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--Naki--

"You haven't called us in a while. How're your classes?" Dad asks over the phone as I walk through campus on my way back from my last midterm exam. It's late-- the professor pushed the exam back due to some scheduling conflict so we just finished up and it's 8pm.

"Yea, sorry. Its been a really busy semester. Classes are fine, I'm pretty sure I've got at least a B+ in all of'em," I reply. "How're things over there? Reggie, Nathan, and Mom alright?" I ask.

"Heh, college keeping you busy eh? Mom's fine; the usual stress but y'know we always find a way. Your brothers are doin' well, too. Reggie's wild as ever and Nathan's playing his games. We had to put him on punishment for letting his grades slip last week," he mutters.

"Heh, how bad was it?" I ask.

"Not bad, actually. He slipped from an 'A' to a 'B-'; we wanna make sure he doesn't slip any further than that."

"Yea," I say. "Well, I'm sure he'll pick it up."

"What've you been up to? Besides your classes. Any parties?"

"Well, one," I say, recalling the halloween. "Mostly hanging out with Fen and Motley and Sian, though."

"Just one? Wow, that's a change. We couldn't keep you in the house over the weekends when you were in high school."

I smile a little at that. "Fen's not much of a partier," I respond. It feels natural to say to me but I realize it might come off a little strangely to my dad; he doesn't know about us.

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"I... y'know, don't want to leave him on his own."

He's quiet for a second but seems to accept the answer. "Well, sounds like things are going well. So, y'know what the next question is right?"

"...no?"

"Find any girls yet?"

I cringe a little; should've seen it coming. My hand shifts to rub over my head. "Well..."

"If it's not an otter don't worry; I won't tell your mom."

"I haven't... found any girls," I say... a bit more dramatically than I meant to. I almost sound defeated.

"Ahh, don't worry about it," he says. I can almost picture him waving his hand in the air dismissively. "Good-looking guy like you'll find something. Don't sound so down."

As much as I want to tell him that it's not the fact that I don't have a girlfriend that makes that question such a weird one to answer. "Yea, you're right. I uh... I'll find something."

"Thatta boy. Hey, your mom just finished dinner so I gotta run. She says hi and you know we all love you. Can't wait to see you come home."

"Yea, you too," I say. "Oh! But... one question."

"Hmm?" he asks.

"Well, it's about winter break. Fen... Fen's parents were taken away-- y'know, for Exclusion. I was wondering if it might be okay if he stays with us."

The line is quiet for a while before I hear him hum to himself. "Well," he says, apparently choosing his words. "Let me talk to your mom about it. I don't know if... well, if we can feed another mouth."

"He's a micro," I say. "Without his cloaker he'd barely need anything."

"You think he'd actually take it off around us?" I can hear him nearly chuckle but he holds it in well.

"He'd take it off around me," I say.

"Really?" he asks.

"I... yea, my point is it's an option right?"

"I didn't say no," he responds. "I'll talk to your mom."

"Alright," I say. "Thanks, Dad. Hope dinner's good and I love you guys."

"Alright, Naki. Take care." As soon as he hangs up I realize I forgot to ask about Khole staying too. I mutter a little and consider calling back but resolve to just ask him next time we speak. I peer at my phone to check the time; 8pm. I'll only be about half an hour late to the RANF meeting today. I hope Fen's tests went as well as mine-- he didn't seem so confident walking into any of them and, to be honest, I haven't noticed him studying that much. Maybe he has been, I don't know... I think I've been more stressed out over him than anything else this last month. He has his bright days but they seem to come so sporadically.

My phone buzzes before I can put it back in my pocket and I lift to to stare at the screen again; finding a text message from Fen: "Give Khole a call; see where he is and if he's coming today. Call me afterwards."

I stare at the message for a moment before I pull up Khole in my contacts list and call; I don't even get a single ring before going to his voicemail. I try again, then send him a text telling him to give me a call when he gets a chance. In a few more seconds I'm calling Fen.

"Hey," I say after he answers. "Why'd you want me to ping Khole?"

"He's late... a lot of people are late today. We're calling around to see where everyone is and if they're coming. Only people here are Ryan, Todd, Sian, me, Declan, Rae, and Otto."

I nod a little. "Lilly didn't come with Declan?"

"He said she's in the lobby doing something. Haven't heard from Nick, or Guy at all yet. Declan says they aren't picking up. Did Khole answer?"

"No. I left him a text, though. I'm on my way, too, so I'll be there inna sec."

"Alright, seeya soon then."

"Yep, seeya." I hang up.

I guess I shouldn't be that stressed. Things between us have actually been smooth. No serious arguments or anything past a little chat he gave me after Rory's party about keeping his cloaker from him. I was drunk! And he needed to stop moping... still, I understand where he was coming from. I shouldn't do something like that.

"Just as long as you promise not to do it again," he said as soon as I'd given it back to him the morning after.

"Never again?" I responded with a grin. "You don't seem to mind when we're playing around."

"You know what I mean-- if I'm serious about it... Naki... you know what I mean," he huffed.

"Yea, I know. Sorry, I won't do it again. Promise."

I chuckle at the memory while entering the lobby of the Student Center. I don't see why Khole wouldn't show up, I saw him earlier today and he didn't mention anything about missing. As I walk through the lobby I keep an eye out for Lilly but don't see her by the time I make it to the stairs. It's not particularly busy today but there're still students around talking or getting food in the food-court.

As soon as I walk into the room we're meeting in I notice everyone sitting in a circle; a few with their chairs spun so that their chests press against where their backs normally would. I wave as I walk in, moving to settle next to Fen, following suit in spinning my chair around before I sit.

"What's on the agenda today, anyway?" Ryan asks. He's an aardvark Neotrian and one of the two members we gained before Exclusion began. The other is Todd, a polecat Requoran. They know one another best but have been getting along with the people here well enough. I haven't talked to either much, personally. We're only up one member, though... since we lost Mitch to Exclusion.

"Well," Declan starts to say. "We were... well, it's up to you all, but we were going to talk about what's going on around the city and campus-- what we should do about it. Hoping Lilly shows up soon so we can get started, she's taking a bit longer than I thought she would..."

"What'd she say she was doing?" Todd asks.

"She said she was going to grab some food since she hadn't eaten yet."

"Might be a long line or something. Dinner at 8pm isn't that uncommon around campus," Raelyn replies.

"True. Well, I guess if you all wanna get started she can just join when she gets here. Same with the others, I guess. I didn't know so many would be missing."

"I tried to call Khole, no answer. Hasn't texted me back yet, either," I say, pulling my phone out to stare at it.

"The others didn't answer either. Declan tried calling'em," Fen says. "I say we begin and if they show up we'll figure something out."

Everyone seems to agree so Declan begins. "Well, I'm sure you all know the number of places welcoming Requorans has been diving over the last month or so. That and hostility off-campus has grown to the point where they're actually suggesting Requorans stay on campus and have someone with them-- a Neotrian in particular, if they go off-campus. It's... not clear when things are going to get better. I was thinking maybe it's time we become more active as a group around campus. Not just providing support but also being proactive about showing others why they should try to fight against the scare-tactics being shoved down their throats."

"As in... we should protest?" Sian asks.

"No, not protest. Maybe some sort of event with another student group or hold some sort of talk/conversation with local business owners as part of an event for this group. We could invite others to come and listen or speak and make it a positive thing," Declan says.

"I kind of like that," Todd says. "I mean, maybe some of these businesses don't really know us that well and if we try to communicate they'll be less willing to believe we're here to do something bad."

"I'm sure they've all had Requoran customers before," Fen states.

"Well yea," Todd replies. "But we can't be sure. I mean, the community outside of the school has... suffered a little and... well, whether we believe the media or not, Requorans are taking all of the blame. It doesn't matter if it's true because they'll believe it if we don't give them a reason not to."

"Plus the guys committing the crimes are always Requorans that don't have cloakers," Otto squeaks. "There's a big difference between the Requorans they're afraid of and the ones on campus."

"Not that lack of cloaker means anything," Fen says. "Even if some of us... without cloakers... did do it, it's probably because of all the crap they've had to go through."

"That doesn't really excuse it, though," Raelyn replies. Fen peers at her for a moment.

Ryan nods. "I agree. We can't afford to imply that any kind of violence is good no matter who commits it."

Fen looks at Ryan now. "I'm just saying they're being taken from their homes and forced into camps for God knows what. Of course they'd fight back."

"It won't get them anywhere, though," Sian says. "We didn't win before, we won't win if it starts again."

We all go silent for a moment at that. It's always a sensitive topic, particularly when it comes to accepting that some people are just going to be uncomfortable with a Requoran presence. I think it's just hard to deal with the fact that some people are going to suspect them just because of how they were born. To my knowledge, Fen's never gone after or hurt a Neotrian in his life and yet some of the business owners and people who run the city are willing to treat him and Sy as liabilities. Neotrians who harm Requorans get a free pass more often than not; some of them are even celebrated online bloggers.

I've heard some say that it's necessary to profile since Requorans have been violent in the past and are likely to be violent due to Exclusion. I can see the argument even if I wish Sy, Fen, Khole, and the others didn't have to deal with it. It only helps them feel alienated and I can't help but think it'll highlight our differences as two races more than it'll bring us closer to trusting one another.

"I...I think that conversation went the wrong way. We should try to open up a dialogue and make this group a medium for talking about things. The easy things, the hard things-- whatever. As long as we can expose our point of view in a way that both gets it across but isn't negative. I think this city -and- this campus needs it," Declan says. "Do you all agree on that at least?"

Fen nods, splaying his ears. "Yea, I do, I wasn't disagreeing."

"Yea, same here. We should definitely do something... at least try, instead of sitting in our corner every week," Sian responds.

"We should start it off positively. Maybe a little pizza party or something and just invite other student groups. See how it goes," Todd suggests.

"That sounds awesome," Raelyn grins. "Should try inviting Leary. I mean, it's a longshot but he seems like a big Requoran supporter."

"It is kind of weird to hear him talk. I mean, you never see a Neotrian in a suit like that talking about us the way he does," Sian says.

"I don't know if that'll happen but... eh, maybe worth a try. Once the others get here we can actually put something on paper and make it into a plan," says Declan.

