Title: Chapter II: Taming the Wild Beast

Writer: Madame aZure

Fandom: Noblesse;

Pairing: None

Genre: Family;

Rating: K;

Warnings: this chapter contains OCC-ness. Read at your own risk.

Disclaimer: I do not own Noblesse or any of the characters. No trademark infringement or profit is meant from the writing of this fanfiction.

M-21 woke up with a gasp and sat up quickly, a strong wave of dizziness forcing him to immediately support himself on his arms so he wouldn't fall. He needed a few seconds to adjust, the room spinning around him, a loud ringing resounding in his ears. He screwed his eyes shut and breathed deeply a couple of times, before he reopened them to look around. He was in what appeared to be someone's room, unfortunately one he did not recognize in the least. Whose room was this? How did he get here?

His breath hitched in his throat when he realized that there was no point in trying to remember anything because his head was a mess: emotions intertwined with images and sounds in a chaotic cluster of thoughts that made no sense whatsoever. The only reliable thing he could recall was a fear that echoed dully in the back of his mind… bad people! The bad people probably caught him and now they waited for him to wake up so they could hurt him. He put a hand over his mouth to stop a frightened gasp from being heard, eyes opened wide in horror, his body shaken by a violent tremor. He needed to hide. No, he needed to run!

Without another thought, he jumped out of the bed, rushing to the window, as it was the closest escape route, leading directly outside. Lucky him, it was nighttime, so maybe the bad people were asleep and he could successfully run away. He tried to open it, but the lock was secured in place and it wouldn't budge no matter his efforts. After tugging it repeatedly and obtaining the same result, he finally gave up, realizing there was no way he could jump out the window. He could try to break it with something heavy, but that would alert the bad people. Moreover, from what he could tell from looking outside, the room he was in was on the first floor; jumping from that height wasn't a smart move whatsoever.

He still had another escape route left: the door. Only that it meant he had to make his way right through the heart of the bad people's territory. He could try to be sneaky and slip past them, but it was very dangerous. If they found him, they would punish him for his attempt, but if he stayed in the room, they'd also do the same thing sooner or later, even if they had a reason or not.

His knees were shaking, threatening to give in any moment now, his hands were trembling and he had to bite his lips to stop himself from breathing through his mouth, as it was too loud. It wasn't the right time to be scared. He had to be brave. He had a chance to run away, if only he was willing to take the risk. He had to try…

Making up his mind, he went to the door, opening it as quietly as he could. He took a peak outside, seeing a long hallway with several doors on each side, dimly lit by a few night-lights. With a deep breath, he left the room, moving as stealthily and quickly as he could to the end where he saw some stairs, keeping a watch on the doors, making sure no one ambushed him. It was far too quiet, but maybe it was because it was nighttime. Even bad people had to sleep, hadn't they? Still, something did not feel right, in a good way. The air did not smell like terror and blood, he did not feel malicious eyes watching him from the shadows, his skin wasn't prickling as if he expected to be hurt at any time. It was almost as his fears were unfounded – if only it were true. There was something in his mind telling him that he was safe and had nothing to fear. How could he have nothing to fear when clearly the bad people wanted to hurt him?

He was about to go down the stairs when a door opened behind him, startling him and making him turn around too quickly. He tripped on his own legs, but before he could fall, someone caught him in a safe embrace.

"Easy there, little one," the stranger told him, lifting him up in his arms.

"No! Let go! Let go!" the child started struggling and kicking, fear taking over him, thinking that the other was one of the bad people and will hurt him for his attempt at running away.

"It's alright, I won't hurt you," the other continued in a gentle and patient voice.

M-21 struggled with all his might, pushing with his little hands into the other's chest, hoping to put a little space between them, but there was no escaping from the stranger's secure grasp. The only way for him to escape was to force the other to let him go first, so he resorted to his last solution. In an instant, he sunk his teeth into the closest thing that came into view, which was the stranger's shoulder, biting down until his jaw protested. He wasn't strong enough to break the skin, but even he could cause a little pain. He braced himself, either for being hit for what he was doing or for being released.

The stranger didn't even flinch at the pain, simply sighing, wrapping his arms tightly around the child and bringing him even closer to his chest. One of his hands went up and down the werewolf's back to calm him down, whispering comforting words.

"It's alright, it's alright," he said, gently rocking the child. "Although you must be quite hungry, I assure you wouldn't want to eat me, I'm not nearly as tasty as I look," he chuckled, but the child didn't give in at all, neither his bite nor his frightened trembling faltering.

"It is alright," M-21 drew a sharp breath when a gentle voice echoed in his mind, a kind and calming presence embracing him protectively. "No harm will come to you, you are safe," the words brushed over his thoughts like a light, summer breeze, dispelling his fears. Something told him that the voice told the truth, as a sense of safety flowed from it. The closest thing he could associate to how that presence felt in his mind was basking in sunlight: comforting, safe and oh, so warm.

M-21 remembered he was still biting the stranger and he wondered why the other wasn't yelling at him or hitting him, like the bad people always did.

"He is not like the 'bad people', he will not hurt you," the voice told him and once again, he was sure of the veracity of its words.

Frankenstein waited patiently for the child to calm down, as he was still trembling slightly in his arms. Unfortunately, his assumptions were correct and the incident had affected M-21's memories – his behavior was probably due to an innate fear of the persons who hurt him at the Union. Confused and scared, most likely his first thought when he woke up was to run away from any potential threat, even if there was none. Thankfully, Frankenstein could feel his Master's presence around M-21 – he probably felt the child's distress and decided to intervene, since he could convey best to him that they weren't a threat.

