Lilliana was changing in Eris's tent while Eris waited outside, ready to assist her whenever needed. After they learned about William, Lilliana decided to change into her outfit before lecturing him on how to blend in with the other performers. Eris offered to help, but Lilliana declined her offer and asked her to wait outside, feeling a bit shy changing in front of a stranger that wasn't Sebastian. As she began changing into her new outfit, she couldn't help, but make comments about each piece regarding how short and skimpy it was. "Do I seriously have to wear this? How do none of the girls here get sick?"
"Most of us are used to the frigid cold that a little more skin exposed won't be too much of a problem. I assume you're not one of those people," Eris said from the outside as she filed her black nails.
"Don't get me wrong: I have a high tolerance for the cold. I just worry about the others," she said as she put on her top, or lack of it. As she put it on, she saw the Branding Mark that her brother placed on her chest so he could always track her whenever needed. It looked like as if a star pentagram was cut into her skin and was just healing. To some, it may be very disturbing and she always kept it hidden to not alarm anyone. Well, too bad the top had a lace front that put it on display. Speaking of which, Sebastian's mark that was on her lower back was also in prominent view since the skirt was barely enough to cover her ass just standing up. There was no way she could bend down at all without giving anyone a good show.
"I thought about doing the more colorful makeup on you like I did with Smile and Black, but you already have those interesting pentagram tattoos on you that I forwent the idea," she said as she put on some purple lace gloves.
Lilliana poked her head out of the tent with a shocked look on her face. "How did you . . . Right, tattoos," she said, forgetting she was a fortune teller and apparently a good one.
"But I do want to emphasize those lips and eyes. And you need to have rosy cheeks all the time," Eris said with a smile. Lilliana sighed and put her head back in the tent and put on the fishnet stockings and heels. She looked at herself in the mirror and just accepted defeat. She couldn't make more of a scene than she already did and her stance on the outfit was already made and ignored. She let Eris come back in so she could do her makeup and teach her what to do so Lilliana could do it on her own. "Let's give you a smoky eye look with a bright red lip," she said as she looked for makeup in a drawer.
Lilliana thought to use her time wisely and said, "So, on our tour, Joker said you came here with Doc."
"Oui," she said as she sat down with the makeup and brushes. She dipped a brush in gray eye shadow and began placing it on her eyelid. "I love that man, but I'm afraid there are times when he doesn't acknowledge I'm there since he is devoted to helping these lovely performers with their prosthesis. It's not a bad thing of course."
"How did you two meet?"
Eris smiled as she finished the grey base on her eyelids and dipped into black eye shadow to continue. "We met at a gala some years ago through a mutual friend. It was love at first sight."
"A mutual friend?"
"Oui, the patron of this circus. He even provided funding for Doc's prosthesis. He is such a generous man."
"Oh, really? It would be nice to meet him and thank him in person."
"I'm fairly certain you will," Eris said as she put her brush down and picked up eyeliner. "But enough about my love life. I'm curious about yours. It's not every day that I meet a woman who has two men fighting for her."
"Oh, I wouldn't say that. Will—I mean, Suit and I have known each other for a long time. I guess somewhere during that time, he started growing feelings for me and-,"
"Mon cherie, I don't think you realize how truthful your lie is," Eris said as she started drawing a wing on her eyes.
"Excuse me?" Lilliana said with a confused expression.
"You really thought you could lie to me so easily?" she said with a closed-eyed smirk.
Lilliana sighed. "I guess not, but what do you mean by what you said?"
Eris laughed. "To put it frankly, I know you two didn't develop a relationship during your time working together, or at least, not after you passed a test to get the job." Lilliana kept quiet. Does she know what she and William truly are? Eris was starting to scare her with her accuracy already. "Actually, you didn't pass that test the same time as him, correct?"
"Y-Yeah."
"And that book you mentioned. It was never published, was it?"
"Um, no. The author tragically died on the way to the publisher."
"Oh, how unfortunate," Eris said as she finished the winged look and picked up a thick brush to wipe away any eye shadow fallout on her face before applying blush on her cheeks. "And you and Black; what's your relationship with him?"
"Well, we work together at our previous employer," she tried to say shortly, but Eris wasn't satisfied with her answer.
