on the human condition. Unless he was discussing a deadline or byline, he preferred email or texts. Besides not allowing him the privacy he desired, or access to his precious paper, the hospital contained far too many noises and distractions for Jeff to not feel fatigued by it all. So, scowling at any visitor - usually a nurse who tried to remain cheerfully professional against his naturally hostile demeanor - was expected. But this particular visitor caused Jeff to clench his teeth in annoyance.

"Since when do they allow animals in hospitals?" Jeff's voice was darkly sarcastic through his slightly weakened state.

Androcles stood at the end of the bed and smiled in response. His only knowledge of Jeff was from what Jimmy had told him, and now from the inner sensations that have carried over into him; vague, but identifiable. "I don't know. What time were you admitted?" Andro's tone was markedly friendly and calm, wanting to accent his point with politeness.

"Oh, clever. Your trainer must be proud. Is there a reason you're bothering me?" Jeff laid back on his pillow and stared at the ceiling.

"My name is Androcles. Perhaps you've heard of me. I was interviewed for an article that you didn't print." The lion's tone was still calm and pleasant, not seeing the need to aggravate the human any more than just his being there was doing.

Hearing the name sent a chill through Jeff, who immediately considered the possibility that this beast standing at the foot of his bed might be there for retaliation. "I printed what the campus needed to know. About you and your kind."

"You do your fellow students a disservice by assuming they're as narrow-minded as you." Andro smiled as he spoke, not taking his eyes off Jeff. 'You printed a fabrication dressed up as fact." The human glared at the lion. "I think the campus should know the truth. Don't you?"

Jeff tried to look disinterested. "Well, since only one of us here has control over what appears in the Eagle's Nest, I'd say you have your work cut out for you."

"You mean I can't just ask nicely for you to print the original article? Even if I say 'pleeease'?" Andro gave an exaggeratedly sweet smile, showing his white teeth and fangs.

Jeff sneered. "I deleted Olson's article. And since he appears to have fled I doubt you'll be able to ask him for a copy. Now if you'll excuse me, Mister Lion, I need my rest."

"Of course," Andro replied as he dipped his head in casual salute. "It was a pleasure meeting you and I wish you a speedy recovery."

The lion turned to leave as Jeff muttered, "Please don't trouble yourself visiting again." He probably assumed it wasn't loud enough to hear, but Andro's keen ears caught every word.

Stepping into the hallway, the big lion almost bumped into a nurse right outside the door as she was checking her cart of medications. "I'm so sorry," she said as she abruptly took Andro's arm and led him away from Jeff's room. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop but I couldn't help overhearing. That man's been a complete ass to everyone here, so don't take anything he said personally."

Andro smiled warmly as he turned to her, "Oh, I'm sure he meant everything he said. But thank you. Um, may I ask what his condition is?"

"He has a concussion but he'll be fine in a few days. He says he was attacked, but after dealing to him I'm certain he provoked it." She glanced up at him as she let his arm go. "Oh, I know; I'm a nurse and shouldn't say such things, but he's been such an ass! Just a big ass."

They smiled together and Andro tenderly rubbed her cheek with the back of his paw, momentarily forgetting how skittish some humans could be about being touched, especially by anthros. But the nurse smiled, touching her fingers to the spot before turning to resume her duties. As he watched her return to her tasks, he thought to himself, "Yeah, there's still hope."

* * * * *

Rebecca's eyes widened as she glanced up from her computer screen to see a seven-foot anthro lion smiling at her from the doorway. Sundays at the Eagle's Nest classroom offices were usually quiet since the paper comes out on Fridays; weekends being a time to relax before beginning the quest for the next deadline. But with the paper's editor, Jeff, currently recovering in the hospital, assistant editor Rebecca was busily ensuring that Eaglespoint College's weekly paper wouldn't suffer from lack of attention. She was counting on a few of the staff dropping in to help, but Andro's appearance caused her to gasp.

