The Flame of Burning Recognition - Chapter 2
A light fog clouded the hidden exorcist's vision, as if the blinding darkness of night wasn't daunting enough. It would've been a difficult task to accomplish with the black sheet of darkness hovering around if the exorcist wasn't so well-prepared. Two cat-like yellow orbs glimmered, piercing both the fog and the darkness. The streetlight stationed right beside the alley the exorcist- Mia Pyon- was hiding in would flicker on and off, and she vaguely wondered why no one had bothered changing it. There were no stars out tonight, which only added to the sense of something forthcoming.
Mia stood at full attention, her hearing senses honed due to her Cat-Sith demon heritage. It wasn't something she was proud of, but she had to admit that it aided her in her endeavors as an upper first-class exorcist. The plan was perfect; she was able to map out the whole area and when exactly the demon she was hunting would pop out. Indiscernible to the dim-witted exorcists forced upon her in her squadron, Mia had been able to pinpoint a pattern in the gargoyle's hunting sprees. The trap was set, and the three exorcists in her team were placed strategically to her advantage. Any moment now the demon would make it's way across that path, oblivious to the ambush that awaited.
A shape adorned with wings materialized a few meters down the deserted street. Instinctively, Mia's fingers reached up to the gadget in her ear that allowed her to communicate with the other exorcists. She flicked the connection on and stared straight ahead at the creature that approached agonizingly slow. The creature suddenly ceased movement and lifted its head to scent out its next meal.
"Alright, prepare to make your move on my order," the tactician paused as one of her feline ears twitched, sensitive to a noise coming from the other side of the street opposite to the gargoyle. With a sinking feeling she realized that somebody was moving towards the demon, strolling rather leisurely. The demon didn't seem to notice though, as it remained practically frozen in position. A change in plans would have to suffice to accommodate this sudden intrusion.
'This isn't necessarily a bad thing, Mia.' a voice piped up, interrupting Mia's thought process. It was her familiar, Ceilionis Vesuvivus. She had almost forgotten her loyal companion was beside her the whole time. She also wasn't accustomed to the awakening of her demon telepathy abilities, "blessed" upon her because of her half-demon genes. It was a foreign concept to her, and she didn't like the idea of something being able to read her mind, even if it was her familiar.
'How can I use her this stupid woman's presence in my favor, Ceil?' Mia projected mentally back at Ceilionis. The human's figure had come closer, revealing the gender of the newest addition to Mia's problems. If the human got any closer, the gargoyle would smell her scent and...
'Bait'. Ceilionis' lone word echoed through her skull. Of course! There was still hope. The human couldn't see the demon due to her lack of either demon genetics or receiving a spirit wound, so fear wouldn't suddenly drive her away and lead the demon astray. If the woman just caught the attention of the demon, Mia could defeat the distracted gargoyle with ease. It would be a gamble, putting the woman's life in danger, but it was a small price to pay for ultimate victory. This world was but a chessboard, and Mia had decided her move.
Mia tentatively walked out towards the woman, whom she now realized she could smell alcohol coming off in waves from. The other woman stumbled and giggled to herself before noticing Mia's presence. She stuttered a greeting and tripped over her heels. How pathetic. Mia reached her arm out towards the fallen drunkard and...
Sliced her skin with a blade attached to her clothing. With calculated precision and accuracy, Mia made a tiny sliver on the other woman's cheek and backed up into the alleyway, a safe distance for the shit-storm about to come. The woman made faint protests and attempted to stand up, raring for a fight. It might have been because of the severity of her intoxication, but if she wanted a fight that badly, she was about to get one.
The scent of human blood wafted into the gargoyle's nostrils and filled the demon's mind with one thought: kill. All other senses faded out as its eyes turned into tiny murderous slits and went insane. Screeching, the gargoyle spread its wings and took flight, soaring rapidly towards the disgruntled woman.
"Mia, what's going on over there?!" a static voice came from the chip in Mia's ear. Ignoring its heeds, Mia turned to Ceilionis. A scream came from the woman as the gargoyle tackled its prey. The woman lashed out in an attempt to defend herself against the invisible foe. With the gargoyle's heightened demon senses thrown out the window with the rattled murderous thoughts, it was time for Mia to make her move.
