Dark Riders: The Next Generation
New Schools, Old Problems
●▬▬▬▬๑۩Like Mother, Like Son۩๑▬▬▬▬●
The reception area of Manticore Middle School exuded an air of selective consideration more suited to a prestigious university rather than casual institutional bureaucracy of a public school. On far wall hung a tasteful bronze plaque bearing the school's name—Manticore—its patina suggesting years of established tradition rather than organizational authority. The seating was deceptively refined; leather-upholstered armchairs of dark oxblood offered the appearance of comfort while maintaining a certain stiffness that kept visitors alert, as though luxury itself demanded vigilance.
Behind them, the traditional cheap cork-board had been replaced by a sleek glass-covered display, its contents arranged with architectural precision: embossed invitations, scholarship notices on cream stationery, and the occasional handwritten thank-you from grateful parents. Where public schools might feature solar system diagrams, these walls bore small reproductions of classical educational engravings such as Renaissance anatomical studies and maps of the ancient world. They spoke of heritage and intellectual rigor without shouting. A polished walnut desk held a calendar from the year 2026, bound in deep burgundy leather with gilt-edged pages, turning slowly into the new academic year like a new chapter being opened.
A gazelle sat behind the desk, her posture impeccable even while still. She wore a hand-tailored charcoal-colored blazer, her air of efficiency complimented by the confidence that came from knowing that she worked within environs designed to impress. A mouflon sat opposite her, his horns glinting in the light from recessed fixtures above. His bearing was that of an educator, rather than a parent and his attire was a pressed button-down shirt and slacks of durable wool, chosen to reflect the professional standards he upheld daily at Chimera Prep, the sister High School where he taught. Colin shifted in one of the waiting chairs, feeling the subtle resistance of expensive materials that had not yet been broken in by use. Amidst the opulence of Manticore's reception room, his role as a parent, rather than colleague from another institution visiting in an official capacity, felt suddenly more pronounced.
Colin sighed as the office worker said, “They are ready for you now Mister Burke,” unsure if it was a sigh of relief or exhaustion. It was only the first day of the school year, and most of the Dark Rider House cubs had just started middle school. He could hardly believe his own son was eleven years old. He glanced at his cell phone screen as he stood up from the uncomfortable chair. Hank was in the retrofitted bus outside the school to pick up all the DRH kids. Lilliana was still at Chimera Prep, finishing up with her day, and he was suddenly very glad that she had a class during the last block this year. Sissy’s cubs were still in class, apparently having neglected to turn off their phones as per the school policy. But his son’s location marker showed him at the front of the school, nearly eight hours old.
“Don’t worry, Mister Burke. It’s been a mostly uneventful day, and Mr. Hoover seemed to be in a good mood before this incident,” the gazelle said with a smile. She had been working at the office for at least ten years, if he remembered right, so he was sure she had heard some of the stories about his wife and their son. But this was the new Assistant Principal’s first day with students at the school. Colin was on the Mythic Schools board of directors, but he hadn’t been involved in any of the interviews that led up to hiring the bison. Colin had just wished that Janine, the middle school’s headmistress, wasn’t out on maternity leave. Things would have gone more smoothly.
The mouflon paused as his fingers touched the handle to the office door. He had no idea what he was walking into. No one had told him what the incident was, or why it required a parent to attend. But he suspected what might have happened. Their son took after his mother in many respects: He was a quick thinker, and even advanced for his age, but he often reacted to situations without considering the consequences. He hadn’t seen any other cubs his son’s age in the office yet, which concerned him even more. But he hadn’t received a call from Susan either, so he was reasonably sure that there hadn’t been any casualties.
Colin opened the door and stepped into the clean, well furnished office. The new Assistant Principal had taken advantage of the furnishing budget he was given. There was a new hardwood executive desk in the middle of the room. Behind it was a computer desk with matching bookcases to either side. Prominently displayed on the wall above the computer desk were several degrees and certificates. The bison was an accomplished educator, and even published in several education-oriented journals. He was more than certain the man was well qualified for the job, considering that the crew back at the house had backed him as a candidate for the position, but Colin didn’t know if he was ready to deal with the mouflon’s wife, should she manage to get there before he could get the boy out of the office.
The young mouflon-lion-tiger hybrid sat slumped with his arms crossed in a chair by the door. His shaggy, golden mane was broken by the set of curved horns that he’d inherited from his father. His snout was slightly narrower and longer than his mother’s, but still exhibited her leonine features and prominent stripe pattern. His hooves were flat on the floor with how low the boy sat slouched in the chair. With a glance a the older mouflon, the boy righted himself, sitting upright.
Colin knew his son had more respect than that for authority, which made him wonder just how long Connor had been sitting in that chair before Colin had been called in.
“Good afternoon, Mister Burke. I am really sorry to be meeting you for the first time under these conditions,” the assistant principal said from behind his desk.
“Oh no. It was bound to happen sooner or later, teenagers and all,” Colin said with a smile as he offered his hand for a shake. “I just wish it could have waited until after the first day. Preferably a month or two.”
“Well, I think some of the students are testing the waters,” the bison said with a glance at the preteen seated against the wall. “You know how it is, new Assistant Principal and all.”
The mouflon cringed as the words entered his ears. Don’t say that to his mother, he thought to himself. “So what exactly happened? No one would tell me, which worries me a little.”
“Well, apparently your son rammed a second year student. An display of dominance, common among adolescents entering puberty.”
Colin’s eyes widened at the comment as he glanced back at his son. The younger hybrid frowned, shaking his head.
“I’m sorry, but that doesn’t sound like my son at all,” Colin said, turning back to the bison. “Are you sure you got all the facts?”
“I understand how you feel Mister Burke. No parent thinks their child might be a bully, or act out in a negative way. But hormones and coming of age are stressful times for young furs, and they often do things that might seem out of character for them.”
