Side Story: Finders Keepers
from here
Noah's Bookman Extra: Finders Keepers
Elysee. It was a quaint little town outside Paris. Wind blew over the hills and through his red hair as he looked out over the town. It was a quiet town but Lavi knew the Earl was quite well seated in the town and the Bookman was there to observe the happenings of the town and talk with the people.
He headed into the town, a mission on his mind. The people there seemed to pay him no mind despite his bright hair and unique appearance. He simply slipped about the town, poking into shops and memorizing their positions. He picked up on a few conversations, one which had caught his attention quite well.
The redhead tapped his chin thoughtfully, leaning on the railing of a cafe, smiling at two diners, who quite eagerly gave him information about the small team of Exorcists who had been in the town about a day prior to his arrival.
"There were three of them, two in black and one in white," stated the girl as she swirled her champagne around in the glass in her right hand.
The man nodded. "They arrived, traveled to the hill last night, then promptly left this morning." He pointed towards a rather forested hill not too far down the road.
He'd just missed them. "Thanks," Lavi said with a smile then turned toward the hill the man had indicated and jogged down the road. For a split moment, he turned to listen to a couple speak of a statue called the Dawn Goddess. What a strange name. As he pondered it, he wasn't exactly watching where he was going and collided with someone quite sharply. Lavi rubbed his head and looked up to find a young guy, dark black hair in a long white coat with lots of zippers and a backpack. Could it be this was the Exorcist's teammate in white? It was strange for one of them to leave a teammate behind, but then again, Lavi didn't really trust the Exorcists. Most of what he'd heard about them was mostly negative.
"Sorry 'bout that," Lavi apologized, standing up and offering a hand and a bright smile to the kid, who groaned and rubbed his head, then promptly took Lavi's offered hand.
"That's alright," he smiled back at Lavi. "I'm Doug."
"Lavi, nice to meetcha."
The Bookman's attention snapped up to find a sole Akuma staring them both down. To them, he was just another human to kill, no different from anyone else. Until now, Lavi had been quite effective at evading them. Today was another story.
Doug turned around and let out quite a shriek. "Lavi, go down that alley! I'll distract him!" Lavi didn't have a chance to say object before Doug took off down the street, not that Lavi would really have objected anyway. The redhead quickly ducked behind a stand, blending in with the surroundings. The Akuma hurdled past, following Doug with intent.
Oh well, there went the white-coated kid. He probably wouldn't survive. Lavi shrugged, reemerging from the alley, observing the people skitter about, quite distraught by the sudden arrival of the Akuma. Many scurried about, still panicked by the sight but the streets did soon calm down and that's when Lavi made his move. He stepped away from the wall of the building to ask some of the people about the statue he'd heard about before bumping into Doug.
Dusk was beginning to set and Lavi headed towards the hill with the statue. 'Dawn Goddess', someone called it. 'It can bring people back to life', said another. It had him incredibly curious. Not to mention it did sound like the Earl's handiwork. The redhead traversed the pathway in the dim lighting, only lit by the full moon, but his trek was interrupted by the sound of someone crying ahead of him. Something was going on.
Lavi rushed up the hill and discovered Doug hunched over a small body, wailing miserably. "COLLETTE! PLEASE BRING HER BACK!" How unfortunate. A child caught in the crossfire. Too many times had Lavi seen this happen. It was getting old and only seemed to fuel his dislike for people in general.
And now Doug was kneeling there, groveling to a statue. Quite the ornate statue it was, seemingly glowing in the moonlight. It matched the description the townspeople had offered him accurately, and Lavi guessed that was the reason Doug was drawn to it. The legends that the Dawn Goddess would bring someone back to life. That child must've meant the world to him.
Lavi watched them flatly and emotionless.
A large figure seemed to appear from the darkness, happily skipping about in a tall top hat with a small umbrella. He appeared to have a halo around him with the moonlight shining behind him. "I can bring her back for you. Ohoho~♥"
Doug looked up hopefully. "She shouldn't have died! She doesn't deserve this." His words were barely audible between the sniffles and tears that had welled up in his eyes.
"Ohoho, of course~." The figure looked up, his eyes seemed to reflect the moonlight somehow, despite not being within the light at all. He beckoned Lavi forward. "Come, Lavi. You do want to see this, don't you?"
Lavi wasn't entirely sure what the Earl was about to do, but he wasn't about to deny the offere either. The Earl revealed information to the Bookman when he felt it was fit to do so, often ignoring the redhead's many questions. After nearly two years, Lavi learned to never take an offer for granted. After all, he wouldn't want to miss an opportunity to see what the Earl really could do. The man was an enigma. Anything was useful information.
