Claws and Dreamscapes(Solo/Plot)

Hyght tightly pulled his hood over his head to protect his ears from the harsh, cold breeze that snaked through the trees of the Finnek Forest. The sun was setting and he was still too far from the campus to get there within reasonable time. Dusk was upon him and the feeling of microscopic ice needles began to coerce his skin to pebble with goose flesh. The biting cold of the oncoming night seemed to only increase the want Hyght felt for his warm, safe bed. "This is stupid!" He said with a vicious curse to himself. Why in the world had he decided to come out here? The hunter-in-training couldn't remember but he had apparently thought it wise to bring his shield and his sword, their familiar weight brought a small bit of relaxation to his raising worry.

The dying light of day gave way to the encroaching tendrils of night. Hyght blinked and found himself sitting at a camp fire, he was faced with a short, craggy faced man whom had grown a thick grey beard as he'd been away. The man eyed Hyght curiously.

"You alright, kid?" He asked, his rumbling basso of a voice carried and seemed to ease the tension Hyght had unknowingly held in his shoulders. Hyght stared at the man for a moment in confusion before he gingerly touched his head.

"Mason?" he asked questioningly. "What are you doing here?"

Mason cocked an eyebrow in response and looked down at the bowl of food in his hands. "I'm eating dinner." He said dryly. "As are you. You okay?" Mason eyed Hyght, a flicker of concern was present in his eyes. "You've hardly touched your food." His unique accent was almost impossible for Hyght to place but it made him sound far more pleasing than his face did. Hyght glanced down and took notice of the bowl of food in his lap for the first time, the utensil he was apparently eating it with was still in his hand. Unsure how to respond, Hyght sat staring at the food and tried to recall how he'd gotten there.

"Hyght, you've got to talk to me, son. You're starting to worry me." The craggy faced Mason said as he leaned forward from his camping stool.

Hyght glanced up a moment later. "I'm...fine. Just tired I guess." He said though Mason didn't seem to buy it whole sale. Mason gave him a look that Hyght had learned fairly quickly meant for him to spill the beans, a  phrase that struck Hyght as odd. He was a cook and was taught that wasting food was impolite and, well, wasteful. The young baker shook his head and looked over to the man. "I can't remember how we got here. Or how long we've been here." He said, his words becoming faster as he spoke. "Or where we are. What we're eating. Where we're going. None of it."  It was obvious to anyone that he was bothered by this and Mason nodded.

"After what you've been through, son, I'm not surprised." He said calmly and set his bowl on the ground buy his foot. Hyght leveled a confused look at the older man and waited for him to explain. Mason cleared his throat. "You got hit on the head pretty hard a few days ago, when we were going from the village of Hickory. You slipped on a nasty patch of earth and hit your head pretty hard. There wasn't a lot of blood but the blow could have had a delayed effect on your memory." Mason paused and shook his head twice. "Scared me for a minute too. You didn't move and your breathing was shallow. Thought I'd done lost you." Pain was in the eyes of the living crag of a man.

Hyght sat there and pondered the story Mason told him. Was it possible? Was he just experiencing a laps in memory? If so then why did  his gut say otherwise? Mason was his friend, he knew that without a doubt, but if so then why couldn't he remember where they met? Why were his instincts screaming at him to not let this man out of his sight? Hyght stared at Mason for a long while, the digits of his hand rubbing the utensil unconsciously.

Silence impregnated the air as Hyght fiddled with the utensil, he was still in the midst of working out the contradicting signals he had picked up. For one, Mason was a friend of his and someone he felt he could trust. However, his instincts were screaming at him not to do so. Not to let this man out of his sight and to pounce upon him when he least expected it and cause him as much harm as he possibly could. Hyght's pulse raced with fear and confusion. Mason's eyes never strayed from the boy though the light of the camp fire had dwindled a small margin. The craggy faced man's shoulders lifted and fell once as a heavy sigh escaped his wind burned lips.

