1. Nightmare Motivation

AUGUST 23, 2240

     Claude was starled awake in a hot and itchy sweat by a nightmarish rage filled message. The same message he received in his sleep every morning, "You're weak! AND SO IS THAT SNIVELLING LITTLE BRAT!"

     The voice that delivered this mesage in his dream-- nightmares, was feminine, but it wasn't a sweet and delicate voice that fell on his ears as sweetly as honey. Not by any means. Even though no voice really sounds nice when a person is yelling, this voice in particular was downright hideous, the anger and hate in the feminine roar was almost tangible-- dripping thick and slimily off of every word. This voice....this message always got the same reaction out of Claude, rage. Pure and untainted to the core.

     Over time, Claude's learned the best way to deal with it-- among most other negative experiences, is physical exercise. It tends to clear the mind in ways like nothing else.

     As he got up from his stiff twin sized bed, he looked around his room. It was by no means spacious, but the log cabin he shared with his father gave a vibe of something akin to wholesomeness. He took it all in as he soaked up the sun's rays that broke through his window and splashed against his sheets in hues of orange and yellow. The sight caused him to freeze-- the sun's rays were too strong for it to be early morning. The sun was all the way up.

"The hell?" He thought groggily to himself.

     Claude decided to take a look at the dusty circular clock directly above the door into his room and almost blew a fuse.

"FUCK! Its five forty!??!?!?"

     Claude burst out of the house and was greeted by the sun rising above the forest that encircled the cabin. The rising beacon of early morning heat in the sky gave the forest a refreshing glow and made the morning dew shimmer on the thick green blades of grass like diamonds.

     Claude eyed the trail that led from his cabin and into the forest that went 5 miles around it while doing rushed leg swings and other warm ups all to prepare himself for his early morning training.

      He started on the trail into the forest to begin his run. Once inside, he picked up his pace, passing large spindly limbed oak trees and beautiful white-tailed deer drinking from ponds off in the different little nooks and crannies to the right of him. As he took in the air of the forest, he felt as if there was a magical component to it, the air was so fresh....so wild. Whenever he ran in the forest he felt more at ease in all areas-- stronger even.

     Despite running barefoot and barechested-- jumping over low hanging branches and bounding around through the uneven forest floor, he felt a serene calmness for the time being. A level of calmness that no chaotic expulsion of energy could rid him of.

     After a few miles into the rugged forest run, he started to hear rustling and heavy gutteral breaths to his left. Something big was running with him, and it was fast. Before he could decide what do do about this large predator stalking him, it did what predators do best to adrenaline fueled prey. It attacked.

     It's large brown fur covered body collided with him. Crashing him into a nearby oak tree, causing the little squirells on the ground and the birds in nearby trees to flee frightfully.

He laid on the ground for a long span of moments in a daze as the forest settled itself oncemore.

     The smell of damp earth and wet dog filled his nostrils as he lifted his head out of the dirt to face his killer. He eyed the beast from the ground up, noticing huge clawed paws made dull by a life full of running-- hunting. It's front and back legs were covered in sinewy muscle that trailed up to the creature's wide chest-- doubtlessly harboring gigantic lungs. From its bulky head and snout it displayed impressively sharp canines that resembled knives more so than teeth. The last thing he was able to notice were the eyes. The icy blue eyes of the quadruped beast that seemed to sparkle with....excitement?

Claude felt like he recognized this hulking mass of predatory power...

"Wait a minute....FROSTY! WTF!??"