Crashing, screaming, the groan of metal being twisted, broken. Isaac could hear in the distance ahead, mixing with his own frantic breaths as he struggled to keep up with Riley. Somehow the other Collar had managed to lose him, so he had to make his own way. His feet hammered against the ground, mind attempting to discern the best route to Fountain Square. He knew the plaza well, and how to get there from his home, but the path from the Registry was unfamiliar.

Isaac had a routine in the morning when he awoke. He would get out of bed, shower, change into his uniform, and make his way to InCorp's headquarters in the city, located directly off of Fountain Plaza. Normally he went there to work, now he wasn't sure what drove him. Why he kept moving forward, instead of staying back in Riley's room at the Registry. Instead of stopping and staying away from the fight. There was something inside that pushed him forward, a compulsion for which he had no name.

He knew he had no intention of fighting, he wasn't trained and had no experience with magic outside of his first Thrall encounter. Instead, a nagging thought nipped at him, kept his feet moving. Riley might be in danger.

Riley, the experienced and trained Collar. He knew the thought was baseless, and even if it wasn't, his presence could do little to change the fact. Still, his stomach twisted when he thought about Riley fighting alone.

    [Already smitten with him?]
    "It's not that." Isaac said, the feeling bringing a memory rushing back to the forefront of his thoughts, "I just can't let him go on his own." He struggled to push down the memories that were surfacing. A blow to his face, the taste of blood, the feeling of the cold ground underneath him. That wasn't what concerned him, that wasn't the painful part of the memory. The painful parts were the cries of others.
    [No wonder you're used to getting your ass kicked.]
    So he kept moving, chasing Riley to Fountain Square to...he'd figure out what the plan was later. The city was complex, difficult to navigate if you weren't familiar with it. Luckily, most of the normal people he saw were running away, which helped to give him an idea of where to go. He realized suddenly the difference in perception, the 'normal people' were those running away. That made him something else. He wasn't in the same group as Riley, either. He was in a group unique to him, all his own. Running towards nothing as fast as he could.
    His mind ran through all the terrible things he could imagine happening to Riley. Impaled on a Thrall's piercing tendril, like Jin. Crushed, battered, broken. He knew the reality could be much worse. It was fear, not for himself, but for Riley, that moved him.
    [Killed. While people like you stand and watch, refusing to fight.]
    "That's not our responsibility." Isaac huffed out as he ran, "When you decide to fight, you take that responsibility. If you don't agree to fight, then..." He trailed off, not entirely sure where he was going. But talking kept his mind on things besides his memories.
    [Then what good are you?]
    "There's meaning to life outside of fighting." The boy said between breaths, hoping he was coming near to the plaza.
    [Not if you're helpless your whole life. Why even bother to go if you won't fight and help. You'll only make his job harder.]
    "My life was fine until you showed up. I wasn't helpless, I was happy." He said, turning the last corner, coming to a stop above a tall staircase which led into the heart of Fountain Square. He knew better than the argue with Tyloki, but his memories had put him in a bad mood.
    [You showed up in my home. Begging for help.]
    "When your Collar came crashing through my wall."
    [I told you to leave. To run. You insisted, runt.]
    Fountain Square, at this time of day, was usually bustling with life, people going about their day, hoping not to be attacked by a monster. Those people had fled, leaving the plaza nearly empty. Isaac had a good view of it from above, but he was already familiar with its intricacies. A large circular plaza with an ornate fountain at the center, adorned with a statue of InCorp's founder. Naturally, the plaza had been largely funded by the company. Looking past the statue granted the viewer with a glorious view of InCorp's main building, a stunning pillar of glass that rivaled the Registry tower in magnificence.
    Riley had already engaged the Thrall, that much was clear. The creature looked far different from the one that had attacked Isaac. That one had been large, a monolith of oily shadow. This one also appeared to be a swirling mass of tar, coursing with glowing red runic markings like veins under its skin, but was instead much smaller. It had the vague shape of a human, but seemed to be shapeless, able to mold itself to meet its needs. Jutting violently out of the end of its arm was a narrow, curved blade, crafted of the same shadowy material as the Thrall. The shape reminded Isaac of Archer's sword from earlier in the day. The sword was pointed at Riley, and a deafening screech assaulted Isaac's ears, though the Thrall had no mouth from which to issue such a noise. It had no face on it's head, only blackness and a pattern of runes.
