It was a cruel twist of fate- for there he stood, with the spear buried deep within his body and a pain so fierce he could not breath. Not that he would need to as his world darkened, his vision becoming blurred as he blinked back a few tears he hadn't known were there.
"P..princess Em Ush'ere..." he stammered, blood trickling down from the corners of his lips as he trembled. But it was too late, and the army of heartless flooded past him, leaving the man to drop to his knees and watch helplessly as his princess was taken. His sacrifice in vane...
And then into the darkness he went, upon a whisper, and was carried away lighter than air unto the next world....
"Ashai..."
The voice was soft, and distinctly that of a woman's.
"Ashai Amun'de- Keeper of Time..."
His blue eyes opened, and blinked heavily at the sound of the voice.
"Princess Em Ush'ere?"
"No." the voice replied back, and the world around him wavered, and it felt strange- as if he were under water, but there was no pressure on his skin. Peering around, Ashai's eyes took in this world, but it seemed too distance, and most of it was framed in a rippling blur of darkness.
"Then who?" he asked softly, feeling tired and heavy.
"The Spirit." She spoke, the world twinkling. "The Spirit of Death."
"Death?" The world wavered at his sound, the darkness rippling outwards from him. He could see things changing, but he knew not what. "Than am I...?"
"You are dead."
Ashai fell into silence, and had a hard time digesting what the voice told him.
"Then this is..."
"The Kingdom of the After Life."
Ashai moved around, knowing somehow he was moving, pushing through the void- but not knowing how. He couldn't feel, and seeing was an abstract thing. Though as he swam through this place, this kingdom of the dead, he tried to look for the voice when he saw the fluttering of light breaking through the inky darkness that marred his vision.
"You are half way to the heavens." She told him. "But do not despair, for your journey has only just begun."
It was warm now, but that was all he felt when the light over took him- and he felt as if he were being turned upside down, then pulled inside out and pushed away and drifting, until the light twinkled and in it's winking wake, he found himself standing on a horizon of orange so bright, it reminded him of fire. He shielded his eyes, but could not see his hands. He grit his teeth, but could not feel the bite as he looked around, trying to figure out where he was- what this world could be when the voice tried to reach him again.
"This is the warmth of love. Your heart, so rare, so pure, produces so much of this your soul has transcended into another existence all of it's own."
"Transcended? What do you mean?"
The world wavered a bit, before settling back into a softer shade of orange, and Ashai felt as if he might tip over as the world began to shift.
"Your soul is a powerful source of life." The Spirit told him. "It has guided your spirit away from the land of the dead."
"Away? But how.. what do you mean?"
"You are not destined to rest just yet, my child. The Spirits always have answers."
"Rest? What do you mean? What is my destiny? Am I to fulfill something even in death?"
"Your heart.." the voice said, darkening the world into a deeper shade of red. "Your heart feels broken and sad. You feel undeserving of the paradise you have earned. It keeps you from the heavens. From peace."
And it was at the talk of his heart that he felt it, it's pulsating force thumbing and pulsating through the world.
"I feel it..."
"That is your spirit. The true power of your heart."
"Yes, I know. I.. I can sense it."
"Do you feel it pull?"
Ashai grew quiet, lifting up the hands that weren't there as he nodded.
"Yes." And he turned towards were a crack began to dissolve in the edge of the world of color. "And it pulls me near- so near to this... vision."
"That is no vision." She told him. "That is the world of the wake."
"You mean the world of-"
"Yes," she told him, her voice like a chime as the world sparkled subtle. "The world of the living."
Hesitantly, Ashai took a step forward, a hand reaching out, though cautious, and too afraid to touch.
"The world of the living beckons you- and of one so pure, I can not deny those of strong spirit."
He lifte dhis gaze towards the voice
"Then I have another chance?"
There was a pause, the world rippling and feeling softer all around him.
"Yes. You have another choice. But there is a limit. You can return. You can fix what is wrong in the world. You can help cure this darkness."
"But how?" he asked the voice, and in turn, heard the sudden tick, tick, ticking of a clock. He furrowed his brow, not understanding what it was.
"The time of the future resides in you. Take this medallion and be careful of the sands within."
Ashai furrowed his brow and looked down to where something flashed inside a bubble of light. And as it neared him, the light faded and before him sparkled a golden medallion.
"May I touch it?"
The world churned a moment before the spirit answered him.
"Yes. You may touch it. The Medallion of Time is yours. And with it, the future. Life again, and then... the ends of your life, all in one. Use it wisely, protect it. For this is your essence, this is your power. And you will find yourself whole again all anew."
ANd the second Ashai reached for the Medallion it opened, and within it he saw a small hour glass but it was empty- without sands. ANd then in a flooding fanfare of pain and light, he watched his body tear away from him and sift into the glass as sands filled the empty void and the world around him grew smaller and smaller as he free fell back unto the earth.
He awoke, cold, hungry and naked as he shivered against the midnight moon, which capped the vast desert of glass in silver. It was a peculiar thing to see, to feel- as it was hard as ice, and felt cold to the touch; and was mesmerizing. Though there was a faint reflection to it, he could see through it- as if it were a clouded window, but even in the dark- he somehow knew what it was.
"The Seraj Isa..." he whispered, and peered up from the glass dunes beneath him to the stars as he stood at them- and marked a blessed symbol across his breast, and got on one knee in prayer as he thanked all the Spirit Gods.
Ashai was not as alone as he thought.
A huntress stalked the priest, as intrigued by the man's appearance as she was wary. Men -- naked men in particular -- did not simply appear in Seraj Isa, after all. And the scent carried by the faint breeze... She gave a soft sniff at the air again, trying to decide what she made of it as her red eyes considered the human in front of her.
