---

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It's been a few months since I started studying at Eukary University... and I still just can't get over how beautiful and exciting the city is... a young skunk girl thought dreamily as she rested her head against the cold windowpane of the subway train. She was watching soft snow slowly blanket the city go by as the train went by. Her breath fogged up the glass and she sat up to wipe it with one pink-padded paw, before settling back against the window. She sat alone and the other passengers kept their distance, but the girl did not seem to mind-- her head was in the clouds.

No incidents yet... but do I dare show my face at Winter Carnival? Ohh... I don't know! There was a dull thud as the small skunk girl hit her head against the windowpane in frustration. Nearby passengers stepped back and looked toward her like she was crazy or diseased...snd maybe she was.

Brakes screeched and the subway train came to a halt. There was a ding and a green light flashed above the opening doors, signaling that it was safe to exit. The young skunk girl picked up her backpack and walked down the train stairs, tripping a bit on the last step. "Ah! she called out, as she fell fast toward the ground. She raised her furry arms up instinctively, bracing for the hit--

But instead of hitting the ground, she found herself in strong, fuzzy arms. She slowly opened her eyes to see slitted feline eyes staring back at her. "Hi, are you okay?" he asked, smiling with big, sparkling, sharp teeth. "Ah! Let go of me!" the skunk girl recoiled, pushing out of his arms, stumbling as she went. The guy who helped her--a lion, it appeared--had sadness in his eyes and slowly drew his arms back. She could feel her tail raising, twitching. "I'm fine... sorry!" she apologized quickly, closing her eyes in embarrassment before she ran away.

"Wait! You dropped--" he started, but the girl disappeared into the crowd. The lion frowned and crouched down to pick up something that fell out of her bag. A sketchbook? He got back up and brushed a few grains of dirt off the cover to take a better look.

Melanie Rose Pourri
Eukary University

Melanie Rose Pourri
A Sunday in Winter
Eukary University Female Dorms, 2nd Floor, w/ Kayla Samson

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It was about 6 o'clock pm by the time Melanie the skunk got back from her usual weekend trip to Central Park. The park was beautiful this time of year, and a little beauty and relaxation were definitely what she needed during the holiday season. The hustle and bustle always seemed to make her so nervous, and being nervous meant the potential for accidents. With a deep breath, she took prepared herself for what was next to come.

"Melly, Melly, Melly! Welcome back Melly!" a brown blur yapped as soon as she swiped her key card and entered the room. An English Springer Spaniel girl asked as was jumping up and down with excitement. Her metal chain and tag jewelry jingled as she went.

"Yes, yes! It's me. You can calm down now, Kayla," Melanie Rose chuckled, patting her twitching tail down before walking inside. "Want to see what I drew for my drawing class assignment today?" the skunk girl asked. The Spaniel nodded and eagerly followed Mel over to her bed, where she plopped her backpack on the bed.

"It's open?" Melanie noticed, a feeling of dread weighing down on her chest. She reached in and felt around, finding broken pencils, erasers, some balls of paper, and some odd dirt and lint. Her heart sunk, her eyes closed, and she shook her head. Kayla whimpered and started to reach for Mel comfortingly with one paw, but then held her own paws instead.

"It'll turn up, Melly. And if not, you can whip something up in no time!" Kayla offered, trying to cheer her up. Melanie Rose shook her head and her tail drooped. "Well, how about we go get dinner at the cafeteria? Food always cheers you up." Mel rolled her eyes a bit at that, but couldn't help smiling. "Okay, fine, let's go."

---

Later that night,
Eukary University Cafeteria w/ Kayla Samson

"Time for din-din! Let's dig in!" Kayla yipped enthusiastically. She took a spoonful of dry Kibble cereal and munched contently. Mel smiled, watching her for a moment. "Hundreds of different things are served each night, and yet you get the same thing every time. It baffles me," the skunk girl remarked before taking a bite of a veggie-burger. Kayla took a gulp of water from her cup and licked her lips. "But it's so good! Want some?" Melanie shook her head. "Maybe I'll have some tomorrow for breakfast."

Kayla continued eating her cereal while Melanie gazed around the room, eating cricket-chips absentmindedly. The cafeteria had been decorated with holiday decorations and was buzzing with excitement. People were gossiping about who was going with who to the Winter Carnival, and who was going to be the Winter King and Queen. There was talk of a white wolf, a perfect nominee for Queen. Big predators always seemed to win beauty and popularity contests. A stinky little skunk like Mel had no chance in a popularity contest.

"Do you have a date for the Winter Carnival?" Kayla asked, before taking another bite. Mel looked back to her friend and shook her head. "No, I don't...but..." she trailed off sadly, slumping in her seat as she remembered Prom. A very bad and embarrassing occasion indeed.

"How about we go together!" Kayla suggested, her ears perking up. "Two single ladies stealing some sleds, climbing the ice sculptures, crashing the party and eating all the food... It'll be a great time!"

Melanie forced a smile to her lips but it didn't reach her eyes. Not having a date wasn't the problem. The real problem was that she was afraid of having another anxiety attack. She would be surrounded by predator species, cute boys, and mean girls... just thinking about her made her tail twitch. "I'll think about it, Kay. I have to redo my art project if I don't find it soon," Mel answered. She felt a little bad for lying to her friend, but it was a convenient excuse.

