The Wolf Returns (open)

[Jack]

OOC: Patrick first and then open.

IC:

Nostalgia ran through his head as he pulled into a familiar environment filled with different people, it was as if he were in a dream. It felt like he knew the place well despite never being to it. Everything about the school reminded him of #552 and #774, the way the fence looked more like that of a prison designed to keep people in and not out, school security at the entrance, teachers walking around bullying Freshmen into behaving heh, same old shit, different stink Jack thought to himself as the sound of his mustang came to an end, collecting his belongings before locking the car and making his way through the crowd to the entrance. Jack had changed in the gap year which he had taken, certain duties had to be fulfilled back at home and before he knew it one month turned into six and by then it was too late to return to school. He had lost weight, muscle mass and most of all hunger for battle; he was only a hollow shell of what he used to be.

Jack walked up the front steps and under the huge arch doors of the school’s main entrance, his height allowed him to see over the heads of many of the students say a few who were taller than him nothing much had changed in these institutions, intimidation or more accurately attempted intimidation was everywhere. The look on the all too familiar faces glaring at the new comer a psychological challenge, yet Jack would have none of it, not that it was a sign of weakness merely he was so caught up in his own world of being reunited with the barbaric society he calls college.

His new locker wasn’t hard to find, moving his books and belongings into his locker which had the added touch of someone’s face intended into the door it was time to take a look around. The way these institutions worked is that there was almost guaranteed to be more than one person who either A) hated him, B) liked him or C) would fight him. Jack needed to know who the king pin were, who to avoid like the plague and who to befriend to climb the social ladder, once again Jack was a no body. That wasn’t a bad thing, it had been years since he had seen anyone from 774 or 552 the odds that anyone would remember him were slim.

[Patrick O'Connor]

OOC: takes place 2 days before "fate"

Patrick entered the halls of 259 actually early for once. Normally for Patrick O'Connor that was absurd. Patrick hardly ever attended class. But then again, perhaps that was why he was in the seven year plan of high school, about to enter his senior year. But this rare occurrence happened for one reason and one reason only, here he was not Patrick O'Connor, right now he was Daniel Heart. And who was Daniel Heart?

Daniel Heart was a black haired junior about to enter his senior year, having transferred in at the tail end of his junior year. Daniel Heart was a last chance transfer student with a surprisingly fun loving attitude for some one with such a mysterious past, making it hard to believe he was a last chance student. Daniel had a fondness for grey whisky militia t shirts and blue jeans, and occasionally on days like today, black fingerless gloves. Today, Daniel had a bottle of whiskey in his hands, something that gave a little more of an insight into why he was a last chance student, but not much. Also one might think that the scar that ran down from his right eyebrow, bisecting his eye(both of which were blue by the way), past his nose. They would be wrong if they knew Patrick O'Connor and not Daniel.

Anyway Daniel walked into school with a grin on his face. Even though it was two days out from the world changing cataclysm he couldn't help but grin. Besides, Daniel didn't know about that. Daniel was in a good mood which couldn't be ruined by any-

A tall student who had been looking around for directions turned, walking down the path that he had found, facing away from Daniel. Daniel stopped with a frown. The kid was obviously a transfer, but that wasn't the troubling part. Patrick knew him though, and that troubled the irishman. Daniel began to follow the kid from a safe distance from about thirty bodies of students trying to get to class. Daniel had to be sure it was him. Patrick confirmed it when he saw Jack look at yet another student that was silently challenging him. When Jack continued on without so much as a word Patrick was confused. That was not the Jack that Patrick O'Connor knew, the Jack that he knew would ripe the kid a new one for that.

At first realizations that it was him Patrick didn't know what to make of it. He was surprised to see that Jack had changed to the degree that he didn't beat the student senseless. Also somewhere inside of him was glad to see a familiar face from 552. Even if they had spent nearly all of their time fighting each other Patrick felt almost as if they were brothers. Nostalgia swept over him as he thought back. He continued to follow Jack from a distance that had now increased slightly as had the grin on his face. As Jack turned an empty corner and passed it the comer had filled, with a girl that had a knife in her stomach. As Patrick looked up to her face he saw that the familiar girl was looking at him in the eyes with disdain. A student walked in front of her and by the time he had past she disappeared. Patrick shook his head as he turned the corner.

