Forlorn silence dominates the room as you and the majority of the drama club stand around the bed of the unconscious red deer. The desolate darkness around you doesn't help to lift the mood either; the sun had set a little while ago and left you with the small lamp besides the bed as your only source of light.

You stand next to Legoshi on the left side of the bed, if you were to look at it from Louis' perspective, with your arms crossed over your chest in hopes of suppressing the goose bumps forming on your skin. The room is cold but only you seem to care about that; you're the only one without fur or feathers after all.

When your disheartened gaze settled onto Louis' stiff, unmoving form beneath the stale white sheets of the medical bed, you notice how dead he looked. The only thing indicating that he isn't already gone is the barely noticeable rise and fall of his diaphragm.

All eyes are focused on the male, hoping that he'll wake up soon.

And as if someone answered your prayers, the deer finally stirs and struggles to sit up. He groans in discomfort, clearly disoriented from his fall.

"Louis!" Sanu exclaims, which is promptly followed by an echo of the deer's name by everyone present. You remain quiet, instead releasing a shaky sigh of relief.

All this stress cannot be good for my heart, right?

"What did...Wait! I remember," Slowly, the deer regains his composure and memory, "What about the audience?!"

It's silent again and only the president seems stable enough to answer. "Don't worry, you collapsed after the curtain was fully shut. They didn't see anything at all."

Louis exhales in relief, "Okay."

"You gave us all quite the scare by the way," You decide to cut in, "What were you thinking, you idiot? To perform whilst being so badly injured?"

He stays silent, seemingly too stunned by your concern for him to form an answer.

"Anyway, it's eight o'clock at night, the medical team checked you out and according to them, you broke your left leg," Bill informs him bluntly, "Looks like that means you won't be able to take the stage for tomorrow's performance."

"Bill, please!"

"What? What good is it to hide the truth? Especially for Louis."

"Yes, but even so!"

Honestly, you have no idea what they're going on about. Bill delivered the news honestly, there's no need to sugar-coat it, especially for someone like Louis. It would only upset him further, you reckon. You watch from the side-lines, as quiet as ever, as the rest bombard Louis with questions and whether or not the show could go on now. With every drop of pity, you can see the deer tensing up further and further as the frustration at his weak state overcomes him.

"So...one broken leg and now I'm helpless?"

"Oh eh, No! Please, we're just-" Sanu tries to explain himself but you cut in instead, hoping that someone listens to your voice of reason for once. Despite the tremor building in your body at the mere thought of having about a dozen eyes on you, you speak up.

"You're not helpless Louis," your voice is soft, yet lacks any sense of compassion and pity, "but we need to be realistic here. The audience is mostly coming to see you tomorrow but with your broken leg, you simply can't perform. That's just common sense because there'd be a high chance that you'd injure yourself further. So now, we need to find a way to either keep the show going, or to cancel it completely."

Apparently, it works because Louis doesn't argue with you. Instead, he turns to the tiger.

"Bill, you'll be my replacement."

"Huh?"

"For tomorrow's show, you'll be playing Adler."

"Eh...Eh? Eh?! Are you sure about that?!"

"Yes, of course I am," Bill quotes the deer as he unnecessarily swings the staff around, the skull already on his face, "You've worked harder than any of the actors, you deserve it! I admire your boldness about informing me about my injury without hesitation! You're the one I choose!"

Bill uses smouldering intensity! It's not effective in the slightest.

"That's what he said."

"Ugh...I'm counting on you, Bill," the president sighs, "We'll rehearse all night tonight if we need to."

I'm never, ever being the voice of reason again! This was a mistake, we should have just cancelled the show! Instead, someone thought it was a great idea to give Chad with stripes the goddamn lead role!

Oh man, this is going to be a disaster!

The tiger laughs, a typical douchebag-laugh that sends creepy shivers down your spine," What are you worried about? I know all the lines and all the staging, too! If I were you, I'd be more concerned about...."

He trails off and all eyes jump to the socially awkward grey wolf on the other side of the room with the rest of the stage crew, you included. From what you know, Legoshi's never been on the stage before, which isn't really a surprise given his social skills. His ears are dropped and his tail is motionless and a part of you wants to cuddle him like a sad puppy.

I need to get that under control, I can't go around just touching people randomly because I confuse them with non-sentient pets or animals.

"Why are you acting so down? I'm the one who wants to perform but can't," Kai complains, ever so the angry extrovert.

"That's not the problem," the wolf grumbles, before Bill places an arm around his shoulder, inevitably invading his personal space.

"You'll be fine," Ah yes, famous last words before the world goes to shit ,"Even if you mess up, it won't affect the rest of the performance. It's a minor role, after all."

