Title Not Availible

[Red]

Wait...that kinda sounds good -.-'' Anyways, no idea what the heck the title for this story should be. But don't let that deter you! Read on! And I know, I'm a lunitic. Lemme alone. Anyways, I'll update when I can!
Notes: When I first made this story I couldn't think of names for some of the characters so I used Final Fantasy X names. I think I replaced them all with the new names but in case I missed one heres the orginals with the replacements: 1.Ifrit=Hakan 2. Bahamut=Chapa 3. Shiva= Minowa 4. Valefor=Wind
I hope that little guide won't be nessecary **major sweatdrop**
~*~*!

The youth walked along the path, his earphones in. He was bobbing his head to the rap, strutting to the beat. No one could see him, but he didn’t care. He wasn’t trying to be cool, he was just having fun. He then looked far down the dirt trail, and amended that almost no one could see him. Someone was almost at his horizon of sight, which wasn’t very far with all the twists, turns, and hills. As he drew closer it was a female someone, trailed by two of her friends. The teen stopped his strutting walk; he knew this girl and he liked her more than a little. He shoved his CD player in one of his large pockets, after turning the volume down so he could hear her talk if she talked to him. He tried to be casual, but when the sounds of their giggling reached him he started to loose his cool. Were they laughing at him?
When the girls finally reached him on the path they stopped. He stopped as well, and fiddled with the wire coming from his headphones to his CD player. The girl he liked smiled.
“What are you doing way out here, Nathaniel?”<br>Nathaniel shrugged, trying his best to stay calm and cool.
“My house is out this way. I was going to visit home while I still had time.”<br>She nodded, and beamed again.
“I hope your visit goes well. My parents kicked me out. Said I needed to get better grades before I could come back. They even said I was a disgrace to the Ice clan.”<br>Nathaniel grinned, though he feared it would be dorky or uncool.
“I don’t think you are. You’re one of the best students.”<br>One of her friends finally had enough of this talk and said,
“What would you know, Earth boy? You’re one of the worst students.”<br>Nathaniel cringed, and bowed. She was of the highest clan, and was allowed to talk to him like that. There were five clans in all. Ice or Water, Earth, Fire, Air, and the one who lorded over them all: Chapa. The girl he liked was in Ice clan. The girl he liked nudged her friend, and Nathaniel quickly took his leave before it got too nasty. He walked by the girls, and after they went down the trail a ways he turned the rap back up, and marched to the beat.
~*~*~*~!

Eleanor walked with her friends, glancing over her shoulder. Nathaniel was out of sight. She knew he liked her with the certainty that girls just have about those subjects. But she didn’t bring it up; he tried so hard to hide it. But she didn’t play with his mind like some girls liked to do, she liked him as a person but it wasn’t attraction. It was then her friends words cut through her musing.
“What do you think, Eleanor?”<br>“Hm?”<br>“Marcy thinks that the Earth clan is so….boorish. Short and stumpy and dark.”<br>Eleanor shook her head.
“No, that’s so stereotyping you two. They are not all like that. Take Nathaniel for example.”<br>Nathaniel was tall, almost six foot already. He wasn’t stumpy in the least, he was long and gangly. But even when he did mature into an adult you could tell he’d still have a lanky look to him. The only thing dark about him was his clothes and his heavily tanned skin. He had blonde hair and bright deep blue eyes. The girl from Chapa clan, Lis, tossed her long mane of hair.
“He’s the exception to the rule.”<br>“Whatever.”<br>Eleanor couldn’t wait until they reached the school. While Lis and Marcy where good company when there was no one else, she would be glad to shake them. Marcy was an Ice clan girl like herself, but Lis was Chapa and had only joined their group to try to be the benevolent and condescending patron. She had rubbed off on Marcy, but Eleanor refused to conform. Being stupid to be popular did not suit her. They walked along the path, continued to debate about boys looks, until the large school came into sight and Eleanor said,
“Oh, I’ve left something important in my dorm! Gotta run!”<br>She trotted off, detaching herself fro the two. She went into the Ice clan dorms. They were decent, the same quality as the Fire and Air ones, not as good as Chapa’s clan dorms, and much better than Earth clan dorms. Eleanor felt sorry for the Earth clan students. They had to live in the poor conditions, and most of the male students had to go labor over the summer at their parents’ farms. She threw her book bag on the floor. She shared it with another girl. Earth clan had to fit three people in the same amount of space, sometimes even four people were squeezed in. Eleanor flipped through her CD’s, and pulled out one she liked. She put it in the boom box, and turned up the music. She then flopped on her bed. She wanted to get sleep when she could, there wouldn’t be time for such a luxury when school restarted the next day. It was Spirit Week before Exam Week. And that meant studying. She drifted off.