The bison’s quick use of the term bully almost made the mouflon react himself. He was sure he would have had to restrain Lilliana if she had been there. “Sir, I think you might have missed something in your-”
“No, Mister Burke, It seems like a clear cut case of a bully in the making. We have to nip these sort of behaviors in the butt as soon as they start to manifest.”
Colin sighed, pushing down the natural reaction to being cut off mid thought, even more relieved that his wife was not there. “Mister Hoover, I am really glad that I’m here instead of his mother. This meeting might have gone very differently.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Most boys have their mothers wrapped around their little finger, if you know what I mean. Mom’s little angel and all. Father’s can often get the point through with a more level head.”
The mouflon shook his head at the thought of the bison’s ‘level headed’ comment. “That's not what I’m saying, Mister Hoover. I’m sure you’ve heard a few things about-”
“That’s part of my point. I’ve been looking through his disciplinary record from the past few years. It looks like he may have been getting away with this sort of thing for a while, riding on the fact that both of his parents are employees of the school system. I don’t know how much was swept under the rug in the past, but I’m not going to stand for it on my watch.” The bison looked over at the teen as he added, “this isn’t grade school any more. in just a few years he will he in high school, and things like this will not be tolerated.”
Colin took a deep breath, but was interrupted by the sound of his phone vibrating at his side. “Fuck,” he muttered under his breath, and glanced back at his son who instantly reached into his backpack to retrieve his own phone. Colin looked back at the bison and said, “I’m sorry, but I need to speed things up here a bit. Do you have the other student’s record, name? What exactly did they tell you happened?”
The bison handed Colin a copy of the suspension report. Student 1 was struck by student 2 in the east hall. The incident was unprovoked.
“This is all you have?” Colin asked, raising one eyebrow at the bison.
“Several witnesses corroborate the story.”
“And what did Connor tell you happened?”
“He had no corroborating witnesses,” the bison replied.
“That’s not what I asked, Mister Hoover. My son attacking someone completely unprovoked is not something I, or his mother will believe. And I hardly believe he had no one on his side.”
“Dad? She’s on the move,” the young hybrid said with a worried expression on his face.
“Look, I’m going to save you right now by being the asshole parent before you meet his mother. And please don’t interrupt me this time. You really don’t want to deal with his mother. And it has nothing to do with her or I flexing our employee status, or my status as a board member. This strictly has to do with our son being made the example by the new Assistant Principal asserting his own authority and dominance.”
He turned to his son and asked, “Did you throw the first punch?”
“I didn’t throw any punches. Neither did he.”
“You know what I mean. Who got physical first?”
“But I thought they were picking on her. They had her in a corner and were…”
“Okay, that’s enough. You deserve the suspension, and you know the rules. I’ll let your mother deal with the rest.”
“But, Dad…”
Ignoring the boy’s pleas, he looked back at the bison. “Mister Hoover, I strongly suggest you look into the incident. There may be a bigger problem than my son headbutting a few boys. Now if you don’t mind, I really need to get out of your office. Before something bad happens.”
“Is that a threat, Mister Burke?”
“If only it were,” Colin said with a little chuckle as he stood up and turned to his son. “Connor. Car. Now.”
As he spoke the three words the boy jumped to his hooves and uttered, “Yes, sir,” turning towards the door.
Colin turned back to the assistant principal, speaking calmly. “If you haven’t already, I highly recommend you look up more information about his mother, sister, and the Dark Rider Foundation, before you jump to conclusions about why he is acting out. Now if you don’t mind, I will be on my way to save you from embarrassing yourself further. And please, for the love of God, don’t follow me out. And if you do, act like everything is good, for both our sakes.”
Dumbfounded by the sudden change in the mouflon and his take charge attitude, the bison stood up and started to follow the pair out of his office. After entering the main office, the trio abruptly stopped as the far door to the hall swung open to reveal an angry liger. Colin was not too surprised that somehow she’d gotten more of the story than he had. Without missing a beat he turned to the Bison and grabbed his hand. “It was really good talking to you, and I’m glad we could clear things up,” he said with a polite smile on his face.
The bison’s confusion only deepened at yet another shift in the mouflon's behavior. The forced smile and sudden handshake caught him off guard. Then he too saw the liger in the doorway. He stumbled slightly, but took Colin’s cue and smiled back weakly. “It was a pleasure talking to you, Mister Burke, And I hope to have this all cleared up shortly.”
Colin turned back around and continued on his way toward the liger. “The suspension is valid. He struck first. The other didn’t even have a chance to get a hit in. Connor knows that he’s in for it.”
The mouflon’s comments seemed to defuse the liger’s attitude as she asked, “So you took care of the rest?”
“Come on, Sugar. Have a little faith in me. This isn’t my first rodeo, and I’m sure it won't be the last with your son. I’m just glad we’re not dealing with Sissy’s cubs yet."
“But Dad, it was-” Connor started to say.
“Don’t say it. Not now,” Colin interrupted. “We’re almost out of here.”
The last piece of the puzzle finally fell into place, giving Colin the whole picture of what had happened to drive their son to violence. He didn’t stop though, pushing the boy and his mother to get them out of the office before the incident resulted in any more violence.
●▬▬▬▬๑۩Earlier That Day۩๑▬▬▬▬●
Hefting his backpack on one shoulder as he got off the DRH bus, Connor following his niece and nephew. The twins, a pair of moose-mouse hybrids, were excited about their first year in middle school. He, on the other hand, was worried it that he would have to deal with a whole new administrative staff that were going to make snap judgments about him, because of his mother’s reputation. The only saving grace, as far as he was concerned, was that Miss. Hutchinson was the headmaster. But he still wasn't sure if having a friend of his parents as the headmaster was a good or a bad thing.
