~Butters' P.O.V~
Well… this is the most awkward lunch I've ever had in my life. 'Mother' is looking back and forth between all the fairies cautiously, Kenny won't stop watching me with this dazed smile on his face, Tweek & Craig look as if their ripping each other's clothes off with their eyes, Damien is glowering at Pip, meanwhile the latter hasn't made eye contact with him even once. Not to mention Ruby is scoffing her food the way a fat pig would.
"This food is so good, ma'am!" She cries in glee, chomping on a piece of meat.
"Thank you, dear…" 'Mother' observes her, doubtful. "So, um, what exactly is the relationship between all of you?" She glances at me for answers. I sigh and have no choice but to relent.
"Uh… let me see… fairy and human pairs have to either have a romantic relationship, or merely friendship." 'Mother' pales slightly. "Tweek and Craig of course," I gesture towards them, who are still staring at each other in a trance. "Are romantic ones. They're, uh, very accepting of their situation. Ruby has no human. And, as for Damien and Pip, erm…" I silence myself and continue eating, unsure of what to say. Damien speaks up, seeing as I'm not going to.
"We're supposed to be romantic, but that is not the case." Damien says, narrowing his eyes. He obviously expects Pip to weaken and completely protest.
"My thoughts exactly." Pip adds, not standing down. I raise an eyebrow. Damien is in the wrong, sure, but doesn't Pip usually ignore that? He normally just apologizes for everything. I'm surprised. 'Mother' mouths to me: 'Did they have a fight?'. I shrug, frowning at the table. It isn't any of my business!
"And as for Kenny and I; we are a romantic type of fairy and human." I tell her, nervous to how she will react. "We're, um…"
"We're the same as Tweek and Craig, aren't we?" Kenny gives me such a genuine smile that all I can do is nod.
"Yes, quite." I agree, looking down at the table anxiously.
"I see…" 'Mother' nods to herself, actually accepting it. "Then, I want to give you all a lecture about intercourse!" We all (with the exception of Ruby, who just bursts out laughing) immediately choke on our food and begin coughing hysterically. Even Kenny has to clear his throat several times, provided he has a large drink of water to go with it.
"Is this honestly the time, mother?" I ask shakily, not having the power to even look at Kenny.
"Well, since you're all linked romantically, I think now is the time to-
"MOTHER!" Pip and I both shriek, beyond embarrassed.
"Really, you two, I think it is necessary to talk to everyone about it! You're all only twelve; the humans I mean."
"I'm thirteen." Tweek says proudly, as if it actually makes much difference. 'Mother' rolls her eyes.
"Twelve, thirteen, doesn't matter! If you all aren't careful, then-
The door front door suddenly slams open, and I hear a rushed array of footsteps approaching the kitchen. 'Father' comes in, looking as if he's in a hurry. He blinks at us of us.
"Who are these people?" 'Mother' opens her mouth before Pip can manage to lie.
"Phillip and Leopold have made new friends. They all wanted to come and have dinner." It's called lunch! And I'm actually surprised 'mother' has covered for us. Never would have thought.
"I'm terribly sorry to interrupt everyone, but it's urgent! Phillip must come to the town hall, now!"
"Why?" 'Mother' looks puzzled.
"He's being announced as an official half fairy now! No one will have to pretend, or be afraid of him! He's going to be accepted!"
"Truly? Oh, that's wonderful, isn't it?" Pip and I both nod, honestly not caring that much. "Well, let's get a move on then! It's in the town hall, correct?"
"Yes, and it's a ceremony! AND WE'RE LATE! HURRY ON, NOW!"
"Oh, here, here!" 'Mother' points to a bunch of free seats and makes Kenny and I sit down with her. Pip was dragged off my the mayor, and I think Damien followed them in fairy form, invisible of course. Tweek and Craig have disappeared to the other side of the building with Tweek's parents. Now I see why Tweek's father congratulated Pip earlier; he's basically getting both awarded and accepted for what he is.
Well, good for him, actually.
