When morning broke, there was still no sign of Azanor.
Alice did finally wake up though. To say she was confused was an understatement. She looked more than lost as she studied the solid and nice beds in the room. She would scan the wooden decorations with growing confusion by the second.
After all, she had been out of it before Damon had arrived.
“Where…” Alice began to mumble, groaning as she held her head, only to spring up in alarm as she recalled the last thing she had been doing. Before she could fully sit up though, she was stopped by Kazius.
“Not so fast. We are safe, don’t get up like that.” Kazius assured, helping her sit up more slowly.
“Yay! You’re okay. I was worried.” Eve exclaimed happily. She was very giddy for someone who was worried, but honestly Kazius thought nothing of it due to how she was. Not to mention, now that he knew about her lack of memories… Her erratic behavior certainly matched her scrambled mind.
“How are you feeling? Are you okay?” Kazius asked. Eve had used healing magic, but he wasn’t sure how effective it had been.
“Yeah… I feel alright, extremely sore though.” Alice admitted.
“… Where is Azanor?” She questioned in confusion.
Eve looked sad at the question, clearly, she didn’t like that he was away.
“He got told his friend was dead and he got sad.” Eve summarized quite poorly.
“That is not what happened at all… I… Well maybe…. Where do I even start…” Kazius began, unsure of how to even begin.
“We got saved by the Chief of Vargstam, Damon… We are at his house… Well… He is kind of the Chief… I think there is some sort of power struggle going on between him and his ‘brother’, Caleb. He seems like a good guy, but for some reason it seems everyone in The Tribe hates his guts. Anyway, he told us we can stay at his place.” Kazius began.
Alice sighed, relieved.
“I see… I am glad… I guess we will be safe in Vargstam… At least for a while… I do hope this power struggle doesn’t boil over… That is the last thing we need… So, is his brother a jerk or something?” Alice asked, trying to take things in.
“Actually, no. Surprisingly it seems like he has nothing against Damon and he even seemed like he wants Damon to be the Chief… That isn’t what is important about his brother though. For starters, Vargstam is full of Werewolves… Which relates to why it seems like Caleb and Damon have different fathers. Damon is probably just a Werewolf… Though I haven’t seen him transform or anything… But Caleb is actually a Half-Elf that-” Kazius began.
“A Half-Elf?! Really?! So, a Werewolf and an Elf had a kid? I wish I could see the face of some of those snobs from Ratier react to such a thing.” Alice admitted in shock, interrupting.
“Yes, but his dad isn’t just any Elf. His father is Zelphar, Alice.” Kazius explained.
“W-What?! He is out here?! I have to meet him then! I can’t believe it… I heard the rumors… But he really did go missing… I heard from my dad that he suddenly stopped attending events… But I can’t believe it… It really was true!” Alice exclaimed in shock and awe.
“That won’t be possible Alice… Apparently something happened to him, and he is now dead. Thing is, Caleb looks just like him and when we first got here… I genuinely thought Azanor was going to kill him… He mistook him for Zelphar at first… I’ve never seen him that angry, Alice. Do you remember that stuff he said about an 8th hero? I think he helped Ratier, Zelphar, and Thimdur… He must have. Apparently Zelphar wanted to apologize to him… When he heard that, he got even more upset and left.” Kazius finally finished.
“That is just… I guess it explains a lot… He did sound like he knew Ratier… I wish he told us everything himself… I want to know… But if he ended up sealed away… Just like other Demons… I think… I think Ratier, Zelphar, and Thimdur stabbed him in the back somehow…” Alice admitted with a frown. She seemed to only grow more and more disillusioned with her ancestor.
As this conversation occurred, Eve was silent. She looked sad, but she was surprisingly quiet. She likely worried about Azanor. The Demon was always with her, coddling her and now he was not around.
“I was thinking the same thing… But if he really got backstabbed like that… I think I understand why he won’t trust us with information like that… Last time he trusted people, it got him sealed away… We shouldn’t push him when he comes back. He will tell us when he feels he can.” Kazius admitted.
“Anyway, can you stand? I am sure you will start feeling better after we eat.” Kazius followed up. He had a lot on his mind, but his priority now was making sure Alice recovered before he would even consider trying to figure out where Azanor had gone or what he was thinking.
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“I think I can… Speaking of… How did you even get me here?” Alice questioned as she slowly stood up.
“I carried you.” Kazius responded bluntly.
At the response, Alice blushed a bit smiling a little.
“I-I… I see. Thank you.” Alice stated contently.
“Of course.” Kazius assured, clearing his throat nervously. This segway was leaving him a bit flustered and was unassured why.
“Anyway, let’s go… We can all have breakfast with our new friend, okay?” Kazius stated to Eve since she was so quiet.
“Okay.” Eve agreed, looking a bit less down, but clearly still missing her ‘best friend’, or so Azanor had called himself.
