Beastars: A Symphony of Life

Chapter 86: A Truce in Darkness

Jack sat at his table, eyes locked on the door. Why they were meeting at his place, or meeting at all, was beyond him. He didn't know who it was at first, but upon questioning the text, he had no idea how the agent had gotten his number. He was sitting there, with his hood on the table and at the ready. The other canine knew his identity, but Melon...actually what was the point in hiding his face? Melon knew the address and therefore could look up his name. Maybe it was for comfort. If necessary he could pull it on. The hunting knife he got from Melon was sheathed, and on the table. If his intuition served him right, then everyone would be armed to some degree at this meeting.

He checked the clock on the oven. How long would it take for them to get here? His question was answered by a knock at the door. He looked back to it, slowly standing up and unsheathing the knife. The leather was dropped on the chair he had been sitting in, out of view. He held the blade behind his back as he walked up to the entrance and looked through the peephole. The cursinu was there, looking straight back as if he could see him. It unnerved Jack. Again, he asked himself why he was going along with all this as he opened the door.

"If you're going to conceal a weapon don't make it so obvious," he said as he pushed passed. "And here I thought you were clever."

Jack closed the door behind him and just stared at the dog.

"You've never encountered someone smarter than you," he guessed, sitting at the table. "Have you?"

"You think insulting my intelligence is the right way to go about this?" Jack asked, stepping towards his own seat.

"I don't mean to sound insulting," the canine said. "Just asking. When you're surrounded by lesser minds your whole life it gets frustrating to have to stoop down to their level, no?"

Jack sheathed the knife and clipped the loop onto his belt. No sooner had he heard the click that the door was knocked on again.

"That would be for you," he said, sitting in a very neutral state. Jack couldn't get a bead on him.

The knock came again and Jack went for it. He opened the door and the hybrid stood in the doorway.

"Good to know I have the right place," he said.

Jack stepped aside and Melon walked across the threshold. He politely sat down at the table next to Wiru and looked at him.

"Nice to see you again Wiru," he said. "It's been a while."

"Indeed it has," the canine responded.

Jack took his seat, across from Wiru and next to Melon.

"Now that we all know each other," Wiru said, turning to Jack. "The CPD is closing in on you. They have a specific dead set on you and are building a profile fairly close to your personality."

"That's concerning," Melon said. "For all of us."

"Indeed it is," Wiru added. "If one of us goes down, we all go down."

The air hung heavy.

"Perhaps it would be beneficial to clear the air?" Melon suggested. "Just so we all know what the others are thinking about them."

"I disagree," Wiru chuckled. "I find that opening up too much allows others to have a backdoor into your mind."

He stared directly at Melon, who had zero reaction to the comment and just stared with a small smile behind his mask.

"Well," he said through the cloth. "How are we supposed to trust each other?"

Jack sat uncomfortably in his chair.