“Thanks, Leo!” Anna smiled, the corners of her eyes crinkling in warmth.
Leo scratched his nose before responding. “Don’t worry.”
Someone opened and then closed the door with haste as Arashi stumbled into the house hours later, bathed in sweat and exhausted from his ordeal. The Japanese collapsed onto a chair and spoke between deep breaths.
"Are you ok?" She asked, frowning.
“The statues found me. Steve, Hatta, and Lowe helped me with a diversion —don't worry, they're all safe."
He paused to wipe the sweat off his forehead with a handkerchief before continuing.
"What about Aran and Kyrie? Are they in the city too?" Leo Asked.
"They are," Arashi replied. "Kyrie was pretty worn out by the time I saw him. Aran is with him. They didn't have any encounter with the remaining statues yet."
"Good to hear," Leo nodded in relief.
"How's Damon doing? Is he healing yet?"
"His wounds are getting better but he won't be ready to move at least until tomorrow."
"It's good news regardless," Arashi said.
Arashi kept a vigilant watch, the cold night air chilling him through to his bones. At midnight Leo and Anna took over his guard duties, grateful for his help. They stepped outside and were received by a light snowfall.
“Thank you,” Anna murmured once she was alone with Leo, cheeks burning with embarrassment.
“Don't worry about it!" Leo shrugged and fiddled with his nose self-consciously, avoiding her gaze. She stared out at the starless sky, shivering in the chill, before he asked her what she was thinking about.
Anna glanced up at the moonless night sky, remaining silent after Leo's words. An icy wind blew around her body, making her shudder.
They spent about an hour walking a few yards, not even talking to each other until Leo broke the silence once they turned back to where they started.
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They then continued walking in the opposite direction and reached a grocery store about four blocks away. Leo decided to go first as he found the windows shattered and the door wide open. Anna wanted to follow after him, but he stopped her.
“Don’t come in here,” He said.
“What happened?”
“There are refugees here, children even,” Leo stepped out, Anna noticed his sudden change of mood.
“What happened?”
“They are all dead, froze to death.”
Anna gasped, not knowing what to say. Leo passed by her side and walked his way back to their shelter. When they were just a block away from their destination, Leo broke the silence and asked, “What are you thinking about?"
"That it's freezing out here!" She said without looking at him.
"No, I mean really. What are you thinking?”.
“What are we even doing in this city?” She ran her hand through her hair and sighed. “What are we even doing here? We came to stop Zak, yet he vanished without a trace. His bombs have suddenly become less of an issue, and Alice is now acting all weird. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that there are no bombs at all anymore, but what else do we have to do here? Weren't we supposed to be off to Africa by now?”
Leo sighed and looked away in frustration. “Yeah, I know. Völundr hasn't said anything either."
“Zak left, but another person has moved using Zak’s plot to their advantage. We can't let that happen, right?” Arashi interrupted, he just stepped out of the house looking for them.
“Weren't you sleeping?” Leo asked.
“I tried, I’m too alert to fall asleep,” Arashi cleared his throat. “Don't worry, I understand your concerns!”
“Mr. Narukami," Anna sightly bowed at him. "Do you know what's going on?”
“No need to be so formal, call me Arashi. Well, I guess I haven't been too friendly either,” Arashi smiled. “I think I can get a general idea of the situation but I'm not entirely sure. I haven't been able to get in touch with Völundr.”
“What's going on?” Anna frowned.
“Zak suddenly stopped what he was doing and disappeared, that I'm certain.”
“I can tell that much,” she sighed.
Arashi cleared his throat, breaking the tense silence after almost a minute. "Do you remember when Völundr asked you about the D'Arc Order at the introduction meeting?"
"Yes!" Anna's mind raced back six months ago, to that fateful encounter. "Two old women had praised the abilities I didn't know I had and tried to recruit me." She had been ecstatic at first, but finally, recognition of what she was capable of. "Then Völundr appeared, and the women vanished like smoke in a strong wind. He took me in as an apprentice as I supposed he asked some of you guys. He started teaching my Thaumaturgy, but despite all the hard work I put in, I still can't cast even the most basic spell."
Leo jumped in with encouragement: "Don't worry, you'll learn it! The same thing happened to me. I was approached by someone a witch called Sains before Völundr and Aran showed up to save the day!"
Arashi coughed and interjected with a warning tone, "Those women are part of the D'Arc Order, an organization of rebels. Their objective is noble but..."
"But their methods are dangerous," Leo finished, "or so Völundr says".
"I still need more evidence," Arashi said anxiously. "But they might be behind Alice's behavior and this mess."
The weight of their conversation settled heavily on Anna's shoulders as she realized just how deeply involved she was becoming in something much larger than herself.