Finally, the werewolf hesitantly unclenched his jaw and withdrew, peeking at the stranger who held him in his arms. He had shoulder-length, golden hair, his bright blue eyes seemed to shine in the dim light, and he was smiling warmly at him, not having one of those menacing grins that bad people had.

"Have you finally decided that I am not that tasty?" the scientist raised a brow in amusement.

The child looked at him with a confused and slightly fearful expression, but judging by how he wasn't trembling anymore and his shoulders dropped into a more relaxed position, he was calmer.

"Oh, we haven't got acquainted yet. My name is Frankenstein and I –" he paused. He knew he was supposed to reassure the child that he was not part of the people who wanted to hurt him, but how much did the child know?

"He is afraid of the 'bad people'," Raizel spoke to Frankenstein this time, his hint being exactly what the scientist needed to use.

"– and I am someone who fights the 'bad people'," Frankenstein told him in the most serious and non-threatening tone possible to show him that he truly meant what he stated, knowing that M-21 would understand what he meant through 'bad people'. His statement certainly had an effect on the child, as his eyes grew wide, not with fear but with awe.

"He can protect you, you can trust him," Raizel underlined Frankenstein's words, further reassuring the child.

"You fight them?" M-21 asked in an unsure but hopeful tone.

"Of course, they're mean, aren't they?" the scientist said it as it was something obvious, feeling his Master's amusement coming through their bond. Seeing as the scientist could handle it, Raizel withdrew and let him take care of everything.

The werewolf didn't answer, weighting his words with a cautious expression. He wasn't sure what to believe: the other hadn't tried hurting him or yelling at him, but that didn't mean he wouldn't attempt to in the future. Sure, the voice told him he wasn't in danger, but aside from that safety feeling, he didn't have any real proof and it was better to act carefully.

"What's your name?" Frankenstein asked, because although he knew M-21's name, it was better to see what the child knew.

"I don't know…," the werewolf mumbled unsure, sadness flashing in his eyes. Frankenstein needed to change the subject quickly as he had unknowingly brought up a touchy topic, since M-21 appeared to remember close to nothing.

"I see. What should I call you then?"

The child shrugged lightly, careful with his defiant behavior, but he really had no idea what the other should call him. Bad people addressed him with 'you'.

"How about…," Frankenstein hummed, "little one?" The child was taken aback by the nickname, blinking in surprise, then his eyes narrowed into his trademark frown. It was a vicious expression… as vicious as a kitten's.

"I'm not little," he grumbled, his lower lip sticking out involuntarily into a pout.

"I see, my mistake then," the scientist couldn't help but chuckle. He glanced at the wall clock, "Oh, it's quite late. However, it's the perfect time for a midnight snack. Would you like some cookies and milk?"

Frankenstein hadn't missed the spark of interest in the child's eyes at the word 'cookies', even though he averted his gaze and made no attempt at either accepting or rejecting the offer.

The scientist wondered if he should put the child down or not, deciding on the latter. He went down the stairs and into another hallway, entering through one of the doors on its sides. He turned the lights on, revealing what appeared to be a spacious living room, the child blinking repeatedly at the brightness before his eyes adjusted. The werewolf scanned the room with a curious expression, taking in every little detail, from the framed pictures on the wall, to the flower arrangements on the coffee table, to comfy-looking sofa. It didn't look like one of the white, scary rooms he was used to, it looked like a… home?

"I'll be right back," Frankenstein told M-21 after he put him on the sofa, briefly ruffling his hair.

Several minutes later, he came back with a tray that had two tall glasses of chocolate milk and a plate of cookies on it. The scientist placed it on the coffee table in front of the child, took one of the glasses and sat on a chair. He figured it would be easier for M-21 to accept the food, if he ate and drank too.

Seeing as the werewolf looked at him expectantly, he took a sip from his beverage, then turned his head to look out the window as if something caught his attention, knowing that the child would probably want to inspect the food before eating.

Thinking that the other wasn't paying attention to him, M-21 quickly dipped a finger in the chocolate milk and brought it to his lips, tasting it. It was sweet, not having that pill after-taste like he was used to. Hesitantly, he took the glass with both hands, eying its contents – the blond drank the same thing and it didn't taste bad, so it had to be safe, hadn't it? Just a sip couldn't hurt, could it?

Frankenstein turned his head back to the child just as he brought the glass to his lips and took a big sip. He had to stop himself from chuckling when the werewolf was left with a milk mustache after drinking, which he proceeded to lick immediately.

"Do you like it?" he asked as M-21 was trying to remove the milk off his upper lip with his tongue.

The child nodded shyly and looked at the cookies.

"The bad people…," he began timidly, "you said you fight them. Are you the one who saved me from them?" M-21 tilted his head.

"In a sense, yes," of course there was more to the story, but those details weren't exactly suitable for a child, so the scientist chose to omit them.

"Why?"

Frankenstein had to keep himself from frowning, because there was something in the child's expression that said 'why bother?' M-21 always had a penchant towards low self-esteem and self-sacrifice, and it appeared that his younger version wasn't any different.

"One shouldn't need a reason to do what is right," the scientist smiled at him and took a cookie from the plate, encouraging the child to do the same.

The werewolf averted his eyes, gaze lost somewhere in the distance, pondering what the blond just told him.

"Thank you," he whispered after a few moments of silence. Be it for the sweet treat or the fact that Frankenstein treated him with gentleness and care, that was left unsaid.

TO BE CONTINUED… :)