[IC] Animalia - REBOOTED

[Argetlam350]

Zaina 'Zee' Allaires

Apartment above The Wolf Pack

---

A blaring alarm pierced the silence of a room barely lit but the rays of light that filtered through window shades. Zaina groaned beneath her sheets, letting out an irritable huff before slamming a large fist against the perpetrator of disturbing her slumber. Amazingly the alarm clock hadn't shattered under her strike as it ceased its ear piercing sound. Zaina briefly contemplated on just remaining in bed but sighed knowing that wasn't an option. She sat up and stretched, a yawn escaping her lips before getting up to start the day anew, starting with a shower. She groaned slightly from bruises she had gained the previous night from a trip down the back alley district. She had her reputation to uphold in a few fights that got her some extra cash as well as some free drinks. Not close to being any good then the place she worked but it was something, plus a flirt or two if she found a particular fancy. Her more recent interest was a newer fighter at least to her that was a vulture of some form.

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

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

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

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

"Off to hell I go," she muttered while carrying her drink of coffee giving the old wolf a final wave. Tholo gave a grunt in response wiping down the counter as she exiting the front door to walk her way to the nearest subway to then reach the Eukary University. Today the university was full on open to the public, with various clubs and other stalls to entice new students or curious bystanders. Zaina slightly unhappy with crowds this early in the morning but would deal with it. Plus she did see an arm wrestling tournament.

[GreysonEA]

Taurus Altobelli
Location:Eukary University - Mixed Species Dorms
Interactions:Open

Taurus groaned softly as his alarm started blaring next to his ear, blindly reaching out to swat at his phone on the bedside table - silencing the alarm. He sat up slowly, extracting himself carefully from his canine roommate curled up again his chest. He rubbed at his eyes and tipped his head back against the headboard of the bed, giving himself a few minutes to wake up properly before slipping out of bed and stretching.

It was earlier than he would have liked, but he knew he had to be up in order to get a run in before the campus started getting busy, ready for open day at the university. Most tents had been set up the night before but people would soon start turning up to start adding decorations for the individual clubs and subjects.

He grabbed a loose pair of sweatpants and a hoodie, pulling both on and swiped a bottle of water from the mini fridge in the corner. He slipped in his earbuds and flicked to his usual running playlist as he headed out the door, glancing back at his still-sleeping roommate once before closing it behind him. He knew August likely wouldnt be awake before he got back, but even if he was he would know where he was.

He headed downstairs and took a few minutes to stretch and warm up before setting off at a fairly moderate pace. He wouldnt be pushing any personal bests, that was for sure but it was still nice to get out and get the blood flowing before what was bound to be a busy day. He jogged his way down from the dorm buildings to the main campus, nodding his head or raising a friendly hand to the few others out and about that he recognised - most from the track team.

Taurus headed out of the main campus gate towards the end of his run, making a stop for coffee and to walk back to the dorms.

He let himself back into their room, both coffee cups carefully stacked on top of each other as he closed the door behind him.

"Hey, sleepypaws, ready to get up? Open day today." He teased softly, reaching out to gently ruffle August's ears. "I got you coffee. Im going to head out for a shower in a sec."

[False Prophet]

Pascal "Dolly" Harper

Location: Apartment -> City streets -> Approaching Subway
Mentions: None
Interactions: Open

---

The mouse had been up for an hour already, anxiously waiting with his phone clutched between his paws. Today, he and his friend had planned to take a tour of Eukary University some time in the morning. After all, they’d both applied (and were accepted) into the next semester. The news refreshed Dolly’s moxie, as he now walked with the pep in his step that initially vanished years ago. Sometimes he’d clutch the letter and delightfully squeak into his pillow. It was a nice change of pace. Just last year, he would’ve seen going to university as one of those impossibilities of his life. Now he had an actual shot at leaving this hellhole.

His apartment- well, it wasn’t really his. He was only one of the roommates, and the place certainly had character… Chipped paint, busted door knobs, squeaky floorboard. The whole shabang! Sure, it wasn’t the Ritz, but it sure as hell beat couch-surfing after kicking himself out of his ex boyfriend’s place. Ugh, what a creep. Dolly hopped out of his bed and onto said squeaky floorboards. They didn’t creak nearly as much for him due to his sheer lack of stature. Like the saying went, quiet as a mouse. He padded to a dresser, eyes still glued to his phone while his nose twitched in anticipation. He’d just received a message saying that they should meet up at one of the coffee shops on campus. He responded with an enthusiastic “sounds perfect :3”.

Dolly pulled on a mint colored sweater. His wardrobe consisted mostly of pastels since they went well with his white fur. He was never one for over the top patterns, though. It was a smidge big on him, but her slightly baggy look was part of his aesthetic at this point. Finding clothes that fit snugly were a rarity unless he shopped in the kid’s section. He found that stuff rarely fit his style. After changing into actual clothes, the mouse carefully squeezed out of his room and into the hallway. Truly, his room was less of a living space and more of an oversized closet remodeled to fit a small animal. Rent was cheaper for him, at least.

Tip-toeing down the hall to avoid waking his two other roommates up, Dolly hurried towards the bathroom door. He decided against breakfast since he was going to a cafe with a friend. Wow, he was actually going to hang out with somebody- and what made it better that it wasn’t at a bar! He was tired of getting shitfaced at two in the morning. It was expensive. He’d actually put in an effort to establish a somewhat coherent sleeping schedule. He was going to need one for school, after all. The mouse vanished inside of the bathroom. It certainly was not built for his size and the light buzzed a bit too loudly, but he could manage. He hopped to grab his toothbrush from by the sink. It was pink and had some cartoon characters on it. Kid’s toothbrush from the corner store down the street- but hey, it worked.

