Hello, Crimson here!
何も本物ではない
...ONWARDS!
Hope woke up to something poking her shoulder.
She shot straight up, eyes wide as she scanned the room. She was sure she felt something touch her arm, but there was no one in here.
No one she could see, at least.
She couldn't help the chills running down her spine, nor could she stop her eyes from darting left and right.
Yeah, it felt like there was something watching her.
"I'm just going to try and go back to sleep now." Hope muttered, voice just loud enough so that, if there were someone out there, they'd surely hear her, "Hand touching my shoulder? I don't think so. Nope. Didn't happen. Couldn't have happened."
But that would be insinuating that someone else was around.
Which couldn't be it.
Because there was no one else here.
Nope.
Hope was totally alone here.
"Yep, don't mind me… Room?" Hope muttered, before shaking her head, pulling the blankets tighter around her shoulders, "I'm just gonna go to sleep now. Not that you need to know that. Because you are a room. And rooms don't have ears."
For some reason, the dead silence that followed her words really didn't make her feel as comfortable as it should have. Hope's eyes darted to and fro, as if expecting a pair of eyes to appear in the walls and stare right back.
Great, now there was that visual in her head.
God knew that wasn't going to help her go back to sleep.
Oh, what joy.
"Quit it, you're panicking over nothing." Hope muttered, more to herself than anyone else. Of course she was only talking to herself! There was no one else here to talk to, that was obvious!
"You're losing your mind over an empty room. There's no one else here."
For some reason, the longer she insisted that to herself, the less she believed it.
"This is getting ridiculous." Hope grumbled to herself, "I'm just going to lie back, close my eyes, and sleep off this whole shitty situation."
The silence that followed did little to help her, but Hope couldn't care any less. She was going to close her eyes now, and then she'd be able to go right back to sleep-
Something poked her forehead.
"Okay, fuck this," Hope scowled, throwing her bedsheets right off before sliding out of the bed, "Listen, I don't know what the fuck is going on in here, but you can either quit this shit or come out and explain yourself!"
The silence as her response was not helping her irritation in the slightest.
"Don't try and pretend that this isn't happening! I'm not insane, I know that something is touching me, and I'm telling you right now that I'm NOT having it!"
More silence.
"I swear to all things unholy," Hope muttered, glaring the dry wall down as if it had personally offended her, "I will blow this whole place to hell if you decide to keep playing this game."
Honestly, Hope was beginning to feel just a little stupid. Maybe she was just going crazy, head playing tricks on her to feel as if there was actually someone else in this room poking her-
"Well, that's a new reaction."
Hope was pretty sure that, in that second, her soul had been thrown out of her body for a few seconds due to her panic. The only reason she knew that that wasn't true was because (1) demons didn't have "souls" and (2) she was pretty sure that that wasn't physically possible.
Regardless, Hope really wasn't sure how to react when someone's head popped in through the wall. The man's head twisted around to face Hope, most likely taking just a bit of pleasure in her horrified expression, "Normally, people just try to ignore me when I bother them, but having someone go as far as threaten me? You're something special, aren't you, little demon girl?"
Hope tried to retort, but ended up with her jaw on the ground, "Come now, surely the demon that threatens to blow someone up isn't this naturally timid, right?" The demon's hand reached out from the wall, taking hold of the window sill before pulling the rest of himself out of the wall.
Hope couldn't help the irritation rising in her chest as she watched him brush his short white hair behind his ear, a hairband keeping most of it from falling over his face.
He grinned, holding his hand out (most likely to offer a handshake or something), only to have Hope grab his hand. She wasn't sure how, but if the look in his glossy blue eyes were anything to go by, he was just a bit startled at Hope's sudden grip, "If you EVER try that shit with me again, I will bring your darkest fears to life."
"...Well, don't you have a way with words?" He laughed, the sound coming off as just a tiny bit forced, "I do apologize, I don't get to mess with the others around here to often. My name is Etrigan, but everyone just calls me Etri."
"Ah, so you're the one with the 'curtain of hair'." Hope couldn't help but tease, releasing his hand with a small grin as his expression faltered.
