o/` I'm a genie in a necklace, baby! o/`[Shizzy!]

[Rhindeer]

[...Ahem. Pardon the title of lame. xD]

The village had been deserted for years, and not much remained of it anymore save what hadn't already been reclaimed by the winds and sea. A few huts were still standing--or, mostly standing at least, the thatched roofs long gone though a few wooden walls still stood, caved in and rotted from salt water, time, and termites. Here and there bits and pieces of pottery could be found buried in the sand, as well as a few old everyday items like utensils and jewelry, crude, old, and aged. The village had remained untouched since its abandonment some years ago--well, untouched except by the hand of nature, whether it be the elements themselves or curious animals.

But no humanoids had been around there. It had been abandoned for a reason, and that reason was because they deemed the land cursed since the incident years ago, when the white sands had run red and the sea foam had churned a frothy pink.

Most of the evidence of that massacre was gone, though. The bodies had long since been consumed by the natural scavengers of the island, the bones and blood washed away by the tides until the beach shone clean and pristine again, the sands sparkling with minerals and seashells and seaweed. But the past hadn't been washed away, and it would be a good many more years before the land was deemed pure again and people would venture back to rebuild. By that time, the old generations would probably have died out and the memory of what had taken place would probably just be that...a distant memory, just a frightening tale to tell misbehaving children.

Discarded and half buried in the sand near a clump of rocks away from the shoreline and near the base of the sea cliffs, a golden necklace flashed in the sunlight, the topaz gems encrusting the pendant at the end reflecting the light. If the rest of the area was dilapidated and run down, the few metal items strewn about rusted and corroded, the necklace shone like brand new. And waited.

But not even the curious sea birds that were known for adoring shiny materials would go near it.

[Anonymous]

((Title is made of win! WIN I SAY!))

It had only been a few days since he had crash landed on this planet. He would have called it god forsaken but he was unsure if any deities ruled this land, so he was being careful in case they were listening to him. Three days. Three days since he had destroyed his own ship to protect the cultures, three days since he had last eaten, or found anything good to drink. The whole island was surrounded by salt water. Not surprising as it was an island after all. However his water purification unit was on the fritz, and as such he didn't trust it. He trusted his molecular scanner though, and Aurora as well. Both of them were a great help in finding anything of sustenance. So many poison berries and creatures covered with a strange neurotoxin.

Of course, he had avoided all large villages and anything remotely close to a town. He studied people though in the darkness, watching them with the special audio and visual equipment he had on them to gain a better understanding. They weren't complete savages, they had basic knowledge, but still, they were primitive considering the sort of things he had been privy to on his home planet. No matter, he was stuck here until...hopefully...his people came for him.

A most interesting spot was pointed out by Aurora though, the Smart AI that was integrated into the systems of his armour. The sleek metallic armour resembled rock almost, but the sheen it had told otherwise. The slightly egg like helmet had the visors open, showing the red slab of reinforced glass that allowed him to see, and allowed Aurora to give him visual aids. Power readings, unknown in orign, they were presumed to be part of the strange 'reality shifting' that this world had. Magic some had called it, using a higher spiritual energy to shape the world to their will. A most interesting thing in his grey eyes.

He moved like any man would, quickly and quietly, his armour making no noise, not even a clanking sound as he walked and crept carefully through the forest. He was close to this energy signal, and when he stepped from the cover of the forest he was surprised to find...ruins. Markings of times gone by. What had happened here? Had they picked up and left? Were they attacked? Was this some civilization that no longer existed, or hasn't existed in a long time.

"Aurora?" There was a beeping response and in his vision, or, on the screen ofhis visor appears a young woman in her teen years. She is completely androgynous, save for the curves that can be made out on her body, and her heart shaped face framed by simple hair. "Yes Tzak?" A bored voice asked as the man surveyed the ruins.

"What do you think about this place?" The world seemed to grow grids of one foot by one foot in his vision as Aurora scanned everything, looking for records and the like that her sensors could pick up. If only he had remembered to grab the better sensors from the ship. "It looks like a simple village. Destroyed a long time ago. The energy readings are near the cliff over there." A marker appeared for him and he smiled on those pale shale lips of his, approaching the strange place. It didn't look right in Aurora's mind, something was off about it. Everything had been destroyed for the most part, and yet...yet that one thing...the only thing that gave off energy seemed...unharmed.

"Tzak. There's a good chance that you don't want to touch that. Notice how everything is destroyed accept for it? Notice how it's still lying there and gives off an energy signal? There's a rather large chance it very well could kill you, or even worse, could short circuit the system through...magical means." The word magical was spoken by Aurora like it was a poison, like saying it was against everything she believed in. Technically when you were a holographic representation that was alive thanks to science...it was against her completely. However it had been proven real  for that matter, not technological, and she was still bitter about the whole thing.

"It's a simple necklace Aurora. Probably just forgotten here." Tzak slowly knelt down to scoop the necklace up carefully. Well, he wasn't electrocuted yet now was he? "Aurora, go through all archaeological digs and all ancient legends for anything on necklaces of this design." There was a small beep in his ear and a list began to show in front of his eyes. Two thousand six hundred and fifteen. Great. "I'm sorry Tzak, but there is no way to narrow the search at this time without any more to go on." Aurora said simply as Tzak shook his head. Alright. Strange necklace, deserted village, well, that should have alarmed him but...he just didn't fear it.

"Hm. I should probably put this back. I don't think I would like the owner coming back and seeing me holding this. I might be thought of as a Thief and that...just wouldn't do."

[Rhindeer]

"Ya wouldn't be the first one thought of as a thief," a drawling feminine voice suddenly said, speaking directly into Tzak's ear though the person behind him didn't touch him. "But it looks like you're the owner now."

No sooner had the words been spoken than Demaht had stepped simply around to the man's front, moving silently on bare feet, an unreadable smile on her lips as she stared up at him with large, tilted orange eyes. "People have done worse than just simple thievery to get ahold of me and mine, y'know. Thievery...murder...betrayal...hacking apart even children...oh, robbin' the dead is very tame, master. Very, very tame compared to what I've seen and conspired in. The dead don't scream or bleed, after all. They've done plenty of that here already!" she said with a dark chuckle. "Ah, I can still remember it..."

Demaht had, after all, been behind it. Maybe she hadn't bloodied her own hands, oh no, but she had given someone else the means to do the deed.

And she had enjoyed watching. She'd loved it. So many stupid humans dead...and even better when the man that did it all was killed himself by a careless wish. Oh, being trapped in that blasted necklace for another century had been well worth it all.

Demaht wasn't a tall woman, maybe only five foot four, with loosely curled red hair that ended just below her shoulders and dark, naturally bronzed skin. Jewelry decorated her body, golden anklets and bracelets, multiple piercings in her oddly pointed ears and a topaz gem in her naval, and even her left nostril had been pierced with a golden hoop. About the only place that wasn't adorned lavishly with jewelry was her neck; only a single small necklace hung there, and it matched the one Tzak now held--except it was, indeed, much smaller.

She was dressed in sheer red pants, billowing out in the leg but tied off at the ankle, and a matching top that covered her breasts and left the rest of her torso bare. Of course, that wasn't sheer, and even her pants weren't totally sheer everywhere--she wasn't completely immodest.

Well, okay, actually she was, but that was beside the point.

Stopping in front of him, she crossed her arms over her chest and continued to stare at him, head slightly tilted and still smiling, though it never reached her eyes. No, her eyes, quite unlike her sweet smile, were smoldering with bitterness.

A lot of people found her stare disconcerting--she could stare at a person unblinking for hours and probably days, too, if she was allowed; and she rather enjoyed making them squirm. It also helped that she didn't need to sleep and didn't have much else to do to keep herself occupied. "You some kinda bug?" she asked after a pause, sweeping her eyes over his hemet. But then she seemed to decide that what he was wasn't important, because she continued on quickly as though she hadn't even asked.

"Greetings, shiny new master. I'm Demaht, your friendly neighborgood djinn who you've oh-so-kindly summoned to ya when ya picked up that necklace you're holdin'." Her voice was flat and bored and she looked it, too. She'd gone over this thousands of times before, and she had no choice but to say it. It was part of the enchantment that bound her and even though she could hold off the introduction for a few minutes, eventually the compulsion to get it all out would become too strong for her. She yawned and continued, glancing down at her right hand as she rolled a small flicker of flame over the backs of her knuckles.

"The necklace is important, so don't lose it. Ya lose it, ya lose me," she said, and stopped playing with the flames long enough to reach up and finger her own necklace, the one that wouldn't come off no matter how she tugged at it. Demaht was deceivingly strong as most supernatural entities were, but she couldn't even lift the thing up past her chin. "Isn't it cute, master? We have matchin' necklaces and everything! Like we're twins. But oh, right, the important bits." She started to play with the fire again, though she was watching him now and not the flames. "Ya get wishes, and yeah, I can do most anything. Unless it comes to coercion, mass destruction, and offin' people. Ya gotta do that on your own...but..." Her grin turned rather wicked. "I can help."

She was always up for killing a few stupid humans. There was nothing she hated more. Humans had done this to her, made her a prisoner for the rest of her long life.

And djinn never died.

Well, maybe if her necklace was destroyed.

"Either way, whatever ya want...it looks like we're gonna have just SO much fun together, don'tcha think?" she practically purred, stepping closer to him in languid strides to deliberately invade his personal space, still staring up at him. She liked to use subtle intimidation tactics in the beginning before she whipped out the big guns. Reaching a hand up, she tapped her nails on his chest. "So, whatcha want? Money? Power?" She traced her finger along the armor. "A wax job on your exoskeleton?"

Yeah, she still had no clue what he was. She'd never seen armor like that before, nor a helmet like that.

[Anonymous]

The voice behind him nearly made him jump out his armour and his skin all at once. His gun was out and already making the familiar sound of the electricity charging up. It was aimed at the woman behind him, straight for her heart. Now to be fair he didn't need to get a head shot or a heart shot to kill someone, when you had electricity this powerful coursing through your body, you tended to die pretty quick. Tzak had no idea what she meant by him being the owner now, of course Aurora put the correlation together of the necklace and the woman being linked some how. Through magic. Never trust magic, it was too...unexplained.

"That all depends on how the dead have passed." She was a dark one. Already the grid lines were appearing on her and he was scanning her. Let's see...Female obviously, you'd have to be completely blind to miss that. HIs optical sensors said that she had red hair with naturally bronzed skin. Jewellery, gold, piercings, topaz gem in her naval, left nostril with a golden hoop, no weapons to see on her. Magic burned in her though, powerful magic, she had high levels of this energy. The necklace...it was all different. A comparison came up to show the one she wore and the one he held. Hm. Almost identical, except for size it seemed.

"Don't trust her Tzak. Her voice...analyzing the algorithms of it come to show that she's...she's not telling the whole truth." Tzak smiled just a little bit at Aurora's comment. Of course she was. "I think you're just jealous that she looks better than you Aurora." Tzak said idly as the little hologram in his visor stamped her foot. "Men!" Then she was gone, off to sulk in the dark corners of her programming no doubt.

"Me? A bug?" He looked down to himself to inspect his armour for a moment. Well, he could understand why she would think that sort of thing...However before he was able to answer she started to talk again. Djinn? That sounded familiar...however...his eyes went back to the necklace in his hands. She was part of the necklace? Shutting off the auditory element of his helmet so he could talk to Aurora alone, he summoned the AI again.

