Chapter 154 - Culture Shock

"You should understand it, Diana," Panda spoke during our walk back to the headquarters. "I'm just a human! I don't know why my mad family keeps expecting me to be eager to fight creatures who can snap people like me in half with their pinky. No idea why I'm the only one of my siblings to see that, too. And this demon… what do they think I can do about it? Well, I did my best. I went to check on Rita, on you… wrote to my college group. Not that the hunters know any better what to do. They just keep talking about what a great opportunity it is to take a hit on vamps."

She caught herself with a wary look at JJ. "Uh…"

He just laughed. "Sveta, you don't have to fear that I will tell on your relatives to my kind. I doubt you will take offence if I honestly say that, whether or not I pass this information on, the hunters are unlikely to have much better success than anyone else who will use this turbulent time to strike on the vampires of this city. And there are plenty of them, starting with the vampires themselves."

"Yeah…" I nodded, remembering one such vampire who used that opportunity just recently.

"I guess." Panda stuffed her hands in her pockets. Her eyes didn't rise higher than the pavement under her feet. "So, that's it. I'm not some superhero I think many other hunters believe themselves to be. If you have a safe place to stay, that's just great to me… Wait, what will you two be doing? You don't plan on doing something heroic, no? Witch or not, Diana, this just isn't safe. And you…"

"Your worry for me warms my cold, dead heart, Sveta." JJ grinned in response to the concerned looks Panda gave us both from the cover of his umbrella. "But I know how to pick my battles and how to win them."

"I had enough of heroism already." I sighed, raising my head to the cloudy sky. Cool weather of today was appreciated after all the hot days. It was also nice that even with everything happening, something remained unchanged in Petersburg—like the tendency of the weather to be cloudy or rainy. "But I think that as soon as the Elder decides that me and Ghost had enough rest, she will send us out to heal people again. With how many of the afflicted are witches, less than the best healers can't do much. Not to mention the afflictions themselves—they are all made with informational aspects, so it's easy for healers used to deal with physical illnesses to fuck something up and leave people worse than before."

"It really shows how much I really know about supernatural stuff that I barely understood half of what you just said." A corner of Panda's lips lifted in a hint of a smirk.

"I will summarise it by saying that Diana is amazing and there are very few people around to do the job better than her," JJ said, taking my hand in his. The look of pride he sent to me made my cheeks warm up. "Sadly, this also means that she is duty-bound to work hard doing it."

"I'm just an assistant, basically," I muttered, looking away from him. It's pride, it's that pride from him that hit me the most, didn't it? "It's Ghost who's the pro. You should see his feelers. Now, me, I can't do any feelers at all!"

"You will learn in no time, ma chèrie, I'm sure, just like you learnt other magic."

"Thanks, JJ. I will sure try." I took a breath and added with more self-assurance as I remembered what and who I wanted to learn the healing—and life-prolonging—magic in the first place, "I will."

Suddenly, Panda froze in her tracks. I and JJ paused too, looking at her with confusion as she gaped.

"Guys, is this the place? This?" She pointed out at the building we just reached. Nightingale Coven's headquarters. "This is a palace, isn't it?"

"Technically no, because no king lived there," I said, raising my eyes to the building that breathed out an aura of old wealth. "But you can call it this way. Welcome, to Nightingale Coven, Panda. Look, the welcome committee is already there and they look quite unhappy…"

"I'm sure they won't stay unhappy with you for long, ma chèrie," JJ chirped. The frowns on the faces of the stationed guards said that they disagreed with this statement.

The future showed me he was right. Most of their unhappiness was with JJ anyway—I only got a passed down reprimand from Elena for going out on my own. The most important part was that we were let inside, and that Panda was given a permission to stay, though neither of us mentioned her as more than my concerned friend.

The room she got wasn't as nice as mine, but still better than the ones in the dormitory. And she gawked all the way to it.

"Is this how all witches live?" Panda asked me as she examined the stylish furniture, crispy white bedsheets and unblemished paint on the walls.

"No, only rich ones. And I won't be surprised if you got a better room because of the connection with me." I pointed out.

"Are you a big shot, too?"

"Well, depends on how you look at it… I don't think this is something that commendable." I shrugged. "But I'm an arch-witch."

Now Panda gaped at me, too. I scowled back. "Don't give me that look!"

She smoothened her features. "Fine, fine. I will just pretend that the fact that my boss is one of the most powerful supernatural beings in the world doesn't change anything."

"And it doesn't. Hell, if you want to look at someone really deserving his fame, look at him!" I pointed at JJ, who looked back in bafflement. "Yes, he's even got a cool nickname from other vamps."

The bafflement changed to alarm. "Oh, ma chèrie, you can't—"