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Here it is finally Chapter 7 hah. Took me forever, but hope it's a decent read at least! Please enjoy!

Phoenix

Leander awoke as the carriage shuffled on the rough dirt and his head tapped against the side of the cart. Eyelids heavy, he felt like he was back in Rington after a particular delivery he and his Uncle had done. It was the last delivery of the day; Leander was curious why his Uncle's trailer was still so very full only to find out why soon after. They had to carry half the trailers length, which was a good three horses, to a single home that had just recently moved in. He could remember very detailed that each crate was only fit for two people and that each one was heavier than the last. He felt the very same as he did at the end of that job, his entire body drained and lifeless. He didn't even want to move his eyes until he realized that he wasn't at D.U.

They wandered in the dark carriage, it could only seat four but the interior was beyond expensive. The leather furniture, black and tightly stretched being held down by rows of buttons taking the glowing red and yellows of the single light inside the carriage. The windows carried a dark navy blue tint about them and were joined by a set of curtains on either side. On the side Leander was lying on, the right side, was where the door stood and it too bared intricate designs with gold trim. A lot of the color carried throughout the door was in the rest of the carriage, blues reds and blacks. Overall it was dark inside, only the light allowed the eye to see as it was still dark outside.

Leander's eyes finally met Astrid, who was sitting in the opposite corner in his usual strange difference reading an old book. The tattered edges and faded color were evidence that it was ancient. The man flipped through the pages one after another before he was through, and then he met Leander's gaze. They met for a while and stayed silent, nothing but eye contact.

The carriage came to a halt short after and Astrid finally smiled offering out a hand to Leander.

"You're awake." He said taking Leander's hand.

Then opening the door Astrid lead the boy out, feeling the leaves beneath him crunch under his shoes. Leander hadn't noticed it because of the fog at Divine but it was the season of Fall and the leaves had already fallen from the trees.

"Where are we?" Leander peered off into the distance.

"I told you before," He began, climbing the carriage and removing some bags from the top. It was a surprising sight again to see Astrid so mobile, he looked so old. "Your training is with me now."

Leander suddenly remembered back at Divine, the horrific fight to saving Dakota. "What happened?" Leander paused." Is... Dakota ok?"

A large brown sack dropped in front of him. "Actually... He's probably in better shape then you are now."

"What happened?"

Astrid went silent for a moment. "You did something... something I've only seen done once. With as small as practice as you have had with your soul, or will power, you performed something extraordinary... Dominus Laurel is the strongest exorcist we have and it still took the three of us to try and perform one. But you... You phased through the demons attack and forced him out on your own and with such masterful ability." Leander had no words; he could barely believe what Astrid was saying. "There's only been one other like you."

"Reignhardt?"

Astrid nodded. "I see the name gets around quickly. Though I suppose I shouldn't be surprised... you are Dakotas's partner."

"Who is he?" The phrase was almost begged.

"Let us set up for the morning first and start a fire then I will tell."

The two-- mostly Leander-- set up camp, Astrid lent a few words of advice and helped with some things such as starting the fire but he wanted Leander to get the experience of being out and needing to create a camp for survival. He knew it to; the training had started the moment he got off the carriage.

After a few hours of being told how to set things up Leander finally finished setting up the camp. It was very elaborate and to him it seemed like Astrid was planning to have a long training session. From the amount of boxes, general supplies and other things the two of them could easily live several weeks without having to go for a resupply somewhere.

Leander took a seat on the ground to catch his strength but before he could rest long Astrid had the brown sack from earlier in front of him. As he began unpacking the things Leander learned that inside were weapons of various types: swords, daggers, maces, axes, and different ranged style weapons.

"Pick a set." Astrid said with an open hand and welcoming movement. "One ranged the other close combat."

Leander was in a moment of shock as the training seemed to elevate very quickly. They had just gotten here and it wasn't even noon yet. Or at least it still felt that early. He peered down, he had never used a weapon before, nor was he sure how any of them felt in his hand. Rington never allowed a civilian to have a weapon, the security was very tight all the time and it was rare to see strangers.

"Go on." Astrid said.

Leander continued to stare then dropped to his knees to examine the ranged weapons. There was a pistol, bow, crossbow and two different types of throwing weapons one single ended dagger and the other in the shape of rings with thinned edges. They were very basic in style, nothing forged or crafted with expertise but they looked functional. Out of the five the pistol and bow caught Leander's eyes the most. They both seemed like a great choice, however the pistol seemed like a better pick considering it had a faster rate of fire. He thought about the idea of himself using either of the two and came to the conclusion that the pistol seemed more to his liking and drew the pistol.

The close combat weapons included much more variety. There were both two-handed and single handed styles of swords, axes and maces. They were like the ranged weapons in look, functional enough but withered. They looked a little dull too, Leander only assumed because they were practice weapons. There were also two daggers that came in a set. The two blades had the same effect on him as the pistol did; he felt attached to them somehow and chose the set.

"Have you used either of these sets before Leander?" Astrid asked rolling the weapon layout up but not before choosing two sets of his own.

"Never."

He smirked finishing up. "We'll you certainly have an eye for what works together."

"Are you teaching me how to use these already?"

"Soon... I promised you I would tell you about Reignhardt." He said.

Leander had already forgotten about that, he was rather interested in being taught how to use the weapons. He felt inspired to learn now that he had done something heroic, even if it was by accident.

"Come, sit, the easiest way for you to understand is to show you through memories." Leander did as he was told and took a seat in front of the High Master. Astrid took a moment to breathe and then brought forth his fingers to Leander's temple just like he had done when he was trying to figure out whether or not he was warrior or magic wielder. The cackles of the flame fell silent and the world around them went quiet. Leander could feel Astrid's mind touching his and the memories began pouring in.

_He was standing at D.U. out by the fountains of the common quarters where a rally of both humans and anthros had gathered. The cheering started off softly at first as Astrid's memory fully took effect and before long everything was clear. Leander couldn't see what exactly was going inside the circle but he knew that there was a fight going on. _

_ A quick flash of light went over his vision and he was suddenly standing within the crowd of people surrounding what looked like a younger version of Dakota and some other bear. Dakota was triumphantly standing over him one foot on his chest. The bear beneath was obviously unconscious and beaten badly. The crowd cheered Dakota on and an almost sinister smile was pulled across his snout. _

_ With another transition he was again standing in another crowd of people with Dakota center stage but this time he was in the ring with a Boar. There were heavy punches and quick counters going on and soon Dakota was victorious again. The bear let out a vicious roar over the school and it silenced the crowd around them as it even brought fear to everyone there. Dakota was the alpha male of the entire school, the strongest over the students and the Paladins. _

_ The vision shifted to another scene this one was Dakota standing in front of Astrid and the other Dominus. _

_ "This is a school where students learn to trust one another not fear one another!" Dominus Randall was barking at Dakota. "You've brought fear to every student in the school Dakota, this is not how Divine is to be seen! When you're out in combat fighting for Heaven, you're fighting with the trust of your allies!"_

_ "I have the trust of my allies!" Dakota responded with a low growl._

_ Dominus Randall stared at the white bear furiously. It was easy to see the bear was ready to attack Dakota. Instead of delivering a blow he shoved a harsh finger against his chest. "Then why do all of your allies complain whenever their mission is complete!?"_

_ "Because they are weak!" Dakota shouted back._

_ "Dakota." Astrid intervened with a soft but strong voice. It was a little different seeing Astrid young, he hadn't had his crazed look back then. Leander wondered what had happened to age his features like that; this vision was not very many years ago. "You have to see that negative affect you're having on yourself by invoking fear in your allies. Your soul is being isolated when you synergize. You and your companion's souls will never be as strong when fear is stronger than trust."_

