The morning sun rose upon Olympus, signaling a new day. The trainees of the academy moved through the hallways, ready to start their classes, but a surprising commotion rippled through the halls.
Every student who happened to see Mark that morning couldn’t help but stop in their tracks, stunned by him dragging the large wolf paw behind him.
Mark knew this would happen, well it would be better to say he planned for this to happen. Of course he could’ve just went to his uncle last night to show him the paw but remembering the words of the boy who helped him out last night, he decided to bask in the spotlight for once. This was the first time he was able to show-off in front of his classmates since he was able to enter the academy.
He held his chest out and kept his head high as he strutted through the hallway. As he was walking, he happened to walk past Avey and Ray who were walking to class together. Their walk and talk came to a halt when they noticed Mark and his giant trophy
“The hell?” Blurted Ray, his brows furrowed in confusion.
“Mark,” Avey asked, her voice tinged with curiosity, “why do you have that huge paw?”
A cocky grin grew across the side of his mouth. He turned to face the two with a smug look as if this was a normal thing for him.
“I understand your curiosity Avey and Ray…” his grin widened, “I also understand your childish jealousy.”
“The fuck you say?!” Ray snapped, lunging forward, only to be held back by Avey.
Mark fought to keep a chuckle from escaping upon seeing Ray's fiery reaction. Ray had always been a prodigy swordsman ever since they were children and wouldn’t hesitate to gloat. Seeing him rattled by something Mark did was a rare and savory sight.
“I would like to tell you all about how I accomplished this but I have to showcase this to my uncle before he becomes too busy and before this paw starts to smell worse than it already does.”
Without missing a beat from his walk earlier he continued his stride down to his uncle's office. Ray, still glaring at Mark, grew annoyed seeing his new smug demeanor. Avey on the under hand couldn’t help but to let out a small chuckle.
“Hehe, never thought I would see Mark be able to act like that.” She said amused.
“Don’t fall for this stunt, Avey.” Ray snapped, folding his arms, “He probably just found it like that or made it out of fucking paper-mache.”
“Oh stop. No matter how weak Mark is, he wouldn’t stoop that low.” She said, playfully slapping his arm.
Mark overheard Aveys remark as he was walking away but he chose to not acknowledge it. He couldn’t help but to drop his head slightly though, her words cut deeper than he wished. Yet, the memory of what he was able to do reignited his fire, pushing him to keep his head up high. Without saying a word he kept his eyes forward and continued down the halls.
Mark finally stood before his uncle's office door. His nervousness grew as each second passed. He didn’t expect this part of his plan to be the hardest part.
“Get a grip Mark, this is the moment you’ve been waiting for, no need to be nervous now.” He thought to himself, gripping the paw tightly. He took a deep breath and stifled his nerves.
Even though he raised his fist with confidence, he knocked on the door quite softer than he intended.
There was no answer.
Perhaps his uncle didn’t hear it. Mark knocked again, louder this time. No answer again. “The hell? He’s usually in here around this time.” Mark thought to himself. Growing impatient he balled up his fist and pound on the door, “Uncle, it’s me Mark! You in there!?”.
No answer again.
Mark's eyebrows furrowed. It was unlike his uncle to be absent, especially during the early hours of the day. Understanding that knocking was pointless, he twisted the handle and pushed the door open, stepping inside without waiting for permission.
“Unc, you better not be aslee-” before Mark was able to begin nagging his uncle, he noticed the room was empty. He entered the room, dragging the paw behind and noticed that his uncle's desk was a mess. Paperwork and folders scattered all across, some spilling on the floor.
Mark’s uncle is a very uptight man, almost obsessively so. Even on his worst days he always kept him and his things in a neat and orderly state. Seeing his desk like this was a rare and odd sight to Mark. As he looked at the paperwork on his desk he noticed a map hiding up under all the paper.
Mark moved all the unnecessary stuff out the way and picked up the map. It was a map of the city of Olympus. Every building, corner, neighborhood was shown on it. As he analyzed the map he noticed that a building in the northeast section of the city was circled.
