"T-this seemed like a good idea when we first thought of it... Now I'm n-not so sure..."
"It'll be FINE, bro! Just make sure you don't slip up!"
"...You'll be the one that slips up first."
"No I won't! Watch me!"
Solid steel doors opened with a loud creak to welcome two unusually hair-colored boys standing in front.
Both had tried to hide away what they could that would reveal them as demons to humans hours prior: constructing a human form -"Let's use the younger human form! I've heard it's almost demonic!" Will recalled his brother's words-; "humanizing" ears, teeth, and eyes; banishing their cherished hats to the Mindscape; learning to walk with childish human limbs; breathing...
Repeatedly, Will questioned this whole purpose of living with mortals, only to have the answer:
"Because it'll be FUN!"
Granted, it WAS fun to actually be "mortal" without using a vessel or puppet like a normal possession, but the elder twin wanted a more definite goal than just entertainment. Bill merely waved off his brother's concerns.
Will and Bill both wore blue and yellow sweaters with a worried and bright eye on them, respectively; they wore black gloves, dress shoes and shorts that went down to their knees. Bill had bandages and scrapes on his shins, whereas Will's were unnaturally clean for a human child that have survived on seemingly nothing and traveled from many miles away.
Residents inside the grey stone fortress peeked their heads out at the strangers as the two stepped forward. It was rather late in the day, so everyone was usually at home or running about playing games- to which Will thought was trivial, but his brother was surely interested.
Quiet whispers and silent thoughts arose from the small crowd that managed to the front steel gates, questioning, wondering about the newcomers... Will could feel every little emotion, and while the frightened auras he relished, he didn't dare react to them for fear of the consequences. He kept his mouth shut and told his brother to do the same.
A man dressed in suspicious priest-esque robes came up to them and asked to hear the boys' names.
"W-William Rephic, sir. Elder brother of Bill Rephic." Said boy took a small bow out of "courtesy," even though he acknowledged the action would be unnecessary if the other knew the demon's identity.
"The name's Bill Rephic! The better twin!" The boy dressed in yellow didn't bother with respect, even though he well knew to do so. Even this early on in human civilization, humans still had religions, silly beliefs and myths that they used to explain the unexplainable; that made humans very entertaining to Bill.
It was rather curious either way, so this little "field day" also doubled as a research trip for the twins- all the more reason to question everyone and everything.
"So what're you supposed to do? Preach to us about some higher being or something?"
The robed man huffed in annoyance, clearly miffed at Bill's attitude. He muttered something under his breath, but it didn't reach deaf ears- the twins quietly laughed, whispering something about cursing in church clothes- and shuffled in embarrassment. He pulled out a peculiar black box that the twins couldn't identify and called for someone before walking away at a faster-than-brisk pace.
Residents who happened to see the spectacle began tossing wild rumors that the boys with strangely-colored hair were beings unbound to humanity; little did they realize how true they were.
«~~~»
Bill and Will were eventually led off to what seemed to be an authority's decent-sized cabin by an elderly woman that stepped a bit heavy on her right leg- Bill snickered at the thought that maybe she didn't know how to walk either before Will informed that she may have had an injury prior.
The woman had them seated at a wooden, well-polished desk, and told the boys to behave with a whistling croak before leaving. Bill grinned at that too; Will told him that he was going to do the talking- to which the latter shut himself up with a toothy grin.
A rather large man sat across from the desk, dressed neatly in a black suit -to which Bill was certainly interested in- and laced his fingers together before speaking.
"So your names are Bill and Will Rephic, correct?"
"Y-yes sir. We are also twins, with me being the eldest."
"...Alright, then. How old are you both?"
The twins immediately went and looked at each other as if the other had an answer. Bill had made a gesture that signaled he would reply. They both knew saying how old they actually WERE was very dangerous, especially if this town was built around superstition, so Will wasn't too confident in letting his brother answer.
"How old does it look like we are?"
The man was taken aback by the response, but quickly returned to his default expression.
"It looks like you both are about 12 years old."
Bill quickly lit up at the assumption- at least they have an accurate human age with their appearance now! Reaching into his pants pocket, he exclaimed,
"Ding-ding-ding! You got it right! For a prize, you get-"
Will elbowed his sibling and glared. No screaming heads, the older boy mouthed.
"...Ehh, I mean... I don't have a prize for you, sorry! But good job on getting it right!" Bill sweats, flicking his eyes between his brother and the suited man nervously.
Will breathed a momentary sigh of relief at the close miss. He sent another glare Bill's way, to which the other stared down at his shoes.
"Do you have any family? Housing experience?"
Both of the twins looked at each other again before they decided it was Will's turn to reply.
"W-we had family, but they all died a few months ago in a fire. We were wandering around since, sir."
The man gave a deep frown, and Will hoped that it was out of sympathy and not suspicion. He stood up, went over to the boys sitting across the desk and set his hands on their shoulders.
Bill assumed it was a gesture of comfort and tried to act the part. "I-it's fine, sir! We knew lots of things before they died, so it's all good!"
"...Yes, but you should still stay here to recover. We house children until the age of 16, and then they decide if they want to search for a new home- or they could stay here."
Will realized the reason why he and his brother were brought to this house were because they were going to integrate into this human neighborhood. He looked at his brother, who was dangerously close to grinning, literally, from ear-to-ear. The boy in question softened his face to a more normal smile when he saw his brother get twitchy.
The man didn't notice.
"Y-yeah, okay. We'll stay here for a while," Will accepted the offer.
The man lifted his hands from their shoulders and stood up straighter and led them out of the house to their future residence.
"I'm sure you'll have a good time here, boys."
