FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Surrounding me, suffocating me. A sea of razor sharp claws, talons, and fangs.

Full arsenals honed with centuries of evolution. Armed to rend meat from the bone; to rip apart any prey too slow to run.

Sweat rolls down the nape of my neck. My eyes dart from one long maw of teeth to the next.

I couldn't escape the sight of it. Incisors, molars, long pointed canines, animalistic masticators of all kinds. Just waiting for the chance to sink into their next fleshy, juicy morsel. To them, I was just a strip of meat. A strip of meat flanked by hungering, freakish beasts from every angle.

Sideways stares and displeased glances flash my way from the wall of furry bodies looming overhead. Their constant gawking made it abundantly clear that I was the oddity. As ironic as it was for all these ill-mannered beasts to see me as the weird one, they were kinda right. Sweating is almost exclusively a human thing. And right now, I'm sweating bullets.

Our university has just one 'lucky' human student left: Yours truly. The rest of the student body and school faculty are entirely beast-folk. Right now, it feels like the only thing keeping these animals from pouncing on me like I'm the last meal on earth was their thin veneer of civility.

It's not hard to tell that despite their politeness, everyone here is tense. I was all too accustomed to reading beast-folk body language by now. Fur bristled. Ears erect and twitching. Pupils narrowed. Nobody would say it, but it's obvious what's weighing on them.

The mauling. Bloodshed in the halls of this very school.

So crowded. So loud...

Between the buzz of mixed chatter and growls, and the combined musk of a hundred tightly packed beast-folk, my senses are overloaded. I need to catch some air before I pass out.

All I can offer are futile 'sorry!'s and 'excuse me!'s to those whom I wriggle past in the crowd. Surely, my pleasantries are lost under their rumble of hoots, barks, and whinnies. Bumping elbows and stumbling over hooves, I manage to break free from the crowd of beasts. I disappear into the entrance of a bathroom dug into the wall.

-

Air. Sweet, fresh air. (Well, maybe "fresh" is a bit generous for a public bathroom made for beasts...)

I bask in the moment of peace. A quick scan of the stalls assures me that I'm entirely unaccompanied. It was a bit jarring coming from the exploding hallway of slobbering beasts to the bathroom's stillness, but I can't complain. I'm gonna soak in this rare moment of isolation while I can.

Thmp, thmp, thmp.

... Or not. My hearing is nowhere near as keen as my peers, but I don't need the ears of a bat to hear the three sets of plodding footsteps entering the washroom. Much to my chagrin, three all too familiar faces make sure that I'm not alone for long. A booming guffaw bounces around the cracked tiles lining the walls, and a pack of beast girls enter.

A tall, diesel-cut hyena woman strides into view. Behind, her two cronies, a skunk and a lizard.

"Awww, lookie here girls! Ol' PEE PANTS hiding in the potty! Who coulda guessed!" The hyena beams. Her little peanut gallery was nothing but giggles. Failing to keep my cool, I involuntarily shiver at their approach.

Just two steps away from me stands Bethany, notorious hyena bully. If you've been to a high school, you're familiar with the type. Likes to push everyone around, acts like she owns the place. All these years later, and Beth's still shaking down kids by the ankles for their lunch money, like we're still in elementary. She doesn't care. Everything is just one big joke to Beth. No matter how cruel she may be, she always has that damn yellow fanged grin stretched from ear to ear.

Beth steps forward, and I match it with my own step back. I backpedal deeper and deeper into the bathroom, eager to retreat. If I could choose between the sensory overload of the halls, and confronting Bethany's hellish smile once more, I'd rather brave being trampled in the stampede. The bitchy hyena begins her assault, and spits,

"How ya been livin' pee pants? It's been a dogs age since we've seen each other, hasn't it! Real shame... Gotta tell ya, nobody's as fun to give a lashing as you, dweeb," she says. Beth paws at the air, claws outstretched.

"I really thought after the MAULING -" she snarls, snapping her jaws at me to accentuate her threat, "- you woulda' done the smart thing and never come back to this school!"

She sniggers, then shrugs. "But, who am I kiddin'. You n' smart just don't mix, dork."

From behind her, an all-too enthusiastic mustelid chips in. "Yeah! Nothin' but pebbles in lil' piss pants' thinker! Tard's got dust n' cobwebs 'tween the ears! Ha! Right guys!?" the skunk screeches, eager to join Beth's razzing. She bounces on her feet, hanging on every word from the hyena high above.

In the back of the washroom, their third member lights up a cigarette and leans against the wall opposite the entrance. The lizard girl's eyes dutifully affix on the entrance, standing watch. She hisses from the corner, "Kid is somewhere on the spectrum, for sure. Should've thrown in the towel like every other baldie. Leave for good." A long cloud of smoke chases her words. Her mumbling was halfhearted, like she could barely muster the energy to speak.

Who the heck is she calling 'baldie'? She's covered in scales!

The skunk vigorously shakes her head in agreement. Beth stands there smiling, arms crossed. The yeen leans in closer, exposing her long row of meat shredding, bone crunching, carnivorous teeth with a fat grin. The stench of her breath makes my eyes water. I stumble, and my back bumps against a wall.

Sharply, I sigh. Of course Beth just had to somehow find me in that gigantic crowd of students. And of course, the second I find myself alone, she circles in for the kill with an adoring audience! Just my luck to be stuck between their crosshairs, a big fat bullseye that says "Human" on my back.

I scan the gaps between the three beast girls, desperate for an exit. The towering hyena girl and her flock weren't letting up on me any time soon. Bethany presses further, until she dominates everything in my sight. I can feel her breath on my face, her smell best left not described. I swallow the lump in my throat like a stone.

Get a hold of yourself, Peanut. You have to think of something! Stupidly, I find the courage to try and fire back. I clear my dry throat and begin,

"Are you and your friends lost, Beth? This is the guy's bathroom. I know the whole 'downstairs' situation with hyenas might be confusing, but--"

Before I can finish, an iron grip claw grabs me by the collar, and I stumble. With one muscular arm, the hyena hoists me up in the air by my hoodie. She grinds my back against the tiles of the wall. Beth draws in close, her face just inches away from mine, and her grin shifts into a fang bare scowl. Our noses nearly touching, her eyes full of fire.

"The FUCK you say to me, pipsqueak!?" She roars.

Christ. That was not the play, Peanut... Meekly, I try to band-aid her mood. "L-listen Beth, I'm just saying--"

The yeen doesn't spare me another word. Her grip tightens, nails now unsheathed. I'm slammed into the wall, hard, knocking the wind right out of me.

"You think you're TOUGH or somethin', meat?" the yeen grunts. "What makes you think a scrawny wad of twigs like you can talk shit t' me? You still not gettin' it after all the years? You're lucky I don't rip out your throat out right now, and close this bunk-ass school up another month," Beth growls.

With her free hand, she jabs a single, clawed digit into my stomach. I reel. My efforts to wrestle myself away from her grasp are fruitless; I don't stand a chance against her natural strength.

"Take the hint, pee pants. Get fuckin' lost. Nobody wants you here! You're a walkin' joke! The only reason we all haven't bitten your head clean off your shoulders yet is so we can keep laughin' at ya!" After she speaks, Beth lets out her signature long drawl of hyena laughter.

"Think you can hang with the big critters, pup? Y'think you're invincible!? Newsflash, dork. Us big dogs aren't gonna tolerate wimpy little freaks like you around here any more. You're just waitin' to get sliced the fuck open. Mauled. And when it happens, pee pants, we're all just gonna laugh," Beth jeers.

And laugh she did. Another great peal of laughter, right in my face, echoing and bouncing about the room once more. Looking back at her pals, they join in on her hoarse chuckling. Beth forgets all about me for a moment in her hysteria, releasing her clutch on me. I fall, roll my ankle, and crash to the floor flat on my rear.

HHHCCK, PTU.

A fat glob of hyena spit lands right on the groin of my pants with a splat. Bethany cackles, her two pets continuing to join in concert.

