When Royal Holligan was hired by the council so many years ago, he had been asked about his ambitions for the future. His superiors, the stuffy cloaked ones, wanted to know where he thought
he'd be after so many years of service. At the time he had imagined himself as a defender of the weak, but he had no tangible goal in sight. There were options of course. Perhaps he would return to Ireland
and advocate for the rights of his dirty forest people, even though it would mean coming to the defense of his man-eating, transient mother. Alternatively, joining the Inner Watchforce greatly appealed to him and
his skill with barriers was already above average. Ruling out those two paths, there was always that cocky side of him that tried the shoot the moon whenever it could.
How about you make me a reaper now and make things easier for yourself. The words of Royal's past self flitted through his present day head. And what a scrambled head it was. His cheek still stung for
obvious reasons and brain was caked over with concerns he couldn't express.
Geez, what a reckless kid. Royal thought. He had left the girl to simmer at Cecelia's, but he could still feel her anger on the back of his neck. He shuddered. This was just the type of thing that a quick drink will fix right up. At work, Royal typically would have a cold one or two whenever Keera overreacted to one of his jokes and started to
bitch at him. He'd go into the nearest convenience store, but himself something strong-ish, and hobble back to the fortune teller's when he was finished. It was a foolproof plan, until his conscience stopped him in the checkout line.
What the fuck am I doing? I can't be drinking around Tib's protege. He looked at the wide assortment of alchoholic beverages in his shopping bag. It was way more than what was needed. Chuckling to himself, Royal couldn't help but
spread a smile from ear to ear. I guess feeling emotions or rather... being around people who feel emotions... isn't my strong suit.
Still smirking, he turned to the cashier. She was a dark haired, twenty something, and perpetually chewing bubble gum. She was staring down at the dust on the counter, just something to pass the time.
"Hi there." Royal said coyly. "You looks like you're having fun."
The young lady raised her head and laughed. "Not even." The cashier said. "Getting paid is the best part."
"Ooh" Royal sneered mischievously. "Are you allowed to say that?"
"Probably not, but who cares." She said. "It's just a job. I can find another one."
"It's a shame I'm not hiring, then." Royal said as he put his bag of drinks on the counter. "That smile of yours could really brighten up the workplace."
The girl blushed. "Where do you work exactly?" She asked. Royal's mouth clamped shut. He made for the exit, leaving behind the myriad of drinks he had gathered together. The puzzled cashier girl just blinked, trying to figure out how what she
said could have disturbed the blonde haired irishman enough to just walk away. Royal said only one more phrase to the girl before he left, which befuddled her even more: "Happy Saint Pattie's Day!"
On his way back to Celia's, there was a hop in Royal's step. His typical goofy smile was back where it belonged and even the pain on his cheek had faded completely. He had thought of himself to be a defender of the weak, the oppressed, and especially
supernaturals who the world had completely given up on. That shapeshifter girl. Carahya, was a supernatural like the ones he needed to protect. Behind her powers, she was a nothing more than scared girl, lost in a sea of new danger. The fact that it took
her this long to truly snap was a feat of mental fortitude on her part.
Mammon, Deus Ignegena, and assassins who like to play ding-dong ditch. Royal thought. Even I'm a bit freaked out by all of this. I never expected this job to become so... joyless. Now I understand why Kole...
As the Terrow remembered Kole, a chill ran down his spine. That's right. Kole... he's basically out of commission. I can do anything I want! Although he thoughts were fanciful, there was not a smile on Royal's face. Why is it that, eventhough I have this golden opportunity for hijinks, I feel so nervous? Where did my good mood go? This bugs me.
Royal knew in his subconscious that he was kidding himself if he thought that now was a good time for jokes. This battle that the council was having with Mammon was about to become a war. Shit was about to hit the fan as he would say. All he done up until
now had been watching and waiting as the council's big guns were flattened one by one under the fist of a demon. Matao's swift demise
was followed all too soon by Shera's unprecedented leaving. With Kole more or less circling the drain, Royal realized that protecting
may all too soon be up to him and this truly scared him. Keera would gone almost overnight if Kole were killed, and Tibias well... who
knows.
When the terrow returned to Celia's store, he sat back down next to Carahya with uncommonly solemn look on his face. "Sorry about
taking off like that." He said to the girl. "I needed to de-stress a little bit."
"Oh..." Carahya seemed almost embarrassed that she had slapped Royal in the first place. "Well, I did hit you pretty hard."
"Yeah, you have quite the arm." Royal admitted. "Or arms. Whatever it is for shapeshifters."
"I'm still not taking back what I said, Mr. Legend of Zelda."
"Zelda?"
"You heard me." Carahya affirmed. "I won't apologise for being upset. Got it?"
"Fine, then." Royal sneered weakly. "I won't apologise for being an asshole."
"You already did."
"Well... damn."
The next few minutes passed in silence. Royal and Carahya sat patiently and there patience was rewarded when Cecilia finally was ready
to allow them inside.