As Jack would open his locker Daniel would be leaning up against the locker's opposite to him. Watching, not exactly sure what to feel, remembering the girl. Patrick exhaled with a snort that was silent in the pitter patter of feet in the hallways as he procured a bottle of Vicodin from his pocket and washed down two with the whiskey in his hands. By the time Jack closed his locker the hallways would be mostly empty, at which point Daniel would speak up in a friendly, unaccented english, "You knew here buddy?"

[Jack]

OOC: Forgive me if I'm wrong, I'll change it but I'm assuming Patrick's voice hasn't changed.

IC:

Jack's joyous day was torn apart as if it were a curtain and Patrick had walked by and ripped the drapes from the hooks which held them up, you could say at that very moment his whole world had tumbling down on top of him. ”You knew here buddy?” Jack’s head twitched at the voice a giveaway that Jack had at that moment become alert and ready for combat. The fuck Jack’s head burst with memories of his old rivals, all the fights he had experienced and the lessons he had learned. Deep down he knew what to do for his gut was telling him to calm down and play it cool. While they spent the majority of their time as enemies there was a mutual friendship based on respect for each other that made them close, it was for that very reason which made this reunion so sad though Jack had no idea that arguably one of his closest friends was right behind him.

While Jack was alert he was not on the offensive already something which if 3 years ago he would be on like a lion on its prey. Raising his hands up into the air Jack begun to turn around slowly, a grin on his face, it was this sort of banter that the two excelled at during their years together, Jack and Patrick would always taunt their opponents into engaging them it made for grand battles. Jack ensured that Patrick had all the time in the world to attack him while his back was turned, whoever the opponent was if they wanted to hurt Jack they could have, the only logical explanation was they knew his reputation for they did not strike right away. “Well, well, well, I am unguarded and unarmed it seems you may strike whenever you want” Jack would not return his hands by his side until he had fully turned around to face Patrick, his maths text book still in his left hand.

His eyes would drift down to lock with Patricks or rather Daniel’s, the smug look still printed onto his face, Jack had never lost a physical confrontation with Patrick and it wasn’t like he was planning on doing so now, yet Jack had never fought Daniel. Jack always had his superior strength and speed over Patrick now that the tables were even or worse in Daniel's favour how would Jack fair against his old rival or was this the beginning of a new rival. If Patrick had not attacked or moved Jack would continue to speak

“To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Jack would say in all his arrogance and greatness.

[Patrick O'Connor]

“To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Daniel watched as Jack made a fairly theatrical show of the whole situation, typical really. The kid had always been arrogant as fuck. This whole show made it seem as if nothing had changed. Jack gave Daniel ample opportunity to hit him with his back turned, face towards a locker. It was Jack's way of saying, 'It doesn't matter if you take the cheap shot, you can hit me hard enough, fast enough to take me down.' Part of it made Daniel chuckle, the other part made his blood boil. Patrick was still unsure of what he wanted to do, hug the kid or hit him.

"You're a new student," Daniel said with a grin, which coupled could really mean one thing. Still though, there was no malice in Daniel's voice, "Isn't it the duty of the 'older' students to show the transfers the ropes?"

Daniel really spoke with no malice, that could come later. He spoke with his grin and a mischievous tone. The tone that assumed that Jack knew exactly what happened on transfers' first day of school. But without the malice it was difficult to say if the question was a challenge or a warning. Either way though it was a question that was asked with a degree of familiarity that was somewhat improper for first introductions. Perhaps that was just a character flaw of Daniel's though. That along with the real meaning of his question could only be determined by Jack.

So Daniel awaited his response, in either word or action, knowing full well how Jack responded would give Patrick a glimpse of how much Jack had changed. In addition it would give the stabbed girl that was watching down the hall her answer too and so the pair awaited the answer...

