City of Chaldea (Freeform RP Area)

When Vayu heard those words, he couldn’t help himself. He started laughing.

“Surpass him?” he snickered. “Yeah, I wouldn’t try that in my wildest dreams. And I think I’ve done enough at the moment to distinguish myself from my siblings since I’m the only one who didn’t stay in our mountain village.” And for other reasons. But he wasn’t about to disclose that. Ever.

After he had calmed down a little, he nodded. “I know the feeling. People you can share the good times and the bad times with. Those are the bonds you want to hold on to.”

He watched the man enjoy his frittata while his thoughts turned over the other question. What do you think your future is? That was a difficult one. Rather abruptly, he turned around and left for the kitchen.

“You’re in an awfully good mood,” Catequil commented when Vayu returned to the kitchen and started working at the stove.

Vayu shrugged. “I’m having a pleasant conversation. With another human.”

Now it was Catequil’s turn to laugh. “And he’s not making you miserable?”

“Hey!” Vayu pointed the spatula at Catequil. “Not every human is making me miserable. Just the irritating ones.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” Catequil shrugged.

Vayu resisted the urge to stick his tongue out at him and instead focused on filling the bowl with vegetable stew. Without another word he left the kitchen and returned to the man.

He set the bowl down and looked thoughtful for a moment.

“You asked about my future. I don’t know what my future holds,” he said. “Right now, I’m trying to help someone get stronger. After that…” Vayu shrugged. “Who knows…”

“What do you and your companions do for a living?” he asked curiously, trying to get a better feel for the man.

The man peered intently at Vayu as he spoke about his family and leaving the village, but he remained silent as Vayu left for the kitchen.

When Vayu returned, the man smiled and took the stew, seemingly pleased that Vayu was now engaging with him of his own accord.

"Sometimes, in order to help others, we must first help ourselves," he said, sampling the stew. "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another, as it has been said. Perhaps, it's you who needs to become stronger."

He hummed appreciatively and ate more of the soup as Vayu considered his words, then asked a question of his own.

"Ah," he said, dabbing his mouth with a napkin. "You might say we act as... advisers, of a sort. Counseling those who need it."

Vayu grimaced at his words. What a load of bulls—t. What was best for him and what was best for Catequil probably were two totally different things. He tried not to let his irritation show too much when he finally answered.

“Well those are words of wisdom that are far easier said than done,” he replied, still sounding lightly irritated despite his best efforts. “I hope when you have actual paying customers, you have better advice than that.”

Without another word, he cleared the plate and returned to the kitchen.

“Oh no, what did you say to him?” Catequil asked, sounding amused.

“Don’t,” Vayu said and lifted his hand to stop him from talking.

“Well, that proves it. You really can’t talk to humans,” Catequil added, despite Vayu’s silent protest.

“He’s just… getting under my skin,” Vayu admitted. “All this crap… that I have to get stronger first…”

“What’s so wrong with that?” Catequil asked.

“You’re the one who wants to get stronger. I just said, I would help you,” Vayu retorted.

“And how exactly are you planning on helping me?” Catequil inquired.

“I don’t know okay?!” Vayu said, clearly angry now. He moved to grab a new plate, but it slipped his fingers and landed on the floor. The impact and the noise of breaking ceramic could clearly be heard across the whole bar.

Vayu sighed and grabbed a broom. “What a mess.”

"Vayu, that man's-"

Rory stepped into the kitchen, staring down at the broken ceramic pieces littering the floor. She held up a hand as Vayu made to sweep it up and started to clear up the mess herself.

"Are you... all right?" she asked, frowning up at him. "Did he say something to upset you?"

"Evidently."

Rory and Vayu gave a start as the man stepped into the kitchen, smiling pleasantly.

"Oh!" Rory squeaked. "Customers aren't supposed to be back here. I was going to tell him you wanted to see him out front, but..."

"You became preoccupied. I can see that," he said lightly. "I didn't mean to intrude. But since you wanted some feedback, I wanted to catch you before I left. Don't worry. I'm sure Nena won't mind."

Rory looked doubtful about that, but Nena didn't seem to be charging in any time soon, so she decided to focus on cleaning the broken plate as the man approached Vayu. He gazed at Catequil for a few moments, but didn't seem bothered or even surprised at the appearance of the demon in the room.

