Preparations (Chapter 2, Part 1)
#3 of The Tangent Series
PLEASE READ. Okay, there are several things I would like to apologize for. Firstly, for anyone who has read my previous stories before now, I would like you to know I changed the character "Verlich" to "Aidan" for several reasons. Other than the name, his general build is diffrerent (taller and buffer) and now has white-grey Celtic-style tattoos all over his body-scales. For those who have not read my previous stories, PLEASE READ THEM FIRST if you intend to read this one, as it will not make sense otherwise. Secondly, I apologize for how late this one took me. College is tough, especially since I am a Junior this year. I have been quite busy. It was not easy to find time to write this, given that I also have to write for nearly all of my other classes as well. And finally, this is only Part 1 of Chapter 2, also because of previously mentioned busyness. I will release what I have so far, and see if it is worth it to continue writing. I really do hope you enjoy my ideas, so please let me know if you do or any suggestions you can give me.
I sat on my bed, thinking about how I am going to complete my next task. Even with magick available to me, killing someone while making it look like an accident is difficult. Now, a normal person would be confused or worried when they find I am gonna kill someone. However, the Council doesn't just off people they don't like. Whoever this guy is, he is serious trouble. It usually takes a war criminal, or a terrorist, to have someone like me called in to kill.
But I suppose I have no choice in the matter. You see, Aidan wasn't entirely correct when he said I got off free from punishment for Incident #3784. Because I am just a pup, and a newly turned one at that, they couldn't perform the typical punishment given to others. Instead, since I showed remarkable talent, I was put to work as a Myrmidon, which is basically the Council's personal group of assassins and law-keepers. Sure, there is an Interdimensional Police Force, which essentially functions like the human Interpol, except it is composed of many, many species. But we Myrmidons usually work alone, in secret, and technically don't even exist. Also, it is only composed of those talented enough to be noticed. You don't apply to become a Myrmidon. They recruit you. I don't even know any other members in the system either, except those I have worked on assignments with. I just learned Aidan is one too, so that was certainly a surprise. It's all very secretive, as a necessity.
Now, I said I am a newly turned wolf before. That is not entirely true though either. You see, this is-to my knowledge-my first life. I am a werewolf, but not just a werewolf. About 1/16 of my blood is of a very ancient line of Fae. However, there are two strange things about this. Neither of my biological parents have any blood other than human. That, combined with this being my first life, is just strange in and of itself. But the second thing is, my Fae blood is...bound, for lack of a better term. Something in it is blocked from me, and I have no idea why, what, or how. I don't even know what type of Fae blood it is, only that it is ancient and, apparently, an extinct line. However, I and others believe it is this blood that has been powering my magick; that it is the reason I can do such powerful spells at such a young age.
But anyways I couldn't sit around forever, because I had a class to get to at 2. I changed out the stuff in my backpack for the last two classes I had today, and walked into our apartment's living room. Thankfully James has taken his little pleasure session into the bathroom, the horny bastard. I will say tho, to his credit, vampires are very sexy...especially him, all muscle-toned over his whole body...and as a wolf, I can understand the strength of a sexual urge... Ack. Stop it brain, you're embarrassing me. I opened the door, only to be blocked by a big black mass. It was Aidan , again. Interestingly, I wasn't startled this time. Either I have run out of adrenaline for the day or I'm just getting used to being surprised like this.
"Hey sexy. Ready to party?" Aidan looked at me with a large, toothy grin. "I assume you know about our assignment now, right?" I gently pushed the anthro dragon back, and stepped through the newly formed gap to the left. "No thanks to you. I almost missed it!" I continued walking towards the stairs, with him in tow. He rolled his eyes at me, saying "Ack, you're a temporal mage, it doesn't matter when I gave you the card. Time means nothing to you right?" I sighed "Well, I suppose technically you are correct. But...its still not a good idea to rely on time travel for everything. Some thing simply cannot be repeated, or avoided. That's what TARA is for after all. For instance, I was headed back to my room anyways. If the current me, who did not know there was a message, met with a future me who was retrieving that message, well it would be...bad. In fact, to come in contact with a past version of yourself is known to kill most people, or at least put them in a comma. But as a temporal mage, it would just really, really hurt. After all, to have your brain write your memories as you observe it is basically like doing brain surgery while you're awake. It really isn't recommended, heheh."