[Jack]

Jack would straight up as Daniel began to speak, while Daniel may physically stronger (for now) Jack still had the appearance of being stronger, that being said if for any reason the other male knew who Jack O’Connor was surely his reputation would go a long way to putting the other male off fighting Jack then again Daniel could be bat shit crazy like Jack and jump at an opportunity to fight a former dragon. "You're a new student," there was a little glow in Jack’s eyes at the word new to him it meant one thing, a green bitch he hated being new. “Correct” Jack would answer bluntly, he quickly continued not wanting to come across as a jerk so soon in this happy relationship to be. “I recently transferred here from PHS #774, so I’m not all that new to these sorts of establishments” Jack said quickly, letting Daniel continue.

"Isn't it the duty of the 'older' students to show the transfers the ropes?"

Jack smirked they both knew what they meant, “And what does this “duty” consist of? I’m all too keen to get on my way and fit in with this lovely bunch” Jack would say as he raised his right hand up to the mob, while sarcasm and aggression was detectable in his voice it was not the underlying tone of his comment, yet the malice was still there.

“However before we continue any further I feel introductions are in order”

Not a question a statement or even a demand, if he’s going to fight someone he has to know their name otherwise, what is the difference between them and a simple commoner, unknown to the whole world.

[Patrick O'Connor]

"PHS 774?" Daniel confirmed before answering, "Never heard of it."

He spoke honestly without any intent to insult the, "frenemy". He had heard of quite a few violent schools, but this one had never come up. Strange. Patrick was certain that if Jack had gone there he would have at least heard whispers. Jack was one to raise a little hell, and his brand of hell usually got attention. Hmm, perhaps he had changed. But then Jack's question of what that duty was did make him chuckle. Jack was right. They both knew what that duty was, but what he didn't know was that Daniel was a transfer student himself. Jack's tone of voice did make Patrick laugh though, perhaps he hadn't changed too much. The malice, the aggression, those were two big parts of Jack's personality. Apparently he hadn't changed too terribly much.

“However before we continue any further I feel introductions are in order”

"Oh?" Daniel asked, "Is that some sort of code of honor?

Daniel chuckled, this had always amused Patrick. Jack's code of honor. It was generally pretty twisted and somehow excused Jack of whatever he did, but it was some sort of a code. It was something that Patrick wondered about now. Apparently it still did exist, obviously, but how had it changed? If at all, though Patrick was fairly sure that it had changed somehow.

Regardless Daniel would reply to Jack with a grin on his face, "I think that a fist says more about you then a simple name, don't you?"

Daniel would extend his offer by pushing off the locker and slipping into his stance. Fists up, chin tucked, knees bent, left foot forward. It was a right handed boxer's stance at it's best and most simple description. And it was Patrick's handshake to Jack. He challenged the man with no malice, just a friendly fight. The kid's that were preparing to watch probably thought it was to put the transfer in his place but to hell with them, what did they know? A true warrior could battle as a friendly gesture, because there were times that a fist conveyed more then words...

[Jack]

"PHS 774?" Jack’s eyebrows perked up at the mention of his former school,“??” it was easy enough saying it himself but when he heard others mention the name it just made him sad to have seen it leave, he loved that school for all the baggage and emotional scarring it had left him, there was always a place I his heart for its walls and students, #552 was the same. “Never heard of it." Jack shrugged “not many have, though few have survived it was once a great place now, it’s nothing” there was a hint of regret in his voice as if he felt he could have done something to save it. Alas it was simply not it’s time to shine, one day Jack thought to himself one day I’ll revive you yet was he talking about his school or something else?

Oh?" Daniel asked him "Is that some sort of code of honor? Jack smirked “heh” Arrogant fuck I’m, going to kill you Jack would think to himself, words were no longer needed his eyes told a thousand words. Jack’s face was calm yet his eyes still held that crazed look like he was about to eat you raw, Jack was renowned for his unconventional and albeit at times ineffective methods of warfare yet if there was always one thing in common with nearly all his fights he was not afraid to maim or kill if it came to it. Jack and Patrick chuckled together yet for two different reasons.

“I think that a fist says more about you then a simple name, don't you?" Jack laughed at the boys comment “it really depends boy” Jack would raise his free hand up into the air “Here Jack O’Connor defeated “fist” in a glorious and bloody battle, mmm you’re right it does say a lot about you, you have a fist” Jack would chuckle at his own little joke he meant nothing by it only some friendly competitive banter before they beat each other senseless.

