The following days are much more hectic than the first few, between filling out paperwork to formalise his application and getting recurrent measurements for a kind of uniform he will apparently be given (though he's never seen any other Apostles wearing uniform) and helping Komui file endless reports on what he knows about demons. The entire Order seems to be up in arms about it, finding out that demons were once humans. Some people have accused him of heresy, and while he has caught Komui personally scolding people for the accusations, Allen can still hear them. He's no stranger to whisperings and doubts, though, and this time his knowledge actually seems to be doing some good, so he finds it easy enough to ignore.
He hasn't seen Kanda since he stormed out of Komui's office, but he supposes that's just as well; he doesn't doubt that he would make good on the threat to his life, not with the way that Kanda had looked at him. It's a shame, since Kanda was one of the few people he's actually spoken to more than once and almost felt a sense of camaraderie for, but he feels like that may just be a passing dream now. He is justified in his hatred, and can think what he will. He has an atrocious temper anyway, Allen tells himself, in an attempt to console himself.
He trains whenever he's not busy with other things, working on refining his style before he is sent out on any actual missions. He doesn't know any one fighting style, most of his tactics involving playing dirty and using underhanded tricks (as growing up with Cross had unwillingly taught him), but he often uses that to his advantage. He hasn't been in nearly as many brawls since Cross left him, and he feels out of practice. At least working in circuses has given him constant exercise and tests of his reflexes, so it's only the motions and the force he needs to realign himself with.
He's on his way back to his room from the cafeteria early one morning when somebody calls his name, and he expects it to be a member of the grounds team, but when he turns he finds himself face to face with a man no older than twenty, short hair a dusty ginger and a spread of freckles over his nose. His expression lights up when Allen meets his gaze, one eye a vibrant green and the other covered by a patch, and Allen notices the silver cross on the breast of the man's short black jacket. "I was just looking for you," he says brightly, walking up to stop just in front of him. "You are Allen, right?"
"Yes," he replies, shifting on his feet to face him properly. "Am I needed for something?"
"You bet! You, my good man, have got your first mission," he beams, and Allen blinks. He hadn't expected to be hearing that. "You'll be heading out with yours truly, you've got to pick up the briefing and your uniform from Komui's office and then meet me at the canal at eleven. Oh!" He pauses, holding out a hand. "My name's Lavi, by the way. It's nice to meet you."
Allen isn't quite sure what to make of this man, glad that he's used to keeping up with fast speakers with the way that Lavi had prattled off. He notices a small mark on the inside of Lavi's wrist, a black tattoo in the shape of a cross. Strange, he thinks, then reaches out to take the hand. "Likewise," he says, giving him a smile.
Lavi shoots him a wide grin, then turns to head back down the hallway he'd just come down, walking backwards to shout back down the hall. "Just ask the supe if you need anything, yeah? I'll see you in a few hours!" he calls, gives a short wave, then ducks around the corner out of sight, leaving Allen to deal with the recoil of the red-haired tornado he'd just witnessed.
He figures he'll get things done sooner rather than later, so changes course to head up to Komui's office, a black folder and a package wrapped in brown paper with his name on it thrust at him the moment he enters, with only a brief explanation as to the nature of the mission. He came at a busy time, it seems, as Komui keeps it brief. "Good luck," the supervisor tells him as he leaves, and Allen feels he'll need it.
He returns to his room with his new load in hand, setting them on the bed beside him as he sits, opening the black folder first. On the first page is a summary of its contents, listing the destination, the involved parties (himself and Lavi, along with a few other names of key members of the grounds team he assumes he'll meet along the way), and an overview of why they are being deployed. A mass of strange occurrences in Turkey, it seems, equating to demon activity. Only small by the Order's standards, according to Komui, but he can't help feeling nervous about it.
He sets the folder aside and moves his attention to the carefully wrapped package before him, picking the strings open and unfolding the paper to reveal an item of black cloth, a silver medallion in the shape of a rose cross sitting polished and new on the front. A small slip of paper sits nestled in the folds of it, and he gingerly pulls it out, unfolding it to read the short message written in neat print.
To Allen Walker; I'm glad to hear you're joining our ranks, though it is unfortunate that a man so young as yourself has been dragged into this. I hope we can grow to know each other over the time you spend here. Let me know if you have any problems with the uniform. Yours, Johnny Gill.
