A Demon With Wings

Fourteen

When we arrive at the headquarters of the Guardians of the White Flame four days later, we're all worn and exhausted. Fun fact:

10: the Guardians live in an actual volcano

9: the volcano is white

8: Goodie broke his record for not asking for stories (three minutes five seconds ⇒ three minutes six seconds)

7: everybody's wings grew back (on about day two to four of the trip)

6: everybody but Trixie can fly now

5: Evangeline gets me an actual birthday present (a stick)

4: we run into three Shirams, but Trixie tortures them

3: two are currently still alive

2: Kev has started telling Goodie nice, proper fairy tales, but he doesn't like them

1: Trixie hasn't slept, eaten or drank at all on the quest!

Yeah, so that's pretty much why we made her stay on night shift every night. She doesn't really need sleep, and when you see her in the morning raping and butchering a new monster, you know she's done her job well.

The Guardians of the White Flame have an entirely different approach to us, compared to the Gold Miner Hunters. We're actually welcomed inside their volcano. Their leaders, a council of twelve, actually welcomes us, and holds a ceremony of some sort to welcome us.

We tell them about the All-Father's plan, telling them to ally with us, and bear arms, if possible.

And if our job could be any easier, they agreed at once. They ordered, no, more like requested, a scribe to write a letter to the All-Father, asking for an arrangement on tactic talk, and told us to deliver it to the All-Father.

The twelve leaders even invited us to stay for a while, for it was traditional to welcome guests with a feast at sundown, but we politely turned that offer down, due to Trixie reasons. Trixie claims that there's something up with the place, and her hunches are always right, so I'll leave predicting the future to her.

However, we do stay for a while, at the Crater Cafe, a coffee shop that is located right on top of the crater of the volcano, which houses the Guardians of the White Flame. Why are they even called the Guardians of the White Flame? Shouldn't it be Guardians of the White Lava?

But other than that, it's great. We enjoy our coffees and scones out in the open air, and the scenery is great, no sarcasm included. The five of us share a table, and boy, do we look odd.

There's me, the careless dark dude who got coffee stains on my wings. My mom told me that if you got your wings dirty, you can't toss them into the washing machine. You rip the soiled feathers out and wait for them to grow back.

Next to me, there's Kev, who's barely uttering a word, and Angel, who's trying to look attractive, but failing miserably.

Goodie alone looks weird, hanging out with a bunch of teens. The worst fact is, he has on a dress that resembles Snow White's. And Trixie is next to him, having nothing (doesn't that girl eat or drink at all?), and eyeing everybody with penetrating eyes so fierce that any passerby who gave her eye contact had to look away after a millisecond. She's waiting for her phone to charge, and she's still in full armour, but she's clutching her helmet under one arm. Strange. Trixie almost never shows her face.

The peaceful takes a turn for the interesting, though...

A lad at the table next to ours, a Guardian of the White Flame, a laddish redhead, bumps into Trixie, and almost spills iced ca-ppu-ccino over her (how am I expected to spell those coffee names? When I ordered my drink, I just asked for 'whatever that has the least amount of coffee beans in it', since I hate the intense, bitter taste. I got an orange juice.), but instead of getting a killer glare and his skin almost ripped off (yes, I've seen Trixie take off a Shiram's facial skin off, leaving him alive, and no, it's not pretty), Trixie actually smiles at him and starts a conversation.

Five hundred dollars to this guy for doing the impossible.

Using my training, I glance at Trixie, who's seemingly drawing in mid-air with her finger, but I note that she's actually noting the way the Guardian dude's hiker boots are laced.

Why is she noting that?

Grabbing a pen from the take-away counter, Trixie holds out her forearm for the guy to write down a number on, while me and the others, Angel in particular, watch excitedly. Trixie and the guy are actually chatting good-naturedly. And no, what I just witnessed is not possible.

Trixie is laughing, a noise I've never heard before, at something the guy just said.

Trixie Alluni, the heartless psychopath, barely fit to fly like an angel, is in love with a peaceful Guardian of Flame?!

And if we even have any room to doubt that Trixie likes him, she pecks him on the cheek as they depart.  

As soon as she returns, I note that Trixie is fisting a small flaky croissant wrapped in a napkin, and as soon as she sits down, she bites down on it.

That's the first time I've seen her eat during the weeks of our quest. Normally, when Kev, Angel, Goodie and I have breakfast/lunch/dinner, she usually ignores us and the food, or argues with Helen.

I wonder, if she hates Helen so much, then why does she call her 23 hours a day?

"You like him, don't you?" asks Angel.

I squee, and Goodie takes this as a cue to make weird, fanboying noises. Even Kevin raises his eyebrows and smirks.

"Yeah, but just as a friend."

There's a wicked gleam in Evangeline's eye. "Trixie and that guy, sitting in a tree-"

"Theoretically, a tree branch would snap under the weight of one teenager, much less two," argues Trixie coldly.

"C-I-S-S-I-G-N," says Goodie. He can't spell 'kissing', but I find it cute.

"If that's the case, I'd have about twenty boyfriends by now," Trixie defends.

"First comes love, and then comes marriage," Kev says with a smile.

"It's practically impossible for the first guy you date to be the one you marry. There are breakups and peer pressure and that kind of stuff."

"And then comes baby in a carriage," I finish with a flourish. "So, Trixie, you finally have someone better to call then Helen, don't you?"

Something doesn't quite make sense. Is it me or is Trixie acting weirder than usual?