The Curse of Beasts (BEASTARS)

The Legend of Man

Alan made his way to the library with apprehension, unsure of what he was going to do. Just like before, with his broader (and now defunct) goal, he didn't have a real plan in mind for researching human history. He didn't have any keywords to start with, so it would be hard to find much. Then again, humans are rarely seen among animals, anyway, so there's a good chance there won't be anything to help. He shook his head, not wanting to count himself out yet.

He was going to do this, and he was going to do it all the way.

The human instantly made a beeline for the bookshelves, looking for anything involving humans. It wouldn't be easy, considering just how large they are and how many books each one held. He needed to start off small—find something that gave him an idea of how humans came about. After that, he could go broader and find how they interacted with animals in the past. As he browsed a few titles, one caught his eye...

Mysterious Species: A Guide to The Unknowables

The title was promising, and even more so was the description. It seemed to give basic history and information on some of the more obscure species of the world, also having a section dedicated to humans! This was the starting point he needed. Alan didn't waste any time taking the book to a table and opening it up. As he read, he couldn't help feeling more curious about humans as a species.

According to the book, humans actually evolved from an isolated group of primates. They seemed to live in solitude for a long time before being discovered hundreds of years ago. It came as a surprise to the scientific community, who jumped at the chance to study a new species. Despite being similar to monkeys, humans had a number of fundamental distinctions. The obvious one was that they only had hair in a few areas of their bodies, as well as the absence of tails (though they do have a small remnant of a tailbone).

As far as intelligence went, the first humans were well-versed in most subjects. It soon became apparent that they were without any carnivorous instincts, despite being omnivores. As time went on, they began to multiply and spread out, adapting to new environments, and exhibiting physical changes. Small communities were created wherever they could reach, some close by the animal cities and others further away.

It quickly sparked a symbiotic relationship between the humans and the animals that discovered them. While most did stay within their villages, a few did enter animal society to live their own lives among them. Sometimes the villages would have goods shipped from the larger cities for profit, making a stable economy. The more Alan read the more questions he wanted to ask.

Closing the book, he decided to check the shelves again. Now that he had some information on human history, he decided to try and narrow down the search by looking for books specifically about humans. To his surprise, he managed to find a few short ones on human culture and villages. Looking further, he managed to find one about their tendencies to be around each other.

If he were being honest, they didn't give much more info. The least he found out was that humans seemed more comfortable around each other than around animals, which gave way to the villages. It was never made clear whether it was because of carnivores or something else, but Alan didn't think about it too much. Other than that, the information was presumably scarce, but he didn't stop looking.

For what felt like hours, he scoured the shelves. Each time he had to switch, he grew more frustrated as anxiety slowly began to pool inside him. It was getting tiring, and his hope was beginning to wane. He was able to get the bare minimum of information and then some, but it wasn't enough for him. He had to find out anything regarding integration! He had to stop when it brought on a migraine, deciding to stop and go back to the dorm.

He groaned as he fell face-first on the bed, Todd looking at him worriedly.

"You look exhausted.", the goat noted.

"I was in the library.", his voice was muffled by the sheets until he turned over. "I was looking for anything about human history, but I didn't find much."

"What did you find?"

"Basic stuff— we're supposedly evolved from monkeys, we have tailbones, and we spread out once we were discovered and made villages. Other than that, zip."

"Well, humans are pretty rare.", he reasoned. "Maybe there weren't that many around to make books on them."

The human groaned, "I know! It's just...I was really banking on this. Ever since the Meteor Festival, I've been feeling lost, like I don't have a purpose."

He sat up with a sigh, "I've just been going with things until Territory Day when I went to the wolf room again. They all looked so happy, and it was all thanks to Juno and her speech. It looked like she was able to find who she was...but I'm not in that boat."

He thought back to the wolves smiling amongst one another, happy and friendly. Would he have been able to cause the same result? If he had a plan and followed through, would things change the way they are now? Compared to him, Juno was outgoing as well as attractive (he had to give her props there). He didn't have much appearance-wise, and his reputation didn't fare well once his secret came out. It didn't feel like he would've been able to do what the female wolf did.

"I need to find...me.", he said as he rubbed the side of his head. "I don't know where I'm gonna go from here, so I thought that if I looked into human history..."

"Well, maybe you just need some time to think about it.", Todd said reassuringly. "If you try to force yourself to find who you are, you might not find something you're happy with."

"Yeah, but...", he trailed off, heart starting to pound as he heard a malicious voice faintly.

"In this world, only the strong survive— and compared to me, you're nothing!"

"I'm just not sure how to feel about all these changes.", he closed his eyes.

Todd sat beside him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, "Maybe it's good that things are changing. You said that the wolves seemed happy, so maybe it'll make things better for everyone."

"Yeah...", he said quietly. "Maybe..."

~~*~~

A.N: I honestly kind of feel bad for what I'm about to put Alan through here. Part of me doesn't want to, but it MUST— for the sake of drama! Plus, I'm a sucker for emotional turmoil...

Buckle up, kiddies. Things will take a very hard turn soon.