The building looming before them was a testament to centuries of evolving priorities. The core of Manticore Middle School stood in stark, brooding Gothic architecture: pointed arches, flying buttresses that seemed to claw at the sky, and rows of narrow lancet windows dark as obsidian against the gray stone. It felt less like a place of learning and more like a fortress designed to keep the world out. Yet, as the eye traveled outward from the central spire, the architecture betrayed its diverse history. A mid-century brick wing jutted out at an awkward angle, its flat roof and rectangular grid of windows speaking to a post-war expansion. Further along, a newer addition clung to the side like a sleek, modern appendage; clad in charcoal-fiber cement panels and floor-to-ceiling tempered glass, it featured clean, horizontal lines and a subtle overhang that sheltered a digital display board buzzing with the day's announcements. The contemporary extension offered a sharp, functional contrast to the ancient stone beside it, bridging the gap between the school's historic gravitas and modern educational needs.
Connor was designated the leader of the trio of sixth-graders. Growing up in their odd family, there was always a hierarchy, or more accurately, a rank structure. The mouflon-liger hybrid wasn’t sure exactly what made him out-rank the other two. He was actually a few months younger than his niece and nephew. But when it comes down to it, you just go with the flow and adapt as needed when you’re a Dark Rider.
“Okay... I guess we should head to homeroom or something,” he said, then glanced at the twins who’d giggled in response. “What? I didn’t say anything funny.”
“Maybe not. But that’s a really cute bow in your mane,” the taller of the twins said as he high-fived his sister.
The twins were a unique pair. Though they were technically identical twins, they were nothing alike due to hormonal and developmental differences. His mother called them ‘ultra rare editions’ that could only have come from their parents. It hadn’t made much sense to any of them, until they’d grown old enough to really understand genetics and gender difference.
The fact that Daisy (the twins’ mother, father, or whatever) was a full functioning hermaphrodite, and her family was prone to having identical twins, was one part of the equation. When you added the fact that with his older adopted sister, Cecily, had some issues that hadn’t been known until they decided to have cubs together, you came up with a completely unique situation, with two completely unique results.
James, who always preferred male pronouns, was a full functioning hermaphrodite like Daisy. Jessie on the other hand, had been born as a girl. He still really didn’t understand it all completely, but it really didn’t matter anyway.
“Here, let me get that for you,” James said as he reached up to the back of Connor's head to get the bow. James was taller and broader than his sister, and the differences got even more striking every year. At eleven, the moose-mouse herm already had a small set of antlers, and they often pinned his large mouse-like ears down. Other than his ears, the only other feature he’d inherited from Cecily was his long tail, though it was much shorter than his sister’s.
“Thanks,” the feline sheep replied, shrugging off the incident as if it was normal. And to some degree it was, considering all the stories that the adults shared about the pranks they’d pulled on each other before they’d been born. The constant pranks hadn’t slowed either, from what he could tell. “Can we head to homeroom now?”
“Yeah, I guess,” Jessie said softly. He could tell she was nervous. It would be the first time that the trio weren’t in the same class all day, and her first time being separated from her twin. She was much shorter than the others, taking after her mother Cecily. She was much more like their kangaroo mouse than her brother. Although she had a very small set of antlers, the majority of her moose-like features were much more subtle. Her tail was longer than she was tall, and her hair and fur were an almost blond color, as opposed to James’ darker brown fur. Given her size, and how shy she was with others, Connor was worried about how the school day would go for her, and he could see similar concern in James’ expression also.
“Come on, sis. It’s the first day of middle school,” James encouraged. “We’re in Homeroom and P.E. together. And we all have lunch during the same period.”
“Yeah, I… I guess,” she replied as she hugged her textbook to her chest. Everyone frequently commented about how Jessie reminded them of her mother when she’d first been adopted. Jessie was quiet, and more skittish than her brother, and he’d always looked out for her.
The hallways mirrored the school's architectural evolution. Ancient stone corridors with vaulted ceilings and dark wood lockers gave way to sleeker sections featuring polished concrete floors and matte charcoal casework. Recessed lighting replaced wall sconces as they moved outward, bridging the gap between the building's grand history and its modern function, while glass display cases along the walls silently curated a timeline of student excellence.
As the trio walked through the halls, Connor took note of the looks they were getting. He recognized many of the faces from previous years, but there were many new ones as well. He wondered just what kind of reputation they already had coming into middle school. This was either going to be an easy year, or a really hard one.
They reached the classroom with plenty of time to spare. The door was open, and they could hear the usual pre-class chatter flowing out into the hall. Connor double-checked his schedule, just to be sure, as they started in the door. He paused for a moment as the name in the Teacher slot registered, and he looked up to see Laura Summers. The red squirrel was a frequent visitor to the Dark Rider House, and part of the larger support circle for the Dark Riders.
Connor and James sighed in unison as the squirrel greeted them by name. “Connor, Jessie, James. Please take some seats.” In contrast, Jessie seemed to be relieved by seeing a familiar face in a position of authority.
They took some desks close to the door just as the bell rang, followed by xylophone tones over the PA system that garnered everyone’s attention for the morning announcements.
“Good morning Students, and welcome First Years to Manticore Middle School. I am Assistant Principal Hoover. As it is for many of you, this is also my first year at this institution, And, as of this morning, I will be the acting Headmaster, as Miss Hutchinson is out on Maternity Leave.”
As the disembodied voice continued talking about the start of a fresh school year, Connor turned in his seat to look over at the twins. James already had a notebook open to a sketch of a map of the school that they had complied the day before. They’d marked routes out so that they would pass at least one of the others between each of their classes, as well as other potential meeting points. Written across the bottom in red ink was a note from one of the adults: ‘Don’t forget to turn off your phones as per the school guidelines.’
After reading the note the twins sighed and pulled out their phones to power them off.
“Jessie? You keep yours on, okay?” Connor said as quietly as he could.
“But-”
“I think he’s right,” James interrupted her. “I don’t want to be the one that has to explain it if something happens.”
“You keep yours on also, James. I’ll take the rap for this one. Besides, it’s the first day of school; everyone is going to be busy. I even think Sissy is going to be busy, if her calendar was right.”
The twins smiled and nodded as they turned their phones to vibrate and slipped them back into their pockets.
