Grandfather had to police his own daughters on coming by to have Eliza pack up for the school. Joseph's packed up in his room too. He leaves nothing important behind. Very bad mood. Eliza packed up her drawing books with her secret notes of things. She stays out of the way of her brother mood as he was stomping his way to Grandfathers truck. Grumbling that it's all her fault.
Her undertaker friend does some sort of casting to attempt calming auntie. But really it made her worse, getting them out faster. Grandfather was respectful of things. Eliza struggling with her case has soon her uncle to close and lift it for her. She thanks him softly and used him as shield from her auntie on they way. She wanted to hug mom but mom packed up. The busted car was scrapped on and sold on arrival. A lot of hot air that Eliza was kept away from.
"Can you teach me your chicken cooking tricks next time?" She hugs her uncle and he scruffs her head in saying nothing. Leaving with locked down behind. Grandfather makes sure the child's are settled in the truck and scuffed Joseph in knowing it seems unfair. To be removed from his friends because of things not his control.
"We are going to play a little game while I drive. Eliza has played this game. Both my daughters played it. I might have alone with Joseph." He bulked in but doesn't start the car, "Its crowded enough here." He checked about and softly, "Evading the sky, black sleeves with a white pattern on the left shoulder." He choose target.
Joseph details enough to know and see this pick. Knows finery. Eliza chipped in with some talk of the aura and intentions he makes. All three of them can indeed confirm something amiss about this chosen target and Joseph sees that grandfather accepted Eliza to be in the loop. So now Joseph made other answers in trying to figure things out.
"We don't know what war the crests are in, be it land on eclipsing or general rival laws. We don't have a network to detangle the ties." Eliza voiced softly, "The best we can do is take not of the crest and actions. But there still something else about this undertaker that is wrong. Undertakers don't avoid potential light sources. They can not tell the difference between day or night." That what grandfather posed at about being off.
"Nor do they have clothes that move like in water." Joseph furthers, "So it's something pretending to be a undertaker." He looked to his grandfather for answer.
"Clothus are living law but they aren't from here. They rank as outside. They are in a dangerous place for sneaking about so plainly for us to see it." Grandfather now started the car in feeling off.
"Her car." Joseph voice pointing to them tampering with it. Grandfather turned off the engine. He stares.
"Go save her. I will protect us." Eliza voiced and he stares, "The Clothus want access to my books. I not going to let them." He shakes his head about it all and just had to do what was right. He swiftly jumps in shielding his eldest daughter from a car fire. Metal stuck through his hip from the blast, plenty of the overseeing creatures that failed their tasks were turned ash on the spot. The most undertaker was solidified just long enough to crawl over to the truck the siblings were in. She uses salt from the arm rest storage and the ashen being hissed into ashes with contact to the salt. Joseph was now cursed, as it managed that much - to alter the bindings over his eyes. He can see the corpse of the spirit. She quickly gave him a sick bag as he retched a while. Patting his back in sorrow, welcoming him to her sight seeing hell.
Fire department took care of the car fire, police found tampering in the battery as it was for her other car. This being a rental car, meant it was of the rentals car's companies insurance to cover this. She helps with all that she does know and knew this time to not sign the paper an undertaker provided. Grandfather is loaded to an ambulance for metal shrapnel reasons. A demon teacher rep has come to drive Eliza and Joseph to the school they been assigned to. Using the truck's owner permission to get the kids and now his eldest daughter to the demon eclipse territory. The oddity of it all was the lacking undertakers, not a a pair around for sorting the papers for. It put Eliza in her mute contemplation long after they arrived on site and were forced to the dorms to settle in. Joseph plays the I spy game with Mom, having to relearn what he need to pretend not to see. A demon rune was found but there wasn't anything to do about removing it off him. The demon whom cast it must be spoken to in order to remove it.
Eliza seated at the table listening to the game, making adjustments to what lawful layers to be cautious of. Her days of tome checking was less often, as she wasn't in a safe position to access it. Be it the other Seer kids that interfere with tome accessing and the Clothus among the teachers, acting as a stable race that work in law of the headmaster demon king that owns this land. She does notice no Clothus here are of any creed, no card bias and no Clothus laws. They are natural citizens of the demon's kingdom. They steal and tempt human soul as much of demons do on a normal.
