Spirits of the Earth

If one had been near the area, they would have seen and felt the disturbance. It was an unknown power, one of great magnitude that seemed to drip with malice. Near a small grove of trees outside of La’marri was the source of this strange power disruption. Runes of strange origin had begun to burn themselves onto the trees, runes of dark purple and glowing white centres. Slowly a strange lightning began to flash, arcing between the trees and skittering along the bark surface. There was a final flash of light, and that was it. The runes turned black, and the lightning disappeared completely, leaving the crumpled form of a strange creature.

Sleek black skin covered its bone structure, strong sinewy legs stretched for a moment and athletic arms spread out. Long thin claws were attached to the hands, gripping into the ground as the creature pushed itself up. A long tail whipped around fiercely as glowing yellow eyes scanned the vicinity. It had a flat face, mostly lipless for that matter, with slits for ears and a nose. Elongated fangs dripped a greenish blue substance on the ground as it yawned, showing off a spear like tongue for only a moment.

The creature looked around at the grove of trees, at the twenty or so smouldering runes that littered the area. They had used some powerful magic to expel him from the Abyssal realm, to send him to...where exactly had he been sent? He had travelled to a few realms before, entering a mortal plane of life to feed off the energy of others, and then returning to the Abyss…but this place…it was different. He had to get his bearings, how many suns did this place have?

Eyes looked skyward, towards the burning sphere above him. One sun it seemed, this was good. It looked like it was inhabited by rather smart creatures, and he could smell magic in the air, as well as other things. Perfect. He began to stalk forward, trying to follow the Ley lines of magic, and towards the source of strange sounds in his ears. Slipping into busy he sat on his hind quarters, watching this collection of domiciles and the like. Humanoids seemed to wander the streets of this town. Thank the Nether they weren’t a primitive race at least.

Now the only real question was…how to go about all this. It was daytime, and there were people out, which meant that the people weren’t nocturnal. This was good. Darkness was an excellent time for him to move and feast. For now he would just have to design a layout of this town in his mind and look for the best place to attack. They all reeked of magic; there wouldn’t be a need to pick a particular target. He just needed something to feast on, to replenish his strength. Any one of the fools would do. A simple bite to the neck and it would be all over. He could stay no doubt in this town for maybe a good two days, sucking the magic from one mage until they got suspicious, then ran like Hell to somewhere else.

Yes. This was going to be good indeed.

Bella laughed as she sat in the grass, her legs crossed and books scattered all about herself. She’d spent too many hours in the depths of buildings reading old, dusty books by candle light. She wasn’t fond of closed spaces, or dark for that matter, so the warm sunlight on her skin was a welcome change. The laughter was caused by the flower she had just made twine itself around her finger, as if it were alive. Simple things such as that could cause her to laugh, and laugh she did as the yellow flower seemed to tilt its ‘head’ up to her like a small animal.

“Now you stop that. You’re a flower, not a cat. When I say stop moving about like that, stop.� She scolded the plant, and the head immediately stilled. The upward tilt of her lips remained though as she slowly pulled the flower from her finger and placed the end portion where white roots were entangled in a clump of dirt into a small pot where soil had already been placed, a small hole dug out in the center. After the flower was placed in and planted, she lifted the clay pot up to set beside herself. Bella brushed her fingers off along the tight brown breeches she wore and pulled a book over. The flower was something she’d been doing since she was a young girl, it was a break taken from the miniature scripture covering the yellow pages of the book she had dragged towards her lap.

Bella was sitting just on the edge of the town, not far from the dirt path that lead directly to the center of the town. She was just far enough to be comfortable and enjoy a gentle breeze that tugged at her deep red strands of hair. Most of the locks had been thrown into a messy bun, but a few of the more rebellious ones had broken free from the piece of ribbon and were fluttering about her face and tickling the skin of her neck. As her green eyes scanned the page of the book resting heavily along her legs, a hand would reach up and swat at a piece of hair or two, but she seemed fully concentrated in the text, almost as if enjoying what the author was saying to the reader.

Then, something made the hairs on the back of her neck stand at attention, and her eyes ripped away from the words and she looked behind her shoulder. Her eyebrows furrowed together and the hand that had been brushed at her hair was now curled along the back of her neck, fingertips pressing into the muscles there. What had that been? It was faint, but she felt it. She was sure of it.

“It was nothing.� She murmured to herself, but despite her reassuring words her eyes remained on the trees not far off from where she sat. Her top teeth reached out the grab her lower lip and she nibbled a bit on the skin, almost as if unsure of what she had told herself. Slowly her head turned back around though, and she picked up where she had stopped from the slight disturbance.

In all the excitement and magic, he had failed to realize that not all the magic was being contained within the town itself, but there were mages on the outskirts and perimetre...This might have been a good thing actually, as he wouldn't have to wait for nightfall. A smile slowly crossed his lips as he turned his attention away from the town, to scout the nearby area. Magic...magic...Magic! That's where it was coming from. A woman who seemed to be enjoying a text of some sort. Even from his hiding spot in the bushes he could smell her, the taint of magic all about her. It was...intoxicating to him.

Licking his lipless mouth once he stayed still for a moment, deciding on what to do. Slowly he began to change himself, he began to shrink into a minature version of himself. He stopped shrinking till he was about a foot and a half long, not including his long whip like tail. At least he wouldn't be viewed as that big of a threat anymore. It would allow him to get much closer to this woman.

Stalking out from the bushes he started to head towards her slowly, dragging his left hind leg along. After all, the sympathy plea always seemed to work. Not so much on men, at least, not the warrior types. His pupils dilated, and now large black dots could be seen amongst the glowing pools of yellow light. If he could figure out how to turn those off he would, but for now they would just have to stay on.

He slinked closer to her, limping and making pathetic mewling noises at her. He made sure to keep his claws at a length that wouldn't seem dangerous, and to hide his fangs as best he could. It was just so easy really, he couldn't believe how many times peopel had fallen for this. Even if she didn't believe his act, no doubt because he wasn't a local animal, he was still close enough he could dash after her and bite her ankle.

He stopped just short of her, to not approach any closer and frighten her. Then he laid down on his stomach, his hind leg outstretched to show he couldn't use it, and then he made another mewling noise at her. He felt dispicable for trying this so many times, but he really was hungry, and it wasn't fair that he would have to wait till night. The trap had been laid however, and he wondered how she would react.

Bella blinked down at the words, but kept her head down. She had been trying to convince herself that it was nothing, swearing to herself that she was trying to entertain herself with things from her mind. Then she heard a noise, a sort of mewing and she nearly toppled over trying to spin around. The book was dropped from her lap and she had turned around so that she was on her hands and knees. The tunic she was wearing along her top was more designed for a woman, and was fluttering about herself, tucking into the band of the fitted breeches. Quickly she pushed herself to her feet and took a few steps forward, blinking her green eyes.

“Now what’s wrong here? Poor thing.� She whispered out, her voice soft and gentle, so she wouldn’t scare the poor creature. When she got close enough she crouched down onto her knees, brushing a loose strand of dark red hair from her face. Slowly she reached a hand forward, and if it allowed she would gently brush her fingertips along the things back. She didn’t want to jump in and figure out what was wrong. It would scare the creature, but she wanted to know what was wrong.

“What in the world are you? Haven’t seen a thing like you before in a book or anything. You better have an anatomy similar to a creature I’ve read about before, or it’ll be sticks and a binding for you, and a long time of healing.� She said with a comforting smile and tilting her head to the side, still trying to gently soothe the creature enough to help him.

He had to act just right. When she came near he shied away from her, making a small terrified squeek. When she reached out for him he tried to get even flatter to avoid her hand. However when she touched him finally he pressed his back into her hand, almost like a small furry creature he had seen before. A cat or something rather. After all, he looked like one, just furless and without the ears or predominate shaped face. Slowly a growl began to issue from his throat, no, not a growl, it was almost like a purr, and his eyes slowly closed as she stroked him. This had been too easy! He hoped there was a challenge here but he had plucked at her heart strings just right.

He mewed again at her as she talked to him, of course he understood her, but she wouldn't know that now would she? He was rather disappointed she was all happy, as he did so want to feast upon negative emotions but...well that would just have to wait.

"I am a Demni." He spoke suddenly, and grinned, bearing his teeth at her. That, and he suddenly began to grow, extend himself until he was back to his normal size. He had no clue if these people knew what a Demni was, but judging by how she hadn't read or seen anything about him, it was a good chance they hadn't.

"You are my meal." He told her as he kept his fangs beared, dripping with their paralysing toxin. All he had to do now was bite her and it would be over with. She would be rendered immobile, and he could feed for a few minutes. His hind leg fixed itself and he crouched, suddenly launching himself at the woman with his front paws out stretched. The goal was to knock her down onto her back, then to bite her. He would just have to see how his pounce turned out.

Bella began to nip at her bottom lip as she stared down at the creature, trying to figure out what creature she could compare this one to as he pushed into her hand like some of the local cats did as she fed and petted them. She couldn’t tell what was wrong with the creature until she really tapped into her mind and her ability to heal. But, he seemed calm enough, safe enough, and trusting enough. She moved to reach her other hand forward towards the injured thing.

Then, he spoke. And grew. And she was no longer smiling and petting.

She was pushing herself back and she fell onto her backside. When the now enlarged Demni moved to pounce onto her, she dropped to her back and rolled away in the grass. Immediately from there she scrambled to her feet and spun around to face him, wherever he happened to be now.  Bella lifted her hands before herself and a small flame sparked in her palms. The flame took no effort, but if he intended to attack again, her defense would drain her a bit.

“It’s amazing that someone can be so kind to try and help someone, and this is the payment. What’s a Demni. I’ve never heard of one and I’ve read enough books to fill a good sized library.� She was stalling, true. She didn’t enjoy hurting people, even those that attacked her, so she was hoping that perhaps this Demni would simply…give up. Her emerald eyes watched him carefully and her booted feet were ready to move her out of harms way if needed. Bella wouldn’t exactly be considered graceful and to have amazing reflexes, but if she was in danger, she could run pretty quick.

He cursed silently that she had managed to duck under his pounce, but he had to give her credit for being quick on her feet so to speak. As he landed on the ground, he spun himself about, crouched low as he slowly started to stalk back and forth. He didn't want her to get back to town, that could ruin everything he had planned. No, keeping her from town was his top priority at the moment. He didn't answer her insepid question, there was no point on it. She was using magic though! Glorius! A mage was so predictable sometimes.

His skin began to smoulder, as if he had recently been on fire and smoke was escaping from his body now. This was actually not true, this was him absorbing the magic that the flame was giving off. This was perfect. His eyes glowed brighter as he watched her carefully, almost satisfied with sapping the energy from her like this. It was good.

He seemed rather content to just stay there, sucking the magic from the flickering flame. It would soon go out, and she would have to remake it. He wondered if she could feel it, his Abyssal energy absorbing her own magic. His skin flared more and the dark smoke that seemed to disappear after leaving a foot from his body continued to pour from him. Then he took another step forward, and another, until he dashed towards her. He pounced once more, his front paws stretched out to each side. He made sure his trajectory was high but not too high. Even if she ducked he would still manage to hit her.

He would capture this mage, even if it took him all day.

Bella let her eyes quickly move to her hands to see the flame flickering to death. It was gone, and she looked up to see him smoking. Once more a flame burst to life in the palm of her hand. She growled lowly as she shifted her feet as she watched him. The flame began to slowly die. Her emerald eyes locked onto his glowing ones and she ripped her hands apart, the flame done once more. She shifted her feet as she watched him, only to see him spring through the air towards her once more.

