Toklo

He's no here tonight as well. Osbert thought, sitting on the edge of a building, overlooking the city below him.

"Don't you think it's pretty?" Lily asked, holding the scythe behind her as she stood beside Alby, smiling softly.

His legs swing over the edge, kicking back and forth as he couldn't help but compare the city in front of him to the city he was in with Jel.

Dull. He thought, looking at the darkness. It can't compare to that place.

"It's ok," Alby said, shrugging as he twirled the sword in his hands.

"You used to say that the city is so pretty from the top." Lily chuckled. "You were such a cute kid, what happened to him?"

"I don't know," Alby said honestly, not looking at the woman. "Maybe he grew up."

The woman looked at Alby for a second as the wind came and started playing with their hairs, a soft smile still on her face.

"That's true." She shrugged, looking back at the city. "You are turning twenty in just a couple of days. Man, how time flies. What do you want to do for your twentieth birthday? Should I cook you something?"

Instantly, Alby's face contorted when he remembered that Lily has all the skills anyone would be jealous of, just not in terms of her cooking. It is so bad that she tried to cook for starving children and they could not even eat it.

She felt so bad that day that Roy and Alby had to comfort her and, with a little bit of help from the two, she was able to make something decent.

She always follows the receipts to the T and they turn out looking like sewer water for some reason. Though he had to admire her persistence. Lily has felt dejected but she has never given up, much to the suffering of Roy and Alby.

Once she wanted to try baking bread and it proved to come to great use when their house was broken into. One hit from those rock hard loaves were enough to knock anyone out.

He chuckled, remembering the bump on the intruder's head as he was dragged out. It looked like he was going to be suffering from a concussion for a while.

"No thanks," Alby said, turning to her. "It will be better if we didn't celebrate my birthday at all."

"Why not?!?" Lily asked, startled. "You always wanted to celebrate your birthday. It's the one day a year that you actually look forward to."

"Yeah … but I would rather not. Maybe not this year anyway." Alby said getting to his feet. "I think I will patrol that area before Roy gets back and starts scolding me."

"That Roy." Lily crossed her arms over her chest, annoyed. "He is too harsh on a kid, if you asked me."

Osbert chuckled, "I am not a kid anymore, Lily."

"Right, right. You aren't." The woman walked to him and tucked a hair behind his ear. "Be careful out there. If you see or hear anything, call to us immediately."

"Ok." Alby nodded before jumping off the building and landing on the ground without so much as a sound.

One look at Lily who was waving at him and he disappeared into the darkness.

______________________

"You know that he knows you are there," Lily said, the smile faltering from her face as soon as Alby disappeared.

"What do you think about him?" Roy asked, standing behind the woman.

"What is that supposed to mean?" She turned to him, leaning against the scythe in her arms. "I like Alby, You do too. He is your beloved nephew."

The man walked to her and sat down on the ledge, back facing against the landscape of the city.

"I know, but I am worried about him."

"He is turning twenty, Roy." Lily turned her scythe back into a stick and sat down beside the man. "He's going to be with some secrets of his own. You can't be too overprotective."

Roy laid his head on Lily's lap, smiling up at the woman, "I know. I know. It's just ... have you talked about his birthday?"

"Yup." Lily began playing with his hair. "He said he was not very excited and hopes that he could not celebrate it."

"I expected as much." Roy chuckled, staring silently at the sky above him. "This year is going to be a little hard for him."

"Because of that right?"

Roy hummed in agreement, looking at Lily right in the eyes as he clasped her hand in his and placed a soft kiss on the back of her hand. "The only thing we can do is try to support him as much as possible."

"So no birthday party?"

"No birthday party. We can have it the next day though." Roy said grinning at the woman. "Ok?"

"Fine." She said, still playing with his hair. "But I will get to plan it."

"Of course."

Roy reached out and cupped the woman's face in his hands, "You're real pretty, you know that?"

"Gorgons are not pretty, honey," Lily said, grinning.

"I don't believe you." Roy laughed, pulling her closer until the two almost kissed. "You are the only Gorgon I know and you are gorgeous."

"Right," Lily smirked, closing the tiny distance between the two.

________________________

Clear. Osbert thought standing on top of a decomposing corpse that he tore the neck off of.

Spitting the blood and other things like the flesh and muscles of the person, Alby tried to wipe the blood from the corners of his mouth but his clothes were already stained and so was his face.

Hearing a gasp, Alby looked up to see a woman holding her child tight while trembling in fear.

"You don't have to worry, madam I am no-"

Splash!

"Monster!" The woman shouted after throwing a bucket of dirty water at him and then closing the window, locking it.

Alby sighed, looking at his wet clothes, the heavy smell of rotten vegetables and little pieces of all kinds of other foods falling off him.

Thank goodness I didn't wear the clothes he gave me. Alby thought, squeezing what he could out of the cloth and shook his head to get the water and ... other things out.

He then climbed to a window ledge, looking around for any signs of movements in his patrol route.

The city is dead quiet, save for some voices here and there. But, unless someone is being attacked, they just ignore them.

That is what people that have been employed by the government to keep the attacks to a minimum do.

Perhaps in the further corners of the city, there is someone being attacked. But that is not part of their patrol area.

Other 'Allies', as they are called, do not bother with areas that are not in their patrol routes so they hardly bump into each other.

"Hey! Alby!"

The man clicked his tongue. At least we are not supposed to meet each other. How do I keep running into him?

"Alby~!"

Sighing, Alby jumped down from the window and onto the ground before staring at the man in front of him.

"What is it, Toklo?" He asked, not showing the least bit of interest.

"Shit, you smell." The man quickly covered his nose with his hand. "You're wet too. What happened?"

"Nothing."

"Someone poured their food scraps on you again. Didn't they?" The man asked, his yellow eye gleaming in annoyance. "You should have given them a piece of your mind. I would help you cover the death."

"No need." Alby brushed his hair back, putting his scar in full display, something he never did before, much to Toklo's surprise. "I was a reasonable response. She did see me covered in blood."

"I think you are the only one that thinks like that, Alby." The man laughed, fiddling with the braided ends of his dark green hair. "Well, you know that if you killed anyone, no one will blame you."

"Why is that?"

"You don't have a motive." The man was about to place his hand on Alby's shoulder but decided against it at the last minute. "Well, forget that. How are you? I haven't seen you these days."

"That was what I intended," Alby said honestly, not looking at the man as a soft wind began to blow across their hair.

Little bell sounds filled the silence, the bells coming from Toklo's hair accessories.

"Why do you wear that?" Alby asked, pointing to the metal spirals with little bells at the ends, on the man's hair. "You will be noticed by the people you are trying to attack."

"That's the whole point." The man said, holding out the lock of hair with the metal spiral around it. "I have no intention of attacking anyone unguarded. What kind of a person would I be then?"

"You said that, but you tell me 'take care' of the people bothering me." Alby raised his fingers in air quotations.

"Well, that because I don't like seeing you hurt, Alb-"

Suddenly the two heard a blood-curdling scream filling the air and immediately took off without so much as a glance at the other.