Jem often asked themselves, how the hell did I end up in this situation? And genuinely, ninety percent of the time they couldn’t even try and understand it. The biggest issue is that they found themselves in a predicament, and there was no way out.

Jem with Lewellyn, the graceful witch with freckles and reddish-brown hair, was running down the halls after curfew. Jem wrestled the tiny beast known as a niffler underneath their cloak. Lewellyn made sure to peak around corners to assure that they wouldn’t run head first into a monitor or teacher.

The entire time, underneath the cloak the niffler tried to grab coins and basically any other shiny item in Jem’s pockets. Jem attempted to grab the beast’s hands in order to keep the small amount of cash that they possessed.

“Jem.” Lewellyn snapped in a hushed tone. “Hurry up, if we get caught my parents are gonna be so mad at me.”

Jem gave her a short glare, “It feels like I’m grappling a small badger, please give me a break.”

“I take offence to that, serpent boy.” Lew quipped, moving down towards the hall. “Where are we even putting this thing?”

Jem grumbled, “He’s not a thing Lew, his name’s Elgar and he deserves to be respected.”

“He stole my family ring!” Lew argued playfully.

“He gave it back!” Jem tried very hard not to laugh.

“You tipped him upside down until it shook out. Along with,” Lew began listing things as she counted them on her fingers, “Romy’s prefect badge, your knife, Mercy’s ring, the list goes on.”

Jem playfully bounced Elgar the Niffler in their arms, “Its not his fault, it’s just his nature.” Lewellyn laughed again, petting the little guy on the head. “And, I have no idea. Alveyn said there was a secret room somewhere around here on the map.”

“I don’t suppose you brought the map with you?” Lewellyn questioned, which Jem just shook their head. “Okay, we just need a cage. How hard can it be to find one to use until morning?”

“I don’t want to cage him. Isn’t that slightly inhumane?” Jem mumbled, stroking Elgar’s back. “Maybe just an animal pen?”

Lewellyn breathed out a laugh, “Jem, don’t you think that’s even less likely to find?”

Jem shrugged, still pouting slightly. “Maybe... yeah, okay.”

Lewellyn’s gaze became fixed on the large double doors the two had just passed by. Her brows furrowed in confusion but Jem was too focused on Elgar to really notice anything. Not that Jem hadn’t been paying attention. But it was obvious that the two were too engrossed in their conversation to notice the solid, stone wall turn into two iron doors.

“Jem, do you know where this leads to?” Lew asked, resting her hand against the doors to prepare to open them.

“There’s no doors around here.” Jem shook their head in amusement. But when Jem lifted their head up and saw them, their jaw dropped. “Oh.”

The two friends pushed open the doors simultaneously and revealed a large room, with a mirror stretching along one wall. The mirror was chipped and cracked in several places, but still standing strong. It had stone floors and dark grey walls. On one side of the room was a large, wooden pen with a solid gate.

Inside the pen was a stack of gold and jewels that Elgar began squirming in Jem’s arms to get to. For comfort, there was a cushion on the floor, and blankets rested on the pen’s wall. Lew and Jem shared a confused look, but continued on nonetheless.

The doors closed behind them automatically. This time, they watched as the doors blended into the wall and disappeared. Jem let go of Elgar, who immediately scurried across the room to climb inside the pen.

“What is this place?” Jem asked, still in awe.

Lew shook her head in amazement, “I think it’s known as The Room Of Requirement. I read up on it last year, but I thought it was just a fable.”

Jem watched with a bright smile as Elgar dove into the stack of gold, his little butt sticking out since he went in head first. “I think this is my new home for the night.” They turned towards Lew, “Thank you for doing this. Putting up with me in stressful situations is a feat within itself. But uh, I think I got it from here.”

Jem walked over to the pen and lifted one of the blankets off of the wall. Lew followed, grabbing one of the other ones with a soft smile. “Well, I’m not gonna give up on you guys now. And it’s probably safer just to stay here and not get caught.”

“Well Lew, how scandalous. Staying the night, with a boy? What would your parents say?” Jem quipped, which earned them a slap in the arm with a blanket.

“Who said I was staying with you?” Lewellyn shot back. “Elgar seems like a perfect cuddle buddy.”

“If by perfect you mean you wake up to being robbed blind, then yeah. He’s a model citizen.” Jem laughed, using grabbing another blanket and keeping it folded up to use as a pillow.

