Corrie stepped back a pace as the skunk began choking. Oh no! Would she have to do the Heimlich? Did she remember how to do the Heimlich? Was this enough of a mass discrepancy to decrease the efficacy of the Heimlich? And what was that frightening look on that lions face?!

Fortunately, everyone's excessive worry resolved itself in a few seconds. Then the students returned to the query at hand, seemingly trying to return to a normal conversation as swiftly as possible. Corrie thought about her reply for a few seconds.

"Well," the "hen" began, "I have a friend on chess team. Evidently, uh- them folks are holding a living chess match event. Of course, it's not my cup of tea. But my friend says chess can pique your- uhh, can be mighty fun for smart and thoughtful folks when you get past the initial intimidation. It could be interesting, and it would really help out chess team, and if you dislike it, well, it would require only a minute percentage of one's life expectancy."

Corrie blurted out the last run-on sentence at increasing speed and then popped a maggot bite into her beak just to stop it from running. She looked away from the skunk, happened to catch the lion's gaze, and then decided to make eye contact with the salt shaker. It was already awkward to ask the omnivorous classmate to help her out. Surely a lion had better things to do than chess - football, frat parties - and it felt like an insult to even consider including him in the request.

Melanie Rose Pourri

---

The Warren, 12:35PM
Interacting with @Zanavy

Melanie blinked twice at the owl, baffled by her long winded spiel. Most of what the girl had said went in one ear and out the other. She scratched herself behind the ear. "Hmm, umm... " Mel mumbled thoughtfully, trying to figure out what she said. She looked to the lion, Nolan. "I can't participate, but why don't you try it? Sounds fun," he answered quietly, smiling reassuringly.

The owl-girl had a funny way of talking, but she was so cute and small, and nice! She seemed to be trying so hard to be social, seeing how she was staring at the salt shaker and stress eating some poppers. It reminded her of herself. Joining a club would be difficult and scary, but if this little owl was going to try, she would too. Surely Mel could help a fellow animal out, even just once?

"Yeah, I know how to play chess. I'm not very good at it," Melanie admitted bashfully, looking down and scratching the back of her paw. She looked thr little owl in the eyes and smiled shyly. "But... I'm willing to try."

Lobelia

Tossing her duffel bag in the corner of the gymnasium waving to the other students that have already arrived to start working on decorations, spotting some of her teammates she walks over and gracefully sits down glancing over the posters they are currently making to advertise the raffle tickets, events, and the dance tonight. Laughing as some of them joke again about her winning "I'd need a date first. What still needs to be done?"

Willow, a cheetah and the Captain to the basketball team. Laughs as she points around the room "There the decorations for the dance over there, some are working on decorations for the booths to the daytime events and we got the posters for around campus and some flyers that others can give to their families or friends... What do you want to help with?"


"I'll head over and help with the dance decorations, we all know my handwriting is horrible" Laughing as her teammates agree with her instead of denying the fact, she heads over towards a moose, Steve, and a desert fox, April, who are currently arguing over how to make the giant snowflakes. Waving at them as she gets closer smiling softly as they try to get her on their side "How about we use both your ideas, the posters and then add the glitter so when the lights shine of them it sparkles around the room as the animals dance?" covering her sensitive ears as April squeals about how that is such a wonderful idea and pulls her into a quick hug though considering their height difference the hug is more around her legs. Steve and her both watch April bounce off towards the boxes holding all the items the students can use to decorate with talking about they need a bunch of glitter and more posters.

Sitting down cross-legged she watches Steve lean over showing her how to draw out the snowflake and then using a exacto knife to cut out the shape, her first attempt is terrible but she finds if she uses the outline of his first snowflakes she can get nice ones drawn out. The three of them fall into a rhythm of her drawing out the outlines, Steve cutting them out and April adding the glitter before setting to the side to dry out before they can get the other side with glitter. "We should start brainstorming about the next decoration.. What if we do something with the sheets I saw in a box and makes a snowy wonderland in one of the corners?" Her thought sends the other two off on how they can draw trees on the sheet and add paint to make it look like there is snow on the sheet.

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

”Its no trouble at all, my treat.” Taurus assured, waving away the protest. He brushed a lock of hair out of his eyes and scooted his bar stool back a little, so he could see and speak to both Gracie and August on either side.

He was tempted to put himself at the edge of the little group they’d formed but he’d seen the flicker of uncertainty in Gracies eyes as August had approached them and, from one prey animal to another, he understood. Although he knew August would never mean harm, the large canine teeth didn’t do him many favours.

He understood the trepidation, he’d been the same when he was younger. Despite his height now, he’d been fairly small and slight when he was but a calf, and so painfully shy that others thought him slow. He’d been bullied relentlessly but both herbivores and carnivores alike. ‘Milk machine’, they’d call him, ‘farm boy’ and all variations. One particularly spiteful group of badgers had cornered him and stuck him with cattle prods.

But he’d grown into himself. He soon excelled his classmates in both height and grades. He applied himself in every subject and found solace in the pages of old, leather bound tomes. He taught himself out of his thick country accent and attended elocution lessons. He sharpened his wit and held his head high, looking people in the eye when he spoke to them - he wouldn’t let anyone make him feel inferior for his heritage.

”We’re both on the track team. Miss Grace absolutely excels and leaves everyone else in the dust.” He grinned, addressing August’s question. ”Are either of you planning on going to the carnival this weekend? I’m on the fence about it.” He asked, thanking Theodore as he bought over Taurus’ drink. An orange based, fruity thing completely loaded up with ice. He still wasn’t entirely sure what was in it himself.

Gracie
The Warren
Interacting with @GreysonEA and @vertigh0st

Hearing August's friendly voice had initially made Gracie feel quite guilty for having her instinctual caution. However, it seems to Gracie that he may not have even noticed! Glad to have shaken hands she was delighted to see that the squirrel waitress had dropped off her water and her veggie lettuce boats. "Thank you!" She looked toward the waitress with a thankful grin.

"You are too kind, Taurus. I owe you one." Gracie smiled graciously, convinced from August that she shouldn't bother protesting his generosity. After experiencing the close panic attack at the library, she wouldn't of imagined herself sitting at The Warren with a familiar face and a new acquaintance and feel..natural about it! The thought of the ugly pamphlet in her bag has completely escaped her mind.

Taking a sip of water and catching Taurus complimenting her running, Gracie wanted to object but it turned to a slight cough. Embarrassed she cleared her throat, "Taurus you know that's not true!" Though it was her who would come at least third, the star of the track team was Clyde, the lean leopard. There was no way she'd ever catch up with him. "I swear there are times you slow down just so I can pass, truly the English gentleman." She smiled, taking a bite from her lettuce boat.

