Week 15
Ren stood outside the door to the room he booked in the gym. It was a medium-sized space that trainers used for more private sessions. Boxing, martial arts, and dancing were some of the sports done in this room.
He stared at the door contemplating what to say to Max. Originally, they were going to meet up over the weekend, but the attack on Kyoko interrupted that plan. Ren postponed the meeting until today hoping the extra time would give him an idea of what to say. He still wasn't sure. It seemed like the only option he had was to bear it all and hope the kid believed him. If he didn't, Max would go blurt to Kyoko that he was a shapeshifter. If she recognized him as Corn…he didn't want to think about the consequences.
Ren took a deep breath and opened the door. As he walked in, he saw Max pacing the room deep in thought.
Max paced the room trying to make sense of what he'd seen. First there was a wolf, then there was Ren who claimed to be the wolf. Certainly, Ren was wearing the same sweatpants that he'd seen on the wolf… the wolf wearing sweatpants added credibility to the story. But it still seemed too ludicrous.
Ren was the only thing he could think about the last few days. He couldn't even worry about Kyoko while grappling in his mind the concept of shapeshifters existing. He better tell me everything today! Or I'll tell Kyoko exactly what I saw!
"Max?" He heard coming from a few feet away. He stopped pacing and looked up at Ren surprised. He didn't even hear him come in.
"You're finally here," he breathed not sure if it was a good or bad thing. He wanted to know the truth, but Ren being here also meant he was stuck in a room with someone who could turn into a wolf and tear him apart. Max took a step back unconsciously at that thought.
"I'm not going to hurt you," Ren said with his hands raised enough for Max to see his empty palms. "I just….want to explain."
"Then explain," Max said with his voice cracking due to his nervousness. He felt his cheeks warm from his embarrassment.
Ren sighed and moved to sit on the ground. He sat cross-legged and motioned for Max to sit in front of him.
Max eyed the spot where Ren motioned for him to sit wearily. He didn't like the idea of sitting in front of a wolf. So he got down on one knee with his other foot on the floor to have a good position to jump up from.
Ren nodded in acknowledgment of his choice. "What would you like to know?" The wolf-man asked him.
"What are you? You said you're not human." Max said going for an easy question. The how's of shapeshifting can come later.
Ren inclined his head forward to agree with Max's statement. "My line is called Sacred Beasts. We've been around since before the first human was born."
"Are you telling me you're ancient?!" Max said jumping up onto his feet struggling to believe what he herd.
In front of him, Ren chuckled, "not me personally. I'm as old as I look, 24. A Sacred Beasts life cycle is similar to a human's. We age at the same rate."
"Oh," Max responded feeling a little numb from Ren's response. He got back down on one knee to listen more.
"Sacred Beasts were created for the protection of the Garden of Eden and its inhabitants. When man committed original sin, our new role was to protect the race of men. Throughout history, we've integrated ourselves in human society taking care of humans. Most of us choose protector roles like policing or military, but some have chosen to be healers in the form of doctors and nurses too." Ren explained like it was a history lesson.
"Hold on a minute," Max said holding up his hand. "Garden of Eden? Original sin? Are you trying to tell me that God is real?"
"After a fashion," Ren said nodding. "Much of my kind's lore has been lost. I do not know how much of what humans believe is actually real. All I know is that Sacred Beasts were given the task to protect mankind by God. Every one of us feels a pull that can't be ignored. We take up different occupations to fulfill that calling."
"What happens if you ignore that calling?" Max asked intrigued.
Ren stared at him before answering. "That's a wise question. One that some of my people asked too late." Ren took a deep breath before continuing. "At times, humans have discovered the existence of Sacred Beasts and hunted us. As a result, some went into hiding. The stories say those individuals went mad and killed themselves."
Max felt himself grow cold as Ren spoke. "So if you don't protect us, you go insane? That hardly seems fair."
"It's not about fair, it's about our role in the world. It's what we were born to do," Ren said calmly.
"How can you be so calm about having your fate decided for you?" Max yelled as he jumped up again panting in anger.
Ren looked at him with a searching look that made him uncomfortable. "Who says my fate was decided for me? My calling is that I help humans, it does not choose for me how I help. I want no other job than the one I have now. My father would tell you the same."
"What about the others?!" Max shouted back. "Is every one of your kind happy to be helpful?"
Shaking his head, Ren responded. "There are no others. There are only three Sacred Beasts alive today: myself, my father, and… one other."
