Chapter Text
When Mark opened the door to his dorm on the fifth floor of the Ark House dormitory he untensed his shoulders realizing he was the first to arrive. He slipped the key from the lock into his pocket and dropped onto the floor all the bags and suitcases he’d dragged through the elevator down the fifth floor hallway. Out of breath, he panted and took a breather, his weak muscles screaming and his heart beating fast in his chest. Carrying heavy things was not something his body was used to, yet he’d done it anyway. Part of him felt proud, triumphant in proving his mom wrong that he couldn’t do it. The other part of him was too exhausted to care.
The open front door gave the view of a spacious living room where everything matched exactly the pictures online. A huge soft-looking leather couch that gave the impression of being old but in perfect condition and comfortable, a dark-brown kitchen table made from a fine-grained wood with eight chairs, and a full size kitchen that looked surprisingly modern, like it had been taken from the inside of an IKEA. The floor was part white tile and part hardwood with a dark finish, no carpet or anything cheap. Flags and decals of Eden’s Garden Academy decorated the walls, and a few alligator green themed posters, which Mark picked as his animal of choice; but also wolves? Big poofy snouts with a sharp edge by the jaws, themed red. Some sort of canine. The vibe of the dorm was expensive, at least a century old and lavishly rich — the animals adding a slight whimsical twist — just like the rest of the academy that resembled what Mark imagined “dark academia” meant. The smell of cleaning products fell over him instantly, a strong sweet scent of artificial strawberries and wet pine forest not too damaging to his nose. Everything must’ve been prepared by the school staff this morning. It didn’t look too bad. He wasn’t sure if the place would meet his expectations, looking like it came straight from a Victorian painting, but at a first glance it seemed much better than the stuffy darkness of his room at home. He could live here.
It was around 1PM, just after he’d been dropped off by his mom in the headmaster’s office parking lot. He insisted he’d drag his luggage up himself, because he didn’t want anyone to see his mom and he didn’t like the way she assumed he was weak, so he hugged her goodbye and she drove off. Now he was here all by himself. Not a thing had yet been disturbed, no coats on the hangers or mess on the floor, which strengthened the feeling of aloneness inside the dorm room. Perhaps he was a bit on the early side, and the roommate could take hours to arrive. But that meant he had all the time he could want to settle in, without yet having to deal with any annoying people.
His heartbeat slowed as he rested, and he tapped his index finger to the rhythm of a song that’d been stuck in his head since this morning. He’d have to write it down soon or he’d forget it. Voices of people down the hall echoed through the hallway; he could make out vague voices of people meeting and getting to know each other. There were statues and busts set around the dormitory hallway, and classical paintings hung from the olive-painted walls below tall ceilings. His dorm was the very last, and to his left by the hallway’s end there was a window overlooking the courtyard where a handful of other students were also unpacking luggage from cars.
Carefully he began to shove his suitcases inside — three large ones to keep all his clothes, equipment and other stuff. Most space was allocated for his music equipment as he only had about three sets of clothes, and the rest was all for his collection of random merch, books and some toiletries. The small plastic wheels thudded over the threshold and rolled onto the wooden floor, until they crashed into the side of the couch where Mark would put everything for now. Once he got everything inside and the front door closed, he could think of the next step.
The last thing that remained outside was a black travel carrier. Two huge yellow eyes glared at him from inside, hidden in a huge pile of white fluff firmed up into a curious loaf. A smile brightened up his sullen pale face as he crouched down to look at her. “Hello baby!” he whispered to her, and he stuck his finger through the front flap. She stretched out her head, unloafing for a moment to sniff Mark’s grimy fingernails. Her head tilted and her pink nose quivered. She’d been tussled around and heard Mark swearing as he carried his stuff up, but she didn’t look miffed about it at all. “You’ve been such a good girl, yeah haven’t you? No complaining or meowing at all. Don’t worry, we’re almost in our new home now, then you can walk around freely.” She stuck out her tongue and licked Mark’s finger, and Mark chuckled quietly into himself. “You’re so cute. You’re a cute little baby.” He grabbed the carrier by its straps and hauled it inside, while her big yellow eyes peered out and took in the interior of what would become her new home.
“It’s much bigger than my gross old room, don’t you think?” Mark started talking to himself as he put Veronicat’s carrier on the couch and zipped open the front flap. “You can actually run around here. I hope it’ll be less boring when I’m not home, so I don’t always have to play with you. Wouldn’t want to get noise complaints from our neighbors. The roommate said he loves cats and would want to play with you too, so let’s hope you’ll love him back.”
