Goodnight, Demon Hunter
Chapter 3: First Day
Summary; You finally make your way outside; now time to shop for all the things for Nero. Except you meet some familiar faces and gain an offer or two.
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note; hihihi this is a little late (I wanted to post this in the morning but I did NOT write enough for that ahahah. If this seems a bit dialogue heavy, it is because I love to yap in descriptions and dialogue.
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As you step outside, you’re hit by the silence. You’ve forgotten how quiet mornings of mass were, considering you typically take the day for missions. You decide to make your way towards a park nearby, it would provide you comfort and give Nero a better look at the world outside. Speaking of Nero, his head is resting on your chest but it turns to take in all of the new things. A soft smile graces your face. Your shoes lightly scuff against the concrete sidewalks that line the intricately designed homes.
You end up in front of an immaculately taken care of park, grass perfectly cut, same with the bushes. The trees placed in a meticulous fashion, the neatness of it all set you off but you’ll take whatever nature you can find in Fortuna. You find a bench to sit down at and you set Nero down into your lap, facing outwards from you so he can take in the surroundings. Hands curl around his torso to make sure he can squirm without risking him falling, with one petting the hair on his cute head.
You curl a bit of the growing hair around a finger, furrowing your brow at it. His white hair will become an issue later on, for now it could be passed off as platinum blonde hair. But as he grows up it will more than likely become a source of shame due to the… connections such light hair brings up. You try to remember your lessons from the church of why such a color was so loathed.
You sit within the stifling classroom, you back as straight as you can make it. Each student looks the same. Except you. Your hair stuffed into the hood, making the bottom bulge oddly. You had yet to receive any of the church’s clothes, so your light blue dress-shirt stood out. Girls had their hair short or put up, with long modest dresses. The boys had short cropped hair with tunic and pants.
The Lady of the Order paced side to side at the blackboard; droning about the worship of The Savior. She eventually comes to the topic of ill omens, one of which was white hair. “Should you see any with white hair, avoid them. White hair is the sign of demons, of those unholy. Of those unworthy of The Savior’s light.” She speaks with authority but… you had questions. Your hand raises, and it takes a moment for her to notice you. “Yes-?” She says your name with mild disdain, you are an outsider afterall.
You hesitate, “Ah-” but decide you want to know, to satiate your curiosity “Why… why is white hair a bad omen? Why are they unworthy?”
She stares at you, as if you’re an idiot to question such a thing. You wilt at the sight. “Those with such pale hair are seen as disrespectful towards the legacy of Sparda, those who try to mimic the Savior can only be demonic in nature. Attempting to trick us loyal followers into sin.”
You nod, but in the back of your mind all you can think is how it resembles pure starlight; the most holy thing imaginable.
You come back to reality from the reminiscing, focusing onto the birds that have crowded the trail in front of you. Most are songbirds, pecking near the grass for seeds. But a raven stands out from them, taking small hops towards a nearby trashcan. It seems to notice your stare and proceeds to let out a low croak. That scares the songbirds away and just leaves it. Poetic, you suppose. Nero simply reaches his arms towards the corvid in question, not scared by the raven who decides to ignore the food in the trash in favor of hopping over to the two of you. It tips and tilts its head at Nero, its own child-like curiosity needing to be fed. They stare at each other and you wonder what the two are thinking, up until the church bells ring, signaling the end of the mass.
The crow croaks and crows in response to the loud chime before taking off into the skies, and Nero whines and twists from the loud and intruding sound. You coo at the squirming baby, “shhh, it’s okay. I understand, I've never liked those bells anyways. Too bad your friend flew off, hm? I’m sure you’ll meet him again.” You tickle your finger under his chin.
It will be a bit until all shops open for the day but it would probably be best to get a headstart to one of the many stores you’ll have to visit today. You stand up and try to stretch your legs a bit to disperse the mild tingling from your legs falling asleep. The closest shop to the park is your favorite antique/thrift shop, run by someone who was originally from Redgrave who came to Fortuna. He’s an older gentleman with an even older wife, both run the shop during the week. They’re the friendliest people on the island towards you, ever since you were a kid they’ve helped you. Hopefully they’ll provide a discount or two for your current situation.
