Static Reflections: Book 1 of The M... - Chapter 42: Chapter 42

Nick fell asleep that night, right where he lay, after yet another cry. He had never been this emotional before, but the job was getting to him. Luckily, there were no dreams.
The following morning, there was a knock on his door, which reminded him of when he'd wake up to knocks in the Institute. Though, he hadn't known those would continue here. The hyena got up, and, with a yawn, opened the door. He wasn't surprised when he saw Richard there. "Worried about me?" he asked half-heartedly.
Richard nodded, stepping in. "Iwai told me you weren't acting yourself yesterday. I just want to check how you are today."
"As good as I can be knowing I got someone killed."
Richard sighed. "Nicholas, I understand it affected you, but you need to understand that Jack Wirey was doomed whether we were there or not. We were in the living room, no? That thing would have cut him to pieces before we could even reach the room."
"You're saying . . . there was nothing we could do?" Nick looked up with a sorrowful glint in his eyes.
"Do you believe in fate?" asked Richard.
Nick shook his head. "No . . . I think that you can make choices that change the outcome of something."
"But what if that choice you made was predicted all along, and it led to the fated ending?" Richard proposed.
The hyena frowned. "I don't like that."
"I know. I just want you to feel better and not blame yourself for a death you couldn't help. Veronica's still alive, at the very least."
"Okay, and? She won't even remember her own kid or husband! That's terrifying to think about, being forgotten like that," Nick mumbled.
"If nothing else, don't blame yourself . . . ." Richard put a hand on his shoulder. "You did amazing in that case. I saw your training shine through. You truly saved me."
"I'm so glad I did . . . ." Nick rubbed his eye groggily. "I just wish it went better. Like, now I'm supposed to celebrate this thing I did, but I don't feel like I even deserve it."
"You do!" Richard tried to convince him. "You've done so many things to prove it. The perfect score, the intense training, and completing your first mission with true grit. You're a hardened Soul, Nicholas."
"Okay." The hyena didn't smile, though he wanted to. He could only merely accept the raccoon's words.
"Do you want to graduate? They're ready for you."
Nick pouted. "So that's what you came here for."
"No, no, no. They told me to come a lot later, but you know me. I always wake up early. I really was worried about you."
Nick exhaled softly. "Okay. Well, I guess I can graduate to get my mind off everything else that happened."
"I'll let Iwai know," Richard told him. Then, he stopped, looking around. "You have nowhere for me to sit?"
Nick rubbed the back of his neck. "Wasn't really in the mood to go shopping, so no. Sorry. And you would have come with me anyway . . . ."
Richard crossed his arms, choosing his following words carefully as if he were grabbing them with a claw machine. "Why don't you . . . come to my residence after the ceremony? I have a gift for you, actually. And furniture."
That got a slightly amused sound out of Nick. "They do say you can learn a lot about an animal by seeing where they live . . . Plus, it would be fun. Probably."
"Hopefully," Richard nodded. "Let me call Iwai. Did you ever end up finding your Guard Garb?"
"Oh, I came home and got right to bed. I still need to shower and get ready and everything."
Richard reddened a little. "Perhaps I came over too early. I'll exit and give you time, then. Meet me in front of Creature Hunting, just outside the entrance."
Nick stepped closer. "Hey, give me your number. So I can message you. Or code or whatever. That's a thing, right? I've barely used my phone." The two of them pulled their devices out at the same time, and Richard tapped around.
"There is a Contacts app. You just open it and select 'Add Contact' and then it opens the scanner and . . . ." He tapped his phone against Nick's, and there was a small 'ding' noise. "Added."
The hyena looked down at his phone. "Oh, hey, it tells me you added me. I can send you a message." He pressed the button on the screen. "Wow, just like my old phone . . . ." Nick decided to try sending out a message.
Nick: hello dick :)
Richard blinked. "Why did you message me? I'm right here."
"I was just testing it!" claimed Nick. "Get outta here so I can take my clothes off."
The raccoon's ears perked, and he turned, opening the door. "Remember where I said to meet! Message me if you need help."
"I will," Nick grinned. "See you soon!"
And then he was alone again.
Nick showered thoroughly, then found his clothes, realizing they had already been cleaned themselves, along with the yellow tie. Something inside him told him to keep it just in case. He wasn't sure why, but he trusted his instincts. The hyena made sure his fur looked nice and that he was extensively prepared before exiting his home and making his way to the large building that the creature hunters used as their base of operations. He walked up to the entrance and found Richard there, waiting patiently. He waved his hand. "Richard!"
An animal that was walking to the side of him turned her head. "Hey, hey, kid! Don't you remember the laws? We can't talk to him!"
Nick raised a brow. "Uh . . . what?"
"None of us know, but there's a law stating that we can't bother him. And where's your tie? Don't you know how all of this works?"
