"Sorry, so sorry, but I was starving, I'm really sorry I don't want to hurt you, okay? I swear I won't hurt you I just need you to keep your mouth shut," Somebody was whispering, and Lily gasped, pushing forcefully, trying to free herself. Whoever held her down flicked the light on, and she, Lily, screamed into the hand over her mouth- however, rather than a snarl, or even a frown, the girl above her looked horrified. With tanned skin and dark hair, amber eyes and the ears, the tail, of a fox, it was a… demon…? Lily remembered the attacks last week and kicked, fighting harder.
"Listen, listen," She whispered, down to Lily. "My name is Nara and I'm not bad, okay? I have money, but after the attacks, nobody will sell me food… so I had to steal some, but, I left enough money for a whole week of food on your table, little one. I'm not evil, I'm sorry, I'm just so, so hungry…" Lily slowly went still as she listened. "Now I don't want to hurt you. Your window was unlocked- I broke nothing and I left a lot more money than I ate in food. If I take my hand off your mouth, will you please be quiet?" When Lily hesitated, she continued. "If you say no, I'm just going to keep your mouth covered until I finish eating, I won't hurt you then either. So, will you please keep your mouth shut?" After thinking for a moment, lily nodded.
"You're… not a bad guy?"
"I'm not bad, no. I'm just looking for something that I lost, but I'm so, so hungry… How old are you kid?" Nara asked, sitting up and walking back to the dining room table and sitting, tearing into a sandwich- as she'd said, there was a large wad of cash next to her plate.
"I'm twelve. I haven't seen- paper money in a while, I thought everybody used the medallion system…?"
"Well, I don't have a medallion, but paper money works," Nara shrugged, eating voraciously, speaking with her mouth full. Lily thought, privately, that she looked scary, but she was a brave girl, and she had to make sure this demon really wouldn't try to hurt mama or papa.
"What did you lose?" Lily asked, smiling.
"Part of my soul," Nara huffed between bites, eating more like an animal now, wandering to the fridge and opening it. Taking out a package of meat, she ripped the package open over the sink and leaned down, tearing out a bite.
"Part of your soul…? What does that mean…? Souls can't be split…"
"Yeah I thought so too- I'm being manipulated to go somewhere," Nara groaned, eating the raw meet, chewing ravenously, but keeping her face over the sink as juices dripped off of her chin.
"Manipulotated?" Lily angled her head.
"Uh, I can feel the missing half of my soul calling out to me. To make me go somewhere, a god took the other half and put it where they want me to go, so I have to do what they want, in order to be whole again."
"W-What…?" Lily blinked slowly. "That sounds so complicated…?"
"It doesn't matter, I just need to get it back. I don't even know why they want me there, but my mommy and daddy are long gone, so it's fine."
"Wait, so a GOD did this?? Aren't those guys like, super super rare?"
"Yeah, the oldest angels in the world," Nara rolled her eyes, glancing back at the child behind her.
"I'll be right back, okay??" Lily spoke boldly, stomping a foot. "Wait here for me, okay? I have something that will help."
"Thanks. Please, please don't wake your mom and dad. I won't hurt them, I just want to eat my fill before I'm chased out," Nara sighed and resumed eating as Lily wandered off, hurrying into her bedroom. Grabbing the blanket from the end of her bed, she took a pair of scissors from her craft table and cut out the corner of the blanket before setting the scissors down and running back, tapping Nara's hip and holding the fabric up. "For you!!"
"W-What's this?" Nara asked quietly, eyes softening, pausing in her assault on the raw steak.
"When I feel scared," Lily began. "I take a piece of my blanket with me! I named it softie, and I've had it since I was a little baby. It's like, it protects me… I know it sounds stupid but I swear it makes me feel safer!!" Lily blushed, looking away, and slowly stuffed the fabric into Nara's back pocket. "I don't know, losing half your soul sounds scary, so… maybe Softie can keep you safe, too! Take good care of her, I'll stitch up the hole- I'm sure if Softie had a soul, she'd want to help you like she's helped me. If not, well, I didn't hurt anything anyway."