You leave the immaculately put together park and start your way towards the shop. The silence from before broken up by the quiet steps and hushed murmurs of various devout Order members. The empty streets rapidly becoming crowded, leaving you to dance between people while clutching a baby on your chest.
You can see the sign of the shop; “Cetriolo’s Curiosities”. The rustic yet whimsical nature of the store always brings a smile to your face. Unfortunately for you, the sign in front reads ‘closed’. The couple haven’t returned just yet. You huff at the glass display but resign yourself to waiting a bit longer, bouncing in place to help calm Nero from the noise and crowded street.
Stares burn into your clothes, people covered in the traditional hoods whisper, they stare, they judge. They’re more than likely picking you apart within their minds, how your hood is down, how ill-fit your clothes are, how the child you have is ill-dressed. You aren’t *their* perfection. One of the many reasons you stopped coming into town around this time, or at all if you’re being honest.
In the static of your thoughts, you faintly hear your name being called. Your ignore it, assuming it’s for someone else, no one really knows or cares to remember you. Until a gentle hand lands on your shoulder, causing you to violently jolt upright and stare at whoever wanted your attention that badly. It’s an older woman with short red-brown hair, cradling her own baby against her chest. Her name is faded in memory but you remember her being one of the main Ladies of the orphanage. Next to her is an older child, hood half covering his furrowed face.
“It’s been so long-!” She smiles, revealing her delicate yet elegant wrinkles. “You’ve been so elusive these days, I’m only ever able to catch a slight glance of you around town!.”
She was nice, you guess, she was never outright hostile towards you or other outsiders but it wasn’t like she was going out of her way to interact with you. Most of the orphanage workers were like that, you guess, they do their job as caretakers and that carries only so far outside of a workplace. You rack through your memory to try and recall her name… Veronica? No, no… Vera? Not that either..
Ah! Valerie.
“You know, I wish you would come to more of The Savior’s Mass events. You could do with some socialization-” Valerie pauses, seemingly finally noticing the fact you have another (smaller) human with you. “Oh my Savior! You had a child!” The woman nearly screeches, causing you to wince “When-? Wha-? WHO-?!”
You very quickly put down any notion that you were the one to birth the kid, “He’s not mine, a… relative… of mine recently passed and I was the only one of kin left to take care of him.”
It was plausible enough to work as a lie, not like anyone was going to delve that deep into it. It seems to work, Valerie gasping at your woven story and pats you lightly on the shoulder in a form of condolence. “That’s unfortunate, it must be difficult for you right now. I don’t know what I would do if I had to raise little Kyrie and Credo all on my own without my husband.”
All you can do is conceal your grimace and nod along with her. Stars above you don’t know how you dealt with this type of thing for nearly a decade. The woman’s youngest gives a soft cry, at what? you’re unsure. But that seems to cause Valerie to light up.
“Oh! Since you don’t have any support in such trying times, and will probably be working hard to keep yourself and this little one afloat-” you brace yourself for whatever random suggestion is about to come from the lady’s mouth, “Why not bring him to the orphanage?”
“What?” Your voice holds mild suspicion and causes your face to scrunch up slightly.
“I’m not saying give up on him! It’s just that the Orphanage offers daycare in a way for locals such as you!” She chuckles before gesturing towards her kids, “Plus, the kiddo could get to know mine! I’m sure Kyrie and Credo would appreciate a new friend!”
Your head tilts down to look at Nero who’s futzing with the laces of your shirt, and take in the suggestion. Having a way for Nero to be taken care of and able to socialize while you’re on missions would be incredibly useful. Trying to wrangle one of your neighbors into babysitting wouldn’t end well, plus (in theory) you could save a bit of money this way too.
However… you remember how the older kids were prone to bullying. Year after year they’d get restless from anger and disappointment at not being adopted and took that out on the young kids who couldn't defend themselves. Workers and volunteers had to break up a fight nearly everyday. With Nero’s hair and the fact he’s being raised by an outsider could become a huge point of weakness for bullies to exploit.
Valerie fidgets a bit in place, both from her children getting antsy and the fact you had gone quiet. Your gaze must convey your hesitation at her offer.
