Hale Academy: University of Sui Generis (Vol. I)

Chapter 6: A Wolf’s Howl

Key for this chapter:

* Rinzen's Thoughts *

Anyone Else's Thoughts

'Old dialogues memories, spoken out loud thoughts, the past in general...'

///Memories///

POVs

""Not an Actual Speech or Thought""

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Warning: Alternative POVs

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                              1-04-2113 (4 pm Nice, France)

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"I would rather be anywhere else in the world!"

Bartimaeus smirked, "Better now than never", he hummed.

Sasha Roiz-Ruelle, seventeen and trembling outside his Grandmother's cottage, "If this were a Grimm fairytale, it would be reversed, I'm the wolf dreading meeting the grandmother", he muttered.

"Does that make me Red Riding Hood?" Bartimaeus wondered curiously.

Ash jerked up shocked, "What?" squeaked, "No", he answered almost on auto-pilot and then his words actually sunk in and snorted, "God no, Oh my God!" he laughed then, and then with a heavy exhale, "Alright! Let's do this!" he nodded and escorted the way to the cottage, he noticed the curtains twitch. "Brace yourself for inappropriateness", he huffed.

Bartimaeus hummed and followed the human Ascendant as he walked to what looked like the gallows and not the front door of a dainty looking blue door.

The cottage was a quintessential picture of charm, with blue shutters and a blue door, flowers curled up and around the Ivy brick-walls, pink and red scattered around effusing the air rife with their scent and of the sea intermingled. The front lawn stood covered in rose bushes, unique blue roses, in a pattern he could discern unless he stood at a height. The two storey cottage would have quite the view, and he was curious, tempted to leave his ward and rise to check it out.

His shoulder burnt instead, a phantom memory of pain, the exorcism rune the sword brandishing teen had drawn on his shoulder zinged through his senses and he rolled his shoulders pushing the memory behind him forcefully.

"Que Dieu protège mon âme!" he prayed quickly and then rang the doorbell.

(A/N: Please find explanations to the translations in the notes of this chapter)

Bartimaeus paused, "If they already know we're here, why are you ringing the doorbell?" he asked curiously.

"Etiquette", he answered simply.

Bartimaeus wanted to ask more but the door was opened quickly. A young woman in her early to mid-thirties stood in the middle of the door, she was dressed in a black pinstripe suit. It was form-fitting in all the ways that mattered, accentuating a slim petite figure. She had her blonde hair tied back in a French knot, blue eyes surprised and filled with an edge between worried and wary. The woman launched herself at Ash;

"Ash!" she greeted, "Where have you been, your grandmother was just about to launch a search party. Honestly we feared the worst!" she huffed as she pulled back.

"Breath Ana", he huffed, "I'm fine, I promise", he said. "A lot happened and well, where is Grandmother?" he asked her.

Ana winced, "She saw you walking up the path with your…uh companion, and is in The Room", she said simply, "Waiting", she added unnecessarily.

Ash sighed heavily. "Ana I have a favor to ask of you?" he requested.

"Are you sure?" Ana paused, "Making her ladyship wait is a bad idea", she murmured.

Sasha knew there was only one way Ana could help him; "I'm invoking bro-sis-code 101", he said.

Ana straightened, "Of course", she said her demeanor changing instantly,

"What can I do for you?" she asked instead.

"I need you to pack my stuff up, most everything I have is already in boxes and bags—"

"You know running away", she winced and then continued, "I mean that plan you've had, since you were like ten, is known, right?" she asked warily.

"Well of course", he huffed, and "I was ten", he pointed out, "No, this is a better one. Just go to my closet. The code is 94824", he said, "All I need from you is to get everything inside my closet. everything, the books, the boxes, toy bands, tiny–"

"I get it, everything", Ana interjected and he nodded.

"Right. And put them in the red bag. Then bring it outside and draw a circle around it, to ward-off anyone including grandmother, from entering, but key both of us into it", he stated simply pointing at himself and his companion.

Ana nodded, "I'll need his blood to key him into it", she said holding out a vial.

Where did she even get that from?

Bartimaeus nodded and pricked his finger with one of his claws, "How much?" he asked.

"A few drops", she stated.

As soon as the blood was collected she capped the vial and turned to Sasha, she hugged him hard, launching herself against him with enough force Sasha wobbled in place, the man Zen had chosen for him steadying him, as Ana squeezed the life out of him.

"Good luck", she said and let him pass her.

Sasha moved past her with a nod and wordlessly escorted Bartimaeus to follow him through the ridiculous labyrinth that was his grandmother's house, after three right turns, one left turn cut off what would have been a circle back to square one if they'd taken another right, one flight of stairs, to reach the bridge that would lead them back downstairs, an argument Sasha had yet to win to just bypass the stairs, one more left turn, continuing down an incredibly long corridor and finally reaching a door, opening the door, he rolled his eyes at the empty room, and walked towards the closet that led to a hidden staircase, leading upstairs, to the first floor all over again.

"Don't say it", he huffed.

Bartimaeus snorted, "I assume this redundancy has a point", he said.

"Redundancy rarely ever has a point", he muttered tiredly, as he reached the first floor and opened the door, and they walked three more steps before reaching another door, "How do I look?" he asked.

"Worried. Terrified", he added simply.

Sasha rolled his eyes, "I meant, how do I look?" he asked curiously.

"Oh", Bartimaeus paused, "You meant your visage?" he asked.

Sasha nodded, "Sort of", he answered.

"Presentable", he answered simply.