[Red]

Nathaniel walked with a firm determined stride now; the music in his headphones had changed from rap to punk. The path ended, but he didn’t stop. He went right off through the fields. Planting season started soon, and in just two weeks he would be back to the same old story of plowing, whipping the stubborn mule, eat sleep plow whip plow eat whip plow sleep. At least he wouldn’t be cramped up in the stupid school dormitory anymore. After nearly a half hour of walking more, Nathaniel reached his small home.
He pounded on the door, until it opened to reveal a man even taller then he was, and a woman nearly a foot shorter than he. The woman, his mom, tackled him a bear hug. His father patted him the shoulder while his arms were pinned to his side by his mom. His mom let go, and Father said,
“Quick son, Four Gods!”<br>Nathaniel sighed, why was he always asked this? It was such an easy question, only the true idiots didn’t know it.
“Chapa is self named, Fire god is Hakan, Ice god is Minowa, and the Air god is Wind. Earth clan doesn’t have one. It’s why we’re the lowest. That good enough, Pops?”<br>“Wonderful, son! You make your mother and me so proud.”<br>Nathaniel grinned, no matter how many times he heard that he always felt more like a man when he knew his father approval. But somehow the air in the house was somewhat different. His father clapped him on the shoulder, and instead of steering his son inside he steered him outside. That was a definite change.
“What’s up, Pops?”<br>“Someone wants to meet you. He likes it outside more.”<br>They walked back across the fields, Nathaniel now thoroughly confused. He had just been this way. They walked to the woods where the path led, and his father called out,
“Frazzle!”<br>As if on command, a pair of yellow eyes became visible. They grew closer and closer until the large form surrounding them became visible. Nathaniel relaxed his tight muscles. It was just a wolf, albeit a large one. It walked out of the forest.
“I knew he came, I was watching him in the woods.”<br>Nathaniel let out a startled unworldly yell. He scrambled backwards, into his father. He started babbling.
“Tha- Pops, Wolf! Talk!”<br>The canine chuckled.
“I see I can talk better then you.”<br>Nathaniel watched the wolf’s mouth. It wasn’t moving. The sound also wasn’t strictly in his head, it was just there.
“Ho-how are you d-d-d-oing that?”<br>He stuttered over himself in his confusion, it was too much to take in. Frazzle flicked his tail as if he were shrugging.
“Complicated, boy. But here you are. Now I can tell you what we need to do, and we need to do it soon.”<br>Nathaniel straightened himself up more like a man and said,
“What do we need to do?”<br>“Get Earth’s god back. Now we go get-“<br>Nathaniel threw up both hands, shaking his head.
“Hold up! Earth clan doesn’t have a god!”<br>“And I’m a human. Without legs. Every clan has a god you fool. Now shut up and come.”<br>Nathaniel dumbly followed Frazzle back to the house, where he sat.
“Now I can only reveal so much right now. It would take too long anyways. First, do you know of god Realm?”<br>“No.”<br>The wolf yipped in frustration.
“Well then we start at the blasted beginning. What do they teach you in those schools?”<br>“Lots of stuff-“<br>“-That’s all useless! How is the Pythagorean theorem going to help you where technology doesn’t work?”<br>Nathaniel brightened up considerably.
“No math?”<br>Frazzle shook his head.
“Nothing major, maybe only some basic addition and subtraction and-“he let out a frustrated sound again.
“That’s not important right now! First thing first: gods don’t dwell on this realm. They dwell in god Realm. There their underlings serve them and they watch us. Enough said about that. There are five portals. I can explain more about it later. For now all you need to know it the gods hate the smell, sound, and feel of technology. That’s why they so rarely appear these days.”<br>Nathaniel ran his hands through his hair. This was too much to take in or even believe at the same time. A wolf is talking to me, and he’s saying I need to go to another realm. I must be going mad. Yeah, that’s it. School pressure, I’ve finally cracked! Nathaniel walked to the bland siding of his house, and started banging his head against it. After two or three hard whams, and after he was seeing stars, he looked to see if Frazzle was still there.
He was.
“What are you doing now, Idiot boy!”<br>Nathaniel would have retorted with the meanest thing he could have, but he was saved by a short boy running across the fields to him. Unlike Nathaniel, he embodied the short stumpy stereotype of Earth clan.
“Hey, Nat! I’m come to tell you that they moved to football game to today! It’s starting in ten minutes! C’Mon!”<br>This was like a lifeline to Nathaniel. He even forgot to tell the youth off for calling him Nat. Football was something he knew, liked, and could connect to. There would be people, not talking wolves. There was no god Realm there, there were screaming teens and annoying upbeat cheerleaders, and there was also a certain girl… Nathaniel grinned.