"Oh the carnival!" She beamed, "Yes my work has a kiosk at the carnival, so I'll be working through some of it, but my boss is really kind and is only having me prep food, then I have the rest of the time off. I was hoping to check out what festivities they'll have this year." The doe turned to August, "What about you, August?"

------------------------------
Seth
The Elite Hangout

A small yet upscale city center close to the University was a deluxe boutique 'ella'. From the outside, the windows dawned onyx black mannequins of different species dawning very elaborate dresses, suits, sweaters, and coats. From the size of a great white shark to a small hedgehog. The window display was massive and spotless, the boarders of the store were white pillars with the name of the store being of a simple text with a black font.

Opening the blemish-free window door the guest would be amazed with the elaborate selection. Being winter, there were many lush coats and sweaters on the racks. The floor was a shiny pinewood color and the walls mostly beige accented with black ornaments. Stepping to the dressing room which shared a similar decor, if one were to stumble to the fourth dressing room on the right they'd see that the door was shut, seeming as though someone were inside. However, if one were to trace the symbol of the Elite on the door, it would open without a sound. The symbol was simple, two curves that almost meet to form a circle, and one line going down.

As the door opens, there is a small room that still looks like a normal dressing room. But this dressing room has another door on the wall. Opening this door there will be ascending stairs. Walking up these stairs and to the left there will be a grizzly bear guard. Being allowed through this door one would then see a large mahogany room. This room would have couches, tables & chairs and various of card tables for poker, blackjack, Texas Hold Em, and Baccarat. There are also roulette stations and even a Pai gow station.

Toward the edge of this room is a bar that had nothing but top-shelf items. At this bar loomed a tall figure.

"Scotch on the rocks." A gruff yet charismatic voice demanded.

"On the way, Mr. Koda." Spoke the Elephant bar-tender, unafraid of the polar bear in front of her.

"You're a doll, Veronica. But please, call me Seth." The polar bear bared a toothy grin, grasping a delicate scotch glass with the amber liquid floating inside with a single large block of ice.

Taking the glass, Seth stepped toward the main couch in the center of the room. The tables and game stations were empty, but he was expecting his inclusive guests to gather soon after their normal workday has come to an end. Sitting down, he was offered a cigar from a capuchin monkey who wore the same garb as Veronica. Raising his intimidating paw as a decline, the monkey hopped away.

"Let's see how my group at the University is coming along.." He thought to himself, opening his laptop in front of him. He had sent some of his lackeys to the close University. Getting some youngblood in here may do him well. He got word of a Carnival approaching, it would be ashame if he couldn't get a kiosk up to attract new members of The Elite.

Corrie Strickman

The Warren

Corrie's gaze flitted back to the skunk, surprised by her answer. She smiled in relief.

"Oh, that would be mighty appreciated. We- they will be located at the south side of the Quad at 2 pm."

Corrie chewed a maggot bite and smiled cordially for a bit longer. She should probably leave soon, though... her customary vernacular had slipped through to her speech too many times and she didn't want to blow her ingenious disguise.

"Well... have a good day, Melody."

With that, the "hen" promptly walked away. Her cheer faltered as she approached her bulging, still halfway unzipped backpack. She had enjoyed watching the game for a while, but she really needed to study. Corrie sighed and reached into her backpack for her Common Anatomy flashcards. A puzzled look came to the owl's face as her wing found an unexpected object. Some sort of black envelope with gold letters? Where did that come from? ...How long had that been hiding, shoved into a forgotten corner of her backpack?

Well, those were all questions to answer after the Common Anatomy final. Corrie took her seat in the back booth, now facing away from the tv, and began flipping through her flashcards while she munched on her snack.

@LostButterfly92

Melanie Rose Pourri

---

The Warren, 12:40PM.
"Mhm, mhm," Melanie nodded, taking in the information. "Oh, it's nothing. I'm just happy I can help," Melanie replied modestly. Her snout and cheek picked up a pinkish hue. She stoked the back of her head and closed her eyes in a shy smile. A moment of awkaward silence passed as Melanie's mind became a blank.

It was the owl-girl who broke the silence, saying her goodbyes to 'Melody'. Melanie didn't even blink at the mistake. Nolan raised a brow, grinning. "Oh, uh, thank you! You too, umm... umm... See you at the Carnival!" Mel stumbled. She smiled, looking a little embarrassed as she hunched over and gave her the slightest wave with her paw just barely visible over the edge of the table. Mel watched quietly as the owl retreated to a corner and sat down to eat.

"So, 'Melody', she seems... nice. How do you know each other?" Nolan teased, before grabbing a french fry. He chewed with an amused look on his face. Melanie smiled nervously and scratched at her cheek with one claw. "You know, um, I'm not really sure. I think she's in my Common Anatomy class, but I honestly can't remember her name. So embarrassing," Mel admitted. For a moment, she thought she saw worry in his eyes,"Heh, to be fair, she only got your name half-right, so don't worry about it," he offered jokingly. The corner of Melanie's lips turned up in an attempt at a smile. She looked back to her classmate, who now seemed to going through flashcards.

"Do you have many friends?" Nolan asked. Melanie looked back, for a moment getting caught in his deep blue eyes. "Well... no, not really. It's just me and Kayla, my dorm-mate. I'm trying to make friends but it's so hard," Melanie answered, looking down. "I hear you. I only have a few friends, too, Nolan said with a touch of sadness in his voice. Melanie's eyes went big with surprise. As if in response, he added, "Being a carnivore isn't all it's cracked up to be. "

Melanie tilted her head curiously. Was he referring to social expectations? In the animal and business world, carnivores and predators were seen as beautiful and powerful creatures. White collar. Upper-class. They were politicians, stars, tycoons. Extraverted go-getters. They were the kind of people that Melanie avoided, feared, and kept her head down around.

"It's tough being an omnivore, too," Melanie sympathized. "I had a hard time fitting in. I wasn't cool enough for the carnivores but I scared the herbivores. I may seem cute now, but I can be vicious," she warned. Mel raised her claws and bared her teeth mischievously, letting out a playful growl. Both of them chuckled. Melanie smiled.

The waitress returned with a checkbook in hand, leaving the bill in front of the lion. He nodded politely and grabbed a scrappy looking wallet out of his pocket. He flipped it open, took out a few large bills, and placed them in the checkbook.

