“Megan!” I shout to find her.

As I am running up the stairs to find Megan all of the Humanimals in the stadium are cheering for me. I run as fast as I can to get to Megan at the top of the seat. Some Humanimals are patting my back and shaking my hand as I walk past them. I finally reach Megan.

“Daniel, you did great,” says Megan.

I grab her right arm. “Let’s get out of here,” I whisper.

Lots of Humanimals are still cheering my name.

“Daniel! Daniel! Daniel!” they all cheer.

I feel very nervous and hate this cheering because they did not freak out when I won against Bearon. I look down at Bearon and he does not cheer for me. Bearon has his arms folded and his head lowered down. He shakes his head and then scratches it. He seems puzzled and confused about how I, a normal human being could beat a large human-bear like him. I pull onto Megan’s right arm so we can exit the Training Ground but Megan does not even budge.

“No, let’s stay. This is so cool,” says Megan with an excited smile.

I, however, don’t feel like smiling at all. Megan lets go of my hand and run toward the middle of the stadium.

“Megan!” I shout.

She keeps running.

“Daniel! Yahoo!” cheers Megan.

I run down to her. “Megan!” I shout again.

I make it to Megan in the middle of the stadium and grab her arm to get her attention. I feel stressed and angry at her.

“Megan what are you doing?!” I ask her ferociously.

Megan chuckles a little. “Calm down, Daniel,” says Megan.

I slowly let go of her right arm and sighed. “What are you doing?” I ask Megan quietly.

“Daniel look, the audience is cheering for you,” answers Megan.

I turn to the Humanimal crowd as they all cheer for me. Megan waves her right hand to the crowd. I still feel a bit angry but more nervous.

“That’s not the answer that I was hoping for,” I say.

Megan turns to me and her smile changes into a normal one. She rubs the back of her head and chuckles nervously.

“I was just making you popular,” says Megan.

I shake my head and lower it down. “Megan,” I whisper.

Megan places her right hand on my left shoulder. “Don’t you like that?” she asks.

I push Megan’s hand off my shoulder. “No. It’s stupid. It’s completely stupid! And you always do it every time on my birthday!” I shout.

Megan scoffs and folds her arms.

“And what’s wrong with that?” asks Megan.

“I don’t like it when you take things way too seriously. I beat Bearon in this Training Ground. I’ve never trained for something like this. I beat a heavy Humanimal,” I say.

Bearon clears his throat and stomps behind me. I turn to him.

“No offense, but you seem kind of heavy in a very muscular thick fury kind of way,” I say.

Bearon just walks away from me. I turn back to Megan.

“I have no idea how I beat Bearon in battle. He’s bigger than me and stronger too. He could have beaten me. Neither one of us would give up the fight. I didn’t want to become the next champion. Megan, Bearon is a mighty proud warrior and I just beat him. Doesn’t that bother you?” I ask.

Megan shakes her head.

“No. Why should it?” asks Megan.

I sigh and rub my forehead. “There you go again!” I snap. “When something strange and weird happens you act like it’s a normal thing. I am still in shock after what I did to Billy and Bearon.” I turn away from Megan.

“How did I do those things?” I whisper.

Megan scrunches her shoulders. “I don’t know,” she says.

I look back at Megan. “I wasn’t asking you!” I burst.

Back on the balcony, Feeon, King Leo, and Artemis are all watching me arguing with Megan. King Leo the human-lion Gargoyle sighs and lowers his head to rub it. Artemis the big Dragon turns to Feeon.

“Feeon, if he is the one that we’ve been waiting for then why does he have so much anger? He’s not like the other ones of his kind. Is he?” asks Artemis.

Feeon does not answer. He simply puts his hand on his head in humiliation.

Megan and I are still arguing with each other in the stadium. “And another thing, you always step up to Billy, who is my bully and my problem,” I say.

Megan scoffs again and shoves me.

“I only do that because you won’t stand up to him,” says Megan.

