Light and Dark

It had been weeks of travel to get here and now he was walking along the streets of Station Square.

It was quite a change of pace from being out roaming the wilderness. To be honest, he felt much more comfortable out there. It was calmer, less crowded, less noisy and when you were in the middle of nowhere you at least felt like you were less likely to run into trouble. But, he'd been on his own for some time now... months he figured. Now that he was back in a hub of civilization he could try to reconnect with some of the things he'd abruptly left behind a few months ago. It was still early in the day, so it seemed like it might be an ideal time to get to that.

However... There was a nagging feeling in the back of his head while he walked along.

He had a sense that there was... something... somewhere nearby. Perhaps in the city. Maybe somewhere out beyond it. He didn't know what it could be... but it did make him feel a bit uncomfortable. Not knowing what it was made it hard to know what to do. His gut instinct was to leave it be, but it would be better to know what it was if possible. At least then, if he were to encounter it again or even something similar in the future, he'd have a much better idea of what to do then.

So, he quickened his pace and headed off in the direction he senses said he should go to find the source of this feeling.

It was about an hour later that he arrived a place within the city called Station Square University... and he was pretty sure that this was the place he was looking for. He had a much stronger sense of what he'd felt earlier. It was something dark.

But looking around at the university's grounds, everything appeared fine. To an outsider like him, it seemed that people were going about their daily business much like everywhere else in the city. Nothing bad was going on here as far as he could tell.

He wasn't ready to just leave it at that though. He didn't really have any other pressing business, so he figures that it wouldn't hurt for him to continue to observe and see if he could find out anything more.

He spent another hour making a circuit of the outer part of the university's grounds, keeping his distance from the dark presence within the main buildings of the campus. It gave him a general sense of where the source might be and also an idea of how big the central building of the university were. From his observations, he didn't really want to go inside and start wandering around. He'd get lost rather easily and he'd also be surrounded by hundreds of people in there. Not ideal circumstances if there really was going to be trouble.

No, for the time being, he realizes that it would be best to remain away from the main buildings and preferably out someplace open. With that in mind, he eventually made his way to one of the sport fields on the university grounds. He had no idea what sport would be played there, but someone else more well versed would recognize it as being set up for football. There were stands set up around the field and it was near the base of one of them that he went an took a seat, setting down his bags, one on either side of him.

He then took a few moments to stretch and look back towards the main buildings of the university. He'd be able to keep watch in their direction from where he sat. Now it would just be a matter of waiting to see if his presence generated a response. If not, he might have to be a bit more proactive, but he'd worry about that if it came to it. For now he may as well get comfortable.

With that, the wolf adjusted the dark green shirt and brown pants he was wearing, then sat down on the seat he'd selected and dug into his bags to pull out a bottle of water and a container of dried meat to occupy himself with.

The so-called 'dark presence' in the main buildings sighed to herself as she looked at the clock while her students finished up their notes. She'd have a small break due to a schedule oddity that gave her much more time in-between this class and her last few ones, about half an hour. It was the end of the week, a Friday, so it was understandable that a lot of the students were more focused on getting to the end of the day rather than copying down notes word-for-word.

Perhaps she was expecting too much from them. They did just finish a rather grueling test a few days ago. Sighing to herself, she stood from her chair and addressed the class. "Feel free to chat amongst yourselves for the remainder of class. We'll finish up our notes on Monday." As she said that, a collective sigh went through the room, and a few words of thanks came her way. While Camille was perhaps not the most (as some of her students would say) 'chill' teacher, she was certainly a kind one. Plus, a likeable teacher is someone you'd be more apt to learn from.

The rest of the class came and went, the Lady bidding her students farewell. Picking up a rather large thermos bottle filled with tea, she took a sip of it and frowned. Something felt off, like there was some form of magic in the air. One that wasn't from her.

Detecting magic wasn't exactly uncommon considered the many empowered individuals on campus and in the city at large, but this was different. It felt... light. It wasn't holy, just light. Odd.

