Music of the Night

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Today was a new day at Cherryton Academy. Most of the students were gossiping about a new arrival that would be going them on campus. The girls were hoping it would be a heartthrob guy while the guys vice versa if the newcomer was a girl. 

But the school had a dark history where a student named Them was killed by a carnivore in the auditorium. Who was that carnivore? No one knew but the herbivores were wary of the carivore students. 

That was the current tension among the students no matter how much they studied and learn together in the same school before graduating to see the world. The only place on campus where carnivores and herbivores co-exist would be the drama club run by Louis the red deer. The drama club themselves were also excited that a new student would be enrolling on campus.

"I heard it's a boy! I bet he's a handsome herbivore~" Mina the giraffe swooned, causing the other girls to giggle.

"Nah, I heard it's a girl!" Bill the Bengal tiger's voice boomed. "If she has stripes and is a tiger like me, it would be a dream come true!"

"You and your dumb fantasy, Bill!" Ellen the zebra rolled her eyes. "We don't need another Bill, let alone a female version of you in the the club!"

"Hey, what's wrong with two of me? We will make this club badass!"

Legosi the grey wolf was adjusting the lights when he heard his club mates chattering about the new student. He paid no attention as believed that the student would be just the same, carnivore or herbivore. Right now, they were practising for another Adler play before the holidays, according to Louis. The red deer mentioned that it would at least boost the students' spirits before they leave until next semester.

Now, the grey wolf had made plans to visit a special someone at the gardening club. Maybe Haru knows who is the new student.

Taking a deep breath, Legosi resumed his work on the lighting while observing the practices below.

...

Legosi was the tallest canine out of the other members of the Canidae. So he got used to both carnivores and herbivores feeling afraid whenever he's around. He wished they wouldn't be so nervous just because the news keeps reporting about different cases of herbivores being attacked by carnivores.

Plus, he doesn't want to revisit or remember his encounters of the Black Market. He can't imagine that was the only way for carnivores to stay sane in order to co-exist with their herbivore friends.

It was all Bill's fault!

Shaking his head, he knocked onto the door that led him to the rooftop. His tail was wagging in excitement, his nose filled with sweet scents of flowers just like the gardener herself. Haru, the Netherland dwarf rabbit was tending to her flowers when the sound of the door perked her eyes up.

"Oh hi, Legosi!" she greeted him with her usual peppy self. "Needed anything? Wait, you want to make out with me on the rooftop~"

"No! Not like that!" Legosi raised his arms in defence but the rabbit only laughed.

"Come on, I was just kidding! Come, laugh!"

But Legosi didn't.

Haru regained her composure and approached him. She grasped his clawed hand in her tiny paws. "So what brings you here, Legosi?"

"Have you heard or know about the new student?"

'Ah, so I was right!' Haru thought to herself. To be fair, she's curious about the new student too but she only heard rumours about what the student might be. So far, she only knew that he would be joining them tomorrow and some other things.

"Well I only heard rumours. It's a guy and is going to be in second year like you. So, maybe you'll get yourself a new friend, huh?"

Legosi didn't answer as he was deep in thought. He was trying to picture what does the student look like and what is his personality like.

"So what do you hope the student is like?" she asked.

"Not like Bill."

Haru has heard of Legosi's conflict with the Bengal tiger which led him to have those striped scares on his back. She felt guilty knowing that this sweet wolf had gone through so much but he can be an idiot sometimes with his feelings.

Oh well!

Legosi thanked Haru before bidding her goodbye. He was thinking of walking to the courtyard to take a breather before heading back to his dorm. He had some homework to do anyways and Jack, his roommate and best friend wouldn't take no for an answer.

Without looking where he was going, someone bumped into his stomach.

"Oh, I am terribly sorry! I didn't know you were in front of me!" a voice chirped.

Legosi lowered his gaze down and flicked his ears. He knew some of the students on campus through his sense of smell but this student...

He's the new student and he is a bat! Legosi knew that the student is a Honduran white bat.

"Are you the new student?"

The new student's large ears perked up. "Yes, I am! I wanted to explore campus before I start class. So, are you a student too?"

Legosi was taking in the new student's appearance. The grey wolf has studied about animals in the Chiroptera family and this new student is definitely one. He had yellow-orange ears that were larger than his own head with bits on his muzzle. The student's nose was odd as it was shaped like a leaf that was going to fall in autumn.  His fur was white, almost like a cotton ball if the new student decided to curl himself up. Because he is a Chiroptera, he had those wings that were different from the avian students.

While birds have feathers that cover their wings, Chiropteras have really long, thin fingers that fused with skin membrane on their arms that formed their wings.

Like the avian students, they too need a license once they graduated in order to fly.

What made the student stood out were his eyes: They were blue but very cloudy as if someone had placed clouds and smoke in an eyedrop and placed it into his eyes.

They were unnerving?

"Excuse me," the bat student waved an arm at him. "Can you hear me?"

"Oh, I am sorry," said Legosi. "Yes, I am a student. A second year."

"Then you know the whole campus?" the student enquired, his cloudy eyes looked even more creepy when he is smiling. "Oh where are my manners? My name is Arthur."

"Legosi," the grey wolf introduced himself. "Do you want me to show you around?"

"That would be nice, thank you," Arthur nodded gratefully. "But could you describe to me what we are looking at?"

Legosi tilted his head. Describe, can he-

"You see," the bat arched his head, trying to be at the same level as Legosi's voice. "I can't see well. I'm born blind."

'This is going to be a problem,' Legosi thought to himself.