Gods and Wolves By: ReynardFox Dark eyes regarded the storage room with apprehension, always moving, searching and seeking. Shadows played among the guttering light from the blue lamp overhead, the broken edge of one shade casting hard-angled light along the floor. Dust lay everywhere, and it was everything he could do not to breathe in enough to choke. Hyuga Ricdeau sighed heavily, collapsing alongside a box and tugging at the collar of his Jugend uniform. This would do, for now. The officers hadn't found it yet, and he was confident they wouldn't. It was very well hidden -- he himself found it purely by accident. Had he not been shoved against the door in another conflict and had the keypass digging into his shoulder, he wouldn't have found it, himself. He wanted to go back to his dorm and sleep, but he knew that staying there would only bring trouble. He knew he risked having peers show up at some godforsaken hour of the night, and nothing stopped them from their constant efforts to beat him into a pulp. He scowled, rising again to pace nervously. He knew he couldn't live like this forever, but to quit now would be worse than enduring anything his peers and officers could throw at him. He stopped in mid-stride, dust sifting around his boot. Something moved there in the blue shadows. He was sure of it. "Who... who is there?" He reached for the sword sheathed at his waist. "Show yourself," he ordered unsteadily, thumbing a quarter-inch of the blade from its scabbard with a sharp snick of steel on leather. He stood in silence for several moments, waiting for the shadows to reveal themselves. Nothing moved, though, and his face fell into a scowl once more. "Even the shadows mock me," he growled softly to himself, jamming the sword back into its scabbard with a soft snort of frustration. He was even jumping at his own shadow, now, even though he knew that the only company he held here were years-old supply crates and the dust that lay atop them. Wandering over to a nearby crate, he nimbly climbed to the top, settling down to a violent explosion of dust. Coughing and swiping the cloud away with his hand, he couldn't help but watch the area below, suspicion slow to ebb. He could feel... something. He couldn't see anything at all for the sifting dust and the darkness, but he knew something was there. Something was watching him, and it was driving him mad. He could feel the urge to see it; a raw urge in the back of his mind to tear through the shadows sword-first and rid himself of this unreasonable anxiety. Could the other recruits cause this much discomfort, though? True, some of them were burly and knew how to shove him around, but they weren't particularly smart. He felt certain they wouldn't think to actually follow him here. "He... hello?" Hyuga ventured another call, thumbing his sword from its scabbard once more. The resulting sound echoed uncomfortably, and he reached up with a trembling hand to adjust his glasses. [So that is where the child has been hiding.] Hyuga jumped, whirling and tearing the sword free of its fetters. "Who is it? Show yourself! Do not make me--" Amusement touched him, but he heard no laughter. It was a condescending feel, as though that voice were the wolf amused at the struggles of the hare it had just caught. [There is no need to fear, boy. Put away your silly knife. There is no one to hurt you, here, but I cannot guarantee that the sounds of your antics will not summon someone.] Hyuga whirled again, but his boot skidded on the smooth surface of the steel crate. With a yelp he lost his purchase, toppling backwards. The force of the impact knocked the sword free from his hand, and one of the protruding crates struck his shoulder. He lay crumpled on his back, staring at the ceiling as he tried to breathe again. "Who... who are you? Where are you?" [Let us say that I have been a silent observer until now. I am everywhere, and I am nowhere.] More amusement, and Hyuga had to shudder at the tone of the voice. It was powerful, but the sheer force of the presence was enough to give him a headache. [I suggest you not try that again, lest you injure yourself in the process. Calm yourself, little wolf.] "Wolf...? And you have not answered my question," Hyuga wheezed to the dusty air. Sudden horror struck him. "You are an officer, are you not?" [Yes... little wolf. You are quite the ferocious one from what I have seen. I am amazed that you have survived this long. You are amusing,] the voice added pointedly. [As for the first, no, I am not a Jugend officer. Your other question will be answered in due time. In the meantime, I have a few questions for you that you would do well to answer.] "And they are?" Hyuga shifted, gritting his teeth against the burn in his shoulder. That presence had a point. Maybe he should have been