War propaganda

Slowly opening his eyes, Kai lifted a hand to block out the light as he sat up. A yawn escaped his lips as he stretches and starts to stand up.

Noticing somethings off, he turned to the side and spots a gray wolf lying on the ground beside him. The wolf had its head resting on its front paws as its body moved upwards and downwards with its breaths.

The wolf's snout twitched slightly, then the gray beast opened its eyes and turned it's head to face at Kai.

"Twenty hours. I was starting to worry you would never wake up."

"Twenty hours?" Kai exclaimed, shock evident in his tone. Back on Earth, the most he ever slept was twelve, meaning he beat his record by eight whole hours.

Clearing his throat to hide his embarrassment, Kai coughs and scratches at the back of his head, picking out some leaves which are stuck in his hair.

"Whenever I'm upset or stressed I sleep longer, it's something I've always done."

It's not really a lie, so Aldred grunts in recognition, the wolf then pushes himself off the ground and starts walking, not waiting for Kai to follow.

"Come, Catalyst, a meeting is about to be held."

Blinking a few times, Kai watches the wolf trot before quickly scurrying over to catch up.

"Is... is everyone going to be at the meeting?"

Something Kai wanted to put off for longer than a few minutes after waking up was seeing Noelle and Failure. Looking back at what happened, Kai can admit he overreacted a bit, but that doesn't mean he's going to apologise.

Noelle had anger problems and tons of trauma weighing her down, and Failure was even more confusing. The charismatic man Kai got to know in the cozy cabin could all be an act, and with no way to know or not Kai can't help but be doubtful of who he thought was a friend.

If he lied about Ethania, what else could he have lied about. For all I knows he could've made up litteraly everything he's told me, and with no way to know-

Feeling like an idiot, Kai shakes his head slightly as he realises there is in fact a way to know, that way to know being right in front of him.

"Aldred, is the corroding real?"

"Yes."

The wolf grunts, nothing else to add onto the one-word answer.

"Is everything Failure said true?"

Another grunt.

"Yes."

Seemingly satisfied, Kai falls quiet

and thanks to himself while following behind the gray moon beast.

I guess its true then. Then again, Aldred could just be lying as well, Failure did basically raise him. Still, I should take into account master's warning about who to trust and all.

Eventually, the duo reach Failure's cabin, the petite building basking in the artificial sunlight of The Dome. Entering the door, Kai spots that the inside is completely different. What was a a cozy living room with a fireplace and a couple of comfy armchairs is now a full on meeting room adorned with lanterns on the walls and a long table reaching from one side of the room to the other.

The meeting room is about thirty meters in length with the same wooden chairs accompanying its length the whole way up. The sight before Kai reminds him slightly of Game of Thrones. Not the whole beasts at a table aspect though, mainly the dimly lit area with a serious aura surrounding it.

Sitting around the table is various moon beasts of different races and a couple of humans. Sofia, Noelle and John are all sitting together near the centre and there's three other humans Kai has spotted around the Dome from time to time but never spoken to before.

Sudden panic hits Kai as he realises he will have to pick somewhere to sit. Not really wanting to sit beside Noelle, Kai rules that out immediately, meaning he also has to rule out Sofia and John as they are already beside the olive-skinned woman.

Failure is also a no-go as he is at the top of the table with his hands placed on the hard wooden surface and his fingers interlocked. The normally aloof and carefree man now wears a serious and determined expression on his attractive face.

Swallowing, Kai is just about to give up and stand at the side of the room, hoping not to be noticed, when a gruff voice rings in his head.

"Follow me, there's a seat saved."

Inwardly sighing in relief, Kai follows the wolf towards the middle area of the oversized table. Once in the correct area, Aldred enlarges himself by a few meters and sits down on the floor, his top half visible over the table perfectly fine.

A singular seat beside the gray wolf is empty. Assuming it must be his, Kai sits down as quietly and unnoticeable as he can, which doesn't really work as all eyes are already on him due to him and Aldred being the last two to enter.

Once Kai and Aldred are seated, Failure claps his hands and stands up. The sound echoes throughout the room, causing all eyes to turn from Kai up to the brown-haired man.

"As all of you have probably seen or heard by now, the Demon has returned-"

A variety of animal noises and human words start to block out the speaking figurehead. Whines, barks, curses, everything to express someone's worry or anger can be heard. The sounds continue for a few moments before Failure claps again, bringing the ear-grating symphony to a halt.

"The Demon has returned, and with them they have their army of abominations and now, now they have some humans."

"Who cares about the humans?" A boar near the backside of the table speaks up, their voice haughty and prideful yet sounded like dirt, if a voice could sound like dirt.

Another talking animal...

"Humans are just their meat shields for the upcoming fight."