"Aurora, do a check of all legends with the word Djinn, Djini, and Genie if you will." There was a grumble and a beep as words filled his vision. Hm. Genie. Djinn. It all came up, and it seemed that there were two types of these...magical beings. Good and bad. Bad ones tricked you with wishes, usually the wishes did more harm than good if you weren't specific enough...and the good ones were the ones that didn't care about the specific details. Hm, it brought to mind that story about the man who wished for the golden touch. Everything became solid gold, including food and eventually himself.

Oop. He better pay attention to this woman though.

"Wishes?" The auditory channels of the helmet had been turned back on so he could reply to her. "Why would I need to kill or cause mass destruction?" He was a sleeper agent, his sole job was to wait and lie in a stoic state, never giving off what he is...until of course the invasion hit. Even then he would never truly fight, he was too important to do that. Let the Tactical Teams do that job. After all, he wasn't getting paid for such thing.

She was offering everything...money...power...a...wax job for his armour? Well...she was an interesting one.

"I wish for H20 in perfect cohesion to form the liquid known as water, placed within a glass structure known as a drinking cup. The drinking cup should be big enough to hold 50 ounces of water and should only be about one quarter of a foot tall, and as such, there should only be 35 ounces within this cup. There should be nothing else but H20 in perfect cohesion to form the liquid known as water. It should also be exactly two point three degrees centigrade." He had to be specific about what he wanted. Water. In a glass. Cold water to be exact. Back on his home planet all the water had been used up, but they thankfully still had all the molecules that made up the beverage. He wouldn't dare ask for food though, that would be a lengthy process if anything at all.

"You make sure to be extra careful Tzak. I don't want you wishing away an appendage or your mind by accident." Aurora said as the two of them regarded the strange woman. He wondered if she liked being a slave like this...it seemed a little wrong to keep her like that but...well he'd have to find a way around it. Maybe he could wish her free? That'd be an interesting thing indeed.

Slowly his hand went up to his neck, to find the little buttons that would release the helmet. With a few clicks the pressure began to stabilize, sending a few jets of pressurized air from around his neck. Then, he pulled the helmet off. Slate grey hair fell around his face, which he quickly brushed off with a wave of his hand. Eyes of the same colour regarded her, blending in rather well to skin that was...well the same slate grey as everything else. He looked like a statue that had been given life, but he breathed, ate, and drank like a normal humanoid. He even had actual blood running through his body, but the pigments of his skin and blood were that of grey instead of the usual peachy colour of most people. A small smile found its way to his lips as he gave a curt bow to the woman.

"I am Tzak Tallamos Feratul. I am pleased to meet you Demaht. As you can see I am not a bug either." She didn't scare him, she didn't get into his personal space. In his world there were people known as 'Phasers' who had the unique ability to shift and phase through solid object. He once has one of these phasers lock themselves in his body, mimicking his every move. They were part of the government, good for spying on people. Once they were locked into a body, they would move around like they were the body itself, and no one would be the wiser. Then when they heard any remarks that were treasonous or suspicious, they could call in the Investigators and that was it. Case closed. So he really didn't care that she tried to get under his skin, because someone had already done that long before.

"Your lucky you're also castrated Tzak, or you might actually get distracted by all her...curves." Even without his helmet, his AI could still talk to him. He couldn't see Aurora, but he could hear her in his ear thanks to a neural implant. What a way to live! Hooked up to so many machines and what not. He only smiled though, having accepted his...castration as a final act to show that he was worthy to become a great spy.

[Rhindeer]

Demaht had no idea what the strange...thing he pointed at her was. It made a strange sound and he was pointing it at her chest, so it was pretty obvious to her that it was a weapon of some sort. What it did, however, she didn't have the slightest clue. However, she had only given it a cursory glance before returning her full attention back to Tzak. She wasn't afraid of being hurt, after all; she couldn't die. Oh, well, maybe she wasn't all that fond of pain, after all it was a little annoying and uncomfortable, but she'd felt a lot of pain in her long life; she'd had some cruel masters, though she supposed it suited her just fine since she wasn't exactly all sugar and sunshine. Of course, she bore none of the scars of her experiences; she didn't scar at all and her wounds healed fast. No, she really wasn't worried. The worst he could do was temporarilly "kill" her for a few days. That had happened before. To her, it was just like being knocked unconscious for a while.

Nothing she couldn't, and wouldn't, handle.

Besides, people that mistreated her usually got mistreated even worse in the end. Oh...Demaht could be a creative thing. One little slip up on the simplest of wishes could spell a very colorful and grisly end. Of course...mistreatment at Demaht's hands came even if her master or mistress didn't mistreat her.

There had really only been a few beings in her lifetime that she had treated...nicely. They were rare, though, and they'd done something to earn her grudging respect. A feat in and of itself. One could imagine that it was pretty difficult to impress an ageless, bitter djinn.

Demaht had no idea who he was talking about, though, but a smirk tugged at her lips when she heard him tell this...Aurora...that she looked better than her. Heh heh. Of course she did. Very few mortals could compare to supernatural beauty, and it helped that Demaht had a great deal of control over her own appearance. Djinn were shapeshifters, essentially, and could take the form of any animal they wanted--humans of course included, though their primary form was humanoid. This happened to be Demaht's preferred form, the look that she had taken on and perfected since...hell, she couldn't remember how long it had been. Ah. It was so glad to hear someone agree that she was a looker, and she reached up absently to fluff at her hair. Yes, it was her secret weakness. Demaht was, at her core, an extremely vain and egotistical creature, and she did adore the compliments and ego-stroking.

Even if it came from creatures lesser than her. She did so love it when they admitted that she was better. Because she was.

She waited as Tzak seemed to be distracting himself with something, and with a slight frown she back up from him. The guy didn't seem phased at all; most people she'd dealt with in the past had gotten uncomfortable when she'd done that, but he didn't even react at all. That was...a little disappointing. But it wasn't the only thing she had in her arsenal, of course, and she did so love to make the lives of her masters and mistresses hell while she was in their possession.

Demaht sighed and waved her hand through the air at his question. "I don't know, why don'tcha ask some of the dictators of this world, eh?" she asked dismissively. What a stupid question. "It's a power rush, and ya mortals like power, don'tcha? Have any enemies ya wanna bump outta existence? Hehe. I may not be able to weild the knife, but I can hide the body...and ensure it's never found." Most mortals were easily seduced by the idea of power, that's why they were so easy to trip up. Maybe not everyone wanted to kill or cause destruction, but still, this man...he was odd.

Very odd.

In fact, it took a lot to shock Demaht, but he just about succeeded in that when he asked for water.

And not just water, just asking for water when he could have had anything was a shock in and of itself, but...but...

Demaht fell quiet, her mouth dropping open as he listed all the specifics down to the very last detail. Staring at him in uncontained shock, she automatically held out a hand, allowing the pure, untainted water, in its fifty ounce glass, to conjure in her hand. Thirty-five ounces, quarter of a foot tall, two point three degrees centigrade. Water. Right down to the last detail.

How did he know?!</I>

Gods above, he must have had experience with her kind before! How?! Oh...he was a crafty one, and her eyes narrowed as she watched him remove his head--no, his helmet. That...was odd. It made a weird sound, too. Ah, no matter! She had more important issues to worry about now. Such as being outsmarted. Oh, that just wouldn't do at all...

Shutting her mouth and smoothing out her features, she instead replaced her shocked look with a look of saccharine sweetness--though she failed at that, and ended up looking more annoyed than anything. Still, no need for him to see that he'd...anticipated her antics and taken her off guard. With a grin that looked more like a silent snarl, she impatiently thrust the glass out to him as soon as he had finished introducing himself, some of the water sloshing over the sides. "Here ya go! H20 in perfect cohesion forming the liquid known as water!" she recited, fingers twitching on the glass. She made sure not to squeeze it too hard, though, lest she shatter it. Her white knuckles probably gave her away.

"So...that...was all ya wanted...?" she asked then, eyes fixed on his strange, colorless face. "I just offered ya anything in the world, anything ya could ever want...I can build bloody cities made of pure gold if ya asked it of me! And ya wanted...water? Just water. Not even flavored water." She paused, collecting herself. Was this a joke? She was a creature of insane ammounts of power...and he made her make water. There was water all over! This was an ISLAND! Was this a JOKE? Making her do menial tasks like a mere serving girl?

She much preferred to actually use her abilities, after all!

Still grinning at him sweetly, she tilted her head to the side a little, watching him through hooded eyes. She felt the glass she held crack a little, and she quickly loosened her hold. "You're not right in the head, are ya, darlin'? I can fix that, y'know."

[Anonymous]

He hadn't...really thought she was too much of a threat. Well, until he found out what she was. When he discovered what she was then he sort of knew he had to be careful with what he said and did. She looked over his weapon, trying to figure it out, and then she looked back to him. He wondered what looked odder to her, his weapon or himself. Nothing wrong with that really. He slowly holstered his weapon, letting it slide back into the special compartment at his side. He wouldn't shoot her, she was an innocent, or at least, in his eyes she was at this time. He didn't know about any of the past crimes she had committed, so for all intensive purposes he couldn't in good conscience kill her. That was his law after all. Not just his law, but the law of his people as well. They weren't always the nicest race, but they still had some morals, however you wanted to look at it.

Tzak just...wouldn't tell her that he had been holding a weapon at her. He didn't want to get on her bad side after all. She seemed to be a native of his world, and as such, she might hold some influence. If he was deemed hostile, it could defeat the purpose of it all.

Tzak noted that she seemed to enjoy the little comment. Interesting. An immortal creature with an ego. He had heard of that before, immortal beings that had such a...ego to them. Still, vanity was an easy thing to play on, so he could very well do that sort of thing. As long as it kept this powerful creature happy, maybe he wouldn't get into any trouble with her. She was powerful after all, the energy that radiated from her was amazing,a nd she was a woman. If there was one thing that Tzak had learnt in all his life it was...well it was one thing. Don't anger women. It was a key factor as to why he left his home world. He had angered oen too many priestesses there and...well that never resulted in anything good. When a high ranking priestess was angry with you, the entire government was angry, and your life became harder.

Ahem. Just like if he angered this woman.

That would be bad wouldn't it?

"I'm not that fond of power really Miss Demaht. Also...I'm two thousand years into the future. All my enemies, if I had any, would be dead by now..." Tzak told her as he shrugged a little. He didn't need help hiding a body if he killed anyone here...He could just burn the body. It wasn't like these primitive creatures had any knowledge about DNA tracing and what not. Though..seers and soul searchers might be a little bit trouble but...he would come to that if it ever came to him.

His suit seemed to merge to the side of his helmet, holding it there somehow. Magnets for the most part, not to mention the fact the suit could change it's shape and all that He reached out and took the water from her, noting her white knuckles as she held it. She was pissed. No matter. He removed a small strange device from his side. It was a small baton like object that held a strange light on one side that glowed blue. Slowly he ran it over the water and the carefully watched the results on the small screen on the back of the device. "It's water Tzak, untainted, and the glass is fine as well." Aurora told him in his ear as he made sure. He was paranoid about that sort of thing.

"I don't...need a city made of gold Miss Demaht...I just...needed a glass of water." Tzak told her before he drank the entire glass and smiled at her. That was very kind of her to fulfil his wish.

"The simplest things in life I find are the best things. My water purification unit is on the fritz, and until I can fix it then I can't drink any of the water surrounding this island." Tzak commented as he set the glass down, his eyes looking around the entire area. It was a nice place here and well...he really wanted to know what exactly was going on in this place but at the same time...Demaht was probably the cause of it and...even so...she might get angry if he asked him. Hm.

