Huh? Loulou, Carole turned, and she then saw that familiar face.

Loukas was standing in that doorway. Although he was trying to appear friendly and casual, there was a clear nervousness in his motions as he slowly approached from the pair's only means of escape.

Carole’s own eyes scanned the room for every exit, for every possible plan to move away from him and out of this house. Although by his genuine, somewhat nervous smile he may not be a complete threat, she was not taking any chances.

Hide however tensed, he clenched his fist as his eyes grew wide like a deer caught in headlights.

Loukas cleared his throat, “Um.. s-sorry a-about that, you see I-”

Without a second to spare the sound of a gun click echoed and before Carole knew it Hide was standing slightly away from them holding that same pistol aimed at either Loukas or herself as his once wide eyes narrowed showcasing little mercy.

“Hildmire! What are you doing?” Carole's automatic response as dumb as it was. It was obvious what he was doing, but what else she could have said?

“Hide..” Loukas' voice though tinged with his usual agitation was oddly calm considering the situation.

“Not a single one of you assholes move Mah!,” Hide growled at the two baring his teeth that shrill gloat bleat escaped his mouth, “Do I look fucking stupid? I know exactly what this is.”

Despite herself she just asked, “Really and what it is?”

Hide pointed the gun to her, “You told creepy princely kid about me,” he then turned the gun more to Loukas direction, “And now he’s coming to ruin everything I worked so fucking hard for!”

His voice grew in pitch and desperation as his normally childish demeanor had completely erased, leaving only desperation as he continued his rant and brayed.

“I knew I should have never trusted you, I should have known you would conspire against me! I should have known you-”

“Of course, I didn’t conspire for anything. I had no idea I had a stalker until tonight,” Carole pointed to Loukas. She just wanted Hide to take that weapon off her.

“St-stalker?!,” Loukas appalled at the notion, “N-no, I’m not here for that at all, I just. I just followed you two because I wanted to talk and I-”

Loukas approached as he talked to Hide like he was a frightened animal. Hide with ears flattened against his head as back away with each step.

“I have no desire to hurt you, or turn you in or anything at all,” his smile like his tone was gentle. “I... I n-needed some help and um... that's why I followed Carole down here.” He turned to her and gave her an apologetic look, “Sorry it came off that way, it wasn’t my intention, but just really I needed the help...”

Just as it looked as if Hide was about to calm down and put away his gun, a sound of a thump from mostly further away caused all desperation and panic returned.

The gun must have had a silencer on it because though there was a bang, it wasn’t as deafening as what she expected from a pistol.

That did not, however, change the fact that a trigger got pulled and both Hide and Carole’s eyes turned to the direction of where the bullet should have went.

Guns are such annoying things. Loud... just loud things that had no other purpose. Very limited tools. However, they did their job well and very few things can do what guns can do as efficiently.

Despite this, despite their efficiency, Loukas just stood there. Instead of flopping down upon the floor dead or collapsing from the pain of a clear bullet in his chest area, he just stood there wide-eyed with astonishment, more at the fact Hide shot him than his survival of said shot.

His lips pulled back into the same grimace showcasing all his needle sharp teeth, as all Hide and Carole could do is watch and gawk in silence.

“... Y… Y-you really shouldn’t ha-have done that..,” he stuttered out, his hand went under his now bloodied shirt, “You could have alerted people of where w-we are. I-I’m honest, I m-made sure no one followed me.”

As he let out a sharp hiss before taking out his hand from his shirt showcasing within his bloodied fingertips the small bullet. “That still hurts..,” he muttered, the tall man let out a sigh as he lapped at his bloodied fingers to clean them with his tongue, allowing the now removed bullet to land onto the ground.

Carole and Hide found themselves during this entire display moving closer and closer to each other whilst moving further and further away from this clearly inhuman man. Carole just stared, her eyes now scanning and reviewing anyway and opening to get away, while Hide lowered his gun as the two made some distance between themselves and Loukas.

Loukas now noticing their apprehension blinked, bite down on his bloody fingertip, “I... I guess I have some explaining to do, right?”

Yes... more than some...

“You, think!" Carole at this point appreciated the shorter man’s bluntness.

“What the fuck are you? How can you brush that shit off, Ma!?" He bleated out, once again a small shrill bleating came out at the end of his sentance.

Strangely enough, despite Hide’s obvious anxiety and general anger at Loukas, Carole could almost hear a slight tone of... awe from him.

