Realization of the risks
Camila knew that being in the OCS meant seeing things not many people saw, but she had no idea it could affect someone so much. Until she met some of her sisters once they were back from a mission; she had been put in charge of taking the Divinium objects inside with the help of Beatrice, when the black vans arrived she hadn't noticed anything out of place, not until her sisters came out of them, most of them had a tired look on their face, which Camila thought was normal after being in a mission that lasted more than three days, but she noticed how they didn't look tired in a 'I haven't slept in a few days' type of way, but more of a 'I died and came back to life just moments ago' way; she didn't question it, she simply did what she had been assigned to do and took half of the packages inside with Beatrice taking the other half.
Once they left the packages in the designated room Beatrice quickly went to look at her sisters, worry deep in her bones as she thought of the worse, Camila simply followed her in silence, not knowing why Beatrice seemed so nervous, but knowing that it was better not to ask. All of the women were in a big room that was used to rest in groups, it was were everyone would go after missions to inform Father Vincent and Mother Superion about what had happened during the missions, whether it was good or not. As soon as Beatrice stepped into the room she was stopped by Shannon, "Not now, Bea", was all Shannon had to say for Beatrice to understand, her eyes focused on the women in the room, at least half of them looked half dead, while the other half simply looked extremely tired, but all of them looked injured, those who looked half dead seemed more injured that the other half. Beatrice looked back at Shannon and stared into her eyes, begging for Shannon to tell her something, although Camila could not understand quite well what had happened; the Halo bearer simply sighed and stepped out of the room, with Beatrice and Camila following her.
Silence filled the space between them before Shannon had the courage to speak, "There were some, complications, we were already exhausted and we- well, I didn't think right and I acted on my own, and half of them followed me", Shannon had to take a moment to gather her thoughts and put them in place, "I didn't see the wraith demons that were around, it was my fault, they- I don't know how I was so stupid, it was too late, Bea, it was a really hard fight and it took everyone's efforts to control ourselves and the situation, in the end it all turned out well, but, I don't know how long it will take them to recover", Shannon finished without being able to look at the women in front of her, Beatrice didn't say anything, she simply hug her friend and felt her lean completely into the hug.
Camila was confused, but mostly she was scared, she hadn't thought of the other dangers of this job, she knew she could get physically hurt, but she know realized she could also get her mind damaged, the thought became too much for her, she stepped back a bit, getting Shannon and Beatrice's attention, both women looked a bit confused, it was Shannon who realized first what was going in Camila's mind, "Oh God, Camila, no, it's okay, it'll be okay, don't worry", the Halo bearer said, trying to comfort the young woman, but she could only stare at them, her eyes went from Shannon's eyes to the inside of the room, she stared at the women in there for a few moments, they all looked traumatized. Camila had known a few of them, they were mostly happy people, but in that moment they looked so lost it broke Camila's heart, one of them turned to look at her, staring deeply into her eyes and causing a shiver to run down Camila's back.
Shannon grabbed one of Camila's hand and her thumb over it to bring her back to reality, the younger woman's eyes snapped and focused on the Halo bearer, "Does this happen a lot?", was everything the young girl could ask, Shannon looked at Beatrice, unsure of what to say, she didn't want to lie, but she knew that Camila was reconsidering the whole situation and she didn't want to lose her, "Sometimes, it mostly happens to civilians, but sometimes it happens to us too", Shannon answered, she knew being honest was the best option in these situations, Camila nodded and moved her eyes to Beatrice, waiting for her to confirm or deny what Shannon had said, Beatrice looked away and nodded, Camila did the same and stared at the floor for a few moments before walking away in direction to her room. Shannon and Beatrice simply let her, understanding her need for personal space.
She stayed in her room long enough to have someone come to check on her, there was a knock on her door that brought her back to reality, she stood up and opened the door, ready to tell whoever it was to leave her alone, the person on the other side was no one else but Lilith, who had a bag of cookies in hand, she seemed a bit nervous and unsure of what to say, Camila let her in and sat on the bed once more after she closed the door, Lilith stayed on her feet, "They told me about what happened, I thought something sweet could help you", she said with a little blush on her cheeks as she handed the bag of cookies to Camila, who smiled softly in return, "Listen, I'm not good with this stuff so I'll just say it, I won't let the demons get you, none of us will, okay? We are sisters and we look our for each other, I think you already know that by this point", she finished by resting her hand on Camila's shoulder, she gave her a little smile and started to walk towards the door when Camila spoke, "Would you like to eat them with me?", she asked, Lilith turned back to see her and stared at her for a few moments, "Yes, I'd like to, but after we eat, come on, we are not eating sweets before meal, Cam, that is not healthy", the taller woman said as she offered Camila her hand to take, the shorter girl smiled and and took it before dropping the cookie bag on her desk.
While they ate, Camila looked at the women who had been possessed every now and then, noticing how they seemed just a little bit more alive, this didn't made her worries disappear, but they helped to ease them just a little bit. As soon as Lilith and Camila finished their food, Camila took Lilith's arm and dragged her back to her room to eat the cookies, Lilith was surprised at how Camila could eat cookies immediately after dinner; they got into Camila's room and the younger girl quickly grabbed the cookies bag and opened before handing it to Lilith so she could take the first cookie, the taller girl hesitated for a moment before taking one and eating it slowly, Camila didn't think twice before eating two cookies at the same time with a big smile on her face.
