The Academy's Bad Day

Quick, light footsteps added to the bustling noise as the students of Starlight left their classrooms, chatter filling the halls as everyone-- or at least, mostly everyone-- began switching from attentive student mode to the decompressing relaxation that was nearly always associated with lunch break. Much of the same could be said for Ren, who was quite looking forward to his usual meal, that of a small fish platter, and a nice nap beneath the trees of the courtyard. This routine had been established the first day of his attendance at the Academy, and nothing would change it.

The first half of his lunch break, however, seemed to be a warning, a sign that his content monotony would be broken. For starters, he had been told the kitchen had run out of salmon and he would have to make do with tuna, even though the cafeteria staff knew salmon was his favorite. Then, some random group of students just so happened to take up his usual table, leaving no room for the, at this point, disgruntled cat shapeshifter. Instead, he was forced to sit near one of the trash cans, grimacing every several moments as he got a whiff of the thrown out food. By the time he was finished eating-- and he had made sure to eat quickly, unwilling to remain in such a seat for much longer--, there had been a bit of an accident. Two students had bumped into each other, their trays flying and the contents of their lunches dumping onto the floor. Ren was forced to wait until the floor could be cleaned so he could leave for the courtyard, his foot tapping an annoyed rhythm all the while.

And now this. Something was stinking up his courtyard, utterly ruining the area he had so carefully chose as the perfect napping ground. It was completely unacceptable. He sauntered in the direction he could smell the little shit, vivid green eyes filling with distasteful disdain. Really, who would ever allow such substandard filth into the Academy? If there was anything he hated more than water-- it was hatred, a pure, fiery hatred. NOT A FEAR--, it was--

Oh. Maybe not so 'little'. But still. The rather large male stank very clearly of dog, and even if Ren's sense of smell hadn't been good enough to pick up such a stench, the guy's terrible manners and eating habits would have made it quite clear. Dirty, smelly, uncultured, boorish, always sniffing at others butts and charging into things they clearly aren't wanted in, utterly plebeian—

"How... uncouth." He sniffed delicately once he was called out, a sneer tugging at his lips. "Why in the world would I want to speak to such an uncivilized mutt? I'd probably come away reeking of wet dog-- that is, if I didn't end up making a fool of myself anyway, actually thinking you would be able to keep up with me, flea bag~"

Oh, yes, this was much more fun than taking a nap. He took great pleasure in baiting the dog, a self-satisfied smirk curling the corners of his mouth.

Though he kept up the superior air, on the inside Ren was laughing himself nearly to tears as he watched the mutt work himself up into a tizzy with every one of his rather thinly veiled insults. Had he been in his cat form, he would have taken a few moments to clean the somewhat fluffy fur around his ears as a reward. It just about made up for the fact that he was missing his afternoon nap, though there was still a flash of bitter annoyance at the reminder of his loss. Yes, the wolf would suffer for encroaching in his territory; by the time they were finished, the offensive canine would be retreating with his tail between his legs. He would make sure of it.

He may not have had anything against the larger male as a person, but his scent was undeniably dog and that was a just enough cause for the black cat shapeshifter to play with him a bit. Besides, from all that he had seen so far, the wolf was indeed crude and had atrocious manners. What filth. Really, he was doing the Academy a favor, putting the mongrel in his place.

A feline hiss escaped his lips in response to the mutt's growling, his own eyes flashing a slitted pupil and the long, silky tail that everyone watching would see had he been in that form figuratively puffing up immediately. "How eloquent of you, puppy~" He muttered, the hiss continuing beneath his words, appearing completely unconcerned with the bulldozing train of a man that was coming straight at him. He was confident his own agility would be enough, even though he was faintly surprised with how fast the wolf could be.

Regardless... one more dig. With a silent 'poof', the five foot ten inches young man was replaced with a small black cat. The feline waited until the last possible moment before turning around, quite purposefully waving its little kitty behind at the stampeding wolf before almost prancing-running into the nearest building, easily losing himself in the hustle and bustle of the Academy. And that is how Ren began one of the age-old chases of cat and dog.

