"Wait wait wait, excuse me?" Cooper, on the contrary, lost any confidence he had when Noah was around. The lack of a carnivore brought the opposite effect on him as it did most herbivores. A huge rhino passed by him, and he almost jumped out of the way. Fortunately, nobody noticed. Smaller herbivores, rabbits, skunks, guinea pigs- they walked through and around his legs, giving no thought to rhyme or reason. As far as Cooper was concerned, a stampede from this hungry bunch was more dangerous than any single carnivore.

"No thanks, Ms. Chanelle. I'm comfortable with the least amount of unpredictable confrontation possible. In debate, I can argue from the safety of my stand. That's as far as I'll go." He tried to sound confident. He raised his head and pulled his shoulders back, the way he'd been taught to. It was the most proper way. He looked ridiculous, taking both movements to exaggerated points. Chanelle looked more surprised than bothered. Any and every other herbivore she could ask would sign up immediately. What was with this strange deer?

Because of the look on her face, he decided to give her an explanation. "Look, I'm not waging war against carnivores by saying I'd destroy them in a fight." Cooper assumed that was what she meant, considering she saw him 'deal' with Noah. A fox slipped by, his face filled with judgment. He was dressed even classier than Cooper. "War against carnivores? From one small deer?" He muttered, eyes narrowed. Chanelle shot him a quick glare, and the fox kept moving. There was a tension between them, Cooper could feel it. But he ignored it, because he knew neither of them. In his opinion, there was no need to get involved in everyone else's business.

The gazelle sighed. Her eyes honed in on Cooper. "Give me a chance to change your mind. You can be a leader, you know. A voice for the unheard. An action for the weak," She tapped her muzzle, a knowing grin on her face. "Meet me in conference room B at midnight.

The deer hung his head. She just didn't understand. He should have lead with one thought. "You don't get it, ma'am. Noah is my best frie-" When he looked back, she was gone. There was nothing but a flood of herbivores, voices filling the room and bodies movies all over the place. The segregated lunch room was so full, Cooper had to flee just to catch a breath of air. Even when he managed to escape the primary room, though, he could not see the fair gazelle. She'd vanished.

"Expen, I know it's nothing personal." Noah combed a paw through the fur on his head. He didn't gel it, but it was admittedly a little spiked. He liked it that way, so he toyed with it to keep it like that.

"I just don't want you to feel like you're being replaced. You're important to me, Noah." The voice on the speakerphone belonged to a lifelong friend of Noah's. They hadn't seen each other in a long time, though. The friend, Expen, didn't go the the same university. Animals who didn't attend weren't allowed on campus for anything other than fundraisers.

"I told him to hang out with her. He needs a girlfriend. Maybe she'll make him feel like a 'real deer', or something." It was true, in Noah's opinion. Cooper really needed a girlfriend. That deer was awesome, but too dependent on his buddy.

As much as Noah wanted to hang out with his friend, he knew that it would also mean a lot of judgment for Cooper. That could drive anyone crazy after a long enough time, and nobody would help a deer who went mad because of judgment. The herbivores would hate him for spending all that time with a carnivore, and the carnivores would hate him for taking advantage of his easy position as a prey animal.

Expen wouldn't understand that so easily. Not when he didn't know Cooper personally. Most animals didn't know that deer the way the panther did. "Why, pray tell, does he need a girlfriend so badly? Isn't he a fancy valedictorian type? I thought he wanted a great future in a career field, not a great future as a husband. So why a girlfriend? He could always find a 'herd', you know. That would be good for him, too."

It was a good question, but Noah couldn't give a clear answer. It was too personal. "Sorry. I can't tell you why. That's not my story to tell. I've got to respect his secrets." He explained. His whiskers twitched, his ears perked. He heard familiar steps coming down the hall. These steps were light, and quick. They were Cooper's.

"Fair enough. That's alright. We've all had bad relationships before." Expen chuckled. It was true, in a way, that a bad relationship was the reason Cooper didn't have a girlfriend. There was a lot more heat involved than there should have been, so it ended in flames.

"You know, guys, if you want to talk about crash-and-burn relationships," A deer popped into the bedroom, grinning as he did. It wasn't intrusive in any way, because the dorm they shared had the room connected to the hall, and the kitchen connected to the room. There were no private spaces. "There was this one cougar that Noah was very interested in, in middle school, and let me tell you, she-"

"Hey! No! We made a deal not to talk about that!" Noah yelped. His claws extended toward Cooper, his fangs bared. The embarrassed panther had no effect on the deer, who kept smiling. There was no fear in this room.

"Really? That sounds like a story to hear. I'll have to meet you in person at some point, Cooper." Expen's laughter echoed through the shared room.

"Sounds good." Cooper had already kicked off his shoes. He changed while Noah focused on his cellphone. "You know we live to torment you, housecat."

Almost as though Cooper wasn't there, Expen continued speaking. "I wish I had that kind of deep connect with an herbivore. I'm trying right now to build one up, but I know it's never going to be like what you two having going on. You're an impressive team." The disembodied voice seemed longing, but encouraging.

"What, I'm not good enough for you?" Noah teased. He had a pout on his face, but it turned into a grin when he turned to see Cooper. The deer had his vest stuck on his antlers. Changing was a struggle. "Ha! You know better than to wear anything but button-ups when you've got antlers, Coop. Hold still, I'm comin'." The panther set the phone down. He towered over the deer. Without a flinch, and even with Noah's huge fangs right in front of his face, Cooper held still. It wasn't a trance-like still, but a calm, easy stance.

Secretly, Cooper wanted to wear the vest because it made him look bigger. Wearing multiple layers of clothing would do that for anyone. But being a little white-tailed deer, it was embarrassing in such an integrated school. Even if he went to an all-deer school it would be. He would still be one of the smaller ones; and he was finished growing. No young man wanted to stay the 'cute' or 'tiny' one. Not to say he didn't want to be himself, but... well, admittedly, sometimes he stole Noah's stuff just so he would appear larger than he was.

"We'll chill later, Expen. I've got a moody buck to deal with." Noah purred, while Cooper marched into the kitchen. "At least you didn't get your antlers stuck when you were out with that babe, right? Tell me about your date, dude! She was pretty hot, for an antelope. You've got another date, right? I told you not to blow it." The cat playfully punched his friend in the arm. It caused Cooper to stumble. The overwhelming strength of a large carnivore compared to a small herbivore... it was something amazing and terrible for both of them.