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[@Gentlemanvaultboy]
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Rurik, contrary to the norm, had been on his best behavior lately. He'd arrived to school on time, his uniform was in order, and he'd actually gone to [i]a[/i] class. Look, no one was perfect.

Whether this was out of pity for or fear of Bak's sour mood was hard to say. It was definitely one of those, though.

And then Bak's call came through. Well, not really. Rurik's phone had long since been destroyed and his family couldn't afford to replace it. Rather, unfortunately, he found himself for the second time in recent memory dealing with Cate Accia.

[color=CFD3C6]"Oh for fuc-"[/color] Rurik tried to duck and turn away, but she was already locked onto him. He'd have rather had Bak locked onto him to be honest.

"Language."

[color=CFD3C6]"Wh- Did you forget where you are?"[/color] Rurik tilted his head in disbelief.

"I'm a staff member. I deserve more respect," she replied.

[color=CFD3C6]"Uhuh. So, [i]Cate[/i], what do you want?"[/color]

Cate pursed her lips for but a moment, otherwise remaining unphased, "I said we'd talk later. It's later. So let's talk."

[color=CFD3C6]"No thanks, I'm good."[/color]

[b]Three minutes later in Cate's office...[/b]

In the end, it seemed no didn't mean no to Cate. He found himself sitting across from her at her desk.

[color=CFD3C6]"Fine. Here we are. [i]What do you want, Cate[/i]?"[/color] Rurik grumbled impatiently.

"I may have underestimated you a little," she began. "But first, let me ask. Do you dislike me?"

[color=CFD3C6]"Nooo, what would make you think that?"[/color] Rurik stared blankly.

"I see. Do you know why I stopped contact?" she asked.

[color=CFD3C6]"Because I'm a huge disappointment to everyone I meet?"[/color] Rurik shrugged.

"Yes, actually," she responded with startling candor. Well, not so startling coming from her. "But lately you've been getting up to quite a bit of trouble. I wonder why that is."

[color=CFD3C6]"It's me. How is that unusual?"[/color]

"Oh, it is. Your usual brand of trouble is schoolyard fights and insubordination. But now? That night on the rooftop? The park-" That made Rurik flinch. "Yes, I know about that. Then the arena afterward too, and that scuffle with the St. Laurel's boy. All quite different from the norm with you."

Rurik scrunched up his face and looked away, [color=CFD3C6]"Yeah? How do you figure?"[/color]

"You avoid everything you can. You run. You're one step away from being a coward. No, maybe you really are one," she told him.

[color=CFD3C6]"OK, staff or not, I'm one twitch away from flipping you off. Is there a point to this?"[/color] Rurik was getting a little angry now. Somehow she was able to push his buttons. Then again, his buttons had been a little more pushable than usual as of late.

"I'm figuring out what's changed."

[color=CFD3C6]"Psychoanalyzing me now?"[/color]

"Interesting, and using bigger words than usua-" His glare got her to skip to the point. "Well why not. There are some common elements at each instance. Bak was there, you two have a history-"

Rurik just scoffed. 

"Hm."

[color=CFD3C6]"Hm? What does hm mean?"[/color] Rurik bit back.

"No, you're right. I believe you."

[color=CFD3C6]"I didn't say anything!"[/color]

"You resent her too much."

[color=CFD3C6]"Wh- I do not!"[/color] he shouted.

"Well then. Maybe not so much as you used to then." Her lips twitched into a smirk for a moment. No doubt feeling pleased with how she was getting a rise out of him. She was reading him like a book. "Something else then, some-"

[color=CFD3C6]"I'm fucking done."[/color] Rurik shot to his feet. 

"Very well. I have my answer anyway, at least I think so."

[color=CFD3C6]"Yeah, cool, so happy for you."[/color] Rurik made his way to the door.

"Speaking of Bak, she's looking for you. I believe she's calling a council meeting. I thought you might want to know, since you apparently don't resent her," she told him. Rurik's eye twitched, but he didn't respond. "Go on then, we'll pick this up later."

Bak was one thing, but the whole council? 

Yeah, fine, he'd go... but who else was going then?

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[@AtomicNut]
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Wolf felt like he'd slept for days. He'd been up and down, sure, but he'd spent most of the time sleeping. He'd woken up long enough for Vera to take him home and then once again it had been lights out.

Finally, once he was up for good... he'd spent the next while wishing he were back asleep. His dreams hadn't been the best, but they were better than being awake. All he could think about was the narrowly averted disaster. It hadn't been a tragedy, but at the very best it had been bittersweet.

[i]"Fools and fools tales..."[/i] . . . [i]"You say that, and you do not realize two important things, Wolfram Koenigsmann. One is that you're sentencing her to go back with her hellish mother for atoning for her crimes..."[/i]

Every now and then the words wormed their way back into his head and he'd spend the next five minutes white-knuckling and gritting his teeth. 

[i]"And ... I ... was tired. I listened to whom I should not. Sacrifices. I tried to sacrifice an innocent girl for just your smile. That's how desperate I was!"[/i]

[i]CRACK![/i]

Before he even realized it, he found his fist buried in the nearby support-beam. A splintered indentation of his fist was left in it. Red mist wafted off of his knuckles before he took a deep breath and managed to calm down, if only a little. 

Next thing he knew he was dressed to go out, but he hadn't found himself at the front door, but the back. He walked a few minutes out in the deep woods behind his house. He heard branches rustle and felt eyes watching, but soon his way was barred.

The huge white wolf with its monstrous eyes. It bared its fangs at him, pressuring him back. Wolfram didn't flinch, but lifted a hand and stepped forward. 

This time it snarled viciously and snapped at him, ropes of saliva beginning to drip from its mouth.

[color=DarkKhaki]"Rhudi..."[/color] Wolf clenched his jaw. Frustration was bubbling up in him, but soon it was smothered in a wet blanket of defeat. [color=DarkKhaki]"You still blame me. Still hate me."[/color]

There was nothing in the vicious animal's eyes to say otherwise. He knew were it not for the control his father had over him, the wolf, Rhudi, would have already set upon him.

[color=DarkKhaki]"Well why wouldn't you?"[/color] Wolf sighed and turned his back. He felt Rhudi's hot, rancid breath wash over him as the beast let out an unnatural roar. It took everything in him not to flinch and just keep walking away.

He kept going until this time he did reach the front door. He was in a terrible frame of mind. He should have stayed home. Nothing good could come of him leaving with the thoughts he had racing through his head. But leave he did.

He had perhaps the worst possible idea.

[i]"You say that, and you do not realize two important things, Wolfram Koenigsmann. One is that you're sentencing her to go back with her hellish mother for atoning for her crimes..."[/i]

A short while later he found himself at the Blackgate household knocking on the door.