"...yes"
She said softly, drawing her brothers attention back to her.
"She is very beautiful..."
Fleeting words and a sombre tone, Renee helped her brother inside.
Closing the door behind them and on the saga with Madame Wednesday for what she hoped, was the final time...
"..."
-silence-
"..."
"... Hold on a minute..."
Sariel says suddenly, cutting off Tay mid tale with a confused expression on her otherwise still stoic face.
"What?"
The male twin asks, a little sass in his voice. Clearly the brash twin doesn't appreciate being interrupted...
"Well... It's just that, humans and demons can't reproduce."
Kasper's aide says softly, cupping her chin curiously before turning to face Kasper who nods in agreement and shoots Tay an equally puzzled look.
"..."
*Sigh... "I know."
Tay, scratching his head, exclaims in a frustrated breath.
"..."
-silence-
"..."
The moment Renee laid eyes on the child... And the black horns that donned her smooth little forehead...
She immediately knew what was going on here.
And just what the madame of the red light district was trying and, to some extent, had 'already' done to her older brother.
So it came as a surprise to her more than anyone else when despite figuring it out... And understanding the burden they were about to carry from here onward...
That her response was, "Yes! Yes she is!!" When she was quizzed on the beauty of her brother's false child.
...Noah wasn't stupid...
He was just broken beyond repair.
So of course it made sense to Renee that the moment Madame Wednesday offered him any chance to get closer to her.
To be back with her in any capacity, that he would immediately jump at the chance!
They had no reason to take in the child.
For all they didn't know, this baby could belong to literally anyone who was now worried sick looking for her.
But Renee was not going to play by the demons rules anymore.
So, fully aware of all the irony in the situation, Renee accepted the baby into her and her brother's home.
The baby hadn't done a single thing to harm them anyway... So why should she have to be placed into a realm as ferocious and uncaring as the Demon-realm.
"..."
In the days that followed, the Pendleton siblings put off their trip for another time.
Deciding against travelling while the newest member of their household was still so small.
But a demon baby living with humans?
There were bound to more than a few complications.
The first of which first appearing when only a month in the baby had already started walking, and mumbling out words that only those that surround it on a daily would be able to pick out.
This baby was unusual... Even for a demon...
While the fundamental make ups of both demons and Humans are not all that different...
They do share one key difference.
Age.
The lifespans of humans are just so, so much shorter than demons. And that's why demons have larger mana pools.
..Longer lifespans means they have more life energy to tap from...
But that's just it...
Apart from the longer lifespans the ageing process for humans and demons should be pretty much the same.
So why was it... Why did it appear that the little red head was ageing at a faster rate?
"..."
A few months in, and the siblings found themselves in a whole new set of chaos!!!
The baby... Was not even a baby anymore!!
Almost doubling the rate she was growing at after the first month, Noah's daughter had somehow aged to the human and demon equivalent of an eight year old!
And that wasn't all.
Despite being the age equivalent of the average eight year old human and demon... Noah's daughter was also hyper intelligent!
Capable of understanding complex ideas and even chipping in with new ideas of her own on how to best improve things for the siblings.
This was truly bamboozling...
The baby who only four months ago was a new born, was now an active member of the Pendleton roster!
Actively pushing forward new ideas and lending a hand across the shack.
The little redhead was so fiery infact, that even the neighbors begun to shy away from them!!
"Witchcraft!" they said...
"Demon child!!" they called her...
I mean, they weren't wrong, but... Anyway!
Whatever way you look at it, Noah's child was abnormal to the tenth degree.
Her feats didn't end there either...
A high affinity for mana, unparalleled vision and athleticism, hyper intelligence and intuitive beyond even Renee and Noah.
The little redhead seemed something out of a story book.
Like a chosen soul or a reincarnated god...
Oh, and let's not overlook her bipolar personality that seemed to shift from mature to child at the drop of a hat!
...though, in all fairness, that just might be the effect of growing up as fast as she did...
Whatever the case, the point of the matter is that rather than be shaken by the 'little handful' they had in their lives now...
Renee was actually feeling relieved to have her...
Sure she was all over the place sometimes and scared the crap out of them with the words that came out of her mouth...
But she was still theirs.
She had come into their lives when things looked like they might turn for the worst again and brought nothing but joy.
Becoming a beacon for joy in the household and bringing them closer everyday.
Noah's daughter was a blessing.
A reminder of what family is for the siblings who had almost rid themselves entirely of any feelings of attachment... And Renee absolutely loved her for it.
But perhaps that's why Noah begun to feel the way he did as well...
Perhaps that's why Noah, her father, begun to see her as a burden...
"..."
Another day of antics was on the way at the Pendleton shack.
The siblings, tasked with finding the red head in a little game of hide and seek!
"Split up!"
Was the idea.
Noah's daughter had grown far too smart and was way too sensitive to not hear them coming together.
So, Renee taking the left and Noah, the right... the two siblings split up in search of the redhead.
Scouring every spot of the tiny shack before eventually submitting to the child.
They had lost!... And not for the first time.
But perhaps more worrying than them losing to a literal four month old was the fact that the sun was setting and they were certain at this point that she wasn't in the house.
Panicking more and more as the hours passed, Renee and Noah begun their search for the redhead once more.
First turning their house inside out, before going out and quizzing literally every single person that crossed the district's streets.
There was no sign of her.
And for the siblings who lost everything, their hearts were already about to sink in a whole new desperation when they saw it.
"A crowd?"
Gathered in one spot that was the market area of the twenty first district, was a small crowd.
Not an unusual occurrence, it was still weird to see people gathered like this at the close of the day.
...For people in the Vita Slums, the reduced light at night makes it hard for them to do work so they often close up early...
Their curiosity getting the better of them, but also harbouring sneaky suspicions..
Noah and Renee decided to gather upon the crowd to investigate.
... And wouldn't you know it!
The little red was there all along!!
Perched at the centre and orchestrating the crowd on a whole new business idea!!
"Come one... come all... to CeeCee's fortunes and wonders of the Slum?"
Renee read out slowly from the little redhead's stand as she danced and directed the people all around her for a quick coin.
"..."
"Pfft...ahahahahhahaha...."
She laughed, drawing the attention of not only Noah but the little redhead when she couldn't contain the hilarity of whole ordeal.
"Ah! Big sis!!!"
The little redhead called out shook with Rosy cheeks.
Fortunes?
Wonders??
Was she here the entire time they were searching for her???
What a crafty little girl...
Renee thought to herself as she died from laughter.
Her brother only able to give them both his best what the f--...confused expression...
"..."
Post all the stand drama, the little redhead got quite the earful... And rightfully so, there were no wonders in the slums after all...
But upon further investigation, it turned out that she had tricked the siblings all along.
Using hide and seek as an excuse to run away to earn them coin while they searched.
They never would have allowed her to try it on her own anyway...
So, she wanted to do something to help them as well.
To chip in for the people she loved the most In the world.
Execution aside, her motivation was quite wholesome honestly... And while Renee revelled in the fact that the little rascal was a pure piece of unprecedented joy and kindness, a new thought was born in Noah's head...
"... you're growing fast, aren't you?"
The older Pendleton sibling thought as he watched Renee coddle the reluctant redhead.
At the rate she was growing... Would Noah ever get the chance to give her memorable, core childhood memories as things currently were?
The thought raced across his mind.
Before eventually prompting the young lord of Pendleton to, for the first time in four months, believe that perhaps the life they currently shared wasn't enough for his daughter... Or Renee...
"..."
A couple weeks later...
Noah joined the Disciples of Vita.
"..."
"..."
-To Be Continued-