_ "I send my enemies back to Hell before I ever need to synergize!" Dakota smirked staring beyond the Dominus and the High Master. _

_ Dominus Randall growled. "One day Dakota... one day you will learn that fear is not as strong as trust."_

_ The image shifted back to another crowd fight. This time Dakota was standing in the ring with a human. The human was refusing to fight, just simply standing there with his arms folded and clutching a book. His pose was strong though and there was a different presence about him. Almost dark, it seemed tamed though, immediately Leander knew the boy: Reignhardt. _

_ "Come on human!" Dakota growled with a tease. "I'll let you have the first blow."_

_ Reighnardt just stood, saying nothing but watching Dakota as he tried to provoke him. Dakota shuffled around the boy cursing his race and calling him names but Reignhardt didn't take the bait. _

_ "Kick his ass!" A voice roared from the crowd followed by cheers of everyone who had joined to watch. Dakota continued to antagonize the boy, and whenever he would turn around Reignhardt made an attempt to leave the crowd. Each time though, the crowd would shift in closer so that any kind of hope for escape was gone._

_ "You can't run away from this, new meat." Dakota growled and then laughed. "Even though that's what all of you humans do... your entire race is nothing but a bunch of weak runts!" Dakota shifted closer to Reignhardt. "If you're not going to take my offer then I'm going to!" The bear charged claws out and snarling._

_ As he neared the human he licked his chops and chomped down to taste flesh, but found a bitter empty taste. Reignhardt had maneuvered out of Dakota's reach. The bear nearly tumbled into the crowd clearly not expecting to miss. He never missed! _

_"I told you I don't want to fight, bear." Reignhardt sternly said. His voice sounded innocent but there was a little twist to it, something Leander couldn't quite get his finger on. _

_ "You're stuck in this ring with me until you do!" Dakota said charging again. "Ha!" He growled feeling something within his paws, but frowning as all he had was the human's book. A laugh came from the crowd and Dakota let out a roar of frustration._

_ "Give me my book." Reignhardt warned._

_ Dakota smiled with his sinister grin, he knew he had the boy's attention now and flipped through some of the pages licking his finger to turn the page like he had seen the humans do. "What a useless thing." He taunted._

_ "Give--the sound of tearing alarmed Reignhardt as he watched Dakota tear the book in two._

_ "Oops." Dakota grinned dropping the two halves to the ground. The crowd laughed and Dakota readied himself to charge. "Now I've got you boy." He charged his prey, excited that Reignhardt made no effort to move. He leapt to attack and as his claws neared his skin he was suddenly struck. Hard, against his abdomen and went tumbling over the dirt. He wheezed as the pain caught up with him and exerted from his lungs. He had never been struck like that before, he instantly ignored his pain and jumped back up to a fighting stance and charged blindly. This time he knew he had him but when he went to take him in his claws he was gone and he felt two more blows this time to his right ribs. It stunned him and he slid across the ground coughing as the pain worsened. _

_ Struggling to his feet Dakota caught his breath and faced Reignhardt who stood nonchalant. The crowd was silent and it shocked Dakota, it was never quiet while he fought and with a bellow he tried to win them back. It broke them from their stun but their cheers weren't as enthusiastic. It made Dakota angry directing it to Reignhardt. He was ready this time, he felt on edge and things were getting serious. He couldn't understand how the human had moved so quickly to avoid his blows and strike him with such force. Shaking his head he forced away anything that derived him from not ripping the flesh from this human. This human had made an utter fool of him, a HUMAN! It infuriated him immensely and he knew that this human had to suffer. Only he was allowed to be the alpha male. This time he wouldn't hold back! He was yards away from Reignhardt and went for a strong lunge. _

_ He saw him move this time, his reflexes were quick and before he could finish his lunge, Reignhardt was again at his right side delivering a hard blow to the same ribs. Dakota flinched and made an effort to cover the right side, but it exposed his left and Reinhardt reacted, quickly switching to the bears left side hitting him hard three times before Dakota could react. Swinging his large bear arm wildly to recover his left side it exposed his torso and a hard kick slammed into his chest. Dakota fell backward and hit the ground with such strong force that blood spurt from his lips._

_ Instantly he was assaulted with a flurry of Reignhardts attack, one delivered to the inside of his left thigh which made him flinch to the left and give him the opportunity to deliver two hard punches to his right side once more and then one square in his nose. The punch knocked his head back against the ground and he went clouded as blood gushed into the back of his throat. _

_ Dakota could only swung blindly feeling Reignhardt with one of his swipes knocking him away. He rolled back to his feet and coughed up the blood that had been choking him and wiped his mouth. The blood ignited his berserk instinct and he dropped to all fours and chased Reignhardt. He roared to have his prey and taste the flesh. He would kill the human for making him bleed! When he went to snap his chops against flesh something grabbed his back left leg and lifted him into the air throwing him off balance. Dakota hit the earth on his back and then felt a combination of heavy hits. _

_ The first one hit his right ribs again and the sound of bone cracking echoed in his ears. The second found his torso that he thought he had covered and the air came rushing out of his snout with a strange "Phuu!" he had never made that sound before. Pain rippled his body starting from where the punch had occurred on his torso. His body felt stunned and trying to recover he could only shake his muscles. When he felt nothing from his attacker for the remainder of his paralysis he got ready to leap and send a flurry of his own but just before he did he was struck in the soft of his neck just above his clavicle. The human's fist fit perfectly there and it brought Dakota to a panic as he struggled to breathe. His body awkwardly threw itself onto his stomach to settle his panic and he climbed to his knees but not before hurling up vomit and blood. _

_ He looked back with a death gaze, wheezing as Reignhardt walked away then turned back to hurl. Dakota forced himself to a stand but as he did he instantly felt uneasy and swayed back and forth toward the disappearing opponent. He grasped his right side and leaned to his left one final time before falling unconscious. _

_ The way he fell reminded Leander of the situation back at Divine when he had seen the bear after he arrived home crazed and covered in blood. It gave him shivers to see Dakota fall again like that, and to a mere human. Reignhardt was frightening._

_ Away the vision went and somehow he knew the time clicked forward a couple of months then the vision appeared. Reignhardt and Dakota were together again, but this time it was much different. They were very much in love and Dakota held Reignhardt very close to him in a way he couldn't imagine. Leander envied Reignhardt, he wished he could feel the bear's warm fur against his body. They kissed one another, it was passionate; Leander could barely believe the vision by how Dakota was now. It soon became several visions of their love one right after the other. There was nothing erotic but just mere looks of passion and lust for the other. Leander was jealous of the image. If only Dakota could feel that way toward him; he started to dislike the scenes and as if on cue it changed._

_ Divine was hostile, there was wreckage everywhere and the students fought against demons that ran wildly through the school. Leander couldn't believe what he was watching; the sacred school he was attending was being attacked by Hells minions. _

_ With a shift in the image he was brought before Dakota and Reignhardt again. They were not together though and there was a dark presence about Reignhardt. The boy attacked Dakota but Dakota did not attack back he merely defended occasionally receiving a small blow. There was hatred and anger in Reignhardt but in Dakota there was fear. Fear... Dakota had never shown fear before. He watched helplessly as Reignhardt attacked the school and the students, but Dakota could do nothing but watch. He was in disbelief that his lover no longer was there. He couldn't kill him. _

_ "Reign!" Dakota cried. "Come out of this I know you can! What happened to that boy I loved?" An attack forced Dakota to maneuver out of sight. He revealed himself in hope that his lover would see him for who he was. "Reign please!" He begged. "Please come out of this!"_