"Did Lezabel honestly tell you about that!?" He said, hands moving to fix his hairband, only to stop midway, instead sliding into his pockets as if that was their intended destination, "My God, this is a horrible first impression. Umm, do you mind if I walk out really quick?"
He didn't wait for Hope to give him an answer, instead heading over to the door. Without another word, he walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Before Hope could have a chance to fully comprehend the situation, a knock came to the door, "Excuse me, may I come in? I was sent by Foraii to show you around and bring you to the main hall."
Hope, still confused as to what was going on, was quickly snapped into the present with another sharp knock at her door, "If you don't mind, we should depart soon. Foraii is expecting us, and if he's really planning to meet with Lezabel before you, the last thing we should do is show up late."
"Wait-." Was all Hope could manage before Etri walked back in, the warm smile on his face a complete contradiction to the iron grip he had on her arm.
"Yeah, this first impression isn't doing much better, but hindsight is 20/20."
With that, Etri took to dragging her over to the opposing wall, walking straight through it as if it weren't there to begin with.
"Hey, wait a second-." Was all Hope could manage before her sentence was interrupted by a yelp, Etri tugging her through the wall.
Hope fully expected his hand to phase through and leave her behind. That, or it would pull a part of her hand into the wall and it would be stuck there until they figured out how to remove it from the wall.
What she didn't expect, however, was to be surrounded by the feeling of cold wood, only to squint at the sudden sunlight that bombarded her senses, "What...The fuck."
"Jesus, okay, give me one more try." Etri muttered, turning around. All the while, Hope was still trying to comprehend what was going on, her back pressed against the wall that she had just been pulled through, "Hello, my name is Etrigan, but you can call me Etri. Welcome to Swinford."
Hey, bet she's gonna ask again.
She's been asking for at least half an hour now. I doubt it.
No, she will, I know it. Watch.
Oh, do silence yourself. Surely she wouldn't bother to ask once more.
Nope. It's gonna happen. Watch. It's happening, watch!
"Hey, Corvus?"
God damnit.
"No."
Oh my God, ahahahahahahahaha! How one word is capable to absolutely shut someone down just gives me life!
"What do you mean, no? I didn't even ask a question."
"I know what you're about to ask, so I've chosen to save time and answer it before you have the chance to ask."
"But what if you were wrong? What if I had a totally different question to ask? For all you know, I was going to ask if I could breathe, and you just denied me."
Maybe we shouldn't have provoked her. I mean, this whole exchange isn't going anywhere.
It's only now you realize this?
"I sincerely doubt that you would ask a question such as that one."
Violet groaned, more so to drown out the other two in her head than anything else, "Well excuse me for wanting to fill the silence, Corvus! We've been walking in silence for what's felt like years, and I don't know about you, but most silences are awkward!"
You want a cure to awkward silence? I can just scream for an hour straight.
Please don't.
"What more would you have me do for you, my lady?" Corvus said, taking a moment to adjust her in his arms before continuing on, "Perhaps I could give you the sun? Force the moon to shine in your honor? Dedicate each and every star to your legacy?"
Damn, is he actually offering? Cause I'd kill good people to see him try to drag the sun out of the sky.
Deus percusserit nobis down.
If you're gonna talk shit in another language, at least have enough class to not choose the dead one.
pedicabo ego vos.
"If you insist, I'd like you to start by ensuring it won't rain on us." Violet muttered, squinting at the sky. In her attempt to ignore how loud her mind felt, she had turned to look to the sky, only then noticing how shady the area around them looked.
Right when she was sure that it was just a stupid suspicion in the back of her head, she blinked furiously as a rain droplet landed on her face.
"Now, that wasn't something originally offered, was it?" Corvus chided, chuckling as yet another raindrop hit her face.
In my own opinion, ensuring it won't rain on us is so much easier than anything he listed earlier.
Too bad no one is able or interested to know your opinion.
Violet opened her mouth to speak, only to cough out bits and pieces of some other phrase. That was weird. What the hell was all of that?
Oh, great. Now we're vomiting up latin. I hope you're proud of yourself.
Do not fault me for this, I have no control right now!
"Are you alright, my lady?" Corvus asked, skittering to a stop when Violet's coughing grew, her chest heaving as if she was trying to inhale and exhale at the same time, "We can stop and rest for a moment if you'd like."
