Black Blood Chapter 13
Story by Rtlstien on SoFurry
First Impressions are key
Tom watched the TV screen as various colorful characters did silly things. Tom had never been a fan of these types of cartoons, but the little Hund sitting on his lap seem to enjoy it. Tom got more entertainment watching Luna's reactions to the show than the show itself. She'd giggle at the jokes, bounce around whenever there was a song, and just stare intently whenever there was talking as if she didn't want to miss a single word. Tom dared not say anything to break her concentration.
It was just him and Luna in the living room. Tom knew Ren enjoyed cartoons even less than he did and opted out from watching any. Tom figured he was probably lying in bed reading a book. Tom looked to his side when he heard some noises coming from the kitchen. His parents had been in there since he and Luna came downstairs nearly forty minutes ago. He was curious what they've been doing.
Inside the kitchen, Sera was busy chopping away at various vegetables while Todd was prepping a large slab of meat. Todd let out a sigh as he finished rubbing various herbs and spices into the roast. “So…" Todd said he approached the sink.
“So…?" Sera repeated with a slight grin as she scraped a freshly cut potato in a large bowl.
“You still think all of this is necessary?" Todd asked as he rinsed off his paws.
“I do" Sera said as she started chopping another potato. “Being a good host is key when having visitors."
“I understand that, dear…" Todd said as he dried his paws. “But I still think this is just a bit too sudden. You haven't even known them for a day yet."
Sera chuckled as she started on a carrot. “They're perfectly fine, dear. You know I'm a good judge of character." Sera scraped the chopped carrot into the bowl.
“Is that so?" Todd asked with a smirk as he stood behind Sera. “Would you mind explaining then…" Todd wrapped his arms around Sera's waist and brought his muzzle close to her ears. “When we first met… and why it took almost an entire month after we started dating before you invited me over for the first time?"
Sera let out a contented sigh as he rested her head back against Todd, her arms rested on his. “You know boys weren't allowed in the girls' dorms…"
“Didn't stop us from breaking that rule anyways…" Todd said with a chuckle as he craned his head down and rested it on top of Sera's. His voice lowered to a whisper. “So… if that rule hadn't been there…" Todd started swaying their bodies slightly, side-to-side. “Would you have invited me after one day?"
Sera started to giggle. “Of course." Sera smirked. “Especially if I had known what I knew a month later…"
Todd's tail straightened momentarily. “Oh really?" His embrace tightened slightly. “I wasn't aware you enjoyed it that much…" Todd started to chuckle.
“What can I say?" Sera said as she reached up and caressed Todd's right check. “You really know how to touch all the right spots…"
“Just one of my natural talents" Todd said as he started raising his arms.
“Well…" Sera said as she let out a soft moan. “I'm afraid I'm in need of a different talent of yours right now." Sera eased herself away from Todd's embrace. She turned to see a look of slight disappointment on Todd's face. “I believe I've chopped enough vegetables for you…" Sera motioned towards the bowl behind her. “So how about we get that roast in the oven before our guests arrive?" Sera leaned forward and gave Todd a quick peck on the lips. Todd wrapped his arms around her and started pulling her against him.
Sera let out a surprised laugh. “Dear, didn't you just hear me?"
“I did…" Todd said softly. “I just wanted to enjoy this a little longer…"
Sera smiled as she wrapped her arms around Todd. “A little longer couldn't hurt."
The chime of the doorbell echoed throughout the house. “I've got it" Sera said as she approached the door. When she opened the door she was met by the sight of three faces she'd only recently come to know. “Hello! I'm glad you all could make it" Sera said with a smile.
“We're glad to be here" Mrs. Chienna said as she presented a tin box to Sera. “This is for you."
“What is it?" Sera asked as she took ahold of the box being offered.
“It's assorted candies" Mrs. Chienna said. “Just a little something for the children to enjoy. Irena picked it out."
“Well thank you very much" Sera said to Mrs. Chienna before looking down towards Irena. “Thank you, Irena."
When Irena was spoken to, Irena glanced away and muttered “don't mention it…"
Sera's ears twitched in confusion. “You don't want me to thank you?" Sera asked.
When Irena remained silent Mrs. Chienna placed her paw on Irena's right shoulder. “Please forgive Irena; she's shy around people she doesn't know. She can be very outgoing once she warms up to someone."
“I see" Sera said as she quickly glanced over her shoulder into the house. “Well, Irena, Tom's sitting in the living room. You're more than welcome to come in and join him." Irena nodded her head while still avoiding eye contact with Sera. Sera stepped aside, creating a gap for Irena to enter. Once Irena had entered the house Sera gave the Chiennas a look of concern. “I don't think she's too fond of me."
“Well…" Mr. Chienna said with a sigh. “She's been in a bit of a sour mood ever since our little 'act' yesterday. I'm surprised she even decided to come at all…"
“Must be because of Thomas" Mrs. Chienna said. “Irena has really taken a liking to him."