    The Collar stood defiantly in the face of the Thrall, just as still as the monster. They were staring each other down, neither one moving a muscle. Riley's hand hovered near the daggers attached to his thigh, ready to strike as lightning. He breathed slowly, and the look on his face was pure confidence. His entirety exuded confidence, Isaac could tell, even across the courtyard. He wasn't afraid, even standing in front of such an inhuman monster. As the screech of the Thrall echoed away, the plaza itself stood in silence. The sound of the fountain seemed to have receded in deference to the events that were about to unfold.
    He isn't doing anything. Isaac thought, not wanting to speak and break the stillness. Time itself had stopped, and he didn't want to be the cause of its resuming.
    [Thralls can adapt to attacks over time. Fights with Thralls never last too long.]
    What do you mean adapt? Isaac thought back to the fight with Jin. The Thrall had a barrier, one that resembled Lightglass armor.
    [They have magical protection, one which must be broken before you can strike at their flesh. The barrier learns your magic signature as you attack.]
    Magic signature?
    [You're all questions now.] The wolf sighed, [The magic signature is the specific wavelength of energy that is created by the two different magic streams of an Indicia and Collar.]
    Fire, and my shield. Isaac nodded. He'd seen Riley manipulate water earlier in the day, though the spell he'd used to get into the Registry was not water.
    [If the Collar has an affinity for one type of magic, and the Indicia another type, the signature is the type of magic that comes in combination.]
    And if the Thrall learns that signature, and guards against it... Isaac watched Riley closely for signs of movement. The Thrall was also being unnaturally still, a statue.
    [Then the fight is over. Your only recourse is retreat.]
    Riley broke the tension first. Isaac hardly saw his hand move when he drew and threw the dagger in one fluid motion. The blade sliced the air, aimed at the Thrall's midsection. The creature was swift, dodging to the side with a simple sidestep. Hitting a wall behind the Thrall, the dagger clattered to the ground and came to rest far out of Riley's reach. Isaac didn't know how many daggers he carried with him, but starting the fight minus one couldn't be ideal.
    The Thrall responded with a lunge, barreling towards Riley with blade extended outward. He dodged to the side, rolling to avoid being sliced, but scrambled to his feet. He was still out of the Thrall's immediate range, and getting any closer seemed to be a death sentence. Riley whipped another dagger towards the Thrall, grazing it's side, once again coming to a stop on the ground far behind.
    Why doesn't he use magic? Isaac wondered, finding the dagger strategy to be ineffective.
    [He's trying to discern the Thrall's weakness. This one is swift, and hard to hit. He's developing a strategy accordingly.]
    Isaac nodded, keeping his attention on the fight.
    As Riley threw each dagger, most of which missed, except one which bounced pathetically off of the Thrall's glowing crimson barrier, the creature responded with a lunging slash. Riley threw himself to the side, just out of range. Riley circled to the left, towards the fountain, eyes locked on the thrall who waited patiently for an opening. The collar came to a stop next to the side of the fountain.
    Riley's reached out slowly, eyes on the thrall, and touched the surface of the water. Suddenly, without losing sight of the Thrall, he plunged his hand deep into the water. An abrupt jerking motion wrenched a shimmering icicle from the water and he threw it straight at the thrall's chest. Faster than thought the creature ducked, sinking into itself like soft putty. The ice flew harmlessly past it while the creature threw itself forward at the collared in a blur of shadow. Riley rolled backwards into the fountain, still staying just out of reach of the creature's black slashing blade.
    The Thrall leaped into the fountain, reaching further with each slash, seeking blood. Riley backed further, and the Thrall suddenly screeched in rage as it slashed at him, but did not pursue further.
    "Why-" Isaac started.
    [Look closely.]
    Examining the Thrall's feet, or the part of it that resembled feet, Isaac saw that the water surrounding them had been frozen into a block of ice.
    [One of Riley's main abilities is control of water. Ice is a form of water.]
    So Isaac hadn't been confused when he saw Riley dancing with water earlier. The Thrall screeched again, swinging it's blade wildly in the air, but Riley was safely out of range. He snapped his fingers, and a torrent of water rushed upwards around the Thrall, obscuring Isaac's view of it. As the water rained down and settled, he could see that it wasn't merely water that Riley had raised. A number of long, thin spears of ice protruded from the water's surface, directly beneath the Thrall, jutting upwards towards it. Riley crossed his arms in satisfaction.
