Hey guys, does anyone read it at all? :3
Not that I'm going to stop, but it feels a little lonely to have no feedback at all. Makes me think the story isn't good enough to be shown to others. It that true?
What can I improve?
This is no filler, but there is a lot of confusing things going on. PLease don be bothered by this, everything will be explained later on. :3
When Sieghart entered the apartment I was still on the couch, staring out of the window. I heard them talking about Uriel for a moment, then both came in and Uriel sat down on the couch before he even noticed i was lying there.
He squeaked in surprise. "I'm sorry!"
I sighed and sat up, pulling him into my arms. Had I ever hugged a kid? I really got attached to him, even though we were not related at all. He wrapped his arms around me and giggled.
"Roo, you're cold like an ice-cube."
Only then I noticed that I was freezing. I wondered what was up with that but I didn't give it much thought. Uriel freed himself and dragged the blanket over my shoulders.
"Heh, Now you just need a crown and a pretty dress."
I shook my head and looked away. "I'm no princess."
He looked disappointed, maybe even shocked when I looked back at him. He was about to cry, I just knew it. That hadn't been my intention, but what had I expected? The boy was only ten!
Sighing and not to ruin his little imaginary world an further, I told him what Lime had told me. It was the first step to get my life back to where it was.
"I'm a prince."
His smile came back after a few. "Even better, then you can do guy stuff with me! I knew something was strange... because you had fun playing with water guns! All the girls in school just run away and scream!"
Being compared to schoolgirls was a scary thought. But he was right, girls tended to be scared of water and guns as well. Except the girls in the chase. They stopped being scared after I had pointed my eyeteeth at them countless times. Maybe that was good. In a way.
"Girls tend to do that..." I muttered.
"Roo? Can you show me how to use guns?"
I laughed and ruffled his hair. "When you're older, Uriel."
"But I want to protect you!"
That was ridiculous. A ten year old human boy trying to protect a more than twice as old demon. Thankfully Sieghart interrupted our conversation and I didn't have to answer the boy. I was pretty sure he would mention it again soon, though.
"Hey Roo, if you're not coming home, at least call. I was about to call the police."
I frowned at him. "You're... worried about me?"
He rolled his eyes. "Everyone's worrying about you."
"Why?"
He whacked the back of my head. "Because you're a wreck, kid."
They had noticed. Of course they had...
"After Ley told me what happened at the club I thought someone had kidnapped you."
"I know how to defend myself.."
He scoffed and told Uriel to go into the kitchen. When he was gone Sieghart grabbed the collar of my shirt and pulled me closer to him.
"Listen, Kid. I was awake the whole night until Lime called and told me you were with him. I may be immortal but i am just as pissed when I'm sleep deprived as I was back then."
Great. That was just great. "Sorry. " I tried to apologize.
"I'll get you a cell-phone." He declared.
"I don't need one..."
He pulled me even closer, our faces were just a hair apart and he looked awfully angry. "I'll get you one anyway. And remember you got work at six."
I shoved him away. "He was acting like a parent. What was that about anyway? Why was everyone so worried about me? Back then they barely cared. When I got injured Elesis sometimes popped in my room to make sure I'd be useful again soon, but it never got any deeper than that.
He let go after I glared at him for a good minute, then he smiled and ruffled my hair. "If you break the news to Arme you two might get on good terms again, by the way."
"News?"
"The magic thing."
"But it was just an idea, I'm not even sure if it's true." Talking to Arme again? That was a scary thought.
"Tell him that. You know Arme always like to do research."
"Fine." I gave up. As long as I didn't have to speak to him in person.
Sieghart handed me his cell phone after typing in a number. It was amazing how many numbers he could remember.
It ran twice, then I heard Arme's voice. "What's up, gramps?"
Wasn't that how Elesis had always called him?
"It's me... Rufus."
"Rufus you fucking bastard, what are you planning?!"
"Listen!" I yelled. I felt more confident, knowing he couldn't see my trembling hands. It was impossible to punch people through a cell phone. Right?