At some point there was a loud knock on the door, Camila opened the door a carefully and smiled when she found Mary, Shannon and Beatrice staring at her, she moved to the side to let them in before closing the door once more and sitting on the bed to grab another cookie, "You alright, kid?", Mary questioned as she sat on the chair in front of the desk, Camila stayed still for a few seconds before nodding and handing her the cookie bag, "You're not thinking about leaving, are you?", Mary asked as she took a cookie and passed the bag to Beatrice, who simply passed it to Shannon before staring at Camila once more, "I mean, I thought about it, but I don't think I'm able to do it", Camila replied with a soft smile, "Not because I can't go back to my mom, I can, but- I can't leave you, any of you, so, I'm staying", she finished as she grabbed another cookie. Shannon chuckled and hugged her before setting a foot behind her and pushing her backwards almost making her fall, Camila could only cling to her, noticing how Shannon was holding her to prevent her from falling, "Good, because we weren't going to let you leave", she said with a smile before helping Camila stand up properly and letting go of her with an innocent smile.
Next morning they had training to do, everyone except for Shannon was outside, including the sisters that had been affected by the wraith demons, they looked just the same. When it was her turn, she got surprised when she noticed who she was going to fight, it was a woman just a bit taller than her, Camila knew her, but she didn't recognize her, maybe it was because of the look the woman had, as soon as Camila met her eyes she felt a shiver run down her spine, making her nervous.
Both women walked to the mat and prepared to fight, Camila wanted to attack first, but she couldn't, she froze in place as the woman in front of her approached her quickly and pushed her to the mat, Camila hit her head against the mat, it didn't hurt but it left her a bit dizzy for a few moments, the next thing she knew, her sister was on top of her, staring into her eyes; Camila tried to scream, but no sound came out of her mouth, as she stared into her sister's eyes, she saw her worst fears, none of them moved for a few seconds. Camila passed out.
Shannon was barely coming out of the chapel when she heard screams coming from the sisters warrior, she ran to them and as soon as she saw the women on the mat she understood what was happening. She was possessed. Shannon didn't waste time in grabbing her sister warrior and putting her on the mat next to Camila before doing a Halo pulse strong enough to make the wraith demon disappear; she got up and looked at both women on the mat, taking a deep breathe as she tried to convince herself that it wasn't her fault. Mary walked towards her and pet her back for a moment before walking towards Camila and picking her up on her arms, "I'll take her to her room, Shannon make sure to walk around the whole place, make sure there aren't any more demons and report the situation to Mother Superion, one of you, check if she's okay and get her to her room", Mary ordered the rest of the sisters warrior as she walked away with Camila passed out in her arms.
Mary set Camila on her bed and sat next to her until she woke up, as soon as her eyes opened she scanned the room, getting a bit scared when she saw Mary staring at her, "Hey, it's okay, it's me, you're all good", Mary said as she rested a hand on Camila's shoulder tenderly, Camila nodded and sat on the bed, feeling extremely tired, as if she was going to pass out any moment, "The first time it's always the worst, but you'll be okay, the feeling will pass on a few days", the older woman explained as soon as she saw Camila's tired expression, the shorter girl nodded and rested her head on her friend's shoulder slowly, which Mary simply allowed her to do, understanding how weird Camila must feel in that moment. They stayed like that until Shannon went into the room with a worried expression on her face, "Camila, I am so so sorry, it's all my fault, I'm sorry, I should've been more careful, I should've checked on her sooner, I didn't see the demon, I should've been more careful, I'm so sorry", Shannon quickly apologized, almost crying as tears appeared on the corner of her eyes, Camila didn't say anything at first, instead, she looked at her and smiled softly, too tired to smile bigger, Shannon sat next to her and lowered her head, ashamed, "Don't worry, Shan, it wasn't your fault, I promise", Camila said as she took of the Halo bearer's hand, Shannon looked at her and smiled gently, a bit more relaxed now that she saw Camila was okay.
"Mother Superion said that you could take today and tomorrow off, the first encounter with the demons it's the most tiring one, so make sure to rest, okay?", Shannon said as she rested her hand on Camila's head affectively, the shorter girl nodded and got in bed once more, falling asleep almost immediately; Shannon and Mary stayed with her for a few minutes before getting up and leaving the room silently to let her rest as long as she needs. Outside of the room was Beatrice and Lilith, both waiting for information about Camila, Mary was the one to tell them about the girl, Lilith nodded and walked to the room, entering and closing the door before sitting on the chair in front of the desk, Lilith knew how scary it was for some people to wake up after an encounter in a room completely alone, even if the person hadn't been possessed, she knew it was best if someone stayed with Camila until she woke up, rather than leaving her alone.
Camila slept for hours, and Lilith simply stayed with her, sitting on that chair the whole time, at some point she fell asleep too, still sitting, it wasn't comfortable, but when Camila woke up a bit startled, Lilith was already there to let her know she wasn't alone, which worked really well. Camila knew how strong Lilith was, and she knew Lilith wouldn't let anything hurt her, because they're sisters and they look out for each other.
Camila had realized about the worst risk of this job, but she had also realized that her sisters didn't lie when they said that they would look out for her. This didn't make her fear disappear, but it did made her feel a bit safer, after all, her worst fear was being alone, but now she didn't need to worry about that. She had her sisters.