_ "Dakota!" Astrid appeared. "That's not Reignhardt anymore. You have to stop this or Hell is going to be unleashed upon our world! I can distract him but--_

_ "NO!" Dakota roared. "I can't Astrid... I can't do it! He's in there I know he's in there!"_

_ "This has to stop!" Astried yelled._

_ "Just give me more time! I can get him back! I can do it!" Dakota pleaded rolling away from another demonic attack. _

_ "Look around you Dakota! There's nothing of Reignhardt left! The boy we once knew, that YOU once knew is no longer here! It has to end. He's lost, he's lost to madness you can't recover him. Dakota his soul is gone!"_

_ Dakota stared at Reignhardt from a safe distance, hiding behind a pillar that had been untouched from the battle. "You have to do it Astrid." Dakota mourned. "I can't kill him!" Leander had seen that look he gave. It was the same look he got as the bear clutched to him for help when the madness was taking over him. He was at his end, like he couldn't go through with anything on his own anymore._

_ The High Master nodded and Dakota took a moment to breath. Leander watched the bear sob before he turned from the pillar and ran out toward Reignhardt. "Finish me!" Dakota yelled! "I can't live here without you! Finish what you started!"_

_ The possessed Reighnardt started to charge a blow against Dakota. The world around them darkened and just before the madness was released, Astrid struck. Instantly, the madness dissipated and Reignhardt collapsed from the air. _

_ Dakota watched in agony seeing the love of his life gone. He rushed to the once living person he loved so dearly and caressed the body close. "Reign..." He cooed. "Reignhardt I'm so sorry!" He mourned and whimpered. He rocked himself back and forth holding the boy mumbling and crying. _

_ _ Leander ripped free from Astrid and fell backward, the fire beside them enraging for a moment. He couldn't see the bear in pain any more, the devastation he was going through with his loss. Leander was heavily panting and for a moment he thought he was going to start to cry too. The visions had been burned into his mind now; he understood why Dakota was like that now. It let all his hope in falling in love with the bear float away_._

"Why... Why would you show me that?" Leander felt angered now.

"You wanted to know about Reignhardt, and why Dakota is so harsh now."

"How... How did Reignhardt become like that? He was so superb!"

Astrid shook his head. "As superb as he seemed, he had one flaw and it was large enough that it jeopardized everything he once stood for." Astrid settled himself and wiped away some sweat from his brow. "It was inevitable that Reignhardt would turn out this way. I should have known from the first signs but I thought Dakota could change him. I noticed that there was a tremendous power inside him and that it bared the same patterns as a demon would. He was a vessel of raw power, like you." Leander shivered. "However you do not have the same dark feeling lingering about you as he did. Never the less, I will not let what happened to Divine happen again, this time I will take you under my wing and train you myself."

Leander could only nod now trying to keep up with the sudden exposure to so much information. The images of Dakota surfaced again and he imagined the entire scene of Dakota and Reignhardt over and over. It was tragic to him and for whatever reason he didn't want to let the image go no matter how hard he tried it was all he could think about. Also the idea of being this so called vessel haunted him too. He didn't like the way it sounded,

"A vessel of power." _ Leander thought. "_I feel like I don't know myself at all anymore."

_ _ "Hey." Astrid spoke, taking Leander by his arm. "I will not let you become what Reign did. You will become a powerful Paladin of Divine."

"A Paladin of Divine." Leander thought to himself. The idea felt great and as he looked up to Astrid he gave a smile.

The first couple of days with Astrid were incredibly difficult and exhausting. It was so overwhelming at first, his hand-eye coordination was terrible and he didn't understand many of the fighting stances for most of the first day. By the second day he had at least got his offensive stance down and he noticed his hand-eye coordination becoming much better. He was sore though and could feel himself becoming sloppier as the day went on and it began to frustrate him. By the end of the second day he had learned his two basic stances and carried the several bruises across his body to prove it. He had never felt so sore in his entire life, there was no single day at work back in Rington that he could compare the achiness to. The third day was slightly easier than the second, Astrid set up targets for Leander to practice on but it was near impossible to hit anything from his soreness, his whole body shook. Astrid was brutal to him and when Leander tried to rest, he would strike at him forcing him to always be prepared when outside of the trainings.

As the week went on, they moved onto mental training where Astrid continually struck him with small tests of scenarios like the gloom had done. This time though he had someone to guide him and though it took him most of the day to finally get the upper hand through the test Astrid was very patient. He gave Leander pointers when needed and when asked and explained things very thoroughly, perhaps even a little too thorough. He revealed many sets of fighting as well imprinting it into his brain so the routines could become easily memorized and quicker to learn. He was again exhausted by the end of the day, his body was healing but now his mind was worn out and he felt emotionally tired.

By the fourth day he was able to go through the motions of his offensive and defensive fighting styles with ease and even spar with Astrid. He wasn't sure what to expect at first from Astrid but he proved that with just the little skill he was taught he still had a lot to learn if he wanted to become the great Paladin he spoke of. The bruises had only gotten worse by then and when he would get struck the pain would be much worse then what he expected at one point he thought his body would permanently have pain there. Leander proved himself worthy though and to move on to the more advanced styles of fighting and so another session began that went on through the late night until he collapsed from exhaustion.

"Get up." Astrid said harshly intruding on Leander's sleep.

Leander struggled to a stand his arms were weak and his mind was still recovering from the daily trainings. It felt like he had just shut his eyes but by now he was in enough of a routine to gather what he needed. The fifth day was upon them and he quickly got himself dressed to start the day off with a morning duel or a five mile hike or something dramatically insane. Whatever it was he knew he would be in for agony. His old bruises were at least healed but it didn't matter now that he had new ones. "... Can't we just take a break today?" Leander asked, not exactly thinking but instead letting his pain speak for him. "We've been at it for four whole days, my body feels broken and my brain is still exhausted from the treatments."

"Let's go." Astrid said along with tossing a decently sized bag towards Leander. It struck him firm and he let out a pained sigh and followed. At this point he was ready to just give up and ignore his High Master. He wanted to just say no and crawl back into his slumber for a good few days. "Come come." Astrid barked motioning his hands for Leander to hurry up.

They ventured for a good half hour through the forest. Inside Leander was building up his anger towards Astrid seeing the back of his head the entire way, the long messy white aged hair. He was grouchy and just wanted some sleep. Just a couple more hours of sleep, his body wasn't healed he ached all over and every time he took a step he felt like he was going to fall over. Luckily before Leander succumbed to his anger they arrived at the base of a cliff side. By the brutal training and hikes from earlier he assumed he would be scaling the mountain today and started without Astrid's word. Reaching about half way he heard Astrid clear his throat.

"What are you doing?" He called from down below.

Leander scowled. He was at his breaking point ready to scream back at the crazy old man. He was waiting for the lecture and then Leander would ask why only to receive the single phrase that Astrid had been using for everything so that he didn't have to explain things: _That's the Divine way._He hated that phrase now and was ready to break the old man if he heard it again. "I'm climbing this damn mountain Astrid! Because it's the Divine way!"

"I see that... but we're supposed to be going this way." Astrid pointed to his right to a path way that lead through the cliffs that he hadn't noticed before.

He let out a cry of anger and slammed the fatty part of his fist against the rocks. He cursed repeatedly and rushed himself back to the ground. Ending it with a jump he landed hard but managed to stay unharmed and cursed to himself again. "Why are we even out here? We're a good mile out of camps reach why do we need to be this far away to train?" Leander couldn't hold in his anger anymore. "We've been at it for so long!" He pouted dropping to his knees and hanging his head. The sack fell too landing next to him in a manner that two decorative cups rolled out. Eyeing them Leander looked up. "And why do you have these cups."

