Dance of the Gods

In her room Veronica was lying in bed and crying. After what Michael said she ran straight in here and hid under her bed's covers... like a child.

The worst part was she had no idea why she felt like this. What he said shouldn't have caused a reaction like this. In the morning she already spent an hour getting her thoughts about this topic straight.

Maybe if the woman... Mia Patton, was innocent, then feeling like this should've been understandable, but she wasn't! She was a literal serial killer! It was the farthest one can be from an innocent person!

She tried to find a reason for her crying, but there was only one thought that came to her mind...

The problem wasn't that she felt guilty, but that she was afraid what other people would think of her... Would they think her a murderer, something similar to Mia... Or maybe they would think of her as a good Samaritan, by getting rid of an evil person...

Veronica didn't want to be either, what she had done was only in self defense and self preservation. If there would've been a chance for her to end the fight without killing the woman, she would've done so, but her battle awareness was nowhere near that level. It was a miracle in and of itself that she managed to walk away alive!

While preoccupied with her thoughts her door opened silently and someone stepped inside her room. Veronica glanced at the doorway where Sofie stood.

Her usual emotionless expression was disturbed by a small sympathetic smile. Without saying anything she closed the door and tried to sit on the bed. They basically had to cuddle to fit on the small bed, but Sofie didn't seem to mind it, she even looked quite comfortable.

"We really should give you a larger room... An ascended shouldn't sleep in a tiny room such as as this..." Said Sofie while looking around the small room.

"I actually like it here... It's cozy..." Her voice sounded a bit depressed and her throat felt scratchy. She didn't want to say the real reason she enjoyed the small room.

This place, this house, this world was empty of her. She had no real experience with it. If she had to decorate her own room with her mementos, then that room would be empty.

Her current room had no such problem. It was so small she couldn't decorate it even if she wanted to. It felt nice and comfortable exactly because of its cramped status.

They stayed silent after that. The quiet was comfortable for both of them, but eventually it got broken by Sofie's voice.

"You shouldn't be too mad at that dumbass downstairs, he probably didn't mean what he said. It was just his lack of knowledge that caused the slip up." Veronica didn't understand why Sofie defended Michael, but she didn't really care either.

"I'm not really mad at him... He is right, I'm a murderer... A killer... A monster..." She said in a sad voice, at which Sofie just smiled warmly and held her hand.

"I think you will have to kill a lot more people to be called a killer or a murderer. If you bake only one bread do you became a baker, or if you paint only one painting do you turn into an artist? After you dance for the first time do you turn into a dancer?" Veronica turned towards her with teary eyes and giggled a bit.

"Those are awful metaphors!" But Sofie didn't care about her remark and just continued.

"The answer is you aren't. When you have killed hundreds of people and you become a professional in the art of murder, only then can you call yourself a killer!... If you really want to call yourself that, then I suggest you get started murdering!"

This time Veronica actually laughed a bit, her mood was still in shambles, but it improved greatly since Sofie's arrival.

They chatted a few more minutes between themselves when a knock came at the door.

Veronica didn't know who could it possibly be, but Sofie just stood up and opened the door. Her face had already changed back to its previous suspicious hostility.

Behind the door stood Michael. He looked between Sofie and Veronica for a moment, then was about to say something, but Sofie spoke first.

"If you dare hurt her in any way, either emotional or physical, then I'm going to feed you your cock." Her voice was empty, with a hint of menacing undertone. It caused a shiver to ran down both Michael's and Veronica's spine.

Without saying another word Sofie walked out the door and went downstairs. Veronica had no idea how can a 17 year old normal human possess such a scary outlook!

For a good minute neither of them spoke. Eventually Michael glanced towards the stairs and whispered, "I don't think she likes me."

"Do you want her to like you?" Said Veronica her face not revealing any of her thoughts, even for Michael. Without looking to Veronica he said, "Well, it would definitely be easier if she did."

Exactly in that moment he realized that what he said could be easily misinterpreted, and as he turned to Veronica, he saw her face sour.

"That's not what I meant! I'm not attracted to her, or anything... Okay let's start this over! I came here to apologize for what I said... I had an enlightening conversation with Suze and she informed me that this was your first real battle and kill... It was impressive by the way! Killing someone of a higher order is never easy, but doing it by pushing an Heavenly Bullet into its brain... Now that was mind-blowing!"

As he spoke a small smile appeared on his face, but Veronica wasn't at all amused.

