"How about that one?" After sighting a two-story house slightly isolated from the others Silver pointed.
They had been looking for two hours already. So they all looked hopefully at Lazaro. for someone so brute, he was way too choosy.
Lazaro scrutinized the place.
No walls were surrounding the house, only a short fence setting the large area of the terrain. A tree stood tall in the backyard of the house with overgrown weeds. The windows were large and it did not seem like other houses he saw from before, he liked the design of the other houses, but space was more comfortable for him.
Lazaro smiled.
"There it is then."
They all sighed with relief and cheered silently.
*****
The house only suffered from accumulated dust, besides that, everything was in order, once more Lazaro marveled at the difference between worlds. Living room, kitchen, bedroom, guest bedroom. It was amazing how a commoner house had so much. Even the varying materials caught his attention. Nothing was purely hidden or feather. Silver and Larissa said those were cheap mass distributed goods, and that pure hide and other material were considered Luxurious.
Making Lazaro raise his eyebrows in wonder.
Larissa and the others stopped what they were doing and stared at the weirdly curious Lazaro. He looked like a curious child discovering the world.
Lucas left all the groceries on the table and turned to walk over the couch. He was ready to turn on the Tv when a hand-pulled him.
He turned to see the coldly smiling Larissa, without a word she pointed behind her.
Lila was pursuing her lips while annoyedly holding a broom, and Silver was smiling with two buckets on his hand. "Let's go Boar! Do not slack!" He laughed.
"P-Power girls i-s on air-"
Larissa pushed him to the kitchen before he could showcase his weird tastes and turned her eyes to Lazaro who was captured by the magic of TV.
"...Are these people slaves locked in there? or are they another race altogether?" Various possibilities came out of his mouth.
Unwittingly Larissa was sighing with amusement.
"Do you need me to cook one of those hearts?"
Lazaro shook his head.
She noticed a visible jerk on his arm, he didn't seem to notice it, but he was like that since they walked away from the stadium. His eyes would often dart around, his muscles would randomly turn rigid. She noticed it by the small amount of essence she left on his body. She tried to heal him throughout but he rejected. 'It's more natural and rewarding for the body to heal itself.' He said.
Looking a this completely bruised body and the visible tiredness on his shining eyes made her hesitate a few seconds before turning her back away.
She gently soothed herself with close eyes before starting to clean. She opened her eyes and moved to the kitchen but a hand gently impeded her, and Lila's eyes stared deeply into hers.
"I won't ever get out of his side." She stated.
"...Good."
Larissa said after a few seconds with an indifferent smile. She bypassed Lila without another word.
*****
While Silver whistled a song and scrubbed, Lucas, let his mind wander with the image of the unconscious Hyera.
He had seen her face while Lazaro carried her and was immediately entranced Then his family came to his mind and he frowned and stopped moving his hand that was scrubbing off the floor with the broom. He noticed his belly weighed him down when he went forward, and his breathing already became erratic form just a few minutes of common chores.
'What improved was my psyche and essence, not my body. Not my standing. Not my image... I can distract myself.'
He concluded his resolve then Hyera appeared on his mind again.
Lazaro said she was his sister, and seeing the way she changed completely from a few hours of sleeping stated the fact that like Lazaro she did not form this world. Even if he overturned reality and worked up to be the top hero on earth he figured she and Lazaro would still be measured by higher standards. Himself and Hyera were literally from two different worlds.
'But why am I so fixated? I had yet to see her awake...' He suddenly understood what was bothering him. When he even summoned the thought of being attracted to her a voice whispered in his ears. 'You can't. This is not your league.' His own voice sealed his fate immediately, but for the first time, he questioned himself.
'Be the irresistible force that earth cannot help but move.'
He looked at Lazaro then at Larissa and Lila, he saw everything and knew full well the complicated relationship between them.
'If that smiling fool can then so do I.' If resolved himself to get to know Hyera, if he liked her, he would pursue regardless of their difference in future.
Curious, Silver looked from behind at Luca's resolute gaze going from Lazaro to Larissa then Lila. He forces out a laugh and spoke: "Jealousy is not good about you."
Lucas shot Silver a glance, he only needs to picture him with some more meat and there it was; An undoubtedly handsome celebrity with silver hair.
"Handsome guys can die," Lucas stated
Silver blushed and looked away bashfully
'...'
*****
"Are you sure? She was anxious for that." Larissa spoke from the door.
Lazaro was seated atop the mattress with his back to the head guard of the bed. It was a very spacious bedroom with thick blankets. He stretched one leg and leaned his elbow on the other. The wide window behind him let a light chilly breeze come through and he closed his eyes to enjoy it.
"I know. Lila did a good job hiding it, But she's very fragile right now..."
"...So, will you sleep on her bed?" Larissa squinted
"It's the job of the big wife to deal with the small wives." He laughed while his eyes teased her.
She scrutinized him. His whole body was riddled with bruises, he always jumps at the chance of taking a woman's advantage. Yet he's avoiding sleeping beside one right now... She stared at him for a few more seconds closed the door and walked away.
Lazaro raised his eyebrows in surprise. 'So easy?' He chuckled to himself.
He basked in the soft wind from the window and the silence around him for the moments he could, knowing the private guards of Gerald were attentive around his house brought a sense of safety. A sense he hated.
Calm.
There was only the common noise of a night in the periphery of the city. But nothing more. As a few minutes passed the calm and safe environment made his muscle spasms happen more often. The normal noise of the wind against the wall became the sound of a sharp blade cutting through the wind. The sound of dogs barking turned into the grave grows of the beast people. The gentle sound of the sink's dripping water reverberated on his mind like drums of war.
His body wanted to shut down, but his mind kept it awake with flashes of raging monsters and Ekadu's vicious tortures.
Lazaro sighed and gave up sleeping altogether. He crossed his legs and focused on his breathing. Meditation is a half-assed measure to cover for sleep. But Lazaro just shook his head with frustration.
'Sleeping is a goddamn chore.'
****
Larissa slid her left hand under the pillow and brought it together with her towards Lila who was pretending to be asleep while faintly trembling.
She looked down, although the girl wasn't so young. Larissa somehow felt older looking at her. Her hand stretched to Lila's cheek, the girl's face turned rigid, but relax after a few minutes, and they went to sleep.
On the edge of her window, a yellow rose with red veins swayed from side to side with the wind, slowly, a small branch grew in the direction of Lazaro's window.