"There's more to that, dearie. You two would be called lovers if you two didn't deny your feelings with each other. No normal servants fuck each other behind their master's back." Lilliana blushed by her frankness and Eris smiled. "If you kept those rosy cheeks on all the time, you wouldn't even need this blush," she said before putting the brush down ad picking up a final lip brush and dipping it in red lipstick. "But before you talk with Suit, I must warn you that your lie isn't too far off from the truth."
"And by that, you mean?" Lilliana tried to say without moving her lips and messing up her makeup.
"If you want an answer, you would have to pay me," Eris said smugly before putting down the brush and instructing her to rub her lips together. Lilliana did as she was told, but was not satisfied with her answer. "Ah, très belle," she said as she handed her a mirror. Lilliana took it and looked at herself, completely shocked by her look. She honestly wouldn't be able to recognize herself. She didn't like wearing much makeup already since she thought it was too much, but this . . . she honestly did not hate it. "Now, go on then and return to your friends. I'm sure they would like to talk to you. Also, since you said you were good with snake-taming, you might eventually want to talk with Snake about teaching you a few things. You might become his assistant or something for his act."
"Um, all right," she said as she put the mirror down and exited the tent.
Eris watched her out before losing her smile and looking at herself in the mirror. "I need to control myself more," she said as she looked at her multicolored eyes, but fixed her lavender eye look with some eye shadow. "She'll surely pick that up if I'm not careful. Same goes for Black."
Lilliana tried running back to the main tent, hating how difficult it was to run in grass in her high heels, but saw William walking away from the tent, presumably trying to avoid Sebastian and Ciel. "Hey, William!" she yelled as she speed-walked his way, trying to not sink into the ground and tripping.
"My name is Suit, not-," William tried to say before noticing her walking his way. He blushed a bit at the outfit and makeup, not wanting to believe it was indeed Lilliana wearing such a scanty outfit. "I hope this is Eris playing tricks on me. It is impossible that Ms. Kiliamo would-,"
"Sorry to disappoint," she said as finally stood next to him. "Trust me; I wouldn't wear this fucking outfit if I didn't have to."
"On the contrary, I think it looks quite enticing on you," Sebastian said out of nowhere. William turned suddenly and extended his Death Scythe to strike Sebastian again, but he dodged with ease.
"I despise such vulgar intentions, especially from someone like you, demon," William said with an angry glare, but Sebastian only smiled, making him more mad.
"William, this is no time to be fighting with him. I just want some information out of you and I will gladly do the same for you," she said, forcing him to retract his Scythe.
"Why on Earth would I disclose private information concerning souls to the likes of him? It's like releasing rabbits at the mouth of a wolf's den."
"I'm afraid you have mistaken me. I have no interest in cheap souls. My tastes are more refined," Sebastian said as calmly as he could. In fact, she seemed to be more visibly insulted by Will's remarks than he actually was.
"Fine words from a starving demon. I know you must be half-mad with hunger."
"Again, you are mistaken. I have grown weary of ripping into every stray soul I happen upon. After all, the hungrier one is, the more satisfying one's dinner shall be."
"How perverse."
"Not nearly as perverse as that ginger friend of yours."
"Anyway," Lilliana said, butting into the conversation, hoping to stop it before it gets worse. "You happen to be investigating the same place that we are and you didn't even bother to tell me," she said with frustration building in her voice as she crossed her arms. "That file on your desk; it was concerning this circus, wasn't it?"
William sighed as he said, "Yes, but you already had enough on your plate that I didn't want to bother you with even more work, especially with something as complicated as an undercover investigation."
"Well, we are investigating this circus due to a possible connection with the disappearance of children. I doubt you have any information regarding that," she asked. He shook his head. "I figured. But why would you, out of all people, do field work? I thought being in management stopped you from doing that."
"True, but due to being short-staffed and thanks to a certain prat, I've been forced into this work for the time being and without extra pay. Ridiculous, isn't it?"
"Well, your outfit is," she said holding back her laughter.
"You're one to talk, Lily," William spat back, making her blush for multiple reasons: she was reminded that he had to see her in this outfit, but also that he called her by her nickname. "Still, I find it very disturbing that he is here, ready to feast upon any soul he finds."
"You shouldn't be worry about that since I am on a short leash by my master," Sebastian said as he removed his glove to reveal his mark.
"And I'll be around to keep him in check, though it is very unlikely he'll go out of line," Lilliana said as she held her Death Scythe in her hand. "Now, if you would so kindly, please explain why you're here. I told you our reason."
