Chapter 10 - Learning

510 A.R. September 23, University of Technology, Midday

"... a healthy ecosystem has and continues to be one of the fundamentals that enabled Sophos to flourish, do you know why?" The teacher asked.

One of the deer hybrids in the class raised his hand, "Agriculture."

"Expand on that please," The teacher asked.

"Food, medicine, resources, a lot of these can be gained from a well maintained ecosystem. Clean water, farm animals and so on..."

"Heavy industry and social policies can solve the same things, clean water through chemical treatment, strip mining for resources, heavy but cheap labor using people, our forests waste space and our food production could be increased using fertilizer. Why do it the hard way?"

One of the felines frowned and raised her hand, "You mean aside from being 'wrong' on so many levels?"

"Why is it wrong?" The teacher asked.

"Because it won't last in the long run, resources run out unless properly recycled and heavy labor should be done by machines."

"Who cares about that? You won't be alive thousands of years from now," The teacher asked.

The whiskers on the feline twitched, "I do."

The teacher made a slight smile, "Aye, you do. There are two arguments to be made here, one is the fact that we as a people are designed to prefer a rather 'green' society. The second is that many of our methods are more efficient in the long run. Sewage plants dump their contents in bogs engineered to handle our waste. Plants designed to leech valuable resources from the ground. Social programs that encourage recycling and less consumption. Sometimes it's a bother but it is well worth it on an island that has little resources as it is."

One of the canines raised a hand, "Sorry, but you're not making a lot of sense. Why would someone 'choose' to use less efficient methods? Or go for a short term solution?"

"Allow me to paint this scenario. A self-sufficient bog is capable of handling the waste of a five thousand people at max. A chemical treatment plant is far smaller in size, can be built in a year, and can handle the waste of up to 50 000 people. The downside with the chemical plant, and depending on its sophistication, is that it'll require a lot of management and raw resources."

"OK?" The canine said.

"The problem is this, you have 20 000 people screaming for waste management. What do you do? And do consider that the population will grow as time passes."

"That's not a fair scenario... Why did you let it get that bad to begin with?" The canine asked.

"There's a thousand reasons for that. Bad planning, corrupt government, a company that promised more than it can deliver, and so on... The thing is that you are forced into making a choice."

"Well... then there's only one choice because the bog can neither expand nor handle the initial load."

The teacher looked around as if gauging the look on everyone.

"What I just described is the vicious cycle that the human nations of our world find themselves in. Their populations are exploding in size, they're impatient, and no one has the political willpower or the resources to make things properly or to restrict population growth. That's why people choose to intentionally utilize solutions that are damaging and less efficient in the long run."

"So why are we so special?" The canine asked.

"Strong leadership, a dedication not to let history repeat itself once more and a willpower strong enough not to take shortcuts even if the price is dire. Of course, being hybrids also weigh into it, both because of our instincts and because our long lifespans give us a more long term perspective on things."

My ears were perked in interest but I found myself pondering why arguments often boiled down to this. Humans were by their very nature doomed to repeat their mistakes, and hybrids were the solution to it. I wasn't saying he was wrong but there was a certain distaste in swallowing it whole.

"Moving on," The teacher said as he switched slides on the screen.

The new slide showed graphs of various jobs and the hybrid types working in them.

The trend was quite clear as farming and administration had a majority of herbivores while wildlife control and the defense force was dominated by wolves and various canines.

"Impressions?" The teacher asked as he motioned to the screen.

A bear raised his hand and made a slight chuckle, "The stereotypes are true."

The teacher nodded, "In this case some of the stereotypes are true, which is rather interesting from a societal perspective."

The teacher then pointed at the extreme ends of the spectrum, "Some of the more extreme forms of symbionts illustrate this very well, wolves in particular have a near monopoly on population control."

A buck near the back spoke up without warning, "And they cling to it like madmen!"

The teacher glanced up in direction of the buck, "Because they're good at it."

The buck corrected, "Because they 'like' it."

I turned my head and glanced back as I caught sight of the buck.

"So they can't enjoy the work they do? Or what's your point?" The teacher asked.