"My head is fine Miss Demaht. Erm. I am wondering though...what happened to your old master? I mean...I figure that he is dead but how? I'm not going to wish for the knowledge...that would be wrong. You're a superior entity and as such you should be treated like that." Tzak knew his way around how to kiss an ass, and at the same time, he also knew how to be respectful of people who were of better skills than his own. He couldn't grant wishes, create and destroy cities and what not so...it was obvious that she was far more superior than he, so she should be treated with respect.

As such then, if he ever asked for a wish, he wouldn't have to be incredibly detailed. As well, he would rather have a friend then have...a servant. That wasn't in his nature. He didn't need to rely on her powers to survive.

"So anyways um...what does...er I guess you got stuck in your necklace for a long time. Hrm...what would you like to do right now Miss Demaht? Anywhere you'd like to go or anything you'd like to see?"

[Rhindeer]

"Then...if ya don't like power...what do ya like?" Demaht prompted, starting to grow even more irritated--which wasn't unusual, after all, because she had all the patience of two-year-old and all the anger of a paranoid old war veteran. He didn't like power? What mortal didn't like power? Well, obviously this one, but that was beside the point. He was defying all the laws of anything that ever made sense in the world! Or, at least, everything that made sense on Demaht's little world, which was, for the most part, confined to a tiny little necklace--and outside of it, it was confined to wherever her master or mistress went.

This Tzak also made no sense. In the future? How was he in the future? No, clearly there was something wrong with his head.

She was a little glad that he finally took the water from her because if she held it any longer, it probably would have shattered, or she would have at least spilled all the water by the time it actually got to him; her hand was trembling in repressed anger. And either of those would be bad, because if she did that, then she'd probably have to recreate the stupid glass of stupid water. Feh. It wasn't something she was keen on doing, just because that would mean having to twice do something incredibly menial and stupid. Placing her hands on her hips and shifting her weight to one side, she watched him broodingly, bottom lip poking out slightly, as he waved some weird glowing stick thing over the glass. And then that slight pout began to reform into a smirk. Yeah, maybe he really was a bit loony. He was sure acting eccentric. That was the only explanation the djinn could fathom for why he'd summoned a genie and wished only for water.

"Who said anything about need?" Demaht asked, only just managing not to snap at him. Heaving a sigh of frustration, she dropped her hands to her sides and began to pace, kicking at the sand with her bare feet as she went. Since she couldn't take her aggression out on him, she'd take it out on the sand. All pretenses of being a sweet little immortal thing were pretty much gone, not that they'd ever really been there to begin with. She never had been good at pretending to be anything but what she was.

"What about whatcha want? Forget about need, what're your bloody desires? What are ya, anyway? A rock? Ya look like one. Well only rocks don’t have wants, so unless you’re really a rock, ya gotta want something besides water!" she finally snapped, whirling on Tzak and jabbing at his armored chest with a finger. Her frustration was only building as he talked about how the best things were the simple things and blah, blah, blah. Camel-shit! The thought that someone really might be content with their lot in life was beyond her level of comprehension. After all, she was a creature that preyed upon people’s greed; it was really the only entertainment she got anymore.

Alas, if there was anything Demaht really enjoyed doing, it was using her powers and showing off; it was always a fun way to show just how much greater she was than everyone else. Unfortunately, since becoming a slave to the necklace she couldn't use her power unless "wished� to...so she actually enjoyed granting wishes. It served a double purpose for her. One, it let her show off, and two it let her screw up wishes to mess with her masters' heads, annoy them, or even...accidentally render them out of commission.

However, she did not like using her great and epic powers to do menial things. There was no awe and wonder in serving water. She also didn't like the wishes that were so specific! They didn't leave her any, ahem...creative wiggle room or artistic license, so to speak.

But despite her frustration, as it turned out, Tzak had a silver tongue. Or, that is to say, he seemed to quickly figure out one particular weakness of hers…ah, her vanity was indeed her undoing. Pausing at his words, she gave him a considering look, her face impassive and orange eyes sharp. But then her features seemed to soften a little and her stance relaxed as a pleased smile curved her lips. She tossed her head haughtily. “Well. It’s so nice to see that some mortals still remember their place,� she remarked casually, unabashedly preening and examining her well tended nails. “I s’ppose I could tell ya. Feh, ‘Course that ass is dead. He thought he was so clever, but he was kinda off his rocker, too, if ya know what I mean. Got crazed with the power. Got a little careless.� She looked up, smiling an innocent smile that wasn’t so innocent. “Kinda sad to think that after all the destruction he caused he died a few weeks later of…oh…overeatin’. Stomach popped like a bubble. Pop!�

Demaht gave a mischievous giggle. Obviously she was behind the “popping� of his stomach.

His next question, however, was most unusual. Of course the way he kept calling her “missâ€? was already oddâ€"it was a respectful title, not something anyone else had used on herâ€"but him actually asking her opinion was something else entirely. Yes, she had been stuck in that necklace for…she didn’t even know how much time had passed, but it had been a long time and it was nice to be out again.

Still, she was a naturally suspicious thing, and the irritation started to creep back in.

“And why, pray tell, does what I wanna see have anything to do with this?� she asked, twirling a red strand of hair around her finger. “But, if ya must know…� She smiled as sweetly as she could. “Seeing a buncha dead humans couldn’t hurt.�

[Anonymous]

"Well I do like fresh water...." Tzak knew he was getting on the nerves of the Djinn, something that he couldn't avoid at this point, no matter how much he wanted to. She wanted to corrupt him, she wanted to suck him into killing himself with a slip of the tongue, but he would never let that come about. If it was a matter of life and death then, he would choose life...even if that meant he would never get to use these...powers of Demaht. That...wasn't actually a bad thing either, he didn't really want to use her powers, well, maybe just for mundane stuff. Nothing big...nothing extravagant, just small simple things once in a while when he desperately needed them.

"I have been taught to abstain from desires and want. Take only what you need, only to survive. I haven't a desire for money, for power, for...what ever else could be wished for. I'm happy accepting what fate has decided to deal me at this time." Though, he probably should correct her on a few things, like her comment about him being a rock and what not. Though he wasn't sure she was listening all that much to him. Still, didn't hurt to try right?

"And I am not a rock. I simply have a lack of pink pigment in my skin and blood cells, so I look like I am grey to you. As well, rocks don't need water." Tzak left it at that. He could have said something else but that would have been completely disrespectful and pointing out the obvious, something that she was probably completely aware of after living for who knew how long. No, it would be best not to get on her bad side this quickly, more so since if he ever wished for anything, she was the one who decided if it would go through alright, or if he would suddenly find himself with another head or in the middle of the ocean. That would be a bad thing. He wasn't much for swimming in this metal suit of his. Lucky it was waterproof...but at the same time...unlucky that he couldn't turn water into air without his filtration units functioning.

"Of course. It's not hard to see that I am completely outmatched here. I am a simple humanoid creature with only limited abilities and aesthetics, but you are a supernatural entity graced with proper looks, intelligence, and an untold amount of power." Tzak sounded sincere too because...well because he was actually being sincere for that matter. He was pretty sure she could catch most lies easily, so for him to simply speak the truth, there probably would be no problem. He just had to word it right of course for her.

Then he listened to her story with a little bit of fascination. So her old master had technically abused her power. Then again that could go for any of her old master and mistresses it seemed. After all, she was here wasn't she? That sort of led him to believe that she had found a way to remove all her previous enslavers. He would have to be careful with this one, lest she kill him.

Why don't you just throw the necklace away Tzak? Toss it into the ocean. Aurora had a good point. Tzak could do that too, except for one thing. He was alone here. He had no friends, no contact save for Aurora, and so he would become bored travelling with himself and the AI in his ear. This wasn't a greed thing per se, this was more of a being alone thing. If she became too much of a nuisance, he could always leave her for some other poor sap to find and misuse her...like so many others. Maybe it was for the best that he had found her! He would be able to treat her like a person should be treated, instead of like how people were treating her before. Like a slave...He knew what it was like to be a slave too, so he could...somewhat relate. She probably had done a lot of questionable things in her life time, no doubt out of bitter hatred for people long in the past now.

She still had a few hangups with her long dead masters it seemed.

"Well, because you deserve to do what you want too." She may have to do anything a person wished, but if a person never wished, who was to say she couldn't do what she wanted in the meantime right? "Dead humans...Any...bandits or...people who might truly deserve death because of their misdeed around here?" She had been trapped in a necklace, Tzak realized, would she really know much about what had been going on in the world around her?

Still...it couldn't hurt to ask...if...he needed to he could always...wish for her to know...That would go against his whole idea about keeping them on an even playing field but...if she wanted to see dead humans then...she would get to see dead humans. Not that he wouldn't mind killing people who deserved death of course. IF...they deserved death. No innocents.

[Rhindeer]

Yeah, he was frustrating her all right. All his talk about abstaining from all but his basic needs, of accepting fate...it was really grinding on the djinn's nerves. How could anyone live like that? Weren't all mortals hedonists? For that matter, weren't most immortals, too? Every single person she'd ever come across before had always wanted something! Well...then again, there had been a few who had chucked her away from them as soon as they'd found her, but that had usually been in the desert--where people actually knew about djinns, and especially ifrits like herself.

They knew better than to take their chances.

Her thoughts were interrupted when he answered her question concerning whether or not he was a rock, and her orange eyes narrowed. He took her literally, then. Interesting. She really wondered if he took everything that literally, and if he did...that could be kind of fun. But instead of looking and feeling annoyed at Tzak for explaining the obvious to her as though she were stupid, she just smiled her most pleasant smile. "Rocks don't walk and talk, either," she added, and her smile only grew as he continued with the compliments. Hmm...she could get used to--no she couldn't!

Demaht's smile faltered for a second, her face tightening, but then she quickly smoothed away the annoyance. She could never get used to this, of being slaved out to stupid mortals, of no longer being the chosen of the Gods but just...just...less than most animals! Even flies had freedom and she would not forget that just because of a few stupid compliments, true as they were.

Still she batted her eyes at Tzak and feigned a happy sigh, placing a hand to her heart in mock humility. "Oh, I know, I know. Trust me, I know," she practically purred. Stepping closer to him she reached up briefly to pat Tzak's cheek with surprising gentleness--a patronizing sort of gesture. "In fact, maybe you should be the one enslaved to this damned necklace, then, hmm, Tzaky-boy? 'Cause ya sure aren't wishin' for anything!"

With that, she withdrew again and, seemingly bored and still frustrated, she simply plopped down on her bottom in the sand and rested her cheek on her hand, staring up at him with that unblinking gaze, thinking. She wouldn't be there long, though, because that was when Tzak said...the unspeakable. Or at least it was in Demaht's mind, and for a moment she didn't even react.

In fact, it was only after a few moments of staring at Tzak as though he'd sprouted a second head and a third eye that she finally shook her head and rubbed at her eyes as though to clear her vision. Then she stared at him some more, like that second head had grown a purple paisely moustache. There was more silence, she blinked her eyes a few times...and then, in one sudden, fluid moment she leaped to her feet, pulled herself up to her full height, and stomped over to get right where she liked to be most--in people's faces, which happened to be Tzak's at the moment.

"Are ya shittin' me?" she finally demanded, raising up on her toes so her face was only inches from his; he wasn't too much taller than she was. "You're gonna grant my wish? Me! The djinn, the bloody genie! The one with the wish granting powers of wish grantingness! And you're gonna do what I want? You're askin' me what I want? What is wrong with ya?"

She paused as though to let the ridiculousness of the whole thing sink in, then she finally shook her head and stood down, placing a hand over her eyes and shaking her head For the moment, she was too stunned to remember her hatred of humanoids and how much she enjoyed tricking and killing her masters and mistresses. Never in her long life had she met anyone who not only wanted nothing, but who asked what she</I> wanted and was actually...seemingly <I>serious about it. It...defied everything that made sense in her head. Oh, sure, she met one man who, at the end of his life (he had been one of the rare clever ones that had survived her) had asked her what she really wanted and had tried to wish her free, but...that had failed, and these sorts were few and far between.