Checking her watch, she shrugged to herself. She had more than enough time to see if there was a potential danger to herself or the school. Exiting her classroom and then one of the main buildings, her senses were leading her to the sports fields. Tilting her head ever-so-slightly, she adjusted her tie slightly and began to meander down one of the many paths that went towards the football field.

Smiling and nodding to the occasional student she recognized and occasionally stopping to chat, she was finally quite close to the stadium. Notably, she was the only person heading in the wolf's general direction, and her eyes narrowed slightly as she got nearer to the source. Was the light-affiliated person trying to draw her out...? 

It seems she hadn't directed her thoughts to the wolf in the stands yet, as she had seen many students hang out there during the day. With time, though, she'd probably wonder about him.

The wolf took his time eating as he quietly glances around the football field, the surrounding stands and what he can see of the university grounds, buildings and the city beyond.

Even though the area he picked was devoid of activity at the time he'd entered, it wasn't truly peaceful here. That was something he noticed about towns and cities, even the smallest of them. No matter how quiet it might be, it was nothing compared to the tranquility of the places between them. It was easy to find someplace quiet when traveling to stop, rest, clear one's mind. He lowers the container of food he'd been holding, letting it rest on his lap with his paws lightly grasping it, then closes his eyes and exhales slowly.

Quiet, but not peaceful. He could hear the buzz of activity from almost every direction around him. But it was constantly changing, making it a challenge to ignore it. That was the other issue with populated areas. It was harder to focus in general.

As such, it made it difficult to tell much about that source of dark energy other than it was still in the area and what general direction it was in. So far as he could tell nothing had changed yet.

That meant he would have to continue waiting.

It was only about a quarter hour later, after putting his food away and just nursing his water bottle that he noticed a change.

From what he could tell, the dark energy had gotten stronger.

Not by much mind you. It had been slow enough that he hadn't really noticed it at first. But it had reached some sort of threshold that allowed him to focus more easily on it. The direction had changed slightly, but he still couldn't judge the distance of it. He was still able to come up with a couple of possible reasons for the change though.

One was that the source was still the same distance away as it had been before, but was now increasing its output. That could be a prelude to an attack or other potential hostile reaction. In his experience, any such actions would cause a far more dramatic surge that would easily have drawn his attention. If this assumption was true, it could be a more defensive action instead. Or just something to get his attention and then observe his reaction.

The other was that the source was approaching him while maintaining the same energy output. That was the outcome he was hoping for. Meeting out here in the open would limit any surprises for him and offer a wide open field of vision. Also this particular area wasn't very populated. If a fight did break out, there was much less chance of anyone being hurt as a result... unless his opponent was powerful, destructive or both. In which case, he'd have been better off just leaving well enough alone earlier.

There were other possible reasons he could have considered, but these two were the simplest for him to deal with and probably the most likely at the moment.

With that in mind, the wolf keep his gaze in the direction the dark energy was coming from. He could see plenty of people moving in and out of his field of vision there, but there wasn't anything that set one apart from the rest just yet.

He would have to keep waiting. And as usual, hope he hadn't made some sort of mistake.

It seemed that the dog was certainly getting closer, the light aura increasing in strength. She wondered what the owner of it was doing... Trying to draw her out and 'vanquish' the dark presence? She'd dealt with many people like that peacefully, though, so she hoped the same would be true here.

Taking another sip from her tea and sighing to herself, she looked towards a nearby stairwell giving access to the stands. She frowned before shrugging. If her search turned up fruitless, at least she had a bit of exercise while doing it. 

Ascending the stairwell, she could already tell that she was getting closer. Looking about the stands again, her sharp blue eyes spotted the wolf and was now muuuch more suspicious of him. While sitting in the stands was not unusual, it was usually done with a group of friends (Or fratboys, in which case wolf-whistles were directed her way), not alone.

She didn't want to assume anything though. The Lady casually strolled through the stands, gradually making her way around to where the wolf was. Camille wouldn't arrive anywhere near where the wolf was for a good while at her current pace.

