"Who are you?!" Lucifer's voice echoed with dread as he pulled her away from Khalan and even up from her chair. Vesper felt her spirit essence leave her body out of fear when he suddenly grabbed her and that proved a great deal that he was surely no ordinary demon.
"Oh my!" Khalan gasped as she stood up to help Vesper. "Let her go Nathan!" She pulled Vesper away from Nathan's strong grip and examined her hand for any bruises because she was sure to have atleast one from the way she was pulled.
"Are you okay Ves?" She asked with concerned eyes, which took Vesper aback. She had never been shown care all her life by anyone else except Saskia and seeing Khalan care for her right now almost made her tear up and most of all, she even gave her a nickname, 'Ves' she liked it a lot.
"I am fine Khalan" she replied, pulling her hand gently from her. "Bruises would be hard to spot judging from my skin color" she breathed, she knew Khalan had been examining her hand to know if she had any injuries on them that Nathan's strong pull might have incure. She believed she had no serious injuries and even if she did, she was a tortise and she had healing abilities.
"Are you sure you are okay?" Khalan still asked, making sure her new found friend was fine.
"Yes, I am good" she smiled sweetly.
While all this was going on, Lucifer remained calm, studying Vesper and reading her mind as well. He knew he acted harshly but he could not risk anyone going close to Khalan let alone touching her. He had not given this Ves' (as Khalan called her) the chance to prove if she was a friend or foe but had attacked her fiercely but with the way Khalan showed care towards her right now, he was forced to regret his actions and now he was finally willing to give her that chance.
With the few minutes he studied her while they still focused on her hand, he was able to realize that she was a spirit, of the tortise clan and she was no threat at all. Not to Khalan and not to anyone. She was only looking for her best friend that was abducted by a demon and that was why she decided to get close to them, so she could find clues on where her friend might be. Judging from how emotional she got when Khalan called her Ves, it was obvious to him that this girl only received care from this missing friend of hers and now Khalan was doing same, she found it very rare. Realizing this, Nathan really felt sorry for her and promised to help her find her friend. However, he decided to still maintain his stand on not being friendly towards her so she does not cause harm to Khalan in the future. That she was no threat now did not mean she would not become one in the future.
"Are you not going to apologize to Vesper?!" Khalan turned to him in fury, calling him out of his thoughts.
"You literally scared the living daylights out of her while she literally did nothing wrong!" She still defended Vesper who stood behind her with her head bent low showing she was a bit terrified of Lucifer's aura.
"I was only being cautious Khalan" he said simply, not wanting to apologize at all as it will hurt his pride. The girl was a mere spirit and of one of the lowest clan there was and even if she deserved anything extravagant, it was definitely not an apology from the demon lord.
"It is alright Khalan, he was just being protective of you" Vesper hurriedly said, understanding the situation and knowing fully well that she was not going to get that apology. It did not matter to her anyway, she only wanted to be on their good side and find out clues on how to save Saskia.
"Still not enough reason to be that mean" Khalan pouted.
"I am really fine" Vesper took her hand and gently rubbed her palm. "I am okay I promise".
"If you insist then" she sighed.
"Here" Nathan handed her the cup of water he had gone to get earlier and with the way she gulped it all down her throat, it proved she was really thirsty.
"Thank you" she appreciated.
"We will get going now Ves" she spoke to Vesper now, not wanting to waste any more of her time now that Nathan was here as she believed she might have other things to attend to as well.
This was the second time she was calling her Ves and she unknowingly developed a soft spot for her already. She did not care if she only got close to her to find out Saskia's whereabouts, she liked this girl standing before her right now. She was nice to her and she was the second person all her life to ever be.
"We will see you around" Khalan said again as she turned to leave but was called back by Vesper.
"Wait Khalan" her voice held echos of care in them. "I want to give you something".
Lucifer became highly alert at this point but did not act rashly as not to do things he would regret as he did earlier.
"Here" she opened Khalan's right palm placed a very beautiful golden jewelry set that seemed to come out of nowhere. It was blended with emeralds, just the way Khalan had wanted and it's bright glow left her too stunned to speak.