He was reluctant, but sighed. "Very well. I shall speak plainly. In the next few days, a small group of Reapers, including myself, intend to review a large number of souls near this circus. This is a sensitive case, so I would appreciate it if you didn't interfere or else I would have to cut you down swiftly," he said, mainly addressing Sebastian.
"I'll make sure you two don't have to interact and act as the messenger for each other if needed. However, let me make one thing clear, Suit: we need to blend in with the other performers. We cannot call each other demons and Reapers or else they'll catch on to us. If you can't even do that, then you're no better than Grell. You're lucky that I can lie easily and quickly."
"Speaking of which, I find your lie quite ridiculous. Pinning us as love rivals," William said, trying to hide a hint of red in his cheeks.
"I hate to admit it, but I have to agree with him," Sebastian said.
"It's either that or having people interfere with our investigations. Just accept it. Now, even you in denial won't be suspicious to the others."
William pushed back his glasses as he said, "Unfortunately, we cannot change it now. As long as we keep our distance, the lie won't matter."
"Agreed," Sebastian and Lilliana said in unison.
"By the way, Ms. Kiliamo, please tell your master to keep his pup in check," William said as he tried to leave their side, but was stopped.
"Oh, do I still have to report to work if you're not there and we're both technically working on the same job?" she asked innocently, expecting a certain response.
He looked at her confused, but sighed. "I suppose you can take a break from your soul quota until the mission is completed. I'll have to send a message to Headquarters informing them of this." She was surprised by his answer and she smiled, rejoicing she didn't have to work for a few days. Best vacation ever . . . except she had to wear this ridiculous outfit the whole time.
Soon, night fell and tonight's show was underway. As tonight's performers, mainly consisting of the first-tier members and a sprinkle of second-tier, the rest of the troupe kept moving props back and forth from the front stage, backstage, and the storage room when it wouldn't be used for a while. Naturally, Sebastian, William, and Lilliana were fine with the heavy lifting, but Ciel had a hard time since he was not used to lifting practically anything by himself. It was quite comical to the deities. When the show was over, Joker gathered the newcomers near the resident tents along with Eris, Dagger, and another performer named Freckles. He held up a sheet of paper and said in his usual jovial voice, "And now, the moment I know yeh have been waiting for: tent assignments! Exciting, eh?"
"Very," Ciel said sarcastically, still exhausted from the heavy lifting.
"Hey, now, what are yeh doin' looking so down in the mouth? Remember to smile, Smile," Joker said as he led by example.
"Y-Yes sir," he said as he put on a fake smile.
"All right, back to business: the results of our totally random lottery, minus one exception," he said as he turned to Lilliana. "Like I said on our tour, Eris takes in female newcomer when we have an odd number, so you'll be rooming with her."
"Très bien," Eris said with a smile.
"And I thought it was only fitting because you two look so similar," Joker said, retuning that smile.
"Of course," Lilliana said sarcastically.
"Smile, yeh're in tent number eight and here is your flat mate," he proceeded, introducing the brown-haired boy, or at least, they hoped he was a boy. "As for, Black, it's tent number nine for you."
"Seba—You mean Black isn't in the same tent as I am?" Ciel said in shock. If they were separated, that would complicate things during their investigation.
"No. Why on earth should 'e be?"
Dagger laughed as he said, "You're tied pretty tight to Black's apron strings, eh? Time to strike out on your own, mate."
"No, it isn't like that, really. Only since Black and I know each other—," Ciel tried to explain, but was ignored.
"Moving on then; rooming in tent nine with Black will be Suit," Joker continued. The two "roomies" gave each other death glares after hearing that and Ciel looked at them with worry, fearing they might actually kill each other.
However, Lilliana laughed a bit, but nearly as hard as the last few times. "Oh come on. Their luck can't possibly get any worse."
"On the contrary, look how happy they are!" Joker said with a laugh. "Now that's all settled, Dagger and I shall be off. We'll leave these lads and lass to get all settled in." Soon, they scattered into their tents, Freckles practically dragging Ciel into theirs, Sebastian and William keeping their distance while walking to their tent, and Lilliana following Eris. She didn't like the idea of rooming with her telepathic doppelgänger, but she had no choice in the matter. Though, she had to admit that rooming with a first-tier performer will give her an idea of how the others act when they aren't welcoming newcomers or performing during the show. That was another reason why she wanted to work with someone like Snake.
