"My father, he's a demon." Her voice was almost a whisper, and Cherie looked away from David, afraid to see how he would react.
"And he's not an ordinary one either, he's a demon noble. I won't say his name." Cherie wanted to tell David as little as possible. The more that he knew, the more at risk he would be.
"Most demons have countless children, and so they aren't really even looked at, but he cared for me and my mother, and we became his weak spot." Cherie continued her explanation, the words now tumbling out of her mouth.
But David was still quiet, confused, Cherie looked over, did he hate her now, knowing she had demon blood?
She wasn't at all prepared for the expression on David's face, not anger, or hate or even disgust. David's mouth and eyes were wide open, as he open and closed his mouth, lost for words.
Despite the horror the two of them had experienced, Cherie couldn't help but laugh.
"David. You look just like a goldfish." She giggled, relieved that her best friend didn't hate her.
"You mean to tell me. That your mother. Sweet Mrs. Nora, was a demon's wife?" David couldn't believe his ears, sure, Cherie could have some sort of mysterious father. That would explain her ridiculous talent, and some of the strange gear that she used.
"Not a wife. She was technically his concubine."
"I can't. No, this is too much. I'd be more ready to believe that you were delivered to your mother by a falling star." Half joking, David shook his head and laughed.
"Believe it or not David, if mum's stories are true, then she was quite the demon herself when she was younger. Not literally of course." Cherie said fondly, thinking back to the stories her mother had told as she braided her hair by the fire.
"You can stop glancing at me David, it's not like I have horns I'm hiding under here." Cherie patted her helmet, and David blushed slightly.
He hadn't realised that he kept looking at her as they continued running.
"Alright, fine. So some enemies of a demon noble are looking for you. So you don't want to endanger Coppervein. But can't your powerful demon dad protect you guys?"
"It's not that simple. Mum has a way of calling for help, but he can't just fly over to us suddenly. The more important we seem, the more danger we're in." Cherie shook her head, but her tone was unsure, as if she was trying to convince herself.
"Sounds like a deadbeat to me." David sighed, then realised what he had said, quickly looked over to Cherie. But her eyes were still crinkled in the smile she had after seeing David's shocked face.
"No. Sorry. I didn't mean it like that Cherie." The words fell out of his mouth, as David hurriedly apologized.
"Hahahaha, don't worry David. I don't even remember his face, we left him when I was just born." Cherie chuckled.
"Anyway, I kinda like the sound of it. Deadbeat demon dad."
"Alright. You've explained enough, but I'm not abandoning you to whatever things are after you. I can't lose anyone else." David's voice was determined, with a hint of pain. Sensing his pain, Cherie reached out and squeezed his hand.
By now the two of them were far within the plains that stretched out to the north of Coppervein, all around them, endless yellow grasses stretched.
Faint dots wheeled and turned in the sky, and soft rustling noises came from the grasses all around them.
As soon as David thought of it, the scanner appeared in his vision, and thankfully, there appeared to be no threats nearby, only a few one and two star coreless signals.
"Seems like we're safe." David said to Cherie, who had been looking at her own CoreScanner.
"Huh? Isn't yours broken." She looked at the cracked screen on David's wrist, he had sounded too confident to be relying on his senses alone.
"Well, after Callahan grabbed me and ran there was this big explosion." David started to explain, pausing for a moment as he realized he had no idea where Callahan was, or if he was even still alive.
'No. I need stay here, make sure Cherie safe. No-one's after Callahan, and if I survived the explosion, he definitely did too. Besides he's strong.' David's thoughts swirled around in his head.
"Go on." Cherie's soft voice pulled David out of his thoughts.
"Well there was this purple thing. An artifact of some kind. It ca-" A sharp pain stabbed through David's throat, halting his words.
[User, please refrain from disclosing my ability to communicate, this information may put you at risk.]
The pain disappeared, Cherie shooting David a look of confusion.