"It is one of my few treasures passed down to me by my family and clan members. You can have it, as a symbol of our new found friendship" she smiles sweetly at her.
"Oh Ves…" Khalan did not know the right words to use. "This is too much, I can not take this" she made to hand it back to her but Vesper pushed her hand lightly.
"I have given it to you, it is yours now, I insist".
"Thank you so much Vesper, it is just as I wanted". She smiled back at her.
Honestly, it was too much for Vesper to give Khalan the jewelry set just like that, judging from it's worth and value to her and her clan. The tortise clan was renowned for their excellent ability to keep treasures and valuables and she was the only one left in her clan that was not already a slave to some human somewhere. Hence, she was handed so many treasures and valuables that meant so much to her clan and she dared not sell them, even when she was starving to death but here she was, freely gifting Khalan one of these treasures and she felt happy about it. She did not know what it was about Khalan but she just felt this unique concern towards her since she showed her the slightest care and gifting her a dream jewelry set from her safe shell was something she felt was worth it.
"I will get going now" She turned to leave, giving up her thoughts to use Khalan and her demon to find Saskia, seeing it as no longer worth it and deciding to look for another means but she was called back by Lucifer this time.
"Your best friend that you are looking for, can you describe her?"
His question shocked both Khalan and Vesper. She never said she was looking for her best friend, how then did he know? Oh no!
"You hear thoughts!" she said to him as a matter of fact.
"You hear thoughts?" Khalan was still surprised, as if the first statement this not shock her well enough. "Since when do you hear thoughts?" She furrowed.
"No" Lucifer was firm with his reply. He did not want Khalan to know that he could read minds, else she would no longer be comfortable around him and that would really ruin things for them.
"I do not hear thoughts" he remained calm.
"Then how did you know I was looking for my best friend, I never said it" Vesper's brown orbs seemed to seek answers desperately and so did Khalan emerald ones too.
Lucifer was short of what to say but he had to pick his words carefully to get out of this.
"What I meant to say is…" he began calmly, speaking rather slow. "I do not read minds, I was only able to know what you had in mind because you are a spirit and it was more like a burden to you than a thought. I definitely do not hear thoughts, especially not that of humans" he turned to Khalan at his last sentence.
"You are not human?" Khalan's confusion now moved from Nathan to Vesper and this made him exhale in satisfaction.
"Yes Khalan" she affirmed, "I am of the spirit race, born oft the tortise clan".
Now it all made sense to her. She was too fascinated about the jewelry set that she forgot to question the fact that it came out of no where. She was a spirit. No wonder she looked so distinct and singular. But one thing still did not sit right. Along the way, she and Nathan had encountered other spirits but they were all bound in chains, how much was she free.
"But…" she decided to ask her unspoken question. "You are no slave to any human, how is that?" She asked totally out of curiosity.
"I have just lived my whole life running and hiding and if not for your friend's special abilities, I have concealed my spirit essence so perfectly that people now see me as human".
"Oh… you must have had a tough life trying to hide from the humans all your life but you longer have to, you have us now and we will protect you. Right Nathan?" She looked up to Nathan for back and he delivered accordingly.
"Of course. We will help you find your best friend first and then make sure you remain safe but first, you have to tell us what she looks like, just incase we have seen her around" he breathed.
He was sure Vesper knew he was a demon and also knew Khalan had no idea about that but was unsure why she would not just rat him out so he decided to be kind to her as well just to repay her for being cool and staying out of his business.
"Her name is Saskia" she finally spoke after the long seconds of silence they went through as they awaited her to speak.
"She is brunette,white skin, grey eyes, fruity lips, straight nose. She always has her hair up in a bun with beautiful pink roses buried in it. She looks magical I tell you" she felt a tear roll down her left cheek as she explained Saskia's features.
"Wait…" these features seemed to ring a bell in Lucifer's mind.
"What?" Vesper was sobbing already at this point and Khalan left Nathan's side to stay close to her, rubbing her back lightly.
"She is about your height and dressed like she is a pleasure house dancer?" He intentionally refused to use the word brothel.
"Yes!" Vesper gasped. "She is the one"
"I know how to find her then"…