"You said she's even a feline, right? A leopard? Your parents must love her. I know they were scared because you always liked to play rough with the little plant-eaters." Expen was amused. It wasn't humorous to Noah.

"Ha-ha. Very funny." The feline rolled his eyes. "I can always hang up on you, you know. You know outsiders aren't allowed on campus 'til at least SaFeTy DaY." He tried to joke, but he himself was off-campus at the moment. His girlfriend wasn't a student at the university, but a woman with a career.

"You mean 'ha-ha, very true'. And I have no problem waiting. You know I'm a patient animal. I believe you'll like it better if I don't come embarrass you in person, though."

"I'm glad you're with a leopard girl, though," The voice on the phone paused. Noah could feel it. He was about to get picked on again. "And here I thou- here I thought you'd end up marrying a hippo!"

"Fo-for your informati- excuse me, for your information, I've been dating this girl for nine months! We're strong and steady!" Noah threw the blanket on the ground. The grass there was worn away, though it was green and lush everywhere else. He saw his tail out of the corner of his eye. It was poofy. He growled.

"Okay, okay! I was just teasing. Calm down." The voice went from cheery to solemn in a moments' notice. "You know I just want what's best for you. Especially after, urm, the incident."

This time the pause was long. On both sides. Noah sat with a defeated posture. He hunched over the phone, eyes searching the ground. Guilt riddled his face. He shook his head.

"Yeah, so do I." The panther grumbled. "Hence the reason I'm dating a fine feline woman instead of-"

"Are you finally ready to come out as an herbivore-lover?" The question wasn't a joke. It didn't make Noah angry, either. He was disappointed. It wasn't like it was obvious to everyone, he didn't make it that way. Expen had just known him for his entire life. Longer than Cooper, even. That was why they were always on the phone, even if Expen couldn't come to the university too often.

Noah stared down at his dark paws, but shook the thought from his head. He cared about his girlfriend. She was an amazing young woman. She deserved the best. He intended to give her the best. "No. I'm not. And double FYI, I want my girlfriend. And she really is a feline."

"Whoa there, tiger. I believe you. Just uh, don't forget to, you know." They were both strong carnivore males. Neither one of them wanted to talk too long about love and cuddles and kisses, or anything close to emotion. That was hard, and it was embarrassing, and it was weird.

"Sorry, I've got to go, my friend. The boss-man needs my help. The new guy around here is kind of, well, let's just say he's incompetant and leave it at that. You know how it is." Expen wouldn't lie about something like that. Even if the conversation was awkward. He was a true friend, and wise beyond his years. At least, he usually was. He spoke most casually with Noah. They'd been through a lot together, as they were each other's oldest friends.

"Yeah, talk to you later. Didn't mean to snip atcha." Noah waited a moment before he hung up. "I'm not that strange. I do want to be with Dahlia." The panther had already convinced himself of this. He knew it to be true. He wasn't only attracted to herbivores. It wasn't some terrible internal struggle he fought every day of his life. It wasn't like he wanted to have childr-

"I'd sure hope you want to be with me, or I'm in the market for a new man!" A voice startled Noah. He turned, and smiled at the plump snow leopard coming his way. She was still considered a big cat, he thought, but with how short she was and how thick her fur was, she was weighty. "Hey Noah, what's up?"

"My favorite tree-hugger." The panther purred. She placed her dainty purse down, and held her modest dress down so she could sit comfortably. On her head, some sort of circlet thing he couldn't remember the name of. She was a fine young lady.

Once she positioned herself the way she felt most comfortable, she pressed her paw against his face. "Sorry I'm late, Speckles. Lots of paw-traffic. It's a weekend at a public park." It was a tease, that nickname. She thought it was cute. He did not. It was because he was a melanistic jaguar.

"You know something, for a girl and a tree-hugger, you're very insensitive." He wasn't really bothered, but liked to see her face when he pretended he was.

"And you're extremely sensitive for a non-tree-hugger and a man, Speckles. Calm down, your aura is way too red right now." She rooted through her purse for a moment, before she set it aside. "Know what? I can't wait for Safety Day. We'll have a blast. I'm thinking of putting up some posters, an-"

"Noah! Stop, we're in public!" She yelped when the panther removed her shoes. She didn't want anybody to see her hind paws. Not many women did!