Not that she blamed him. Despite her own fearfulness she could not properly express, she was more... curious, along with well placed fear.

Maybe her head just isn’t on right tonight.

Loukas brushed away a lock of hair from his eye, “I’m... I'm human...ish, Its um.. easier,” his tone was melancholic as he twirled that pendant in his hands.

“To produce the ventis the heir of here tends to aquire some… traits... I guess it's just better resistance to things, and not easily killed is mine...I think…”

Loukas shook his head as he tried to smile but it came off very fake… maybe a lot of his smiles were like that, “B-but if you wanted to kill me I guess you can cut off my head, m-maybe that would work.”

“Okay, Answer my question honestly for once. Do you even know what your family does down here?” Carole asked, she at this point wanted to know.

Loukas bit his lower lip in hesitation before grimly shaking his head, “Only a bit, I know about the smoke things... recently. I know about some of these secret rooms. But of course never directly involved.”

“First time I was ever in this room… first time I’m down here on my own,” he muttered.

“Oh yeah, I believe that soooo convincing,” Hide was not buying a word from him. Carole herself could not believe a single word he just said, however, despite his claims of ignorance she remembered the phone call and the pamphlet.

“Give me a second…”

She thus cautiously went towards the cabinet where she left it while Hide intensely focused on both of them and Loukas himself watched in confusion. She hobbled towards the cabinet, pick up the pamphlet and drop it on the ground in front of Loukas.

“Do you have any idea about this? Or you’re just as ignorant as ever?” Carole did not mean to speak so harshly to the man, but after seeing him more or less turn out to be some... thing, it was difficult to keep her apprehension out from her tone.

“What the hell are you talking about weird eyes?”

“I doubt you would know the church of flesh and blood,” She ignored the even more irritating nickname and kept her focus on Loukas, “So...do you? Or that’s another thing you have no idea about.”

Something about the church felt... familiar, but she mostly just got her information about it from rumours and gossip...

Why did she feel so nostalgic about it?

... Since when did she care so much about some random church?

Her head... hurts... from the name...

“Well, of course, I heard of it, Carly. I’m not some ignorant dumbass,” Hide glowered back at her, “It's some cult that believes in resurrection and necromancy and some messed up version of the Orbis and his disciples.”

Carole nodded, “yeah, cannibalism, beliefs in raising the dead, preservation of the soul,” She shook her head, “all-around a stereotypical cult."

As they talked about cult Loukas’ confusion grew as if they were speaking another language.

“W-wait, wait, wait, what are you two talking about?” Carole at that point was about to use that as her answer but what Loukas said next made her pause leaving them the ones staring.

“I know its name is..off, but it's more referring to like the Orbis’ metaphorical flesh and blood you know. Its..isn’t that bad…”

“Excuse me..,” was what slipped out of Carole’s mouth.

“I mean,” Loukas continued, “The tales are a lot more morbid compared to the original but they are more morality tales, a bit extreme but it’s never fully into practice around here. Mass is pretty typical any other church I heard but other than that-”

She could not believe it. The human, well human right now is debatable, but this equivalent of a big friendly dog is a member of that church.

It just seemed outright contradictory.

Although he seemed more just to have been the 'born into' types and most likely not involved in the more extremist sectors.

The fact of the matter is that the richest, most powerful family in Ildens is a part of this cult and that is a horrifying concept to grasp.

Hide looked at Loukas with a hint of barely hidden disgust and just asked, “What do you want?”

Loukas flinched at the harsh tone and pointed to Hide and said, “If you want out of here… j-just getting rid of that collar would not do it... Th-they have your name and everything on that record. They will hunt you down... My Aunt is the one in charge of it.”

“So what? I’m getting the hell out and no one’s gonna stop m-”

“She probably already knows about its removal,” He said with that now unsettling calm aura. “And right now she is probably figuring out whether to put you down and make you into those failures called smokes now or later.”

Loukas usually exudes this aura of warmth and kindness is was refreashing in such a cold place. However, there was little of this warmth. It was oddly chilly, and this sudden change in behaviour to took the two aback.

He must have relized this as he features soften swiftly from that almost uncharacteristic shift as he bite down at his thumb.

Did..did he looked guilty?

Or it was just her.

Carole turned to Hide and his eyes firmly fixed in a glare as his hands clenched into fists, his gun still aimed but his finger was no longer on the trigger, he was just gripping the gun handle.

He knew Loukas was right and hated him for it, probably.

“What..do..you..want,” She might as well get to the point.

