Sincir clears his throat, and then smiles at the girls, who continue to stare at him in shock.

  “Hello, and sorry for the disturbance. I’m Sincir, and as I’m sure you’re aware, this is Ena,” he says, loud enough to have his voice reach the whole room, “The reason I’ve come here with her tonight is to solve a small issue regarding your respect for her person… Now, if the culprit could step forward and present themselves, we’ll solve our business as briefly as possible and be on our so the rest of you can go back to doing... Whatever it is girls do before going to bed.”

  Having said his piece, Sincir looks from face to face as the girls begin to exchange gnces among themselves… Once none of them steps forward on their own, however, he sighs and takes a look over his shoulder, toward Ena.

  “I guess you’ll have to point them out, Ena.”

  “…There’s no need,” a new voice interjects, “I guess you wanted to talk to me?”

  Ena cringes.

  Sincir looks over, and sure enough, one of the girls has stepped forward, staring at them calmly, as she then points toward the bunk bed blocking the door.

  “You’re gonna get in a lot of trouble for that, kid.”

  “Name’s Sincir,” Sincir corrects, “And that’s fine, I’m used to it.”

  Of shoulder-length blond hair, striking blue eyes, and sharp features, Varzath would put her at around fourteen. Unlike her roommates, she doesn’t seem panicked or surprised by what happened, meeting his eyes coldly and firmly as she crosses her arms, and then gnces toward Ena.

  “I see. Then? What do you want with me?”

  Sincir frowns. This isn’t how a normal bully would react when confronted, or how a fourteen-year-old girl normally acts in the face of the unexpected.

  Her features…

  Sincir smiles. Well, this is a church-reted orphanage, after all.

  “How ironic, for you to ostracize Ena for her heritage while not being fully human yourself.”

  The girl frowns. “Child, please don’t compare the holy origin of my heritage to that of the demi-human.”

  Sincir grimaces. First kid, and now child? She’s lucky he is not here to dirty his hands.

  “…What’s wrong? Haven’t you come here to fight me, Ena?”

  Ena lowers her head, seemingly unable to meet the girl’s eyes.

  Damn it, this is much worse than he expected… And as an eight-year-old, there is a limit to how much he can do.

  “Have you no shame? To you, those might have been mere pranks, but Ena was so scared she couldn’t sleep,” Sincir says, pointing a finger at her, “Even if you don’t like her, you’ve gone too far.”

  “Pranks? You’re wrong. The thing hiding behind you has no pce here, and I’ve said as much to her face before. It was her choice to stay in spite of my repeated warnings.”

  Sincir blinks. Thing?

  “I… I have as much right as anyone else…” Ena murmurs through clenched teeth, though she still doesn’t raise her gaze.

  “Last I checked, Father Anders was responsible for deciding who is or isn’t allowed to stay,” Sincir retorts, “And I’ve never heard of him sending any children away, regardless of their origins.”

  The girl shrugs. “Father Anders is a kind man, but the Holy Book clearly states the difference between us, Children of the Creator, and Outsiders. Given the chance, they’d seek to destroy us all... Not that I expect either of you to understand as much, but allowing the creature to leave this pce alive is more kindness than she deserves, considering the danger she represents.”

  Sincir smiles coldly. “…You’re saying Ena deserves to be burned at the stake for being born as a half-elf?”

  The girl shakes her head. “You’re smart for your age, but you aren’t listening, kid; I’m saying, had Ena been born in Estrein, she’d have already been… As I’ve said, Father Anders is a kind man.”

  Estrein… Having grown up in the orphanage, it’d be weird if Sincir had never heard of the church’s main base of operations, a country extending over a rge portion of Adall’s coastline.

  So, the religious lunatics were burning demi-humans at the stake? And babies, at that? Honestly, he is hardly surprised.

  Taking a gnce toward Ena’s expression, it is clear she was already aware of it.

  Sincir sighs. “Well, now that’s a problem. After all, Ena here is under my protection. And if they come for her, I might have to burn the whole pce down, you know?”

  The girls’ eyes widen, including that of the Nephilim’s, and Ena’s.

  “What… What did you just…?”

  In truth, Sincir has no desire to involve himself with the church, since they’re far from weak. However, considering the nature of his mission, he figures he is bound to csh against them, sooner or ter anyway...