He remembers Johnny, the kind young man who had taken his measurements and worked in Komui's unit. He reminds himself that he'll have to go and thank him later, making a mental note of it as he stands up and picks up the coat, letting it unfold in his hands as he holds it up to look at it. It's expertly crafted and more expensive than anything he's ever owned in his life, the trimmings and buttons made of silver and gleaming in the dim light of his room. Each carved and polished button has his name engraved in the back, and he feels like he finally owns something important, something that's his. It is heavy and warm around his shoulders as he slips it on, a comforting weight and the perfect size. He needs to do more than simply thank Johnny for this.
He remembers Cross with a similar jacket, trimmed with gold instead of silver, and once again realises that it's a stark sign of the Order. He had always wondered why his master was so attached to that coat; whenever his clothes got worn or dirty he would simply replace them with new ones, but the coat he always kept, getting it cleaned or mended whenever the need arose. Allen had never had the gall to ask why, but he feels there is no need for that now. He just wishes he had been informed sooner of all the things he has had to stumble upon along the way.
Lavi is only a few minutes behind him once he heads down to the canal, reading over the specifics of the mission as he waits by the boat, interrupted when his partner feels the need to announce himself quite loudly. "You're early!" he says as he steps out of the walkway, grinning at Allen as he steps up to work on untying the boat from the moor.
Allen returns the briefing to a pocket on the inside of his coat, watching Lavi and trying to think of if there's anything he could be doing to help. "It's better than being late," he replies, stepping gently into the boat to take up the oar just as Lavi finishes with the rope.
"I'll have you know that we are at exactly eleven hours and eight seconds... now, so I was technically a little early myself. You ready to go?"
"As ever."
He smiles and tosses the rope to the inside of the boat, pushing them away from the landing as he steps over to sit down in front of Allen. "You'll be fine, I'm sure. This one should be a cinch, and it gives us a chance to get to know each other! Tell me about yourself, Allen, I am all ears."
He's not sure where to start; it's been a long time since anyone has asked him that in such a general way, and there are so many things he's not sure would be good to share, among those he refuses to. "Um, well, I'm originally from London?" he begins, focusing on keeping the boat in line as he thinks. "I travelled a lot though, and I guess I still will."
Lavi sticks out his tongue and makes an unattractive noise, leaning back where he sits. "That's boring! Tell me all the fun stuff. Is it true what they're saying about the demons being previously human?"
Allen suddenly realises that this is going to be a long trip.
He's exhausted by the time they reach Turkey, Lavi having drawn all he possibly could out of Allen before simply choosing to talk about himself, prattling on about his recent trips through the Orient and the Middle East and anything else that comes to mind over the couple of days it takes to get there. He becomes mostly business once they get within an hour's walk of the town they'd been sent to, getting more thoughtful the closer they get. "I probably should have asked this earlier," he says once the town comes into view, miles off on the horizon, "But how well can you actually fight?"
He remembers the first (and likely last) battle he had fought with Kanda, the countless times he had been forced to even before that. "Moderately well, I hope," he tells Lavi, stretching his hand by his side. "How many are we expecting?"
"It's hard to say," he sighs, lifting his arms to stretch his back. "From what the report said, I'd guess maybe ten class one's, possibly a second class or two. We won't know until we get there."
Allen hums thoughtfully in response, watching the town as they slowly get closer to it. "How do the classes work, exactly?"
He brightens up, jumping at the chance to share his knowledge. "Well, unlike what it sounds like, they don't level up in stages. It's more of a gradual thing, evolving slowly with each kill they make, so we class them basically on how big they are. Some grow much more suddenly than others, if they're in sticky situations, but generally that's pretty rare."
"How can you tell though? If it's gradual, there wouldn't be any distinct marker would there?"
"How do you make the distinction between a large pond and a small lake?" he asks, and Allen realises he has a point. "You just learn these things over time. Class one's, as you know, are pretty weak, and aren't exactly smart. Two's are a bit stronger, depending on how far they are along their class they are, and are generally a fair bit smarter, showing a sense of self unlike the mindless the killings of one's. Class three's we haven't seen much of, but they're known to be way stronger than class two's, and much smarter to boot. Think of them in terms of human ageing; one's are like toddlers, they're only just learning how to walk, two's are like adolescents, and three's are pretty much adults."
He's heard something similar from Cross, he thinks, though not quite as specific as that, as is usually his style. He thinks it all over for a moment, making sure to put it all carefully to mind before he asks anything else. "Is three the highest they get?" he asks then, and Lavi just shrugs.
