"This is what you get for not listening!"
The little girl, whose name was Jarla, shouted as she pinched Jarrak's ear. He let out a loud yelp, feebly trying to pry her hand away. The other children laughed at the spectacle - some made a half-hearted attempt to break it up, but none really tried.
Erica simply watched them. She wanted to intervene, but Lars wouldn't allow it - this was their own business, he said. Besides, she found Jarla's temper rather frightening, and the girl clearly wasn't the type to obey anyone. Jarla was, in truth, a female version of Jarrak -except older and far more ferocious.
Erica had intended to stay anyway, to ask more about Louise. There were several people named Louise around here, old and young alike, and she had no idea which one it was. Well, Sister Fallon would probably handle that matter, so Erica decided to linger a bit longer.
"Why are you wearing pants?"
A little girl piped up. She had been staring at Erica the whole time. Now, the others turned their eyes on her too - even Jarla paused to look. The kids began whispering among themselves, and when Erica tried to explain that they were leggings, they bombarded her with questions.
"Is that a Hellhound?"
"It's so tiny. Is it a pup?"
"What's in that pouch?"
"You're not from around here, are you?"
The last question came from Jarla. The room fell silent, all eyes waiting for Erica's answer. She stiffened, uncertain if the hush was because they all wondered the same thing, or because Jarla's word carried weight among them.
She nodded slightly, and the murmuring resumed. Jarla kept her grip on Jarrak's ear as she fired off another question.
"So, how did you two meet?"
That was the one question Erica had hoped to avoid. There was no easy way to dodge it. She hesitated, looking at Jarla, then at Jarrak. His eyes brimmed with tears, lips clamped tight to keep from crying out - yet his gaze pleaded with her not to tell the truth.
Erica understood well enough. If she told them the truth, she'd need glue to stick his ear back on. But coming up with a harmless lie was no simple feat.
To her surprise, Jarrak spoke first.
"They found me being kidnapped, so they rescued me," he declared confidently.
All eyes shifted to him. Jarla raised an eyebrow, her hand finally releasing Jarrak's ear. The boy rubbed his sore ear in relief - only to tense up again when her hand settled firmly on his head instead.
"And who kidnapped you?" Jarla's voice dropped lower.
"No idea!" they both answered in unison.
Jarla clearly wasn't satisfied with that. Erica scrambled for something more believable.
"Um… actually, we found him locked inside a wine barrel in Gluttony Layer. There was no one around when we got there, so we never saw the kidnapper. You don't need to ask Jarrak either - he was blindfolded, he didn't see a thing."
She rattled off the story all at once, nervously wringing her hands to hide her worry. She was good at lying - her work required it - but these were children, and children never stopped asking uncomfortable questions.
Fortunately, Jarla seemed to accept it. But she didn't let Jarrak off so easily - she gave him a sharp slap across the head. He stared at his sister in bewilderment, only to meet a cold glare. He lowered his head at once, pretending to repent, his lips barely muttering a whimper.
"Can we go now?" Lars whispered to Erica.
"We still haven't asked about Louise."
"What's left to ask? The boy didn't vanish - these brats just said so."
While they argued in low voices, a timid girl stepped out from behind a curtain. She spoke shyly:
"Um, everyone… lunch is ready!"
Lunch? Had it already turned noon?
Though she'd eaten twice that morning, Erica couldn't help but feel her stomach growl hungrily at the mention of food. The rumble echoed loud enough for everyone to hear.
A few giggles bubbled up among the children. Erica didn't care -hunger was hunger. Even Jarla let out a small laugh.
"You're hungry too, huh? Well then, let's go eat!"
The children surged into the room behind the curtain. It took up half the ground floor - two windows faced the corridor, an open hearth stood to the left with utensils hanging from a wooden rack, and dried ingredients hung near the fire. To the right, a battered wooden dining table sat rotting with dampness and mold.
In the center, on the floor, the food was laid out haphazardly atop a fairly clean, ash-grey rug.
Erica sat down between Jarla and Jarrak - naturally, since he wanted to put distance between himself and his fearsome sister.
Only now did Erica notice how plain the meal was - bland, thrown together just to fill bellies. She hadn't expected much from a gang of half-grown kids anyway.
Lars perched on her lap, his face a picture of despair. He wouldn't touch anything that didn't taste good - unlike Erica, who'd eat anything when hungry enough.
The children ate and chattered noisily. Erica didn't even have to ask about Louise - Jarrak did it for her. Barely seated, he went straight to the point.
After Jarrak disappeared, Louise had returned a few days later with a pile of food. Upon learning his friend was missing, he'd immediately set out to search, but of course found nothing. For a whole year, he'd asked every Hellborn he knew to look through the other layers of Hell.
Jarla - who had since taken charge of the children - once asked Louise why he'd been gone so long. Louise never spoke a word about it, always evading the question whenever she brought it up.
