Deep within the dungeon, a place that was essentially myth to even veteran adventurers, a camp was set up in a small safe zone, a miraculous thing for any human being. For the Xenos however, survival experts of the dungeon for they were born in it, finding such a place was much simpler. Not that it wasn't dangerous, as they were licking their wounds, some doing so literally, but with their wisdom and their teamwork on top of their natural abilities, so far, they managed to come out on top. Nevertheless, Gros always thanked their luck more than their good sense that they managed to get so far without any casualties.
A memory, of a bandaged man covering his black skin. He grit his teeth. Almost without casualties. He let out a weary sigh, rubbing his shoulder before giving Wiene a thankful nod. It was a miracle they managed to escape that 'musician' in time. He owed Rei one for getting him out of there before his body was turned into mush. Still, it galled him, that even after leaving the surface and all its inhabitants, there were still people desiring to hunt them down like filthy animals. A part of Gros wanted to prove them right in a way, to tear their throats out and hunt them down in turn. But then he remembered. What the 'good ones' of the surface went through to allow them to live. To get this chance to find a better place, despite the arduous journey.
He exhaled quietly, shaking his head. He looked at the camp fire, seeing Lido make a fool out of himself for the younger Xenos, to keep their spirits up. Even Ranye was pulled into this, using her strings with a blush to make funny figures. Gros wouldn't give this away for anything else. Even if some of them still dreamed of the surface, the fact that they were alive was good enough for them. He only wished they had the ability to decide their own fate, not be reliant on others and their goodwill.
Bell, Kojiro, Haruhime…even their captain. The girl who was extremely antagonistic towards them, yet granted them mercy nonetheless. Or rather, they gave mercy to each other. It was proof that Lido wasn't completely a dreamer. Gros looked at his claws before forming them into fists. He could only hope that this Solaris made up with her Familia at this point. She was a strong warrior, but deeply conflicted. He'd never say it out loud, but he respected her abilities. In fact, he was looking forward to fighting her again, in a more friendly way. He scoffed at himself. Heh. Friendly way. He really got soft after all this…
"Valis for your thoughts?"
He blinked, putting on a neutral face as quick as he could. He felt his eyebrow twitch at the mischievous smile the siren pointed at him. He let out a huff, before turning his head away.
"Valis are useless to us, Rei."
"Excuse me for trying to be polite," she said dryly, rolling her eyes. Crossing her wings, she raised an eyebrow at him. "So?"
Pressing his maw together for a moment, the gargoyle shrugged, trying to play it off.
"I've just been thinking. If we will ever meet the Hestia Familia again. They've been…quite useful for us."
"Is that what you call it?"
He sent her a glare, only for something to jump at him from behind. He sighed, hearing Wiene giggle with delight as she hugged him around his neck.
"We will! We promised after all!"
"If nothing else, once we get to a place more resembling civilization we can at the very least exchange letters," Rei said, chuckling as Gros tried to pry off Wiene without squishing her weak, flabby arms. The gargoyle exhaled, shaking his head in annoyance.
"None of us can write."
"Then we just have to hope someone will for us."
"Hmph. A waste of time…but I might make a token effort." He crossed his arms. "After all, I should apologize for roughing up Bell's captain up as I did."
"Didn't she beat your ass?" Ranye asked out loud, causing Gros to twitch before shooting up to his feet as the area was filled with laughter.
"Shut it!"
It only caused the laughter to intensify. Great, now he was the butt of the joke. He should've just kept his mouth shut…
"That would be difficult to do, Gros."
It was only the familiarity with the voice that stayed his claws. Still, all of them turned around swiftly, shocked at the hooded figure revealing his skull face to them. Lido gasped before barking out a laugh, hugging their supporter and ally without hesitation.
"Fels! Long time no seen!"
The alchemist let out a strained breath, his bones creaking at the force Lido exerted. Rei gently pried him off, looking at Fels with concern.
"Are you sure it's safe to come down here personally?"
Gros on the other hand had a sinking feeling in his stomach. He growled, getting everyone's attention as he leaned forward.