Failure remains silent for a few moments, closing his eyes as if trying to hold himself back. A low growl eminates from beside Kai, nearly making him jump out of his seat in shock. As he turns his head, Aldred stands up and turns his head towards the boar who just spoke.

"You've seen what humans can do given enough time, energy and resources. Those strange items that were strapped to the abominations were the work of a humans innate ability, and we all saw the destruction they caused. Imagine what the Moon Legion could do if they work that human to the bone to make even more of those explosives, enough firepower would be able to wipe us out with no trouble at all."

The boar lets out a low grunt before sitting down again, seemingly dissatisfied.

Once silence fills the room again, Failure breaks it before speaking once more.

"The explosives could only be one trick up their sleeves, who knows how many more they could have. However, just because they have one human with a strong innate ability working for them doesn't mean we don't. They are not the only ones with hidden strengths.

No one knows ones capabilities until the last moment, that moment could be the most important in the history of this forest, nay, this subdimension."

Sounds of agreement echo throughout the hall, all the animals starting to get riled up.

He really is good at enticing people and wrapping them around his finger. Who is he really.

"Our world as we know it is at risk, only we are the ones able to stop it. While we have everything to lose, the Moon Legion have nothing. We have livelihoods, families, goals. While they, they are suicidal, brainless fanatics who would do anything for the Church Of The Moon.

They would gladly destroy the whole forest if it means glory for the Moon. If they got the opportunity to kill the Mother Tree they would gladly take it, even if it means they get wiped out along with us. So while they are mindless followers, we, we are our own people!

Everyone in this hall has been deemed suitable as a leader for a team in the upcoming battle. Some will lead teams, while others will work independently as outliers. Everyone here has a major role to play, even those who aren't in this meeting with us will have to bring out their full potential for the fate of the forest.

So, my kin. Will you fight for your lives, for your kins lives, for the forests life. We could all die tomorrow but we will go out knowing we tried out hardest. But we will not! We will fight! We will win! We - will - be - VICTORIOUS!"

Every beast in the room jumps out of their seats. Howls, roars, any sound an animal can make can be heard, the noises reverberating off the wooden walls, making them even louder.

Flinching slightly from all the noise, Kai can't help but bring his hands up to his ears. It's only when he's about to block out all the ruckus a rough voice rings in his head.

"Don't, do not show any weakness. Morale is key in battle, if one shows weakness it can spread like a disease."

Inwardly grumbling, Kai lowers his hands back down to his side. Looking around, what Aldred said isn't really wrong. Morale is high, but tensions are higher. Everyone in this room could be dead by this time two weeks if it doesn't work out.

That fact was honestly quite jarring, especially to Kai. His seventeen years of life could all come to an end in the close future. What was weird is that he didn't know how to feel.

Sadness, anger, despair, guilt or even regret. Those would all be emotions one would feel before their death, but Kai felt none. It could be the effects of Nonchalance or it could be something else, but not being scared of death while staring it right in the eyes is a good thing in his eyes.

Another voice rings in Kai's head, this one is much nicer and calmer than the one of the gruff wolf to his right. It was also the familair voice of the man standing at the top of the table.

"Outlier team one."

The room fell silent, meaning every other human and beast must have heard Failures voice in their head to.

"Everyone has been assigned their roles." Failure declares, his voice oozing his signature charismatic tone. Honestly, he could have made it into any boy band and be any teenage girls bias without even trying.

"Go forth, my kin. Gather your teams, prepare the defences, war is coming, and we shall meet it head-on!"

Chaos ensues once Failure closes his mouth, every beast in the room makes a dash for the cabin door, hoping to get a head start with their teams. Only the more graceful and elegant beasts like the stags and some of the birds take their time exiting. The calmer beasts are then followed by the humans, who seem in no rush to leave behind the attractive sight that is Failure.

Once everyone has left, only Kai, Aldred and Failure are left in the meeting room. The meeting hall, which is filled with silence, is quite the sight.

"Kai, please leave. I have to speak with Failure."

Not really having any other reason to stay, Kai nods at Aldred before turning and walking towards the door, not bothering to spare Failure a glance.

Was he being petty? Probably. But that doesn't mean he's just going to forgive the man, especially after seeing the way he just encited a horde of beasts to prepare for war. Kai wouldn't even be surprised if Failure had an innate ability similar to Noelle's, but he knew that wasn't the case.

Once out of the cabin, Kai can't help but look at the artificial sun in sky. If there was a chance he would never see the real sun again, he would at least engrave the image of this fake one into his mind. Then, when night comes, he would do the same with the artificial moon. Luckily, the Dome followed the same day and night cycle as Earth so it wasn't long until the sun would set.

Until then, Kai had something he wanted to do. That something involved a certain arrogant wolf who was currently walking away from the crowd of moon beasts.

I... might regret this.