Chapter 17 – A Burdensome Badge
My weary head stirs.
An obnoxiously cheesy country love song blares from my Scroll – The alarm tune I purposefully downloaded for just such a reason. I snatch it up, silencing the alarm with a few dozy taps, and push myself up. Eyelids heavy, I peer at the screen.
Half past six in the morning. Right on time.
My neck clicks when I stand, the bathtub creaking under my weight as I step out. I'll need to move the duvet and pillow back into the room when I'm finished. Moaning a yawn, I flick on the lights.
After having my eyes vaporised, I wisely turn the big lights off and turn on the mirror lights. Figured that might be the smarter move. Probably.
There's the mirror and there's my dreary gob. Sleep crusted around my eyes, glassy face, and bed hair so bad it could give Yang's mane a run for its money. I smirked mirthfully at my reflection.
"Wow, Eren. You're looking mighty attractive today. Being a bit daring with the tank top? How saucy. Really shows off all none of your muscles," I say sarcastically, choking on my chuckles. As if. I should've kept my hoodie on. Stupid functional Beacon heating.
Plugging the sink, I turn both faucets carefully as to not amass too much noise, collecting a few essentials from my toiletry bag: toothpaste, deodorant, soap, the usual. It's like being on holiday, except I'm staying here for more than two weeks.
As I wait for the sink to fill, my thoughts unwittingly linger to the events of yesterday, of the initiation, of our teams.
Of the ceremony…
It all happened, didn't it? Even now, it doesn't feel real. I don't want it to be real, honestly, but it did. It really did.
I'm the leader of the newly-formed Team LABS.
Never did I think throughout the entire initiation that I would've been picked to fulfil that role. It doesn't make any sense to me. It feels like a gag. An elaborate prank meant to frighten me then 'Surprise! You're not really a leader! You should've seen the look on your face.' What on earth possessed Professor Ozpin to make such a decision? I don't understand it.
"Who the hell would put you in charge of anything?" I ask my reflection.
I turn the water off, retching my head back before dunking deep into the warm miniature pool. After a good few seconds, I pull myself out of the water, gasping as droplets drip from my damp fringe. Defiant, I stare my reflection down.
"It doesn't matter why. It's already happened, so stop whinging," I tell him. Musing on it any longer will only irritate myself further. I sigh, pulling my tank top over my head to get dressed when my eyes land on the reflection of a familiar scar on the right side of my hip. A finger glides over it. I grimace at the memory…
Then I glare at him.
"You were lucky: You were lucky that day, you were lucky with Qrow, and you were lucky yesterday. You can't keep getting saved all the time. You're going to get someone killed," I tell him harshly, eyelids narrowing. "Shape up. You're a leader now. Deal with it."
The door shuts with a mute thunk. Trickles of the rising dawn sunlight fade through the curtains, giving me a thankful amount of vision into the room. With an armful of bed covers in hand, the last thing I need is to trip over something and wake everyone. I'm honestly shocked I wasn't discovered last night.
Tip-toeing, more like fumbling, in my new academy shoes, I set the duvet and pillow down on my bare bed and get to work.
Co-ed dorms. I balked when I finally found out, much to some pointed looks from my new teammates. The optimistic side of me hoped that we would be assigned rooms to ourselves but, apparently, Beacon doesn't think much of… privacy. I tried to cope with it last night but, uh, that didn't work out so well. The only thing worse than sleeping in a gigantic hall full of people I don't know is sleeping in a small room full of people I just met. It's a level of intimacy that I never had to deal with, not even after we moved.
Finished, I sit down on my bed and sigh gently.
Maybe I'm being the crazy one here. I need to stop assuming I know everything about what's normal for this culture when I barely know a thing about it.
Besides, it's a nice room. Rose red velvet curtains: four reasonably sized beds with soft fabric duvet covers and expertly knitted red quilts, a bookshelf separating them, two studying desks, drawers for clothing, several shelves dotting above them, every single one made of solid mahogany, a couple of closets and, obviously, a bathroom with a shower bath combo and this little bubble bath bottle that came with it. Better get to that before it's all used up.
…It's not girly to enjoy bubble baths. No, you be quiet.