"There's a difference between population control and hunting down animals like wild beasts and feasting on them," The buck spoke with a tone of disgust.

I frowned in irritation and looked at the teacher as I raised my hand.

"Speak up wolf," The teacher said as he glanced over at me.

I looked back toward the buck, "We only hunt the sick, old, and the overflow, it keeps the herds fit and healthy. Why shouldn't we eat it? Or are you suggesting that we should throw it away?"

The buck turned its head and glared at me, "Stuff your lame excuses! The only reason you hunt is because you crave it and that's the problem with all carnivores, a meat based diet is inefficient compared to a vegetarian one."

The comment drew the immediate ire of the class as every canine and feline in the room turned to glare at the buck.

The buck glared back at the harsh looks, "What? Tell me I'm wrong? Because I'm not."

The teacher knocked on the wall to get everyone's attention, "Our ecosystem is not in perfect harmony, population control is needed. How do you solve that?"

The buck shrugged, "Grab a gun, shoot them, done!"

"So your problem isn't the population control, it's that the wolves enjoy the act of the hunt?"

The buck stared back at the teacher, "There shouldn't be anything enjoyable about hunting down animals, it's sick!"

I raised my voice and spoke up, "Why?"

The buck looked back at me, "What do you mean?"

"You say it's sick, I'm asking you why?"

The buck drew a deep breath, "Isn't it obvious?"

"No," I answered.

The buck bit together and glared in silence.

The teacher spoke up, "It's important that we clear this up. Please explain?"

The buck gulped and looked back at the teacher, "Wolves are big and wild, their instincts are strong and they're running around devouring animals. I mean... why can't you see what I'm saying? They're hunting deer. What if they mistake me or someone else for food?"

I felt my hackles rise in anger, "What the hell is wrong with you!?"

The buck glared back at me, "What? You're saying it can't happen?"

I raised a hand and pointed a clawed finger at him, "You hardly smell like a deer, you smell like a hybrid. Its revolting to even consider something that twisted!"

"Right now perhaps, but what if we're in the woods and your instincts are going wild?" The buck asked.

The teacher knocked on the wall once more, "I think you'll have little to worry about as there hasn't been a known case of a hybrid eating another hybrid since recorded history."

The buck looked around and seemed to become aware as the others stared daggers at him.

"Fine... but that doesn't change that it's... disgusting to eat other creatures."

"Where do you draw the line? Fish? Insects? Plants?" The teacher asked.

The buck gulped and spoke with a hushed voice, "Let's say mammals,"

"The forests are full of natural predators, do you expect us to police them as well?" The teacher asked.

The buck blinked and his short ears perked up, "That's not the same, they're animals, we're hybrids."

"Humans are animals, hybrids are animals, carnivores are a natural part of nature. Future generations and changing circumstances might alter our opinion on eating meat, but that time isn't now. Especially as the hunt serves another purpose."

The buck raised his brow, "And what purpose is that?"

"The ability to operate as a pack and to track, hunt, and kill without hesitation."

I looked over at the teacher in surprise at his frank answer and the rather scary implications.

The teacher in turn glanced back at me, "It's not a coincidence that the defense force is dominated by carnivores, various canines in particular."

"Is that such a good thing?" The buck asked.

"Hybrids are made to be self-regulating and to fill certain niches, this is one of them," The teacher answered.

"You make it sound like we're engineered," The buck said.

The teacher looked up, "Of course you are."

A murmur of hushed voices moved through the class while I felt one of my fears slam me straight in the face, to my surprise that fear didn't seem as scary any longer. We 'were' engineered, to be stronger, more resilient, and foremost, to create an alternative to humanity.

An awkward silence spread around the room while the teacher looked back at the buck.

"Do you withdraw your comment from earlier?" The teacher asked.

The buck gulped and nodded, "Yes."

"Might I suggest using a bit more tact next time, you'll gain very little from making enemies with over half the class."

The buck nodded once more and sank into his seat.

510 A.R. October 12, Volkov Household, Evening

I was walking to the kitchen as I caught a rare scent, alcohol. I backed up, glanced into the living room and caught sight of something weird.