The mood lightens as conversation shifts to video games and then classes-- particularly what some of the micros in the group have to put up with from their classmates. I admit, it's kind of funny hearing the things Neotrian students say to Requoran students. Only in hindsight, of course, as being asked to "be held without your cloaker" is probably a scary question in the moment. Fen recalls Sy's drunkenness at Rory's party and produces a picture of the bat holding the raccoon in his palm with an exasperated look. It took us a bit to convince Rory to do it since he insisted that Sy "didn't do anything -that- bad". The raccoon is red in the ears since he hadn't actually heard this story yet. It's the first time I've actually seen him legitimately blush. It's not clear whether he was blushing because he found out he'd been in Rory's hands or if the situation was embarrassing. I'm guessing the former.

I do notice Declan staring at his phone more often as the night wears on. The more he does it the more I want to do it. It is a bit unlike Khole to not respond but I suppose he could just be busy with something. Lilly, Nick, and Guy never show up... and by the end of the night Declan is more than a little worried. He even tried going down to look for her.

"You think something could've happened?" Declan asks after the meeting as we walk towards the outside. We'd visited the food court to see if Lilly was somehow still there but we found no one. Ryan and Todd had to leave since they have early classes. Raelyn's dorm is on the way to Declan's so she walks with us. As we walk I notice Fen making the face he always makes when he smells something strange but I'm a bit more worried about Declan and Khole at this point.

"We should check to see if she's at her dorm or if her RA has seen her. We'll go with you," I say before looking at Fen. "Right?"

"Yea, it's a nice night anyway," Fen says as he pulls his phone out and begins tapping at it.

Sy gives his own small nod. "I'm sure she's okay, Declan. It's not like she's new to this. All of us have to get a bit used to not drawing attention to ourselves..."

"Yea, you're right. It's just not like her to not let me know if her plans change..."

As we continue walking towards Lilly's dorm hall I feel my phone buzz. A message from Fen pops up when I take a look.

"I could smell Khole back there in the lobby. It was mixed with a bunch of other students' but definitely there. He had to have been here recently."

I frown a little at the phone but keep walking. Why would Khole come but not say anything? We arrive at Lilly's dorm only to find that the door is locked by card key and none of us have the proper key to get in. We wait around hoping that another student comes along and opens the door but as time passes we begin to get restless.

"I need to get inside and finish some work, guys," Raelyn says before looking at Declan. "I'm sure she's fine, just try to relax and wait til she contacts you, okay? It'll be alright," she says, reaching out and giving the Calico a hug. He smiles a little, hugging back.

"Yea, you're probably right. Thanks, Raelyn, good luck with your work," he says while she turns to do the same for us.

"Take care, you two. Seeya next week," I say, giving Otto's head a petting with my finger.

"Bye guys," Otto says. "Take care."

Once they're gone it's just me, Fen, Sy, and Declan. I don't want to leave the cat alone but it's getting late.

"You guys can go if you wanna, don't have to stay here."

"Well, you shouldn't stay either. You need to get some rest. Sitting here all night will just make you sick," Fen says.

"Yea, probably," Declan sighs. "I just... I've hardly let her out of my sight all this time and the one time I do -this- happens. Ever since I found out about the fact that she's a micr-- I mean Requoran, I've felt responsible for her in a way. Lilly was one of the first people I met in highschool and definitely the first girl I've ever-- er... I just don't wanna think that something might've happened, that's all."

"Standing here isn't going to solve anything, though. Go get some sleep, okay?" I say. "If she hasn't shown up by tomorrow then we'll go from there. Call me and we'll put our heads together. With the curfew in place she can't be outside alone right now so... if she is then someone'll pick her up and she'll be safe."

He looks between me and Fen for a moment before nodding with lowered ears. "Yea, alright. You guys have a goodnight," he states, shaking our paws. "Thanks for showing up today, it was a good meeting otherwise... I think we have some good ideas."

"I agree," Sian pipes up. "Take care, Declan..."

He turns to walk off towards his dorm and we move towards ours.

"Why do you think Khole would've been in the lobby without saying anything to us?" I ask suddenly as we move through campus. There're only a few students out as it's about 11pm and tomorrow everyone has classes.

"Khole was in the lobby?" Sy asks.

"I could smell him. I don't know why he'd be there and not say anything, though. I also didn't notice Lilly's smell-- at least not very strongly at all. If she'd been there, she'd left before she was there for too long."

"I wonder where she could've gone. You think someone... kidnapped her?" I ask.

"Maybe," Fen says, frowning. "I hope not. I really hope not..."

When I do finally get into bed I can't help but feel bad for Declan. I know exactly how he feels-- it's the same feeling I'd have if I couldn't get in touch with Fen. I'd imagine all of the worst things that someone could be doing to him or that he's trapped somewhere... this is why I like the curfew, this is why I try not to let him go anywhere alone if I can help it. This would never be the case if Fen were a Neotrian. If a Neotrian friend of mine doesn't answer the phone for an hour? Or doesn't show up where we were supposed to meet? I assume something happened, resolve to yell at them about it later, and put it out of my mind. With the Requorans, though-- if you have Requoran friends, it's different. I know he's an adult and that he can take care of himself but without that cloaker on...

I pick my phone up and stare at the glowing screen for a moment; still nothing from Khole. I try not to let my mind wander where I know it wants to. Besides, Fen said he smelled Khole in the lobby before we left. He may've just gotten busy or something. He'd better text me tomorrow or I'm going to have to take a trip to his dorm.

--Fen--

"Students at the main campus of Phalance State University are mourning the death of one of their very own. Reggie Herpenger was found dead this morning; a stab wound was found on his person but it isn't clear yet that this was the cause of death. Police think the body was moved from its original position, but as of this morning it had been located one fourth of a mile off-campus in a wooded area normally used as a disc-golf course. There are currently no suspects and the investigation into the events leading up to this tragic accident is on-going. City officials have already voiced their condolences for the family of the student and Phalance State University President Lapis Leary has stated that the campus will cooperate above and beyond in an effort to bring this tragedy to a conclusion as quickly as possible."

As tensions have grown around the city and on-campus, it was only a matter of time before something happened. A Requoran student disappears, a norm gets hurt on campus, the blame gets pointed at us no matter which. I'm not surprised when I see this story, nor am I surprised at the way the news plays it. Sad music and pictures of Reggie's childhood fills the report and colors him as the victim of some heinous crime before they even know exactly what happened. I don't personally know much more about Reggie than the fact that he liked to hang around Valan, so maybe my opinion of him is biased. He's dead now, though. Stab-wounds, apparently. Whoever did it covered their tracks pretty well, too. I can't help but wonder if this is somehow in connection with the missing RANF students, none of which have shown back up yet. Declan's taking it pretty hard-- I can't blame him. Nothing any of us say seems to do anything for him and even filing a police report for the four doesn't seem to put him at any ease. I think he knows just as well as I do that a few missing Requorans isn't going to be high on their priority list... especially not after this. You'd think they could just trace their collars, but I get a bad feeling it'll somehow be too much trouble for just a bunch of Requorans.

I dunno if it'll help, but I decide to ask Declan if he wants to go out to lunch. The atmosphere around campus had become a little rigid since the incident, which happened about a week ago at this point, with campus security cracking down a bit on Requorans walking around in the evening. They aren't mean about it-- rather, they seem more worried that something will happen to us or someone will provoke aggression. Despite it being nicer than people acting like we're some huge threat, it still treats us as the problem.

Declan agrees to lunch, and walks me from class to the food court. I let Naki know yesterday so he wouldn't come try to pick me up; it took a little convincing, I think the bad news around campus has him a little shaken, too.

We're both silent at the table after exchanging the usual greeting. He sips at his drink and eats at a regular pace but seems at a lack energy-wise; lowered eyes, slumped shoulders. I don't know that it'll help; maybe avoiding the topic is best. I decide to try, though.

"It's not your fault, Declan. We all came to this campus knowing the risk. You've done a lot for Lilly and the others just like Naki has done a lot for me. I know it's hard but you can't blame yourself... you're not the bad guy here. Whoever took her is the one who should feel like a dirt bag." He looks at me for a moment then cracks a weary smile. I know he's probably heard this. I bet almost everyone who knows what happened has said something similar.

"Thanks, Fen," he states. "It's just hard to swallow. I just feel... kinda powerless, y'know? I was supposed to keep her safe and I didn't. She was counting on me... and now I don't even know where to start looking."

"I know the feeling," I say. "You can't let it get to you, though. If you let it get to you..." I stop myself. I hadn't really been following the advice I'm about to try giving to him. They're just words... in reality, moving forward is hard. It feels impossible sometimes.

He stays silent for a moment. At first I think he's waiting for me to finish but he nods as if understanding. "I just hope they're alright... and that RANF isn't being targeted. It's just so... weird that they'd all go missing like that."

"Yea," I reply with a sigh, finishing my food up and looking at the feline. "Just so you know though... I think you're one of the coolest norms I've met. If anyone deserves to feel good about themselves it's you and all of the other Neotrians in RANF. I-- and I'm sure the rest of us really appreciate what you guys've been doing."

He looks surprised for a moment . "It's nice of you to say, Fen. I know you wanna cheer me up and I'm--"

"You deserve it. Really," I state. I genuinely mean it, too. Norms like Declan are the ones who should feel good. The bastards that took Guy and Nick and Lilly and Khole away-- they're the ones that should feel like shit. "You and Naki and Raelyn and Motley and all of the norms that've defended us should feel proud. Y'know, it's real easy to agree with the popular opinion. No one'll call you out for saying Requorans should be scrutinized and treated like criminals until proven innocent. Those're the Norms everyone is okay with; they get tolerated. Guys like you though... I'm just glad we have you guys. You should know that and... we probably don't say it enough."

I notice his gaze divert to the side and his fur frizzle. I kind of hope I didn't go too far even if I meant everything I said.

"You okay?" I ask.

"I..." he pauses for a moment, then gives a small nod. "Y-yea, I'm fine." I nod, feeling a bit conscious about my words. Maybe I did come on a bit strongly.

"Sorry for bringing it up, it's weighing on all of us but I know you're feeling it the most right now..."

