by Wolfe Locke
"Don’t get ahead of yourself," cautioned Dominic, even as a smile lit his face. ‘This really is perfect. Since you shared yours, I’ll share mine. I’m a devil-man, that you could already guess I’m sure, and my class is Harbinger. I think this is going to be the start of a very good partnership, Luca."
Chapter 15: One of Us
It may have had to do with the drinks, but Luca found he was able to talk plainly and bluntly with Dominic without any problems. The devil-man wasn’t quite a friend, but for Luca, it had been the most human interaction he had experienced in days. No one needed to pry under the surface for secondary motivations. Anyone could tell that at the heart of things, Luca had been craving socialization. Dominic seemed very understanding of what Luca had been comfortable telling him, and Luca recognized that Dominic, like himself, had a darker hidden aspect.
The rapport was real easy between the two of them. Probably because he stuck up for me and kept Keira from slitting my throat, Luca told himself with a slight laugh. Dominic raised an eyebrow, wondering what was so funny, but Luca waved it off, simply stating, "You carry yourself well. You’re somebody I know I can count on."
"Well, thanks, Luca," Dominic responded, his words slurring a bit. Luca meant what he said. He needed somebody he could count on and trust. It was a desperate need he hadn’t realized he had following the death of his father, and the chance to bring him back was motivating.
The two of them talked for hours. All the while, Dominic kept the drinks coming, never seeming concerned with whether Luca should be drinking or could keep up. Considering the state of the world, it was a bit of a moot point. As the night progressed, Luca grew more and more comfortable with the devil-man who had become his benefactor. The conversation between them was relaxed, and the laughs came easy. To Luca, it seemed that the horns on Dominic's head were more of a gimmick than any indicator of the man's character.
More than once, Dominic waved away servants who came to collect plates and mugs, not wanting to be disturbed at all. Instead, every single time, Dominic directed them to come back with yet more of the burning liquor. He even dismissed his Lieutenants when they tried to come by and give him essential briefings and tasking updates. The man's attention was focused firmly on Luca and just as intently focused on trying to drink away the harshness of the past day. Luca didn’t mind, he needed a friend, and just as importantly, he too needed a reprieve from the disaster that was his life.
They revisited earlier talking points as Dominic’s face grew pensive and encouraging as Luca went into details, describing the accident that took the life of his mother a year before and took the use of his legs.
Explaining how his body had become emaciated and crippled after the accident, losing all of the strength he had. Even describing the past, Luca still noted the deep-seated bitterness towards what had happened to him, a bitterness he struggled to contain and move past.
Sometime during the telling of his past, the levy broke. For the first time, Luca told anew the story of the constant fighting with his father. Fighting as both of them struggled to accommodate their new life after his mom had passed away and how hard the change had been on both of them. Luca told the story about how terrifying the road had been when they were attacked by the Hell Hounds. Describing how his father had shielded him with his body even as one of the Hell Hounds attacked and tore him to shreds, and even in all that pain, not once did his father give up on him, protecting him to his final breath. As drops of water landed on his hand, Luca realized he had started to cry.
Luca grew quiet and somber in reflection, with eyes full of tears “If it takes me years, I’m going to bring him back.” Luca promised with a determined voice, wiping away the tears.
Dominic reached out a sympathetic hand. "We’ve all lost people down here, kid. It may not be much, but we’ve made a point to put up little memorials for those who have died. It might help a bit to put your dad to rest. You're among friends and family if you want us to be," said Dominic as he tried to soothe the boy as he cried, and when the crying began to lessen, he gently prodded Luca to continue telling his story. "It's good to get this stuff out, and you don't need any of that living in your head weighing you down."
Luca transitioned into the final part of his story, the part he felt he needed to tell the most, and the part he had dreaded sharing the most. How for days he had been trapped beneath his father's rotting body, completely unable to move, unable to free himself. Stuck in his own filth in a pool of piss and shit, thinking the entire time he was seconds away from death. "You know, I had been happy when those men found me. I thought I was going to live. They seemed so normal, helpful. I hadn’t expected any act of kindness like that. I mean, one of them carried me the whole way, and then just like that." Luca snapped his fingers. "They threw me away as some kind of sacrifice."
