Today was her day off. It was a day that was so free it felt surreal. For once, there was absolutely nothing to do. Ritunen was taking care of Kiran so DeVian could enjoy this time to herself. Stasia was fucking off in god knew where. Marjorie held down whatever duties had to be delegated to Dev at Law Technologies so the free day could be enjoyed.

DeVian Law-Noba sank deeper into her bathtub, squinting her eyes to filter out some of the light that came streaming through her bathroom window. Out of all the places she owned, this was one of her favorite bathrooms. The floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the bustling city never ceased to amaze her. Humans were so small and unremarkable - from this height, no different from ants, really. The funniest part was that from this height there was also no way to tell who was a claimant or even if there were Ancients down there. They were all unremarkable. It was nice to be humbled in such a way.

The dark-skinned Brazilian woman hummed a light tune under her breath as she sank back into the water once more with a renewed desire to relax. One press of the jacuzzi jets and it was turned into a euphoric experience. It was so calm and quiet in the bathroom that it seemed even the walls screamed when the door opened and Ritunen Desvoy sauntered in.

DeVian didn't turn, instead putting her hand over his when he put it on her shoulder as he kissed the back of her neck. He didn't pause before continuing with running his hands over her body as if refamiliarizing himself with it. She leaned into his hands and was rewarded with a kiss on the forehead. His long black hair fell into the water just barely but he hardly seemed to pay any mind. The apartment disappearing under his feet probably couldn't deter him from his mission.

"You didn't close the door," Dev noted, fully paying attention now. She had expected a kiss in passing and for him to go about his day but this was not unwelcome.

"The kid's with Bruno, we'll be fine," was his quick answer, already taking off his T-shirt. His haste made her laugh and her laugh pulled a genuine smile out of him.

"What are you in such a rush for, lover boy?"

"Have you seen the news?"

"No. I'm on vacation." Nor did she have any intention of asking why he would question her watching the news. Whatever it was, she didn't want to be bothered with it.


"Well since your vacation is ending early, I figured I'd give you something nice to think about."

"What makes you think it's ending early?"

"We'll talk about it after."

"I want to know now."

"No, because then you'll be mad and I don't have any gags on me. Definitely not. " He went to the countertop and took a ponytail holder to tie his hair up with, some of the ends lightly dripping onto the floor.

"You didn't even ask me if you could join my bath," DeVian scoffed at him, rolling light hazel eyes far into the back of her head.

"Of course I can." He stepped easily into the tub and effortlessly picked her up out of it so he could sit and reposition her on top of him. She blushed at the way she was manhandled - not sure if it was more out of embarrassment or lust. He was completely oblivious to it, taking a moment to settle in. When he was done he immediately splashed her with water and started a splashing war that left half of the bath on the floor.

The Law heiress frowned as she moved wet hair out of her face. "I don't like you."

"Give me five minutes and we'll see."




Ritunen was right: Dev was extremely mad about the news he presented her with. She had to go to Rome on her day off because Echowix decided to show her scummy face outside of the Citadel and fuck up the human realm. What kind of timing was that? The Ancient hadn't been seen, like... ever!

DeVian couldn't resist grumbling under her breath in her native Portuguese as she walked around the extended walk-in closet to collect her necessary gear for the mission.

"Why are you sharpening your halberd?" Ritunen yawned from the doorway as he leaned against the frame. He had a permanent self-satisfied smirk after their morning in the bath together but his good mood did nothing to mellow her sour one. "Come on, why don't you sit and braid my hair to calm down before you go."

"Ay, fuck you, seu pequeno vigarista," the death claimant shot back. "I'm sharpening it because if I have to work on my day off, people are going to die."
Portuguese: you little con artist

He laughed it off with a nonchalant shrug of the shoulders. "You're so cute when you scowl murderously like that."




The throne upon which Novevu sat was truly awe-inspiring. It was beautiful. Usually Dev liked to admire the details of it and the amazing craftsmanship, but today it didn't work. Novevu, her Ancient, could tell she was annoyed from the way she stormed in.

"So you decided to turn on your TV," the pale, dark-haired man threw out. His expression remained a bit pensive as he considered the fiery Aikekunai before him.

"You didn't summon me."

"Let's just say I don't need you biting my head off because there's work on your day off. That was an experience I am not keen on replicating."

The memory actually managed to make her laugh. She could remember it as clear as day: she had cursed at him for hours on end in every language she knew (Portuguese, Spanish, and English, in order of usage from most to least pissed off) and completely wrecked the area he had sent her to. It was meant to be a pretty straightforward mission to recover what was apparently a very important book that had been stolen from his personal library. The original thief had pawned it off to some humans who had no idea the likes of the people that would be after it. Dev had managed to track them down to an antiques shop where they were consulting an expert on the book's worth. In her anger with the fact that she had to be there at all, DeVian sliced everyone present to ribbons without asking any questions. Afterward she trashed the shop and eventually burnt it down - and still didn't feel better until she had gotten done giving Novevu a good piece of her mind.

"Well tell me what I need to do so I can get it over with." The Brazilian tech heiress rolled her eyes and crossed her arms as she felt the annoyance of the day ahead settling in. She wanted to calm down and was trying to but she couldn't help it.

"I'll keep it brief. Echowix dropped a quill off in Rome and... Froze... Time."

"She froze time?"

"Yes, within the confines of the city. The people don't seem to be hurt, but I'm sure you can imagine it is a bit of a sensitive manner. The houses are at odds and I need you to find out what you can about this."

It made sense now why he would call her in to do this. This was pretty high-profile. Still she couldn't shake the anger that came with being the only one capable of doing this. It was flattering, though. "How long is this supposed to take?" she finally relented enough in her attitude to ask.

"However long it takes you to collect some information."




Did you see the news? Are you heading there?

Dev considered the text from her wife, Stasia, for a long time. She should've expected to be hearing from her since they were both Aikekunai. This wasn't how she had hoped to be meeting back up with the woman, but it was kind of a relief. They hadn't spoken in months since an argument had torn a rift between them. DeVian had apologized as sincerely as she knew how but Stasia just didn't think it was enough. The argument revolved around a one-of-a-kind nail polish... The only ones it made any sense to were the two women themselves.

DeVian didn't know how to respond to the message. Of course, Stasia should've assumed Dev would be assigned this task, seeing as they were both Aikekunai for their respective houses. Could the message just be her way of reaching out to initiate conversation? No... Stasia would let them both die without speaking another word to each other before she did that. Dev stared at the screen so long that it timed out and she was left gazing at herself once more. It was not often that the Law Tech heiress found herself at a loss for words, but here, she couldn't think of a damn thing to say. Mostly she was excited Stasia had reached out at all. Maybe she wasn't so mad anymore?

No, she was probably still mad. Stasia could hold a grudge longer than either of them had been alive. Even in the face of her wife sobbing her eyes out and begging and forgiveness, Stasia could be unmoving.

Yes, I'll be there... On my day off, Dev wrote back, barely quelling the butterflies that erupted in her stomach at the very sight of Stasia texting her. It could almost completely make her attitude subside... Almost.

Making her way to Rome was not difficult. It was as easy as opening up a portal to the Void and spitting herself out of the other end, and extremely time-efficient. The downside was that using her abilities screwed her immune system over, and even though it was warm outside, she shivered every few minutes.

She looked around the spot she had stepped out of. It was not a place she recognized. All over the sidewalks and even halfway in the streets were humans snoozing peacefully. Some cars seemed to have come into an easy stop against poles or walls. No one seemed grievously injured. For a catastrophe, it looked pretty tame so far.

Ghosts of the dead whispered to DeVian Desdon anything they could thing of. Some wailed infinitely; some tried to get in her head; most just wanted any conversation she could offer. DeVian did not often use her ability to speak with the dead because it annoyed her more than anything. She wished she had gotten the power of necromancy to at least make them useful to her.

"Find my wife," she spoke into the air. There was no detectable response by anyone that wasn't a death claimant. From her point of view, though, a thousand ghosts pored in every direction at her beck and call just for the chance to have a sense of purpose. The location of Stasia Noba was revealed no later than two minutes after Dev had touched down in Rome. This brought a smile to the woman's face for the first time since receiving the assignment.

When Dev finally laid eyes on Stasia, she couldn't keep her heart from jumping to her throat. Everything in her wanted to jump on the blonde woman, shower her in kisses and resign them both to bed indefinitely. The reality was that they were working and still in a heated argument in their personal time. She hated it.

"Hey, it's me," the dark-haired death claimant announced as she approached Stasia from behind. The woman was bent over one of the sleeping humans, her bare hands on their wrists. DeVian knew what that meant. She touched Stasia gently on a part of her shoulder covered with clothes as she came up behind her, speaking lowly so she didn't interrupt her work. "Stasia. Can you hear me?"

When she was finally acknowledged, Dev couldn't help the flutter of a smile that floated onto her features. Stasia looked perfect every time she saw her. Even if there was a hair out of place... There wasn't. Waking up to her and Ritunen was a continuous dream come true... Not having seen the woman's face in months just made the adoration stronger. Dev wanted to forget the mission completely. If it weren't for the fact that they were both working, Dev would not have hesitated to fall at Stasia's knees and grovel.

The air carried the scent of other claimants... Dev couldn't tell what she was supposed to expect. Her grip on her halberd tightened accordingly.

Today was her day off. It was a day that was so free it felt surreal. For once, there was absolutely nothing to do. Ritunen was taking care of Kiran so DeVian could enjoy this time to herself. Stasia was fucking off in god knew where. Marjorie held down whatever duties had to be delegated to Dev at Law Technologies so the free day could be enjoyed.

DeVian Law-Noba sank deeper into her bathtub, squinting her eyes to filter out some of the light that came streaming through her bathroom window. Out of all the places she owned, this was one of her favorite bathrooms. The floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the bustling city never ceased to amaze her. Humans were so small and unremarkable - from this height, no different from ants, really. The funniest part was that from this height there was also no way to tell who was a claimant or even if there were Ancients down there. They were all unremarkable. It was nice to be humbled in such a way.

The dark-skinned Brazilian woman hummed a light tune under her breath as she sank back into the water once more with a renewed desire to relax. One press of the jacuzzi jets and it was turned into a euphoric experience. It was so calm and quiet in the bathroom that it seemed even the walls screamed when the door opened and Ritunen Desvoy sauntered in.

DeVian didn't turn, instead putting her hand over his when he put it on her shoulder as he kissed the back of her neck. He didn't pause before continuing with running his hands over her body as if refamiliarizing himself with it. She leaned into his hands and was rewarded with a kiss on the forehead. His long black hair fell into the water just barely but he hardly seemed to pay any mind. The apartment disappearing under his feet probably couldn't deter him from his mission.

"You didn't close the door," Dev noted, fully paying attention now. She had expected a kiss in passing and for him to go about his day but this was not unwelcome.

"The kid's with Bruno, we'll be fine," was his quick answer, already taking off his T-shirt. His haste made her laugh and her laugh pulled a genuine smile out of him.

"What are you in such a rush for, lover boy?"

"Have you seen the news?"

"No. I'm on vacation." Nor did she have any intention of asking why he would question her watching the news. Whatever it was, she didn't want to be bothered with it.


"Well since your vacation is ending early, I figured I'd give you something nice to think about."

"What makes you think it's ending early?"

"We'll talk about it after."

"I want to know now."

"No, because then you'll be mad and I don't have any gags on me. Definitely not. " He went to the countertop and took a ponytail holder to tie his hair up with, some of the ends lightly dripping onto the floor.

"You didn't even ask me if you could join my bath," DeVian scoffed at him, rolling light hazel eyes far into the back of her head.