The two made their beds for the night and curled up, not too close to each other, but enough for them to be able to hear each other’s breathing. Jem couldn’t really sleep though. Discovering this room, no matter how impractical it’s current use was, seemed to be a blessing for future events to come.

*A month later*

Upon entering, Jem and their closest allies examined the room. Now, without the pen for Jem’s magic buddy but still with more than enough space for their group and then some. As the doors shut behind the party, everyone examined the terrain.

“So, what do you think?” Jem asked, a little nervous.

Aerilyn shrugged but said, “I don’t appreciate being brought to a secret, secondary location Morale.”

“That’s not- okay.” Mercy politely commented. “Jem, why did you bring us here?”

Jem stared at themselves in the mirror, feeling good about themselves for the first time in a long time. “This world is falling to shambles. It has been for a long time. But when we inherit it, we can’t just stand idly by while death eaters plague the streets. Harm muggle-borns and good people who never deserved it.”

“You really expect us to be able to do that?” Volstigg asked in clear disbelief.

“I think we can start.” Alveyn defended, stepping up and resting his hand on Jem’s shoulder in support. “Revolutions have been started with less people. I mean, all we need is a cause. And then we can figure it out along the way.”

“Absolutely.” Lewellyn pitched in. “And it doesn’t have to stop here. We have friends from our houses that I’m sure would join us. Hell, we could probably even ask a teacher or two and they’d support us. I mean, it’s not like we’ve had glowing reviews for our DADA professors.”

Jem nodded, their heart warmed by the support from their friends. “I didn’t bring you all here to put you on the spot, or demand you join my army. I brought you here because there’s nobody in this entire world I trust more than you guys.” Jem made eye contact with Umbra, who gave them a nod in solidarity. “You can leave and I want you to know that it won’t affect our friendships. But, if you believe in this cause as much as I do, please, stay.”

Alveyn was the first to take out their wand and put it in the centre between everyone. Jem and Lew followed soon after, and eventually the whole party did. Jem was almost moved to tears by the show of support.

Jem watched out the passenger side window as the car came to a slow stop outside the high school. Jem examined the terrain silently, noticing how friend groups were already forming before classes. Many of these kids looked shady and Jem thanked any god that would listen for the fact that they remembered their pocket knife.

“I changed my mind.” Jem stated plainly, shaking their head. “I wanna be homeschooled. Like now.”

Jem’s mother, Kalliope shook her head playfully. In her soft, southern belle tone she replied, “Jem, you can’t read the lesson plan let alone do the work on your own. And if we want to keep the house I need to work during the day. Which is why you agreed-“

“I know what I agreed to, the issue is I didn’t know what I agreed to.” Jem argued, keeping a neutral tone. “Mom, I’m pretty sure some of these kids are in gangs.”

“Varsity jackets doesn’t make them a gang honey.” Kalliope giggled.

Jem motioned agressively towards a specific group of kids dressed in leather jackets. “I’m talking about them. The kids who look like they’re bleeding out by the second.”

Kalliope pressed her lips into a thin line. “Maybe a bowling team?” She said hopeful. “Or, you can do a gang initiation on the first day of school. How exciting is that?”

Kalliope gave Jem a huge grin at her own joke that Jem couldn’t help but mirror her expression. “There’s my little baby.” She tickled the bottom of their chin, which just made Jem smile harder.

“Mom stop.” Jem playfully asked. “Uncle, uncle!”

Kalliope laughed once more before saying, “At least give this school a try. For your mom’s sake?”

“Anything for you, Ma.” Jem nodded, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. “Gotta go, love you.”

“Love you more baby.” She responded. As soon as Jem closed the door, Kalliope drive off to her first day at work.

People began to stare at Jem immediately, some whispering behind their hands, others not even bothering to hide their laughs. Jem put in their headphones, and threw the hood of their hoodie up.

Just one year. They thought to themselves. For Mom, and for... Dad.

Jem slowly made their way through the halls of the school before reaching the office. They kept their head low, avoiding eye contact with literally everyone until the reached the safety of the office. Jem had to fight the need to sigh in relief upon entering.

Pulling out their headphones, Jem immediately heard a shrill voice say, “Oh my god, hi!”

