Cass shook his head and rubbed his eyes. Being half asleep, for the briefest of moments, his brain had imagined that Cadeyrn was in the room with him. Once he calmed down, he turned up the volume.
"God! That voice. Has there ever been a more grating tone? Not likely."
Cadeyrn was laughing, "Yes, we're going on an expedition to the Great Divide. No doubt, it will be a glorious victory for humanity, rest assured."
The sycophantic interviewer yapped like a puppy. "And what of Lady Islay? Will she be accompanying your party?"
"As much as I'd love to have her unwavering bravery by my side, she is needed here in Weismitte. Let me assure you, her task is no less important than ours…"
"Heading to the Great Divide is he?"
The Great Divide was a massive chasm encircling the globe. According to most historians, it appeared right around the time the Fog engulfed the planet. Whether it was the source of the Fog or a result of it was highly debated, but one thing was true: A massive, unending torrent of Fog was constantly erupting from its depths. It was over a hundred kilometers wide and who knows how deep. Some parties had reached several kilometers down—anyone who went further never returned. Not only was the risk of being snatched up by the fog greater, there were also goliath beasts lurking in the depths and the surrounding sea. That was another peculiar aspect of the Great Divide: A good portion of it passed through the oceans. Even still, no matter how great the deluge of ocean water pouring into its maw, the water levels never changed.
"Perhaps he'll be caught in a perpetual cycle of Fog. Trapped forever in its illusions…never to be seen again! Oh what a shame it'd be. "
Cass's face scrunched up and he was grinning ear to ear. He wondered what mission his betrayer had been sent on. There was nothing of note past the Divide…that land had long been lost to the demons.
"No matter. I'm sure there are plenty of ways it can all go wrong."
As he delighted in all the ways Cadeyrn could perish or be seriously maimed by the suicidal mission, his eyelids grew heavy again and soon he was asleep. The next morning, Cass arose and went to brush his teeth. He poked his head in his room.
"Empty."
The bed was made and there was a lovely floral scent. He couldn't place the flower, but it sure seemed fancy. The room glowed in the morning light—he barely even recognized it.
"Damn, did she do this? How did it get so clean?"
He quickly pushed it out of his mind.
"I must've really ticked her off. She probably slept at the Doxy."
By noon, Cass had one of his less useful books on the table by the window—and on the other side of the room, an old pair of pants he never used. Each one had a large piece of paper stuck to it with a very simple runic circle drawn on; though if you looked closely, you would notice subtle differences. You would also notice channels carved in the floor connecting the circles to a larger circle surrounding Cass. He began channeling mana toward the book on the table. After a short while, the book popped and a spurt of colorful lights filled the room.
"Ha! Easy as!"
He twisted and pointed his finger at the pants, making a gun with his hand. The pants, however, only fizzled and sparked, followed by a plume of black smoke.
"Damn it!"
Cass opened the window.
"I guess my modification failed."
The colorful light spell was so simple, he had already figured out all the runes; most were basic ones he'd seen before. He thought he'd try to increase the brightness and change the colors…Not a success, but at least it didn't blow up his apartment.
"Another step in the right direction!"
After he got everything cleaned up, he decided to go over and check on Dani, just to be safe. After all, it'd be a pain if she ran away…He might lose his job.
As he entered the Doxy, he heard a voice that made his skin crawl. Rampone.
"Yes, that should be just fine. Don't you worry."
To Cass's surprise, the girls were crowded around listening to him speak. Sitting apart from them at a small, round table, was Daniella. Cass approached her.
"Hey."
"Y-Yes!?" Her voice squeaked. She composed herself and put on an aloof face.
"What's going on?" Cass asked.
"Rachel disappeared. Tindra's freaking out. I guess she called…him…to get the girls out of town safely."
"You seem pretty calm about it."
"It's not unheard of for guys to buy out a girl's contract, or for her to run away with him instead. Rachel doesn't mind bending the rules, you know."
"Hmm. That's probably the best case scenario."
Cass frowned as Linas sauntered over. Daniella shifted in her chair and turned away.
"How ya doin', kid?"
"I've been better."
"Yeah, I'm sure. Don't get too worked up about it. You weren't on the clock at the time. Can't watch 'em 24/7. At the end of the day, they're adults."
Cass grimaced. "Is this guy trying to comfort me?"
He patted Cass on the shoulder. "Tindra still believes in you. She entrusted you and me to get her girls somewhere safe."
"…Entrusted?"
"She's not going?"
He guffawed. "You know how stubborn she can be. I told her I'd have someone look after the Doxy for her. Might as well be talking to that wall over there."
Cass's face went even paler. "This is not good."
