The laughter died down, and Vincent felt more comfortable with them. "So, are you going to answer my question about my tattoo or not?" Vincent was serious. People would ignore his questions and leave him in the dark.
Ryker chuckled. "Vincent, your halberd has accepted you as its wielder and owner. If you can't summon it, it has been sealed." Ryker explained to him in a calm and collected voice. "We won't hide anything from you, so ask any questions you want tonight. It is rare for all of us to gather. I wouldn't mind staying a bit longer."
Vincent was taken aback at how calm everyone was. He felt no prejudice from them; not even Kyle gave off bad vibes. "I want to know about the Grimm. Why does everyone feel afraid of you? Why am I not in jail for murdering someone on live television? Why did you choose to adopt me? I find it hard to believe you did this out of kindness."
Richard looked at Ryker and then his other children. "Everyone, let's give Ryker and Vincent space to talk." No one argued with his decision. They gave Vincent smiles and waves as they left. Patty forcefully hugged him. "I know you don't see us as your family, but I see you as my son." She left him. Richard pats him on his shoulder on his way out.
Ryker sighed and sat in Richard's seat. He waved his hand, and a bottle of whiskey appeared. "Ughh. I hate having to be responsible. Have a seat, Vinny. I will tell you what you want to know." Vincent sat across from him and waited for him to speak.
"I will not bore you or hide anything about us. The Grimms were originally two separate clans: the Forrester and the Oculus. The Forrester clan was excellent at controlling and taming beasts, so good that they were able to be born with a bloodline of a beast and shapeshift. They served as the mounts of strong warriors throughout history. It is a practice that is still ongoing to this day. The great grand elder, our great great grandfather, now serves as his Majesty's mount in wartimes."
"Wait, let me get this straight. Are you telling me that you can shapeshift into an animal? Not only that, but everyone serves as a mount for someone."
"No, only the clan members practice this belief. There is a reason why we separate family and clan. That is something to talk about later.
The Oculus clan has a rare pair of eyes. Their eyes can see past everything in existence. It does not matter if it is fate, karma, time, or space. They learned how to control elements, beasts, and people like puppets. I will not tell you how they did it, not until you awaken and go through the blood assimilation."
These two immensely powerful clans came together in marriage when the 9th head of the Forrester and the 8th head of the Oculus clan fell for each other. The Oculus has a horrible fertility rate and may only welcome five new children every few years if they are lucky. Forresters have an abundance of fertility. They 'fell in love' with each other."
Vincent picked up on what he was trying to say. He nodded his head. Ryker poured himself another glass of whiskey.
"They gave birth to a total of 17 children. Those 17 children possessed both clans' innate abilities. They also had a gift or, some would say, a curse when they were born. Each child was born with two abilities. They could devour emotions and control them at will. The second was the mask they each were born with. I will tell you more when the time comes. I assume you know why people fear us now."
Ryker's tone became low and deep. Vincent felt his spirit shake. The amount of chaos and damage they could cause was not lost to him.
"That does answer my question. Now, what about me not getting arrested."
"That's simple. The reporter was going to die anyway. He crossed the line when he asked that bold question and then dared even to be cocky about it. Grimms are old and directly serve His Majesty. We do not kneel for anyone except His Majesty. Her Highness herself dares not to order us to kneel. Disrespecting us is a death sentence. Honestly speaking with you, Vincent, one of the reasons we were all amicable towards you is because of what you did to the reporter. We do not tolerate weakness. That is the reason you are not in jail. You showed everyone that even the adopted children of Grimm are not to be trifled with."
He poured more whiskey, but he added a second glass. He pushed the other glass to Vincent.
"You were chosen because my grandfather's blood reacted to you. The older the Grimm, the closer and purer their blood. He felt his blood call out to you and demanded us to adopt you at all costs. You may have a very small percentage of our blood flowing through you. We will do a blood assimilation and see what happens. If you do have our blood, then you will awaken it. If you don't have any, you will receive a massive boost to your physical stats. You will still be our younger brother, just the weakest."
Vincent clinked glasses with him and drowned his. He coughed a lot, and Ryker laughed with him. Vincent grabbed his throat in pain. Ryker Poured them another glass. Vincent felt his head spinning in circles. "W-what kind of whiskey is that?"
"Oh! It's a salamanders whiskey. We take out the organ they use to breathe fire and put it in alcohol for five years. By that time, the whiskey had fermented and gained fire attributes. Isn't a lovely taste?"
Vincent's head was swimming, and before he knew it, he was out. Freddy snapped his fingers. Greta came inside and carried Vincent to his room. "Young master Ryker, what are your thoughts?" Ryker was silent momentarily as he swished the whiskey around in his glass.
"I believe he will survive the blood ritual. If he didn't have our blood in his veins, he wouldn't have only passed out but immediately died. I will let him train for a month and then inject the blood inside of him. If he has it in his system before he awakens, he will unlock more of our innate gifts." Freddy bowed and left Ryker sitting alone in the room.
'You sure are a crafty old man. I suppose that is why you are called the Shadow Stalker.' Ryker had no idea Freddy was in the room. he chuckled and downed the last of the whiskey in his glass.