"I'd say so. Three's in their later stages are pretty damn formidable, so I guess that's about as high as they get." There's a brief silence, Allen wondering if he'll ever run into a class three and just how strong they might be, and then Lavi catches his attention again. "Hey, Allen, want to see something cool?"
He looks up, wary of the mischievous smile on Lavi's face. "Um, alright?" he replies dubiously, and Lavi stops, pulling something from a holster on his thigh. What looks like a toy hammer, Allen realises, and wonders how that's even remotely cool, but his thoughts cut off as it grows bigger, the head of it burying itself in the dirt. Lavi moves down to sit on the thin shaft of it, patting the space next to him. "You want me to sit on that?" Allen asks, and Lavi grins.
"Come on," he coos, in a tone that Allen knows means he's going to regret giving in. "It'll be fine, I promise. It's safer than riding a horse, and damn well faster."
"Faster?" he asks, wondering just what exactly is going to happen. He is only given a waggled eyebrow in response, and Allen reluctantly caves, stepping over to sit carefully on the shaft behind him. "Okay, so now what?"
"You hold on tight!" Lavi beams, and then they're shooting through the air, Allen very nearly falling off before he has time to grasp the most solid thing near him, which happens to be Lavi's waist.
"Are you crazy?" he cries, watching the path zip by beneath them. Lavi just cackles, his shoulders shaking with mirth; Allen is very quickly regretting ever trusting him. "You are, you're off your bloody rocker. If I die because of your crazy hammer ride, I am going to become a ghost and haunt you forever."
"Oh, lighten up, Al!" he says, voice raised over the whistle of the wind as it passes them by. "It's fine, see? So long as you don't let go, nothing's gonna happen."
"And what if I let go?"
"At this speed? You might break a limb or two, as long as you don't land on that pretty little noggin of yours."
He considers screaming a little, but decides to take Lavi's advice, trying to calm himself down and look past the heavy fear that something awful is going to happen. It's definitely a lot faster than walking, which he supposes is a bonus, and now that he's actually focusing on the mystery of it, he tries to figure out what is actually going on. "How does this work?" he asks, moving his eyes from the ground tearing past beneath them to the town growing steadily closer on the horizon.
"Magic," Lavi says, and Allen promptly jabs him in the ribs. "It is though! Well, sort of. It's Apostle magic, which still counts."
"Kanda seemed to hate calling it magic."
"Kanda has a permanent stick up his ass."
"So I'm not the only one he's like that with," he mutters, remembering how sour Kanda had been even before he flipped out and hated Allen for good. He wonders if Kanda will hate him forever, but pushes that out of his mind to focus on the things at hand. "So, is this your ability?"
"One of them. I can change the sizes and proportions of anything I want, really, but usually that wears me out something nasty, so I only ever do it in a pinch. This baby, though," he says, patting the polished stem of the hammer, "Is made of some special stuff, so it's a lot easier to use. She's gotten me out of more than my fair share of tight spots, let me tell you."
He wonders how many other Apostles have weapons specially made for them, thinking of Kanda's sword, Cross' gun. Why his weapon had to be part of his arm he doesn't know, but he begins to hate it even more with the knowledge that most of them have external weapons. "What else can you do, if I can ask?"
Lavi grins, and Allen notices that they're slowing down. "I'll show you when we're actually fighting," he says, glancing back to wink at him, and then they stop moving completely, the two of them dropping to the ground. They're still a twenty minute walk from town, but it definitely beats the hour or two it would have otherwise taken them. "We'll walk from here," he explains, and Allen watches as the other end of the hammer is pulled towards them from where it sits on the horizon as he shortens the shaft again, shrinking the hammer afterwards to replace it in his holster. "Not going to make a good impression if a couple of weird guys go zooming through town on a magic stick, y'know?"
He knows; just walking through towns with the way he looks often leaves a bad impression, and he'd do all he could not to make it worse. The town is only small when they finally reach it, which he hopes will make it that much easier to find the demons. They find an inn on the main street to leave their things and come back to later, then set out to explore the town, wandering through the streets and observing the people around them. Lavi is surprised but mostly intrigued when Allen's eye reacts to the demons, and he picks out nine of them on their round before they end up back at the main street, noticing that a couple of them have followed them back.