"Well... so much for the surprise springs." Astrid sadly said.

The boys head jumped back up. "...Springs?"

Astrid smiled and nodded. "It was supposed to be a surprise... but seeing as these cups couldn't stay put in their bag I guess the secrets out." He leaned back slightly and grinned. "Plus, you stink."

Leander smiled, and then with a giggle of exhausted excitement climbed to his feet and pushed Astrid to lead on. Not long on the path and the air started to feel wet and thick and Leander was there to accompany it gladly. He was practically sprinting, awkwardly, but sprinting the rest of the way until the path took a hard left and went into a short tunnel where lush green lights glittered from the other side. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Yet he wasted no time with its beauty and ran to meet it. Inside the tunnel a rush of hot warm air danced across his skin and a fat smile followed. The closer he got the closer to solace he felt until finally he was on his knees in front of the spring, steam lingering from the pool. Dirty shirt ripped from his body, Leander stripped down to nothing and slithered head first into the soothing water.

Submerged he just laid there, feeling weightless in the hot spring water, it burned him to the touch but it relaxed his body. His muscles no longer ached and pulsed from soreness, he was reminded of how they should feel. It took him a long minute to finally come up for a breath, enjoying the cold air as he left the spring water. With his back against the spring wall he let out a long sigh and smiled up to the heavens. He practiced the breathing techniques that Astrid had showed him in one of their training sessions further relaxing his muscles.

Astrid eventually caught up to Leander and began to undress as well, taking a spring across from him. His entrance wasn't as dramatic but he did let out a long sigh. Leander avoided staring at Astrid's nude body, as interested as he was in men, Astrid had a body type that didn't exactly fit him. He liked the heavier muscle and chubby type. Apparently ones with fur too. He thought of Dakota suddenly and passed thoughts of the bear through his head showing a little smile. Excited to show the bear what he'd learned and wanted to give the Gloom another go, he knew he could do it this time. He closed his eyes and envisioned him triumphant over the Gloom and finally earning Dakota's respect. Leander wanted it so bad, he wanted to be accepted by Dakota, and he wanted to impress the titan.

"Congrats to passing your first week of training." Astrid said clearing his throat. "You learn very quickly when you're in a different environment."

Opening his eyes, Leander stared at his mentor, they were such nice words to hear. He didn't feel so useless anymore. "Thank you." Leander replied as genuinely as possible. "Though I'm still skeptical that you have some kind of training planned."

Astrid grinned. "Just talking today, I've seen a lot of who you are through the mental trainings, but now I'm curious if you know who you are." He paused. "So tell me Leander... tell me your back story as much as you know about yourself."

Leander cocked his head a little bit slightly confused. "You want me to tell you who I am?"

"Exactly." Astrid said.

"Uhm... Okay." He wasn't sure where to start, was there even a beginning to his story? "So..."

Astrid smiled. "So... why don't we start off with this: I am Leander."

"I am Leander..." He took a pause and thought. "My entire life I was raised in the care and security of Rington..." It seemed like a good beginning, then he frowned as new thoughts entered. "I've... I've never met my parents... and I don't think I ever will... My mother passed when I was young and I can't remember my father's face." He looked up to Astrid whom seemed empathetic yet interested so he continued. "...I have never heard of Divine University... and have never fought anything." On he went elaborating what he knew about himself. He had never done something like this so he just started to pour out whatever came to mind. He grew up with his Aunt and Uncle and realized that, that was really all the family he had. He also noticed that he knew very little about the outside world. Rington's security was extremely up tight it was very rare that any kind of undead terrorized someone in the city. It made him feel very isolated and unprepared for the trials of the real world and it made him upset. Like his whole child hood had been wasted on useless work that wouldn't benefit him to becoming a man, let alone a Paladin. It was depressing to think about. He didn't want to talk on the subject anymore so he remained silent.

"What about your personal interests?" Astrid abruptly said. "What kind of person do you find yourself attracted to?"

That was easy: Dakota was his person of attraction, but could he say it without being so candid? "Well... I, I like someone who... uhm..." His brows slanted and he frowned thinking. He really didn't know what caught his interest he hadn't been attracted to anyone in Rington. He wanted to just say the polar bears name but refrained back into hiding. "I, I don't really know what attracts me."

Astrid had an honest smile from the way Leander showed his innocence. "Well... what about Dakota makes him so attractive?"

Leander froze up. "I didn't say Dakota." Was it that obvious?

Again the innocence made Astrid smile. "Leander... I've seen into your mind. I know all about you, I'm curious if you know the same. I know the feeling you get just by his name. I'm curious why you're still willing to invest time with Dakota even after how much he's belittled you." It was true, why did he still like Dakota even after all the stress he put him through? There was easily another he could fall for, he had found the cute bartender in the Ursus dorms very attractive, Aiden. "I don't--

"Think about it before you say I don't know. Think hard about it." It was silent in the spring for a long minute. Why did he think the bear was so incredibly wonderful as much as Dakota showed his anger to him? Why did he still care for the bear? Maybe it was the way he hid his real feelings, maybe there was something deeper Leander could feel in the bear that brought forth hope. Astrid had brought new light to the way Dakota was, was proof that inside there was a loving spirit. Yet he still couldn't come down with a specific reason why the bear was so perfect...perfect. Maybe that was it. "He just seems perfect." Leander frowned being the only solution he could come to.

"Because you two are perfect for each other." Astrid gave a great big smile. "It's very obvious just by the matching of your souls. I have never seen two souls more perfect for one another. Even Reignhardt didn't share the same level of perfection that the two of you have for one another. Dakota may not see it yet and it will just take him time, but he will see it. He will see you for who you really are and all the potential you have. It's hidden in their Leander and its starting to reveal itself."

A little tiny smile cornered in Leander's cheek and he looked to his mentor and nodded. "Do you think so?"

"I know so."

Astrid continued to push Leander for another week breaking him down and rebuilding him. Intensifying the trainings and sparring whenever they could. They never revisited the springs though, it became a sacred memory he would hold onto forever. It got him to thinking of his life in Rington too, that there wasn't a single memory he could compare to that of the springs. He let the memory sort of replace his old self, he wanted to be reborn from this, like a phoenix. He was immerging from a long, long slumber and was eager to fill his new life with meaning. It fueled him to train harder and longer hungry to take any kind of mental training Astrid had for him, anything that could make him more powerful.

_

Tybalt's tracking had proved incredibly more useful than I thought it to be. The stories of his famous tracking in other contracts seemed true. Soul Tracking, it was one of the great abilities we Divine students obtain. It was what I had done in Rington while searching for the dark soul. As much as I hated to admit it-- even to myself, he was the best at Divine. It made me think about the demons all of the sudden. They were most superb at tracking.

No one knows why they were the greatest, maybe it's the madness that allows them to go crazy over the soul, or maybe it's their own appetite that can't be sated until the soul is swallowed. Whatever it was, it allowed Demons to even surpass the living's ability. However it was only under certain circumstance, demons can't track by their eyes or their nose, they track by the soul. The soul leaves a trail just like a scent and once it's found it's almost impossible to lose. Or so it seems even I have found it near impossible to lose a demon who's tracking me. But you have to encounter them in order for your soul to be traced otherwise were practically invisible.

The Soul Tracking ability allowed our large group to maneuver through the demon's ambushes and avoid any kind of attention. It kept us on track of catching up to Astrid and Leander, wherever he had taken him. We needed to catch up and quick, the demons had a head start to begin with.