Her head peeked out, her ears flicking upwards as she meowed softly and closed her eyes at him. Mark crouched in front of her, looking with a smile so big one could hardly imagine the list of anti-depressants he was on. “Yes!” he said, curving his voice up. “The room mate said he loves cats too! Don’t you wanna meet him?” This baby cat held so much love in his heart. She was only a year old, and she’d helped him feel better about everything in life. The first day he met her, she sniffed his nose, licked his forehead and settled comfortably on his chest; and that day Mark cried softly into her fur until his head felt like it was bursting. Unlike other cats, she never was mean, or hissed arching her back, or slapped with her claws. She was very docile — like a little baby — and she could never get enough attention, climbing onto Mark’s lap or keyboard whenever he was alone.
“I’ll get your litterbox set up right away, and a bowl of premium tuna cat food.” He chuckled and kissed her on her forehead. Her tail perked up as she saw him off, and Mark heard her feet land onto the hardwood floor and patter after him.
Stacked on top one of the suitcases was her litter box. There was supposed to be a broom closet meant for the litter box to go, according to the school’s guidelines; and when Mark found it around the corner beside the front door, he set it right in the middle and filled it up with a good layer of cat litter. It was a small dark closet, where a vacuum cleaner and indeed a broom was kept, but there was plenty of space left for a litter box. He scooped his hands through the litter, distributing it evenly as Veronicat poked her head under his armpit.
“There! All done. No need to hold it any more.” He rubbed his fingers along her forehead and she purred happily, taking the hint when she stepped in and kicked the litter around. And Mark left her to do her business. There was a hook that could leave the door permanently ajar for her to go in freely. Mark wiggled it into place before leaving her alone.
In the kitchen he found a can opener and a small saucer perfectly sized for a cat. He dumped a blob of wet tuna cat food onto it, listened to Veronicat’s hind paws kicking up cat litter. A smile formed at his lips and he said, “Good job!”
After he put the saucer down, Veronicat poked her head out and came trotting towards the saucer. After he ruffled Veronicat’s soft back and watched her eat, he had accomplished the highest priority task of providing Veronicat her basic needs. Now he idly looked around the room.
There was the large main living room, with a huge TV and several game consoles and a bunch of random games already assorted. It was clearly designed to accommodate a whole party, rather than just a two-person household, as the couch was big enough for five people and there were two more comfy-looking single chairs. The dark-brown table too — located between the living room and the kitchen — was accompanied with eight chairs to seat plenty of people for any sort of social gathering. Then there was the kitchen itself, with all the things one could need, and Mark would likely never use them since he didn’t know how to cook. An electric stove, an oven, a huge fridge; and drawers and a wall of cupboards. Mark opened them to see where everything had been stashed away, the plates and cups and cutlery. They all were decorated somehow, the plates and cups with illustrations of alligators and canines, the glass and cutlery formed with similar animal shapes. The school had a dining hall with 24/7 service anyway, so he wouldn’t be using much other than the fridge and the cups.
Beside the main living room, there appeared a small side area with three doors, at the end a window also overlooking the courtyard. Two doors were on one side, each with a name plate, and the door opposite was plain white. The door closest to the living room had a nameplate that read Mark Berskii. That would be the one Mark specified online to have green walls and an extra soft double bed, lots of shelf space to put all of his stuff, including a desk with a large area of free space to put his equipment and computer. In order to create the best learning environment they went all out in designing it according to the student’s needs.
He slipped the key he’d been given at the headmaster’s office into the doorknob and opened it. True to his specifications, a dark void greeted him. Inside there was a very green room veiled in curtain-drawn darkness. There was a comfy carpet and dark curtains with alligator print, and a dark green wallpaper with more alligators and swampy leaves. The bed was shoved into a corner, the shelves all empty and ready to be decorated, and they’d even put a little welcome card on his desk.