The orange glow of the morning sun brightens. Every now and again I'll begin fiddling with my tie and the back of my neck, mostly so I don't look like a prat but also to stop my eyes from drooping into slumber. It's twenty-five past seven right now. Only twenty minutes to go…
That's when one of the beds rustle. My eyes shoot open and my back straightens. I'm the leader, I need to look presentable.
It's the bed on the far left of the room. Jaune and Blake are on my left and right respectively which means…
Look alert.
Weiss rises from the sheets, cupping her yawns with the back of her hand. Her hair slumps over her neck. It's surprisingly pretty when it's not tied-up. Hazy, her eyes snap to the first thing appearing out of place in the room: Me. As if she suddenly became near-sighted, she zooms in on me, rubbing her eyes to clear the image.
"Oh," she drones. "It's…."
She trails off, waiting for the answer to just jump out and present itself. She could least look like she's trying to figure it out.
"U-uh, I-it's Eren," I offer, quietly as to not wake my remaining sleeping teammates.
"…Right. You," she replies dully. Did I officially change my name last night or something? I smooth out my features and force a polite response. Leaders don't throw temper tantrums over a silly name.
"G-good morning," I greet properly, hands on my lap. Weiss furls her eyes slightly at me, causing me to reel slightly and avert my eyes.
She sighs and roll her eyes, answering with a lax, "Good morning." That's… a response? So, I think I'm doing alright? "What time is it?"
"O-oh, um," I stumble, swiping my Scroll off the desk. On the screen, it reads "Half past seven." She acknowledges this with a disinterested nod, stretching all her limbs to wake herself up. "S-so, um, I was thinking about them up in about fifteen minutes or so? Maybe give you all time to unpack?"
"Mm-hm?" She mumbles. I'll… keep going.
"Y-yeah. Like, uh, fifteen minutes to get ready? Forty to unpack our luggage? Give or take a few minutes more and, uh, fifteen minutes to make it to class?" My voice is jittery. I sort of came up with this stuff on the fly when I couldn't sleep last night. Not sure if that would work at all but, it's better to have a plan than no plan at all, right? Maybe?
Weiss steps out of bed, ironing her dressing-gown out with her arm, not even bothering to give me a second glance at any point while I was talking. Did I bore her?
"Um, Weiss?" I prompt her softly. "D-does that sound any good to you?"
"Simply wonderful," she says flatly. She walks to the front of the room, placing a hand on her chest. She hums "Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Si, Do." Tonal scale? What is she-
"Wake up!"
I shriek an "Eep!" My spine springs up into my shoulders as the sound of Weiss's shockingly powerful booming voice rings through my ears and the ears of our new comrades.
Blake hurls off her covers, back hunching like a cat as her shock quickly turns into a venomous glare. I think she's about to leap out her bed and maul her in a second.
Jaune yelps, wrestling with his entangled bedsheets in a panic. He shouts out, "What's going on? Are the mongoose attacking?! Oh god, my dreams are turning into real life!" Before falling off his bed in a heap. "Ow."
"Ahem! Are we all awake now?" Weiss starts, folding her arms. She's answered by our respective responses. I think she woke the whole corridor up, honestly. "Good!" She claps, smiling proudly. "Then we can all get ready. I'll be getting dressed first. Make sure you all start unpacking before I come out." She collects her assigned uniform and shuffles into the bathroom.
Well, my plan just got thrown out the window.
Blake groans, rubbing the bridge of her nose. A muffled voice comes from the ensnaring duvet.
"Can somebody help? My leg's stuck in the cover."
Oh dear. I wonder how Ruby's doing? Hopefully she's having a better morning than we are.
"Hello?" I call out as I chap the Team RPRV dorm door. "Ruby?"
As I continue to knock, a thunderous explosion booms from the inside, making the door shudder as I reel my hand back. Keening my ears, I can hear piles of heavy objects fall to the floor with a bump and several hushed voices huddled together.
"Ruby?!" I shout, expression curdling in concern. "A-are you okay?! Is everything alright?" Footsteps race hastily towards me. An 'Eek!' cries out as another loud fall is heard. Before I can utter another word, the door swings open and I'm met by Ruby, looking especially haggard with her tussled hair and rustled uniform and cape.
"Eren! Hey!" She greets, a bit too loudly. She attempts to lean coolly against the doorframe, arms unfolding as she almost slips and falls again. "What- Whoa… What's going on with you?"
"I'm… fine," I answer warily. "Are you doing okay? It sounded like a bomb went off in there."
