Okay, so I got some relatively good feedback on the first chapter. So here's chapter number 2. Anyways, so there is a difference between TR's upbringing and Whitleys upbringing.

Roosevelt had a VERY good relationship with his father and loved him very much. Whitley however might have cared for his father in the show, but I get the feeling that most of it was just trying to get his approval and changing himself to more to Jacques liking. That's just my personal opinion.

Now Whitley won't be a carbon copy of Roosevelt. You won't see him doing Taxidermy or writing books. But he will be a tougher man for sure


Whitley couldn't remember the last time he was this engrossed in a book. For so long it had been nothing but study material and business practices. Now he actually had a book he was genuinely interested in. All about various ranchers and cowboys out in Anima. He had no idea there were ranchers all over the place. He knew about them in mantle, but he didn't know Menagerie also had their own ranching practices. He had been reading the book for about four hours when he heard the knock on his door again.

"Master Whitley?" Klein said as he walked in with his dinner.

Klein wasn't offended at the lack of an answer when he saw how Whitley was reading the book he gave him. And he could tell Whitley had been greatly enjoying it because of the amount of pages he had already turned.

"What? Oh! Sorry Klein, I was distracted." He said as he put a bookmark in the book and ran over to see what was for dinner.

"Steak and vegetables tonight Master Whitley." Klein said as Whitley poked at it.

"This is going to sound silly, but I never knew how complicated it could be to get a cut of meat like this from a cow." Whitley said as he had come across a section where it talked about cattlemen having to butcher their own meat.

While the process of it did make him a little squeamish, he understood that it was necessary. He knew Meat didn't come from a store despite what some people may think. But it was different to hear about the exact process of it all.

"You would be surprised at how detached some people are from the idea that their food doesn't magically come from a kitchen." Klein had been a butler for many years, and sometimes even he was surprised at how little Jacques seemed to know about his food.

"And some of them even have to fight off Grimm! And that's not the only thing! Wolves! Bears! There's so many things they have to protect their cattle from!" Whitley enjoyed hearing the stories of the men.

There was even a story about a man having to fight off bandits who were trying to steal some of his cattle. And they had to round up a posse to go after them. Whitley wasn't sure why he was so intrigued by the stories. But he had a feeling it was because they were so far removed from his own life. Whitley had never seen a cow in person. He had only seen one on TV. These men would go days without showering and get covered in dirt. Meanwhile Whitley had his own private bathroom. They would have to be able to sew and fix their own clothing. Whitley however had his own custom tailor.

It was a lifestyle he couldn't even imagine. And that was what intrigued him.

"I'm happy you're enjoying the book young master." Klein was glad he saw some childlike wonder return to Whitley's eyes.

"Klein, do you think you could bring me some more books like that?" He asked as he took a few bites of his steak.

"I'm sure I can work something out, just remember to keep them hidden from your father, you know how he feels about anything that won't help you in your future career." Klein said as Whitley got a little depressed at that.

"I understand, thank you." Whitley went into deep thought.

Did he really want to work at the SDC when he grew up? He wasn't sure. Honestly ever since his father had started to push it on him, he had gotten a bad taste in his mouth. He was only 8 years old and his father was already treating him like he was a teenager. He could only imagine what it would be like when he got older.

"I'm sorry if that upsets you Whitley, but I know we can't keep up this charade forever. Your father will be asking about your recovery time soon enough." Klein knew Whitley needed a break. But the way he see it, they could go with the 'He's sick' routine for three days at the most.

"Well, in that case, could you bring me as much as possible til then? I've already read through most of this book! I'm sure I could read another by tomorrow!" Whitley said as some of his energy returned as he thought about how to use the sick days to his advantage.

"I'll see what I can do, I do have some books from my personal library you could borrow, I do warn you though, they won't all be about cowboys." Klein said as Whitley didn't care. It was exhilarating to hear about things other than business.

It was dreadfully boring to hear about investment portfolios and mutual funds all day. He knew it had its place in the world. But having an 8 year old study that all day? That was just asking for trouble. Whitley turned to see that Klein had left the room. But he noticed that he had left a stack of magazines.

"Huh, weird." Whitley said as he looked at the cover of one of them.

"Is Klein trying to train for something?" He asked as he saw it was a fitness magazine.

Specifically it was about kickboxing and wrestling. Whitley figured this would be a good break from the book he was reading. As much as he was enjoying it. He figured it would be nice to look at something with pictures in it. Father didn't like him watching any kind of combat sport on the TV. He thought it was barbaric and unnecessary. But again, Whitley had already been breaking his fathers rules since this morning. He might as well continue.

As he was reading through the various articles. He would admit that he wasn't a fan of seeing the gratuitous violence. He saw pictures of men with broken noses and he could only pinch the bridge of his own nose in pain. He didn't like the idea of getting punched in the face. He was getting ready to put the magazine down and go back to his book when he noticed an article.

The title was about one of the fighters who was featured on the cover of the magazine. As he read through it, he noticed that the fighter himself had been bullied and picked on as a kid. He was a 90 lb weakling and didn't know the first thing about getting into a fight. But that changed the moment he saw one of the school bullies picking on one of the younger kids. Something inside of him just snapped and he threw his first punch. Sadly he did not win the fight. But he distracted the guy long enough for the other kid to escape.

Since that day he refused to let himself be so easily pushed around. And that was how he got into Mixed Martial Arts. Whitley had to admit, when he saw an example of a man who used his strength for good, he didn't see what was so barbaric about being able to fight.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to learn a little bit here and there." He said as he pumped a fist in the air.

BONK

"OW!" Whitley said as he accidentally hit the wooden part of his headboard on his bed.

"...Okay maybe I should start with just basic fitness." He said as that didn't feel pleasant.

Maybe he would ask Klein for some basic exercise magazines.