Jem jumped, looking around in panic for the source of the noise. Right behind them was a redheaded girl, with her hair tied up in a tight ponytail. She was dressed in a soft, baby pink jacket, with a white blouse and matching pants. What was more unique than the freckles that graced her sharp features were her big, amber eyes.

Jem looked around again before saying, “Are you talking to me?”

“You’re uh...” The girl flipped through a couple papers on her clipboard, “Jem Morale, right?”

“Unfortunately.” Jem muttered under their breath before nodding enthusiastically. “That’s me, you are?”

“Angelina Page, pleasure.” She shook their hand gleefully. “Since I’ll be escorting you around for this early morning part, I already took the liberty of grabbing your class schedule, your violin for band class, and your food stamps for lunch.” She handed all of the above over to Jem, leaning and whispering “But we’ll keep the last part between you and me. Some of these kids can be really judgemental.”

“You don’t say.” Jem nodded, squinting their eyes suspiciously but smiling nonetheless.

Angelina hooked her arm around Jem’s and dragged them along. “Admittedly, and shamefully this school is really cliquey. But, considering you’re already participating in extra curriculars,” Angelina flicked the violin case for extra measure, “you’ll find your footing in no time.”

“Yeah, what clique do you belong to?” Jem asked, just trying to make polite conversation.

Angelina paused before giving Jem another beaming smile, “Oh I prefer to dabble in every friend group. Mostly the smart kids though. It comes with the territory of being President of almost every club in the school.”

She continued adding little “impressive” facts about herself as she showed Jem around the school. Jem just nodded politely, not wanting to ruffle any feathers. But honestly, it seemed like it didn’t matter if Jem was listening or not. They got the impression that Angelina didn’t have a lot of people to talk to.

At long last, Angelina stopped at the band room. She finally let go of Jem’s arm, and gave them a reassuring pat on the back. “Well, time for us to part ways. But Jem Morale, if you ever need to sit by a friendly face I’m typically in the library. I guess I’ll be seeing you around.”

Doubt it. “Yeah, sounds good.”

Jem quickly slinked into the classroom, unfortunately though the class had already started. So each student and the teacher turned dramatically towards them and Jem felt the world begin to cave in on them.

“Ah,” the teacher acknowledged warmly, “you must be the new student.” The teacher sidestepped, allowing room for Jem at the front of the shaded classroom.

Jem reluctantly stepped up, pressing their lips into a thin smile. They fidgeted with their sleeves, and shifted back and forth on their feet.

“Please, tell us about yourself.” The teacher welcomed. “We all already introduced ourselves by our name, out instrument, and a little fun fact about ourselves.”

Jem clears their throat. “Well, uh, name’s Jem. I play the violin. And uh, I guess a fun fact about me would be that the only thing I hate more than being put on the spot is public speaking.”

The class snickered, some tried covering it up with a cough or two. Jem gave a sharp glare to the teacher, before finding a seat in the back of the class. They put their violin case and backpack next to their chair and got comfortable with their instrument.

Throughout the class, the teacher made sure to keep an eye on Jem. Jem wasn’t sure if it was because he didn’t trust them, or to make sure Jem was keeping up with the music. Jem did reasonably well, surprising even themselves.

When the bell rang, the entire class rose from their seats, packing up their supplies. Jem knelt beside their stuff, and tucked their music sheets into their bag. As they were doing that, another person accidentally kicked their bag and case over. Jem’s bag’s contents spilled out.

The blonde girl shouted, “Oh my god dude, I’m so sorry.” She hurriedly helped pack Jem’s stuff up as well. Neither of them had realised Jem’s pocket knife had slipped out as well until the girl tossed it to Jem. They both did a double take in shock at the blade.

Jem gave the girl an awkward smile, and was going to ask her not to tell anyone. But before they could, Jem heard a deep voice clear their throat from behind them. Jem froze, and slowly turned towards their teacher.

“Mr. Morale.” The teacher spoke with disgust. “I think we both know where you’ll be heading after this class.” He stuck out his hand and Jem sheepishly placed the blade in his hand.

“Again, I’m really sorry.” The girl muttered, patting them on the back.

“Miss Warwick, get to class.” The teacher warned, and the girl quickly leaped up from her spot and ran out of the classroom. Once she had left, the teacher turned back to Jem. “Now, do I need to show you to the principal’s office? Or do you think you can remember?”