She did exactly as he thought she might do. Bella ducked down and tried to fall to the side, but one of his paws caught her shoulder and she was knocked backwards onto her back. If he had landed above her head in that area of the grass, she would try to roll away from him and get to her feet. Magic would do nothing if he could simply suck it up and kill whatever she attempted to use.

Her feet began to travel through the grass, and she ran. Although, the grass that she ran across would stand straight up, and the points would be staring at the sky. Needless to say, if he tried to step on them, they would prick at the bottoms of his feet and cause him to bleed. Not deadly, but certainly not painless. Bella didn’t look behind herself. She concentrated on the earth beneath her feet and making sure that if he were to follow her, it would be painful, but not enough to kill. She didn’t want to kill, but she certainly didn’t want to be anyone’s meal.

If he had been smarter and more aware, he would have extended his claws and let them secrete the toxin, but he hadn't remembered that until now of course. When he landed he whirled about to look towards her, and she had already begun to land. Fiesty was a good word for this woman. He chased after all, his hind legs pumping and his front paws tearing up the ground as he ran.

When his paws touched the spiked grass he stopped for only a moment. With his skin still flaring he seemed he explode into a burst of black smoke. Then he reappeared somewhere further ahead, closer to her. He was in mid-gallop as he disappeared once more, appearing closer and closer each time he did so. This was a good way to avoid the grass and the stinging pain.

When he was behind her he disappeared again, forcing himself to reappear further ahead of her. After he was a good distance in front of her he turned about to watch her, staying low. A growl emitted from his throat as she now approached, his teeth bared and dripping poison. His claws also secreted the toxin from them. This time he would not make the same mistake he had before. He launched himself at her once more, this time not leaping but running as fast he could.

He was simply going to collide with this woman, become tangled up with her to bite and claw her into paralysis. No more time for silly games, he was becoming desperate for a feast, and she was perfect.

Bella was inhaling and exhaling heavily. She was quick on her feet, and could ran rather fast, but it was wearing on her, along with trying to keep the grass pointed. She didn’t slow down, didn’t even think about stopping, until it was too late. He was there, running directly towards her, and before she could veer out of the way or stop herself, they collided together. Her hands tired to claw at him and flames burst into her hands, trying to burn or harm him in any way. This was no longer about being polite and kind, this was about getting out of his grasp.

“Let me go!� She screamed, her hair falling from the messy bun to fall over half of her face, her cheeks a bright red. Her teeth bit down hard on her lip as she felt claws and teeth sink into her skin, puncturing the layers. Her pain tolerance was high, but she felt lazy now. It stung, the flames in her hands died away. If he had let her go, she would slid to the ground. What was wrong with her? She’d been cut and injured before and she’d never reacted like that before. Her eyelids flickered a moment, and she tapped quickly into the healing portion of her magical ability, following what she had colored as a blue thread in her mind.

“Poison…toxin?� She questioned although her words slurred together. She couldn’t move, her fingers were twitching to their last movements, before falling still. Paralysis had attacked her system, and she was still.

The collision had dazed him only for a moment as they tumbled together, his teeth biting and his claws pawing and ripping at whatever skin they met. The burning from the fire hurt, that he would admit, but he ignored the pain as he wrestled with this girl. He knew he got a few good bites in, as she started to become sluggish. Excellent! This is what he wanted to have happen. She spoke, muttering some slurred words about poison and toxin.

"Yes. Fangs coated with it, as are  claws." He whispered as he pulled himself from her, slowly moving away from her to sit on his hind quarters. Now he just had to make sure nothing was broken or burned badly. His skin was singed here and there, but that would heal after he fed upon this woman.

"Use magic...I dare you." He spoke as he came over to lay upon her, holding her there. His arms were folded over her chest as he stared straight into her eyes, a smirk upon his lipless face.

"You won't clear all toxin with your magic." He told her as his skin began to flare and smoke, tapping into the magic that was contained about and within her. It was glorious, and it was very satisfying to say the least. He would get himself back up to full strength once more. His wounds had even started to heal. His tail whipped back and forth excitadly as he watched his incapicitated victim with a smug sort of aura about him.

"You fine chase and  fine meal indeed." He purred as he nipped at her shoulder gently, letting a bit more toxin spill into her body.

Bella’s breathing slowed to a shallow inhale and exhale as she lay there, unable to move, but her mind was fully aware of her surroundings. She could feel the toxins rushing through her blood stream and body, paralyzing her, rendering her helpless. There as nothing she could do as he lay along her, her dark, dilated eyes staring directly into his own.

She believed him on not being able to remove all of the toxins. She knew she wouldn’t be able to remove them, but she didn’t have to remove them. It all depended on whether or not she could actually use her magic. Her eyes watched him as he smoked and caught sight of the twitching tail that was moving back and forth.

Mentally she winced, recoiled, cried out as she felt his teeth in her shoulder. She couldn’t physically do any of that though. Instead, she followed that blue thread and found the toxins, found them all. It was everywhere, in every vein, every cell. Her attention shifted to her feet, and slowly she began to collect the toxin and move it slowly up her legs. Would she be able to use her magic? Would he notice the healing ability being worked on herself? She wasn’t exactly healing herself, she was simply pulling the paralyzing toxins from her feet. If she were able to do this, she would wiggle her toes within her boots just slightly, but keep her green eyes on him.

"Yeees. Use your magic." He gave a visible shudder as he continued to absorb her magic, now absorbing the healing magic she was trying. He knew exactly what she wanted to do, and she was extering too much of the delicious energy. Some victims figured out his thirst for magic but this one...not this one it seemed. He kept the bulk of his weight against her, even if she managed to remove some of the toxin, she couldn't get it all. He moved his hands now, pressing his index digits into her forearms. He removed his fangs from her shoulder, pushing away to watch her in the eyes.

"Keep trying to heal yourself. Keep trying." His body flared and smoked more as he sucked in the power she released. Oh it was divine, better than he expected it to be. He was pleased with this outcome to say the least.

"Weak mortal creature." He hissed into her ear, pressing more of his claws into her arms. He wanted her to be angry, to expell negative emotions to him. It was true that some Demni weren't able to control their feeding frenzy, but Nazarul...he knew his limits. At least, he thought he knew his limits.

"Brought down by me. Weak. Pathetic." His common wasn't all up to par, so he really did hope he was saying the right words. Words that would inspire anger, a chief emotion that would satisfy his urge. Fear was also a good one, but he liked anger much better. It had a better taste.

Bella was at a loss for what to do. He was taking obvious pleasure from her healing abilities, but what else could she do? Lay there and let him bite her and dig his nails into her? Each puncture in her arm from his fingernails caused her to cry out in her mind. It hurt, no doubt, but each time his teeth of claws sunk into her skin, more of that paralyzing toxin was added to her blood stream. Soon, she stopped using it, let the toxins attack the cells and veins in her feet once more.

She was hard to upset. It took a lot for Bella to actually lose her temper, and he was making her draw closer and closer to the edge. With his final words, her eyes conveyed the anger she felt, the absolute rage at how he was toying with her. He had fooled her into helping him, and now here she lay, filled with toxins that enabled her to move and he was taking joy from that. This would simply not do. She was fuming, in her mind, and she would like nothing more than to harm him.  

Her body flared up to painful temperatures. It didn’t require movement. It required her to loosen her hold over her magical abilities and let her rare, but fierce temper take hold. The temper that was now consuming her mind was using fire, heat, anger. His skin would be burnt where he touched her. She didn’t care if he fed off of her magic now. She was upset, humiliated, and angry, and he would feel that from the temperature of her very skin.

Oh he had done it now! She was enraged now, and the painful temperature from her body told him this. It didn't matter though to him. The pain may have been there, but the pleasure was all that consumed him. As fast as she could burn him, his body would simply heal itself, partaking in the delight that was her rage. It was an intoxicating feeling for him, one of pure delight. He did however move off of her, removing his claws from her body and stepping away from her. He was full. Plain and simple, and didn't much feel like being burnt anymore. Licking the blood from his claws he stopped smouldeirng as he stepped back from her.

Laying down beside her, in a more docile look, with his hands on the grass and his chin resting atop of them he smirked slightly, watching her continously. He couldn't very well feed forever, and for that matter, he couldn't let her just sit here to be discovered. He was in a qaundry to say the least. Best to see what happens when the toxins wear off.

"Five pentri." He said suddenly to her. Pentri...no...that wasn't their word was it? His mind raced as he thought of the correct common word. Minutes.

"Minutes." The word was foreign to him, but he knew it wasn't to them.

"Five minutes." He corrected himself now with a smile. He probably should explained what he meant, but he liked the idea of how much fear she would give off, unknown to what he had meant by saying five minutes. It was almost a game to him really.

Bella nearly screamed with relief, but she couldn’t. So, she rejoiced within her mind as he removed himself from her body, and her temperature immediately fell back to what it normally should have been. When he lay beside her, her eyes fell to the side and she caught sight of him from the corners of her eyes, before immediately swiveling them back up to stare at the sky.

She couldn’t quite register what he had said. It meant nothing to her, until he corrected himself. She was sure her heartbeat increased, and her stomach froze with fear. Five minutes. Five. Minutes. Until? She died? Until the toxins finally just shut her body down, killing her lungs and heart? No noise came from between her pink lips, but she was panicking. Pure terror.

Bella had five minutes to think off all of the possibilities of what he could mean. Death was the only answer she could think of. Five minutes until everything she had done in her life was wasted. Five minutes to contemplate if it would be painful, if death would be horrible. Five minutes to scold herself for leaving the depths of the library to enjoy the sunlight. This is what she had been rewarded with. Five minutes to think about why she was so helpful. Five minutes to tell herself that after all of this time helping people and doing what was best for everyone else finally had killed her.

Five minutes to learn how to hate someone. Five minutes to learn how to hate the creature laying beside her.

With each passing monter...er...second he flicked his tail back and forth like a metranome. This was enjoyable, watching her lying there, trying desperatly to figure out what would happen to her. He smiled to himself as he snuck in closer to her, his lipless mouth near her ear.

"I...Nazarul." He told her quietly. His tongue extended from his mouth, to lick along her cheek, and he shuddered. Terror. Pure unabrashed terror. It was heaven for Nazarul as he backed away once more from her, lying down again to watch her. This was amusing to say the least, and he wondered what her reaction would be when she finally started to move. Just a minute and a half was left by his calculation.

"Tick...tock...tick...tock..." He wanted to get a bit more fear from her before she got her senses back. He enjoyed the thought of her chasing after him with a wide array of magical spells, all which he would absorb and become just that more powerful. Oh how long could this last wasn't a hard question. Just a minute more and she'd get her mobility back.

Would she run away? Back to that magic laden town? Would she try to kill him? Would she simply lay there and begin to cry like so many others had done before. He knew that to some this was almost considered violation, and could be considered traumatic. To others it was just confusing. A creature who paralysed you, lay beside you and kept you paralysed and then left without any adverse effects? That was indeed troubling and confusing.

Bella felt numb as she heard him whisper into her ear. The numbness turned to near blinding cold as his tongue moved along her cheek. She had to be sweating by now, a cold, fearful sweat. Her body felt cold, so it must be the sweat, the chilling sweat. She had a feeling that is was simply her raw terror.

When he began to nearly taunt her with the time, she fought against the paralysis. Screaming in her mind, throwing herself upwards, but she remained laying there, still. Her eyes were wide as she continued to fight against the invisible bindings that held her body there until she was sure she would simply die.

Relentlessly she threw herself up, twisted side to side, new that the very seconds were counting down. Her mind hit five minutes, and she screamed. Only, this time, sound came from between her lips and as she threw herself up, she actually moved up. Her body was tingling with the numbness that her immobile body had suffered. But she was alive. Would her heart stop now? Was she dreaming? Her hands quickly ran along her freezing body and brushed her hair from her face…and then she remembered him. Nazarul.