Dolly was successfully out the door in ten minutes. Now was the hardest part of his journey, which was catching the fuckin’ train. He was used to living his life by speed-walking, so rushing was nothing he wasn’t used to. He just had to be careful to not get him or his tail stepped on. It was disproportionally long for a guy his size. He’d made a habit of carrying it when he ran. He also made a habit of walking closer to the inside of the sidewalks. Though traffic in New York was notoriously slow, he felt safer when he was farthest from the roads. One wrong shove and he could be standing in the middle of the street. Getting run over was something he generally tried to avoid when rushing to subway stations.

[Lumiere]

Jasper "Jazz" Lanes

Location: Boardinghouse Loft-> Approaching Subway
Mentions: @False Prophet
Interactions: Open

---

Mote-strewn rays struck through the broad bay windows, the skeletal frame of a supporting post in the center of the structure casting a tall interloper of darkness in a distinct metre upon the plaided frames of light. Echoing in the emptiness of the room, looping with a chirp in the volume to shock the owner of the phone into rolling from their slumber. A clumsy hand reached out and smacked the device, fumbling with getting the password wrong a few times on the crappy, noisy dumb-phone, and with peace having returned with only an ambient echo to haunt the lone occupant.

Kicking the blanket off and finally dragging their vaguely hungover frame into a stretch, they sat up, mid-yawn, into the blinding and scornful glint of the morning sun. Jasper fought the good fight, but two shivering sneezes later, their eyes cut back to their usual hollow stare that briefly flicked across the scene.

"Oh boy, playing 'booze clues' on a weekday..." they said aloud to the echo of the room to cast back, even as he pulled on a pair of snug black shorts aside their bedding and flopped their legs back down to the futon. Their toes spread and cracked as their haunches puuuuulled-but not too far! They spend a minute getting up and doing stretches to stomp and stave off what had almost been a muscle cramp.
Getting the kettle started with water from the brita, Jasper dragged themselves into the nearby washroom as their setup was merely a set of folding walls and roll-out rugs to accent the old floor you'd probably see in a Rocky flick. This place had plans outside of the stumbling and heaving rodent.

A run through the showers and brushing, brushing, brushing~, Jazz then strut back into his sectioned estate. Their feet flexing the toes and nails to grip onto the rug and drag the top of their paws along the fabric while idly flipping through the phone from before, now tame and yielding of [NEWS] that transpired the time between conscious states.
Letting the latest political gossip play on low volume, Jasper made expressions in a mirror mounted on a dressed set in a wheel'd frame as he dotted in the ink-black 'freckles'.
Testing expressions and adding 'finesses' to make the shadows under his eyes a bit less bruised and restless-looking. Painting nail's and blah blah blah.

Setting out, stocking'd legs clicked down the steps in high-knee'd steps to start out the stretch as Jasper set off on a pair of worn-to-fit faded converse. Joining into the hustle and march of the city's pulse, Jasper's small pads that he stilted along on hopped about from one opening to another, balancing themselves with an arm or palm against the wall while making their way downtown. Walking fast, faces passed and he was more focused on trying to keep from bumping into smaller pedestrians and not being stepped on, himself. The impossibility of this task and the crushing claustrophobia that ensued was motivation enough to continue the hurry. Still, in their effort to be as socially unimpactful as possible, they held their tongue when ran into due to an intersection swell, managing to catch themselves before falling onto what, to Jasper, was a petite pastel smear clutching their own tail. Not being one for eye-contact, the details of their face weren't picked up even as they turned their head to direct a polite "Pardon me" before recovering and looking for an opening to continue his pace. Making it the last block to the station, he was finally forced to slow by the stairs down to the booths and platforms.

[vertigh0st]

August Weiss
Location: Eukary University - Mixed Species Dorms
Interactions: Taurus Altobelli

August gave little acknowledgment to the blaring alarm other than a brief ear twitch, whether it was due to deep sleep or sheer stubbornness. The Dobermann mumbled an unintelligible protest spurred on by the movement next to him, however, he made no further effort to great the day himself.

August was roused from his sleep by the warm hand ruffling his ears, eyes peeking open to look up at the culprit of said ruffling. Mr. Sunshine himself he couldn’t think of a better face to wake up to. It took a moment for Taurus' words to register in his sleep-addled brain before he could answer. "As ready as I'll ever be." He chuckles voice still rough from sleep. He took a moment to stretch out his limbs before pushing himself into a sitting position. The mentions of coffee had him perking up a bit more as he reached to take the cup off the top. "You're a lifesaver. Have I ever told you that?” He grins, carefully sipping at the coffee in his hands.

”I’ll go with-just give me a sec.” August dragged himself out of bed, standing on his toes just long enough to steal peck off of the bull’s cheek as he passed by.

August pulled on a simple t-shirt and sweatpants and after some searching managed to locate his things for the showers.

“ Did you have a good run? See anything interesting?” He asked, moving to stand by the door to wait for his roommate.

@GreysonEA

[GreysonEA]

Taurus Altobelli
Location: Eukary University - Mixed Species Dorm Showers
Interactions: August Weiss

"Maybe once or twice." Taurus chuckled softly, giving August a grin. He sipped from his own cup, his eyes closing for a moment before he stood up, setting his coffee down and tugging his hoodie and t-shirt off over his head; being careful not to snag on his horns. He stretched with a groan, pausing at the kiss to his cheek with a smile. He still couldn't get used to the casual intimacy they shared - although neither was brave enough to continue that outside of the privacy of their dorm. Inter-species relationships were still frowned upon by many; carnivore and herbivore relationships even more so. Taurus hated to think of what his mother would have to say about it.

