Eternity is a Decent Length of Time. [Hyacinthus]

[Draconian]

Nail could never decide which form he liked best. Sure, being human meant he had thumbs, was taller and had lips so he didn't accidentally slobber everywhere. He was momentarily choice-free though. He cast a sidelong look with his molten silvery eyes to the sleeping girl off to the side, his new master. He felt a little slighted. She smelled like demon. Had tasted like demon when he accidentally nicked her leg doing a playful puppy-dog hop and had licked the blood as if to say 'sorry' when in reality it had just (sort of) sealed the pact.

It felt a little wrong, it being one sided. He still needed permission from her, it was half a pact right now. Not fully sealed, a temporary bond. Fragile and like thread between them. Hardly noticeable on her end, maybe it would feel like passing a hand through cobwebs but just... there and not able to figure out why.

The past day or two and he was in his hellhound form, following after her like a lost, slightly scary looking puppy. A large red beast, easily three and a half feet at the shoulder, ears that were too long and pointy, a snout that was full of too sharp teeth and a line of horns that grew from his snout to the ground of his head where the largest rested. The paws had claws that were too sharp, but he was careful. After that 'accidental' nic when he'd met his demon-smelling master there had been no further injuries.

Dawn crested sky and he cast his mirror gaze to his new human, huffing again into his paws and waiting for her to wake up. Ears twitching. Today would be a big day. Find an excuse to turn into a human-ish creature and explain the pact. Maybe. Find food for sure. He had to earn his keep and the second she uttered any word close to 'hungry' he knew he'd go out hunting. He couldn't be denied the pact.

Feeling your flesh aging and rotting around you was a different kind of torture and Nail couldn't handle it anymore.

[Hyacinthus]

Olivia stretched, her scrawny arms reaching for the blood red skies as the light of Dilezial warmed her weary bones. A passing flock of winged serpents fluttered past her gaze as she slowly began to open her eyes, and welcome another day. She stood, slowly; The meat-like living ground, slick with the blood of the slain and tortured, made her ascent one that she needed to be a bit careful with. Her clothes were slick with blood; It was only natural. It had just rained a few hours ago; she must've gotten soaked while she slept. That was okay; She would bathe in the blackened fires of Dilezial's corruption in a bit regardless, which would help to dry her off quite a bit. Indeed, she could already see the dread creature barrelling towards her in the near distance, closing the gap between her and it in nearly an instant and wrapping it's fang-ladden tendril around her, ripping into her flesh and rending the meat from her body with one fell--

"Noooooo!!!"

Olivia jolted awake with such force that she nearly leapt off the sandy loam itself; The nearby waves from the shoreline deafened in her ears by the beating of her heart which threatened to burst through her chest. Tears streamed down her eyes; the warmth and heat, in her mind, equating to blood on her face and causing her to hyperventilate further as she desperately wiped away at her face-- nearly to the point of scratching herself-- only to realize that as her vision cleared up bit by bit, she was... she was 'home'. She wasn't... she wasn't 'there'.

It took her a few moments to take it all in, as her mind slowly returned to reality; The ebb and flow of the waves, the sound of morning songbirds echoing through the trees nearby, the proper golden glow of dawn, the cool, gentle breeze of an early morning's sea... She was safe. It was a nightmare. No matter how real it felt, how sure she was in that moment... right now, she was safe. Her shoulders slumped as she accepted this fact, and her mind, and body, began to rest.

In said rest, she made a few realizations. The first, and most obvious, was that she was not alone; No, in fact, she was in the presence of a friend... she hoped. Slowly, Liv's eyes focused properly on the furry companion that had been following her along for the past day or so. One that had been watching her the entire time, it seemed... Which made her feel horrible. "...Oh... Oh, I'm so sorry; I must have scared you just now..." She began to speak, her tone low and soothing as she slowly, carefully moved closer to the canine creature.