Mark pushed his suitcases in, laid them horizontally on the floor and opened a few. There was no reason to wait around when he had nothing else to do, and he’d thank himself later if he got all of his Pokemon and anime plushies, figurines and acrylic stuff placed out now. All of his books stashed in the shelves would be good too. He got to work, put everything away, put his favorite alligator plushie on the bed instead of on the shelves. His books were mostly the philosophical books he was reading right now or the ones couldn’t leave at home because they had sentimental value. There was a huge library here, so he didn’t need to bring much. Once he was done, he crashed flatly on the pre-made bed. Just as soft as he’d hoped, for his fragile bony body. The covers were dark green, but with blue and purple squares instead of alligator print. He felt a little tired from moving around, though not nearly as exhausted as carrying his luggage. The card on the desk looked at him, a big Welcome Mark! on the front.
Begrudgingly he left his comfy bed, and got up to read the card. “Welcome to your new home, Mark “Mayhem” Berskii” He cringed at being flashbanged with his stagename. “We would like you to remind you of the fact that students are expected to keep their living spaces clean, and monthly checks will be performed to make sure the dormitories are kept in acceptable conditions. If we find any issues, cleaning costs will be charged.”
Mark groaned and was about to say something mean about the school’s meddlesome policies, when suddenly Veronicat’s tail wrapped around his leg. She was a quiet girl who could sneak into anywhere, despite her huge fluffy white coat that’d be more of use in the north pole. Her head bumped against his shins and that meant it was time for cuddles again. He threw the card into a paper bin, settled on the carpet floor and let her crawl onto his legs. Her purrs drowned out the air conditioning whir, and he scratched her head and chin while her eyes rolled up in comfort. “Silly baby,” he laughed at her tongue flopping out. Her presence was reassuring in an unknown new place. The weight of a living thing on his legs felt warm and good, like something so precious he couldn’t ever live without it anymore.
To be honest, he would’ve killed to get a single-person apartment, a place he could do anything he wanted without being disturbed by strangers after he’d lived with his family all his life, but the academy only allowed people to live in pairs. Pairing up students, forcing them to choose an animal as their personal symbol, and calling it the Ark House felt weirdly like a religious cult; though the school promised to be strictly secular, just basing itself on old traditions. If the place wasn’t located in the middle of nowhere he might’ve rented himself a house, since the school did allow students to live out-of-dorm, but then he’d have to take a bus at least an hour every morning and another hour back. Civilization was far away in this forest. He was too lazy for that. Besides, his mother had convinced him that living with another person would help him face his anxieties, that the confrontation of living with a roommate would open him up and make him more sociable. The prospect of friendships did appeal to him at least a little bit. And even if he lived with others, he still had his own soundproof bedroom, lockable without a chance of his roommate getting in.
“Come on baby, let’s go sit in the living room,” Mark whispered. She looked up at him with big eyes that didn’t understand a word he said, yet would trust him blindly into anything he did. He grabbed her, held her by her butt as he pushed the bedroom door open with his hips. Before he returned to the living room he glanced at the other name-plated room. Jett Dawson. So that was his other roommate. Before arriving at the school, the name of one’s roommate wasn’t revealed. The school only shared information for practical reasons, like the fact this Jett would be okay with a cat. He’d never heard of the name before. So far, he hadn’t recognized any names or faces here. Mark didn’t know a lot about people. The red-themed wolf decorations gave Mark a slight glimpse into what kind of person he’d be.
Outside his room, the plain white door that didn’t have a name plate turned out to be the bathroom. It was as large as his bedroom, if not even bigger, with a shower and a jacuzzi, a sink and a toilet, even a scale and a hairdryer. Mark shuffled in, cat in arms, bending over to open a cupboard under the sink that was empty apart from a few rolls of extra toilet paper. He’d stuff his toiletries in here somewhere later. The jacuzzi looked nice. It was built beside a big floor-to-ceiling window looking into the forest. Maybe he’d use it tonight and relax, or maybe it would give him a mental breakdown trying to figure out how it worked.
When he clicked off the bathroom light and returned to the living room, he lowered himself on the couch next to Veronicat’s carrier and let out a big sigh. There weren’t any drinks here besides tap water, but he was too lazy to go out right now. Some soda would be nice… He leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling. It was as high as the hallways, a set of big fancy lamps hanging down to about halfway. Veronicat climbed her paws onto his chest and sniffed his chin.
“Hehe, sweet baby,” he said, but his smile faded and his lips pursed. “So… what now? There’s nothing to do. I wish the other person would just com. I don’t like waiting around in suspense and having to hope he’ll be an okay guy. I really don’t want him to be annoying or weird. I don’t want my life to be hell here.” He sighed quietly and bumped noses with Veronicat, who licked it in response. Her big eyes peered into his soul with a desire for love.
