Tom sat down at his desk
and leant on it. He glanced at the clock; lunchtime was just around the corner,
yet every second felt like forever.

Usually, he went home when
people were having a lunch break. As per his internship agreement said, he only
needed to work 5 hours per day anyway. His job was still somewhat harder compared
to the rest of his workmates, but he was having the same base wage as them,
just minus the allowance and perks. Fortunately, his workmates never complained
about that… not that he interacted with them much. It had been almost a week and
he didn't even know the name of the buffalo whose table was just next to him.

His boss was moved to
another department last week. Officially, she worked for the last time last
Friday, but she wanted to make sure everything still went smoothly so she came
yesterday.

Today, his new boss and a
new workmate were coming. His other workmates had gossiped about them having
taken a peek at them during the interview. Apparently, his new boss was kind,
easy-going, and beautiful, while his new workmate was tall, dark, and handsome.

Tom chuckled a bit; maybe
he now had a reason to go home after lunch instead.

But it was almost twelve
and they hadn't arrived. Perhaps his luck was for tomorrow.

“Hey guys, he's here! He's
here!" Michelle said as she happily ran to her workmates' desks. Tom just let
out a chuckle as he watched her.

“Where is he?"

“He just left the branch
manager's room!"

The wolf ignored the ladies
gossiping and replied to some emails on his desktop instead. It wouldn't really
concern him anyway. Women could sometimes be hard to read.

Freya came to his table,
followed by Michelle and Kimberley. “Tom! Tom! Do I look beautiful?"

“Yeah, Tom! I don't look
messy, do I?"

“I gotta comb my hair a bit
more. Where's my comb?!"

The wolf shyly smiled a
bit. “Um, you're all beautiful. Don't worry."

The door then opened, and
the ladies squeaked. Tom glanced at the newcomer and silently sighed in relief.

“Oh, come on! We weren't
expecting you, Jonas!"

Jonas just shrugged and sat
on his seat. “They're on their way, anyway."

Oh, so the buffalo's name
was Jonas.

The girls squealed again,
and Tom just rolled his eyes.

Several moments later, the
door opened again, revealing the branch manager and two strangers behind her.
Tom stood from his seat to greet his new boss and workmate, but he froze when he
saw them.

Behind his new boss, who
was a beautiful cat lady, by the way, was someone he recognised.

“Good day everyone. Here is
Ms Quincy Clayton, your new head of this department, while this is Mr Lucas
Willem Hokee, your new workmate." The branch manager said, introducing them
both.

Ms Clayton smiled at them.
“We look forward to working with you."

The girls all greeted their
new boss—it looked like they weren't really far in the age department. Then
they all greeted tall, dark, and handsome behind her. His other workmates went
closer to greet them, but Tom only focused on Lucas. He towered over everyone
and was scanning the room. When his eyes landed on Tom, he too was surprised.

The branch manager handed a
small package to Ms Clayton. “Okay, it's lunch break, you might want to take a
break and get to know them. Ms Clayton, please come to my office again at half
to 14 after lunch break."

After Tom could finally
tear his gaze away from Lucas, he tidied up his desk with red cheeks. Why did…
he had… to be so… handsome…?

No, no! He couldn't think
of him like that! What was he doing here, anyway?! Wasn't Hampstertown several
provinces away from here?!

He heard Ms Clayton talking
to the girls, while Lucas was talking to the other members of the office. Tom
quietly continued working, but the girls were talking in front of his desk, so
he involuntarily had to join the conversation.

Apparently, Ms Clayton was
only several years older than the trio. Tom also explained to her that he was
in an internship here and his main job was to watch and document about the
interpersonal communication between the workers in this department. He had
several others like helping them reply to customer's emails.

Ms Clayton was somewhat
like Lucy, which made Tom feel relatively at ease with her. They weren't far
different. He still had to watch over his words when he talked to her, though,
since she was his boss.

The girls then moved away,
and Tom let out a relieved sigh. Suddenly, his hand was tugged, and he found
himself being pulled away.

“Sorry for the rush. I'll
explain later. Show me the nearest café or restaurant." Lucas said to him as
they quickly exited the office.

The wolf just complied and
led the coyote. Good thing Lucas released his hand after they went to the
stairs.

