After cleaning the place up, per Caspian's request, Leo and Desmond strolled out the front doors and into the streets.
Several eyes turned to Leo, which Desmond had noticed.
"Do people usually look at you like that?"
He shifted his gaze down to Desmond, letting out a curious hum.
Desmond sighed,
"Who am I kidding? You're pretty much the hero of Augustine."
Leo didn't necessarily like hearing that, but something about the boy's tone carried humorous envy. Just enough for him to laugh it off.
"Fame and honor isn't as great as it seems, Desmond. In reality, it's just more responsibility and expectation set on you. People start seeing you as… Non-human. Something that can do everything and save everyone."
Desmond's eyes lingered on Leo in a lingering silence.
After a moment he smiled.
"But Leo, you're not human. You're a Reveur, remember?"
Leo stopped walking abruptly, staring at Desmond as he continued strutting forward for a few paces before stopping to turn.
"Everything alright?"
He swallowed and blinked a few times; his eyes unfocused and gazing beyond Desmond.
"Yeah. It's… nothing."
Leo continued forward, catching up with the boy.
` That's how it is. That's how Augustine wants its gifted youth to see themselves. That's how they want me to see myself. Are they wrong? Am I… human? A regular person can't conjure flames. A regular person can't break the sound-barrier. A regular person can't do what I do. `
With a blink, his eyes moved to the back of Desmond's head.
` It doesn't really matter, does it? We're all cogs anyways. I need to remember that. I need to be okay with that. `
He shook off the strange feeling and moved up beside Desmond.
"We're almost there. Are you ready to go on your first hunt?"
The boy puffed his chest out with a smirk.
"Am I ready? You should be asking yourself, gramps."
Leo smiled and ruffled the boy's jet-black hair.
"Whatever you say. Just don't piss yourself while we're out there. I don't usually carry an extra pair of underwear."
Desmond scoffed and remarked,
"Yeah but I'm sure you carry an extra diaper. Don't you, senior?"
Leo jabbed him in the arm with his elbow, causing Desmond to wince and grip his bicep.
"Alright, shut up. The apartments are just up ahead."
As they cut the corner, Leo turned his head to the left as he studied the ICF.
His gaze momentarily moved to a nearby flickering lamp post, before turning back down the street.
Leo stopped walking and dug out a folded document from his coat pocket.
Desmond stopped beside him and watched as he opened the paper and scanned through it.
Leo looked from the paper to the board upon the apartment building, confirming the location.
"Yeah, we're here. Honware Apartments. We'll ask the owner what they've heard, since they were the initial person to report the strange sounds."
Desmond nodded and followed Leo into the apartment's lobby.
Just behind the counter was an aging woman with wheat braided hair.
Her eyes lit up as she saw the two Reveurs enter the building.
"Oh, thank goodness you're here!"
She hustled around the counter towards them, lifting her long dress off the ground as she jogged.
Her eyes held anxiety and weariness, making Leo internally question just what this woman had heard beyond the walls.
Leo put a hand to his chest.
"Good evening, Ma'am. I'm Captain Morwyn, and this is Officer Acker."
His hand moved to Desmond.
"We're here about the supposed sounds?"
She nodded slowly, trying to compose herself.
"Yes, thank you very much for coming. Would you two like to take a seat while I recount what I heard?"
Leo nodded and followed her to some velvet cushioned chairs, left of the lobby.
"Desmond, take notes. Ma'am, tell us what you heard when you're ready."
Desmond promptly pulled out a small notepad and a silver-framed fountain pen.
The woman took a deep breath before recounting her story.
"It was a few days ago… My husband and I were making rounds, checking the pipes. Some of the tenants had complained of loud screeching sounds coming from them. As we went out back and just beside the wall, that's when we heard it. It sounded like… wolves. Huffing and digging, just beyond the wall. I ran so fast I thought my back was going to give out!"
Leo leaned forward and focused upon hearing her mention digging.
"You mean they might be trying to dig under the wall?"
She gulped and spoke after a pause,
"I'm afraid so…"
Leo's eyes narrowed. He looked over to Desmond's lap, ensuring that proper notes were being taken.
"This sort of thing isn't uncommon, especially in the lower sections of Augustine. Sometimes Cryptids like Dire Wolves, which sounds to be what you're describing, find soft spots in the foundation and try digging their way in."
He held his chin for a moment.
"However, there's hardly any vulnerable areas around here, if any at all…"
Desmond lifted his head before chiming in,
"Do you think we should just leave it alone? Based on what you're saying, it's likely they won't get in anyways."
Leo considered his words for some time before making his decision.
"No. Cryptids aren't stupid. They wouldn't try to dig into Section Three unless they had a larger, stronger pack capable of doing so."
The woman sat there, her knee bobbing up and down in nervousness.
Leo stood up and began walking towards the front doors.
Desmond hurried behind him.
Upon exiting the apartment, Leo commanded Desmond with a stern voice,
"Go back to Headquarters. Tell Caspian I said to send all available reinforcements to the East wall. I have a bad feeling about this one."
Desmond stiffened before nodding and running down the street.
Leo looked back to the wall, towering above the apartment building.
` Let's hope I'm right… `
About two hours later, a large portion of Augustine's Reveurs were stationed throughout the street.
Desmond jogged back up to Leo, huffing heavily as he came to a stop.
"What do we do now?"
Leo kept his eyes on the wall.
"You and I are going outside."
The boy's eyes widened in fear, his stomach dropping out of his boots.
"What?! Just the two of us? Didn't you say it would be a larger pack?"
Leo nodded.
"I did. I can confidently handle a couple dozen on my own. You need the experience."
Desmond looked around one last time, seeing countless men and women in uniform.
"Was all of this really necessary? Why would we need all of them if you can handle it yourself?"
"For all we know there could be hundreds out there. If we get overwhelmed, they could easily break through. In that case we need the Reveurs here to protect the civilians. It may seem like a bit much, but I'm just not willing to take that risk especially with how strong the Cryptids have been lately."
Desmond considered his words and nodded.
"Fair enough. So how exactly do we get outside?"
Leo kneeled slightly, tapping the bottom of his boots.
Afterwards, he wrapped his knuckles around Desmond's collar with a grip as strong as steel.
"This way."
Without warning, Leo blasted forward.
Zipping through the alleyway, he ran up the wall with Desmond in hand.
Only a moment later they reached the top of the wall, where Leo let go of his collar and let him drop.
Desmond remained on his knees, his hair disheveled and pushed back by the wind.
He stood up dizzily as he supported himself on his knees.
"So… that's how."
Leo walked forward, towards the outer edge of the wall.
He got on a knee and squinted as he studied the bottom.
His brain felt a buzz of surprise.
"There's only about ten Dire Wolves down there."
Desmond stared at Leo and sighed after a while.
"Seriously? All of this over ten dogs? There's no way they could get in!"
Leo continued staring down to the outside of the wall, studying the Dire Wolves intensely.
Desmond tugged in his shoulder.
"Come on, let's just go back down and call it a false alarm."
Leo shook his head slowly.
"No. They're not really trying to get in. They're just scratching the walls."
A confused expression grew on Desmond's face as he got on his hands and carefully looked down.
Leo stood as his eyes carried forward, to the mountains and wilderness of the outside world.
His eyes slowly widened.
"They're… distracting us."