“Yeah! Go on ahead, I’ll catch up.”The guy nodded and took off as fast as his stumpy legs could carry him. Nathaniel turned to Frazzle.
“Talk to me later. I’ve got a football game to scream for.”<br>Frazzle growled.
“But-“<br>“No buts man! This is the biggest game of the year! We’re up against the Hawks, and it’ll be tough to beat them! You can come as my… dog if you want but if not then stay here!”<br>Nathaniel then quickly kissed his mother and clapped his dad on the back before taking of across the fields. He was in track and cross country. His long legs ate up the ground easily, and his usually out of place hair was out of his blue eyes in the wind. Frazzle popped up by his side.
“I love football games!”<br>Nathaniel rolled his eyes, but concentrated on sprinting and not talking. The ground seemed to fly past, and he hit the trail through the woods without even slowing down. He knew this path by heart by now. He continued to run until he burst out of the woods and along it until he hit the main road which lad to his school.
Terimon High School was massive and sprawling old school. It was covered in ivy, but unlike most schools the AC and heat worked, and worked properly. He ran through the open gates, and joined in the stream of students going out to the stands. Nathaniel loves Spirit Week, the entire school joined together in celebrated fun themes and activities before taking the dreaded exams. Clans meant little to nothing at this point of the year, only Chapa clan still maintained their higher air.
Nathaniel made his way into the massive stands, and looked for any familiar faces. The only one he could see was Frazzle, who was sticking to him like a ghost. But the good thing was people parted for the wolf. Nathaniel even got lots of compliments on his cool dog. Frazzle muttered things both rude and crude back, but they didn’t seem to hear. After a particularly venomous comment Nathaniel nudged him.
“God, be quiet already. They can’t understand.”<br>“That’s the point. You think I would be saying this if they could hear?”<br>Nathaniel rolled his eyes and looked back up to find himself face to face with Eleanor. He started to blush but stopped himself.
“Oh hey, Eleanor.”<br>He blushed without meaning to, but Eleanor wasn’t [paying attention to his face, thankfully. She was grinning at Frazzle.
“That’s a wolf! How did you ever manage to tame one?”<br>“Well uh, I raised him from when he was a pup. His name is Frazzle.”<br>Eleanor reached out and patted him on the head. Frazzle wagged his tail and moved his head so she would scratch behind his ears. Eleanor laughed and scratched. Frazzle happily panted his tongue lolling. There was then a thunderous roar from one end of the stands, and all of them looked to see the football team running out onto the field. Both Nathaniel and Eleanor screamed and hooted until they reached the end of the field. Eleanor grinned that grin at Nathaniel, almost setting him off blushing again.
“Wanna go sit down?”<br>“S-Sure.”<br>They walked to an almost empty row, and sat down. Frazzle took up position sitting on the ground next to Nathaniel. He was fiddling with his shirt bottom.
“So-uh, you here with anyone?”<br>Eleanor shook her head, looking at the field still.
“Not really. I’m sure someone will find me before the game is over, but I didn’t come with a group of friends. You?”<br>“Same here. Was at home when I was told it was starting, Frazzle followed me back.”<br>Eleanor smiled. The teams on the field were getting to position for the kickoff, Terimon Spirits got the ball. They ran it nearly the thirty yard line on the half of the endzone they were pushing for. And the crowd went wild. Both Nathaniel and Eleanor were on their feet, screaming and yelling cheers. Then the game slowed down, and they sat down again.
The Spirits were playing a wonderful game, and on the second down they had moved it ten yards. The quarter backs then threw to a receiver at the ten yard line. He caught the ball, and everyone was back on their feet. The receiver ran with all he had, and leapt into the end zone. The cheering grew so loud and reached such a pitch that it seemed to soften in tone.
The rest of the game passed quickly after that. Spirits won, but it was a hard match. The end result was 21 to 16. Everyone then left, talking, laughing, and mimicking their favorite plays with their hands in huge gestures. Nathaniel and Eleanor stayed for a while, letting the main stream of kids get to out. They talked, and Nathaniel felt like he was on a cloud. He was having the time of his life. He even almost forgot about Frazzle, and the disturbing news that he had brought with him. Almost.

