My Place- Randall Carpio Love Story

New Memories

Remi leaned on the bar as she watched Hamish pour liquor in a glass. It was tan and smelled strongly of bonfire.

"Now, you lightly dash it with bitters-"

"What's that?" Remi asked as he handed her a small shaker with a mix of spice. She didn't have to lift it to her nose to smell all the intoxicating, complex herbs.

"It's a mix to counteract the sweetness of the liquor. Just a dash will help mellow it out."

Remi pursed her lips as she tilted the shaker once over her drink. She watched the small granules fall to the bottom of her glass before she handed the shaker off to Jack.

Jack wasn't as careful with his shake as he made a mess all around the glass.

Hamish looked up from his glass to notice the aggressive fashion in which Jack was ruining his drink. "Easy on the bitters. We're not farmers."

Remi snorted at Hamish's odd insult to both farmers and Jack's drink. "I don't- what's the insult there, Ham-a-lot?" Remi asked him. "Do farmers like their cocktails extra bitter? Or tasteless?"

Hamish lifted his drink and twirled the bottom of it to stir the granules in. Remi followed his movement with her own glass. She kept slow, calculated moves to ensure her drink didn't spill over.

"The insult is that Jack is about as careless as a farmer with their end-of-the-day drink."

Remi giggled at the horrible joke, but didn't comment on it as she readied Lilith and Randall's drinks for them.

As she finished theirs, they stomped into the living room with Silverback's locker. They set it down with a heavy thud and looked at Jack pointedly.

Remi turned and leaned her elbows on the bar as she looked from Jack to the locker, then back to Jack.

"Woah," Jack breathed out unexpectedly as he looked over the familiar locker. "You're not getting rid of that, are you?" He looked between Lilith and Randall as he asked.

"Take a look." Randall nodded down towards the locker as he folded his arms over his chest.

Remi tried to keep her smile at bay as she watched Jack step towards the locker hesitantly. When he stood a foot away from it, the locker shook in its spot as Silverback fought to get out.

Jack's back tensed as he watched it rattle. "Silverback?" The surprise was evident in his voice was he leaned down to open the trunk. The top fell open as he reached in to grab Silverback's hide. "But I thought the Nephilim's tears destroyed him." He pulled Silverback out and looked at the underside of the hide where the Vade Maecum's last page was. Instead of the imprint, the tan hide was smooth- save for the holes where Lilith drove the knives through.

"When the potion destroyed the book it freed Silverback from his bond with the Vade Maecum." Lilith told him as he turned Silverback over to look over his graying fur.

"He's as good as new," Remi told him with a smile. All of her excitement had her practically bouncing on the tips of her toes.

"All he needs now... is a Champion." Randall's eyes lit up as he looked Jack's face over.

Remi bit into her cheek as she watched the excitement practically spill from Randall's eyes.

Jack sighed as his hands lowered with Silverback. "If anything, I think he needs some rest." He decided as he started to fold the hide back up.

Remi's eyebrows knitted together as she dropped her elbows from the bar top and stood up straight. "But... you said that Midnight-"

"-Is starting to grow on me." He looked at her as he finished. "Besides, I've died enough this week." He placed Silverback's folded hide back in the locker and closed the top back over it.