Lukas had a couple of problems with the way Hunters outfitted themselves, but as he slipped on the dark gloves and twitched his fingers, it didn't feel so bad.
"This reminds me more of ninjas than anything." he said, imagining the black ensemble that he once watched on shows in the past.
"What, Lukas?" Chaerin turned to him.
She wore a very skin-tight long sleeved black top and leggings that accentuated her curves and thighs. Without the cloak across her shoulder, she looked more like a fashionable person who just liked to wear black all the time.
Lukas couldn't help but smile.
Despite the fact that he had lost the ornate dagger and didn't exactly end up discovering what F and I meant in the End User License Agreement—he felt like he could almost do anything by just having someone he loved by his side.
More than that, his eyes suddenly widened slightly when he noticed something across Chaerin's hips.
"Is that…?"
"A whip, yes." Chaerin smiled teasingly. "Would you have preferred if I'd actually brought this out before?"
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtLukas coughed but couldn't help but comment. "That's an interesting choice of weapon."
"It's easier to immobilize someone and then attack them… now I don't think this will work on bigger enemies because my strength rank isn't so high unlike my parents, but this will have to do."
Lukas wanted to ask more, but he was suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door.
When he went over to open it up, he saw Theodore wearing the same outfit that he saw when they had first met. The weird oni mask was at his waist and he looked positively grumpy.
It seemed like Lukas' suggestion for him to rest wasn't exactly the most effective one.
"We don't have all day to wait for you. It's easier to travel when the sun isn't out yet—even with our cloaks and gear, it's still far too hot for the most of us." Theodore explained.
"We'll be right out," Chaerin called from the back.
"I hope you've packed light." Theodore said and then went down the stairs. "The Vardokens are waiting."
"Vardokens?" Chaerin looked up at the name and so did Lukas, but for completely different reasons.
The couple grabbed their things and went out of their apartment and ended up not seeing one, but two Vardokens. Lukas was relieved to see Stacy standing there in a similar outfit, a cloak tightly wrapped across her shoulders but then there was the person standing right next to her.
Alexei, if Lukas remembered his name correctly, was Stacy's older brother.
The same guy that tried to steal his blood water from him along with his group of other Vampires. The older Vampire glowered at him upon seeing him but didn't say anything else.
If anything, it was Theodore who looked positively upset that more than three had come along. He massaged his forehead and muttered underneath his breath—but still audible for everyone to hear.
"If I had known that everyone was going to bring a buddy, why, I should have brought one too."
"Can you speak any less louder?" Alexei sarcastically said. "We can actually hear you since we're standing so close to you, Tenebris."
"Alexei," Stacy hissed and yanked her brother's arm, tugging him slightly away from Theodore. She didn't want any fight to spring up all of a sudden when they've all just met.
Lukas couldn't help but feel the same thing, it almost felt like all three of them would butt heads eventually, but first, Lukas cleared his throat.
"Chaerin decided to come with me, she wanted to help—"
"I can't speak for the Atticus couple because they've actually done a lot to help this city, but what can their daughter whose lived her entire life under an apartment actually do?" Theodore crossed his arms and jerked a chin towards Alexei. "I know he at least has a couple of bad fights on him."
"Alexei!" Stacy looked at her brother aghast.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmStacy's older brother looked a bit pleased himself, but eventually frowned and narrowed his eyes at Theodore. It was a little concerning that his accomplishments had been heard enough that the Hunter Association was alerted.
It could spell out trouble for the people he had been working with.
"I… isn't the Hunter Association aware of my capabilities?" Chaerin frowned and pressed a hand to her chest. She normally wouldn't speak about her ability proudly, but she wanted to convince what seemed like the de facto leader that she was an asset and not a liability to the group.
"When we're facing a herd of beasts—let your transformation ability help find us a way out, shall we?" Theodore spoke, sounding less impressed than anyone Lukas had ever met.
Serena Weisse had made it clear that Chaerin was an asset, but Theodore was far from happy. It also made Lukas a bit self conscious since he had started his first ability similar to Chaerin's…
However, before a further argument could spring up, a van strolled up and parked in front of them. The vehicle parked a bit too close to the Vardokens that Alexei had to tug his own sister out of the way.
It became clear that the driver had a vendetta because a blonde lady's face came into view. It was Katarina, Serena's maid and soon enough, Serena herself went out of the vehicle and met them.
Theodore instantly stopped talking and bowed his head.
Alexei scoffed and kept to himself while Stacy looked unsurely at the silver-haired woman. Chaerin also made a small bow, that Lukas felt like he almost needed to do the same but then Serena started speaking.
"Thank you so much for coming together to help save Councilman Tenebris' daughter. This will be a difficult task and since the Hunter Association has refused to provide much help and amenities, I have taken upon it myself to help."
Lukas didn't think much of it before, but as he stared at the vehicle behind Serena, he had one question in mind. Did this van actually came from humans before?