“We're here!"

Tom looked over the crowded festival entrance. Due to the summer festival, there were a lot more people here in the city park. Colours upon colours of furs and scalies were everywhere and Tom could only imagine how many people were here.

Max gave the grey wolf a pat. “Good thing the weather's all nice today."

Tom chuckled. They had finished their sixth semester which had been overly taxing. There were lots of social projects, in addition to that intercultural festival. Heck, Tom wasn't even sure how he could still survive today. He was glad he made it out through everything last semester, including that problem with Max.

Every year, there was a summer festival being held in the city park next to the mountain and forest. The festival lasted for a week and people from throughout the city would come and join. It was celebrated during the summer solstice, a tradition that went back hundreds of years as a companion of Yule, the winter festival during the winter solstice.

The park itself was actually a small part of the forest that formed the northern and eastern border of the city. Tom was glad that people cared so much about the forest; it kind of gave him a sense of nature. People still remembered their roots, and despite Barrowisle having a lot of immigrants, they embraced every culture, bringing new colours to the painting.

“So, are we just going to stand here or we'll get there and have some fun?" Martin said in excitement.

Kevin grinned. “Does a group of students enjoy the Summerfest?" he said, walking ahead in the group and beckoning them to follow him.

Everyone laughed and did so.

The more energetic ones of the group ran to the entrance booths, while the rest walked more slowly behind them. They were just getting started and Tom didn't want to waste his energy just yet. Or perhaps he was preparing himself to climb the countless stairs to the mountainside. Martin already had several snacks in his hands along with Andy as they walked deeper into the festival.

Also, did he mention that Max and Kevin were bringing their buddies? Good thing they didn't bring many, though. Max just brought Andy and Octo, which was fine with Tom since he already knew and got along well with them both. On the other side of the group, Kevin brought a, um, wolf, maybe, with the name Vilkas and a hyena with him… whose name he forgot.

Actually, that made Tom a little uneasy since he didn't want the football and basketball team to think that he took Max and Kevin away, but they assured him that it wasn't a big deal. Max said most of the football team members weren't in the city for holiday anyway, while Kevin said the basketball team members rarely, if ever, hung out as a group during the holidays.

Martin was going home later this week, which gave him several days off. James' and Max's house were just next province. Lucy went home as soon as the holiday started. He kind of envied the cat but he just laughed it off. Ellie didn't want to go home since her family was going out to another country. That was a bit curious, but Ellie said she herself didn't want to go.

There weren't many people in the group, which made Tom happy. But there were lots of muscles, which made him… also happy, in a more… confusing way.

Someone tapped his shoulder, making him turn around. Octo was stretching his arm, giving him a small cake with a smile. Tom opened his maw and ate it with gusto. “Thanks."

The panther just smiled.

On the other side of the group, there was Vilkas and... Sunder? Summer? Spooner? The hyena. Vilkas seemed to be a canine version of Andy, while the hyena was a less arseholic version of Kevin. They all seemed to be enthusiastic to get to the mountainside as quickly as possible, even James.

Yup, his mind was creative, comparing people like that.

Now that he thought about it, he was the shortest male in the group. All the sportsmen seemed to be 185 and above, Martin 176, and James 179.

“You're not catching up to them, Tom?" Octo asked him.

Tom put his paws behind his head. “Nah, saving my energy for later."

They reached the base of the stairs. The first level wasn't far, but from there, there were different paths to be taken and they planned to visit all of them. Especially the highest one where the fireworks could be seen best later tonight.

The second level was packed like the first level, but there was more order here. The booths lined up on the sides with a big fountain in the middle, somewhat similar to the city square. Just behind the west booths, there was a large field where people could sit down and have a picnic. They made their way to an empty spot and put their bags there, then visited the booths for snacks.

“So, what do you guys want?" Max asked them as they looked over the booths. There were many booths, each providing different food, some native, some foreign. Martin quickly dashed towards the French one, followed by Ellie.

Octo chuckled. “I guess everyone's getting their own. Let's just split up and meet at our bags."

Everyone nodded and went to the booths.

The grey wolf walked towards an Indonesian booth, deciding that a little taste of a home he'd never been to wouldn't hurt. The queue was as long as the others. Tom took a glance at the snacks in the meantime.

He decided to get something that would go easy on his stomach. “Bu, pesan!"

The waiter perked up and smiled widely, being called in her native tongue. “Ya? Mau pesan apa?"

“Lemper sama telur gulungnya pedes masing-masing 10 ya."

“Baik," the cow picked up the items Tom ordered and gave the package to the wolf. “Jadinya 8 euro 70 sen."

Tom gave the money and took the package. “Makasih ya."

“Sama-sama."

