Claws

f i v e

It's *glances at clock* 1:27am here and I'm slightly delirious so expect a few grammatical errors but just hang in there because I just couldn't wait any longer to continue this story for you :))

dedicated to @Simones-safety-zone for such a warm welcome back

Enjoyyy 
- Taylor x

❝ Chasing a person doesn't give you value or build values in you.

You earn your value by chasing morality and practising dignity. ❞― Shannon L. Alder

Laughter rippled through my body and I'm sure the others heard the hysteria building beneath my giggles. A few tears crept their way down my cheeks and I wiped them away, getting my laughing fits under control.

"D-dead," I snort, now confused with myself at my strange emotional reaction, "My mum isn't dead."

Luciano had a look of concern in his eyes and he reached out to touch my hand again.

"Ah nah nah!" I exclaim, pulling my hand away from his reach, "No more of your weird emotional voodoo shit, thank you very much. If I want to act a little emotionally unstable in this sort of situation, I believe I have the right to."

He remains silent, as if trying to take in my personality with every word that I said. If having me bash him using the bumper bar off of my car wasn't a loud enough sign that I wasn't a girl to toy with, then I'm not exactly sure what would be.

The plane shook as we passed through thick clouds before stilling itself once more.

"So someone, please explain why my mother should be dead." I ask, glancing around at the odd collection of people.

One of the girls, the one with short bouncy red curls, leans forward and answers my question, "Well, we haven't really figured a real explanation for it, if we're being totally honest. We do know that it just makes this whole thing a lot easier. Being a Virtue means that you now have this yearning need to be near your Sin, and because of what they have to do, it requires a lot of moving about."

I understand what she's saying, and I carry on with my next question, directing it specifically at Luciano.

"And what is it, exactly, that you have to do?"

He grins a little, and my eyes catch the light that glints off of his piercing.

"We hunt," His low, melodic voice answers, "For sins like us that have unfortunately... derailed."

"Derailed, ha! That's putting it lightly," The man with the blonde hair scoffs, swivelling his chair to face me better, "The other sins have gone fucking schizo, rabidly biting people and turning them into monsters. They think they're building some sort of little army, but there's no way you can control those things."

He throws his hands up in the air, as if what he just said was such a horrific scandal.

"Look," Luciano interrupts, his cool blue gaze meeting mine, "before we get any further into this, I should probably introduce you to everyone. Blondie over there is Gula-"

"It's Miluino!" The blonde man roars, lurching up from his chair, "How many times to to I have to tell you guys this!"

"Dude, seriously," The tall, snaky looking man with dark hair mutters, "Just accept that Gula is much easier to pronounce that Miluino."

Gula slumps back down into his chair, looking incredibly disheartened. He seemed the most carefree out of the men and my personality resonated with his a little. If this bunch was going to force me to stay around, then I could see myself becoming friends with him...

"As I was saying. That's Gula, Sin of Gluttony, and over there is his counterpart Tia, Virtue of Temperance." Luciano gestured to the girl short red curls that had been talking before hand. Tia offered me a wave and I return her gesture with a smile.

"This is Avaritio," Luciano moves his gaze to the tall lanky man with dark hair and ink crawling up his neck, "Sin of Greed, and his counterpart Cari, Virtue of Charity."

The girl sitting next to Tia smiled and waved politely, thick orange locks spilling over her shoulders in waves. The girls looked so similar that I concluded that they must be sisters.

"That guy," Luciano chuckled to himself, lazily gesturing to the large bald man asleep in a chair a few aisles in front of us, "is Desidia, or Des. He's the Sin of Sloth, and as you can see, he doesn't do a whole lot. Not having a counterpart also doesn't exactly help."

"What about you?" I almost instantly regret asking the question as I see him smirk with what can only be described as the cockiest smirk in the world.

"My name is Luciano Concupiscentiam Owens, and I am the Sin of Lust."

I drop my head against my chest and start to shake it back and forth slowly. 

Of course you are, I think to myself, only I could get a literal 'fuckboy' as a soulmate...

"Well..." I hesitate, slowly raising my head to slowly meet his eyes, "I'm Grace Marone, and I guess that makes me the embodiment of a prude."

Gula burst into laughter, hits body convulsing as he slumped forward and begin to cry. 

"Oh Jesus," He wheezed in between laughs, kicking his feet up and down like a child, "Holy shit, you're hilarious. Oh go- god she's a keeper."

At first Tia tried to calm his before she also joined in with laughing. The pair clutched onto each other as they cried in hysterical fits. The noise seemed to rise Des from his slumber as he grumbled and started craning his neck so he could see us all better. Des appeared to look a lot older than the others. Everyone else looked to be in their early twenties whilst Des had the tired appearance of a thirty-year old with a full time office job.

His sleepy eyes met mine and he scowled, "Who the hell is she?"

"This is Grace," Luciano said, smiling at me warmly, "and she's the Virtue of Chastity."

Des seemed to digest this information before nodding to no one in particular and turning back around, to what I assume was a sign that he was going back to sleep. I glanced around at the odd group before it dawned on me,

"Wait, we need to go back! My mum is still in the hospital."