"Wow…" Nara smiled softly, and if Lily wasn't crazy, her… eyes were sparkling. "Thanks, kid. You got a phone I could borrow? I need to find a way to do an internet search."
"I'll grab you mommy's! She doesn't have a password on her phone," Lily giggled, wandering off.
=
"That was crazy, now I'm even more curious about where you came from, girl," Aurelia hummed, elbowing Lynx gently in the side, and she, Lynx, winced, laughing. "Yeah~"
"Actually, I might have an idea," Alice spoke up, grabbing Lynx's arm as they walked toward the exit. "I might, have an idea, but let's talk while we walk, it feels wrong to talk about your personal information where people might hear," She hummed, nodding emphatically.
"Oh? Sure, sure," Lynx hummed, waiting until they'd spilled out into the chilly afternoon air to continue. "I don't mind if Aurelia hears what you have to say, what's on your mind?"
"Okay, so the poem that you told me- I found more poems in the same style," Alice spoke carefully, thinking before she let anything out it seemed. "They're a style of poem from an eastern nation called Pempa, northeast of Mir and Starria."
"Okay?" Lynx nodded. "So you think I'm from Pempa because I know a style of poem from there?"
"No, not just that. You lean toward pants, it seems, I haven't seen you in a skirt or anything like that yet, as well, and you have extensive training of some kind, considering the way you took on Marcus! So we know you've got combat training, lean toward pants and know Pempa poetry styles- it makes me think you might be from the Pempa army- or at least, you might have been at some point. In the more elite ranks, they put a huge focus on stress relief as they work their soldiers to the bone- and I was doing research, right?" Alice grinned, her tail flicking about in a way more catlike than Lynx's.
"It said that one of the old traditions in the elite soldiers of Pempa is poetry- an old form of 3 line stanzas with the lines having five, seven, and then five syllables. That the soldiers would, in beautiful places or ones of nostalgia, kneel and recite such poems to clear their mind and become one with their surroundings, to calm their mind."
"What does me wearing pants have to do with that, exactly?" Lynx asked, distracted by that curiosity. "I do agree though, it sounds promising…"
"Well here's the thing- I know you don't have many options right now since you're sparse on clothes but you seem comfortable in pants right? Most people complain about the combat pants being awkward at first- but to test my theory, I didn't just buy you combat pants!" She grinned, and lynx looked down- her pants seemed normal, tight at the ankle and waist with loose, flowy legs. Then she looked at Alice and Aurelia, both of whom wore… plain, dark, cargo pants…
"The rules say to wear dark, comfortable pants. I went to an old military supply store and grabbed some of those Pempa soldier pants for you!! They wear flowy designs because their sword art is very often full of long, sweeping motions that require a lot of leg movement!! Aside from guns, their army's melee weapon of choice though, is the short sword, for stabbing power while also being a useful tool!! The papers I was reading said that their weapons tend to be magically enchanted, so that they can also be used for climbing if needed! Not only did you not bat an eye at the pants, the only weapon you seemed comfortable with was the sword!! So that's got to be it right?? You're a Pempa soldier- and probably a high ranked one, if I had to guess!! I mean, some of the arch-agents were trained by Marcus and she had to take you seriously!!" Alice grinned, hugging Lynx's arm harder while Aurelia listened with an innocently curious expression.
"Jeez… and you got all this from what, researching the poem I said?"
"You got me in a poetry mood, and I really like reading, I fell down a rabbit hole…" Alice admitted sheepishly, looking away. "Hey don't judge me, isn't it a really good thing if I figured this out for you??"
"No- I mean yeah," Lynx blinked, nodding gently. "I can't tell you how grateful I'd be- I wish there was a way to confirm, it's not exactly like I can just give the Pempan government a ring."
