Beastars: A Symphony of Life

Chapter 108: The Symphony Comes to a Crashing Crescendo

Shoji put the small tablet in the plastic syringe and put the plunger back into the measuring cylinder, filling it with enough water to completely surround the medication. He then placed his thumb over the syringe opening and pulled the syringe plunger down, feeling the pull of the vacuum he was creating. He then let go and allowed the plunger to crush the tablet into little pieces. The canine continued to do this until the medication had been reduced to powder dissolving in the water. Placing the end of the plastic in the cup of water, he injected the contents into the liquid. He siphoned the mixture in and out of the syringe a few times just to make sure the full dose was mixed in the drink. Satisfied with that, he slipped the syringe back into his jacket pocket, along with the pill bottle. Now he just needed to wait for Shoon to wake up.

Morrígan was cleaning herself in her small enclosure while hanging upside down from one of the small branches. The Idolomantis was getting old. Shoon had raised her from a nymph and she had gotten big in the eight months he had had her. Mantids only lived about a year, so the time was coming when they would wake up to the insect curled in a death pose, unable to keep going. Shoji had always found the insectoid creature a little off putting. Maybe it was the compound eyes that always seemed to be staring at him with predatory intent, or the mouth that was made up of alien mouth parts akin to a flesh shredder. But now he saw it was the perfect metaphor for Shoon. A beautifully terrifying predator that could hide in plain sight until it was ready to strike. And they didn't have much time left.

While waiting, the wild dog sat at the grand piano in the middle of the open space. Shoji didn't play it much, Shoon was the real pianist, but the hybrid had been teaching him a few things. A few chords and how to use the foot pedals. Shoon always played when he was bored, or thinking. Never any pre-existing arrangements or pieces, just what came to his mind in the moment, but nothing sounded jazz-like. When he played, it was always methodical and precise. It sounded like he was playing an actual score of music, but when asked, he'd seem to snap out of a daze and respond he was just making it up. Despite this seemingly godlike gift for music, he never made any songs of his own. He preferred the songs be only heard once, to not let them be heard over and over again to and fade into the realm of commonality.

Shoji knew he wouldn't be able to play as well as Shoon, but he lifted the cover from over the keys and positioned his hands. Why not start something, and see what happened? He started out slow, carefully positioning his fingers with the chords and making sure the notes were right before going to the next thing he just thought up.

The time was 7:30 am

~~~~~

"I got the call," the stork said to his little posse. "The time is starting...now. Two minutes. Go."

The animals nodded and rushed to their intended targets.

~~~~~

The monitor lizard winked and nodded. The females in her group left, wrapped razor blades in their pockets.

~~~~~

"That's twenty three," the komodo dragon said. "Bust."

The losing komodo dragon grunted in frustration. This was the fifth time he lost.

"Sahto?" the dealer asked.

The lizard flipped his card.

"Perfect twenty one," the dealer said. "My, my. Are you sure you're not counting cards?"

"Hey I'm just playing them as I see them," the winner said, taking his reward of cigarettes.

The Dokugumi's card game was interrupted by a group of carnivores just walking into their block. They made a beeline for them. Before the old Back Alley gang could recognize the guards were nowhere to be seen, the attackers had already pulled out shivs and proceeded to repeatedly stab all of them. The weapons were left in their backs and hearts. A wolf in the group of attackers pulled out a box of razor blades and dumped a few onto the card game which was now splattered with the reptiles' blood before the group of attackers left for their next targets.