Dominic took the lull in the story to point at Luca's black wings, asking, "But then you were given those, weren’t you? You didn’t go through some tutorial like the rest of us did. It seems like you came out pretty well ahead. You’ve got a pretty well-rounded amount of knowledge that is fairly inconsistent with what your experience has been so far. It seems to me you were given more than just those wings and the class that goes with it."
Luca’s heart began to pound as Dominic pointed out the inconsistencies. Inconsistencies that Luca had no answer for. His mood started to sour as he realized Dominic had been probing him for more information. He groaned. I really am an idiot.
Despite Luca’s change in body demeanor, Dominic only laughed. "It's fine. I wouldn’t worry about it. This wouldn’t be the first time a youngster like yourself has let their mouth get them into trouble. Don’t worry, really, I meant what I said before about treating you like family. You and I are the only ones I've found so far that have had such a noticeable change. Part of it is the intelligence boost. Your mind is making connections with tidbits of information and preexisting knowledge that wasn’t there before."
Luca nodded, feeling relieved that Dominic had gone ahead and defused the situation. "That could be it. It would make sense to me.”
Dominic nodded in appreciation, changing the topic. "Thanks for sharing your story, kid. I know that can be hard, you've been through a lot, and I won't pretend to know how hard the things you've been through have been, but I want you to know you've got a friend in me."
The conversation transitioned away from the heavy and the tragic. Instead, shifting to thoughts about this new world they had found themselves in. Laughing as they critiqued the guild name and the Gemini twins. Sharing between themselves their most outlandish dreams and delusions of grandeur.
Eventually, in the darkest hours of the night, Luca’s head began to droop. Both of them had grown weary, badly needing sleep as each of their words had turned to long-drawn-out slurs. The conversation finally turned to business. Dominic, seeming every bit as inebriated as Luca, once again asked if he would join him in guild Chaos. Luca, without any hesitation, responded with yes.
Both of them gave each other tired but elated smiles as they sealed the deal and a newfound friendship with a handshake. Each said their goodnights to each other as Dominic finally summoned a servant to take Luca to the guest quarters before finding a place for him, a more permanent residence in the member's barracks.
"In processing can wait until the morning. He's one of us now, so treat him well and make sure he gets into her team," Dominic told the servant, a short and portly man with a pockmarked face, with an infectious smile and an unfortunate case of premature balding.
Knowing that Luca was taken care of, Dominic decided it was time for them to part ways, and with an affirmative nod of his head, Dominic dismissed them both. He told Luca as the servant led him away, "I expect big things from you, kid. Don't let me down."
Luca turned around, his eyes shining with an eagerness to get started. "I won't, thanks for having me. This is a good fit."
"I'll see you tomorrow when you start training with the teams," replied
Dominic as he watched the servant lead Luca away. "You’ve got a big day tomorrow."
Chapter 16: Human Again
Luca lay sprawled out on the bed in the Guild’s Guest quarters, loudly snoring in dreamless sleep. Even nightmares couldn’t penetrate the alcoholic-induced slumber.
For a few hours, at least, everything was fine as Luca rested until finally, the door to the room opened wide and loud, letting in the light of the morning sun to shine upon his face and wake him. As the air rushed into the otherwise-musty room, a commanding female voice shouted out, "Alright. Luca, you’ve had more than enough sleep. You need to wake up, get washed up, get geared up, and move out to meet up with the rest of the team.”
At the sound of the female voice, Luca grudgingly stirred as he felt the initial onset of what would be his first hangover, struggling as he did to open his eyes, his entire body betraying him and not wanting to move. What’s wrong with me? Luca thought groggily in confusion, not really sure about what was going on. His vision was still heavy with sleep and stilted from the hangover. All Luca could really remember was staying up most of the night talking with Dominic over drinks and then being escorted to the guest room before passing out.
