191 CHPT 191: Son of the Lions.

After Claude and the rest of his class exited the Tangent, they were welcomed into their world by cold winds and a dark early night sky. The waxing moon hung high above them, giving the fearful students another source of light— and an anxiety filled reminder to Claude.

A reminder that another Full Moon was on the way. A reminder that an unbelievable amount of pain and loss of control awaited him and there was nothing he could do about it. Among these thoughts the moon gave him, he also wondered about the night itself, would Samuel be back by then? Would the Lupines of Remus use that night to hunt him and attempt to cast the Lupines of Romulus back into extinction?

Amidst these thoughts of the future, he was also reminded of the present— the weekend. His growth in power and chance of survival were directly tied to his weekends. The weekend he was walking into now. The time when he'd have a shot at a healthy dose of well deserved revenge and remove a large stain placed on the outskirts of SkyHaven.

He'd spent the most part of last weekend searching. Tracking the Raiders— only to continue running into ruined and bloodied camps. But he was getting closer. And with his map, he was sure he'd find them this weekend. He has to find them this weekend because if he doesn't then whatever animals or monsters that are Hunting them will erase the Raiders completely. As of right now, he was running the risk of losing Rikah.

With this in mind, he had no choice. But Arne was adamant about him going to Isaac's house. The long dead Lupine guide shrouded in mystery had begun to do that often. Worry about Claude's mental state that is. Despite knowing his situation, Arne wanted Claude to find enjoyment as a teenager. In spite of all the arguments they had over the subject, he thought it was nice. Especially since without Arne, he'd probably run himself into the ground in pursuit of his desires.

It seemed his Lupine voice of reason was becoming increasingly more important.

In tandem with that voice— with Arne, Claude's friends noticed his reluctance to go and began to stick to him like glue over the subject. Persistent in their approach didn't describe it accurately enough. For the duration of the walk back to the University, they all pleaded and voiced the benefits of going with them. Even Maris attempted to be persuasive in her own cold and detached way— which involved her whispering to Ursula about knocking him out and dragging him to Isaac's house. Supernatural senses had their benefits.

Eventually, he conceded. Finding that not going would drum up suspicion in Ursula who already cast him odd looks and smelled of anxiety every now and then. He was still curious about her conversation with Ronin, but he knew he'd never know the details.

So, he decided to go. But one thing nobody would get in the way of is what he planned to do when true night fell. When the moon is at its peak and the creatures of the wild are at their loudest. He still planned to perform his duties as a Night Runner, he just had to be back by morning.

***

Claude now walked down the dark and silent hallway of the SkyLight Guildhall that housed the portal to and from the University of the Phoenix.

Over the sound of his friends and his own footsteps, he could hear the idle chatter of Heroes and other leaving students in the Main Hall. As he emerged to see the familiar benches and tables to the right of the overflowing Quest Board and the desk to the left, he found it so odd that he'd return here posing as an entirely different person for some of the same people in only a handful of hours.

"Hey, you guys ever notice the Quest Board never looks any less….cluttered?" Warren commented before turning from the board to head to the door with the rest of them.

"New Tangents probably just appear around here a lot." Ursula replied with a shrug, followed by the rest of the group loosely agreeing.

"Yea…right." Claude muttered disdainfully to himself as he looked back at the bottom of the Quest Board where he operated on weekends before following his friends out of the SkyLight Guildhall.

Once outside, the cool winds fell on them, immediately dropping their body temperatures and causing their eyes to water as they hugged their cloaks around themselves. Claude immediately realized how hard he stuck out once he saw everyone else on the street.

Cloaks, light hats, even gloves. The cold of winter was on the horizon. And he stood unlike a psychopath on the street in a long sleeve black t shirt and black pants that exposed his ankles because the pants weren't long enough. The only other person who wasn't dressed like they were cold was Ursula. She stood beside him in a dark blue long sleeve that was similar to the shirt he saw her in last weekend and tight black pants with puffy pockets on the sides.

