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For the first time in Kachya's experience with St. Mary's, she was consistently placed in the midst of people that didn't just politely ignore her or barely tolerate her. She found herself being drawn into conversations and loose friendships with people she barely knew. Her quiet lunchtimes had been taken over by a small band of students that had attached themselves to her in support of her attempt to make it as queen. The group included her and actively paid attention to her as they exchanged bits of food from their meal to get more of their favorites. It was a strange sensation to be included and drawn into conversation as she sat on the edge of her seat and nibbled on the edge of her sandwich to give herself a moment of peace.

The first time she'd sat down at lunch and found herself being joined by people that seemed to genuinely want to be around her, she had been bashful and nervous. She'd tried to speak up, but her attempts were a bit halted. She wasn't sure what she should say to keep them interested, or to add to any of their conversations. It was Nate that came to the rescue again; the handsome jock had pushed into place at the table with a few smiles and forced her to join the conversation. He had become a bit of a shadow to her over the past week, often joining her for the evening meal or inviting her to come with him to the gym when he was running for track. Reikian never said anything or seemed jealous or upset; her attempts to broach the matter to him hadn't yielded any results.

"Daydreaming?" A light tap on her nose made her blink and turn to stare right at a short fennec fox who was the most recent addition to her group.

"Pardon me?" She flushed a bit and twitched her ears back as Pasha gave her thick plush tail a swish, almost bumping against her hips.

"Are you going to track practice this afternoon?" The fox repeated, her pale amber eyes alight with silent laughter.

Most of the people that joined Kachya for lunch were students like her--poor ones that were mostly shunned unless they found protectors among the popular crowd or the staff. Pasha was the one that didn't quite fit; she had wealthy parents that gave her a generous allowance and was far more popular than anyone at the table. The fox always seemed to be silently laughing at all of them, as if she knew some secret that no one else could guess. It was disconcerting, but the fennec didn't do anything malicious; she just came one lunch to sit down at the table and introduced herself, leaving the rest of the girls to make room.

"I don't think so. I wanted to get a chance to work on some homework," Kachya admitted guiltily. She had begun to slip on doing homework as the campaign ran on; it was just harder to find the time to do it.

"Bring it to practice. Nate's going to be there and they're teaming up with some of the underclassmen." Pasha's tail gave a slow sway behind her and she gave a conspiratorial smile. "I don't see why we can't invite everyone here to go. It'd be fun to see him running around, you know, especially in those shorts."

"I. . .." Kachya flushed hotly and snapped her mouth shut. "I guess we can go. Do you girls want to go?" She glanced up towards the seven students that had become a part of her group.

"God yes!" Genna, a short terrier style dog, yelped up. "I can't believe you managed to get Nate. I heard that Maria is fuming over it, especially when you guys were out last night so late. Were you in the library?"

"N-no, not really. . .." Kachya stumbled a little and then forced a grin. "Besides, I'm not telling. He's just a good guy. He's sweet. Besides, cats eat rabbits, don't you know?"

She covered her slip up with a joke before any of them could press to find out where she had been. She wasn't sure where Nate had been last night, but she had been with Reikian into the very late hours of the evening. He had managed to slip a note into her paw when she'd been changing classes and he had shown her in no uncertain terms that he enjoyed her new popularity and confidence. His boasts that she would be elected had originally seemed foolish and overly optimistic, but his plan was slowly falling into place. He'd teased her last night, calling her "Your Highness" while marking her body in one of the most sordid ways possible. Even thinking about it made her shift her hips against her chair, pushing it backwards a touch.

"I know they eat rabbits. I thought that's what you liked about him?" Pasha almost purred her joke, startling laughter out of everyone, including Kachya herself.

"That's not fair!" She protested and gave her head a short shake. "I'm just saying you guys are making things out to be more then they really are. We're just friends."

