Will you not come for me? [open]

[Anonymous]

She jumped in surprise at the sudden sound of his voice.  He seemed to have that effect on her; she was always so jumpy around him.  She figured it was due to the fact that she really had no idea of what he was capable of doing, and she was sure he was capable of much.  She turned to look at him, smiling nervously.  "Sorry...  Would you like anything specific for breakfast?"   She put her mixture into a smaller bowl that she had gotten out of the cupboard above her head and took the bread and a knife to the table that was set up in the corner of her home.  There were four chairs around each of her four sides of the square, wooden table; she sat in one.  In the bowl was a mixture of diced tomatoes, goats cheese, and a bit of parsley she had found drying on the counter.  She took the bread knife, cutting herself a slice from the loaf, and then took the other butter knife and scooped some of the cheese mixture, spreading a generous amount on her slice.

She wasn't sure at all about what he ate, and was really too embarrassed to ask more of her naïve questions to him.   She wondered how long s he would have to deal with him; it wasn't that she didn't like him... and it wasn't that she liked him, for that matter.  It was just that she found his presence a bit disturbing.  Something about the way her aura mingled with his was strange.  She had never felt anything like it, or had met anyone like him, and so she didn't know what to make of it.  She didn't know if she should be on her guard or not... she should, probably.  Deimos had even warned her about being stupid around him.  But at the same time, she did not want to seem rude to him, he who had saved her from death.  So perhaps being indebted to him was a small price to pay in return for a life.

She had always considered life to be precious, totally aware of its fragility.  Her parents had left this physical world so suddenly, and although there were times when she felt that she no longer wanted to live alone in this world, she could not totally succumb to that feeling of self pity.  She told herself that it was meant to be, and thus she was meant to be as she was, that perhaps change would come, and she would see in a better light the meaning of her life.... And perhaps not, perhaps life was just a meaningless cycle.

"So you said yesterday that you had an idea of how I could repay you?"  It was more of a statement than a question, really, and it was stated through a mouthful of her breakfast.  She crossed one leg over the other, one of her hands raised to cover her mouth while she spoke to minimize the rudeness of speaking with a full mouth.  She wondered what he could possibly have in mind.  Her thoughts suddenly darted to the night, when she had encountered, or thought she had encountered Deimos in her bedroom.  She pushed the thought from her head, telling herself that it had merely been a hallucination brought on by her terrible exhaustion.

[Lion]

Deimos put a pale hand to his stomach, rubbing it gently for a moment before deciding that he wasn't really all that hungry.  Well, for food that was.  He was hungry for other things but food was most likely the farthest from his mind at the moment.  For now, he would watch her eat and enjoy her meal.  For what he had planned for her, she would need all the sustenance she could get once it all started.  He could be quite a taskmaster when the notion suited him.  And when it came his current specific hunger, it surely would.  But he wouldn't work her to death, at least not on the first session.

He observed her cooking with curious brows and shook his head when she offered him food.  "No thank you.  I'm not that hungry.  I'll just watch you eat, if you don't mind."  Deimos smiled at her for a time and took his seat at the table as she prepared her own food.  It was rather interesting how it was all put together and the smell of it attempted to tickle his own senses.  But he ignored it and wondered as to why some of the simplest activities other creatures did were always so interesting to observe.  Perhaps it was because he didn't always do such things himself that maybe he might learn something more from it.  Coinciding with his lust for power, was his lust for knowledge.  After all, to many, knowledge was power.

Sometimes, when the demon demigod was drunk on bitterness and enduring one of his scorching mood swings, he would curse all of life and think of what he would do when he returned home.  More often then not, he would decide on gathering an army and overrunning the entire world for fun.  Of course, these feelings were brought on by pure irritation from being around humans for so long.  And other times, he saw their behavior as quite interesting and even downright amusing.  They were small insects on the planet's face and acted so much like mindless children.  To Deimos, life wasn't meaningless when it could be used properly, but most often it was wasted for useless things.  And that was the most pitiful of all.

A stoic expression befell him as she asked her question.  Or rather bringing the subject of the debt.  "Straight to business, I see," he said with a small smile.  "I like that.  I do have something in mind, something you might even like more than I do.  But first, let me ask you something.  Do you like learning, Vesper?  Like magic, do you think you'd like to expand your knowledge of spells?"

[Anonymous]

Vesper nodded, the Deimos' response to breakfast not surprising her.  She smiled at him, her lips curving gently.  She continued to consume her breakfast.  It was light, but filled with various elements which would keep her content for most of the day, or at least until the next meal if that was necessary.  She then listened to his response concerning her debt to him.  Something that she would like more than he?  She wondered what that meant, and why she would enjoy it more than him.  It didn't sound like repaying a debt.  She laughed inside to herself, feeling ridiculous, but continued to listen to him when he spoke.  She took another bit out of the bread.  His first question to her was if she liked to learn.  She didn't have to think at all before she responded to him.  