Although normally, I would call Tybalt a coward for not engaging but because of how dire it is to reach Astrid and Leander I let it go. The mission was going a lot more smoothly than expected and I again had Tybalt to thank for that. Divine was vulnerable with a group of this size to leave all at once, the faster the better.

We had been on the road for almost a week, by now it was routine for breaks and patrols. For the most part we were able to track even during the night except Laurel who didn't share the ability to have night vision. She rode horseback during the night and slept, then returned the favor to watch while the rest of use slept during parts of the day. We were nearing the destination, Astrid's scent was starting to blow in and out, maybe ten miles away.

I thought about Leander and mixed feelings swam around my head. With a grumble Runt eyed me.

"Oh come on their Dakota, feeling uneasy?" He smirked.

"Just thinking."

"Of your boy toy?" He squealed in laughter.

I growled ferociously at Runt. "Shut your snout Runt."

"Easy you two!" Dominus Randall interjected. "Keep focused on what the mission is."

Runt laughed again and shrugged his shoulder turning forward. "Yeah Dakota, don't have to get so offensive."

I gave a deep growl, and my snout vibrated. That stupid pig knows his place! I'd knock his teeth in like I did years ago in Divine! He was right though, I was thinking of Leander. More than I should be, and it was starting to drive me crazy. Ever since I woke up in my room. How could I just change thoughts about him instantly and all of the sudden? Over one stupid exorcism... I didn't even need his help I could have gotten out of it by myself. I didn't need him, I didn't need anyone anymore. I was fine by myself! I didn't want to get deep into details, it made me think of... I instantly shrugged off the idea and picked up my pace.

I walked furiously to keep my mind astray, but it didn't last long. Like an annoying fly buzzing around I couldn't get rid of the thoughts about Leander. Instead of forcing them away I allowed it to happen and wandered through the couple of memories I had.

I felt a little smile when I first met him, he was standing up on Astrid's second post. I thought it was fairly cute in a way, so innocent. Then he seemed nervous when I started talking and I got a scent of him. It wasn't like any of the other humans that attended the school, I couldn't quite put my paw finger on it, but it was pleasant. It was very strange, no one had ever smelt like that before, not even--my head froze at the thought of him and I forced the scene to be skipped.

I jumped ahead to walking to our dorms, when I pinned him against the wall and hovered over him, I enjoyed that. He saw me as a fearsome monster and I saw him as a small warrior I would protect and always linger over. I enjoyed that feeling, of being able to protect him and being much larger than him. I didn't want to break my cover though and brought a little bit of fear into the situation and pressed my hand against his chest. With that I felt his heart beat vibrate through my paw to my ears. I sighed reliving that feeling the light "lud, lump" of his human heart, it was music to my ears.

A bow string vibrated in my ear and I watched as everyone around me scattered as all I could do was turn my head to the left. The arrow thumped the hard padding of my shoulder armor but it ricocheted off with the splinters of wood. I growled with a curse, angry that I allowed myself to be distracted by Leander.

Following the angle of the shot into the trees I spotted five cloaked figures each holding a bow but only one string relaxed. Another series of vibrations came from their direction and I tucked and rolled away avoiding the threat completely.

With everyone recovering we turned our attention to the group and returned fire.

"Heavy madness presence coming from that direction!" Tybalt announced over the group, drawing his bow back and releasing. "Only ranged!"

"Fall back! Let Heathen, Tybalt and Angela deal with them!" Randall roared.

I retreated behind a large rock where Kato and Runt were.

"You're a lucky bastard." Runt said as I neared and I only gave him a snuff.

From what I could see Angela positioned herself in a spot that she had sight on our two ranged but not the attackers. She would place protective divine material around Heathen and Tybalt so that they only had to focus on attacking. The cackle of flames came from Heathen and his staff. Dakota remembered the staff being made from marble, curvy and smooth like a tree branch with no bark. Heaven forged allowed the stone to be shaped like that and durable at the same time, there were also runes' and a crystal like stone at the top that would glow whenever he entered combat.

"You are pretty lucky Dakota." Kato said. "That's not like you though, what were you doing? You should have been the first to react. You doing alright?"

"He's distracted by his boy." Runt snorted

"I'm not!" Dakota frowned. "Everything's fine." I huffed. "I'm just not at my peak."

Runt just shrugged but Kato gave me a look that I knew I would have to deal with later today.

It was a mix of combat in Dakota's ears now, just the bow strums and flickering of flames being casted out, along with the serene song of heaven whenever Angela would put up a shield over her allies. The attacks continued on for a short time, and one by one, the presence of madness dissipated and eventually vanished completely.

After the battle ended Dakota and his group immerged from their side and rejoined everyone. Heathen and Tybalt both congratulated Angela on her great performance and she returned with her grace. We did a check up on everyone else and made sure our group was well enough to proceed. I cursed to myself again at my poor performance and forced Leander out of my head for the rest of the way, I would remain at my peak! I was a fool to let him in right now!

"Finally slipped up on that one huh Tylbat?" Runt jokingly said from the party.

"Heh." Tybalt gave a wink back to the boar. "Guess I did, I didn't think they'd see us. Good thing it was only a bait, they weren't able to give any information about us we were too far for Soul Tracking."

"How much further we got?" I asked.

"Bout 8 more miles. Nearly there, I'm sure we all can smell em... Well... except for Laurel." Tybalt smiled with a wink and everyone laughed a little, even Laurel.

"Nothing I haven't heard before." Laurel said with another giggle.

"You seemed distracted Dakota, you doing ok?" Randall asked firmly squeezing the shoulder I was shot on.

I glared at my commander and swiftly nodded. "I'm fine, I was just thinking."

Randall only gave a glare back. "Stay focused."

"Couldn't have said it better myself." I whispered.

We only walked a short distance before Dominus Randall had his paw on my shoulder, signaling me to fall back with him. "You and I need to talk." He started while we waited for the rest of the group to pass us before proceeding. "You're distracted, what's going on?"

"I'm fine, I'm just not at my peak." I wanted him off my back. "It was only one time."

"Dakota of Divine is always at his peak." Randall said. "That mistake could have costed your life."

I gave a growl to my commander. "You don't have to tell me that, I'm aware."

"Tell me what troubles you... Dakota I raised you in Divine, I know your actions like my own! You're never distracted when it comes to high priority missions!"

I wanted him off my back, but I didn't want to admit it, I just couldn't. I didn't think I was ready to replace Reignhardt. "I don't know what's wrong with me Dominus, I just don't think I'm at my peak."

Dominus Randall scowled. "I warned you, you should have stayed at Divine!"

"Do I ever listen?"

Dominus just scowled again and pushed me forward so we could close the gap between us and the rest of the group.

---

"Good, good!" Astrid said as Leander parried another one of his attacks.

Two weeks had finally passed since Leander first awoke in the carriage. They sparred by the fire going back and forth smacking their weapons neither one receiving blows. Leander was nearly recovered and he could feel some muscles where he hadn't before. It wasn't a huge difference but it was there, the way he swung his daggers or danced around the fire he could feel it. He was more agile and faster with his reaction on things.

"Excellent job!" Astrid smiled striking but being defended.

Leander gave a great big smile and returned with a quick but strong attack. He was finally enjoying himself, finally understanding how to fight and feeling like he fit in. The spar lasted for many minutes more until finally Astrid put up his hand to cease the training. Each of them stood up panting and gave a bow.

"You've made it." Astrid congratulated. "I have made a Paladin out of you." Astrid laughed.

Leander said nothing, but walked to Astrid and hugged him. A long heavy hug a son would give to his father. "Thank you." Leander spoke. "Thank you so much Astrid. You have given me hope."

