“Why don’t you take Beatrix with you, dear.”

Raven watched her Grandmother closely and tried to divine her meaning. The wrinkles around Crow’s eyes betrayed no movement. The older demon held her gaze steadily on her Granddaughter.

“Does she even want to come?”

“That won’t be a problem. I’m sure she’ll be of help to you.”

Right. She would be coming whether she wanted to or not. Crow was scary, sometimes, just how talented she was at manipulating other Demons. She was always a little more candid with Raven, by necessity as much as desire, the young demon suspected. She only had one tell that Raven had ever noticed. When she was really angry, her nostrils would flare. It stood out to her because Crow’s nose was so beak-like. Crow’s real beak would never move that way, so it always looked a little funny when her human nose did.

“Okay then.”

Raven returned to packing for her trip. Which reference books would she most need…?

- - -

Had she been traveling alone, Raven would have flown to Venus Cloacina. However, since she was traveling with Beatrix, she was forced to take a slower route instead. Raven did her best to read during the time, but it still felt like an awkward trip. She was restless in the confines of the carriage and that feeling was only made worse by Beatrix. It was obvious she wanted something, but Raven had no idea what and the other girl wasn’t speaking up. She considered, briefly, just asking her outright, but thought better of it when she thought of how her Grandmother would respond to that. Instead she just did her best to bury herself in her book.

After what seemed like an agonizing number of hours, the pair reached their destination. The Main Branch Library of Venus Cloacina. This was a large, square structure where each upper level was larger than the one below it, creating a sort of reverse-staircase. It had 5 main steps made up from anywhere between 10 to 15 floors. The windows were narrow slits that made it difficult even for her to see whether there was glass underneath, though Raven knew there was from her examination of the exterior last month. Regardless, the inside was a maze which would not map 1-to-1 with the exterior walls. It was entirely possible to look out one window, round a corner, and look out another, 2 stories up on the opposite side of the building. Trying to enter from a window, or even using one as a reference point, was sure-fire way to become lost in this labyrinth.

Two demons idled at the top of the stairs up the hill the library stood on, not far from the building’s main entrance. Raven shifted to her bird form and flew the rest of the way up rather than climb. One of them was Willow. Raven landed just in front of her friend and returned to her human shape with a small burst of feathers, smiling just a little as she did.

Raven waved her hand. “Hello!”

“Hello Raven.” Willow took a half-step forward towards Raven, but stopped herself as if she had thought better of it. Instead she rested her hands in her lap and smiled back at Raven.

“This,” she began, gesturing to the other demon, “Is Goku.”

The money girl seemed to take the introduction as a signal and did a backflip in place. Raven could tell that she had cheated with her tail, just a little, to stick the landing, but it was still a pretty impressive trick.

Willow rolled her eyes. “She was interested in some of the material you’re after and half-invited herself along. More hands are usually helpful when it comes to this place, so I thought it would be fine. Is it?”

“I can speak for myself you know! I am a courier of DaiMachi.”

Raven’s eyes bore into the smaller girl, considering her carefully.

“Research is literally part of the job description!”

“And so is making up stories whole-cloth,” Raven muttered, turning back to Willow. “She can come, but I would have liked to know ahead of time.”

“I’m sorry Raven. It was a last-minute thing or else I would have told you.”

“I know. It’s okay.”

Just as Willow returned a sympathetic smile, Beatrix appeared at the top of the hill, seemingly no worse for wear from the climb up, but looking obviously annoyed

“Oh! Sorry. That’s Beatrix.” Raven waved at the Vampire. “Oba-” careful. She can hear you. “umm. Asked her to come along.”

Raven suddenly became very busy with something nearer to the entrance while Beatrix approached the group, possibly a little upset, in hindsight, to have been left alone on the climb upwards.

"Hello!” Willow called and waved Beatrix over. The three had their own introductions while Raven studied the entrance to the Library. It was a massive revolving door, but it was locked in place. Beside it there was a stone slit into which books and other works could be deposited. A donation was required in order to enter. As far as Raven knew, there were no hard rules on what could be given, but it was considered good luck to donate a work that had personal meaning for you.

In the case of a place like this, that sort of superstition probably had truth to it. Raven’s own contribution would be a theory paper she had written about the Shroud. A piece to the puzzle that she hoped to solve. She hoped to find a few more piece with this expedition.