"I figured out why magic doesn't work!"
Silence on the other end. I thought he had ended the call, but then he cleared his throat. "You of all people? You can't even set a bush on fire."
"Actually I can. But that's not the point. Our bodies forgot how to use magic. We have to learn from scratch."
"Rufus, you can't use magic, why should I believe that?"
I growled in frustration. "I used magic to summon my weapons!"
"So what? Summoning magic is different, go talk to Ley about that."
"Just listen! It's just a theory, but I thought you might want to know!"
He scoffed. "I don't care what your shitty brain comes up with. Leave me alo-"
"I want to be friends with you again!" I yelled at the phone, embarrassed at shouting it that loud. I didn't even know I thought that way.
"Forget it. Traitor."
The call ended. Confused I gave the phone back to Sieghart, not quite sure what to think.
"What happened?"
"He called me a traitor..."
Sieghart laughed. I didn't find that funny at all.
"He'll try anyway. You peaked his curiosity."
True. Arme used to try anything back then, hurting others in the process. But sometimes it brought forth good results. We had pretty powerful potions.
"Heard you want to speak to Elesis..."
Still confused I nodded.
"She won't be happy, I tell you that."
"I would be surprised if she was."
Sieghart laughed. "I'll invite her for dinner tomorrow."
"Tomorrow is Sunday... Lime and I wanted-"
"Then I invite Lime too."
Sighing I nodded and looked over to Lime who was playing with Uriel on his shoulders, pretending to be some kind of monster. Uriel was laughing so much I just couldn't stop looking at them. Would I have done that with my kid? Playing with him, teaching him things... how would it have been like? How would it have felt?
"Rufus?" Sieghart snapped his fingers in front of my face. "You're spacing out again."
"Sorry... they just look so happy."
"Just like you when you played with the kids." He told me. "Listen kid, Nothing will change if you drown in self-pity. I know you're having a lot of issues right now, and I can't even begin to understand how you feel but we'll help you if you ask for help."
Asking for help, me of all people. I scoffed, but he grabbed my collar again and glared at me. "I don't even want to know how gay this sounds, but we need you, Rufus."
"For what?" He was starting to creep me out.
"If you leave again everything will repeat."
"And how do you know that?"
"Call it a hunch. But I know it."
I sighed. "I wasn't really planning on leaving... it's just.."
"Lime told me." Sieghart growled.
Was anything still considered private here? No matter what I did, everyone knew about it. It was getting on my nerves. I really needed my own place. Soon.
"I have to work soon." I muttered and freed myself out of his grip. I wasn't looking forward, having to dress like that again.
Sieghart held up a plastic bag. "Jin went out earlier. She thought this would suit you better than that scrap of fabric."
He handed me the bag and I looked through it, finding a dress. I got pale. It definitely covered my back and front, but it was frilly. Black and frilly. I also found a pair of black pants. They didn't look as tight as the one's i was wearing. Was I supposed to wear that together? The bag also contained more heels. Black as well, almost the same Ley had been wearing. Not as high though.
I sighed in defeat. This wasn't happening...
"I hope this is worth the payment..."
"It will be." Sieghart smiled. "Now get dressed, I'll drive you there."
Reluctant i stood and walked into the bedroom to dress. I covered the mirror with my shirt and glared at the clothing for a long time. Finding the underwear in the back had been difficult, everything had the same color. The panties also looked like they would rip any second. Questioning once more why i even did that I put the pants on. They were strange comfortable. I also thought the shirt would be scratchy, but it was warm against my skin and gave me some sense of security. As much as a frilly top could. In the darkness of the club people might not notice the frills.
Taking a deep breath i took the shirt off the mirror, only to put it back there right away. It didn't look as bad as yesterday at least...
"You done?" Sieghart asked, knocking at the door.
"With my nerves..." I hissed when I opened the door again.
"Shoes?"
I had forgotten about them. Fine. I would do it for another night. Because of the payment. I still didn't think I'd get used to it. When I put the shoes on Uriel tugged on my shirt.