"Ceil, it's become an easy target. No damage will befall you if you attack now." she said, closing her eyes and turning her back to the gargled squeals.
Ceilionis nodded and leaped into the fray, taking down the gargoyle swiftly and engulfing it in flames. At this point, the other exorcists had shifted out of their positioning and made their way to Mia, rage eating at their faces.
"What do you think you're doing?" the lower-class exorcists exclaimed, quickly turning to the motionless woman on the ground.
"She's breathing but unconscious. It's nothing to worry about. A small sacrifice to be made for the benefit of the majority." Mia responded, allowing cool apathy to seep in her voice.
The doctor exorcist amongst the group began to dress and treat the woman's wounds. One of the other exorcists was beginning to rant when Mia turned to face him and stared him down. Her glare was enough to silence him along with the rest of the group as they made their way back to the Vatican headquarters to report back.
"Another failed trial, Arthur?" the scantily clad female jeered, strutting towards the Paladin. He was standing outside the court doors, and the defendant Vladislav Vikenti stood not too far from him with a triumphant smirk on his face.
Arthur chuckled and shook his head with dismay. "I'm sure it's obvious how it turned out. On to more pressing matters, you managed to destroy the demon on your mission, correct?"
"Did you expect any less of me, Mr. Angel?" she responded with pride, reminiscent on the friendly rivalry they shared that made them friends in the first place. The blonde Paladin, a close friend of hers for quite some time now, smirked at her confidence.
"How do you defeat such creatures so skillfully? Gargoyles have such heightened senses, so it's hard to catch them off-guard. Oh wait, of course you can defeat them with ease. You're in leaguewith them!"
Mia's demon heritage was a touchy subject to her. A hiss came from her mouth as she grit her teeth, "Arthur, you know as well as I do that I've proven my worth to this cause. It's the least I can do to redeem myself of this demon inheritance cursed upon me."
"Yes, so you became an exorcist," Arthur paused for effect thoughtfully, "Nice cover, no one would be able to guess."
"Just like no one would be able to guess the story behind the name 'baldy'." Mia shot back, a grin forming on her lips. Arthur cocked one of his eyebrows and smiled mirthlessly.
The tension between the two lifted with an exchange of hearty laughter, that began with Mia and was contagious enough to spread to the other as they recalled that particular incident. Arthur parted, saying something about retiring to his room. It was no surprise, since his tiring efforts of convicting Vladislav Vikenti of being a full demon and destroying a couple of branches of True Cross proved difficult to back up with evidence. It was hard to gather evidence when most of the evidence was killed. Any body that survived the branch's attack was in fact saved by the mysterious Russian exorcist. Mia's gaze followed the Paladin's back until he disappeared from sight. She held a lot of respect for the man for remaining so adamant in face of such odds.
"Well I'll be damned. I didn't know the Paladin actually had a friend."
Mia glared at the owner of the voice. It was none other than the Russian exorcist himself, Vladislav Vikenti.
"Do not speak to me, I'm busy" was all she said. She was about to follow Arthur's example and take her leave when Vladislav grabbed her arm. With a brute show of strength, Vladislav pulled Mia back towards him. Mia cussed as she lost her balance and fell against him. Vladislav took off his long black exorcist coat and carefully placed it around Mia, who for some inexplicable reason complied. It was a little chilly in the Vatican after all, although it might have been due to her choice of clothes, or lack thereof, as well.
Vladislav leaned towards her ear and whispered lowly, "Leave some things to the imagination, Pupsik."
With a wave of his hand, the flirtatious playboy Vladislav exited the room, leaving behind a fuming Mia.
"What the hell!" Mia called after him, falling upon deaf ears.
Mia's room door slammed shut as she kicked off her shoes and pounced on her bed, burrowing her face into her pillow. Whether it was out of shame and embarrassment or deprivation of sleep, Mia wasn't sure.