"C'mon guys. No need to keep wastin' time with pee pants!" Beth says between giggles. The hyaenidae girl flips a final bird my way over her shoulder, turning for the exit. The skunk rolls an eyelid down with a tiny finger, her tongue lolling out in a taunt. Satisfied with the anguish they've inflicted on little ol' Peanut for today, the trio exit the bathroom.

I rise from the floor. With a sheet of paper towel, I scrape and dab away what I could of Bethany's spit. A quick once over assures me that all my bits and pieces were still in tact, with nothing too damaged (Except my pride). I'd likely find some bruises in the mirror later. Nothing I wasn't acclimated to.

Some soap and water, and my hands are rinsed of god knows what septic horrors are crawling on the floors of this place. Let me say, a LOT of the other guy students here... they don't have the best aim.

From the hall, an electric chime blares. Delayed no longer, classes were to resume shortly.

-

As I walk to my final lecture for the day, I think about what Bethany said. I really should count myself lucky. I'm still here, aren't I? Living and breathing. Sad to say, but some aren't so blessed. Everyone's attendance here at Flocc University was halted for a whole month after a fight on school grounds turned into a mauling. It was two beast-folk kids who fought, of course, and I know one of them was hospitalized. To my knowledge, the kid hasn't been heard from since. If I had to bet on it, I'd say they were dead.

Our board of education is referring to the maul as an "unfortunate altercation". Quite the way to understate a dead kid, don't you think? Suppose I can't talk. Were I in their shoes, I'd have to underplay the severity of it all too.

Or, uh. The teachers here don't wear shoes. Were I in their... "socks"? "Hooves"? I dunno.

Anyways, people were real mad that the Uni was shut down. Because the closure occurred so close to summer break, classes would extend into summer vacation to make up for the time lost. It sucks and all, and we've got every right to be pissed, but I think more than angry... the students here are afraid. Our university was already terribly light on humans. I was one of twelve or so humans in attendance here prior to the mauling. Now, post "unfortunate altercation", I'm the only human dumb enough to stick around. Every other guy did the smart thing. Turn tail and run.

Why not leave? It's not like I was trapped here or anything. After an incident like that, it wasn't so crazy to forgive all the squishy, fleshy humans for wanting to tap out. Guess I'm just stubborn. Perhaps I've become all too numb to their violence, what with Bethany's frequent batterings alone.

With a frustrated murmur, I fixate once more on the patch of saliva between my legs. That bone-head hyena sure wasn't going to let the pee pants thing go, was she? You'd think these beasts would try not to 'stir the pot' further after the maul. There was just no end to Beth's miserly 'tude.

Just as I enter into the lecture hall, that same dull electronic chime blares over the speakers. Class was now in session.

-

Paper planes and bellows of friendly banter are flung from wall to wall. The commotion shakes the entire lecture hall, animalistic chatter of all kinds flooding the ears. Despite the cheerful ruckus, I feel like the vibe is mixed. Of course, the majority of kids were having a good time, laughing their heads off, blabbing about whatever. Others... not so much.

Some of these beast kids look dejected. Mourning the maul, maybe. Or the loss of all that glorious free time to screw around while the Uni was boarded up. I have to say, I was feeling a little mixed up, too. Probably just my brain unscrambling from Beth and Co.'s little stickup.

I fiddle with a pencil, trying to occupy my mind. Just need to focus on what's ahead. Stay in motion. I rub the crust out from under my eye with a knuckle and a yawn.

To my side, I can just barely hear my deskmate, a Tiger, mutter something under their breath. They gesture towards me with a thumb, and whisper to a student beside them.

"Getta load of baldie over here. Guess it didn't get the memo to take a hike like every other humie. Or it's got a death wish or something..." they scoff.

I keep my eyes locked straight. Definitely don't hear any shit talking. Yep... Reeeal cool lookin' pencil.

Today marks the second day of Flocc University reopening. Formal ceremonies and long winded speeches from the faculty on stuff like "community" and "safety" had been spent. Reality was beginning to set in: long nights of homework and cramming for our finals were back on the menu.

Right on time, our history professor waddles his way up to the front of the class. Mr. Onsbock. A rhinoceros fellow, with no doubt some serious muscle beneath that generous layer of fat underneath his tan suit. Rumours say that one time, when he tried to take a seat on a park bench, he squashed the whole thing flat. While funny, you'd never laugh about it in earshot of the man himself, lest that cinderblock ass pancake you next.

Onsbock clears his throat, calling out to the seated rowdy band of beast-folks,

"ATTENTION, my dear students! Lend me your ears and we shall begin!" He shouts. Unmoved, my peers remain oblivious to Onsbock's beckoning. Nobody heard him. How could they? You could hardly hear yourself think with all this racket, let alone hear the teacher.

Onsbock tapped his cheek twice with a pudgy finger. His patience had run dry already. Sucking up a lungful of air, they bellow,

" ATTENTIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!"

I flinch, and cup my ears. Desks shake, and swear on my life, dust trickles down from the rafters, like the whole damn building was gonna come down. Sheesh. I feel bad for the rabbits a couple seats ahead of me, their sensitive ears surely blown out now.

Our professor simply clears his throat once more, now meeting the eyes of his students. A couple of them in the front row offer timid apologizes to the rhino. Onsbock splays his index towards them in a flash, pointing in a sweeping motion. He snaps,

"Don't be sorry. Be responsible!"

"And, be quiet," he adds, returning his finger to his grey lips in a 'shh' gesture. The rhinocerous gentleman then smooths his suit jacket, and finally begins the lecture.

"Good greetings, classroom! I've your undivided attention now, m'yes? I know we're all very excited to be seeing each other once more. Good! It's been too long, hasn't it? So eager to return under the tutelage of your favourite teacher Onsbock, no doubt!" He chuckles.

In my peripheral, I glance about the disinterested mugs to my left and right. Yes, Onsbock, we're all enthralled.

"Perhaps we can put all of our excitement to see our compatriots and peers again towards the pursuits of education? Let's get our spirits flowing once more with a group assignment. A little rapport between friends alongside some learning, m'yes!"

Eugh... 'M'yes'. Just great. Group projects always went fantastic for me! My partners are always so thrilled to be stuck with the human guy.

"In a moment, I'll begin calling your names in pairs. Come to my desk, and I shall present you both with further instructions."

I fold my arms on my desk, and prop my head up on my hand. Time slips away from me as I begin to doze off in the uncomfortable wait to hear my name called.

-

...

" ... Peanut Paxley!"

I jerk to attention, severing the long strand of drool oozing out of the corner of my mouth. Oh god, I didn't actually just fall asleep in class did I? I flick my head from side to side, making sure no one saw. I stare down at the front of the room, Onsbock staring up at me from his desk expectantly. I climb up out of my seat, and step down to meet the rhinocerous.

As they pass me paper sheets with instructions for our assignment, Onsbock looks over my shoulder, staring deeper into the classroom.

"Your partner seems to be distracted, Peanut. Would you be so kind as to meet them at their desk with the assignment? They are seated at the top left of the room. White fur," Onsbock said, sticking a fat finger up at the destination in question. I nod, and walk up to my future partner's desk.

... Sheesh, it looks like a bomb went off over here. Class has barely started, and it seems my assigned partner and their deskmate have made a real mess of their space.

I gently toe an empty Dairy Yeen soft-serve cup to the side as I approach the pair. Neither of them bother to greet, nor look at me. The boar student seated closest to me is transfixed on whatever Ewetube video he has blaring on his phone. Beside him sits the wolf folk who continues to dodge my gaze, intently tacking away at her laptop. I've seen her before around the university and in-class a couple times, but like most of the students here, we've never spoken.

Judging by her fluffy, snow white coat, she had to be an arctic breed of some kind. She's wearing a loose tank top that just barely hangs off her shoulders, as well as a glum, stern expression on her pointed anthro mug. She's got crystal blue eyes, totally fixed on her laptop. Long, clawed fingers race across the keys. Taktaktaktaktak.

I clear my throat, trying to spark some attention. Finally, the boar flicks an eye to their side to size me up, but it just as quickly returns to his phone. Impatience boiling over, I speak.