"Hey, maybe you don't need to try and confirm," Aurelia finally cut in, gently. "I mean if you're from Pempa's military, and you're high up in it, you know, maybe this could be good for you, to forget where you're from. Maybe it's a fresh start, an escape from something awful," She added gently, nodding, and lynx thought, looking down tiredly, thinking.
"Hmn… I'll need to think, some… I don't really know how I'd want to go about that sort of thing, having an idea of my past and not chasing it…? Going to Pempa isn't exactly realistic, especially for a probably, though…"
"Still," Lynx continued after a moment, turning her eyes to Alice. "I can't believe you figured all of that out just by thinking, girl, you're, insane."
"Nah I just like reading a lot! I laid a trap with the pants too, to make sure- they're really abnormal for Ravenwood clothes and if you were from around here, you'd have noticed something was off for sure."
"Mn… I had, a dream," Lynx admitted, to both Aurelia and Alice. "I um, I had a dream where another version of myself screamed at me to end the cycle- she said that I was close to finding the leader of a cult, and killing them. That they're trying to understand the concept of soul transferring, and their attacks are a sort of mass sacrifice, repeated attempts to transfer the soul of their leader into another."
"But demons are immortal? I mean as far as aging goes," Alice corrected herself, confused.
"Yeah, well, the other me said it was about stealth, about getting a new identity to run from what they'd done, to escape." Lynx sighed quietly, thinking. "There's more, if I'm not overloading you."
"Am I allowed to stay for this?" Aurelia asked, raising an eyebrow. "I mean don't get me wrong," She continued as they walked, boots crunching in the well-packed snow. "I'm happy to help you brainstorm, but, this is some personal stuff. I'm not uncomfortable but, are you?"
"No, if you want to stay, I don't care," Lynx hummed. "Oh, jeez, I just realized I've been breathing easily for a while- Marcus wasn't kidding about demons healing fast."
"Nope, she wasn't kidding," Alice purred, prodding Lynx's arm gently with a tug. "So…?"
"Right, sorry," Lynx nodded, swallowing. "So, yeah, apparently I was on the hunt for the leader to end them, so that the sacrifices would stop- apparently they're close to figuring out the process. This other version of me was dressed in dark clothes and carrying a sword, come to think of it, so your theory tracks-"
"Mhm, mhm, sing praises of my beauty and intelligence later," Alice giggled, nuzzling her cheek into Lynx's shoulder as they walked.
"Half succubus, and I still feel like I'm going to gag," Aurelia teased, winking.
"Right right, sorry," Lynx continued, rolling her shoulders. "Anyway, this other version of me, in my dream, said that I had to end the cycle, and that I nearly killed the leader, I think? Or almost found them? Of the cult."
"Hm…" Alice thought, curious. "I need to look something up when we get back to the dorms, I suddenly have an idea…"
"An idea?" Lynx raised an eyebrow.
"Well, when I was reading about the Pempan military traditions, there was a news article from a few months back about a huge attack in their capitol city, in which about one hundred twenty elite contracted arms of that region were killed- there was a list of the victims by name, with their ID pictures- I clicked off because it was too dark but I wonder-"
"A few months ago, though. I woke up a few days ago," Lynx mumbled, and then she remembered in a crash of emotion so strong she stopped walking, eyes widening.
Behind her eyes, an image of a staircase swam, of a rich and expansive manor. More importantly, of Nara, speaking; "It's called the court- don't ask me why, I don't know," she answered quietly, shaking her head, pushing a few locks of that dark hair away from her eyes. "People come here when they're dead, but it's not time for them to die, yet... you get shoved back into the world, when the time is r-right," She explained, swaying, leaning against the wall.
"I feel, faint," Lynx had mumbled, then, slowly taking a seat here- they were in a stairwell, somehow she only just noticed, leaning back, sitting at the landing before the next floor.
"I do, too..." Nara groaned, slowly sitting down beside Lynx. From her robes came a long, bushy tail, dark, matching her ears, but tipped in white. "Say... do you remember anything? About why you're here?"