The lion in front of her, Nolan, seemed different from all the carnivores she'd ever known. He seemed kind, quiet, maybe even a little insecure. His clothes were worn down, his hooded sweatshirt was tattered on the ends. His arms, what she could see of them, were scarred. When he noticed her looking, he pulled his sleeves further down. Mel looked up and they met eyes. Oh, she could get lost in those deep, ocean eyes...

A rumbling growl startled the little skunk, causing her tail to snap up and her eyes to go wide. "Just my stomach, don't worry," Nolan assured her. He was hunched over with a paw on his stomach and his eyes closing in what looked like pain. A muffled growl escaped his bared teeth.

"Are-are you okay?" Melanie asked. He looked at her, his eyes now a raging ocean. He closed his eyes, and she pulled back, tail twitching. She pulled it down and into her lap and stroked it nervously. The lion looked up at her through scrunched eyes and forced a smile, still a little hunched over. "I'm fine. Just a stomach ache. I had too much herbivore food. Sorry," he apologized, smiling sheepishly.

Melanie stood up, clumsily hitting the table. "No, don't be sorry! Let's get you to the school nurse! Maybe she can help..." Melanie insisted as she scooted out of the booth to his side. Nolan shook his head. "I can take care of myself. And I want to walk you to class," he argued as he got up from his seat.

"You won't take no for an answer, will you?" Mel asked. Nolan smiled. The waters of his eyes were calming down. "Okay. But don't forget to take care of yourself after, alright?" Mel replied reluctantly. "Yeah, okay," Nolan answered dismissively. Mel rolled her eyes.

The two animals collected their belongings and put on their jackets, then head toward the door. The bell jingled when Nolan opened the door. He held the door open for Melanie. "Thank you, come again!" the squirrel waitress waved after them. Nolan raised his paw and smiled back at her before the two animals returned to the bitter cold.

---

Eukary Quad, 12:55PM.
The walk back to campus wasn't long, but the cold seemed even colder after getting used to the cozy tavern. Nolan kept close, his large body blocking the wind. He kept his paws in his pockets as they made their way back. His tail swished anxiously. It seemed that humans were still keeping tabs on her. Melanie flipped up her hood.

They kept mostly quiet as Mel lead them to the Science Building. Melanie stopped them outside, not far from the entrance. "I'd like to take it from here, if that's okay. But I, um, was wondering... do you think maybe you could keep me company whenever you get the chance? I would feel a lot safer. It would mean a lot to me..." Melanie asked shyly. She looked down and kicked the snow nervously as she asked.

"Of course, I'll keep an eye out for you and walk you to classes whenever I can," Nolan offered with a warm smile. "As long as you want or need me to." Melanie smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Nolan," Mel said graciously with her squinty smile. "Oh. uh, here. To keep in contact," Melanie explained as she scribbled down her name, phone, and messenger ID. She gave him the paper the turned and waved, opening a door to a new chapter.

Melanie survived the next few days without getting murdered or kidnapped in her sleep. Time actually passed by rather uneventfullyb and Melanie was grateful for that. Most of her time was spent hiding in her dorm studying for her exams, but whenever Mel had to go out and class Kayla couldn't be with her, Nolan somehow found a way to be by her side. Gradually the burn of staring eyes began to fade away, then altogether disappeared.

The school day got shorter as the week went by and each final marked the end of each class. It was nice to have more study time but she found herself missing the walks with her new bodyguard, and she found herself staying up later and later to chat with her new friend.

By Saturday all of Melanie's classes were over and she eagerly awaited and dreaded her test results. Having nothing else to do (since she hadn't brought herself to volunteer to help with the Carnival) Mel opened up her messenger with a pounding heart. Minutes turned to hours and Mel soon found herself chatting and playing online chess with Nolan late into the night...

---

Sunday, December 19th, 7:00AM.
Girl's Dorm, Eukary Campus.
"Mel! Melly! Wake up!" a voice cheerfully yipped. Mel woke with a start. "Huh, wha!? Uhh..." Mel groaned. She rubbed at her eyes and looked around. "Oh no! Where is my laptop?" Mel asked as she frantically threw her blankets and got out of the bed. Kayla stepped back and chuckled. "I put it on your desk. You fell asleep using it. Were you staying up late talking with that lion guy you met?" the spaniel teased, grinning. "Noooo-oh!" Mel answered, embarrassed. Kayla smiled and gave her a disbelieving look. Melanie went over to her desk and opened the computer. No damage to be seen. She closed the screen and her own eyes and breathed. "Okay, I lied. Maybe I fell asleep while talking to him," she confessed, looking away. She smiled and blood rushed to her face. Kayla laughed. "I knew it--you like him! You should invite him over sometime to hang out so I can meet him."

A couple minutes passed as the girls picked out their clothes and got their shower totes. "Will he be at the festival?" Kayla asked. Her tail wagged excitedly. "Yes, but he will be with his friends. Maybe we will run into each other." Kayla nodded. "Cool! Let's hope." As they started out the door, the two girls were hoping for different things.

---

Sunday, December 19th, 2021, 8:00AM.
Eukary Quad.
Sunny, 42°F.
A warm sunbeam fell on the two girls as they emerged from the dorm. Mel squinted and held a paw to block the light. Over the past week, they had received a few days and several inches of snow. It would be an excellent year for outdoor festivities.

Most of the Quad had been roped off with red plastic tape on wooden posts. It wouldn't keep anybody out, and in fact many young animals were sneaking in. The honest and those who could afford to pay lined up at either of two entrances (the dorm side and the road side). Melanie and Kayla of course approached from the dorm side.

Their ticket booth worker stood in a small, red wooden hut. A family of four beavers approached the booth in line ahead of them. "Ah, what a lovely family you have here... That will be a twenty dollar donation, please," a graying grizzly bear requested. The man handed him the cash and the bear licked his fingers before counting the money. A few seconds later he handed the portly man a bundle of four tickets. "Thank you, have a great time!" he said with a wave of his paw. The family moved on and Mel approached the booth with Kayla by her side.

"Let me guess--you're both students! Did you remember to bring your school IDs?" he asked with a wrinkled face and a smile. The two girls presented their IDs. He squinted to get a look and adjusted his spectacles. "Looks good! Go on and enjoy yourselves," he said, waving his paw. The girls said their thanks in unison, waving back at him as they went.

Inside the fence there were countless people of all different shapes, sizes, and ages. There were rows upon rows of food trucks, gift vendors, and carnival games for prizes. There were sounds of laughing, winner bells ringing, and live music in the distance. Wonderful smells tantalized Melanie's nose.