"No, you shouldn't be sorry," he says before rubbing one of his eyes and looking at me. "You didn't say anything offensive. I don't think I've done that much but... it makes me happy to hear its been appreciated. I...I hope they're okay. I'm gonna pray that they're okay. I just hope that if I can do anything to help I get the chance to. But really, you shouldn't be worrying about me. You have to deal with so much more..."

"Nah," I say, waving a hand. "We all have to deal with it; everyone in RANF. Yea, the laws affect us as Requorans but you're our friends. Anything that happens to us is gonna affect you too. So... y'know, we're here for you. Just like you're there for us," I say.

He watches me for a moment before nodding and giving a little smile. "I don't know what to say, honestly. But... I'm glad you feel that way. We wanted to create RANF to help... so I'm happy it's working."

"Yea, I think it is. Let's hope we can keep growing it."

We finish eating and he takes me back to my dorm. Somehow I'm in better spirits after speaking to him, and he seems a bit happier, too... which I'm glad for. It makes perfect sense, but for some reason I'd never thought about it. It's hard on our Neotrian allies just like it's hard on us.

Days pass without us hearing any news. Naki becomes noticeably more protective of me; insisting he walk all the way to my classroom in the morning instead of just taking me to the building. Likewise, he tries to get me to wait in the classroom until he got there to pick me up-- I don't go for that one, but do agree to stay near the student lounge just outside. I know my grades have slipped but lately I've actually had some... inkling that I can come back from this. Like I can feel myself slowly working back into a normal mood again. I hope this is the case; Crotsley wants to see me in a couple days; personally asked me to his office. Motley's football season seems to be going well. We still haven't made it to a game but Naki says we're going to go to at least one. We'll see. It's already close to the season's end.

The news media continues to report on Reggie's death. The pressure on Leary to force us off campus rises as evidence begins to filter in-- evidence pointing at the involvement of Requorans in his killing. Campus lights up a bit as the protests bleed in from outside, with a number of Neotrian students agreeing with those who want us off. We stay out of it; Naki says it's better not to stick our necks out-- especially with what happened to the others. I don't disagree. Still, watching it happen doesn't do a whole lot for my mood, nor Sy's. Declan grows angry at the fact that Reggie's getting so much coverage but none of the missing Requorans are afforded even a mention on anything but the campus' paper, and there'd been no word yet. We'd been regularly calling the police department only to hear the same old. "Nothing new, yet," line. It's hard to be optimistic when so much time has passed without us hearing from any of them. I've begun to fear the worst even if I don't tell anyone else that.

The day I'm to meet Crotsley comes quickly. In part because I'm dreading it. I know what he'll say and I'm not looking forward to him talking down to me again. Still, maybe he'll let me pass if I just stay as close to his good side as a Requoran can. The morning isn't too active; I shower, I get breakfast.

"The relatively new video, posted just six days ago, depicts a young man killing several Requoran captees as both a warning to Requorans to leave campus and a warning to Neotrians about the dangers of Requoran retaliation to Exclusion. This just "

I hear the television but it takes a moment for the words to click. Soon as they do, though, my eyes are glued.

"The details of the video are too graphic to be shown on our program. We have therefore cut the violent segments."

They swap to a clip of the video. The voices in the video have been altered and the camera is set so that the center of the view is of several Requorans bounded on top of a table. Their hands and feet are bound; hands held over their head with a rope that attaches to the top of some device. I can't see any of them until the video zooms in. My heart sinks when I recognize three of them. The augmented voice of one of their captors begins to speak shortly after. Occasionally someone adjusts the camera to shift to a view of the torso of whoever's speaking or back to the Requorans.

"Lately, violent activities among micros around the city have picked up; several of our own are dead as a result. It is time for Phalance to follow the example of other universities in removing the micros from campus. During the war, the news would broadcast what happened to victims of Requoran venoms and poisons. This was, in part, to help people identify the symptoms of known micro concoctions as well as to remind them of why they needed to remove the threat. In an effort to revive this practice and warn you all of the kind of danger you're in should micros be allowed to remain on campus, we have taken several volunteers to make an example of."

The voice cuts off and the camera refocuses in on the Requorans struggling against their bonds. I try to figure out why I can't hear any of them but I realize that their muzzles have been tied. My fist clenches a little and I can only hope Declan isn't watching this.

"If you're a micro and you're watching this, you have been warned. We are not in the business of politics, we will protect our homes and our families even if our government will not. Your presence in this city is a threat to every life. The faster you leave and return to where you belong, the less you will need to fear being taken like these students have. We are not interested in killing, but it appears that micros react to violence and not words."

I see someone move towards the table before the video cuts off and the news anchor returns. "The leader of a local group protesting Phalance policy on Requoran students has agreed to come in today to talk to us about the video. Please welcome Mr. Jonas."

The camera shifts to watch a male meerkat walk in and take a moment to wave before settling down with the mouse. "Thank you for having me," he states.

"Of course. Now, I think the question on everyone's mind is whether the actions of these young adults-- well, we assume them to be young adults-- are reasonable considering events in the area?"

"Honestly, I was not entirely okay with the video. We aren't trying to condone more violence, we are trying to put a stop to it. Our nation is going through a very pivotal, volatile time. We're seeing things not unlike what happened half a century ago-- when most of us were still kids or young adults. Dr. Leary has defended the Requoran presence on campus and while his efforts to support integration are admirable, they're misplaced. Putting our students and our city at risk by inflating the Requoran population in the city is the wrong move to make in my opinion. Many of these Requorans are likely very emotionally invested in the events that have been happening and, therefore, more likely to lash out in retaliation. Already some of our local residents have been attacked and even killed. We need to control the micro population and one way to do that is to force the students to leave until things have settled. Once things are settled, we may discuss allowing them to return."

"So yo--"

"I want to stress-- I'm sorry, I don't mean to interrupt. I want to stress that the killing of those Requorans-- those students, is not something I or any us condone. Our plan would protect all citizens, Neotrian or otherwise. Violence from Neotrians is less likely to happen to Requorans who remain in their homes. All of the violence so far... from Neotrians, at least, has occurred outside and in very populated areas. As Pheyinists, we don't condone violence. Our core values are wisdom, justice, and love."

I turn the television off and press my head into the couch cushion behind me. My heart's racing again and the familiar tightness I'd felt when mom and dad were leaving begins to creep back into me. The urge to watch the rest of the video presses at my mind but I can't bring myself to go to my computer. I hope Declan is alright, I hope he hasn't seen it... though I know it'll happen eventually. My mood only perks a little when I realize something: Khole wasn't there.

--Naki--

"And you're okay?" I ask Fen, settled with him at his natural height on the couch, stroking over his frontside with a finger. I'd apparently slept through the news but as soon as I woke up and walked out the door I could tell something was wrong. It didn't take him long to fill me in and by the end of it I couldn't help but hold him close. This is why I can't let him out of my sight outside anymore. This is why I worry even when he's just in class.

"I'm alright," he says gently. I'm stretched out on the couch so that he's settled on my chest, lying on his back. My finger continues to move over his fur, pressing along the direction it flows over his body.

"I don't believe you," I respond. I know Fen, he must be holding it all in.

"I don't know," he says gently, giving a sigh. "At first I felt mad and anxious. And then I... felt bad for Lilly and Guy and Nick. I know they had to be... afraid. That's the kind of situation I think all of us are afraid of; without our cloakers, helpless, and at the mercy of some malicious norm. If they're really dead then their last moments were struggling there, helpless.... afraid. I don't want to see it, but I do; I don't want to watch the video but it's hard to not feel almost obligated."

I press my fingers to his chest a little, feeling his little heart beating. "I don't want to see it either, or at least most of me doesn't. In a way, I almost don't believe they're gone."

"Declan's going to be heartbroken about Lilly," Fen lowers his ears. "And her parents... what a horrible thing to do-- it's insane. They killed them just to make a point? As if it weren't clear enough norms don't..." He bites his lip and noticeably relaxes. "What're we going to do, Naki? What if it keeps getting worse?"

I don't have an answer for him. I don't know what's going to happen. "We'll be more careful," I say.

"Yea," his tone sounds unconvinced. "I didn't see Khole though," he states. "So maybe... maybe he's okay."

"I hope so," I say. "At least, there's a chance." In all honesty, I really am hopeful that Khole is alright. I don't want to seem too enthusiastic, though. In all probability at this point...

Fen begins to sit up slowly. "I have to meet with Crotsley soon; before class starts. But if you have time before class call and just see how Declan's doing? If he hasn't seen it... I don't know, warn him or something? I don't wanna hide it from him but..." He tenses a little.

"You're really okay to see Crotsley? You could email him. Tell him today isn't a great day," I say. "I'll skip class too, we can spend the day together."

"No," Fen says. "Much as I'd like to, I... I can't skip out on a meeting with him at this point; I'd fail for sure. I'll just suck it up and deal with it."

"Well, alright... if you're sure. Don't worry, I'll check on Declan. Let's shower up and then I can walk you to Crotsley's office." I stand up, grabbing his cloaker to hand to him. The walk to the College of Physics isn't so bad despite the weather. Its been getting a lot colder as we enter mid-fall and in reaction Fen's fur coat has puffed out quite a bit; it's cute. Word seems to be travelling around campus-- the newspaper's front page is plastered with coverage of the video and I can hear mention of it as I pass a few students; If I can hear it, I know Fen can. Still, he's handling this a lot better than I thought he would. I wrap my arm around his shoulder and hold him to me as we walk. His head presses to my side and I feel his arm creep around my torso.

"I love you, little wolf," I say.

"I love you too," he responds, looking up at me with a little smile.

We enter the building, shifting past students buzzing around the hallways to get to class. I walk him all the way to Crotsley's office before stopping and giving his headfur a ruffle.

"Alright, then," I say. "Call me when you're done with class and I'll come pick you up. We'll.. talk more about what happened later. Alright?"

"Yea... don't worry, I'll be okay," Fen says before leaning up to kiss beneath my muzzle. I pull him into a little hug before letting go and turning to leave.

Since I have class soon I go ahead and call Declan as I'm making my way to the business building.

The phone stops ringing as the other side picks up but I don't hear anyone speaking.

"Declan?" I ask, holding the phone more closely to my ear.

"Yea, I'm here." His voice is scratchy and I hear him clear it more than once.

"Hey," I say, frowning a little. This... I probably should've thought about what I'd say before I called. "Are you alright?" I ask.