Lobelia

Slipping into her room after class letting out a heavy sigh since they were suppose to have been done an hour ago but the Professor insisted they all stay and watching a documentary and then have an open discussion over it. Which led to a big debate with her classmates that led into a fight between two of the elk males in her class. Yawning she slips out of the clothes she wore for the day and into some black yoga shorts and a bright green tank top, sitting down on the floor she pulls on her sneakers tightening the shoelaces before jumping up to grab her headphones and phone as she walks out the door.

She doesn't lock up her room since she on the fifth floor of the dorm and all the way at the end of the hall towards the left, there only about ten other people on the floor with her and they are on the right side, which means no one has any reason to come to her room. If any of her friends need her they just send a text or call her demanding that she come outside because they don't want to climb the stairs, heading for the stairs she takes her time stretching out her arms getting her muscles warmed up for her run. The basketball team has a game this weekend and they are up against Raira University which they have lost to every game and the whole team is refusing to lose this time, everyone has been putting in extra practice time. Stepping outside she looks around as she stretches out her legs and smiles breathing in the cool night air before jogging lightly in place as she picks a good song to start off with, she enjoys all type of music though rock is her choice of music for runs.

Waving to some others as they greet her on their way into the building she turns up her music and takes off across the quad cutting towards the tree line that's just behind the Science lab building and hits the small trail that is really only gets used by any of the students on the sports team. A few members of the cross country track team run past her and they all just wave in greeting not bothering to stop and exchange pointless words that would mess up their breathing patterns. As she hits the second mile marker her breathing picks up a little as she falls into a easy rhythm needed to ensure she finishes the five mile run.

Roger D’Monty

The young capybara yawned as he exited the dark classroom, his eyes having a little trouble adjusting to the light in the hallway. For the past two hours Roger had been sitting in the dark, with only a video projector illuminating the room. Normally Roger didn’t mind such a setting as it meant he was watching a movie, however the current film being shown had failed to keep his interest. This was not the first time Roger had seen Citizen Canine, considered one of the greatest films of all time, but it was the first time in several years. While his film professor had hyped up the film for the past few days, Roger still had the same reaction as when he first watched it, apathy. He didn’t get why it was so beloved.

Roger was still considering the merits of the film as he made his way down the hallway. He was eventually snapped out of his considerations by the rumbling of his stomach. Roger realized that he had failed to eat today and was now paying the price. As his stomach growled at him, Roger began to crave Beetle Burger. While he himself did not eat insects, they did have good herbivore options such a bark fries. But Roger then remembered that Beetle Burger locations in New York didn’t serve bark fries. Roger suspected that it was a cultural thing as there was less capybaras in New York then New Birdsey. With his favourite food unavailable, Roger decided to settle for the school cafeteria.

As Roger made his way to the cafeteria, he saw several posters advertising the school’s Winter Carnival. While some of the events mentioned sounded fun, Roger felt a slight pang of self pity when he read about the Winter King and Queen. Roger felt that he was the farthest from being King, being a portly rodent and all, but then again he liked to believe he would be too indifferent to try even if he had a more ideal body. That and it was said that the King and Queen often get together, and Roger wasn’t interested in finding a Queen. But he pushed that thought aside as he entered the cafeteria.

Melanie Rose Pourri
Eukary University Cafeteria w/ Kayla Samson

---

---

Kayla rolled her eyes. "Come on, Mel... We both know you're making excuses. You started school in the fall and you haven't tried even once to make new friends or try something new. And you wont go anywhere without me. Don't you think it's time to live a little? This could be great for both of us! Kalya insisted, clenching her fists with a look of determination in her eyes.

Melanie sighed and sunk into her seat, closing her eyes in frustration and dread. "Finnnee. You win, Kayla. I'll go with you," she groaned. "Yes! Hahaha!" Kayla yipped with joy.

"Hello... Sorry to interrupt, but you dropped this. I wanted to return it to you," a deep, but quiet voice spoke from behind Melanie. "Ah!" Melanie yelped. Her tail shot straight up, and her eyes got big. She pulled her legs up onto her chair and hugged them defensively. Mel turned her head slowly to see the lion she bumped into earlier that day, with the big blue eyes and a nervous, glistening smile. He held out her missing sketchbook in two big paws, but Mel couldn't bring herself to grab it.

"Woah, no need to be frightened. Here, you go," the boy lion spoke even more quietly and placed the book on the table. Kayla nudged Melanie with a paw and a big grin, but the girl just trembled nervously. The boy looked at the two girls and rubbed the back of his head. "I uh, should get going. Your art is great, by the way" he complimented before giving them a wave and disappearing into a crowd.

"Nice meeting you!" Kayla called after him, waving. She turned back to Melanie, who was still curled up in a ball on her chair, trying to hold her stink in. The dog girl shook her head disapprovingly. "See? You need to get out more."

Melanie slowly uncurled and sat normally. She let her fluffy tail relax, and it cascaded over her chair to the floor. "Yeah... that was almost disastrous wasn't it. He seemed so nice, too, but I couldn't help feeling frightened. I feel awful. Melanie confessed. She looked sadly down at her sketchbook. "I'm going to try harder to make friends. And if I see that lion boy again, I'll properly apologize."

Melanie Rose Pourri
Eukary University Cafeteria w/ Kayla Samson

---

"That's the spirit! How about you join a club, too? Lots of clubs are looking for help with the Winter Carnival. Drama Club could use some stagehands and help with decorating, I'm sure that's up your alley. Um, there's the school newspaper. I know you're not an English major but you're a great writer! Or you could take photos for them since you're handy with a camera! Or you could join the Film Crew, they work with drama club a lot--ooh, I wish I was a good actress! Then there's Open Mic every week, you could just watch or you could go on stage and...."

