Lucky Charms [marco]

[lip 2]

tagged to marco! 788 words!
Seriously?

Seriously.

The eighteen year old cocked his head to the side a bit as he looked at the map of the campus that was behind some glass kiosk looking...thing. A red lollipop was in his mouth - cherry flavored blow pop to be exact, and he looked ridiculous with his bed head brown locks sticking up in every direction, his round blue orbs wide with confusion, bushy eyebrows arched in skepticism, and a frown on his full lips with the white stick of the lollipop sticking out. Some of the inner parts of his lips were stained a deep red, his face one that would be comical in a cartoon or movie; so alive and full of expression. He was clad in a simple dark gray v neck shit that slightly clung to his upper torso but was a bit more loose fitted toward his abdomen. Loose fitted blue skinny jeans so his black briefs poked out a bit covered his strong legs and some random, high top, red, black, and white faded Nike Air Jordan's on his feet that looked pretty worn in. He didn't look like the son of a crazy Irish mob dude. No, he looked like some average kid, totally lost, while putting on his black and white fitted cap back on his head to somehow make his hair not look like he just rolled around in dirt or something. The lady on the phone said, in the meanest way possible might I add, that the tours were going to start in the student center. Everyone would meet there, get paired up, and go at it one on one throughout the campus. The phrasing itself had put him off, suddenly hoping the person was attractive who gave the tour, but after giving her such a cheeky remark, she had scoffed at him in disbelief and barked out the hours before hanging up. Maybe he should have bit his tongue but honestly?

He was just excited.

If he was in his wolf form, Lenny's tail would be wagging. But he wasn't and he knew better than to let people know he was a werewolf. That wouldn't really go over well, now would it?

But seriously?

Seriously.

The kid was lost. The map was full of colors and words, arrows and descriptions. He squinted as he looked at it, frowning some more as he rolled the lollipop around in his mouth. This totally wasn't helping. He was standing in some walkway that lead to a large lawn, the grass so perfectly manicured it sort of made him think of his own house and how his mother just had to have everything perfect. It freaked him out sometimes especially since his own room looked so thoroughly lived in...He was just glad that, hopefully, he'd get to dorm and not have to commute. That way he could get away from the pack for a bit longer during the day though he knew it was just another dream he wouldn't be able to achieve; another note scribbled on a piece of crumpled paper and tossed in the overflowing trash bin in the corner of his room by his desk. Turning around, he looked around at the few people walking by and, without hesitating, grabbed a random person who looked at him like he was a psycho, "Hey, do you know where the student center is?" the guy arched his eyebrow down at Lenny's hand grabbing his arm and the eighteen year old let go, giving a sheepish grin in the process, "Go through that archway and pass the business building with the stock market readings rolling across the front of it. You'll hit another lawn like this one and it'll be at the far end with the big letters that say....Student Center."

[/color]

Well that seemed far away but not that difficult. See? Everything worked out! "Thanks!"[/i] he said happily, immediately heading in that direction while looking down at his watch. Holy crap he was half an hour late! Freak face! He started running, but knew better than to full on sprint. He had to keep his appearance normal and thus, he felt like he was jogging when he was running pretty damn fast. He passed the business building with the red letter stuff the guy mentioned and then reached the lawn, crossing it to reach the student center; a round-ish looking building a little shorter than the rest. Opening the double doors, his hand went to the white gold skeleton key necklace that was forever around his neck, "Fudge pops!" he said through his lollipop, realizing there was no tour guides left, "You're supposed to be lucky," he said absently to the key at the end of the long chain. [/blockquote][/blockquote][/size][/font][/justify]

[Marco Stregoni]

Be prudent in striving for perfection for one who aims for it in everything achieves it in nothing

[STYLE=text-align: justify; border-bottom: 10px solid #4d4d4d; padding: 10 0 10 0;]The Robert Jordan University Institution of Fine Arts was the smallest in terms of population in both students and professors. Yet it was also one of the more successful ones as well. For one thing, it is recognized as an Institution, not a College and secondly, it has produced nine national artists since its inception. Thus, to those who manage to get into the program find themselves facing harsh demands from their professors to produce good, sound, and extremely excellent works of art.

But none of their professors would compare to Marco’s own personal demands.

Occupying the table at farthest corner of the classroom, Marco was busying inputting stuff in his tablet at the same time pausing to look at his work at his laptop. He was wearing a nautically inspired white and blue stripped tee shirt, a pair of fitted khaki pants with a light brown leather belt and a pair of black chucks.

He pursed his lips. He shook his head, there was just something innately wrong with what he was doing. He just couldn’t place his finger at it.

“Oh wow Marco, that’s awesome!” said a voice from behind.

Marco looked behind. It was Olivia. She embodied the free and easy going spirit common to most art students. Her outfit seemed to suggest the same, wearing a simple dark blue tank top tucked in a pair of moss green short shorts. She also wore a wide brown leather belt and numerous golden necklaces.

“Thanks. It’s…” Marco trailed off, his Italian accent thick. He went back to his tablet and laptop, tinkering with the image a bit. Olivia continued to look at the image Marco was working on.

“Where’s that supposed to be?” she said after a minute.

“Oh, it’s a café near the library. A small one but the food’s enough, order their tiramisu,” he replied as he was still tinkering with the image. He knew that place well, with Marco’s mafia duties it was one of the establishments that was enrolled in their “protection” program.

“Oh cool! I just might!” she said enthusiastically, “anyway, sir said we’re free to leave at eleven so I’m just heading out. I think I’m going to join the freshman tour thingy. You?”

Marco turned to Olivia, “Oh okay. I can teach you how to get there tomorrow if you want and yeah, I’ll join that tournée too.”

Olivia raised an eyebrow.

Marco blinked before realizing why. “Oh sorry, tournée, it means tour.”

“Oh alright! See you in a bit then!” with that Olivia left the classroom. Most of his classmates started leaving too. Most of them said called out and said waved good bye. It wasn’t long before Marco was the last one in the room and he was still trying to fix the picture he was making.

Still working on that? Said a voice in his head. Marco didn’t even bother to look away from his work. He knew very well who said that.

It’s just doesn’t feel right, Marco replied to Fons telepathically, his Lares. A Lares was a guardian deity who chose to watch over Marco. A cool aspect of the Lares was that at least when you talked to them you could talk to them telepathically, he didn't have to look all crazy talking to no one. Anyway, I’m still going to do something after this. You can go around the city if you want.

Sure, che suona divertente (that sound fun). Try not to get into trouble, okay?