"I've been better," he responds. My gaze lowers to the ground and I slow my pace. What do I say?

"We're worried about you. We just want you to know that... y'know, if you need someone to talk to then we're here."

"Thanks," he responds. "I... I'm just shaken up. Can I call later? I just want some time to think..."

"Yea, of course. Call me later, okay? We'll be here if you need anything."

"Alright, thanks Naki. Take care."

"You too," I say, waiting for him to hang up before I do the same and slip my phone into my pocket. Today's going to be rough.

--Fen--

"Mr. Luwinfe, glad you could make it," Dr. Crotsley states, staring at me from above the rim of his glasses.

I walk in and sit down, settling my bag next to the chair I'm in. I can't help but feel a bit tense about what happened but I try to push it back for now; this is more important... I can't fail this class.

"I had wanted to talk about your performance in the class. Your homework and midterm scores were fairly low and at this rate it doesn't seem like you'll pass the class with a high enough grade to move on to courses for which this is a prerequisite. I understand you've been going through quite a bit, as many Requorans on campus have been--"

"I know you know what happened. I know Naki told you." I shift my gaze somewhat, trying not to stare at him. It's a bit shameful but I really feel he's been unfair. "You hardly gave me any extra time on my assignments after it happened and I've barely been able to keep up with the weekly projects. Every time I've asked for an extension on my assignments you've denied it to me."

"An extension is merely an offer to allow you to move more slowly. Moving slowly would not have improved your grade, Mr. Luwinfe. An extension is only to keep a student from unnecessarily losing points but your problem is not losing points due to late turn-ins... it's that your answers to the questions are poor or non-existent in some cases."

I twist my head from its diverted position to glare at him for a moment before I soften my gaze and sigh. "Look, I just need to find a way to pass this class so I can move on. Is there any way I can do that...?"

He tilts his head a little, fixing his glasses on his muzzle for a moment. "I'm disappointed to hear that. You merely want to pass?" he asks.

"That's all I ask for," I say. "I get that you don't... care about what's happening to us and you don't have to. I get it. Just don't fail me for a reason like that, okay?"

His gaze stays on me. I even think he cracks a very small smile but it's hard to tell. He shifts backwards and crosses his right leg over his left knee. "As I was saying before, Mr. Luwinfe," he says with emphasis on the 'before', "I understand that you've been going through quite a bit and in light of some of the more recent events I decided that I wanted to move the conversation in a different direction today. Specifically, I wanted to discuss your future here in the College of Physics and at Phalance."

What does he mean by that? Is he going to fail me or something? Get me kicked out? Can he even do that?

"At the beginning of the year I gave a quiz to all of my students. You scored fairly well on it and your answers were interesting-- they showed a kind of creativity that I normally see in students genuinely interested in the topic of physics. Not only that, but class discussion has proven to me time and time again that you do have a grasp of the topic. Where your performance confuses me is on your assignments... but only those assignments that came after Exclusion. It isn't, and wasn't, hard for me to see that you might have trouble because of what happened. What I did not predict was that it would have such a long lasting effect on you." He lowers his gaze a little. "For that, I apologize."

I continue to stare at him for a moment. It doesn't actually register that he just apologized to me for another few seconds. When I do finally catch up, I'm not sure how to respond. "You're... sorry?" I ask. "For what?"

"My response to your difficulties didn't have the effect I intended. As I said before, giving a student an extension is an excuse for the student to move slowly. I wanted you to recover and continue to work towards achieving your potential in the class. I wanted you to overcome what I knew would be a difficult time for you. Considering the fact that you would not be kicked out of the university, I thought it'd only be a matter of time. After all, from where I stand, the most important thing you could do now is succeed."

I shift to sit up a bit more, still trying to grasp exactly what's going on here. "It's... okay?" I say. What's he leading to? How do I respond?

"Well, no, not quite. We still have to solve the problem. You have a D in this class and I'm certain you can achieve an 'A', or at least a 'B+', if we could find a way to get you back on track. I can't fix what's happening on campus, Fen; there are some things in this world that you can't control. Instead of focusing on what you can't control, and how much you wish you could control it, it's better to look at what you can do. In this case, you can stand above what turmoil these events have brought into your life and succeed in spite of them."

"Where's this coming from? I mean... I appreciate it," I say, looking for the right words. "I thought--"

"I know," he says simply. "And I understand why you felt I'd treated you unfairly. Although I think whether you succeed or not is squarely on your shoulders, I won't say that I've helped you any. I talked to Dr. Fennikan about your goals last week; he said you want a doctorate and that you'd like to study cloakers."

I frown a little. I don't have much of an opinion of Dr. Fennikan, either. "Yea," I say. "But what's the point? How long do you think it's going to be before they revoke our citizenship and we end up taken too? Even if they don't, who's going to employ a Requoran?"

"If you didn't believe that you could make something of yourself after you graduate then I doubt you'd still be here."

"I would be," I say little more defensively than I meant. "Naki is here, where else would--" I cut myself off, realizing that I'd never really talked about my relationship to Naki to him. "It doesn't matter, I don't have anywhere else to go. If I leave here I'll just end up on the streets."

"Naki? The otter?" he asks, staring at me for a moment.

"Yea," I say. I guess it doesn't matter now. "We're together."

A little grin graces his muzzle but he doesn't say anything about our relationship. "You could still stay with him without being enrolled. The point I'm trying to make is that I think you believe that you might be able to make some difference. After all, why else would a Requoran research cloakers? You want to help your kin find a better place in Neotria."

I shift a little in my seat. "Fine, I do want my doctorate... and I want to research cloakers. Like you said, though... a 'D' doesn't cut it and on top of that it doesn't seem like Neotrians are ready to back off anytime soon. Look at what happened this morning... and Exclusion. I'd be surprised if Leary lets us stay after all this. If violence picks up on campus he'll have no choi--"

"Leary isn't going to let that happen. Besides, what he does isn't something you have control over. You can't wrap yourself up in more than you can handle, so it's useless to concern yourself with matters you'll ultimately have to adapt to one way or the other. Let's assume you don't get kicked off of campus... what then?" he asks.

"Then..."

"Then to attain your goal, you must do better in your classes. You can't let yourself fall behind," he states as if it were so simple.

"It's not that easy-- you think I haven't been trying?" I ask, shifting my gaze away again and catching a glimpse of a picture on his desk. My eyes focus on it for a moment; a way of keeping me from having to stare at his face. I feel embarrassed... maybe I've misjudged him a little.

He's quiet for a while as he twists to type at his computer. "I know you've been trying," he says. "Let me show you something, hang on while I pull it up."

I look at his screen to see him browsing the college website then shift my eyes back to the picture. I move to pick it up. "Is this your family?" I ask, moving it closer to my muzzle to take a look. I notice his gaze shift towards me for a moment before it shifts back to the screen.

"Yes, my wife and son."

I nod a little, staring over it a few times before I notice something strange; around his son's neck is a collar. I shift my eyes to look at Crotsley but there's nothing around his neck. I look at the picture again and focus on his wife this time; she has a collar around her neck. My heart skips a beat when I realize what's going on.

"Are these collars... are these Requoran collars?"

"Yes," he says gently, turning to look at me with a little smile. "My wife is a Requoran and my son is mixed. He requires a cloaker to attend school and there's not a day that I don't worry for his safety and the safety of my wife."

I gawk at him for a moment, then look at the picture for a third time.

"Ever since I found out, my research has centered on cloakers and cloaker-like technologies. Neotrian scientists have created things like what you're wearing, but nowhere near as effective. I research how cloakers like yours work and my goal is to make it easier to create them or at least mimic their abilities. Mass producing devices like yours could go a long way and understanding how they work is the first step. This brings me to my offer," he states.

I look up from the photo. "I had no idea... wait, so... what's the offer?" I ask, heart racing now; I don't know why. I guess I'm just... surprised.

"If you'd like, I will involve you in my research. On top of that, as long as you improve your grades and show initiative, I am willing to offer funding and my guidance as your advisor for when you attend graduate school. Assuming you want to stay here."

I stare at him for a moment. At first I'm not sure I heard him correctly. "Involve me? You mean... like right now?"

"Well, as soon as you're up to speed. It will take time for you to acclimate to research culture and understand enough of the basics to fully participate, but starting early will certainly help. In this school, we have a combined Bachelors/Master's program that would allow you to pursue both degrees simultaneously." He twists his computer monitor so that I can see the screen. "You need to get your grades up, but if you get in then it will be faster to get you started with research."

I swallow a little, unable to keep my tail from shifting behind me. He's not joking, is he? "I... don't know what to say. I can help with your research? And... funding-- you mean you'll help pay for me to go to grad school?"

"Of course, I didn't call you here to play tricks. It'll be a lot of work, though, so you -must- show me that this is what you want. I guarantee that at the rate you're going now you'll be buried in work before you take your first step. The prerequisite to this offer-- the part of the deal that you -must- uphold, Fen, is that you succeed despite what has been keeping you down. If you can't do that, then I will not uphold my end of the deal. You think you can dig yourself out of this hole, Mr. Luwinfe?" he asks, smiling a little.

"Of course," I say as if it were that easy. And it feels that easy. "I can," I say before looking back at the picture in my hands, trembling a little. "This is... kinda surreal... but thank you! I really mean it. I can't wait to get started." I smile a little and look at him, moving to set the picture back down on his desk.

"Good," he says. "Then I expect to see an improvement. Once your final grades come in after this semester is over, we can talk about enrolling you in the combined program. And... don't feel as if you can't come to me for help. For one, it's one of my duties but... secondly, I am genuinely interested in assisting you in finding your footing. I understand that your position here is a difficult one."

I nod quickly, unable to contain the grin I want to wear right now. "Yea, alright. That sounds good," I say, trying to temper my words. I'm really excited. This is actually happening. I stand up and walk over to hold my paw out to him. "I can't say thank you enough. I'd love to work with you on your research-- absolutely. I'll try my best to get back on track."

He grasps my paw and smiles. For the first time I don't feel his grin was mocking me-- maybe because I'd always assumed incorrectly that he was mocking me before. "I'm happy to hear it. It's almost class time so I need to prepare. I'll see you there, right?"