"Your cooking was excellent," the man said, focusing his attention on Vayu. "You have quite a talent for it. Though, I dare say it won't be the only means by which you distinguish yourself from your siblings."

Rory perked up slightly at that but kept diligently sweeping.

"Cooking won't allow you to help your friend become stronger," he continued, allowing a knowing glance at Catequil. "But for now, you're where you ought to be." He spared a glance back toward the bar, a twinkle in his eye. "And don't worry. Nena will give you the job."

"She said that?" Rory asked, looking up in surprise.

“She will.”

The man rested a hand gently on Vayu’s shoulder as he passed him, heading for the back door. The touch was faint, but a tingling seemed to linger behind from it.

“Yes, he did but…,” before Vayu could finish answering Rory, the man himself appeared in the kitchen.

His eyes followed the man’s. First to the broken plate. Then to Catequil and back to himself. Vayu noticed the lack of surprise when the man saw Catequil, clearly a demon, but made no comment. His mind was to pre-occupied with feeling embarrassed. Red dusted his cheeks. A cook should never lose control of his kitchen like that.

Cooking won’t allow you to help your friend become stronger.

The words echoed back loudly in Vayu’s head. When he was done processing them, the man had already left.

“…it was something I may have needed to hear,” he finished answering Rory.

After one last glance at the door, he exhaled and finished cleaning up the kitchen.

Nena strolled into the back just as Vayu stood with the dust pan filled with broken plate shards. Her eyes flickered from the shards, to Vayu, to Rory, who hid her broom behind her back and looked away.

"Here you both are," she said, seemingly ignoring the mishap. "We have customers to attend to you, you know."

Rory nodded and scampered back outside, with Nena following after her. She paused in the doorway and nodded toward Vayu's dishes. "Keep pushing the food. People seem interested after watching that Messian eating."

By the end of the night, Vayu had served out all the food he'd prepared. Nena met him back at the counter after he'd finished cleaning up the dishes, counting away the profts for the evening.

"I wouldn't have thought it, but serving food seems to worked out well," she mused. "Of course, we'll have to do it on a limited basis. I'm not interested in starting a restaurant."

She turned to Vayu and smiled. "Well, I suppose this means you're hired then."

Rory dropped her broom in surprise as she made to put it away in the supply closet and chanced a glance at Vayu. So, the man had been right after all...

Nena hummed cheerfully as she set the money back in the cash box.

"Oh, and by the way-" She turned to Vayu, eyes narrowing even as her smile lingered. "That plate is coming out of your pay."

The Devil’s Cocktail:


Aren Vent:

The young man sighed, as he stood outside what looked to be a unique looking bar.He wondered how long it had been since he last had a drink.

‘Who even names their bar, The Devil’s Cocktail, anyway. I wonder if that’s one of their drink options’ He thought to himself.
Aren took a deep breath in; in an attempt to curve the anxiety that was building up.


“Ah, damn.” He muttered under his breath, followed by him taking a stride forward into the bar.
After entering,he relaxed a bit more, and appreciated the atmosphere of the bar, enjoying the smell of alcohol.

He walked to the nearest empty bar stool; sitting himself down. “Errr, is there a chance I could get a double scotch on the rocks, please?” He politely asked the bartender.

Gad - Vanguard's Graveyard

"Hey all, I am back." Gad smiled, then he shrugged, "I mean I am now getting use to using mana, you know." Then he dropped the same flowers as before. "It took me a really long time to make this mana mine. Trying to do things as Thaumaturge is not easy as I thought. Last time I check, Olivia Blasting big spells from our back, thought everyone could do it." He chuckled, then sighed.

"Wish I had a little bit of my old power back. This feeling of powerlessness really sucks." Said Gad staring at his hands; there was a hint of power hungriness and frustration were in his eyes. "I could have done better in my last mission. Even though it wasn't an important mission or some sort, it took me longer than to finish that one mission."

Gad shook his head, then turned around. "Well, at least I had a chance to try out my new spell. See you all later." He walked out from the graveyard and head to the bar. He wondered how others fare while he was gone for the solo mission that no one really paid attention to.

Gad - The Devil's Cocktail

Gad entered the bar, and not so sure what to drink. He made it to the counter. The guy who was sitting beside him looked like just ordered his drink. Gad ordered as well.

