Upon arrival to the ground floor, they were greeted with a wet Saturday view of the inner courtyard. The tall windows were pelted with thick drops of water, blurring the world beyond in vague washes of color and light. The heavy clouds darkened their world just enough to trigger the academy’s light sensors, lighting up the educational towers, residences, community buildings and street lights across the campus.

Light represented safety for the majority of the populace. It wasn't uncommon for demons to announce their approach through heavy storms, strong enough to hamper the sun's reach, sometimes blocking it off completely through sheer destruction. The thought brought to mind Seth's dream of Clearwater; where midday became black as night. Dust, smoke, fire and heaven knows what else played a role in shielding the demons. There must have been some truth to the lore, but maybe as Astral implied, it wasn't the whole story.

Society feared the dark. Curfews were set based on the rise and fall of the sun, and adjusted for weather conditions. The light lit up the towns and city like a never sleeping beacon. It was amazing that the people didn't choose to sleep with their lights on for fear of a demon manifesting in the shadows of their closets or the small space under their beds. No, those were childish fears that every adult knew couldn't possibly exist. Seth couldn't quite shake the memory of the creature peering out from his closet. Shadows were playing tricks on him, his near adult mind reasoned. The child inside shuddered. The shadows were still playing tricks on him.

It didn’t look like the rain would be leaving anytime soon. Idly Seth wondered if the day’s curfew would end up getting cut by a few hours. He supposed it didn’t matter, on days like this he would comfortably retreat to the barracks where he’d catch up on his reading.

Seth held the elevator for a couple of female students who excused themselves as they entered the elevator. Seth noted the student's cursory glances, taking in their training gear, followed by hushed whispers and shared giggles. "Ignore them," he told Astral, who had managed to get several strides ahead of him. The giggles were for him, he realized. Astral probably never noticed the students. How was that possible for someone whose senses were attuned to environmental advantages? Wouldn’t she at least acknowledge their existence?

"Wait!" Seth called after her, running to catch up. "How about some breakfast?"

His young companion didn't break her stride. A normal person would have at least stopped to consider the invitation. Did she have some place to be? Instead, she cast him a brief side glance as a vague sign of acknowledgment, before quickly returning her focus to the nearing exit. "I only get a small stipend for my allowance," she conceded. "I'd feel terrible for burdening you."

'No, and double no,' he reiterated. Her cold matter of fact tone made the rejection even worse. It wasn't like he was asking her out. Why did he feel like she just kicked him? He hadn't considered the possibility of her saying no.

'Of course she'd say no!' Nothing about his arrangement with her had been easy. Maybe she didn't trust him. Why would she? All he'd done so far is place her in one dangerous situation after another and used his knowledge of her past to force her to comply. They weren't friends. He was fooling himself into thinking that they could be.

She stood at the threshold of the education building, allowing the sound of rain pummelling the street into the building. "You said: one, right?" she asked.

He nodded. "We'll go over the game basics when you get there and lock-in our squad training periods. Eat before coming, these first sessions can take a while."

Astral nodded and left him to his morning routine. He watched her walk through the rain, unbothered by the weather as it clung to her. She stood out from the rest of students who huddled together under umbrellas, rushing toward their destination. He felt alone as he watched her shrink into the distance as she strode down the avenue. He hoped she'd have enough sense to take care of herself in the cooling season.

His stomach announced its hunger. The cafe across the street wasn't full. He sniffed at the air around him, filtering out the smell of wet, happy flowers. The morning's training was more of a primer than a workout. He couldn't deny that the stress of the situation added to his musky scent. He recoiled catching the strong scent of...he wasn't sure what that was, but it needed to go. "Right, Seth," he smirked, "She turned you down because you smell as bad as the demons."

One shower, a change of clothes, and forty-five minutes later, Seth could have sworn he was still catching a whiff of that stink. Pride and a need for food drove his decision to dine at the cafe. He tried to appear casual as he looked through the window as he crossed the street, counting the heads of his peers.