"I still don't understand how you find anything." He teased, picking up his own organised shower caddy from the bedside table, and snagging a towel from the wardrobe, and letting August lead the way out of the dorms.

"Not particularly, just the tents for today. A few interesting looking ones. I know the Warren is setting one up." Although The Warren wasn't a student bar, it tended to attract more students than The Wolf Pack on the other side of town due to it's... friendlier nature. Taurus had only been to the club a handful of times but each time he'd been the only herbivore in the room; and most times had been looked at and advanced upon as if he was a steak; rare and ready.

"Is there anything you want to check out in particular?" He asked, leaning over to return the kiss from earlier, although he pulled away quickly as he heard footsteps coming down the hall in front of them, shooting August an apologetic smile.

@vertigh0st

[False Prophet]

Pascal "Dolly" Harper

Location: Subway entrance -> Platform
Mentions: @Lumiere
Interactions: Open

---

Getting to the subway was a cinch- for anybody else except Dolly. It was the morning rush hour, so every walkway was positively bursting with animals bustling about. At least with being small he could squeeze through tight crevices and openings, allowing him to hop between spaces in the crowd. The downside was having to avoid being stepped on. It was a game he’d been playing for a couple years now, though- he was practically a natural. What was he supposed to do about it, grow an extra foot in height? He would’ve if he could’ve. For now he was content with his lack of stature. Being small wasn’t so bad! Food was pretty cheap, and usually people didn’t bother him (usually because they barely noticed he was there). While continuing his journey, something caught his attention. Now, in New York, it was customary to mind your damn business. He was caught off guard when somebody said something to him- did they, like, need help or something? He didn't quite catch what was said…probably due to being tired.

"Huh?"

Dolly looked to both sides and saw nothing. Damn, gone already? In fact, he didn't even notice that the rabbit was almost pushed into him. Must've not been that important. Okay, then… Back to business as usual. The stairs he was approaching were arguably the worst part about taking the train. Well, at least he didn’t need to go up them this time. Clutching a hand to one of the rails, the mouse hopped down from one step after another, acutely aware of masking just how much he needed to breathe. Seriously, who gets winded going down half a flight of stairs? He did. He was recuperating by the edge of the landing for a second. His foot was halfway to the next step when there was a heavy thud against his back.

Apparently it's hard to use a tail as a counterweight while holding it to your chest. With a reflexive squeak, Dolly was sent tumbling down the stairs. A mostly off-white whirl of fuzz. Thankfully, it wasn't too far down until he knocked into the legs of some other person. They, surprised by being hit with a mouse, turned to get a look at what happened.

“You okay?"

Dolly didn't answer. Instead he pulled himself up and tried to ignore the lingering gaze of passerby. He was fine. He'd been through worse. Sure, his shoulder ached a bit and his nose was twitching with reckless abandon, but he was fine.

"You should be more careful there, little…uh, mouse.”

“I’m not that little-" He said this as he dusted off his sweater, but by then they were already gone. That was New York hospitality, baby!

Dolly was left feeling a little bit more dejected than usual on a subway platform entrance. Despite how crowded it was, he was surprisingly empty. He clenched his pink paws together in silent frustration. Cool. He could feel the pressure before the wind whipped his face. All thanks to the whiskers on his cheeks (which he needed to take a second to smoothen out). The train was going to arrive in 3, 2, 1…and he watched expectantly as the hunk of metal pulled into the station. At least he wasn't too late to catch the goddamn train.

[Lumiere]

Jasper Lanes

Location: Subway Platform -> Subway
Mentions: @False Prophet
Interactions: Open

---

Striking a recently scuffed but otherwise new transit pass, Jasper turned and pocketed his ticket to the front-row seat of the slapstick show. A familiar-looking pastel figure falling from the last landing was at least saved by the legs of a larger figure of about as much comment as the one they offered, unparticular. Jasper couldn't help but cringe for the situation that unfolded, instead respectfully turning to strike their pass, again, by accident. Playing it off like he totally didn't mess up, he considered tossing it but figured it may help un-fuck a day, in a pinch. The tickets were good for a timeframe, not direction.
While he was accustomed to jogging everywhere and pinching every penny, the promotional event by the university's open house had been a tempting sell. Sure it was a student pass, and sure he wasn't a student...but he could be~

Still, he felt obligated to at least check out the event with the new pass before abusing it to finally go sightseeing. The time he grew up in New York was just some nameless street in the thick of the concrete jungle, to and from events, obligations and family gatherings.
Simpler times...
With a nostalgic 'Hm' to agree with his numbing illusion to dull the maelstrom of noise the city seemed to be made of, he reminisced about cool winds and open fields...and tall dark trees. The yawn of the forest and how it seemed to swallow the rays of light that shown even longest past its boughs...and nightmares of seeing the shadows move, past them.

-And then Jasper's phone alarm simply titled 'late' went off in his pocket, loudly chirping through the airy fabric of their shorts. His ears bolted up and were then blustered about by the arriving train. As he wrestled with the device to turn it off, he squinted at the notification about having new texts. No numbers, dumb phone no do numbers. The 'can of worms' that was 'Booze Clues' where we get to find out 'whaaaaaat happun!?'
Instead, Jasper slid the phone away, not wanting to gratify last night's ghosts with a 'read' status.

