Ryusei’s face was stern as he took his place amongst the people in the room.

“Ryusei, don’t be so cold with the new recruits. You’re always so stern and stoned faced- loosen up birdy.”

The fox spouted out words as he trotted towards the winged man and poked his fingers into the frowning cheeks; pulling them up into an awkward smile.

Ryusei heaved a sigh and swatted Flower’s hands away.

“Flower, knock it off.”

The fox laughed and backed away slightly, his tail wagging with clear amusement.

Ryusei turned towards Dae and Eve, purposefully knocking into Flower with his wings- who batted at the feathers in kind.

He gave the pair a slight bow of his head as he properly introduced himself,

“Greetings, my name is Ryusei Ito, though most here know me by the code name Kuroi Tsubasa. I handle communications and I play the role of messenger. I look forward to working with the two of you.”

Sarah smiled kindly, “Very good, Ryusei, very good!”

Dae gave him a once over and frowned a bit, “I hope this isn’t disrespectful, but what are you? Vampires I get- it’s like in a seolhwa*, but I’ve never read about anyone like you, Ito. It’s like someone just added parts to something to be unique.”

Ryusei didn’t seem to mind the question,

“I am a winged warlock- one of two in this camp. The other is my sister; she is but a juvenile teen. On top of communications, I also run the general magics lessons and fortify the camp.”

Flower poked his head out from behind Ryusei’s wing, “Ryusei and Kanna are some of our ‘trump cards’! They will be even more unexpected than you, Williams.”

Eve looked over at him, confused, “Huh? What? Sorry, trump cards? Unexpected?”

Flower couldn’t help but laugh,

“Yes, we have three sets of cards. You and Justin, Ryusei and Kanna, and Leeu over there.”

He spoke jabbing his thumb towards the dark-skinned person reading in the corner.

“I’m a… trump card? Wait- don’t tell me… I’m a-”

“You’re a vampire… or at least you’re turning already.” Justin interrupted, shooting Flower a sour expression. The fox held up his hands in surrender

“I’m sorry Eve. It’s not a great situation… but it has some benefits.”

Eve sighed and shook his head, “it’s… whatever. I don’t care at this point; apologizing is just a waste of words.”

Sarah cleared her throat and gestured to the man with orange hair.

“Ah, Apollo, why don’t you introduce yourself next?”

The man offered a hesitant nod and straightened his posture, standing stiff and rigid like a light post.

“Greetings. My name is Apollo Drakos. I am an elemental being wielding fire. I am a general in the resistance much like general Takahashi. I am five-foot seven, or one-hundred and seventy point eighteen centimetres for those of you who use that metric system- I-”

“Too much info, ‘pollo.” Flower spoke, grimacing a bit.

Apollo’s face flushed with shame, “Apologies. I panicked.”

Dae snickered a bit, and in turn, Apollo glared at him, “The fuck you laughing at, Bastardos-?”

The blond cleared his throat and coughed, “Ahem, nothing- got something caught in my throat.’

Apollo rolled his eyes and turned away, “Skyla.”

Sarah gave an expectant smile to the blonde woman who was keeping her gaze locked onto the floor- the wood was far less awkward than looking at Dae.

“Mrs. AnnaLeise? Dear, it’s your turn.”

The woman cleared her throat awkwardly and looked up, a guilty expression painted on her face.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

“Hello, you two… again. I’m uh, AnnaLeise… Ivanov. I’m Justin’s sister- I… work in intel- kind of like he does?” Her red eyes met Dae’s auburn ones and she cringed a bit as she noticed the awkward angle of his arm… but good on him for powering through that.

“I’m sorry… what was your name?”

“Dae Jeong? Damn, how many times do I have to introduce myself?”

“Okay, Mr. Jeong. I’m sorry. Your arm? That was my fault, though it was truly an accident. Our medic here are great though, magic can heal that instantly- good as new.”

Dae stayed silent for a while; just staring at the woman

“...muenos?**”

AnnaLeise thought the wood was rather interesting once more and quickly looked down.

“Leeu, Leeu, you talk now- I’m done.”

They sat their book down in their lap and glanced up at Eve and Dae, scanning them from top to bottom. They then went back to their book.

“My name is Leeu Hajara. I’m a shapeshifter. Boom, all the info you need to know. Next.”

Justin frowned, “That’s not… I… okay. Other than me and Flower, whom they have already met, I believe that is everyone.”

“Not technically, but the fleabag isn’t here.” Apollo scoffed.

Leeu looked up from their book and glared at the flame spitter, “Watch your words, Drakos. Xiao Hua isn’t here now because he is injured.”

“You say that like it’s my fault.”

“It is.” they retorted, “It is your fault. You hit him with fire.”

“He should learn to dodge better. Not my fault mangy mutt’s fur got singed.”

“Drakos- you hit hijm from behind. Training does not include hospitalizing allies.”

“Accidents happen.”

Justin sighed and cut off their banter

“Moving on. Both of you, enough.”

Dae looked over at Sarah, whom had taken a set on one of the plush sofas in the room.

“...How come there are so few… higher-ups? I mean, this many… commanders for all those… goemul out there- seems a bit few.”

