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The room was pleasantly cool; neither warm but nor cold.
Finding the right setting on the heater was a blessing in disguise - in Collot's opinion, at least. The blanket embraced his lithe body up to his hips, his head making a comfy dent on the fluffy pillow. A sigh escaped him - yes, this was the life. Finishing his classes early and making sure all his projects were done as soon as possible might have been the greatest decision he had ever made.
It certainly gave him time to just... laze around like a stick in the mud.
His friends, on the other hand...
"I'm going to cut that bitch."
"Durham, that's-"
"No, you won't stop me. She has no right to dump all these on us for the break. None of them do."
"...Yeah. Alright."
'All these' referred to the aforementioned homework Collot had already finished yesterday. He wanted to feel bad for his friends, he really did, but to be fair - the sheepdog had told them to do it sooner. And since the answer was mocking laughter, Collot did the next best thing that came to mind; browsing the web with his mind and empathy turned off.
This was life.
"Maybe we could leak the capibara's tapes."
That was Voss' surprisingly deep voice. And also - tapes? His left ear stood up in attention.
"What tapes?" apparently, he wasn't the only one in the dark, "Don't tell me you filmed our history teacher fucking her husband."
"Durham," Miguno's tone took on a hint of motherly chiding, and Collot wasn't surprised in the slightest that the reply to that began with a submissive whine.
"What?"
" Language."
"..."
And if the sheepdog were right, then-
"I swear, if you two don't stop with the 'fuck-me' eyes..." and here it was. The formula for these study sessions in 701 went like this; Durham complains about homework, Jack or Miguno tries to soothe him - unsuccesfully - but then Voss mentions something kinda fucked-up as a solution, and Durham gets all incredulous about it. Miguno chides the coyote for whatever reason - it's astonishing how that dumbass could always find a way to generate this course of events - then the two look at each other until they end up giving the so-called 'fuck-me eyes'.
And if Collot were right...
"I-It isn't that difficult, yeah?" Jack tried to amend, "I can help you guys write the essays."
Oh Jackie boy, bless your heart. Trying to help, even if he himself was overworked to the brim. Legoshi was usually there to help him through it, but since that dumbass dropped out, things had... changed.
In a terrible direction. In a terrible, terrible, terrible direction. A direction that tainted their chemistry - there had been a time when Collot could recite the daily routines of each of his friends by heart - but now that Legoshi was out, everyone's schedule had changed; Voss couldn't ride the wolf's shoulders anymore, Durham and Jack had to find a new chess-mate for their Monday sessions, Miguno had to start practicing the Leftover's new songs in front of only his partner, and Jack...
Well, the lab practically lived on Legoshi ever since they were pups apparently, so... yeah.
Down the gutter, as they say.
"Jack, to be honest..." Miguno began, awkwardly, "You... kinda have the most work from all of us. Sure you don't need any help?"
The hyena wasn't wrong. Collot was on the top bunk but still could see the peak of the pile of papers.
"I'm... I'm sure..." the sheepdog's heart broke at the croaky reply. Now that he thought about it, the rest of the guys too had sounded unbelievably tired - even Voss' abyss deep voice broke at random times.
He raised his shaggy head - just to see a sight that was just plain unacceptable.
Jack’s body sprawled over the table; with his head lying dead on both his crossed arms, floppy ears turned inside out and tail limp like a kite without air, the guy looked sickly. Durham didn't even bother pretending to sit anymore - he was more content with lying on top of the itchy rug, watching the ceiling with barely open eyes. Miguno laid his head on the coyote's chest, a discarded notebook lying on the ground next to the pair - the yeen was no longer fighting exhaustion. His best bro, the man himself, the one who could make animals a hundred times his size flinch - Voss was currently munching on a white piece of paper in his boredom.
They looked... pathetic.
With a great sigh, he opened the messenger app on his phone and sent notices to some pals he knew.
...
...
"So...?"
"So what?"
Durham's scowl deepened, his fingers impatiently tapping and his arms crossing.
" So... why the fuck are we here again? In this car? When did you even get a car?"
"And since when can you drive?" asked Miguno distractedly, trying to pop his seatbelt into its hole - a feat quite difficult, as his coyote and Jack were all crammed into the very same backseat of the very same vehicle.
Collot raised a hand from the steering wheel to wave away their questions. "Unimportant. Just sit back and... enjoy the ride."