Connor straightened in his seat as he heard the squirrel clear her throat to get his attention. The rest of the class laughed as he looked up at her. “Yes, Miss Laura?” he asked without thinking.
“Please call me ‘Miss Summers’, like the rest of the class, Connor,” the squirrel said as she handed him the small stack of packets to pass down the row of seats. “These packets I am handing out need to be filled out by your parents and returned by Friday,” she said as she continued from row to row, passing out the packets.
Miss Summers quickly explained the rules for her homeroom class, which was only fifteen minutes and was intended to accommodate morning announcements, daily attendance, and to deliver any school-wide handouts or forms that students might need to take home. The class was almost too short for her to finish her speech. “Okay class. Be sure to get these to your parents, and I’ll see you all tomorrow, if I don’t see you later today.”
The trio waited for the rest of the class to leave before they stood up. As they reached the hallway, Connor looked at James and said, “Okay, I’ll see you between classes. And both of you at lunch.” He waited for the two to nod, then went in opposite direction. He wasn’t looking forward to having P.E. after lunch; that was going to suck.
●▬▬▬▬๑۩Jessie۩๑▬▬▬▬●
The mouse-moose hybrid walked through the hall to her class. She moved cautiously, watching everyone around her. She was at least six inches shorter than most of the other students, though she was a full foot taller than her mother. But she had never really considered her height important until that moment. In the past she had always had James with her, and the size difference had only really presented in the past two years.
As other cubs and teens bumped into her, she wondered how her mother dealt with the issue. She was nervous, but had learned a lot about dealing with anxiety from her mother as well. She just wasn’t sure how she was going to deal with being alone for the next few hours.
She knew that she would see James and Connor for a few moments between classes, but it wasn’t much of a consolation when she compared the few seconds for the check-ins to the hours they were spending apart. But she knew it was something she needed to deal with eventually, and she had all the tools she needed to do just that.
She took a deep breath and stood up straight, striding forward with an air of confidence. She was determined to make it through the day, regardless of what happened. She started weaving through the crowd towards her algebra class. It was the most advanced math class offered at the middle school, though she knew it would still be easy. Math and numbers had always come easily to her, and she often exchanged math challenges with her Uncle Paul. She had even taken to studying mathematics on her own just to throw him off his game. She knew that she was a bit of a nerd, but she liked it that way. Her brother, on the other hand, was much more athletic than she was.
Her confidence, smile, and excitement were instantly replaced by pure anxiety the moment she stepped through the door. The others in the class were all two or three years older than she was, and they made her feel so small and out of place. It felt as if the room had fallen silent and all their attention was on her, though really only a few students looked in her direction.
Jessie was jolted out of her hesitance as an older llama bumped into her. He was easily six feet tall and towered above her.
“Oh, excuse me, I didn’t see you there,” he said as he looked down at her.
Jessie let out a squeak as the minor commotion briefly rippled through the classroom. At the front of the room, Mrs. Aldrin, a Great Horned Owl with large steady golden eyes, rotated her head slowly toward the doorway. She didn’t move otherwise, but her gaze fixed on the pair with quiet precision.
“Please come in and take a seat anywhere,” she said calmly, her voice even and measured. “I’ll be assigning seats after class starts.”
Jessie quietly replied, “Yes, ma’am,” before quickly moving to the nearest vacant desk.
The llama did the same, sitting at the desk behind her. He leaned forward and whispered, “Hey, um, are you sure you’re in the right class? This is algebra one, I think.”
She didn’t answer him, not used to being talked to directly by classmates. Her brother usually did most of the talking for them both. As she sat there in silence, not really sure what to do or say, she felt her phone vibrate. She pulled it out and looked at the screen while holding it under the desk. It was a text from her brother, and she quickly tapped out a response.
James < In class, already can’t stand it. Why do we have to take social science every year. )
( I almost got run over by a llama. > Jessie
James < Do I need to come over there and kick his ass? )
( No, it was my fault. I was standing in the door. > Jessie
As she sent the last text, the bell rang, bringing an uneasy silence to the classroom.
“Good morning,” Mrs. Aldrin said, rising from her perch at the front desk. “I am Mrs. Aldrin, and this is Algebra One. If you are in the wrong room, this is your chance to correct the matter.”
She moved with efficiency as she began handing out large books from the cart at the front of the room. “We will be covering a great deal of material this semester, building on the Pre-Algebra course most of you have already taken. By a show of hands, how many of you have not taken Pre-Algebra?”
Jessie raised her hand and saw several others do the same. Most of the class clearly had taken the course already, which made her even more anxious. She let out a small yip as Mrs. Aldrin set a stack of books on her desk, momentarily blocking her view. She shifted in her seat to start passing them back.
“Here, let me ge—”
The llama’s words were suddenly cut off as Jessie’s head bumped his jaw, producing a dull, echoing snap in the quiet room. He paused only a moment before gathering the stack of books himself, leaving one on her desk. He leaned forward awkwardly to pass the rest down the row.
“Sorry,” he said. “I just wanted to get these out of your way.”
She blushed, wondering if he played any sports. She sat back up as he returned to his seat and continued passing books backward.
Once the books had been distributed, Mrs. Aldrin began handing out packets. “Before we begin for the year, I’d like to give you all an evaluation so I can understand where each of you are in relation to where you need to be by the end of this course. Don’t worry, this is not graded. It will not affect your GPA. I will be using the results to determine how much review material is needed and to assign study groups.”
Jessie quickly passed the extra packets to the boy behind her, avoiding eye contact as heat rose in her cheeks. She turned back to the front, pulled out her pencil, and began flipping through the handout. She skipped the early pages of simple equations and focused on the graphing problems.
“This will not be timed,” Mrs. Aldrin continued, meticulously distributing calculators. “You will have the remainder of the period.”
She paused briefly in front of Jessie’s desk, her large golden eyes lowering to the page. Jessie felt the attention settle over her like weight.