"Lord above, boy." Mason swore. "You look like I did when I told my ex-wife that I wanted a divorce." His tone held a sliver of humor though his face didn't reflect it. He rubbed his heavily scarred hands together before he stood and took a couple steps to Hyght's side. "Hyght, talk to me, boy. I'm not gonna bit-" Hyght struck, fast and hard. The pudgy baker's fist rocketed, using the flat of the back of his hand to flatten the older man's nose. The strike was far from perfect but it was unexpected and caused Mason to rock back on his heels, his eyes wide in shock. Hyght took this moment to follow up with a swift hit below the belt. This attack brought the hunter forward, doubling over at the waist as sudden fire blazed from his pain receptors to his brain. Mason's mouth opened in a wordless snarl and his arm shot forward, fingers closing on the boy's jacket with a vice grip strength.

Hyght was jerked toward the shorter man but when their eyes met, he'd never seen a man so large. The weight behind Mason's burning gaze all but extinguished the fight in him. The young baker fought off a whimper before a fist with the mass of a mountain side, collided with his face. Once. Twice. Three times before Hyght's world spun and he was brought close to Mason's blood coated face. "You aren't meant to be a hunter!" He snarled just before the expression of pain lurched to his ugly features. Mason didn't look away from Hyght, instead the shorter man lifted his fists and introduced it to Hyght's face over and over again, each time with less force than the last until his grip loosened and he slumped limply to the dimly lit ground. Weak, weary, and in more pain than he could remember, Hyght stared down at the supine man, bright red ichor ran in a cascade over the metal blade that protruded from his gut.

"Wolf." A disembodied voice said as if the words were carried to his ear from far away. Hyght wanted to tear his eyes away from the corpse of his late friend, a man that had brought him to Syne to become what he wanted. A hunter. "Wolf." Said the voice again and white hot pain surged through his limbs. Hyght's legs buckled, he wasn't completely sure when he had met with the ground but his face was cold against the earth. The agony continued for what seemed like an eternity before Hyght opened his eyes and found himself staring at a large black figure with white spiny protrusions from its body. Its head was covered in a pale skull-like mask that had red lines leading away from its eye sockets. The sockets each housed a small sun of red, orange, and yellow. The creature's pitch black body was hunched over Mason's corpse and was tearing into it with its blade like claws. The creature buried it's muzzle into the corpse and its powerful jaws wrenched and snapped down on bones and meat. Hyght stared in confused horror as the beast lifted its head and let out a scream, not a roar like he had expected. The skin on Hyght's body reacted as if it wanted to tear itself away from his muscle. The sound of the creature was not one of the Grimm but of Hyght's own pained voice.

"WOLF!"

Hyght's eyes snapped open and he shot up from the desk in which he sat, his chair clattered noisily to the floor. It took him half a second to realize he was screaming and another moment more to see that he was in a full classroom. The uncomfortable weight of a score or so of eyes leveled onto his shoulders and brought heat to Hyght's cheeks. No one spoke for a moment, only the awkward silence of judgmental eyes permeated that air. Without a word, the frightened young man gathered up what things he had on his desk and vacated the room as quickly as he could.

Hyght panted heavily as he tore through corridor after corridor, unsure of where to go he just continued running, leaving a couple pieces of paper in his wake. The young hunter-in-training stopped at a tree just outside the main entrance of Syne Academy, the single standing Huntsman and Huntress training academy in Bellmuse. It was here that people learned how to fight the creatures of Grimm and protect the regular folk of Remnant. Hyght Briggs, a young man from a relatively small town a few days journey from Syne, had decided to become a Huntsman to protect those who couldn't do it themselves.

The young Briggs boy had been at Syne for close to two months and had come to realize just how little he really knew about what it took to be a Huntsman. He went to his classes, did the respective homework and learned their lessons. Academic work had always been easy for Hyght, he'd always loved books and the knowledge they could provide. One of the main problems was that he wasn't a fighter. The portly trainee had been a baker, cook, and a doer of odd jobs around the town before his arrival at Syne and this has given him a small dosage of insecurities that he's been struggling with. Hyght had never thought negatively about his weight before he was at the Academy. He was a cook and there was an old saying in his family, "never trust a skinny cook". It was part joke and part seriousness and while Hyght never took it very seriously he had never considered trying to prove the saying wrong either.