The other male did not waste any time for Jack to think anymore, the male took a conventional boxing stance, Jack smirked the boy spoke to his heart. Fists up, chin tucked, knees bent, left foot forward, it was beautiful, but beauty did not win fights, being cold hearted and ruthless won them unconventional techniques which would kill if not used in moderation that won fights, this was just a show for the masses. Jack would drop his maths book back into his locker closing it without taking his eyes of Patrick as his hand grasped around the lock he hesitated, if this had been him a few years ago he would have used the book to distract the boy and the lock as knuckle duster since when did he fight fairly? Jack would take up an orthodox boxing stance, exactly the same way Daniel had taken his, there were a few differences, Jack hands were a bit further other for speed over power and he was lighter on his feet preferring to be an out fighter than in.

“Shall we?”

Jack would chuckle as he began pacing to his right circling around the younger male.


OOC: It's on bitch.

[Patrick O'Connor]

OOC: negro please

“Here Jack O’Connor defeated “fist” in a glorious and bloody battle, mmm you’re right it does say a lot about you, you have a fist”

Daniel chuckled, if only to be polite. Then he had his own joke to make, his own grin brimming with arrogance, "Good joke, though I think you mixed up who wins with who is going to lose"

"Shall we?"

"Thought you'd never ask," Daniel said, beginning to turn counter clockwise to keep up with Jack, "But only on one condition, your skill has gotta be better then your jokes."

And with that it was time for the action and so Patrick was all business. This was a fight he was really interested in winning. It had been a long time since he fought Jack and as rivals he wanted to win this one, rather badly. He had fought Jack a handful of times and couldn't remember winning. Patrick had always been behind Jack, seemingly never able to catch up. This time was different though. There was something different about Jack, he didn't seem nearly as strong.

Patrick would strike first. It would be quick, to test the speed of his opponent, who had been faster then him in the past. Speed would be one of the decisive factors in this fight, as always. If things played out they they usually did in the past the question would be if Patrick would be able to keep of with his speed. Patrick would wait for Jack to be mid step when he struck. He waited for this because in a circling motion it would be far more difficult for jack to effectively counter attack without planting his feet. Most of what he would be able to do was block.

So when Jack was in mid step Patrick would step forward with his left foot as he rocketed out his left hand in a quick jab. The step forward would give it a little more power as he whipped his hand out there. Patrick would be aiming for Jack's right eye, which would cause his circling motion, if he were to continue, to shift the blow to the bridge of his nose, which would cause his eyes to water. If he stopped then Patrick would hit Jack in the right eye starting the swelling process. Regardless of whether Patrick hit or not at the end of the Jab Patrick would retract his fist as quick as he sent it out, pulling his right foot back into stance. He was sure that the strike wouldn't hit but that really wasn't the point...

[Jack]

"Good joke, though I think you mixed up who wins with who is going to lose"

“I never do.”

"Thought you'd never ask,"

The purpose of circling in is it allowed you to gain an angle on your opponent while closing the distance, in boxing or any ring fighting you never went straight in until you were within attack distance, always circle in, it forces your opponent to move and you want them to move to the corners. Jack was pacing around forcing Patrick into the crowed or closer to him which ever it was Jack had the strides on him. It was time to force the boy to attack. Jack never made a wasted move, he may have lacked the intelligence needed for complex moves or techniques but fighting was instilled in him from a young age he knew his way around the battle field, his distribution was 50/50 only ever switching when he had to take a step.

Jack would watch Patrick closely the second he was within striking range Jack’s movement would become more controlled the second his eyes picked up movement Jack wouldn’t hesitate, Patrick had to come to him, his strike range was far superior over Patricks that much was obvious and he was confident he was faster there weren’t many people that were or at least used to be. What Jack didn’t have was the equal strength or reflexes of his opponent not to mention his stamina this much he could guess as Jack was new and his opponent wasn’t. Jack’s reflexes were dull yet in this situation he didn’t have to rely on them Jack knew where Patrick would be coming from or at least he could guess, they were both boxing when fighting someone with longer range you close down the distance, jab and then come in for quick body shots, the taller fighter will generally try and pick you off keeping you at bay while he rains down blow after blow after blow, the only way to get to him is out last him or smash right through him.