"Due to circumstances, you three aren't to be enrolled into the academy. Red hands are by our expectation; excluded from such human formalities. But we recognize your leader isn't around to smooth laws. So until we have confirmation with such, we will provide you a rental room. We will accept pay with requests with the guild counters here. Use this time to train yourselves to your society." the advisors words drifted at Eliza's thought. She has been ignored as the weakest link of the three newbies and wasn't provided the things her Sigil panel expected.
In fact, the crystal pane is glitching these days... being both her dream version and her human visitor seeing stuff. She had to dream hand herself a sort of second monitor screen deal to stop it being unreadable for her. It's fourth week in from being outsider's of the academy.
"Eliza... you know things." Joseph nervously voiced at knowing in ear shot of mom, "the art on the wall that they all avoid." she carefully looks at this living art he mentions.
"A creature that protects between things. Some call it a god eater, god slayer or eater of whatever. There isn't a study of these things. No name of them. Not something human folks like us can deal with. The only things this one cant eat is living world materials, souls and time." She turned away back to staring blankly of some deep thinking she in, "I nicknamed it. It's Selene. In moonlight, the art patterns glow. An Angler fish among the school." She back to a eerier silence for him and her mother knew. Right with how there was about to be another question, a clothus got itself ate by the art wall. Putting the end of any need to know.
"We should have crossed to an undertaker's kingdom." Mother tells Joseph, "It was what I was going to do. You two were going to follow after being enrolled here." She looked around afraid of things and back to Joseph, "Something's happened to the Undertakers." She peers about the Clothus, "Even these folks are afraid, something about the afterlife has gone very wrong." Eliza felt her shadow side petting her tome collections. Every last page, no reading them but checking. She finding the segments of the undertakers with ill treatment and poor book keeping. There some kingdom books covered in crystallised time. The worst ones are metallic liquid. Gladly even in this metallic effect, she unhindered of its reading and her abilities of editorial support goes by fine. The metallic ones are 'erased' or 'taken by the enemy'. Sad as it feels in her soul to see the tomes in this state. Equally the fact her soul ability to still work with then in this situation means her soul faced this enemy before. That it was time to collide lost history with inlaced real events. So in her guilty way of a chain baring her, she deep down knows who and what this enemy is. Given she handles it, she can't be the factor against the universe wishes. If the greatest architectural cross's Web of this universe has spun to repeat itself. She isn't to breaks its will, also she does know she will play a part in some factor. She just isn't sure of what way things will enact and is she going to react according to these plans.
"Ughm, sis." Joseph posed about their meal table and how covered in patterns and things. The way all the spirit sorts are plastering themselves as far from this spot as they can. She isn't fazed, reaching around and soon nearly able to bear hug a dire wolf. The patterns all gone now it's made into solid form. She lets this dog be dog. It woofs and pants. It dances front feet in stomping pattern. She feeds it scraps from off their dishes and once forfilled, rolls showing tummy. She carefully lowered and tummy rubs this creature, removing the stones encrusted there and once enough stones were gone, it sank the floor as like a puddle of water. The art ink pattern swimming the surfaces away from her. She back up to the table, a full jar and sharpie to hand. The jar sank away to her shadow. Her mother had blinked several a time.
"You have to asked her that." Joseph mutters to a silver feathered crow. It poses in thought, "Why not check the books shuffle once she done?" The bird tilts and then shook, "Forbidden?" He was surprised.
"Human keepers have tomes the gods cant access." She seems to repeated the bird, "It is nice to meet you, but aren't you meant to be with someone?" The bird coos and she frowns not understanding. She looked to Joseph.
"The titles of gods are in deep sleep. It is resting period. But it doesn't explain the lack of undertakers." He looked to bird and then he nods as he heard something of a reply. Mother between them stares confused of why her children are talking to air. She takes a while trying to see but no matter how she tries, she can't. They are alone at this table, none of the demon staff or students bother them. The bells ring and plenty are leaving but they stay a little longer.
"You should go find grandpa." Eliza voiced at Mom, "When we are ready, we will move across. You can leave us here even if we're not with the academy yet. When the summer comes, their having a hunters gate crossing for us two to use. Make our ranking then. Or I suspect we can talk with the headmaster if we do a big favour for him. Nothing shady." There a worry in stare.
