It wasn't as cold as it had been days before and yet her heart had to become ice though. No emotions, no feelings, no past, no future. Just now. She had to make a wall surrounding herself to avoid pain, to avoid problems. All she had to care about was her children and it was getting harder every day to look at them, it was not their fault it was her own. She lost. She did not do what she ought to do. She had not thought that she was the one to.. the one to what?

She managed to get a moment of free time, actually still working, so the kids were with a babysitter. She actually wanted to check up on them but she should be able to trust a babysitter right? They would manage, maybe she would have to find Judina soon again and ask her for her help with her mother.

Days felt so dark and perhaps that had to do with winter and the dark weather around, many clouds of rain did not make it a brighter day and it made her feel sad and unhappy, which already add up to the whole situation and that only explained more why she was unhappy. The whole situation was unhappy. As she stood, in her moment of weakness, in her lunch break, staring at the dark river in front of her. She wondered what it felt like to drown, would it feel the same? She absolutely had no intention to take her own life, too much to do and too many lives at risks if she would. She held the handle of her sword, clenched her fingers around it so the knuckles turned white. She believed that she had once felt how it was to die. That moment when Lacie did, how she tried to take a breath, how the sound had pierced Alice her ears, the rattling noise of her lungs trying to grab hold of anything and the pain. She had felt so much pain and she could not place it, she had not been hurt or wounded, only a few minor scratches.

The pain had disappeared almost the same way as it suddenly had appeared, at the same moment that Lacie stopped breathing and lost her life. The only reasons that people could tell Alice were that it must be a bond between twins as there was no other explanation. It did not matter, she was lost, everything was lost and she wanted to scream on top of her lungs but all Alice did was stare at the darkness of the river and wonder, wonder what it all meant in the name of the illumin and the divine. Did they have an explanation or so?

Even though he couldn't rightly feel it, the cold water still brought a sense of refreshment to Odin. Showers, baths, they were the few things Odin still enjoyed that could be considered 'mundane'. The first shower he had had after he first turned had been an interesting experience. The feeling of the water running not just over his body, but through it took some getting used to. But once he did, Odin felt more in tune with his new form. He knew the cracks, the empty places, useful knowledge. It someone stabbed him with a sword in the right place, Odin could angle his body, and the sword would simply pass through, never actually touching his body. As such, the Lich had made a common practice of submerging his body, and remembering every gap. He had become so used to the body that he knew the location of every gap wide enough for a weapon, as well as it's exact dimension.

Today's location for the ceremony had been in the Orchidia river, which was often empty: a perfect location for the Lich to go for a dive. By this point, he had been under for three hours, allowing the water to sweep over him. He didn't need to breath, didn't need to do anything. If he so wished, he could stay under that water for two hundred years. Of course, that would be incredibly boring, and not something the Lich wanted.

He chose now to get out of the water, stretching his imaginary muscles, more out of habit that anything else. Looking to his side, he saw someone else at the riverside: a blond girl just sitting there. She was maybe ten meters away from Odin's cloak, causing the Lich to collect and put on his clothes before approaching her.

"Sorry if I scared you, didn't think anyone else would be here."

She took a deep breath and still stared at the river. It was not that it would be going any better any time soon. So it would be smarter to get things off her mind and just go on. Baby steps, day by day program. Focus on what was needed and that was at the moment taking care of the kids and thus working to get money in the pocket.

Lunchbreaks were great. People left you alone at that point and no one was doing anything difficult or forcing her in a role that did not fit her. Why would she have to meet up with Rune Knights to make better bonding? Did they learn nothing when she was a mentor? She still did not meet anyone anymore so who cared about her? Or the other way around could be counted as well. She had only a few things in her mind and not per se the people she used to guide and tutor. They would have grown by now. She wondered shortly what became of them but it was not important.

She took a step back with her left foot and grabbed the hilt with her right hand, she wanted to pull her sword but her big surprised eyes calmed down a little. A skeleton just walked out of the river and she might have looked surprised because it would take a while before her mind would settle on the information that she would know. "Odin?" There weren't many liches obviously and she recognized his voice when he apologized. How could she forget him after all, her husband's best man for their wedding. If you could still call it all that. The whole setting so different and weird that she did not want to think about it.

