The Vigil's backyard was a patchwork of cracked stone and overgrown weeds, littered with remnants of failed spells—charred logs, half-melted boulders, and shallow craters filled with rainwater. Erin followed Regina past a cluster of jagged rocks where a wiry boy with tousled brown hair knelt, his palms pressed against the debris. Green light pulsed from his hands, seeping into the fractures like liquid emerald. The stones shuddered, edges knitting together for a brief moment before splintering apart with a sharp *crack*.
"This is Lock," Regina said, nodding at the boy. "Sealing magic. He's been trying to glue those rocks back together since he joined the team. Captain says if he ever succeeds, he'll earn a day off. Which, let's be honest, he won't."
Lock shot her a glare, sweat dripping down his temples. "Mind your own business, Pumpkin! I'll seal your mouth shut next!"
Regina smirked and kept walking, her heels crunching over gravel.
They approached a sunken training pit where Garrett stood, his broad shoulders tense as he focused on conjuring a dagger. Sparks flickered in his calloused hands, the blade materializing in jagged bursts before dissolving into smoke. Beside him, Lila leaned against a moss-covered pillar, her arms crossed and her silver eyes sharp with boredom.
"Garrett! Lila!" Erin called, waving eagerly. "You made it! I made it too!"
Garrett didn't look up, his brow furrowed in concentration. "Nice to… have you here… Erin," he grunted, the dagger flickering weakly in his grip.
Lila spun around, her braid whipping behind her. "Gravedigger! You're alive!" She bounded over, her boots kicking up dust. "Thought the Captain turned you into a rug!"
Erin grinned. "Nah. He just made me his personal maid."
"Well, I'll leave you two here," Regina said, already backing away. "I've got spells to learn and nobles to hex. Try not to die before dinner." With a flick of her wand, she vanished in a puff of orange smoke that smelled faintly of burnt sugar.
Lila plopped onto a weathered stone bench, gesturing for Erin to join her. "So, what's your training plan? Gonna punch boulders until you magically grow muscles?"
Erin shrugged, sitting beside her. "Captain says I've got no energy. So… I guess I'll just train harder? Not sure how that works without magic, though."
Lila rolled her eyes. "Energy isn't magic, idiot. It's like… the fuel for magic. The stronger your energy, the bigger spells you can cast. If a sorcerer uses a massive spell, it drains their energy, leaving them weak for hours. To get stronger, you train—harder, longer, until your energy pool grows."
Erin's eyes lit up. "So energy's like a battery? And magic's the gadget it powers? That's so cool!"
"Sure, if you want to dumb it down," Lila said, though a smirk tugged at her lips. "But without magic, you're just a… walking battery with no gadgets."
"Still cool!" Erin jumped to his feet. "So where's my training? Do I get a sword? A shield? A—"
"Here!" Regina's voice cut through the air as she reappeared, pointing to a mountain of laundry piled beside a rusted washbasin. Dirty tunics, stained trousers, and suspiciously frilly undergarments spilled over the edges, reeking of sweat and stale tobacco.
"Do the laundry," Regina said, tossing Erin a cracked bar of soap. "Captain's orders. Consider it your energy training."
"Okay! My first training! So cool!" Erin snatched the soap, already rolling up his sleeves.
Lila groaned. "There's nothing 'cool' about washing underwear, stupid! We should be on real missions, not scrubbing stains!"**
"At least it's better than doing nothing!" Erin plunged his hands into the soapy water, splashing droplets everywhere. "And washing the Captain's clothes? That's practically an honor!"
Lila facepalmed. "I'm teamed up with an idiot."
For the next hour, Erin attacked the laundry with the enthusiasm of a puppy chasing its tail. Lila lingered nearby, arms crossed, watching him fish out garments with a mix of amusement and horror.
"You brought this on yourself," she said as Erin recoiled from a pair of lacy pink panties. "Shouldn't have bet me you could finish before sunset."
"How was I supposed to know the Captain wears girls' undies?!" Erin cried, flinging the panties.
"Those are Regina's, moron!" Lila snapped, her cheeks flushing. "Wash them before she turns you into a toad!"
Erin grabbed another garment—a black lace bra large enough to double as a siege weapon. "SHE'S GOT BOOBS BIGGER THAN ARIA'S?!"
"SHUT UP!" Lila lunged to snatch the bra, her face scarlet. "You don't just—announce that!"
"But look at this!" Erin stretched the bra straps, squinting. "It could hold a watermelon! Maybe two!"
"I'LL HOLD YOUR FUNERAL!" Regina's voice screeched from a nearby window. A bolt of purple light zipped past Erin's head, singeing his hair.
Lila ducked behind the washbasin, wheezing. "Told you!"
A deafening alarm blared, rattling the mansion's foundations. Erin and Lila sprinted to the main hall, skidding to a halt before Captain Sage, who lounged on a moth-eaten throne. Taro stood beside him, arms folded, his expression colder than the northern winds.
"Listen up, weaklings!" Sage barked, flicking cigarette ash onto the floor. "Got your first mission. And guess what? You'll probably die!"
"So cool!" Erin pumped his fist.
"Idiot!" Lila hissed. "He said die*!"
"Taro'll take you to the location," Sage said, ignoring them. "Clean up my mess. And take Sleeping Beauty with you." He jerked his thumb at Noah, who'd dragged his sleeping bag into the hall and was already snoring.
"What's the mission?" Garrett asked, trudging in with singed sleeves and soot-streaked cheeks.
"Something bigger," Sage said ominously.
"Demons?!" Erin's eyes lit up.
"Worse."
"Monsters?!"
"Worse."
"Tax collectors?!"
Sage's eye twitched. "Just. Go."
"But sir!" Erin dropped to his knees, clasping his hands. "Aren't you gonna bless us? Or give me a magic sword? Or—"
"BLESS THIS!" Sage kicked him in the rear. "Move!"
Outside, Taro handed them a map scribbled with unreadable symbols. "Follow the markers. Don't die."
"That's it?!" Lila snapped. "No weapons? No plan?!"
"Plan's simple," Taro said. "Survive." He vanished.
Noah yawned, sand swirling around his feet as he trudged ahead. "Wake me… when we're there…"
Garrett conjured a wobbly dagger, its blade flickering like a dying candle. "Let's get this over with."
Erin grinned, hoisting his shovel. "First mission! Let's gooooo!"
Lila facepalmed. "We're doomed."