"This is a picnic, milady. You have to abide by the laws of the land." Always a joke with Noah, he placed her shoes beside his. Despite being smaller than him, she had larger paws. Most cold-weather creatures had hew paws, he knew. It was funny to him, but it was an embarrassment for the chunky leopard.

"Okay, okay. As you wish, fine sir." She tucked her legs beneath her. To hide them was more lady-like. Her whiskers twitched. Her nose twitched. "You've just been drinking venison blood. That stuff is so expensive. It's your favorite, isn't it?"

"Does that deer of yours not care anymore?" Her brow arched in judgement. He gave a disbelieving huff, the only indication he was upset. "Of course he doesn't. I've roomed with him for ages. The first time I drank it was in front of him. Given, we were kids and he vomited five seconds after I made him try it," He was about to say more, but decided against it. That memory was funny, now. Neither he nor Cooper knew what 'venison' was back then, and they were young enough that Noah often forgot that herbivores couldn't physically handle the same diet.

"I'm just teasing you. I may be a tree-hugger, but I'm still a carnivore. Sad, but true. Oh the irony." She tapped her paw against his wet nose. "You made him drink deer blood? I'm the insensitive one? Far as he knew, that could've been his own mother's. Have you actually asked him if he minds?"

Before Noah could even answer, the snow leopard stood. "Let's walk around a little. I don't want our date to be all about your roommate. It should be about us." She helped him up.

They walked just outside the baseball field, where the flowers grew and the trees were untouched. A couple of monkeys sparred in the treetops. It was great practice for them. This place always bustled with activity. Day or night, land or sky. Birds flew at safe distances. Traffic up there wasn't nearly so bad.

"Can't you just smell the life of this place?" Dahlia twirled in front of him. Her flowy blue dress followed her every movement. "The earth is so plentiful, so giving, so nurturing. Being a botanist isn't enough for me."

Noah hung back. He smiled at the woman. She was beautiful, the way she embraced the wind. But he wasn't into all that weirdness. "I think it was the park groundskeeper that made this place look so nice, tree-hugger." He followed not far behind her. He had no desire to walk directly beside her, with the movements she made. He was just happy she didn't freak out about her missing shoes.

"Naive little Noah. Someday you'll understand how freeing it is to be a 'tree-hugger'. Especially as a carnivore." Did she speak in riddles like Expen, or was she just a liar? He clearly remembered her talking about the irony of being stuck as a carnivore as a tree-hugger, only moments before. "It'll open a whole new world between you and the herbivores, for example. They grow a lot closer to you. They're not so scared. They learn to care."

She knew as well as anyone who knew him that his best friend was a deer. Being a woman, she also knew there would always be an emotional separation between the two; even if they had both been carnivores. That was what made guys so difficult. But she had to love him. He was smarter than he led others to believe.

"Will it really?" He asked under his breath. She smiled, pleased he'd listened to her. Noah, though, felt his face grow hot. "Dang it, head. Don't think like that when you're with your girlfriend." He told himself quietly. He couldn't betray her like that. He'd been a traitor before, hurt people he cared about. He wasn't going to allow himself to do that here.

"Are you coming or not, Speckles?" Dahlia was already way ahead. She was down the sidewalk, squatted over a small patch of pink flowers.

"U-uh, yep! I'm on my way!" Noah called. He knew better than to leave a lady waiting. So he chased after his girlfriend, like a good boyfriend ought to.

They spent the rest of the day together. They went for ice cream, they had a few laughs, she almost pushed him in the pond- it was a nice time. When the blue afternoon sky melted away, it was time to depart. The sky, painted red with highlights of orange, poured down on Noah. His shadow stretched toward the dorms when he approached. He was hungry. Maybe Cooper had something cooked. Sometimes he did.

When Noah arrived to the room, there was nobody there. It smelled like Cooper had been gone for hours. He pulled out his phone. He called Expen. The other carnivore didn't pick up. That was no big deal. Noah decided to fall asleep. But he couldn't. He was trapped with his thoughts. It a was a dangerous time to be a hungry carnivore, in this day and age. With a sigh, his eyes fluttered shut. Tomorrow was another day.