"Then...why don't we eliminate it?"

Because that would be too easy and life is anything but easy. I should know, I was shot and killed by some random woman at a train station.

"C'mon Legoshi!" The tiger teases and you feel sorry for the poor wolf, who just wanted to mind his own business like every other introvert. Due to Bill being chosen by Louis to play Adler, his villain role was left without an actor. Therefore, only two out of the three villain roles were casted, meaning someone had to fill that role. Seeing as the dance and actors team are already working at full capacity, the production team was the only one with spare members.

Legoshi was chosen because of his predatory status as a grey wolf and because his stature is similar to Bill's. Still, his costume would have to be fitted and changed slightly, in order to fit the reformed character.

Dom figured it would be a good chance to give you some work, so you got the job of redesigning the villain's costume, while he would get the measurements from Legoshi.

That leaves you with your new sketchbook, thankfully the drama club had plenty stashed away, sitting at the only table in the room and observing the rehearsal whilst analysing the wolf's posture, movements and appearance.

While Bill's costume had been mostly in teal, green and yellow colours, Legoshi's would need to be more concentrated and neutral. Due to his neutral grey fur colouration, too many vibrant colours would look ridiculous. Furthermore, Bill's costume enhanced his powerful, buff build, however, Legoshi's body is lithe and although he's build to be strong, a wolf's physique is focused on running.

A sly grin creeps onto your lips as your head already scrambles a rough idea together.

Unfortunately, you're interrupted by the rough sound of wood clashing against wood. You flinch at the sudden noise and glance up from your sketch, e/c eyes following the "rehearsed" fight with growing worry.

Are they...are they really just rehearsing? Damn, why is everyone at this school so aggressive?!

They come to a fight of pure strength as legoshi's staff blocks Bill's blow, leaving the two large breed carnivores to menacingly stare at one another. Bill chuckles, which once again litters your body with the bad kind of goose bumps, "Woah, look at that! Now that's what I'm talking about!"

The fight continues, growing more and more feral and you are mesmerized by it. You realize that this isn't a fight between two students anymore; it's a fight between tiger and wolf, with changed circumstances. Their snarls and growls echo around the room and you glance over to the herbivores, who are clearly freaked out by what's going on.

"You're enjoying this?" Legoshi asks the big feline, struggling to push against Bill's weapon with his own.

"Of course I am! I get to show all my acting training on stage! It's what I've worked for!"

Do I need to step in? Are they going to attack each other on stage, what the hell are they doing?!

"They're just rehearsing, right?" You hear the president ask, only for Aoba to answer and not reassure you in the slightest.

"And venting a little."

Once more, the staffs crash against one another as the two carnivores dominate the stage.

"Hey Legoshi, whoever said that us carnivores can't be the ones to shine in the spotlight, huh? Tomorrow, I finally get to show everyone just how it is for an animal as powerful as me to exist in this world!"

Oh lovely, they've gone completely off the rails.

Oh boy, oh boy....

You visibly sweat-drop and as Legoshi growls and pushes the tiger away, your eye begins to twitch aggressively.

"It's wolf versus Tiger! So when it comes to our battle scene, there's no need to pretend!"

"That's enough!"

Finally done with their childish antics, you slam your sketchbook onto the table, your body shaking with annoyance. Despite their biological advantages, the boys flinch at your outburst, more so due to the loud and sharp range of your vocal chords.

"Are you done now?" Your voice is cold, though demanding; like a mother scolding her children, "Have you gotten all of that stupid testosterone out of your system or do I need to come up there myself and whack you over the head with those sticks?"

They stay silent, not used to being scolded in such a way by a female their age, especially from someone who isn't a carnivore. Slowly but with steady steps, you stalk towards the stage and stop a few feet in front of it with your hands on your hips.

"This isn't a fucking dick-measuring contest you Losers, this is a School-Play. So behave yourselves goddamnit because if you're going to act the same way tomorrow, I'm going to kick both of your asses so bad that even your grandchildren won't be able to sit properly."

Swiftly and now hit with the severity of what you just did, you turn around and walk back to your table. Internally, you are freaking out and screaming. Before you can peacefully sit down though, you're made aware of the many pairs of eyes on you.

"What are you waiting for, guys? We've got work to do."

Surprisingly, they obey and turn back to their tasks. Even Bill ends his weird rehearsal-fight with Legoshi and attempts to lift the mood.

"Hey, Legoshi! Come tomorrow, it's going to be a hell of a show! We got this!"

Thankfully, the next hours pass without any further incidents. The cast continues rehearsing and everyone else resumes their given jobs.