As Patrick came within his strike radius Jack raised his right foot to move to his right before he could place his foot down Patrick moved forward, got you! Jack’s right foot would slam into the floor behind him driving his body upper body forward as he let his right first down, aimed for Patrick’s chest, this was simply a programmed strike when fighting people smaller than him. Aim lower thus angle would be sharper and while the initial force would be less the drive would be greater, plus most people would expect a head shot first yet body shots were equally if not more important than a quick win attempt. Jack’s left hand would come up to protect his right side of his face, Patrick was nearly as fast as Jack yet with Jack’s dull reflexes and the distance that they had to travel to attack each other, Patrick’s speed would be equal if not greater then Jack’s what was in Jack’s favour was Patrick had to strike up and Jack down, if both hit Jack’s strike being a right over Patrick’s a left would be more dominant, Jack was able to push past Patrick due to his longer reach. Another possibility would be that Jack’s right would beat Patrick’s left, Patrick had to travel a longer distance to attack Jack as well as that even if Jack moved after Patrick did Jack’s right would still be able to hit Patrick on the withdrawal or at least the same time.

Jack was not dumb enough to put everything into one strike, it was just to frighten Patrick to let him know Jack could hit him from everywhere. Jack's hands would instantly come back up as he moved back quickly diagonally to his right. Jack would take up his stance again before deciding to break the silence "You're fucking quick".

[Patrick O'Connor]

There was always a tall guy. Always had been, always would be. At 552 these kinds of monsters were common place. Patrick was not short at an average height of six feet. But neither was he tall. And with all of the tall people he fought he knew how to deal with them. Yeah, tall guys were in general the ones that became the fighters and monsters because height and size had an advantage. The bigger guys could generally pack on more muscle mass making them pack cannons, they also had the height thing going for them. Sure the height thing was scary, it made them harder to hit for sure, and gave them a range where they could hit with seeming impunity. Most people couldn't get over the range thing and so the tall guys had an easy time doing what they felt like. The real problem though also lie in the range thing, it was a double edged sword. If you could break through that range and keep in your range, you could be better. You could fully extend their arms and they couldn't. If you could hit them in the right range, even if they landed a blow on you it wouldn't be nearly as powerful. Sure they could throw and elliptical punch which were generally more jarring, but then you could do the same making their hooks and uppercuts even more useless then the straights. Their range became their weakness if it came to that.

And it came to that, the second Jack allowed Patrick to get in jabbing range. The closer Patrick got the more of an advantage he had. In quite a few ways. It made Jack's target's far more predictable as Patrick's head would be the easiest and most accessible target to hit, with his body being the most difficult requiring Jack to drop his guard to reach down there. It lessened the strength of Jack's blows as well. Most importantly though, the closer the fight got the quicker reflexes and ability to react you needed. All of Jack's speed, which was no longer the untrumpable card it use to be, would be useless if he could see Patrick's attacks. In fact it would make Patrick's attacks seem faster at a closer range. Patrick took pride in his reflexes and ability to see and react to what came next, and with Barker's little gift for his eyes it was almost unfair. Jack was a little faster then Patrick, granted, but with Patrick's ability to see and react to his attacks with the new eyes, poor Jack looked like he was moving in slow motion.

Patrick moved in for the jab and let it go, intently watching Jack. When Jack moved for his trading blows attack Patrick really wasn't surprised. He never expected his jab to land in the first place, much less finish it to conclusion. He only threw it to get a reaction, and boy did he get it. It was so beautiful Patrick wanted to cry. It was a right hand down to his chest. Now the thing about throwing the right hand to match a jab was that it was slow. It had more power but it was slower. The thing about the taller person throwing it to the body was that he had to get through the arms. Especially when he threw the right which matched the side of his left jab that had never intended to connect anyway. Patrick still to the step forward but instead of throwing the left hand forward enough for his forearm to make contact with the inside of Jack's forearm. The reason this was possible was because with Patrick's left foot being forward in his boxer's stance, and especially with that step, the only place for Jack to hit his chest was on his left side. With Patrick aiming for a more central target on Jack's body and with his movement having started first that put his arm on the inside as previously described and push the arm out to the side just far enough so it wouldn't it Patrick.