For a second she forgot why he did not recognize her, it was her after all, of course, clothing could change but she realized that about five months ago she started dying her hair blonde. "It's me Alice."

The girl spoke Odin's name, using a voice the Lich recognised but could not place. He knew this woman, and she clearly knew him, but it took him until she introduced herself for the Lich to truly realise who he was talking to. The moment he did, his heart sank. Alice Eventide, Adelaide Sokolov, what a messed up life she had right now. In a past life, Odin had been destined to kill her, swearing his soul to her sister Lacie to perform the action. Lacie's untimely death had freed Odin from that bond, however, and he was thankful for that fact. Alice was the only person who could understand the pain Odin felt, and vice versa. Her husband, father of her children and the Lich's best friend: Kon. With everything that had happened, Odin hadn't seen Konstantin for roughly a year.

"Alice... how are you?"

Odin honestly didn't know what to say. Their conversation was likely to gravitate towards the topic of Kon, but Odin didn't want to be the one to bring it up, as it would cause more pain to Alice than it would him. Instead, he thought of a different approach.

"How are the kids?"

How would you feel if you met the best friend of your husband, while your husband did not remember you? She felt horrible about feeling horrible only by seeing the best man at her wedding. Wait.. did they meet? How did Kon react to Odin? She had no idea what to say, perhaps she had not even wanted to see him. She should have turned away, pretend to be afraid. But what would happen if he had recognized her before she would have said her name and that would make things awkward even more. She did not hate him, he wasn't the problem.

The question was a normal question, she was asked it every day multiple times when she bumped into people she knew, vaguely knew because the answers were always the same: good/fine. But the thing was that Odin was someone she knew and the thing was even if she did not know him that well, she should answer honestly. "I am holding up." The question was perhaps how because that would make her question herself. She was getting towards the daily part only because of the children and holding on to find the solution to get Kon's memory back.

She gave him a wry smile and smiled more and honestly when he asked about her children. "Apart from being extremely rebellious," that was probably because Tanya kept pushing for their father, and he wasn't there. "They are so talkative and it's difficult to bring them to a baby sitter every day." She tried to not make it melodramatic, but the reasons behind it actually made it.

"How are you?"

'Holding up'. It was the best answer Odin could have hoped for, and the one he should've expected. How could someone answer that question, especially someone in Alice's position. She had lost her husband, and she possibly didn't even know how it had happened. Odin himself didn't know either. He had approached his friend one day to be seen as the enemy and attacked, killed even. Kon hadn't recognised his best man, he had only seen a Lich, one of the bad guys, a monster. It had brought back all the pain Odin had ever felt at once. He knew he was a monster, but before that day he had only known that none of his friends felt that way. To the rest of the world, perhaps, but not to them. And then Kon viewed him as such, and attacked him. It had been too much.

The change of topic certainly helped both of them, as Alice smiled before talking about the kids, who were apparently going through their rebellious phase, and apparently it was difficult to find a babysitter every day, sparking an idea in Odin's mind, even if it was one that most mothers would faint at the prospect of, "I may not have the best training for it, but if you need any help with the kids let me know. I'd happily take them for a few days if it would relieve your concern."

The question about how Odin was doing was one that was relatively simple to answer. Right now, to the rest of the world, he was just wandering. A wandering mage who liked to collect strange items, with no one knowing the true reason for the blood, feathers and bones. Alice didn't need to know about Odin's pastime, but perhaps she could help with it.

"I'm doing well myself, still just wandering around and getting stronger, as well as occasionally managing the pub in Oak. You should swing by at some point, the main establishment, even bring the kids with you." Odin then paused for a moment, as if remembering what Alice was, before continuing, "I've wanted to ask this for a while, but haven't had a chance to ask many nephilim that haven't wanted to kill me, but can you actually fly with your wings or are they just for show?" Odin knew that the wings could be activated and brought out. In fact, he probably knew more about nephilim than anyone else that wasn't one.