"What do you want to do first? So many things happening here..." Kayla asked as she read over an itinerary brocure she picked up at the entrance. "There's ice skating and sledding all day, and the ice sculptures should be done by now. There are a lot of local bands playing at the bandstand throughout the day. Hmm. Later on, there's a snow dodgeball competition, snowmobile racing, speed skating, figure skating, snowball rolling... or maybe we could could check out the club booths and events? Work on that new year's resolution?" Kayla went on with her nose in the brocure.

"Well... I need to be at the chess club event at two, but other than that, maybe we check out everything? Huh, except the snowmobile races. I don't like the noise and the exhaust. Makes me sick. Bleh!" Mel answered, making a mock sick face. She looked around and her eyes settled on a food cart. Her mouth started to water. "Let's start with breakfast!" Kayla chuckled and smiled. "Heh, Sounds good to me!"

Silas Moore, Elite hangout
Interactions: Seth Apkoda

The door of Ella was shouldered open and Silas ducked in, stooping to avoid banging his head on the doorframe. He took a moment, once inside, to readjust his knee-length black coat, stretched taut over his broad shoulders and the collar turned up against the chill in the air. Large ears flicked at a scuffling behind the desk, and bright yellow eyes turned to fix on the porcupine shop assistant, who lowered her gaze away from the predator.

“Your new collection is quite lovely, Mr Moore.” She squeaked out, blunt nails drumming anxiously on the desk.

A sickeningly saccharine grin spread over Silas’ features; although one could call it a snarl. Lips pulled back to reveal bright razor sharp canines, unnaturally whitened and polished. ”Why, thank you, Minnie.” His voice was silken, and the porcupine couldn’t help but shudder. ”I assume Seth is already...” He gestured vaguely in the direction of the changing rooms with one huge paw, drawing a nod from Minnie behind the desk. ”Excellent.” He rumbled, voice nearly a growl as he headed through to the back changing rooms, letting himself into the usual room they used, set behind the unsuspecting shop.

It was no secret that he relished in his predatory nature. He used his size and teeth to his advantage more often than not. Though of course it got him into trouble occasionally- there was the... incident with the peafowl. A disagreement in a bar had led to him making quite a mess in the back alley though he got off lightly. Not enough evidence, the court said. Although his brand had taken quite a hit over the proceedings, he soon enough made the money back with another release - all the designs with eye motifs in deep blues, purples and greens.

He nodded to the grizzly on the door, flashing his teeth as he passed. He shrugged out of his coat and set it on a coatrack just inside the room, adjusting his shirtsleeves as he made his way to the bar. ”Veronica...” He purred with a smirk, leaning his elbows on the bar ”Old fashioned, please. It’s been a long day.” He watched the barmaid work, claws drumming lightly on the heavy oak bar until his drink was passed over.
”Thank you, my dear.” Silas shot her a sharp grin before joining Seth, reclining in one of the armchairs, one leg crossed over the other knee, and glass clutched in a huge paw. ”Boss.” He nodded his head, eyes narrowed slightly. ”How are things?”

The pair talked for a while, the rest of the team drifting in as their own works days drew to a close. The conversation started as personal catch-ups but quickly changed to a matter of business. Seth had decided that he was going to get a hold of a stand at the upcoming university winter carnival to drum up more interest for their group and Silas couldn’t help but grin.

He knew exactly who would be attending that little soirée.

Eukary Campus
Interaction: [open]

---

"More to the left," a voice said while Zaina gave an annoyed huff as she moved an ice sculpture for the art club booth. While she had avoided any serious ramifications from the altercation with the baboon several days prior, the school had used it to get her to help with setting up parts of the Winter Carnival. Mostly busy work and heavy lifting. At the moment she was having to deal with an insufferable doe deer who could not make up their mind on placement for a sculpture. Zaina was half tempted to smash the damn thing and be done with it after having to keep readjusting the sculpture countless times. Finally the damn deer was happy, or at least gave up letting Zaina finally be done with the near impossible task of pleasing them. She shoved past, grumbling under her breath a few choice words she had for the stuck up deer but keeping them to herself. She was just glad to be done with the work. Having to wake up early to deal with so many annoying voices of animals that felt superior to her didn't help her mood. Along with having spent the night celebrating her decent grades with a plethora of drinks left her with a splitting headache that not even her morning coffee was curing. She took a few deep breaths, doing her best to ignore the pounding in her head finally able to have some peace with herself while looking about the other stands that were mostly up. A few other students were about but it was still relatively early so it wasn't to crowded for the hulking hyena to move about between the stalls.

Corrie Strickman

Avian Dorm

As Corrie first opened her eyes and quickly adjusted to the dark room, she tensed in fear. This wasn't her dorm! It was too... clean! Where was she??

Three seconds later, the owl released a groan and shut her eyes again in shame. She recalled the long evening of organizing, vacuuming, scrubbing... alongside some family members who decided to hold an intervention. Who knows how they ever discovered her hidden shame in the first place.

Well, there was one possible suspect. As Corrie scrolled through her phone during breakfast, she noticed a late-night email. The owl tensed again and reluctantly opened it.



Corrie flushed with indignation. The bird furiously tapped out a reply email. When she finished, she took a deep breath and walked to the kitchen to add some more sugar to her coffee. Upon return, she deleted the entire unsent email. She then reworded the unforgivably rash message into a "polite but firm" reply.



Satisfied (a little), Corrie finished her last bites of Roach Krispies. She spent some time deciding on an outfit to suit the occasion. By the time she was dressed and ready to brave a crowded carnival, she had received another email.



Corrie gritted her beak in anger. Then she blushed in shame. Then she hung her head at the shame of getting angry, and angry that she was shamed. It was impossible to explain how such proper and helpful words evoked such a sickening feeling.

Corrie considered replying for a minute, but there was no winning against the pre-law major. The owl set her phone down and curled up under her blanket. Technically, Corrie didn't need to be at the carnival until 2, and she was just too... tired to get there quite yet.

So what if I'm inferior to Robertimotheus? I am still a genius. I am still superior to most of the students, remember that. Nobody can take that away. I am better than most, and that's good enough. That's good enough...

Melanie Rose Pourri

---

The Eukary Quad, 8:30AM.
"Mmph, mph, mmm... ah! This human-food is so good!" Melanie exclaimed happily between mouthfuls. The two girls sat at a picnic table near a food truck. Her eyes were closed with joy and her snout was covered in fine powder. "Yeah, they invented the world's best food-pizza!" Kayla heartily agreed. Melanie chuckled, knowing that Kayla could eat pizza everyday, three times a day.

