An Oddity Among Beasts (BEASTARS)

Chameleon

The second Riser Story was already out by the next day. This time, the subject was a tiger. He was conflicted between his pride as a predator and his friendships, thus meeting his dark side. The two had a more volatile interaction than the wolves, each trying to intimidate the other into backing down. The dark tiger relented, albeit begrudgingly, and allowed the other to swallow his pride in exchange for the friendships he made. It ended off similarly to the first, but with a darker tone to it.

Alan felt an abundance of pride in himself as he walked to the library to research the next subject. He enjoyed being The Riser, not only because of the excitement at everyone wondering about his identity, but also being able to indulge his craft. The human wanted to smile wide, but knew he needed to keep a low profile in case suspicion fell to him. If he slipped up, he'd have more eyes on him than ever before.

Speaking of...

"If you're gonna follow someone, Legwolf, at least try and be silent about it.", he said out loud as staggered footsteps sounded off not far behind him.

"H-how'd you know?", the wolf asked.

"Sixth sense.", he turned around smirking. "Any particular reason why you're playing spy?"

Legosi's ear twitched as he looked around for a moment, "Well...are you The Riser?"

Alan blinked, "What made you ask that?"

He rubbed the back of his neck and avoided his gaze, "When we were talking in Drama Club yesterday, you said 'let's see how far this goes', so I just started wondering."

"Do you think I am?"

He shifted his eyes slightly, "M-maybe..."

The human chuckled, "I guess saying that did seem a little suspicious. If you think about it, though, it wouldn't do well for me, socially. I still have the whole play thing to live down, and that may take a while."

"Yeah, I guess you're right...", Legosi's ear twitched again. "Sorry for suspecting you."

"It's fine.", he waved a hand. "Still have to wonder who it is, though."

He was screaming inside, the wolf heard him say that yesterday?! How could he have forgotten about his hearing? It felt like he was in the wolf room all over again! He had to wonder what would've happened if he confessed right then and there. Would he have spread the word? No, he's too shy. Would he be angry? He said he liked the first story, so the chances are low.

Nevertheless, he needed to be careful.

He went into the library and booted up a computer, searching up all he could about the next subject. History, psychology, physiology, any detail to use in the story. The personality was the biggest part, however, as it was the key to the dark side. The dark sides stem from a flaw the subject has, and try to combat it. Once the flaw is found, the argument starts. It's rather simple on the surface, but Alan knew the end result would vary with more subjects.

He didn't see it as him "getting into their heads", as he was simply using information available to him. Sure, he maybe took a bit of inspiration from people he knew, but he never used any names. He only designated them by their species and nothing else. It worked two-fold: to keep from causing needless strife, and have a wide reach.

Still, he couldn't help worrying about his encounter with Legosi.

~~*~~

"Are you seeing this?!", Bill exclaimed with rage as he gripped the paper tightly.

"Barely. You're shaking it."

The tiger loosened his grip slightly, allowing the black fox beside him to skim through the passage.

He let out a small chuckle, "I think Riser captured you pretty well."

"He's trying to make me seem weak!", Bill bellowed as he leaned against the building. "Will, you're supposed to be on my side."

"Hey, I'm not taking his side or anything. It's just...he did hit on you a bit with the whole "pride" thing—even if it wasn't intentional."

"It has to be intentional!", the tiger balled up the paper. "If I find out who it is..."

"Don't you have any leads?", Will asked.

"Barely. It could be someone on the PR team, but it doesn't seem that way."

"Well, do you know anyone who might be doing it?"

    That got Bill thinking. The first one to come to mind was Legosi, his small feud with the wolf coming back. He's so content on being in the shadows, he could've easily written the stories and went on like nothing happened. He doubted anyone would bother suspecting him, but what if it wasn't? Who else could be doing it?

"What about that human kid?", Will suggested, looking at his claws. "You said he got you pretty good at the play."

    He blinked at that, not thinking about Alan in the slightest. He had to hand it to the human, though, he could kick pretty hard. It didn't hurt as bad as Legosi's punches, but it gave an idea of how strong he was. Would he even be able to pull it off, though? Sure, he made a jab about his pride, but he didn't seem like the type to write the stories Riser made.

"I don't know.", he mused. "He honestly doesn't strike me as the type of person Riser seems to be. I'm thinking more along the lines of Legosi, though."

"It's because of the black eye, isn't it?"

"Of course it is!"

Will laughed, "How about this? I do a bit of snooping, and find out who Riser really is."

"What're you gonna do?", Bill raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing too dangerous...yet."

"That's not very reassuring!"

"I'm kidding, jeez! I'm just gonna do a bit of spy work, is all. It'll be easy for me."

"Well, who are you gonna look at first?", Bill crossed his arms.

"Eh, maybe that wolf you're so obsessed with."

"I'm not obsessed with him! I'm just pissed off at him!"

The fox rolled his eyes, "You're gonna hold that to him, aren't you?"

"Of course!"

He sighed lightly and glanced away, "Whatever. Keep with your little feud."

A smirk crossed his face, Meanwhile, I'll be looking into the real suspect.