"Of course I can." He stepped easily into the tub and effortlessly picked her up out of it so he could sit and reposition her on top of him. She blushed at the way she was manhandled - not sure if it was more out of embarrassment or lust. He was completely oblivious to it, taking a moment to settle in. When he was done he immediately splashed her with water and started a splashing war that left half of the bath on the floor.

The Law heiress frowned as she moved wet hair out of her face. "I don't like you."

"Give me five minutes and we'll see."




Ritunen was right: Dev was extremely mad about the news he presented her with. She had to go to Rome on her day off because Echowix decided to show her scummy face outside of the Citadel and fuck up the human realm. What kind of timing was that? The Ancient hadn't been seen, like... ever!

DeVian couldn't resist grumbling under her breath in her native Portuguese as she walked around the extended walk-in closet to collect her necessary gear for the mission.

"Why are you sharpening your halberd?" Ritunen yawned from the doorway as he leaned against the frame. He had a permanent self-satisfied smirk after their morning in the bath together but his good mood did nothing to mellow her sour one. "Come on, why don't you sit and braid my hair to calm down before you go."

"Ay, fuck you, seu pequeno vigarista," the death claimant shot back. "I'm sharpening it because if I have to work on my day off, people are going to die."
Portuguese: you little con artist

He laughed it off with a nonchalant shrug of the shoulders. "You're so cute when you scowl murderously like that."




The throne upon which Novevu sat was truly awe-inspiring. It was beautiful. Usually Dev liked to admire the details of it and the amazing craftsmanship, but today it didn't work. Novevu, her Ancient, could tell she was annoyed from the way she stormed in.

"So you decided to turn on your TV," the pale, dark-haired man threw out. His expression remained a bit pensive as he considered the fiery Aikekunai before him.

"You didn't summon me."

"Let's just say I don't need you biting my head off because there's work on your day off. That was an experience I am not keen on replicating."

The memory actually managed to make her laugh. She could remember it as clear as day: she had cursed at him for hours on end in every language she knew (Portuguese, Spanish, and English, in order of usage from most to least pissed off) and completely wrecked the area he had sent her to. It was meant to be a pretty straightforward mission to recover what was apparently a very important book that had been stolen from his personal library. The original thief had pawned it off to some humans who had no idea the likes of the people that would be after it. Dev had managed to track them down to an antiques shop where they were consulting an expert on the book's worth. In her anger with the fact that she had to be there at all, DeVian sliced everyone present to ribbons without asking any questions. Afterward she trashed the shop and eventually burnt it down - and still didn't feel better until she had gotten done giving Novevu a good piece of her mind.

"Well tell me what I need to do so I can get it over with." The Brazilian tech heiress rolled her eyes and crossed her arms as she felt the annoyance of the day ahead settling in. She wanted to calm down and was trying to but she couldn't help it.

"I'll keep it brief. Echowix dropped a quill off in Rome and... Froze... Time."

"She froze time?"

"Yes, within the confines of the city. The people don't seem to be hurt, but I'm sure you can imagine it is a bit of a sensitive manner. The houses are at odds and I need you to find out what you can about this."

It made sense now why he would call her in to do this. This was pretty high-profile. Still she couldn't shake the anger that came with being the only one capable of doing this. It was flattering, though. "How long is this supposed to take?" she finally relented enough in her attitude to ask.

"However long it takes you to collect some information."




Did you see the news? Are you heading there?

Dev considered the text from her wife, Stasia, for a long time. She should've expected to be hearing from her since they were both Aikekunai. This wasn't how she had hoped to be meeting back up with the woman, but it was kind of a relief. They hadn't spoken in months since an argument had torn a rift between them. DeVian had apologized as sincerely as she knew how but Stasia just didn't think it was enough. The argument revolved around a one-of-a-kind nail polish... The only ones it made any sense to were the two women themselves.

DeVian didn't know how to respond to the message. Of course, Stasia should've assumed Dev would be assigned this task, seeing as they were both Aikekunai for their respective houses. Could the message just be her way of reaching out to initiate conversation? No... Stasia would let them both die without speaking another word to each other before she did that. Dev stared at the screen so long that it timed out and she was left gazing at herself once more. It was not often that the Law Tech heiress found herself at a loss for words, but here, she couldn't think of a damn thing to say. Mostly she was excited Stasia had reached out at all. Maybe she wasn't so mad anymore?

No, she was probably still mad. Stasia could hold a grudge longer than either of them had been alive. Even in the face of her wife sobbing her eyes out and begging and forgiveness, Stasia could be unmoving.

Yes, I'll be there... On my day off, Dev wrote back, barely quelling the butterflies that erupted in her stomach at the very sight of Stasia texting her. It could almost completely make her attitude subside... Almost.

Making her way to Rome was not difficult. It was as easy as opening up a portal to the Void and spitting herself out of the other end, and extremely time-efficient. The downside was that using her abilities screwed her immune system over, and even though it was warm outside, she shivered every few minutes.

She looked around the spot she had stepped out of. It was not a place she recognized. All over the sidewalks and even halfway in the streets were humans snoozing peacefully. Some cars seemed to have come into an easy stop against poles or walls. No one seemed grievously injured. For a catastrophe, it looked pretty tame so far.

Ghosts of the dead whispered to DeVian Desdon anything they could thing of. Some wailed infinitely; some tried to get in her head; most just wanted any conversation she could offer. DeVian did not often use her ability to speak with the dead because it annoyed her more than anything. She wished she had gotten the power of necromancy to at least make them useful to her.

"Find my wife," she spoke into the air. There was no detectable response by anyone that wasn't a death claimant. From her point of view, though, a thousand ghosts pored in every direction at her beck and call just for the chance to have a sense of purpose. The location of Stasia Noba was revealed no later than two minutes after Dev had touched down in Rome. This brought a smile to the woman's face for the first time since receiving the assignment.

When Dev finally laid eyes on Stasia, she couldn't keep her heart from jumping to her throat. Everything in her wanted to jump on the blonde woman, shower her in kisses and resign them both to bed indefinitely. The reality was that they were working and still in a heated argument in their personal time. She hated it.

"Hey, it's me," the dark-haired death claimant announced as she approached Stasia from behind. The woman was bent over one of the sleeping humans, her bare hands on their wrists. DeVian knew what that meant. She touched Stasia gently on a part of her shoulder covered with clothes as she came up behind her, speaking lowly so she didn't interrupt her work. "Stasia. Can you hear me?"

When she was finally acknowledged, Dev couldn't help the flutter of a smile that floated onto her features. Stasia looked perfect every time she saw her. Even if there was a hair out of place... There wasn't. Waking up to her and Ritunen was a continuous dream come true... Not having seen the woman's face in months just made the adoration stronger. Dev wanted to forget the mission completely. If it weren't for the fact that they were both working, Dev would not have hesitated to fall at Stasia's knees and grovel.

The air carried the scent of other claimants... Dev couldn't tell what she was supposed to expect. Her grip on her halberd tightened accordingly.

Today was her day off. It was a day that was so free it felt surreal. For once, there was absolutely nothing to do. Ritunen was taking care of Kiran so DeVian could enjoy this time to herself. Stasia was fucking off in god knew where. Marjorie held down whatever duties had to be delegated to Dev at Law Technologies so the free day could be enjoyed.

DeVian Law-Noba sank deeper into her bathtub, squinting her eyes to filter out some of the light that came streaming through her bathroom window. Out of all the places she owned, this was one of her favorite bathrooms. The floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the bustling city never ceased to amaze her. Humans were so small and unremarkable - from this height, no different from ants, really. The funniest part was that from this height there was also no way to tell who was a claimant or even if there were Ancients down there. They were all unremarkable. It was nice to be humbled in such a way.

The dark-skinned Brazilian woman hummed a light tune under her breath as she sank back into the water once more with a renewed desire to relax. One press of the jacuzzi jets and it was turned into a euphoric experience. It was so calm and quiet in the bathroom that it seemed even the walls screamed when the door opened and Ritunen Desvoy sauntered in.

DeVian didn't turn, instead putting her hand over his when he put it on her shoulder as he kissed the back of her neck. He didn't pause before continuing with running his hands over her body as if refamiliarizing himself with it. She leaned into his hands and was rewarded with a kiss on the forehead. His long black hair fell into the water just barely but he hardly seemed to pay any mind. The apartment disappearing under his feet probably couldn't deter him from his mission.

"You didn't close the door," Dev noted, fully paying attention now. She had expected a kiss in passing and for him to go about his day but this was not unwelcome.

"The kid's with Bruno, we'll be fine," was his quick answer, already taking off his T-shirt. His haste made her laugh and her laugh pulled a genuine smile out of him.

"What are you in such a rush for, lover boy?"

"Have you seen the news?"

"No. I'm on vacation." Nor did she have any intention of asking why he would question her watching the news. Whatever it was, she didn't want to be bothered with it.


"Well since your vacation is ending early, I figured I'd give you something nice to think about."

"What makes you think it's ending early?"

"We'll talk about it after."

"I want to know now."

"No, because then you'll be mad and I don't have any gags on me. Definitely not. " He went to the countertop and took a ponytail holder to tie his hair up with, some of the ends lightly dripping onto the floor.

"You didn't even ask me if you could join my bath," DeVian scoffed at him, rolling light hazel eyes far into the back of her head.

"Of course I can." He stepped easily into the tub and effortlessly picked her up out of it so he could sit and reposition her on top of him. She blushed at the way she was manhandled - not sure if it was more out of embarrassment or lust. He was completely oblivious to it, taking a moment to settle in. When he was done he immediately splashed her with water and started a splashing war that left half of the bath on the floor.

The Law heiress frowned as she moved wet hair out of her face. "I don't like you."

"Give me five minutes and we'll see."




Ritunen was right: Dev was extremely mad about the news he presented her with. She had to go to Rome on her day off because Echowix decided to show her scummy face outside of the Citadel and fuck up the human realm. What kind of timing was that? The Ancient hadn't been seen, like... ever!

DeVian couldn't resist grumbling under her breath in her native Portuguese as she walked around the extended walk-in closet to collect her necessary gear for the mission.

"Why are you sharpening your halberd?" Ritunen yawned from the doorway as he leaned against the frame. He had a permanent self-satisfied smirk after their morning in the bath together but his good mood did nothing to mellow her sour one. "Come on, why don't you sit and braid my hair to calm down before you go."

"Ay, fuck you, seu pequeno vigarista," the death claimant shot back. "I'm sharpening it because if I have to work on my day off, people are going to die."
Portuguese: you little con artist

He laughed it off with a nonchalant shrug of the shoulders. "You're so cute when you scowl murderously like that."




The throne upon which Novevu sat was truly awe-inspiring. It was beautiful. Usually Dev liked to admire the details of it and the amazing craftsmanship, but today it didn't work. Novevu, her Ancient, could tell she was annoyed from the way she stormed in.

"So you decided to turn on your TV," the pale, dark-haired man threw out. His expression remained a bit pensive as he considered the fiery Aikekunai before him.

"You didn't summon me."

"Let's just say I don't need you biting my head off because there's work on your day off. That was an experience I am not keen on replicating."

The memory actually managed to make her laugh. She could remember it as clear as day: she had cursed at him for hours on end in every language she knew (Portuguese, Spanish, and English, in order of usage from most to least pissed off) and completely wrecked the area he had sent her to. It was meant to be a pretty straightforward mission to recover what was apparently a very important book that had been stolen from his personal library. The original thief had pawned it off to some humans who had no idea the likes of the people that would be after it. Dev had managed to track them down to an antiques shop where they were consulting an expert on the book's worth. In her anger with the fact that she had to be there at all, DeVian sliced everyone present to ribbons without asking any questions. Afterward she trashed the shop and eventually burnt it down - and still didn't feel better until she had gotten done giving Novevu a good piece of her mind.