'Creature' was, admittedly, taking a few liberties on Olivia's end. It was quite clearly a demon; Of what nature, she couldn't be sure, but the decade of magical studies, and 4 years she'd spent... 'away' from this world, had helped her develop a very clear mental conception of when she was in the presence of one such creature. That said, she wasn't particularly alarmed by it; Not even slightly, really. Perhaps that was due to her desensitization from having to contend with far more dangerous demons somewhat consistently... Or perhaps it was simply because he reminded her of her. The lonely, almost scared look in it's eyes the first time they met... She couldn't leave it alone, even if it were the most dangerous of monstrosities. And it seemed he couldn't leave her be either... To have stayed with her for the night.

"...Did you sit and watch over me while I slept? You're... you're such a good boy. Thank you."

[Draconian]

 It was difficult to offer more comfort when you didnt have hands or a voice. Nail felt distressed that his new Master was frightened and it was difficult to bite nothing in retaliation. So he waited and watched, deciding to be a quiet sentry while she caught her bearings and came back to reality.

There was a tick-tock of his tail when she said good boy. Despite the fact Nail hated saying he was a dog, he knew that this form, his beast form, was the primary. This is the form he's be broken back to when he was too weak to transform. This is the form that housed the mind when the flesh looked human.

Such a form appreciated praise and being acknowledged. Nail gave a pleased sounding "herufff" and shuffled closer to the girl. Little more than a child. Sure that meant he had some time until she'd grow old and die but still. To be so young and so frightened in her sleep.

Already he could feel the bond tangling through his existence. Despite being a monstrous creature he knew when to gentle and when to bear teeth and fangs.

Nail shuffled closer to the girl and pressed against her side, being careful to keep the spikey bits off of her. Resting his chin into her hand.  Another "hrruff" and he pulled away, did three spins and then sat down and stares at her expectantly. Licking his lips. Maybe if he pretended to look hungry, she'd give him instructions to get food. Maybe. Nail was struggling on the basic dog instructions and didnt want to re-frighten the girl by speaking. He's have to transform his head at the very least, and what a sight that would be.

[Hyacinthus]

Olivia's youthful face brightened as the large creature moved closer to her. The seaside breeze was crisp, yet despite having stayed outside with her overnight, the scarlet fur of it's body was still quite warm to the touch. They'd spent much time together in the past day or so, and few and fleeting were the moments the creature seemed comfortable enough-- or at the very least, tired enough-- to settle so close to her that her hands might do as any lover of animals' hands are wont to. Olivia didn't waste the opportunity; she ran her fingers happily along the creature's snout, lightly scratching at it's chin a bit while she had the chance, before it moved away once more. Fleeting moments, so very precious.

What followed was a show; One that put a somewhat understanding smile on the girl's face as the canine-like demon trotted about before looking back to her, a tell-tale licking of it's lips reminding her that it had been some time since she last saw it eat. Well.. save tasting her blood, but she figured that someone with as ugly a constitution as herself likely didn't taste so good in truth. It certainly explained why the creature hadn't just killed and eaten her over night, at least. "Oh dear... you must be hungry." Her voice was soft; little more like sun-warmed cotton bolls than processed velvet, as if the slightest hint of force could tear through it. Slowly, Liv returned to her feet-- her legs a bit wobbly, as she was reminded that even she hadn't eaten in the past day or so. But that wasn't important; Finding food for her friend was.

"Hm... Perhaps some fruit? Or, maybe you prefer meat... I'll see about getting some of both for you, okay?" She spoke with a nod, her eyes moving from the nearby shore to the forests only a few steps away. Fruit would certainly take less time... And require less magic. Fairly aware of her own limitations at the moment, she decided to take a quick trip into the nearby woods, and pick a few apples for her friend; And so, on somewhat wobbly, yet slowly stablizing legs, Olivia looked to the expectant crimson creature, and pressed her hands together in a 'pleading' motion. "I'll be right back... Will you stay and wait for me, please...? I promise to bring something for you to eat, okay?" She explained, hoping her friend could at least understand the tone of her voice, before she turned to walk towards the forest.

[Draconian]

It worked but too well. Nail almost sighed but instead did a doggy nod, waved a paw when she gave the pleading motion and then she was off into the forest. He was supposed to have gone to get them food. No matter. He could get firewood and maybe some fish. Nail poked the charcoals of the fire and watched for the girl to disappear into the trees before it wasnt paws, but tanned long fingered hands that pushed the charcoal together.

