Chapter 33 – Methods.

"You're lost." Velvet accused flatly.

"For the last time," Leo growled back, "I am not lost!" He glared at the woman before turning his gaze back onto the featureless, ever-expansive interior walls of the Faldies Ruins. "I swear," He grumbled lowly, "you people have no faith."

Magilou groaned. "Please. It's not like we're believing in an Empyrean or anything." She waved her arms around in frustration. "Navigation isn't something that should need 'faith' for crying out loud!"

Eleanor glanced around in irritation. "I swear we've been here before. This floor plan looks extremely familiar."

Leo retorted irritably, "Everything looks extremely familiar in these blasted ruins, Eleanor." He flipped the map of the area they had stolen from an exorcist around in his hands, squinting at the complicated diagram. "...I'm absolutely, positively sure that we're headed in the right direction!"

He didn't sound nearly as confident as his words.

Eizen massaged his eyebrows. "Then why have you flipped that map around a total of 7 times in the past minute?"

Leo glared at the reaper. "Sometimes perspective is a very valuable thing to have. You should try it sometimes." He shot back.

Laphicet cocked his head in worry. "...But... What different perspectives can there be in a two-dimensional map?"

Rokurou shrugged helplessly. "Best to not question it."

Leo glared at the lot of them as he trotted heatedly forward. "All of you, come on!" He pounded his chest. "Trust me! I know what I'm doing!"

SMACK.

Leo moaned as he readjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose, having ran smack into the wall of a dead end. He pushed his body off the stones with a groan.

Velvet facepalmed. "Faith, huh?"

Eleanor exhaled harshly in frustration. "Again?!" She groaned, glaring at the end of the corridor they had been following. "This makes 4 dead ends in 1 hour, Leo. You're lost." She accused.

"Agh! We'll be here forever!" Magilou slumped forward dejectedly. "Alas, the Calamity and friends have been bested in a way most foul and dastardly! Long live the glorious reign of the Abbey!"

Leo shook his head clean of stars and threw a disdainful look at the mutinous group before returning back to the map with a fervor. "No... now this dead end here confirms my suspicions!" He adjusted his glasses. "Ahah! The therion cage is this way for sure!" He cried.

Velvet's anger was palatable. "You've said that 4 times now! One for each damn dead end!" She roared. "Give me that map!" She swiped for the paper in Leo's hands.

The man held it deftly out of her reach. "Come on, Velvet! I know for sure where we should be going now!"

"Bullshit! I'm done with you wasting my time. Give it!" The therion's ire was terrifying to behold as she advanced alarmingly quickly towards the man.

Leo wasn't cowed in the least. "Never!" He declared, trotting away briskly, the map held high as if it were a flag of honor.

"Leo!" Velvet growled as she stormed after the man.

The rest of the group let out a collective sigh and followed after the two bickering group members.

"You know," Eizen commented in exasperation, "when I told him to steer his own ship, I wasn't aware that he would be this bad at navigation."

"Well, he's determined, I'll give him that much." Rokurou rubbed the back of his head as he watched Velvet begrudgingly give Leo one more chance with the map. He glanced at Laphicet. "You sure you can't help us find our way to the earthpulse point, kid?"

Laphicet shook his head sadly. "Yeah..." He held a fist up to his chest and admitted, "My senses can only tell where the actual point is, which is somewhere deeper in the ruins. But I can't tell you how to get there, since the route isn't a straight line."

Eleanor put a gloved hand on her temple. "That is most unfortunate. Honestly, there is a reason I always made sure to leave the navigation to Bienfu instead of Leo when we were patrolling for the Abbey."

Bienfu popped out in a flash of green. "And for good reason..." He agreed dejectedly, floating alongside the group. "I never thought any being, human, malak, or even daemon could be so bad at navigation."

Magilou laughed. "You let Bienfu do the navigating? That malak can barely find his own feet in the morning!"

Eleanor's face grew red. "We-well," she looked down to the side in embarrassment, fiddling with her fingers, "I admit I'm not the best at navigation either... When it comes to deciphering maps, it all just looks foreign to me, regardless of how familiar I am with the area."

Eizen shook his head. "I suppose you can't be worse than Leo."

Rather fittingly, just then a shout of anger rang out throughout the hallways as Leo ran into his fifth dead end in a row.