“It’s my problem!” I shout.

“It’s my problem too!” shouts Megan back at me.

We both stop arguing and stare at each other for a moment. Megan screams in frustration and runs off to the west exit tunnel of the stadium. I shake my head and look away from her. The crowd slowly grows silent. Tigeron and Grizzlyon both walk up to me and just stare down. I sniff and look up at Tigeron and Grizzlyon. Grizzlyon has a disappointed look on his face and Tigeron has a begging tiger look. I know that they heard us arguing. Everyone in the stadium heard us arguing. Now I feel very sorry that Megan and I had argued.

“Megan,” I say.

I run to the west tunnel exit of the stadium. I push a few Humanimals out of my way as I run to the exit tunnel. I run under the arch of the exit and head to the lake of Azent. I look around to see if Megan is near.

“Megan!” I shout for her, but there is no answer.

I look around to see if I can find her, but still no luck. I run onto the path in the jungle that leads out of the Azent Kingdom. I hear a tree snap behind me. I turn my head to see what made that noise. I turn to the left and the right and still I cannot see what is in the jungle. I run as fast as I can to the wide Azent Lake. I find Megan sitting by the lake and looking down at her reflection.

I sigh in relief.

I run to Megan and stand behind her as I am panting for breath. I look around to see if anyone else is in the jungle and I see no one except for Megan and me. I have a feeling that there is someone in the jungle.

“Megan, we have to go now,” I say.

She does not listen to me. I kneel by her to talk.

“Megan, I am so sorry that I said those things. I don’t know why I got angry. You were right, Billy is our problem. And nothing surprises you because you enjoy life. And I…” I pause for a moment to think.

“I’m sorry for shouting at you,” I say to her.

Megan still does not say anything. She just looks at her reflection in the water. I stand up and grunt. I walk away and stop. Then turn my head back to Megan. I feel so frustrated. I put my hands on my head and sigh very loudly. “Is there anything I can do or say that will make you talk to me again?” I ask.

Megan turns to me with a smile. Then she gets up on her feet.

Megan sighs. “Daniel,” says Megan.

I am glad she’s responding. “What?” I walk up to Megan.

I look at her and my stress begins to fade away. She puts her right hand on my left shoulder as she smiles at me.

“Sometimes people forgive and sometimes they don’t. Only a jerk will not forgive but a good friend will forgive,” says Megan.

“And are you a good friend?” I ask.

Megan moves her face towards my face and she kisses me on the left cheek. I pause in amazement and then I sigh. I smile at Megan. Megan looks embarrassed and yet happy.

“Does that answer your question?” chuckles Megan.

“Yes,” I answer.

We both chuckle as we hold our hands together.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“So…you want to go back and see what else is going on?” I ask.

“Sure,” answers Megan.

We both run as fast as we can on the path in the jungle and then back to Azent Kingdom. The two human bulls are still guarding the front gate. Megan and I walk up to them, hoping that they will let us in. The two human bulls smile at us and bow down. Then they open the gates. Megan and I enter Azent Kingdom. There are no Humanimals in sight. None are out of their stone homes. I look around to see if I can find anyone. I cannot find Grizzlyon, Tigeron, or Feeon.

“Where is everybody?” I ask.

“Maybe they’re all still at the Training Grounds,” says Megan.

Megan looks around along with me. Still, there is no one in sight. Then Megan sees someone.

“Daniel, look.” Megan points.

I look to see what she is pointing at. It is a grey werewolf. The werewolf has thin white fur all over his body. His chest, belly, jaw, arms, legs, and tail are light grey. He wears a yellow towel loincloth between his legs, but not on his tail or furry behind. He looks muscular, but not buff like Bearon. More like a seventeen-year-old teenager with muscles.

I see him walking towards the door that leads to Feeon’s Tower. I think he looks familiar.

“Hey you, sir!” I shout.

