The rays of the morning sun were breaking through the trees, giving light to the forest grounds below. Dew matted the grass, wetting the paws of the two Nobles who continued deeper at a leisurely pace. They had been running for most of the previous day, gaining some distance, but they thought it best to keep pace with themselves. There were barely any small animals lurking by, nothing for them to hunt without giving a good amount of time.

Antonis led them through the labyrinth of the forest with ears alert, eyes set forward, keeping himself from losing them in their path eastward. The wolf behind him instead had his head lowered glancing left and right. It was one thing staying in the same building as a past enemy, but to travel with him? he felt like a prisoner.

There were numerous times Murdoc had thought of killing Antonis once and for all. It was easy enough to catch him off guard and he didn't question his strength against the dog. And to do it in this large forest with no sign of life revealing itself, where someone could scream and would get no aid...well, it all seemed simple enough. Murdoc caught himself thinking about it again, his eyes lifting to stare at the back of Antonis, fantasies playing in his mind.

A few minutes passed and Antonis showed no sign of 'sensing' these thoughts in Murdoc's mind as he had done in the past. The wolf felt irritated by it. How could Antonis, in all his experience, trust someone like Murdoc to travel just behind him and not seem suspicious about it?

How long will you keep this up? Murdoc voiced, glowering at Antonis' back.

The dog was seen moving his head slightly before erecting it again. Well, until we get there, I suppose. Antonis replied.

Murdoc stopped in his pace, wrinkling his maw. That isn't what I'm talking about!

Antonis tilted his head, glancing back to see Murdoc had stopped, doing so himself and turned his body towards the wolf. Then what are you talking about? Us traveling? Keeping things in control? ...Fighting against a large force with little resource? Keeping my own sanity when dealing with others? What exactly do you mean by 'keeping this up'? His voice seemed harsh by the end, a narrowed look piercing Murdoc.

That's exactly it! You continue on like you are to a goal you cannot grasp! There's no hope in fighting the Ministry; they're just too powerful!

...And you are defending them?

Murdoc paused, narrowing his eyes in thought. Hearing the wolf's silence, Antonis continued.

I am not doing this for myself. It's the principle of the matter that is more important.

Principle. Murdoc spat. And what could that be? So lives will be saved? No more trafficking for slaves? That sort of principle? No, that's not it. You're not as stupid and optimistic to see such a thing. It's all for someone, isn't it? And from your history, I know you changed your mind about the Ministry after leaving with Aidan.

The wolf stopped, watching Antonis carefully to see whether he would deny it. But as he saw Antonis glance away, Murdoc went on.

So that's true. It was because of Aidan. In that case, the question is why would you associate yourself with him, a simple boy working in the medical wing? As a general, you wouldn't have even bothered looking him in the eye. But somehow you ended up taking him and began a rebellion against the very force you fought for. Anyone would see a large gap of reasoning behind that.

Don't speak as though you don't know who Aidan is. Antonis replied patiently, his orange eyes looking back to Murdoc.

I know who he is! I know he would have been better off without all this!

That may be true, but he's far too important than to simply leave him be.

Important? In what?

Antonis almost seemed like he was about to laugh as he turned back around, continuing his walk. Seeing he wasn't going to explain, Murdoc ran ahead, cutting Antonis off from continuing forward with a small growl.

Why is he important? Murdoc demanded.

Antonis stopped, straightening his stature as he gazed at Murdoc. Seeing the determination in Murdoc's glare, Antonis frowned. ...You seem frightened to hear this about Aidan...

Through experience, I've learned that hearing something about 'importance' only leads to difficulties. How could I accept that for him?

Those were my thoughts as well...But as I've noticed it more and more, I know that others are drawn to him, even if they don't understand it. I, myself, still don't. In fact, it's difficult to explain this. But he has this...ability to manipulate things around him. He can't know this...of course...but...with him, if he 'wants' something to happen, it will...

Murdoc stared at Antonis as though the words were coming from the mouth of a mute man. Moments passed between Murdoc making a sound to begin a sentence, then promptly quieting himself. Had Antonis lost his mind? The stoic general...had he finally jumped the bridge?

If he...wants it? Murdoc repeated carefully.

Yes.

So...hypothetically...you're saying that if he wanted say, the Ministry, to crumble, it would happen?