Melanie gulped her last bite of veggie burger and shook her head vigorously. "No, no, no... I don't think I'm ready for any of that yet. Maybe I'll try to make friends with someone in class, or go to one of the dorm activity nights, but joining a club could full of strangers? Going on stage? My tail is twitching just thinking about it!" Mel admitted, truthfully.

"Hey, don't worry so much! You're such a sweet girl, everybody would love you given the chance to know you better, like me," Kayla assured her with a smile. Melanie nibbled at the last few scraps of food on her plate doubtfully. Three schools full of people got to know me and not a single person liked me... I'm lucky Kayla hasn't turned her snout up at me yet.

"Thank you, Kayla. You're a good friend," Melanie replied with a sad smile. "Are you ready to head back to the dorm?" the skunk-girl asked. Kayla nodded. "I am!"

The two girls got up from their seats, pushed in their chairs, and took care of their trays. Melanie was grateful to be getting away from the hustle and bustle and gossip of the cafeteria.

On the way out, they passed by a very large rodent (a capybara?) who actually towered over her, reminding Mel that this wasn't small-town living anymore. She smiled up at him as she walked by. The people were different here. And maybe they would see her differently, too.

---

Eukary University Campus w/ Kayla Samson

The two girls walked quietly across the campus, taking in the beautiful scenery. White Christmas lights were hanging up, and there were wreaths hanging on the light posts. A light snow was falling and had blanketed the ground. Melanie rubbed her arms against the cold and watched her breath float away in the cool air. It was a lovely walk, except for one thing.

"Do you feel like somebody is watching us?" Melanie asked, her fur on end. "No, why?" Kayla asked, looking around. There was no sign of anybody else, but Mel was grateful to see one of many safety alarm poles installed throughout campus. "Oh, no reason I guess. Let's hurry back, though. It's cold."

---

Eukary University Female-Only Dorms w/ Kayla Samson

Around an hour later Melanie was in bed worrying about the days soon to come. Would she really be able to make more friends like Kayla thought she could? Could an undesirable species, poor and shy as she was, make a good name for herself? Or would she lose everything as she had so many times before...

Lobelia

Panting she comes out from the trail again looking around just now noticing the snow starting to fall and smiles keeping her walk slow so she can get her breath under control as she stretches out her arms above her head. The run felt great after being coped up in that classroom all day and with practice tomorrow evening she wasn't going to be able to get another one in until just before the game. Looking down at the ground she smiles at the snow sticking and hopes they get at least a few feet come this morning, she knows most of the others hate the snow since they come from the desert area or the rainforest but she loves it. The snow is so beautiful when it blankets the ground, treetops, buildings and just everything feeling giddy at the snow she bends down scoping snow into her paws tossing it into the air to let it fall over her.

Growing quiet as she hears footsteps rushing across the campus she looks over watching a group of toucans running into the building, smiling she starts walking back towards the girls dorm and wonders just how cold they have to be with this snow. Pausing at a bench she props up her foot stretching out her calf and thighs before switching legs repeating the process, bouncing from foot to foot for a second determining if her muscles still feel stiff from her run. Feeling good she smiles starting to walk again though she not really paying attention to where she going since she staring down at her phone trying to find the right song, she knows that she should be getting to bed but with the snow falling down in big, thick flakes she cant bring herself to go inside a stuffy building just to settle down for the night. Tripping she flings her arms out to catch herself and laughs seeing that she wandered off the sidewalk and if it wasn't for the root sticking out of the ground she would have smacked her head into the old oak tree that everyone swears has been on this campus long before the campus was even thought of being built here.

Stretching out her arms again she sits down leaning her back against the tree and tilts her head back enjoying the soft jazz playing in through her headphones while she sits here watching the snow falling to the ground. She thankful to her fur keeping her warm even as the other students hurry up to rush inside to get warm, her thoughts wondering just what the others with thick fur like hers are during at this hour. After a few minutes she finally gets up knowing she needs to get to bed or she will never be getting up in the morning for her class but she doesn't rush back either still taking her time walking across campus until finally coming to the female dorms, pushing the door open she pauses looking back behind her again wishing for the snow to keep falling all night. Carefully letting the door close behind her she starts up the stairs pausing occasionally to talk with the other girls still not in their rooms yet either, as she gets closer to her room she yawns suddenly feeling tired now that she actually so close to her bed.

"Whatup, Big B!" Vance had burst into the grizzled bear's office with a spoiled rotten child's sense of entitlement, giving no thought to politely announcing himself before entering or even scheduling an appointment ahead of time.

"Vance," came the low rumble of the gravelly voice. That goosebump-inducing statement came from none other than Butch Carbine, an intimidating, towering figure and Magnus Ebonlock's Number Two. The massive bear remained seated behind his marble desk in attire not quite fitting the business formal motif of the rest of the office. With a leather jacket covering his shoulders and donning worn, dark jeans for his lower half, the hulking beast emanated his obvious apathy for societal expectations. He was going to dress as he was going to dress, do as he was going to do, and if the world didn't like it, he'd be happy to sort the world out.