"Well tell me what I need to do so I can get it over with." The Brazilian tech heiress rolled her eyes and crossed her arms as she felt the annoyance of the day ahead settling in. She wanted to calm down and was trying to but she couldn't help it.

"I'll keep it brief. Echowix dropped a quill off in Rome and... Froze... Time."

"She froze time?"

"Yes, within the confines of the city. The people don't seem to be hurt, but I'm sure you can imagine it is a bit of a sensitive manner. The houses are at odds and I need you to find out what you can about this."

It made sense now why he would call her in to do this. This was pretty high-profile. Still she couldn't shake the anger that came with being the only one capable of doing this. It was flattering, though. "How long is this supposed to take?" she finally relented enough in her attitude to ask.

"However long it takes you to collect some information."




Did you see the news? Are you heading there?

Dev considered the text from her wife, Stasia, for a long time. She should've expected to be hearing from her since they were both Aikekunai. This wasn't how she had hoped to be meeting back up with the woman, but it was kind of a relief. They hadn't spoken in months since an argument had torn a rift between them. DeVian had apologized as sincerely as she knew how but Stasia just didn't think it was enough. The argument revolved around a one-of-a-kind nail polish... The only ones it made any sense to were the two women themselves.

DeVian didn't know how to respond to the message. Of course, Stasia should've assumed Dev would be assigned this task, seeing as they were both Aikekunai for their respective houses. Could the message just be her way of reaching out to initiate conversation? No... Stasia would let them both die without speaking another word to each other before she did that. Dev stared at the screen so long that it timed out and she was left gazing at herself once more. It was not often that the Law Tech heiress found herself at a loss for words, but here, she couldn't think of a damn thing to say. Mostly she was excited Stasia had reached out at all. Maybe she wasn't so mad anymore?

No, she was probably still mad. Stasia could hold a grudge longer than either of them had been alive. Even in the face of her wife sobbing her eyes out and begging and forgiveness, Stasia could be unmoving.

Yes, I'll be there... On my day off, Dev wrote back, barely quelling the butterflies that erupted in her stomach at the very sight of Stasia texting her. It could almost completely make her attitude subside... Almost.

Making her way to Rome was not difficult. It was as easy as opening up a portal to the Void and spitting herself out of the other end, and extremely time-efficient. The downside was that using her abilities screwed her immune system over, and even though it was warm outside, she shivered every few minutes.

She looked around the spot she had stepped out of. It was not a place she recognized. All over the sidewalks and even halfway in the streets were humans snoozing peacefully. Some cars seemed to have come into an easy stop against poles or walls. No one seemed grievously injured. For a catastrophe, it looked pretty tame so far.

Ghosts of the dead whispered to DeVian Desdon anything they could thing of. Some wailed infinitely; some tried to get in her head; most just wanted any conversation she could offer. DeVian did not often use her ability to speak with the dead because it annoyed her more than anything. She wished she had gotten the power of necromancy to at least make them useful to her.

"Find my wife," she spoke into the air. There was no detectable response by anyone that wasn't a death claimant. From her point of view, though, a thousand ghosts pored in every direction at her beck and call just for the chance to have a sense of purpose. The location of Stasia Noba was revealed no later than two minutes after Dev had touched down in Rome. This brought a smile to the woman's face for the first time since receiving the assignment.

When Dev finally laid eyes on Stasia, she couldn't keep her heart from jumping to her throat. Everything in her wanted to jump on the blonde woman, shower her in kisses and resign them both to bed indefinitely. The reality was that they were working and still in a heated argument in their personal time. She hated it.

"Hey, it's me," the dark-haired death claimant announced as she approached Stasia from behind. The woman was bent over one of the sleeping humans, her bare hands on their wrists. DeVian knew what that meant. She touched Stasia gently on a part of her shoulder covered with clothes as she came up behind her, speaking lowly so she didn't interrupt her work. "Stasia. Can you hear me?"

When she was finally acknowledged, Dev couldn't help the flutter of a smile that floated onto her features. Stasia looked perfect every time she saw her. Even if there was a hair out of place... There wasn't. Waking up to her and Ritunen was a continuous dream come true... Not having seen the woman's face in months just made the adoration stronger. Dev wanted to forget the mission completely. If it weren't for the fact that they were both working, Dev would not have hesitated to fall at Stasia's knees and grovel.

The air carried the scent of other claimants... Dev couldn't tell what she was supposed to expect. Her grip on her halberd tightened accordingly.

Today was her day off. It was a day that was so free it felt surreal. For once, there was absolutely nothing to do. Ritunen was taking care of Kiran so DeVian could enjoy this time to herself. Stasia was fucking off in god knew where. Marjorie held down whatever duties had to be delegated to Dev at Law Technologies so the free day could be enjoyed.

DeVian Law-Noba sank deeper into her bathtub, squinting her eyes to filter out some of the light that came streaming through her bathroom window. Out of all the places she owned, this was one of her favorite bathrooms. The floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the bustling city never ceased to amaze her. Humans were so small and unremarkable - from this height, no different from ants, really. The funniest part was that from this height there was also no way to tell who was a claimant or even if there were Ancients down there. They were all unremarkable. It was nice to be humbled in such a way.

The dark-skinned Brazilian woman hummed a light tune under her breath as she sank back into the water once more with a renewed desire to relax. One press of the jacuzzi jets and it was turned into a euphoric experience. It was so calm and quiet in the bathroom that it seemed even the walls screamed when the door opened and Ritunen Desvoy sauntered in.

DeVian didn't turn, instead putting her hand over his when he put it on her shoulder as he kissed the back of her neck. He didn't pause before continuing with running his hands over her body as if refamiliarizing himself with it. She leaned into his hands and was rewarded with a kiss on the forehead. His long black hair fell into the water just barely but he hardly seemed to pay any mind. The apartment disappearing under his feet probably couldn't deter him from his mission.

"You didn't close the door," Dev noted, fully paying attention now. She had expected a kiss in passing and for him to go about his day but this was not unwelcome.

"The kid's with Bruno, we'll be fine," was his quick answer, already taking off his T-shirt. His haste made her laugh and her laugh pulled a genuine smile out of him.

"What are you in such a rush for, lover boy?"

"Have you seen the news?"

"No. I'm on vacation." Nor did she have any intention of asking why he would question her watching the news. Whatever it was, she didn't want to be bothered with it.


"Well since your vacation is ending early, I figured I'd give you something nice to think about."

"What makes you think it's ending early?"

"We'll talk about it after."

"I want to know now."

"No, because then you'll be mad and I don't have any gags on me. Definitely not. " He went to the countertop and took a ponytail holder to tie his hair up with, some of the ends lightly dripping onto the floor.

"You didn't even ask me if you could join my bath," DeVian scoffed at him, rolling light hazel eyes far into the back of her head.

"Of course I can." He stepped easily into the tub and effortlessly picked her up out of it so he could sit and reposition her on top of him. She blushed at the way she was manhandled - not sure if it was more out of embarrassment or lust. He was completely oblivious to it, taking a moment to settle in. When he was done he immediately splashed her with water and started a splashing war that left half of the bath on the floor.

The Law heiress frowned as she moved wet hair out of her face. "I don't like you."

"Give me five minutes and we'll see."




Ritunen was right: Dev was extremely mad about the news he presented her with. She had to go to Rome on her day off because Echowix decided to show her scummy face outside of the Citadel and fuck up the human realm. What kind of timing was that? The Ancient hadn't been seen, like... ever!

DeVian couldn't resist grumbling under her breath in her native Portuguese as she walked around the extended walk-in closet to collect her necessary gear for the mission.

"Why are you sharpening your halberd?" Ritunen yawned from the doorway as he leaned against the frame. He had a permanent self-satisfied smirk after their morning in the bath together but his good mood did nothing to mellow her sour one. "Come on, why don't you sit and braid my hair to calm down before you go."

"Ay, fuck you, seu pequeno vigarista," the death claimant shot back. "I'm sharpening it because if I have to work on my day off, people are going to die."
Portuguese: you little con artist

He laughed it off with a nonchalant shrug of the shoulders. "You're so cute when you scowl murderously like that."




The throne upon which Novevu sat was truly awe-inspiring. It was beautiful. Usually Dev liked to admire the details of it and the amazing craftsmanship, but today it didn't work. Novevu, her Ancient, could tell she was annoyed from the way she stormed in.

"So you decided to turn on your TV," the pale, dark-haired man threw out. His expression remained a bit pensive as he considered the fiery Aikekunai before him.

"You didn't summon me."

"Let's just say I don't need you biting my head off because there's work on your day off. That was an experience I am not keen on replicating."

The memory actually managed to make her laugh. She could remember it as clear as day: she had cursed at him for hours on end in every language she knew (Portuguese, Spanish, and English, in order of usage from most to least pissed off) and completely wrecked the area he had sent her to. It was meant to be a pretty straightforward mission to recover what was apparently a very important book that had been stolen from his personal library. The original thief had pawned it off to some humans who had no idea the likes of the people that would be after it. Dev had managed to track them down to an antiques shop where they were consulting an expert on the book's worth. In her anger with the fact that she had to be there at all, DeVian sliced everyone present to ribbons without asking any questions. Afterward she trashed the shop and eventually burnt it down - and still didn't feel better until she had gotten done giving Novevu a good piece of her mind.

"Well tell me what I need to do so I can get it over with." The Brazilian tech heiress rolled her eyes and crossed her arms as she felt the annoyance of the day ahead settling in. She wanted to calm down and was trying to but she couldn't help it.

"I'll keep it brief. Echowix dropped a quill off in Rome and... Froze... Time."

"She froze time?"

"Yes, within the confines of the city. The people don't seem to be hurt, but I'm sure you can imagine it is a bit of a sensitive manner. The houses are at odds and I need you to find out what you can about this."

It made sense now why he would call her in to do this. This was pretty high-profile. Still she couldn't shake the anger that came with being the only one capable of doing this. It was flattering, though. "How long is this supposed to take?" she finally relented enough in her attitude to ask.

"However long it takes you to collect some information."




Did you see the news? Are you heading there?

Dev considered the text from her wife, Stasia, for a long time. She should've expected to be hearing from her since they were both Aikekunai. This wasn't how she had hoped to be meeting back up with the woman, but it was kind of a relief. They hadn't spoken in months since an argument had torn a rift between them. DeVian had apologized as sincerely as she knew how but Stasia just didn't think it was enough. The argument revolved around a one-of-a-kind nail polish... The only ones it made any sense to were the two women themselves.

DeVian didn't know how to respond to the message. Of course, Stasia should've assumed Dev would be assigned this task, seeing as they were both Aikekunai for their respective houses. Could the message just be her way of reaching out to initiate conversation? No... Stasia would let them both die without speaking another word to each other before she did that. Dev stared at the screen so long that it timed out and she was left gazing at herself once more. It was not often that the Law Tech heiress found herself at a loss for words, but here, she couldn't think of a damn thing to say. Mostly she was excited Stasia had reached out at all. Maybe she wasn't so mad anymore?

No, she was probably still mad. Stasia could hold a grudge longer than either of them had been alive. Even in the face of her wife sobbing her eyes out and begging and forgiveness, Stasia could be unmoving.

Yes, I'll be there... On my day off, Dev wrote back, barely quelling the butterflies that erupted in her stomach at the very sight of Stasia texting her. It could almost completely make her attitude subside... Almost.