"Hello? Um, wolf girl? You didn't answer the professor for our project, so I brought you a copy of the instructions. Let's start, yeah...?" My voice trails, and my words fail to get a reaction. I know beast-folk, and by the way her keen ears croon towards my direction, I know she's listening.

"Th' blazes ya want, 'umie." The boar kid grunts, snout buried in a bag of chisps, licking up every last crumb. The flavour, "Mulch & Mayo" ... My taste buds shudder at the thought. The palettes of these beast-folk find new ways to repulse me each and every day. I always make an effort to avoid whatever kibble and slop they serve everyone in the food court.

I pinch myself between my eyebrows. "Dude, I literally just said. I'm here to do the project we're all supposed to be doing," I respond, pointing towards Onsbock, who's staring up at us from his front desk.

"... And with the way teach is looking at us, I think it's your turn to go pick up the instructions." The rhinocerous held his gaze. No doubt tired of waiting, fingers drumming the desk.

The boar grumbles. Dusting crumbs off their chest, they awkwardly wiggle up and rise from their chair with a 'hrk'. As he brushes past me, the boar kid mumbles, "... 'ate schkewl, 'ate 'omework. 'ate umies. Simple as ..."

I sigh, and look to the wolf. I brush away Dorito crumbs and crumpled papers, and take the now vacant seat next to her. It's uncomfortably warm.

"Um, hey! I don't think we've talked before. I'm Pea-"

"Pants." The white wolf bites. "Yes, I'm painfully aware of your existence, baldie. Clearly I can't ignore you away, so I'll say this once: Fuck off. I'm busy, if you couldn't fuckin' tell."

I slump. God. Is there no end to mouthy beast-folk making my life more difficult than it needs to be!? I pause for a moment, and center myself. Don't let these fuzzy jerks get to you, Peanut. Just breathe. Again, I start,

"Listen, wolf. Er, lady. What's your--"

"Alex," she growls, helpfully. "Just Alex."

"Right, Alex. Look, I know that my mere presence is just so unbearable for you and everyone else. Believe me, I'd rather not bother you! So, if we could get this dumb group project done as fast as possible, I'll be outta your fur and on my way, okay? Please?"

Her frown deepens, and her brows furrow. Eyes still dead straight on her computer, typing like lightning. Maintaining her swift strokes on the keys, she hollers towards me,

"YOU listen, baldie. I'm up to my goddamn eyeballs in homework and finals cramming. I really couldn't give a rat's ass about this dumbass project. I can bang it out on my own no problem. If a brain delayed ape like you needs someone to hold your hand through it, it sure as shit ain't gonna be me. So, fuck. Off."

Ugh. Fine. Forget it. I turn away. What did I expect, really? Why expect even a halfway pleasant conversation from these beast-folk freaks? Hell'll freeze over before that day comes. Whatever. I'll figure out this dumb group project thing myself. Without another word, I sling my backpack back over my shoulders and get up to leave. When I turn to go, however, that snide growl pipes up behind me once again.

"Yeah, get lost, baldie. Go cry to your fuckin' mommy all I care. Get it through that thick ass skull already. Bail before you get yourself mauled.

Nobody. Wants. You. Here." The wolfess hisses, each word sharp as blades.

I tremble. My fists ball. I'm dying to scream at her right now, but I catch my tongue. I'm absolutely delirious from these horrible bitches raking me over the coals for no good reason. This HAS to end. So she wants to play? Fine! Fine. I'll play. Dropping the gloves.

I spin, and stare her down for a moment. Surprisingly, she actually spares me a look this time, her eyes meeting mine for the first time.

"Y'know, Alex, I've met plenty of horrid, acrid thots like you. But you've been the first to so quickly and succinctly telegraph whatever daddy issues are eating away at you with your sad, 'horrible bitch' act. Congrats on that," I whistle.

Her typing stops. A bright blue eye twitched. A smile teases her thin lips, in a sort of 'are you serious?' sort of way.

"What's wrong, huh? Didn't expect the human to crack back? Oh, so you can dish it but you can't--"

My words are cut short. Alex snaps her jaws at me with a bark, the tried and true predatory display. I flinch, still a little traumatized from Bethany's use of the trick. Fully turning to me in her seat, the wolf croaks,

"Shut it, pee pants. I've heard better razzes from toddlers in kindergarten. You think I'm gonna take it from a scraggy lookin' dink like you, huh?"

"I figure you 'take it' plenty, Alex."

Alex busts out an involuntary 'HA!'. A wicked grin crawls up the sides of her snout, and she pounds both her fists down on the keyboard of her laptop. Behind that twisted smile, I had her pissed. Now I'm smiling, too. Despite the hostility between us, that big toothy grimace on her was infectious.

"Oooh, you're just so fuckin' funny ain't ya baldie! You think you're a comedian? A clown? You seem more like a right FAGGOT to me," she howls.

That gets a couple 'ooo's and 'aaa's from the gathering crowd. Students seated nearby were listening in to our spat now, popcorn in paw.

My mind races, trying to brew up some comeback. I should be absolutely livid at this girl, but this was... kinda fun? For once, a pack of beast kids weren't laughing at me. Well, only me, anyways.

Perhaps a little too loudly, I yelp, "The only clown around here is the one you see in the mirror, lady!"

Alex doesn't let that slide. "Yeah, well, you really know how to put the 'homo' in 'homosapien', don't ya baldie?" the wolf coos, a mocking lilt in her voice.

I look away, folding my arms. Nice homoerotic lowball, lady. Real original. Despite that, the other students were absolutely roaring.

Actually, wait. What the hell am I doing? What have I gotten myself in to? This isn't fun. This is stupid; I'm not acting like me. I wasn't looking to start a fight like this, but... I couldn't just back down now. It was either walk away now in shame, or double down. Keep digging myself deeper and try to die with some pride for once.

"Make all the assumptions you want, dude. I think you're a touch more experienced in the field of homoeroticism than me, what with that giant stick you've got crammed up your rear. How about you take the next smart-aleck thing you got to say and shove it up there too? There's plenty of room."

Alex winces. Her brow furrows deeper, and her wild, indignant smile grows wider.

"How about you shut the hell up, baldie! You've got your whoooole life ahead of you be an idiot! Take today off why don't ya!"

Exasperated, I nearly scream, "You want me to shut up now!? YOU started it!!"

"No, YOU started it when your hairless, ugly ass showed up to my desk! Who the hell are you to talk back to me, huh?! You don't know shit! You... you...

CRITTER!"

... Oh.

Jeez. Dropping the C-word like that? Right in the middle of class? What was this chick thinking!?

A long 'ooooh!' fills the air from the circle of jeering students around us. I try to see if Onsbock had heard it, but I can't see through the gathering of furred bodies. All I can see are students with phones out and aimed at Alex and I.

If she could blush, I'd guarantee you that wolf's face would be beat red right now. Her eyes dart from person to person. Her prior smile has been blown clean off. Muzzle agape, she fails to choke out recompense for her outburst. Embarrassment and horror leaks out as she realize she's gone a little too far.

Alex's eyes snap on me. Fur bristling, fangs bare, claws extended, a cold shiver surges through me. I gulp. But, before she lunges out at me and tears me to pieces, she stops. Her muscles relax, and the wolf goes limp, like her train of thought hits a brick wall. She squeezes her eyes shut, and slams her laptop shut. Alex scoops up the compact, and starts toward me. She shoves a rough paw into my shoulder, ripping me out of her way. Really, ripping, as her claws graze my arm, leaving skin-deep scratches.

Wincing, I see the sparkle of tears welling in her eyes as she passes.

Ok, now I feel really stupid. I flump back down into the flimsy plastic chair beneath me. Welp, really 'pee-pants'd that one up now, didn't I? The other kids chuckle and toss backhanded compliments my way. It hardly registers. Eughh, this crap is gonna be running through my head for a week. Maybe a month. Good lord...