They soon arrived to Eris's tent and she pushed back the curtain. "And you're back," she said with a smile. Lilliana put on a fake smile as she entered. She was surprised to see her luggage on the top bed of the bunk bed. "Black is quite something, isn't he? He was kind enough to bring your luggage here when I told him that you'd be staying here."
"Of course he did and didn't tell me," she said in a slightly annoyed tone as she grabbed the suitcase and brought it down back to the floor so she could open it and get her nightgown. "But his karma is unfolding since he has to be in the same tent as Suit."
Eris pouted a bit as she said, "I know these aren't exactly the most desirable sleeping arrangements between the four of you, but I'm sure you'll work it out."
"Four?" Lilliana said as she turned around so her back was facing Eris as she slipped out of her outfit and into the nightgown.
"You, Smile, Black, and Suit, I mean. What are the odds that the two of them would be rooming together?"
"You didn't have anything to do with that, did you?"
"Oh, no. It was a random draw. Even I can't control that, but I can predict the results," Eris said as she looked through a drawer and pulled out a small decorative box. "Want one?"
"What are they?" Lilliana asked as she finished changing and quickly grabbed a cloth and some face cream to wipe her makeup off.
"Just some chocolates from a shop I visited at our last stop. They are quite good and unique," she said as she opened the box and pulled out a chocolate square.
"Really? How so," she said as she put the dirty cloth on the table next to the crystal ball.
"The chocolatier must have put a special spice in it or something that is unlike anything I have ever tasted. Have one and you'll see what I mean," Eris said as she grabbed a chocolate and handed it to her.
Lilliana was hesitant to take it, not fearing it may be poisoned or something since human poisons can't affect her, but because she had to control her love of chocolate. If she ate one, she would want to eat them all. However, after she insisted she took it, Lilliana sighed. "You're lucky I like chocolate," she said as she popped it in her mouth and took a bite. To her surprise, there was a bit of a spice to it, as if chili peppers or something along those lines were added in. However, she could not deny that the chocolate was rich and melted onto her tongue. It was sinfully delicious, almost as if made by a demon. "This is amazing," she said as she finished it.
"You can have more if you like," she offered as she ate one as well and put the box on the dresser. "There's plenty."
"I have to find this shop so I can buy some for myself."
"I'm sad to say that the shop closed some time after I visited. The owner died and his sons didn't want to keep the shop running. Such a tragedy."
"Oh, yeah, unfortunate," Lilliana said with a slight suspicious tone. How convenient that the supposed shop closed after Eris obtained these. Now, she wondered what that spice was that she consumed. However, that thought passed her when she remembered her immunity to any drugs. Even alcohol has no effect on her, though she did enjoy the taste and pretended it did.
Eris yawned and stretched her arms, followed by Lilliana. It was getting late and they knew they should rest for their first real day of being performers. Lilliana climbed the short ladder to reach her top bed and Eris slid into her bed. Lilliana was ready to fall asleep, but Eris interrupted her. "I know this seems random, but I felt a strong protective aura around you since I first met you. How's your brother?"
"How do you—," she said in shock as she sat up.
"Did you forget my line of work that quickly?" Eris said with a chuckle. "You don't need to answer. I've always wanted siblings, but I was never lucky enough to have any. Some people tell me it's blessing, but I know a woman who has countless brothers and tells me it is a living hell."
Lilliana was reluctant to say anything, afraid to indulge in her question in case this was a trap or something. However, she took a deep breath and said, "My brother and I were super close when we were younger, but we got separated before I started working at my first job and he's afraid he would lose me forever. However, we saw each other not too long ago, but I can't say we're as close as we once were."
"Would you like to be closer?"
"Of course, but I don't think that will happen."
"Why not?"
"Conflicting circumstances," she said, avoiding the complete truth.
"I see. How sad, but I hope one day you'll be as close as you once were," Eris said before closing her eyes and falling asleep. Lilliana tried to do the same, but she hadn't thought her brother this in depth in a while. She didn't lie to her at all about their relationship, but she left out significant details, such as that he's a demon and she's a Grim Reaper, head Grim Reapers at the time took her away to recondition her and threatened his life if he tried to save her, and that the "protective aura" must have been his Branding Mark on her chest, which she just remembered everyone can see. She hoped that William didn't notice since there was a strict rule about not colluding with demons and a devil mark would be a clear sign she had done that and more. After some time with her anxious thoughts, she was finally able to fall asleep, thankful that she would get a good number of hours of sleep for once.