Just as when she had heard the mewing of pain, she spun around on her hands and knees to stare at him, her lips parted and her green eyes wide.

“Wh…wh…� She tried to form a question before she fell back to rest along her knees. She felt exhausted. Her eyelids slid shut and she didn’t once think that perhaps he would kill her. Slowly she lifted the heavy lids and her hands began to brush along her body. She was sure she was smeared in crimson blood, and that many wounds would need to be tended to. Her eyes lowered from him to look to her tattered, white tunic, and saw the blotches of her own blood.

“What are you? What’ve you done?� She finally got the energy to ask, looking up to him. She was still filled with fear and terror of the creature. But she couldn’t get to her feet, couldn’t find the motivation to kill him or to run screaming back to the town. Foolish? Some may say she was, but she didn’t believe so.

Nazarul simply watched, and winced, when she screamed. That was a little louder than he had wanted, but said nothing. She seemed to ignore him for a moment, before she finally focused once more upon him. He had a smug expression on as she turned to address him, trying to form the words. She seemed distressed to say the least.

"I am...Demni. I have fed." He answered her questions shortly, to the point, mainly because he couldn't do much more. Nazarul did feel he owed her an explanation of sorts, but he couldn't form any of the right words. He however spoke in Abyssal to her, which consisted of harsh clusters of mostly vowless words. He did know a bit of common to get by with at least.

"Abyssal...creature." He said after a few minujtes, forming the proper words. He knew this poor thing wouldn't understand Abyssal, and with good reason as it wasn't a commonly spoke language in most realms. He had found one before that held the Abyssal langauge in high regards, but that was neither here nor there at the moment.

"Thank you....energy...good." He tried to explain it to her as he sat up on his hind quarters to watch her carefully. Nazarul could smell and see the blood on her, but he had to get the toxin in her, and directly into the bloodstream seemed to work more efficiently than anything else.

Bella simply stared at him. She began to breath heavily and her fingers curled into the fabric of her tunic above where her rapidly beating heart lay. When he began to speak in some foreign language she simply looked upon him in confusion, fear, interest. She couldn’t understand a thing he was saying.

“Abyssal creature?� She repeated after him after calming herself down enough to speak a few words at once. When he sat up on his hindquarters she leaned forward slightly to look at him through her curtain of dark hair. Her lips parted as she tried to gather all of this into her rather muddled head,

“Did you…you didn’t drink my blood, did you? Please tell me you didn’t. You couldn’t have.� Her fingers began to roam her body, wincing as the pads of her fingertips brushed over one of the open wounds. She shook her head as she began to think about it. “No, you didn’t, did you?� She’d lost blood, but was it enough that he had actually sucked up her blood? Would blood be considered energy? Or was it her magic…her magic.

“You fed from magic.� It wasn’t a question. That’s why her flame had died, why he had enjoyed it when she had been upset. “Emotions…� She said and her hands lifted up to run through her already untidy hair.

“You could have just asked me to light a fire or something! The toxins and paralysis were a bit much!� She yelled in frustration towards him. She’d lost control of her temper earlier, and she certainly wouldn’t now.

He watched her carefully as she tried to figure things out, inspected to make sure she was okay. Drink her blood? That was a bit much. True he enjoyed the taste of blood once in a while, in small quantaties, but to actually drink it didn't seem to make much sense to him. He did still watch her carefully though as he shrugged to her question.

"Not blood." He said simply to her, contiuning to keep his eyes focused on her. She was slowly figuring it out, putting it together just as one would put a puzzle together. He smiled lightly, a bug that flew by caught his interest for a moment, before he returning his attention to her. She understood that he fed on emotions, on magic and the like, and he grinned. She was a smart one indeed.

"Would you...have been scared? Terrified? Understood? I needed...lots...lots of energy...This was final way." He told her simply, going back to lying down again in boredom as he watched her.

"You not truly hurt. Scratches here there...no serious...toxin gone..." He explained to her, his tone was quiet as he still kept a level gaze on her. His tail whipped back and forth as he watched her, smirking slightly.

"You good prey."

Bella dropped her hands from her arms as she looked to him, and shook her head at his question. He had a point, about most other people. They wouldn’t have agreed, but Bella always seemed more than willing to help those in need.

 â€œNo, no I wouldn’t have been. I would have helped. Don’t you think chasing me, paralyzing me, and then making me think I was going to die would scare me enough! Or you could have done something a bit less dramatic, like, threaten to hurt me if I didn’t do some sort of spell. But to paralyze me!â€? She sounded much like a mother scolding a child that had stolen a cookie or piece of candy.

When he leaned back and simply stared at her, she stared directly back with those bright green eyes, and turned her eyes down to the tattered tunic and the cuts.

“It’s still an injury. It doesn’t matter, either way. They’ll be gone by tomorrow. And prey! I am certainly not prey, so stop referring to me as such. And whatever you do, please don’t do…what you did to any of the people in the village. Just…ask.� She said and let her heavy eyelids fall shut as she thought once more.

“You can’t speak common that well, can you?� She asked him after a moment, feeling a pounding headache coming on, but she said nothing of it was once more those eyes were locked onto him, this strange and unusual creature.

"Pain is...not...care." He really couldn't express himself to her, to figure out what it was that he wanted to say. He just decided to move on really, ignoring all of that. He watched her as she talked to him some more.

"Common...not...common in...Abyss." Nazarul explained to her as he tapped his chin before watching her carefully. She had tried to explain to him that he should just ask, but he laughed quietly, a very strange one for that matter.

"For me it better to inspire fear anger in person...I need emotions...dark emotions...so tangible for Nazarul..." He hated this common speech, it was so strange to him. Slowly his claw extended, his index digit at least as he began to write strange runes on the ground.

"Kicked out of Abyss...Banished for keeping things." He said suddenly as he made a sad little murring sound. He was indeed sad that he had been kicked out, but right now he was happy that he had found something to feed off of right off the bat. He crossed out the runes on the ground, knowing that something bad would happen if he kept them intact.

"You are prey. You..have not told name, so prey is what I call."

Bella nodded her head as she heard him, figuring as much. At least he knew a few words and was getting by on conversation, although at some parts it was hard to understand what he was trying to get at. But, Bella was intelligent enough to put bits and pieces together and get a general idea of what he was trying to say.

“I’m pretty sure that if you threaten someone, they’ll get pretty scared.� She said with the attempts of a grin, although she was sure it came out as more of a grimace than an actual grin. So, she wasn’t mad at him for what he’d done to her? No. He didn’t understand, she thought. She couldn’t be upset with someone for not understanding certain things. He was feeding. It was apparently how it was done in his race or culture. She was understanding enough to know that she couldn’t hate or be upset with him for simply following his instincts.

“Keeping things?� She asked, and when she saw what he was drawing in the ground she quickly reached a hand out to erase the runes, but he got to it first. She exhaled heavily and looked up at him while tucking a dark red strand of hair behind her ear.

“Don’t draw those unless you’re meaning to do something.� She spoke in a firm tone, before leaning back a bit from him. When he spoke of calling her prey she gave a sigh and brushed her fingers through her hair which was currently a mess.

“Bella. Call me Bella, not prey.� She spoke out to him, pressing a hand to her chest, indicating that she was indeed Bella.

Nazarul admitted that this woman was indeed one of the strangest creatures he had met. She stayed, simply speaking. She hadn't run away afterwords, she didn't even seem that distressed. He was rather impressed by her conviction and strength of will. It was endearing, and it meant that he could probably have repeat feedings. However...he would never have the same thrill and rush of emotions from her as before. She would no doubt willingly let him feed off her magic now.

"I was threat to you...worked very well. Feeding without...prey emotions...not as satisfying. Prey was lucky...lucky Nazarul isn't mating seaoson" He told her, pretty sure he got the message across. Yes, just like most animals the Demni had a mating season. Of course, without any other Demni in this realm, mating seasons would have to go unnoticed. He slowly stood up and stretched, his tail flicking about as he watched her carefully. She really didn't seem to like the runes, but at least she finally told him her name.

"Bella." He said simply repeating it and storing it away in his mind for later use. He lay back to look at the runes and then to her.

"You...understand Abyssal runes?" He asked as he looked down to the runes than to her. He found it was impossible she could understand, but a little exciting at the same time. It meant they might have a better form of communication, or at least, she might know how to make a rune to better understand each other.

"Bella need....kom'tesh rune." Blast it, what was the common equivalent of kom'tesh? He couldn't think of it at the moment, so he would have to explain.

"Rune...that allow you to hear me talk Abyssal...and you understand and talk Abyssal back." The word he was looking for was translator, but for the time being he couldn't remember the complicated word.

Bella rolled her eyes in his direction and nearly made the sign of some goddess across her chest, nearly.

“Mating season, gods. Yes, aren’t I a lucky one.� She said and brushed her mess of hair from her face. She supposed he had a point. If that was how they fed, from the fear of others, from that chase, from the terror and anger, then he had done what he had needed to do. However, she still found the paralysis a little much for such a thing as feeding from magic.

As her hand swept away from of the runes she tilted her head up to him at his question. After a moment she shook her head and continued to sweep them away.

“No, I don’t understand these. Although, I do know what runes are, what they look like, and the damage they can do. I can do a few runes that I’ve studied, but I’m more skilled in saying spells and simply concentrating on it. It’s difficult to explain.� She waved a hand to dismiss what she had said, before hearing him try to get her to understand what this kom'tesh rune was.

“Oh, a translator from common to Abyssal. I don’t know how to do those with runes I’ve read, and I doubt I’d know how to do an Abyssal one. Draw it, let me see what it looks like. And it best be a translator rune, not something dangerous.� She told him, leaning back to rest along her heels as her arms crossed over her chest, watching and waiting to see if he would draw the rune. She had to admit that this translator would make communication a lot more easier. She was now starting to regret that she hadn’t studied more on runes.

He was crestfallen that she didn't understand them, but that wasn't a very big setback. Well, at least she knew what a rune was and how it worked. He looked about for a rock of some sort. He could make the right rune on a rock she could keep on her person. His eyes scanned and finally found a suitably small rock. Snatching it up he looked at it carefully, cleaning it off. Then he began to etch something on it with his claw, making a precise mark on the face of the rock.

"There." He looked proudly at the rock before setting it down. It wasn't very big, no bigger than a pinky fingernail to say the least. He took a step back as he watched the rock flare up, a purple glow and smoke rising from the object. He watched as the runes he wrote slowly died down until they were black and smoldering. Snatching the rock up he inspected it. Still a little warm, but it worked.

"Now you can...hear Abyssal..." He held the rock out to her proudly, this was a rather big accomplishment for him. He had never actually made a translator object, but he had known about them. Maybe he should make more of these for later. Of course, he would need pockets to keep them in, something he lacked.

"Just keep near you...against skin, and Abyssal will sound like common. You still talk common, I can understand that." He told her with a nod of his head, trying to reassure her of it. He really hoped this worked, he had written all the runes carefully. He just hoped she didn't start spouting any strange languages.

"Take...put against skin...in shoe or somewhere." He honestly should have thought this out better put the runes on a pendent or a ring. Later perhaps, when he had the time and the resources.

Bella leaned forward as he began to work on the surface of the small rock, blinking as she tried to shift in such a way that she could actually look at what was being drawn. When he set it down and took a step she pushed herself back a bit, watching as there was a purple glow and smoke. As he held the rock out she reached forward hesitantly, before finally her slim fingers plucked it from his hand and she looked at the marks, almost trying to memorize them, just so she knew what they looked like.

