Seeking Strays - Chapter 84 - Hunt Begins (Patreon)

AN: Outrun in an hour our two. My schedules all thrown out of wack this week.

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Vanessa led the cohort, hopping along with absolutely zero caution. Triss silently followed right on her heels, with the rest of the cohort trailing after. At the front of the group, Reyna and Quinn stopped just shy of the amusement park’s entrance.

”Right!” Quinn called out, gathering all eyes to her. “Before you guys begin, I must once again make it clear that your grades aren’t based on whether or not you catch the Calamity! They're based on how good you do in general. Don’t be afraid to team up!”

Reyna stood just behind the Guardian with Vigil clutched in her arms. Her sister’s red eyes darted around before locking onto Sylvie. Her sister tried to give a small, encouraging smile as her tail wagged softly back and forth. 

Sylvie just grinned back at her. Honestly, her big sister was just downright adorable. Some of the tension in her chest loosened. Right, this would go fine. After all the testing and stuff, they’d go have a nice dinner somewhere and just relax.

Compared to Quinn, Reyna’s voice came out much softer spoken. Her head ducked ever so slightly, and her ears pulled back as if she was shy. “If you need help, call out Marshal! Marshal! Marshal! If you otherwise look like you need help, we’ll try to bail you out.”

”That doesn’t mean you should be stupid, though!” Quinn shouted out at the group. “This is still a very real Calamity that won’t hesitate to rip your flesh and limbs off if given the chance. It only wants one thing. When you see it, don’t hesitate.”

A camera flashed from one of the media guys gathered around the entrance to the amusement park. Sylvie tried not to flinch, just as she tried not to think too deeply about how they were all going to be recorded and watched by dozens of people as they went about this hunt. 

Although the cameras were uncomfortable… they were also an opportunity. She wasn’t after the spotlight for petty reasons like credits or brand deals. This was the first time that she could make meaningful progress when it came to her ability.

All Awoken were generally pretty weak to begin with right after they awakened. It was only natural that they couldn’t quite get a grasp on their ability, and that it needed time to grow. Sylvie was the same, though subtly different. Her growth didn’t come from training or understanding like the others. It came from the sparks of hope that other people had in her.

It felt a little dishonest to say it like this, but if she could convince a large group of people she was strong, she’d naturally be strong. ‘Course, she rationalized it to herself that she wasn’t being a dishonest bastard. It was only a momentary deception. Afterall, once they believed, wouldn’t she actually be strong?

Or, at least, that was what she’d come to understand after several sessions with Reyna. Basically, it boiled down to public perception. Her strength was tied to how well she could sway public perception. 

She wasn’t super confident in her abilities to do that, so she’d fully dove into all sorts of classes from psychology to PR since school started. That didn’t mean she’d be an idiot just ‘cause a few cameras were rolling, though. The wrong kind of perception could be especially damaging to her given Last Light’s nature.

“Questions?” Reyna asked softly. Triss’s hand shot up immediately, and Reyna’s ears flicked. “That aren’t about the Calamity’s identity?”

Triss just kept her hand up with calculating eyes. At a nod from Reyna, she spoke up. “How would you hunt the Calamity, Canary Vargriev?”

”Bwahahah!” Quinn broke into laughter, and slapped Reyna on the back. Her sister didn’t even flinch at the impact. “She’s got you there, Rey-Rey… Triss, right? Good question! Unfortunately, it’d totally ruin the point of this if we outright told you how to hunt the beast.”

Triss just shrugged, and dropped her hand. The next person to speak up was actually her Canary-in-training, River. “How are we going to be graded exactly?”

”Naturally, that’s for us to know.” Quinn waved a hand between herself and Reyna. The and for you to not was heavily implied. “I will say this, though! Use the full extent of what you’ve learned over these past two weeks!”

“Anyone else?” Reyna’s eyes darted around the group. No one else raised their hand. “Last call… no one else?”

“Alright! You may begin!” Quinn nudged Reyna, and the two of them moved away from the amusement park’s gate to join the group of reporters to the side.

The cohort hesitated for a brief moment before pressing in through the gate. Vanessa hopped ahead of everyone else, and breathed in the damp air without any regard. “Ah! It smells just like I thought it would! Welp! Best of luck, boys!”