"Oh, pssh. We're fine," she scoffs benignly, waving me off like some stereotypical skateboarder dude. "We're just doing a little DIY. No biggie. I've got it all under control."
"DIY?" I repeat sceptically. "On the first day of school?"
"Oh, yeah!" She nods, moving her head in the way whenever I try to look past her. "We didn't have enough room with all of our stuff so, I had the idea of making bunk beds instead. It's all working out perfectly."
"Nora, what are you- Nora, no! That's the wrong kind of hammer!" A voice screams.
A different voice roars, "Goodbye, nails!" as another blast bursts from the inside of Ruby's dorm, chucking around splinters of wood and kicking up sawdust. I take one look at her panicked face before she quickly slams the door in front of my face and shrieks,
"IgottagoAllundercontrolSeeyouatclass!"
"Oh… kay, then," I blink. What the hell just happened?
"Sounds like sis is having a fun morning." My head perks up at the sound of Yang's approaching voice. I turn my head, greeted with a face and a burning smile. "Yo. Morning, Eren."
"Good morning, Yang," I smile back. "You, uh, don't think we should do something about that, do you?"
"Nah," she shakes her head, resting her arms behind her head. "She's got it covered. It's not the first time she's messed up a room before. She can handle this."
I'd find that easier to believe if she wasn't staring so intently at the doorknob. It's not like she could get in even if she wanted to. Right next to the door is a Student ID scanner built for our Scrolls. While it can be opened normally from the other side, you require someone from the team designated to open it from this side. That, or pray that they were stupid enough to leave the window open.
She's still staring, by the way.
"Um, Yang?" I prod tentatively. She twirls to face me, acting as if her intentions are still an unknown or something.
"So! How's the new team?" She asks casually. My back slumps at the question. Like she really needs to ask.
"They're…" I drift off as my words are interrupt by a shrill noise echoing from my room behind us.
"Why aren't you dressed yet? I told you fifteen minutes ago that you're supposed to go in and get changed!" Weiss. Of course, it's Weiss. No special prize for guessing who she's yelling at.
"Since when was I supposed to listen to you? I'm going to finish unpacking, it won't take me long to get dressed afterwards. Stop bothering me and mind your own business," Blake snubs.
"How dare you?!" She shouts.
And off they go, at it again. We've only known each other two days and this is already the norm. Thankfully for him, Jaune's in the shower singing to himself, blissfully unaware of the argument occurring in the room next to him. This is my team.
I sigh again.
"Rough goings, huh?" Yang says.
"Yeah…" I sigh, rubbing my temples. When I woke up this morning, I had this picture-perfect idea of an amicable, easy, non-confrontational day filled with training: improving our skills, learning new things about the Grimm, normal stuff. Stuff I wanted to accomplish while I was here. It was a nice dream while it lasted…
"It's fine," I continue. "I'll figure out how to fix it. They can't fight each other forever." Or can they? The very thought makes me shudder. Four long years of the pair of them constantly niggling and taking shots at one another. Just thinking about it is giving me a headache.
"What about you?" Yang asks. I turn around. Her smile has disappeared. Standing in its place in an expression that of… concern? What does she have to be concerned about? She's being very strange.
I smile reassuringly, "I'm doing okay. Bit tired but, fighting a giant killer demon bird will do that to you." I shrug nonchalantly. Never thought I'd ever have to string those words into a sentence. It did earn me a bemused smirk, though. Bonus points for that. "But, yeah. I'm alright."
I gaze down at my uniform. The suit's creased a little from putting it on and I botched tying the tie so badly that I'm hiding the bottom half under the shirt but, being here, wearing it fresh out of the package with all my measurements accounted for, it makes it feel real. Sure, I've been telling myself since I passed the Entrance exam that I was finally going but, this validates it. Huntsman classes are starting and I'm going to them like I planned all those months ago.
"Actually," I smile softly. "I'm feeling really good."
Weiss and Blake may be a hassle and I may be tasked with dealing with it, but I'm feeling genuinely hopeful about my time here. I know, once I'm finished here, home won't be too far away.
"Look at you," Yang chuckles light-heartedly. "When did you stop being all brooding?"
"I-I don't brood!" I splutter, cheeks blushing red. "I just… think a lot. That's all." Nothing wrong with some daily introspection of how messed up everything is, right?