-

I absently stare at the trash scattered at the desk and my feet. I have been for some time. I'm without the energy to do much else, still trying to digest what just happened. Just what is everyone's problem!? Why is every day another exercise of 'bash on the human'? What a piece of work that Alex is, huh. Screaming insults like that in the middle of class. Leaving all this Dairy Yeen trash, and her-

Her backpack. In her haste, she'd left it behind. Couldn't blame her for it, really. I would have ducked out that quick too if I had dropped the C-bomb like that, in earshot of a teacher no less.

I look around. Most of the other students were packing up their things, the bell to dismiss just a minute shy of getting everyone out the door. Looking back down at the forgotten bag, I scratch my head. Must I even spare the thought of trying to return this thing? To that wolf who just chewed me out in-front of all our peers? She'd get it back. I could just hand it off to the teacher. Or, maybe her friend, that boar guy. That'd be enough.

I snag the backpack. I zip it open, and think better of my temptation to snoop through its contents. I shuffle in the textbooks and papers Alex had also left behind as well. Lord knows I'd be distraught if I lost my textbooks. It's highway robbery the way the school system charges us for these overpriced bricks of tinder. As I'm gathering the books, something strikes me as odd, though. Biology. Calculus. An Auto-Mechanics reference manual? What? This is a history class, what in god's name did she have all these out for?

I shake my head. Doesn't matter. Just gotta get this stupid bookbag in the hands of someone who actually gives a damn, and then try to forget this whole thing ever happened. That familiar electric chime sounds off, signaling the day is over. With Alex's bag in hand, I wait at the door.

Sure enough, that portly boar student sat with Alex prior begins to waddle out. Unsurprisingly, his hooves were deep down yet another bag of crisps. Moving in, I call out to him,

"Hey, boar kid! Slow down! I've got a question, if you don't mind...?" I pull up beside him, standing just a head taller. Despite being a good foot away, one can easily surmise they don't bother with deodorant, let alone showers.

He grunts. "I do mind, but go 'ead. The 'ell do ya want, 'umie. Don't rightly want a spat like y' did with wolfcunt, I don't," he spits through a mouthful of chips.

"No, no. Your friend's bag," I shake the backpack in my hands, "That wolf. They, uh, left it behind. Do y'think you could drop it off at her house or something?"

The boar retorts, cramming another hoof full of salty snacks down his gullet, "'ell if I'm goin' out of my way for that weirdy wolf. Don't like 'er much. Mouthy. You saw,"

"You guys aren't friends? Or at least know each other?"

"Friends? 'ell no, baldie. Girl told me 'erself, she got none. Doesn't bother with 'em. No, see, I bring 'er ice cream, an' she does m' 'omework. That's it. Simple as. Far 's I'm aware, she does 'omework for lottsa folks."

My brain buzzes, processing. No friends, embarrassed by a classmate, and dipped out of school crying.

It sounded a little too familiar.

I ask, "Well, is there anyone you can direct me to that'll get her bag back? So it gets to her, or, whatever?"

" Listen , lumpskull. I only know 'er as far as I need to shmooze 'er for m' 'omework gettin' done, get it? Just 'bout everyone does. Go deliverin' it yerself if ya want it to 'er that bad. Lives in the Maple Ridge blocks, she does," he says. The boar turns, tips the bag of chips over his mouth to suck up any remaining crumbs, and starts to grumpily walk off.

I dive out, and clasp my hand on the boar's shoulder. "Wait!" I cry.

He cranes his chubby head back at me, displeased.

"What, uh -- what flavour of ice cream does she like?"

-

Elbowing my way through the hasty pack of reptiles, bovines, and canids, we all spill out of the bus and onto the sidewalk. I nurse my throbbing shoulder, the result of getting a little too close to the prickly spines of a bearded dragon fella. Despite being designed to support beast-folk of all sizes, the bus was always cramped shoulder to shoulder. Being a human often stuck in the middle of crowds of towering beasts, you get used to being rattled around and bruised. In my free hand, a brown take-out bag crinkles.

Breaking free of the crowd, I survey the area. The bus loop ends right at the corner of my place, Maple Ridge Residential. Lovingly, the letters 'M' and 'R' have been unscrewed from the display and swapped by some jokers.

These apartments weren't in the nicest part of town, if the sight of it wasn't obvious. 'Run-down' would be a generous descriptor. The building was barely standing, no doubt held together with bubblegum and duct tape. So naturally, being the stiff Ritz-Carlton competition it is, the school was happy to help hole up half the student body in here. The student housing program provided spots in the Ridge apartments for a vast amount of Flocc's students. Hell, I'm pretty sure there were more kids from my school living here than standard tenants. Fortunately, I've gathered Alex lives here too.

I screwed up real bad today. I think I was pretty understandably on-edge, what with Beth and the goonettes, and hell! The whole maul scare in general has me and everyone else spooked pretty bad. It's hard to look at my peers the same. The claws... The fangs... Their breath-

Stop. I shake my head, and take in a lungful of crisp air. Breathe, Peanut. It doesn't matter how strung up you are. You could've just ignored that dumb wolf's jabs. Yeah, sure, it was kinda funny at the time. I'd be lying if I said I didn't like having a crowd laughing with me instead of at me. I know Alex was angry, but the way she smiled, had she not thought our quip sess was funny too? At least a little? Or, was she really scowling that whole time? Hard to tell with certain species. Still, I really must've struck some kinda nerve for her to drop the C-word on me.

Me blowing up like that... that was not cool. I don't want to make anyone feel that way. I can't let someone think that of me, even a sasshole like Alex. If I don't keep my control, I'd be just as bad as these boorish beasts.

Paper bag in hand, I put a palm to it's sides, inspecting the temperature. Still cold. My trump card. Had to hurry before it melted. I was gonna walk up to that girl's door, and apologize. We live in a polite society. And in a polite society, that's what civilized human beings do.

-

Why is it so dang cold?

Slipping through the lobby and up the stairwell, a blast of cold washes over me as I hit the fifth floor. I tighten Alex's backpack on my shoulder, and clutch the Dairy Yeen bag in my hands tighter. I would've brought a parka and some snowshoes if I'd've known December came six months early up here. The climate control system on this floor must have been malfunctioning. Or perhaps the temperature on the system was purposefully cranked way the heck down. Who knows.

Begrudgingly, I trudge down the hall. I see nobody and nothing with me, besides the clouds of my own breath hanging in the frigid air.

I'm up to the door. Room 405.

Alright Peanut. Get it together. Shake these nerves right out of yourself. Just drop in, smooth out the wrinkles of this sour-ass day, and we can all move on with our lives. Yeah, I can do that. I've had, am having, and most assuredly will have worse days. Let's just make today a memory as fast as possible. I slap my cheeks, and raise a fist to rap my knuckles on the door. Before I can even knock, someone speaks from behind the door.

"Whoever the fuck you are, I could smell your B.O comin' from a mile away," they bark. Alex. Her tone, a dead give away.

I try to speak, but nervousness ties my throat in a knot. C'mon, think...

As the wolf keeps talking, my hand dives into the crinkly to-go bag and pulls out a cup of frosted dessert. I pop the plastic lid off with a thumb.

"Hello? You deaf or something guy!? Don't make me come out and--"

Her sentence stops dead. The door opens, and a pointed white snout peaks out from behind it. Nose tugging at the air, it tries to identify whatever's in my hand.

"... what is that" Alex yips.

I waggle the cup of ice cream in my hand. "They didn't have bubblegum, so I got cotton candy. Is that ok?"

Surprised, the words fly out of her muzzle, "PEE PANTS!? What the f-- Why are-- ?"

A long, conflicted sigh escapes her from behind the door. She grinds her teeth, chewing on the turn of events.

"... God FUCKIN' damnit baldie. Get the hell in before someone sees you, for God's sake,"

The door swings wide open. In a second, a furry paw grabs me by the arm, and yanks me into the apartment.

-

"Uh, hey."

'Hey'. That's all I can choke out.

" You. You-- you!-- RRGGAAH!" Like a gunshot, Alex kicks the entrance to her apartment shut with a 'bang!'. Her fur bristles, with arms folded and claws gripping her sides tightly.

