Black Flame

Chapter 7: Breakdown

Alex felt sick to his stomach as he followed Gon out of the Male Carnivore Dormitory building. While on the outside he tried his best to appear calm and collected, inside his mind was being swamped by unmeasurable amounts of thoughts and questions. He had never once considered the possibility of having to stand up on a stage and introduce himself to a massive hoard of animals, and he was trying his best to come up with what to possibly say, running through multiple scenarios in his mind and coming up with answers to questions that he hadn't even been asked yet.

Meanwhile, his uniform was starting to irritate him, the rough fibers rubbing up against his soft skin with every movement. It was blatantly obvious that the uniforms were designed with the idea that the wearer would be covered in fur or feathers or a naturally tough and resilient hide, which would protect them from the irritable material they were made of. However, Alex's soft skin was completely unprotected from the coarse texture and scratchiness of the fabric, with the pants being the worst offender. Every step caused the material to rub against the inner thigh of whichever foot he was stepping forward with.

"How do you feel about the Campus so far?" Gon asked, looking over his shoulder at Alex. He didn't seem to take notice of Alex's discomfort, only looking like a mildly curious parent as he waited for a response from the new student.

"It's okay I guess," Alex replied, trying his best to hide his discomfort from the tiger. "I just haven't really seen much of it."

"Well, I'm happy to hear that! The school has been going through a bit of a rough spot in recent years, so it's nice hearing that it's at the very least tolerable," Gon said brightly, still looking back at Alex.

Alex avoided eye contact with the tiger. instead pretending to look forward toward the rest of the campus, while still keeping the tiger in his peripheral vision. Humans didn't have prey instincts per se, but they still had basic instincts of self-preservation, and right now those instincts were telling him to keep an eye on the large tiger, no matter how friendly he may seem. He had no idea why he was feeling such an adverse reaction to the feline, one which easily overtook the cautious curiosity he had felt while interacting with the Lioness, but it was potent.

You don't like talking much, do you?" Gon asked Alex, turning his head forward as he continued to guide him down the path.

"Not with Animals I don't," Alex replied, immediately regretting what he had said.

It probably wasn't a good idea to talk to a carnivore like that, especially not a predator who could easily kill him with one swipe of their claws. Luckily, the comment seemed to of went over Gon's head, the tiger not replying or even visibly reacting to the blatant insult. Instead, Gon led them toward the rear of one of the central buildings. Behind it stood a large fountain, the sound of flowing water audible as it fell into a large pool at the bottom of the structure. The fountain itself was positioned in the center of what appeared to be a courtyard, with a semi-circle of stone pillars and archways surrounding the perimeter of half of it.

Walking past it, Gon turned left towards the rear of the building. The building itself was built off of the ground, held up by a rather impressive-looking foundation.

"We'll be entering the theater through the back entrance here," Gon said, walking up a few steps toward a wide double door. Alex nodded and followed suit, watching as the Tiger opened the door with ease for him, then stepped aside, allowing Alex to walk through first, before stepping in after him.

Alex found himself inside a short hallway, the passageway stretching a short distance to the right and the left of him. A series of doors ran along the wall, with flights of stairs positioned at the end of both ends of the hallway. The temperature inside was identical to that of the dorm building, with Alex frowning as he felt the cool temperature.