It was decided that they should wait for the sunrise, before they played the water melody to the demons.
Nikola was trying to see if the graveyard was disturbed somehow.
"Do you think they are all out because of this?" He asked, as he pointed at a cliff's face, which had traces of it being chiseled into a statue.
"Hm," Dimitri said next to him, as he took out a sheet of paper and a pencil and began to draw it. "I think I can recreate what the stone statue looked like. Fill in the pieces."
Nikola nodded. He looked at Jack and Jean, who were in the process of cleaning their weapons.
The brunette made his way to them. Not wanting to bother Dimitri while the man was drawing.
As soon as he reached them, Jean scooted away from Jack to make space on the blanket for Nikola.
"How are you two holding up?" Nikola asked, as he looked at the many sharp objects which were separating him and Jack.
"I would have liked to be given the opportunity to fight," Jack muttered, only to glance at Jean next. "But I guess that guard duty is not so bad."
Nikola nodded. Jean bowed his head.
"I can also fight," he whispered. More out of a desire to be useful, than out of conviction.
"The melody will do its job. How are you two liking this new world?" Nikola asked next.
Jean sighed, Jack snorted.
"The toilets are just holes in the ground," Jack said, taking another dagger to clean. "Not to mention that air conditioning is probably something the locals think of as the Devils' corrupting gift."
Nikola nodded. He had thought as much.
"But, you know, I learned a new spell the other day!" Jean said, as he stood up. One second, he was there, the next he was gone!
"Well, that's our rogue!" Jack said, his eyes twinkling. Then he paused. "Niki, if Jean brings you to the center of the cemetery, won't that make your job easier?"
Jean materialized then, looking giddy.
"I…," Nikola didn't want to risk the younger man's life. He was sure that as long as he played, the demons would not be able to near him.
"Come on, I can do it!" Jean protested when he saw that Nikola was wavering. "I can get you there safely!"
Jack nodded along, as he placed the now clean dagger in Jean's hand.
"Look, Niki," Jack began, as he took another dagger. Why the man had so many was a mystery to Nikola. This one looked more like a shank than anything else.
"If you don't believe in us. If you put yourself last all the time. Then I don't think that we should be in the same party. A party means trust, my friend. And you aren't showing us any."
Nikola bowed his head.
How was he supposed to tell Jack that the man was the snarky older brother he never had? How was he supposed to tell Jean that he viewed him as a young person, who had all the right in the world to see everything the world had to offer him?
"Well, you see," Tangra's voice echoed around him. So, it was as if it were coming from the trees. "You can either tell them no, or you can tell them yes. It is your life on the line, kiddo!"
Nikola didn't like to admit it, but that was the truth.
"We need a plan," he finally said. Even if Jean made them invisible, that didn't mean that the fire demons would not be able to smell them. "How are we going to be able to play the melody safely?"
Jean smiled, pointing at an old oak's crown. "I bet that if we climb over there, and you play from the oak tree, it will protect us, similar to how your oak tree back home protected us."
Nikola blinked. A tree, willing to be a shield in a mission which was going to end up with it being burned?
"If you don't ask, you will never know," Jean continued, as he took a dagger from the pile. Nikola finally saw that there were holders on Jean's inner jacket.
He smiled. Jack really loved the man, to think up something like that.
"I'll go speak to the tree, now," Nikola wasn't very certain of his abilities. He had nearly flooded the world. He knew that his mana could backfire on him.
And yet, he still stood up. Thinking of Dimitri, who would be forced to hide somewhere to heal them. And of Jack, who was going to be their first line of defense.
"If I survive this," Nikola said, as he took in a deep breath. "I will learn how to handle weapons, and not just a flute."
He touched the old oak's bark. Felt the life flow through its system. Felt as the leaves welcomed him with the warmth of the sun which had bathed them the previous day.
"Hello," Nikola could feel that the tree was listening. He knew that it wouldn't be long, before the tree answered. "I would need your help with the fire demons. I won't lie to you; you might get hurt. I will heal you afterward, if…"
A lump stuck in Nikola's throat.
If the tree survived, if there was something to patch up, then he was willing to give his blood to heal it.
"And if only ashes remain of me?" The tree asked, voicing Nikola's thoughts.
"Then I will remember you until the end of days," Nikola whispered. It was nothing. It was a promise that he didn't even know if he could keep.
But the tree rustled a branch, petting Nikola on the head.
"My saplings grew there," the tree didn't need to clarify where this there was. "They kept shade for the dead. They brought food for the animals. Then the sculptor came, with his fire, with his dark eyes, and burned them before my eyes."
Nikola blinked. Dark eyes, fire?
Could it be… Tangra?
"If it means my death, I will purify this land. For my dead children," the tree petted him on the head again.
Nikola began to walk back to Jean and Jack, his mind swimming with questions.