The Awakening Part 1 Chapter1

Chapter 1 Entry #693104
The night was deceptively peaceful as Gabriel and Jack stared uneasily over the grounds; insects chirped, bats swooped down on the insects, and the owls hunted mice and other small creatures. All seemed normal, except for one thing: the absence of the local wolf pack's hauntingly beautiful song. The school's guards insisted nothing was amiss, that the wolves had left to keep from over hunting the territory.

To Gabriel, this was extremely unlikely; there had always been an overabundance of prey for the pack. He knew the pack; they wouldn't leave without telling him, unless they were angry with him, and he didn't think they were. He was almost a part of the pack himself; he would know if he'd done anything.

The pack had been the ones to teach him and Jack how to use their Gifts. They had been at a loss until then, with no one quite sure how to teach them, or even suggest a career or path to pursue. "They wouldn't leave without saying something," he whispered to himself.

Then he started to wonder. What if the pack's leaving had something to do with the weird tracks he'd found in the woods last week? he mused.

He glanced down at Jack, who had only just fallen asleep. Ah, Jack. The poor boy had it worse than him; he was obviously a tamer, not too unusual, but he couldn't connect to any known animal species. Just like Gabriel; he was obviously a warrior, but couldn't seem to start specializing into any available career paths. Yes, they were just the same; maybe that was why they were so drawn to each other.

Jack stirred, but slept on. The animal activity in the woods and on the school grounds continued almost normally. The school gaurds slunk through shadows, barely paying attention to their surroundings. The night went on.

Gabriel stroked Jack's face gently. Annoyance might buzz through him, might course through his veins like poison, but Jack would always calm him, like he was doing now. But that didn't stop him from thinking about it.

Jack was usually up in their shared dorm room at this time, but tonight he had felt the same thing Gabriel felt: a strange sensation, like something was pulsing through them, thumping deep in their chests, like music at a school dance, music that almost had too much bass. They did their best to ignore it, but the closer it came to sunset, the more the school battlements called, tugging at them, first gently, then...not so much. So, even with classes the next morning, they started their silent vigil...

And this is what usually ticked Gabriel off. Jack stayed with him, insisting that he could make it through the night this time, but never able to. Then they endured countless slights the next morning, because they were called into the headmaster's office. Then, like clockwork, the rumors were renewed...they were sleeping together, they sneaked into the woods and ate meat, and other things. It was ridiculous!

He glanced down at his sleeping friend. He shouldn't be mad at Jack; poor kid didn't feel safe with anyone else, even if that "someone else" were to be a full warrior. If he was totally honest with himself, he was angry because no one had any faith in his "threat instinct."

Stupid threat instinct...it was because of that thing that there was a tracking team out in the woods right now, a team that was supposed to have returned yesterday morning. They were out there to find some stupid tracks that he had found last week!

He wasn't sure what he'd found when he sketched the prints. Obviously, they were made by something very heavy; the ground was muddy, but firm enough that you'd need some weight for imprints that deep. His threat instinct made him apprehensive; something about looking at the tracks, or even the sketches...

He wasn't sure what to do, so he took his sketches up to the library. The librarian had taken one look, raised one skeptical eyebrow, and told him to stay put. She had returned with a mythology book, opened to a page with a nearly exact replica of Gabriel's sketch of a full print. He was a little skeptical about how this could help, but took it anyway; what harm could that do?

He had no idea.