Making her way to Rome was not difficult. It was as easy as opening up a portal to the Void and spitting herself out of the other end, and extremely time-efficient. The downside was that using her abilities screwed her immune system over, and even though it was warm outside, she shivered every few minutes.

She looked around the spot she had stepped out of. It was not a place she recognized. All over the sidewalks and even halfway in the streets were humans snoozing peacefully. Some cars seemed to have come into an easy stop against poles or walls. No one seemed grievously injured. For a catastrophe, it looked pretty tame so far.

Ghosts of the dead whispered to DeVian Desdon anything they could thing of. Some wailed infinitely; some tried to get in her head; most just wanted any conversation she could offer. DeVian did not often use her ability to speak with the dead because it annoyed her more than anything. She wished she had gotten the power of necromancy to at least make them useful to her.

"Find my wife," she spoke into the air. There was no detectable response by anyone that wasn't a death claimant. From her point of view, though, a thousand ghosts pored in every direction at her beck and call just for the chance to have a sense of purpose. The location of Stasia Noba was revealed no later than two minutes after Dev had touched down in Rome. This brought a smile to the woman's face for the first time since receiving the assignment.

When Dev finally laid eyes on Stasia, she couldn't keep her heart from jumping to her throat. Everything in her wanted to jump on the blonde woman, shower her in kisses and resign them both to bed indefinitely. The reality was that they were working and still in a heated argument in their personal time. She hated it.

"Hey, it's me," the dark-haired death claimant announced as she approached Stasia from behind. The woman was bent over one of the sleeping humans, her bare hands on their wrists. DeVian knew what that meant. She touched Stasia gently on a part of her shoulder covered with clothes as she came up behind her, speaking lowly so she didn't interrupt her work. "Stasia. Can you hear me?"

When she was finally acknowledged, Dev couldn't help the flutter of a smile that floated onto her features. Stasia looked perfect every time she saw her. Even if there was a hair out of place... There wasn't. Waking up to her and Ritunen was a continuous dream come true... Not having seen the woman's face in months just made the adoration stronger. Dev wanted to forget the mission completely. If it weren't for the fact that they were both working, Dev would not have hesitated to fall at Stasia's knees and grovel.

The air carried the scent of other claimants... Dev couldn't tell what she was supposed to expect. Her grip on her halberd tightened accordingly.

Today was her day off. It was a day that was so free it felt surreal. For once, there was absolutely nothing to do. Ritunen was taking care of Kiran so DeVian could enjoy this time to herself. Stasia was fucking off in god knew where. Marjorie held down whatever duties had to be delegated to Dev at Law Technologies so the free day could be enjoyed.

DeVian Law-Noba sank deeper into her bathtub, squinting her eyes to filter out some of the light that came streaming through her bathroom window. Out of all the places she owned, this was one of her favorite bathrooms. The floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the bustling city never ceased to amaze her. Humans were so small and unremarkable - from this height, no different from ants, really. The funniest part was that from this height there was also no way to tell who was a claimant or even if there were Ancients down there. They were all unremarkable. It was nice to be humbled in such a way.

The dark-skinned Brazilian woman hummed a light tune under her breath as she sank back into the water once more with a renewed desire to relax. One press of the jacuzzi jets and it was turned into a euphoric experience. It was so calm and quiet in the bathroom that it seemed even the walls screamed when the door opened and Ritunen Desvoy sauntered in.

DeVian didn't turn, instead putting her hand over his when he put it on her shoulder as he kissed the back of her neck. He didn't pause before continuing with running his hands over her body as if refamiliarizing himself with it. She leaned into his hands and was rewarded with a kiss on the forehead. His long black hair fell into the water just barely but he hardly seemed to pay any mind. The apartment disappearing under his feet probably couldn't deter him from his mission.

"You didn't close the door," Dev noted, fully paying attention now. She had expected a kiss in passing and for him to go about his day but this was not unwelcome.

"The kid's with Bruno, we'll be fine," was his quick answer, already taking off his T-shirt. His haste made her laugh and her laugh pulled a genuine smile out of him.

"What are you in such a rush for, lover boy?"

"Have you seen the news?"

"No. I'm on vacation." Nor did she have any intention of asking why he would question her watching the news. Whatever it was, she didn't want to be bothered with it.


"Well since your vacation is ending early, I figured I'd give you something nice to think about."

"What makes you think it's ending early?"

"We'll talk about it after."

"I want to know now."

"No, because then you'll be mad and I don't have any gags on me. Definitely not. " He went to the countertop and took a ponytail holder to tie his hair up with, some of the ends lightly dripping onto the floor.

"You didn't even ask me if you could join my bath," DeVian scoffed at him, rolling light hazel eyes far into the back of her head.

"Of course I can." He stepped easily into the tub and effortlessly picked her up out of it so he could sit and reposition her on top of him. She blushed at the way she was manhandled - not sure if it was more out of embarrassment or lust. He was completely oblivious to it, taking a moment to settle in. When he was done he immediately splashed her with water and started a splashing war that left half of the bath on the floor.

The Law heiress frowned as she moved wet hair out of her face. "I don't like you."

"Give me five minutes and we'll see."




Ritunen was right: Dev was extremely mad about the news he presented her with. She had to go to Rome on her day off because Echowix decided to show her scummy face outside of the Citadel and fuck up the human realm. What kind of timing was that? The Ancient hadn't been seen, like... ever!

DeVian couldn't resist grumbling under her breath in her native Portuguese as she walked around the extended walk-in closet to collect her necessary gear for the mission.

"Why are you sharpening your halberd?" Ritunen yawned from the doorway as he leaned against the frame. He had a permanent self-satisfied smirk after their morning in the bath together but his good mood did nothing to mellow her sour one. "Come on, why don't you sit and braid my hair to calm down before you go."

"Ay, fuck you, seu pequeno vigarista," the death claimant shot back. "I'm sharpening it because if I have to work on my day off, people are going to die."
Portuguese: you little con artist

He laughed it off with a nonchalant shrug of the shoulders. "You're so cute when you scowl murderously like that."




The throne upon which Novevu sat was truly awe-inspiring. It was beautiful. Usually Dev liked to admire the details of it and the amazing craftsmanship, but today it didn't work. Novevu, her Ancient, could tell she was annoyed from the way she stormed in.

"So you decided to turn on your TV," the pale, dark-haired man threw out. His expression remained a bit pensive as he considered the fiery Aikekunai before him.

"You didn't summon me."

"Let's just say I don't need you biting my head off because there's work on your day off. That was an experience I am not keen on replicating."

The memory actually managed to make her laugh. She could remember it as clear as day: she had cursed at him for hours on end in every language she knew (Portuguese, Spanish, and English, in order of usage from most to least pissed off) and completely wrecked the area he had sent her to. It was meant to be a pretty straightforward mission to recover what was apparently a very important book that had been stolen from his personal library. The original thief had pawned it off to some humans who had no idea the likes of the people that would be after it. Dev had managed to track them down to an antiques shop where they were consulting an expert on the book's worth. In her anger with the fact that she had to be there at all, DeVian sliced everyone present to ribbons without asking any questions. Afterward she trashed the shop and eventually burnt it down - and still didn't feel better until she had gotten done giving Novevu a good piece of her mind.

"Well tell me what I need to do so I can get it over with." The Brazilian tech heiress rolled her eyes and crossed her arms as she felt the annoyance of the day ahead settling in. She wanted to calm down and was trying to but she couldn't help it.

"I'll keep it brief. Echowix dropped a quill off in Rome and... Froze... Time."

"She froze time?"

"Yes, within the confines of the city. The people don't seem to be hurt, but I'm sure you can imagine it is a bit of a sensitive manner. The houses are at odds and I need you to find out what you can about this."

It made sense now why he would call her in to do this. This was pretty high-profile. Still she couldn't shake the anger that came with being the only one capable of doing this. It was flattering, though. "How long is this supposed to take?" she finally relented enough in her attitude to ask.

"However long it takes you to collect some information."




Did you see the news? Are you heading there?

Dev considered the text from her wife, Stasia, for a long time. She should've expected to be hearing from her since they were both Aikekunai. This wasn't how she had hoped to be meeting back up with the woman, but it was kind of a relief. They hadn't spoken in months since an argument had torn a rift between them. DeVian had apologized as sincerely as she knew how but Stasia just didn't think it was enough. The argument revolved around a one-of-a-kind nail polish... The only ones it made any sense to were the two women themselves.

DeVian didn't know how to respond to the message. Of course, Stasia should've assumed Dev would be assigned this task, seeing as they were both Aikekunai for their respective houses. Could the message just be her way of reaching out to initiate conversation? No... Stasia would let them both die without speaking another word to each other before she did that. Dev stared at the screen so long that it timed out and she was left gazing at herself once more. It was not often that the Law Tech heiress found herself at a loss for words, but here, she couldn't think of a damn thing to say. Mostly she was excited Stasia had reached out at all. Maybe she wasn't so mad anymore?

No, she was probably still mad. Stasia could hold a grudge longer than either of them had been alive. Even in the face of her wife sobbing her eyes out and begging and forgiveness, Stasia could be unmoving.

Yes, I'll be there... On my day off, Dev wrote back, barely quelling the butterflies that erupted in her stomach at the very sight of Stasia texting her. It could almost completely make her attitude subside... Almost.

Making her way to Rome was not difficult. It was as easy as opening up a portal to the Void and spitting herself out of the other end, and extremely time-efficient. The downside was that using her abilities screwed her immune system over, and even though it was warm outside, she shivered every few minutes.

She looked around the spot she had stepped out of. It was not a place she recognized. All over the sidewalks and even halfway in the streets were humans snoozing peacefully. Some cars seemed to have come into an easy stop against poles or walls. No one seemed grievously injured. For a catastrophe, it looked pretty tame so far.

Ghosts of the dead whispered to DeVian Desdon anything they could thing of. Some wailed infinitely; some tried to get in her head; most just wanted any conversation she could offer. DeVian did not often use her ability to speak with the dead because it annoyed her more than anything. She wished she had gotten the power of necromancy to at least make them useful to her.

"Find my wife," she spoke into the air. There was no detectable response by anyone that wasn't a death claimant. From her point of view, though, a thousand ghosts pored in every direction at her beck and call just for the chance to have a sense of purpose. The location of Stasia Noba was revealed no later than two minutes after Dev had touched down in Rome. This brought a smile to the woman's face for the first time since receiving the assignment.

When Dev finally laid eyes on Stasia, she couldn't keep her heart from jumping to her throat. Everything in her wanted to jump on the blonde woman, shower her in kisses and resign them both to bed indefinitely. The reality was that they were working and still in a heated argument in their personal time. She hated it.

"Hey, it's me," the dark-haired death claimant announced as she approached Stasia from behind. The woman was bent over one of the sleeping humans, her bare hands on their wrists. DeVian knew what that meant. She touched Stasia gently on a part of her shoulder covered with clothes as she came up behind her, speaking lowly so she didn't interrupt her work. "Stasia. Can you hear me?"

When she was finally acknowledged, Dev couldn't help the flutter of a smile that floated onto her features. Stasia looked perfect every time she saw her. Even if there was a hair out of place... There wasn't. Waking up to her and Ritunen was a continuous dream come true... Not having seen the woman's face in months just made the adoration stronger. Dev wanted to forget the mission completely. If it weren't for the fact that they were both working, Dev would not have hesitated to fall at Stasia's knees and grovel.

The air carried the scent of other claimants... Dev couldn't tell what she was supposed to expect. Her grip on her halberd tightened accordingly.