Another demon might have killed the human for intruding on their domain. That was the task the King had set before her, after all: to guard his lands against intrusion. This, however odd, did not look like an intrusion, however; it was just one naked man. What could he expect to accomplish here all alone?
He was certainly no match for her. She had always served her King and Master as a warrior and hunter, as deadly and merciless as the creature from whom she borrowed her form. She had no recollection of how long it had been; time spent here all blurred together so that it passed, alternatively, in either the blink of an eye or at a snail's pace. Had she failed her master, she would not be here any longer in any capacity -- she was quite certain of that.
So, she watched as he knelt down in the sand, and she wondered what it was he was doing. Her expression was puzzled, but only for a moment; her frown quickly spread into a wide smile as she began to stalk carefully forward. The sand would mute her footsteps, she knew, and she could not resist the temptation to sneak up on him while he crouched in such a vulnerable position.
But she wouldn't kill him -- oh, no, what fun would that be? She would let him live -- for a while, at least, until she had grown bored batting around the naked human.
The wind caressed her gray fur as she crept nearer. Her tail began to flip back and forth in excitement even as her ears flattened slightly, mimicking the way she carried her body low to the ground as she crossed the dune. And, reaching him, it took all of her willpower not to just pounce on top of him, like he were a mouse with whom she could play.
For humans, there were other games...
Ashai would hear the soft, cat-like purr behind him only a moment before she spoke. "It's not common to find naked men wandering around Seraj Isa." Turning, he would find her, standing tall and beautiful, with the moonlight highlighting the cat-like features and unnatural redness of her eyes.
Startled from his prayer, he whirled around and grimaced at the sight of a figure clothed in darkness as he exclaimed, far too presumptuously, "Demon!" And he scrambled to get as much distance from her as he could, but whatever sands lay upon the glass surface of the Seraj Isa made it quite slippery, as he would soon find himself slipping forward onto his hands and knees, a reaction that at least saved him from knocking his teeth off the hard glass below.
Not terribly presumptuously, no -- there were, after all, her red eyes, her inhuman visage, and the very fact she was where no human dared be... Except, obviously, Ashai.
"Yes," she purred, her amusement clear in her voice. "A demon. How scary."
Because she fancied that she probably was!
"What happened to your clothes?"
No sense in beating around the bush!
Scary indeed, but at the mention of his clothes, he dropped his gaze and gasped, a hand quickly covering himself as he cowered away.
Em's laugh was throat -- something not quite human, between a laugh and a purr as she stared down at the human. He looked so small and pitiful, all hunched over and embarrassed.
"The cold will kill you faster than I will." Her tail snaked back and forth behind her as she regarded him. "I'm more patient than it is."
The cold didn't like games -- it existed to kill, and that was all. "You're lucky I came along." Her eyes shone with amusement at his expense. "Unless you would rather let the cold take you..."
Ashai continued to cower, pausing when he felt he was at a safe enough distance from her.
"You... you are a being of the desert? A demon." He hardened his gaze and tried to toughen up, keeping his shoulders as straight as he could. "I am not afraid of you, but I will not be tricked by your kind. I am not here to squabble, but to find someone."
Ironically, he had no idea he had already found her. Though how was he to know the mysterious, cat-woman before him was his fallen princess?
"Oh?" the demon asked with a grin that showed a glint of fang. "Well, that's very brave. But I've not seen a human here for some time... Whoever you are searching for has already been devoured."
She looked him over curiously. "Unless you are here to meet the King...though I can't imagine he'd have much interest in a scrawny human like you."
"King Arkh'an," he whispered. "You work for the King of the Heartless?"
"Of course." As if there was another King or other employment for a demon... "Are you really as stupid as you seem, or is this all an act of some sort?" She sidled a bit to the side as she studied him, beginning to circle him as a shark might its prey. "I'm not sure I would believe you to be so clever, human. Or so bold. If you're frightened of me, you would drop dead of fear to meet him."
Ashai, indeed, was hesitant and afraid of her, but shook his head and followed her as she moved around him.
"If it means the possible release of my princess, I will face him," he said, hoping he sounded bolder than he felt.
Once she was downwind of him again, a full circle, she sniffed curiously as a smile lit her face. "A princess? Aren't you quite the devoted one?"
She strode forward suddenly, sure-footed and confident on the sands, easily making up the difference in his pitiful efforts to escape and her strides forward with a pounce. She landed with one hand on his chest and the other pressed against the sand behind him to stop him as she leaned forward to sniff him -- more deliberately this time.
"What manner of human are you?" she wondered, having finished sniffing his chest and looking up to meet his eyes. "Or, perhaps, you are not human at all..." Claws appeared on the hand against his chest, raking lightly but doing no damage -- yet. "How did you get here?"
Ashai let out a yelp as she pinned him down onto the sand and remained over top of him. Though she wore clothing, she was clothing in little of it now and at such a position, it made him flush.
"I... who or what I am is no consequence to you!" he stated, becoming more confident now as he glared up into her catty eyes. "I am here for one purpose and one purpose alone. Now, can you help me or not?" he asked her boldly, and used one hand in hopes to push her away so he could try to sit up. He hated behind beneath her. He felt so weak for it and here he was to carry out a most sacred request. But so far, things were turning out not completely in his favor...
"Be still, or I will have to examine your corpse," she threatened, voice sounding like a hiss.
