Becoming Monsters Tidbits 17

Becoming Monsters is the creation and property of Ai Loves, setting used with permission.

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Chapter 17: A Wolf Among Sheep

Somewhere on campus

There was a knock on the Dean's door. "Come in."

It opened. It shut. In the space between these two events, an intense young woman entered. "Dean Hightower, what is this I hear about the League being canceled."

"Delayed, not canceled. Today's event was canceled but it is not over."

"In that case, why was I not at the meeting where this was decided? Unless you did so unilaterally."

"You had no stake and your say would have made little difference. The reasons centered around misconduct from Alpha Omega and other assorted injuries. No reason to call you out of bed at midnight for that."

"I was awake. This is information I needed. My people have been looking across this campus for where their next trial will be, and now I have to come up with something to put my applicants through. Good day, I have work to do."

The door opened. It shut. In the space between these two events, she was gone. The Dean regarded the papers on his desk. Those could wait. Other factors were at play that might not be so patient.

Theta Delta was apparently making its move.

***

Todd's mind was not exactly in the game for computer science, but then again today's class wasn't exactly heavy on innovation. Just memorization, basic building blocks he'd need through the rest of his time in the program. Given his particular advantages in that arena, it gave him a lot of time to do some pondering on other subjects.

The thing is? The combination of an incredible and satisfying orgasm in the middle of lunch, along with the drama preceding it, conspired to make sure nothing useful happened to get done in his head. What could possibly have conspired to get the normally-reserved Song so riled up that she was literally willing to call in favors to have sex with him in the middle of the cafeteria rather than wait for the evening. Heck, that episode had thrown him fairly securely off of his mana curve, given that he'd need to wait until a bit past when he was planning to go to bed in order to get back on track. Not that Jem would mind, if he was remembering correctly it was her turn and she was up that late regularly.

Class wrapped up uneventfully. Just a bit of a shock in and of itself, but Todd was thankful for it. Honestly, what he needed more than anything was to get somewhere quiet so that he could organize his thoughts. Things were just too chaotic, and he still had a lot to do. Assignments, studies, test preparation. What he hadn't expected was the scene on the green lawns of the school as he left the building. A pack of dogs were running across the area, spread out in a line so that each was looking at its own strip of grass. It reminded Todd of a search pattern from a military movie, kind of, except that this bunch was seemingly being chased by a deer.

That seemed a bit backwards to him, but then again he wasn't the one going to become a veterinarian.

He wasn't the only one who noticed, either, but reactions varied. Some looked intently, glancing in the direction the pack was going to see if they could spot anything unusual. Others rerouted where they were going when they saw the sidewalks crossing the path of whatever was going on. The hounds PROBABLY wouldn't attack someone who got in their way... but then again nobody really felt like risking it. A noise from above made Todd glance upwards, and there he found more of the same. Birds, bats, and more esoteric winged things were on the move. Where they were going and what they were going to do once they were there? He had no idea. Todd suspected that they were looking for something specific if the hounds were any indication.

Could they be working together? No way to know, and honestly I have enough problems already that I don't want to find out what could be doing it.

Really, he should have known better than to tempt fate like that.

Todd found a conveniently quiet nook in the computer lab. It had admittedly been a while since he had booted one up for himself and not a class, though admittedly this particular time was intended to be an even blend of the two. It was time to start charting the data, time to see if he could get his direction going. You know, for his project. Which he still had no real start on.

Alright, things about my Class. My mana regen rate could be a part of this, sure, but so could my experience curve or a progression chart. Wouldn't that all be kind of the same data, though? And wouldn't that also involve spelling out my sex life to Professor Otterly, in detail? Not sure if he wants to know quite that much. Then again, he is the one who knew what he was getting into when he gave me the assignment, it's not like he was in the dark about roughly how I was making it work.

"Oh good, I thought I could smell you here!"

Todd stood up from his chair and turned to face Song, who had just walked into the room. "I wasn't expecting to see you here. What's up?" Then, he noticed the look on her face. "Or should I ask, what's wrong?"