"Alright. My home isn't too far from here." Isaac said, beckoning them to follow him down the cold and increasingly inactive streets.

They walked through the city of SkyHaven heading south— much to Claude's dismay. Since it was only the beginning of night, the streets hadn't taken on the ominous hue he assigned to Southern SkyHaven due to the last time he found himself there.

The group quickly grew silent when they entered the heart of Southern SkyHaven and passed the Midnight Wardens GuildHall. The gothic styled building was still being built and bustling with life. Much like what he remembered. The Guild seemed to have incredibly active members at night.

With the building and it's odd Heroes at their backs, they hurried towards the gates that led out of SkyHaven— eager to escape the cold and unsettling feeling of being near the Guildhall.

Now following the dirt roads that ran through the wild, cutting and leading to villages they walked together closely with Isaac at the front walking fearlessly as if he'd walked this path numerous times at night.

They walked for half an hour, passing merchants dragging carts full of supplies on horseback alongside guards and Heroes returning from Tangent runs with bloodied weapons and damaged armor.

Luckily, the dirt roads stayed populated as they turned off onto a thicker road littered with horse hoof prints and indentations of wheels. In the distance he could see a gate with light by the pale orange glow of flaming torches placed into the ground nearby.

"We're here…well almost." Isaac said while he adjusted his large backpack.

"Fancy…." Warren commented while Claude and Maris agreed— none of which had actually seen the place yet. But a gate meant there was something worth guarding.

He led them further up the slanted dirt path until they faced the gate and the large building beyond.

Ursula— being a noble was relatively unfazed. But Claude, Warren and Maris had to refrain from letting their jaws plummet into the dirt path they stood on.

"Dude….you live in that?" Warren questioned while he looked through the tall black bars of the gate.

"Only on weekends." Isaac replied calmly.

Claude watched the building in awe next to the Archer, finding it impossible to call the place a home based on the fact that it was larger than even a mansion— at least what he imagined the size of a mansion to be. He couldn't accurately picture the place having a nice and homey living room or anything of the sort. It was just too grand.

Ahead of the gate and down a long cobblestone walkway lined by torches stood the largest home Claude had ever seen. A Victorian styled building featuring dozens of points at the tops of smaller individually connected buildings and long rectangle windows spilling the bright lights from inside out onto the dark front lawn. The coloring of the mansion's walls was a sandy beige that reminded him of a desert, while the lining of the window sills were a rich brown coloring topped by red shingled rooftops that stood out in the night.

In front of the building a carriage manned by two men with their reigns relaxed against a pair horses waited patiently as someone important looking stepped out. Due to the distance, Claude couldn't tell who the person with their back turned to him was, but he could see the vague image of a animal headed insignia on the back of their loose fitting cloak.

Isaac suddenly dug for something in his pocket only to pull out a key and use it to unlock the tall standing black gate.

"Well I think that was my mom. We're later than I thought we were. Let's go." Isaac said before pulling open the gate and beckoning them inside.

"What kind of job does your mom have to work this late?" Warren asked, still staring at the mansion in awe.

"She's a Hero— she usually comes home at night." Isaac responded casually.

"Ouch. Doesn't that make you nervous? I couldn't imagine my folks doing what I do— at a much higher level." Warren said.

Isaac shrugged causally while they stepped down the stone path, "it did when I was young. But she's strong. I'm not worried."

Maris suddenly became very interested in the conversation, "How strong?"

While they talked, Claude found himself thinking over the insignia repeatedly as if it was familiar. He felt the same way when he first saw it on Isaac's cutlass. He'd read about too many Heroes and Guilds to remember right away, but now it was coming to him. Isaac was more noble than he thought and the rest of his friends were about to find out as the Knight turned to respond to Warren.

"Well, she leads the Roaring Lions Guild with my father. So she's definitely strong enough to hold her own."