She held the rock in her fingers as she looked up to him. Before putting it in her boot or anything like that, she wanted to at least see if it worked. A part of her was eager to see if it worked, leaning forward slightly. Anything that involved magic, and she considered this as magic, she grew excited about. If it did work, she’d have to pester him into showing her how these runes worked.

“So…you can understand me fine now? And I’ll be able to understand you?� She asked slowly, her fingers brushing along the rock as she waited to see if it had worked and they would be able to communicate on some level.

"I could always understand you. Common is such an easy language to understand. However, conversing in the language for me is much more difficult. " He explained to her. If she looked carefully she would notice that his mouth was not matching the actual words he said. Indeed the rock had worked perfectly, which was rather suprising for him. He knew it worked though, he could see the runes on the stone from here glowing ever so slightly.

"Ah, this is much better don't you think? We're able to converse on roughly the same level." Nazarul said as he sat up to watch her carefully, his arms crossing over his chest to watch her.

"I would like to apologize for earlier Bella. In the Abyssal world feeding on magic is not common, however in this realm I am able to devour magic and negative emotions as a food source. However, you were really godo prey." He told her with a grin, flashing his teeth.

"I am surprised that you stuck around. Most of my victims tend to run and spread a large extravagent lie about me. I've even been accused of some dstardly things. It's a little insulting sometimes." Nazarul told her with a small chuckle, shaking his head.

"You are not truly injured though are you? I am pretty sure that none of my bites or scratches were that deep." Nazarul slowly lay back down, his tail whipping behind him as he watched her carefully, his glowing eyes upon her.

"Did you enjoy it though? Deep down I mean. There have been times when some of the emotions are not...negative. It is disturbing sometimes when the pain and fear becomes excitement and pleasure..." He actually shuddered once, a deep shudder that ran through his body.

"Positive emotions are okay...but not during feeding..."

Bella leaned forward as he spoke, the rock now clutched tightly between her slim fingers. She could understand him perfectly. No fragmented words or words that meant nothing to her. They were actually conversing. She gave a slow nod at his question before breaking into a gentle laugh.

“Yes, this is much, much better than before. I can…I can understand you!� She said and managed to tug one hand away from the rock to sweep her deep red hair from her face, before the hand immediately went back to the rock.

“No, no it’s fine. Although, stop with all this prey business. I’m letting you off easy about the chasing and paralyzing business, but you know my name.� She scolded him, leaning back to rest more comfortably along her heels, her hands cupped along her thighs with the rock settled peacefully within her palms.

“I believe I’m fine. I’ve received far worse, and I’ll have them all healed up by tomorrow. They’ll be an old memory.� She said with the flash of a smile, fingertips brushing lightly over the surface of the rock.

At his question, Bella gripped the rock within one hand, and the other began to fumble with her thick hair, finally becoming content with pushing it behind her shoulder. She had abandoned all hope and actually getting the stubborn hair into a bun once more, so about the shoulders it was.

“I…I couldn’t recall exactly if I did feel…that. I was having a hard time dealing with the lack of mobility.� She retorted over to him, before giving a gentle smile to show she meant no harm with her words. Her tongue brushed along her lower lip and she shifted her position so that her fingers could slide the rock down into her worn, leather boot.

“I’d much rather stick to the positive emotions. They are much more enjoyable, and they won’t go and turn my hair grey earlier than necessary.� She joked before slowly falling to silence.

Nazarul smiled lightly as he continued to watch her with interest. He was really glad that it had worked properly. As if there were any doubt of course! He was Nazarul Demni! Creature from the abyss and second in command to the Demni empire! Er. Demni clan maybe. There weren't THAT many of them to be an empire. Yet.

"It almost sounds like you doubted my abilities Miss Bella." Nazarul said calmly, keeping a level gaze upon Bella as he shifted slightly where he lay.

"My common was never strong. In the Abyss you don't speak Common because many of the creatures there don't understand it. We recently just started to explore outlying realms. However...due to my own fault and stubborness I decided not to share some things with my own people and well...here I am now." Nazarul told her with a frown as he flipped over onto his back to stare upwards.

"I apolgoize for my behavoir though, and for calling you prey all the time. I am unused to knowing the names of my...meals. For a lack of a better word, you were a meal, food, prey, but you are lucky. Some of my comrades aren't as...nice when it comes to feeding, at least. There are a lot more creatures that would have liked nothing more than to tear your throat out and eat you slowly." Nazarul told her, knowing that perhaps he had spoken a litlte more than he wanted but...he was eager and lonely. It wasn't everyday that he got to actually talk to someone without them fearing him.

"I do wish sometimes that the paralysing poison my body creates would also stop a person from feeling pain and the like. Sometimes. Without pain...what good is it?" He said to her with a small smirk.

"I am...excited by fear and terror in people's eyes, how they prespire as their mind races. What does this shadowy creature want? What does it mean by five minutes? What will it do to me? Why did it choose me?" Nazarul gave another visible shudder as he flipped over onto his stomach to watch her with a small smirk.

"It's a shame really that you know all this. Means I'll only be able to drain your magic now, and not feed off your emotions. Hm, no matter I guess. Magic is still delicious really, but without that fear...it's no good. Though, you have to admit Miss Bella, it got your blood pumping hm? Had your adrenaline going?" He was curious how these humanoids acted towards his method of feeding and the like.

Bella visibly winced as he described the feeding of the other of his kind. A hand reached up to curl around the back of her neck, almost as if chasing the thoughts from her mind. That was certainly something she didn’t need to know. All that mattered was that he hadn’t ripped her eyes out and eaten her slowly, and for that she was grateful.

“You really are going to pry until I give you an answer!� She huffed at him as he shifted to his stomach, moving slightly to have the rock fall in a more comfortable position in her boot so she could keep her hands free.

“Afterwards, perhaps. Once I realized that I wasn’t in any real danger, or, wasn’t going to die, maybe just maybe I enjoyed that adrenaline.� Bella answered him, a hint of defeat in her voice at finally giving into that tiny bit of information.

“So you like that, when other people feel pain or terror?â€? Her question was asked slowly, as if trying to pick what words to use to make the question seem as if she was looking for information, rather than just being plain nosey.  

“How often do you think your…kind has been seen here before? How many of you are there? What else can you do? How often do you have to feed?� The questions came out in a stream before she lifted a hand to clap it over her lips and blink at him from over her index finger. After she was sure she had gained control of her lips and mouth, her hand slowly lowered to her lap, her tongue wetting her dried lips.

“What are you? Not just the name, but what are you?� Not able to contain her excitement, she leaned forward to stare at him with those green eyes. Then again, what sort of reaction would one expect from an eager to learn mage? Boredom? Certainly not. She was intrigued and at the moment, her curiosity was hungry.

"I knew you enjoyed it." It was more of an accusation than anything else, but he grinned none the less, flashing his teeth to her. That might not have been the best thing to do to her but no matter really.

"I love it. Fear and Terror are emotions, pain is...delicious. Pain is not an emotion, but to see one in pain gets my hearts beating." Nazarul said as he began to lick his nails and hands, cleaning them off as best he could.

"Never have my species been here before. This realm has never been visited by our species as far as I know. I cannot escape here. For some reason, the runes that allow me to travel back to the Abyss don't work here. As far as I have learned, there are no others way to get back but to die and hope your soul is sent to the Abyss." He explained to her quietly. She had a lot of questions didn't she? This was good, he had pestered her after all about what she felt, so this was no doubt only fair.

"There are ten of us in total. We are a small race, but for some reason in the Abyss our abilities to be fruitiful have been denied. After there are ten of us, we all become...unable to impregnate, but are still allowed a mating season. It gets worse when one of us dies. We go on a frenzy to be the one to impregnate one of the three females. Six males fighting each other for dominance, then...a few of us die some more, and the survivors repopulate." Nazarul laughed quietly as he shook his head. Their species were really strange, this he could admit. They had some odd ways about them obviously.

"My powers are not limited, the runes allow me to do many things. Allow to speak other languages, understand languages, manipulate and summon things into being, set things on fire, sentry runes...the list goes on. As for my natural abilities, my people can meld into the shadows, become a shadow and reappear in other places as you saw, and even shrink or enlarge ourselves at will. Those you've seen before. I can even speak in my native Abyssal language to create magic, or use runes." He tapped his chin once as he tried to think of anything else. No, that sounded about right really. Shrugging he rotated over onto his side to watch her, smirking a little bit to her.

"I must feed every other day or so, or if I've used my runes too much every day. You've supplied me with at least enough to last for a few days I'm hoping, but people are hostile towards me of course and who knows how much energy I will have to expend." Nazarul told her as he rolls onto his back again, his feet in the air as he stretches them out and yawns.

"Nazarul Demni is my full name. Nazarul is my name, Demni is my race. We have no last name because we are so few, there is no need for a last name. We are creatures from the Abyss as you've guessed, forged in the Twisting Nether and expelled into the Abyss. We survive fighting against the other creatures of the Abyss, but we grew tired of fighting, and just wanted to live without having to deal with land wars and the like. So we discovered the Abyssal runes and language, and how to fling ourselves into physical realms. It was quite an experience really...." Nazarul told her as he watched her in turn. He noted that she seemed very interested in him, and there was good reason of course, she had never seen a being like him before. He had seen many mages before in his time though, not many like her before, but many humanoid creatures.

"Have I answered all your questions Miss Bella?"

((Sorry it's not exactly as long as I would have hoped. I'm just about to leave and go to my cousins, so I had to type this quickly =P))

Bella shifted about to find a more comfortable position, and once she found it, she sat like that and listened to every word he spoke. Her chin rested within her palm and her wide green eyes stared at him, soaking in everything, committing what he said to memory. Nothing escaped her, nothing about his race, how they fed, mated, the magic and the runes. It was all extremely amazing to her, how his race functioned and how different it was to her own. When he finished she lifted her head and found her neck had crammed, but she simply pressed her hand there and a soothing feeling ran through the muscle. Basic healing.

"I believe you have." She said with a flashed smile and dropped that hand down to her lap, shaking her head slowly as if still trying to memorize everything he had said to her. It would do no good for her to forget a single thing he told her, even though she could simply ask again.

"So in a few days when you must feed again, what are you going to do? Go galloping into the city and terrorize the first mage you come across? Or would you rather simply ask?" She questioned him with a smirk, almost as if she were entertained by the question. She was hoping that he wouldn't harm anyone in the town and that maybe, just maybe, he would be able to give up the horrible emotions he fed from.

"This is good. I wouldn't want to leave you uneducated, I however must ask that you keep this...to yourself. If people knew that I was mostly harmless, I would no longer get the emotional satisfaction that comes with feeding." He wasn't thinking on a racial basis, that his race wouldn't be able to feed...his race wouldn't come here, since they would be stranded in this realm. He smiled slightly as he sat up on his haunches to watch her carefully.

"No, I have a plan of attack so to speak. I will simply sneak in at night, enter a house, and bite the mage that lives within. This will awake them, and keep them paralysed, so they may be in terror as I feed. I need the emotions that go with the feeding, or else it would be like....drinking water. Emotions are my steak, magic is my beer you could say. You wouldn't want me to starve would you?" He looked at her, his eyes growing wide and innocent as he shrunk down to about four feet long or so, making another pathetic mewing sound. One had to admit that the Demni knew how to deceive for the most part.

He chuckled as he grew back to his normal size, his hind legs stretch out behind him as he popped his spine back into place.

"A mage who fears no evil and lacks emotions, or anyone for that matter who is not afraid of me is a Dak'thi...ehm...equal. For they simply radiate magic, but no emotions. You are lucky, you are normal, you should be proud of yourself." He told her quietly as he moved a bit closer to her.

