To Hunt a Demon (ValamLym, Armorend)

[ValamLym]

Nymiria was simply dodging Aisha's attacks as she contemplated Aelynn's words. She supposed it was right in a sense, she really did think this was a waste of time. But another side of her was amused by this event, a mortal thinking she could stand up to her was amusing, it triggered feelings she hadn't felt for centuries.

She chuckled softly, finally attempting to catch the blade mid air. ''There are no creatures as powerful as myself. But there are powerful enough renegades on the loose here.'' she stated pointedly. Almost as if she expected it to stop the woman dead in her tracks. Regardless of what happened, she snapped her fingers, her hounds rushing to join the fight and surround Aisha, attempting to attack her exposed sides.

''Your companion is right, playing with you is a waste of my time.'' she nudged her head, giving Aisha a cold stare ''Or do you still believe you can win? I admit, you mortals are brave.''

[λ]

Aisha was annoyed. Was this demon seriously going to bail from a fight they themselves sold? However, she was surrounded again. She sighed.

"I really didn't want to deal with these guys..."

Back stepping away from the demon, she dodged one hound as another pounced at her, claws outstretched in front of it. Aisha ducked under, attempting to cut its snout open as it passed by.

[Armorend]

At the demon's words, Aelynn pondered their options.

"... Aisha. I will ask again. Do you require my aid, or will you fight on your own? I do not wish to offend a fighter like yourself. If you even wish to fight, that is. If there are others, ones who actively avoid their realm in favor of causing trouble within this world, perhaps we would be better suited to attack them than this one?" He watched her fight; based on descriptions of stories he had listened to, and the occasional physical dispute he had to witness within his own building, she seemed quite good at it.

However, seeing how many of them there were, he wondered if she would be able to keep going; mortals weren't inexhaustible, after all, and required rest.

[ValamLym]

Nymiria looked on annoyed as the woman combated her hounds. This was taking too long, far too long for her taste. She should've been dead by now.  In a fit of annoyance, she drew a hand across her palm ''releasing restrictions on dormant form.'' she said pointedly, as if addressing some unknown entity. In response, her runes glew and her body began shifting into that of a succubus.

When her transformation was complete she launched herself at the woman again, her hounds backing up to not get in the way, the one who had his nose sliced open lying down to rest. Nymiria attempted to grasp the woman's throat and end the fight immediately. ''Give up.''

[λ]

"Don't worry about.., well actually, if I had..." She ducked under a paw swiping at her head. "the choice, I wouldn't be fighting right now."
I'm fighting a losing battle after all.

She turned her head slightly towards the demon, as it made a gesture with its hands.
?
Aisha was suddenly thrown back as its hand grappled onto her neck.
Is this demon for real?
She hadn't even been able to make out its shape when it had moved towards her.
Aisha struggled to breathe as she was held up by her neck.
She supposed if things were like this, she should've focused on getting away.

However, Aisha smiled weakly when she heard the demon.
"Am I allowed to?"

[Armorend]

"Yes, you are." Aelynn spoke up, taking the question for himself without being aware it may have been meant for the demon.

"Both of you should cease this at once. I am by no means against fighting, but neither of you fights with good cause!" He watched as Aisha was held in the air by the dark-colored extremity, his voice more intense but not conveying much more emotion than usual. However, he realized it would be more fruitful if he actually prepared to take action.

His eyes glowed with intensity as he focused on the pair of females in front of him, easily locating the soul within Aisha, but finding it harder to grasp the soul within the other... Thing.

What is this...? It... Has a soul, but it seems to manifest differently... He had to focus harder, eyes shining harder inside the dark robe. Finally, he found himself able to lock onto the 'signature'. "I have it..." He spoke, not modifying the volume of his voice, and indeed seeing no reason to. Simply locking onto the soul caused no problems or awareness in the being the soul belonged to. Only when the curse was placed would they notice.

And so he stood and waited. "Aisha, I am ready to aid you."

