Kuro: ...Forgive me for being, well, me; but for some reason, I really don't like you.

Violet: Funny, I don't like you much either.

Kuro: At least we can agree on that.

Violet: Yes.

Kuro:...

Violet:...

Erin: Someone please just finish the job and bury me, this is just awkward and I can't walk away.

Hope yelped as she tripped over her own feet again, nearly rolling down the mountain because of it. "Almost cracked my head open there."

Her voice sounded so dull and raspy, like it was about to give out. Not that she could blame it, not after the shouting match she'd had with Corvus.

She hissed at the thought of his name, needing a moment to calm herself. She had to brace herself against a nearby tree, resting her head against it in an effort to calm down. She liked to think that she wasn't quick to anger, never had been and (hopefully) never would be. But, at the moment…

"Damn birdbrain." Hope growled, tugging at her hair as she slowly came down from the spike of aggravation. The pounding in her ears slowly died down with a shake of her head, the dull ache all but disbursed.

Right, she could be angry later, finding Jade was more important right now.

Even with the shift of importance, she couldn't bring herself to really search with haste. Maybe it was because she knew that, whether it be accidental or purposeful, she'd find Jade. It was almost second nature at this point, to be able to track the shapeshifter down.

"Hey."

Hope jumped, having been so lost in her head that she didn't even notice Jade behind her. She couldn't help but wonder if, in her daze, she'd accidently walked past Jade.

How she'd managed to miss that plume of pink hair was beyond her, but honestly, that was the least of her worries at the moment.

"Hey." Hope replied, doing her best to size Jade up without looking like she was… sizing Jade up. "You don't look like you've been crying."

In hindsight, there were so many better ways to put that.

"You really couldn't say that anyway else, could you?" Jade huffed, trying to push out a laugh along with it, only to have the sound die halfway through her throat.

It was hard to tell exactly what Jade was feeling. Not that Hope couldn't "see" it, hell, she could almost feel it to a point, but it was hard to tell when one started and when another would end. It was like watching a waterfall and trying to figure out where it began and where it ended.

Finally, Jade turned around, leaning against a tree as she slid down, patting the space next to her, "Come on, let's get this part done with, yeah?"

Hope scoffed at that, a smirk crossing her face as she shuffled over, sitting down next to the other demon. "You make it sound like you hate our talks."

"I'm neither going to agree to disagree."

The two shared an empty laugh over that, awkwardness slowly creeping in. They both knew what was waiting right in front of them, and yet, neither seemed too interested in approaching the idea.

"...I can't wait for all of this to be over." Jade finally sighed, doing her best to make herself comfortable against the rough bark rubbing against her back.

Hope snickered at that, doing her best to get comfortable in her wet patch of grass, "Define 'all of this'."

"God, where do I start?" Jade stretched her arms out, taking part in Hope's light laugh, "...Yeah, nope I can't. Not that it matters, you know exactly what I mean."

Hope couldn't argue with that, instead shrugging as her mind was stuck grasping for some way to respond, "Yeah, you're right."

The silence finally pushed Hope to take a deep breath, "...So, after all of that, are you-?"

"Don't."

Jade took a moment to pull herself together before casting Hope a sheepish look, "I know that's why you came to find me and all, and I know you mean well, but… Can we just not talk about it?"

"I…" Hope felt her mind fizz out as she tried to answer the seemingly simple question. "...I just want to help."

"I know you do. But I just… I don't want to touch it, not just yet." Hope could hear Jade biting back the bitterness in her voice, glaring at the sky as if it would do something, "Could we talk about something else? Anything else?"

"...What do you have in mind?"

Jade seemed to let out a sigh of relief upon hearing Hope's answer, a small smile gracing her face, "Well for starters, I hate that I chose to sit here instead of anywhere else."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, the morning dew that's soaked into my pants is ridiculous. It feels like I wet myself, and each passing second only makes me question if I'm right or not."

Hope laughed a little too hard at that, her laughter spurring one some of Jade's own. Maybe it was the sudden and absurd delivery, but for some reason, Hope really couldn't stop laughing.

That's how the rest of the conversation between them went. Jade would say something, Hope would either start laughing or add onto the dry comment, and they'd both devolve into a fit of childish giggles.