As she walked, she pondered the reasons why someone could have an aura full of light. Someone holy, perhaps? Some sort of exorcist or priest? As soon as she thought that, she shook her head with a small snort. Those types would come running after her, not the other way around. Some sort of mage, then? Or just naturally pure? 

Regardless of the reason, she really, really hoped that this wouldn't turn violent.

The presence hadn't gotten much stronger, but the wolf had a much better sense of where it was coming from now. It was no longer moving directly towards him, so he could more easily track its movement. It was just a matter of watching individuals as they moved along and seeing whose movements matched his feelings.

He saw her as she entered the area allocated for the sports field and stands and then made her way into the stands. He watches her as she moves. And he could feel the dark presence matching her motion.

It certainly seemed like he had gotten one question answered.

Just to be on the safe side though, he turns his attention away from her. Closing his eyes, he relaxes and does his best to just ignore her presence and see if there was any other sort of dark energies around in case she could be some sort of decoy or distraction, but he didn't appear to pick up on anything else, only her.

He opens his eyes again and looks towards her once again, now noting that she was looking back at him from time to time as well and making her way along at a casual pace. Certainly not what one would expect if a hostile response was imminent.

She didn't look like a fighter... or at least didn't give the appearance of being one. A person could fight in just about any outfit though, depending on their skills. Not everyone would be walking around with a weapon in plain view.

From a distance she looked very much like a person of the upper class. That wasn't something he liked... Those sorts of people tended to be self-centered. They didn't much care for people like him, or really for any other people that weren't like them.

All things considered though, beyond the dark feeling coming from her, his first impression wasn't one of danger. He would be cautious of course, but it didn't feel like they were going to fight before words were exchanged. If that were the case, he very much figured they would have started once they were in clear view of each other. She hadn't come directly to him either. Perhaps she was hesitant to confront him directly. That was something that boded well.

Of course... that could just be what she wanted him to think, so...

Perhaps he shouldn't just keep thinking about this in his own head. There was really only one way to figure it out for sure.

Resuming his watch of her, once he saw her glance in his direction again he lifts one paw, waves to her, then beckons her over.

As she continued her walk, Camille was pleasantly surprised when the wolf didn’t straight up attack her. In her experience, people devoted to hunting evil would often kill whatever felt the most off, so she was interested in why this one was different. Perhaps he wasn’t some sort of hunter...? She’d have to speak with him and learn more before she could tell.

Sure, the wolf could be tricking her or luring in, but she doubted it for some odd reason. Perhaps it was just a gut feeling.

Taking a small sip from her thermos and gazing about the stands of the stadium, she didn’t see or feel anything off, which led her to believe that the wolf was alone. That left her with three possibilities: He was overconfident, he wasn’t intending to fight, or he had no idea what powers he had. Any of those were likely, but she was leaning towards the more peaceful option...

While the Lady was glancing up at the wolf again, she noticed that they had waved a paw in greeting and were motioning her over to them. Quickening her pace, she soon arrived at the bottom of stairs near where the wolf was. Adjusting her tie ever so slightly, Camille looked up at the wolf and tilted her head slightly.

“Hello there! Fine day, isn’t it?”

The wolf watches quietly as she makes her way over, noticing that she was a canine as she drew closer but of a species that he didn't believe he'd encountered before. He also noticed that she was quite attractive looking, which didn't really come as much of a surprise given how well dressed she was.

It wasn't long before she was standing at the base of the steps closest to him. She wasn't too far from him either now, given that he hadn't gone up many rows from the lowest set of seats, so it would be easy for them to converse without raising their voices.

He hadn't really settled on what sort of greeting to extend to her. A simple hello seemed insufficient, but he wasn't sure what else to follow with. As it turned out, she beat him to the punch on that, greeting him first.

"Oh... uh, hello." he replies, nodding slightly to her, "Yes, it does seem to be a... fine day here."

