#and that there's a plant growing in the mug you sent me with my coyote on it. also doing double-duty as a bookend!

[guineapigsinwinter]

Cat among the canines

Chapter two:

I'm thinking I will double this in length wise before posting it to ao3, go over the next or so,or should I just do what I have and time skip to the cannon start time?

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A week after New Year’s day, room 701.

“Ta, ta, tall, I’m the tallest!” Jack’s roommates were all staring at the dancing Labrador, stunned by the level of his excitement at the impromptu measuring results he’d excitedly demanded as soon as he as he saw Collet’s height now nearly matched his.

“Yeah.. he will likely be like this for a few minutes unless something gets his attention” Legoshi quietly said smiling, as he moved to corner of the room to check on the ant farm the others had gotten him for Rexmas, wail gently wagging.

Later that day

It was a small group making a circuit around the snow covered garden, checking which plants appeared to be fine and which had been damaged by the weather over the holidays. Susan, the Highland Cow who was the gardening club’s president was using it as a chance to catch up with Haru, Jack and Miguno.

“And it actually worked! We were able to sneak into Tem’s dorm and watched all three Lord of the Rings films, Bill had never seen them before!” Jack rapidly said, his voice matching his tail wagging.

“Really dude, you inflicted that on him? Star Wars would have been better” Miguno countered, causing a gasp of shock and childish outrage from Jack. “Take that back! Everyone knows Lord of the Rings is better!”.

It had started out when the guys had found Bill had never really read or watched much beyond what his family had approved. He had quickly fallen in love with the various science fiction shows, manga, comics and games Collet, Miguno and Voss had introduced him to. Jack, Legoshi and Durnham preferred fantasy, and the argument and had become a recuring debate in room 701 and the cause of multiple of dog piles.

“Personally, I don’t really like either, historical or modern stuff is better” Haru casually added, causing the two first years to stop and stare at her in horror.

Susan chuckled as the three younger students went into a passionate argument about films, the club president enjoying the energy and childish passion of the younger club members.

Ahh, to be that carefree and not have to worry about final year exams the Highland cow thought, before she gently ended the debate and started explaining everything she knew about the holly bushes they had reached to the young animals.

Meanwhile, in room 701.

Voss sighed as he sat down at his laptop on the table that covered Bill’s bed, the 13 year old relishing in the silence that filled the room. Bill and Collet had dragged Legoshi to their wrestling practice, Miguno and Jack were at gardening club and Durnham at the swim team practice. He loved his dorm mates, he really did, but fennec also loved this rare chance to have peace and quite to himself. Sipping at his mug of milk, he started to work on the next instalment of comic series he was writing for the school paper.

Several hours later, Miguno was the first to get back, Voss’s nose wrinkling when the smell of chlorine filled the room. “Open the window please Miguno, your making the place stink like a pool” he grumbled as he finished up the history report he had moved onto after he finished writing his comic.

“But it’s so good! You should come sometime Voss” Durnham replied, bouncing across the room as his swim bag went sailing into a corner and he opened the window, the crisp winter air flooding into the air.

“Please don’t turn into Jack and Bill, it’s hard enough with them trying to drag me to their respective clubs.” Voss replied, putting away his battered laptop, sensing the incoming storm just from the sheer energy radiated by the coyote.

Durnham’s response was cut off as the room opened and Miguno and Jack came in, the latter wearing a crown of dark plum coloured winter roses.

“Just admit it Miguno, I’m better at Smash then you.” The Labrador said laughing.

“Nuh, I beat you last week remember? You pouted all night afterwards.” The hyena bit back smirking.

“Well I’ll just have to prove it –“ Jack’s response was cut off by the door slamming open, and the last three residents of the dorm coming in. Immediately, Bill excitedly started shouting, hopping from one foot to the other.

“Guys, guys! I learned the best word today, it’s really cool!” the tiger’s ecitetment got stares from the others except for Collot and Legoshi, who just chuckled as they took their coats and shoes off.

Smiling, Jack asked “What is it?”

Taking a breath, Bill then shouted at the top of his voice. “FFFUUUUUCCCKKK!!! FUCK! Fuckity fuck!” giggling at the dumbstruck expression on the Labrador’s face, and the muffled cries of “What are you kid’s doing” from other rooms.

Jack’s horrified expression caused everyone else in the room to laugh as he launched into a rushed dressing down of Bill. “That’s a bad word Bill, you can’t use it! You could get in trouble! Please don’t use it in any essays!”

Bill continued to chant his new favourite word to Jack’s displeasure, which only grew as the other boys started to teasingly shout it out as well.

“C’mon guys! Stop using it, we will get in trouble if you use it! Jack tried to persuade them to stop to no avail. Smirking, Legoshi called out “Hey Jack. Fuck”.

The horror on Jack’s face turned to rage as pounced onto a cackling Bill, knocking him to the ground. “Stop corrupting Legoshi!”.

A month later, at spring Bio week.

This Bio week was weird for Bill. Whereas previously he and the other first year big felines had been showered in affection and attention for “having to put up with those dumb dogs” now he was alone except Tau, the panther he and Legoshi had befriended in the drama club. Anytime they approached any groups, regardless of age or species they would be ignored, and briskly told they were not wanted if they persisted in trying to join in.

It had been several hours now, and Bill was pissed, Tau was trying to calm him down when a shadow loomed over them, they turned. A large tiger who looked similar to Bill, easily at least twice their height with a unpleasant smirk had come up behind them and grabbed Bill.