Jem nodded, picking up their stuff. “I think I got it.”

Jem shamefully walked back to the office, whispers about the knife already spreading through the halls. Jem shuffled up to the secretary’s desk and said in a voice just above a whisper, “Hi, I’m Jem Morale. I was sent here by-”

“I know what you’re here for honey.” The secretary popped her gum in Jem’s face. “The vice-principal will see you in a bit, but I’m gonna try to contact one of your parents or guardians. You do have one of those, don’t you?”

Jem’s eyes widened at that side-comment but Jem just replied, “Uh yeah. Totally. She’s at work though, you might not be able to reach her.”

“Just go sit down over there,” the secretary gestured to a row of chairs, “someone will come to get you in a minute or two.”

Jem nodded, walking over to where she gestured but not really paying attention to where they were going. They were so focused on their mom’s disappointed face. It was a worse fate then most. And all of a sudden, their world came crashing down.

Literally.

Jem tripped over an obstacle, and landed on their hands into the cold, hard floor. Only inches away from hitting their head against a black leather boot. Jem quickly rolled away and shot back up to their feet, “Oh my god, I’m so sorry.”

Upon investigating, Jem noticed there was another foot that had tripped them. The person who tripped them was sprawled out in their seat, completely sunk down into it. She was a short girl, with dark hair and bright amber eyes. She was quite skinny, and dressed in cheap clothes that somehow worked for her.

“Dude,” the girl said, “watch where you’re going.”

“It wasn’t his fault,” the other person, who’s foot Jem almost bashed their head into argued. He was around the same height as Jem, with black hair and nice scruff. His sea green eyes were aggressive, but also playful in a way. He was in a nice leather coat, and a white t-shirt. “Maybe stop trying to take up the whole bench.”

The girl shrugged, unconcerned. “They were zoned out, how else would you explain completely missing my obviously extended foot.”

“Shh!” The secretary snapped, which Jem immediately forced themselves in the seat between the boy and the girl. The girl re-positioned, bringing her knees up to her chest in the chair. While the boy just began casually leaning, and examining Jem with his eyes, curiously.

“What’d you do?” The boy asked.

Jem shrugged, “Isn’t that what prisoners ask each other when they first get there.”

The boy chuckled, “God no. Keep your mouth shut, and you stay out of trouble behind bars.”

How does he know that? Jem thought, but immediately decided to drop it before getting themselves into even more trouble.

“Alveyn Jones, pleasure to meet you.” The boy named Alveyn stuck out his hand for a shake.

Jem nodded, politely shaking back, “Just call me Jem.”

“Aerilyn.” The girl grumbled, but immediately shot up in excitement. “I mean, we’re all here because we’re horrible people, right?”

“Sure.” Both Jem and Alveyn shrugged, Jem more panicked and Alveyn his usual nonchalant self.

Aerilyn leaned forward conspiratorially, “So, as punishment for my ‘rude and aggressive behaviour’ they took away my necklace. But that’s really important to me, and I’m pretty that violates some sort of rights that I have.”

Jem and Alveyn completely nodded along, pretending to understand but they would be lying if they really got a full grasp of what was going on.

“For the record,” Jem stated, “I don’t think you’re rude and aggressive at all.”

That’s a lie, but oh well.

Aerilyn punched his shoulder gently, “Thanks dude. Anyways, my necklace is tucked into the lost and found drawer. It’s the second drawer on the secretary’s right.”

“That sounds impossible to get.” Jem commented.

“But a hell of a lot of fun.” Alveyn added.  

Quickly improvising a plot before the vice-principal came back, the unlikely allies began putting the plan into fruition. Alveyn stepped up from his seat and approached the secretary’s window.

“Sherrie, how’re you today beautiful?” Alveyn grinned, leaning against the window with one arm propped up on the window.

Her bubblegum popped once more, “Honey, get back to your seat. You know you’re not going to get into any real trouble for this.”

“But I can’t stay too long after school. I gotta support my kid.” Alveyn nodded solemnly, even tearing up the slightest bit.

As Alveyn continued with the distraction, Jem crouched on the ground. All the other students didn’t seem too bothered by the display. Sneaking around the corner, into the office Jem kept cover behind the right side of the secretary’s desk.

“Seriously Sher,” Alveyn continued, “just hand me a note that says I went through with my detention so I can show it to my teacher. Pretty please?” He gestured to the notepad to her left.