a little more careful. [I already know much about you, but there are a few things I would like you, personally, to tell me. I am already aware that your name is Hyuga Ricdeau, and that you are of Third Class Solaris. It is quite rare that a little wolf like yourself is in the barracks of Jugend Academy.] "I know. There were... extenuating circumstances," the boy offered unsteadily, sagging back and reaching up to adjust his glasses. He scowled at the fine crack running through one of the lenses. [I am already aware of those as well. However, what I wish to know is what truly took place. I want to hear from you, personally, what transpired the night that you were taken to the upper levels.] Hyuga said nothing, instead gripping the hilt of his sword from his prone position. [You are a spirited boy, I will give you that.] More amusement reached him. He felt something else, then; a touch of what could have been an attempt at soothing his jangled nerves if that mental presence weren't so overwhelming. Hyuga crawled backwards until his back was pressed against a crate, sword pointing forward. The fitful light shadowed the crates, and his eyes flashed in the gloom. "I have been told this," he murmured uneasily. [A perceptive observation. What will you do now, little wolf?] The voice sounded amused once more, but there were darker overtones. [Will you continue to run away? You are very good at it.] "Sometimes we all must run away," Hyuga replied quietly, eyes still scanning the darkness. Where was he? The voice had to belong to someone, after all. He couldn't quite tell the distance. It did indeed sound both distant and close. [Looking for me will do you no good, little wolf. You will not find me.] This time, the voice was definitely amused. Hyuga froze, staring straight ahead into the gloom. "How did you know I was searching for you?" [I can see it all in your mind, boy. It lies there like the rat that evades the hunting-dogs. The -Lambs- that hide from their fate...] Hyuga's hand tightened around the sword hilt, accompanied by the involuntary tightening of his jaw. [Oh, so...? Sensitive little wolf, are we? But not all is in your power to change. I would not bare your teeth at something larger and stronger than you, at least not if I were you. Pack order must be maintained, after all.] Another touch of amusement from the voice, but this time there was a definite hint of subtle threat this time. "I am not baring my teeth at anything, and neither am I an animal." Hyuga tightened one leg, pressing himself back against the crate and into a bit of an alcove, keeping three sides closed and the space in front of him open. If the owner of this voice was watching him, he would certainly meet it like a wolf. [Let us cease and desist this foolish waving about of swords.] The presence seemed to sober, and the lingering sense of amusement left. [Enough wasting of our time... I have a proposition for you.] "A proposition?" [A deal. An offer, I suppose you could say. A very attractive one, at that.] "I know what a proposition is," Hyuga snapped to thin air. "What is it that you wish of me?" The youth couldn't help but sound suspicious, and his grip tightened over his sword. [I wish for you to act as though you do not even know you are being contacted.] There was a smile in that voice, and Hyuga wasn't certain he liked it. In fact, it was enough to make him shiver, though the storage room wasn't even cold. He tipped his head, thoughtful. [I know what you are thinking, little wolf.] "Oh?" [Yes... your mind is tightly guarded, but it is as an open book to one such as me. Your efforts at shielding are amusing.] Hyuga snorted, quietly. More bravado, but he was definitely nervous. A thin, faint sheen of sweat glistened on his forehead; unthinkingly, he reached up to wipe it away. His mind settled on something else, and he concentrated; trying to fill his mind with the images of the plague, the aftermath, of burning buildings and plague-wracked bodies. "What am I thinking, then?" he intoned, softly, words venomous. Silence. "Are you there?" [I am here.] The voice was slow to answer, ponderous, as though choosing its words carefully. [I am seeing...] There was a sense of weariness, though not necessarily the physical kind. It was a feeling Hyuga himself was familiar with, sometimes. [I am seeing folly,] it snapped at length, though not too harshly. [Do not obsess over that which you cannot change, little wolf. It will guaranteeably make you old and weary long before your time... and you are useless to me in such a state. There is nothing you could have done to prevent it, nor nothing could you have done to stop its rampage.] Hyuga bowed his head, silent, but he knew he couldn't quite banish the bitterness. No matter. Let this arrogant presence, whoever it was, know