“C’mon cuz, we got to talk, especially as you got Ma, your own aunt sent to jail you Rex dammed disgrace.” The tiger, Bill’s cousin Sam said, kicking Tau down as he tried to pull Bill out of the teenagers grasp before running off with him.

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Legoshi grinned, tail wagging as he entered the drama club room and ran up to Tem who was talking with Elis and Rizz. The bio week session with the guys had been fun, especially as he had actually felt more confident in joining in with the various games with the other canines, and even managed to get the courage to apologise to the other wolf students from hiding from them at the previous events. There was the usual small talk, but Legoshi slowly withdrew from it more and more as his old anxiety started to build up again as more time had passed without any sign of Bill.

“Anyone know where Bill is? He normally doesn’t miss this for anything, and he was fine this morning” he asked, but everyone murmured they hadn’t. Concern growing for his dormmate, the wolf looked around, and spotted Tau uncharacteristically hanging back in the corner, seemingly studying the floor.

Going over to Bill’s friend, he asked him if he knew where he was.

“N,no.. his cousin grabbed him and ran off, I tried to stop him but couldn’t, the teachers said it was just cousins being cousins..” The panther couldn’t lift his head up, the sheer sadness that filled his voice caused Legoshi to go up and hug him.

“We will look for him after this is over, the guys will help, Jack will know what to do, he always figures things out you know.” Legohsi said, trying to convince himself as much as Tau.

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Gentle guitar music filled the garden, Miguno was practicing next to some rose bushes after having pruned them, enjoying the peace of the garden and focusing on the music. He could get this piece right except for one bit in the middle which no matter how many times he tried, he couldn’t quite get it to work.

Jack was beside him wearing his glasses, reading some textbooks for geography. He had just pulled out a notebook to make notes when a horrible stench hit his nose, causing both him Miguno to gag.

Looking up, they Bill belting it into the gardening shed, the door slamming behind him.

Miguno put down his guitar and ran over to the shed, stopping at the door when he heard Bill sobbing inside.

“Bill? What happened dude, are you okay?” The only response he got was continued sobbing, and after a minute he knocked on the door “Er.. I’m coming in Bill, I just want to help.”

The site and smell the Hyena got when he stepped in shocked him. Bill was curled against a large cupboard, his uniform a mess, bruises and small cuts visible, his head and tail soaked whilst the smell urine came off him.

Horrified, Miguno rushed to Bill, the tiger flinching and trying to bring his sobs under control. “S,s,s,sam.. he .. he said I, I smelled too m, much of dog a, and needed to be made a cat again..” Bill whispered, shivering.

Miguno threw himself at Bill and hugged him hard, causing Bill to freeze “He can’t get you, Rex that is so messed up.” He found himself crying, though just as much from rage as shock at what had been done to his dormmate, but not sure what to do.

Bill gradually uncurled and sat up, not leaving Miguno’s hold, still sniffing. “He.. he held my face and tail down in a toilet and flushed, h, his mates poured buckets of water and ice on me. I tried to fight back but Sam’s 15 and all his mates are so they just beat me down instead. Then said they had to get me smelling of cat again a, and pissed…”

“We’ll get them back somehow” Both of them jumped at Jack’s voice, neither having realised he had entered the shed, Miguno’s guitar on his back. Neither remembered having ever heard his normally bright and warm voice so cold or angry, the 13 year old’s body language radiating protective anger.

Taking a breath and closing his eyes, the lab then smiled weakly but warmly, and knelt before Bill, taking his hand in his “C’mon, let’s get you cleared up, I still have some of that fudge you guys got me for Rexmass and you can have some.”

__

Miguno texted the others, who met them at the showers after he and Jack had managed to get Bill washed and had brought the Tiger’s pajamas, the Canines forming a protective huddle around their tiger, Legoshi holding his hand, trying to distract Bill with bug facts.

As they got to their dorm, they found Tau nervously standing there, the young panther running up to them when he saw the group approach. “Bill! Are you okay! I’m so sorry I couldn’t stop him, please tell me your okay, is there anything I can do?” He spoke almost too fast to be heard, and other then Legoshi and Bill who knew him the room 701 members warily looked at Tau.

“You tried to stop him though, and you hung with me before even if it got you treated like fuck as well, thank you man.” Bill said, some of his usual confidence having returned to him and pushed out from the protective ring of canines to embrace Tau.

After they had gotten into the room, Tau still being anxious as he was dragged by the group onto Legoshi’s bunk, all of them other then Jack who pushed the battered second hand tv Collet had brought to the room after Christmas in front of it.

Handing a bar of fudge to Bill, who had been wrapped in blankets and currently had Legosh pressed up against him on either side, Voss on his left shoulder and a confused Tau in his lap, Jack sighed.

“I’m guessing if I put my vote to that stupid old dalek film Collet’s cousin sent him that wil help right?” The rest of 701 blinked, Jack never voted for any film Collet suggested, this was.. new.

Bill looked up from the bar of fudge which he had already half devoured, blushing “R, really?”

Grinning like his normal self, turned the tv on and settled next to Legoshi, leaning on the grey wolf. “Yeah, and Legoshi, you know those stink bugs you told me about a couple of years ago?”

“Halyomorpha halys? Sure what about them?” he replied, his tail becoming a blur in response to being asked the question.