“Hey!” Ruby, Noah’s Canary-in-training, called out. She dropped her hands onto her hips, and shot a glared at the White Rabbit.

”Oh! And you too, Ruby.” Vanessa flicked around while half of Cohort 3 split off to start walking around the Silverport Amusement Park. “Gather around, my friends!”

Sylvie slunk up alongside her fellow Awoken. “What are you thinking this time?”

”Hmm… physical enhancement. Resistance would probably help… let’s try warding, too.” For once, the girl turned serious as she muttered to herself. Her halo popped out, casting a dim glow across her face. It was faintly shaped like an anchor rising, evoking a certain sense that something was about to set sail. Five white beads flowed around the anchor equally spaced out.

A gentle light gathered in her hands, and the White Rabbit danced around the three of them. She casually tapped each of their foreheads, leaving behind a glowing white mark. Once everyone else was marked, she tapped herself and clapped her hands. A white wave emanated out, and covered the team of four like a shroud.

— POV: Reyna — 

I watched the group head off into the amusement park. My heart swelled with emotion as I watched my little sister bravely stride forward. I wasn’t quite sure what it was. Pride? Fear? Terror? Admiration? It was such a confusing mix that I didn’t bother trying to pick apart.

”They’ll be fine, Reyna.” Quinn must’ve seen the worry on my face, because she patted my shoulder lightly. 

“That’s what you’ve said about every cohort so far.” I rolled my eyes, though I tried to loosen up. The first two cohorts had most definitely not been fine. Thankfully, no one had died… yet. 

Once they turned around a building, I moved over to a spot along the fence where large screens were set up. Naturally, only the cohort was allowed in the designated area while the practical was going on. All the media and even us Harbor personnel could only watch from afar to keep from interfering.

I didn’t like it, but Calamities had sharp instincts. Being inside of the amusement park itself might throw off the Calamity. We were trying to simulate a Calamity in its natural habitat, so that rule was only natural. 

“Guardian Tidebreak, what’s your prediction for this one?” One of the reporters that’d been invited out asked. He was from… Beyond Arthis? They were a media corporation focused purely on Beyonders of all kinds, maybe. 

Quinn put on her best PR smile. “As always, I hope the best for my students. The Calamity is a tricky, though simple one. As long as they stay together, there won’t be any issues.”

”They’re splitting up!” One of the other reporters, this one from Silverport Today, called out. A wave of chatter went through the surrounding people, though no one was surprised by it. 

Quinn’s smile died in its place, and she just sighed softly. Like her, I was hoping at least one cohort would stick together. My arms clenched around Vigil as I watched the cohort split in half on one of the screens. “At least they’re only splitting in half.”

”For now.” Quinn muttered softly.

Bryce and Tessa approached. They’d been caught up dealing with the people who snuck into the arcade to poke around. Honestly, if Cohort 2’s practical hadn’t already gone to shit, we probably should’ve let them retest. Too late for that now.

Tessa moved up alongside me. “Oh! She’s got a pretty halo. What’s her ability?”

”Expedition,” I calmly replied as we watched Vanessa. “It’s a group buff upon everyone she deems part of her expedition.”

”Cool, cool… what kinda buff, though?” Tessa asked.

”Depends on what she wants,” Quinn answered instead of me. She spoke up a bit louder so the surrounding reporters could hear. “She can apply attributes to the buff to change it. She’s still training, so she only has five different attributes at the moment. In the future, she’s expected to have a diverse assortment as well as incredibly supportive ability.”

”That’ll be a bright future.” Bryce casually sipped at a cup of coffee. “Why’d she only use three of the five buffs, though?”

”The more attributes she adds, the more diluted her power becomes.” I spoke up to play along with the show we were putting on. It was the same thing we did with the first two cohorts to the benefit of the reporters. 

Naturally, we should make the students look good where we could. Even if that made the four of us a peanut gallery. I was happy with it, though. Once it came time to talk about Sylvie, I wouldn’t hold back. 