Warmer than the flames Astrid smiled and rested his head a top Leander's. "Boy... it was all you."

Their embrace ceased and they sat down sighing into the open fire. "No..." Leander started. "You were the one who believed in me. You personally took me aside to reveal my potential and I can't thank you enough."

"You were willing to listen I was willing to teach." Astrid said, attaching instruments to the fire to prepare for their nights tea.

It had become a routine in the last few days when Leander had been able to duel with his mentor. They would practice until they were tired and then end the day with a cup of hot tea. Winter was starting to approach so the nights were becoming frigid and their blankets were short in supply. Leander wondered if they would be heading home soon, their supplies were also running low and he knew for a fact they couldn't survive for very long if it were to snow.

With a toast and clink of the cups they sat and drank, sipping the hot herbal tea and letting it warm their insides. This tea somehow tasted different today, all the other nights was the same concoction. It tasted like a strong lavender and some kind of berry, perhaps blue berry. He wanted to ask his mentor about the tea, but decided to wait a few more meditative minutes. There was a second part of the routine, the silence that followed the drink, they both sat quietly, staring into the flame and reflecting. It was another thing Astrid had taught him, to reflect on what he had learned that day, it would allow his brain to retain the information easier. Though it was hard to focus on just one thing, there was so much to think about since he first got here, he couldn't believe his transformation. Astrid had forced him to cut his hair too, Leander hadn't had the time to cut his hair before he traveled to Divine; so it was long to begin with. Now he had it short on the sides, yet a little longer on top, a trend he remembered back in Rington. Astrid had cut it for him as best he could, he could feel the uneven parts sometime whenever he ran his hand through his new head.

He was curious how Rington was now, was it still the same as he left it? Boring. Leander was so unaware of the life style like this, he had been missing so much from being isolated.

Taking another sip of his tea he looked at Astrid. "So why the different taste in tea?"

Astrid didn't open his eyes he just stayed silent and breathed for a little. Then finally he spoke. "It's a celebration, I thought it would be nice to have something a little more exotic and delicious."

Leander smiled and closed his eyes again. "It certainly is nice." His head suddenly went to Divine and he thought of all the different races he saw inside his quarter. Then to Aiden behind the bar and Glen, he shivered with Glen thinking about how the bear had tried to use him and felt himself a fool that he didn't realize it. Aiden brought a smile though, he kind of wanted to see that bear again, and say hello. He then wondered if people who worked the bars and things did any missions in the field, that seemed like two jobs and then he thought that maybe there were people in Divine that just weren't cut out for field work. It was strange he had just thought about this now and instead of when he was being down talked by Dakota, maybe he truly believed in himself since the beginning. This made Leander smile again knowing that deep down, he really was cut out for field work and he did have confidence in himself.

Then he thought of something in Divine again, in the same setting with Aiden. The thing he had done when he was able to see everyone's souls and touch their minds and see who they were. He looked to his master and hesitantly questioned. "Astrid?"

"Hm?" Was his brief and patient response.

"I..." Leander frowned trying to phrase it properly in his head. "Do you... see souls?"

Astrid opened one eye. "What a strange thing to ask."

Leander nodded and sipped his tea looking into the fire. "I think I do."

"Oh?" Astrid was quiet interested now and set down his tea and sat up. "What do you see when you see souls?"

Leander thought of Aiden. "...I see... their personalities. Into their minds, what they're thinking about... I had done it in the Ursus Dorm lobby. I saw into my friend Aiden's mind."

"What am I thinking of?" Astrid asked.

Leander looked at his mentor but couldn't see his soul. "I... I can't see yours... I-I don't know how I was able to do--

"I believe you." Astrid quickly hushed his rambling. "It's a form of synergizing... Did I explain that to you?"

"I... think so. I don't remember."

"Synergizing is when the mind and soul of two join forces to make the body strong. It's a powerful tool that typically can be used as a fatal blow, but it comes at a cost. Most who use it are very weak afterward, it's dangerous to use in long fights. However, it applies differently for everyone, which is why Divine does not teach it, but allows it to develop on its own in students. That's the reason why we want partners in Divine, to allow the spiritual side to develop between two, the ability becomes stronger when two souls are friendly with one another. As you develop it, you're soon able to perform it with everyone, but as I said before it's different for everyone. It is better to know your partner and perform it with them so there is no surprise when it comes to your last resort."

Leander nodded. "So... everyone can see souls then?"

"Well, no." Astrid smiled revealing he had gone off topic. "In fact... not very many at all can see souls, I for example can only see souls when I come in contact. I don't want to say I'm surprised because I don't think I should be anymore when you tell me you say you can see souls... How long ago did this happen?"

Leander shrugged. "Maybe a day or so before Dakota had returned."

Astrid leaned back. "You should have told me about it sooner. That's something we'll have to test in Divine."

"I had just remembered it... I guess I was distracted by all of this."

His mentor nodded and they sat quiet again. Leander sort of frowned not exactly getting a clear answer as to what he was able to do. He attempted it, trying to get the ability to work, he wanted to see into Astrid's mind. He knew his soul color already, the dark red, but for whatever reason he couldn't get it to reveal itself. He thought about what he was doing back when it happened and remembered the sweet drink, how he thought he had been drugged. Maybe he had to be drunk to do it, though that didn't make very much sense. Or maybe he had to clear his head and be super relaxed, but he was already doing that.

Something snapped off in the woods behind the cart and Astrid was instantly to his feet and then Leander. The horses gave a noise of unease and rattled by their post. They both waited tense, neither of them were armed. Leander briefly looked around him for something to fight with, not daring to take his eyes for more than a second from the darkness beyond the trees. He saw his mentor cautiously moving toward the brown bag full of weapons, but they were only practice weapons, how effective would they be?

Then something whizzed by, stabbing into the crate behind him. Leander jumped away from the arrow putting the cart between him and the direction of the attack. Astrid had the bag revealed tossing up Leander's weapon of choice, minus the pistol. His mentor quickly ordered him with a hushed finger to his lips and motion to crouch low so they weren't visible.

"The horses." He spoke softly. "You need to get to a horse and ride."

Leander shook his head. "What about you?"

"Don't worry about me. They're after you."

Something landed hard into the middle of the camp and then they were engulfed in smoke. Leander's lungs were first to be assaulted with heavy thick air, making him cough and lower his guard. Movement crossed the campfire and the sound of two blades clashed together right in front of him. Astrid had gotten around him to block an attack that would have hit him. The blade looked strange, it was pitch black and smoke lingered off. Astrid planted himself in front of Leander striking with exquisite precision so that he did not have to move. The creature was relentless and continued to strike, keeping his mentor busy.

"The horses!" Astrid demanded. Leander looked around himself, the smoke was so thick he could only see the glows of the fire, and wasn't sure which direction the horses were. Their whines mixed with hard clash of steel and it sounded like they were everywhere. Another attacker joined the fight and Leander got a full view of the monster.

It was covered in black, tattered hood and gown and its face wasn't visible. Its shoulders were big so it looked like it had some kind of armor beneath it, but it was fast. It struck for Leander but instinct had taken over and he parried the attack. Leander returned with a routine strike but the monsters sword was there to defend it. They exchanged blows for a while, and as the smoke started to thin he was able to see the horses. Several times he tried to force the creature to one side so he could pass but it seemed to know his intentions and held its position between him and his escape route.

Leander cried out in frustration swinging harder hoping to get his opponent to stagger, but it was no use. Whatever it was, it knew how to fight. There was something else happening to, he felt something touching his mind. Each time he struck the monster he could feel the pressure more and more. He felt like he was getting careless and more frustrated with each attack. He wasn't used to it, he never felt this way in Astrid's trainings, he always felt clear minded.