"I'm surprised he isn't supporting Maria. Most of the other people are pushing for her to win; she's got her own mob to herself." Kala put in from the other side of the table. "Especially the three sisters. They're so confident that they're going to make sure Maria take the win. I heard yesterday that they were already planning what outfits to wear when they get chosen for the court."

"They can't do anything; they're just upset they weren't nominated, not that they could agree on who should try to go for it." Kachya nodded stiffly at the mention of the trio.

It wasn't unheard of for canines to have litters, but rarer for the litters to look so alike. The three wolves were almost entirely identical to each other. The only difference was in the pattern of their fur, which had to be looked at closely to tell them apart. They weren't exactly in the popular crowd, but they did have friends in nearly every walk of life. They were backbiting, and known to gossip, but they also had the principal somehow under their paw. Kachya wasn't sure why (and Reikian had dismissed it as being a rumor), but they got away with things in school that would have gotten nearly anyone else in trouble. Maria had been the first to try for their votes, promising them a spot in her court if they could help her draw in more votes. Since then, they'd formed a literal pack, the four wolves almost constantly together at lunch and in any other period they had free.

"I'm just glad one of us has a shot." Genna spoke up. "It's not like you had to join up with those jerks just to get nominated. It gives us a chance to show that we don't have to act like sluts to get ahead in this school."

"And the cliques, they just do whatever the leader wants; they don't really think for themselves." Another spoke up, sounding angry. "They were picking on that new girl the other day, the one that got transferred in from St. Anthony's. She wasn't even doing anything, but they started teasing her and making up stories about why she was sent here."

"It's always been like that." Kala, the ferret, pulled her ears back. "If you talk to some of the eighth graders, it was like that when they were our age too. I hate it! One of my old best friends ended up with the volleyball group. Now she won't even talk to me. Sometimes, I don't think she even knows that I'm there."

"It's alright." Kachya leaned over to give her paw a light touch. "It's just how things are supposed to go, I guess. I don't think anywhere is free of it."

"Not anymore; _you're_doing something about it." Kala perked up a little bit, a smile crossing her face. "You're getting votes even if you're not in one of their cliques. Finally, it isn't about who you know, it's about the person you are."

The general murmur of agreement made Kachya shift in her seat, almost uncomfortable with the way that they had started to look up to her. It looked as if she had risen up from complete anonymity to claim a prize out from under the more popular students. Part of that was true, but she knew that Reikian was working behind the scenes to give her a chance. That awareness made her feel the slightest shiver of doubt through her pleasure at her newfound acceptance. The doubt lingered as the bell rang for the end of the lunch period and she began to gather her things up. How much was this her doing and how much of it was Reikian's?

~ ~ * ~ ~

"Seriously, buzz off, pussy!" The snapped words barely made Reikian flinch as the possum made a show of stretching out his long frame and reaching for the small joint that was being passed between himself and the two who were close by.

The rakshasa didn't even flinch at the brush off, since it wasn't entirely unexpected. The group was situated under the bleachers despite the cold chill in the air; they'd be here nearly every week, no matter the weather. Scythe--no one would call the possum Trent if they wanted to live--was titular leader of the group of stoners that barely made it through their classes. The other two, an iguana girl and a goat boy, would have been alright on their own. The girl--though she was pierced and attempted to die her spines--was easygoing when by herself, and the goat just didn't care if he was bribed, but Scythe was downright unpleasant and a bully. The possum nearly always tried to get away with wearing black despite the school rules and had more piercings than Reikian could count on two paws. Scythe was also one of the few people that traveled between the odd groups in the school.

"What? Not enough room for four?" Reikian put his ears back and tilted his head back. "It's not like you have a big damn crowd down here."

"No, but there's no room for you." Scythe gave him an aloof look. "What the fuck are you doing down here anyway? Aren't you worried one of the teachers will spank that striped hide of yours?"

The rakshasa snorted in disgust. "No, I'm not. Besides, it's not like they'd even lay a paw on me at this point; I know my way around here."