And on top of that, it was most likely safer to be standing next to the Earl than behind his target.
Doug twisted his back just a bit, peering over his shoulder, his face puffy from the sobbing. ".... Lavi?" It was difficult to discern his expression accurately, between the darkness and the sobbing, but Lavi placed it somewhere between embarassment and confusion. Doug watched as Lavi emerged from the shadows and took his place slightly behind the Earl.
"Are you ready?" the Earl inquired of the white-coated boy.
Doug nodded. "Yes," he replied between sniffles, "her body's already getting cold." He held onto her hand quite dearly. Now in the light, Lavi could see the wounds were still fresh. The child hadn't been dead very long. Doug almost reluctantly offered her body to the Earl, but if it was the only way to save her, he'd have to do it.
The Earl produced a skeleton, dark and quite solid in appearance. "Now all you have to do is call her name, bring her soul to you in her new form." He grinned ear to ear with quite the alluring smile.
Doug bought straight into his words. All he could think about was bringing the girl back. "COLLETTE! Please come back!"
Just like that, a white stream of light poured down from the sky and into the skeleton, Doug's voice called Collette's tiny soul forward, ripping it from its resting place back into the world of the living. Lavi watched the spectacle in amazement, and the Earl watched, completely pleased with the situation.
The body ripped itself from the frame and approached Doug. ".... Doug....? Why...... did you.... bring me.... back?" She sounded sad and forlorn, wishing she had been left alone.
"Collette!" Doug shouted, quite distraught with her sad tone. He reached forward lovingly, inviting her into his arms. She approached him then took his face, pushing the corners of his mouth open with the bony thumbs of her body.
"Cowette?" Doug muttered, her fingers in his mouth. Quickly she jerks his mouth open to unimaginable proportions, somehow allowing the skeleton of dark matter to simply slip inside with ease, closing the mouth as if nothing had happened.
Lavi's jaw dropped. "Wha...?"
The Earl clapped cheerfully. "Ohoho, how perfect!" He did so love making new toys and this one would be quite useful. "Go to the Order and create havoc~♥!"
He turned to Lavi and patted the Bookman on the head. "And that's how Akuma are made~♥"
Noah's Bookman Extra: Finders Keepers
Elysee. It was a quaint little town outside Paris. Wind blew over the hills and through his red hair as he looked out over the town. It was a quiet town but Lavi knew the Earl was quite well seated in the town and the Bookman was there to observe the happenings of the town and talk with the people.
He headed into the town, a mission on his mind. The people there seemed to pay him no mind despite his bright hair and unique appearance. He simply slipped about the town, poking into shops and memorizing their positions. He picked up on a few conversations, one which had caught his attention quite well.
The redhead tapped his chin thoughtfully, leaning on the railing of a cafe, smiling at two diners, who quite eagerly gave him information about the small team of Exorcists who had been in the town about a day prior to his arrival.
"There were three of them, two in black and one in white," stated the girl as she swirled her champagne around in the glass in her right hand.
The man nodded. "They arrived, traveled to the hill last night, then promptly left this morning." He pointed towards a rather forested hill not too far down the road.
He'd just missed them. "Thanks," Lavi said with a smile then turned toward the hill the man had indicated and jogged down the road. For a split moment, he turned to listen to a couple speak of a statue called the Dawn Goddess. What a strange name. As he pondered it, he wasn't exactly watching where he was going and collided with someone quite sharply. Lavi rubbed his head and looked up to find a young guy, dark black hair in a long white coat with lots of zippers and a backpack. Could it be this was the Exorcist's teammate in white? It was strange for one of them to leave a teammate behind, but then again, Lavi didn't really trust the Exorcists. Most of what he'd heard about them was mostly negative.
"Sorry 'bout that," Lavi apologized, standing up and offering a hand and a bright smile to the kid, who groaned and rubbed his head, then promptly took Lavi's offered hand.
"That's alright," he smiled back at Lavi. "I'm Doug."
"Lavi, nice to meetcha."
The Bookman's attention snapped up to find a sole Akuma staring them both down. To them, he was just another human to kill, no different from anyone else. Until now, Lavi had been quite effective at evading them. Today was another story.
Doug turned around and let out quite a shriek. "Lavi, go down that alley! I'll distract him!" Lavi didn't have a chance to say object before Doug took off down the street, not that Lavi would really have objected anyway. The redhead quickly ducked behind a stand, blending in with the surroundings. The Akuma hurdled past, following Doug with intent.
