Damien found their eyes transfixed on their ID. Time had stood still from the second they sat down on the train, as even the passing scenes of the wilderness and towns beyond the train window could not pull their eyes away.
Lilith laughed, breaking their trance. “Y’know, it’s a long trip. Ya really gonna stare at that thing the whole time?”
They blushed at the comment, “I’m sorry I just-I can’t believe it!”
She chuckled, “Yeah, startin’ off at C-rank is somethin’ ta be proud of! ‘Specially without all that “formal education” other eggheads tend ta have.” She looked over to Daniel, who had his arms crossed with his head resting on the window, “Awe, someone looks a widdle jealous over there.”
Daniel perked up, “I’m not jealous! They totally earned it. I am extremely proud of them!”
“You are indeed proud,” Charlotte confirmed, “and jealous.”
“Maybe a little, okay?”
Damien put a comforting hand on his shoulder, “Don’t worry, you’re strong too. You’ll get a moment to prove that and jump right out of D-rank in no time!”
Daniel sighed and shuffled, “It’s not the rank,” he leaned over to Damien’s card, “it’s the name! Flashing Blade? That’s so cool!” He pulled out his own card and slumped back in his seat, “I couldn't think of anything, and didn't have any suggestions to choose from. Did you see the look she gave me when I asked to keep it blank? Pity!”
Lilith burst out howling with laughter, “Oh man, that’s what yer poutin’ about? Truly amazin’!”
“H-hey, come on, not so loud!” Daniel stammered.
"I thought you've been writing names down since you were younger. You really haven't picked a name yet?"
He pulled his book out of the pouch on his side and flipped to the beginning, "Well, yeah, but I still can't choose which one I like best."
"Lemme see that!" Lilith quickly plucked it out of his hands, earning a 'hey!' of protest. He tried to grab it back, but she brought the sole of her boot up against his chest to hold him in place. She took a moment to read before frowning in disgust, "Dude, yer awful at writin'. I can’t even understand this!"
"Yeah, his penmanship always has been pretty bad."
She grunted in agreement before flipping through the pages, causing Daniel to flail, "Hey hey, it's rude to flip through a guy’s personal journal!"
The more she flipped, the more surprised her expression, "Wow, there's a lotta drawin’s in here. Fer a spell book there ain't a lotta words."
"Yeah. They're code. So people can't steal my magic," Daniel replied, his hands grasping at air.
She looked up with a cocked eyebrow, "What's the naked girl mean, then?"
“S’just a doodle!"
"There's probably guys in there too, if that suits your fancy," Damien commented smugly.
"Eugh, no way," she stuck her tongue out as she tossed the book in Daniel’s direction, causing him to dive for it as it flew into the aisle "S'far as I'm concerned people should keep their clothes on."
Daniel hugged his book and pouted, "Since when did this trip become about picking on me, huh?"
The group laughed at him as the train trucked along. They all spoke casually during the trip, enjoying the food and much needed rest. It was the chance to get to know each other, before they reached their impending goal.
A few hours passed before the train docked in the Meriancan base. The crew disembarked and weaved through the people in the station. The siblings couldn't help but look around in awe. The floors were a polished marble that reflected the sunlight from the expanse of windows above them. The walls were a clean white with dark wood and stone pillars lining the walls and holding the enormous structure up.
As they passed through the front doors, Lilith rose her arms to the sky, "Welcome to Merianca, the world capital!"
Both Damien and Daniel stood agape at the scene before them. Crowds of buildings huddled around the streets, all various sizes. Some were smaller like they were used to, but others were so tall they looked as though they could touch the sky. Everything was made of glass, stone, or steel, precious materials rarely used for infrastructure. The sidewalks were distinct from the road as cars drove down the black tar while people walked the concrete pavement. The air felt heavier than anywhere else they'd been as the noise of vehicles and people alike resounded through the busy streets.
She looked back and laughed at their expressions, "Yeah, pretty impressive, eh? They say it's the only city left that still feels like the old days."
"It's," Damien swallowed nervously, "kind of intimidating."
Daniel nodded slowly, "Yeah, damn."
"Hey, Charlotte, are you..." Damien finally looked away to where the Seraph had been standing, only to find she was gone. They were about to look around, thinking maybe she spotted another cake store and wandered off, until they felt something tugging at their back. Something climbed up their jacket with claws before finally reaching their shoulder. White fur brushed against their cheek as a white cat had perched itself beside their face. Upon closer inspection, they noticed there was a gold bell and blue bow around its neck, just like…
"Woah! Charlotte? You can turn into a cat?" Daniel exclaimed, having watched the whole thing.
