Chapter 402: CHPT 402: Routine and Research (Vol. 3 Prologue Continued)
"Girl, what the hell did you do to your hair?" Isaac's mother, Bellona Aslan said from their massive red and gold walled kitchen as Maris entered the area. The morning sun lit the area through the window placed above the sink they worked over.
"I dealt with it." Maris replied as the housemaids and workers cooking beside Isaac's mother warmly greeted her while cleaning off fruits and veggies. The smell of seasoned meats cooking over a controlled flame made her stomach grumble loudly.
"A damn shame. Your hair was so pretty, Maris." Bellona said before leaving the sink to tend to the meats cooking behind her.
Maris stopped her instinctual response, settling with saying what would allow her and the others to sneak out of the house as usual.
"Thank you." She forced the words out with an almost physical effort.
"You are very welcome, Maris... oh--come try this for me." Bellona replied before using a knife to skewer a chunk of meat that was previously frying in a skillet.
Maris walked over and took the knife to try the meat. Unmistakably beef. Rich and savory..... buttery-- a taste that felt more impactful due to the seared outside of the cut that quickly gave way to a tender and juicy interior rich with heat and flavor.
"What are you thinkin? Should I baste it a little longer? Cut the slices thinner? Talk to me." Bellona asked, seemingly as focused on cooking as she'd be in a Tangent listening for Vengeance Seekers on the prowl in a jungle. One could almost forget there was a time when The Nine had her in their sights...
Maris swallowed the beef cut and nodded to herself before approaching the skillet, grabbing many more bites until Bellona interrupted.
"Uhhhhh.... have you lost your damn mind along with your hair?" She said while poking Maris' forehead.
Maris shook her head with full cheeks before chewing and swallowing the food, "I was quadruple checking. It's good, Bellona. You..... are a good cook."
Bellona's face warmed like the sun. She saw Isaac's face in her expression for a moment. It made her smile-- on the inside.
"Thank you, Maris..... I would've appreciated you telling me that before you ran through half the skillet. Damn girl, if you wanted breakfast, I could've made you some."
"No thank you. I just came to confirm our sparring match tommorow." Maris said flatly before wiping her mouth with her sleeve.
Bellona and the others in the kitchen shared a small chuckle. Maris didn't know what was so funny. "Yea. We're still on Maris.... but only if you let me fix up your hair before then."
"That is fine."
"UHM?! No-- None of this is fine. Mom, come on now...." Isaac said as he leaned against the doorway leading into the kitchen.
He wore a dirty red sweater and black leather overcoat that screamed and rustled loudly as it tried to hold together whenever his muscles flexed beneath the fabrics. At his hip, he wore a belt that held his sheathed cutlass. She could smell the blood on it from where she stood. But she somehow didn't hear his approach. The food must've been distracting.
"What? She wouldn't stop asking me." Bellona replied to her son defensively.
"I don't see the problem. We have to face strong people to get strong." Maris said.
"The problem is, she's a Gold Rank-- High Gold... and you're barely Bronze. HELLO?!?! Technically none of us are ranked..... actually. The point is, you're going to get crunched, short stuff." Warren said as he appeared beside Isaac, towering over him in ways he never had two months ago.
"Praise the gods-- you grow an inch every time I see you, don't you Warren?" Bellona said as Warren stepped into the kitchen. He had to be at least two inches above six feet. His long-limbed frame carried him inside, in search of food only every time he tried to grab something, one of the housemaids or workers slapped his long-fingered hands. He eventually settled with grabbing a discarded bell pepper and began eating it as if it were an apple.
"It's my godly Archer genetics finally awakening." Warren said matter of factly in between bites.
"Right." Seemingly everyone said in unison.
"Haters man...."
The three settled in the kitchen, eating a small and quick breakfast consisting of cured meats, fruits and water. Then, they were heading out.
"Where are y'all going today?" Bellona asked on their way out.
"We're going to a Witch's Shop in SkyHaven." Isaac replied, gaining confused looks from Maris and Warren.
Bellona stepped out of the kitchen, following them to the door. The three turned to face her as she sat in the doorway, arm muscles bulging like her son as she held the thick door open.
"Remember the rules."
They all nodded, Warren a bit more sheepishly than the others as he forced himself to look anywhere but her eyes.
"Stay away from the crash site, stay out of the forests." Isaac replied, already knowing the rules she'd baked into them ever since that night.
For a moment, gloom fell over them all.
"I'm sorry guys." Bellona explained with a sigh. "I'm so sorry about your friends. Ursula and Claude seemed like good people."
"Seem." Maris suddenly said.
Bellona looked at her briefly, "They are still alive.... so, they seem like good people. Because they are. They'll come back or we'll join the Detection Corps and find them ourselves."
"The last Detective I met kinda rubbed me the wrong way.... Cyrene was nuts, right? I mean she was crazy hot but--...."
Isaac and Maris shot him glares as sharp as their blades, "BUT-- I agree, nonetheless."
Bellona nodded in agreement, patting her braided head while doing so to itch her scalp, "You're right. They're missing. And they'll be found. Y'all have my word. I've been calling the Detection Corps of SkyHaven every morning, they're still understaffed. Marshall has ninety percent of their enlisted staff under his payroll though.... STILL. So, all we've got is the Enforcers. But they're working diligently out there, just hang in there. And don't do anything rash. If they don't find you snooping, then I will. And you don't want that."
Suddenly The Lioness of The Sunlands was standing right in front of them, striking flaming hot fear into them all. Then it was gone. As quickly as it came. They all nodded before being swallowed up by Bellona's muscled arms and bulbous shoulders as she brought them in for a hug.
"Ok. Now go, have fun and be safe. Learn something!"
"Knowledge is power." Isaac replied as if it were a Mantra-- one his mother said often. More often after the events that led to their friends disappearing....
And with that, they were off.
***
"So... why a Witches Shop?" Warren asked once they were out of ear shot of the Aslan Estate.
"Just some stuff I need answers to that I couldn't find in the books back home." Isaac replied as he kicked a rock across the lightly snowed over walk path as Heroes on horseback rode past smelling of death and destruction.
"You literally have books on Demons and ancient vengeful Demon-Slayers.... what could you possibly be looking for that isn't already in your library at home?" Warren asked.
"Nothing serious-- just an item I want to learn more about. "
Warren began to side eye him. Isaac looked right when a hand grabbed his face and moved him out of the way. Suddenly Maris stood between them, eyeing Isaac fiercely.
"We're still training, Isaac.... and we're still searching."
She didn't ask, but Isaac responded as such anyway, "Yes. Of course, we are. We'll hit the city later. Our priorities are the same."
Following Isaac's words, the three took on a serious air as the path quieted, absent of rolling wheels on the dirt or clopping horse hooves.
"Warren. Eyes." Isaac instructed.
Following his words, Warren's eyes expanded with his iris's glowing golden like a hawk as he looked down the path.
Maris and Isaac stood by in silence as he surveyed the area.
"Nothing ahead for almost a mile-- behind us a team of Silver Ranks is only getting further away with no sign of stopping." Warren suddenly said.
Following his words, the three of them leapt off the path and entered the forest, springing through the woodland. Heading straight for one place...
The same place they'd been going to ever since that night. The place they'd been scouring through every weekend like their lives depended on it. A place crawling with uninterested Enforcers. The very place the soul-crushing howls emanated from. Where they found the last remnants of Claude and Ursula's Magic. Used to capture and destroy the very thing they'd been reading about. The very thing Claude had said was hunting them all.
The crash sight of the fallen HellBreeder. And their training area.
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