There is a lot about me you don't know -Tales of Arcadia ENG

13- Precautions and Guarantees

TRACK 13

I don't think you understand

There's nowhere left to turn

Walls keep breaking

Time is like a leaf in the wind

Either it's time well spent

Or time I've wasted

(Telescope- Cage the Elephant)

********

"...What?" Jim asked, quite shocked by the news. For a moment the Trollhunter could do nothing but stare at him in puzzlement. "Why?"

"For general precautions," merely replied Douxie, a decidedly unclear answer to which he bit his lower lip after a short time. "They're not bad. They are just a bit snobby, most of the time."

Archibald made a sour noise, "The kind of snobs that, in case of being humiliated or feeling disgraced, well, there's a chance they'll rip your head off. But, yeah, just that."

Jim stiffened, opening his eyes wide as an icy chill ran down his spine.

"Which is why I'm going to do everything I can to avoid upsetting them," retorted Hisirdoux, returning to the rune bracelet. "We waltz in the Nest, discuss properly, and then waltz out. All as politely as possible..."

"What kind of precautions?" Asked Nari instead. This before suddenly smiling, letting out a silvery high-pitched laugh, snatching confused expressions from everyone. "It has something to do with the Sealed Emblem, doesn't it?"

Douxie froze in place and stared at her in total silence, the expression of someone who had been caught in the act. Then he barely sighed and chuckled in return, bringing a hand to his neck. "...Yeah. Guilty of that," he admitted. "For the Emblem, Nemain's Lair, and everything connected with it... And yes,there are more pressing commitments, but... I'd like to avoid even that one becoming worse than it already is. Cutting a problem almost at its roots wouldn't be so bad, for once. And finding allies would do just as well."

"But why from Vampires?" Claire asked with puzzlement."If there are so many other creatures, why go to them at all?"

"Especially if, precisely, they are ready to tear your head off for so little," Jim added with a blatant grimace.

"Well... we know that they would not so easily ally themselves with a community that intends to kill all of humanity,"replied Archibald simply. "They are Vampires. Logically speaking, fewer humans equals fewer blood bags that can befound in hospitals as survival resources. They appreciate the blood of animals, Mages, and some other magical creatures, but still, it would mean more effort in hunting," a pause. " Emotionally speaking, some Vampires are still connected to the past humanside. Especially among those in Nests, there are rules they cannot abstain from. The traveling ones, often feral, are a different matter, but yeah, they are not the ones we are aiming for."

"Most Mages, at the moment, cannot be trusted,"Hisirdoux's face darkened, but then he shook his head. "And even the ones I do trust, well, they're too far away to request their help face to face," a pause. "And okay, by phone it would be possible. And I could try giving it a shot, but..." he shrugged. "There would still be three, maybe four from Arcadia Oaks, one of which is busy in Greece at the moment... Two from Colombia, one from Japan, and one from England. Eight Wizards total."

"Few if you count the army they are forming," Claire ended by saying in a half-voice in a troubled tone, causing Douxie to nod.

Jim narrowed his eyes. The mental image of a huge army of magical creatures pouncing on a small group of twenty or so sparse members led him to chase away some of his perplexity towards the subject of Vampires. Just part of it. The idea of having someone around who, just out of irritation, could kill you out of the blue... was quite unpleasant.