You know me Fons, Marco said as he made a small smirk.

Yes I know you; chances are I’ll be saving your ass from some trouble again. Just call me when things get too rough!

With that Marco was truly alone and continued with his work.

He apparently lost track of time as he was continuing to perfect the image. Before he knew it the clock on his laptop said 11:21 AM. He cursed under his breath. The tours would start at a quarter after eleven! He saved his work, although a part of him was sure that he would delete everything and start over again when he got home. But now wasn’t the time to think about that, he packed his stuff in his brown leather messenger bag and went out the classroom.

It would take him around ten minutes to get to the student center. The University was very clear on its mission to provide it’s students with an “atmosphere conducive to academic learning,” and such there were a lot of parks, outdoor benches and such but at the same time it also meant that a lot of the buildings were spaced far apart.

“Olivia!” he shouted as he saw his friend. Great, she had an incoming freshman with her already. The tours had started.

“I thought you were going to join?” she asked as he approached.

“Well yeah, I got sidetracked. Any more freshmen?” he said.

“I guess? I heard someone say that there were late people.”

“Cool! Awesome! Alright, thanks!” he said as he continued on towards the student center.

After around five minutes of brisk walking, he finally saw the student center. If he had been early he would have seen a lot of freshmen socializing with the upperclassmen, now there was only one of the student council people holding a clipboard.

“Anymore freshmen?” he asked the student council person.

The dude checked his list, “Actually, there’s one more. He’s just running a little late” he said with a smile.

“Oh okay,” Marco took a deep breath, well at least he’d do something today. If he had to cancel today he had no idea what he’d do instead. Suddenly he saw a person jogging towards the student center. Since the guy wasn’t wearing a jogging attire, he stuck out like a sore thumb.

“Is that the guy?” he asked the student council person.

[lip 2]

tagged to marco! 825 words!

He wasn't going to survive his freshman year here...He just knew it. Though he knew Arc City like the back of his hand, knew what territory belonged to what person, knew the back roads and the tiny corner shops, knew the forest and outskirts, but when it came to this campus, he was at a loss. He blamed it on the fact that all the buildings pretty much looked the same except maybe a select few.. They were the same color and everything around him, for the most part, smelled so damn human unlike out on the streets. He stood there for a second, a hand reaching up to scratch the back of his ear with his head cocked a bit to the side. The lollipop remained in his mouth as his round orbs looked around but he couldn't find the person in charge probably because he wasn't really looking hard enough and, in a way, he was goofing off at this point. He figured he lost the tour all together and might as well come back for the next one. But as he finished scratching his ear, they seemed to perk at two people having a conversation and he seemed to whirl around in place. They were a good ways from him and any other normal person wouldn't have heard what they were saying. Granted, he wasn't a very normal person - even in his personality - and if anything he'd say he had an epiphany and realized he should turn around which was when he saw the two people and one of them holding a magical clipboard of glory.

Don't ask how he came up with all of this mumbo jumbo in his head. It just happened.

So, with a goofy smile set in place, the pup walked on over to the holder of the Holy Grail that was The Magical Clipboard of Glory, "I'm not too late, am I? I got lost,"

[/i] a sheepish grin fell on his face as he put a hand on the nape of his neck, cheeks staining a gentle tomato tone. He knew it was a total freshman move to get sidetracked and lost the way he did and though he was ever so slightly embarrassed about the ordeal, he simply accepted it. It was bound to happen and it would happen again the first day of every single course he would have to take. He looked between the two of them before he seemed tor realize something, "Oh man! I'm sorry! I'm Lennox but you can call me Lenny,"[/i] he didn't like using his last name. It seemed to make people react to him differently so he avoided it but as he held out a hand to shake the other person who didn't possess the Holy Grail, the wind seemed to give a little blow and the scent hit him like a plow truck. Of course, it wasn't in a bad way. No, it was just different and he only smelled it when he was around certain parts of the city. Plus, the other night not too long ago, the road to the airport reeked of it. Magic maybe? People who were able to use magic just smelled different. If they worked with demons, he could usually smell some kind of brimstone or fire on them through their cologne or perfume. It was always faint and probably why he didn't pick up on it until the wind blew.

This guy didn't smell like brimstone though.

Lennox felt his nose twitch a bit as he looked at the guy with the shock of black hair and bright blue eyes. He seemed nice enough - at least on first glance - and though he didn't feel any kind of threat, he stayed on his toes. Magic users, if this guy should be one, just made him a little edgy is all. They were unpredictable and he literally knew nothing about magic. He made a mental note to google it or something - remind himself that he needed to brush up on it if he wanted to please his father. Knowing more information than his old man would always prove to be an asset. Last thing he needed was for his father to deem him worthless and end up being cast out of the pack. It was all in his head, though, and he didn't hesitate to greeting the funny smelling guy before him. In his wolf form, his tail would be wagging excitedly, "Are you gonna' be givin' the tour?"[/i] he asked in an almost curious way, yet his anxious nature must have been showing through. He needed to stop seeming like such a freshman. He already knew it would be hard enough adjusting from going to a senior in high school at the top of the food chain to suddenly at the very bottom trying to make your way up again. The more friends the better. [/blockquote][/blockquote][/size][/font][/justify]

[Marco Stregoni]

Be prudent in striving for perfection for one who aims for it in everything achieves it in nothing

[STYLE=text-align: justify; border-bottom: 10px solid #4d4d4d; padding: 10 0 10 0;]The dude was practically spewing of the freshman vibe, even if he wasn’t a freshman at all! Marco noticed the anxiousness, the embarrassment when the guy said he got lost, even the whole oh-sorry-I-was-late-because-I-got-lost-in-this-totally-new-environment! The looked at the dude. The facial expression suggested that he was excited enough for this. Well in a way, Marco was too, he had a lot of things to do but sometimes a dude just wanted to do something for the heck of it and just chill.

Was Marco like that when he was an incoming freshman? He went on the pre-freshman tour too and he was eternally grateful for it when university started because everyone wanted to avoid the so-called “freshman moments.” Like when a person was walking, and he was walking damn proud, with purpose and dignity but suddenly he stops and you see doubt suddenly blossom on his face and suddenly he turns back around and walks the other way head down in shame.

That was a freshman moment.

The guy spoke, snapping Marco back to reality. “Well that makes two of us, I just got here myself” he replied to the guy, his Italian accent extremely evident. Soon after he introduced himself as Lenny. Just Lenny.

