A Dark History, A New Story... (Chapter 2) - "Sins of the Father"
#3 of A Dark History, A New Story
Thank you for reading this story, I hope you enjoy it. Please, after you read it, take a minute or two to write a comment letting me know what you think of this chapter, what you liked and didn't, and how I can improve my writing. I will REALLY thank you if you do.
This chapter contains a homosexual sex scene whose start is marked by three asterisks (***), the scene does not contains any vital plot so you can skip it without missing something of great importance to the plot line, if you so desire. Also, I can't prevent you from reading it if you are underage, but I expect you to have full conscience about what you are doing.
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What is right and what is wrong? Who is kind and who is evil? Who is right and who is wrong? How thick is the line between two opposites? Is there something absolute?
We all ask the same questions; the problem is that we don't have the same answers.
A Dark History, a New Story...
(Chapter 2)
"Sins of the Father"
Many individuals are gathered in what it seems to be a temple of some sort. They're all wearing dark robes over their bodies and are spread in little groups all around the hall, talking to each other. Candlelight is too dim to distinguish the features of any of their faces, but there are all kinds of species amongst them. At the very end of the room lies the only hooded creature, standing alone, undisturbed and motionless, probably meditating.
A few moments later the large entrance door is opened, its screech resounds in the whole room and the unexpected chill of the intruding ice-cold wind makes most of the gathered people shiver. The entire room becomes silent as a human steps in and the door slams shut behind him. He isn't wearing a robe or a cloak but his features are poorly outlined by the light to be described. As he walks through the room, murmurs and whispers are heard but the man does not stops and keeps walking confidently through the many creatures in the room staring directly at him.
"So you're finally here." Says the hooded creature at the end of the hall as he watches the human approaching him. He has an elegant voice, very cultured and with a clear pronunciation.
The creature pulls back his hood revealing his face. He is a silver horse with dark green eyes and a grayish-white mane cut short. He extends his hand to the man to greet him.
"I am Dirk Wilkiefner, and you are...?"
"I am the man you were looking for." Replied the human and shook the horse's hand firmly. The horse smirked and said:
"We'll see about that, young man. But for now let me ask you this: Are you aware of our cause's ideals?"
"Yes, I am aware of that." Says the man with a serious voice
"And... are you aware of the methods we use to achieve our goals?"
"I am aware of that too, and before you ask, I agree with such methods and am ready to do what's necessary."
"Good! Good. Now, you will join in a trial basis at first. When you prove yourself worthy of it, you will become one of our brothers."
"I understand." He says as he looks around looking for the approbation of the crowd, but looks back at the horse after seeing the serious faces around him "Will I be working for you?" The human asks and the equine chuckles.
"No, boy. You may get to work for me or... with me one day, but you have a long path to walk first." The man nods "This is the one you'll be working for at first." The horse hands the man a card of some sort and continues "Everything you need to know is there, who he is and how to find him along with some instructions to meet him." The human places the card on his pocket and asks:
"Is there something else I need to know?"
"You need to know many things, but not now and not from me. He shall tell you some more and provide you with what you may need."
"I'll get going, then."
The equine nods and places the hood back on his head. The human turns around and slowly heads towards the exit, gazing at the countless faces looking back at him. He reaches the door and opens it hearing the same annoying screech as before, and without looking back, he ventures into the frozen land outside. Once out in the snow he stops, takes out the card from his pocket, and looks at it. It has the image of a man riding a war chariot being drawn by a black stallion and a white mare. In the lower part of the image it says: 'VII The Chariot'. He then turns the card around and finds a name, an address and some other things written in a smaller print. A smile appears on his face as he walks off into the cold mist of taiga.
The next day, some slams on my room's door woke me up. They were followed by a male voice that said:
"Wake up, kid."
"Leave me alone!" I yelled at the unknown voice as I pulled the covers over my head.
"Wake up already, boy. Don't make me go in there."
I kept hearing the voice at the other side of the door but I simply ignored it and unsuccessfully tried to fall asleep again. A moment later, I heard my room's door open and someone stepping in.
"I tried the good way." Was the last thing I heard. After that, the unknown male grabbed my covers and quickly pulled them away. I was so clutched to them that I ended up in the floor amidst them, the only thing I could do was to let out a loud groan.
"What the hell do you want?" I asked as I tried to dig out of the pile of cloths that used to be my blankets.
