The young female known as Ashley was currently in her jackalope form walking through a rather small forest on the outskirts of town. She was sniffing the air to try and find anything of interest, and fortunately, it didn't take long for a rather pleasant aroma. When she arrived she saw a carrot in a rather simplistic trap. Honestly just how stupid did they think she was? She could see the rope! 

Ashley then heard the snapping of a branch nearby and began to scan the area around her in a panicked motion before she finally spotted the source of the sound. A fairly young male with short white hair, it was fairly clear from the blindfold over his eyes that he couldn't actually see Ashley and was instead relying on his sense of hearing to locate the female. Ashley smiled slightly seeing this again, he was something of a 'hunter' or at least that was the nice way of putting it. 

She had seen him set up several traps for her specifically, he didn't really show any desire of trying to capture any of the other animals that lived in the area. However, he was rather bad at accomplishing this. At first, Ashley thought it was kind of annoying, however, after nearly three years of his attempts she actually thought it was a bit funny since he never seemed to get any better at the traps that he constructed. 

Ashley then began to slowly approach the carrot that he had placed out for her in a rather teasing manner. As she did she would occasionally glance to the side to make sure that he was still watching, or rather still listening to her. As she did she could see his obvious excitement starting to take place. Ashley then stopped for a moment and kicked a rock towards the rope that was holding up the trap. 

As she did it went at a much faster speed than should have been possible showing that Ashley had used her powers. The rock hit the rope snapping the contraption that he had made. She wasn't sure what kind of trap this was since she had never seen anything like this before, however, it was more than elaborate with Ashley having to wait nearly a minute before the trap finally came to an end. 

When it did, Ashley walked up to the carrot that now laid in the center of Chrom's destroyed trap. It seemed like he was actually going to let her keep it if she had gotten caught by the trap. Ashley then began to nibble on the carrot happily as she noticed the male slowly approaching her trying to be quiet as he did. For a blind male he was doing surprisingly well, however without his sight there was only so much he could do. 

He eventually stepped on a branch snapping it, and Ashley pretended to use this to her advantage picking the carrot up in her mouth and beginning to run away from the sound with the carrot in hand. Chrom began to run after her as he heard starting to move, he had to catch her! Ashley continued to run from the male, purposely letting him get close to her before putting some distance between them. 

Something she had noticed about their past few encounters is that Chrom had a lot more stamina than most of the other hunters that she had encountered before him. He also seemed to be a bit faster than them as well, however, he was still human and when compared to a rabbit especially a supernatural one, there was only so much that he could do. Ashley continued to let the male chance her letting him believe that he was getting close to her. 

She led him to the edge of a small hill and began to run alongside it. It didn't take her long to find a piece that didn't look as stable as the others and Ashley jumped over it, and just a few seconds later Chrom stepped on the place she had avoided and began to fall down the hill sliding down it. When he did Ashley looked down at him with a smile before she began to happily hop away. 

When she did Chrom grit his teeth and began to beat his fist against the ground in frustration. After several minutes of Chrom cursing to himself about how he let the Jackalope once again escape from his grasp, he stood up and began to walk back to where his trap was. Chrom picked up the rope that was laying on the ground and began to gather what scraps he could of his now failed trap. 

He wasn't able to locate all the pieces and began to make his way back to town. As he did he took a noticeable turn to what looked to be an abandoned building. As he slowly approached two familiar figures were waiting for him. Roslyn and Shane were both waiting for him in front of the building. Roslyn still resting under her umbrella as she waited for the male to approach them.

"So how'd it go?" Shane asked as he looked at the male hoping he hadn't succeeded in his mission on capturing the jackalope. Chrom seemed a bit irritated hearing this and Shane relaxed slightly as he realized that Chrom had indeed failed. "Anyway what are we doing here? Shouldn't we head back to base?" Shane asked as he looked at the two in front of him. 

"That's what we're doing," Rosalyn said as she opened the door to the building and walked inside of it. Shane was a bit confused seeing this and walked into the building. It was clearly abandoned, and the ground was covered in dust and trash littered the floor. Shane seemed a bit unsure hearing this and began to follow behind them. They walked up to a small set of stairs past a couch and even a small fridge. 

Making their way to a small set of stairs to the side of the massive room in front of them. The three began to make their way up the stairs of the building each floor showing visible signs of decay. Shane continued to follow them until they reached the fourth floor of the building and looked at the floor in front of them a bit nervous. It was covered in mold and moss and seemed to be in the late stages of decay ready to crack and break if any extra weight was put on it. 