“Cool. You can call me Marco,” he said with a smile. Marco wasn’t the only one avoiding saying his last name. While some people didn’t see the point of sharing their last name just because it was a hassle, in Arc, to share your last name would potentially tag you right of the bat. Especially with Marco, his Stregoni last name marked himself in both worlds. In the legitimate world he was going to be known for the son-of-the-dude-who-owns-the-largest-hotel-resort-in-the-city. It had a polarizing effect to people’s reaction to him as well. The business majors scoffed to think that someone who was going to inherit that large business was wasting his time in art classes while the art people were in awe thinking that he was so good in business already that he was just chilling and doing something he enjoys.

But whatever, this was Marco’s life and his dad said that to be a Don was more than being educated. It meant being a leader, letting your influence make people believe in you so much that they’d be willing to follow you to the impossible and back. That being a Don was more than what to think but instead how to think. Or something along those lines.

He turned towards the student council dude. “So I’ll take care of him?”

“Yeah sure,” the dude checked his clipboard, “So that’s all of you. We have lunch at around one o’clock at Brandon. See you there!” he said cheerfully.

“Alright thanks!” he said as he led Lenny out of the student center. As soon as he was out of earshot to the student council dude, he immediately turned to Lenny, “So why RJU? Oh and want to ditch the lunch? Brandon Hall serves…umm…” he trailed off looking for a good adjective, “…decent food, besides you’ll be eating there a lot when you enter University. I can take you somewhere else if you want. My treat.”

[lip 2]

655 WORDS - TAGGED: MARCO

Lenny seemed relieved this guy wasn't a tool or a douche bag...or an asshole. That would make for an unpleasant tour. He didn't seem to pester Lenny about his surname either which was a relief. A lot of teachers and professors tended to get annoyed when he didn't give them his last name right off the bat. He figured it had something to do with trying to be professional or groom the students into future products to be marketed to the job-hunting industry, "Well,"

[/i] he thought about it for a moment before shrugging and just giving his answer the way he'd given it to everyone else, "It's the best school within a twenty mile radius, has the program I want, is highly recommended, and since I can afford it...why let it go to waste?"[/i] he was hoping he didn't come off as a complete prick. They were all true and he meant them sincerely. If you had the money to go to a good school, why waste it by going to a bad one where you wouldn't get the title you really wanted or get your money's worth? It would be stupid, really. So Lenny took advantage of his family's wealth and figured attending this school would look good and would make him feel good about himself. They would offer him the education he definitely needed and it wasn't outside of Arc City - the only place he knew to call home.

He couldn't imagine, being a werewolf, having a very warm welcome anywhere else. He had thought about it and figured it was too dangerous. Though his father wasn't angry at him attending school-it was that he was putting it above everything else. Other parents would be ecstatic for a kid like Lenny. For a werewolf? He was their disappointment - a crown he wore, usually, with his head hung low and a whimper coming out of his muzzle.

"Word? Thanks, bro,"[/i] he seemed to sigh gratefully at having a heads up, "Goin' somewhere else sounds awesome but it's okay - I can pay for myself,"[/i] he smiled his goofy grin. He was using his parents' money but it didn't bother him so much since it was to feed his hungry belly - a growing boy had to eat and Marco was already doing him a favor by showing him around campus. He didn't want to burden him anymore by having him buy his lunch too. Plus, it made him feel a bit like... a toddler? Yeah. A toddler. That was an accurate description. Like he had to have someone hold his hand through everything when Lenny was capable of taking care of himself...for the most part, "There's this awesome Spanish place down of 54th,"[/i] he said it with ease, oblivious to the fact Marco might not know the city as well as he did but he was making assumptions.

"By the way, what's your major?"[/i] he eyed the guy he was walking with, eyes narrowing as if trying to figure it out but having trouble with it. Nah, he couldn't peg this guy for a stereotypical...anything. Most people thought since Lenny was such a goof that he would be interested in a language or something or even teaching since he could be outgoing and charismatic in front of a crowd and seemed to feel no shame. Instead, he was going into a field that involved a lot of research, people watching, and patience - all of which he knew he was good at, especially the last two. At the moment, he seemed off the wall and like he was on a sugar rush but usually he was much more relaxed. He was just excited to see the school he'd only visited less than a handful of times for parties. He only knew where the dorms were and, now, the student center. Other than that - it was like he was walking around blind.[/font][/size][/justify][/blockquote][/div][/center]

[Marco Stregoni]

Be prudent in striving for perfection for one who aims for it in everything achieves it in nothing

[STYLE=text-align: justify; border-bottom: 10px solid #4d4d4d; padding: 10 0 10 0;]Marco just listened to Lenny say his reasons as to why he chose RJU. Judging from the goofy attitude, the whole chill vibe he just seemed to have, and the clothing, Marco assumed that Lenny was the type of dude who had enough money to spare so that he could goof off, that and Lenny did just say that he could afford RJU. Marco too had the same reasons for RJU. It was near, heck is was in Arc City. He could do his mafia operations and still go to University as well. But other than that, the RJU was one of the best Universities now.

Although he wouldn’t complain if he were to study in, say, Venice, he actually found studying in Arc an extremely enjoyable thing. It was a nice change of pace really. He didn’t have to content with tourists as much, so that was a definite plus. The people here were awesome too and he actually enjoyed the change in culture.

It was in Arc where he finally honed his English skills but admittedly, there were quite a few moments when he’d suddenly slip back to Italian and speak it right in a middle of an English conversation.

“The Spanish one of 54th…” Marco repeated softly as the two were walking. He was running through all the restaurants on that road. “Oh, that one, wait there’s two of them right? There’s La Dorada, the fine dining one and Juanito, the more casual one.”

"Yeah, yeah! Juanito!” Lenny said gleefully.

“Good choice, La Dorada’s food is just bad. Il servizio fa schifo troppo. They give you ambiance, ma con il cibo come quello,” he stuck out his tongue in disgust.

“Wait...what? No way," Lenny suddenly said. "What did you say? I wanna learn Italian!" He could hardly contain his amazement.

“Oh sorry, I was just bashing the risto – restaurant, and yeah, I still speak Italian English,” Marco said as he gave a sheepish grin. “Well, Janito for lunch then.” He was kinda bummed that Lenny declined his offer of hospitability, the Stregoni were known for many things, one of those being their hospitality. Oh well, at least Lenny suggested a restaurant, Marco didn’t have to impose where they were going to eat. And that would be against his hospitability.

Marco stopped walking and opened his mouth, he was about to introduce the admin building to him but suddenly Lenny cut him, asking him about his major.