[Red]

He then did completely forget about it when sounds of jeering and the distinctive thud of punches being thrown were heard. Nathaniel and Eleanor were on their feet, and did what every teen would do. They ran to the scene. Nathaniel noticed with some disgust that Frazzle was still following. He had hoped to lose the wolf in the crowd.
They pushed their way through the ring of people already forming. Some toughs from the losing team were beating up an Earth clan kid. The other school’s toughs were clearly from Fire, they wore the clan’s emblem on their ripped up shirts over the school crest. Nathaniel stepped into the open space of the ring, his blue eyes blazing. He would defend his kin, even if meant he got in major trouble. The Earth kid in question was only about 8 years old, probably a younger brother on one of the Terimon football players.
The Fire punks looked up when Nathaniel stepped into the ring. They then looked at the jet black wolf by his side. They most likely would have run but for the ring of people making them stay. Nathaniel helped the kid up, and he quickly ran out through the ring of people. Nathaniel didn’t blame him. He spat on the ground, right in front of the lead Fire clan’s feet.
That was eloquent enough to spur the opposing side into jumping on Nathaniel. He fought well, extremely well with Frazzle keeping them off of his back. The fight finally ended when teachers came to the scene and forcibly pried Nathaniel from the headlock he had one kid in, and got him to call of Frazzle who had been standing growling over another when he had knocked him over.
The Fire punks were sent off with a severe reprimand, and a note they had to show to their teachers. But Nathaniel was stuck with his teachers. One of them was a lady. She was in her early thirties and very gentle looking. She was gentle at heart, but had a look that seemed to pierce your soul. The greatest punishment from her to know you had disappointed her. Her name was Ms. Linal, and she was Air clan.
She looked Nathaniel up and down. He was a mess. His nose was slowly bleeding, a finger was held to it to get it to stop bleeding. One of his eyes was covered in a nasty looking bruise which was slowly swelling even as he stood there. Both cheekbone sported bruises of varying degree and the right side had a cut where one of them had caught him with a ring. Under his shirt he was no doubt polka dotted with other bruises. The fight had been a tie. While Nathaniel probably had more damage then each of them did by themselves, he had caused at least one painful injury to each, not including whatever Frazzle had done to them.
Ms. Linal shook her head sadly, and that look was in her eyes. Nathaniel looked at the ground, ashamed. She sighed and said,
“Well, I guess it’s into my office for you, Nathaniel. And your wolf. The other teachers will talk with the students who saw the fight. You might get off with minimal punishment, as they were from the other school. Now come on.”<br>She led the unfortunately familiar way to her office, as Frazzle merrily talked to Nathaniel.
“That was some fight! Ho, you popped them good! And it was even for a good cause. That kid would have been beaten into a bloody pulp if you haven’t stepped in. Though he already was in bad shape when you got there.”<br>Nathaniel kicked Frazzle to shut him up, and kept on walking. They walked into the office, and Nathaniel slumped into his favorite chair. The office was pleasant enough, not too girly but not to sterile either. Comfortable was a word Nathaniel always thought, and it relaxed him making it easier to talk. She sat in her chair, and steeped her hands.
“Tell me what happened.”<br>Nathaniel removed the finger from his nose since it had stopped bleeding. At least he thought so. It was close enough.
“Well, the game ended and I heard a fight and I ran to see what it was and these punks were beating up a kid from my clan. So I let the kid make a run for it and got in a fight with the other ones.”<br>She nodded.
“I see. And don’t worry, I do believe you. You have a kind heart and would do something like that. But you need to watch yourself. There is such thing as being too kind. You can’t just watch out for other people, you have to watch out for yourself or else you’ll fall.”<br>She smiled.
“And I don’t want to see you fall. Really.”<br>Nathaniel nodded, blonde hair in his face again. He was staring at his knees, still ashamed and feeling like an idiot. Ms. Linal then changed the subject, giving Nathaniel hope. That meant she would do her best to soften his punishment.
“Now, tell me about this wolf friend of yours.”<br>“Oh, this is Frazzle.”<br>Frazzle stood up, and bowed. He then laid down again, clearly at ease here. Ms. Linal smiled.
“Family patron?”<br>“Huh?”<br>Frazzle jumped up once again, and had a huge wolf grin on his face. He trotted to Ms. Linal and started licking her. She laughed, and fended him off. Nathaniel was so confused.
“What?”<br>Frazzle wagged his tail, sitting next to his teacher. She rested a hand on his head.
“Oh, I forgot they don’t teach you anything about that until you’re at least eighteen. Earth clan doesn’t have a god, but they do have patrons. Each family has their own. The patron protects the family in both realms. Oh, you don’t know about the god Realm, do you?”<br>“Kinda,” Nathaniel muttered. He was having a sinking suspicion that all the adults knew something he didn’t, and it made him feel really stupid. And angry. And he was ready for a more detailed explanation. He wasn’t quite sure of what yet, there was too much to be explained, but anything would do for starters.
“Well that’s more than most kids your age. Usually the family adopts an entire species, but one specimen in particular protects them. This Frazzle is much smarter than your average wolf. That why I suspected. And you’ve never mentioned anything about him before now so I guess you only just showed himself to you.”<br>Nathaniel nodded glumly. It wasn’t the explanation he wanted, but it did at least make something clearer that it was. He had been more hoping for information about the actual god Realm or the Earth god and he was now remembering Frazzle had mentioned something about portals and technology not being allowed in there. Ms. Linal patted Frazzle on the head.
“You should go now. Please go right back to your dorm. And if anyone asks about your friend, I think saying he’s a wolf dog is best. It’ll keep down any suspicion on the teacher’s part.”<br>Nathaniel jumped to his feet and bowed, grateful. He then turned smartly on his heel and strode out the door. Frazzle dashed out right before it closed and followed him to the Earth dorms. They were small, cramped, and noisy but al least they were clean and as ordered as a bunch of boys living together could be expected to be. He walked up the first two floors and when he got inside the room stripped off his bloody clothes and had a nice hot long shower.
He then threw on some fresh boxers and PJ pants and collapsed into bed. It had been a crazy day.

[Red]

