Meeting

Grey woke up, a black bag on his head. As he stirred, he noted that his hands and feet were bound and that he had lost his cap. It was most likely that they had seen that he had awakened.

Before moving his mana to free himself, however, he asked Fallen Star, 'Hey, do you know what happened?'

- You got kidnapped. - A bland response came.

'Well, no shit, Sherlock.' He dryly remarked.

- Don't worry. I may not be able to see without you, but I can sense mana, no matter how you hide it. And this man, well… you'll see. - Fallen Star chuckled at the end of the sentence, seemingly looking forward to the situation, and confusing Grey a great deal.

Now the boy had, sort of, got a grasp on the situation, he moved more mana than usual to his eyes, trying to see through the bag. Unfortunately, the kidnappers had come prepared. It was made from the skin of a mana beast, one that had a thick hide.

Unbothered by the minor fact that he couldn't see anything, which stopped him from knowing how many enemies there were, Grey prepared to move mana into his arms and legs. His plan was to break the bindings, but he suddenly heard a voice.

"Don't bother. It, just like the bag, is made from mana beasts. You won't break them with your measly strength." It was gruff, deep, and guttural. Had Grey been a regular child, he would have been terrified.

Unfortunately for the man, Grey was no child. Well, he was, but. 

"Who are you? Why did you kidnap me? What do you want?" Grey unleashed a small tirade of questions, directing his voice towards where he had heard the sound.

"Well, I suppose you could call me Mr. Wulf." Came the reply, "And I won't tell you why because it's no fun." A snicker came from just behind the man, or so Grey assumed. It sounded like a woman, and Grey now knew that there were at least 2 people.

"What I want from you, huh? Well, you see, I've waited a long time for this, a whole 5 years, 7 months, 12 days, and about 17 hours." The man was vague in his statement, but Grey understood. He understood, because the digits the man just said were his age! The man was after him, for some reason.

"Well, that's rather ominous, isn't it, Mr. Creepy Wulf." Grey replied, trying to hide the shiver he felt at that statement. 

He had never felt this before, in either life, and to be in the kidnapped's shoes was quite terrifying. Grey, of course, knew what kidnapping was, yet he had never expected for it to happen to him.

He held no thoughts of escape, either, because, instinctually, Grey could tell. This man, was not an opponent he could beat. Hell, Grey hadn't learned to use a weapon yet, and it didn't seem his smarts would get him out.

Just as the man made his preparations for the next act, a loud smash resounded behind Grey.

SMASH!

"DAD! WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS!" The voice of an enraged woman Grey knew very well was what he heard, and he could only sympathize with the man whom she had called 'Dad'.

---

Grey had been sat on a chair for the past 2 hours, listening to his mother scold the man who had kidnapped him. His bindings had long been removed, yet the smug grin that sat on his face couldn't be. He didn't know why, but watching the man who was all high and mighty before act like a child in trouble made him feel great.

The man was old, seemingly 50-60, and had a build like a tank. He was easily 6'5", a new measurement Grey had learned recently, and he had grey-white hair with brown tips. It was an odd colour combination, but it made apparent his affinity. He was attuned to the Earth element, and the hair colour was most likely from age. He probably shared the same hair colour as Samantha, in his youth, of course.

His face was quite handsome; age had only made the man look better, like a fine wine. Or beer. Grey was sure the man disliked wine. It just didn't seem right. His jaw was sharp, pointed, and his hair was shoulder-length, in a side-and-back swept mane. His eyes were red, his noise was large, and crowning his face was an aptly named, 'warrior's' beard.

Each time he tried to speak, Samantha's voice got louder, and he shrank back in fear. It seemed her voice got louder infinitely, for it never went soft. Grey was sure that the human voice could only go so far on the decibel scale, yet she seemed to prove that wrong.

He figured that she was using mana to amplify her voice, and had to call out for her to stop, lest she pop his eardrums. The man may have had enough mana to cover his ears, but Grey did not. Apparently, it took quite a bit of mana to block sound waves.

The woman next to him, the one who had been with the man he now knew was his Grandpa, also had an outrageously large smile. She seemed to enjoy it as much as he did.