[ValamLym]

Nymiria simply nudged her head, looking at the woman dangling in her hand, gasping for breath. She weighed almost nothing to her, holding her in the air with her feet off the ground effortlessly. She felt like a snake that had finally coiled around its prey. But if she were honest, she felt no satisfaction, no pride. After all, this had been hardly a fair fight.

She couldn't help but snicker as the woman inquired of her whether she could, in fact, give up. She wondered whether she thought this was a joke, that she could simply blow out the candles and wish her away. No, this was the reality of her mortal life, she made a fatal mistake, one she would regret -should- regret. But something compelled Nymiria to forget about it, not the words of the woman's companion, not pride, did she feel pity? She shook her head, her own inner workings conflicted. But her lips brought forth words void of doubt and full of spite ''I don't know much about this fell curse... I know it will heal you.. Tell me, will it heal you if I snap your neck? will it heal you if I decorate you with your own intestines?'' her words had a playful curiosity to them as she observed the woman, her grip on her throat tightening.

''Your companion may believe it can aid you, but you and I know better.. don't we?'' as if on mark, her demonic snake tail coiled itself around the woman, squeezing her tightly. ''Nothing can save you from me...'' she whispered the words almost, a primal feeling of pride welling within her body, the thousands of anguished souls within herself crying out for Aisha to join them, to suffer with them for all eternity within Nymiria. '

However, as dire as her situation seemed, Nymiria never had truly felt the need to kill the woman.. She had only been a mild annoyance.. And, perhaps even more lucky for the woman, there was more delicious prey waiting for her. She glimpsed at Aelynn for a minor moment before promptly letting go of Aisha, letting her fall to the ground unexpectedly. ''Consider yourself lucky that I have more lucrative prey to hunt.'' she snickered ''The indigestion you could give me is not worth the trouble.''

[λ]

Aisha fell to the ground as she was released. She coughed, and tried to push herself up, steadying herself.

She looked at the demon. If it had eaten her, she would have been a tough spot. Last time she was eaten, she couldn't escape for over a month, stuck in a dark hell for near an eternity. She only got out after her Curse finally caused it to kill itself. She shivered just thinking about it. Aisha had swore she would never let something like that happen to her again.

However, what really intrigued her was how the demon had already seen through her curse and its properties. Perhaps it knew something..?

"Hey, wait."
She called out to the demon that had already turned away from her.
"What do you know about the Curse?"

[Armorend]

Aelynn kept his focus on the souls of the two as they exchanged words, wondering if he would need to intervene, or if they would move on. However, after the demon's volatile words and her dropping Aisha, he ended up moving towards her.

"I presume you are okay?" he spoke, just after she had asked the demon about the Curse she was forced to bear. He stopped his focus on the creature and Aisha, noticing the slow dispelling of hostility between the pair.

[ValamLym]

Nymiria's gaze returned to its usual overly neutral expression, filled with disinterest. She simply eyed the girl for a second, pondering whether it should say anything at all. ''I know about the Fell curse, my kind afflicts you with it so it is only natural I have a modicum of understanding.'' her words quick and to the point as she simply turned on her heels, her hounds falling in line behind her.

''I suppose it is why you are attempting to catch fish bigger then your net?'' she looked over her shoulder, nudging her head. ''To find a cure?'' she then turned to the entity that was Aelynn ''And what interest do you have in assisting in such a suicidal goal?''

[λ]

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for helping me out back there."
She rubbed her neck, Her gloves running smoothly across it. She didn't feel the pain anymore, as if the attack had never happened.

Sighing, Aisha straightened her back and turned her attention to the demon once again. "You seriously think hunting for the cure is more suicidal than doing nothing?" She scoffed slightly. The demon obviously knew nothing of how many times she was attacked just for being one of the afflicted. It was only a matter of time before someone succeeded in killing her permanently, she felt it was natural to aim for the cure, regardless of the danger.

It's right though... I need to get stronger if I want to even think about hunting strong demons... And did it say that demons cause the Curse?
Aisha pondered on the thought.