I looked up as soon as I freed my head and saw a huge white tigon standing there, looking at me.
"Um...who are you?" I asked
"Get up, get dressed and I'll tell you. You've got five minutes, Jack." He said in a serious voice "Don't make me come back."
As soon as he finished saying that, he walked out of my room. I didn't know what to do but I decided to get dressed just in case he did come back. I hid David's tags and locket in a drawer after I found them among my sheets, I wasn't going to let something so precious to me get lost. I then put on my dark jeans and slipped on a black shirt, seconds later I walked out of my room and saw him standing there, just like David used to.
"C'mon, let's go kid." He began walking towards the stairs.
"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me who you are! Where is my father anyway? And where we are going? Oh, and stop calling me kid! I'm not a kid anymore!"
"If you say so." He said bluntly as he shrugged "You ask way too many questions...sir" I could see him smirking "My name is William and your father ordered me to protect you. He left for the base a while ago. That's all you need to know." He walked down the stairs and I followed him.
I could see through the window that the sun hadn't even risen yet so I it must have been really early still. I followed him out of the house and asked him annoyed:
"Where are we going?" He answered my question with a question of his own.
"Tell me, how good is your stamina?"
"I have no idea, why?"
"Because we're going for a run."
"A... 'run'? You woke me up to go for a 'run'?" The tigon chuckled.
"Why not? You are too skinny and your legs could use some muscles. Besides, I've known your father for a long time and could tell you a thing or two about him along the way." I was really mad at my father at that time and I wanted to understand the reason behind his actions and... inactions, so I accepted the tigon's offer. It looked like I had no choice anyway.
Two hours and who knows how many miles later, I had learned a lot about my father and the white tigon. According to what he told me, William was the warrant officer assigned to my father's unit since the times before and during the Proteus Incident. They had fought and survived together along with Alvar, Lorenz, Zulu and seven others whose names he mentioned but can't clearly remember. All of them were members of the same special forces unit, also called detachment, nicknamed "The Storm-Raiser Legion". After the incident David joined their unit until it was disbanded three years later. The tigon then told me he had retired from the armed forces for personal reasons since then, but had rejoined a few years back as an "operative", whatever that's supposed to be.
We took another hour to get back to my home, it was really difficult for me to keep up with him, but I made it nonetheless. I was there, panting and taking a breather, when the tigon approached to me and said:
"Hey kid, we could do this every day, you know? What do you think?" He noticed my worried face and chuckled "Accept only if you want to."
"I... I'll think about it."
"That's fair enough. You should probably go get a shower now."
I nodded and began walking up the steps into my house's entrance, leaving the tigon behind.
The next day I remember being sore, but I had decided to accept William's offer nevertheless, I had nothing to lose and something to win...
A pair of weeks passed and I got used to having William around, he wasn't as friendly as David but there was something about him that I liked.
We'd been running early in the morning every single of those passing days and I had learned a lot about my father's career. Apparently, he'd had played a major role during the Tyrant's coup. He said that was the reason the tyrannicides wanted him dead. He also told me that my father was considered a living legend amongst his colleagues, and a famous or infamous soldier, depending on who I ask.
On that day we had just got back from our early run, and I have to say I had gotten used to it, the tigon stared at me for a while and I realized he wanted to ask me something.
"What is it?" I asked him.
"Well Jack...what would you say if we take this to the next level?" I raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
"Hmm... I could teach you how to protect yourself. It's always useful to know a thing or two of personal defense and I can teach you far more than just that." He paused "So, what do you say?"
It was an unexpected question, I didn't know what to say but I loved the idea, of course, I knew that running and fighting were two very different things. After a minute of thinking, I answered to him:
"It sounds great! I accept." He grinned at my answer and an excited expression appeared on his face.
"Excellent! We will start the next week, you should rest and prepare mentally for now, the training will be arduous and tough so you should be ready."
"Alright but... why? Why would you want to teach me how to fight?" That question was unexpected by the tigon and he remained silent for a few seconds, which I found odd since it was a simple question.
"Never look a gift horse in the mouth, kid. But I do have my reasons." I nodded and smiled at him before heading back to my room to take a necessary bath.
* * *
A few hours later in that same day, the white tigon rushed into the ocelot's office. As he entered, he saw him sitting in the chair behind his desk with his back towards the door and his paws behind his neck.
"Were you looking for me, Julian?" The ocelot turned around and looked at the white feline.
