Just like that, Lukas was alone. Not for long, but... it was still true. Bene had a habit of leaving at least once per day. Sometimes for a few minutes, sometimes nearly an hour.
He never really noticed until now. But the fact that Bene consistently left, intrigued Lukas. He never saw him sleep, and there was no way he could sleep in an hour or less. But he also never heard anyone else outside with Bene.
Sometimes he would hear Bene's mumbled words as if he was far away from Lukas. But never would he hear another person respond. However, he did hear one thing very consistently.
Crows.
Nearly every time Bene left the cabin, Lukas would hear the cawing of crows. Sure he didn't know where he was exactly, but he only heard crows when Bene wasn't in the cabin. Although this detail never really caught his attention, and likely never would have.
However, this time, Bene returned to the cabin with a crow on his shoulder. He sat down facing Lukas, as he always did as if nothing was amiss.
"You said you don't know what to do, and you don't have anywhere to go. Well, I pulled a few strings, and I have an offer for you. I would recommend taking it, but you don't have to if you don't want to."
Lukas sat there for a moment, quietly confused. Now that he thought about it, what was that Bene did? He wore a strange outfit that Lukas hadn't seen before, was it a uniform?
"What is it?"
Bene did not look away from Lukas, and his attitude was somehow more serious than usual.
"The offer is to join Fortissimo's special division. You, almost certainly, don't know what that is, so I will explain; The Fortissimo are a group of people who seek to keep things from 'falling out of place'. At least that's how they describe it."
Lukas thought he saw Bene glance at the crow on his shoulder before continuing.
"I'll be honest with you. If it wasn't the special division, I would not advise joining. But you don't have to deal with that, thankfully."
Lukas was sure he had heard of the Fortissimo before, either in a local paper or through overhearing gossip. He only had a vague idea of their existence, and may not have believed Bene if not for this sense of recognition.
"What's the difference between the two?"
Bene sighed.
"Well... the regular division is a bit too idealistic. They also haven't had the greatest past, meddling too far into things that they shouldn't have. As for the difference? The regular division deals mostly in corruption. They focus on breaking things down and returning order. It's all too grandiose for me to follow. The special division, however, focuses more on protecting the general populace from threats that they are unaware of. These mostly tend to be that which you may call supernatural, or even merely myths and folklore. It's also a lot smaller and mostly spearheaded by people similar to me and you; Outcasts who don't have anywhere else to go."
Bene, for once, averted his eyes away from Lukas for a moment as he said those last few words. A wistful tone was present deep within his eyes. But, just as suddenly as it came, it was stripped away and his cold demeanour returned.
"I've been neglecting something though. You're weak. For you to join, you'd have to become a lot stronger, and a lot faster. You're also young, but that hasn't stopped... some people I know. So if you choose to take the offer, your life will become a lot rougher. On the other hand; You'll have somewhere to go, and something to do. Perhaps even close friends, and good opportunities. Although, I must be honest with you. This opportunity is likely to never come again. Additionally, should you refuse, I will have no obligation to aid you. So long as you can walk on your own two feet. You may think I'm cold, but I simply have things that need to be done."
Lukas sat on the side of his bed in silence. He didn't know what to think and for a while, he didn't think at all. His mind was blank and he simply tried to process the magnitude of what Bene told him.
He didn't know how harsh this training would be, nor how difficult his life would become. But he tried to envision his life going forward.
On one hand, he could live in relative peace. Either in the forest or potentially rebuilding Shorstone. But this thought only left a bitter aftertaste in his mouth. What good would a life of no growth be? One where he gained nothing as his life ticked by.
On the other hand, he could live a life of hardship. Put through gruelling trails and encounter almost alien foes. But why would he do any of that? Because he has nothing? That hardly seems fair, to be forced through hell because you have no other options.
But there was only one thing that swayed his decision. As he thought back, he remembered his family... and how he no longer had them. He shivered at the thought.
"Will I be able to kill that... thing, if I join?"
Bene had a strange look on his face for a few moments, before nodding.
"Then... I think I will join."