A quick flash of light came from Leander's left peripheral where Astrid was and the strange sensation seemed to ease up. His head was less pressured and he felt lighter on his feet. He attacked and opened a position to the monsters stomach and stabbed with his other dagger. It hit hard plate bouncing back and Leander reacted to the failed jab, leaping back. His weapon was too dull to penetrate the monsters armor. He stopped for a moment to think while he had distance: Was this the madness Astrid had warned him of? He was able to execute a better decision after Astrid had used his magic, and the pressure sensation lifted a little. But it was starting again, he could feel it poking at his head and soul like a little spider weaving black silk around his emerald beam constricting him. He brushed away the webbing as best he could in his head, he wasn't sure how he did it, but it felt natural.

The monster struck, and Leanders delayed reaction caused him to stumble back. The attack came again and this time it knocked him off his feet on to his back where he tried to roll away. Weapons up fast he guessed the next blow would aim for his mid region and caught the weapon, though not before being shattered by the powerful attack. He back peddled out of safety, to see where his mentor was. Astrid was fighting several of them, he looked to be winning, but because of the dulled weapons, whenever he would return a countered blow it would bounce off.

Two more creatures joined Leander's fight, standing side by side weapons drawn. He was doomed, how could he defeat three of them with no weapon? The creature in the middle charged Leander. He thought of something quick and decided to disarm the monster just like he had been taught, readying himself he waited for the opportunity. Time slowed down as he concentrated on his opponents movements, as it neared Leander's hands reacted, when suddenly three consecutive arrows fasted itself deep into his attacker's chest. The creature stumbled off to the side with a grotesque wail and fell dead to the ground.

Before he could turn to see the owner of the arrows, a large white figure joined the fight striking Leander's opponents with two fast and powerful blows finishing them. The warrior stood up and slowly turned his head back.

D...Dakota!?

Things came to a slow again and inside his heart fluttered. The bear had just saved his life. Soon the rest of his party members joined the fight, quickly gaining the upper hand. In no time the monsters were dead and his camp now became a grave yard. Everything was slowed down though, Leander couldn't take his eyes off Dakota who briefly removed his to assess safety around them. They soon returned to Leander's though for a long moment, and then he turned away.

"Astrid?" Dominus Laurel shouted. "Are you alright?"

Leander's eyes moved past Dakota to his mentor who suddenly dropped to a knee.

"Angela!" Dominus Randall yelled. The female lynx rushed to Astrid with a glowing gold hand and placed it over Astrid's chest, heart side. An arrow had struck him there, and it too bared a pitch black and smoke effect.

Fear suddenly gripped Leander and he could only stare wide eye at his mentor. "Tybalt! Runt! Secure our location!" Dominus Randall barked. "Nothing gets through! Kato, you too!" They saluted their commander and rushed off on their orders.

"I'm going to be okay." Astrid laughed being sat down. "I just need my tea." He motioned.

Leander let out a sigh of relief and a smile.

"This is going to hurt." Angela said as Laurel brought him the remainder of his tea.

"I'm ready." He said with a sip. He shrieked for a second and sighed in relief as the arrow came out clean and the healing affect poured into the open wound. It was no longer smoking when she pulled it out and dropped it to the ground.

"You're sure you're okay High Master?" Laurel worried.

"Perfectly fine... Thanks to you guys arriving in just the right time." He leaned back and finished the rest of his tea.

Seeing his mentor would be okay, Leander turned his attention back to Dakota, who was staring at him. "... Thanks." Leander softly said.

Dakota only nodded and then ever so quietly. "You're welcome."

"Tybalt can track like a demon." Astrid laughed. "Though a party of eight, that's a bit unnecessary."

"I shouldn't have let you leave Divine to begin with." Dominus Randall interjected. "Why?"

Astrid pointed to Leander. "To train the boy. He wasn't in the proper environment to train well." Astrid eyed Dakota. "He wasn't given a proper chance."

Dakota frowned but kept his back turned, already annoyed with Astrid.

"Ey!" Dominus Randall started. "You two okay over there?"

"Yes." Dakota quickly replied. "We're both fine." Dakota turned away and joined Astrid, and Leander followed shortly after.

After Tybalt, Runt and Kato returned, another fire was built, The Dominus's and Astrid took to the one premade by Leander while the rest of the group gathered around a new one. Angela occasionally left to tend to Astrid's wound and brought back bits of information that let everyone else know what was going on. It wasn't much of a secret to begin with, everyone knew what the next mission would be. Leander was a vessel of power, so he would be the top priority of the mission.

"I don't understand why Astrid brought him all the way out here to begin with." Kato started. "If he is what Dakota mentioned than isn't it foolish to take him away from Divine where he can be protected?"

"Apparently the boy needs special attention." Tybalt said. "He doesn't learn like the rest of us do."

"Still doesn't make any sense why so far away though." Kato continued. "Just... just doesn't make any sense."

"It makes perfect sense." Runt started drawing Leander's eyes. The boar was looking at Dakota who was remaining quiet throughout the conversation. "The real problem is why was Dakota given him? All of us know that's the real problem. He's already had so much trouble with humans to begin with. Astrid should have known that given a human to Dakota would only make him more upset, sheesh I could have seen that a mile away."

Everyone turned to Dakota expectantly, when Leander suddenly spoke. "I don't think... you can really blame either of them." He softly said. Everyone's eyes suddenly turned to Leander who was staring into the open flame. The heat relaxed his body and he looked beyond everyone toward his master resting. "I think Astrid... was only trying to help Dakota get over Reignhardt," Saying his name made everyone shift uneasy, expecting some kind of defense, harsh remark from Dakota. But the bear just listened, watching Leander intently. "He showed me what happened to you." Leander lifted his eyes to Dakota. "I saw it all Dakota...That kind of thing... can't be fixed by someone else... Astrid tried to fix something that wasn't ready to be healed... Maybe the decision was a bad one to give me to Dakota... but it was only because he was trying to help... Once he saw that Dakota wasn't doing any better, he removed me entirely... You can't blame Dakota for Astrid's decision to train me privately."

Silenced filled their campfire, everyone seemed so surprised by Leander's say. Then Dakota got up and stayed standing for a short time before he turned from the group and isolated himself. Leander wished he could help him, watching the bear seat himself at one of the wheels of the carriage, back turned to the rest of the group and staring off into the night.

Dakota seems so passive now. Leander thought to himself. _ What's he thinking about? Back in Divine he would have yelled at him to mind his own business... but now... now he just doesn't seem like he's all there._

"That went... surprisingly well." Runt spoke, staring at Dakota too. "You can't help him though," He continued turning to Leander. "He's stubborn."

"If any of us had mentioned his name he would have attacked." Tybalt joined in. "Maybe he is starting to get over him."

"I told you he's not himself... ever since he woke up he hasn't been the same." Kato added.

Leander gave one final look before returning his stare to the flame. He wanted to help the bear, talk to him and maybe see if he would open up to him, but deep down Leander knew it was better for Dakota to sort that kind of thing out by himself. He couldn't imagine losing someone he loved so much.

Later on everyone found themselves an area of the camp to rest, Leander took to his usual spot around his campfire where the Dominus had decided to rest as well. He watched Astrid every now and again, he still wasn't sure that he was ok. There was a difference to the old man's breathing, once and a while he would stop entirely and then suddenly come to and gasp. It wasn't a panicked gasp, it was more soft and deep in his chest. Still Leander couldn't help but worry about his mentor. Astrid seemed to be the only friend he had right now.