"Heh," The girl coughed a laugh and tilted her head towards him. He resisted the urge to bristle; he'd never been entirely comfortable around the scaled denizens of the school, and the outlandish appearance of the iguana was a touch disturbing. "You didn't come down here to try and bum a smoke off us."

"No," Reikian shrugged a shoulder. "I just figured you'd be interested in having a bit of fun."

"Jesus, Scythe, he's trying to hit on your girlfriend!" The goat spoke up, his ears going up high on his head. "Right in front of you."

"No! Nothing like that." Reikian lashed his tail in annoyance. "I was just watching the candidates for the queens doing their campaigning in the dining room and thought of you guys."

"No business of ours; it's stupid as hell. I'll be in high school next year and I'm sure as hell not going to do anything there either." Scythe looked down his narrow muzzle at the feline. He was older than anyone else in the school, having been held back enough times that it should have been embarrassing, but he never seemed to mind. He used his age and influence to have impressive control over the less desirables of the school.

"Whatever." Reikian shrugged a shoulder, "I just thought you liked a good joke. You're normally the ones in the thick of it when shit goes down. They're shifting the odds for the Queen behind the scenes to bump Maria off the spot."

"Aren't you dating her, dude?" The goat looked mildly interested, though his eyes were a touch unfocused from the amount he'd smoked. "I'm not gonna vote that little bitch in just because you're sleeping with her."

"No, I want to vote her out." Reikian's tail started to lash faster as he pulled up to his full height. "She's getting too full of herself and doesn't have any time for anything but getting more votes. Hell, when we're together, that's all she goes on about. I think she should get shoved off that pedestal and we should give the whole school a shake-up in the process."

He had practiced the lie before, a carefully woven one that was plausible given Maria's obsession with winning and would speak to his audience. Maria was concentrating on the popular students and her own numerous friends, while Kachya had been striking a chord with the poorer students and the academics that had admired the way she persisted in her classes. Bala was aiming herself towards the faculty, trying to garner support using teacher's pets and their network. Nearly everyone knew she was behind in the race, which was rapidly developing into a run between Maria and Kachya. He'd finally decided that the best way to get more votes wouldn't be to try to steal Maria's or Bala's, but by pushing some of the disengaged students into getting involved.

Scythe was always with the punks and goths, giving him street cred, mostly because he just didn't care what people thought about him. Reikian had known about him almost since arriving at the school, but he'd never tried to approach the possum before. He didn't like Scythe's crowd, partly because they tended to get expelled and end up in juvie before they even hit high school. The worst of them were among the few students that abused other students, going beyond the dark games of detention to true cruelty. Some of the girls in his class had gotten on the possum's bad side and had gone so far as to report it to the principal--something that was nearly unheard of with the way that St. Mary's was run. But the punks and goths were also potential voters that could give Kachya the win and, for that, Reikian was willing to deal with the unsavory older boy.

"So what? You want us to vote for Bala?" Scythe pulled his mottled ears back against his head and showed his teeth. "The fuck with that, she should lose. I saw the old ferret trying to get the football team to vote for her."

"No, for the rabbit, Kachya." Reikian tensed a little as he said her name; he didn't like drawing their attention to her, but he wascharacteristically confident that he'd be able to protect her. "You know, the poor girl, that'd be a real hit for everyone, wouldn't it? You'd get one on the principal, and hell, you know it'd be a huge joke."

"Huh. . ." The possum took a draw of his joint, the smoke curled form his nostrils. "I suppose that ain't a bad idea. Be fucking funny to see her win it; she'd probably not even be able to afford a dress!"

The other two let out short laughter while Reikian felt anger flare up just beneath the surface at their amusement at Kachya's expense. He kept his tail still with a force of will, his ears twitching backwards a little while he attempted to keep his face blank. His pretense was the only way to get through to this bunch; they certainly wouldn't accept a noble reason or any attempt to sway them based on Kachya's underdog status. Let them laugh; Kachya would be beautiful for the Winter Ball, he'd already been working on a plan for that. As long as they voted the way he wanted, they could think whatever they wanted for now. The results were what was important, and he needed to make sure he had enough votes to count with voting day rapidly approaching.

