Modern Man [Atol | Cassius]

[Sharei]

“Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Atol drummed his hands against the steering wheel of the unmarked Dodge Charger he was currently sat behind. He’d ridden in Cassius’ car loads of times to drive to and from the WDSA, but this was the first time he’d been in the driver’s seat of a vehicle.

He wasn’t sure how he felt about it. On the one hand Atol loved the act of learning, of discovering something you hadn’t previously known, and he’d devoured the driver’s guides with zeal. He’d gotten a perfect score on every test. He knew the laws, the road signs, the right of ways - all of it.

On the other hand every ounce of that knowledge was academic. Atol had zero practical skills and it was an entirely different beast to remember how to do things when you were sitting in the driver’s seat. Koji had used his own truck to run him through the basics before Cassius had arrived, but Atol had been too nervous to attempt actually driving.

Koji, Cassius, and even Agent Decker had insisted that learning to drive was a skill he needed to master to learn this modern world, but Atol really thought he’d rather just stay inside. Kanagi hadn’t learned to drive.

Sarkany can fly, Koji had shot back. You can barely glide.

Atol hadn’t had the heart to argue back. Koji had been right, and despite the fact that he felt like he was sitting inside the heart of a death machine, he needed to learn to do this. Normal people drove motor vehicles. If Atol wanted to be a normal modern person he had to, too.

The dirt road stretched out beyond the windshield, shaded by the canopy of trees and dappled in afternoon light. Atol looked at it for a long, hesitant moment, then turned the key in the ignition.

[jarahamee]

“It’s a necessity,” the werewolf replied, immediately and without a thought.

This was the truth, and beyond that, he knew the boy was smart as a tack, and completely capable. If he could learn how to use a computer, use a smart phone, and navigate a city without getting lost, he could learn how to drive a car.

“If you are going to get around in the modern world, you will need to know how to drive.”

Cassius sat back in the passenger’s seat, keeping a lazy gaze on the steering wheel and his student’s foot position. He worked his tongue over one of his rather sharp canine teeth and did his best not to make it obvious how much attention he had paid to the boy. It would just make him more nervous. He picked up on his hesitation after he started the engine.

“What’s your first step, after starting the car?”

The scarred man asked, his eyes shifting to the gear selector. It was a gentle clue, and one he wasn’t sure if the boy would pick up on. His guttural voice was purposefully softened, permanently smiling mouth relaxed into a slight purse as he attempted, unsuccessfully, to look less threatening.

[Sharei]

"I put it in gear," Atol answered automatically, dropping his hand to the gearshift. It felt heavier than he imagined it would, and at first, it didn't want to move until he remembered that he had to press the brake.

Suitably embarrassed, he fantasized about getting out of the car and going back inside.

"We're just going down this road, right? We're not going onto the main road?"

[jarahamee]

Cassius watched from the corner of his eye, while pretending to both be casual, and like he wasn’t actually watching all of the proceedings. The scarred man shifted to cross his ankles and reflected on the way his fast reflexes had done nothing but served him well for the past twenty centuries. Now, teaching his student driver, he would potentially (likely) have to utilize those reflexes again.

He watched the boy press down on the brake, and then followed the shift of gears from ‘park’ into ‘drive.’

“Good, good.”

Agent Lucidus nodded as Atol followed the steps correctly. The next was pressing on the gas, and not careening off the road and into the surrounding woods. He made an affirmative grunt, and inclined his head towards the road.

“We’re just going to drive down this road, and I will ask you to turn a little both ways and correct your course. We should also practice having you drive in a circle where things get wider down there.”

He studied Atol’s face. Still just a child.

Despite his earlier misgivings, Atol had shown himself to be exactly what he presented himself as; a lost boy from another time who wanted desperately to fit in here. From correspondence with Koji and Sarkany, the desire seemed genuine.

[Sharei]

Atol stared down the dirt road and felt as though it went on forever. The sunlight streaming down on the hood of the car seemed too blinding to be real. The rumble of the engine blotted out all other sound. He didn't move and was only barely aware of the way he white-knuckled the steering wheel.

Atol thought he heard Cassius say something, but the sound was a distant drone on the edge of his awareness. The stretch of forest track in front of him seemed to consume all of his focus.

What was wrong with him? He had learned the complex rituals necessary to distort reality itself. Driving a death machine should have been easy.

What if I lose control and careen off the road and hit Koji's apple trees?

He didn't know if he could do this.

[jarahamee]

Cassius waited patiently for Atol to press the gas, but instead, the boy stared down the road, eyes wide, clutching the steering wheel. Thirty seconds passed, then a minute, then several minutes. The boy stayed still, paralyzed by either fear or indecision.

The agent eyed him, then leaned back in his seat and sighed softly. His expression softened slightly, jaw slacking only a little.

“Deep breath, focus. You can do this. You know what the next step is.”

He knew the boy didn’t need to be told how this worked. He was a quick learner, and Agent Lucidus rarely had to repeat himself. He just had to take his time.

[Sharei]

Atol took a slow, deep breath, gathered his nerves... and then turned the car off.

His heart was thundering against his ribs so hard that he was sure Cassius could hear it. He felt a little lightheaded — was he hyperventilating? Atol checked his breathing and found that while no, he was not, he was starting to. The boy forced himself to calm down.

"I - don't think I can do this..."

[jarahamee]

Cassius watched Atol turn the car off. The engine died immediately, the vibrations shuddering to a stop. He was too afraid to press the pedal. Perhaps he was overwhelmed. Or maybe, he was paralyzed with the possibilities of what could be. What a shame.

He leaned back against the seat, eyes half-closed as he contemplated. There were so many possibilities, but the most important thing was…

“What is troubling you, child?”

The agent asked, his gloved hands folded on his lap. His expression softened subtly. David had taken a while to get the hang of driving, and likely, this child would too. The thousand pound metal death machine with an engine like a purring tiger. Oh, he understood its beauty and terror all too well.

[Sharei]

Atol's head shot up and for one blissful, comforting moment, he saw Hanif. The old priest's wise eyes and patient smile danced in the dappled sunlight streaming through the windshield. But then he blinked and it was Cassius in the passenger seat, not Hanif, and only the echo of the words hung in the air. How many times had he heard that?

His heart was heavy as he faced forward and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. Atol hesitated, aborted saying something several times, and then finally seemed to work up the nerve.

"... I'm scared," he admitted softly, the corners of his mouth tightening. "I don't know if I'm - ready. It's all so much."

[jarahamee]

“I understand the fear. This is a strange place, and a dangerous machine.”

Cassius spoke slowly, his hoarse voice reduced to a low grumble. Oh, when his voice was good, men had compared it to a lion’s growl, and he loved the comparison. There was no animal more majestic, with a better sense of order and structure. The most dangerous big cat just by both their numbers and organization.

But today, he was the lion teaching his cubs how to hunt. That was how that worked, wasn’t it? He half-smiled.

“You don’t need to be scared. I’ll stop the car if we need to. You just have to trust you, and trust me.”