No. I should say it concerns the people he knows. Antonis at this point turned, beginning onward with Murdoc following just behind. Little things that would effect the larger outcome. An example would be myself. You asked why I dropped everything I had worked for and left with him. The reason behind that is that I was given an order to kill him.

Murdoc seemed shocked by this, but Antonis continued, giving the wolf no time to respond. Of course, I did not see the logic in this. Aidan happened to learn of this order and felt at the mercy of my decision. Later, after we had left, Aidan told me he had felt a deep regret and wanted to leave the Ministry, wanted to escape with me because he knew no one else to go with....you were away on a mission at this time, so don't give me that look. That was the first peculiar thing I've noticed with him, but now as he's with Voltrick, I'm trying to figure out the bond between them, and if it's all Aidan's doing--

Antonis stopped, looking up in a clearing through the trees to see a dark fog hanging in the sky. Murdoc looked up as well, noticing the black cloud that lifted, trailing it down, but they were too far to see.

...Fire... Antonis frowned before suddenly breaking into a run towards the smoke's source, Murdoc struggling to follow at first.


--------

A time passed before the two arrived on top of a hill, overlooking the town the smoke had come from. There they saw nearly all the buildings have been set on fire, clumps of wood falling in amongst themselves, destroying what was left of the roof. From here, they seemed like large campfires, some still lit ablaze. Within the roads, the Nobles saw the scattered remains of the villagers, killed before their fleeting chance of escape. There was barely any movement, not from where they stood.

Antonis exchanged a glance with Murdoc before descending down the hill in a fastened trot. They were to inspect the area. There wasn't a doubt between themselves of who was responsible.

Murdoc followed after Antonis until they reached the town, breaking from him to the right, heading around the outskirts. Even if there were survivors, Murdoc wanted to remain hidden. Antonis would most likely change back to normal to help anyone, but Murdoc would remain the silent observer.

These thoughts passed his mind until he spotted a stable. Half of it was burnt, seeming as though it would fall in itself within seconds. Fortunately, the stable door was on the other side. Murdoc's nose sniffed the ground as he walked until reaching the open door, peering inside carefully. A large wolf was laying face down on the ground, blood smeared all over his back. Murdoc immediately recognized the armor wear, the colors belonging to the Ministry. Hmph...someone managed to kill a soldier...high-ranked one at that...

Murdoc crept further inside, walking over the dead body until he saw another a few feet away. The wolf stopped, erecting his head as he gazed down to the body. It was difficult to tell whether this one was dead or not. It didn't have the limpness the soldier had. After a moment, Murdoc slowly walked closer towards the man's head, lowering his head to smell any peculiar scent and to examine him closely.

The body laid on its right side. The male canine's left hand appeared to have grasped a red soaked wound at his waist but no visible movement was made. Upon further inspection, Murdoc noticed the man's face was splattered with blood and a pool of red underneath the side of the head.

The body appeared to be some kind of farmer and may have been the one responsible for the soldier's death from the other side of the room. Whatever happened, they were both dead now...

Suddenly, the body quickly moved; taking rapid, weased breaths while shakily raising his head and shifting his left hand toward the ground in an attempt to push his body away. The man could have very well been taken as a corpse brought back to life. There was a deep stab wound where the man's left hand was with various scratches all over his arms and face. The man's face would take the most attention as he tried to raise it, The left side of his face was covered in blood and only a mutilated cavity where the eye should have been.

"hoo... Who's there?" The man weakly asked, his vision blurred.

Murdoc jumped as the body had taken in a sudden gasp of breath. His nose was just barely touching the man's head before it started moving, the wolf quickly stepping away with widened eyes.

His ears lowered as he took in the sight of the farmer's face, body stiffening as he spoke. What should he do? He couldn't just very well admit his presence as a Noble to this man. From such a town, it was likely he didn't know what a Noble even was. But it would feel strange to just...

A strange sound would ring in the man's head, a final acknowledgment that someone was really there. By this time, Murdoc had calmed down from his surprise, his eyes returning to their narrowed gaze.

The man's features scrunched lightly to the foreign sensation in his mind and tried to blink his left eye to focus. His head also weakly shook to clear his mind of weariness, but it wouldn't work. He's been becoming weaker and weaker as time passed for what he's felt as days, if not weeks. Unable to move or get help... just stuck in this stable with the corpse of the dead soldier.

The man's eye narrowed, trying to focus on who stood infront of him. From what he could tell, the person was canine... but they were shorter. Or they either sat infront of him or stood on all fours.

