The Blade in the Stars (Swiss x Female OC)

4: Ritual

A/N: I changed the cover to something that might make a bit more sense :)

Fenris' POV:

Due to the annoyingly short notice I had received, I slept a bit past my alarm, completely disregarding the ritual that would be happening. That was until a loud knock from the door woke me up and I had to force my eyes open.

"Hey, are you up?" Swiss' muffled voice came from behind the door. He sounded even more energetic than normal, his voice high with what seemed to be excitement. In a daze, I sat up, my squinted eyes scanning the room.

Once I was sure that my voice would carry out enough, I responded, "Yeah, I'm up." I wasn't interested in being late to the ritual, so I heaved myself out of bed in order not to fall asleep again. "See you there." Once I said that, his shadow disappeared from underneath the door, presumably heading to the green room.

I found my brush on top of the wardrobe, starting to run it through my hair. Once all the knots had been removed, I started to get dressed. The new dark Victorian parade jackets weren't the most comfortable thing in the world. It wasn't at all like the old ones, which would fit nicely on whoever happened to be wearing it. Once I had gotten ready, I slipped my mask on, starting towards the door. I locked it behind me, making my way down the hall.

The rituals were always a big deal around for everyone in the church. Around me, siblings of sin were running around, giggling amongst each other. I never understood why, of all times, rituals are when they gain their energy. There were also lots of people carrying equipment around, dragging loose wires behind them. Luckily, there were some siblings of sin that had volunteered to help, so they weren't being completely useless.

The green room was on the very opposite side of the large monastery, so I had quite the walk. It satisfied me each time I passed someone, and they go completely silent. Humans were always deathly afraid of us ghouls. For good reason, I suppose. They're powerless, and we're not. One time, all I had to do was move my hand slightly for a sister of sin to start fumbling over the objects in her hands. I only took a second to steady her once again before moving on.

Eventually, I reached the hall outside the ritual room, which was bustling with people. I groaned silently, blinking out at the crowd before me. However, all I had to do was raise the temperature, and they would look my way. So that's what I did. The noise slowly died down, heads turning towards me. I moved forward, the humans moving to the side. Now, that was a major perk of being a ghoul in a mortal world. I dipped my head to the last person before turning to my right. I pushed open a door, instantly spotting the other ghouls collected together on wooden chairs. The commotion stirred back up in the hallway, so I silenced it by closing the door.

The ghouls didn't acknowledge me as I made my way to where the instruments were. I ran my hand over the familiar white guitar, which, as promised by Copia, was now completely cleaned. Secondo always used to say, "The only thing that man is useful for is following orders." I agreed, but the moment Secondo emerged into my thoughts, I pushed him back out. I couldn't be dealing with him today, especially with the first ritual with a new Papa.

I never could decide what to do before a ritual, even when I was in the band. The ghouls would typically just have a chat, briefly touching over the ritual before continuing their own conversations. At the thought, I turned my head, glancing towards the ghouls. Rain and Swiss were together, having a conversation completely separate from the others. Meanwhile, Sunshine seemed to be telling a story, which had everyone intrigued. I propped myself against the wall, standing there with no set purpose.

In my head, I was counting down the minutes, while on the outside I was staring off into oblivion. That was until the door swung open, revealing a very nervous looking Copia. He hurriedly shut the door behind him, avoiding the crowd that seemed to gravitate towards him. "Okay, erm..." He ran his hand through his hair, looking at the ghouls one by one. They all had gone silent, interested in the loud appearance. "The crowd should be thinning soon, then we'll start heading out." He offered a smile, hesitating when his eyes reached me. "Ah, Fenris."