"So I heard your Core Ability's name in the brief," Aurora says as we walk down the street, "but what does it do exactly? I've never heard of it before, but it's Category Four, so it's gotta be good."

Hastin hums to himself quietly for a few moments, his eyes scanning the buildings around us. They are all as tall as the buildings in the city, but these structures are damaged. Walls are crumbling where they should be stable, and plants grow through cracks in the street. "Vines", I learned they were called, creeped along the sides of each tower.

I sniff the air when Hastin turns to look at me, and shake my head. There were a few kin-prey scents lingering near us, but they were stale. When he confirmed there was no danger, he turned back to Aurora.

"Fortunate Son, as named by the BA when I registered with them, is pretty normal when it comes to Category Fours." He says, and I tilted my head curiously.

"Category Four?" I ask, and Aurora snaps her head to look at me. I regret asking as soon as I see her smile. How can someone's smile be so unpleasant!? Even Sarah did not have such a mean looking expression.

"Wooow, you really are a country bumpkin." She laughs, and I growl. Must. Resist. The urge to devour! Hastin would not like that, and I like Hastin! He has been nice to me. "How did you even pass the Trials? You've been asking basic ass questions like that all day."

"I have not!" I protest, and I look at Hastin to confirm such an obvious truth. He… winces? Betrayal!

"Sorry Joey, you have been asking some pretty basic questions." He says, and I turn my head. Unpleasant. I cannot believe Hastin would side with Aurora. "Oh come on, don't be like that. I'll answer the question. And Aurora, I'd appreciate it if you didn't antagonize your teammate like this. We'll probably be paired up in the Academy, and I'd like to not have to hear you two argue the entire time."

"Whatever you say, Team Lead." She grumbles, but I do not trust her. She will be mean again, I know it. She kicks a rock, and it rolls down the street before hitting a broken car that has a strange orange substance on it. "Should we pause here? I still want to know what your ability does, and explaining that and what a cat four is to dog brain over there might take a while."

I bristle. I am not incorporating any dog structures in the current anatomy! They are inferior to the wolf anatomy in every way. "Why are you so mean?" I ask, narrowing my eyes. "It is not my fault your Core is so weak, or that your design is so inferior."

This time it's her turn to bristle, spinning around to glare at me. "What did you just say?" She growls, and I look her up and down. Smug. My current anatomy is superior in every way. "Don't fucking smirk at me, you little shit. Repeat what you jus-"

"Enough!" Hastin snaps, pinching the bridge of his nose. Aurora's mouth gapes open, and she points from him to me.

"Did you hear what he just said?" She hisses, her face turning bright purple, and Hastin sighs loudly.

"Joey, insulting a teammate's Core is incredibly rude." He chides, and I deflate. I was rude? "Everyone on a team, no matter their Core strength or ability, is vital to its function. You understand?"

I deflate further. Shame burns through me, as I remember that same thing was common in the Pack. We did not insult a member of the Pack's ability to contribute based on Core ability. And Waffles also has a weaker Core. I would never insult the pup like that. "I understand." I mumble, and Hastin continues to stare at me for a few moments before nodding.

"Good." He says, then claps his hands together. "Your suggestion was a good one, Aurora. Let's take a breather here."

I crouch down, still thinking about what I said as Aurora and Hastin crouch down as well. Aurora's face is still purple, and she is staring down at the ground. I hear her sniff, and she wipes her eyes.

Maybe she also thought she had a weak Core.

I am about to say sorry, but then I remember how mean she has been this whole day, and I don't feel like apologizing any more. I turn my head away from her, frowning, as Hastin begins to speak.

"Alright, so… Category Four Abilities are classified as "Reality Benders"." He says, taking off his backpack and setting it down between his legs. I lick my lips as I remember the protein bars in my own backpack, and I take mine off as well. Aurora takes a few deep breaths, her expression calming as she finishes wiping her eyes, and looks up at him as he pulls out a canteen to drink from.

According to the mission control leader, it was expected that this exercise would take a few days of "field work". Meaning that we could be in the exercise area for a few days until we completed the mission. As such, we'd been given clothes, "sleeping bags", and the most important thing; Food!

I open up the wrapper of the candy bar and take a bite as Hastin continues to explain. So delicious! Wiggle.

"Basically, reality bender abilities don't adhere to physics." He says, and I am about to raise my hand before Hastin stops me. "Sorry man, I can't explain what physics are to you. Not smart enough for that." I deflate, taking another bite from my bar.

"Okay…" I mumble, and Aurora rolls her eyes.

"Anyways, unlike cat one, two, or three abilities, cat four is hard to measure due to its unclear nature. No two Cat Four abilities are the same." Hastin grins, pointing at himself. "Which leads to my ability, Fortunate Son. It makes me lucky."