Erica carefully pressed for more about Louise's past.
It turned out the boy had died after being murdered. His parents were betrayed by the father's closest friend - Louise had barely escaped alive. He'd clung to that grudge for four years, taking his revenge at the age of twelve. Poisoning the traitor's wife, pushing the man into the street to be trampled to death by horses - it was all Louise's work.
Sadly, that same year, he'd caught a sickness from the squalor he lived in, and died young. If not for that illness, who knew - those four children of the traitor's might have been his next targets.
"I really wish I could eat food Louise made," the boy across from Erica said wistfully.
"Drop it, Caldron! Louise has enough on his plate already," Jarla snapped.
"Wait - so Louise cooks?" Erica asked.
"Yeah! Well, sometimes. Ever since Jarrak disappeared, he barely cooks anymore." Jarla shot her brother an irritated glare. He pretended not to notice, burying his face in his meal.
"Why does that boy end up doing everything?" Lars muttered under his breath.
Everyone turned to stare at him. Lars froze, wondering what he'd said wrong.
"It can TALK?!" the children exclaimed in unison.
Lars grimaced. He thought these brats were clueless for not knowing Hellhounds could speak.
Suddenly, Jarla scooped him up, squealing with delight as she stroked him despite his half-hearted struggle. Erica let out a stifled laugh. Lars shot her a murderous look.
"Your pet is adorable! Its fur's so soft too!" Jarla cooed, running her fingers through his sleek black coat.
"Stop! Don't flip me over! I'm not a pet, I'm-"
But Jarla rubbed his belly - a Hellhound's weak spot. He let out an involuntary sigh of pleasure, his tail wagging wildly. The other children crowded in, eager to touch him too, nearly tipping the dishes over.
So much for acting all tough, Erica thought.
Lars was clearly enjoying every second of it. Then he caught Erica's eye - she smiled knowingly, as if to say 'I see right through you'.
"Hold on~! This is… purely instinct, alright?" Lars tried to salvage what little dignity he had left, but it was hopeless.
He gave up struggling and let them scratch him to their hearts' content.
"Hey! Isn't your knowledge pretty limited anyway?" Jarrak piped up, having finished his food.
"Hah! As if they ever get to go outside as much as you do," Jarla shot back with a scornful hiss.
Jarrak swallowed hard - he knew his sister was still annoyed with him, and wisely said nothing more.
"Huh? Did something happen?" Erica asked the moment she noticed the children's faces change.
Jarla seemed hesitant, as if she wasn't sure whether to let an outsider hear this. She sighed, a sadness settling in her eyes.
"Actually… we've been placed under a few restrictions by the Elder. Only one of us is allowed to leave the village at a time. And no one's allowed to go with them - no matter who they are."
Erica immediately frowned. She'd only heard vaguely that old Terwan hated the imps, but she hadn't known it was this bad. Who would've thought he'd go this far? If Fallon found out, the old man would probably gain himself another nightmare or two.
"You see," Jarrak cleared his throat. "We're not exactly welcome by the villagers either - except for the ones who've come to their senses and helped us out. Just earlier, we were chased off by some kids throwing rocks and knives at us."
"What?!" Jarla shot to her feet, face darkening with rage. "They dared do that?!"
"They did!" Jarrak nodded, and Erica had the odd feeling he was trying not to laugh. "Even some adults joined in. Luckily, none of us got hurt."
A ripple of murmurs spread through the children. From the looks of it, they were all reaching the same conclusion - revenge was in order. Jarla, though, seemed to be weighing her options. After pacing back and forth for a few minutes, she finally made up her mind.
"We can't move now. Louise still isn't back yet."
"And when will he be back? Do we really need Louise for this?" one child piped up.
"Then you go do it yourself! As if we'd stand a chance without him," another shot back.
The room erupted into argument. No one was willing to back down. Watching them bicker, Erica could almost feel just how much sway this Louise had over them all. Of course - he really did have a special gift: the sleep charm.
"Quiet down!" Lars barked. "If you brats keep yelling like this, nothing's gonna get done. We don't need Louise - I'm enough."
All heads turned to him. They eyed him with doubt, but when they saw how sure of himself he looked, a flicker of belief spread among them.
"Really? You can help us?"
"Of course! Leave it all to me."
A cheer rose up. Some of them even jumped up and down with excitement. Erica glanced at Jarrak and caught him stifling a grin. Truth be told, she figured both he and Lars held grudges in equal measure - this plan had probably been brewing in his head for some time now.
"Jarrak will stay here with two others," Jarla added.
Jarrak whipped his head around to stare at her, but quickly lowered it again when he met her razor-sharp glare. Erica glanced at Lars - they exchanged a look and burst out laughing. Well then, she thought. She'd play her part too.
Time to cut loose!