“We are, simply, demons.”
“Alright. Fair enough. Do you always look like this?” Eva waved a hand towards him. “Or is this a disguise?”
He glanced around, looking up at the ceiling before shaking his head. “I’ve been told not to damage the facilities or the students here.”
Eva had to suppress taking a step back. If his real form was dangerous enough that simply changing into it could violate his contract, she wasn’t sure how close to him she wanted to be. Though it was good to note at least a few elements of his contract. Eva assumed that all the demons had been given the same contract.
Thinking of the other demons brought a new question to mind. “Are any of the other demons here aware of what you’re doing?”
He opened his mouth, but Eva held up a hand.
“Let me rephrase.” Based on her conversation with him so far, he would say something like ‘no, none of the demons know I’m on the second floor of this building talking to you.’ Or maybe, ‘yes, you and Arachne are aware.’ Some literal and technically correct answer that told Eva nothing in the end.
“You’re here to help me. With what, we’ll determine in a minute. But first, are any of the other demons here to help me in the same way that you mean?”
Unlike every other question Eva had asked, Vektul did not respond instantly. He took a moment to think and consider with the occasional glance towards the rooms other demons were staying in, as if he were looking straight at his kin.
“Not to my knowledge,” he eventually said.
“Are any here to hinder me, acting against your help?”
“Not to my knowledge.”
Eva moved slightly, going to lean against the wall of the hallway. Standing in one spot was somewhat tedious. More importantly, it blocked off the stairwell. Eva moved to the side just in time for the door leading to the staircase to open.
A girl, younger but unfamiliar to Eva, stepped out. She spotted Eva first, but her eyes only lingered for a moment. Arachne stole her attention right out.
She stopped and stared.
Eva was about to ask if she was alright before the girl’s eyes rolled back in her head.
Blinking behind the girl, Eva managed to catch her before she fell all the way to the ground.
“Great,” Eva groaned, slowly lowering the girl to the ground. “Now what?”
“It isn’t dead,” Vektul said.
Eva shook her head with another mental sigh. “Obviously.”
“Poison?”
“Fainting. She’s just unconscious. In fact…”
Eva gently used the back of her hand to pat against the girl’s face. Really, she shouldn’t be doing this. If she did rouse the girl, the first thing that she would see would be Eva’s eyes. Or her hands. Or even Arachne standing over Eva’s shoulder. She would just pass out again.
Or worse, start screaming.
But before Eva could reconsider her actions, the girl’s eyes fluttered open.
The girl blinked twice and stiffened like a board. For a moment, Eva thought that she was going to scream. She didn’t.
She did start shaking.
“Don’t worry. We’re not going to hurt you.”
“You’re those demons,” she said in a voice that, though shaky, was definitely trying to be light-hearted, “aren’t you?” A tilt of her head punctuated her question. Her eyes darted towards Vektul and some of the fear waned as she narrowed her eyes in confusion.
“We are,” Eva said, bringing the girl’s attention back to her. “And we’re
She was still stiff and a little shaky, but Eva managed to get her to her feet.
Now that she had a better look at the girl, Eva found herself frowning. Last year’s new students had resided in the Gillet and this year’s first years and sixth years both lived on the second floor of the Rickenbacker so that nobody would be on the same floor as the demons.
While she could be a freshman, this girl looked about nine. She couldn’t be. Thirteen was the absolute youngest it was possible to attend Brakket. And they would have a birthday sometime soon after starting school if they entered that young.
“Are you going to let go of me?”
“Oh. Of course.” Eva shook her head. If the girl was out looking for the demons—which Eva was guessing based on her being far too young for school—she should toughen up a bit when finding one.
Eva shot a quick glance towards Vektul. The boy—or the demon who appeared as a boy—just stood to the side. It was a curiosity filled stare. Possibly puzzling out how he had thought her dead only for her to wake and be standing in a minute.
“Do you live on this floor?” Eva asked, turning back towards the girl.
With a short nod and a gesture towards one of the rooms, she started to speak. Only started. She made a small noise before something caught in her throat. It took a few coughs for her to actually get the words out. “Just–just over there.”
Which threw Eva’s theories out the window. She must just be a baby-faced teen with a severe height impairment. Or maybe she hadn’t started school but lived with a relative in the dorms for some reason.
“Do you need help getting there?”
