Divinity abandoned. Laxus x OC

Chapter eighteen.

As the traveler had said, they arrived just before noon the next day, when the sun had reached its highest and most scorching point. The village they had arrived too was bustling with people, scurrying about their errands and every day activities. The two mages both praised themsleves lucky to be in a guild that allowed them to take on a vast variation of quests, so they didn't end up like these people sitting around doing the same thing every day. Laxus and Satomi said goodbye to the traveler, who went on and on about how much he'd appreciated the comfort of knowing he had two able wisards at his back on the luneful way home. Despite the fact that nothing had happened, except from the precense that Satomi had sensed on the night before, the young mage didn't mention it again, but it still gnawed at her even after they parted ways with the traveler.  

They didn't take the time to find an inn before tracking down their client, both feeling like they were behind schedule already. The parents of the abducted child welcomed them into their home with praise and relieved outcries which made Satomi beyond uncomfortable, but she didn't blame them in the least for their flustered state. Their empolyers were far from rich judging from the appearance of their home, something Satomi found curious since the reward on their job was quite significant. It wasn't the only thing that struck her as odd either, there was something about their smell which just didn't sit right with the young mage. A discrete glance at Laxus told her that he was thinking the same thing. It was certainly something they'd have to come back to discussing, but for now their focus remained on the child in need of urgent rescue, if it wasn't already too late. 

"Toby was taken from us a week ago on this day, we haven't slept since. We've searched the entire village, and the surrounding forest, but there's no sign of him..." Satomi watched the two people as they explained their story of how the child had dissappeared, observing every move, every expression, every heartbeat. Their despair and heartache was definetly sincere. 

"Are there any orphanages in the village, or surrounding area? Do you know of any other children going missing?" The husband gave Satomi an incredulous look at the seemingly unrelated question, the grey haired mage held his gaze, unwavering, as she waited for a reply. The couple looked at eachother in a doubtful manner for a second. 

"No one else had disappeared as far as we know. There is an orphanage just down the road... How is that relevant?" It was a strange question, Satomi had no issue admitting that. The relevance of it wasn't something she'd inform their emplyer of untill it was over and done with. Risking to disturb them needlessly wasn't in her intrest. A mistake she'd learned from before when she shared to much information with a client before the job was finished. Which only led to making the job harder to complete because the hiring party wouldn't stay out of her way. Satomi could tell from the glances exchanged between the two humans that there was something about the orphanage. 

"Tell us about the orphanage" Again a hesistant silence followed, Satomi's stare still didn't waver as the married couple in front of her thought. The shapeshifter sat eerily still, almost like a statue, devoting her full attention to them. Laxus didn't say anything either, taking the opportunity to observe both their client and his mate at work, she acted even stiffer now than she did with people back at the guild. His eyes wandered around the livingroom they were sat in. It didn't uphold a very high standard, the couch he and Satomi sat in was well broken in, just like the one the couple were seated at at the opposite side of the wooden coffee table. The walls held a pale offwhite color, a variety of shelves and pictures hung decorating them. All the other furniture like cabinets and chests looked like they were old and well used, a noticable layer of dust covered most of the furniture, save from the couch and coffeetable. 

"Well, it's not a big locale, and it's run by volunteers in the village... We've heard some rumors about a dark side business, but we don't know the details, or if its true" Satomi nodded again, her face revealing no trace of the thoughts spinning round in her head like a hamster on a wheel.