"Why so few?" Max asked shocked. He sat down on his butt with his legs sprawled out before him leaning his body back. His arms kept him balanced by steadying him against the floor.
"Part of it is being hunted by humans. And part of it is our punishment." Ren said the last line slowly. "You see, it was our job to keep the snake who tempted Adam and Eve out of the garden, but we failed. So we received punishment along with them. Our punishment was to only be able to have one child. Most chose to mate with a human so that they could keep up the numbers. A child to replace them in the population when they died. Even so, the population slowly dwindled until where we are today."
Max sat stunned taking in the information. The story Ren was telling him was beyond his wildest dreams. "How can all of this be true?"
"I'm not sure how to answer that," Ren responded with a shrug. "It just is."
Max looked at him unimpressed with his answer. "That's not helpful."
"I suppose it's not," Ren chuckled. "Would it be helpful to see me transform again?"
"Uh," Max stumbled over his words not sure if he wanted to see the wolf side of Ren again or not.
"I don't want to scare you. I don't have to show you," Ren said with his lip slightly slanted up.
Irritation flooded Max. "Of course, I'm not scared!" He sat forward moving his legs in the same crisscross pattern as Ren. "Show me!"
Ren's lips spread into a full smile. "I need to change first. I have a locker at this gym with some clothes." He got up and walked to the door. "Be back in a minute," he said as he slipped out of the room leaving Max to process what he just heard. Max fell back on the floor spreading out his limbs as his mind processed the story of Sacred Beasts.
Ren couldn't help his grin as he got dressed. He was excited to show someone his shifting. Max didn't understand how hard it was for him to do, but it was still exhilarating to share with someone else the progress he made.
Sharing Sacred Beast lore with the kid wasn't as difficult as he expected. His questions were easy to answer, and Ren found himself eager to tell the story of his people. When the subject of fate came up, Max got strangely upset. Ren wasn't sure why, but he looked forward to an opportunity to dig further on it.
After changing, he walked back to the room eager for his performance. He opened the door to see Max standing against the wall waiting for him. He had a guarded look in his eyes like he still didn't believe him. That's fair. I would be surprised if he believed me so easily.
Ren locked the door behind him and walked along the wall to pick a good spot.
"Why did you lock the door?" Max said with fear in his voice.
Ren looked up realizing he should have explained. "I can't have anyone walk in while I'm in beast form. We won't be able to explain the presence of a wolf in this room. Not to mention…I'd probably change back into human form like I did in front of you." Ren looked away embarrassed to admit his lack of control.
"Oh, that makes sense," Max said nodding from his place leaning against the wall adjoining the one Ren walked along.
He found a spot that he was satisfied with and took a deep breath to prepare himself. He was going to do an easier shift by getting a running start rather than starting from a still position. "Ready?" He called over to Max.
"Ready," the boy responded in almost a whisper.
A grin spread across his face as he sprinted across the room. He shifted into beast form easily. He felt his limbs change and came down to run on all fours. His skin was no longer bare against air and clothing. There was a layer of protective hair covering him.
As he slowed from his run his senses adjusted to being in beast form. Ren sneezed and shook his head trying to get the smell from the gym out of his nose. It was rancid!
"What's wrong?" Max said sounding close.
"This room smells like sweat and bad B.O.," Ren said still trying to adjust to his stronger sense of smell.
"How can I hear you? Your lips didn't move to speak?" the boy asked him.
Ren turned his head and saw that Max was only a few feet away looking on with awe. "In beast form, I speak mind to mind," he explained.
"You can read my mind?!" The boy exclaimed taking a step back.
"No, just project my thoughts so that you can hear them," Ren told him.
"Oh," Max said looking relieved. With that concern out of the way, he stepped closer to Ren admiring his fur. "Can I touch?"
"Sure," Ren responded. His coat was a beautiful black. It deserved admiring.
"What other colors can Sacred Beasts be?" Max asked as he ran his fingers along the fur.
"We are all black," Ren told him. With some exceptions that shouldn't be spoken of...
"All of you?" Max said surprised looking away from the fur he was petting to Ren's head. "There's no variety?"
"The blackness lets us hide in the dark and conceal ourselves. No other color would be as effective," Ren said shrugging ignoring the bit in his mind that told him he was lying.
"I guess that makes sense," Max responded continuing to inspect Ren's fur.
Ren let Max explore his fur for a few moments before asking his own question. "Max, why did it bother you so much when I spoke about the Sacred Beast calling to protect humans?"