Father was sitting in the sofa holding a glass filled with a bright orange liquid, beside him on the table was a half full bottle.

I stepped into the living room and sniffed the air, the liquor was sweet but had a stinging edge.

"Dad?" I asked.

Father glanced up, "Vilkas."

I walked over to the sofa and glanced at the bottle, "Is it an occasion or something?"

Father put his drink down and fetched another glass as well as the bottle.

"Want one?" Father asked as he poured until the liquid reached the brim of the glass.

"I'm not much of drinker," I whispered.

Father took the glass and held it out to me with a glance that said 'stop being such a stiff'. I relented and took the glass before settling next to him in the sofa.

Father took his glass and gulped down the contents in one sweep, his face scrounged up moments later as he made a shiver coupled with a strange growl of disgust.

I couldn't help but smirk at the sight while I brought the glass to my nose and sniffed. The glass was cool to the touch and the alcohol stung as it made my ears perk.

"I've drunk half a bottle and can't even feel a buzz, I'm either too big or old enough to have gone immune to it," Father muttered.

I took a light sip of the liquid and my eyes went wide as the strong substance slipped down my throat, it numbed me but I caught the taste and scent of something fruity behind the strong fermentation.

"This is strong," I whispered with a light cough.

Father glanced over at me, "You should get yourself drunk at least one time, so you know what it's like."

I took another sip from the glass, "Uh huh, so what's bothering you?"

"Have I ever told you I was in the defense force?" Father asked.

"No. But Lilia told me you were."

"I see. Anyway, it was... 40-45 years ago something... I had served by the wall for a few years when there was a sudden dispute with Dyssia regarding a few old maps."

"Old maps?" I asked in surprise.

"The glaciers Hofsjökull and Vatnajökull are considered the natural dividing point between Sophos and Dyssia's territory. They claimed to have found maps and agreements that marked a mountain range north of Redgate as the dividing point instead of the glacier."

"So what happened?"

"They demanded us to give up the territory, we refused and they said, so be it. Mere moments later the wall was under siege. They must have been planning it for a long time as they overwhelmed the defenses and managed to blow the wall open."

"Many deaths?" I asked.

Father shook his head, "It took hours for the wall to fall and we got evacuation orders from HQ as soon as we understood the amount of firepower they were throwing at it."

"So what did you do?"

"We regrouped, the defense force gathered, and the SI brought out their toys."

"Oh?" I asked with interest.

Father made a light smile and glanced over at me, "The stuff they use borders on magic, machines ranging from small spiders to tanks and flying drones the size of cars, bolts sent from the sky, intelligent mines, hovering clouds of death."

"So you just sat back and watched the fireworks?"

Father shook his head once more, "The SI have few but powerful units, it acts as intimidation and it allows for surgical strikes that can cripple an army, their support made it possible for the defense force to turn things around."

"I see."

Father looked away and seemed thoughtful once more, "The point is... that I killed a lot of people those few weeks that the battle lasted. We'd strike at night most often, disperse them, and pick them off using a wide range of means... I even killed a few up close. It's surprisingly easy to kill humans, you just grab their necks and squeeze until you hear a snap."

I leaned back in the sofa and felt my ears fold back as I listened.

Father looked back at me, "They attacked us, invaded our lands, we defended ourselves. I've never lost any sleep over the deaths I caused because there was nothing wrong with defending ourselves."

"I understand," I said.

Father got a pained expression and poured himself another glass.

"What's this about dad?" I asked.

"Charles died by my hands in a fit of fury."

"And Charles tried to kill me," I whispered.

"And I thought he had... so I broke down and lashed out, I snapped his neck, almost ripped his arm off, crushed him, and then heaved his broken body across the garden. I felt such anger and hatred for the man and I don't know what I would have done to Jason if your mother hadn't been there to stop me."

"But you stopped, and the courts let you go, as Athena predicted," I said.

Father looked over at me and nodded, "Yes, but that doesn't change what I did... The thing that makes it worse was the look on Charles face. He was scared, pale with regret, what he did was the act of a desperate and confused man trying to protect his son."

"I don't know what to say," I whispered.

Father drew a deep breath and looked over at me, "You don't need to say anything, I just wanted... needed to talk about it."