"Only thing y'can count on, ah?" Jasper chirped to no-one in particular in order to strike conversation with any distraction he could find. A lighter hue caught the corner of his vision, reflexively drawn to glance to Dolly, unintentionally, and then double-taking to offer a polite nod and an apathetic smile before stepping onto the train. Clearly he saw, and figured to air out the awkwardness, "I'd give it a three out of ten, not eeeven bleeding~" he teased with the fakest of smarm, angled in an 'at least you're not' tone. Jasper resolved to stand, preferring to feel the bumps in the track holding the pole with the crook of an elbow and the lean of a cocked hip, making it his by law. "Y'ain' actually bleeding, are ya?" their concern an excellent performance, accompanied by the tilt of their head and unfocused eyes peering over their glasses as they actually looked at the floor in a similar direction. They only held this for a moment before looking out the windows to survey the size of the crowd that intended to get on the train.

[Martian]

Roger Conti

Location: Eukary University, Mixed Species Dorm -> Open House Stalls
Interactions: Open

---

The alarm on Roger’s phone went off, but instead of an annoying repetitive sound, the phone started blaring a medley of music from the Rocky Horror Picture Show. The young Capybara always found familiar music as a better means of getting up than loud beeping. So it was to the sweet vocals of Tim Curry that Roger rolled out of bed. As he did so, Roger dropped his red comforter onto the floor of the dorm room.

Sighing, Roger picked it back up before looking across the room at his roommate, seeing that he was still asleep. Not wanting to wake him, Roger tiptoed his way out of the room, towel and toiletries in hand. As Roger made his way to the dorm showers, he passed by both herbivore and carnivore. While some people of species that were traditionally prey might have an issue with living with predators, Roger didn’t mind. He liked to see the best in people, not having any fear of being attacked. In fact he had specifically asked to be in a mixed species dorm.

While this dorm was usually packed, Roger lucked out and found the showers empty. Roger was still not fully used to showering around others, but he had no other choice while living on campus. As the water rushed down his golden fur, he realized that this was perhaps the only time he liked being in water, still disliking the ocean and pools.

Once he cleaned himself up, Roger headed back toward his dorm room. He found his roommate still sleeping, but that wasn’t odd as Roger had gotten up extra early. Today was a special day as the university was having an open house, trying to entice new students and show off the clubs on campus. As a part of the film department, Roger had volunteered to help run the film stall, so he had to get there early to help set up.

To help prepare for this event, Roger had picked out a set of clothing for himself the previous night. He had decided on all black, with a black Night of the Living Dead t-shirt, black jeans, and his custom black running shoes. Once he was fully dressed, Roger grabbed a backpack and threw in some items he thought he might need for the day. Roger then exited his room, and then the dorm entirely.

Roger made his way across the grass outside the dorms, a few people starting to make their way about campus. Roger cut through the middle of the campus to get to where the open house stalls were being set up. By the time he reached the alloted area of the campus, there were already many people working around there, most of the stalls already up.

“Yo, Roger,” someone shouted.

Roger turned to see Marco the Llama, a second year film student.

Roger knew him as a kind upperclassman who was always trying to help the first years. He was also one of the main people volunteering for this event. As part of this open house, the Eukary University film department was showing several student films as part of a makeshift outdoor theater.

While this was exciting for the film department, it was slightly less so for Roger as he was a first year, and all the first years had yet to make their own films. While Roger had made some films in high school, they were drastically amateurish compared to what he could make now. As such he didn’t even mention having them shown.

“Marco, hope I’m not too late,” said Roger as he walked over to the large stall next to the llama.

“Nah, you’re early compared to some,” Marco replied, “I haven’t even heard from Kristi or Niles yet.”

“Huh, you would think they would want to be here on time for like the biggest event of the year for us first years,” chuckled Roger.

Behind the film department stall, Roger could see some other film students setting up a large projector screen in the middle of the grass, as well as several rows of metal folding seats.

“Do you mind helping set up the projector?” asked Marco, “I still don’t know why Professor Harding wanted us to show the films on actual 16mm film.”

“I think it’s cool,” replied Roger as he helped move the actual film projector, “How often is it that most people watch a movie on actual film?”

“And did you guys forget the actual film?” asked a female badger.

As Roger put down the projector, he turned and saw Kristi the Badger, and her on again, off again boyfriend, Niles the Bear. The large brown bear had a large box in his arms, one filled with actual reels of film.

“You thought we forget? Didn’t you?” laughed Kristi, “We were with Professor Harding, making sure all the films were present.”

“Thank you,” replied Roger, “We should have had more faith in you.”

“It’s alright,” stated Niles as he put down the box of film reels, “I know we can we flaky.”

“Who you calling flaky?” asked Kristi as she punched her boyfriend in the arm.

Roger chuckled at the couple’s bickering. The film department were definitely a lively bunch. So the capybara was looking forward to this open house, getting to show some movies, talk film with guests, and maybe even convince someone to join the film department.

[GreysonEA]

Renn Raven
Location: Swallowhouse Apartments/Subway system
Interactions: Open
Mentions:

Renn was already awake when her alarm went off; the phone buzzing on her nightstand although she couldn't hear it through the music blasting through her earbuds. The fight last night had done nothing to settle her nerves and she'd woken up far earlier than necessary, twitching with nervous energy. Originally she tried to get back to sleep but she was restless and that was when she turned her attention to the punching bag in the corner of her room.

