Chapter 6: Chapter 6 – Love you

"Lieutnant Davies speaking. We don't have any rifters on duty available, but one said she can pick the client up for a fee of fifeen gold coins."

Ross puts the speaker to his mouth and replies. "I received the message, please wait for the client's reply." He looks up at me with raised eyebrows. "There is a rifter offering to take you for fifteen gold coins. Are you fine with it?" I nod and he puts the speaker back to his mouth. "The clients agreed. When and where will the transport be?"

"Now." Says a distinctly girly voice from behind me, but it's strange, kinda dissonant as if a few voices were overlapping.

I drop to all fours in alarm, jumping from the seat, and turn to the person. I haven't even heard she was coming!

I look at the... girl, from the looks of it, and I almost drop my guard in amazement. She is incredibly, almost inhumanly beautiful. Sharp face, piercing, vibrant violet eyes, long hair black like abyss, and snow white skin mostly hidden under a loose cloak covering her rather frail frame.

"Uuuh, the... the rifter is already here, sir. Over." Ross says awkwardly from my side as I stand up, but still don't fully drop my guard.

"Pardon the abrupt arrival." She says in this same incredible voice. "I'm Violet, an independent rifter, you could say. Pleased to meet you." She smiles charmingly and I shake my head.

A rifter? I don't believe there's a damn rift in this tent, putting aside how the hell did she come here without making any sound.

"Hm, Vesper, was it? That girl is way too irresponsible, just like with Helia." She says with a frown and I respond with the same, merely in confusion. "Ah, sorry, I'm talking to myself sometimes. You said you wanted to go to Raphlesia to your family, right?"

"...I did." I nod. "And I assume that's what you're here for, but I'm confused as to why are you here right now."

"Oh, I just don't like formalities, okay?" The girl rolls her eyes in a suprisingly casual gesture I totally didn't expect from her serious demeanor. "I'd rather take you there now and be done with it than go through all the procedures, checks, and whatever else."

"...Okay, that's fair. And you said the fee is fifteen gold?"

"Yup! You have enough to pay?"

"Sure, I do. Isn't this a bit much though?" I ask with raised eyebrows.

"You can say the raised price is for quickness." Violet says with a wide smile and I stay silent for a long while.

"Well, I can't refute that." I finally reply and turn to Ross, who is staring at us and looks as if he really wanted to say something, but didn't know if he should. "Would it be alright if we go now? Because that's your intention, I assume." I direct the last sentence at the girl, who nods her head.

"Ah, I mean, alright, sure." Ross says with his cheeks reddening, though I can't say if the reason is Violet or stumbling over his words. Or both.

"Then we'll be going~!" The girl says enthusiastically and steps up to me, and the tent disappears, replaced by a weird space with irregularly strewn around amazing amount of tiny, shining dots. Beautiful...

"Hey, don't go spacing out now." I hear and shake my head, looking at the girl still holding me by my hand.

"Um, where are we?" I ask in confusion.

I remember hearing that the rifts are, put in very unscientific way, tight tunnels that are artificially widened by rifters to allow safe passage. That's not a tight tunnel, no matter how you look at it.

"Ah, that's none of your concern." She grins. "I'm taking you to your girlfriend, and then my job is done. Ah, but, I can't drop you near her, you'll need to find her by yourself."

"Huh?" I let out in surprise. "I never said-."

"Also, what you are sensing is indeed vitality, but it's also soul. You absorb more of it, enlarging your soul and gaining power. But remember that only strain and tear can let you do that. Till we meet again, dear." She says and I suddenly see the real world before me, a some sort of dirty alley with bustling street visible at its end.

I look at my hand which was a moment ago held by hers unnaturally cold one and blink in confusion. I turn around, but there is no sign of the girl.

What just happened? I mean... just... what?

I didn't even pay...

