“Much appreciated, my lady. Although there is another matter I wish to discuss with you, when we next have the time.” His eyes flicked towards Rodessa pointedly.
“I see,” Violet cupped her cheek, eyes narrowing a little. “I was under the impression you would be reading the reports.”
The smile he shot back was all teeth. “Oh, I am,” he purred. “However, I have some….questions, regarding your methods. Amongst other things.”
“...Very well then,” Violet sniffed primly. “I shall see you acquire the full report then. Until this evening, monsieur.”
“I can’t wait,” his grin twitched a little wider, before softening into something a little more natural as his gaze landed on the other. “And Roza?” He met her gaze with his own, tired, yet warm.
“Good luck.”
Moments later, the picture cut off, leaving Huxian to stare at the home screen of his communicator. With a sigh, he dropped the phone onto the bed, transforming back into his fox form as he rested his head on his paws, ears folded back in worry. There was so much going on that he couldn’t be there for. But fate would do as it will, whether he was there or not. For now, he had his current responsibilities to attend to; his concerns could wait until morning.
…
For the next few days, Huxian could only worry for Rodessa in silence. Though he managed to have a talk with Violet concerning the issues he had been having with his partner being brought up to speed on the mystic world (or rather the fact she had just been thrown in the deep and with just some texts she was supposed to immediately believe), he was unable to actually get to speak with her again. She was going to be busy, he was told. Training. With her new partner.
...He wasn’t sure how he felt about that, even if he knew that this new partner was already experienced in the field. But perhaps that was his own possessiveness talking.
Not that he could have talked with her. When he wasn’t spending time in his fox form to conserve energy, he was busy organising the agents under him and coming up with plans to obliterate their undead invasion at the source.
So when his communicator rang, he transformed mid leap, almost skidding off the bed in his haste to grab it.
“Roza?” he almost demanded the moment he picked up.
“Oh? Is this a bad time?”
The almost bemused drawl made Huxian almost wish something had happened so he would feel less of an idiot for worrying.
Snorting, he flopped back on the bed.
“No, not a bad time at all to give me a heart attack,” he snarked, eying her image on the screen. “Tell me now if you’re in one piece or not and if I need to come over there to boot a bitch off a cliff.”
She chuckled, but even with that breath of humour, it was hard to miss the tense, tired edge around her eyes. “Which one?” she quipped. “I have two here: the little madam, and the priestess. Did I tell you that she absolutely hates my very being? Oh, oh, and her wonderful expression of ‘why do I have to deal with this idiot?’ is becoming tiresome.”
“Well, I was talking about the ‘little madam’, since I have very little knowledge about the priestess other than whatever was in the report,” Huxian admitted. “I only really know that she comes from a line of demon hunters, so its not entirely strange that she might be somewhat...hm….elitist? At least considering this is somewhat new to you. Sometimes if you’re raised in a certain way, those who are rookies to it might seem a bit ‘stupid’.”
Like how he considered the majority of humanity idiots, but he wasn’t going to say that.
Clearing his throat, he looked her over a little more carefully. “...Want to rant to me?” he offered. “I don’t mind being the sound board, if you need it?”
“I could...” She admitted, reluctantly, her manicured brow knitting slightly. After all, she still remembered everything she had heard, had seen from that video, what her partner was burdened with. “...but then...I know you’re more likely going through hell of your own….How are you holding up?”
“Me?” Huxian blinked, a little surprised that she’d still be worried. Did he look as exhausted as he felt from the constant barrier drain. He blew out air from his lips, tossing a smirk her way, hoping that it might hide his own bone tired state. “Pft, I can handle it. We’re keeping things at bay here and appart from a few school kids we had to pull into base, we’ve got civilians to safety. Soon as we got that back up and our prep’s done, we’re sending those stiffs back to where they belong and kicking the crap out of the idiot who decided that it would be a good idea to set Jiangshi loose. No one messes with my territories, you know that.”
“...Play it up all you want, Blanc,” Rodessa frowned, “but I can tell you’re not your energetic self… and I…” she clenched her hand into a fist, eyes shifting away. “Well, I worry for you still. I-”
“Eh...should have guessed I couldn't entirely fool you,” Huxian chuckled, dropping some of the bravado. “I promise, I’ll be fine. Keeping them at bay takes a lot of energy and I’m one of the few that can help do that as one of the strongest here. But I can handle it. Of course, the sooner that back up gets here, the better. It’ll be nice not to feel so tired. I’m looking forwards to the rest once I’ve crushed this ant under my foot for putting me through this.” He huffed. Quickly, he shook off his irritation before his lip curled into a vulpine snarl. “But what about you? I mean, things don’t sound like they’re going to well there…? At least from what you’ve been saying. I haven’t had much in terms of details, though. Care to share?”
