[Kodai]

Pa? Was that serial killer of a Lucain this other Lucain's father? Quickly Ansgar whipped around and grabbed one of Ric's tails in his teeth. "No you don't," he growled around the fur of the other. "You're not going to go help that killer. Maybe I can't take him on myself, but you're surely not as experienced as he is." Breathing in Ric's scent, something awoke in the back of his mind. Just like Senervel's scent had touched something in his subconscious, so too did Ric's. Something from before he had opened his eyes and found himself in the care of the police.

"Who are you?" he asked, though his voice had lost its growling tone. This was a simple question that he wished to know the answer to.

[Jaykobell]

Ric squealed when Ansgar grabbed his tails. The pale Lucain fell to the ground, unable to go any further. He had completely forgotten about Ansgar... he had completely forgotten he was on enemy territory, in some sense. And yet, his father had told him that so many times... 'Always be wary when on enemy territory,' Ric had been told. And yet he'd forgotten.

Something flared up within Anthanaric when he heard Ansgar saying Sen was a killer. That wasn't true! Not at all! Sure, his father had killed when in the war... but he wasn't the only one that had done it! It was for the sake of peace! "My Pa's not a killer!" Ric protested, trying to wiggle out of Ansgar's grasp. "My Pa's never killed anyone," he argued, wiggling like a newborn pup to try and get away.

While he thought Ansgar was an enemy at first, his question startled Ric, even if only a little. Ric tried to get up despite the hold Ansgar had on his tails, and the pale Lucain tried to look into Ansgar's orange eyes. "I..." Ric stared, his pale eyes similar to that of a blind animal... and yet, it seemed like Ric could see just fine. But his eyes... Was he blind or was he not? "I... know... you..." he whispered as he continued to stare at Ansgar. He knew this Lucain... he knew who he was... and yet he didn't know. But he knew who Ansgar was! ... He had a feeling that he knew!

[Kodai]

"Senervel the Slit Killer, never killed anyone? Ha! That's a laugh," huffed the brown and black Lucain, still holding onto Ric's tails. "Everyone at the station knows to be on the lookout for the Lucain with a lock of white hair and a monocle." And then Ric looked into Ansgar's eyes. The dark Lucain was unnerved by the pale one's almost blank eyes. Was he blind? Was he not blind? He couldn't tell, and it freaked him out. Letting go of Ric's tails, Ans stared at him. So this Lucain thought he knew him too? Senervel's words about the kidnapping went through his mind again. Maybe what he had said was true...

"Who am I, then? If you know me, then tell me who I am!" he cried, feeling upset and confused. Had his whole life been lived under false pretenses? Had he really been stolen from his mother and father as a pup in order to be raised by the police?

[Jaykobell]

The Slit Killer? What the heck was this all about? No one had ever told Ric his father was a serial killer! That kind man, the one who had taught him so much after the end of the war? That man who had sacrificed so much of his time to help Ric? That man, a killer? Nonsense. Utter nonsense! "You're lying... You're lying," Ric argued, refusing to believe his father, whom he adored, was a criminal of the worse kind. What else was this stranger going to tell him? He was just sprouting nonsense. Anthanaric, whom was usually so calm and passive, was now feeling anger overwhelming him.

But his anger died a bit when he heard Ansgar's cry. How could Ric answer his question? Yes, he had this hunch that he knew this other Lucain... the smell, it was so familiar... and yet Ric had no idea who Ansgar was. "I... I don't know... who you are..." the pale Lucain replied miserably, his ears and tails drooping. Oh, how he wished he wasn't so useless all the time... "I... I could help you... find out... maybe..." But wasn't Ans a foe? What would Ric's father say to this? "Just... just don't hurt my Pa..." the young Lucain asked, now feeling nervous rather than angry. "I... I can feel there's... something..." His sentence was cut abruptly as Ric felt a headache coming. Ugh... hopefully it would go away soon...

[Kodai]

Something pulled at Ansgar then, something odd. He had never had to pull a criminal from his family before. And now here was this young Lucain, begging for him to not hurt his father. He hadn't considered the fact that criminals were people too, with emotions of their own. Quiet, he nodded slowly. "All right... I'll let Orreck deal with him," he said finally, looking over to where the Magma Creeper and other Lucain were. "But you... Help me figure out who I am." Noticing that Ric seemed to not be feeling well suddenly, Ans tilted his head and sat before him. "Are you all right?" he asked. Hopefully whatever it was that Ric was feeling would pass soon, and they could get to the task of figuring out just who he was. This whole deal was so very odd...

