Nakoma

I awake the next morning to Colt staring at me with his wide golden eyes, a small smile playing at his lips. I flinch away out of surprise and stare back at him.

“Good morning, Noki,” he says unfazed.

“Good morning, Colt,” I respond mid yawn, sitting up to stretch. Colt lies there, smiling at me. I wonder what’s on his mind. I shrug it off and crawl out of the tent only to see that the fire is still blazing. Who left the fire going? I look around to ask when I notice Puella sitting beside the fire pit, staring into it with distant eyes. Dark circles under her eyes stood out against her pale skin.

“Did you stay up all night?” I ask. Puella looks up at me and nods. “Why?”

“I didn’t want to share a tent with Dica,” she responds coldly. I sigh. Looks like Dica and I would be tent buddies from now on.

I join Puella near the fire to start making some breakfast. The smell of food wafting through the air lures Colt from his cozy den.

“Mornin’ Puella,” he smiles sweetly at her. Puella’s lips twitch into a small smile back.

“Hello, Colt,” she greets him warmly, scooting over so he had a spot to sit next to her. He plops down beside her and hums a tune softly. Puella cringes at the tune, but says nothing. Wait, that song is Amazing Grace. I thought demons couldn’t listen to religious music, let alone hum some.

Later, Dica emerges from his tent, looking like he hadn’t slept well.

“Did you sleep well?” I ask him, he didn’t look much better than Puella.

“I slept fine,” he says matter of factly. “The tent was cozy.”

It sounds fake, but okay. I finish cooking and we all eat quickly.

“We need to look for Gluttony,” I say. “I’m sure they’re still around here somewhere.”

“If I were Gluttony, I’d be back in Hell by now,” Dica says seriously. “I doubt they’re anywhere around here.”

He was probably right, but still, I felt like I needed to try. “I know,” I speak up. “But I just have a feeling that they’re around here somewhere.”

Dica sighs.

“So you’re going to make us hike through the woods just because you have a hunch?” Puella snorts.

“Pretty much.” I smile devilishly. The group of demons sigh and we begin to dismantle our camp. Once everything is packed up, we each take as much as we can carry and start our hike through the woods.

As we walk, I think of Gluttony. I remember the dismay I felt watching that streak of white hair bolt out of my sight.

“What’s with the white hair?” I ask, thinking about how so far, all the sins have sported white locks.

“What do you mean?” Colt questions with a tilt of his head.

“Do you all have white hair?” I’m mostly joking with the question, but I’m surprised when I get my answer.

“Yes,” Colt says.

“How?” I nearly stop in my tracks.

“It’s a dominate trait,” Colt smiles. “Think of it as the mark of Lucifer. Though I guess not all of us have inherited it…”

“Interesting,” I muse. “So it’s fair to assume Lucifer had white hair?”

“Yup,” Colt’s eyes sadden at the mention of his father.

So I was on the lookout for people with white hair. That should make the search a lot easier. We continue walking among the trees, following an old dirt path overgrown with weeds and roots. The forest is alive with the noises of birds and insects accompanied by the rustle of the leaves overhead. Since it was late summer, I imagine what the leaves would look like once the colors began to change.

I’m so caught up in my day dreaming that I don’t notice a large root jutting out of the ground. My foot catches it and the weight on my back doesn’t help me keep balance. I stumble forward only to slam into someone. Gentle arms wrap around me and pull me close. My eyes look up to meet Colt’s smiling visage.

“Are you okay?” he asks me gently.

“Yeah,” I stammer. “I’m fine.”

“You need to be more careful,” he scolds me playfully. “Or else I’ll have to carry you the whole way.”

I envision Colt holding me in his arms bridal style, carrying me through the woods, wind blowing in his hair, the birds chirping, the leaves rustling above us as I gaze up into his golden eyes that shine in the sun… A large blush colors my face and I force the thoughts away. My heart drums loudly in my chest and I try to shake away the blush.

Colt chuckles at my expression and sets me back on my feet, steadying me.

“C’mon or else we’re going to get left behind,” he smiles. I then notice that Puella and Dica have gotten ahead of us. Once we catch up, Puella looks to Colt.