She sighed, turmoil bright in her eyes, expression almost anxious. “...You already know about the case, right?” she said at length. “Vie’s in contact with you about this ‘Training’, right? How much do you know about it?”
“Hm...” Huxian scratched his chin, thoughtfully. “Not all that much. I know you’re based over in Izumo and that there’s a temple there that helps train up people in at least the basics. I’ve got the basics on your priestess, too. I’ve heard about the case you’re on - a vengeful ghost case, right? Beyond that, I only got a copy of the same file you have. Nothings been updated the past few days, though.” He shrugged. “To be honest, The last I heard from Miss Pouvel was a few days ago when we were discussing my thoughts on her ‘methods’. We had…words, I guess you could say.”
“Words?” Rodessa parrotted, the side look she gave him - a welcome change from that troubled expression - almost suspicious. “I hope you’re both playing nice?”
“When do I not?” Huxian blinked innocently
The flat look she gave in response could have been made from stone.
“Bullshit.”
“My heart, it hurts,” Huxian mocked, hand over his chest, as if pained. “Your lack of trust is like a blade. Stabs me right here, rose bud. Right here!”
Rodessa clicked her tongue, playfully rolling her eyes, shaking her head in fond exasperation. At least she didn’t seem so downtrodden. He couldn’t help but smile a little at her response.
Deciding to ignore his enticement to banter, Rodessa continued.
“Well any way, seems like there's more to the tale,” she explained, ticking off her fingers. “Family drama...possession... We’re running out of family members to keep alive and were running out of time.” She paused, frowning. “...One of the things that did bug me was with this guy - the boyfriend… I forget his name - but he just snapped, completely out of nowhere. it doesn't make sense. The priestess… demon hunter... whatever she wants to call herself, had me look for something called ‘presence’. I not trained in that BS, so I'm not sure about it, but the murder site felt...wrong.”
If his features were visible, he knew his ears would have pricked at that.
“Wrong...?” He pressed
“Yeah,” she crossed her arms, head tilted in consideration. “Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful location and if I was going to murder my spouse, its near perfect to do it - just far enough to give you… privacy, but not so far that the other person would suspect anything. But, yeah...If I'm using my instincts, it feels like there someone watching, waiting, pulling the strings, here… it might be that... Onri-Whatever-”
“Onryou?” Huxian offered. “Is the word, darling?”
Rodessa threw up her hands. “Whatever!!!” Slapping her hands back on her legs, she leaned forwards towards the screen, pointedly. “But there's something else...something hungry in those woods. For the flora around that place to be so...untouched.” she paused a moment, trying to find the words. Finally, “theres not alot of animals there,” she explained. “Not in the ‘I’m a rabbit, I need to scamper away for my safety’ way, either. It’s like there’s...no animals there to begin with. And yet, occasionally, I see carcasses dotted around the place. Its unnerving.”
No kidding. Sitting up, Huxian felt his features pull into a frown. Considering the case was about a vengeful ghost - one that was specifically targeting a family - humans - not animals at all, it was strange. Sure, animals had good senses where the supernatural were concerned - he should know - they only outright avoided a place if it was a danger to them. And if there were animal bodies around as well…
“That doesn’t match the MO of an Onryou...At least, not unless the animals belonged to a specific family they were targeting...but you’re talking about the wild ones, right? Not tied to the family at all?”
“No, no pets. But we’re talking about medium to larger animals here: larger birds, rodents and a few foxes.”
It took all his skill not to grimace at the last part. Thankfully, Rodessa seemed too focused on her explanation to note if he did slip and twitch.
“They look like mummies,” she explained. “...I don’t know...maybe I’m overthinking-”
“No,” Huxian cut in. “One of the first rules about the mystics is not to leave things to chance like that. You may not be able to sense spiritual presences, but your instincts have always been more honed than anyone I know, even some of the seasoned agents here. If you’re sensing something is wrong and there’s no obvious explanation for what you’re seeing, then there’s a huge change there’s something else at play there. Animals don’t just drop dead looking like mummies for no reason.”
“Still,you know they might just be processed naturally like bog mummies ‘n’ such. And I doubt that a ghost could do such a thing. Don't they possess haunt and just kill?”