Who would Jett be? Right now he could look him up on his phone. Most Ultimates had an extensive presence on Google, and Mark could freely stalk through articles and social media posts. Even “Mark Berskii” was known online despite his best efforts to hide his true identity. Jett Dawson sounded like a man of action judging by his name. Someone who liked wolves, or canines. It frightened Mark a little, imagining Jett, though everything frightened him in some way. Apparently students were matched by the school’s personality test. Eden’s Garden Academy believes in uncovering the best in our students capabilities. We pair only those we believe would push each other to be the best version of themselves, based on careful consideration of our matching questionnaire and admission interview. The papers and flyers and documents he’d received were filled with stuff like that. Theoretically he and Mark should get along.
“I need to find some cigarettes soon,” he said as the itch to smoke tugged at his tongue. They didn’t say they banned smoking on campus, at least not outside. “I’m sure they’ll have some in that little store.” He couldn’t sneak them past his mom today, but that hardly mattered. If they didn’t sell them here in the on-campus store, he could always take the school-operated bus to the nearest town and but them there.
He sat in his room waiting for something to happen, watching through a set of tall windows the sun’s descent above the trees outside, the sky coloring a bright orange. It didn’t seem Jett Dawson was in a hurry. The longer he sat here, scrolling through his phone and cuddling with his baby, the stronger his anxiety grew. It moved through his chest and constricted his lungs, radiated out to both arms like a nervous, ticklish energy. The urge to smoke got stronger and stronger, and the fear of meeting a stranger only made it worse. One thing he learned was that being alone with his thoughts made everything worse; and that going out calmed his nerves — especially at night with a cigarette, though a cigarette-less and a sunset outing would have to do. “I’m gonna go for a walk,” he whispered to Veronicat. He gently pushed her off. He grabbed his vest from his bedroom, stopped in front of the mirror before changing his clothes into something a little warmer. He saw his own body, sinewy and skinny, a trail of hair down his belly and patches of poorly shaven stubble by his jaw. He slipped his arms through two layers of jackets and zipped them up. Veronicat had followed him in and watched him get ready. “Wanna come with me? I got your harness with me. Let’s go for a walk.” As if she were a dog, her ears perked up at the word “walk” and she meowed at him. “That’s the spirit!” Mark chuckled.
Together they left the dorm and stepped into the echoes of the dormitory hallway. Mark put his keys into the outside lock and closed off the room, and it gave him a unique sense of independence. He clutched the keys in his hands, realizing he’d be doing this for at least another four years, until he was twenty two. The thought made his heart skip a beat. Veronicat politely walked into the elevator and they made it outside. The orange sky was partly blue on one side, and there were birds flying through it like black specks. Veronicat looked around, enamored by the openness of the courtyard. A sudden fresh wind blew over him, and Mark felt extremely small standing below the dormitory’s main entrance steps. Dozens of students were walking around over a huge flat stretch of bricks and tiles, with flower beds and small trees and a huge fountain; all of it surrounded by a wall of huge trees that the school called Eden’s Forest. The trees loomed high in a way Mark hadn’t seen in a very long time. Not since he went to his grandparent’s house and played in their yard as a little boy. Veronicat took the lead, tugging Mark along towards a path that followed a circular driveway with parking lots that led to the main road. The air was more invigorating than anything he could imagine, far different than walking at night through his home town. It smelled clean and cold now the sun had set, most of the summer heat settled and dissipated. Veronicat’s paws splattered as she stepped into a puddle beside a water hose left running in a flower bed. Every step, little paw shaped beans trailed her, and Mark gasped from the cuteness. They walked along the pavement, following the curve of the driveway.
People gazed at Veronicat like she was a celebrity, coming closer and reaching out to pet her. She took everything as if she knew she deserved it, holding her tail high and angling her head to perfect petting capacity. She behaved just as well as she did at home, when she and Mark would go for little strolls through the park, and strangers fawned over her. Being led by a leash was never an issue for her. She was a very good girl.
A red-haired girl wearing a Russian hat jumped out of a bush holding a Switch in one hand, her eyes big at Veronicat flopping onto the ground and showing her belly. “Yo that’s a cute cat! Is she yours!? What’s her name!?” And without waiting for an answer she leaned down to scratch Veronicat by her ears. Mark saw she was playing a Pokemon game, behind the glare of the screen.
