Percival
Location: Art History Class - Cafeteria
Mentions: @Argetlam350
Interactions: Open/Busy

Perci shoved his phone back into his hoodie pocket and began packing his things. He rushed but tried to keep quiet. He needed to come up with an excuse to leave… Fuck, he had no ideas! Well, he had one… The bathroom excuse always worked. He waved down the professor, who had just finished lecturing and was sitting at his desk.

Perci fibbed without a hitch. The professor never really cared, anyway. He was pretty sure he was too engrossed reading a tabloid while pretending to grade papers. The goat clutched his bag before deciding to leave it. Taking it might've been suspicious. Well, he thought it’d be. Perci bounded to the door, moving especially goat-like. He pulled up his hood before leaving the building. The blast of cold air made him shiver. He felt his phone buzz again as Fenzi texted him. The last text he read was “YOOOO THIS BITCH KNOCKED HIM TF OUT-”

He was scared to open that, so he rushed to the cafeteria.

In the cafeteria…

Marcello was still regaining his bearings when suddenly a tall hyena-woman socked the baboon in the face. He cringed and scrambled back as he watched the primate hit the floor. He looked at the hyena, slightly intimidated. This is the opposite of what he wanted to happen. Marcello’s gaze flicked to her outstretched hand, and then his own bloody ones. He wasn’t sure what would be more impolite, getting her hand bloody or declining the offer.

“I should probably...get some napkins-” Marcello explained, showing her his hands. He declined the offer and stood up.

Perci burst through the doors, slightly out of breath. A lop rabbit sitting nearby waved him down. She wore her ears around her neck like an elaborate scarf. This was Fenzi. Perci quickly joined her.

“Where is he?-” The goat inquired.

Fenzi nudged her head in the direction of the maned wolf. “He’s there- and he’s fine. That Yeen over there knocked the monkey out,” she explained before returning to munching on her salad that was mostly grass. Perci thanked her before he made his way towards Marcello, who had his back turned to him while grabbing some napkins. Perci paused when he neared the hyena- and then saw campus security walking into the building.

Perci opened his mouth to speak, but he took a moment before saying anything. “Marcello…?”

The maned wolf’s large ears swiveled in his direction before he looked up. He had shoved two napkins up his nose. Perci tried not to stare. Marcello had to squint since he had removed his now-damaged glasses.

The wolf wasn’t entirely sure who he was speaking to since his nose was blocked. Normally, he’d take a whiff of the air and know exactly who it was. Unfortunately, he was now sans glasses and nose. “Perci?” He guessed by hearing his voice.

“Are you okay?” Perci asked, taking a few steps closer. Between the hyena and the wolf. Perci looked dwarfed beside them. The only one shorter was Fenzi, but she was back by the table.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine-" Marcello nodded, sounding extra nasally.

Eukary Cafeteria
Interaction: @Crystal Amalgam Marcello & Perci

---

Zaina stepped back while the maned wolf got up after he had declined the offer due to their bloodied hands, at first planning to make a hasty retreat before the campus security could get there but turning her head slightly she saw she was a little late for that option. Her thoughts were interrupted as the doors burst open and a goat came scrambling in, only stopping briefly near another student before making their way over to where she and the maned wolf were. Hearing the goat question the now named maned wolf, Marcello, she came to the conclusion that they knew each other.

"I wouldn't call getting my nose potentially broken exactly fine," Zaina butted in as Marcello seemed to wave off the extent of his injury ",Then again could be like the current rug on the floor so in that sense you are indeed fine." She points over to the floored ape, being checked over by the campus security.

Melanie Rose Pourri

---

Eukary Cafeteria, 1:20PM
Interacting with @Argetlam350 and @Crystal Amalgam

"Eep!" Melanie squeaked, retreating underneath the table and hiding her face in her paws. The cafeteria erupted all around her. Chairs clattered to the floor as animals stood up. There was shouting, hooting and hollering. "FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" echoed around the room. There were thuds and whacks, grunting and cursing. A bird squawked--probably caught in the crossfire.

Mel's table shook and she gasped, sneaking a peek. The baboon and human boy had locked arms and were wrestling, bouncing around table to table in their tug-of-war. The baboon broke the hold and bashed the human in the cheek, bloodying his face. The human went limp, and the ape kept bashing and bashing. "Please... somebody stop this..." Melanie cried weakly as she stared from under the table, trembling with her eyes transfixed on the violence. Tears welled in her eyes.

A furry blur entered the scene. A great maned wolf had wedged himself between the two with a strong paw on each of their chests. For a moment there was silence, but for the heavy breathing of the baboon. He seemed to be sizing up his new, large opponent. The human wiped a bloody nose and glared past the maned wolf. "Get out of the way!" the baboon demanded, clenching his fists. The wolf refused.

A moment later, there was a crunch and the wolf was sprawled on the floor with his paws covering a bloody snout. His glasses were smashed. A small crowd approached, whispering and murmuring. He quickly sat up and barked angrily at the ape, causing the crowd to step back. The baboon grinned, baring his teeth and cracking his knuckles. Melanie whimpered.

But then, out of no where, a huge hyena shouted. Just as the baboon started to turn her way she knocked him out cold with a punch to the face. The fight was over. Melanie let out breath she didn't even know she was holding. The cafeteria had gone silent once again. Many stared at the hyena in awe, and Mel was one of them-- that is until the hyena growled and shooed the crowd off. A vulture mumbled about being stereotyped as she head toward the door.

Having lost her appetite, Melanie came out from under the table, grabbed her tray, and took it to the drop-off area. Her head hung and she had a heavy feeling in her chest.

Mel was heading toward the exit when she saw a familiar face (Perci) burst through the cafeteria doors, followed shortly by two human campus police officers and a rhinoceros officer. Perci glanced frantically around the room, settling on a rabbit-- a girlfriend perhaps? Melanie raised and eyebrow. She then watched as thr two human police officers escorted the injured human boy while the rhino checked the unconcious baboon over. He then picked the ape up, grunted, and head out the door wordlessly.

Melanie was almost at the door when she accidentally bumped into somebody tall and furry. "Oh, um, sorry..." Mel quietly mumbled. She looked up to see a jackrabbit hybrid police officer holding a spiral notebook. He must have slipped by while she was putting her tray away. He sure looked quick-footed.

May I ask you a few questions? I need multiple witness accounts, " he inquired with a smile. Mel gulped and nodded nervously, her heart racing. Miraculously she managed to stuttered and stammered through his questions. "Thank you for your time," the rabbit police officer said with a courteous nod of his hat, before heading over to the wolf and hyena. Mel stayed behind, stoking her hair anxiously as he went.

"Fighting on school property is strictly forbidden, but I'll let you two off with a warning this time," he said generously, tucking his pencil behind his ear. "Marcello, yes? You might have saved Caleb's life today," he said with a nod to the maned wolf. "And you, lady Zaina, correct? You might have saved his," he explained with a wink and smile. "Do you need any assistance before I go and file my report?"

