CHPT 210: Unrelenting.

Saturday Morning, Nov 10th, 2240

Isaac woke up at his usual time. A time before the sun reached its peak in the heart of the sky. He enjoyed these hours the most, being able to wake before the sun allowed him to consciously feel it's warming rays as they washed over him in the passing hours. The effect reminded him of the much stronger and more intimate feel the sun had in the Sunlands. It felt like nothing here in comparison, but he was able to imagine when he felt it's heat on his face that he was back in the vibrant green steaming jungles or the ever expanding Savannah filled with wild magically empowered Pre-Historic creatures and Nomadic Survivalist Heroes of all kinds with his Mother.

But today his schedule would be different. There would be no stepping outside to feel the sun rise when it was still so dark and unoccupied by everyone. Not when he was coming to terms with the fact that he was being hunted. They all were, and naturally it terrified him. But as a Knight, his Mother told him that courage was of the utmost importance. As a frontline class like a Knight, you needed an infinite expanse of it. So he'd keep it to himself and try to relax anyone else who needed it.

But they didn't. They all were brave. Even Warren was stable despite his known history of succumbing to his own fear, he was getting better— in fact he was better than most. He fought a demon witch monster just as they all did. They all did, and there was a chance it would happen a few more times. They barely made it out of the last one.

The thought always led him to remembering their fight entirely. Warren's visible fight against the urge to run for the hills, Maris's unnatural calm, Ursula's intense expression whenever she saw a particular Beast Tamer fighting alone. And Claude's odd hunger to have the HellBred kills to himself.

Claude. He was an enigma to Isaac. He was an enigma to all of them to be frank. And after yesterday, he considered everything. All the reasons as to why he was the way he was. Abusive parents? Villain in disguise? Psycho murderer? Were the students onto something with calling him a WereWolf?

He thought of everything, but nothing alarming fit. Claude was a Hero, he knew it when the young teen forced himself up off the floor after being sent flying through the forest by the HellBred. He forced himself up to fight it alone while they tended to their own injuries. Claude did something he assumed they all aspired to do. And he'd done something like that with them before. None of this seemed new to him. Despite his scowling scar riddled face and dark demeanor, he was good. Isaac didn't care what the students said, he'd continue to learn on his own.

Learning more about them all was fairly difficult. Maris being the hardest one to ask questions due to her cold and detached explanations of how she became an orphan. Warren's unwillingness to explain where he lived and what his home life was like due to the fact that having two Noble friends made him self conscious. Ursula's issues with her family that she was basically disowned by. And Claude. He knew nothing of him other than the fact that he was a great fighter with— sometimes, unnaturally high speed and stamina, hated all foods other than meat, disliked swords, sucks at socializing and refers to Frosty as his actual brother.

"Speaking of Frosty…" Isaac said as he got up with the urge to add another piece to the wall of animal artwork he slept under.

With a leonine yawn and stretch of his arms, he looked around the room to see how everyone slept. He'd never really had close friends, so to suddenly have a group of them sleeping in his room induced an odd feeling within him.

To his right, on the opposite side of his bed, Warren slept like he hadn't in days. He lay sprawled out under Isaac's desk, forced to snore due to the fact that Maris's foot was resting on his face like it was furniture.

She was in a similar sprawling position in her sleep with her arms stretched in every which way allowing her many scars to be visible under the rising sunlight leaking through his room window to fall on her sun tanned skin. He'd always wondered how she'd taken so much damage before even being Reborn.

At his left towards the foot of his bed in the distance, Ursula lay with her hair in a loose mess and legs stretched comfortably. She looked like a muscle bound woman of the wild under the sun's rays. And she snored like a hibernating monster in a wintery cave.

He looked around the rest of the room for a while longer after realizing two people were missing from the picture.

They were gone. Claude and Frosty weren't there. His mind began to spin web after web of ideas with his growing worry when the door suddenly creaked to life.

Claude came in looking like he didn't sleep at all through the night. He looked like a lot of things to be honest. His eyes were darker beneath the shadows his hair cast and he smelled of outside. Frosty came in behind him with a loud shake of his fur before sighing and laying down next to Ursula with his massive head resting on her stomach.

"You good?" Isaac asked after Claude walked in and plopped down next to Frosty and Ursula.

Claude nodded and spoke in a startlingly hoarse voice, "Frosty had to take a leak. I'm alright though, just tired…"

Isaac nodded in understanding before rising to his feet and grabbing a paper and pencil, "Yea I can see that. You can still sleep for a few more hours before breakfast is made. I'm sure y—"

He stopped talking after realizing both Claude and Frosty were already fast asleep in a matter of literal seconds.

Despite this, he could hear Claude mumble something to himself in a hushed almost unintelligible whisper.

"I'll fight…"