"We'll draw them out of town," Lavi says, tapping his hand absently against his thigh, and it is only now that Allen remembers that's where his weapon sits. "It won't do any good fighting here, and maybe we'll catch the eye of some others on our way out."
This is as good a plan as any, so they begin to make their way to the outskirts of town, heading out into the countryside to the west of it; sure enough, five or six people follow them out, still about a hundred yards away, but they'll quickly catch up. Lavi deems it far enough from town, so they stop, keeping their backs turned to the demons in the hopes that they'll think they haven't been noticed. "You ready for this?" he asks Allen, a warm smile on his face.
Allen gives a small huff, taking the glove off his left hand and putting it in his pocket, wary of Lavi's curious eye. "Definitely," he replies, and Lavi's smile widens.
He claps his hands together, which Allen thinks is strange considering it doesn't make it any easier to grab his weapon, but he just winks, subtly shifting his stance. "On three, then," he says, and Allen nods. He counts one, two, then on the third count he whirls around, and everything is suddenly on fire. Allen is struck into awe for a moment, watching the flames spill from Lavi's fingers as he dances on the turn, catching the demons off guard and setting most of them alight. Their screams ring in his ears as Lavi uses this time to draw his hammer, bringing it up to a formidable size and swinging it in a heavy arc right into the side of half of them, and then Allen remembers that he's supposed to be helping.
He activates his weapon, trying his best to avoid the flames as he swings at the few that managed to dodge it, grabbing one in his palm and crushing it. He doesn't linger on it as it disintegrates, jumping out of the way of Lavi's hammer as it swings past him and launching himself at another. He stops to catch his breath once the last of them are gone, his hand relaxing back into its natural state, and then he turns on Lavi, who is watching him with an expectant grin, hammer slung over his shoulder. "You could have warned me about the bloody fire!" he snaps, and gets a chuckle in return. "I had no idea what to expect, and you just throw fire like it's nothing out of nowhere. Good Lord, what if I'd been caught in it?"
"It's alright," he assures, stepping closer to Allen as he replaces his hammer at his side. "It doesn't hurt people, not unless I want it to. See, let me show-"
"No."
"Come on Al, don't you trust me?"
"Not after the amount of times you've done something dangerous today, no."
"But I'm always dangerous. Look, I promise it doesn't hurt. Just let me show you, alright?" Allen sighs, watching Lavi's face carefully as he thinks. While he has been awfully spontaneous and has shown an apparent disregard to their safety, Allen feels that despite it all, he means well, and he hasn't been injured yet. He rolls his eyes, then holds out his hand, and Lavi's face lights up. "Alright!" he beams, then takes Allen's hand, holding it gently between both of his. "Just relax, and watch."
He does, focusing his attention on the palm of his hand and Lavi's own around it, watching as a small fire grows in the space above his palm. Lavi moves his hands away, hovering them either side, and the fire grows bigger with the movement, encasing Allen's hand. He expects to feel pain, to feel the flames burning the skin off his hand, but it only feels as warm as the sun on his back and he finds it strangely pleasant. Lavi flicks his hands upwards and it dissipates, leaving only smoke that trails up into the air. "Alright, I've got to admit," he says, flexing his hand and finding that it still feels much the same, "That is kind of cool."
"I told you," Lavi chides, gently nudging him, and he just sticks his tongue out at him as he grabs his glove from his pocket to place it back over his hand. "So what now?"
"There are still some in town," Allen says, beginning to head back towards it. "It's getting late, so we can either track them down now or wait until tomorrow."
Lavi scoffs. "Screw that," he mutters, stretching his arms and falling into step beside him. "We'll wait until tomorrow, we've been on the road all day. I could do with some dinner."
Allen couldn't agree more, so they head back to the inn in town to grab something to eat, chatting idly over their meals before they head upstairs to their room to sleep. It isn't particularly late by the time they get to bed, but as Lavi had said, they'd been travelling all day and Allen feels more tired than usual, despite being used to constant travel. The circuses he partook in only ever travelled for a day or two at a time, though, unlike the several he and Lavi had just spent getting here, and his weariness makes sense as he closes his eyes and slowly nods off.
He is suddenly woken sometime during the night by a sharp pain in his eye, rolling out of bed just as his vision blurs and loses some of its colour; even in his groggy state he understands what it means, and immediately activates his arm, standing in the middle of the room as he tries to figure out where they are. "Lavi," he hisses, and he gets a delayed grunt in response. "Lavi, get up. They're here."
