Catching up, Vasili thought to himself for a few moments, 'I should just go see Elias, I am sure he has a plan for something.' He was thinking about the training that Maranda had spoken of, putting him on edge to fight, which he oddly seemed excited about.
He rolled the tension off his shoulders as he said firmly, "Take me to Elias," ignoring the playfulness on Cassie's pretty face.
Her face melded between a mix of confusion and seriousness when she realized he was serious. She took a second to locate their goal and led her Master to his Blood Brother.
Arriving after a few minutes, Vasili noticed the tension in the air. There were many more individuals here in the daytime, most of which, were cleaning and moving debris that had suddenly appeared overnight. Most of the wall was destroyed as if a bomb had gone off.
Vasili was approaching Elias, who appeared to be in a meeting with a man in a fabulous suit when he was blocked by Maranda.
"I heard you ate all of the bacon," the Alpha Vampire grumbled into his ear with menace.
He awkwardly laughed in shame, not feeling any real threat from her, "Haha...yeah, I might have gone overboard. I'm sorry."
She eyed him and gave a curt nod before explaining what he was obviously going to ask, "We are at war, boy. There was a C-4 bomb detonated here this morning."
Vasili looked confused, glancing back at Cassie who seemed to be looking off into the distance.
Trying to wrap his head around it, he asked, "Was anyone hurt? Was it because of what I did?"
She shook her head, "No. It wasn't a 'targeted attack'. It is just something to make the Dragos Family seem less invincible. We used to do attacks like these on Officers in Korea."
Vasili blinked, "Korea?"
She nodded while moving towards the damage, "Yes. The Korean War? Surely they still teach you about it."
He followed while asking, "How old are you?"
She turned to give him a glare before answering, "Old enough."
'I really shouldn't ask any Vampire women their age', he realized.
Stopping to pick up a piece of brick, that the building was made of, she smelled it before handing it to Vasili.
He took a sniff, barely getting a whiff, and wanting to wretch as he exclaimed, "Oil?!"
She nodded, "Undetonated smells much stronger, but most supernatural creatures can detect it, along with dogs and tons of animals."
He locked that smell away, it could be important.
Looking around, he analyzed the damage done to the structure. It almost looked like a wall he had demoed before, half missing the middle-top and middle-bottom of the wall, leaving a gaping hole.
He thought about it for a moment before adding, "If you put a double arch in-one regular and one reverse-you could have a giant oval window installed."
Ignoring his statement, their little group continued walking around, merely exploring the rubble for no particular reason.
Stopping after a few minutes, Maranda turned to Vasili and asked, "Do you get it?"
Gesturing to the destruction around them, she continued, "Do you understand the level of the world you are in? It is dangerous, even for someone like you."
Pointing at her Young Master, she explained, "He has been sheltered from most of this all of his life, but his father is losing the stranglehold on New York he once had. If you want to stay, you will need to be trained."
Vasili remembered their discussion last night, replying, "Yeah. You wanted to train me, right?"
She nodded, gesturing at the scene, "We don't know who did this. The Family is pretty sure the Werewolves from last night were pack-less, but nobody is willing to claim them at this point anyway. Frankly. It is a shit show, and we need to get ready for the storm that is coming."
Vasili looked at her expression, she was clearly a woman who had been through the wringer a few times. If she could teach him, maybe a few more of his new friends would survive.
Looking at Cassie, he realized it was more than just helping his new friends. If he ever wanted to walk the streets of New York again, then he needed training, period.
Frowning at Cassie, he took her hand, "Were you leaving me in the dark about something this important?"
She shook her head as she tried to explain, "Elias didn't want to scare you. You are 'new', and he was worried your emotions weren't fully stabilized yet...but after our "talk", I was pretty sure they were."
Vasili inhaled deeply, feeling a sense of understanding coming from the Ram. Had he learned about the explosion in the primal state he was in last night, he might have gone on a rampage. Chimeras are considered unstable within the community, in general, let alone after fresh metamorphosis.
He couldn't disagree with the instability. His entire personality, or what was left of it, was being molded in real time by three ancient instincts.
A major difference between his new self and his old self was fear. The explosive wouldn't kill him, he was sure of it. Which was an odd thing to 'know' about one's self.
Vasili broke his silence, "Teach me how to survive. I want to go to a bodega again or get a bacon, egg, and cheese from a shady food cart. I wanna go to a football game again, and maybe see the world."
Maranda nodded, understanding where his priorities lay.
Vasili knew his goals were forever shifted, and he was okay with it.
His dream to start up his own little construction company and make enough money to live was unnecessary now.
All of his dreams and plans in life were effectively moot.
Everything he had done or worked for in life was irrelevant.
Vasili clutched his chest as the panic attack arrived.
Cassie and Maranda asked in tandem, "Are you okay?"
He saw the looks of concern on their face, so he clarified, "I knew my life "was over", but I think..." Taking a breath, he dropped his hand and leaned into the anxiety that had accompanied him most of his high school life, "I think I am still...me? I am a Chimera, but I am also just Vasili. I am just a poor kid who was raised by his Grandparents. I barely graduated high school."
The Dragon, Ram, and Lion were standing at attention, waiting for his command.
Vasili examined the pressure in his chest minutely, this was the first thing he had felt that reminded him of the old him-the real him. The 'him' that was scared to open the door for Elias. The 'him' that didn't want to get caught up in "gang violence", something that made him laugh.
The Monster gripping the panic attack for stability was Vasili Oniass.
Looking down at his hands, he accepted that his outward form would forever be a horror, just as long as his inward form would remain 'human.'
The Dragon and Lion bowed their heads at the Ram's insistence. Once again vowing to help, not hinder.