Voss scoffed from the passenger seat, rolling his eyes on top of the stacks of books he sat on.
Miguno's belt finally clicked into place and he was ready to sigh in relief - but then he realized that Durham hadn't even touched his own safety mechanism.
"Durry..." he growled under his breath, "Put your seatbelt on," the coyote turned his muzzle towards him and raised an eyebrow. The hyena scowled, before making a grab at the item in question - but was stopped gently by beige fingers.
"Don't be like that, Migs," Durham whispered, touching noses with the other. Miguno exhaled and closed his eyes, retracting his arm.
"I just want you to be safe."
A smile appeared on the coyote's face. "I am, now."
While the two lovebirds had their moment, Jack leaned forward.
"Can you at least tell us where we are going?"
Collot grinned under all that fur, before pressing down on the brake and decelerating the car.
"We are going somewhere. You, my friend, will leave here."
"L-Leave?" the lab stuttered, before turning to look out the window, and- "WAIT! This- This is where Legoshi lives!"
The door on Jack's side suddenly opened, and the amused faces of three familiar animals appeared.
"Jack-kun!" the charming drawl of none other than Pina rang in the air, as the Dall sheep helped the confused labrador out of the car. The dwarf rabbit Haru immediately hugged Jack's midriff, and the poor guy could only gape when fuckin' Louis sent him a respectful nod.
"Good luck with Legoshi!" Collot shouted back, before closing the door and flooring the gas pedal, leaving Jack to be dragged inside the condo by the three herbivores.
...
"You know, you can be a real dickhead at times," Durham noted offhandedly, his arm gently holding onto Miguno's side.
His only answer was a freshly removed middle finger from the steering wheel.
The hyena laid his head on the coyote's shoulders and exhaled. "It will be good for Jack. The guy has been doing nothing but studying for... days and days and I'm not sure if I saw him eat. 'Was getting worried."
"I would be more worried about the wolf," Voss mentioned, smirking with his teeth showing, "It must be hard having a harem."
The car wobbled on the road as a rambunctious laughter left Collot's maw, and even Miguno found himself grinning in good humor.
"A harem?! No way - Legoshi doesn't have a-" Durham's argument fell off his lips like icicles from a roof, before he sputtered, "HOLY SHIT!"
The fuckin' delivery made Collot laugh even harder.
"Not just any harem," Miguno put his chin on the coyote's shoulder and connected gazes, "A pretty diverse harem."
"Three guys, three herbivores," Voss began counting them off on his small fingers, "Let's see... the sunshine, the slut, the rich kid and the playboy - the guy doesn't even know it, but he became a player."
Durham's head leant back with a groan. "Why did y'all have to make me realize that?"
The other three laughed in accordance, the hyena pushing his snout up for a quick kiss.
"You are just way too oblivious, dude," Collot noted, slowing down the car, "Speaking of oblivious..." when the car stopped, the sheepdog began rummaging through the glove compartment with one hand, rolling down the window with the other, before emerging with a wad of cash that made Durham and Miguno blink in surprise.
"Hey man," he greeted the jackal in the fancy button-up standing on the side of the road, before handing over the money with a wink, "You know what to do."
The jackal smiled and pocketed the money. Fistbumping Collot casually, he went back to open the door to the two flabbergasted boys, who immediately met with the sight of... was that a whole-ass inn?!
"All you can eat, all you can do - don't hold back you two!" the sheepdog threw the slogan after his still confused friends, before steering away as if an avalanche chased the car.
Voss snorted. "You are a joke, dude."
"Better be a hilarious joke than not being able to reach the next step of the stairs."
The fennec blew air out of his mouth, pumping his fist on his small chest. "Nice comeback. Anyway, what's your game?"
"Hmm?" Collot tilted his head, "What game?"
"Oh my fucking Rex," Voss rolled his eyes, "You got disaster sunshine boy to spend time with his abandonment issues, you got the gay boys stuffed in an all-you can eat buffet - what's your game? Cause if it is some gay shit, then you have another thing coming."
"Nah dude. Don't worry," Collot said, steering the car into a dirty alley. The fennec looked around the dusty, crumbling walls and the rusting water pipes, dripping from stale rain and probably piss.
"Romantic."
"Here."
Voss turned to look at Collot - just to see a fennec-sized joint wiggling in his face.
He smiled with all his teeth showing.
"You never disappoint."