She tore off another piece of fried dough, chewed thoughtfully, then swallowed. "Want to check out the club booths before it gets too busy?" Mel asked. She wanted to check out the chess club booth before the event and maybe visit Nolan at the Write Club booth, if she didn't chicken out first.

"Sure, why not? We'll be here all day anyway. There's more than enough time for everything," Kayla replied. Melanie smiled and nodded, her face stuffed like a chipmunk with fried dough. She swallowed, then licked the powdered sugar off her claws. "Alright! Let's go," Melanie answered enthusiastically.

The girls got up from the picnic table and put their plates in a nearby trash bin. Mel brushed the sugar off her snout and light jacket, a smile forming on her face. Her tail had a slight lift and a wag (a sugar rush?) As they started off toward the club booths.

---

There must have been at least 20 different club booths, of all different shapes and sizes and run by different kinds of animals. As it was still fairly early in the morning, there were only one or two animals visiting any given booth and some had no visitors at all. Some booths just had a person or two running it, handing out brochures or flyers but some were more interesting. Some clubs, like the chess club, even had events on the itinerary.

They walked pretty fast past the sports teams and clubs, neither girl having interest in those. Then there were the nerdy clubs, like astronomy club and science club, and Mel slowed down as they went by, to look at the cool bubbling vials and telescope. Then there were arts and hobbies clubs, which Mel was most interested in. The anime club had lots of neat toys and two animals were reading manga between visitors. The book club people had a book on display and a sloth was offering to give a copy to new members. There was a Scrabble match going on at the board game booth. Two animals were having a Pokemon battle in the videogame booth. Two reptiles were keeping warm under a heat lamp at the sunbathers club. The cooking club was giving away free samples (which were wonderfully delicious).

Then they finally came across write club. Melanie's heart raced faster and faster as she approached the booth. A lion with a beautiful wavy brown mane was leaning over the table, talking with three other guys: an ostrich with wild curly hair, and an alpaca with long curly fur that covered his eyes, and a tall elephant with a few curly hairs on his head and a shirt that read,'Not the elephantine the room', altogether a group that seemed oddly familiar. The boys seemed to be focusing on a piece of paper in Nolan's paws, until they saw the girls approaching.

"Hey, good morning girls! Didn't you two go to high school with us?" the elephant asked with a friendly wave. "Oh, um, I don't know..." Melanie mumbled almost inaudibly. She scratched herself behind the ear, pulling a blank. Her eyes fell on Nolan, who folded up his paper and put it away, smiling almost shyly. Mel smiled back and looked away.

"Hm, yes I believe we were! Same year, too. Wolfewood, right?" The guys nodded, remembering. "Yeah! Yeah that's right. Small world, isn't it?" the elephant agreed. Melanie looked in awe at the group, her eyes wide with surprise. She went to school with all these guys, including Nolan, and didn't know? Wow, she really was a loser loner through high school. She was lucky one of her few friends had gone to the same college with her, or else she could have been completely alone!

"I'm so glad I got out of that town. Bunch of wolves-- Oh, um, no offense," the ostrich apologized. Kayla shook her head. "No offense taken. They were a bunch of animals. I'm happy to escape that small town, Kayla replied good-naturedly. The boys smiled and nodded. "Oliver. And that's Coby, Brett, and Nolan," the elephant explained as he gestured from himself, to the ostrich, alpaca, and lion. The guys said their greetings.

"Thank you. It's, ah, nice to get reacquainted. I'm Melanie," Mel shyly introduced herself, looking towards the ground. "And I'm Kayla. Nice to see you again!" she said with a friendly wag of her tail as she started walking away. Melanie held back, smiling shyly at Nolan but struggling to say anything. She clasped her paws nervously.

"Why don't you check us out at the Open Mic coming up? No pressure, you can just watch and enjoy some free food and drink," Nolan offered, handing Mel a brochure. Mel smiled and nodded, taking the brocure before shuffling after her friend.

Roger D’Monty

The last few days had been a blur for the red furred Capybara. Between finishing up his novel for a class, and a paper for Introduction to Genre, academics had been stressful for Roger. This was not helped by how cold it had been, Roger being one who preferred the indoors, and the fact that he had developed a migraine headache. It had started small at first, a pinging in the back of his head. But by the time yesterday morning had come, his head felt like someone was using a jack hammer on it.

As Roger tried getting out of bed, vertigo surrounded him, knocking him back down. In no state to attend class, Roger had spent the day lying down in his dorm room, miserable about how he was feeling, and anxious about missing class. Still, the most he could do was take some pain killers and try to sleep. At some point that night, the vertigo made Roger throw up into his toilet. It seemed to have flushed his system as he was able to sleep peacefully after that.

When morning came Roger was surprised that he mostly felt better. As he got out of bed, he found no vertigo and the pain in his head was now a dull ting. Feeling good about himself, Roger immediately backpedaled when he noticed that the fur around his mouth had some bits of vomit left in it. Feeling grossed out, Roger made a beeline for the dorm showers, wanting to wash the sickness off of himself.

The rushing water of the shower helped clear Roger’s head. As he turned off the tap, Roger felt a lot better about himself. He even whistled a little tune as he went back through the hallway to his dorm room. A poster on the wall caught Roger’s eye as he neared his room. In big letters it announced the Winter Carnival. Roger stopped whistling, realizing that he had completely forgot about the Winter Carnival. In fact, the poster said it started today.

As Roger re-entered his room and began to change into some fresh clothes, he debated attending the carnival. The inner debate was quickly broken up by a phantasm memory of Roger’s Mother. She had always encouraged Roger to go and make friends, and not just online people who liked his videos. Roger took a second to think, before agreeing with the memory of his Mother.

Figuring he should get into the winter spirit, Roger threw on a sweater featuring the Bumble from the old Rudolph cartoon, and a big puffy red winter jacket. Once Roger was ready to go he thought about asking his roommate to come along, only to see that he wasn’t there. Roger thought that maybe he should try making friends with his roommate, but they only exchanged maybe two words a week as he only seemed to come back to his dorm room at midnight to sleep, and then leave at the crack of dawn.

With the roommate out as an option, Roger’s quest to make an IRL friend had to be taken elsewhere. So, Roger left the building and headed toward the gated off area just outside the dorms. Under a massive sign that said: ENTER HERE, Roger saw an ageing grizzly bear with a sweet smile.

Roger approached the bear, “How much for entry?”

“Um, aren’t you a student?” the grizzly laughed, “If so you get in for free. I just need to see your student ID.”