Sera smirked. “Well, like you said, Irena may be Tom's personal doctor."
“Oh hush!" Mrs. Chienna said with surprise and embarrassment. “Don't you start holding that over me!"
Sera let out a little bit of laughter while Mr. Chienna looked on in confusion. “What's going on?"
“Nothing!" Both women said in unison, their tones contrasting each other.
“Right…" Mr. Chienna said as he rubbed the corner of his eye. “Anyways, I brought a gift as well." He presented Sera a glass bottle.
“What's this?" Sera muttered took ahold of the bottle. She examined the label. “Wine?"
“It's a personal favorite of ours" Mr. Chienna said with a soft chuckle. “I figured since the kids were getting candy the adults should enjoy something as well."
“Well, thank you." Sera said with a smile. “Todd and I don't drink that often, but we'll be happy to have a drink with you two." Sera's ears perked up. “Speaking of which, please come in!"
“Something sure does smell good" Mr. Chienna said as he sniffed the air.
“That would be dinner" Sera said as she walked past the couple. “You'll love Todd's cooking."
“Well if it tastes as good as it smells then I don't doubt that one bit" Mrs. Chienna said as she looked around.
“You won't be disappointed" Sera said over her shoulder as she walked into the living room, on her way to the kitchen. As she passed through she noticed Irena was now sitting on the couch alongside Tom and Luna. She thought Irena would be chatting with Tom, but instead the three of them had their focus on the television in front of them.
Inside the kitchen, Sera placed the wine bottle up in a cupboard. “Aren't you going to introduce yourself to them?" Sera asked as she closed the cupboard. She gazed over at Todd who standing in front of the sink with a knife.
“Just slicing some fruit…" Todd said as he sliced the tops off of numerous strawberries before adding them the multi-colored platter of fruit. “Think this is enough?" Todd asked as he started rinsing the knife.
Sera approached from behind and examined the fruit platter. “How much longer until the roast is done?"
“I'd say two hours right now" Todd said as he dried the blade and placed it back into the knife block.
“Then this will be more than enough" Sera said as she kissed Todd's right cheek. “Thank you." Sera grabbed for the platter. “I'll bring this out for everyone. Once you dry yourself off, come and say hi."
Todd chuckled. “I will" Todd said as he turned and leaned in to give Sera a kiss on her left cheek as she pulled the platter away from the counter. Todd watched as Sera disappeared around the corner. After giving his paws another rinse over, Todd reached for a towel. As he tried to get as much water out of the fur around his wrists he could hear some unfamiliar voices. Todd looked down at his paws. The fur around his wrists were still a bit damp, causing the coloration to be slightly darker than normal, but at least it wasn't dripping. Todd hung the damp hand towel to dry as he made his way out.
As Todd entered the living room he could see Sera talking with their guests. They didn't seem to notice Todd entering the room. He looked around and noticed the TV was off and the kids weren't around. Todd approached the group of three. “Hope I'm not interrupting anything."
“Not at all!" Mrs. Chienna said with a bit of surprise as she turned around and got a look at Todd. “You must be Todd; the one who's making this house smell so delectable."
“Ah, you mean the roast" Todd said with a slight smile. “Yeah, kind of makes me want to serve it now, but then it'd be too raw."
“Oh, we don't mind rare or even raw meat" Mrs. Chienna said.
“Too much of a risk for humans, though" Mr. Chienna said. “They're more prone to food-borne diseases than us."
“Oh, yes, that wouldn't be good for Thomas" Mrs. Chienna nodded. “Shame, though; cooking meat takes away too much of the natural flavor." She looked at Sera and then back at Todd. “Have the two of you ever just eaten the meat raw before?"
Sera answered first. “Quite often when I was growing up. My mother preferred the meat to be cooked to medium, though. I liked it a little redder on the inside, though."
Todd cleared his throat. “Didn't really get meat that often when I was growing up. Few times my family could get some my parents would just serve it raw." Todd chuckled. “My mother figured seven hungry guys wouldn't care how the meat was served."
Mr. Chienna grabbed a few pieces of fruit. “What about now?" he asked. “Do you two still prefer your meat red, or has your palette changed?" with that he tossed a piece of pineapple into his maw.
“I rarely ever cook individual cuts of meat for everyone here" Todd said as he crossed his arms. “So I tend to thoroughly cook any meat I do serve to the family."
“Because of Thomas, right?" Mrs. Chienna chipped in. Todd nodded. “Do you ever miss eating your meat red?"
Todd shrugged his shoulders. “It isn't that big of a deal in my mind. I'd much prefer it this way than risk getting Tom sick."
“Besides" Sera said as she walked up next Todd and placed her arm around his. “Todd knows how to make meat taste good regardless of how long it's been cooked."
“Well, I can't wait to taste the results." Mrs. Chienna said. “And whenever all of you come to visit us we'll be sure have steaks served to everyone's preference."
“You really don't have to do that for us" Sera said in surprise.