I nodded, "I understand."

"How are you handling things Vilkas, I didn't mean to pile even more on you?" Father asked.

I made a light smile back, "I'm good dad, thanks for being honest."

Father leaned closer and brushed shoulders with me, his ears relaxed and he made a gentle smile as if a weight had dropped from his shoulders.

510 A.R. October 20, Forest, Evening

I found my eyes drawn to the cloudy sky as I noticed snowflakes.

"It's starting to snow," I said with a smile.

Peter glanced up, "About time, the cold is going to be sweet."

I nodded, "Yeah."

Peter reached down to the ground and I could hear the sound of bones being snapped. I glanced down and saw him pulling the last of the bones from one of the rabbits we'd caught.

He held up a fleshy piece and offered it to me, "Want it?"

I shook my head, "I'm good."

Peter leaned closer and made a slight grin, "Come on, you should eat what you can."

I looked at the piece and figured that another bite wouldn't hurt, "Okay."

Peter handed one over and then began to eat as he crushed the bones in his strong maw. I joined in, cracked the bone, and enjoyed the rich marrow that seeped out.

"So what do you think of Pasloe?" I asked.

"This place is sweet, lush forests, vast fields, and it's so flat, most other places are littered with hills."

"So how long are you going to stay in Redgate?" I asked.

"Mom and dad aren't done with work yet and I'd prefer not to leave on my own."

"So what do they work with?" I asked.

"Dad had some expertise they needed at the wall, mom is an engineer so she can find work wherever she goes."

"So do they work inside the wall? Or how does it work?" I asked.

"Underground, in the foundations and the factories."

"Is it safe?" I asked.

"Reasonably I guess, but they never go above ground," Peter said.

I nodded and got a slight surprise as I noticed a snowflake land on my nose. It melted in an instant but was soon replaced by others as the snowfall grew denser.

A second surprise made me tense up for a moment as I felt Peter's hand on my leg. His clawed fingers trailed along my thigh and crept closer to my groin.

I smirked to myself and tried not to look down as his fingers touched my sheath.

"Want to have some fun?" Peter whispered.

I glanced over and met his eyes, "Out here in the open?"

"Shy?" Peter asked.

"No... just considerate, others might not approve if they saw us," I whispered.

Peter leaned over and sat down on my legs as he faced me, his hands touched my chest as he leaned in and let his nose bump against mine, "This is the wilderness, we're wolves."

"Hmm?" I hummed as I let my hands trail along his legs.

Peter made a mischievous smile when something changed all of a sudden, his fingers caught on my scar and his focus was drawn to my neck.

"What?" I asked.

Peter met my eyes, "We all know that it's you Vilkas."

My ears folded back, "Who told you?"

"My dad, these things spread quick in the community," Peter said.

"I see," I whispered.

"Want to talk about it?" Peter asked.

"What's there to talk about?" I asked.

"You knew an adult human, you lived next to cultists, and one of them swung an axe and nearly lopped your head off. That's... something to talk about you know."

I nodded, "Yeah, but there's surprisingly little to say about it. The human was named Jason, I grew up with him, we took him in when his family got too extreme, his father didn't agree and I ended up bleeding out on the floor with an axe in my neck."

Peter's ears folded back and he seemed to cringe, moments later he leaned in and nuzzled my neck near the scar, "Fucking humans."

I averted my eyes as I found myself facing one of my doubts, this is what it looked like to outsiders, crazy evil humans, not acts of desperation and abused minds.

"Yeah," I whispered.

Peter licked at the scar as if to heal it, moments later he leaned back, "Well, I'm glad you made it."

I smirked, "Now who's the sentimental one?"

Peter made a sheepish smile, "It's all right when it's just the two of us."

I chuckled, "Uh huh, I see."

510 A.R. November 1, University of Technology, Midday

I looked down at the problem.

'You have obtained a functional memory module from before the collapse, you connect it to the universal connector on a standard personal computer. The memory module is not recognized, why?'

I glanced up at the group and saw that Alex had raised his brow as he stared at the digital pad. His tail had the typical black and white contrast of a husky and it seemed to reflect his thoughts as it swayed and then snapped as he made up his mind and spoke.