"Hm, how curious," the cat-girl purred, pressing down a bit harder with her fingers and hand so she didn't quite hurt him. "You smell like hot sand. I wonder, if I cut you..." A fingernail slipped against the base of his throat, leaving a tiny, red scratch in its wake. Leaning forward, she tested the drop on her tongue -- not quite cat, but too rough to be human.
It was not blood she tasted; it was hellfire, burning hotter than the King's wrath -- and on her sensitive tongue! She yowled and all-but leaped back from him with her fur puffed out about her person and her tail easily poofed out to three times its former size as she spit and tried desperately to get the blood out of her mouth.
Ashai remained on the sands, scrambling away some once he was free, but his heart was pounding in his ears and his chest rose and fell swiftly as he breathed. His face twisted at her reaction, seeing her tail, perhaps in another light, may have elicited a laugh, but the situation was too tense and dangerous, and he merely observed her with a frown.
"I... I can not die so easily," he told her, trying to sound bold but... was uncertain what sort of consequences that could stir. "Nor be injured so severe." Though he had no idea that it was his bloods that hurt her, his mouth still dry as he licked at his lips and hesitated before moving to stand.
"Are you... alright?" A funny thing for a man to ask a demon. But even still, though he was 'dead' (or mostly so..) it did not mean he did not have a heart...
Em spit one more time, then shot him a dark look, cat eyes unblinking as she studied him.
"Sorcerer." she accused at last as she rose, attempting to salvage some of her pride as she slowly de-fluffed. She was looking at him with more suspicion, now -- but, also, more respect.
What would her master want? For her to kill this being (or try to) and be done with it, or would he wish to meet him? She frowned thoughtfully, then asked cautiously, "Does this princess of yours belong to the King?"
He watched as she flattened down the hairs of her tails and set his gaping lips into a frown.
"Yes." And then he added with a brief nod. "She had been taken as a prisoner and I'm here to rescue her."
"How do you know she still lives?" Em wondered, still watching him closely. She hadn't been lying when she said there were no humans, princesses or otherwise, among the Heartless. "How do you know she has not been devoured? Unless she is a sorceress like yourself...?"
This last question was asked almost leadingly, for she did not know if it was true...
Ashai shook his head.
"I do not wish to believe a woman with such a heart could be dead. The King of the Heartless, I know has taken her-a nd I wish to get her back. To find a way to free her of the chains he has placed upon her and to help the falling kingdoms before the darkness swallows them all whole."
The tail, now relatively normal-sized, flicked back and forth behind her as she stared at him. "How could someone so powerful be so naive?" she wondered out loud. It was strange to think that with such power -- power enough to ward him against a demon -- he would still believe something so...
Well, stupid.
"So, what will you do? Battle the King for the rights to her?"
His blue eyes wavered as he studied her form, but his gaze remained serious and his eyes expressing his determination.
"If I have to, but that is left to the will of the Gods." And he paused to study her. "Unless you can help me. I'm not here to make wars or fight, but to save the one person I failed to protect so long ago."
She still thought he was terribly naive...
"I can hardly help you take something that belongs to the King, now can I?" she inquired with a peculiar sparkle in her eye. "But, I suppose, I could help you reach the King, if you truly wish to die. Who am I to stand in your way?"
Ashai's eyes brightened at the suggestion.
"Then you can take me to him? So that I might have an audience?"
Though in the moment, the idea excited him- it hadn't quite fully sunk in just what that entailed.
"I can take you to him. But it is up to him whether he grants you an audience, sorcerer." She somehow made that word seem like a dirty one! "He will know of our approach long before we reach him, so if he would rather see you dead than entertain you... I will have to do as he wishes."
Orders and all that!
But, for now... Em's eyes moved over his form again, her expression thoughtful. "For now, we should find you something to wear. Nights here are cold and the winds can be dangerous."
Ashai blushed as his gaze dropped to his nude form, then sheepishly, he looked over at the catty demon.
"Yes.. clothing would be most helpful." And he stared at her with some reserve. "So you can help me? If even to find some sort of wrap to wear?"
"I'll do my best." Although, she neglected to say what that entailed as she suddenly spun on her heel and began to make her way up the steep edge of a sand dune, leaving him to follow, should he make up his mind to do so.
"But you are a sorcerer, aren't you? I don't understand why you can't simply materialize clothes from thin air..."
This land was strange to him, and as the cat-woman bounded off, he blinked and found himself stumbling as he followed. This land, where the sands had turned to glass, was difficult to traverse, and he was thankful the Moraki Desert was so close that it's sands spilled over the surface and offered some real sand dunes mixed with the glass ones.
Scrambling to follow after, he found himself pausing at the foot of the dune- hesitating to follow. But at her inquiry on his magic, he peered up at her curiously.
"What makes you think I'm a sorcerer?"
Em paused to look down at him, eyes reflecting what little light the sky had to offer at this time of day.
"You are not human. You are not a demon. Your blood...burns." Because she had no other way of describing what it had been to feel that toxic substance on her tongue. "Besides, you didn't travel here in the usual way. You appeared. Naked." Her head tilts to the side a bit. "It seems inconvenient."
Ashai looked down at himself at such a comment, then peered back up at Em.
"Perhaps it is because I am chosen by the Gods," he murmured softly, not entirely knowledgeable over his 'power'.
"Same difference." Her tail flicked impatiently behind her. "Now, come on, sorcerer, unless you wish to freeze to death."
But by the time Ashai would reach the top of the dune, the demon would have vanished...until, that is, he looked down.
Reaching down into the dune was a narrow black hole. A wooden hatch opened downwards and was complemented by a rope ladder. There would be a small flicker of light below, making it apparent that the wood gave way to a stone cavern underneath the dunes.
"Close the door when you come down!" she called, voice sounding hollow as it bounced off the stone.