He noticed several glances
were directed at them. He couldn't blame them; if he were an onlooker, he would
also look at Lucas because damn. Not only was he an eyecandy, but he also smelled very good too, his body spray and natural scent mixing together in a sweet, masculine way.

Tom nodded at the security
guard and exited the building. He led them to a small but pretty Indonesian
restaurant he often visited. The coyote didn't seem to mind as they entered. The
restaurant was getting crowded, so Tom led him to the second floor. They
finally sat down, and the wolf let out a breath.

He looked at Lucas; the
coyote loosened his tie a bit and leant back on the chair. He looked around,
then at Tom, and smiled.

Tom gulped. Get a
hold of yourself!

“Sorry for that, I really
need to get away from those girls before they kill me with this hunger." He let
out a small chuckle. “So, hey, Tom. It's been a while, eh?"

Tom just flashed back a
nervous smile.

“Looks like we're
co-workers now."

“Um, yeah, uh…
congratulations on getting the job." He extended his hand.

Lucas shook his hand.
“Thanks, buddy."

“So, uh… you applied
there?"

“Yeah. More precisely,
though, I had my internship in the same company, and they want me back.
Beginner's luck, I guess. I didn't know they were gonna place me here in
Barrowisle, though." He chuckled. “It's not a big deal, though. I plan to move
out from Hampstertown, anyway."

Oh, that made sense.

“Right, what do you want to
get? Sorry if the food is different but this is the nearest restaurant I could
think of."

“It's okay." The coyote
looked at the menu, then raised his brow. “I think I… what's a pepes?"

“Um… fish seasoned and steamed
in banana leaves."

“I think I'm gonna get the
tamest one around here." He handed the menu over to Tom with a light chuckle.
“I'll get whatever you think is good."

“Fried rice with iced tea?"

“Fried rice with iced tea."

Tom nodded and called the
waiter. “Mang, pesen nasi goreng satu sama mi ayamnya satu ya. Minumnya es
teh manis dua."

The waiter wrote his order
and nodded with a smile, then walked away.

Lucas looked at him. “Tom,
you speak Indonesian?"

“I'm Indonesian, cuy." He laughed a little.

“Oh, sorry! That explains
it!" The coyote laughed along.

While he never actually
talked to the coyote just two of them, it seemed Lucas was friendly. It was the
opposite of his rough look, but he'd take friendly anytime rather than rough if
the coyote were to become his workmate. However, it was his handsomeness that
made him think thrice.

He was sure he'd look at
him more than at his monitor.

He would need to get used
to this. Octo said that Lucas was gay, which made his mind went haywire, and
Max said that Lucas was a nice guy and they would go along well, which made his
mind explode. He seriously needed to think of a way of making friends with the
coyote without unconsciously taking advantage of him. That was
going to be difficult because Lucas was super hot, totally his type, and gay.

“So, uh… Lucas? Or, Mr
Hokee, I guess—"

“Lucas is fine." He let out
a small chuckle.

“Right, so, uh…"

They went quiet. Tom was trying
to start a conversation, but his breath caught him. He didn't know Lucas at all.
They had only met for three hours back then, even then, it was a miracle they
remembered each other's name. Sure, Max said they would get along well, but for
him, talking to a stranger was like navigating a wild forest, in the night,
while blindfolded, and roped to a tree.

That or his distrust of
strangers.

The wolf looked away. What
could they talk about? Work? College? Football? Argh, they couldn't find a
topic to bond over!

Lucas seemed to go through
the same struggle. He was looking at the menu, but Tom could tell that his mind
wasn't really there. The coyote then put it down and looked at Tom, only to
blush when he saw Tom was looking at him.

They both flustered and looked
away.

“So, uh… you're Max's
friend, right?"

“Yeah. And you are, too?"

“Y-yeah."

What kind of conversation
was that?!

Wait,

Tom gave out a small
chuckle, then looked at the other's eyes. He probably shouldn't see lower than
his muzzle. “We can't really find something to talk about, ya?"

Lucas looked at him,
surprised. He then scratched his nape sheepishly. “Looks like it. Sorry."

That was brave of him to
start a conversation by telling him they couldn't find something to converse
about.

At least it broke the ice.

But the waiter then came
and put the iced teas on their table. Tom looked at it, then rolled his eyes
and chuckled.

“You're graduating this
year?" Lucas asked him as he drank the tea.