Richard had walked closer by that point, responding to Nick's call. "I'm training him, as a matter-of-fact. This animal can speak to me. I greatly appreciate you following the law they put in place, though."
The female bat nodded. "I had a brother that went through something similar back in the Mortal Realm. It was too late by the time we realized how much it affected him. I get it."
Richard nodded. "Thank you. As for Nicholas's tie, he's actually about to graduate."
"Oh! Congratulations!" She smiled widely. "I'll see you around, then!" The bat walked off, leaving Richard to sigh.
Nick just stared up at him. "I . . . didn't know about that law at all. So that's why we've barely interacted with anyone else. Makes sense. I figured there might be more of a community here."
"Yes, well . . . we don't need to talk about it." Richard rubbed his arm.
"Then we won't," said Nick. "So you said there's a ceremony? Am I gonna be graduating with slash-in-front-of other animals?"
"No, you'll still be alone. Well, I'll be there," Richard explained. "It will just be Iwai, you, and I."
"That rhymed," Nick pointed out as they reached the entrance and entered the grand opening, revealing many halls that led to who knows where. "How does anyone figure out where anything is?"
"You'll learn," Richard assured, taking him down the leftmost hall. "There are a ton of briefing rooms here. You probably can't even imagine how many Doubles of Iwai there are."
"Oh, wow. I didn't even think of that. That's literally crazy."
Richard didn't even hesitate at one of the doors before pushing inside, the old deer waiting for them becoming a very common occurrence. "Nick! Richie! So glad the dynamic duo could make it sooner rather than later. How are you feeling, Nick? Better?"
The hyena took a seat, crossing his arms. "Haha. No. But I'm here, so let's do this thing."
Richard took his seat as well, grinning with pride. Iwai held his hands laced across his chest, his round belly looking even bigger from how he was sitting. The green floral-print shirt was always alarming to see in such a formal place. "Well! Let's talk about that case. Holy shit, what a big mistake on my end."
The hyena looked to the side. Not this again.
"But I assure you—"
"I don't wanna hear it," interrupted Nick. "Sorry if that sounds rude, but I just don't want to be reminded of it, 'kay?"
Iwai's mouth was half-closed. "Alright, maybe you should make an appointment with Trauma. It's there for a reason!"
"I'm fine," Nick told him. "Go on with the graduation."
The old stag frowned like he wasn't having any fun. He stood up out of the creaky seat. "Nicholas Flynn, with a perfect Last Test score, amazing training results, and an impressive first mission, you have genuinely proven to be a worthy student of Creature Hunting. You learned quickly and retained the information while showing true determination when times were dire. The fact that you were willing to sacrifice so much to save one of our members, and my friend, is exactly the kind of heart we want in the Mortal Guard."
"Okay, okay!" Nick cut him off, standing up. "I did it to keep Richard alive. Not because I wanted to impress your little organization. 'Cuz right now, it sounds like you want feral sheep to the slaughter, and that's terrible. I can see why we need a Trauma Sect for real now. Animals go through something terrible and intense, and it's seen as heroic. Ugh . . . "
Richard reached out and grabbed his hand. "Nick . . . It's not like that. Iwai is only told to say these things."
The old deer nodded. "Yeah, I'm actually quoting a script right now from Catastrophe. We don't want you to sacrifice yourself, kiddo. We want members who possess the strength to make difficult choices."
Nick twisted his lips. ". . . Sure, I guess."
"Anyway! Since you passed with flying colors—"
"I didn't."
"Since you passed, I have some things to give to you." Iwai pulled out a black case with the Creature Hunting shield on it. "Inside, your Prism Pistol and Retrieval Tablet are ready to return to you. You brought your sheath and holster, right?"
"Yeah," Nick moved his jacket aside, showing the two body accessories. He opened the case and grabbed each item, placing them back in their homes.
Iwai pulled the case back, then grabbed a card sitting on the desk in front of him, which Nick hadn't even noticed. He held it out, and the hyena flipped it over, seeing that it was almost like a driver's license. His picture was there, along with general info about him. The card's color themes were the Creature Hunting Sect's orange.
"This is your license," Iwai stated, back to smiling again. It was almost like he couldn't help it. "You'll be asked to use this when entering other Sects and such, so don't lose it!"
Nick placed it in his pocket. "Got it."
"Finally," the deer opened a drawer and pulled out a green tie, which looked similar to Richard's, only smaller, "Your tie that will tell the world you're officially a creature hunter!"
The younger animal reached out for it, but Iwai pulled it back. "Ah-ah-ah. Your Mentor will put it on you."
Richard stood up out of his chair and took the tie, turning to Nick and slowly tying it around his neck, smiling proudly. As he was finishing, he met the hyena's eyes.
Nick's heart skipped a beat this time. After everything they had gone through, along with the contact, there was definitely something there. He knew he couldn't say this, but he felt it now that they were meeting their gazes while what they were both working hard for finally came to an end. The duo reached the goal.
Nick was a creature hunter.