Castlevania: Disharmony

Jennifer opened the door to the tavern Valcior and Mina owned. Behind her were Faust and Stella. She smiled and directed her children to find Mina to play before she turned and sat down by her favorite window spot.

Claire looked over, seeing Jennifer. It was a slow afternoon, so Claire went to the back to find Valcior.

"I think you have a visitor. Shall I grab you both some coffee?" Claire asked him.

"Thank you," he said, by way of an answer. Valcior dropped the rag he was using to dry pints and wrapped Claire up in a very quick but tight hug. The fading peck on her forehead was like a lamented goodbye to the embrace. As Faust and Stella passed under his gaze and smile, Valcior rounded the bar and, wiping his hands across his pants' leg- he approached Jennifer's table.

"Late is the hour you venture from the farm," he observed with a small smile. "Shall I join you?"

"Please," Jennifer gestured to the seat across from her. Claire soon arrived with the coffee and fixings. "I'll check on the little ones." She winked to Jennifer and squeezed Valcior's shoulder before walking away.

"Young love...." Jennifer mused out loud as she mixed some milk and sugar into the coffee. She took a sip and glanced at Valcior. "How is life treating you?"

"Young my ass," he murmured after thanking Claire and watching her retreat toward Mina and the children. Valcior, for his part, took a sip of the coffee without mixing anything in. There was no making it taste even remotely bearable, it was coffee. In his day the best he might have hoped for was a mild tea. "Life is life. I'm finding purpose in places I never saw it before." His eyes strayed unconsciously to the fireplace, where a twisted, ruined sword hung over the mantle. "And how about you?"

"Things got...well, interesting." Jennifer sighed softly.

"We have a visitor. His name is Rook and though he didn't tell us, we knew he was a Judasari. What was strange though was that when we're around him, we don't feel sick. He doesn't seem to carry that trait." Jennifer paused and sipped her coffee. "He explained how he's on the run from this Order. They're a group of Judasari who are crusading against magic-users, using fear-mongering from when fiends used to hunt villagers. They say that we're to blame for it all."

"Well...everyone needs to be afraid of something," Jennifer narrowed her eyes. "But the Order is making it like a genocidal hunt for those with magic or practice magic. They even attacked us the other day. You might notice Stella," Jennifer glanced over at her. "She has a slight limp to her leg. It'll be better soon....I hope."

"But, Graham has made the decision to join Rook in stopping them. Fiona's going too...I...I'm not though." Jennifer's shoulders sagged at that point, showing her age.

Though his eyes lit aflame as her story unfolded, when she came to the crux of her concerns his stare was surprisingly blank. To Valcior, the problem was hard to grasp. She was not going to the fight. That was very clear. She did not care for that fact. That, too, was clear. The question to him was, why? The only reasonable answer he could find was that she would rather be by the Preacher's side in combat.

"I know it's rather disconcerting," he said, as the connection was made. "But, I firmly believe that Drake will be able to handle himself. He's played far more dangerous games with far more cunning foes." That being said, though.... "I want you to leave me any information you have on these people, though. If even one of them steps into this building, I will see them leaving with less teeth than they came in with for injuring Stella."

Jennifer nodded slightly. "I wish I could go. I would want nothing more than to run my glaive through the people who laid their hands on my family. But...if they came back here, it'd just be you. Well, you and the triplets if they're around. I don't want you left alone to bear our burden on your shoulders."

"Plus..." Jennifer bit her lip. "What if my body began to break down away from home?"

"Ah," he said, quietly. Some of her concerns became more understandable as he took a long draw from the mug. What was right to say here? His old teacher years ago would have vomited some contrite shite about God's will, all things having a time and all things passing. The words felt hollow in his own mind, he wouldn't put them on his tongue and he did not know whether they would have done her any good. "I worry about similar things. It may not be at the same pace but my body is deteriorating, too. I do not stay in shape, I do not stay in practice with my tools and yet I cannot get rid of them. Not ever since that family was slaughtered outside of town, not since their boy's body was found." He leaned backward.

"I suppose we have to do what we can while we can and if the front line isn't something you can do, then you'll have to come to accept that in your own time and your own way." Valcior wasn't trying to sound heartless, more his concern tinged his voice. Concern for her state of mind. "But the one thing you should never do is make a decision for my sake. Claire and I are not helpless." Valcior had not talked about his concerns with her, but he was sure she knew them all the same: somewhere not far from them there was a necromancer at play in a bloody game. That was a worry for another time. This issue on Jennifer's mind was a lot more pressing but at the same time he knew that his only role in it was to listen. It was far too personal a thing for one to impose their opinion upon her.

"I guess, what I'm trying to ask is...If anything happens to me here while Graham is away...Stand by my side. Should I fall, I want my children under your protection. The people here in this town love you very much, Valcior. If you vouch for them, I know my children will be safe with you here." Jennifer smiled sadly and she looked over as Stella came out.

She walked over to Valcior and grinned ear to ear. "Uncle Valcior! I want a hug!" She demanded.

Valcior didn't respond to Jennifer. If she didn't know that it was already a given, then she would learn. As the girl approached he leaned sideways and down. "I think we can see to that," he told her, before lifting Stella from the floor to his knee, arms wrapping around her so she didn't fall. "You're getting big," he told her, perhaps a little disbelieving. His chin rested briefly on the top of her head, playfully.

"I was just telling your mother that I might be making a few trips out to your farm soon. Wouldn't that be fun?" That was all the answer she ought to need. The thing was, he could not necessarily vouch for the town. The disappearances were few and far between, but someone on the edge of town was still going missing once every couple of weeks and the few who had been found bore all the signs of interaction with a necromancer.

Stella grinned and she giggled as Valcior lifted her up. She tugged at his arm slightly in a playful motion. Stella paused though when she looked over at Jennifer.

"Mommy, why are you crying? Did Uncle Valcior say something?"

Jennifer blinked and she rubbed her eyes a little. "N-No Stella, Mommy's just really happy."

Valcior didn't let the child down quite at first. He figured it was best that Jennifer be allowed to contemplate whatever she was contemplating and Stella seemed to have been a catalyst for it. He wanted to say any number of things to Jennifer, regardless of Stella's presence and he wanted to tell Stella that he wouldn't let any of this order hurt her if they came near her with him around, but knew that it would probably simply upset her. Though she did have a slight limp she didn't seem to care about it for the moment and there was nothing he could do to heal her that Drake couldn't have done (and thus probably had done) better. "Your mother loves you all very much," he told the girl before resting a hand on her head and then helping her back down.

"Go tell Mina that she needs to come out and say hello before you lot take off."

Stella reached back and gave Valcior a kiss on his cheek. "Okay!" She then disappeared into the other room.

Jennifer got up and brushed herself off. "Valcior...Thank you again. Thank you...There's just...not enough thank yous I can possibly say..." Jennifer bowed her head, her hair obscuring what could be reddened eyes from crying.

"Stop thanking me, then. You're family." He felt the needs to say this very clearly. "That being said, I don't know that it would be right of me to let you make the trip back home today. Not with the children. I could give you a room or you could go to the cabin and Claire and I could stay in a room here tonight." He was fairly sure that she had no delusions about his relationship with Claire after all this time but if any had remained they would be gone now. "Either way, it would be nice to have dinner with family, even if Drake is missing from its number."

"The children and I can stay in a room here. You needn't worry." Jennifer yawned a bit. "I'll get them ready for bed then." She smiled at Valcior and walked away to gather Faust and Stella.

Claire made her way out soon and she laid a hand on Valcior's arm. "Is...Is everything all right, sweetheart?" Claire asked him.