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“Can I have a party? Sleep over?” Rufus leant over his father’s desk.

“Ask your mother.” He said not even looking up.

“She said ask you.” He scoffed. “This is precisely what I am talking about. How can I expect to learn how to manage your business if you can’t even teach me communicate between you and my mother?”

“I can tell you are my son with a mouth like that.” He said not even moving his head. “Fine organise it with your friends. How many? Two or three hundred?” He was expecting the worst.

“Four Sir.” Rufus headed back out grabbing his school bag.

Rufus had it all planned in his mind, as he wanted to have his best friends over, the ones from his literature classes. They had it all planned because they would be staying in the garden at the mansion for his thirteenth birthday and making up some ghost stories for a good night overlooking the forest.

The selection had hardly been difficult either since he only really stuck to the same few friends since arriving in Midgar Prefecture School anyway. Jamie, Ignatious and “Rat” or Roberto Antonio Trioni were his choices for the evening, after all between the four of them they pretty much ran the year and those below them as they had the money, other contacts and they could get what people wanted.

The night started out easily enough, four kids that got hold of some of the wine from their dad’s cellars and let ‘Mrs ShinRa’ or Mum sort out the rest. Rufus tolerated both parents but really there was little ‘love’ involved. Rufus had the feeling his father was already bored to tears with him and he’d not even spent more than a few hours with him in any given week. All in all the feeling was fairly mutual however.

“So right what’s it like being followed by those guys all the time?” Iggy cocked his head to the two black suits behind them. “Do they grass on you for everything?”

“No they can only report in whether I am safe or not. The teachers are even too scared to say much since a bad report against me makes him look bad and he’d just find a new place instead of deal with me anyway.” Rufus shrugged.

“Wow my dad would haul me out of there and I’d have the belt over my bottom faster than you could say Holy.” Rat nodded. “Then again he’d have to catch me first.” He laughed.

They boys spent most of the night talking about the various pranks they had played and then moved on to teasing each other about girls they fancied before the serious subject of ghost telling came up. Rat decided they should all pick one but Rufus said it was pointless as they already knew most of them.

“Well what about the one about the dog that bit off its own paw?” Jamie said as they argued about it.

“Don’t be stupid why would a dog bite off its paw? That’s not a ghost story that’s an Urban Legend.” Iggy pointed out to them.

“Either way it’s true!” Jamie snorted. “My father says the plumber at the office told him it happened to his Auntie’s friend.”

“Oh yeah I mean no one that anyone directly knows.” Rufus scoffed. “Jamie you are quite full of tosh at times.”

“Fine then do not hear it.” Jamie poured another wine.

“See that word, FINE! It’s a woman’s word.” Rat laughed and the others couldn’t help but join in.

“No come on tell us.” Rufus said finally stopping his laughter and wiping his eyes. “I mean we might as well now.”

“Okay.” Jamie leant back and looked up at the night sky. “So this couple buy a puppy right and it’s not allowed in the house at night so they get it a kennel and a lead.”

“Well why would you have it in the house I mean until it can be trained?” Iggy scoffed. Whatever this story was it was hardly scary.

“Holy will you shut up! I mean how is the story going to have any effect if you are talking over it?” Jamie sighed and watched the moon a moment. “So the couple they put the dog outside and it’s given a kennel and leash. They start off letting the door stay open each night but the puppy whines a bit, you know the weather and being lonely must have been pretty bad on the little thing.”

“Was it a boy or girl?” Rufus asked

“Does it matter?” Jamie looked at him confused. “ShinRa you’re a weird one. Who else cares?”

“Well if it was a female then you’d think it was kind of sad but if it was a male I would say that the damned thing just needed its balls to drop.” He chuckled.

“It’s a puppy they get scared when they are little.” Jamie said indignant. “Anyway are you even paying attention?” It was then the clouds let out a torrent of rain and the boys ran into the summer house at the side dragging their goods with them. The storm broke out not long after and the lightening made regular light shows as the boys set their torches down.

“So carry on then.” Rat urged as they settled with their wine again and pulled up the large comfy chairs.

“Well one night they are listening to the thing and get fed up right so they shut the kennel door. The thing about animals’ right is they have a sixth sense and this puppy knew that out there a dangerous killer was lurking.”