Wait, gimme a moment. First she said she's taking me to my girlfriend, but I don't remember telling Ava's my girlfriend to anyone recently. That would most likely mean that she already knew me and Ava, but the problem is that I don't know her. I've got no damn idea who she is and what her motivations are.

Then she said that I'm sensing not only vitality, but also soul, which is a bit strange, because I am pretty sure they are completely separate concepts and I sense only one thing. Unless there is something about vitality that can tell me about souls. Maybe the shape of the orbs? Or their size? That sounds likely.

Hm, I feel something tugging on my mind that says I'm correct. So vitality is what, filling the soul? Yeah, sounds good. So like the size of the vitality orb is directly proportional to the size of the soul, and the saturation of the vitality is its quality, meaning how much it has been used up. Hm.

But then she said that absorbing vitality enlarges my soul and increases my strength. So that would probably mean that... I am able to grow in power as a Chaos Touched?

I blink in surprise at that. I mean, it's possible for Touched to grow in strength, but most of them are Touched like Vampires or Succubi who gain power by drinking people's blood or other means. Though they are very rare and most of them is, incidentally, killed on sight, because people have very bad memories of them.

But growing in strength as a Vulpes... that's a bit... weird. Hm. Shit, nope, I'll think about it later.

Violet also said that only strain and tear will allow me to grow. Hm. I might be jumping to conclusions there, but isn't it like with physical training? You need to exert yourself to get any substantial results. Though... if I was to take it literally... I need to strain my vitality? Or soul.

...Shit, that sounds dangerous at the very least. But also not?

And then, till we meet again. That heavily implies we will meet again in the future.

Though there is one thing my mind kinda skipped, which is pretty much the most important thing. She knew about my ability. I never told it to anyone. She knew it, but logically there was no way she could have known.

Damn. But, on the other hand... she helped me. Or, actually, before I jump to conclusions, where the hell am I?

For now I'm going to label Violet as a fluffy, volatile pillow, meaning very nice, but potentially very dangerous. I don't want to label her as an enemy, and I probably won't have to, but with her behavior, knowledge, and abilities, I can't say I feel safe with her.

But I'll think about it later. For now... I'm going to find Ava.

...

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I stand in front of the large building and honestly, I'd be staring dumbly if I didn't care how I look in public and didn't quickly collect myself. The sign on the front door says 'Venus's refugee office', which means, to put short, the place that manages refugees from Venus. This building will probably be repurposed again after the refugees are all taken care of.

From what I see, I'm in Raphlesia. I don't recognize the area, but I've been in the city a few times and I see the huge Chaos Towers in the center, which are where General Chaos Management has their offices. And it's no particular surprise considering that Raphlesia is the third largest city.

Well, anyway, let's go in. No point wasting time when I can get to know where's Ava.

So I walk through the large rotary door and look around the large hall, quickly spotting the reception in the middle with a few people manning the long, currently mostly unoccupied table. There are only three other there right now, which is pretty surprising the number of refugees, but there might be something I'm not aware of.

Either way, I approach a bored-looking young woman on one end of the table and she looks up at me with interest. She is a Touched as well, as I distinctly see her black cat ears, and she gives off a casual, relaxed vibe. Her vitality is rather large, on fourth level, and pretty vibrant, meaning she's young. Hm.

"Hello. I'm here as a refugee from Venus. I was initially missed by the evacuation teams, and I'm looking for my family among the refugees." I say and she nods her head.

"Please sit." She nods and I do as she says. "Let's first take care of your matter, and then we'll talk about your family, alright?"

"Sure."

"So, first question, do you want to be registered as a refugee?" She leans forward and looks at me seriously. "Your answer will affect how we proceed forward."

"What other options are there? And what would it change?"

"Well, for starters, if you decide to be registered, you will be legilible to receive a temporary shelter as all other refugees as long as you don't have any property within Raphlesia. Though you will first need to go through all the checks to ascertain your class, type, and kind. If you don't, you'll be left on your own, and that's it. And with that said, you will still be able to visit your family, but legally you won't be permitted to stay in the shelter since it's only for refugees."

