Fireflight

Chapter Thirteen

Loona knocked on Blitzo's door early the next morning. The night before she had gone to apologize, but had not received a response after knocking. Assuming that he was asleep she had decided to get some rest too, and go find him the next morning. The hellhound heard a muffled "Come in." from her adoptive father and pushed the door open.

Blitzo was in the process of buttoning up his undershirt when his daughter stepped into the room. He looked up and smiled at her, hoping she had cooled off from last night. 

"Good morning Loona." he greeted. 

"Hey dad." she said in kind. 

Blitzo did a double take, shocked at the word "dad" used by his daughter. He had adopted her when she was practically an adult, with just a few months until her eighteenth birthday. Loona had always been headstrong, combative and had acted uncaring. Despite all of this, Blitzo knew she had a soft and caring side to her. 

"What's up?" he asked, sensing she wanted to talk to him. 

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for how I acted last night." Loona apologized. 

Blitzo smiled and replied. "Aw, its okay Loonie. Thank you for apologizing." 

The hellhound smiled slightly at his use of her pet name, one that she usually hated. 

"I know you'd like to go on more missions," Blitzo said. "But I worry about you." 

"I know dad." 

"I just want to make sure you're safe." he continued. 

"I know." Loona said again. 

Looking up, Blitzo stepped forwards and took Loona's hand in his. "I love you." 

"I love you too dad." Loona said choking up. Then without hesitation, she grabbed Blitzo up in a tight bear hug. 

The shorter imp hugged her back tightly, savoring the moment as tears began to sting his eyes. The two were suddenly interrupted by a loud knock on the door. 

"Sir, Stolas need's to talk to you." Moxxie called from the other side of the door before pushing it open. 

Blitzo and Loona both glared at Moxxie with poison in their eyes. "Damn it Moxxie, we were having bonding time!" 

"Well I'm sorry but Stolas-" 

"I know!" Blitzo interrupted. "If he want's to fuck me you can tell him it can wait!" 

 "It's actually important." Moxxie said. 

"Why?" Loona asked. 

"It has to do with our job. Apparently shit's hit the fan." 

Blitzo sighed. "Alright, lead the way Mox." 

They three of them padded down the halls of the palace to the sprawling building's large sitting room. Everyone was already there, and the three of them entered, with Moxxie taking a seat next to his wife while Blitzo and Loona sat down on a sofa next to Brenden. 

"I'm glad you could come." Stolas said, slightly strained. "It looks like we will be needing your services after all." 

"What's the matter?" Blitzo asked, his concern growing. 

"War has broken out between the Silver Legion and some of the principalities." Stolas began. 

"Oh gosh!" Millie gasped. "What does this mean for you?" 

"They've declared war on us too." Stella said bitterly. 

"They did?" Moxxie asked shocked. 

Stolas nodded gravely. "Because we are friends with the Chancellor, and support him, they have decided to do away with us." 

"I'm sure they also want to take our place as most powerful." Octavia added. 

"That though crossed my mind too." Stella agreed. "Luckily we're not without allies. Three other states have pledged to come to our aid. With them and the Silver Legion, we stand a chance." 

"So what do you want us to do about all of this?" Blitzo asked her with a scowl. "There are five of us, we're not an army." 

The princess glared back at the imp and replied. "I don't care for you and your cohorts, but I recognize that you have skills we require to protect ourselves and fight back." 

"That we do." he agreed. 

"So what do you want us to do?" Loona asked. 

"I was hoping that you could protect our daughter." Stolas said to the hellhound. "I know that Blitzo is a little unsure of taking you out on certain jobs, and I thought that your training and expertise would be well suited for protecting Octavia. I know you two are close." 

Loona looked from Stolas to Octavia. "I thought she could take care of herself?" she asked. 

"I can, it's just mum and dad want me to have bodyguard just in case." the princess explained. 

"So then what will the rest of us be doing?" Moxxie asked. 

"We'll have you on guard for anything that might come up." Stolas said. "Whether that be protecting us or removing any threats from afar." 

"So we wait for now." Brenden confirmed. 

"Exactly." the prince nodded. 

"So how much are we getting paid?" Blitzo asked. "Because I didn't sign up to fight a war." 

"Enough to satisfy you." Stolas assured him. 

"It better be, my life is on the line." the imp retorted. 

"Sir, your life is always on the line. It's part of our job." Moxxie said dryly. 

Blitzo gazed sidelong at his employee with an unamused look on his face. "Moxxie, did I give you permission to state the obvious?"