"Yes William. Lock the door and have a seat, please."
The tigon locked the door and took a seat on a chair in front of the mahogany desk. He then asked the other feline with a worried voice tone:
"Is there something wrong?"
"As a matter of fact, yes, but this must stay between you and me. Is that clear?"
"You don't need to ask, Julian."
"Well..." The spotted felid stood up and slowly walked around his desk as he spoke "...there's been something in my mind these days and I just can't shake it off my head." He stopped right behind the chair the tigon was sitting on.
"And what's that?" Asked the ivory cat puzzled by both the ambiguity of his friend's words and his voice tone. Without any previous warn, the ocelot wrapped his arms around William's neck and whispered softly in his right ear:
"You."
William had no idea how to react to that statement. That was the last thing he was expecting to hear the ocelot say. Before he could reply or say anything, he felt a pair of paws preying his torso. He closed his eyes and heard the ocelot's voice whisper at his ear in a low and provoking voice tone:
"What do you think I should do about that?" A teasing chuckle followed that question. The tigon smirked, still with his eyes closed. He was unsure if he should take this opportunity. Yes, it was something he wanted, but also something he knew would bring a lot of painful memories to his mind. It didn't take long for him to decide what his answer would be. And so, he replied:
"I think you should give in to your instincts." The feline smiled discreetly and the ocelot chuckled expectantly.
"Oh, you think so?" Replied the spotted cat "Then..." Julian sat on the tigon's lap facing him, stared directly at his cerulean eyes with a satisfied smile and continued "...that's exactly what I'll do."
William was in a state of disbelief, Julian had never been so... sexually outgoing, but he was enjoying every second of it even though he was struggling to focus on the now and keep his memories locked away in the burrows of his mind.
The ocelot gently pressed his muzzle against the tigon's and kissed him deeply. William could feel the ocelot's excitement and eagerness in his kiss, and he tried to question himself the reason behind his sudden desire, but he could not think at that moment and so he shrugged his thoughts off. The kiss soon turned into a passionate one as William kissed back the other cat, responding with equal euphoria fueled by a deep desire of his own. The pale feline pressed further into Julian's muzzle, slowly accessing his maw. Both feline's tongues found one another and seemed to entwine as soon they did. In the meantime the spotted feline explored his partner's torso with his touch, while the tigon tenderly placed his right paw in Julian's snout. As his tongue seemed to have a will of his own and knew precisely what to do, Julian felt the time slow down as he recalled a few of those old memories of the last time he had been intimate with the tigon years ago. Those memories were not lascivious, but rather painful and melancholic, a set of thorns in the stem of remembrance. Just as instantly as it wandered, his mind returned to focus in the object of its desire.
The tigon commenced to unbutton Julian's shirt, being careful to not break the vehement kiss in which they were engaged. Each button of the ocelot's black shirt was a torment for the tigon, as he found it difficult to undo them without concentrating; the kiss and a pair of paws running all across his chest did not help much for that purpose. His patience was being tested as his libido increased with every passing moment and threatened to take over his actions. The white feline's struggle with the shirt's buttons drew to an end as he opened Julian's shirt by force, tearing all the buttons from its seams and revealing the spotted feline's white-furred chest. The milky feline slipped the shirt off his partner's arms and cast it aside onto the ground. If initially the pardine feline was the most excited of the two, the roles had now reversed, as the tigon had been taken over by his lust and was now unwilling to stop. William slowly picked up the pard cat in his arms, which due to his strong built and great size was an easy task. The white cat kissed the ocelot profoundly as he carried him to the nearby couch, where he gently laid him and slowly pulled away after tenderly caressing his cheek.
The tigon stood in front of the lain ocelot still fully dressed in his usual black suit and red tie, which had been a signature of his persona for more than twenty years. A barely noticeable smirk appeared in his face as he unbuttoned his suit's jacket, which, with a swift move of his shoulders, slipped through his arms and fell to the floor. The ocelot stared at him with an amused expression, eager to watch him fully naked, wanting to know how much of him had changed and how much of him was still the same; wanting to feel anew, wanting to relive those past moments together. The tigon then removed his tie and quickly unbuttoned his white pressed shirt, which he dropped above the jacket after revealing his naked torso. He did not stop there, he undid his trousers and slowly unzipped them with his right paw, they instantly slipped onto the ground and the tigon quickly stepped out of them. Only his contrasting black briefs were left on his body, and the eagerness of his member was easily noticeable through them. The tigon took a few steps towards the ocelot with a heathen smile on his face that clearly mirrored the thoughts that were taking place in his mind.