~ ~ * ~ ~

The gym was overly warm, but Kachya didn't mind it. After all, the weather was getting colder and she had taken the long way around the building to meet up with some of her supporters, miffed to find that the main entrance was locked. She'd had the chance to stay with her friends, but she'd ducked away from them last minute so she could run up to the dorms and change out of her uniform. It felt good to have on normal clothes for once, especially since her skirt made her even colder when she had to go outside and was less comfortable than more practical wear. She had heard that Reikian had ducked outside earlier in the day, all bundled up against the inclement weather and prying eyes. The rumor was that he was trying to make a run to town, one of the more forbidden activities of the students, but she had perked her ears up in hopes of finding him.

She'd wanted to see if she could catch him, just for a bit. He had been remarkably hard to catch in the last few days. Tomorrow, they would be voting on the Queen; she had wistfully hoped that he would meet up with her last night to reassure her, but he hadn't. He'd been two steps ahead of her lately; she'd see glimpses of him, but rarely more than that. It made her nervous tpo be pushed into the limelight on her own. She had come to rely on his advice and balancing presence. Nate's advice and calm demeanor were helpful, but she was the one that had to encourage people to vote for her. She was out of her depth, but it strangely made her feel stronger. She wasn't just depending on Reikian or Nate to garner votes, but truly making people like her and want to help her.

She had gone to track practice and actually talked to a few of the upperclassmen that normally intimidated her. At first, she'd been tongue-tied when they'd included her on a giggling conversation about the boys that were running around the gym, but she'd slowly relaxed. One of them had been a rabbit like herself, albeit with a dark stripe down her nose and rich caramel fur, but she had been fun to talk to. The moment that Kachya'd stopped trying to figure out what to say to be listened to, and simply responded as she would normally, it had become easier. She'd almost been dumbfounded when the rabbit had winked and told her that she'd have another vote in her corner come Election Day. But, despite that, she was beginning to miss Reikian almost to the point of distraction.

He's busy; I'm sure he'll find me soon enough. Tomorrow is Election Day. _ She reassured herself with a bit of a shake. _He said that he was going to make sure I had enough votes to win, and that probably takes time.

The moment she stepped between the double doors of the gym, she was able to shrug her coat down a little bit and feel the indoor warmth wrapping around her. She ran a paw down her ears and grimaced as it came away damp from the flurries that had landed on her when she'd come across the yard. She was glad that today marked the end of classes and the tomorrow the Queen would be elected. It meant that she was going to be able to sleep in, rather than getting up while the halls were still cold just to get a shower before the hot water was gone.

"Hey Kachya." Maria's familiar voice greeted her as she wiggled out of her coat and the rabbit blinked in confusion at seeing the dark furred wolf pup perched on the end of a bleacher.

"Oh, Maria. . .." She tilted her head down a little, feeling a bit unsure at the familiar face.

She hadn't been exactly avoiding her rival during the election, but she also hadn't sought her out. Reikian hadn't tried to bring them both together when he'd sought Kachya out, carefully keeping their times together just between each other when before he had freely invited the pup to be with them. She could understand why; the tension between the girls as they both sought the same goal was bound to come to a head if they were pushed into the same room together. For once, Maria was alone, leaning back against the row of seats behind her. She looked relaxed, not confrontational at all. If anything, she looked friendly, with her ears up and a slight smile on her face.

"Hope I didn't startle you?" Maria cocked her head to one side. "I heard that your group was getting together in the girls' locker room."

"Yeah, I'm kinda running late." Kachya answered awkwardly. "I just wasn't expecting to see you there is all."

"I just thought we should talk before tomorrow." The pup pushed off her seat and dropped down to her paws. "You know, it's Election Day and all."

"I know." Kachya twitched her ears a little bit. "I would have thought that you would be busy getting your own votes in order."