He walked away from the booth, snacks in his hand. These would get everyone curious, but he supposed all of them would get something that made the others curious anyway. That was the fun part of the festival; discovering things that were normally they wouldn't know. The wolf had gotten more insights on other cultures during intercultural festivals than from the books.

Last year, one of his classmates brought a Kyrgyz snack and it had been very delicious. Tom hoped he could get it here again.

“What did you get?" Ellie asked him as he got closer to the group. Almost everyone was there.

Tom hid his package playfully. “Later, when everyone's here."

Shortly after, Vilkas and Kevin arrived and sat down. Tom's tail wagged a bit when he saw something in the blue wolf's hand. It looked appetising.

“Open in 3… 2… 1!"

Everyone opened their package and immediately there were questions thrown. Max, Kevin, James, and Ellie brought native snacks, while Martin, Vilkas, and the hyena—who was his name again—brought foreign snacks.

Ohh they looked delicious.

Tom laughed at the remark that his snack looked like jellies. He himself said that the snacks Vilkas brought looked like space turtles.

“Tell us what they are!" Ellie said with enthusiasm. “No, not you, Max. We know what a pretzel is."

“These are kibinai from Lithuania. No, not space turtles." Vilkas said with a small laugh, putting his package on display. “It's like bread filled with vegetables or cheese, though these ones are vegetables."

Tom put his own on display. “These ones aren't jellies like Andy said." Said lion laughed. “These are lemper from Indonesia, rice with meat inside, wrapped and steamed inside banana leaves. These ones with the sticks are rolled eggs, telur gulung."

“I think you already know these. These are chocolate pastries from France, pains au chocolat." Mart said with a laugh.

“Chocolatines you mean?"

“Don't start with me, Tom."

The grey wolf laughed.

“Anyway, these are mandazi, Kenyan bread. It's basically just a kind of sweet bread, so I also got some sukuma wiki, Kenyan leaf salad, made with lots of spices." The hyena said, putting his package on display.

That looked delicious. All the snacks looked delicious.

“Okay, let's eat!"

Tom didn't eat a lot, but he felt full. He took a bite of each snack, though he shared most of them with Max and Martin. They weren't planning to have lunch before midday and Tom didn't want to run around with his stomach full.

The grey wolf looked at the group. They were chatting away, relaxed. Spencer—the hyena whose name he remembered now—was talking to Max and James while Kevin and Ellie were congratulating each other for another semester.

Max looked happy. He laughed at a joke Spencer threw, bringing a smile to the grey wolf. The German Shepherd was enticing him, from that gentle laugh to his soft, sometimes goofy smiles. For Tom, the thing that makes Max attractive was no longer only his body, but him. His smiles, his laughs, even his occasional growls. His sharp mind. His strong will. His gentle air. His love for coffee. His fondness of freshly baked pastries.

That incident made him reconsider his feelings towards the dog. It was love, but not just some love. And now, he was free to love him.

That made him a bit glad and worried. Glad because he knew his feelings towards him were no longer just physical. Worried because it meant the liking had developed beyond what he thought was healthy for his sanity. Loving him hurt.

His days were numbered, and he didn't want to count them. He didn't want to fall in love with the shepherd. There were too many risks, and he was one who planned his steps very carefully. The worst that could happen, Max could ignore him completely and think that he didn't exist like he had before. That had been really mortifying.

He turned his gaze away, his mouth morphing into a soft smile. He shouldn't be worrying about that now. It was summer festival, and while it made him reconsider his feelings, the fact that the dog didn't hate him made him a bit warm inside. Ignorance really was bliss.

Well, he guessed the happy wagging of his tail gave his feelings away.

“Tom, right?"

Turning his head, the grey wolf looked to his left. Vilkas was looking at him, a friendly smile on his face. He looked a lot more amiable than Kevin at first glance, considering the two looked somewhat similar.

“Yeah." Tom gave a soft chuckle. “Vilkas, ya?"

He laughed a bit. “Yep, the one and only husky in town!"

Surprised, Tom took a gulp from his bottle. “Ye're a husky?"

“That's right!"

“I thought ye were a wolf, y'know, from your name." Tom smiled sheepishly. “And ye look like one… and smell like one…" He scratched scratching his head. “Er, sorry for that."

Vilkas shrugged, “That's fine! Some people said that. It doesn't really bother me anyway."

“What does his name mean?" Kevin said, popping up beside Vilkas. He had just finished his snack.

“Vilkas literally means wolf in Lithuanian. Maybe that's because I look like one anyway." The husky let out a chuckle and ate the last piece of his kibinai. “That made you the thousandth wolf to think I'm a wolf."

Tom smiled. “That many, huh?"