“Excuse me,” Mrs. Aldrin said gently. “Miss…”
“Um, D-Daniels,” Jessie stammered. “Jessie Daniels, ma’am…”
“Take your time, Miss Daniels,” Mrs. Aldrin said quietly, placing a calculator on her desk. “Use your tools. Show your process.”
Jessie swallowed. “T-they’re just linear equations, ma’am.”
Mrs. Aldrin gave no immediate reaction, only that steady, unreadable gaze. “Then demonstrate that,” she said simply. “You have time.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Jessie replied softly.
As Mrs. Aldrin moved on, Jessie glanced around. The rest of the class had already lowered their heads, calculators clicking, pencils scratching. One student chewed his pencil while muttering calculations under his breath.
The room wasn’t watching her nearly as much as she thought.
She exhaled, leaned forward, and returned to her work.
●▬▬▬▬๑۩James۩๑▬▬▬▬●
The moose-mouse hybrid slipped his phone under his leg in the chair, relieved that his sister seemed to be doing fine without him. She hadn't had any prior issues with bullies or anything like that; it was just that she was easily frightened and prone to panic attacks. In the past he had always been there by her side. They'd tried to get into most of the same classes, but it was as if the school had intentionally split them up in everything other than homeroom and physical education. He figured those classes were split up by last name, especially considering P.E. was only given to the freshmen, and the gym was used for sporting teams and electives the rest of the day.
James looked out the window as the teacher went over her introduction. He really didn’t like being stuck in class and would rather be outside playing Frisbee football or something. The weather was too good to be trapped indoors. The thing he was going to miss most about grade school was recess, when the three of them had time to play together. That was all in the past, but at least he had P.E. to look forward to.
The hybrid twirled his pencil in his paw as he day-dreamed, waiting for the inevitable book card that he'd have to fill out. It was going to be a long day, only seeing the others while passing in the hall, or at lunch. His mind drifted to thoughts of what he might have for lunch. It had been Hank’s turn to fix the brown bag meals for those that wanted them, rather than paying for their lunches. If not for Susan, any meals Hank cooked would taste like diesel.
“Mr. Daniels,” The teacher called him out, “Please pay attention as we go over how to fill out the book cards, It’s a new form this year.” She was a tall, slender kangaroo with long blond hair.
“Yes ma’am,” he replied, rolling his eyes after she looked away. As he looked down at the card, he sighed. It had already been mostly filled out before she had handed them out. The only blank spots on the card were for his name, homeroom teacher and book number. ‘How could anyone screw this up?’, he thought.
“Hey, James,” a voice called from behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see Jared, a weasel boy who had been their class mate for years.. “Where’s Jessie? I thought you two would be in all the same classes.”
“She managed to get placed in advanced math, so it screwed that all up.”
“Hold on, I thought you were both geniuses or something. Why aren't you in advanced classes?”
“Like it really matters,” James shrugged. “It’s not like it really counts until high school anyway. You really think colleges are going to look at our middle school records? Besides, it’s all about GPA anyway. I can get an ‘A’ in here as easy as some honors class. It’ll be easier to keep my grades up, though if I'm on one of the the sports teams.”
“Yeah? Whacha gonna go for?”
“I don’t know. Football?”
The other boy snickered as he said, “Figures. Any excuse to run over others. Do you know when the tryouts are?”
“I think in spring for next year's team,” James said as he stood up to get a book off the cart when the teacher called his name. After he got back to his desk, he resumed their conversation. “They don’t allow first years on the team47, but if I can get on the team here, it’s almost a sure thing I'll be on the Chimera prep team in a couple of years.”
“You know one day you’re going to get hit hard enough to knock all your brains out. Then where will you be?”
“I don’t know. Next to you on the short bus?”
“Mister Daniels, please refrain from talking,” the teacher said as she walked to the board and started going over the review material.
James rolled his eyes again before he slipped his phone out from under his leg far enough to see that Jessie hadn't responded to his last text. He was a little worried, but also relieved. She must be getting into the class already. She was such a bookworm that it was almost embarrassing.
●▬▬▬▬๑۩Half Time۩๑▬▬▬▬●
Connor waited for the twins in the hall outside the cafeteria. He'd been the one to grab their lunches before leaving that morning, as usual. It felt a little odd to have only seen them for the occasional high-five or quick nod when passing in the halls, and now it felt even stranger carrying all three of their lunches. Even though he'd been in full classrooms all day, the absence of his niece and nephew had left him feeling almost lonely... adrift in a sea of students.
Jessie and James were his niece and nephew, and it was natural to call them that, but their relationship was closer to brothers and sisters than anything. They'd been born only a few months apart and raised in the same home. And that home was far from ordinary. In the Dark Rider House, everyone was treated as family. Some residents stayed for years or months. Some only stayed a day or two. But everyone was welcome.
Connor’s contemplation of their unconventional life was cut short when he caught sight of Jessie and James walking down the hall. He waved at them as they got closer.
“Okay, what's the plan?” James asked as he looked through the door at the slowly filling cafeteria.
“I figure we find a table in a corner and eat. After that, we can hit the lockers and drop-off any books before gym.”
Connor noticed the looks they were getting again as they weaved their way through the cafeteria to an empty table. It felt like they were being judged, or sized up, rather than simply being observed.
As they sat down he pulled the brown bag lunches out of his backpack and sat them on the table. “Hank said he did ham and cheese from the leftover honey ham that Sissy made. And he tossed in some fruit.” Connor tilted his head with a smirk as he added, “And I made sure he wasn't working on the bus before he made lunch, so it should be edible.”
Jessie giggled at the comment. “I’ll just have the fruit anyway,” she muttered softly as she pulled one bag over to her.
“I knew it was going to be ham,” James added while he grab his bag.
“So, sitrep,” The mouflon hybrid said, dumping his own lunch out on the table. “Not much to say on my end. Yawn city.”
“Uber yawn,” James agreed before he took a bite of his sandwich. “History, and English ,” he mumbled though a mouth full of ham and swiss.
Connor looked over at Jessie, whom he was more concerned about. “What about you Squeeks?”