"Mind me helping you with that?" He asked as he stared at the ocelot's pants. A smirk appeared on Julian's face, as wicked as William's smile. He raised his arms, placed his paws behind his neck and leaned back, movement which unlined his torso's physique, exalting the attractiveness of his body "I'll take that as a no." Concluded the tigon chuckling.
The ivory feline leaned down to kiss him as he slowly unbuttoned his partner's pants and unzipped them. A careless memory slipped through his mind, carrying the most dangerous question his mind possessed... 'Why?' The weight of his lust was greater than that of his reason thus he disregarded such thoughts almost instantly. He broke the kiss with the ocelot and leaned back, getting back on his feet. The white feline then grabbed the other feline's pants and gently pulled them off his body, revealing the spotted feline's naked self, as he was not wearing any underwear. The pard felid's member, though not fully erect as the tigon's, was already out of its soft sheath whose color matched the ocelot's torso. The sight of Julian fully naked astonished William. It had been so long since he'd seen him naked and ready to mate with him. It had been eleven years yet both males had already lost the count of the years. In that moment it didn't seem to matter, to them they were still the lovers they once were; the carefree, fatalist, passionate comrades in arms that were in love with each other and used to live life one day at a time. That moment they both felt younger and revitalized... if only for some minutes. The tigon stood idle, lost in his memories and for a second he forgot about the present, but the feeling of a pair of paws lowering his briefs brought him back to what it seemed a fantasy to him.
"I hope you don't mind." Said Julian to the tigon as he finished removing his underwear, leaving every part of his body exposed.
The ocelot got up and slowly glanced up and down at the tigon's naked body; he wanted to find what was different in William's body after so many years, if anything. The musculature in his body had always been characteristic and besides several scars not known by the spotted cat, all of the white feline's body was the same; his face, his broad chest, his strong arms, his firm legs, long walking paws, and yes, his reddish shaft too. All of him looked just the same even after more than a decade.
Julian's body had not changed much with time either, perhaps it had turned slightly more muscular but not enough to be a notable change. The tigon noticed a scar below the ocelot's right pectoral, a scar he himself had made to the ocelot so he would never forget him. That detail in Julian's body brought one of the most of the most painful memories he possessed. The spotted feline noticed his partner staring at his scar and the effect it'd had on him. He approached him and pressed his naked body against the tigon's as stared deep into his eyes.
"All we need is now, William." Spoke the ocelot softly as their eyes met each other.
Both felines engaged in a long passionate kiss once again. The spotted feline started to lick down through the tigon's body. He started at his neck, where he got a soft moan from the tigon as he gently bit it. He then trailed down with his tongue to the tigon's chest and all the way to his nipple which he licked without mercy and made William moan silently. Julian continued trailing down the white feline's body until he reached his navel. The ocelot then knelt in front of the tigon and ran his left paw over William's member for a short moment. All of his memories stormed his mind as he felt the strongest and most familiar reminder of those intimate moments, something strong... something that hadn't changed at all with the passing of years... it was William's musk.
The spotted feline smiled at his memories, drew his face closer and began licking the tigon's fully erect member with his brushy tongue, creating a sensation that was quite pleasing for both felines. He focused on the base of William's shaft at first, but slowly worked his way up to the tip. It was then when Julian opened his muzzle and took the shaft into his warm, humid maw, being careful not to hurt the tigon with his teeth. Little by little, the ocelot took the tigon's large length into his mouth. Once he lowered his muzzle as deep as he could, he pulled his head backwards. He repeated the process when the reddish shaft was almost out, doing it a bit faster every time. The tigon was really enjoying it and unceasingly dripping his fluids into the ocelot's mouth, who found himself more excited by the liquid's salty taste. William was in trance now, pleasurably concentrated and being careful not to let himself go. His pleasure rapidly raised as Julian worked faster on him, but when he said: "Stop" the ocelot abruptly ceased his actions, letting the tigon's member slip out of his muzzle.
The ocelot stood up and kissed the white feline, who pushed him onto the couch as he kissed him back and caressed his body with his paws. They both laid on the couch, the tigon on top the spotted feline, kissing each other madly. It took only a few seconds until the white tigon slipped his arms under Julian's legs, raised them and placed them on his shoulders before grabbing the other feline's hips and pulling him closer to him. William looked at his partner's face, finding a warm smile and a pair of blue eyes looking at him lustfully, expectantly and lovingly.
