I hope this story is progressing well for you guys.

Before we get started, I need to say something: To my devoted anonymous reader who's been reviewing constantly, #1. Thank you, and #2) Please stop saying: "please continue please." This has become your norm, so much so that seeing a new review for this story doesn't excite me anymore.

Okay, with that out of the way, let's begin.

Blood Ties

Chapter Eight

The time was ten after five in the morning, and Lilithein opened her eyes to the ceiling of her new bedroom. "I never thought I'd have a room this big," she said to herself. "Not sure how to feel about it..." She added, her eyebrows furrowing.

After spending the day looking around, having dinner with her family, and bidding farewell to Narina, Lilithein had a rather restless first night of sleep. Kalego, before going to bed himself, informed her that they had to go pick up her uniform this morning. Before leaving, he asked if she required anything. At being told no, he turned her lights off and bade her a goodnight.

Lilithein tossed and turned in her bed all night, only getting up once to use the bathroom. Her sleep was plagued with nightmares and memories of her parents being taken away. Said two appeared to her, asking her questions, most of them beginning with the word: "why." She tried to answer them, but they kept asking her, kept questioning her actions. Why couldn't she be more gifted? Why did she always need their protection? Why did they pay the price for her life?

It was a miracle she got any sleep, and despite what he told her, Lilithein wasn't comfortable going to her uncle about all of this.

Her eyes softened. She hadn't expected so much kindness from Kalego. He was just as serious as her mother described, and just the sight of his temper was terrifying. However, he had been kind and gentle in moments she didn't expect him to be. And although she was still uneasy about bringing her troubles up with him, she did appreciate his attempts at comforting her.

Lilithein's eyes narrowed. Though she never voiced it, she had the distinct impression that her uncle didn't know what he was doing. Not surprising, considering he was still a bachelor and didn't have any children of his own. But she thought, because of his occupation, he would have a better idea on how to interact with other kids. However, most every conversation was treated with a sense of formal rigidity, only to differ in two scenarios. When he was mad, or when he was trying to be kind.

She turned over on her side. That was what made his kindness stand out. His serious and angry moments came out naturally, but when he was being kind, he seemed to be walking on eggshells. Never had she met a demon who was out of sorts for trying to care about someone. At first, she thought it came from the two of them not meeting until after the attack, but now she knew otherwise.

Lilithein sat up and looked at the room Kalego gave her. Opera had been asking about her tastes while at the hospital, but she didn't expect to get a bedroom straight out of a dream. The walls were a light shade of purple, with thin white stripes separating the color into brackets. The trim of the room was painted black, and the floor had a black carpet to go with it. On the walls, Kalego had taken the liberty of framing and hanging up most of the pictures that his sister sent him, leaving two of them on the desk he gave his niece, and placing her parent's wedding photo on an end table in the parlor.

The entrance to her room was near the left corner, opposite one of the two large windows. Stained-wooden bookshelves were installed on either side of the left wall. Next to each bookcase was a bedside table, which both sat on opposing sides of Lilithein's bed. It was much larger than the one she had at home, with more than enough room for her to completely stretch out on it. The headboard was painted a silvery-gray, which complimented the dark purple comforter and light blue bed sheets. There was a white, hand woven blanket folded nicely at the end of her bed, and the head of her bed had many pillows in many different shades of blue and purple.

On the same wall as the door was her dresser, which was painted the same color as her headboard. It was tall, and held everything that couldn't fit in her closet. Next to it, right across from her desk, was a dark blue vanity, which had any and everything Opera and Kalego thought she could need to get ready.

The wall opposite of her bed held her closet. It wasn't massive, but its sliding doors did take up the majority of the wall, and was bigger than the coat closet she was used to. There were a few clothes in there already, but Kalego did say they'd look at getting some more while they were out. There was a table in the corner, which held the black lotus that Professor Balam gave her.

Finally, the wall opposite the door. This wall had two windows, one on each side, and her desk was placed between both of them. The first one, which was by her bed, was a nice size, and allowed the morning rays of the sun to shine through. The second one, on the other side of the room, was larger and had a reading nook. Pink shaded pillows accented the violet cushion of the nook, and both windows had magenta curtains with silver ribbons to keep them opened.

A small smile crept onto her lips, her eyes closing half-way. Her new home may have been intimidating, but she was glad that her uncle was trying to make her feel welcome. Not only did he give her a room she liked, but he was also trying to make her feel more at home in other parts of the house. Why else would he place her parents' wedding photo in the living room?

Her smile turned into a frown at the thought. "Mom...I hope you're all right," she thought aloud, her eyes looking down into her lap. Lilithein stayed like this for several minutes, the night of the assault playing in her head over and over.