"I'm sorry if I startled you," the lion said as he tentatively took a step into the room.

"No, I just..." Rebecca quickly pulled herself together. It's not like she wasn't familiar with the anthro population on the campus, having classes with some, and also casual acquaintances with a few. But there were no anthros on the newspaper staff. "I wasn't expecting any lions today," she smiled.

"I would've had my secretary call ahead, but we lions do like the element of surprise." Andro grinned as Rebecca giggled over his comment, reading her to not be adverse to non-humans like her editor.

"If I should venture a guess," the girl began, "might I assume you're Androcles from the article?"

The big lion smiled again. "From the original article, yes. Not the one that your paper printed." He spoke cautiously, wanting to gauge her reaction to what he considered an accusation by directly associating her with the bastardized version of the Eagle's Nest that appeared on Friday.

Rebecca's expression shifted to anger then dejection. "That wasn't us... wasn't the staff. It was Jeff, the editor." Her eyes darted around the office as if she felt she was being watched before motioning Andro to come closer. Standing on tiptoe to whisper into his ear, she continued nervously, "I don't know if I should be telling you this, but I think there's someone... an outside influence... that convinced Jeff to change the article. I know he doesn't like anthros, but he wouldn't risk his position on the paper by running that garbage unless someone assured him he could get away with it."

Andro's mouth fell open as he considered the ramifications. There had always been groups against anthros since the beginning of "The Integration Project", from small-time gun clubs to the Westbrook Freedom Church to conservative senators and congresspersons. But to directly subvert a college newspaper? They'd have to know that wouldn't stay quiet. Unless they figured the damage - swaying the public against anthros - was worth the risk. And judging by the reactions so far, perhaps they're right. "Do you know who...?" he began in a hushed tone.

"No, and I'm not a hundred percent on any of it. I'm going by things I've seen and heard. ...And, um, sort of overhearing a few of Jeff's phone calls when he was working on the last issue." She looked embarrassed to admit to eavesdropping, even as a reporter.

Tilting his head in a thoughtful manner, the lion gently placed a soft paw on Rebecca's upper arm. "Well, whether there's a conspiracy behind it or not, the fake article had a serious effect. And once public opinion goes against you, it's hard to get back." He smiled wistfully and sighed as he gazed down into her eyes. "Jimmy's article could've done so much good..."

"Oh, if Jeff hadn't deleted it, I'd print it in a heartbeat! I feel so bad about all this..."

The big lion gave her a huge grin. "Do you mean that?" Fishing into the small pocket of his loincloth, he held up a small, shiny flash drive. Jeff's earlier comment reminded Andro that Jimmy had brought over the article for him to review, where it had remained plugged into his computer.

"Is that...?" she asked, looking nearly awestruck.

"It is," Andro replied as he carefully placed it in her hand. "Jimmy gave this to me before the paper came out. Are you sure you can...?"

Rebecca stopped him by placing her fingers over his lips. "Androcles, we may be in a small town, but most of us here on campus are more open minded than the loud mouthed, bigoted authoritarians who can't accept change. Whatever his reason, what Jeff did was a journalistic travesty. But this gives me the means to correct it." As she spoke, she was back in full assistant editor mode, using one computer to download the article, and another to pull up contact information to notify the staff that they were needed for a special edition of the Eagle's Nest.

"I may lose my position here on the paper for doing this," she continued, "but I read what your plans are from Jimmy's interview and that's worth a bit of activism on our part." She stopped her frenetic multitasking a moment to give the big lion a reassuring smile. "Despite what happened, I hope you know that a lot of us are on your side, Androcles."

"Please, just Andro. I'm... I don't know what to say. I came here thinking I might be dealing with more 'Jeffs'."

"We're reporters. We dig for the truth. Well, not those that have their own agenda, I guess." Rebecca shrugged, obviously uncomfortable with Jeff's hijacking the paper. "And... this isn't just your battle, you know. A lot of the students favored the anthros coming here. It was exciting for us to have our school selected for the integration."