"Is it alright?" Asked the tigon at the ocelot.
"Of course it is." Replied the feline soothingly with a nod.
The white feline smiled and nodded before positioning himself and pulling Julian's hips closer to him. The last time they were together had been fifteen years in the past and the tigon wasn't able to hide his excitement for knowing that not much had changed in Julian since then. He had been expecting this moment ever since, he wanted to relive those good moments, not of sex, but of profoundly loving someone. The white feline carefully aimed his member, still coated in saliva, at Julian's inviting entrance.
"Are you ready?" He asked lovingly, getting a nod and a smile for an answer.
The tigon smiled back and got ready once again, but this time, he aimed and slowly pushed himself inside the ocelot, who moaned softly in a combination of pain and pleasure, as if he had never done this before. William also felt as if it was their first time together, but he knew what to do. The white feline stared into his partner's eyes as he pushed himself slightly deeper into him, controlling his urge to do it in a single move. As he slowly went deeper into his lover, the spotted feline let out a few silent groans out of pain, but he knew that sensation would soon wear off. The tigon took a longer time to make another move, but when he finally did, his thrust was swift and abrupt, but managed to insert his entire length, getting a loud moan out of the two felines in the process. William was relieved for not hurting the ocelot too much, but he knew pulling himself out would be painful for his partner no matter how he did it.
"Do it slowly." Said Julian knowing what was coming.
The tigon nodded and firmly grabbed the ocelot's hips. Then, as slowly as he could, he began pulling himself out, feeling his barbs scratch against the ocelot's insides. Julian was in extreme pain, feeling each and every of those barbs hurting him profoundly to the point of making him clench his eyes. The tigon suddenly stopped pulling himself out.
"Are you ok?" He asked to the ocelot.
"Yes, just keep going carefully." He was not ok, but he was aware since the start this would happen.
"Alright, it won't hurt much longer." Said the tigon sympathetically.
The tigon began pulling himself out once again, doing it a little faster this time. It took a few seconds for the tigon to pull himself out of Julian entirely, but he managed to do it. The ocelot realized it was far from over as he felt William pushing his feline member all the way in again, but this time it was a lot more pleasing for the spotted feline. As the tigon began pulling himself out for a second time, the tan feline began purring as he felt far less pain due to his senses being numbed by the previous experience and now unable to feel as sensibly as before.
The tigon increased his thrusting speed little by little as Julian's pain was less each time and his pleasure, on the contrary, was increasing with every of his thrusts. The ocelot's purrs, and their mixed moans, was enough to realize they were now having quite a good time. The tigon pushed himself harder and faster as his moans increased, his right paw moved over Julian's crotch and took possession of his member, stroking it in sync to his thrusting. Julian's pain was completely gone now and the pleasure was very enthralling. They both stared into each others eyes, and for once after a long time, time seemed to have not only stopped, but rewound back to their thirties. William pushed himself harder and ocelot moaned louder as he felt William's paw stroke his shaft faster.
The white feline kept pleasing him and the ocelot, and as his pleasure grew, so did the strength of his thrusting. He wasn't far from his climax and he knew it, but he wanted to enjoy as much as possible until then. He leaned down and kissed the ocelot's navel, being unable to reach any lower without stopping his thrusts. Their sweat, their musk entwined, Julian's essence and the great pleasure he was feeling finally drove him over the edge. William pushed himself one last time before he roared savagely and pulled his head back as much as possible, uncontrollably shooting his seed inside the ocelot. The hard stroking of his member and the warm sensation of William's semen inside him made the ocelot moaned stridently as he shot his own seminal fluid onto his chest, some of it reaching his neck. His climax was followed by a constant purring that slowly calmed both of the felines. The tigon lowered Julian's legs and lied on top of him and reached up to kiss him, soaking his chest's fur with Julian's seed. The tigon kept himself inside the ocelot, not wanting to pull himself out just yet. The ocelot kissed him back and massaged his strong back with both of his paws. The broke the kiss and looked into their eyes.
"Juliet... how was it?" Asked the tigon in between breaths. The ocelot stopped purring and opened his eyes.
"It was incredible, Whiskey. I needed to feel this way again."