The Korean woman's face fell. "That obvious, huh? Well, to answer the question, Theta Delta told everyone we had to find something today. All the people rushing for them, anyway. She... I mean, Amelia, the Order Leader... said that we needed to find the icon of the Order and touch it, or we were done. Even returning Order members have to give it respectable effort, win or lose, since if they don't they'll also be out on their tails. Ghata's still working on getting into Alpha Omega, but if I don't manage this then that's half of what we were trying gone before we can even start."

"Song, first off, it's not all that big a deal if you don't get in..." his voice drifted off. She was looking at him with an intensity he wasn't entirely sure he liked.

"Yes it is, Todd." Her voice was wavering, despite her natively mighty willpower and all the buffs he could give. "It is a big deal. We set out a goal, and this is one of the first steps towards it. All of our plans depend on Ghata and I doing what you need us to. If I can't even do that, then what's the point of even being here?"

"You mean besides the education?"

"You know what I mean!" There was no wavering anymore. She was mad in a way he'd never seen her before, seeming to grow an inch or two as her Human form couldn't contain the emotion. "Class is easy. Homework is easy. Getting nailed by you is super easy. This? This is the thing. It's not easy, Todd, and that means I have to succeed. Hopefully you'll decide you want to help." She turned, opened the door, and left, leaving Todd standing shocked.

He flopped back down into the chair.

So much for homework. I've never seen her that mad... or stressed. This has got to be more than what it looks like. But what does it even look like?

He shook his head, any and all trains of thought relating to his homework completely derailed. While that definitely answered one or two immediate questions, it opened a lot more up. He now knew why animals and other creatures were swarming the campus, and what they were looking for. He did not know where the thing was, or why Amelia Cantor decided to issue the challenge, or indeed why it seemed to go down at the same time the League backed off after its initial hype. He smelled a rat. Besides the Beastkin who walked into the computer lab at that point, anyway. With a sigh, he left the room as well. Perhaps he'd find something else to occupy his mind, give it the opportunity to get out of his own hind end and into a more useful track.

At the tables just outside the building, where students sometimes ate their meals in the sunlight, a Goblin sat with a chessboard and timer. There was a bit of a crowd around him, not huge but perhaps a dozen people. There was also a small pile of money on the table next to him. Not a ton, small bills, but respectable. The Goblin looked over his shoulder and happened to see Todd. "Hey! Long time no see, how's it going?"

His face and voice clicked. "Oh, hi, it was at the League opener, right? First in line at the chess boards?"

The Goblin cracked a toothy and crooked grin. "That's me alright. Realized we traded phone numbers but not names, still have you saved as Chessmaster in my phone. Was that all you, or was there a Class ability involved?"

"I'm Todd, and there were Class things at play. Can't really turn it off, unfortunately, so I usually don't go to tournaments."

"Name's Jackson, and I definitely get it." He had his phone out, fixing the contact information. "Not going to challenge you to a cash game, obviously. You can actually beat me." There were a few grumbles from the group, but given that at least some of them had lighter wallets than they woke up with that morning it was understandable. "Feel like going a round or two for fun to show them what a real game looks like?"

Todd was already taking his seat. "Don't need to ask me twice, let's go. Don't think the clocks are necessary unless..."

Click

. "... unless you really want to."

Jackson's hands had already moved in a green blur as soon as Todd's butt touched the seat, one moving a white pawn forward a couple of squares and the other slapping a switch on the clock. There were only twenty possible moves one could perform as the first play of a game of chess, but Todd recognized this one. It was the same exact play he made when they sat across from each other a couple of days prior.

The clock wasn't set anywhere near as aggressively this time, but Todd felt that would not be necessary. He replayed his same response and hit the clock as he settled in.