As the sun barely rose, Lilliana was woken up by the sound of Eris walking around the tent. She wasn't trying to be quiet or anything; she opened drawers and closed them normally. Lilliana tried to put a pillow over her head so she wouldn't hear her, but she could hear Eris walking toward her. "Bonjour, belle au bois dormant. Time to get up," she said before leaving her side. Lilliana groaned, but eventually sat up and wiped her eyes of any sleep. The morning air was quite cold inside the tent and she could even see her breath. Ciel must be freezing. True, it was also cold last night, but they wore many layers of clothing, minus Lilliana, so the cold air wouldn't affect them as much.
She looked around and noticed that the only light in this tent came from the slit of the tent, which was barely open. She planned to get more light inside and started to climb out of her bed to the ladder, but when she looked at Eris, she was surprised to see her practically naked with only black panties and fishnet stockings on. She was messing with her hair a bit, not paying any mind that someone was watching her. Although she was facing the full-body mirror, Lilliana could see her reflection and saw her breasts with ease and it was clearly cold in here since her nipples were erect. She looked away quickly with a blush on her cheeks. Eris chuckled as she saw her in the mirror and said, "There's nothing to be ashamed of, dearie. It's just a female body; you have one too. You could say this is your body."
"Wouldn't you want to be somewhat dressed before I woke up?" Lilliana asked, still looking away out of embarrassment.
"Why would I? I'm proud of how I look, so I'll show it off," Eris said before cupping her own breasts, seeing if she could get a reaction out of her, but didn't. "Besides, it's not like you haven't shown off your body to anyone."
"Not the same thing."
"Whatever you say," Eris said before finally putting on a lacy short-sleeved top. "You should start getting dressed. It's almost time for breakfast and you don't want to miss out."
"Oh right."
"And you don't need to wear your costume until later tonight. We don't want to get it dirty before the big show."
"Oh thank Lucifer," Lilliana said, but quickly corrected herself. "I mean, thank God." Since she was raised by demons, old habits die hard.
She expected a displeased reaction out of her, but Eris laughed. "My, what an interesting twist on a common phrase, but be careful. Say that to the wrong person and they'll get the wrong idea."
"I'll keep that in mind," she said before undressing, her back facing Eris and not looking toward a mirror. She quickly put on her Reaper outfit so she would be covered and as she headed out, she saw Eris put on her makeup, but still wasn't fully dressed. "Weren't you the one who said we should hurry?"
"I know, but I'm not that hungry. Once I'm done, I'll get Snake to train you since he knows and trusts me."
"All right," Lilliana said as she left her side and headed to the mess tent, hopefully being able to meet with Ciel and Sebastian before they got distracted.
After a bit of a run, she managed to find the duo, but Ciel looked like he went through a wind tunnel with his disheveled clothes and hair. He wasn't used to dressing himself, so he never learned the finesse that Sebastian had. She couldn't help, but chuckle at his appearance before returning to her composure when she finally approached them. Sebastian, on the other hand, looked like normal, even wearing his suit. "Well someone looks like a fright this morning," she said with a smirk. Ciel was not having it, especially since it was freezing this morning and despite wearing a jacket and scarf, he was still shivering.
"Just as I thought: you can't even dress without help," Sebastian continued in the patronizing tone.
"I was in a bit of a hurry," he excused, but they knew the truth.
However, they noticed how he tied the knot on his eye patch and Sebastian had to do something. "Oh dear, this won't do at all. You'll have a devil of a time untying this yourself with it knotted up so tightly," he said as he began to untie the knot and put on a more secure knot.
Freckles and some other circus members watched at the display and started to laugh, making Ciel embarrassed, but Sebastian and Lilliana didn't have much of a reaction. "Blimey! Is he your mum? Does he do all your washing for you?"
"No, it's a ha—," Ciel was about to say, but he couldn't explain himself without revealing some information he had to keep secret. "I mean, he's good at knots."
"Sebastian, you can't go acting like he's our master while we're here. That would bring up too much suspicion," she said as she huddled closer to the duo
"Just leave me be," Ciel ordered.
"I understand completely. I'll begin straight away," Sebastian said.