"Whiskey..." The tigon chuckled "I missed being called that way." The tigon smiled and caressed the ocelot's chest with his paw.
"You better get used to it." Julian replied and smiled "Oh, and William..."
"No problem, Julian, this stays between us." Quickly replied the white feline.
"Thanks."
After that, the felines kept talking to each other for a few minutes until their spent bodies succumbed to Somnus's whims. Only their tails seemed to be awake, as they slowly entwined during their sleep.
The weekend passed without any interesting things happening. On next day's morning, though, I felt someone enter my room silently and getting on my bed. I felt a paw patting my legs shortly thereafter and my father's voice calmly whispering:
"Jack?" I opened my eyes and saw his silhouette sitting in my bed.
"What is it?" I replied sleepy as I looked at the clock and realized it was 4:30 in the morning.
"Wake up, please. I need to talk to you." My ears perked up. At first I thought he would scold me, but there was no reason for him to do that, and especially not at 4:30 am. I rubbed my eyes with my paws and replied:
"Like... right now?" He nodded and kept staring at me "Ok, just give me a second."
I slowly got out of my bed and walked as I could towards my bathroom. I closed the door behind me as soon as I entered and turned the sink's handles. The water poured until the sink filled, and once it did, I closed the handles and leaned down, submerging my head into the water while holding my breath. The cold water quickly woke me up and my senses. When I got my face out of the water, my eyes were fully opened and so was my mind. I dried my face and fur with a towel and headed back to my room. My father was still there and apparently he'd made my bed already.
"What's that you wanted to talk with me?"
"Sit down, son." He said. As I sat down, he continued "It's been almost a month since David's death, and I've realized you're still mad at me..." I rolled my eyes and looked at my paw's claws.
"And?" I asked coldly.
"And I want to ask something of you." That was something I never expected to hear from him. "And I want you to be completely honest with me."
"Well, what is it?"
"I want you to tell me your true feelings towards me." A humph followed by a shrug preceded my answer.
"Simple" I said "I hate you for letting him die."
"Jack..." Was the only thing he uttered as he tilted his head with a disappointed expression on his face.
"You asked for the truth... dad." His eyes closed as he let out a sigh.
"I appreciate your honesty, but I think you're confused." My father stood up and walked up to a nearby chair "In any case..." He said before sitting "...that's not what I came here to say in the first place." He looked at me directly and continued. "Jack, as your father I have many things to teach you and many things to talk to you about, and though you're not old enough, I'm afraid I need to start talking to you a lot earlier than I expected. That's what I'm going to do now."
"I don't really understand." I said confused.
"I know that Jack, so I'll ask you to listen to me carefully. Though you may not understand why I'm saying all this, some of my words may make a difference later on your life." He paused for a moment and stared directly at me. I could see distress in his light blue eyes, his stare was normally serious and slightly menacing, but at that moment he had a completely sad yet warm expression in it. "I've been where you are now, Jack." He continued "I remember the first time I saw someone die and I know how hard it is to cope with it, I know how it tears you apart. But when someone takes the life of a loved one, it's not sorrow what you feel, it's hate, hate and need for revenge. Jack... that is not the way and I can tell you because I learned from my own mistakes, that's why I'm telling you this."
At first I couldn't care less of what he was saying, but I wasn't able to ignore him for long, I began relating to his words as my stare looked down at the floor. Soon, my mind was nowhere else but focused in his words.
"I imagine you feel hate too, whether it is towards me or against the ones who killed David, either way, that's a very self-destructive feeling that, little by little, will absorb you." My eyes turned to my father's face. His eyes were closed as he continued speaking "You need to understand that the past cannot be changed regardless of what you do. Listen to this very well, Jack, you cannot make a difference in the past, you can fix what you broke but that doesn't mean it was never broken. In other words, you can mend but can't undo what was done in the past.... Unfortunately, there is no way to mend death, much less to undo it. Some people see revenge as a way to mend it, but it's actually a way for people to deal with their own pain."
He opened his eyes and faked a smile when he realized I was staring at him, he stood up and walked over to the window in my room. A bathe of moonlight was passing right through it, and the stars were still shining. My father stared at the dark horizon as he started talking again.
"We'll never know what's in store for us, but every single thing that happens in our lives has a reason behind it. Your job is not to find that reason, but to accept it and overcome it, to enjoy and learn as much as we can from them. Every tear, every smile... it all hides a meaning, and that's exactly what we need to seek and understand."
