Chapter Text
It was a day like any other in the clergy. It was still noon and the sun was shining in through the tall windows of the church. Rain wasnt especially surprised by the fact that he was the only one who had shown up outside Papa IV’s door so far. He was always on time. Or rather before time. Everything was very quiet and peaceful and he was about to drift off into deeper thoughts when he heard distant footsteps. He figured that it must be the other ghouls and turned around to look down the corridor to his right. Unfortunately, Dewdrop was the first one to show up around the corner and he seemed to be alone. Rain’s immediate response was to tense up and to dart his gaze away to somewhere else. It took mere seconds for his heart to pick up an unaturally fast pace and he subconsciously wrapped his tail around his lower leg in an attempt to feel more protected. At this moment, he regretted coming here this early. It was usually never a problem as the fire ghoul tended to be the last one to show up. Or to even show up late.
As Rain saw him walking down the corridor towards him, he swallowed what felt like a lump in his throat. He was almost certain that the other ghoul would pull some bullshit on him. For some reason he had been a total asshole towards him for the last few weeks. He occasionally bullied Aether too, but not in this way. Not on this level… As he listened to the footsteps coming closer, he was relieved to soon hear another pair coming from the other direction. Feeling hopeful that he wouldnt have to deal with Dewdrop after all, he lifted his head and settled his gaze on the corner of the corridor to his left. Thank Satan… Aether was showing up a couple of seconds later, allowing him to relax once again. At least a little bit. Even though Dewdrop was a mere couple of meters from him now, Rain knew that the ghoul wouldnt do anything stupid in the prescence of the other ghoul. At least not most of the times… Swiss was also someone who tended to protect him whenever he happened to be around. Neither of them could be around all the time though... Alot of times, he was left to fight for himself... Or to run rather.
“Hey”, Aether greeted both of them right as Dewdrop came to a halt next to Rain, making the ghoul nervous again. He didnt look at him. He didnt want to acknowledge his presence. It honestly scared him to look into the other’s cruel eyes. And why did he have to stand so close to him?
“Hey”, came the unenthusiastic reply from the fire ghoul. Rain just quickly nodded at Aether. He felt safer now that he was here too, but not completely safe, of course. He would probably feel better once Mountain and Swiss showed up as well. As there was once again silence, he found himself thinking back to how Dewdrop had treated him the last few days. It was just everything from light pushes to throwing paper balls at him, and even to stealing his things…The absolute worst was when he was ganged up on by both him and one of his air ghoul friends. He didnt get much of a chance to ponder over this any longer though as the door next to them was suddenly opened. On the other side, standing tall and proud was their Papa. He seemed to be in a good mood today as he waved at them to come inside. Right as he did this, Rain could hear the footsteps of Mountain and Swiss approaching down the corridor now. He was finally starting to feel a bit more relaxed and he quietly followed Aether inside the office. Once everyone was inside and the door had been closed, the five ghouls lined up in front of Copia’s desk as the man took a seat in his comfortable chair. Feeling Dewdrop’s burning gaze on him wasnt a new thing for Rain, but it always made him uncomfortable, despite being in a room full of friends that he knew would defend him if needed.
“Good morning”, Copia greeted them as he folded his hands on the desk in front of him, his gaze sweeping briefly over his subordinates.
“It’s noon”, Dewdrop pointed out to him, earning him a short lasting glare in return.
“Whatever”, the man replied with less enthusiasm in his voice now. “Listen… There is a clergy up north that we would benefit greatly from befriending. As you are my most pre-eminent ghouls, I will have you accompany me. Ok?” as he asked this question, he once again looked between the ghouls to make sure that they were all on the same page here. The five of them agreed in unison before the pope continued.
“Good. You may go back to your duties for now. We are leaving in an hour”, he informed them before he leaned back in his chair to gather some papers that were scattered on the desk. In the meantime, Rain glanced at his fellow ghouls, curiously wondering what this new mission would be like. He had never been invited to go to another church before and he wasnt sure if he should feel excited about it or not. He didnt get the chance to think it through further though as Copia was now waving at them to go.
