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Griffon flew overhead to check the rest of the street. The farther you went through the city, the more monsters seem to creep around the corners, just waiting for some poor unsuspecting idiots to consume. Shame those idiots had to be you.“Do we really need to go this way?” you whined loudly, wiping the gore off your face.“It’s the shortest way,” Nero didn’t seem disturbed a bit, marching ahead of you joyfully. He loved slaying monsters.It was the lazies like V and you who preferred to stay in the back and let him do most of the job.“Are you sure we can’t take any backstreets?” you asked V quietly. “A few more fights and I’m gonna bathe in blood. My hair is already streaky, and I really wish I couldn’t smell myself.”“We’ll see what Griffon reports back,” V said shortly, his cane clicking by his side.You groaned.He preferred not to elaborate on that. He was really grateful he got a good excuse to send Griffon away for some time. Griffon was useful when it came to unexpected fights, but he knew V too well and desperately (and foolishly) tried to set him up with you. His running mouth or a beak actually, was slowly becoming a problem.V eyed you quickly. He was not the biggest fan of running around the city infested with so many monsters. He hasn’t been losing breath yet, but he was not made for such forcing marches and sooner or later it would show. He’d rather bite off his tongue than ask for a break, though. Not when he had a chance to be so close to you without others (he glanced at Nero.) interfering.You fished a few coins from your pocket.“A penny for your thoughts?” you offered with a sly grin.A brief smile crossed his lips. He accepted the coin with a theatrical bow.“Your interest baffles me. I was just thinking how far will our friend lead us before he realises he doesn’t know the way.”“You could always help him,” you looked at V hopefully.He tried to think of a good excuse not to admit that without Griffon’s report, he was just as lost in this part of the city, but Nero’s loud curse took your attention away.You quickly jumped over some rubble and dead bodies to catch up with Nero. V followed.“What’s the-… Oh.”You whistled. The street was completely blocked by a wicked, black mass of what looked like thick roots. They were moving slowly, sun gliding on their shiny, wet surface. There was no way of crossing through it.“Seriously?” Nero sighed.“Don’t you think about cutting through it,” you warned him quickly. “We can use another street.”Nero ignored you. “I’m pretty sure I could just cut a way-…”“This is moving. I’m not going anywhere near it.”“You’ll be fine-…”V shook his head. He still wasn’t used to your daily dose of arguments with Nero.“‘Precaution is better than cure’,” he quoted.Nero turned to him with a deep frown. “WHAT?”“V says let’s Goethe out of here and I agree. Come on,” you patted their shoulders before turning back on your heels.V and Nero looked at each other.“Goethe? Seriously?”V wore a proud smirk. “Some of us read.”
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V watched with an amused smile at the way you and Nero cornered a few insectoid monsters and slain them together.You worked efficiently. Your fighting styles were vastly different, but didn’t interrupt each other. It was almost pleasant to watch, if not for the amount of gore it sent through the air.Griffon hovered above his head, his shadow long and darker than those of living creatures.“What, jealous, Boss? You wanna join them?”V ignored the sarcasm in his words. He leaned over a wall, where the monsters wouldn’t bother him on his short break. His legs hurt and so did his lungs. Even though he wasn’t a big fan of Nico, he’d gladly accept a ride in her car right now.“Damn, look at them go,” Griffon mused. He perched on a window frame. “You should ask for a few lessons, you know? I’m sure some of this tension in ya’ could be relieved with some good company…”“One more word and you’re going back to ink,” V warned him quietly.He tried to keep his voice neutral. His familiar was surprisingly good at reading human emotions, and V would prefer it if he didn’t get another reason to rub his petty little captivation in his face any more than he already did.V wouldn’t call it a crush, he was far too smart to let such primal emotions rule him. You were just a rather pleasant companion, especially compared to the others. You fought well and could take care of yourself, which came in handy on this journey through the infested city. But that was all. V didn’t have time or energy for anything more…Griffon screeched a warning.A monster lept from a roof. V jumped back, summoning the Shadow from his arm. He hit a wall when the monsters crashed together, sending him backwards.You noticed the commotion around him and ran in his direction. Thankfully, Shadow finished the insect quickly enough.“Are you okay?” you helped V get up, looking for any injuries.“I’m not the one who looks like they went to hell and back,” he shook his head, gesturing to your bloodied hands.“No, you only look like you sneaked out of a morgue,” you brush some dust off his clothes. He didn’t seem to be bleeding. Griffon laughed, circling in the warm winds.Nero walked closer. All the monsters in the area seemed dead or hiding.“That was a good one. What do you say to that, huh? You got any more cheap one-liners?”“The verses of wisdom would never get to you properly. I’m afraid,” V replied.You nudged him with a grin. “Yeah, it looks like Nero’s got an a-version to it.”Nero growled, throwing his hands in the air. Griffon laughed again.“Why do you keep doing this?! Come one, I’ll pay you to stop joking around and take this seriously!”“I’m afraid our cheap one-liners are too expensive for you,” you shot him a bright smile. V chuckled. Maybe there was something else to you after all.
