That Butler, New Face

That Butler, Shadowing 4

{Back at the Phantomhive townhouse...}

"Amazing, wasn't he? That fellow from before?" Lau said, referring to Agni. He, Ciel, and Soma were all seated around a table that had been moved next to the fireplace, so they could warm themselves up, and Sebastian and Chêne were serving them Chai tea and freshly baked black currant scones, still warm from the oven. "It was beyond anything that could be defined as human," Lau added as he sipped his tea, and Chêne sat down too, joining them at the table. She was feeling a little tired and hungry too, so Ciel had already given her the okay to eat their snack with them earlier. It was an unusual thing to allow for a servant, but Lau never seemed to mind and Soma made no complaints. The prince was probably still in shock.

"Is he going to be okay? He was crying blood..." Chêne asked, concerned.

"He was in the state of 'Samadhi.' No one can lay a hand on him when he gets like that," Soma said as he sat in his chair with his legs crossed, leaning his head on his hand. Chêne felt sorry for Soma. He was understandably upset after what had occurred between him and Agni back at West's home.

"Samadhi?" Ciel asked, furrowing his brow slightly.

"It has to do with their religion... Samadhi is a spiritual state of consciousness, like a trance," Chêne said, trying to think of a better way she could explain it.

"Human beings are rare creatures that can produce tremendous power derived from intense belief that gives way to a kind of blind faith," Sebastian stated calmly. Chêne glanced at him, slightly surprised. There was a rather jaded look in his eyes as he continued to speak. "The Norse Vikings of yore became berserkers in the name of their war god Odin... The paladins of the crusades fought in the name of Yahweh by invading foreign lands time and time again..." Even though they had suffered great losses most of the time, and never actually reclaimed their full former glory in the supposed 'Holy Land,' they continued killing in the name of their God. This is why humans were so...

"Oh, right, like how my mother lifted a ca—I mean automobile off of one of the neighborhood girls when we were younger, after she got pinned underneath it..." Chêne said thoughtfully.

"You mean to tell me... that your mother lifted something that would most likely take at least twenty men to lift, all by herself?" Lau asked, stunned. Ciel sweat-dropped. If anyone could do such a thing, it would definitely be Pomona... He could definitely see that happening after meeting the strange woman.

"Yes. She said that she thought it was me under the automobile, since all she could see were two little feet sticking out from underneath it, and the girl and I had on the exact same shoes that day. Lacey, I, and a bunch of kids from the neighborhood had all been playing hide-and-seek outside that Saturday, and that poor girl, Gracie Henderson, had been 'it', so she was counting by our mailbox, when a drunk driver just came out of nowhere, and flipped over, on top of her, after hitting our mailbox. My mom heard me scream when I saw it happen from my hiding place, and she ran out of the house. She was so desperate to save 'me' that she actually grabbed the car by the bumper, and flipped it back over, and off of Gracie. Gracie had a broken leg, a few crushed ribs, and a concussion after being crushed by the car, but the doctors said that if my mother hadn't acted so quickly, it would've been a lot worse, because the car would've been crushing her for longer. Gracie's perfectly fine now, but we weren't allowed to play anywhere near the street after that," Chêne explained.

"Was this before or after your kidnapping?" Sebastian asked curiously.

'Kidnapping!?' Soma thought, his eyes widening slightly in surprise. Something that terrible had happened to this carefree girl...?

"After... why?" Chêne asked, tilting her head slightly.

"I was merely curious," Sebastian said, smiling. No wonder Pomona had been so quick to act... She had learned her lesson from Chêne's kidnapping, and hadn't wasted any time in running to her screaming child. "Like Chêne's mother, there are also humans who are able to make the impossible become possible, if they believe strongly enough that doing so can save a loved one. He too numbers among them," Sebastian said, referring to Agni. "Because of his absolute devotion to his 'god' and 'master,' Prince Soma... He can invoke power that is beyond human. It is a power that our like cannot boast... That which is born of belief in and love for another... A power known as 'Faith'." Sebastian said, smirking slightly as he placed a hand over his chest, where a human's heart would be. He glanced slyly at Ciel, looking to see what the boy's reaction would be. Ciel stared back at him boredly, frowning slightly, almost as if he couldn't care less that Sebastian  would never have any true 'faith' in his master. However... Sebastian noticed there was a strange look in Chêne's eyes as she stared at him a little sadly... almost pityingly...? Sebastian frowned slightly in confusion, wondering why she was looking at him like that. She should not feel pity for a demon like him. It was dangerous to sympathize with the devil. Chêne broke eye contact with him, turning to Soma, and smiling reassuringly at him.