"She beat me to it." Joseph huffed, "And the god followers will come meet up with us too. We will make some connections with them. I have this guy backing me. Eliza... has her book. It be fine." The long sigh, "We aren't going to get in much trouble here. We not even students on a time schedule."
"But we can join the night classes as external students." Eliza pointing to a poster nearby and everyone looks at it, "It had been on my mind a while that it will get Joseph and Me to follow the gates once we earned reputations of our own. Be of use in other ways then just throwing all in one basket... back up sort of thing." Mom looking at the poster with confusion and Joseph huffed.
"Eliza, don't go reading demon languages better then English." He play punched her arm, "You and that book have problems." he back to how mom sunk her head to the table in knowing these children have more sense in this crazy world then she does. That all along both her children were secertly better in the new era of laws then what it was for her growing up. All those years of fearing demons and angels is nothing to what these crazy kids are worried about. Unlike her and her sister, these two are sight gifted enough to know and share each others concern of things. Unlike the years she had her little sister bad mouthing and doubting the sanity of the eldest of the two. There indeed a better team work with these two.
"What do you have in mind to impress a demon lord anyway? That isn't soul binding or shady for an avarage human." Joseph asking Eliza since she glimmers that look of some plan, "What happened to your undertaker guy?" She then frowned about that. She not seen him in a long time. No from when they last spoke to grandpa. She felt a chain about her and steadies. She moved the thought aside.
"I am good with books and I have no doubt that all the other families have gave him all sorts of things we couldn't imagine. I mean sneaking around the demon hallways, I have seen just a fraction of wealth this guy handling. So you don't give a man like that money, gemstones or empty promises. Going by Selene being here... I think there something I can do. There has to be a break or a hole... something that needs repairing. This will be reflected in the local tome, which I can't find yet. So I suspect its the demon side, not human one." She frowns looking to a outside facing window, it looks out to the old tree in the courtyard, "That tree too." He leans looking at it and then sharply away, "That doesn't belong here. Something is wrong. I can fix it... but I going to need some permission with him and the lady." Joseph frowns in not being sure who, "The god bird." he then jolted, "I don't have a right to edit things without their permission. But if it helps them, they wouldn't mind me. And it will make the demon lord impressed. A feat that no normal person does." Joseph frowns at this and with thinking about it, "We have to make a few tribute and requests with them before I can fix this. This is going to be slow progress."
He looked at the poster again, and mom lifting from hearing this strange plan. She tilted about the courtyard too, but her sight isn't with her. Its just a normal willow looking tree around concrete benching. A small preaching stage that is always with student clubs and demon announcers. Its busy but there isn't anything abnormal. She does however feel that the air is woven in strange ways. Not all of those bodies down there are attached to the human world.
"I will take the grim reaper classes and exams." Joseph voiced, "Its what he wanted me to do anyway. I just wasn't sure if grandpa had plans."
"It be a help to Grandpa to have a reliable grim like you at his side. In his team." Eliza nods of this, "I am going to take up several strange pathways, but once I have network my way around. I can be of help in my strange ways." They both get up and help with carry the tray of finished meals to take away. Looking to Mom, "Mom?"
"Just thinking." She sighed, "I guess I have my part to play too. I am going to do some connections with over seas. I will find dad." She got up with looking back outside, feeling someone's gaze. She breaks away from the window. Eliza used shadow and breaks the trackers curse off her mom's back. They smile together with knowing there is hope. That even if they go separate ways, this will be to make them stronger. Eliza's mask peered the reflective surface glaring over the spell caster, making stance of protecting her family. This Darkwood snarls in being caught, wiping the nosebleed and blending among the crowd. Her mask eyes other factoring beings, plenty of the dream walkers and fortune sorts. She watched a death carrier landing a shoulder of a visiting Mage. They are to old to be a student and not so welcomed as a royal among the demon staff. The bird speaks in catching look of her mask, she breaks eye contact. The mask back to shadow. They waited for her at double doors, as she lets her mask hide back.
