For What I Want, Love Isn't Required (Beastars)

Memories of the Past

"Juno, watch out!"

But it was too late, she had already face-planted into a puddle of mud. The kids she had been chasing crowded around her downed body. Lifting her head from the puddle, mud slid down her face onto her clothes. Her pristine fur was covered in the dirt.

The other children waited for her reaction. They didn't know what to expect as Juno wasn't often allowed to play with them. She had only managed this outing after begging her mother for a straight week. So, despite her initial desire to wail in disgust, she reigned it in. She wobbled onto her feet, brushing the mud off her clothes, which did nothing but smear it into her clothes more. She said, "Mud's healthy."

The confusion on her peer's faces prompted her to burst into laughter. The other children soon followed, and they were bent over laughing. Even when she was out of breath from laughing too hard, she couldn't stop the wide smile on her face. It almost felt like she had friends.

"Hey, Just Juno, didn't you say you had to go home soon," said one of the boys, Lukas

Her smile grew wider when she heard her nickname: Just Juno. Before, all the kids had called her Lady Juno like everyone else, but she was adamant that they drop her title. Her repeated insistence that it was, "Just Juno," concluded with everyone calling her that. Initially, she had been annoyed by the teasing, but she then realized that they weren't making fun of her. It was simple, childish acceptance.

She replied, "I can play a little longer!"

"Are you sure?" Lukas asked. "I wouldn't want you to get in trouble with your mom and dad."

She was reminded of the last time she had played with them and had gotten yelled at for the rest of the day when she got home a couple of minutes late. It was why she hadn't been able to play with them until now. "I'm sure! Mother said that she and Father would be out of town for the whole day."

"If she's sure," a girl, Mina, snickered, "Then, she won't mind this!"

Juno was shoved back into a mud puddle, and she spluttered as some of the dirt got into her mouth. Grabbing a handful of the filth, she pelted Mina in the face. All the children stood at an impasse as they computed what had just happened. It was broken by a boy throwing mud at the boy next to him. After that, a mud fight broke out.

While Juno wasn't thrilled about being doused with mud, the genuine happiness she felt around her friends trumped any lingering disgust. She walked home with her chest warm and tiredness weighing down her limbs. She didn't think she had ever had as much fun. The only dip in her mood was when they had to say goodbye. Unlike everyone else, she couldn't part with a cheery, "see you tomorrow!" Because there was no telling the next time she would be allowed to play with them. Hopefully, her parents would come home in a pleasant mood, so she could broker more time.

Skipping into her room, she stripped out of her clothes and dove into the bath her maid had prepared. She scrubbed extra rough to make sure there would be no evidence of her muddy day. The last thing she wanted was for her mother to freak out about it. Bellamy, her maid, had promised her that she would sneak the clothes to the washers before her mother could lay eyes on them.

"Bellamy, I'm done with my bath!" she shouted, exiting the bath and wrapping herself with a towel.

Concern grew the longer Bellamy didn't reply. Juno popped her head around the partition and asked, "Did you hear me?"

Her eyes almost popped out of her head at the sight of her mother. The wolf was holding her dirty clothes in one hand and Bellamy's hair in the other. Clutching the towel tighter around her body, she shuffled from behind the partition. Her mother's steely-eyed glare rooted her to her spot, and she averted her eyes. Unfortunately, that meant she made eye contact with Bellamy, who mouthed apologies.