"Alright, that's it!" Velvet roared. "You give me that damn map right now before I eat you!" She demanded as she advanced intimidatingly towards the cornered man.

Leo glanced around the dead end incoherently, sputtering feebly in response, "B-but I could've sworn that...!" He flipped the map over again. A look of utter enlightenment dawned upon his face. "Oh... I get it now!" He pointed forward. "The therion cage is that way! For sure!"

"Oh no you don't. Not again!" Velvet growled, before promptly pouncing on the man.

"GAH! VELVET!"

The man wrestled for the map futilely. "I SWEAR I HAVE IT THIS TIME! PLEASE!"

Magilou chortled. "Oh my. It would seem that the Calamity is just as merciless as she is rumored to be."

Eleanor massaged her temples. "I'm afraid I agree with her methods at the moment. I'm extraordinarily tired of going in circles..."

Bienfu muttered sourly, "You all should've given the map to me, instead."

Laphicet just let out a small sigh.

Somehow, Leo managed to wriggle his way out of Velvet's grip. "I've got it, I've got it, alright?!" He cried, huffing and puffing. "Trust me!"

"That trust has been broken time and time again!" Velvet seethed. "You're totally lost! At this rate, we'll never find the therion. I'm sure anyone else here could give us better directions than you are! Even Hawk!"

By Laphicet's feet, Hawk yipped tauntingly.

Leo gave the pup a disdainful glare before pleading earnestly to the rest of the group.

"Come on guys! I've really got it now! Look!" He pleaded as he pointed to various points on the map. "These five points are all of the dead ends we've all come across, right? So, going by that information, we are currently here!" He pointed at a one of the dead ends. "And the cage is here! Just a few turns away!" His eyes leapt from person to person, pleading his case. "Come on guys! One more chance! Trust me!"

"No." Velvet deadpanned.

"Eleanor?" Leo turned to his old mentor.

She shook her head. "Velvet's right, Leo. You've led us astray one too many times."

"Try five too many times." Velvet muttered balefully under her breath.

"Phi?" Leo turned hopefully to the little malak.

Laphicet gave the man an apologetic look. "…Sorry Leo."

"Rokurou?"

The daemon shook his head. "Hey man, I'm itching for a fight. You can't fight stone walls."

"Eizen?"

The reaper sighed. "If we were on the Van Eltia at the moment and you were navigating, you'd be shark bait."

"…Magilou?" Leo tried desperately.

The witch shrugged. "I'm just here for the show." She admitted easily. "And I must say, walking around and seeing you smack face-first into walls got boring a long time ago."

Leo glanced at each one of the party members incredulously. "Come on guys! Look!" He patted the map incoherently. "Just three more turns and we're there! Left, right, and then left! Trust me! I'm not lost!"

Everyone responded instantly in an uproar.

"You clearly are!" Velvet yelled.

"You're the definition of lost!" Eizen pointed out.

"I'm... pretty sure you are." Laphicet observed.

"You're totally lost." Rokurou shook his head.

"Sounds like denial!" Magilou sang.

"Leo!" Eleanor ground out through gritted teeth.

Leo fought valiantly against the collective group ire. "B-But look!" He waved the map in their faces as if it would make any more sense that way. "It's right there! You've gotta believe me!"

Velvet let out a frustrated growl, throwing up her hands. "Alright! That's it!" She thrust an expectant hand forward, eyes narrowed dangerously. "Give me that map or I'm taking it by force."

Backpedaling furiously away from the enraged woman, Leo stammered, "Whoa now! Hold on! Let's not do anything drastic-!"

Bump.

Everyone blinked as the man backed up straight into a figure who was also coming around the corner at the same time as him.

A figure wearing a white uniform with the emblem of the Abbey emblazoned on it.

"What the-w-who the hell?!" The lone exorcist orderly stammered, just as surprised as the rest of them, fumbling clumsily for his sword.

"Ah. Perfect."

Velvet's words all but dripped with evil intent, sending an involuntary shiver of fear down the poor orderly's spine. Her piercing amber eyes locked onto his with all the grace of a falcon hunting a mouse.

She strolled up slowly towards the exorcist, ignoring his unsheathed sword. "My acquaintance here seems to think that the best way to get to the therion cage is to take a left here, a right, and then another left. Would you mind confirming his directions?" She asked casually, approaching the shaking exorcist.