"This is stupid," Alex said.

Maria nodded and my eyes caught on her small antlers, they were curved and divided in a way that almost made it look like a decorative tiara, "Yeah there could a be a thousand reasons."

Tanya reached out and extended one of her feline claws as she tapped at the screen.

"It says the memory module is functional, so the problem must be somewhere else," Tanya said.

The three glanced at each other as Alex spoke up once more, "Which still leaves problems ranging from cable error to using the wrong operating system."

I raised my hand, "I think-"

Maria interrupted me and looked at Alex, "How do they expect us to figure it out like this? There are thousands of results on the web regarding old memory modules."

Tanya nodded, "And it must be 5 centuries old or something, can hardware even survive that long?"

"I used to-" I managed to say before being interrupted once more.

"There's a guide here with drivers," Alex said as he showed off his pad.

I tightened my fist, raised it, and then brought it down on the table with enough force to make the digital pads rattle. The three of them jumped in their seats as they turned to look at me.

"They're not looking for extreme cases. Most memory modules from before the collapse can't just be read and dumped, you need credentials and access to a database that houses known exploits. Also, you have to set up an environment that you can actually execute the data in. Most of these things can be solved by a kit known as a VPC," I said.

The others looked stunned while Alex gave me an interested if rather intense stare as his blue eyes fixated on me, "How do you know that?"

"There's a lot of fun computer games from the old world, many which are still being reverse engineered, any retro gamer knows how do the basics," I answered.

Maria pushed the pad over to me, "Could you write that down?"

I nodded and started typing while wondering why people seemed to take for granted that wolves were nothing but meatheads, I was not stupid, nor was I dangerous even if I was bigger than most others.

I finished and pushed the pad into the center of the table once more.

"You didn't need to get angry," Tanya whispered.

My ears twitched a little as I looked up, "I'm not, but you were ignoring me. I'm part of the group so let me participate, all right?"

"Yeah, sorry about that," Alex whispered.

510 A.R. November 14, University of Technology, Morning

"Hey, pup!" Kato yelled out.

I looked up and glanced over at the bench presses where Kato, Reville and Monty were keeping themselves busy, "What?"

"Stop jerking around and lift some real weights will ya?" Kato asked with a loud voice.

I put down the weight down and walked over to the bench press where Monty was busying himself with the bench press while Reville and Kato kept watch.

The three of them looked at least a head taller than me but the sheer bulk on their bodies was the biggest change compared to myself.

"How much are you working with?" I asked.

"300 kilos works well," Kato said as he glimpsed at the weight Monty was working with.

My head swooned a little as I heard the real number while I wondered what the weights were made of.

"I can barely lift 170, once, so I wouldn't be a good spotter," I answered.

Kato raised his brow and gave me a curious glance, "You need to exercise more pup."

I feigned my cool as I had been rather impressed with my own strength, "Yeah, I know."

Kato stepped over to the next bench press, "I'll spot for you, come on."

"Thanks," I said as I joined Kato and helped resettle the weights.

"So pup, what do you think of uni so far?"

A bit of irritation in the back of my mind brought out instincts as Kato began to irritate me.

"Why do you keep calling me pup?" I asked as I met Kato's eyes.

Kato gave me a sharp eye and made a light grin, "Don't like it? Pup?"

My lips twitched as instinct made my heart thump, "Not particularly."

Kato sniffed the air, "You've matured at least, how did things go at your gathering?"

"Good, the pack caught a big buck. Does your pack have the traditional hunt as well?"

Kato nodded, "Sure do, who fell the buck?"

My tail took on a gentle wag as I reminisced while my chest puffed up a little in pride, "I did, the others held it at bay while I made the kill. I may have bitten too hard though as I ended up carrying the head for miles."

Kato settled the last weight and made a big toothy grin, "Show me your teeth."

I opened my muzzle and bared my fangs.

"Those teeth are what, second cycle?" Kato asked.

I shut my muzzle, "Yeah."

Kato opened his own muzzle and chuckled as he felt along his big canines, "I'm a bit jealous pup."