In the back of her head, Hope knew that they shouldn't have stayed for too long. In the back of her head, she knew that they'd have to wrap it up soon and head back.

Maybe that was why, in the middle of Jade's sentence too, she'd finally cleared her throat, "Hey, so, umm…" Hope couldn't help but curse to herself. Her mind had the audacity to cut Jade off with an incomplete thought. She didn't think that she could ever feel like this much of a scumbag, but here she was.

Jade gave her an odd look, "Well? Out with it, what?"

"I think…" Hope had to take a moment to think, afraid her mind would explode as it searched for the right words, "I think we should go back soon, is all."

Hope's head raced into overtime when Jade didn't respond, "I mean, Violet is probably going to wake up soon, and I want to make sure that-"

"No."

Hope didn't notice it until Jade's clenched fist had hit the tree behind her: the angry scrunch of her nose, the irritated twitch in the corner of her right eye, she looked like she was about to explode.

"...Jade."

"Look, I know we need to go back, I know you… I know we have a lot to deal with, I get it." Jade muttered, doing her best to discreetly wipe at her face before finally turning to Hope. Now that she was this close, she could see the light red that took over her eyes, "But, can we just stay here? Just for a little while longer?"

"I…" Hope's trailed off thought was cut off when Jade threw her arms around Hope, as if physically attempting to hold her in there. The sudden whiplash caused Hope to freeze, unsure how she was supposed to deny the shaking and shivering demon who held onto her so desperately.

"...Yeah. Yeah, sure, okay. Just for a little while."

"Is this where you run off to in your free time?"

Arita glanced up from her book, only to quickly wish she hadn't. She came here to get away from them, from him, so why did he have to-

"Hey, you just gonna keep staring at me like that, or are you gonna invite me to sit down?"

Arita looked up and around her, as if to make sure that her surroundings had chosen then to suddenly shift to something totally different, "...We're in a library."

"And so?"

"...Where do you want me to start?"

"I'm not seeing the point here."

"...Yeah, sure, whatever." Arita went back to her book as Ezequiel closed the door behind him, effectively closing them off from everyone else who was using the personal reading rooms. Every tap of his foot and latent yawn only served to make her irritation stronger; this kinda went against the whole reason she had asked for a soundproofed room. Hell, now that she was thinking about it, how did he find-

Nothing really matters, huh?

"...Hello?" Ezeqiuel snapped his fingers in front of her face, "You listening, or are you that into-" He took a moment to glance down at the book cover, eyes squinting as he tried to read the title, "-Quam… Queim ut… Guam?"

"Quam ut subsisto dare irrumabo." Arita muttered, slowly but surely sinking deeper and deeper into her book. He seemed to stop caring after she'd told him the title, more than happy that he didn't seem interested in what it translated into.

"Ah, yes." Ezequiel cleared his throat, looking around the room in an almost feverish manner before forcing a grin across his face, "I, umm, I love that author. Really good at working with their characters. Personally, I'm not a fan of the sequel, but-"

Arita snapped the book shut in her hand, the deafening echo minuscule to her glare, "Is there something I can help you with, Ezequiel?"

No matter what I do, nothing will change.

"There's no need to act like that," Ezequiel grinned, awkwardly tugging at the high collar of his robe, "We're teammates now, and I know you're technically supposed to be our leader until Seidax finishes, but still! We're in a safe place, no need to act like that around us, especially me!"

Words couldn't even begin to describe the incredulity on her face.

"...Okay, that didn't fly well, I see that now." Ezequiel muttered, his awkward laugh only adding more to the painful weight in the air, "I, umm, I take it you want me to get to the point?"

"That may be plausible, yes."

"Okay, okay, so," Arita almost laughed at his growing discomfort. Here's an angel willing to barge into someone's private space for something, only to stiffen up the moment he was fully given the floor, "So, I umm… I wanted to ask you about the Laurel Crest."

Arita could feel her expression fall into a deeper frown, eyes hardening as she went from uncaring to completely closed off, "Of course."

Cause that's what all people want to know about.

That's all anyone around here cares about.

I'll still wake up.