Today was her day off. It was a day that was so free it felt surreal. For once, there was absolutely nothing to do. Ritunen was taking care of Kiran so DeVian could enjoy this time to herself. Stasia was fucking off in god knew where. Marjorie held down whatever duties had to be delegated to Dev at Law Technologies so the free day could be enjoyed.

DeVian Law-Noba sank deeper into her bathtub, squinting her eyes to filter out some of the light that came streaming through her bathroom window. Out of all the places she owned, this was one of her favorite bathrooms. The floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the bustling city never ceased to amaze her. Humans were so small and unremarkable - from this height, no different from ants, really. The funniest part was that from this height there was also no way to tell who was a claimant or even if there were Ancients down there. They were all unremarkable. It was nice to be humbled in such a way.

The dark-skinned Brazilian woman hummed a light tune under her breath as she sank back into the water once more with a renewed desire to relax. One press of the jacuzzi jets and it was turned into a euphoric experience. It was so calm and quiet in the bathroom that it seemed even the walls screamed when the door opened and Ritunen Desvoy sauntered in.

DeVian didn't turn, instead putting her hand over his when he put it on her shoulder as he kissed the back of her neck. He didn't pause before continuing with running his hands over her body as if refamiliarizing himself with it. She leaned into his hands and was rewarded with a kiss on the forehead. His long black hair fell into the water just barely but he hardly seemed to pay any mind. The apartment disappearing under his feet probably couldn't deter him from his mission.

"You didn't close the door," Dev noted, fully paying attention now. She had expected a kiss in passing and for him to go about his day but this was not unwelcome.

"The kid's with Bruno, we'll be fine," was his quick answer, already taking off his T-shirt. His haste made her laugh and her laugh pulled a genuine smile out of him.

"What are you in such a rush for, lover boy?"

"Have you seen the news?"

"No. I'm on vacation." Nor did she have any intention of asking why he would question her watching the news. Whatever it was, she didn't want to be bothered with it.


"Well since your vacation is ending early, I figured I'd give you something nice to think about."

"What makes you think it's ending early?"

"We'll talk about it after."

"I want to know now."

"No, because then you'll be mad and I don't have any gags on me. Definitely not. " He went to the countertop and took a ponytail holder to tie his hair up with, some of the ends lightly dripping onto the floor.

"You didn't even ask me if you could join my bath," DeVian scoffed at him, rolling light hazel eyes far into the back of her head.

"Of course I can." He stepped easily into the tub and effortlessly picked her up out of it so he could sit and reposition her on top of him. She blushed at the way she was manhandled - not sure if it was more out of embarrassment or lust. He was completely oblivious to it, taking a moment to settle in. When he was done he immediately splashed her with water and started a splashing war that left half of the bath on the floor.

The Law heiress frowned as she moved wet hair out of her face. "I don't like you."

"Give me five minutes and we'll see."




Ritunen was right: Dev was extremely mad about the news he presented her with. She had to go to Rome on her day off because Echowix decided to show her scummy face outside of the Citadel and fuck up the human realm. What kind of timing was that? The Ancient hadn't been seen, like... ever!

DeVian couldn't resist grumbling under her breath in her native Portuguese as she walked around the extended walk-in closet to collect her necessary gear for the mission.

"Why are you sharpening your halberd?" Ritunen yawned from the doorway as he leaned against the frame. He had a permanent self-satisfied smirk after their morning in the bath together but his good mood did nothing to mellow her sour one. "Come on, why don't you sit and braid my hair to calm down before you go."

"Ay, fuck you, seu pequeno vigarista," the death claimant shot back. "I'm sharpening it because if I have to work on my day off, people are going to die."
Portuguese: you little con artist

He laughed it off with a nonchalant shrug of the shoulders. "You're so cute when you scowl murderously like that."




The throne upon which Novevu sat was truly awe-inspiring. It was beautiful. Usually Dev liked to admire the details of it and the amazing craftsmanship, but today it didn't work. Novevu, her Ancient, could tell she was annoyed from the way she stormed in.

"So you decided to turn on your TV," the pale, dark-haired man threw out. His expression remained a bit pensive as he considered the fiery Aikekunai before him.

"You didn't summon me."

"Let's just say I don't need you biting my head off because there's work on your day off. That was an experience I am not keen on replicating."

The memory actually managed to make her laugh. She could remember it as clear as day: she had cursed at him for hours on end in every language she knew (Portuguese, Spanish, and English, in order of usage from most to least pissed off) and completely wrecked the area he had sent her to. It was meant to be a pretty straightforward mission to recover what was apparently a very important book that had been stolen from his personal library. The original thief had pawned it off to some humans who had no idea the likes of the people that would be after it. Dev had managed to track them down to an antiques shop where they were consulting an expert on the book's worth. In her anger with the fact that she had to be there at all, DeVian sliced everyone present to ribbons without asking any questions. Afterward she trashed the shop and eventually burnt it down - and still didn't feel better until she had gotten done giving Novevu a good piece of her mind.

"Well tell me what I need to do so I can get it over with." The Brazilian tech heiress rolled her eyes and crossed her arms as she felt the annoyance of the day ahead settling in. She wanted to calm down and was trying to but she couldn't help it.

"I'll keep it brief. Echowix dropped a quill off in Rome and... Froze... Time."

"She froze time?"

"Yes, within the confines of the city. The people don't seem to be hurt, but I'm sure you can imagine it is a bit of a sensitive manner. The houses are at odds and I need you to find out what you can about this."

It made sense now why he would call her in to do this. This was pretty high-profile. Still she couldn't shake the anger that came with being the only one capable of doing this. It was flattering, though. "How long is this supposed to take?" she finally relented enough in her attitude to ask.

"However long it takes you to collect some information."




Did you see the news? Are you heading there?

Dev considered the text from her wife, Stasia, for a long time. She should've expected to be hearing from her since they were both Aikekunai. This wasn't how she had hoped to be meeting back up with the woman, but it was kind of a relief. They hadn't spoken in months since an argument had torn a rift between them. DeVian had apologized as sincerely as she knew how but Stasia just didn't think it was enough. The argument revolved around a one-of-a-kind nail polish... The only ones it made any sense to were the two women themselves.

DeVian didn't know how to respond to the message. Of course, Stasia should've assumed Dev would be assigned this task, seeing as they were both Aikekunai for their respective houses. Could the message just be her way of reaching out to initiate conversation? No... Stasia would let them both die without speaking another word to each other before she did that. Dev stared at the screen so long that it timed out and she was left gazing at herself once more. It was not often that the Law Tech heiress found herself at a loss for words, but here, she couldn't think of a damn thing to say. Mostly she was excited Stasia had reached out at all. Maybe she wasn't so mad anymore?

No, she was probably still mad. Stasia could hold a grudge longer than either of them had been alive. Even in the face of her wife sobbing her eyes out and begging and forgiveness, Stasia could be unmoving.

Yes, I'll be there... On my day off, Dev wrote back, barely quelling the butterflies that erupted in her stomach at the very sight of Stasia texting her. It could almost completely make her attitude subside... Almost.

Making her way to Rome was not difficult. It was as easy as opening up a portal to the Void and spitting herself out of the other end, and extremely time-efficient. The downside was that using her abilities screwed her immune system over, and even though it was warm outside, she shivered every few minutes.

She looked around the spot she had stepped out of. It was not a place she recognized. All over the sidewalks and even halfway in the streets were humans snoozing peacefully. Some cars seemed to have come into an easy stop against poles or walls. No one seemed grievously injured. For a catastrophe, it looked pretty tame so far.

Ghosts of the dead whispered to DeVian Desdon anything they could thing of. Some wailed infinitely; some tried to get in her head; most just wanted any conversation she could offer. DeVian did not often use her ability to speak with the dead because it annoyed her more than anything. She wished she had gotten the power of necromancy to at least make them useful to her.

"Find my wife," she spoke into the air. There was no detectable response by anyone that wasn't a death claimant. From her point of view, though, a thousand ghosts pored in every direction at her beck and call just for the chance to have a sense of purpose. The location of Stasia Noba was revealed no later than two minutes after Dev had touched down in Rome. This brought a smile to the woman's face for the first time since receiving the assignment.

When Dev finally laid eyes on Stasia, she couldn't keep her heart from jumping to her throat. Everything in her wanted to jump on the blonde woman, shower her in kisses and resign them both to bed indefinitely. The reality was that they were working and still in a heated argument in their personal time. She hated it.

"Hey, it's me," the dark-haired death claimant announced as she approached Stasia from behind. The woman was bent over one of the sleeping humans, her bare hands on their wrists. DeVian knew what that meant. She touched Stasia gently on a part of her shoulder covered with clothes as she came up behind her, speaking lowly so she didn't interrupt her work. "Stasia. Can you hear me?"

When she was finally acknowledged, Dev couldn't help the flutter of a smile that floated onto her features. Stasia looked perfect every time she saw her. Even if there was a hair out of place... There wasn't. Waking up to her and Ritunen was a continuous dream come true... Not having seen the woman's face in months just made the adoration stronger. Dev wanted to forget the mission completely. If it weren't for the fact that they were both working, Dev would not have hesitated to fall at Stasia's knees and grovel.

The air carried the scent of other claimants... Dev couldn't tell what she was supposed to expect. Her grip on her halberd tightened accordingly.

Today was her day off. It was a day that was so free it felt surreal. For once, there was absolutely nothing to do. Ritunen was taking care of Kiran so DeVian could enjoy this time to herself. Stasia was fucking off in god knew where. Marjorie held down whatever duties had to be delegated to Dev at Law Technologies so the free day could be enjoyed.

DeVian Law-Noba sank deeper into her bathtub, squinting her eyes to filter out some of the light that came streaming through her bathroom window. Out of all the places she owned, this was one of her favorite bathrooms. The floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the bustling city never ceased to amaze her. Humans were so small and unremarkable - from this height, no different from ants, really. The funniest part was that from this height there was also no way to tell who was a claimant or even if there were Ancients down there. They were all unremarkable. It was nice to be humbled in such a way.

The dark-skinned Brazilian woman hummed a light tune under her breath as she sank back into the water once more with a renewed desire to relax. One press of the jacuzzi jets and it was turned into a euphoric experience. It was so calm and quiet in the bathroom that it seemed even the walls screamed when the door opened and Ritunen Desvoy sauntered in.

DeVian didn't turn, instead putting her hand over his when he put it on her shoulder as he kissed the back of her neck. He didn't pause before continuing with running his hands over her body as if refamiliarizing himself with it. She leaned into his hands and was rewarded with a kiss on the forehead. His long black hair fell into the water just barely but he hardly seemed to pay any mind. The apartment disappearing under his feet probably couldn't deter him from his mission.

"You didn't close the door," Dev noted, fully paying attention now. She had expected a kiss in passing and for him to go about his day but this was not unwelcome.

"The kid's with Bruno, we'll be fine," was his quick answer, already taking off his T-shirt. His haste made her laugh and her laugh pulled a genuine smile out of him.

"What are you in such a rush for, lover boy?"

"Have you seen the news?"

"No. I'm on vacation." Nor did she have any intention of asking why he would question her watching the news. Whatever it was, she didn't want to be bothered with it.


"Well since your vacation is ending early, I figured I'd give you something nice to think about."

"What makes you think it's ending early?"

"We'll talk about it after."

"I want to know now."

"No, because then you'll be mad and I don't have any gags on me. Definitely not. " He went to the countertop and took a ponytail holder to tie his hair up with, some of the ends lightly dripping onto the floor.

"You didn't even ask me if you could join my bath," DeVian scoffed at him, rolling light hazel eyes far into the back of her head.