"Definitely. See you later!" I say before shifting to grab my bag, fumbling a bit in my excitement. "Oh! And... I hope things go well with your family. It's really awesome to see... y'know... things like that."

"Finding out was a shock, I'll admit," he smiles. "But she is the woman I fell in love with and he is our son. Nothing can change that and I'm quite pleased with that fact."

I grin a little and nod again. "R-right, well I have a lot to do. Take care. See you in class in a sec," I say, twisting to leave his office. I'm excited and I don't even quite know why. I still have to bring my grades up but... somehow it doesn't feel impossible. And Crotsley's wife and kid are Requoran? I wish he'd told me earlier-- I guess it wouldn't have made any sense to come up to the only Requoran student in your class and spill everything about your personal life. I'm glad he's on our side, though... and most importantly on my side. I can't help but imagine myself doing research on cloakers. It brings a grin to my muzzle.

"Fen!" I blink, looking up to see Chip walking over. I don't see Orin anywhere...yet. "Hey, you alright?" he asks, standing near to me. Much as I'd given them crap in the past I actually don't feel like it. In all honesty, I guess Chip and Orin aren't half bad.

"Hey, Chip. I'm fine, how about you?"

"Not bad. Ready for class?"

"Actually, yea. Was headed that way now, wanna come?" I ask.

"Huh? You feelin' alright, Fen?"

"More than alright," I say before grinning. "What? You don't wanna talk on the way?"

"Oh! No, that's not what I'm saying," he says, flitting his tail a little. "Ahh, nevermind. Let's go." He grins.

--Naki--

"If you're a Requoran and you're watching this, you have been warned. We are not in the business of politics, we will protect our homes and our families even if our government will not. Your presence in this city is a threat to every life. It is a fact that many Requorans at this campus live outside of the city limits. Leave and return to where you belong. We are not interested in killing, but it appears that Requorans react to violence and not words."

I can't really see who's talking as they keep their face out of the camera. Their body is covered by some sort of black garb and their paws by gloves so that you can't even see the color of their fur or the form of their claws. With a scalpel-like instrument, the bonds around Nick's muzzle is cut and he's given a chance to shout.

"Please!" He groans out. "L-let us go... don't do this," he cries. It's hard to watch; I can see Lilly's gaze on him, eyes widened-- struggling and tugging at her bonds while a light glimmer flashes from her cheeks; she's crying.

"For our first demonstration, we'll be using Derpitral." His body now shifts to face Nick. "If you cooperate, I'll kill you before the poison takes its full effect." The fact that the jerk is so calm about it only adds insult to injury. He's taking someone's life and yet it's like he's doing something mundane.

Before Nick can say anything in response, the rubber tip of a small bottle is brought to his muzzle. His mouth clamps shut but a pair of fingers come down and claws break through the glove's fingertips to press into the sides of his face. I can only imagine the pain; I almost turn the video off. The rubber tip is inserted and soon the contents are forced into his muzzle. When it comes out, the panther coughs and spits some of it out. The look on his face says he drunk some of it, though.

"Too bad you had to struggle," the voice speaks before focusing the camera on the panther. "Requorans can't physically combat Neotrians. Instead, they invented ways to quickly cripple our bodies. Some of the first Neotrian deaths in history were due to this particular compound."

"W-what is that? What's it... going to do?" he asks, staring upwards. There's no response at first. "What the fuck did you give me!?" Nick suddenly shouts. "What is--" he stops suddenly. At first I think he's tugging at the rope around his feet and hands but eventually I realize it isn't voluntary-- especially when he begins to randomly jerk and pull. The scream he lets out causes me to move my hand towards the mouse and prepare to click pause. Halfway through the scream his head lowers and more blood than I've ever seen come out of someone exits his mouth.

The scalpel comes down again and cuts Nick's feet free, followed by his hands. It's too late for him, though; he hits the ground and jerks; bashing his hand against the table and crying out.

"H-heellp..." he manages to squeeze out before he lets out a visceral, gutteral cough that splatters the table he's on with chunky mixture of blood and something else. I click the pause button. My body's tense, my heart rate's up. This guy's a monster... I can't watch anymore of it. I can't watch what happens to the rest of them.

"Pretty nasty, huh?" Khole asks. I nod a few times.

"Ye--" my head twists suddenly. "Khole? Khole! Where the hell have you been?" I ask, twisting out of my seat to stand and pull him into a hug. He seems a bit surprised at first, but soon I feel his arms wrap around me in return.

"Missed me, huh?" he smiles a little.

"What kind of question is that? You've been gone for nearly two weeks now!"

"Yea," he says, lowering his head. "Sorry, my cellphone's busted. I had to travel back home for a little visit. I would've told you guys if I had your numbers but with my phone broken I really had no way."

Was that really it? I don't know, but I'm just happy that he's back. "I'm glad you're okay, we thought you might've been captured with the others."

"Yea, I figured that might've happened once I heard about it. Again, sorry, it really wasn't my intention."

"I'd prefer worrying over nothing rather than something. So... you've seen this already?"

"I watched it earlier today," he responds. The look on his face remains mostly neutral, which strikes me as a little strange. "It's pretty bad. Not worth watching if you ask me."

"I just... we wanted to see if everyone was really killed."

"They are," Khole says. "Guy is after Nick; I'd say he got it worse. His death isn't... it's not as quick; they used a cirin compound on him. After that they kill two Requorans I've never met; the first by Faocead, the next by batuoric acid. Lilly follows; they kill her with Niacyde. The last to die is the worst, though. Have you ever heard of Renesic?"

"...No," I say, uncertain of whether I want to know what it does.

"It was created purely to torment whoever it's given to. It's slow, it's painful, and almost always deadly. It attacks every organ in the body; blindness and deafness to start, then vomiting and explosive bowel movements, then loss of nervous system and muscle control, then internal hemorrhaging, and finally death. The Requoran who created its name was Redurin Ulwick-- or 'Red Ren' locally."

The name 'Red Ren' does ring a bell. I don't know much about him, but I do recall him being mentioned in history class before. "I don't understand how someone could do something like this," I say, looking at the computer screen and paused video again. I check the number of views the video has; 10k so far.

"He's got something against Requorans. Maybe someone in his family was killed or hurt. He said he wanted to show people what they're risking by letting us stay near... by showing them what some of the weapons we've created do-- and he makes an example using Requorans as the test subjects. It's a revenge fantasy if I've ever seen one."

I frown somewhat. I just hope they find the guy and lock him up. My phone buzzes and I look at it, noticing the time.

"Hey, I'm just about to start walking towards Fen's college to pick him up. Wanna come with me? I'm sure he'll be happy to see you."

"Sure," he says. I close out all of the windows I had open on business college's lab computer and move to walk out with Khole. The image of Nick struggling stays in my head. I try not to imagine Fen in the same position but my brain conspires against me. I can feel myself worrying even now... as if something could happen to him any moment that he's out of my sight.

I don't expect it when Fen walks out of the building with a huge grin on his face, laughing with some squirrel I've never seen before.

"Freakiest boss I've ever seen! Apparently the guy who made the game was scarred by something as a kid. How long did it take you to figure out how to beat it?" he asks.

"Oh god, like... I'm pretty sure I died to it five times before I got it," the squirrel sighs. "But the ending was so worth it!"

"Right?" Fen says before stopping in front of me and Khole.

"Hey, Naki--" I see him double take when his eyes shift to Khole.

"Khole?"

"Hey," Khole waves a little and smiles.

His tail begins to sway and he walks over, grabbing the otter and hugging. "I'm so glad you're okay," he says before backing away and grinning. His smile fades for a moment, though. "What happened?" he asks, holding a finger up to the side of Khole's muzzle. The otter shifts his hands up to rub over his cheek. I didn't notice it before, but the fur is brushed over a set of nasty-looking claw marks that look to have just finished healing.

"Oh, just some Neotrian. While I was at home there was a bit of a scuffle," he says.

"You were at home?"

"Yea, phone got crushed on the way there. That's why I've been out of contact. I get the feeling I'll be saying sorry a lot today. I didn't mean to worry you all."

Fen gives a little nod, staring at Khole's face for a moment. "Well, I'm just glad you're alright. After all that's happened..." The wolf stops himself.

"Oh! Hey, this is Chip," he says, twisting to look at the squirrel he'd walked out with. "Chip, this is Naki," he points to me. "And Khole," he turns to look at Khole.

Chip grins and flits his tail, walking over to shake my hand. "Nice to meet ya." He moves to do the same to Khole.

"Nice to meet you, too. I guess you're in physics like Fen?" I ask.

"Yea, we're in a couple classes together," he says.

"Did you see the video?" I twist my head to see two other students walking past. I look away again but keep listening as the lioness and fox speak to one another.

"My brother sent it to me. Scary stuff. I'd never seen Requoran venoms at work before that."

"Yea. I felt a bit bad for the Requorans too, though. I mean, they were students here, weren't they?"

"I think so... yea, he could've just talked about it or something. I get what he was trying to do but I didn't feel comfortable watching it. I wonder if the police will catch him..."

They get too far away for me to hear anymore, but I notice the others were listening in too.

Chip kind of looks at Khole and Fen for a moment before giving a sigh. "I kinda wish this would all blow over. I don't see what the big deal is."

"You don't?" Khole asks.

"Well, I do. But, y'know... things weren't this bad before the government started forcing people out. Guess I'm saying it seems like all this has just made things worse."

"I wish Natbur would realize that," Fen says.

"Yea," Chip states. "Hey, but I have to go. Orin's a bit sick this week and I gotta take our homework and notes to him. Was nice meeting you Khole and Naki."

"Nice to meet you too," I say. "I hope your friend feels better."

"Thanks," he says to me before looking at Fen. "I'll see you next week, Fen. Stay safe and be careful. Some of the people on this campus are crazy... Oh! Don't forget to try Terrabind. It's good, I think you'll like the ending."

"Definitely," Fen says. "Take care, Chip." He and Khole both wave before the squirrel turns to walk off.

"You're in a good mood," I say. I'm happy to see it, but not entirely sure of why he'd be in a good mood now.

"I have something to tell you," Fen responds. "About Crotsley. First, though... you know what happened?" he asks, turning to Khole who shifts his head gently.

"Yea," he says. "Soon as I got back it was all over the news. You guys okay?"

