—General Laura POV—
A few days later Julia Wells, the Eagle ranked officer, along with those the investigation team suspected to be working with her were detained. They were all questioned, but as expected none of them would speak. Knowing this was already going to happen Laura and Zenesha didn't panic.
"It's been long enough that I can consume another soul without harming myself." Laura said to Zenesha. "However, we're going have to prepare for the arrival of more Forsaken soon. My recent actions must've alerted some of them by now."
"I'll protect you Lola, so don't worry about it." Zenesha said with a smile. "I'll be here when you return.
"Thanks Zen."
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Inside one of the cells beneath the central tower, the Elf woman Julia Wells sat on the hard bed with her back against the wall. There was a camera in every single one of these cells, giving her no privacy. Despite this the woman still thought about how to escape.
While resting inside the cell she noticed her surroundings growing darker and the faint sound of electricity humming in the air around her. Realizing something was wrong the woman sat up and looked around. The hair on her arms and neck stood on end, not from fear but the sudden increase in static around her.
"Hello Julia, we never had a chance to properly meet before."
"Wha-?!" Julia jumped to her feet in surprise and faced the sudden intruder in a combat ready stance.
Standing next to where she was just located was the wolf woman that Zenesha heart brought in. The stranger with unknown origins, who is somehow her second in command. She wore an orange button up shirt with the top button unbuttoned. She also wore a black suit jacket, its sleeves rolled up to reveal her fur covered forearms, and black pants.
The whites of her eyes were black as her iris glowed orange. In the dark room the faint glow was much more prominent causing the Elf to feel increasingly uneasy. Julia never had the opportunity to properly speak with Laura, but she knew that her eyes weren't normal in the slightest.
"How did you get in here?" Asked the wary Elf.
"That doesn't matter, what does matter is the fact you planned to hurt my Zenesha." She spoke. "And that's a crime I just can't allow to go unpunished."
With a snap of her fingers Julia found herself suspended in the air unable to move. She was slowly moved until she was directly in front of the wolf woman. Looking into the glowing inky eyes, the Elf couldn't help but feel instinctual fear. It was like she was looking at something that shouldn't exist.
"I can't kill you otherwise I will lose your soul." Laura said. "But I can have fun with you before I go."
"What… are… you?" She asked, choking out the words.
"A Demon coming from hell to deliver just punishment."
There was a barrier blocking any noise from escaping the cell, but if there wasn't, the only thing anyone would be able to hear were the screams of a certain Elf.
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"There we go." Laura said, holding up the soul with her transformed arm.
Opening her mouth, she placed the soul inside and swallowed. It tasted good, much to her vexation. She didn't like the fact that such people that would bring harm to her Zenesha could taste pleasant at all. They should taste like dirt and rot, even if it would be unpleasant for her.
Now that this was over and done with however, she could leave. Taking one last look at the still living flesh pile, she teleported back to the one person she loves. In an instant the scenery in front of her changed and right there in front of her, sitting at their desk was Zenesha.
A warm feeling bubbled inside Laura the moment she laid eyes on the fox. It was like the world became a better and brighter place simply because the fox was there. With her tail wagging in excitement she walked towards Zenesha with a proud look on her face.
"I finished darling!" She announced.
"Yeah I can see." Zenesha said, looking at her monitor. "But blocking the camera with darkness is suspicious. I'll just restrict access to it, but still."
Nothing Laura did was caught on camera, but it being blocked for over an hour and then showing the mangled body of Julia was not inconspicuous. It wasn't like any mortal would be able to figure out what happened, especially with the both of them blocking the path. Zenesha just wishes it was less obvious is all.
"We should be able to get this cleaned up by the end of the week." Laura said with a smile before it faltered. "Then we're going have to clean up my mess."
"Because the denizens of the void know where you are now?"
"Yes…."
When Laura cut off her arm a lot of energy had managed to escape. Not enough to make others know where she was, but enough for them to get her general location. Taking the soul of Samual meant revealing a bit of her true form, and that was like a beacon alerting any Voidling Forsaken or anything else of her location.
Taking Julia's soul would've cleared any doubt about where she was.
"What did you do to make the others hate you so much?" Zenesha asked with a tilt of her head. Laura stayed silent for a while, hesitating to answer her question.
"I mentioned I became a Forsaken early, right?" Laura started.
"Yeah, you did."
"That's because I did the impossible and killed countless Forsaken as just a voidling." Laura explained. "To be specific I killed my family and some others that got in my way. In the end I managed to absorb enough energy to break free and leave the void."