The attack had come out of nowhere. Lilithein hadn't even heard anyone enter the house after she sent her mother upstairs. The last thing she recalled clearly was bringing out icing for the cake she made, only to be shoved against the refrigerator door, where she slammed her right temple into. After that, she found herself thrown onto the table, sliding down and forcing everything off it, before someone grabbed her again and threw her face-first at the wall.

She flashed in and out of consciousness after this. She knew they beat her a bit. She knew that her mother tried to fight. She couldn't quite recall what happened for things to escalate the way they did. The last clear image she saw was her mother, tied up by two of her assailants, with whatever it was shocking her until she lost consciousness.

A light knock on the door brought Lilithein back to reality. Her back straightened, and she turned her head in time to see her Uncle Kalego open her bedroom door, wearing a pair of dark pants and a grey sweater. When he saw her, his eyes widened ever so slightly, but then his features calmed.

"Good morning," Kalego said, his voice steady and firm.

She nodded at him. "Good morning, Uncle," Lilithein said, her voice a little meek.

Kalego's eyes narrowed, and he shoved his hands into his pockets. "I'd ask how you slept, but for some reason, I don't think it was well," he said to her, a healthy frown on his face.

Lilithein grimaced at that. "Is it that obvious?" She couldn't stop herself from asking.

"I've seen all types of Nightwing Owls, and they have lighter circles under their eyes than you do," he said without missing a beat.

The girl brought her hand to her face. "I see..." Was all she could manage to say in that moment.

Before the silence between them could get uncomfortable, Kalego let out a sigh. "Well, get ready and come downstairs for breakfast. I'll make us some hell grey tea," he said, beginning to turn to leave.

"Ah, yes Uncle. Thank you," she said, not looking up at him as he left the room.

Kalego maintained his composure until her heard the click of the door, allowing his eyebrows to furrow. As he walked downstairs, he started thinking about the previous night.

In truth, he hadn't gone to bed until well after midnight. Not something he wasn't used to. Being the guard dog of Babyls meant that he had to be ready at all times, so he normally didn't sleep more than five hours. However, he had half a mind to go to bed earlier to allow more time to get his usual night's sleep. He had a feeling that Lilithein may keep him up, whether that be sleeplessness, nightmares, or any other response to her trauma.

He narrowed his eyes. Kalego wasn't surprised that she could barely sleep. He was less surprised that she chose not to come to him. And though it bothered him, he knew better than to expect her to go to him immediately. He had to be patient with her. However, for her sake, Kalego hoped that it wouldn't turn into a long wait.

He had kept himself up with reading a book. His oldest book, and among his favorites. Kalego hadn't read it in a while, but he found the familiarity of it lifted his spirits a little. However, right as he ended the thirteenth chapter, a loud scream made him bolt out of the room, the book to flopping on his bed as he raced down the hall to Lilithein's room.

Kalego shook his head, trying to calm strange feeling in the pit of his stomach at seeing Lilithein the way she was. Tangled in her blankets, limbs thrashing, and shouting apologies to her parents when she wasn't muttering that she should have just died. To say it took a great deal of coaxing to calm her down would be a gross understatement. A small part of him was surprised he managed it.

He finished making breakfast right as Lilithein came downstairs, dressed in a white shirt with short sleeves that puffed out at the shoulders. Over it, she wore a knee-length tank-top black dress, with white buttons going up the middle of her torso, and a ruffled skirt with gold lace. She wore white flats, black fingerless gloves, and a black collar with gold-colored studs.

They ate at one of the kitchen islands in complete silence. Unfortunately, this was not because the food was good, although it was a nice distraction. There was a tense air that wasn't there at any point prior, and neither Naberius knew how to address it. It stretched out until the end of their meal, while Kalego was washing dishes. Somewhere towards the end of this task was when Lilithein voiced something she hadn't been able to before.

"Uncle Kalego?" The young demoness called, her voice barely above a whisper.

Kalego's head perked up, but he didn't answer yet. Instead, he shut off the water and dried his hands before turning around, looking her in the eyes before asking: "What is it, Lilithein?"

Once again, Lilithein was a little put off by his attempt at being kind, but she covered that up by clearing her throat. The girl took a deep breath, and began speaking at a more audible level. "Do you...do you think, I mean..." Lilithein swallowed, feeling like a rock suddenly formed in her throat. And although it didn't really help much, she managed to finally say: "Is Mom gonna be found? ...will she even be okay?"

His eyes widened ever so slightly, but he recomposed himself, once again trying to choose his words carefully, but also quickly enough so she wouldn't doubt his response.

After a moment, his eyes softened and he said: "I'm not sure."

And scene! Man this took me a while. Hope you enjoyed and I'll see you whenever I get Chapter 9 done.