"Are you-- Are you saying David died for a reason?" He turned around and looked at me, remaining silent and fixating his eyes in mine, as if looking for the right words to answer.
"Jack... what would you say if I told you that every existent being has a specific role to fulfill in their lives and that everyone's future and actions are scripted?"
"I would say that the playwriter has a sick mind. But then... if the play is already written, why--"
"The play is not yet written, it writes itself as time passes and it has no ending." He approached to me and placed his paw on my head "Don't try to understand it, you'll just get a bad headache and it's something you have to understand by yourself in due time." He removed his paw and sat beside me once again, I had totally forgot my negative feelings towards him all this time we'd been together and I felt once again that bond between us that had dissolved the day Dave died.
"Now I want to talk to you about decisions." I looked at him and nodded "Son, whenever you choose to do something, do it because that's what you want and not what someone else wants. Make all of your dreams a goal and put all your strength into fulfilling them, for everything is possible if you work hard enough. The Tyrant is an example of that."
"Do you know the Tyrant in person?" He smiled at me and replied:
"I do, even more than I should. I'll be glad tell you some stories about him some other day, but now it's not the time." We both nodded and he continued.
"Now, Jack, no matter how much good you do, you should never expect the world to be fair with you. And so it is with people, always expect the worst from everything and everyone... it'll save you many deceptions in your life. That doesn't mean you can't trust anyone, just be careful in what and how much you trust someone. You can only trust fully in those you'd die for..." His expression turned grim in mid-sentence, his stare got lost and his voice paused for a brief moment as his thoughts focused on Lorenz "...and sometimes those betray you too." He said whispering to himself.
A melancholic silence took over my room as both of us remained silent, each lost in our own thoughts. The first glimpse of sunlight appeared in the horizon as a golden thread dividing the far end of the world in two.
"Jack, there's one last thing I need to say to you..." My ears instinctively perked and my eyes widened as I directed my gaze at him.
"Son," He commenced "the day David died... those men were after me. Up to this day they have not given up and they probably never will until they fulfill their goal, which is... killing me." He paused briefly and took a deep breath "When that day comes, Jack, I want you to be strong and remember all I said to you in this day, you also need to take care of your mother and go on with your life."
His words had been too sudden for me, like a fast and powerful strike directly at my heart. It was in that exact moment that I realized the true feelings I felt for him. I closed my eyes, not knowing what to say, and tried to hide my upcoming tears from showing but it made no difference, they were already running down my cheeks. Suddenly I felt my father's arms embrace me warmly.
"I know it's hard to hear me say all this, but I needed to be honest and prepare you for when that time comes."
"But dad..." I sobbed "I don't want you to die... not like that, not like David."
"I know, I know. I honestly don't want to die either, but we must be ready..."
After he said that, his arms shut tightly around me and drew me next to his chest. We remained in that position for several minutes. His touch soothed and calmed me, but I couldn't think of anything besides what he had just told me. I felt his grip release me and his voice say:
"There's no need to grief now, Jack. I'm not dead yet, am I? So don't be sad." He smiled at me and caressed my cheek "I need to get to work now..." He continued as he stood up "...but I'll be back as soon as I can, I promise." He gave me a warm hug followed by a kiss in my cheek. "Be kind to William and ask him for help in whatever you may need... And obey your mother."
"I will, dad..." I faked a smile to look less miserable "...take care of you, alright? And be careful."
He nodded and walked out of my room, closing the door behind him.
I stood sitting at the edge of my bed, not knowing what else to do and too confused to think of something. My gaze was lost and my body was still, the only active thing in me was my consciousness... After a pair of hours of thinking and making up my mind about many things, someone knocked on my room's door.
"Who is it?" I asked.
The door opened and William came in. Amazingly enough he wasn't wearing his typical black suit, instead he had on a black tank top, a pair of gray sweatpants and was walking barepawed. He stopped and smiled at me.
"Good morning, boy. Are you ready to start your training?"
"Sorry," I replied with a serious voice tone "I feel sick and am planning on staying in bed today."
"Look boy, I know about the talk you had with your father earlier. What you need right now is to focus your mind in something else." He motioned me to come over "Let's go."
I looked directly at his eyes and shook my head.
"After that talk..." He said "...I think you have earned a decent grade of maturity, and you should now be able to know what's best for you. So make your decision, and if you decide to train, I'll be waiting for you downstairs."