Followed by a pause of several seconds that threatens to become awkward, the wolf looks uncertain as to how to continue.

"I'm... uh... sorry if you coming out here interrupted anything you were doing. I mean unless it was something bad, because I wouldn't be apologizing for that. I wouldn't like anything bad to be going on." the wolf says.

His eyes then widen slightly as he realizes what he'd just said.

"N-not that I'm accusing you of doing anything bad, of course! I don't really know what you might've been doing here at all." he quickly adds, "It's just that... I... um..."

At that point the wolf awkwardly trails off, unsure of how to continue, with his gaze drifting away from her.

The dog simply smiled softly as the wolf spoke, mentally snickering to herself as she listened to his rather awkward words. She simply raised an eyebrow and leaned against one of the seats at the end of the row, looking up at him and taking a sip of her drink as the wolf seemed to unknowingly accuse her of doing bad things before quickly backpedaling.

She waited a few moments after he trailed off, perhaps waiting for more words from him. When none came, she smiled a bit and snickered. “Don’t worry. I didn’t think you were accusing me of anything. You don’t seem like the sort of person to do that sort of thing.” Her rather posh accent became rapidly apparent as spoke, the dog adjusting her leaning position on the chair. “And you didn’t interrupt much... I’ve got a rather odd schedule gap which gives me a longer than usual break between classes.”

She was silent for a few moments, taking a sip of her tea to give herself time to think on how to address the energy that she felt coming off of him, and the energy he likely felt coming from her. “I teach here, you know... And almost every month, someone seems to show up and accuse me of planning some dastardly evil deed! It’s rather annoying, you know? I mean, I’m aware why, but I thought people would get the memo after that one witch hunter offered to spread the word about me having no ill intentions.” Camille sighed heavily and shook her head with a frown, looking about at the empty bleachers for a moment.

“I do hope you aren’t intending to try anything. You seem like an awfully polite man...” She trailed off, shaking her head. “Ugh, I apologize. I don’t mean to speak with veiled threats.” Frowning at herself, she sighed once more and took a sip of her drink, eyeing the wolf with slight caution. “I believe you don’t have your heart set on a fight, is that correct...?”

Fortunately, she appeared to find amusement in the wolf's awkward statements, doing her best to set him at ease. She identified herself as a teacher. It took him a little time to recall that teachers usually worked in schools, suggesting that this place he was currently at was a really big school of some sort. Of course, that didn't seem to be something important to dwell on at the moment.

She continues to speak, elaborating on the problems she seems to endure routinely with people hunting after her, which made it quite clear that he wasn't the only one that had sought her out. It also seemed that those encounters hadn't panned out in the favour for whoever had confronted her. That was something that concerned him as well. It reinforced the thought that he shouldn't try to confront her. Then she said as much, but apologized almost immediately for doing so.

Having listened to her and watched her reaction to her own words, he had an urge to try and comfort or console her as he understood the problems she had told him about. She was a total stranger though, so he tries to just ignore that initial gut reaction while he regards her quietly for a few moments once she's done speaking.

"I came here expecting to fight and was ready to fight." he replies, "I was hoping to avoid a fight though, especially once I saw how many people were around here. It sounds like you did the same too."

The dog smiled a bit at the wolf’s words. “Ah, that’s positively wonderful.” Camille took a sip of her tea and fixed the wolf with an analyzing stare, looking at him for a few moments. “It’s true, I try to solve my conflicts with words if possible. Of course, some people see only the dark aura and assume the worst...” She rolled her eyes. “Always the same, you know? People who see only evil in the things they don’t understand, just as they have all throughout history...”

She looked away from the wolf for a moment and sighed. “Off I go once more, talking about things far out of my control.” She rolled her eyes. “The pitfall of every history teacher, talking about the past much too often. Apologies. I slip into lecture too often... perhaps I should take a few days off.” Sighing again, she tilted her head at the wolf once more. “You don’t look like the city type... Tell me, where are you from...?”

