The monsters

Reunion with the darkness

Exhausted, hungry, and tired, the women sat on the bed in the inn they stayed in for these long and grueling days. The task was done, that's all that mattered to them. Both sat there, not moving or speaking, the friend leaning her head against the headboard, while Drifter rested her head on her leg, both enjoying the silence
"The mission is done" Drifter muttered, no cause for her to say this, but she did "let's go home"
"Yeah, I can't wait for a hot bath, warm meal and a nice sleep" the friend said, reminiscing on every mission she's been on. Ending all the same; a hot bath after a stressful mission, a plate of warm food for her to indulge in since imps cant enjoy human food, then have a nice, long sleep. Frankly she felt she deserved one, after keeping up with Drifter and her inhuman skills and speed, even for an inhuman entity, she was still too skilled
"We don't do that where I'm from" drifter stated, confusing the friend
"What do you mean?"
"Well, in heaven, after a battle or a sparring match, to clean your quote unquote 'sins' away, you'd bathe in saltwater, even with open wounds. You'd drink saltwater to purify your speech too" she explained the ritual, with a tone that sounded like she enjoyed this, speaking of it with passion, as if reminiscing. Confused, the friend wanted to know why
"Isn't that excruciating and dehydrating?" The friend questioned, and Drifter simply nodded
"Extremely"

Enjoying watching Oleander teach Ether with skills, Vera simply watched, watching as she taught Ether to use a skipping rope. He always enjoyed moments like this, of childhood innocence. If he couldn't have that sense of security and an area to explore, he would give his daughters that. It was his job to protect his children, to provide a safe haven for them to learn about themselves and to have fun, a roof over their head, food, heat, a place to sleep and a place to play. Of course, these are the bare minimum of a father, and he certainly would go further then that, with him giving frequent opportunities of independence to his daughters
He had long since put the bass he was supposed to be practicing down, talking to his chatty and lively children, unafraid to speak their minds, as they played with each other, helping each other learn and grow.

The door creaked open, as the exhausted albino returned home. Attention turned to the front door, and even the children heard the slow footsteps and bags being dropped by the front door. Vera stood up, his children following closely behind, before he saw the all too familiar white hair, running towards him
She jumped into his arms, and he wrapped his arms around her waist and back tightly, as she wrapped hers around his neck, burying her face into his shoulder. Her legs wrapped around his back

"Drifter!" He spoke, glad she returned safely, certainly exhausted, but from what he could see, there were no bruises on her. The commotion was enough for the others to notice, and they went to investigate the noise
"Drifter?" Luke asked, as the albino looked at her, a calm happiness she had not ever seen on her face
"You must be exhausted" Luke said, as the albino went back to her feet, but still somewhat leaning against the tall german
"Why don't you go rest?" Vera said, as he carefully picked up the small fallen angel once again, to her annoyance, but she was also thankful. Only realizing now how much her body actually ached and cried out in agony, it was nice to be swept off her feet by such a kind man, as he approached where her room was.

Carefully, he put her on her bed, and she realized how much she missed the comfort of her own home. The most expensive hotel could never replace the feeling of safety she had in her own room, the warmth and comfort she experienced every time she was in a room she had made her own. It was almost like a reward for her. A large walk in wardrobe filled with black shirts, jumpers, jackets, trousers and elegant dresses she wore when she went out and suits she frequently wore, with her own en suite bathroom, naturally all dark colors with that electric blue she dearly enjoyed. Incense was always burning in her room, she didn't care what was burning, it gave a relaxing atmosphere she enjoyed. Blackout curtains covered every window- specifically blackout to her request, black carpet covered the floor, with a large weapon rack, her violin hung carefully on the wall, with a large shelf of books. She enjoyed reading, it provided comfort in all of her years
"Was it successful?" Vera asked, as he helped her take off her weapon harness, webbing and corset
"Yes, it was. Encountered some archangels, me and Charlie did" she explained, and the man stopped, looking up from what he was doing
"You what?" He asked, a serious tone she rarely heard, except in dire situations was used. As much as she feared the archangels, angels that can enter hell and were stronger and more feared then the rest.
"Did any of them touch you?" He asked, as drifter slipped off the jumper and discarded it onto the bed next to her leg
"It's hard to remember" she replied, as he unloaded the weapon pouches of throwing knives and poisons, putting them on the table behind him, and he looked at her, seriousness in his face.
"Can I check you over? You can barely feel pain so I want to make sure you're not hurt" he questioned, and she thought. He was always thorough in looking for injuries, even finding the smallest of cuts you yourself had not noticed, but she would've surely have noticed any large injuries. Archangels were famous for large swings and oversized weapons, she surely would have noticed
His hands were warm against her skin, as he firmly but carefully grasped her arm, wrapping any injuries from the mission he could find
"You need to be careful, Drifty" he said, bandaging her shoulder "keep up with this rate and you'll be mostly wrapped in bandages, not like anyone would see, cuz you wear so much black clothing"
She looked at him, he was focused, being careful not to hurt her. She would never get over his touch, careful and gentle
"How can you tell they're fresh?" She asked with a genuine curiosity, and he looked up at her
"I've seen you naked, I remember what scars you have that don't fade. They're on your face" he explained, as he moved from her arm to her torso, being careful to not hurt her once again
"How did you even learn to y'know... treat injuries?"
Vera took a deep breath, thinking how to explain
"I knew this girl.... She was always getting into trouble with her nation, past the age of 8 she started appearing to me bloodied and hurt, I quickly learnt from Lucifer how to wrap injuries"

