Chapter 2: Landon in a cell
After his talk with the headmaster and Hope, informing them that Rafael killed his girl in a car accident 3 weeks ago and then became erratic and showed superhuman abilities, MG tries to compel Landon into forgetting everything, but it doesn't work on Landon and they put him in the schools cell.
"How come I nearly had my hand half chewed off and you look worse than me?" Sosuke asks Hope, seeing her come from the cells.
"We couldn't compel Landon." Hope says.
"So?" Sosuke asks.
"So maybe there is a chance he... Nevermind I shouldn't get involved." Hope says.
"Look, as much as I think this is a bad idea and wish you wouldn't do it... if you really like him that much then... I mean you could just hang out with him if he's human too. I'm living proof." Sosuke tells her.
"You're no proof. You're not hu..." Hope snaps, fearing that he's right.
"Thanks. No need to say more." Sosuke replies with a scoff and leaves.
"Great job Hope." She sighs to herself, looking after Sosuke guiltily.
"Hello?" Landon shouts from the cells, banging on the bars and she heads back down to the cell he's in.
"Can you get me out of here? Not really a fan of closed spaces." Landon asks panicking.
"Sorry, I can't. But believe me, you're not a prisoner Landon. We assume you have ingested a herb called vervain somehow and once it's out of your system MG can compel you." Hope explains.
"Great so not only am I getting up in a cell I also get mind wiped." Landon replies angrily.
"It takes about a day for the vervain to pass your system." Hope tells him.
"Where is Rafi?" Landon asks.
"He's fine. And so are you going to be." Hope tells him.
"Great that'll be reassuring while I have to wait in here alone with my thoughts in a witch dungeon." He says breaking down and sits down on the bed in the cell.
"Could you... Would you wait it out with me?" He asks hopeful, staring into her eyes.
"I'm sorry this is happening, but you will be alright. Truly, it was nice to see you again Landon." Hope tells him and leaves heavy heartedly.
hours later at the docks Hope and Alaric are sparring while Sosuke watches from the sidelines.
"You didn't have to lock him in the cellar." Hope says.
"Where else was I going to put him?" Alaric asks, blocking her punches.
He then returns with a cross and she steps to the side, pulling him forwards by his arm, onky for him to turn it around on her and hold one of her arms behind her.
She uses a spell and Alaric goes flying over her head, landing on his back with Hope doing a flip and landing on one knee next to him with her glove covered fist next to his head.
"Cheater." Alaric says while breathing hard.
"You should really let a vampire start doing my training. Wouldn't want to break your human bones in your old age." She tells him snarkily.
"How rude. Sosuke help a fellow human out here?" Alaric asks, rolling over and getting up.
Sosuke, puts his wounded hand behind his back as he steps across from hope, wearing a sleeveless pullover and jogging pants.
"So, you and Landon, got a thing or something?" Alaric asks while Sosuke and her start sparring, the question throwing Sosuke off, who takes the full brunt of a kick to the stomach and keels over coughing.
"Looks like your fellow human is even less impressive. And no, I don't have things." Hope says bitterly.
"Yes, I'm aware of your quest to avoid all emotional intimacy. But there is obviously something." Alaric says.
"Let's continue." Sosuke tells her with a nod, having recovered.
"I like him. He's normal." She answers while punching at Sosuke with anger.
Sosuke blocks the first strike with a palm, the second with his elbow and her third he dodges, before stepping closer to her and wraps his arm around her collar while swiping at the back of her legs, making her knees buckle, but he doesn't have enough strength with his one arm to fully knock her over, instead she counters it and pulls on the arm, throwing him over her shoulder and onto the ground harshly, making him land on his wounded hand.
"Argh son of a bitch." Sosuke yelps, holding the hand while getting up.
"For the record. Today sucks." Sosuke grunts, getting angry.
"As you can see. Humans are fragile. So let's try to keep the boy that way." Alaric says.
"Could you both just shut up." Sosuke grunts angrily, slapping his fists together with a flinch and an angry look on his face.
Hope raises her eyebrows as if doubting him and punches at him again, Sosuke pulling her in by the hand and kneeing her in her stomach, getting her also angry.
"Uhh, how about we call it a day? You're both getting kinda angry." Alaric tells them.
"Fine." Hope accepts with a glare directed at Sosuke, while her eyes are glowing.
"Oh come on, this was just getting interesting. You guys are pissing me off." Sosuke curses and stomps away, heading back to the nurses office to treat his hand.
"What's with him?" Hope asks still annoyed.
"One problem at a time alright." Alaric says.
"I don't get the problem you always tell me to be more normal and to get out more." Hope tells him.
"I'm telling you that to get you out of your room and stop you from binge watching cut throat kitchens, not to hang around with the human locals." He berates her.
"You know, can you just be my headmaster all the rest isn't really in the job description." Hope tells him.
"Well, attempt to make an actual friend here and we can reevaluate our relationship." Alaric tells her.
"I have a friend." She comes back.