The foliage of the tree acted as a shield against the barrage of bright rays of the sun. Hyght stood leaning against the body of the tree for a few moments as he fought to catch his breath, all the while his mind tried to make sense of his daydream. It took a minute or two for his breathing to get to a tolerable level and he sank to the ground in sudden exhaustion. "The hell was it about?" He asked the tree and softly rapped his forehead against the bark of the tree. "It's not the first time I've had a dream like this." He murmured aloud, his eyes shut as he tried to recall when the last time was.

"Yo!" Called a voice, "Hyght!" The sound of stamping feet grew louder before Hyght turned to look at who was approaching. The confused youth took a moment to calm himself and compose his face before he turned to find Bartholomew Samos trotting toward him, his long legs devouring the distance between them with ease. Bartholomew was a tall, well muscled youth a year older than Hyght. He was the son of two hunters and wanted to follow in their footsteps. The two young men had met in one of their classes and had become fast friends.

"Hey, Bart" He called back. "What are you doing here?" He asked and saw a small stack of paper in Bartholomew's hand. The tall boy slowed to a walk a few feet from him and extended the stack of paper to Hyght.

"You dropped these when you bugged out of the class." He replied and eyed the shorter youth. "You don't look so good, man. Are you alright?" The young baker thought of trying to lie to him but knew how Bart felt about lies and Hyght found himself caring about what he thought of him. That and Bart was an intuitive person, more so than many Hyght had known. He would probably realize he was being lied to before the words were out Hyght's mouth. Silence hung in the air for a moment as he stalled by putting his papers away.

When Hyght looked back he saw that Bartholomew decided to lie on the ground and stretched his legs out into the sunlight. "I'm not sure." He said solemnly and turned his body to place his back to the tree. "Bart, you're the son of two hunters, right?" Bart nodded. "Did you always want to be a hunter?" Another nod. "Why? Why did you decide to put yourself in harms way for people you don't know and probably never will? How can you wake up each day and do it without doubting your resolve?" Bart listened to Hyght, his head tilted to get a better look at his face.

He waited a moment before answering. It looked like he was thinking over his words before he decided to speak. "I wanted to be a hunter because it's good work. And I don't mean the pay or the glory. While those are great, they aren't what I meant." He paused and looked up at the tree that shaded them. Tiny spears of sunlight slipped between the leaves and stabbed into the grass below. "I've seen what can happen to people who aren't protected. A family died some years ago, while my parents were gone on a high priority mission. While I didn't go see them, I had heard about it and the story made my blood run cold." Bartholomew's eyes glossed over with memories. "When my parents came back they felt like they failed and my dad decided to become a teacher. He said it would allow him to be closer to our home and me without being sent off as often. Mom is still a huntress but she works herself ragged, as if trying to make up for the family." Bartholomew blinked and smirked. "Sorry, kind of went off on a tangent. I want to be a hunter because it helps keep people safe. I want to ease the burden my parents feel and keep the people of this world safe from those creatures."

Hyght nodded, it was pretty common to hear about an attack or two on a family or a traveler. He knew, just as Bart no doubt knew, that Hunters couldn't be everywhere and there would be casualties. If you're gonna be a Hunter you're gonna have to come to terms with the fact that you can't save everyone. That's the world is unfair and uncaring in that regard. It's just a fact of life. Those were Mason's words to Hyght just before he agreed to take him to Syne. "I guess everyone learns that one way or another." Hyght mumbled. Bart nodded once. "But do you get up each day-"

"I don't." Bart interrupted. "In all honesty, I don't get up each day with my resolve intact. It isn't something that is an ever present, unshakable, or unbreakable thing. I have had my fair share of days where I don't want to get up and face another Grimm. The fear of life and death isn't something that is fun. The thrill of the adrenaline gets old and you will just want a normal life. But I made a decision and despite the want I may sometimes feel for a normal life, I want to make sure other people can live their peaceful normal lives without fear." Hyght was surprised by this answer. In the short amount of time that he had known Bart he had unknowingly placed him in some box of things that were made of some unbreakable faith. He had mistakenly thought Bart had some ever present resolve. "If I don't do it then someone else would." He said with a smile.