"Who.. Who are you?" the man asked as he tried to reach out toward Murdoc with his left hand. If this person wasn't going to respond and he couldn't see, then he would at least try to feel who it was... "Are you... Eye of Michael?"

Murdoc's head tilted down as the farmer began to move, even to the point of stretching a hand towards him. The wolf didn't adjust himself away from the grasp, the farmer able to gently wrap his fingers around the thin forearm, unlike that of a furre's.

"...I am." a voice rumbled through Jame's mind, low and strangely clear. He had not renounced his title, even if he had stayed with the others for this long. He wasn't like Antonis...

The man's ears folded back as he felt Murdoc's forearm. He wasn't standing or sitting like a normal person. This canine was standing on all fours. The man's eyebrows lowered as he thought of the reasons why this person would stand such away. Some kind of feral wolf or...

The man's gaze raised to view Murdoc's face just as Murdoc finally responded. But his mouth and muzzle did not move. But that's not what sent his heart pounding and forced him to scramble his arms to desperately push himself back further away from him. Finding a wooden wall quickly behind him preventing him from moving back further, the man gripped his fingers into the dirt and hay upon the ground.

"Then you have come to finish what the others have started.." the man's voice trembled, but tried to appear condescending. "You cant lower us any more than you already have! Everyone is dead, cant you see that?! What else must you take away!" the man shouted as loudly as his body allowed. Unfortunately, it weakened him further and sent the right side of his upper body to the ground and his breathes heaved weakly.

Murdoc stood still as the man pressed himself away and shouted hoarsely. Afterward, he craned his neck around to glance back to the dead body that laid face down.

"That soldier over there..." Murdoc began, taking a step towards the farmer with his eyes settling back on him. "I know you killed him. I smell his blood on you. Did it feel there was vengeance to kill him? ...No...you don't seem like that type of man. As for what I'll do, what is there left? You barely have the strength to sit back up as you are..." He finished, watching as James tried to pick himself up again.

James slowly placed the right side of his face against the ground. Dirt and hay touched the open wound at his face, But james was too weak to care and relaxed his neck. A defeated look was on his face as he watched forward, not exactly focusing on anything.

"Vengeance?" A sadden look quickly crossed his features. "Not everyone is led by vengeance. Out here, there is no need for it. I... I was only defending myself... He threw me through a glass window.." he paused to take a deep, weazed breath. "And stuck a dagger in my right eye. And for what?" His winced, left eye raised to look up at Murdoc again. "We have done nothing to you... yet you burn our homes and kill us off as if we are '...nothing'." James closed his eye and lowered his brow. "I was only trying to get home."

After hearing the man's recollection, Murdoc slowly came to a sit, his feral face appearing sullen with risen brows. He was silent as he examined closely the wounds James had been afflicted with. Blood seemed to be everywhere.

It was one thing to torture a man...knowing they would survive in time as he had seen so many times...

The cut to the farmer's face was deep, eye punctured...other wounds underneath his clothing...Yes, it was another thing entirely to know someone will die. It was only a matter of how much time will pass.

It was best...to dismiss who they were in this man's last moments. To give him some peace after what he had been through. In all of Murdoc's time in the Ministry, never once had he spoken with a villager...especially like this.

"You had a family..." Murdoc assumed, the voice within James' mind more gentle than what it had been. "You seem old enough to have children."

James features winced sadly before opening his eye again, focusing on nothing. "...Two girls.... One son." A heavy, weaved breath was taken before he continued. "And a wife.." his brow raised further. "Deloria... One could get lost in her eyes or the smell of her hair as you woke up to the most beautiful creature this world holds." He couldn't care to notice he was still speaking to someone of the Eye of Michael. All he wanted was to be with his family, to be for them in this god forsaken time. But he failed them.. he couldn't even stand face to face with the enemy right in front of him. He didn't care. James was happy enough to talk about his family to some stranger instead of remaining alone. "My son was going to help with the chickens in the morn..." he gave a weak smile and a chuckle. "He wanted to help in the fields, but he is too you'.. young, you see.. Only five."

James' breathes became burdened and wheezed and all he could focus his gaze on the feral looking paws in front of his face.