"Yes," she said simply.  "I do.  I don't always like to learn in the conventional ways, but I do love learning nonetheless; I find that through lessons I encounter I can learn something about myself, and I think that's that most interesting part."  She was thoughtful for a moment.  "For instance, yesterday, what I learned through my near-death experience was how much I valued my life;  I have always understood that it would eventually end, and I always accepted that since the death of my parents, but yesterday I realized that I although I could accept that death would come, I could not give in so easily."  Even now, through talking to him aloud, she was learning a bit about herself.  She didn't know if her ramblings and thoughts would interest him, but with his question he had got her thinking and unleashed the talkative side of her.

To his second question, she also had an immediate answer.  Her eyes lit up at the thought of it.  "Oh yes," she said with a nod, "I would like that very much.  Although I do try very hard to teach myself, sometimes I find it difficult to focus.  I'm not a natural when it comes to spells, but I'm determined."  She laughed gently, then paused to think for a moment, considering the question.  Her mind turned them over like she would a stone in her hand, trying to see all angles.

"Wait," she said, thinking.  Her eyes drifted from Deimos' face to the ceiling.  "These questions don't seem like the types of questions that would lead to me repaying you..."  She returned her gaze to his face, and she absently reached a hand up to her head to play with her dark hair.  She felt a bit confused, feeling that these questions were irrelevant.  Yet, she was sure that Deimos would not have brought it up if there weren't a point to it all.  To Vesper, it seemed like he may want to help her in her skills, but why would he want to do that?  That didn't make any sense.  

 "I don't think I understand where this is going."

[Lion]

Her answers were just as he imagined they would be.  Nobody would have so many books in their house, each open and worn, if they didn't like to read.  If they were just for show, the covers would be collecting a fine film of dust over them and there wouldn't such a heavy scent of magic in her back room.  Deimos grinned while she spoke, playing exactly to his expectations.  Which was good, this pleased him and when he was pleased he was increasing the chances that nothing bad would happen to those in his vicinity.

At her last statement, Deimos smiled and chuckled coolly.  "That's quite alright, Vesper.  You can trust me.  Would I lie to you?" he asked rhetorically, flashing his teeth once more at her.  "Despite the apparent lack of connection, everything I've asked you all has a purpose.  It's simply that I'd like to get to know a little more about you before I continue.  And so far, you have the qualities I'm looking for.  A desire to learn and a sense of determination; I admire all that, especially in a woman."  His eyes burned a little at this and he leaned back in his seat, crossing his legs so that his knee was parallel with the ground.

"I'll reveal my intent in a moment, so please bear with me.  So you're telling me that you have trouble performing spells or learning them?  It's commendable that you're trying to teach yourself how to become better at magic, but did you know that ability often increases tenfold with the aid of someone more powerful?  Through this, the teacher may offer access to greater magics and can open your mind to all sorts of new things.  If you like learning magic, I think it would be best if you find yourself a suitable teacher."  Deimos inspected his hands before going on.

"I suppose you didn't quite understand what I meant when I said you have so much more to offer that you think."  He looked up at her now with narrowed eyes.  "I hope you didn't misconstrue my words.  If I may, I'd like to explain what I meant.  You see, I sense great potential in you, Vesper.  You have much untapped energy within you that you could use.  That's what I mean when I said you have so much more to offer.  Now you may or may not know this, but I, myself, am a master of a number of arcane magics, powers that you couldn't find upon this Earth.  Now if you're serious about learning and sense that you are, I propose that maybe I could teach you these magics, that I become your teacher.  Now what do you say to that?"

[Anonymous]

Deimos said that she could trust him... but she wasn't sure.  She wasn't one to judge, but she had only just met him, so she didn't know if she should merely accept him; but he had given her no reason to be distrusting.  Besides, she really had no choice at this point, right?  She had said that she would do what he asked.  It was all a little confusing to Vesper, everything was happening so fast.  She decided that she would just have to put her trust in him, there was no logical reason not to, after all.  Aside from the fact that he was a demon, and perhaps that made his motives questionable.  Vesper pushed her unorganized thoughts from her mind.  She was just rambling to herself now.  She smiled back; no, of course he wouldn't lie to her, she thought.  She was glad that Deimos seemed to be pleased with what she had told him.  It made her feel a little more comfortable.  She smiled and relaxed some more.  