"I've got this month's fee from the Cranes' Dry Cleaning shop," Vance said as he pulled out a clip of money and held it up with pride. The black furred lion was eager to please and even moreso to prove his own competence. Dressed nearly as casually as Butch, Vance was very much a t-shirt and jeans type of guy which was a stark contrast from his father who likely even slept in custom tailored business suits. "I'm just gonna head on in and drop it off with the ol' cat," Vance continued as he walked toward the next, far more ornate office door. It was closed. Vance squinted a moment as he tried to discern if there was any light peaking through the bottom of it.

"Negative," rumbled Butch. "The Boss is out. Leave the money with me and get back to school, kid."

"Well, where is he? I-"

"The Boss. Is. Out." Each word sounded like its own individual threat. Then, in a very animated fashion, Butch took his pointer finger and tapped it three times, quite hard, on an empty part of his desk. Frustrated, Vance let a small growl escape his throat before surrendering to Butch's demand and dropping the billfold as instructed. As he was heading toward the office's exit, Butch rumbled on. "And Vance. Next time knock before coming in here." The young lion shot the bear a look before slamming the door shut behind him.

Come at me, old timer. See what happens, Vance thought with a sense of false bravery.



Later that Evening, Eukary Quad

The sun had fled the sky. Vance found himself on a bench with a cigarette between his lips, trying to make sense of the day and shaking off the feeling that he was being looked at as just some punk by his father and his associates.

"Whatever" he said out loud, trying to console himself. "Just be cool and do what you do." The cool weather was refreshing and brought with it an eventual sense of calm. With classes done for the day and his work responsibilities fulfilled, all that was left was to wind down and do it all over again tomorrow. He watched the other students walk by and chit chat between puffs of smoke. That was a pasttime he would never tire of; watching and studying others. He could looked on as a skunk and her canine friend left the cafeteria and headed toward the dorms. He watched as other students performed their exercise rituals. And he even listened in to the gossip surrounding the upcoming Winter Carnival.

Vance wasn't sure if he'd be attending. Hadn't even given it much thought, really. But if the right kind of motivation came along, who's to say? When all that remained of his cigarette was just the filter, he flicked it between his claws into the nearby bin before pulling himself to his feet and heading toward the dorms. His stomach sounded off in protest. It clearly preferred to go to the cafeteria first.

Vance stopped, looked down at his stomach and rolled his eyes. "Fine! You win!" he declared before pivoting. "The cafeteria, it is." And with that, he headed toward the eatery. As soon as he stepped in and the beams of florescent lights touched his ebony fur, he made his presence known, shouting to no one in particular: "What's on the menu tonight?!"

Roger D’Monty

The flickering lights of the cafeteria caught Roger’s eye as he entered the room. He was pretty sure they had fixed that last month, but alas it seemed to have started again. While slightly annoying, Roger didn’t consider it a crucial issue, as he just came here to eat and not hang out. He also understood that the University’s focus right now was the Winter Carnival and not on some lighting issues. So, Roger tried to ignore the occasional flicker as he walked up to the kitchen staff. Before he could ask what the special was, the bovine lunch lady pointed to a note on the wall listing what they were serving today.

Roger quickly looked over the list, finding a lot of insect options. It was times like these that Roger wished he was born an omnivore so that he could have the best of both worlds. But as he was a herbivore, Roger selected the grass noodles, a cheap staple among herbivores, and grabbed a bowl of fruit salad for dessert. Carrying one dish in each hand, Roger looked out across the cafeteria to find seating. As it was later at night, the cafeteria was pretty barren, so Roger easily found an empty table where he could eat in peace. As he started to walk over to the table, he was immediately surprised by someone shouting, asking what the special was tonight.

Roger’s fur raised slightly in shock at the intrusion, but he quickly recovered, his body calming down. Taking another step forward, Roger unfortunately wasn’t looking at the ground, and thusly didn’t see the pile of slush on the floor. As soon as he put his foot down, Roger immediately began to slip backward. Through various improbabilities, Roger let go of the fruit salad bowl, causing it to fly into the air. Meanwhile, Roger fell backward onto another table, pushing the food of a pair of deer off the table, as the grass noodles landed on his face. As Roger quickly saw that the bowl of fruit salad was heading right for the black lion who had shouted earlier. Roger muttered an expletive as things seemed to move in slow motion from his point of view.

The grin on Vance's face almost immediately began to retreat as the lion's pupils dilated to a nearly unnatural degree. His instinct told him to spring off to the side, avoid the bogie. His body, instead, appeared to be engaging in Plan B: Don't move a muscle and surely this will all go away on its own.

The plan wasn't sound.

Vance's face was instantly decorated with sliced up produce while the bowl itself hit its target with a hollow thud before dropping to the ground with the rest of the capybara's meal. The lion's face was slightly damp, his eyes still wide black pits of disbelief. Slowly his lips began to reel back, putting his razor sharp pearly whites on display in what appeared to be the beginnings of a snarl.

"Dude..." he managed to utter out as he looked at the relatively large rodent adorned in noodle debris. He then moved in, heat in his steps as he aggressively approached the other student. "DUDE!" he shouted out, now mere inches away from the capybara's nose. Slowly, Vance leaned in even closer, his lips nearly at the other student's ear. The lion clenched his teeth, speaking between them in monotone in a sort of raspy whisper...