"Because it's no fair," Max replied with a scowl. "You should have the free will to choose what you want."
"But this is what I want," Ren told him.
"Only because it's been dictated to you," Max said as he moved to look at Ren's head better. "If you didn't have this calling, you might want to do something else."
"Perhaps," Ren said dipping his head. "But I do have it and it pleases me to fulfill it. So why is it a problem?"
"You should be able to do what you want in life and not have a calling, money, skills, or anything else prevent you from getting what you want!" Max yelled.
Ren's ears twitched due to the volume. They were rather sensitive. "Max, what can't you do that you want to do?" He asked him.
Max looked stunned by the question then looked down to stare at his foot. "I…I don't know. I'm just tired of being told I can't do anything because I'm nothing more than an escort's son."
Ren shifted back into his human form before speaking. "I see. Well, we spoke previously about teaching you some self-defense. We have some time to do it now. By the time I'm done teaching you, you'll be able to show the world what anybody, even an escort's son can do."
"You're still going to teach me?" Max questioned.
"Of course, I told you I would," Ren replied.
"Thanks," the boy replied quietly.
"Max?" Ren called confused over the subdued answer.
Max looked up at him with determination on his face. Ren thought he saw some moisture in his eyes but he couldn't be sure.
"Let's go to the center of the room, so I can show you the basics," Ren instructed.
Max followed behind. "By the way, why did you change our meetup time from this weekend to today? I skipped my afternoon classes to be here."
Ren swung to look at him surprised. "You missed school to be here?" He gasped. "Why didn't you tell me this was a bad time!? I didn't even think about what your schedule as a student would look like!" Ren said reprimanding himself.
"Eh, I don't mind. Skipping a few classes isn't a big deal," The boy told him.
Ren rounded on him upon hearing those words. "It absolutely is a big deal. If I'm going to train you, you're going to take school seriously. Understood?" He wasn't leaving any room for argument. Learning self-defense could not interfere with the kid's schooling.
"Okay, okay," Max said taken aback by Ren's sudden ferocity. "But that still doesn't answer my question."
"Right," Ren said sighing. "Kyoko's stalker finally attacked her. We spent the weekend moving in together so I can protect her better." He watched Max's reaction since he knew the boy had a crush on her.
"Is she okay? Is the baby okay?" Max blurted out before his eyes went wide and he covered his mouth with his hand.
"How do you know about the pregnancy?" Ren practically growled.
"She almost fainted in front of me and let it slip," Max squeaked out scared by the danger he sensed.
"Jeez," Ren said shaking his head in his hand. "How long have you known?"
"Since the school festival," Max said without squeaking.
"You mean the one I picked her up from?" Ren said feeling embarrassed. Max nodded in response. Ren felt the wind knocked out of him. The boy knew about the pregnancy before he, the father, did! Was he so oblivious that he couldn't find out what a kid could? Ren swayed from the shock before steadying himself.
"Are you alright?" Max asked.
"Yes, I just didn't expect you to know," Ren responded.
"Why does it matter to you?" Max asked his voice full of suspicion.
Ren debated telling Max he was the baby's father, but that was more honesty than necessary. "Because I know she's trying to keep it a secret." Although, she wouldn't be able to for much longer. He realized this morning she was starting to show a bit.
Max collapsed into bed with a sore body and racing mind. The moves Ren showed Max to do weren't hard, but it was hard to try to get the upper hand on Ren. Max fell down more times than he could count. Every muscle in his body ached from the exertion. Ren instructed him to put a salve on his sore muscles, stretch, and work on muscle strengthening until they met up again. He didn't know learning self defense was going to be so difficult.
While his body was sore, his mind felt overwhelmed. The story Ren told about Sacred Beasts was like something out of a fairy tale. He wouldn't belive it possible except Ren turned into a wolf and back right in front of him. Even if the story was real, could Ren be trusted?
A/N:
The spring semester is over! The summer semester starts up in a couple of weeks but it's not supposed to have any papers or exams. I'm hoping to have more writing time. But that'll depend on client load.
A few have asked how school's going. It's going great with my individual clients. My relational clients...he..he...let's just say I sent an S.O.S text to my supervisor after that last session hehe...
Thanks so much for continuing to read Under The Rain despite my lack of frequent updates. It means a lot to me that you are still following this story. Your comments help me feel motivated when I sit down to write the next chapter.
Thanks for reading!
-Besma0003