It was still night when we got back to the Den. We took one of the doors from Alice's Alternate Space ability, "Room magic," to get ourselves back. Alice could only exit her domain to places she or anyone with her knew. So, I opened it to the last place I remembered, which was one of the rooms on the first floor. But I should have chosen a different room...
"Ayo, what the actual fuck! Close the door!" Havoc shouted as we walked out from the bathroom door we opened. He transformed his arm to reach and shut it, kicking us out at the same time. And that monstrous arm was the last thing Alice saw.
Alice screeched, "Eeek! What was that?!"
I looked back at her as I was walking away and answered her nonchalantly, "Oh, him? That's Havoc… I wouldn't go back in there if I were you."
"Why would I go back in there? He's obviously taking a shit!" she snapped.
I continued to walk away as she ground her teeth at me, fumes shooting out of her ears all the while.
I was wearing an oversized white shirt, black baggy harem pants cuffed at the ankles, and some espadrilles that I got in Alice's room. Apparently, if she allows it, you can conjure anything you can think of in that space. So, I thought up a new outfit since my last one got torn to shreds, and Ryo had also changed his outfit back to his original one from earlier.
Ryo was like a kid looking around the place, jumping from one part of the house to the other. Talking about the aesthetics of the Wolves Den and classic styling of our gothic home. He was adjusting frames and was even critiquing the way our black chandelier hung at the entrance hall. It was like he'd never been here before… If anything, he was more so making sure all his interior design tips were heeded ever since he designed the space for us. He was an extreme nerd about such things and would often talk to Code about it ever since he indulged him. I bet he regrets, to this day, letting Ryo go off. Back at the Crimson Dragon's castle, he was the one who redesigned the layout to a more modern look. If Ryo wasn't a knight, I'd bet he'd go for being an interior designer for the Kingdom.
While Ryo was going off about the chandelier to Alice, a lioncat passed casually through the halls and welcomed us with a mighty roar.
"EEEEK! WHAT THE HELL IS A LIONCAT DOING HERE!!!" Alice screamed as Ryo laughed obnoxiously at the sight of it.
I sighed and stared disinterestedly with my hands in my pockets. Unfortunately, his wasn't exactly anything that was new around here...
"Star!" I yelled as I looked around. This was definitely her doing.
No response. Where the hell is she?
As Alice hid behind Ryo, the lioncat locked its eyes on me. With a low growl, it slowly paced around and planned its pounce.
Keeper. It had been one thing after another tonight…
The lioncat began to sprint as I positioned myself, hands still in my pockets as it came and our unwavering eyes locked on each other.
As it neared, it leaped once it was about a yard or so away. Then from its side, from seemingly out of nowhere…
"HAAAYYYAAAA!" a female yelled, flying through the air, and jump-kicked the lioncat away. Her bare foot left a print on its side as it crashed near the double door entrance and a soft breeze fluttered my bangs from my expressionless face.
She laughed maniacally, "THAT'S THREE / ZERO YOU BEAST. YOU STAND NO CHANCE AGAINST ME!" Star said as she pointed to the poor lioncat who now lay within its own crater of the wall.
She wore only a cropped white crewneck with some random brand logo, a black thong, and nothing else as she flaunted her toned stomach and her smooth, off-white colored legs. Her fingernails and toenails were painted red, and the horns on her head looked like they were recently polished, twinkling their pristine dark gray color. Her pink hair was let down as usual, with the long bangs of it drooping over her face, just brushed, and looking like she was ready for bed.
Ryo and Alice hadn't moved from their spot as the lioncat, inches away from them, lay seemingly unconscious there. Ryo just chuckled happily as Alice hid behind him with a gaped mouth.
From her victory stance, Star pivoted in my direction, instantly shifting her mood. "Teddy, you're home!" She chanted happily as she threw her arms around me and started swinging us both.
Then, out from the floor, Ophelia had emerged—as if on cue. She was only wearing a dark blue, cropped tank top and a black thong. She, like Star, was basically half-naked. It was very common for the girls of this Guild to all be unashamedly half-nude whenever they were home. In one hand was a cigarette, and the other held a beer can—visibly drunk.
"Well, hi there"—she hiccupped—"Greedy. Nice of you to finally come home. I need a little 'something-something' if you know what I mean hehe…" she said wobbly as she wrapped her arms around my neck; the look of boredom never escaping me.
As Alice watched, her face heated from the sight of these two half-naked girls clinging onto me.
Ryo chuckled and threw out his comm as if to take a picture, but I rolled my eyes and maneuvered my way out of both Star and Ophelia's grasp with clean precision. I threw one hand back in my pocket once I was free, heading toward him now.
"Not a chance. I know if I let you take that, you'll send it to Snow and Rex and then I'll never hear the end of it." I said to him as I blocked the camera view with my other hand.
"Teddy is so cool…" Star whispered, crooning behind me like I couldn't hear her, and Ophelia had lost her balance, falling through the floor face-first and disappearing entirely like she had been cropped from the scene.
Alice's face was no longer heated at this time. She seemed more relieved now that I was free from the girls grasp.
It was then, a flush rang from the bathroom we had come through—the same one Havoc was currently occupying. As he exited, he zipped up his pants and burped in consecutive motion. "Ah man… six out of ten," he said, directed at me.
"Weak," I replied without looking over to him, going about my business.
In an attempt to divert her flustered emotions, Alice asked, "Six out of ten? What does that mean?"
Havoc ignored her and responded to me instead, "Well, if it wasn't for your guys' unwelcomed entrance, I think that would have AT LEAST been an eight out of ten in there."
"What, did your butthole get shy or something when you saw us?" I joked.
"ARE YOU GUYS SERIOUSLY TALKING ABOUT SHIT?!"
