Chapter Text
"...Please, I only r-request sanctuary here, not... er..."
"A living Hell." Tem answered. He was holding Legosi's script and watched the wolf anxiously fumble his line again. He made some room for Legosi to sit down and groan out of frustration which made his heart beat a bit faster as the wolf was near him.
They'd been at this for hours, and the deadline was on the day after tomorrow. Unfortunately, Legosi kept fumbling his delivery. He kept thinking of the worst case scenario, making him timidly stammer, his movements slow to a crawl, all the lines that he had read over a hundred times instantly forgotten, and drool dripping off of his gaping maw as he struggled to keep speaking. All that was in his thoughts were laughter in the tone of mockery, jests at his expense, and the disappointment of those who didn't laugh. He felt someone touch his shoulder, which made him jolt and cower away, only to realize it was just Tem, with a look of concern. All that Legosi could say was "I-I-I can't... I-I can't do it..." he started to cry as he felt a tissue press gently against his cheek, wiping the salty tears away.
He nervously looked at Tem and spoke, his voice wavering at times. "B-Before I moved here, I-I was bullied a lot. Every herbivore was scared of me, and every carnivore made f-fun of me because of how different I was. The wolves would never let me near their groups, and eventually started rumors. L-Like how I-I'm a Frankenstein monster o-o-or a caveman who was unfrozen! And one day... Someone learned about my mom's death and... blamed it on me." Tem slowly grew angrier at hearing this, wishing that he was back at Legosi's old school and just beat the snot and blood out of whoever said that. Legosi continued with "My Grandpa caught word of this, and the next few weeks he took me out of the school and sent me here since Cherryton had top notch therapists, and the school here was much friendlier than it was back home." He struggled to even say the last word in his sentence.
"It's okay, Legosi, I understand how it feels." Tem spoke as he was ready to add 'We all do' but instead took a deep breath and continued. "Truth is... I went through the same thing. I always wanted to be in theater growing up, and the day I was assigned something like this, I was so anxious that I was crying." Tem kept going on as he wiped away Legosi's tears. "I was so used to being viewed as a disappointment to my classmates and family because of how nonathletic I was. I know that I shouldn't have let it get to me, but... but I did. Theater was the one thing I always admired, and if I screwed up, I feared that I'd become the biggest joke of Cherryton and add to list of people I've disappointed." The wolf grew curious as he hears Tem's tale and moved his large hand over the alpaca's without thinking, just wishing he'd grab it without coming off as a creep. That was when Tem looked at him with a smile and spoke "But then, my brother had noticed what was going on and gave me some advice before he left for university."
"What did he say?" asks the wolf, sniffling.
"That you're your own person." Tem answered with confidence and placing his hand on top of Legosi's. "If you let people walk all over you, then you'll never be able to be happy with yourself."
Legosi gave it thought and timidly nodded, shedding the last few tears he had before hugging Tem. It took a moment for him to realize what he was doing and stopped. "I-I'm so s-s-sor-"
"It's okay, Legosi!" Tem answered with sincerity. Truth be told, he wasn't really comfortable with others touching him; but Legosi was different. While he knew that Legosi was a nervous wreck, he was also gentle and caring with all of his movements. He was a beauty with a heart of a beast. "If you want, y-you can f-fell my wool..." Tem timidly blushed. "I won't tell anyone, promise!"
Legosi gently moved his hand again, slowly feeling the alpaca's soft wool. He stroked in the same motion multiple times and started to drool a bit. Tem wasn't afraid at all, for he watched Legosi never bare his fangs. The wolf was just happy was all.
--
It had been a few days since the test. The wolf managed to do well despite flubbing a line or two. When Louis offered a main role for the wolf, he timidly declined with the answer of "If it's okay, I'd like smaller roles...". He walked towards to the table Kibi was at with a bit more of a confidant walk as he placed his meal down and was ready to sit when he heard a CLANK! It was Tem, who got tripped by another student. He ran up to the alpaca and held out a hand, asking "Are you okay, Tem?"
The alpaca looked up to the wolf and with zero hesitation, grabbed his hand with a great sense of trust. "Yeah!" he answered with a smile on his face.