Morning came. A large bell slowly swung back and forth when the clock hit six, waking up the students in the dorm. Nathaniel groggily drifted back from the realm of sleep, and wished he hadn’t. He would have dismissed yesterday as just a really weird dream, but he hurt too much for it to have been one. His head felt like it was about to explode and his entire body ached from the fight. He opened his eyes, to find only one opened. He quickly rolled out of bed so he could get into the bathroom before his two other roommates.
He padded barefoot to stand in front of the mirror. Blood was caked on his cheek where the cut had slowly oozed blood while he had been sleep. He slept on his back, so luckily none had gotten on the sheets. He turned on water, and dunked his face on the frigid flow. He let it wash off the worst of the blood, then took a wash cloth and rubbed the rest carefully off. He then dried his face and retreated from the bathroom as his other two roommates appeared at the door.
One was both tall and lanky like he was, then other was only about twelve and still had a child’s build. They were both now staring at his leanly muscled torso and face. The taller one gaped saying,
“So it was you that got into that fight!”<br>Nathaniel blanched. He never failed to underestimate how fast news spread around here.
“What are they saying about it?”<br>“That some Earth kid beat the tar outta some Fire kids, though he’s not so hot himself. And now I look, they were right.”<br>“Aw, shut it Cory. Hey, you guys didn’t mind my dog, did you?”<br>The shorter one shook his head.
“Nope. He’s really nice.”<br>Nathaniel grinned, ruffling the kid’s hair.
“Good. I’ll have to bring him back home today.”<br>“But, what about your homework?”<br>“Aw, homework can burn in hell for all I care. I have other things more important to think about.”<br>Nathaniel walked out of the bathroom and let them get ready while he got dressed and ate an energy bar. They then switched, and he brushed his hair, brushed his teeth, and made sure the cut had closed and that he didn’t need a band-aid for it. He then strode out of the dorm room; the kid (Gavin) followed him like a dog. Earth kids traveled carefully in packs a lot because it minimized the chances of being beat up. Cory would stay at the dorm for a while. He was lucky and didn’t have a first hour because he was such a good student.
Nathaniel and Gavin quickly crossed the open space between the dorm complex and Nathaniel walked Gavin to his middle school building then went around going in the high school through the entrance closest to Ice dorms. Many of the kids were ready and getting to the school now, and a steady stream of students walked through the doors.
After he was immersed into the flow, Nathaniel let his mind wander until a voice called out,
“Hey, Nathaniel!”<br>Nathaniel stopped, looking around. He saw Eleanor fighting her way against the crowd towards him, and he walked to her, where they almost subconsciously stepped out of the flow and leaned against a wall.
~*~*~*~!

Eleanor looked Nathaniel carefully over. He was a mess, those stupid Fire clan punks were such pushovers. She tucked some of her hair behind her ear and asked,
“So what are they going to do to you?”<br>He shrugged; the one blue eye that was open was glum and dejected.
“Probably just a lot of detentions. I was protecting one of my own, and they were beating up a little kid so it shouldn’t be too bad. It’s not like the time I hit a Chapa kid.”<br>Eleanor raised an eyebrow. She had never heard of this before, and it was safe to say she was well within many loops of information. Nathaniel didn’t notice her, and kept on talking.
“I got a month long suspension and was confined to my dorm the entire time. It was horrible! The guy deserved it though.”<br>He grinned, though Eleanor had no idea why. She smiled too so she wouldn’t look dumb. She was then attacked by Lis, who gabbled out a soppy hello then dragged her away. She jus had time to lift a hand in good-bye to Nathaniel, who grinned and returned the hand wave before turning and snagging some guy walking by to talk to. She and Lis walked along till his tall form was out sight. Then Lis turned a corner and Eleanor did the same.
“What are you doing hanging out with him? Did you hear? He actually got in a fight with Fire clan yesterday! That was out of his place!”<br>Eleanor shrugged.
“He was protecting his own, and they were from the other school.”<br>‘That doesn’t matter! He’s on the right road to a delinquent.”<br>Eleanor sighed, and nodded unhappily. Lis wouldn’t give up until she was convinced she was right. A bell rang, signaling five minutes to class. Eleanor hurried off, and escaped from Lis.

[Red]

Nathaniel pulled off his shirt, throwing it in his gym locker and pulled out his gym shirt. He then changed into shorts, almost falling over in his excitement to change. They were playing Extreme Capture the Flag today, outside. This was one of the games were clan didn’t matter. He then threw on his tennis shoes. They were falling apart and barely stayed on his feet. But they were comfortable and so he kept them. He then jogged outside where the boys were milling and the girls were chatting in the small bleachers on the gym field.
This kind of Capture the Flag was restricted to being only boys or only girls. It had the same basics. They were split into groups, and stood off at the middle line. The goal was in infiltrate the enemy side, find the flag, and get it back to the other side. However, instead of a touch signaling you have to put down the flag or had to go to the other side, it was a tackle and being hauled across the line. There was also six flags instead of one, and they had to be across the line for a team to win. It was a wildly fun game, and all the boys took special delight in it.
Nathaniel went to stand by Gavin, who was nervously shifting his weight form foot to foot. He had apparently only seen and never played this game. Nathaniel gave him a playful shove.
“You know how to play, right?”<br>Gavin shrugged, almost shaking now. Nathaniel grinned.
“Ok. Just remember, if you get a flag run for your life. You can’t put it in a pocket, and if your tackled you have to put it down where you were tackled. If you’re on the other line and you get tackled you have to go back over. Though they’ll probably just pick you up and throw you back across. Got it?”<br>Gavin nodded, the fear now evident in his eyes. Nathaniel looked over the field. There was equipment scattered across the field, it was mostly to hide the flags in. It was the size of a football field cut in half. The teams were divided and Nathaniel was pleased to see that Gavin and him were on the same side.
They got on their sides, and the whistle rang out. The game was started. A huge guy called for the team to assemble and the fifteen boys huddled in a circle.
“Ok guys, this is the strategy. The biggest guys run across and create a diversion. The little guys get in there and find the flags. After you get thrown back tell Nathaniel and his crew and they’ll run and get them.”<br>Nathaniel rolled his eyes. His crew was the track people. There was seven huge guys, five small guys and three track stars. The team broke and attacked. Nathaniel carefully watched everything. Soon Gavin was running towards the dividing line and safety. A larger guy was swiftly overtaking him and tackled him at the three yard line. Nathaniel instantly was across, speeding across the nine feet and pulling the guy off before him. He pulled Gavin up, and dragged him across the line.
“You find one?”<br>Gavin nodded, very pale and very scared. He managed to whisper, and Nathaniel grinned. They had hidden three flags in the same spot. He waited for the chaos to be drawn away from him, and ran. He to where the bleachers and girls were. He ran up to the top, through the startled girls, and grabbed the three flags from under the top bleacher. He heard a yell, and turned. They had spotted him. Nathaniel jumped off the back, and ran to the edge before running in front of them and made a mad sprint towards the white line. Everyone on that side was screaming and jumping.
A positively huge guy suddenly loomed in front of him. He turned, and leapt nimbly to the side.
Or at least tried to.
His sneakers gripped the ground well; it was his feet that refused to stay in them. He fell on his face, the guy jumping over him and missing. Nathaniel grabbed his shoes and ran as fast as he could in his socks. The hooting and screaming grew louder. Twenty yards, fifteen yards. A guy was coming in intercept him. He threw his shoes at the guys face, making him slow to dodge the missiles. Ten yards, fife yards, four three two….and he was hit with a spectacular tackle across his legs. He was thrown to the ground. He threw the flags, and Gavin dashed out to catch them and ran back inside the line.
Nathaniel was hauled up by the scruff of his neck and thrown across the line where he bounced a couple times. He shoes landed by him, and he laughed. This was so much fun.