"I am now," Fen says with a little sigh. "I want to say I can't believe it happened but part of me says it was only a matter of time before someone got hurt. The fact that three of the Requorans killed were in RANF is what stings the most. It won't be the same without them."

"Yea," I say. "Just makes you think about how careful we have to be. Not just some of the time, either."

"Have you talked to Declan at all?" Khole asks.

"I did. I called him after I dropped Fen off. He's suffering, that much I know. I told him to call me later once he feels like talking again."

"Poor guy," Fen says. "We should do something for him."

"I think the best we can do is just support him. Nothing's going to fix the fact that Lilly's dead and that she was one of his best friends," I respond.

"Hopefully they find whoever did it. Particularly before it can happen again."

We both nod at Khole. "That's the most important part at this point," I say.

"So why were you at home?" Fen asks. "Why go home so suddenly?"

"A friend of my parents was going to be in the area. We figured it'd be safe for me to fly if I were with someone, so I went with him. It was just so they could see me again-- y'know, after everything that's happened."

"Ahh. When did you leave?" Fen asks.

"After class on Tuesday," he says.

"You visited for that long?" I ask.

"I had to stay until he left to come back. I kept up with my assignments, though," Khole responds.

"Well, it's good to have you back," Fen says. "We'd feared the worst..."

Khole smiles a bit. "I know. Its been getting a little crazy around here for certain..."

Khole comes with us back to our dorm and we convince Declan to come as well, later on in the day. We think about inviting the others too but decide against it for now. Too last minute. It'll just be us and Sian. When he does finally arrive, it's nice to see that Khole's presence gives him a bit of a smile.

"When did you show back up?" he asks, walking over to the otter who stands and offers a hug. Declan takes it.

"Just today," Khole says. "Are you alright?"

The Calico lowers his head a bit and sits down. "I'm trying to be. Did you guys watch the video?"

I shift my head down a little. I couldn't finish it and I know Fen probably hasn't seen it.

"I couldn't work up the nerve," Fen says.

"I did," says Sian. "It's... it's bad."

"It's unfair. They didn't deserve what happened to them," Declan sighs. "I could barely make it past what they did to Lilly. She was so scared... and--" he clenches his eyes shut for a moment and takes a deep breath. "Sorry..."

"No, no, it's alright," I say. "That's why we're here." I sit next to Declan and rub his back a little. "What they did was horrible and... those three didn't deserve what happened to them. Far from it."

Fen goes to get a cup to fill with water while we try to comfort Declan. I knew it wouldn't be easy but I'm a bit lost as to what I should say or do. I don't think anything will make him feel better about Lilly and the fact that they haven't found the guy who did it yet, or the bodies, just means that this is going to be an open wound for a while. Fen brings the glass over and hands it to Declan.

"Thanks," he says, trying to control his sobbing. "I just wish I could've been there."

"It's not your--"

"It is," Declan says. "I told myself I wouldn't let her go anywhere in public alone while we were here at Phalance. I knew the risk and I ignored it that day."

"Anyone could've made that mistake, though," Sian says. "And you're not the one who decided to go out alone."

"Don't blame Lilly," he says, frowning at Sian for a moment. "She didn't walk out there thinking it'd happen to her"

"And you didn't let her go thinking it'd happen either," Khole says. "It wasn't something you nor Lilly could've predicted. No one is blaming her, but you shouldn't blame yourself either."

"The only people who deserve any blame are the dicks that did this," I state.

Declan sighs a little and nods, sobbing again. "It just hurts and... I don't know what to do about it."

"It'll be okay," I say.

We spend the evening comforting him as well as we can. It reminds me a lot of when we were back at Fen's house before Exclusion; there was no feeling good, only varying levels of anger or sadness. It's easier to handle since this time it's not everyone feeling stressed, but primarily Declan. Motley comes back just as Declan is about to leave and offers his condolences as well. He walks with us as we take the cat back to his dorm. Seeing him like this makes me think harder about Fen's safety. I could walk with him everywhere but it only takes one slip-up for everything to be for nothing. That thought sends shivers down my back.

Response by the university to the news comes rather quickly. Leary clears time in his schedule to address the issue live on campus the weekend after the video was released. It makes sense with how much violence has occurred around campus; he doesn't have a choice. I'm a little worried he might cave in to pressure and push Requorans off of campus for their safety and ours since the last thing we need is for more skirmishes to break out. There're already reports of another Neotrian student missing, and more evidence is pouring in that points to Requoran involvement in Reggie's death. His body had traces of some venom in it which may have actually been what caused his death instead of the stab-wound in his chest. Despite all of it, though, Fen's mood seems to hold. The news about Crotsley and the fact that he'll be participating in cloaker research so early on seems to have him in good spirits. I hope it lasts-- this is the first time in weeks he's been so consistently happy.

Declan of course continues to have the most trouble swallowing everything. Nick and Guy were good people and we're all going to miss them-- the group will never be the same. Lilly had known Declan for years, though. For most of that time he didn't even know that she was a Requoran. They were friends before all of this happened. Fen, Ryan, Todd, and Raelyn make a point of going out to lunch with him and I think Todd and Ryan go to keep him company at night. I hope he doesn't continue to blame himself for what happened, but I know it might be a while before he stops. Maybe RANF will cheer him up-- hopefully the support from the group will be enough.

Leary's speech is likely to be packed so we decide that instead of trying to get into the building to see him live, we'll invite our friends to come watch with us in our dorm. We mostly invite people in RANF but Sian also invites Rory and Motley said he'd be bringing some friends over. To help with the extra crowd, Rory lets us borrow chairs from the lounge and settle them in our dorm room temporarily. Fen, Sian, and Rory are all on the couch playing some sort of game. Ian and Samantha are next to the couch on the left side while Ryan, Declan and Todd are settled on the right in some of the chairs we borrowed and talking about something I can't quite hear over the rest of the noise. I hear the door to our dorm unlock and see Motley walk in with two strangers.

"Hey Motts," I say, walking over to pull the door open for them. He walks in followed by two coyotes who look... exactly like one another.

"This is Colton and Hemley," Motley says. "They're part of the football team, I invited them over to meet you guys. Plus they were thinkin' about joining RANF. Guys, this is Naki; we've known each other forever."

"Welcome." I think they're twins. They're on the short side but they're built. They're wearing collars, too, so I guess they're the Requorans Motley's talked about before.

"Thanks," Colton says, reaching out to shake my paw. The other stares for a while quietly before doing the same.

"Nice ta meet you." he says.

"So your boyfriend's a Requoran?" Colton asks.

"Yea," I respond, just a little taken aback by how quickly we got to that part. "His name's Fen. He's over there," I point. The wolf is on the couch with Sian, Rory, and Ian.

"I wonder who's the top," Hemley mutters. I look at him but don't get to respond before Colton jabs him with his elbow.

"We ain't in the locker room, Hemley." He turns to me. "Sorry."

"Heheh, it's alright," I say. "I used to be on the swim team, I know how it is."

Colton smiles a little before grabbing Hemley's hand. "Let's go see what they're playin', Hemley," he says, dragging the other coyote along. I look at Motley.

"Team was okay with this?"

"Yea, as long as they're with one of us the coach doesn't care."

"Did they... lose their parents too?" I ask. Motley gives a little nod and shifts to stare at them crowding around where Fen and his friends are playing.

"Yea, we still don't know what they're gonna do between the semesters."

I nod gently, looking over at the two again for a moment. "I'm sure something'll come up."

"Worst comes to worst, one of us'll have to house them for a while. So when does this thing start?" Motley asks, peering at the television's flashing screen.

"Soon. Half hour or so?" I say.

We walk over to join everyone around the couch and I convince Fen to take his cloaker off to make a bit of extra room. I hold him in my lap and watch Rory and Sy go at it in a fighting game. I can't help but notice Sian has quite a bit of alcohol in front of him at the table. We'd let people bring drinks if they wanted... but I didn't quite want anyone getting drunk.

"That's cheap!" Sian mutters as Rory spams a specific move over and over. I pull Fen up to my muzzle.

"You alright?" I ask with a little smile, whispering at him. His ears splay and he leans to rub at my nose.

"I'm great," he smiles. "Where's Khole?"

"He should be here soon," I say. "Raelyn and him were going to come together last I checked."

As if on cue, there's a knock at the door. I stand up and settle Fen on my muzzle to go get the door, tugging at the handle as soon as I'm near enough to see Raelyn, Khole and..

"Otto?" I ask, staring behind the two to see a fox who looks exactly like Otto except... he's Neotrian-sized.

"Hey, Naki. We have a little surprise," Khole says, walking in while Raelyn wraps her arm around Otto's shoulders.

"Comeon, Otto, go in," she says, pushing him forward a bit. He does so, slowly trotting in and looking around the room for a moment before peering directly at me and Fen.

"You have a cloaker?" Fen asks, staring at the fox. I bet it's a little surreal for both of them-- Fen's usually the tall one when they're near one another.

"I just got one," he says as Raelyn ushers him in and I close the door.

"How?" I ask. "I mean, that's great! I'm happy for you..."

"Khole found one," Raelyn says.

"Khole?" I twist my head to look at him. I find it a little hard to believe someone would just find one... but I guess I don't know. I've never heard of it happening before.

"Found one? How'd you manage that?" Fen asks.

"Welcome to the club, Otto!" Sian shouts before going back to his game. Declan also seems interested-- enough so that he shifts to stand and walk over to us. Otto seems a little uncomfortable with the attention but he smiles through it.

"While I was at home," Khole says. "A lot of Requorans've had to give up their cloakers during Exclusion. A few of them are willing to give them to Requorans who aren't being forced out-- better they have it than the government, right?"

"So they just gave it to you?" Fen asks.

"Well, after explaining about Otto," he responds.

"You look great, Otto," Declan says. "How does it feel?"

"Well I've worn one before," he says. "But... seeing you all uh... like this is weird."

"But now Otto might be able to attend Phalance," Raelyn says. "With a cloaker he's considered a Class A. All he has to do is apply now," she states with a smile, rubbing between Otto's ears with a handpaw. "Told ya we'd do it somehow."

"Thanks again, Khole," Otto says, lowering his head beneath Raelyn's shifting paw.