"He'll be alright." Dominus Randall said from across the campfire. He hadn't noticed the large bear staring at him while he accessed Astrid. The bear was laying as relaxed as he could in his heavy set of armor, the only thing he refrained from keeping on was his helmet piece. It lied next to him and he used it as an arm rest. Leander couldn't imagine being fully dressed in that armor, he'd be a slug.

"Just... checking on him." He finally responded.

The bear gave a little grin. "Angela's a fine healer, she'll keep the High Master well."

Leander smile back and nodded a little, shifting his eyes to the carriage where Dakota still remained.

Dominus Randall must have seen his gaze, because he too turned his head to look at Dakota. "You're worried about him too? Last I heard you two haven't been getting along very well."

Leander nodded. "Before he came back from his last contract."

The bear went quiet for a moment and then spoke. "He's been acting rather strange since he's awoken... He's seemed rather fascinated with you all of the sudden." Leander blinked hearing Dominus Randall's words.

"Fascinated?"

The bear nodded, adjusting himself. "When he first woke up his first thing to do was to find you... urgently... He was also nearly shot down today and I have a feeling it was because he was thinking about you. Whatever you had done to him, he's taken an interest to you all of the sudden. I've never seen Dakota this distraught... even as a cub."

Leander just stared at Dakota. _ What had happened to him after he had left? Was it the exorcism that changed him or did he have a sudden change in heart? I'm so confused... just two weeks ago the bear never wanted to see him and now he continues to hear that he's distracted by me. I... I don't understand. _ There was nothing left to do except to just talk to him, Leander thought about how to go about it if he should just get up now or wait a little. Which was more proper? He certainly didn't want the bear upset with him again, whatever he had done earlier it seemed to put Dakota on his good side or at least his passive side. After a few minutes of shuffling some ideas, Leander finally decided that it would be best to wait till most everyone was asleep.

That didn't take but a few more minutes. Light snores drifted about the camp. In all honesty Leander couldn't believe how fast everyone was able to go to sleep when they knew the camp was vulnerable. Was this the kind of trust Astrid had mentioned when he talked about building it with friends and the synergy factor? Everyone, but he and Dakota he was sure of, was asleep, the bear had agreed to take to the first nights watch and Leander figured that it was because the bear wouldn't be able to sleep anyways with everything that was going on through his head, whatever it was. He wanted to get up now and talk to him, he was so ready to hear the bear's pleasant voice whether it was angry or not. Inside he was nervous now, and was starting to back down on his decision to talk to him.

Maybe it would just be better to let him figure it out for himself? If Astrid had been a fool about it than he was sure to. _ He thought. Dakota suddenly sighed against the wheel and dropped his head and Leander knew he had to try and talk to him._

Quietly as to not disturb the rest of the party, Leander climbed to his feet and tip toed around the camp. He made a large round before getting to Dakota so the bear could see him coming as he didn't want to disturb him either. The bear didn't seem to notice him even as he was a couple feet away though so Leander decided it was safe to sit down.

Silently both of them sat. Leander was unsure if he should start first or wait for the bear to make first move. "H...Hey." Leander whispered almost silently.

The white ears flickered up and he lifted his head. The first thing Leander noticed was how mixed with emotions Dakota's face was. It bared confusion, sorrow and anger all at once, it was like a hard and cold stare with sadness in the eyebrows.

"A...are you okay?"

Dakota didn't say anything, he just continued to stare breathing hard through his chest.

"Okay..." Leander nodded. "I understand... I didn't mean to disturb you, I just thought," He got to a stand preparing himself to leave.

"No." Dakota quickly retorted. "Stay... please."

"I... don't want to if you're not feeling okay."

"Please, sit." Dakota almost begged, voice shaken. "Just... keep me company."

Everyone's suspicion of Dakota was starting to become clear, he would have never said that to him two weeks ago. The moment he came into eye sight with the bear there would have been a show of disgust and disappointment. Then he saw them, two large orbs of turquoise. They were filled with deep wells of sorrow, he had never seen Dakota like this before. The bear was unusual in his ways, he wasn't the strong titan anymore. Dakota was vulnerable again, he was showing his true nature now his childish insides that he tucked away for no one to see. It was in his face as hard as the bear tried to hide it, it was all too obvious. Leander certainly didn't like it. He finally sat down next to Dakota, leaning back against the rim of the carriage wheel and looked off into the dark forest.

It was silent for a while, absolutely silent. Leander assumed it was because of the demonic presence that had shown itself. Occasionally a crack of wood would sound from the dying fire but nothing else. Many moments passed and Leander faced Dakota overlooking his armor, remembering Randall saying that he had nearly lost his life earlier in the day. Everything looked sharp and clean, except when his eyes found his shoulder pad. There was a clear flaw of the smooth piece like something had hit it. Leander lightly touched the armor, "What happened here?"

Dakota turned his head slowly to see where Leander's fingers were. "...Arrow hit it."

"Oh..." Leander fell silent.

The bear let out a long sigh. "Today... it happened today."

It was painful to talk to Dakota. "Do you want to be alone?"

"I'm sorry." Dakota forced. "I'm sorry I was so rude to you."

Leander shook his head. "Dakota, you don't have--

Dakota jerked his head and growled threateningly. "Stop. I'm sorry that I was so rude to you and didn't give you a chance Leander. I shouldn't have out casted you the way I did I should have taught you, everyone was right I should have taught you."

"I understand," Leander nodded. "You're still dealing with Reign--

"No." He growled harsher. "I'm sick of being reminded of him, I'm sick of thinking about him! He betrayed me and I don't want anything to do with him anymore!" His voice was growing and at the same time trembling. "I don't want to think about you anymore Reignhardt." He choked and looked to the earth beneath him. "I can't think about you anymore!" Dakota was shaking now.

The boy reached for Dakota's paw and gently squeezed the black pads looking deep into the depressed eyes. They were intoxicating, as pained as they were they were ever beautiful, it sent shivers up his spine and he felt his body heat up. He could feel the heavy heart beat through Dakota's paw and it caused his own to thump through his hand. Dakota gave a little grin, an ever so small grin in the corner of his snout.

Suddenly Dakota's soul began to glow, the similar color of his eyes, a heaven sent turquoise. It was so beautiful, he could feel the aura it was giving off and ever so gently he touched it. They both became spooked as they were suddenly reminded of the exorcism, when Leander was holding the bear cub Dakota. He felt invited in now, like Dakota beckoned him to see into his mind and without hesitation Leander entered.

A mix of emotions cluttered Leander and several memories passed him all at once. Sorrow and happiness, love and fear, a compound of lonesomeness, acceptance, pride and anxiety. Everything was jumbled inside, Leander noticed several scenes drifting past such as those of Reignhardt, and those of himself. He experienced similar emotions in Reignhardt as he did himself, Dakota liked Leander, much more than he wanted to admit verbally. Though he could see the hesitancy, all the pain and sorrow from Reignhardt was holding him back from accepting that he was just as perfect. Leander felt like he wanted to touch the image and see everything he was experiencing, but suddenly he hesitated.

In his head he thought, by touching the images it would cause Dakota to relive everything. The pain would return again and Dakota would have to restart his healing, and it would be all his fault. It seemed everyone had given their own two sense on how to heal Dakota and now he thought it was his turn. So instead, Leander just held his paw both outside of his mind and inside. It was peaceful that way, tranquil and the conflict of emotions seemed to cease all together inside Dakota. Beyond that it was truly a heaven felt experience for Leander, Dakota's mind was strong and comforting, he felt protected and the bear seemed to enjoy his presence. Together they accompanied one another through the night becoming the shield of their group, protecting everyone while they rested.