The lights suddenly begin to dimmer. "Ooh, it's starting!" 'Mother' squeals. I glance at Kenny anxiously. He knows I'm falling in love with him, or already have, so now I have to try and say it, the way he has countless times. I cannot say that out loud! I just cannot!
"It's alright. You don't have to say it yet." Kenny suddenly reassures me. I stand up in shock. Is he truly this wise?!
"HOW THE H-
"Oy, sit down!"
"Get out of the way, my girl cannot see!"
"Sit down, boy!" 'Mother' quickly grabs my sleeve and pulls me back down next to her. Kenny shakes his head at me, a little smile on his face. I grimace at being so humiliated.
"Alright, here he is! Come on out, Phillip Pirrup!" The mayor (after a long speech nobody was even listening to) introduces Pip to the audience and ushers him to come and greet everyone. The guest of honor awkwardly walks out, mesmerized by the entire towllage watching him. Heh, I seriously love that word now. Towllage. "Phillip, explain how you found out about your heritage. It was recent, was it not?"
"Um, yes. A few days ago."
"How did you acquire this knowledge?" I notice Pip is reluctantly holding Damien's hand, in order for them to communicate without opening their mouths. Well, I suppose Pip has to have a fairy around to tell him what's allowed to say, and what is not.
~Pip's P.O.V~
"How did you acquire this knowledge?" The mayor asks me. I hesitate in answering; Damien tells me what to say.
Tell him that the Elder told you. Nothing more than that.
"The um, leader of the fairies, the Elder, he informed me."
"Why so suddenly?"
Tell him it wasn't directly towards you, it was towards the other fairies, since they were wondering what you were. Don't mention the execution.
"I… interrupted a little gathering for fairies. They noticed I was there, and wondered why I was able to see them. The leader knew, and told everyone."
"Why were you at such a gathering in the first place?"
Do not say it.
I ignore Damien, roughly pulling my hand away from him. I can tell the mayor anything I want to. "I was there because- ARGH!" I yelp as Damien squeezes my wrist so hard that it reaches the point of severe pain.
"Is something wrong?" The mayor studies me up and down.
"I-I've just changed my mind. What you want to know cannot be said. Fairies have their own secret events, and I have no right to tell you about them, as a worthless half-breed." The mayor nods, shrugging.
"Understandable. Why the sudden change of mind?"
Tell him fairies are here in disguise.
What!?
I look at Damien in outrage. He glares at me for not understanding.
He needs to understand; or else they will all suspect you.
"Because there are fairies present," Many people gasp, including the mayor. "And I don't want to reveal secrets about them."
"C-Can we not see them? Are they invisible?" The mayor questions me, looking around.
Tell him about human-fairy bonds. Tell him right now, or your arm's as good as broken.
"Yes, they are invisible to the eyes of most humans. But, they also take the form of humans. You may be sitting next to one right this second, and have no clue." I almost laugh at basically everyone glancing to the people either side of them cautiously. "However, they will not harm you. It isn't allowed unless it's their job. But that is rarely the case."
Tell them about the bonds!
"And there's even more. Every couple of centuries, humans candidates are picked by random to have a fairy as their partner; it is impossible to break their bond. They will either be attracted by friendship," I glance at Damien. "Or romance."
"You're saying that there are humans and fairies that are in love with each other?"
"Yes." I answer. A little boy, about six, raises his hand and says very loudly: "I have one! He's a very nice friend!"
"I do as well!" A middle aged man shouts. "She is the love of my life."
"I'm the same!" I gawp at Leopold having such confidence. "I care about mine greatly!" Even Kenneth looks surprised at his words. The mayor speaks up.
"If you are bonded with a fairy, raise your hand now!" About a third of the entire village raises their hands. My mouth drops open. There were this many? I notice about half of my class actually has a fairy. Unbelievable. That poor exorcist bastard looks as if he's going to go out of business.
"Well, this is surprising! Phillip, you have revealed that fairies are safe, considering they are paired with a human! CONGRATULATIONS!" Everyone cheers, whistles, and claps loudly.
"Well, that escalated quickly!" Ruby smiles at me from behind the curtain.
