030

 

30.  Monkey Business

 

Rose Quirivane slowly moved a slice of meat up to her mouth while she flitted her eyes about the room, monitoring all the movements and people who moved inside the dining hall's crimson walls. She was quite used to eating without looking at her food – in fact, it was the norm for her. One of her default traits was that of vigilance, and she felt most comfortable when exercising the utmost caution. Whether it was due to her unusual upbringing or simply due to her own innate personality Rose didn't know. But she accepted herself, and the ones she had chosen to spend the rest of her life with had accepted her as well – for the most part, at least.

 

Next to Rose sat Bruce Wernhart, who had just sunk his teeth into his hamburger, still talking through the chomps. Saffron sat across from him, nodding with a smirk, although it was unclear as to whether he was actually listening. As with anything else, Rose remained quiet, monitoring the two just as she monitored the other strangers in the room. She kept her hand gently on Bruce's shoulder, both comforting him and reminding him that his lover was there, while also keeping her grip firm as a reminder that he was to stay under control. Just like so many times before, she let herself flow, just like water: still and tranquil, while ever remaining an unstoppable force. Rose had shimmering long blonde hair, flawless skin, a well-trained figure, and a propensity for violence – just about everything Bruce had ever wanted in a woman, or so he had once told her.

 

Rose was the first to notice two figures slipped in through golden double doors in the back: Mephistoclessia, followed closely by Averyl. She was followed closely by Roufas Ernst, the fourth member at the table, who sat next to Saffron on the other side. He had ordered a fish fillet just like Saffron, but had barely touched it. Roufas, always the grand mediator – if there was ever a dispute, he would be there, keeping the peace. Rose had learned much from him. In fact, if he and Rose hadn't been present right now, Bruce might've leapt up from his seat and attacked Averyl the moment he stepped through the door.

 

Mephistoclessia rushed over to where the four sat. "This guy," she rasped, pointing back to him, "just completely ruined my operation. He assisted the Knights and robbed me of my new acquisitions!"

 

"We'll talk about that later." Roufas waved her away. "I've got a few things to say about your little 'operation,' but that's a different topic entirely."

 

"What?" She slammed her gloved fists down on the table. "What did you say? I have done nothing wrong! I told you I was going to head straight to the Kantor District to suppress the situation."

 

"You didn’t tell us shit," Bruce grunted. "Besides, who the hell cares what goes on in that dump? You're just making crap up now."

 

"I am not!" Mephistoclessia curled her arms around her tiny waist. "I left a psynergy note in Pandemonium, explaining..." Suddenly, the Rat fell silent, as if a realization had struck her, and she slowly turned to face Averyl. Everyone quickly followed suit.

 

"Ooh..." Averyl sauntered up to the table. "I didn't know everyone was going to be so happy to see me."

 

"Sit your bony ass down and shut up," Bruce growled, then turned back to Mephistoclessia. "A note. You left us a note. What do you think we are, a fuckin’ after-school detective club? You can't be off collecting more toys for yourself whenever you feel like it."

 

Letting out a frustrated grunt, Mephistoclessia turned sharply away from the group and headed to the bar. Winslow sat there alone, sucking on a chocolate milkshake with a lonely look on his face.

 

"What's up?" Winslow made a timid wave over to Mephistoclessia as she joined him.

 

The Rat did not acknowledge his presence.

 

"How's your, uh..." Winslow took a nervous sip. "How's your preparation for the tournament coming?"

 

Slowly, Mephistoclessia turned and pointed her porcelain-masked face straight at the young man. Whatever lurked underneath her unnerving gear was an utter mystery.

 

The Rat seemingly stared at him for another moment, then a hiss erupted from within. "Talk to me again and I'll rip your face off."

 

Back at the dining table, Roufas had pulled up an extra chair so that Averyl could sit with them. Bruce stared daggers at him, while Rose gave him a pleasant nod.

 

"Alright." Bruce began, before letting out a thunderous belch. "Roufas, would you like to take this one? I don't want to get too worked up with him being this close."

