It was still night when we got back home. We took one of the doors from Alice's Alternate Space Creation ability, "Room magic," to get ourselves back to the Wolves Den. 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 been more specific… because Havoc just so happened to be using it…
"Ayo, what the actual fuck! Close the door!" he shouted as we walked out from the bathroom door we opened. He transformed his arm to reach the door and shut it, kicking us out at the same time. His 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!" Alice snapped.
I continued to walk away as she was talking, and she ground her teeth at me, fumes shooting out of her ears all the while.
At this time, I was wearing an oversized white shirt, black loose-fit pants that were baggy on the thighs and cuffed at the ankles, and some black espadrilles that I got in Alice's domain.
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.
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 about his passions. 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 follow his passion of being an interior designer for the Kingdom.
Most of the things we had came from Asura—the Den, the furniture, etc. The place was designed by Ryo, put together by Code and Ophelia, and the upkeep was managed between the rest of us. Nash, too, when he wasn't cooped up in his room every two weeks. And obviously we couldn't rely on Star for any housekeeping. She was, however, really good at taking care of animals for the most part, so Yuna was usually cared for by her. But this often led to other random animals in the Den at times if she had found them "cute" enough from the forest nearby… Like the one time she had brought a lyconbear home…
While Ryo was going off about the chandelier to Alice, a lioncat passed through the rooms casually and welcomed them to our home.
ROOOAR!
Alice screamed, "EEEEK! WHAT THE HELL IS A LIONCAT DOING HERE!!!" as Ryo laughed obnoxiously at it, hands on his waist.
I sighed and stared at it disinterestedly with my hands in my pockets. This wasn't exactly anything that was new around here. I knew immediately that this was a certain someone's doing.
"Star!" I yelled, still unaware of where she was.
No response. Where the hell was she?
As Alice hid behind Ryo, the lioncat locked its eyes on me. It gave a low growl as it slowly paced around, planning its pounce.
Keeper. It had been one thing after another tonight…
The lioncat began to sprint toward me. I readied my stance, hands still in my pockets as we stared each other down.
It dashed like in slow motion, pouncing once it was about a yard or so away. Then from its side, out of nowhere…
"HAAAYYYAAAA!" a female yelled as she flew through the air, jump-kicking the lioncat away from me. Her bare foot left a print on its side as it crashed near the double door entrance. My face took on a bored look as she flew past.
She laughed maniacally, "THAT'S THREE / ZERO YOU BEAST. YOU STAND NO CHANCE AGAINST ME!" Star obnoxiously announced, pointing to the poor lioncat who lay in its own crater in our wall.
Star wore only a cropped white crewneck with some random brand logo in the front of it, 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 as they twinkled their pristine dark gray color. Her pink hair was worn down as usual, with the long bangs of it drooping over her face, just brushed, ready for bed.
Ryo and Alice hadn't moved from their spot as the lioncat, inches away from them, lay seemingly unconscious from within the cratered wall. Ryo just chuckled happily as Alice hid behind him with a shocked look on her face—jaw dropped and unable to speak, like her soul had just left her body.
From her victory stance, Star pivoted in my direction and instantly shifted her mood.
"Teddy, you're home!" She chanted happily as she threw her arms around me, swinging us both in a circular motion.
Then, out from the floor below us, Ophelia had emerged—like 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. She was 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 as she sloshed onto me, also wrapping her arms around my neck.
My face showed no signs of amusement. Feeling nothing.
Everything happening in this moment, from the lioncat, to our crew members' quirky attitude, to both Star and Ophelia's breasts latched onto both my arms—had seemed utterly dull. The one light I saw that I could not stop thinking about, especially in this moment, was her… my princess. Ironic really. She had not been mine yet, but I felt my heartstrings tugging at the mere thought of her.
Alice, from where she stood, began to get a little heated. Her face turned red as she watched these two half-naked girls cling to me. Ryo, right next to her, continued laughing, "Hahaha! Don't let Snow and Rex see you now," he warned sarcastically.
I rolled my eyes as I maneuvered my way out of both Star and Ophelia's grasp stealthily, walking toward Ryo now and throwing my hands in my pockets all the while.
"Teddy is so cool…" Star whispered, crooning behind me as Ophelia lost her balance and fell through the floor face-first in a drunken manner, disappearing completely once her face met the floor.