"Of course I can." He stepped easily into the tub and effortlessly picked her up out of it so he could sit and reposition her on top of him. She blushed at the way she was manhandled - not sure if it was more out of embarrassment or lust. He was completely oblivious to it, taking a moment to settle in. When he was done he immediately splashed her with water and started a splashing war that left half of the bath on the floor.

The Law heiress frowned as she moved wet hair out of her face. "I don't like you."

"Give me five minutes and we'll see."




Ritunen was right: Dev was extremely mad about the news he presented her with. She had to go to Rome on her day off because Echowix decided to show her scummy face outside of the Citadel and fuck up the human realm. What kind of timing was that? The Ancient hadn't been seen, like... ever!

DeVian couldn't resist grumbling under her breath in her native Portuguese as she walked around the extended walk-in closet to collect her necessary gear for the mission.

"Why are you sharpening your halberd?" Ritunen yawned from the doorway as he leaned against the frame. He had a permanent self-satisfied smirk after their morning in the bath together but his good mood did nothing to mellow her sour one. "Come on, why don't you sit and braid my hair to calm down before you go."

"Ay, fuck you, seu pequeno vigarista," the death claimant shot back. "I'm sharpening it because if I have to work on my day off, people are going to die."
Portuguese: you little con artist

He laughed it off with a nonchalant shrug of the shoulders. "You're so cute when you scowl murderously like that."




The throne upon which Novevu sat was truly awe-inspiring. It was beautiful. Usually Dev liked to admire the details of it and the amazing craftsmanship, but today it didn't work. Novevu, her Ancient, could tell she was annoyed from the way she stormed in.

"So you decided to turn on your TV," the pale, dark-haired man threw out. His expression remained a bit pensive as he considered the fiery Aikekunai before him.

"You didn't summon me."

"Let's just say I don't need you biting my head off because there's work on your day off. That was an experience I am not keen on replicating."

The memory actually managed to make her laugh. She could remember it as clear as day: she had cursed at him for hours on end in every language she knew (Portuguese, Spanish, and English, in order of usage from most to least pissed off) and completely wrecked the area he had sent her to. It was meant to be a pretty straightforward mission to recover what was apparently a very important book that had been stolen from his personal library. The original thief had pawned it off to some humans who had no idea the likes of the people that would be after it. Dev had managed to track them down to an antiques shop where they were consulting an expert on the book's worth. In her anger with the fact that she had to be there at all, DeVian sliced everyone present to ribbons without asking any questions. Afterward she trashed the shop and eventually burnt it down - and still didn't feel better until she had gotten done giving Novevu a good piece of her mind.

"Well tell me what I need to do so I can get it over with." The Brazilian tech heiress rolled her eyes and crossed her arms as she felt the annoyance of the day ahead settling in. She wanted to calm down and was trying to but she couldn't help it.

"I'll keep it brief. Echowix dropped a quill off in Rome and... Froze... Time."

"She froze time?"

"Yes, within the confines of the city. The people don't seem to be hurt, but I'm sure you can imagine it is a bit of a sensitive manner. The houses are at odds and I need you to find out what you can about this."

It made sense now why he would call her in to do this. This was pretty high-profile. Still she couldn't shake the anger that came with being the only one capable of doing this. It was flattering, though. "How long is this supposed to take?" she finally relented enough in her attitude to ask.

"However long it takes you to collect some information."




Did you see the news? Are you heading there?

Dev considered the text from her wife, Stasia, for a long time. She should've expected to be hearing from her since they were both Aikekunai. This wasn't how she had hoped to be meeting back up with the woman, but it was kind of a relief. They hadn't spoken in months since an argument had torn a rift between them. DeVian had apologized as sincerely as she knew how but Stasia just didn't think it was enough. The argument revolved around a one-of-a-kind nail polish... The only ones it made any sense to were the two women themselves.

DeVian didn't know how to respond to the message. Of course, Stasia should've assumed Dev would be assigned this task, seeing as they were both Aikekunai for their respective houses. Could the message just be her way of reaching out to initiate conversation? No... Stasia would let them both die without speaking another word to each other before she did that. Dev stared at the screen so long that it timed out and she was left gazing at herself once more. It was not often that the Law Tech heiress found herself at a loss for words, but here, she couldn't think of a damn thing to say. Mostly she was excited Stasia had reached out at all. Maybe she wasn't so mad anymore?

No, she was probably still mad. Stasia could hold a grudge longer than either of them had been alive. Even in the face of her wife sobbing her eyes out and begging and forgiveness, Stasia could be unmoving.

Yes, I'll be there... On my day off, Dev wrote back, barely quelling the butterflies that erupted in her stomach at the very sight of Stasia texting her. It could almost completely make her attitude subside... Almost.

Making her way to Rome was not difficult. It was as easy as opening up a portal to the Void and spitting herself out of the other end, and extremely time-efficient. The downside was that using her abilities screwed her immune system over, and even though it was warm outside, she shivered every few minutes.

She looked around the spot she had stepped out of. It was not a place she recognized. All over the sidewalks and even halfway in the streets were humans snoozing peacefully. Some cars seemed to have come into an easy stop against poles or walls. No one seemed grievously injured. For a catastrophe, it looked pretty tame so far.

Ghosts of the dead whispered to DeVian Desdon anything they could thing of. Some wailed infinitely; some tried to get in her head; most just wanted any conversation she could offer. DeVian did not often use her ability to speak with the dead because it annoyed her more than anything. She wished she had gotten the power of necromancy to at least make them useful to her.

"Find my wife," she spoke into the air. There was no detectable response by anyone that wasn't a death claimant. From her point of view, though, a thousand ghosts pored in every direction at her beck and call just for the chance to have a sense of purpose. The location of Stasia Noba was revealed no later than two minutes after Dev had touched down in Rome. This brought a smile to the woman's face for the first time since receiving the assignment.

When Dev finally laid eyes on Stasia, she couldn't keep her heart from jumping to her throat. Everything in her wanted to jump on the blonde woman, shower her in kisses and resign them both to bed indefinitely. The reality was that they were working and still in a heated argument in their personal time. She hated it.

"Hey, it's me," the dark-haired death claimant announced as she approached Stasia from behind. The woman was bent over one of the sleeping humans, her bare hands on their wrists. DeVian knew what that meant. She touched Stasia gently on a part of her shoulder covered with clothes as she came up behind her, speaking lowly so she didn't interrupt her work. "Stasia. Can you hear me?"

When she was finally acknowledged, Dev couldn't help the flutter of a smile that floated onto her features. Stasia looked perfect every time she saw her. Even if there was a hair out of place... There wasn't. Waking up to her and Ritunen was a continuous dream come true... Not having seen the woman's face in months just made the adoration stronger. Dev wanted to forget the mission completely. If it weren't for the fact that they were both working, Dev would not have hesitated to fall at Stasia's knees and grovel.

The air carried the scent of other claimants... Dev couldn't tell what she was supposed to expect. Her grip on her halberd tightened accordingly.

Today was her day off. It was a day that was so free it felt surreal. For once, there was absolutely nothing to do. Ritunen was taking care of Kiran so DeVian could enjoy this time to herself. Stasia was fucking off in god knew where. Marjorie held down whatever duties had to be delegated to Dev at Law Technologies so the free day could be enjoyed.

DeVian Law-Noba sank deeper into her bathtub, squinting her eyes to filter out some of the light that came streaming through her bathroom window. Out of all the places she owned, this was one of her favorite bathrooms. The floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the bustling city never ceased to amaze her. Humans were so small and unremarkable - from this height, no different from ants, really. The funniest part was that from this height there was also no way to tell who was a claimant or even if there were Ancients down there. They were all unremarkable. It was nice to be humbled in such a way.

The dark-skinned Brazilian woman hummed a light tune under her breath as she sank back into the water once more with a renewed desire to relax. One press of the jacuzzi jets and it was turned into a euphoric experience. It was so calm and quiet in the bathroom that it seemed even the walls screamed when the door opened and Ritunen Desvoy sauntered in.

DeVian didn't turn, instead putting her hand over his when he put it on her shoulder as he kissed the back of her neck. He didn't pause before continuing with running his hands over her body as if refamiliarizing himself with it. She leaned into his hands and was rewarded with a kiss on the forehead. His long black hair fell into the water just barely but he hardly seemed to pay any mind. The apartment disappearing under his feet probably couldn't deter him from his mission.

"You didn't close the door," Dev noted, fully paying attention now. She had expected a kiss in passing and for him to go about his day but this was not unwelcome.

"The kid's with Bruno, we'll be fine," was his quick answer, already taking off his T-shirt. His haste made her laugh and her laugh pulled a genuine smile out of him.

"What are you in such a rush for, lover boy?"

"Have you seen the news?"

"No. I'm on vacation." Nor did she have any intention of asking why he would question her watching the news. Whatever it was, she didn't want to be bothered with it.


"Well since your vacation is ending early, I figured I'd give you something nice to think about."

"What makes you think it's ending early?"

"We'll talk about it after."

"I want to know now."

"No, because then you'll be mad and I don't have any gags on me. Definitely not. " He went to the countertop and took a ponytail holder to tie his hair up with, some of the ends lightly dripping onto the floor.

"You didn't even ask me if you could join my bath," DeVian scoffed at him, rolling light hazel eyes far into the back of her head.

"Of course I can." He stepped easily into the tub and effortlessly picked her up out of it so he could sit and reposition her on top of him. She blushed at the way she was manhandled - not sure if it was more out of embarrassment or lust. He was completely oblivious to it, taking a moment to settle in. When he was done he immediately splashed her with water and started a splashing war that left half of the bath on the floor.

The Law heiress frowned as she moved wet hair out of her face. "I don't like you."

"Give me five minutes and we'll see."




Ritunen was right: Dev was extremely mad about the news he presented her with. She had to go to Rome on her day off because Echowix decided to show her scummy face outside of the Citadel and fuck up the human realm. What kind of timing was that? The Ancient hadn't been seen, like... ever!

DeVian couldn't resist grumbling under her breath in her native Portuguese as she walked around the extended walk-in closet to collect her necessary gear for the mission.

"Why are you sharpening your halberd?" Ritunen yawned from the doorway as he leaned against the frame. He had a permanent self-satisfied smirk after their morning in the bath together but his good mood did nothing to mellow her sour one. "Come on, why don't you sit and braid my hair to calm down before you go."

"Ay, fuck you, seu pequeno vigarista," the death claimant shot back. "I'm sharpening it because if I have to work on my day off, people are going to die."
Portuguese: you little con artist

He laughed it off with a nonchalant shrug of the shoulders. "You're so cute when you scowl murderously like that."




The throne upon which Novevu sat was truly awe-inspiring. It was beautiful. Usually Dev liked to admire the details of it and the amazing craftsmanship, but today it didn't work. Novevu, her Ancient, could tell she was annoyed from the way she stormed in.

"So you decided to turn on your TV," the pale, dark-haired man threw out. His expression remained a bit pensive as he considered the fiery Aikekunai before him.

"You didn't summon me."

"Let's just say I don't need you biting my head off because there's work on your day off. That was an experience I am not keen on replicating."

The memory actually managed to make her laugh. She could remember it as clear as day: she had cursed at him for hours on end in every language she knew (Portuguese, Spanish, and English, in order of usage from most to least pissed off) and completely wrecked the area he had sent her to. It was meant to be a pretty straightforward mission to recover what was apparently a very important book that had been stolen from his personal library. The original thief had pawned it off to some humans who had no idea the likes of the people that would be after it. Dev had managed to track them down to an antiques shop where they were consulting an expert on the book's worth. In her anger with the fact that she had to be there at all, DeVian sliced everyone present to ribbons without asking any questions. Afterward she trashed the shop and eventually burnt it down - and still didn't feel better until she had gotten done giving Novevu a good piece of her mind.

