Sitting at the top of the jewelry box was a small card etched with gold calligraphic ink. Loretta's handiwork.
☆MerryChristmas!
"I figured you'd throw this out if I gave it to you immediately, so if you're receiving this, it means my squire has deemed you worthy!"
He scoffed.
No wonder it was so quiet.
Flipping the card over, he read the words scrawled in messy black ink at the bottom.
His sister's actual handwriting.
P.S. It's an ordinary watch.
He perked a brow.
Ordinary, huh?
Setting the note to the side, Julien stared at the watch perched within a velvety red embrace. Picking it up, he placed it on his wrist and was surprised when it naturally wrapped around his wrist without any extra input.
Must be a newer model.
Brushing his hand over it, he curled his lip.
Was it a newer model?
His eyes ran over it.
A sleek black leather band coated with a softening lining pressed snugly against his wrist. Framed by a rose-gold bezel etched with intricate patterning lay a Reco crystal condensed to glass, overlaying the most beautiful aspects of the piece.
The most important of which, was the display.
Black metal with a dark golden center—like the innermost parts of a library—underlaid the elaborate clockwork.
He looked over the clockface.
Three moons surrounded the 'library' within.
A red moon steeped in darkness, a silver moon illuminating the surface, and a blue moon that changed its face every time it caught his eye.
It was already ticking, and there were 4 hands on the clock.
The fourth one, however, was still.
Cross checking the time, Julien hit the crown and—
?
The watch disappeared.
No, it's still there.
Feeling the watch still sitting on his wrist, he frowned.
Chameleon mode? For a watch?
Sliding it off to make sure it would reappear, he scratched his cheek in puzzlement.
The crown meant for changing the time and the two pushers surrounding it weren't working—or it'd be more accurate to say they served separate functions.
The crown turned on chameleon mode, the first pusher switched between being blank and having an engraving of a heart on its top, while the last one…
He wasn't sure what it was trying to do.
Looking between his watch and the clock, he decided to leave it be for now. At least it was accurate.
Maybe it has a timezone sensor.
Flipping the watch over a few times, he paused at an inscription on the back of the case.
A name.
Amand
Not a brand name, and not his first name.
His middle name was engraved exactly where his veins would lie underneath.
Putting the watch back on, he listened to it quietly ticking away.
Tick
Tick
Tick
Tick
It was a dedicated work of art, made solely for him.
…
Admiring the beautiful timepiece, Julien let a small smile grace his lips.
Where'd she even buy this from?
No really, where even was she?
This was the first he'd heard from or about her since she'd left—excluding the phone call Andrew forced him to listen to yesterday. Was she still in Raúl? Maybe Hawaii? Or did she get sent to Ulna?
Staring at the fancy new watch, he frowned.
What could she be doing right now?
—
Stationed within California—the national capital of Raúl's easternmost territory, Ulna—a woman with clipped up hair such a deep shade of black it looked blue and sharp, hazelwood eyes affixed with an aloof gaze calmly listened to her subordinates report.
And she smiled.
Finally, some progress.
The researcher across from her swallowed heavily.
It'd been several months since she'd inherited this disrupted project from her predecessor, who, leaving a mess in their wake, fled to sell the information to their barely-held 'ally,' the SMWE.
Well, the information is useless by now anyway.
Now that they'd finally pushed past the conceptual stage, it was about time for Imperator Sleiman to start discussing her plans with the other nations.
To put it simply, it was information they were always going to learn, one way or the other.
The Imperator is coming tomorrow too… Did she anticipate this progress speed, or is it a coincidence?
Clearing his throat, the researcher nervously called out to her.
"D-director Michaels?"
Theia swept her gaze over the researcher, a disheveled man with blonde hair and green eyes. Calling him a researcher may not have been entirely correct. A consultant on communication networks and nanobiological implements that happened to also be forced into the research sector was closer to the truth.
Dropping her smile knowing it was what was making the other uneasy, she opened her mouth.
"The prototype is still bulky, correct? Keep working until the control center can be compacted down to at least…"
She picked up a clown shaped paperweight from her desk.
"This size."
