Bisky arrived on campus in the early afternoon, like normal, but the scene was almost totally unrecognizable. The main quad by the bell tower at U-Az had been transformed into a veritable marketplace, with hundreds of representatives from all kinds of on-campus organizations giving pitches to hundreds of potential members. Bisky combed the rows and made a mental note of where the interesting organizations were stationed. She also made sure to stay away from the clubs that seemed… particularly unwelcome.
The set of all special interests was truly diverse. Beyond the general fraternities and sororities (a club for females because… you’re all female?), Bisky discovered sports teams, groups focused around specific arts and crafts, groups about video games, groups which were actually just study groups (ha ha ha, no), groups for specific kinds of animals (dogs and foxes just circlejerking?) and more. In particular, Bisky encountered three clubs which piqued her interest: The Campus Mephitidaeans, the LGBT group, and the scale modeling group.
Making models of vehicles was a serious hobby for lots of Azuaverians. It was an Azuaverian tradition with centuries of history and technical improvements for ships in particular. Bisky’s attention was immediately captured by a resplendent model of a centuries-old brigantine which the group’s representatives displayed on their table.
“The rigging is done really really nicely here,” Bisky said. She addressed the two animals who were commandeering the table, but she was really talking directly to the model ship itself.
“Oh, ahem, well yes, thank you!” the ram beamed. He seemed to have been taken off-guard. “Rigging her up was particularly annoying, with my horns in the way, et cetera.”
“Oh, you made this?” Bisky asked.
“Yes!”
"`This is really, really, good," Bisky said earnestly.
“Yeah, she’s really beautiful,” commented the ferret who sat next to him.
“How did you get the headsails to look like that?” Bisky wondered. “It looks like the wind is blowing into them? Mine just… lay flat, or look limp and lifeless, you know what I mean?”
The ram and the ferret equally had a difficult time believing what they were seeing. A girl into ship modeling? Not just a girl — a skunk girl into ship modeling?!
“Er, it’s pretty simple if you’re using the right material…” the ram began to explain.
Suddenly, Bisky realized that calling the Canine Club “dogs and foxes just circlejerking,” while taking a keen interest in the Campus Mephitidaeans, was tellingly speciesist.
Bisky didn’t pay attention to the ram again until the he neared the end of his explanation. “…if you came to our next meeting with your model, maybe could help improve your headsails.”
“Sounds good!”
“We meet Thursdays at 6:30 in the Arts building,” the ram said, pawing her a postcard-sized flyer.
“We think you’d fit in very nicely,” the ferret smiled.
“See you then!” Bisky announced. When she turned around to meet the other clubs, she could hear the ram and the ferret huddle together to talk about what had just happened. Bisky couldn’t believe she was going to show off her secret ship modelling hobby to potentially several nerds.
The LGBT group’s table was far more lively. The table was run by five or six animals, and there were already five or six other animals checking out what the club had to offer. Bisky approached the table and waved.
“Hello! How are you?” a spiffily-dressed deer asked the newcomer.
“I’m alright, I’m alright!” Bisky replied.