"You get the ones behind you. I'll get the ones behind me. Then we're going to have to book it, but it's our only way out of this with our reputations intact. Got it?" The last words served more as a starter pistol than an actual question. Before Vance could even read or hear a response, he twisted back to the table behind him and lunged to the side, relieving a couple of students of their beverages that were house in standard disposable cups. The lion proceeded to launch one of them like a football toward an unsuspecting Rhino wearing khakis and a white v-neck shirt that would soon be transformed into a splotchy brown one. With the other drink, he gave it a wild horizontal swing as if it were a baseball bat, letting the contents flow out like a sticky oceanic wave that crested and crashed on the faces of a group of dapper chimpanzees.

Lance looked back at the capybara with a toothy grin and a mischievously furrowed brow that gave signal to the fact that it was time to unleash mayhem. With a single, encouraging nod, he wordlessly told his would-be partner in crime that now was his chance to either be a legend or a laughing stock.

Roger D’Monty

Roger was mortified as the bowl of fruit collided with the lion. Roger quickly wiped away the noodles from his face, only to see that the lion was mere inches away from his face. Roger inwardly said a quick prayer to not have him kill him. His anxious mind then began to go even faster, wondering how many hundreds of years it had been since a predator had killed a prey, and if it was speciesist to even consider that.

However that didn’t happen. The lion instead suggested in whisper that they make a scene of it so that they both came out looking good. At first Roger didn’t fully grasp what he had meant, that was until the lion grabbed some drinks and flung them at unsuspecting cafeteria goers. Once again a feeling of shock overtook Roger as a cola collided with a rhino’s fine clothing. But then came a thrill as something wild was happening.

While at first opposed to the idea of throwing food, Roger was quickly coming around as he the look of excitement on the lion’s face. It was then that Roger recalled the words of his older brother Julian on college: go crazy and take risks. Roger decided to abide by these wise words, grabbing a cup of orange juice and slugging it at finely dressed flamingo. The juice drenched his beak and began to leak down onto his expensive jacket. Before anyone could do anything Roger passed by a pig and grabbed a plate of something, he wasn’t really sure what pigs ate. He then tossed the plate of mystery food into the air, not entirely sure of who it would hit.

Roger then began to laugh, a deep throaty laugh, like one that was needed for a very long time. He then looked over to where he had tossed the food, only to see it had all landed on the head of a very large buffalo. The buffalo huffed as some kind of brown food stuff crept down his neck and onto his Eukary University athletics jacket.

“Sorry about that sir,” Roger was still giggling, “But wasn’t that fun?”

“No,” the buffalo huffed as he moved toward Roger.

“Well, uh, sorry?” Roger felt very small in front of the buffalo.

As Roger prepared for a beat down, a shriek caused everyone to turn their heads back. “You’ve stained my heirloom ascot!” shouted the flamingo.

Roger took this momentary reprise to turn and bolt out of the cafeteria, passing the lion on the way out. Roger kept running, making it far, even with his small rodent legs. By the time that Roger finally stopped running he saw that he was now outside, in front of the men’s dorm building. He then looked back to where he had come from to see if the lion had also followed behind.

In the darkness was a slow clap and a wheezing giggle. A silhouette in the dark soon stepped into the glow of one of the lamp posts and there Vance could be seen with a grin that spanned his entire face, and paws that continued to sound off his amusement.

"Well done... uh..." He paused briefly, realizing he really didn't know who he was talking to. "...buddy." He reached behind him and pulled out his wallet. Quickly he fumbled to open it and retrieved a small rectangular piece that looked like it has resided in that wallet for quite some time. The edges were worn and the paper was stained with dirt in some spots. Regardless, he advanced on his new partner in crime even further and handed the card off to him. "I'm Vance," he said. His business card reflected as much and even had his contact information displayed upon it right under the holographic Ebonlock Enterprises logo. "You made my night, bud!" With that, he passed by the capybara and opened the door to the dormitory. "Hit me up if you wanna chill sometime," he called out just before the door closed behind him.

The lion eventually made his way to his room. On the journey, his stomach rumbled again. He looked at it and thought there's no going back there now. He made his way to his mini fridge. Sitting on top of it was a ziplocked back of jerky. He opened the bag up and tilted the whole thing upon his lips as if he were drinking water from a cup, letting the meaty bits fall into his death cavern of a mouth before giving it just a few chews and then swallowing it all down at once. He tossed the emptied back at his trash bin as if he were shooting up a basketball. It missed its target and fell to the floor. Vance dismissed the problem with a wave and finally crash landed on his bed in a comical belly flop. He hadn't even undressed yet. His mind was swimming and yet he was exhausted. He remembered thinking he really ought to take a shower but before he could act, darkness came and his consciousness vanished.

Melanie Rose Pourri
Monday Morning
Eukary University Female Dorms

---

A blinding light faded to reveal a tiny little girl amongst a group of a dozen young students of all shapes and sizes. Music began, and soon beautiful voices joined together in harmony. The girl was smiling wide with sparkling fangs, shiny fur, and wearing a brand-new white dress, with little pink flowers scattered throughout it. She was growing more and more excited, awaiting her moment-- the moment she would make her parents proud and become a star.

The girl stepped out of the group toward the edge of the stage and took a deep breath as the light focused on her. But, her breath stopped short as she noticed two seats in the front row were empty, and at that moment she forgot her lines and lost her voice. She stood staring back, dumbfounded, at the gawking audience. Some time passed and there were hushed whispers and shuffling amongst the audience and behind her on stage. Paws started to push and nudge her, and sheet papers were being shoved in her snout. Her peers were closing in on her, elbowing her, stepping on her buckled black shoes and tail. Sharp claws dug into her flesh and she was pulled back and forth, until... PFFT!