“You’re dismissed”, he sighed, apparently a little bit annoyed that they were still in his office. He didnt give them any more attention than that, but went straight back to his paperwork. None of the ghouls felt the need to say anything either, and so they all stepped out the door in silence. Mountain and Swiss were already walking ahead of Rain, while Aether passed him a few seconds later, probably eager to eat. It wasnt like they needed to eat, but they all did occasionally for the pleasure of it. Especially Aether. They sometimes made fun of him, with love of course, for his passion for bananas. As the thought of food and his fellow ghouls lingered in his slightly absent mind, Rain hadnt been aware of the fire ghoul walking up behind him. Shock and fear instantly coursed throughout his body the second a firm hand grabbed onto his tail and jerked at it. Not very hard, but still hard enough to slightly make him lose his balance. The hand was then gone as quickly as it had come, allowing Rain to recover from the incident and to throw a slightly fearful gaze over his shoulder. Then he took off running after the other ghouls. The teethy grin that he had briefly seen on Dewdrop’s face made a shiver run up his spine and he stayed close to his friends for the rest of the walk to the church’s dining hall.
Once they arrived there, he was still very paranoid because of the fire ghoul. He just couldnt relax again. Thoughts of why he was doing this to him and to him only popped up in his confounded brain. Like it had a million times these last weeks… As he watched the others pick their favorite foods, he remained slightly in the background, unsure of what he should eat. He hadnt had much of an appetite lately, because of obvious reasons, but he could always go for some water melon. He tended to choose whatever fruits had alot of moisture in them. As he was a very drawn back ghoul who rarely put himself first, he patiently waited for everyone to be done before approaching the fruits. When he reached out to grab one however, a harsh, very firm hand latched onto his wrist, making him freeze up in fear. When turning his head to face its owner, he was met with the intense, fiery gaze of the ghoul that he feared the most in this world. It bored straight into his frightened soul. The fruit in his hand was suddenly gone, snatched away from him in a mere second, leaving him frozen from shock as the other ghoul left with his piece of melon. Once Rain had snapped out of his trance like state, another emotion came to replace the fear, and as always, it was sorrow. He was so done with this now, and it must have shown because he spotted his friends further down the hall scolding Dewdrop. Rain himself wouldnt say a word though. He never did. He just always ate it.. always allowing the other to walk all over him... Today he was especially fed up with it though and he quickly turned on his heels to head towards the exit with fast steps, his ears sloped back in dismay. The last glimpse he had caught of the other ghouls had been Swiss smacking Dewdrop over the head before he was continuously scolded. Aether had been involved in it too, but was now following Rain instead, slowly but steadily catching up to him in the dim lit hallway outside. He hated it when others pitied him. He felt embarrassed… No, humiliated. He did appreciate his friends very much though. He knew that they meant well and that they would always stand up for him, but it was just difficult for him to handle.
“Rain”, came the taller ghoul’s concerned and soft voice from behind him. Rain however kept walking, having no intentions of slowing down. It wasnt until the other appeared beside him that he replied.
“Yes..?” he said simply, trying to appear like this whole thing hadnt affected him too much.
“I will talk to him. I will make sure he doesnt bother you again, ok?” Aether’s voice was still soft, but had hints of irritation in it now. When the water ghoul didnt answer him for several seconds, he addressed him again. “Rain”, he said, sternly this time, demanding some sort of a response from him. Rain knew that his friend wasnt trying to be aggressive with him. That it was just out of concern and worry, but he couldnt stand being around anyone at the moment.
“I hear you”, he replied eventually, sounding a little bit fed up.
“Please… Slow down. Let me talk to you”, Aether insisted on, reaching out to grab the water ghoul’s arm. Rain managed to slip out of his grip though, now finally turning to look at him.
“I need to be alone”, he mumbled and turned his gaze down, still feeling humiliated. He hoped that his friend would respect his decision and leave him alone. It made him feel guilty, but the need to be by himself right now clearly overshadowed any other emotions that he had. All he got from the other ghoul was a small nod, but he didnt really need anything else. He didnt do or say anything more, but just turned and kept walking down the corridor. He noticed that his friend’s footsteps had ceased now and felt both relief and a horrible, gut wrenching loneliness creeping up on him. He would ignore the latter though and continue on towards the nearest exit of the church. Unfortunately, the warm sun was still shining outside, but that was ok, because it was now raining lightly. Weather was something that he had always found strange since he came to this realm. Water dripping from the sky had however always felt so natural to him. It soothed him and made him feel calmer… Somehow.