Dusk was soon going to come, so Samantha, holding Grey by the hand, and her old man by the ear, dragged them out of the abandoned warehouse.

Grey learned from his mother's yelling that 'Mr Wulf' - Grey could not trust the name's validity - had bought this warehouse years back, all for this plan. 

---

"Why, Pumpkin, why? Why did you ruin my fun? That was me and my boy's first meet and greet. Hell, he only learned I existed today!" The man spoke slightly loudly over the drinks they were having, clearly afraid to anger his daughter, as he interrogated her reasoning. 

"How could you not have told him of the 'Great Khan Wulf', huh?" He asked, his voice trying to elicit some sympathy from Samantha. "Do you not love me any more? Is your Papa not important any more?"

"Um, Dad, I think Samantha is just upset-"

"Quiet, fool!" Lucas began to speak on behalf of his wife, only to be swiftly shut up by his father-in-law. The look on the old man's face was sharp enough to cut a diamond. It seemed he really hated the man who had married his daughter.

'Understandable, I mean, he clearly loves her. He even calls her Pumpkin and himself Papa. Hah, who would have guessed. I have a doting grandfather who loves pranks!' Grey's thoughts were clearly on the more important matters, but a word from his mother brought him back.

"Stop." She said. "Both of you, stop."

"Firstly, Dad, how could you kidnap Grey, and then think I would be OK with it? In what world would I be OK with someone KIDNAPPING MY SON!" Samantha spoke softly, yet the iciness in her voice was evidence enough that she was still angry.

"And Lucas, don't speak on behalf of me, especially when it comes to my father." The murderous gaze she gave both the men was enough to make sure they stayed quiet.

Seeing that the 2 men understood, her conduct suddenly shifted. Samantha spoke again. "OK! Let's go from the beginning. Dad, why?" Her demeanour was suddenly cheery, yet Khan didn't hesitate to spit out the truth, fearing for his life.

"2 years ago, when you said I could see my grandson, I bought a warehouse, which I aptly named 'Point Grey', for it's where I would meet Grey, and made preparations for the day I would see him. You rendered that part redundant, though. I barely had an hour before you barged in." Khan began to narrate the series of events that led him to receive his daughter's wrath, and Grey couldn't help but feel that he would get along well with this man.

Every so often, his assistant would butt in, pointing out small details that Khan tried to speed over, making Samantha hold her mug slightly harder each time. 

---

By the end of the storytelling session, Samantha was convinced that it was nothing more than a harmless prank, so she quickly disposed of her anger and displeasure. It left in the form of several smashed plates, ones that she made Khan promise to buy replacements of.

Before the topic changed to details of his stay, Khan hurriedly brought out the main dish of the night.

"Why are the tips of Grey's hair coloured? Has he awakened? But that's impossible? Yet, he used mana… Aargh, that makes no sense!" He brought up the long awaited topic, yet went off on a tangent before anyone could explain.

Samantha pulled him out of his thoughts simply by starting to speak, and she regaled him with the tale of Grey.

He listened, hooked on the details. The boy had awoken mana at 3, and had a mana capacity passing most 20-year-olds, with an efficiency only achievable with inconceivable efforts. Even the fact that Grey had an element not from Arkusia. Every part of the story brought him more excitement, but he knew of the downside.

As if to warn him of them again, Samantha ended with a, "Don't tell anyone, lest they take Grey away." Her stern tone made sure he knew of the consequences, not just for Grey, but for him.

"Of course." Was all that he replied.

---

It was now dark, and time for Grey to go to bed. He prepared himself to go to sleep, starting with hygiene and ending with pyjamas.

He went to his bedroom, leaving the door slightly ajar. He didn't know why, he just felt that it would be a good idea.

Lo and behold, not 5 minutes since he got to bed, he heard his grandpa.

"I still dislike you. You're the reason it's not 'Samantha Wulf'. You're the reason it's not 'Grey Wulf'. Why did you have to have the surname 'Heart'? That's so embarrassing! Samantha Heart, Grey Heart, what are we, a kid's show for 6-year-olds?!"

It seemed Grey had tuned in to his grandpa berating his father for marrying Samantha, and giving them his surname.

He had to admit, however, that Grey Wulf was a lot cooler than Grey Heart.