Music of the Night

Chapter 63

Chapter 63

Arthur was walking between his old friend Sameer and new friend Aoba as they made their way to the drama club. His ears swivelled around to listen to the chatters of the club members and the different shifts of footsteps around him.

The chatters stopped, to the point Arthur imagined he could hear the trapped air.

"Hello," Arthur greeted the club members meekly, he folded his wings close to his body. "M-my friends from Gryphon Cross are having a little tour of the school. They want to know about the drama club because-"

"Of course! Of course!" he heard the voice of Sanu the pelican with a small flapping sound, probably gesturing with his wings. "It is very nice to meet the three of you. Legosi, Aoba, don't you two have things to attend to?"

With that, both bald eagle and grey wolf resumed their tasks at the club while the rest of the members began to crowd around the three foreign students. He heard some of the carnivores sniffing at either Maccus or Sameer since he figured that they have never met their species before.

"Wow, you really have fins!"

"Do you kill a queen in your past life?" one of the smaller animals asked Sameer, which Arthur could tell from the shifting sound of his limbless body. He smiled, wondering if more literatures could be introduced in the syllabus or the drama club for more plays besides Adler.

Then again, who was he to judge?

"Wow, this is amazing!" Beppi gushed, earning a few giggles from the female members. "So what kind of plays do you all do? Is it like Sharkspeare? Is there anyone singing?"

"Beppi, you are going to make their heads explode," Sameer scolded him humorously. He coiled around the Tasmanian devil to prevent him from going overboard. "I have to say that performing arts is what unite us because we want to tell a story, yes?"

Most of the students murmured in agreement until:

"What the fuck is that cobra doing in here?!"

It was at that moment that the drama club was filled with gasped. Arthur could hear Sameer's hood being expanded when he's either nervous or angry. He used his clicks to at least grasp his old friend's tail.

"I should ask the same about the discount weasel," Sameer sneered.

"You eat your own kind and killed others when they trusted you! You disgust me!"

"I am an Egyptian cobra, not a king cobra. And why aren't you acting in this club? Were you kicked out because you were too slippery of a mammal to even understand the intricate beauty of a play?"

All of the animals were confused by this sudden display of hostility between the two. Kai was held back by Legosi and Ellen the zebra while Sameer was held by both Arthur and Maccus. Aoba who was shocked by this sudden conflict, realised something.

"Hey, remember in history class, Bill? About one of the border wars in 1930s?"

The Bengal tiger suddenly swished his tail impatiently. "I feel asleep during that part. Is it another turf war?"

"Not exactly," Aoba clicked his beak before getting in-between them. "In 1930s, there was a broken alliance between the mongooses and cobras. Even to this day, both sides are still bitter about each other to the point it's like an instinct."

Arthur knew he had to do something before this could end in a blood bath. Knowing that Sameer has drained his venom before coming here, he doesn't want to risk another casualty on either side.

Wobbling his way frantically with his clicks, Arthur tried to find a piano to play a tune to calm them down. He had to think quickly since he knew all-too-well that this school's conflict is very strong compared to the gentle wave laps that Gryphon Cross has given to him.

Stretching his wings, he let his fingers fly on the keyboards. Each struck from the chords was enough to stop both the mongoose and cobra from biting each other. Still, Arthur could feel the tension but it was enough for him to know that it's working so far.

He prayed that once everything was over, he was going to make himself Earl Grey tea while listening to his favourite ASMR videos he has saved on ZooTube.

"Nice job, Arthur," he heard Els praising him, making the bat fluff his fur proudly. His feet began to swing slightly into the beat as his ears were too focused on the music that was composed.

In the background, Sameer and Aoba watched him with pride. Both of them exchanged some places, knowing that Arthur has that sort of effect on all of them. Even Kai, who reluctantly calmed down and went to the boy's locker room.

"Well, that does the trick," Sanu adjusted his spectacles while writing down a few things on his clipboard. "Now then, Sameer, is it? Can you tell me what sort of plays or shows do you know around Gryphon Cross?"

Sameer smiled. "Of course! Would you like to here a tragic Sharkspeare classic of Queen Cleo and her snake lover Antonio, or about a sad ghost that lives under the opera house? Tragedies are a part of life, yes?"

Sanu glanced back at the students who were mesmerised by Arthur's piano solo. "It is. Only we can feel sad before experiencing happiness."

...

Meanwhile down at the seedy Black Market was another section that was closed off from the rest of the world where the roles of carnivores and herbivores were reversed.

There were some clinics that were selling body parts of live carnivores to be used as drugs for herbivores.

Why, you might ask? Because only the most desperate and most unsatisfied would come here to gain some sort of power when they inject carnivore-flesh drug into their bodies.

In this particular clinic, carnivores who are desperate for money would sell their own body parts to the point they were tattooed for herbivore clients. For example, the quack doctors would labeled a crocodile's tail for sheer strength, a lion's eye to have better vision in the dark or a tigress' breasts can be use for fertility.

It was something that this wealthy doe rabbit was looking for.

"Are you certain about wanting these parts of the carnivores, ma'am?" a male nurse guinea pig asked, preparing a knife and some other surgical tools. The chained up carnivores were struggling in their chains. They were a mane wolf and a rare Javanese tiger who could be nearly fifty.

"Of course I am sure!" the doe rabbit replied haughtily. "My son has got to have the best and this needs to be as discreet as possible. I would like nothing more than to see my son happy and with a powerful female by his side. He decided to call since he kept telling me that the girl that he had wanted was seeing a different species!"

The nurse only rolled his eyes. He only wanted this rabbit's money since he has heard of her family's fortune from rumours. 

"Do you want to look away, ma'am?" the nurse asked cheerfully.

"No, I want to see these filth of society scream in pain! Just like the pain my poor Genji had to endure in Cherryton. Don't ever deny a mother's request to see her child happy!"