"Oh, you mean the human who you just injured while sparring, because you got angry?" Alaric comes back.
"Dad, we have a situation, cleanup on aisle L." Josie says, arriving at the dock.
later that day
Hope is lying in her bed, unable to sleep or read her book, because her mind always drifts back to the boy locked in the cellar.
"Can't sleep either?" Hope asks him when she sees him sitting against a wall in the cellar.
"Small spaces, you?" He says shaking his head.
"Sometimes I get restless." Hope replies.
"Busy brain?" He asks.
"Busy everything. My body has a lot going on inside of it." She answers.
"Which is a good segue to you telling me how you can move things with your mind?" He asks.
"You ask a lot of questions." She tells him.
"why are you smiling?" She then asks surprised when he leans back his head against the brickwall with a small smile on his lips.
"I'm remembering the day we danced in the town square. That was a good day, but of course I have to be crushing on the girl with the most baggage." He says, looking at her.
"I'm going to try that sleep thing again." She says and gets back on her feet.
"You do that a lot." He tells her.
"Do what?" She asks.
"Leave." He answers.
"I can be dangerous to people. It's better to keep my distance." She informs him in a sour mood.
Shortly after she leaves Josie summons Landon to the party the students are throwing at the old mill and he ends up leaving the party, wandering the woods.
Alaric is trying to help his daughter relax after her fit and is meditating with her when Hope tells him she's going to the woods to get a release.
Meanwhile in the same part of the woods Hope is headed to Landon runs into Sosuke, who is training by himself, holding a log on his shoulder while doing various exercises.
"Oh, hey. You're the guy who helped Rafi right?" Landon asks, announcing his presence.
"Yeah. My name's Sosuke, but what are you doing out of the cellar?" He asks on guard.
"I don't know. Some summoning spell apparently." Landon answers with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Yeah, well you should get back to that cell. Otherwise I'll bring you myself." Sosuke tells him.
"So you're what? Another werewolf?" Landon asks, sitting down on one of the logs lying around.
"No. I'm the only human student. And you should get down." He replies.
"Get down?" Landon asks, only to fall off the log scared when a white-gray wolf steps into the area and snarls at them.
"Yeah. Just get down." Sosuke tells him while taking off his shirt.
Landon lies down behind the log and peers over it anxiously as the wolf runs at Sosuke, who stares it dead in the eyes.
As it jumps at the not moving Sosuke it transforms back into Hope.
"Are you crazy, you dumbass?" She complains while he caught her in his arms and is holding onto her.
"Oh come on as if you would have hurt me as a wolf." Sosuke says with a raised eyebrow and sets her down while handing her the shirt so she can cover her naked body.
"What do you mean I couldn't hurt you as a wolf are you stupid?" She asks.
"No, just confident." Sosuke replies with a dangerous gleam in his eyes.
"Try again and I'll show you." He challenges her.
"Fine, I'll wipe that... Landon?" She says, switching from accepting his challenge to focusing on the boy now getting out of his hiding spot.
"Here take those too if you're gonna bring him back to his cell." Sosuke tells her, taking off his sweatpants while his annoyance and something else Hope can't place is clearly written across his face.
She mumbles a miniscule thanks while putting on the extra clothing and leaves with Landon.
Half an hour later Sosuke hears the party music he was able to catch beforehand stop and guesses that the headmaster broke up the party.
"What are you still doing out here? And why are you in your underwear?" Alaric asks Sosuke.
"Training and Hope needed some clothes so she could bring back that guy to the cell. Someone at the party summoned him apparently." Sosuke grunts in between squats.
"So care to tell me what got into you earlier?" Alaric asks, sitting down on one of the logs.
"Nothing. I was just hurt and lashed out." Sosuke answers dismissively.
"And that's about half right." You know I don't want you and Hope to go out... but you also can't treat her as an enemy because she finally likes someone and that someone isn't you." Alaric tells him.
"That's the best advice you got? Sorry if I have mixed feelings after trying to get her to let me in for 5 years when I myself could use a whole heard of shrinks." Sosuke says.
"You can also talk to me or anyone here you know that right?" Alaric suggests.
"I can't. I'm already the school's pariah. I don't need to add boogyman to the list as well." Souke replies.
"How bad could it be?" Alaric asks.
"You really want to know?" Sosuke asks and Alaric nods.
"Well come on then." Sosuke tells him and the two head back to school, Sosuke getting laughed at by some students or frowned at due to his scars.
"Where are you bringing me?" Alaric asks.
Sosuke then wordlessly opens the guidance counselors office door and opens a cabinet with his folder, handing Alaric the 10 cm thick stack of papers.
"Read up." Sosuke says and heads to his room.
Alaric, looks at the size of the file with a sigh and only skims over the first couple of pages.
"Damn." He sighs, not having known anything about Sosuke before he found him when the boy was 10 and acting as a supernatural mercenary for some shady organisation Alaric never learned the name off for a reason he can't remember.
Weekly Power Status
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