He and Ciel walked inside the mess tent to help with breakfast, but Lilliana stopped in her tracks as she heard Dagger's voice calling for her. "Hey, Lily! I'm glad I found yeh."
"Oh, good morning," she said with an uncomfortable smile.
"I got some good news for you. I talked with Snake after our talk yesterday and he said he was willing to at least talk with you about being his assistant."
"R-Really?"
"Yea. Apparently, the snakes seem to already be comfortable with you, or at least that's what he told me. I'm surprised since I didn't think you talked to him."
"Oh, actually, Black and I asked for help around the circus when we first met you. I told you my ability was uncanny."
"I guess so since you even impressed Snake and he has a hard time warming up to people. Come on, I'll take you to him now," Dagger said as he grabbed her hand and practically pulled her to wherever he was running to.
"B-But what about breakfast?"
"Oh don't worry; we have enough people helping out, like Smile and Black. Besides, I'll make sure you get enough food to eat when you're done. It shouldn't take long."
"A-All right. Are we going to his tent?" she asked as she let him drag her.
"Oh no, there are too many snakes in that area and despite them slowly warming up to you, I don't believe all of them have. For safety reasons, we are meeting him and a couple of his snakes near the entrance of the circus."
Lilliana frowned a bit since she thought this would be an amazing opportunity to at least search his tent, but she had to save that for another time.
William walked into the mess tent after the initial crowd. He wore his costume, as silly as it was, but he didn't feel self-conscious about it. He wasn't looking forward to eating the food they were serving here since he acquired the taste for gourmet food. Plus, he wasn't that hungry; Grim Reapers don't really need to eat a lot of food compared to humans. Even if he only got a loaf of bread, that would be enough for him. However, when he saw that Sebastian was serving the food, he frowned and decided to turn around and leave the tent. He would never taint his body with rubbish made by a demon, no matter how hungry he was. He would just wait for the next meal if he did get hungry.
However, before he could leave the tent, he saw Lilliana walk in with her scanty costume and a full face of makeup. William's breath hitched a bit at the sight of her, but shook his head as he tried to pass by her, but she stopped him. "It's not poisonous, you know."
"Pardon?"
"I'm assuming you didn't eat anything since Sebastian is at the serving table. You should eat something."
He pushed back his glasses. "I'd rather not if I can avoid it."
She sighed. "Well, I'm gonna get something to eat. I was supposed to meet with the snake charmer here, but they wanted me to change into this stupid outfit. I'll try to get something for you—,"
"I will not accept it," he said rather coldly.
"Well you should eat something," she said as she reached into the pocket of her skirt, which she was happy there was one, and pulled out a small bag. "Here."
"And what is this?" he asked, reluctant to take it from her.
"Relax; it's just a bag of chocolate. Eris gave me these this morning, but I'm not really a fan of chocolate. Maybe these will satiate your hunger a bit." He was still reluctant, but eventually took the bag from her and could feel that there were a good number of chocolate squares inside. He opened it and took one out to inspect it. It looked fine, not laced with any poisons or drugs. He then took a bite, splitting the square into two and savored the bite. There was a smoothness that he actually quite enjoyed and he finished the piece. "I'm glad you like them."
"It's better than what that demon could make," he said as he ate another piece.
"Of course you would say that."
"Since I don't require sustenance here, I shall head to the main tent to practice," he said as he proceeded out the tent.
"I might as well join you. Snake is supposed to be there," she said as she followed him.
"Very well." On the other side, Sebastian could see William opening the tent so she could leave and he followed her. He had been watching them this entire time and found it very unusual that she would speak to him casually. She always had this respected hate for him and all Grim Reapers in general and wouldn't act friendly to them, especially by giving them chocolates. Plus, didn't she wear her Reaper outfit earlier?
Outside, they walked a bit before Lilliana started to talk with him. "So, what exactly are you investigating? A simple collection of souls wouldn't have you going undercover like this."
"Well, there is a possible demon connection with the scheduled deaths that could interfere with their collection. As you know, once a soul has been contracted with a demon, it is very rare that we can obtain it. However, that small chance of success is enough for us to try."
"Do you know which soul is contracted?"
"No and that's why I'm here. I have sensed a demon presence here, but with that brat's dog lurking around now, it has complicated my investigation."
"Can't be helped," she said with a shrug. "But you're not that much help for us as well. Just because you're here doesn't mean that they kidnapped the kids. We need more substantial evidence before we can take action."