Sasha was starting to understand that Bartimaeus didn't really speak well or understand human concepts well, and there was something off about the man too. A sinister sort of edge that made him wonder exactly what he was, because as dense as Sasha could be, even he knew there was something off about the man.

Shaking his head he shrugged, "Well whatever I'm about as good as I'm ever going to be, that woman is going to find some flaw or the other", he grumbled.

"Well I'm here if she attacks you", Bartimaeus answered shrugging lightly.

Sasha nodded, he knocked on the door and then opened the door after a second, "Grandmother, may I come in?" he requested.

"Only you", she answered succinctly.

Sasha swallowed, "I'm afraid that's not possible", he answered eyeing Bartimaeus who simply nodded.

"Oh?" her voice was pitched low and dangerously and Sasha felt every single hair on his body stand, "Come in", she said instead of arguing.

Sasha nodded and opened the door, he hated this office, everything about it screamed cold.

The desk was a white cold metal, with a dark glass top that made no sense to even have in the first place since the desk was well a desk. Behind that, his grandmother sat on a high backed black armchair, leather tufted, and cushiony, yet it still lacked comfort in Sasha's opinion.

Bowing respectfully, "Good evening grandmother", he greeted her.

"Sasha", she said without an ounce of warmth, on par for the course. "And who is your guest?" she asked.

Looking up to introduce Bartimaeus, he swallowed taking her full Venerer uniform, she was a deputy still aged seventy-five and refusing to retire (despite the many arguments Ana and he had had with her). Dressed similarly to Ana's uniform, except with a red sweater on top of her crisp white shirt, her black tie with the silver knot designated her position as a Senior Special Deputy. Blue knot ties like Ana's were Senior Deputies and Red knot ties were the junior deputies.

Sheriff's wore the traditional Khaki uniform and a long coat, usually black and sans ties unless they wore a plain black tie on formal occasions.

Though that was all a moot point, as formidable as his grandmother looked, she'd obviously dressed up to put the point across—'Mess with Mine and I Will Bring the Entire Force down upon you'.

Sasha bowed again, hand extended to introduce, "This is Bartimaeus, he's my mentor and guardian at Hale Academy", he introduced turning to face the older man—who looked completely unruffled in face of his grandmother. Either the man was an exceptional actor or just naturally stoic.

Sasha gave up and turned back to his grandmother who for the first time ever seemed completely startled.

Coughing once his grandmother hummed, "Hale Academy?" she asked.

"Oh", Sasha nodded, "Hale Academy is a prestigious school, I've been accepted in—"

"That is unacceptable, you are not leaving Nice's Tovio Den", she ordered.

"Grandmother whether you agree or not is not the issue, I am going to Hale Academy, they have the resources to help me find him", he stated, "Resources that I have been struggling to find ever since mo-I mean she died", he said panting slightly.

"Enough! There will be no discussion, you are my grandson and you will act like it!"

"I am not your property; I have the free will to live my life as I please!"

"As long as you are blood, a wolf, you will stay!" she snapped not even doing him the honor of standing.

"The hell I will, I am not your prisoner!" he argued.

"~ASH~!!!" she stood up, "Who do you think you are, I took you in when he murdered your mother", she said, "I will not stand for your insolence!" she hissed angrily taking a few steps away from the desk.

"The woman he killed, I don't know that person! What I know is you slit the woman I called a mother", he shook his head, "My mother's throat", he corrected, "You slit her throat, and for that alone, you've lost my love and my respect. If there is an emotion I have for you; it's fear! I am afraid of you! And I will never ever trust you!" he stated strongly.

"~Ash~!" she took several steps forward anger clouding her features, "If you think I am just going to listen to you throw a temper tantrum—"

"A temper tantrum!" he hissed angrily, and then because he'd given up on trying to be the social gentleman she tried so hard to groom, he hissed, "Je ne suis ni votre animal de compagnie ni votre prisonnier. Si vous vous souciez de moi, même un peu, vous cesserez d'essayer de contrôler chacun de mes mouvements. Cela commence à m'agacer. C'est parce que tu as perdu le contrôle de ton fils que tu m'obliges à le devenir. Je ne suis pas mon père!" he huffed panting so hard he toppled forward.

Bartimaeus caught him inwardly wondering why Hale Academy's magic wasn't working, his French clearly discernible as he screamed at his relative.

Sasha nodded gratefully, apologizing he straightened and turned to his grandmother who'd paled dramatically.

"Si vous pensez…"

Sasha looked down, wincing at the pain in her voice, he looked up as he felt her move, and then abruptly stumbled back startled as Bartimaeus pushed him away and a sharp sound resonated in the room.

Sasha landed on his a*s and looked up, gasping in shock as a dagger pierced Bartimaeus' chest, and a handprint decorated his cheek. His eyes turned to take in his Grandmother and he scuttled back, finding her expression manic, eyes flashing with fury, he used the wall to push himself up, and with no more space, flattened himself against the surface.

"G-G-Grandmother?" he asked confused.

What in the name of Hell?

*

TBC...

Translation:

(Also Please read and comment)

Si vous pensez… >>> If you think

Que Dieu protège mon âme >>> May God protect my soul...

Je ne suis ni votre animal de compagnie ni votre prisonnier. Si vous vous souciez de moi, même un peu, vous cesserez d'essayer de contrôler chacun de mes mouvements. Cela commence à m'agacer. C'est parce que tu as perdu le contrôle de ton fils que tu m'obliges à le devenir. Je ne suis pas mon père! >>> I am neither your pet nor your prisoner. If you care about me even a little, you will stop trying to control my every move. This is starting to annoy me. It is because you have lost control of your son that you are forcing me to become it. I am not my father!