“Oh, I study Visual Communications. It’s like fine arts with the new digital art stuff too. They also teach us about advertising too,” he said. He looked back at the path they just walked on and pointed. “See that building? The one with that white and glass walls? Yeah, that’s the fine arts building. It’s small but it’s one of the better looking buildings if I say so myself,” he said a huge grin and with a pride.

Marco turned back to the admin building “Anyway, so this is the main admin building. If you have any problem with units or something, here’s the place to go. Oh and when you’re about to enroll, I’d suggest going here early, they like to take their lunch breaks before lunch,” he shook his head indignantly at that, remembering the time when he forgot to wake up on time and suddenly he was faced with a forty minute waiting time just because the admin people already went out to lunch.

After the admin building, they went to the other areas of the University. They went to the buildings where some of Lenny’s required classes would be, to the other areas like where to find a good spot to eat and where to smoke. Marco introduced him to other buildings and told him fun trivia about the University. Things like, “Don’t buy coffee from there, it’s bad. If you want a morning fix, the coffeeshop in the Math building is good enough,” or “They serve awesome fries at the kiosk over there, they sell pens too just in case you lost yours.”

At some point, the two reached a fork. Each path would lead them to totally different areas of the University. That’s when the thought struck Marco. “Oh yeah, I never did ask for your major,” he said to Lenny.

[lip 2]

600 WORDS - TAGGED: MARCO

Lenny listened and nodded, making mental notes about everything the older tour guide told him. He had to pay attention or he'd just forget. The only times he didn't forget things was when he was in a classroom and even then he sometimes would rush to go do assignments because it slipped his mind. He hated when that happened. He knew he’d have to write more stuff down on post its to remind himself or it would be the end of the world. When he explained that he was in Visual Arts, he made that a mental note too, laughing a bit when he hinted that the building he, Lenny assumed, spent most of his time in was the best one in architectural form. It was easy on the eyes that’s for sure, ”Word,”

[/i] he chuckled.

Okay. Pens, main building, food. Okay, he could do this…No, he couldn’t. He should have brought something to write all of this down but figured he’d be okay come September when he would have to attend the university. He’d already gotten accepted so there wasn’t really any backing down anyway…well, he could, but then he’d beat himself up over it for the rest of his life. His large orbs followed Marco’s gestures and words like a puppy, nodding when he understood and cocking his head to the side when he was a bit slow to catch on to things.

When they reached a fork in the road, Lennox was still trying to memorize everything Marco had bombarded him with so he seemed distracted when the question was tossed in his direction. He was looking down both paths before he seemed to shake his head to clear it up, ”Oh! Uhm Human Behavioral Ecology,”[/i] it sounded long and fancy especially for someone who seemed like a bit of an airhead, ”It’s just a fancy way of calling people who study other people’s behaviors, cultures, and how they affect one another and feed off each other,”[/i] he grinned with ease, obviously feeling more comfortable in a new environment as long as something was familiar and talking about his major, what he wanted to be when he got older…it just made him feel more relaxed.

Most people, upon hearing Lenny say he wanted to do that, looked at him skeptically. However, the boy was an honor roll student. He’d already taken advanced placement courses in order to earn a few early college credits. He scored extremely high on his S.A.T’s. He was even involved on the school’s soccer team. He could get a sports scholarship if he wanted but he didn’t want to become a professional soccer player. He wanted to be taken seriously and not be glorified over sports so he didn’t plan on playing sports in college…though that could change very quickly considering how much her loved playing soccer…He’d have to talk to Tolya about it later, ”I probably sounded like such a nerd right there,”[/i] he laughed, showing it wasn’t a big deal at all to him to sound that nerdy. Nerds became the successful ones. They were smart – maybe socially retarded – but still smart, ”I can’t draw to save my life. I think I can draw a stick figure, a stick house, and a stick dog and cat. That’s the extent of my artistic abilities,”[/i] but people watching? That he could do especially in his wolf form. It was easier then, just crouching low. It was like trying to learn the behavior of your prey before pouncing on it and having dinner. It was easy once you got the hang of it.[/font][/size][/justify][/blockquote][/div][/center]

[Marco Stregoni]

Be prudent in striving for perfection for one who aims for it in everything achieves it in nothing

[STYLE=text-align: justify; border-bottom: 10px solid #4d4d4d; padding: 10 0 10 0;]Human Behavioral Ecology. The title seemed foreign to Marco and he was about to open his mouth to ask what the hell the title meant but Lenny was kind enough to give him an apt description. So, it was like anthropology mixed with a little psychology, or was it the other way around? He shook his head, going back to his conversation with Lenny. Marco raised an eyebrow when Lenny first said it. Human Behavioral Ecology. Too fancy for a dude that chill, but Marco stopped that thought after a while. For one thing, appearances always tried to deceive you. Heck, Lenny could even be an honor student while having that chill attitude. Besides, people raised their eyebrows too when Marco, as chill as he is, suddenly start talking about how Leonardo di Vinci specifically changed the world of art.

Marco laughed with Lenny when the latter said that he probably sounded like a nerd. “Nah, don’t sweat it. I’d sound like one too if we talk about art,” that much was true. Get him talking long enough and with a topic like art and he’d just start spewing off terms like perspective, color gradients, distribution of space and that sort of thing. Everyone was a nerd deep down, some people were just more vocal about it. With Marco, he was the type of dude to be just chill and let it out when he feels like it. Perhaps it’s his chill attitude that makes Marco so hard to stereotype. Well one can hope.

He ran his fingers through his hair as he looked down at the forked path. Hmm…the subject sounded like a social science sort of thing. “Okay, let’s go this way,” he said to Lenny while pointing at the rightmost path, “Oh and that path leads to the football field and the that one leads to the engineering complex,” he added.

The two were finally about to go when suddenly he heard a loud bark from behind.

Behind him, about ten steps away, a huge black Rottweiler was sitting diligently. The dog didn’t do anything. It was just sitting. Suddenly, the dog barked once more and at the same time a voice spoke in his head.

Miss me? The voice said.

“Fons,” Marco said out loud. The dog barked once more, the bark had an affirmative tone to it. Marco shook his head as the dog approached him before sitting down right in front of him.

What are you doing here? Marco asked as he crouched down to pet the dog. But Marco just did that so it wouldn’t look too awkward for Marco and Fons, as the dog, stare intently at each other.

I told you to keep safe! Now I sense you running around with a werewolf! Fons said. The concern was evident.