“We're not accustomed to being treated to something like that" Todd added. “Don't go out of your way just for us."
“It's really no problem" Mrs. Chienna said. “We rarely get guests, so it's nice to treat them when we do."
“We can sympathize with that" Sera said with a smile.
Todd leaned down into Sera's ear. “We?" he asked sarcastically. He was rewarded with a soft jab to the rib cage by Sera's elbow. Todd let out a sudden cough in surprise as he straightened himself. “Yes, we can" Todd reiterated. “But outside of that, I can't say I know all that much about the two of you other than what I've been told by my wife."
“If it makes you feel any better" Mr. Chienna said as he rubbed his eye. “I've mostly been left out of the loop as well." Mr. Chienna gave his wife a weak smirk before focusing back on Todd. “You know how women love to keep secrets." Mrs. Chienna only shook her head in mild annoyance and amusement.
“Well, we have quite some time on our hands before dinner is ready" Sera said as she folded her arms. “Why don't we get to know each other properly in the meantime?"
“That sounds nice" Mrs. Chienna said with a nod.
“Are we going to do it here?" Mr. Chienna asked.
“Don't see why not." Todd said.
“Actually, I'd prefer if we talked someplace away from the children's ears" Sera interjected. “Perhaps outside?"
“I'd say that's for the best" Mr. Chienna said as he gazed towards the main hall and stairs. “I think the kids wanted to use this room before I walked in."
“Oh don't say that, dear" Mrs. Chienna said as she wrapped her arm around his. “You're being too hard on yourself."
Mr. Chienna let out tired sigh. “I scared the shit out of Irena and Thomas when I yelled at them. Irena is upset with us and Thomas, at the very least, is terrified of me right now." He let out a weak chuckle. “Did you see how eager they were to leave the room once I entered?"
“Yeah…" Todd said as he let out his own sigh. “Tom doesn't take being shouted at all too well. I learned that the hard way the first time I yelled at him…" Todd shook his head and let out an involuntary groan as the memory played in his mind.
“Oh boy…" Sera said as she patted Todd on his back. “Why don't we make our way outside before we get lost reminiscing."
Outside, the four sat around a table in the shade. The Lazuna bay was in perfect view as gentle breeze softly ruffled their fur. “Would love to have had this kind of view" Mrs. Chienna said as she got comfortable in her seat. “But the prices were far too high for the amount of space we were getting." She looked to her husband. “Wasn't the cheapest one available a few years back two million dollars?"
“Just about" Mr. Chienna said with a chuckle as he leaned back in his chair. “The two of you must make a lot to be able to afford a place like this."
“I wish" Todd said with a brief laugh. “The only reason we're living here is because of good circumstances."
“Did you inherit this house, or receive a large sum of money at some point?" Mrs. Cheinna asked.
“Nothing like that" Sera said as she crossed her legs. “When we moved here twenty years ago most of these houses had been left vacant because they had been occupied by humans." Sera let out a sigh. “When the humans left no one could afford the exorbitant price tags. So they lowered the value of the houses." Sera smirked. “We got this house for $535,000. Its current value is around 2.4 million."
Both of the Chienna's jaws nearly hit the floor. You didn't need to be savvy in real estate to realize how incredible it is to have your property value increase more than four times over. “Sounds like you two made an amazing investment." Mr. Chienna said as he crossed his arms. “I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jealous."
“Well…" Todd said as he scratched the back of his right ear in sight embarrassment. “It was actually Sera's idea to buy this house. I was skeptical. I mean, we both had only finished college ten months prior. We both managed to get jobs here in Lazuna within a month after we moved here, but we weren't making much; at least not the amount you'd expect from someone living in a place like this."
Sera smiled as she placed her paw on Todd's left arm. “But, I convinced Todd that if we didn't take the opportunity we'd regret it later on."
“And so" Todd continued. “We took out a loan and bought the house." Todd let out a groan. “The first few years were hard for us. We had to budget everything to make sure we could meet our loan payments. It was a stressful time, for sure."
“But eventually our salaries increased and we were able to create a buffer to alleviate that sense of unease." Sera said as she closed her eyes. “After six years we were making more than enough to pay off our expenses, and had quite some money saved up that we decided to move on to the next chapter of our life." Sera couldn't help but smile. “A year later Ren was born."
“Having him has been an adventure of its own" Todd added with his own smile. “Then when he was eight we adopted Tom and then Luna was born soon afterwards. Our lives have been anything but uneventful since then."
“I'm happy that that two of you have been able to have such a fulfilling life so far." Mrs. Chienna said with a sincere smile.
“Thank you" Sera said as she opened her eyes. “What about you two? What brought you to Lazuna?"
“Well, up until four years ago, we actually lived on the east coast" Mrs. Chienna said as she began to reminisce.
“Quite a difference than living on the west coast, I bet." Todd interjected.
“Oh yes" Mrs. Chienna replied. “Weather, scenery, people; it's all different!" She started to laugh. “I asked myself if we were even in the same country anymore."