Ignoring the voice, Luca closed his eyes, embracing the pillow. This was the first time in days, weeks, months, he wasn’t really sure, that he had slept in a bed. Luca planned on enjoying every moment of it.
"Maybe you didn't hear me the first time," said the woman much louder than before and full of fury as Luca shifted his head to check the disturbance, still lying on his belly. It was the only way he’d managed to fall asleep with his wings.
With quick and even strides, she walked over with heavy footsteps to the front of the bed and grabbed on to the base of the mattress. She looked directly at him as Luca started to freak out as she lifted it into the air without any effort. With a look of disgust, she flipped the mattress, and with it him, out on to the floor. "You need to get up, get showered, and get downstairs. I’ll give you an extra five minutes so you can make sure you wash up. Consider this your motivational talk. Shower, you stink."
Completely pissed off, Luca tried to rapidly roll over and pick himself up to lash out at the woman but was stopped, recoiling in pain. The wings on his back were sending shooting signals of pain everywhere in his body from the aggravated and sensitive nerve endings. Luca tried to roll over on to his back but stopped, recoiling in pain..
A shadow passed over him, and Luca realized the woman was bent over standing almost on top of him, her hand clutching the base of one of his wings. Gods, I never thought those would be some kind of stupid pressure point. "Could you let go?" Luca asked, trying to be polite now that he knew he was dealing with someone who could harm him. "That really hurts. Who are you anyway?"
Luca couldn’t see her expression, but he could imagine the angry scowl on her face. "You’re new here and don’t know how things work. So this will be your one freebie. I’m Tatiana, they call me the Spark Sword. I’m your new team leader. You may remember me as the one who offered to teach you how to fight. As your team leader, when I say do something, you do it. That’s how the chain works. I don’t care who thinks you’re hot shit. You answer to me."
"Uh, ok. If that’s how it needs to be, I don’t actually want trouble. I did choose to be on your team," muttered Luca as he slowly picked himself up from the floor. Standing up, expecting a rush of pain to his head and not feeling it, Luca said a silent thanks for the magic of the place already erasing the hangover he had woken up with.
In a sudden moment of embarrassment, Luca realized to his horror that he was almost naked except for the pair of tattered boxers he was wearing. In a panic, he reached down and covered himself with a blanket.
"Jesus Christ, grow up. What are you? A kid? How old are you?" reprimanded Tatiana as she tossed some clothes at Luca. "You don’t need to worry. You haven’t got anything I haven’t seen before. I don’t have time to worry about your delicate sensibilities. This is your new uniform. I’ve made a few modifications so you can wear them. You’ll be wearing the same thing that everyone else does on the team when we roll out. You’ve got ten minutes and don’t even think about skipping that shower. I could smell you from the hall."
Luca looked around, unsure of where the shower was or how to proceed. In irritation, Tatiana grabbed him by the arm and shoved him towards the door near the back of the room where the shower was. "It’s right there. I’ll see you downstairs in ten. If I have to come and get you, you’ll have hell to pay. You’ve already pissed me off." Without saying another word, she turned and walked out of the room, leaving Luca more confused than anything.
Knowing better than to waste time, Luca started the shower, enjoying the hot water rolling over his face as he took a bar of soap and vigorously scrubbed at his skin. It made his stomach cringe when he saw a steady stream of black, brown, and red roll off of him, the collected filth and grime from the last few days. Filth he hadn’t even been aware of. I needed this badly. But I didn’t notice the dirt on me. Do I have some kind of glamour on? It was a question he pushed aside for another time. For now, he was just thankful for the hot water and soap.
Luca leaned forward, bracing himself against the wall of the shower as he let himself enjoy the water and zoned out. For how long, he wasn’t sure, and in a moment of panic, Luca realized he had lost track of time. Luca had a moment of panic, not knowing how much time had elapsed. Now is not the time to make a bad impression. I need these people. Why do I do this to myself? he thought as he turned off the water and rushed out of the shower, not bothering to dry himself as he put on the uniform Tatiana had left for him.
