"…You know what? I'm going to bed." Bie was too tired to want to deal with absolutely anything that just happened. Noticing his hair curling up and wiggling before limply settling into place, he noticed a deep exhaustion had beset him.
Leaning against the wall, he fell asleep upright. As soon as his eyelids met, his body gradually slid down the wall until his legs were splayed on the flooring.
—
Hours passed, with Wanxi waking up first. Noticing Bie actually sleeping for once, she admired his face as she hurriedly grabbed the blanket from her bunk.
Tripping a bit, she hurriedly blew a jet water onto the ladder so that it wouldn't fall over. Thankfully, she had exercised just the right amount of force so that it didn't topple over in the other direction, and blew stream of cloudy air out of her mouth as she sighed in relief.
Turning around, she wrapped him in the covers as softly as she could, before taking in his ephemeral beauty that didn't belong in this world. Although it could be unsettling at times, due to the incongruent reflection of his behavior and the sheer…distant vibe his face gave, she admired it all the same.
Reaching a hand out, she pushed his hair aside to reveal…
'Is that a wing??? Where did his ears go?!' Wanxi panicked in her mind, checking up on Bie as best as she could without making a large amount of noise. After a sufficient amount of scrutiny, she realized that there was a slight change in the vibe his body produced, as if there was an Intent laying within it.
'No way…they got to you too, huh? I really hope it's not from the Parish, because that'll be even noisier, ugh. Though, I wouldn't mind staying in a cloister together? Wait, no it's still a bad thing!'
*Grumble*
The protestations of her stomach drew her out of her thoughts, and just in time, too. Reluctantly parting from Bie, Wanxi made for the reception area, where Lah, in her mask that resembled a burrowed owl, was munching on green jerky.
"You look starved, Wanxi. Want some? If not, the kitch is yours~" Lah shoved a piece of jerky towards her while dabbing at her mouth with a piece of cloth stained with amber liquid. Wanxi waved a hand in thanks, but shook her head to let her know there was no need.
"I'll take the second offer. Do you still have that Foul Clothed Trestbeast we hunted a week before?"
"Yup. The meat keeps well, so it can last for up to six months without even decaying. Guess it's Mother Nature's way of at least taking back some of the vitality the demons stole? Go on ahead~"
Wanxi nodded in thanks, quickly hopping over the counter and arriving at a simplistic cooking space. There were burn marks along the wall, but the War-Mer didn't mind that one bit. Crackling thunder in her fingertips, she quickly got to work.
"Hehe, at least I can perform a Manifest easily. Oh, wait! I should be teaching Bie this, ughhhh. Here, I'll make everyone's portions and just do it for him after he's done eating. Good idea, me!"
She rubbed in the seasonings as she dispersed the low voltage, effectively cooking it as she went. It didn't even take five minutes for her to finish, and she grabbed six sets of plates and put equivalent portions of the demon steak on each one.
Making her way back into the reception room, it was unsurprising that Lah was still eating. As far as Wanxi knew, it was one of the few things she openly took interest in, the woman not even bothering to step outside the Hunter headquarters most of the time.
She put a plate down before her, and Lah gave her a joyous smile in turn. Grabbing the hunk in both hands, her pearly teeth audibly tore through the meat with ease as she chomped away, cheerful all the while.
"Morning Lah. Wanxi."
Gyuho emerged from the hallway his usually human head replaced with one of a jackal, though it at least shared some defining qualities of his actual face. The ankh was still present, and his straight hair still fell in rectangular strips.
"Oh, it's five. Hey~ that power sure is convenient, Gyu~"
The conical mouth gingerly smiled, as Gyuho pulled up his lips slightly in order to emulate a smile instead of a frown. Settling down at the table, sleek, black hands with furred bristles on the backside surrounded the steak, before bringing it up to his face.
With a single bite, the Vendetta Jackie removed more than half of his portion. His hands shook as he continued to place the torn meat down, his muscles twitching all throughout his body.
"I don't think it's convenient? It looks pretty hard to control..." Wanxi's countenance bore a concerned frown, her eyebrows threatening to push towards each other. Lah nodded, but waved a hand as if shooing away her concerns.
"For now. It'll be pretty important in the future though! The power of transformation isn't something to shrug off, but rather something to master."
"Can I take that from you?" Gyuho's steely, canine eyes settled on Lah's owl-mask, though he bowed his head as he bent his back. Lah's hands splayed out in the air, locking in place before falling down to the side as she made her way to stand beside him.
"You shouldn't take someone like me as your master, kiddo. But~ if you'll allow me...I might give you some pointers..."
"Lah, you can transform?!" A stream of water spewed from Wanxi's lips as her ears waggled, and Lah raised up her mask and promptly smirked.
"Hehehe...of course I can. But my other form is ugly, and isn't good for you children, so I won't everrr show it. EVER." Lah made her way behind the counter after saying this, leaning down on the old, weathered desk as Lulac made his way in.
"I just talked to Casmere. We're going to the Violet House, soon!" The periwinkle boy was clearly excited, the confident smile on his face unable to be weakened and expressed by his natural saddened expression. There was a skip in his step as the metal hilt on his waist jingled, and he quickly withdrew it as he threw his portion up above him.
"HAAAP!" With that shout, Lulac cut the demon steak into ten smaller portions, flicking them on the plate with the metal bit of his laser saber and quickly gobbling them all down.
"Hey, when are we going, then? And why'd he tell YOU of all people?" Wanxi pouted, her eyebrows visibly creasing. But Lulac didn't mind, he was just happy that the place they were going might hold something for him to Graft! So he gave an answer in a jovial tone, not taking the normal offense he would've.
"Bie's asleep, and he said I'm the most "eager to prove." Whatever that means. Anyways, we're leaving in 5 hours or when Bie wakes up. Whatever comes last, apparently?"
"Why last?" said Wanxi, disturbed at the fact that Lulac was so different today.
"Because he'll wake Bie up in five hours." Replied Gyuho, taking the words straight from Lulac's mouth. The Sad Drink just laughed to himself though, nodding all the while.
"All this talk about someone will make that person's nose itch, you know?" Bie shambled over from the doorway, rubbing the tip of his nose as if he was about to sneeze. Wanxi beamed, overjoyed as she grabbed his plate and shoved it in his hands before attempting to drag him away.
"Why...are...you...so...heavy?" Wanxi's voice was strained as Bie stood up straight, his arm barely budging. Noticing something amiss, the baby blue boy relaxed his joints, and something inside him seemed to flow back to where it originally was. With that, he was only slightly heavier than yesterday, his physique a mix between slim, lean, and toned, almost as if a Greek god had decided to bless him with both strength and aesthetic beauty.
"My body changed a bit, I guess? Still not any taller..."
"Hey, that'll have to wait until Metamorphosis! Now come on, come with me so I can hurry and teach you how to use magic!"
With his weight reduced, Wanxi immediately pulled him to the best of her ability as Bie was steadily dragged into the Pinions of Ire sleeping space.