It takes a while for everyone to leave. I'm made to stand by the main door and say goodbye to each person. The mayor stops when he reaches me. "Wouldn't you want to leave with your aunt?"
"No… I need to speak to someone first." I assure him, eyeing Damien, who's going backstage. As soon as the mayor finally leaves, I bolt through one of the side doors, rounding a corner in the large hallway, and stopping straight in front of where I know Damien is walking. He frowns at me finding him so soon.
"What is it?" He asks, shuffling uncomfortably.
"Was is necessary to almost break my hand off?" I ask, holding up my slightly bruised wrist.
"You weren't listening; you were saying dangerous things. Those 'Authority' fairies would have had you dead in less than ten minutes. Consider yourself lucky."
"Yes, but was there no other way? It hurt profusely!" Damien wavers, looking at my wrist almost regretfully.
"I see. I apologize." He says, sounding strange. He suddenly stiffens, and slowly looks behind him. "There is a paranormal force around, and it is angry." He explains to me, eyes widened fearfully. A large black figure suddenly rushes past us at a fast pace. I shriek. Throughout the fear, we both run off in opposite directions. I lock myself in some kind of dressing room, quivering. I feel a sharp force approaching me, and dodge to the floor just in time. It manages to rip a good amount of my clothes to shreds, leaving me shirtless. I fling and few wisps of left-over fabric off of me and cower in the corner, unsure of what to do. I've never been tormented by an evil spirit before; how would I possibly know what to do, where to go?
After about five to ten minutes, I manage to calm down enough to prevent further trembling, but I'm still petrified nevertheless. "Phillip." I hear Damien say vividly in the hall. "Pip, do you hear me?" He asks. I nod silently, knowing he cannot see me. "We need to run away… NOW!" I don't answer, and I hear a rush of footsteps and a door slamming. Damien must be hiding in another room, afraid himself. Hearing growls and thumps outside my door, I begin to shake again. I slowly turn around, my eyes darting all over the place, looking for an exit. I catch sight of a different door that leads to an unknown room. Deciding it's the best option, I quickly slam it open and am immediately met with the sight of Asilynn (the 'lust' girl) sitting on a table, her arms around the neck of some pervert. I gasp, and they both separate instantly. I cannot describe how much horror flashes across Asilynn's face when she sees who I am.
"Good Ph-Phillip, what brings you here?" She asks, smiling in a paranoid way, glancing at the outraged man. I cringe in both fear and disgust upon seeing her. She was even younger than I am, and yet…
"I-I…" I look behind me, afraid. Asilynn jumps off the table and pushes the man away by the chest.
"Dear sir, we shall continue this lovely event later. My card," The skeptical man takes the card from her trembling fingers. "I humbly look forward to seeing you!" Asilynn gives a playful wink to him, but I can tell she's faking. The man puts his coat back on, walks to the main doors, and leaves, shaking his head. Asilynn turns back to me, her smiles now non-existant. "Where is lovely Damien?" She asks nervously.
"I…" I lower my head. "I have no idea." Asilynn watches me for a few seconds, chewing her bottom lip, before taking hold of my hand. It aches as soon as it comes in contact with her's.
"It's completely alright." She says, giving me a truly sincere smile. "I'll save you, it's completely alright." She sounds more as if she's reassuring herself than me. I suddenly feel a very dangerous presence, and flinch. Asilynn feels it as well, and pulls me towards the stage. She takes a shortcut around it and brings me backstage. A chair nearly slams into both of us, and I scream in absolute terror.
Asilynn helps me up, looking regretful. The lights suddenly blow out, and it's almost completely dark. Having no other option, Asilynn pulls me into a prop closet, and locks the door. Hearing ramming on the door, I begin to scream again. Asilynn quickly covers my mouth, equally afraid of the demon. It's not difficult to guess that she's not the leader of those seven girls; and that she's just as fearful of what they do as I am. I squeal into her hand, extremely frightened. "It's completely alright, it's completely alright," Asilynn keeps repeating, trying to comfort me. Once the banging has stopped, she takes her hand away from my mouth, and we both collapse to the floor. Her head soon snaps up again. "I sense something, kind Phillip. We need to leave right now. She's coming to check…" Asilynn hauls herself up, me along with her, and drags me outside again. Once we're about halfway down the fancily decorated hallway, a voice cuts through the air similarly to a sharp knife.