"Oh, I'm sorry man. I didn't know." His apology looked sincere. I smiled at him and said "Ah, well I made it in time anyways. We're good. Just remember it for next time." He lit up and just like that was back to his happy, flirty nature. He began to speak again. "So, I think we should get to know each other's skills better. After all, we will be working together from now on. I get the conjuration and fire/ice thing, but you still haven't explained probability, and well, based on what happened earlier you should explain some more about your temporal abilities." I considered this for a moment. He did have a point, it is always best to know what your partners are capable of doing. I nodded and said "I agree. But right now, I have a class to get to. How about we meet somewhere private later tonight, if I'm gonna show you some real magick then I gotta be in were form." I didn't realize until after I spoke just how potentially dirty that statement was. My face flushed with embarrassment, but either Aidan didn't notice or was polite enough to keep it to himself. "Sounds good. I have no more classes today, so give me a text when you wanna meet, we can talk then." We exchanged numbers, and at the exit of the building we split up.
I headed down towards my class, which was meteorology. I have always had an interest in weather, so I thought this would be both a fun class and a good and easy way to get more credits for this semester. The more classes I complete in my first few years, the easier it will be later, when all my classes will be much harder and more complicated. I walked down through the busy sidewalks. It is funny how people still conform to the rules of the road, even when we are walking. Always be in the right lane. Except of course for the few guys who use their skateboards or bikes to get around. Something moving that fast usually has the right of way.
I arrived at the building where my class was. Fortunately the room was on the first floor, so I won't have any repeat incidences with dragons and stairs. I sat down in a spot, one of the first people here. Class didn't start for another ten minutes or so, and therefore there were a few stragglers about. Some students were in the room already, but I moved to a seat that wasn't near them. I know that others will just end up sitting by me anyways, but I didn't want to accidentally sit in a seat someone else would have taken. I picked up my phone and began to scroll through iFunny. It's a great app for when you have time to waste, but not enough time to commit to something longer and more involved.
After a few minutes, students began to pour into the room and I put away my phone. I picked appropriate notebook and book out of my bookbag and set it on the desk in front of me. I observed the students who came in. Like most classes, there were more humans than any other species, but still some were-species and dragons were here too. Even a couple vampires sat in a little group in the back. There was even a Fae, which was a bit surprising to be honest. It was just a little floating shard of ice "sitting" at a desk. I'm not sure why it would need one; Fae have perfect memories, so they didn't need to take notes. Perhaps it just didn't want to appear out of place.
Eventually, a peculiar werefox came in. He was humming a little tune as he came in, and found himself one of the last remaining seats-which just happened to be right next to me. He sat in his seat, smiling at nothing. Then he turned to me, stuck out his hand, and said "Hey, name's Drinz. Nice to meet you!" I replied by gripping the offered claw and saying "A please, I'm Gavin."
You see, here's the funny thing about werefoxes; they are nearly always horny. That can actually be a problem for them. Many werefoxes can get in a lot of trouble. If they hit on the wrong person, well disastrous consequences can come upon them. I even know a werefox who did exactly that, and it cost him his life. Now, werefoxes are immortal, like any werespecies, but it is possible to...suppress the memories of past lives during a few reincarnation cycles. That's what happened to my friend; he was killed, and now has to spend a few lives as a human, not able to transform or even remember his past.