Loukas took a deep breath. The atmosphere was tense and whatever he had to say next could change the direction the three would go.

He gave the fierce goat-man a sympathetic look, still casually knawed at his finger tips, a nervous tic, and said, “I want you to be free but you two have to work with me on this.”

“Well, I believe that’s a load of Bullshit! Why should I trust a rich creep and little Mrs 'I have more knives than a fucking butcher'!”

He is not letting that go now, is he?

“I concur,” She finally said, “You haven’t given us a reason. Why should we consider working with you? I have even less of a reason to work with either you two”

True, she was more or less blackmailed into even being here. What she had to gain from this, anyway?

“How about m..m-my reason, I...I want you two to help me get my Aunt ...to reason with this...She the main person who owns you...if she and her associates… got into some issues, and..those files stating Hide's debt mysterious went missing. Who can say you two know anything about this basement?... Especially with my word.” he explained.

“And What are these issues gonna do?” Hide seemed to have a knack for asking the questions that first spring to mind.

Loukas looks down at the ground with an odd sense of grimness, “They will cut you off from the Asbjorn family, removed from our sect at church. Since she’s not related by blood, it is much easier to get this done, such as... consistent thievery from our wealth or chatting too much with outsiders and getting caught up thier ways.”

So it is as culty as they thought.

“Has she ever done those things?” by the way he phrased it, Carole, at this point already had her suspicions.

He bit down on his lower lip as he could not bring himself to look at her and just said, “n-no… but that’s where you two come in…”

“Hide’s good with computers… with my access he could fudge and forage some files and documents... Carole could make for a good cover… as someone not involved, you can go up to people like Mr Rosmous, and many others and lie.. lie about the people you saw her with… casual lies. rumours, you know. People already doubt her, having rumours circulating can make this quicker and more conclusive. I mean.... I mean it can make her more able to reasin with and...”

Carole was... impressed by the amount of thought put into it. Loukas seemed like a slightly airheaded guy, but this plan had a lot of care behind it.

It was...as if he had been planning it for a long while. There was a clear, shaky nervousness in his voice as he spoke.Who would put that much thought into a plan to just help one person out for kindness?

Something wasn’t right.

Hide also showcased a complete fascination with the plan, with his once fierce features now softened. Maybe it was the plan itself, or maybe it was the fact someone will do all this for him even betray family. He shook his head, and it went back to its usual stance as he gave a mocking smile.

“Well, well, looks like the pretty little rich boy had found some sense. But I ask you, what do you get out of it?”

Loukas bit down on the tip of his finger as if this was something he had not thought about.

“I... I haven’t… thought about it… I...” he closed his eyes.

“You… You hate your aunt, right?” Loukas’ eye opened as if the thought only now just occurred to him. “… I guess that's as good of a reason as any,” Hide lowered his gun and put it back into his pocket.

Carole stared intensely at the two, both getting something out of it. While she got nothing. Maybe Lucky was on to something when she said she just gets herself into neutral/lose situations. Either she succeeds, and she’s right back where she was or fails, loses everything.

The only thing she wins out of this game is a clear consciousness, but such a thing is an abstract concept rather than something she physically gets. However, the church of flesh and blood came to her mind and made her stomach churn. Now that she thought about it, hearing about his Aunt and the church gave her that slight feeling of mildly burning decay.

“What’s your aunt’s name?,” She asked, catching Loukas off guard.

“Huh?”

“Damn Carly, the big reveal, and that’s what you’re asking?” Hide groaned.

“I ask… what is her name?” Carole reiterated

“Um... Mrs Laura V Asbjorn,” Loukas said, still not sure what to make of the question.

Like a match. As soon as she heard that name, that burning feeling of decay came back with full force as something, almost feeling like a memory, was trying to claw its way from her head. It was a word, just at the tip of her tongue. What she wasn’t aware of was the fact she was swaying as she found herself braced by the surprising Hide of all people.

Never would have thought.

“What the hell! Don’t pass out now angel girl. Not the right time”

?

Carole reached up to her face and realized that her nose leaked that fluid again and her cheeks felt like she had been smiling.

Interesting…

Loukas had no clue what was going on or what to do, just seemed uncomfortable as he wrung his hands and asked, “Are you… okay?”

Then it came to her what she needed to know. She had to know about the very thing drawing her into whatever hell these two were in or going to.

“If I’m gonna help you, I want you to take me to your church building… That is my request,” She said.

“So… do we have a deal?”