"Oooooh baldie, you've got a LOT of fuckin' nerve to toddle up here. I oughta RIP YOU OPEN for, for!--"

Before she can go on the expected humie hating tirade, I thrust her backpack into her arms.

"Stop! Please, Alex, just stop for a second," I beg. "Look. You forgot your bookbag at school. I went to all the flippin' trouble to come here and give it to you. Can you just shut it for five seconds and let me explain myself?"

Alex, claws now clasped around the bag, stays still and attentive. She's still got a nasty scowl sagging down the sides of her face, but she's listening at least.

"And I, uh. Brought ice cream." I raise the Dairy Yeen in my hand.

The wolf seethes. Alex clicks her tongue, blue irises digging to the corner of her eyes in thought.

"... Fine," Alex concedes.

She trots up to a sofa and sits, unzipping her bag to make inventory of its contents. I follow, and set the ice cream down on a coffee table.

As soon as its out of my hands, the wolf snatches up the cotton candy treat. She gracefully tips the cup up to her muzzle. No spoon, she just starts drinking the bloody thing. I awkwardly look on as the cold dessert slides down her gullet, gulp by gulp.

"C-can I sit, or...?" I gum with a scratch of my chin.

Generously, Alex rips herself from her ice cream to address me. "What am I, your owner? I don't care what you do."

That's about the nicest 'yes' anyone was going to get out of her. I pat an empty cushion, and sit myself down. I clasp my hands around my arms in a hug, trying to shrug off the cold in the air. Alex was still deep in her cup of Dairy Yeen, the awkward silence broken only by Alex's slurps. I take a look around the apartment.

It's a uni girl's apartment alright. Aside from the familiar animalistic musk, it stinks of weed in here.

In contrast to the chaos of the apartment, there's Alex. She's in a pair of pink flannel pajama bottoms, and a loose fitting band shirt. To be honest, her 'at-home' look doesn't stray too far from the way she dresses in public. From what looks like three sleepless days worth of bags under her eyes, I'd guess she's just too tired to care. Yet, despite the frumpy and tired appearance, she kinda looked... uh.

Y'know.

Alex slaps her cup on the coffee table, empty, with a contented sigh. I dart my head somewhere else. I wasn't staring, was I? Did she see?

"Yeah, I know, it's a mess," Alex cracked. She turns over on the couch, leaning up and facing the depths of the apartment, and yells,

"It'd be nice if my NO-GOOD, LOUSY, POT HEAD ROOMMATES would maybe PITCH IN and CLEAN IT ONCE IN A WHILE!"

From another room, some geeked college girl faintly grunts in retaliation. The arctic wolf turns back to her seat, sinking deep into the couch in a slump.

"Who told you where I lived, anyways?" Alex asked. "You creep on me all the way home?"

I roll my eyes and shake my head. "Benny told me."

"Benny? Who-- Oh. Billy. Boar guy?" Alex says, connecting the dots. I nod.

"Hrm... Yeah, well, I'll pencil 'em down on my shit list. Right below you, pee pants."

Welp. Sorry Billy.

Groaning, I rest my forehead on a palm. "I get it already. You've got a raging hate boner for me, just 'cause I'm--"

Alex interjects, pointing a claw at the untouched ice cream I had moved to my lap. Inquiring, she asks with a long lick of her lips, "Are you eating yours?"

The words disappear in my mouth, my train of thought lost. "... Tch. Go for it," I relent. Alex wastes no time, and leans over to pluck the cold dessert from my lap. I don't mind, really. I have no interest in trying to eat any ice cream in this freezing apartment. She's already popped off the top of the cup, taking greedy swigs.

Turning my head, I quietly grumble to myself, "I'd appreciate a little bit of manners, but what am I supposed to expect from you people..."

Sadly, those long ears are far too keen. With a mouth full of cotton candy sugar, she huffs out a negatory 'Mm Mm' between closed lips.

She swallows. "Nah nah nah," Alex protests, wiping her mug clean of ice cream with the back of her paw. Artificial pink and blue smear her nice white fur. "You don't get to tell me shit about 'manners' after what happened today."

I'm sorry, what? But she started this stupid disagreement! God. I want to jump out of my seat and throttle her. But... no. No, that's not you Peanut. Remember.

With a sigh, I reply, "Yeah, I know you're still mad. I'm doing all I can here, lady. I'm really trying to be nice! Can you just throw me a bone here and ease off me a bit? You see what I just got for you? Why are you always at my throat?"

Alex lowers her ice cream, looking into it. She taps it's side with a contemplative claw.

"If you're so pissed," I continue, "Just get it out of your system. C'mon, I know you've got plenty of sucker punches just lined up and waiting to be shot off. Go ahead, hit me." I gesture towards myself, arms spread like I'm ready to take a punch. That gets a slight smirk out of her at least, if not with malicious intent.

Impatient, I challenge her again, "C'mon! I ain't gonna cry."

With a now complete smirk, Alex snarls, "You stink like a fuckin' virgin, dude. Literally everyone laughs about it, 'cause we can all smell it on you."

Ok, ow.

"You never learn how to work the shower or something? I know you might look like a chimp, but you're not dumb as one, are ya? Maybe you can get one of your 'homo'-sapien boyfriends to give you a hand washing up," she snickers.

My lack of a shower isn't even my fault! Because this apartment complex is so shitty, our shower hasn't worked for a week. I've had to use the one at school just to wash up. And let me tell you, sharing a shower with a bunch of beast-folk is not fun. I lean back in the sofa, fully prepared for this to be my life for the next hour. Death by a thousand quips. Just let her tire herself out, Peanut. This is nothing.

"Oh, but perhaps expecting you to have any friends is putting too much faith in you, pee pants. You've got that 'only a mother could love' kinda face. A blind, deaf mother. I wouldn't blame her if she asked you to run away from home," she says, unrelenting in her assault. The wolf crawls over to me on her hands and knees, pinching my cheek between two fuzzy digits. Her little paw pads rub smoothly against my skin. I swat her hand away, and she continues,

"I'm sure it ain't all bad for you, baldie. The visitors must toss you plenty of bananas at the zoo!"

I reluctantly smile, and Alex recoils back in a howl of laughter.

"You done?" I ask, not at all pleading.

"I've scraped gunk off the bottom of my paws that looked better than you," Alex says, pretending not to listen.

"Ok, Alex--"

"You look like the "before" picture in a plastic surgery advertisement."

After that, she was silent for a moment. But as soon as I open my mouth to speak,

"I'd claw up your face, but I wouldn't wanna make an improvement."

She quiets for another moment. I keep my mouth shut, smart enough to fall for the same trick twice.

Alex chugs the last of my Dairy Yeen, and sighs. "Alright, I'm done."

"Thanks," is all I can give her. "Now, all that to say--"

"Dap me back," the wolf cuts in.

"What?"

"C'mon, dap me back. Hit me with a couple shots. I had mine, you have yours. Baldie, I live my life without anyone holding any shit over me, alright? Let's keep it even. Dap me," Alex tells, gesturing with her paw to 'bring it'.

I shake my head in disbelief. "You beast-folk are weird," I maffle.

"'Beast-folk'?" Alex stifles. "Who the hell has you using that dated yankee bullshit? Are you from the south?"

I shrug. "What am I supposed to say? 'Anthro'?"

"It's 'Kin', pee pants. Just say Kin, like everyone else."

"Y'call me rude for saying beast, yet you're still calling me 'pee pants' and 'baldie' like that's any better. Someone oughta teach you guys how to be behave. Ya'll act no better than street dogs."

Alex rears back, arms up in an overly dramatic surrender. "Oooh you got me just quivering over here baldie! Words hurt you know!" She says in jest.

"Dude, I haven't even started," I start. "Should I slow down for you? Do I need to *e - nun - ci - ate* so you can keep up? What, were you like, uh, born stupid? Or did you take lessons?"

The wolf folds up her arms, smiling now. Not in detest. Not like she was hiding something. Just... smiling. She catches me looking. As I keep staring at that toothy grin, it vanishes as she turns up her snout and pouts.