He hurried past Linas and up the stairs towards Tindra's room.
"Cass!" Hilda stopped him in the hall.
"Tindra's not in the best mood. I told her I was gonna stay with my mom instead of going with you guys and she let me have it good. Might wanna give her a chance to cool off."
"Thanks, Hilda. But I really need to talk to her."
Her eyes lowered. "I understand."
He passed by Hilda and barged into the room, unannounced. Tindra was sitting on the couch drinking from a bottle. She lazily looked over at Cass.
"Damn…I know this look. Rampone has zero class."
"Tindra-"
"Yer goin', Cass. That's all there ish to it."
"You don't und-"
"Ya know how dangerous it ish!? Even fer a Bless–a Blessed like me!? Yer leavin' with that jerk!! That's final!"
"She's totally wasted."
"What are you gonna do? Why're you staying?"
She slurped from the bottle. "Don't worry….'bout what I do."
"Are you going to look for Rachel? I can help."
"You can't help….yer gonna be loooong gone!" She chucked.
"I definitely will, you stubborn, ogrish woman!"
"Linas said he'd get someone-"
Her icy stare stopped him in his tracks.
"Damn it…is there no other way?"
"Get packed and ready to go, Cass."
"I can't live without you!"
Her face went from cold to perplexed in an instant. Cass clenched his fists.
"I'm cursed. If I'm separated from you…I'll die."
Tindra stood up and approached Cass…very wobbly. Her pink tank top, even wilder than usual hair, and lack of pants made her look slightly unhinged.
"Cass…"
She put her hands on his shoulders.
"Are you gonna miss me that much?" A twisted grin made its way onto her face and she cackled, lifting Cass skyward. "Aw~! Look at ya! Ya ain't gotta be shy!"
She dropped like a rock, tucking Cass into her arms as she crashed through her coffee table.
"Are you trying to kill me!?"
Well, he would've been fine, but she didn't know that. Although, if she squeezes him any tighter…
"Yer such a good boy~" She nuzzled his cheek.
"H-hey." His half-hearted protest died on his lips.
"Where's my bottle!?"
Cass sighed. She shot up, still holding him.
"Here." He poured some into her mouth.
"Yeeash!"
More nuzzling.
"Can't I stay with you?"
She staggered to her room making oddly cute thinking noises. She leapt up, spinning midair…still holding Cass…and landed in her bed—tucking Cass into her chest and giggling like a fool the whole time.
"What am I, a teddy bear!? And what is this bed made of? Reinforced steel?"
It very well might be…but Cass didn't want to go down that line of thinking.
In a drawn out, yawn, she replied. "Ish too dangerous, Cass. I don't want ya to get hurt."
Cass poured some more of the bottle's contents into her mouth. Her legs and body were writhing on the bed. She let out a satisfied sigh as the cool sheets rubbed against her hot skin.
"The safest place I could be is right here with you."
She became completely still. It startled Cass with how abrupt it was. She was staring at the ceiling, her expression unreadable. After a long pause she pulled him up to her face and hugged him tighter.
"You can stay."
He breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed his face into her neck. She giggled
"That tickles!"
"That's good for now, but if she sobers up, will she still feel the same way?"
He could feel her breathing slowing. He remained perfectly still. He didn't want to risk stirring her if she was falling asleep. It wasn't that he liked being held by her or anything like that—it was a strategic choice, that's all. The heat of her body was more intense than usual; probably from the alcohol. Even though the smell of it was strong, he could still pick up the scent of her skin through the suffocating cloud. He wasn't sure if it was from the curse, but that scent always seemed to comfort him. Tindra was fast asleep. He could see the dark circles under her eyes as he watched her.
"She must've been up for several days thinking about calling Linas; even before Rachel disappeared."
He had just woken up not long ago, but he was content to lie there for however long he needed to. To his surprise, he eventually started to feel his eyelids droop. The sound of her breath and the humming of the AC was an effective lullaby. When he awoke, the morning sun had been replaced by twilight.
"I suppose I've been slacking on sleep as well."
Cass slowly started to get up, pushing himself off of Tindra. As he did, he saw two green emeralds shining in front of him…no they were eyes alright.
"Oh…She's awake."
Cass gave her an awkward smile. She lifted him up and stared at him.
"Oh no…this is the morning after regret, isn't it. Should I warn her that any damage done to me will have to be transferred to her?"
Before he could speak, she pulled him down and kissed him on the forehead, setting him down next to her after. He had a bewildered look on his face.
"W-what was that for!?"
"I hardly ever get to wake up to face that handsome. Thanks."
Cass scoffed. She stretched and beamed a smile at him. "So…How was it? I can't remember a thing!"