Oh well, there went the white-coated kid. He probably wouldn't survive. Lavi shrugged, reemerging from the alley, observing the people skitter about, quite distraught by the sudden arrival of the Akuma. Many scurried about, still panicked by the sight but the streets did soon calm down and that's when Lavi made his move. He stepped away from the wall of the building to ask some of the people about the statue he'd heard about before bumping into Doug.
Dusk was beginning to set and Lavi headed towards the hill with the statue. 'Dawn Goddess', someone called it. 'It can bring people back to life', said another. It had him incredibly curious. Not to mention it did sound like the Earl's handiwork. The redhead traversed the pathway in the dim lighting, only lit by the full moon, but his trek was interrupted by the sound of someone crying ahead of him. Something was going on.
Lavi rushed up the hill and discovered Doug hunched over a small body, wailing miserably. "COLLETTE! PLEASE BRING HER BACK!" How unfortunate. A child caught in the crossfire. Too many times had Lavi seen this happen. It was getting old and only seemed to fuel his dislike for people in general.
And now Doug was kneeling there, groveling to a statue. Quite the ornate statue it was, seemingly glowing in the moonlight. It matched the description the townspeople had offered him accurately, and Lavi guessed that was the reason Doug was drawn to it. The legends that the Dawn Goddess would bring someone back to life. That child must've meant the world to him.
Lavi watched them flatly and emotionless.
A large figure seemed to appear from the darkness, happily skipping about in a tall top hat with a small umbrella. He appeared to have a halo around him with the moonlight shining behind him. "I can bring her back for you. Ohoho~♥"
Doug looked up hopefully. "She shouldn't have died! She doesn't deserve this." His words were barely audible between the sniffles and tears that had welled up in his eyes.
"Ohoho, of course~." The figure looked up, his eyes seemed to reflect the moonlight somehow, despite not being within the light at all. He beckoned Lavi forward. "Come, Lavi. You do want to see this, don't you?"
Lavi wasn't entirely sure what the Earl was about to do, but he wasn't about to deny the offere either. The Earl revealed information to the Bookman when he felt it was fit to do so, often ignoring the redhead's many questions. After nearly two years, Lavi learned to never take an offer for granted. After all, he wouldn't want to miss an opportunity to see what the Earl really could do. The man was an enigma. Anything was useful information.
And on top of that, it was most likely safer to be standing next to the Earl than behind his target.
Doug twisted his back just a bit, peering over his shoulder, his face puffy from the sobbing. ".... Lavi?" It was difficult to discern his expression accurately, between the darkness and the sobbing, but Lavi placed it somewhere between embarassment and confusion. Doug watched as Lavi emerged from the shadows and took his place slightly behind the Earl.
"Are you ready?" the Earl inquired of the white-coated boy.
Doug nodded. "Yes," he replied between sniffles, "her body's already getting cold." He held onto her hand quite dearly. Now in the light, Lavi could see the wounds were still fresh. The child hadn't been dead very long. Doug almost reluctantly offered her body to the Earl, but if it was the only way to save her, he'd have to do it.
The Earl produced a skeleton, dark and quite solid in appearance. "Now all you have to do is call her name, bring her soul to you in her new form." He grinned ear to ear with quite the alluring smile.
Doug bought straight into his words. All he could think about was bringing the girl back. "COLLETTE! Please come back!"
Just like that, a white stream of light poured down from the sky and into the skeleton, Doug's voice called Collette's tiny soul forward, ripping it from its resting place back into the world of the living. Lavi watched the spectacle in amazement, and the Earl watched, completely pleased with the situation.
The body ripped itself from the frame and approached Doug. ".... Doug....? Why...... did you.... bring me.... back?" She sounded sad and forlorn, wishing she had been left alone.
"Collette!" Doug shouted, quite distraught with her sad tone. He reached forward lovingly, inviting her into his arms. She approached him then took his face, pushing the corners of his mouth open with the bony thumbs of her body.
"Cowette?" Doug muttered, her fingers in his mouth. Quickly she jerks his mouth open to unimaginable proportions, somehow allowing the skeleton of dark matter to simply slip inside with ease, closing the mouth as if nothing had happened.
Lavi's jaw dropped. "Wha...?"
The Earl clapped cheerfully. "Ohoho, how perfect!" He did so love making new toys and this one would be quite useful. "Go to the Order and create havoc~♥!"
He turned to Lavi and patted the Bookman on the head. "And that's how Akuma are made~♥"