You stretch in your chair and cringe as you hear your joints pop and some cracks throughout your body. You feel like you've been sitting for ages and to be fair, you've lost track of time a while ago. Fortunately for you, you're finally finished with the new costume design and to be perfectly honest, you're sort of happy with the result. It's not perfect, nothing ever is, but it's more than acceptable for the Play and probably the best you could come up with.

Legoshi's costume has a more rugged look to it, to match with the wolf's fur. You imagined a white blouse-like shirt would go perfectly with the blood-red shoulder-cape you envisioned. The Shirt and the dark, shredded pants complement Legoshi's neutral fur colouration and enhance the aggressive, villainous hue of the cape. The costume as a whole should make the wolf appear even taller and imposing; if you could convince him to ditch his usual slouch, he'd make a near perfect villain.

Hopefully, Dom will share your views.

It doesn't take long to find the Peafowl and show him your idea, as well as explain it to him. He's a great listener and therefore, a great person to work with on such a project. You try to hide your red face as he praises your work and being the flamboyant bird he is, he only praises and compliments you further after seeing your blush.

"Alright, that means we only have to make the costume now but we've got more than enough people to work on it tomorrow morning. But we should at least gather the materials, to save time," he says and places his hand against his head in a thoughtful pose.

Then, he points towards the back, where the storage is, "Would you be a dear and go look through the boxes, there should be some red fabric in there. You can go back to your dorm after that, you've done enough for today."

You smile as a thank you and nod, already making your way to the back. It's dark in here and even after you turn on the light, you have trouble making out any details on certain things. The light is ominous and creepy, so much in fact that you're pretty sure the storage is haunted.

If some animal version of the Grudge fucking appears out of nowhere, I am gone! I will be dead on the spot out of sheer fear alone!

You can write on my gravestone "Death by ghost-bitch"!

As if it wanted you to have a heart attack, the lights flicker and leave you in darkness for a few seconds. It's sudden, causing you to flinch violently and effectively cut your right hand on something sharp inside the box you're digging through.

"Ouch!"

When the lights fully work again, you see the damage. The cut is deep and bleeding excessively, dropping to the floor and filling the room with the disgusting pitter-patter of your own blood.

"Fuck! Goddamnit, if this keeps happening, I won't have any hands left by the end of this shit!"

Desperate and frantically cursing, you grab the nearest fabric, which is the size of a small hand towel, and tightly wrap it around your hand. Glancing back at the box, you hum in surprise at seeing the exact shade of red you needed.

Right under a fucking piece of metal digging through the side of the box.

Okay, who the hell is trying to kill me again because this is just obvious! Either we've got a murderer on our hands or the dumbest person alive.

E/c orbs flickering back to your hand, you see the fabric getting soaked in your blood.

Shit, I need to get this wrapped up by the nurse! But is it safe to go through the club room and by a bunch of carnivores with my hand soaked in blood?

Argh fuck it, I'm making a run for it!

With more grace than you thought you had, you grab the red fabric and throw if over your shoulders to carry it to Dom, before speed-walking back to the main area.

"Guys!" You yell, "We've got a problem over here! Carnivores, I think it's best if you cover your noses right now!"

You ignore the gasps of shock of the others when they spot you but thankfully, the carnivores had listened to you and covered their noses before you entered.

"Dom!"

The Peafowl is by your side at lightning speed, worry written all over his face.

"Here's the fabric you needed. Don't worry about me, I'll make a quick run to the medical wing...again."

He asks you to be safe, to which you nod before heading to the exit. However, as you leave your gaze travels back to the grey wolf, his shirt covering his long snout.

Your heart swells as you see the worry in his dark eyes, his ears dropped onto his head. Hoping to reassure him, you smile his way.

Don't you worry, Legoshi! I'll be fine!

But because of that, you miss the feral look in the tiger's eyes. 

***

Hello there! It is I, welcome back my homies! I hope you enjoyed Chapter 14!

I apologize that I didn't upload yesterday but it was my dad's birthday, so I spent the day with him and the rest of my family. Also got sick so that was fun (・_・) cause my stomach gets upset about everything.

Thank you for that, social anxiety.

Anyways, I had a cute gif of Legoshi that I wanted to use but apparently, it's to big for wattpad, so we'll have to suffice with this one, which is basically the best representation of the MC this Chapter.

Also, we hit 3k reads today! I am proud of us, homies! We are taking over the beastar fanfictions slowly but surely!

Furthermore, we'll be getting our greatly anticipated fight scene in the next chapter, hopefully. If I get carried away and it doesn't fit into chapter 15, then I'll do a double update again. Knowing, me, that's pretty likely.

Anyhow, I hope y'all are safe and healthy in this quarantine!

See you in Chapter 15!