She missed how Ezequiel had stiffened up, rubbing the back of his wrist as he stared at a distant corner of the room, "You, ah, you don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"No, that wouldn't be cordial." For as kind as her words were supposed to sound, Arita basically spat them out of her mouth. She was almost patronizing, somehow looking down her nose at the other angel while still seated, "I mean, you've come this far. How you managed I have no clue, but here you are. It would be a shame to send you back without something, right?"

She almost smiled at Ezequiel's discomfort. Almost. It was very tempting, she'd be the first to admit it, but then she'd be missing the whole point, "Well? Are you going to ask, or do you plan to keep standing there? Cause, if so, I will go back to reading my book. I've reached a pretty interesting part-"

"No, there's no need for that!" Arita nearly jumped at his voice crack, the squeak more than enough to make her ears wish they could bleed.

This is beginning to physically hurt.

"Get on with it then."

He took a moment to take a deep breath in, "I wanted to know about how you got the Laurel Crest."

Arita gave him a look, "You don't know?"

"I'm kinda new around here." Ezequiel muttered, his freshmen face shining through any and all attempts to hide it, "I've heard stories from others, but I don't know which ones are real and which ones are…"

"Drastically exaggerated?"

"Yeah, I guess. I think?"

Arita couldn't help but size him up. He didn't exactly have a "strong" body type, especially compared to the other Audax angels, but he could stand a chance of becoming… prominent.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Oh, you know, I'm just super curious." Ezequiel was quick to shrug off any and all attention she'd put on her, "It must be an amazing honor."

"You could say that."

"Then I will! It must be amazing to be notarized like that!" Ezeqiuel looked like he was caught up in his own head, goofily grinning to himself as if Arita wasn't sitting right across from him, "I mean, you're basically a hero around here, right?"

"That's one way of putting it."

"And it must be amazing, being recognized by everyone you come across!" Arita couldn't help but feel disgusted by Ezequiel's bewilderment, the absolute fantasy he's created around those stupid Laurels made her chest feel like it was going to implode.

I'll still be confused.

"It's… truly something." Try as she might, her stale remarks grew bitter and resentful. She could feel her bitterness tainting the air, almost palpable if Ezequiel's face was anything to go off of.

"So… Are all Lux angels just too good for the Crest, or…?"

Arita's eyes narrowed, slowly rising from the chair as she sized Ezequiel up. Not that she needed to, she could take this kid out, no problem, "What's that supposed to mean?"

He only seemed to realize his mistake when Arita took a step forward, prompting his own step back, "Wait, okay, I see I said that wrong. I'm sorry." He stumbled over both his words and his own feet, nearly falling over into the corner he'd backed himself up into.

"Sorry, by all means, what was that supposed to mean?" It was a baited question, a loaded shotgun pointed straight at Ezequiel with his answer pulling the trigger, regardless of what it was.

Ezequiel seemed to weigh his answer before speaking it, giving Arita a once over as if that would help test the waters, "I just… I can only imagine how it's changed your life. You're the top of the top, a Lux angel with enough notoriety to be seen as near perfect. It must be… It must feel really nice."

Maybe it was because that statement sounded like it was supposed to butter her up, but it only fed the flames of Arita's irritation, "Is that so?"

I'll still have my memories intertwined with this… Whoever this is.

Ezequiel's face fell as Arita took another step forward, "I think I get it now, you're wondering what you have to do to receive such a 'high honor' and all the 'notoriety and fame', right?"

She almost laughed at Ezequiel's confusion when she began to tug at the bottom of her robes, his eyes darting about as he looked for an escape, "Okay, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, my God, what are you doing, why are you taking off your-?"

Arita cut him off with a quick tug up on her robe, exposing the left side of her front. She almost grinned as Ezequiel's face shifted through confusion, fear, possibly disgust and… Oh, she didn't really know how to name that one…

"If you want to receive the Laurel Crest so badly, I hope you're willing to put an end to a jailbreak." Arita spat, all but leering over him as he sank into the corner, "I hope you're ready for your peers to trick you into getting locked up in Tenere's Keep during a failed lockdown. I hope you're ready to take on hoards of both demonic and angelic prisoners alike in the hopes that you'll leave in one piece. I hope you don't pass out from the pain and you're ready to wake up in pieces."

