“Alright, I’m off to the city!” Isaac grins at his two friends.

“ISAAAAAAAAC!” Daine whines. “I WANNA GO!”

“YEAH!” Vince huffs. “ME TOO!”

“Heh, sorry you guys,” Isaac laughs. “Neither of you are allowed in the city yet.” He points at Daine. “You can’t go until you get a little better at hiding that eye.” He points at Vince. “And you gotta wait until you can control your transformation.”

The two children grumble and groan. They’re jealous of Isaac, wishing they could go to the city with him. He laughs, thoroughly enjoying this particular privilege he has over them. “Now, now, don’t worry,” he smirks. “I’ll be more than happy to pick up some stuff in the city for you two. Any requests?”

“OOH! OOH!” Daine immediately starts jumping up and down. “I want more clothes! I want turtlenecks, and cute shorts, and lots and lots of hair ties!” Isaac continues to laugh, finding enjoyment in Daine’s simple requests.

“And what about you, Shady?”

“Vince.”

“Eh?” Has Shadow picked a human name? This was news to Isaac. Vince grumbles and crosses his arms.

“I’m Vince now.”

“You mastered transformation?”

“No, but who cares!” he scowls. “I’m Vince now because I said so!”

“Vince who?” Vince looks at Isaac, confused. “You got a last name to go with that?”

“Oh, uh…” Truth be told, Vince hadn’t thought that far yet. Isaac snickers, and asks again in a playfully rude tone.

“Alright, Vince Shady, what do you want?”

“VINCE SHADY!?” At first Vince is taken aback by Isaac’s words. He thinks for a moment, then turns away from the others. He clenches his fists with excitement, trying to once again hide his enthusiasm from the other two. “SOOO COOOL!” He thinks to himself.

And then, dramatically, Vince turns back around, a look of determination on his face. He leans up towards Isaac’s ear, whispering his request. It surprises him. It’s not at all the kind of thing he was expecting from Vince. But he looks at him, and he looks at Daine, and quickly connects the dots. With a smile, Isaac dramatically pats Vince on the back. “I got you!” he grins.

With that, he’s off. Daine and Vince wave at him as he departs. At first he’s walking at an average pace. He gives off confidence as he passes through Lupan Hollow, a confidence the lycan residents have long gotten used to. As he leaves the village, his pace quickens. He reaches the barrier's edge and touches the seal to open it wide. The moment the barrier closes behind him, his expression shifts from confidence to excitement. He picks up the pace, now sprinting towards the city.

It was rare for him to find the opportunity to get away from the lycans. When he was younger he hardly ever left the village behind. But as he grew, so too did his desire to rebel. He was eager to get away from his duty, and each passing day his role as the king’s heir mattered less and less to him. The burden of his duty was overbearing, and it was in the city of Creston that he had some measure of control in his life.

There’s someone very important in the city. Isaac had learned about him from a friend. In the outskirts of Creston lives a boy whose life was very valuable. Not for the life he currently has, but for the role he will serve in the future. The boy’s fate was intertwined with Isaac’s sister, so how could he possibly resist meeting with him himself?

He reaches the city’s outskirts. There in an empty lot he finds a small, rundown shack. It's seen better days, and has long stopped being suitable as a home. But it was a home nonetheless, and its occupant is nowhere in sight. With a deep breath, and a large smile, Isaac calls out.

“LEEEEEEEOOOOOOOON!”

It only takes a brief moment for a boy to peek out from behind the building. “ISAAC!?” he shouts, quickly running up to him. He's a mess, his clothes unwashed and his long hair tied up. The boy looks both surprised and excited, for seeing Isaac was a rare treat.

Of course, this boy is Leonard Derrin, the man at the center of this tale. He still has many years until his fate would be tied to the hunters. At this point of his life he had no family and no home. The only company he had was his cat, as well as the rare moments Isaac paid him a visit.

“Where have you been!?” he demands. Having to be alone so often, he’s found himself getting antsy whenever Isaac isn’t around. Isaac smirks, loving how much Leonard relied on him.

“Sorry, sorry,” he says. “Been busy with family stuff. I only just got the chance to get away!”

“Family stuff again?” This response annoys Leonard. Not because Isaac’s been busy, but because Isaac would never elaborate on his family.

Though Leonard was eager to learn more, the subject would be dropped for now. Whenever Isaac is here that means one thing: the two of them were going to go out looting. Leonard had been relying on theft for most of his life. He grew up without a home, and he had to do whatever it took to survive.