    The satisfaction didn't last long. As he inspected it closer, he found that none of the spears had even touched the Thrall. The closest spear had merely grazed the Thrall's barrier, illuminating a tiny part of the red shield. It's small build apparently wasn't merely to allow nimble movement. It had twisted it's body, shifted it's shape so it could avoid the ice. The once humanoid creature now looked far more alien. It let out another deafening screech, Isaac raised his hands to cover his ears. Riley held out his hand, snapping his finger again and again. Each time he snapped, another spear of ice would shoot from the water, and each time the Thrall would stretch or shrink to avoid it.
    The Thrall swept it's blade arm down, cutting through the chunks of ice that held it in place. The creature seemed almost fluid, slipping out from the thatch of ice spikes that Riley had created. As the Collar snapped, aiming spear after spear at the creature, his expression changed from satisfaction to a more serious demeanor.
    [We might need to intervene.]
    I don't know what I'd do. Isaac said, though he was starting to worry about Riley. And that was why he had come, wasn't it?
    The Thrall retreated from the fountain, dripping water as it returned to dry land. Riley stopped summoning spikes, but he stayed in the water, waiting to see the Thrall's next move. It started to slowly circle the fountain, seemingly aware that it had Riley trapped. It was looking for a chance to strike the Collar. Riley drew a dagger from it's sheath and threw it, but not at the Thrall. Instead, it was thrown in the opposite direction, landing at the bottom of the stairs that Isaac stood atop.
    "What?" Isaac asked, looking at the dagger. Was he supposed to use the dagger to fight?
    [If we don't do something soon, he might not make it.]
    Shouldn't more Collars be on the way? Isaac questioned, recalling that it was supposedly suicide to fight a Thrall alone.
    [If Riley told anyone else, most likely. But we're here, right now.]
    Isaac stood still, still watching Riley. He didn't move, his feet wouldn't move. If he tried to help, it wouldn't change the outcome. Besides, Riley hadn't lost yet.
    Though he had apparently lost his mind. Throw after throw, Riley was lobbing his daggers in the wrong direction, not aiming a single one at the Thrall. With each throw, the plaza became littered with blades, for what purpose, Isaac wasn't aware.
    The Thrall took notice of Riley's erratic actions, it seemed, and decided to change it's strategy. Leaping forward, it perched for a moment of the side of the fountain, and then kicked off of it, jumping towards the statue. Blade outstretched, it sliced through the stone statue, hurtling debris towards Riley. The Collar leaped back, out of the fountain, away from the rocks. The Thrall landed on the far side of the fountain, from which he started running around the side, towards Riley.
    "It's avoiding the water." Isaac whispered, watching as Riley drew another dagger to defend himself as the Thrall approached.
    [Without water, and low on weapons. This Thrall is more clever than it first appeared.]
    The Thrall quickly closed with Riley and stabbed downwards towards him. Riley parried the strike with his dagger, but his dagger was struck from his hand and the blow threw him to the ground. He struggled to backpedal on the ground, crawling away. The Thrall strode towards him, blade raised for a killing blow.
    Riley sat up and started to stand, but the Thrall jumped, landing on top of him. Isaac could hear Riley's shriek from where he stood.
    [Help him, now!] The wolf commanded.
    The boy stood, staring at the scene below. He had come to help Riley, but instead he was watching him die. His foot shifted on the ground, his heart was beating out of his chest. There was a dagger at the bottom of the stairs. He could get it, but then what? Riley couldn't hit the Thrall with any of his attacks. Isaac knew he wouldn't fare much better.
    [Now!]
    The boy took a step forward, but something stopped him. Riley was up to something. He was laughing. Eyes closed, he raised his hands. The discarded daggers that Riley had (mis)thrown during the fight were surrounded by a small spheres of light, the same spell that Riley had used to enter the Registry. The daggers leaped into the air, flying backwards, each hurtling to the point from which it had been thrown.
    The blades hurtled towards the Thrall, from all sides. When it shifted to dodge one, it found itself in the path of another. Blade after blade dug into the Thrall's barrier, and as each hacked against the glass-like shield, it would fly back and strike again, rapidly chipping away at the Thrall's barrier. The Thrall thrashed about, trying desperately to avoid the blows, but there were too many daggers coming from too many directions. Suddenly, with a blinding red flash, the barrier shattered, leaving the Thrall with no defenses. As one, the daggers dove inwards, sinking to their hilts in the screaming Thrall.
    Riley rolled out from under the creature as it's movements slowed, and its oily flesh seemed to harden. For a brief moment, the Thrall was a statue, before it crumbled to a pile of ashes on the ground. Riley caught his breath before standing up. Isaac started quickly down the steps, relieved. He hadn't needed to help, and Riley was still alive. Even if things had gotten close towards the end. The boy stopped in front of Riley, and the two stood for a moment, catching their breath together.