"I assume you are going to dispose of the kidnappers. How barbaric."
"At least I collect the souls when we have to take that extreme measure. Give me a bit of a break, Will. S'il vous plaît," she said, her accent showing. He looked at her suspiciously, making note of her eye color. They were green, so it was Lilliana. She blushed and explained, "Sorry. I guess I've been around Eris long enough to pick up her accent. I haven't spoken French for centuries."
"Right," he said, still a bit suspicious. The last time she was in France was when she was still under the control of demons, especially her brother. Demons are quite skilled in linguistics and usually could speak many languages and dialects, which they took full advantage of when they transferred her here. She spoke perfect English before she even heard a Reaper's voice. "Oh, before I forget, I have an assignment for you given by Upper Management."
She arched her eyebrow. "That's unusual. They don't trust me with anything."
"Indeed, but they believe you're the best person for this job. It involves someone being released from rehabilitation under probation."
She took a deep breath. "Oh no, he's getting out?"
"Unfortunately," he said as he pushed back his glasses. "I will give you further details about the job when you are not preoccupied with your side mission, but no matter what happens, you cannot refuse this job. If you do a good job, they might trust you more and you'll be able to do more upper level jobs."
"I highly doubt it. A Rouge Reaper like me won't ever get the same respect even I do everything right," she said before stopping in her tracks and looking in no direction in particular. William noticed this and stopped with her. "Rehabilitation; what a shithole that was," she said, lost in her thoughts. "They tried to turn me into something I wasn't: a puppet they could easily control." He was about to say something, but decided to stay quiet. "But even in the worst places, there is a silver lining. For example, our final exam with Grell." William blushed a bit, remembering how naive he acted back then. He was so focused on passing that exam, but when he was partnered with Grell and they were assigned to work with her, all of that changed. "You were crushing on me hard back then," she teased.
The comment took him by surprise. "Can we move on from this?"
"Oh, there's no reason to be embarrassed. We were two young Reapers who were exploring our emotions. You just happened to be the first male that caught my attention."
"I'm surprised Sutcliff's annoying antics didn't."
"Do you really think he would have even thought of me that way if I did have feelings for him? Plus, I don't have a penis, so I can't be the man that will 'milk him for all his worth'."
"Could you not be so vulgar?"
"While wearing this? No way in hell. I bet some guys here are thinking the same way to me that Grell does to you or any guy he finds attractive."
"Don't remind me."
"Plus, I bet I would have done a lot more to you than just a kiss if you didn't stop me back then. Despite being inexperienced, I was given one hell of an education."
William rubbed his forehead as he said, "I'm starting to regret letting you come with me."
"Why? Does the thought make you uncomfortable?"
"Very. Coworkers should not do such things with each other."
"And you really think someone like Ronald doesn't? I mean, if Grell wasn't pining over you or Sebastian and found a man who desired him, you know they would be fucking any chance they got. There's no rule against it."
"But it is heavily implied."
"Is it? I mean, even when they hammered the rules into me during rehabilitation, there was nothing stating such a thing. Not even a restriction for genders, like humans do. I'll bet you a lot of money that there is someone in our sect that is releasing sexual tension with someone as we speak."
"I'd rather not," he said as he starting walking away from her, hoping that she would stop talking about this, but she didn't and followed him.
"Oh, that's right; you're devoid of all emotion, even lust. It's against your nature to react to such things, like a stick in the mud," she said in a mocking tone. "I bet if I kissed you right now, all you would do is push me back and nonchalantly ask me to stop."
"Most likely, so please don't," he said blatantly.
Lilliana paused a bit, but smirked before she rushed up to him and hugged him from behind, making sure her bosom was pressed against his back. "Ms. Kiliamo, what are you—?!"
"Just a little experiment," she said before wrapping her arms around him, but her hands slowly lowered down. "At least you can express surprise."
"This is not the time or place to be—," he tried to say, but he could feel her hand rubbing against his crotch and his thought escaped him for a bit.
"Oh, so you're saying I could do this if we were somewhere private?" she teased as she kept rubbing, eventually feeling some growth.
William quickly grabbed her hand and pulled away violently. "That is enough, Lilliana!" he practically yelled. He was fortunate enough that no one was around to see this scene, especially in this threatening position. Plus, they might think he was about to hit her.
Lilliana pouted a bit before saying, "You don't need to be so harsh. I would have stopped if you told me to."