“Well, I hope you consider it.” She sighs wispfully, “I better be off, Savior bless you!”
She walks away with her dress elegantly trailing after her.
Leaning back against the glass, you let a sign escape your lips. “What am I going to do with you…” You whisper the rhetorical question down to Nero. A soft chime rings from the door next to you and it’s the couple, opening the door and getting the store ready for the day. You attempt a wave but they’ve already gone inside. After a few minutes, the sign in the display flips to “Open” and signals that you can now come in and begin shopping.
You gently push open the rustic door and the bell on the top makes the same soft chime of earlier. The shelves are stacked wall to wall with miscellaneous knickknacks and trinkets, with the floor cluttered much in the same fashion, leaving only barely enough room to wall. You make your way towards the back, finding the small section dedicated to donated clothes. It has coats, dress shirts, pants, etc. all worn down by time and love. You poke around a bit but don’t have any luck finding any baby clothes. You shrug and decide to simply go and ask Mr. Cetriolo’s himself; maybe it’s just hidden away or simply in a different spot. Approaching the cash register, you see Mr. Cetriolo getting his till ready for the day, not quite noticing you yet.
You softly clear your throat to get his attention, his head tilts in your direction and his old green eyes shine at the sight of you. His back straightens and he opens his arms out wide, “Kiddo! It’s been awhile since I’ve seen you,”
He walks around the desk and begins the motion of a hug but pauses. His gaze takes in your entire self and notices Nero against your chest. His eyes somehow sparkle at the sight of the kid, he was always a man who loved kids- “Who’s this little guy?” His voice has barely contained excitement, he kneels down to get a better look at him and reaches a hand to lightly pinch Nero’s cheek “His name is Nero, I’m.. uh, taking care of him after a relative passed.” You readjust him on your chest, feeling him slip down a bit.
Mr. Centriolo wilts slightly but still keeps a bright smile on his old face, rubbing his weathered fingers against Nero’s cheek. “Well in that case, at least he has a person like you to take care of him.”
You purse your lips a bit, but give a small smile “I was wondering if you had any baby clothes? Or maybe other related things? I’m doing my best to get what I need to properly take care of him. Considering I wasn’t really ever anticipating this..” He nods and gestures for you to follow him deeper into the store, under a shelf full of wooden toys, used books, a trinket or two is a solid wooden box; inside is plenty of clothes, ranging from baby to probably toddler if you were to guess. Eyes scan the entire box, see various things you could grab for Nero but ultimately you pick up the entire box with your other hand. “How much for all of these?” Cetriolo chuckles at the display, “Ah for you kid? I’d say… maybe-” he taps a finger against his chin facial hair, “30 euro? That sounds reasonable.”
You owlishly blink at the low cost, only 30? You hesitate a bit but ultimately don’t argue, you aren’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth. So you simply nod and bring the crate up to the front, or try to; He grabs the box from your hands and moves towards his counter, leaving you in the aisle. You call out to him, “I’ll keep looking for other things I need if that’s okay?” You get a faint ‘go ahead!’. Walking around you grab a few wooden and plastic toys scattered around, you also find one of those chest baby carriers hidden away; the material faded and torn in some places but still usable. While looking around you spot a music box. The outside is a standard rectangular shape with ornate shapes carved into the wood, and gold lining as accents. It’s painted in a blue and purple color, almost gradient. You gently open the top and gasp, it’s an automata music box from what you can tell. It has gears and mechanisms visible, covered with a track of some kind. You tilt the box around until you find the crank, and turn it. Upon turning it, two figures emerge from the tangle of mechanics, one larger holding onto the other like a waltz. As the music plays, the figures dance together along the track. The top of the music box has a painting of…. a demon and a human. Ah.
This was made as tribute to Sparda and his wife. It's an ornate dance for the two. You feel Nero squirm and it seems that the music box has caught his attention, his blue eyes entranced by the sight of the automata moving around. One of his hands reaches for it and you gently grab it to prevent him from touching the moving parts, afraid of him getting pinched by the gears and moving metal (and you were also minorly worried about damaging such a precious item).