    "He almost had me there for a second!" Riley panted, waving at Isaac. He was smiling, which threw Isaac off. After such a close fight, he would personally have been in a worse mood. "But didn't I tell you to stay in my room?"

    "You did say that, but the boy never listens." Tyloki growled, stepping up next to Isaac, startling him as he materialized.
    "I know what you said, but I thought the Thrall might be the one that killed Jin." Isaac shuffled his boot on the ground, looking away. He had to lie about why he followed Riley, because to say the truth out loud would be admitting something that had been ignored for too long. He expected the wolf to call him on the lie, but Tyloki said nothing.
    "It was an impressive fight, Riley." The wolf spat, and he leaned in close, baring his fangs at the Collar. "But we lost Jin yesterday because he was foolish enough to fight a Thrall on his own."
    Fear absent during the fight showed now on Riley's face. "Archer was on his way. Which reminds me." Riley turned around and raised his wrist to his mouth, making a call on his LINK. "Archer? Yeah, I got it. I know, I should have waited for you. It was no problem. Gotcha. See you back at the Reg." Hanging up, he turned back to Isaac and Tyloki with a sheepish grin. "Besides, it was a small fry." He shrugged it off.
    "Nevertheless." Tyloki said, and closed his muzzle, sheathing the fangs.
    "Isaac, we get a few small Thrall attacks a day, when we're busy. The Thrall that killed Jin, he was a big one, been plaguing us for awhile. Maybe on a good day, we don't hear about any attacks." Riley crossed his arms and fixed a glare on Isaac, his tone shifting rather suddenly. "Besides, what if it was the same Thrall? You don't know how to fight. What happened yesterday was a fluke. If you try to fight now, you're likely to die."
    "That's what I'm hoping for." Tyloki grinned, most likely enjoying the verbal lashing that Isaac had earned himself.
    "So what do you have to say for yourself? You're as bad as those Pre-Collars at the Registry. No, you're worse. You say you don't want to fight." Riley took a step towards Isaac, who leaned back. "You say you don't want to fight, but what you mean is that you don't want to listen."
    Riley's mention of the Pre-Collars tipped Isaac off, he was getting a lecture from an upper classman. He found it strangely endearing, another quality he liked about Riley. "That's-"
    "Quiet, I'm not done yet." Evidently, the question had been rhetorical. Riley was upset, there was nothing to do but listen to his rant. "There's a reason the Registry exists to help train Collars. Thralls are deadly, they're scary, they don't care about anything more than killing and destroying. If you refuse to learn how to fight, then at least stay off the battlefield." Riley's voice rose with each word. "You're wasting Tyloki, that I can forgive, you're wasting an incredible power. But don't dangle it in front of my face and mock me with it. Jin was better than that. Jin was..." He stopped, jaw hanging open, eyes red. He looked surprised, as if the emotions had come upon him suddenly, without his being aware.
    Tyloki's paw came to rest on his shoulder, and tugged him lightly back, away from Isaac. That was all the consolation the wolf was likely to give, Isaac thought, but it was more than he had expected.
    "Jin was a warrior, in every part of his life." Tyloki said. "You shouldn't waste your breath on this boy, Riley. He'll be gone soon."
    Riley turned on Tyloki, giving him the same lecture glare he had given Isaac. "And you. Don't you dare let Isaac get killed. A Collar's job is to protect innocent people, and just because he doesn't want to fight, that doesn't mean he doesn't deserve protection. If I sit back and watch you let him die, that's as bad as letting a Thrall kill someone."
    "If I was going to kill him myself, I would have. Getting himself killed is out of my paws." Tyloki said, holding his hands in the air.
    "I'm sorry." Isaac said, interrupting, intentionally ignoring the fact that they were talking about him as if he wasn't there. "I shouldn't have come, I don't know how to fight. You were both right." He followed because he was afraid of letting Riley go alone, but that was foolish. Riley was capable of handling himself. Isaac wasn't capable of helping at all.
    "Isaac?" A familiar voice chimed in Isaac's ears, and his heart sank. The voice came from behind him, towards the InCorp building.
    He spun on the spot, and as he did, he saw Tyloki blink away, disappearing back into his head. Sera was standing a few feet away, just outside the entrance to InCorp. No surprise, she worked there with him. He wasn't sure why he was so shocked to see her. She had golden hair, more radiant than his own sandy blond, and her sapphire eyes were alive, the night sky filled with stars. They were dressed similarly, both in InCorp uniforms, and her InCorp ID tag was clipped to her chest.
    "Isaac?" She repeated, her hand on her hip, looking at her brother in disbelief. Condescending in the way only an older sister can be.
    "Oh, Sera. Hi." Isaac waved at his sister with a smile, scratching the back of his head, scrambling for an excuse.
    [All out of excuses. It's time to come clean.]
    "What's this?" She asked, and Riley waved with a charming smile from behind him.
    "I don't know what you're talking about?" Isaac said, the statement turning into a question at the last minute.
    "Who's your friend?" Isaac knew Sera, he knew she was already on to him. She would give him a chance to put his foot in his mouth, though.
    "His name is Riley. He's, uh, a Collar. I met him yesterday, after all the commotion." Isaac stammered, and he glanced back at Riley, hoping for help. Riley shook his head.
    Sera looked at the ground, and Isaac saw the faint glimmer of tears fall from her eyes. "You went and did it, didn't you? I thought yesterday was strange. It makes sense now, though. You're like Rufus."
    "I'm not like Rufus!" He shouted back   
    [Clearly you're not.]