"Damnit, don't ask me that, I can't do this again..." Lynx groaned, letting her head fall back and loll to the left, glaring at Nara through half lidded eyes. "I'm so confused... I'm dead but I'm not dead...? All I remember is cold, so, so cold, I dunno why... cold... maybe I died in a blizzard..." I felt so tired then, I remember this… it wasn't really as simple as falling asleep… and I remember freaking out… the ice, the ice… I was so cold, I remember being so cold…
"Sometimes people tell you that you've got a purpose to fulfill..." Nara shrugged, yawning and leaning closer to Lynx. Their foreheads collided, with a dull thud, but Lynx didn't register any pain, weariness ripping at her bones, her soul itself. "I don't know what your purpose is, nor mine... but we've got one, for sure... that's why people... end up in the court... they can't die just yet... they're a puzzle piece..."
"Does that mean, I'm immortal for some reason...? Because a god said so...? Right..." Lynx snorted back then, rolling her eyes, not grasping the seriousness of the situation at all.
"I don't think it's like that..." Nara sighed, yawning hugely, revealing an inanely sharp set of canines like fangs. "I mean... I've been here for a while... it's been months... never seen somebody twice... I don't know the rules though... can't tell you for sure, sorry..."
"Lynx? Are you okay??" Alice asked insistently, Aurelia gently slapping the cat girl's cheek.
"I remembered- something-" Lynx gasped, staggering forward, starting to walk again. Around her, the world blurred. "Ice, there was ice and then a mansion but it was so damn COLD, I hate the ice I'm sorry I hate the ice I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I can't I can't it's cold-"
"Hey, hey, we're here, it's not cold," Alice whispered, hugging Lynx tightly from the front.
"Hey Alice, I'm not trying to like cop a feel on your girl," Aurelia spoke boldly, hugging Lynx from behind, crushing her and nuzzling into the blonde's cheek, speaking into her ear almost directly. "Come on, we got you cat bitch, you can do this. Snap out of it."
"I'm sorry- the ice- I can't-" Lynx stammered, and Alice cupped her cheeks, leaning up and gently capturing her lips in a brief, sweet kiss. Warm.
"Come back to me Lynx- to us. Come on, you can do this," Alice whispered, and Lynx nodded with wide, soaked eyes, swallowing.
"I'm sorry,"
"No sorry," Alice shook her head as she, and Aurelia, both hugged the girl between them tighter, opening their coats, warm, warm, warm…
"Sorry," Lynx cried out quietly, tears spilling down her cheeks, and Alice leaned up, kissing the left, then the right, taking the tears away.
"No saying sorry, you're okay. Are you okay? We can let go now, if you'd like."
"Y-Yeah, I'm good," Lynx whispered, and both Alice and Aurelia slowly backed off.
"I know I'm a succubus kind of but like I swear I wasn't trying anything," Aurelia muttered awkwardly, and Lynx turned to her, grabbing the tanned girl and hugging her for a moment, stepping back.
"I appreciate it- it worked. Right, let's get to the dorms and get warm, okay?"
"Let's," Aurelia agreed, nodding quietly. "Thanks. For understanding. I just wanted to help~"
"Actually," Alice mumbled. "Is it okay to go back to what you were saying, or do you need time?"
"Yeah, we can go back, but you look thoughtful, what's on your mind…?" Lynx asked, and Alice waited for a car to speed past, throwing dirty snow over their boots, before she responded.
"Kind of backs up my military theory, doesn't it…? You got fine with being touched so quickly- I think you were trained not to touch, that it's not you as a person but you as a soldier who hates it. If it was something you genuinely hated, Aurelia touching you would have thrown you off- but you just hugged her."
"Yeah, I guess so…" Lynx nodded tiredly as the three girls walked into the dormitory, thinking. I haven't seen Aerendyl have I? Not for a bit- but he's busy, so that makes sense. Well no it's only been a day or two really, he took me to the medic or whatever he was, the angel guy…
"So, are you sure you're okay to finish explaining? Let's get to your room first though, for privacy," Alice added, and Lynx nodded, continuing on.