The game ended ten minutes later when they staged a full out wave into the other teams lines, and got the other three flags. Nathaniel got to tackle five people, threw across three people, and was tackled about six times. They then switched with the girls, and the panting sweating boys gathered on the bench. Nathaniel was now in a world of hurt, this was defiantly not helping his day old bruises and eye. But he was also grinning like a fiend; this was a gloriously good hurt.
Gavin sat on the bench next to him, still deathly pale. He gave a weak smile. Nathaniel clapped him on the back. Gavin just wasn’t a rough and tough kid. Gym passed slowly after that, the girls were so much more conservative and barely even pushed each other. In the end it was a tie, and then they were let back inside to shower and change.
Nathaniel quickly did so, therefore avoiding most of the crowd for the showers. Thirty naked boys all trying to take showers where there was only twenty faucets was always a scary war.
He slipped back into his day clothes and went into the hall. None of the girls were out yet. That figured, they always took so long. Gavin was sitting in the hall, a newly made bruise on his cheek forming. Nathaniel sat down next to him, turning his head so he could see Gavin form his good eyes. Gavin looked back at him and muttered,
“Not sure I like that game.”
Nathaniel laughed and clapped him on the back.
“Once you play it some more you’ll love it! You’re small so you’re harder to hit.”<br>Gavin tried to look like he was genuinely smiling, but it was painfully apparent that he was faking it. Nathaniel didn’t mind, not everyone could like just one thing. A shrill voice laden with a pompous air split through Nathaniel.
“Hey, you! Earth scum! Look smart!”<br>Nathaniel looked up to see Lis. He almost groaned. He so did not need this. She nudged him with her foot, and managed t dig into one of his bruises.
“You tackled some Chapa kids today. What do you have to say for yourselves?”<br>Nathaniel shrugged, and made a face at her before adding,
“It’s just a frikin game. Calm down.”<br>“What people do in games reflects on what they do in real life!”<br>“Oh, so you’re cheating in games means you cheat in real life too?”<br>Both Nathaniel and Lis looked at Gavin, stunned. Neither of them has expected him to say anything, let alone such an insult. Lis glared at him.
“What do you mean?”<br>“I saw you rip up one of the flags to make it two, and that’s how you won.”<br>Lis growled, and pulled back her foot to kick him. Nathaniel was up in a flash, and glowered down on her, his blue eyes blazing. She looked up at him, and suddenly lost some of her fire. She always seemed to be good at looking down on people, but always stood down when she had to look up.
“Leave. Him. Alone.”<br>Nathaniel didn’t care if he was expelled this time. Gavin was like his younger brother. Lis gulped at his intense gaze and retreated to gossip and complain about him. Nathaniel settled back on the floor. If he could stare her down with one eye, she really must not be much. The bell rang, and Nathaniel and Gavin moved on to their next class.
~*~*~*~!