She went through the methodical process of wrapping her paws and doing a quick warm-up stretch before completely laying into the faux leather. Thud, Thud, ThudThud, Thud. She matched the tempo and rhythm of her music through the playlist, only stopping when the songs started looping for the third time. She stilled the bag, breathing heavily as she removed the earbuds, only now hearing the alarm that had been going off for the last ten minutes. "Shit." She huffed, scrabbling over to silence it. Thankfully her neighbours didn't seem to mind the noise that was constantly coming from her apartment. She sat on the edge of the bed for a few minutes before resigning herself to the shower and padding through to the bathroom; paw pads quiet on the hardwood flooring. She was glad she'd managed to find an apartment on her own and didn't have to share anything.

The thought of sharing a bathroom once again made her shudder.

Renn showered quickly, not hesitating under the temperamental spray. One minute it could be hot as hell but the next, freezing cold and she didn't want to hang around longer than necessary to experience the latter. Although the shower did remind her of the group home she lived in for a while, it wasn't exactly fond memories.

She dried herself off and sat at the desk to begin the process of removing her sleeper piercings and replacing them with the metal jewellery, finishing off with clipping her usual two chairs to the two hoops at the top of her left ear. The caracal dressed, grabbing a t-shirt featuring a band she barely listened to anymore, a black and white varsity style jacket and a pair of ripped, dark grey jeans, cuffed at the ankles.

She checked herself over in the mirror, patted her pockets down for her essentials, grabbed her backpack snd headed out to the street for the short walk to the subway system. As much as she hated public transport, it was going to ve the quickest way to the university.

She tapped her card in and joined the swarm towards the platform, scowling as a much larger feline pushed past. "Hey! Watch it, dumbass." She growled under her breath and stormed past, positioning herself towards the end of the platform in hopes of avoiding the crush.

[Argetlam350]

Zaina 'Zee' Allaires

On Campus, among the many stalls and stands

---

Zaina made her way through the crowds with relative ease due to her size which made most smaller creatures move out of the way, especially the herbivores. Despite the school being all inclusive and wanting to be a place to mingle between predators and herbivores, there was still some hostilities on either side. For the most part Zaina hardly payed attention to the animals around her. Her plan was to just look around but eventually she found herself in the middle of an arm wrestling contest, something done up by one of the sports clubs. Needless to say it was something up her alley and a chance to knock a few hot shots down a few pegs was always a good time for her. She gave a toothy grin to her competitor she was paired for her first round, a bear of some form who gulped as she did giving a close mouth smile back hesitantly before gripping her hand. Feeling his grip, she had no doubt she'd win the round. Perhaps the day wouldn't be terrible after all.

[Appalo]

Eddie Hartmann

Location: Open House Stalls
Mention: @Martian

---

Eddie arrived in New York City a few weeks prior. His parents had bought him an apartment in the heart of New York where he should be staying for his undergrad, but he went behind their back and bought a dorm room instead. They can’t blame him since living in the dorms is part of the college experience, and the apartment they got him was overkill with 5 beds and 6 baths encompassing an entire floor of the apartment building. Only two of the rooms were currently occupied, one by him, can the other by his bodyguard Jack Spade, a large tiger shark with an authority complex. He was originally his mother’s guard, but he came with Eddie to America as one of the many stipulations his parents made. The other big one is that he had to inform Jack if he were to were to leave campus, which is is about to blatantly ignore.

With no classes for the day and so much time to kill, Eddie decided to go see the city. It would be his first time since moving here. He would also be fulfilling a childhood dream of him to see New York. As a child he could barely walk due to his cancer, and now that he had a pair of strong legs, he plans to never sit still again.

Eddie quickly showered, got dressed, then headed out to see the city. Stepping out of the subway was like stepping into another world. He was awestruck. There were so many people of every species. It was loud and noisy and everything he imagined New York city to be. Eddie spent the next hour walking around, sightseeing, and buying a stupid amount of overpriced New York merch. He eventually stopped by Ess-a-Bagel and got one of every type of bagel for an early morning snack. He also picked up some food for Roger and his film crew since he planned on stopping by his booth shortly. When he was little, it was hard to hold down any food due to chemotherapy so it was mainly soup and liquid foods. Now that he can eat again, he plans to try everything he can, starting with Bagels which are apparently famous in New York City.

After picking up his bagels, he began to head toward the subway. Despite being here for a few weeks now, the subway still terrified him. There are so many people packed into a small space, and due to his large size, he often got yelled at for taking up so much space or stepping on someone's tail or something. There was also that very real fear of stepping on someone smaller them him since he cannot see anything past his knee. After a lot of effort and a lot of insults, he managed to make it back to campus.

Eddie began walking around, looking at all the clubs and departments before arriving at the film department’s booth “Good morning,” Eddie said with a wave. Eddie had started learning English when he was very little, so he had no trouble stringing words together. The only problem is his thick Swiss-German accent which often made it hard for others to understand. He can only hope he's not embarrassing himself. No one has yet to mention his accent, which he interoperate as good sign he hoped.

“Are you guys hungry? I got bagels. Feel free to take as many as you want,” Eddie held up the big containing several dozens of bagels. He thought he could eat all of them, but that was way too ambitious. He barely got through 6 before getting full. Then again, the portions here in the states are abnormally big.

"How are things going for you guys? Did you find any students interested in the film department?" Eddie asked Roger.

[False Prophet]

Pascal "Dolly" Harper

Location: Platform -> train
Mentions: @Lumiere
Interactions: Open

---

“Just internally,” Dolly assured while rubbing the side of his face with a pink paw. He was sure it was going to bruise. Well, at least having fur hid it well. He was used to the feeling, anyway. Many of his escapades ended with the mouse getting damaged in some way. It was nobody else’s business. He could take whatever was thrown at him. So why couldn’t he make his nose stop twitching? Despite his composure, that single detail revealed just how shaken up he was.