Immediately, a terrible stench began to fill the auditorium in a noxious green cloud. Noses wrinkled, and then there was shouting, cussing, and rushing all around. People were running, and others getting trampled. Fingers were pointing and there was laughing and jeering. The tiny skunk girl shrunk down, covering her ears and closing her eyes, trying to tune it all out. Red lights were flashing, and an alarm was going off... ERR! ERR! ERR!

"Ah!" Mel gasped as she sat straight up in bed, jolted awake by the sound of her alarm clock. She quickly reached over to the clock and turned the alarm off, then threw the covers off herself. She checked her fur under her nightgown--drenched with sweat, but otherwise fine--and breathed a sigh of relief. While it hadn't happed yet, Mel always feared that her nightmares would make her musk in her sleep.

She looked across the room to see a lump in a bed, heaving gently with quiet snores. It was days like this that Mel was grateful that her dorm-mate was a deep sleeper. With a sigh, the skunk-girl grabbed her caddy and headed off for her morning shower.

---

Later that morning, at Eukary University Cafeteria

Melanie sat slumped over a bowl of milk and cereal in a dark corner of the cafeteria, alone. It was early still, only about 6:30 in the morning and there were only a few other students puttering about (many students opted for later classes). Her fur was slightly damp from her shower and there were bags under her eyes. She munched slowly on her cereal as she read over a little paper sign on the table. It advertised many extracurricular activities and clubs. Chorus, band, drama club, film club, the school newspaper, astronomy club, book club, anime club, and all kinds of sports. There had to be something that wouldn't end in disaster, but what? Mel sighed. After her dream, she was having second thoughts...

Apartment above The Wolf Pack

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A blaring alarm pierced the silence of a room barely lit but the rays of light that filtered through window shades. Zaina groaned beneath her sheets, letting out an irritable huff before slamming a large fist against the perpetrator of disturbing her slumber. Amazingly the alarm clock hadn't shattered under her strike as it ceased its ear piercing sound. Zaina briefly contemplated on just remaining in bed but sighed knowing that wasn't an option. If she wasn't up soon, the one mammal that might have a chance beating her in a fight would make certain she was up and dragged down the stairs and out the building without even getting dressed. She sat up and stretched, a yawn escaping her lips before getting up to start the day anew, starting with a shower.

Any thought of returning to peaceful slumber was lost when cold water hit against her. She quickly got out of it as she could, getting dressed and grabbing a backpack haphazardly tossed to the side, it's contents having been haphazardly shoved into it before being tossed over her shoulder while leaving the confines of her apartment and making her way down the hall and down the stairwell that led down to her place of work, a moderately well known club called The Wolf Pack

As she made her way down she was greeted by the sight of the owner of the The Wolf Pack she resided above. Bartholomew Whitlock, the closest thing she could call to someone being family after three years. Bartholomew, Tholo for short, was a gruff looking timber wolf. He stood around six feet, a slightly large frame with his fit build. While one eye was a piercing sky blue the other was dull and foggy, a scar tracing itself across the left side of his face. How the wolf had been blinded he never said keeping it to himself. His fur a mixtures of grey except for his underside which was cream colored. His muzzle has slight signs of white to appear. Still even for his age, he was a tough son of a bitch and the only person who managed to knock her out. The incident had been her own fault and taught her to not do it again unless she wanted to permanently be back on the streets.

"Finally dragged your ass out of bed I see kid," Tholo stated while looking over the bar and checking everything was in order ",Thought I'd have to do it myself. Have one of the rookies in the back video tape it."

"Har har old man," Zaina huffed flipping him off, Tholo simply shook his head while continuing to work. Zaina entered behind the bar, finding an old coffee machine that had all ready been brewed and quickly made herself a cup of the wonderful elixir. One thing she could at least give the old wolf credit for, he did make good coffee.

"Off to hell I go," she muttered while carrying her drink of coffee giving the old wolf a final wave. Tholo gave a grunt in response wiping down the counter as she exiting the front door to walk her way to the nearest subway to then reach the Eukary University.

Gracie

City Parc Luxury Aparments
The young doe was up at 4:59 right before her alarm buzzed at 5:00am, “A new day.” Gracie methodically pulled the chain for her lamp and brought herself up with a stretch. Her left ear twitched as she gazed around at her tidy spacious bedroom. Routine as normal, everything as they should be and in their perfect place. She tidied and straightened her bed, making sure that there were no wrinkles and everything was fluffed up just right.

Turning toward her closet, she had already hung up this morning’s jogging gear. Long red track pants with a matching long sleeved jacket. Switching from her pajamas to her jogging clothes she began her ritual stretches before grabbing her phone and earbuds. Turning onto her favorite soccer podcast, Gracie left her apartment for her morning jog. Feeling the cold dawn air on her face, she could see her breath in front of her, making her want to get started right away to get her blood pumping.

Running made her feel free, especially in the morning. She was able to be alone in her thoughts, see the dark sky transform to beautiful light purples and blues. Her ritual jog usually lasted for forty-five minutes, which seemed to go by fast for the doe. By the end she’d wind back to her apartment where she showered and went to her outfit that she had picked out the night before. Grabbing her messenger bag, she looked back at her tidy lonely apartment and went on her way to University.