"Well tell me what I need to do so I can get it over with." The Brazilian tech heiress rolled her eyes and crossed her arms as she felt the annoyance of the day ahead settling in. She wanted to calm down and was trying to but she couldn't help it.

"I'll keep it brief. Echowix dropped a quill off in Rome and... Froze... Time."

"She froze time?"

"Yes, within the confines of the city. The people don't seem to be hurt, but I'm sure you can imagine it is a bit of a sensitive manner. The houses are at odds and I need you to find out what you can about this."

It made sense now why he would call her in to do this. This was pretty high-profile. Still she couldn't shake the anger that came with being the only one capable of doing this. It was flattering, though. "How long is this supposed to take?" she finally relented enough in her attitude to ask.

"However long it takes you to collect some information."




Did you see the news? Are you heading there?

Dev considered the text from her wife, Stasia, for a long time. She should've expected to be hearing from her since they were both Aikekunai. This wasn't how she had hoped to be meeting back up with the woman, but it was kind of a relief. They hadn't spoken in months since an argument had torn a rift between them. DeVian had apologized as sincerely as she knew how but Stasia just didn't think it was enough. The argument revolved around a one-of-a-kind nail polish... The only ones it made any sense to were the two women themselves.

DeVian didn't know how to respond to the message. Of course, Stasia should've assumed Dev would be assigned this task, seeing as they were both Aikekunai for their respective houses. Could the message just be her way of reaching out to initiate conversation? No... Stasia would let them both die without speaking another word to each other before she did that. Dev stared at the screen so long that it timed out and she was left gazing at herself once more. It was not often that the Law Tech heiress found herself at a loss for words, but here, she couldn't think of a damn thing to say. Mostly she was excited Stasia had reached out at all. Maybe she wasn't so mad anymore?

No, she was probably still mad. Stasia could hold a grudge longer than either of them had been alive. Even in the face of her wife sobbing her eyes out and begging and forgiveness, Stasia could be unmoving.

Yes, I'll be there... On my day off, Dev wrote back, barely quelling the butterflies that erupted in her stomach at the very sight of Stasia texting her. It could almost completely make her attitude subside... Almost.

Making her way to Rome was not difficult. It was as easy as opening up a portal to the Void and spitting herself out of the other end, and extremely time-efficient. The downside was that using her abilities screwed her immune system over, and even though it was warm outside, she shivered every few minutes.

She looked around the spot she had stepped out of. It was not a place she recognized. All over the sidewalks and even halfway in the streets were humans snoozing peacefully. Some cars seemed to have come into an easy stop against poles or walls. No one seemed grievously injured. For a catastrophe, it looked pretty tame so far.

Ghosts of the dead whispered to DeVian Desdon anything they could thing of. Some wailed infinitely; some tried to get in her head; most just wanted any conversation she could offer. DeVian did not often use her ability to speak with the dead because it annoyed her more than anything. She wished she had gotten the power of necromancy to at least make them useful to her.

"Find my wife," she spoke into the air. There was no detectable response by anyone that wasn't a death claimant. From her point of view, though, a thousand ghosts pored in every direction at her beck and call just for the chance to have a sense of purpose. The location of Stasia Noba was revealed no later than two minutes after Dev had touched down in Rome. This brought a smile to the woman's face for the first time since receiving the assignment.

When Dev finally laid eyes on Stasia, she couldn't keep her heart from jumping to her throat. Everything in her wanted to jump on the blonde woman, shower her in kisses and resign them both to bed indefinitely. The reality was that they were working and still in a heated argument in their personal time. She hated it.

"Hey, it's me," the dark-haired death claimant announced as she approached Stasia from behind. The woman was bent over one of the sleeping humans, her bare hands on their wrists. DeVian knew what that meant. She touched Stasia gently on a part of her shoulder covered with clothes as she came up behind her, speaking lowly so she didn't interrupt her work. "Stasia. Can you hear me?"

When she was finally acknowledged, Dev couldn't help the flutter of a smile that floated onto her features. Stasia looked perfect every time she saw her. Even if there was a hair out of place... There wasn't. Waking up to her and Ritunen was a continuous dream come true... Not having seen the woman's face in months just made the adoration stronger. Dev wanted to forget the mission completely. If it weren't for the fact that they were both working, Dev would not have hesitated to fall at Stasia's knees and grovel.

The air carried the scent of other claimants... Dev couldn't tell what she was supposed to expect. Her grip on her halberd tightened accordingly.

Today was her day off. It was a day that was so free it felt surreal. For once, there was absolutely nothing to do. Ritunen was taking care of Kiran so DeVian could enjoy this time to herself. Stasia was fucking off in god knew where. Marjorie held down whatever duties had to be delegated to Dev at Law Technologies so the free day could be enjoyed.

DeVian Law-Noba sank deeper into her bathtub, squinting her eyes to filter out some of the light that came streaming through her bathroom window. Out of all the places she owned, this was one of her favorite bathrooms. The floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the bustling city never ceased to amaze her. Humans were so small and unremarkable - from this height, no different from ants, really. The funniest part was that from this height there was also no way to tell who was a claimant or even if there were Ancients down there. They were all unremarkable. It was nice to be humbled in such a way.

The dark-skinned Brazilian woman hummed a light tune under her breath as she sank back into the water once more with a renewed desire to relax. One press of the jacuzzi jets and it was turned into a euphoric experience. It was so calm and quiet in the bathroom that it seemed even the walls screamed when the door opened and Ritunen Desvoy sauntered in.

DeVian didn't turn, instead putting her hand over his when he put it on her shoulder as he kissed the back of her neck. He didn't pause before continuing with running his hands over her body as if refamiliarizing himself with it. She leaned into his hands and was rewarded with a kiss on the forehead. His long black hair fell into the water just barely but he hardly seemed to pay any mind. The apartment disappearing under his feet probably couldn't deter him from his mission.

"You didn't close the door," Dev noted, fully paying attention now. She had expected a kiss in passing and for him to go about his day but this was not unwelcome.

"The kid's with Bruno, we'll be fine," was his quick answer, already taking off his T-shirt. His haste made her laugh and her laugh pulled a genuine smile out of him.

"What are you in such a rush for, lover boy?"

"Have you seen the news?"

"No. I'm on vacation." Nor did she have any intention of asking why he would question her watching the news. Whatever it was, she didn't want to be bothered with it.


"Well since your vacation is ending early, I figured I'd give you something nice to think about."

"What makes you think it's ending early?"

"We'll talk about it after."

"I want to know now."

"No, because then you'll be mad and I don't have any gags on me. Definitely not. " He went to the countertop and took a ponytail holder to tie his hair up with, some of the ends lightly dripping onto the floor.

"You didn't even ask me if you could join my bath," DeVian scoffed at him, rolling light hazel eyes far into the back of her head.

"Of course I can." He stepped easily into the tub and effortlessly picked her up out of it so he could sit and reposition her on top of him. She blushed at the way she was manhandled - not sure if it was more out of embarrassment or lust. He was completely oblivious to it, taking a moment to settle in. When he was done he immediately splashed her with water and started a splashing war that left half of the bath on the floor.

The Law heiress frowned as she moved wet hair out of her face. "I don't like you."

"Give me five minutes and we'll see."




Ritunen was right: Dev was extremely mad about the news he presented her with. She had to go to Rome on her day off because Echowix decided to show her scummy face outside of the Citadel and fuck up the human realm. What kind of timing was that? The Ancient hadn't been seen, like... ever!

DeVian couldn't resist grumbling under her breath in her native Portuguese as she walked around the extended walk-in closet to collect her necessary gear for the mission.

"Why are you sharpening your halberd?" Ritunen yawned from the doorway as he leaned against the frame. He had a permanent self-satisfied smirk after their morning in the bath together but his good mood did nothing to mellow her sour one. "Come on, why don't you sit and braid my hair to calm down before you go."

"Ay, fuck you, seu pequeno vigarista," the death claimant shot back. "I'm sharpening it because if I have to work on my day off, people are going to die."
Portuguese: you little con artist

He laughed it off with a nonchalant shrug of the shoulders. "You're so cute when you scowl murderously like that."




The throne upon which Novevu sat was truly awe-inspiring. It was beautiful. Usually Dev liked to admire the details of it and the amazing craftsmanship, but today it didn't work. Novevu, her Ancient, could tell she was annoyed from the way she stormed in.

"So you decided to turn on your TV," the pale, dark-haired man threw out. His expression remained a bit pensive as he considered the fiery Aikekunai before him.

"You didn't summon me."

"Let's just say I don't need you biting my head off because there's work on your day off. That was an experience I am not keen on replicating."

The memory actually managed to make her laugh. She could remember it as clear as day: she had cursed at him for hours on end in every language she knew (Portuguese, Spanish, and English, in order of usage from most to least pissed off) and completely wrecked the area he had sent her to. It was meant to be a pretty straightforward mission to recover what was apparently a very important book that had been stolen from his personal library. The original thief had pawned it off to some humans who had no idea the likes of the people that would be after it. Dev had managed to track them down to an antiques shop where they were consulting an expert on the book's worth. In her anger with the fact that she had to be there at all, DeVian sliced everyone present to ribbons without asking any questions. Afterward she trashed the shop and eventually burnt it down - and still didn't feel better until she had gotten done giving Novevu a good piece of her mind.

"Well tell me what I need to do so I can get it over with." The Brazilian tech heiress rolled her eyes and crossed her arms as she felt the annoyance of the day ahead settling in. She wanted to calm down and was trying to but she couldn't help it.

"I'll keep it brief. Echowix dropped a quill off in Rome and... Froze... Time."

"She froze time?"

"Yes, within the confines of the city. The people don't seem to be hurt, but I'm sure you can imagine it is a bit of a sensitive manner. The houses are at odds and I need you to find out what you can about this."

It made sense now why he would call her in to do this. This was pretty high-profile. Still she couldn't shake the anger that came with being the only one capable of doing this. It was flattering, though. "How long is this supposed to take?" she finally relented enough in her attitude to ask.

"However long it takes you to collect some information."




Did you see the news? Are you heading there?

Dev considered the text from her wife, Stasia, for a long time. She should've expected to be hearing from her since they were both Aikekunai. This wasn't how she had hoped to be meeting back up with the woman, but it was kind of a relief. They hadn't spoken in months since an argument had torn a rift between them. DeVian had apologized as sincerely as she knew how but Stasia just didn't think it was enough. The argument revolved around a one-of-a-kind nail polish... The only ones it made any sense to were the two women themselves.

DeVian didn't know how to respond to the message. Of course, Stasia should've assumed Dev would be assigned this task, seeing as they were both Aikekunai for their respective houses. Could the message just be her way of reaching out to initiate conversation? No... Stasia would let them both die without speaking another word to each other before she did that. Dev stared at the screen so long that it timed out and she was left gazing at herself once more. It was not often that the Law Tech heiress found herself at a loss for words, but here, she couldn't think of a damn thing to say. Mostly she was excited Stasia had reached out at all. Maybe she wasn't so mad anymore?

No, she was probably still mad. Stasia could hold a grudge longer than either of them had been alive. Even in the face of her wife sobbing her eyes out and begging and forgiveness, Stasia could be unmoving.

Yes, I'll be there... On my day off, Dev wrote back, barely quelling the butterflies that erupted in her stomach at the very sight of Stasia texting her. It could almost completely make her attitude subside... Almost.