Isaac, on the other hand, started stealing for a very different reason. His upbringing couldn’t be further from Leonard’s. He was well taken care of, all of his needs were met, and he could get anything he wanted thanks to his prestigious family. He hated it. He hated the duty he was born into. He hated being spoiled by the other lycans. He hated how he could get whatever he wanted because of his blood. He didn’t want his life to be decided by the role that was forced upon him. He wanted to control it himself.

He didn’t like being given things. He liked taking them. Leaving the village, stealing from the city, rebelling against the lycans, all of it brought a thrill that he’s desperately missing from his life as the king’s heir.

It was precisely for this reason that he liked Leonard so much. Though Leonard didn’t know it, their meeting was no coincidence. At first Isaac had simply wanted to know more about the boy whose fate was connected to his sister’s. But the more he learned about Leonard, the more he started to like him. He was someone who had nothing to do with his duty. Someone who didn’t see a king’s heir, but saw Isaac as he is. Someone that Isaac got to choose for himself, completely separate from his predetermined destiny. Though he had been less than sincere in the way he had met Leonard, the feelings he had grown for him were genuine.

Food was on the list of things to be stolen today, but it was not the first stop on the boys’ agenda. Isaac had a list of items he needed to retrieve, and Leonard followed close behind. He’s confused by some of the items they were stealing today.

“What’s with all the clothes?” Leonard asks. “They’re way too small for you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Isaac grins.

“What even is this?” Leonard removes a small box from one of the bags they had taken. A strange tool was inside, and he can’t possibly imagine what it does.

“It’s for piercing ears,” Isaac responds.

“Huh? You’re getting your ears pierced?”

“No, no,” Isaac laughs. “Don’t mind that.”

Leonard has long since learned how impossible it is to get Isaac to explain these things. He just sighed, as the two continued loitering through the city. Eventually they make it back to the empty lot, loot now in tow. Leonard’s excited to use the newly acquired food to prepare a meal for the both of them.

Though he lacked many tools, cooking brought him a lot of joy. He prepares a simple meal this time, but a meal he put a lot of love into nonetheless. He creates two large sandwiches for the both of them. Carefully and thoughtfully, he chooses toppings that go well together. The sandwiches are filled with an array of fresh vegetables, lightly toasted bread, and even chicken he’s cooked himself over a small fire.

“Enjoy!” Leonard grins, handing Isaac one of the sandwiches. Leonard immediately takes a large bite out of his own sandwich, the best meal he’s gotten to eat in quite some time.

“Thanks,” Isaac says. With a smile, he takes the chicken out of the sandwich and sets the rest aside. Leonard watches with disappointment as Isaac eats only that small piece of his meal. He’s annoyed, but not surprised.

“I wish you wouldn’t just eat the chicken,” he says. Though he had been trying to find food Isaac would enjoy, he would never eat anything but meat.

“Sorry, sorry!” Isaac laughs. He was pretending to brush it off, but he too was deeply upset by this situation. He didn’t avoid the other food by choice. Isaac’s carnivorous by nature, and he could only comfortably eat the meat. Yet another curse from his life as a lycan. How he wishes he could properly enjoy the meals Leonard made.

“You really like cooking, don’t you?” Isaac asks.

“Of course,” Leonard grins. “My dad taught me how!”

“Your dad?” Isaac’s curious about Leonard’s father. He already knew that his father had passed away a few years ago, but not what he was like as a person.

“Yeah, my dad was the best!” Reminiscing about his father alleviated Leonard’s mood. “We never had much, but he always took great care of me! He knew how important food was, so he made sure I knew how to cook. Getting to make food reminds me of the time we had together, y’know?”

“Your dad sounds like a good man,” Isaac says.

“He was,” Leonard smiles. “He was the best dad I could’ve ever asked for! I loved him a lot.”

“I wish I could’ve met him.”

Seeing this as an opportunity, Leonard takes his chance to try to get Isaac to open up. “How about you?” he asks. “What’s your father li-”

“I don’t want to talk about him.”

This sudden and cold response takes Leonard aback. Isaac has the same smile he always has, but even Leonard can tell he’s using it to mask an anger. He takes the hint, and never asks Isaac about his family again.

Eager to change the subject, Isaac reaches for a bag. “Hey, I got us something!” He grins, pulling out a bottle of vodka. Leonard looks disappointed.

“Alcohol again?” he grumbles. “We shouldn’t be drinking that, Isaac. We’re too young.”

“Don’t be such a spoil sport!” Isaac laughs, grabbing two glasses from amongst the stolen items. He pours himself a cup, not even bothering to find something to mix it with. Isaac offers Leonard a glass, but he just squints at him, turning it down.

Amused by his behavior, Isaac raises his cup with a grin. “Cheers,” he says, taking a drink.