"You didn't notice Louis while you were gone?..." San's eyebrows ran together. "I'm  worried. I thought he might have whisked you away..."

"But instead it was our big wolf boy, eh?" Pina teased.

"Legoshi helped me when I needed it." You admitted. There was no need to go flaunting what had happened the night before; besides, love confession aside, there was technically no change in you relationship. You weren't dating. Nor were you suddenly a lovey couple in public.

Now that you thought about it, he actually hadn't even hardly spoke to you since you took him to the infirmary. And you were standing in the tent together.

Your ears flattened at the thought. Things don't magically change. Legoshi's moment of courage was just that... a moment. He looked over at you and smiled. Instinctively, you smiled back. Okay, maybe we can be a bit more honest with each other...

"So, Juno, is there something up?" Dom inquired as he put the finishing touch on her make-up, "Is there any special reason why you'd want to change your make-up right on the day of the performance?"

"I may be a stand in for Louis, but I'm still the star of this performance. Even if I am a female, as the star I should try and look more menacing, yes?"

"You know, I think you're right." Dom nodded. "We love a strong female character."

Kai rolled his eyes as Legoshi kept trying to help.

"The performance is starting soon. Legoshi, you can go out once you finish carrying all those boxes." The mongoose spoke to the wolf calmly.

"Huh, why?" He wanted to help.

"Don't give me that. I can't let you take care of the spotlight while you're bruised and beat up." Legoshi protested, but Kai shook his head. "I don't want any more shit to deal with, okay? I'm not alone on this. Every one else feels the same way. Don't you have more important things to do??"

"Yeah, we got a lot of stuff to worry about; sudden changes in plans, Louis..." Kibi explained as he helped Els get ready. "Just enjoy yourself then. Really. Go."

Your friends looked at you, as if begging you to take him out to enjoy himself.

"Who's the stand-in, then?" Legoshi asked.

"Don't do listen to anyone?" Juno lightly scolded him. "Me. And the Meteor Festival will be a success for sure. I've made some slight changes to my costume and make-up. We have fifteen minutes left until the performance start... I wanted to talk to everyone before then. There have been many troubling events as of late, and even Louis, the star of the drama club, is not here with us. But it's for that very reason that we should take our hands together and give everyone the best performance they have ever seen!" Her hand held Legoshi's, inspiring a circle of unity. "Maybe there will be a huge change from here on out.But still, if we all just have a good time dancing, I think the show will be a success. So let's give it our all!"

Sanu nodded as the rest of the animals gained a bit more confidence.

"Huh... so you're going to be Louis' stand-in..." Legoshi was still processsing it.

"Yes. Everyone thought I was the best choice."

I'm sure there was some manipulation involved... You sat glowering at the make-up station, with nothing to do. You figured Legoshi would invite you out soon. You even hoped that maybe he'd suggest lighting a candle.

"I feel like I'm closer to your height in heels..." Juno droned on, when suddenly Legoshi's eyes changed.

"Good luck! I'll cheer you on... I gotta go!"

"Lego--" You started to stand to ask him where he was going. But he was already gone.