Werewolf? What werewolf? Marco replied. Fons looked at Lenny, from Marco’s point of view he could see Fon’s dog eyes squint a little before giving out a very dangerous-sounding bark, Marco looked at Lenny. An apologetic expression on his face. “Ugh…this is Fons. He’s not usually like this,” he said to Lenny. Marco turned back to Fons. What the hell was that all about? And why are you a dog?

Well it was the most convenient form I could take and Rottweilers are known for not taking kindly to strangers, especially strangers who are werewolves. The Lares projected that word back to Marco with a much heavier emphasis and with that the dog looked at Lenny again and gave another threatening bark. Marco placed his hand on the dog’s head, as if trying to sooth him down.

“Fons!” he said out loud and in a reprimanding tone. He had to keep up appearances. He turned to Lenny again, “Wait, sorry. I don’t know what’s happening to Fons right now.” Cut it out Fons! I’m just trying to have a normal day today!

He’s a werewolf! Couldn’t you sense it?

I don’t try to sense everyone I just meet!

Well you should, because I’m telling you this one is a werewolf. The dog tried to bark again but Marco firmly clamped the dog’s mouth with his hands. “Fons!” he said again.

Fine, let’s assume he’s a werewolf. Prove it. Marco said to Fons. The dog looked at him, he could sense by the dog’s eyes that Fons was very irritated at the moment.

Alright, fine. Tell him to shake my hand then. The Lares thought back to Marco.

Marco let out a sigh of relief, he looked back at Lenny with a cheerful smile on his face. “Everything looks good now. Why don’t you shake his hand – paw. Whatever. Come on boy! Shake hands!” Thankfully the Lares followed suit, lifting its right paw so that Lenny could shake it.

What are you planning?

Just watch and see, a little spell that would only work on werewolves.

Marco rolled his eyes. The Lares could be just so…pompous at times. “Come on,” he said to Lenny. Marco stood up and stretched,” I guess we’ll have to take Fons with us."

The three resumed the little tour. After a few paces away, as the three were walking, Marco asked his Lares telepathically. So how’d you find out I had company to begin with.

Fons’ reply was simple. I’m a Lares. I know things.

[lip 2]

LOTS OF WORDS - TAGGED: MARCO

"You have a dog!" was the first thing that flew out of Lenny's uncontrollable mouth when his eyes landed on Fons, the look of happiness and excitement on his face. Lenny, obviously, loved all canines from coyotes to tiny yapping puppies. But upon hearing the warning growl from the pooch, he arched both thick eyebrows in surprise. He was used to always being around friendly dogs. None ever really gave him that look or made that sound unless Lenny was breaking some unspoken rule. But he had only stood there. He hadn't even attempted or thought of attempting to pet him without Marco's permission first. He knew how people could be with their dogs. Marco seemed to reprimand the rottweiler as Lenny looked between the two as if perplexed by the situation.

"Weird...I never had a problem with dogs before...guess he's overprotective," he smiled, not taking it personally. It was just a dog who considered Lenny a threat to his owner that's all...right? Yep, that was the only reason he could think of. But upon the strange request, Lenny didn't even hesitate as if pleasing the dog would somehow make things go over smoother. The teenager easily and gently took the dog's paw in his own hand and gave it a bit of a shake as if he were a human, "At least you got him well trained, yeah?" he chuckled again, feeling much more at ease now that the dog wasn't trying to kill him for talking to Marco or just, well, existing. Maybe he smelled funny to him? But Lenny would have noticed if he smelled weird, wouldn't he?

But when his hand grabbed the paw, he felt a weird shock in his neck and he unintentionally let out an almost whimpering howl - as if he were trying to suppress such a reaction but it came out anyway. The hell? He quickly let go of the dog's paw as if that had somehow done and rubbed his neck. He felt like those dogs who wore those collars that shocked them whenever they barked and when he had wanted to say something about how nice Fons was, it ended up coming out as a slightly chocked howl and once he'd let go, he'd looked at Fons with his eyes as if saying that was just mean...what did I ever do to you? And again, a suppressed whimper escaped him but he shook his head as if to make it go away - making him look like a dog shaking out its coat after running through the rain.

"That's fine. The more the merrier!" he grinned that silly puppy grin from ear to ear that made the wrinkles appear n the corner of his eyes and a little dimple show up on his right cheek, "How long you had him for? He seems super attached...like you two have some really strong vibes goin' on right now," he motioned between the two of them while walking. They really did seem connected though. He didn't know why he was so acute to such a bond. He usually only got that from animals with their owners but not the other way around so much. The two seemed intensely connected on some weird level he couldn't explain. It rocked him to the core and slightly made him uneasy like something wasn't entirely right with the situation. Something was just plain off but he seriously couldn't put his finger on it. Plus, that weird paw trick thing just freaked him out. How can another dog force an inner howl out of him? Granted it wasn't loud and obnoxious, it had been small but only because he'd tried to force it down, keep it from coming up and making him look like a freak.

Without thinking twice, he scratched behind his left ear with his hand quickly, as if it were a back paw.He felt the urge to go running through the forest hitting his bones. What the hell man? He usually controlled his urges to transform pretty damn easily but this was just...weirdo dog. It was his fault! Or maybe it was all in his head...Ugh...

[Marco Stregoni]

Be prudent in striving for perfection for one who aims for it in everything achieves it in nothing

[STYLE=text-align: justify; border-bottom: 10px solid #4d4d4d; padding: 10 0 10 0;]There were great oak trees that lined the path they were in. It was a testament to the trees’ age that they formed a natural, elegant and continuous archway with the way that the tips of the branches of one tree met the other branches of the trees at the other side of the path. Because of the natural canopy of leaves above, there were only slivers of light that came through and with the wafting winds caressing the tree branches, those slivers of light moved slowly across the concrete path and creating a very interesting visual effect.

Another breeze passed by and Marco took a deep breath, savoring the moment of peace. Marco noticed that one of the trees had a very cool yellow marking. He just needed something peaceful to look at with the way that Fons was continuously bombarding him with a full physiological report about werewolves. The Lares was so intent in proving that Lenny was one and was not stopping until Marco agreed.

On Marco’s end, He really didn’t care if the incoming freshman was a werewolf or not. At least the other boy didn’t try to kill him. Besides, he had met only a handful of those creatures and for most, if not all, those times they were in full on wolf mode and were just rampaging in the battlefield. So if ever the dude was one, at least Marco could say that he had a decent encounter with a werewolf.