“Really?” Roger replied, feeling a little dumb as he pulled out his wallet and ID from within, “I forgot that we were supposed to get perks with the cards.”

“Yeah, you would be surprised by all the stuff the University gives away,” the bear replied as he looked at Roger’s ID, “Anyway, go in and have some fun.”

Roger gave the bear a small smile as he entered the Winter Carnival. Once through the gate, Roger was greeted with a plethora of smells of different cuisines. While the school cafeteria did have a decent variety of food, what could be found right by the carnival’s entrance immediately eclipsed it. Next to Roger was a truck selling bowls of pasta with beetle sauce, the aroma almost making Roger wish he wasn’t a herbivore. The next smell that hit him was of something he could eat, deep fried berries with sugar powder.

Roger immediately bought an order, not caring that he was having dessert for breakfast. As he chewed he decided to leave the food area, knowing that if he stayed he would spend all his money on these amazing foods. As Roger finished devouring his meal, he came upon the school club stand sections. Roger had always intended to join a club at University, to find like minded people, but he had initially had trouble balancing school, video making, and his social life. But now Roger felt he had a better grip on his time.

Roger began to walk among the stands, only for someone to shout, “Hey, sweet sweater!”

Roger turned toward the voice, half expecting it to be someone mocking him for being a nerd. Instead he saw a Fox sitting behind the anime club table, “The Bumble doesn’t get enough love.”

“Wow,” Roger said nervously, “It’s rare to find someone who knows what this is.”

“Yeah, I love stop motion animation,” the Fox replied, “Well any kind of animation.”

A Ram sitting next to the Fox elbowed his ribs, “Oh right! Anime as well,” he said, “Would you be interested in joining the anime club? I promise we’re not weirdos.”

Roger glanced at the various anime figures littering the table, before laughing, “It’s cool. I’m down with weird, mostly movies though.”

“Well I used to be into classic western animation exclusively, but Brian here,” the Ram looked up from the manga he was reading, “Got me into anime back in high school. I would highly recommend it.”

“You know what? Tell me more,” Roger said with genuine interest.

Roger and the Fox continued to talk, as the young Capybara felt at ease, not even conscious thinking about his need to make friends.

Eukary Campus
Interaction: [open]

---

Zaina had been roaming around the quad, looking at the various club stalls that were around. Most hardly garnering more then a passing glance from the large hyena. Zaina had never cared much to share her interests with others so even the clubs that matched what she liked didn't garner much more time from her. Currently she stood in an area that seemed to cover just about every sport that Eukary had to offer. One of the first she had given a little more time too was a weight lifting club but with the amount of male attraction she moved on from it, hardly needing any more meat heads then her regular workout sessions to be bothering her, let along those on campus. The wrestling club was another but then again she all ready had to do enough wrestling with idiots who had one too many drinks in the Wolf Pack on her work nights. Most team sports were out of the question, she wasn't much of a team player due to her past and only having herself to rely on. Zaina gave an annoyed huff as her mind went through the options that were slowly dwindling. The hippie club she had past by earlier was starting to look appealing the more she wandered around.

Corrie Strickman

Winter Carnival, Sports Booths

"I request a grasshopper," Corrie ordered, plunking her money on the counter. "Make it a big one."

"That kinda day already?" the anteater cashier responded, collecting the money with a bemused look.

Corrie replied with the minimal amount of chatter and eye contact required to avoid being entirely rude. She wasn't here to chitchat, after all, she was at... a big outdoor event for all your family and friends. Hm.

Soon later, the owl received her grasshopper-filled pastry. She sat at a nearby table to casually eat it. It just happened to be a coincidence, of course, that the table looked out toward the sports booths across the road. Corrie was merely here for the pastry.

Some of the booths were small and simple, managed by one or two animals with flyers and a few action photos of their team. Other booths worked harder to attract interest with gimmicks like raffles, performing tricks, and carnival games. One such booth caught Corrie's eye, and she internally debated for a while before deciding it couldn't hurt to just take a closer look, obtain more information.

"Hey," a zonkey at the booth greeted with a bit of a stiff smile as Corrie approached. "You lookin' for an autograph? Or the nerd booths? They're over that way."

Corrie frowned and shirked a bit at the mixed-signals introduction. But then she straightened up and puffed out her chest a little.

"On the contrary, I have arrived to take note of your prized hobby. Is not the sharing and recruitment of softball the prime motivation for using abundant resources on such a display? I may be more diminutive and traditionally studious than your typical fare, but I possess equal right and ability to observe this booth and partake in any challenges proclaimed therein."

The zonkey blankly stared through Corrie during the speech. It took her a couple seconds to decide to give enough damn to process, a couple more to actually process. Then she let out a toothy smirk.

"Oh, a challenger, eh? I guess we could always use some more funds... You gotta stand behind this line. You get three throws. If you knock down all the cans with three throws or less, you get a prize. That'll be $3, please."

Corrie paid the fee and carried the supplied ball to the line. The owl immediately felt a sinking pit of doubt as she weighed the awkwardly large ball in her hand and gauged the stacked cans so, so far away. She considered asking for a refund, or at least cutting her losses now to save her pride. But the zedonk was still watching intently with that subtle smirk - no turning back now.

Well, Corrie could reason this out. This was simply an intimidating math problem. One might expect aiming for the bottom row to be most beneficial. But there was no way to know the heft of the cans - perhaps the notion of eliminating many obstacles with the preliminary throw was a trap, the target too stalwart for such a ploy. Corrie had three balls for a reason. She would eliminate the uppermost half or so first, and then use her remaining balls to topple respective halves of the lower rows. As for the angle, a quick estimate of the distance to the goal, height discrepancy between herself and the goal, and the mass of the ball determined a release angle of approximately 145 degrees to be ideal. Yes, she had it all perfectly formulated!

Corrie's first ball sunk to the ground a foot short of the target entirely.

The zonkey couldn't suppress a wheezing chuckle as she watched Corrie flush. Cordy-whatever Strickman. Public speaking class, tenth grade. A debate that strayed well beyond the academic requirements and into the personal, earning the zonkey the name "dumbass" for the rest of the year. This was a long time coming, Corrie, but now you're on my turf, let's see how you like THAT!

Corrie, for her part, had absolutely no recollection of the ordeal. Or the zonkey. Her feathers ruffled a bit as she picked up the next softball.

"Woah woah, wait a second," a third voice piped up.

Corrie had barely noticed the quiet squirrel monkey in the corner until she walked over to her.

