Chapter Text
“Hey Legosi,” Kibi says, yanking at his considerably smaller deer tail, “Your tail is full of split ends!”
“Hey, don’t pull them out.” Legosi swats at Kibi playfully. “That hurts.”
It’s the end of a fairly successful day of festival preparations. The production crew is sat together waiting on the other drama club members to finish their ‘canoodling’ so that they can all head home.
Legosi wonders for a second where Louis had gone off to. He had seen the wolf earlier talking with a very heated Haru, probably getting an earful for scaring her like he did. But Legosi has not been keeping track.
'He's probably just off discussing boring administrational matters with Gon. The drama club won't need to wait for him, he is a capable wolf.'
“Hey everyone!” Juno says, announcing her presence, “Sorry we kept the production crew waiting. The actors are ready to head off.”
“Hey Juno!” Kibi welcomes.
“How was rehearsals?” Legosi asks her, friendlily.
“It was good!” Juno beams, “thank you for practicing with me.”
“Eh, that was nothing.” Legosi dismisses.
There's a beat, a moment of seemingly awkward silence, as if everyone is taking a moment to notice something Legosi is missing…
And then it is broken by Dom. “Aaanyway, it’s already eight o’clock! We should head back to school.”
“Legosi…” Juno says softly, pulling Legosi away from the crowd.
She stands before him, a bit taller than he is, not including his antlers. Something in her expression takes on a timid look, unusual for what Legosi has come to expect of this brave outgoing wolf.
“The meteor for the festival is finally done,” she says.
And it’s true, they finished it earlier that evening, and it looks amazing.
“Oh yeah, the festival is tomorrow,” Legosi agrees.
“Legosi,” Juno prods, “Do you believe what they say? About how couples who light a candle in the meteor will love each other forever?”
“Huh?” Legosi wonders, “I’ve never really thought about it. It’d be nice if it was true, I guess.”
Legosi thinks about lighting a candle. Who would he light a candle with? He remembers the conversation he had with Louis about how he’s never really had the chance to explore love before. But what if he did? Is there someone he would want to love forever?
“L- Legosi?”
“Hm, yeah?
“Do you think at the festival, that you and I could-”
Suddenly everything is pitch black and Legosi can’t see a thing. Theres screams and legosi can hear the other drama club members starting to panic.
“What happened?!” Juno asks.
“It’s a blackout,” Legosi realises, “This is bad. Here help me over to the rest of the group!”
Legosi holds out his arm and Juno takes it, leading him through the darkness to the rest of the drama club.
“Dom! Everyone!” Legosi calls.
“Legosi?!” Dom responds, fear evident in his voice, “Where are you?”
“I’m here, hold my hand.” Legosi lets go of Juno to hold onto Dom. “Is everyone here? We need to get the herbivores into the circle.”
“We’ve got everyone,” Aoba confirms, “All the herbivores huddle in the middle, us carnivores will protect you.”
Legosi fumbles to pull out his phone to use the flash, truly disoriented by just how dark it really is. When legosi does fish out his phone he turns it on to see some messages he’d received earlier that day. Most of them are from the 701 boys, but the most recent one stands highlighted at the top.
From Haru: [istg lui is gonna be the death of me dx]
“Oh fuck, Haru!” Legosi shouts, immediately moving to leave the group to go find her.
“No legosi!” Kibi grips onto him. “Forget about her, you can’t go out there!”
“I have to!” Legosi shrugs Kibi off of him and shoves his way out of the circle between Aoba and Bill.
“Hey what the fuck?” Bill asks, clearly not expecting any of the herbivores to be breaking out.
“Legosi!” Aoba calls, “Where are you going?”
“I have to go check on the gardening club!”
Legosi runs, using what little light his phone provides to guide his way. By now several other animals have also turned to their phone’s flash which has alleviated some of the all consuming darkness, but it’s still extremely dangerous for a lone herbivore.
“Haru!” Legosi calls, reaching her stand only to find that it's empty.
“Haru?!” he frets as he scours the area looking for her.
Quickly enough he sees that recognisable white fur peering out from behind a tree, illuminated by what he assumes must be her own phone.
“Haru!” Legosi says relieved, as he rounds the tree.
“Louis!” She gasps and clings on tightly to him.
Legosi, despite the situation, laughs. “Heh, not quite.”
“Oh Legosi! I’m so sorry!” She apologises, sounding utterly distraught.
“Hey, you're okay. I’m here now.”
Haru, still holding Legosi tightly in her grip, whispers, “Legosi, I have a really bad feeling about all of this.”
Legosi doesn’t say it, but he’s starting to get the same feeling. The feeling of being watched, but not like how it felt to have Louis stalking him. This is different, it feels so much more similar to how he felt when he was the one stalking Haru. A voice in his head, that’s his own voice, but this time instead of saying ‘EAT EAT EAT!’ it’s telling him ‘RUN RUN RUN!’
“Legosi?”
And suddenly Legosi feels Haru ripped away from him, her tight grasp on him easily severed by a strong yank. Something makes contact with Legosi’s face and he falls to the ground, bright pain blooming in his skull. Legosi’s phone, still lit, falls to the ground pointing straight up, revealing their assailants to be several large lions, and they have their hands all over Haru.
“Get off of her!” Legosi yells as he jumps up from the ground and lunges at the perpetrating lion.
A different lion knocks Legosi out of the way as if he were a fly, sending him back to the ground but otherwise not paying him all that much attention.
“Wait,” one of the lions says, staring at Legosi, “I think this is that deer…”
“I don’t care,” the one holding Haru grumbles, already moving away, “We’ve got the rabbit, let's get out of here.”
