Chapter 8

Arthur's cloudy blue eyes became wide with shock when Louis told him about a tragedy that struck this school where students were hushed about it:

A herbivore student by the name Tem was murdered and eaten by a carnivore.

Plus, he was also a member of the drama club.

"But I didn't know!" Arthur protested. "I just got here and no one told me about this. Maybe they're too scared or something-"

"I know that!" Louis snapped. "Which is precisely why I am warning you that if you try anything funny whether here or on campus, I will find you. I won't hesitate if you try anything."

Arthur gulped, his little heart was pounding in feat. He wondered what Louis would look like. He knew that the president was a deer but an angry deer would be something new to him. The Honduran white bat wanted to cover his face with his wings. But the bat just had enough of the deer almost crushing his fingers, he head butted Louis in the stomach.

"Why are you so paranoid?" asked Arthur, trying to flex his finger to check if his bones were intact. "I know carnivores are scary and let me tell you, I've been there and almost got turned into someone's dinner. Right now, you have a club with both carnivores and herbivores which is a big step! As the president, I thought you can show everyone that carnivores and herbivores can be friends?"

Louis was silent at this bat's speech. Who was he to lecture him? He was weirded out when Arthur reached up to touch his antlers, feeling the structure and branches. Arthur knew that he must be distinguished judging by the structure of his antlers. Almost felt like ivory like an elephant's.

Sensing that Louis was not going to go the offence, Arthur apologised with a small bow before leaving the office. He needs to get out of the drama club before anything can happen. But he was stopped when something large tackled him from behind.

"Gotcha!" he heard a rambunctious roar. "Looks like you weren't paying attention. So, what's up with your eyes? Show me your fangs! I wanna know if you are a Vampyrum or not!"

Arthur kicked the figure at the chin before biting him.

"OW! What the hell?!"

The drama club members paused as they saw what was going on. Bill the Bengal Tiger had pounced on Arthur when his back was turned and Arthur retaliated by biting him.

Arthur got up, trying to compose himself. He was really stressed out today from all of the excitement. His cloudy eyes, some of the animals swore that it darkened, almost looked like a black hole. "Now I bit you. Did you feel woozy or have a feeling your blood is rushing out? No, I think not."

Before Bill would attack, Legosi and Aoba held him back while Arthur's hand-wing was grasped by Sanu and Shiira, the cheetah. Legosi knew that Bill was going to harass the new student, which was why the grey wolf had a strong grip on him.

"Enough, Bill!" Aoba scolded him.

Arthur backed away while everyone was arguing. He slipped out of the drama club to make a move to somewhere quiet. He decided to pay the flowers a visit at the gardening club. As he predicted, Haru was around and allowed him to hang out.

...

Haru was surprised to see him, considering that he always showed up every morning. Something must be wrong. Seeing how his body was tensed, occasionally he shook his head as if a mosquito went inside his ear and him moving his mouth made the dwarf rabbit worried.

She decided to calm him down by talking about flowers with him.

"So what's your favourite flower, Arthur?" she asked gently, placing a hand on his back.

Arthur's tensed body slowly relaxed as he took a deep breath. "Well, I have several but if I had to narrow it down to one, it would be lavender. They can bring out a sweet lullaby when they are cared for correctly. Plus, good for tea, cakes and when you want to sleep."

Haru tilted her head, her nose twitched a bit. "Another thing, how can you hear the flowers? Sure I care and grow them like they're my children but I don't think I've ever heard them speak."

Arthur chuckled a bit, his soulless eyes looked like they are twinkling under the sun. "Oh, they do and can hold long conversations with each other much like how I hear music...at least I presume, since I don't understand a word they're saying, naturally."

Haru was intrigued but also jealous that Arthur has this gift besides music. What would she give to listen to her children talking!

"But how come I can't hear them but you can? We almost have the same ears for listening! Well, yours looks like a satellite dish while mine is like other rabbits."

Arthur still has that smile of his, his little fangs protruding out a bit. "Well, bats can hear a lot of sounds that might not be loud for other animals due to our biology but I believed it has something to do with age as well. If, you retain an open mind to such matters."

The dwarf rabbit had never thought of that. Suddenly, the door of the gardening club opened and there was Legosi. Haru put a finger on her lips to silenced Legosi from saying anything but gestured him to come sit next to her.