  And besides, he’d never bow his head to any religion, king, demon, or angel to come after his people… Damn it all to Hell, two weeks together, and he already thinks of her that way, doesn’t he? Has he been that starved for company, over these past few years?

  “Hey, even if you’re just a brat, some things should never be said.”

  Staring her straight in the eyes, Sincir chuckles. “Yeah? And what are gonna do, bitch, hide dead insects under my sheets?”

  She scowls, but then shakes her head. “I won’t do anything. Once Father Anders arrives, he’ll handle you. Unlike the demi-human, your Soul still has salvation, and I only hope you’ll see the light before it is too te, child.”

  Sincir nearly ughs out loud over the idea of his Soul still being salvageable…

  Still, as if on cue with her words, abrupt, strong knocks against the door cause some of the girls to jump, indicating their time is about to run out.

  Father Anders's voice is heard faintly from the other side of their improvised barricade, demanding to be let in, but Sincir ignores him.

  If they want to get in so bad, they can go ahead and bust it.

  “Ena, pay attention,” Sincir says, attracting her panicked gaze away from the trembling door, “That bitch over there might be a cunt, be she’s right about something; You’re all still kids, so it is still not too te for any of you.”

  “Us…? But not you?” she retorts, giving him the usual half-incredulous, half-accepting gaze she usually wears tely whenever he does or says something unbelievable.

  “Idiot, this isn’t about me. You’re the one she has a problem with, right? Why do you think I haven’t punched that smug look from her face yet?”

  Ena’s eyes widen. “I…”

  By now, the girls are panicking, with several of them shouting over one another; From what they’re saying, it seems they’re afraid of getting in trouble if Father Anders isn’t allowed inside soon.

  Sincir also ignores them; After Sister Leona has said her piece, he doubts they’ll be able to take any of the bme away from him, even if they try to.

  “But what… What am I supposed to do…? You heard her…”

  “You mean about the church being on her side? Fuck them. We’re leaving, remember?”

  Ena’s eyes widen again.

  “So, for now, just focus on what’s in front of you, and forget about the rest, okay?”

  While wiping away tears she doesn’t seem able to stop from falling, Ena chuckles and shakes her head. “You’re so crazy… I don’t even know what’s happening anymore…”

  Sincir ughs. “That’s fine if you don’t understand, but there’s still something you have to do, isn’t there?”

  Ane gnces toward the girl who said she doesn’t deserve to live, standing calmly midst the commotion, as though it doesn’t concern her in the slightest.

  Just what is going through her head, anyway?

  “Yeah… Something I should’ve done a long time ago,” Ena murmurs, expression now growing cold.

  Good, it seems she’s finally got it.

  Sincir smiles impishly. “Listen, she’s stupid, so she will never understand your emotions unless you speak them very clearly, okay?”

  “Yeah, I’ll show her how she made me feel… I’ll show her so hard she’ll never forget it…”

  Having said as much, Ena abruptly charges toward her nemesis.

  Seeing her go, Sincir smiles again...

  A punch, when well executed, is a beautiful thing to witness.

  Though, the one to be on the wrong end of it might not think as much, of course.

  For her credit, the nephilim girl even manages to dodge the first one… If only so Ena would grab her hair, then punch her again, striking true this time.

  And as the both of them go down together, all hell finally breaks loose around them.

  Several of the girls, whom Sincir assumes are the troublemaker’s friends, quickly hush forward, expressions panicked as they attempt to separate Ena away from her, and some of the others finally run toward the door, clearly intending on earning some points by allowing Father Anders inside.

  Briefly, Sincir considers stepping in to make sure Ena is having a fair fight, but the others are so inefficient in their attempt at rescuing their friend, that he soon realizes she could probably take them all… Though, two weeks prior, she wasn’t all that different from them, he supposes.

  Seeing the one-sided beating, Sincir almost feels bad for the nephilim girl. Well, had she listened to him, things could have been solved differently… But then again, no matter the time or the pce, violence is the only nguage understood by fools.

  He only hopes one day they won’t meet on a battlefield, where violence means more than a punch to the face or two…

  It doesn’t take long before the girls are able to dismantle the simple barricade by combining their efforts, especially since Sincir makes no attempts to stop them.

  The following commotion is, to put it lightly, a shitshow.

