With a heavy sigh, Cade fell back into the couch and rubbed the back of his neck while his body sank into the cushions. She was poking around the counters and cabinets with an expression that was hard to read—somewhere between confusion and blank acceptance.

“Do you think that was the right thing, captain?” Cade asked.

Khael, sprawled lazily across the opposite couch, raised his brows. “What do you mean?”

“Showing her the kitchen first.” Cade leaned forward, elbows on his knees, his fingers laced together. “I mean… shouldn't we have done something else? Got her cleaned up, maybe?” He gestured vaguely toward the girl. “A bath, at least? Feels weird making her work like that right away.”

Looking in her direction, Khael saw her stop over a cabinet, her hands trembling a little before she reached for the handle. She was a mess.

“Yeah, maybe,” Khael closed his eyes. “Give her some clothes.”

“I don’t have any…”

“Your sisters clothes, idiot.”

“Ah.” Cade gave a nod as if he had just had a revelation. He ran upstairs without saying another word. A door slammed. There was some muffled banging, followed by silence. After a while, Cade came back down holding something in his hands and dropped it on the table.

“I found one.”

Khael opened one eye, glanced at it, and frowned. “What the hell is that?”

“My sister’s clothes.”

“That’s a jacket.”

Cade nodded. “Yeah.”

“You’re seriously giving her a jacket? Nothing else?”

“There’s nothing else! She takes all her clothes when she leaves!”

Khael just stared at him. “Does she even exist? Or are you just making this up?”

“That’s the point. She’s supposed to seem like she doesn’t exist.”

“Ughh, now we need to go buy clothes… forget it. When’s she coming back?

“I have no idea.”

Khael sat up straight. “Then drop out of school tomorrow.”

Cade frowned. “You mean the academy?”

“Yeah, you said she’d help me.”

“That’s… true,” Cade muttered, his voice faltering. “But only if I tell her myself…”

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of soft footsteps filling the room. Khael looked over at the glass dining table in the corner, surrounded by solid wooden chairs. The girl came out of the darkness with a tray on which two steaming bowls were balanced. Without saying anything, she walked over to the table and placed a bowl on each side.

After a quick glance, Khael and Cade got up from their spots and walked toward the table. The delicate smell of something… unidentified came from the bowls when they sat down. The girl stood a little far with her hands clenched together, and her eyes fixed on the ground.

Cade excitedly scooped up a large spoonful and shoved it into his mouth.

Kugh!

He sat there, holding the rest in his mouth. Khael’s eyes moved to the girl. Though, she did not react, her fingers were twitching against one another as they shook a little.

“What are you doing?” Khael hissed under his breath, leaning toward Cade.

Cade remained silent, forcing himself to swallow while his face reddened. Then he exhaled sharply, clutching his chest as if that may help keep the meal down.

“???” Khael looked down at his own bowl. Whatever was in there didn’t look bad. He dipped his spoon into the soup and brought it to his mouth. One taste was enough. He didn’t spit it out like Cade, but his expression froze, a stunned.

“Captain?”

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Khael set the spoon down gently. He looked across at the girl, who remained where she was.

“Get freshened up. We’ll head out and buy you some clothes.” he said it with a smile.

With a small nod, she turned and left the room without a word. The moment the sound of her steps disappeared, Cade let out a choked gasp and stuck his tongue out as if he were about to throw up. He reached blindly for the glass of water on the table, knocking it slightly before managing to grab it. He chugged it like his life depended on it, his face contorting with every gulp.

Meanwhile, Khael leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling. “Ma, I’ll never complain about your dishes again.”

“I told you she can’t cook!” Cade hissed.

“Then why didn’t she say no??”

“Because she’s scared!”

Khael remained silent and laid down his head on the table. Cade took both bowls to the kitchen, then came back to his seat.

“Come on, let’s go buy her some clothes,” Khael said, standing up.

Cade let out a sigh and followed him. They went to the super mall that Khael saw in front of the station on the first day. They went to the woman’s section and picked some clothes. After a few minutes of wandering around, they found themselves in the book section.

“Why are we here?” Cade asked.

“The girl… she always looks sad.” He paused, pulling out a book and inspecting the cover. “Maybe there’s something here. Something about how to make someone happy.”

“Can’t we just buy her an ice-cream?”

“She’s not a kid, idiot.”

Khael looked at the cover. It had a good illustration with a big title. He flipped through the pages and only saw black and white images.

