CHPT 490: From Afar for Some Time…

Two Lupines, a Vampire and a Girl who could control Blood. Sharing a rooftop with three members of The Nine.

Another bar joke. It had to be. Claude's brain still buzzed as if it all wasn't real. As if he was waltzing through a vivid dream in a drunken dark haze.

Somehow, it didn't end in a one minute war….. or less. Somehow everyone's skin still covered their muscles. Bones and teeth in tact. Dignity as well…. Which was rare when encountering The Nine.

And it was no thanks to Claude…. Or Ursula. Or anyone for that matter other than Rupont Fiara. He had a silver tongue that could speak WereWolves to ashes and women to waterworks. It seemed it could also disarm The Nine. If only slightly. He was aware of his range. It made him better. He wasn't overzealous or blinded by his own charm.

Listening to him speak made Claude dizzy. It was like watching a roller coaster zip and dash through a crumbling cave.

By the time they made it out the other side and into the night he found himself departing from the rooftop joined by Sunlandian Guards escorting them to The Dugout.

They walked in silence. The blaring questions filing their own minds was loud enough. And he was sure for most of them it was only one question.

How was Rupont so close with The Nine considering what he was?

They traveled through the alleys for over a mile. Evidence of the riot that spilled into the city was impossible to miss. Shoes and improvised weaponry laid on the ground, collecting the sands in the air from the blood sticking to the surface and pooling on the ground. As they walked it followed them like liquid snakes. It followed Mar—

"Stop." A woman stepped from around a corner in the labyrinth alleyway created by buildings.

The Sunlandian Guards stopped dead in their tracks. It was then that Claude noticed she was holding his removed Pyramid helmet.

Ursula growled and Claude grabbed her hand.

He recognized the woman. Causing him to look behind him and find the other…. Inhumanely beautiful dark-skinned woman in few clothes and much jewelry.

"Walk back to your post. Report to your higher up that all students have returned to their stationed resting point in The Dugout." Her accent was thick. But the Guardsmen understood.

Immediately they stepped off in a zombified lifeless gait. One foot after the other, no other movement— as if they were puppets on a string.

Claude had already dropped and stomped a handful of seeds into the ground.

But before he could call on their growth, they were leaving.

"You may continue as you were."

He suddenly noticed Isaac and Warren begin to breathe again.

"What just happened? Where'd our guards go?" Warren questioned.

"[Compulsion. You've seen it once before. An ability gifted to the Blood-Balanced portion of Vampire-Kind. It works almost too well under the cover of darkness. As you see, safety won't be found here.]"

Claude found everyone looking at him and Ursula.

"What does Rupont want with you and Maris?" Isaac said, "Obviously it's got something to do with the oddity of…. Both of you."

"It's just that." Claude said. "He thinks we're…."

"Rare." Maris finished— remembering what he said before she withdrew from the tournaments first event.

"That's so vague I actually feel myself getting dumber." Warren commented.

"Well….. it'll definitely get cleared up sooner than later if they're getting this brazen with their approaches." Ursula commented.

"Sooner for sure." Claude mumbled as a black cat meowed at him from a rooftop ledge.

"This is exactly what the HeadMaster and Prof. Raizen spoke of." Warren rubbed his own arms.

"Maybe not." Isaac said as he patted his braided hair once.

Everyone looked at him. It had been a while since he had one of his usual casually out of the box moments. It's how he became Claude's friend.

Isaac shrugged, "I mean….. I get why we ran that one time. Rupont was giving off some serious murder vibes. But…. If that's true why didn't he do it right here? Why did he help us where we were obviously at the edge or Ronin's sword?"

Ursula nodded, "You could say he wants the kill to himself— or owes it to some better that lost all his money on Claude and Maris, but I mean come on….. where are they? We're sitting ducks out here."

Warren began moving, "Yep. Fuck that— this is where characters start dying in the plays. Don't jinx it dammit!"

Everyone followed after him and completed the walk back to Ra Stadium.

Once they breached the walls and were back on the field they headed for the Dugout.

And that's where they saw him.

"H-heheh—hey guys!" Prof. Alvis quickly stepped away from The Dugout entrance, shoving his notepad into his pants pocket.

Claude smelled fear and excitement in excess.

"What are you doing out here, Professor?" Ursula asked.

Prof. Alvis chuckled dryly, "haha… I-no— I w-was….. I'm going over notes for tommorow….hehe."

"At the entrance to The Dugout?" Claude pressed.

Prof. Alvis had this glazed over look in his eyes. It felt like he was seeing someone wearing a Prof. Alvis mask. It was slightly horrifying. Possibly from everything that had happened only moments ago. There were no guards around….

He looked at Claude as if he saw him for the first time.

"C-Claude! Fantastic win! Amazing! Wonderful!" He rushed over to him, "D-D-did you know…. A Reborn individuals inner conflicts and circumstances c-c-an be r-reflected by th-eir ab-ilities.. quite l-literally? H-hellish life….. h-hellish skills….."

He was speaking nonsense drowned in academic vernacular.

"S-so I ask…. W-what life…. M-makes you s-spit out m-monsters so effortlessly haha….could it be replicated on your peers?"

Claude felt a shiver run up his spine. He took a step closer to Prof. Alvis and his nostrils flared.

"Professor, what is your thesis?"

Prof. Alvis pushed up his triple magnified glasses, "Oh dear…. I-it's late. I should g-get to bed."

He walked off. Claude moved to grab him but Ursula caught him followed by Cassidy's voice.

Cats.

Hundreds, filling the stands once occupied by spectators. They were much more silent and watchful than their daytime counterparts.

"Oh my..... is this some Beast Tamer Evolution? What happened to you being a Wolf guy?" Warren asked dryly.

"Still a Wolf guy." Claude mentioned in a matching tone before ushering them into the Dugout.

He wouldn't have given them the low ground willingly if he planned to follow. That's why Ursula stayed above ground with him a while longer.

"I know you're going…. Wherever they lead you. Do I think that's smart? No, it's dumb as fuck. But I also just argued maybe Rupont doesn't want to eat you alive so I guess I'm eating my words." Ursula said in thought.

Claude smiled briefly, "Remember I have eyes on the outside."

"You have a single pair of eyes. Two. And they enjoy looking at ass as much as the next man. Maybe even more so considering his varied attractions." Ursula retorted- emotions shaking their mental link.

"Easy, buff-stuff." Cassidy interjected on perfect timing, "But yea. I think our boy has a meeting to get to. Rupont says he's waving a white flag…. And to ignore the bloodstains, they're from breakfast."

Claude felt his guts shrivel. He found Cassidy casually and used him to deliver a message— meaning he knew Pack Bonds or just took a goofy risk, managed by making the guards disappear. Mind games galore.

Ursula and Claude's ears flinched as someone began heading back up the steps for them.

In a rush Ursula took off the necklace he gave her and put it on Claude.

"Come back and give it to me if you have a problem. I'm not letting you go in there with busted armor and two short-spears."

Claude relented as Ursula rushed down the stairs.

Then there was no one. Just him, and the cats. Frosty howled from Predators Forest.

"Stay calm. Something tells me we're not the focus of this meeting buddy."

Suddenly the cats moved as if they had a shared mind. Like a hive of bees. They hopped down the rows of chairs and walkways until they hit the ground and scurried out into the night.

Claude followed.