However, on the other side of the room, there was what looked to be the entrance to an elevator. Rosalyn and Chrom then began walking across the ground. "Are you sure this is safe?" Shane asked a bit unsure as he looked at the ground beneath them. 

"Indeed, we'll be fine as long as we stick to the path," Rosalyn said as she turned and began walking in a different direction. Shane was a bit confused by this and took a step forward closing an eye and preparing himself for if the ground were to suddenly give out beneath him. However, to his surprise he didn't feel this, in fact, he didn't feel any sign of the ground sinking in at all. A bit curious Shane began putting more pressure on the floor before he realized what he was standing on. 

The floor was made of metal, when Shane looked up he saw that both Roslyn and Chrom had already made their way to the other side of the room and were now standing in front of the elevator waiting for him. Shane began walking forward and after several steps, he heard a snap beneath him and part of his leg fell into the ground. Shane, fortunately, had quick reflexes and pulled back before he could fall into the hole and looked down. 

Just as he thought he saw a shining piece of metal beneath him, however, it seemed to suddenly come to an end at the area he had just stepped. Shane then remembered what Roslyn had said about the path and began to turn in the direction she saw them turning. When he did he took a bit more time with each step to make sure there was still metal beneath him. When he made it to the end of the room Roslyn sighed. 

"It's about time you got here," Roslyn said as she looked at the male. 

"If you wanted me to hurry then why didn't you help?" Shane asked as he looked at the female in front of him. 

"If I did that would have learned anything?" Roslyn said as she walked into the elevator with Chrom and Shane following behind her. As they entered Shane noticed something a little odd, while the outside of the elevator was filthy and looked to be on the verge of collapsing, the insides were remarkably clean and even seemed rather new to an extent. Roslyn then pressed several buttons in what appeared to be a sequence. 

"Remember this code, eight, one, zero, zero, zero, five, two, one, six," Roslyn said as she hit the service call button on the elevator and began holding it for several seconds. After nearly ten seconds had passed the elevator began moving down, and Shane looked around a bit nervous. "Xaintao wants to speak with you, so just follow him when we reach the bottom," Roslyn said as she looked at the male causing him to nod. 

After a brief ride, the elevator came to a stop and the door opened up revealing a large hallway with several different people in it. However, the one that stood out the most of that male in front of them. He appeared to be a bit older, around the age of forty, possibly fifty with just a few lines starting to show his age. He had hair that had turned gray with experience, and stern blue eyes, and despite his age, he had a rather well-built frame, appearing muscular and even a bit intimidating. 

"Greetings recruit," The male said as he looked at Shane, as he said this Chrom and Roslyn both exited the elevator leaving the two behind. "I am Xiantao Upuris, Freelancer of the fifteenth division, and as of this day, you are no longer a sheep but instead a wolf. Now if you will follow me, I will show you to your room and who you'll be working with," Xiantao said as he turned around and began walking down the halls. 

When he said this Shane nodded and began to follow behind him. "Sorry to bother you, mister, Upuris, but what is this place? I thought that-"Shane began only for Xiantao to cut him off. 

"The building you found when you first arrived was nothing more than a decoy. Honestly, do you think we'd be foolish enough to have our base surrounded with armed guards? It wouldn't be much of a secret is others knew of its location and had reason to suspect it now would it? No, that's just to help weed out the sheep from the wolves," Xiantao said as he continued down the hall passing several people as he did. 

"I see, what do you mean by that?" Shane asked as he looked at the male in front of him. 

"Well, it should come as no surprise that like most organizations we use ranks to show status and other things of that nature. However, the simple fact is that most Condottieri's don't make it past their first mission when it comes to fighting a monster. While being smart is, of course, an important part of being a Condottieri you must also be capable of defending yourself." Xiantao said as he made a sharp turn down the hall. So sharp in fact that Shane almost bumped into him because of his sudden and abrupt stop. 

"The simple fact is that more than ninety percent of Condottieri's are killed on their first mission. Which is why those at the bottom are given the title sheep because they're essentially nothing more than sheep to the slaughter. However, after a recruit such as yourself proves themselves worthy by surviving five missions you're given the title wolf, and you're taken into the real organization," Xiantao said as he looked at the male in front of him. 

"Like a wolf in sheep's clothing?" Shane asked as he looked at the male in front of him. 