The wolf's rage was certainly obvious, and Ren mentally patted himself on the back for a job well done. He allowed vindictive amusement to well up in him, since he couldn't be bothered to care that he had just met the man; he was a mutt, that's all there was to it. It definitely made his steps lighter as he continued sauntering through the halls, listening to the wolf-induced chaos with little twitching, black ears. Such collateral damage, too, and all because the mangy mutt couldn't control himself. Really, it just proved that the man truly was coarse and ill-mannered. What filth.

He could sense the moment the wolf started gaining on him, his tail poofing up slightly from the ever-shrinking distance between them. Oh, how he loathed-- just like water, which he did not fear, no, why would he ever fear that thrice-cursed devil's liquid-- canines. But... yes, that could work. Just as before, he waited until the last possible second before glancing over his shoulder and shooting the leaping wolf a mischievous, Cheshire-like grin that bared his sharp little feline teeth. He then proceeded to make a sharp left, agile limbs springing into action as he seemed to all but disappear from his chaser's vision. Of course, moments later, he could be seen zigzagging down the next hall in a black blur as he put on speed, only pausing to watch the dog make more a fool of himself with this collision before continuing on.

All the while, a litany of amused mewls echoed around the cat shapeshifter, clearly the feline equivalent of roaring laughter. Ah, this was most definitely better than napping, he thought absentmindedly even as he searched his mind for the layout of the building they were currently in. He wanted to make sure he would never be truly cornered, since that certainly wouldn't be amusing anymore. No, he wanted to stretch the chase out, make the mutt work for it. By the end of their little fun, he'd have the disgusting oaf retreating with his tail between his legs; he swore it.

Let the games begin!

Not sparing one moment to glance over his shoulder and check the progress of the disgusting stray, Ren simply continued to push forward. His paws barely made any sound on the tiled floors, as he was nearly flying down the halls already. Quite oppositely, his little black ears could pick up the lumbering gait of the wolf-- quite literally now, as it were--, as well as all of the pandemonium the mongrel left behind. Really, by the time the mutt was done wreaking the Academy, he would probably be given detention for the rest of his stay as a student. Or better yet, made to work off the costs of the damage.

Even as he mentally chuckled at his own musings, he kept most of his attention on the chase, seemingly making random turns but planning on going in circles through the building. As long as his mind's map of the building was correct, he wouldn't reach a dead end, nor would he run out of new hallways to take. And if it did, well... he wouldn't go down without a fight, that was for sure.

Appearing to abruptly turn through a set of doors that a group of friends just so happened to open, he scampered up the stairs-- taking several at a time, supple limbs stretching out gracefully--, making it to the second floor of the building within record time before continuing the chase. He made his speedy way down several more hallways, which, while not as densely populated as the others on the first floor, did sport several students and even a teacher or two. And just for kicks, he himself skirted around many people, making many close calls and chaos of his own as people flooded the halls to investigate the commotion.

Mentally crowing to himself all the while, Ren continued flying forward, never once worried about the thoroughly pissed giant wolf barreling down the halls behind him. Sure, when he sensed that the walking flea bag was gaining on him, there was a surge of annoyance that had a soft hiss escaping him, but Ren was otherwise unconcerned. It wasn't as if he was truly in danger of being caught, confident in his agility and his ability to squirm out and away from problems. It was, however, slightly unnerving to constantly have the scent of mangy mutt following his own normally pristine scent despite the fact that the whole predicament was quite amusing. A chase of cat and dog, yeah?

Regardless, he didn't let up on his fast pace, even when the sight of a second set of stairs came up quickly. In a split second decision, the feline carefully streaked right through the gap between the balusters that held the hand-railing up. He dropped right through the empty space between the flights of stairs, where one might look down in order to see lower flights of stairs, falling with increasing speed until he, in a salute to the saying 'cats always land on their feet', landed straight up on his paws. The landing was a bit jarring, and if it wasn't for his foresight to bend his limbs a bit to lessen the impact, it would've hurt a lot. A lot. As it were, there was a short moment of disorientation-- in which his slightly more demonic appearance flashed into being-- before the feline was off again, running through the doors that a lone student just so happened to open. Take that, mutt!