The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

C23 - Treason

Chapter 23 – Treason.

A fell breeze heavy with the scent of water blew through the air above the holy sanctuary, bringing with it a biting chill. Felice exhaled softly in its wake, watching as her misting breath vanished into the cold morning air.

Steel clinked rhythmically atop carved marble as Velvet maneuvered her way around the intricate designs of the sanctuary's roof, quietly coming to a halt beside the seated merchant. The entirety of Ladylake sprawled out before their perch atop the sanctuary, providing a view that ranged from the bustling market square near the main street to the quiet neighborhoods at the water's side.

"...I was worried about you," Felice said softly, breaking the silence. "Wasn't sure if things were going to work out between you, the boss, and everyone else back then."

"But you still led me to them," Velvet replied evenly, crossing her arms as she leant back against the hard stone of the vaulted dome. "Seems to me like you knew just as well as I what had to be done."

With a long-suffering sigh, the merchant gave the therion a disgruntled look.

"Think I didn't know that? Doesn't mean I have to feel any better about it." she grumbled sourly, shaking her head in exasperation. "...You're a real piece of work, Velvet – anyone ever tell you that?"

"My brother did." Velvet's lips thinned softly as she settled down atop the ledge beside the assassin, one leg curled up close to her chest while the other dangled freely. "...Of course, I didn't hold back for him, either," she added. "The little brat needed to take his medicine, so I made sure of it, no matter how badly he complained it tasted. He let out no small amount of temper tantrums in the process."

Felice hummed as she leant forward, crossing her legs and resting her head on her hand. "Well... alright, that I get," she conceded. "Sometimes you just need to go and put a foot down and do what you have to. Talfryn would always do the dumbest of stuff, thinking that he was 'helping' me. Never thinking about what I would have wanted, just what he thought I'd want..." She let out a sigh, shaking her head in exasperation. "Brothers can be real handfuls sometimes, huh?"

"...Yeah. I know that well." Out of the corner of her eye, Felice watched as the therion subconsciously moved her hand towards the pocket of her jacket. She opened her mouth to reply but stopped herself when she noticed the foreign look on the other woman's face. After a pause, she returned her gaze forward, choosing to remain quiet.

A strange sort of silence fell between the assassin and the hellion as they sat there together, both watching as the light mist skimming the rooftops slowly dissipated with the rising temperatures. Throughout the city, patches of foliage lining streets and pooling in parks were slowly transitioning to the hues of autumn, littering the cobblestones with more leaves in the wake of each wayward breeze. Regardless of it all, the denizens of Ladylake continued to move about their daily routines and rituals, heedless of the uncertainty in the air.

"...Do you ever wonder about all of this?"

Felice's gaze was distant as she uttered the quiet words, staring past the plumes of mist and towards the shadowed waters beyond. She extended her gloved hand tentatively outward, watching the cold wisps of mist dance atop her fingertips.

"Malevolence. Hellions. Seraphim. I couldn't believe that these things truly existed all this time, and that the life that I had been living was only part of the truth of the world," she explained distantly. "Even now, even having seen indirect but definitive evidence that seraphim and hellions exist with my own eyes, I still have trouble comprehending it."

She turned to face the therion sitting beside her, a frown on her face. "Why are things like this?" she asked uncertainly. "Is this really all because of man's nature? Monsters that spawn from the corruption of human souls? Dragons that soar the skies as tainted seraphim?"