“Hmm?” she looked up from the apple she turned over in her paws. She was obviously preoccupied with something.
“How'd your day go so far?”
“Oh, Um…” She paused for a moment before answering, “It’s kind of scary, but I’m fine. I just…”
“What about getting run over by the Llama in math?” James asked through another bite of food, prompting Connor to look at her more intently.
“No, that was my fault. I was standing in the door, and he apologized.”
“He better, or I’d have to…”
“No!” she blurted. “He’s nice. He even helped me with passing out the books when the teacher put them on my desk.”
The two boys looked at each other and smiled, then said in unison, “Jessie’s in looove.”
“Shut up! It’s nothing like that. He’s just… he’s like a third year or something, so he’ll be going to high school next year.”
“Sooo? What’s his naaame?” Connor asked encouragingly.
“I... I don’t know,” she stammered. “It’s not like I asked. We spent most of the time taking a quiz.”
“A quiz in math?” James asked. “So that took you what, five minutes?”
“Ten. I didn’t use the calculator until I was checking my work.”
“So you spent the next forty minutes daydreaming about your new boyfriend?”
“He’s not my boyfriend! I don’t even know his name,” she protested. “Besides, tomorrow the teacher is going to move us around into groups or something. So it’s not like we are going to be sitting together or anything.”
“What’s Mom going to think?” James said as he rubbed his chin and looking into the air in mock contemplation.
“Shut up. It’s not like that.”
The two boys laughed as she protested again. “Okay, enough of that,” Connor said. “We need to finish eating so we can get ready for gym.”
Connor surreptitiously watched Jessie as she slowly nibbled at her apple. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she was preoccupied with something. He wasn’t too concerned about it, considering it was the first day, and she was still adjusting to not having James by her side. Maybe meeting a nice guy in class was a good thing.
●▬▬▬▬๑۩Crash Course۩๑▬▬▬▬●
Connor gave James a fist bump before he and the Moose-mouse hybrid set out in the opposite direction for their next class. Only two more classes and the first day would finally be over. Everything seemed to be going smoothly, for once. It even looked like Jessie was taking things in stride. Even gym class went without a hitch. The three of them were some of the few cubs that already had uniforms to wear on their first day. Not that it mattered; they didn’t do anything but listen to the safety lecture and sit around.
The horned feline pulled the crumpled schedule out of his pocket, despite having every detail of the paper memorized, hoping that somehow it had magically changed, that he'd misread or misremembered what was coming next. He sighed as the words “Intro to computers” remained unchanged near his thumb. The idea of having to sit through that class annoyed the hell out of him. But those thoughts vanished as a familiar scared squeak filtered through the din of the bustling hallway.
Without thinking, Connor's eyes immediately sought out his niece. She had her back in a corner, books clutched against her chest. There were three older cubs facing her, and an all-too-familiar look of panic on her face. He was too far to hear what they were saying, not that it mattered. She was afraid and they were the cause. That was the only thing that mattered; to deal with the threat as quickly as he could. Her gaze met his for a split second as he leaned forward. She mouthed something, but he didn't catch it.
His hooves hammered the tiled floor, echoing sharply as he charged through the crowded corridor of the athletic wing. Dropping his shoulder and lowering his horns, Connor slammed into the nearest bully with terrifying force, knocking him and a second student sprawling across the slick tile. The impact jarred his vision, leaving him stumbling and momentarily disoriented just as security closed in around him.
Connor had barely staggered back to his feet when he felt other paws grab him. He started to growl and thrash until he recognized the security uniforms. Two guards were holding him, and he stopped struggling while looking for Jessie. When he spotted her, she shook her head ‘no’ while hugging her books tighter.
He looked around only then realizing that one of those on the ground was a llama. He swore under his breath, wondering if he had just rammed the guy she'd been talking about at lunch. His only recourse was to stick with his standard 'defending Jessie' story, and hope it panned out as he was ushered toward the office.
His mind started running through all the things his mother might do if they called her first, and none of them would result in a good end for his first day in middle school. He really didn't want to explain to Dad why his mother had disemboweled the headmaster. His fears were dampened as he suddenly remembered that Miss Janine was the headmistress... only to be violently reignited as he remembered she was out on maternity leave. That left only the new assistant principal that the adults had been talking about over the summer. He had no clue how the assistant principal would handle this, or how it would end... other than badly.
While the security staff escorted him down the halls, he wondered what he'd tell the assistant principal. His mother had always told him, “You’ll get in less trouble if you tell the truth.” All he could do was relay the facts, and let everything else fall where it lands.
●▬▬▬▬๑۩Unexpected confrontation۩๑▬▬▬▬●
Eric blinked as things started to come into focus again. He wasn’t sure where he was. Disoriented, he looked around to determine where he was. He remembered a sudden impact, like getting tackled, and falling, but nothing after that. He sat up and looked around to find himself in the nurse's office.
“About five minutes,” a female voice said from the other end of the room.
“Huh?” he asked as he looked for the voice, spotting a school nurse sitting at a desk. “What happened?”
The moose stood up and walked over to him, pulling a small flashlight out of her lab coat, and shined the light in his eyes. “I’d say someone tried playing basketball with your head, but it doesn’t bounce that well. You’ve been out cold for at least five minutes. How many fingers do you see?” She held her paw up.
“Um, three?”
“That's a good sign. But we still have to wait on a call from your parents to see if they want you checked out by their doctor. I do recommend getting a second opinion. Conner’s not known for pulling punches when his niece is involved.”
“Conner?" he asked, confused what she was talking about. "Niece?”
“Just be glad it wasn’t her brother. He’s even more of a hot head. Like his mother was.”
“What?" Eric asked, even more confused. "I don’t…”
“You were punked.”
Eric looked over to where the new voice came from. There wasn't much to see of the girl hidden behind an open book titled 'Contemporary Abstract Algebra'. Large mouse ears framed the top corners of the textbook, and a long tail swayed slowly, hanging off the side of the chair she sat in.