Right?!
"Yeah?" she scoffs. Before I can stop her, she reaches a hand around my neck and pulls out my hoodie hood. "I think you thought about this way too much."
I look like a freaking cherry right now.
"H-hey!" I yipe, huddling my hood and glaring indignantly. I spent a good half-an-hour trying to stuff it all underneath my shirt. She just undid all my hard-work in only three seconds. I might've felt like I had a camel's hump surgically attached to my neck but, there's no way I can hide it now!
She laughs me off, "Oh, come on! They're not going to kick you out just for wearing your hoodie with your uniform. I told you, they're really lenient with their dress code." She flexes her hand, showing out her MMA gloves. "See? Ruby and I are wearing our stuff and they're still not going to give a crap as long as you have the uniform on. I mean, if you're that determined to wear your hoodie, you might as well be open about it."
…They did promote accessorizing your uniform when we collected them yesterday. I'm not sure if an entire article of clothing counts as an accessory. It would be a lot more practical out when I can put the hood up, though.
I sigh lightly, playing with my hood. "Alright. I'll keep it out." I give her a pointed look. "But if I get thrown out of class for this, I will blame you."
She smiles, raising her hands in faux-surrender. "Don't worry. If you get tossed out, I'll throw myself out to give you some company."
That earned a few giggles out me. "Aren't you thoughtful," I say playfully.
A whiff of smoke passes my nostrils, my forehead curling instantly. Sniffing, I locate the origins of said smoke from further down the corridor, right from where Yang came from. An orange glow emanates from one of the doors. Isn't that…
Uh oh.
"Uh, Y-Yang?" I start, my voice spiralling into panic as I tap her shoulder in haste. "Yang! You- Your dorm! Your dorm's on-!"
She spins around, face flushing in surprise.
"Oh! Oh, that is on fire. That is- My room is burning. It's burning down. Why is it doing that?" Her eyebrows furl in concentration before springing up in a gasp. "My shotgun shell stash!"
Her what?
She's sprinting away, flashing her Scroll as she bolts for her team's dorm. I can hear them freaking out about the fire from here. It's sounding pretty bad in there.
"Um, d-do you want some help?" I shout.
"Nope! I got this! I know how to deal against a few flames! I'll catch you at class!" She responds. Not that I can see the full extent of the fire or anything but, that doesn't look like 'A few' flames. As fire bursts open from the door, a confident smile spreads across Yang's face as she bounds straight into action with a battle cry. "Come at me, fire!"
The door slams shut. Furious smashing and yelling echoes from Ruby's dorm as rampaging fire whips crack and hysterical shrieking blasting from Yang's. I'm now the last man standing.
…It's a nice morning today, isn't it?
Actually, that reminds me. I still need to check what our first class is today. I grasp my Scroll from my pocket and start swiping through, searching for the timetable app I downloaded yesterday. Okay, so it's Wednesday classes today: We arrived on Monday and had our introductory ceremony, the upper years would've started their classes by now, and yesterday was our initiation. I scan through. Wednesday – Nine in the morning. It says here…
Oh hell yes.
Grimm Biological and Behavioural Studies. It focuses on teaching students about the different kinds of Grimm we'll have to face, from common to rare. It covers how they fight, how they act in certain situations, what their strengths are, what their weaknesses and most importantly, it teaches us the tactics in which we can use to slay them. I've been pining to attend this class since day one. What luck!
I observe my surroundings. I'm still alone. Nobody will see me if I do it…
Oh, what the hell. I'll be quiet about it.
"Yes!" I whisper in triumph, fist pumping and grinning like an idiot as my body shifts with a splash.
Wait, 'Splash?'
I peer down at my feet. A flow of rushing water slaloms between my shoes, creating a small puddle steadily growing in the corridor carpet. It's leaking from behind me.
From my dorm.
"Jaune!" I flinch as Weiss screeches. "What did you do?!"
"Nothing! The piping exploded! I swear!" Jaune yelps back as more water begins gushing through the bottom of the door. My body sags as I rub my face.
I didn't have to deal with this back in high-school.
My trousers slosh as I fidget in my seat, droplets falling from my face, dampening my blank textbook. I can feel the beady eyes of our classmates staring mirthfully at our watery condition. I glance to my right, finding a grumpy Blake glaring at nothing in particular, and a fearful Jaune, hiding behind her at the furthest end of the row.