“It was the reduced stress that was the main reason we moved here" Mr. Chienna said as he leaned further back into his chair, looked up and closed his eyes. “We both used to work in a hospital in the downtown metro area." He let out a moan. “It was busy all time; there was never a shortage of those who needed to have an emergency operation performed upon them. Even on our days off we were always on call in case the hospital was short on staff." He let out an annoyed huff as he shook his head. “We were called in quite often."
“In order to cope with the stress…" Mrs. Chienna said as she diverted her gaze away from Todd and Sera for a brief moment. “We started drinking." She shrugged her shoulders, trying to make it seem it was no big deal. “I started drinking the occasional glass of wine but…" She glanced over to her husband.
Mr. Chienna opened his eye when he noticed the silence and saw his wife looking at him. “Alright…." He said as he straightened himself. “At the start I would also have the occasional glass of wine, but as time passed… the stress from work began to build up and one glass of wine just wasn't enough anymore. At first I would just drink more wine, but then I started moving onto more and more potent spirits to try to null the senses." He let out a sigh of disappointment. “It wasn't the happiest period in our lives."
“It must have been hard for both of you" Sera said. “Was it also hard for Irena?"
Both of the Chienna's remained silent for a few seconds. “Irena…" Mrs. Chienna started. “At that time she probably felt so alone." Mrs. Chienna shook her head. “Can you imagine your parents being around, but they'd hardly ever acknowledge you because they didn't have the time?"
Todd and Sera remained silent.
“Regardless," Mr. Chienna said with a sigh. “It became clear that we all needed to get away from our current lives in order for things to get better. So we sought out hospitals across the country that had open spots for both of us. Eventually we decided on this little coastal city, and have been living here ever since." Mr. Chienna turned his head to face the bay. “Can actually feel at ease here." Mr. Chienna's eyes started to flicker as they tried to stay open.
“Falling asleep on us?" Todd joked.
Mr. Chienna's eyes widened. He rubbed the inner corners of his eyes before turning back to face the others. “Sorry about that; been having a hard time getting enough sleep these past few days."
“No need to apologize" Sera assured him. “If you need to take a nap then go right ahead."
“Much appreciated, but I'd much rather continue our little group conversation." Mr. Chienna smiled weakly. “It's been awhile since I've opened up to someone outside my family."
“Well, perhaps you'd like to ask us something?" Todd suggested. “You've talked quite a bit about your life before coming here."
Mr. Chienna thought about it for a moment. “Are the two of you originally from Lazuna?"
“I am" Sera answered with a nod.
“I grew up north of here; about an eight hour drive away."
“Ah, so you two must get to see your families quite often then" Mrs. Chienna added. “Our closest relatives live halfway across the country from here."
“Well, I see my mother every so often" Sera added. “Whenever she feels like seeing me or her grandchildren she'll usually drop by." Sera let out a sigh. “Though, it can be a bit awkward sometimes."
“The two of you not on good terms?" Mr. Chienna asked.
“That was an issue, once, but now it's her attitude towards Tom. She's a white collar so, of course, she has that damned mentality towards humans."
“Ah" Mr. Chienna nodded his head. “I understand. My brother and mother are both white collars so I've experienced how difficult family members like them can be regarding humans. My brother even mocked my decision to study human physiology and anatomy in school." Mr. Chienna let out a brief chuckle as he slowly shook his head. “Said that knowledge would be useless eventually."
Todd groaned. “They just love bringing that up…"
“True" Mr. Chienna said with a slight shrug of his shoulders. “But he was, in his own way, trying to help. He thought it would be more beneficial to my career if I studied something more appropriate."
Sera's ears perked up. “So what made you decide on those subjects?"
“Truthfully? I figured that if the humans were ever cured of the disease they'd be in need of someone with knowledge on how to operate on them. Didn't seem like many others shared the same idea; there were only four other Hunds who took the class with me."
“I was one of those four" Mrs. Chienna chimed in with a smile.
“So the two of you met as classmates!?" Sera asked with a hint of excitement in her voice.
“We sure did" Mrs. Chienna responded with a smile as she placed her paw on top of her husbands. “It was the only class we ended up taking together, but it was enough to bring us together."
Todd and Sera glanced at each other simultaneously with a soft smirk. “Something similar happened with us" Sera said as her focus was back on the Chiennas.
“Isn't that something!" Mrs. Chienna's voice echoed with excitement. “Did the two of you hit it off immediately as well?"
In unison, Todd and Sera stated bluntly “Nope." Their response seemed to confuse Mrs. Chienna and intrigue Mr. Chienna.
“Well, then where does the 'something similar' come into play?" Mrs. Chienna asked.
“We did share a class together" Todd said with a chuckle. “But we didn't get off to a very good start…" he glanced over to Sera. “Right, dear?"