"Nevermind that. What would be difficult to do?"
Fels worked his jaw before sitting down on a nearby boulder. His shoulders slumped, looking as old as he actually was, his head hanging low. He was silent, not saying anything. Wiene squirmed with worry, causing Rei to hug the little girl. Then, the alchemist let out a long suffering sigh as he pressed his hand against his forehead.
"There is no easy way to say this, so I will just say it." Fels straightened himself up, his hands on his lap. "Solaris Crozzo has died two days ago."
The silence was deafening. The Xenos stared at Fels, unable to comprehend what he just said. Someone died? Someone they knew? Just like that? Gros felt his body shake. They just talked about her. He jus thought about her. And as if to mock him, the world decided to…
"What…?"
"Oh no…!"
"H-How is Bell?!" Wiene shouted, tears welling up in her eyes. Fels avoided her gaze, shaking his head slowly.
"It is hard to say. He had yet to…stabilize before I left."
Stabilize. Gros could see it, in his mind's eye. The grief that he himself felt when his brethren were caught, enslaved or killed. The despair against the world, the hate, the rage…to imagine it on the face of their savior…Wiene whimpered, crying into Rei's embrace. Lido flickered his tongue, trying to maintain his composure, but his tail twitched furiously, showing it was a losing battle.
"How…how did it happen?"
"They were hunting down the hunters. The good news are, that Salieri and Lobo are out of the picture. And Filvis has joined our side."
"So…it's our fault…?"
Immediately, Rei squeezed Wiene's shoulders, shaking her head furiously.
"No, it's not. Don't think like that, Wiene."
"Belluchi…" Lido exhaled slowly before nodding in agreement. "It's just…bad luck…"
They all felt the guilt. Once more, Bell and the others fought for them. And this time, they paid the price for it. He saw Asterius from the corner of his eyes, having perked up when Fels arrived, and steam radiating from his nostrils when he heard the news. He clenched his fists, determination burning in his eyes. The bull's mere aura lit a fire in them all. They could grieve, for Bell's loss. Grief for their uselessness. But they had to channel it, this shame. To become better.
To be a proper equal for Bell Cranel, so that he doesn't have to pay the cost ever again. They had to get stronger, be better. With that in mind, groups were formed, to go through their tactics, their skills, training plans. But Gros stayed back, looking at Fels.
"Oi, Fels. Did you try?"
The alchemist froze before nodding slowly.
"I did."
"And it didn't work," Gros stated. He didn't hold out hope to begin with. The resurrection spell of Fels. The spell that never worked back then…and didn't work now. Fels returned the hood back into place, hiding his skeletal features.
"I wouldn't have told you she died if it did." He looked up at the ceilings, as if trying to look at the heavens themselves, his empty eye sockets pleading for an answer but receiving nothing. "Just another failure..."
"Do you have any idea why?"
"Well, considering the spell never worked to begin with…I wouldn't be so sure." Fels rubbed his chin. "The best I can come up with as a theory…is that her soul was content. Content in passing on. That and perhaps I was too late to begin with…Perhaps her soul already got beyond my reach. Or perhaps my spell is useless, doomed to never work to begin with." He shook his head. "It is all just theories. What is done, is done."
Indeed. They had less pursuers now. But he doubted the "Night Queen" was gonna give up that easily. With that in mind, as Fels vanished, he made his way to the rest of the Xenos, to participate in their planning, for escape and training.
/
It was rare, the times where Loki drank wine in a nice bar, and couldn't taste a damn thing. It wasn't like she was drinking a shitty brand or anything. It was Soma made. Not the good stuff, naturally, her Familia wasn't that well off in terms of finances at the moment, but heck, it was Soma made. And yet, as she took a sip from her glass, she let out a heavy sigh.
Turned out getting drunk did not help with the current mood. She massaged her temples as she glanced to her side and wondered where the heck she went wrong with her life…that she was sharing a drink with Hestia of all people. It wasn't a thing she planned whatsoever. The first instinct she had when she saw the fellow goddess in this bar was to spin around on her heel and leave. And yet, here she was. Unable to leave this depressed sack alone. Then again, what was the saying again?