To give a stance to herself, to her body, to her thoughts, all she could do was cross her arms in front of her chest. She had a lunch break, not prepared for any trouble or anything else that might take her time but now she just was quite happy with this distraction. Yes it hurt but she had to make a choice and she had done so by introducing herself, she did not want Odin to think that she would have avoided him because he was a lich, she would only have done so because she wasn't always ready to talk about what she lost and had not yet gotten back. Even if it was not always a happy time, she did feel content and rather happy when she thought about her children. The only thing that now made it slightly worse is how many times Tanya asked about her father and while she told enthusiastic how they were slightly rebellious, the corners of her mouth dropped. "Oh, that would be wonderful. I think they just..." she took a deep breath and looked to the ground shortly, she did not want to ruin their encounter after a long time. "need to spend time with someone else." She bit her lip softly and turned her gaze back at Odin. She avoided it but perhaps she should just address it, "Tanya keeps asking when he will come home." She did not say names, it was not necessary and she just rubbed her upper arm with her right hand. But she hoped he understood after all he was their godfather, it should be fine.

She gave a short laugh, "I hope you serve lemonade." she wouldn't mind sometimes going back to Oak, she was sure that she felt back at home there even after so long, she had spent so much time in Oak. She thought about his next question, "To be honest, I have no idea. I never tried. Midas told me about it but it didn't feel comfortable to be a vessel." She thought about it, it was a question out of nowhere but it was not that she expected anything just thought about it now. Sometimes she forgot that it was a power that she possessed.

Odin was silent for a time, giving Alice the respect she deserved. She had been hit the hardest by Kon's change, being left with the children. And with Tanya asking for her father, that could never be easy for the mother. Odin couldn't be a substitute for a father, he never intended to be, but he simply wished to help. "I'm here if you ever need someone, either to talk to or to help around the help. You're not alone." It was the best he could manage, even if it didn't feel like enough. His voice was solemn, the situation being given the gravitas it demanded, but thankfully his change of topic had helped at least a little bit.

"Of course, I wouldn't be a self respecting pub owner if I didn't serve everything my customers wanted. The best drinks, soft or alcoholic, and even better food. I'll even cook for you myself." The slightly awkwardness came afterwards, due to Odin's not-so-subtle mention of Alice being a nephilim. He needed her to bring her wings out, no matter how he did it. It hurt him to use their reunion for such nefarious purposes, but SHE needed feathers, and Odin was HER instrument, first and foremost.

"What do they feel like? The wings I mean, are they soft or tough? Sorry for the questions, but I've always been fascinated by the angel children."

It felt painful and it felt good at the same time that even if someone said it before, she was not alone. She could still depend on people. "Thank you." she whispered because it felt as if, when she would say it out loud, the whole perfect bubble would disappear. "I sometimes forget that not everyone thinks bad about my kids." It had never been someone specific but two was always a lot of work and not particularly one child and not that someone specifically hated her kids but just kids in general. She had heard it behind her back from other knights and she would hear it soon full in her face from another.

As they spoke about the pub in Oak, she felt a wave of relief come over her and she was able to smile. "How could I resist that?" it was rhetorical of course but she was glad to think about something like that. Leaving Orchidia, the place where they had a home, where they got married, might be a very good idea for her to do so. It surely might make her suffer less, her apartment in Crocus needed to wait but she would see. She had lived in Oak for quite a while and even if people considered it a dark place, she would be able to know every back alley as her back pocket and to protect the children there as well as here in Orchidia.

She thought about the next question about her being a Nephilim, she only remembered Midas telling them, that they had the good ability for it, the good vessel which had made her at first afraid. Midas later told her that it contained so much power and that it perhaps was the reason why they hurt her so much within that Cult, to try and get her to use it. She had not and she was hesitant to think about it now but she would, "I have no idea." And that bothered her every so slightly, who had a power but had no idea how it worked. She knew how Nathael's sword worked because she practised and made it her own, but imagine she would have to fight demons at some point, it would be useful to be able to use wings for that as well. And she focused and out came two marvellous white wings of her back, no cut in her clothing, no pain of being stuck by her uniform, just magical it attached to her back and pierced her shirt without any problem or difficulty. She looked at it herself, try ot see how the construction worked. "It feels strange. Now I have wings, but no idea how to use them." And she got a minor headache, it felt like so much power seeped through her body all of a sudden that it felt overwhelming.