"Why couldn't she have sent me out?" He questioned himself, voice rough with disuse. Once the fire spot was smooshed together Nail stood up. He was a tall man, eyes the same mirror of silver. The crown of horns lining the sides of his forehead to have the largest horns beside the long red furred ears.  A straight nose and lips that easily pulled into a smirk.

Having absolutely no clothes on him though, he kept his lower half furred. His tail waved lazily behind him for balance and he looked out to the sea for a moment before frowning. Sticks or fish first?

Nail wrinkled his nose. Fish. Could wash off in a stream when he went and got sticks. It was an interesting way of fishing. A mix of whatever flavour of demonic magic Nail had and occasionally shapechaging just his head to snap at fish. It didnt take long for him to get 3 decently sized fish. Or what he thought was decent. All had puncture marks from his method of catching them.

He dumped them down at the make-shift camp before he paused to listen for his companion, he didnt hear her, so he scurried away on all fours before swiftly  changing his top half again. Wading through whatever freshwater streams he could to wash the salt water from his fur.

The venture for good fire sticks took longer than the venture for fish and Nail had an armful of good ones (only the best sticks) when he finally decided he was unsalted enough and had a decent choice of cooking wood to head back.

His vision was obscured by the sticks and he sighed heavily before he moved to drop them down, "who would have thought catching fish was easier than finding good sticks?" He voiced, before he gasped himself and stood completely still, having forgotten that he hadnt actually introduced himself or had been anything besides a dog. Maybe she wouldn't notice?

[Hyacinthus]

"Fruits, fruits, fruits... Gunna find some fruit. Collect'em for a friend, sure to be a hoot. Walking through the forest, in my little boots-- To feed my little friend, because he's very cute."

Olivia, admittedly, had been in such good spirits of late. She wasn't sure why exactly, but it was quite clear that her new traveling companion of some day and a few hours was at least partially responsible. Sure, she was a kind enough girl on her own, but she also tended to keep to herself as well-- for the sake of others' safety, anyway. Where she walked, trouble tended to follow-- trouble of the demonic variety. Such had been the case for her since her return to this realm, from her 'inexplicable' absence prior. Demonkin were drawn to her-- or she to them. She wasn't sure which... but what mattered was that trouble always followed their meeting.

Except for this one. It was odd, really; Surely her new furry friend was a demon of some sort, yet aside from the occasional over-excited nip, it didn't seem to want to harm or even cause harm to anything. Perhaps that was why she felt so very disarmed around it; Like she could just... relax, if only a little. Perhaps that was why she wanted so deeply to please it; That it might stay with her a while longer. It had such pretty fur...

It wasn't long before Liv's wanderings led her to a few bushels of wild berries-- ones which, from her readings, were perfectly safe to eat, and cut a few clusters free with a small knife she'd had stashed alongside her waist. She'd foraged before-- typically for herself, using knowledge she'd gained from the myriad books she read growing up. It was useful survival information, but more importantly... "Now you have the scent," She whispered to... seemingly no one, before suddenly the knife in her hands did the strangest of things; It began to glow, a faint, silvery color. She slowly released it, and against logic, the knife continued to remain suspended in mid-air-- floating about for a bit, before meandering away from her, as if it had a mind of it's own. And, in a way, it did! Enchantments were such interesting things-- Simple instructions could be given to all manner of tools and resources, and depending on the complexity of the inputs, some things reacted better than others. A small hunting knife, for instance, always amused Liv the most when enchanted to forage. It swayed one way to the other almost gleefully, seeking out it's target as it moved through the thickening bush.

Before long, Liv had amassed a veritable bushel of berries, repurposing her traveling cloak into a carrying bag for the fruits of her labor... literally. She returned to the small 'camp' that she'd been resting at (little more than a clearing near the river, in hindsight) and laid them out atop her cloak. There was certainly enough fruit for her new friend to gorge himself on... had he been there. Instead, she was met with... fish? How strange. Had her little friend decided to go and hunt on it's own? Perhaps it took her too long to return... How discouraging. She'd have to make a mental note to do better about caring for others.

