Raised by Lions

Chapter 17: He's Aware

It was a cloudy Friday afternoon and Hino offered Louis a tired smile when the fawn climbed into the car. It had been a long week for the fawn and he was evidently exhausted.

Louis slouched in his seat and let out a sigh that could only spell eternal relief. He didn't even bother with the seatbelt as Hino started driving.

"I'll take that as you've had a long day?" Hino asked through his own yawn. "The longest by far. By the time lunch rolled around I could've sworn the day would never come to an end." Louis groaned, making the white lion chuckle. "Do you have any projects for the weekend?" Hino asked as they turned into a hidden road. "Thankfully not. Legosi seemed just as bloody tired. He was asleep by second period!" Hino nods at the fawn's explanation.

They listened to the radio in relative silence for the rest of the ride, while Hino expertly maneuvered the car through the thin streets towards the mansion. He was vaguely aware of Louis humming along to some kind of song on the radio, grumbling every now and again when the signal would cut out in a dead zone.

They made it to the mansion and as soon as the car stopped, Louis hopped out and grabbed his bag, heading inside. Hino followed after him a few seconds later. Louis would wave to the lions he passed on the way in and most waved back or nodded at him to acknowledge his presence.

Once inside, Louis made a beeline for his room, dropping his bag and quickly changing out of his uniform and into some more comfortable clothes. Once that was settled, he ran up another flight of stairs and towards Ibuki's office. He stopped by the door and listened through the keyhole. When he confirmed there was no one talking, he knocked.

Ibuki called for him to come in. Louis opened the door and smiled up at his father, the latter sitting behind his desk. Louis trotted over and hugged Ibuki, who offered the kid a smile and hugged him back gently. "How was school, kiddo?" Louis stuck his tongue out and scrunched up his nose, "It felt like it would never end. I've never been this tired, and that's saying something!" Ibuki chuckled at how Louis chose to state that, ruffling the fawn's head.

In the back of his mind, Ibuki wondered at what age deer grow their first set of antlers, since Louis wasn't even showing signs of any antlers yet and he was already 12. Louis laughed and once Ibuki stopped, he stood back. "I should probably leave you alone to finish that up?" Louis said, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Ibuki nodded with an apologetic smile and soon Louis was out of the room.

Louis ran down the stairs and to the livingroom, wanting to play some games on the console and maybe try out something he'd learned today. The teacher had explained how some noises, objects or words could cause certain reactions in certain species. The examples were how canines would follow commands like staying in place or sitting when told to, even if they didn't want to and how bulls got angry at the sight of large pieces of red material. That made Louis wonder and he intended to test it. After all, Legosi had listened to the stay command during lunch, much to Louis' amusement and Legosi's annoyance.

Louis made himself comfortable on the couch, surprised none of the others were there already, and started playing a game. This would be his cover, in case the others got mad. He waited until he heard two sets of footsteps in the hallway outside. He turned down the game volume and at his normal volume, said, "pspspsps"

He had to keep from bursting out in laughter when Free and Dope wandered into the livingroom. Free's pupils were massive and it almost looked like he was high, while Dope was frowning in confusion. "Why did we come in here?" Dope asked, successfully pulling Free back to reality, who seemed just as confused. Louis bit his lip to try and keep the laughter in.

Free spotted Louis and his mind clicked what happened. He rolled his eyes, a little peeved at being caught off guard by it, but figuring Louis was only playing. "Hey twerp, whatcha doing?" Free asked, walking over. Dope frowned as he watched but didn't leave yet. Louis paused his game to look up at Free, "Just playing a game." Louis said in his most innocent voice.