"I am, but. . ." Maria sighed a little and twitched her ears back, her nose crinkling up a touch. "I know that one of us is going to win, I just wanted to say that if I do, I'm not going to just let you get ignored, alright? The Queen gets to appoint her own court, and I'd pick you to be on it too, just in case."

Kachya gave a bit of a jolt in surprise at the offer, her eyes widening, despite her attempt to keep her expression straight. Maria and she had always gotten along alright, but she'd always felt friction between them. Some of it could be because of Reikian; his doting on Maria in public, touching her, and showing her off rankled the rabbit, but it went both ways. Maria often seemed to be jealous, or at least possessive, of Reikian even when they were in private together. It made things uneasy between them, but the other girl was also likable in her own way now that they no longer were butting heads. Maria's earlier treatment of her was still a sore point to Kachya, but she hadn't repeated it. The race they were running was even clean; whatever intimate secrets the wolf held had never escaped or been whispered around as far as Kachya knew.

It could be because of Reikian. She might not want him upset again, but she could have found other ways to get dirt about me out there, Kachya reminded herself as she tried to find a good response. She sounds sincere enough, and it's a good gesture.

"That. . . would be really kind of you." Kachya answered after a long pause. "If I win, I wouldn't want anyone else as the Princess in my court but you. You'd be my very first pick."

As she spoke, she was almost shocked to realize that she genuinely felt that way. In many ways, some of the anger she had felt for the girl had faded away. It was still there, a dull ache from the times she'd been picked on, but it was mingled together with the times they'd had together with Reikian. Still, it felt good to offer her paw to Maria and come to an agreement before the election. She didn't want to imagine what it might be like if they were at each other's throat in truth.

"Good luck tomorrow." Maria gave her paw a shake and smiled. "I gotta get back to my own planning."

"Yeah, good luck to you too." Kachya tried not to sound awkward as she responded, her short tail twitching along her rump. Some of the nervousness about the coming Election Day relaxed as she let Maria pass her and made her own dash towards the door to the locker rooms. She had work to do.

~ ~ * ~ ~

Reikian held his breath, careful not to send the mist out of his hiding spot as Maria nearly brushed past him on her way out of the gym. It was just by luck that he'd managed to duck into the patch of bushes when he heard the wolf approaching the back door. The rakshasa's broad, striped tail was lashing back and forth, pushing the light fall of snow to either side. The wolf didn't even glance his way, but pushed herself further into her coat and set off a trot towards the main entrance of the school. His eyes followed her all the way to the door until she slipped out of sight and he could step out of the brush and flick the damp flakes from his ears.

He'd been intending to meet up with Kachya in the locker room, just to see how things were going with her personally, but he'd stopped when he'd nudged the door open and heard voices. He wasn't entirely shocked to see Maria in the gym talking to Kachya; he'd assumed that Maria was going to pressure the other girl or make her nervous. The wolf pup had gotten increasingly competitive over the last few days of the election, enough so that he was reaching for more votes through any means he could find to ensure that the rabbit won. What he hadn't expected was the subdued way Maria had gone to Kachya, not in defeat, but with an offer that set his ears back. He'd been working so long to ensure that his lover won that he had overlooked Maria in many aspects.

She's become the competition. _He shifted with an unfamiliar feel of guilt of how he had talked about her to some of the outcasts just to get their vote. _I think I misjudged her.

It was an unnerving thought for Reikian as he glanced back towards the gym and rethought his plan to join the rest of Kachya's group. He wanted to think, he needed to think. Tomorrow the election would be held, and the overheard conversation had made his mind work down paths that he hadn't expected to go. With a shake he stepped away from the gym and took Maria's example by setting a trot towards the main building and his dorm, shifting the package he had brought back from town beneath his arm.

~ ~ * ~ ~

"I didn't think there were this many people in the school." Kachya had to nearly shout to be heard as Ms. Etante stood next to her as a solid presence in the sea of people.

