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Erin Sherdon would never be accused of being an extrovert. However, the college student attending Anteronian University always had an admiration for people. It is, of course, an admiration she only kept from afar. When her roommate, Melia, introduced herself, it was pretty fascinating. Melia was, after all, the first gender-non-conforming person she had ever met.

Curiously, a girl who grew up in Anteronia would not be exposed to all the various paths in life and expressions of love and desire. When one finds a will to block their children from the world or city at large, one finds a way.

That's Erin's upbringing, one of coddling and fear, and that brought her to keep herself from exploring the world around her when she came of age. She kept her near home, where she would study at the local school. Fortunately for the budding girl of the world, Anteronia University provides many of the experiences and knowledge she had thus far been denied.

As for Melia, the woman had joined the school on the naturalist track, seeking to understand the world of the fey and mystical druids. However, she never had been one.

"Why not find yourself a circle to join?" Erin had asked her.

Melia would shout, "It'd be too much of a commitment."

Erin learned a lot about Melia and her feelings toward commitment.

Erin, meanwhile, studied biology. There are many overlaps in the process, but she was much more interested in the different physiologies and forms, from the various expressions in human society to the other, much more magical, sapient beings.

In fact, she had recently encountered a beetle, a traveler from the distant Insect Kingdoms. It was a fascinating experience, to be sure, but not one that Erin would ever tell anyone.

Then, of course, there is the matter of her current fascination—something she wouldn't ever tell Melia.

Even so, as her plans come to fruition for an expedition she alone would undertake, Erin found herself much more interested in undertaking something much more dangerous, at least socially speaking, in her mind.

Melia.

But that wasn't all she had a yearning for.

Sitting outside on the bleachers, the inquisitive human enjoys her lunch while watching the athletes practice. Large bodies crash into one another in a grueling sport with equal parts strategy and brutality—the perfect contest for one with a strong body and mind.

As the group breaks for the day, one of the athletes heads toward the bleachers. A well-built man with a furred build and broad shoulders plops down a few seats below her, guzzling a mighty drink and sighing.

"You're biting your lip." The voice comes sprite-like to Erin's ear.

The woman squeaks but covers her mouth. Her eyes are wide through her glasses as she looks to the owner.

It is Melia sitting beside her and holding up a book. "Look, if you're going to be oogling the jocks, you might as well get some work done too, right?"

"I'm not oogling," Erin protests. She pulls out some notes, waving them toward Melia. "I'm gaining inspiration for my research."

"Of course, you are," Melia titters. "But, to let you know, Louis, there is quite the catch from what I hear. Very nice… not the most scholarly mind, but," she shrugs, "is that what you're really here for?"

"I couldn't ask him out," Erin says, slumping forward.

"Well, then, maybe I should," Melia says, picking herself up.

Erin gasps, reaching out toward Melia, but she pulls herself back, shaking her head. She watches as her roommate approaches the sportsman, twiddling her fingers as the fey-like girl approaches him.

Twirling a finger through her green hair, Melia giggles as she sits beside him. "Looks like you got a hard workout, eh, Louis?"

Having been guzzling down that cartoonishly massive jug of water, Louis pulls the container free, sniffs the air with that sizeable black snout, and looks down toward her. "Oh, uh, yeah. We're getting ready to take on LaRose in the Finals!"

Melia titters, "Oh, I didn't know. I'm sorry; sports aren't really my thing."

Louis tilts his head. "What… is your thing, then?"

Melia places her hand on his thigh and says. "Plants, mostly. But being out in nature, under the sun or the moon, and enjoying how it feels on my skin. It's really nice. You should try it."

The large male looks down at her, his pointy ears drooping. "I, uh, got too much fur for that," he says.

"Ever let your fur out in the pale moonlight?"

"Oh, I, uh, never really thought of it."

"Ever wanted to get in touch with how your ancestors felt in the world?" She asks this, scooting closer.

His tail flaps around behind the seat, squeezing his knee. "Oh, well, maybe! That… that could really psyche me up, right?"

"Mmm… and I'm sure you had plenty of ancestors out there with other people… together, unclothed."

"Makes sense to me!" He barks. "Gee whizz, miss, you are giving me some good ideas. Where's a good place to go to try it out. You know, where we aren't botherin' anyone."

"Well, there's a small path off the main trail in the woods. I can lead you there tonight if you meet me in my room and—"

CLANG

The two speakers leap up, whirling around to see Erin fall forward, her chest resting on the seats above them. "What a wonderful idea!" Erin says. "Can I join you?"

Melia frowns. "I was thinking maybe Louis and I—"

"That sounds great!" Louis says. "You were smart when you presented that report on nocturnal hunters!"

Erin's eyes widen. "Y-you listened to that report?"

"Yeah, I did!" Louis says, thumping his chest. "After all, I'm a nocturnal hunter as well. Well,… maybe I would be… but practice is very early!"

Melia pulls her hand away, resting her finger upon her cheek. "Well then," she says, "It's a date."

* * *

When Erin returns from a day of classes on the promised day, Melia is there to greet her, arms crossed over her chest leaning against the bedframe. "Are we going to talk about the other day already?" asks the earthen gal.

"What's there to talk about? Erin says, shrugging."

Through her glasses, Melia stares with a sharp, glowing glare. "Oh, well, there's the whole thing about sniping my date with Louis," she says. "Here, I thought you were the introverted one."

"And what happened to you being a wallflower?" Erin asks, placing her books down.

"Guess we're both full of surprises today, aren't we?" Melia says, sighing and sitting on the mattress. "You know what it means to go out at night, embracing the moon in all its beauty."

"I think I do."

"Naked."

Erin blushes, nervously pushing her books around to get them in perfect shape.

"Right."

"As in you and me… and a hunk of a doggy guy, out there, alone, together."

"You have a problem with that?" Erin says, turning around and adjusting her own glasses."

"Aside from you being unable to see, none," says Melia. "I just wonder why you don't."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Come on. You're Erin, Erin. When did you last shower in the locker room or wear anything less than that long-sleeved two-piece set of pajamas you got?"

Erin breathes deep. "Maybe I'm full of surprises."

"Maybe," says Melia, crossing one leg over the other and leaning back. "I just don't want you, or me or Louis, to be too surprised." She pauses a moment. "I won't get in the way of you two."

"What?"

"I was trying to convince you to ask him out. If you didn't jump in, I would have totally nailed that. But now, we are in a weird romantic triangle where you want to get laid, but I do, too."