When Noah caught up on the now-familiar scent of fear, he stopped. He glanced back at Cooper, whose tail was pricked up while his ears drooped. The source of this fear was evident. Right in front of Cooper was a big, bad... woman.

"Hey Cooper!" The gazelle smiled at him. She had beautiful blonde fur, a pink dress, and an enchanting smile. Her golden eyes matched the hoops in her ears. She was a very fine thing to look at. That meant Cooper would have no idea what to do. Especially since she knew his name, but he didn't know hers.

"Do you want to maybe grab lunch together?" The young woman offered her hoof for him to shake. Her tone of voice brought about a sense of meekness. That made sense, she was just a little ewe. Many small herbivores spoke quietly, or acted reserved. If one was born small, the best way to survive was to stay small. "No thanks, I just ate in the integrated per-"

"He means yes, ma'am." Noah intervened. His buddy needed help. The look of bashful surprise on the stag's face shifted to one of horror and betrayal. Noah thought it was funny. "Welp, see you later."

"Don't you dare ditch. I will not be left alone with her, housecat." Cooper whispered through gritted teeth. His hooves trembled at his sides. "That hurts. Why should I stay, Coop?" The smirk on the panther's face told the deer he was to be abandoned. "You know I can't talk to girls." Why did he say the one thing that'd keep him trapped there?

"Exactly!" That was settled. "Have a nice second lunch, Coop! Courtesy of me, the housecat." Now as Noah spoke, he was already halfway down the hall. "Don't blow your first shot."

While the whole thing went down, the gazelle saw a different story. Something she'd never seen before. A lowly, meek, prey animal, standing up to its natural predator. A deer staring death straight into fangs, and speaking out against the one who had them. This was going to be more interesting than she'd imagined. What she saw was the seedling of courage. If cultivated, she knew it could lead to a revolution.

"I'm Chanelle, lead editor and director of the university's 'Daily Gazelle'." Cooper noticed that her tone had shifted. Perhaps it was because the panther was gone, or maybe she had him trapped. Either way, she sounded serious.

Cooper felt his face warm when he realized that this was definitely not a date. It should've been obvious from the beginning; she was way out of his league. "At first, I was going to ask for an interview for our debate column," The gazelle's voice brought him back to his thoughts. "Then you realized I was a dorky weirdo and I should leave?" His embarrassment could be well-hidden behind a joke. "You're a funny little buck, but no."

"The way you dealt with that panther has me thinking," She paced around, heels clacking against the ground. Cooper had no idea what she meant. He hadn't 'dealt with' Noah. He was the one left behind. "This could be a huge underdog story! I can see the headlines now, 'Confident deer takes on aggressive panther and wins. Debate club strengthened in more ways than one.' That would be a huge win for us." Chanelle shot a hoof at Cooper's face, adorning a radiant smile. "Whaddya say? Do you want to be the face of all herbivores who need the boost to stand against the threats they face every day?" How did this go from a pretty girl showing up to being asked to be the figurehead of all the university's herbivores?

(That's quite a responsibility! How would YOU fare in his position?

I dunno! Have a blessed day!)