— POV: Sylvie —

The four of them walked through the amusement park with their weapons raised and ready for combat. The place was… eerie would be underselling it, to be honest. A shiver went down her spine as a roller coaster creaked loudly. It felt like the entire place was haunted. Knowing a Calamity was here somewhere didn’t help either.

Vanessa stood in the middle of the group with a sub-machine gun held at a low-ready. Her ears trembled, and her eyes darted around. “I… i-is it too late to back out?”

“Scared of a Calamity?” Triss huffed softly like she couldn’t believe her ears.

”Pyre, no. A Calamity’s just a Calamity. We’ll go bam-bam and it’ll all be over.” Vanessa’s eyes filled with conviction that instantly faded as a haunting gale blew through the place. “G-ghosts, on the other hand…”

”There’s no such thing as ghosts, V.” Sylvie rolled her eyes. Just where had this superstitious rabbit even come from?

“Y-you say that now, but don’t come crying to me later.” Vanessa’s head flicked back as one of the decaying buildings shifted. “I-I’m just saying. Calamities and Anomalies exist, s-so ghosts aren’t too far out there.”

”She has a point.” River, just behind Sylvie, piped up. “The world is wide.”

”Wide my foot. Reyna would be the first to let something like ghosts slip.” Sylvie just sighed, and shook her head. These kids… well, if they wanted to believe in ghosts, let them believe in ghosts. “Hold positions.”

At her order, the three behind her instantly fell in, and all conversations ended. V, bless her quivering heart, even tried to put on a professional face that didn’t last even a second. It was a good thing her gun was on safe. Sylvie’s sharp, lupine hearing had caught the clack of the White Rabbit’s trigger several times since they entered this place.

Sylvie crouched down at a set of tracks, and her tail elegantly curled to stay out of the mud. She ran her hand through the mud. They were dog-like, though something about them was slightly off. They were almost… too heavy? Her instincts screamed they weren’t the tracks of a stray dog. This was the fifth set she’d noticed since they entered. “Might be a canine Calamity.”

”I doubt they’d put us against a top three thousand Calamity.” River calmly analyzed the situation. “That removes a large margin.”

“I was thinking the same thing.” Sylvie looked one last time at the track before standing up. Although she didn’t say anything, the sheer size of the tracks left her a little uneasy. 

Using the fact that this was a test to deduce the power level of the creature probably wasn’t what they intended. In the field, though, resourcefulness was key. At least, according to her big sis. Then again, Reyna was also the type to bull rush without any worry, so that wasn’t saying much. 

They continued to move through the place, finding several more hunts as to the Calamity’s nature. Sylvie even managed to sniff out several clumps of pungent fur that looked like they’d been ripped out roughly and tossed in the mud. It all led them toward the center of the amusement park where the Ferris wheel sat in all its decaying glory. 

Just as they started to push out into the natural clearing around the Ferris wheel, movement made Sylvie’s rifle snap upward. Across from them, the other four also pushed out of an alley formed by two attractions. Her eyes, burning with fire, met Calibers across the space. He looked just as focused.

Before either side could even say anything, a howl split the near silence of the amusement park. The entire cohort snapped to the side at the sound, ready to take on the source of the noise. Instead, they all locked onto an attraction.

The funhouse. ‘Course it’d be the fun house. The building looked even more worn out than everything else in the amusement park. The smiling clown face that used to act as the entrance now looked like a murderous maniac with rotting teeth. Cold, sticky air seemed to billow out of the place.

Sylvie’s eyes roved over the mud, tracking the canine prints right up to the steps of the fun house. She spared only a glance at the other four before settling down and raising her guard once more. “Are you guys ready?”

”Right behind you, Syl.” River’s reply came instantly.

”Um… a-are we sure we should go in there? I-I think I’ll stay right out here.” Vanessa shook her head sharply. “To keep guard! Right, I’ll keep watch!”

“Ghosts like stragglers the most,” Triss muttered under her breath.

“Eep!” Vanessa’s spine straightened, and her ears flopped up alertly. “O-on second thought, let’s go kill a Calamity! Yay!”

Sylvie just shook her head, and slowly led the way forward. She had her suspicions as to what the Calamity was, but ultimately could only narrow it down to twelve or so suspects. Well, it didn’t matter. They’d find out soon enough.