2.

Having received a letter, one, at first, he thought strange, Seth has come to be in a place that holds so much more significance for him than he could previously have envisioned. To really get things rocking, Seth comes across a desk clerk who is so much more than just a desk clerk, his aunt who looks no older than he does and his birth mother too who he had always believed to be dead.

Too further add to this, there is the arrival of a hunter, who wants the likes of those in the vicinity dead, a hunter who will have support arriving imminently and this all is only a beginning or a continuation of something from long before ... and there is so much more to come.

In, to the lobby area of this particular hotel, walked a man or what appears as a man to whom Seth had already sensed was more than just a man, a man he had seen before. This man was the police officer Seth had noticed when he had last gone to visit Jason's grave. Kermit Nolan would not be the only one to arrive in this exact moment, as right behind him was Jimmy Salto dressed all in black with his long black leather jacket. Even though it is getting late and has been dark for a little while now, Jimmy entered the hotel still wearing his dark sunglasses, never mind the fact that his Salto fellow does not belong to any kind of day light

It looked to Seth that he was in for it. To him, he believed he were doomed, as if he had walked right into a trap whether such a thing had been set up intentionally or unintentionally. The darkness he had felt coming for quite some time now seem to actually be here at this very moment.

Lucius smiled standing not very far behind Seth. Being a hunter, Lucius usually went after anything and everything he considered to be inhuman, though right now it seemed at this moment that he may just have an alliance in operation. Just as well for whether or not his men were here or close by, he and they would easily be the weakest entities within the current gathering.

'Oh, this is good, this is real good' spoke Lucius.

His cronies indeed had arrived and they looked at each other and laughed for this was a moment that they had been waiting for, for over two decades. Lucius hardly had much time at all to enjoy his moment for someone else would arrive to the hotel, someone who had not been to the hotel in over twenty-one years. That man was Gabriel Grimmel.

'Gabriel, what are you doing here?' angrily asked Lucius.

Gabriel did not respond. If anything, he completely ignored Lucius. Instead, he walked right up to Kermit Nolan and looked him in the eyes, said nothing then moved on, on over to Jimmy Salto and stared Jimmy in the eyes. Had Lucius really thought that Gabriel would be here at this time?

'Jimmy' spoke Gabriel before giving his onetime good friend a nod.

'Gabriel'. Jimmy held his hand out and Gabriel shook it.

'What the hell is going on here?' Lucius asked still without receiving any reply.

Gabriel next walked up to his son and placed a hand on his shoulder.

'Hello my son.'

'Father ...' Seth nodded not really sure how to respond to this moment.

Lucius was about to speak again but Gabriel interrupted him.

'Shut up Lucius. I will get to you in a moment.'

Gabriel smiled as he passed Alice and Alice smiled back. He hugged Janice and gave her a kiss on the cheek before moving over to the desk clerk. Gabriel reached behind the clerk, grabbed the back of his head, and rammed his face into the desk making the clerk's nose bleed.

'If you cause me any further grief, I will make you pay with more than just a busted nose. Do I make myself clear?'

'Yes sir.'

'Call me Gabriel. Now Lucius, it is your turn.'

At this moment, the close group of friends that Seth had become part of a long time prior to now, all arrived to The Castlemount Arms Hotel. It is as if this moment is some sort of a center of the universe and anyone involved in any way should be here to be part of it or witness it.

Kimberly headed straight for Seth and gave him a hug. Thomas and Peter were not far behind, and of course Professor Edwards wasn't far away either. Gabriel acknowledged Professor Edwards arrival and continued to address Lucius.

'Lucius, you of all people should know that you, and I do mean you specifically, cannot trust anything that you once hunted or tried to hunt, and you know I must thank you, for you have aided in bringing about this very moment. This moment we have here is a moment that I have been waiting for, for a very long time. I have wanted it for such a long time and now it is here. Some have told me that I was dreaming, that what I wanted was or is impossible.'

With Gabriel now himself circling Lucius and glancing over toward Jimmy, Gabriel would continue speaking.

'My dream may still be thought something impossible, but it is a lot closer today than it has ever been before. For this dream of mine to move on ... I will need you. I need you to go against your own nature. I implore you not to be too hasty in how you move on from here. There will be bad eggs in all walks of life so I am sure that there may be some of my kind, Jimmy's kind and even officer Nolan's kind who will need to be hunted so if we work together, consult each other, we can eliminate these bad eggs. Please take some time with your consultants before you offer a response.'

Lucius felt relief with the statement Gabriel had just given. Since Gabriel's arrival, Lucius expected the worst and perhaps that would not come to pass. He did have something to consider now but he would as always find it difficult to trust Gabriel. For the moment however, Lucius would move out of the way, keep out of the way, though at the same time not go anywhere in particular.

Jimmy Salto moved away from where he stood and approached Gabriel.

'I hope you know what you are doing. I would like to see where this may go. You know I never thought it possible so for now, I will not interfere' quietly spoke Jimmy.

Gabriel directly looked at Jimmy as he spoke and placed his left hand on Jimmy's upper right arm just as he would respond.

'I appreciate that, Jimmy. A chance is all we need. We are on to something here, just look around you, humans, walkers, full bloods, wolves and even hunters and not one of them are trying to kill anyone else. We don't have to be family, we don't even have to be friends, I may not get exactly what I had had envisioned though I would say there is so much more than just a start here. We, you and I, were friends once, though we may never completely see eye to eye again I believe that we do not have to be enemies.'

