NOVPUBAlone in her room, Medusa was finally able to take the blindfold off without harming anyone. It was a refreshing feeling of freedom only comparable to the moment when she took out her bra after a long busy day, only ten times stronger. Being able to see after such a long period of blindness allowed her to grasp the beauty of colors and the chances to look herself in the mirror after taking a shower.
"Not bad." She giggled after turning from side to side to fully appreciate her own figure covered only by the wet hair sticking to her soft skin. Back when the others called her proportions 'inhumane' she felt hurt, but now she understood where they came from.
Her height wasn't the only thing that changed when she became a heavenly rank, her body also underwent a deep transformation that gave her an air of impossible beauty much similar to that of Nika, though she wasn't as slender. Instead, Medusa's body was filled in all the right places making her seem as though she didn't come from humans but rather a different race closer to perfection. 𝚗𝚘v𝚙𝚞b.𝚌𝚘m
After putting on her silky night gown, Medusa dropped on top of the bed feeling safe despite learning there was a cryptid aboard the Pegasus. Be it a cryptid, a human, a hybrid or any sort of enemy, they would be turned into stone the minute she looked at them. It was an insanely powerful trait she wouldn't hesitate to exchange with almost anyone due to the high price it demanded from her.
It was a powerful trait indeed, but one that essentially left her crippled most of the times.
"I can't believe Nika is afraid of ghosts." She chuckled after closing her eyes with the confidence only someone as powerful as she could have, but her sense of safety was dismantled as soon as she heard the same wail Nika heard before.
"Who's there?" Medusa asked with wide open eyes as she scanned the room failing to see anything out of place. Thinking it was her imagination she closed her eyes again, but the moment her eyes were closed her enhanced senses allowed her to hear it again.
Keeping her eyes open made her feel safe, but at the same time prevented her from sleeping. While as soon as she closed her eyes she heard the strange noises that for some reason caused her heart to feel as though it was being clasped by an iron vise. This left her with no choice but to investigate the matter.
She looked all over her room focusing on her sense of hearing from time to time until she found out where the sounds came from.
"It's the ventilation ducts!" Unable to sleep, her only option was to get rid of the ghost and she arrived at the conclusion that the only one able to help her was Uriel and so she put her blindfold back on and headed towards his room.
"Medusa!? I can't believe it, you're trying to seduce Uriel again!?" Nika's voice startled Medusa.
"It's not what you think!" She rebuked unable to make an excuse on the fly.
"Then why are you wearing that thing?" Nika pointed at her silky night gown which obviously fitted her quite well.
"Uhm... you are wearing lingerie," Luna pointed out then accused. "You two waited until you thought the others would be asleep, then made an excuse to get in bed with Uriel."
"You're one to talk, you're naked!" Nika scoffed.
"She's what!?" Medusa asked with a high pitched voice.
"I sleep naked, but you're wearing clothes specifically designed to seduce men." Luna replied bare faced.
"It's not like that, I can explain." Nika said with a dry throat.
"Well?" Medusa stomped her feet, unsure as to why was she so annoyed.
"I went to my room, took a shower and then I realized I don't have a bed so I figured I need to share a bed with someone, if you know what I mean?"
"You're just digging yourself even deeper." Medusa scoffed.
"Actually, no. It didn't even cross my mind to disturb Uriel since he threatened to kick me out. Instead I thought of this cute guy I've seen a couple times around the ship and thought I'd find out who he is and what room he's in and have a little fun, if you know what I mean." Nika explained as honestly as she could.
"I don't know what any of this means." Luna sighed.
"Is it Liam?" Medusa asked thinking of the young hunter of chiseled abs that everyone knew was infatuated with Nika.
"One night stand, booty call, having sex," Nika replied to Luna, then turned to Medusa. "No, it's someone else, but It's been so long since the last time I just wanted to get laid and at this point I don't even care with who."
"That's gross." Medusa blurted out.
"It's not, seeking for a partner to have coitus is just part of life. We're all subjected to chemical reactions inside our brain that influence our decisions." Luna said as though she was teaching a biology class.
"Hang on a second. You may sleep naked, but that doesn't explain why you're here." Nika pointed her finger at Luna.
"I... uhm... I wanted to go to the bathroom," Luna fell silent as though she had provided a sufficient answer, but Nika prompted her to continue by waving her hand in a forward manner. "After our encounter with the gastropod I'm afraid of going to the bathroom alone and I thought you were already asleep."
It seemed like a weak excuse, but Medusa knew she wasn't lying. Even if she didn't share her same experience with the gastropod, she saw first hand what seeing that ugly creature caused on the others, it even affected Uriel who was used to seeing all sorts of horrors.
Since she now had her blindfold on, she would have been unaware of both Luna and Nika glaring at her if not for the intense emotion that accompanied them.
"I'm here because I heard it too, the ghost I mean. I didn't want to wake you up and the only one I could ask for help was Uriel. Everytime I close my eyes I feel helpless and It kept me from sleeping." Medusa replied.
"I guess we have no choice but to ask Uriel for help, but first let's change into something appropriate or he'll scold us again." Nika proposed.
"Agreed." Replied Medusa.
"I really need someone to accompany me to the bathroom." Luna muttered after both Nika and Medusa left her to face her trauma alone.
Ten minutes later the three huntresses met up in front of Uriel's room, wearing decent clothes and with an empty bladder. They knocked on Uriel's door and waited for a minute receiving no answer, then they knocked more loudly until it became obvious that Uriel wouldn't open the door.
Asking for some alone time wasn't necessarily something to be worried about, but the fact that he didn't open the door was completely uncharacteristic of Uriel. No one would ignore a possible emergency, not even Luna who loved to shut herself inside her room for days to focus on her studies.
"Something's off, let's bring the door down. I'll bear the responsibility." Nika said, her face depicting the seriousness of the matter at hand.
It took some effort and time, but the fear that something bad could have happened to Uriel strengthened them to the point where even the double layered reinforced alloy door to Uriel's room gave in and fell flat on the floor and revealing the source of the strange noises.
Contrary to their expectations, it wasn't an enemy the one behind the noises but Uriel. His room was a mess, his bed shattered to pieces and the bedsheets torn to shreds making it seem as though a tornado hit the room. In the middle of the room and writing in the ground, Uriel bawled his eyes out in the midst of the most uncanny wail they've ever heard before.
It was sorrow, sadness, anger, all mixed up together in a painful display of emotion no one thought him capable of.
"Uriel!" They called his name many times, yet received no answer other than the ghastly wails. Luna even checked his vitals confirming he wasn't in any danger, which only added more questions to their confusion.
The only thing they could do for him was to offer him their warmth and they each placed a hand over his chest to keep him steady and prevent him from injuring himself due to his violent movements.
"Huh? What are you doing here? I made it clear I didn't want to be bothered." Uriel said in a calm voice after snapping out of his seizure.
"I don't even know what to say anymore, what's going on?" Nika asked dumbfounded, though inwardly happy that there were no ghosts in the ship.
"I remember." Was Uriel replied with bloodshot eyes.