Alice's comments about her children really struck a chord with Odin. She was doing her utmost not to fall apart, and people had the gall to think poorly of either her or her children? It angered Odin more than he had expected it to, "If anyone says anything like that about you, or your children, let me know. Don't forget that I'm a Lich, most of the people you work with already think I'm evil to the core with no hope of redemption, shouldn't be too difficult to scare them into never doing it again." Odin voice was low, but with a tinge of humour. In reality, he'd probably kill anyone that hurt Alice, but he didn't want that to become public knowledge.

The pub clearly seemed like a happy idea to Alice, and Odin felt like it could help her a lot. Being in Orchidia, where so much pain had been caused, couldn't be easy for her. Leaving the town might be the best thing for her, and Oak was hardly as bad a place as many thought it to be, ignoring the fact that Odin was one of the most influential people there currently, nobody would touch Alice while she was there.

Then it came, finally. Alice didn't understand her powers that much, something Odin knew all too well. Her wings magically came out of her clothes, in full glory. It was the first time Odin had seen them up close in a long time, the wings of a nephilim. All Odin had to do now was take a feather without being caught. It was likely that, through use, the wings would naturally malt and feathers would fall off, but Odin couldn't take the chance if that failed. Instead, he had to pluck it out of her, he just had to wait for his chance.

"Extraordinary. I know how it feels to have powers that you don't understand. The first time I changed into a Lich, you wouldn't believe how long it took me to get used to it. Like I'm made of bones, things go through me, that is still a weird feeling by the way." Placing a knuckle under his chin for a moment, Odin thought about how best to help Alice with her abilities, "Maybe start slow, try to flex and move the wings, get used to moving those muscles, since you won't have worked them much, if at all, before."

Alice was surprised and yet not about Odin's reaction, he proved to be a valuable friend as ever. She had first noticed that when Kon used to speak about him before they met, he was their best man and she had not doubted for a second to make him Godfather of their children when the suggestion came along. People only seemed to look at what they saw and maybe she did not know him well enough but she felt safe. "It is a shame they do only see the outside. I will not forget this, it feels at least a bit safer already knowing you are around." In Orchidia, she had felt so alone. Haunted by the memories of their wedding and manor in this town. The children were born here without Kon around and now they were growing up everywhere in Fiore without their father around.

"Orchidia is already working on my nerves and it's been a long time since I have been in Oak again. I might take you up on that challenge." Oak felt more like home than Crocus ever would do and that Orchidia had lost now. She wanted to know and she had the right to know if Odin had seen Kon the last year, because... it might change a few things. "I have to ask if you have seen him, the last year perhaps?" She knew he was here, with the dangers that might surround Orchidia, she had made guess he would be here as well, stationed perhaps for another fight, she would just have to avoid the headquarters and the church as much as she could, something she already did before so it did not change much. It wasn't as if he would recognize her or fight her, it was her own heart that probably couldn't stand the pain of seeing him and him not seeing her.

Even if she never used them or identified herself with being a Nephilim it felt nice when someone said extraordinary. She smiled a tiny bit until she couldn't help but chuckle because of his short story, "I can't say I can imagine because I believe it must be a very strange sort of events." But she followed his advice by giving a firm nod and looking over her shoulder, actually letting her brain tell her to move the wings. It took a few seconds before they finally seemed to stretch out and she tried to move them a little more. Incidents might come and she would have to use them, better learn how to fly.

Alice reiterated a feeling Odin had possessed since he had first turned: no matter how he acted, he would be perceived as a monster. That was an undeniable fact of his life now, and so all that was really left was to embrace it and become that monster. Odin had slowly been falling further and further into the abyss, perhaps it was only a matter of time.

Alice did say that Oak was somewhere she like to go, somewhere she hadn't been for a long time. But, much more importantly, it was somewhere that wasn't linked to Kon. It was a perfect location for Alice to take the time she needed to come to terms with everything that had happened to her.

She then asked a question she definitely didn't want to know the answer to. Odin couldn't lie to her now, but he wasn't looking forward to her reaction, "Yeah, I saw him once. Must've been about a year ago now, I'd just come back from a long journey, and couldn't wait to see him and everyone. I went to the house, and saw him. He'd already changed by then. He attacked me without warning, killed me because I wouldn't fight back, and I haven't seen him since... Having your best friend view you as the enemy, it was hard."