"Trying to escape with the child, whore?" Asilynn stops dead in her tracks, shakily looking behind us. I look as well, seeing another demon girl suddenly there, in the middle of the hall. My eyes widen at the sight of her. She looks exactly the same as Lucia, or more; Damien. She's of course, very beautiful, with two dark braids that rest on her shoulders, and a nicely cut fringe. She's the other girl that was Damien's sister. No doubt, I can tell that she's the greed one. So if she and Lucia were twins… pride and greed, huh? So those two were those girls I first encountered. Damien's sisters.
"Madeline, how nice to see you!" Asilynn exclaims in a faux chirpy voice. She noticeably clings to my arm, pulling me closer to her. My arm begins to ache as well. 'Madeline' begins to pace around us, observing us as if at a play.
"So, what's been happening? First that stupid doll refuses to harm both Kenneth and Leopold, and now you're trying to save Phillip from me?" She smirks, as if it's the most ridiculous thing to do in the world. "Why is that, whore?" Although I despise girls such as Asilynn, who don't respect themselves and flaunt their bodies around carelessly, I'm beginning to get angry at Madeline repeatedly calling her a 'whore'.
"This child doesn't deserve harm!" Asilynn explains, trying to make it sound logical. "Why kill him? He's a fine boy!"
"You're one of Satan's seven daughters, you dog. Why protect a human boy?"
"Because… I like him!" I'm taken aback. She definitely isn't lying. "He belongs with Damien, Madeline! You shouldn't try to hurt them in this way! This is wrong! You're being selfish, using him for your own gains!" Madeline immediately uses some kind of telekinesis to slam Asilynn against the ceiling and back down on the floor again. Asilynn sits up, wiping some blood from her mouth. She does speak again.
Madeline calmly stares at me. I suddenly feel my feet being lifted of the ground, and me being attracted the same way a magnet would towards Madeline's body. She pulls out a large knife and prepares to stab me, whilst Asilynn watches in pain, but two things stop her. The first one is Lucia grabbing her collar from behind and slamming her down to the floor forcefully. The second is Damien grabbing me around the waist and pulling me back to the ground hastily. I look at him, in shock. How did he find us? He doesn't even give me a glance; he's too busy giving Madeline the dirtiest look I've ever seen.
"Madeline," Lucia says grimly, not even smirking. "What in the bleezing fuck are you doing?"
"I'm killing the human." Madeline says hardly, glowering at the floor. She refuses to look Lucia in the eye.
"And when the hell did I give any order resembling that?" Lucia asks sharply, glaring with all her might.
"You didn't." Madeline answers confidently. Asilynn watches in fright, most likely knowing what's going to happen.
"THAT'S DAMN RIGHT!" Lucia suddenly smashes Madeline to the ground with her foot. Madeline gasps, losing her breath. She glowers at her former sister. "We have no official command to harm either of these people, and you come damn waltzing in here with a very powerful demon to kill them! Remove it immediately!" Lucia orders, kicking her in the side. Hard. "IMMEDIATELY!" She shouts. Madeline begrudgingly does as she says, doing a few strange motions. There is immediately rumbling in the ground, and a large roar, but after that complete silence. Lucia pulls Madeline up by the arm. "You do any of this shit again and you're done for!" She warns her, before pushing her arm away. I'm surprised. I never would have thought Lucia was the leader, or the most powerful of them.
"Lucia…" She turns around, smiling at Damien the way a maniac would. "That 'Levania' warned me that the two of you were going to harm us. Was she lying?"
"Levania, unlike these two," She glares at the other red-eyed girls around her. "Isn't stupid. She's good at her little predictions. Though, we aren't allowed to harm you two yet, it may be possible in the near future. I think it would be a very nice opportunity."