The cat nodded, "Yes, Damien felt like they could use some support through the crowds."
"But how?"
"This bell," she pawed at the gold trinket, "is a gift from Engel, like your Blood Stones. It allows us to take the form of animals that humans find comforting."
"That's cool but," Daniel crossed his arms, "why'd you say it was to help Damien?"
"I don't know, brother," Damien smiled and scratched under her chin, "I feel much better now.”
"Seraphim have the ability to syphon negative emotions and keep people calm. It's why they're so valuable to teams with Nephilim Slayers."
“Huh, that’s pretty useful,” Daniel mumbled dejectedly before quickly changing tune, “Alright, well, guess we’ll go find the abandoned church!”
Lilith shook her head, “Nah, gotta get a map first. C’mon,” she turned and started walking, “the Slayer Hall is just a bit away.” The siblings look at each other in confusion before chasing after her.
“Wait wait,” Damien started, “why do we need a map?”
“What, ya think I ‘member where everythin’ is? New Earth’s way too big fer-”
“No no,” Daniel shook his head, “you don’t just, y’know, carry a map?”
A pause.
“Why the hell would I do that?”
The two sighed, unsure of how to respond. They followed behind Lilith so as to not get lost. Passing only a few buildings, they realised that would have been impossible. The Slayer hall was enormous, easily the largest building they had ever been to, and impossible to miss. It was made of white stone and granite with an underpass lined with thick pillars. Large banners hung from the sides with the Merianca insignia. The inside was filled with Slayers, even more than Adanac, but the sheer space within kept it from being overcrowded. A sign indicated there were three floors, with the main floor being for Slayer business.
“Alright, you two wait here, I’ll go to the desk ta get a map an’ some directions.” Lilith said while pointing to the desk down the room.
Damien nodded, but Daniel caught her before she walked off, “I’ll come too. I just want to ask about something.”
“We’ll go wait over there then,” Damien smiled and pointed to an empty table, “Charlotte and I can get to know each other!”
Lilith started down the room with Daniel beside her, “So, gonna ask them ‘bout the name change?”
“Actually,” Daniel started, his tone serious, “I wanted to ask you something. Without Damien around.”
Lilith stopped, caught off guard, “Me?”
“Yeah, you didn’t answer me before,” Daniel looked her in the eyes, “You use wind, can you use anything else?”
She scoffed, “That again? What’s it matter? Most people can only use one element anyway.”
“I just want an answer. Can you use ice?” Daniel’s voice had grown aggressive, his tone almost threatening.
She frowned, “Ice? No, I can’t,” She narrowed her eyes, “Why’re ya askin’?”
Daniel stared at her, his eyes searching her face, before walking off, “No reason.”
Lilith stopped him, grabbing his wrist with a firm grip. He looked back to see her glaring, “Oh no, yer not doin’ that. Ya get all tense and clammed up when ya saw Sharpshooter. Ya think I'm dangerous cuz I'm Nephilim or somethin'?"
He looked down at her hand and could tell there was no breaking her hold. He looked away, unable to match her fierce gaze, “When we escaped Tairan, someone helped us… a girl that worked for Charles. She was an archer with explosive power. You’re an archer too, and you knew Charles from-” Daniel stopped as her grip tightened. He flinched and closed his eyes, waiting for a shout or a punch.
A moment passed, and her grip released. Shocked, he quickly turned to face her, but she had already turned to leave, her voice distant, “Let’s get the map an’ go.”
He watched her walk away while gingerly holding his wrist. It was obvious he had struck a nerve. Archers were rare, and to know Charles as well… it was a fair conclusion, wasn’t it?
On the other side of the room Damien sat at the table with Charlotte. She was still in her cat form and greatly enjoying Damien petting her fur. They giggled, “Are all Seraphim this soft?”
She only purred in response. Suddenly her eyes snapped open, and immediately she jumped into a defense position. Her fur fluffed up and she growled at something off to the side.
Damien lept from their seat and turned to see what she was reacting to and nearly stumbled back. Looming over them was a tall and glaring Black knight. The two matched gazes, their eyes locked. Damien inched closer to Charlotte while stretching out a protective arm, “I won’t let you hurt her.”
“I know,” He stated flatly, his voice deep and firm. He looked out to the rest of the room briefly before looking back, “There’s no fighting here.”
“Ah,” Damien relaxed a bit, somewhat taken aback that he was complacent to following rules. He was about to walk off until, “Wait!”
He turned back, “What?”
