Music of the Night

Chapter 25

Chapter 25

"So, can you tell me who are these animals in the pictures?" Aoba asked as the both of them were hanging out on Arthur's bed. 

Well,  Arthur was hanging upside down with his feet holding the edge of the bunk bed while the eagle himself laid on his stomach to face the Honduran white bat while he still has the photo frame at hand.

"Sure, but will have to describe to me the animal and where was the photo taken," Arthur nodded, his ears wiggling to listen. He stretched a bit, letting his wings almost touching the floor where the faint stitch from the left-wing membrane was exposed.

Aoba smiled, seeing Arthur looking so relaxed after the whole ordeal he went through with Bill plus the fact that they had just taken their physics class test which will count towards their grade. He wondered, if Arthur does take failure well or not achieving the expected marks that most so desired?

"This photo looked like it was taken some years ago," Aoba described while Arthur had his ears fully erected. "Were you in some kind of camp before moving here?"

"Oh, the summer camp!" Arthur squeaked excitedly. "We had that every summer break unless our families had other plans. But there, we had some amazing adventures even if it's just us with the counsellors and the cabins."

Aoba wondered if the summers here should have some sort of activities like this camp so that they don't have to do just the homeworks all the time! In the picture, there was Arthur with  five other animals with the background of the forest and a cabin with a symbol the bald eagle guessed was water with the shape of a swirling wave. All of the six animals were wearing the same uniforms, some wearing hats but all of them had badges over their fronts.

"Each cabin can house six animals," Arthur explained as Aoba described what he saw in the photo. "We're all selected at random and those animals became our lifelong cabin mates. Mine's the Maelstrom Cabin."

Maelstrom? A very extreme name of a cabin for such a cute Chiroptera like him...

"Sounds interesting," Aoba clicked his raptor beak thoughtfully. He traced a feathered finger on one of the animals in the picture. "In this photo, the first animal I'm seeing first is a Spanish fighting bull. This guy looked like he's been working out."

Arthur's leaf-like nose twitched in amusement. "That bull's Daymas. He's Gryphon Cross' star athlete and the one who won't hesitate to fight. I remember Sameer spars with him a lot despite him using more brutal moves while my friend is graceful. The sound of their movements are very different to me. But, he has severe allergies to tomatoes which he guarded it fiercely or else it will ruin his reputation."

Aoba nodded and then decided to ask about the raven. But what's so bizarre about this Corvid would be the beak, which Aoba described as looking very synthetic. The Honduran white bat had a despondent look on his face. The bald eagle placed a comforting wing over Arthur's back.

"Ah, you mean Tek? He's always agitated and always prioritised his studies of science over small things like resting or even having a meal. He's really smart but I wished he wouldn't put himself in harmful situations either in school or anywhere really."

"Arthur, are you saying he-"

"Oh no!" Arthur assured his friend. "He doesn't subject himself to self-harm. It's more of an accident in most situations. That's why he wore a prosthetic beak to hide his injuries and a metallic right leg. I remember when I touched them, it felt surreal to know that it was on my friend. He was starting to become some future cyborg like in those sci-fi novels."

Aoba then looked over at the strange animal that looked like a dog but is not a dog with those red ears and some scars on his face. "There's also this one that looks like a dog but I've never seen one with round ears and face..."

"That's our Beppi," Arthur explained while swinging himself up to sit on the top of the bunk bed with the bald eagle. "He always finds a way to prank us even when the rest of us tried to be one step ahead of him. I think he laughs, tell jokes and all to hide the fact that he has aggressive skin cancer."

"Oh...I'm sorry to hear that..."

Arthur draped a hand-wing over his friend's shoulders. "Don't be. He's been in and out of chemo for quite sometime now. I just received news from Sameer that he's going to be discharged soon and will resume school."

Aoba was fascinated on how these animals are so different yet they get along so well just by how Arthur described them. He wondered if this camp and Gryphon Cross was like their drama club where carnivores and herbivores set their differences aside and be friends.

"I didn't know you have a shark amongst your group of friends," said Aoba, clicking his beak. "He has a funny-looking head and how can he be on dry land if they have gills?"

Arthur laughed. "Oh, Mr Serious A.K.A Maccus? Our marine friend has special gears that felt like headphones to put on their gills in order to breathe. Of course, Gryphon Cross had tunnel tanks and aquariums for the marine students to move around. Only those Cetaceans and Selachimorphas can set their caudal fins to act as legs when out of water."

"That's really cool," Aoba mused. "I bet we could practice our Marine language skills if we have more marine students here. So you say this...Maccus is serious?"

"Oh yes!" Arthur nodded excitedly. "He hardly talks unless it is necessary. So overtime, I sort of understood his grunts and mumbles. But he's good with chemistry, his knowledge of the sea life and even carpentry. But overall, he's a nice hammerhead shark."

Aoba laughed, imagining these group of animals acting like the relationship he had with some members of the drama club. Besides performing, there wasn't anything other than hanging out after rehearsals or even now with the Honduran white bat.

The final animal in the picture was something Aoba wasn't expecting. The only animal left on the photo frame besides Arthur was a very handsome Egyptian cobra with his eyes that resembled carnelian jewellery he had seen his mother used to wear while his slender body had sandy-gold and black scales with the adorned hood.

"You weren't expecting Sameer to be a snake, judging from your stunned silence?" Arthur teased, his cloudy blue eyes were twinkling with amusement. "Even though he is an Elapidae, Sameer is my first friend and almost like a brother to me."

"Really?"

"Oh yes, he was the first to make me feel comfortable on my first day at school and the both of us became fast friends, to the point our families visit each other. He may be smooth and charming, even an excellent fighter but all he's fascinated about are historical sites and artifacts since he wants to be a curator at the museum or travel to ancient sites."

Aoba was intrigued by the idea of Arthur having some kind of adventure with these group of friends. He would like to have these kinds of adventures as well. The both of them wanted to relax before resuming their homework before tomorrow.

"So Aoba," Arthur flicked his ears. "Would you like some tea and chocolate biscuits? All of this talk is making me hungry."

His bald eagle friend laughed. "Sure Arthur. Next time, I'm bringing bags of chips if we are going to keep having tea."

...

"Are you sure about this?"

"I'm positive, Tanya!" the black cat hissed. "I want to know if that bat had anything to do with changing Mizuchi. He could've hypnotised her with those bug eyes of his!"

"But he's with that bald eagle, plus there are other animals at the cafeteria," Tanya the raccoon told her. 

"We'll just have to wait," her feline friend insisted. "Mizuchi hasn't been herself lately and I don't think she ever wants to talk about her ex nowadays."

Both cat and raccoon were watch the Honduran white bat walking towards the cafeteria with his eagle companion beside him. Both of the girls were wary of that bird's sharp beak that could tear out flesh.

"But there's one thing I got to admit," Tanya sighed.

"What?"

"I've never seen Mizuchi smile in a relaxed manner and had a dreamy look on her face."