"N-no, I'm fine." Violet insisted, inhaling deeply as she forced herself under control. She tried to ignore how her eyes were watering, "We can keep going."
She missed the skeptical look on Corvus' face, too busy holding a hand to her chest. She felt oddly claustrophobic, her head feeling heavy. Violet wasn't sure if she wanted to vomit or explode, but either way, it was like something was fighting to escape.
Jeez, what's wrong with her?
Truly, I wonder.
God, her irritation was just building. With her lungs all over the place and her thoughts being at war, she felt like there were a million little Violet's running around trying to keep the U.S.S. Violet together.
And, on top of that, the raindrops falling down ever so methodically was NOT helping.
Wow, yeah, be like that than. It's not like I'm trying to make conversation and figure this out or anything.
I don't see how you haven't figured it out. You're majority of the problem.
And, on top of that, the raindrops falling down ever so methodically was NOT helping.
Well, fuck you too, asshole!
You idiot, are we not the same person!?
"Would you two just SHUT UP FOR A SEC!?" Violet screamed, holding her hands over her ears.
She barely registered Corvus trying to get her attention, instead jumping at the feeling of fingers against her forehead, "You're burning up." He muttered, picking her up without a second thought, head whipping about almost frantically, "We need to get to the next nearest town."
Damn, look at demon boy over here. Being all macho and shit. It's kinda hot.
Could you be serious for a single second? We're dying here.
"We don't need to," Violet insisted, hoping that she wasn't shouting. While it would be nice to drown the other two out right now, the last thing she needed to do was yell at Corvus, "We need to get to Lindow and instar sicco quid suus ' iens in." Violet instantly moved her hands to cover her mouth, eyes wide with shock.
Jesus Christ, what the fuck!?
Umm… Excuse me?
Corvus gave her an odd look, before continuing on, eyes scanning the area around them, "Where is the nearest town?" Corvus muttered, glaring at the trees as if they had all personally offended him, "There must be one nearby."
"Jade's map suggests otherwise." Violet murmured, her voice sounding hoarse. She was going to say more, only to have a throat tearing cough rip through her body. She did her best to ignore the drizzle that had begun, but honestly, she couldn't do much about the shivers running through her body.
"If you honestly believe that we're going to continue on to Lindow in your condition, then I can only assume that your fever is worse than I thought." Corvus muttered, ignoring Violet's babbles as he tried to find somewhere to rest, "Even if we are to ignore your current state, it is unwise to make some sort of camp out here in this weather."
"Personally, I don't have anything against sleeping out here." Violet tried to grin, only to cringe at the feeling of her lungs trying to collapse in on themselves, "Besides, it's just a little drizzle. It won't kill us."
Sleeping on the floor is disgusting.
Don't be like that, a little dirt in your hair won't kill ya.
"The idea of me allowing you to sleep in those conditions, especially when it can be avoided, is simply unethical." Corvus said, tone leaving no room to argue.
At least he agrees with me. I often forget that it's possible for others to have some form of class when I'm stuck around the likes of you constantly.
And what, exactly, the FUCK, if that supposed to mean?
Violet groaned, squeezing her eyes shut as another wave of throbbing pain swept through her head. Normally, at most, they were pests. They were little more than background noise, and even then it wasn't hard to tune them out. But now, it felt like they were trying to fight for control, each trying to top the other for some reason.
Honestly, it was making her head spin.
God, that's a pretty sick shade of green.
Something tells me that, if it wasn't for someone's input, we wouldn't be in this mess.
Hold up, are you seriously pointing fingers?
"SHUT UP!"
Violet felt like she was being torn apart. She her skin felt icy but her insides felt like they were boiling. Her head felt like it was trying to split itself apart, doing its damndest to pull itself apart. The drizzle slowly grew stronger, but honestly, the rain was the very last thing on her mind at the moment.
"This fever of your must be much worse than I thought." Corvus muttered to himself, shaking his head in an almost pitiful manner as he continued on, more so concerned with finding a place to stay rather than arriving in Lindow, "If I didn't know any better, I'd assume that you've grown delirious."