He was pleasantly surprised by how well it fit him and how comfortable it felt. Black cargo pants with leather reinforcement on the bony prominences, a grey Henley, and a crimson overcoat with inlaid metal fibers for protection. The end of the overcoat had a hood he could pull down towards his eyes to obscure his identity and offer additional protection by acting as a helmet.
Both the henley and the crimson overcoat had two measured elastic slits that easily let him slip his wings through. A minor enchantment seemed to be on them because Luca felt the material comfortably cinch down tight once the wings were through. When the entire set was on, he felt a brief surge of power as it inlaid an additional effect on his body, a slight arcane glow.
Notification: Complete Item Set "Crow Uniform"
Details: The uniform of the Crows is comprised of three parts. If all three are worn together, they will create a persistent shield that will block one offensive spell against the wearer once daily. Additionally, when the hood of the uniform is worn, the user cannot be differentiated by looks from other members also using the hood.
Maybe I should take a second look, Luca thought as he approached the mirror. For a brief moment, he had almost panicked, wondering how somebody else got into the room. When he realized it was just his own reflection, it didn’t help him to breathe any easier. What he saw in his reflection was worse than he thought. He couldn’t do anything but doubt that he was even himself anymore.
The unfamiliarity of his own image made him uncomfortable, scared even. It made everything he was going through and had been through already seem less real. He wasn’t a kid anymore, not even a little bit. Rough stubble grew on his chin. He looked every bit the part a 17-year-old man. He wondered as his thoughts grew dark, just who am I?
Knowing he was short on time, Luca turned away from his reflection and went to leave the guest quarters. He took one last look around the room to make sure he wasn’t missing anything, not wanting to leave anything behind. Luca was grateful he took the extra time to give it a second look as he saw the rough leather string of a medallion his mother had given him partially sticking out from under the pile of disgusting clothes he would never wear again.
Luca grabbed the medallion and shoved it into his pocket before running out the door downstairs toward the rec area where the rest of the team was waiting. "Yeah, I’m defi
nitely late," he muttered to himself with a bit of worry, thinking about the angry woman who had charged into his room.
Luca ran as fast as he could, hustled as some might have called it down the stairs. The entire time he was in the view of most of his new guildmates and his new team. Dominic’s new heavy hitter, awkwardly rushing on his first day, late to his first hit time. Luca saw a monstrous-looking man with a wide grin on his face staring right at him, doing a slow clap. The man’s face was severely scarred. Half of the man’s face was a mess of scar tissue. A permanent hue of angry red and purple, appearing as if half of it had been torn off, thrown in a fire, and then reattached.
"Well, there he is. Told you all he’d be late," said Tatiana, standing up from her seat as she put out the palm of her hands upwards just like an usher would as she beckoned him over. "The man of the hour himself. I hope you slept well, sweetheart, because that’s the last time you sleep so good for months."
Next to her, the scarred man laughed, and a pale-looking man with long, thin grey hair who wore glasses shifted nervously. Even as a girl with red short-cropped hair like a boy who looked roughly the same age as he now appeared to be snickered. Luca noticed they wore the same uniform he was wearing, the same uniform Tatiana was wearing. Luca didn’t see anyone else at the table. This might be the whole team. Luca groaned, recognizing this was not going to go well for him.
"Newbie, you’re gonna need to work on making all your complaints via inner monologue. That’s the last time any of us want to hear you groan. Everybody is having a shit time down here, but nobody wants to be around a downer. This life is hard enough as it is," said the girl, gritting her teeth, already irritated with the newest member of their team.
"Well said, Steele," agreed the scarred man, sizing up Luca with a look of disinterest. Though the man saw Luca’s wings, he considered them more of a commodity than anything else. His assessment of Luca found nothing but shortcomings and fault in the kid.