"Yes, you are. All the men in this family are deadbeats." She sniffed, trying to hide her tears. "I thought we agreed to stick together."

It had been awhile since Isaac had seen her cry. Another memory he wished he didn't have. Tears were painful, especially when they came from someone else. "I'm not going to disappear just because I'm C..." The word caught in Isaac's throat.

    "So it's true!" Sera looked up, beaming. There was no hint of sadness on her face. Isaac had been drawn in by her fake tears once again. "You admitted it, or at least you almost did."
    "No! I didn't finish. I was going to say...uh...uh...I've got nothing." Isaac shook his head with a sigh.
    Sera approached, and he put up his arms, hoping to keep her away. Reaching out, she grabbed the collar around his neck and started to yank, forcing him to follow. Leading him by the collar, she headed for the InCorp building. "Bye, nice to meet you!" She called back to Riley as they went inside.
    [Baby brother indeed.] The wolf chuckled inside.
    Isaac thought it was fitting that they ended up in the security room, where InCorp security officers would take suspicious individuals for interrogations. It was a small room, a bland metal table with chairs on either side. The defining feature of the room was the immense video surveillance system. On the far wall, a set of Lightglass monitors stood, 24 in total, flickering constantly between the numerous video feeds from the security camera's throughout the building. A small Lightglass console could be called up in front of the screens to switch through feeds, allowing a single security officer to scan the entire building in seconds.
    Sera practically threw Isaac into the chair, and he sat with his hands on the table, close together, feeling like a criminal on a TV show. She sat on the far end across from him, crossing her arms as she leaned forward.                                                 

    "So, tell me everything." She smiled, and the chirpy tone of voice she spoke with drew him in. She was his sister, of course he had to tell her.

