An Oddity Among Beasts (BEASTARS)

Encroachment

The Riser made more stories over the course of a few days, sometimes skipping a day before sending one in. The buzz around the writer began to get bigger, and the effect was beginning to appear. Students became more friendly with each other, carnivores started to hang out with herbivores a bit more. It was minor, but things were looking up. The same couldn't be said for the ones behind the pages, however.

Alan had become more cautious after Legosi's suspecting of him. Whenever he went to the library, he made sure no shifty characters were around him. An overall feeling of paranoia gripped his mind, worry of being ousted roaring inside of him. He still went on, nonetheless.

Things weren't good for Todd, either. With the buzz around The Riser increasing, suspicion began to roll around his identity. Not only that, but the PR team specifically. A popular theory was that someone within the team was secretly writing The Riser's stories, and that they were trying to make the carnivore's weak. Todd knew if this kept up, the team would be in danger.

It needed to end, and fast.

~~*~~

"Things are getting bad, Alan. Lisa said she was getting looks everywhere she went. It's the same with the others, too!"

Alan sighed as he picked at his lunch, "I guess I didn't think this through, after all. Plus, I've been feeling like someone's watching my every move. I can't go anywhere without looking over my shoulder!"

    He looked around, finding everyone just walking and talking like normal. There were still a few students glancing at him, though. He couldn't stop the frantic beating in his chest, worry strangling him! It wasn't his intention to get the PR team into trouble, but he should've expected it! If he were using the newspaper as a moniker, they obviously would've taken the heat for him! Kai even made the suggestion back when the first story came out, but Legosi didn't believe it.

"Legosi...", the human muttered. Part of him wanted to confess to the wolf, but it was shot down by his need to avoid any attention. If he did confess, though, maybe it would've helped and he'd have gotten advice on what to do next.

"Who's Legosi?", Todd asked, breaking him from his thoughts.

"Hm? Oh, he's the wolf in Drama Club—the tall one."

"The one from the play?! What's he like?"

"Tall, quiet, and ironically timid.", Alan mused. "He actually suspected me of being Riser while I was researching for the tiger story. I managed to convince him otherwise, though."

"Do you think he might actually know? Maybe he acted like you convinced him?"

"I don't know.", he glanced to the side. "He isn't really the acting type, but I'd know if he were following me. He just...has this way of behaving."

"How far are we going to take this? If any more suspicion hits the PR team, something might happen. I don't want to end up causing another incident."

"You won't.", he looked at him firmly before faltering slightly. "But, I'm not sure what to do now. People seem to love the stories—and I like making them, but I don't want to pull anyone else in and make a whole mess out of it! I guess it's too late, now."

"Maybe...we should just confess. It'll make things easier, and you might be able to keep writing more stories! That is, if we don't get bad attention."

Alan stayed silent for a moment. Maybe this would be a good place to stop. If they go further, they'd run the risk of causing an uproar. His thoughts drifted to Legosi again, what the wolf would think if he found out he straight-up lied to his face. Would he be angry like he was with Bill? Would he get depressed? He honestly liked the wolf as a friend, almost like a shoulder to lean on in some cases. Well, it was honestly the other way around for him.

"Okay...", he brushed his hair back with a hand. "We go to the PR head tomorrow and tell him the truth. Alright?"

"Yeah.", Todd smiled. "It'll be okay. We just have to be honest, and they'll listen."

"Right."

~~*~~

    Will couldn't help smirking as he listened in on the human's conversation. It didn't take very long for him to find out he was The Riser, but it was mostly by circumstance. He just happened to be in the library at the same time as Alan, taking a small peek to the computer he was using. Once the next story came out, the fox knew he found the mystery writer.

    Still, he needed to confirm it before taking things further. He always felt like something was off about Alan, but he mostly brushed it off as curiosity towards the human. At the second performance, though, it was like his personality took a complete flip. His voice was angry, nearly trembling with rage. Not to mention he made a pretty good kick at Bill.

    No, there was something else about him, the fox knew that. He managed to get a few snippets of conversation between Alan and the goat he roomed with, and even a few times where he saw him go into the wolf room. When he finally realized what the human was hiding, he wasn't sure exactly why he was doing it.

But then he remembered why he came to Cherryton— the purpose for his transfer, and that made him angry...