Tom shrugged. “Next year.
I'm a batch under Max, but he takes classes together with me."

“I thought you're Max's
classmate."

“No, I'm not. Wait, yes, I
am. Eh…"

They looked at each other,
then chuckled.

Lucas leant forward on the
table. The gaze was… if Tom dared say it, flirty. But maybe it was just him
misinterpreting the coyote.

Casually drinking the tea,
Tom just asked another question. “You said now you work in the office, so
you've graduated, then?"

“Yep. I need a job, and
they said they want me back after graduating. So here I am." He smiled. “The
graduation ceremony will be held next month, though."

“Our uni is the same.
Octo's going to graduate next month, too. Too bad Max isn't." Tom chuckled.

Lucas chuckled along.

They went quiet again after
that, but this time it was a comfortable silence. Tom checked his phone, there
were several messages from his workmates asking where was he and whether he
knew where was Lucas or not. Some saw him leaving with Lucas.

He just shrugged it off and
told them he didn't know.

He could feel Lucas' gaze
at him. Without looking up, he could tell that it was soft, unlike Kevin and
his heated gaze. Tom then put his phone down and looked up, only to find the
coyote looking at something else.

Weird, but okay.

Their food arrived after
that. They wasted no time and dug right in. While they eat mostly in silence,
Tom could tell that Lucas was glad that he was here.

He felt the same.

He hit the wall again,
blood coming out of his mouth. His t-shirt was ruined, streaks of blood running
through the cuts. He stood up again and looked at the jerks in front of him. He
hated blood streaks; they were hard to clean up.

“Cowards, eh? Using weapons
when your opponent doesn't!" He said to them. He judged their reaction; as expected,
some were annoyed, but the others were unbothered.

It might only be empty
bottles, but everything could be used as a weapon. These bottles, the shards
could pierce through his fur and skin.

Lain snickered wolfishly.
He had taken over to fight them. Tom was against it, but he still pushed him
over. It wasn't that Tom was weak, but it had been a while since they'd been in
a fight and Lain wasn't going to miss this one.

“Lain,
stop! We can go back an—"

“Shut
up!" He said to Tom and grinned. “Can't you feel the excitement?"

A bison stepped forward.
“It's called an advantage! See who's winning now, bitch?"

His underlings laughed.

Rodrigo might be big, but
he too had an advantage: being small. They were all big, but clunky. Their
movements were unfocused, their steps wobbly. They hadn't changed one bit; Lain
could still easily overpower them.

“Don't claim the winning
spot when the match isn't over, Rodrigo." He bit him back, a bit limping to
make them think they were going to win.

They laughed again. “The
match is over, Tom. You're done. This time, you're gonna
pay!"

“Oh, really?" he baited. “Isn't
it because you just wanna kick my ass more just for the sake of kicking my ass?"

Rodrigo huffed in anger.

“What a joke, picking a
fight only for the sake of picking a fight. You sure you're not a kid?"

“You watch your mouth,
asshole!" the bison lunged forward and drew his gun.

Lain grinned wolfishly.
Finally, the real match began.

However, just about when he
wanted to evade him, Tom pulled him over and took over the body. “You
can't fight guns! Get back!"

“Ow, Tom!
Fuck off!"

“Get
back, arsehole. You can't fight guns!"

Tom was already in control
of the feet, which he used to take a step to the left. Lain pulled the chest
over, missing the cascade of bullets.

“What are
you doing! Lemme take over!"

“No, Lain!
You had your fun, let me manage from here! We can't fight like this."

Rodrigo walked to him,
anger gleaming in his eyes.

“Don't
lie to me! You're enjoying the pain too, aren't you?!"

“Yes I
am, now get off! Take care of the rear! I'll take care of the gun."

Lain just huffed and
stepped aside, letting Tom take control of the body. He heard some shuffling
sound but refrained the ear from flicking; the others wanted to throw some
bottles. “Watch out for the bottles!"

“Where's your weapon, now?
Oh wait, you don't have one. Seems like you really are losing today." The bison
leered as he neared. Tom leant against the wall, tongue out to help cool his
body down.

Ooh, Lain liked this. Tom
was preparing to go out.

Rodrigo pointed the gun at
his head. “Kiss your ass goodbye, bitch."