The bell had been rung at noon before the principal had come over the PA and announced that the elections would be held in the gym, with all students required to attend. She'd never actually been to a full school assembly before, since assemblies were normally split by age or grade groups so that they were a manageable size. Now, she wanted to hide as she stared out at a sea of faces in a gym that felt burning hot. Except, there was nowhere for her to hide; she'd been brought up on the main stage with her advisor at her side. She was keenly aware of how she was being displayed to everyone, without her supporters behind her back and with only a teacher to keep her from bolting.

If not for all the times she'd been forced into the spotlight in the last week, she might have done just that--Turned tail and tried to make herself scarce instead of lifting her head up and bracing herself. She hadn't imagined she could do something like this, but she had, and she was proud of herself. She had overcome so much of her shyness in the past few days that she felt almost like a new person. She felt confident, even bold, she could do this. She wasn't really alone; she could glance out at the friends she'd made standing in a group; even Reikian was milling through the crowd. It was all going to be okay.

"Don't worry about it." Ms. Etante tilted her head a bit towards Kachya as the crow unconsciously echoed the rabbit's thoughts. "It'll thin out a bit after the announcement. The hard part is over. Barrian has made some decisions about the voting process that should make things easier."

"I hope so." Kachya fought the urge to turn her head to see if Bala and Maria were just as nervous as she as.

"Alright!! ALRIGHT!!!" The principal's voice boomed out over the microphone, followed by a harsh screeching noise that set the rabbit's ears flat to her head. "Come to order! Everyone have a seat or get on the main floor; let's have some order here. Teachers, get your students under control."

The teachers began to call out their classes by name, trying to sort out the clustered groups that had formed together in front of the stage. It was contained chaos as students filtered up into the bleachers instead of gathering in the main part of the gym. Some remained standing where they were, but the bulk of the kids went up into the stands, divided up neatly enough while Kachya shifted on her paws and spared a glance towards the striped form of Reikian. He was following his group, but spared her a glance back. She saw his eyes for only a moment, but it was long enough that he cast a quick wink to her before he was lost in the crowd.

"Alright. . .." Barrian lifted his broad arms up as the students began to settle back down again. "Today marks the end of our electoral process. I am impressed with all of our candidates for running a clean race and showing remarkable ingenuity in campaigning. It is not often that such maturity is seen in ones so young. A round of applause for Kachya, Maria and Bala."

There was a burst of applause that made her ears flush a touch; a few called out the names of their favorite and a few even whistled their appreciation. She concentrated on her own supporters more than those siding with the other candidates. Bala had a firm cadre of students from the sound of it, though Maria's and her own far exceeded them.

"Our original intent was to have write in ballots that would be cast anonymously, but as the race has continued, I have discussed the plan with the rest of the teachers." The bear glanced to some of the teachers. "We will have two voting stations manned by teachers, each with three boxes, one for each candidate. Students that are voting will take their ticket and place it in the box for their choice. This will prevent any fraud from occurring. The votes will be counted as they come in and at the end of the afternoon we will tally the votes from both stations and declare our winner." The teacher looked over them with an aloof expression on his face, his ears pricked up slightly. "The booths will open after our three candidates place their own votes, and will remain open until the six o'clock dinner bell. At the end of dinner, we will announce the winner and the new Queen of the Winter Ball."

Kachya bit her lip slightly. After waking up with her stomach upset, she'd barely picked at her breakfast, and now she was glad she hadn't eaten more. The edge of excitement made her lightheaded as there was a rush of applause and Ms. Etante gave her a gentle nudge towards the left side of the stage and the stairs. She flicked her eyes down a little bit and heard one of her supporters whistle before calling out her name. With a deep breath, she flicked her ears up high and lifted her head, trying not to show her nervousness.

"Okay," The pied crow murmured as softly as she could while still being audible. "They're going to take a while to vote. Your best chance is to go out now with a few of your strongest supporters and try to pick up any votes you can. You know the ones that are definitely casting for you, so now you need to look for the ones that still aren't sure. Do your best to swing their votes towards you before they get to the ballot box."