"You're wrong! We shouldn't allow it, Lucia! What you're doing is wrong!" Lucia's smirk disappears in a millisecond. She shakily averts her eyes from us to Asilynn, beyond outraged.
"What did you just say?" She asks softly.
"I SAID YOU'RE WRONG!" Asilynn yells at her. "I may be a disgusting person who tears her clothes off without a second thought, but, even I," She locks eyes with me. "Even I know this would have consequences! How can you be alright with doing something so terrib-
Asilynn is cut off by Lucia pinning her against the wall, ready to snap her neck. I don't think Lucia likes to be proven wrong… "You're going to regret that." Lucia says, pushing harder on her throat. Asilynn starts to choke. I intervene, pointing my gun at Lucia. Madeline watches, almost intrigued.
"If you kill her, then I'll pull this trigger." I threaten her. "I'll shoot you straight in the head, and all your plans are wasted. You shall go back to hell straight away." Lucia smirks and actually lets Asilynn go. She falls to the floor, gasping quietly.
"Whatever. I'm not actually allowed to kill these fools either way." Damien suddenly grabs my arm and begins to pull me away, towards the main back exit. "Hey, Damien!" Lucia calls out. "Just tell me one thing. Why won't you just kill the stupid child, huh?" Knowing I would be able to tell if he was lying, Damien tells the truth.
"…I receive ten billion times more satisfaction from knowing this boy loves me, than from assisting 'father' in hell. I'd rather see him smile than a person's pained expression. I care more about Phillip than I care about hell." Damien proceeds to pull me out of the building.
"Damien?" I ask after a while. "Do you actually care about me?"
"More or less."
"R-Really!? Truly!?" I cannot help but smile.
"…Mmm." Damien look away. I glimpse a tint of pink on his cheeks, and smile.
"There's no need to be shy!" He glares at me.
"I'm not shy. I'm just embarrassed to be saying such stupid things to keep a little child happy." I smile playfully, but inside the words rip me apart. Damien seems to notice. "You're… much less irritating today, though. Actually somewhat likable." My mouth drops open, and I look at Damien in gratitude. I'm even more taken aback when he doesn't even deny what he just said, the way he normally does. He stands by his claim! "However," I stiffen as we're walking. "About the issue with those girls…"
"Y-Yes?"
"I don't care which one of them it is. I'll tell you again; if you see one, run."
"But Asilynn-
"She worries about you, yes. But you saw what happened. Even though she tried to help you escape, you were almost killed. Just stay the hell away from all of them. You understand?"
"Of course."
"And I don't care who or what you are, this time, you'll listen to me." Damien warns. I nod, smiling peacefully. I have a feeling that things will be much better between us now. Damien shakes his head at me. "Fuck, just look what she's done to you!" I frown, indeed looking at myself. My mouth drops open, and I frown in absolute confusion. This must be why it ached whenever Asilynn touched me. Wherever her hand made contact with my skin, there is a strange, tinted black patch left over. It looks the same as dry skin that has been burnt to the point of blackness; though I hardly feels that way. Only a small hint of pain.
"What is this?" I ask, holding my arm up and staring at it in interest.
"Asilynn has been cursed. It seems that those girls do not entirely trust one another. Lucia must have put it on Asilynn to keep her away from you."
"What does this do?"
"I don't know. But-
"JESUS CHRIST!" Ruby shrieks, sprinting towards me. She touches my face gently, studying me. "What happened? Did one of them girl curse her or somethin'?" Damien nods, irritated. "Dude, I'm sorry to alarm you, but we need to go and see Esther. She was that 'Inventor' fairy I told you about, hmm? Come on, we need to get this off you, pronto!"
~Kenny's P.O.V~
On the way back home, Butters suddenly asks me a very startling question. I stumble on the sidewalk, almost falling flat on my face as he asks it. "Why do you love me?"
"What?" I ask, laughing nervously. Is there a valid reason he would even want to know?
"You heard me." I try to think.
'Because… because you're my human."
"…So the only reason you love me is because you have to. Because I'm your human."
"Butters, it isn't that way."