“Well, it does depend on the ghost,” Huxian admitted. “But what you’re dealing with, generally possess, haunt, kill, maybe curse. But like I said, the only things it should really be affecting it that tied to the family it’s got a grudge against.” He crossed his arms. “I’m also discounting ‘Naturally occuring bog mummies’, simply because, from the layout of the area you’re in, there has never been bogs there. Battlegrounds, maybe, but no bogs.”
He brought the communicator closer. “Listen, I want you to be careful. Maybe do a little bit of research. Or talk to the people who live there, see if they have any legends, anything that might match up with what you’re seeing. I don’t like it, Ro. Something doesn’t feel right.”
“That bad?.... Ok fine i’ll do a little digging when i have the time. Do you have any idea on what it might be?”
“Hm…” Huxian wracked his brains. It had been a while since he had anything to do with the Japan’s mystic population. Not since he and Rodessa had first become partners. “Well, Japan’s not my area of expertise, but there is some crossover between what appears there and some of the types of supernatural beings that appear in my homeland. Think you can describe the bodies for me? In what way do they resemble mummies?”
“Open mouth, like they were screaming or terrified - but again that can happen when decomp sets in,” Rodessa shrugged. “They looked like they were... like I said, bog mummies. I don't make a habit of touching the dead, nor do I plan to any time soon. Not without a hazmat suit-”
“Well, probably for the best,” Huxian sighed. “Some things like to lay dormant in bodies anyway until they find something….ah….more appetizing. Like I said, I’m not an expert on the Japanese faction of supernatural, but I’ll send over a few suggestions of things that might match. If nothing else, it might give you a decent starting point.”
“Sweet,” Rubbing her hands, Rodessa grinned. “I’ll-”
However, what she would do was cut off by the familiar voice of Violet Pouvel somewhere out of shot of the communicator’s camera.
“Roza, are you ready? The meeting is about to-”
She leaned her head back with a groan. “Why are we always…” she shook her head, exasperated. “I’ll speak to to later, Hue. Bye!”
With that, the call ended.
Frowning, Huxian dropped the phone back to the bed, considering what he had been told. It honestly didn’t bode all that well. However, even if she didn’t completely get along with the other two, he doubted either would let anything happen to her. Even so...he’d definitely be looking into this. Though perhaps he should refresh his memory on Engetsu’s old haunt. Maybe that would help him figure out what she was dealing with. He couldn’t be there physically, but he could at least shoot her some suggestions on what might leave mummies like that...
That in mind, he pulled his laptop, which had been showing some of his plans for the Jiangshi, and opened up the mystic database. No time like the present.
---
It was evening by the time that Huxian had compiled the information into creatures that might fit the profile of what was leaving the dead animals, around dealing with anything to do with his own mission whenever he was interrupted by his own agent underlings. Honestly, there were some on there he distinctly hoped would not be what she was facing, whether due to how dangerous they were, or what the connotations were of the creature being there.
He rubbed his eyes, feeling the beginnings of a headache. He wished more than anything he could go over there and set whatever it was on fire, but he couldn’t.
Never had it been so hard to sit on his patience, even after so many centuries…
Sighing, he glanced over at the clock on the wall, trying to figure out what time it was for the girl now. It had to be late by now. Unless things had really gone to shot, or they had planned for some kind of late night stakeout, she would probably be turning in for the night.
He probably should be to, thinking about it.
...Would they end up having that strange shared dream again?
Honestly, he almost hoped that they would. For one thing, time seemed a little different, as it always did in dreams. Maybe then they could have a full conversation without getting interrupted because of a meeting. He wanted to check on her, how she was really dealing with all of this. She seemed to have at least accepted that the Onryou was something real, even if she hadn’t quite got the grasp of its name, but she seemed pretty hung up about bog mummies when she clearly mentioned puncture wounds….He needed to be sure. He didn’t want to risk losing her because she was still struggling to accept things.
It was best not to leave it to change.
“You often seem to be listening,” he said to the empty room. “If you’re not too busy, may I speak to one of you?”
“It would depend,” The two disembodied voices of the goddesses seemed to overlap into a strange echo, “to whom do you wish to have audience with?”
Ah, so they were listening. For once, he wasn’t slightly perturbed by the deities strange interest in his life.
“It’s about those strange lucid dreams,” He explained. “I know that this is normally the territory of a dream or sleep god, but I believe Lady Venus was the co-creator of the dreamscape between Ro and I? May I speak with you?”