Percival
Location: Cafeteria
Mentions: @LostButterfly92 & @Argetlam350
Interactions: Busy

“She’s right,” Perci responded, “you should go to the nurse.” He started studying Marcello’s face and noticed there was still some blood on his muzzle. He had to crane his neck up to look at him properly. Gee, Marcello was really tall…

Marcello’s ears flicked in the direction of the approaching officers and he looked up at them. Perci watched them, looking a bit more apprehensive. He wondered if they were okay. He also made a mental note to never ever fuck with the hyena, who he just learned was named Zaina. She was also pretty tall- maybe not as tall as Marcello (because of his huge ears), but she was much more muscular. According to Fenzi, she was the one that knocked the raging baboon.

The jackrabbit who approached them gave them a stern talking to, but none of it was directed at Perci since he just showed up. Marcello nodded along, looking a bit awkward for being congratulated by the police. The goat noticed the glint of Marcello’s fangs since he had to keep his mouth open to breathe. It was surprising since Perci knew the majority of a maned wolf’s diet was fruit, but his teeth were still so large. It was a grim reminder to Perci that their relationship would most likely never happen.

“I have to go back to class,” Perci stated abruptly. He couldn’t reach to give Marcello a pat on the shoulder, so he opted for his forearm instead. “Take care of your nose, okay?” He then turned towards Zaina. “Uh, thanks-” Fuck, was was he thanking her for? Helping Marcello? That’d be weird, but he was thankful she stopped the fight. Perci started to feel awkward, so he walked back to Fenzi.

“I hate being a smaller animal,” The goat complained as he met up with his friend. Fenzi, who was even shorter than Perci nodded in agreement. She stood at a proud four and a half feet.

“Trust me,” she sighed, “We all do.”

“I gotta go back to history class. I left my bag in there- can I have that?” He pointed to a granola bar Fenzi hadn’t touched. The rabbit shook her head and handed it to him.

“Go wild.”

“Thanks.” Perci indeed went wild. He tore off the wrapper and shoved about half of it in his mouth. He took a few steps towards the door to leave.

“We have a meeting at The Warren after class, y’know?” Fenzi pointed out, knowing damn well her friend forgot about it.

“Shit-” Perci swore, his mouth full of granola. “I forgot… I’ll come, don’t worry.” With that, he pulled up his hoodie and opened the door. He could never get used to the sudden rush of cold air. His nose twitched.

Eukary Cafeteria
Interaction: @Crystal Amalgam Marcello & Perci,@LostButterfly92 Melanie

---

Zaina listened to the campus officer give a curt nod at the end though before they left, just glad that she wasn't going to have to deal with any repercussions for her intervention. Now she just had to hope Tholo didn't catch wind of it or else she'd face a rather fierce tongue lashing and probably a reduction of her next paycheck.

The goat, Perci, appeared to give Marcello one last look over and make sure he was okay before turning to her. Perci thanked her for what she did, causing her to feel a bit awkward now for what she did. On campus she tended to stay out of the limelight so being thanked for stopping a fight was a new experience. She was use to more of the usual cautious stares from the herbivores and being avoided by them.

"Yeah whatever," Zaina replied to Perci, pretending to brush it off as if it was nothing, going back to where she had dropped her stuff before knocking the baboon out. She scooped her things up, swinging her back over her shoulder making her way to the door where a shaken looking skunk appeared to be standing. She passed by muttering a pardon, deciding that after the excitement she needed to blow off a little steam and made her way to the campus gym.

Melanie Rose Pourri

---

Eukary Cafeteria, 12:20PM
Melanie stood near the exit, twirling her long white fur around one clawed finger. She watched as the jackrabbit officer walked toward the towering hyena and maned wolf. Even though he was slightly taller than herself, he was dwarfed by the large predators. There was a brief talking-to, but not unfriendly. It seemed the heroes of the day would be off the hook despite the fighting, which Mel was grateful for.

Just as the officer tipped his hat and walked off, she noticed a third, smaller animal with them. Curved horns, fluffy white and gray fur. The goat had his hand placed tenderly on the maned wolf's forearm. Perci!? Melanie squinted and adjusted her glasses, just to be sure. The way he's looking at that wolf... are they... together? Mel wondered. Perci looked at him dreamily, longingly, like in the photo from earlier. She looked away, embarrassed. Under her fur was the red tinge of a blush.

Well, don't want to interrupt... Melanie thought as she started toward the door. "Oh!" Mel turned around abruptly and shuffled back to her cafeteria seat, glancing frantically around. "Ah! There you are," she said, relieved, as she picked up her backpack from the floor. A piece of paper fell off the bottom and drifted to the floor.

What is this? Melanie wondered. She reached under the table and picked up some kind of brochure which had gotten stepped on a few times. She brushed it off, revealing attractive humans on the front. The females were wearing beautiful red dresses, and the males wore fancy black suits and red ties. It read 'Join the Pure'. She raised one brow curiously, opened it, and skimmed it through. But the more she read it, the more she frowned and the more her heart sunk. It was for a secret human supremacist club.

Melanie shoved the brochure in her backpack and her stomach churned as she debated in her mind what to do with it. She stared at the dirty piece of paper for a minute, then took a deep breath, gulped, and zipped it up.

---

Administrative Building, 12:25PM.
It took just a few minutes to get to the Administratove Building, going at a brisk walk. Mel slipped and stumbled a bit along the way, but her heart was racing with worry. She didn't want to be a tattletale, but this was big. A supremacist club could be potentially dangerous, and she wanted to nip it in the bud.

The skunk-girl nervously walked up to the main desk and rang the bell on the desk. "Just a moment please!" a woman called from deeper within the office. She seemed to be busy on the phone. Idly she combed her fur with her claws, adjusted her flower clip, and looked around the room at the abstract art on the walls. There were muffled voices a ways down one hall. A door open and closed. She heard the woman hang up the phone and start walking in her direction.

Melanie unzipped her backpack and dug around for the brocure to get ready. "How may I help you?" the woman asked as she walked in. "I found something, um..." Melanie began, but stopped when she felt a large paw on her shoulder. "My friend's lost mitten!" somebody interrupted. She had the brocure in one paw, still in the backpack, when she looked up to see a human receptionist raising her brow. She followed the sandy, furry arm up to see glistening white fangs, piercing blue eyes, and a curly brown mane. Her fur went on end and her tail raised up instinctively, but she forced a nervous smile onto her face.

"Oh! It's ah, you again... I,um, actually..." she started, but he motioned with a tilt of his head and his eyes down the hall. A human boy was glaring her way, with a phone to his ear. She looked up to the lion-boy, who smiled and gently nudged her toward the door. There was worry in his eyes.

"...Yeah. Yeah, that's exactly right," Melanie played along. She let go of the brocure and dug around for the mitten, then handed it to the lion. "Sorry to bother you, ma'am." The lady just rolled her eyes and started typing away at her computer.