"Then explain to me why-
"Yes, when it comes down to it, I did originally begin feeling that way towards you because of that, but these days, it's different. I've gotten to know you."
"You're lying." He tells me, looking at the ground as we walk. "You don't even know me that well! I'm the genuine one, and yet you say you've gotten to know me? Do you have nay idea how difficult it was for me to open up towards you?!"
"B-Butters, I'm not lyin-
"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE! I DON'T NEED YOU! I MANAGED FINE WITHOUT YOU, AND I CAN DO IT ONCE AGAIN!" He screams, sprinting off. I hold a pleading hand out, but it's no use. He's gone. Ah, hell, what have I gotten myself into?
My eyes widen as I see a flash of Karen walking past me, towards where Butters ran off to. I rub my eyes and try to see her again, but she too has vanished. I now don't think I'll ever forget the way she looked at me. Her expression was of nothing but sheer disappointment.
Disappointment that I'd been unable to keep Butters happy today. And for forgetting that today is her birthday.
~Butters' P.O.V~
OH MY GOD! WHAT WAS I JUST THINKING!? Did I honestly believe that Kenny doesn't actually love me for who I am? Of course he does! Why did I get so angry, all of a sudden? I hang my head in shame. I'm just a child looking for some attention. I wanted Kenny to list things that he loved about me. So much for that. Now he thinks I'm angry at him, and he's upset, and it's all my damn fault.
I dejectedly walk past an ice cream shop, and do a double take. An ice cream shop? We'd heard about that food called 'ice cream' back in America; but we haven't actually got it there. So it does exist. There's no way I'd pass something such as this up! I rummage through my little collection of coins, hoping I'll have enough. I quickly go inside and wait in the line, itching to eat some. The girl in front of me takes an enormous amount of time choosing, to the point where I have to peek over her shoulder to see what she is staring at. Money in her hand. "Oy, aren't you going to buy any? If so, then..." I trail off as I see who she is. That demon girl that managed to result in Kenny getting possessed. She nearly killed me as well. 'Envy'. The last time I saw her, she had red eyes, and was wearing a green dress. Today, she has violet eyes, and is wearing a white dress. This is her human form.
"I don't know how to buy things, but I wanted to try it." She explains, frowning at me. I glance behind her, at the impatient shop keeper.
"Um, if so, then I can buy you a bit." I step forward and do as I said. The girl's face lights up as she sees the ice cream cone. I'm just as excited as her. We hurry out of the shop, carefully balancing the precious food. The girl digs into hers, not hesitating. I stare at her, taking a few small licks. "What is your name?" I ask. She pauses with her ice cream scoffing.
"Levania."
"Why did you try to kill us?" I interrogate her.
"…I was envious, of course."
"Of what?"
"Kenneth. His relationship with Karen."
"With his sister? Why would you envy that? Were you friends with her?"
"…I was her doll," I almost drop my cone. "I was with her at all times. Karen even died trying to save me, a mere toy. And yet, Kenneth smashed me to pieces in a rage, and burnt the pieces. I had enough hatred in me to go to hell. I've been wanting to hurt him for a long time. I'd planned to hurt you as well, the person closest to him, however; Karen is with you forever, and she won't want it. I respect her wishes."
"Were the other demons girls angry with you?"
"Well… Lucia, 'pride', was. She's our leader."
"Is she cruel to you?"
"Yes, but, Madeline, 'greed', is much crueler. She was Lucia's twin sister during life. Though, they detest each other now. Madeline has all her little nicknames for us. I'm 'the doll' and my partner is 'the whore'."
"That's terrible!"
"Yes, well, we are not able to stop it. Though Lucia and Madeline don't respect each other very much; they trust each other. Lucia's word is law, and she's said countless times that if she is away, Madeline is in charge."
"Why is Madeline so cruel to you? And Lucia?"
"…We're all cruel." Levania says, watching a bird in the sky.
"You aren't cruel, from what I've seen."
"Have you forgotten that I put your fairy in agony? Have you forgotten that I almost killed you?" I hesitate in my earlier words. That is true; but now she's…
"But now you're not! You left us alone!"
"Only because Karen didn't want you to be hurt."