Ezequiel looked like he was trying to swallow air to no effect, mouth opening and closing uselessly, as if his words refused to exit.

"You wanna know why there aren't many Lux angels with the Laurel Crest, kid? It isn't because we're so elite that it's impossible to have someone more than perfect rise above. It isn't in order to commemorate someone who's done more than God built them to do. No, for us Lux angels, the Crest is a gag order."

"I… I don't… I didn't…"

"Yes, I'm aware you didn't know, how could I expect an Audax angel to understand!?" In the back of her head, she was more than thankful that she'd gotten the soundproof room. Arita wasn't one to raise her voice and shout when angry, but God knew she wasn't exactly being quiet either.

"They turned my disfigurement into a demonstration of power and glory to the Luz angels. My 'fame and power' fuels the hatred my so called backstabbing 'peers' hold toward me. The Laurel Crest wasn't bestowed for what I did in Tenere's Keep, it's to keep a target on my back."

The headaches won't stop.

Arita didn't realize she'd been breathing heavily until she took a step back, finally dropping the side of the robe she'd had scrunched up in a tight fist. She took another step backwards before breathing in deeply, slowly.

She couldn't remember the last time she'd just… Unloaded like that.

She looked over to Ezequiel, who had yet to move out of the safety of his corner. She almost felt bad, forcing the kid to cower like that. He looked like he expected her to kick him, beat him, send him flying through the wall.

Not that any of that wasn't possible, she couldn't help but reason with herself.

Finally, Ezequiel let out a stifled chuckle, as if trying to force the mood to lighten, "Ah, I think I get it now."

"About time." Regardless of her biting tone, she offered the angel a hand up, the tension slowly ebbing away from her shoulders, "I knew you Audax angels weren't too bright, but I didn't think you'd be this dull."

Ezequiel laughed at that, albeit a little awkwardly, taking Arita's hand regardless, "You know, if I forget that that comment came from you, it's almost funny."

"Well, in that case, good."

He seemed to stare at Arita for a little too long, eyes lingering on her side. She almost thought he was sizing her up, ready to lay him out before he finally spoke up, "You don't trust easily, do you?"

The absolute pounding and screaming in my head won't stop.

"No, what could have ever given you that idea?"

He almost replied honestly to that, if the slight shake of his head and small smile was anything to go by, "I don't know, maybe your obviously closed off stance, constantly crossed arms, and refusal to hang out with Revana, Seidax and I?"

"Can't fault you for assuming that."

The two stood in silence for a moment, Arita finally going back to her chair while Ezequiel took the one across from her. She had half the mind to go back to her book when Ezequiel made no move to leave, "Well, if that's all you wanted out of this exchange, I'm going to just-"

"I'd never do something like that."

Those two idiots in my head won't stop.

"...Sorry?"

"You know, backstab you and leave you to die because I spite you." The moment those words left his mouth, Ezequiel suddenly found his fingernails to be all the more interesting, staring at them as if they held the secret to life, "That sounded a lot better in my head."

"You seem to say that often."

"Just because I say it doesn't mean it changes shit."

Arita actually cracked a smile at that. Some would say that she laughed a little, too. Granted, it sounded more like a rush of air exiting her nose, but as of late, that was as close to laughter as she was going to get, "... You know, saying it like that only makes you sound all the more suspicious."

Nothing will get them to stop.

"What? No, I mean it! I'm not lying!"

Arita could only watch as Ezequiel climbed up onto the table, dusting the bottom of his robes off before striking a dramatic pose, pointing straight up to the sky, "What in God's name are you doing?"

I can't get them to stop.

"I'm giving you my word, of course!" Ezequiel had done a complete 180 from his crouched position in the corner from moments ago, nor pointing to the sky as if to challenge God himself, "I, Ezequiel Audax, give my word to stand by my teammate, Arita Lux!"

Arita swore that, in the distance, she could hear horns accompanying an angelic choir.

Maybe the room wasn't as soundproof as she had first assumed it to be.

I want them to stop.

"You know that your word means little nothing to me, right?"

Ezequiel wore a look of mock horror, falling to his knees on the table, nearly throwing her book from the table as he did so, "How could you say that!? I give you my word, I claim you as my teammate and newly acquired friend-"

"I never agreed to that."