He stepped onto the train after allowing the other passengers to exit. He was a little…tired? Annoyed? Whatever. Something about having to share the train with such a smartass rabbit made him feel...irked. He couldn’t even get some respect from his fellow rodents. No, no, it wasn’t the joke that upset him… He could take a joke. His life was a joke. It was the legitimate concern that made Dolly feel so utterly irritated (at least more than usual). He let out a sigh before hopping onto an unoccupied seat. Some cars had seats sized for smaller creatures. This subway car was not one of them. His shoes didn’t even graze the ground as he sat.

Dolly would’ve liked to gain some respect and stand by holding the metal pole. Nothing he wasn’t familiar with, anyway. Still, he knew a sudden lurch forward or jerk back would send him tumbling. He didn’t need that again. Ugh… That same, stupid rabbit was standing up, though. It almost felt like a personal attack. “Oh, look at me. We are both small, and yet that doesn’t stop me. But you? That’s all you are.” At least, that’s what he was able to gather from the sight. Just looking at it was an insult. Maybe that was just the mouse’s bruised ego talking… Regardless, Dolly bit his tongue and continued to behave as customary in New York- socially withdrawn and generally unfriendly.

It was most certainly a population thing. Dolly came from a podunk town in Texas. Everybody knew everybody, and they were kind to each other. He preferred that kind of kindness. It was customary and expected. It did not swell up from a place of pity or concern for him. City life could be fun, but there was no equality in it. Or maybe the mouse was trying to dig up some excuse to blame for making it so unfulfilling. Whatever. He’d finish school and get a proper job in a proper town. Preferably a place where he didn’t have to get worried about being kicked down half a flight of stairs.

Meanwhile, not far off in the subway tunnel….

Hiro Kimura

Location: Subway Platform
Mentions: @GreysonEA
Interactions: Open

---

It was one of those days where Hiro couldn’t get the taste of blood out of his mouth. He’d smoked a few cigarettes to try and quell his desires, but not even that could stop him from salivating. Eventually he’d managed to fall into a hazy sleep for… It couldn’t have been more than two hours. He’d found that staying unconscious for long amounts of time was difficult. That’s what he got for not keeping up a sleep schedule. Now he had to get back into school- hell, he was in school. Sometimes it didn’t feel like it.

The snow leopard needed to catch the train to get to class. Yes, class, all while dressed in nothing but an undershirt and a pair of dull basketball shorts. He didn’t have time to waste on outfit coordination. Besides, he had too much fur to bother with being stylish, anyway. His shoulders were scruffy, and his long mop of hair was messily tied back in a vain attempt to keep it out of his eyes. He didn’t scream “academically capable” as much as “divorced alcoholic”. At least he wasn’t divorced. The alcoholism thing was a minor issue he was working on. Just a wrinkle that needed to be ironed out…somehow. How was he supposed to iron out the massive collection of character flaws that wrinkled his personality when he had so many? Drinking aside, he was actually kind of alright in his classes. He understood the material, he just couldn’t muster up the will to do it sometimes. Maybe one day things’ll click.

Oh, yeah. Hiro was on the subway. Some harsh words from a royally peeved gal made the feline focus on where he was. Train. Yeah. He should work on that. Mistake aside, he found Raven’s attitude to be unnecessary. Seriously? It was an accident. He actually did not enjoy brushing up against strangers while underground, but he was too broke to taxi everywhere or own a car. Bumping into people always happened to larger animals like himself. It was almost autopilot when he finally spoke up.

“Sorry,” the big cat grunted with a flick of his ear. He seemed unbothered. Shit like this wasn’t that uncommon. Unless she freaked out, in which case he would, too. For some reason, only insane people took the subway. This was why Hiro was waiting patiently for the train on the platform

[Lumiere]

Jasper Lanes

Location: Train
Mentions: @False Prophet
Interactions: Open

---

There came a long moment of awkward silence as people flooded in and got situated and as comfortable as the accommodations would allow. Everyone bumped everyone and it was a heckin' riot of an endeavor. Tall as he was, the handholds, above, were out of the question unless he wanted to dangle for the ride. Spry and of a mantra, 'got two working legs, it'd be a shame to waste them,' he preferred to stand, should anyone need a seat, more.
Arguably, from what he'd seen, the smol mouse was certainly in need of a seat. Jasper's expression contemplatively softened while his attention shifted directly onto the mouse. Their pupils seemed to sharpen as he idly and intentionally gave Dolly a proper look over from feet to face, lingering on the vaguely swollen cheek.

With a click of their tongue and a sigh, Jasper swung his backpack around and unzipped it with his left hand enough to fish through the small cooler section of his lunchbox. The slim can from the minifridge would have to suffice, for now, as he casually offered the folded ice pack. Faded text betrayed its age, having supposedly come from an oral surgeon office, once upon a time. "Ah good. Left the bacitracin at home, anyway," they curtly chirped, a comedic sneer in their expression to imply 'maybe the fall wasn't that bad' even as they sincerely passed off the ice pack. "People these days, ah? Run right into ye'n are the first ta give ya some canned advice than an apology, even," Jasper tried to commiserate, the soft growls of his rant kept at an intimate volume lest the perpetrator be amongst the crowd and take offence to being called out. With a sigh, their composure smoothed back out as they had been staring off into space, idly drawing their phone and holding it low to start it up enough to notice the notifications and then put it away, once more, with the disposition of a smoker trying to quit. It otherwise could come off as simply checking the time.