"But say Karen didn't exist! Say she wasn't there!"
"If Karen didn't exist, then I wouldn't be after you in the first place."
"But why? Why do you hate us so much?" Levania licks at her cone, looking distressed.
"I don't hate you, you foolish boy. I hate Kenneth. And before you ask, it's because that person always ruined everything for me. While Karen was always playing with me, her doll, he would always come in and tell her to get back in bed and rest. And then, after Karen passed away, he smashed me to bits! AND BURNT ME! HE WON'T BE FORGIVEN!" I watch as she clenches her fist so hard that she smashes her cone with her fingers. She looks down at the dripping ice cream, disappointed. I take her arm gently, and she stiffens, as if a vile troll is touching her.
"Come, let's wash your hand. Come on," I tell her softly, as if she's a wild animal. Levania begrudgingly goes along with me. Thankfully, there's a water tap at the edge of a house not far away, since we're almost at the edge of the towllage. Heh, towllage.
I steady Levania's arm and try to wash her hand as it hits the water, but she opens her mouth before my skin can make contact with hers.
"Don't touch me. Lucia has cursed both my partner and I. She cannot touch Phillip, and I cannot touch you."
"What would happen?"
"You would slowly die, depending on how much I've touched you. I'll do it myself," Levania washes her hand, flicking it in the air to get it dry. "Karen wouldn't want that. Especially since it's her birthday today." My head snaps up.
"It's what?"
"Her birthday. Karen's date of birth." Levania scowls, embarrassed that she provided me with such valuable information. I hug her thankfully. I can redeem myself! "Thank you immensely, Levania!" The said girl flushes at such contact. "It was nice to see the good side of you. I hope to meet again, under good circumstances." I waves to her as I run away, beaming. She shakily raises her hand, giving a small wave back.
~Damien's P.O.V~
"Ruby, are you sure you know where we are going?" Phillip asks her slyly, looking unsure.
"Hell yes I know where we're going. Piss off man, I'm not that stupid. Here, here!" Ruby pulls my human through a few trees, and we see a small cottage that looks as if it's been bombed. Esther must do a lot of work involving chemicals. "ESTHER!" Ruby kicks the door loudly, her arm around Phillip's waist. "OPEN THE DAMN DOOR!" Esther hurries to the door and opens it; Ruby almost kicks her in the hurry.
"What is i- WHOA!" Esther looks Phillip up and down, and I immediately know it's bad. "God, come in, come in right now." Esther ushers Phillip inside, not even having time to introduce herself. "You will begin to corrode if I do not get this off right this moment! Sit on the table, there!" I put my arms around Phillip quickly and lift him onto the table, while Esther rummages around in some cabinets. She pulls out a black bottle, that looks very ancient. "I used this once before on something similar. It should work." Ruby snatches the bottle from her and rips the cork out of the bottle. Esther springs to action as well, and grabs a clean rag from another table. Ruby practically flings the bottle at her, and she puts some of the liquid inside on the rag. Esther quickly pushes Ruby and I out of the way and start to wipe it onto Phillip. The black markings comes straight of as they are rubbed on with the antidote.
I notice Phillip flinching ever-so-slightly as Esther cleans the corrosion off of him. "Does it hurt?" I ask. He shakes his head.
"The liquid is just very cold." He says, smiling reassuringly. My chest gets a warm, tickly feeling inside of it. I feel my face reddening and look away. What in the fuck is wrong with me?
"It's all off!" Esther exclaims eventually. She's ended up using about eight rags to get everything off. Ruby gathers them up for her, taking out one of those 'lighter' things. She takes them outside, presumably to burn them. Esther remains with Phillip and I, smiling in relief. "I never thought you''d end up with a human, Damien. Let alone care for him. You've surprised me." I nod in agreement, not wanting to hurt Phillip's feelings. But honestly, this is a very touchy subject for me.