But never before had she encountered something like this. No wants at all? And asking her opinion and what she wanted? And he was willing to go through with it? It defied all logic! It defied all her logic! And her logic was the only sort that mattered.

And she was fascinated. If incredibly frustrated and more than a little suspicious of his motives. Suddenly, though, it was no longer about gruesomely killing the man just for being there. No, for now she was curious as new possibilities opened up. For one, she wondered if she could seriously get him to do things for her. For two, she simply saw a challenge in him--surely there was something deep down that he wanted, and dammit if she wouldn't get him to make a wish for something other than just the bare basics! And three...she just wondered if he was screwing with her head to see how angry he could get her. And for a creature of fire like herself? Well. She could get very, very angry, and he was just lucky she was incapable of hurting him or anyone else.

"Yeah, guy, there's...there's somethin' loose in your brain case, somethin's rattlin' around there. Clearly," she finally stated, looking back to him, surprisingly calm after her outburst. Ah, yes, her emotions never operated at anything but full throttle, and she could fluctuate from one to the other as quickly as you batted an eye. "But oh, sure, I ain't gonna complain. If ya seriously wanna grant my wish, by all means. There should be some humans around this godsforsaken dump. Doesn't matter who. All humans deserve death, after all. Most humanoids, too. They're no better."

She smiled again, absently playing with her red hair before tossing it back over her shoulder and then, surprisingly, clasping her hands together in front of her and looking up at him as innocently as she could. "Would ya really kill humans for me? Oh, pretty please?"

It would be interesting if she could actually use him, and not the other way around for once. Oh...she might enjoy that.

[Anonymous]

Tzak did want to chuck her away, but a part of him felt really sorry for the Djinn. Forced into a necklace against her will, to grant wishes no matter what to lower life forms...against her will again...and to have to fulfil them, albeit using creative techniques to trick them, all of it was against her will. So it wasn't fair for the poor being, who should be free and off doing whatever she wanted. Of course that probably meant putting the reaper's scythe to every humanoid she met...like him. So maybe being trapped in the necklace and unable to harm her technical master or mistress was a good thing.

At least he had made two wishes already that meant he was her master. Else she could probably just kill him...or was it who ever touches the necklace is the master until death? An interesting thought.

"This is true indeed. Rocks just sit there." Well...Tzak knew of some rocks from the Old Legends that moved like people, obeyed simple commands and what not. However they didn't talk or desire any food or beverage so...they were just mindless beings. He was far from that.

At least she seemed to like the compliments right? It didn't hurt him to pay a compliment or two upon her either, if it kept her happy then he would feed her ego as much as possible. The kicker was that he wasn't even lying when it came to her. He was telling the complete truth as well. That actually surprised him, because usually he would have to lie but...lying didn't seem to play a factor with her. It was pretty much all true. She was the superior being in almost every aspect compared to him.

When she patted his cheek he was prepared to recoil, instead only flinching. He had expected her to slap him or for her touch to be painful but it was surprisingly...soft...and warm. HE didn't expect that. Of course she was just patronizing him but still...she had a light soft touch. Something Tzak didn't much feel. After all, he was a lower class man on his planet. Worked for the government and the church, considered dirty until he could become a 'priest' or 'educator' to the new children of his world...but she...she had touched him. No problem at all.

"Maybe I should, then it would free you from your prison so you would be able to do whatever you so desired." He had almost 'what she wished' but had caught that in his mind before speaking and changed it thankfully. She might think he was just being...condescending and an ass if he said that to her. He didn't want to come off as being an ass and what not. Stay on her good side, and hopefully stay alive. That was the plan for now.

Demaht didn't seem to say anything after what he had said about killing bandits for her. She just...seemed to sit there stunned. Uh oh. Had he said something wrong to her? Did she like bandits? Maybe the bandits worshipped her in some twisted weird way! Djinn were like Gods to some people after all. Oh God he was going to get smote by the Djinn wasn't he when he wished for anything new!

But finally she reacted, stomping over to him and then...getting really angry. Hee. He couldn't get scared when she had to raise up on her toes. Though he was good NOT to show his amusement through facial features. That might be...very bad after all. He was pretty sure he had angered her...he would have to try and get around this quickly. He didn't want to anger her after all, and maybe change was bad for her. She probably had been mistreated, she wasn't used to anyone actually wanting to listen to her and do things for her. Tzak considered her to be his friend now, because she the only person she really knew here after all. Friends did things for friend without question or reason.

"Maybe I am a little strange, but I stand by what I said earlier...if you want dead humans...then you'll get them." Of course, Tzak would have to make sure he didn't kill anyone innocent. That was a core rule. If they were innocent and pure, he shouldn't touch them. Criminals and what not were a free kill, just as long as people didn't see him doing that. it would draw attention to him, and his cover would be blown. Even though this wasn't a mission, but a crash landing, still, he had to operate like it was a real mission. He had technology these people could only dream of, and if he was exposed and had it taken away from him...the results could be disastrous.

"You try to look innocent and...though you do almost look the part I know you aren't. Ahem. However...yes...I will kill humans for you...because you deserve to have a wish granted once in a while." It was a fair trade off after all. She had gave him water when he really needed it, and she...really wanted to see people dead. Bandits though. Bad people. People who deserved to die. Not just everyone, like she wanted. He wasn't a ruthless killer after all. This would mean becoming a shadow, stalking people, watching them, discovering who stole because they could, bullied people, corrupted lawmen and what not. Might be a little hard to find on this...island. Damn he hated islands sometimes.

Tzak, I don't like this. It's risky! You give in too easily, and think the best all the time! What if she...tries to make you work for her? Just killing senselessly and all that? Please be careful, you can't trust her. Tzak couldn't trust her because the legends SAID he shouldn't trust her. Had anyone actually taken the time to trust her? Had anyone shown her kindness and tried to be nice to her? Probably not right off the bat. Tzak was approaching this from a difficult angle. He owned her a wish now. He had asked for two mundane things, and she was asking for one very large thing. Soe he would grant her wish, and they would be even. Then he would have to wish for something else in order for her to try and get something else. It made sense to him anyways.

[Rhindeer]

Ah, lucky for Tzak but Demaht was physically incapable of hurting another person, bound by the enchantment and all. Hell, but she wanted to she couldn't even so much as pinch Tzak! Maybe if he wished her to...but she didn't even know if that would work because, after all, no one had ever wished her to smack  them. If someone did, she'd happily take them up on it--she'd have no choice--but she might also think them a bit on the loony side. Still, nonetheless Demaht couldn't help but smirk when she caught how he'd flinched at her touch.

Heh. Well, if he was afraid that she could hurt him, she wasn't going to tell him that she was unable to. Then again...there was always the possibility that he'd just been surprised by the heat of her touch, and that thought was a bit...disappointing. Demaht was a fire entity, and her body was naturally very warm. If she wanted to, she could make her body hot as a fire so touching her would be painfully impossible, or she could even turn into a fire--except for the fact that she couldn't hurt anyone anymore.

A bitter laugh escaped her at Tzak's suggestion, her eyes mirthless. "Hah! Like you'd wish me free and take my place when no one else has. Oh, wait, one guy tried, that's right. Tried wishin' me free that is. Didn't work. Still. One." She shook her head, grinning malevolently. "One outta...oh...how many masters an' mistresses? I lost count, it's all a blur anymore. But can ya believe that? Only one? Feh, I can believe it. Didn't surprise me. Just surprised me that one actually thought about it."

It was a good think Tzak didn't actually laugh at her or show amusement, otherwise...that would have been bad. Proud and disgruntled and embittered as the djinn was, she would have raised all hell for being laughed at. Demaht obviously didn't take well to captivity, though she'd done what she could over the centuries to make the most of it--in her own very twisted way--but her resentment of humans and other humanoids hadn't faded a bit over the years...and being laughed at would be nigh on unforgiveable. Long ago, before the djinn were punished, the djinn had ruled the desert lands. When humans and other humanoids came along, the djinn had at first been revered and placed on pedastals, regarded as demi-Gods...and sometimes full on Gods. Their beauty and power just wasn't of this world.

At one point in her life, Demaht had actually been worshipped by a desert tribe as a local fire Goddess--and she had enjoyed it immensely. She had performed "miracles." She had been adored and loved, and her already inflated ego had swelled to epic proportions. Ah, that had been the height of her life, when she'd actually had a cult following, and she'd been nice about it, too! She had been benevolent, kept the peons in line. All she asked for was worship, really...and a few people now and then to brush her hair and give her massages, but that was beside the point. They'd been more than happy to, anyway.

Now she was lower than most human slaves and her ego, though still enormous, was bruised and sullen. It stung even more to know, deep down inside, that it was she and the other djinns' own fault for what had happened to them, but...pride and an innate feeling of superiority kept her from actually accepting or admitting that. It wasn't their fault. It was the fault of stupid humans and jealous Gods, wrecking their fun and then later punishing them when they lashed right back, and she had stood by that for centuries.

She didn't feel like she was in the wrong. She felt betrayed.

She had never gotten over that, and she didn't take kindly at all to being reminded of where she was now, and that a mere human could laugh at her and have power over her. But even still what Tzak said, that he would do something for her...it was jarring. It was way out of her realm of comprehension. It was practically jargon to her it was just that out there.

No, as an immortal being, Demaht did not take well to change. It threw her off and confused her and she didn't like it at all. And the only way she knew how to react to it was with scorn and disbelief--and resistence and suspicion.

And yet Tzak said he still stood by it...

Clearly there was something wrong with him. But hmm, if he really was serious and not just toying with her, she was curious to see just how far he'd go. Besides, she still had a feeling that he was lying. Flashing a smile at Tzak. "Me? Not innocent? I dunno what you're talkin' about, hon. I'm totally innocent," she said simply, winking at him. "As for you, I still think there's somethin' cracked up about ya, but if ya wanna kill humans for me, I'm not gonna stop ya. Here's the thing, though."

She paused and eyed him critically, rubbing her chin. "It doesn't count if ya use me to do it. If ya wish for a sword to use or somethin', it doesn't count. Ya gotta do it on your own. Like ya will. Feh. I still don't believe ya." Hopefully that would goad him and get him going. She really was curious to see if he was seriously going to do that, and she knew there were a few tribes around here. Or...there should be? Maybe they were gone. She didn't know how long she'd been locked in that necklace.

And she also knew, with some amount of sadistic delight, that one man against one tribe without her aid was basically a death trap.

Of course, she also didn't know that he planned on only killing criminals. As far as she was concerned, they could all burn--they were all criminals.

[Anonymous]

Tzak didn't know that she couldn't hurt him, and still, he didn't want to take any chances. Super natural being, favoured by Gods, talked about in legends, herald of many myths and subject of so much lore...Tzak didn't much like the idea of her hurting him for that matter. Aurora was there to say something though to him. To talk to him about a strangeness from this woman. Tzak, just to let you know...she's hot. If it had been any other culture, someone might have figured something differently, but for Tzak, he understood what it meant. Her temperature was irregularly high, at least for a normal humanoid. They usually were up there in the ninety six degrees or so, but this one, she was a little bit higher than that.