"I did! You didn't listen!"
She showed sadness before continuing, "At least you can express anger. I guess I'll see you around." She left his side, but turned back to him as she said, "You might want to take care of that before someone sees." She headed to the main tent and disappeared from his sight, much to his relief. What was wrong with her? She never acted like this before. Even when she teased him, it was more to annoy him, not to seduce him. However, what surprised him the most was not her, but himself. He was always able to control himself, even when Grell acted the same way she did. He had brushed himself against Will to get a reaction out of him an alarming amount of times, but nothing happened. However, she rubbed her hand against him just for a quick moment and now, he had quite the reaction. He even lost his composure for a few seconds. This was unlike him. Still, he had to take care of this issue and despite how embarrassing it was, he couldn't go around with a bulge in his pants. That would be indecent. He took a quick breath before he walked back to his tent, hoping that Sebastian wasn't there and that no one would see him along the way.
Lilliana and Dagger made their way to the front of the main tent, where Snake was waiting for them with a couple of his snakes. He had a distrusting look on his face, which worried her a bit, but Dagger didn't seem to notice. "There yeh are, Snake. I was worried for a bit that you might not show up since you're not used to strangers."
"'We thought that this would be good for him. He's always shy around people, so having one with a familiar talent to him might be able to open him up a bit' says Emily," Snake said with a higher pitch voice.
"That's the spirit! Don't worry, Lily, his snakes are harmless as long as you don't do anything to aggravate them," Dagger said with an innocent smile.
"Oh I'm not worried at all. I trust Snake has trained his snakes well enough. He treats them with the highest respect that they'll do what he says," she said reassuringly.
"Right. Well, I should go training with the other performers. Maybe I'll give Smile some pointers on knife-throwing."
"I'm sure he'll greatly appreciate that," she said, wishing he could see the humiliation in her young master's face when he cannot replicate his skills during the audition. With a wave goodbye, he left their side, leaving the two performers by themselves. She kept her smile, hoping to not alarm the snakes of her true intent, but Snake still kept that same look.
"'So, tell us, how are you able to communicate with us? Did someone teach you?' asks Oscar," Snake said in a lower tone.
"You could say that. I was trained by people who claimed to communicate with different types of animals from snakes to large animals like tigers," she answered as truthfully as she can. Despite being animals, they can sense discomfort from a lie and report it to him, so she had to be as truthful as possible or else.
"'That's quite fascinating! We've never met a human other than Snake who can properly communicate with us. They're usually fakers and only train their snakes to do as they say' says Emily." She relaxed a bit and was glad she seemed to slowly gain their trust.
"I guess my teachers weren't fakes then," she said with a smile. "I was told that you were a late addition to the main cast since they needed a snake charmer. I must congratulate you on your success."
"'Honestly, humans are so easily to please that they see animals being trained as amazing, but it's nothing more than training your dog to sit. It's no wonder we were as popular as we are' quite right, Oscar."
"I couldn't agree with you more. And the main cast seems to be close friends with you."
"'I'm not so sure about that' explains Emily," Snake said with a sad high pitch tone. She listened carefully since anything they say can be helpful to her and the mission. "'Yes, those guys are nice to us and all, but they are still like a family with their own agenda. Plus, Snake likes to keep to himself and not ask too many questions' says Oscar."
She was disappointed by the lack of information given. Like Eris, he wasn't much help in figuring out what the first-tier performers were up to. However, there was something she could get out of him. "I understand that your tent is the first of the exclusive tents. Are there a lot of people that trespass the area?"
"'Other than you and Black the other night, not as often. I guess the warning of venomous snake bites is enough to stop any thieves from going there' says Oscar."
"Right, sorry about that. We didn't know at the time."
"'As long as you don't do it again, all is forgiven' right you are, Emily."
The two proceeded talking for a while about snake charming, but since she was already an expert on it, she didn't need many pointers. In fact, she seemed to become friends with the two snakes and even Snake seemed to warm up to her. Granted, he never smiled during their whole time together, but she knew she at least gained his trust. As far as she knew, there wasn't any sign that they were on to her, which she was relieved by. Despite not getting much information from them, she was able to at least report something to Ciel and Sebastian. She hoped it was enough to take action.
What was wrong with Lilliana? What is the mission Will was talking about? Does Snake truly trust her? Reviews are appreciated.