“Why are you hunting Charlotte?” Damien asked sternly.
The Slayer frowned, and mumbled quietly, “Char-Ch…” He turned away suddenly, “Don’t trust her,” before walking away.
“Hey! You didn’t…” Damien trailed off as they realised he wasn’t stopping and sighed. They looked back to Charlotte, who seemed to have calmed down, “Do you even know why he’s after you?”
She looked at them before sitting down, her fur lying flat as she composed herself, “I am not sure. From the occasional time he has spoken, it seems he was sent to find me.”
Damien looked back to where he had walked off, their gaze softening, “I wonder what his story is.” Their thoughts were cut short as they saw Lilith and Daniel returning, “Oh! You two took a while. Did you get-Uh.”
They couldn’t finish their sentence before Lilith grabbed them, her arm slinging over their shoulders in an awkward choke hold, “Damien! My friend. Buddy! Ya trust me, right?”
Damien struggled in her grip, their breathing slightly hindered in her hold, “Ack, uh, well yeah. Why?”
She looked at Daniel with a wide grin and fierce eyes, “Great to hear someone trusts me! Trust seems ta be hard ta come by, yeah?”
“I-I suppose,” They tried to look at Daniel with concern, “Did, geh, something happen?”
Daniel sighed, “It’s nothing you need to worry about.” He looked back towards the desk, “Wasn’t that the Black knight?”
Lilith perked up, pulling a struggling Damien in her arm as she turned to look, “What? Where?”
“I-it’s fine,” Damien finally squeezed out and coughed, “Augh, he didn’t do anything. He barely said anything either, just to not trust Charlotte.”
“Quite rude if you ask me,” Charlotte turned her muzzle upward in disgust.
Lilith rolled her eyes, “Augh, what is with black haired idiots not trustin’ us cuties, amirite?”
She looked to Charlotte for support. The cat looked up and blinked, “I am not sure I understand, but I believe agreeing will make you happy. So yes, they are, as some say, quite whack I am sure.”
Lilith nodded in approval, “Excellent. Now, if yer all ready, let’s go!”
The three watched her walk off in awkward silence. Damien turned to their brother with disbelief, “What the heck did you say?”
“Nothing important, let’s just go.” With that Daniel took off after her.
Charlotte and Damien exchanged looks before she climbed back into their shoulder and chased after them. They left in silence and walked through the streets towards the city’s exit. It wasn’t far, but it was certainly a strange path. The further out from the city core they walked, the older the buildings began to look. They appeared old and abandoned with greenery overtaking the structures. The roads were cracking, broken, and weaving through a criss-cross of other bridges. The ones that hung in the air looked far too unstable to use, if they were even still held together at all. Looking past them was the ruins of an even stranger structure. It was a building that was larger than any other, yet even then it seemed a large part of the top was missing. Signs were hung and posted in every place with an alternate path, all warning travelers not to stray from the main road due to Shade roaming the ruins.
Damien waited for any comments from Lilith, or observations from Daniel, but neither said anything. They and Charlotte decided to speak idly to break the awkward silence around them. Damien had been curious about Charlotte and her origins, and she seemed happy to talk. She was from the north-east originally and had resided in a small town growing up. She had a friend, another Seraph, a young fox kit.
She spoke solemnly, a drastic change from her chipper tone while speaking about her homeland, “One day, a Slayer group had come by, having heard of his fox fire abilities. They wanted to recruit him, but he did not want to go. I convinced him to do so, as it is our duty to aid humanity. He left, and I have not seen him since.”
“Do you miss him?” Damien asked in a hushed tone.
She paused, her eyes focused ahead in deep thought. She finally spoke, “Perhaps. I envied him, that he had been given the chance to help at such a young age. After traveling and learning on my own, I look back to that day and his saddened eyes and wonder if I made the right choice.”
Damien smiled, “I’m sure you’ll see him again, now that you have a team of your own. Maybe then you can share your stories.”
“We are not a sentimental type, but,” she smiled, “that does sound nice.”
Finally they reached the exit where Lilith pulled out the map. She looked at it and squinted, "So, where the heck is it…"
Damien leaned in to look, "I think Daniel said it was to the west."
She frowned, "No no, I mean, where's Merianca on this stupid thing…"
Daniel glanced at her curiously, "What, can't you read a ma-"
"I can read, maps!" Lilith shouted with a venomous glare. “You really think that your leader wouldn’t know where she was leading her team?” She looked back to the parchment, "We're right..."
Damien pointed and spoke gently, "Here."
"Oh."
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