“What the? Ain't that the Monarch Building?” Mark muttered to himself.
That Monarch Building wasn’t just a regular building. It was one of the nation's leading finance centers, who also has a deep connection with the academy. They were they’re biggest donors, and they basically paid for the construction of the building. They even have their own private sector on the campus that’s restricted to all students and most teachers.
Mark's thoughts began to race. What made the monarch so important to his uncle? Before Mark could dig through more papers…
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Who is in my office!”
Mark jumped at the sound of the voice bursting out from behind. He turned around and noticed that it was his uncle standing in the doorway.
But he was shocked to see his uncle appeared to him in a state Mark had never seen before. He was a mess, dirt and scratches all over his body. He had bags under his eyes and looked as if he had just got out of a war.
“The hell happened to you?” Mark asked, looking his uncle up and down.
His uncle brushed off the question, his tone rushed and impatient, “Mark, why are you here? I don’t have tim-”
Before he could finish his sentence, the wolf paw was tossed in front of his feet as he was walking. He stopped in his tracks, staring at the paw. He looked back up to see Mark folding his arm with the same cocky smile he had while walking in the halls.
“You did this?” He asked.
“Yep, I’m hoping this is enough for me to stay at the academy.”
His uncle started rubbing his eyes, trying to think of what to say. He couldn’t help but to be impressed by what he was seeing but there was also a hint of doubt. The Mark he knew and raised could never be able to pull something like this off, hell he struggled to kill one musk pig. But here he is, flaunting the paw he dragged here.
He sighed, then the paw began floating in the air and following his uncle as he walked towards Mark and the desk. The paw hovered over the desk then fell on top of it, scattering the papers all over the desk area. He couldn’t have cared less though. He took a seat in his chair and leaned back with a mix of exhaustion and contemplation.
He drummed his fingers on his arm rest and took a deep breath. Mark just stood and watched his uncle, not saying a word.
“Mark, I know you’re not the type to lie, but I’ve had a really rough morning. If this is some ploy to-”
“This is not a ploy, Uncle!” Mark interrupted, his voice stern, almost pleading. “I can’t take credit for cutting off the foot but I can take credit for the fact I did kill the wolf beforehand and I'm here showing it to you cause you’re the only person I have that can legitimately help me stay and I need. That. Help…,”
Mark stepped closer to his uncle’s desk, his hands trembling but his gaze steady. “This is what I’m capable of. I’m not asking for a free pass, I’m showing you proof of what I can do. Please… help me stay.”
Mark looked at his uncle with no waver in his eyes, and his uncle could see it. It was a different look than yesterday. It was like he was a different person, he spoke with confidence, his eyes never turned away from his uncles. He wanted to make sure he showed his confidence and pride.
His uncle sighed. He rubbed his eyes with his hands and sat up in his chair.
“Alright, I believe you.” His uncle finally said, his voice sounding exhausted but sincere “I would love to take this and you to the board right now, but right now is not the best time as you can tell.”
Mark expected this. As much as he wanted more recognition than this, he couldn’t ignore the obvious signs. Seeing how his uncle looked disheveled and unorganized, he could tell something was bothering him badly. The tension in the air was heavy no matter how much he tried to ignore it.
“But here’s what I will do…” his uncle continues, “When I manage to find some time throughout the day. I will make sure to call you and we'll both go meet the superintendent together to showcase this. Sounds like a plan?”.
Mark understood his uncle's words but it still stung that he couldn’t get a chance to gloat to him.
“Yea that's fine…I can tell you got something going on.” He says, trying to mask his disappointed tone, “But if I get kicked out of the school before I can even plead my case, I’m blaming you first.”
His uncle let out a small chuckle, he could feel his body start to relax for the first time since this morning. He looked at his nephew with a soft expression and a faint smile.
“I’ll make sure to remember that kid. Now go before you’re late for class.”
They both exchanged smiles, and Mark turned to walk to the door. Right before he opened it to leave, he couldn’t help but take another look at his uncle. His uncle had his head in one hand, leaning back in his chair. The air in the room seemed to grow heavier, not just metaphorically but literally. Whatever was troubling him ran deep, making him use his powers unintentionally.