I run to the grey werewolf. Megan follows me. The grey werewolf stops walking and turns to Megan and me.

“Do you know where everybody is?” I ask the grey werewolf.

The grey werewolf places his right hand under his chin.

“Do I know you?” he asks.

Then I remember where I’d seen the grey werewolf before. “I think we met at the stadium. I sat by you remember?” I ask.

The grey werewolf scratches his furry chest. “Aren’t you the one who beat Bearon in the Training Ground?” he asks.

I turn to Megan and she nods. I nod back at her and then turn back to the grey werewolf.

“Yes. Yes, I am,” I answer.

The grey werewolf smiles at me and shakes my right hand to greet me.

“It’s an honor to meet the new champion. My father is waiting for you at the feast,” he says.

Megan and I both smile at each other. I hear my tummy rumbling. Megan looks hungry too. The grey werewolf walks up to the entrance of the tower. He opens the doors and begins to walk up the stairs.

“Follow me, champion,” says the grey werewolf.

Megan and I follow the grey werewolf up to the throne room at the top of the tower. We finally make it to the throne room doors. I clear my throat and tap the grey werewolf’s left shoulder.

“Should we wear something more royal?” I ask.

The grey werewolf quietly chuckles. “You don’t have to kid. You see, we Humanimals barely wear anything at all. Most of us don’t wear anything except our fur. My father and the others won’t mind if you wear what you have on right now,” the grey werewolf answers.

The grey werewolf opens the doors and they groan like a huge metal ship.

“You should enter first,” says the grey werewolf.

“Why?” I ask.

Megan pats my left shoulder. I turn to her because I feel confused. Then Megan smiles at me.

“Can’t you see what’s happening?” asks Megan.

I shake my head.

“Who won the training grounds?” asks Megan.

I point at myself. “Me?” I ask.

“And who are they celebrating?” asks Megan.

I smile and feel a bit proud of myself. “Me?” I ask.

Megan nods. I walk into the throne room. The throne room has a seven-foot-long table. Humanimals are sitting on brown fluffy pillows around the table. Some are sitting on other pillows around the throne room. I notice two empty pillows. One is blue and the other one is white. Megan and I walk to find our seats. The grey werewolf points at the blue and white pillows. Megan and I walk up to them. I sit down on the blue pillow and Megan sits on the white pillow. I try to get comfortable.

“So this is how they feast. It’s pretty awesome,” I say.

“Daniel,” says Megan.

“Yes?” I respond.

“White is my favorite color,” says Megan.

“Blue is my favorite color,” I say curiously.

We both stare at each other.

“How did they know?” we ask each other.

Feeon walks into the throne room. He is not wearing his brown robe or his brown and blue towel loincloth. He’s all fury blue with no clothes on. Feeon sits down on a brown pillow at the end of the right side of the wide table.

“Before we begin the feast I want to say a few things,” says Feeon.

Feeon picks up a golden chalice. I have no idea what is in it. All of the Humanimals lift their chalices. Megan and I lift our chalices too. Feeon begins to speak.

“I am so sorry that Bearon lost. He has been our champion all these years. But I am very proud that I chose this boy to take the test in the Training Ground,” says Feeon.

He points at me. I smile at him and he smiles back. He continues his speech.

“The loser should be proud of the winner. And the winner should be even more proud of the loser. That way everyone will feel like they have won. A winner is someone who allows the loser to do his best. The loser is someone who tries to win. So here’s to our new champion,” says Feeon.

Grizzlyon and Tigeron both walk into the Throne Room.

“And our new friend,” says Grizzlyon.

Tigeron smiles and chuckles like a little kid.

“Our new friends,” he repeats.

Grizzlyon kneels by me. Tigeron kneels by Megan. Tigeron feels a tap on his shoulder. He turns around to see who was tapping him. It is the grey werewolf. The grey werewolf clears his throat.

“Excuse me, but I was going to sit next to the female Earthling,” he says.