He watched for any sign that the scent firmly lodged up his nose was apparent to the rest of the students. He paid careful attention to his stride as he strode through the small seating area. He will each half stride, slowing himself down to avoid appearing rushed, but moved fast enough to not appear as though he was sneaking across the room. He could feel their eyes on him, watching make a b-line to a table in the back of the cafe free of a direct window view. In theory, he could eat in peace without random fans catching a glimpse of him through the window and deciding on a whim to take advantage of his isolation.

He took his seat, back to the wall. No comments, no weird looks. It must just be him. He breathed a little easier.

He ran his fingers across the tabletop to activate the menu, drawing up the breakfast menu. It came as a surprise to see that it was still early by weekend standards. The morning rush would start coming in waves. If he was lucky, he could be out just as the first torrent of students filled the cafe. It didn't matter which dining spot he chose, it was always the same. As of the semi-finals in the previous year, it was very difficult not to attract a crowd of fans.

It came as a strange relief that Daamon felt inconvenienced by him. At least that how she acted. At least she wasn't paying him lip service while hoping to get something out of their exchange. He wished he could do something for her. Someone like her, she could have anything she wanted. If he understood the nature of the curse right, what she wanted was to be left alone. She wanted to die alone. No, she wanted to go alone, without worrying that others would be made to suffer because of her.

Or maybe he was inconveniencing her, and she lacked the tact to pretend that he wasn't. No, he definitely was. She had every right to be annoyed by him. Chin resting on his fist, he sulked.

It was difficult to gauge time while in the training program. The meat of their session happened so fast. But Daamon was intentional with taking her time with the initial setting, allowing Seth to make his mistakes, forgetting that the program was more than just a game. Adding demon data for the ghost in the machine probably made it more dangerous. As long as the ghost was contained there was nothing to worry about. He needed the training. He wondered when Astral would let him take on the challenge of fighting the demons. No, she wouldn't. It would be too risky. One false move and he wouldn't even make it to the killing fields. The concept was one thing, but training his body to move like hers, to deny gravity and use her world as a weapon, THAT is what he needed to learn. He'd ask her about it later.

He smirked at the thought of having to take beginners gymnastics. It was so contrary to what he had been led to believe about how to take on the demonic threat. Brute force alone would not keep him alive.

A buxom faux-blond took a seat across from him, chin perched on her the backs of her hands as she leaned forward. Her collar was undone, as were the next two buttons, but not nearly enough to give him a proper view of her ample cleavage. At least she was trying.

He made his selection at random, hoping that his offense would go unnoticed. He drew his eyes up to meet her hazel eyes. There was something wrong with those eyes, something he couldn't bring himself to trust. Her face mimicked the expected softness of a concerned peer, but her eyes were hard and focused.

"I want to offer my deepest sympathy for the ordeal you had to go through this summer," she drawled. The smile on her lips never slipped despite her tone suggesting that she shouldn't be so happy about whatever it was she was sorry for. It was a nice enough false smile; Seth decided, ignoring her next statement. It could for a second even pass for genuine. The mirror rehearsal time must have been agonizing.

"Noted," he replied when she looked at him expectantly. It was a good non-committal answer he thought.

"I just want you to know that if you need anything, anything at all, you can come directly to me, the captain of the entertainment committee, and I'll make it happen." She stroke his hand invitingly. He pulled his hand from her reach, subconsciously rubbing the back of it, erasing the sensory memory of her touch. "A good man like you needs to be appreciated."

"I appreciate your offer," he echoed. He'd seen her around. She was the pushy type who oozed self-confidence. If it weren't for her insecurities that caused her to bully and torment the girls she felt threatened by, she might have stood a chance to play a role in his temporary girlfriend slot. Given her status among the campus, and the general social importance of her committee, she obviously could handle herself against the competition. Cons: she didn't come across as secure enough to not feel threatened by Regina, Hope, Elle, Esmey, and Astral, who were all female members of his squad. On the personal side, he doubted that he would enjoy spending his off time with her. Something about her screamed NEEDY.

"You don't know my name, do you?" she bit her lower lip.

He smiled, hoping that his fake smile did better than hers. He tried picturing her as a scared little girl; it made it easier to sympathize with her though he felt his smile sadden. "I would love to know your name," he replied.