    "The Collar who was fighting the Thrall at our house yesterday, he died. I had to become one to fight the monster, or else there wouldn't have been anyone to stop it." Isaac said, keeping his eyes on the table. "So I did. I'm a Collar now."
    "Do you think..." Sera asked, glancing around the room, "that you'll be cool enough to find a girlfriend now?"
    Isaac slammed a fist on the table, looking up at his sister. "This is serious! And I could have a girlfriend if I wanted, I just haven't wanted."
    "Yeah, so you say. And yet if you don't try, who's to say you're right?"
    "That really isn't important right now!" Isaac growled.
    "I guess not. So what was it like? Do you feel powerful now? I never got to talk to Rufus after he left." Sera sounded curious, likely attempting to fill the gap that Rufus left so long ago.
    "I agreed to the pact, and the Indicia granted me power. That's all there was to it." Isaac blushed, hoping she couldn't see in the dim lighting. "And he gave me this collar that I'm wearing, it's called a Totem. It's how I use magic, basically."
    [Oh, she asked you to tell her everything.] Isaac could feel the wolf grinning lewdly inside his head.
    "Right, magic. Collars have all sorts of different magic. What's yours like?" At least she seemed to genuinely care, even if it was about the less important aspects.
    "My magic is like a shield, I guess. It isn't much different from the Lightglass barriers and AE circuits in the armor InCorp makes." Isaac didn't sound enthusiastic about his power, instead finding it a bit redundant. Their armor already provided a shield. "That and fire."
    "Fire and shield. That's cool, I guess." She didn't sound impressed. Instead, she quickly moved the conversation forward. "What are you going to do?"
    "I don't want anything to change. I don't want to fight, I just want to keep working here. The same as always."
    "Can you do that? Not fight?" Sera asked, and she looked like she was thinking very hard over someting. "I don't know, everything I've learned about Collars comes from romance novels."
    "You can. It's not ideal, but they don't make you fight." Isaac said, half expecting another smack on the back of his head from Tyloki, but none came.
    "You do know that I have to tell InCorp, right?" Sera said with disappointment.
    "Couldn't we just keep it our secret?" Isaac asked, lacing his fingers together in front of him.
    "Is, you're on the security camera talking to that Riley guy anyway. If I don't turn you in now, we'll both get canned."
    "I guess you're right." Isaac said, defeated. He hadn't wanted to deal with InCorp. They were his routine, changing that meant changing his entire life. But she was right, there was no way around it anymore. He kicked himself for not staying at the Registry.
    "I need to get back to Riley. We were sort of in the middle of something." Isaac said, standing.
    Sera stood as well, and she held the door open for him as they exited. When he walked past, she whispered to him, "Isaac, there's something I've been dying to know."
    Isaac stopped in the threshold. "What is it?"
    "Don't freak out, but I'm going to embarrass you. Is it true that you guys have sex with your Indicia?" She whispered.
    "No! God, where did you hear that?" Isaac shouted, and subsequently lowered his voice when several employees in the hallway turned their heads. Isaac shot them a look that told them it was none of their business. When he turned back to Sera, he found Tyloki materialized in front of them. The hallways at InCorp were spacious enough, and yet Tyloki chose to stand uncomfortably close to the siblings, practically in the doorway with them. As usual, he wasn't wearing any clothes, and Isaac could see the tip of his length nestled in his sheath. The boy rolled his eyes.
    Sera stared at the wolf in awe, and she didn't flinch away. In fact, she leaned closer, studying his form.

Here we go, he thought. Don't you do it.

    "He's lying. I bent him over, I fucked him raw, and I tied him like a bitch." Tyloki gloated, speaking slowly and savoring each delicious word.
    There you go, you did it. Isaac sighed internally and stared forward at the wall in front of him. He didn't even glance over at Sera.
    They stood in silence. Sera didn't say anything, Isaac had nothing to say, and Tyloki was clearly enjoying himself. The moment was awkward, Isaac pondered that this might be what Hell was.
    It was Sera who rescued them from damnation. "He's kind of an asshole...isn't he?" She said bluntly, to Tyloki's face.
    "You have no idea." Isaac responded with an audible sigh.
    Sera glanced up and down at the hulking wolf, inspecting him. "And damn. He is seriously hung. How did you-"
    "I'm leaving!" Isaac shouted, holding his hand up to shush Sera as he started walking steadfastly down the hallway, towards the entrance of the building.
    "He's actually quite flexible." Tyloki asserted, and he vanished.

    As Isaac rushed through the door, eager to get away from Sera and Tyloki, he found Riley sitting on a piece of stone that used to belong to the fountain statue. He was waiting patiently, watching the water, entranced. When Isaac walked up, he turned to greet him, but it seemed as if the water still had his attention.
    "I didn't expect you to wait around for me." Isaac said, stopping in front of the rock.
    "Girlfriend? Ex-girlfriend?" Riley asked, standing up. "And I haven't finished convincing you to register yet. So I couldn't just leave you on your own here."
    "She's my sister." Isaac admitted, following Riley as they started the trek back to the Registry. "She's a year older than me, and we've always been pretty close."
    "How'd she take the Collar thing?" Riley asked, leading the way at a casual pace.
    "Better than I expected. Even if Tyloki tried to give her the wrong idea." Isaac said grumpily.
    [I did nothing other than tell her the truth.] Tyloki snarled.
    "She didn't need to hear it!" Isaac balled his hand into a fist, anger welling up inside him again.
    "You're an InCorp employee. The relationship between InCorp and the Registry is a bit...tense, these days." Riley moved on, Isaac was glad, he didn't want to talk about it anymore.
    "I wouldn't really know. I just deliver packages. It's quiet, and its easy." The streets were calmer now than they had been, as people started to return to their daily lives.
    It's almost like they don't notice the Thrall after it's gone. Like it was never there. Even the people at InCorp were just going about their day, right after a huge fight outside. Isaac thought, watching the people closely. He wondered if he had been like them, two days ago. Taking the Collars for granted so, that he didn't even notice they were there.
    [You notice the strangest things. Jin never thought about that.]
    What did Jin think about, then? Isaac asked. Out loud, he continued to talk to Riley. "I like it, though. I like the quiet, the easy."
    "I've never really known quiet, but Thralls, they're easy." Riley flashed a boisterous grin.
    [Strategy and tactics.]
    "Do you have any family?" Isaac asked suddenly, not even sure where the question came from himself. He just wanted to know more about Riley.
    "Nope, it was just me. That's how it was. Til Rain came along." Riley said, and his smile seemed a little less genuine. His eyes a little less bright.
    "So Rain is your family?" Isaac pursued, admittedly intrigued by the prospect.
    "More or less." Riley shrugged, "Someday, Tyloki will be yours."
    [That's unlikely.]
    "That's probably not going to happen." Isaac echoed, and he followed behind Riley as they turned a corner.