“She’s mine, yes,” Mark said quietly. “Her name is Veronicat.”
“Aww, who’s a good little kitty!”
Mark smiled shyly. When people were close to him, he didn’t like to smile. He didn’t like the way his smile looked in the mirror or in selfies and he’d hate to show it to other people. But right now he couldn’t suppress the feeling to smile, at seeing his baby be loved and the feeling of seeing this stranger girl interested in a part of him. So he stood there quietly and watched as the girl ran her hands along Veronicat’s head. Veronicat seemed to love it, standing up on two legs and bumping herself against the girl’s spider leggings.
Mark wondered if her Ultimate talent had something to do with streaming. Or Twitch. Or some sort of content creation. Her presence reminded her of Mr Beast somehow, but more pure-hearted and less evil.
“She’s soft, dude!” She looked up at Mark and smiled. “Like sticking my head into a pillow!”
“She’s very fluffy.”
“What an epic cat you have!”
“Thanks.”
Then she was done petting. She held out her fist and Mark realized a second awkwardly too late he was supposed to bump it. “Thanks dude!” she laughed at his fumble. “You better take her out again! I wanna see her tomorrow!”
“Okay,” Mark said with a smile and a nod.
Veronicat turned on the spot and settled her butt on the raw pavement, while watching the girl wander off back into the bush with her Switch. “Was she a nice friend?” Mark asked, crouching down and petting her head. He realized his heart was beating fast again, a rush of adrenaline through his body. Socializing was intense. “I bet there’s going to be lots of nice friends,” he said to her. And they walked far enough to get away from the majority of the students, at the far edge of the parking lot where the pavement stopped and turned into solid forest. They sat down on a bench by the entrance from the road into the parking lot driveway. The road was straight like an arrow and stretched far into the horizon. Mark pulled out a little cookie he’d snatched from the reception and unwrapped it. He crunched the wrapper into his pocket, and patted his lap, encouraging Veronicat to sit by him. She hopped on.
“Hmm, I guess we’ll have to eat dinner soon. My stomach’s hurting.” He wobbled her around by raising his legs, and she let it happen like a good plate of pudding. Her poofy fur fluttered in a breeze and she licked her paw and stroked her forehead. “Or I’ll need to get some snacks from the vending machine… And I’ll not forget to give you some more tuna, hehe!”
When he didn’t know what else he could talk about with Veronicat, he stayed quiet and listened to the silence. The trees in the wind, the birds singing and cicadas chattering. It was really quiet here, much more quiet than the parks in his home town. Truly the middle of nowhere. A forest. Probably wildlife around. It was nice.
But soon a rumbling sounded in the distance, first so minor Mark didn’t notice it, but it was getting stronger. It ripped like a chainsaw, piercing the slow evening like lightning. It came closer and closer, louder with each second. Mark looked down the road and saw a dot on the horizon, a car with bright headlights coming this way.
Veronicat’s ears folded back into airplane mode, her body tensing up as the car rushed down the road and drove into the parking lot at full speed. It was bright red with a big dark blue stripe down the middle, loads of colorful prints of strangely furry-style animal drawings on the side. The brakes applied all at once and the wheels locked, allowing the car to drift perfectly into a free parking space with screeching rubber, as the person behind the wheel guided it into place. If it wasn’t for the headphones on his head, he was sure it’d hurt his ears. Veronicat was clearly distressed. The motor was loud and idled with the stench of exhaust fumes. Mark scrunched up his nose, about to walk off and leave whoever drove this annoying car, when the driver’s seat door flew open.
A man jumped out, clothed in a racing suit and a helmet with animal ears, and he raised his arms to the sky and started howling. “AWOOO!!! Yipppeee!! AWOOOOO!! 7PM BABY!! I made it in time for dinner! No one beats the one and only Ultimate drag racer!!”
And the man’s sudden beast-like outburst was too much for poor Veronicat. She panicked, scrambled her paws frantically, seeking stability on Mark’s legs but slipping, then once she’d worked her way off Mark’s lap she launched herself away and into a nearby tree. Mark didn’t have the reaction time to grab her leash before she was gone, as the man’s loud presence overwhelmed him and shut off his ability to think for a full second.
The man slammed the car door shut, was about to run off towards the academy’s main building, but had just enough observancy to see the white fluffball scramble up the tree. “What the hell was that!? That was the biggest squirrel I’ve ever seen!”
