They had been tinkering with this for a while, but they still can't seem to get the result they were hoping for. All about them, bobs and small odd pieces were strewn on the floor, the space barely visible. They were almost there; they could feel it. They just only need to put this thing through here. . .
". . ."
A face moved in their peripheral. Long black tresses slid from a broad shoulder clad in white with golden details. His face was pale, his features sharp, but his red eyes shone with familiar warmth and mirth known of him.
"-------- , stop scaring me like that!"
Their friend laughed and proceeded to pull her up. It is time to do their duties.
"Hey! Wake up!"
Elan was startled awake as Jeo shook--more like rattled--her awake. Seeing her open her eyes, the boy beamed and skipped backward! "Up, up! Mama said it's breakfast time!"
Elan had to blink several times to gather her bearings. The remnants of the dream were fast dissolving in her mind, its details disappearing from her memory. She huffed as she pushed herself up, following the energetic kid toward the small table. "You have quite the energy in the morning," the young lady said sleepily as she took the seat reserved for her.
Alora gave her a nod in greeting. "How are you feeling? Better now? Jeo, stop picking your food," the woman chided her son before grabbing a cloth and wiping some mess from the food she missed earlier.
"Thank you for asking, I'm feeling a lot better now," the young girl smiled.
"Having a good rest helps. Your complexion looks much better now." Alora pushed some dishes to Elan. "Here, try these. It's a good thing you had such amazing metabolism. Most humans would take days before their energies returned to them. Oh, and be careful with the soup."
Elan made an inquisitive sound as she slurped said soup, then quickly choked at the bitter taste and caused Jeo to laugh. "Wha, uh--"
"Most of the foods I have here--the ones that are edible to humans--taste strongly like herbs," Alora explained, looking a little apologetic.
"No, no! It's fine! I was. . . just taken by surprise." Elan looked at the pair as they continued to eat, with Jeo quickly emptying his plate. "How long have you two been living here?"
Alora's face shifted as her eyes glazed, "It. . . has been too long. I couldn't exactly remember when was it that I have come here. As you can see from the outside, there's no difference between day and night here."
The young girl looked out at the view outside. "What is this place?"
"A place to go to as a last resort," the other sighed as she cleaned up the plates. "People like me. . . have no place left under the sky outside. It's not a place I would like to be in, but I would not have managed to stay alive this long have I not come here. And Jeo. . ."
Both of them looked at Jeo who was humming an out-of-tune melody while drying the plates. Elan didn't really need to ask to know that the child has demon blood in him. Yet despite the obvious shreds of evidence of his heritage, as he bounded towards his mother, his face looked as if he mirrored that of a younger Alora.
Elan watched as Alora bustled around her home while occasionally looking out the window, making sure that she wasn't visible from outside. She ran her thumb through her gun. She only had two shots left, but it was better than having no means of protection with her. "I would never think that demons live in cities like this," she commented as she spied a pair of demons with pointy-shaped faces and even more pointy limbs. They looked like they could cut her arm off in seconds.
"I thought the same thing during my first days here," Alora replied. She had her hair up in such a complicated and tight-looking style, adorned with a few simple but beautiful accessories. She powdered her face pale like most of the demons outside, her lips red like the clothes she was wearing.
"Mama, you look beautiful!" Jeo clapped from his seat. Alora laughed at the compliment while shaking her head, "You say that every time."
Elan silently agreed, though. The other really looked very pretty that she had to look away in sudden embarrassment. "I would also need to get going. I've been hiding in your home and received too much kindness." She really needs to find an exit, both her friends are worried sick for her right now.
"Oh, you're going now?" Jeo looked at her, his ears drooping a bit.
"Oh, you should really rest up some more to make sure that there's nothing left of the poison," Alora followed. "Ideally, one last night of rest, to be on the safe side."
"I already feel quite fine," Elan tried to reassure her. "I never really get sick, even as a child--"
"O,h hush, child." Alora pushed her until she sat down in bed. "If you want to get out of here safely then you'll need all the strength you have." She patted her on the head before walking towards the door. "Now stay here. I'll try to slip out and check on you during breaks. You too, Jeo."She leveled her son a look before giving him pats head, as well, and exiting the door.
Elan touched the spot where she was patted. For a moment, she imagined whether her birth mother would also nag her like this if she was sick.
