Hellwalker

Chapter 3: Intensive Care Part 1

"Come on... come on... Where the bleedin' is it?" Tristan muttered out of frustration, yet he kept his concentration to find the missing spot he's looking for. But after a moment of struggle, he finally found what was right under his nose. "Aha! There you are!"

He placed a jigsaw puzzle in its correct place, having managed to fit a picture of a cute little kitten playing with a yarn ball.

"Great, I only have to put five-hundred more pieces together and my work is complete." Tristan said, smiling at the progress he was making. That wouldn't last long when he felt his back aching after spending much time hunching over his seat. "Ugh, I think I really need a break."

Tristan stood up off his couch and cracked his back, before making his way across the living room and to the kitchen, all while hearing his favorite song, Son of a Preacher Man by Dusty Springfield, playing from the music player. He opened the fridge to take out a jug of lemonade before serving himself a glass of his beverage.

After taking a sip of his refreshing drink, he thought he could grab a little snack since working on the jigsaw puzzle worked his appetite. But before he could get something from the pantry, he heard the door knocking.

Raising an eyebrow, Tristan checked the time on his cellphone to see it's past noon. He left his glass of lemonade on the counter and went to answer the door. When he opened it, he grew a small smile once he saw who's on the doorstep. "Oi, good to see you again. I didn't expect you'd come to knock on my door."

"Yeah? Well, well apparently this is the only residence we find in this big-ass forest. Can we come in or not?" Blitzø asked while tapping his foot on the floor. However, he didn't come alone. Millie waved friendly at him as Moxxie just greeted him with a reluctant smile. The hellhound, also known as Loona, was standing behind them with the grimoire under her arm. When she made eye contact with Tristan, Loona only glared at him icily before focusing back on her phone.

Tristan stepped aside to let them enter his house. "Sure, sure. You're now welcome here."

"Whoa... Nice place you got here. Kinda reminds me of the house my parents live in!" Millie said while looking around in amazement at the cabin.

"Thanks. I'm not the type who wants to live with nature but it's great to have a place where it's rent free. My mom knew better." Tristan chuckled wholeheartedly as he closed the door.

"Do you even have wifi in this shack?" Loona asked with a faux annoyed look as she looked around, probably to find the wifi device.

"Oh yeah, sadly A.R.E.S doesn't let me share the password to anyone who's not an agent. But since we're now working as a team, the password is written on a notepad inside the desk over there." Tristan pointed at the desk that was on the far side of the living room.

Loona blinked a few times, as if she was surprised Tristan would actually hand over some confidential info to her, even though he didn't seem like he's trying to be friendly with her. She shrugged off to not think too much and went to find that password, though she hoped her phone won't be traced.

"Um... Is it okay if I take a seat?" Moxie asked politely as he and Millie stood in front of the couch.

"Of course, make yerself at home." Tristan waved nonchalantly with a smile as he went to turn down the volume of the music so it wouldn't deafen their whole conversation.

Moxxie and Millie smiled back at his gesture and sat down on the couch. It was then Millie let out a gasp when she noticed the jigsaw puzzle on the coffee table. "Aaaawww, do you like kittens? That's so cute!" She said with her puppy dog eyes, while Moxxie only quirked an eyebrow at the puzzle.