“Can't say it was the most aspiring of beginnings" Sera said with a soft sigh as she met Todd's gaze. “I lacked tact and your stubbornness was worse than it is today." Sera shook her head. “We acted like disgruntled children back then."
Todd chuckled as he leaned back in his chair. “We sure did."
Todd leaned back in his chair as he gazed over the new batch of students enrolling in the university for the spring semester. He estimated there to be close to three hundred Hunds sitting in the auditorium. It was a rather small number compared to the entrants during the fall semester which typically were three or four times larger than this. Todd smirked, counting this as a blessing since it made his assignment much more tolerable.
“I hope all of you will enjoy the next four years here." Todd's attention was drawn to the dean on stage finishing his speech. “If any of you wish ask for help or advice…" Todd watched as the dean's eyes glanced over in his direction. “One of our students, Todd Renoir, will be more than happy to assist you." As Todd noticed many of the heads in the crowd looking over their shoulders he raised his right arm into the air to point himself out.
When the dean dismissed everyone Todd was relieved to see the vast majority of the crowd head straight for the exits. Only a dozen or so students stayed behind to form an impromptu line in front of Todd. The questions varied from getting clarification about daily schedules, building locations, what time certain areas both on and off campus were open to, and what extracurricular clubs there were to join. Some even asked if he could recommend any places to check out off campus. With that last one Todd could only give little information.
“You don't get out that much do you?" a voice chimed in from behind the previous questioner.
Todd chuckled. “I'll admit, I don't go off campus that often. You trying to imply something?"
When the student in front of Todd walked away all that remained was Todd and the last student in the line. “I'm not implying anything; just making an observation" she said with a slight shake of her head. There was only silence between them. She noticed Todd's eyes seemed to be roaming. “And just what are you looking at?"
Todd shook his head out of his daze. “Sorry about that…" Todd glanced at identification badge hanging from her collar. “…Sera. It's just… you're the first vulpine Hund I've met outside my family." Todd noticed the skeptical look on Sera's face. “Hey, it's the truth!"
Sera crossed her arms. “If you say so…" She shrugged her shoulders. “Better than being a pervert."
Todd's ears started to pin back in frustration. “Right… did you have question or did you just feel like screwing with me today."
Sera closed her eyes. “You certainly do have that on your mind quite a bit don't you?" Sera opened her eyes. “Yes, I do have a question. Why did you volunteer to help other students?"
Todd was slightly taken aback. “What? Is there an issue with wanting to help newcomers?"
“There is when you don't seem to be enjoying it."
Todd furrowed his brow. “You some kind of expert at reading people's thoughts or something?"
“No" Sera said with a slight chuckle. “But your constant expression of disinterest and your non-verbal communication practically screams that you want to be anywhere else but here."
“You know what?" Todd clenched his paws. “I would rather be anywhere else than here arguing with you right now!"
“But you need the volunteer hours, right?" Sera said bluntly, causing Todd's ears to twitch slightly. “I figured as much. So instead of going out and searching for volunteer events you might actually enjoy you instead resign yourself to take tasks given to you by the campus?"
“Yeah, so? I don't see why it's any of your damned business!" The volume of Todd's voice increased with every word he spoke. He pointed right into Sera's face. “So how about you stop talking down to me like you're a white collar!"
Sera's ears straightened at full attention as she glared at Todd. “Don't you dare compare me to them!" Sera said with her teeth bared as she slapped away Todd's paw. Their confrontation was starting to draw the attention of those left in the auditorium. Sera glanced to her side and took a deep breath. “Sorry for taking up your time. For both our sakes I hope our paths don't cross again." Sera turned around and made her way to the exit.
Todd scowled as Sera disappeared behind the metal doors. “Bitch…" Todd said under his breath as he turned around to grab his things.
As Todd left the auditorium he realized that he still needed to take care of one thing; elective selection. Todd groaned, thinking that he was done for the day and could just go relax in his room. “Today has been really annoying…" Todd groaned to himself as he made his way to the academic office.
After about an hour of waiting in line for his turn, Todd was informed that he had a choice of five electives to choose from based on his current class schedule:
Biology
Culinary
History (Hund-Human)
Physics
Public Speaking
Todd glanced over the options and realized the decision was easy to make. Science was always one of his weakest subjects, so biology and physics were out of the picture. Todd didn't have any interest speaking in front of large classes, so that wasn't an option. Finally, Todd had already learned from his mother how to cook so he didn't need a class for that. “I'll take the history class."
“Alright" the academic counselor said as she registered Todd for the class.
“Out of curiosity, how did a class involving humans become available?"
“It's being used as a test" the counselor said.
“For what?"
“To see if there's any interest in the subject; if at least eighteen students attend the class this semester then it'll be available for future semesters."
“What will happen if there aren't enough students? Will I have to take another elective?"
“No. The class will proceed as usual for this semester, but it will be removed from the list of electives."
“I see" Todd said as he let out an internal sigh of relief. “So what are the hours for the class?"
“Wednesday and Friday from three to five in the afternoon."
