Children of the Clergy

Season 2 | Episode 5 | Detective instincts

Seren kept her head down as Secondo paced back and forth in front of her. She didn't understand why he was so worried, especially since the Clergy had a confirmation test that all supposed magic users had to take to see what they were specifically before they could gain permission to work at a ministry or abbey, so there was no way of her getting through that if she somehow wasn't a regulate witch without at least someone noticing.

"I have asked you this at least five times now." Secondo said, irritation clear in his tone. "What are you?"

Seren was beginning to feel a similar irritation brewing and his persistent refusal to believe her answer was slowly edging her towards outward anger. "And I've told you at least five times now. I'm a witch!"

Secondo sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose and mumbling to himself. They were getting nowhere with their back and forth, question and answer pattern of speech. Seren felt a heat within her chest as the temptation to call up her magics to prove what she was to him increasing and almoust took over.

Secondo suddenly stopped, glancing over to the corner of the room curiously. Seren tilted her head, following his gaze and immediately noticing what had caught his attention.

Quintessence was stood there, glaring daggers at her. His eyes burned with alice blue fire and a monstrous half-growl, half-roar was rumbling out through his throat. If looks could kill, she'd have found herself in the veil before she'd even noticed his nightmare of a display.

"Quintessence," Secondo called out with command in his voice, "Back down. What are you growling at?" Seren shivered from the look the kit was giving her, instantly forgetting any anger she'd had before and feeling the heat in her chest die down.

Quintessence stopped growling abruptly, his gaze softening at he regained his usual posture and returned to being his sweet, bubbly self.

Seren sighed and turned back, caught off guard again by the terrified look Secondo was giving her. She had never seen such genuine fear from him, not even during his time with the Ether. "What?"

He crept over to her, almoust as if he were worried that any sudden movements would provoke her or cause her to attack. He slipped his hand around her upper arm and she winced at the outrageously tight grip he suddenly seemed to have on her. "Hey, wha-"

"Follow. Me. Now."

She didn't dare question him, allowing herself to rise from the couch and be practically dragged out, into the corridor. Quintessence followed along behind them, walking slightly strangely from the inconvenience of his leg braces.

Seren was mostly focusing on the ghoul instead of the boy that was practically cutting off her blood circulation from how tightly he was gripping her arm. The murderous look he'd given her earlier had put her on edge and now she was too frightened to look away, fearing that she'd turn back to find her face already half way into his fanged mouth.

A loud banging brought her out of her thoughts and she turned to see where she'd been brought: It was Anya's office, down in the nurses' wing.

The siblings of sin, nurses, and magic users, all had their own separate corridors, lined with small living areas that were closer in resemblance to university dorm rooms than actual apartments, like the Emeritus Brothers' Quarters. Each person had their own room but the heads of departments, as well as the Sisters of Sin that had been allocated for use during the future concerts of the Ghost Project, had extra spaces added onto theirs. The heads of departments were usually given offices as their add-ons and the Sisters were given dressing rooms, in addition to their official collective dressing room at the very end of the siblings' wing.

Seren's room was directly next to Anya's, since she was the older nurse' apprentice, so she was very familiar with the area and hadn't expected to be so uncomfortable waiting outside her door. But after being growled at by a Quintessence ghoul and then dragged by the arm by an Emeritus brother, everything would feel a little out of place, she supposed.

Anya opened the door slowly, taking a moment to notice them below her and smiling warmly. Her smile faded uncharacteristically quickly though as she noticed how Seren was being held and the dead serious expression on Secondo's face. She bowed her head to the young boy before carefully moving aside and allowing the two of them to stroll in.

Secondo practically threw her down into the seat in front of Anya's desk, moving to stand beside her with Quintessence flanking him on his right. Anya sat down in her seat, turning to face Seren before hearing Secondo clear his throat and turning to face him instead, "Да? What is this all about?"

Secondo narrowed his eyes before speaking, finally about to explain what had happened back in his Quarters to cause his fear, "Your apprentice is not what she says she is."

Seren sighed, suddenly convinced that he'd only put on such a display to get her down there without question or complaint. Anya, however, looked almoust offended. After all, she was in charge of monitoring the results of the confirmation tests and clearly took Secondo's statement as an insult towards her judgment. "I can assure you, I looked over her results myself and she is most definitely a witch and part of the line she says she is."

Secondo frowned and Seren suddenly realized that he'd intended to say more. Anya had just been interrupting him, which he took great offense to. "Are you aware of the detective instincts that all hell-born creatures posses that allows them to tell which higher power other people's magics are sourced from?" Anya nodded, clearly unsure where he was going with this. "And so are you also aware that, if they are to detect even a hint of...holy... magic, they will respond negatively towards the user?" Anya nodded again, a little more intreaged by the implicit mention of heavenly forces.

Secondo's frown increased and the expression he wore could almoust have been mistaken for a glare. "Then why, prey tell, did my ghoul have such a reaction of hatred when your witch started to prepare her magics for use?"

Anya audibly gasped and Seren's face dropped. He thought she was an Angel. He honestly thought she was somehow the direct descendant of a holy creature who now possessed the same possible future.

She turned to Anya to see the confusion on her face, but it wasn't there. Anya looked more terrified than Secondo had back in the Quarters. "W-Well..." Seren could have screamed from the realization that suddenly hit her. "She had quite the odd family line on her results."

Secondo was right. She was the descendant of an Angel.