Chapter Text
The rest of the afternoon passed by quicker than anticipated, and soon enough it was night. The party gathered for dinner, Hades still clinging to Guts’ side like a lost child -much to the Swordsman’s annoyance- although he looked to be a bit more at ease around the others than earlier that day. Guts noticed that Isma was trying to make this impromptu addition to the party feel included; she made sure Hades had someone to converse with throughout the evening, and she even tried sharing a portion of her own meal with him, but Hades politely declined, insisting he had more than enough food for himself. Even if there was still some underlying tension in the air, everyone seemed relaxed enough to talk to each other, making the evening feel almost… Normal. That was good, Guts thought, his shoulders relaxing just a bit before he took a sip of his soup. It would allow everyone’s mind to stay clear, at the very least. His eyes then drifted to Hades, sitting there next to him, shoulder almost touching his armoured side. He was picking up from his portion of soup pieces of vegetables with his fingers, before bringing them to his mouth and chewing them thoughtfully, like… He had never eaten with anyone else present before. Occasionally, he’d go in to pick the pieces with his mouth as well, wiping his chin with the sleeve of his tunic afterwards. Guts couldn’t help but scoff. It was like watching a toddler clumsily eating puree, smearing the food everywhere on their cheeks and shirt. Although, he had to admit, Hades was a lot more put together than a toddler, even if he was eating with his hands. At least he didn’t have to spoon-feed him, unlike…
His eyelid twitched as the memory struck him – Casca, her dark gaze vacant and curious, allowing Schierke to feed her like a baby. His chest constricted painfully as the image came back to him, before a series of others flashed before his closed eyelid, each more gruesome than the last, the feeling of hurt and anger in his heart coiling and twisting like a snake before it crept up his spine, towards his neck, and finished its course in a stinging burn where the Brand of Sacrifice was. With a grunt, he smacked the back of his neck, palm covering the symbol. The movement caught Hades’ attention, and his eyes focused on the Swordsman curiously. Guts, upon noticing, huffed angrily and threw a spare spoon into his bowl of soup. Hades flinched slightly at the sudden movement, his brows furrowing in slight confusion.
“Use this. You’re not a fucking primitive, are you?” Guts grumbled angrily. He looked at Isma and nodded towards her. “She’ll teach you.”
He then sat up and headed back to his tent, isolating himself from the rest of the group to finish his meal in peace. Hades tensed up a bit, looking between Isma and the closed flap of Guts’ tent. It seems he didn’t appreciate being left alone with the others like that, but Isma quickly distracted him by showing him how to use the spoon to eat his soup. Seeing how everyone seemed relatively unperturbed by what just happened, Hades wondered aloud:
“Does he usually do this?”
“Storm off to eat on his own? Happens every once in a while.” Isidro replied with a shrug, while Puck munched on a squarish piece of carrot, sitting on his shoulder.
“Is there a reason for that…? Did I do something?” Hades asked, looking back again.
“Nah, don’t think so. Sometimes he just… Does that. Most of the time he refuses to explain why. Maybe he’s seen something he doesn’t like.” Isidro continued, nonchalantly downing the rest of his soup.
Schierke looked concerned, but she didn’t say anything.
◇
The rest of the evening went relatively calmly, before each party member headed towards their respective tents to rest. Hades, for his part, waited until he was sure everyone was inside their canvas walls to head towards a nearby tree. He removed his clothes once there, untyied his ponytail, and sat on the floor for a couple of minutes, waiting. Once the moon peeked over the horizon, he felt the familiar tingle of his skin and body hardening and darkening into its demonic form. He gave a tentative stretch, just to make sure everything was in place before he started climbing the tree, claws and talons digging firmly and expertly into the bark, hoisting him to the very top. The crisp air of the night glided over his muscles like water over smooth pebbles while he settled -as comfortably as he could manage-, ready for his first night as the night sentinel of the Black Swordsman’s party. He held his head up, taking in the smell of the air: fresh, earthy… Nothing strange there. His eyes raked over the camp and surrounding areas below, and so far everything was in order. It was a bit early into the night for demons to be out, anyway, but one can never be too careful when it comes to these. Hades quietly scolded himself for not thinking to mark the area, but he could always do that while on watch duty. He had to get a feel of the camp area first, and overlooking everything from his perch on the tree would suffice for the time being.
Hours slowly passed. Hades had only needed to fend off a stray wolf and a boar, both probably having been drawn in by the lingering scent of today’s dinner. Even then, the demon couldn’t help but feel a small sense of… Pride. The fact he was there, watching, guarding the campsite filled his chest with a warm feeling, which he could only guess was excitement. It reminded him of the time he’d managed to fend off a young bear that had taken an interest in his den. He remembered feeling confident, strong and proud of himself, and that memory only made him more determined to fulfil his night-watching mission. He’d be perfect. He’d be irreproachable. He’d keep the camp safe and make the Swordsman proud-
Woah.
Hades blinked, confused. Where did that thought come from? Make the Swordsman proud? Come on. You’re exaggerating here, Hades. This is an arrangement, you’re not trying to prove yourself or anything. You’re only here because you want to understand humans better, not…
Just focus now.