Maybe if you're good you can snuggle up to her to keep warm. Of course, she'll probably burn your face off if you try to nuzzle her neck. Tzak smirked ever so little as he listened to her talk about freeing her. He wondered if it was possible...but perhaps...it wasn't completely off though. "Hm...why...um..." Great. How exactly do you go about this anyways? Without making her...mad? Was it a touchy subject anyways? Maybe. "Can I ask you Miss Demaht why...you were imprisoned in the necklace?" No wishing, just asking. If she didn't want to answer him, then he wouldn't press it.

In his culture, they still listened to elders, even the ones who said about supernatural beings, like...dragons, shape shifters, transparent beings who were telepathic and from a strange realm...There was so much lore, so many legends...hell...they even said that the first Feratul was an Undead necromancer who could raise armies from fallen soldiers and summon demons from hell itself. Of course...it was just stories, but there was always just a bit of merit there to it all.

Tzak didn't want to offend her, and as such, he didn't want to anger her with anything he ever said either. All Tzak wanted to do was try to please this woman so if he ever had to rely on her, she would be able to rely on him without there being a problem. She probably didn't..really seem to get this whole thing. Had she really never had a friend of sorts? Had all she ever known was just being enslaved and having to do whatever people asked her?

"Oh, right of course. My mistake. You're as innocent as the fallen snow." She seemed...somewhat in good spirits still, that was always good after all. If he kept his helmet on, he might be able to tell about her mood, the insincerity of everything...but sadly he just didn't have that power at this time. Well...he could put it back on but...he had already taken it off after all. It would be rude and show mistrust for her if he put it back on. That would be...that would be wrong. He would not do that. He would do right by this woman, it was only fair to her right?

"I won't use you as a weapon." His hands went down to his thighs, to pull the daggers that almost had seemed...molded to his legs. He held them carefully in his hand, feeling their balance again. It had been two thousand years since he held these daggers, but to him...it had only been a heartbeat. He had gone to sleep, and woke up...to him, it hadn't been more than a second. Sigh. Time was always a strange factor...he really didn't like that. Time was always very strange...He would have to do something about all that, sit down and mull it over.

Tzak, she's a monster! You can't just...kill someone because you feel bad for her! Tzak you have to follow your guidelines! I mean it! I'll write a report about this! Tzak only smiled as he watched Demaht carefully, holding up his daggers. "I have my weapons, I can take on...who ever I really need to." He just wouldn't be able to use his gun of course...because then she might know. If she knew...well...there would be trouble. He'd never be able to use the gun as long as she was here with him. It was so handy as well...oh well.

"You have to understand though Demaht, I know you're not the biggest fan of people but...I can't just kill someone who my law system doesn't find evil. If I kill a farmer who is tilling his fields, that is wrong to me. It's okay to you, but it isn't to me. You can grant wishes without any limit, but I can only grant wishes with...some limits. I'm only human after all. I hope you will understand that but...if it makes you happy I'll slit the throat of every evil person we come across so you can watch them die." Then, Tzak was off, making sure the amulet was tightly strapped along his right bicep. It fit after all, that did so work for him.

Why are you doing all this Tzak? I know the laws saw that the slaves shall be free, the fallen shall rise, and the will should always be iron but...Tzak...we were all slaves...and that was never fixed! Well...I suppose we're free now but that is besides the point. There was already too much distrust with Demaht, and if he didn't show some to her...then if he ever needed help he couldn't rely on her. Not to mention, it wasn't fair. If he was free, and she was not...then how could it ever be fair? He liked things to be fair, within reason. Freedom after all, could be given, and so he was going to go about helping her out on being free.

She would be free. He would make sure of that.

[Rhindeer]

It was a bit of a touchy subject, and it showed on Demaht's face as soon as Tzak spoke the words. Her smile faltered and her face tightened, but a second later and she was smiling again, even if those bright orange eyes of hers had narrowed a little. "Oh, sure, ya can ask," she replied lightly. "Ya just did, didn'tcha?" And then she laughed softly at her own wit and seemed to drop the subject entirely.

Why would he care, anyway? He was one of them.

She did have to snort at his comment, though. Okay, so maybe she'd jokingly called herself innocent first, but it was still kind of funny to hear coming from someone else. Because it was the farthest thing from the truth, of course. "I was thinkin' more like smooth, white desert sand. With scorpions and snakes," she said with a slight shrug of her thin shoulders before watching interestedly as he pulled free a pair of daggers. Oh. Nice. Now he was talking.

So he really was serious about this killing business, huh? That was interesting. Demaht really hadn't expected him to take her seriously, much less be willing to do such a thing. Sure, human life to her was worthless so one or a thousand dead humans was no biggy to her, but for a human to actually agree to her test...that was strange. Perhaps this man was a criminal himself? Well, it wouldn't be the first time he'd fallen into the hands of a criminal, and she rather liked them. They were always so eager to cause trouble, and she tended to let those ones live a while without sabotaging any of their wishes--at least, not until she finally got bored with them.

But it was also true that for the great majority of her life, she had been friendless and objectified. It hadn't been since her time prior to imprisonment that she had had a friend, or even seen another of her kind. Ah...it was probably strange to think that back then, she'd even had human friends, companions, and lovers among the worshippers. They never lasted long, they were mortal after all and time slayed them, but she hadn't minded them. They fed her ego and loved her, and she loved them right back. At least until everything had gone to hell. Then...she came to hate them, and hate the Gods as well. After all, there were two types of djinn--the ones that had accepted their punishment with grace and taken it upon themselves to help humans and, through that, seek to redeem themselves, and the ones like Demaht who took it...rather poorly to say the least.

In any case, all thoughts that Tzak might be a criminal soon flew out the window at what he said next--that he would only kill evil people.

And Demaht almost burst out laughing. Hah! Who did he think he was talking to right now? She'd been called evil many times in the past. Still, she waved a hand through the air dismissively and shook her head. "Oh, whatever. 'Good', 'evil', I really couldn't less as long as ya deliver. A human's a human and I can't tell the difference," she said, smirking. "I still think you're strange. This has gotta be the first time a djinn's ever had her own genie. Well, get grantin'."

Still unaware of the AI in Tzak's ear, Demaht followed easily after Tzak, trotting alongside him effortlessly as he started off. She didn't even have to walk if she didn't want to, but it did feel good to stretch her legs and feel the sand beneath her after a great many years spent in confinement. For a few moments she was quiet, and then...

"Hmm...y'know, I s'ppose I could tell ya why I'm enslaved," she finally said, stressing the word enslaved. She hated the word, but imprisoned somehow made it seem less severe, like she would eventually be released. And that wasn't so for her. In any case, she finally relented and decided to tell him...but it had been rather shocking at first to hear someone actually ask about that. That was a first.

Most people just seemed to assume she was created that way, that all djinn came with a lamp or ring or some trinket that they were connected to. Hah. She'd never cared to go into the details, either. Wasn't like her masters would live long, anyway, and that was good enough for her.

"A long time ago, us djinn ruled the deserts. There weren't humans there yet, not even humanoids. We were there first, an' the Gods loved us, took pride in us, because we were their chosen and the crown of creation. Then...when the humans an' humanoids came, less fancy, weak, plainer versions of ourselves, well..." She smirked a little. "They thought we were the Gods. Who were we to say no? They wanted to worship us, so like hell we were gonna stop 'em if they wanted to! I was a Goddess back then, y'know," Demaht said with a dreamy sigh, tossing her hair.

"Go figure, eh? I mean with looks like mine, of course they'd think I was a Goddess. Anyway, the real Gods weren't too happy. Said we were being deceitful and usin' the ickle humans, but I just think they were jealous. Feh. We were just havin' fun! But the Gods made us lay off, and when the humans learned the truth, they saw us instead as demons tryin' to lead them astray. Hmph. And the Gods were just sooo into protectin' their little baby humans and slappin' us upside the head whenever we wanted to have fun, and then they started ignoring us altogether to coddle those stupid pink fleshy weaklings...so...I mean, is it any surprise we felt jilted an' started to lash out? I mean, here we were, being replaced by the next shiny new thing! And they didn't even do anything! They died! Their bodies broke! I mean, what's so great about that?" Obviously, Demaht was starting to grow more impassioned as the story went on, voice bitter as she all out stomped through the sand.

"So. We just figured if they liked stuff that died and broke, hell, we'd just help them out! Makes sense, right? And maaaybe we'd get some attention in  the process, too. So. We started knockin' off humans. That apparently really pissed the Gods off, so...they finally paid attention to us, but only to punish us. How? By enslavin' us to humans. Hah hah. Joke's on us." Demaht finished bitterly, kicking hard at the sand in front of her.

"And that...was pretty much it, and I've been stuck in that necklace since. Fun story, that. Why'd ya wanna know, anyway?" she asked, glancing over at him.

[Anonymous]

You just had to ask her didn't you? You're going to get your fool head blown up. Aurora commented as they both noted the twitch of her facial expression. Well, then he better not wish for anything that might blow his head up. Hm, probably shouldn't ask her to repair his helmet if it ever got damaged...that would be a bad thing! She's going to lead you on and you're going to end up getting us killed you know! "I suppose I did..." Tzak decided to just agree with her instead of pressing the issue. If she didn't want to answer then he wasn't going to push her with that.

"Er, right. You're fire...not ice. My mistake." Ifrit, Efreet, Efrit, however you wanted to say it, it still meant to do with fire and of the desert. Efreet Djinn, how wonderful, one of the most hot blooded creatures of lore...except for that one creature that had lava for blood...but ahem. Still...It was just as bad as this wasn't it? After all, she could grant wishes and what not, so he would have to be insanely careful when he spoke. He could handle that. Aurora would help him. Hah, you wish Tzak. You're on your own with this one. It's your mess. Alright, so maybe she wouldn't help him...no big deal. He could handle this whole thing...yeah...he was an adult after all...

There was playing on an ego because you had to survive, because you had to rely on the owner of said ego, and then there was devoting your life to them because you believed they were Gods and Goddesses. Tzak knew that the Djinn was no Goddess. She was just a being that had the pleasure of having a whole lot more power than he did. She could draw on a lot more experience than he could imagine, but she wasn't a Goddess. After all, with all the technology, people of this world might think he were a God...it was all perspective at this point. Of course, while she would prey on those who believed her to be a Goddess, he would not allow people to worship him. He was lowly...he was human...he couldn't trick his own fellow humans that much.

"Just as long as you understand Miss Demaht." He wanted her to explicitly understand his situation. Criminals were fine, innocents were not. She may not see everyone as innocent but he still had his own moral code to live up to, and as such...that's how he had to live. By the Code.

Sometimes he was tired of living by the code...right now it was more of like the honour system. His superiors, long dead by now, would not find out about him disobeying the code, he could essentially do what he wanted, but at the same time...he would live up to the code all on his own.

"Really? That'd be very kind of you to do so Miss Demaht." Be polite, be formal, be gracious, it was all a song and dance he had done before. It felt familiar, and so he didn't really mind it all that much. When she began to speak, both Aurora and Tzak became captivated by the story. Once in aw while Aurora would make a snippy comment about her being a Goddess, while Tzak was trying to weigh in the balances and what not. Well...it showed him that the Gods of this world were flawed so to speak...he had never actually met a God who was completely perfect, so it lead him to believe that there was no actually true God...It just meant that the Gods' were beings who were so much more powerful and superior, but at the same time there had to be something that was more superior than they. It was an interesting thought to say the least.

"I think you might have been punished a little...harshly...Granted you did kill the favourite of the Gods...humans are always revered by the Gods. Except I've heard tell of a few who prefer Fey more than anything...That's not important though..." Tzak rubbed the back of his neck, feeling the cold steel of his armour, the hairs raising ever so slightly on the back of his neck from the pleasant chill. Thank technology for the great automatic temperature conditioning units, they were saviours when you encountered hot or cold places like this.