The secretary shook her head, “You’re lucky you’re handsome kid.” She said as she turned away from Jem. Without further ado, Jem stood up from their position. They reached over the desk and opened the drawer. Lying there is a silver necklace, with a ruby stone that gleamed in the light. Jem swiftly snatched it and closed the drawer. Then ducked back behind the desk. They reached across and handed the necklace back to Aerilyn.

The secretary went back to hand the note to Alveyn, but froze. Behind Alveyn, the vice principal was back, looking directly at Jem and Aerilyn. Alveyn spun around, his million dollar smile evident. The secretary leaned over her desk to see Jem mid reach.

“Aerilyn!” The vice-principal shouted, which immediately triggered a series of events. Jem stood up, dusting themselves off and handed the necklace back to the secretary. Aerilyn also joined Jem in standing up, but stepped out of the way so that the vice-principal could walk through. And Alveyn, tearing up the note that got him out of detention.

“Sup VP?” Aerilyn put up a peace sign, hoping to bring some humour to the situation.

The vice-principal stepped up towards the trio. “And now who have you brought into your little kleptomaniac agenda?”

Jem sheepishly raised their hand, “Excuse me, sir? I just think you should know, I’m non-binary. I don’t have a genda.”

Alveyn buckled over into laughter, while Aerilyn gave an impish laugh as well. It goes without saying, the three of them showed up in Detention at the end of the day. It was run by a different teacher that Jem hadn’t had the “pleasure” of meeting.

It was only the three of them, but as soon as the VP left Alveyn immediately got out of his seat. “Well, this was fun lads. I hope to see you around.” Alveyn ruffled Jem’s already shaggy hair, “By the way, amazing work with getting that necklace, Bandit. I hope we can do it again sometime.”

“Hey!” Aerilyn shouted. “What about me? I helped!”

Alveyn shook his head, “No you didn’t. You were supposed to be on watch, which you tremendously failed at. But, it was fun nonetheless.”

“The necklace wasn’t even yours to begin with.” Jem added, leaning forward in their seat. Relishing a little bit in Alveyn’s touch, not that they’d ever admit it.

“I wanted it more.” Aerilyn argued.

“That’s not how that works.” Jem and Alveyn said in unison, but shook their heads gleefully. Alveyn waved goodbye and Jem watched him leave, their stare lingering a little bit.

It took a minute before Aerilyn snapped her fingers and shouted, “Hey! You gonna ask him out or something?”

Jem began furiously blushing and the two argued over whether or not Jem was crushing on Alveyn for the next hour. By the time it was ready to go, the vice-principal was waiting for Jem.

“What can I do for you?” Jem gave a cocky grin, finally settling into their surroundings. Feeling as though they finally belonged.

The VP began escorting Jem out and said, “I just want to check in. You know, being the new kid and all is tough. I just wouldn’t want to you falling into the wrong crowd.”

Jem shrugged, not really caring. “No offence to your obviously stellar school, but there’s not a lot of positive crowds to fall in with.”

“You don’t know the Jones kid.” The VP replied.

“Alveyn? He seemed all right to me.” Jem defended, but was also too tired to argue.

The VP shook his head solemnly, “That kid is a menace, he’s dangerous too. I would stay out of his way as much as I could if I were you.”

Jem didn’t really speak after that. They just nodded along to whatever the VP was talking about and made it seem like they were listening. But even when evening began to roll in, and Jem walked down the streets of the unfamiliar town, the vice-principal’s warning still echoed through their head.

Jem walked into the back alley towards the door into their mom’s work. That way they wouldn’t have to get ID’d just to see their mom. But waiting in the back alley was a familiar face.

Alveyn took a swig from his flask, his playful grin still clear as day. “How’s it going bandit?”

Jem shook their head in disbelief. “What’re you doing here?”

“Me?” Alveyn shrugged nonchalantly. “I’m just on break. How was detention?”

Alveyn handed the flask over to Jem, offering a swig. Jem took it, and hated the taste but obviously refused to show it. “It was fine. But uh, the VP told me told me to stay away from you. Said that you were dangerous.”

