Barrowislander summer festival. It had been a while
since his last time here. It was still as festive as he remembered.

Looking around, Rodrigo watched as people walked here
and there, oblivious of things around them. Somehow, he felt kind of guilty for
imagining what would happen if a bomb set off.

Sitting back down on the chair inside his booth, the
bull let out a sigh. He was starting anew, and this time, he wanted to make it
right. The 5500 euros he gave to the police officers to never tell him to
anyone was well worth it. Now he was off the hook from both the mafia group and
criminal charges. He knew if he let the police catch him, he would be charged
with much more than just drug trafficking. Hence, 5500 euros seemed like a
cheap price for a second chance, it being not fully guaranteed notwithstanding.

Still, he now needed money to pay that debt, and the summer
festival was coming, so he signed up to be a volunteer. They weren't paid much,
but for him, the food and shelter provided were more than enough for one month.
Thankfully, he was eligible for unemployment—no doubt thanks to those 5500
euros too—and last time he checked, his application was accepted and was now
being processed. He was looking forward to not needing to worry about shelter
as he focused on getting a job. He had to work his arse off to get some money.
After that, he had to work some more.

That was the way things were.

Tch, he really hated to say that he was indebted to
Red Wolf. It was as if he were indebted to Death himself. Maybe he was, he
thought, he could easily die that day. One missed bullet, one miscalculated
step, one sound, one claw, he was dancing with Death that day. Just a small
misstep and he would be falling towards the pits of hell.

Not that he cared, anyway, or would be able to.

He was going to get back at Red Wolf for not killing
him that day. It would be better; he wouldn't have to think about money,
shelter, living, all that shit. Yet, he couldn't. He might be a brute but he
had his dignity.

“Hey, Felipe, help over here!"

Pointing his ear to the sound, he grumbled and stood
up. No time to waste, it seemed. He had been hauling boxes since morning and it
was getting tiring. Putting his cap on, he walked outside his empty booth. He
decided to go with his middle name now. He was sure the gang members were here,
so he had to keep a low profile. He didn't want to go there again. Thankfully
he lost one of his horns and had a large slash on his cheek, and thanks to the
recovery time in the hospital, he also lost weight, making him more difficult
to identify.

Rodrigo was dead. The one who survived that day was
Felipe.

“What is it?" The bull asked his fellow volunteers. He
tried to be friendly, but since he wasn't really used to having friends, it
apparently took time.

“Please bring these two boxes to that sausage booth
next to the stairs. Yes, that one." A cheetah pointed.

He nodded, then lifted the two boxes with ease. The
cheetah lifted a smaller box and walked next to him. “What's in these?"

“Just some supplies." The cheetah shrugged.

Sighing a bit, Felipe readjusted the two boxes on his
shoulders. He had another chance, and he did not want to forsake it.

He wanted to make it right.

Everything seemed… familiar.

Tom couldn't determine exactly what it was. The smell,
the sight, the feeling, they were… different, but at the same time, familiar.
It was as if he had been here before.

As he looked around him, the déjà vu became stronger
and stronger. Everything was foreign, but at the same time, familiar. The scenery,
the atmosphere was different from Barrowisle. There was an unmistakable sea and
seafood smell in the air, so unlike Barrowisle. Yet…

He looked at the fountain in the plaza again. Andy and
Octo were leaning on it, but besides them, the fountain looked… weirdly
familiar. Three big stone fish were in the middle, sprouting water and surrounded
by small lamps. Nothing in Barrowisle looked like it, yet he felt like it had
been there all along.

Somehow, he could see himself there, standing by it,
looking at the fish. People said this was a wishing fountain, but it wasn't
like the usual one. This fountain wouldn't give what people desired, instead
would show them how to get them. He could almost see himself throwing a coin
there with a smile.

The wolf tilted his head. Was it him or was it his
imagination?

“Hey, Lain," he
said inside his head. “are you seeing this?"

“Yeah, I've been thinking the same thing. It feels…
familiar."

“Is it you there, or me?"

“I was about to ask the same thing to you. Have we
been here before?"

Maybe. But when? He never remembered himself outside
of Barrowisle, let alone this far away in Westeravne.

Tom looked away from the fountain. Maybe what he was
told was really true, that he was losing some of his memories. He could still
remember important events in his past, the abuse, the escape, the suicide
attempts, but the events surrounding it were hazy. He still remembered living
in a small abandoned house. However, where it was, he didn't remember.

He had always thought that it was normal, that people
would forget some of their past as they grew up. No one would remember what
they did ten years ago, not to mention he was still a puppy back then. It
wasn't something important, so he figured he was meant to forget about them
anyway.

He still remembered how Lain came to be, their
struggles to control the body, their promise, they were all still there, but he
couldn't remember where it happened. All he could remember was that it happened
during high school.

“Hey, are you ok—" Max put his hand on his shoulder,
but Tom immediately caught it and held the wrist firmly. “Ow! Shit!"