Instantly, Tom lunged
forward and kicked the bison's hand. The shot went haywire, and the bison
didn't realise what was happening. A punch landed on his muzzle, but god didn't it hurt so good.
Tom gave him a kick on his back, making him almost tumble.

The bison wasn't easy to
beat, he knew that. The bison turned around, picked up his gun, and shot him. It
didn't hit him, but it still scraped against his upper shoulder, but Tom didn't
appear fazed at all. Lain took control of the right hand and swept the non-existent
dust there, all the while Tom walked towards the bison.

“You know I'm not afraid of
guns, Rodrigo." Tom said. His steps were slow, cautious, betraying his worn-out
feet. He was tired, but he still had to look strong to make the impression. Any
opponents who fought him should know that Tom's fighting style relied on quick
reactions, reflexes, and redirection. Defence, in contrast to Lain's fighting
style, offence.

Pain gave them power; the more
they were hurt, the more they wanted to hurt.

His gaze pinned the bison
down. Rodrigo hissed at him, refusing to bulge. He then made a gesture with his
right hand, but Tom already knew what that meant.

He stopped walking, and
quickly dashed sideways as bottles flew over him. He took a glance at the other
gang members, they seemed to be surprised at his quick reaction. Tom grinned
and dashed towards them.

He had to get close to them
in order to do some damage, all the while watching for Rodrigo's gunshots. It
seemed the bison was too proud of his own skills and didn't give the other gang
members guns, as usual.

As he dashed towards them,
shards of bottles rained down on him.

Fuck, he got more cuts, but
it hurt so good.

Lain caught one of the
bottles and threw it to them. It hit a Doberman, and Tom knew whom should he
attack first.

The wolf kicked the
Doberman, sending him tumbling backwards. The gang members were all taller than
him, but it didn't make Tom afraid. He landed a few punches and dodged some.
One kangaroo landed a kick on his back, but he directed the force to land
another punch to a cat.

Gunfire rang in the
alleyway, and when Tom heard a scream behind him, he knew Rodrigo misfired.

Now to appear as if he was
losing.

The angry Doberman threw a
bottle on his face, temporarily fazing him. Lain grinned as Tom let himself
receive a few punches. One punch landed on his gut, and he spat blood.

He found his arms being
held as he recovered. The mafia members were all holding his arms, even his
tail. He hunched over the ground and saw a shadow getting closer. He looked up
to see Rodrigo pointing the gun at his face.

“Heh, who's winning now?
Where's that cockiness now?" Rodrigo grinned down at him.

Tom just growled at him.

The bison laughed. “Don't
you fear death?"

Tom didn't even appear
afraid. His fur bristled up and he said in an even tone. “I don't fear death, I
embrace it."

Lain grinned as he watched
the movement of the bison's finger on the trigger.

Rodrigo did not pull the
trigger.

His ears pulled back and he
quickly moved his head down, enough to be out of the gun's shooting range. He
coughed blood onto the ground and let some more drip from his tongue, trying to
look like he was going to collapse.

Tom looked up, Rodrigo's
face was surprised upon seeing the blood on the ground. He couldn't allow him
to recover, though. He positioned his feet to a running stance and ran while
still being held. It made him twist and kick Rodrigo away.

The others, in shock,
couldn't hold his arms any longer. Lain laughed as Tom kicked the Doberman and
kangaroo with his momentum. They hit the ground with a loud crash. He then
leapt forward to avoid the cat's grip.

As he escaped their hold,
he picked up the discarded gun on the ground with his numb hand. Rodrigo was
still groaning on the ground. He gave the bison a weak kick and put his foot on
his chest, ignoring his own racing heart. This really riled him up. “You know,
you've been teaching me how to use guns."

The bison growled when he
found himself under Tom's foot.

“You might want to stop
before I shoot your leader dead." He said without looking back, and the
footsteps stopped.

“Idiots! What are you
doing?! Finish him!"

“On the contrary, why don't
you run away and call this 'feud' off?" Tom asked. He leant closer to the bison
and looked at him in the eyes. “You're an insolent child still crying over
broken toys." Pointing the gun at the bison's chest, he said with a blank
expression. “It's just a centimetre, I can't miss."

Rodrigo roared at him.
“You're gonna pay for this!"