"Well Miss Demaht, I thought I should...try to get to know you while I can right? Y'know, before you grant a wish and it kills me or I foolishly head into a trap or some such thing." Some people might have found it odd how casual he could say such a thing. As he had said before, death was not always the end for him. It could just be the beginning of a new world. Maybe Heaven, Hell, the Ethereal Realm, the Abyss, it could very well exist. No telling what was out there after all.

You actually pity her don't you? She's a complete monster Tzak! She and her kin killed humans because they were jealous, because they lacked attention! They're just as low as...as... Tzak smiled slightly to himself. As humans...! They were prototypes Tzak! The Gods saw how much the Djinn abused power, and they created new Djinn, ones without power, but ones with that expanded learning capacity! Tell her that! Point that out to her! I want to see her squirm! Tzak didn't particularly like the idea of that, pointing out why the Gods may have abandoned them...It was best to keep his mouth shut and what not.

"Is it so odd that I would want to learn about you? I mean I've never met one of your kind before, though you've probably met billions of humans before so I'm just another drop in the bucket but...you're a unique thing to me so I figure I should take the time study you and get to know you, since the only other person I have with me is a cynical AI holographic system...huh...you're kind of the same you know...oh erm...you can't actually hear her though...lemme just..." Tzak fiddled with the helmet at his side, unlatching it and placing it back on his head. It molded with the neck of the armour and he smiled. Ah. Nice and cool. Slowly the front of the helmet opened and then retracted completely to show his face, and the small hologram that was Aurora, who had her arms crossed and was staring at the Djinn with some distaste.

Lucky his helmet had the hologrpahic projection units installed in it so he could do this sort of thing! Technology was wonderful as it was devastating at least. "This is Aurora, she is my AI system." The AI gave a small sniff of indignant at this time as she observed the djinn before her. She didn't much care for the creature, technically they were almost evenly balanced in terms of wit and intelligence...only the Djinn had a physical body and magical powers, where Aurora only had Tzak.

"I suppose I should at least say hello, but I want you to know that-" Tzak sent a small rely, causing the holographic systems to be shut down and Tzak smiled lightly. "She doesn't trust you nor does she like you...you can go ahead and do the same to her of course...I really don't expect you two to get along together." The helmet suddenly began to seal back up, sliding down  to cover his face completely once more, allowing his optical sensors to take over. "You may um...find it rude that I'm wearing my helmet now, but with my helmet I can um...see colour...I'm colour blind, born with it." It wasn't a huge disadvantage, it let him see better at night for some unexplained reason.

Life was fun when you couldn't tell colour...well...fun wasn't the best way to put it. Annoying at times, and mostly aggravating when it came to all the people back on his home planet who would say stuff like 'Oh Tzak, do you love the new colour of my hair?' and when he said yes they laughed because they didn't change the colour. Some people could be very cruel for some unknown reason. Tzak could almost be as angry with humans as Demaht could be.

[Rhindeer]

Demaht's right eye gave a subtle twitch. Favorite of the Gods. Humans were always revered by the Gods. Oh, that really wasn't what she wanted to hear right now. Drawing her lips into a thin line, it really didn't help that Tzak went on to add that some favored fae more than humans...all of course with no mention of the Gods loving djinn. Thrusting her shoulders back and stiffening her spine, Demaht shot Tzak a rather nasty look.

"Harshly? Damn right we were punished harshly! Humans and fae? Favorites? What about US?!" she snapped, thumping a fist against her chest emphatically. Then, clicking her tongue in disgust, she shook her head and waved a hand through the air as though telling him to drop it, bracelets jingling. "Whatever. I don't need to hear that from you. Of course you'd think you're favored by the Gods. GODS! Bloody humans, all the same! Think you're so great just because we got godsmacked," she raved before stomping off through the sand ahead of him, only stopping because there came a point when she could go no further; their link kept her from going more than twenty feet away from him in any direction.

Hissing a curse in some archaic language and giving the sand another kick, she whirled around again to face him. Apparently by now all pretenses of sweetness on her part had been dropped--or at least for the time being. If there was one thing about immortals, or at least ifrits like Demaht, it was that she never experienced any emotion halfway--yet at the same time, she could also switch gears abruptly enough to confuse and bewilder most mortals. That sort of a change came over Demaht right then when she caught what Tzak said, and she cocked her head to one side in a curious, almost innocent manner. The violent anger seemed to melt away, her bright orange eyes widening a little.

"Get to know me?" she asked shortly, planting a hand on her hip. "Why wouldja wanna get to know me?" There was a slight smirk on her lips. He was...interesting. He seemed to think she was going to kill him--which of course she would when she got the chance. Yet he seemed oddly accepting of that. Strange. Any other humanoid that got wind that she was plotting their messy demise tended to get rid of her fast.

"Yeah it's odd. Pretty insane, actually. No one else has wanted to, so..." Her suspicious nature kicked right back in and her eyes narrowed a little. "At least not since I was known as a Goddess. Then of course ev'ryone wanted to know me. You. What makes ya so different from all the others, ay? I almost think you're pullin' my--AI holographic system?"

Suspicion faded from her face, replaced instead by a look of genuine curiosity as he fiddled with his helmet, put it back on, and let the visor...go away. Unable to help herself, she started walking back toward him--walking, not stomping for once--to see what the heck an AI holographic system was. Because she had no clue, which...kind of chaffed at her. She had always been so wise way back in the day of djinn. Now...humans knew more about the world than she did. Of course, that was to be expected when she spent years, decades, centuries and even longer locked away in a necklace in a state of perpetual, dreamless sleep. It was...kind of scary in a way. Every time she was summoned, the world was way, way different from how she last left it.

Peering at the helmet, it was then that she noticed...WHOA! A little person! And my, she didn't look too happy, either, staring at her with obvious distaste. Which of course made Demaht quite happy. Was the little bint jealous? Of course she was. After all, Demaht was gorgeous and superior! Demaht's lips stretched into a wicked grin as the little woman began to speak. "Yes, hello there, sweetie," she drawled in reply, waiting with amusement for what she might say, but suddenly the AI's words were cut off and she vanished.

Hey!

"Where'd she go?" Demaht demanded sharply, looking from where the tiny human had been to Tzak's face. Then the smile returned and she fluffed her loosely curled hair absently. "As if I need permission to hate," she said lightly, giving Tzak a sly, half-lidded look. "Though come to think of it...maybe we can relate. What is an AI holographic system? Is she another of your slaves? Why'd ya cut her off, anyway? I wanted to hear what the cute little bug thinks of me. In her own words."

She'd make sure the little human died with Tzak when he screwed up.

As Tzak's face was covered once more, Demaht just gave a simple shrug at his explanation. "Oh really?" she murmured, looking him over before snorting. "Ya could wish to see in color, y'know. But do what ya want. Wear your silly lil' helmet. All the better to see my gorgeous self in full color, of course. Now wouldja hurry up? Ya gonna kill humans or what?" Obviously she was starting to grow impatient.

Even more impatient as she noticed that, no matter where she looked, all she saw was wilderness...were there even any humans here to kill anymore? Heh, she had caused a lot of human deaths back then...but now that she thought of it...

...The mainland was always better when it came to humans. And they had better food. Oh, Demaht didn't have to eat, of course, but she was a hedonist through and through and she did love the taste of some foods. Of course, she could create any food item she wanted on a whim...but she preferred not to. If Demaht was going to use her awesome powers, she did not want to use it on menial stuff like...water and food. Besides, she liked being waited on, she liked being served, she liked being worshipped. She didn't like to wait on other people.

Why do for herself what other people could do for her? Besides, it was fun to watch.

"Hrm. Tzak. Let's go to the mainland," she said suddenly, looking up at him. There was finality in her voice, a demand. Even if she was technically the slave here, obviously she did not take well to that role, and so long as he was going to behave so...lenient...she was going to take advantage of him. "We won't find many humans here. Besides, it's borin' here and even the food's disgustin' here from what I remember. The mainland, though...lotsa people. Lotsa action. Lotsa...crooks for ya, since you'll only kill those. Feh. And I dunno if the country's even still there, but this one place had the best blueberries. I've been havin' the strangest cravin' for blueberries and I don't even gotta eat," she mused, tapping her chin.

And then, as though struck by a thought, a sadistic grin spread across her face as she looked up at Tzak. "Not that I even ate 'em most the time. Heh heh. Mosta the time I just served 'em. Blueberries and whipped cream and chocolate--a la my chest."

Then, with a vicious smile and a wink, she turned and walked off ahead of him again, peeking back over her shoulder. If she couldn't ruffle his feathers with threats of a horrible, messy death, maybe she could try another method. She did enjoy being annoying and getting under people's skin, and she did have no shame. Maybe if she could throw him off guard enough, too, he'd slip and make a mistake. And when he did, well...would she exploit it? Hm...that was an interesting question. But...no.

Not yet.

Right now, she just wanted to see how much she could manipulate him. Right now this was sort of fun. But once she got bored...yes, that's when she would end it.

[...>_> Hoo boy. Did the blueberries Goose again. xDD Once again tried to make it work!]

[Anonymous]

Gah! He just...well he really wasn't going good here. Keep sticking your foot in your mouth. Maybe you'll choke and she won't have to listen to you. Aurora's voice was thick of anger and it was like spewing venom. She really didn't like her did she? This uh...this was pretty bad...He really was getting himself into a mess.

"W-well yes, you were um..." He gulped and just decided not to say anything bad about her. Positive stuff...keep her...um...keep her happy. Yes. "I'm...not a human...I'm a Feratul...We do have Gods but...I think they're more figureheads..." Tzak said as he tried to rectify the situation as this time. He really didn't like this whole thing...He had to make it better. "I...didn't...um...I'm sorry that the Gods...got angry at you..." She really was pissed wasn't she...though...why didn't she go further? She just...stayed the same distance away. He'd have to ask her about that later perhaps. He wanted to know all about this...genie thing that was going on right now.

At least her real self was showing finally. All this...fake sweetness, and Aurora hissing in his ear all the time...finally things were going better to say the least. Somewhat better. Well not really, they were going pretty badly now, and that was a really bad thing for him. Though...at least she changed somewhat...he wasn't sure if she was being sincere at this time. She had changed emotions right away. Calm...furious...then...calm again. Sort of...

"Why wouldn't I want to get to know you Demaht?" Tzak told her with a small smile as he folded his hands behind his back as he watched her. "You should just accept that someone wants to know you...It's not a big deal." At least to him, but he understood where the poor Djinn was coming from. A life time of servitude to humans, and one creature comes along and doesn't ask for anything big, and even wants to fulfil her wishes...he would be suspicious too but...at the same time...he hoped this would improve what she thought of him. He really didn't want her to think ill of him,a nd he wanted her to...like him...or in the very least not want to kill him or anything like that.

At least with technical jargon she wouldn't know what he was talking about it! She seemed...confused and...curious. She actually didn't seem angry anymore. This was...well he didn't mind this at all really! It was good to know what would...kill her anger. Though he knew it was a bad idea to show Aurora to her it was still...well it was still going to be interesting. Sigh. The things he did for some people really. "Yes...Artificial Intelligence Holographic System. Basically she's like a spirit thats locked into my armour." That was the only way to put it really. It made sense after all! It was the perfect explanation in his mind.

It was like watching an accident in slow motion. You saw it happening, and all you did was watch. Thankfully Tzak caught what was going to happen and fixed it all quickly. By simply cutting her off course. He really didn't want a fight to be started either. "I...don't want to see in colour without my helmet. I'm not going to use you like that..." Tzak told her carefully, coughing more to himself. That sounded kind of wrong really...Erm...Alright, just...get off the topic perhaps. Maybe there would be a subject change? Gah...