"But y'know what, wolfie, I'll give you this. You really know how to accessorize. Your flat personality goes real well with that flat chest."

"OOO-KAY," Alex howls, launching a couch cushion at my head like a catapult. The sting in my cheek tells me she's got a good arm. "I don't need to get THAT even with you, asshole."

I can't help but laugh a bit, and even Alex chuckles reluctantly.

"Sorry, but you asked for it. Should've thought better than to let me have a free shot," I apologize.

"Not free," she corrects. "Just getting even."

It feels like some of the tension in the air is dissolving. Maybe letting us both get this pent-up vitriol out of our system was a good idea. As I'm thinking, Alex rises from the sofa. "Don't go anywhere, baldie," Alex commands. Not like I was. She returns a moment later with a familiar laptop in her paws. Setting it down on the coffee table, she knocks down her empty ice cream cups to the floor. Would it kill these people to exercise a little tidiness??

"Alright. It's pretty damn obvious why you're here. You brought the ice cream, I do your schoolwork. So, let's just get this stupid history project done so you can scram," The wolf grunts. She lands on the sofa with a pomf, and I can tell her enthusiasm is draining thinking about the assignment.

"You'n everyone else, humie. That's all you want me for, eh? All of you are damn lucky my sweet tooth is bigger than my brain, 'cause I swear--"

"No, dude. Alex. Just... just forget about the project. I don't want you to worry about it," I say, folding my hands in my lap. Alex keeps yapping at her laptop in ignorance.

"Oh please, you really think I trust a dumb little ape like you to do this shit yourself? That's real cute. It's my assignment too, pee pants, and you ain't got a chance without me. We both know you'll need my superior intellect. You gave me Dairy Yeen, so I do your homework. I'm used to it," she says with a shrug of her shoulders. Clicking away on the keyboard, she navigates her computer's startup screen.

"Alex. I'm not doing the project. I don't care. It doesn't matter, so just, uh, go on without me. Tell Onsbock you'll need an extension. That I'm a quitter. Whatever you need to say, because I'm not bothering with it."

I don't look at her, but I can tell Alex is taken aback. I can feel her gawking at me, before she speaks,

"The fuck do you mean? You're not-- Then why the hell did you come up here? I mean yeah, my backpack. But, you brought ice cream. I figure Billy told you, that's the codeword for 'do my shit for me, mutt'."

"It's not about the homework! I'm doing all this because I'm sorry, ok?"

There's a pause between us.

My voice cracks, and I repeat. "I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry."

Alex goes still. Her ears twitch just a bit. She stays like that, soaking in my words.

"I'm not like you, Alex. I'm not some crass, loud mouth, heartless beast-- er, kin, like all you guys seem to be. I'm trying not to be, at least."

"When I try to imagine myself in your position, I don't like what I see. I don't like being a prick to everyone at the slightest provocation. I don't like letting people bat me around, for what, ice cream? Really? If I were you, Alex, I'd be dying for someone to say sorry to me. To actually care for once in their lives. Instead, you're sitting there treating me like trash for being nice."

That favourite frown of hers is now absent. She's not smiling either, nor is she thinking over some snarky quip in her head about how pathetic my apology must be.

Plainly, she just listens.

"Remember what you said back in class? 'Nobody wants me here'. I have to admit, you hit the nail on the head, girl. I'm real darn tired of being treated like a piece of garbage. And like... the maul. All this hostility it's- it's like, it's too much! It's all crawling around in my brain! Everything is so screwed up." Without thinking, my hands are up around my scalp, itching feverishly.

"I think... I'll leave Flocc. Transfer out or something. Every other human there had the right idea, and I've got no good reason why I shouldn't follow their example. Maybe I am just a dunce."

Alex chews on the corner of her lip, rasping her hands in circles. She nips a few words my way,

"Look, man. What I said-- I wasn't... I mean. It wasn't like that. Or, I- eergh! How do I say it..."

She was fumbling, trying not to spit up any more word soup. She listened for once, so I'll do the same. Stay quiet and let her work it out.

"It pains me to say it, pee pants, but you're not the problem here. Maybe I snapped at you too hard earlier today. Can I blame that primal 'wolf instinct' in me for being too territorial, maybe?" she shrugs. "I got a lot of shit bouncing around in my head. We both do. And I just, keep... bottling shit up. And then-- Pchooo."

She pantomimes an explosion billowing from her head. Her gestures, amusing, makes me blow a bit of air from my nose.

"That's another thing," I say wagging a finger at her, "the stupid 'pee pants' bit. Are you even friends with Beth? You know her?"

The wolf shakes her head. "I mean, I know her. But we sure as shit ain't friends--"

"See, you really don't get it. None of you beast-folk do. Kin. Whatever! You're trying to be rational with me, and I appreciate that. But here you are, calling me names without a second thought!"

My tone elevates. "THINK, lady! Talk about a 'wolf in sheep's clothing'. You've got no clue what you're saying is even about, do you! You just parrot all the others!"

Alex stutters, "Fuckin' relax, man! I didn't mean to--"

But I interject. "Yeah, yeah, can it. You just 'didn't know'. Nobody does. You don't care to know."

Rising from the sofa, I motion to scooch past Alex and head for the door. She jumps to her feet and body blocks me.

"Oh no no no, where the fuck are you going? Sit back down," she orders, but I'm not having it. I look her dead in the eyes.

"Well then what! Not ten minutes ago, you were barking at me to leave you alone. Well, here you go! I'm leaving," I say, nudging closer.

Alex growls. "What'd I tell you, p-- ... humie. I don't let anyone keep anything over my head, alright? We're not done until we're even."

"'Even' how? I just want to leave! I'm not asking you for jack all."

Her claws spring out of her paws, inches away from my face. I raise my hands and back away, but with them she simply points to the ground. I stare at the two empty Dairy Yeen cups, sprawled on the floor and leaking melted ice cream on the carpet.

"I've got about 2000 calories of cotton candy bullshit in my stomach tellin' me I owe you. You're braindead if you think I'm gonna let you leave like that. Sit the fuck down,

... please."

Brows twitch and eyes lock. I've become all too adjusted to her cold, piercing glares. But this one's different. She's not beaming contempt down onto me. Whatever's looking up at me in those saggy blues, it's not hate.

All the excitement blows out of me with a long winded sigh. I sit once more, and Alex mimics my movements. Exasperated, she speaks,

"I'm fuckin' sorry for calling you a 'pee pants', alright? I'm not trying to be like everyone else, baldie. If I really were, I'd have let you leave without paying you back for the treats. I'd have clawed you in the middle of class for talkin' to me like you did. Yet here we are."

I stare into a corner, Alex speaking into the back of my head.

"So, tell me what this 'pee pants' thing is about. I'm not a sheep, humie. I do care. I care enough to hear you out this far, right? Explain why the fuck everyone calls you that, and I'll stop using it. How's that?"

There's a long pause. My foot taps impatiently. I don't need this. I don't need her to coddle me. I've endured it all this far, haven't I? Yet... this was the first time anyone had ever asked about the name calling.

She's just doing this for her stupid 'fairness' complex, Peanut. This is all some little game she gets off on. It's all for her own sake.

So why not spit it out, if only for my sake?

I scratch at my stubble, finding the words. "Well. Where to start,"

-

"In middle school, Bethany and I shared a grade. You know her if you're using this idiotic 'pee pants' thing she started."

Alex affirms, "Yeah, I said before. We all know 'Bitchany'. And...?"

With a dry swallow, I continue. "So, six foot something yeen. Think she's big now? You should've seen her in junior high. Compared to the other piddly pre-pubescent tweens like my peers and I, she was a giant. That girl looked like an artillery prototype that took three days to reposition and twenty men to operate. Anyone with eyes could tell you she was an early bloomer."

Alex snickers. " 'Twenty men to operate' sounds about right..." the wolf quips under her breath. Ignoring her, I move on.

"Anyways. She didn't squander that 2 feet of leverage she had over all of us. Swirlies, kicking over sandcastles, the works. Why? I could guess for hours. Neglect? Maybe she's just a psychopath? Everyone's a victim.