She felt something land beside her and noticed Jeo looking at her with wide eyes.
"What is it?" Elan asked after a few minutes of total silence.
The child hummed and tilted his head to the side. "I'm trying to see if you look different or not."
"Huh?"
"Like Mama," Jeo said as clarification. Elan's brows knitted as she tried to understand what the other was saying. "You mean. . . human?"
Jeo nodded enthusiastically and sat in a more comfortable position. "Hmm, you and Mama look very different even when you're both humans."
"Of course. We're not related so we won't look similar."
"But many demons here look the same," the child pointed out. "The ones that like water have the same color and small eyes, and those that like the dark have large claws and bright spots."
"Ah. That's because they're of the same. . . species?"
"What's a species?"
"Oh, well. . ." Elan wanted to cringe. This sounds like more into Arthur's alley.
"Do you have a species? Do they also look like you?"
"We call them family, uh, I guess that's the equivalent? And families might look somewhat similar to each other, but it's not on the same level as that of the demons here. It's. . . just like you and Alora!"
"Oh." Jeo looked down in contemplation before looking up at her again. "Do you have a family?"
The question made Elan pause. "I. . . don't have any," she replied in a low tone.
"Oh. You're just like Rei, then."
"Who's Rei?"
Sounds of ruckus rang outside the window. Elan slid her finger towards the trigger unconsciously, and with a gesture towards Jeo to stay quiet, she went towards to window to see what was wrong.
A small group of people rudely pushed the others standing idly by, some of them yelping in pain at the force. Sneers stretched on the faces of the group, showing their sharp teeth. The one in the middle was stout, its face reminding Elan of a pig. His red eyes scanned around the crowd, his sneer widening as the others refused to meet his gaze. "Who is that? He seems to be a big shot."
"Dinro." Jeo slid down until only his eyes were above the level of the windowsill. "He's the owner of this district and this building. He only visits here when it's payment time."
"Payment time?" Elan dared to peek at the group more as they entered the building.
"Wait, do you think they'll come up here to check on things? Jeo?" Elan looked around the room, but she can't see any signs of the child. She scrambled up to stand and barely managed to stop herself from pulling the door off its hinges as she hurried out of the room. She noticed two from the group that came with Dinro stationed by the exit door, their width practically covering the door with not enough space for a child to slip through.
She turned to the only route to her right, forcing her breathing to calm as she keeps near the walls and shadows. I took her down a narrow staircase that landed in a much wider hallway. Each side of the walls has three rooms, all of which sounded occupied. Elan could smell traces of the poison that hit her the other day, cluing her to what kind of business was happening inside these rooms.
Not really wanting a repeat of that experience, Elan slowly backtracks towards the stairs. She halted in her steps as she heard voices coming from under the staircase, recognizing Alora's. She noticed the light and a very soft breeze coming from the wall behind her. She tentatively pushed it, revealing the camouflaged door and making the voices sound clearer.
". . . can't afford any mishaps with this," a low voice rumbled, followed by something heavy landing on a wooden table.
"It is as I mentioned in the note. There shouldn't be any problem if you act this early. I hope you'll follow through with the agreement."
"Yes, yes, I always honor my contracts, even with you humans."
Elan moved to peek through the small space, seeing the one Jeo called Dinro and Alora. There was a single candle on the round table, but it was enough to light up the small room.
"Are you sure she doesn't suspect a thing? Those people in the church are trained fighters," Dinro drawled.
"She looked young, probably a new one," Alora replied. "Pretty gullible. In any case, my being human helped me in gaining her trust. Even if I ask her to accompany me to the designated place she'll probably agree to it."
"You'd better bring her there. Our contractor didn't have that much patience. He'll have all our heads if we failed to bring the girl. Do your job well, and I'll free you from your contract with me as I promised."
"The permit," Alora's face twisted in a glare. "I told you that I'll bring that young priest if you'll nullify my contract and furnish permits for me and my child to leave this hellhole."
Dinro snorted, "Quite cold you are. If you, a wanted criminal by the church, have not asked sanctuary from me, who knows what those from the surface would do to you? No matter. I'll follow the permits at a later date, so long as you deliver the girl to us."
Elan moved away from the door, not needing to listen in further. Pulling out her gun while her thoughts whirred, she decided to sort everything later and just concentrate on getting out, failing to see a pair of demons exiting out of the closest room and bumping into them.