"Good think you know better." Violet all but spat, groaning as she held her head. She squeezed her eyes shut, the throbbing pain in the back of her head growing ever so slowly, "And if you're honestly suggesting that you're going to put our trip on hold in order to find somewhere nice to stay, I swear to everything holy I will-."
Violet was cut off by a wave of gagging, retching and over all vomit-inducing head throbbing. It felt as if something was sitting on her chest, while also squeezing her stomach. She felt something acidic rising up in her throat, eyes watering as she threw her head to the side. She could practically feel the disgust from Corvus as she threw up bile and water over her shoulder, hoping and praying that none of it got on either of them.
Holy crap, I think I'm gonna be sick, dude.
Please don't throw up in here.
"We are going to take a break at the first town. Honestly, I'd settle for a single house at this point." Corvus muttered. Violet felt almost limp, a ragdoll in Corvus' arms as he moved along. She felt too tired to feel disgusted that she had thrown up, hell, she felt too tired to contemplate how tired she was.
She could still hear her mind going rampant, her brain screaming at itself. No, they were more akin to two different voices fighting one another, at this point. God, just thinking on it gave her a headache.
She didn't think that she'd have to fight her eyelids to stay awake, especially with how the rain was slowly growing stronger and louder, but each passing second seemed to slowly take her consciousness away.
She curled in as close as she could to Corvus, not noticing how he stiffened up ever so slightly. With how cold the rain made everything, she couldn't help but notice how warm and comforting Corvus' felt.
Drowsy, Violet mumbled something into Corvus' arm, mouth moving despite how disconnected it felt to her brain. There was nothing wrong with closing her eyes for just a second, right?
She just wanted to rest her eyes, just for a second…
She was oblivious to Corvus' trying to get her attention, his voice sounding drowned out with the rain pouring down around them.
Swinford wasn't as "Rift-like" as Hope had expected.
For starters, no one was out on the streets. Granted, they weren't "streets" as much as they were grassy walkways just outlined enough to be known as "streets", but that was just a nitpick.
"We don't have too many residential buildings, but most of them are here on the outskirts," Etri went on, taking a moment every now and then to fix his headband as he casted looks over his shoulder, making sure that Hope didn't try to run away or something, "We have a small general shop over here, but I don't recommend you to go in. Egmus isn't the nicest when it comes to demons from, ah, out of town."
Hope followed Etri as he walked through the town, watching as he pointed from building to building, "That's the card house, but depending on who's playing, I don't really recommend you go in there either."
"I'm going to guess that most of these places aren't exactly visitor friendly?" Hope asked, not bothering to hide the slight irritation in her voice. After the "multiple first impressions", she was sold on the idea that everyone here were either jerks or so far removed from society that they didn't know how to treat each other.
You know, like a common Rifter.
"Someone's caught on quickly." Etri nodded, pointing out a few other community buildings, before finally coming to a stop in front of a taller building. Out of all the other rundown shacks and homely buildings, this one stood out. Compared to all the other buildings, this one looked like there was a bit of thought put into it before construction began.
Etri seemed just a bit apprehensive, looking around as he walked up the stairs, gripping the handle of one of the doors, "Please, after you." Etri insisted, pulling the door open as a totally-not suspicious smile crossed his face.
Before Hope could object, someone barreled out the doorway, nearly eating the stairs on his way out. Hope had to bite down on her tongue to keep from yelping, instead taking a moment to look this new demon over.
"Solgren?" Etri muttered, scoffing before allowing the door to close, walking down the stairs, "What were you doing in there? Your meeting was supposed to be finished hours ago!"
"You really think that Lez would wait 'er turn to 'talk' to Foraii?" The familiar voice shouted, having yet to get up from his rather compromising position, "The only warning I got before she ran in were the screams of whoever was in the 'allway at the time!"
"And you didn't think to leave until now, why?" Etri asked, his dry tone only further establishing how stupid this whole situation was.
"She didn't let me!" The demon, Solgren, said sheepishly, finally pulling his head from the ground, face filled with embarrassment, "Whenever I'd try to leave, she'd glare and me and tell me to sit my ass right back down. Only reason I got out was 'cause Foraii started shouting back! 'onestly, I 'aven't seen 'im that angry since Lez left."
