Kaiser of the New World

Pawns (45)

The dimly lit hall basked in was silent after all the moon beasts and the few humans left. The lanterns on the wall dutifully kept burning, the flames flickering once every so often.

Two figures stand close together at the head of the table. One, a large wolf and the other, a man with his head resting in his hands.

"What do you think?"

Aldred growled, watching Failure wallow in his fatigue, the man's eyes threatening to close without warning.

"He won't be ready. His mindset, will, reflexes, everything is too lacking. None of the plans have worked. He's made some progress, sure, but it isn't enough."

The gray wolf stays silent for a few moments before a low growl rumbles from deep within his throat.

"His will, reflexes and everything else may be lacking, but not his mindset. The Catalyst may not have any motivation right now, but did you when you were his age?"

"Of course I did!" Failure cried. "I probably had the most motivation out of anyone my age. But my times were severely different to his, and you know it. Before this whole damn forest was a thing I had a normal life. Now look at me!"

Aldred stays silent, letting the brown-haired man show his true feelings. Just the fact that he was so wound up in the first place shows Aldred how tired Failure truly is. All the years finally caught up to the man, but it will all be over soon.

"Still, the Catalyst has potential, otherwise they wouldn't have even bothered marking him."

"I really don't know." Failure whispers. "It all just seems so hopeless."

Lifting his head so he can look at the wolf he's known for so long, Failure's eyes glisten with worry as he grips his hair. The reflection of Aldred shines in his pupils as he asks:

"Tell me and tell me honestly, Aldred. Can you beat the Demon?"

Aldred falls silent, the only sound left in the large hall is the soft melody of breathing.

"I don't know" Aldred answers honestly. "If the Demon has no more tricks it would be fifty-fifty, we perfectly counter each other after all. But if he has any more tricks like the explosives. The other thing is that the Demon planned the bombing.

They lured me out, they were able to mess with my sense of smell enough for me to not realise what was really happening. We had a small fight, they managed to cut my back before I retreated because I felt something off. Kai would be dead if I didn't return, he was too close to the explosion.

The other thing is that the Demon said they wanted a duel. I don't know what that thing is planning, but it's definitely planning something."

Sighing, Failure pushes his seat backwards and stands up, slowly stepping towards the gray wolf. Softly placing a hand on Aldred's silky coat, he slowly rubs his hand up and down, the action bringing him a semblance of peace.

"It looks like we'll have to do plan B..."

Aldred's eyes widen.

"You don't know yet, the Catalyst could still change, could still grow. You can't just give into... them."

Failure smiles sadly, the wrinkles which seemed so minuscule during the meeting now show prominently.

"I would love to agree, but it seems the only way. Kai needs a reason to grow stronger, otherwise he will always be a pawn in their games. He needs a little boost, some type of motivation. It seems we will have to be the ones to do that. I know what it's like to be a pawn after all, and it's a fate I wish on nobody but my enemies.