Cal's heart was in her throat as they came to a halt in front of the church, and she stared at the large structure in disdain. She never wanted to be there, and escape was futile but now... it was the only place she knew.
The irony weighed on her shoulders as she neared the steps, where Imperator waited with her hands folded in front of her. She looked different, but Cal couldn't place it. Perhaps it was the wardrobe change, instead of her old, untailored clothes. Or maybe she'd taken Mary's advice.
Sacrifice a virgin, gain eternal youth. Sounds fair.
But Cal couldn't help but feel that no amount of change could obscure the devil below the surface.
Her thoughts must've been evident on her face, as the woman reluctantly turned to her. "Calliope, you look well."
Cal scoffed, rolling her eyes as she slung her bag over her shoulder. Not only were the words not true, they meant even less coming from her. She was about to say something undoubtedly offensive until she met Copia's eyes - who gestured for her not to.
She bit her tongue. "Thanks." Means the absolute fucking world coming from you.
An awkward silence ensued, and Cal took it upon herself to put a stop to it. "I'm going to go unpack."
With that, she left the two of them to their devices, picking up her suitcase as she wondered when the ghouls would get there so they could finally prepare for tomorrow night.
She couldn't help but feel relieved as she roamed the dark, empty halls, passing by her old room - which was no doubt empty, and toward her newer room.
Her body betrayed her disdain for this place, as her shoulders sagged in relief at the sight of her room. The brainwashing tactics work, once you feel you have nowhere else to run.
Sighing to herself, she dropped her suitcase onto the floor, observing the room. Everything seemed to be where she had left it, even her bedding was still slightly askew from their morning rush. She collapsed onto the small sofa across from the fireplace, trying to organize her thoughts.
Copia said she had things to do, now she was left wondering what those things were. More cuts? Hopefully not - the mere sight of her wrists had her wishing she were dead all over again.
As far as she knew, it was temporary- only until the Hunter's Moon, which was quite a while away. But at least it's not permanent.
She was rather surprised as Sodo sluggishly waltzed into her room, dumping his bags on the sofa.
"What the fuck was that about?" He grumbled, gracelessly falling into the armchair across from her.
"What?"
"Copia."
"It's too much to explain."
"I don't care, you're telling me."
Cal sighed in frustration. She had no interest in hearing his opinions, she was sure he had a point but she didn't need another thing to dwell on. "Copia's known all along, he wants to help now."
Sodo made a sound of exasperation, all but pulling at his hair. She knew what he was thinking. Because she was thinking the same thing. I should've known, how did I not know?
But she didn't have time for more what-ifs.
"So... how is he going to help?"
"I don't know, yet. He never specified how, or when. I just know it's going to be later today or tonight."
"It's a little last minute of him, isn't it?"
"Yeah. Must be a theme amongst the Clergy. Always the ones for dramatics."
