Storm Wolf: Tranquil waters - 18. Chapter 4 - Lyre and Sand 4.4

I stared at the dark brown metal door in front of me, lowering my hand from the air for the 6,321st time. I exhaled through my nose and looked down, continuing to pace nervously.

Damn it, damn it, damn it. You've got this. This isn't difficult at all. You're the wolf, for crying out loud! Social interaction is like a genetic code imprinted into every cell of your cursed body. Now, like a man, go knock on that door!

Uh...isn't that a bit of a gender stereotype...? No, no, no, this is not the time for that!

In my despair, I tugged hard at the fur on both sides of my face, then started banging my head against the wall--though clearly, neither strategy was helping, so I stopped.

You can do this! Didn't you want to give it a try? This is also a form of courage, a way to explore the unknown! Beyond Hadrian's Wall, no one knows who you are... Wait, no, they're Nyx; of course, they all know who I am. But that's not important right now. Focus!

I raked my hands through my hair until I noticed the dark carpet in the hallway was now dotted with white fur. Logical fallacy!

I glanced around to make sure no one else was nearby before attempting to kick the fallen fur to the side, hoping it wouldn't be too noticeable. But the thick fibers of the carpet made that task extremely difficult. To make matters worse, I accidentally brushed my fingers against the metal sconce on the wall, and the static shock crackled painfully in my brain.

I bit down hard on my tongue to keep from yelping, sure that my fur was standing on end. I could even smell a faint singed scent--for the love of Rationalism, it's hurt!

"Damn the ass hole of Rationalism...," I heard the sound of the metal door sliding open. "Ah, hi!" I spun around as quickly as I could manage, putting on a smile while clenching my still-throbbing hand behind my back. "I was just about to knock."

"Oh, what a coincidence," Aether said, tilting his head and scratching his ear. Then he cautiously poked his head out of the room, glancing up and down the hallway.

"What's up?" I asked, a bit worried by the wary look in his yellow eyes.

"There was a weird guy just loitering outside our room," he said, pulling his head back in. "You didn't happen to run into him, did you?"

"Uh..." I quickly looked left and right in succession, trying to mask my awkwardness. "No, I think I must've...scared him off?"

"Maybe." Aether shrugged. "Hey, come on in." He stepped aside and waved me in.

"I brought corn chips." I held up the oversized bag in my hand. "Cheese-flavored."

"Oh, that's thoughtful." Aether took the chips from me. "I think we have a big bowl in the room."

As I stepped through the entrance, I saw not just Momus, but three other Nyxes as well. They were all lying on the floor, focused on something, their large black tails raised and slowly swaying side to side.

"Go on, introduce yourself to the pack." Aether gave me a gentle push from behind, encouraging me before he headed to the kitchenette with the corn chips.

Alright, first step complete. The hardest part is getting started, but now that I'm already inside the room, the rest should be...

"Richter!" Momus's ears twitched as he turned his head, and as soon as he saw me, he rushed over, hugging my leg and rubbing his head against it.

"Uh...hey." I patted Momus on the head, greeting the ever-energetic pup.

The other Nyxes noticed me, and two of them stood up, their yellow eyes fixed on me.

"Richter." I placed my hand over my chest, bending at the waist to bow and introduce myself to the Nyxes.

"Geras Nyx."

"Charon Nyx."

The two pitch-black wolves returned the gesture in turn, and I noticed Charon bowed lower and rose only after Geras did.

"Yo." The Nyx who hadn't gotten up made a sound that I guessed was some sort of greeting, raising a hand to wave without turning around.

"Please don't be offended and forgive Zelus," Geras said, baring a fang as he spoke. "Lack of manners is a chronic condition he was born with, beyond cure."

"Oh, no worries!" I raised my paws to shoulder height, palms facing them, waving them slightly. "I'm pretty easygoing."

"Passion's practically in my name." Zelus's voice was laced with sarcasm as he spoke without turning around. Before Geras's growl could become too obvious, I let out a few awkward laughs and scratched the back of my head, trying to diffuse the tension.

"Come on, join us for the replay!" Momus tugged on my finger, leading me to sit opposite Zelus. I saw they were gathered around a large screen terminal, watching what seemed to be a recap of today's events.

"What part are you watching?" I wagged my tail, trying to find a comfortable spot on the carpet.

"The best part." Zelus glanced at me with his yellow-green eyes, a sly smile creeping onto his face.

"Oh, the match between Piqsirpoq and Olethros?" I guessed boldly, watching as the other two black wolves sat down, and Aether returned with a large turquoise bowl full of corn chips to join us.