"No problem. Glad I could help," he says before looking at me.

"didn't think your dorm can handle this many," he says, grinning.

"It's... well we basically invited RANF," I say while Fen's attention stays on Otto. I can only tell because I see his head shifted as I look past him towards Khole. "It is kinda cramped, though," I admit.

"Nah, that's not a problem. I'll find a chair," he says, trotting over to the other side of the room where there are a few chairs left.

"You want your cloaker back?" I ask Fen.

"Yea," he says distractedly. I pull it out and hand it to him before moving to settle him on the ground. Soon enough he's full-sized again and I notice he trots over towards Otto.

"I'm fine, don't worry. I talked to Lilly's parents and it really helped a lot. It'll be a bit before I feel one hundred percent but I'll be okay," Declan says, speaking to Raelyn. I normally try not to be nosey but I'm kind of between conversations-- and I wanna know what he says.

"Well good. If you wanna bunk up with me an Otto next semester I'd be up for it. We could get a dorm kinda like this. Plus John's busy a lot so having the extra company would be nice."

"I might take you up on that," Declan says. I take my leave there, moving to sit back on the couch.

"So Naki, what -are- you two planning to do for winter break?" Ian asks.

"Winter break?" I respond, uncertain of what he's asking until it hits me-- Fen doesn't have a place to go back to. Or at least, he'd be alone if he goes back to his parents' house.

"I don't know," I say. "We haven't really talked about it... why?"

"Just wonderin'."

"We thought he and Sy could stay with Ian's parents if that turns out to be easier," Samantha corrects Ian. "We know about... y'know-- what happened, and wanted to put the option out there in case it helps avoid a disagreement."

It's not hard for me to recall Fen's issue with my family. We'd have to resolve it soon... and winter break seems like it's the next chance we'll get. God knows I want him to stay with me but I know how awkward... if not scary it might be for him. Then there's the church thing. If he stays with us, I -know- Mom and Dad will try to coerce him into going.

"We'll have to talk about it," I say. "But... thanks for the offer. He might take you guys up on that."

"Ugh," I hear Sian. I twist to see him teetering and peer down at the bottle of Brandy he'd been working on. It's half as full as it was when they'd begun playing. It doesn't seem as bad as when he was at Rory's party, but I notice he's pressed in close to the bat. I can't see enough of Rory's face to tell if he minds.

"We wanna help," Ian says, getting my attention again. "If we can make it easier on you two then we will."

"No, I... appreciate it, really," I say, even if I'm not so happy to be reminded of that particular issue. "You guys've known him longer than I have... and he feels really comfortable with you so having someone else to go to if things go sour over break is probably good." I hesitate for a moment. There is something I've been wanting to ask them-- not pressing, but in the back of my head. And this is the perfect time to change the topic.

"I do have a question for you."

Ian's gaze fixes on me. "What's that?"

"What -did- happen that night? Prom, I mean. What were you guys doing for two hours?"

Ian kind of cracks a smile before looking over at Fen still standing next to Otto, Raelyn, and Declan. "We were laughing at it all. Well, half-laughing. The other half... we were kind of thinking of leaving. The thing is, at every practice leading up to Prom, the thing Fen was most worried about was that he wouldn't end up going out with you."

"They gossip a lot when they're practicing," Sam interjects.

"We don't.. gossip," Ian says, looking at her as if she'd said something nonsensical. "Men don't gossip, we discuss. Women gossip." He nods.

She elbows him gently and he winces before chuckling.. "Alright alright. We... kinda gossiped."

He straightens up before continuing. "He'd worry about you not being gay or whether you'd hate him for liking you; he'd worry about what would happen if you found out about his natural height and whether you'd do something bad. Up to that point he'd been so focused on what you'd think that I guess he never considered how he felt. When you opened up to him the way you did he really had to consider it. We talked about whether you might have some ulterior motive, then about how funny-sad it was that he'd gotten what he wanted; you were interested but now he'd become uncertain. After everything was packed up we sat around talking about it. I told him we could just leave several times but he felt... obligated to at least come back to say bye since he told you he would. You know the rest..."

"I was really afraid he wouldn't come back. It took forever..." I sigh a little, recalling the night. "It turned out well enough, though."

"Yea, seems like it was the right call." Ian gives a nod.

I notice the television flicker suddenly. "Hey guys, only about ten minutes before it starts!" Rory calls out. Cameras are already panning through the crowd of students shifting into the crowded auditorium where Leary'll be speaking. Everyone moves to get into a seat while finishing their conversations up.

"I'm gonna sit on the coffee table," Fen says to me after walking over.

"Hey, Sy," he says, tugging at the raccoon grinning dopily next to Rory. "Comeon, let's sit on the table and make some extra room," he says. The raccoon peers at him for a moment.

"Huuh? With all these norms around?" he asks, words slurred a little due to how much he's drunken. His grin belies his worry, though.

"Oh be quiet-- comeon," Fen says. "And stop drinking."

Eventually, Fen manages to get Sian to agree and I help get them onto the coffee table. Once they're settled, Fen wraps his arm around Sian and I can hear them talking a little. With their voices being so much more quiet, now, I can't really make out the words.

"That's not a bad idea," Khole says before looking at me. "Mind giving me a hand too?" he asks.

"Sure," I say, waiting for him to take his cloaker off before I settle him near to Fen and Sian. He sits down next to them, crossing his legs and peering over at the two. I see his muzzle move but can't make out the words.

Everybody else gets settled, still talking while watching people in the auditorium prepare for Leary to come out.

"What's going on over there? We all gonna sit on the table or something?" Todd asks suddenly.

"You don't have to," I say.

"They were just making room," Ryan responds.

"Well... I'll join them." Todd smiles. "A bit of help, Ry?"

"You sure?" Ryan asks.

"They're doing it! I think it's alright," Todd says. Ryan gives a little grin.

"Yea, alright. Go ahead, take it off." Soon enough Todd joins them, settling down next to Khole so that they all sit in a line next tone another another.

"First day I get my cloaker and now everyone wants to take theirs off?" Otto says, smiling a little.

"Poor Otto," Declan chuckles before looking at the table. "We should get a picture of this before the night's over. It'd be a great group photo for RANF."

Raelyn nods. "That's a good idea."

"Come join us, Otto," Fen says, tapping the table next to him. The fox shifts on his feet a bit and looks up at Raelyn.

"Go!" Raelyn says, waving her hand.

He walks over to the table and climbs onto it gently before taking his cloaker off and moving to settle next to Fen.

"Welcome," the wolf squeaks.

I notice Colton sit down near the table with his cloaker still on. Hemley stands behind him. "You guys're all part of RANF?" he asks.

"Yea," Fen says.

"Almost everyone here, I think," Todd says.

"Can we join?" he asks, looking over his shoulder at Hemley.

"Sure," Fen says. "What're... your names?"

"I'm Colton, this is Hemley. We're on the football team."

"Oh! So... you're Motley's friends?"

"Yup."

"You really trust these guys enough to uh... y'know," Hemley asks suddenly. He tries to keep his voice down but I can hear him, so I know others probably can too.

"They've been around us for a while," Motley says. "Don't gotta do it yourself if you don't wanna."

"I trust everyone in this room," Fen says. "So yea, I'm comfortable at my natural height here."

"Yea, these are the good kind of Neotrians," Todd says, grinning a little.

"We've been together since August," Khole says with what I perceive as a slight smile.

Colton looks at Hemley for a moment. "Its been a while since we took'em off. You wanna?"

He looks around for a moment. "Yea..." he grins. "I think it'd be fun, but I don't wanna get on the table first. I'll break it," Hemley states, peering over at Motley. "You wanna pick us up?"

"Alright," Motley says, walking over as they reach for their rings. Hemley kind of watches Colton at first.

"What, you scared?" Colton asks, grinning as he notices Hemley's gaze. The other coyote frowns.

"No," he says defensively. "But you're the oldest."

"Pfft! By what? A minute?" he sighs and visibly hesitates before pulling the cloaker off. Hemley kind of watches, ears perked overtop his head before he follows suit. They both stare up at Motley who lowers himself near to the ground and holds his palms out for them.

"Climb in," he says gently.

I can hear him talking but they're too far away for me to catch the words. Whatever they're saying makes Motley smirk, though. He lifts them to the table so they can walk over to where the other Requorans are sitting.

"This feels weird," I hear one of them say-- just barely and likely only because they're facing me for a moment before they turn towards the TV and sit next to Khole. "Mom and Dad never let us do this."

"This is sweet," Rory says with a little smile. "Maybe I'll join RANF, too."

"You'd be welcome," Declan says as he takes a seat on the now cleared couch. A few of us take pictures of the Requorans sitting together. Rory's does us a favor and gets a picture with the Neotrians in the group sitting behind the Requorans settled on the table. I have to admit, it's a rare sight. I never realized how many I knew until now. I can't help but feel happy about it: they all feel comfortable enough around us that they aren't hiding.

"Here he comes," Rory says, pointing at the television screen as he moves to sit on the couch again. We all quiet down to watch.

I can see Leary walk in from the side of the stage he'll be speaking from. The red wolf wears typical attire for someone in his position; a suit. The top of his head features a black tuft of fur that runs from the top of his forehead and down his back-- at least as far as I can tell. As he walks onto the stage he approaches who I assume to be Lilly, Nick, and Guy's parents. I also notice a couple who look like they could be Reggie's parents. He shakes their hands and lowers his head; ears pressed down before he stands straight again and turns to look towards the podium. The look on his face is fairly serious and even as he acknowledges the crowd his gaze never breaks into anything even hinting a smile. In all of the other speeches he's given he'd always been cheerful. It makes sense, though. This is a serious matter.

He shifts his hands to settle atop of the podium, leaning forward into the microphone somewhat. "Tonight I'm going to speak to both our community on campus as well as the community living around campus. We've recently had a string of violence that is as tragic as it is inexcusable; we should expect better of our peers and of ourselves."