Her wings were a much more positive topic of conversation, and she was constantly getting better with them. When she had first summoned them, they had moved around wildly and unconsciously. Now, even before she stretched them out, Odin could see they had stopped moving. She was gaining more and more control with every passing moment, and it fascinated Odin just as much as it terrified him.

"Try that for a bit longer, then see if you can lift yourself.

She tried to be some sort of statue, a rock, anything that did not show any emotions when she asked the question that she was mostly dreading as well. With the change in Kon's behaviour, she hoped that they had not crossed paths but fate was cruel and the Divine knew that and by the illumin had Alice learned that as well. Where she had fought the evil plans of her mother even in her death by making Alice some sort of holy demon and her sister trying to continue those corrupted plans, she had all defeated that, she had made a name for herself, the red whirlwind, with her bright red hair and arts of swords and other weapons. After that and maybe months later after seeing the death of Lacie everything seemed to be fine but that was just an illusion and look at where she was now.

She kept her expression neutral but her eyes closed as she did not want to show the pain and the hollow feeling that entered her heart. Was he lost? "I can imagine it was." it took her a few seconds to open her eyes again and look at Odin. "Especially because he understood you are not a monster, I would dare say. I have to get him his memory back. He supported me through my amnesia, I just don't know how or where to start. I thought more of the Holy Knights but they keep me away."

When they spoke about something else, her wings it was more pleasant, it felt bad because she remembered when Midas told her but she forgot about that. Pushed it away in the back of her brain where she did not need to think about it. He was a Nephilim too. It was something to focus on, how to keep them quite and yet stretch them out in their full potential. She tried to do what Odin recommended, keep them in control before she slowly decided that she might try, the wings albeit not even making that much sound moved back and forth and a bit faster and pulling on a wind that was unrecognizable and not even there, they were magnificent and made her lift off a bit of the ground. Which felt scary but she tried to let go of that thought else she would never get used to it.

Her wings worked perfect, as if every second thought of her brain with what she wanted the wings to do was an immediate suggestion, no need to work on muscles anymore, it just simply worked and she had no idea how. The landing made her almost trip as she leaned too much forward but she managed to stay upright by moving her arms in small circles and her wings catching the wind back so she leaned backwards again. With that idea, she might want to work on her landings in the near future, it would surely make things less embarrassing and easier. She wanted to ask something more or tell Odin that she definitely thought about getting out of town but when she opened her mouth, she was interrupted by the loud sound of the clock tower.

She turned to look at it in surprise, how fast had minutes gone by. "Shit, I have to go. My lunch break is over. I am so sorry, it's very good to see you and I hope to see you again." She wanted to hurry away but stopped rather soon, "Oh Odin, please be careful, there are so many knights in town, I don't want to think what they would do to you." It was not that she was really afraid, considering he stood right in front of her meant he had survived all this time before already, but it could not harm to warn him and she waved vaguely before hurrying off to her job, she could not afford to have to stay late and pick up the kids way too late with all the trouble they were giving. She obviously still loved them but being a single and hardworking mom: was hard work.

Alice's development in such a short time had been incredible. She had gone from not even knowing how to use her wings just minutes ago, to now hovering in the air. Even if the landing had been a bit shaky, she could still use her wings as a part of her body. In time, it would become more natural. It was similar to a swordsman: at the beginning he was a novice swinging a blade around and hoping it hit something. As he progressed, he stopped viewing it as man and blade, but just as one being. The blade become part of the man, an extension of him. Alice's wings would be the same, becoming more like her body and less like an extra. Soon, she would feel off balance without the wings, instead of how she was now with them.

The bell then tolled, and Alice remembered she had somewhere else to go, her break was over. She noted how happy she was to see Odin again, as well as warning him about the knights in town. Odin simply walked up to her, and patted her on the back, chuckling as he did so,

"Don't worry, I know how to hide from the knights."

As he watched Alice leave, Odin's permanent smile, which before had given off tones of kindness, twisted into something more malevolent. The look was the same, but the feeling was much more sinister, as the Lich raised the hand that had patted Alice's back. There, between two fingers, was a single feather. A nephilim finger.

-Exit-