"Wh-what?!" The exorcist finally registered the woman's words. His eyes widened in shock. "Y-you're here for Medissa!" His grip on his sword tightened.

"I won't let you foul daemons through!" He roared as he summoned his malakhim right in front of Velvet; two falcon-headed malakhim who raised their staffs in unison.

Without even looking, Velvet unleashed her claw and bashed one malakhim away into a wall and devoured the second one right on the spot. Her eyes never left the exorcist as the screams of the dying malakhim rang through the halls.

"That doesn't answer the question. Is he correct?" She shrugged. "Seems like a simple question to me."

The exorcist gaped, utterly without malakhim and at the mercy of this seemingly invincible daemon who was asking her where the therion was.

No! He was better than this! He was an exorcist of the Abbey! He had sworn to defend the therion cage with all his life! This was the way of reason!

He roared a battle cry and charged at the daemon. Velvet just rolled her eyes and sidestepped the man's laughably predictable swings. "I'm warning you now," she leapt into a swift backflip to avoid a wide sword sweep, "that I'm not exactly in the best of moods right now." Her eyes were dark as she glared at Leo over her shoulder. "I've been in these damn ruins for who the hell knows how long, and I'm sick and tired of it."

With a clang, her blade met the exorcist's and held it easily captive. Almost effortlessly, Velvet proceeded to push the two crossed blades harmlessly away from the two of them. Capitalizing on the advantage, the woman leant forwards uncomfortably close to the helpless, trembling exorcist watching wide eyes.

"Come on." She goaded the man. "It's a simple question." She smirked. "But if you don't want to tell me... I'd be happy to start eating body parts. One by one. Starting with the legs." Her daemon arm drew tauntingly close to the man's limbs, all the while the man was helpless to defend himself.

His eyes bulged in pure terror.

"AAAAAAAAHHHH!" He screamed loudly, dropping his blade and scrambling back away from the monster toying with him like a cat with a mouse. "I-I'm sorry! Don't kill me! Please!" He whimpered.

Velvet rolled her eyes and kneeled down to the sniveling man's level. "If you don't want me to kill you, then answer the question." She drawled matter-of-factly.

"O-okay... W-what was i-it again?" The exorcist stuttered as he wiped tears of fright out of his eyes.

Velvet repeated, "My infuriating acquaintance tells me that the way to go to the therion cage is to take a left at this corridor," she pointed forward, "and then a right, and then a left. Is he correct?" She asked simply.

The Abbey orderly blinked, mortal fear for his life momentarily forgotten.

"…Wait a second." He scrunched his eyebrows. "That route would take you straight back towards Hellawes. You'd end up right where you started."

Velvet sighed, slapping a palm on her face. "...Ugh." Her ire radiated from her person in droves. "Why… am I not surprised." She threw a glare at her infuriating friend.

Leo's eyes were wide in disbelief. "Th-that can't be..."

He stared at the foreign-looking map in his hands in horror.

Magilou sighed. "And the denial settles in."

Velvet shook her head in exasperation, turning her gaze back to the captive she had at her mercy. "So. How do you get to the therion cage?" She prompted. For good measure, she flexed her daemon arm.

The man gulped visibly. "U-uh..." He shook his head. "W-well it should've been really easy to find. Right once you enter the ruins, you just keep going straight until you come across the stairs on the right side. I shouldn't take more than 10 minutes to find, even if you had no map..." He blinked. "...Exactly how long have you people been trying to find the cage?"

Eleanor sighed. "About 5 hours."

The exorcist orderly gasped. "W-what?!" He glanced around at the group of daemons holding him captive. "Are you serious?! How is that even possible?!"

Velvet turned slowly to face Leo like a vengeful wraith. "Yes... A good question." She glared at the man. "How could someone possibly be so efficient at wasting everyone's time?"

The exorcist gaped at Leo. "Seriously, dude. What the hell?"

Leo glared sourly at the orderly. "Hey. Shut up. Aren't we supposed to be enemies?"

Rokurou shook his head. "But he does have a point." He put a finger up to his chin in thought. "Now that I think about it, didn't we come across a staircase like that right as we entered?"