"Wow, maybe if you took a moment to think, you'd be able to see the very obvious link between those two things." Etri muttered to himself, shaking his head before jolting a bit, turning to Hope with an almost sheepish expression on his face, "Forgive me, Hope. My friend's idiocy has a penchant for ruining my common sense. Hope, this is Solgren. Solgren, -."
"This is the girl I knocked out." At that, Hope couldn't help but suddenly be on guard, watching as Solgren pushed himself up to his feet. His glossy-green eyes looked to be somewhere between embarrassment and regret. He staggered over, pushing his dark hair from his face in an attempt to look presentable before holding his hand out, "So, I know that Etri already introduced me and all, but, umm, 'i, I'm Solgren. And, ah, sorry for the whole… You know."
"That is a shit apology and you know it." Etri shouted from where he stood.
"Would you just let me deal with my own shit 'ere!?" Solgren shouted, before taking a moment to recompose himself, "I didn't mean to, umm, as Lez put it: 'hit the back of your 'ead so 'ard your brains drip out your ears'?"
"That's absolutely disgusting, Sol."
"Shut it, Etri!"
"Don't worry about it!" Hope interrupted, reaching out to grab and shake Solgren's hand before either of them could go on. She caught the look that Etri shot her, only to have him shake it off.
"I kinda just acted without really thinking. 'onest to god thought that Lez was in danger." Solgren said, seemingly relieved that Hope wasn't about to rip him a new one.
"I understand, it was a mistake and you meant well." Hope insisted, a nice feeling of ease finally settling through the air, "Besides, as long as you don't bother trying to reintroduce yourself three times in a row, I'm sure I can forgive you."
"Dear lord, don't tell me that Etri did that with you too!" Solgren groaned, before dramatically turning his head to the side, "That's not 'ow first impressions work, Etri!"
"Oh fuck off, you and your stupid accent could die for all I care!"
"Rude!"
Right before Hope could interrupt again, Someone off in the distance called Solgren's name, said demon looking off in the general direction of the call, "I'll 'ave to put a raincheck on our little argument here, Etri. I don't suppose I'll see you at Dealer's?"
"I'll be there, hope you don't mind me beating you at a game or three." Etri laughed as Solgren flipped him the bird, shooting one more friendly smile at Hope before dashing off.
"He seemed friendly." Hope said as Etri ushered her into the building.
"Solgren is… a character." Etri muttered, closing the door behind them before walking down the long corridor, Hope right behind him, "Sure, he means well, but he isn't one to think past the first step. He's a generic meathead with a big heart."
Hope was ready to retort, to call him out for acting like some sort of suave nobleman when really he came off as an awkward tryhard, only to be interrupted by the wall to their right shaking.
"THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME, YOU LITTLE SHIT!?"
"Ah, Lez seems in a jovial mood." Hope hated that she honestly could not tell if Etri was being sarcastic or not,
"Isn't it a bad idea to interrupt them right now?" Hope asked, just a bit apprehensive about walking onto what she could only assume was a warzone, "I mean, it doesn't sound like they're done yet."
"You're not the only one who wants to avoid this," Etri insisted, grimacing at the door, before shaking his head, "But I, for one, don't like being behind schedule. I have things to do, and in all honesty, I don't think that Lez is planning on leaving anytime soon regardless."
With that, Etri pushed the double doors open, a large smile forced upon his face, "Foraii, I've brought the girl, as you requested!"
Hope watched from the hallway as a potted plant sailed right through his head, smashing itself to bits in the wall behind him, "Wow, is that any way to greet an old friend? That's quite rude, Lez."
"DROP YOUR PRISSY RICH BOY ACT, ETRIGAN!"
"Now now, calm down, I'm not here for you. Foraii wished to meet with your concussed friend, that's all."
"OH, SO NOW YOUR DEMANDING TO SEE PEOPLE THAT SOLGREN BRAINED? WHAT'S NEXT, YOU GONNA GET HISSY WHEN I DON'T TELL YOU WHO'S SLEEPING IN MY BED OR SOME SHIT?"
"THAT IS A STUPID THING TO GET ANGRY OVER AND YOU KNOW IT."
