What has he gotten himself into?

Loukas felt as if he had placed 70 pounds of weight upon his shoulders after that night. He felt like he betrayed that little voice in his head telling him what he was doing was wrong. It was scummy, shady, he would even go as far as to outright call it manipulative.

That was his intentions what so ever, but it all happened so fast and he simply was not smart enough to keep up or think of anything else.

He splashes water on his face from his bathroom sink and buttoned up his long-sleeve button-up shirt, brought to him, much to his reluctance via a maid. He preferred to dress himself, but even that was not allowed for him.

As guilty as he felt, he knew he had little choice. Or just once again he simply could not think of anything else. Yes, taking advantage of a guy in such a vulnerable position, whilst dragging his uninvolved friend was scummy and awful but if he had not taken advantage they would have honestly not even glanced at him.

He does not blame them.

Hide had already made up his mind on what he was doing, and Carole had to make that weird deal for her to even consider working with him.

To think without his 'gift' he would have gotten shot and killed, and those two would have gotten back to what they were doing.

He tried to ignore this knawing feeling and scrubbed, brushed his sharp pointed teeth. Things he had only recently grown to tolerate.

Why did he have to work with such troublesome people?

He did not know Carole all that well, other than occasional hellos and goodbyes, but he had experience with dealing with Hide.

Cheap apple perfume smelling guy.

His mind drifted as he scrubbed his teeth and swirled the minty mouthwash in his cheeks.

To think he had only met that man a year ago. Blood dripped down his nose. His most likely soft upper lip swollen from a recent fight. Messy soft fluffy white hair decorated with his horns and ears. That sharp gaze that more or less pierced daggers at anyone before they even said one hello. Despite fact Loukas himself towers over him, the man had the guts, after biting him for trying to help with his bloody nose, to flash him that grin.

The sweet copper smelling blood leaked from Hide's nose that day, as he greeted him with his smile. Loukas remembered feeling all so very…. frustrated… yes that’s the word people like his brother would use for people like Hide, right?

Very frustrating and difficult. Loukas then realized he was biting onto the tip of his finger again during his thoughts and felt the need to splash more water onto his face just to cool off.

He was spacing out again. He should have stopped by now.

“Loukas!” said a young petulant voice accompanied by the tapping of shoes across the hall. Mercifully breaking Loukas from his usual musing.

Loukas then let out a soft sigh as went over to the direction of the voice, if only to get his mind off what he purposely got himself into.

The source of the voice was Enok, Loukas' youngest brother. He's lips drawn into its usual pout. He looked like he was about to scream in frustration at whatever might be next to upset him.

He was going to be changing this moody guy with the usual technique.

Loukas gave him a warm, brotherly smile as he crouched down to the young boy.

“Night, my Lil E,” he said, already ruffling the pre-teen’s hair.

Enok pouted and shook Loukas’ handoff and let out a whiny, “Loui! I'm 14, not a kid anymore.”

“Are you now? You’re saying you're an adult already?,” Loukas covered his mouth with an exaggerated display of shock, “I take my eyes off you for one second and you're already filling law school applications.”

“No, of course not,” despite Enok’s act, it was clear he was enjoying his older brother’s teasing as his attempt of a grumpy face failed as his frowning corners were twitching upwards.

“I mean..,” The boy nervously looked away and then around his room and the doorway entrance to make sure no one was there.

“You promise not to tell anyone,”

“Cross my heart, I have no one to tell, anyway.”

Really no one he ever talks to anymore, except for Hide, but doubtful he would care about family stuff. That girl he had more or less stopped his chats with her once he felt too emotionally tired to continue with that courtship. Better for her in the long run.

Enok then looked down at the floor, this time with embarrassment.

“Good, Well I know I’m supposed to get ready for bed but I need my warm glass of milk first,” he said.

Loukas scratched his head a bit confused, “Um... Okay, you could just ask our maids to get it for you or even Erna to-”

Enok immediately cut him off, “I made a stupid bet with that jerk. I said I can go to bed without cus I'm too old for it,” He then gestures Loukas to bring his ear and he whispers, “And you know that he’s all chummy with our maids he would get info from them the slimeball.”

Loukas now got the full picture. He had to use all his self-control to stop himself from outright laughing at it all on the spot. He smirked and asked, “So you want me to get you that and lie about you going a whole night without it, right?”

Enok smiled at Loukas’ understanding, “exactly!”

Loukas was half tempted to tell him that Erna probably would have forgotten the bet he put himself and just found the whole thing silly. But he will not ruin these kids' fun like that.

Loukas then put his hand to his chest and said in the best hero voice he could muster, “Don’t worry Lil E. Sir Knight Loui shall arrive with your treasured milk. You have my word.”

Enok doubled over laughing at his stupid act, “Loui, that was corny.”

As he left the room he gave Enok a wink, “Corny yet knights never reveal secrets now do they?”

Now, with a more light-hearted mood, Loukas had decided to prepare the preferred and more special, warm milk with honey. A Simple yet lovely drink before bed.