The lion put his arm around Mel's shoulder and started walking her back down the hall and toward the door. She chanced a look over her shoulder and at the human-boy now off his phone, appearing more relaxed but still wary. Her heart pounded. "What's going on? the girl demanded in a whisper. The boy smiled and chuckled. You're being watched. Just stay cool and follow me," he answered under his breath.

Melanie gulped as they left the Administrative building. Several humans looked her way, then pretended to be busy with phones or reading despite the cold weather. Mel shivered, and the lion held her closer. For a moment, Mel leaned closer against his warm body, and it felt surprisingly safe. Could this lion be trusted? Were the humans really after her for wanting to expose them, or was she just paranoid?

But he was leading her away from campus, and Mel was getting concerned. "Where are you taking me?" Melanie asked, getting concerned. "To the Warren," he said with a grin. "for a bite to eat."

Blissfully unaware of the fiasco happening at the Cafeteria, Gracie put in her ear rose-red earbuds in the shape of pine trees and scrolled through her phone.

Now Playing:

What You Otter' Know
Artist: Finn Ottoman

Gracie was really fond of Podcasts, she acted as though she knew the hosts and pretended that they were having a conversation with her. The particular podcast she chose was more current event driven, but the reason why she liked it was because they never covered anything 'too' violent or serious. She got enough of that in the real world, she needed a good escape.

"Weeeelcome listeners, and welcome to What You Otter' Know! I'm your host, Finn Ottoman! I'm here with my wonderful guest Harper! Harper here is a fellow 'Podcaster'. Tell us about yourself, Harper!"

Gracie found her way along the road where The Warren is located, this road was HECTIC at night. It was known as the University's main bar-crawling places. Gracie had only been to some of these places at night with a friend, if she would choose where to go at night instead, she'd elect to stay in. It just seemed too dangerous and overwhelming, last time she felt herself over-alert at all the party-goers, smokers, and large crowds. It was especially bad for her by The Wolf Pack. Shuddering at the memories, Gracie turned off the podcast as she stood in front of The Warren.

Opening the door, it was dimly lit as usual-but light enough for a herbivores to see. The dark wooden bar counter with a colorful array of bottles and beer-handles behind the counter was the first thing that would come to a visitor's attention. The cozy atmosphere would be the second attention-getter. Close booths, an area in the back for pool and darts, and when stepping out back to the patio there were plenty of places to sit as well as an outside bar.

"Gracie! I didn't know a game was on! Let me get the remote!" A small voice spoke up from the bar counter. A field mouse of about 21-22 years old stood on the bar with a bright smile. When stepping closer to the bar, the visitor will notice pulley-systems in which the small bartender can pour beer and cocktails. There are other workers as well, but Gracie seemed to always catch Theodore.

"No no--I'm not here for that today, Theodore." She laughed, "I just needed a place to clear my head..I know it's a little quiet around this time." She looked around, seeing a couple of Wildebeests playing pool in the background and a fox studying with a pint of light beer. Taking a seat at the bar, she knew having class soon she shouldn't partake. "I'm just going to go with a water and the vegetable lettuce-boats please." She tucked her feet on the bar-stool legs already feeling the most at ease since getting that weird brochure that haunted her bag.

"You got it! Be out in a jiffy!" As Theodore scurried to put the order in the register, Gracie grabbed her phone and started scrolling through any notifications.

Taurus Altobelli, The Warren
Interactions: Grace Elafi

Taurus’ class had positively dragged this morning, and he was grateful for the respite that coming to work had afforded him. He liked the professor, he really did, and he loved the subject with most every fibre of his being. The professor was knowledgable, if slightly biased about the books he assigned them, and always willing to help but his voice.

Well, Taurus would much rather listen to paint dry.

He ducked through the doorway that led from the back of the bar to the front, feeling the tip of one of his horns knock against the doorframe and sending a slight shock through his head. The feeling was similar to hitting your elbow on a particularly unforgiving table corner, and it took a few seconds of shaking his shaggy head to clear. He took out the tie holding his hair back as he walked, eyesight briefly obscured but quickly restored as he pulled his hair back into a messy bun and leaned against the bar, just off to the side from the other patrons.

Thankfully, due to the part-time nature of the job, he only worked short shifts and by the time The Warren had started to pick up in activity, his shift was coming to an end. He’d done his fair share of evening rush shifts, but he wasn’t in any hurry to have a repeat of that one. His hooves had been aching for days afterwards.

”I’m clocked out, Theodore. Watch yourself on the stout tap, it’s leaking, yet again.” He huffed slightly, gesturing to the stain on the thigh of his otherwise pristine dark charcoal chinos. ”I’m working tomorrow evening but then I’m free for this week. Feel free to call if you need me though, could always do with extra rent money.” He chuckled, reaching over to snag his drink from where he’d left it behind the bar and moving to settle into one of the barstools, ear flicking as he heard a familiar voice.

”Good afternoon, Miss Grace.” Taurus rumbled with a bright smile over the rim of his glass. He recognised her from the track team. Their practices often clashed in the evenings, though he couldn’t recall ever having a proper conversation with her. ”Didn’t expect to see you here so early in the day, the match highlights from yesterday don’t start until five.” He smiled, gesturing up to the dark screen of the tv. ”I trust you’ve had a pleasant day?”

He’d usually be on his way home by now, but judging from the vague texts and the rush of people in a couple of the group chats he’d been a part of, there would be a small gathering at the bar tonight. It would be nice to see some familiar faces and meet some new people. He was in his second year of study already but didn’t much socialise with people from outside his course or his dorm. That had to change if he planned on staying in New York after university ended. His parents and brother were already in conversation about moving back to England and Taurus found himself quite unwilling to follow them back.

Corrie Strickman

In a corner of The Warren, a lone bird stared at a small television on the wall. The speckled hen wore about the sort of homey gingham sweater a hen could be expected to wear, though it might look a bit strange paired with those large mirrored aviator sunglasses. A hefty grey backpack sat by her side in the booth, halfway unzipped.

"Wh- are you daft, ref?!" the hen blurted, nearly spitting a gulp of sweet tea all over the table. "Any creature with adequate ocular function could detect such a personal foul!"

The avian suddenly stiffened and shirked back into her seat, registering the volume of her outburst. She nervously ran a wing over her red crest. Which was REAL, of course, she was a SPECKLED HEN. Certainly not an owl, what would an owl be doing in a place like this? A proper owl would have no reason to care about featherweight basketball, no reason to even know that basic cable tv packages rarely broadcast featherweight sports but this one particular sports bar played them. Of course she was a hen, the bird thought to herself, slightly relaxing as she sipped her tea. Nobody had any reason to susp-

"Corrie. Do you have a minute?"