There is a moment of silence between all of us, the only sound left in its place being a light breeze. Hastin is looking at us expectantly, and I tilt my head.

I am just about to ask what 'lucky' means, when Aurora begins to laugh. At first it starts as a snort that she attempts to hide, until Hastin stares at her. When he does, she turns her head away, waving a hand as she laughs harder.

"S-sorry." She says, then laughs even harder.

Hastin squints, his face going red. Oh, Sarah's face does that! So does Gaster's, sometimes. It is a sign of embarrassment.

"What?" He asks, and Sariel wheezes on the ground, now on all fours.

"No, I-I'm not laughing." She says, clearly lying. I frown. Why would she say something that is clearly false?

"Okay, well, you definitely are." Hastin grumbles, and Aurora clears her throat, rolling back into a crouch. She wipes her eyes, shaking her head.

"Sorry, you just said it so… proudly." She giggles, and Hastin pushes her shoulder. "So, lucky boy, what does that mean? You win lotto tickets?" She asks, readjusting her balance, and Hastin purses his lips.

"I did." He admitted. "It was only a hundred dollar lotto though."

"So what does being lucky mean? Does it make you good at fighting?" I ask, still confused, and Hastin lets out a sigh.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"Kind of? It's hard to explain. Things just work out for me, most days. But as of reaching Class Four, I'm able to control it a little bit. I can imbue 'luck' into an object, and use it to turn a situation in my favor." As he explains this, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a piece of metal. "For instance, this is my lucky coin."

Aurora hums, still smiling. "So… you always win the coin toss?" She asks, and Hastin raises his middle finger. Oh, I know that one! It means he's displeased.

"It's hard to explain, like I said. You'll know it when you see it. But sure, I can give you a demonstration." He says, resting the 'coin' on his thumb. "Heads or tails?"

Aurora seems to think about it, then shrugs. "Heads."

He looks at me. I don't know what that means, but I'm definitely not picking what Aurora chose. "Tails!" I exclaim, and he nods.

"I'll pick tails too, then." He says, flicking the coin high into the air. We watch as it spins upwards, then falls down. Hastin reaches out a hand to grab it…

And flinches as a bird chirps to our right. This causes him to miss the coin, and we all watch as it slowly rolls away, before falling down a 'storm drain' in the street.

For a little while, no one says anything.

Until Aurora starts laughing again, much harder than last time.

"You smell anything, Joey?" Hastin asks, and I sniff the air. The kin-prey scent is more present here, but it is still stale.

"No. But the scent is getting stronger." I say helpfully, and he lets out a sigh of frustration. We had been walking around the empty city for almost three hours now, and the sun was beginning to set. We were in the middle of an intersection, and the shadows were getting longer as the sun lowered behind the buildings around us. The plants here were thicker, more grass than there was street.

"Damn it." Hastin curses, looking around. "I guess we'll have to make camp for the night. I don't want to search for the Rift Entities in the dark."

Aurora tightens the straps on her backpack, looking up at one of the 'sky scrapers' skeptically. "You think the buildings are safe to sleep in?" She asks, and Hastin shrugs.

"Should be. I doubt they would include environmental hazards for our first team training assignment." He reasons, and Aurora nods. According to the mission control leader, our training exercise was to clear out an unpopulated city of kin-prey. The "report" said that there should be four to six of them,each of them Class Three, hiding anywhere in the city.

I didn't know what that meant, but their number was smaller than mine, so they must be inferior. Hastin points at a building so tall that I have to crane my neck to look up at it, and even then I couldn't see the top.

"I'm thinking that we make camp on a higher floor, maybe further into the interior. We could use a small fire to cook some food, and also try to lure a Rift Entity or two." He says, and Aurora nods. I nod too, and we begin to make our way to the building.

The glass windows that lead into the building are shattered, vines wrapping around the frame. It is dark inside, but the Mountain Lion's ocular system I developed is superior to the wolf's vision. I sniff, then lick my lips.

"Kin-prey." I say quietly, causing Hastin and Aurora to pause just as they were about to enter the building. They look at each other, then at me.

"How many?" Hastin asks, and I inhale deeply. The wolf's olfactory system filters through the regular scents in the air. Plants, vibrant with life and growing thickly inside of the building. Stale water, flooding the area with the scent of growing micro-structures. Birds, their blood tantalizingly close. Until all that is left is the pungent kin-prey scent.

There are two sources, steeped into the building. One is stale, by at least two days. But the other is fresh.

"One." I eventually answer, and Hastin nods, raising his rifle. Aurora does the same, squinting to see past the darkness as she steps forward."

"Front Point, move no further than ten meters ahead of us." Hastin orders, and Aurora nods as she continues to walk in front of us. We stalk forward, my ears swiveling as I strain to pick up any sound the kin-prey might make.