Just look at how that werewolf scratched his ear like that, almost like a cane (dog). And you can’t ignore the way he whimpered when we shook hands, Fons said in his mind. Marco noticed that too. Okay, so perhaps some of the Lares’ observations matched with what a werewolf would potentially act. The operative word being potentially. Marco hadn’t had any moments just chilling with a werewolf in human mode so he had no idea what how valid Fons’ arguments were.

But it was a Lares speaking, and Marco had to admit that Fons had a lot more experiences than he did. Werewolves, vampires and many of the other supernatural races didn’t necessarily change in the last few centuries. So maybe the Lares was right? Gah! This was getting annoying. Marco shook his head. That kind of thinking would get to nowhere. Maybe the dude was a werewolf, maybe not. Whatever.

Yeah but still, I mean the dude’s not trying to –

"How long you had him for? He seems super attached...like you two have some really strong vibes goin' on right now," Lenny suddenly said.

Marco was glad that Lenny decided to talk, but he did notice that the incoming freshman acted funny after Fons did whatever the heck he did.

“For a couple of years actually,” Marco started, he looked up as if trying to remember the exact details but he was just trying make up something on the spot, “well yeah, my dad wanted a cool guardian dog for me so I’ve been stuck with Fons for quite some time,” he as he looked at Lenny with a goofy smile on his face. At the exact same moment, Fons let out a happy bark.

You’re actually a convincing cane da guardia (guard dog), you know? Marco thought to the Lares

Well I’ve been told that I’m a good actor, the Lares replied sarcastically.

“Anyway, I don’t remember the path being this long,” Marco looked at the path. He knew that the path was long and winding, but he never thought it would be this long. The path that they were in now was one of the more popular shortcuts that cut through the more vegetated area of the University. So the path wasn’t as well tended as the rest, the maintenance people wanted a more “natural” and “forest-like” look for this area.

Suddenly, it was as if a piece of ice had just been dropped in Marco’s stomach. A cold nervousness was blossoming. A cold chill just passed through his body. Marco knew that feeling well. It came from his powers, “Voice of the Winds,” they called it. For Marco he’d always have a gut feeling if there was a storm coming, in both a figurative and literal sense. It wasn’t developed yet, but it was already useful.

So what was happening now?

Marco’s eyebrows were furrowed as he looked around for something. He noticed a rather cool yellow marking in one of the trees. He felt another cold chill run across his body, the hairs on his nape almost stood up.

Fons, he started.

Yeah I felt it too, something’s not right.

Damn. Was this another instance of the arc’s magic slipping out? He’d experienced it before, things that couldn’t happened actually happened, freak accidents or creatures just popping up trying to kill anyone in its path. If this was another one of those times…

Marco stopped walking, putting a hand up to gesture Lenny to stop. “Do you feel that?” he asked the other boy, “there’s…something.” Yes, there was definitely something.

And whatever it was, it was just wrong.

[lip 2]

871 WORDS - TAGGED: MARCO

Lenny had managed to stop walking just as the wind blew in their direction and Marco grabbed him to stop. Yeah, there was something wrong. It was an overwhelming feeling in his bones, in his nose, his muscles, his essence and before he could stop himself, his face was looking right at the yellow on the trees. His eyes seemed to dart from each one it was on and soon enough, he wasn’t able to suppress the growl that emitted from the depths of his very being. A nasty look came on his face as he sniffed the air and looked over at a large patch of vegetation, tall and well overgrown. Didn’t this college protect its students? He felt safer in the damn academy he attended at this point. He was cautious as he approached it, remembering to remain light on his feet as he sniffed the air and let out another warning snarl at whatever was in there. At this point, he didn’t care if Marco and his weirdo guard dog saw him. No one else was on the path so that was fine by him. One person knowing couldn’t possibly bring down the destruction of his father’s well trained pack. Nah and if anything, he’d just beg for him to keep his mouth shut…or hire someone to ruin him and his family. It wasn’t Lenny’s style – not at all – but when it came to his family, especially his pack, he just felt obligated to do so – like the loyalty he felt was so far engraved into his bones and even if he wanted to get rid of it, he simply couldn’t. It was part of his nature to protect them but it was also, in a sense, his fate to overcome such an obstacle. He had to break free of his leash sometime…he knew it was inevitable but waiting for that day was something he’d learned to just be patient with.

Lenny didn’t have to explain to Marco what the danger was – just that he sensed a whole lot of it and with the feeling of movement and the scent of something he really wasn’t sure was possible to exist, he quickly seemed to take a few hearty steps backwards as the creature finally appeared. He didn’t know how to really describe it but either way, the werewolf teen seemed to take no hesitation in taking his shirt off and kicking off the rest of his clothes, showing off a tanned and strong, muscular frame. But the moment didn’t last long as his limbs snapped and contorted, mouth stretching into the shape of a muzzle just as he jumped in the air so it all seemed to happen simultaneously. He was lunging for the creature, snapping his jaw and managing to catch it by its shoulder before it could reach Marco and the weirdo dog. Lenny let go and ducked before the thing could hit him, sliding back a little past where Marco was, his ears flat against his head as he crouched on all fours. For some reason, it didn’t enter his head that Marco – hell maybe even the dog – could have conjured all of this up. No, his senses seemed to tell him otherwise. The dog still gave him the chills but Marco was fine in his book. This beast looking thing, though, was not.

It explained the yellow on the trees, however. The beast was almost the same tone – if not spewing it from its pores…With that in mind, the teenager spat the fowl taste out of his mouth before he started baring his teeth, eyes glowing a bright goldenrod at the thing. This wasn’t cool, man. Couldn’t their parents keep the fighting between themselves and not drag their kids into it? He probably sounded like a beauty queen to everyone with the whole world peace concept. Really, Lenny just didn’t like all the unnecessary violence. They killed your wife? Your kids? Your dog? By all means start crackin’ skulls. He called you a turd face? A wet dog? Get the hell over it. Words were just words. Actions were always stronger. At least, that was how he saw it. He was sure mages saw it differently. Words were pretty damn powerful in their realities.

He dug his back heels into the ground, going into a starters position. He knew he could be fast and if he was fast enough, he could knock him at least off his feet so it would be easier and with then, he took a deep breath and sped off, throwing all his weight and momentum into the beast so it was knocked over only to have it, on the way down, knock Lenny away so he skid into the vegetation and slammed into a tree. Ouch. Probably not the best move but biting it was just so nasty…and he never said he was an expert fighter. He was an expert thinker…expert lover? Nah the last sounded too funny. But what if the beast was from the Arc? Damn…that would suck big time, then, and it would explain why Lenny felt like he hit a brick house. At least he managed to knock him back…so it wasn’t totally in vain.