"-And you still do me in like this!" Arita couldn't hold it in anymore. She doubled over with laughter, the absurdity of what was happening finally getting to her. In all oher time here, not once did she think she'd be in a library room with an Audax angel proclaiming his integrity like they'd be his last words.

In her stupor, she entirely missed Ezequiel's grin growing on his face. It took a whole five minutes for Arita to regain control of herself, giving the angel of the table her best "why are you like this?" expression she could muster, "Are you done with your little presentation yet, Ezequiel?"

"Depends, have I gotten my message across yet?"

I want it all to stop.

"Cause, I don't know how else to say it besides climbing up onto a table and shouting like a desperate preacher." Ezequiel finally made his way off of the table, nearly slipping all together when he tried to get down, "How is it this difficult to get down from this table?"

"I have to say, after all the boring lectures I've had to go to, I don't think any of the professors have ever been as… dedicated as you." No matter how hard she tried, she really didn't know what other words to use for it at the moment.

"If my job were to recite words from an outdated text and attempt to keep control in a class, I probably wouldn't be any better." Ezequiel threw her his best smile and finger guns, "Thankfully, unlike them, I both know what I'm saying and I mean it."

"Oh?"

His smile dropped into a mock glare, playfully his finger back and forth, "Do not test me, Lux. I will get back on that table."

"Good luck getting back down."

The two shared a small laugh at that, however stupid Arita's attempted joke was.

With that understanding established between them, Ezequiel finally felt comfortable enough to sneer, "You know, with a sense of humor like that, it's amazing that you're not more of a hit with the other angels."

"I'd like to think that my winning personality and first-rate charm is what really gets through to the others."

Make it stop.

"I'm telling you, we tweak that dry sarcasm of yours, and I might actually be able to make you likeable, Lux."

"I'll hold you to that, Audax."

I want to make it all stop.

Violet woke up feeling like her mind was trying to melt, but being how she'd spend the last week or so, it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. With one hand placed on her throbbing temple, her other was quick to push herself up, eyes narrowed as she took in the dim room.

It was small, with a couple of chairs and a small table pushed to the side. Her cot looked very out of place, like they had pushed aside the rest of the room in order to bring it in. That, and the room felt like a hangout place rather than a makeshift bedroom.

Right before she could say anything, the door to her right cracked open, light flooding in with a new voice, "Oh, good, you're not dead!"

"...Yay?" Unsure of what else to say, still groggy and now confused by the sudden outburst of this stranger, Violet yawned.

"God, and here I thought that Vincent just dragged in some dead body." Violet watched as the boy closed the door behind him, stiffening up ever so slightly as he approached. She sized him up; he was tall, maybe a head taller than her, and rather lanky at that. With that said, his white shirt and black slacks looked baggy on him, making it impossible to guess his body type, "The guy's into some weird shit, I tell you. Can't prove it, but I know, you know?"

"I know." Violet parroted, eyes darting over to the door ever so quickly. Could she make it before he could do anything? In her current state, with nothing to defend herself with, would she even make it to the door? Even if she made it out, what then? Where would she-

"Stop that."

Violet's eyes snapped back over to the guy, watching as he slowly took a seat in the adjacent chair. She could barely see his expression past the brim of his cap, his unruly brown hair underneath making it even harder. He had both of his hands up, eyes watching her as closely as she was watching him, "No need to go ahead and plan escape routes, I'm not going to try anything, promise."

She couldn't help but scoff at that.

The other guy winced, taking his forehead into his palm, before sighing, "Yeah, on second thought, I'd be pretty suspicious if someone said that to me, too."

The two sat in silence for a bit longer before Violet finally cleared her dry throat, "Who are you, and where am I?" Her voice gave out half way through her sentence, Violet all but fighting down the need to wheeze. It felt like someone had coated her throat and mouth in sawdust, and at this rate, she wouldn't be surprised.

The other guy cursed to himself, reaching for the pitcher and cup sitting on the small table near him, nearly pouring the whole thing out on the floor when he missed the glass, "I umm, Scott's gonna kill me… Here."