Her toothy smile was blinding. "It's Nicole."

"Nicole," he repeated.

"You mind if I join you?" she asked, "You looked like you could use the company."

He wished Astral were with him. Was Nicole at the cafe when he came in? Had they ordered or were they finishing up? 'Goddamnit! I need to pay attention!'

"Your food." A cloth napkin was placed on the surface of the table, along with his Egg Benedict on a toasted Panini. "Did you want something to drink?"

Seth looked to his server. William beamed at him. 'Great.' "Yes, water please. Are you able to talk? It's important." He knew he was going to kick himself for this stroke of inspiration. He hoped it was worth the risk.

William's brows furrowed and took a seat from a vacant table. "Yeah, sure."

"Could I get that water first?" He could probably finish the egg in under ten minutes, down the water then retreat to the Squad VII office. At least he could get some useful information out of William, assuming he could tone down the bad mouthing long enough to answer his questions.

"Yeah, sure," William nodded, dashing to the counter to pour a glass of filtered water.

"I'm sorry, I have to-" Seth point in William's general direction. "I should deal with this before it becomes an issue."

Nicole hid her indignation well. "Right. Yeah. Well... I guess, I'll see you around," her lips smiled as her eyes burned. She turned to join her drones, her hips swaying teasingly. He was sure her skirt wasn't to code. But then anyone who had a few credits and knew a student who had to take sewing could easily arrange to have the rules broken after the uniforms passed inspection.

"She's so hot," William cooed taking a seat across from Seth while taking in the finale of Nicole's saunter. "Is that skirt to code? Man, I love the girls here! So mature, you know what I mean."

Seth cringed, signaling for William to lower his voice.

"I'd love me a piece of that," he continued.

The squad captain prayed for a quick death.

"She wants you bad," he concluded.

"Please stop stating the obvious," Seth replied. "I'm not that kind of guy."

"Really?" William was the picture of confusion. He leaned in and whispered, "You're not into," he paused as though the next thought bothered him, "guys are you?"

Maybe Nicole's company wouldn't have been so bad. "Nnnnno," he replied slowly. He cut into his breakfast, cutting it into generous chunks. "I prefer the female sex," he thought he'd clarify.

"You're not into Astral are you?" This conversation was not going his way. "I mean I get it, I guess. She does have money, and if you married her, she could pay for your civil duties."

"It doesn't work that way," Seth grumbled, shoving a morsel of egg and bread into his mouth.

"Looked into it already huh," William winked. The captain realized that his grip on his fork had changed. With exaggerated care, he put down the utensils. Was eating with his hands a possibility with this meal? More importantly could he trust himself to not strangle the little bastard. Why was Astral even friends with him! "It's common knowledge. Such arrangements have lead to abusive contracts. Under no circumstance can one spouse pay for the release of the other. Same with corporate intervention. You can't get a sponsor to pay for your freedom, or else you're stuck in a situation of indentured servitude. You weren't thinking of trying any of that yourself, were you?" His hand hovered over the fork.

"With Astral? Hell no?!" William recoiled, complete with a show of gagging. "Any of that! Ick!" He shuddered again.

Seth chuckled. "It would be like marrying your sister?" he offered. Fork in hand, he resumed his meal.

"I guess," he shrugged. "Look, I wanted to say: no hard feelings. I get why you wanted Astral on your team. I just wanted a fair chance, that's all."

"That's very mature of you," the captain acknowledged, taking in another mouthful of food. The younger student beamed with pride.

"What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Clearwater," Seth decided. He suspected that if he brought up Astral's past he'd wind up with an exaggerated rendition of reality. "I remember my dad talking about Clearwater being wiped off the map a while back, I was wondering what happened." It was a lie of course. No one had heard of the incident, not alone remembered it. If it had happened at all, the ruling parties did everything in their power to hide it. But why?

William shook his head. "It's always been there. He must have meant another town. Unless... it was destroyed and rebuilt before I moved there when I was a kid." He laughed at the impossibility of the idea.

Never in the history of their nation has a city been successfully reclaimed from demonic forces. Why was Clearwater so special? Had it not been for Astral's reaction's to Seth's mentioning the incident, he would have passed off his nightmare as a manifestation of his stress.