School ended, and Nathaniel practically ran out, eager to talk to Frazzle and eager to just get out the stupid place. He easily loped through the grounds, until the bulk of the students had left. An arm suddenly shot out from a small alley between Earth dorms and pulled him into it. He nearly fell to his knees, and whirled around to see who had done that to him. Eleanor was standing there, a slightly shocked look on her face.
“Oops! Sorry, didn’t mean to pull that hard!”<br>Nathaniel sighed even though he was secretly flattered, and said,
“What do you want?”<br>She shrugged, looking confused at herself.
“I don’t know. I just kind of wanted to talk.”<br>Nathaniel was stunned, confused, and happy all at the same time. She had wanted to talk to him? He opened his mouth to reply when a dark form shot by Eleanor and tackled him. Nathaniel yelled in surprise, and yelled again, this time in pain when he hit the ground. Eleanor started giggling as Frazzle started licking Nathaniel’s face.
“Your wolf must really like you.”<br>Nathaniel rolled his eyes at Frazzle’s proud wolf grin and muttered,
“Or must really wanna kill me. Now get offa me!”<br>Frazzle nimbly jumped off of him and said,
“I love you too. Now stop flirting with the girl, and take some time out of your busy schedule to come and finish learning about the God World.”<br>Nathaniel groaned, he had almost successfully forgotten about that. Eleanor looked at him with a concerned look.
“You alright?”<br>“Yeah. I’m sorry, I have to go. I almost forgot I have to take him home. Stupid wolf…”
Frazzle lightly bit his ankle to make his point. Nathaniel walked as slowly as he could to make his. Eleanor giggled commenting,
“You two make a perfect pair!”<br>Both Nathaniel and Frazzle looked horrified. Eleanor waved at Nathaniel saying,
“Well, come back soon! I’ll be at the old diner, it’s fun there.”<br>Nathaniel waved back, and started jogging towards his house. Frazzle was worth more trouble that anything good Nathaniel could possibly think of.

[Red]

~*~*~*~!

When he got to his house he sat on a log leaning next to it, and said,
“Now start talking.”<br>Frazzled drew himself up importantly and said,
“You know I’m your family patron, and that I protect in both Realms. It’s no easy job, mind you. Minowa is such a pushover, and Hakan likes to burn my fur just to see me squirm. And we’re completely leaving out Wind here as well. However, they know I protect the family of the One and so they leave you alone. And they don’t kill me, which is fine by me.”<br>“Who’s the One?”<br>“You, of course.”<br>Nathaniel leaned against the side of the house, this not sinking in.
“What? I’m just an ordinary kid….”<br>“No you are not. It’s a long story. I don’t have time to tell it all. For now just settle with this: There used to be gods for each clan. While they did war and such, it was actually mostly between the people rather than the gods. Chapa was supreme even then, but he was greedy. His greatest rival was the Stone Giant, the god of the Earth people. Chapa wished to be rid of him. None of the other gods approved of this, but they stayed out of it and let the two duke it out. Stone was rather hot headed and the thought of Chapa staging a takeover of his people was unforgivable to him. Well, the battle was terrible. Finally, Stone defeated Chapa. However, Stone was rather gentle hearted and knew how it would upset the balance of things if Chapa was to die. So he sealed him away with the last of his strength. But before he finished the seals, Chapa sent a spell with the last of his strength. It hit Stone right after the seals were finished, when he was at the lowest of his resistance to such. It sealed him away, but it’s not nearly as powerful as Stone’s sealing. Not as much time to get it done right, see. However, the seal just can’t be undone easily. The loyal followers of the Stone Giant managed to alter the sealing key. They keyed it to a family, using some of the Giant’s fallen blood and fusing it with the family’s bloodline. Then some day the blood would be manifested enough to break the spell, if Bom-Be-Ye was taken to the human Realm where the human would be at his most powerful.”<br>Nathaniel shook his head, unable to believe this. It was like everything he had known, everything he had believed was being more and more changed with each word that came out of the wolf’s mouth.
“Ok, there’s some things I need to know. One, why would the blood of the Stone Giant unlock the seal? Two, what is the Bom-Be-Ye? And finally, what the hell does this have to me and why didn’t I know this before?”<br>Frazzle swished his tail, sitting down and looking at the blue sky.
“Good questions, all of them. The blood will unlock the seal because we have altered the seal so. As the generations go on the blood grows stronger within the line, and the potential for the human to draw it out increases. It’s a very complicated thing. The Bom-Be-Ye is the object the form the Giant took when he was sealed. Lastly, you don’t know this because when this tragedy happened the humans and other gods took measures to try to fix it. Chapa clan acted like they had never lost their god and they were most powerful in people as well, so they could stay on top. Earth clan, while powerful, sacrificed power and admitted they had no god anymore. They took on patrons to protect their family and sank to the lowest of the ranks.
“Much time passed, and most of the Chapa and other clans forgot that Chapa clan had ever lost their clan. Parents found that it was too much effort to compete between themselves, and pushed their children to the competing for them. So it has been for nearly twenty generations. Children eventually find out about the world around them when they reached 18, but until then they are almost ritually left clueless.”<br>Nathaniel nodded, and ran his hands through his light colored hair. This was waaay to much to take in at one time. But even so he was taking it in and some things in his life were starting to make sense. Like why school was everything to the clans, why parents cultivated rivalries so carefully, why Earth had no god when everyone else did. But then again, so many new questions and mysteries opened from this new knowledge. He looked closely at Frazzle, his blue eyes almost pleading.
“And I ask again, why does this matter to me? Why couldn’t I have learned this all when I was 18 like most kids?”<br>Frazzle walked up and put his nose close to Nathaniel, his damp and wet breath blowing on his cheeks.
“I thought you would have figured it out by now. You are the One, Nathaniel. Capital O and everything. The Stone Giant’s blood has manifested in you, and you are the One to unlock the seal and bring Stone Giant back.”