"You have no idea what this means to me, Rebecca." Andro gently lifted her chin and gazed deeply into her eyes. "But I wouldn't feel right allowing you to jeopardize yourself here... your job on the paper..."

"Andro," she replied, taking his soft paw into her hands. "If the newspaper doesn't rectify this, then I won't stay on board anyway. If it can't report the facts..." She felt momentarily distracted by the softness of the lion's huge paw. "Most of the students here would support your ideas, but they're constantly fed rumors and lies. The media repeats the crap so often that it eventually becomes what people believe. What Jeff did, by allowing the Eagle's Nest to follow suit, simply affirmed that to a lot of the kids. They're confused now, but I think that seeing the truth will reassure them and get them back on your - our - side again." She held the big lion's gaze, struck by the deep emeralds that seemed fixed on her soul as she unconsciously caressed his paw. "Before everything fell apart, you should've heard the feedback we were getting here about your 'Adopt a Human' project. Andro, they were so excited that someone had gone beyond 'The Integration' rules and reached out! You are going to continue that, aren't you?"

"Absolutely, once it's safe. We're still in 'voluntary' lockdown at Anthro Alley." Andro was feeling an inner warmth from Rebecca's comments, affirming that his plans had been on the correct path. "Did you have the opportunity to be adopted before...?"

She blushed and looked down at his paw. "I don't get out of the office or classroom much during the day, so... " Sheepishly looking back up, she continued, "If the blue panther in my biology class is still looking for someone to adopt..." Her blush turned to a beet red.

Androcles grinned widely. "Blue panther? Oh, Dane. Yeah, I know him. I'll ask him to stop by."

"Oh, God, I feel so silly now!"

"Nah, don't. No one says that only anthros can adopt. I think it's cute. And I'm sure Dane will be honored that a human of your stature is interested in him." The lion pulled her into a gentle hug.

"My... stature?" Initially uneasy about the degree of physical contact, Rebecca allowed herself to be hugged, and then hugged back.

"Sure!" Andro purred. "You're an assistant editor and a supporter of anthros. And you're very charming."

"You're making me blush!"

"I know."

"Uhh..." a human male voice came from the doorway. "Are we, like, interrupting something?"

Leaning to see around the big lion's body, Rebecca smiled at the newcomers. "It's okay, guys. Come on in. Andro, I'd like you to meet a few of the newspaper staff: Lisa and Josh. Guys, this is Andro, and he has Jimmy's original article!"

"Awesome!" Josh replied. "I was like, totally bummed about that shit we put out Friday, man. I was, like, adopted by a total fox the other day and haven't seen her since all the shit went down, ya know?"

"Are we doing a special edition?" Lisa asked.

"Yes, we are!" Rebecca replied enthusiastically as she moved from Andro back to the desk of computers.

"We got permission already?"

"No," Rebecca glanced up at her with a determined smile. "But we're doing it anyway."

"Awesome!" Josh held his hand up to high-five Andro, who grinned and slapped it with his paw. "Man, I really dug that stuff you said to Jimmy, ya know? It's like all this time everyone's been waiting for someone to give us permission to mingle with you cats, ya know? Kinda like the government really didn't wanna see their project succeed or whatever, ya know?"

"It does seem like there was a lot of restriction in their guidelines," Andro was nearly overwhelmed at the unexpected support towards anthros, and from learning that the human students had been holding back from the same uncertainties his fellow furs had felt. He considered what Josh had said and wondered if there was any validity behind it. Is it possible that "The Integration Project" was designed to fail? Just toss humans and anthros together, tell them to be wary of each other, keep them subtly segregated, and then declare the project a failure? Ever since the anthros had revealed themselves to the world, there had been controversy over their status as citizens, with some powerful groups strongly advocating against them. But these groups knew public opinion would sway if the anthro populations successfully mingled with the humans, and "The Integration Project" guidelines, while spouting good intent, sure seemed geared to prevent solid interaction.

