Seeking Friends

John didn’t say much as the party of three finished up in the barrier. He tried his best to remain composed on the outside, but inside, a war of morality was being waged. All the while, Gaia remained a silent observer while John pondered over his actions, typical of a god, really. Perhaps she simply felt he needed to reach a conclusion on his own? It was not a question John could answer with any certainty.

“Hey,” Red said softly as she sat down and nuzzled up to him. “Something you want to chat about?”

John eyed his girlfriend with affection and smiled weakly, but what was he supposed to say? Red wasn’t exactly human; she was a born predator. He’d seen her fight. Taking a life was instinct for her. Would she even understand the confusion, the pleasure, and the guilt that plagued him?

“No, it’s fine,” John lied.

Red frowned and stared at him with piercing blue eyes. “Don’t be a git. I’m your girlfriend! You’re already doing so much to support me. Now let me share your burdens too!”

John heaved a heavy sigh. He knew he should talk about his problems instead of bottling them up, and his girlfriend was extending her hand out to him, he’d be remiss to not take it. “H-have you ever killed someone before?” he asked a little more bluntly than he’d liked.

Red glanced between John and the corpse of Pigfucker. "Oh, that's all? Look, John, I don't think-"

“‘That’s all?!’ I killed a man!” John cried, fighting the urge to shout and failing.

Red recoiled at his outburst. “-you shouldn't lose any sleep over it…” she continued weakly. “Do you have any idea what was in the stomachs of those boars? The guy was a monster.”

John clenched his fists. “I know, but he was still human, Red! I’ve never killed anyone before!”

‘Of course she doesn’t get it,’ John sighed and stood up, ‘she’s not human.’ It was clear Red shared none of his grievances over killing, so talking about it with her right now wasn't going to help him. The last thing he wanted was to become desensitised to the guilt he felt. Red's mouth opened and closed a few times like she had something to say but didn't quite know how to express it.

John masked his glum face behind a smile and stood up. “Look, I’ll be alright,” he said, though he felt like that was far from the truth. “Let’s get going, okay? Gotta make sure you’re safe, right?” If John could numb his guilt by distracting himself with things to do, great.

Red frowned but didn’t argue, and soon they had emerged in the real world. John saw he had three missed calls from Moira and immediately called her back.

“NEWMAN!” Moira yelled into the speaker loud enough that he had to pull it away from his ear. “YOU DON’T JUST TELL SOMEONE YOUR LIFE IS IN DANGER AND THEN NOT ANSWER THE PHONE!”

“Oh, uh… sorry,” John said with an uneasy laugh. “I was in a barrier, so I didn’t get any reception.”

Moira took several deep breaths before speaking, "By the Lady, John, looking after you is going to give me a haemorrhage."

John could only apologise profusely.

Moira sighed again, seemingly satisfied. “Well, in the interest of avoiding such an issue in the future, we’ll need to connect your phone to the Abyssal Cellular Network. I’ll show you how when you arrive.”

“The Abyss has its own phone network?”

“Of course it does,” Moira replied. “There’s also the Abyss Wide Web; really, you’ll find that many services have an Abyssal Counterpart. In fact, a lot of modern technology stems from research and development undertaken in the Abyss.”

“Huh,” John let out. “It’s amazing the wider world still doesn’t know about the Abyss, then.”

"I don't mean that the technology itself is magical. Remember, the Lady would smite you if the world caught a whiff of anything Abyssal in nature. I simply mean that a great deal of Abyssal technology is later translated or introduced into mundane society in an appropriate manner. Anyway, this is a conversation we can have in person. Where are you now?"

“By the park, near school,” John replied.

“And is - Charlie was it? - is she with you?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, I’ll have a driver pick the both of you up. We’ll talk again soon,” Moira finished as she hung up.

John and Red spent the wait snuggled together, while Saccharine grumpily withdrew to the confines of Red’s bag after assuring John she’d be plotting his **** for the suggestion. They didn’t have to wait particularly long before a jet black sedan rolled to a stop on the road in front of them.

The front window wound down, and the driver peered out at them. “Master Newman and Miss Perrault?”

“Yeah, that’s us,” Red replied cheerily as she vaulted to her feet and picked up her bag.