“Hey Unc…” Mark said, his voice cutting through the thick atmosphere. His uncle looked up at him, “...if you lose my paw, I’ma make a tornado that blows your car all the way to Cali.”
His uncle let out a hardy laugh and the gravity of the room became normal again. Before he could say anything back, Mark left the office with a small smile on his face.
The end of the school day came, and Mark still hadn’t heard anything from his uncle. He pulled out his phone to see if maybe he missed a text but just like earlier, his inbox was empty. He couldn’t help but to feel disappointed about today, sure he managed to show-up his classmates but he still doesn't know if his future here is certain.
He also couldn’t get what he saw in uncle 's office out of his head.
“What does my uncle have to do with the monarch? What happened to him this morning for him to be in that state?” He thought to himself. Before he could think any further, a familiar and irritating voice called out from behind him in the halls.
“Well if it isn’t our rising star!” Ray’s voice echoed, laced with sarcasm.
“Ah hell…” Mark muttered under his breath.
Ray slung an arm over Mark’s shoulder, leaning his full weight against him like they were lifelong friends. Mark stumbled under the unexpected pressure, barely managing to keep them both upright.
“Mr Wolf Slayer himself! How was your day oh great hunter?”
“Get the hell off me!” Mark snapped, removing Ray's arm from around him.
“You two knock it off. You're acting like middle schoolers.” Avey said, walking up behind them with an exasperated sigh.
Mark crossed his arms, eyeing the pair suspiciously. “Alright, what do you guys want? If you’re here to hear the story, I don't have time right now.”
A sly grin comes across Ray's face as he puts his hands in his pocket.
“To tell the truth, I’m having a hard time believing that you were able to kill the wolf you happened to find last night.”
“And why the fuck is that my problem?” Mark shot back.
Before Ray could reply, Avey stepped forward, holding up a hand. “Let me do the talking,” she said, cutting off their brewing argument. “You two are just gonna end up arguing all day. Here's the deal, we’re curious about how much stronger you’ve gotten. If you’re up for it, we want you to come with us on another monster hunt.”
“Oh for the love of…” Mark thought to himself. He wouldn’t have minded going on a hunt with Avey on any other day but with the way these two days started and how it’s been ending, he kinda wasn’t up for another hunt. Especially if Ray is gonna tag along.
“Listen, I know it may have been shocking to see me dragged something like that-”
“Shocking is an understatement! It was down right unfathomable! How did someone who couldn’t even place in the top 75 of the musk pig ranking be able to kill a giant wolf?” Ray interrupted.
Mark’s jaw tightened, his annoyance rising fast. Sure, Ray might be right, what he’d done was unheard of, but the way he said it felt like a slap in the face. He couldn’t help but to take offense.
“Enough Ray!” Avey snapped before turning to Mark. “Listen, I know you might be tired from hunting the wolf last night already. You don’t have to answer right now, you can let us know after the showcasing tomorrow.”
Mark opened his mouth to agree but stopped as a memory surfaced. He thought back to the power he unleashed against the giant wolf. How it looked, how it sounded, how it felt. For the first time, he’d seen his full potential in action, and the rush was intoxicating.
A sudden urge gripped him. He wanted to feel that power again. More importantly, he wanted Avey and Ray to see it too, to erase any doubt they had about him.
“You know what, sure, let's do it.” Mark said, confidently.
“Really?” Avey replied, “Awesome, well let's do it after the showcase-”
“No, now.” Mark interrupted, firmly.
“What?” They both said, stunned at what he just said.
Mark could still feel the lingering feeling of the power from last night and he didn’t want to let it slip away.
“You heard me. I said, Let's do it now. Or is that too sudden for the perfect soldier over here?” Mark added, letting a smirk tug at his lip.
“Oh you think you fucking funny now, huh?” Ray shot back, “Fine, you two get whatever stuff you need. We’re headed to the Platinum Garden right now!”