“Thank you" Todd said as he turned around to leave.
When Todd returned to his dorm he let out a contented sigh as he laid himself on his bed. He was thankful he didn't have any Monday morning classes; giving him plenty of time to just relax, perhaps take a little nap. As Todd's eyes started to shut he started to remember some of the stories his uncle had told him about life with humans. “That class might actually be enjoyable…" Todd said weakly as he slowly nodded off.
Sera glanced around the classroom. It was large enough to hold perhaps thirty or forty students but, including herself, there was only nine. She glanced at the clock to see there was only five minutes left before the class started. Hopefully, she thought, the number of students would double within that amount of time.
She smiled when the door opened. Her smiled quickly faded away when a familiar figure entered the classroom. “Seriously…?" Sera cursed to herself when her eyes met those of Todd. Todd, in return, gave her a look of agitation before he made his way to the other side of the classroom.
Sera shook her head in annoyance before the voice of the professor caught her attention. She glanced over at the elderly Hund holding a paper in his left paw. “It would seem everyone on my roster has now arrived…" he said as he looked over the ten students. “I welcome each one of you to Hund-Human History. Over the next four months each of you will be familiarized not only with key events involving us and humans, but also how our cultures blended together." The professor cleared his throat as he picked up a small stack of papers from his desk. “This is the course syllabus," he said as he started laying one on each of the students' desks. “It outlines what will be due and when. I'd suggest going over it so there won't be any surprises."
When Sera received her copy she glanced down. It seemed rather straightforward; a reading assignment every week, a quiz every week based on the reading, a written report once a month, a midterm, a final project and a final test. As for the in-class format, Wednesdays will be reserved for lectures from the professor which may or may not pertain to the following reading assignment while Fridays were for quizzes, tests, and reviewing the reading.
“Since this is the first day of class I'd like to get an idea of how much knowledge each of you have about humans." He thought for a moment. “Does anyone know how many humans there were on Earth before their numbers started to decline?"
“Over eight billion?" Sera chimed in.
“Yes" the professor answered with a nod. “It was actually just shy of 8.6 billion. At their height of population, Humans outnumbered Hunds nearly four to one. The population of the planet at that time was just over eleven billion." He noticed some of the students' had a surprised reaction to the number. “It's quite amazing to think that there used to be that many of us just over a decade ago. It's even more noteworthy when you realize the population of the planet is now below four billion."
“How could something kill so many of them so quickly?" one of the students asked.
“Well, I'm not entirely familiar with all the details of the disease, but from what I witnessed, the older the human was the faster their life was claimed. Eventually, when the death rate of humans started slowing down an overwhelming majority of the ones left alive hadn't even hit two decades yet." The professor let out a brief sigh. “And until a cure is found I doubt any human will ever make it to twenty again without an expensive procedure." He shook his head. “But enough with this morbid tangent; let's get back to our original discussion. Now, who knows where Humans originated from?"
The class was silent for a few seconds before Sera chimed in again. “Africa."
“Very good. While Hunds originated across what is known as Eurasia, humans evolved in Africa. We had quite a bit of head start over humans which allowed us to be present in various parts of the world before Humans even left their own continent. In fact, some of our more primitive ancestors even travelled south to Africa. It's likely that this lead to the first encounter between our two species. However, this was long before either species started keeping records so it is only conjecture."
“I'll ask one more question" the professor said. “What led to the first major conflict between Hunds and Humans?" He waited for someone to answer. He looked at Sera to see if she knew this answer as well, but she only shrugged her shoulders. “I'm surprised this bit of history wasn't at least discussed in high school. Up until about 600 years ago Humans had dominance over the continents of Africa, Europe and Asia. The American Continents, however, were almost entirely devoid of Humans at the time. This is because our early ancestors who settled on the land bridge that connected Asia and North America had driven back any Humans attempting to cross over. When the bridge was destroyed by rising water levels the entire American continents were occupied only by Hunds. Here, we were given more time to create civilizations that stretched from the Arctic Circle to the tip of South America. The Americas were cut off from Humans for over ten thousand years until the end of the fifteenth century."
The professor let out a deep cough. “The remainder of this lesson will be covered as part of your reading assignments for the night. Be sure not to just skim over the text; there will be a quiz on chapters one and two when we meet again on Friday. I have nothing left for you today so you all are dismissed."
Most of the students gradually got up to leave. Sera was the only one who stayed behind. She waited the last of her classmates had left before she approached the professor at his desk. “What can I do for, Miss…" he asked as he kept his focus on the screen.
“I'm just curious; do you think the Humans sailing to the Americas was a good thing or a bad thing?"
The professor stopped his typing and glanced at Sera. “You seem to already know quite a bit. Did you learn this in high school?"
“No" Sera responded with a quick shake of the head. “I learned a few things on my own before coming here, but most of what I know is because I've already read a few chapters in the book."
“I see" the professor said with a smile on his face. “It's been quite some time since I've had a student as interested in the subject as you. Tell me, what made someone from your generation interested in Humans?"
