440 CHPT 440: Most Wanted Lupine.

Early Wednesday Morning, January 28th, 2241.

Claude's home in the woods. A constant sign of what was lost-- who was lost. And his shared solitude as a result. Forced, invigorating, calming.... sometimes. Such words and feelings being tied to his circle of forestry were a distant memory.

Now seated not far from the cabin, with the rivers water rushing behind him like a sea serpent on the chase, he was not alone. Far from it. And he wouldn't be. Not again for a while. Not only was he the most wanted man in SkyHaven and probably the Angelos District, but he was a Lupine Alpha. An Alpha of two, soon to be..... in theory. But first, he had to figure out how to survive getting back to the University. As dodgy and dangerous as it was, it was worlds safer than the world beyond. Especially when Ronin had a hand in all aspects of it.

His plan was simple. Get to the University, plead his case-- he'd seen the heightened security in SkyHaven. He'd smelled the trace remnants of Enforcer units all over. They were on high alert of something. By Monday he'd know if it was the HellBreeder corpse discovery or something worse. The HellBreeder wasn't far from Isaac's home, so the bet was in his favor. And with that simple fact-- the fact of a Demon... a HellBreeder, shown in broad daylight. It was enough. It could keep his head connected to his neck.....

***

"Is that it?" Rollan questioned in regards to Claude's plan.

Claude swallowed nervously, ".....Yea."

Cassidy took off his hood and scratched his head.

"Monsieur..... you.... ehhhh you are.... what is that word, Hunter?" Rollan asked as he popped berries into his mouth and shared the rest with Canis and Piet who sat beside him.

"A dumbass. You're a dumbass, partner." Cassidy finished.

Claude clenched his teeth, "We're working with scraps, dammit! It's going to be rough regardless."

"That doesn't mean it has to be jagged, no?" Rollan suggested, Piet and Canis nodded in support.

"What are you talking about?" Claude questioned. The sun was rising and making it easier to make out each and every one of their faces. Not that it was ever hard.

"You spent a significant amount of time... ehh alone, hm? You once told me, Monsieur, you weren't born as this. Correct?"

Claude nodded silently. He still felt odd about so many people knowing so much of his truth.

"[It's only three people, unclench your rump for gods sake.]" Arne said.

Claude cursed him mentally as Rollan continued.

"Well, you were alone. Learning through trial and error. Oui, I assume it was hard.... and shaped you. Your shape shows now, Monsieur. You still think as a solo warrior, hm?.... Or as the Wolves would call it, an Omega."

Claude stayed silent. Rollan was doing the thing all great teachers do. Teachers like Arne, Prof. Raizen, his father. They led you to your own answer-- or to the only answer without directly telling you. It felt rewarding. Less of an exchange and more of a lesson.

He understood. He realized, as he looked around the campfire in the dark forest. He wasn't alone. He had a team.

"So, what do you guys think?" Claude questioned. He jumped as Ursula leaned into his shoulder, snoring like a beast full of narcotics.

"I'll tell you what I think, wolfboy. Every other supernatural pack in this world has resources out the asshole. My father could've bought a City at any moment. He had enough weapons, shifting armor and battle collars to supply an army... and he was behind compared to others-- even with the help of the final vestiges of Romulus' Lupines. You..... you are something more than behind. You're disadvantaged at every corner. But you have something the others don't." Cassidy pointed at his head.

"A brain? So, we just forgot about my embarrassment of a plan? Nice."

"No." Cassidy replied, "Mentally, your mind is different. Remember what we talked about. People like you are almost always realized too late.... or changed for the worst. Your actions can make people think-- you made me think."

Cassidy whistled through his fingers. His Hounds ripped through the woods in the distance, emerging with items held firmly in their slobbering jaws. They were as beautiful as ever. Moving on slender classically wolven legs with silky coats and slim snouts. Like Jackals made into physically empowered chase down hunters.

The two hounds approached Claude and sniffed at him before turning to Cassidy and sitting in front of him.

He snapped at the floor casually and they dropped the items in sync.

Dried out hides, sharpened bones and his bag of money from Night Running.

"You're broke."

"Dude..... I'm literally homeless."

"The grove is your home now, goatboy." Rollan interrupted as he adjusted his blindfold.

Cassidy chuckled as Ma looked over the items at Cassidy's feet. "A few handfuls of Bronze coin..... some Silvers.. and a few Golds... oh look a meal voucher." He sighed before smiling, "What I'm saying is, we're at a disadvantage. But I can fix that. All you need to do is take me to the University with you."

"Why?" Claude asked.

Cassidy dug into his pocket and pulled out a rolled-up piece of paper, "To turn this in."

Claude's blood ran cold as he came face to face with his Wanted poster once more. Whoever drew it amped up the intensity of his features to sell the idea of a villainous stealer of noble daughters. His hair fell down past his shoulders like shadows that made his face angular, angry. His teeth were bared-- sharp. Sharpness, everywhere. As if his face had been morphed into something that invoked the feeling of assault. Violence.

Below the horrendous depiction was the simple wanted dead or alive message with a cost he couldn't fathom.

500 Gold.

"If you're essentially turning yourself in, why do it for free? Plus, me vouching for you is worlds better than you representing yourself..... you did say they hate you at that school, didn't you?" Cassidy's wolfish grin stood out in the shadows.

Claude began scratching his chin, "Wait..... that could work. There's always Detectives at the school now. So, there's a form of Law Enforcement. You'll be fulfilling that task, but they can't take me from where I'm essentially stationed at as a Reborn individual in training-- they're a private company. They can't challenge the Government..... or at least it wouldn't be smart to. Especially if we can prove beyond reasonable doubt that I didn't steal Ursula, we had to flee. With Rollan still a District away we have a bit of breathing room."

"[Don't forget dear old daddy.]" Arne said in reference to Ursula's father.

"Not forgetting, but what can we do? I mean.... it doesn't specify to return Ursula to him directly. And we can't fulfill that task safely."

"What?" Cassidy questioned.

"Nothing." Claude tried to cover up what must've looked like a random bout of schizophrenic impulses.

"Anyway, this plan sounds better. There's more to gain, and there's more chance of success. What do you think, tree-hugger?" Cassidy questioned.

Rollan shrugged, "So many variables... so many seeds of unknown origin, waiting to germinate. What rises from the dirt.... yet to be determined, hm? Even so, I think this is good. But won't the humans check your credentials, hunter?"

Cassidy shrugged, "That'll only work in our favor. I'm damn good at my job, and I know Enforcers and Detectives alike."

"You don't know the Detectives at the University of the Pheonix." Claude mumbled with a shiver.

"Oh really?"

"Do you remember the Demons?" Claude questioned, "The one me and Ma fought....."

"Demon's are unpleasant." Ma said as she floated above them, as if swimming on air. She must've missed the water.

"The Shifter? No way...." Cassidy realized.

"She was on my ass the second I became this. Ronin seems to have an entire unit of psycho Detectives because the new replacements are inhuman calculating twins named Det. Mixus. They have abilities..... I just don't know what. Whatever you know about Detectives, I'd throw it out the window." Claude explained.

"That's fine. We can still work with this."

"Only one problem." Claude explained, "This means I can't change you before leaving for the University."

"That's fine. The bite can wait a week. You, on the other hand, cannot."

Claude nodded, "Yea.....maybe we can teach eachother more until then. I need to be better as a combatant, and you need to know what you're getting yourself into."

"So, University by Monday? We've got less than a week." Cassidy replied.

"It'll be a full one. Me and Rollan need to build a Grove, Ursula needs to get a better handle on her control. And we all need to get stronger."

"Always." Cassidy agreed.