"Ha, as if!" Zelus snorted, his tone dripping with disdain, a reaction Geras met with an eyeroll. "It's the afternoon bonus challenge, of course!" Zelus grinned, baring all his teeth in a way that made me a bit uncomfortable.

"I missed the afternoon broadcast," I said, looking away. After a quick cleanup, I had gone to sleep; warming up with Qana had left me sore and exhausted. "What's the bonus challenge?"

"The team with the highest score of the day gets a chance at the bonus challenge, earning extra perks," Aether explained to me. "Could be points or an advantage in the next round."

"Snows probably got too cocky and let it go to their heads," Geras shrugged. "They went straight for the highest difficulty challenge."

"Qana's the best!" Momus said excitedly, his tail wagging enthusiastically.

I tilted my head, not quite understanding what Qana had to do with this. But then it quickly clicked.

"No way..." I remembered Qana had said something like, "Gotta remind some cocky pups of their place."

Zelus burst out laughing, turning up the volume on the terminal with a few taps.

"...It's Qana Snow. The 'Winter Chill' has been unsheathed! It looks like the sword master is taking this seriously..."

"Look at them, they look like they're about to wet themselves." Zelus pointed at Snow's team, laughing even harder.

On screen, the five Snows, including Piqsirpoq, immediately tucked their tails between their legs. Qana grabbed the hilt of Winter Chill with one hand and slowly swung the massive broadsword as he walked toward Piqsirpoq and the others.

"Wow, that's just brutal." I looked away, unable to bear watching any longer. It will be a massacre.

Zelus and Momus clearly enjoyed what happened next, while Aether raised an eyebrow and then winced.

"Highly entertaining," Geras remarked. "Shall we continue?" He looked up and, receiving nods from the black wolves except Momus, proceeded.

"Is it over?" I turned my gaze back to the terminal, only to see five white wolves lying on the ground in various poses. "That...was just a few seconds, right?"

"Qana disarmed them in an instant and then knocked them all out with the hilt," Momus happily recounted the highlights for me. "Didn't even take a few seconds."

I had a pretty good idea of how it would turn out, but I'd hoped Qana would go easy on them, or that there'd be some kind of handicap system. But I hope Qana got the relief he needed.

The Nyxes were setting something up, rolling out a thin screen panel and laying it down, then placing several personal terminals around the large panel. Aether launched an application, and when the start screen appeared on the panel, I recognized the interface.

"Oh, Rome: Empire on the Rise!" I couldn't hide the excitement in my voice as the tip of my tail wagged a few times. "Which scenario are you playing?"

"The Fall of the World's Desire," Aether explained as he set up his army. "It's almost the endgame."

"Yeah, right!" Zelus pounded the floor, causing the map to flicker, an action that earned glares from the other Nyxes. "Rome never surrenders!" He placed the marker for Constantine XI on the Theodosian Wall.

Aether shrugged and positioned Basilica near the barracks.

"Eastern Empire expansion!" I said, a bit envious, as I shifted to let Geras move the fleet into the Golden Horn.

"Nerd." Momus muttered a single word through clenched teeth, then let out a small snort before resting his chin on my thigh, eyes half-closed as he lazily watched the other Nyx continue setting up the map.

"Is Snow into this kind of stuff too?" Charon asked. "Aether mentioned you were into grand strategy games but didn't say anything about Empire on the Rise."

"Strategy games do have a market," I replied, "though they're not exactly mainstream." Just as wolves like me.

"Want to join? Genoa's available," Aether offered, pointing to the map.

"Oh, no thanks, I haven't played this version before." Aether tilted his head at my response. "The Eastern Empire expansion is only for PvP," I explained, and Aether quickly understood, his ears lowering slightly in guilt.

"Enough chatter, heretics!" Zelus bellowed, somehow donning a purple toga out of nowhere. "Let's see what comes first—your own ridiculous cannons blowing you to pieces or you begging for mercy as Greek fire burns you alive—the Theodosian Walls will never fall!"

"Damn Venetian bastards!" Zelus swore. "Backstabbing, treacherous dogs..."

"We've discussed the issue of racial slurs before," Geras said calmly, his yellow eyes casting a sideways glance at Zelus, who immediately fell silent.

"Sorry," Charon said, scratching his ear. "I've got business to attend to."

"Basilica fire. Accuracy and damage checks--roll two d20s." Aether manipulated the interface, and two marble-white twenty-sided dice rolled from the edge of the map. They both landed on twenty.