"The mainland?" right. They were on an island. Maybe the mainland would be better off for them..."Alright...well I guess we'll get to the mainland...I um...we'll need a ship." This had to be a wooden ship place, and that meant finding one. He wasn't going to wish for one either...that would be bad. It would be wrong.  He blinked a few times as he looked at her. It was like she was talking...nonsense. What the hell was a blueberry?! Er...Aurora...what's a blueberry? He asked the AI mentally, who didn't say anything for a few minutes. I don't know and I don't care Tzak. You should have let me tell her off. Pah. Great, she was angry too. Sigh. Everyone wasn't happy to be around him. Damn it all! He was a screw up sometimes. However his attention changed quickly when she spoke again.

Now...

He didn't get embarrassed easily...

But when it cames to topics of a sexual nature...he got really flustered to say the least. It wasn't taboo really...it was illegal sort of. Only royals and nobles were allowed to have sex and what not...because they were superior so to speak. Damn those stupid nobles...damn them so much.

"O-on your chest? Y-you let p-people...e-eat...off of..." Tzak's cheeks had become a much darker colour as he just coughed to himself and shook his head. His eyes slowly wandered to look at her chest, which really wasn't hard to see either...It was right there for everyone to see. He gulped hard as he imagined it...he pictured it...and it scared him a little bit. TZAK! You pervert! Don't think of that Aurora practically screamed into his ears and it caused him to blink, and his cheeks becoming a whole lot more grey. Gah! He wasn't...er....gaaaah! No! That was bad! She wasn't supposed to be able to see that sort of stuff!

Damn it all...was...she wasn't...suggesting...what exactly...was she...?! Tzak stumbled along behind her, confused as hell, and unable to think straight. Just...what was she talking about? Was she saying that...if he wanted to do that stuff...he might be able to? Yes she is and YOU WON'T BE! At all Tzak! You will never be doing that sort of thing! Your castrated for a reason! That brought Tzak to a strange thought really...Why did he need to be chemically castrated anymore? His...society was probably dead anyways...And he wasn't planning a big invasion of this world...so...Because sex leads to degradation. It will dull your senses and make you into a slave to lust. Without it you're much better off without Tzak. You'd probably end up being a slave to her as well. This way you can be focused. Now get your head out of the gutter. Geez...she really was strict about these sort of things wasn't she?

If you keep her around she will kill you. Tzak you heard her! She doesn't...WANT anything to do with you! She just wants to use you. You're nothing to her! You're just like this sand. She's immortal, Tzak you barely get to live for thirty five years! You're an idiot. If I could contact our home world, I would be out of here SO fast. You're just lucky there is no contact with them. Prattling on...and on...She really didn't want him to...um...Sigh. This was interesting really. Tzak..knew that she wanted him dead, and that she was trying to get under his armour and then his skin...and...He didn't care. He didn't mind it at all. He had been taking orders all his life...within the moral limits of course. He really didn't know why it was alright with him...he would accept his death...even if she wanted to end him.

"So um...erm...let's go...find a ship or something..." There had to be a place around here...some sort of....well there had to eb a port they could hijack a boat! Anything! Gah! Tzak, I'm picking up life signs in a small cove not far from here. A voice cut into his mind and he blinked several times. Life signs? Tzak began to run, heading after to find these life signs. It took him a little while until he reached this place with life signs. It was a cove of some sort. What was exactly going on here anyways? There was...a sort of makeshift dock that had been made, and...A SHIP! There was a sort of a ship there! It seemed it could only hold about twenty people or so, but still. It looked in good condition, the sails were all in order...Of course, Tzak had only seen these in holographic reels and what not but...he could learn. Demaht could help with...damn. Her wishes.

There was about fifteen people down there...they looked to be...smugglers or something like that. Pirates Tzak. They're called pirates. Scum really. That'll please your hussy of a wench. Aurora told him as he nodded, his hands going down to his legs and pulling the daggers from his side. Alright...He would have to kill them. All of them. For Demaht. They needed justice anyways...it was destined to happen anyways.

"Aurora...engage thermal vision, map out the probable paths, calculate a quick scenario, and give me the vital spots." There was a few beeps in his ear, and his visor closed on him. It was time to do what he was trained to do. Sort of. Sigh. Killing pirates...interesting to say the least. Tzak launched himself down the side of the small hill, stepping onto the dock and looking at the men and women there, who were looking right back at him. They were carting in boxes of some sort, but right now they just seemed...confused. Right. They had no idea what he was. That was...slightly good. Tzak approached the first pirate, who seemed...somewhat well dressed? Captain maybe? Didn't matter. As his dagger plunged into the man's stomach, Tzak's audio sensors shut off as the scream pierced the air. Alright. Humans and Elves. So hearts, stomachs, necks, head even. He could manage that.

Tzak was off in a flurry as the pirates began to pull out weapons, short swords, scimitars, rapiers, and other small weapons. Heh. Well he could take these people on, without his gun in hand. He knew how to engage at least four people, which worked out because that's what was coming after him. It was all routine, just like in the holographic rooms. Duck low, slice the front legs. Propel forward behind two of them, stand, and stab in the neck. Twin daggers moved in unison, delving deep into the neck of the pirates and letting crimson spray everywhere, covering Tzak's armour. Though it was good that his armour was slick. Tzak didn't expect the fourth pirate to slice at him, grating across the top of his chest. His armour gave way under the blade, letting it slice though his skin and causing him to gasp. He couldn't remember when he had last been cut before!

Thankfully it wasn't deep, and Tzak ran the man through the skull, pulling out just in time to duck under another blade. He worked quickly to take down the female pirate who had just tried to decapitate him. Tzak worked without emotion, uncaring as he cut down the next few pirates. They were...well they were pirates. They had done wrong in their life, and now they had to die. Not only because they were evil but because...he wanted Demaht to be a little bit happy. The pirates came strong at him though, there was quite a few left. Tzak launched himself at one of the large humans, landing gracefully on the man's chest. His feet rested on the man's body as he bent backwards from the impact. He didn't even seem to notice the daggers resting in his upper chest. Jumping off from him he landed in front of another pirate, whipping around to slice her throat from almost ear to ear.

Tzak was no stranger to death either...it was just...part of life. With only one of the pirates left after ten minutes, Tzak disabled the man, kicking and breaking his legs, his fighting hand, and finally, dazing him. With his iron grip around the man's hair, he looked around for Demaht. She was around somewhere no doubt. "Demaht! This is for you!" He called out to her, much to Aurora's dismay. Slowly, ever so slowly, letting the man scream and feel the pain, he drew the dagger across the pirate's neck. He held the man up as he struggled for life, until finally he expired. Letting him go Tzak gulped as he put his dagger away then went to tend to his wounds. Someone had managed to slice his arm...stab his thigh, though not deep...the slice across his chest too...This turned out better actually than most fights he had got into! His skills where improving at least...though no doubt Demaht would belittle him for it. Sigh.

Well, at least she would...be happy?

[Rhindeer]

It took every ounce of willpower to keep from cracking up.

Stealing glances over her shoulder at Tzak in anticipation of his reaction, Demaht finally had to look away from him so he couldn't see her large grin. Was that a blush? The way he grew a little darker? Haha! That was so great! And the stuttered words, as if unable to believe what she'd said. But no, Demaht couldn't laugh. If she laughed, it would spoil her cool, calm, collected facade. So instead, she just peeked another backward glance at him, nodded matter-of-factly at his unfinished question, and winked knowingly. Then she continued to saunter off ahead of him, tossing her hair.

Hah! So she'd found it. She'd found a way to get under his skin. Getting in his face all aggressive and threatening hadn't worked, he'd met promises of death and messy endings with calm indifference, and yet...she mentions her chest and whipped cream and blueberries and BAM! He's flustered and blushing. Or...she supposed that was his version of a blush. Heh.

Well, excellent. She did so love to annoy, fluster, and frustrate people. She was something of a sadist in that respect, and while she did also delight in hurting people, in killing, manipulation was probably more satisfying and amusing than anything. This was so surprising and random, though; he acted almost as though what she'd said was completely out of the realm of comprehension. Really interesting. For a mortal, he didn't look that young, he seemed like he was well into adulthood, so why should something like that get him all tongue-tied? Ah. Right. She was thinking too much like a djinn and not enough like a mortal, and mortals always were so weird about physical things. Well, some of them. Some of them could be just as shameless as she.

Her conclusion? He was a prude.

And prudes were amusing.

And amazingly easy to trip up. So now she knew how to get at him. As soon as she tired of him and he ceased being amusing--because even if she hated being sealed away in suspended animation, she preferred it over being bored--then it would be a simple matter of disposing of him now that she knew how to throw him for a loop. Ah. Men. Show a little skin and you could wrap them around your finger.

"Mm?" Demaht paused and looked back over her shoulder at Tzak when he spoke again, on a subject very distant from, well, the previous subject. Ship? Oh. So he'd really taken her suggestion to heart. Interesting. But he'd taken it so literally. After all, he could just wish for them to be on the mainland somewhere--but of course, that left it up to her to choose a destination and that might not exactly be in Tzak's best interests.

Still...

Demaht was about to open her mouth and point out the obvious--that there were, you know, no ships in sight and probably none anywhere on this primitive island--or at least it had been primitive when she'd first come here--but suddenly Tzak began to run, and Demaht had no choice but to break into a jog to keep up with him since, after all, she could only be twenty feet away from him in any direction. What the hell was he doing? He looked oddly determined, though, and--Demaht skidded to a stop when a ship came into view...and a dock. Wha...? Blinking several times, she reached up and rubbed at her eyes. THAT hadn't been there before!

But...there were humans there. And elves. Her hatred was more toward humans than elves, for elves really hadn't done anything to djinn, but at the same time she really couldn't care less about who died. It wasn't important to her.

And from the orders Tzak barked out next, his daggers out, it seemed he had decided that they were evil enough.

A slow smile spread across Demaht's lips as Tzak took off.

He was really serious about this.

Demaht didn't know who the humans were or what they'd done, but she didn't care. As Tzak sprang into action, she simply watched, moving when their connection tugged at her and watching the scene with the same slightly bored--but inwardly fascinated--air that a queen might watch a pair of gladiators in a death match. She didn't care if Tzak died. She had no emotional investment there. This was purely for her own sick amusement and she watched it all closely, arms crossing over her chest and that same lazy smile curving her mouth.

And the more she watched, the more Tzak became not just a "gladiator", but more of a "champion." The people rushed him, he was a single person against a whole crew, at yet he seemed to move so fluidly--and even acrobatically--and easily, dispatching each person that rushed him with ease. Obviously he was well trained--and he was ruthless in battle. Not perfect, in the flurry of movement she couldn't track every action but she had seen him get sliced once, or so that's what it looked like, so she was sure that not all of that blood belonged to the crew.

But it seemed at least that most of it did.

When it came to the last man, Demaht noticed that he seemed to go all out for him. He could have easily killed him like the others, but instead, oddly enough, he seemed to take his time, bones snapping as limbs were broken before, finally, Tzak grabbed his hair and called out to her.

Demaht's calm, regal air finally dissolved and she all out grinned as he slit the man's throat, held him up and practically displayed him until he died.

And then it was over. Bodies littered the ground, the white sand was soaked with red, and everything was eerily quiet as the sounds of battle, the fighting and screaming, was over.

Silent except for the sound of slow clapping.