"You fear, and yet you are interested in me. It is...most entertaining."

Bella nodded her head in agreement to what he had asked of her. Of course she wouldn’t talk about it. She rarely ever went around talking about what she had recently learned. Call her greedy and selfish, but she hated sharing new knowledge with those around. She’d learned that some mages were just as selfish as she was, and if they learned what she just had, that they would somehow manage to make a profit from it.

“Oh, next time, don’t tell me things like that.� She said with a grin, responding to his plan of action for his next feed. She’d rather not hear how he was going to get his next meal, personally knowing how unpleasant it could be. When he shrunk down and began to make that sound, her emerald eyes rolled about and her fingers brushed through her hair, finally fighting it up into a messy, loose bun at the back of her head.

“Stop messing around. You can’t fool me with that anymore.� After her hands moved away from her hair she pointed her index finger in his direction, wincing as his spin popped back into the correct position as he grew back to his normal size.

“Proud of myself? I would rather be equal to something rather than beneath it because I can feel fear.� She argued with him, leaning back just slightly as he moved closer to her. “I’m not all about my ego, but I do have a bit of pride about me. Knowing that I can’t be an equal because I feel, well, it does a bit of damage to my pride.� She fell back to rest most of her weight along her hands, her back arching slightly as she let her cramping legs stretch out before herself. Her head fell to the side slightly as she looked to him, blinking slowly.

“Of course I’m interested in you. You’re different, something I’ve never seen or learned about. I put my curiosity above my fear. Besides, fear is usually irrational, curiosity however, well, I can always gain something from my curiosity.�

He stalked about her before he took to lying down near her feat with a smirk. She wasn't going to tell, and he would just have to take her word on that one really.

"Very good." He almost purred the words out as he looked up to her, a wicked grin now playing upon his face in a response to her own.

"I had to tell you. Though, you might want to tell me which house is yours. In case I need a place to hide out, and to not sneak in and feed upon you."  That actually were the two best reasons, also because he wanted to talk more with her about his people. She seeemed very interested  in him anyways, and in his culture so it made sense.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean you were beneath me. You are technically more sentient than I in that perspective, as I cannot use magic, only eat it. My people are more animalistic than anything, and animals aren't very high in the world. We cannot construct buildings, but your people seem to have no trouble constructing towns, and I assume cities as well. In those terms, I am inferior to you." He told with a smile forming on his lipless mouth somehow.

"So I guess I could technically call you an equal as well, even superior, but I wouldn't want that pretty little head of yours to swell too big now." Nazarul grinned as he continued to keep his eyes upon her, studying her face and her reactions. He had very little contact with actual humans before, so this was actually new to him.

"What say you though? Think you can harbour me in your house for a place to stay? I detest having to go find a cave to live in. I promise I'll be good and won't molest or steal your magic." He sat up with a grin still stuck on his face as he put his hand over his heart, well, hearts to say the least.

Bella kept her head tilted slightly as she watched him, blinking lazily as he grinned up to her from her feet. At his question about her home she rolled her eyes and gave a sigh, knowing he had presented good points. She certainly didn’t want to wake up to a bite and paralysis.

“I suppose I can live with being superior to you.� She said with a laugh and let her head fall back a bit, but her eyes continued to watch him. The only times she wouldn’t look at him was when she would blink, but when she wasn’t blinking, all of her attention was on him, and only him. Interest filled her emerald eyes.

“My head won’t swell no matter how many compliments I receive.� She said, although the smile she gave told otherwise, before a laugh ruined her moment of bigheadedness. Her legs bent and she pushed herself to lean forward and rest her chin along her knees.

“Fine, fine, I might as well tell you. It would do no good to have you stalking about in caves and such. The only thing that would do is cause rumors. You best keep that promise too, Mr. Nazarul. If you even think about doing that, you’ll find that my only weapon isn’t magic.� Her eyes narrowed towards him in a threat, before a smile crossed her lips and she pushed herself to her feet. The tunic like shirt fell about her and she fixed the fitted breeches around her bottom half.

“Well, I don’t know how in the world I’m supposed to show you where I live now. You’ll receive quite a few of stares no doubt.� Her hands rested on her hips and the toe of her worn boot tapped along the ground as she stared down at him, her top teeth gnawing on her bottom lip. The wind toyed with the few strands of hair that weren’t pulled into the mess of a bun along the back of her head, but she kept her hands at her hips.

“Any suggestions?� She asked him, wracking her brain for any sort of answer to their dilemma.

"Which, the magic absorbing or the molestation?" He asked her with a condesending smirk as he watched her carefully. He never actually thought about the second option, he didn't much like the idea of trying that anyways, this woman was pretty powerful.

"I'll keep my promise though. Though...I don't like that...mister part you added to my name." He told her bluntly as he kept an eye on her for a moment before looking back to the town with interest for a moment. She did talk about trying to get him into the town, and he grinned a little bit.

"I've sorta got an idea." He said as he began to shrink down to his small miniture version.He grinned up at her as he lept up, careful as he grabbed her arms, trying not to use his claws as he moved about onto her shoulders. He grinned a little bit at her as he wagged his tail a few times.

"This is the first time someone has willingly let me into their house. Usually I have to keep them paralysed and shoved in a corner." He told her as he tapped his chin once with a finger and then stroked her neck with his claw, careful not to pierce the skin.

"I'm glad you're nice though, I wouldn't want to have to do anything bad to you." It wasn't a threat actually, the tone was all off. it was genuine concern really. He didn't like hurting nice people, which is probably why he didn't get to know most of his victims. That way, he wouldn't know what they were. Guilt free.

"Now, let's go. If anyone asks, just say I'm some injured creature you found in the forest and you're going home to study me. It's not techincally a lie either." He grinned at his own cunning as he layed his head down on her shoulder.

"I'll keep from moving much and secreting any poison from my claws. That should take the worry off a little bit."

Bella kept her hands on her hips and locked a mean glare on him, fire flickering in the depths of those emerald eyes.

“Try it, either of those, and see what happens.� She threatened him in return to the smirk, before hearing that he had an idea and figured she might as well tone it down a few notches. When he shrunk down and jumped onto her arm, she instantly stilled, remembering clearly the claws and teeth, shuddering lightly as he ran his claw along her neck. Slowly, after a few moments, she relaxing and her shoulders slopped gently, turning her head to look at him from the corners of her eyes.

“Well, nothing bad better not happen to me.� She retorted back to him and walked over to where she had been studying and reading. Carefully she knelt down and gathered the books and flower, holding them all within her hands.

“I’m going, I’m going. And please try not to do that. It wouldn’t do either of us any good if I dropped in the middle of the street with a strange creature on my shoulder. Just…behave yourself.� She muttered beneath her breath as her boots finally came in contact with the dirt road leading to the center of the town.

As she walked she received a few questions from curious mages, and she simply answered how he had told her to. Injured creature. Soon she had winded her way through the town to a small building. The lower level belonged to an older mage woman, working mostly with wards, but the second level belonged to her. As she opened the door, they were greeted by mounds and mounds of books and parchments. It was amazing that anyone could actually live in such a place, but Bella continued on into the small home and shut the door behind herself.

“It’s kind of…crowded.� She said and walked to the window sill, opening the window and she set the flower in the pot on the ledge. She found an empty area and set the books down there and dusted her hands off. After walking through a maze of books she opened another door, and there was a room there. It was ten times neater and more organized than the first room, and in the center of this room was a bed.

“It’s not much.� She said with a shrug, lifting a hand to shoo him away from her shoulder and onto the ground, or perhaps a stack of books in the connecting room if he decided to remain in his shrunken form.

"Heh heh, I wouldn't dream of doing any of those. Unless I get really hungry. I don't think any bad will happen to you Bella, I don't plan on that. I'm pretty sure I can protect you for that matter." He said as he stuck his tongue out at her before going back into a more docile state. His eyes closed and made just pathetic noises everytime a mage came to ask about him. It was rather fun to trick these people. They had no idea about him, but it was no real problem.

He waited for when they finally made it to house, smirking as he looked about. Well, that was rather scary...she literally had a cluttered house but...she was a mage. Mages loved to study anyways. He had to repay her for the kindness. Hmm...He knew of something he could, he could summon for her a book of runes. It would probably be useless to her, as there was no primer, and he couldn't teach them to her, but stilllit would no doubt be nice to show off.

"Crowded is an understatement." Nazarul said as he purred slightly, liking the idea of all these books around him. He could learn lots from them perhaps...or at least, he could read about them.

"It's enough Bella." Nazarul said as she shooed at him. He snapped playfully at her hand before jumping down onto a pile of books and then began to enlarge until he was back to his normal size.

"I won't take up much room. Though, I hope you don't mind if I have to leave at night and feed..Well, not tonight at least. Though, I do want to give you a gift. I need a book you won't like anymore." He told her as he sat on his haunches, watching her with a smile.

"I'm going to give you a better gift than that rock. You won't be able to understand, and you'll have to go through trial and error, but you'll be able to read the Abyssal runes eventually."

Bella scowled at him before looking hopelessly about the books, knowing he had a point. Crowded would be a stack of books here or there. She had her own library.

“Good, because I don’t have much room that can be taken up. I could try and…organize.� She suggested and brush her fingers along the back of her neck, staring at the books with defeat clear in her eyes. “Or…not.� She said with a laugh and dropped her hand down to her side, before hearing what he said. Her eyes moved to him and stared with curiosity.

“A book I won’t like?� She asked and shifted to rest along the door frame connecting the two rooms. Her arms crossed over her chest and slowly she began to search the piles and piles of books for one she didn’t like. Then she heard the reason and she pushed herself from the wall and began to search. A few sneezes came from her, dust from books she hadn’t used in a while.

“If I can read those runes, I’ll give you every book in this place!� She shouted before tugging a book out about simple water spells she had learned long ago. Her fingers dusted it off and she twisted her way through the room to him, and stuck the book out to him, looking to him with her green eyes, waiting rather impatiently.

"I take up very little room Bella and don't sleep much." Nazarul said with a shrug as he poked a stack of books once then smirked. He chuckled to himself as he turned to look at her, shrugging his shoulders. He turned to watch her as she started to search through the books. At least she was hurrying now that she knew what it is. He tilted his head, smirking as he waited for a book.

"I just need one book, not all of them." He told her with a grin now. She handed him a book and he took it from her bowing his head in thanks. He dusted it off, expelling a bit of wind to clear it.

"Do you ever clean?" He joked as he set the book down and watched it for a moment. His tail flicked in anticipation as he slowly reached a claw out, which had grown out to five inches or so. He slowly began to draw on it, strange and large runes upon. He also spoke in a harsh dialect, the tone was dark and the words were heavy with consanents. It sounded like a very tough dialect, and obviously it was Abyssal.

Slowly the runes on the book began to glow, began to burn a dark purple. They pulsated this dark energy that seemed to radiate from the very book. Pressure lines began to form around the book, as if it were absorbing energy from the world around it. The book glowed white suddenly and it slowly began to change itself. The outlying cover grew black with red veins covering the front and back. The tips flattened and pointed out like spikes, and the pages turned to a crisp faded yellow colour. The words that once spoke common changed to runes, thousands upon thousands of runes.

The burning runes on the front slowly died down until nothing but smoldering black imprints were left on the front. The book seemed to be living almost as the red lines glowed once in a while, pulsing like blood. Nazarul seemed generally pleased as he hugged the book once.

"Summoned from the Abyss, I can still feel the imprint." He said as he looked down to the large book, then up to her, holding out the strange book.

