Never Too Late

Anthem of the Angels

Mastace walked through the halls with a different air about him. He was a bit deeper in thought than was considered normal for him, and his teachers noticed. In fact, it was so obvious that one of them pulled him aside between classes to have a short word with him. 

"Is everything alright?" the teacher asked in her usual, tender tone. 

Mastace toyed with whatever was within reaching distance of his fingers as he held his school books. He shifted his gaze downward and a light blush filled his cheeks. "Yeah, everything's fine. I've just been thinking is all."

"What about?"

Mastace weighed his options here, thinking carefully. He could tell this teacher what was on his mind, or he could just say that it wasn't important. If he told, there were inherent risks that he would have to take, of course, but if he simply stayed silent about it, nothing would happen and he would more than likely feel bad later for not taking an opportunity that he would never know what might have come to fruition. After a moment, he knew exactly what to do.

"I'm sorry, but it's not my story to tell. Plus, it's something quite personal and I don't feel comfortable giving that kind of information out to people."

The teacher nodded. "I understand. If you need anything, you can come to me or any of the other teachers and staff."

Mastace thanked the teacher quickly and headed towards his next class feeling a little lighter.

Briggan was walking to his last class of the day when he heard it. The sound of someone being pushed into a locker. It was faint, but definitely there. He normally would have gone the other way to avoid the situation, but he was almost out of time to get there and he did not want to be tardy today. So, he decided he was going to walk right by whatever was happening, probably a tiff over some lunch money or some shit like that, and ignore it.

When he turned the corner, however, he found that ignoring the situation was out of the question. Don, a polar bear who was massive even by ursuline standards, had Mastace by the throat and pushed him into the set of lockers behind him. Don said something Briggan couldn't quite discern due to his shock, but he did pick up one word: "faggot". That was it. Briggan needed to act, and fast. 

Before he had any time to think, Briggan was already rushing the bear at full speed. He wasn't impressively fast, but he was just quick enough to catch Don by surprise and land a flying kick aimed at the face. Don reeled back, dazed by the surprise attack, and shook his head to clear it. He looked around to see who had the audacity to challenge him and found Briggan recovering to his feet with a quick roll. 

"This isn't any of your business, kid." Don grunted as he tightened his grip on Mastace. "Get lost."

"No." Briggan said. "This is my business and I won't stop until you release my boyfriend and leave us alone."

"So... You're the unlucky bastard that has to be purged alongside this... filth." The last word left Don's maw with a harsh grin creeping on his face. "It's a shame nothing's gonna be left of ya when I'm finished here." 

"We'll see." Briggan said, completely unwavering. He cast a glance toward Mastace and mouthed a few words: "If you go, then so will I."

Mastace sat up in his bed, rubbing the sleep from his eye. He went to shake Briggan awake, but was met by an absence on the wolf's part. He looked around, a bit confused, and got up to search for his new mate. 

Mastace looked about the house, but could not find him. Worry set in and panic took over fairly quickly. Where was he and why had he just disappeared like this? Mastace sat down and gathered his thought for a moment. He needed to calm down. Panicking wasn't going to get him anywhere, and it certainly wasn't going to find Briggan any sooner. In fact, it could drag out their time apart and that would most probably worry them both unnecessarily. Mastace needed a plan. Just as Mastace was about to leave to look for Briggan, the front door to the house opened up and Briggan peeked through the new opening.