Her contemplation were cut short by the onset of an unfamiliar approaching gait, and a voice she didn't recognize. Liv's eyes turned to meet... ah. Her 'friend', she presumed. He stood head and shoulders over her, in this new form that he'd taken on; One which replaced many of his more animal features with those of a human. A sharp jawline, caramel skin, and a physique that was slender, yet solid enough to unknowingly draw a bit of red to the girl's face. Had it not been for Liv's extensive studies of demonology, she likely wouldn't have even recognized this 'man' as the same being that was her four-legged companion.

"...I..." She began, though she didn't really know where to go from there. A good first step, she figured, was likely to stop staring. Yes, her mother had always said that was very rude; So Olivia worked to diver, and continue diverting her eyes away from the demon's chest, and towards more productive things, like his fur-- No, the wood he'd brought. "...I-I can kindle this-- Sorry, please give me a moment..." She began again, fumbling over her words a bit, but doing what she could to gather the wood into a workable set of campfire kindling.

[Draconian]

It took a him a moment to process the lack of... Reaction. His long ears twitched and he moved closer hesitantly, blinking but careful to hand over the sticks. It was easier to communicate in this form - his dog mouth not quite capable of making human speech noises - so he remained.

"You're..." Nail started, moving his hands to his sides after the sticks were taken, "Not afraid?" His head tilted in his dog-like way and one ear flicked to the side, "You don't have to be, though" He continued, moving his hands up to show his palms like he was proving he didn't have a weapon - Which was silly because he still had sharp teeth and claws.

Was still very dangerous. Could stop pop the heads off of a common human if he needed to.

"My name is Nail," He continued, watching her while she worked because he'd never been good at... Anything. Except clawing. Chewing. Killing. "What should I call you, Mistress?" Another pause, before he offered "I can go back to my other form, whenever you like. If this is uncomfortable for you."

[Hyacinthus]

"M-Mistress?"

Olivia was only seconds from mentally figuring out a relatively uniform way to set the branches together for the fire she intended to make when the... name? Title? Caught her so far unprepared that she lost the design in her head. Mistress? Why? It was such an odd thing for anyone to call someone without context... "I... um... Livia. I-I mean, my name is Olivia. Sorry... I'm not used to being called... um, a-anyway, you're fine! Please don't feel the need to transform for my sake." Scatterbrained though she was in the moment, and decidedly meek, Liv still managed a friendly smile, while she began to work on arranging the kindling that Nail had gathered.

"Nail... I'm sorry if I unnerved you with my reaction... or lack of one. I suppose I'm... just, used to the presence of demons." She busied her mind and body while speaking by arranging a rather neat-looking pile of kindling, surrounded by a few rocks that she had collected while foraging. She'd originally thought to enchant them with something like a proximity charm, and scatter them about the next place they'd stop to rest... but keeping the fire from spreading unnecessarily seemed like a good use as well. As she spoke, however, there was a notable... sadness, or perhaps loneliness, in her voice-- as if the very thought of being familiar with demons was discomforting.

It wasn't, to be fair... Or at least, hadn't been for some time. 'The big three' had been relatively absent in her life, for a time.

"Almost done..." She murmured, before taking one of the rocks she'd collected-- the last of them-- and holding it in her hands. It was an odd thing to watch-- as if she were trying to warm the rock with her body heat. The familiar, faint hum of magic in the air, however, told the tale that aught more was happening-- and as the hum grew stronger, she quickly opened her hands-- revealing a now smoldering, near-burning rock-- and dropping it safely into the kindling. It lingered there for a moment, a slow smoke building as it singed the wood, before a small, growing flame grew out of the arranged branches. Olivia let out a breath of relief as said fire began to grow a bit more healthily, lapping hungrily at wood-based fuel. "There... That should help keep you warm." She somewhat proudly proclaimed, the mission a success; The objective still completely unknown to her.

[Draconian]

No need to transform for her sake.