The avian tensed, short tufts poking out from her head in alarm. For a second, she kept her shaded eyes glued on the television, pretending she was too engrossed in the game to hear the stallion. Then she let out a strained sigh... Richard wouldn't fall for a trick like that. Besides, there were other people within sight, and it would look terribly improper for her to ignore the guy in a wheelchair. Corrie turned to the horse by her booth, unable to fully mask the desperate flush on her face.

"If you must," the owl replied in a hush. "But do maintain a subdued volume, I wish not to be noticed in this locale."

Richard tilted his head, looking the "speckled hen" up and down. He opened his mouth, hesitated for a second, and then decided to just let it go for now.

"I wouldn't need to talk here if you responded to my emails," the horse commented in his smooth, subtly calming voice. "We missed you at the tournament this weekend."

Meaning, you missed the bonus points for having a woman on the team, Corrie thought to herself with a hint of bitterness. That's not the thought that came out of her beak, of course.

"I do apologize for that omission. I required further study to excel during the denouement of this preliminary semester."

The stallion paused and studied Corrie's face for a long second. He brushed his long black mane out of his eyes.

"I would never ask you to sacrifice your academics, Corrie. That's the main reason someone goes to college, if they're wise about it. Chess, like any extracurricular, is meant to be an outlet for stress relief and creativity, for supplementing classroom education with..."

Richard trailed off as he noticed the owl's nervous wing-drumming increase in frequency with each passing second. He chuckled lightly.

"Alright, alright, I'll skip the inspirational speech. This time. Point is, you need to attend one more event if you want to avoid probation and possible removal from chess team next semester."

The dark horse pulled a slightly crumpled sheet of paper out of his bag. Corrie recognized the logo at the top, for it was displayed on posters throughout the university at this time. She skimmed through the sign-up sheet for a "Living Chess Match" event at the Winter Carnival.

"This is our last event this semester," the chess team captain explained, handing Corrie a pen. "If you really want this, you need to prove that you can put in the time and effort for it."

Corrie fumbled with the pen as her thoughts raced a mile a minute. She hadn't planned to... what if... her grades were... but quitters... The avian jotted her name down before she could change her mind.

"I hope your tests go well this week," Richard commented with a casual smile, taking back the sign-up sheet. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"N-no! I can handle myself quite fine!" Corrie asserted... about thirty percent more forcefully than intended.

Richard's face turned dead serious as his big brown eyes stared right at Corrie's face. Studying, analyzing... thinking three steps ahead no doubt. His eyes seemed to gaze right through to hers, utterly unhindered by the sunglasses - Corrie could not shake that feeling despite its high improbability. The owl stared him down for a few seconds, but she was forced to gulp and avert her gaze.

"...Very well," the black stallion responded. He turned his chair around and began to wheel away.

"By the way," Richard added over his shoulder, "We're having some trouble recruiting enough volunteers for a full chessboard. If you can bring two friends along, I'll count it as an attendance point for next semester."

Corrie watched him go, slightly dazed by the encounter. Find two classmates willing to spend part of their carnival with chess team? When she, like, barely knew two classmates to begin with? That was a tall order.

Corrie turned back to the tv with a sigh, but she couldn't concentrate on the game now. She knew coming here right before finals was a bad idea...

Melanie Rose Pourri

---

Eukary Quad, 12:25PM
"I don't know... I have to get to my next class soon," Melanie protested anxiously. Melanie's heart raced, her tail was raised and twitching, and her mind was blank. She didn't know what to do. Behind her there were angry humans who rightfully suspected her a rat, but leading her away was a large predator.

The lion smiled and shook his head. "Don't worry. It's fun, safe, and I'll make sure you get to class on time. I promise," he assured her with a gentle squeeze. She couldn't say what or why, but something carried her forward.

---

The Warren, 12:30PM.
The Warren was in a small, red building that was dwarfed by the nearby New York sky scrapers. It had a rooftop deck and an patio that was shoveled off but closed off for the season. A bell jingled as the lion-boy opened the door. "After you, milady," he said with a smile and nod, though he seemed to be distracted by something or somebody behind her. Melanie took a deep breath, then walked through. The bell jingled behind them.

"Ooh, wow... Melanie breathed as they walked in. Her eyes sparkled all colors of the rainbow as she looked around at the strung holiday lights. The ceiling was slightly lower and cozier than she was used to, probably because the bar was aimed toward the smaller herbivore or prey crowd. She put her gloves away in her backpack then reached her pink-padded paws up toward the colorful lights, and it felt like she could almost touch the stars. The lion chuckled, watching her with his head tilted and a little bent over to avoid his curly mane getting tangled in the lights.

The lion thankfully lead her past the bar and found them a booth with leather seats. Melanie plopped down, bouncing a bit, and the lion sat down across from her. She couldn't help noticing how he seemed to take up the whole seat. His shoulders were broad, his chest and arms so muscular...

"Here, take a look at the menu," the lion spoke up, breaking her train of thought. "You look like you're starving. My treat," the lion offered encouragingly, with a somewhat nervous looking smile. "Oh, um, thank you," the skunk-girl stammered, her face flushing under her fur. What am I thinking!? My dad would kill me if I didn't bring another skunk home, or at least a rich mustelid-boy... Mel thought as she took the menu. She started to look through halfheartedly, but quickly found her belly growling at the pictures.

"Welcome to the Warren. May I take your order?" a soft, feminine voice asked. Melanie looked up to see red squirrel woman with sultry eyes. Her features were slightly lanky, and Melanie wondered if perhaps she had mink or other mustelid ancestry. The woman seemed to give her companion a once-over, then smiled. "Should I give you two a minute to decide?"

"Oh, um..." Melanie stammered, frantically reading through the menu. "I would like the pub burger and a root beer. Two patties, please," the lion politely requested. "Mm, a burger sounds great... Could I get a single-patty burger and a glass of water?" Mel asked hopefully. The waitress nodded, "Coming right up."

Mel watched the waitress walk away to kitchen, then got a better look around the bar now that her eyes had adjusted. It was pretty quiet and quaint, with older music playing in the background. A lot of the walls were wood and there were exposed beams on the ceiling Every now and then she heard the clatter of pool balls or the toss of a dart. A few people were chatting. A television was playing basketball. One fox-boy was actually studying.

The lion brushed his long, curly mane nervously with one paw. "So, um, sorry to drag you here, Melanie. I don't know what you did, but you really pissed off a bunch of humans. Somebody nearly jumped you..." he explained in a hushed voice. Melanie's eyes went wide. "They did? Wow, I had no idea..."she trailed off as as glanced anxiously toward the door.

Melanie twirled her hair vigorously with worry, when a thought came to her. "How do you know all this? Have you been following me?" she asked suspiciously, leaning forward. The lion scratched his beard nervously. "I have been trying to work up the nerve to talk to you. Your art spoke to me, and I want to get to know you better," he admitted, looking her in the eye. Melanie softened and relaxed, settling back into her seat.