    The pair continued to chat, with occasional remarks from Tyloki, as they walked back to the Registry. Inside, it was every bit as busy as it had been earlier in the day. Various animal calls echoed through the lobby, and Isaac entertained himself by trying to identify the animal they came from. Riley checked them in again, and they took the elevator back to the dorm.
    Isaac sat on the couch, feeling thoroughly exhausted.
    [You didn't do anything. How can you be exhausted?]
    I ran really fast, didn't I?
    [Don't take pride in what you did today. It was a disgrace.]
    Isaac rolled his mind's eye. I won't be doing it again.
    [You won't be stupid again?That I do no believe.]
    No, I won't go where I don't belong. It's not my job. Isaac thought. I made a mistake earlier. Part of me wanted to help, and it made me ignore the part that knows I can't.
    Riley didn't sit. He pressed his hands to his lower back and stretched. "I need to go shower and hand in my report. Can you actually stay here this time, or will you be following me into the shower? Because if you're interested..." Riley trailed off, smiling lecherously at Isaac.
    "No, thanks!" Isaac chuckled uncomfortably. After Rain's comments about 'wanting him all to himself', Isaac felt it was necessary to set the record straight. "I'm not really into that."
    "I'll give it a week." Riley said, walking to the door. "But seriously, stay here this time. I'll be back before you know it."
    "What's that supposed to mean?" Isaac shouted after him, but Riley was gone. The boy expected a comment from Tyloki, but instead was treated to silence. Enjoying the apparent privacy, he leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes, resting. Riley had been so cool, fighting that Thrall. Calm and collected, setting up his plan meticulously. Isaac had never given Collars much thought before, but now he found a certain admiration for what they did. There was a time when Isaac had wanted to protect others, but he was different now.
    The room was quiet, soothing. There were several bedrooms attached to the living space, but no one seemed to be around. Maybe Riley had the room to himself. Good, Isaac thought, I'll just take a nap. Sleep was an enticing prospect, somewhere that Tyloki couldn't reach him. So far, sleep had proven to be solitary, safe. At least his dreams were still his own. Dreams weren't what he got. Instead, sharp claws dug into the skin of his neck, wrapping around the collar. The paw pulled upward, lifting Isaac into the air by his neck. His eyes shot open, and he choked, hands scratching frantically at the collar, trying to undo the clasp. As he struggled, he was lifted easily off and over the the couch, and was carried into one of the apparently empty bedrooms.
    "You constantly disobey me." Tyloki's voice snarled violently into his ear, though Isaac wasn't listening. He was putting more of his effort into not strangling to death. He heard the door slam shut behind them. "You argue with me, you don't listen to what I say. I knew that you would be useless in a fight when I took you." The wolf let go of the collar, dropping Isaac into a heap on the floor.
    The boy gasped for breath, quickly undoing the collar as he coughed and wheezed. He looked up at Tyloki. The wolf's eyes were ablaze, muzzle twisted into a vicious snarl. From the ground, the already large wolf seemed mammoth, looming over Isaac like a predator.
    "The least I expect in return is a bit of obedience. The slightest bit of deference to someone who is far superior to you." The beast watched the boy on the ground. "Yet at every turn, you ignore me. You bicker with me, you offend me. Even when I tell you to do something that would keep you alive, you don't listen. It's not simply that you're afraid to fight, you revel in disobeying. Why? I've already proven that you enjoy being a slave. Do you feel such a need to disprove that, that you're willing to die? Stand up."
    Isaac coughed a few more times, rubbing his neck. Planting his palms on the ground, he pushed himself up and climbed to his feet, standing face to face with Tyloki. The wolf's breath was fire, it was warm and scented of ash, his eyes were a pool of lava. Isaac met those eyes with his own icy pools.
    "Why won't you fight?" Tyloki growled, purposefully snapping his fangs in Isaac's face.
    The boy didn't flinch back. "I don't want to."
    "How have you not learned that you can't lie to me? I can see why. But you haven't once admitted it."
    "I want to live quietly. I don't want to fight, and you can't make me." Isaac said, neck still sore from being lifted by his collar.
    "I can't?" Tyloki raised a paw, wreathed in flames, and struck at Isaac's chest.
