We're Only Animals: Book 1

Chapter 1 - Instinct in the Fog and Under the Light of the Full Moon

Legosi rubbed his eyes. It was pretty much completely dark now. His night vision rendered that a nonissue, but that wasn't the point. He was out past curfew, and if he was caught he would face consequences. Suspension? Expulsion? He wasn't sure. All he knew was that he could not let that happen. If only Kabu-chan didn't fly out the window when he brought him out today...

That was about 2 hours ago now, and still he was having no luck. Insects were hard to track by smell, after all. Legosi held his hands up to his mouth, breathed in, and froze. He lowered his arms, feeling like a fool. Was he really just about to call his name? He must be going crazy. He wasn't going to get anywhere tonight, so he figured he should just give it up for the night. Maybe he could put some posters up tomorrow. Jack would help with that. He wasn't sure how effective it would be, though. He made his way back to his dorm, defeated.

Meanwhile, Louis had been practicing lines with Zoe the goat for a while now. Except, this time, they weren't practicing with the lights off. After all, Louis knew there was no point in making a non-nocturnal animal like Zoe practice in the dark. Zoe wasn't the perfect understudy. He definitely had the habit of eating his lines, which Louis found incredibly annoying. Goats. Paper-eaters. Useless.

"Okay, Zoe-kun, let's take a break. You're doing fine, but the fact that you constantly fumble over your lines again and again is bothering me. Quit eating the scripts. I'm going to step outside for a moment." He pulled out a stack of paper from a bag he brought. "This is an extra script I made for you. Study it while I'm gone." He looked at him with an expectant expression.

The goat looked down at it. "Wha...Why didn't you give this to me before!?" He made a confused face and frowned at the red deer.

Louis turned. "Because...There are no scripts on stage. You should have memorized your lines by now. Anyway, I'll be back in a few minutes. Please study that and don't treat it like a snack this time." He turned and walked off, not trusting that the goat wouldn't eat it anyway. Oh well. He walked slowly toward the big doors of the theatre and stepped out.

The night was cool. There was a thick fog rolling in from who knows where. The deer walked past the fountain and stood with his hands on his hips. He looked up to the moon and sighed. In the distance behind him, Legosi moved.

"Kabu-chan...Where could you be...?" Legosi mumbled to himself. His friend Tem had just died recently, and now his beloved pet beetle went missing. Of course the two weren't nearly comparable! He smacked himself on the head for even thinking about it. But the minor loss paired with the major one made it sink deeper in his gut than it probably would have normally. After all, Kabu-chan was his responsibility and he felt like he failed him.

Suddenly, he heard the scuff of shoes on cement, causing him to stand rigid. He honed his senses, trying to gather as much information as he could. The sound came from in front of him, near the fountain. Too far away for anyone to see him, though, thanks to the fog that had rolled in. In turn, he couldn't see anyone himself. What he did see, however, were the lights from the theater illuminating the fog. One didn't have to be in the drama club to know those shouldn't be on at this time. Not even staff were going to be snooping in there. What was going on...?

Legosi adopted a hunched over pose (well, more so than usual), and crept forward. Part of his mind told him to ignore it and just head back to his room, but with the predation incident that took Tem still fresh in his mind, he continued forward. He couldn't bear the thought of another victim being taken away by a predator that gave in to their instincts.

The door to the theater was open a crack. Legosi slunk up the steps, slipping behind the pillars as he passed them, hiding from unseen eyes. He had definitely heard someone walking here just before, so either they had just went inside, or had just come out. Either way, Legosi was at a complete loss on what to do next. He murmured to himself; "Great, now what?"