The Lady was rather interested in this wolf... Mysterious, with an aura of light magic to boot? Seemed like her sort of mystery. Perhaps he was a nomad or something. How curious...

Alright, so he's not much of a talker. That much was obvious to Camille. Her sharp eyes looked over the wolf closely and quickly, taking a slow sip of her tea to attempt to think of something to say to the wolf's simple response. "Nowhere, hm? I see..." She frowned for a moment. "I suppose we are, in a sense, similar in that aspect." Sighing for a moment before taking a sip of her tea, she smiled softly up at the wolf. "I don't consider myself from anywhere for... personal reasons. As such, I won't pry, because if the roles were reversed I certainly wouldn't give much more information myself."

The dog then frowned for a few moments. "Of course, I do have a few other questions relating to the... aura you have surrounding yourself. Almost an opposite to mine, in way..." She fixed the wolf with a curious stare. "I do assume you know what I'm talking about...?" Despite the question being stated with casual curiosity, Camille's eyes held a look which would tell the wolf that any lie would likely not make it past her.  

After asking her question, she looked around a bit, seemingly reaching for another topic to potentially defuse the tension that might be caused by her inquiry. Deciding to simply ask about an area of interest, she picked a topic at random. "Tell me, do you have any interest in swords or swordplay? Personally, I find the blade to be a fascinating thing. Such a simple-looking weapon, yet most disciplines require such a degree of control and grace that any true duel is a delicate, dangerous, and beautiful dance." She gave a small frown and roll of her eyes. "The use of a sword is so much more than just swinging it about like a glorified club, you know...?"

The wolf continues to simply observe her as she considers his response and seems willing to just leave it at that for the moment, comparing it to her own circumstances. In response to that, he simply thinks to himself that her situation is probably vastly different from his. She had to live here or nearby based on what she had already offered in conversation. That was a huge difference between them, but he kept it to himself, instead he simply nods as she moves on to a different topic.

That next topic turned out to be the aura of energy he had around him. She didn't actually ask any questions immediately, seeming to just want to get him to confirm that he knew what she wanted to discuss. He did, but he really wasn't sure what he'd be willing, or even able to tell her about it. Much of it was still a mystery to him after all.

But while he considers that topic beyond her initial stated question, she moves on to also ask about whether he had an interest in swords and blades.

That really caught him off guard. He certainly did use an assortment of shorter bladed weapons mainly... but he wondered why a total stranger would bring up such a topic in conversation with someone they had just met...

And at that moment, he just froze, staring back at this canine stranger for several moments. And then his eyes narrowed slightly.

It wasn't much, but to a keen eye such as hers, it would likely speak volumes about how their interaction had just shifted.

"Actually I... I really should be on my way." he says, as he shifts his head just enough so that his eyes could dart from one side to another to take in their surroundings quickly. It wasn't obvious what he was looking for, but abundantly clear that he was looking.

"Again, my apologies for disturbing you." he adds, before he starts backing away from her, bowing just enough to grab his bags, then pivoting around and moving at a quick step along the row of seating he was on towards the next stairway between seating sections.

Camille's eyes widened as she realized her folly in the conversation. She would briefly facepalm for a few moments before looking up as the wolf begun to move. "Sir, I..." She hugged a sigh at herself. "Listen, I don't really have the chance to talk to people that are... so similar, yet different to myself. Admittedly, I don't particularly believe your peaceful intentions even though I should."

Camille would rub her temple for a moment before frowning. "Ugh, I'm terrible... I'm trying to say that I apologize for such an... inappropriate choice of a conversation topic." She checked her watch for a moment and raised an eyebrow. "Oh, oh dear... I have a class soon." She'd take a few moments to think, sipping from her nearly empty tea. She'd clearly destroyed whatever semblance of trust that the wolf had given her with her odd choice of topic. The Lady looked at the moving wolf for a moment with a small frown.