"Hello Legosi. Sorry about running away from the club," Arthur turned his head to the grey wolf and his ears drooped, ashamed for slipping away without telling him or even Aoba about it.

"It's okay, Arthur," Legosi assured him, the sound of his wagging tail was enough to let Arthur know. "I understand why you escaped."

Arthur was grateful for the wolf's understanding. So the three of them sat in the garden, just enjoying the scent of flowers and Arthur had calmed down, him playing a song on his harmonica which was heard all around campus.

They were still wondering who was the mysterious musician except for the drama club who knew already.

Arthur sensed something between the rabbit and the wolf. He wondered if it was infatuation or a crush because he doesn't seem to mind. Love does not have boundaries just like music. He can't explain it into words but there's more to that.

He hoped one of them would make the move soon as love can be a deadly waltz, like a spider during those seasons he had heard.

...

Just as he was walking back to his dorm, he stopped. He heard footsteps and recognised who it was immediately. It was during the incident on his first day at the cafeteria. The proud rabbit whom he had stepped his foot on.

"Haven't seen you in a while, Bats," Mizuchi smirked. "Got somewhere to go?"

"Of course," said Arthur politely. "Going to finish my homework before I rest."

He heard not just her but two other animals giggling as well. He wouldn't lie if he found the voice of the harlequin rabbit fascinating. It's like a sea: untameable, rough to form a maelstrom but if things go well, he might find the sound a gentle lap like the sea on the seashores.

He missed going to the beach with his dad.

"Hey, are you spacing out?" the rabbit waved her hand in front of his face. Mizuchi wondered what was it like to function without sight? Must be a horrible fate to have! But the more she gazed into those cloudy eyes, she never saw a hint of pity or sadness. She found it funny that his nose was shaped like a leaf and those orange-yellow bits on his muzzle.

Arthur shook his head. "No, just planning. Well, I shan't waste your time so good day."

Mizuchi and her friends watched as the bat left to the carnivore dorm. Tanya clicked her tongue. "What a weird thing."

"I pity his parents for having a blind son," Riley the cat purred. "All animals are going to eat him alive before he could even fly. I mean, no one in society has a place for blind animals."

Mizuchi said nothing. She was baffled at how he never held a grudge or say a witty remark like Haru does when she was tormenting her. This bat was an enigma to her and the animals on campus.

And she would like to find out how to solve that puzzle.

...

In his room, Arthur had brewed peppermint tea this time, seeing as there's a lot of homework to do. For his mythology homework, Arthur was done but he can't really see what the images he had put on the slides. His computer had voice command that allowed him to tell what to edit or read out before saving it in a file.

Arthur had thoughts about what song he would like to play after this whether the harmonica, his keyboard, recorder or violin. Most of these instruments were hand-me-downs but were still functional, which was what he wanted.

A knock on the door startled him again. He washed a glass he had used to drink berry juice and placed it again at the front door to listen.

"It's me, Aoba. Can I come in?"

The Honduran white bat was debating whether or not to let the bald eagle in because of what happened at the club. Tentatively, he opened the door. Aoba felt sorry for Arthur and he blamed himself for not knowing what might happen at the drama club. The bald eagle grasped his hand wing gently.

"How are you feeling today?"

"Exhausted," said Arthur, whose left ear flicked. "I'm almost done with my homework."

"It's fine, Arthur. I can wait," Aoba assured him as the both of them entered the Chiroptera room. He wondered how many types of tea Arthur has since he noticed a different box on the kitchen counter. At the main dining table was a plate of rectangle chocolates with orange underneath.

"Please, help yourself to the orange Jaffa cakes," the bat gestured while he was typing on his braille machine.

Once he was done, Arthur asked Aoba if he could help him check on the images for the history presentation. The eagle was shocked when he opened the slides. He has never seen anything like these images before. How can someone without sight produce this quality of a presentation?

"I can't tell you what each one is," said Arthur, a hint of humour in his tone. "It will ruin the surprise during the presentation."

Aoba couldn't help but smile. Arthur was something to treasure with how he handles himself and his mannerism. He was curious about one thing today:

"Arthur, why do you like to play music so much?"

The Honduran white was was tracing the braille dots on his print out paper, not looking up. His voice was quiet when he said:

"Playing is the only thing that makes me feel like I have my sight."