CHPT 324: The Strength of Variation, The Shock of Realization...

Friday Morning, December 14th, 2240...

Sleep was a beautiful thing. Becoming a Shape-Shifter didn't seem to change that in the slightest. In fact, it felt better. It felt warm and welcoming. Like being burrito wrapped in a giant quilt that shut out the world and left you in a state of absolute comfort. It was bizarre almost when she thought of how easy it was to willingly stay in such a state, just disappear from consciousness and....hibernate.

Such a feat could've been possible-- maybe, if she couldn't hear the bits and pieces of Claude's thoughts for the past handful of minutes. His mind felt like it never stopped, plans, preparations, worries, fears, anger, resentment, guilt. She could feel it drip off each thought like a black slime that burned at the touch.

The other thoughts that came fewer and further between were nowhere near as intense, much more simple even, but they were still far from at peace. Whatever thread she pulled into coherence held a similar sentiment. Fear, wariness, alertness, residual anger-- not their own.

It was so odd. She could only describe it as a network of thoughts, held together by a string that blended and transported the contents within each. There was simply no other way to describe the array of thoughts firing into her mind that weren't her own.

They entered her dreams and slumber seamlessly, sometimes too quiet to notice. But, it only took one clear thought to pull her straight out of her wonderful sleep.

"We have to make sure she's ready."

***

Her eyes opened in a harsh squint, welcoming the beaming rays of the sun above that seemed to lack a single care over the fact that she was waking up.

The winds blew heavenly coldness across her sunheated face and cut through her formfitting turtleneck as she stretched and rose from the log she laid on. The tight pull of stiff muscles cracked and stretched along her back as she twisted right and left, causing her spine to announce it's presence with a chaotic firing of pops.

"....I miss the hammock." She said drowsily while rubbing the sleep from her eyes and undoing her ponytail.

In one fluid movement, her hair came free, allowing the fiery auburn waves to fall all around her like strips of dark sunlight.

The daze she usually felt after waking from a deep sleep was stronger than ever, threatening to carry her back to sleep as she ran her fingers through her hair and massaged her scalp that was leaned up against dirty tree bark for an unknown amount of hours.

After a few minutes of dazing in and out of sleep during the process, she flung her head back, allowing her hair to follow before being bunched up and tied back into it's rightful ponytail. Partway through the process she found herself no longer aimlessly looking at the trees and burnt pile of wood across from her.

Instead, she was facing something with much more life...and sweat. Sweat that added a lively shine to the muscles and veiny bronze skin it coated entirely. Like a glossy statue of some old world roman warrior.

Claude's abdomen continued to stare back at her for the next handful of seconds, expanding and constricting with each heavy breath.

Ursula sighed, "Yea.....I don't think it gets any more scandalous than this."

Following her words, she found herself finally hearing the sounds that previously weren't puncturing through her half asleep daze.

"Ursula....Ursula...Yo! You awake?!"

Frosty barked at the end of each word, as if giving an added hint of wolven exclamation to the end of each sentence.

"Yep. I'm up." She said before standing to get herself out of their....predicament.

As soon as she stood fully, meeting his gaze at near perfect eye level, he gripped her shoulders and searched her eyes as if he'd find something important within them. She could've smiled at the sudden lack of social awkwardness if not for the sudden memory of why she'd woken up in the first place.

Something was wrong.

"How do you feel? Are you tired? Do you feel sick? Are you hungry?" He asked while he continued to search her face and Frosty smelled her legs and fingers.

"I remember...." She replied.

"What?"

"I remember your thoughts-- pieces...I could hear them. Somethings wrong."

Claude nodded in thought and backed away, letting his hands fall from her arms so the blood could finally begin circulating again.

"It's the Pack Bond. I'm still learning it, but it connects us."

Her suspicions were correct, "Who is....us?? Are there more...Lupines?"

Claude looked as if he cringed on the inside at her question, "Not exactly. We're uhhh.....we're the last two of our kind. There are others....the Lupines of Remus. But we aren't them."

Now it was Ursula's turn to think in silence, not about the mind breaking fact that they were an endangered species, but about the others. The one's with a similar name that he spoke of with weakly hidden hatred.

".....The twins....the Deviant. I always thought you were all the same.....until I saw you...changed-- in the forest. You aren't like them, are you? They're Lupines of Remus."

A deeper level of darkness flowed like shadows behind his eyes, "Yea...."

Ursula nodded, "So that's what I need to be ready for. That's our problem?"