"I would like to have a be- I mean, tomato juice please."

That said, he has not tested how well his young body would take alcohol drinks. Better to be safe than be sorry later Thought Gad, and he ignored any weird looks he get from others.

Nena looked up from polishing a glass, smiling widely at the sight of fresh meat- err, a new customer.

“Ah, welcome, welcome,” she said, setting the glass down and observing his Mark of Mastery. “Vanguard, is it? I haven’t seen you around before.”

She busied herself making the scotch when another order came through. She straightened up, grimacing.

“Tomato-?!” she began as she turned around, then blinked at the sight of Gad. “Oh, Gad. I should have known. You’ve been gone a while.”

Setting the double scotch on the rocks down in front of her newest customer, she then busied fixing up the tomato juice with a pained expression. Plastering on a smile as she turned back to face them, she set down the tomato juice in front of Gad and beamed.

“Enjoy. And don’t hesitate to ask for more drinks, okay~?”

The Devil’s Cocktail:

Aren Vent:

Aren reached towards the glass, after grabbing the glass by its base. He twirled his wrist to make the whiskey spin in the glass, taking a breath to enjoy the aroma. “Thank you for the drink, it smells amazing.”

“Vanguard? Yes, I suppose I am.” He pulled his glass towards him, taking a sip; smiling slightly at the bitter taste with the underlying tones of various flavours.

“I’m Aren Vent, former graveyard keeper, and new Vanguard. A pleasure to meet you both.” Aren said with a smile. He raised his glass, and twirled a bit more. “So, tomato juice...Interesting choice, so you’re having a virgin bloody mary?”

Gad - The Devil's Cocktail

"Yeah, it's been a while." Gad smiled, and gave a nod to Nena acknowledging her offer. Well, not a free of charge offer, but it was good to know he could drink it to his content. Gad's eyes caught up to new vanguard's Mark of Mastery.

Then Gad gave a quick look at the new Vanguard; it was pretty clear he earned it recently. He had this vibe screaming 'I am a new vanguard, how are you?' kind of vibe. Then, Gad looked at his badge that lost its shine due to recent mission he went alone. Can't believe we already have new recruits joining us. Thought Gad.

When the new vanguard who introduced himself as Aren Vent, asked about Gad's drink Gad gave a confused look. "Oh... uh.... Well, after the mission, I am not in the mood to drink alcohol..." Said Gad, trying to tell the new guy its just a tomato juice. Trying not to bring down the atmosphere too much, Gad asked. "So, uh, are you deploying soon?"

The Devil’s Cocktail:

Aren Vent:

“Not in the mood to drink alcohol...That explains your drink choice then.” He took a sip from his glass, finishing his drink; grimacing slightly. Wishing he’d asked for cinnamon infused whiskey, instead of just scotch. He twirled the glassware in his right hand, admiring the patterns in the glassware.

Aren realised that he was meant to be talking back to the other fellow. So he gave into his curiosity and asked with a smile. “Speaking of drinks, why haven’t you got any celery in your glass?”

Aren glanced over seeing Gad’s Mark of Mastery; “Yeah, I’d assume so; it’ll be my first time. Have you got any tips for a newbie. I'm pretty anxious if I’m going to be honest.” He said with a nervous laugh. For the first time in a long time, Aren actually had to use his social skills.

Gad - The Devil's Cocktail

"Well, I am not the best person to ask that question." Gad replied, "But, one thing is clear from my past missions. We are currently weak." Gad continued, gulping chunk of tomato juice as if it was an alcohol drink. "So we got to stick together. I learned it the hard way." Gad sighed, remembering his solo hunt against first tier boss demon. He took it down alright, but it was harder than he thought it would be and that really frustrated him.

Even in the first mission as well, as he looked back, if he was not with the others, it was definitely going to end up as failure, too.

"I mean until we both reach the height of the veteran we should avoid doing things alone." Said Gad, "And whoever going with you, make sure you get to know them well so that if one of you dies, you can at least make a proper grave for them."

Gad looked at tomato juice then at Nena, "Are you sure you have given me a tomato Juice Miss Nena, I am feeling too talkative for some reason.."

Perhaps visiting his old friends tomb wasn't a good idea, for some reason, Gad spoke a lot more than he used to.

