Sanguis Daemonium

2-Profundus in Ecclesia

Winding down the circular staircase into a deep pit of darkness, I found myself in a cold, dry basement that echoed of music and voices. Something deep within me was being pulled through the echoing hallways, passing the doors labeled with alchemical runes and names inscribed into the wood of the door.

Into the belly of the beast, a lonely room full of demon smelling things. The light poured into the hallway through the square window of the door like a pitcher of water onto the floor. It illuminated my form and gave me sight to see into said room.

But just as I was so close to finding it, something from behind me covered my mouth and grabbed my wrist.

"Don't scream. Don't be afraid. We're going in, you have come to meet them, so you will meet them." It was a taller form, muscular, big. Maybe a bit wide. He let me use my other hand to shuffle around the cool metal of the handle, until I found it and twisted it open. Greetings of hellos to an "Aether" echoed before silence and gasps erupted from them.

They were all masked, silver masks of metal to contain their faces. It's here. The music stopped and they placed their instruments aside.

The first on that stood out was a shorter ghoul, a fire ghoul who looked me up and down quickly and asked the horrible question, "Is she free for the fuckening?" He asked in an interested tone.

"What?! No, Dew! I found her roaming the halls. She's probably lost, but her intentions were definitely to be here." The Aether guy let me go and began to scold the Dew thing.

Beyond the Dew and Aether, I spotted two ghouls in the far corner playing with a keytar. There was a tall ghoul near them rising from his drums, shoeless and concerned for the enamored ghoul beside him. Muscular, young and armed with a tambourine, he looked like a deer within headlights, locked in a gaze at me. The big one shook the younger one out of his static state. The younger one proceeded to avoid me as I gazed out at them.

There was one more. He was about the same height and build as the younger one but he was putting away his bass guitar shyly and also avoiding me.

"There you are, ingannevole. Was it my ghouls that called you? Did any of you call to her?" He shouted out at his ghouls. They all shook their heads.

"No, but I should've if she plans to stick around." Dew murmured.

"Dew, that's gross." The tall one spoke.

"Shut up pebble!" He hissed back at the tall one.

Aether simply buried his face into his hands.

"Would you like to stay with them? Ever since the last Papa stepped down, we've needed a new Custos Daemoniorum." Copia offered, "the council has allowed your staying, since Nihil advocated for you."

"I would like that, next time you see Nihil, please thank him for me, this means a lot to me."

"Why does it mean so much?" Everyone's attention was on me now.

"You should ask Nihil that question, I won't disclose it infront of all of these... friends not yet made." I said optimistically. The ghoulettes seemed to smile from their corner, and the shy ones looked embarrassed.

"It's so good to see a new face." Aether sighed, "alright, we should continue practicing, but we should find a room for our new keeper, we'll draw straws." Aether decided. He seems to take a fatherly role with these ghouls.

He picked up a bunch of broken drumsticks and held them out for all seven of them. They each picked and it seemed as though one of the shy ones had picked the longest.

"Well? Come on Rain, you have a lot of space since the other water ghouls aren't here." A ghoulette encouraged.

He sighed heavily with something like embarrassment or frustration in his voice.

"Alright." He walked up to me without any trace of confidence and tried to utter out a greeting.

"Hi, I'm Rain... you'll be staying with me since I have a lot of space, I hope you're okay with that?" He fidgeted with his spade tail as he conversed.

"Hello, I'm Marian, I'm fine with the arrangement since it seems fair. I hope we'll get along and maybe be good friends." Something about him made me aware of my harsh tone I held with the Cardinal, I felt I had to meet his level. And that made me nervous.

"I hope so too." He mumbled and opened the door behind us, flicked on some lights and opened the water door to an apartment-like furnished series of bedrooms and lounge areas with storage.

We entered into the living room, it had a large couch and a love seat, there was a tv and a stand with a decent audio system and the floors were a dark hardwood. The walls were a deep blue and the same blue was in a large soft circular rug.

"This is the living room, my room is the far left, there's also the bathroom, the dining room, the kitchen and laundry room that way, far right are two rooms, one of them has instruments, so I suggest you take the other one, there's a bathroom and a large closet there and I'm sure Aether will be here soon to help you furnish your room, at the moment it's pretty empty, but you can check it out anyway if you want to." He offered and explained.

"Thank you Rain, this is really kind of you." I smiled gratefully. He nodded and with a slight stumble he went to said instrument room and it sounded like he was doing some cleaning.

Like he said, Aether did come by with another ghoul whose name was Swiss and he was the one enamored with me or my presence earlier. They had taken an old bed from the clergy upstairs and brought it down through the cellar entrance, with the ghoulettes who brought a mattress.

Over some time, my room was now furnished and the ghoulette Cirrus lent me some of her clothes until we could go get better clothes. I was in awe at their kindness. The clergy must have rubbed off on them, I have never met a demon who was kind or generous.