Grinning from ear to ear and unable to help it, Demaht slowly picked her way over to Tzak, stepping around and over bodies and not seeming to care a bit when her bare feet walked over wet, bloody sand. She stopped in front of him as he examined his wounds, finally noticing them up close, but she spared them only a cursory glance before looking up to his face. "Well done!" she told him, glancing away for a moment to once again look around the area, taking in the damage. "I didn't think you'd actually do it. So ruthless, too..." She reached out, lightly trailing her fingertips up his injured arm, not caring if blood got on them. Her touch was surprisingly gentle, more like she was trying to heal him than hurt him. "Ya were like an animal out there! Rawr."

She barked a laugh and pulled her hand away, glanced at the blood on her fingers, and with a flick simply vanished the liquid. "Gotta say I'm impressed, Tzak, and I just loved that little added touch at the end. Very nice. And ya know what? For that, I'll even heal ya. Make the wish. No strings attached. I promise everything'll be where it's s'pposed to be. Consider it your reward. I think ya deserve somethin' after that...I was only expectin' one human at the most, and ya sure exceeded that, darlin'."

That grin never left her face, orange eyes fixed on him.

Yes, this one was a keeper...

[Anonymous]

He...really didn't like this. he had just shown her a weakness, a very powerful weakness none the less. He will admit that though he didn't really notice her half nude state, he had an imagination still, the Feratul couldn't take that away, and he had a mind of his own at this point. These thoughts were unnatural to him. Well...that wasn't true really. They were natural, but to him it was unnatural. Those images just weren't meant to be in his mind, so he couldn't handle them. He didn't want to handle them...it just...it was scary really.

She was plotting...he knew this. He had given her a weakness. Maybe he was being nice to her? Or mortal. Probably both.

He didn't want to owe her anything, so wishing for things would be out of the question at this point. Sure, he could wish for a ship, he could wish for his old ship back even! But then he would owe her, and he wanted to do everything on his own, without needing to use her like...he was some useless man.

He would show her.

Tzak knew how to fight people, he knew how to engage, defend and counter attack. It was all about movement. The first movement you needed to know was your enemy. How they moved, why they were moving, and how they were engaging you. Basic movements of course was a slice, a dice, a chop, a stab, or a defencive bock. Then came your movement. Did you have to dodge, or did you have to engage in a new way to counteract their block? This had to happen within seconds, faster than that. You had to think all this on your feet in a battle. There was no planning. He regretted being hurt, but at the same time...it just pushed him to move faster. Limbs had to act faster, body had to move and be graceful. Ducking while he moved his arms out for balance, and for attack.

Whenever the daggers plunged into an enemy, he had to be ready for it. That person would become new weight, shifting the balance, and he had to compensate, and when the daggers left the body, he would have to compensate for that as well. Everything would have to be carefully watched over after all. One pirate had tried to slice him and he would simply grab the blade in midair. These people were weak, probably a little drunk and seasick. They didn't get a chance to sober up after all, and the attack was just...unexpected no doubt. However...these people had to be killed. To be square with Demaht, and as well, they were pirates. Scum. They deserved nothing but death at this point.

The last man had been easy really, he was scared, and he was pretty much defenceless when it came to engaging Tzak, who was still running on his predatory sense, so what did matter? This man had plenty of time to prepare himself after all, so he should have had time to prepare for this sort of thing. He hadn't though. The snapping of the bones was really satisfying actually, for some reason. He was just pumped no doubt from the rush of emotions and adrenaline, which was odd. He usually didn't...feel this pumped up. A diagnostic would need to be run later to ensure that he and his suit was functioning properly.

The slow clapping got his attention, his eyes trailing over to look at Demaht as she approached, stepping over bodies.

"They were nothing, they deserved death." He spoke simply, this was his job technically. To dispatch death to the unworthy and the unlawful. It had been nothing to him, the human and elven lives slipped through his fingers as if they were nothing, which they were to him. Absolutely nothing. "I had to do it for you though. You wanted to see dead bodies...and so that is what you got. I am pleased that you enjoyed it." His voice was quiet and monotone as he spoke, as if he had left all emotion. Slowly his eyes closed and he sighed, getting back into his usual demeanour at this point. He had to just remain calm and be himself after all.

"No. I don't need it Miss Demaht." His eyes snapped open as he felt the wounds, running along the grey blood that was slowly oozing from the wounds. Already he was being injected by Aurora and his suit by the special nano technology to repair his body, and then his suit would be repaired as well. He was surprised by her touch though, he had thought it would be hot and painful almost...and rough really...but it had been soft. If this had been any other time, it would have felt...different for him. He would have liked it. Now...there was nothing. He didn't feel anything at all. Thankfully.

However...

That gaze of hers was a little unnerving. The grin too.

"Alright Miss Demaht. Shall we board this ship and set sail for the mainland? We'll be able to um..." His blush slowly started to return though as he thought about his next words. "Get you blueberries and whipped cream and chocolate..." Quickly he turned away and started walking for the gang plank, deciding not to let her retort to that, or to see his furiously blushing face.

He was in over his head here, he knew that much.

[Rhindeer]

"I already toldja I don't care if they deserve it or not. They all deserve it." Demaht fluffed her hair, gave a little derisive sniff and absently nudged at one of the bodies with a toe. Disgusting creatures. She looked up at him as he continued to speak, a half curious, half confused look on her face. He had to? That was an interesting way of putting it because the last time she checked he didn't have to do anything. She was the one enslaved. Not him. However, if he wanted to think he had to do these things, she certainly wasn't going to stop him!

Maybe where he came from they just didn't have any djinn legends. Or he was just a weirdo. In any case, he was...confusing. She liked this, but it was still confusing and she still didn't really know what to make of it. Or him.

Whatever.

"Yeah, I enjoyed it alright. Mindless bloodshed...mmm. Heh heh, ya mortals really are bloody little savages, ain'tcha?" Demaht asked, and there was a strange, dangerous glint in her eyes as she said it. Then she shook her head and peered up at him. "Oh Tzak. Honey..." She sighed quietly and gave a sad smile--faked, of course, just like most of her emotions. "Ya just proved what I always thought. Even the cute innocent ones...they don't even gotta think about what they're doin'. Ya didn't even know the bastards. Ya don't even know me. But ya sure were willin' to snuff out their lives for a little wink and nudge, eh?" Chuckling, she elbowed him lightly in the ribs, not caring if she also hit any sore, wounded areas.

"We're one an' the same, you an' I."

Then she stepped away from him and turned to look at the ship, smiling wryly to herself. That had been a little nasty of her, and she knew it. But it cemented her idea of humanity. Stupid creatures. Cruel. Savage.

They'd taught her everything she knew.

In her own mind, at least. The djinn's killing of humans in the early days was justified to her. Humans were always at fault, stupid inferior beasts, and maybe she just was in serious denial.

Demaht turned back to look at Tzak when he told her he didn't need healing, and the small smile abruptly left her face and turned into a scowl, eyes narrowing into a glare. "What?! Whaddya mean ya don't need it? Yoy're bleedin'--I think you're bleedin'...is it s'pposed to be gray?--an' ya squishly little mortals like...die if ya lose that stuff! Not that I give a donkey's ass if ya die, but I'd kinda like to stay outta the necklace for a while now that I'm out," she said, turning to face him and planting her hands on her hips. "But oh, fiiine. Wanna bleed all over like an idiot, be my guest! Mortals!"

That said, she turned back to the ship and just stared at it, unable to go any further than she'd already gone and bouncing on her toes impatiently. Yeah, and of course since he's all injured it'd probably take forever to get on the bloody ship. But soon she heard his voice she turned back to look at him.

And then blinked.

Did he...?

Demaht stared at him for few seconds, processing his words and his blush, before abruptly bursting into a loud fit of delighted giggles as poor Tzak turned and fled. Well, needless to say, that comment did a number on her mood! "Ohoho! I see how it is! Ya wanna try it, eh?" she blurted, turning and racing after him, still laughing. Oh, it was too perfect. He'd just set himself up for that one. "Alright! But Tzak, I guess that leaves the question: your chest or mine?"

Even if she couldn't literally kill the man (not that she wanted to yet) she might at least get him to choke on his own tongue a few times.

Ah, prudes.

[Anonymous]

"And I'm telling you different Miss Demaht. Try to see it from my point, because I might just wish that you understand...No...I wouldn't...I'm sorry..." He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. He was a push over, he couldn't help it though! It really wasn't his fault...He was compelled to want to listen to her...all his life he had grown up just listening to people and she wanted to boss him around. It sort of worked but...he couldn't just go gently into the night after all. He wanted to fight it and for her to earn it sort of...he wanted her to earn his...devotion so to speak.

One tyrant for another. You just can't help but be bossed around can you?! Aurora screamed into his mind, and he sighed quietly to himself. Yeah...this was true. He needed to be bossed around, it was in his blood almost! He wanted someone to tell him what to do, this was the first time he wasn't really...in contact with his world...so they couldn't give him orders...and he needed those. He followed the basics, and that was about it.

"We can be. I'm sure you know all about that." Tzak murmured as his eyes glanced over to look at her, blinking a few times. "I don't...need to think about it. I know what I was supposed to do...I don't...question it. All I see is evil people who need to be corpses. That's what I was taught to do." Tzak looked to her and shook his head. She had nudged his wound, probably got a little bit of blood on her elbow, but he didn't feel it. The adrenaline and the nanobots were stopping him from feeling pain thankfully. "I...did it to be fair to you Miss Demaht. You gave me water, and I gave you mindless bloodshed." That's...really just waht it was. He wanted to be fair to her.

"Maybe we are Miss Demaht."

He was better than her though, but not by much. It was...well it could be sent askew after all with how things went. Point of view, culture, morality, it was just...well...it was just weird. In some people's eyes he was really good, and in others he was really bad. So he couldn't really argue it.

"There is a different pigment in my blood, so it appears gray...but no, I don't really need healing. My internal systems are taking care of it right now. There's a lot more to me and my blood then you'll understand Miss Demaht." Tzak explained, or at least, tried to explain in some way to her. He didn't want to get into an argument with her about it, because she would never understand, unless he wished her to understand. He wondered how many people that had her as a slave really...did anything for themselves. He could see how tempting it could be but...he was going to make sure he didn't abuse her...that would be wrong.

Gaaaaaaah!

He should NOT have opened his big mouth!

He just couldn't get that out of his mind, it wasn't fair! Her body was so...revealed...he could...just see it on her...and he...he...

liked it! That was just wrong! He shouldn't be thinking like that! Not about her! She....well...he...and...There were things he was worried about. Doing anything like that with Demaht would probably be...wrong anyways. He had no experience in anything sexual like that, she'd probably laugh him out of the bedroom or...wherever she would do that sort of thing. She probably had done it in the clouds and in the water and...No! Bad thoughts. Wrong thoughts. Very against the protocol.

"W-What?! No! N-no I don't want to try it, wh-why would you think I wan-wanted to try it?! T-That's crazy!" He called over his shoulder, shaking his head. She was...gah...! What? She was...NO! No that was bad to think of. Very bad. He should just...pretend he said nothing.

"I just...t-thought that you would...l-like to find...s-s-someone who would...d-do that for you. Th-Th-that's all it meant...I don't w-w-w-w-ant to...to...do that on you. To you...for you...er..." God what did he get himself into! He was quickly up onto the deck of the boat and looked about, sighing to himself. Aurora, could you please get...a manual for...um...how to...sail a boat...or something like that...the records maybe. He was trying not to focus on...licking the dessert from Demaht's body.

"What?! M-mine or y-yours? I...uh...I...Say do you know how to sail a ship or boat?" Tzak asked, changing the subject quickly. Though he wanted to see what...might be...under her...No! He wanted to see nothing of her but what he could see now. He had to keep his focus on what was going on right now.