Ashai went wide eyed at the realization something could exist beneath the glass-topped surface of the Seraj Isa, but clamped his gaping lips shut after he had made it to the top and peered within. He held his breath a moment, her echoing voice long faded before he drew in strength and held another breath- and decided to trust the demon as he followed her into this stone world below.
"It stays relatively warm down here," Em told him as she rummaged around in a dilapidated crate. It looked as though it had been abandoned some time ago and left to rot in the small cavern. While the entrance looks as though it had been forged by human hands, the back looks naturally-formed. A few other crates lie scattered in the cave, but they seem to promise little.
"Ah, I thought I saw this here..." The demon pulled out a dusty-looking cloth. She gives it a shake and promptly sneezes. "Well, it's hardly fitting of a royal audience, but I suppose it will have to do."
It was as she said- warm, much warmer than the night time air of the Seraj Isa, and for this, he was very thankful of. But even still, he remained anxious and tense beside the exit and watched as the cat woman scrounged around. Though in this poorly lit accommodation, he couldn't help but notice...
this strange being looked awfully familiar. But then a cloud of dust came his way and a sneezing fit erased any thoughts of that.
"I.. ACHOO!" He shook his head, and rubbed away the tickling sensation at his nose before he sighed and continued- but sneezed again. "I am only grateful that you could help. I would not reject such an offer and can only hope that your King is as kind as you."
"It isn't kindness," Em answered, her expression filled with amusement. "Demons aren't kind. It isn't in our nature." She looked him up and down, as though sizing him up again. "So you may as well stop thinking that way. The King is going to kill you." Her feline-like eyes met his, unblinking. "And if he can't kill you, he will find a use for you. That's the way things are done here."
Ashai stared up at her, a bit sheepish for what he had said.
"I apologize. It seems I have mistaken your help for something else."
Though it was strange, to think- here he was, being helped by a demon. And he took the clothing offered to him now and slipped it on.
"Is there anything I should know before I go? This world, it seems to strange. Did the demons make all of this glass?"
The cat-demon shrugged ever-so-slightly. "I have no idea. It's never been any different." At least, not for her... She had never known anything else, though, so she supposed it had never crossed her mind to ask anyone... But, then, who was to say anyone else would know or would have cared.
"Hmm," she murmured in response to his inquiry. "I suppose I should tell you that I can't guarantee your safety. A powerful sorcerer you may be, but many of the demons here have lost their minds. Their instinct is to kill, and so kill they will. They do not hunt me, because I smell uninteresting to them...but your scent will draw them out, and we will both be in danger."
There was a flash of a fang as she grinned at him. "You can fight, can't you?"
The idea of battling demons made him suck in a breath. Oh, how terrifying the idea was- but what did he expect? ANd as he watched the catty girl grin at him, he shook his head.
"I was never a warrior in my past life," he admitted. "But a priest, a scribe- a man who's will belonged to the Gods."
And then as he thought over her questions from earlier, his face wrinkled in thought, brows raised.
"Are you afraid of the demons too? I thought you were one of them."
It was odd she'd mention they did not bother her. Perhaps he was something else entirely...
Though those red eyes...
they made him shiver.
"Tell me your gods left you with some magic, at least," Em answered with raised eyebrows. That meant she'd have to protect him as well as herself -- fantastic.
"I am," she replied to his inquiry, although her eyes narrowed slightly in response. "But, unlike the demons who roam Seraj Isa, I haven't lost my mind to the hunger." Her tail gave a slight twitch. "If I had, I would be a shadow -- and you would have been dead before you ended your prayers."
She flexed a hand as she studied her nails in an almost disinterested sort of way. "But that's just so uncivilized. Don't you think?"
Ashai tilted his head curiously at what she said.
"What?" he blinked. "Then what sort of demon are you?"
Em's sigh sounded slightly exaggerated, as though she were explaining to an overly-curious child why the sky was blue.
"It isn't so much a kind as it is a level. Lesser demons have given themselves over wholly to their hunger. They're like a plague of locusts -- mindless, eating machines. Even as your magic killed them, they would tear you apart. And then, there are demons like me. I have the ability to think, to plan, to select only the choicest pieces of a human and leave the scraps for the others."
The thought elicited a purr as she stepped nearer to him. "Understand?"
It took Ashai a moment, but he did digest it all fully as he gave her a nod.
"I see.." And he gave a curious tilt of his head. "So you're similar to that of your King?" Considering from what he recalled of him- the man had at least the ability of some form of thought and negotiation- no matter the level or reasoning behind it.
Em's laugh was open and amused. "No one is quite like the King. Now, are you ready to go, sorcerer? You can ask your questions on the way." With a fang-filled grin, she strutted by him to begin their journey towards the King...
...And what she knew to be this strange man's doom.
Ashai peered nervously after the woman before following suit.
"Yes, but the King... where is he?" Certainly he'd live in some sort of grand, but dark castle, like his own princess's family had done. But here? ALl he could see was sand and glass- and nothing that represented anything similar to that of a kingdom.
"You'll see," she answered coyly as she led him onwards. "You're a very strange man to have come all this way without knowing where you're going. Even if we cannot devour you, the desert could still kill you. Unless you are immune to the sun and ice?"
For this desert, like many deserts, had both... It was an inhospitable place...and, therefore, the perfect place for the demons to nest.
Ashai frowned.
"I was sent here by my Gods on an urgent mission. One does not doubt the will of those who gift them with life, and to bless them on their quests."
"Of what importance is this princess of yours to the Gods? Is she some sort of holy figure to your people?" Her tail twitched in amusement, and she turned to regard the priest with a smirk. "Or is rescuing your princess just incidental?"