Alice's face had faded back out to its normal fair color, her emotions mixed after witnessing the girls. But I was free from them now, so she seemed a bit more relieved.
At this time, a flush rang from the bathroom, and Havoc had come out from it, zipping his pants up as he exited.
"Ah man… six out of ten," he said out loud, talking to me.
"Weak," I said in response, turning my head to face him, the look of disinterest still following me all the while.
In an attempt to divert her obviously 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.
Scratching his head as I said that, Alice fumed—finally realizing what we were talking about, "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 in the crater 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 demanded, talking to Ryo. Her tone and mood changed back to what it was earlier. "He's my prey."
I felt a breeze from behind as I remained in my lax stance, and Star shot at a lightning speed to the lioncat, zigzagging and then front-flipping over Alice.
As she flipped in the air, shadow over them, her right heel drove down onto the lioncat's head, smashing it to the ground and cracking it on 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, her 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 a lioncat in here in the first place.
At this time, Ophelia had found her way back into the room, permeating from a wall and threw her arms over my shoulders from behind, hiccupping as she said, "There you are, Greedy. Come on, let's go to bed now," she whispered coquettishly in my ear, but loud enough for everyone to hear, Alice especially. Which particularly pissed her off.
In that same moment, Havoc, laughed hysterically at what Star had just said, repeating her, "midget."
Alice's blonde bangs covered her eyes as shadows formed over them. Her arms to the side of her, shoulders rising and hands turned into fists—trembling a bit from something pent up.
"I'VE JUST ABOUT HAD IT WITH ALL OF YOU!" she yelled, and we all remained silent as she honed in her words. "I thought I wanted to join this crew, but I can tell I'm not wanted here. I'll just see myself home then…"
As she said this, she stormed out, heading to the front 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 the door behind her.
Ryo attempted to catch up to her, but she was gone when he reached for the door and opened it—leading only to our front clearing.
We continued to stand there in silence after she left.
"Star," I said calmly across the room. The low tone alone was enough to get her attention through the tense atmosphere. She perked in response, "Yes, Teddy—"
"That wasn't nice," I said sternly, saying nothing more.
She sulked, holding her hands together in front of her as she quietly said, "I'm sorry…"
"That goes for all of you," I said, speaking to Havoc and Ophelia now, whatever the hell Ophelia had done to add to Alice's outburst.
"The hell did I do?" she asked incredulously, holding a finger to herself drunkenly.
And I scratched my head and said, "We shouldn't have pushed her around so much. I'm mainly to blame for this. So, I'll take full responsibility if I ever see her again. She's been through a lot tonight as it is."
Ryo crossed his arms and nodded in agreement, his eyes closed all the while. Contributing nothing to the conversation, letting us hash it out. It was clear he agreed with my statement though.
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—submission.
"Wherever her home is, I hope she got there safely… Anyway, it's late. We should all be getting some rest too," I finished, before we went our separate ways to our quarters.
I told Ryo to stay the night at the Den until dawn at least. Tomorrow, we'd assess and make a game plan for what happened tonight. 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 again today.
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. Besides, we were all a bit "much" anyway. She experienced that firsthand.
Before heading to my quarters, I met Ryo at the landing that separated into two flights of stairs. And both Ophelia and Star had strolled directly to my quarters, waiting for me there.
"Honestly, she's a good girl. If I saw her again, I'd tell her I'm sorry." My final words to Ryo before going up.
"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 grabbed it, giving him a vulgar finger 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.'" He laughed.
"Noted. I'll beat his ass when I see him tomorrow morning," I responded as we both shared our laughter. But 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.
At this moment, 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 in that moment that I did not understand. The feeling was so intense that I couldn't stray my mind from it at all. I was thinking of her and her alone the whole night.
Even entering my quarters with two maidens spread out on my bed, eagerly waiting for the activities we would be performing, I thought of her the whole time. Once again, I found myself falling into those deep blue eyes that looked like the sky.
Belle. The name of the princess who stole my heart and took over my mind. Why were you so compelling to me? What I would have given to see you once more.
Somewhere upstairs within the Den, a door was cracked open, where a young girl had been listening in. She overheard every word Ryo and I had said before we parted. She closed the door, and a sparkle of dust puffed from it, coming from a room which she occupied, known to be pink.