This gets him moving, a couple of murmured curses slipping from his mouth as he jumps out of bed with his hammer in hand, having been much more prepared than Allen had expected, though he supposes that doing this all the time would make him cautious. He looks around the room with a tired green eye, ears pricked for any signs of them, then gives a heavy sigh. "Allen, what the heck, there aren't even any-"
The window behind him crashes inwards, throwing glass and splinters of wood through the room, and they both throw themselves to the floor in practised motions as a demon smashes through above them, its outstretched claws meeting the opposite wall instead of the people it had been aiming for, and it snarls, whirling around with a gnashing of teeth just as Lavi swings his hammer and slams it back into the wall, hard enough that its body crumbles under the force and it slumps to the floor, already beginning to disintegrate. A class one, Allen thinks, though very high along its class; it can't have been the only one.
His fears are realised when something is shot through the gaping hole in the wall where the window had been, what looks like an animal's spines sticking an inch deep in the wood with sharp thunks. One of them catches Lavi's forearm before he can pull himself out of the way, and Allen knows they need to get out, they don't have enough space to manoeuvre in this room. He waits for the attack to stop then launches himself out of the gap in the wall, cushioning his landing with his left hand, and Lavi is not far behind, extending his weapon to bring himself down to the ground. The demon that had fired at them sits on the roof across from the inn, perched like some kind of bizarre, misshapen hedgehog, countless spines protruding from its back and along its forearms, its teeth bared as it snarls at them before it leaps off the roof and onto the wall of the inn, launching itself from there towards where Allen stands on the ground.
He brings his hand up just as it gets close enough, knocking it to the side and into the wall of one of the buildings. Lavi begins to step forward to help, but another class two bursts from the ground behind him, barely able to dodge the teeth that almost sink into his shoulder. Lavi can hold is own, Allen thinks to himself, and focuses his attention on the one before him, ducking and rolling out of the way as spines shoot forth from where it had been buried in the wall. It screeches as it launches itself at him again, his claws closing around its form and trying to crush it, but it wriggles out of his grasp and bounds off down the street, stopping to look back and hiss at him. He glances back as the street lights up behind him, the demon facing Lavi screaming as its eyes boil from their sockets, then charges after the one that had run, cursing as it leaps from the ground to cling to the wall of a building, its claws digging into the surface as it crawls across the structures like a spider.
Allen begins to chase after it but skids to a stop as a third one bursts from the ground in front of him, a hot flash of pain in his shoulder as it swings and knocks him down, its claws breaking the skin. He rolls back to his feet and ducks around its next attack, more focused on the one that had gotten away; he's lost track of it, but he is quickly made aware of its whereabouts as it launches down from a rooftop towards him, and he barely throws himself out of the way, swinging his arm around to dig his claws deep into its flesh, its soul twisting and writhing above it as it dies. He doesn't linger on it and swings back around to face the other one, which had moved to perch on top of one of the roofs, its eyes set curiously on him. "It's you," the demon says, watching him with misshapen grey orbs. "You are the one that bears the curse. The Master must be told."
All he can think is shit, knowing full well what happens once demons find out about it; he has to kill this one before it has the chance to spread the news, and a quick glance to his side proves that he is on his own to do so. He uses his hand to launch himself up towards the rooftop, grasping for the demon as it jumps out of his reach, bouncing across the rooftops, and he launches into a sprint after it, but it's too fast, too agile, he can't keep up. This close to the edge of town he soon runs out of buildings, and is forced to pause as he brings himself to the ground, the demon charging off across the plains beyond, and he reluctantly lets it go, his eye tracking the slight luminescence of its soul as his lungs gasp for breath. He has to return to Lavi, he remembers, and takes a deep breath before running back through the town to where he had left him, returning just as a pillar of fire illuminates the street and trails off into the sky, leaving only wafting smoke and Lavi standing alone in the street, hammer clasped in one hand and resting on the ground. "Are you alright?" he asks as he steps up behind him, giving the area a cursory glance to make sure there aren't any more demons around.
Lavi sighs, shrinking his weapon back down as Allen deactivates his own. "Yeah," he says, brushing the dirt off his clothes as he steps around to face Allen. "I'll patch up later. Where did you go running off to?"
"One of them got away," he explains, looking down at his own dust-ridden clothes with a frown. "Bloody fast, that thing."
