Among Demons : Rebellious Huntress

Chapter 7 : Uniform & Family

I spent the next day relaxing with Allie, but I made sure to keep in contact with Tancy and Ambroz through text. They were the ones that told me that the scheduled gathering was happening the next day, so I allowed myself to fully relax for just a little while longer. The next morning, after a very happy and fun filled breakfast with Allie and her family, I set up my laptop and got to work.

I read the notification that alerted Tancy of the upcoming meet-N-greet. Thankfully, the invite was being done in a large group setting where everyone of the same rank was told to gather at the same time with their handlers. From there, each person was going to be called for a one-on-one interview with our new leaders. And after that things should go back to business as usual.

Except, maybe, for me.

I wasn’t under any illusions or false hopes about meeting these men. I already knew that they were going to have a certain level of distrust aimed at me once they looked into my family name. Doubt would snake into their overall thoughts of me, more than likely pushing aside their glowing first impressions if they looked through my records as a Scout. All the hard work I’d done, all the information I had gathered and the many wounds I obtained to help and protect innocent Demons… all of it could and more than likely would be turned into nothing more than scraps now. That doubt, rising from my link to the Evans family, would bring every ounce of work and every assignment into question. Not to mention the fact that I was a member of the core Evans family, all of whom were loud and proud with their Anti-Demon opinions.

So, why aren’t I? Why am I different from them? Am I a double agent? Am I pretending? Have I actually helped my Demon friends, or was it all a red herring? Could I be some big, secret threat working for my father? Could I be selling information back to my family while giving my friends misleading or down right false leads and documents? Can I be trusted?

These and so many more questions could likely be thrown my way during that interview.

“This is gonna be all kinds of fun.” I muttered to myself sarcastically, leaning back to lay my head on the backrest of the couch I was on.

“What is?” I turned and smiled at the sound of Leo’s voice, watching her come down the last few steps to the basement suite.

She was carrying a tupperware of food that I knew she was going to place in Allies fridge. But once she caught something in my expression, she paused and moved towards me, soft concern shining in her ringed eyes. Instead of asking me anything though, she simply moved closer and looked at my laptop, her frown deepening as she sighed and placed the small plastic tupperware onto the couch beside me.

“I heard.” She nodded, bracing herself on the backrest of the couch as she read the invite from over my shoulder. “Are you feeling nervous?”

I shook my head, “Not really.” I sighed back and re-read the screen, wanting to brush off the cloying self-loathing I was feeling. “More angry than anything.”

She moved her arms and hugged my shoulders from behind, making me smile when she placed a motherly kiss on the back of my head.

Leo understood how I felt every time someone learned of my family name. All the emotions that would strike me whenever I had to face the almost violent aversion that nearly all Demons have to the Evans family. Some outright curse me out. Others get more physical and scream my family’s crimes at me, reminding me of the Demons they’ve hurt. And the smaller percentage of the Demons I interact with become panicked, frightened and begin to look at me as though I were no better than a snake slithering towards them.

Rage always takes over me for the filth my family has spread. All the hate, the judgement, the cruelty and visceral disgust they openly showed towards Demons. And all of it tainting the years of good we used to do as Guardians.

“They’ll give you a chance, sweetheart.” Leo said softly, giving my shoulders another squeeze.

“I hope you’re right.” I chuckled lightly, patting her arms.

She harrumphed before straightening up, rounding the couch with a determined look in her eyes that was very identical to her daughters.

“I helped raise those boys!” She snapped, beginning to pace along the side of the couch. “I better not hear that they’ve treated you poorly because of your damn family!” I couldn’t help but giggle a bit, watching her as she waved her arms around as she talked. “You are a sweet, hardworking young lady! A trustworthy and loveable woman that my entire family will welcome and treat with nothing but respect and an open mind!” She paused, wagging her finger at me while I fought back my smile. “And I mean my ENTIRE family! So those boys better not question all the good you’ve done, all the people you’ve protected and all the valuable information you’ve passed to us!” She crossed her arms over her chest and huffed again, tapping her pretty pink house slipper. “They’ll deal with me if they give you any grief.”

I closed my laptop and rose to my feet, moving over to the still frowning black panther and wrapped her in a tight hug.

“You don’t need to do any of that, Leo.” I told her, smiling wider when she hugged me back and we both began to rock from side to side softly. “They don’t know me, so it’s natural for them to feel however they do once they find out about my family.” She huffed again but I kept going. “I have no problem proving myself to them and to anyone else that doubts my intentions.” I pulled back a little and smiled at her, feeling her relax a bit in my arms. “As long as those I love trust and believe in me, that’s all I need.”

“My sweet child.” She muttered gently, leaning in to kiss my forehead. “No one would dare doubt you for long.” Her hand came up and cupped my cheek, making me sigh and lean into her motherly touch. “Not when they see how kind and selfless you are.”

