Demons of a Different Kind [Rhi!][M]

Vyraena · December 10, 2014, 12:24:33 PM

The wind blew a gentle breeze through the night sky, rustling the leaves on the trees lining the sides of the road. The moon was full and glowing bright in the sky filled with stars. To anyone traveling down this road tonight, it would feel calm and serene, even relaxing.

Many travelers came down this road. In fact, it was one of the most used roads for traveling through this part of the region. On any other day, the road would be crowded and active: caravans rolling through, wandering merchants stopping to compare their wares. Tonight, though, the road was desolate. Tales of a Demon slaughtering travelers the past few days had scared everyone off.

Kiri laid beneath one of the trees and stared up at the night sky. The air was colder than normal at night, and she could see her breath. After a while, she sat up and began to watch the road again. If only that man from the caravan didn't escape earlier, I could still be having fun. Kiri thought as she let out a deep sigh of boredom.

Kiri picked up her scythe, Soulsong, and licked the fresh blood off the blade. There were no corpses, no evidence of the brutality that occured just a few minutes ago. The child and mother who she killed had been taken by Soulsong, their souls and very essence captured for eternity. The very thought of it made Kiri smirk. She loved the suffering humans expressed as they died. Their screams were the sweetest sound she had ever heard; the expression of fear as the life slipped from them was priceless.

In the distance, Kiri could see the vague figure of a man beginning to walk down the road towards her. He was alone. Kiri smiled and laughed a little to herself. It was almost too easy. A single man, alone in the middle of the night, unaware of the threat before him. This was the thrill of the hunt, the reason Kiri lived for!

As the man walked closer, Kiri grabbed Soulsong and walked into the middle of the road in an attempt to cut off his path... but something was wrong. As his figure became more detailed, Kiri realized he wasn't human, but something else. There was no point confronting him, as her scythe could only collect the souls of mortal beings... but it was too late. He was already too close for her to leave unseen.

Kiri stepped forward and spoke first. "What brings you to this road, non-human? Have you not heard the horrific stories yet? Are you not afraid?"

Rhindeer · December 11, 2014, 12:10:57 AM

Perhaps it wasn't a good idea to travel at night. Kyran had been warned against it before, that it was dangerous due to roving criminals and other dark sorts, but he'd never been one to listen to cautionary tales. Besides, he was a cautionary tale! Er, well, demons were, at least. As far as demons went, he didn't think himself bad at all, but that was beside the point! He wasn't afraid of being robbed or murdered, not because he was overconfident, but just because he didn't view himself as a good target.

Surely nothing in his measly rucksack could be worth the bother!

And so he'd set out that night, heading from the small village he'd stopped at and continuing on toward Cerenis. He could have probably waited until the morning to leave.

But he didn't want to wait around and risk the man's wife coming to the tavern they'd lodged in.

And so, while the man slept, it was out the window for him, and out of the village before the witch hunt could begin! No, small villages were definitely not ideal, and Kyran much preferred the larger cities, where his activities could better go unnoticed, and where he had a larger pool to draw from.

The road had, for the most part, been dark and lonely and unremarkable, which was not unsurprising, considering it was past midnight. Here and there, a few rabbits darted away, and overhead an owl took wing, but other than that he was alone.

Until, after an hour on the road and right as he was starting to get sleepy, a woman wth a scythe stepped out into his path, stopping him dead in his tracks.

"Uhhhh..." Kyran stared at the woman, then at her scythe, and back again, eyes wide with confusion and more than a little alarm. It wasn't everyday you met a half-naked woman in the middle of a road, who was sporting a giant scythe, wings, and a tail! That, and she'd immediately outed him as Not Human, which...

Alright, sure, the ears gave him away as elven at the very least. But he still couldn't help the knee-jerk anxiety that struck for a moment, that she knew what he actually was.

With another look at her scythe, he licked his lips. "Er. Should I be afraid?" he asked, and looked back at her. "'Cause I wasn't! But I get the feeling you're trying to tell me different. And if you are, you're making a pretty convincing argument! That's a big...knife...thingy."

