The sound of a jeep coming to a sudden halt outside jolted Taupe awake. He quickly scanned his room for imagined intruders. Sweat rolled down his chest, and his panting seemed to fill the area.
A soft breeze blew through the window, and the curtains fluttered in the wind. Taupe's room was lit only by the full moon, and an offending jeep's headlights. His bed sat in the middle of the room, with some distance between it and his closet. Opposite the closet, a door led out into the manor.
Muttering to himself, Taupe covered his eyes. His voice trailed off as he fell back to his sheets, quickly hiding his eyes from the blinding light with a nearby pillow, waiting for the headlights to turn off.
A minute later, Taupe grimaced, and threw the pillow across the room. It seemed whoever had just arrived at the manor was either attempting to blind him, or simply ignorant. Either way, he would not be able to sleep until the headlights were extinguished.
He sat up and slid his legs out of the covers, feet searching for slippers. Instead, they found the hard boots of his father standing by his bedside. "Up. There are a few men here to see you." With this, the former admiral of Atlas turned on his heels, and left Taupe alone in his room.
A second pillow flew, this time out the window.
Taupe soon found his slippers, and slid them on. They were meant to look like wolf heads, but the fur had begun to fall out in places, and the eyes had long since disappeared, forgotten under some cushion or shelf. Looking around, he could see his pants halfway between himself and the door.
A few powerful strides with his long, sinewy legs brought him to the pants, and he managed to force them on over his slippers. Briefly, he looked towards his closet deciding whether to grab a shirt, but soon shook his head.
Opening the door, Taupe walked out into a brightly lit hallway. The walls were lit by brightly glowing lamps, and between them, six generations of military leaders glared at their descendant. The portrait closest to Taupe's room had a small plaque under it reading Erebus Heliod - Admiral. Taupe lazily scratched the painting with one long nail, peeling another layer of paint off. Across from his father's portrait, a blank space on the wall awaited Taupe's military career like a hangman's noose.
Taupe continued down the hall, eventually arriving at the manor's foyer. A group of fully uniformed soldiers stood near Taupe's father, Erebus, all of whom slowly turned to face Taupe.
"Well, what dya want, or are you just going to stare?" Taupe grinned as he said this, showing off his wolf like jaw. His voice had broken the silence, startling the soldiers. Erebus raised an eyebrow, then slowly shuffled a letter under a pile of papers.
"Excuse my son, he hasn't been sleeping well. Now, men, I believe that you had something to tell him?" Erebus's voice seemed to chill the room, an uncomforting calm oozing from it. The soldiers looked to their leader. The leader cleared her throat, straightened her back, and extended her hand towards Taupe.
"Sir, I would like to congratulate you on your acceptance into the cross-continental academy acceptance program. As you know, you and three other students were hand-picked by the headmasters of each academy to spend one year at each academy and learn under the finest tutors of each nation." As the sergeant was saying this, Taupe slowly let his eyes wander down her neck, tracing her body down to her legs. Once she finished, Taupe snapped to attention, and pulled a lazy salute before shaking her hand.
"Thank you, sergeant. I apologize for my father's conduct, he hasn't been in the field since my poor mother left us. Who is your commanding officer?" Taupe continued to grin as he said this, keeping his eyes locked with the leader.
The leader paused for second before answering. "I'm afraid that I'm not allowed to tell you that sir. Now, if your business is finished, I believe we have some things to discuss with the former admiral." She brushed at her her immaculate uniform, as if to clean off imagined dirt, and began to look around the room.
Taupe cocked an eyebrow, his smile fading. "Understood. I'll be in my bedroom, if you need anything." With this, he left the foyer, and began to stroll back to his bedroom.
Once he reached his bedroom, he was again blinded by the headlights of the jeep. Didn't anybody ever tell them to turn their goddamn lights off? With this, Taupe put on a shirt and snuck out the open window. The full moon cast more than enough light to see the lawn and driveway stretching to the jeep. Taupe swept across the area, gliding over the grass and pavement.
When Taupe arrived at the jeep, he opened the door, and slid into the driver's seat. Cautiously, Taupe pressed a few buttons on the dashboard. The lights were still on. Soon, he began dragging his hands across the dash, turning on and off lights within the cabin. The lights still seemed to taunt him. Taupe slapped the panel in frustration, but the lights continued into the night, laughing at his efforts.
Stepping out of the jeep, Taupe looked at the headlights with a malicious eye, his breath turning to mist in the cold night air. He quickly shattered the headlights, breaking both bulb and covering in one swift strike.
With this, Taupe confidently strode back to his window. A small trickle of blood, barely noticeable in the moonlight, ran from his knee, to his foot, and into the grass. Regardless, Taupe was smiling as he leapt through the window, stripped down, and crawled back into his bed.