"It's a little warm still. The first five pages are a primer of sorts. Then it moves onto rune words, and then using those words to do your bidding. I'd just be careful, write the runes out carefully to get a feel for them. Our Alphabet is different from yours, as it has things like Au and Bo, Ci and Ke...It's a vocal language." Nazarul said with a smirk, his eyes still upon Bella as he held the book out to her.

"You'll figure it all out...just...don't show it to ANYONE. Don't take it outside, and say nothing, practice these runes inside, and then burn the paper you use. I could be in a lot of trouble for letting you have this book...." Nazarul said with disdain. He was already IN trouble but...this was letting a non Abyssal resident learn the Abyssal language. He hoped he could put his trust into her, or else he'd have to end the poor girl.

Bella folded her arms across her chest as she heard him, defiance radiating from her.

“Sometimes, when I have time.� She retorted back to him, before he began to write something on the cover of the book. Instantly she forgot her wish to be rebellious and moved to stand closer to him. She watched as he chanted and refused to tear her eyes away as the book began to change.

She shifted to stand in front of him as he hugged this new book, blinking as she tried to lean forward, top teeth biting along her bottom lip. As he held the book out, she took no time in taking it from her hands, fingers twitching a bit as she felt the warmth. As he spoke all she could do was nod, before a smile twisted her lips upwards, and she began to shift her weight back and forth from foot to foot.

“Don’t show it to anyone, don’t go outside with it, burn the paper. Got it.� She said, her voice flooded with excitement as she immediately threw the front cover open to a random page, and a groan slipped from her lips. There were a lot of ruins. More than a lot, and she didn’t understand a single one of them. Slowly she swallowed and shut the cover of the strange book, looking up to him.

“I’ll figure it all out.� She replied back to him with a wide grin and began to glance around for a moment, looking for some free space to sit and start. She was more than eager to begin learning the runes.

"Well find time. It's no wonder you don't have a mate." Nazarul commented to her as he hopped onto a small pile, managing to balance himself as he watched her with a grin. That was perhaps not the best thing to say but...he had to say it. He had seen how she snatched the book from him, now holding it like it was a priceless piece of glass, and it was pretty much like that.

"I could teach you some of it, but I'd rather not teach you all of it. The Abyssal language requires experience as well." He told her as he sat down now across from her as he slowly took the book from her and set it down, opening it up to the first page.

"Just grab a piece of paper and a quill. However, for this...I just want you to write it, and at the end of the rune, write it with a small curl." He explained to her as he pointed to the first rune. He smiled to her as he tapped it once.

"However...the last rune you write in the series, don't curl it. Just write it normally. If you write it properly, it will glow like the runes did, then it will go black. You know they work because they glow." He told her as he swished his tail around and smiled, looking to the book.

"This is the letter...Ae. If you write it upside though, it makes the letter A as well. That's the thing you must remember about our language. It's versatile and tricky. All the letters that are two, like Bo, Fi, Ki, De, all turn into another letter. Usually the first letter. It may not seem very handy but...we have a lot of words that are Bo'kesh, Ki'mi, Fi'De'Klamr. Things that require two letters at a time." This wasn't too difficult, and he always had wished someone had told him this before he started his summoning and had messed things up. Ugh. Worst day of his life that one had been. This was was better, despite exile from the Abyss, he had made...a friend.

Bella stopped as she heard him and pressed her tongue firmly to the roof of her mouth, fighting back any rude comments that she had a strong urge to say to him. Her head tilted down and she shifted back from foot to foot, before locking a harsh, green gaze upon his balanced form.

“That is none of your business, and I suggest you stop using comments like that. I’d much rather commit my time to magic then some…some stupid male.� She spat the word out, before pushing the topic from her mind. This was a time for learning these runes, and that is exactly what she would do.

When he took the book from her she allowed him to do so, but her lips remained in a firm straight line and her eyes simply staring down at the book. At his directions to grab parchment and a quill she moved to rummage through some of the books and pulled out a piece of parchment, a quill, and an inkwell. Once the items were grabbed she moved back to him and after pushing some books from a chair, tugging it up by him. Immediately concentration fell upon her and she dipped the tip of the quill into the ink. She did exactly as he instructed, and the continued on and ended the last rune in the series just as it should have looked, no curl included. It didn’t glow. There was no irritation upon her features, however. She simply scratched it out and started fresh beneath it, and that time it glowed, and a sigh fell from her lips.

“Not too bad.� She spoke out as she listened to him explain the letters and the language. Slowly she nodded her head and dipped her quill into the ink once more.

“Another one.� She said with the excitement of a child getting sweets. Her mind was instantly cleared of her snap at him moments before by the runes she was learning. Figure it that education and knowledge would come before her personal matters.

"What? You people have choices whether you want to mate? Lucky. When mating seasons comes, we mate. Period. There is no choice. Of course, for the rest of the months we don't need to mate, but well...Every race can do whatever they wish." He told her with a chuckle, then put on a resented look.

"And I'm a male thank you very much. I'll prove that to you if I have to." It was hard to tell if he was joking or not, but he had his arms crossed and was looking at her with a funny expression.

He kept himself down as he watched herworking, trying to get the rune just right. When her first try didn't result in anything, he tilted his head. That happened once in a while, after all she was new at this sort of thing.

"First thing I'm going to teach you is how to make a new room in your house." He told her suddenly as he looked down at the paper. Smiling he began to flip through the book, until he got to a particular page.

"This page. It's a little advanced but if you got that first rune easily, you can get this one. I want you right out this line right here. This line basically creates an interdimensional space behind a door. The room will be a little...creepy to say the least, it'll look like the book almost. Bone structured walls and scary things like that. It'll be about fifteen feet long or so in each direction." He explained to her as he moved back a bit.

"Remember, just write curls first. When you make the actual mark, you'll be writing it on a door." He explained to her carefully.

"After that we'll have some place to put all these books of yours." Yes, Nazarul was planning on moving in for the long haul with this strange human. Like he had a choice of course, he needed to, he wanted to, it was something very nice that would work out good for him.

"You don't even have to move the books, I'll do it myself, but I want this place clean if I'm gonna live here. Er, which I hope still stands."

Bella continued to look at the paper at his question and gave a nod to what he said about mating.

“Yes. We can do it whenever, with whoever. Doesn’t matter if you’re already with someone else. You can just go at it like rabbits. And no, I’ll take your word for it. No need to be proving or showing anything.� She chuckled to the paper before he took the book and turned the page, explaining to her what it would do. Just as she opened her mouth to ask why she would need another extra room, he answered her question.

“The books are fine.� She grumbled to the book as she began to study what he told her to write, and then she went to the parchment and began to practice it. The first time tried, there was no glow, but she tried again and it was there.

“Yes, yes, you’re still living here as long as you like. I’m so glad I picked up a being of an unknown species, and he happens to be an obsessive compulsive cleaner. As long as you don’t clean it too much. But I suppose I could use an extra room for these books. That means all the more room for brand news books!� She said and lifted her eyes from the paper to give a wide grin to him, lifting a hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, a strand that wasn’t up with the rest of the messy bun.

“Is there any way to change what the room looks like? If it looks like this book I might not be able to go in it!� She joked, looking up to him through her lashes before going back to the book, shifting the quill within her fingers. “There a rune in here for redecorating?� She questioned, the corners of her lips twitching upward.

"Obsessive compulsive? No...I take pride in where I live you know." He told her as he stuck his tongue out at her again.

"Well if you're sure that you don't want me to prove it then, guess I'll have to keep it..erm...hidden." Nazarul said, knowing he didn't wear pants for that matter. He watched the rune glow, his tail whipping excitadly behind him. This was excellent, she was taking quickly to the whole thing then wasn't she?

"There...is a way to change it I suppose. It's not technically changing the room itself, but changing how your eyes perceive it. It's an illusion spell, and it's rather difficult. You have to first choose the colour you want, and then you apply it to where ever you want. Though, you have to apply it for whatever wall you want, then ceiling, floor...doors..." He explained to her as he flipped the book a few more pages and pointed to a particular entry.

"There. First though...you'll need a door." He told her as he moved away to go to a wall, looking at the empty and clean wall.

"Write the runes just as you would, but write them large, and around the wall like an arch way. You have to complete it, start at the bottom here," Nazarul explained as he crouched to point at an area. "Then you go upwards, move around, come down, then over, right back to where you started. " He said as he pointed again to the same spot.

"They'll burn, and when you want, you simply walk straight into it. Of course, you'll need to put an illusion spell on the wall to hide the room." He told her with a grin, returning back to her and the book, flipping back to the extradimensional room.

"Think you can handle it?"

((Sorry it took so long! I had a lot going on the past few days.))

Bella couldn’t help but laugh and slowly shake her head, before cringing a bit, tapping the tip of the quill along the paper, looking up to him.

“Yeah, you’ll keep it hidden.� She retorted to him, biting her lip before hearing that there was a way to change the room that sounded like it would be, well, spooky. She listened intently as he explained how the runes would work and leaned forward as he began to flip through the book.

“Okay.� She said and nodded her head, before pushing herself up to a standing position and followed him to stand behind him a tad, staring at the blank wall. She found it difficult to believe that a room would soon be there, but then again, she was a mage and she was used to surprises and neat tricks. Her hand moved back and forth, making the feather of the quill brush along her lips as she crossed her other arm over her waist, giving a nod here or there as she listened to what she had to do.

“I think I can do it.� She finally spoke and walked back to where he was, grabbing the book and keeping it on that page as she moved to the wall, setting the book down at her feet, staring down at the bottom. Slowly, with careful precision she began to make the rune marks, just as she had been told to do, curls and no curls and what not.

“So aside from memorizing the runes, is there any actual learning or spell casting involved?� She asked as she continued to create the runes, following what the book said exactly to do, and then copied it onto the wall.

Nazarul shook his head as he lay down, watching her work and trying to get the runes correct. She had the right idea, the runes looked exactly like they did in the book. She was good at this sort of thing, wasn't she? Nazarul smiled slightly though as he pondered his answer.

"For you, there will only be the memorizing of runes. After a while, the runes will become a part of you. You won't need the book, for the runes will have been burned into your mind...so to speak. You'll want a fire, and suddenly your hands will move as if possessed, and you will draw the correct rune." He explained the ways of the runes as best he could, it was more of a strange soul link almost.

"I can't teach you how to speak the runes, that is far more complicated, and I don't think you have the tongue for it. I speak Abyssal now, but there is a second language, Abyssal Runes. This allows me to simply say the rune, and it will do my bidding. Though, that doesn't work for all runes, like this room for example." Nazarul slowly crawled to the book to peer into it, then up at her work so far.

"Good, just make the arch, bring it down, then do a horizontal line to connect it with the beginning runes. That will make an arch way...er...a door way I suppose which you will use." He told her as he pointed to the crude example in the book. At least it had some pictures to help her with it.

"This rune-way will be good. You'll be able to store all your books in here, and none of the other mages will be able to sense the room or illusion. At least I think that's how it goes." He wasn't sure if mages could sense such things, after all, it wasn't truly magic, it was...hard to explain. Nazarul thought this over and then shrugged, deciding it probably wasn't important anyways.

"You're almost done. I hope this works." After all, if she messed up somewhere, she might create something else, or for that matter, it might not work at all. He wasn't sure which was worse at the moment. Failure probably.

Bella nodded slowly as she listened to him talk, still concentrating on drawing the runes along the wall. When he moved closer to the look at the book and then her progress, she looked to him and flashed a smile, before bringing it back down just as instructed, coming towards the end of the wall, where she had started in the first place.