Vyraena · December 11, 2014, 12:30:28 AM

Kiri looked at the man who had just appeared before her and, for once in her life, didn't know how to respond. A lone traveler, in the middle of the night, gets confronted by a Demon with a scythe and shows not even the slightest bit of caution? Does he not find me intimidating? Does he not see me as a threat? Kiri wondered. The thought of any being not fearing her infuriated her. I'm the spitting image of death itself! Kiri thought.

She took a deep breath and cleared her throat. Kiri was cunning enough to know that she had to be calm and collected in order to deal with more intellectual beings, and she was unsure yet as to whether this man was trying to play her for a fool in order to get away safely. She took her scythe and flipped it so the blade was resting on the ground. Again, Kiri spoke. "You mean to tell me that a scythe-wielding Demon appears out of nowhere in front of you on the road, and you're not the slightest bit concerned? I could decapitate you in one swift strike, and believe me, I would love to if it wouldn't leave a mess."

Rhindeer · December 11, 2014, 12:38:50 AM

"Oh. Well. Then I guess I'm not that worried," Kyran said with a slight tilt of his head, breaking out into a grin that flashed his fangs. "If the only thing that's keeping you from it is messiness, I guess I'm pretty safe! Since decapitation is always messy. Or so I'm told, given I've never actually seen it happen..."

Kyran wrinkled his nose at the thought, then shook his head. "Oh! Not that you're not scary and everything! I mean, that knife thingy is pretty wicked looking! I'm sure you scare a lot of people with it!"

Vyraena · December 11, 2014, 12:45:43 AM

"Your mouth must get you in a lot of trouble," Vyraena said dryly. "I can tell just from how you're talking to someone who could kill you any second they wanted."

She let out a slight laugh. "Ah, to be so innocent and oblivious. Unfortunately, that just doesn't suit my lifestyle. I'm sorry, but I'll have to be going now."

Rhindeer · December 11, 2014, 12:55:31 AM

Kyran didn't mean to start laughing. Really, it was very poor timing, considering the woman seemed very serious about all this, but her comment about his mouth getting him into trouble couldn't have come at a more ironic time, considering the situation he had just "escaped" from, and the flavor that still lingered on his tongue.

He stared at the woman, lips pressed together until they turned white from the effort of not smiling, and he managed to keep it together right up to the point where she said she'd be leaving. Then, he couldn't help it. He burst into laughter, and though he clamped a hand over his mouth to muffle the sound, it didn't do much, and soon he was doubling over, tears springing into his eyes.

Maybe it wasn't that funny! But he was also fairly tired, and everything was at least ten times funnier when you were tired!

Vyraena · December 11, 2014, 01:03:21 AM

Kiri had turned to leave, and then she heard it. The laughter coming from behind her. Who is this man, that he laughs at death? She wondered. Infuriated again, she swung her scythe at a tree. Soulsong's blade cut through the tree trunk with ease, causing the tree to come crashing down. The noise sent many birds flying off in the distance.

She spun around and held her scythe to Kyran's throat. Her eyes burned with an unyielding rage. She spoke violently. "Give me one good reason not to cut you like that tree, and I swear if you say because it's messy, I'll cut off all your limbs first."

Rhindeer · December 11, 2014, 01:15:43 AM

Erk! Apparently, laughing was the complete wrong thing to do. Shocking, right?

Kyran winced as her blade sliced through the tree like a hot knife through butter, the shock of that display bringing a quick end to his mirth. He was still staring in wide-eyed surprise when he felt cold metal at his throat.

He froze, expression sobering, and swallowed. Slowly, he raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Er...but...wouldn't that be messy too? Ah! Never mind! Forget I asked!" He was getting the distinct feeling she was past the point of carrying about cleanliness. He swallowed again, glancing down at the blade beneath his chin. "Sorry, I, uh, I wasn't laughing at you, see, it's just...it was funny! The timing, I mean! Because yes! My mouth does get me into trouble, quite frequently! In various ways!"