"Mama will pick me up soon... I won't be back until next weekend..."
I ruffled his head and smiled. "It's just a few days."
He grinned and nodded, then Lime picked him up and leaned in to kiss me. When he backed away Uriel had grabbed my shirt and pulled me closer.
"You have to kiss longer!" He complained. "If Roo goes to work now the love will go away too soon!"
I had to laugh. This kid had funny ideas. But i liked it. Lime smirked and kissed me again, longer this time. I was wondering why Uriel wasn't like other kids his age. They usually found that disgusting.
"Be careful." Lime whispered when Sieghart started to pace around.
Taking the shoes in my hands i rushed downstairs behind the immortal. The black car was just in front of the building and Sieghart opened the door for me when he hurried over to the other side. Once i was sitting and closed the door I put the shoes on.
"Why are you in such a hurry?"
"I have to pick up Eleazar after this... and when I am late he can have the TV tonight."
Figured it would be something like that. "Do you always bet your TV?"
"He wanted to bet Jin..."
I snickered. Eleazar was at least as sneaky as his father. Getting out of the car was a hassle. I almost fell, then it started to rain. Sieghart was about to get out of the car to help me but thankfully I managed on my own. I wasn't as scared of all this as I had been yesterday. I guess I could get used to this someday. The doors were open already, but I couldn't see Ley or Mario at all. There was someone at the bar, a black haired man with strangely glowing green eyes. The tips of his hair were dyed in a deep orange. He was busy cleaning glasses. Silent and calm music was playing, the sound of the heels echoing from the walls. The stranger looked up and a sinister smile crept up his face. This was freaking me out. He looked like he wanted to kill me. Where was Mario?!
Remembering the key Ley had given me I almost headed for the door she had pointed to the previous day. Then I realized that I had left the key in the other pair of pants. Cursing myself I looked around. Was no one here yet? Turning around I noticed the staff room. That was where everyone must have been. When I opened the door, three woman turned around. They were doing their hair and makeup, smiling when they noticed me.
"Yo!" one of them grinned. She was the one that had cleaned up the shattered glasses.
I just nodded. "Where... is Ley?"
"She'll be late. Mario kind of had an accident." They girls laughed.
What was so funny about an accident? But it couldn't be that bad if they laughed about it. Maybe it was like the Lire thing, although I still couldn't understand how being killed by a dragon was funny.
"The guy at the bar, who is that?" I heard myself asking.
"Oh he's actually a waiter, but he knows how to use the bar so Ley told him he can do that for tonight."
Why hadn't I noticed him yesterday? This guy gave me a really strange feeling. My instinct told me to stay away from him. Technically that happened with every new person, but he was different. It felt like I knew him and that he was someone I couldn't stand at all.
"Does he always stare at people like he wants to kill them?"
The waitress that had smiled at me yesterday frowned. "Not at all! He's really friendly."
I didn't really believe that. Something was up with this person.
"Go over to him, I'm sure he'll be nice to you if you talk to him."
My whole body was against that idea but they were looking at me like they expected me to leave, so I did. Back in the big hall I stared at the bar, my chest feeling tight with fear. I've never really been scared of humans before, what was this all about?
"You must be the new one." He said when I staggered over to him.
My legs were shaking. "Y-Yeah..."
He smiled but it never touched his eyes. His gaze was cold, almost as if freezing my insides. Something about that stare was familiar.
"Nervous huh?"
"A little..." I took the next chair available, sadly it was directly at the bar. My legs would have given out any second and my hands were trembling so badly that I could barely move them.
"You'll be fine. For now." He laughed silently. It sounded sinister, almost evil. He was watching me like a tiger out for prey.
I wanted to get away from him, but my body wouldn't move. Sweat was running down my forehead, and suddenly this big hall seemed too small. Yesterday it had been so full, and I was bothered by the lack of space, but now that I saw how big it actually was, it should have felt better. My chest felt tight, breathing was difficult. Was this about to result in another panic-attack? Just because some weird guy was looking at me like that?