So this guy will be interesting. I didn't think a werefox would even be able to concentrate enough for human college. I said to him "So uh, what are you studying?" He smiled and said "Music theory! I'm already a bard, but it can never hurt to improve one's education right? And besides, with the huge scholarship they give us for just not being human, well I figured why not?" Fascinating, I thought. It was true that we got a lot of scholarships; you see, most non-humans would rather just be educated by their own kind. It is just another part of trying to help bring the humans into our world I suppose, this being a sort of exchange school after all. "Oh wow, a bard. You know, I'm a musician too, I play the piano." His eyes lite up at that.
Soon after this however, the professor came in (a human) and began the introductory lecture. I whispered to Drinz that we would have to continue this another time. He nodded to me. I returned to my book, but as I did I noticed a bit of a..bulge beginning to form near the fox's crotch. Oh boy. Anyway, no time to think on that now, I got class to pay attention to (Although wolves have a pretty strong sexual drive too, almost to that of the fox. We just have more control). I felt a bit of blood rush south when I saw that bulge, but I closed my eyes and restrained myself, for this was not the time. It was a struggle, but after a bit it settled down. I know I know, I literally just met the guy. But well, I have a thing for foxes (and dragons), and he was just so handsome, and already getting turned on...Ack. Brain. Stawp. Stawp it. Anyway, I would comment on the lecture more, but there really isn't much to say. Like most of our first-day classes, it was just a review of the syllabus; what is expected of us this year, don't cheat...blah blah blah.
So it was a boring near hour after that pretty much. When the class ended, I talked to Drinz again, but only briefly. He had another class to get to, and it was on the other side of the campus from where my next destination was. So instead we exchanged numbers, and promised to meet up at a later time. I gathered my things and began to make my way over to my apartment to put away my bookbag, before heading over to Aidan's place. We decided (through various texts we have been sending each other throughout the day) to meet at his apartment around 3:30. At that time, his human roommate wasn't around, so it would be perfect to demonstrate our abilities to each other then.
His apartment complex was just down the hill from mine, on the third floor. I made my way up the stairs, double checked the room number with the text I received, and then knocked on the door. I was greeted by a shirtless, scaly black mass, and knew I had the right room. He gestured for me to come in, and I complied. "Glad you found the place" he said, then reached down for a cardboard box. "Beer?" I looked at him quizzically, saying "Don't you think it would be better to be sober for the stuff we are about to do?" He laughed a friendly laugh at me "A lightweight eh? Heheh. Ah...good idea nonetheless." He put down the can he grabbed. "So what's in the shoebox? Something kinky, haha?" I rolled my eyes at him, then walked over to the table to set the box down. I had gotten the box when I was back at my apartment earlier. I walked over to the middle of the room and loosened my belt, pants zipper, and removed my shirt. I then proceeded to crouch down on the floor, my hands on the ground in front of me, and mentally called upon the Inner Wolf.
My heart was stabbed with a torrent of adrenalin, and began to pound in my chest. Surges of energy coursed through my veins like liquid fire, producing a simultaneous pain and pleasure. The energy flooded my muscles and they tightened and grew with each pulse of my heart. Invisible needles stabbed at my skin as fur flowed through the pores, covering my whole body. My nails thickened and bent, forming into the claws that tipped my paws. My feet extended out, the top of my feet becoming ferla-like paws while the heel became another joint on my lengthening legs. I quickly outgrew the pants that loosely held to my legs, and they fell to the floor before my inflating muscles had a chance to rip them apart. I was now completely naked (except for the thick fur that now fully covered any exposed skin) since I removed my boxers before coming to his apartment. The whole time this was happening, my nose was extending outwards, becoming more muzzle-like, and my ears grew to become the oh-so identifiable shape of a wolf's. Additionally, I will admit having my body expand rapidly with muscle and power did cause a bit of a turn on. Normally, if I was alone, I would be spouting a huge boner as I grew, and the feeling of growth and transformation of an average human cock to a massive canine shaft (complete with a bulbous knot) is beyond incredible. Sometimes I even pawed off as this happened, which is a feeling that simply cannot be explained. But as I was with a guest watching my every move, I had to use all my energy to keep as non-aroused as I could (though I could only manage to keep it a semi). As my transformation was coming to an end, I stood up to my fully 8 ½ foot height, and stretched my sore muscular frame. I looked down to Aidan and smiled.