You bring all of your items to the front to finally pay for all of it. You leave the music box to the side, a bit apprehensive at buying it at the risk of it being truly priceless. Centriolo looks down at all your buying and notices the music box, he picks it up and looks at it closely. “You know we’ve had this in the store for quite awhile now, it’s gorgeous so I’m not sure why no one’s takin’ an interest in it.” He peeks at you while examining the box.
“Why don’t you just have it?” He gestures towards you with the box
“Mr. Centriolo, no I couldn't, it must be worth a fortune. The automata alone makes it priceless-” You stammer slightly, not wanting to rob the man of something so expensive. “You know what’s more priceless, kid?” He sets the box back down on the counter right in front of you. “Happiness. Joy. That type’a thing. Your kiddo seems to really like this box, and so do you. So have it, I won’t mourn its loss.”
You gape a bit but decide to give up the fight. If he wants you to have it then fine. You huff a laugh. You hand over the money to pay for everything. You look down into the crate of clothes and grab a blue onesie. “Ah, would you mind if before I leave I put Nero in this? I think he’d appreciate an actual outfit compared to a t-shirt fashioned into one.”
Mr. Cetriolo waves his hand at you “Of course! Actually, if you want, I’m sure we have some supplies upstairs that’s typically for our grandkids but you’re welcome to take what you need.” He curls a hand around his mouth to amplify his voice before calling for his wife, “Mi luce! Could you come down, the kiddo is here!” “Which one!” Faintly upstairs you can hear the older woman’s staccato-like voice. “The Redgrave one! Ya’know the one with the long hair!” He yells back to her.
“OH!” Quickly footsteps come down the stairs and there the stout grey-haired woman appears. Her homedress is covered by a flour-dusted apron, she was probably making bread for dinner before being called down. She wipes her hands on her apron and rag and looks you up and down. She notices Nero and quite nearly squeals at the sight of him, you can’t deny she is a woman who loves babies. Once her hands are clean she swipes Nero right out of your hands, leaving you scrambling from the now lack of weight from your arms. “Oh look at this precious il bebè! Such cute cheeks and big eyes!” She fawns over the baby who is babbling and laughing at all that is happening. She then jolts still and turns back to you, and you get slightly nervous.
“When did you have a child?” The way she phrases it almost feels like an accusation, “You didn’t fool around with someone you weren’t married with were you? Who’s the father?”
“N-No one, I-” You feel a bit flustered at the questioning, it's like you were being scolded for something you didn’t do, “He’s not mine, not biologically anyways. A relative of mine recently passed and I was the only one left to care for him.”
She immediately softens and her expression is full of sympathy for you, “Oh poor child, was- Was it your brother?” She gently asks. You stifle a grimace, not prepared for a mention of your sibling. “No, thankfully he’s still alive and kicking. It was a…cousin of mine.” Mrs. Cetriolo bounces Nero on her hip, “So what did you need kiddo?” “I was hoping I could dress Nero properly and maybe.. Uh.. see if you have any diapers?” you whisper the last part.
“Oh of course! We have plenty of supplies for some of our grandkids, but we are more than willing to lend you some. Let’s get this bebè all set. She starts going upstairs and you follow, today has been one hell of a day. But you think this is the start of something good. Great even for you and this little kid you’ve taken in. You smile.
End Notes; Kyrie's and Credo's mom intro yay!!! I had to make up a name but you would've guessed; side-side characters don't get names when not mentioned directly in lore. what a surprise. the cetriolo's (their last name is just cucumber in italian efwjhfwjhrwfhjv) are two ocs I made on the spot so the reader has at least a bit of support for the baby taking care of side of things. ALSO i'm sorry that it kinda ends weirdly, I wasn't sure where and when to stop so I kinda stopped at the point I thought was best ahah. the music box's music is up to interpretation but I was listening to 'Dream sweet in sea major' when writing that part. ooooh reader has a siblingggg, you won't get to know more until later :). Im sorry if thats like, too much backstory for a reader but it's important for later and how reader relates to nero. this also marks the start of the slice of life portions which will be more broad snippets to connect each year of Nero's life up to the age of 8.
