Catching Up

 As the group found places to settle in, they noticed that the living room looked a bit bigger than one might have thought from just an outside glimpse of the cottage. All Millie could think of with that was that one British sci-fi show she enjoyed. The fact that she was probably a bit of a nerd also occurred to her, but she was secure with that.

There was a couch against one wall, that looked big enough to fit maybe three people. There were apparently six that lived here. Or maybe five; as Millie got a better look at the woman that’d let them in, she thought she could see a little bit of a ghostly shimmer.

Anton took a seat in one of the other chairs, snapping his fingers as more seats appeared for his own family.

“So...walk me through this?” Talia asked, gesturing toward the ladies seated on either side of the guy.

Anton chuckled a little. “Yeah, so, I met all of them while I was on your quest,” he said, in case they hadn’t figured that out. “We did find and take down a few of the monsters, at least. The first one I met was Lia.”

He pointed toward the werewolf, and she waved somewhat. “Yeah. This guy came wandering into my neck of the woods, and I just had to sniff him out. I’d smelled some of these things he was after, and they freaked me out, so I wanted to help stop them.”

He nodded. “It was just the two of us for a while, we found some rich guy’s manor, and the gargoyle on his roof tried to attack me. She and Lia got into it, and then we got to talking.”

“Name’s Shay, by the way,” the gargoyle spoke up, flexing her wings a bit. “We took down one of those beasts after it tried to interrupt our chat.”

“Oof, do NOT get me started on those freaks,” the non-Amaia dullahan put in, her pink-haired head sitting atop her lap. “I found one in my stash one day, contaminated the whole thing. So when I found out they were out hunting them down, I jumped right in.”

“Yep, that’s how I met Valentina,” said Anton.

Millie glanced at Amaia, wondering if vengeance was a common motivator for dullahans or if it was just these two. She also wondered if they ever switched heads for fun, or not, but made a mental note to not ask that one out of fear of it being an insensitive question.

“Then finally, we have Bria and Anita,” he said.

As she looked at the zombie and ghost side by side, she noticed that they did look quite a bit alike. One looked like the leathery twin of the other, really.

“I’m Bria,” the zombie said, “and Anita’s my ghost. This group camped out in our yard—this is technically our house, but Anton enchanted it after moving in so all of us would fit—and were looking for a place to crash. I kinda tried to eat him, first...was a little low on fresh meat and funds. He offered to hunt something down and we shared it. He didn’t seem too weirded out that my ghost is still hanging around.”

“Hey, someone had to keep you out of trouble,” Anita scoffed.

Anton shrugged. “I wasn’t able to find the source, sorry to say. But I did find love. About five times, in fact. I settled down with the ladies a few months back, and...please don’t be mad, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

Looking over at Talia, Millie could have sworn she saw a little tear rolling down her cheek, paired with a gentle smile.

“Mad?” she asked. “Why would I be mad about you finding happiness, Anton?”

“Because I failed in the mission.”

She held up a hand. “Having to summon another is always frustrating and eats a fair bit of energy, yes. But with what we’ve all just been through, it’s a comfort to know that not every living champion I’ve summoned resents me for ruining their life.”

And now, it was Anton’s turn to listen as they went over the whole Daylight ordeal with him, from their unjust arrest, to the torture, to the horrific bastardization of a library, and finally, the fact that they were only able to leave thanks to some Fae-level technicality abuse.

Millie was petting Nibbles between the ears, having to extend her arm to its fullest extent. “I’m not sure where this source is, exactly, myself,” she admitted. “But I kinda get the appeal of settling down around here. Hey, in the human world, were you one of those people that had an interest in the dark and whatnot, too?”

He grinned. “Sure was. Always told my family that the goth life wasn’t just a phase. Man, if they could get a look at me now...”

Before they could continue the chat, Nibbles interrupted by reminding everyone about the food aspect. After a little discussion between the former champion and his party/polycule, regarding whose turn it was to get some for any guests. Given that Anton was the one that had any sort of history with their guests, it fell to him to find something for them to eat. As he was dealing with that, Valentina glanced over at Amaia.

“So, question,” she began.

They looked at her. “Hm?”

“You from Nightshade initially, or more of a transplant?”

They sighed. “Transplant. Moved there after one of these monsters killed my brother.”

“And that spine on your hip...you know how to fight with that?”

“Yep,” they replied, fingers drumming against it lightly.

“They’re really good with it, too,” Millie put in. “Been training me how to fight, in general.”

Valentina smiled. “I’ve always wondered if I should look into improving on that front. Things have been relatively peaceful around here with all of us, but I can’t help but feel that things are going to go awry someday. It’s just...just this gut instinct, y’know?”

Anton soon returned with a stack of meat for Nibbles, and a plate of sandwiches for Millie and Sara. “Not sure I have any blood around, unless you want to drink some of mine,” he told Talia. “And how about you?” He looked to Amaia. “I know it’s always sort of an on/off thing as to if a dullahan eats something.”

Amaia thought about it, before placing their head on their neck. “Yeah, I could eat,” they said.

Millie broke her sandwich in half and handed that half to the dullahan. Anton would have been willing to make one more for them, but declined to mention that. Talia was just considering his offer, before agreeing to it. She’d have grabbed one of her pouches, but when she got her bag back earlier, none of those were inside, and that disappointed her.

She got her drink, sighing in satisfaction as she did so and thanking Anton for it. He stepped away, just happy he could help her out.

“You’re welcome to stay for as long as you’d like, by the way,” he told the group. “I can get if you’d rather keep up the hunt, but after what you’ve all been through, some rest might be a good thing.”

“I like the way this guy thinks,” Sara said.

Nibbles had already passed out on the couch after eating her meat, snoring gently. Millie couldn’t help but look at her and smile.

“Having a nice nap, Nibs?” she asked.

The wolf cracked an eye open and let out a quiet “wuff” before closing it again. Lia glanced at her, curling up in her own seat and dozing off, as well. Talia would stay awake for a while, as Millie also decided to get some sleep, cuddling up against Nibbles’ side. Amaia pulled their head from their neck, holding it in their lap for now. Their body was getting some rest, but their head would stay awake for now.

An extremely loud snore cut the air, having come from the drider, her spider legs twitching in her sleep.

As they rested, Talia got up and stretched a bit, deciding she’d step outside for a little bit for some air. She was joined by Shay after a few minutes, the gargoyle pulling out a cigarette.

“You smoke?” she asked the vampire.

“No, I don’t. Thank you, though,” Talia replied, settling against a tree.

Shay shrugged, pulling a pack of smokes and a lighter from the pouch at her hip and lighting one up. The two of them just stayed there, admiring the beauty of the night together.

“So, how many have you summoned overall?” Shay asked after a bit.

Talia looked up at her. She had to think about this for a moment. The past few years had been one thing after another, one champion after the next.

“Several,” she admitted. “The exact number’s a bit fuzzy, but I’ve been at this for a few years.”