The waitress returned with their drinks and the two animals said their thanks in unison. Mel giggled, he chuckled. For a few moments they gazed in one another's eyes. Mel looked away shyly."So um, what is your name?" she asked, before taking a sip. "Nolan. Nolan Aurelio," he answered, smiling before taking a sip from his own drink. "Nolan... thank you. I'm glad I met you," she nodded, smiling. Nolan grinned, showing his pearly whites. "Likewise."

The red squirrel retunes yet again, this time bringing plates with mouthwatering
Veggie burgers and heaps of fries. Melanie took a fry and ate it, her eyes beaming with joy as she chewed. Nolan smiled, then hunched over his burger, grabbed it in both claws, and took a chomped. He seemed to chew for quite some time, savoring the bite while Mel ate bite after bite. He set the burger down, then wiped his face and beard with a serious look on his face.

"Whatever you found against the humans, you can't turn it in. They will find you and hurt you. Humans can be vengeful, hateful beings," he warned with concern in his blue eyes. "Avoid teachers, administrative, and the press. If you stay under the radar, this whole thing might blow over." Melanie nodded, chewing more slowly and thoughtfully, and swallowed hard. "I, I'll try," she answered with a nod, and the two continued their meal in silence.

[The Warren]
[Interacting with @GreysonEA

Swaying her feet idly below the barstool she felt at complete zen. She and her fellow companions who had shared her fanatic obsession with the soccer team 'West Hog United' were thinking of proclaiming this bar as the official 'West Hog' bar of the area. Their old spot got taken over by fanatics of another team. She always preferred The Warren anyway, after all, it was cozy, the food was always amazing for all diets, the patrons and staff were friendly, it was perfect!

She was pleased to see Taurus, he was on the track team as well and they had never really crossed paths otherwise, maybe that was another plus of coming to The Warren more often than she already does. "Hello there, Taurus." She returned the bright smile, "Guess I can't stay away from here! I'm having a great afternoon!" She lied, but didn't see why she would share her devilish encounter with the buck from earlier, "I hope you're having a great day too..oh, did you get the message about our meet tomorrow evening? The snow is making things really messy..we'll be meeting at the University's gym again." The gym had two floors, the first floor was dedicated to all sorts of different workouts with a diverse range of equipment for all mammals and even aquatic animals. The top floor was dedicated to aerobic exercise. Gracie wasn't very fond of the change, one thing about track that she loved was being able to feel the fresh air rush her face and be out in the open.

August Weiss
Location: The Warren
Interactions:@GreysonEA@IronPhinx

August pushed away from his desk with a defeated sigh. It felt he'd been working on assignments since the crack of dawn and he was just about at his limit. There was only so much coding a guy could take before all the ones and zeros started running together. He needed a break and food for that matter. The canine thinks now very aware of the pit forming in his stomach. August stands from his seat and takes a moment to stretch the aches from his shoulders, inwardly cringing at the snaps and pops that followed. Ugh...he really needed to work on his posture. August threw on a simple thermal coupled with black jeans and a leather jacket for good measure. He felt the layers were necessary due to his lack of a natural winter coat.

After grabbing his phone, keys, and wallet he was out the door.

Whether it was due to the cold or hunger, August made it to The Warren in record time. Most likely it was a bit of both. The dobermann pulled open the bar's door and quickly stepped inside. He let the cozy atmosphere defrost him for a few moments before making his way to the bar. He appreciated how laid back the sport's bar was, it made for an easy hangout place. The food was good and so was the company. He thought spotting a familiar face at the bar.

"Yooo Roomie." He greeted the bull with an easy going grin as leaned on the bar next to him. The doe was a face that seemed somewhat familiar but he couldn't quite place it. Maybe he'd seen her in here a few times before perhaps? He wasn't sure. Not wanting to interrupt the conversation in progress, August busied himself with ordering a drink.

Taurus Altobelli, The Warren
Interactions: Grace Elafi, August Weiss

”Well that’s a delight to hear.” Taurus replied with a warm smile and drained his drink, crunching softly on the ice at the bottom of the glass before answering. ”Well as great as it can be when you have to listen to Professor McNeil at dead on eight in the morning.” He chuckled. He wasn’t sure if the old goat was known past the English department, but he was sure word got around somehow.

He nodded at Grace’s question. He’d gotten a text through this morning about the abysmal weather making the track surface treacherous and he had to say, he was disappointed. ”Its understandable but I, for one, don’t mind running in this sort of weather, suppose we have a slight advantage over our pawed companions.” Taurus smiled, tapping his hoof on the floor in emphasis. He was used to harsh winters and the blistering cold; with black ice making it far to dangerous to drive so the only option was to go by foot. It was the summers he really struggled with - he’d even taken to clipping his coat short the first week of May because he knew he’d be a sweaty, irritable mess come the first heat spikes of July, but luxuriously fluffy and comfortable by the time the weather really started to turn in November.

”I may be cutting it a touch fine, I’ll be coming straight from work, but I’ll be there regardless. Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” He grinned, sliding his empty glass to the far side of the bar, one ear flicking to the side as he heard the bar door open and a sudden burst of cold against his back. He suppressed a shiver, taking out his wallet and setting it in front of him on the well-worn wood of the bar; one large hand covering it. Well, you could never be too careful. Not that he expected anyone to give him trouble.

”Hullo, August.” He smiled brightly, glancing over his shoulder at his Doberman housemate. ”Miss Grace, allow me to introduce you, this is August Weiss, my roommate.” He smiled, slipping out his bank card and waving down the barmouse once more. ”Put both of these orders on my card, for the rest of the evening. And I’ll have my usual when you have a spare moment, no rush at all.” He gestured to the pair either side of him and passed over the plastic.

Melanie Rose Pourri

---

The Warren, 12:30PM
Melanie gleefully took her last bite, nearly swallowing a french fry whole. A deep chuckle shook the table. Mel curiously looked up to see Nolan with an amused smile on his face before he took a sip of rootbeer.

"What's so funny? Something on my face?" Mel asked selfconciously. She dabbed at her lips and muzzle with a napkin. Nolan shook his head lightly. "Oh, it's nothing..." he answered. Mel shook her head back, more vigorously. "No, You can't just say that! I need to know," she protested, leaning slightly forward with pleading eyes.

"Fine, fine. No need to beg," Nolan laughed. "It's just cited how happy you look when you eat something you like. You just kind of beam when you take a bite. And yet, you eat so fast I don't see how you even enjoy it!" he explained, paws spread pads up and brows raised in a bemused look.

"Oh, Melanie uttered, surprised, with a tinge of heat in her cheeks. She looked down at her empty plate, then over at his, only about half finished. "I guess I'm just used to being the middle kit and runt of the litter. It was tough having to compete for food, coming from an impoverished family," Melanie confided, feeling a little embarrassed. She picked a crumb off her plate with two claws then ate it thoughtfully. "If I liked something, I ate it especially fast so nobody else could take it from me."