"YOU DON'T GET TO TELL ME WHAT I GET ANGRY AT, I'LL BE AS CHOLERIC AS I DAMN WELL PLEASE!"
"WOW LEZ, DIDN'T KNOW YOU KNEW HOW TO USE BIG GIRL WORDS! NOW, IF ONLY YOU COULD ACT LIKE ONE FOR TWO SECONDS!"
Hope took this time to peek into the room, her curiosity winning over ever so slightly, only to have her yelp and duck as a chair flew out the door, through a bored looking Etrigan, and landed on its side in the hallway.
"I suddenly understand why you're not as worried about this."
"Hard to be too anxious when things literally go right through me." Etri shrugged, flipping his hair to the side as if he was trying to show off, before clearing his throat, "Lez, are you done throwing things or will I have to escort you out?"
Hope didn't catch what she had murmured, nut her answer seemed to be acceptable enough for Etri to wave her forward. Hope stepped into the room, noting how utterly professional this office area would look if it didn't look like a hurricane had hit.
There was dirt, papers, and book pages littering the floor, one chair in a far corner while the other had its legs planted into the ceiling. The desk looked like it had been moved, one bookshelf having been pushed over while the other looked like it had been pushed further into the wall.
All in all, it looked like a warzone.
Wow, who would have thought?
"I apologize for the mess," The new voice muttered, the amount of calm and control in his voice almost scary with the current situation, "It would appear as if some of us need to work on expelling our anger, since it would seem managing it is as pointless as it is possible."
Hope couldn't help the double take she did with this new demon. He somehow managed to look both professional and casual at the same time. Maybe it was the way he dressed, or maybe it was his posture. Either way, this guy somehow managed to be in control of the room without seeming overbearing.
"Hey, up yours, Foraii." Jade scowled, her pink spiked hair bobbing and weaving along with Jade's motions, the entirety of her body language screaming rage, "We ain't done here yet, Foraii."
"We can continue this screaming match later, Lezabel." Hope flinched at how quickly he went from calm and welcoming to utterly condescending, his eyes cold and pointed as he casted the shapeshifter a look, "Now, if you'd be so kind as to wait outside like a good child, maybe I can get some actual work done today AND you get to blow off some of that hot air in your head."
Jade looked like she wanted to object, only to scowl, "Whatever, jackass." With that, she pushed past Hope, moving to shoulder check Etri, only to stumble as she fell right through him, "Fuck you, Etri."
"Always a pleasure, Lez." Etri replied, a slight grin in his voice as she stomped out of the building, "Especially when you're angry!" Etri shouted, a smug look on his face as the door to the entrance was slammed shut.
"Don't aggravate her further, Etrigan." Foraii muttered, moving to stand behind his desk, only to groan as he looked up at the ceiling, "Etri, could you pass me that chair in the corner, please? I'd like my guest to be comfortable, at the very least."
Etri nodded, moving to grab the chair, before placing it down in front of the desk. He then turned to Hope, a confused look on his face, "Are you more comfortable in that corner over there, or…?"
"Huh? Oh!" Hope stumbled over, a sheepish smile on her face as she accepted the seat, "Sorry about that, it's just that, umm… I've had a lot to process."
"I'd assume so," Foraii chuckled, running a hand through his long blonde hair, before opening one of his desk's drawers. He rummaged around before pulling out some sort of band, "Allow me to get the formal introductions out of the way." He murmured, pulling his hair up before tying it back into a ponytail.
Once his hands were free, one of them crossed over the desk, "My name is Foraii, but I'm sure that you've probably gathered that by now."
"Hope." Hope took his hand, shaking it as firmly as possible. God, all these handshakes were slowly but surely making her uncomfortable. Normally she didn't have much of a problem with handshakes, but after being pulled through a wall, she felt as if her hand had suffered enough abuse.
"Hope?" Foraii muttered, casting Etri (who had decided to lean against the wall with his eyes half closed) a look, before snapping his fingers, "Oh, is that your human name? I haven't heard one of those for a long while."
"My god, could you two sound any more awkward?" Etri grumbled loudly to himself, gaze sliding over to Foraii when said demon slapped a hand to his face, "What? Something on my face?"