The demon took a deep breath, forcing his mind and senses to focus back on the surroundings. The night was calm and quiet, crickets chirping, leaves rustling in the breeze… It was almost relaxing, overall, although Hades knew he couldn’t allow himself to lower his guard and lounge around.
The featherless wings on his back twitched as another soft gush of wind brushed against his back, images of birds soaring through the skies briefly flashing in his mind. He sighed, shaking his head. He knew he couldn’t fly. It was nothing but an idea, a wish… A dream. A frustrating one, maybe, but still one that was dear to him. No matter how many times he told himself that he would never be able to fly, that it was nothing but an unrealistic desire, a fancy his mind completely made up, that he would never grow wings or feathers; something, deep in his heart, deep in his soul, kept pushing. This little spark of what felt like hope, firmly embedded into his being, kept whispering alluring “what if”s to his mind. What if he could fly? What if he eventually did find a way to fly? What if he too took off, high, high into the bright blue sky; what if he too touched the clouds, felt the wind support and carry him, guide him through the air and…
… He couldn’t give that up. He couldn’t allow himself to loose that. He would persist. He would find a way. He, too, would fly.
◇
The first two thirds of the night passed slowly, and were absolutely uneventful. Hades felt both relieved and disappointed – it was reassuring that the party had been safe all night long, yet some action still would’ve been entertaining… He yawned, before climbing down the tree. He’d covered most of the night, as he’d agreed with Guts, and noticed Serpico coming out of his tent to come replace him. The poor man looked like he hadn’t slept a wink; he rubbed his eyes wearily and almost bumped into Hades, who’d come a little closer. He groaned slightly, flinching at the other’s proximity, visibly disoriented from his lack of sleep.
“Sorry Hades, I didn’t… see you there.” He said apologetically, voice raspy with exhaustion. He ran a hand over his face, but when his eyes landed on Hades, he flinched back, letting out an undignified yelp, face contorting in fear.
“… What?” Hades questioned, calmly. He seemed to be relatively unaware of the effect his demonic presence had on the other man.
“… N… Nothing.” Serpico whispered out, instinctively taking a step or two back.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” The demon said, not realising his voice rang in Serpico’s ears like an out of tune acoustic bass. He saw the blond man’s hands shake slightly, and noticed how his breath hitched. “What’s wrong? Had a nightmare?” He wondered, with the faintest hint of concern. “Oh! Are you perhaps just nervous about night-watching?” He continued, taking a step closer towards Serpico. The poor man was frozen in place. “Don’t worry,” Hades went on, sounding a bit more cheerful, “it’s pretty calm tonight. You’ll do fine. Although maybe you should wear darker clothes next time, it’ll allow you to blend in with the night better. That white cape makes you stand out a bit too much-”
As he reached to get a feel of the fabric of Serpico’s cape, the blond man swatted his hand away before he could touch it, and quickly escaped his line of sight, running off into the forest. Hades, surprised and confused, was about to go after him, but reconsidered. Serpico was trying to get away from him, so chasing him down certainly was not a good idea. He took a couple of seconds to think, and eventually, he went over to Guts’ tent, quietly gliding like a shadow as to not wake the others. He stood there in the corner, eyes focused on the imposing frame of the Swordsman laying down in his bedroll with undeniable weariness.
“… Guts?” He called out after a moment.
The large man “flinched awake”, although he’d not been sleeping in the first place. His lone eye searched the darkness of the tent, the only light being a thin pale ray of moonlight filtering through the slight opening of the tent’s flap. Hades, standing in the darkest corner of the Swordsman’s tent, had his presence reduced to an ominous pair of piercing blue eyes.
“The hell you want?” Guts grumbled, annoyed at the intrusion into his tent. He sat up, muscles protesting at the movement, and looked back at Hades, almost defiantly.
“It’s Serpico.” The demon started. “He was coming to replace me but he fled into the forest instead.”
Guts, now more alert, stood up. “He what? Why?” He asked, brows furrowed in both confusion and subtle worry.
“… I think he got scared…” Hades commented “… Of me.”
Guts sighed heavily. “Of course…” He grumbled.
But what to do now? Should he wait for Serpico to calm down on his own and come back, or should he go ahead and search for him to bring him back to camp himself? That would mean leaving Hades with the rest of the band… The thought made him grit his teeth. He didn’t trust Hades enough to leave him with the others in the dead of the night, while they were all so vulnerable, but he also didn’t want to leave Serpico alone in the forest, considering the man was probably afraid and not thinking too rationally. In both cases, anything could happen, and it infuriated the Swordsman. He didn’t want the party to be at the mercy of a demon, but he didn’t want Serpico to be at the mercy of the forest either…
“I’ll go get him.” He finally decided, walking out of the tent almost immediately.