Glancing at the time, she beckoned the researcher forward. He nervously stepped closer until he was practically touching the desk.
"Currently the mist form establishes a multidirectional communication line leading back to the control center, correct?"
He nodded.
"We still have to find a way to cut off the other side. The current model acts more like a hive mind where yes, the 'Queen' can communicate with her entire swarm, but her drones can deliver messages back to her as well."
"What about the 'water' edition?"
He shook his head.
"We're struggling with the same issue. There's the additional problem of dosages as well. How can we be sure we don't overdo it? And how would we remove it before it gets to that point?"
He fidgeted with the mini silver bell tied to his wrist.
"It is… not a version I recommend pursuing."
Theia nodded. With one glance behind her, her secretary stopped typing and sent the message along to the Imperator.
It was always good to listen to the professionals.
Her fidgety subordinate watched their exchange before hesitantly opening his mouth.
"Is… all of this really necessary?"
Theia fiddled with the clown in her hands.
Such cute teeth. Who made this?
"For the foreseeable future, no."
She put the paperweight down, facing it towards the researcher.
"You just need to worry about what's right in front of you, understood?"
He nodded. She pushed the statue forward.
This should be good for him.
"If you take this, give it a nice bath, and place it beside your bed, you'll sleep without dreams."
The researcher stared at her… 'cute' clown with apprehension. He hurriedly shook his head.
"I-I uh, I think I can sleep fine on my own."
"Take it."
He took the clown.
Nodding approvingly, she stood up.
"You've worked hard, so go and get some rest. I'll prepare a list of considerations and possible alternatives tonight before delivering them to you in the morning."
She paused, checking the schedule her secretary passed her.
"I'll be unavailable for the rest of the day however, so prepare accordingly."
Accepting the jacket Loretta handed her, she walked her fearful subordinate out the door. She needed to head down to the lab, so for now, they were going in the same direction.
Walking as far as the elevators, Theia waited for the transport to reach their floor before speaking again.
"It's the future we can't see that we're preparing for. Remember that."
He stopped fidgeting by himself and looked down at her.
"Right…"
Patting him on the shoulder, she parted ways with him and walked towards the hallway connected to the adjacent building. Her secretary trailed behind her.
Click-clack
Click-clack
Click-clack
Pausing in the middle of the walkway, she looked around before turning towards her secretary—no, her friend—and smiling brightly.
"Yes! Didn't I swear I'd make this god forsaken project succeed in one go?"
"You did."
Loretta returned her smile.
"I recommend celebrating when you return."
Theia nodded, letting her smile cool into a lukewarm expression.
I might get back sooner than I expected.
She paused, her good mood fading.
"Do you think I'll return before 'His' Demerico training ends?"
Loretta activated the calendar function of her Tith, spinning the marked up schedule to face her.
"'He' has just finished recuperating and is scheduled to join the 425th batch on March 1st. Assuming he follows the standard program and there are no roadblocks in the current project…"
She deactivated the device.
"It is likely your return will coincide with the end of 'his' training."
Resting a hand over her mouth, Theia nodded.
The only Demerico training center in Aus is in South Borough, so the risk of contact isn't all that high yet…
I can work with that.
"Send Alverez the related information. Once 'his' station has been selected, send that as well."
Loretta recorded the information.
"Anything else?"
Continuing down the corridor towards the research building, Theia hesitated before opening her mouth.
"…Should I call…"
She shut her mouth, scanning her hand on the doorpad.
But Loretta understood her well enough to answer with a knowing smile.
"If this is about the previous string of messages you received, I believe he'd appreciate hearing from you."
Theia looked back at her.
"But he hasn't called me either?"
Loretta shook her head, lowering her voice as someone working late passed them by.
"He's probably keeping himself busy. Like you."
Tucking a stray strand of Theia's hair behind her ear, she emphasized.
"Both of you will need to rest someday."
Theia pushed her other stray hairs back, adding them to the onyx hair clip at the base of her bun.
"But not today."
Loretta sighed, glancing at a blinking notification at the corner of her eye.
"Not today."