I felt a thump in my chest followed by what felt like a rush of adrenaline as my claws began to itch with a deep seated anger welling up inside me. The sudden anger concerned me but something in the back of my head reassured me.

"Thanks, but stop calling me pup," I ordered.

Kato shut his muzzle and looked me in the eyes, "Or what? Pup?"

Something snapped inside me as low rumbling growl emanated from my chest.

"Or we'll settle this using our fists," I answered with a glare.

A clink could be heard as Monty and Reville settled the weights and turned to look at me.

Kato made an evil smile and inched a little closer, "This is the point where a dog would hide his tail and crawl away."

"I'm not a dog," I answered as my hackles began to rise with a tingling sensation in my neck and shoulders.

Kato eased his expression and raised his hands, "Relax Vilkas, my apologies, you're a wolf, not a pup."

I relaxed a little and felt my hackles ease down, "All right."

Kato seemed to drop his posturing and took on a normal tone of voice, "I've heard you Silverfangs have a pretty nice monument."

I nodded, "I think it looks nice, I take it the Frostwolves have one as well?"

Kato nodded, "Yeah, a howling one that looks like ice. Ever been to the mindscape?"

I made a slight nod, "Once, but not at the gathering."

Kato cocked his head, "What do you mean?"

I raised my brow and glanced at Kato as I tried to get the hint across.

Kato's ears perked as he seemed to puzzle things together, "Oh, right, the axe thing."

I sighed and frowned at him.

"Relax Vilkas, there's hardly a wolf on the planet that doesn't know by now."

"What?" I asked in surprise.

Kato leaned in and whispered, "We might divide ourselves into clans but we're still one big happy family."

"Yeah, still, I don't want to be known as 'that' guy here at university," I whispered.

Kato nodded, "I know, you can trust us Vilkas."

"Uh huh," I said with some doubt.

Kato folded his ears back and his tail grew slack as if I had wounded him, "Oh, we really got off on the wrong paw... I was just teasing you Vilkas. You know, we're though with words but it's all posturing."

Monty spoke up all of a sudden, "Kato may be our alpha but most of the time he's a bumbling idiot, the last part was sincere though. You can trust us and our concern is genuine."

Kato's tail began to snap back and forth in agitation as he frowned and glared at Monty.

Reville chuckled, "He's right Kato, this isn't the first time you've gotten us into trouble because of your personal dick-waving contest with everyone."

Kato's ears perked and then clamped to his head as he crossed his arms, "... You guys are such ungrateful jerks."

I felt myself relax as I watched Kato's reaction, my instincts seemed to agree as they settled once more.

Kato looked back at me and stepped closer as he crouched down to my level, "Friends, Vilkas?"

I nodded, "Sure Kato."

Kato was quick to lean in and brushed his muzzle near mine, it was a simple yet powerful act as my instincts flared to life with sudden approval while I made a quick sniff to catch his scent.

Kato moved back and motioned to the weights, "Does 150 sound okay?"

"Sure, let's try it," I said as I got up while Kato heaved the thing up and placed it on the bench press.

I got into position, took a solid hold, pulled a deep breath and then pushed the weight up. Kato hovered near me with his hands as I brought it down, and then forced it up with a light grunt.

"Good," Kato whispered.

I could feel the growing thump of my heart and the warmth brimming from my upper body as I settled into a steady rhythm. It felt rather good but at the same time I found myself facing the old worry of what would happen if my grip slipped.

Minutes passed and the warmth inside my body kept growing until I decide to take a light break. I eased the weight back into place and then opened my muzzle to pant.

"Tired?" Kato asked.

"No... just a breather... I do wish it was a bit colder in here,"

Kato grinned, "It's below freezing all year around south of here by the glaciers, you'd like it there."

"I bet," I whispered.

Kato glanced up for a moment and then looked down again, "You've had your symbiont for, half a year now?"

"More like four months," I said as I reached up and grabbed hold of the weight again.

"Oh, I guess that's why you're so weak."

I raised my brow as I glanced up, "Wow, thanks Kato."

Kato chuckled, "Sorry, still, It's pretty amazing to grow this kind of strength in that time."