"Was that supposed to be a pun?" He looked away with a small blush, but Veronica's next words gave him a pause. "It wasn't even that impressive! I just had to push my limits a little and after a bit of brainstorming, the solution just hit her right in the eye!"

Michael looked at Veronica baffled. She tried to keep the serious expression, but it broke to pieces soon after she said her bad joke. They both began laughing, which really improved the otherwise awkward atmosphere.

"And you call my joke bad!" Said Michael, causing Veronica's face to turn haughty. "Mine was more accurate and whimsical. Just take the loss!"

Michael raised his hands in defeat and smiled. "Fine. You win this battle, but the war is far from over!"

"Oh, are you sure you want to fight me? I'm quite great in battles, even you called me a killer!" Her voice tried to stay joyful, but a bit of hurt managed to enter.

Hearing that Michael just sighed and stepped inside the room. The door closed behind him and he finally examined the space... not like there was much to see in a room as small as hers.

After staying silent for at least a minute, he tried to change the topic desperately.

"Is this really your room?... It's very..." Before he could say more Veronica cut in. "Very what? Tiny? Cramped? Boring?" She became very defensive all of the sudden, but Michael's answer subverted her expectations.

"I would've said homey and pleasant, but those adjective's fit it as well... It's definitely much better than my place. I mostly just go home to sleep then spend the whole day at the headquarters. Your room at least looks lived in, mine just feels empty."

Her eyes widened a bit. What he said was the exact reason she liked her small bedroom. There was no need to worry about decoration and it's very easy to clean!

Looking at him another notion came to Veronica's mind and before she could've stopped herself, she blurted out, "Do you live alone?"

"Who would I be living with?" He asked with a confused expression. Veronica looked away with a small blush, but she had already dug herself this grave, she might as well die in it.

"I don't know... maybe your girlfriend, or wife, or someone else." In the doorway Michael chuckled.

"Why are you laughing, this is a serious question!" This only increased his laughter, and Veronica's pouting face didn't help either.

Eventually he stopped and while smearing a tear of joy off of his face, he answered.

"Actually, I don't have anyone. Haven't had for a while now, but the real question is, why are you so interested in my private life?" He had a cunning, wicked grin on his face as he asked, which caused a deep blush to appear on Veronica's face.

It also didn't help that, when he said that he didn't have anyone, a small sigh of relief escaped her lips.

"I was just curious. You seem handsome enough and you probably make good money at the Unbroken. I just assumed that there were loads of women interested in such a person." She still couldn't meet his eyes.

"Yeah well, it's easy to find A woman, but it's hard to find The woman... Living as an Unbroken is a lonely business. Your work-life balance gets thrown out the window, while you have to keep secrets from your loved one..."

Veronica nodded, fully understanding what he was talking about. She was lucky since her whole family knew and actively participated in the supernatural world, but she couldn't imagine herself dating someone normal!

"And why don't you look for some ascended woman, for example your partner, the blond one!" She said while finally acquiring the courage to look at Michael. He just stared out the window towards the gray sky as he laughed dryly.

"That would solve the problem, but Billie is already married, and I'm not really into her. She is like the little sister of our whole chapter. She had only became an ascended a few months ago. Her husband was really against it, but he couldn't do anything about it. Her husband also works at the headquarters by the way, he handles the bit more mundane side of the establishment."

For a while they stayed silent, eventually Veronica just sighed and said, "Then I suggest to find someone who isn't taken. Life gets pretty meek when you have to face it alone!"

Slowly on Michael's face a smile spread, which confused her.

"What about you? You don't have anyone aren't you? Why don't you go out with me? You still owe a few hours since you skipped the morning course!" His smile stayed steady as he spoke, but behind his back, his hands were trembling and sweating from anxiety.

Veronica on the other hand just stared at him speechlessly for a full minute. When her mind finally started to work again, she tried to look for a reason to decline his offer, but she found none.

Eventually Michael had enough and was about to retract everything he said, but at that exact moment Veronica spoke.

"Okay... I wanted to go out at night anyway. Come pick me up at 8 pm!" This time Michael got stunned, but it only took him a few seconds to recover.

"Uhh... Where are we going exactly?" He asked nervously, which made Veronica giggle.

"What do you think?... Dancing, of course!" Michael just sighed and whispered to himself. "Should've seen that one coming..."

Not long after, he walked out of the room, leaving Veronica in howling laughter.