"Maybe you could wait outside while I speak with her?" Foraii said, his tone sounding more demanding than asking as he peeled his hand from his face.
The look on Etri's face became downright devious, giving Foraii an over dramatic wink, "I'll be right outside." He grumbled, walking out right through the wall.
"God, I hate it when he does that." Foraii mumbled, taking a moment to massage the bridge of his nose, before shooting Hope a small smile, "Do forgive me, I've been under a lot of stress to keep this place together and running. And, while Lez is great and all, she doesn't exactly lighten the weight of pressure on me."
"Is it fair to assume she does the exact opposite?" Hope couldn't help but ask.
Foraii laughed, the sound so sudden that it nearly made Hope jump, "Aren't you just a breath of fresh air? Nothing like the rest of these idiots around."
"Thank you." Hope tried to make that sound like a statement, only to cringe a bit when it came out as more of a question.
"As nice as it would be to sit here and chat, I'm afraid I have a few questions I need to ask you." Foraii, tired of standing, decided to take a seat at the edge of his desk, "I'll start with the obvious: what's your real name, and when did you show up?"
"I'm Vanth," Hope said, her own name feeling foreign on her tongue. When was the last time she had said her own name, much less speak it without feeling just a tiny bit disgusted, "And… I'm not really sure how long I've been up here."
"Okay… I'm going to guess that you weren't a usual part of the regular Surface Smuggled," Foraii muttered, eyebrows knitted as he stared at a spot on his wall, "Since, if you were, you would have shown up on the cliffs…"
"What cliffs?" Hope asked.
"Ah, sorry, I tend to space out and talk to myself often." Foraii apologized, an awkward smile on his face, "I'm going to assume that you're not aware of Aerglo's edge?"
"I've heard of it briefly, why?"
"Well, most demons comes through in that area." Foraii picked at something from under his nails, "If they're coming up without any type of contract, they end up shooting straight out of the Exorian Ocean."
"Isn't the ocean a bit far from here?" Hope couldn't help but ask.
"Well, it would be kinda foolish to build a town of stowaways right next to the door," Foraii couldn't help but chuckle, "Normally, a Surface Smuggler will lead them from the edge here, or they'll bring stuff up for us to lose."
"Sorry, we're going off topic again," Foraii muttered, cursing himself quietly before going on, "I'd like to know how you got up here. Did a Smuggler bring you up here?"
"Umm, I had the help of one, but I kinda came through on my own?"
"What do you mean by that?" Hope couldn't help but feel as if Foraii was pressing for a specific type of answer. She didn't like how he was looking her over suspiciously, as if she had a reason to keep secrets.
"I used an Angelic Artifact to get through," Hope said carefully. She didn't want to lie, but she couldn't help the little voice in the back of her head that was warning her not to be detailed. She couldn't help but feel a bit intimidated under Foraii's gaze, as if he were trying to evaluate her worth, "I tossed it into the Void, hopped into the portal, and I kinda blanked out from there."
"What's the first thing you remember after jumping through?"
Hope really didn't like how he pressed, but at the same time, she didn't really know how she could get around the answer, "I remember waking up in a human's house. He let me stay and help around for a while so I could get a hold of the Surface."
"So there are nice humans out there," Foraii muttered, before laughing to himself, "Or maybe we're just so unlucky to the point where we only get the lowest of the low from up here."
"Yeah, humans aren't really the best, are they?" Hope couldn't help but agree, a slight shiver going down her spine as she thought about the last town they had traveled to, "Especially the, umm, radical ones."
"I cannot agree any more than I already am." Foraii said, his relaxed demeanor finally allowing Hope to feel the same. He leaned back a bit on his desk, hands bracing himself behind him as he sized Hope up, "I'm going to be completely honest with you right now, Vanth."
"I'd prefer it." Hope said, pushing down her constant desire to correct him. It didn't sound as derogatory as it did when Corvus said her name, but it still sounded wrong for some reason.
"We haven't had the best track record with… Newcomers, especially as of late." Foraii seemed to cringe ever so slightly, "Don't even get me started with the ones that pop up without a Surface Smuggler to bring them in. We honestly haven't had the best track record with them, so I'm sorry for putting you through all of this."