The only people out at this time in the night were maids and servants milling around to clean the carpets and wipe down the furniture. Loukas gave them a friendly wave and greeting despite their non-responses.

He then entered the kitchen area and began his preparation. Warming of some fresh milk over a steady flame as he carefully added bits of cinnamon and vanilla, filling the room with an alluring aroma. Finally, the honey was stirred into the pot of warmed foaming milk and he poured the drink into a tall glass. He always had to be a little extra when it came to food, so once he was done he still felt something was off.

Missing something...

Loukas placed a stick of cinnamon into the drink for both taste and aesthetics, letting out a smile at the captivating scent of the mild vanilla. As simple as it was, he felt his nerves calmed as he prepared this drink. Even as a more energetic child, when he cooked with his mother, he never felt tense or upset as he made those ingredients into meals that made him and the people he loved smile.

The drink as lovely as it looked and smelt was a bit too hot to drink at the moment without burning a tongue. He picked it and then proceeded towards the Enok’s room again.

However, before he could make his way, something else caught his attention.

Or more specifically someone.

It was his now associate and ally, Carole, sitting at a table alone.

He felt a small sting of concern as, despite only herself being there, there were bottles and bottles of various alcohols at the table

She could not be drinking all of that, right?

He decided Enok could wait for a bit as he approached her from behind as he saw on closer inspection, some bottles were empty.

She must have been sitting there for a while by now.

Despite her usually stiff and proper nature, she slumped over the desk with her hair somehow even messier than before as she grabbed the bottle by the neck and gulped it down.

Loukas was not exactly sure what to say or to do but to just approach and against his better judgement tap her gently on the shoulder.

Either the girl was a lot jumpier than he thought or all that alcohol in her system affected her significantly at this point. She swerved around meeting him in the eyes swiftly. Her paranoid face turned to one of dull annoyance.

He made sure not to spill the hot drink from the sudden movement as Carole made a noise similar to a low growl and rested her face onto her palm.

“what do you want?” she said, eyeing a lazy glare at him. He now realized this may be the first time he stopped to have a conversation with her. Her face at this point had a flushed redness to it. Most likely from all the ingested alcohol.

Never got the appeal of those kinds of drinks, mostly because of his ability he was aware of his higher than average tolerance to to them. A blessing to him personally. He already seen what alcohol does to people at times.

Loukas cleared his throat and wondered whether to bring up the obvious issue, but decided against it. It would be very rude, you know.

“S-sorry about that, I just wonder what you are doing right now, cus it very late, and..um I-I see no one around,” Small talks, best not bring up the elephant in the room with the deal between themselves. Best not to mention it.

Carole then lowered her head to the table, and he thought he saw her, rolled her eyes.

“You know….. it's rude to sneak up from behind a girl…..you know,” she slurred out

Loukas rubbed the back of his neck as he bit his lower lip.

“I guess so, um, I still just wanted to make sure you were okay, and you weren't moving and I thought-”

“I’m not dead..” She said flatly

That gave Loukas a pause before he couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle at her affirmation.

“I guess you’re not, dead people don’t talk back.”

“You spoke to dead bodies before?” she wrinkled an eyebrow.

Loukas chuckle grew into a light laugh, “Oh wow, now that’s a question. Who knows?”

Carole shrugs, “And you didn’t even answer humph,”

Carole then picked a cream liquor bottle, this time deciding to pour it into a small shot glass. She stared at it and then back at him before handing it out to him.

“Want some?”

Loukas was about to refuse, he never liked the taste of alcohol, and right now he felt there was a problem with the girl, to be drinking so much, but for politeness’ sake, he said a simple thank you and took an obligatory sip from the drink.

It was... unpleasant, creamy, yet strong. It might as well be bitter gasoline with thick milk. He had no desire to drink more.

Carole then turned back towards the table as he set the drink down. He bites the inside of his cheek before asking, “Um, so you’re celebrating anything… right now?”

“My 25th birthday..”

“Really?”

She scoffs, “Of course not, it isn’t worth celebrating”

“Oh... sorry.”

Carole shook her head as she set the bottle down, “First off stop this apology game you’re doing, only do it there’s something worth apologising over.”

Taken aback from her bluntness, he said, “S-sorry, I mean I guess I sh-should.”

Carole rested her head onto her palm, “Good, you’re…. I can guess an adult... those kinds of apologies… Will just get you eaten alive..”

Loukas gave a light nervous laugh, “I guess I should keep that in mind. Teachers have that kinda intuition, right?”

Carole pours out another glass, this time adding some ice, “You can say that..... if you want to...”

“I g-guess maybe...um.. maybe y-your ability must be that right? G-good instincts. Very good stuff. Cus I..um heard you're an angel so. Good instincts is you're skills.”

Loukas tried very hard to cheer up the angel woman, however he immediately regretted his jest response. The girl’s previously drunken demeanour, thou was stoic and dry, had this light-heartedness to it. After he spoke she froze and maybe it was just in his head, but that light-heartedness disappeared as soon as those words left his mouth.

“That.. was a joke, right?” She asked.