 

"Gladly," Roufas said. "Averyl, you–"

 

"Sorry to interrupt." Averyl raised a finger. "But may I order something to eat before we start talking?"

 

"You're not eating sh–"

 

Rose clenched her hand around Bruce's shoulder, while Roufas nodded. "Of course he can," the elder said gently. "I'll summon one of the waitresses."

 

"Thank you, Roufas..." Averyl smiled. "You are most kind..."

 

Bruce turned his head to the left and munched on his hamburger. Watching him, Saffron let out a brief chuckle.

 

"What the hell are you laughing at?" Bruce barked.

 

"C-certainly not thee!" Saffron slowly brought his coffee mug up to his lips.

 

Roufas closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Averyl, we want to know why you’re keeping so many secrets from us. You should know by now that we don't mind people taking their leave as long as the reason is justified and explained in advance. Grayson often takes extended periods of leave, along with Madeleine. The two of them recently requested backup, and after it was all agreed upon, Cecilia was allowed to join them. As you can see, we try to keep things free and respectful here. You've been with us for over a year now, so that should be more than clear."

 

Averyl nodded. "Crystal..."

 

Roufas stared down at the table as he gathered his thoughts. "However, you may not, under any circumstance, leave for an extended period of time without any sort of notice. It threatens our unity. With that said, would you like to tell us why you missed our meetings?"

 

Roufas returned his eyes to Averyl, only to see him conversing with the waitress who had popped up.

 

"Oh." Averyl frowned. "You don't have chocolate cake? How unfortunate..."

 

"Would you listen to us for a second, goddammit?!" Bruce screamed.

 

Averyl curled his eyebrows up, looking hurt. "But you said I could order."

 

"This is useless." Bruce snapped his knife in half. "Roufas, you're just wasting your time with this idiot. He's doesn't belong here."

 

Rose's eyes drifted from Roufas to Saffron, who was desperately trying to cover his face with his long blonde hair. His shoulders were shaking, and the Tiger could faintly hear the sound of snickering.

 

"You wanna die?!" Bruce reached across the table and grabbed Saffron by his luscious hair.

 

"'Zounds!" Saffron cried as Bruce dragged his head across the table. "How deplorable! Roufas, make him cease, I beg thee!"

 

"I feel like I'm surrounded by children." Roufas rubbed his forehead in exasperation. "Averyl, please. Just tell us what you were doing during all that time. I pray that it was something worthwhile."

 

"Ah." Averyl finally looked as if he was concentrating. "I have an interesting story to tell you about that, actually, Mr. Ernst."

 

"Don't call me that," Roufas sighed. "It isn't helping you."

 

"Well..." Averyl stopped as the waitress returned and placed a tiny piece of vanilla cake on the table. Sitting to the side were some orange slices.

 

Saffron stared at the meal in wonder. "Such a peculiar after-supper..."

 

"I wanted chocolate," Averyl whispered.

 

"Averyl! Concentrate," Roufas sighed.

 

"Oh, yes." Averyl perked up. "If I remember correctly, we were trying to locate the whereabouts of a certain girl, were we not?"

 

"Indeed." Roufas nodded.

 

"And we sent numerous agents after her, only to have them fail, correct?"

 

"Yes."

 

"And then, growing impatient, we even sent Van Kaen after her, who suffered heavy wounds and was eventually forced to flee...correct?"

 

"Yes," Roufas growled in frustration.

 

"Well..." Averyl forked a piece of cake into his mouth. "She was with the ones who held up Winslow in the mine."

 

"What?" Roufas asked, perking up.

 

"There were two other males with her. One, I later learned, is the Vice-Captain of the 4^th division of Dimensional Knights. The other was just a mere soldier..." Averyl scooped more cake into his mouth.

 

"Why didn't you capture her, then?" Roufas interjected.

 

"Well, if Van Kaen couldn’t even stop her..." Averyl began. "First, I decided to track them for the next twenty-four hours. Finally, I had them cornered in the Kantor District, but a certain difficulty involving Mephistoclessia forced me to regretfully abort my mission."

 

"That's a lie!" Mephistoclessia stormed over to the group. "You assisted them in the Kantor District, and you even broke them free from my control!"

