Pack's Loyalty Chapter 6 - The Pack's Origins: Wings of Rejuvination
"When the wind dies out, it will pick up. It just needs some time to gain speed"
"Wait. Training?" Sunset asked with a tilt of her head. Flora however didn't say anything. Just smiled with exhaustion.
"Trust me, hon. Ya'll find out soon." Sandy said with a grin
"You'll be put through the ringer like they would do in the armies all around the world." Shade said, lips twitching upward
Squalo had a nasty smirk on his face, teeth showing. "Hope ya body is ready. Youse roll with us, you better put some devotion to it."
Falco soon began to snicker. "Or you can just write your will right now. I call dibs for those swanky boots you got!" He sang out.
Sunset began to pale a bit, but she'll ask later. Right now, she wanted to find out more about their backgrounds.
"So...what about you, Falco? How did you meet Lumen?" She asked quickly.
Falco's smile soon dropped as he collapsed to the ground with a hand to his forehead in a dramatic pose.
"Oh geez…" Sandy groaned, facepalming
"I will tell you. But it is a sad story. A tale of betrayal. A script of a poor young man whose dreams were dashed and destroyed by a bunch of popular arseholes who turned him into a laughing stock. A young man who lost passion for his favorite sport. A tale of woe. A tale of…"
"GET TO THE POINT, DRAMA KING!" Everyone yelled in annoyance. He was getting annoying with his monologue.
Pouting, Falco stood up crossing his arms. "Nobody has any appreciation for the arts nowadays…"
Sunset put a hand on his shoulder and just spoke gently. "You can tell us if you want. Just don't make a big show out of it, OK?"
Perking up a bit, Falco took a seat on the floor and began his tale.
Flashback
Well. It all began in the city of Seattle. Me and my family weren't the richest of the lot. Then again...We were in a street consisting of a lot of rich kids and snotty popular pillocks.
Pause
Sunset had a deadpanned look on her face.
"What?"
"You sound like you came from a sitcom or that cartoon with a buck-toothed kid and his fairies."
Falco just stuck his tongue out at her and continued.
Resume Flashback
Yeah well, at my school the popular and the rich run the roost. They have a lot of power and throw the best parties. Me? Well, I was somewhere along the line of the middle. I had a few friends but not that many. I honestly wasn't a fan of any of the popular kids there. Something about them rubbed me the wrong way.
And besides. I had my own hobby than being concerned about whether or not I had a status in the school. I was a top track runner.
pause
"Top runner?" Sunset asked
Falco then turned his head up with a proud smirk. "Fastest kid in the whole school."
"Which is why people said he could never get a date." Flora said to Sunset
Falco still looked proud as he said "That's rig-!' His eyes shot up before screeching out "HEY!"
They all laughed at his antics.
"Anyways…"
Resume
I was the fastest runner they had at the school. Our track team was the highest on the charts.
Though things took a dive down shit central on the day of the qualifiers…
Pause
Falco began to growl angrily at the memory. Sunset soon looked a bit worried
"You don't have to tell me if you don't-"
Falco put a hand up to stop her from talking.
"I won't stop. I might as well tell you now. But let's just say...you should NEVER let a bunch of rich pricks come and join you. They'll find a way to screw you over."
Resume
It was the day of the qualifiers. Falco was busy warming up before the race. This was it. If he won the race, he'll be getting that scholarship.
"Why hello there, Highwind." A high-pitched snooty voice spoke behind him, causing Falco to groan in annoyance.
"Hello Gold Rush" He spoke in a deadpanned tone. He never liked the guy. He may be rich, he may be popular, but he was an arrogant little shit that deserved a foot up his ass. He was slightly taller than Falco with yellow skin and golden coloured hair plus yellow eyes. Currently he was wearing the track uniform. He joined a few weeks ago and somehow won everyone on the track team over. Everyone except Falco. His gut was telling him something about him and he did not like it.
"Well, that's not the right response. We're teammates." He said in a joyful tone. Falco raised an eyebrow. He watched enough films to know there was something hidden in that voice.
"Look. Just get ready. We got a race to do." He said as he walked out of the changing room, totally unaware about the sneer on Gold's face.
"Well little birdy...I'm afraid you're going to have to get your wings clipped." He said as he took out a phone and dialled a number.
[Hello?]
"It's me. Commence the plan."
[So it's time?]
"Oh yes. I'll make him pay for dismissing me and YOU and your 'pals' will be welcome into my circle
[Sweet! It will be worth it!]
*click*
Pause
"That there was the worst day of my life…" He mumbled.
Sunset soon noticed a change in his demeanor, as he went from joyful and jokey to somber and miserable.
"Falco. What happened?" She dared to ask. Falco didn't say anything. He just lifted his pant leg and Sunset lightly gasped at the sight.
The leg was slightly purple like a plum and was shown to be bent at an angle. Falco then rolled the leg down to move his jacket to show a darker patch on his left shoulder as well as a scar.
"The accident happened." he grunted.
Flashback
It was an average day. Falco was doing some last minute running before the big race. He heard that there were gonna be college scouts. This was his chance to get a scholarship for college. He was currently in a park in his running outfit then he would head off to the track.
"OK. That's training done. Now time to head off to the track. I smell a scholarship coming!" He sung in joy. Soon, it would be time to go to the track meet.
Just as he was crossing the road, he heard a low hum on the right.
"Huh?" Falco said as he turned his head only for his eyes to widen to see a fast car coming into him at high speeds.
"CRASH!"
Falco was blasted a few feet from where he was. The last thing he saw was several people asking if he was alright.
End flashback
"By the time I woke up, my arm was in a sling and my arm was in a cast while I was lying down in some hospital bed with some shitty jelly to eat with my parents looking like a death sentence was revoked." Falco said.
