The Blind Wolf: Future Captains

||Chapter two: Everything's Different Now[Percy]||

Cassius and I walked straight into the building after everyone had dispersed and the roses had been delegated, though he still wasn't sure exactly who got his rose. Hedris seemed like a nice enough kid, though he was a little headstrong. Something I'd have to think around. I don't really talk to people. My eyes shifted towards the wooden lockers on the walls, each engraved with the initials of the captains that have long since graduated from here. It's crazy to think that my brother and I are leaving here soon.

(Yeah, this is somewhat of a nostalgia trip.)

"So what do you think the trial is gonna be like?" I asked Cass, who looked a little preoccupied with his own thoughts right now. I wasn't sure what at the time, but he looked intrigued about something.

"Who knows?" He replied absentmindedly. My eyes flickered to his hands and I frowned. Usually, when Cassius is bothered about something or can't piece the puzzle of a mystery together, he fidgets his hands together in this way that makes them look intertwined, until he finally figured it out. Considering he's been doing it for the past five minutes, he certainly wasn't getting at what he wanted to figure out. Sighing, I looked back ahead and let a breath escape my lips. Here we go again. Three other students stood at the end of the hall, conversing and laughing together. One of them sounded like the dying breath of a squealing pig, and was rather annoying in my ears to listen to. I tugged on Cass's jacket to get his attention, but he wasn't watching where he was going. I could only watch as he bumped into the lead guy, and shifted to the side. He looked up from his fidgeting, which was still occuring, and came face to face with Brutus. Now, Brutus isn't exactly his real name, but with the amount of muscle on the guy and how much anger seemed to prick at his eyes, it was a title that spread across the academy, which he seemed to acknowledge as his own. I took a single step back. I wasn't scared, but I knew when trouble was close to brewing about.

"Watch where you're going, Morgan." Brutus sneered at my brother, which he ignored. "Hey, I'm talking to you, grey hair."

"Oh, my bad." Cassius commented, still focused on his hands. "Am I supposed to give my attention to grime, or is the dirt going to pile up until it falls over?" I could practically see the veins pulsing on Brutus's neck, and I had to keep a still face to prevent laughter seeping through my lips. The two guys behind him came forward, but Brutus wouldn't let them. One was light skinned and bald headed, light reflecting off his scalp, while the other had shaggy hair and a single scar that stretched from his jaw all the way to the side of one of his eyes. They were ugly thugs, that much was for certain. Like mentioned before, Brutus was physically and visually strong. Between the tight set jaw, beady brown eyes and ugly scowl he always wore, bully was definitely the title he should have been given. Brutus was always known for picking on some of the newer students and giving them a hard time, and even veterans would suffer his wrath. He'd steal their coins, talk down on them, and push them around until they broke and quit or submitted to him. Cass was one of the only few that didn't acknowledge his words as threatening, only empty promises that surfaced as petty intimidation tactics. Every single time Brutus confronted him, he didn't give him the satisfaction of bowing down at all. Today felt like it was going to be different from the moment I woke up, but this wasn't at all what I expected.

"So I'm going to make a wild assumption, and please do tell me if I'm wrong." Cass spoke slowly and clearly, his golden hues now glancing upwards to Brutus. He may have been taller than my brother, but he definitely was higher in confidence. "You and your buddies here thought it would be a fun little prank to splash my brother with red paint to ruin his ceremony and allow the headmasters and captains to see him as unfit so you could walk in his place, am I correct?" Brutus flickered his gaze from Cass to myself as my brother snapped his fingers. "Hey, buddy, I'm right here."