With that the group headed down the hall, soon just eventually following the smell of food…
But as they got closer… They were following the sound of a feminine voice yelling. Her voice had so much hatred, vile, and venom to the point it would have made High Priest Jordan blush. Hearing such a tone brought Kazius back to his childhood and not in a pleasant manner…
As they grew closer and he could finally hear what was being said properly. Hearing what was actually being said only reminded him of his childhood more so.
“Who told you that you could have guests?! It is bad enough that I have to breathe the same air as you, but now you even bring others around that waste even more space than you already do! Don’t you have any shame? Taking up so much space? Existing?” The feminine voice snapped.
“T-They were hurt… They need a place to stay… They are good people…” Damon could be heard whimpering. The happy oath sounded almost downright pathetic in front of whoever this was…
“You are just happy that they don’t know any better and talk to someone like you. I even heard from Caleb that one of them is even a Demon… Then again, such lowly and filthy company suits someone like you. Two beings that are better off locked up or dead…” The feminine voice added, a malicious glee in her tone. Considering how miserable Damon sounded, she likely was feeling satisfaction at seeing him in whatever state he was.
“B-But… A-Azanor was friends with your dad-”
SMACK
“KEEP HIM OUT OF YOUR FILTHY MOUTH OR I WILL INCENERATE IT UNTIL IT MELTS SHUT! It is quite tempting, you know? I wouldn’t have to hear your annoying voice ever again.”
“I… I-I… It isn’t like I did anything wrong, Luna… I just… I just want to be your little brother… Can’t you treat me like that? Please… I am just so alone… I want some friends for once.” Damon stated, sounding saddened, like he was begging even. Very different from his usual cheery tone and proud demeanor. He seemed so desperate. His voice was shaking.
“Oh really? In my opinion, just you existing is wrong! If they are going to be friends of yours, then I despise that they are here even more!”
“Luna-”
“I can’t stand being near you for a second longer, I will get my own food somewhere else… Don’t you dare even breathe in my direction.”
It was at this moment that the group finally arrived at the kitchen area.
The source of the commotion, Luna… Or So Damon had called her. Was glaring daggers at the Werewolf, blocking him off into a corner. She looked a lot like Caleb, with blue hair and yellow eyes. Her hair was long and straight, reaching her butt. She was standing at 5ft 4 (1.63m). Her ears were also pointed like Caleb. She was an objectively beautiful woman, but in her eyes, there was only hate.
Damon was cowering, his head knelt down as the tall muscle mountain of a man simply shook. He had been so brave against Leo and Alex… He was strong. In fact, he was probably stronger than the woman that just hit him, but he did not raise a finger to so much as even protect himself. Considering how much taller he was… And his red cheek, he had probably knelt down and allowed himself to be slapped.
Of course, Damon being of the strength he was, such a slap likely didn’t hurt much… But from Priestess Rosette Kazius knew very well that physical pain did not equal the actual pain someone could feel.
Noticing them, Luna would sneer and storm out… But not before she made sure to glare daggers at them. The expression she gave them and Damon was one Kazius remembered well… She definitely wanted them dead.
‘What a vile person… What the hell did I just overhear? She treats him worse than the townsfolk do… I don’t understand at all… Why does he just take that abuse? Caleb didn’t treat him like this… Why do Luna and the Tribe hate him?’
It was then Damon would spot them, smiling goofily at him despite what they saw.
“Up early, huh? My sister woke up in a bad mood, don’t mind her.” Damon would laugh out.
‘Wait… I just realized… But… He doesn’t know I understood all that, does he? Should I tell him? No… Then he will just feel worse…’
“Yeah… Bad mood alright…” Kazius would state awkwardly. It seemed Alice and Eve were left entirely speechless, but then again they did not understand what had been said so they didn’t know just how bad it was.
“uh…”
‘This is so awkward… How can I not make a big deal about this? He clearly doesn’t want to talk about it… The best I can do is change subjects… And try to be his friend… He seems even more desperate than I was for friends.’
“This is… Uh… Alice… She was the one that got knocked out. She woke up, thankfully… I figured we would ask about breakfast. I remember you said you hunted by yourself… How about I join you next time? I don’t want to be a freeloader and I figured hunting in packs is better… For lack of a better word.” Kazius joked a bit, hoping to cheer him up.
Alice smiled awkwardly, unsure of how to even bounce back from what she had seen.
“Kazius told me how you saved us… Thanks.” Alice managed out to try and help guide the situation away from… Whatever that was…
Damon saved their lives after all. Alice and him had no reason to not trust him or to not be friendly with him.
“But he looks so sa-” Eve began in confusion, not understanding what the two were trying to do.
“Ready for breakfast! Yes, he looks ready for breakfast!” Alice beamed, covering Eve’s mouth and cutting her off.
At talk of joining him in a hunt, Damon’s expression seemed to visibly brighten. He was quite easy to read to say the least. He was practically beaming.
“Really?! Buahaha! That would be fun! I hope you can keep up! And you’re welcome” Damon would laugh out.
“Let’s eat… Food smells great..” Kazius would add.
“Yes! Let’s eat!” Damon stated eagerly, happy to have company it seems.
With that, the 4 would have a good meal together.