Andro wasn't overly familiar with human conspiracy theories and wondered if some of his thoughts were somehow influenced by Jimmy's essence. But his musings were interrupted by Josh casually leaning in to whisper a question.

"Yo, dude," he said softly as he let his arm press against the lion's chest, "Is that, ya know, paw sucking thing you cats do really as awesome as you described?"

With a smile spreading over his face, Andro whispered back, "Better. Words can't give it justice." He winked at the now wide-eyed human.

"Whoa, awesome! I gotta get my ass out there and find that fox who adopted me! Heh!"

Putting a paw on his shoulder, Andro lowered his head to Josh's ear. "Just so ya know, it often leads to sex. Anthros are pretty open about that." He grinned as he watched Josh's eyes get even wider.

"Whoaaa..."

"Excuse me, Andro..." Unaware of the private conversation, Lisa aimed a camera at the two. "Do you mind having your picture accompany the article?"

The big lion smiled, moving his paw down over Josh's chest, pulling him against his furry body so they both faced their impromptu photographer. "My pleasure!" He flashed a friendly grin while holding a startled Josh as Lisa snapped off a few quick shots.

"Great! Thanks!" She was immediately at her PC, preparing to download the images.

A few more of the newspaper staff wandered in, intrigued by being called on a Sunday for a special edition, and curious to find a lion in the news room. Rebecca took on the editor role as if she had been born to it and pointed people to boards and notes and PCs while calmly giving verbal instructions. Everyone set to their task and Andro watched in awe as the room full of humans worked as a cohesive team, all towards the goal of reproducing the paper that should've been what the campus saw Friday. Glancing up at the lion, she smiled and held up Jimmy's flash drive. "I've copied the article, but you should keep this safe."

"Thank you. I will." He gently took the drive from her, letting his paw linger a moment on her hand. He looked at the small plastic device that contained the last thing his lover had written and felt a pang of sadness. Raising Rebecca's hand to his lips, he tenderly kissed it. "I should let you get to work here."

She blushed a bit at Andro's old-fashioned gallantry but was too into being an editor to let it slow her down. "The article may have more impact now. I think most of the students here will be even more sympathetic when they learn about the deception." She paused a moment and looked into his emerald eyes. "I'm glad you're going to keep the adoptions going."

A wistful smile was Andro's initial reply. "I promised someone very special to me that I wouldn't give up on my dream, so yeah, we'll be doing more of that and whatever else we can to bring us all together." He leaned down to whisper so the others wouldn't hear, "And I'll ask Dane to stop by later."

Rebecca blushed and grinned. "Thank you," she whispered back.

"If you need me for anything, I'm in Anthro Alley. Room 206." He gave a quick smile to Rebecca as she turned to address the concerns of the paper, and a wave to Josh, who grinned and gave a thumbs-up. Stepping outside, he heard someone comment about Jimmy not being there to help. The big lion sighed.

* * * * *

Feeling someone poking his shoulder, Andro rolled over in his bed to see who was trying to wake him. He had spent the latter part of Sunday talking to as many furs in the dorm as he could, wanting to get to each individually to encourage them to get back to the "Adopt a Human" project. Having only gotten to bed a few hours earlier, he wasn't initially too pleased to be the subject of someone's jabbing finger, but as he squinted his green eyes open he saw his roommate, Mustang, grinning widely at him with an equally happy Conroy right behind.

"Andro!" the young human said excitedly as soon as he saw signs of life from his exhausted friend. "Your picture's in the paper! Check this out!" As Mustang thrust the front page of the Eagle's Nest towards him, Andro saw his grinning essence accompanied by a headline proclaiming "The Truth About Anthros: Peace and Love!"