Why? Because right beside me, wringing her soaked ponytail like a dish-towel and practically boiling the remaining water droplets lingering on her forehead, is a fuming Weiss. I'm the only person remotely close to her right now. If she decides to snap, I'm going first. That's a nice thought.
I flash a look at Ruby, covered in dust and stray splinters, and Yang, her entire frame mutilated in black soot except her golden hair, taking solace in the fact that at least I'm not suffering alone.
Still, that shouldn't be my only consolation, right? Here I am, sitting in an Academy seat, in a reasonably sized lecture room with pictures of detailed sketches adorning the walls in the class I've been so excited about attending.
Well, you see…
"And then! I wrangled the Beowolf to the ground!"
He happened.
"Oh, he was a fighter. He wouldn't go down without a good licking, but it didn't know who he was messing with. So then, using the duct tape, I taped his jaw shut! Raising him over my head and-"
He started this story half an hour ago.
This is Professor Port – A rather rotund boisterous man with a big round face and an even bigger moustache that chewed his front lip off. He's our first teacher of the semester and our first taste of what kind of intense physical and mental training the Academy is going to put us through.
He likes to talk. A lot. About absolutely nothing.
I don't like him.
The only training I'm being put through here is whether I can stay awake long enough before his never-ending story bores me to death. I wanted to learn about how to kill Grimm, not how he managed to kick a Grimm's ass with bubble-gum and a toothpick. If that's even physically possible.
"But wait, you ask! What on earth happened to the cotton swab? Well, you see, that's when my most ingenious of manoeuvres comes into play! No Grimm would ever anticipate their ears getting cleaned, and when its guard was done, I struck!" Professor Port continues his rambling. Slowly, my eyes begin to drift off. My shoulders lean closer towards my desk.
Wouldn't it be nice if I could just rest a little? I mean, it's not like I'll miss anything important. Who would blame me if I just… rest my eyes.
Nope! Nope! Stay awake! I need to stay awake.
But he's so dull…
I pinch myself, suppressing a grunt. Boring or not, leaders don't fall asleep in class. I'll look even more of a joke than I already do.
But maybe, a little sleep wouldn't harm anyone…
Thunk.
My head shoots up, I force my eyes as far as I possibly can. I-I didn't do that! My forehead feels no pain. I didn't doze off. The sound came from above me.
Right next to Yang. I tilt my head upwards.
Sitting there, snoring profusely with their head face down on the desk, is a scruff of plum-purple hair connected to a girl's body. It's about mid-length, reaching to the nape of her neck but the edges where it cuts off seems uneven, as though someone took a rusty hatchet to it, tuckered out after three decent hits and said 'Eh. Whatever. I'll finish it later.'
The closer I peer into it, the clear majority of it isn't much better. Yang's hair is unkempt and rowdy but that's mostly because of the sheer quantity of it. This girl took her hair into her uncle's dark basement, grabbed all the tools she could gather, and started to beat the poor thing half to death. If anybody saw me with hair like that, I'd be dragged away, shaved bald and everyone would call it euthanasia.
Professor Port clears his throat. I spin back around, leaving the issue to Yang. He scowls at the girl briefly before continuing his oh-so interesting story. I'm guessing his mind-set is a, 'If they're not going to listen to my story, it's their loss,' kind of deal.
"How disgraceful," Weiss tuts, scribbling away in her textbook. I fight back my deadpan expression. Her page is filled with every word from his story but, what's the point if the story, well, doesn't have a point?
"And as I returned to the village, Blunderbust in hand, welcomed by a roar of cheers praises singing my name!" He cheers his story to the finish. I mentally blench. "Now then, students, can any of you please explain why these tactics led to my victory?"
Woah, sir. That sounds like a veteran Huntsman job.
"Yes, you there!" He points. I follow it, finding Weiss at the other end. My eyebrows rise as she clears her chest.
"You used every item on hand to help you win. Your use of the duct-tape pinned the Beowolf down for a sufficient amount of time and your use of the cotton swab distracted it before it could've escaped and attacked the village. Your ingenuity and quick-thinking saved the lives of all those villagers."
…What?