Vyraena · December 11, 2014, 01:32:22 AM

When Kiri finally pulled the scythe back, she had calmed herself once more. She started to hear footsteps in the distance, and smirked. "Shhhhh. Someone's coming." She said to Kyran, sure that he would be unable to grasp that she wasn't worried about them seeing a Demon. She just wanted the element of surprise.

As the footsteps got closer, Kiri was able to make out the figure of a man holding the hand of a small child, no more than four or five years old. As soon as they got close enough, Kiri swung her scythe, cutting the man in two from between his legs all the way to his head. Instead of the body falling lifelessly to the ground, it was absorbed by Soulsong, leaving the blood on the blade as the only trace anything had happened at all. Kiri laughed and licked it off the blade, as she was accustomed to doing.

The child screamed in terror and began to cry as his father was murdered. He sprinted towards Kyran and hid behind him, grabbing on to his leg. Kiri turned to Kyran and the child. "You might want to move out of the way." She said to Kyran, looking at the child with eyes full of thrill and excitement.

Rhindeer · December 11, 2014, 01:46:44 AM

...What. The. Hell.

It happened so fast, and so suddenly, that Kyran was helpless to stop it. One moment the woman's blade was at his throat, and the next it was cutting through a man who had even worse timing than Kyran--and whose unfortunate timing would be fatal. In one quick swing, he was there, and then he was gone, the blood on the blade the only evidence of his existence.

The blood, and the child.

Taken completely off guard, Kyran hadn't yet even registered the horror of the situation when the sobbing child grabbed onto his leg, terrified and seeking protection, and that sudden contact jolted him back to the dark reality of the scene. As the woman--no, the monster!--turned on him, her eyes on the boy, Kyran let out a hiss that surprised even himself.

Without thinking, he scooped up the child and bared his sharp canines, clutching the boy to his chest. "What--what did--what's wrong with you?!" He meant it to come out a snarl, but it came out more of a horrified yelp. He was not a fighter, not at all--except for fun, in bed, where no one actually got hurt! Stepping back away from her, he turned himself so his back was more to her, shielding the child.

"Stay back!"

Vyraena · December 11, 2014, 02:01:19 AM

"Oh? That's the kind of fear I like to see." Kiri said, with a giant smirk on her face. "I'm sure you've heard the stories. Did I not properly introduce myself? My, my.. silly me."

Kiri flipped her scythe again so that the blade was on the ground once more. "My name is Kiri'zhu. It really depends what region you go to. In some, I'm known as The Reaper. In others, The Collector of Souls. It's really all the same thing, though."

She could tell that Kyran was no longer in the same state of mind as before. Naturally, anyone who saw a man get cut straight in half would be afraid. "What's the matter? The way you were looking at me before, it almost seemed you thought I was beautiful. Now I'm a monster?" Kiri laughed as the child cried.

Rhindeer · December 11, 2014, 02:16:58 AM

"That's not an either-or thing!" Kyran said, still slowly moving away from her. He didn't know the child, and felt no bond with him, but he still felt a strong desire to protect the helpless creature. That wasn't even because he was part neqa'el; it was because he was a brother, and had little brothers of his own. The boy was human, but he saw his own siblings in him.

"You can be a beautiful monster. Which, you are! You're quite lovely, really! Now just...just stay away! If you want the kid, too bad. He's mine, now."

Vyraena · December 11, 2014, 02:23:37 AM

"Yours? You're going to take responsibility for a human child?" Kiri said before she burst into laughter. "I'm not sure exactly what you are, but I know it's not human. What possible use could you have for a human child?"

Rhindeer · December 11, 2014, 02:34:20 AM

Kyran froze for a second, because he hadn't thought that far ahead. Nor had he considered the logistics, like the fact that he knew next to nothing about raising a child, much less a human child. Or the fact that having a kid around would severely impact his ability to feed.

He just clutched the boy tighter in response, and bared his teeth in what he hoped was an intimidating fashion. "I...I don't know yet! But right now, my use for him is making sure he's alive and away from you!"