[Argetlam350]

Zaina 'Zee' Allaires

On Campus, competing for world championship arm wrestling

---

Zaina worked her way through her competitors with relative ease. Most were other carnivores, having yet to go against any herbivores, mostly due to very few being around and those that were, were paired in another weight class as even for being large for her species, she could never take on an elephant or rhino. Her reign of terror against sore arms was brought to an end by a polar bear, or at least they claimed they were a polar bear. She would bet on him being a hybrid of polar bear and grizzly bear as she worked with one at the club and definitely shared similar features. In any case she had had her fun and gave a hard shake to her competitor before returning to the sea of stands and other students to see what other trouble she could get in, if there was any form of fun things to do.

[Martian]

Roger Conti

Location: Eukary University, Open House Stalls
Interactions: Eddie @Appalo

---

Roger delicately opened the tripod on which the vintage 16mm projector sat. He knew that if he broke it he would owe the school several hundred dollars, and that was only if the school could find a working projector from a nearby seller. Shipping something as delicate as a retro film projector would also add quite a bit of cost to replacing it.

But Roger pushed those thoughts of the worst possible scenario out of his mind as he finished setting up the projector. Across the grassy field, Marco was just finishing up with putting the projector screen up. And with Niles, Kristi, and several other film students unfolding the many metal chairs for the audience. While Roger wanted to be positive and think that they would get a full house, he did wonder how many people would actually sit down to watch student films.

But Roger’s musings were interrupted by a good morning in a familiar European accent. The Capybara turned to see Eddie the Bernese Mountain Dog, his new roommate, waving at him. Roger waved back as he considered how great a roommate he was compared to his first one. When Roger had started at Eukary University, his roommate was a pot dealing Mountain Goat. He never kept his half of the room clean, and made drug deals in their room. Luckily for Roger he got kicked out of the University. And then a week after that he was replaced by Eddie, as the Bernese Mountain Dog had started in the middle of the semester.

What Roger knew about Eddie was limited, just knowing that he was from a rich Swiss family. Also he had a scary bodyguard. But Eddie seemed to have shaken off his bodyguard as he approached the stalls of the open house. In Roger’s roommate’s hands was a large bag, indicating he had actually gone into the city proper. As far as Roger knew, this was his first time.

Eddie then revealed that the bag was full of bagels and offered them to all the gathered film students. As Eddie opened the bag, Roger saw that there were literally dozens of bagels inside.

As Roger took an everything bagel he said, “While I appreciate the generosity, you might have gone a little overboard.”

“Speak for yourself,” stated Niles the Bear as he grabbed several bagels.

“You said it hon,” added Kristi the Badger as she took just as many bagels.

Roger laughed slightly before taking a bite of the bagel. It was quite good, meaning that Eddie had found one of the better bagel shops in the city. As Roger was done about half of it, Eddie asked how the booth was doing.

“Well, it’s still really early, so no one has really shown up and asked about the film department,” stated Roger, “But I’m sure people will be interested. We haven’t even started showing the student films. We’re supposed to wait on Professor Harding before we can start up the projector.”

“That does make me question, where is Professor Harding?” interjected Marco the Llama.

“I think I saw him outside the film storage room,” answered a Fox, one of the film students Roger didn’t really know, “Said something about looking his best.”

“He does realize that this is an open house, not a red carpet,” chuckled Kristi in between bites of bagels.

Roger then turned to Eddie as he finished his bagel, “Well you’re welcome to hang with us until Harding shows up. That is unless you ended up deciding to work at the business or pharmaceutical stalls?”

Roger felt bad that he hadn’t inquired with his roommate about his plans for the open house beforehand. Roger had been so enraptured in working with the film department, that he had neglected to even ask. A feeling of awkwardness overtook Roger as he looked at Eddie. Not wanting to remain in silence, Roger decided to speak up.

“Is it cool if I take another bagel?”

[GreysonEA]

Renn Raven
Location: Subway system
Interactions: Open
Mentions: @False Prophet, @Lumiere

Renn flicked her ears at the half-assed apology, rolling her eyes as she stormed off. Animals of that size needed to watch where they were going - or at least move with more of a purpose.

She forced herself to relax, being this tightly wound wasn't a good thing and she at least wanted to enjoy the day. She hadn't been able to explore the clubs around campus as much as she would have liked in her first few weeks - class had been taking it out of her and she had point-blank refused to quit, or even cut down, on training or fights so for three evenings a week she would be at the gym, one would be spent at an above-board boxing match and one would be spent at a less-than-legal backstreet MMA fight. Leaving two evenings to study and recover and her days filled with lectures and studio time.

She was sure as hell going to regret taking on so much in a month.

She shook herself out of her thoughts as the subway train pulled up, joining the mass of animals piling into the cars and snagging herself a seat. She spared a glance at the pale furred rodent next to her who seemed to be in a rather one-sided conversation with a rabbit nearby, one near enough draped around the handhold pole, before busying herself with her phone, flicking absently through her music until she found something she was in the mood for and tapping quietly against her leg to the beat.

The caracal glanced around and briefly caught sight of the lumbering feline from earlier. She half hoped he wasn't headed in her direction.

[vertigh0st]

August Weiss
Locations: Eukary University - Mixed Species Dorm
Interactions: Taurus Altobelli
Mentions: @GreysonEA

"Everything's got a place. It changes from time to time. Y'know to keep things interesting." August grins, slinging his towel over his shoulder as he waits for the bull. Once Taurus was ready, August led them out of their room and set off at an easy pace to the showers.