"Er... May I offer a sort of olive branch?" She'd say, raising her voice slightly as the wolf moved away. "I've only a few more classes today, and if you'd be willing to wait around, I'll be willing to take you to a rather wonderful pub a short distance away. I'll pay... All you have to do is be willing to give me some of your time and the benefit of the doubt." Camille would offer a small smile. "Would you give me the chance? Please?"

As the wolf continues to walk, he casually hefts his backpack up over one shoulder, then shifts his duffle bag from one paw to the other so he could then get the second strap of his backpack in place.

He doesn't look back at the canine as she speaks, but his ears are swiveled to either side, allowing him to hear her clearly as he moves away from her. He ponders her words, but doesn't make any attempt to reply just yet. Even her apology didn't draw a response from him.

As he reaches the end of the row of seats, he steps onto the stairway and starts down to ground level. It wasn't too far and, as he does that, he casts a quick sidelong glance at the canine. She hadn't moved from her spot and she did look upset from the turn their encounter had taken.

The wolf wonders if it was legitimate or just a show. Some people were quite capable of using such displays to manipulate others. Of course, if she were really trying to keep him here for... some reason, he would have expected her to follow after him or try to block his path or maybe spring whatever trap was lying in wait, assuming there was one here to be sprung. She did none of those.

Then once he steps clear of the stands and turns his back to her, he hears her call out a bit louder, to account for the increased distance between then, asking for him to wait here for her and accept an offer to go and eat with her later on. She even used the word 'please' at the end.

The wolf comes to a stop.

He seems to consider her words, but he still doesn't offer any sort of response to them.

The silence hangs in the air between them.

Finally, he turns enough to look over his shoulder towards her.

"Why?" he asks, speaking loud enough for her to hear him.

There was no anger or hostility in his question. Instead he appears either curious or confused.

Why? That was a good question. Camille wasn't particularly sure herself. She knew that the wolf didn't trust her... and she also knew that she didn't trust the wolf, even though he hasn't done anything to make her suspicious. It seemed that the Lady was biased against his light just as many were biased against her darkness...

With that realization, Camille finally knew why she was offering the wolf an olive branch and a meal.

"Because... Because, well... I haven't had any particularly nice interactions with anyone with your... aura." Camille breathed a heavy sigh. She didn't really like admitting that she didn't know something, but Camille had nothing to gain from lying. "In truth, people with your sort of power are a mystery to me, and with understanding comes acceptance. I want to understand both you and your aura, so that in the future, should I encounter such magic again, I will not be so quick to judge its intentions." She also offered a rueful smile. "I'd also hope that this will go both ways... Perhaps you might find that the dark is not always the evil it might appear to be."

With that, Camille stood quietly, waiting for the wolf to respond. She had said her part with complete honesty... But it was up to the wolf to judge whether she was being honest or not. 

The Lady would let the silence hang between them. Camille was nothing if not patient.

The wolf continues to just observe her quietly as she offers a response. He glances away once she finishes speaking.

He wasn't sure, but she seemed to be a bit uncertain about her response. He felt that he understood elements of it though. Many of his own interactions with beings possessing darker energies tended to be adversarial if not outright hostile. The fact that he had been able to speak with this particular individual so long was something of a rarity for him. Neither one of them had reason to trust one another, with her openly admitting such, but here they were still just talking and her asking him to stay. To spend time with her. Perhaps even share a meal with her if he correctly remembered the meaning of the word she'd mentioned a little while ago.

It was certainly unexpected for him. Usually he'd only be spending time with other people while on jobs or under far more... stressful circumstances than this one currently was.

Still, she'd made the offer and he had to make a decision on it. It would be easier to just go and never look back, but he had to admit that after recent events in his life, the offer of company was appealing. He wasn't likely to get much more than solitude if he went on his way, and he'd had plenty of that recently.

He blows out a breath quietly after a few moments.

"No." the wolf says, "I like the offer, but I don't plan to wait around here for you to attend to your business and return."

He turns his head to look at her.

"However, if you have an idea of how long from now we could meet, I could come back and meet you then." he adds.