"E-er," Leo stuttered hurriedly, "I-I don't know what you're-"

Eizen nodded. "Yeah, we did. And I'm positive I recall the very phrase Leo applied to it."

"I have no idea-"

Magilou grinned evilly. "Wasn't it, 'There's no way in hell that's the way we're supposed to go?'"

Leo gulped as a very, very displeased Velvet shot ice cold daggers his way.

He sighed and muttered reluctantly, "I-I guess I was..." He fiddled with his hands in embarrassment. "...a bit lost." He admitted.

Everyone groaned simultaneously in response.

Even the orderly. "Come on, dude. Why the hell do these people even keep you around?"

Velvet waved a casual hand. "Honestly? I ask myself that question every day."

"You know," the orderly pointed out, "my da always used to tell me, a man who knows his place in this world, knows his place in this world."

Leo raised an eyebrow at the man whom had all of a sudden appeared perfectly comfortable surrounded by a group of intruding daemons. "...You're one strange exorcist, you know that?"

"You're one to talk." Eleanor muttered under her breath.

Leo rolled his eyes as he waved a hand towards the sedate exorcist, "Hawk, if you would?"

The malak obliged with a yip and the man slumped against the ancient wall, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. The group was alone once more.

Velvet promptly whacked Leo in the back of the head.

"OW!"

Velvet had her eyes clenched in agitation. "So, next on the list of things you should never, ever attempt, next to cooking and fishing, is map-reading."

Leo whined, "But my grandma said I was a born leader."

Velvet scoffed, waving a hand. "Must've lost that trait somewhere along the way."

"Yeah I must've. Along with my sense of self preservation." Leo muttered sourly, rubbing the bump on the back of his head in agitation.

"Clearly. You are still following us, after all." Velvet shrugged.

Eizen splayed his hands. "From now on at least, let's just make sure that all he does is follow us, and never tries to lead us again."

Eleanor rubbed her temples. "Seconded. Let's go."

As the rest of the group moved forwards in the direction of the therion cage, which was the complete opposite direction Leo had said, the man let out a miserable sigh as he watched them go.

"Man." He muttered. "I just wanted to help."

Hawk coughed in amusement.

"Shut it."

"It matters not what dreadful form my body may take. I will revive Innominat and change this wrenched world!"

Medissa, the mother whose daughter had become a daemon due to malevolence, roared as she changed into her full therion form; her body elongating into the serpentine form of a snake, her hair combining into sentient appendages resembling smaller snakes. She hissed viciously at the intruders who would dare sully Shepherd Artorius's Ideals.

"Tch." Velvet took in the therion Medissa and her summoned group of snakes surrounding them in the cage. "If that's how it is, fine." She readied her clawed arm. "We'll take you by force!"

"I'd like to see you try!" With a fierce snarl, the therion Medissa called for the dozens of snake daemons to attack. The monsters closed in on the encircled group.

Leo took in the situation quickly. He had a thought.

"Guys! I'm gonna try something." He ejected the remaining bullets in his rifle and slotted in red-colored shells.

"Why do I get a bad feeling about this?" Magilou wondered sardonically as she flicked her guardians, releasing a water arte, driving off the surrounding monsters and giving the group room to breathe.

As the arte dissipated alongside the enraged hissing of the many snake daemons, Leo raised his rifle up to his shoulder with a deep breath. He adjusted the grip of his left hand with a firm squeeze and thrust the gun into his shoulder a few times to ensure his lean was correct. He grinned savagely as the daemons charged at him.

"Don't worry about it!" He reassured. His finger slipped into the trigger guard. "I'm better at this than my map-reading."

CA-CRACK!

FWOOM!

The rest of the group gaped as Leo's rifle spat fire, causing pellets of flame to fly through the air in a brilliant flash towards the monsters. The incendiary scattershot pellets impacted indiscriminately around the group of daemons he had aimed at and wreaked havoc whenever they contacted a daemon.

The snake daemons hissed in agony, thrashing in vain as their bodies were simultaneously pierced by malak-infused metal and set alight by the incendiary compound the projectiles were tipped with.

"HAHA!" Leo whooped hysterically, cocking his rifle and whipping around, firing again.

CA-CRACK!

FWOOM!

Three snakes were hit in the spread and were engulfed in flames, shrieking in pain as they died on the spot.

