An Ethereal? Based on my encounters, the only Ethereals I know of so far are Ozzus, Priscilla, Eliot, and that girl who fixed up Theo. I shouldn't expect it to be her, so I'll keep my thoughts silent when we get there.
Lilith's residence wasn't too far from where they had originally been. In fact, it was right where he had met the skinny noble man attempting to pique his interest in a house. The building wasn't very large. It only had two floors and looked almost as bad as Eliot's assumed abode.
"Theo currently lives on the top floor alone so we've been trying to get him a roommate for some time now. Our jobs aren't the wealthiest in payments, but it lets us get by. Usually, the rent is handled by two people, although living alone, Theos been scraping by for a while.", Said Lilith with an empathetic expression.
Compared to the ship, sure the living space was less furnished, but he'd at least not have to sleep on a rocking ship all night. Thinking back, Lucian got seasick twice in one night and ended up rushing to the deck to threw up in the ocean. "I wouldn't mind living here, Theo and I actually got along quite well yesterday."
"He also said you guys went to the divine plain yesterday for your final chess match. It makes sense though; he's quite the connoisseur of beauty."
Upon entering the apartment, a short, narrow hallway the smelled of damp wood greeted them. A creaking staircase climbed along one wall to the upper apartment, its railing ravaged by rust. On the bottom floor sat a peeled wooden door. Lilith turned around to face Lucian and said with her soft voice, "I'll come up and get you in a bit, you head upstairs. Theo should answer the door for you."
Lucian bowed and replied a simple, "Sounds good.".
Walking up the stairs, Lucian kept his hands off the railing fearing he'd get tetanus if he did. At the top of the short flight of stairs sat a similar wooden door, this one however, contained a door knocker.
Tap tap tap
"Be right there!", came a muffled yell from inside. A few seconds later, Theo opened the door. Something was different though, his hair was down to his collar bone, and he just wore the same attire Lucian did but with a waistcoat over it.
Theo straightened up and asked in his usual charlatan type tone, "Oh, afternoon Lucian, what brings you here?"
"I'm looking for a residence to live in, so your companion, Lilith told me that this was an option if I wanted to.", Stated Lucian.
Suddenly, Theo's eyes got a bit shinier. "Y-you're looking for a home this soon?"
"Yes, I fear that living off of Ozzus and Priscilla for too long will negatively affect me, so I wish to obtain a place to live without freeloading. Getting a grasp of everything is a must if I wish to not be eaten up by this world."
Theo was taken aback by the reply. How could someone who's mind is so young be so smart and mature? "To be frank, my current living condition is rough. I can barely pay my rent, and I don't have enough money to properly get the inside clean. Lilith has tried to assist me before but there's only so much she can do. Having another roommate would definitely be a big help. Come on in, I'll show you around."
said Theo as he put his hand on his temple and held the door open.
Theo's apartment wasn't anything special. There was one bedroom with a bunk bed, two small desks, one window with no curtains, and a broken fan. The bathroom was cleaner at least, containing a shower, toilet and a surprisingly clean sink. The kitchen was two times smaller than Ozzus's, only having a stove, one small pantry, a sink for washing dishes, and an ice box.
I can't say it's not a unique home.
Lucian pushed back his negative thoughts about the apartment, "I appreciate your warm welcome, but before I am able to live here, I should probably be instituted into the work force. Earning money is a top priority for me, no?"
"Correct, although you only need to work part time to afford the rent when living with two individuals. I've had to work at the docks full time for about a year or so to pay rent. You living here would undoubtedly make my and your life more stress free."
"Thank you for the info, I'll keep that in mind.", stated Lucian.
"By the way, why don't you just live with the Crowes? You're their eldest son, and they should be successor, so it'd make life much easier if you just went to them."
"You're correct, but my mother is a bit conflicted, or...at least that's what the family's supposed butler told me. I don't think inviting myself over would be seen as proper behavior." The fact is, I don't really know what to do, ever since I woke up, I've been doing what everyone tells me to.
"It's no problem, I'm sure your family will come to welcome you with open arms when the time is right. In the meantime, you'll be living with yours truly." remarked Theo with a dashing smile.