Nail cocked his head to the side, his ears doing a little tic-tock at the same time his tail did. He watched, completely enchanted by her magics that his gaze didn't stray, staring and watching, taking a step closer and breathing out slowly when she revealed that bright hot rock.

This would absolutely be a worthy mistress. Already she seemed so kind. His previous masters and mistress's flashed through his mind and after the flame caught on the kindling he moved, dropping to his strange furred knees, tail down.

He caught a small delicate hand in his large ones and pressed his forehead to her knuckles. This was his only chance. Every second felt like death was creeping up on him. Every second had his breath catch and his heart finish off it's limited beats. She was human yes, but at least with her he wouldn't age. Wouldn't die. Buy himself some time and perhaps, if things went well, they'd part on good terms with her old and happy and protected and peaceful.

Nail looked up then, "Please." He breathed out, "The bond is only halfway taken, I've not been upfront and truthful and I leave this and my life to you and while there's time left, I don't think I can take this anymore" His crown of black horns reflected the sunlight and he brought his hand to his mouth to tear at the skin, watching the silvery red blood well and drip. "I promise to keep you from harm. Though we weave our lives together, I am at your mercy and at your disposal. I will put your well being before mine." He lifted his forehead from her hand and pressed his lips to her knuckles, "I'm dying. Every second I don't have a bonded master I'm dying. I will be your protector. I will be your pack. I will be your companion should you wish it of me. But... Please. Olivia."

Nail looked sincere, his silver eyes bright, "I need you to drink my blood to seal the pact. You can end it any time and I'll do anything I can to keep you from wanting to." He looked to the fire and his long canine ears pinned back, "Please."

[Hyacinthus]

"I-I'm sorry...?"

Well, that certainly was a surprising revelation-- Olivia, at least, was stunned enough by the sudden declaration that she required a bit of time to actually register the information that had been provided to her. Thus did she sit somewhat dumbfounded for a time, thinking over Nail's words and what they meant for her. It was... a lot to take in, with a short amount of time to digest. But it wasn't just Nail's proposal that she needed to consider in this regard... she also had to consider the trouble it would bring him otherwise. After having recovered from the initial onset of surprise that was Nail's request, Sophie lowered her gaze with a sad smile, thinking for a moment before ultimately responding, "...I'm sorry, Mr. Nail. I'd like to help you, but..."

The truth of the matter was just that-- she really did want to help. To hear him so openly and vulnerably ask that they make a contract was heartbreaking for the young lady of the Tannis House. However, under the surface of her seemingly simple persona, Olivia had several problems to contend with of her own-- problems that she feared would only put the nice demon before her in further danger. "I'm afraid I'm... not a good partner. Trouble seems to follow me everywhere... and I wouldn't want to put you in danger."

The girl didn't have a very good grasp on exactly what her 'power' was-- Why dangerous demons sought her out so frequently, nor why they grew stronger by supping on her body, or soul. She could only assume that it all had something to do with Decius-- the first demon to have ever approached her... or that 'thing', in the other world. In either case, both of them were very dangerous beings... even Olivia feared them. To wrap someone else up in her troubles would be... Terrible of her, to say the least. And yet, she couldn't very well ignore his pleas for help...

'A new plaything... we can use him. We can subjugate him. Drive him mad... He shall conquer this land for us...'

Olivia paled, her eyes widening with fear as the feeling of a cold, ghostly hand gently caressed her cheek, just outside of her peripheral. Her heart suddenly set to racing, and her instincts in overdrive, she spun around to face-- and attempt putting distance between-- the owner of that hand, and that voice in her ear... only for there to be nothing in sight. Olivia felt lightheaded as her heart continued to beat against her chest-- but with a few moment's time, she slowly calmed down, if only by force of will.

 What was that? Was that Azterra? She truly wished that demons wouldn't play such mean tricks on her... or say such mean things, at least without warning. "...I-I'm sorry; I... thought I heard something," Olivia absentmindedly spoke to her red-furred companion, her eyes still a bit unfocused from the scare. How silly, in hindsight, it was to not tell Nail outright what had just happened; Doubtless that as a demon himself, he either saw or sensed it just the same as she did.