"Her blood line was chosen and blessed by the Gods. So yes, my Gods would be concerned that their chosen ones had fallen to such a fate. She... she wasn't the first princess to fall either. It seems all of the royal women from my home lands, and those kingdoms there in, all suffer the same tragedy."
Em's expression shifted from surprise to a wide, fanged smirk as she laughed. While it didn't lack the playfulness she had expressed earlier, there was an undertone of cruelty to it.
"Then perhaps your Gods should find less pathetic women to bless. Such a waste..."
"Oh, they are by no means pathetic!" Ashai said, his eyes so wide, it rivaled the girth of the moon. "They are strong, and willing to sacrifice every ounce of their being for their people in order to save them. But they, in their fairness, in their genuine love and pity and strength, were tricked- deceived, and I'm here to amend what has been wronged, and to bring her back and help begin the restoration of order in A'zar, then in hopefully.. to the rest of the kingdoms of the golden hearts."
A'zar? Why was it that name made something within her twinge?
Before she could pursue the thought, however, he mentioned the golden hearts...and it made her laugh again, pausing in her steps so that he could catch up.
"Golden hearts? Oh, you poor fool! Even if your princess still lives -- which I doubt -- the King will not part with her! Such a treat is very rare, after all..."
"I'm not asking him to part with her," Ashai said firmly. "I'm demanding that he must do so. As it was proclaimed by the Gods themselves! That my princess shall be free again! And her heart, fully restored to her where it belongs, so that she can return where she belongs to rule her people and I-" And here he paused briefly, before adding, much more softly, "Well, I can finally return to my eternal rest knowing I have not failed her, or my kingdom, or the Gods who chose me."
Eternal rest?
Before Em could meditate on his words any further, her sharp eyes caught movement behind him. So, they had been discovered at last... It was about time; he wasn't exactly a quiet man!
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she grasped both of her weapons. "Duck, sorcerer!" That was all the warning he would receive as she suddenly flung herself at the creature that had risen from the sands behind him. In mid-air, she withdrew her weapons; the dagger was used to catch the razor-like talons of the demon as it swiped at Ashai, and her sword plunged into the monster's chest. The weight of the cat-girl on the thing's chest brought them both crashing into the sand with a puff of dust. Even before the dust cloud cleared, Em emerged at a run.
"Take this. Use it to defend yourself." She thrust the dagger into the man's hand, then grabbed his wrist. "There are ruins to the east. If we do not make it there by sunset, you won't live to see the morning." She shot him a sideways look as she began to pull him across the sand. "No matter how powerful you are."
Ashai's breath caught in his throat as the catty woman launched herself at some shadowy beast and protected him. His eyes must've been so large, and his mouth gaping so wide, surely he must have looked simple, but the moment a weapon was placed into his hands he stuttered,
"But I know not the arts of war!"
But it seemed he'd have little choice, as a second shadow emerged, and with wicked fangs, it launched itself at him and let it's teeth sink deep into it's prey. Ashai only had a moment to let out a scream before the shadowed demon did the same, as it reared back and released a howl as it's entire mouth was suddenly burning and eliciting an array of steam from the residue left behind from Ashai's blood.
In a moment of panic, Ashai turned on heel, weapon lamely in hand as he rushed off in a stumbling run, towards the cat woman.
"How.. how far are these ruins!?" he shouted, body shaking, even now as he ran.
"There," she indicated, pointing to a teetering column on the horizon. There wasn't much left to be seen -- not at this distance, anyway -- but, closer, they would be able to see the remains of a temple long fallen, a victim of the elements and forces that shaped this place.
And, yet, it's magic still remained...for it was the one place in Seraj Isa in which a pilgrim would be safe -- even hidden -- from the Heartless...
And once inside it's protective barrier, the wandering Heartless who existed only to feed would soon lose interest and depart in search of easier prey...
As Em ran alongside the priest, it seemed they had drawn the entire Heartless army to their location. The creatures appeared from nowhere or reached for Ashai with long, misshapen limbs. Em defended him as best as she could, parrying claws and teeth, falling back to finish off an assailant only to appear again beside him with a grace that was, most decidedly, feline in nature.
Fortunately for her, the Heartless seemed to have no interest in her but for the occasional retaliation; their focus was on the young man who had wandered in from afar.
As they rushed along, the cold chill of fear rippled up his spine. And despite how fast or far they had run, it seemed these nasty shadow beasts were everywhere. And though his escort was doing a valiant effort to keep them at bay, the priest found his leg suddenly snatched onto as he let out a cry and fell to the sands. And with a cackle, a group of the dark beasts began to drag him away.
(OOC: OH NO!)
Em sensed, rather than saw, the young man go down. In the midst of a problem of her own, she shouted, "Sorcerer, use the dagger!"
Really, was he just going to sit there and flail?
He just had to stab his way out... What was so difficult about that to understand?
Em brought her knee up into the stomach of the creature she faced, using the creature's doubled-over posture then to soundly behead it. Spinning on her heel, she raced back to help the priest. Sharp claws grew from her fingers as she swiped at the nearest beast. He drew back with a howl, hands covering his eyes...or, well, where his eyes had been...and she reached down to grab Ashai's free hand with her's.
She hissed a warning to the creature who held him, receiving a growl in response for her trouble. "Stab that thing's arm," she ordered, hoping that doing so would make it release him.
Ashai let out a grunt and cry as he was nearly rescued, but the demons were persistent and clung to him tightly.
"B-but I.. I can't! I... I've taken a vow not to kill!"