[Marco Stregoni]

Be prudent in striving for perfection for one who aims for it in everything achieves it in nothing

[STYLE=text-align: justify; border-bottom: 10px solid #4d4d4d; padding: 10 0 10 0;]The creature in front of them had a human silhouette but that was about it as to looking human. It seemed that the creature was made from tree branches and there was yellow slime, viscous and bubbling, spewing from the cracks in the branches.

The creature lunged forward. Instinctively Marco out his hands up in a defensive position. Wow, as if that would help. Marco’s arms versus a ranging tree monster spewing yellow slime. Gah! Marco didn’t have time to cast a decent spell from this distance! He sensed magical energy built up within Fons but before the Lares could release whatever spellwork he was making, a huge mass of fur darted passed him.

Marco’s eyes widened in shock. Wow, the Lares was right, Lenny was a werewolf. He saw Lenny tackle the tree creature down, biting at the thing’s shoulder. The creature retaliated but Lenny was agile enough for him to dodge the attack. The werewolf slid back, coming at level where Marco and Fons were standing.

Fons we can’t be seen, Marco suddenly said to the Lares telepathically. Glamor spell? Loop spell? What’s the easiest to do?

Neither, the arc is doing it for us.

What? One of Marco’s face immediately had a look of confusion.

We’re in a loop spell right now. See that bend in the path? the Lares started. Marco looked up, past the werewolf and the tree creature fighting, the path extended for a few meters, the path slightly turned to the right and after a few meters it disappeared in the dense vegetation.

The loop starts from there? Marco asked the Lares.

Or ends there, the Lares answered. Marco looked behind, the path behind him was also like that, with the road slightly inclining to the left before disappearing as it turned.

So the yellow marking earlier?

Era solo uno (It was just one), we’ve been walking through the loop for quite some time.

Marco grit his teeth. All this time? They were under the arc’s spell all this time? The crime organizations of this family tried desperately to gain access to the arc, to control if for their own needs but the arc was controlling them too. When things like this happened, and they happened often, was it the arc’s way of saying “screw you bitches” or something like that? The arc was playing with their lives, treating each life as a thread in a grand weave. This was why so many people met others in such random occurrences. The arc was controlling them as much as they wanted to control the arc.

Suddenly a loud thud that made Marco snap back to the situation at the moment. Lenny was down, it seemed that he had charged at the tree creature, but at least the creature was down too. Marco took this slight pause in battle to do his magic. Lenny wasn’t the only one capable of defending himself.

He reached for his bag and took out his athame. The blade was rather wide and it didn’t gleam as much, the blade wasn’t sharp because it wasn’t used for cutting. It was a ceremonial blade and despite being dull, it made the blade much more dangerous.

Marco pierced the ground with his athame. Marco closed his eyes and breathed deeply. He opened his eyes and looked directly at the tree creature, “Settiano, beings of flame. Guardians of the Watchtower of the South, I invoke you,” he started. He said each word slowly and while doing so he let his hand rest right on top of the athame’s hilt. The Lares was in front of him, in a defensive position. Ready to cast a barrier should the creature do anything again.

“…exemplar of life and vitality, of purification and motion, purge all those unnatural in this plane, purge those the things that bring unbalance in the plane, by my bloodline I invoke thee…” as he was doing this runes were appearing at the athame as if someone was writing them directly on the athame’s surface. The runes were in a bright orange hue and it was pulsing with the same frequency as a heartbeat.

“…By the blood of Diana and Darius following in my veins, Invoco di intervenire! (I invoke you to take action!)” Marco’s voice was rising as he finished the spell and as soon as he said the last word he immediately gripped the athame’s hilt. It was much heavier than usual, a side effect of the spell he had cast on it. As Marco raised the athame, the blade was engulfed by violently swirling orange flames.

Marco pointed the blade directly at the creature; its orange flames swirled and collected themselves at the blade’s tip into a sphere of swirling flames. The sphere grew smaller and smaller and as that was happening a whistling sound soon filled the air and its pitch was getting higher and higher. Marco let his other hand clutch the hilt too in order to keep his aim at the creature.

Suddenly, a huge jet of flame erupted from the little sphere, Marco’s elbows buckled slightly at the recoil of the spell, but thankfully the spell’s aim was not compromised.

[lip 2]

958 WORDS - TAGGED: MARCO

When the scent of magic his his nose, he backed off, watching Marco carefully do his thing. He didn't like this Arc business. If it were up to him, he wouldn't mess with it unless it tried to fight him off or something like this...icky creature looking dude who should probably see a doctor about his puss condition. He stood on his hind legs, then, watching Marco with curiosity, his ears flattening against his head as he watched the flames form and then be cast out to the creature. Hopefully the damn thing was finally down especially with such a loud sound but instead, as the smoke rose and lifted away, the creature seemed to have absorbed the impact and Lenny growled in agitation. This guy couldn't just go away could he? All he wanted was a nice little tour of the university he would attend in the future. Something normal and human but NOOOOOOO - he just had to ruin it!

Lenny let out a snarl as he sprinted toward the creature, this time aiming for the neck. He leaped up in the air to lock his jaw around the creature's neck, locking on, and giving a terrible shake like a dog playing with a toy. The claws in his paws latching on to his chest and back in the meantime and then, putting all his adrenaline and force into it, placed his hind legs on what should have been his ribs and propelled himself off, ripping out the neck as a whole and tearing up the torso in the meantime, yellow ooze all over the place. As the creature seemed to start to boil and bubble over, the head toppling into the body as it seemed to melt like the wicked witch of the west in the Wizard of Oz, the fire Marco had used on him earlier seemed to burn at it's interior brightly before the yellow ooze snuffed it out.

While all this happened, Lenny had turned back into his human form and, not realizing or very much so caring that he was naked, was attempting to get all the ooze off of him, "This is so fudging gross!" he said while spitting and attempting to get the ooze that got onto him off his face, hands, and abdomen. EW ew ew ew ew! He should have paid more attention to the fact he was naked and that his clothing was completely covered in ooze behind him minus maybe his boxer briefs. Yeah, that was about it. It wasn't like he had much to be ashamed of. His abdomen was well cut, his shoulders broad and strong, arms and legs defined. He looked like a lean version of a comic book hero minus the tights and cape. Just naked.