Lucian left shortly after the conversation. Lilith was apparently looking for her roommate who was currently out doing either a mission or working her job. Since he wasn't able to meet her, Lucian told Theo that he'd move in as soon as he obtains a job.
Being done with finding a home he could call his own, Lucian decided to head to the library, to do some more research. Entering the library, the same dazzling young Aurora could be seen shelving books again.
Most of Lucian's afternoon was silent. He read books about the gods, anything that could be information on Ethereals, and... how to guide on being a chess master.
While putting a book back, four knocks could be heard, two fast and two slow. The knock was the exact same one, Eliot had done yesterday.
Lucian directed his attention in the direction of the knock to see Aurora strolling up the stairs.
Was I mistaken? No, that was clearly the knock Eliot had used.
Lucian quietly went upstairs to make sure nothing was out of the blue with Aurora, but when he reached the top, not a single soul was there, just Lucian. He searched around every shelf but couldn't find a single trace of her.
Suddenly, Lucian felt a soft presence behind him. "I wasn't aware that our new member was into stalking."
Aurora's voice made him jump. Lucian tried to calm his nerves as he said, "Apologies miss, I didn't mean to offend you. I just heard something that sounded familiar and came to check and see if anything was amiss. I promise I wasn't doing any such thing."
Aurora let out a light laugh, "I'm just messing with you, jeez.". Her voice was a bit more authoritative than Lilith's but had the same gentleness.
"Sigh, I assume you're an Ethereal or assistant then?" Lucian was already able to confirm that she was due to his oath of secrecy. If he hadn't been able to speak then she would have not been affiliated.
"You are correct, I'm an Ethereal much like Eliot who you've probably already met."
"How did you know I was an Ethereal In the first place?", I don't remember having a large sign on me saying that I am.
"The back of your neck contains the mark, see?", said Aurora while lifting her hair as she turned around to reveal two obtuse triangles parallel to each other with a line down the middle. Inside the two triangles were a series of thin perfect spirals. "Regular citizens can't see it so you don't need to worry about coming up with an excuse if someone asks you about it."
Good to know that I've been branded, "Is there a reason Eliot doesn't brief me on this stuff?"
"His other duties get in the way of a full brief so whenever we obtain a new member, our assistants are supposed to teach them everything."
Lucian drew a basic conclusion to what separates Ethereals and assistants from each other. Assistants had no powers or possibly had no powers. He couldn't quite seem to understand how in the world he and Theo went to the divine plain. The possibility that it wasn't an ability and was more like a ritual was highly likely though.
While floating in his head, a certain must popped into his head, "By any chance, is there an open job position here?". Working here could be a real opportunity for me; I'd be able to earn money and be able find books to read and research.
"We are currently short staffed, and it'd probably be a big help to have another employee. My father is the one who owns this library, so only he can decide. The only thing I'd be able to do is ask him, but I can put in a good word if you'd like.", remarked Aurora.
Yes father, this employee is an amnesiac who's decent at chess. Lucian could only think of the negative ways that conversation would go as he straightened his shirt colar.
"It'd make my day if you could.", replied Lucian.
Pulling out the pocket watch, Lucian saw that it was almost 4:00. "Pardon my quick leave, but I do have to be going now. I don't want to be gone too long."
Aurora admired the beautiful watch silently then looked back up, "You live at the docks with Ozzus and Priscilla, right?"
"Yes, they might come out and look for me if I'm not back for a while."
Aurora pursed her lips, then said in a sincere tone, "That's a bit far away, I can be of assistance if you'd like."
"That's very generous of you, but I wouldn't want to trouble you for a coach."
"Who said we'd be using a coach?"
Suddenly the space around the two distorted and changed to a surreal atmosphere of a celestial scene of stars and nebulae. Then it all faded instantly and Lucian found himself on the deck of the Senkrad along with Aurora.
The sight was fantastic even in that mere moment they were there. "Looks like we're here.", said Aurora with a proud smile then vanished without a trace.
What the hell was that!?
Lucian was getting tired of Ethereals showing off their abilities every chance they got with him. So far Ozzus and Priscilla were the most restrained, although he couldn't say it didn't get his heart racing every time they used their abilities whether it was in a bad way or a good way.