“Wait, that's Max."

Upon realising that it was Max, he let the hand go
embarrassedly. “S-sorry." He put his hands inside his jacket pocket. “Please
don't startle me."

“Ow, man, that hurts. Another lesson not to startle
you." The dog shook his hand. “You okay, Tom?"

“Yeah, just talking with Lain. Sorry, you really
caught us off-guard." He said with an apologetic smile.

The dog just shrugged it off and gently put his arm around
the wolf's shoulder, pushing him softly to walk. “Learnt another lesson. Fish
stick?"

He took the stick and ate the fish. “Thanks."

“Lain's out? How's he?" Max asked him, moving on from earlier.

Tom stepped aside and allowed Lain to take over
despite his protests. “The fuck?!"

“You take over for now!"

“What the fuck?!"

“Just do it!"

“Fine." Lain said, taking another bite before saying
to Max. “Don't get all mushy with me, got it?"

The dog looked at him, then gave a shy chuckle. “Uhh,
hi there, Lain." The dog said rather awkwardly, letting him go. “Wasn't really
expecting you to come out. You, um, you wanna meet the bunch?"

“…no, better not." Lain huffed. Tom just watched him
amusedly. “You're enough of a nuisance."

“Well, uh, sure. And don't creep me out, okay?"

He snorted and crossed his arms. “I'm gonna let Luis
take over later. And I'm gonna let you know that he's laughing his ass off
right now."

“Lies!"

Tom just let them along. Right now, he had something
on his mind, and he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. Lain glanced
over the fountain once more, then let the dog lead them deeper into the maze of
streets to explore the city centre more.

Looking around, Tom fought the sinking feeling that…
all of this still felt familiar.

Admittedly, this was not the worst situation he had
ever been in, but it was surely amongst the top ten. Vilkas scratched his ear,
looking for a way out. There was none, however, meaning he had to face this
guardian of… either hell or heaven depending on his mood.
Looking down at the panther's naked body, the husky let out an undignified
whine and moved his tail to cover his own exposed and steadily growing lower parts.

Octo didn't seem bothered at all. He was leaning back
on the wall, eyes closed. At the husky's whine, he opened his eyes and looked up.
“Vilkas?"

He almost jumped at that. “Y-yeah?"

“You're dizzy already?"

“N-no." He fumbled with his tongue. “I-it's just the
sauna."

The panther raised his brow. “It's fine, you can go
out if you're getting too dizzy. You're a husky, so I understand if saunas
aren't really your thing."

Well, he could just go out, but outside there
were Kevin and the others. Kevin was here earlier with them—he was the one who
dragged Vilkas to the sauna—but he left already. Vilkas wanted to follow him,
but Octo asked him to stay and talk.

Even after all this time, his crush hadn't really
dissipated. Instead, envy fuelled it.

Ugh, he hated it. He should let Kevin go; he really
had no interest in trying to get him to bed with Octo being his boyfriend,
anyway. However, he couldn't deny that Kevin was really hot and alluring, and
certainly someone with whom he could have great sex. He wiped his face; ugh, typical
fuckboy.

No, he did not feel guilty for calling Kevin a
fuckboy. If anything, he looked up to Octo for handling him all these months,
even with the wolf pretty much having his hands all over Vilkas during the
drive here.

But it made him feel guilty now. Octo looked like the
jealous type. What if Octo wanted to have a talk about that? What if Octo
wanted to tell him to fuck off and to leave Kevin alone? What if Octo didn't
want him to talk to Kevin again?!

Argh! Annoying
Kevin might be at times, he still thought of him as a great friend.

“Vilkas?"

Reluctantly, he looked at the panther. Octo was staring
at him with concern in his eyes, leaning back on the wooden seat with his arms
open. Vilkas looked at him up and down. Really, if Octo were still single, today
might… end… differently. His musk was strong, overpowering his own. Maybe the
sauna really was making his mind a bit dizzy.

His ears went down again as he blushed. What was he? A
gay teenager in a gym? Why did he feel like he was metting hot guys for the
first time? He was a part-time stripper, for fuck's sake! Maybe it
really was the sauna; he wasn't really made to handle temperature this high.

Admittedly, Octo was really radiating strong dom
energy… which honestly confused him because Kevin also did. So, how did they
manage to be boyfriends?

Kevin then opened the door to their sauna room and his
head popped in. “Hey, I'll be with Max and Andy in the café next building,
aight?" he happily said.

Octo smiled fondly. “Sure."

“You, Vil?"

He blinked, then gave an affirmative mrf.

“Cool. See you hotties later." The wolf chuckled and
closed the door.

The atmosphere went back to awkward after that.
Vilkas' hand played with his tail, thinking of something to talk about.

Octo beat him to it, though. “Has Kevin always been
that adorable?"

The husky turned to look at the panther. Octo was
still smiling softly, his tail lazily swishing. Vilkas let out a nervous
chuckle. “Well… he likes to flex his cuteness."