“Hey, us wolves need to look out for the pack." Kevin said. “And since that day you told me you're not one, you were kicked out."

“I told you like a hundred times! Besides, like hell I wanna be in a pack with you anyway."

Both wolves laughed. Ellie and Max then called Kevin and he went away.

Tom just gave him another question in the meantime. Vilkas didn't seem to be bothered anyway, and he was in a good mood. “So, what major are ye?"

“I'm from Industrial Engineering. That's just maths plus lots of physics and chemistry." He said as he threw his rubbish into the closest bin. “You, Tom?"

“Communication studies with Max and the guys over there." Tom gave the shepherd a quick glance, then turned back to Vilkas. “The one thing I love about Comm is that there's no maths at all, save for Statistics."

Vilkas smiled crookedly. “No maths no fun."

“No maths means fun." Tom laughed. Vilkas was a great lad in his opinion. They could get along smoothly. And he was cute, too, in a paradoxical way. His build gave the impression of someone fast, agile, and loved thrills, but his face was cute. Almost as cute as Max.

Whoops.

Ellie stood up. “Okay everyone, we're going to the haunted house!"

“For fuck's sake please don't!" Max said. Tom looked to the shepherd's direction and saw him with an exasperated expression on his face.

“Man up, Max! It's just a haunted house!"

Max deflated; it seemed those words hurt the dog more than Tom thought. Why would Max be afraid of haunted houses?

Tom stood up along with the rest. “So, where's the haunted house? I want to visit it."

“But it costs 7 euros per person."

“I'll pay for that."

Everyone cheered for Vilkas. Said husky just crossed his hand with a smug grin on his face. “What? I just got my pay."

“You could've said that before, you know."

“Ne, ne." Vilkas laughed.

The haunted house was a short walk from the field towards one of the pathways. The woods around him gave the wolf a pleasant and calming atmosphere. Although, during their walk, Max looked nervous. He even clung to Andy as he walked, which made the lion tease him. There were several remarks thrown, and Tom himself couldn't stop himself from uttering one.

That was adorable. Especially when the dog's tail waved nervously.

Fortunately, there was no long queue to the haunted house. They quickly made their way to the entrance and looked at the sign next to the start of the queue.

“Do not enter if you have one of the following: heart disease, light sensitivity, blah blah blah. Really, do people pay attention to these?" Martin said, “Oh, and each group has to have five people." He looked at them.

“Looks like there are too many of us, and I don't want to ruin the fun. I'm gonna get some food to wait while you gu—eep!"

Octo caught the shepherd's hood before he could get away. “You stay here." He said with a smirk.

“Oh, come on!"

“So, does the big bad sheppie admit that he's afraid of ghosts? Woooo." Andy said jokingly.

“Fuck you."

After Vilkas paid the entrance ticket, they joined the queue. Max protested when he was dragged into the queue, but finally gave up and leant on the rail grumpily, his ears flat. Tom had to stifle a laugh when the dog's irritated tail almost knocked a child down.

“Sorry, kiddo." said Andy to the small rabbit. “Uncle Max's here just nervous."

That earned Andy a shove from the shepherd.

Behind him, Octo and James chatted. That was interesting since they'd been getting closer to each other more than Tom thought they would. They looked compatible with each other, though.

He jerked in surprise when someone suddenly grabbed his tail. It then went haywire and slapped James in the chest.

“Sorry!"

In front of him, Max held his hands up. James just shrugged and went back to chatting with Octo, though without giving a small grin.

Max caught his tail with a sheepish smile on his face. “Sorry for grabbing your tail." He gave the wolf his tail.

“Okay," Tom replied and took his tail. It was amusing how the dog one and a half his size almost shivered in distress. Was he really that afraid of ghosts? “Are you really afraid of ghosts, Max?"

The dog looked away. “No, not ghosts. Just…" he growled. “Haunted houses in general."

Tom chuckled. Max shot him a look, then Tom laughed.

“Yeah thanks for the laugh." He then turned his back towards the grey wolf.

“Come on! That's okay, people have their fears." Tom said, “Here, I'll be your shield."

Max turned around, looking at him expectantly. The wolf just gave him his friendliest smile. Letting out a sigh, he slumped. “Fine, I'll take your words."

Tom chuckled when he saw Max's tail wagging despite his face being still annoyed. For a large, terrifying, intimidating beast like he was, he sure was adorable.

“Tickets, please."

Vilkas handed the tickets, doing so before Kevin could grab them from his hand and do it first, and perhaps give a few winks to the gatekeeper. The small…ish horse looked cute and totally Kevin's type.

He counted the group and found 10 tickets. “Five of you have to go first, the rest can go after."