The Devil’s Cocktail:

Aren Vent:

The young man sighed, as he tilted his head; “So you could say we’re weak, and it’s just beginning, so shall we embrace death together, and avoid being alone?” He breathed in, Aren hadn’t spoken so much in a while.

He gestured towards the empty glass in front of Gad. “So you’re a fan of virgin bloody mary's then?” Stifling a laugh, he tapped his fingertips against the bar; “If you haven’t realised, a bloody mary is made from vodka, tomato juice, and celery. Thus you’re drinking a virgin bloody mary, as it lacks the spirit.”

Aren had been waiting to explain that, as the chap in front of him seemed completely confused, as to what Aren had been referring to. ‘Then again, the more people know the better.’ He thought to himself.

He started grinning, as he thought of something further to say; “As for making graves, feel free to ask me for help...I’ve been making them for what twelve years now?” Talking about graves, always perks Aren up.

Gad - The Devil's Cocktail

"Yeah?" Gad looked at Aren, "I am surprised that even with what you have witnessed by making graves, you still decided to become a vanguard."

Twelve years, that kind of long experience in one profession may make one bored of it. But, then again grave makers usually see the dead bodies of vanguards and usually it scares them due to their horrified looking corpses. Some graves are empty because none of the vanguards body make it back.

Gad gulped his tomato juice once more, "What made you jump into new profession?"

The Devil’s Cocktail:

Aren Vent:

Aren sighed, feeling slightly uncomfortable at the unexpected questioning for the drastic career change. “Why wouldn’t I not want to be a vanguard, I get to experience the thrill of living on the edge of life, regularly. After all, burying corpses everyday can get a tad repetitive; even as fun as it can be.”

Aren reminisced to the experience of burying his own father, and cringed. That was the weirdest experience, and he wanted to disassociate from that period of his life.

“Burying people gets kind of boring, at the end of the day. And I was curious to see what causes some bodies to be in such varying degrees of mutilation.” Aren smiled slightly, and shrugged. “Is curiosity such a bad thing?”

Gad - The Devil's Cocktail

"Is curiosity a bad thing? huh, no, unless it kills you." Said Gad, "May I have some more, please?" He asked Nena, politely.

"Oh, by the way, don't drink too much before the first mission. Seeing a butchered dead, and living being butchered in real time could struck your nerve very differently. Some puked during mission because of that. Some scenes can't be numbed even by alcohol."

Then Gad raised his cup that still had tomato juice, "Since this is an entertaining meeting, let me just toast for your safe return." Said Gad.

The Devil's Cocktail:


Aren Vent:

Aren thought to himself; ‘Good thing I’m not a cat then.’ As he tried to suppress a laugh from the thought. “So if I want to be curious, should I get some cat ears?”

“I dunno, the states of some corpses are pretty bad. Literal nightmare fuel for some, and it's a good thing I don’t drink much, so no vomiting for me.” Aren pictured the corpses he had seen prior, and felt a bit of excitement looking forward to seeing more of what could happen.

Aren raised his empty glass in response. “Cheers, and good luck to you my man.” He replied, as he nodded his head towards Gad.

Gad - The Devil's Cocktail

"Well, if you are referring to cats, cats got nine lives. But we vanguards got one." Gad smirked, when Aren cheers for a good luck. Gad smiled.

"Ah yeah, you got that right. We need luck, too." Said Gad. "And yeah, name's Gad." Gad added statement as he just realized he forgot to introduce himself. "By the way, I was not trying to ruin your cheery mood. I just realized my faulty ways in previous mission... Hopefully I get to apologize to the guy." Gad looked at his almost empty cup of tomato juice. "Say, Miss Nena, how's Bastion and everyone else?" He asked.

The Devil's Cocktail:

Aren Vent:

“We might have one, but isn’t death a whole new start, and beginning?” Aren said as he smirked. “And, aren’t vanguards just cats in the sense that have so many chances, whilst living on the edge?” He followed up with.

“Nonetheless, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Gad,” Said Aren, with a smile. “As for, ruining the mood; I’d argue that’s pretty hard to do. We’re only talking about death after all, and that happens everywhere, every second, of every day.”

Aren tapped his fingers against the bar, as he pondered what to say next, “Oh, more people I don’t know, who are the others?”