I nodded in agreement, "Yeah, it is."

I started another set while Kato glanced up and got a curious expression on his face.

"You've got a fan Vilkas," Kato said as he glanced down.

"Oh?" I managed to utter between breaths.

"Canine, male, looks like a husky with a big black arrow in the middle of his face," Kato whispered.

"That's Alex, we're in the same class."

"Uh huh," Kato whispered with a sly smile.

I bit together and grunted as I forced myself to keep going, "What?"

"Which team are ya batting for Vilkas?" Kato asked.

I lowered the weight and panted with exertion as I forced it up once more, "Do you usually interrogate people like this?"

"Just curious Vilkas," Kato asked.

"Does it matter?" I asked as I eased the weight into place.

"Not to me, and I'm all about the girls if you're curious."

"Well, one more I'll have to remember not to flirt with," I said with a light grin.

Kato smirked and leaned a bit closer, "Range 1-10, what am I?"

I raised my brow and couldn't help but make a sheepish smile, "Are you serious Kato?"

Reville spoke up, "Don't encourage his already huge ego!"

Kato imitated a pleading pup, "Please?"

I glanced around and smirked, "You've got nice black fur... and you smell nice... 8."

Kato seemed to blush and glanced over at Reville and Monty, "Ya hear that fuck faces, I'm a solid eight!"

510 A.R. November 18, Volkov Household, Evening

I was browsing through the index sites when one of my filters picked up something of interest.

'Happy Trails raid - Confiscated footage - Warning: Graphic Content'

I activated the link and leaned back as I watched the video start on the pad. Two news anchors, one canine, one feline, were sitting in a small studio and were facing the camera.

I recognized the feline as Paige Hinton from the earlier news clip.

"A large amount of footage found in the raid of the Happy Trails organization was released earlier today. The outfall has had a chilling effect on the critics that called the raid an unprecedented and aggressive move against the human populace of the country."

The canine leaned in and spoke as a small info blob appeared with his name, 'Derek Hurton'

"Sophos was founded on the principles of peaceful coexistence and a wish to create a more stable society, there are limits however and some behavior cannot be tolerated in a civil society."

Paige glanced over at Derek before speaking up, "The footage we're about you show you is disturbing, but we're urging everyone to take it for what it is. A glimpse into a disturbed but small sect that is not representative of the human population."

A small warning screen popped up and asked for confirmation to continue playing the video.

I pressed it and acknowledged the warning.

The video continued and showed a recording that looked as if it was made from a hand held camera overlooking the interior of a temple. The pews were filled with humans that ranged in age from small children to adults that looked even older than Charles.

Some kind of priest stood at the front and was chanting something unintelligible over and over.

The humans in the front pews rose and began to holler and scream as they joined in with the priest. They started flailing with their arms and their movements became increasingly erratic as the chanting grew into a jumbled mess.

The recording shifted a little as the person holding the camera stepped closer and zoomed in on the rest of the congregation.

More began to join in and the recording focused on a family near the back. There was a mother and father standing side by side of a male teenager. They were whispering to him as if nudging him along.

The faces of the humans that chanted turned red as their movements became more violent. Tears began to stream down their faces as more and more joined in an increasingly horrifying chorus of gibberish.

A man near the family with the teenager stood up and screamed out in words that one could understand, "YES! GOD! FILL MY SPIRIT!"

The man looked frantic and sweat pearled on his forehead as he raised his arms and began to shake while screeching as he joined in the chanting.

A few of the smaller children in the pews sat frozen and looked pale as they stared at their families in silence. A small girl walked into the aisle and then began to holler and shake as she threw herself on the floor, moments later she began to bang her head against the floor.

Something seemed to trigger in the teenager as he looked at his hands and began to shake them, moments later he lit up with what looked like joy as he began to holler and stomp his feet.

The parents became ecstatic, the mother cried while the father shook the teenager and screamed as the recording became increasingly distorted as it grew dark.

Another scene was shown and this it was focused on a decorated stone floor.

Female screams could be heard and the viewpoint of the video shifted to show a large gathering of humans. The large group divided and showed two men dragging a rather young woman who screamed, kicked, and flailed with her arms.