"In my years as President here at Phalance, I've had the pleasure of meeting many people on and around campus. All of them have been different; some of them like what I've done with the university and some of them disagree with me. Some of them think that the turmoil that has come as a result of the events of last May is unwarranted and others feel that the people around them are not reacting strongly enough. Many of them have been Neotrian, and some of them have been Requoran. The one, consistent characteristic of all of those people up to this week has been that, despite their opinions, they've tolerated one another. You see, we're an academic institution first and foremost, and the most important thing here is that we push the boundaries of our knowledge and understanding of the world-- we must cultivate an environment conducive to gathering knowledge and promoting honesty and intelligence. Sometimes this means we will not agree, and that's fine. Disagreeing with one another is one way that we help each other grow. While it's okay to disagree, it's not okay to treat those you disagree with as anything less than the person that they are. I want that point to be clear. There is no acceptable reason to abuse or terrorize someone who holds a different truth. While I'm certain that most people associated with Phalance both agree with and incorporate this into their everyday lives it has become apparent that there is a number who do not. As members of this community, it's our job to hold one another accountable for the moments when we inevitably fail to embody the responsibilities given to us as citizens of this country and, even more importantly, as sentient beings. It's for this reason that this behavior won't be tolerated. Not from students, not from faculty, not from administration, or anyone employed by Phalance."

His voice echoes for a moment before it dies down. His eyes never leave the crowd and his gaze never falters. He remains staring as if trying to communicate his message through eye contact just as much as he's trying to convey it through his words.

"Phalance will continue to support any student who upholds these values; it doesn't matter what height the student stands. Our work to create a safe campus for all who seek knowledge and honesty will not be reversed by the actions of extremists or domestic terrorists. Associates of the university, whether they be employed or attending for a degree, who are unable to conduct themselves in a respectful manner to ALL who attend this campus are free to leave."

"To those community members and leaders who have decided to discriminate against our Requoran students by refusing them service, I ask that you reconsider. We are not new to the effects that discrimination and segregation have on our relationships and on our community. As adults and the people who should reflect the values of the city and university, we should be setting an example, not encouraging hatred. I'm sure we have all felt alienated at some point in our lives, or at the very least treated unfairly. It would be a crime unto ourselves to inflict the same feelings on someone else for a reason as silly as 'they aren't the same as us'. I can find differences between people of the same species, between colleagues in the same college, between siblings of any age. The words 'us' and 'them' are used in ways that imply such chasmic difference that it's easy to feel there're worlds between the two groups they describe. In reality, not only do both groups reside on the same planet but, in many cases, eat at the same table and worry about the same things. Let's try to understand rather than build barriers that will ultimately cause more strife."

His stare loosens and he relaxes a little.

"Finally, to all of you who have lost loved ones and friends, I give my deepest condolences and promise that we will put every resource into finding and punishing those who have committed these acts. Our community is varied, opinionated, and becomes strained at times. We are also prideful for what has classically been an attitude of acceptance even when the rest of the nation struggles to rise above its prejudices. It's for this reason that I believe that we won't stand for violence of any kind. I know we can work together to make this campus and this city a place where everyone, no matter our differences, is able to feel safe, voice themselves, learn, and prosper."

~Epilogue~

I've been meaning to reply to Bridget's previous article, but due to circumstances I've been unable and, I'll be honest, not ready. The last few months have been hard to deal with and I'm sure others feel the same. Many have lost parts or all of their family, others have watched their friends struggle to deal with the turmoil Exclusion has brought. Despite this, there are a number of people in Neotria that continue to praise the actions of the government and vye for overly-strict policies regarding us in response to the actions of a few. To those of you, I hope you'll rethink the position. Our university president said that we aren't as different as we like to think and I agree with that statement. All of this fighting and disagreement boils down to both Requorans and Neotrians wanting to have stable ground on which to support a family and a life. At every turn, Requorans have been kept from obtaining this and a few months ago I'd probably start talking about how Neotrians are squarely to blame and how they should just trust us. I still believe that Requorans are trustworthy, but I no longer feel that the problem is as simple as Neotrians being unfair. Don't get me wrong, I don't believe Requorans have been treated anywhere near fairly, but I do believe that we are scattered and unorganized. Our lack of leadership, and of a unified voice are probably two of the stronger reasons we've found ourselves in this position.

Our cloakers have helped this to an extent. In secret, we've integrated ourselves and formed families. We've participated in business, in fun, in education-- all of the things Neotrians enjoy and that have eluded us. We've even created families and become friends with Neotrians who, granted, may have not known about part of our identity but whom fell in love with us for our personalities. It's because of this that I say to anyone who feels that Requorans and Neotrians can't live together and support one another-- look around you. Look at those of us with mixed families and friends. The notion that we're too different is wholly untrue and its been proven time and time again that we can work together.

Instead of blaming one another, I think it's time to find solutions. Many people are missing their families and friends; worried that they'll be harmed, that that they'll never return. We can worry about the historical facts concerning our joint history later-- for now, I want to find a way to get those Excluded brought back to their homes, families, and friends. If this means that we need to allow the government time to confirm that they are not threats... fine. Let's compromise. Those who think we have some ulterior motive may take the time to confirm that we aren't threats BUT... I want a timetable that defines when those who aren't threats will be allowed to return to society. What do you think? I think that sounds fair.

Our ancestors fought one another because they were unable to solve their problems through diplomacy. Already we've seen violence around Neotria pick up from -both- sides of this argument. As the final word for this article, I want all of us here at Phalance to start something new: Let's cooperate with one another to find a way to solve this without shedding more blood. Our generation has more social media and technology to bridge the gap between us than the former generation had and we know one another better than they knew one another. Let's not repeat their failure; we're better than that. WE can solve this together and we can do it without fighting a war like they did.

"I think that sounds good," Naki says. I look up from my computer to peer at him hanging onto the rim of the pool in front of me. He wanted to go swimming and I decided to come with him.

"Not too sappy?" I ask him, giving a little grin.

"I only told you because you demanded to know what I thought about the last article," he mutters.

"I know I know. I appreciate it. So think I should send this version to Ian?"

"Yea, I like it." He smiles a little and leans forward. "So! You gonna come swimming now?"

I look over my laptop at him. "Well... alright, let me pack this stuff up." I close the laptop and settle it into my bag before moving to set it next to the rest of our stuff where I can keep an eye on it. I then trot over to the pool-- I'd already been wearing my swim stuff since I did plan to swim. Watching Naki is more fun, though. Sometimes I wish I were one of the natural swimmers. I grab my cloaker and slip it off to move it back to my tailbase; I don't think anyone will notice anyway and it's safer there when I'm in the water.

Once it's on again I adjust the collar on my neck, then slide into the water. He swims over to lick at my nose. I smile a little and move my hands to rub his chest.

"So is it safe to say you feel better now?" he asks. "Seems like you've perked up."

"Yea," I say. "I mean, there's still a lot I wish was better. Haven't gotten in touch with our parents yet. I know they've done it before but I still wanna know that they're okay. Then there's what happened to Lilly and Guy and Nick-- and even Reggie and that other feline Neotrian who went missing. You heard that they found him, right? Dead. Five people've died. I just hope this isn't a sign of things to come." In all honesty, I still feel bad for not watching that video. Almost everyone has seen it but me...

"I know," Naki gives a little nod. "That's why we're going to make RANF more about safety. I think being more cautious will make it easier to stop things like that from happening again."

"I hope so. But I have felt better. I feel motivated again; Crostley's going to move the points I missed on the midterm to the final and give me a chance to make them up. And I'm re-reading the chapters I didn't do so well on to help. My focus is back and having that at least means I feel like I'm going somewhere. The feeling I had before was the worst," I mutter.

He grins a little. "I know, I had to worry about you every day."

"I told you not to," I reply before swimming out onto the water and gliding towards the other side of the pool. He follows, swimming next to me.

"I'm bad at listening to you, I guess. That and I didn't have Khole to bother for a week and a half. Motley's always at practice during the day..."

"Speaking of Khole, there is another thing that bugs me about last week," I say while slowly making my way to the other side of the pool. "I still wanna know how Khole got Otto a cloaker. And why I could smell him in the student center lobby. If he was going to leave he should've come and told us. I like him and all, but he's weird sometimes. I don't believe he went home and convinced someone to just give him one."

"I know what you mean," Naki responds. "But it did help Otto, so I'm not that worried about it. Even if he didn't tell the whole truth he did something good."

"Yea," I say. "That's true. Maybe I'm just a stressball; looking for more things to stress out about, huh?"

"Maybe. But you're ~my~ stressball, so I'll allow it."

"...was that a double entendre?"

"What? Never."

"Sure," I say, smirking as we reach the other end of the pool. I clasp the rim of the pool and hold on, grasping at Naki as he swims near. We start treading and I lean to kiss his muzzle. He presses into it and we hold for just a second before letting go. "It's just the beginning, y'know. You sure you want to stick with a Requoran like me?" I ask.

He smiles a little and rubs over my head with a paw. "You mean a cute, caring, headstrong little wolf?"

"Headstrong and little, maybe," I reply with a grin.

"I don't regret any moment I've spent with you, Fen. I'm sure."

"Good," I say. "Because I wasn't going to let you leave me anyway. If I had to, I'd just tag along with my cloaker off."

"Yea? Where?" He asks with a smirk.

"Wouldn't you like to know," I say before starting to swim another lap. He watches me for long enough that I get a bit of a headstart so I twist my head a bit. "I'll race ya!"

"What?" he calls out. "That's not fair." I hear him start swimming after me. I know he'll win, but I don't care. I know we're not past the hard part yet, I know this is just the beginning. Still, it feels like we've been through a lot and despite how hard its been, we're still together-- in a relationship I didn't even think would begin. That on its own is pretty awesome. I'm going to try my best to make it work with him... which means I'll have to face his family. By the end of the hour we just tread together, talking about high school while he helps gives me tips. He says I struggle against the water too much but I say he has webbed digits.

After the swim we hold hands and head back home. It's still afternoon so I have the rest of the day to fill out with stuff, which is nice seeing as I have plenty to catch up on. I listen to sound of crunching leaves resounding beneath our feet as we trod back; hand in hand, step by step. The campus weather is cool and the look and smell of Fall has fully set in. It's the kind of day you just want to sit around on-- maybe drink something hot. I look up at Naki for a moment, noticing the serious expression he wears before he realizes I'm looking at him. It loosens to a little grin and I squeeze his hand a bit. On second thought, I think I'll take the rest of the day; work can wait a bit longer. Besides, I have a giant otter to lay around on-- how many people can say that?