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The remaining days of the week could not have gone on any slower and yet Xiu was filled with an anxiety that was almost ironic to his situation. Supposing this was where he knew once and for all if his voice is forever lost? Was it better to cling on to a shred of hope and possibility (however fine it was) than to face the harsh reality?

The Sigel went about his daily chores in a distracted manner, hardly noticing that he’d misplaced several novels in the process of sorting by genre. Of course, being the busy human that she is, Hazeline was unaware of her Sigel’s plight. Xiu suspected that the housekeeper may have an inkling that something was off but like the venerable of dame that she is, decided not to pursue the matter.

When the weekend finally came and the Sigel was finally at their designated location, Xiu found it hard to keep his composure. This must be how prisoners feel at the time of their verdict thought the Sigel with just a hint of ironic amusement.

Then…

I wonder if arriving an hour early was such a wise decision after all

Xiu returned Cesc’s smile, clearly appreciating the other’s early arrival. It is good to see you, Cesc. You can’t imagine how nervous I am feeling today wrote Xiu looking sheepish. Rather silly actually since I used to think Sigels are all powerful and all-knowing as a frei .

But that aside…you do realize that the Trader is dangerous? If our quest really brings us to him, Cesc, I’d want you to promise me that you would put your safety before anything else. No compromise wrote Xiu, his expression firm. The Sigel was tempted to text Cesc and call the whole plan off several times during these past few days once he realized that the recovery of his voice may also lead to placing the stag in a dangerous situation. It was galling but with the Sigel himself unable to guarantee the frei’s safety, a small voice within Xiu’s mind kept telling him that it was not worth the risk involved. Cesc, despite being mature for his age, was still a frei and that meant that he was vulnerable. The Sigel did not think that he would be able to live it down if something happened to the polite frei.

I may want my voice back badly but it does not and will never match up to the value of a life. Do not ever make a trade with the trader. The Sigel’s expression then softened. I can see that you are determined to help and once again, I am duly grateful for it .

Pep talk over, Xiu smiled again. So…where do we start?

Xiu watched as the stag lowered his head as though deep in concentration. Was the frei really able to detect lost things like that? Even with the plethora of unique skills found in different raevans, Xiu found it hard t believe that one could possess such a skill as this.

When Cesc admitted that he had never actually done something like this before, the white Sigel smiled with understanding. No worries, Cesc. Let’s just take this as a trial run shall we? At the very least, it shall be an interesting outing

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Hmmmm… Perhaps he should have gone with the slimmer look that young men seem to have these days. Barrel chested and broad shouldered seemed to have lost much of its draw. Trust the womenfolk to be this fickle minded through the centuries. Whatever happened to men who were men? Now that he had actually stopped to notice, men were actually wearing makeup! Who in the blazes does that anyway?

Striding down the street, the man hummed softly to himself. Not bad. Could be a little deeper but it made for eloquent sounding speeches. Women dig that. And poetry too. One can never have too much poetry in the subtle art of wimmen-wooing.

“Let’s see, let’s see…,” the man said as he drew five thick fingers across a carpet of thick dark curls that was his choice of hair. Another mistake seeing that the women are all swooning over straight-haired dudes now.

“Marry me Margaret, won’t you be mine?
The sight and sound of you is simply divine,”

Yep, that sounded deep and thoughtful and knee weakening enough. Perhaps he oughta grab a box of chocolates or sweets too to seal the deal. Wimmin and their courtship rituals.

As the minutes crawled by, it was clear that the “hunt” was taking a toll on the young Frei. There were several instances where Xiu suggested that perhaps it was wise for them to take a break but the stag politely declined the offer each time and after a while, the Sigel merely contented himself with following the dawn Raevan around.

Their search brought them to a rather low-key portion of Gambino with several of the houses looking old and in need of a fresh coat of paint. Eventually Cesc stopped in front of a generic looking sweets shop; the kind that young children would often spend their allowances on. Inside, there were several customers buying various everyday sweets such as cough drops, mint, chocolates bars… and a rather large frame man holding a delicate box of dark chocolate in his hands with a thoughtful expression that one would not usually associate with that particular physique.