“I don’t know what’s going on," the llama said. "Last thing I remember was going to ask if you could help me with my math. And now I'm here.”
“You’re new in town, aren't you?” the girl asked. It was less of a question than a statement.
“Well, yeah. I moved here over the summer. My dad transferred to a flight control position at the airport.”
“I’m also going to guess you're gonna trying out for the football team?”
“Um… yeah? That’s why….”
“You just walked head first into your hazing. Okay, more like chest first. Tom and Steve, the guys you were with, know who I am... and who my brother is. And how he would react to me being cornered like that.” She closed the book and lowered it, looking at him. “I guess it didn’t matter to them that Conner was the one that came to my rescue. They still had a good laugh... until they saw you were knocked out cold.”
“Wait, what?”
She sighed as she slipped the book into her backpack. “My brother and Uncle are a bit… overprotective of me. Those two jocks have been going to the same school that we have for years, and have seen my brother and uncle step up for me several times. I heard you talking about me to Tom and Steve before you three came up. So I knew why you were there, but was still a little surprised when all three of you walked over. Conner must have heard me and went into act first deal with it later mode. And here we are.” The mouse-hybrid sat up in the chair, letting her legs dangle off the edge. “Gran- I mean, Nurse Daniels is right. You’re lucky it wasn’t James. I’m not sure he would have stopped at knocking you to the ground.”
The sound of the classic school bell rang through the outer hallways. “Okay, Squeeks," the nurse said, "you need to get back to class. Romeo here will be just fine. As for you, Mr. Holding, you take it easy until we hear back from your parents.”
As the mouse girl picked up her backpack and turned to leave the room, she said, “ If you really want help with math just come over to the house. Anyone can tell you where it is, if you don't already know.”
“Wait, what’s your…” he trailed off for a moment as the door closed behind her, “... name?” he finished with a disappointed tone.
“Her name is Jessie," the nurse said with a smile as she turned back to her tablet on the counter, "and as my Daughter was told twelve years ago: 'You have no idea what you are getting yourself into'.”
“After the quiz I realized I might need help with math.”
“You just wanted to ask the smallest, cutest, youngest girl in class for 'help',” she said, throwing up air quotes.
“Well, she was done with that quiz thing kinda fast. Even the teacher seemed surprised by it. Tom and Steve said she was some kind of genius or something, so…”
“Mmm-hmmm,” the nurse hummed without looking up from her work.
●▬▬▬▬๑۩After Action Review۩๑▬▬▬▬●
Dr. Hoover sat transfixed, staring at the computer screen, uncertain of how to deal with the information he had just received. In all his years dealing with children, he had never seen anything quite like the young Burke boy’s situation. The fact that he hadn’t connected the dots earlier angered him almost as much as the boy’s father must have been.
The Dark Rider Foundation, a non-profit advocacy organization, had been founded by a group of military combat veterans as a safe haven for abused, neglected, and vulnerable youths. Lilliana Fargo-Burke, a faculty member at the Chimera Preparatory Academy and a sitting member of the Mythic School Systems Board of directors, was a key figure in the organization. She was also a highly decorated Combat Veteran... and Conner's mother.
The organization also ran a youth community center, free youth and family counseling services, a pro-bono youth legal center, a registered juvenile halfway house, and countless other services. The organization's website hosted a plethora of images showing the many activities and events it hosted. Both Colin and Conner showed up in many of the photos, along with the liger he'd glimpsed earlier that day. Conner could be seen in many images working with other cubs in various activities. Everything from cookouts and fundraisers to one-on-one youth counseling, according the the image captions.
The bison was trying to reconcile what he was reading with the the boy's disciplinary record. According to his file, Conner has been a student at Sphinx Elementary and his past looked vanilla until he'd reached 4th grade. Teacher's comments included phrases such as 'a joy to have in class', and 'Eager to help fellow students'. His grades were that of an average student. Nothing seemed extraordinary until the second half of that year. The first documented incident involved four other students apparently targeting or harassing a younger avian girl. The investigation and witness statements were contradictory and unclear, but Dr. Hoover did not expect much from a grade school incident report. The boy's disciplinary record grew exponentially from there.
Was this boy a bully in the making? Did he have deeper issues? Or an inability to ignore perceived injustices? Regardless, this was not the student he needed to 'make an example of' as Mr. Burke had put it. Especially if he was seen as a 'defender of the weak' by some.
He was grateful to the boy's father for not fighting the suspension. But now he needed to follow through with the suspension of the other student involved, to maintain his 'Zero Tolerance' stance with the witness statements of crowding and cornering the smaller student. And he definitely needed to learn more about his 'Problem Students'.
●▬▬▬▬๑۩The Ride Home۩๑▬▬▬▬●
Conner sat quietly in the passenger seat of his dad's ‘71 Chevelle SS convertible while his father drove them back to the Dark Rider House. He could just imagine getting the 5th degree from his mother, had he chosen to ride with her. But in all honesty, that felt like the least of his worries. Waiting for him back at the house was a bus load of cubs that only had part of the story, all with a different variation. Of the Dark Riders themselves, his biggest fear was of his older sister. Then there was Jessie. He felt terrible about how he'd overreacted, trying to protect her. She would know why he did it, but that didn’t help.
As they drove through the suburbs towards the Dark Rider House, Colin glanced over at him as he pulled his phone from his pocket.
"She's not home yet," Colin pre-empted, gesturing at his own phone in the dash mount. "Looks like she needed to go back to her classroom for something."
"Should I be worried?" Connor asked.
"It's Lilly. Of course you should be worried," his father replied with a smirk. "I'm a little worried myself. You actually laid the guy out."
"What? how did..."
Collin tapped the single earbud. "Your Aunt Ricky gave me a rundown as we were leaving. She heard your mom in the background when I answered, so I didn't even have to say anything. She just gave me the clinical facts."
"Great. That means she's probably telling mom everything right now. If she hasn't already."