"SUCK ON THAT!"

Leo spun to the side, aiming at another patch of daemons.

CA-CRACK!

FWOOM!

"WHOO!"

The rest of the group exchanged glances as Leo danced around, firing indiscriminately at the hordes of daemons with incendiary ammo. The heavy-handed odor of sulfur and firestone hung heavily in the air, increased with each blinding flash of another discharge.

"Uh, Leo?" Laphicet began hesitantly. "They're not stopping..." He winced as another bang tore through the chamber, followed with another set of pained hissing.

Rokurou muttered, "The man's got more bloodlust in him than a daemon. And that's coming from a daemon." A series of metallic clicks and the crank of a lever signaled a full reload before the rifleman began spitting fire once more.

Velvet blinked, staring at the man as he dodged some snake lunges and fired point-blank at their backs. "He's a damn pyromaniac." She muttered.

Down by her feet, Hawk rolled his eyes.

"WHOO!" Leo whooped as he fired again, plowing away another group of snake daemons. "This is SO MUCH FUN!"

Eizen shook his head. "So. He's one of those types of people." He muttered.

Eleanor sighed, a palm cradling her forehead. "Not again, Leo…"

Velvet glanced at the exorcist in surprise. "You knew about this?"

Eleanor sighed, nodding reluctantly. "Ever since he got Hawk as a malak, he's just had a penchant for setting things on fire." She winced as another bout of flame lit up the chamber. "He must've been working on this bullet for ages."

The therion stared. "He's insane." She realized.

By her feet, Hawk nodded sagely.

Abruptly, the shots stopped.

Cocking his rifle, Leo whirled around to fire at the next batch of daemons when all he found was an empty scorch-marked chamber, save for Medissa and the group. He blinked as he noticed both parties staring at him with wide eyes. "What?"

The snake-therion Medissa stared with incredulous eyes. "You're crazy." She stated.

Velvet nodded in agreement. "Seriously."

Magilou grinned. "You've cracked! You've gone completely cuckoo!"

Leo glared at the witch. "Pot calling the kettle black, don't you think?" He retorted defensively.

"Oho! My mental state is just fine, thank you very much!" Magilou held up an index finger to her temple with a grin.

"Then why the hell are you wearing books for a skirt?!"

"Enough!" Everyone turned as Medissa hissed in anger. She flung an arm out and pointed at Velvet. "There's no escape for you, Calamity! You're already dead!"

"See if I care." Velvet scoffed, unsheathing her blade with a flick of her arm. "You're mine!"

The two groups charged.

"It's over."

With a moan of pain, Medissa, having reverted to human form, pushed herself up to scowl at Velvet. Her wounds were deep.

"Curse… Curse you!" She took a deep breath, coughing out blood.

"…Lord of Calamity!"

The cell was silent.

Velvet raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "Lord of Calamity...?" She tasted the title.

"That's the name…" Medissa hacked out some more blood, glaring at the other therion with hatred. "The name of the daemon lord. The daemon lord who will bring about the Age of Chaos."

"The unrepentant embodiment of malevolence whose blind pursuit of self-gratification will rain destruction upon the world. The irredeemable, uncontrollable personification of human sins…"

She lifted her head with effort in pure hatred. "…An evil like you!" She spat.

Leo watched Velvet with a worry in his eyes in the silence that followed the hatred-filled declaration.

"…Daemon, therion, Lord of Calamity…"

Velvet Crowe made eye contact with Medissa. She waved an uncaring hand.

"Call me whatever you like."

She continued heedlessly, "But if I'm this supposed lord of daemons…" Her gaze fell on the other therion. Her eyes narrowed. "Then you're just a minion to be used as I please. Nothing more."

Medissa struggled to her feet. "No… I… refuse… What happened to my Diana was my fault… That's why…" Her eyes narrowed, and malevolence cloaked her once again. "I will fight you until my dying breath!" She declared, raising her arm.

"Stop!" Laphicet cried, running in between the two. "Enough mothers have died! I won't let you join them!"

Leo watched as Laphicet and Eleanor calmed the woman down and as Velvet's stance shifted warily out of combat stance. His eyes narrowed at Velvet's stony expression.

The Lord of Calamity… Huh?

