Legosi opened the door to the Canine Environment Room. Every species present at the Cherryton Academy had a dedicated room of their own. Studies have shown that mammals who were away from their natural environment for extended periods were more likely to get aggressive and unruly, so to counter this effect, the school board decided to use rooms imitating a variety of habitats for every species. Every student and teacher was required to spend two hours every second day in the room designed for their own species.

The Canine Room was one of the few places where Legosi could actually think clearly. His dorm was the second-best for that. Even if more people had access to it, he rarely found anyone here. The rooms were designed to be used whenever one had a free schedule, as long as they kept in line with the prescribed two hours every second day.

The room was as usual, empty. Legosi had learned by visiting it at many different times a day, which times it was a place of freedom and solitude versus when it was crowded and restrictive. Legosi sat down in one of the few rows of benches that occupied the Canine Room. The walls were full of murals of forests, and hanging from the ceiling was a large spherical lamp, painted to look like the moon. Even with the ridiculous setup that poorly mimicked a forest at night, it was a place of serenity, leaving all the stress outside of the room.

Feeling tranquil, he leaned back and let out a long sigh. All his muscles relaxing, he closed his eyes. For a fleeting moment, he forgot about everything around him, just peacefully existing.

"This room sure is nice," Juno's lovely scent and beautiful voice hit him all at the same time. He opened his eyes, seeing that she had sat herself right next to him. The she-wolf had closed her eyes as well, smiling while she breathed slowly and rhythmically.

"Oh... hi, Juno," the wolf greeted her. Her amethyst eyes looked into his. They both lost themselves for a second, nothing else was left in the world but each other. She was the one to look away first, noticeably blushing.

"You wanted to ask me something, right?" Her words softly entered his ears, her voice was the only other thing he heard beside his quickening heartbeat. Damn it, how does one speak again?

"I-I was J-J-Just thinking..." The wolf was stuttering worse than before. He swallowed the blockage that had begun to form in his throat. "H-How are you fitting in?" Legosi composed himself. The happiness he felt in the moment just being able to talk with her was just too much to hide, his tail wagging uncontrollably. Unnoticed by him, Juno's tail was wagging just as much.
Her fruity scent smelled even stronger and more pleasant than before.

"I'm fitting in really well, actually!" she exclaimed happily. "Everybody's just been super nice. The other actors in the drama club are all so kind and friendly, and the Art Department has been great too." Juno's voice was like music to his ears.

"I'm really happy you like it here," Legosi spoke softly. Juno looked at him.

"The work of the Art department should not go by unnoticed, the costumes look phenomenal." Legosi smiled at the compliment.

"We all work tirelessly to make the play look as good as possible." He was being modest. To put it more accurately, they didn't really have another option, as Louis never went for anything less than perfect. The wolf continued the conversation, asking Legosi about the school, his friends, and his personal life. If it was up to Legosi, the moment should never end...

Legosi had begun to lose track of time. Eventually, everyone else had left, and it was just the two of them. The 2 wolves have talked non-stop the entire time they were in the room together, but then a group of Freshmen arrived, and they decided that they've been there long enough and should probably leave.

"Well, this was fun... would you like to take a walk?." Juno proposed. The idea of continuing the conversation in any way delighted him.

"Yeah, of course!"

The pair made their way, walking about the school campus until they finally decided to sit down on a bench, watching the sunset together. Legosi had to think back to the first moment he met her... the crying wolf at the fountain. "Hey, Juno?"

"Yes?"

"What happened before I found you at the fountain?" Her expression changed. Her smile quickly morphed into a frown. The sudden change in her mood made him regret asking the question, but he still wanted to know.

"Well... I'm still new to this school and all. It was, of course, just after the murder of that poor alpaca..." Her referencing Tem made Legosi even sadder. His murder just made everyone's life worse. "Because everyone knew that a carnivore did it... this Fox and coyote decided to attack me. Making fun of me, calling me names and saying how I murdered Tem." She sighed and just shook her head. Without much thought to it, Legosi leaned in to hug her. At first, Juno was surprised, but quickly became accepting of it, choosing to rest her head on his shoulder. They just remained for some time. Both of them needed the hug more than they thought they would.

Legosi slowly let her go... "Those idiots were just trying to get the attention off of them. They just wanted an easy target to put all the blame on," he comforted her.

"Thank you, Legosi." Appreciation replaced sadness, and she was glad to have met the wolf beside her. By now, the sun had completely disappeared, the red shade of the sky slowly dying down, being replaced by the dark shades of blue and black the nights brought with them. "I should really get going now," the wolfess said, a feeling of peace surrounding her. "I'll see you tomorrow... Goodnight."

Legosi said his goodbyes and sat there for a little while longer. He really liked her, and as he started to suspect, maybe she liked him too. Legosi stared at the night sky, basking in the pale moonlight. Eventually, he went back to his Dormitory, exhausted, but it was all worth it.

When he arrived at his dorm, Jack was still awake, reading on his bed. Noticing that Legosi had returned, he looked up happily. "Good evening," the retriever said, greeting his friend.

"Hey, Jack." Sleepiness was present in his voice.

"You seem tired. Was Drama club exhausting for you today?" The retriever asked.

"You could say that... yeah."

"Well then..." the retriever put his book away and closed his curtains. "Sweet dreams."

Legosi thought about Louis's words once again. Why was the deer jealous of him? For what? Him being a Carnivore? The concept was still hard to understand. Albeit being a stressful day, Legosi went to sleep with relative ease. He just needed to figure out how to tell Juno how he really felt, but he had time to think about that tomorrow. He yawned and shut his curtains, drifting off into a refreshing deep sleep...