"I always thought so," Xiantao said as he stopped in front of a room. The door then slid open and Xiantao looked at him. Shane then looked in the room and saw that it was rather large. Several times larger than his actual room at his house. It had even been furnished slightly, with a bed, desk, a small dresser, and a lamp. "This is your room," Xiantao said as he watched Shane step inside of the room. 

"We expect you to follow basic etiquette, if you make a mess clean it up, don't steal, simple things like that. Other than that feel free to do as you wish with your room. We will provide four meals a day for you, one at eight in the morning, one at two in the afternoon, eight in the evening, and two at night for the several night owls that we have among our ranks," Xiantao said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small key. 

Shane nodded and took the key from him and Xiantao nodded. "Other than that feel free to do as you wish for the rest of the day. However, you must be ready by twelve tomorrow, you will be meeting your new mentor then. Now then, do you have any questions?" Xiantao asked as he looked at the male in front of him. 

"Uh yeah actually what are the other ranks? I know sheep are at the bottom, and wolves are just a bit better, but what do you call the others?" Shane asked as he looked at the male in front of him. 

"The ranks are as follows, sheep, wolf, alpha, trapper, flesher, freelancer, elite, slayer, lore keeper, and finally Mythos. Any other questions?" Xiantao asked as he looked at the male in front of him. 

"What was the passcode for the elevator again?" Shane asked having already forgotten the rather complex nine-digit code. 

"Eight, one, triple zero, five, two, one, six. Is that all?" Xiantao asked as he looked at the male causing Shane to nod. As he did Xiantao walked away and the door closed behind him.

"Eight, one . . . I need a pencil," Shane said knowing that he would undoubtedly forget the code before he once again had the chance to use it. However, unknown to him the two that he had been with the past few weeks were in a room down the hall from his. They were standing in a room with several draws each containing a different type of supply that was used for some sort of trap. 

However, the thing that most would notice about the room at first was that one of the corners had three boards in it each with pictures of jackalope and several notes that had been scribbled on. As well, as several strings of yarn and wire connecting certain notes, and pictures together. This room was the room of none other than Chrom himself, who at the moment was trying to salvage what little he could from his trap. 

"You're never going to catch that jackalope, you know that right?" Roslyn asked as she looked at the male in front of her. However, Chrom was oddly quite hearing this and began to separate different parts he could use. "You've been trying for how many years now with no success? You need to know when to give up," Roslyn said trying to further discourage Chrom from his current course of actions. 

"Never surrender!" Chrom said as he walked over to the board in front of him and began staring at it. He would get that jackalope eventually, it was just a matter of time! He just needs to rethink some of his current traps was all. Whenever he wasn't killing werewolves or slaying goblins, it was all he thought about. Chrom was determined, and he knew that before he died he would pet the jackalope! Even if it was the last thing he ever did!

Roslyn sighed seeing this as she looked at the male in front of her, ever since he had found out that there was a jackalope in the area he had been trying to catch it, and repeatedly failing. Chrom was a skilled trapper when it came to monsters, but when it came to regular animals his knowledge was lacking quite a bit. Roslyn sighed seeing this and was about to walk away before the door to the room was opened. 

When it did the two turned and saw Xiantao staring at them. "I've got your next task," Xiantao said as he walked up to the two of them holding a folder. 

"It's about time, I was getting bored of just going on patrol and attacking random monsters," Roslyn said as she looked at the male in front of him. When she said this the male tossed the folder in front of them causing several pictures to spill out. 

"We've got a pack of werewolves nearby that need to be dealt with. Think you're up for the task?" The male asked as he looked at the two in front of him. 

"Of course we are," Chrom said as he looked at the male in front of him. Roslyn looked at the pictures in front of her and cringed slightly as she looked at them.

"I absolutely loathe these filthy mongrels. Honestly, their blood isn't even worth the effort to drink. I hate the taste those disgusting curs have," Roslyn said as she looked at the pictures in front of her. 

"Then I take it you won't exterminating them?" Xiantao asked with a smile as he looked at her. 

"Of course, these mutts need to learn their place, and that's beneath the feet of their masters," Roslyn said as she looked at the picture before closing the folder. "I assume you'll be preparing and planning for some traps, so when you're ready I'll be in my room," Roslyn said as she began to walk towards the exit. As she did she saw Chrom walk over to his desk pull out a sheet of paper, before he started scribbling on it. 

Roslyn sighed seeing this and walked out of the room with Xiantao following behind her shortly afterward. When she arrived in her room she saw a few pouches of blood on her dresser with some information on it, including whom the blood had come from, their blood type, whether they were diabetic or not, and most importantly if they had any known blood diseases. After reading a few of them Roslyn settled on one of them and took the cap off of it before pushing a straw into it and taking a sip. 

