Little Boy Belmont (Richter x Olrox)

Chapter Fifteen: Be Calm

The moment Olrox first enters the Hold, he knows something is wrong. Even with his sharper hearing, Richter's cries are faint, like he's trying to muffle them.
"Belmont?" Olrox questions, turning into black smoke and quickly going down each level. Edouard hurries behind the vampire, flying down in a panic.

They find Richter curled up on the floor, leaning against a bookshelf. He's rocking himself a little, holding the leather whip tightly to his chest.
"I'm sorry," his voice comes out in a whine, too distraught to see Olrox and Edouard right in front of him.
"Leon, Sara, I'm so sorry."
He still feels his ancestor's grief deep in his chest, eyes glazed over as he stares at nothing.

"Richter..." Olrox gently coaxes, kneeling down to the hunter's height. He has to somehow get the whip away from Belmont before himself or Edouard get hurt by the holy weapon.
"Richter," he tries again, his voice soft. He reaches over and gently caresses Belmont's cheek. Richter snaps out of his daze and blinks up at them both, his grip on the whip loosening.

"What's wrong?" Edouard asks, kneeling down to Richter's level.
"Just a nightmare," he lies, rubbing his forehead. He doesn't even know where to begin in explaining how he can speak to his long dead ancestor.

Olrox helps Richter up to his feet.
"Come. Maybe getting some food in you will help," he murmurs. Richter lets out a shuddered breath and nods. He manages to eat some of the dried fruit and mixed nuts, which helps a little.

After eating, he looks around the various shelves covered with glass displaying items collected by his ancestors.
He sees many items from different cultures, silks from China, weapons from India, daggers from Italy. Then he sees something that catches his eye.

A round smooth black mirror stares up at him. It looks old, far older than the other items. He slowly slides the glass frame aside and gently picks up the mirror. The weight of it surprises him. Belmont holds it up and looks at his reflection. The clearness of his face looking back at him startles him a little.

"Oddly pretty," he mutters, turning it over. The back of it is rougher, not as shiny. He turns it back to the smooth side and nearly drops the mirror when he sees a jaguar reflected in the black surface, standing behind him, its yellow eyes glowing. He whirls to face the animal, knowing a beast that big could not have gotten down in the Hold.

The area behind him is empty. Breathing quickly, he looks back in the smoky mirror. The jaguar is gone. He sighs, figuring he's hallucinating from stress. That's all it is. Richter has never seen a jaguar in person, but even then, he knows they're not that large. That one looked to be as big as a lion.
He looks down at the mirror again, then against his better judgment, decides to take it.

Richter meets back with Olrox and Edouard to show them the black mirror.
"Hey, look what I found," he murmurs, gently placing the heavy item on the table. Belmont hopes talking about the mirror will help him shrug off what he saw in the reflection.

Olrox walks over first and his eyes widen when he sees the mirror. "Where did you find this?" Belmont is surprised to hear a sense of awe in the vampire's voice.
"In one of the glass cases between the aisles," Richter points behind himself using his thumb over his shoulder.

He's never seen Olrox looking this...homesick before. The Aztec picks up the mirror like it's a precious gem. Edouard walks over, looking just as bewildered at Olrox's reaction to something so simple.
Then Olrox murmurs in a language neither Richter or Edouard have heard before.

"Tēzcatlipōca, iteku in youali, itecpantekuh in miktlampa..." He says it almost with a loving sigh, like Olrox has just met an old friend.
Richter looks at Edouard and shrugs, looking just as lost.
"What does that mean?" Edouard asks.
"It means something like: Smoking Mirror, Lord of the Night, Ruler of the North," Olrox translates.

"What language was that? I've never heard you speak it before," Richter murmurs, the titles of Tēzcatlipōca sending a shiver down his spine.
"You actually have," Olrox notes with a small smile. "When you were unconscious after the incident with the night creatures, I sang to you in Nahuatl."

"Nahuatl," Richter repeats, the sound foreign on his tongue. He looks away, embarrassed at realizing Olrox probably sang lullabies to him in his native tongue. Edouard looks happy about Olrox taking care of Richter.
Olrox smiles and gently sets the mirror down on the table.

"Now, then," the Aztec begins, pulling up one of the leather seats scattered around the Hold to the table and sitting down, "shall I tell my life story?"
Richter nods and helps Edouard get their own seats to get comfortable.
"Where to begin...?" Olrox murmurs, fingers drumming on the wooden table.

"I was born during the reign of Ahuitzotl, the eighth Aztec ruler in the city of Tenochtitlan. I wasn't royalty by any means, but I lived a happy life. By the time I had turned sixteen, like every Aztec boy, I was taught to either become a Jaguar Warrior or an Eagle Warrior. Those were the only two options," he begins, eyes glazed over a little as he recalls his childhood long gone.

Both Richter and Edouard listen out of curiosity.
"There is—was—a trial for every boy to become one of those warriors. Capturing an enemy alive was the main goal. Killing an enemy was considered disgraceful, if either of you can believe that," Olrox adds with a small, almost pained laugh.

"We weren't savages, not like how the history books paint us," he murmurs, tracing the rim of the mirror on the table with his finger. "The history taught to us was that the Gods we worship were real. Becoming an Eagle or Jaguar Warrior was one of the highest honors any male Aztec had, but not as high of an honor as being sacrificed."

Richter looks alarmed. "Sacrificed? Like being burned alive?"
Olrox nods. "Well, that was one of the options, depending on the God you wanted to sacrifice to. Any Eagle or Jaguar Warrior in training would need to bring back an enemy into Tenochtitlan alive to be granted status as a warrior. Huitzilopochtli would have sacrifices where the person was laid down on a stone slab, then their diaphragm sliced open with an obsidian knife, and finally their heart ripped out still beating from their chest."

Edouard blanches at visualizing such a sight.
Richter almost gags, knowing this was seen as so normal in Olrox's childhood.
"Tēzcatlipōca is the God of sorcery, the night, and destiny. Legend says he can see within the hearts of people using any obsidian mirror," he motions to the black mirror as reference. "He is also the God of human sacrifices. There are times where he'll take the form of a jaguar..."

Richter doesn't hear the rest of what Olrox is saying. The words obsidian mirror and jaguar stick inside Belmont's mind to the point he blanks out. Is that what he saw in the obsidian reflection? If so, why? Richter has never really been a believer in Gods of any kind, even with the Vampire Killer being considered a holy weapon. What would the Aztec God of the Night want with him? Because he's so close to Olrox, who takes the form of a feathered serpent?
He doesn't know yet. All he needs to know is if the Hold has any books on Aztec Mythology. He might even ask Leon for answers.