Chapter Text
Camila had never seen Lilith smile. At least, not fully. Sure Lilith would give a perfunctory tilt of her lips when receiving praise for her skill or admiration for her work, too tight around the edges to be genuine. When she’d mentioned it in passing to her new friends, Mary looked away and Beatrice had answered with a tight smile of her own.
“Lilith has been under a lot of pressure for... a long time now. She feels it deeply when things don’t go the way she expects.”
Mary had snorted in response, opening her mouth to deliver what probably wouldn’t have been a very kind comment, only to break off into a smile when she caught sight of Shannon striding confidently toward them; Shannon adopting a small, albeit genuine smile of her own in response.
Camila had averted her eyes from the pair as they talked, always feeling as though she were intruding some way when they talked in a non-formal setting.
“How are the improvements you made to the digital armory cataloge going?” Beatrice asked, also apparently content to leave Mary and Shannon in their own world.
Grateful for the new topic, she began an enthusiastic explanation of how the new program she designed made it easier to keep track of the weapons. No more was said on Lilith and her seemingly elusive smile. And she gave no more thought to why it might be so important to her in the first place.
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Shannon was dead. The halo was now in the possession of a stranger who apparently didn’t want to be found. And worst of all the little family she had found was starting to fracture; Camila would do everything in her power to make sure it didn’t fall apart completely.
She was a good shot and even better with technology, but she wasn’t the leader Shannon was. She couldn’t calm and inspire with words the way Beatrice did. Or even spur others into action with dry humor and a quick draw like Mary. She couldn’t... well she honestly couldn’t do most things with the ease and assuredness Lilith could.
But she could play the piano and sing, at least passably. Her mother had always said that song was just another form of prayer and she wholeheartedly agreed. So she played Frank Ocean, Pink + White. It had been one of Shannon’s favorites.
As she turned around to ask Father Vincent to join her, she glimpsed the first real smile she had ever seen on Lilith’s fair face. It was little, almost strained, as if she were out of practice. Her heart gave an unexpected pang at the thought.
As she played the closing chords, she looked behind her at her remaining family. Mary looked at her, expression tight but eyes moist and (she thought) thankful. Beside her, Beatrice was directing a tearful grin her way. Leaning on Beatrice in a display of affection she hadn’t seen before was Lilith. Eyes down, face a closed-off mask, smile gone.
“You showed me love.” she sang, turning back to the piano. “You showed me love…” voice tapering off as she tried to blink back tears. Shannon was gone, the Halo’s location was as of yet unknown, and her friends were in pain. How can I help? she wondered. A quiet, lonelier part of her whispered, How can I make Lilith smile again?
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They’d barely made it out intact. Fighting off the possessed wasn’t easy when they were deliberately holding back. It's not their fault, she thought as a man with hellish rage in his eyes caught her with a pole. It's not their fault , she repeated in her head like a mantra, hoping it would stem the increasing tide of frustration and anger she felt. (It didn’t.)
Ava had let loose huge burst of energy from the Halo when she saw Beatrice being overwhelmed, giving them enough time to retreat. As they ran down an alley, they saw Adriel limping away. Even though she knew he was likely weakened from his year of imprisonment (entombment?) and would likely heal, she felt satisfaction knowing they had wounded him.
Lilith, it seemed, did not share her satisfaction. She took a step in his direction, angry eyes oddly complimented by her new silver hair. Shoulders bunched tight around her head and clawed hands tensed at her side, as if preparing to strike.
“Lilith don't,” Mary ordered, the command lacking her usual strength. If Lilith heard Mary she paid her no mind, slowly stalking forward.
Without thinking, Camila darted forward, gently grasping at the back of Lilith’s robe with her right hand. “Lilith stop!”
She realized that might not have been the best idea when Lillith whirled around with a snarl, back arm slightly raised and teeth bared. Body still in battle mode, she took a stepped back, arms automatically raising in defense. Lilith’s eyes widened as she seemed to come back to herself, arms lowering and elongated nails shrinking. She looked… horrified, but at what Camila did not know.
“We need to get out of the city. We’ll be better prepared to face what’s ahead once we rest and regroup.” Mary said, addressing all of them but keeping her concerned eyes on Lilith.
She’d had to hot wire a local restaurant’s delivery van because Father Traitor (she refused to grant him the respect of a name, even if only in her head) had taken the keys to their original transport with him. She said a prayer that God may grant ‘Pino’s Trattoria’ a sudden increase in business.