His jaw nearly hit the floor. "Oh my... How did they do all this so fast?" He took the paper from his roommate and quickly scanned the lead article.

"The whole issue is about us!" Mustang continued. "Well, by 'us' I mean anthros, or Anthro Alley! Well, yeah, us!" Conroy giggled and nudged Mustang forward, causing him to fall over onto the reclining lion. Andro wrapped a paw around him in a friendly hug as he continued to read.

"All the furs are back out adopting people again like you asked 'em," the hyena proclaimed excitedly. "And a bunch of humans are even coming here!"

"This is amazing," Andro proclaimed quietly as he quickly reviewed each article. Along with Jimmy's original interview, there were commentaries about how "The Integration Project" had failed to follow through on its own guidelines, how various organizations were intent on preventing anthros from gaining equal status, how the Eagle's Nest was hijacked by the editor (now facing suspension), and even an editorial stating that the actions of one bear (the bear that ate the student) shouldn't be used to condemn the otherwise spotless record of anthros. Without Editor Jeff's closed-minded control of the paper, the special issue turned into a pro-anthro exposition debunking months of rumors and lies.

A light knock at the door interrupted Andro's reading and Mustang bounced himself off the bed to answer it, rubbing Conroy's chest as he passed. The big lion grinned when he saw the four figures and sat up to greet them. "Rebecca! Josh! You guys did a whole paper in one night!" Quick introductions were done, including the two human's escorts; Dane the blue panther and Kristen the fox.

"It was quite the all-nighter, "Rebecca said, the tiredness obvious in her still-excited eyes, "but we were all fired up about it!"

"Yeah, dude!" Josh chimed in. "Jeff totally harshed out everyone with his shit, ya know? And now it's, like, all peace and love out there! It's awesome, bro!" He tightened the hug he had on his new fox friend. "Your adoption thing is totally cool!"

Dane gave Rebecca's neck a nuzzle. "Yeah, fur. Thanks for getting us together." Rebecca blushed and Andro grinned.

Mustang couldn't help feeling proud of his lion brother. "Wow, it's just like what you were talking about the other night." He pulled Conroy up against him, who responded by licking his cheek.

"It's still early, but so far it looks like the entire campus is responding," Rebecca said as she good-naturedly fended off Dane's groping. "As silly as it seems, it's like everyone was sitting back and waiting for someone to tell them that it's okay to actually integrate!"

"And that someone was you, bro!" Josh tapped Andro's chest with his fist.

Conroy giggled. "And if it wasn't for Mustang, we wouldn't know how awesome having human friends is! Mustang's the best friend I ever had!"

Embarrassed by the attention, Mustang ruffled the hyena's hair. 'Mush!" he said, laughing.

Outside in the crisp morning air, students were still discovering the special issue of the Eagle's Nest and appreciated learning that their anthro classmates had been wanting to reach out to them, as they had wanted. And reading of the abuses by law enforcement and other authorities, they felt the need to rally their support to their furry counterparts. Those that had already been adopted went to their new anthro friends, bringing others with them. Since the student ratio was overwhelmingly human, they decided that each anthro would simply need to adopt more than one person.

The commons area of Anthro Alley was packed with humans and anthros - all happily getting to know each other. Andro stepped out with Mustang and Conroy, his paws around them both, and was overwhelmed at what he saw. His dream was becoming reality. As a few nearby furs recognized who had joined them, they began to clap, which quickly spread to the entire crowd, applauding and cheering. Andro hugged Mustang and Conroy in tight next to him as a tear slowly made its way down his cheek.

* * * * *

A few hundred miles away in the lavish den of an opulent private estate, a copy of the Eagle's Nest was being slowly crumpled in the fists of a very irritated gentleman. "Dammit," he mumbled to himself as he involuntarily bit through the expensive cigar clenched between his teeth. "That damn lion is going to be a bigger problem than I thought."

* * * end * * *