how much the common folk resented such a devastating event. Let him know what kind of effect it had on him-- [You really do not know who I am, do you, boy?] There was genuine amusement once more. [I will tell you later... but do not presume to think I am one of those petty nobles. You would not be strained to the breaking point in merely communicating with me. Check your nose, boy.] Hyuga cast dark eyes to the shadow, shifting his grip on the sword. Cautiously, his other hand rose to his face; prodding at his upper lip. He brought it back, examining his fingertips in the dusty light. Black. No, not quite... dark red, so dark as to be confused with it. Blood. He yelped and stumbled back, crashing against a crate. "Wh-what are you? What have you done to me?" [I am your most luxurious, wildest, and most elusive dream. I am your freedom.] The voice sobered, taking on an almost ominous, threatening quality. [But I will be none of these things for as long as you doubt me. Trust me, and I can make these dreams of yours a reality -- oh, yes, I know they are there, little wolf. I see them dancing like a candle's flame, shielded behind the hand that tries to hide the light. One can still see the flickering shadows.] Hyuga said nothing. [For as long as you trust in me, boy, I can take you above all of this. I can give you a life the likes of which Third Class Solaris can only dream of. I can give you a life that Second Class Solaris, no, even First Class; would kill for.] The presence hesitated, careful in its choice of words, its timing and enunciation. [But I can do none of these things unless I can be assured of your absolute trust and obedience.] Hyuga flexed his grip over the sword hilt, finally sheathing the blade. He was dubious, but he would have to conquer his fear. What, honestly, did he have to lose? He lived each day to escape his superiors once he was through with his classes. Free time was a constant battle to escape the withering gazes and the cruel fists of his peers; reduced to a bloodied pulp in the corridors while his uncaring officers turned a blind eye time and time again. "Tell me," he offered simply. [You must tell no one of our meeting, as it were... do wipe your nose again, boy, the blood is appalling. Tsk. I have not seen a mind so unreceptive to telepathy...] Hyuga started, blinking. "Is that why--" He paused, moving to do as the voice asked, snorting once or twice to clear the worst of it. "Is that why my nose is bleeding?" [I suppose you could say so,] the voice commented mildly. [You have no natural knack for telepathy, boy, and there is no other way for me to speak with you right now beyond forcing a link that is not there. But that is for another time. We do not have too much, and I must continue.] "Go on," Hyuga commented, curiosity sated. He'd clean himself up once he returned to his dormitory. In the meantime, he could easily pass it off as another careless attack from a fellow cadet. "What do you have in mind for me?" [A dream come reality,] the voice replied. [But as I have said, none shall know of our meeting. You have not spoken with anyone, let alone in your head, or they will think you mad.] "Not that they don't already," Hyuga countered irritably. "I read, and I spend my time training myself." A short pause, and he shook his head. "My apologies. Please continue." [Secondly, I will ask that you endure your training in Jugend. It will be some time before I am able to help you, directly. To take you where I want you to be.] "I see." This was a bit disappointing, but it was nothing he couldn't endure. Living this life had become something of a mindless routine. "What else?" [You must act as though there is nothing wrong if, perchance, I am to contact you again. I will empower the link, and allow you to respond in kind. Being seen speaking with thin air is no doubt bound to earn you still more odd stares.] Amusement, again, but only a faint touch before fading away. [It will hurt at first, but I must encourage you to endure the strain that will be placed on you. It will fade in time.] "I see. But if I have no natural skill with telepathy, will this not be... painful?" [Excruciatingly,] the voice replied. Even now, Hyuga could feel the frightening power from it, the incomprehensible age and power. He shuddered. [Do not worry, boy. I will see to it that you are not forced to cover such dire consequences before your officers. I have no doubt you will not be able to hide it... but I see potential burning brightly in one such as yourself. Perhaps I am selfish,] the voice mused quietly, [but I refuse to allow such an opportunity to be lost.] "I understand," Hyuga affirmed. His voice was blandly neutral. "Is that all?" [Yes... well, save for one last thing.] "What is that?" [...Do not hide in the storage closet any more.]