Chapter 49

This is it.

One more organisation and Arthur could finally hang upside down in his dorm to sleep. His mind was too tired to deal with the consequences of the dorm mother or homeworks he has yet to finish.

Has he finished all of them? He can't recall.

"What time is it now, Agata?" Arthur enquired as he decided to cling onto the Congo lion's back like a backpack.

"It's about to be eleven," Agata reported. Arthur mustered up the urge not to groan but face-plant himself into Agata's mane. It was like a forest of hair conditioner that smelled of spearmint and charcoal. If he has another two hours, that meant...

"I'll be home by one.." Arthur murmured to himself before his cloudy blue eyes widened in panic. "That's an hour pass curfew!"

"When you are an adult," the lion growled in amusement. "You can decide your own curfew. You want to sleep in after an hour, just go for it! Just don't tell the boss though..."

Arthur smiled a bit. At least with Agata, he was starting to realise that adulthood was somewhat like childhood but with more homework that are more hands-on rather than written in books or in his case, typed out on a braille machine.

This whole event on this one night was taking a toll on him. He wondered if he has the energy to even carry his phone out of his pocket or taste tea again. Alas, he silently chanted his 'Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night' mantra to give him strength.

Arthur listened as they entered the final hideout that consists of vixens. Agata described to Arthur about how the hideout reminded him of the temples from the very old eras. Arthur was baffled when the Congo lion described the colour red as something to do with prosperity and passion.

"Interesting...but let's finish this last mission before I can hang myself."

"Arthur!"

"I mean go to sleep," Arthur assured him, feeling a bit grumpy. "Bats hang upside down whether to sleep or to calm down. I rock myself when hanging in a tree once."

"Oh yeah," Agata chuckled in embarrassment. He forgot that bats can hang upside down.

The sound of clicking heels on the cobblestone pavement was enough for Arthur to slide down from his lion companion to greet the final members. Ears perked up, his leaf-shaped nose twitched while he wrapped his wings around his body like a security blanket.

"Thought you wouldn't show up," he heard the remark from the vixen. He could only describe her voice as smooth, similar to those sparkly grape juice he has had from a party once. Refine, elegant and has an edge.

"We kept our words," said Arthur, bowing his head in greeting. He would very much like to wave but he felt awkward considering he wouldn't know if these animals will ever wave back at him. "Not like I would be your midnight munchies if I had said otherwise."

He could hear several giggles from females around him. He guessed that this final group is an all-female-only organisation.

"Look at his ears!" he heard one of the younger females cried. "They wiggle a lot!"

"Do you think he'll bring good luck?" asked another. "Even if his eyes are defected?"

Arthur opened his mouth to use his clicks to give him a rough idea about this final organisation. He knew that they were foxes from what Louis had told him earlier this evening but he wondered if it's just a certain type or any fox can join. So long as they are females.

"So, shall we start?" Arthur asked, trying to hide the nervousness in his voice. He wouldn't know what these vixens will do to him or Agata.

"So eager for a little bat," the first voice Arthur heard purred. He was feeling a bit uncomfortable when she placed both of her paws onto his shoulders. "But you and that ugly brute are going to need a makeover before you start."

"I-I-I beg your pardon?"

"Okay, we need to strip them out of their clothes first!"

Before Arthur could feel the paws trying to tug his shirt and pants, he immediately bit them with his sharp fangs before backing away.

"He bit me! He bit me! I hope I don't get sick from coming into contact with him!"

"I-I'm terribly sorry," Arthur raised both of his wings in defence. "It's just that we don't mind but could we at least change in a room? It feels-"

SLAP!

"You males don't make the rules here," the sharp voice of the vixen was enough to make Arthur bury his face into his fluffy here. "I will decide who wears what and as mentioned earlier, two hours. Understand?"

"Yes, ma'am," Arthur lowered his head, cupping the stinging sensation on his cheek. 'Just because I'm blind, doesn't mean that I don't have any modesty!'

"Hmm, I have an idea for the lion," the vixen murmured before tutting. "You're a mystery, little bat. I can't tell what kind of season suits a bat. Especially a white, blind one."

"Let's try different things on him, Ten," another vixen suggested. "He's got really soft fur before he bit me. I'm going to disinfect my paw now thanks to him!"