I stay silent for a moment, contemplating my options.

"I would prefer not to register for now. I'd just like to meet my family as quickly as I can, and I'm pretty sure there is a place we could go to."

"Alright. So, going to your family." The receptionist reches under the table with her hand and searches for a moment till she pulls out a huge book and raises it. "We have registered all the refugees, so I can definitely help you with that as long as your family is alive and was evacuated officially. Who you are looking for, specifically? " She asks politely.

"I'm looking for Ava Chaelier." I'd say her kind as well since I know it, but I don't think it's needed.

"Hm, give me a moment." The woman opens the book somewhere closer to the beginning and starts trailing her finger over the pages, turning them a few times. "Yes, we have her registered. You would like to know where her shelter is, I assume?"

I feel the knot in my heart I never knew existed disappearing as if it was never there and I exhale a long, shaky breath with something stinging my eyes. The receptionist looks at me with a small, understanding smile.

"Yes, please." I say softly.

"Alright." She takes out another piece of paper from under the table and places it on its top, and it doesn't take me a second to realize it is a map of Raphlesia. Part of it, at least. "That is... Sector C, block 1, room 34... alright, so it's... here." She trails her finger over the map for a while before her finger settles over a certain point.

...

I'm standing in front of the large, dull block of flats on the background of evening sky, purple because of the approaching purple alingnment, with Mists visible far away. I'm looking up at it with a mass of unrecognizable feelings swirling inside me. A knot in my chest disappeared a while ago and a while ago grew again for a completely different reason, uncertainty and fear in my mind.

It's block 1, as it is written on the large sign on the side. The conditions here are not luxurious at best and bad at worst, and Ava's been here for me. Her family has a few more residences, though incidentally none in Raphlesia, and she could easily go to any of them, instantly returning to life in luxury. But instead she came here and is waiting for me.

I slowly step forward and open the door, walking inside and looking at the freshly built, spotless walls. I spot a signboard on the opposite wall saying that rooms thirty to forty are on the third floor, and I slowly, quietly, walk up the stairs, my thoughts swirling and disordered.

I finally reach the third floor and look around, spotting rooms thirty to thirty five in the left corridor. I slowly walk through the corridor, hearing the quiet voices from the rooms on my sides.

Thirty one.

Thirty two.

Thirty three.

Thirty four.

I stand in front of the door and freeze for a long while, trying to listen to the sounds from behind, fighting myself not wanting to do that, and hearing only quiet, calm breathing. And feeling a massive, swirling mass of vitality behind the door.

I'm not sure how long I wait, but a long while. I fight with my nervousness, anxiousness, and with all the feelings inside my head, till I finally grit my teeth and knock lightly on the door, forgetting even to check if there is any doorbell.

"Woah, I didn't even hear any footsteps." I hear a mutter from the inside, I hear her voice, and tears suddenly flow down my face as I hear quiet footsteps coming closer and closer. I hear the door unlocking and it opens slowly, revealing... revealing her. I look up at Ava through tears flowing down my cheeks and I smile.

"Wow, girl, why are you cryi-." She starts and her voice is cut off as her eyes widen in shock and she freezes with her mouth wide open. "Vesper?" She whispers a long while later.

"A-Ava." I sob, and she collapses to her knees, wrapping me in a tight embrace and looking into my eyes, and I notice tears glistening in her beautiful, red pair.

"I'm home, Ava." I whisper and bury my head in her shoulder, tears bursting out of me like a through a broken dam and wetting her shirt.

"Vesper, damn it. Vesper." Ava whispers shakily. "I thought I lost you. Damn. I'm so glad."

"Mhm." I mumble. "I... I also... mmm. I love you."

I see the grin blooming on Ava's face. "I love you too, furball. I can finally say that."

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