"Yeah, these are the mid-weight balls," the monkey continued. "Hold on a second-"

The monkey dug through a crate and pulled out a smaller ball. In the meantime, Corrie noticed the zonkey looked... annoyed? Hm... maybe the mammal felt embarrassed about being called out on her mistake? It would make sense, after all, some hybrids always feel like they have something to prove.

"Here you go," the squirrel monkey murmured as she handed Corrie a new ball. This one still felt large in Corrie's wing, but not unreasonably so. "Let me change out some of those cans, too."

Corrie almost felt worse as she faced the mocking cans again. The first failure was a fluke, the wrong parameters, not her fault. But when she failed again... there was no excuse.

The owl finally breathed and tossed the ball. It glanced off the side of the tower this time, and three cans slowly teetered off.

"Yeah, that was better," the monkey commented with a light smile. "You might have a good arm."

"I.. I do?" Corrie stuttered, caught a little off guard. She figured three was a rather poor showing, certainly unworthy of any praise from a genuine player.

"I think so," the squirrel monkey replied, "if you put a little work into it. Here-"

The monkey picked up the ball and demonstrated, sharing a basic rundown on how actual pitchers throw a ball. She gently touched Corrie's wing to guide it through a few slow-mo, practice throws. Corrie still felt doubtful as she stepped back up to the line, but maybe a little better. She tried her best to remember the motions as she threw the next ball. It collided with a solid hit, knocking off four more clattering cans. Corrie couldn't help but grin with glee and swivel her head back to the monkey, who looked startled for a moment but then responded with a thumbs up.

"Alright," the zedonk cut in, "you had your three. I'm sooo sorry, better luck next time!"

Corrie's smile faltered as she swiveled back to the zonkey.

"Uhh... I do believe the first ball was a mistake not of my own doing, and therefore I am entitled to an additional one."

"Uhhh-huh," the zonkey replied with growing acidity. "You smartypants brain-breeds and all your 'entitlements,' I've already heard enough of that. You can't just say your big smart words and study your way through everything, dork. You. Lost. You sucked at throwing! And now maybe there's a tiny little space in your brain next to all those facts about history and shit to appreciate all the skill needed to throw, and catch, and- Mia, DO NOT give her that ball!"

Both of the smaller animals froze and looked at the zonkey with wide eyes. The monkey opened her mouth, but she couldn't force anything out, and she ended up dropping the ball and scurrying back to her corner with an anxious hunch.

Corrie, however, was beginning to regain her voice.

"Well, aren't you the supportive team player!" Corrie's ear-tufts ruffled up as she berated the zonkey. "I may not be the most skilled in softball, but at least I have enough basic animal decency to know that swindling and THEN mocking anyone who shows up is a terrible recruitment strategy. Perhaps you're very good at throwing a rock at a stick. But you might want to be a bit nicer to animals with different skill sets! Maybe even - heaven forbid - skill sets which contribute actual advancements to the knowledge, health, and overall quality of life of many animals, and not merely padding up your own sports cars and celebrity egos and... oh..."

Corrie's words faded into a gulp as she seemed to suddenly notice the height difference between her and the zonkey, who glared at her with about as much murder as an herbivore could muster.

@Argetlam350

Eukary Campus
Interaction: @Zanavy Corrie Strickman and the striped ass

---

Zaina had continued to wander aimlessly between stalls hardly giving any more then a glance now, while at one point having to put another hyena in there place as they didn't understand no meant no. He was somewhere upside down in a trash bin with pride wounded. Luckily she left him with no injuries as she had to play by the school rules after the baboon incident. She was going through her phone when a commotion was brought to her attention. A zonkey and owl arguing over something that was rapidly escalating. She knew it was none of her concern that she could leave it alone but as it grew closer to a fight she huffed annoyed using her phone to record the last few moments of the two butting heads before slowly walking up behind the zonkey who appeared to be the aggressor to the conflict, shadow slowly falling over them.

"Think she deserves another chance," Zaina stated after appearing behind the zonkey who spun around and briefly seemed to want to argue with her but once having to lift her head from looking at Zaina's chest to see eye to eye with Zaina all words seem to escape her leaving the zonkey looking like a fish gasping for air while they tried to compose themselves.

"Now what am I to do?" Zaina contemplated ",I was having a riveting time recording your little outburst of a tantrum. So now I'm left with a few options. Now I could go to the head honcho here and get you into some problem but I don't care much for school politics." Zaina knelt down putting her eye to eye with the egotistical zonkey continuing to speak rather then let the zonkey get a word in making sure that her large fangs were showing.

"I'm sure you know what happened to a certain baboon a few days back, hard to miss a giant hyena knocking them down a few pegs. So that's option two but I'm all ready on thin ice with that incident so I'd rather avoid giving another animal a bloody nose and concussion. This leaves you with one final option."

Zaina spun the zonkey easily around arm tightly wrapped around them holding them close and pointed at the owl ",You give her, her rightful third throw and we forget any of this happened. Life goes on for you to have a stick up your ass, she gets another chance to prove herself, and I get to return to blissful ignorance of this dull carnival." The zonkey stuttered but Zaina paid little attention while reaching over to where the ball was dropped and tossing it to the owl.

"Believe that this is yours," Zaina stated arm still holding the zonkey, slightly tightening to keep them from protesting with a toothy smirk to them.

Chlamy
Eukary Campus

Chlamy tried to drive through the thick traffic. It seemed like the whole city was trying to go somewhere today. Chlamy was on a break for a few hours, so he decided he might as well pay his sister a visit, after all she had done all the work to send him one singular text to come if he could. Traffic crawled to an even slower pace. Chlamy sent a quick prayer down to the deep sea gods for faster travel, although, as he expected nothing happened.
After about half an hour he was finally able to park about three blocks down. After quickly jogging to the campus he began looking for his sister. She was easy to spot, being the one of the few sharks outside. She was talking to another shark, great white by the look of him. Chlamy though for a second and tried to remember his name. "Byron." He said out loud, gaining an odd stare from some students. He had a habit of doing that sometimes.
Although Chlamy himself was short, and most of the crowd blocked his view of his sister, her giant boyfriend was a head above most other people, except for that hyena he saw... she was pretty tall, although still a good two feet shorter then Byron. When he arrived in front of the stand they were talking in front of he noticed a argument going on between the tall hyena and some sort of "Debra" or "Zonkey" or whatever. "So... what's up?" He asked. "At the moment, nothing. Just talking, looking around, and having a boring time!" Exclaimed Ellyia with a bored look on her face.
"Great... so I'm gonna go get food, because A. I am hungry, and B. I see food stands." Chlamy told his sister, walking backwards into the crowds. He drifted from stand to stand looking for fish, trying not to talk to people, and running away from awkward conversations. Eventually he managed to find some fish sticks and looked around. He couldn't locate his sister, but he could see an empty table to eat at. He quickly prioritized, and decided eating is most important, and plopped down on an empty chair.
After a few minutes Chlamy located the massive grey head of Byron, no doubt Chlamy's sister with him. So he set off into the crowds, determined not to stop and talk to anybody. Or at least he was determined until he saw the sign saying elite club, sure he wasn't a student, but he might as well see what was going on there.