She never really had considered why she chose to wear revealing clothes. Now that she reflected back upon it, she only started wearing such articles of clothing when she met the most beautiful exorcist, Shura Kirigakure, who wore such things. However, unlike Mia, she possessed a tanned and curvy body and was admittedly a sexy woman. Mia has a pale, rectangle-shaped body with not much waist definition and little meat on her.
It chilled Mia to the bone to think that people respected somebody like the irresponsible Shura, probably for her lack of suitable clothing. Nobody ever respected Mia like that despite the brilliant tactics she came up with. All Shura seemed to do was get drunk and give orders that weren't always the wisest. Mia's tactic skills rivaled even that of Mephisto's, from what she knew of, and yet no one paid her heed. Fear replaced any form of respect anyone could have for Mia and she just couldn't handle it any more. She tried to wear clothes like Shura's, but to no avail. When would she receive the recognition she justly deserved?
Mia curled herself in Vladislav's jacket and shut her eyes. She subconsciously swore to herself that she would never take it off.
Ever.
A/N: Amg, it's done
A short chapter to quench your guys' thirst for the Flames-Within! This is written in Mia Pyon's point of view!
It's short because it was only meant to establish Mia's cold-hearted personality and her reason for working with Renata and Lamia. Of course, they haven't been introduced to her yet, so it's leading up to there.
Mia and Vlad are so cute amg 33 ;u;
The next chapter will be Rocket's, following Arthur's leave from this chapter. He steps into his room to find... An angel!
A few important notes:
The story of "Baldy" - Head-canon time! The reason why Shura calls him baldy is because once, during a sequence of fights, he needed to rely on the sword's power so much that he used up all of his hair. It would add to the comedy of this if Mia was also there to witness this, and thus shares a little joke with Shura about "baldy". . /tumblr_mcls5qWOuC1qhameso1_
"Nice cover, no one would be able to guess" - The pure irony of this statement is why it's here in the notes section. This is basically what Renata does. She pretends to try becoming an exorcist so no one would be able to guess her demonic intentions. I just thought it'd be fun to share that.
"Pupsik" - An endearment used in Russia. It's equivalent to calling somebody "baby" in a flirty manner.
"Ceil" - A nickname Mia has for her familiar Ceilionis Vesuvivus. More info on her familiar: [link]
The constant mention of Mia's outfit - In case you don't know, Mia dresses quite... I'm not afraid to say it, "slutty". However, this is the only chapter Mia will be seen wearing these clothes, since she'll be wearing Vlad's jacket from here on out
The comparison to Mephisto - Mia only knows of Mephisto's tactful insight, so when she compares her abilities to Mephisto, it is of only that sense. In almost any other area, Mephisto could beat her easily. As mentioned in her bio, she's not a fighter. Also, Mephisto hasn't shown the full extent of ANY of his powers yet, including his tactics. Mia compares herself to Mephisto from what she knows, not what is actually true. Besides, she prides herself on her tactics. Of course she'll say she's better than someone renown for their tactics, since she takes pride in herself. This is told from Mia's point of view, even though it's third-person. Any statements made here are from what she knows, hence adding dramatic irony. The audience knows more about Mephisto, thus any one can say that Mia probably is not as strong as she says she is in tactics.
Arthur and Mia - Heavily implied in both the text above and in Mia's bio, Arthur and Mia are close friends. I'm pretty sure Mia and Arthur are similar in age (Mia is 27), so they were probably both attending cram school at the same time.
In school they constantly competed against each other to see who was the best (two people who pride themselves on their work? It's to be expected). By the time they graduated school, they had an even score. This made them start to recognize and eventually mutually respect each other (despite both of their very unlikable personalities). Basically, they've been friends for many years, and that's why they're so close to each other. While they still have some good ol' friendly rivalry, they still respect the work the other has done. After being friends for a few years, it's only natural for the two to be close without trying to kill each other or anything. Hopefully this clears any confusion as to why Arthur would compliment somebody other than himself. His respect for Mia was earnedthrough years of antecedent friendship not shown here. I would've done a flashblack, but there was no instance that made sense in the story to add it.
Any other questions asked will be added to the notes section, so ask away!
Critique requested! Please help my English make sense rofl