[Jaykobell]

What a relief. Ansgar had agreed not to hurt Ric's father... The small, pale-colored Lucain sighed. He could stop worrying about his father now... at least, for the most part. Orreck... that name was familiar too, but... Ric had no idea who that person was. Plus... this headache wasn't going away, and it was getting worse by the minute, if not the second. When Ans sat beside him, Ric looked up and shook his head. "I'm fine..." But as he looked back into Ansgar's eyes, Ric heard this one word from the back of Ansgar's mind...

Kidnapping

"Kid... napping...?" Ric murmured, staring at Ansgar still. "Why... are you... worried... about kidnapping?" This whole psychic-whatever thing was starting again, wasn't it? It had happened in this big place where he had met that nice female Lucain... and now it was starting again... Why?

[Kodai]

Huh? Now this Lucain was talking about kidnapping? Though, it was weird... It was like Ric had read his mind or something. Looking over the pale Lucain again, Ans noticed that he had the mark of Psy-Eye on his flank. Maybe this Lucain had psychic powers like the legends said?

"Kidnapping... That Lucain said something about a kidnapping... Was I... kidnapped?" It was more like he was asking the air than Ric. "I don't know... I don't remember it... but... what if it's true? You say you know me..." He turned his attention back to Ric. "You don't know how, but you say you know me... I think I know you, too... Do you remember when you were a small puppy? How many siblings you had? They told me I didn't have any..."

[Jaykobell]

How many siblings there were in his litter? "I... I'm... not sure..." He tried to remember his puphood, that time of his life when he was still a tiny little pup, snuggling against his mother's belly. How many of them were there...? "I... I can't... tell..." He admitted, lowering his head. "My... my sight's not really good. But... my Ma told me... that two of my siblings had went away... and that one was dead..." Could this Lucain be Ric's 'dead' brother? But... his parents had never mentioned anything about a kidnapping, had they? Besides... it's not like they had any similar pelt colors or... anything... "What was your babyhood like...?" Ric asked Ansgar, tilting his head to the side. "What do you remember of it...?" Maybe if Ans talked about it, it would jog a memory?

[Kodai]

"I don't remember much," Ans admitted, lowering his head. It was so long ago... how could he remember? "Just... scents, mostly. I remember... five other scents. Two must have been my mother and father... so that means... the other three were siblings...? But how could that be? They said I had no siblings... That doesn't make sense..." He couldn't believe the police would have lied to him. They were upholders of justice! Police shouldn't lie... but then, why else would he remember these scents unless he had siblings? They must have lied... "No... I can't believe it..." Ans moaned, sinking into the leaf litter on the forest floor. "They lied to me... It must be true. I must have been kidnapped as a young puppy before my eyes opened..." Ansgar sniffed at Ric again. "That must be why you smell familiar... You must be... my brother..."

[Jaykobell]

Ric watched as Ansgar dropped onto the ground, seemingly confused and crestfallen and conflicted. Well... how was it, to learn that your parents had been lying to you this whole time? Who were 'they' that Ansgar kept referring to, though? Were they his adoptive parents? But if he had been kidnapped... Oh, this whole case was too complicated for Ric's head... Anthanaric decided to lie down beside Ansgar instead. The poor guy seemed so lost and lonely right then...

So lost that Ansgar was now saying that he and Ric were most likely brothers, and that Ansgar was that 'dead' sibling. Could Ansgar really be one of Ric's siblings...? "I... I don't know..." Ric replied uncomfortable, his claws scrapping the leaves below out of anxiety. "But... maybe... maybe my... our... Pa knows." Surely Senervel would know if Ansgar was Ric's brother or not...? "They... they shouldn't have gone far..."

[Kodai]

Nodding at Ric's statement, Ansgar looked over and saw that Senervel and Orreck hadn't gone very far at all. In fact, it looked like they hadn't moved an inch. So much the better, then, because they wouldn't have to go looking for them. Suddenly Ans felt a great anger welling up in him. Orreck... He was one of the people that had lied to him! Getting up and dashing forward, Ans could feel his fur standing on end as he faced the one that had told him his parents were dead and that he was the only one of his litter.

"You lied to me!" he barked, restraining himself from lunging at Orreck. "You and everyone down at the precinct! Why?" He suddenly began to whine, hurt from the lies. "Why did you say my parents died? Why did you say I was the only one in my litter? For what reason? Why?"