And in truth, harming another, even those that would kill him, terrified him to no end. What would his GOds say?
"If you won't help yourself," Em snarled, her ears flattening down against her skull as she glared down at him, "Then why should I risk my life for you if you won't fight for yourself?" She gave a mighty tug that almost toppled the thing trying to pull back. "Just stab it, sorcerer, or you'll never get to rescue your stupid princess!"
Ashai paled, and tried to remind himself this was war, and despite him not being able to kill maybe he could just... cut? Gritting his teeth, he nearly dropped his weapon before securing a more tightened grip upon it a he roared and cut out against the black figures. The one he manged to cut let out a hiss and rared back, but was grabbing at him again, forcing Ashai to continue to slash and slash until he felt the shadow figures back away, and his body- becoming free.
The moment their weight dropped, Ashai scrambled to his feet, tripping once before finding his footing and calling out to Em.
"I'm free! Come on, let's go!" And he didn't want to think about those shadow creatures that were already waiting for a good time to strike and reach for his heels.
Em scrambled to her feet behind him, her long legs carrying him in his wake. "Go on! Once you get to the ruins, stay there -- at least until the sun rises! No matter what!"
Because he would probably be stupid enough to run in, then turn around and run right back out!
"The ruins -- they begin just ahead. See the way they shimmer?" And, indeed, it seemed the setting sun had lit the area on fire...
Though, of course, she could not enter the ruins herself -- she was, after all, the very thing the ruins were meant to keep out.
Ashai took one look to the ruins shining on the hill, then turned back to her.
"Are you sure you'll be alright?" For as much as he was no fighter, he was also not a man to abandon a lady- demon or not.
Em laughed out loud at his concern. "I don't have a heart. I'll be fine." The fanged grin she gave him would have looked a bit terrifying if it hadn't been accompanied by her laugh.
"Now, go on, before I change my mind and decide to stop helping you!"
Ashai gave her a worried look.
"But I.." But seeing how the demons were approaching from the dark, his heart leaped into his throat as he spun on his heel and began to scramble his way towards the ruin. By the time he reached the top, his legs were aching, as was his throat, as he let himself drop onto the sacred ground, and only then, did he chance a glance down the hillside, curious how the cat-woman was fairing now.
Once Ashai took off -- finally -- Em turned her attention to guarding his retreat...but he didn't have far to go. Something reached for him and swiftly found itself without an arm for its trouble -- but once Ashai had crossed the barrier, there was no longer a need for her to fight.
She finished off the demon she had been pre-occupied with, then turned towards the ruins, giving it a searching look. Even she could neither see nor smell him there...although, unlike the stupid demons around her, she did not have to rely entirely upon her senses; she knew he was there, somewhere.
One of the demons bumped into her, and she turned on him with a hiss. Now that the smell of blood was fading, it shrank away from her submissively, continuing to search for the prey that had apparently eluded it.
A few of the demons moved against the barrier -- and it reacted with a crack like thunder as the unfortunate demons seemed to simply disintegrate from their blunder.
Ashai flinched at the sight. To watch such creatures just flare up into nothing turned his blood ice cold. But then to Em he called out, "Come on! This place offers protection!" And foolishly, he reached a hand out towards her in attempts to help her join him in the ruins.
The sound of his voice reached her -- although, even that, seemed fainter than it should. She half-turned towards the sound with her head cocked and her tail swishing behind her. "Sorcerer," she said with a laugh, "Are you forgetting what I am? If I cross that barrier, it will mean my death. And then who will guide you?"
Ashai paused in mid-grab.
"Die?" His hand flinched back. "This place... what... where have you lead me?" And he stared at her with wide eyed wonder. If this place could harm her... why would she do this? Why help him? If anything, should she not treat him like those black, shadowy demons did? It was all so confusing, and the look on his face showed it!
"Don't worry, sorcerer. It's safe enough for you -- or, else, you would not have been able to cross its barrier." Her point was emphasized as another demon threw itself against the invisible wall and vanished with a crack.
"Walk towards the setting sun. There is a crumbling wall there that will offer you some protection tonight. When the sun rises, keep walking west -- and I will be waiting for you there."
Her ears settled back slightly, as she added in a warning tone, "And one more thing. If you lose my dagger, you'll pay for it."
(OOC: Okay! So we can fast-forward to morning, I think! However, if Ashai looks at the dagger, he'll see it has the crest of his princess on it...so that will be something for him to ruminate on overnight and confront Em with in the morning!)
Ashai gave a nod. "I promise" And he peered down at the dagger only after she had left, and noticed the familiar crest of his princess. His heart leaped into his throat as his blue eyes shot after her. "W-wait!" he called after her, but it was too late. She was already gone, lost into the shadows.
Ashai found himself shaking with nerves. What was he to make of this? Why did that cat woman have a royal dagger? And should he trust her? She had saved his life so far.... but at what cost to her? It was strange to him, but after pacing about, he moved swiftly in the night knowing he had until sun rise to meet her... where ever it was she had directed him to go.
And so with the sun to his back, he found himself walking, and walking still, chancing but one glance behind him before continuing onward for hours upon hours, just hoping he was heading the right way west. And praying that this wasn't some sort of a trap.
To be a demon of this place did not mean that she was immune to the dangers of this place -- though it did mean she was familiar with them and how to avoid them. And so it was that, come morning, Em was not only still alive but well. The sun had climbed well into the sky before Ashai would spot her. It was about mid-afternoon -- warm, but not unbearable yet -- and the cat woman was lounging, eyes closed and breathing softly, upon a rock taking a bit of a nap before the day was to begin. Hearing the footfalls, however, her ears swiveled slightly at the sound, and she gave a massive, fang-toothed yawn.
