Animator vs Animation: The Dark Web

Chapter 11: The Officials (Part 2)

authors note: This chapter is split into two parts due to its enormous length. I've done this to prevent you readers from reading a burden of 20+ pages of this one chapter, but if you want to read both parts on the same day, I'm not stopping you. Happy reading!

Wisteria and Red's training session was harsh just like when it first started.

Red barely put any effort into his training, moving sluggishly across the ground. But as for Wisteria, his quick movements always made Red an easy target in a sparring match. For every purposeful struggle that Red ensued, Wisteria would reward him with a nimble knock on the back of his head. It fueled Red's lethargy into annoyance, even apathy, with his expression morally screaming, I don't care.

When Wisteria ordered Red to drop down and do push-ups, every drop was more slower and unmotivated than the last. But a memory resurfaced in his otherwise hollowed-out mind; a time when he was the most energetic in his group, his confidence that was like a radiating fire. A flicker of vigor flashed, but it disappeared just as quickly as when it surfaced.

Wisteria caught onto the shift, but he said nothing. But he watched as Red collapsed onto the floor, lying motionless. Wisteria tilted his head at him in confusion. When Red finally sat up, brushing off the dirt on his cloak, he waved a hand at Wisteria. It was unspoken but it was a clear gesture—he had questions.

    What was Wisteria like before he became an Official? Was he the strongest Hunter during the time? How did he gain the scar on his eye?

Wisteria didn't answer any of his questions, not even a word. His cold demeanor remained intact, staring at Red as he continued on with his questions. To him, it probably felt like a mockery, which was exactly what Red was going for. Finally, he replied, but with a curt answer. "You're particularly curious. How about you keep the questions to yourself?"

Instead, Red ignored him, of course, pushing Wisteria into more questions that were morally personal than the last. Wisteria's patience was getting strained as he forced Red into doing more stretching exercises. Red obeyed, but the interrogations continued to pour.

But when he finally asked, did he ever feel love at all?— The question hit the Official like a bullet through the heart.

Wisteria froze in place, his stern expression faltering into something more. Red noticed the shift and hesitated. Did he go a bit too far? He stopped his stretching and rubbed the back of his neck, a silent apology. But Wisteria raised up a hand, silencing him. There was a quiet moment, the only sounds being of the others' training sessions and a brush of faint wind—until Wisteria's voice cut through the silence.

"I did," Wisteria finally answered, his voice unusually softer. He dazed off, looking off to the distance as if recalling a memory he hadn't had in a millennium. "I had a brother. He took care of me when our parents couldn't. He was interesting to say the least, always ranting about the curiosities of the Dark Web. And—he gave me all the love I could ever need before... this."

Red's sluggishness softened for the first time. He learned something—not from the exercises, for sure—but more about Wisteria's history; this small glimpse of his memory.

Wisteria caught himself, shaking his head before he stomped his foot lightly. His mask of detachment fell back into place just as if it had never slipped off. Without a warning, he knocked the back of Red's head, only lighter this time.

"Just because you caught me off-guard doesn't mean I'm all lovey-dovey. Go back to your exercises." Wisteria hissed.

Red snickered under his breath and resumed his stretching, but this time with a little more vigor. Despite the scolding, Wisteria's rare moment of vulnerability has caught them into an understanding.