"It's all my fault… I'm so sorry… Forgive me… Diana…"

With her daughter's name on her lips, Medissa collapsed unconscious to the hard stone floor of her cell.

"She's all right. Looks like she's just unconscious." Rokurou assuaged Laphicet's worry.

Velvet shifted her body and put a hand on her hip. "Let's grab her and haul her back."

Eizen trotted forward towards the unconscious therion. "I'll place her under a binding arte, just in case."

Magilou hummed. "Gotta hand it to the Abbey." She grinned. "Very resourceful, taking advantage of Medissa's regrets like that… Making her into a therion who would do their bidding."

Eleanor shuddered. "It's… It's just so cruel…"

"Who cares? Reason above all, no?"

The praetor hugged herself. "It's true. The way I feel… it goes against all reason." Her gaze fell on the therion currently being encompassed in Eizen's binding arte. "There's no telling what'll happen to Hellawes once we take Medissa out of here. And yet I'm doing exactly that… all on account of my own hangups." Her eyes closed. "Even crushing Medissa's honest resolve."

Leo looked on sadly.

His path and hers were so similar. The crushed face of Jason Reef as he stood over his father's grave. The suffering of the townsfolk in Hellawes. The utter eradication of the Haria villagers.

The only reasonable thing would be to stop doing what he was doing.

But he had decided that reason wasn't the right thing to follow.

Velvet crossed her arms. "According to 'reason,'" she replied callously, "malevolence is the fault of the individual. You assume no responsibility or guilt for what happens to them."

Eleanor didn't meet her eyes, instead staring at the unconscious form of the mother whose will she had broken. "I refuse to turn a blind eye to the consequences of my actions." She gazed up at Velvet's eyes. "I chose this path to seek the truth, not to deny it. If I'm to betray reason…"

She shook her head. "Then that is the very least I should do." She reaffirmed.

Leo nodded silently in agreement. He knew there was a reason he'd counted Eleanor as a friend.

A world of contradictions.

It took a strong individual to face the truth, and to live on despite it.

"…You're too much, you know that?" Leo's gaze flew to an irritated Velvet. "You and Medissa both."

Her gaze slid away from Eleanor and instead focused on an empty corner of the cell. She sighed and closed her eyes.

"Quit overthinking things." She waved a hand. "Just blame all the suffering on the 'Lord of Calamity.'" She turned around with a huff. "Makes life easier." With that declaration, she walked away alone.

"Velvet, I…" Eleanor grasped for words.

The therion stopped at the entrance to the cell.

"I'm not trying to cheer you up." She stated. The rest of the group's eyes were on her back. "I'm just saying it doesn't bother me. Whatever's coming, I can handle it."

As the woman walked unaffectedly away from the group, Leo's fists clenched.

The hoot of an owl echoed far and wide across the desolate snowy landscape, reaching the ears of the group as they prepared camp for the night on their way back from the Faldies ruins.

The night was bitterly cold, accompanied by a light snowfall that was landing softly on the copse of trees providing shelter to the group. High in the sky, a waxing moon graced the quiet landscape with its silent vigilance.

"Are you sure you can manage it?" Velvet asked worriedly as she glanced keenly at the ingredients and utensils laid out on a blanket over the snow next to the gathered firewood.

Laphicet nodded, doing final checks on all of the gathered ingredients. "I've watched you cook more than enough! I think I can manage a little meatball stew, Velvet." He said reproachfully.

The therion's eyes were reluctant. "If you say so Phi, I won't stop you as long as you're careful." She gave the malak an encouraging smile. "…Good luck. The first meal is always the hardest to make."

Laphicet gave her a grin in return. "I'll do my best!" He promised.

Eleanor trotted over, a pile of firewood in her hands. "Don't worry, Velvet. I'll make sure he does everything right! In the meantime, try not to overdo your sparring session with Leo." She dropped the wood, adding it to the pile with a huff. "You might not feel anything but to a human, it's an extremely cold night." She shivered, hugging herself.

Velvet shrugged. "I will. On that point, your cooking is quite good, I'll admit." Her eyes narrowed. "But if anything goes wrong with Phi, it'll be on your head." She threatened.

"Don't worry Velvet!" Laphicet piped up. "I'll be fine! You've already had me help with a lot of dishes, and I didn't burn myself or anything!"