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The ground shook behind your back. Heavy steps seemed to get closer with every second. If not for the amount of trash and rubbish you had to jump over, you’d look behind.“We’re gonna die! We’re all gonna die!” Griffon screamed from the top of his lungs, flying over your heads. He was supposed to lead you somewhere safe, but you weren’t sure if he still remembered that.“Dammit!” Nero almost tripped over one of the gigantic roots. “That was not a part of the plan.”“You didn’t even have a plan to begin with!” you snapped, anger boiling your blood even more than the adrenaline.Something crashed when the huge monster hit a building. Boulders the size of cars flew around. It roared, and the sound echoed through the ruined city.V was running on your left and you could see him slowing down. He was even paler than usual, his breathing had become harder.You grabbed his arm, pulling him further. “Come on, V. It’s just-”But then the road crashed and fell under your feet. For a moment you were stuck in the air and the time bent around you, showing you the surprised face of Nero, and then started again, throwing you deep into the dark pit. A stunned shriek of Griffon sounded somewhere high, but you couldn’t see him.You weren’t sure if you screamed when you hit the ground, the breath ripped from your lungs as something heavy fell on you. Constellations burst before your eyes, blinding you with immense colors. For a moment, all you could do was to lay down and figure out if you were finally dead.Whatever you landed on, shifted under your back. You opened one eye to find that Shadow cushioned your landing, preventing your back from breaking.“Thanks, kitty,” you muttered. A sore cough shook your body.“Damn, that’s what I call a perfect landing! 10 out of 10!” Griffon’s laugh echoed through the pit.V groaned, coming back to his senses. He shifted, and pain shot in your side.You pat his head, currently buried in your chest. “Next time, I want to be on top.”“…Deal.”He turned and tumbled from you. A cloud of dust shot in the air, when you were both busy catching your breath. Your lungs burned. High above you, a tiny hole opened to a blue sky. As you were watching, thick roots grew from one side to the other and covered it almost completely.“Looks like our way out is sealed,” you noticed calmly. You were too bruised and tired to feel anything. “Hey, chicken, can you go through those and tell Nero we’re alive or is your ass too fat?”“WHAT? I am the swiftest creature the skies ever born, you ungrateful -”“Just do it,” V said.“Do this, do that, I’m not even paid. Where are the unions when one needs them…” Griffon cursed on his careful way around the spikes and roots. The space between them was too small for him to try and take any of you with him. Barely any light was coming down.Shadow materialized as a black panther again. The black nose sniffed you gently. You sent a kiss to her. “You’re way better than that overgrown chicken. You should eat him someday. I’ll help you pick out the feathers.”“Please, do not turn my familiars against each other,” V softly sighed. He was laying next to you, his dark clothes grayed in the dust and earth.He sounded calm, but you could see an uncommon blush on his face. Looks like someone enjoyed their fall.
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By the time Nico found V and you, your legs were sore and tired. V didn’t whine about it much, but it was clear he didn’t feel much better.The old sewers you’ve fallen into were stinky and full of monsters and those damn roots. Cutting your way through them took you a lot of time and energy. By the end of it, even Griffon lost his usual sassy attitude and just flew in silence.“For the first time, I don’t even want to know how she made it here,” you admitted with a deep sigh, walking to the van. Just the sight of it at the end of the sewers made your exhaustion vanish.“Agreed,” V nodded, sounding a little breathy.He was leaning on his cane and looked even paler than usual. Sweat glistened on his face as you walked closer to the headlights.Ten minutes of Nico forcing words out of you, you laid down on the dusty couch at the back, your legs on V’s lap. He didn’t seem bothered, his head cocked to the side and eyes closed. Shadow curled over his legs, purring softly. The fur was soft under your touch, much more silky than you imagined on a demon. You fell asleep thinking about it.Nico drove over some crushed pavement, the car never once stopping. It was indestructible and sure felt like it. The streets moved fast, just a colorful blur outside.Griffon headed back to the van. No monsters seemed to crawl in the direction the car was heading. It looked like they were much more occupied in the other parts of the city.He flew through an open window, straight into a thick cloud of smoke.Nico cut his agonizing shriek the moment he opened his beak. Holding him tight, she leaned close. “Loud chickens end up in a soup.”Griffon batted his wings, moving to the passenger seat once she let him go. The damned woman always managed to send shivers down his spine.He caught a glimpse of two curled figures in the back and chuckled quietly. “Wish I had a camera. I’d put that on my ig.”Nico waved her phone in front of him. “Hard to do without thumbs, but we can talk about it later.”“Better be careful, V doesn’t like to be caught off-guard.”“Watch me being scared as shit of the goth boy. He can curse my fat ass all day long, the pic stays where it is.”She already decided to print it and put on one of the walls. She was curious how much time would it take for anyone to notice a new addition to her collection of incriminating evidences, and who would do it first.She checked on you in the rearview. This whole day has been a mess. You deserved some time out even if it was spent under a particular goth boy with a dreamy look on his face. As long as you were happy…