Claude sighed and pinched the bridge of his snarling long nose, he sighed to himself and let out a cold humorless laugh that made her uncomfortable. "That's one of our many problems. But, it's not our current problem..."

"Then what is?"

Claude looked up at her, "You."

Ursula's eyebrows climbed up her spotless forehead as she nodded and smiled sarcastically, "Nice, Claude."

Her smile transformed into one of genuine enjoyment as his face twisted with the realization of his mistake.

"No-- shit...that's not how I meant it. In all honesty it may not even be a problem-- to be honest we don't know enough. It could be a good thing...but maybe it's not. It's just racis--"

"Claude, what's happening?" She asked, centering him with the quick interruption.

He stood still for a moment before taking a deep breath, causing his sizable shoulders to rise as his chest and traps expanded, "Sorry. Have a seat, we need to talk. And we need you to answer some questions for us." He finished after exhaling.

Warily, she took a seat back on the log as he backed away and did the same opposite her. As she settled in she couldn't help but consider his words.

"Who is we?"

***

"Ok. What's up?" She said, anxiety shaking her smooth and slightly husky voice.

Claude ran a hand through his shadowy hair and looked up at her, "Alright. You remember how I said you're like me now, right?"

"Yes....because I'm a Lupine." She replied with a nod.

"It's making me uncomfortable with how well you're taking this." He whispered.

She shrugged and yawned, "The hell else am I supposed to do? I'll cry when I get some alone time."

Claude nodded to himself and smiled faintly, but she could feel the pang of guilt that hit him, she had to stop doing that.

"Anyway, yes. You're like me because you're a Lupine. But.....due to certain circumstances and differences involving yourself, you may be less like me than I thought."

Ursula was ready to protest when he urgently added, "Now, you're still a Lupine. But you're different..."

"What the hell does that mean?"

Claude looked like he was speaking with his thoughts, playing around with how to lay out the information before weakly nodded and shrugging, "Ursula, you may be a Variant."

"...And a Variant is??"

"It's one of the many differing types of Lupines of Romulus. Think about it like this..." He said before raising his hand to her, "There are five different classifications on a broad spectrum of Lupines of Romulus as a race. One, High Alphas. Two, Alphas. Three Potentials. Four, Variants. And five, Regulars."

Ursula nodded as he gave her the rundown, anxiety still causing her hands to shake faintly, "So....you're what? A Regular....and I'm a Variant?"

"Not quite. I'm a Potential-- which is why I became this despite being bitten by the...others. And you may be a Variant, which is why you seem to be an omnivore instead of a Hypercarivore."

Suddenly there was too much information on the table for her to accurately form a question. In the wake of their silence, Claude spoke again, bringing them to the focus of why he'd sat her down in the first place.

"Ursula, I need you to open your System screen and tell me what you see."

Frosty was suddenly at her side placing his massive paw on her knee in support as if he could read her mind. Oh yea....he probably could.

"Alright." She said firmly before doing just that.

Once again, the screen opened up to her, now with a small beacon at the bottom corner. It clashed with her icy blue semi-transparent screen, glowing in a deep shade of black with hellish red fissures running through it.

"The HellSlayer Notification. I'll have to ask him about that later..." She thought before pulling up her stat screen.

"Here goes nothing.."

***

[Name: Ursula Legrand]

[Title: None]

[Race: (Arctodus) Lupine of Romulus]

[Level: 9 (800/1000)]

[Stat Points: 4]

[HP: 975/975]

[MP: 200/200]

[Stamina: 15]

[Strength: 35]

[WillPower: 10]

[Intelligence: 8]

[Accuracy: 15]

[Agility/Speed: 15]

[Skills: (Mad Charge LV1), (Henbane Boost LV1), (Berserker's Rage), (Ice Element), (Aura), (Frost Bite LV1),(Combat Meditation), (Glacial Smash), (Pack Boost LV8)]

[Racial Abilities: (Enhanced Senses), (Enhanced Physical Abilities), (Enhanced Recovery), (Prey Drive), (Gluttony/Hyperphagia), (Giant-Killer State), (Lunar Empowerment/Lunar Madness) (Bite** Currently Unavailable)]

Racial Requirement: (Daily Exercise 0/60mins)

[HellSlayer's Power: Currently Undiscovered]

***

Ursula-- still stunned by the abrupt increase to her stats, looked up from her screen to meet Claude's gaze.

"Well?"

"....I take it Arctodus Lupines aren't the norm?"