Finishing her breakfast, she gathered the bread and the knives.  She rest the bread on the counter and put the knives in the water basin where she would clean them later.  Then she grabbed some cheesecloth and some twine out of a drawer, returning to the table as she listened to Deimos.  She just had to keep herself busy; she had trouble staying in one place too long, sometimes.  She covered the cheese mixture in cheesecloth and tied it in place with the twine, making her way to the pantry to put it in the underground compartment.  She returned to the table, nodding as she listened.

Yes, teaching herself was hard, and she clearly wasn't making the kind of progress that she needed to.  That had always frustrated her, and while she often felt like she just wanted to stop for a while and start something else, she never allowed herself to quit and so her frustration and stress continued.  She had been making some progress with her exploration in the forest yesterday, so today she didn't feel so upset.  Yet, she still recognized her slow pace.  She continued to think.  Yes, she had considered taking a teacher, but she was a bit reluctant to ask any at town, for they seemed busy with their own lives.  She had had some discussions with the other mages, but she found that they were quickly frustrated and bored with her struggles.  

"Suitable teacher..." she repeated quietly to herself, still listening, but thinking at the same time.  That would probably be a good idea, but where would she find a teacher that would be patient enough for her?  Not that she had tried all that hard to find tutors before... she had been discouraged from that because of her past experiences.  Her eyes moved to Deimos as he clarified what he had meant by her having more to offer than she thought.  She was relieved, relieved that it had nothing to do with some of the strange thoughts that she had been having before.  She could have laughed at herself, but she remained still.  

"I do?"  She hadn't seen her potential before, but Deimos seemed quite confident that she had great power than she had thought.  She wondered how he knew, but reminded herself that magic was an easy thing to detect in a person... only that she hadn't been able to detect all that he had in herself.  Then the demon proposed that he teach her, that he knew the arcane magic.  That was very interesting.  Her eyes lit up with the thought of learning something of ancient origin.  Of course, much of it was quite dangerous and chaotic, but there were always others that were not.  All of it merely meant a challenge, and if she had a teacher like Deimos, perhaps the challenge would not be an impossible feat.  

"Oh, I would love that!" she exclaimed excitedly, her face genuinely lit with all her emotions.  Her dark waves seemed to bounce in excitement with her as she moved.

[Lion]

Of course, he would lie to her.  And he wouldn't hesitate to be open about it.  It was one thing to tell someone you could be trusted based on pure inner honesty, and quite another to tell someone the same thing based on an ulterior motive.  If there was anything to be known about his kind, even if one had never studied anything about demons in all their lives, it could be suggested that no demon did anything for anyone unless it benefited themselves in some way.  And that was the basis of Deimos' plan.  He would make it no secret to her; if she asked, that was.  There wouldn't be any reason to bring his motives up unless questioned about it.  So long as his plan was carried out smoothly, there wouldn't be any need for such questions.

By taking her on as his apprentice, he would in essence  be able to mold her into any way he deemed fit.  He wanted to her magic, but if he could also change her into something that was dark and unfit for this world, he would be satisfied with that result as well.  He would take her under his wing and show her there was a whole world of power beyond that which she knew.  But of course doing so would mean a great deal of patience on his part; something he was prepared to exert if it meant getting his way.

Deimos grinned when she finally accepted, her face lighting up like an excited child.  "Excellent," he breathed, his face twisting peculiarly.   "I'm glad that you accept.  You've made the finest choice possible in choosing a teacher.  But a word of warning, if you truly wish to continue on in this venture you must agree to go all the way.  There is no turning back once this deal is sealed, do you understand?  And once agreed, you must do anything that I say when it comes to training you, you will be my apprentice, and I will be your instructor.  Whatever regiments that I give you, you must carry out, no matter how bizarre.

"It's good to see you excited, though you must have slept well, I think."  Deimos smiled knowingly.  "Remember that when you're training begins, you will need all the rest that you can get.  Because it won't be easy and it won't be simple."

[Ew, the shortness.  Sorry.]

[Anonymous]

<haha it's cool>

She was very much excited.  This seemed like an opportunity of a lifetime... she did not give much thought as to his motives or anything of the like.  This would no doubt come back to haunt her in the end, but Vesper was young, and still quite naïve.  She could not help it, she just did not think much of the dangers of situations.  Although she had told herself last night in the bathroom that she was going to change, the vow seemed suddenly distant in her mind and thus was forgotten.  Time had never been a factor that Vesper had taken into account, for often she felt even an event that happened a minute ago had happened a year ago.  Time was a strange factor in her life.

Deimos made strange expression, then, and Vesper, suddenly aware of it, wondered what it meant.  She was suddenly reminded of the dangers that would come with trusting someone like him too much.  Yet, at the same time, she couldn't help but trust him.  That was her first instinct: to trust.  Even if she tried to pretend to be on guard, she was always very trusting and open.  There were never any secrets with Vesper, and this could be both strength and a great weakness.  Who knew where it would lead her today.  For a moment, she took into consideration what he was saying.  Was this the point of  no return?  He was saying that she could not go back once they began.  She looked deep within herself and searched her feelings.  Was this prospect frightening?  No... that wasn't it...  Excitement?  No...  She honestly didn't know how that made her feel.  But she was eager to learn.  She decided to follow this feeling.