"Lucy!" Charlie called out into the hall, and the man turned around, embracing his twin
"Charlie, how was the mission?" He asked, pulling away from his sister but keeping his hands on her shoulders
"That's girl is impossible to work with! She's so fast and high energy!" Charlie exclaimed, and Lucy let out a slight chuckle
"So she's worse then she said." He joked, and she chuckled
"Much." She joked. Lucy looked at his sister, seriousness that wasn't uncommon flooded his expression, and he spoke again
"You should've said first thing you were hurt." He spoke in that tone she heard too much, and she had many questions, but one she wanted answered
"How could you-" she began, before being cut off abruptly
"I'm a father, Charlie, i know these sort of things. I'll take you to your room" he explained, and she knew what that meant, as she jumped onto his back, her pains easing slightly now she wasn't on the ground, and she leaned against her brother, always there for her. Holding up idle conversation, she knew something was up
"Lucy, something the matter?" She asked, and Lucy turned away from her face
"It's solace..." he explained
"Dude you should go and spend time with her!" Charlie scolded, and Lucy turned to face his twin sister
"She's in safe hands, currently asleep" he explained quickly. Solace was a sensitive subject to Lucy some days, some days more then the rest. Incurable illness destroying her slowly from the inside, everyone knew why. Lucy took the death of Emilla Alaister hard enough- the only woman he's loved. A Cardinalist without fears and a sadistic desire to destroy priests and steal their clerical shirts and cassocks. He still had her guitar, both of them. An incredible 8 stringed electric with signatures from a few metal bands on them (although examining closer revealed they were stickers), a black body, golden fretboard with black frets, it was her favorite and the fretboard and frets have been worn down and weathered due to constant use. The other was a black 6 string electric guitar with red decals of fire on it. A gift, 17th birthday present, from her friend Alejandro. He didn't fix them, didn't play them, left them in the state he took them in. Her prized possessions
"She reminds you of her, huh?"
Lucy stayed quiet for a moment, getting closer to where Charlie spent most of her time
"Her hair is the same, her personality is, it's hard to not remember Emilla when I look at her, i will find where the church hid Emilla. It's common practice for lovers to be buried next to each other" he said, pushing open the door to Charlie's room

A chaotic and messy room, books in piles due to the full shelves. Pens and pencils on every table, with paper messily thrown, Lucy didn't question it though. His sister never could recover from the trauma of Heaven, no matter how much therapy and treatment she had, finding comfort in reading and isolation
She climbed off of his back, back in the safety of her own room
"Do you need anything? I'll send someone to get you something to eat" he asked, as his sister sat on the bed and slipped off her boots
"No, i should be alright" she stated, slipping armor and weapon pouches off, as Lucy noticed something on her neck. He grabbed her chin, moving the collar of her coat to look
"You used horns of ram..." he said, looking up at his sisters golden eyes
"I had no choice, we would have died!" She exclaimed in agony "we encountered archangels, a whole garrison!"
Lucy paused, he knew the repercussions of facing an archangel, and they could be fatal, he had to think, making a decision which would be more dangerous; the after effects of Horns of ram or the toxin of archangels. Charlie wasn't Drifter. Her body couldn't withstand poisons and venoms, and Charlie could use medicines
"I'll send a sawbones up" he decided, walking out of the room, leaving Charlie to her solitude

They were safe, that's all that mattered to them, that's all they needed to know
As drifter slept peacefully, resting from her wounds, the man had not left her side. Quietly speaking in German, quiet enough as to not disturb her
"I remember who you are, old friend. You're precious to me, Drifty. Ask, and I will give because I love all of my consorts the same. You are all precious to me. You are perfect, your albinism is beautiful, your skeletal markings, the muscle you have. They're all gorgeous, when will you see your beauty?"
She did not hear, as she rested her head into his thin waist, resting her hand against his leg. He was always warm, and she found herself comforted by that. Dreaming of a flower field, times of peace, she adored flowers. Something about them; the colour of the petals, the scent of them provided comfort for her
The mission was a success, but something told her, deep in her heart, there was more to the mission