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A week later and they were holed up in a safe house near Monaco provided by Dr. Salvius before they left for this exact situation. The house had come stocked with linens, basic medical supplies, and some food. Though they would need to venture out later in the week to replenish the latter two.
Ava and Lilith had healed fully a day after the Vatican. Beatrice and herself had sustained cuts and bruises all over, though thankfully minor for the most part. Mary had gotten the worst of it, a large gash in her side and a badly dislocated shoulder. They were able to patch her up and all she needed to do now was rest, something she didn’t seem very keen on doing.
They’d agreed as a group to plan their next move carefully. Adriel would be severely weakened by the fight in St. Peter’s square and centuries imprisonment, he’d need time to gather his strength and strike. Time they would use to study the various texts and sources sent over by Kristian Schaefer as well as the few tomes Mary had ‘borrowed’ from the Vatican library.
She was making a list of food and supplies they would need to get when Lilith came to her. Her face was back into that careful mask but her hands were clasped together, her forefinger moving back and forth in an uncharacteristic gesture of- nervousness?
Nevertheless, she was glad to see her. The two had barely spoken at all since leaving the city, though she’d figured Lilith had wanted some space to process things. “How are you Lilith?” she asked with a grin, honestly interested in the answer.
“Fine.” Lilith replied, though it seemed like a reflex more than an actual answer. She seemed to hesitate then, opening her mouth then closing it, before sighing in what almost sounded like annoyance and speaking, “I wanted to… apologize for what happened at St. Peter’s square, it was unbecoming and unprofessional of me and I-”
“That wasn’t your fault Lilith, none of us knew that Adriel was alive in that tomb, much less what he wanted to do!” she cut in, looking to her friend in concern.
Lilith’s brow furrowed. “I was referring to the...incident when I failed to keep myself in check and almost went after Adriel even though I knew we were retreating. You kept me from making a costly mistake and I just- I didn’t mean to snap at you.” She said the last part to the ground, almost unable to look at her.
Finally understanding, Camila put a hand on Lilith’s arm, drawing her attention back to her. Wanting to show she doesn’t blame her, she said, “It's okay Lilith, tensions were running pretty high in that moment. I know you would never hurt me.”
Lilith frowned and took a small step back, breaking their contact. “You don’t know that, I almost killed Ava before.”
Smiling gently, Camila replied, “I do know that, you’re my friend Lilith and I trust you with this life AND the next. You’re allowed to make mistakes like literally everyone else on the planet. It doesn’t make you wrong or evil it just...makes you human.”
Lilith just stared at her like she’d never seen her before. Stunned and...something else. Something gentler, fonder; something that she didn’t recognize when directed toward her. But Camila was starting to think thoughts she’d have to do penance for the longer she stared at Lilith’s surprise-parted lips, so she shook her head and got back to safer ground.
Taking a step toward Lilith and whispering conspiratorially she said, “Besides, didn’t you hear? Mary pushed Ava off a cliff. You just one-upped her, as usual.”
For a brief moment Lilith’s expression didn’t change, only to bark out a sharp laugh and shake her head. A small, (but real!) smile on her lips as she shook her head at Camila, quirking at the corner as if she were holding back a full one. “Well I couldn’t let Mary have all the fun now could I?” Still shaking her head she turned and walked from the room, pausing at the doorway to turn back to her and say, “Thank you Camila, truly.” before leaving.
Camila felt a thrill of victory run down her spine. She’d made Lilith smile, her! The high lessened somewhat when she remembered just how rare an occurrence that was. Camila may be younger and a bit more naive than the others (except maybe Ava), but she wasn’t a fool. She knew her reasons for being so invested in Lilith’s happiness went beyond just friendship. Part of her had even accepted it as fact. But she also was not fool enough to believe that anything could actually come out of her little...non-platonic admiration of Lilith. But at the same time, she refused to just sit by and watch as Lilith went through all of this in her (partially self-imposed) isolation.
It was then that Camila made a silent promise to herself, and to God, that she would be the best possible friend that she can be to Lilith. Whatever she needed, Camila would do her best to help. Nodding to herself, she returned to her list and got back to work. Her chest felt light with a new goal in mind, and if it felt light for another reason, well, that was between her and God.