[Center] Wulfus was very welcoming and hospitable, obviously he was probably waiting for guests to arrive yet there were none, Sylas had thought that maybe he would get to see Ray and Mia as well though it was not so and he found it a bit odd. Regardless, it felt nice to see a friendly face. Sylas followed his host deeper in the workshop filled with so many strange and technologically advanced machines that one would believe its brought from a SF. The wolf couldn’t help but gaze around these oddities, in his travels he had seen his fair share of advanced utilities and such but nothing like this. This place was a hardcore, technologically advanced place of science and he felt a bit overwhelmed but one couldn’t possibly tell just by looking at him. Wulfus relieved him of his bags and then offered a tool trolley for him to sit upon, assuring the wolf that its stable enough to bare his weight. When one of the drawers fell on the floor and its contest rolled all over the place, Sylas gazed at Wulfus and then chuckled faintly as the hybrid loudly exclaimed that [b]"Now it's safe!"[/b]. After they both chuckled, Sylas took the bottle of beer that Wulfus offered him and eagerly took a gulp. One would assume that the wolf would much rather prefer to drink some Sake but truth be told he much rather preferred the Western alcoholic beverages. He didn’t dislike Sake but after he first had a taste of beer he considered the traditional drink of his homeland to be more of a ‘ritual drink’ as part of his preparation for an upcoming challenge. 

[b]"I know, it's not the best place to arrange a supposed reunion, which has failed anyway... Ray said he was still working at his office, Mia will not answer her phone no matter what and my sister is most likely out with some of her friends or something like that. But, hey, I'm glad that you, out of all people, showed up! I'm not sure how you ended up in Chicago, but I am really glad you did, not to mention you made it just in time to celebrate my latest failure."[/b] Wulfus said bitterly, confirming Syla’s suspicions that he was expecting other guests but in the end none arrived. What truly caught the wolf’s attention was Wulfu’s mention of a ‘failure’ but before he could inquire about the nature of this failure, Wulfus drained a hefty portion of his drink and then wanted to hear about how Sylas has been doing and how he progressed in English. The wolf offered a feint smile and then spoke[b] “Improving.”[/b] He said shortly before bowing his head a bit [b] “My thanks again for teaching me, Wulfus-san. The books you offered me were most helpful and I have been improving with every day.”[/b] Sylas was indeed fluent in English though his Japanese accent could still be felt and betrayed his origins. Wulfus seemed happy with his progress and after a nod, Sylas proceed to telling him of his journey around the world. He spoke of his first experience with the outside world when he landed in China. The people there were sullen and silent and many seemed to be rather suspicious if not down-right bothered by the presence of an outsider. The country represented one of the strongest military powers and its people always seem to be on the edge as if expecting a war of sorts any day. They kept to themselves and Sylas had difficulty living in that country. He managed to rent a small room at a bed-and-breakfast in a small town called Xianning but he didn’t stay long, booking a flight as soon as he could to leave. 

His next destination was the infamous ‘Mother-Land’ of Russia. Sylas had read and heard that it was supposedly a cold place, weather as well as people. The weather truly took him unprepared, in spite of his fur and winter clothing, the wolf was shivering. The wind cut through the bone and at one point he could swear one of his fangs turned into an icicle. They both had a laugh at that before he continued his tale. Although the climate was different, Sylas had a better time in Russia than China. He landed in a small town called Bolkhov where he meet a rather welcoming elderly family who offered him to stay in their spare guest-room in exchange for some manual labor side-by-side with their sons. His stay in Russia was a pleasant one and although the weather was cold, it warmed him to see a family so close as his former-hosts and not to mention that there is also where he had his first taste of a strong stiff drink that put him under the table. 

Sylas continued to tell about his journey. From Russia to Finland. From Finland to Sweden and Norway. From there to Poland and then to Germany. From Germany to France and then Italy, Hungary and Romania followed by Ukraine and then all across to England. He traveled far and wide in these 2 years, taking on all sorts of small-time jobs, earning just enough to journey to his next destination all the while trying to learn what he could about the country and trying to find even the smallest of clues about what his destiny could hold for him. Wulfus was listening patiently to the wolf rambling on about his adventures taking sips from his beer every once and a while. One beer and a half later, the wolf finished his tale by stating [b]“After such a long journey, I have learned much and more. I saw wonders that some people walk through life without witnessing them first-hand. I met many interesting and curious people who showed me the best as well as the worst of what their homeland had to offer.”[/b] He sighed [b]“Yet after such a long journey, I have yet to find my place in this world. My…’raison d’etre’ as the French say.”[/b] And now I am here, still searching and hoping beyond hope to find even the slightest of hints. Were his thoughts but he didn’t voice them, rather he took another gulp from his 2nd beer. Wulfus was clearly feeling his drink get to his head as his appearance betrayed, Sylas couldn’t help but smile recalling that he was just about the same if not worse before he built up his tolerance in his journeys by sampling the local brew with every chance he was offered. 