"That's something you'll just have to face," Colin said, reaching across the car and rapping his son's forehead between his horns, "for using your head in an ill-advised fashion. Do you want to tell me what really happened?"
"After Gym, James and I started off to our next classes—"
"Intro to computers, if I recall," Colin interrupted. "That's one way to get out of a class you've been complaining about."
Conner huffed. "That's not it. I heard Jessie give, you know, the 'Squeak of Panic'. When I looked, three guys had her in a corner... so I—"
"Tilted and charged," his father finished for him. "Did you recognize any of the guys that had her cornered?"
"I wasn't really thinking... about... that...." he trailed off.
Collin shook his head. "Like mother, Like son. Defending the perceived helpless without thinking. You know that almost got her fired on her first day of teaching?"
"I know." Conner sighed. "Sissy had a panic attack and Mom went after the first fur she saw on the way to rescue her."
"And?" Colin prompted.
"...and Mr. Black was only trying to help Sissy." Conner mumbled, realizing he might have behaved kind of like his mom.
As the Dark Rider House came into view, Conner saw that the bus was already parked in the motor court. His dad pulled the Chevelle into the carriage loop in front of the main building.
The old Victorian style mansion stood at the front of the huge chunk of real estate. In the years since it had been taken over by the Dark Riders, the property had gone through many renovations to fully convert it into the safe haven that it was now.
The newest feature was a two story dormitory style building a at the back of the lot. Only completed two years prior, the dorm had been built to house upwards of a hundred residents, and hadn't come close to being filled to capacity.
The main house itself had not changed much since he'd known it. Although he didn’t technically live there, staying with his parents at his father's childhood home, he'd spent more than enough time there to call it home.
Most of his extended family still lived on the grounds, in one fashion or another. His sisters, Cecily and Daisy, lived in the Main house with the twins. Though not technically related, his 'Aunt' Susan and 'Uncle' Hank lived in an apartment over the garage, while their son Oliver occupied one of the second story rooms in the main house. His equally unrelated 'Aunt' Boomer and 'Uncle' Steve lived in the renovated guest house out back with their daughters, Fillis and Deanna. Two of the second floor rooms were renovated to house up to six temporary residents each. Even with all the furs coming and going, the place seemed busy but never crowded.
"Well, son... Unfortunately, your suspension's valid. Your punishment will be determined by your mother," Collin said as pulled to a stop just past the main entrance. "I'm sure she has already come up with something." He shifted the car into park and looked over at his son with a crooked grin. "May God have mercy on your soul."
●▬▬▬▬๑۩Conclusion?۩๑▬▬▬▬●
Jessie and James waited eagerly in the open foyer of the mansion. Her with two lengths of pink pool noodles, and him with a fist full of zip ties. It had been a long time since they'd last had an opportunity to 'NERF' one of their friends' racks with the pool noodles for ramming or charging someone. They'd already checked with Cecily, their mother, to ensure this was still a valid punishment, even at their age.
The foyer was an open, airy space. A staircase wound it's way up the left wall to a balcony that circled the room. Opposite the main entrance was an open sitting room that had been converted into a waiting area just outside the now main office of the Dark Rider Foundation's headquarters. The right side opened to a formal dining space, which in recent years was more often used as a conference room. The walls were decorated with painted landscapes, most of which had been painted by their mother.
Jessie began to bounce excitedly as the large oak doors began to open. Conner peered in, cautiously looking around, only to be grabbed by James and yanked inside the room. The half-liger stumbled across the hardwood floor, and James slipped a foot in front of him as they reached the area rug in the center of the space. Conner reflexively put his arms out to catch his fall while Jessie pinned him down. With a sigh, Conner gave up the struggle and relented, accepting his fate. Jessie gleefully wrapped a pool noodle onto each of his horns while James strapped them on with a handful of zip ties. A small crowd of cubs gathered around as Jessie rolled aside to let Conner sit up.
"Do we really have to do this?" Conner asked dejectedly.
"This has been the consequence for years now," Oliver side as he crossed to foyer, headed toward the library with books in his arms. The otter-chinchilla mix looked to be of average build, a bit thicker then most otters, but slimmer than a chinchilla.
"What do you know about what happened?" the feline boy asked.
"Someone got a video of it. Everyone's seen it," he replied with a smile, not even pausing in his stride.
Conner looked at Jessie. "I'm sorry if I—"
James broke in, saying, "He lucky it was just you. I don't care if he's Jessie's new boyfriend. I would've crushed his ass."
"He's not my boyfriend!" Jessie protested, yet again. "And it wasn't his fault. He was tricked into it by Steve and Tom. If they weren't with him I might not have panicked like that."
The small gathering of other cubs dissipated as the trio chatted, sitting on the floor. Silence fell abruptly as the front doors swung wide, revealing a tall liger woman with a cell-phone held up to one cheek. Her eyes locked with Conner's as he stiffened. A toothy grin spread across her muzzle as she spoke into the phone.
"Now that sounds like we have a plan. I look forward to meeting you in person, Misses Holding. As I said, I'll have to be in class early, but you can just drop him off at the front door. We will be sure to put him to good use." Lilliana disconnected the call and swung the phone into her pocket in a single smooth action, as if holstering a pistol. A grin on her face, eyes still locked on Conner's, like a predator staring at it's prey, she strode over squatted down near the three children. "I have some good news, my son. You're going to have a brand new best friend. Starting tomorrow."
Colin drew in a breath as he followed this wife in, hearing the way she'd said 'my son'. "I'm sorry, my boy. There's nothing I can do to save you this time."
Lilly stood up quickly, as she barked out orders to the twins, starting with Jessie. "Bonnie, your job is to get all of Mister Holding's assignments for his classes." Then she turned to James. "Clyde, yours is to get the assignments for the Tackle Box."
The twins both grinned. "Tackle Box?" they repeated in questioning tones, looking at Connor.
Conner sighed and fell backwards, laying on the floor as his mother strode out of the room towards his sister's office. He wasn't sure what the next few days held in store, but this week was already off to a terrible start.