But one day... something really hit her. Whatever the lord above did to her that week, it drove the most twisted, Machiavellian of schemes into her mind. As luck turned out, she had me pegged as her target.

So, the bathrooms in our high school had locks installed, probably because there were too many kids who would cut class and goof off in there. To go take a tinkle, you needed the key from a teacher."

Alex nods, attentive.

"One day, I get up to ask the teacher for the key. Right on cue, as soon as I rise from my desk, Bethany dives in front of the teacher and asks first. On her way out, she made sure to shoot me the widest one-sided grin imaginable. While annoying, all was fine. She eventually came back, dragging her feet, and I got the key a few minutes later.

But when I did get my mitts on the key, there wasn't just one key. It was a whole ring. There must've been, like, fifty keys on there.

As I'm walking to the bathroom, I'm thumbing through them all to find the one for the washroom. It had to be labeled or something, right? But when I got to the door, I didn't have a clue. I just started trying keys.

One after another, key after key. The horror of the predicament was dawning on me. I rifled through keys as fast as I could, until I had went through everyone single one minutes later. None of them worked. When I started double checking them all in a panic, that familiar laugh rang through the halls behind me.

Beth and a couple of her friends watched my misery. Unlike the lock, it all clicked. Of course she took the bathroom key off the ring. Of course she did. I didn't want to believe it. Like an idiot, I triple checked each and every damn key. You wanna guess if the 'pee pants' ever found the right one?"

Through shivers, still trying to shrug off this damned cold, I give Alex a hard stare.

She just swallowed, scratching at her cheek, trying to look away. She opened her mouth to try and speak, but she couldn't find the words.

"Beth and her pals laughed me out as I cried my way home. I didn't go back for weeks, I was so strung out about it. And now I get to think about it every day, thanks to kids like you. So, yeah. Thanks a lot. Now you know."

-

Phew. I really just said all that. Never have I given anyone the whole spiel, except maybe my mom when it first happened. How could I tell anyone? The less I remember it the better, really.

This was a mistake. I never should've come to this insensitive ninny's den. I'm in a borderline stranger's apartment, trying to blink away tears, getting judged by someone who called me a Cr*tter just hours earlier.

"Happy now? Are we even? Can I go?" I choke, my head still turned away. I wasn't eager to try and stomach whatever look was on Alex's face right now.

The wolf whines, "I'm sorry, dude. I didn't--"

"You didn't know," I finish her sentence. "It's fine, man."

The gears upstairs start to click, and I add, "Remember what Onsbock said in class today? 'Don't be sorry. Be responsible'.

I didn't have to come all this way, bring you your backpack, deliver you ice cream like I'm flipping room service! Yet I did!" I throw my arms up to accentuate my point.

"I did it all to say I'm sorry. Even if you started it, I shouldn't have made things worse. But, words are cheap. I'm trying to show you, take action, do the responsible thing and actually apologize, despite your name-calling and attitude. If I were you, I'd want the same."

Still, I refuse to look at her. I can't. I get up from the couch, rolling my spine up slowly into a dejected slouch. I dance around the coffee table and head for the door.

Alex leaps up, nipping at my heels behind me. I just maintain my stride as she speaks,

"Stop! Dude, please stop for just a second. I'm sorry! Listen!"

I'm reaching for the door handle, ready to put all this behind me.

"Peanut?"

Lightning strikes me. A cloud of cold breath escapes me as I hiss, ashamed as I'm paralyzed by something so simple. Sheepishly, I turn.

Before I can speak, Alex pulls in close.

She hugs me.

Two slender white arms lock around my back, bringing me as deep as they can into an embrace. I fidget, and she nuzzles her fuzzy face into my chest. Warmth. She's so warm. All that heat her soft white coat insulates her with floods into me. Unknotting every joint, untensing every muscle, melting me. It takes everything left in me to stop my knees from buckling in and falling in to her.

"I'm sorry, ok. Please, I'm sorry. I know, I'm the biggest asshole in the world right now. I couldn't fuckin' keep it together, and I unloaded all this stress on you. I'm really sorry. Please, please don't hate me," the wolf whimpers.

My arms cling to her in kind, and I bask in her body heat. My mind races: when was the last time I hugged someone? That anyone held me with such compassion? When I hugged my mom goodbye and left for university? A *year* ago...?

All my experience with bottling up rotten feelings fails me for just a moment, as two tears squeak out. Silently rolling down my cheeks, they plip down onto Alex's head. Thankfully, I don't think she notices.

She holds me for an hour. What? No, not an hour. A few minutes, maybe. A few seconds...? My head pounds, brain scrambled. Overloading. I can feel the smoke billowing out of my ears.

Woefully, the kindest, most wonderful wolf in the world retracts herself from my chest; Cold swallowing me soon as. Taking a step back, she still holds me, paws shifting to clamp around my biceps. My hands still clutch at the back of her shirt. She stares up into my face, that eternal frown of hers washed away. That's not another smirk creeping up the corner of her muzzle, is it?

I must be staring, because she darts her eyes somewhere else uncomfortably.

"A-are you sure you wanna... leave? We can still do the--"

I lean over, and silence her with a kiss.

...

Wait. What? I kiss her? I kiss her. I'm kissing her?

I'M KISSING HER!?

The thought doesn't even surface as I'm planting a firm kiss against her thin, canid lips. Alex jolts as her body registers my intrusion of her personal space. She shivers, then settles, her body going slack. My arms try to crush her in closer, squeezing tightly. I can feel those sharp fangs concealed behind the flesh of her lips. The taste of cotton candy lingers on her mouth. The vastly contrasting shapes of our faces make it awkward, but I keep her pressed close.

My brain catches back up. What the fuck am I doing?

I break away, snapping back like I've burned myself on a stovetop. My mouth stumbles and flails, trying to find something, anything to say that'll shield me from my actions. Neither of us move an inch, stunned.

Alex blinks. She dips her head low. An indignant sneer growing across her snout, and a low growl rumbles in her throat.

I sputter. "Oh my god. I- I didn't- I'm- dude, I am SO sorry, Alex--"

She restores her grip on my biceps. Tighter. Tighter. I whine as her claws pierce my skin, slowly sinking into me.

"FUCK!" the wolf howls. She echoes her cuss thrice more.

"Alex...?" I gulp.

Her head cranes back up at me, that growl sliding into a full fang-bare snarl. Her eyes- that sweet, sincere stare quickly forgotten. An unspoken rage was burning behind her crystal blue irises. The wolf's pupils have shrunken down to slits, and she rips into me with an irate, wild-eyed stare. Tighter, her claws dig into me, scraping down my arms.

"Alex, stop! That really hurts--" I bleat. She doesn't even register my words. With a surprising amount of strength, I'm tripped, and the wolf wrestles me to the ground. She straddles my stomach, and I struggle against her razor sharp grip.

Alex's fur is bristling now. Ears erect. Her snout curls up, exposing the pink of her gums and her many flesh ripping teeth, mere inches away from my face. She snaps her jaws at me, forgoing her usual heckles for full on predatory displays at my throat. I try to push her back, but her claws bleed into my wrists, keep my arms pinned to the carpet.

She was going feral. This wolf was going to maul me.

I don't want to die.

The wolf doesn't relent. I kick and wriggle at her weight, trying to dodge the slobber that drips onto me from her jaws. She barks and howls in my face, biting at the inches of air between us. Alex drowns my vocal protests with barks and roars in growing volume. My forearms and hands ache with the shallow cuts of Alex's claws.

Her paws shift from holding back my arms to puncture my shoulder and chest. Razor nails trace my upper half, shredding my clothes, marking my skin. As the wolf rakes into me like a scratching post, there's a sudden reprieve from her assault. All of a sudden, the weight lifts from my stomach, and Alex begins to hover into the air.

"Hey," a deep voice bellows from above. I wearily peer at the figure standing far above me, dangling Alex by the collar of her shirt. There stood a stocky, thickly furred moose looking woman. From the floor, she looked absolutely titanic in size. Alex's roommate?