The chauffeur nodded and stepped out of the car. “I am Reginald, a butler in service of the Brighton family,” he introduced himself while courteously bowing, before opening the back door of the sedan for the two of them to enter.

The car took off shortly after, winding them along Springfield’s main roads until they took an exit into Boothe Heights. Several wealthy families owned estates along the East Heights, and it seemed the Brightons were one of them. Not all that surprising, really. They did run an ‘Order’, after all. Still, that didn’t stop John from marvelling at the estate as they approached it.

The estate was a fenced compound, and at the end of a rather large front yard was a gothic mansion at least four stories tall, with enough room underneath its steep gable roof for an attic of substantial size. The sedan paused at a gate, which only slid open after Reginald waved a card through an electronic lock. John very much doubted it was the only security measure installed in the compound. He’d bet his life savings the Brightons had some magic systems in place too.

The sedan followed a cobbled driveway up to a small roundabout where Reginald parked the car parallel to the large front doors. Not long after John and Red had stepped out of the car, the front doors opened, and Moira came out to greet them.

John's eyes widened as they fell on the redheaded Paladin. She came outside dressed casually in a white, cable-knit sweater and a pair of dark blue jeans. It was really cute and complimented her hair like you wouldn't believe. The sight of her was a gift John never knew he'd been missing from his life.

“Newman,” Moira greeted. “I’m glad to see you’ve made it safely.”

“Yeah, so am I,” John replied dryly.

"Now is not the time to be blithe," the Paladin scolded before her attention drifted to Red. "Hello, you must be Charlie," she greeted with an extended hand. "I'm Moira Brighton."

“Hullo,” Red smiled sweetly as she took the offered hand. “Nice to meetcha, Moira. Please, just call me Red.”

Moira furrowed her brow. “Red?”

“You ever heard of Little Red Riding Hood?” John asked lightly as he gestured to Red.

“Oh?” Moira let out, now regarding Red with greater curiosity.

“Yeah… I’m still trying to wrap my head around it too,” John smiled.

"No, It's not all that surprising, really," Moira replied with a shrug as she turned and led them inside. "I had read that the Brothers Grimm and other oneiromancers were the sources of many fairy tales."

John's interest was piqued by Moira's words. A reasonable explanation for Red's existence had eluded him thus far. "Oneiromancers?"

“They’re a kind of seer who see the future through dreams,” Moira explained. “Their visions aren’t always reliable, but I’ve heard many authors seek inspiration through them.”

“Huh,” John hummed. “So they can deliberately dream up writing prompts?”

“Pretty much,” Moira confirmed. “They could dream of anything from a wardrobe to a magical boarding school, for instance,” she explained.

“So what? Some wankers over 200 years ago dreamed of me and turned me into a fairy tale?” Red laughed. “Poor Gran’s been slandered.”

"Yeah, I guess so," John agreed, thinking of the kindly old wolf that had baked him an apple pie. "Although, it was your aunt that was called the ‘Big Bad Wolf'."

“Oh, come the fuck on,” Saccharine interceded, who up until now had remained hidden in Red’s bag. “Let's get real here, it’s that fucker Vulpis that’s the real villain.”

“Who is this?” Moira asked with alarm. “A fae?”

“Right, this is Saccharine, she’s a friend,” John explained while the fairy flew up to eye level with Moira.

Saccharine gave the paladin an appraising stare and nodded after a long moment. “You were right, Johnny, she’s way outta your league.”

John groaned internally, once again faced with the desire to strangle the tiny fairy. Moira’s face, however, had taken on a heavy blush. “What is she talking about, Newman?! What have you said about me?! What has he said about me?!” she demanded.

“Oh-hoh, maybe not?” Saccharine teased, flying away as Moira tried to snatch the irritating creature out of the air.

“Ignore her,” John told his redheaded friend hurriedly. “She tries to make up for her size by being loud and offensive.”

Red burst out laughing while the dessert fairy hurled profanities his way, and it took Moira a minute to restore order.

“Anyway, my father is momentarily occupied,” Moira started, after taking a long breath of composure. “In the meantime, shall I show you all around?”

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