The Silent Howl

Chapter 5: The Initiation

Arlo flew through the sky above the Grimm filled forest, a small smile rising from the thrill of soaring like a bird. As he grabbed hold of his sniper, transforming it to its grappling hook, he saw a small pack of baby Nevermores take to the sky. Then, an adolescent Nevermore burst from the tree line, flying at Arlo with a loud screech.

Arlo's gaze hardened as he readied himself for what was about to happen. The Grimm opened its beak as it flew at him, ready to take a bite out of him. Deployed his grappling hook and fired it at the Grimm, the hook stabbing into the side of its head. He pulled himself towards the Grimm, kicking off the lower beak to flip over the head while threading the line through its mouth. Landing on top of the head, Arlo gritted his teeth as he pulled the grapple. The Nevermore thrashed its head, trying to free itself from the new restraint.

Arlo: "Ok Alastair. Let's try it again."

Arlo's body began to glow blue as Alastair materialized behind him. With a bark that seemed to echo, Alastair's body began to glow blue like Arlo, as well as began to grow to his full size of 7 feet. He leaped towards Arlo, fusing with Arlo. His eye burned with energy as he felt himself suddenly grow stronger. Arlo broke out into a big grin. The power felt incredible as Alastair boosted his raw strength and aura.

With his new strength, Arlo heaved on the wire which forced the Nevermore to suddenly twist in the air. Arlo twisted its head to force it to fly in the direction of the temple. The Nevermore continued to squawk and thrash against its restraint, but nothing it did could break Arlo's grip.

Suddenly, the sound of a loud gunshot tore through the air. Arlo gasped in surprise when a large bullet blasted through the head of the Nevermore, instantly killing it and making it go limb. Arlo quickly retracted his grapple and leaped off the body of the Grimm just as it began to disintegrate. Arlo stabbed his grapple into the closest tree, letting the cable loose to swing him around the trunk before coming to a sliding stop on the ground. Arlo gritted his teeth in annoyance as soon as he spotted the ones responsible for shooting down his ride.

There were two people present. The tallest one had darker orange hair that was combed back, and wore silver armor with a gold trim that had a bird with its wings outstretched. The second was shorter than the other, wearing a green hoodie with its sleeves cut off at the shoulder. His hair was mostly shaved, except for the green mohawk. The taller one laughed as he tossed some type of weapon to the smaller one. He transformed the gun into two separate daggers before sheathing them.

Cardin: "See, told you I can shoot better than you!"

Russel: "Oh come on! That was too easy of a target! Anybody can hit a Nevermore that close to the ground."

Arlo huffed, debating if he wanted to punch the big one for nearly hitting him with that shot. Taking a deep breath, Arlo decided it wouldn't be worth it. Plus, he'd rather not interact with strangers if he could help it. Thus, he turned around to start leaving.

Cardin: "Hey! Think it's cool to stare at me one-eye?!"

Arlo stopped mid-step, taking a moment to process what he just said.

Russel: "Look at how he's dressed. Probably a stalker hoping to catch someone off guard. Hey, Cardin, I think we should teach him why it's rude to stare."

Cardin: "Heh, couldn't agree more."

Arlo still had his back to them, but he could hear two distinct footsteps stomping towards him. Arlo could still feel his power boost from Alastair. Closing his eye for a moment, he decided to teach them why it's rude to call people names.