"Alright, alright." The therion waved an encouraging hand. "Good luck."

Leo trotted over to the unlit campfire, adjusting his gauntlet blade and shivering all the while. "H-hey Velvet?" He asked through chattering teeth. "I don't suppose we could get started before dawn? I'm kinda freezing to death here."

Velvet raised an eyebrow. "Get started? I hope you know by now that you need to warm up first before any strenuous exercise."

Leo shuddered. "Yes! Warm up! I'd love to do that! Let's go!" He urged fervently.

She rolled her eyes. "Alright, alright. But I don't want to hear any complaints about being tired."

"Yeah whatever, hurry up!"

Laphicet yelled out as the two headed off to train, "Good luck Leo, Velvet!" He grinned. "I'll make something good for you guys to eat!"

Leo grinned back. "Looking forward to it!" He called.

"Don't burn yourself!" Velvet warned over her shoulder.

As the two walked out of sight of the group and deeper into the copse of trees, Leo gave Velvet a nudge. "You worry too much about that kid, you know that?"

Velvet shrugged. "Someone has to."

A companionable silence fell between the two of them. The forest surrounding them was utterly motionless as the two trudged through the packed snow in the dark. Patches of moonlight dotted the snow-covered forest floor, briefly illuminating their path through the woods.

Eventually, the trees gave way to a patch of empty land, at the far side of which was the edge of a cliff. The moon watched as the two trotted wordlessly towards the middle of the open area and warmed up.

While getting into position in the snow across from her pupil, Velvet broke the silence, "I hope you've been keeping up on your exercises."

"Yep." Leo nodded, imitating a swiping sword. "Every night before bed." He shrugged helplessly. "…Well, mostly every night." He grinned cheekily.

Velvet sighed. "I suppose that's the best I could hope for with you." She shook her head, getting to the point. "Alright then. Let's get started."

Leo nodded determinedly, tensing the muscles in his body. "Okay. Try not to beat the stuffing out of me, would ya?"

She scoffed. "Yeah sure, I'll try."

With that, she burst into motion, charging forward at the man.

Leo quickly unsheathed his gauntlet blade and went on the defensive, raising his blade at an angle to deflect the extending gauntlet blade of his friend. The two blades met and slid off each other with a sharp clang that rang throughout the surrounding wilderness.

The therion followed up quickly with a rising kick, throwing snow into the air as the hidden blade in her boot extended.

Leo ducked and felt the wind rush over his head as the leg sailed over it. In retaliation, he swung at her stable leg with his blade.

Velvet leapt up and dodged his blade, bringing down another slash at the man's head.

A prompt side-step allowed Leo to dodge the blade. Quickly, the man swept his feet at Velvet's heels. The foot made contact and took her off-balance for a second. Quickly spinning around, Leo slashed at her back.

Only to encounter air with his blade. He looked up in astonishment as the therion sailed over his head in an inhuman backflip and promptly twisted herself around to send an iron boot straight into his back.

SMACK!

"GAH!" Leo uttered involuntarily as he sailed into the snow a few meters away from where his opponent alighted softly on the snow. He shook the stars out of his head and angled his head up just as Velvet's cold calcite blade snuck its way to meet the naked flesh of his neck.

The two of them stayed silent there as the world around them regained its tranquility. Leo's breathing was rough and quick, while Velvet's was barely auditable.

Leo groaned, clutching at his back in pain. "Goddamnit… woman." He breathed. "I said… not to beat the… stuffing out of me."

Velvet shrugged uncaringly, sheathing her blade. "And I said I'd try." She pointed out

Despite himself, Leo grinned. "Still… not too shabby, huh?"

Velvet shrugged, helping the huffing man to his feet. "I suppose, compared to what you were like before." Her eyes narrowed. "But your form is still sloppy." She lectured. "Your blows still have too much weight behind them. When they don't contact, you leave yourself open and give yourself too little leverage to dodge. You need to work on that."

Leo nodded, still out of breath. "Alright, fair enough."

His teacher walked back to position across from him. "Again." She tensed her muscles.

Leo slumped in exhaustion. This was going to be a long night.

She charged once more under the moonlight.

Break.

"Argh… I've never been so tired in my life..." Leo moaned as he slumped gingerly onto the snow, dangling his feet off the edge of the cliff in exhaustion.

