"Why the hell hasn't anyone come to get us?"
"A-A-Achoo! Damn it; it's cold!"
And there's how we've been for the past week. We got deployed to northern Russia about three weeks ago. We had finished our mission in a week, but then there was a snowstorm. And another snowstorm. And yet another, and it was right when there was an akuma attack! We all had fought against a sizeable platoon of level one akuma, eventually getting backed into a cavern. Centrol had finished the akuma off with a slash from Honda while using that large floating sphere of innocence. Rumor has it that the sphere of innocence was Centrol's golem. People in the Order said her synchronization with her innocence was so strong; her golem became engulfed in it. I just say that her excess innocence…or…something; I don't know.
We had all burned our exorcist jackets to create heat, keeping the pins and clipping them onto our undershirts. For Terra, it was just her thin undershirt. Warren was keeping her warm by occasionally rubbing her shoulders, or pushing her closer to the fire. I had on my black sweater, which had sleeves on the forearm, so I was okay. I wasn't worried about Centrol; she wasn't rubbing anything on her body. I supposed her anger was keeping her warm enough. Our golems had small spears of ice on their wings, and they kept flapping their wings. We were just getting colder from the air! The snow was battering harshly against the cavern; I only dreaded what it was like outside.
"F—UCK!" I heard Warren spit, a cloud of steam rising from his lips. "Where the hell is Lavi when you need his ass?"
"Wh-wh-where's Kanda? He'd be more equipped to get us out than that stupid bunny." Centrol retorted, glaring upwards.
"F—UCK YOU! Lavi has Tessei, which means that he can use FIRE, which can get us out of here, you stupid, little, impudent twit!"
"Don't call me stupid, or little, or impudent, you idiotic cock jerker!"
"Hey, no talking about grabbing chickens in here!"
Everyone stopped their arguing and turned to Terra. Terra's cheeks were a bright red, and a thin line of snot was running down her nostrils to her cupid's bow. I grimaced, and ripped off a part of my arm warmer, tossing it to Terra. I couldn't stand it when a person didn't wipe their nose. I leaned back against the cold rock of the cavern, winced, and then sighed, taking the icy cold for what it was. It was our fault for not being cautious about our surroundings. Now we were trapped.
"F—UCK! M—MY LIFE!"
"Warren, stop cursing so much. We have a child here!" Terra gently wiped my arm warmer-made-tissue underneath her nose, wiping the glistening mucus from her upper lip. I heaved a heavy sigh of relief. Now she wasn't so hard to look at.
"Ah, shut up." Warren ruffled Terra's hair, and then the two huddled up on the opposite wall of the cavern, the one closest to the fire. "Come over here, you two. Centrol, Valencia."
Centrol stood up, and walked over, sitting next to Terra. I was sure that Terra was the lesser of the two evils. I sat next to Centrol, glancing at Warren's expectant face. What; did he want me to sit next to him? He's lecherous; if Kasura was here, I would have no problem sitting next to him. At least Kasura would protect me (and Terra) from Warren's advancements.
"H…Va…YOU? WHERE ARE YOU!"
"L-Lavi? Lavi; we're in a cave blocked by snow!" Warren yelled into the nearest golem, which was mine.
"…NO WAY! Y'know, just in case I can't find it, does this cavern have any markings on it?"
"…Snow!" Warren yelled out slowly. Centrol had her hands cupped over her ears; she was steadily getting irritated.
"I know there's snow; I'm in the damn drift looking for you! Wait, does it have a tree on top?"
"Yes, Lavi." I stated, pushing Warren aside. "It's an evergreen tree, with a large semi-circle cut into the bark. Please, try and hurry. We're very cold."
"And carnivorous!"
I heard Lavi using Tessei; I could hear the high-pitched whining that was the sign of it growing and expanding. He must have found the cavern faster than we thought. Or, perhaps, he was right in front of it, and just looking for confirmation. I shivered, and then the ground underneath us trembled. The snow in front of us got blasted inwards by a column of fire that barely grazed past us. Terra screamed loudly, and the fire that we had created ourselves blew upwards in a gale. Centrol stood up, holding Honda tightly in her palms.
"Innocence, activate! Golem sphere Interruption!"
The sphere of innocence was sliced by Honda's blade, and it flew forward, right into the pillar of flames. The pillar got divided, in halves, and the Golem sphere was holding its own, drawing the flames that escaped its sides back towards its body, which was the center. The Golem then drew the fire into its body, and like that, the pillar was gone. I looked outwards, and the sunlight was streaming in. Lavi must have used the seal to break the weather as well. Terra jumped up, and with a chipper giggle, ran out of the cavern and drew Lavi into a tight hug. He was blushing profusely; Terra's chest was tight pressed against his, as was her right cheek.
"Lavi, thank you! Thank you, bunny rabi!"
"T-Terra…n-no problem!"
Terra's orange locks were bouncing up and down as she started to jump, making Lavi stumble even more so than he would just having himself pressed against her. Warren stepped out as well, helping me out of the cavern. Centrol gathered her Golem Sphere, and the two exited on their own. Terra turned to me, and smiled, embracing me.
"Thank you for letting me use you as a tissue, Valencia!"
"Don't mention it; it was no problem at all." I said, a bit sarcastically. "Oh, Lavi. We burned our coats for heat, so we need Johnny to measure us when we get back to the Order; tell him that by golem or phone. Also, we need some food now, so let's hurry back to the closest town."
"Wow; way to take command, Valencia! I love you!"
Terra bounced in place beside me, and I just nodded, continuing out of the snow-laced land was had gotten ourselves backed into. Warren was following behind Terra, and Centrol had stayed back to say one thing to Lavi.
"You're a slow, stupid rabbit."
I heard Lavi's groan of surprise, feigning insult by Centrol's statement. I just smiled softly, and hurried along.
"And give me some curry, and maybe some veal if you have it! And perhaps some parfait and a tiny bit of rice, and some beef stew."
It was true what they said; parasitic-type Exorcists ate the most. I was eating some beef stew and spicy curry, as was Terra. Centrol was having rice and roasted chicken ramen. Lavi was just having beef skewers. It seemed that we were lucky for being so close to a tourist area, because they would make most anything. Warren and Terra were talking, and Centrol was staring out of the window, slurping her noodles noisily into her tiny little eight-year-old mouth. Lai had gone to the phones to call Johnny, and I…well, I was observing everything.
There was a shattered mug on the ground, and beer was seeping into the cracks in the floor. The bartender wasn't watching the chef. The chef was getting a drink of rum. There were no patrons in here, except for a creepy old man sitting at the bar, in the farthest stool. He was looking around, as well. I stood up, and started to approach the bar, without thinking. Without really knowing what I was doing. Before I knew it, my hand was over the hand of the man. His bald head was wrinkled, like someone had folded his whole head and then unraveled it, placing it back onto his neck.
"Who are you?" My eyes narrowed, free of my own will, and I drew my hand away. The man's aura had gone cold.
"Who are you?"
"Yeah, just who are you?" Lavi's hammer was large, just barely pushing through to the other floor of the eatery we were at. "Huh, Akuma?"
Akuma? It all happened quickly. The skin fell to the floor, bullets showered the room, and a level one akuma was there waiting for us.
And I didn't finish my meal.