Vilkas shrugged, then found himself being pushed to the front. He just chuckled and took Martin's hand before he could hide behind James. “Eikš!"

Martin laughed and waved at James to go. The tiger just shrugged and went ahead.

“Might as well do it." Tom stepped forward, then looked over his shoulder at Max.

Kevin was already walking towards him with a grin on his face, so Tom quickly took Max's hand and pulled him forward, ignoring the protests the shepherd gave. He waved playfully at Kevin as they went inside, almost missing the shocked and betrayed expression on the bigger wolf's face.

“Okay then. Enjoy your ride."

It was dark; of course it was dark. Tom fought a sudden feeling of alarm as he walked behind Vilkas who seemed unbothered by the maze in front of him. Martin and James were talking to each other as they followed them behind Max.

Just a few steps and he could already feel Max's heavy breathing over his fluff and hands gripping his shoulder.

The first ghost appeared from over the ceiling, and Max screamed, hugging Tom.

“Oh, come on, Max!" Martin said, crossing his arms, “You seriously screamed because of that?!"

Another ghost appeared from the side and nudged the fox… and made him scream in turn. Vilkas and Tom laughed at the fox who was clinging to James, chanting prayers in French.

Max's grip became more nervous as they navigated the maze. Tom heard several artificial screams and ghost noises. They then reached a room which contained an empty berth… that was it.

Max hid his face over Tom's back, and while it was cute, the wolf was seeing something on the berth.

He was seeing himself crying on it.

“Go away!" he said, hugging his legs. The rain was coming down harder, yet it could not muffle his parents' scream from downstairs.

His stepfather punched the door again. “Get back here, you useless mutt! What a fucking coward!"

He was glad he moved his wardrobe to hold it from being opened. He bit the insides of his cheek, drawing even more blood than he already did. His arms and legs were full of cuts, some deep, some shallow. They dripped blood below, marring the sheets with red stains.

“Fuck you!" his stepmother said from downstairs.

Tom looked towards the window, his cheeks wet with tears. The rain was heavy. Wouldn't it be good to go down like the rain?

“Hey, Tom. Come on."

Tom shook his head, then looked at the voice. He saw James and Martin with Vilkas towering over them. Max was still clinging onto his back.

He let out a sigh when he realised he was having a flashback. “Sorry for zoning out like that."

“You didn't see anything, did you?" asked Martin, trying not to glance at the empty bed but unable to do so. He hugged his own tail in distress as he looked over the berth.

“No," Tom said, walking forward and ignoring the nausea in his stomach. “Nothing."

They walked through the maze again, encountering more fake ghosts or people using ghost costumes. To Tom, they were not scary, not much. He did get surprised when one of them just jumped in front of them like nobody's business, though.

In a dark hallway, Vilkas changed place to behind the group with a shudder, leaving Tom to lead the group. At the end of the hallway there could be heard a vicious laugh. Max whimpered and hugged Tom tighter. Tom smiled a little and put his hand over the dog's. That seemed to calm him down a bit.

Another ghost appeared, making everyone scream and run.

There was another room after the hallway, but there was just a chair there. Tom gave it a quick glance, then shrugged and walked forward. Only when he heard screams from his friends did he know a ghost appeared there.

Was Max okay?

He looked down. Max was gripping his shoulders tightly while constantly looking around in distress. His tail was clamped close between his legs. The wolf gave him a pat on the head to calm him.

There was another hallway, but there was a bright light at its end. It was the end of the ride. He found himself being pushed by Max towards the exit.

Everyone let out a relieved sigh when they reached the exit. Max looked up but didn't let go of Tom. That was fine, Tom didn't want him to let go just yet anyway.

“Next time… next time we don't let Ellie choose the ride." Martin said, slumping on the available bench. “I'm not going back inside."

Vilkas did the same beside him. James put his hands on his waist as he breathed for air.

Max finally let him go, but slowly. He offered Tom a small nervous smile. “Thanks. Sorry."

“Y'welcome." Tom replied, petting the dog's head before he could stand at his full height.

The dog let out happy dog noises, his ears going down and tail wagging behind him. That was utterly adorable and Tom wanted nothing more than cuddle with him and pet his head all day, size difference notwithstanding.

A few minutes later, Ellie's group finished the ride. They came running down the hallway with a scream, well, save for Octo. When the rabbit happily said they should get in again, they all answered with a collective “no!".

The haunted house part is purely coincidental with Halloween I swear xD

Notes:

Eikš! = Come here

The translation of the dialogue in which Tom is ordering snacks is:

"Excuse me, I'd like to order!"
"Yes? What would you like to order?"
"I'll have 10 lemper and 10 rolled eggs."
"Sure. That's €8,70."
"Thanks!"
"You're welcome!"