Misery desired company or something?
Loki stretched her arms, before letting out a tired sigh.
"Soooo. Wanna share what the heck happened down there?"
Hestia glanced at her, stopping her playing around with her empty glass. Her cheeks were red just a bit, not as red as her puffy eyes. She raised an eyebrow before looking back into her glass.
"Didn't your Lefiya tell you?"
The trickster rolled her eyes, resting her chin on the counter with a casual shrug.
"See, she did write a report…and then she threw herself at training. Physical too. Pretty sure she passed out hitting a training log and had to be dragged away from it."
And wasn't that a shocking sight. Any thought of celebration died, reaching a state of dead just like her eyes. How empty she sounded when she curtly gave the more bare details, including the death of Solaris Crozzo. And then, she made a bee line for the training grounds and started to throw punches that could piss off even Raul. Raul! Loki was sure that Lefiya didn't learn from this, most likely throwing herself at all sorts of training again. She could only hope her other kids still had the Aiz Protocols in their heads, because damn, if she didn't get a sense of deja vu there.
So naturally, Loki was hella interested in what happened. Hestia bit her lip before nodding slowly.
"Ah…I guess I should fill in the details."
And that she did. Apparently the Kojiro fella was good at remembering. Loki heard how the battle went smoothly at first, before the fucking dog appeared out of nowhere. She felt heat build up, remembering Tiona's state after that debacle. If nothing else, at least the mutt was gone now. Still, to hear that Solaris essentially died because she saved Lefiya…or at least that's what the elf thought herself. She groaned, rubbing her temples in exhaustion.
"Hah…that silly girl…isn't she a bit too old for the whole 'blamin' herself' thing?"
"I doubt our children will ever grow out of that phase," Hestia muttered dryly. Loki blinked, repressing the urge to shudder. Playing along with the banter? Itty bitty really was out of it.
And Astraea wasn't here. Damn it. Curse nice hot mom figures and their influence. Awkwardly, Loki reached out and tapped Hestia's back with her palm. The weirded out look she received from the hearth was almost enough to make Loki leave, but the heavens didn't create no bitch goddess.
"...How you holdin' up?"
Hestia blinked before glancing at the hand pressing against her back.
"See, Astraea would at least hug me and pat my head in your place."
Loki's urge to pull at her big useless tits and rip them off intensified. Instead she only showed a twitching eyebrow as she pointed her thumb at herself.
"Well, tough shit, ya got me."
A snort escaped Hestia, cracking a smile. Then, she lowered her head, showing her glass away with closed eyes.
"...I feel useless. I'm supposed to be the Hearth. The healing place where my children return to, to sooth their souls. And yet…" She trailed off before looking up at the ceiling. "Kojiro is doing fine, but that's just like him. He has that…experience around him. Unlike the other two…" She bit her lip. "Haruhime has been crying her heart out. Barely ate anything. As if losing her eye wasn't bad enough…"
Yeah, crippling never was good for the heart, Loki nodded. If nothing else, at least the Renard didn't have to go down the Lyra route. An eyepatch would give her a rugged adventurer look. But it seemed like Hestia was in no mood to hear that, so instead, the trickster focused on the one person she didn't mention.
"And your little hero?" She asked, ripping the bandaid off. Hestia flinched before forming fists with her hands. For a while she remained silent…before covering her eyes with her palm.
"Nothing."
"Nothing?" Loki asked, eyes wide. Hestia nodded slowly before letting out a sniff. Fortunately the water works didn't break out just yet.
"He's…blank. As if his whole soul is in the process of…restarting, after breaking down." A weak laugh escaped her. "I'm afraid one wrong touch or word will make him explode. Maybe even literally."
"He did lose his captain and family." Loki rubbed Hestia's back, finding her groove and rhythm surprisingly enough. "And you?"