"Oh, yeah? We'll have to swing by and check it out." Even though The Warren was predominantly a herbivore hangout, August preferred it over The Wolf Pack. The atmosphere was more inviting and- well, he had a particular fondness for one of the bartenders.

"Nothing in particular really. Maybe the film booth. Those guys usually have some pretty cool stuff." He muses, turning his head to glance up at his much taller roommate. The canine opened his mouth to add to his precious statement but promptly shut it at Taurus' quick recoil. August gave no outward reaction quickly, fixing up his poker face as the student passed them.

Well, if he wasn't awake before, he certainly was now.

August shoots the bull a look- brows raised in surprise with a mischievous grin upon his face. A close call for sure but, really no harm done. He gives Taurus a playful nudge with his elbow as if to break up the tension as he dashes the short distance to the showers. "C'mon Altobelli. We better get a move on before they run out of free samples!" The best thing about Open House was the free food and no one could convince him otherwise.

[Lumiere]

"Jazz"

Location: Eukary University - Open House Stalls (Current time)
Mentions: None of note
Interactions: Open

---

A doberman in a nerdy tweed sweater-vest and button-up stepped out of the unisex bathroom, recomposing their attire and crossing the hall to slip a bill into the vending machine. A hand in their pocket and head drifting, suspiciously, side to side as they pretended to make a choice, they punched a few options, having paid for more than a single drink, already. Footsteps rang around them of strangers and those who would probably be sharing seats next to them in classes, enough to make the motions nervous yet intentional in a 'what would a normal person do to not draw attention' manner.
Taking the two iced teas and giving them a shake, he handed one to the bunny who sighed a huff as they took the bottle and-

'Jazz' offered the doberman a wink after being handed the iced tea, letting it swing between their fingers as he strolled off towards the stalls with a pinch of spending cash. It wasn't like a carnival or a state fair that he was used to, but 'Jazz' knew these faces and preachings to be that of soulless carnies pinching pennies. The only real difference was the scam involved filling your head full of shit you don't need and opinions no sane person wanted.
So the cynical skeptic was off, delighting with a glow of recent satisfaction and an iced tea to boot! Consciously wrestling their expression down to a respectful neutrality as not to offend the tellers and mountebanks, the shameless 'Jazz' casually schmoozed their way, with feinted interest, towards free samples and other displays, seeing the run-up as more of a renaissance festival by comparison to what they arrogantly considered 'real education'.

Checking the phone

Jasper, maybe reflexively, slid their phone from their pocket to open the screen, swiping in the password and clicking the spot to avail messages before it even reached his eyes. Pacing to the side of the stalls, their eyes met, first, with the name of the Ex, a few spaces down from the top...the last message having been sent from himself weeks ago. Weasel Tom had a big 'a bit extra' spat of self-contempt expressed through what Jasper could only contrive to be rap lyrics, though the music and cadence were lost and the wall of text was...unworthy of attention, to say the least. Since Tom decided to follow Jasper into the night, a lazy "Hey how u doooin?" had garnished them the top of the list as of a handful of hours ago, likely before he passed out.

Jasper left this how it was, Tom would likely be the one to bother him, anyway, and his bigger issue was from Ms. Dodgerton. She was curious if Jasper could invite a few of his big handsome friends to help haul salt to the water softener before rain turned the bags into bricks. Leaving this unanswered, since he wholly expected to do this, alone, he groaned as he tapped the third line...and held, to delete the conversation without reading it.

'Libris Aldishard' sent another image, a salacious screenshot of a leonid torso rippling with chiseled abs and pecs, crunched down from compression to look like a shitty stack of waffles. Deleting it without a thought, Jasper simply hoped THIS time that vain jackass would get the hint and silence would speak for itself. Not only was the cretin hopelessly arrogant and violently toxic, but the tone of the messages Jasper glanced made it seem like their insecurities bordered on self-destructive. Pitiable, but unworthy of attention. Sometimes people are 'bad' because they are thus, and cannot be helped. Sometimes, these people just seek attention in order sink their hooks and drag others down to their level.......no matter how attractive they may be, people are still just people.
Jasper wasn't one to judge in this context; he was also far from a saint and had no interest in helping their douchebag stalker through personal problems he could only speculate on...

Responding to Ms. Dodgerton, Jasper said that his friends were in town for the weekend before 'shipping out' again, and he left it at that, offering his service, personally, to his landlord, with a vaguely professional yet respectful tact.
...only reason he had the place was due to his charm, anyway. No sense letting a bad day bleed into unaffiliated interactions.

Puffing out their cheeks with an exhale through their front teeth in a soft whistle, Jasper gently swore and then silenced themselves with a swig of the bottled iced tea. In order to sell the excuse of being away all day, he took his time roaming the stalls, drifting back to the 'Studio Arts' section a few times.
Contemplatively reflecting on the display, he weighed his own talent with a keyboard, sure that a class couldn't possibly be so complicated as to eat up all of his oh-so valuable time as a socialite and general degenerate.

[Argetlam350]

Zaina 'Zee' Allaires

On Campus, designated food court area

Zaina sat in an area designated as a food court. She gnawed on a false bone, looking like a large cigar between her lips while she consumed it. She had checked out most of the clubs that would be of any interest, even the gaming one, a secret hobby she didn't like revealing about herself being a bit of a nerd for video games, especially fighters. Now she contemplated what she should do next. Her usual friends had their own clubs that they were currently working booths for so she had to find her own ways to pass the time.