Hades followed him for a little while, trotting like a little chick behind a mother hen, but when Guts walked into the forest he stopped, and waited. The Swordsman glanced back at him once, a bit puzzled by the way he was standing there at the edge of the forest and -gods, those blue eyes were as unnerving as ever!- seemingly waiting for his return. He huffed and focused on the matter at hand, picking up the pace and calling out Serpico’s name. Strangely enough, he found the man in the clearing where he’d first met Hades, leaning against the pine tree to catch his breath. Upon seeing Guts, he quickly tried to gather himself, and even though he was trying to appear nonchalant, there was an undeniable hint of relief in the blonde man’s eyes as they landed on the familiar figure of the Swordsman.
“Ah, Guts! Sorry, I just needed… A bit of fresh air, I got… A nasty scare and uh…”
“Yeah, I know.” Guts grumbled in response. “It’s not like you to run away like that. What you saw really must’ve made you shit your pants, huh?”
“I mean-” Serpico sighed, rubbing his eyes. “No, not like that, I just… I have no idea what came over me. I felt… Like a rabbit being chased down by an eagle.” He took another deep breath, before going back to the Swordsman’s side. “I’m sorry. I really am. It won’t happen again. That was uncharacteristically cowardly of me…”
The Swordsman shook his head. He was about to give his shoulder a friendly tap but refrained from doing so. “It’s fine. You’re alive, at least.” He replied, before the two of them started walking back towards the campsite. “So what did you see?” He asked next.
Serpico shivered and shook his head. “A demon, for sure.”
“Mh.”
The pair stayed quiet for the rest of their walk. As they neared the camp again, Guts went ahead and stood in front of Hades, blocking him from Serpico’s sight. The blonde man seemed eager to go back to his tent, forgetting about night-watching altogether. Once they were alone, the Swordsman turned back towards the demon.
“What did you do?” He asked, his tone holding a barely-concealed hint of reproach.
Hades blinked, a bit confused. “What did I do? Well… Nothing special. I came down from the tree and went over to greet him. Uhm… I said he might want to put on darker clothes next time because his white cape was very visible at night and that’s about it.” He replied calmly.
Guts muttered something under his breath, but he seemed to believe him at the very least. “Right… So nothing crazy.” He went quiet for a couple of seconds, seemingly thinking of a way to resolve the issue at hand. “If everyone scrams when they see you at night, that’s gonna be an issue…” Hades nodded, agreeing. Guts crossed his arms and continued. “I might need you to do all the night-watching instead of taking rounds with the others then, to avoid them seeing you like that. And if you’re really too tired sometimes I’ll replace you. Sounds about right?”
The demon nodded once more. “Yeah, fine by me. I didn’t… Know people would react like that to seeing me. It’s best if no one runs into the forest at night again, huh?”
“That’s right.” Guts confirmed, a bit more relaxed now that things were fixed. “You get to sleep mornings to catch up, but I need you up by lunch, got it?”
Hades gave one last nod, complying with Guts’ demands, before he took up his position atop of the tree once more. The Swordsman watched him do so, a spark of confusing feelings stirring his chest. On the one hand, he was glad the demon wasn’t being demanding or fussy and understood simple, necessary commands, but on the other it was so unlike how he’d expected Hades to behave that he couldn’t help but feel it had to be some sort of trick. Surely someone sharing… His blood would find it insufferable to be under someone else’s orders eventually, right? Hades might just be trying to gain his trust to screw him over later, playing the role of an obedient and timid little new recruit, only to strike them all at their most vulnerable… The thought itself made him clench his teeth again, but he forced the thoughts out of his mind. It was best to focus on the present.
He turned around and walked through the campsite, quietly inspecting the tents and belongings… It seems everything was in place. He could hear the faint breaths of his comrades, and all seemed fine. Hades had not attacked like he feared. He released a breath he didn’t even know he was holding before heading back towards his own tent, where he laid back down on his bedroll. He knew sleep wouldn’t come, but at the very least, he was not worried anymore.
When morning finally came, it was glaringly obvious no one had slept. Everyone cursed at the rising sun, and sluggish arms struggled to make breakfast. Hades was gone from the top of the tree, resting in his own tent. Seeing the general state of exhaustion, Guts, who had planned to move camp this morning, begrudgingly accepted to postpone the party’s move, even if it was not ideal. They’d stayed where they were for long enough, but with Hades now keeping an eye on their surroundings, maybe, just maybe, staying for another day wouldn’t hurt. This little infringement of their usual schedule did not please the Swordsman, of course, and he would occasionally rant about it throughout the day, annoyed and maybe a bit anxious -though he would never admit it aloud- at risking vulnerability in the face of the Apostles forever chasing him down.
Hades, for his part, woke up around lunch time, as expected, and joined the party to eat. Serpico, his mind clear and now completely at ease after last night’s incident, eyed the blue-eyed young man closely. He felt a certain sense of familiarity between him and the demon of last night, and of course, since Guts had said Hades would be the one night-watching from now on, there was little reason to doubt that the young man eating with them now was the same being as the one that had scared him last night. And yet, Serpico had a hard time reconciling the demon and the human Hades, his mind insisting on the fact that the two versions of the young man he’d seen made no sense. He tried to convince himself that yes, the demon and the human were in fact the same person, but to no avail, and by the time the party had finished eating, he was persuaded that they were two separate people.