Once he reached his favorite spot underneath a particularly sloped willow tree, he sat down in the wet grass, pulling his legs up and hugging his knees to him. Until now, he hadnt noticed how ragged his breathing was. His heart was still beating fast in his chest and he felt so lost and confused… So alone. He felt so deprived of joy lately. What was even the point of him being here in this realm? To serve the humans of the clergy and to feel miserable every day? Maybe he should just leave… He didnt know where he would go though… He wasnt sure if it was even possible for him to return to Hell where they had been summoned from. He buried his face in his arms now and inhaled a deep, shuddery breath, remaining still like that for what felt like an eternity. Not even the tasty tulips in the flowerbeds by the wall of the church interested him now. He had just completely lost his appetite. At least half an hour or so must have passed when he heard a familiar voice calling for him in the distance. When he eventually lifted his head to look towards the door, he spotted Aether coming towards him and beckoning for him to come over.
“Rain! Papa wants us to leave in ten minutes”, the ghoul announced as he neared the tree. He stopped a few meters from it though, expecting his friend to get up from the ground. Rain didnt move from his spot though. He just watched Aether in silence for a few seconds before turning his gaze somewhere else.
“Ok”, he finally replied, spacing out for a few moments, looking like he wasnt going to come with him. Eventually though, he slowly pushed himself off the ground. He didnt exactly feel like going anywhere, but he knew that he didnt have a choice. Maybe once they came back home again, he could start to figure out what he wanted to do with his life… As he passed Aether, there was a sudden hand on his shoulder, making him snap out of his bubble of thoughts to force a small smile at the other ghoul.
“You look tired. Maybe you should try and get some rest in the car”, he suggested, squeezing Rain’s shoulder lightly before he withdrew his hand and yawned. “We will be out on the road for quite some time… I sure could go for a nap”, he added, not really getting any sort of response from the water ghoul this time. The rest of the walk down to the garage was spent in silence as Rain still didnt feel like being social. It wasnt until they spotted the other ghouls up ahead that Aether grabbed his arm gently to pull him to a stop.
“Listen… “, he started softly, looking serious all of a sudden. “You can always talk to me, ok? You know... if he gives you a hard time”, he explained, waiting for his friend to give him his usual nod before they both continued on over to the garage. Mountain was apparently their driver today, already waiting behind the wheel for the rest of them to get into the small van. It had three rows of seats and Aether would get in the middle one, making sure that he was sitting in between Rain and Dewdrop to save the former from having to deal with the naughty fire ghoul. This meant that Swiss would be the only one in the back row, but it didnt seem to bother him as he lazily laid down on his back, stretching his limbs out with a satisfied sigh. Now they were just waiting for Copia to arrive and take his place in the passenger seat.
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Every minute on the road felt like at least fifteen minutes to Rain and he couldnt wait to get to their destination and be let out of this vehicle. They would have to travel for at least three hours and only one of them had passed now. Copia and Mountain were having a quiet conversation in the front seat and Aether seemed to be asleep next to him. He obviously couldnt tell what Swiss was doing behind them, but he was being very still and quiet. The thought of trying to take a nap to kill time crossed Rain’s mind, but he wasnt really tired. Just bored out of his mind… and of course miserable. He wished that it was still raining outside, but it had been replaced by sunshine and a beautiful rainbow towering over the horizon. With a deep sigh, he tried to make himself relax. He had been tense for most of the day and needed to calm down. He didnt want his anxiety to escalate more than it already had… This was when he suddenly felt a tap against his lower leg and turned his head to look at Aether, and then at Dewdrop. The fire ghoul was already watching him intensely, his gaze piercing straight through his as the tip of his tail kept tapping against his leg. It made Rain shrink back a little and try to turn himself away from him, leaning slightly against the window now. It didnt matter that he pulled his legs closer to himself though, because Dewdrop’s tail could still reach him, continuing to thump against him in a teasing manner. Why could he never just leave him alone…? He didnt want to wake Aether up either, because he felt ashamed of himself. Ashamed that he wasnt standing up for himself. Even more ashamed that someone would do it for him… Fortunately nothing worse happened during their trip to their affiliated clergy, but Rain was still in a worse mood than ever when they arrived. The only thing he could think about was how he was going to get away from Dewdrop… Once and for all.
Mountain had pulled the car up by a beautiful, white chapel, surrounded by forest and a small lake down the road. It looked pretty picturesque, but Rain didnt really care. He was feeling rather apathetic at the moment as he slowly exited the car. He didnt even take a look around the area, but just stood there waiting for Copia to take the lead. They didnt have to go up to the door and ring the bell before someone slowly opened it from the inside, revealing an older man in white priest robes. He looked kind. Especially with that small smile spreading his thin lips as he made eye contact with Copia.