Agata held Arthur close to him. Both bat and lion knew that this final organisation was going to give them a different treatment compared to the other two....

...

"Any signs of him?" Aoba asked as he and Legosi ventured into town. The grey wolf was sniffing for a scent of the bat. Aoba has sharp eyes to see from far but alas, he couldn't locate his friend who had white fur and those blue eyes that reminded him of a light blue marble.

"No," Legosi reported with a sighed. How could he not detect Arthur's scent when he is always at the gardening Club with Haru or always drinking tea?

"If I were Arthur," Aoba murmured to himself as he was pacing at the sidewalk while Legosi sat down to watch. "Where will I...Where will I...Legosi?"

"Hmm?"

"I think I know how to find him. But I'm going to need your tie for a while."

"My...tie?"

Legosi was confuse at the bald eagle's intentions. But if this meant finding Arthur, he was willing to let the raptor bird have his tie. Aoba thanked him before blindfolding himself. Now the grey wolf was starting to understand.

Only a little.

"Wow, it's oddly calming," Aoba commented with a click of his beak. "Arthur relies on sound when it came to going about. Since I'm blindfolded, I can somewhat understand how Arthur 'views' things in his world."

"So where should we look?" Legosi prompted, thinking about finding a shop to get Haru something.

"I hear a lot of animals coming from my right. Since Arthur's ears are very sensitive to a lot of noise, he would want somewhere secluded and has a lower decibel."

Legosi could not understand what Aoba meant by that but nonetheless he followed the eagle by holding his wing while Aoba pushed forward.

The grey wolf's heart dropped and his ears were pinned back, in case there was an attack.

Aoba's blindfold plan had led the both of them to the Black Market!

...

"Thanks for your time, Dr Kirk."

"Please, call me Kirk," Dr Kirk squeaked. "These small hours are rather interesting would you say, Gouhin. It's the least I could do since you saved me from other carnivores during my first night here."

"Heh, typical other carnivores are tricking you into coming here," Gouhin grunted before lighting another cigarette. "You want one?"

"Oh, no thank you," Dr Kirk declined the offer politely. "I have tea for that matter. Though after spending a few hours here and using my clicks for ultrasounds, I'm beginning to realise something."

"What's that?"

"We can't change nature," Dr Kirk chuckled to himself, wiping the fog from his glasses. "Any animal, carnivore or herbivore have something that marks them as their species and the genus that they are stuck with. But it doesn't mean that we should be close off from ideas. Everyday's an open window for me and I'd risk flying into one that might damage these old wings."

"What are you saying, Kirk?"

"The kids like my son are teaching me things I didn't know. I never knew it was possible to have alternatives to satisfy the carnivorous hunger or how us animals view each other in a society. It's like a Wonderland where things are curiouser and curiouser. How lost are we but to the path we take."

Gouhin scratched his head at Dr Kirk's statement. His words are just as jumbled as those word games he recalled playing with some of the older residents. "You have an easier way of saying it? You sound..."

"Batty?" the old Honduran white bat asked with a cheeky grin." You were going for batty, weren't you?"

"I was going to say nutty but that works too!"

Dr Kirk only laugh his humorous laugh that bore no malice. The giant panda has never met an animal like him. He was still baffled at how Dr Kirk looked younger despite his age. Gouhin himself looked old at 39 but Dr Kirk seemed to be free at the age of 46.

Could it be a Vampyrum thing?

Just then, the panda listened to something outside of his clinic. Dr Kirk who noticed this, followed his Ursidae colleague.

"You again?"

"Aoba? Why are you blindfolded?" Dr Kirk inquired, tilting his head. Hearing the voice of the old Honduran white bat, Aoba removed the blindfold before blinking.

"What are you doing here, Dr Kirk?"

"Wait, you know each other?" both Legosi and Gouhin asked at the same time.

The four of them were in a double standoff until Aoba breaks the ice. "We don't have any intentions. We have a feeling that Arthur's here."

"Arthur?" now Dr Kirk's eyes were wide with disbelief and then narrowed. "Why would my son be here?"

"We're not sure," Legosi growled. "But we both have a feeling that he's been kidnapped."

"Shit," Gouhin grunted. "Not another one!"