A Toast to Poison (Juno)

[Lion]

Here was the now, the time, the place, the moment, that needed his concentration.  Anything outside it would become a distraction that he didn't need.  Even breathing might wake the dead at some points.  With weapon in hand, Venaede gripped the handle of the ax-whip's closed shaft, as he walked along the mountain pass.  He'd come far since his house in Connlaoth, but really he was a nomad at heart.  The house was more for a sense of normalcy and resided along the outskirts of the capitol, he rarely stayed there at all.

And since creatures of hell and darkness didn't always reside in one spot, why should a hunter of them?  If he was intent on vanquishing them, there was no use in staying home where it was "safe".  Such a word was often a mystery to him, a fragment of an enigma that simply oozed of impossibility.  He of all people knew that security and safety were really illusions, especially if one went out and readily sought danger as he did.  There was nothing that Venaede feared on the continent, whether living or dead.  And his will to slay them would ensure that this fear was unshakable.

But he would hunt them, and as many as he could until his dying day, which may well be soon if he wasn't careful.  However, the coldness of his heart and the hate for the night did well to ensure his survival as did his own skill in combat against the unwavering might of the darkness before him.  Venaede, kept his foot steps steady and ready to spring at any moment.  These mountains were nothing like the Kilanthro Mountains, somehow less treacherous and more...subtle.  Surely there was danger here, but he couldn't feel it as of now.  No, he had no danger sense or supernatural powers, but he'd been a hunter for so long that feeling as if there was something wrong was almost second nature to him.

His hair tied up in a ponytail, black hair as sleek as the sheen on when grass, and flowing halfway down his back, he felt a gust of wind go at him and the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end.  The moon lighting down on the pass before him had shadows running away at a swift bend.  With his height, he covered the end rather quickly and felt his sense perk up farther until his eyes came upon a bloody horror.  And before him was something he was both not prepared to see and knew that he'd encounter all along, a slaughter scene...

[Anonymous]

Tonight was such a lucky night.

Earlier this evening she had made the trek down from her mountain home. Tonight her target was a small, isolated town that she had taken victims from in previous years. It had been approximately ten months since she had managed to make a child her meal and, to say the least, she was craving. As she made her way through alleys and between closely-built walls she found herself nearly praying that some child to be lost among the shadows. With patience she finally found what she was looking for, a young boy walking. To human eyes he might appear confident, knowing exactly where he was going with that proud little strut, but she could nearly taste his fear and confusion, feeling his frantic thoughts roll through her own mind as he searched for the familiar sight of his mother. I don't remember where she went, all the doors look the same... she heard the boy think, this one line bringing a fiendish grin from her.

Tailing the boy paid off finally as he turned and began walking towards her. Her own pace was relaxed and confident and she glanced to the boy when she saw him nearing, as if she had not been watching him at all. She determined  that he could not have been older than four years-old, this tiny human boy, and even that would be pushing it. She molded her expression into one of pure gentle nature, hoping the look coupled with her beauty that had lured so many to their deaths would add one more to the count. "Are you lost, little boy?" she cooed to the human when he stopped and stood in front of her, his eyes filled with unshed tears. "Oh..." she whispered, stopping as well and knealing before him.

Placing gentle hands upon his shoulders, she leaned forward and kissed his chubby cheeks with the warmth any proud mother would and before she knew it he was leaning against her, letting salty tears pour onto the expensive fabrics of her clothes. Making soft shushing sounds she wrapped her arms around this tiny boy, patting him from time to time as she easily let empty promises slip from her tongue. "I'll help you find your momma, why don't you come with me?" she asked him, kissing the innocent flesh of his neck. The boy, distraught, nodded and took her hand as she stood and righted herself, unaware he had sealed his fate tonight.

Leading the boy with a gentle grasp and light, hushed conversation, the demon did double-duty and kept checking the thoughts of those nearby, hoping none would recognize them as anything more than a beautiful woman and her toddler son. Confidence blooming as they neared the edge of town, she kept the boy's thoughts occupied now with promises of warmth and shelter from the cold of night, leaving words of his mother entirely from the conversation. The boy, already sucked in to her schemes, did not mind that a nice, pretty lady give him shelter since he assumed she would find his mother for him in the morning. The woman's thoughts were absolutely ecstatic now, her chosen victim willingly following her deeper into the woods, farther from his home, mother and other possible relatives.

Once she was sure they were far enough from the little town so that none would hear his cries, she stopped them. Good thing too, she figured, because the boy had begun to wonder where the nice lady's house was. Crouching in front of him, she smiled an angelic smile and wrapped her arms around him, whispering praise and happiness for his benefit to keep him calm and unwondering while she took her time in looking around to make sure there would be no witnesses to the hungry demon taking her prey. Then, wanting to savor all the feelings of terror and panic the boy surely would emit, she brought her arms up to his shoulders, letting him feel a gentle touch for one last moment. Abruptly, the warmth left her expression and that same fiendish smile returned. She whispered an apology to the young human boy before she sunk the knife-like nails of her true form deep into the breasts of innocent flesh.

The boy cried out, helpless as she hooked just a few of her nails onto the ribs that housed the lungs he so desperately worked. Sure now that she had him, the demon fed on his flesh, literally eating alive her trusting little lamb. His cries tapered off as exhaustion set in and the pain made in unbearable to move any more. Simply whimpering now, tears pouring from clenched lids and stained his cheeks while sinless blood stained the front of his clothes and the soaked the grass and ground.