"See, that wasn't so bad, was it?"
The second he saw her he dropped the sheathed blade into the sands beside her.
"What are you doing with the princess's blade?" he demanded, finding strange courage and anger coming out from his words.
Both eyes opened, giving him a slow blink before she looked from him down to the dropped blade. "Princess's blade? Your princess's blade?" she echoed, then sat up with a stretch that spoke of great flexibility..and a glint of claw as she pressed her hands against the rock and twisted her back. Once she felt the sleep had left her system, she slid down the rockface to land on the sand before him with the dagger placed between them.
"Your princess has good taste in weapons, sorcerer, but these are not her's. They are mine and have always been mine."
"You are mistaken. They bear her crest. Did you steal them from her? Or from another?"
"As I said, they are mine. They have always been mine. I have never not had them." With a final blink, she bent down to retrieve the dagger. "You must be mistaken." There could be no other explanation!
"Then you must remember who you stole them from!" Ashai insisted. "These marks.. they are from my kingdom, the royal insignia. There is no way it could be anything else."
Em's eyes narrowed slightly as the sorcerer prattled on. He was rather like a hound; once he had his princess's scent, he could not turn his attention elsewhere...even if it should drive him mad.
"If I had stole them, I would say so," she answered plainly, unashamed of the fact. "I would not lie to you."
Her eyes fell to the dagger, and she brushed her thumb over the insignia he had mentioned. Staring down at it brought an unfamiliar feeling: a heavy sadness but somehow muted, like an echo in her empty chest. But, who could say why she felt such things? But, she could say one thing for certain, "These are mine. They were with me on the day I awoke in the King's Palace, and they have been with me ever since."
It was then Ashai realized what had happened, and his face fell into a frown.
"I see..."
Clearly the King had taken his princess's weapons and given them to someone else. He sighed.
"I... I just presumed." And he flushed a bit. "I am sorry."
(OOC: SPICE! *shakes fist*)
"It does not bode particularly well for your princess any longer, does it?" the demon inquired with a smug grin as she tucked the weapon away and turned back towards their course. "If she's still alive and you convince the King to free her, remember that these are mine."
And, moving away from him, she added, unknowingly quoting the motto of the shattered royal family, "My sword is music, and without it, I cannot dance."
Ashai had just about settled into his presumptions when she said that. And his hand suddenly gripped onto her wrist.
"What did you say?" he asked, his face full of confusion and surprise.
Em looked down to his hand, then up to his face with an expression of disdain. "What do you mean, what did I say? I hardly have a scribe following me around to record everything I say, do I?"
What, indeed, had she said? She'd been talking about the weapons...
...And the fact they were her's -- not the property of a dead princess...
"You.. you said something about swords, and music," he whispered, still surprised at it, but hoping, begging, internally pleading she'd confirm. Or was he truly going crazy? Was this woman somehow connected to his princess? Though, as he peered at her... despite all of the cat-ness to her, she looked... awfully familiar....
Em looked at him dubiously, but then, suddenly, she recalled what she had said. "That? My sword is music, and without it, I cannot dance?" Her smile was a little lop-sided as she recited it, and a sparkle shone in her eye. "Pretty, isn't it? It just sort of...popped into my head when I was thinking about that crest."
Ashai just gaped when she repeated it, his mind roiling at what it could mean. And suddenly his hands were upon her shoulders as he looked her in the eyes.
"That's the motto of my princess's family. The Ush'ere's they... it was their philosophy, a way of life. To live by the sword, and to dance with it, to become one with their blade!"
Em's ears flattened slightly as she bristled at him. "Another of your magic tricks? I have not given you my name." For what else could it be? "You will stay out of my head, or I will leave you here to die."
"What do you mean?" Ashai looked thoroughly confused. "The Ush'ere's were the rulers of my kingdom, their daughter was Princess Em. She was a beautiful young woman, though some said a bit mischievous. Like a..." And here he trailed off, noting the cat like featured blended into a face that was all too familiar. "A... cat." He stated, still gaping at her in disbelief.
The cat-demon stared at him arrogantly, as if peering down from a lofty height as he continued to stare at her. "That's ridiculous." Obviously! "I have always been what I am. Try your tricks on someone else, sorcerer."
No.... it couldn't be. But that defiance, that cat-like playfulness, the faint human qualities beneath even that whiskered face.....
Tilting his head, he took a cautious step forward.
"Princess... Princess Em Ush'ere?"
"I'm no princess," she insisted with a stubborn glower. Though the name... It had a certain ring to it that pleased her ear. Perhaps it was just the idea of being a princess... "I am a demon, in case you haven't noticed. If I were a princess, I'd have people waiting on me, wouldn't I? Instead of me serving the King?" Her tail gave an annoyed twitch.
Ashai felt a tingling sensation in his belly, and something that burned his cheeks.
"What... What is your name?" He asked, cautious as he observed her with wavering blue eyes.
"You have my name," she answered him -- although, perhaps, not with the same fire she had had a moment ago. There was something about this situation that made her feel uneasy and unsure...but what it was, she couldn't put her finger on it. It was ridiculous for him to think her a princess -- of course that was! -- but why was it, then, that the statement had caused her to feel so unsettled?
"Perhaps it is only a coincidence. If I were a princess, I should have some memory of it, wouldn't you think? But I have always served my master."
At least, as far back as she could recall...
Ashai gaped, still trying to digest all of this. Her name!? Her name was Princess Em'Ushere!? And as he tried to fathom this all, he questioned her logic.