“Are you okay?” She asks him, a hint of concern to her voice.

“Yeah, I’m fine Puella,” he shoots her a warm grin. I can’t help but smile at how the two of them interact. For some reason Puella always seemed to dote on Colt. I wonder if there was some history there.

“I guess you must really like Colt, huh, Puella,” I vocalize my thoughts. Puella gives me an odd look before shrugging her shoulders.

“I babysat for Father one night,” she mumbles. Colt’s eyes light up instantly.

“You babysat for me?” He asks excitedly.

“Yes,” Puella smiles. “Your parents wanted a date night, so father called me up to keep an eye on you. You couldn’t have been older than five.”

Colt bounces in place. “I think I remember! We played Hide and Seek.”

Puella nods. “It was just so weird…”

“What was?” I ask.

“Father was so… normal around you and your mother,” she says to Colt. “He made pancakes, tucked you in, read stories, and went on Date Nights with your mother… It was… odd to see.”

“Odd? What was Dad like when you were a kid?” Colt asks.

Puella hesitates a moment. “He… wasn’t that different honestly. I suppose he mellowed out a bit recently. He was more intimidating back then…”

“Yeah, I guess Dad can be intimidating, but he read you stories too, right?” Colt asks with gleaming eyes.

“Ah… no… he never did that,” Puella sighs. “I didn’t meet Dad for… years after I was born.”

“So you met Lucifer when you were older?” I ask.

Puella nods.

I then I notice a worn out sign protruding from the ground at an angle. I walk over to it and read the words, “Camp Canaan”.

“Hey guys,” I call over the demons. “It looks like there’s some sort of camp up ahead.”

After walking deeper into the woods we came across a collection of cabins. The campground itself was abandoned, as there wasn’t a person in sight, and the cabins were dilapidated with shattered or cracked windows. Beneath our feet a plethora of weeds and plants sprouted. The wind whistled through the emptiness like an eerie lullaby. If I were a Wendigo, I think I’d hide in a place like this.

I step further into the campground and notice there’s a lake not too far away from where the cabins lie in ruin. Chills ran down my spine as the wind brushed against my face. I take the supplies off of my back and set them on the ground, as the demons proceed to do the same thing.

“Alright, let’s start looking around.” I announce.

The demons groan, but I decide to take the initiative and start for one of the abandoned cabins. As I approach the open door hanging by one hinge, the wind slams it shut, causing me to jump. Upon the door that just closed, I notice an array of claw marks drug across the door. I gulp and grip onto the door before pulling it open to reveal the lifeless room. There’s a few empty sets of bunk beds and shelves that are tipped over. All along the floor are scratches and claw marks.

From the corner of my eye I see a dark shadow looming in the corner near an open window. I turn towards it quickly only to find that it’s gone and I’m left alone, wide eyed in an empty room with creaking boards.

“Any luck?” Colt calls to me.

“No,” I respond, shivering in the sudden drop of temperature. Maybe we should try to make a fire to warm up. I exit the cabin and walk back to the demons.

“Hey, maybe we should start collecting wood for a fire, I’m cold,” I rub my goosebumped arms. Colt and Dica nodded and began collecting spare pieces of wood scattered about. I help them, praying that we find Gluttony so we could leave soon. This place gave me the creeps.

Once we have a decent pile, I start looking for my lighter.

“Where is it?” I grumble, patting myself down. “Aw c’mon...:”

“Give me some of my power back and you’ll have a fire,” Puella speaks up.

“How?” I ask. She rolls her eyes.

“I’m Wrath, I control fire.” She says this as if I were supposed to know this off the top of my head. But now that she mentioned it, maybe that old book I got from the church mentioned something about it.

“Alright,” I concede, transferring a bit of her power into her. She smiles and places her hand against the wood, causing a flame to burst up from the woodpile.

I stare in amazement at Puella. “You can use that to draw out Gluttony!” I smile in triumph. Puella, however, doesn’t seem to share my glee. Instead she scowls.

“You don’t get to order me around like those two,” she growls, pointing to Dica and Colt. “I’m not some tool for you to use!”