It took a dozen more moves before Todd noticed what was odd about this game. Statistically speaking, there are more ways to play out a game of chess than there are atoms in the universe. Other than some of the quick kills, the odds of a game repeating itself, ever, were effectively zero. And yet, this one was doing it. It was the same exact sequence of moves, making the same boards. Todd felt that this was probably a bad idea on Jackson's part given how the last one went, so he was happy to follow it. There were mutters of various opinions from the observers. The game was going down more like a well-rehearsed dance than a game of matched wits. Which, to be fair, it was. Rapid moves without seeming to pause to consider options, the clock present only to be tapped to indicate the shifting turns. Todd had little thought for bystanders, though. He lifted his eyes for a moment and saw his opponent's face. There was concentration there, but also... focused intent. Whatever he was up to, he very much meant to do it.

The endgame was coming, and as Todd remembered the board position had been a precarious one. Several of the things played out could have gone in several directions, any of which could have wildly changed the outcome of the original game. A pawn here, a knight there, and everything could go off the rails. Which is, of course, when Jackson demonstrated what he was really doing. Five moves before the replay was complete, he moved his bishop one space less than before. Todd, caught in his reflexes after so many plays, didn't notice until it was too late. He moved his pawn, the bishop swooped in where last time it had been out of position, and Todd's king found itself alone and afraid with his knight much too far out of range to protect anything worth saving. Two moves later it was obvious that he wasn't going to be able to recover, and he surrendered.

The Goblin's grin was a wild thing. "Guess I should have made the bet after all. The number of times I replayed that endgame in my head in the last three days... glad to know I was right about what I should have done."

"You got me good." Todd reached across the table to shake his hand. "You remember all of that by yourself, or did you have System assisting?"

Jackson reached out to accept the handshake "I was a Junior Master ranked player before the Change, that was all me. Not exactly easy, but all me."

"Twice as good, then. I was never ranked, didn't really play until the Change."

The goblin paused from where he'd been setting the pieces back up. He looked around, there were still observers there. If anything, the audience had grown a bit. "Sad to say I hear that a lot, though not so much from folks who stayed in the skin they were born in, shall we say."

"Got me again on that one. There's a reason I came out here." Todd was leaning back, looking at the beautiful blue skies above. Or... what would have been such a view had it not been for the still-frantic flying contingent. "Any clue what's up with the Theta Deltas?"

"Considering that's the first I heard they're the ones scrambling around like they collectively turned into headless chickens? No, not really."

"Drat. If you hear anything, let me know? I know someone who is rushing for them and would very much like to help out."

"'Know someone,' he says, as if the fact that you're banging that Kumiho like a screen door in a hurricane isn't common knowledge. I'll keep my nose to the ground." The Goblin looked around. "Anyone else up for a game?" There was absolute, utter silence from the crowd in response. With a shrug, Jackson started picking up his pieces. "I'll let you know if I get anything, but could you do me a favor and call me if you catch anything? You're not the only one who knows someone."

Todd nodded back. "Fair's fair, sounds good." He didn't have much to do to help, but did what he could. Before long, he found himself wandering again. This time, though, his vague idea of what to do directed his steps. Although he knew they would never let him through the front door, the Theta Delta house had something he needed right on the outside. The unfinished-looking building came into his view before too long, and out front was his target. A statue about five feet tall, depicting the Order's symbol. The circular Theta, intertwined with the triangular Delta. He knew from research what they meant.

Therios

, denoting animal forms. Delta, indicating change. Really summed things up, all things considered. He walked up to it, looking it over intently. There had to be some kind of clue here, some hint of where the target might be hidden.

What he felt was something different. Somewhere between disgust and fear. The feelings hit him in a wave as he stepped forward, seemingly from out of nowhere. This statue represented a lot about the Order. Its dedication to instinct and identity. Its usage of the hunt and terror to take down its foes. One could almost call the statue an icon in its truest form.

Wait. That can't be it. Can it?

One way to find out. Todd pulled out his phone and sent a quick message to Song, then prepared to wait. She was in a class, so he couldn't expect her to drop it and come running. He looked up again. Nobody in the sky here. They were searching elsewhere, or else had given up. He didn't have very long to ponder this, though, since only a few minutes later a large, golden fox came running up to him. With a shimmer, Song was there in her Human form. "What did you find out, Todd?"