Nolan tilted his head and smiled gently, his eyes softened. "I come from poverty, too," he told her sympathetically. He moved his paw slightly toward hers but drew back and flexed his claws. "But, my philosophy is to take it slow. Savor every second, and it will last longer," Nolan explained. As if to demonstrate, he took another big bite of burger, and chewed slowly and contently. Melanie looked at her own plate then watched him eat, enviousky. Nonchalantly he took a few fries from his plate and dropped them on hers. Melanie's eyes went wide and she snatched them up greedily. But as she ate them, slower than usual, she wondered if maybe predators weren't so scary or different after all.

[The Warren]
[Interactions:
@GreysonEA
@vertigh0st
Understanding 8:00am classes completely, she laughed in response especially after coming back from her Aquatic Anatomy class. "I hear ya'..I have Professor Burr in the morning, even with a jog and a coffee in the morning it's really hard to stay up for it." She finished her own drink, enjoying the company she flipped over her phone to check the time. She still had an hour before class, though, she really did not feel up for it and was tempted to stay..flipping her phone back over she did nod toward Taurus' hoof comment, "I suppose you're right..I'm lucky enough to enjoy a full year's worth of it," She was lucky enough to have fine and thin fur, "This is when our track record can be at it's lowest though..It would explain why Coach Velos has been constantly on us for practice lately." Thinking of their jaguar coach, he always seemed to expect all mammals to try their hardest throughout the year, herbivore, omnivore, carnivore, pawed foot or hoof, short fur or long. It was tough meeting his expectations.

Her ears bounced very slightly at the sound of a new voice going toward their direction, she looked at the doberman first with a millisecond of dubiousness but just as quick changed her expression to be more friendly. She thought extremely annoyed to herself. "No, remember what Dr. Joyce has told you. These are problematic reactions."

Changing her expression to a warm smile, she raised her hand toward the canine, "Nice to meet you, August. I'm Grace-though you can call me Gracie." She said with a friendly manner.

With the busy lunch hour approaching, the barmouse was happy to have his afternoon staff stroll in. Having the squirrel to tend to customers and seeing the rhinoceros come in from the backdoor of the kitchen to replace Taurus, Theodore smiled in content, happy to have loyal staff members. "No worries, Taurus!" Theodore said jovily, "Thank you for your hard work as always!" The young squirrel waitress came from the kitchen and out with Gracie's lettuce veggie wraps much to Gracie's delight.

"Taurus, I have to say you don't have to do that--" The doe was caught off-guard by Taurus' offer.

Corrie Strickman

The Warren

Corrie the "speckled hen" hopped down from her booth seat, reflexively splaying her wings out to soften the short animal's impact with the floor, as usual. She dug her wallet out of her backpack and began walking toward the bar. On the way, she caught a glimpse of a familiar student. The skunk with glasses and silky white hair was impossible to mistake for someone else. Corrie was certain she had a class with this woman... but she couldn't think which one off the top of her head. She tended to focus more on the actual course material than the details and social lives of her classmates.

Corrie looked at the back of the skunk girl's head... Melody, maybe?...as she walked closer. If this girl shared a class with her, then she may also be an immutable nerd. And if Melody was quiet enough to fade into the background, then perhaps she could be a decent fit for the quiet and thoughtful game of chess - or at least, if necessary, be gently coerced into one brief event.

The sunglasses-clad hen took in a deep breath, steeling herself to say something...and then she passed right by the booth without saying a word. After all, the skunk was already having a conversation with someone else, and she wouldn't know who Corrie was, and... the owl sighed and blushed a bit before finishing her trip to the bar with a defeated slump. The avian requested an order of crispy maggot poppers with ranch, making sure to add an overly sweet "hun" at the end to lend more credence to her hen disguise.

Corrie kept her head down as she waited at the bar, ruminating on her shameful failure to attempt the slightest social gesture. But eventually, the embarrassing thought faded to the back burner... as other shameful faux pas over the past several years took its place like a revolving carousel of failure. The bird ignored the other patrons at the bar and only snapped out of her reverie for a second as a peppy dog walked right behind her. His sudden voice startled Corrie and she -almost- swiveled her head around. The "hen" was able to stop herself just in time, but she tensed with widened eyes. A macabre mishap like that would certainly cause the sort of attention Corrie did not want.

Thankfully, a rhinoceros arrived with her maggot poppers a minute later. Corrie mumbled a quick "thank you, hun" as she grabbed the cardboard container and began heading back to her corner booth. As she neared the skunk's table, her beak began to dry all over again. She would have to relive that dreadful failure all over again. Unless, this time, she... said... anything... yes, she would do it, she must!

Corrie put on a hopefully not too nervous smile and stopped by the skunk's booth. Then she froze like a statue. Oh no, her vast vocabulary! Her typical habit of pausing to think of the most precise and impressive words would surely foil her here! The definitely-a-hen almost shorted out for a moment as her initial ideas for words had to go through an intelligence filter and then through another feigned country gal filter.

".......Howdy," Corrie finally greeted. "Uhh, are yo-...y'all planning to attend the Winter Carnival, perchance?"

@LostButterfly92

Melanie Rose Pourri

---

The Warren, 12:30PM
Interacting with @Zanavy
Just as Melanie went to swallow her last fry, she was startled by a sudden, unexpected voice, and started coughing and choking uncontrollably. With watering eyes, she groped for her water then chugged, until she could breath again--just a matter of seconds later.

"Ahuh,huh.... Really sorry about that..." Melanie apologized, feeling humiliated as she dabbed at her watery eyes with a napkin. When she looked up, Nolan was partially out of his seat, with claws extended and eyes dilated. Mel's tail stiffened.

"Are you okay?" he asked with concern. "Oh, um, yes. Thank you," she answered nervously, wondering if he would have eaten her if she was helpless much longer. But the boy relaxed, retracted his claws and sat back down. His eyes went back to normal, and he actually looked relieved.

"So uh, the uh, Winter Carnival?" Mel asked, looking at their visitor. It was a small owl-girl Mel vaguely recognized as a classmate. Mythology or computer class? The owl and lion both seemed to be looking expectantly.

"I-I don't know. Maybe. Why do you ask?" Melanie inquired, smiling nervously. She hated being put on the spot. She didn't even know herself if she wanted to go. Sure, Kayla wanted to go, but she had other friends now. And crowds were scary. And loud snowmobiles. And dancing. But the food might be good, and the ice sculptures...

Percival
Location: Herbivore Dorms - Outside The Warren
Mentions: None
Interactions: Open

Perci hurried back to his class, cutting time but jogging through the snow. It crunched underfoot (underhoof?) with each hurried step. He had, surprisingly, made back to the building rather quickly. His professor didn’t even notice him pull open the classroom door. Perci was relieved. He trotted back up to his desk and took a seat. His fuzzy gray tail nervously twitched all throughout the duration of the class.

Class ended without a hitch, thankfully. Perci grabbed his bag, which was already packed from before, and slung it over his shoulder. His phone vibrated in his hoodie pocket. The goat had no need to check his device since he knew who it was. It was Fenzi, of course. He felt slightly disappointed… She was the only person he regularly spoke to anymore. Regardless, he still pulled his phone out of his pocket while pushing the door open.