Against my better judgement I blurt, “You don’t really have a choice.”

This pisses her off and she glares at me with her crimson eyes. She appears to try and hold herself back ,and I realize too late that I never turned off her powers. She storms over to the cabins and swings at one of them with her fiery fist, bashing a hole in the wall and igniting the cabin.

“Puella!” I yell in dismay. She turns back to me with hatred burning in her eyes.

“I am not your tool,” she repeats firmly. Suddenly from out of the building darts a shadowy figure.

“Puella,” I order. She stops dead in her tracks, her eyes no longer angry, but conflicted as she’s struggling to fight against my command. “Get it.” After a moment or two of fighting back at my orders she bolt towards the shadow.

“Noki… You’re so dead,” Dica warns. The fire from the first cabin has completely devoured its host and was moving on to the next cabin, destroying everything in its path. I gulp as I watch the embers rise into the air, dangerously close to the surrounding trees. This really was turning into a disaster. Puella returns with a squirming figure in her grasp. I recognize them instantly as the Sin who got away.

Gluttony looks up at me with wide orange eyes that are alive with fear.

“No, I need to go back,” they struggle against Puella’s grip. I run over to my bags and pull out one of the collars.

“Puella,” I beckon her forward. She complies and tosses the demon down at my feet. In one swift motion I snap the collar around Gluttony’s neck. They look up at me pitifully, their eyes on the verge of tears.

“Please,” they beg. “I need to go back. There’s something important I need.” They look fearfully over to a cabin that just caught fire. “Please!”

They looked so desperate, with a sigh I decide to trust their pleas, “Fine.” As soon as the word leaves my lips, they bolt towards the burning cabin and race inside. I hope that they aren’t planning on killing themself. Was what they wanted really worth facing the flames to them? I bite at my nails as I watch the door worried for Gluttony. Suddenly, the Sin emerges from the burning cabin, carrying what appears to be a bag. I feel a small sense of relief at their safety before I notice that some of the branches are catching fire. All this smoke was definitely going to draw in attention to them. We need to stop this.

“We should really put out that fire,” I say pointing over to the lake.

***

“So I’m Nakoma,” I introduce myself to Gluttony once things calmed down. “What should I call you?”

“Sati…” the Sin mumbles, holding the bag close to themself. I study them carefully, noting how they’re surprisingly slim for being the sin of Gluttony. They dressed in white, matching their hair which poofed out on both sides, I had to physically restrain myself from playing with their hair. I couldn’t find a single masculine or feminine feature about them. So I had to ask.

“So are you a boy or a girl?” I inquire.

“I’m a Wendigo,” they respond meekly, stroking the bag as if it were a comfort item.

Well it looks like we’re going to stick with they/them.

“What even is that bag?” I question. Whatever it was, it seemed important enough to risk their life.

“It was a gift from my father,” Sati says. “It can hold anything and everything.”

“Anything and everything?” I cock my head to the side.

“Yeah,” they say with a small smile. “It’s infinitely big and practically weightless no matter what I put inside.”

“Yeah, Lord Lucifer gives all of the Sins some sort of gift,” Dica speaks up, brandishing his mirror. “I have my mirror.”

“I have a lantern for collecting souls,” Colt smiles.

“What about you, Puella?” I ask the stony cold silent woman.

She looks up at me slowly.

“Oven mitts,” she says simply.

“Oven mitts?” I ask. That sounds domestic.

“All of our gifts are created to enhance our powers as Sins,” Dica explains. “Some of the items can change appearance like Puella’s oven mitts which can become gauntlets. My mirror lets me collect the souls of the corrupted, and turn their bodies into grotesque monsters that are completely under my control.” He then begins to hysterically laugh.

“My lantern helps me cast illusions,” Colt says, cutting off Dica’s laughter. “As Envy I can work with illusions.”

That was pretty cool. Maybe I should tell the church about this in my next report.

“Well, welcome to the club, Sati,” Dica clamps a hand down on Sati’s shoulder. Sati flinches away from Dica’s touch.

“So you’re not killing me, Dica?” Sati asks, confusion plastered on his face.

“No, we’re all going to die,” he responds grimly.