—
[ 8:54 P.M. ]
After putting the watch aside and sending a probing message to his sister's secretary, Julien stared up at a projection in the air.
His notes.
It was time to address the herd of elephants in the room.
Taking into account the brief conversation he had with Remus before they cornered—convinced—Andrew to go along with them, there were four things he needed to address.
The first, and probably most important consideration, was the logistics of the next few months.
From now on, he would be balancing a precarious amount of stuff at once, and just looking down his list, he hardly saw the end of it.
Won't I die from overwork before Andrew gets to me at this rate?
Between school, preparing for his thesis through the Raúl Collaborative Research Initiative—RCRI—starting in March, Andrew's monthly transformations, and all the unpredictable variables that came with them…
He was screwed six ways to Sunday.
Not to mention all the traveling, information gathering, prepping, and contractual issues that were bound to come up.
He didn't forget that Andrew, who was now bound to him for the next year, was only contracted to him until maybe the end of May.
He clicked his tongue at the reminder.
I still don't even know what I'm supposed to look out for.
…
The more he thought about it the more irritated he got, so he put the subject aside for now.
The second subject was connected to the first.
After questioning Remus about how quickly Andrew's condition had deteriorated, the wolf rolled his eyes, mumbled something along the lines of 'I hate when she's right,' and shoved a recording in his face.
It was Afenia, in the form of a mini-hologram atop a holographic cube.
Her message was straightforward:
「There are three things you will need to keep in mind going forward.」
「1st, speeding up the process through pheno releasers is dangerous. If you absolutely have to use one, only take one. There are alternative ways to stimulate pheno release so discuss it amongst yourselves.」
「2nd, expect your physical and mental fitness to be tested. We will do our best to prepare you, but how effective these preparations are depends on you.」
「3rd, do not be alarmed by any changes or 'Drove' symptoms that occur to you or your partners. It is normal. Still, if it scares you, you can always join me for a cup of tea.」
She smiled.
「I hope to still see you around by then.」
He wasn't sure if he felt reassured by her words or not.
She added one last thing before the recording ended.
「Remember this. As long as my nephew is under my watch he can still be useful to you. If ever he does something that indirectly puts you in harms way—」
Remus turned off the recording.
…
He was probably the shadiest individual Julien had ever met outside of his family.
And he was sure the other would take it as a compliment.
Besides that…
Julien circled a word in his notes, marking it as issue two-and-a-half.
What exactly was Drove?
A disease? If that were all it was, why was it coming up in what was essentially his intro course to werewolf rearing?
Opening a new tab, Julien searched for published Drove cases and related articles.
The original understanding was that it was similar to lead poisoning since most instances happened amongst Reco crystal miners. But since it was a 'disease' that could be vaccinated against amongst those without regular exposure…
Julien rubbed the Tith injection site on his wrist.
What exactly were humans messing with here?
"…"
Unwilling to think any further than that, he closed the tabs and continued down the list of elephants instead.
The third issue was much simpler. He'd received a note from his cinnamon scented Professor to be passed on to Afenia. And if it was anyone else, they would've likely passed away from the shock of it all.
Unfortunately or fortunately enough, Julien was just about numb to it at this point…
He rubbed the goosebumps off his arm.
For the most part.
The actual task wasn't a difficult one, but his focus was on something else. He circled three words in his notes, marking them as issue three-and-a-half.
Why could he smell his professor?
Actually, it wasn't just him. There were two others he could scent out as well. Rory, with his vague scent of apples and the bookstore clerk with her nostalgic scent of chamomile.
If he hadn't met those two, he'd never have noticed the oddity.
Is it because they're a different species?
Putting aside the other two, Rory was consistently referred to as a 'vixen' or a 'fox.' Was this one of their unique traits?
He paused.
Afenia did mention that phenos had other forms and uses besides scent… would it be rude to ask?
Briefly mulling over how a conversation like that would even go, he decided he could always bring it up when he handed her the note.
Scanning over the rest of his document and sorting the remaining information by answerability, Julien closed the document and flipped onto his side.
He was staring at himself in the mirror on the wall.
...
The fourth and final issue was himself.