"Guys, this sounds… a little bigger than me. If you want me there for the comfort, I'm down but, shouldn't I give you space?" Aurelia asked, no longer walking, and Lynx looked back, pausing.
"That's up to you, Aurelia. I don't have any reason to distrust you, but if you're uncomfortable, go. You won't find me trying to push you into anything."
"Ugh… fuck it, I'm in," Aurelia nodded, rubbing the bridge of her nose and continuing to follow. "I'm curious as all hell, if nothing else."
"Cat girl, let's game!!" A boy cheered, raising the controller.
"Sorry, cat girl got drunk off her ass," Aurelia retorted to them, ushering Lynx on. "Think somebody slipped something in her drink because she's just so hot, I'm going to file a police report while she rests."
"Oh no, is she good?! You find out who did that we beat their ass, don't even WORRY fam," One of the boys shouted, and aurelia said something back, but Lynx was zoning out, remembering Nara, remembering the court. The half of her soul that was missing… it's inside me, isn't it, that's the plain truth… but why…?
"Alright, here we go," Aurelia hummed, leaning on the wall beside the door once it had been locked, watching as Lynx sat down at her desk, and Alice on the end of the bed. "Wanna go ahead and tell us the whole story, girlypop? But I warn you- if you involve me in some global crime scene, I might have to kill you."
"I won't, I won't, I don't even know what I'm personally going to do next," Lynx shrugged, sighing quietly. "Okay, here's the story…"
"Mhm? Take your time," Alice whispered, curling up softly.
"I woke up in a field, I was dreaming. This girl- er, wait, the house. I found a house full of people just, hanging out, watching TV and socializing. The whole time, I was freaking out, having a panic attack about the ice and the cold, even though the manor itself was warm and comfortable. Makes me think that I either died due to cold, or died in the cold."
"Okay," Aurelia listened, too, tail flicking around curiously, pushing some stray locks of ginger out of her eyes, thoughtful. "Then what?"
"Mn." Lynx nodded, swallowing slowly. "Well, then I found a girl, she told me I was in something called the Court. She said it was sort of a resting place for spirits who had died but it wasn't their time yet, she thought- she seemed fuzzy on the details. Hadn't spent much time with her yet, though, when we both ended up passing out together- she seemed, I don't know, protective of me."
"Okay…?" Alice prompted gently, when Lynx fell silent. "Does that mean I have competition? Sorry, not the time…"
"Mn… well, then… I remember waking up in the hospital, that part was true. I get these dreams, though, with some themes in common. People telling me to finish the cycle… I know what that's about now, I was hunting down the leader of the cult… I wonder if I was on official business, or private… the cult, though, I keep calling it that, is there only one?"
"They don't have a name, at least publicly, just demons who think they're superior to humans and the weaker race should be wiped out," Alice answered helpfully, tail flicking. "They all have this sigil based on the tree of life into their chest, to show their loyalty to each other. That's all I know, there hasn't really been an attack on the capitol yet."
"Yet, huh…?" Lynx asked quietly, raising an eyebrow, and Alice froze in horror, her eyes widening like saucers- so rattled, she seemed, that even the hair on her arms stood up.
"Wait I can explain-"
"What the hell are you hiding," Lynx snarled, suddenly grabbing Alice's top and slamming her into the wall so hard that dust fell from the ceiling. Alice yelped, winded. "What the hell do you mean yet?"
"J-Just speculating that they might try something bigger…?" Alice squeaked, eyes wet.
"If that was the case you wouldn't have said you can explain. Speak. Now." Lynx spoke clearly, but lowly, lethally.
"I'll explain, I swear-!!" Alice gasped, as Aurelia watched the scene with wide eyes. "I'm not lying to you, just let me talk-!!"
"Then talk," Lynx repeated, and Alice nodded.
