Shadow Slave | School Days

Orion cleared his throat awkwardly as Sunny disappeared upstairs, currently they were now alone to themselves in the house and by the sound of the locking door it didn't seem like they intended to leave any time soon.

Turning to Cassie, Orion walked up to her with a wide smile as Kai sat next to her awkwardly scrolling through his phone. "I have a question, were you born blind or did someone make you blind?" It was an abrupt and rude question, by all means Cassie had the right to refuse yet in his presence she felt strangely at ease.

"I was born this way; the doctor's didn't expect me to live very long but here I am." Orion's smile widened, almost wanting to pat Cassie on the head, in fact, he did exactly that as he placed his hand on her head gently. "A defier of fate? How bold of you, I doubt many are strong enough to do such a thing."

Kai glanced at the gesture with wide eyes, confused and shocked not knowing whether to intervene or let the scene play out as Cassie smiled brightly at him. "Thank you." Was all she replied with as Orion removed his hand from her head gently and turned around.

Currently, Mordret was exchanging hearty laughs with Effie as the two exchanged banter back and forth. The vulgar language the two used Orion had not even heard of before and yet the two seemed to compliment each others presence perfectly. Snapping his head to the side, Mordret narrowed his eyes at Orion as he excused himself.

"Is there any reason you're staring at me? Oh wait! You must be interested in men, I am right, no?" Orion merely responded with a smile "I'm surprised you even know anything about relationships. If I remember correctly, you've eaten people, no? Tell me, how do people taste? You animal."

Spitting out insults with smiles riddled across their faces as the two opponents stared each other down in silence, finally, Effie managed to fight against every survival instinct that she had etched into her mind as she moved in between the two, separating them with sweat pouring down her brow as she turned to Mordret.

"I don't fucking get it, why do you two hate each other so much?" Her question almost caused Mordret to reel back in physical pain as he stared at her like she had spat in his cereal. "Hate him? I don't hate animals, why would I hate a copycat gorilla like him?"

Seeing as she wouldn't get a straight answer from Mordret, she turned to Orion expectantly as the man ran a hand through his hair dramatically before waving his hand. Placing a hand on his chin almost contemplating his next mocking remark before finally coming up with a story befitting of his speech.

"This... thing thought it would be a good idea to hire my services to destroy an entire city only to leave me alone while explosives went off through the entire town. Granted in all my excellence I survived, but his mere presence annoys me. And he's jealous."

For the first time in years, Mordret's eye twitched in annoyance as he struggled to maintain his facade of impassivity. "Jealous? I don't need to be jealous of someone who I'm stronger than. But it's quite annoying watching a move thief run around and parade themself as the strongest."

Letting out a loud sigh, Effie clapped her hands and glanced at the two, a facade of confidence placed across her face with impeccable ease as she exchanged looks between the two men. "I'm confused, why don't you two just fight it out in the colosseum. That's what it's there for, no?"

Orion moved to respond but Mordret beat him to it as he responded in a sing song voice, his wide grin almost splitting his face open as he stared at Orion directly in the eyes. "The shortie can't run a colosseum if he's dead." Once more, Effie beat Orion to a response as she exclaimed. "Don't kill each other then! Get a referee!"

An awkward cough escaped Orion's lips as he closed his eyes to listen in on the commotion upstairs, breathing in deeply, he fought back a blush as he walked back to his chair, taking a seat next to Cassie as he took a bite out of Sunny's cake with wide eyes.

"This is good! But only Sunless would be fitting for a referee of my fights and he is... occupied." Silence rang out through the room, allowing the commotion upstairs to be entirely audible as blushes fought their way onto the faces of everyone present. Effie scratched her head awkwardly as she heard something creak.

"That sounds...like it would break regular people."

Eventually, they stopped eavesdropping on Sunny, waiting for him to return so they could engage in their sparring match as Mordret became acquainted with Effie more and more. Frankly, he found himself enjoying her presence more than he had expected to.

Originally, this was a mere pastime for him as he got to learn more about Lost from Light, but there were more interesting people showing up on his radar. 'And she's quite alluring too... only two years younger than me.' Mordret found himself looking away to clear his thoughts, he had no time for them in his quest for revenge and whatever whims came to his mind.

Sunny found himself in the bed gasping for air as he slowly slid a shirt back onto his body. Meanwhile, he wasn't quite sure if Nephis was conscious, and he too was entirely unwilling to check. Sliding off his bed, he landed soundlessly onto the ground as he got up and stretched, his eyes widening as he realised, he had left Mordret downstairs alone.

 The sound of Nephis rolling over in bed rang out like a midnight bell as Sunny felt her grab his shoulder gently. Turning around, he noticed Nephis's dazed expression and let out a light laugh as he hugged her, helping her to place clothes on her body as she tried and failed to find her footing.

"Can you not walk?" Sunny asked, worry laced within his tone as Nephis gave him a playful glare. "Don't push it. It's your fault." Reading her mood, Sunny let out a sigh of relief as he smiled at her, wrapping her hand around his shoulder as he helped Nephis to her feet.

Suddenly, Nephis glanced at him, hesitation riddled across her face as a restrained question lingered within her throat. Sunny noticed the change in her mood with horror riddled across his face, afraid he had done something wrong as Nephis finally spoke.

"Sunny, where does the money that comes into my account every month come from?" The question was abrupt and took Sunny aback as he glanced down at her awkwardly. Her expression was dishevelled, which was to be expected but she also refused to meet his eyes.

Sighing, Sunny swallowed the lump in his throat and began to speak. "I... took all the money from your parents after I... killed them. I was going to use it to fund myself after I escaped the underworld, but I realised they had a daughter, so I sent money to you, so it looked like they were... alive."

Nephis didn't reply immediately, a large extended silence settling between the two before Nephis finally spoke. "You were starving when I met you, you let yourself starve for my sake. To provide for me." Tears trickled down her face as Sunny turned to wipe them from her face, watching as Nephis pulled him into a tight embrace as he smiled slightly at her.

"And you've saved my life. I think we should be even, and we're dating now so all's well that ends well, right?" Nephis only smiled at him once more as the two found themselves walking down the stairs, Sunny lowering his pace to accommodate her limp as the two made their way downstairs.

As they were greeted by the sight of Mordret and Orion, all members remaining in the house snapped their head towards the two as a shocked expression arrived on Orion's face.

"Why are you limping Changing Star?"