Leo and her husband had started claiming me and treating me more like their daughter a few years ago. They never cared who heard or where we were when they did so. They just treated me as though I was a loved and cherished member of their family. And I loved them all the more for it. In my mind, they were my heart-parents, the very people I should’ve been born to. The family I always dreamed and wished for.

A mother that was understanding, firm yet loving and always showed you how much she loved and cared for you. A father that was protective, fiercely supportive about anything you wanted to do and always ready to help you practice and learn more ways to protect yourself. A sister that was more like a best friend, laughing with you, sharing all kinds of secrets with you and helping you misbehave and break curfew to meet boys. And a sweet little brother that knows exactly how to get under your skin, poking fun at you, messing with your stuff when you’re not around yet never upset when you ask to join him in his online games with his friends.

After our little hug-fest and a few more words of encouragement from Leo, I helped her organize her leftovers and returned to the spare room a little while later. I then showered, blow dried my shoulder-length caramel hair and pulled on my all black Scout’s uniform.

Thick shorts that stopped half-way down my thighs, knee-high boots with secret pockets for weapons or storing documents, flash drives or other important information. Form fitting dark top with three quarter sleeves and a high collar that hugs the bottom of my neck. A slim hooded jacket and face covering along with elbow gloves completed the uniform. It's all made to fit each Scout's body type perfectly and the material used is some type of unique blend that doesn’t ever leave a thread and lint bit behind, no matter how many times it's washed. Even the inside of the hood is special and made in a way that prevents any fallen hair strand from slipping out and leaving a trace of our presence. So no matter where we go, what we do or how long an assignment takes, we never leave behind any sliver of DNA evidence that could lead back to us. Not even a fingerprint could be found or a single thread or fibre.

The inside of each article of clothing also has a very tiny sown symbol of a ring of thorns with a curved sword in the middle that's surrounded by a set of fangs, wings, a pawprint and a multi-colored ball of fire.

The symbol of the Demon Royal family.

Once everything was in place, with the face mask hanging loosely from my neck and my gloves folded into my jacket pocket, I stepped out of my room.

“Hungry?” Allie asked, grinning as I fussed over the edge of my jacket that wasn’t staying nicely smoothed down like I wanted.

“Hmmm, a small bite.” I told her, glancing at the big metal digital clock hanging over the back door I’d used last night. “I gotta leave soon.”

She pouted a bit but nodded.

Allie had been looking forward to hanging out for another full day before I got back to doing my spy work. But she did perk up when I promised to come right back from the meeting and spend a little bit of time being her little helper.

She had been excited to show me the blueprints to her very own tattoo shop that was planned out and would soon be in construction within the next few months. Even though Allie didn’t have a lick of ink on her own body at all, she is an incredible artist and was the one responsible for the four art pieces I had. Her father, a few of our friends as well as her lover-boy Emerys also had ink that Allie personally drew up and etched onto their skin.

She had called me a few months ago, screeching into the phone with so much excitement after she had confirmed with her cousins that her small little ink shop was going to be one of the businesses that was going to be built inside the Village. And since then, Allie’s been looking over a few different designs for the building as well as drawing up all manner of tattoo ideas that would show prospective patrons her skill and art style. She was even able to attach a three bedroom apartment to her shop too.

I could still hear how gleeful and lovey she sounded when talking about her new home with Rys, gushing about the two baby’s she envisioned them having some time in the future. How she was going to teach her kids about all types of art and encourage them to pursue any passion they develop or find.

Watching Allie now while I munched on the bacon, lettuce and tomato wrap she made me, I could see the excitement nearly vibrating out of her.

“Just say it.” I chuckle out, smiling around a bite. “You’re nearly screaming at me with your eyes anyway.”

Allie giggled and beamed brightly, “I’m just excited to show you!”

“I can see that.” I shimmied my shoulders closer to her, swallowing another bite. “Just make sure you have everything you want to show me out and ready so I can help, ‘kay?”

She nodded her head so hard I was scared she’d scrambled her mind a bit. Still, I grinned and laughed with her as she started bouncing in her seat.

A part of me was a little worn out already, just thinking of the hours upon hours that I was going to spend listening to her describe everything in detail. Every blueprint she rejected and why, along with the one she picked out and the endless ways that she was going to paint, decorate and furnish each room. Then, once she was satisfied with that topic, she was going to shove every single drawing she had crafted and colored into my face. And following each one she is bound to ask me if I thought it was good enough to display in the main sitting room for the patrons. She wanted a generous sample of her artwork displayed to show her range, skill and style. That way, any prospective patron could walk in knowing what it was that they were likely to get. She was also going to ask me to help her look through the list of employees to hire and compare their sample artwork along with hers so there was variety for her customers to choose from.

“I’m not getting any sleep tonight.” I muttered a while later, waving to my friend as I mounted my bike and headed for the gathering.