Levi was woken yet again for the second time today. This time it was an urgent knock on the door. He had discarded his last pair of pajamas after the incident earlier. The stubborn ether* had stuck all over his fabric. He had to replace his clothes half-asleep since the ether was making him very uncomfortable. And now, partially clothed, his eyes squinting he made his way to the door once more, to find Agatha Stein.
"What is it?" He said. The chain still kept the door half closed. He didn't really want to let Agatha in at this time of the night.
"You mentioned a witch earlier. Can you take me to her?"
"I- I don't know where she is. And I'm not exactly dressed for the occasion", Levi said. He wanted to give a straight "no". That should have done the trick. He shouldn't have told her about Aria.
"But you said that she made good energy potions. And you look fine. " She said in a sweet tone. "Just change into something else, if it bothers you that much"
"Did you bring whatever was in the bag with you? I feel like I'm about to faint." He said, trying to change the topic.
"Yep" She said, showing a clear pouch with a streamlined metal charm in it.
"Eh? The bag looked bigger."
"Oh, that was the Valter. Don't worry. I took it out of the body"
"Valter's Body!?"
She taps the charm inside the clear pouch. “Yea… I think this might've been what killed him”, Agatha continued, nonchalantly.
"Killed!? Agatha I don't think I can help you. I don't want to be branded a murderer's accomplice", He said in shock, swiftly shutting the door.
Agatha stops the door with her pale hands. Her tone shifting from nonchalant to full on threatening. "Oh. Well, if you don't help me, I'll tell the authorities that you helped me kill Valter."
"Why would you do that?" He said, panicking. "What if I tell the authorities first?"
"Then I'll just say that it was all a scheme so that no one suspects that you were also involved. I still have your prints and traces all over my body bag"
"I- They wouldn't believe that", Levi was on the verge of tears.
"Wouldn't you like to find out?"
Levi was walking around the school grounds, wearing a defeated look on his face. And he was led by none other than Agatha Stein. The cause of his insomnia for the night. The ether Agatha carried with her was messing his rhythm. He had been around it for way too long. The gargoyle had the habit of stepping away from anything that caused him discomfort. This was, by far, the longest he'd been exposed to impious, evil ether. He couldn't stop himself from shivering.
They had both gone over the school blog to find Aria's location. And when they finally did, Agatha insisted he accompany her to make sure he wasn't lying.
"Is that it?", Agatha shouted, sprinting to the canvas tent just a little further into the woods.
Levi hushed in vain. And as soon as Agatha sped up, Levi decided to take it slow. He didn't really have the stamina to keep this up for the entirety of the night.
Agatha ran throught the woods. When she arrived at the Aria's Shop, the door was already opened.
"Greetings, What may I offer you, tonight?", the witch greeted her at the door.
"I was wondering if you'd look into something", She turned around. Levi was taking his sweet time getting there. "Do you mind if I wait a bit for my friend?"
Aria threw an almost apologetic glance at Levi. "Sure, As long as you pay up. I must say this before we get to business. I do not take promise or offerings of the first born child, but fingers from birth strangled babies are welcome by all means"
"I'm here", Levi said climbing onto the elevated platform of the shop. He was at his limit. The cursed charm was draining his energy out of him.
"Are you okay? You don't look so good." Aria's mother instinct kicked in. "Shall we step in? It's awfully cold outside."
"What are you talking about? Gargoyles don't feel cold. Do they?", Agatha said, turning to Levi.
Levi could feel the tips of his wings shiver. "I don't. But I hope you wouldn't mind if I stayed back for a bit. I'll wait for you close-by", He said turning back to leave. But he was stopped short by Agatha's gloved hand, gripping at his wrist enough to hurt him.
"Where are you going?" To a stranger, it might seem like a concerned friend asking if he was already. Levi knew Agatha enough to detect the threatening tone in her sweet voice.
"I'm just stepping out for some fresh air." He said, hugging himself. He could feel a crackling all over his body from the exhaustion. "I won't leave. I promise"
"Oh, right. You've been looking a little sickly as of late. Guess you can't handle this." She said, pulling the pouch out. "It's alright as long as you don't leave without me" Agatha smiled. "If it's cool could you step in deeper into the woods. Don't want to get caught doing something like this now, do you?"
Levi sighed "No", he replied slowly.
The gargoyle slipped out, making his way through the woods. He was spiraling out. Unfortunately, the comment that Agatha had made about him not being able to handle it got to him. He knew she didn't intend to hurt him. To everyone else, he was someone who could do it all.
The perfect student who didn't have to worry about his grades.
The student council member that always knew what to do.
The perfect son and heir to his family's legacy.
But now and then, he would doubt his own skills. A sense of the ground below him crumbling. A growing feeling, if he could take it all. If everything would go as he had planned. His gifts had manifested a little later compared to all the other gargoyle children. His father, the Great Guardian Jabachim Vrogalgaum, had to delay his training because of it. His father was pretty supportive of him, telling him he had lots more to grow, being only a second-year in college, and he shouldn't worry too much about the things to come. His undoing was his own expectations for himself. For whatever reason, he was always behind the other gargoyle kids. He was in his early twenties and he still couldn't get the hang of flight, something that teenagers could perfect. And his weak tolerance for cursed energy didn't need mentioning.
Levi sighed, sitting down by a lone tree. After stepping aside from the pouch, he was feeling a lot better. He focused his thoughts on the troubles of the present to stop himself from going further down the hole. That didn't really help either. He could guess next to nothing whenever Agatha was involved.
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