Sera paused for a moments. “Just… curiosity."
“Well, there's nothing wrong with that. And to answer your question as to whether or not Humans coming to the Americas was good or bad, then I'd have to say it was both." Sera gave the professor a strange look. He laughed in amusement at her reaction. “I mean, it was neither purely good nor purely bad. Depending on who you ask, some would point out how it developed the relationship between the two species, while others would point out all the deaths it caused. Some would point out how it was the last major step to unifying the world, while others would point out it destroyed major Hund civilizations either through fighting or integration with Humans. Some focus on cooperation while others focus on identity. It all depends on which details you find more significant."
“So which side do you fall on?"
The professor remained silent for a few seconds before he cleared his throat. “I'm not one to put weight on how things were long before I was even born. In my life I've come to be acquainted with many amazing individuals; Hund and Human, students and colleagues. The idea of never having been able to come to know each and every one of them is a rather depressing thought, more so than knowing that many of them have passed away." The professor smiled, despite the grim subject he spoke. “We're all shaped by our experiences and those we experience them with. And since quite a few Humans have contributed to me being who I am today, I can say with confidence that I'm glad that they sailed to the Americas six centuries ago."
“I see…" Sera said with a soft smile as she crossed her arms. “Your opinion towards Humans seems to be lost on my generation though." Sera shook her head. “Everyone I know seems to be indifferent to Humans or even hates them. At best they're just curious about them."
The professor scratched the underside of his muzzle. “And as newer generations grow up without interaction with Humans they'll become less sympathetic to them." The professor closed his eyes. “It'll one day get to point where Hunds will only interact with Humans if they have something to gain from it." He let out a sarcastic chuckle as he focused on Sera. “Would I be wrong to assume that you were close with a Human?"
Sera nodded.
“That would explain your unusual interest in the subject. I would like to think that the other students in my class share your enthusiasm on the subject, but I'd be naïve to not realize my class can be seen as one to just get an easy A."
“Yeah… I can think of someone in particular who probably fits in that category…"
The next night Todd lied on his bed reading his textbook. The lamp on the nightstand to his left illuminated the text. He slowly turned the page as he finished reading the last words on page 283. After he had finished reading the required chapters for class he decided to skip ahead to the chapters that detailed more recent events of the 21st century.
By the year 2050, a few years before Humans started dying off, the population of the world was 10.7 billion- 8.6 billion Humans and 2.1 billion Hunds. While Humans could be found in most parts of the world, Hunds were more concentrated in certain parts of the world- 1.2 billion were located on the American Continents, 440 million in Europe, 210 million in eastern Asian countries, and the remaining 250 million scattered throughout the world. Hunds held the majority in terms of population and power in South America. In most North American and European countries, while being outnumbered by Humans by at least two to one, the two races shared power equally as best they could. In the rest of the world Hunds didn't have much power due to the disproportionate population ratio.
Todd sighed in frustration; he wasn't interested in the numbers. He flipped to the next page to a picture. Todd pulled the book closer to get a better look at it. It was a picture of what appeared to be a very busy city street. On the sidewalks and in the crossings were hundreds of pedestrians, both Hund and Human. “So that's what it was like in the city back then…" Todd whispered as he scanned the picture. “They all seem to be in a hurry though…" Todd chuckled as he examined all the serious or expressionless faces in the picture. He did occasionally manage to find someone with a smile on their face. “Don't think I can ever get used to city life…" Todd sighed as he closed the book and set it down on the nightstand. When he switched the lamp off his room was nearly shrouded in darkness; a faint glow shone through the nearby window. Todd glanced out the window to see the night sky being illuminated by the lights of the city surrounding the campus. He glanced up higher and groaned in disappointment. “Can never see any stars here…" Todd laid his head back and closed his eyes as he slowly drifted off to sleep.
That Friday afternoon, the professor held in his hands ten completed quiz sheets. “Enjoy your weekend" he said as the class was let out. “When you come in on Wednesday you'll each have your assigned partner for the final project."
Todd inadvertently found himself the last student in class. He had been preoccupied checking his schedule for the weekend while the others were happy to be free for it. Todd quickly packed away all his things and started heading towards the door. He stopped short of it though and glanced back to see the professor grading the quizzes from earlier. He approached the desk.
The professor immediately turned the papers over as he noticed someone approaching. He glanced up. “You'll get your grade on Wednesday like the rest of the class, Mr. Renoir."
“Oh." Todd's ears shot straight up. “That's actually not what I'm here for; I actually had a question."
The professor raised his brow. “Well go ahead and ask."
“You grew up surrounded by Humans, right?"
“I did indeed" the professor said with a nod.
“Well…" Todd said rubbed the back of his head. “Were Hunds happier back before Humans started dying off?"
“Depends out how you look at it. On a personal level most Hunds, myself included, lost many close friends of ours who were Human. The happiness we felt when they were around didn't have anything to do with them being Human, though."