“Don’t forget about the meeting in half an hour”

Oh, lord. He’d been dreading the meeting ever since Fenzi reminded him. Perci felt tired, and after today’s shenanigans, he wanted to go to his dorm and sleep. His brain felt fuzzy but he reluctantly decided to attend. However, the goat knew he’d need to grab his laptop. Back to the dorms, it is. Perci brushed some of his fur out of his face and tried to hurry back to his dorm room. It was warming up, but not nearly quick enough. The cold air made his nose feel dry. Gross.

Perci’s walk to the dorm was uneventful. It had stopped snowing, thankfully, but it was still cold as balls. He was going to walk to the Warren, so he was going to have to add another layer to his outfit. Oh well. He grabbed the door to the building and rushed inside. It was pretty empty since nobody wanted to hang around close to the entrance where the heat escaped. He grabbed his bag, rifling through it to find his keys. It was taking him a bit longer than usual. His tail twitched in annoyance.

By the time Perci found his keys, he was already climbing up the staircase. He was on the second floor, which was dedicated to smaller herbivores. He was technically on the tall side of “short”, but compared to many other medium-sized animals, he was below average. It irked him sometimes. Most of the time his height only became an issue when putting away the dishes, or speaking to his insanely hot wolf classmate. Fuck! Why couldn’t Marcello be more...approachable? Though Perci supposed Marcello wouldn’t have been nearly as interesting if he wasn’t a tall predator-animal…

He knew that was weird. He also knew that some prey animals would develop feelings for a potential attacker as a way to cope. But...he never saw Marcello as a threat. He got scared once, and it was today. Perci recalled when he saw those large fangs up close… Those god-awful teeth made him uncomfortable, but that feeling was one he felt towards ALL carnivores. It was his instinct to be scared, especially when he was an undersized farm animal. He tried his best to ignore it. He has better things to think about, like what shirt to wear.

Perci was unlocking his door. Room number 203. It was pretty close to the stairway and elevator, but that was only convenient sometimes… He heard EVERY conversion between groups who just entered the floor. It annoyed the shit out of him. The goat pulled open the door to reveal his roommate standing on the counter-top.

Perci’s roommate was a Silver Dik-dik, a type of miniature antelope, named Grant. He stood at barely 4 feet and had the beadiest eyes he had ever seen. The goat wasn’t bothered by the sight of this. Even though the countertops and appliances were shortened, they were still a smidge too tall for Grant. This wasn’t the first time he’d seen this.

“You need help?” Perci offered.

“Nah,” Grant answered.

“Kay. Wipe off the countertop when you’re done,” Perci murmured while drifting off to his room. That’s usually how their conversations went. Grant was cool, but their majors were completely different. They simply had nothing in common other than being short ungulates. At least they could tolerate each other. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if his roommate was a slob or any other sort of wackjob.

Perci shut his bedroom door behind him and pulled off his hoodie. He was going to need a long-sleeve shirt instead of the oversized tee he wore. It was a bright, nauseating orange that said “ILLINOIS MOM”. Perci relished it because he was neither from Illinois nor a mother. Half of his wardrobe consisted of ironic clothing with surreal or nonsensical imagery. He usually kept those clothes to himself when he was lounging indoors, sleeping, or wearing them under a jacket. He opened his closet and pushed past the cursed items, grabbing at his long-sleeved shirts and sweaters.

He grabbed a snug-looking black knit sweater and pulled it over his body. The shoulders were cut, but other than that, it was pretty warm. Oh, gee, this didn’t match his pants at all… Perci’s brow furrowed as he began rooting around for more clothes to try on. A tighter pair of jeans maybe? It was too cold for leggings. His tail waggled while he thought to himself. Wasn’t he here for his laptop? Oh, yeah…

By the time Perci had finished getting dressed, he was running a little behind schedule. He had to grab his laptop from his nightstand and shove it into his bag, but it wouldn’t fit. Perci huffed, growing frustrated. He tossed his Art History textbook onto his bed. It bounced and then landed on the floor with an expensive-sounding thunk, scaring Perci in the process. Fuck! He gripped his ears and pulled on them in embarrassment. Oh, he hated being so jumpy. This was the reason he couldn’t keep his phone with sound, it scared him- His foot stomped on the floor gently while he raveled up his laptop’s charger and fit it into his bag.

Perci was out the door within the next few minutes. He wore a different hoodie, a black one with a star pattern on the front, but it was a hoodie nonetheless. He also had a pair of jeans that were more like a warmer pair of jeggings. He wouldn’t call them jeggings, that’d be stupid. He texted Fenzi that he was on his way. She called him “fuckhead” and told him to hurry up.

Perci had no more delays on campus, thankfully. The sun was actually shining now, albeit dully. The goat welcomed the change in the weather. While walking up the sidewalk, he spotted Marcello. The maned wolf was also leaving campus, but Perci didn’t know why. He caught up to Marcello by the crosswalk to head into town, hesitating for a moment. Should he say something? Maybe he could ask him to come to the Warren with him… But that would just be a best-case scenario. Instead, he decided to just say hi and ask him if he was okay.

“Hey,” Perci started meekly.

The canine’s ear twitched and swiveled Perci’s direction. Marcello’s head turned and he looked down at the goat quizzically. “Hm?- Oh, what’s up?”

“It’s just funny running into you. I thought you’d be at the campus nurse’s office- are you okay, by the way?”

“Oh, I’m fine. I didn’t break my nose, so they let me out early. I can’t smell a damn thing, though.”

Perci chuckled a bit. “Shit, dude, you should probably get that checked out.”

Marcello shrugged and scratched the back of his ear. “Meh, if it doesn’t go away, then I will,” he answered.

The signal to cross the street lit up, and the few cars on the road came to a halt. Marcello started leisurely walking across, but Perci had to quicken his pace to keep up with him. Holy fuck, Marcello’s body was what Perci thought to be about 70% leg. The wolf’s strides for each step were at least twice as much for the goat.

“Hey, are you busy right now?” Perci asked.

“Eh, just grabbing some things for the dorm from town. The campus store is overpriced,” Marcello answered. “Why?”

Ah, fuck- Perci’s face flushed, but he was glad he has his fur to hide it. Oh, for god’s sake! He’d asked out tons of guys before, why was this suddenly so hard? He nervously grabbed one of his ears and stroked it. “Nothing, really, I just wondered if you had time to walk with me. I’m going to The Warren for a club meeting.”

Marcello listened to Perci, nodding slightly. In his head, he was sure this was some small animal thing. After the fight, he could see why he would be so on edge about being alone. Goats were herd animals after all. At least, that’s what Marcello thought this was about. He decided to accept the offer. “Sure.”

“Cool, thanks.” Perci cringed at his own awkwardness. “We’ll be having an open mic night, soon. You can sign up when we get there, if you’d like.”