"Maybe things will not go the way we intend it. Its been 4 weeks since grandpa was admitted in for hip surgery." She muttered her thought aloud but loud for the people around her to register. The demon that cleans the eatery heard her, pausing with tilting. Impressed that she's to smart for the mages. Back to wiping up the surfaces. The demon paused again with feeling cold and unsure of things. He looked at how the table was blood covered for a moment, that the room was a tipped mess for only a second. He shivered and it was back. He looked about why the tables weren't the places they were. He shakes away the assumption and finished.
"When several realms align, this space is called eclipsed realms. Laws of both sides enact in this. Most times when eclipses happen, they share the same laws to the point of it not being noticeable. It's rare for several to align enough, but this is the living world. Humans like us don't see anything wrong about it. But for demons, angels and undertakers... its full of danger and broken things." Eliza was explaining this term to her mom, since she asked about it, "The demon lord owns the hell realm that has shared with the school. So he uses the human headmaster. The human host might change with time, but the demon behind the eyes is the same. Its not the only realms here but the one with population to worry about sensitive humans." She sees now Joseph was thinking about something, "I am going to look into the boundaries around here. The human world is fine. I can't find a flaw. Humans are safe, removed from the potential factors that is cause of unrest to the other side."
They took a corner around to the rooms that used a guest stay, the area they been assigned in exchange of doing rank requests for the demon. This corridor is normally empty of people and even then not looming around the place like security was an issue. Eliza is the last walking through, seeing the lacing magic threads being woven. Sleeping spell. Her mother was the first to feel it. The spell covers the senses, and summons a dream creature to eat the energy from you. Its temporary enough. THis spell isn't affect Joseph but soon a crow landed his shoulder in hissing back the dreamer from affecting him. The spell lifted her a target, yet it stares her down. It makes no moves. She scales the room again, it stepped to consider acting over her. Yet she made her hand pose, it backed away. THis dreamer kneeling to her, low as it can be. It lifted with reporting some gestures back to her, explaining the mage's plans here. She gives it a dismissal and it bows with fading away. Joseph was still grappled and he puts up a fight. But they bound his arms back. They step next for her.
"Easy folks. I am going willingly. I know." She speaks their tongue and this made them pose to start spells, "You might not want to do that. I am keeper of books. Weaving such weak spells. Although, there isn't a lot of right energy for you to take from this space. Clearly you are not royal folks, so you don't skills to access energy wave patterns that aren't just the elements." She posed thinking, "The god followers are divine enough to understand the important of my books. I am willing with cooperation. This lad is going to be a grim. We have ties to red hands. As long as you treat us nicely, this will be respected." The mages stand defensive but one posed hand and all down.
"What did you say?" Joseph asked Eliza.
"That these mages can trust us to work well if they respect law." He nods at this and over to mom. Checking her over, Eliza posed hand and the dreamer lifted away with bow. The mage stares stunned as the lady target wakes, "Be careful what you cast around me. My books are sensitive. Laws around me are different." Joseph helps mom stand, "Threads of red, gold and black. Weave a temporary truce." Eliza casts over the leader and her.
"A prayer of fate." The mage nods, "Why?" The person glares.
"Did someone tell you the crow speaks?" She huffed, "They warn folks about me." He tilts and the crow indeed tilts whispering his ear.
"My sister isn't normal for even folks like us. Even the lord death has requests for her." Joseph warns too, "We don't question book holders." Given this was death speak, the mage took this heed well.
"Maybe having her gaze could prolong time. Or even when there is excuses." The crow voiced.
"This soul is cursed, lord decay. This one will fade from gods but walk shadows like me." She voices the bird, "But if I am in the right time and place. Who knows. Maybe Omens come." The crow hissed.
"Strange cursed girl." The crow takes a moment of composure, "But she is exactly the sort of broken needed." She had a slip moment of her shadow that claws a wall. Sit was now her turn to fluster. She had instantly turned facing away and checking the damage she caused. She finger poking the spots the worst. She stands back with a sigh.
"Seriously girl! Be glad that wasn't one of the Lords paintings." Demon staff whom been moving luggage for them hissed.
"Cool the horns demons. That be the least of problems." She makes a double sure, she then turned with a dreamer. Hand gestures and with a long pause of listening to the reply. She huffed in more relief. Joseph takes over talking to the people and mom went to help move objects that the demons couldn't. Eliza goes to her room and clears it out.