At one point, the hybrid stood up and chuckled almost as if pitying someone and throwing a grim gaze to the bottle before stating in a lame tone [b]"Ya know, I never told you why I invited you here.”[/b]

[b]“No, you didn’t”[/b] Sylas confirmed as if awaiting an explanation.

Wulfus continued with [b]"There's been this... hm, competition-kind-like-thing, ya see. A design contest, if you - hm - will. There's this big, BIG Pee Em See running most of the West Coast security and with abroad activity, Dragon Super Star Troops and- wait. No. D-Dragon. Star. Echelon. Yeah. 'N they needed a new body armor design, a fresh kind-of-thing from anyone who's not engineering in their company. So, anyone could join, even small-time guys like me. And, after I studied real hard about their general activities, I thought they'd need, like, a body armor for scouts, recon - yaknow, sneaky kind of people. They have a lot of heavy-duty armors, some really basic stuff, experimental mech-like tank-thing. Heck, they have exoskeletons lined with artificial muscles that makes you stronger tenfold! But no recon... uh, things!"[/b] The hybrid burped and then continued while gesturing with his arms and spilling his beer around.

[b]"So, I started to study and refresh my physics notions... with regards to, like, light spectrum, light absorption and reflection and the likes. I've made suits before, so I basically know how to make your standard body armor, but this... this was no ordinary body armor. Lined with a thin exoskeleton that enhances the user's entire skeletal muscle system hidden under an outer, thin layer of thermal and electrical insulant which is then covered with a thicker payer of buckypaper! You know, carbon nanotube aggregates, a tough-as-shit composite material; I wanted to add some graphene plating, but you'd get instantly electrocuted by anything, not to mention it would have costed me a fortune to procure. Oh, and, I've found this funky pattern to layer the buckypaper in which, not only it protects you from bullets, but it deflects them! “[/b]

Sylas threw him a gaze of disbelief 

[b]“I'm not shitting you, I made an armor that stops bullets and drops them on the ground! Not to mention that you can take a severe beating from a street gang and you'd still be able to walk it off with your insides intact!”[/b] Sylas couldn’t help but chuckle, he had his doubts about something like that being possible but he was certain Wulfus wouldn’t be making this stuff up. He remained silent and listened intently to Wulfus continuing to describe the properties of his project. 

As the hybrid continued to describe the possibilities one could touch with his project, Sylas found himself more and more intrigued, his golden eyes widening, listening intently and giving a nod every now and then as is Japanese custom during a conversation to reassure that he was paying attention. Wulfus then invited the wolf to follow him with a wave of his hand up the elevated platform where one could notice three large objects covered with white sheets. When the hybrid pulled the cover off of one, Syla’s mouth gaped ever so slightly, doing his best to mask his amazement. He gazed at the suit, scanning and examining its every detail which betrayed the sheer amount of effort that Wulfus put into creating this out of this world apparition. 

[b]"Beautiful, isn't it? Took me five months of non-stop work. Heck, I moved here, as you can see. I wanted to deliver a finished product, not an useless sculpture. I mean, it's got proximity sensors: the moment your suit detects another person disrupting the light, undetectable electromagnetic field it creates, you will be alerted of that guy's presence AND it will point you to where he is! The helmet has multiple cameras embed into that hard material to simulate the world around you, but adding visual enhancements such as night vision, thermal vision, long range scanning; in fact, the helmet is kind of a computer, it's made so that you can talk with your squad, view a YouTube video while sneaking from one corner to another, all in the while you can monitor the integrity of your suit and yourself!"[/b] 

Syla’s gaze never left the suit as he nodded and responded with [b]“Wulfus-san. This is…simply amazing. I…I am at a loss for words.”[/b] Wulfus took another gulp from his beer, draining the remains of its contents before delivering an explanation to one of Syla’s unmentioned earlier curiosities. 

