[Center][H1][I][B][color=f4320c]no beast so fierce but knows some touch of pity II[/color][/B][/I][/H1] [H2][Color=Silver]Viktor[/color] & [color=f4320c]The Red Beast[/color][/h2][/center][hr] It was now or never. The opportunity for Viktor to confront him couldn't be more perfect. As far as he knew, most of the others were preoccupied and Kassy was resting. There had been a back and forth in his mind on whether he should do this with others or go it alone but the risk of distraction caused him to choose the latter. However, this held risks too. Who would the person that faced him be when he opened the door to the training room? Viktor only had ideas and hypotheses. This was not Ja… This was not Kila either. This was the person whom he had labeled a threat. The person who maimed members of their team. The same person who endangered Kila and Ja’s well-being. This was… [Color=silver][I]The Red Beast[/I][/color] When the door opened, he was met with silence. Perhaps on the way walking nearer to the door, he heard the large workout tire drop onto the now ripped-up turf of the training room floor. The green, fake grass was dug through and part of the metal beneath the padding showed in some places. The tire itself, the second largest that they had stocked, had some deep claw marks on it. Initially looking around, the soldier boy might not have even seen him. That is, until looking back at the entrance where he’d just come in from. There, perched against the wall above the door, was his target; crimson eyes watching him. [Color=silver]“You…”[/color] Viktor reflexively tensed, bracing himself upon noticing the obvious differences of this variant of his friend. The deep red irises and the visible muscle growth were hard to ignore. [Color=silver]“You’re him. The Red Beast. At least, that's what you've been referred to as.”[/color] Viktor wasn't even sure if his words had even been understood but things were starting out quite civilly. The ‘Red Beast’ kept to his place above the entrance. Although initially his eyes were glowing, it seemed like the light dimmed. His posture, while not aggressive, was not relaxed either. It was as though he wasn’t sure how to place Viktor. What he said didn’t seem to radiate much with his friend, but he recognized the Red Beast comment via a slight tilt of his head. [Color=silver]“...”[/color] The silence between them lacked awkwardness. If anything, it was intentional between the both of them. They quietly studied and measured one another for several long seconds before Viktor's shoulders dropped some. [Color=silver]“You don't speak, but you do understand. Good, because that's all I need from you.”[/color] Viktor clasped his hand behind his back and took a step forward. [Color=silver]“You and I have an issue. [B]You[/b] are partially responsible for what happened at the docks. You attacked my team. My friends… [I]Ja[/I] and [I]Kila's[/I] friends…”[/color] Viktor let the words sink in, turning from him to begin pacing. [Color=silver]“An inclination toward violence. Lack of self-control. Lack of discipline. Inability to communicate effectively. Unnecessarily destructive. No accountability,”[/color] he listed off before stopping in place and looking up at the visage of his friend up above. [Color=silver]“Yet, who am I to tell you that you're not supposed to be here?”[/color] The Red Beast didn’t seem to have a real reaction to anything he’d said, simply watching with unblinking eyes. Viktor already got his attention earlier when he heard ‘red beast’, hearing 'Ja' and 'Kila' after that seemed to confuse him. Tha is, until he said the word ‘here.’ In response to that, slowly and carefully, the hunter unlatched himself from the wall. Then, on all fours in a manner most similar to a chimpanzee, he approached Viktor and stopped when he was roughly five feet away. The approach was far from aggressive, yet Viktor couldn't help but tense a little while slightly sliding his left foot back. There was another long moment of pause between them, yet both of them were oddly comfortable while determining the intent of the other. [Color=silver]“I don't know how much of this you're taking in but…”[/color] Viktor caught himself and reassessed how he'd go forward in communicating. Making a gamble, he held out both hands with his right thumb tucked. He started wiggling his right pinky first. [Color=silver]“Pei… Cora… Vincent… Will… Zach… Viktor…”[/color] He finger by finger, using his left thumb to point to his chest. [Color=silver]“Daphne… Kassy… and [I]you[/I]. We’re a… pack. That's what Ja called it. And we need to… ”[/color] He interlocked his fingers, slowly tightening his grip. [Color=silver]“Work together. And together, we're strong. We protect each other, even if we don't like each other sometimes.”[/color] There was a hint of a smile on his face. [Color=silver]“Kassy helps a lot, right?”[/color] Viktor gave him a firm nod. Initially, on hearing names he recognized, he looked around. On realizing that they weren’t around was when the young beast focused on the fingers instead. Visibly he perked up when he heard [color=silver][i]Kassy[/i][/color] and then again on [color=silver]’Ja’[/color]. When Viktor made a wall by putting the pack of fingers together, he seemed to get the concept. ‘Pack’, ‘Strong’, ‘Protect’; these were all words he knew. Then combining them with the names, he understood that he was supposed to protect them. When he said Kassy again, he looked around again but didn’t sense her a second time. Remembering that he nodded, the wild child copied the gesture, making a wall with his own fingers. [color=f4320c]”Kassy…”[/color] His grumbling voice repeated with a nod. [Color=silver]“Good…”[/color]There were so many questions he desired to ask, wondering if this was all that was left of KJ. [Color=silver]“Well, I'll be helping out as well… And so will the rest of the pack, Red Beast… you're fine with that name?”[/color] Viktor asked with a raised eyebrow. The Red son stopped looking at the pack wall made with his hands when Viktor asked the question. Looking back up at him, the Beast seemed to be thinking. His eyes traced Viktor’s form for a moment before he stood up. Slowly extending his palm with splayed fingers, he pressed it into the center of Viktor’s chest. [color=f4320c]”Rock.”[/color] [Color=silver]“Uh…”[/color] Viktor’s initial thought was that his friend was sharing [I]his[/I] preferred name but the body language said otherwise. [Color=silver]“Rock? Me?”[/color] He questioned the reasoning behind this designation. The Beast slowly nodded in response. [color=f4320c]”Name…is…Rock.”[/color] Was his reassurance before lowering his hand off of Viktor’s chest who stared at him thoughtfully. [Color=silver]“Rock.”[/color] Viktor affirmed, while the gears in his head began to rationalize why his new friend had picked such a name. If it weren't for this, Viktor might have probed for what [I]his[/I] name was or the names of the others on the Team. [Color=silver][I]Rock. Solid. Sturdy. Formed under pressure. Can be as much of a tool as it can be a weapon… But am I more of a flat rock or a bumpy one? And what kind of rock. Sedimentary or perhaps igneous? I could be thinking of this entirely the wrong way. It could be tied to a colloquialism such as, ‘don't throw rocks at glass houses’... No. ‘Don’t throw rocks and hide your hand’ or ‘He who throws the first stone…’ Is he planning to… No, he wouldn't. Hmm, what if it refers to something entirely different. Rock, the music genre or rock as a verb… Dwayne Johnson?[/I][/color]