He hums as he thinks, Allen following him as he begins to head back through the town. "I guess we should wait around for a little while then," he suggests, relaxed as ever. "We might have missed some here, and that one will probably come back at some point."
"It won't."
Lavi pauses at his sudden remark, a little confused. "How do you figure?"
He takes a deep breath as he thinks about how best to answer, and figures he'll just give it to him straight. Lavi doesn't seem like the kind of person to make a fuss of things. "It knows who I am," he begins, remembering what it said, "And from the sounds of it, it's likely that it's going to tell the Earl, or somebody else it works for. They're going to try and find me."
He expects some kind of serious response, but Lavi just gives a low whistle, that smile everpresent on his face. "I guess you're something of a celebrity, huh?" he says easily, and Allen feels that maybe he isn't taking this serious enough.
"Lavi, I'm going to need to leave the Order, at least for a little while. It's not safe."
"Hogwash, you only just joined. Not to mention that you're Cross' disciple, and he's something of a celebrity himself. The Order is probably the safest place for you, you know. We know what we're doing." He pauses at Allen's dubious face, giving him a gentle nudge in the side. "Think about it; we wouldn't have survived this long if we didn't know how to protect our own, yeah? It'll be safer than wandering off on your own, especially if you have the freaking Earl after you. Show a little faith, hm?"
Allen looks at him, tries to read the earnest smile on his face, the easy smile, and reluctantly lets himself give in. It probably would be safer among others who can fight, and there's no way of telling that they're going to actually hunt him down, even if that is wishful thinking on his part. All he can really hope for is that the repercussions will not be as bad as he is expecting, and that Lavi's plea for trust is not unfounded. "I suppose you're right," he sighs, watching his hands as he absently brings them up to massage the muscles of his left. "I don't want to put any of you in danger, though."
Lavi nudges him again, hard enough that his step falters and he has to right himself before glaring at him. "You're a strange guy, Allen," he says brightly, as if he didn't know that already, "But I like you. Why don't you talk to Komui about it, I'm sure he'd be supportive of you staying. Most of the Order already likes you."
"You think so?"
"Dude, you're the talk of the town, I know so." He pouts as he thinks about what kinds of things people could be saying about him, having figured it would likely just be the usual slander, then sets that aside to think about in his own time.
"I guess I'll hang around and see what happens," he mutters as they step through the door to the inn, realising that it doesn't feel like as bad an idea as his mind is trying to make it out to be.
"'Atta boy. Now come on, I want to get some more sleep before we leave tomorrow, I am wiped," he says with his average amount of enthusiasm, and bounds up the stairs before him, Allen following quietly behind.
There isn't any word of other demons showing up by the time they've done a sweep of the town and headed for the train station, so they deem it 'mission complete' (though Allen feels that it is dubiously so) and begin to make their way back to England, beginning with trains back through Europe. It's mostly just one train ride after another, the two of them only stepping out into towns to walk through the station to their next one, but around the middle of the day there is a two-and-a-half hour delay with one of their connecting trains, and they decide that this is ample opportunity to stop for lunch.
They find a pub not far from the station that sells what Allen deems an 'adequate amount of food', which he then proceeds to eat half of while Lavi watches in horror over his own meal, and they sit and talk afterwards, milling about as they wait for their next train. Lavi pauses mid-sentence at one point and looks over at the bar, his eyes narrowing, and Allen tries to figure out what caught his attention, following his gaze to where the barkeeper is talking with one of their patrons. "Interesting," he murmurs, then, "I'll be back," and gets up to wander over to the bar, striking up conversation with them. Allen sighs, leaning forward on the table, and wonders just what exactly it is that Lavi found interesting.
"Full house," hear hears someone say far to his left, followed by a cry of despair, and his eyes are drawn to a table in the back corner around which four men and a child sit with a deck of cards spread on the table between them. He glances back at Lavi, who is still engrossed in talking to the barkeeper, so he figures his partner wouldn't mind and makes his way over to the table just as the man who had been playing gets up and leaves in a rather sorry state. The remaining men at the table catch Allen's curious eye, the one who had inadvertently caught his attention speaking up to him now. "What do you want, little boy?" he says, eyes a deep curious brown behind his thick glasses, shuffling the cards in his hands. "This isn't a place for kids."