Realization that Bart had days where he didn't want to do those things made Hyght feel a bit better. The memories of his daydream were still fresh and the sound of his voice screaming made him shudder. He could hear the scream as clear as he did in his dream. WOLF! Apparently he had reacted to the echo in his mind because Bart and shifted on this side and looked at Hyght with concern. "Hyght, what's wrong?" Hyght shook his head and after a moment he glanced at Bart's hands and noticed the faded lines of scars.

"Wanna spar?" This inquiry seemed to catch Bart off guard but he nodded as if in understanding.

"Sure. I've got my dad's class next but I think he'll understand why I'll be late. Let's go."

Bart's spear skidded across Hyght's shield with such force that it summons a shower of sparks. "Keep your shield up!" The taller youth barked, his savage onslaught of stabs prevented the young baker from doing much else aside form block. Hyght could feel his injuries already healing as his Aura went to work. Bart sent his spear in a forward strike toward Hyght's shield shoulder but the portly researcher cantered his shield and sent the spear away in a parry. Hyght's reaction time was nothing like Bart's and in an instant the seasoned fighter had his spear circle around his neck to rest on the back of his shoulders. With a flick of his thumb he sent the spear rocketing forth, the loud bark of a shotgun blast followed shortly after. The echo of the close quarters discharge made Hyght's ears ring.

Hyght saw the attack at the last minute but had jerked his neck to the side and felt a wicked series of cracks and a small twinge of pain but the spear had missed his by a hair. The spear's haft was almost past Hyght's neck but Bart closed his fingers on the end of it and swung in diagonally across Hyght's back and with a hard pull, brought his opponent to him. Hyght had been drilled in preventing a foe from pushing him back, so the effort of force against his back put him into territory he was not yet suited to combat. He tried to resist Bart's strength but the action had caught him as off guard as the one before it and he stumbled forward. Bart, having known what the move would do to the inexperienced boy, rocked his head back before he slammed it into Hyght's nose, sending him toward the ground. Bart's assault, however, wasn't over yet. The young hunter brought his knee up in an explosive blow that laid waste to Hyght's gut.

The world erupted into stars and pain as Bart's series of attacks continued. Hyght met with the ground and laid there motionless as his brain tried to restart. Time seemed to creep by as he was prone, the cool feel of the tile stage seemed to ease from of Hyght's pain. "Catch you breath." Bart said calmly and without a hint of weariness in his tone. The second generation hunter collapsed his spear into a short, two-foot shafted version of itself, where it's full length was near six feet. Hyght noticed the spear's blade was a leaf shape, rather than the typical straight edge that tapered into a point, Bart's rounded on the sides and ended with a smaller tip.

The youngest Briggs born marveled at the weapon as his pain receptors flared and the taste of iron met his lips. Hyght wasn't sure when he had but he found himself on his knees, struggling to his feet as the world teetered around him. Bart eyed him warily as he paced back and forth, the spear resting loosely in his hand. He said nothing as Hyght climbed to his feet but he wasted no time before he put him on his back. "Yield, Hyght. Your Aura is getting low." He said firmly, the tip of the spear a few inched from his downed opponent. Hyght's shield pushed against the spear weakly for a moment before Bart changed its position and pushed the shield away. "Yield!" He growled, though there was little fire in his tone.

Hyght didn't response, he only lifted his sword and swung it in en equally lifeless manner. Bartholomew watched his friend keep trying to attack and move to stand as he did. He felt a sense of sadness for the young man, though Hyght was only a year his junior, Bart had many years of practice, sparring, and preparation for the life he wanted to lead. He knew Hyght didn't have that advantage, he said he came from a relatively peaceful village but aside from that he knew little of the young man. There was something that drove him to keep pushing forward in this fight, despite the harsh treatment Bart had already served him. He wasn't sure if he was impressed of worried for him.