Feeon turns to the grey werewolf and shakes his head.

“Faron, my son sit by me,” says Feeon.

Faron, the grey werewolf, lowers his head in shame and rubs the back of his neck.

“Yes, father.” Faron walks to his seat.

Megan gasps and so do I. “Megan, that grey werewolf is the prince,” I say.

Tigeron turns to us. “You didn’t know?” asks Tigeron.

Megan and I shake our heads. Feeon clears his throat and continues his speech.

“As I said before, here’s to the new champion and our new friends,” says Feeon.

Feeon drinks from the golden chalice and so does everyone else. Grizzlyon and Tiger drink too. I look in my cup and it looks like purple wine. Megan and I don’t drink wine. So while everyone is drinking their wine we pour our wine onto the floor and quickly put our cups on the table. Feeon and the other Humanimals are done drinking their wine and putting their chalices on the table.

“Daniel. Will you decide when we shall begin the feast?” asks Feeon.

I get up and think for a moment. I look down at Megan, she winks at me and I wink back at her. I turn to all of the Humanimals at the table.

“We shall begin the feast.” I raise my hands.

I sit back down on my blue pillow. Two white human cows with brown aprons place some brown bowls with fruit in them. The bowels have blue apples, little yellow grapes, and purple peaches. They put the bowels of fruit in front of the Humanimals that dine. One of the human cows puts a bowl in front of Megan and me.

“Thank you,” I say to the human cow.

The human cow nods with a smile.

“Thank you,” says Megan to the other human cow.

The other human cow nods and smiles too. I stare at the colorful fruit. I have never seen anything like it before. I grab a yellow grape and put it in my mouth. It tastes like a juicy grape. Megan takes a bite of a yellow grape too. We both chuckle as we eat the very delicious fruit. Feeon gulps a yellow grape.

“So tell me, Daniel. What is your world like?” he asks.

I take a bite of the blue apple and swallow.

“Well, first of all, there are a lot of humans,” I answer.

“Are there any Humanimals in your world?” asks Feeon.

“Um, not really. Why do you ask?” I ask.

“Just wondering,” answers Feeon.

Feeon picks up another yellow grape and eats it. I wonder why he asked that question in the first place. What did he expect? I eat another bite of a grape and sigh.

“Where are your robe and your towel loincloth?” I ask Feeon.

Feeon turns to me with a nervous expression on his face. I put down my fruit bowl.

“I think that it is very odd to dine without them,” I say.

Megan shoves me. She looks annoyed. I turn back to Feeon.

“My clothes are hanging outside getting washed by the rain storm,” answers Feeon.

I turn to the one window in the tower and see the rain pouring outside.

“Oh. Sorry if I was being a bit rude and inappropriate. That wasn’t my intent,” I say.

Feeon nods at me. “It’s all right Daniel. We usually don’t get human visitors in Azent Kingdom. You’ll have to excuse us for not wearing clothes sometimes. We are part animal, but still human on the inside,” says Feeon.

I nod to respond. The brown human bull seems a little ticked while he is eating his fruit.

“So what do you eat in your world?” the human bull asks me.

“Well, we eat fruit, vegetables, hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, and beef. Some Humans only eat vegetables and fruit, but some eat meat from dead animals.” I gasp as I realize that I’ve offended the brown human bull.

I choke on a grape and spit it out. “I didn’t mean that. I didn’t mean that!” I say.

The brown human bull shakes his right fist. His knuckles crack as he closes it. Grizzlyon moves his hand in front of me for protection in case the brown human bull gets angry or offended. Feeon puts his hand on the brown Human bull’s shoulder to calm him.

“What is it?” asks Feeon.

The brown human bull turns to Feeon.

“How could he eat my kind?” the brown human bull whispers angrily.

I notice the brown human bull whispering to Feeon. I am afraid to ask, but I need to know what they are talking about.

“What did you say?” I ask the brown human bull.