Mark collected himself, shot up from his bench and ran after Veronicat but she was already far too high to pull back. She had nestled on a set of branches at least a two-person height above. Her ears were still in airplane mode and she looked fearfully at the helmet-wearing man who walked up beside Mark.
“Holy guacamole! That’s no squirrel! That’s a cat! A big fluffy white cat!? What the hell!”
“Sh-she’s my cat…”
“Yours!? Why is she roaming outside like that! Hold on, is that a leash around her front paws!? You’re kidding! Rehehe! That’s so cute! I’ve never seen a cat with a leash before. I’ve seen videos of them, but never did I see one in real life! I thought they had to be AI because no way a stubborn creature like a cat would be led by a leash!”
Mark watched with despair at his cat stuck in the tree. The man kept rambling on.
“Aww, what a pretty girl! I’ve seen many cats, but none are as fluffy as her! Is she a girl!? Bro I didn’t mean to assume her gender! She’s stuck up there isn’t she? Damn! Someone should get her out of there! The coyotes will get to her if she stays out here! I saw two up the road, crossing together like a family!” Then he shut up and glanced sideways at Mark. “So I guess I did this, huh?”
Mark looked back at him. His suit and helmet were strange. A canine was printed on his chest, strangely familiar to him. Through that helmet it was hard to see any sign of humanity. There was no expression or face to be seen, no smiles or frowns or thoughts. Mark could see every shape through his suit though, of his chest and belly, rounder than Mark thought was average.
“Wanna climb on my shoulders?” He roughed a paw on Mark’s shoulders, shaking him back and forth, and Mark instinctively tensed up. A shiver drew down his spine. The hand didn’t let go. He didn’t like touch. “I’ll give you a boost so you can reach up and grab her!”
“Uh… okay…” Mark said. He didn’t know what to do. The hand on his shoulder gave him more shivers, but he was too afraid to shake it off. Most of all he wanted Veronicat back in his arms, so climbing onto the man’s shoulders was as good an idea as any.
“I mean,” he continued, “I assume at least you wouldn’t be able to carry me, hehe! No offense but you look at least half as light as me. I’ll crush you where you stand!”
“Uhh…” Mark stuttered. He looked at the man’s size and nodded. “Yeah, I guess. I’ll climb…”
“ALRIGHT!!! Let’s do it bro!! Oh, I know!” He fished something from his suit, a brown strip of meat covered in pocket fluff. “Beef jerky! Cats love meat!!” He shoved it into Mark’s hands, then leaned down so Mark could stand on his hands. Mark set his feet on a set of gloves, got launched by a sudden strength, until he could cling to the tree trunk and set his feet on the man’s shoulders. “Lure her with the beef jerky!”
“I don’t think she likes jerky—”
But he talked over him. “Here kitty kitty!! Be a good girl for your shrimpy owner! Smell the beef! Doesn’t that smell yummy!”
Mark was far too overwhelmed and flustered to say anything or protest to the guy’s loud outbursts which only scared Veronicat even more. He stupidly held out the beef jerky, but when Veronicat wasn’t moved by the smell, he rolled his eyes and threw it away. The guy yelped, “MY BEEF!!” Mark wrapped his arms around her body and picked her up. Thankfully he was just able to reach.
“NICE JOB BRO!!!”
Mark cringed at the thundering voice, holding Veronicat steady as best he could. The man grabbed him by his waist and slowly slid him along his suit until Mark’s feet touched solid ground. Veronicat was angry, and though she didn’t want to take it out on Mark, she seemed like he would slash Mark’s cheeks in the process of venting her anger at this guy.
“Aww! There she is! What an adorable lady!” he said as Veronicat hissed and growled. She flung her paw out and slashed at his suit. “Rehehe!” Mark was shocked at what her little girl had turned into. Like a stray cat cornered by a coyote, or like she had a huge repressed anger in her towards this random guy.
“She never does this.” Mark felt distraught. She bared her fangs and pulled back her ears like she wanted to murder this man. “She’s always really nice and good to everyone. I’ve never seen her like this before.”
“Heh, it’s okay. Most cats don’t really like me! My brother says I got that dog in me. And I suppose I cuddled with our dogs at least an hour before I got into my car and drove here, so I’m covered in smells. I think that's why most cats don’t like me, it’s my canine musk, YIP YIP!!” The guy yipped and Veronicat slashed again. It didn’t damage his suit at all, like it was made from metal. “But it should rub off soon enough, rehehe! Just a few strolls in the woods and I’ll smell all clean! If there are no dogs here, that is! If there’s a dog, I’m gonna cuddle some more!”