He smiled back, saying "damn..." as he ran his eyes up and down my Other Form. I let him appreciate the body I worked so hard for for a bit longer, but then proceed to gesture over to the table, saying "Shall we begin?" in my deep voice. He nodded and walked over to a seat. I simply sat on the floor, as likely no chair would be able to support my weight. I was still high up enough to be level-eyed with Aidan. "Why don't I go first? I have my box ready and everything." He nodded to me and I began my explanation.
"Okay, so look in this box. I have a bunch of dice in here, but we will only need one." I took some out and left one in the box. I closed the lid, and shook the box Then I set it down and said "What number is on the die?" He shrugged and said "I don't know, two." I opened the box, and two pips sat on top of the white block. "Good guess. So as you know, there are six sides to this die, and each one has the number one through six. That would mean that there are six possible positions for this die right? Well, technically there are a near infinite amount of possibilities, because it could literally be anywhere on the bottom of the box when I'm done shaking it. But for the sake of my illustration, we will say that there are only six positions it could be in, one for each number. Now, watch this." I closed the box and gave in another shake. "What number is the die on now?" He said "I'll guess two again." I smiled and said, without taking the lid off of the box "You right...and also wrong." He looked at me confused. I lifted the cover, and his frown only deepened.
In the box lay not the one die we were working with, but instead six dice, with each one a different number. However, that was not the oddest part. Each of the dice were somewhat translucent, as if they were not entirely there. "Now for another question. How many dice are in this box?" He counted, and said "Well, six. One for each number." I shook my head. "Nope. In fact, within this box, there is only one die still." "But how is that possible," he asked me, "I can clearly see six!" I pointed to the one of the images "Each of these 'dice' that you see here is actually a possibility of where the die is. They are all the SAME DIE. All I did was alter the probability values for each of these numbers popping up so that they all partially exist." He thought for a moment, and said "Then..why do they look like they are not entirely there?" I replied "Because each of them only currently has 20% of the probability of existing. I took that probability from the same source. However..." I squinted my eyes and concentrated. With a slight whooshing and crackling sound, each die suddenly solidified. "...now, they each have 100% probability of existing. But in fact, there is still only one die."
I took my sharp claw and stabbed at one of the dice. As I made a dent in the material, dents began to appear on all of the dice in the exact same spot. "You see? Same die, different locations at once. But if I disconnect the Entanglement, and collapse the Supported Particle Wave Function...." I held my hands over the die again, and a dull hum resonated with them. I stabbed at a different location on one of the die, but the dents did not form on the others. "Now, think of them as...clones, perhaps. Quantum clones, all of the same thing, but now made of different matter. This is what I can do." Aidan sat back in his chair, and thought on what I had shown him. Then he asked "How will making clones of die help us in any way?" I smiled, expecting such a question, and instead asked "Does your roommate ever eat on this table?" He nodded, and I lifted my hands over part of the table in front of where he was sitting. The air underneath it began to shimmer and distort, kind of like seeing multiple similar images on top of one another. Finally they coalesced into one object; a nice platter of steak and vegetables.
"Anything and everything has a possibility of existing, and only with the proper vision can one see it. I am able to make anything possible become true, so long as the probability isn't too far off. For instance, making it snow at the equator would be quite a challenge, but because this table is a place for meals it was easier to bring a dinner into our perceivable reality. A skilled Probability Manipulator can stand in front of a machine gun, and never once get hit. They could fire off a gun in any direction and the bullet will always find its target. This ability does come with a cost, for probability can't come from nothing; it must be taken from something else. It is also extremely difficult to master, and takes a lot of energy to implement. But with proper training, a lot can be done with this skill. THAT is what I can do."