We continue to search the first floor of the building, checking each room. We look into it openly if the walls have crumbled, slowly opening doors to peer into them if the walls were still intact. Until we have fully circled back to where we started.

"First floor clear." Aurora announces quietly, and Hastin nods.

"Let's move to the stairwell then. Silently." He whispers, and we move, opening the door to the "stairwell" that leads to the second floor. But… frustrated. Moving like this is so slow. If only there was a faster way to find…

Idea!

Idiocy, why did it take me so long to think of this? I could try to find the kin-prey with the mental link!

I push out my mind as we climb the stairs, past the thoughts of Aurora and Hastin, upwards through the floors. When I talked with Sariel, she said that she could 'see' the area around her with her mind. I can not do this, as apparently we have different psychic Core Abilities, but I do know how far away another mind is compared to me.

I continue to push out, my head beginning to hurt with the strain. I have never felt this pain before, but I also have never pushed my mind out so far. For a little while, I think that the kin-prey may be further away than I can reach. Until I feel their thoughts at the very edge of my mind.

Hungry. So hungry. No prey. No food. Hungry.

I lick my lips, excitement beginning to fill me. "I found the kin-prey!" I say excitedly, and Aurora immediately wheels around.

"Too loud!" She hisses, and I blink, nodding. Hastin also turns, tilting his head.

"You hear them?" He asks, and I shake my head.

"I have found their thoughts." I answer, and he blinks for a few moments before he seems to understand.

"Category six." He mumbles, nodding to himself. "So you category two abilities then."

"I can make the mental link, yes." I affirm, and he hums to himself as Aurora's eyes widen. She seems like she's about to say something, but instead shakes her head, turning to aim her rifle up the stairs.

"How far is the Entity?" He asks, and I point upwards.

"Far." I say, tilting my head and thinking. "By the size of the stairs… six floors up?"

"Perfect!" Hastin exclaims, grinning. "Once we kill it, that's where we'll make camp. Can you sense what it's thinking, Joey?"

I nod again, licking my lips as my stomach growls. "It is hungry. It awaits prey, but doesn't know that its predators are here." I say, and he chuckles as Aurora snorts.

"Alright. We'll move up, keeping quiet. Joey, you're the Executor, so I'll leave it to you while we cover from behind." He says, and I nod, eager. We move upwards, slowly climbing the stairs as I move to the front of the team. Some of the stairs are broken in places, but overall they are safe to walk on.

Until, just as we're about to reach the fifth floor, I hear a sharp crack behind me. I turn to look as the section that Hastin is standing on crumbles, and he yelps as he begins to fa-

There is a flash of purple light, and Hastin is suddenly standing right next to me as the loud bangs of the stairs breaking apart and hitting the floor underneath them ring through the air. Aurora is panting roughly, her hands tight on his arms. He blinks, looking back

"You saved me." He says, and she nods letting him go.

"You're damn right I did." She snaps, glaring at him. "I thought you were supposed to be lucky."

I frown, staring at Aurora as Hastin seems to be at a loss for words. I have seen that purple light before. But I do not know where-

There is a shriek above us, and Hastin curses. "Guess it heard us!" He says, hurriedly raising his rifle as Aurora does the same. The shriek gets rapidly closer, and I lick my lips.

The prey approaches.

I bring my tentacles out of their pouch in my back, unfurling them around me as I develop claws on my hands. I sense the prey's Core as it draws near. It is weak. I will not even need my armor.

I launch myself forward, stabbing my tentacles into the wall and climbing upwards as the kin-prey gives another shriek, the sound echoing into the stairwell. I rip myself off from the wall and leap onto the kin-prey just as it emerges from the doorway, stabbing my tentacles into its body and pinning it beneath me. It is dark black with three glowing yellow eyes, four legs and two long arms that flail in the air. Smug. Your struggling will not save you.

Its mouth is made of three sections, and as its jaw opens I see rows of serrated teeth lining its mouth. It shrieks at me, and I grin as I open my mouth and roar back.

It screams in pain as I spear my tentacles through it and into the floor, stabbing down into its throat with a clawed hand. I wrap my fist around its spine and yank, a sharp crack ringing through the air. It goes limp, and I dig my other hand into its jaws and rip its head off of its body. The kin-prey's blood showers me with its delicious warmth, and I open the mouths along my tentacles to devour it.

It does not taste good. But it does have juicy, delectable biomass to offer, and a Core. Mine!

"Joey? All good up there?" I hear Hastin call from below, and I stand, licking my lips as I rip the kin-prey into neat sections for my tentacles to devour. I walk over to the edge of the stairs and see him and Aurora looking up at me, their rifles raised. When they see me, they lower their weapons, though Aurora looks a little disturbed.

"All good!" I repeat, giving them a thumbs up. I lick the blood around my lips, smiling. "Thanks doc!"