August Wiess
Location: Winter Carnival
Interactions: @GreysonEA

August idly sipped from the steaming styrofoam cup that held in his paw. He'd nearly burned all his taste buds off from his first eager gulp and didn't fancy doing the same to the few he had left. Despite having the inability to taste the hot apple cider, the Doberman enjoyed it all the same. He was more or less drinking it for its warming properties anyhow. As much as he loved this time of year, he was woefully ill-equipped for it. But he wasn't about to let a chill stop him from enjoying the carnival with Taurus. He thinks, stealing a sideways glance at the bull at his side.

A commotion beside the sports booth drew his attention from the ice sculptures he had been eyeing previously to the animals that surrounded it. He couldn't tell what exactly happened per se but, whatever it was an incredibly tall hyena seemed to have put an end to it. He watched the group a few moments more before returning his attention back to the sculptures in front of him. "See any booths that catch your eye, Russ? The willpower that is keeping me from licking these sculptures is draining pretty quickly." He chuckled shooting the other a teasing grin.

Taurus Altobelli, The Winter Carnival
Interactions: August Weiss

Taurus had been in two minds about attending the carnival.

For one, it would be nice to mingle and take another look at some of the groups available on campus to join in his free time, but on the other hoof, it was absolutely freezing. And busier than he’d expected it to be.

But August had asked him about it earlier in the week and when he explained his thoughts, well. The Doberman had pulled out the dramatics. A slight whine in his voice and a pout on his muzzle as he flopped on Taurus’ chair, not to mention the puppy eyes. He’d kept that up for an hour before Taurus relented and agreed to go - not that it was any hardship spending time with him.

So here he was, bundled up in a navy woollen coat with double breasted buttons, dark chinos and a scarf wrapped tightly around his neck to try and ward off the chill. His ears flicked at the raising of voices and he followed August’s gaze to the group at the sports booth, an eyebrow cocked slightly.

”Thats Zania. Bouncer and general muscle at The Wolf Pack. I’ve seen her around a few times when I used to work the overnight shift.” Taurus explained quietly, reaching out to brush a flurry of snow from August’s shoulder. ”Also the one that put the baboon in his place a few days ago, if I remember rightly. I definitely wouldn’t mess with her.” He chuckled softly, pondering August’s question as a he glanced around.

”Maybe just take a walk for now and see what we find? I admit, I’m starting to get a little peckish. Maybe stop by the literary club too? I’m pretty sure they have some of my work on display.” Taurus smiled. The guys had pretty much begged him to let them display his work around their stand, and he’d only agreed on the condition that his name not be put towards any of them.

”Lead the way.” He gestured, content to follow August while keeping an eye out for anyone that they may know.

@vertigh0st

Melanie Rose Pourri

---

The Eukary Quad, Winter Carnival Club Booths, 9:00AM.
Interacting with @GreysonEA and @vertigh0st

The two girls continued past a fashion club, knitting club, metal detectors, model train builders, bug watchers, stargazers, stamp collectors, and other niche interest groups, and found themselves in the ideology and culture section.

Melanie shivered and wrapped her arms around herself as they walked on. This area seemed darker and colder than the rest of the area, as it was cast in the shadows of the nearby buildings. Mel's tail twitched and her heart began to pound anxiously. The animals in this area seemed tense or angry. They glared at people who went to certain other booths but were overly friendly to those who visited theirs. The area just seemed to have an overall bad vibe to it, and she couldn't help feeling like she was being watched.

"Hey, ah, Kayla? Why don't we turn back now? I don't think any of these clubs are for me," Melanie asked as she glanced around, getting more worried every second. She looked back toward where her friend was and realized she had vanished. "Kayla? Kayla where are you?" Melanie called out as she ventured through the crowd, deeper into the club booths.

"There you are!" Mel exclaimed in relief as she spotted her friend. She shuffled as quickly as she could to her friend's side before noticing that Kayla's tail was slightly tucked between her legs. "Hey, are you okay?" Mel asked, putting one paw on her friend's shoulder.

Kayla turned to her and spoke in a hushed whisper. "I noticed this booth wasn't on the club map. There, with no sign. It's kind of creeping me out..." She said, motioning with her eyes. Melanie followed her gaze to a white booth with red flowers and some dusty genealogy and ancestry books. It appeared to be run by an attractive human male in a tuxedo, among other well-dressed humans with a black and red theme--just like in that awful brochure for the Pure. The only non-human there was a doberman, who appeared to be no more than a guard dog. Among the group, Melanie thought she recognized humans that had followed her in the past month. The blonde male had a smirk and carried himself high with his nose in the air, as if he was better than everyone else. A chill went down Mel's spine, and she turned away.

"Let's get out of here, I have a bad feeling about this," Melanie urged, pulling at her sleeve. Kayla nodded silently and the two girls retreated, walking faster and faster when nearby humans seemed to glare their way.

When st last the literary club came into view, she finally dared to look over her shoulder--and managed to get her boot caught in an extension cable. The poor skunk had just a moment to gasp before she nosedived snout-first into the dirty, trampled snow. She slid about a foot before coming to a halt only at the feet of a couple upperclassmen.

"Owww..." Melanie groaned, just laying there and getting soaked. Her paw pads were scraped raw and she had filthy slush in her nose and eyes. Her beautiful black and white tail was now practically yellowed with mud.

"Ugh..Kayla? Kayla are you there?" Mel asked as she weakly lift her chest up with one arm and rubbed her eyes with the other. Her tail was down pathetically and she blinked a few times, staring at what looked like a blob or two standing in front of her. None of which looked like the springer spaniel.

"Oh, um, you're not Kayla! Sor-sorry, I'll be out of your way in-in just a minute..." the skunk-girl bashfully apologized, looking up at them for just a moment before she looked back down, hiding her reddening face behind her white head fur. Her heart began to pound frantically as she groped around on hands and knees in the snow with her tail between her legs. Oh, I must look like such a dork! I hope these guys don't decide to smash my glasses...