"I guess you've got your own secrets too now. With your new hair and eyes." She looked at the straight deep purple hair that had replaced the wavy, almost fluffy light brown hair.
[If you must disclose any information, please say that you gained an artifact that transformed you, and enhanced your mana sensing capabilities.]
[This is the truth, but only part of it. My abilities are far greater.]
The system's cold voice sounded proud, like it was gloating.
Inside, David was furious, but he knew he couldn't do much to resist the system. For now.
He repeated what the system had told him, and Cherie just smiled in response.
David had accepted her limited explanation, so she would accept his.
"Thankfully your face hasn't changed." Cherie said, before realising what she had said. A hint of awkwardness hung in the air. Then the pair of them came back to the reality of the situation they were in, and focused back onto their surroundings, continuing their journey into the plains.
-----
The sun was low in the sky, a dull orange glow washing over the plains, making them seem as though they were on fire. The sunset painted the skies different shades of purple and pink, white streaks of cloud breaking up the bright colors.
"I think this'll do for a campsite." David pointed at at a cluster of rocks, where a pair of two tall rocks leaned against each other, former a little covered area that would shield them from the weather.
"There's no tracks or dropping nearby, it should be safe enough for the night." David circled all around the rocks, looking for any signs of bent grasses, and looking closely at the bare dirt near the rocks, that would show tracks more clearly.
"You're the scout. I trust you." Cherie replied, clearing a space beneath the rocks, moving the bits of dry grasses and sharp rocks out of the way.
"I'll take the first watch, you get some rest." David climbed up onto one of the nearby rocks to get a better view of the surroundings. He rearranged his torn and ripped cloak to disguise the shape of his body.
David shivered slightly as a cold wind blew across the plain. Now that he had a moment to rest, he drifted into his thoughts.
Once again, his mind drifted back to Brogan, for the children like David, who had grown up in the orphanage at Coppervein, Brogan had been closer to a father than anyone else.
And on the other hand, Mrs. Nora had been like a mother to them. He shook his head as he imagined her standing arm and arm with a demon, as much as he tried, he couldn't possibly picture it.
He wondered what was going on back at Coppervein, hopefully the settlement would head out and find the orcs, they might even be ambushing them right now.
Whatever was happening, David had to grow stronger.
'So, tell me then, what are these greater abilities?' David called out inside his head, a mix of anticipation and guilt washed over him. He felt as though he had made a deal with the devil.
[User, at this moment, I can offer a few things.]
[Firstly, I can provide you with a clear assessment of your status at all times.]
With a ding, a blue window appeared in front of David.
[
Status
Name: David Marigold
Health: 8/8
Mana: 39/39
Abilities: d*,kNruu's Successor, Consume
]
'Huh? What?'
[I shall explain User.]
[Your health units are arbitrary, for a relative scale, keep in mind a normal human would have around 5 units. Thanks to your transformation, your vitality has been increased.]
[Your mana system is based off the star system used by humans, a one star colorless being would have 10 units of mana, and so on.]
'No I meant the -'
[Yes your abilities. The first ability is called d*,kNruu's Successor.]
[Hmm. Odd. I cannot seem to correctly display the name of the ability.]
[Anyway, this is the ability description.]
[T$rhu a%yh b#o d*,kNruu wt&ia h@ncae!ne a$rta!*n&v&d e!ica$p d*a i#nt^a ro*f @m!@an. ehtR$ u&@n cfelreb weodwlnoeb niifrotnsf scsnaebtu dnaero!tpor rcpo#rmt&eh]
[#*&&&S^^S*(WW)]
For once, the cold voice seemed to have lost its cool, it sounded as though it was in pain, and the slightest smile tugged at the edge of David's lips.
[Apologies User. It will be enough to keep in mind that this Passive Ability offers you enhanced regeneration. This seems to be all I can share for now.]
'Alright, what about the other one? Consume?'