"Hyght," Bart said softly, pulling his spear away and sliding it home in the sheath on the small of his back. "We're done. Stop and let your Aura regen." He didn't approach Hyght until it looked like realization had dawned in his eyes and the weapons of the baker dropped to the floor. It was a few minutes before He saw Hyght stir again and clamber to a sitting position. "How's your nose?" Bart asked and passed him a small cup of water and a washcloth. Hyght didn't answer at once but after a prolonged silence his voice croaked through the air.

"Friggin' hurts." He said nasally and cleaned up the almost dried blood from his face. "Did you need to stomp me so badly?"

Bart gave him a level look. "You said "don't hold back" remember?" The tall youth said in an attempt at Hyght's voice. This didn't seem to have the desired effect on the bloodied boy as he had hoped. Instead of a smile he got a small nod and more silence. "Alright seriously, man. What is wrong?!" Bart demanded, resting his forearms on his knees and leaning forward. "Something is bothering you. You stormed from the classroom, which I guess you forgot I was in because you acted as if you hadn't seen me all day, and play it off as if nothing is wrong." This brought Hyght's eyes to regard Bart in surprise. "Yup, thought so. So stop pretending you're alright and tell me already. It what friends do!"

Hyght stared at his friend and felt heat return to his cheeks. The imagery of his dream played back as if it were a recorded video in high definition. The hairs on the back of Hyght's neck stood on end as he watched the Grimm tear into Mason's corpse. The feeling of sinking his blade into the gut of his friend made him sick and he found himself clamping his hand over his mouth to prevent any spillage of sick onto the floor. Bart moved faster than Hyght could hope to and was at his side with his hand on his shoulder. "Calm down, man. Calm down." He said soothingly and Hyght felt him give his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Whatever it is, it isn't real." He said in the same voice as a moment ago Hyght noted. He also noted that he seemed to know that Hyght wasn't feeling ill. How?

A few minutes later and Hyght had his stomach's contents back where they belonged. The pudgy baker turned to face his friend and opened his mouth to than him but what came out was, "How did you know?" Bart paused and pointed to his eyes, they were a pale green, like old dollar bills. "My eyes? I don't understand."

"Your eyes glossed over and even though you were looking at me you weren't seeing me. I've seen that look on my parents before. It's the same look they have when they remember something horrible." Bart's lips quirked into a small smile. "You've seen something horrible, haven't you, Hyght?" Hyght nodded but said nothing. Bart nodded in turn. "What did you dream about? Back in class."

Hyght looked at his hands and even though he knew there was no blood, knew his he hadn't killed Mason, it didn't stop him from feeling viscous ichor bathe his hands. "A wolf." He said simply, his voice a ghost of itself.

Hyght gave Bartholomew a condensed version of his dream but kept out the part where he had become the wolf-like Grimm. Bartholomew listened patiently till his friend was finished and nodded. "And that's when I woke up and bolted." Hyght finished, his voice still a little nasally but far less so than a few minutes before. The portly baker lifted his hand and gingerly touched his nose and could feel the sharp pain still evident. He turned toward the door that lead to one of the locker rooms that flanked the training floor. "Follow?" He asked and Bart gathered his things before they made their way into the locker room. Hyght slowly turned his head left and right and could feel a small knot in his neck from when he barely dodged Bart's spear. He released an internal sigh, opting to not attempt forcing air out through his nose at the moment.

Bart didn't speak until they were inside the locker room. "I can see why the dream might be somewhat unnerving. But what about it made you so scared that you'd bolt from class like that?"

Hyght stepped in front of a sink and glanced in the mirror at Bart. The tall youth leaned against one of the rocket powered lockers that he heard Beacon Academy had. He had his arms folded across his chest and looked back at Hyght levelly. He probably thinks I didn't tell him everything. He's right and he's trying not to be forceful with his digging. Bart was definitely intuitive and far more skilled with weaponry than Hyght was, words and body language was where the young Briggs shined. Most of the time. Today was less than normal for him. Hyght sighed and splashed water over his face, clearing away more dried blood before inspecting his injured nose. Bart waited, forcing patience this time.