Xiu turned to Cesc, the “Are you sure? “expression clearly expressed on the white Sigel’s face. That was until Xiu realized that Cesc had warned him of his own uncertainty. Looking embarrassed, Xiu patted Cesc’s shoulder. Maybe it is? .

It was then that a small tinkle of a bell was heard as the large framed man exited the store. In his hand was a box of delicate looking chocolates. “Good day gentleman,” the man rumbled as he walked past the raevans without so much as batting an eyelid which made Xiu curious. Perhaps the human has met a raevan before the Sigel thought to himself.

Xiu had been looking at the human thoughtfully but at Cesc’s epiphanous expression, the Sigel was suddenly on the alert. While it was true that the human’s voice had been awkward for his size, Xiu had not thought much about it but now…

It was slightly deeper than he remembered and the human had merely uttered a gruff greeting but … it could just possibly…

Floating quickly after the huge figure, Xiu quickly gave the man a tap on the shoulder and balked when the human turned around with fists raised.

“What do you want?” the human growled in a voice that seemed uncharacteristically unsuitable for it. “I’m in a hurry and I will not be delayed,”

That voice Xiu mouthed, touching his throat. There was simply no time for writing and it was likely that the human would huff away if he broke eye contact. Xiu hoped that the human recognize body language.

It turned out that the human did. The man’s posture immediately became stiff and he regarded the two raevans warily. “What about it? It was a fair trade,”

Oh no, oh no, oh no….

Xiu felt his heart sinking at those words. In all sense and purpose, the human did…Wait! Powers? What kind of powers? .

The shocked look that the Sigel was giving the human must have been pretty obvious as the demon found it necessary to provide some form of explanation. “I used to be shapeshifting demon, kay? Traded that to become human and to get a bloody good voice, got it? Can’t woo er’ with a guttural demonic voice alright? Else her ears and eyes will bleed” the human said evasively.

The demon did not seem overly amused by what Cesc had to say. “Bugger off the lot of you,” the demon snarled. “Lest I sock pretty mute boy and candy floss head here hard,”

Thus declaring his threat, the demon abruptly spun around and began striding at an increased pace away from the both of them.

Afraid that there won’t be such a chance as this again, Xiu quickly urged the stag to follow the man. Perhaps they’d know a little more about the demon if they followed him. At a respectful distance of course.

The demon meanwhile, made his way to an even older part of town. Where clotheslines crisscrossed the skies and old men were seen chewing tobacco. The demon seemed to know where to go as never once did his steps falter.

“Oh Margaret, Margaret, Margaret…,” the demon muttered softly under his breath. “Give me the strength to not club those two with these chocolates of yours…,”

After several minutes or so of such mutterings, the demon finally stopped at a large but mostly boarded up apartment. Clearing his throat and actually trying to tame his wild curls a little, the demon looked nervous. Puffing into his hands and then smelling his breath, the demon turned to scowl and raised a warning fist at the two raevans. “Scram you dingoes,” the demon growled before clearing his throat and pressing the bell for the seventh floor.

While Xiu was concerned about losing his voice, he was also curious about the human being that this so called demon fell in love with. Hence his urging Cesc to follow after the demon had a dual purpose. Part of the Sigel wished that the courtship would not fall through. Then perhaps the demon might be inclined to return the voice. Another part of him felt that the first part was being selfish and that the Sigel should just observe the scenario as it plays out. Already the Sigel could see the Demon nervously standing before the rundown apartment. Giving Cesc a slight nudge, the Sigel made a motion that perhaps they should not be this close to the couple.


Meanwhile the Demon, no longer gruff, was standing nervously at the buzzer. The old thing was crackly and old with bits of its wiring sticking out from behind the moldy socket. Nevertheless, the demon still stood to attention and cleared his voice. Then, in what he hoped was a perfectly calm and collected tone, the Demon spoke.

“Margaret, this might seem sudden but… may I have a word with you? My name is Brutus and uh…yeah. Please, may we talk face to face? I come bearing chocolates!”

There. It was easier than expected. A little high on the last sentence but Brutus felt that that would not be held against him. Women afterall, were weak against chocolates and he had a box full of them.