After what felt like eternity Ley entered the club. She didn't look troubled or worried at all. Her presence made me relax a little, but I still felt the stare of the guy at the bar.
"Roo, you're here already." She grinned. "I see you met Alan already."
"Y-yeah..." So that was his name.
"Come, I'll get you ready."
Slowly I stood, feeling dizzy all of sudden. I had to grab the counter as my legs finally gave in. What the hell was wrong with me now? In a matter of seconds i was sitting on the floor, feeling incredibly sick. Maybe I imagined it but i thought I heard Alan laugh.
"Roo!" I heard Ley shout, her shoes clicking on the concrete floor as she ran over to me.
She crouched down in front of me, a cool hand on my chin, with the other she brushed the hair out of my face. "Look at me." She ordered.
I could barely open my eyes. Maybe I was still feeling so weak because I had tried to summon my weapons. That could be the reason.
"I... tried to summon my weapons..." I whispered.
She understood and smiled. "Alright."
Her movements were blurry when she stood. I heard her talking to Alan, but didn't understand. When she crouched down again she had a glass in her hand.
"Here, it's just water."
I felt better after a few minutes, but it still weirded me out. I thought i was feeling alright again, tired yes, but not that weak. Was it the failed try to summon, or the fear of Alan that I didn't understand at all?
Ley took off my shoes and helped me stand, then she half carried, half dragged me over to the staff room. Inside I was placed on the couch, still feeling slightly sick. It got better the more time passed. The waitresses soon left the room and not much later I could hear loud music.
"You really know how to make someone worry..." Ley sighed. "You should go home."
"I'm okay..."
She sighed. "You can't even sit up."
"It'll go away..."
"Fine, fine. If this happens again you will see a doctor, understood?"
I just nodded to have her off my back. My left arm was throbbing for some reason. That was nothing unusual, but the timing was really bad. Hoping it would pass I sat up, the finally dizziness gone.
"'Rio won't be there for a week, so you have to work with Alan."
Great. "What happened to him?"
Ley laughed. "Nothing. He stumbled and sprained his wrist real bad."
I could understand now why the others had found it amusing.
"Alan said you're scared of him?"
He had noticed?! "It just felt like I knew him... I didn't mean to insult him."
She laughed. "Yeah, I had that feeling too when he applied here." Shrugging she sat on a chair. "He has that face that you think you know even though you have never seen it."
That might have been it. Sighing I stood, taking the shoes and put them back on. I felt cold, but the trembling was gone at least.
"What about your face?"
"I don't like makeup..."
She smiled. "Alright. Don't fall."
Nodding I left the room, the pain in my arm bugging me to no end. Phantom pains? Now? That really was the last thing I could use. Sighing I walked over to the bar, watching as the hall slowly filled with various kinds of people. Alan was still staring at me. He had customers, why did he find the time to watch me like an eagle?! The music was blaring and thankfully someone waved me over. I really wasn't used to take orders yet and it was hard to understand the people over all the noise, but I managed to write down their order and headed to the bar.
The pain got worse the closer I got to the bar. I tried to ignore it. It was just imagination! That arm couldn't feel pain! But no matter how hard I tried to ignore it, it got worse.
Alan smirked at me again. "You in pain?"
"No." I lied and handed him the order.
He scoffed as if knowing that I was hiding the truth as he worked through the order. After a few minutes he sat glasses on the tray and when I took it my left arm refused to move. Swallowing down the panic I took it with my right hand and headed over to the table this was for. I was glad that this time it were two women. They didn't seem interested in my presence so i was able to head back to the bar in no time. My arm still wouldn't move though. It was a matter of time until people noticed.
On my way back I saw two familiar faces. Zero and Dio. Relieved I walked over to them. They were eyeing each other like people on their first date.
"Did you chose anything yet?" that phrase was supposed to sound a lot more formal, but I couldn't remember it completely so I improvised.