“No,” This time, it was the voice of Venus who spoke. “Most deities can do it, usually among our kin, similarly to the Ashu-Wahari. But indeed, we can talk,” her tone was almost amused. “Anything for my cute little brother. What would you have of me? ”
It was still so strange to hear a goddess call him her ‘brother’, even after those trippy time shenanigans that apparently had something to do with his soul and….Ugh, no, best not to think about that and give himself a bigger headache. He had something to do.
“I’m assuming you’re aware of the fact that Rodessa’s being reintroduced to the mystic world, correct?” he said, toying with one of the covers of the bed, thoughtfully. “While prior to all this it was essential to not bring it up, especially because it was protecting her at the time, but I’m not exactly happy about the way it’s being handled now - pretty much expecting her to believe it after just handing her a file and letting her see one. While she may not be truly human, she believes herself to be one, and no human just believes in something like that without having time to process it - time she doesn’t have - or without plenty of evidence. I think I helped a little on that front by letting her see a little of what I’m currently facing. But...I don’t think that will be enough. Especially not if her mission really is as complicated as it seems to be after the research I did.”
He tilted his head to the ceiling, eyes searching, even though he knew that the voice’s owner wasn’t truly there beyond telepathically. “I was wondering if I might be able to...borrow the Dreamscape, so to speak, in order to help with that. If she can learn to at least accept that the mystic truly is going to impact her life from now on, then maybe….”
He could practically feel the smirk that was in the goddesses voice and had to force himself not to shiver, especially at the almost amused hum. He needed her help, after all, even if he had a horrible feeling like he was making a deal with a devil, rather than a goddess.
“Hoh~? Well, I suppose that could be arranged...Though, if I’m to help, I’ll be having a little fun myself,” she purred.
Knew it… Huxian thought sourly.
The goddess chuckled. “It’s not a bad deal,” she simpered. “And the rest of the dreamscape, I’ll leave up to you. Although if you go toooo far, I’ll be sure to yank you back to safety,” she tittered. “Still, I’m having my fun with her - well, she’s having fun on her own right now, isn’t she?”
If the bodiless voice could have a smile, he was pretty sure it would rival that of a cheshire cat’s. He was almost alarmed. What on earth was that supposed to mean?!
“Tell me when you want to start,” she practically sang.
He wasn’t sure he actually agreed, verbally. All he knew was that between one blink and the next, he had changed from the room he was using at the temporary headquarters, to the strange fused rooms and oddly shifting air of the dreamscape. His side of the room was the same as before, but the other was different. No longer was it the hotel room she had been using the last time he had tried this, but something simpler, more traditional.
Must be wherever she’s staying in Izumo, he noted. The temple, maybe?
Only he was pretty sure any temple wasn’t supposed to have that strange, intoxicating scent, mixed with the exotic tang of divine power and…
So this is what she meant by ‘fun’, he groaned.
“Now now,” Venus’ pur was like a whisper tickling his ears, “I’m just helping her to relax, that’s all. It’s so much easier to...get things moving when one is in the right….mood, as it were.”
Though there was nothing to see, he could feel a hand trailing up his arm and shoulder, a strange tingle of residue power fizzling where her touch danced, making his skin prickle. He shouldn’t be surprised, honestly. She was a love goddess, after all, one often linked to it’s more carnal form.
Typical…
“Just step through when you’re ready, dear,” Venus pressed. He could almost feel her against him, lips curled into a sensual smile. “Why don’t you give her a hand? Oh, and just a word of warning. This dreamscape is not as deep as usual. It will flicker between the boundaries of waking and sleep. I’m sure that you know why that might be the case, especially if you wish for your plan to work. I’ll be sure to leave some markers for you so you’ll know when they take place.”
The feeling of her presence began to fade away, until he could no longer feel her touch, though he could still sense her smile.
“Good luck, kid!” she cheered playfully.
Huxian bit back a growl, hating the feeling like this was only a game to her. However, he forced the feeling away. He was using her just as much right now, after all.
Then he felt the tingle from the residue magic finally kick in. His clothing morphed and changed. Gone was the Pandora uniform. Instead, he was wearing something far more casual. His fatigue seemed to fade, as if it had never been there at all. Taking a deep breath, savouring the feeling of energy that he had missed over the past few days, Huxian stepped from his side of the ‘room’ and towards the other side, following the scent. The moment he stepped passed the place where the two rooms fused, he felt the air ripple, as if he had passed through some kind of barrier and his eyes landed on the sight he could now see there.
“Well, well, well,” he drawled. “Isn’t this a wonderful sight.”
[END]
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