FSE

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"Number Nine? Number Nine?" Louis gripped a pair of thick iron bars in his frail hands. He cooed like a baby, watching as a stranger walked through the hallways outside. "Number Nine?" A familiar voice was passing from one floor to other, looking for a small child that had gone missing. "Damn it! Has anyone seen Nine?"

Another person piped up. "We sold her, Kora. A bunch of lowlifes scraped together the cash to splurge on a nice meal." A loud curse came next, and the tiny deer shrank away from the bars. "Hey, calm down. She was never going to grow much bigger anyway. We've got another rabbit coming in today, you know. Why don't we make her the new Nine?"

A terrifying face knelt down on the other side of the bars. It was a polar bear, one of the few members of the Ursidae family that most people didn't instinctively fear. They were seen as much cuter and more cuddly than some of the other bears out there despite being just as big. Maybe it was in the smoother, softer shape of their muzzles.

This one was unusual. He was small, a stunted specimen that had never grown properly. "I can't look at another rabbit," he said mournfully. "I'll try something different this time. Why don't I make you my special friend, Four? Would you like to be my little boy?"

Louis woke in a cold sweat. He gasped for air and kicked to free himself from his blankets, horns catching on his bedside table as he rolled out of bed. The curved edges hooked onto the ornate wood and wrenched his neck painfully.

His whole body shook. He was cold and exhausted, but didn't want to crawl back beneath the sweaty blankets. Louis slid back between the table and his bed, curled into a little ball with only his horns protruding from the enclosed space. His heart was still pounding, his breathing ragged.

Normally he had to be under extreme stress to trigger one of these episodes. The dreams always shocked him to his core, always robbed him of the composure he worked so hard to maintain. He was speechless in the most literal sense. Years of therapy flew right out the window, and for a little while he was a terrified fawn once more.

How strange that this one had focused on one of his captors in particular. He rarely thought about the livestock tenders as individuals anymore. Most of them were just faceless background characters in his memories.

The sun was starting to come up by the time he'd put his head in order. Louis climbed onto his bed and slipped on his prosthetic leg. I'm safe, he thought, and flopped onto his back. The sheets were still cold and damp. He's probably dead by now anyway.

His alarm went off an hour later. Louis shut it off and hobbled to the bathroom, his legs still stiff from sitting in a cramped position for so long. He turned the light on, spotted a white shape in the mirror, and gasped.

It was just the towel rack behind him. Louis felt like his whole life had flashed before his eyes. He stared at himself in the mirror for a long time, trying to glean insight into his mental state from his reflection. "What's wrong with you?"

**************

Something was wrong with Juno's friend when they met for tea. They'd been doing that a lot lately. Louis was a stoic sort of person, and rarely shared his thoughts unless she could somehow worm them out of him. She liked to think that it was her feminine wiles that made her so good at it. Whether that was true or not, it was a nice feeling when she succeeded.

The red deer was someone she cared for deeply, even if their relationship wasn't an easy one to quantify. Juno had confessed her love already, and she could tell that he felt something similar for her. His arranged marriage hadn't been carried out yet. She still held out hope, and no amount of stern refusals from her friend would dissuade her. After all, she was a carnivore. When he ran, she chased. It was instinctive.

This time she had extra motivation to catch him. Louis wasn't his usual self. He looked like it on the outside with his casually expensive clothes and aloof expression, but she could see pain beneath his outer shell. Something had unsettled him, which was no mean feat. Louis was always distant, but this was the first time he'd ever looked quite so...alone. "I saw your press conference," she said after a while. "You were great. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you do well in front of the camera. That doe sitting next to the Hoff Foundation's CEO was your fiance, wasn't she?"

Louis cleared his throat. "Thank you," he said, and a gentle smile slid across his face like the visor on a suit of armor. "She is, yes. We've got a lot in common. She's very nice once you get to know her, and sharp as a tack. I'm sure that we'll be very happy together." Juno's nostrils flared as she leaned over the table. Her snout came within inches of Louis's chest, and he recoiled so strongly that he nearly fell off his chair. "Hey! Keep your nose to yourself, damn you!"

"Then tell me the truth!" Juno snapped. She looked around at the cafe's other patrons, all of whom were staring at her nervously. Some of them were already starting to move away. Her ears turned back, and her body seemed to sag. "You're right," she said in a much lower voice. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't pry."

Louis stared at her hard for a few seconds. He threw some bills onto the table and stood up, then offered her his hand. "Let's go for a walk," he said. "I need to clear my head."

Touching an herbivore always felt very intimate. Wolves had firm, bristly hair quite unlike the soft coat of a red deer. Juno was very careful, her fingers curled around Louis's hand as she luxuriated in his touch. He led her to a small bridge, one overlooking a large park where kids of all species frequently played. It was empty now, but looked clean and well-maintained.

"I'm sorry," Juno began, but Louis held up a hand to stop her.

"Listen," he said, leaning against the railing. "Listen carefully. Try and imagine what this place sounds like when children are playing here."

It wasn't hard to guess where all of this was leading, but Juno stayed silent. She wanted to give her friend the chance to speak his mind. Maybe putting it into words would help him sort out his feelings. "I won't pretend that I don't care for you," he said. "I do. Quite a bit more than I should, if I'm being honest. I still plan to announce my engagement publicly next month.

The news hit her like a punch to the stomach. "You brought me to an empty playground for that?" Juno demanded. "I was expecting you to talk about having kids, or about your own childhood! For heaven's sake, Louis!" She yanked her hand away from him and turned her back to the railing. "How does the leader of drama club miss the mark on something that obvious? I suppose that's all you wanted, then. You just needed to get me alone so I wouldn't make a scene about my herbivore crush breaking things off. Is that it?"

For the first time since she'd known him, Louis looked guilty. "You saw the way those animals were looking at you, Juno. You _were_making a scene. You need to be more careful when you're with an herbivore. Predation cases have been on the rise lately, and you can't blame everyone for being jumpy." He stared down at the playground and let out an exasperated sigh. "As for your question, no, that's not why I brought you here. I planned to do exactly what you said, but then we got here and I just...couldn't. It's a lot more difficult for me than for most people. Getting into it right before ending things would be unkind."

Juno and Louis stared at each other for a long time, ignoring the animals giving them strange looks as they walked passed. "I'm sorry," he finally said. "If we were other people things would be different. A carnivore is never going to truly understand an herbivore, and an herbivore can't understand a carnivore. This is how it needs to be."

"No, it's not." Juno stepped away from the railing and brushed past him. "I won't give up, Louis. I love you. She doesn't. You know what you really want, and sooner or later you'll accept it. I just hope it isn't too late when you do."