1. In Heat

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"George!!" A fierce tug at his arm got his attention, he almost felt the emotion erupting from the action, he broke the eye contact with the lion feeling the weight being lifted off him. Deaf threatening sirens went off and blood pounded in George's ears, he gave his savior a glance

"Karl?!"

"Get up now!" George scrambled to his feet with Karl's hurried words, he was guided to a trippy portal that seemed to be fighting reality. George looked back at the scientists faces of horror, though a pang of guilt hit George as he saw the alpha forcing a smile and nodded to go ahead and the firm grasp Karl possessed on his arm encouraged him to take a leap into the endless portal. He followed seeing the light of the dangerous scene close right behind him.

George looked down below him and saw nothing but colors I'm..I'm floating?! He clung himself to Karl as if he were to let go he would fall to the spiral of death. George frantically kicked his legs but the movement to do so was impossible as his legs tensed, his body was reacting to the fantasy feeling. It almost felt like they were a blur, the cats eyes caved at the indiecore like feeling that circled the air, reflecting Karl's personality and turned to face him at the thought. He saw Karl's skin reflecting the blinding colors, but a white aurora much greater than the others came a front of the two dilating George's pupils to thin black lines.

"Here!" Karl jerked back his head before pushing forward his ears held high and it seemed liked the air obeyed swaying the two towards the white sun-like brightness.

Karl was a chirpy wolf with bubbly brunette hair, his ears and tail revealed their true beauty in the sun, it was almost just like under its thick fur the true colors came aloud only when it gets caught. George couldn't help but have a disturbing thought about how much alike they are to Karl, under his ecstatic, euphoric cover, what lies beneath is unknown, but this was one of them. The fantasy they were floating through matched Karl like twins, this was his home, this was the 'unknown' to everyone else.

But he was chased out of his thoughts as the duo were spat out from the portal mouth. Then thrown onto the sleek vinyl of the school floor like restless seniors having a useless fight. George heaved, his chest rising and falling rapidly,but lack of physical movement, but he was glad to be feeling gravity again but his body battled against it

"Cramp!" George pushed himself up clutching his calf in desperation to stop the pain Karl stumbled over and pressed against it with harsh power George felt the spasm in his muscle refuse to relax sending his body into imposing pain. Georges calf throbbed but soon gave in to Karl's skills

"How..do you stop it so quick?" George gasped for air as his lungs finally began to settle

"It's a common reaction when you time travel" The wolf spoke with his head down releasing his grip on George leg

"But..what was..that?" George questioned

"You fell into one of my portals, the sun had accidentally sparked my eye and it opened a portal" Karl said a sorrow tone laced in his words

"Im- I'm sorry I never meant for you to get hurt" Karl tried to reassured himself with his own words

"I didn't but where did I even time travel to?"

"You traveled forward in time, what happened?" Karl answered, George shifted uncomfortably as a bitter feeling crawled down his spine, reasoning for a lie to not worry his drained friend

"Oh..I was just looking around and someone..fell on me" he cringed at his white lie, but the cat still felt the lions presence and his plastered smile lingered within him remembering the lions apology before Karl made an appearance.

"Oh..god! We have an assembly and I'm meant to be helping backstage," Karl hoisted himself up George repeated more sloppy.

Both striding towards the grand doors of the auditorium making a grand entrance almost as big as the doors of the cinema-like room. George glanced at Karl for comfort but the boy was gone, George felt deserted at Karl's absences as he dragged his eyes across the ground, it was like he had weights on his eyes, the weights were full of guilt and pressure though no such harm was done, only to George's memory. A betrayed feeling hit his stomach. Nerves probably. George pinched his side distracting himself

He then skimmed his eyes across the menacing crowd and smelt Quackity's signal scent. The brunette spotted him and Sapnap waving him over. Humiliated, he shuffled past people to get to them and planting himself against the cotton red seats that were worn and scratchy.

"Where's Karl?" Sapnap started

"He said he had to help backstage" George, bluntly

Sapnap was a delta panda with scruffy black brown hair complementing the plump ears the spiked through. Bandana wrapped around his forehead preventing any loose hairs falling in front of his grey eyes.

"What made you so late??" Quackity eyed,

"Err.." George discouraged himself to answer the mind-battling question, the lights dimmed and the voices hushed to whispers preventing George's conversation.

Quackity is a beta duck, the beanie capturing his hair was frying his nature, he only seemed like a closed in person, similar to Karl no one knew what lies beneath his beanie nor his on-guard identity. No wonder why they get on so well. A low voice spoke in George's mind. But Quackity only ever chirped up in conversations to tell a joke or a compact comment. His yellow feathered wings stuck out in awkward twists despite the oddly small size, with his tail imitating the small wings genes.

Dream revealed himself on stage his head held high, his blond locks shone in the unnatural light, everyone perked and quietened.

A Main Alpha, Dream, was a golden retriever. His flopped dog ears lay silently atop his hair, they wouldn't be noticeable if they hadn't had gold and silver loops pierced through them. Worn and scruffy, a tail followed behind him. Dream was known as a golden boy, never suppressing a challenge, high grades along with his boosting popularity.

An uncomfortable stir aroused in George's stomach. The Alpha's green eyes spiked through the crowd before speaking.

"Alright let get this assembly out the way. Let's start off about...-" George slouched in his seat, forgetting about the half-hearted words that echoed the room. A quenching feeling stabbed the brunettes stomach. something's not right.. he thought

—

The clock started to round up towards 10am

"Last topic for today.." Dream returned from offstage with a thick book and flickered through the roughed pages.

"The up-and-coming, The Hunt."

Dream continued with a nod "This game was popular in the 1970s. When omegas still roamed peacefully." George shifted with guilt

"The game works with betas and no roles will be sent off into a big walled forest. Alphas and deltas will be sent after them in the same hour. They will follow and search for their soulmate." Dream followed the words spoken from the book

"It will last just over three days." Groups and packs turned to each other gossiping who'd they want to get, a few scattered shouts fired above the chattering

"Will you be participating?" One questioned loudly

"How will you know who your soulmate is?" Another shot above the crowd,

the heavy-eyed alpha spoke once everyone hushed. "It says in the book, you will only pick up your soulmates scent and once found, you mark them on there neck." Dream cringed at the last few words.

"I will in fact be participating,"

He continued "But just remember it's a challenge so have a little fun with it." The crowd hummed in agreement

"The date and more will be up on posters soon. That's it for the assembly." Everyone erupted in conversations including Quackity and Sapnap trying to spark one.

George could only stare off, afraid of what was to come.

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-CherryBombSundae