His teacher hmphed and settled down lightly next to him on the cliff. "What did I say about complaints?"

"You don't want to hear them, yeah, yeah." Leo waved her off, instead looking off into the distance with a labored sigh.

"Still," Velvet conceded, "you did quite well today. Just keep doing what you're doing."

Leo rolled his shoulders with a groan. "Yeah, thanks. But I'm never going to get to your level, honestly."

She shrugged. "Probably not. But you'll be able to hold your own… eventually."

"Gee. Thanks for having faith in me." Leo deadpanned.

Velvet shrugged in response. "It's better than having faith in your cooking."

His eye twitched. "Will you stop bringing that up?"

"Probably not."

"Figures."

The two fell into a comfortable silence, listening to the soft wind brushing their faces.

Leo's eyes were drawn to the eternally quiet sprawling landscape before them. The stars were bright in the sky, accompanying the brilliant moon shining a cold light onto the endless sea of white surrounding the forest. Down the cliff, Leo's eyes could make out a pinprick of a campfire between the trees.

He commented lightly, "I hope Laphicet's meatballs turn out okay. I'm starving."

Velvet had a soft smile on her face. "He's been helping out a lot with everyone's dishes. I'm sure they'll come out delicious."

Her smile faded from her expression. "…Although that's up to you to decide. I couldn't tell either way."

The silence returned at that depressing reminder. A harsh breeze suddenly found its way into Leo's coat, making him shiver.

His mind inevitably turned to the events of today. Of how she had walked away from everyone after the fight.

He broke the silence.

"You know I'm not going to just let you shoulder everything, right?"

Velvet sighed in resignation, looking off into the distance. "...I figured as much, Leo. Although I still can't fathom why you feel the need to waste your time on me."

Leo shrugged. "Who the hell knows." He shook his head and nudged Velvet with his elbow, bringing her gaze to him. "Hey. I'm here for you, alright? I chose this path as well. You don't have to go it alone."

Velvet's gaze was strong. "I told you, didn't I? It doesn't bother me. Whatever's coming, I can handle it."

"And I don't dispute that fact." Leo returned just as resolutely. He narrowed his eyes. "Nonetheless. I'm here."

Velvet sighed in resignation, looking off into the distance. "So, I've learned." She scoffed. "You're more persistent than a fly, you know that?"

Leo shrugged. "I've been told it's one of my better traits."

"Oh yeah?" She smirked mockingly. "It sure beats your constant complaining."

"Well. At least you understand that much." Leo grinned. He let out a groan and let his body fall backwards into the snow with a sigh. "Gods, I'm so tired."

Velvet huffed. "Like I said."

Leo let out a sigh. "Woman, you just don't understand. I'm sure if you were human, you'd be suffering just as much as I am right now."

In response, Velvet just raised a single eyebrow.

Leo rolled his eyes. "…Well, alright, fine. I guess you wouldn't be." He conceded. "Just… shut up." He waved vaguely in her direction. "Stop looking at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Like you're an all-powerful demon lord whose only wish is to devour all the happiness in the world." Leo explained drolly. "You know. Like that."

"Right." Velvet snorted humorously. "I'm afraid I'm just too evil, mister exorcist. You'll have to kill me to save the world."

Leo sat up with a grin. "Well, what can I say. I hate being happy."

"Clearly. Your choice in friends says that much."

"Man, you just really don't want me coming along, do you?" Leo muttered as he abruptly stood up, dashing the snow from his coat and glaring down at the woman.

Velvet didn't react, simply staring off at some arbitrary point in the distance.

"Yeah. I don't." She admitted quietly.

Leo's gaze softened. "Sorry to disappoint..." He took a gentlemanly bow. "Leo the fly, at your service."

She let out a huff of amusement in response.

Leo's boots crackled in the snow as he shifted his weight and offered the sitting woman a hand.

"Come along then, 'Lord of Calamity.'" He uttered the ridiculous title with a mocking grin. "Let's go get dinner."

Velvet rolled her eyes. "…Sure."

She took his hand.

The wind began to die down as the two made their way back down the hill towards the warm campfire. The quiet returned to the clearing, the only evidence of their presence that being the footprints dotted throughout the snow, slowly being erased by the light snowfall.