 

"It was necessary for me to befriend them and gain their trust in order to move freely with them..." Averyl inspected the next piece of his cake with intrigue. "Had it not been for Mephistoclessia's delusions of grandeur, for all we know, the Daughter could be with us at this very moment..."

 

"The Daughter?!" Mephistoclessia screeched. "Are you talking about that pathetic Knight Captain?!"

 

"I believe that pathetic Knight Captain was running circles around you." A smirk rose on Averyl's face. "So much, in fact, that you had to–"

 

"Silence!" Mephistoclessia screamed. "How could she have been the Daughter?"

 

"She wasn't." Averyl finished his cake. "It was the small, bright-haired girl who accompanied them..."

 

"Impossible. Her aura was minuscule!"

 

"Such is the nature of the Daughter," Roufas shifted his gaze to Mephistoclessia. "Not only have you wasted our time, but you have once again let your pride get in the way of our true objectives."

 

For the second time, Mephistoclessia stormed off.

 

"Okay, Averyl." Anxious to finish the discussion, Roufas pressed ahead. "Your actions were of merit, and I can understand why you, in your urgency to capture the target, did not return. You seem to know more about the Daughter than any of us, so I’m happy to entrust you with the job of capturing her. You are free to continue seeking her. Will you require any assistance?"

 

"That won't be necessary." Averyl slid an orange slice into his mouth. "They trust me, and I fear that bringing any new strangers into the mix would upset things severely..."

 

"I understand. Well, what does everyone else think about allowing Averyl to continue his solo pursuit of the Daughter?"

 

"I do approve," Saffron said.

 

Bruce rolled his eyes sarcastically. Next to him, Rose shrugged.

 

"Well, there don't seem to be any objections." Roufas gave Averyl a shallow smile. "You are free to do as you wish. I trust you'll be around in a few months to take part in the Belmarcian Tournament?"

 

"Ah, now that you mention the tournament," Averyl said. "I was curious. Just what is going on with the Church? Are they not opposed to a clock being offered?"

 

"According to Grayson, they’re allowing it," Roufas answered. "I suppose they assume they can trap us by dispatching the Guild of Dimensional Knights."

 

"Magnificent," Saffron spoke up. "Puissant warriors gathered together, ripe for the picking!"

 

"I won't argue there," Roufas said, moving from his chair. "Is everyone ready to go?"

 

"Yeah," Bruce said with a grunt. "Where are we going?"

 

"I thought we might go for a walk in the park," Roufas said. "Zhang Guo is there meditating."

 

Mephistoclessia staggered behind the group. "I'll pass."

 

"That's fine," Roufas called back. "Just keep a low profile from here on out."

 

"Shall we be off, dearest Bruce?" Saffron batted his eyes mockingly, obviously amused by how much Averyl had annoyed his friend. Bruce muttered something unintelligible as the six moved outside.

 

With another meeting done, Rose lauded herself for getting through it without ever having to utter a single word. As soon as they passed out of the room into the hallway, Rose moved her arm around Bruce's waist, once again pressing to let him know she was there, and parted for the lips for the first time since she'd finished her steak.

 

"Come on, baby, relax," she said softly. "It's a beautiful night out."

 

"Yeah." Bruce muttered, glaring at Averyl as the distance between them spread. "It's beautiful, alright."

 

Rose sighed and slowly pulled her hands away from him. This made Bruce respond. "Not as beautiful as you are, though."

 

"I don't see why you have to be," Rose said. "He's just a weirdo. We've dealt with worse before."

 

"I guess." Bruce frowned. "But I dunno. There's something wrong here... his story was too perfect. I mean, look at him. How could he not be up to something?"

 

Up ahead, Averyl slipped the last piece of orange into his mouth as he trotted obediently next to Roufas.

 

"I got my eye on him." Bruce placed a hand on Rose’s shoulder, now focused on her, intent on reassuring her despite the fact that she was already more calm than he could ever be. "And the moment he fucks up, I'm gonna be right there. You can count on that."

Next: Shades of a Schism