After saying that, he turned around and headed out of my room.
"Wait!" I yelled. He turned around and looked at me. "Let's go train." I said, and saw a smile appear on his face.
Minutes later we were in the back grounds of my house, near the edge of the forest. He had apparently turned a small zone into an outdoor gym equipped with an exercise bench, a chin-up bar and various dumbbells lying on the floor.
"Are you ready, boy?" He asked to me. I nodded and approached him. "Good. We'll do some warm up and basic exercises first."
That first part of the training wasn't too complex and was pretty straightforward. First, William told me to repeat a small routine that consisted on running in place for a few seconds and drop entirely into the floor, then stand up again and repeat the steps again. I had to do it faster and faster up to reaching top speed; a few seconds after that, he told me to stop.
After that small yet tough exercise, he ordered me to do some stretching routines for some more minutes, showing me the proper way to do it and correcting me whenever I did something wrong. Once I finished warming up, he called me over and I approached him.
"Jack," He started "Before I can teach you how to fight, there's something extremely important you need to do. Everyone, whether a professional fighter or not, has a unique fighting style within them, and the first thing someone needs to develop that style is a combat stance.
He took an 'at attention' position in front of me, breathed deeply a few times, and in less than a second got into a fighting position that looked very solid. Firstly, his right foot was ahead of his body, barely flexed and well planted on the floor; his left foot was slightly behind his body and noticeably flexed. His torso was scarcely leaned to the front and a little inclined to a side, making the right shoulder stick out a little from the rest of his chest. His left arm was protecting his upper chest and his paw wasn't in a fist, but rather at a mid-point between a fist and an open paw with his claws extended at their full length of two inches. Finally, his right arm was completely extended towards the floor, using it as protection of his lower torso, abdomen and crotch. His right paw was, unlike the other one, in a fist.
"This, Jack, is my fighting stance. It hasn't changed much since I first did it, but it has definitely improved." He returned to his normal position and continued "I didn't create it nor came up with it; it was within me even before I knew about it." He placed his paws on my shoulders and shook me "Ok... I need you to relax your body and mind, you're too tense. Takes this as a game and breathe deeply." I took a few deep breaths and moved my arms and legs around "Very good, boy. Now, I want you to show me your fighting stance. Don't think about it and just do what first comes to mind." He smiled at me as I began shaking out of nervousness "You ready?" He asked me. I wasn't sure but I nodded anyway "Ok then, at the count of three. One... two... three."
I closed my eyes and, just as he told me to, I did the first thing that came to my mind. I gave a step back, placing my right foot behind my body in an almost perpendicular position to my left foot, and flexed it moderately. My left foot remained ahead in its normal position and I flexed it a bit, but kept most of my weight into my back feet. I turned my torso sideways, leaving my left arm in front facing William, with the forearm in an upward position, making an acute angle with the upper arm. My left paw was, ironically, in a claw-like position with my claws extended just like William's. Finally, I drew my right arm to my face, as if preparing to launch a punch or shoot a bow, and rested it there with my paw also in a claw-like position and extended claws.
Once I was finished, I opened my eyes and looked at William. He was looking at me and examining every part of my body and the position it was in. He walked around me a few times as he remained staring at me, nodding at some points. He stopped in front of me and said:
"Alright, Jack, I've seen what I needed to see. Your protection is weak, but surely you'll compensate that with speed and agility." He took his paw to his chin for a few seconds and continued "I can start teaching you now. First I'll teach you the basic punches and kicks. There are 5 different kinds and a specific usage for each of them. We have hooks, spinning, pushing and flying kicks and punches, and feinting or fake movements. We'll start by teaching you how to jab correctly." I nodded and paid attention to his words. "What you have to do to throw a jab correctly is to position your arm...
That day I learned the basics of fighting and defending, it wasn't much but from then on he gave me a daily lesson without skipping a single day. My body was sore all the time, which taught me discipline and perseverance, but I also had a fulfilling sensation in my mind, as if I was finally doing something good in my life.
Four years passed just like the tide travels the oceans, with ups and downs but always in a swift movement. Nothing worth mentioning happened besides my constant training with William and two more attempts against my father's life, both of them without any casualties. The consequences of my training were progress in my technique and a broad personality change from the childish one to that rebellious and indomitable kind everyone knows...
...adolescence.
I hope it was enjoyable, thank you for reading. Comments will be immeasurably appreciated.