Hybrid Lamborghini .Vol1 ENGLISH

16: Forgotten truths

In Adara's words; "The training had been a complete success."

As soon as the sun settled high in the sky, our captain decided it was time to start our journey back to Cilt to rest and eat, as we still had a second training session in the afternoon, and we need all our strength for it. While all the other recruits headed home, Evan and I followed Adara to meet up with Squad 15 for a nice group meal.

A modest campfire and the smell of a well-deserved meal welcomed us to the campfire area of ​​the Hunters' training camp, in the same space where Squad 15 always gathers. Saemus and Tori were already there, and judging by the deathly silence between them, we've arrived just in time to liven up the impromptu meeting. Adara greets Saemus lovingly by giving him a small inadvertent kiss on his nose, making him sigh affectionately, almost as if he were purring. Once both captains seem satisfied with pampering and affection for now, and that Adara takes her well-deserved rest; Grabbing a beer from the cooler and making herself comfortable not far from his lover, Saemus welcomes me like an old friend he's invited to a barbecue. He has kindly asked me to help him prepare the food, because "He needed a pair of human hands to make everything go perfectly". His hospitality and warmth have taken me by surprise, as this was the first time I had really seen him the way everyone perceived him; A gentle and kind Camaro who only wants the best for his "family" of Hunters. It was nice hanging out with him when he wasn't about to rip my head off for joking around with his partner... I'm lucky he wasn't around during today's training.

As we waited for the rest of the squad to arrive at the meeting, both Saemus and (surprisingly) Tori seemed interested to know how my first day of training had gone. I began my story with the most generic responses that occurred to me at the time, avoiding mentioning any unusual sightings at the Sanctuary at all costs. Noticing this, Adara gives me a confident look, giving me the go-ahead to speak freely about the wolf girl in front of the rest of the squad. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if all the members of Squad 15 were complicit in the same secret.

Turns out that girl has a name, and that name is Nix.

She has lived in the Sanctuary since before Cilt was established as it is now. She has always been accompanied by her loyal family of wolves, who had to adopt her since she was a baby. Right now, the girl must be between 12 and 14 years old. Nix is ​​extremely protective of her pack, scaring any intruder who dares set foot in the Sanctuary. Because of this, and in order not to disturb her and the threatened wolves, Cilt protects that area of ​​the forest just for them. Her existence is an open secret among the highest-ranked Hunters, all with the purpose of not creating more curiosity among the population and thus causing more people to want to venture to the Sanctuary just to see her. Nix usually only shows herself to people she fully trusts, and the fact that she gave me her sign of trust on our first meeting - giving me the wolf tooth necklace - was something out of the ordinary according to the other Hunters, and even Adara mentions, that she regards it as something special.

The Hunters of Squad 15 are the primary protectors of the Sanctuary, Nix, and her wolf pack; the last known pure wolves in the entire Metropolis, thus making the members of this precise squad some of the most skilled and respectable Hunters in all Cilt. They are trusted by the Leaders to guide and inspire new Hunter recruits to follow their example of connecting with nature. Belonging to this squad is no small thing, and that it requires a lot of commitment from each of its members to keep their status intact. I feel lucky and happy to have a space between such important people, no matter how small and insignificant my contribution may be to them, the illusion of finally belonging to a place gives me goosebumps.

Our chat is interrupted by the arrival of a familiar figure; Ciro walked with all the calm in the world until joining the meeting. It was evident that Ciro was the soul of the party where he stepped on their wheels, and said party was not interrupted for a second when Ciro opened one of his doors, and from inside it came out a -remarkably annoyed- Marione.