“Lord Freyr”, the latter greeted him as he walked up to the door to shake his hand, the ghouls automatically following him to line up behind him.
“Papa. Welcome”, the older man accepted the handshake and then stepped aside to gesture for them to enter. The ghouls all bowed to the priest as they passed him, but stayed quiet, knowing their place. Even Dewdrop didnt utter a sound. The hallway that they stepped into was beautiful and very welcoming, just like their host. However… an eerie feeling crept up Rain’s spine when he spotted two stranger ghouls up ahead, positioned at one side each of the big archway a few meters ahead of them. They didnt look very welcoming. Their gazes were cold and maybe even suspicious. He knew that different packs of ghouls didnt always get along and it worried him a little. He figured that since their leader was so friendly though, there probably wouldnt be an issue.
“Can I offer you a drink?”, Lord Freyr asked Copia once he had closed the door behind them.
“Yes, please”, their Papa replied with a smile before the priest took the lead down a corridor to their left. The ghouls followed too in silence.
“It’s a beautiful chapel you’ve got here”, Copia commented as they walked, throwing a glance over his shoulder to make sure that his subordinates were all coming along.
“Thank you. It is very old, but I have had a few new rooms built in the last few years”, the man explained as they entered a room with a fireplace and a bar counter. There were also a few arm chairs in there. “This is one of them. I felt a need for something… a little more modern”, he added and flashed Copia a smile before he headed over to the bar counter. In the meantime, the ghouls looked around in silence. Dewdrop already seemed to be bored and his tail flicked back and forth as he impatiently paced around in the background. While the two men talked up by the bar, Rain noticed that both Swiss and Mountain had started to move out of the room, probably to explore the place. Dewdrop was soon on their heels too before he passed them and headed down the corridor to the left. Feeling unsure of his friends’ behavior, Rain glanced at Copia and then back at the doorway where even Aether was exiting now… Perhaps it would be ok for him to leave too then.... Exploring a little might help him distract his anxious mind from his problems. One last glance was thrown at their Papa before he carefully started moving towards the doorway. He could see the other ghouls disappearing around a corner up ahead, which was fine by him. He needed some alone time anyway.
The chapel reminded him alot of their own church. Similar windows. Similar floor planning… Similar furniture. Perhaps he could join this clergy to escape Dewdrop. His heart sank at the thought though. He really loved his friends and his Papa… and he felt very much at home with them…. He sighed deeply as he crossed yet another corridor before a certain room caught his attention. It made him come to a halt to peek inside. It looked like a common room of some sort. There was a big billiard table in the center of it, as well as bookshelves and cozy looking chairs. Even a couch with a big tv screen attached to the wall in front of it.
What caught his attention next was a vase of flowers on the window sill further into the room. They werent just any flowers, but his favorites. It wasnt like ghouls would get hungry, but they did get cravings sometimes and he had hardly had anything to eat all day… He slowly stepped into the room, approaching the window, his gaze fixated on the mix of red and purple tulips. His tongue came out subconsciously to lick his lips as he walked up to them. He knew he shouldnt take anything that wasnt his, but… no one would notice if one single flower disappeared… Right? He also made his depression an excuse to do it, because he needed something to make him feel better. Even if it was just a tulip… Even if it was stealing...
He carefully reached out to pull a red one out of the vase, turning it slightly in his claws to study it before putting it in his mouth. He trapped it between his sharp fangs and pulled the stem off, chewing happily in satisfaction. Strange how something so small could make him feel so much better. Maybe he should eat another one… Just one more... Unfortunately for him, a low growling sound soon reached him from the doorway and he immediately turned around, his ears sloping back in fear of the two stranger ghouls standing there glaring at him. They were quite a bit taller than him, and looked alot more intimidating than anyone he had met before. Even Dewdrop felt like a sweet little ghoul in comparison.
“What do you think you’re doing?” one of them growled as they both stepped into the room, approaching him.
“Sorry…”, was all Rain could manage to say in his frozen, fearful state. As the two came too close to him for comfort, he dropped the stem and backed away, his tail tucked in between his legs.
“Sorry doesnt cut it, fucker”, the one closest to him snarled, latching out to grab a hold of Rain’s collar, causing the water ghoul to let out a scared yelp. He was at loss of what to say or do. He wasnt even sure he could do anything if he tried to...
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I hope you like my little fic. Let me know if you’re interested in reading more