"Yes... but how long?" he asked, quietly, eyes wavering at the thought he had found his princess,a nd was with her all of this time!
Em stared at him, then said softly, "Time here has little meaning. At least, less meaning than I assume it has for humans." Turning her gaze towards the sky, she ventured, "We do not measure time by hours and days. What would that tell us, when every day here is the same? We measure everything by the battles we fight. Sometimes, it seems so very long between battles. And, sometimes, it is no time at all. It is difficult to say, precisely, but... I have seen two kingdoms fall, if that is any indication." A bit scornfully, unable to help herself, she added, "Neither had a princess for you to claim as your own."
"You do not know if you were born into this or how you came to be?" Ashai asked, surprised she hadn't much information to give. And it was here he dared to take a step near to her, studying her face at a closer angle. The shape of her jaw, the way her lips set, the way she even held her chin- that curve of her nose... even the catty-ness inher eyes, not the catty-ness amplified by how she looked now, was not lost to him as he gaped.
"Oh, whatever has happened to you? How has this come to be?" he whispered.
Surely, she couldn't be a princess... Yet, there was this nagging feeling in the back of her mind...and a pang in her chest, as though answering it...
And so, rather than irritably swat him away to continue their trek, she simply said, "Questions are not asked here. You obey -- and that is all. Things are...what they are."
And she...well, she was a demon, was she not?
Ashai frowned.
"That does not answer anything." But he presumed he could push no further with this here. Sighing, he turned away from her, mind still racing over what could be...
but what could he do? How could he find a way to figure out if his hunch was correct- that she WAS his princess?
The young man looked so crushed... If she had been human, empathy would have crushed her...but, instead, there was only a sense of loss as she stared at him. She pressed a hand against her heart -- or where her heart should have been, anyway. And though the feeling was muted, it was the most she had felt in some time... It was a strange feeling, like pain, but somehow more real, and, more than that, it felt proper, somehow, and reaffirming...
At once, she hated it and, yet, was intrigued by the sensation... Curiosity killed the cat and all that...
She stepped forward and around him, once again invading his personal space to peer into his face. "What spells do you command, Sorcerer? Can you make a demon human?"
Blinkingly, Ashai peered up at the cat woman.
"I.... I do not know." For his Gods, it was they who sent him back to find his princess, to save her- but how? It was never properly told to him. Perhaps a revelation would strike him when it was most appropriate, but he could not say. Studying her face, he told her,
"Despite the changes... you have not changed. For your eyes... I can see your eyes are those of the lost princess, and your face- it shows the dignity of her line. Even the ears, the changes of your features.... are... remarkably appropriate to the nature of the princess who's family I had once served."
Turning away now, he peered down at the floor with a deepened frown.
"I do not know what sort of deeds I must accomplish here, but if my hunch is true, if you are the princess in which I seek- I promise you that I will return you home." And at such a proclamation, he lifted his gaze and looked whole heartedly into her eyes.
"Home," she echoed softly, made uncomfortable by the way the word felt on her tongue. This whole situation made her feel...torn. On the one hand, there was the familiar -- she was a demon, she served the King, and she killed for pleasure as often as he gave the command. But if there was another life she was meant to live... It made her feel hollow, suddenly, and incomplete...
"Is there really a home to return to? The King... He is ruthless, and he does not show mercy."
At such an inquiry, Ashai gave her a frown and a genuine look of uncertainty in his clear blue eyes.
"I do not know," he told her softly. "I was sent to this world but for one task."
"And what task is that?" she wondered as she regarded him, her own eyes glowing with the reflection of the sun above. In the right light, it almost would have been eerie; in the daylight, however, the glow only served to remind him that she -- his princess -- was no longer the human she had once been.
Ashai regarded her, studying her face in the faint light. And when he spoke, he spoke softly in a voice barely over a whisper.
"To bring you back home. To rescue you from this fate, and to restore order the way it was meant to be."
"And what if you fail, sorcerer?"
She was, after all, what she was...and she wasn't at all sure she was this princess he searched for. Even if she was... Well, she was a demon now. There was no going back from that...and if there was, somehow, a spell or rote the sorcerer knew, the King wouldn't just let her go...
"What if you are unable to return with your princess?"
Ashai watched her before releasing a breath he hadn't known he was holding.
"I won't fail you. I can't fail you. I've made a promise, and I will make good on my word."
The words made her lips curl into a smile. There was, she admitted, something appealing about the way he said them, about his dedication and the way he was swearing to rescue her...even when she herself wasn't certain she wanted or needed to be rescued.
"Well, then," she murmured. A purr in the back of her throat betrayed her pleasure, as did the way her tail snaked back and forth behind her. "You had better come up with a plan."
It was then he stared at her, a desperate fire wavering within his eyes.
"That is why I must see your King. He put this curse on you, he can release it. Take me to him," he asked, taking a step closer to her, eyes never yielding as they begged, "Please..."
"As you wish," she answered with a light shrug of her shoulders. Her eyes, however, watched him very closely. "But, he will not be so easy to convince. I will be very sad if -- when -- he decides to have you killed." Her tail gave one final swish, then abruptly stopped. "I think your foolishness is beginning to rub off on me a little."
Ashai shook his head.
"Death does not matter to me. It is your protection, where I have failed, that matters. I was granted this second chance. I will not fail."
"If you say so," the woman answered with a soft sigh. "But that makes you no less foolish." Turning from him, she strode a few steps, then paused and looked over her shoulder at him. "Are you coming?"
Finding himself staring, he closed his lips and gave a nod.
"Yes." And he moved to follow her. "I'm as ready to go as I'll ever be."
It was time to see what next fate had in store for him.