Murdoc listened to James, his eyes set on him as he tried to envision for himself what those two girls looked like, how beautiful a woman looks upon awakening and a little boy--

An eye squinted, almost painfully as those things sounded so foreign to him. The way he spoke of his family was as if they were the greatest and most precious things in the world. To find such happiness in only them...it seemed God-given. Murdoc had seen men clawing at each other for more power, knowing they would find success and satisfaction in that. That was the world he had been raised in. To listen to a farmer speak like this, his family the only pleasure he'd hope to seek seemed so unreal.

"...I've never heard of such things..." he said, almost as an after-thought.

"I don't expect you to." James stated before wincing to the sharp pain making itself known from the stab wound in his side. All of this movement had caused it to bleed again.

After trying to cope with the rejuvenated pain, he tried to speak again. "I'm sure your life's soul purpose was benefiting off of those weaker than yourself." This wolf may have been speaking in a more kindly tone, but that does not take away from who he was. But James couldn't help but feel rude for saying it. "Yet you stand here now... listening to a dying farmer as he speaks about his family..." James breathes became increasing burdened and his eye heavy. "And say you know nothing about it. I... I feel sorry for you."

Murdoc noticed blood beginning to seep through the man's shirt onto the floor, the pained expression on his face bearing ill news. But the farmer's words...

He was reminded of Aidan...years ago when they first met. That had been the only happiness Murdoc had felt. Young and stupid, he held onto Aidan for it, knowing now he had done it to keep that feeling of the simple joys. But neither of them knew what a "family" was, he certainly didn't. And because of that it led the young cat to ruin. No...he did not know what it felt to have a family.

"Then...we are sorry men." Murdoc admitted quietly as he stood, slow steps taken towards James. He shifted himself until his feral body was along the farmers, laying himself down next to him. It seemed like an impulsive decision, but Murdoc had a strange need to. His chin lay flat against the ground, his large form just touching James' chest.

"...I'm sorry..." a voice broke after a long silence, Murdoc's ears flattening gently. It was sincere, something Murdoc had never imagined he would say to another, let alone to a victim of the Ministry. The man didn't deserve this fate...he didn't deserve living like this, used as some thing for a higher power to do this to others.

A deep pain was forming in the pit of his stomach, the fingers of his paws digging deeper into the dirt. His eyes shut tightly. He didn't want him to die..! Murdoc must have said this, a dark despair growing within him, but he didn't care. He wanted to give this man comfort...and he didn't know how. He felt helpless in his regret, his thoughts filled with Aidan, Voltrick and James. The Ministry had used him, created him into something he was never supposed to be! It was as though this man had known him all his life to say such things...to open his eyes...

"I'm so sorry." he said again broadly, as though he were apologizing for the town's destruction, what he had done to others, and...in some way, to himself. He truly was weak to allow all this to happen. And for the first time, he knew exactly what Antonis had meant.

James' breaths became more burdened and slow as his eye became heavier and harder to keep open.

The farmer's eye widened a bit, hearing Murdoc's words. But more importantly, to see where this wolf was moving. An eyebrow quirked as Murdoc settled himself against him. This wolf, this man of the eye of michael, who moves as a feral wolf and speaks without moving his lips, laid next to him. James could tell this wolf had somewhat sympathized with him, even though his people were responsible for all of this... but now he lays next to him.. comfortingly.

What surprised James the most, after the long silence, was the wolf saying he was sorry. He didn't know if it was for what happened to himself or for the village as well.. but he was apologizing. James' eye closed with his eyebrows raising sadly. He could have taken the apology as something dishonest or purely a means of only comforting a dying man without truly meaning it... But James felt, through Murdoc's actions and the sincerity he felt as it was said, that this wolf meant it.

After Murdoc apologized with even more emotion within his tone, James' eye opened partially to look upon the wolf. Just moments before, James hated everything about what lay beside him. He knew the wolf felt the same... or at least felt no sympathy for anyone. But now, after hearing him... James believed him and honestly knew this wolf meant it.

A short moment passed before a shakey, slow hand lifted and placed itself upon Murdoc's back, entwining the furr within his fingers as he lightly ran his hand along the wolf's back. As James did this, his breaths weakened to near the point of not breathing at all and his eye nearly shut completely. The pain in his side and face, thankfully, wasn't felt anymore. All he could feel... was the fur along Murdoc's back as he lightly rubbed his hand along it.

"....You..." James swallowed with a dry throat. "You.... nnnever..." a couple short breaths were taken. "...told your name.."