Violet eyed the glass, eyes darting from the rim and back to his face, searching for some sort of indicator. Finally getting the message, he took a huge swing from the glass, making a show of swallowing it down before refilling it, "No offense, kid, but if we wanted to kill you, you wouldn't have woken up."

Violet almost laughed at that, much to the man's approval, taking the offered glass. She had to resist the urge to chug it all down in one good, making sure her throat wasn't going to start tearing itself apart before speaking, "Violet."

He stared at her for a moment, mind unable to process the single word she'd uttered, "...I'm sorry?"

"Don't call me kid, my name is Violet." It didn't seem to matter if her throat was dry or not, she still sounded rather meek.

He slapped his forehead, "Damnit, of course, I didn't even think… I'm sorry about that, ki- I mean, Violet." He took a moment to compose himself, straightening out his shirt and fixing his cap before extending a hand, "My name is Arthur, Arthur Shaw."

Violet wasn't one to swoon, but she couldn't help but be caught in those eyes. They were almost unnatural, light brown orbs tinged red. No, it was lighter, almost pink.

It took her too long to realize her staring had made Arthur uncomfortable, her prolonged handshake doing nothing to help. She finally took her hand back with a small laugh, "So, where exactly am I, Arthur?"

"We're in my brother's bar, second floor." Arthur visibly relaxed, finally reclining into the chair. For some reason, Violet couldn't help but think that he'd expected a fight, "Vincent brought you in a few hours ago, just kinda shambled in and up the stairs."

Violet couldn't help but wince at the thought, she could only imagine how that would have looked, "Sorry."

Arthur gave her an odd look, "Violet, you have nothing to be sorry about. Vinny told us what happened after we got you situated and, honestly, I'd be pretty pissed if he'd just left you there."

Violet was almost thrown off by how earnest he sounded, like he'd be willing to put his life on the line for some stranger, "Still, to have you all go out of your way to let me stay here-"

"I'm going to stop you right there." Arthur took a moment to glance over to the door, as if expecting someone to come barging in, before he finally went on, "You don't need to be sorry about a thing, nor is my brother going to expect you to pay him back or some shit like that. So don't you worry your pretty little head about anything, you leave when you're ready cause we sure as hell don't have it in our hearts to kick you out."

Violet didn't realize she was crying until Arthur's expression dropped, quickly jumping up from his chair, "Oh crap, don't cry, please don't cry! I'm an empathetic crier, if you start blubbering my face is going to heat up and- Oh boy, okay, I umm…"

She could barely hear him over her own growing sniffles, fingernails digging into her palms as a silent order to stop. Why was she crying? He was showing her kindness, one that he really didn't have to, and here she was, a blubbering mess in the middle of a drinking room.

Suddenly, a hand on the back of her head ushered her forward, nose pressing into Arthur's white shirt as he held her close. He was mumbling under his breath, before finally clearing his throat, "It's okay to cry. I told you already, you're safe here, I promise."

Violet couldn't stop herself from reaching out to grab onto him, fingers latching onto anything they could find before bringing it as close to her as possible. Violet's small stutters of breath turned into almost violent sobbing as her heart poured itself out in front of this stranger. A kind one, sure, but a stranger nonetheless.

But, at the same time, he didn't feel like one. No, he felt familiar.

She didn't know how long he stayed like that, falling asleep amongst her own tears and whispers of thanks.

The moment she was let out, for some reason, things got pretty… calm.

Blythe found most of her time consumed by sitting on her cot and staring at the wall. Every now and then she'd leave to get something to eat, but other than that, she didn't really feel the urge to do much.

It was a much needed break, she reasoned with herself, after spending at least three hours straight memorizing every crack, dip and scratch on her wall. After all the crap that had happened, everything she'd had to put up with as of recent, this was the breather she deserved.

Of course, some would disagree with her, namely the rather quiet Cynthia who roamed the corridors like a lost spirit. Blythe shivered at that, instantly wishing she'd just stayed content with the wall, rather than continuing to follow the tangent her mind led her on. Honestly, Cynthia was probably the biggest reason Blythe kept to her own room.

She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but ever since they'd come back, Cynthia had been… Different. Maybe it was the way that she'd almost silently appear in a room, without her usual flair and greetings. There were too many times where she wouldn't even realize her there until she spoke, even if she'd had eyes on the door just a mere second ago.