"I'm not sure what it means but in my dream, after I killed Mason, I felt pain unlike anything I'd felt before and after an eternity later I was standing across from a Grimm like looked like a wolf. It was different than a Beowolf. There wasn't anything majorly different, just subtle ones, things I can't really describe but just know." Hyght placed his hands on either side of the sink. "And it was tearing into Mason's corpse-my friend's corpse- like it was lunch." The familiar sting of tears fill the pits of his eyes. "I was the Wolf. I could everything it felt and then it screamed." He paused unintentionally dramatic.

"Screamed?" Bart asked, confused. "You mean roared or howled?"

Hyght shook his head. "NO. Screamed. Like a human or a faunus." He turned and faced his friend. "The thing had my voice. It sounded like me." Hyght wiped the still forming tears before they could fall. "That's what got me. I was the Wolf, Bart. I killed Mason and torn into his body with the claws of a Grimm. I don't know what it means but it screams the hell out of me."

Bart's body stiffened for a moment as Hyght explained. Though he knew it was a dream, he knew from experience that dreams can cause some harmful and scary effects to the body. Bart wasn't really the touching sort of guy. He didn't comfort people through touch. This didn't mean he didn't give the occasional hug or high-five or handshake, but he wasn't an overly touchy person. So when he saw the state Hyght was in he said what he thought was right. "Let's go see my dad."

The duo waited until Professor Samos' lesson was done before they went in and spoke with him. "Ah, Hyght. I see you've found my son." Professor Smos said with his usual smile. Professor Samos was a little under six feet tall and had a pale complexion. His eyes were the color of the afternoon sun and the corners of them showed signs of laughter. His hair hung to the nape of his neck and was a brown so dark it almost seemed black. He had a well groomed beard and mustache that complimented his features. The professor stood with his back to the blackboard he had been using and moved over to his desk before sitting down on the edge of it.  "So?" He said with a cocked eyebrow.

Bart looked at his father for a moment, mild annoyance on his face but it quickly subsided. "Dad, I didn't come to class-"

"I noticed." Professor Samos interrupted, his lips quirked in a small smirk.

Bart waited for a moment before he continued. "Because I was helping Hyght." He said and gestured to his friend. "He's going through something and I'm not sure I'm able to help. I figured you might be able to since its in your area of expertise." The finial words of that statement had made Professor Samos' eyes illuminate.

"Oh? And what seems to be the problem?" The professor asked, his body language changing to a more open and interested stance. Hyght thought to himself for a few moments before he exhaled through his nose, the acute sense of pain was only a slight annoyance now. Professor Samos listened intently as Hyght told him about the dream. He left nothing out and when he finished he saw the professor scribble something down on a page in a thick, leather bound book. He closed the book and looked to Bart. "I'll need to speak with Hyght alone for this, Barty." He said and, to Hyght's surprise, his friend nodded, gave him a clap on his shoulder, and stepped from the room.

Hyght look at the professor and hooked his thumb toward the door. "Why did you ask him to leave?" He asked and the Professor picked up another leather bound book before he stepped over to his blackboard.

"Because this is a talk between us. Barty understands that this isn't something that he needs to overhear. He's being courteous to both my job and your privacy." He answered and wiped a section of script off the black board. "Hyght, you've been here about two months now, yes?" The Professor knew the answer already but Hyght nodded and figured the question was more of a segue. "During this time you've realized many things about the world. Some of what it means to be a Huntsman and the difficulty of change." The Professor scribbled something down onto the blackboard and turned to look at Hyght. "You're new to the world of the Hunt and I hope you take no offense to me saying this but, you're not what people would think of when someone says Huntsman."

Hyght understood what he meant, he thought the same thing. Even during a talk with Gricelda at a restaurant a month or so ago he knew people didn't think Huntsman when they saw him. It wasn't their thoughts about it that mattered though. His motivation was what drove him so the words of the rest of the world held little weight. You aren't meant to be a hunter!

"I see." Professor Samos said suddenly with a nod. "You don't seem surprised by that. Or you don't care about the opinions of others. That must be one reason why you and Barty get along so well." He chuckled and placed the open book on his desk. "Hyght, would you mind terribly if I asked you what your motivation for being a Huntsman is?" Hyght took a second to respond and shook his head. "Take all the time you need. There's no rush."

