Talk Through Town

A/N: If a quotation does not have brackets designating the language that speech is in, it's in [H] humish.

"[D] Sorry, Vi." I stretch before lifting up both halves of a milled log and resting it on my shoulder. "[D] I can't just always play around, okay?"

"[D] But why noooooot?" The insectoid hugs herself around my leg, making me drag her along.

"[D] We've got more people coming to town today. Do you want them to sleep outside?" I grunt, even my boost from Pure Land not enough to prevent me from showing signs of struggle.

"[D] They can make their own homes!" She hugs me tighter.

"[D] Violet," Camilla kneels down as I pause to accommodate her, "[D] regular people can't do what your dad's doing without help. Don't you want everyone to know how strong your dad is?"

The toddler pauses for a few moments. "[D]...okay..." She slowly releases my leg and stands, looking up at me with sad eyes. "[D] But can we play when you're done?"

I smile, reaching down to pat her head. "[D] Of course we can, Vi." I then turn to Camilla as I begin walking, the toddler zooming back and forth across the street, luckily on her feet. "Your 'friend' to thank for you knowing devilish?"

The captain nods. "Yeah. It's..."

"Weird?" She nods with a sigh as I continue. "Yeah, it takes some getting used to. I didn't even know I was speaking it until Eve helped me find out. Heck, I might even know angel..ish...or whatever the language of angels is called."

She gives a slight chuckle. "[A] You probably do." I pause, looking at her as she takes a few steps before stopping herself. "[A] Is something wrong?"

I brush it off, continuing to walk. "[A] Nothing." I clear my throat, noticing my own slipping into another language. "You know, you don't have to follow me around town, too. If someone attacks me, I can handle myself, especially here."

"You say that, but..." Camilla sighs. "'She' is very...stubborn. I'm your bodyguard, or she's your bodyguard. She made that very clear after Kara and I..." Her face turns a few shades redder. "...you know. Don't get me wrong; I don't want you hurt-"

"I know, but sticking with me all the time isn't the best way to spend your time." I grunt. "Wait, how long is this for?"

She shrugs. "Until we can get her out of my head? She doesn't even remember how she got here..."

There's a bit of silence, other than Violet running around and saying 'hi' to everyone and my labored breath. "Wait...how... how does that work when you're asleep?"

She doesn't answer for a moment, and then sighs as she pinches her nose. "Of course... We'll deal with that tonight. For now, let's just focus on building these houses. Like you said before, all the new people need places to stay that aren't the inn or church."

...let's change the subject... "So, any ideas on how to get ten gold in a week?"

Camilla exhales. "It's probably impossible... Even if you sell monster parts to The Guild, on top of selling furs, wood, and food to merchants in Recuan..." She shakes her head. "I'm not a merchant, but I don't think Riverbend's economy is worth even one gold. We don't even use coins here, unless we're dealing with merchants from Recuan."

"Starting to sound like the king gave me an impossible test..." I take a breath. "Well, we've got probably fifty goblins, that'll help in terms of pure numbers. After this, I'll take Eve and we can tell them to begin scouting for other monsters in the region. They're spread out, too, so we'll have some better coverage."

"Not a bad idea. If there are dungeons nearby, then we should take them out as soon as we can."

"That's the plan." I set down the two half-logs near where the two orcs are assisting James, the main 'builder' in Riverbend, build a house. We both begin turning back toward the lumbermill. "[D] Violet, come on. Let's not bother them while they're working." The hornet lifts up off the ground, buzzes over, and wraps me in as much a hug as her tiny arms can manage. "As for food, how is the... ehunh-meat holding up?" I point to my kid with my eyes.

The brunette shakes her head. "If it hasn't been eaten by now, it's rotten. That much salt is expensive, and even then, could only do so much."

"Tsk." There goes that idea... "So, other than the farmland to the south and hunting, we're basically out of options for food... Hunting covers furs, too, so we're down to wood and monster parts... And here I was hoping to hold onto that oni's core for Eve."

"What do you mean?"

"That oni was a dungeon master and a goblinoid. If Eve can absorb his core, as well as nine other goblinoid dungeon cores, she can make her own dungeon. I don't know how likely that is to happen, but if we can help it, I want to keep it just in case."

"My lord," Camilla's voice begins echoing, albeit it seems more muted than her 'friend's' usual tone. "I recommend you find a way to acquire dungeon cores for yourself, as well. It will be very advantageous for you in the future."

"As far as I know, I'm the only nephilim..."

'Camilla' gulps and blinks. "Yes, the only living nephilim. That may not be the case forever."

"Even then, I doubt nephilic dungeon cores grow on trees."

She looks at me confused for a moment. "Why would they grow on trees?"

"They're not common, is the point. Unless I could use devil cores, I doubt I'd be able to get anywhere close to the ten cores needed."

The spirit purses Camilla's lips. "I...do not know if that would work. Apologies, my lord." She reaches up to her head. "Agh... What do you know?"

"Welcome back." I joke. "Figure out her name, yet?"

"She doesn't remember, but she told me to call her Lilac. We're starting to have a few too many flowers, here." She chuckles.

. . .

I sit down on the floor of my house. It's surprisingly empty, other than myself, Camilla, Eve, and Violet. I wonder where Torch, Empress, and Daisy are... "Eve, you feeling any better?"

The goblin rubs the sleep from her eyes. "Better...just...what happened? I remember seeing the oni...and he was trying to get in my head...and I think I started fighting back, but..."

Camilla chuckles. "Does 'hands off my dick' mean anything to you?"

"Uh..." She looks me in the eye, her face becoming darker; more brown and dark purple. "I-I didn't say that...did I?" She denies it as she looks away, but clearly has some memory.

Camilla and I both laugh as I put a hand on Eve's shoulder. "Don't worry about it. If nothing else, I'm flattered. If it hadn't been for you, Camilla and I would both be dead." I pull her into a side hug.

She mutters something in another language. "Please...forget that..."

Camilla slows her laughter, before getting a bit more serious. "Dusk, do you want to tell her?"

"Tell me what?"

I exhale, then purse my lips. "How do I even introduce this?"

Camilla pinches her nose. "Like this." A shadowy black wing emerges from her back. It's not an actual wing, by the looks of it, more of a shadow given 'physical' form. "Eve," Lilac is apparently in control now, as their shared voice is echoing slightly. "Be not afraid. Camilla, Dusk, and I believe you are in the process of being possessed by a past nephilim. I cannot tell you how long the process will take. However, you shall not be alone. Camilla and one other share this burden with you. It may even be more in the future. I know not why, nor how, and I apologize for not being capable of saying more." The brunette clutches her head as the black wing fades and she leans back against the wall, slowly sinking to the floor. "'You shall not be alone.' Pfft. That's half the fucking point, here."

Eve is speechless. "I..."

One other? Who could that be? "It's a lot to take in, I know. I'm probably somehow responsible for this, so I'm sorry that you have to go through it at all." I tighten my grip on her. "I'll help you through this as much as I can, okay?"

The goblin gulps. "You-, she said there was another? Do you know who?" She's probably trying to distract herself...

Camilla shakes her head. "Just that there is a third. Something about 'sensing the connections'."

I tilt my head. "Connections? She didn't elaborate on anything else?"

Another head shake. "We'll find out soon enough. You probably already know who it is, you just don't know who it is."

I sigh. "Yeah. Anyway, take another few minutes before we head out to the tribes. I owe my daughter some play time."