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Eukary Cafetería

Gracie ventured in the Cafeteria, knowing there weren’t going to be as many students so early in the morning. She scanned the area before going toward her usual breakfast spot, she saw another mammal toward the back of the Cafeteria, a skunk. Smiling and nodding toward the creature she then went off to order a healthy greens smoothie, her usual go to which refreshed her after a long jog.

Lennon Norris

Dorm > cafeteria > outside

Lennon had just come from shower. She hadn’t slept too well and a cold shower had really woken her up. She dryid herself with a towel. Her hair ended up being damp, but she didn’t bother with it any more. She did her make up and picked an outfit. This time it was a simple all black outfit. Her makeup on the other hand was more intrigued. She painted her lips black, reddish smokey eyeshadow, eyeliner on fleek and some big lashes that looked like spider legs. She took a look at her cello before leaving. Lennon knew it was bad idea= but she really wanted to play some music outside despite the snow.

First thing she did was letting her cello lean against the wall outside the cafeteria. She really hoped no one would steal it. Lennon attended the cafeteria and went to get some food. There weren't too many opinions she liked and it took some time for her to choose. She just picked a meat substitute sandwich and cup of tea. Lennon didn't see any of her friends, but she didn't feel like eating alone.

Maybe it was an opportunity to hang out with different people than usually? Maybe she could even make new friends. Ok, I will do that, she thought to herself. Her dark eyes gazed over the cafeteria and the student's eating there. She noticed a chipmunk girl and went to her. "This seat taken?" She tried to do a friendly big smile. Apparently it didn't work out: the girl looked at her as if Lennon was crazy and went to eat to another table. Lennon ate her food silently in dissapointment.

Playing music outside in winter time was definitely a bad decision. Her fingers were ice cold and didn't work normally. She knew she could create more beautiful music than this, which made her annoyed. This morning didn't start well. However some people stopped at listening her which made the small bat happy.

Lobelia

Reaching out as her phones goes off she glances at it for the smallest of seconds before hitting snooze on the alarm and curling up into her bed more, she happy that she doesn't have a roommate since they would most likely be hating her right now. After her shower last night she had opened her window to enjoy the crisp night air as the snow continued to fall down and just curled up under her dark purple comfortable falling asleep in seconds. Pulling the blanket up over her head falling back into a light sleep not ready to get up for the morning but the crisp air in her room telling her that today is going to be cold, twenty minutes past and her phone goes off again with a groan she sits up staring down at the phone turning off the alarm. Her fur is standing straight up as she yawns while stretching out her arms wondering if she could pull skipping Trigonometry class today but instead she flings her legs over the bed and stands up, her oversized t-shirt falling down to her knees.

Her room set up is perfect to her the beds pushed up sideways against the wall with the big window, the nightstands stacked on top of each other in-between the beds, the two desks pushed together across the room with one holding her laptop and the other the tv on it, like all the rooms in the dorm on the left side of the door is the closets and she has taken the one closest towards the room. She was happy to discover the closets are deep enough to push the small dressers into so they dont take up too much of the space around the room, the small fridge the university has supplied them is next to the closet which she keeps stocked with juice and water. Opening up her closet she grabs up her brush starting to smooth out her fur as she wonders what she should wear today, she owns some sundresses because her mother is constantly sending them to her but she doesn't wear them all that often. Grabbing up a pair of light jeans and a dark green tank top she moves towards her bed tossing them on it before moving back towards her closet squatting down to confirm that her duffel bag is holding her uniform and sneakers, the basketball team has practice later today and the coach makes them wear their uniform.

Setting the bag by her bed she changes into her clothes and slips on her track suit jacket, displaying the University's colors with a small emblem of their mascot on the right breast pocket. Slipping on a pair of black boots with a few inches on the heel making her appear a little taller before shoving her sneakers into the duffel bag along with her school books and some bottles of water. Heading back out the door she looks down at her phone as she heads towards the stairs texting one of her friends 'Good morning' though all her friends are apart of one of the fraternities here and they tend to have wild parties every night. She was invited to join with them but she enjoys the quiet of the dorms and having her own room is always a plus, stepping outside she looks around with a big grin forming on her lips excited that there is two feet of snow on the ground. Stepping away from the sidewalk she squats down picking up some of the snow letting it run through her fingers and hopes that maybe during lunch today others would be willing to have a friendly little snowball fight. Laughing at her thoughts she starts the walk towards the cafeteria resuming texting her friends about her amazing idea.

Corrie Strickman

Cordeliamycinth Strickman sighed and rubbed her large yellow eyes. She didn’t feel quite solid enough on the origins and insertions of all the leg muscles and wished she could study just a bit more to feel confident. Always just a bit more…

But the short-eared owl was forced to admit that pulling an all-dayer would not contribute to academic success, especially with that quiz later today. She placed her Common Anatomy notes back into their designated spot in their three-ring binder, which went in its designated spot in a large gray backpack (perhaps comically large for the short student). She neatly combed her speckled feathers and smoothed out her crisp gray slacks. With everything put together in its proper fashion, Corrie shut the door on her horrifically messy dorm and headed out toward the cafeteria.

It was a chilly day, and even on the partly scraped main sidewalks, the snow piled up near Corrie’s knees. If she ventured off the path, she’d have to trudge through half her height in snow. Her fluffy feathers protected her some from the cold – she found the weather tolerable for a short walk but not something she would want to dilly-dally around in. Which was fine, she shouldn’t be wasting time, anyway.