"I have a brand of magic that's pretty useless, I can see the magical fluctuations of others, okay?! And yours is enormous, it's absolutely huge, that's why the school reacts so strongly to you, it's attracted to you!! I wasn't sure but it seems like you have two souls in your body, or at least more than one- that's where your story is going, right?? Look I just told you that they get the brand to prove their loyalty, look!!" Alice pleaded, ripping her top down, exposing her smooth, unblemished cleavage. "I really was just speculating that they'd go for the capitol next- it's this soul transference magic that's got me interested, I swear!!"
"Why?!" Lynx raged, trying to withhold her anger. "I'm trying, I'm trying to listen. Talk, why?"
"Lynx… you're being too harsh," Aurelia whispered, gently laying a hand on Lynx's arm. "She isn't fighting. She's not resisting. She's explaining. Can't you set her down? This feels… I don't want to invalidate you but this doesn't feel logical, I think you're acting on memories you don't have right now."
"E-Eh…" Lynx sighed, taking a slow, deep breath and set Alice down. "Fine."
"No, I, I get it," Alice mumbled, smiling enormously. "I'm hiding a lot after all, but I don't think that I can really capture what I need to say with words. I swear to you, though, Lynx, I'm not dodging the question, and I'm not here to gain anything from you, okay? I absolutely swear. I'll come c-clean, even if you end up hating me for what I have to say- but you've got to let me show you."
"You still seemed way too confident that they'd attack the Capitol," Lynx muttered distrustfully. "If you aren't one of them, then why?"
"Leader wants to learn how to transfer their soul to a new body and you've got half an extra soul in your body," Alice sighed quietly, looking down. "How can you be sure you're not involved? For all we know, the half soul in there IS the leader of the supremacist's, you know…? You don't have your memories to prove me wrong. Ex soldier turned evil after they got burned in a sting operation or something, I don't know…?" Alice paused, organizing her thoughts, smiling, and continued. "If you've got exactly what their LEADER wants, or at least partially, we can't rule out somebody tracking you down to, at the very least, learn more, can we?"
"What-?" Lynx blinked, confused, stepping back.
"Don't you think it's real funny that the one thing you KNOW the cult leader WANTS seems to have been halfway accomplished in YOUR body?" Alice asked pointedly, grinning. "I believe in you Lynx- I don't think you're a killer, but let's face the facts, you've got something to do with all this and sooner or later that's going to bite you in the ass. That's why I know they'll come- nothing else makes sense, you're too connected to be detangled that easily." She was still smiling but, for a long moment, the two women stared at each other, Lynx thinking, Alice unreadable.
"You make, a fair point. Maybe I over reacted," Lynx sighed.
"To be fair, I know I looked really guilty- but it wasn't what I said that scared me, it was the look in your eyes. In fact, my secrets have nothing to do with the cult- so will you please let me hang onto them a while longer? I'm not ready, and as I promised, it can't come to bring you harm- plus, it's nothing to do with the cult."
"Hm…" Lynx nodded softly. "No reason to force you to talk."
"Thank you." Alice smiled, nodding. "I will explain, though, I doubt you've forgotten I mentioned… what did I say? Well either way, yes, my interests do align with the cult's, but I'm no supremacist. All I want, is to see how things end for you, how the soul problem is resolved."
"Why?" Lynx asked quietly.
"Well, the thing is that this body… it also only has half a soul…?" Alice sighed, sitting down quietly. "I smile this much, because I'm incapable of much else- all of the good is here, but I'm missing a lot of my memories, and I'm missing my backbone… I can't seem to have an angry bone in my body, even if I try... no, I guess I'll just have to show you… will you let me? It's not unsafe- but I swear to you Lynx, on everything I am, I was telling the truth. I love you because you're the first to look past my lies, and trust me."
"Show me, what…?" Lynx muttered, raising an eyebrow. "Listen Alice, what are you hiding…? I'm so, confused…"
"The real me. The me that isn't a lifeless doll." Alice smiled innocently, but Lynx thought, just then, that the eyes seemed just a bit wet, like that day in the café.