Nicolas Moore stood quietly behind Seth.

'Where did you come from? I didn't see you arrive' Seth softly spoke.

'You should know me by now young man. I have been here all along'.

'So, what now? Am I supposed to just stand here and take all this? I may be Gabriel's son, but you have been more of a father to me than he could ever hope to be. To him I am nothing more than just a pawn in a dream he once had. How can anything move forward from here?'

'Your father needs you. You are indeed his son, but you are also so much more than that. You are the saviour. You are why this moment has come.'

'I am what?' Seth almost turned right around to look at Nicolas.

'Eyes forward young man. Your father is about to address you'.

Gabriel moved towards Seth and would speak loud enough for all in the hotel's lobby both standing and sitting, to hear.

'This right here is my son. I may not have raised him. I may not have been there for him to offer advice or to give him guidance, but he is my son all the same. For those of you who do not know, his name is Seth. Although I do presume that most of you if not all of you do know who he is as well as what he is, I will tell you anyway.

We have what we have here due to Seth. There has never been a gathering like this before or at least one where all-out war has not broken out. He has Human friends; he has Wolf friends, and they would be willing to protect him with their lives. This is the honest truth. So, my question for right here and for right now is that can we have the same or even agree to peace and make this last? Does anyone else want this? We indeed do not have to be friends, but we do not have to be enemies either. Would anyone like to share their thoughts?'

Jimmy Salto stepped forward and looked around.

'I for sure did not think for one minute and still don't think that such a thing is or was ever possible but for the moment I am willing to go along with it and I will do my bit to see it go as far as this can go.'

'Excellent. Thank you, Mister Salto.'

Jason's family were also at the hotel. Seth had not noticed their arrival, though he was delighted to see them, all four of them, when they approached to stand next to him. Addressing the hunters, one member of Jason's family would speak.

'We will do whatever it takes to protect our friend here; hopefully there will be no need for anyone to protect anyone else, so we are in on this deal. We may be standing in the same room as Jason's killer, but revenge is not on our to-do list. It is better to live apart in peace than trying to live together in a world at war.'

'I appreciate that and can only ask for forgiveness ...' Lucius hung his head to offer remembrance and sorrow for his actions.

Lucius stood and took his turn to speak.

'I come from a long line of hunters. Sure, Gabriel knew my father, his father and my grandfather's father. It is in my blood; in my nature too seek out life forms like what we have here today. My work does not end with simply seeking; I and many others like me are out to destroy what we seek. I do see an opportunity here, an opportunity for change, an opportunity to move forward. Can we move forward in peace? Who am I to say no? Every bone in my body says that I cannot trust this, whatever this is. However, I am willing, like others have already said, to see just how far this can go. I will be ready for if and when it fails.'

Seth stepped forward and was about to speak but before he could do so he was interrupted. Kermit Nolan had moved into a central position in the hotel lobby.

'I would like to take a moment if I may to introduce myself. My name is Kermit Nolan and I have been a police officer for many years now. I have been human for most of my life. While on duty I was attacked. There had been a creature of whom I thought was no more than a fairytale. This creature was being held against its will and had been the center of experimentation. Such a thing needs to end ...

... I had been sent to provide protection for one of the abusers the creature had to deal with. Something occurred and I do not know what, safe to say I became a kind of victim of an attack. This attack brought about change. I know that Seth can tell what change has been brought about in me and I am sure that Jason's family are aware of it too. I have questioned why this happened to me and I feel I was set up so this change could occur. Was there purpose for this change?'

Seth watched intently as Kermit continued to speak.

'A second change came to make me some kind of double, no, triple hybrid. See, I now need for there to be a reason for my change. To end what I have to say ... I can see this reason, feel its purpose. That reason, that purpose begins here ...'

Kermit walked up to Seth and looked him in the eyes.

'See as of right now your safety ensures the safety of everyone else in this room, as well as the safety of so many others' spoke Kermit. 'I am here to stand alongside you. Anyone looking to take you out and cause an all-out war has to come through me first. I will be the enforcer of peace.'

Seth shook Kermit's outstretched hand. The time for Seth to speak had finally come.

'Who am I? I have been asking myself that for some time now. There are answers here today. Did I expect them? ... No ... Are they enough? ... hell no, but who am I to deny fate? A fate created for me but a fate none the less. It may have always been my destiny to come to this moment and now that it is here, I am not going to refuse it ...

... My life up until now has not only shown but also has proven that we can all live together. We do not have to be products of what we are. The thing is here, that we do not even have to live together; we can either live together in peace or apart in peace. What else is there left to say that has not already been said? We can only take this moment and take it forward. There does not need to be a darkness looming, we do not need to spread shadow, we can clear the way for something special. So, ... are we doing this?'

Gabriel smiled as Janice approached Seth, they hugged, and celebrations began. This is a beginning, and it is happening. Hugs and handshakes moved throughout the hotel lobby, perhaps none of which would be as important as the handshakes between Gabriel Grimmel, Jimmy Salto, and Lucius for such a truce to work would need the co-operation of these three in particular as well as the survival of Seth.

For now, at this moment, it more than seems that Gabriel has worked the ultimate truce and within this newfound trust a doubt would always linger. All things at some point must come to an end, right? ...