[Armorend]

"Why should I not assist in this? I initially followed her because of the unusual magic energy surrounding her, but I hoped to see those who she needed to eliminate for the sake of curing herself of this ailment." Aelynn spoke, facing toward the demon.

"I was also curious of whether she would truly be able to reach her goal if, and before, it got worse. And, accordingly, whether demons acted just as I have heard those who enter my shop describe. Thus far, you have fulfilled most of their descriptions: Hostile, condescending, deceitful. Regardless, perhaps you should aid us in the attempt to garner the power of a worthy creature, for the sake of curing Aisha."

[ValamLym]

Nymiria simply shrugged, a disinterested expression growing onto her face as she listened to the entity speak. She really didn't care about the opinions of those that she considered beneath her. Really, she didn't care about anyone's opinion. As such her only response to the woman's retort was the minor inclination of her brow and a solid shrug. 

Focusing her attention back on the entities story she couldn't help but snicker. First he attempts insult and then asks for her aid? it must not be as all knowing as it thinks it is. Coiling a smile onto her face and folding her hands behind her back she stared at him for a moment. ''I'm glad you can continue to accept your short sighted point of view. It is befitting of creatures such as yourselves. Imagine the power you might hold if you were to be more intelligent.'''she didn't speak the words with a single sliver of spite, it was more like a statement. Nevertheless the fanged grin that came after left little to the imagination.

''Why would I of all creatures help you? There's nothing for me to gain.'' she turned to face the woman, whom she seemed to take in at-least a slightly higher regard ''As much as I feel ''bad'' for you and your current situation, I have my own needs to look after.'' she shrugged ''Make it worth my while.''

[λ]

Aisha frowned slightly, and then slowly smiled. She didn't like this demon at all, its personality was awful. However, a high level demon would help her greatly, if only she could convince it to give her a hand.

She finally pulled her hood down, showing her face. "...well, what would make it worthwhile for you? I don't plan on offering my soul, if that's what you were intending."

She scanned the demon's facial features, trying to discern exactly what kind of thing the demon would be willing to help them for.

OOC: I'm really sorry for not notifying you two, but it's going to be difficult for me to respond until Nov 1

[Armorend]

"You refer to me as short-sighted for what I pointed out was merely what I had heard from humans, presuming I intently believed it, and then presume to know the power this human or I possess? Your words do not harm me, but they appear nonsensical, demon. To that extent, if you truly have your own needs that you must tend to, would a creature who considers herself independent of others not rely on herself instead of them?"

Aelynn spoke aside, to Aisha. "Is this why demons are viewed unfavorably? She needlessly demands something from you when she speaks as if you are not an equal." He was truly perplexed by this dark woman's request, having never personally experienced an attitude or even heard of one similar in the justifications for why so-and-so would need to be cursed.

[ValamLym]

Nymiria quirked a brow at the entity, particularly amused by its ability to forget itself. Then again, forgetting themselves seemed to be mortal nature, she simply shrugged ''When you speak of things like ''So far you've acted like mortals said you would''  then that does indeed suggest you believe it.'' she turned her attention to the entity for a short few moments. ''For someone who pretends to be smart you're awfully foolish, no one works for free, not even her mortal kin.''

She took a few steps away, simply concentrating on the distant sky for a few moments ''You are not my equals, that much you've proven today.'' she stated simply ''I do not think there's anything you can possibly give me, as such, our deal will not be made and I will not assist you, you've wasted enough of my time as it is.'' she took a slight moment of pause ''I've already been generous as is for sparing you.''

She didn't pay the two a single glance more and whistled, her hounds rising to their claws and falling in behind and beside her as they simple walked off toward where the renegades were, fully intent of destroying them utterly, not concerned by the mortal's need for their hearts.

[λ]

What were they, little kids? Hearing them bicker made Aisha let out a deep sigh, shaking her head slightly. She called out to the demon once more.

"Hey, how about this. I'll help you hunt demons down, and in return, if either you or me finds a powerful demon, I get to keep its heart."

She paused for a moment.

"I assume chasing them 24/7 isn't the most enjoyable of a pastime for you, right? Three people instead of one will make your job easier."