The men dragged her to the center and then wrestled her to the stone floor.

She fought with all she had and continued to scream as another priest followed. The priest held some kind of bowl and stepped in front of the circle where the woman was held.

"Lord, have mercy!" The priest screamed as he dipped his hand in the bowl and threw some kind of liquid on the woman.

The woman let out a high pitched screech and began to writhe in agony as if burned by acid. The men let go of her as she kept thrashing on the floor.

"Wasi'a kursiyuhus-samawati wal ard!" The priest screamed with fervor as he threw another handful.

The woman clutched her face and arched her back as she twitched and wailed.

"Miny?n tiqqûn š?d šôp?r Ba'al š?m!" The face of the priest was red with exertion as the humans began to join in with another gibbering chant.

"That you deliver our souls and the souls of our brethren!" The priest lashed out and threw more liquid as he stared up at the roof and screamed.

Something changed as the woman spread both arms and legs before clutching the ground, her eyes took on a crazed look and her screams were replaced by a dark and hasty chant of gibberish.

"Wa la ya'uduhu hifdhuhuma Wa Huwal 'Aliyul-Adheem!"

The group of humans surrounding the circle raised their hands in unison as their faces flushed red while tears ran down their faces.

A rolling spasm arched through the woman's body and ended as a jet of something black burst from her mouth. She puked and began to convulse as the black liquid flowed across the stone floor.

Everything seemed to calm down moments later and the priest collapsed into the arms of others.

The scene faded once more and then showed the start of something else.

This time the recording was a jumbled mess as the person holding the camera moved along a throng of people. The camera was lifted and then stabilized as it showed some kind of dark stage.

On the stage was an illuminated area with what looked like a small pommel horse, a young man clad only in a loincloth and a gag was kneeling behind it and rested his chest on it. Something was attached to the floor and it took me a moment to realize that it was a set of four chains.

The man was strapped tight against the pommel horse and was struggling as he tried to glance back at something hiding in the darkness. The large crowd began to cheer as a priest in bright white clothing took the front of the stage.

"The world is filled with darkness, it creeps into every crevice and it threatens to strangle what little life that remains. But there is light, and hope, in our Lord! But he needs our help! Our devotion! Our obedience!"

The crowd cheered as the priest raised his voice.

"The Lord has sought a covenant people! We are that people! Apostles! Prophets! We are the lord's extension into this world and we will take back authority from evil!"

The priest turned and motioned to the chained man, "Evildoers must convert or be punished! Rejoice! For through pain you will be set FREE! Through PAIN you will gain clarity and understanding!"

Something moved in the shadows, a mere moment later a big whip moved through the air and struck the chained man in the back. One could see the effect roll through the man's body as it twitched like a moving wave until it reached the man's face as it twisted in agony.

The man made a muffled but pained scream loud enough to break through the chanting.

The whip hit over and over again until one could see blood trailing and dripping from the sides of the man who twitched against the restraints while rocking his head in a desperate attempt to ease the torment.

A sickening sensation filled me as blood drained from my head while my gut filled with nausea.

I swiped my hand across the pad and ended the video as I shut my eyes and tried to force the image from my mind. It didn't work, the scene had etched itself into my mind and I could still hear the screams echoing in a way that made me want to puke.

"Vilkas?" Mother's voice caught me by surprise as I opened my eyes and looked toward her.

"Is everything all right?" Mother asked.

My mind felt seared but I forced myself to make a slight smile, "I'm fine mom."

Mother cocked her head, "You look like you've seen a ghost."

I gulped and tried to relax, "It's nothing."

Mother stepped up to me and touched my shoulder, "What is it Vilkas? You even smell scared."

I gulped and tried my best to steel myself, "I just got scared, that's all. A bad prank."

"Must have been one hell of a prank Vilkas," Mother whispered.

My mind searched in panic for some way to escape, "I'm hungry, how about an apple pie?"

"Huh?" Mother said in surprise.

I stood up and motioned to the garden, "I'll fetch some of the winter apples, they're still good."

"... All right?" Mother whispered as she cocked her head and looked at me in confusion.