“Good. Last thing I need is the mages here figuring out I’m doing some sort of foreign rune magic.� She laughed, before finishing off the last rune. Holding her quill tightly in her fingers, she jumped back from the wall as each mark began to glow, staring at it with apprehensive, green eyes.

“Did it work? They glowed!� She asked, before the doorway came into existence, and she gave a wide grin, jumping up and down slightly, before rushing to the side of the book, staring at the picture, and then up to the door, before she quickly flipped through the pages.

“What else can I do?� She asked, excitement clear in her voice as strands of red hair fell forward, blocking her face from either side, but she was too occupied to worry about her hair, she’d just created a room using abyssal runes!

Nazarul moved to the door and looked at it, at the outlines, and the somewhat crude door. He simply walked through the door itself, not bothering to open it. That was just an illusion as well. Part of the spell unfortunately. He poked his head back out of the door, which must have looked rather neat, and grinned.

"It worked alright. First though, you'll need to conceal this doorway." He slipped out of the wall so to speak to go to the book, flipping through the pages. "Write this half on the wall, and half on the runes of the archway. That way the illusion will cover the doorway and make it look like the rest of the wall." He explained to her as he stepped away from the area for her.

"We'll do the inside of the room later, when you're a bit more advanced." He said to her quietly, knowing she'd advance very quickly. After she was finished this, she could get back to her studies of the individual runes and such. Nazarul had shrunk himself slightly and was back to lying on a pile of books not far from her, watching Bella carefully.

He knew the dangers of all this, the attention she might bring to herself, or the trouble that might befall her. He was confident however, and besides, it was a good trade off. She wanted knowledge, and he needed a place abundant with magic and negative emotions. It was a fair trade in the end.

Bella lifted a hand to cover her mouth, although a muffled giggle slipped through as she saw his head sticking through the door, pushing herself to her feet. She remained silent and propped her hands on her hips, smile stuck to her lips as she observed her work. It looked like a door, and she assumed there was a room behind the illusion seeing as how he was standing in it.

"Conceal it. Gotcha." She said and nodded her head, looking down to the runes he was talking about, and then turned her attention back up to the door as he told her what to do. She gnawed on her lower lip in thought, tapping the quill to the side of her face, knowing this would be a bit more difficult than creating the door had been.

"Okay, I think I can do this." She replied and turned her head to look at him on the pile of books, slightly smaller than usual and she grinned over to him, before taking a few steps towards the door, getting her quill tip wet with ink. After inhaling and exhaling heavily she began to copy the ruins from the book onto the wall, making sure not a single drop of ink was out of place, for fear of what the consequence would be if she were to mess up. The thought sent chills down her spine. Then again, runes was kind of like magic. You do the wrong spell, and there is always a chance of a horrible outcome. Same with runes. The thought comforted her and she was able to go on and continue to copying of the symbols, completly concentrated.

"All these books are boring." Nazarul stated, more to himself than to her as he flipped through them. No real pictures, just words. Hundreds of words in small print. At least his book was technically all pictures. That gave him a one up on her book. He closed the book he had been reading, looking to her and smiling. She was doing a real good job. A real good job indeed.

"That's perfect, just don't mess up. This set of runes resemble very closely the one that would fill this place with icy cold water." There was no rhyme or reason to the runes usually, an illusion spell could fill a house with water, a summon spell could create burnt food if done wrong, a spell to light a fire might actually make a tree grow. The Abyss was like that, unpredictable at times.

Nazarul hopped down from his stack of books to approach Bella and the book, looking from her work down to the book carefully. Yes, they all pretty much seemed to match for now.

"You can swim right?"

Bella lifted her head to look at him and scowled, shaking her head at his comments.

“They aren’t boring. They are incredibly educational, and help a lot.� She retorted over to him, her eyes falling back down to the task at hand. She was tediously copying each word onto the wall, slowly going down to the finish, before she quickly placed her finger where she had finished, listening to what he had said.

“What? You could have told me that before! Before I was just expecting it to…not work. Now I’ve got to worry about a flood of freezing water!� She yelled at him, before clamping her top teeth along her lower lip, and turned back to work. When he began to look at the book and her work, she stopped again, trying to fight back her nerves. She’d done dangerous spells a million times, but the question that came next unnerved her.

“I’m a mage not an athlete! Of course I can’t swim!� She snapped at him and immediately drew her hand away from the wall and the one from the book to her chest, staring at what she had to do left. She swallowed heavily and stared. She couldn’t stop right then just because of some cold water.

"I told you that each rune can mean different things. You should have guessed as much from an entire group of runes." He said with a smile as he looked up to her, sticking his tongue out at her before he hopped away back to a stack of books to rest upon. When she snapped at him he blinked a few times and then laughed.

"I'm a Demni, not even from this world, barely have a knowledge of water, and yet I can swim. My place doesn't even have water, we have to make it. This place however I know has it. I can smell it on the winds. So is that your only excuse?" Nazarul said as he laughed quietly, his arms crossed now as he watched the woman.

"Just hurry up with the runes. Thankfully the illusion will cover the runes for the illusion spell." Nazarul said as he wagged his tail back and forth, watching her.

"Mmm, what time does it get dark in this place? I want to go hunting and exploring." His eyes cast to a window, as a person walked by here and there. The town was that populated obviously, but still...it was pretty much full of mages and such. That was always a benefit. Food was everywhere, and all mages seemed to be sour and unruly so the unpleasant emotions would reign here too. It was just too goo to be true. If his people knew of this place, they might just invite him back.

All Bella could do at the moment was glare, and glare she did. Like a moody child she turned her back to him and dipped the quill into the inkwell and continued to draw the runes with a careful hand. As he continued to talk, she continued to remain silent, until his inquiry about the sunlight leaving and his hunting. Her hand drew away from the wall and she turned just her head to look over her shoulder at him.

“You better not hurt a single person in this town or you’ll know exactly what it is I learn from those boring books.� She pointed the tip of the quill towards him, before turning back to the wall and continued to write.

“When I was five years old a group of boys from town threw me into the lake. I couldn’t swim and thought that was the end for me. I don’t like swimming. I think my excuse works just fine, thank you very much.� She spoke, noticing she was growing closer and closer to the end of the runes, until finally she came to the last one. She hesitated, before quickly drawing the shape, and she was to her feet faster than one could blink.

Her eyes were tightly shut and her hands in fists at her side, before slowly she opened one eyelid, and then the other, and a smile of relief spread along her lips as the runes glowed.

“Worried over nothing,� She wiped her hands on the front of her breeches before turning to look out the window, then towards him with a sigh.

“An hour and the sun will be at the horizon,� She answered him, green eyes pinned on his form.

((Eeee, so sorry! I meant to do this way earlier! I posted though! See! See!))

"I thought you learnt that I don't hurt people. Simply subdue, feed, and escape. In your case it was subdue, feed, and beg for shelter in exchange for knowledge." Nazarul commented as he watched her work, wondering what might happen if he DID actually hurt someone. She might be rather mad, and she was now in control of some powerful and dangerous magic. She might hurt him, but she wouldn't exile him from her house. The power of the book would end up destroying her without a teacher.

"You should learn to swim. It isn't hard, and you may need to know one day." Nazarul commented as his tail finally stopped it's wagging, watching her as she moved away from the runes. Indeed they had started to glow, and for that matter, nothing bad was happening. The runes for the door disappeared, along with the ones for the illusion spell. It looked like the wall hadn't been touched.

"Excellent work. I think that's enough for today. I'll sneak into there later and do the runes for the room itself to make it look more...like this house. You probably won't be able to reach the ceiling anyways and well...I can work much faster." Nazarul said as he hopped from the books to go over to the window, peering out it. He had grown back to his natural size, and was walking simply on his hind legs. He was careful though not to stay at the window too long.

"An hour you say? Well, what would you like to do till then Bella?" He asked, turning around to look at her with his arms crossed over his chest.

"We need to do something to kill the time. Something fun. Got any games we could play? Games besides 'Let's learn about the Abyssal Runes' and such."

((Oh! It's fine! Haha, I was just wondering =P It's no problem at all))

“I’ll have no reason to know how to swim.� Bella replied back too him, pressing her fingers into the back of her neck as she turned to face him, watching him move over to the window and look out of it.

“Alright. But you’ll have to show me how you do the runes later.� She pointed towards him after tucking her red hair behind her ears.

She watched him as he asked what they could do until it became dark, even suggesting games, and she had to muffle a laugh with the palm of her hand. Slowly she began to look around the rooms and at the piles of books, folding her arms across her chest. Bella had never really played games before, she’d always been too busy studying.

“I like the learning abyssal runes game though!� She whined before she broke into a laugh, leaning her head to the side before shrugging her shoulders. She was coming up blank. She’d never had a person around that needed to be entertained, so she was kind of new at this.

"Other than the fact your world has a bunch of water on it." Nazarul murmured gently as he stuck his tongue out at her again. He rather liked the banter between them, it was a nice change of pace really.

"Fine, later I'll teach you more." He wanted to go outside and get a layout of the town. Also, he wanted to just go outside. In the Abyss his people lived mostly outside, so being inside like this was rather...interesting. He smiled to her as he sat up on the windowsill carefully, making sure not to knock anything off.

"That's because you're a mage Bella. Also you're a bit of a...bookworm." He said as he gestured to her various stacks of books, smirking ever so slightly. It was hard to understand the facial expression on him, as he lacked lips, but thankfully still managed to show some sort of emotion.

"A game though...a game..." He tapped his chin thoughtfully. What sort of games did they play in the Abyss? Well, besides chasing each other around and general teasing and such. Hm, this might actually be a difficult question.

"There's hide and seek. I could shrink myself down to my smallest size, hide, and you could try to find me..." He always did enjoy that game, and here in this world there was no chance of some Abyssal Walker interrupting the game.

"Or if you have any games that don't involve me teaching that works too."

Bella turned to look at him and smirked at his response, but said nothing. Just because there was water didn’t mean she had to go anywhere near it, aside from the whole bathing thing.

“Alright, alright. Later.� She muttered, brushing her fingers through her bangs before tucking them behind her ear, giving a sigh as she turned to stare out of the window. There was an orangish tint covering the town now, with the sun nearing the horizon.

“A bookworm!� She yelled at him, as if offended, before slowly realizing that she was quite the bookworm. Her lack of knowledge in games proved that much. “Oh…never mind.� She muttered out.

At his suggestion of hide and seek she smiled, biting down to try and hide it, before shrugging her shoulders. The children of the town sometimes played the game. Whenever she sat outside and read she would watch them hide while one of their friends hid their face and counted to a certain number, before running off to find the hidden children.

“I…I haven’t ever played, but okay!� She said and grinned towards him, blinking a few times.

The flashing of his teeth were very apparent as he grinned at her reaction to his...judgement of her. She seemed however to realize how true it was, but he hadn't meant it in an insulting way after all.

"You haven't ever played? Never? Not even once?" Nazarul asked her almost stunned for a moment, staring at her with a feigned look of horror. This poor girl had never lived in her life had she? He would have to fix that, after all, she had the fun loving, spur of the moment Demni in her presence now.

"We've got to get you some friends Bella. I'm surprised that you haven't found any in a town full of Magi. You've all got something in common after all. Well. Except for you. You've got a creature from the Abyss living with you. You're one up on them." Nazarul pointed out, that grin crossing his face once more. Glowing yellow eyes slowly closed as he began to shrink down into his miniature size. Now anyone looking in would probably see Bella chasing a household cat. Nothing suspicious of that after all.

"And believe me, when night comes, we're going out. Now close your eyes and count to...say...fifteen." At least he had remembered the correct word for fifteen. He jumped from the window sill, sitting on his haunches with his tail swinging behind him in anticipation as he waited for her.