He shrugged. "Nothing for certain, but I get the feeling that the others are overthinking this. The answer is probably staring us in the face."

"You, saying that others are overthinking things? No offense, but that's a new one."

"Always down to try something once." Todd had a wry grin on his face. "Your goal was to go find the Order Icon somewhere, right?"

"Yeah. Nobody I've talked to has any idea where it could be."

"What is it going to look like? Will there be anything special about it when you find it?"

"Uh, probably a lot like that statue behind you, the intertwined Theta and Delta. Probably smaller and hidden somewhere, definitely either enchanted or observed or both so that they know who managed to touch it. I'm guessing there's going to be something else making it hard to touch."

Todd looked over his shoulder at the statue itself. "If you're willing to help me experiment, then can you get into Kumiho form and touch this version of the statue? Either what you were told was insufficient to direct you, in which case I suspect there's a clue here, or it WAS sufficient, in which case I suspect Order Leader Cantor was probably talking about the one that was staring you all in the face."

Song had been focusing on his words, but her face suddenly and sharply turned towards the building. "That would explain a lot. Worth a shot, but any reason you think I need to be in base form?"

"Call it a hunch. This place isn't exactly a fan of Humans, so a therian form is probably going to work better. Definitely won't work any worse, anyway."

Song took a deep breath in, and instead of responding verbally she seemed to relax a bit. Unclench. Her tiny stature once again grew, but this time was different. It wasn't overwhelming her self-control, she was

allowing

it to come forward. Her fur flowed from her skin, her muscles and stature and breasts rose smoothly. Really, the only awkwardness came from her clothes. Thankfully, what she had been wearing was fairly loose for her Human frame, so instead of bursting open it only looked like it was painted on. It no longer concealed anything, but highlighted every muscle and swell.

Todd, for his part, rather appreciated the effect.

Fully herself again, Song took a step towards the statue. She frowned, feeling the emotions that seemed to surround it. "You're right. Something's up, here." The frown turned to a grimace of concentration and pain as she took the next few steps towards the innocuous thing. One more that looked like she was wading through molasses. Then another, looking more like she was having to push her way through something solid. She was in arm's reach, and as she reached out her hand the sweat was visible on her furry face.

Her paw, shaking like a leaf in the wind, made contact with the statue. A light brush against the point of the triangle. She stumbled forward and sagged, exhausted, but grinned. It was like the wall she was leaning on had disappeared, and it took a moment or two for her to regain her footing. Panting, Song finally spoke. "I.. I think you were right, Todd. If that's not it, then I don't know what is and don't want to know."

A powerful and commanding woman's voice came from behind them. "Not quite what I'd intended, but I'll allow it."

Both Todd and Song nearly jumped out of their skins. Behind them was standing a very short woman with shaggy brown hair and incredibly intense eyes to match. Even if Song hadn't reacted with terror, Todd would have known she could be no less than a major power here. Amelia Cantor, the Order Leader. He tried to speak, but no words would come out. Neither were any forthcoming from his partner.

"Truth be told, I threw a rock with that symbol carved into it into a gravelly area in nearby Yellowstone. What you just felt was an enchantment that I paid for to keep people from

touching my statue

." Song recoiled as if slapped. "It seems that either I need to find a better Enchanter or your willpower is something I could use for my pack. You have at least earned the right to keep trying." Most would have said more to clarify what that meant. Most are not Amelia Cantor. Without another word, she turned and walked into the building she controlled.

There was silence there under the afternoon sun, there as it descended towards evening. No students were near, no birds flew overhead, not even an insect decided to draw attention to its den. In the distance, through the quiet, the baying of wolves reminded them both that others were still searching for their objective and that it was past time for them to eat. That message was reinforced by the second sound to break the silence, the roar of Todd's stomach. "Guess the main event's over, Song. At least I HOPE nothing comes along to top that. Feel like grabbing some food before your last class?"