As she approached the cafeteria, Corrie’s sharp ears picked up some kind of music. It wasn’t that rare for a student to perform some form of music or dance or other special talent in the quad. But with a blanket of snow on the ground… that was unusual. She rounded a corner and saw a small mammal playing… a stringed bass? Or a cello? It was hard to tell.

The owl let her thoughts slow down for a minute as she kept strolling. The muscle names, the worrisome grades, all disappeared for a moment in the unignorable sound of beauty in the here-and-now. Corrie allowed a small, gracious smile toward the –oh, apparently they were a bat.

A bat! The only mammal that ever achieved true flight. A unique mix between the avians she knew and the mammals which dominated the land. Was a bat light and hollow-boned, like a bird? How did the lack of feathers affect the kinesiology of their gliding? If Corrie ever wanted to biomedically improve avians’ gliding abilities close to their ancient glory, she might need to-

The owl frowned and sighed right as she passed the musical bat. She had tricked herself into thinking about school again. The moment had passed, and Corrie tiredly continued her walk toward the cafeteria, where she would eat some sensible dinner before getting some responsible sleep.

A final flourish sang out from the stringed instrument, and then all was quiet as the frost. Corrie paused in the break between songs and slowly rotated her head halfway around. Looking back at the thing she had passed by.

It’ll just be a few minutes, Corrie convinced herself as she walked back toward the musician. A few minutes to clear my head will be healthy. Besides, I can call it an educational experience.

“Greetings,” Corrie began, holding her posture high to gaze down the bridge of her beak at the small bat. “I am a biomedical engineering student, and I could not help but observe how the atypical forked structure of your wings permits you to dexterously perform on an instrument that would otherwise be too massive for such a person. How does the wide spread of your fingers promote or detract from other activities of daily life? And could… could I observe one more musical demonstration of your phalangeal physiology, perhaps? A-a short one.”

Lennon Norris

Lennon kept a small pause between the songs in order to warm up her cold fingers. As she was warming up and keeping her pause, an owl girl started to get closer to her. Sometimes when she was playing music people would come close to her and ask for a specific song since Lennon did a lot of covers of rock songs and not just classical music. The owl greeted Lennon who was going to ask about the song she wanted to be played. However what the owl had in mind was something totally different. She ended up being a biomedical engineering student, who was interested in the structure of bats. Lennon was so confused she missed the first half of her speech.

”...structure of your wings permits you to dexterously perform on an instrument that would otherwise be too massive for such a person. How does the wide spread of your fingers promote or detract from other activities of daily life? And could… could I observe one more musical demonstration of your phalangeal physiology, perhaps?” It made Lennon both amused and confused, she tried her best to not laugh at her face.

”Well I..” Lennon started but ended up chuckling. She totally didn’t expect to face a situation like that. ”Sorry.. I haven’t really thought about these things. When you have lived your whole life in a certain type of body, you don’t really think about whether it makes your actions difficult or not. You just live.” The bat tried to form an explanation that made sense, not sure if she succeeded.

”Of course you can observe me! I love it when people get moved by my music.” Lennon smiled, though she was unsure whether the owl was moved by her music or just treated her like a scientific experiment. The bat didn’t care which one it was. She just loved performing her music. “Do you mind if you observe my… musical demonstration of my phalangeal physiology somewhere else? It’s getting pretty cold and I can’t play if my fingers turn into ice cubes.” She grinned. “By the way, my name is Lennon!” She held the cello with her left hand and offered her right hand for a handshake.

Inside the Cafeteria. Right outside the Cafeteria
Gracie found herself sitting down in the middle of the cafeteria, she didn’t have class until 8:00. However, she was an early bird..or doe, that enjoyed the quiet mornings. It was a time for her to listen to her podcasts, do her jog, and then relax in the cafeteria and observe the other mammals straggling in Loosening her grey scarf from her speckled neck, she checked her phone for any updates on the world or her close circle, especially from her track team.

0 Notifications.

The doe frowned slightly, her friends weren’t morning mammals like herself, and other than the downpour of snow there were no news that was worth investigating, other than a headlines that read “Local Sloth beats world record of longest belch.” “Here’s what your Horoscope says this week!” “Fleas got you down? Don’t be embarrassed! Try Flee Flea! Get your free Flee Flea today!”

She found herself then monotonously scrolling through her social media feed. She stopped at Clyde, the leopard. He was the star of the track and field team. Lean body, a serious spotted face. He was a flawless runner. She had looked up to him since her first year, hoping to someday beat his record. They hadn’t spoke to each other much, he didn’t really socialize with the other runners outside of the Track and Field realm.

Letting out a soft yawn, she covered her mouth lest to be seen as rude or unseemly, she then slurped the last bit of green smoothie she had, moving her tongue across her teeth to dispatch any embarrassing leftovers. She sat up and stretched and did a neck roll. She looked at the snow outside the cafeteria and grinned. “What a lovely weather to build a snowdeer, oh I haven’t done that since I was a young fawn!!” Thinking to herself, she put on her beige pea coat and tightened it before walking with a bounce toward the door.

Outside she was again met with the crisp winter air which didn’t seem to bother her. She found a spot by a large tree that’d be perfect to build a Snowdeer, rubbing her hands together she started to build the first mound of snow, humming joyfully to herself.