The moose grunts, "... If you guys are gonna fuck on the floor, can you like... keep it down? I'm hung over as hell right now, and I really don't need you doing this Blue."

The wolf continues to swing wildly at the air with her claws, barking and snarling uncontrollably. The brown furred ungulate rattles the white dervish of claws and teeth in her hoof.

"... Blue? Lexi? Snap out of it," she says.

With ragged breaths, I finally snap out of my own daze. A rush of adrenaline surges into me, and I crawl up to my heels, and dash out of the door of the wolf's den.

-

...

Plip. Plip. Plip.

Rain plinks against my bedroom window. I've safely retreated home from Alex's apartment to my own. I've sprawled myself out onto my mattress, stripped down to my briefs. My bedroom is silent, my own roommates being away.

My head is in an absolute tailspin. What on earth just happened? My brain was having trouble processing the turn of events. This whole debacle was so out of my comfort zone; too much action in such a short span of time. And Alex... She went feral. Like, actually, certifiably lost to her animal instincts. It was terrifying.

She was going to kill me. Right? No bones about it. I look to the pink scratches along my arms and my chest. That hoodie Alex had ripped through was a goner, its final resting place a wastebin under the kitchen counter. And of course, I can't even clean myself off because our apartment's shower is still busted. What an absolute mess.

Was it wrong to just bolt out of there like that? I mean, I thought I was going to flippin' die. But, what now? It was in Alex's roommate's hands now. I don't know how that instinctual stuff works. Would Alex calm down? W-would she have to be sent to the hospital?? All because I-- I... uh. Kissed her.

Kissed her. Eugh, what was I thinking?! With a kin girl? No, it was my lack of thinking thereof. I don't know, it just felt... right. At the time, I mean. Looking back now, it's obviously the most disgusting, terrible thing I've ever done to someone. I am trash. I'm the biggest piece of crap on the whole planet.

I knock my fist against the side of my skull, trying to bash the stupid out. With each bang, I sigh.

Bozo. Bozo. Bozo, such an idiot.

I stare at the rain through my window, the sky turned to night. There was absolutely no chance I was getting any sleep tonight. This Alex stuff was going to be playing back through my mind now and forever. I'd be dreading the day's events for far too long. But if anything, I have gotten one thing out of this whole mess. My resolve to leave Flocc University has been totally solidified.

Not only am I unwanted by everyone there, but it's downright dangerous to stay involved with these beast kids anymore. How could I continue to walk the same halls as them? With Alex, who no doubt would be my end next time she got her claws on me? If I have to look Alex in the eyes again, I will just die on the spot. No, tomorrow, I was going straight to the front office of the school and asking to transfer. There's no time to wait.

I sigh, and sink deeply into my pillow.

-

It's the day after. And despite my expectations, the world hasn't ended.

I'm still breathing, moving, walking up the steps of Flocc's entrance and back into the bowels of the school. My own guts are doing somersaults, the stress tearing me apart from the inside. This was a long time coming. You hear about maulings happening in your city, and you don't think much of it. Then it happens in your own university. Then it happens to you. Almost, anyways.

I never enjoyed being in proximity of so many predatory beasts, but now it was like a whole new waking nightmare. I brush past beast students twice my size through the halls. I keep my eyes trained on their claws, assuring none stray too close. Maybe coming back here was a bad idea. I should've just packed my things that night and ran as far as my legs could take me. But I'm this close now. Just a quick chat at the office, and all this would be over.

As I step through the halls, I'm getting a weird amount of attention. I mean sure, kids are always staring, especially after the brief closure of Flocc and the mass human exodus. I'm the only human here anymore. Well, I was going to be last human here. But not for long.

Eyes linger on me. Snickers and whispers pass overhead, as everyone looks and points my way. I was getting an inordinate amount of attention from the other students. What's the idea? Oh god, did they know?! There's no way. Maybe it was just my mounting paranoia, but does everyone somehow know about last night with Alex!? It was impossible. I mean, the only two people who knew were Alex and I! And there was no chance in hell either of us said anything... right?

I try to speed up, but my haste betrays me. Darting around a corner, I clumsily bump into another student, getting an abrupt face full of fur. Recoiling, I rub my crooked nose and inspect the damage--

No. Oh no.

"Well well well! If it isn't ol' PEE PANTS! Just the twerp I was lookin' for!"

Not now. Not her! How can things keep getting worse?!

Bethany wastes no time. Before I can protest, she wraps a muscly arm around my shoulders, keeping me stuck in a headlock. I choke back the urge to gag as her musk invades my senses. From behind her, I can hear the uncontrollable giggles of her two lackeys.

"Y'know pee pants, I've been hearin' a whole lot about you this morning! Hell, everyone in the fuckin' school is talkin' about ya. To be real, I didn't think ya had it in you!" Bethany cackles.

What?

"I couldn't believe it 'till I found you myself. And wouldn't you know it! You've got the stink of that nobody bitch allllll over you! HA! Who would've thought little pee pants would get some milk and cookies from that other loser, eh girls?" The hyena jeers. She and her friends explode with laughter as I'm released from Beth's arm.

I what?? Oh god, of course! The noses on these beast kids are sharper than anything. And my shower-- Wait. No. No, this makes no sense at all. The other kids are talking about how I smell? And Beth was looking for me? I've been in Flocc for no more than a couple minutes! There's no possible way word travels that fast! And if not from me, then who--

" PAXLEY!"

A voice calls from the other side of the hall. An angry, snarling, girly voice.

Alex.

My stomach drops. I crave death.

Bethany simply steps aside. The furious white wolf begins to stomp down the halls towards me. I want to run, but her eyes freeze me like ice. In a way, I'm relieved to see she's alright after freaking out (and nearly killing me), let alone for her to come to school. But, even if I escaped her last night, surely my next moments will be my last. God, she is so going to kill me. Slowly, painfully. I deserve this.

Alex shoves past students, her approach swift. Before I know it, she's right in front to me. Staring me down, those bright blue eyes dilated like a wild tiger's moments before pouncing on their prey. I make no attempt to speak, as I know there's nothing that can save me now. I can only pray that God doesn't laugh me out when I'm before the gates of heaven. Died because I kissed an anthro.

Alex stands before me, and grabs me by the shirt with both of her paws. Roughly, she shoves me backwards, up against a locker. Despite being a touch shorter than me, she was as imposing as ever. It's hard not be intimidated when a muzzle full of razor sharp fangs is inches away from you, despite my experience with the display.

"I'm gonna keep myself REAL fuckin' brief here, baldie, so try and follow along alright!? I fucking hate you," Alex shouts. But, with the way she darts her head to either side, assuring herself the other beast students are watching her fit, I can tell there's something more behind her scowl. "I've got no goddamn clue what the hell has gotten into the rotten brains of every other douchebag here, but there is NOTHING that happened between us, got it? It takes a school full of brain dead CLODS to think I'd waste any of my precious time with an unwashed chimp like you! I hate you, alright!?" She hisses out the words, her spittle spraying onto my face.

The kids around us snicker, content to watch as poor old pee pants is put down by some hateful kin once more. I'm ready to shrink away and dissolve into nothing. I feel like complete and utter shit. I can't fathom how much this chick really does hate me, despite my efforts to make things right. I really am a screw up.

Alex leans in a touch closer. The grip of her claws loosens on me. Her volume drops to the floor, and she begins to whisper.

"Hey, I'm sorry for making a scene. I'm sorry for calling you names. And I'm real fuckin' sorry for sayin' sorry, or whatever.

But you listen here motherfucker. What you said yesterday, about leaving Flocc... forget it. You owe me after pulling that little stunt. You're going nowhere until we're even , got that?"

She retracts her paws from my chest, and she shoves something into my hand, the soft pads of her hand pressed into my skin. I'm too stunned to react as Alex pulls away.

"And don't forget it!" Alex calls, turning away from me with a huff. Her tail swishes as she scampers away into the crowd of onlookers.

I stare at the little scrap of paper Alex had thrust into my palm.

1-900-244-2900

Call me, dickhead

...

Score.