“Um... yeah?, I’m s-sorry I didn’t mean to offend you,” Loukas forgetting their previous conversation, “I just never met an angel before and I heard they usually had an ability, b-but I-”

“Stop it... I have none now and never had any ever.” she said, staring at her drink as the ice melts.

“That’s... I don’t think powers matter too much thou... It shouldn’t matter. Ildens is still standing anyway. S-so it doesn't matter.”

“I used to think that.” she said wistfully as she twirled the glass in her hand.

Loukas opened his mouth to say something else, but Carole cut him off with a, “Don’t you have somewhere else to be?”

Loukas at this point felt it best to give the girl some space for now, as clearly unadvised as it was. He still had a task he had to do, thus he slipped back to his little brother’s room with the now fairly warmed drink.

Talking to girls really was harder than it looked at the end of movies... Or people in general.

Enok annoyed by the amount of time he took to get to the milk, but that initial annoyance got replaced with elation as he drank down the entire glass.

Loukas, despite Enok’s affirmation of being 'too old', tucked the boy in and gave a playful kiss on the forehead.

“Loui!”

“Good night Lil E,” Loukas was trying his best not to laugh at the embarrassment before turning off the light and closing the door.

Okay, now he had to get himself to sleep. Tomorrow was another day so he needed to wake up early, he had to... meet some people. However, his curiosity got the better of him as he went to check on the very odd angel girl.

He expected her to have long gone to her room by now leaving only multiple empty bottles as evidence of her previous presence.

To his dismay, a vaguely familiar sight was in front of him. The hair of the girl lay sprawled upon the desk, face buried on the table itself, not moving, either passed out or on the verge of passing out.

He could not leave a lady like that alone. He came up to her again and shook her shoulder, “Hey, Carole?”

All he got in response was a groan and an incomprehensible, slurred mumbling.

He let out a heavy sigh and picked her up and placed her upon his back. Carole must have woken up with that sudden motion as he felt a punch in the back and a “what the hell?”

He said nothing, as he walked back to where he heard, her assigned room was. Staffers usually have them so neatly labeled.

All the while her confused mumbling and ranting quiet down along with her movement.

It was a strangely silent trip back at first, until Carole asked, “Why are you…. even doing this… deal?”

The deal to get rid of his aunt?

He wanted to avoid that topic, so much. To never have it cross his mind.

“Well, to help Hide,” He said.

It was the truth.

“I’m not stupid... Loui... I know there’s another motive… or you could have just overruled her.. you're the prince around here after all... Don’t give me that.”

Prince...

Prince of what?...

Prince of what?...

Loukas felt a squirming feeling in his chest, she’s a lot more talkative when drunk. He bit into his lower lip.

She was not exactly wrong either.

He craned his neck forwards and expected the girl to drunkenly flop on his back. There was not much of a point in answering her, nor he was obligated to do so. Not like she would remember whatever he had to say.

However, her purple eyes gaze sharply at him, well as sharp as it was possible in her current state. He disliked it, honest, painful, and searching. Her eyes were an odd feature, from what he heard, most angels had pretty eyes. But, he never got to see one up close.

He doubts any of them had her distinct ringed purple iris.

He took on a more playful tone and gave her a bounce on his back, causing the girl to let out an uncharacteristic squeak.

"W-what the... hell," she said

Loukas gave a light laugh, "Oh nothing."

It was honestly cute.

A good distraction.

He bit down on his lower lip and he walked. He then heard a sigh from behind as he felt some hands grip the back of his shirt.

“Fine, whatever…” a soft slurred voice said back to him, “You keep your things... I keep mine... doesn’t matter.”

…

“My aunt and uncle more or less raised me and my brothers, especially after our mom died,” he might as well.

“My Uncle was my mom’s brother and he... wasn’t pleasant. I mean he was kinda when I was younger but... things happen and it stopped being so pleasant.” He was not going into that, he does not want to think a single thing about it. He barely remembers anyway, and he did not wish to remember.

“My aunt, although she was not blood-related and got pretty involved with our family stuff. If I can get her kicked out permanently, my brothers no longer have to interact with her like that… Calling her mom,” His voice grew unusually fierce despite himself, “She’s not mom and would never be mom. I have no idea why anyone can see her as-”

“What was your mom like?”

The question came out of nowhere, Carole really was drunk. He took a sigh as he came to her door, “A wonderful woman,” he said, “who deserved so much better.”

“Your dad?”

“I don’t know…. He's there.”

“Oedipus complex,” she muttered as he set her down gently onto her bed. A soft laugh escaped his lips, “Rude to say to a guy who just loves his mom.”

She let out a groan from his response, messy black hair plastered to her face, and she just laid there. Loukas winced at the thought of the hangover she’s gonna wake up to. She was not drinking any water during that binge, most likely.

Maybe one day they can have a proper conversation whilst she’s sober.

Maybe...

He got up, moved to the door, and was about to exist for the night, but he heard a softly muttered question that he had no desire to answer as he shut the door.

“How do your brothers feel about you taking out that woman?”

And of course, he just shut the door.

He did not have to answer that.