“Could you have at least given us a little suspense, now we know it is a killer?” Iggy sighed.

“What is this language and literature lesson?” Rat laughed.

“Anyway…” Jamie said his patience with the matters wearing thin. “So the puppy has tried everything it can think of and it gets out of the kennel but it’s still stuck to the leash. It’s this little chain design that goes around its paw.”

“Those things were banned years ago.” Rat muttered.

“Shush will you.” Rufus sighed and nodded. He was quite enjoying the tale.

“Well the puppy decides that it’s got to get to them and so in a fit of terror for the guy lurking around outside it starts to chew on its paw until it can get free.”

“Gross!” The boys interjected.

“The puppy limps to the back door and the guy has already got in. The couple in the house are left to his mercy and he does a find job of taking them to pieces with a large knife he found in the kitchen.”

“Well then forensically I would say they caught him. Poor puppy it should have just waited for them to get hacked up and ended up with a family that gave him a better home.” Rufus retorted.

The boys proceeded to talk their way around the story, adding what they though they would do and it resorted in them voting that dogs would be better left in the kitchen or somewhere that they could protect the home better despite the smell of wet dog being off-putting. The storm continued to rage outside and the teenagers finished off the last of the wine and settled in to start on the next round of terribly relayed ghost stories.

They were just starting to doze off and were fighting the last of the energy from their alcohol when there was a strange hissing sound in the little bathroom at the back. Rat was the more adventurous and picked up a bottle and headed that way.

“What are you doing? We have security for that.” Rufus told him as he stood up more awake suddenly.

“Turks are not paid to be looking at bumps in the night after we sacred ourselves.” Rat chuckled and moved that way. His hand went to the doorknob and Rat then wondered if they would for a moment.

“Open it I got this.” Rufus pulled out his pistol.

“Gun?” Jamie looked at him. “Rufus how many people are going to think that is a good idea?”

“You are aware of who my father is right?” He looked at him sardonically. “I mean, he’s hardly on the Mr Popular list. People either love or hate the company.” He kept the gun ready in case of emergency.

The door was finally opened, the boys jumped back just in case and Rufus levelled the gun as a large black shape moved. Rufus shot the pistol as whatever it was moved towards them. The black shape phased out of sight and appeared behind them. The Turks hearing a gun shot ran in behind the Presidents son.

“Wild animal.” One of them muttered and Rufus looked at it. It looked pretty strange, like some dog-cat half-breed.

The beast looked at them and Rufus had to laugh when the first Turk put a hand to try and grab it by the tendril on its back and got met with an electrical charge. The hound watched them, it seemed pretty intelligent and Rufus was amused to think that the thing was going to outwit his father’s well trained men.

“It’s a shame to let it go really.” Rufus said moving forwards and leaning out a hand. The young beast watched the bolder one and moved forwards. “I’ve seen these mentioned in General Studies. They can warp and have a lot of protective powers.”

“Young Sir you’re…” The Turk went to stop him but the hound lashed out a tendril at him and stood in front of Rufus protecting him.

“He does a better job than you.” Rufus leant over and petted its head. “I think we’re fine here.”

The other Turk called through to the President and Rufus saw an opportunity. Perhaps the hound would be an investment if it was well-trained. He hated his father enough that it might be able to be trained to take him out and Rufus could claim all responsibility was admonished as the beast had obviously turned… he was enjoying the internal plotting when the beast flopped on its back and demanded attention.

Rat leant down and tickled its belly and wondered if Rufus was going to keep it. Usually the Presidents son got what he wanted. The three boys were all good friends with him because just like him they might have money and powerful family but they knew the value of good friends and not just sticking around because they were an “in crowd”.

“Okay you’re father said you can have it but it stays outside in a kennel.” The Turk relayed the information.

Rufus laughed the animal could warp, keeping it outside would only happen if the creature wanted it to. Rufus just nodded as though he might even pay attention for once before sitting back down in the chair and thinking of the story they’d heard before from Jamie and chuckled.

“Something amusing you Rufus?” Iggy looked at him.

“Yeah I was just thinking if people had this kind of puppy there might be less three-legged dogs in the world.” He stretched out on the chair.

“Oh!” Jamie laughed. “Well what name are you going to choose for it?”

“That’s easy. I’m calling him Dark Nation.”