CHPT 119: Ready your Wolves

Oct 23rd, Tuesday Night. 8 days until the Full Moon.

After Claude spent the entirety of his first class failing miserably to make a tree burst from the brown depths of his pot, he spent the rest of the day thinking about it angrily. He couldn't even enjoy his Monster Species Studies class since Det. Cyrene was once again at his table as Prof. Alvis shakily told the class of some of the worst events to happen on Full Moons since the Tangent's first arrived.

Having to deal with his own failure, the scrutiny of fellow students and then Det. Cyrene's barely contained psychotic violence all in the span of two classes had him ready to blow up at any second.

Luckily, most people were able to pick up on that and he spent the rest of the day either alone or listening to the conversations between Warren, Isaac and Ursula— not much different from usual.

Samuel and Tai— mostly Tai, seemed to be dealing with their own issues and lost their arrogant attitudes for the day, deciding to settle for looks of anger, fear and discomfort. Claude assumed Det. Cyrene played a large role in that.

He now sat in his room doing push ups, sit ups, squats and pull ups on the bar of his door to deal with his inner frustration and anxiety that beat and pulsed through his veins like blood.

"[Claude, you've already gone past your required amount of exercise. Are you trying to rip your muscles to shreds?]" Arne commented.

"I've got that tingly aggressive feeling that I usually get when I haven't exercised enough. 5 more sets and I'll be fine." Claude grunted in between his 5th set of diamond push-ups. His long black hair was slick with sweat and left wet marks every time he went down and let it hit the cold dark floor.

"[Ok. But you do remember what you have to do in the Astral Realm tonight, don't you?]" Arne asked.

"Of course." Claude replied before falling into the strategic breathing sequence done when working out.

After 30 more minutes of restless calisthenics, he felt himself beginning to relax as he sat on the floor in front of his window. The light of the moon crept into his room, giving it a faint white glow.

"Will I survive?" He mumbled as he looked at the pale moon.

"[Your chances are good. But you know how they'll get better? By getting back to the Astral Realm and reaching Fenrir!]" Arne nagged.

"Right. Time for bed....or training." He said before getting up and settling into his bed.

He laid in silence for a few minutes before Arne suddenly spoke.

"[erhm.....I know I'm the one that rushed you to bed. But, I just remembered you have two unspent Skill Points that you should use before fighting those....uhhhh...—]"

"Draugr...and your right." Claude agreed before pulling up his stats.

**

Name: Claude Grey

Race: Lupine of Romulus

Title: Disciple of Fenrir

Level: 9 (36/900)

Stat Points: 2

HP: 350

MP: 250

Stamina: 31

Strength: 26

Will Power: 16

Intelligence: 10

Accuracy: 11

Agility/ Speed: 22

Skills: Beast Assistance LV2, Beast Trait LV2, Canine Affinity LV9, Unbound LVD, Aura, Nature Element, Combat Meditation LV1, Sensory Focus LV1, Beast Companion.

**

He looked them over briefly before putting a point into speed. He looked at his stats once more, thinking about where to spend his final point. He was left with deciding between two areas he really needed to improve on based on how he fought.

"I'll definitely benefit from this." He said as he put his last point into the MP stat.

Once he was satisfied with his spent points, he fell back into the stiffness of his small bed and tried to sleep.

By the time his muscles relaxed and his breathing steadied, he was more than ready to sleep.

In no time, he found himself hearing the light drops of snow and animals breathing heavily all around him.

He opened his eyes and found himself looking at the Phantom Wolves who were just waking up.

After a few yawns and slow stretches, they all sat in front of him by the snuffed out fire that still faintly smoked.

"You guys ready for a fight?" He asked as he got up and readjusted his moose pelt.

Ashe exhaled strongly through her nose and the rest copied in confirmation.

"Alright, let's go." Claude said before leading them to the edge of the drop off.