“I did, but you refused to
take it." Tom sighed and stepped away, spitting more blood into the ground. He knew
Rodrigo wouldn't attack him from behind. “Now get the fuck out of here."

“You have your enemy in
front of your weapon and you step away? What a coward!"

“I'm not you. I don't just
go around and kill people for fun." Suddenly, Lain quickly took control of the
body, pushing a yelping Tom away to the back. He looked over his shoulder and
smiled devilishly. “I torture people for fun." He licked his own blood on his
hand. “You wanna play? Bet your blood tastes good."

“Fuck, boss, he's crazy!
Let's get the fuck outta here!"

The bison stood up,
limping. Lain realised he had several cuts on his arm and thighs. Blood even
came out of his nose. “You! You're gonna pay for this! You're
gonna pay for this!"

Lain just shrugged, not
feeling the need to repeat himself. Well, repeat Tom.

They all ran away. Two of
them helped Rodrigo to run.

As they were gone, Tom
pushed him over and took control of the body again. He immediately sagged and
huffed, allowing the exhaustion to catch up with him. “The fuck
did you do that?"

“It
scares him." He just shrugged his non-existent shoulder as Tom walked next to a
rubbish bin, throwing the gun away.

“Well,
don't do that! It reminds me of… me."

Lain's grin fell.

They both know that there
was… something else. Sometimes, Tom could lose control and behave wildly.
Unlike Lain, this wild Tom was untameable, uncontrollable, psychopathic. He had
witnessed it before and he had to become the voice of reason to stop him.

If Lain was what Tom didn't
want himself to be, then this “Third Voice" was probably what they both didn't
want themselves to be, or what they could've been if they lost control.

They only had each other to
save themselves from their own selves.

Tom sat down beside his bag
and looked over his body. Good thing most of the cuts were not bleeding, only
some of them on his arms. His muzzle was full of blood, though.

He took a water bottle from
his bag, careful not to let the blood touch it. Using it to wash the cuts, he
didn't even flinch when it came into contact with the wound.

“Here,"

Lain took control of the
body and poured some water into the gunshot wound on the shoulder. Good thing
it wasn't deep; it didn't reach his flesh.

He sighed and leant on the
wall. Lain put some pressure into the wound to let the blood run dry first,
then washed it again. This time, they flinched a bit at the contact.

“Thanks."

“It's
still my body too."

Tom chuckled. “You
know, if you had a body and you were my twin or something, I'd probably pet
your head all day."

“I'd lock
you in the basement." Lain bit back, but with humour in his voice.

“I'd
prepare uno cards first."

They laughed.

“So what now?"

“Do you
realize you just said that out loud?"

Tom took back control and
gulped from the bottle and gargled, then spat it out. There was blood all over.
“Whatever." He did that again until the mouth was clear of blood.

“Well, go
see a doctor or something. If you don't do that, I'm gonna take control for the
next week."

“Heck no. You can't even
talk to Martin."

“A shot
of booze can help."

“Yeah, sure. Let booze
help, as if it ever helped us anyway." Tom chuckled, then stood up and picked
his discarded clothes in his bag. At least the jacket was dark and could mask
his wounds until he got home. He couldn't do anything about the blood scent,
but at least he could avoid being near people.

It was going to be hell to
clean with all the blood streaks, but at least no one could see his wounds with
his shirt. Tom put his jacket on too, hoping at least it could help mask the
scent.

“Hey, Lain," Tom said as they walked
away from the alleyway as if nothing happened before. He had to walk more
slowly to avoid being seen as limping. His body ached all over; one wrong step
and he was sure he could collapse. “next time, don't just start attacking people."

“Yeah,
princess, you're welcome."

Tom just chuckled and ran
his hand through his head fur. They then walked to a tram stop like nobody's
business.

“You
realized you've just ruffled your own head fur?"

“At least
you can feel it."

Lain laughed. “Heh,
whatever you want."

The ride to campus was silent.
Tom watched out through the window as they drove to the dorm, being one of the
five passengers on the tram. His life was messy, ruined, broken, exactly like
how he imagined it to be. He was no stranger to blood, violence, and death.

“Tom,
you're washing the blood streaks."

“Hell no.
You do that, Lain."

“I don't
exist~"

Lain retreated into his
mind, leaving him alone. Tom just gave a sigh and closed his eyes.

Stupid second personality. How
did they manage to reconcile again?