Malachim must be Malachim

"No..." Luna told them. "I already have a job I'd like to do."Gibbous, the woman who saved her earlier, and Pierrot sat across her. Her mother listened quietly from the other corner of the room, having presumably already been through the questioning.The hospital room was cold, and Luna hid her hands below the blanket as she examined her bandaged arms."We understand," Gibbous said. "It's hard to join something unfamiliar, especially when you never expected things to turn out this way."The room was quiet, aside from the rustling of papers Pierrot made while reading her case file. Luna glanced at him briefly but looked away immediately."I already have plans for my life," she added firmly. "I've made my decision. And it seems like you guys just surprisingly come along and pull me out of my path." She scanned the room and met her mother's eyes, but her mother avoided her gaze. Luna's eyes watered.Gibbous stood up from her chair. "Sorry to tell you this," she began, walking closer. "But all of us were pulled off our paths." She stood before Luna and put her hand on her waist. "As church law says, Malachim must be Malachim. It is our designated path. We're the chosen ones." She looked Luna straight in the eyes, completely serious. "So instead of thinking we're pulling you out, think of it as guiding you in, as you have a gift."Pierrot put down the folder he was reading and smirked as he listened. "That's right." He felt a scowl directed at him."That's all you had to say?" Gibbous said, furrowing her eyebrows. "I rehearsed my words hundreds of times in my head, and that's all you're contributing?" She spoke through gritted teeth."What? You don't need my help," Pierrot said, shrugging and crossing his arms. "You're the mentor now," he added with a smile. Gibbous knew he wanted her to be confident in leading someone, but she was still nervous despite her efforts to appear cool and composed."A-anyway…" Gibbous sighed as she turned to Luna. "There was actually a new member just two weeks ago. I think you two would understand each other better." She scratched her head with a smile. "And you guys are the same age!"Luna doubted if this was the same person who, from what she remembered, had superpowers that saved her. The person before her seemed less impressive than she had imagined, even after Gibbous's convincing words earlier."Uhm…" Luna's mother, Ms. Vincent, interrupted from the corner of the room. "Honey…" She turned to Luna. "Mommy has to go to work now… I called Emma, and she'll be here in an hour, okay?" Her mother quickly gathered her things and rushed to the door. "I'm late. I'll call you."She blew Luna a kiss goodbye, then opened the door, surprised to find another person standing behind it. She hurried out, and the other person only looked at her. Luna just looked down, failing to say what she wanted."Oh hey!" Gibbous called out, catching Arc's attention. He walked over to Luna, holding out his hand. "I'm Alley…" He flinched and corrected himself. "I- I mean Arc." He sighed with relief, glancing at Pierrot.His mentor chuckled. "Pfft—why so shocked? You'll get used to it," Pierrot reassured him."Luna Vincent," she replied, shaking his hand. Arc then fetched a chair for himself, placing it at the end of the bed.Once Arc was seated, the room was silent. They all awkwardly avoided each other's gaze. Then Luna broke the silence, turning to Arc."So, you're the newest member…""Technically, you're the newest—" Arc began, but stopped abruptly as both Gibbous and Pierrot coughed loudly. Pierrot nudged Gibbous, and they both knew it was time to let Luna and Arc talk."Did you immediately accept when they recruited you?" Luna asked, studying his stoic face, which she found difficult to read."I didn't have parents to decline for me," Arc replied. "So I did, and it turned out to be a good decision, since I later found out refusing would have sent me to jail=—"More coughing from the mentors interrupted again, prompting Pierrot to smile awkwardly at Luna. "It was a bad move on your part," Pierrot whispered to Gibbous."I thought it was, they're the same age for goodness' sake," she whispered back."The jail, huh…" Luna mumbled.Pierrot looked away. "Shoot, she heard it," he whispered.Taking a deep breath, Luna turned to the window. "I never had a choice in the first place," she said softly. "Why is that? Who decided this? Who can I blame?""Maybe the Archbishop—" Arc began, but stopped short as Pierrot suddenly interjected."Heyyy~" Pierrot raised his voice, standing and addressing Arc with a kind tone but a loud voice. "You're quite talkative today, huh, Arc?""What do you mean, teacher?" Arc asked innocently, maintaining his deadpan expression.Pierrot sighed. "Haa... Don't call me that…" He moved behind Arc, placing his hands on his shoulders, then turned his gaze to Luna. "I'll be honest with you…" He sat on the edge of the bed. "Malachim is under the church's authority, so anyone with the gift must become Malachim.""How can you tell I'm one?" Luna asked, looking at them."Well, you can also tell yourself," Pierrot replied, nudging Arc to face Luna. "Look at his eyes. There's something in them, right?""There's a..." She stared at Arc, whose face was still. "...glint of light.""Exactly. Mine as well!" Pierrot pointed at his eyes."And mine," Gibbous added, raising her hand."But if only Malachim can tell, can't you just keep it quiet?""Not just Malachim. There are Providences. They can also see the smoke and the light in us, though they can't tap." Pierrot explained. "The Archbishop has eyes everywhere. No one can escape." He smiled at her, with a certain nostalgia in his eyes."I know someone who tried and failed miserably!" Pierrot chuckled, turning to Gibbous for confirmation, but she avoided his gaze, pretending not to hear."I didn't know you tried to do that, Gibbous. That's very out of character." Arc said, looking at her.She hissed at him.Pierrot snickered and whispered. "Shh… She's sensitive about it.""So…" Luna said, drawing their attention back to her. "I'm in anyway. Why did you come here to inform me?""It would be rude not to," Arc said.Pierrot nodded in approval. "Exactly. It feels like you're already one of us in a way, so we're just gathering our future team."Luna looked away. She knew she didn't have a say in it, and it seemed her mother hadn't declined because it was from the church, but she couldn't shake the feeling that her mother didn't care.She wasn't sure how she felt about it all. Should she blame the church and the Archbishop who led it, herself, or her mother? Instead, she redirected her anger toward the demon who had wreaked havoc the previous day.She wondered how Emma and her family were doing, and whether she truly had the ability to save those who were possessed, like her new mentor Gibbous.Luna stared out the window, the word 'team' stuck in her mind.