Making her way to Rome was not difficult. It was as easy as opening up a portal to the Void and spitting herself out of the other end, and extremely time-efficient. The downside was that using her abilities screwed her immune system over, and even though it was warm outside, she shivered every few minutes.

She looked around the spot she had stepped out of. It was not a place she recognized. All over the sidewalks and even halfway in the streets were humans snoozing peacefully. Some cars seemed to have come into an easy stop against poles or walls. No one seemed grievously injured. For a catastrophe, it looked pretty tame so far.

Ghosts of the dead whispered to DeVian Desdon anything they could thing of. Some wailed infinitely; some tried to get in her head; most just wanted any conversation she could offer. DeVian did not often use her ability to speak with the dead because it annoyed her more than anything. She wished she had gotten the power of necromancy to at least make them useful to her.

"Find my wife," she spoke into the air. There was no detectable response by anyone that wasn't a death claimant. From her point of view, though, a thousand ghosts pored in every direction at her beck and call just for the chance to have a sense of purpose. The location of Stasia Noba was revealed no later than two minutes after Dev had touched down in Rome. This brought a smile to the woman's face for the first time since receiving the assignment.

When Dev finally laid eyes on Stasia, she couldn't keep her heart from jumping to her throat. Everything in her wanted to jump on the blonde woman, shower her in kisses and resign them both to bed indefinitely. The reality was that they were working and still in a heated argument in their personal time. She hated it.

"Hey, it's me," the dark-haired death claimant announced as she approached Stasia from behind. The woman was bent over one of the sleeping humans, her bare hands on their wrists. DeVian knew what that meant. She touched Stasia gently on a part of her shoulder covered with clothes as she came up behind her, speaking lowly so she didn't interrupt her work. "Stasia. Can you hear me?"

When she was finally acknowledged, Dev couldn't help the flutter of a smile that floated onto her features. Stasia looked perfect every time she saw her. Even if there was a hair out of place... There wasn't. Waking up to her and Ritunen was a continuous dream come true... Not having seen the woman's face in months just made the adoration stronger. Dev wanted to forget the mission completely. If it weren't for the fact that they were both working, Dev would not have hesitated to fall at Stasia's knees and grovel.

The air carried the scent of other claimants... Dev couldn't tell what she was supposed to expect. Her grip on her halberd tightened accordingly.

Today was her day off. It was a day that was so free it felt surreal. For once, there was absolutely nothing to do. Ritunen was taking care of Kiran so DeVian could enjoy this time to herself. Stasia was fucking off in god knew where. Marjorie held down whatever duties had to be delegated to Dev at Law Technologies so the free day could be enjoyed.

DeVian Law-Noba sank deeper into her bathtub, squinting her eyes to filter out some of the light that came streaming through her bathroom window. Out of all the places she owned, this was one of her favorite bathrooms. The floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the bustling city never ceased to amaze her. Humans were so small and unremarkable - from this height, no different from ants, really. The funniest part was that from this height there was also no way to tell who was a claimant or even if there were Ancients down there. They were all unremarkable. It was nice to be humbled in such a way.

The dark-skinned Brazilian woman hummed a light tune under her breath as she sank back into the water once more with a renewed desire to relax. One press of the jacuzzi jets and it was turned into a euphoric experience. It was so calm and quiet in the bathroom that it seemed even the walls screamed when the door opened and Ritunen Desvoy sauntered in.

DeVian didn't turn, instead putting her hand over his when he put it on her shoulder as he kissed the back of her neck. He didn't pause before continuing with running his hands over her body as if refamiliarizing himself with it. She leaned into his hands and was rewarded with a kiss on the forehead. His long black hair fell into the water just barely but he hardly seemed to pay any mind. The apartment disappearing under his feet probably couldn't deter him from his mission.

"You didn't close the door," Dev noted, fully paying attention now. She had expected a kiss in passing and for him to go about his day but this was not unwelcome.

"The kid's with Bruno, we'll be fine," was his quick answer, already taking off his T-shirt. His haste made her laugh and her laugh pulled a genuine smile out of him.

"What are you in such a rush for, lover boy?"

"Have you seen the news?"

"No. I'm on vacation." Nor did she have any intention of asking why he would question her watching the news. Whatever it was, she didn't want to be bothered with it.


"Well since your vacation is ending early, I figured I'd give you something nice to think about."

"What makes you think it's ending early?"

"We'll talk about it after."

"I want to know now."

"No, because then you'll be mad and I don't have any gags on me. Definitely not. " He went to the countertop and took a ponytail holder to tie his hair up with, some of the ends lightly dripping onto the floor.

"You didn't even ask me if you could join my bath," DeVian scoffed at him, rolling light hazel eyes far into the back of her head.

"Of course I can." He stepped easily into the tub and effortlessly picked her up out of it so he could sit and reposition her on top of him. She blushed at the way she was manhandled - not sure if it was more out of embarrassment or lust. He was completely oblivious to it, taking a moment to settle in. When he was done he immediately splashed her with water and started a splashing war that left half of the bath on the floor.

The Law heiress frowned as she moved wet hair out of her face. "I don't like you."

"Give me five minutes and we'll see."




Ritunen was right: Dev was extremely mad about the news he presented her with. She had to go to Rome on her day off because Echowix decided to show her scummy face outside of the Citadel and fuck up the human realm. What kind of timing was that? The Ancient hadn't been seen, like... ever!

DeVian couldn't resist grumbling under her breath in her native Portuguese as she walked around the extended walk-in closet to collect her necessary gear for the mission.

"Why are you sharpening your halberd?" Ritunen yawned from the doorway as he leaned against the frame. He had a permanent self-satisfied smirk after their morning in the bath together but his good mood did nothing to mellow her sour one. "Come on, why don't you sit and braid my hair to calm down before you go."

"Ay, fuck you, seu pequeno vigarista," the death claimant shot back. "I'm sharpening it because if I have to work on my day off, people are going to die."
Portuguese: you little con artist

He laughed it off with a nonchalant shrug of the shoulders. "You're so cute when you scowl murderously like that."




The throne upon which Novevu sat was truly awe-inspiring. It was beautiful. Usually Dev liked to admire the details of it and the amazing craftsmanship, but today it didn't work. Novevu, her Ancient, could tell she was annoyed from the way she stormed in.

"So you decided to turn on your TV," the pale, dark-haired man threw out. His expression remained a bit pensive as he considered the fiery Aikekunai before him.

"You didn't summon me."

"Let's just say I don't need you biting my head off because there's work on your day off. That was an experience I am not keen on replicating."

The memory actually managed to make her laugh. She could remember it as clear as day: she had cursed at him for hours on end in every language she knew (Portuguese, Spanish, and English, in order of usage from most to least pissed off) and completely wrecked the area he had sent her to. It was meant to be a pretty straightforward mission to recover what was apparently a very important book that had been stolen from his personal library. The original thief had pawned it off to some humans who had no idea the likes of the people that would be after it. Dev had managed to track them down to an antiques shop where they were consulting an expert on the book's worth. In her anger with the fact that she had to be there at all, DeVian sliced everyone present to ribbons without asking any questions. Afterward she trashed the shop and eventually burnt it down - and still didn't feel better until she had gotten done giving Novevu a good piece of her mind.

"Well tell me what I need to do so I can get it over with." The Brazilian tech heiress rolled her eyes and crossed her arms as she felt the annoyance of the day ahead settling in. She wanted to calm down and was trying to but she couldn't help it.

"I'll keep it brief. Echowix dropped a quill off in Rome and... Froze... Time."

"She froze time?"

"Yes, within the confines of the city. The people don't seem to be hurt, but I'm sure you can imagine it is a bit of a sensitive manner. The houses are at odds and I need you to find out what you can about this."

It made sense now why he would call her in to do this. This was pretty high-profile. Still she couldn't shake the anger that came with being the only one capable of doing this. It was flattering, though. "How long is this supposed to take?" she finally relented enough in her attitude to ask.

"However long it takes you to collect some information."




Did you see the news? Are you heading there?

Dev considered the text from her wife, Stasia, for a long time. She should've expected to be hearing from her since they were both Aikekunai. This wasn't how she had hoped to be meeting back up with the woman, but it was kind of a relief. They hadn't spoken in months since an argument had torn a rift between them. DeVian had apologized as sincerely as she knew how but Stasia just didn't think it was enough. The argument revolved around a one-of-a-kind nail polish... The only ones it made any sense to were the two women themselves.

DeVian didn't know how to respond to the message. Of course, Stasia should've assumed Dev would be assigned this task, seeing as they were both Aikekunai for their respective houses. Could the message just be her way of reaching out to initiate conversation? No... Stasia would let them both die without speaking another word to each other before she did that. Dev stared at the screen so long that it timed out and she was left gazing at herself once more. It was not often that the Law Tech heiress found herself at a loss for words, but here, she couldn't think of a damn thing to say. Mostly she was excited Stasia had reached out at all. Maybe she wasn't so mad anymore?

No, she was probably still mad. Stasia could hold a grudge longer than either of them had been alive. Even in the face of her wife sobbing her eyes out and begging and forgiveness, Stasia could be unmoving.

Yes, I'll be there... On my day off, Dev wrote back, barely quelling the butterflies that erupted in her stomach at the very sight of Stasia texting her. It could almost completely make her attitude subside... Almost.

Making her way to Rome was not difficult. It was as easy as opening up a portal to the Void and spitting herself out of the other end, and extremely time-efficient. The downside was that using her abilities screwed her immune system over, and even though it was warm outside, she shivered every few minutes.

She looked around the spot she had stepped out of. It was not a place she recognized. All over the sidewalks and even halfway in the streets were humans snoozing peacefully. Some cars seemed to have come into an easy stop against poles or walls. No one seemed grievously injured. For a catastrophe, it looked pretty tame so far.

Ghosts of the dead whispered to DeVian Desdon anything they could thing of. Some wailed infinitely; some tried to get in her head; most just wanted any conversation she could offer. DeVian did not often use her ability to speak with the dead because it annoyed her more than anything. She wished she had gotten the power of necromancy to at least make them useful to her.

"Find my wife," she spoke into the air. There was no detectable response by anyone that wasn't a death claimant. From her point of view, though, a thousand ghosts pored in every direction at her beck and call just for the chance to have a sense of purpose. The location of Stasia Noba was revealed no later than two minutes after Dev had touched down in Rome. This brought a smile to the woman's face for the first time since receiving the assignment.

When Dev finally laid eyes on Stasia, she couldn't keep her heart from jumping to her throat. Everything in her wanted to jump on the blonde woman, shower her in kisses and resign them both to bed indefinitely. The reality was that they were working and still in a heated argument in their personal time. She hated it.

"Hey, it's me," the dark-haired death claimant announced as she approached Stasia from behind. The woman was bent over one of the sleeping humans, her bare hands on their wrists. DeVian knew what that meant. She touched Stasia gently on a part of her shoulder covered with clothes as she came up behind her, speaking lowly so she didn't interrupt her work. "Stasia. Can you hear me?"

When she was finally acknowledged, Dev couldn't help the flutter of a smile that floated onto her features. Stasia looked perfect every time she saw her. Even if there was a hair out of place... There wasn't. Waking up to her and Ritunen was a continuous dream come true... Not having seen the woman's face in months just made the adoration stronger. Dev wanted to forget the mission completely. If it weren't for the fact that they were both working, Dev would not have hesitated to fall at Stasia's knees and grovel.

The air carried the scent of other claimants... Dev couldn't tell what she was supposed to expect. Her grip on her halberd tightened accordingly.