"How will I know which ones they are? I don't even know most of these people!" She went down the steps, careful not to trip as she looked up at the teacher.

"Easy. Most of the undecided people will wait until the end of the day to cast their vote." The crow flicked her feathers up a touch as they moved away from the stage and towards the makeshift cloth barriers that made up one of the booths. "I know it'll be tempting to stay with the ones that have been supporting you, but find the ones that wander off immediately and go talk to them. Don't press them about voting for you, either."

"Then what am I supposed to do?" She furrowed her brow and let the teacher hold her back so that the other two candidates could go ahead of her.

"Just talk to them, find a way to get into the conversation. Perhaps ask them if they're taking someone to the dance." Ms. Etante parted her beak in a corvine smile. "You don't have to talk about anything or promise, but you can hint that you might be looking for a King if you're voted when it comes to the guys--or hint at a spot in the court for the girls."

"I can't give everyone that." Kachya fought the urge to name the one person that she planned on choosing as her King if she won.

"No; that's why you're not going to promise; you're just going to hint that it's possible." Etante gave a hoarse laugh. "Don't worry, you'll be just fine."

"I guess," Kachya answered uncomfortably. "I'll do my best."

_I just hope that it's enough for me to win. _ She thought it like a prayer as she stepped past the cloth to cast her own vote.

~ ~ * ~ ~

Reikian perched on the bleachers, not towards the top of them where he'd be seen, but lounging right at the base as if he were half asleep. The gym was barely half full as people trailed in and then slipped out again after making their votes. The two voting booths were directly across from him, so he was able to keep an eye on both while he pretended that he had nothing else better to do. Everyone else was off enjoying the day, or had gone up to their dorms with plans to finalize plans for the dance. Nearly everyone already had a date, but some were still holding out until the last minute. He knew a few of the boys hadn't asked anyone in the hopes to make a bid for King, and those were the ones that he kept flicking his eyes towards in annoyance.

Most of the boys were after Maria or Bala, but there was a distressing number trying for Kachya. He'd overheard a few of them murmuring that Nate wasn't going to be her King and attempting to flirt with her in what he considered to be an underhanded way. He preferred to think that they were in no way a threat to him, but that didn't stop him from bristling every time he saw one approaching the rabbit. Thankfully, she had left the gym after casting her vote, leaving him to concentrate on the matter at hand. He was nearly certain he had enough votes if things went according to plan, but there was always the chance that something could happen to the support he'd supposedly secured.

Approaching steps made his ears prick up as Nate made his way out of one of the booths with a smile on his face, his long tail twitching back and forth as the lanky older male glanced around to locate him. He had two spies working for him. Along with Nate was a new girl by the name of Ven, a sweet little fox that had a positive knack for getting into places that she shouldn't be in. It was his best way of figuring out how the votes were being tallied and if he needed to try for any more votes. He jumped off his seat and gave a discreet wave of his paw towards the jock that brought the feline trotting towards him.

"Alright, got the word from Ms. Ronal." Nate said as soon as he came within earshot. His ears splayed a touch in embarrassment. "Apparently Maria is just six votes behind on that booth, but I can see at least four of my friends in line, so that will hopefully put Kachya ten ahead."

The rather stocky red panda teacher had a crush on Nate, or at least was fully in lust with the jock. It was no secret that she had high hopes for next quarter, when she would have him in class; she was hoping that she'd get him in detention. Nate had hated being forced to pump her for information about how the count was going, but he'd relented after a few nudges from Reikian. He didn't even need to be coaxed that much; he had seemed to enjoy befriending Kachya and had gone out of his way to help to the best of his abilities.

"That's good." Reikian shuffled his feet and glanced towards the other booth. "Ven says Maria is ahead by eight votes over at the other booth. It's still too close to really call."

"I can go and see how Kachya's doing, perhaps help her along?" The leopard tilted his head to one side. "The last I heard, she was going after a few of the undecideds."