Funny thing too, it also gave Patrick's left fist right of way to Jack's face. With his step forward too it would allow Patrick on the inside for a particularly nasty punch. The left hook. As Patrick had still been moving forward he would have been allowed to torque his hips to the right pivoting on his left foot, along with turning his left forearm parallel to the ground, putting all the acceptable amount of weight into a left hook aimed at Jack's jaw. At this point there would be very little that he could do about it. The hand in charge of defending that side was currently occupied and Jack's left hand would be unable to do much. It could get in the way opening Jack up for an even bigger right, which still wouldn't block enough of the damage from the hook or even prevent his head from being thrown to his own left from Patrick's hook.

Patrick wasn't done with the hook though. Now that he had broken through he would get his body back in position by turning his hips and shoulders, and by extension left hand, back to their original position whilst stepping forward with his right foot. Actually getting them back to their original position was a lie, as with the step forward with the right foot would come a right cross with Patrick's full weight behind it, aimed towards the inside of Jack's left pec which would leave its position, slide considered, on Jack's heart. With his free hand likely having raised a little to protect the face their was a pretty fair chance that this would hit and give considerable damage to Jack. The heart being a major organ was not a fan of being struck as it would force most of the blood out of it and through the body as if someone was doing a chest compression on it. Worst circumstances considered, it could kill Jack, though Patrick highly doubted it.

You would think now that that would be it but it wasn't. After the cross Patrick would retract his right hand as his left knee bent forcing Patrick to lean down a little, not putting his chin over his knee but enough to prepare for his nest attack. A left hookercut, up under Jack's ribs. Rising and twisting back to the right on his left leg Patrick would intend to plant his left fist up and under Jack's ribs on his gut to right side. The hooker cut combined the best of both worlds really. It combined the rising damage of the uppercut with the torque of the hook for pretty serious damage. This punch Patrick would have follow through bringing him back to his original stance, albeit, in point black range with Jack.

Patrick's punches would all be put together, so that they were fluid. Quick, concise power punched. Quick powerful combos combined with reflexes, that was the name of the game in this type of dogfight.

If Jack still had the air to make his speed comment Daniel would reply, "You're not bad yourself"

[Jack]

Sure Jack’s right straight would be slower in comparison to Patrick’s Jab yet the difference would only be marginal yet in times like this it was that paper thin margin that set the good from the great. Jack’s arm would have to travel a longer distance to reach his maximal strength whereas Patrick’s would have to travel a shorter distance. Patrick’s jab fell short this meant that either Patrick was never in striking range or he was trying to bait Jack into a premature attack. In both scenarios Jack’s punch would beat Patricks due to either superior arm length or because Patrick held back. However instead of retracting it straight away Patrick left his arm out so it would slide in on the inside slightly deflecting Jack’s punch to the right, before Jack could have time to think about what was happening Patrick was already on him. Taking a large step forward Patrick’s onslaught would continue.

Patrick’s reflexes and strength were obviously far superior, that much was obvious in the way he was able to move and how easily he could deflect his punch yet Jack had been in enough fights to know that these weren’t always the governing traits. It was for this reason that Jack’s next move was possible. As Jack was not moving forward but instead using his upper torso to provide the speed and his legs to provide the power thus he was in a more stable position.

As Patrick took another step forward with his left foot, cocked his left fist and finally pivoted his hips so send a powerful left hook right for Jack’s right cheek. At this time however he was already retracting his arm, while his left hand was still protecting his right side of his face. Patrick’s left hand would slam right into his open left hand, using the force that Patrick’s punch generated to fend off the would be knockout punch away Jack would continue to move back and away continuing the dance.

Jack would chuckle as he moved out of Patrick’s reach that arrogant smirk still proudly printed onto his face. “Very nice punch you have there.” Jack would sneer as he continued to circle his prey.