"...."
Zenesha wanted to ask more, but Laura had already turned away from her. Figuring that the wolf didn't want to discuss why she killed her own kin, the fox swallowed her curiosity. Instead she stayed silent as she waited for Laura to continue speaking on her own.
"Anyway, I'll like a lab. I wish to continue some experiments my family started." Laura said. "We should also get you people to make weapons using the Ather."
"Wait experiments?"
"Yes, experiments. The same ones that made me kill them in the first place…." Laura trailed off. "But I need to do them if I'm to protect you."
"... Alright, I'll have someone start on those things for you."
"Thank you." Laura said, her voice carrying a myriad of emotions.
"In the meantime, we have to wait a little longer before we can do anything huh?" Zenesha said standing up, approaching the wolf who still had their back turned. She knew how to cheer the woman in front of her up. "How about I finally take you out to eat?"
"You cooked me dinner when I first arrived, remember?" Laura said, turning around confused by Zenesha's words. When she turned she was met with the fox surprisingly close and looked up at her face with some shock.
"That doesn't count. I said I'll treat you to a meal but I never got around to doing that."
"Is this the other thing couples do!?" Laura said with excitement, her mood improving instantly. "It's a dinner date, right? Right!?"
"Yep." The fox confirmed. "I hate fancy restaurants, so that's not where I'm taking you. I'll also drive us, so let's go and get dressed."
"...." Laura looked at her with shock as her brain tried to process the fact her sweet little fox actually confirmed this was a date.
"Lola?"
Instead of answering, the wolf grabbed Zenesha and teleported them to their room. She then shoved the fox into the bathroom with a clean set of clothes and closed the door on her. Laura was vibrating with visible excitement and couldn't even properly think anymore.
"A date, a date, a date!" She sang. "A real proper date!"
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At the restaurant the two of them sat together near the window. Zenesha wore a white turtleneck with a skirt, leggings and flats. Laura had called her a collector's addition again, which earned her another glare from the fox. Laura for her part wore a dark blue button up and dark grey slacks.
While the two of them were eating and talking about the current rpg game they were playing, Laura suddenly felt something. She stopped talking and frowned.
'What shity timing.' She thought.
Noticing her sudden shift in mood, Zenesha spoke up. "What's wrong Lola? Did something happen?"
"There's someone from the void nearby." Laura growled. "I'll be back, they probably don't realize that it's me, but they can still tell someone from the void is in this restaurant. Stay here."
"No, won't it be better if I'm there?"
"... What do you mean?" Laura asked, reluctant to bring Zenesha.
"If they don't know you're you, then just say me and you are contracted together."
"... That might work…." Laura admitted. It isn't unknown she disliked making contracts. It was considered unusual to those of her kind after all. "Fine, you can come."
After that the two of them paid for their food and left the restaurant. They circled around to the back where they found a human waiting for them. He had short black hair, brown eyes, and a smirk across his face.
He also wore a black and white tracksuit, looking as if he was preparing to run. That image was enhanced by the fact they were doing stretches. When he saw the two of them rounding the corner he smiled and waved.
"Greetings." He said before glancing at Zenesha briefly and turning his attention back to Laura. "I see you've been here for a while. Under contract with a mortal huh?"
"I'm going to need you to leave this place." Laura said bluntly.
The man's smile twitched a little at this. "Why may I ask, should I do that?"
"... You're here looking for that rouge right? Well my job is to protect this one here and if you start stuff in this place she might get caught in the crossfire."
The void human looked at Zenesha again with curiosity. "How long do you have to protect her for?"
"Doesn't matter, just leave." She growled.
"So touchy. Are you perhaps one of those that get territorial about your area?"
"So what if I am?"
The man sighed. "God you lot are annoying, fine I'll leave, maybe check out that Criten Country or whatever."
With a swing of his hand he opened a rift through reality. A tear that leads directly to the void. While Laura didn't feel anything odd, other than a small bit of nostalgia, Zenesh felt her flight and fight instincts kick in, and everything in her screamed at her to run. This wasn't something she should be witnessing.
"Till next time." The man said before stepping through.
"Why didn't he just teleport?" Zensha asked after a while.
"With limits to our power we can only teleport to where we've been. But in the void he'll be able to travel to anywhere on this planet in seconds."
"I see…."
"...."
"...."
"Next time I see them I'm killing them." Laura said. "He ruined our date."