The young Briggs took a seat closest to the Professor's desk and bounced his leg repeatedly in thought. "There...was a family that died in my village. A Grimm had come one night, broke into their house, and killed them. Their bodies were found the next morning but the Grimm was never found." Professor Samos nodded and took his place on the edge of his desk again. "I don't want that to happen to another family."

Samos' eyes narrowed at Hyght's statement. "So you want to be a Huntsman for revenge?"

Hyght shook his head, "No. To protect people."

"But how are you going to protect everyone?" Samos asked his tone taking a very subtle edge. "You say you want to protect people. I imply that extends to all people. To make it so no family has that happen to them, but you can't be everywhere at once. People will die. No matter what you do there will be someone that dies." Professor Samos' tone became a trace colder and his eyes went glossy for a moment, a breath later they returned to normal. "So, Hyght, what motivates you to become a hunter. Why do you do it?"

The young Briggs sat with his eyes fixated on the Professor, the weight of his gaze began to make Hyght feel noticeably uncomfortable. Professor Samos watched the young man bounce his leg a couple dozen more times before he cleared his throat. "Mr. Briggs." Professor Samos said, suddenly very formal. It was at the sound of his voice that he realized Hyght hadn't been focused on him. He'd been staring through him as if he wasn't even there. It was a thing he'd seen in his wife and other Hunters and even in some children that past through the halls of combat schools like Syne. Those that had seen the horrors of the dark. Professor Samos thought he had discovered something with that little realization.

"Yes, Professor?" He asked as his leg ceased its shaking.

"Do you know what it is I do here? Aside from teaching, I mean." Hyght shook his head. "I'm one of the people tasked in maintaining the psychological health of our Huntsmen and Huntresses. I make sure that those whom we train are ready to go and those that come back are well form what they may have seen, or done, while in the field." He said and let a smirk slip on his lips. "I'm a shrink, son."

Hyght nodded and glanced from the Professor to the floor. "So that's what Bart meant when he said this was your area." Samos nodded and folded his arms across his chest. He watched the young man for a few moments, silence soon followed and made itself at home around them.

"So, Hyght, do you know the difference in a Hunter that's ready and one that isn't?" Samos asked, breaking the silence and regaining the young baker's attention. Hyght opened his mouth as if to speak but closed it again. "Go ahead. Just let me know what you think."

Hyght swallowed and answered. "A Hunter that is ready is..." he trailed off and found himself unsure of his words. As if any possible combination he made would be wrong. "I-I don't know." Samos nodded but his expression was neutral. The older man stood from his desk and crossed over to kneel down in front of Hyght.

"A wise man once told me that I'd have to figure that out for myself." He said gently. "Life isn't something we can be taught, Hyght. We must experience it." He paused to let the words hang for a moment before he clapped once and stood. "Unfortunately I can't hold up my next class for you, Mr. Briggs. But I do hope you'll keep in mind my questions today. I'd like to speak again, if you'd allow." Hyght wasn't sure if he would but he knew he didn't want to talk anymore about the topic right now.

"We'll see." He said simply and recieved a smile from Professor Samos. "Thank you for the talk, sir."

"Not at all, Hyght. You are a student here and a friend to my son, my door and services are always open to you." He said. "Unless my wife is here." He added with a wink and chuckle.

Hyght, feeling a cocktail of emotions and thoughts decided it was time to go. With a nod the former baker turned and stepped to the door. "Oh, and Hyght?" The Professor called once more, eliciting the young man to face him. "You should focus on the present. Not the past." Hyght stared for a moment before he nodded and left. Outside the classroom was a smattering of students whom all looked to be a couple years older than Hyght himself, give or take a couple. He watched them file into the classroom and could hear the sound of Professor Samos issue a booming hello that seemed to catch them no less off guard than if they woke up to see the sun raise. Hyght watched the class get underway through the window of the classroom door until Bart's familiar presence drew him away.

"Hey man, wanna-"

"Food." Hyght said sharply, interrupting his friend. "I'm cooking."