[Red]

Nathaniel sat there, stunned. He finally started nervously laughing.
“This is just a joke, right? You’re just pulling my leg. I bet Mom and Pops are behind that bush laughing at me for buying this crap. Right?”<br>Frazzle shook his head, his yellow eyes the most serious Nathaniel had ever seen them.
“No. You must release the Stone Giant! The entire god Realm is starting to die from his absence. He is no longer there to cultivate the growing things. And the effects are starting to come here as well. The crops this year will be poor, and will continue to fail until famine sweeps the world. The trees will die, the grass will wither. Whether it happens in ten years or a hundred, we must reverse the effects before it’s too late. Already irreparable damage has been done to god Realm. And just in time, you have the correct measures of the blood. You must help us.”<br>Frazzle’s amber eyes were now pleading. He must live there. He must see from day to day his world die and wither. But do they expect me to fix this? I’m just a student. And a really bad one at that. Nathaniel shook his head.
“Sorry, you have the wrong guy. I’m not what you need. Maybe if there’s another branch of my family…there must be someone else…”
It was his turn to beg. He did not want to do this, the desperation he was feeling almost hurt. He had homework, Eleanor was waiting for him at the old diner. He couldn’t stand her up. There had to be someone else to foist this upon. But Frazzle sadly shook his head no.
“I’m sorry, Nathaniel. I truly am. There a girl, her inheritance was more direct than yours, and we had trained her to be able to fight, and everything she needed for this task. She knew of her past the entire time, she was ready to do this. But she suddenly died less than a month ago. There is none other with enough manifested blood for this. Please, help us.”<br>Nathaniel looked with his vibrant blue eyes at Frazzle, unable to decide what to do. All he was able to say was,
“But…I don’t know….”<br>Frazzle looked at the ground. His tail was drooping as he slowly nodded up and down.
“I understand. I’ll stay here until tomorrow night. Remember, your realm depends on this too. The life of your friends depend on freeing your god. And you are worthy, young one. Grades do not reflect what is in your heart. You were born to do great things, but it’s in your heart and not just your blood. Your blood opens the potential, the heart pushes you through. You are nothing without your heart.”<br>Frazzle then turned with amazing speed and was gone in the slowly fading light, leaving a puzzled and thoughtful Nathaniel behind.
~*~*~*~!

After a while Nathaniel came to his senses from his deep trance of thinking, and looked at the sky, blanching. He had been sitting there pondering for nearly an hour! He had to go meet Eleanor. He got up and trotted through the weakening light, through the woods, and to the old diner outside the school grounds. He went inside. The place was modeled off of an old 50’s diner, so everything was chrome and tacky. But the food was good, and it was a common congregating place for students.
Students sat in sections according to clan, though there was what was commonly referred to as the ‘Melting Pot’ in mockery of America’s claims to supporting it. That were was anyone could sit, and the careful neutrality of it was maintained by everyone. Nathaniel waded through the students to it, and to his vast relief found Eleanor sitting at a booth. However, there was another guy there (much to his dismay). Eleanor saw him, and yelled,
“Hey Nathaniel, over here!”<br>She pointed at the spot beside her and Nathaniel slipped into the booth beside her, quickly trying to take in the man.
He looked tall, well built, and had long dark hair. In contrast, his eyes were a light grey that probably had made girls swoon when they saw him. He had delicate though not completely girlish features in the face. He was basically a handsome man and Nathaniel was hating him already. He grinned, a perfect smile of white teeth, at Nathaniel and extended a hand over the table to him.
“Hi! I’m Brock.”<br>His voice was deep, suave. Nathaniel shook his hand reluctantly muttering,
“Nathaniel.”<br>He then realized he was acting like a little kid and Eleanor noticed.
“Something wrong, Nathaniel?”<br>He shrugged, realizing he was still upset about Frazzle and the god Realm. He stared at the table.
“Kinda. It’s really complicated and I’m not sure I can tell you. It’s family matters and I might be missing school soon.”<br>Eleanor nodded, eyes compassionate. She laid a hand on his shoulder and said,
“It’ll be alright in the end. Just keep going ok?”<br>Nathaniel nodded, he had no idea why he felt like crying. But he kept it in like the macho man he was, and instead focused his attention at Pretty Boy at the other side of the table.
“Anyways, let’s hear about you, Brock.”<br>Brock grinned that smile again and said,
“Well, I’m Air Clan and I graduated here last year with top marks. I’m in the college just down the road and am doing a study on the lives of the students here.”<br>Nathaniel nodded. This guy is firkin perfect for Eleanor. She wants to go into psychology. As it was, they both started talking about the subject. Nathaniel was quickly lost, he hadn’t intended to go to college. Suddenly, Brock turned those place eyes on his again.
“So Nathaniel, what are you going to do in college?”<br>Nathaniel shrugged.
“I dunno. I was thinking of not going and keep up my parent’s farm.”<br>Brock got a serious look on his face.
“You really should think about going. It opens so many doors, Nat.”<br>Nathaniel suddenly stiffened and said,
“Please don’t call me Nat, Natty, Nathan, Natal, or anything close. My name is Nathaniel.”<br>At that he stood up and walked out of the door of the old diner.