The four of them settled into a relatively normal system. Roxy, as she always had, would make meals and Jane would stay on servaliance for new opportunities for trade or a demon nest to deal with - although none popped up. Jake kept an eye on the parameter and took care of the fencing, leaving Dirk to care for Lil Seb - who had taken a liking to just about everyone except for Jake. They were satisfied and it was quiet for about a week. That's until Jane came into the main hall with a particular case one day.
"I think I found something," she explained, "It may be demons, but... They're acting awfully strange if it is."
"By strange you mean..." Jake prompted, leaning over her to see the map better.
"Weird bright lights, mostly," Jane answered, "But a few people have even been said to have felt a divine presence if they went within a certain radius of the area."
"That is fairly abnormal," Jake scratched his head with his pistol, "Let's go check it out!"
"Not bringing anything to trade this time?" Jane clarified.
"No, I don't think so," Jake replied, "Whatever this thing is, it's chosen the wrong place to set up camp."
"Only good demon is a dead one, after all," Jane agreed, pulling Roxy along to get their respective weapons.
"She's clearly open minded," Dirk grumbled.
"What are you going to cry?" Jake smirked.
"You wish," Dirk scoffed.
"Do I ever," Jake chuckled, walking off to grab a few things, "Go get ready. We'll be leaving soon."
Once they all were set, the four of them, followed by Lil Seb - who stood loyally by Jane's side - were on their way, trekking the path to where Janey had pointed out on the map. Their trails ended at a small barn and everyone felt the sudden change of atmosphere upon arriving at it.
"We shouldn't go in," Dirk paused, sending glares at the barn.
"I'm in full agreement here," Roxy piped up, even going as far as taking a step back.
"Oh, what are you scared?" Jake demanded, "We don't have time for this. Come on."
"No," Dirk refused.
"Well if you two are going to be pansies about this, you can stay out here," Jane added. Roxy and Dirk exchanged a glance.
"Absolutely not," Roxy shook her head, "You're not going in without us."
"Then let's," Jake stated, leaving them all to follow him. Jane was eagerly running after him, but Roxy and Dirk were not so quick to follow. He quietly pushed open the large door, peering inside. Against the opposite wall, crouched down and pulsing light was a figure. Inching slowly inside, Jake raised his gun, pointing it at them.
"Please," they whispered, turning slightly to look at him, "Don't hurt me." Jake froze, staring at the face. It was the face of a little girl, perhaps six or seven. Tears were resting on her face and she sniffled.
"Who are you?" Jake demanded, regaining his composure as best as he could.
"M-my name's Aradia," she explained, quietly, "Please... I'm already hurt. Don't kill me."
"What happened to you?" Jane wondered, taking another step forward. She moved the light and they realised that it wasn't just a light at all, but bright white appendages they could only assume were wings, however large gaping holes existed within them and she was wincing as they moved.
"Oh my god, you poor thing," Jane crawled right up to her.
"Jane!" Dirk hissed, making to stop her, but Jake put an arm in his way.
"We need to kill it," Dirk stated, holding his sword at the ready and glaring as Jane pulled Aradia into her lap, comforting her.
"She's a seven year old child, Dirk," Jake returned, sharply, "And injured. Put your sword away before you scare her."
"It's dangerous and not human," Dirk returned.
"So are you," Jake spat, making Dirk's glare turn to him, but he went ignored.
"What are we supposed to do with her?" Roxy inquired, reserved.
"We're going to take her back," Jake explained.
"Are you fucking mad?" Dirk snapped, "She's a fucking beacon. Every single living thing or otherwise from here to Texas is going to see her and come running and you want to take her home?"
"That's exactly what I want to do," Jake growled, shooting Dirk a hard glare, "And since you're so obviously against her, I suppose I'll carry her on the way." Jake tossed his guns to Dirk, who just barely caught them, and walked over to Jane, kneeling down to be at eye level with the little girl.
"Hey there, Aradia," he smiled, kindly, "My name is Jake. That over there is Dirk and Roxy. You probably already met Jane. We're going to help you, but you have to come with us, okay?"
"To where?" Aradia wondered, sheepishly.
"Home," Jake answered, "We've got the greatest dog ever. Trust me you're going to love it. Oi! Seb! Comere boy!" Lil Seb ran between Dirk and Roxy, jumping onto Jake and growling, "Oh, come on! I'm trying to impress the ladies! Do you mind?"
"What a loser," Roxy chuckled.
He's gonna get us all killed," Dirk grumbled, clicking on the safety and tucking the guns away.
"He's got a big heart, really," Roxy shook her head.
"That's not just any old creature, Roxy," Dirk turned to her, "If anyone found out were harbouring an angel..."