Ironic, he thinks, considering the kid sitting just behind them and watching, but he feels he has no need to mention it. "I'd like a game," he says instead, sitting down in the recently vacated chair, and the three of them look at each other in surprise.
They seem to agree on letting him in, the man in the middle setting the cards down on the table. "What are you willing to wager?" he asks evenly,
Oh, crap, he hadn't thought that far ahead. He doesn't currently have any money on him, and he doesn't carry much else of value, unless... "My coat," he says, linking his hands and pushing them forward to crack his knuckles. "The trimmings and ornaments are all made of silver, and it's quite a rare item. I'm sure it'll be worth your while. If you win, that is."
The man in the glasses laughs, his cigarette nearly falling from his mouth. "You're sharp, kid. I like that. Before we begin, how about introductions, hmm? You can call me Mikk."
"Allen," he replies in kind, giving him a smile. Mikk grins, then deals them both a hand.
Poker is perhaps the only useful thing he has ever learnt from Cross, and he is glad he still finds a use for it now. It is not as important as it used to be with the income that the Order now provides him with, but it has become a habit too long in the making for him to give it up simply because he no longer needs it. He remembers the day that Cross had sat him down and taught him how to play, showed him a few key tricks, and he had practised with Maria for hours even long after Cross had drunk too much and fallen asleep. He uses those same tricks now, years down the track, and as he sets down another winning hand he can't help but smile as Mikk throws his cards down at the table with a profound curse. "That's it," he cries, holding his hands up, "Take what you want, I've got nothing left."
Perhaps he has gone too far, Allen thinks, looking at the man before him now bearing nothing but his glasses, his underwear and his cigarette, his friends sitting muttering in his ear and looking at Allen with mild horror. He flicks through the deck of cards in his hands as he thinks, then jumps as someone puts a hand on his shoulder. "Here you are, Allen," Lavi says, leaning over to look at the cards still spread on the table. "I... didn't know you played poker. I didn't know you were good at poker," he adds, his eyes moving up to the very disgruntled and mostly naked Mikk.
"The more you know," Allen replies as he sets the cards down on the table and stands, taking only the coat he had draped over the chair and his own case of belongings with him. "You can have your things back," he tells Mikk, whose eyes snap to him in surprise. "I was really only in it for the game. It's been fun," he says, waving to them with a smile before he and Lavi head out of the bar and stop in the street beyond. "So what were you talking about with the barkeeper?" he asks, slipping his coat back on.
"Well, as it sounded like, demons have been in the area," he says, pulling his bandana down to run his fingers through the knots in his hair. "Heading west, by the sounds of things, which works out well considering we're going that way anyway. They killed a few people here last night, which is why people have been talking about it."
Allen hums in thought, readjusting his gloves and casting an eye around the street. "I guess there's nothing for it but to try and track them down on our way," he mulls, glancing over at Lavi. "We might as well head back to the station in the meantime, it's been nearly two-"
"Allen!" someone calls behind them, and they both turn as Mikk steps out of the pub, having hurriedly replaced most of his clothing. "Glad I caught you before you left," he says as he walks up to them, giving Lavi a nod before focusing on Allen, holding something out to him. "It wasn't right, you walking away from that game with nothing, so here. This should make us even."
His eyes move down to the item in Mikk's hands, recognising it as the deck of cards they had just played with, neatly bound together with string. He reaches up and takes it, turning it over to find the joker sitting on top of the deck. "Are you sure?" he asks, looking back up at Mikk. "I mean, it's a really nice deck, and you don't really need to-"
"Nonsense!" he cuts in, grinning wide at him. "You deserve it. You can give me another game if we ever run into each other again, yeah?"
He doubts the likelihood of that happening, but Mikk had been a bit of a challenge for him, and he would rather like another round if the chance ever arose. "I'd be happy to," he replies, and Mikk smiles, patting him on the shoulder before heading back into the pub with a wave.
Lavi watches the whole exchange in silence, and the moment that Mikk his gone he casts a sly grin down at Allen. "Somebody made a friend," he sings, and Allen gives him an elbow to the ribs.
"Respect for the game, Lavi," he mutters, slipping the deck into a pocket on the inside of his coat. "Come on, I don't want to miss the train."
"But it won't come for another half hour," Lavi whines, but follows along next to him, quick to change the subject to the cute girl he'd just had a brief chat with after he was done with the bartender. Allen makes a point of ignoring him and wonders if the whole trip back will be the same as the one here.