But, while shaking himself out like a dog would (without much result), he walked over and grabbed his undies and slipped them on, holding up his shirt and pants that were drenched in yellow, "Man...I really liked this shirt too," he didn't entirely seemed phased that they fought a monster from the arc. Really, it was bound to happen. Lennox just disliked the entire ordeal greatly. It was the slime thing mostly. He wanted to go and take a shower somewhere, put on fresh clothes, and start the day over but it was impossible. And it then hit him, with his back turned to Marco, that he had seen him in his wolf form...and seen Marco use magic. His ears seemed to perk up as he stood up straighter and more at attention, whirling around to look at Marco and Fons, "You're not a dog, are you?!" he pointed at the Lares, "That was mean, ya know...doing that thing you did before all of this," he mentioned toward the making him scratch his ear and the electric thingy but he seemed to calm down after a few minutes. The adrenaline was starting to wear off and the need to get clean was coming more to to his attention, "That was pretty cool though," he put a hand on the nape of his neck as he spoke toward Marco, "That fire thing? Awesome stuff," he complimented the guy, unable to contain himself. Hell, if Lenny could get fire to come out of his hands or whatever that easily, he would be a happy camper. It would make cooking so much easier and convenient! And if he wanted to play a prank on someone - bam. Heat up the bottom of their seat o they freak out. Cold in the winter? Let's get cozy.

He shook out his shirt and then his pants, his sneakers completely obliterated. He frowned at it, almost saddened that they were ruined. He hated shopping...more so because he wasn't all that picky with his clothing and for some reason sales associates thought he should be, given his last name and all the money behind it. Either way maybe Marco had a spell or something that could magically clean him and his clothing up so he didn't have to walk around with just his boxers on and with that thought, he gave a curious look toward the two before him. Really, he should know better than to trust them. One was a mage and the other was a thingy. He didn't know what he was. But it obviously wouldn't be good if they suddenly attacked him. He was still trying to get the nasty ooze taste out of his mouth.

[Marco Stregoni]

Be prudent in striving for perfection for one who aims for it in everything achieves it in nothing

[STYLE=text-align: justify; border-bottom: 10px solid #4d4d4d; padding: 10 0 10 0;]With his athame out, Marco was ready to attack the werewolf. He couldn’t trust that the werewolf keep his emotions and just stay there. They were like vampires in a way, but the only emotion that went on rampage was rage. But when the boy suddenly lamented his shirt, with that Marco was extremely confused. Still, maybe the boy was putting on a show so that Marco would conveniently trust him again, believe that inter-specie cooperation was possible but in the end the werewolf would only use him to get out of here.

But it seemed like the Lares was right and Marco was wrong. Great. Aside from the obvious sting of defeat, the Lares had that type of personality that just wanted to rub whatever win he had. All the time. Marco could already sense the smugness coming from the Lares as Lenny was cleaning up.

Marco…the Lares started. Oh, yes, it was going to start.

Cosa vuoi Fons? (What do you want Fons?)

Something you want to tell me? Great, the Lares was actually looking forward to this.

No, non proprio. (No, not really), Marco thought back, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

Davvero? (Really?) Well I just proved you wrong! That half-naked regazzo (boy) is a werewolf. Fons though back, Marco made a smug smile as he looked at the Rottweiler. Ha! Even in his smugness Marco was still able to mess with Fons.

Well, the guy just saved our lives and defeated the thing!

Oh really, it wasn’t just because the guy had an extremely good –

Fons. Marco though back, there was a certain undertone to that thought, as if to say to the Lares “Do not continue that thought,” it seemed to work since the Lares really didn’t continue that thought.

Fine, but I’m still right, Marco rolled his eyes at that, well, at least Fons knew how to hold on to his pride.

"You're not a dog, are you?!" Marco saw Lenny point at the Lares accusingly, "That was mean, ya know...doing that thing you did before all of this.”

Marco let out a sigh, well it seemed he had thrown out his cards too with that display of magic. Well at least Lenny found it cool. At least the werewolf, yes, Marco called Lenny a werewolf, at least the werewolf didn’t charge at him or something. That was definitely new, mostly the werewolves he’d met didn’t take kindly to just talking and being impressed with magic.

But was the guy being sincere or was this just a show?

“Thanks?” he said. Okay, so he’d try to play along. Expect the worse, they said, so at least not everything will be a nasty surprise. Marco put down his athame, yet he still kept a firm grip on it. This was just so new. A werewolf that might be using a different tactic to take down a mage? By acting all friendly and such? Usually it was just a battle of strength and the winner walked out of it, plain and simple but this time…

“So, you’re a tame werewolf?” there was an obvious confusion to Marco’s voice, he even scratched his head. “Oh, let me help you with that,” he said as he approached the werewolf. If he was going to play along, he’d better do so convincingly.

He looked at the boy’s clothing, it was covered in yellow goo and the goo looked incredibly gross. Marco breathed in deeply as he started to cast a spell, well no use hiding that he was a mage, it was painfully obvious that the athame was magic by the way it pulsed magic like that and he did cast a rather flashy spell a few moments ago. He reached for the contents of his bag and finally he found his nanta bag. Within the bag, which was magically enchanted to hold a lot more things than it was capable of physically, he got a small water lily and using his athame he burned it.

“Don’t worry, okay?” he said as he set the ashes on Lenny and his clothing. He let his palms face upward.

“Meana, Guardiano del portale occidentale che ha il dominio sulle acque (Meana, Guardian of the Western Portal who has dominion over waters). Cleaning river, purifying waters, come forth and purify that has been laid with the ashes of your most holy flowers,” two magical circles formed, one was hovering above each of Marco’s hands as he finished the spell the magical circles glowed but then disappeared.

Nothing else happened.

There was an immediate look of distraught on Marco’s face. A pillar of what was to burst from the ground and pass through the clothing and Lenny, making them clean! He looked at Lenny, with his eyebrows furrowed and lips slightly pursed, it looked as if Marco was blaming the werewolf for what happened. Why didn’t his spell work?

Fons, he reached out to the Lares’ consciousness.

But the Lares didn’t answer, as the dog immediately darted forward. Marco stepped back from Lenny, unsure as to what to do. What on earth was happening?

Suddenly, Marco heard a large bark to his left. It was obvious from Marco’s eyes that he was surprised. That was impossible! The dog ran to Marco’s right!

“The arc…” Marco said out loud. Okay, so the werewolf wasn’t the culprit, at least for now. Cazzo! (Fuck!) The arc’s magic was still in effect.

Behind him, the yellow goo started moving once again.