"I broke off from them a long time ago, Dirk," Roxy sighed, "I think it's about time you realise your loyalties and stick with them. If you run with us, you're going to be doing quite a lot of things otherwise considered wrong. Do you have any idea how many have threatened to expose me? How many I had to kill? This isn't some game. We're at war here."
"I'm bound by contract," Dirk replied, "I don't have a choice."
"I can tell you now the punishment for breaking contract and the punishment for harbouring an angel are very different," Roxy replied, "If you choose to stay, I hope you plan to stay because they surely won't take you back." Jake waltzed over, carrying Aradia on his back and blowing hair out of his face. Jane was giving him a fond look and Lil Seb barked at his heel.
"Are we all done complaining over here?" Jake raised an eyebrow, "Because the rest of us would like to go home."
Jake smiled at Jane and Aradia one last time before exiting the room, closing the door with a soft click. Not a second passed before Dirk had him pinned against it, glaring daggers through his glasses.
"Jane's not safe in there by herself," Dirk stated, "Just let me kill it, already. Save us all a load of trouble."
"You are really wound up about this whole ordeal, Dirk," Jake said, pulling him a little closer and leaning up to whisper in his ear, "She'll be fine. Focus on something else for tonight."
"I can't. Your stupid contract is causing all these problems. Don't complain," Dirk grunted.
"Come on, Dirk..." Jake tried again, "I'll distract you from all these problems of yours."
"You can't stop me from going in there and-" Dirk began.
"For Pete's sake," Jake rolled his eyes, "Sleep with me."
"What?" Dirk blinked, "Seriously?"
"And the girls say I'm the dense one," Jake chuckled, "Yes. Come on. Leave them be."
"No," Dirk shook his head, releasing Jake and stepping back, turning away.
"No?" Jake frowned, confused, "You've got to be kidding. I can turn the corner without you trying to jump me and suddenly you're saying no?"
"I can't," Dirk hissed, "Go to bed."
"But-"
"Now."
Jake huffed, but walked off, passing Roxy on his way and asking her to keep Dirk from killing anyone tonight. She smiled and agreed, wishing him a good night.
"Aren't you supposed to be jumping in there, swords blazing?" Roxy walked over to where Dirk sat on the ground, leaning against the wall. He looked up and his eyes were clouded over.
"Go away," he commanded, turning back to the floor.
"Just because that works on our fearless leader, it doesn't mean it will work on me as well," Roxy chuckled, sitting beside him, "Your eyes are cloudy, Dirk. Something you'd like to share?"
"I just have a question," he replied.
"Shoot," Roxy acknowledged.
"When you... Left," Dirk turned to her, "What exactly was it like?"
"Well," Roxy rested her head against he wall, closing her eyes to retrieve the memory, "I remember my sister wasn't to happy. She tried to do a lot worse than kill me, let's say. And then I had a few aquaintances that were more than happy to turn in a traitor. I had one human friend before Jake and Jane. His name was Jasper. Stupidly, I thought I could leave all that life behind and just be a normal human girl. It didn't go over so well. He was the same age as that girl in there. They turned him into a cat, which I was pretty pissed about, but at least he wasn't dead... And then a couple of schoolboys took him and drowned him."
"Oh."
"Yeah. Oh," Roxy reopened her eyes, shrugging, "I think part of me loved him like a big sister or a mother, but... I just never really understood quite completely until I lost him. After that, I spent a lot of time hunting down any demon that I could blame. It was in one of these hunts I joined Jake. Saved his life, actually. We banned together and him and Janey have helped me become more human. It's not a picnic, I'll tell you that, but it's surely worth it."
"Why's that?" Dirk inquired.
"Being a demon," Roxy replied, "We miss out on a lot of things, Dirk. Pain and misery and solitude are all nessessary, but... I think so is love and joy and peace."
"Those are just small blips on a much larger scale," Dirk stated, "Little lies to help the lesser get through the day."
"Or you could look at it the other way around," Roxy said, "But either way, you are missing out on a great deal."
"So if I abandon my kind, like you did," Dirk concluded, "I'm going to have everyone turn on me for... What? The sake of a lie like you live?"
"What do you mean?"
"They don't know about you, Roxy," Dirk stated, "They don't know what you are."
"What's it matter what I was?" Roxy questioned, "I consider myself as much a human now as any single one has the claim to be."
"But your not," Dirk argued, "You're a demon."
"No, Dirk. You're a demon," Roxy stood, brushing off her legs and giving him one last look, "It's not about what you were created as - What matters is what you are inside." With that, she turned and left, leaving him to his thoughts.