"I'm…I'm glad." She sniffed, a proper small smile on her face as she wiped a tear. "That Solaris managed to get back home." The smile fell as she closed her eyes. "But…I doubt Bell and the others want to hear my gratitude. It might sound like me digging a knife into their backs."
"Where she now?"
"The preparations are being done by other people. She is getting shipped off to Rakia, where she will be burned." She exhaled slowly. "It's what she wanted. Planned, even."
"She's not even twenty and she planned out her funeral arrangements?" Loki ran a hand through her hair. "That's Orario for ya I guess."
"How do you do it?" Hestia asked all of a sudden. Loki knew what she was asking, but remained silent, as Hestia smacked her lips. "I know, as gods…I know she's going to a better place. That she will be back in the cycle before a blink of an eye. Finding her again is just a matter of time. And yet…" A frustrated sigh escaped her. "I feel like crying. I feel like wanting to break the rules, to bring her back."
"Cause her journey was ended prematurely," Loki voiced out the reasons with ease, the feelings she felt every time she lost a child herself. The memories of those kids, dying with smiles, dying without being seen, dying in general. "Cause you didn't get to see the end you wanted for her. Cause even if you meet again, it's not the same."
"And how do you deal with that?"
"You don't," Loki said bluntly, causing Hestia to flinch. The trickster pressed her lips together, remembering the sacrifices of her children. How it still stung, even with the years that passed. She took a deep breath before shrugging helplessly. "You just…hope it doesn't happen again. And if it does…you just gotta take it. Remember the person they were, and pray for the person they will be."
"Just hope, huh?" Hestia giggled lightly."That's cute from you, Loki."
Loki rolled her eyes, ignoring how cute Hestia looked for a moment before remembering it was Hestia she was thinking about. Then she smirked, pointing at herself.
"Bitch, I'm adorable." A thought came to her mind, and Loki tilted her head a bit. "How's her brother taking it?"
In response, Hestia shrugged, unsure.
"I don't know. Hephaestus told me he locked himself inside his own forge. I think one of her children is this close to breaking in, if it weren't for the life signs he was showing."
"Silver linings…" She snapped her fingers, getting a refill, before downing the glass in one go. Letting out a satisfied breath, she rubbed her palms together. "Damn, here I thought the Dark Age was as bad as it was going to get."
"Not remotely as many casualties."
"True that. Still…I hoped we'd have a longer period of 'peace'. Twenty years. At least ten."
Silence fell between them. This time it was…sorta nice. It felt like that Hestia finally got up to Loki's level in a way. That bright, almost burning innocence, having been dimmed just a bit. Matured by a little. Not that Loki wanted for Hestia to feel this pain…but it was something all gods needed to feel at some point, the trickster believed. It was the whole point of them coming down to the mortal world.
To change.
"Thanks Loki."
Loki felt a blush creep up, but she chalked it off to the drink as she huffed, refilling her glass.
"For what? I'm just here drinkin' booze."
"Haha…"
"By the way, we're going to have a new round of nicknames," Loki mentioned, deciding they dwelled long enough on this morbid topic. Hestia grimaced before raising an eyebrow in exasperation.
"Already?"
Loki gave her a pointed look.
"After all the shit the city went through, there's plenty of kids that went above and beyond."
"I suppose so…" Hestia hugged herself while sticking her tongue out in disgust. "Ugh, I hope none of my kids get any new names…"
"Eh, I wouldn't worry about that." Loki wiggled her eyebrows with a grin. "The names are nerdy enough."
Hestia puffed up her cheeks, shooting up from her chair as she pointed at Loki with a glare.
"Oh, just you wait, I will give your kids a terrible name!"
"Makes ya terrible for coming up with it then!" Loki cackled in response. Hestia lost her patience at this point, jumping at the trickster and wrestling her down to the ground.
"Gaaaah, you flat brat!"
"Who you callin' flat, you bimbo melon?!"
It took a while for the bar patrons to separate them. But they all decided on one thing, one secret to keep to their graves.
The fact that Loki and Hestia were smiling widely despite their fighting, like friends.
