Monday.

It’s here.

Lou dreaded this day all weekend. She could tell her friends tried to distract her by coming over and hanging out which she appreciates, but it doesn’t change the facts.

She would lose her powers for seven hours on the weekdays.

Her parents were outraged to hear about the school board’s decision on the power dampening cuffs. Powerful parent bears they are when their cubs are not treated right. They felt like it was a total violation of human rights. It went against all of their freedoms.

Fen called when he heard from their parents about it. He tried to joke around to cheer her up. Under normal circumstances, her brother never fails to make her smile, but not in this scenario.

Greg, her lizard friend and school companion, stayed home. She and him had a long conversation on if he would still join her to school. They both decided he wouldn’t since she won’t be able to understand him and the school may take him from her if they spot him.

No one is supposed to have any evidence of their soulmate abilities.

So Greg and the rest of her animal friends begrudgingly remain home.

She’s never felt more naked at the moment without any of her friends (meaning of the animal variety) with her.

While she is in front of the school, the metal band dangles from her fingertips. It weighs like an entire elephant.

She wants nothing more to drop it and stomp it into pieces, the scraps being stampeded by the rest of her human classmates. But she has to follow her school’s rules.

Why are humans so complicated? Can’t they all just coexist? The answer is no. Humans need these rules and make up intangible standards.

“Lou, you ready?”

Amelie and Ria and Jones appear next to her. They all have their muzzles too, not on yet.

That’s what these metal cuffs are to Lou. Muzzles.

“No,” she replies truthfully.

“Me neither,” Jones agrees, warily eying his bracelet.

Lou hears the murmurs of the birds that fly over their heads. The chattering of the squirrels jumping around. It’s a welcome sound.

One that’s she’ll soon not hear.

“This is outrageous,” Ria exclaims, throwing her hands up in the air. Lou likes Ria. Unlike many humans, she always says what she’s thinking. Reminds her of her animal friends.

“We aren’t some criminals. There has to be a law against this,” she continues on. When Ria gets passionate, she exudes confidence and power. A lioness.

“You know there isn’t. You’ve been researching all weekend,” Amelie gently reminds her.

Lou didn’t even think about that. Perhaps her parents did a little digging, but if Ria can’t find anything, there probably ain’t anything anyone can do. At least with a law backing it up.

“I guess we should go in,” Jones says, a hesitance in his tone. His grip on his cuff is so tight, his knuckles are white.

“Here we go,” she mutters.

Amelie puts a hand on her arm and gives her a small smile. With her ability to understand animals, her world is usually very loud. Lou never knew the comfort in a silent gesture until Amelie.

Taking comfort in her friends’ presence, Lou breathes in deeply and fits her muzzle on her wrist.

It clamps down and the light turns on. A green light flickers.

Everything goes quiet. The connection severed.

Her heart physically feels like it aches. Her hand goes to her chest, her breathing becoming rapid.

A bird lands on the grass a couple feet from them, picking at the ground. He picks his head up and tweets at her.

She can’t hear _anything_.

She can’t _hear_ the bird.

She _can’t_.

The realization makes tears well up in her eyes.

Two hands grip her shoulders. Jones’ face slides into her vision.

His eyes are wide with concern.

“Lou. I know it’s hard. You can’t hear anyone can you? I feel it too. But it’s temporary. We’ll go to school. Do what we have to do and go home and then you’ll see your animal friends and hear them. I promise. Ok?”

After a moment to process his words, she nods. She wipes her eyes.

7 hours. That’s it. Then she can hear animals again.

A feeling of resignation washes over her. Is it going to feel like this every morning?

Ria slings her arms over her and Jones’ shoulders. “Let’s get this over with.”

OoOoO

Inside the school is a whole other habitat than being outside the school.

The moment she stepped foot through the doors, it feels foreign. Like an animal being caged and released into an entirely new environment.

There is no laughter. No bright, flashy displays of power. Not even any talking.

Just the squeaks of people’s shoes on the ground.

Everyone has their muzzles on. And they look like it too.

No one is happy about this.

Someone knocks into Jared by accident. He puts his hand out but his books clatter to the ground. He has the ability of controlling air. Normally, he could have just waved his hand and they would float up to him. Humans stumble on his pencils and books. Some trip and actually fall and others just have an uneven step but catch themselves. It makes more of a mess.

Amelie and Ria move to help him collect his things.

Lou is rooted in her space by her locker. She doesn’t know what to do. It feels like everyone is in the same boat.

Why couldn’t Jones stayed by her side? His stupid locker had to be on the other side of the school.

She turns to her own locker and begins to spin the lock, but she stops after the first two numbers. What’s the last part of the combination?

Glancing to her shoulder, the wind is knocked out of her when Greg isn’t there to remind her. He always has to tell her the number.

Greg would joke on how forgetful she is.

The pit in her stomach grows and her throat closes up. She feels like she’s going to throw up.

“It’s 6.”

Next to her, Roman leans against his locker. “The last number is 6. I’ve seen you forget it every day.”

She spins it to six and it opens. Thank goodness. “You are a godsend. You must have been a cat in your past life.”

He chuckles.

His gaze shifts to everyone just milling about, disjointed. Bored. Confused. Disconnected to everything.

This is chaos.

Chaos in the normality.

Because normal is abnormal in this soulmated world.

———

(It’ll take a couple days for the next soulmate story since I am introducing a new character Hollow Oaks created! I want to get the character right, so I am taking some extra time on the story!)