    He caught Isaac off his guard, and the boy didn't have time to block the hit. The hit wasn't as hard as Tyloki could muster, instead meant to push Isaac back, which it did. He stumbled back, and fell onto the ground. The wolf waited for the boy to stand up again. Isaac thought he could hear the faint sound of crying as his memories clawed at him again. In an instant, he was a kid again. Looking up, he saw another predator looming, not Tyloki. Worse. His sisters huddled in a dark corner, tears pooling on the floor. Blood on his lip, head throbbing. Heart beating heavily. The predator looked down on him in disgust. Tyloki looked at him the same way.
    The smell of alcohol. "What good are you?" He had been told, then and now. Wiping the blood off of his lip, he stood again. "What are you going to do?"
    "Why won't you fight?" Tyloki asked again as Isaac stood.
    "I'm not a fighter." Isaac said, still staring the wolf in the eyes.
    Tyloki kicked now, and Isaac made no attempt to dodge or block the strike. Again, the wolf held back, merely knocking the boy down.
    One the ground again, Isaac looked up at his sisters. He couldn't leave them alone. Rufus had left, it was just him now. He was all they had. He hurt in so many places, so many ways. But their cries were the worst, they cut him deeply. And no matter how many times he stood, there was nothing he could do. He couldn't protect them.
    The crash of a bottle breaking on the wall, the stain on the ground from the puddle underneath. Crying, not from him. From his sisters. Even in the face of a monster, Isaac couldn't bring himself to cry, not in front of the girls. They needed him. The depended on him.
    The wolf was on top of him now, strong paws pinning his arms to the ground, legs straddling his waist. Large fangs in his face. "Why?" Tyloki shouted at Isaac, who stared up defiantly, not at the face of a wolf but at the face of a monster.
    It was a face he had spent so long forgetting. Not the muzzle of a wolf but that of a man. Another hit to his face, more blood. "You never listen." He was told, and he knew it was true. He hadn't listened, and that was why he was getting hit. The monster told him to stay on the ground, but he disobeyed. He had stood up. So he got hit again. Every time he stood, he would learn his lesson just a little bit more.
    "Why won't you fight?" Tyloki asked again, holding Isaac still on the ground.
    "I learned back then fighting doesn't change. A. THING!" He shouted, and then fell back, as if something had been torn from him by the admission.
    The hits would continue until he stayed down, until he learned his lesson. And when he did, the monster would turn his attention to the girls. He tried to get up, but he couldn't. He struggled under the weight of exhaustion, but it was no use. So much fighting, so much pain, and the outcome was the same.
    Tyloki loosened his grip, but still pinned the boy down. "That was different." He said, as comfortingly as he could with his rough voice.
    "Not as far as I'm concerned. I wanted to help Riley, but in the end, I couldn't move." Isaac said, giving up struggling against Tyloki. It was something he had avoided talking about for years. It wasn't that he was running away, he was simply trying to live a different life than the one he'd been born into.

    In the back of his head, there was a dull pressure, it had been there since Tyloki had joined him. Every thought he had, Tyloki was a part of. Even his memories felt different, as if the wolf was digging them out of his mind.

    The life he had been living before was over, and no matter how desperately he tried to hold onto it, it had already slipped away. The only thing he could do now was move forward. "You're right, things are different now. I can't just keep living the same life I've been living."

    "So what will you do?" The wolf asked, standing up above Isaac.
    "I'll register, and I'll stop acting like I'm not a Collar. But I still can't fight." Isaac sat up, and Tyloki was gone. He would move forward, but it would be on his terms. He would build a new life, one he would be happy living. "I still won't fight."
    [One step at a time.] The wolf mused as Isaac stood, retrieving his collar from the floor, returning it to his neck.
    Isaac walked slowly back into the living space, stalked by the shadow of a wolf and the shadow of a monster. The memory weighed on him, the face of the monster was so close to his own.
    When Riley returned, he would ask him to help him register. And he would need to talk to InCorp about a sponsor, a non-Collar employee who could vouch for his absence in the event of Registry duties.
    Like the bond that tied him to Tyloki, or the laws that tied him to the Registry, it was simply another leash.