  Were he not a part of it, Varzath would’ve gdly ughed about the whole thing… As it is, while in midst of being screamed at by at least five different Sisters, he can only manage to meet Ena’s gaze for a brief second.

  …Is that stupid girl grinning through a bleeding nose? When did she get hit, anyway?

  Well, he’s gd she is having fun.

  “What were you thinking, Sincir!? To lie to a Sister, and worst…! Sincir, are you even listening?!”

  Sincir grimaces. Whose incompetence do they think was responsible for his interference, anyway?

  Father Anders will often handle disputes among the boys, but, being a man, he usually leaves the girls under the responsibility of the Sisters.

  Yes, the same ones currently screaming at him for being irresponsible.

  What would you have done if somebody had been hurt badly?!

  Hey, why do you think he came in the first pce, if not to stop things from going too far?

  How could you lie to Sister Beatrice about there being an emergency?! How can we trust you if something happens in the future?!

  He didn’t lie. In the end, there was an emergency, wasn’t there? Well, he is the one who caused it, but that’s beside the point…

  Look, many of the girls are bleeding! If Father Anders wasn’t nearby…!

  Isn’t that why he asked to call the old man over? How stupid can they be?

  Sincir sighs as their barrage of reprimands goes on and on with no signs of ending. Unfortunately, Father Anders is currently busy using his magic to heal the girls who were hurt during the scuffle, and therefore unable to come to his rescue… Though Sincir isn’t really sure the old man would’ve.

  In truth, he even likes some of the Sisters, but, especially since he has already decided to leave, he doesn’t really care about what they think of him, anymore.

  Sincir is not his real identity, and the woman who abandoned him after his birth wasn’t really his mother… What manner of Soul would’ve inhabited this body if not for Sonog’s seal catapulting him over, or what sort of person they’d have been, he can only guess at.

  He has a mission to accomplish, and people who have been waiting for him, Creator knows for how long…

  “Now, now… I do believe Sincir has received the message, Sisters. It is important we do not lose our temper with the children, or they’ll stop listening.”

  “Father Anders…”

  Despite his calm words and demeanor, Father Anders's eyelid twitches as he moves his gaze to rest against Sincir, and his smile is much stiffer than usual.

  “I’ll take over from here. Considering circumstances, Ena will need a new pce to sleep, and the others are far too agitated after what happened.”

  “F-Father, you mustn’t reward the troublemaker for this-”

  Anders aims Sister Beatrice with a look so cold, that the woman’s eyes widen, and she immediately lowers her head.

  “…For now, she’ll need a new pce to sleep. This is no reward, but a measure to stop more trouble from brewing… Furthermore, we shall speak of your neglect at a ter date, Sister Beatrice. Sincir, you’ll come with me.”

  Sincir smiles. At st, the cavalry comes to his rescue, and not a second too soon.

  Seeing his expression, Father Anders’ eye twitch some more, though he doesn’t comment on it, crossing his arms at his back as he turns and heads for the room’s exit, where the nephilim girl is already waiting for them.

  So, she and Sister Beatrice end up in trouble too, huh? Father Anders must’ve listened to the whole story, at some point.

  If Sincir said he pnned things to this extent, he’d be lying. He’d be fine with taking the bme for the whole fiasco if it meant Ena would be able to sleep at peace tonight… Speaking of which.

  “See you tomorrow,” he whispers while walking by her, “Don’t let the insects get to you, okay?”

  Ena smiles. “I’m make sure not to, partner.”

  Partner, huh? Well, why not?

  Sincir waves at her over his shoulder while exiting the room, and Ena returns the favor, seemingly unbothered by the presence of Sister Beatrice, looming over her.

  Heh. They sure grow up fast…

  Varzath is surprised to find Sister Leona waiting outside, an anxious expression on her face as she steps forward to meet their group of three.

  “Father Anders! I’m sorry, this wouldn’t have happened had I kept a closer eye on him-”

  But the Sister’s words trail off as Father Anders interrupts her by raising his hand. “There’s no need to apologize. In fact, why don’t you accompany us, Sister? I’m afraid these old bones of mine grow rather stiff this te at night, and somebody will need to escort the children to bed once we’re done talking.”

  “V-very well, Father.”

  As Father Anders continues to walk, passing by her, Sister Leona turns her gaze to rest against Sincir, her expression changing to one of burning rage.

