Chapter 34: Interlude: A drunken night at the bar

A mug of beer slammed down onto her table, shattering the glass mug.

"FUCK! Why can't she listen to me for once!!", Athen shouted, before grabbing another mug, gulping it down in an instant, "This thing sucks!!"

"Heh, let your emotions flow, let it all out!", an old bar goer laughed, chucking his own beer mug, "Easy, lass, the worse the beer, the better they are! Hahaha!"

"Shut up, old man! Dealing with children is fucking hard!", Athen snapped at the old man.

"Lass, sometimes you have to let go, let the little one spread her wings and explore herself. You're like an over protective parent, fretting over the littlest things.", the old man laughed.

"What do you know, old man.", her eyes rolled, thinking little of the man.

"Hmph, youngsters these days have little respect for the elder.", the old man huffed, taking another swing at the beer mug.

"Respect is earned, not given. Give me some words of wisdom and I'll think about respecting you!", Athen laughed, chucking another mug down. Her face redden, her mind feels hazy. She was drunk.

"Hmph, easy.", he snorted, "My Pa once told me 'giving parents and guardians heart attacks is the duty of the child'. And damn was he right! Hahaha!"

Athen stayed silent, even through her drunken state, urging the old man to go on. He continued.

"Children are balls of energy, even the quietest lad have more energy than most adults. So let the little lass enjoy herself, how old is she by the way?"

"Fifteen, still very young for the streets.", Athen grunted.

"Hm, well, young can't really fault the little lass, it's the rebelious age, a time where she would find herself a purpose.", the old man gave a nostalgic smile, remembering about his own past, "I didn't have that option, fought in the Great War, being fodders for the Gem Holders, or Warlocks as they were called back in the day.

Athen snickered, downing another drink, "Warlocks huh, did girls get called Witches?", she said half-joking.

The old man pulled out a cigar from his pocket, placed it in his mouth. He lit it up with a lighter, smoke trailing from it like a white line. He took in a long draw, burning the cigar away until two third of it remained.

Taking in the aroma and flavor, he breathedout the smoke. Soon, the place was filled with a lot of smoke.

"The government did a lot to supress the usage of the word "Witch". I'm not sure why, maybe it was one of their secrets, something they wouldn't want anyone to find out about."

"I see..."

The only person Athen would call a Witch is Silla...

"Say, do you know anyone by the name Silla Arco?", Athen asked.

"Silla Arco...", he took in another puff, "Every gang knows her, at least the veteran ones. She's basically the queen ruling this place. For some reason, the government just let her.", he shrugged,"Why do you ask?"

"Well... she's just a co-worker, of sort... I think?", Athen answered akwardly. What the fuck is my relationship with Silla?

"Heh, that woman is a lone wolf. She do things that would only benefit herself, she's the kind to be your best friend but would throw you out like trash. She's one of them, an Immortal, they all have a screw loose somewhere."

Yeah, I noticed.

An Immortal is a Gem Holder who has reached a level comparable to the Devil they gain their power from. Silla was one of them. From the little things Athen knows about Silla, she lived for a very long time, at the start of the European Witch Hunt, maybe one of it's first victim. Silla never talk about herself, only vaguely hinting at informations that would raise a lot of eye brows.

Thinking about Silla hurts her brain too much, Athen switched back to the other problem, Charlotte.

"Hey old man, how do you keep an eye on a child? One that can disappear everytime you turn your head?", Athen lazily asked, lying on the bar table.

The old man let out another cloud of smoke, "Put a tracker on the little lass, or just let her do her things."

"Charlotte would not like the first option..." having the ability to literally see the world around her, a tracker would be found easily.

"Then you just have to let her loose!", the old man slapped his knee, "Zehahahaha! A kid fresh out of middle school should be free do do whatever she want, you just have to keep yourself from having heart attacks."

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Athen stared at the old man for a second, then she smiled warmly, "Thank you, you earned my respect. And what's your name?"

"This old crook here is David, veteran of the Great War.", David shrugged.

With a wry smile and another glup of beer, Athen asked, "Could you tell me more about the Great War? I'm a bit of a history lover, you see."

"The Great War, huh. It was a bloody war, half a century of fighting and fighting. Between Commie hunting and degrading in the trenches, I don't know what's more terrifying. I tend to don't think much about them, other than the worst chapter of my life, I just fight and kept myself alive for as long as possible.", David inhaled another puff, staring up to the ceiling with a nostalgic look, "Most of the boys didn't survive, when I was discharged I just went back home, here, in the city rules by an Immortal."

"Sorry for reminding you of bad memories.." fucking hell, Deliah! You messed up!!

David just laughed, "Bah! It's okay, lass. There's nothing wrong about being curious about the past!"

"O-Okay...", awkwardness fell upon Athen as she have nothing more to ask. So she downed another mug to distract herself, "This thing suck!"

"Hahaha! Keep telling yourself that, lass! Now tell me about yourself, nothing better than two strangers sharing their stories over bad beer!"

Athen rolled her eyes, she started talking, "I'm not from around here, I'm from Greece. Was a child soldier in the Greek Civil War, held a gun at age 10, became a Gem Holder at 11. Fought until... I was 15, when the war ended. Then I became a mercenary, one of the top ones too. Next thing I know, I joined an organization where I met Silla and Charlotte..."

She let out a tired sigh, "Fuck, I hate my boss! He's an enabler for fuck sake! I hate that man! I truly despise him!!"

"Yeah, lass. Let it all out!", David laughed.

And Athen poured out all of her complaints to David for the whole night.

=0=0=

W-What happened?

Athen looked around, she was in a hotel room of some sort. Red walls with gold floral pattern, dimly lit light showing the rather fancy room. She herself was naked, only a blanket to cover herself.

What the fuck is going on?!, she screamed in her mind.

"Yo, awake already?", an all too familiar voice called her out.

Athen looked to her left, sitting on the bed with legs hanging off it. Golden blond hair mixed with a few strains of brown, back full of slashing scars and burnt mark in a shape resembling the old map of the U.S, when it was the 13 States. Crimson red eyes staring at her with amusement, and a smile to show it.

"Silla! What happened?! Why are you in bed with me?!", Athen screamed, expressing her hostility by summoning her sword.

Silla only widen her smile, "You were very cute, you know? You blacked out from too much alcohol in your system, I had to bring you back after Davity called me."

"Davity? Who the fuck is that?", her confusion only grew.

"Hehe, David of course! I got him to watch over you.", Silla shrugged, "Can't let my co-worker destroy the city I built."

Athen sighed, dematerializing her sword, "So you don't care about me?"

Silla placed her index finger on her chin, thinking for a bit, "Hmm, of course I do. I love you, as a friend."

"'Love' seems like a strong word, don't you think?", Athen frowned.

"Nope!", Silla laughed, "I love you, I love Issac, I love everyone in the organization, and of course, I love Charlotte!"

"Coming from you isn't all to convincing, you know that, right?"

"Of course! Who would trust a person like me?", she gave Athen a kiss on the lips.

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