"That sounds like a good plan. I'm going to go talk to a few people who haven't voted yet; I think I have their votes, and they should be enough to swing it last minute." Reikian gave a curl of his tail tip. "I'm positive she's going to be announced the winner."

"I'm happy for her, but feel a bit sorry for the little wolf. She's been running herself ragged today, I think she's spanned the entire school grounds. She even offered Bala a spot in her court if she'd throw her supporters to Maria. Boy, was Bala mad that Maria didn't think she had a chance!" Nate glanced towards the doors. "Well, I'll check back in a bit, I'm going to go check on Maria--and maybe work on my brokenhearted face." The taller feline flashed his white teeth in a laughing grin towards Reikian.

Reikian laughed, too, as the jock left. It had been so easy to talk to him about how the end of the election would play out. Nate was eager to have a chance to cast away the girls that were obsessing over him and seemed confident that playing brokenhearted and fed up with girls would work. The rakshasa didn't have the heart to tell him that it was likely going to have the opposite effect for a while; the girls would all want to console him while he was getting his real consolation from the lads that he had his eyes on. But it would all work out one way or another. It was the last part, however, that lingered in his mind as he made his way out of the gym to see if he could track down the people that hadn't voted.

Maria was throwing everything into the election; she was working just as hard as Kachya, her popular status balancing out Reikian's and Nate's machinations. She'd been on his mind ever since he'd overheard the conversation between the girls last night. At the start of all of this, getting Kachya elected had been a simple solution. Now, the race was running so close that there was a possibility that either of them could win. He couldn't just allow Maria to win, it would destroy Kachya to come so far and lose anyway. He didn't want to imagine how it would crush her newfound self esteem and confidence.

She was flourishing, and in ways that made him so proud of her. She had been so quiet before, lurking in the shadows, hiding in the backdrop of any given conversation so that she wouldn't be picked out. But now she had learned how to talk to others, to easily walk into a conversation and become a part of it. She was still shy in larger groups, her hesitation obvious, but she was working on truly blossoming. They'd all been so busy lately that it was almost impossible to get together, but he had still been watching her. Her confidence was still a fragile thing, newly won, and he didn't want to imagine it crumbling before she really came into her own.

If Maria wins, it'll devastate her. She's just starting to believe that she's as beautiful and likeable as I believe. He sighed a little and paused as he watched a few more people filtering into the gym.

But, there didn't have to be a loser between them. Bala was obviously going to lose; she had quite a few votes, but nothing compared to Kachya and Maria. They were almost neck and neck as it was, which meant that a tie was very possible. It could happen all on its own, but he had spies that might be able to help him know the counts before they were announced, so he could sway things. He had enough voters, he thought, to ensure Kachya won--but he could also go to the ones that he was blackmailing and have them change their vote last minute. Evening up the sides would mean there would be two winners in the race; Kachya wouldn't be ashamed of losing and Maria's hard work would pay off as well.

That is, if they let them have a tie. _He pinned his ears back a touch. _They could demand a recount or have a tiebreaker of some sort. It would be like Barrian to have something up his sleeve for that case.

The rakshasa bit his lower lip as he listened to a group talking about the voting, his tail lashing despite his attempts to keep it still. If there was a tiebreaker, it could be something that he couldn't manipulate that would cost Kachya the crown--or something that she could win on her own to prove her abilities to herself once and for all. It was just as likely as having the pair named co-Queens together to rule over the Winter Court. Reikian pulled back away from the group talking and glanced back towards the gym with a frown furrowing his brow. He wasn't sure what to do. For the first time in all of his planning, he felt as if he were blind and fumbling for the right answer with no idea what the reactions of the faculty would be.

_I'm just going to ask Mr. Barrian. He'll at least give me an honest answer; and, then, I can figure out the right answer. _ With a sharp nod to himself, he abandoned his original intent to goad more people to vote for Kachya and trotted off to find the teacher. There had to be a right answer here. Somewhere.