  He smiles at her innocently.

  …If looks could kill, Sincir would’ve been done for right there and then, but unfortunately for the Sister, they cannot.

  Following that, it was an awkward walk, to put it lightly. Going by the direction they’re headed, Sincir assumes the old man is leading their group toward the chapel, though for what reason, he isn’t quite sure.

  If he just wants to talk, an empty room would suffice, or even the corridor. Why go through all this trouble…?

  Does he sleep in there? That’d make sense, though Sincir had never thought about it before today.

  “You know, I never caught your name,” Sincir asks the girl walking by him after a few minutes of silence, “How do you feel? Those were some pretty ugly bruises, back there.”

  The nephilim gnces at him as coldly as ever, blue eyes showcasing nothing. Other than a few drops of blood against her shirt, no other signs of her wounds remain.

  “…What a strange child, you are,” she murmurs after a few moments of facing his gaze.

  Sincir snorts. “I don’t wanna hear that from you,” he retorts.

  She shrugs. “I see things differently from my peers. I understand as much, but it doesn’t bother me.”

  Sister Leona and Father Anders gnce at the both of them, but the tter stops the former from interfering by raising his hand in her direction.

  “You think you’re better than them? Because of your blood?”

  “I don’t think anything; I’m stronger, and I’m faster, both in thought, and otherwise. These are facts, not my opinion. But I did not choose to be born this way, just as much as your friend did not choose her heritage… Some would even say my birth was as much a mistake as hers.”

  Sincir frowns. “Then why go through all this trouble to make her feel ostracized?”

  “You act as though I’m a monster for what I’ve done, but I told you, she does not belong here. I don’t care for what happens to her once she leaves, but do you know what would happen if the Inquisition found out Father gave harbor to a demi-human among us? Because I assure you, it’d be far worse than the ‘pranks’ I’ve put her through. Even if we live far away from the mainnd, we’re still under their direct jurisdiction.”

  What?

  A look toward Father Anders, and Varzath can tell she’s speaking the truth.

  “The orphanage would not escape punishment, either. Considering Father’s position, the Inquisition would probably-”

  “That’s enough, Eleanor,” the man in question murmurs quietly, “I should’ve never told you so much.”

  “…I’d have found out the truth eventually. The result would’ve been the same.”

  “No, it’d not. You might think the ends justify the means here, but you’ve put Ena through a lot of pain, child.”

  “Her pain is of no consequence, when she may lead to the destruction of this pce simply by existing within it.”

  Father Anders sighs. “When taking my votes before the Holy Book and the Creator, I swore to never allow a child within my sight to grow without a roof over their heads, for as long as I draw breath. The church’s ws… They’re not what I swore by, nor are the men who wrote them.”

  “Father, t-that’s…” Sister Leona murmurs, clearly uncomfortable with what would most likely be considered high treason if spread beyond these walls.

  “From the moment I took my vows, I was ready to die for them,” Father Anders continues, ignoring her, “And that has not changed since, over these past forty years.”

  “…Ena is not the first demi-human you’ve helped,” Sincir says, bringing the man to gnce at him over his shoulder.

  While facing Sincir’s gaze, Father Anders smiles faintly. “When I was still serving in Estrein, it used to be much harder, and I’d not always be able to give them much more than a way out of the country… Being weak has always been my worst sin.”

  Sincir frowns. What do you even say for something like that?

  …So, the orphanage would be destroyed if the church found out Ena has been raised in here?

  He knew they were religious lunatics, but isn’t that going a bit too far?

  Beside him, Sincir realizes the nephilim, whom Father Anders called Eleanor, grimaces intensely, her expression the most vivid he has seen yet.

  Being punched didn’t seem to faze her… But something about what Father Anders said upset her this much?

  Sincir is still deep in thought as their group arrives at the orphanage’s small chapel, though Father Anders doesn’t hesitate before entering. The candles are lit, and the pce is as empty as usual, other than its four newly arrived occupants. Only once they finally reach its altar, overseen by an Archangel’s statue at least three times the size of the real thing, does the old man turn to stare at the two of them.

  Sister Leona stops behind Eleanor, and it doesn’t escape Sincir’s attention that this scene is an almost exact reenacting of what happened two weeks prior, a couple of hours before he met Ena and this all started; Except, this time, his troublemaker companion is Eleanor, rather than Isaac, of course.