[Jaykobell]

They hadn't gone too far away, no, but far enough so Ansgar nor Anthanaric could overhear their conversation. Orreck had quite a few things to tell Senervel, in private... Private things neither kids needed to hear. The Magma Creeper was holding Sen down on the ground, Orreck's paws tightly wrapped around Sen's neck. "And that's why..." The reptile stopped his sentence abruptly when he heard pawsteps. Ansgar. Why was he disturbing things over here? He looked over at Sen before letting him go.

The Creeper sat down upon seeing Ansgar rush towards him. Hmm. The kid looked angry, all right. But as Ansgar spoke, Orreck grinned, amused by the child's words. "I never lied to you," he told the Lucain. "You never asked me. The forces wanted a good hunting Lucain. You can't have a family when you're a hunting dog, kid." Orreck looked at his claws nonchalantly. "So they told me to follow the game." That wasn't the actual reason, for, in fact, Orreck had been the one to organize the whole thing, since he needed Ansgar... for a very specific reason, and that was why Orreck had to lie to Ansgar from the very beginning. But he wasn't about to tell the kid all that stuff.

[Kodai]

"Can't have a family when you're a hunting dog? What sort of BS is that?!" Ansgar spat, now furious at Orreck again. "All of the other 'Cain on the force had lived with their families before they were brought to the facility! It's just me that doesn't remember ever having a family!" He could feel the anger continue to rise in him, which was bad. Ans tried to suppress his feelings, but for some reason, he couldn't this time. It was like all the pent up anger he had felt over the course of his life was now being directed at Orreck. And then he did something very foolish. He rushed at Orreck, intending to attack him. Hopefully for Ansgar, the suddenness of the attack would take the Magma Creeper off guard, and he wouldn't be able to react for a few seconds. If not, then Ans was in deep trouble.

[Jaykobell]

Orreck listened as Ansgar let out his fury, spitting it at the Magma Creeper like bullets. Oh, how the kid had forgot his lessons. A good hunting dog doesn't let his emotions take ahold of him. But Orreck decided to let it go, and instead of fighting back, simply stepped out of the way when Ansgar lunged for him. Oh, he wouldn't let this go unpunished, of course not. But right now, he needed his toy. He couldn't afford to hurt him. "Why, yes, they did," he confirmed about the other hunting Lucain having families, unlike Ansgar. "However, think about what I said. To make a good hunting Lucain, you can't have parents, nor siblings. There's a reason why you're the only hunting Lucain I trust to the maximum of my abilities." Well, he actually didn't trust the kid. But manipulation is always your best friend, right? Hopefully Ansgar would see the point and stop attacking Orreck, and would instead direct his attention to Sen and Ric. "Look at you right now," he added, "look at you, letting your emotions get the better of you. And who did it?" He turned his head around to look over his shoulder, to see Ric standing right over there. "This kid, no?" Orreck asked without even turning back to Ansgar. "He distracted you, didn't you? And why so? Because family members have this sort of... power, you could say. They can tell you anything, and it doesn't matter it's true or not, you'll still be tempted to believe them... because they're family." He turned back to Ansgar and changed position, now standing between Ans and Ric. He raised an arm and pointed at Ric. "So you come to me and ramble on about this family issue, and this kid happens to be following you like a lost puppy. Are you assuming this kid is your brother? If so, well, look at him! And look at him well! Those colors, those shades; where do they come from? Oh, all right, you both have the Warrior marking. But do tell me how many Lucain have this specific marking. Where's your orange? Where's your beige? White is awfully common; but orange? Surely not. What makes you believe he's your brother? Where's your evidence? His words?" He wasn't unaware that fear was starting to creep up on him. What if Ansgar saw something in his words and decided to deny them? What if he changed sides? This would ruin his plan. And he didn't want his plan ruined.

[Kodai]

Well, at least that much was true. Ansgar had let his emotions get the better of him. And that, he had been taught, was detrimental in a fight. Sitting back, Ans pondered over Orreck's words. Something about them just didn't seem right... as if Orreck was trying to keep something hidden from him. The truth. Ans knew that he was brothers with this orange and white Lucain; he just knew he was. And Orreck couldn't keep the wool pulled over his eyes any longer. Then again, that meant admitting that Senervel was his father... Could he do it? Could he admit to himself that a serial killer was his own flesh and blood? And if he did, what did that mean for his career with the police force? Would it be over?

"He IS my brother. I know it. I don't care what you say anymore." He turned his back on Orreck and went back over to Ric. "Hey... You should probably get out of here before a fight breaks out or something."