The panther laughed a bit. “Not just his cuteness, I
see. How did you handle him all this time? I need some tips." He winked at him.

Oookay that was
unexpected. Vilkas' tail gave a gentle wave as he felt warmer. Not from the
sauna, but from the panther. It seemed Octo really liked Kevin, and that was
something he didn't really expect. He thought they became boyfriends just
because they were hot and they fucked each other more often.

“Also, I'm sorry for letting him have his hands all
over you lately." The panther continued.

Well, as much as that annoyed him, he still couldn't
fight the arousal. What surprised him was how Octo sounded about that. He
really sounded sorry, not angry at or jealous of him. “That's fine. He… uh… he
tends to do that." Vilkas scratched his cheek. He tended to do the same to the
red wolf, though. “A lot."

Octo chuckled. “So, how did you handle him?"

“Believe it or not… ignoring him is the best course of
action." He replied.

“Ignoring him?"

“Yeah." Vilkas shifted and gave a sigh. Hopefully this
would help Octo to handle Kevin, especially not to give into that dumb wolf's
requests. “Just ignore him, he'll lose interest eventually. But it can be hard,
I mean, he's…"

“Sexy?"

“Sexy."

They looked at each other, then laughed softly.

“How did you meet him, if you don't mind me asking?"
The panther asked him again.

Vilkas shrugged, the atmosphere between them getting
warmer. “We joined the basketball club together. I met him during the foreberea—I
mean, during the preliminaries. We were pretty much at each other's throat ever
since we competed to be the ace of the team."

“I take it you won?"

“No, he won. And he made sure that people know he
won." The dog huffed a little as the memories came back. “We threw a small
party after the selection process, then we fuc—uh… we… got frisky."

Octo just chuckled, not at all bothered by that. “Sounds
like him. I honestly didn't expect him to keep his hands to himself all the time
since he's too insatiable at times. But I do expect him to have some
restraint."

“Well, uh, yeah. I still remember that time when he
ditched a match just because he's bored." He couldn't help but laugh a little.
“Wait, twice, actually. He also went really hard on the newbies in the fourth
semester just because he thought it was fun. We had almost zero attendance the
following weeks."

“Because he broke the ring?"

“Because he broke the ring along with the newbies'
morale."

They laughed again.

“So, uh… how did ye meet him? Did he flex too hard
till the football club?"

The panther shrugged and shifted a bit. “Pretty much.
Found out he was gay because he was too horny for Tom and Max before we played
gay chicken."

“Whoa. Did he kiss everyone?"

“Nah. We two got excluded. Bis and gays aren't allowed
to play."

“Oh, that's good. That's cheating."

Octo leant forward and looked at him. “I was used to
that, anyway. Believe it or not, the football club is a lot tamer than I
expected." He shook his head gently. “I kinda thought people would be… needing
some sort of release all the time, but it turned out we barely even talked
about men's locker room stuff."

“Men's locker room stuff?"

“Comparing dick size, circle jerk, all that fantasy
stuff."

This time, Vilkas laughed. “I don't know if ye're
lucky or what. Back then, the basketball club was pretty wild. I remember we
compared dick size one day after a match. I wasn't really interested because
that match was really tiring, but Kevin was really into it. It didn't turn into
a circle jerk, though."

“How many non-straight were there, if you don't mind
me asking?"

“Well…" The husky looked away as he recollected his
thoughts. “There's me, Kevin, Philip… also Spencer was confused about his
sexuality ever since Kevin did him. Radwin is also asexual. How about the
football club?"

Octo sighed. “I was the only non-straight."

“Really? Isn't Max bi?"

“Max was straight. Tom just asked him out after
graduation and now he's… bi, maybe. I don't know, he's still figuring it out.
Though I gotta give Tom props, I mean, he's taking it easy with Max and Max is
willing."

“That's nice." said Vilkas. “Kevin used to be interested
in Max—but you know, he sleeps with anything that walks. I think if that wolf had
acted on it, he would've shagged the straightness out of Max or gotten stuck
till he couldn't stand."

“I'm happy he didn't do it, though. Max was adverse
about gays wanting to have sex with him. If Kevin were interested in Andy,
maybe he'd have a chance. Lion's horny, whether he likes it or not." Octo ended
with a small laugh.

Vilkas laughed along. It seemed like Octo really was a
good guy under that death stare. He found himself relaxing more and more as
they talked. His tail began wagging without him knowing. He should've really
spent more time with him, shouldn't he? He always thought that Octo was rather
unreachable, knowing that they barely had anything in common.

Having enough of the sauna, they then stood up and
cleaned their spot. Exiting the room and putting their clothes back on, they
kept talking. Vilkas found himself quickly being comfortable.

Maybe Kevin really was right for choosing Octo instead
of him.

Oh look there's Rodrig—I mean, Felipe. Hi there
bison