"No, I'm just his wife." Phillip says stiffly as Ruby comes back inside. He sounds as if he doesn't want to say it. I glare at him, shocked. Grabbing his hand, I swiftly put my jacket over him and pull him outside, not bothering to thank Esther. Ruby can do that for me, if she wants to. She's not one for manners either, though…
As we get about two hundred metres away from Esther's lab, and onto the main forest path, I turn around and hold Phillip still by the shoulders. "What were you thinking back there?"
"Is it not true? You've said it a few times." More than a few.
"Yes, but," I look away. "I'd rather you not mindlessly blurt that out to strangers. Especially since they know the actual meaning of it." Phillip frown, curious.
"What does it mean?"
"YOU NEEDN'T KNOW!" I let go of the child and fold my arms, trudging away.
"Oh, wait for me!" Phillip quickly catches up, grinning. "Where do you want to go?" He asks, still smiling.
"…Wherever you want. Providing that you've," I cough awkwardly. "Changed into some proper clothes."
"Alright! I want to go to the library!" Phillip totters along, ahead of me, humming happily. It's a good think I like reading. Hell, even if I didn't I'd still go with him. It doesn't matter. Nothing matters to me… when it concerns that child.
~Kenny's P.O.V~
"I'm sorry I'm late!" I spin around, taken aback. Butters is sprinting up to me with a lovely fresh bouquet of flowers. I'm surprised by his presence. "I didn't realize it was her birthday, and I was being so childish." I look back at Karen's grave.
"It's fine. Put your flowers next to mine." Butters hesitantly nods and places his bouquet next to the one I bought, in front of Karen's grave. I bow my head down and pray for Karen. I hear Butters shuffle a bit, before doing the same. I tell Karen what I've been up to recently, and how much I miss her. I have no idea what Butters says, but he takes a much longer time than me. He finishes and gives me a shaky smile. I don't know whether to smile back or not. As we begin to leave the cemetery, he speaks. "Are you angry with me? I apologize! I was being stupid, I don't know why-
"I'm not angry, don't worry." I close my eyes and smile, patting him on the shoulder. No, I'm not angry, but I am still a bit hurt that he didn't believe me about truly loving him for who he is.
"You are angry! I'm extremely sorry, Kenn-
"STOP APOLOGIZING!" I shriek, glaring at him. He takes a step back, trembling and looking down. Oh no, yelling at this boy has consequences, seeing how his past was… "Oh dear, I didn't mean that. I was just a bit frustrated." I try to reassure the affected child. "Now I'm sorry." Butters makes some eye contact. I flinch at the cold look in his eyes.
"Do you truly love me because of who I am? Or just because you have to?" I narrow my eyes and put my arm around Butters, guiding him back to where Karen's grave is. "Wait! We've already visited her!" Butters tries to stop me, but I'm to determined to leave just yet. I stop with the boy, back in front of my late sister's gravestone. I position Butters in front of me, and point to him.
"My dear sister, this is the person I've chosen be my significant other! I love him!" Butters' jaw drops open; he looks at me in amazement. "Your angel self knows him well, but the you I'm speaking to at this moment is still a human. This is Butters. He happens to be my human, but I don't care. I love him because he's the most perfect person I've ever met! The same as me, he hasn't had the best past, but I'm not going to let it interfere with us, and I know he won't either! I've been waiting for him for two centuries, and I've finally found him. He's the blessing I've been seeking for the entire time I've called my existence and he's finally here! Karen, I know this is sudden, but I hope to receive your blessing. I love him so, SO much!" I finish with my short speech and glance at Butters. He's struggling not to cry. After a few seconds, just as I'm about to pull him away from the scene, he runs forward and clasps his hands together hopefully.
"I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR BLESSINGS AND ACCEPTANCE OF ME, MA'AM!" He says determinedly, before standing to properly and turning to me. He then has a proper little howl for a few minutes. I stand there smiling, soon walking up to him and giving him a nice embrace, almost crying myself. After a few more moments, Butters steps back and wipes his eyes with his sleeve, before looking back at me vividly. "L-Let's go. I want to hear more about you, Kenny McCormick." He says, taking my hand as we leave the cemetery.
"Likewise."
PLEASE REVIEW! I worked super hard on this chapter, and it would really make me happy.