The sun was hot on Jem’s back as they road through the deserted streets of what was once a lively, and populated area. Their motorcycle engine revved beneath them as they scouted ahead for any enemies that may decide to ambush their crew. Thorne, Jem’s tall, dark skinned, but bleached haired partner was driving a massive moving truck behind them. And protecting Thorne from the rear was Lillian, a girl with olive skin a dark blonde hair. She also rode a bike, with her German Shepard, Clint in the sidecar. Completed look with goggles to protect Clint’s eyes.

Jem, with a sniper rifle hoisted on their shoulder and a back up pair of binoculars in their pocket, began leading their group towards the docks. Where Alveyn, the scamp but good friend of Jem’s, was waiting on his ship with the next load of cargo. He was hanging from a rope, scoping out beyond the ship.

Once Jem’s group pulled to a stop, Alveyn’s crew began taking the weapons that Jem’s group had crafted. And as the weapons came off, clothing, blankets, wood and other tools to build shelter were loaded on.

Jem had just barely been able to switch their motorcycle helmet to their aviator glasses before Alveyn pulled them in for a tight embrace. Jem returned the affections tenfold, as Alveyn did a little waddle with Jem still in their arms.

“Miss me?” Alveyn quipped, his signature cocky grin gracing his face.

Jem shrugged, finally being put down on the ground. “Not really, figured if you did something stupid and got yourself killed then your angel would’ve contacted me by now.”

“Not even a little bit?” He taunted, preparing for tickle attack. Jem kept one strong hand on Alveyn’s chest, protecting themselves.

“If I say yes will you keep your hands to yourself?”

Alveyn nodded hesitantly, “For now, we’ll see how the day goes.”

Jem shoved him lightly, “I guess that’s as good as I’m gonna get. So fine, I missed you a little bit. Now, what’d you bring me?”

Alveyn, in a poor impression of an Australian accent said, “Crikey Jem, I brought you quite the haul. Australia is more of a barren wasteland than we thought. But at least they kept their supplies in order from pre-times.”

“Could you stop?” Jem asked, exasperated but silently enjoying his playfulness.

Continuing in the accent he said, “Now why would I do that? That island changed me Jemon Morale, for the better.”

Jem rolled their eyes, fighting their smile. “Well, next time go to Ireland. Maybe get a sexier accent in the meantime.”

The two bantered back and forth, as well as getting their business in order. Making sure each side was getting a fair trade. About an hour later, Jem was off to get back home. Still keeping an eye out for demons, angels or anyone else that may feel the need to get greedy.

Jem barely relaxed until they reached the middle of the city, where the rest of their Battalion was waiting. As smoothly, and quickly as possible, they got to work. Unloading their loot and bringing it down the stairs into the abandoned subway. A few imps and other lesser demons showed up but were quickly dispatched.

About half way through the load Elgar, Jem’s short, tawny haired friend, came up for the first time today. Which was unusual within itself, but nobody seemed the wiser. Both Jem and Elgar picked up small boxes of lanterns and began carrying them down in silence.

That was, until they both were far enough away from people so they wouldn’t hear Elgar say, “You have a guest in your room.”

Jem perked up, knowing immediately who Elgar was referring to. Jem’s dirty little secret.

They nodded, passing their box over to Elgar and immediately made their way over to their room. It was a make shift bedroom, but had direct access to the subway rails and platforms. It was once the employee break room, with a kitchen counter and cupboards on one side. Jem let the others take the furniture once Jem had gotten a mattress from one of the other leaders in the area, Romy. It was only a mattress, with a sheet, a blanket and a flat pillow. Jem had a crate as a kitchen table and two barrels as chairs for typically Elgar on the nights where the isolation became unbearable. The entire room was lit up by candlelight, the candles laid haphazardly across all flat surfaces, including the floor.

It wasn’t much, but it was a lot more than others had, and it was as close to home as Jem has ever had. Especially when the angel known as Lewellyn came to visit.

Now, Jem couldn’t make sense of their feelings towards the mysterious entity that made them feel... something. Curiosity? Yes. Warmth? Definitely. Love? Who really knows. After all, Jem considered love as a luxury in this world.

They approached their bedroom, double checking that they weren’t followed, for they didn’t know how their battalion would react to other supernatural creatures. Once Jem was sure the coast was clear, they entered but didn’t find who they were expecting. Perched on their bed was a tall, pale man. He had shaggy, platinum blonde hair. He was lean, but fair skinned and pale green eyes. He had blood and bruises covering his body, and white feathers protruding from his clothes.