The human bull slams his mighty right fist on the table. The food on the table jumps in the air as he slams his fists.

“I say, how can you eat my kind!?” shouts the human bull.

Megan gets up with a serious look. “Calm down!” shouts Megan.

“Don’t tell me what to do cannibal!” shouts the human bull.

Megan does not look terrified. She just stares at the angry human bull. The human bull points his right trigger finger at me in anger.

“Do you even know what your meat is made out of?” the human bull asks me.

I gulp in fear. “Well, it comes from cows, chickens, pigs, and…” I stop for a moment to think about what a hamburger is made out of.

The angry human bull slams his hands on the table.

“And I suppose that a hot dog is made out of dog!” he shouts.

I gulp again. “Hot dogs are made out of…well, I don’t know what exactly,” I say in humiliation.

I lower my head. “I’m sorry. I just never thought that eating meat was wrong until I came to this new world,” I say.

The angry human bull slowly calms down. He now looks a bit depressed.

“Then why do you’re kind to eat meat in your world?” he asks calmly.

I stutter with gibberish then clear my words. “In my world, we eat whatever we need to keep a healthy balance. That’s what some people do. Some people don’t eat meat and they are the healthy ones. I’m sorry. I never knew that your kind even existed. If I would have known about your kind before, then I would not have eaten any meat,” I say.

The sad human bull gets off his pillow. He sighs very loudly and walks out the right door of the tower. I sigh and turn to Megan.

“Promise me one thing, Megan?” I ask.

“Anything,” says Megan.

“Promise me that we will become vegetarians in our world. And only eat veggie meat, sort of,” I say.

Megan smiles at me. “I’ll promise anything that you’ll promise,” she says.

“Is that a yes?” I ask Megan.

“Yes it’s a yes,” answers Megan.

I hug Megan. Feeon looks very upset. He gets off his pillow and walks to the right door of the tower.

“My son will show you to your guest room after your done feasting,” says Feeon to Megan and me.

Feeon walks into his bedroom where the sad human bull is sitting on his bed. Feeon’s bedroom has a queen size bed with a thick blue blanket and wooden knobs on the bedpost. There is only one window in the bedroom. Feeon sits by the human bull.

“Look, I know that there are some things that you do not understand in that boy’s world,” says Feeon.

“I understand perfectly. You let a boy who is a meat eater in your throne room!” shouts the human bull ferociously.

Feeon gently puts his right hand on the Human bull’s right fist. He tries to calm the human bull.

“He didn’t know,” says Feeon.

“If he is the one that we have been waiting for then why does he not remember me?” asks the human bull.

Feeon shakes his head and lowers it.

“Feeon?” asks the human bull.

Feeon turns to the human bull. The human bull starts to cry a little.

“Do you believe in peace?” asks the human bull.

Feeon has no idea what he is talking about. He breathes in and then out with a big sigh.

“Are you saying that we are not peaceful?” asks Feeon.

“Our women were so peaceful before they left us,” says the human bull.

Feeon sighs very roughly. “Could you not bring up the women?” asks Feeon.

“And why not? We are so savage now. We are part animals! I can’t even control my beastly rage!” the human bull slams his fist on Feeon’s bed.

Feeon gets off his bed and sighs.

“I am not so savage,” says Feeon in a gentle tone.

The human bull looks up at Feeon. He stands up and looks very angry.

“How can you say you’re not savage?” asks the human bull.

Feeon scratches his head. “I have done nothing savage in many years. Not since the war,” says Feeon as gently as he can.

“You have been drinking wine ever since your wife left you!” shouts the human bull.

“Calm yourself,” says Feeon.

The human bull sits back down on Feeon’s bed. He takes a deep breath and lies on his back.

“It’s just that I want to find out if this boy is the one we’ve all been praying for,” says the human bull.

“I will ask Veeule. He might know,” says Feeon.

“The old Baboon?” asks the human bull.