"Go on now, it's no fun if you see where I hide."

Bella blinked her bright eyes at him and shook her head, loose maroon strands of hair lightly brushing her cheeks.

“Uhm, no. I’ve never played. I was always doing something else.� Her head tilted to the side as she began to rock back and forth on the heels of the rugged boots she hadn’t exchanged for silky slippers, or something equally feminine.

“I have friends! I have… Well, I have them.� She pressed her lips together and stomped a foot down on the ground, before rolling her eyes and sighing in his general direction. The red-haired mage didn’t say anything while he shrunk down to a size close to a cat, and at his instructions to count to fifteen she nodded her head.

“Okay!� She said and spun around to nearly skip out of the room around the piles of book. She opened the door, turned to look at him and gave a wide smile, before turning and walking into the hallway, shutting the door behind herself, and she moved to lean against it.

“One! Two! Three! …..�

"Oh of course you do." Nazarul agreed with her, though perhaps a little sarcasm lacing his innocent sounding tones. However she skipped out of the room, his eyes now looking around for a good place to hide. Hm. His first thoughts were of mischief and simply knocking a bunch of book piles over and pretending to actually be a feline, but then his common sense took over.

He headed to a few stacks of books, pushing them all about until he made a sort of cave he could hide in. It wasn't facing the door, and he hadn't done much to reorganize it, so it wouldn't seem too out of place. However the small space where he could stick his eye to look out of him might have been a dead give away.

Perhaps it was also the tail that extended out of the back, subconsciously whipping around in excitement. He had always been really good at this game, and actually did love it so. Technically the game wasn't often played by adults, but it was a perfect thing when trying to teach others how to hunt and the like.

He could hear her counting, and even giggle to himself. She'd never find him here. It was such a good hiding spot. He stifled his giggle however and lay flat, trying to not draw too much attention to himself.

Nazarul was unsure what excited him more, this game, or the fact that in maybe half an hour or an hour he would be able to run outside along rooftops and scout this place out for potential meals for the coming nights. Probably that second one he guessed.

Bella tapped her fingers along the door as she continued to count in a loud, unnecessary voice, before finally reaching the end of her counting.

“Fifteen!� She yelled before spinning around and whipping the door open. She stared into a room she’d walked into numerous times before, but she actually looked at it this time. Her feet carried her into the room and she shut it behind herself, bright eyes sweeping over the room.

Bella had never been extremely good at the whole tracking business, her skill was always in books and learning, and that was it. She tiptoed around the books, pushing some out of the way, looking under them, in flower pots, in the corners of the room. After a few minutes of searching, she moved back to the mountains of books and began to go through those, before finding a pile of books that was in a shape she was sure she hadn’t created. She moved over to the unusual stack, and lifted the top few books off of his small hiding spot, and stared down into it. Unless he had moved, she would smile down into the little cave.

“Find you!� She said, her voice chipper and triumphant.

Nazarul had to cover his mouth and clench his teeth to keep himself from laughing as he watched Bella walk into the room and start looking. Okay, so maybe he wasn't always the best hider in the world, but he did try his best after all. Poor Bella would have a severe disadvantage if she tried to hide him after all.

He watched her as she walked away from where he was, and tried to keep his tail from whipping about and making too much noise. However, it didn't really seem to matter as she finally returned to where he was, removing the books from above him. He looked up at her with a grin, clambering up the side of the books carefully, as to not rip them, to sit on the highest book.

"Beginners luck!" He squeaked loudly at her, sitting up on his hind legs to cross his arms.

"Want to try again, or you think you can hide yourself from me?" Nazarul asked her as he jumped from the pile of books to land on the ground.

"I mean, no one has actually managed to hide from me yet, so I don't think you'd have much of a chance." Trying to goad her into it perhaps? Yes, he did want to see how good she was at that sort of thing.

Bella laughed as she stared down at him, taking a step back as he moved to perch upon a stack of books, her setting the books down that she had previously lifted. A smile split her lips and she slowly shook her head, hearing what he said, beginners luck.

“Oh! Me hide?� She asked, her eyes wide before she stared around the room. She wasn’t exactly an expert in stealth and hiding. She’d probably sneeze while hiding, or something equally loud. She finally nodded, her red hair brushing her cheeks as she stared down at him.

“Alright, I think I’ll try!� She said down to him, brushing her hair from her face as she tried to figure out how in the world she would hide from him, especially in a room simply filled with books. She wouldn’t use magic, simply because she didn’t think that would be too fair.

“Okay! Go count!� She said and pointed towards the door, bouncing on the toes of her boots.

"I won't cheat, or at least, not much! I promise!" Nazarul said with a toothy grin, slowly enlarging himself until he was about four and a half feet tall. He just smiled a little bit now as he headed into the other room as she pointed to where to go.

"Alright, I'll count to fifteen then. What comes after three, fourteen right?" He asked with a grin, and a flash as he stuck his tongue out at her before escaping into the other room. Hm. Now that he was in the other room, he had a few questions on his mind.

Cheat?

Abyss yes.

"One! Two! Three! Four! Five!" He started counting, but his fingers were busy, writing in the air to summon for him a small portal that allowed him to see into the next room. Oh he was so evil and naughty sometimes wasn't he? This was going to be an easy game.

(I'm so sorry! I didn't know it was my turn to post! I guess I never got the e-mail or something. It won't happen again!)

Bella crossed her arms and eyed him a moment, before laughing as he left the room, shaking her head, causing her maroon strands of hair to brush her cheeks. How silly she felt, playing games with an abyssal creature. She ran into the next room where a desk was, although the desk couldn’t be used because of all the clutter, and slipped beneath where her legs were supposed to go. She curled her knees to her chest and let her head rest against the desk, listening carefully for any signs that he might be entering the room, biting her lower lip as a smile spread across her face.

Oh this was going to be very fun wasn't it? He watched her through his magic little portal. Well...there she was going wasn't it? That was good wasn't it? A very good spot to hide...Well...not from him at least. He made the portal go away and finished counting.

"Fifteen! I'm gonna get ya!" He dashed back into the room, looking around anxiously. He would play it off at first, like he didn't know where she was. He could smell where she went even. He didn't need to have cheated and yet...Nazarul was much happier cheating. His tail whipped behind him as he dashed around the room, changing sizes constantly to look in places she couldn't possible hide.

"You can't hide from me!" He called out as he jumped onto the desk, changing to a four foot size once more. He was grinning, letting his teeth flash as he leaned down and poked his head under the desk to look at her.

"So, you come here often?" He asked her with a giggle before hopping off the desk to sit in front of her, his tail wagging happily behind him.

"S'good hiding spot you know."

Bella remained curled up as she heard him finally reach fifteen. She could easily hear him scampering about the room, looking in random hiding places. She pressed her hand over her mouth, before she heard something land on the top of the desk, and she dropped her hand down, turning her head to see him peeking over the edge towards her. She lifted a hand and waved her fingers towards him.

“Yeah, every once in a while, I’ll just crawl under my desk and hide out.� She replied back to him, shifting as he jumped down to sit in front of her. She let her legs stretch out until her shins hit the desk, turning to look at him, rolling her emerald eyes.

“Terrific hiding spot.� She replied back to him with a grin, shifting to slip out from under the desk, while trying not to step or fall over him.

He was grinning all the while as she responded to his joke. He couldn't stand people who didn't have a sense of humour! Bella was lucky and had one, even after the feeding and such. Nazarul realized he probably was quite lucky to have met someone as nice as Bella.

"Well there's nothing wrong with that, I mean, it does look pretty safe in there, I bet it's easy to defend as well." He commented idly, examining the desk fro a moment before moving so she could get out without incident

"Perfect hiding spot! Your turn to be it again though!" He was enthusiastic about playing more of this game. He did like it so after all. It always was good for a laugh, and for practising your skills among other things. Already he was looking for a place to hide, and wondered if he should be very evil and use an illusion spell to cloak himself. Oh! Now there was an idea!

"Go count! I gotta find me a hiding spot." Nazarul was acting now, pretending to look for a spot, but he knew exactly how he was going to hide this time. He was going to hide pretty much in plain sight at this point and cast a small illusion spell to maybe make himself look like a stack of books or something like that. After all, it wasn't cheating technically! He had the ability to do such, so it was just using his natural gifts! Yes! That didn't sound like cheating at all.

Bella laughed as his enthusiasm and walked away from the desk. She turned around to roll her eyes at him, with the smile on her face.

“I’m going! I’m going!� She said before turning back around and jogging out of the room into the hallway. She shut the door quietly behind herself, not even thinking to cheat or use any of her magic to find him, unlike what he had used. She may have been book smart, but when it came to things such as cheating or doing something to better another person, well, she was clueless.

“One! Two! Three!…� She began to count loudly, probably disturbing other families that lived in the building.

"Gogogogo!"He was quite enthusiastic about this round, as he would be invisible for the most part. Now...all he had to do was just become another pile of books. He found a nice sized stand of them, shrinking down to their height so he could stand up straight beside them. Then, with a few quick writings in the air and his hand on the stack of them, he became a copy.

Granted, he didn't actually turn INTO them, instead he just became a mirror image of them. She would easily be able to find him, as the books beside him had letters on the front cover, while his were written backwards, as if someone was writing in a mirror. That and he was the only stack of books in the room with a long leathery tail.

"You'll never find me!" He called out to her in the next room. Oh this was going to be great! His tail whipped around behind him, almost like he didn't even know it was happening. In truth, sometimes he didn't. It was probably one of his greatest downfalls for that matter.

She would be nearing fifteen! Oh he hoped this really worked too. If only he knew his tail was going to be a give away.

“Fifteen!� She called loudly, before spinning around and opened the door into her messy house. She looked around, brushing her maroon hair from her face as she began to look around. She looked beneath the desk, in her closet, drawers, checked the stacks of books. Stacks of books. One of them looked particularly odd to her. She didn’t have a stack of books where the writing was backwards. She had yet to master that skill. And she couldn’t exactly remember when her books had started growing tails that wagged happily. She laughed and walked forward, leaning against the wall by the books, before reaching her foot out, and gently stepped on the tail.

“You forgot a part.� She said with a wide grin, her emerald eyes flashing with amusement. “And the writing is backwards on the book. If you have remembered those two things, then I would never have found you.� She said, letting his tail up as she stepped away from the wall.

He managed to suppress all his giggles as she entered the room and started looking around her messy house. Oh this was good! She was looking everywhere. She wouldn't find him in here! Oh no! Bella would be lost looking for him! Bwahahaha!

This was great, he couldn't believe how well this had-erk! She laughed...why did she-ACK! His tail! Though she wasn't stepping hard on his tail, it was still a surprise. The illusion disappeared, shattered now that she knew, and he quickly tried to dash away but found his tail still stuck under her foot. So he just fell on his stomach with a small thump and then glared ahead.

Damn. Hoisted by his own tail! That traitorous piece of flesh could be a bother sometimes. Bella was a smart cookie though, and he was glad that she had been able to find him! Very glad! It meant she knew every part of her house then.

"I thought my tail was hidden and the illusion sometimes messes up with writing." He said as he finally stood up and pulled his tail to look at it, dusting it off. He swore he saw a little dust print on it from her foot. Must have been his imagination.

"Even with my cheating you are a great seeker. I applaud you." He clapped his hands as he slowly grew to his normal size, stretching his arm out. That was pretty damn fun! They'd have to do that again, but outside at night.

"We'll play that again during the night. Use the entire town to hide with. I'll give you an advantage or something, something to make it easier on you. After all, in the darkness it's like I'm invisible." Black as night skin, in the night? Well, that just screamed good hiding!