"Oh Rufus. Didn't think we'd actually get to see you." Dio grinned.
The news spread like wildfire. At least I didn't need to explain anything.
"Tell Rio 'the usual'."
"Mario isn't there."
"Then it's the creepy guy huh? He knows that too."
So Dio found him creepy too. Good.
"What's up with your arm?" Zero asked me with a frown.
Crap. Of course Zero would have noticed. "Nothing..."
"It's not glowing..." Dio now noticed too.
"Something broke... I'll fix it later." I really didn't know what was up with my arm. This had happened before, but only once. And someone else had to fix it. Around here i knew no one who had the ability to do that though. First i wanted to figure out why it stopped working at all. It still hurt though.
I turned back to the bar, Alan still glaring at me. This guy, was he watching me all the time? It felt like he never took his eyes off me once.
"They want 'the usual'." I told Alan and nodded over to the table Zero and Dio were sitting at.
Alan just nodded, this sinister smile still on his face. Was I the only one who saw it?
"Your arm looks kind of limp." He stated as if he found it funny.
I shrugged, trying to look like it wasn't bothering me. I just hoped the night would be over soon.
In the end a lot of people had mentioned my arm and every time I was forcing that smile on my face and told them it was fine, I felt their gazes boring into my skin. Alan seemed to be awfully amused about my situation. At least it made me forget about the hungry gazes of men.
When the club closed Ley glared at me for a long time before she finally allowed me to go home. I decided to walk home barefoot, not caring about the cold pavement. I had my mind set on other things anyway. My arm still refused to work and hurt like hell.
Sieghart opened the door before I had any time to get close to it. Seemed like he had been waiting for me. "You're more trouble than 'Zar..." he muttered when I entered.
What had I done now? Confused i put the shoes to the others in the shelf and stared at Sieghart.
"Ley called."
Great. Sighing deeply I leaned against the wall, feeling like a scolded kid. I hadn't done anything wrong!
"Your arm." He said, sounded like he was expecting me to show it to him.
"You don't know how it works."
"That doesn't mean i can't try."
I glared at him. "I fix it myself, it's not the first time!" Growling in annoyance I stormed upstairs and sat on my bed. Sieghart followed me of course, he leaned at the doorframe, staring at me.
"Do you need tools or something?"
"Depends..." If i got it to work i still needed someone to look at it. I was pretty sure humans had no idea how it worked though. I didn't really know it myself.
Standing again I walked in circles, trying to think of something, which wasn't easy with the immortal staring at me like a begging puppy.
"If you need help, I'll be downstairs."
Good. Nodding I waited until he was out of sight, then sat on my bed again. I was too tired to think clearly. I would have time to think about that tomorrow too. Sighing deeply I lied down, not caring about the lights or that I was still dressed. I wanted rest, dream about being normal, myself. The throbbing pain disappeared after a while and I drifted into sleep filled with nightmares.
I woke with a scream. Sitting in the bed I looked around. The lights were out, everything dark. My heart was racing and it was hard to breathe. Once I realized that this wasn't some dirty ground in the middle of a battle field I slowly calmed down. Light turned on in the corridor and someone knocked at the door.
"Rufus, you okay?" I heard Jin ask
I wasn't. Nightmares were nothing new, especially not right now, but nightmares of Berkas were something quite rare by now. I blamed the arm. It seemed to work again now though.
"Y-yeah." My voice was hoarse.
The door slowly opened, the bright light flooding the room almost blinding me. I quickly covered my eyes.
"You screamed..."
"Just a stupid nightmare." I lied down again, pulling the blanket over my head.
"Good night." I heard Jin say before she silently closed the door.
My heart was still hammering against my chest. Why wasn't the fear going away? Darkness had never scared me before. Why was it now? And what was this nightmare even about?
Growling i turned on the lamp on the nightstand, the soft light calming me down. I wished Lime had been there... he would have hugged me. But now I was lying there alone, cold and hugging a freaking pillow. Would this ever stop?