"That is correct! Well done, Miss Schnee!" Port praises merrily. What?! "Beowolves may be the most common and trifling of Grimm, but they are not to be underestimated. A single Beowolf can slaughter an entire village of no less than eighty people within minutes if allowed. Letting my guard down around it was a potentially grievous mistake. However, their younger kin are impulsive, uncoordinated and inexperienced. Understanding that fact and using it to my advantage was what allowed me to slay the beast and save those poor people that day."
I stare at Weiss wide-eyed. She understood all that drivel? Her eyes are directed at the front but, for a mere moment, I feel them flicker to me, smirking smugly at my shock.
I… I should start scribing all of this. It could come in use when we're out in the field.
"But sir," one of our classmates shouts out. "I thought Huntsmen were supposed to be honourable. Is that not true?" He almost sounds disappointed.
Professor Port chuckles heartily. "Of course, it's true, dear boy! Honour is a staple of the Huntsman way. We could not be who we are without it." His facials straighten as his voice turns serious. "However, honour should not be the death of an innocent life. At their core, the Huntsman and Huntress Academies were formed with the ideal of protecting the innocents of Remnant and fending off the monsters that plague them. To preserve honour above the lives we're meant to protect would betray the very foundations to which this very Academy was founded upon."
"Hmph. Well if that's true." Another classmate stands from his seat. Built like a brick house, he towers over everyone in the rest of his row. "Why the hell should any of us be honourable at all? Why don't we just gather a massive army, bait a whole bunch of Grimm to some village, charge in, and then slaughter every one of those monsters? Force them back to the hellhole where they came. Kill them all now and they'll never be a problem again."
Port merely shakes his head. "If you're suggesting what I think you're suggesting then that would betray something more valuable than honour could ever be." His eyes narrow. "Our humanity."
The boy scoffs and lays back in his seat. Port continues his speech. "Make no mistake, honour is not the be all and end all of Huntsman traits but what it's connected to is infinitely more important. Our capacity for empathy."
"What a load of bullshit," the towering boy grumbles.
Port's voice slowly fills with passion. "Without it, why, every single person in the world would be cruel, selfish, abusing others simply to benefit themselves. To disregard honour is to disregard common decency. To lack respect for anyone but yourself. To refuse to lend a helping hand to a poor soul in dire need."
I glance absentmindedly at the back of Ruby's head.
"To be without honour makes us no different than the Grimm."
An uncomfortable silence consumes the room. I wiggle against my seat, pencil dangling from my fingertips. I'm afraid to break to silence and suddenly draw attention to myself. That's when Professor Port thankfully begins talking again.
"Honour should not be stupidity. Pragmatism should not be at the cost of empathy. A true Huntsman embodies both these traits at their best. Kindness without foolishness. Strategic thinking not at the expense of those we protect. Every single one of you has a choice whether you follow these principles, as does every sentient being on Remnant." He lifts a finger.
"But, the moment you decide that the life of one person is less important than your own desires…" He lours scathingly at us all. "You revoke your right to be a Huntsman."
I shiver.
"Does that answer your question, Mister Winchester?" He gazes towards the slumping boy, muttering an unimpressed 'Feh' at him. Apparently not.
I notice that, during his talk, my body began to slowly shrink behind my desk for reasons I don't entirely know. It… It's not like the question was directed at me, exactly. Maybe the intensity was just getting to much for me.
I hope that's the case anyway…
A loud beeping sound pierces the room. Startled, I flip out my Scroll, gazing at the time. Ten o'clock? The last thirty minutes went by that quickly?!
"Oh, dear," Professor Port mumbles, his tone returning to its original jovial demeanour. "It appears time got away from me once again." He folds his arms behind his back, puffing out his chest. "Very well! I shall release you all now, children. Revise pages nine through to seventeen for our next lesson on Friday. Class dismissed!"
A/N: Yeah, I got rid of the Weiss versus the Boarbatusk fight. For what I'm attempting to do with the Eren/Weiss dynamic, I didn't think it was strictly necessary. The dorm scene and the bit where she answers Port's question felt more appropriate pacing-wise and it allowed me to touch upon Huntsman idealism and my interpretation of Cardin's character. I don't think it's too much of a loss and I prefer writing my own original scenes anyway.
Plus, I just wanted a rest after almost five straight chapters of fight scenes. There's only so much delicious destruction a man can create before he needs to rest.
Anyways, what do you think of the story so far? Good? Bad? Be sure to leave a review and tell me what you think. Constructive criticism is encouraged.