You need to shut up.
Leo and Usagi sat in a cafeteria, which was kinda weird for this place but not out of the question for a prison Leo supposed, just speaking. They spoke about the rules of the S.E.E.K, no climbing the walls, no hiding, no fighting unless permitted by a guard, no skipping ANY events, all the events were mandatory anyways, other than that, they just spoke… About nothing, about everything, Leo hadn’t felt this safe in a long time, especially with someone he had just met which didn’t happen often.
They chatted for what felt like hours, no breaks and no pauses, only conversation. It felt unnatural to be so… Connected with someone Leo had only just met.
Sadly their conversation was cut short when a tray full of food got practically slammed down in between them. Leo looked up, it was Shroeder.
Shroeder was a hyperactive shark, it was really cool actually, Shroeder’s body was long, fins stretched to arms and then morphed and split into four fingered hands, his legs were shaped more like large stumps that flattened out at the end, Shroeder sat beside Leo, his tail swishing behind him happily, he wore the same clothes as Leo, as everyone, except his shirt hung loosely around his torso, a hole at the back was left for his extra fins.
“What you guys talking about?” Shroeder asked, passing Leo and Usagi a tray and taking his own, they had met him in the pool area where he was swimming laps. No one invited Shroeder to lunch, but he came anyway. Which was fine since he was a really nice guy.
“Leo was just about to tell me about his family back in- where did you say you were from?” Usagi asked, leaning his head on his hand, looking up at Leo with a dreamy expression.
Leo hesitated for a second, he trusted Usagi and he really wanted to talk about the place he grew up in. Leo looked around the room, too many guards, too many humanoid animals, too much risk of someone with particularly good hearing to overhear and expose his family to the entire prison.
“I’m Japanese.” Leo lied, well-it wasn’t a full lie, he and his family all had Asian features and could speak japanese, in fact it was their first language, but he knew that didn’t technically make them Japanese. It was just easier to lie than tell the truth.
Usagi’s eyes widened, a grin spreading on his face, “So am I!” he announced happily and full of pride.
“That’s so cool, Lee! Can I call you Lee?” Shroeder asked, his tail wagging even faster than before, it was so crazy, Shroeder could easily be a reincarnation of Mikey.
“Sure.” Leo replied, a smile tugging at his lips.
Leo looked down at the tray, one meal was a simple salad with baby carrots on the side that Usagi picked up and started eating without hesitation. The other however, looked like a japanese style soup filled with shrimp, plants (flowers?), small squishy bits that did NOT look as appetizing as it smelled and a large rubbery-looking blob in the middle that took up a large portion of the bowl.
Shroeder must’ve noticed his confusion, which was surprising because of how socially unaware the guy was, “Is something wrong?” Shroeder asked, concern itching at his facial features, he reached out to look at the food, “Looks alright to me, what’bout you ‘Sagi?”
Usagi leaned over the table, Leo forced his skin to cool down, “It looks fine to me, what’s the problem?”
“It- I’m sorry, but I’ve never eaten anything like this… Eh- w-what is this exactly?” Leo asked his friends(?), confused. He must’ve said something funny because Usagi chuckled and Shroeder grinned “OH! Alright, that makes sense.”
“What makes sens?”
Shroeder gestured to Leo “You’re a lot shorter than other Yokai of your build, this food is filled with EVERYTHING you need to fill your genetical-genes with-well, you!”
“That made no sense.”
“Basically, you need to eat the specific food that's in that bowl because it’s everything your species would need to grow healthy. AND since you just said you’ve never seen this food before means that you probably have a lot of deficiencies or are lacking the nutrients you need.” Usagi jumped in.
“A-and what are Yokai?”
A pause of silence before Shroeder burst out laughing “MAN! You almost had me there for a sec!” he mimicked wiping away an imaginary tear “WE’RE Yokai, Bro! YOU’RE a Yokai! WE’RE ALL YOKAI!” Shroeder gestures around the cafeteria from his spot on the table, most Yokai were now staring at them. Amazing, gotta love Shroeder.
“Right…”
Usagi pushed the bowl slightly closer to Leo “Just try it, I promise it’s nothing bad. And if you don’t like it then I’ll go with you into the pool this time and not just sit on the edge. Okay?” Usagi flashed those lovely hazel eyes that just made Leo’s heart melt, and that stupid dopey grin of his… Leo gave in faster to Usagi than anyone else.
“Okay…”
Leo grabbed the chopsticks and hesitantly poked the blob, it was very squishy for some reason. But he ignored the shiver that went down his spine and picked up the blob. Lucky for him, Leo’s muzzle opened up, seeming to retract into nowhere, only leaving two metal strips, one over his nose and cheekbones and one on his jawline that joined in the back, it was such an interesting design.
Leo let out a sigh of relief, the fresh air, this breath of fresh air, was the first he’d had since he got here over 16 hours ago. Leo breathed in the small portion of the soup, which didn’t smell too bad. Leo braced himself and brought the blob to his lips and put it in his mouth.
The blob was a fucking jelly fish.
Leo didn’t have a choice but to eat the whole thing. The tentacles felt more like rubbery noodles, Leo’s mouth was too full to even chew it. He took the risk and swallowed the whole thing.
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It was delicious.
“Oh. My. God. What is this called and where has it been all my life?” Leo whispered to himself.
“I KNEW you would love it!” Shroeder yelled, slamming his hands(?) onto the table.
***
Leo, Usagi and Shroeder hung out near the pool. In some way, the pool area had become a safe space for the three of them. To Leo, the pool could never compare to the fresh and salty, cold water of the Amazonian rainforest, but it would have to do.
Leo stared longingly into the water, Lars would love this… He needs to find the capybara as soon as he gets out of here! The plan that Leo was slowly cooking in his reptile brain was divided into 4 steps: Get everyone and himself out of here, BURN THIS PLACE TO THE GROUND (optional?), find Lars, go home.
Seems simple enough.
Leo watched as Shroeder swam in impressive circles the Olympic sized swimming pool, Leo tried to turn his head to look at Usagi, he could hear his laugh and could only imagine what his face looked like in that moment, as he was, once again, stopped by the muzzle on his face.
The metal dug into his skin in uncomfortable ways, digging underneath his scales and pressing into his flesh. Leo winced and opted to turn his entire body towards Usagi.
“Do you guys ever think about escaping this place?” Leo asked.
It was just a question but it seemed to make everything stop. Neither Usagi or Shroeder dared to move, Leo couldn’t read people too well but he could recognise the look of fear in their faces.
“Did I say something wrong?”
Alarms blared, it startled them enough that both Leo and Usagi stood and Shroeder dove deeper under the water.
Usagi looked around the room, panicked, he ran up to Leo, grabbing fistfulls of his shirt.
“Take it back!” Usagi said urgently.
“What?”
“Take it back, NOW!”
Leo didn’t understand “Why would I take that back? And what’s with the alar-”
“TAKE IT BACK!”
Leo could only stare, he could hear the anger, the sadness and the fear in Usagi’s voice. What was happening?
Hidden doors opened, armoured guards running out. Fuck.