"It's no problem." Hope found herself saying instantly, as if the phrase had been common instinct, "I understand."
To this, Foraii smiled, a knowing gleam in his eye, "Honestly, I wish the others were more like you. Yeah, they're a lot more bearable than the demons back at home, but they aren't exactly into the idea of agreeing without some form of bloodshed."
Before Hope could say something more, a knock came to Foraii's door, "I thought I kindly told you to fuck off, Etri."
"Umm, I'm not Etri?"
Foraii scowled, pinching the bridge of his nose before sliding off of his desk, "If you'd excuse me for a moment," Foraii muttered, taking a moment to compose himself before opening the door, "This had better be good, Valkol."
Before this new demon could speak, Etri's face phased right through the wall, a bored look on his face, "Funny, I told him the same thing before he knocked."
"Could you fucking not right now, Etri!?" Foraii shouted, punching Etri right in the face. Hope heard the sharp yelp as Etri's face was pushed back through the wall, "Valkol. Speak."
"We just got back from the watch," No matter how hard Hope tried, she couldn't see any definitive body shape. It looked like this guy was walking around in a big black shroud, almost too similar to Legion, "And we spotted a team of humans in the forest. They're wearing the uniforms, they're Tenebris scouts."
"Thank you for bringing this to my attention." Foraii muttered, looking anything but thankful for this new information, "I will assemble a group in order to deal with the issue."
"Yeah, about that…"
Foraii's expression went from tired to irate, "What. Did. Lez. Do?" With each word, his fists tightened, shaking from its placement on his desk.
"We sent someone, Al'gaurc, back in order to keep tabs on the scouting group and, ah, maybe someone overheard us and decided following Al'gaurc was a good idea?"
"Fucking god damnit," Foraii moaned, slapping a hand over his face, "Etri!"
"You rang?" Etri popped his head back in through the wall, a hand following in suit to cover his nose, "Also, next time you decide to try and break my nose, warn me, would you?"
"Go and get Solgren, you two are going to 'investigate' with me." Foraii sounded whipped despite the amount of command he was pouring into his words, "The last thing I need right now is an angry Lezabel in the medical room."
Etri nodded, disappearing back into the wall as Foraii turned back to Valkol, "You're excused for now. I'm going to put you in charge of the Hall while I'm gone."
The black shrouded demon nodded, disappearing through the doorway. Meanwhile, Foraii marched back over to his desk, muttering something to himself as he searched his drawers, "Damnit, where is my- ah, there it is." Foraii pulled a handle-like cylinder from his desk, tucking it into his pocket before walking around the desk, "You'll be coming along as well."
"W-what? Why!?" Hope couldn't help but ask, "I doubt I'll be of much help, and my Surface Skill isn't really good in a fight like this!"
"If you want me to be completely honest with you? I don't yet trust you enough to let you wander around the town without any type of supervision." Foraii raised his hand before Hope could object, "Put yourself in my shoes for a bit. In addition to what you know of this town and our record with new demons, I'm sure you know how bad this may look. A troublemaker demon runs away one day and, half a year later, she comes back with someone new. No warning, no signs, nothing. I have no other choice than to be wary of you."
"I… I understand." Hope nodded, following Foraii out of the office and down the corridor, "But still, if there's a fight, I don't think I'll be of much help."
"Don't worry too much about fighting," Foraii insisted, holding the door to the entrance open for her, "Etri and Solgren are decent enough to handle humans. The real fight is gonna be getting Lezabel back under control, and trust me, I've had years of practice for that."
Amy: Wait, why the hell is the translator working here?
Me: What are you talking about?
Amy: The translator is all over the fucking place in My Fears, but it's fine here?
Me: Of all the walls you could break right now, you had to go with that one?
エイミー：一体何の話をしているのですか？
Me: And this is why I didn't want to talk about it.
艾米：你到底是什么-现在发生了什么！?
Me: You trojan horsed a problem from a totally different fic! Now the continuity Gods consider the two connected, and are thus changing aspects in order to go with it. Thanks for nothing, Amy. Now I gotta cut the chapter here so it doesn't skip over or anything.
에이미 : 아니,해명해야 할 게 있어 그냥 무시하면 안 돼-