"Who the hell are you, squirt? This is an important man-to-man discussion. Butt out... no pun intended," Havoc said, finally paying attention to her.
"My name is NOT squirt! It's—"
Before she could complete her sentence, the lioncat jumped from behind. Ryo turned his head almost too late as his back also faced the beast. He could very well still protect her, but as he shifted his eyes…
"Don't you dare," Star commanded him; her tone and mood changing back to a primal state. "He's my prey."
I remained where I was as Star shot at lightning speed to the lioncat, zigzagging and then front-flipping over Alice; her shadow covering them from the lights above.
When she made it over, she drove her heel down onto the lioncat's head, smashing it to the ground with cracking impact.
"Four / zero, you beast," she said to the unconscious lioncat, proclaiming her one-sided victory. "You okay?" Her tone changed as she stood over it, back facing Alice.
"I—I am… Thank yo—"
"Not you, midget! I was talking to Teddy! ARE YOU OKAY, TEDDY?!" Star shouted to me, oblivious to the fact that she had just saved Alice rather than me, who was nowhere near the lioncat nor needed saving from it. Though she wouldn't have had to if she'd never brought it here in the first place…
Ophelia had found her way back at this time, permeating from a wall and throwing her arms over my shoulders from behind. "There you are, Greedy. Come on, let's go to bed now," she said with a coquettish whisper dipped in hiccups.
In that same moment, Havoc laughed hysterically at what Star had just said, repeating her right on cue, "midget."
Unbeknownst to me then, that was the cherry on top that pushed Alice over…
Her blonde bangs covered her eyes; shadows lurking behind them. Arms straightened to the sides of her, shoulders rising and hands balled into fists, she shouted at last, "I'VE JUST ABOUT HAD IT WITH ALL OF YOU!"
We all remained silent as she spoke. "I thought I wanted to join this crew, but I can tell I'm not wanted here. I'll just see myself home then…"
She stormed out, heading to the entrance, and opened one of the double doors. On the other side, her pink room was the last all of us saw before she closed it shut.
Ryo attempted to catch up, but she was gone when he finally reached for the door and opened it—leading only to our front clearing and the night sky.
The room was awkward, and we didn't say anything for a minute after that.
But I decided to break the silence, "Star," I said calmly across the room. The tone was enough to get her attention through the tense atmosphere, and she perked in response, "Yes, Teddy—"
"That comment wasn't nice."
She sulked, holding her hands together in front of her, quietly replying, "I'm sorry…"
"That goes for all of us… minus Ryo," I said.
"The hell did I do?" Ophelia asked incredulously, holding a drunken finger to herself.
I scratched my head and went on, "We shouldn't have picked on her so much. She's been through a lot tonight as it is."
Ryo crossed his arms and nodded in agreement; his eyes closed all the while. Though he contributed nothing to the conversation, his silence spoke volumes.
Unspoken Guild rule #1: If you are a guest in another Guild's home, you have no say and have no right to correct the actions of whatever happens within their walls. This is described in a single word—respect.
"Wherever her home is, I hope she got there safely… Anyway, it's late. We should all be getting some rest too," I said lastly before we went our separate ways to our quarters.
I told Ryo to stay the night at the Den until at least dawn. Tomorrow, we'd assess and make a game plan. Until then, we weren't doing anything until we'd cleared our heads.
And with it being so late already, I didn't expect Code to come back home today either.
Maybe it was for the best that Alice left. We weren't exactly a prestigious Guild to begin with. She deserved a Guild that could teach her to become a quality mage one day, especially with that ability of hers. And we were all a bit 'much' anyway. She experienced that firsthand.
Before heading to my quarters, I met Ryo at the landing that separated the two flights of stairs. Both Ophelia and Star strolled past to my quarters and waited for me there while we spoke for a moment.
"Honestly, she's a good girl. If I saw her again, I'd tell her I'm sorry."
"I'm sure you will," he replied, reassuring me. Before heading to the other flight of stairs opposite where we were, he remarked, "Hey, catch."
He tossed something to me, and I caught it. I knew what it was instantly the moment I caught and heard its crinkles. I threw my middle finger up afterward.
"Sorry, Havoc told me to give that to you before you go to bed tonight. He says he's 'genuinely worried there might be little kids running around here one day' and I can't help but agree." He laughed.
"Noted. I'll beat his ass when I see him tomorrow morning, and you're sleeping in Yuna's bed," I responded as we both shared a laugh and Yuna yawned, having been there the entire time—a civil beast unlike her owners. I had one last thought, "Oh, by the way, Ryo."
He tilted his head.
"What's her name?" I asked vaguely. He knew exactly who I was referring to.
"I thought you were the type to find things out on your own?"
"Touche. So, you were listening to Snow and my conversation at the Guild meeting."
"I'm just well-informed."
I snickered and proceeded to head up the stairs, facing my back toward him now. Knowing I was hung up on it. He let the name slip, and I just pretended I didn't hear him. But I smiled when I heard her beautiful name.
"It's Belle," he said as I continued up the stairs.
It was then; I felt an ache in my chest. I wasn't sure what it was from. Perhaps the fight with that Pain magic puppet? No, it couldn't be… This pain… it wasn't something that was physical. I felt a yearning for her at that moment that I did not understand. The feeling was so intense that I couldn't stray my mind from it… Quite much for lust, if I had to say. No, that wasn't it either…
To any case, regardless of the two maidens that awaited me in my quarters, I thought of her—Belle—the whole night. And once again, I found myself falling into those deep blue eyes that looked like the sky.
Somewhere upstairs within the Den, a door was cracked open, and behind it, a young girl had been listening in. When she closed the door, a sparkle of dust puffed out from it, coming from a room which she occupied that was known to be pink.