As things stood, he felt like he had jumped back in time to witness that moment in her life. But why? Something had latched onto him in the dream state, he was there but not really. He wondered if he asked Astral about it, would she remember the boy who chased after her, warning her of the demon puppets posing as real people?

The timeline of events was hazy at best. He knew Astral had been in Clearwater during the attack. The town itself was well within the established safe zone, where demonic incidents could be controlled with the help of the Red Order. Astral had been a child at the time, and likely there before William moved to the city with his family. The incident had to have taken place five to ten years ago. That's a lot of time to cover. But would it have been enough time to cleanse and rebuild?

"How long have you known Astral then?" Seth asked bracing himself for a tirade.

To his surprise William shrugged. "About as long, I guess. Dad was taking care of her when I got there." The teen's smile faded as he retreated into the memory. "I remember being so angry with that little twerp. In my ten-year-old brain, she was the reason why my dad couldn't be around. There he was, taking care of this kid this whole time when he should have been taking care of me. No, instead he left me and my sister to fend for ourselves at the monastery."

William was a child of the Red Order, Seth realized. That meant he was either an orphan of a demon raid or the son of a Hunter. Maybe Astral's version of events wasn't as bad as she made it out to be. Given that William's father was alive and well, maybe being a Hunter didn't put everyone around him in jeopardy.

Seth could understand William's resentment. How would he react if he found out his mother was secretly alive and raising another family? He'd be hurt, he knew that much. It would be difficult not to resent his half-siblings. "So Astral's your half sister?"

William sneered. "God, no! Turns out her dad and my dad were friends. And supposedly her dad got killed in a demon attack a while back. He was supposed to be just taking care of her until her gramps got things set up in Serenity. But every year like clockwork, she turns up. And now she's here. I can't get rid of her!" Exasperated, the teen fell back into his seat, crossed his arms over his chest and pouted.

Seth wondered if there was a correlation between Astral having to return to Clearwater yearly and the town's destruction. "Shouldn't she have been sent to the Order if that's the case," he wondered.

William shrugged. "I guess, but that's only like if family doesn't want to take them in. I can't blame them really. I heard that if you survive a demon raid, the demon who killed your family latches on to you, calling more demons to where ever you are." It sounded a lot like the Hunter's Curse. "Astral's gramps obviously thinks she wasn't anywhere near her father when he bit it."

It sounded like the Red Order was spreading misinformation to collect orphans, quite possibly training the children to become Hunters. No tears shed for the cursed. They likely reasoned that the sacrifice carried less weight than the Council's civil duties. The orphans would spend a lifetime Hunting while normal people would spend four years attempting to survive the killing fields. It didn't make sense, wouldn't the surviving veterans have demons latch onto them just like the orphans? If the veterans were safe to return home, psychological damage and all, then that must mean that Astral's version of the curse was closer to the truth. Did that mean that she had a demon latch onto her when she killed her first demon? Was her second shadow the remnant of the beast she slew?

"Something wrong?" William drummed his fingers on the table. "Was it something I said?"

Seth shook his head and force himself to smile past his discomfort. "You'll be applying for the Apprenticeship program." He meant it as a question, but it came out as an order.

To his surprise William snorted, barely containing his own cynicism. "I guess, but what's the point. I don't want to have to answer why my dad thinks I'm too useless to even recommend for basic training. Not that I want to spend two years of my life doing nothing but getting yelled at by some dried up old prune."

"You've looked into it, I assume," Seth offered his best polite smile, noting that his plate was empty. It didn't sound like William would have picked up on anything useful to help him survive Astral's lessons. He was grateful. The idea of spending time with William was about as appealing as spending an evening talking with Nicole.

"You know what," William decided, "I'm going to apply. It's not like the Red Order needs guardian approval if I pass the preliminary exams. They'll take anyone who has the talent. I've got to get back to work. Thanks, Seth." William grabbed Seth's plate and dashed toward the kitchen.

The captain recognized a blessing when he saw one and made a quick retreat to the exit before anyone else decided to impose their company on him. He had a lot to do before meeting with his squad.