"You've got to be kidding me..." Zelus groaned, tugging at the fur on the sides of his face. He looked like he was about to lose it again, but another glance at Geras made him clamp his mouth shut.

"The cannonball strikes the weakest point of the wall with perfect accuracy. With a deafening crash, the Theodosian Walls, which had protected the city for a thousand years, finally crumbled. And whether out of bravery--or foolishness--Constantine XI, who was personally commanding from the wall, vanishes in a cloud of dust. This officially marks the end of the Roman Empire."

Zelus' fur was disheveled from his frantic scratching. His expression was hollow as he listened to the conclusion, his ears drooping so low they were almost flat against his head.

"In the great fire, the City of World's Desire falls. The once-glorious achievements are now scattered ashes. But the ashes still retain some heat, and if they land in the right place, the flames will one day reignite. And this, this is the legacy of the Empire, the fire that will soon illuminate the new world--look forward to it next summer in the 'Dawn of the Renaissance' expansion, exclusive to the Steam platform!"

"Well, you know what they say about Paradox Interactive," Geras remarked, tilting his head. "Endless expansions."

A few of the Nyx laughed, starting to pack up, while Zelus got up and trudged to the bathroom, looking defeated.

"Uh..." I scratched my ear and looked at the other black wolves, seeking their input. "Is he... crying?"

"Zelus is a very emotional person," Geras replied, sliding his finger across his terminal. "Though... he's not very restrained, but he's always very invested." He raised an eyebrow and tapped a few more times on his terminal. "If you'll excuse me."

After Geras left the room, Charon also took his empty glass and bowl to the sink to wash.

"Hey, I hope you weren't too bored," Aether said softly, crouching down beside me, trying to pick up the now-sleeping Momus. The wolf pup squirmed a bit, flicking his tail over mine, tickling me.

"Not at all," I replied, gently supporting Momus' lower half to help Aether lift the pup onto the bed. "I enjoyed the historical reenactment-- Orban killing Constantine XI--that was so cool, like a proletarian revolution happening four hundred years earlier."

Aether laughed at that. After I mentioned that it was time for me to go, the black wolf offered to walk me out.

"I think he likes you," Aether said as I put on my shoes at the entrance. I followed his gaze to Momus, who was curled up on the bed. "He's always wanted... a friend who's more like him."

"Oh." I looked back at Aether, meeting his yellow eyes. "I think we could... you know..." I scratched my ear. "...help each other out."

Aether nodded and escorted me to the hallway.

"By the way," he said, operating his terminal, "we should exchange contact information."

"Oh, sure." I felt my tail wag slightly and couldn't help the smile creeping onto my face.

"This is my account." He held his terminal interface toward me, turning his head to the side. I noticed a faint blush at the tips of his ears.

"Actually, I..." I hesitated, scratching the back of my head as I pulled out my own terminal. "I don't know how to use it."

"Huh?" He tilted his head, taking my terminal and fiddling with it. "You're even using the default profile picture? Have you really never used the communication function?"

"I..." I lowered my head, feeling a tight pressure in my chest. "...I never had the chance."

"Oh, sorry." Aether's ears drooped as he apologized, realizing he'd said something wrong.

"It's okay," I waved my hand to show I didn't mind. "I'm used to it."

"All done." He handed the terminal back to me. "Now we can contact each other directly."

"Thank you." I slid the terminal back into the strap on my arm, glancing at the nearby transport pod. "I'll just..." I gestured upward.

"Right. Goodnight." Aether bowed to me, and I returned the gesture before he turned and left.

What an interesting experience... The multiplayer mode of Rome: Empire on the Rise was much more engaging than I'd expected.

Does this mean that simply imagining things without real experience only leads to distorted results? If I ever get the chance...

"Hey," Aether's voice caught my attention, and I turned to see him standing a short distance away. "You should smile more." The black wolf's yellow eyes met mine, the blush on his ears now visible through the thinner patches of fur. "I think it looks really good."

"Oh." His words made me smile involuntarily, my tail wagging gently, and Aether responded in kind. "I'll try." I bowed to him once more. "Goodnight, Aether."

"You too, Richter." After he left, I kept watching the spot where he'd disappeared until the transport pod arrived.

As the pod carried me upward, I stared at the steadily increasing numbers above the door, lightly clutching the fur on my left chest along with my shirt. My heart pounded, sending a wave of chaotic, unfamiliar emotions through my veins, leaving my limbs tingling and my head light. But the smile on my face, that was something certain, something sure.

I think... I could get used to this feeling.