Sarah sighed softly and placed her hands in her lap.

“We had more, but they have either died in battle or had to retire due to injury. Even so, ther aren’t many people, comparitivley, who stay with us. We aren’t a big political group- just a group of people who bonded together.”

“I see,” Dae responded, looking across the room at the different officers and generals talking amongst each other. “That is unfortunate then. I guess it makes sense- why take the hard way out?”

An awkward silence suffocated the room like a blanket of lead. Apollo and Leeu’s bickering had subsided, and all that was audible was everyone’s subtle breathing and the creaking of the wood as AnnaLeise shifted from one foot to the other.

Sarah forced a smile and was the first to speak up, “That’s just the way it is, don’t feel too bad…” she shifted her gaze to Eve, “You. Justin is in charge of training the vampires here, so you’ll be under his leadership. Mr. Dae, we don’t really have any human officers, not any that are in use for combat, but some of the others may be able to help-”

“Could I stay and train with Eve?” Dae asked; cutting her off.

Sarah frowned and shook her head, “No. The courses Justin runs are specifically for vampires. They would do you more harm than good. You joining may even put others at risk. Mr. Dae, people like you and me are sadly limited in what we are able to do in this world. I’m sorry, I must decline your request.”

Dae frowned as he glanced at Justin, Eve, then back to Sarah, “Are you sure it’s safe to leave that… thing with Eve? Alone?”

Sarah sighed and furrowed her brow as she brought her hands to her temple

“Dae, please, stop. Justin is an incredibly safe person to be around, things only played out the way they did due to dire circumstances, I’m sure. Eve will be perfectly fine, if not thrive under his care.”

Dae still seemed rather uncertain, his heart felt like a blade was being twisted into it. He looked between Justin and Eve, whom stared back at him.

“I still don’t think it’s a good idea.”

Eve smiled a bit, “I’ll be okay, Dae. I’m fine with this.”

Dae shifted on his feet uncomfortably and did his best to give a nonchalant shrug, “

Alright then…”

Justin frowned slightly, “No, No, korotyshka’s got a point, are you sure you’re okay with this? I’m sure I could find someone else willing to train you-”

Sarah stood up and made her way toward Justin; placing a hand on his shoulder, “Justin, he’s already decided. Don’t push him away.”

The man gave a slight nod.

“Alright, just so long as he isn’t forcing himself.”

Eve swallowed back bitter words and feigned a smile, “It’s fine. Enough said. Might as well try and make my life mean something, right?”

Apollo gave a curt laugh slip from his lips, “Sure, that’s the spirit.”

Leeu shot him a glare that quickly shut him up.

Eve’s gaze shifted over toward the other two officers for a few seconds before looking back up at Justin.

“Alright. When do we start?”

Justin chuckled and looked over at Sarah, who nodded, then looked back at Eve.

“Tommorow. Rest is needed for the lot of us. You two especially. You’re probably growing exhausted.”

Now that he had said something- the spout of energy that Eve had earlier that felt like a never-ending stream now felt like a dried-up canyon. Tiredness tugged at his limbs; his arms and legs felt more like lead than flesh.

Eve frowned.

“Yeah, now that you say something, I feel ready to collapse. Did you splash me with water?***”

He muttered as he took a few cautious steps away from the vampire and closer to Dae.

Justin frowned at the comment, “Did I huh? I- ugh, you’re more exhausted because you’re a fresh turn and you’ve run alot today. Don’t blame me for your problems!”

Eve crossed his arms, “But you’re the one who turned me?! Who else am I supposed to blame, Dagda?****”

Justin’s face screwed up with displeasure,

“That wasn’t entierly on me. Someone else was coming after you. I told you that. If not for me, you and everyone in that house would be dead by now.”

Sarah sighed heavily, “Both of you, enough! Justin, thank you for gathering them. Eve, Dae, I’m sorry we had to drag you into this; we didn’t have another choice. Aside from Justin, we had no one who could be on par with the vampire leadership. Our officers are the strongest we have.”

Eve sighed again, “It’s whatever, it’s not like I had that much going for me at home anyways.”

Sarah gave a gentle smile, “Though its not the best situation, I hope you find some solace here.”

Eve offered a slight smile, the corners of his lips barely quirking up before falling back down, grateful for the shallow comfort. He had to at least hope for something, no matter what it may be.

Flower pipped up from his spot beside Ryusei, his brightly colored hair contrasting against the black feathers.

“I can take you to your sleeping quarters! You’ll be in the tree with us- for safety reasons- but don’t worry, you have your own rooms.”

Eve and Dae gave a nod to each other and followed Flower as he led them away to their rooms, leaving Sarah and the others to discuss.

The rooms were small and simple, enough to fit a bed, a wooden stool, a nightstand, a small desk, and a wardrobe. It was much like a college dorm for one.

Eve stepped inside and shut the door. He shed his tie and blazer, setting them- folded neatly- on the desk. He took off his white button-up, leaving him in his black slacks and white tank top. He then kicked off his shoes and set them at the edge of the bed as he crawled onto the mattress and settled in.

*Folktale

**what

***Superstition in Ireland that splashing someone with water will bring them bad luck

****Celtic father god