Todd shook his head. “I meant more on a societal level; how did the general dying off of Humans affect Hunds?"
The professor's eyes went wide briefly. He let out a chuckle before he looked up at the ceiling with closed eyes. He whispered to himself “What a treat I've gotten with this class…"
“Excuse me?" Todd asked, not having heard what the professor whispered.
“Nothing" the professor said with another chuckle as he opened his eyes and looked at Todd. “I could tell you about the economic and political chaos that ensued when they started dying off, but I feel as though you have something else in mind."
“I just want to get sense of how much of an impact Humans disappearing from society affected Hunds overall."
The professor shook his head. “Again… that's entirely dependent on the bonds they had with individual Humans. Humans aren't missed just because they were Human; we miss them because they were our friends."
Todd let out a soft, frustrated sigh. “But… I've heard stories about how Humans could stop us from following commands from White Collars. Isn't that missed?"
“In the world of politics, yes, they helped to keeps things rather balanced, but we weren't friends with Humans just because of that unique perk of theirs; if anything that was just a reason why White Collars hated Humans. The only ones I can think off who really took Humans dying off the hardest were Black Collars." Todd's eyes went wide. “Ah…" the professor nodded his head when he realized where Todd had been coming from. “You were close to a Black Collar?"
“Uncle" Todd said as closed his eyes.
“Well… I'm afraid I can't accurately gauge how much of an impact it had for him or other Black Collars. You probably have a better idea from what you heard from him."
Todd smirked as he opened his eyes. “From the stories he told me I always got the impression that Humans were these beings that made Hunds feel better about themselves."
“To your uncle, and other Black Collars, they probably did truly see Humans that way. But to the rest us, Humans weren't anything special other than that they weren't Hunds. Blue Collars viewed them as equals, White Collars despised their presence, and Red Collars…" the professor stared blankly for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. “I never have any idea what's going on in their heads."
“I see…" Todd said with a sigh. “Well, I think I've taken up enough of your time, professor."
“Oh, think nothing of it. I enjoy discussions with students."
“Well then see you Wednesday" Todd said as he left.
“Enjoy your weekend" the professor said as he watched Todd leave the room. He turned over the papers he was grading. On to top was Todd's quiz with a 100% written on top. Beneath his paper was Sera's quiz which also had a perfect score. The professor smiled when he realized these two were the only ones who got a perfect score. “This could be interesting…"
“This can't be happening" Sera thought as she and the other students gazed at the whiteboard at the front of the class. Written on it were all their names in groups of two. Written next to her name was Renoir. She always knew the possibility of being teamed up with him existed, only around eleven percent, but was hopeful that scenario wouldn't play out. She glanced over in Todd direction at the other end of the room. Like herself, he was gazing at the board intently and wasn't happy with the result either. Sera closed her eyes and let out a frustrated sigh. She was going to speak with the professor after class and try to change partners. At least she knew her current partner wouldn't object to the proposal.
“The teams are final" the professor said bluntly to Sera and Todd who stood in front of him in frustration. “It was written in the syllabus I handed out to everyone last week."
“Could you perhaps just make an exception?" Sera asked. “The two of us don't exactly get along."
“Or perhaps you could allow us to work on our own projects individually?" Todd added in.
“In the real world you'll often come across people you don't necessarily like, but have to cooperate with in order to achieve something. If nothing else, think of this as a life lesson; with this project your grades are linked with one another, you pass or fail together." He gazed at his two students' hesitant looks. “But if you truly don't want to work with one another, then I can give you both an automatic zero on the project." He raised his brow. “Just realize it counts as twenty percent of your grade for the class."
Sera's body stiffened, her ears straightened and her tail went limp. Next to her, Todd let out a brief huff as he shrugged his shoulders. “If that's all it is then…"
“We'll work together" Sera interrupted, to Todd's surprise.
“Glad to hear that!" the professor said with a smile. “Just make sure that both of you equally contribute to the project otherwise you'll both receive a fail."
“We understand" Sera said, her voice cracking slightly. Todd remained silent as he watched with confusion.
“Well…" the professor stood up. “Now that that is settled, I have a faculty meeting that starts in ten minutes." After turning off his computer and grabbing his things he walked past his two students. As he grasped the door handle he looked back. “I'm looking forward to what you two can produce."
Todd and Sera stood in silence long after the echo of the door closing left the room. Eventually Sera turned around to face Todd, who stood there with his arms crossed across his chest, his eyes glaring at her. Sera, though, didn't return the gaze with scorn. She tried to appear as calm as possible, trying desperately to hide the desperation she was feeling now.
It's been quite a while since the last chapter. Various things have occurred over the past year that are attributed to both my personal and military life. Probably one of the biggest parts is that I had been working on creating a RenPy port of Morenatsu since February 2017 and only finished it this past January. 2018 may turn out to be another busy year for me on the military side of things, but I hope to be able to get more writing done than I did in 2017.