Gad - The Devil's Cocktail

"If all death leads to new beginning, then this world could have been cheerful, and you and I don't really need to be vanguards. The reason we are needed is to make sure there's another day to breathe. Sure, death could leads to new beginning, but not all new beginning is the welcomed one."

"Aye, ain't that the truth. Good that I met you today. I doubt I could be this talkative with my Mark of Mastery mates."

When Aren asked for others, Gad shrugged. "Well, I don't know all of them well myself as well. I kind of learned my lessons just a mission ago that I have been just a reckless idiot. Well, one thing I could say, they are pretty interesting Vanguards."

The Devil's Cocktail

Nena sighed and leaned with her back to the bar, rubbing her temples. The conversation between these two was torturous.

"Say, Miss Nena, how's Bastion and everyone else?"

Nena blinked and turned around at Gad's question.

"Oh, they're doing all right, especially considering..." She paused. Great, now she'd done it. How best to break that kind of news? Or should she at all? "Well..."

Just then, the door opened, and Komori strolled in with a cheery smile on his face.

"Oh, Komori!" she said waving him over and holding out her hand

"Nena," he said, taking it and kissing the back of it. "Lovely as ever."

Nena stared at the back of her hand, half-flustered and half-annoyed. "That was to collect your tab."

"Oh." Komori laughed and fished out his wallet. "Should have known better."

Nena counted out the money and safely deposited it before nudging her head in Gad's direction.

"Ah, Gad. It's been a while," Komori said, thumping him on the back. "I see you made a new friend. Aren."

He nodded to Aren and lifted the glass Nena produced for him before downing it.

Gad - The Devil's Cocktail

"Long time no see, anything happened while I was away?" Gad asked Komori, trying his best to look comfy; truth to be told Gad was not really comfortable with Komori as he tried to stop Gad from going a hunt alone, telling him even a single tier boss is a formidable demon to kill for a group of rookie vanguards, let alone going alone was a suicide.

Komori was right though, it was a formidable demon to kill. Gad only managed to hunt it down due to demon's own cockiness and clever use of environment from Gad's side.

Gad was not so sure if Komori was still mad at him for not listening to him.

Edgemaster Training Grounds

- Cleo -

With a sad smile on his face, Cleo continued to run his wakizashi over the whetstone. It was already sharp, but he was doing a final polish on it since getting the weapon back from the forge. It was still a little difficult to believe that his former partner's essence now resided within this blade, which gleamed from the fresh polish. Cleo had always been particular about maintaining his equipment, but since forging demons into his blades, he'd been even more careful with their upkeep.

A shadow passed over his hands, and he glanced up from the sword, meeting the eyes of Silky, who was standing over him. There was a bemused expression on her face, and she made a polishing gesture with one hand.

"You want to polish my sword?" Cleo asked, raising an eyebrow.

She smiled, nodding vigorously.

"Wow. I didn't expect you to be so forward..." He smirked, and her eyes widened before red stained her cheeks.

Silky hurriedly made a negative gesture, her face continuing to redden, while Cleo chuckled.

"Relax. I've observed that you like cleaning things, but I'll take care of the swords myself." He'd woken up earlier this morning to find the entire barracks (not just his own bunk) dusted and mopped. Clearly his new partner had been at work during the early hours of the morning.

She looked puzzled by his insistence, and Cleo sighed. "Don't take it personally. It's important for me to be the one who does it. This is my way of honoring the demons who have given me their powers."

The Devil's Cocktail

"Ah..." Komori stroked his chin, looking troubled. "Quite a bit has happened, actually. I suppose you'll hear about it eventually, and better from me."

Sighing, he exchanged looks with Nena before briefing Gad on what had transpired with the group, trying to broach the topic of Bastion's brush with death as delicately as possible. Even so, it seemed to take all the levity and warmth out of the moment.

"The Vanguards are now on alert for any information regarding Mother Harlot. It's our top priority."

--------------------------------------------------

Edgemaster Training Grounds

"Small consolation for the demon you used. But it's a pretty sentiment, anyway."

As Cleo looked up, he saw a young woman sitting on the edge of the roof above him, one leg dangling freely in the air.

Spoiler:

"I wonder if you actually believe that, or it's just what you tell yourself to feel better. You do strike me as the type to bury your feelings behind pretty words and pretty smiles."