“What it this?”

Cade glanced at the cover. “Oh, it’s a manga.”

“A manga?”

“Right, its just some pictures on a page.”

“Interesting…” Khael put the book back and pulled out another one similar to this. He looked at the title. “What does it say? I reincarnated as a toaster but somehow became the demon king”

“That’s a new one. I haven’t heard a name like that before.” Cade muttered.

Khael pulled another book. “Let’s see… My childhood crush who I thought was a boy turns out to be a vampire, and now she's trying to suck my blood. Isn’t that too straightforward?”

He pulled another book. This one was different from the others. It had a long title that took almost half of the cover. “Hmm… I thought I was just renting a cheap apartment but turns out my neighbors are all succubi, my landlord is a retired demon king, and now they've formed a competition to seduce me so they can steal my life force. You read these?”

“No! I never saw a one like that.”

Khael glanced at the book he was holding, then shook his head and slid it back onto the shelf. The two split up, each scanning through the shelves for whatever caught their interest. He ended up in the psychology section, where the books were neatly organized but somehow overwhelming with their dense titles. He tilted his head slightly as his gaze landed on one particular book: How to Please a Girl.

“Hey, that’s the one I’m looking for…”

He stretched up on his toes for a moment, but his fingers only touched the book's bottom border. He made another attempt, but the book remained in place. Khael lifted his hand and curled his fingers as if he were going to cast a magic. Then, in a dramatic gesture, he started to draw tiny circles with his hand in the air.

“Alright, time for some advanced telekinesis… Shamalama vroom!”

He closed his eyes and smiled, as though he could already feel the book slipping into his palm.

“HaHaHaHa, behold! The wizard of Doth–”

Thonk!

He was hit in the head with a book. His smile vanished in an instant as his eyes snapped awake. Looking at the guilty book that was now on the floor, he rubbed his head. It was some dusty hardcover with a title he didn't bother reading, and it wasn't the one he was aiming for. He squinted up at the top shelf.

“Aha! So that’s how you want to play?”

He raised his hand again, this time with a little more determination.

“You messed with the wrong person. Behold! The Drip Sorcerer… damn, that’s a pretty good name.”

He gestured with his fingers as though he were controlling an unseen power.

“Flibberty Flobberty Fwoosh!”

Nothing happened.

“I see you’re a strong one. Prepare for my ultimate attack!”

He began moving his hands like a psychopath.

“Scribber dibber, light the fire,

Burn the toast, and then retire!”

The book, the actual book, shifted just enough to be barely noticeable. With his hand still up, Khael froze. The book then moved an inch out of position. He moved his hand, and it followed his direction. It came out from its position and landed with a soft thump on the floor.

“...”

Khael's hand remained in midair as he glanced at the place where the book had been. Confused, he looked at his hand after picking it up. But the moment was cut short when Cade showed up holding a couple more books.

“Captain, did you find anything?”

“Uhhh, yeah.” Khael held up the book. They both sat down on the floor. Khael flipped open the book and began reading it.

“Whisper her name in the quiet of the night,

Let your hands trace every curve, soft and light.

Pull her close, let your lips taste the fire,

Every touch a promise, fueling desire.

Eh? What does that even mean?”

He flipped to another page.

“He nipped and sucked on my s-soft skin, leaving a few BITE? And love marks he continued to k-kiss my stomach and chest. He slowly started making his way lower until he was keeled down in between my l-legs– WHO WROTE THIS?”

They looked at the other books, but it was getting late, and they were both too tired to care. Even though it was well past midnight, the place was still packed. The noise of the crowd buzzed around them as they walked toward the parking lot.

“Let’s head back quickly. She gets scared when she’s alone,” Khael said, glancing at Cade.

“How do you know that? She hasn’t even spoken a single word.”

Khael rubbed the back of his neck, looking a bit uncomfortable. “Uhhh… you know, girls usually get scared when they’re alone…” He let out a nervous laugh. Suddenly, someone bumped into him.

He turned around, ready to say something, but froze when he saw the person’s face. He could hardly see it, hidden below the hood, but what he could make out sent a shiver down his spine.

The face was deformed, twisted in a way that didn’t look human, as if it had been mangled or reshaped. Before Khael could think any further, the person disappearing into the people. Khael stood there, staring at the empty space where the person had been.

‘They're evolving.’

The words rang in his mind.