He seemed to be impressed, and it was a relief that I got him to understand what it is I can do. It isn't an easy concept to understand, even for us "mystics" (no-humans). "So my personal skillset is this; my Primary is Probability and Temporal, and Secondary is Fire/Ice. I also have training in Conjuration and Summoning, though I do not use them as much. That is just magick though of course. I am also a skilled fighter, both in my Were and Wolf forms, primarily using tooth and claw. I do have basic weapons training though, including firearms, knives and swords, mostly used in my human forms." He whistled at the list. I looked at him expectantly, saying "Well what about you now? I gave you my speech, I think it's time I heard yours."
He smiled and shrugged his shoulders "Well, you know about a bit of it already. I am an expert at telekinesis. I am able to use that ability to accelerate my body speed while fighting, in either my feral or hybrid form, so much so I can use a single talon to pierce armor. I am a lightning mage, and can be especially deadly if there is already a natural charge in the air. I know my basic Element Manipulation, but tend to stick to energy/electricity. Oh, and I am also very, very good at teleportation. See?.." As he said that last statement, his form sorta blurred, and vanished with a whoosh. At the same time, a blur flickered at the other end of the room, and blinked to form his body. Then it happened again, only in reverse. Within the span of half a second, he instantly teleported to his kitchen and back, but I can tell he was keeping it slow for my sake. I was truly impressed. "Wow! You know, I've dabbled in teleportation, and even learned how to make portals (It sorta comes with knowing Summoning). But that was just amazing!" He grinned at the compliment. "Thank you. But yeah, that is pretty much my main skillset, in magick at least. I'm more of a physical fighter, but these skills help a lot."
I nodded my head in understanding. You see, I may be skilled in magick, but I am still a wolf. My animalistic instincts are quite strong sometimes. The urge to hunt, to kill and to chase, all with my bare claws can be quite strong. Same with the urge to mate. I won't lie, I was horny. As I've said before, I have a thing for dragons (and weres of pretty much any kind really), and this guy was one hell of a specimen....I might even considered suggesting some post-mission "celebration" if he seems into it...mmm...ack, there goes my brain again. I mentally kicked myself a few times, and switched my thoughts back to relevant material. I didn't notice the little smirk form on Aidan's face as I was thinking those nasty thoughts.
"Anyway..." I continued, acting normal "I supposed that gets the basics of our skills down. I assume that we shall be completing this challenge tonight?" He nodded his head, saying "At midnight, I can bring us over to Montana using Monorealmnic Congruency. Ever heard of it?" I actually have heard of it, because the basic principles apply to Summoning. Imagine two spheres. Touch those two spheres together, and at the molecular level there is an air particle that is in both spheres at once. That molecule is the "Point of Congruency." Another way to think of it is to imagine a piece of paper folded together. If you made a hole-punch through the folded part, that hole would represent another PoC. It is basically something that is in two places at once. This technique can be used to travel to other Realms, which is called Polyrealmnic Congruence (something that I can do with ease, being a Probability mage). Monorealmnic Congruency is much harder though, and is transportation within the same Realm. But Aidan is skilled in teleportation, so that is why he can do it much better than I can. I explained my basic ability in Polycon, and understanding of Monocon. He nodded his approval.
"We will meet out in the woods behind the engineering building, so be prepared by midnight." This was the same woods I was relaxing in earlier today, so I knew where he was talking about. "What will you do in the mean time then?" he asked me. I shrugged and said "Homework probably." "Well in that case, I suppose you wish to get to it then huh? My roommate should be back soon, just so you know." I looked at the clock and it read 4:30. I should probably go get something to eat. "Yeah, I'll head out for now." I stood up, and stood over my clothes. I called my Inner Wolf back inside me, and I began to shrink. My muscles deflated slowly, and my fur retreated back into my skin. My bones rearanged themselves, and as I became more human-like, I pulled up my pants. I was back to my skinny but toned 6 1/2 foot human body, and reached for my shirt. As I did though, Aidan picked it up and handed it to me, some form of amusement noticeable in his eyes. He walked me over to the door, and after we said our goodbyes, I headed out for the forest. It was time to catch some dinner.