“Open mic? So, like, music?” Marcello inquired while they turned the corner.
“Uh, yeah, kinda? Music, slam poetry, comedy. Anything, really. If you’re into that kind of stuff, you can always give it a shot.”

Marcello shook his head. “Nah, everything I do is on the computer. Sounds fun though.”

Perci felt a bit defeated after hearing this. “If you just wanna watch, admission’s free. I’ve got my band going up for a set.”

“You play in a band?”

Perci shrugged. “I guess- There’s only two of us so far, so we’re more of a duo. We don’t even have a name yet. I play drums live, but we both mess around on Garage band.”

“That’s actually really cool, though. You having fun with it?”

Perci perked up a bit, sounding more enthusiastic now. “Oh, yeah. I didn’t expect it to be, but I’m having a good time. I’ve always played by myself, so being in a group is a nice change of pace.”

Before the two of them knew it, they had arrived at The Warren. It was a quaint pub with a cozy atmosphere. They both stood by the doors and looked at each other for a moment.

“I guess this is the place, huh?” Marcello pointed out while reading the sign.

“Yeah,” Perci responded, “It’s a nice place.”

“Well, before I go, is there anywhere you share your music? I’d like to listen to it one day.”

“Huh?-” Perci was taken aback. He thought Marcello was just being polite. “Oh, yeah, just on YouTube and IG for the most part.”

Marcello reached out of his pocket and took out a phone. “What’s your @? So I can message you-”

Perci’s heart fluttered for a moment. “Oh! It’s- Here, let me type it…”

Marcello handed Perci the phone, which was a bit large compared to his small hands. It took him a moment of struggling with the keyboard, but he managed to find his account and hand it the phone back to its owner. He watched as Marcello clicked the “follow” button and scrolled a bit through Perci’s posts. God, he was so glad he didn’t ever upload anything...strange or otherwise unsavory online. Perci felt his phone buzz as he got a notification that Marcello followed him.

“Well, it was nice talking to you,” Marcello said as he gave Perci a wave. The goat watched him turn to leave and tapped his foot on the concrete. It was now or never, really-
“Hey, would you like to stay for the meeting?” Perci couldn’t bring himself to ask Marcello out yet… He should probably get to know him better. He’d been crushing on his but he didn’t even know his full name! Actually, he did know his name, but that was from stalking his Instagram profile… Damn, Perci was just now coming to terms with how strange he was.

“Oh, uhh… I’m kinda busy, but maybe for a few minutes?” The wolf negotiated.

“That’s fine- the other friend in my band is inside, so I’m sure she’d like to meet you. She also helps manage the club” Perci tried to sound more cheerful, but he thought it felt forced.

Marcello opened the door and held it open for Perci. Even though the doors were lightweight so that any species could open them, it was polite for the largest animal in the group to hold the door open for smaller ones. Perci walked inside. Marcello hadn’t seen him from behind but admired the funny little gait hooved animals had when they walked. It was...endearing?

Sitting by the bar was a familiar rabbit with extremely long ears and a smug expression. Her half-lidded gaze fell upon Perci and called him over. Though she sat in a relaxed position and was even smaller than her friend, she carried herself with poise. Perci admired that about Fenzi… She was always so confident.

“You’re late,” Perci remarked while lifting up her paw and prodding Perci in the chest. She was joking, of course.

“Yeah, sorry, I had to get changed and get my stuff from the dorm,” Perci explained, “and I ran into a friend on the way here-”

Marcello seated himself on the stool beside Perci. The knees of his long legs bent as he sat down. His nose twitched as he tried to identify the scents of the restaurants, but the baboon encounter left his sniffer feeling sore instead. He wasn’t even hungry for food like usual when he entered a food establishment. Bummer, man… Half the joy of eating is the smell- at least for canines, it was. Fenzi’s eyes fell upon him. She looked at the wolf, nodded, and said one word: “Sup?”

Marcello lifted a paw to wave in response. “Hi, I’m Marcello.”

“Cool name. I’m Fenzi,” the rabbit replied, not skipping a beat.

“I heard you guys are in a band. What do you play?” He was curious, but also trying to figure out ways to make appropriate small talk.

“Synth, mostly, but I also mix most of our recordings. You play anything?”

Marcello listened but shook his head at the question. “No, unfortunately. I’m more of a writer and an over-glorified mathematician. Perci and I are both taking a class about level design and game mechanics.”

“Hey,” Perci interjected, “You should tell us about your games. Your class projects are always pretty cool.”

Marcello felt flattered, but also a little anxious? He never got the chance to speak about his work often. Hell, he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to. However, he was only going to stay for a few minutes, so it wouldn’t hurt to give them a summary.

Wolf Pack -> The Warren
Interaction:

---

Zaina had spent an hour at the campus's gym before skipping the last few classes she had for the day. After the confrontation in the cafeteria she had little interest continuing the courses for the day. She would find someone to borrow the notes from the next day. After cooling off from the confrontation and ignoring a few would be attempts to asking her if she was going to the Winter Dance. Most attempts at asking her ended with her laughing and walking away from the would be suitor.

Now she was walking along the slightly crowded sidewalks of the city, wandering past The Warren before heading her way down back to The Wolf Pack. She used her key to unlock the door that still had the closed sign shown. It would be a few more hours before the place would be packed and she would be keeping any troublesome pests from ruining other patrons evening. She walked up the back steps, each one creaking under her as she made her way to her room above the club, tossing her bag haphazardly into the room before shutting the door and heading back down. Since she had a few hours left, she decided to stop by the Warren and get a bite to eat. When she got there it seemed to be quite busy all ready.

August Weiss
Location: The Warren
Interactions: @IronPhinx @GreysonEA

August's sleepy gaze flicked from the bull back to the doe as Taurus listed off introductions. Her initial hesitation went unnoticed though, part of him guessed it had to be there. Although this was more of a herbivore/omnivore hang out, it wasn't too shocking when carnivores such as himself strolled in from time to time. At least not anymore, he supposed. Still, he'd never fault a person's cautious instincts. "Nice to meet you, Gracie," August spoke, offering her an equally warm albeit toothy smile. He reached forward, taking her smaller hand in his own, and gave it a shake, being mindful not to jostle her around too much.

"Ah, The Gentleman strikes again." August chuckled, settling back against the bar. Usually, he'd decline such an offer. August didn't like feeling indebted to anyone. Another trait he learned early in life, no doubt. However, he was working on changing this mindset. Sometimes you just needed to accept the generosity given. And that is okay. "You're fighting a losing battle, Gracie." He says with an exasperated sigh as if speaking from experience. "He already has his mindset on it." The dog teases, casting Taurus a cheeky grin.

He waits for the waitress to become available before putting in his order of potato wedges and a beer. "Thanks, Russ. Next time is on me tho." August adds, making a mental note for the next time they went out.

"So, how do you know each other? Same major?" He asks, curiously glancing between the two.