As she did her eyes began glowing slightly and she felt her energy return to her. Roslyn then walked out of the room still holding the blood pouch as she did and began to look for a way to entertain herself. As she was walking down the halls however a familiar sight caught her attention. It was a slightly isolated hallway with a door at the end. A curious sight that had always caught Roslyn's attention. 

The reason being is that because every time she passed it, she got a rather uneasy feeling of calm, and serenity. In fact, it wouldn't have been unnerving in the least if it wasn't for the fact that Roslyn had noticed she got this feeling literally every time she passed by this door. Another odd detail she noticed about the door was that it was always guarded, and not the secret type of guarding either, the obvious type that had armed guards in front of it at all time. 

Well almost all times, Roslyn had noticed that late at night when the guards were supposed to change shifts, that two of the guards would leave when they weren't supposed to. This was likely due to the fact that they thought no one would ever be stupid enough to try and make a scene in the middle of a Condottieri base. After all, making such a scene in such an enclosed and isolated space couldn't have been well for someone's health. 

However, it was because of this that Roslyn had decided to investigate the room slightly. After looking down the room at the two armed guards in front of it Roslyn shrugged and walked away going to her room. Roslyn then closed her eyes and began to wait for midnight to come. For most then would have been an agonizing wait, however, she had been alive for thousands of years, compared to that a few hours passed by in the blink of an eye. 

The only thing that really annoyed her about the waiting process was that she finished her blood relatively quickly and was forced to toss the now empty package into a small trash bin she had in her room. However, once the time had finally come Roslyn stood up and began to walk towards her door. As she did a black almost shadowy fog appeared by her feet and began to trail up her body turning her completely invisible. 

Roslyn then began to make her way down the halls trying to be as quiet as possible so that the clicking of her heels or the slight breathe she was taking wouldn't alert anyone to her presence. Roslyn waited at the end of the hall and just as she thought the males began to leave a bit earlier than they were scheduled to. Roslyn pressed herself against the wall so that she wouldn't be in their way and began to hold her breath as she waited for the two to pass her. 

Once they did Roslyn waited for them to be a few feet away before she began breathing once again, and once she was sure they were out of earshot she began to walk down the halls. It was a bit dark so Roslyn undid her illusion and looked at the metal door in front of her. She wasn't afraid of being caught on camera after all she didn't show up on film. The only thing she really had to worry about was them switching over to inferred which they rarely did. 

Roslyn looked at the door a bit intimidated still feeling the calming and serene call that it had behind it. However, now she noticed something she had never noticed before. Now that she was this close to the door, she could hear what sounded like whispering coming from the other side, or maybe they were just talking regularly and the thickness of the door made it sound like a whisper?

Roslyn then looked around and put her ear to the metal door. She could still hear the faint whispering calling to her. It was definitely someone speaking, however, she couldn't identify the langue which for her was rather odd, since she knew almost every language that humans had managed to speak. The only ones she never bothered learning were the ones that she found pointless, such as the ones that only a few people spoke. 

However, this didn't sound like those languages, it was complex and while a bit eerie at first did manage to bring her some sense of ease. For some reason, the voice also seemed to have a slight echo behind it. Not as loud as you would expect an echo to be but more like someone was whispering back what they were saying. Roslyn listened carefully so that she could try and make out what the voice was saying. 

"Zacar ca od odo a cicale de zomdv goaanu," Roslyn went over this phase several times in her head to make sure she had never heard this language before however, it was still unfamiliar to her. However, the echo behind it was as clear as day to her. "Move therefore and open the mysteries of your creation," This more than confused Roslyn however at least she could understand it, so she began to listen to that voice instead. 

"There is nothing in all this world as glorious as virtue. It glows without tarnish, it is precious and beautiful. It is above price, it can not be bought or sold, it is the fruit of self-mastery. Beauty without virtue is like a rose without scent. It is a pattern of thought and behavior based on high moral standards. It encompasses chastity and moral purity. Virtue begins in the heart and mind, it is the accumulation of a thousand small decisions. The ideal man bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of circumstances," The voice continued, and it was likely that Roslyn would have continued if not for the fact she heard some footsteps coming towards her. 

Roslyn grits her teeth and pushed herself away from the door forcing herself to once again slowly vanish and walk down the halls of the building. She wasn't sure what was behind that door, but she was certain that whatever it was, it was dangerous.