Sunset's eyes widened with shock. He had been hit by a car badly but he was still alive.
"You must be a survivor if you withstood that." Sunset commented in awe. Suddenly something clicked in her head. 'Hang on? A car came out of nowhere? That can't be a coincidence."
Falco then looked serious. "It wasn't"
Flashback
Falco was using a crutch when he came back. Doctors said that he shouldn't be running and take it easy for a few weeks. Everyone gave me looks of pity but Falco figured that it was because of the missed out sponsors.
It wasn't until he overheard a conversation with his track team and Gold that he found out why he was given.
"Look! I know we wanted to go to your party but this was not worth it!" One voice spoke in a panicked tone
"Oh come on! How bad can it be?" Another replied. I knew it was Gold
"We told you where Falco usually trains! When you asked where he trained, I figured it was so you could...I don't know...scare him or learn his secrets. Not arrange an accident!" the same voice asked.
"Look, you all wanted a shot at that scholarship. I mean, there will be another one and when Falco is all healed up, he can try again. Plus, going to my fantastic party was worth it AND I am now a star in sports, giving my reputation a boost. Falco…' Gold Rush began but…
'...will find out." he growled out, much to the shock of Gold Rush and the rest of the team
"F-Falco! You're here!" One member stammered
"Hello, 'friends' Falco said in an overly sweet tone. 'How was the party?"
"Party? What party? We don't know any party." The other said in a rather quick tone.
Falco soon showed a snarl.
"QUIT THE BULLSHIT! I HEARD EVERYTHING! YOU TOSSERS SOLD ME OUT! I WAS STUCK IN A HOSPITAL FOR TWO WEEKS AND FOR WHAT?! SO YOU COULD GO TO A PARTY?!" Falco roared out causing the team to flinch. He then levelled a glare to Gold which could melt steel
"And you...you set me up." He snarled quietly, shaking with rage
Gold didn't seem to be aware of the danger.
"Oh cool down bird brain. There will be another sponsor, you can just go for them. I mean, it's not like anything bad happened -"
He didn't get to finish as he soon was smacked to the ground by an angry Falco. He then began to smack his cane on his body.
"THERE WON'T BE ANOTHER SPONSOR FOR A LONG TIME! YOU RUINED MY LIFE!" He roared as he continued to attack him.
End flashback
"By the time I was finished, he was a bloody mess. Both literally and figuratively. I was expelled soon after." Falco said as he clenched his eyes.
"Oh my God...he actually did that?" Sunset spoke in a hushed horrified tone
"You would be surprised what people will do to become popular. Lie, cheat, destroy. That is what some people will do."
Sunset grimaced. She knew what that was like.
"So how did you meet these guys?" Sunset asked.
Flashback
Falco was staggering as he went for a walk, drinking some extra strong energy drink with extra caffeine. Right now, that's all that he could do. Drink and walk aimlessly.
It was only a week since he was expelled and right now he felt his life had taken a trip down the toilet. His parents were not angry or disappointed in him, especially when they found out how his accident happened.
Needless to say, hell hath no fury like parents scorned, especially when the principal let it slip he was taking bribes from Rush.
Now he was stuck doing online classes. His days running on the track were history thanks to that, and now he only had two things: Online classes and drinking energy drinks, which he ended up getting addicted to.
"Stupid Gold Rush...Stupid track team...stupid school…" He muttered to himself in a caffeine filled haze. He was busy wondering the street when he heard the sounds of fists and skin smacking each other.
When he turned, he saw Shade, Flora and Lumen.
Shade was throwing punches at Flora, who was able to dodge them. Flora responded with a high reverse roundhouse, which was blocked by Shade's arm, before she spun around and launched an axel kick to his face before falling onto her front, supporting herself with her hands. She then performed a front flip, righting herself back to her feet.
Shade then grabbed her waist and did a GErman suplex, her head slamming onto the grass. Flora flipped back up and got into a fighting stance, with Shade crouching down.
"Enough!" Lumen called out, causing them to relax.
"You are progressing well. But you still have a lot to work on. Shade, you need to work on your instincts. Observe your opponent and look for a sign of attacks. Flora, stick to simple strikes. Try and do any advanced moves will only slow you down."
"Right." Shade and Flora spoke as they bowed down.
Soon both went to grab some water bottles when Shade noticed Falco watching from the distance.
"Hey! Who the hell are you?" He called out.
"Oh...Uh…I'm Falco. I was just watching your little display." He replied, rubbing his head in embarrassment.
"Shade. So what are you doing here?" Shade replied
"I was just walking. Saw your fighting display and got curious."
"Cool. Say, me and Flora are about to start again. You wanna watch?"
Falco thought for a minute and shrugged his shoulders. Steadily climbing over the gate, he limped to where the rest were.
He may as well see. What was going to happen if he did?
As he followed Shade, Flora noticed Falco following Shade.
"Hey, who's the limper?" She asked. Lumen also looked at Falco with interest.
"Just a spectator. You don't mind if he watches our match, sensei?" Shade asked
"No I don't mind. Now then, let's try again and this time, work on your instinct." Lumen said as they got into position.
"Ready? HAJIME!"
Flora and Shade began to fight as Falco looked on with awe.
End Flashback
Falco sighed in reminiscence.
"After watching that martial arts session, I felt like it was like a show."
"Really?" Sunset asked, as she sipped her drink
"Yep. Lumen noticed and asked if I wanted to take part. I wasn't sure at first as I was still injured but Lumen insisted, telling me that the physical therapy would heal me faster. Hell, when I was recovering he told me this
"It isn't just physical injuries but mental. You think that your injury is long lasting but it is all in your head. Just remember that you are taking a new step on a new path. All your injuries will fade away"
Falco laughed in nostalgia
"Turns out. He was right. I got my speed back".