He said that she would have to follow his orders, do whatever he asked of her, no matter what.  She thought on this as well.  She wondered what lay hidden in those words.  Often, Vesper had fleeting moments where she would sit and think for long periods of time, becoming hypersensitive to everything around her.  This was one of those moments, however fleeting.  She understood that with magic, there was always a risk of danger;  even through meditations, she had heard of those who had been possessed by some evil being and driven to insanity.  She knew the risks, but she took them.

Vesper nodded.  "I agree to your terms," she said slowly, for her mind was still withdrawing from her calmer state of mind.  "And I understand the risks that I will be taking while training with you."  She paused, as if thinking to herself; this time she was not thinking at all, her mind was blank for some reason, empty.  She suddenly smiled.  "Yes, I can believe that," she said in response with a chuckle; she could imagine how exhausted she would be, both mentally and physically.

"When do we begin?"

[Lion]

One domino after the other, each piece falling into place and knocking the other down in succession, all was going as planned and he was pleased with that.  Deimos couldn't be happier right now and when he was happy, he was less likely to be violent.  So far she was doing well to please him, not that he required her to please him.  Not yet, anyway.  All that mattered now was beginning her training and her doing as told.  All that he required of her was to obey in his lessons when he gave them without question.  And, if there was enough reason, she would be able to question him in times of rest.

He planned for her training to be rigorous and exceedingly difficult.  This was no so much for his own enjoyment at watching her suffer as it would be to weed out the weakness in her.  When one learned to deal with excessive punishment, they learned to endure.  When they learned to endure, there was nothing that could hold them back.  And that was what he wanted for her, for nothing to hold her back.  The magic that he would teach her would not be for the faint of heart and he would test her ability to respond to challenge.  If she proved herself, he would see to it that she was rewarded greatly.

"You have sealed your choice," he said and with that he held out his hand and gripped her own whether she wanted to or not, shaking it vigorously.  He let go and gazed at her while she appeared in thought.  It wasn't long before she inquired as to when they would begin.  "Quite eager, I see!"  He laughed a semi-fanged laugh, the whiteness of his teeth glistening in the sunlight that poured through the windows.  "You're a very surprising person, Vesper.  And I'm starting to admire you.  We can begin now if you'd like.

"Trusting that you slept well last night, and I'm assuming you did, today will begin with a relatively simple lesson: summoning fire.  This should be easy and for all I know, you could already know how.  But in any event, that is what we'll be doing."

[Anonymous]

She giggled bashfully and her midnight blue hair bounced around her as she swung her head to look away, somewhat embarrassed, but pleased that Deimos seemed to like her.  She was still rubbing her hands together, trying to get the blood running back into the hand that he had grasped and shaken.  He definitely had a strong grip, she thought with some surprise.  When he laughed, Vesper caught sight of his teeth, white and... sharp.  Again, she was reminded that he was still a demon, and her thoughts flashed back to some of the tales she had read concerning demons.  But she found that none of the characters in the tales matched the one who sat before her.  Stories were known to be wrong, she told herself.  

She became excited once more, her bright smile revealing her great emotion, when she was informed that they could begin now.  How exciting this all is!  Even within her mind, her voice was loud, almost to the point of shouting.  She had to tell herself to be quiet and calm down.  "Oh yes, I slept quite well," she responded with a nod for reassurance, speaking between his sentences.  Her alto voice was kept at a somewhat calm level, although her cheerful tone would hint otherwise.

Deimos announced that her first lesson was to summon fire.  She felt quite confident in herself that she already knew how to do so.  She nodded her head, her curls bobbing with it.  "I can work with fire as long as it's in a small quantity," she said.  She turned her gaze to a candle that was sitting on the counter nearby.  Lifting a hand, she seemed to gesture toward it, and a small flame appeared on the wick.  "I could never figure out how to get a great amount of fire, but around here, I only ever found the need to use fire to illuminate."  She gesticulated with her hand again, and the fire disappeared, not even leaving a trail of smoke to wisp away from the burned wick.

Vesper shrugged her shoulders slightly.  "I guess most of the magic that I do know how to use is purely for convenience."  Her voice seemed to hint that she was disappointed in herself for this reason, but she held a steady gaze, her silver eyes revealing nothing.  She hoped that Deimos would be teaching her how to harness a greater amount, and also how to direct it.  She assumed that's what he had meant when he had said "summoning fire", not like her petty tricks for lighting candles.