Canine musk… Instinctively Mark sniffed the man’s presence, because he had been smelling something bad all this time. A vague scent of unwashed clothes and armpits without deodorant. This man didn’t smell nice, though Mark wasn’t in a place to judge. The guy jumped from one leg to another as if he was about to bolt off, or had somewhere urgent to be; except he stayed here still and directed his helmet’s visor intently at Veronicat.
“Phew, this summer’s hot! I’d wipe my forehead if I could.” He laughed like a bear when Veronicat’s growls turned into a quiet grumble, and he stuck out his hand unafraid to ruffle her head. She hissed but took it. “What a baby! Alright now that’s sorted, come with me dude! I gotta see my place now!! And I gotta pay you back for my stupid coyote ass scaring your cat!”
“Uh, I, uh kinda wanna go hom—”
“Rehehe, I know these dining halls are supposed to be good!” He grabbed Mark’s wrist and tugged him along, running off without a scratch of self-awareness. “I gotta pay you back for scaring your little baby like that!”
Mark let himself be dragged through campus. He didn’t have it in him to refuse. Along the ride, he experienced all of this guy’s administrative errands. Going to the headmaster’s office, getting the keys, exchanging paperwork. Mark wandered off by the waiting area while he waited for him to do his thing, watching his bright red suit from a distance with Veronicat in his arms. He was big and loud, but he seemed nice. He joked with the woman behind the desk and even the ladies on break instantly seemed to love him. Once he was done he turned around, and instead of running off in a world of his own, he beelined straight for Mark and grabbed his wrist again.
“Let’s go shrimpie!!” He noogied Mark gently before they left through the door. “Awesome beanie, dude! It’s like an alligator going ROAR!! Like it’s gonna chomp your leg and death roll it into shreds! I love animals!! You’re a man after my own heart!”
“It’s just a beanie…” Mark frowned.
And they went into Ark House dormitories and went up the elevator to the fifth floor. The man wiggled his body from side to side, unable to stay still for longer than a second, started pushing random buttons when the ride took too long. Mark worried he’d glitch out the elevator and they’d get stuck, until the doors thankfully opened without issue. Then he looked around at the signs pointing to the different rooms, took the right hallway, and dragged Mark along.
Same hallway, same floor — so they’d be neighbors… Mark slightly feared that, though he also kind of hoped that to be the case. Then he’d have someone who cared about him at least. He wouldn’t be a shut-in yet.
But as soon as they walked down the hall, passed by every door all the way to the window by the end that overlooked the courtyard, it clicked in Mark’s brain.
The coyote on his suit. The dog ears. The loud voice. The action-obsessed personality. And when they stopped in front of the same door Mark and Veronicat left half an hour ago, it all made sense. This guy was Jett Dawson.
“Ahh!! Home sweet home! Oh, look at that! My room buddy made it before me!! Smells fresh!” He skipped in without a moment of hesitation, then turned to look at Mark. “I guess I’ll get my stuff up once I’m done eating, rehehe! Can’t work on an empty stomach!”
“Ah… About that…” Mark started when he stepped in, but he was instantly talked over by his loud voice.
“Mark Berskii, huh!?” He’d run off into the hallway, where Mark’s room was. “That’s the guy who seems to be my room mate! I wonder who that is!”
In the pause while Jett walked back and rubbed his index finger along his helmet’s chin, thinking deeply about something, Mark quickly said, “It’s me… I’m Mark Berskii.”
“What!? You! Here!? Me! We’re roomies!?” He balled his fists in excitement, then spread out his arms and launched for a hug. “That makes so much sense, bro! You’re the cat dude! That’s the little kitty I’m going to be sharing a home with! Yippeeee! Two cute room mates, rehehe! Group hug!!!”
Mark was squished under his arms, doing his best to protect Veronicat from his iron grip. Once Jett let go he took a deep gulp of air and looked at the helmet visor. Under the light of the dorm room, he could just make out the vague contour of eyes and they were narrowed into a grin.
“From now on we’ll be best buddies, OKAY!?” he said, slapping Mark’s shoulder. “We’re gonna be best bros from now on!!”
“O-okay…”