Or no, it could have been the lack of a smile on her face. Whenever she got the chance, Blythe found the woman's face to be almost lifeless, a stark contrast to how she normally looked. It was almost like she'd lost the will to smile like it hurt, pearly whites being substituted with a straight line and an even straighter back.

Or no, now that she thought about it, none of that was really anything. Not when you brought up her sudden-

Blythe nearly jumped at the knocking.

Blythe stared at the door, as if waiting for the thing to go flying off of its hinges.

"I know you're in there, Denholm."

Even muffled, Cynthia's voice still carried an almost scary amount of distaste.

"Open up, I need to talk to ya."

She was slow to rise from the bed, and even slower to clasp her hand around the door knob. Try as she might, it was difficult to ignore how her hands shook.

"Quit wasting time and open the door before I let myself in."

Blythe pulled the door open before she could chicken out, pulling on a fake smile and a faker cheerful tone, "What can I do for you, Cynthia?"

"Cut the bullshit, there's no need to put up an act like that." Blythe could only watch as Cynthia plopped herself down on Blythe's bed, taking the whole room in as if planning to take over the space, "I'd say I'm here to ask a favor, but you don't really have a choice in the matter."

At any other normal time, Blythe would have shot some form of comeback. No matter how badly she wanted to do so, Blythe's eyes locked onto Cynthia's clenched hand, the stiff lock of her jaw. It all pointed to unending anger, an anger blythe really didn't want to release.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Help me hunt down Faustus." Blythe waited for her to continue on, only to have Cynthia suddenly shot up from the bed. Blythe could only stare as Cynthia marched across the room, nearly ripping the door open before turning to shoot Blythe a glare, "How long do you plan to stay there and stare like an idiot?"

"Oh, yeah, right." Was Blythe's intelligent reaction as she followed Cynthia out of her room, closing the door behind them.

Blythe had expected the two of them to walk in silence, hell, she would have preferred it to any stale conversation she could have provided. She wanted silence, honestly, despite how unnerving it would have made her.

"The twins are up my ass about the whole Swinford incident." Blythe winced at Cynthia's forced enthusiasm. She thought that her normal cheerfulness was sarcastic, but now she could practically hear the difference: like she was forcing some of that cheer through clenched teeth. "They're giving me a lot of crap. Doesn't help that the Holy Grail project is behind as is, we've basically added to the crap on the top of the cake."

"...Oh."

Cynthia's bark of laughter made Blythe jump. It sounded more like a gorilla having it's chest smashed in than actually laughter, "Oh? Is that really all you have to say? Fucking typical."

Blythe didn't know how to respond, so instead, she remained silent. Not that it was too difficult to do that, the sheer bloodlust in Cynthia's eyes was enough to render anyone silent.

The two continued down the hall, Cynthia's footsteps echoing down the hallway, "... Once we find Faustus, I'll give you two half an hour to get ready."

Blythe bit down her curiosity, unwilling to ask the obvious.

"We're going somewhere remote and kinda out of the way, so pack expecting the worst." Cynthia went on, tugging at the bottom of her sleeves as she walked on. Blythe knew that they were supposed to be looking for the demon boy, but with the way that Cynthia walked, it was almost like she already knew where he was. "If all goes as it should, this should be a quick and easy 'settlement collection'."

If nothing else, at least Cynthia didn't seem to mind filling the silence, "But, given our current record for keeping shit together, I can't wait for everything to go belly up."

Erin: So... Is there a reason you two don't like each other, or...?

Kuro: No, I just... I don't like her.

Violet: And I don't like her.

Erin:... Why?

Kuro: Something about her feels off and familiar, and I just don't like it.

Violet: She just rubs me the wrong way.

Erin:...Well, if you two don't like each other, why don't you, I don't know, fight it out?

Kuro: I don't care enough to start throwing hands.

Violet: I'm more intrigued than I am irritated with her, so there's that.

Arita: For what it's worth, the two of you seem equally repulsive.

Erin:... I'm too tired to be confused by someone else suddenly showing up, fuck everything, I'd set myself on fire if I could.