Vyraena · December 11, 2014, 02:50:52 AM

Originally, Kiri just wanted the child. Honestly, at this point in her life, she had collected plenty of souls to have eternal life and eternal youth. She was just killing to kill, for the sheer enjoyment and entertainment she got out of it.

But now, this man was presenting even more entertainment for her. She wasn't quite sure what he was, but she assumed it was a Demon of some sort... and a Demon raising a human child? Oh, would that be fun to watch.

"Fine. I won't kill the kid, but on one condition. I'm going to be staying with you and watching you raise him. If you give up before a week ends, I get him. If you make it at least a week, I don't care what you do with him after that." Kiri said. "If you disagree, of course, I'll just kill him now... and I really don't have a problem with going through you to get to him."

Rhindeer · December 11, 2014, 10:47:52 PM

"What."

It didn't even come out as a question. Just a flat statement of disbelief. Kyran stared at the creature before him, his expression going blank as he processed what she had said. She...she wanted to what?

Kyran balked, wanting to say hell no to that, because he hadn't planned on keeping the boy. He had planned on taking him into Cerenis with him, and...well, and finding a place that would take the kid! Surely there were orphanages or something? Or maybe he still had a mother somewhere out there! But now, he couldn't refuse. He wasn't going to just let the child get slaughtered when he had the power to do something about it--especially not with those big, tear-filled eyes looking up at him as the boy sobbed for his dead father.

He looked down at the boy, and set his jaw stubbornly. "Er...agreed," he said, still puzzled as to how he'd wound up in this mess--and so fast! "Can't be that hard! Honestly, you're probably wasting your time!"

Vyraena · December 11, 2014, 11:16:09 PM

Kiri started laughing. The hesitation in Kyran's voice and disbelief in his eyes gave away the fact that he wasn't sure if he could manage the task. Kiri smirked. This just turned into dinner and a show! She thought. Of course, she wasn't going to actually eat the kid... but Soulsong devouring his soul was close enough to dinner, right?

Kiri picked up her scythe and held it behind her casually. She walked closer to Kyran and bent down to get to the kid's height. "Hey, kid. It's your lucky day! Mr. Righteous over here has decided he wants to take care of you, so I'm not gonna kill you... yet!"

The kid was still crying, and when Kiri got closer he started shaking.

"What's wrong? I said it's your lucky day! You should be happy!" Kiri started laughing again.

Rhindeer · December 13, 2014, 06:19:48 PM

"Lay off him!" Kyran growled, backing away from the woman and turning the boy away from her. He pressed the boy's head to his chest and pet his hair, trying in vain to calm him; he could feel his little heart beating fast in a panic. The poor kid...Kyran would do what he could to care for him, but even he knew there was only so much he could do. The boy's father was dead, and the damage done tonight was irreparable.

"You've got your deal and you've traumatized him enough! Stop it."

Vyraena · December 13, 2014, 06:31:48 PM

"Oh, lighten up." Kiri snapped. "Keep in mind that I could kill you both any time I want. Mind your tongue, creature."

Kiri began to walk in the direction of Cerenis. After taking a few steps, she turned to face Kyran again. "Well, are you coming or what? This is where you live, correct?"

Rhindeer · December 13, 2014, 08:23:57 PM

"I don't live there, no," Kyran said, and with a low sigh, he started down the road again. "I don't really live anywhere. I guess you could say I'm something of a vagabond."

He remained several steps behind the creature, making no effort to catch up or converse. The boy was still softly crying, and Kyran, feeling frustratingly helpless, nuzzled against his hair. "It's okay, kid. It's gonna be okay. Hey, what's your name anyway, huh, buddy? Can you tell me your name? I'm Kyran."

Sniffling, the boy looked up at him, clinging to Kyran's shirt. "J-Jacyn..."

"Jacyn, huh? That's a neat name. Well, Jacyn, we're gonna get to town here pretty soon! Then we'll get you all taken care of, alright? I'm not gonna let anything happen to you."