  Father Anders sighs. “Eleanor…”

  “I’m not changing my mind,” she says, meeting his gaze as cooly as always, “She has to go.”

  Father Anders shakes his head. “And to where? She won’t be accepted within elven nds, and she has family nowhere else. If we tell her to leave, with no money or a pce to live, she’ll have no choice but to sell her body, or worse. How many times must we discuss this, Eleanor? She’ll reach major age soon, and with our help, she’ll be able to find a job within the city. Is that not enough?”

  Eleanor clenches her teeth. “Two years is a long time. We were able to hide her so far, but the church’s inspectors are coming soon, aren’t they? If even a single person mentions we harbored a half-elf this whole time, the Inquisition will follow, and they’ll burn the pce to the ground. You know that as well as I do, Father.”

  Father Anders opens his mouth, but Sincir quickly raises his hand, interjecting in between the two of them.

  “…Inspectors?”

  Father Anders sighs, then shakes his head, but it is Eleanor who speaks first, her voice even, “The church doesn’t only fund orphanages throughout Adall, but also nearby isnds… Including Stormbay, and this very institution, of course. However, they have more reasons to do so than the goodness of their heart. Every ten years, a group of inspectors will visit these orphanages, testing the children for their magical potential and intelligence level. For those who are found exceptional, they’ll be granted passage to Estrein, and, eventually, might even receive citizenship there.”

  So, that’s what the whole thing about children who show potential being allowed to go there meant. Sincir always assumed Father Anders would be the one to choose them… But it seems he was wrong. Testing for magical potential… If he is still here by the time they arrive, he might be in trouble, especially if these inspectors happen to be capable mages, themselves.

  If not for having met Ena, he might’ve just wasted his time, without knowing he had little of it left.

  “…But, from what you’ve said, even if Ena leaves now, these inspectors might still catch word she was here at some point, right? What happens then?”

  “Indeed,” Eleanor confirms, “They might. But we’d cim to not know she was a demi-human until recently, and that she ran away before we could handle her to the authorities. If they believe us, we might still be punished, Father Anders especially, but the orphanage won’t be destroyed, and nobody would die.”

  Sincir snorts. “There’s no way they’d buy such a convenient story. You might be able to pull off a lie, even under the threat of torture, but I somehow doubt your friends would.”

  Eleanor nods. “That’s why, ideally, Ena should’ve left years ago, so that the children would have had a chance to forget her existence. But now, we can only hope none of them will mention her, by accident or otherwise.”

  “You think some of them might try to incur favor by handing her over?” Sincir guesses.

  “Or avoid punishment. Even one of them mentioning her name would mean the end for us.”

  Sincir gnces from Eleanor’s cool expression to Father Anders’ bnk one, then toward Sister Leona, whose pale face indicates she might not have been fully aware of their dire situation.

  Maybe the children aren’t the only ones they have to worry about?

  Hey, today he was supposed to be thinking over the final preparations for his grand escape. When did things become this complicated?

  Lords, why couldn’t she have been just a normal bully? Getting involved in this sort of mess is exactly the type of thing he wanted to avoid the most…

  What is he, some sort of knight in shining armor, protector of the defenseless?

  First Ena, and now this whole mess…

  It has nothing to do with him. He’ll leave, take Ena with him, and that will be the end of it. He doesn’t care for what happens to this pce after they’re gone… The food has always been shit, and the waste of time he was forced to endure in pro of maintaining his identity hidden was a crime in and of itself…

  Fuck! Damn it all to Hell!

  They didn’t have to feed him, or give him a roof above his head, did they? As much as Sincir hates to admit it, had his mother dumped him on the street instead of at the orphanage’s doorstep, he wouldn’t have been able to survive on his own…

  Fine, damn it, fine!

  Having made his decision, Sincir grimaces.

  Saving a religious orphanage from eminent destruction… Now, won’t this be something to tell Sunnazoth once they finally meet again?

  Well, for now, he’ll at least listen.

  JBDantas

  Additional Info I: Not sure if I mentioned this somewhere before, but the major age in Adall is fifteen years old… However, in order to avoid unnecessary trouble, I’ll still be using eighteen for the sex stuff in the story.

  [colpse]