Jem reached for the machete just inside the door saying, “I will only ask this once, who the hell are you?”

“Jem.” A voice they did recognize spoke up. Walking from what was once a commonly used bathroom was Lewellyn. She had a bucket and a cloth in hand. “Do not be afraid.”

Jem sighed in relief, “Lew, you scared the shit out of me. And I ask again, going against my own word, who the fuck is this?”

Lew sat down next to Laufi, cleaning the blood off of him. “He’s my friend since before the fall. Meet Laufi, Laufi this is Jem.”

Laufi nodded shyly, as yet another creature exited from the bathroom. This woman was tall, with dark skin. She had short, black hair with a blue tint to it. She wore a neutral expression but it was kind nonetheless.

“And this is Mercy.” Lewellyn added. The one known as Mercy sat on the other side of Laufi, and helped to clean his wounds as well.

Mercy eyed Jem and stated plainly, “You didn’t mention this brave leader of yours was a half-breed.”

“They’re plenty more than that.” Lewellyn assured, speaking about Jem as if they weren’t even there. “Although I wish they didn’t act as if their lineage was something to be ashamed of.”

“I don’t see any malformations.” Laufi added, his voice slightly hoarse.

Lewellyn nodded, “It’s their eyes. Gorgeous as they are, they share the look of Kalliope.”

“The demon of wrath?” Mercy gaped, but continued her work. “And they’re supposed to be a fair and just leader.”

Jem cleared their throat impatiently, “Lew, why the hell is there a gaggle of angels in my room?”

Lewellyn left Laufi’s side, approaching Jem for reassurance. “Laufi was injured when we fought off some greater demons earlier today. We were closer to here than Romy’s and I felt as if I had no other choice.”

“You know how my Battalion feels about creatures like you.” Jem argued, attempting to keep their temper down. “Not only is this putting you in danger, but if they were to find out, my group would lose all trust in me.”

Lewellyn shook her head, removing Jem’s glasses to make sure they were looking in her eyes as she said, “If I thought that was a possibility then I wouldn’t have done it. But I know because-“

“Because you read my stars. I know, I get it. Doesn’t make my life easier. As soon as you get cleaned up, you have to go.”

Lewellyn huffed in frustration, “I don’t ask for favours often Jem. Please, he needs help. You’ve given it to people far less deserving.”

Shit, does she know about-

Jem takes a moment to consider, before ultimately shaking their head once more. “No, I can’t put my people in danger. I refuse.”

“Jemon.” Lew snapped, trying to intimidate them.

“Lewellyn.” Jem shot back, staring her dead in the eyes.

After a moment of tense silence, a cheerful, “Laufi,” Came from Laufi himself.

Looking back at him, Jem stared into Laufi’s eyes and caved practically instantly. “Fine, he can stay. But Lew, your puppy, you clean up the mess.”

Lew grabbed Jem’s wrist gently, pulling them close into a brief hug. “Thank you.”

“Don’t do that.” Jem groaned, but returned the hug nonetheless. “You’re making me soft, and that’s not allowed.”

Mercy stared back and forth between Lew and Jem with an amused smirk on her face, but didn’t say anything. The two parted and Lew went back to Laufi’s side. Jem awkwardly shuffled back and forth on their feet before speaking.

“I’m gonna go back and help everyone finish unloading. We’ll have some spare blankets for you Laufi so you can rest up.” Jem nodded, and Laufi gave them a soft smile.

“Thanks Jem, really.” Laufi stretched his shoulders, and winced in pain.

Jem left their room, making sure to close the door behind them. They made their way back towards the entrance, but made a small detour towards the tunnels. Still making sure they weren’t spotted, Jem found another fugitive they were hiding in the underground. The being was resting in a small maintenance area deep in the tunnels.

The small demon was hunched over, buried in blankets. Her short, black hair sticking up at all ends. Her amber eyes glowed in the dark, as she laughed at Jem. “If you thought I didn’t notice the chicken wings entering your room earlier, you are sorely mistaken.”

“Aerilyn,” Jem began to apologize but was interrupted.

“You don’t think this is actually going to work out, do you?” Aerilyn snarled. “You’re playing all sides here. Humans, demons and now angels. How do you think this is gonna end?”

Jem breathed, pinching the bridge of their nose, “I know there is a peaceful solution here.”