[b]"And guess what! Those motherfuckers refused it. They picked another exoskeleton design made by one of the C.E.O.'s grandson, a rudimentary and utterly crude thing it was. Plus, they wouldn't want to give away any money to a skinny, shady freelance."[/b] he said with a bitter taste on his tongue. [b]"So, that's what we celebrate today. The failure I had yesterday. Cheers, to a road of success and everything implicated... in such things!"[/b] 

The wolf was frowning [b]“Baka-na”[/b] he muttered finding himself in disbelief how anyone could refuse this kind of a project . In a few moments Wulfus walked away to fetch himself another drink, no doubt feeling the need to drown his sorrows even further, leaving the black wolf alone with the now exposed suit. Sylas sat himself in the traditional ‘seiza’ style, still gazing at the suit and drinking it all in. For a brief moment there he felt…something…stir inside of him as he ‘crossed gazes’ with the helmet. He had never seen anything like it before, in all his journeys he had never seen something like this. He recalled how his grandfather once taught him how to forge a traditional katana, the great effort and dedication put behind it which ultimately forms a bond between the samurai and his weapon. He imagined that the same amount of effort was put behind the suit in front of him. He was impressed and it was one of the few moments when he felt humbled in front of the fruits of one man’s hard labor. In the end Sylas was broken out of his trance by Wulfus, tapping him on the shoulder with more force than one would usually use for such an action. 

[b]"Those motherfuckers didn't even consider putting it on for a test run. I think that model is actually your size, I reckon. Say... wanna try it out?”[/b] 

Sylas darted his gaze at Wulfus akin to how a predator would shift his head to a potential prey only the wolf was giving the hybrid a look that screamed ‘You can’t be serious’ 

[b]“Come oooooon, we both want it! I need to document some firsthand experience for it, you get to run around with the thing. Maybe I'll sell this suit elsewhere; sure, I'll get no money or copyright for it, but it's better than having my hand stuck up my ass. There should be a diagram there, showing you how to put it on... it's made so that everyone can put it on, even the retard next door with diaper issues! Or maybe not. Oh, and, once it's on, you hafta switch that large... knob articulation thing on the left of your head and you should be set. Careful, not the one on the right, that one opens your helmet!"[/b]

The wolf gulped and then rose, looking at the diagram which explained in great detail how to put on the suit. He shifted his gaze between the diagram and back to the suit and then to the diagram once more. Finally he took a short inhale and then turned his gaze at Wulfus. 

[b]“Wulfus-san, I have never before laid eyes on anything akin to this. If what you say about it is true, then you must be a great craftsman of considerable skill, akin to Goroo Nyuudoo Masamune from the tales.”[/b] The black wolf then gave Wulfus a deep bow and said in a solemn tone [b]“It would be an honor to test the capabilities of your work”[/b] . Said and done. The wolf stripped of his street clothes as he assumed that the suit was designed to be as close to one’s skin as possible, he kept his boxer shorts on though. Following the diagram, the wolf managed to, eventually, equip the suit, though he had his troubles. Wulfus mentioned that it was made so that ‘everyone’ could easily put it on and about halfway in Sylas believed that it must have been a mere exaggeration as he felt awkward more than once during the whole process, sometimes afraid that some parts were probably to tight for his frame and might break if forced. However, at the end, to his surprise, the suit fitted him well…too well, almost like it was made for someone with his measurements, it felt like a second layer of skin… slightly encumbering, though Sylas was certain he would get used to it soon enough. To finalize the process, the wolf reached for the knob on his head, he almost reached for the one on his right but recalled that it should be the opposite one before touching it. Once switched, the wolf saw the world though different eyes,. 

It was almost as if he was looking at a set of large TV screens that surrounded him completely. They all displayed what was currently in front of him, like looking through a window. On the upper right corner of the “screen”, the wolf noticed a tiny set of icons which most probably represented the extra functions which Wulfus talked about, such as thermal vision, night vision, etc. On the far left side, the wolf noticed a bright green figure resembling the suit he was wearing with small foibles indicating to different parts of the body, all saying “Active” , that must be the status display. It all felt surreal, Syals slowly rose and lowered his hands, flexing his fingers, took a few steps here and there, stretched and looked all around him. The ‘restrictions’ that this suit had as far as mobility is concerned was next to nothing, it almost seemed like it would adapt to how flexible the wolf was. After adjusting himself, Sylas felt eerie in a good sort of way, he felt stronger, faster, even though he didn’t actually do anything to demonstrate these facts, he ‘felt’ as if he could. The wolf turned his gaze to Wulfus, smiled ,though it most probably wasn’t visible though the helmet, then spoke, his voice distorted [b]“This must be how Tony Stark feels like”[/b] followed by a chuckle. 

After that, Sylas was anxious to see what he could accomplish, yet he only took a few steps away before turning back to Wulfus [b]“Wulfus-san, can I go outside like this? What if anyone should see me? Or perhaps you may recommend a certain area of the city where I should go? ”[/b] [/Center]