“What deer?” another asks.
“That’s the deer that used to be a wolf.”
The other lions all stop in earnest now, giving Legosi the time to get back and have another attempt at getting to Haru. But this time instead of batting him away the lions grab onto him, holding him the same way they are holding Haru, like a prize.
“Let go of her!” Legosi tries to growl, but his voice does not allow for that anymore.
“We could take him instead,” one suggests.
“What?!” Haru squeaks.
“Do it!” Legosi begs, “Take me instead!”
“What?! Legosi no!”
“You think the boss’ll be pleased with us bringing back this?” The lion holding Legosi asks condescending, yanking his head to the side by his antlers, “He wants white and female.”
“Yeah but, I imagine the boss’d salivate at the chance to eat an animal that was once a canine, but still tastes like veal.” Another lion, one that has been rather quiet up until now, reasons.
There's a low growl and a deep huff, and then the lion holding Haru says, “fine. We take the deer.”
“No!” Haru cries as he tosses her aside onto the cold dark grass.
“Go find the drama club!” Legosi yells to her, "they'll keep you safe!”
“Legosi!!”
And without anymore fanfare Legosi is whisked away; that voice in his head growing louder and louder.
‘I saved Haru,’ Legosi affirms to himself, ‘that’s what's important. I saved Haru, now I just need to figure out how to get myself out of this.’
Louis is with Gon when the lights go out.
They are having a pleasant conversation inside one of the many tents, discussing various festival and non festival related things, when suddenly the two of them are encased by darkness. Louis is again awed by his ability to see in complete darkness. One of the many gifts given to him by Legosi.
Louis is about to comment on the situation when Gon shouts, “the herbivores!”
It takes Louis a second longer to realise the danger and by that point Gon is already rushing out of the tent into the murky black night. Louis follows quickly behind, noting the memories of the last time he was running through the dark like this, but he shakes them off. This isn’t about him right now.
The two large carnivores dash through the festival grounds to reach the drama club where a protective circle has already been formed; the carnivores on the outside, the herbivores safely on the inside.
Gon immediately joins the circle, commanding Louis to do the same, “Louis get in here!”
Despite having been a wolf for over a month at this point, it still stirs something within him to be treated as strong; someone able to do the protecting. It doesn't matter that Louis was once a herbivore, right now he's a big strong carnivore and his principal needs him to help protect his peers.
“Is everyone here?” Gon demands, panicked, already attempting to do his own headcount.
“No!” Els cries over the commotion, “Legosi ran off somewhere!”
“Legosi?!” Gon and Louis shout.
“He said something about the gardening club!” Aoba shouts back.
‘Oh fuck,’ “Haru!” Louis realises, “She won't be with anybody, Legosi's gone to find her!”
“That stupid boy.” Gon growls and breaks away from the circle to go find Haru and Legosi.
Louis follows him, but the tiger notices. “No, Louis. I need you here with the others, keeping the herbivores safe!”
“Those are my friends!” Louis argues, continuing towards the gardening club stand, “besides there's two of them, are you going to protect them both by yourself?”
Gon, probably realising this is a losing fight, or just not wanting to waste any more time, growls back a “fine,” before running along with Louis.
“Haru!” Louis calls, “Legosi?”
The lights come back on, startling Louis. It takes his eyes a second to readjust themselves to the brightness, and when they do he is able to see Haru’s stand. But both the rabbit, and the deer are nowhere to be seen.
“Haru! Legosi!” He and Gon call out.
“Louis?” He hears.
“Haru?”
“Louis!”
He spots her, the tiny white shape amidst the crowd.
“Haru!” He calls, surging towards her.
“Oh Rex, Louis!” she cries as she reaches them, “please you've got to help!”
“What's wrong?” Gon asks.
“Where is Legosi?” asks Louis.
“They took him!” she sobs, “I was in the dark and Legosi found me, but then I was being taken by these big guys. I don't know who they were, I couldn't see, but Legosi was fighting them trying to save me-”
“Who?” Gon interrupts.
“Lions, like maybe five of them…”
“Lions…” Gon whispers with something like horror dawning on his face.
“Did they say anything about where they were going?” Louis interrogates.
“No but-” She cuts herself off, looking into his eyes with her own awfully pained ones. “Louis, I think they're going to devour him…”
“Fuck…” Louis lets out.
“You two,” Gon suddenly snaps into command, “come with me now. We need to speak to the mayor.”
“The mayor?” Haru asks.
“The lion.” Louis realises.
“Agh!-” Haru chokes out, “Please Principal Gon, I really don’t want to see another lion right now…”
“Oh, of course,” Gon huffs at himself, “Louis, take her to the drama club. She can travel back with them.”
With that, Gon runs off towards the other side of the festival to speak with the mayor. But Louis has no intentions of being left out of that conversation, he just needs to take a detour to the drama club first.
“Hold on!” Louis warns as he grabs her hand and begins to run, pulling her alongside him. Very quickly they arrive, finding the club where Louis had left them not minutes ago.
“Who’s this?” Sheila asks.
“Where’s Legosi?” asks Els.
“I don’t have time to explain,” hurries Louis, “Aoba and Sheila, you two are in charge of getting Haru here home safely tonight. Got it?”
“Louis, what’s going on-” Aoba begins to ask, but is cut off.
“Got it. Yes. Or. No.” Louis demands.
“Yes okay! Gees…”
Louis turns to Haru, bending down considerably to be at her height.
“You’ll be safe with them,” he says, “I’m going to find him.”
Louis doesn’t stay to hear her reply, he doesn’t have the time, but his wolf ears still pick out the sound of Haru’s “Be careful, Louis!” that she calls from behind him.