She took her time feeding on him, uncaring for his feelings as she felt him dying with each bit she ate. When she was finally finished she removed her claw-like nails from his still chest and tossed the body, with but a few breaths remaining, into the bush for some hiker to find later for the stench. Lips glistening, stained with dark blood, she licked what remained on her hands and began to purr, satisfied. As she looked around, though, the wood was too still even for such a scene. Alert to this, her sharp, though unusual, teal-colored cat eyes darted from shadow to shadow until she spotted moonlight glistening off some sort of metal not to far from where she stood. Even though she did not glimpse any living being there as well she did not want to take her chances and soon was bolting from the blood-soaked spot and running down the hill towards the town. Zigzagging her way between various buildings and homes, she glanced back from time to time, hoping she'd make it to her hiding place on the other side of town, or at least not be killed by whoever it was that had witnessed the gruesome sight.

[Lion]

The smell of it was awful, whatever it was.  He couldn't tell why but after several years of hunting different brands and degrees of demons the scent of them all was each equally disgusting as it was peculiar.  There was something in the area and the stench burned against his nostrils.  He had no special ability to pick off this particular scent, but in his experience there was just a tinge of strangeness that filled the atmosphere, an air that made everything abruptly unsettling.  An odd twist in his guts added to the apprehension.  Not a surprising result for a scene like this and something he was prepared for when he saw it.  Still, he instinctively unhooked the clasp on the shaft and opened it up to reveal the chain inside.  And holding both shafts in either hand, Venaede pressed along the scene that revealed the body of a child before him.

His eyes widened only at the sight, but nothing that he hadn't seen before.  The scene itself wasn't something that he'd want to look at on a daily basis but something that he inspected.  At his feet laid the small, lifeless body of a four year old boy, torn open and eaten almost completely.  There was no remorse for the vision before him except that he knew that somewhere a mother would cry this night for fear of her son.  If he knew who this was, he would give her the news himself.  But, unfortunately, there was nothing to be done, but to track the beast that tore the poor stupid boy to shreds.  Venaede glanced around, scrutinizing the area for any sort of clues.  Finding nothing but blood splayed along the ground, he grimaced and listened instead for any sort of noise in the area.  The mountain pass was rather devoid of civilization save for a few sparse villages that were hundreds of miles apart.  There was hardly any real place for the bastard, whatever it was, to hide.

The stench was stronger than he thought and forced him to crinkle his nostrils, but despite any penchant to avoid the horrid, gut wrenching smell, he followed the trail of blood along the ground toward sounds of shuffling feet that seemed to move faster to get away from him.  He was hot on it's trail now, he suddenly realized and abruptly bolted off in a run, loosening his grip on one of the shafts, ready to launch the weapon when he came into range.

[Anonymous]

For a while she thought she was in the clear, nothing seemed to be following after her, but then suddenly she felt it. Not even looking back, so determined whatever it was seemed, Remina pumped her legs to run faster as she tore through the town. As she reached the outskirts she made an abrupt left and then another to run down an alley. Frantic, unable to find her safe spot, she cursed under her breath as the town's residents slowly became aware of something making a whole bunch of noise outside. Turning sharply, she ran down another street hoping something would look familiar after being away from this particular area for so long.

After a few minutes of this running around with no idea of where exactly she was going, Remina decided to quit looking, figuring it was doing her no good. Again she zigzagged, hoping to make herself less traceable, before tearing through the brush, heading back where she came from. She didn't stop once she'd passed the spot where she'd killed the boy, though she certainly took notice of the blood on the grass, but she just kept running, hoping the determination of what she'd sensed chasing her had been short-lived and long gone.

Running farther up and faster, she began weaving through the trees to make herself harder to catch, a faint presence still bothering her. Remina was an excellent runner, keeping herself in shape to be able to run for extended periods, but the steep incline was beginning to wear on her. Turning, she ran west along a crest as she looked up at the never-ending heights above, knowing she had miles and miles to go before she would be truly safe. A bit panicked, uncertain as to why something might keep following her for so long, and so well especially, she finally turned her head a bit to look back. Still, though, she could see nothing but darkness behind her as she pressed onward.

Though a demon she was she did not have unlimited reserves. After a while she was laboring to get her breath and slowed her pace a bit. It didn't help, though, and she groaned for the dull burning in her chest as she eased herself into a walk. Even this wasn't enough and she ended up plopping herself down against a tree trunk, eyes still a bit panicked as she sat there catching her breath. Exercise didn't suit her full stomach, she found, its contents churning for the abrupt run she'd taken.

[Lion]

There was nothing dogged in his steps.  He'd run for longer periods before.  Some people said that he was part Umbraeon, but he knew that wasn't the case.  Physically, he was 'blessed' with a body capable of taking such incredible duress.  He still wasn't able to outrun an Umbraeon, he but was of a decent musculature and a more than adequate lung capacity to catch this thing that seemed hellbent on keeping a good sized distance between them.  But he was determined, a trait that set him apart from other hunters, he would catch this beast.  And he would rip its head off.

The creature made the path jagged and attempted to confuse him, but he was far too smart to be fooled by zigzags.  Soon they were in a bushel of trees that spread out amongst the pass and along the mountainside.  He could tell he was gaining on it by the way the trail became all that more haphazard.  And with ease, he tailed it until he saw the figure of the beast.  At this, he ran faster, air moving through him as if it were more than just second nature, as if he was one with the wind itself.

They eventually came to a spot where the trees were thick and he lost sight of the thing.  Reaching out with his ears, he knew it'd stopped.  The atmosphere became all the more heavy, ominous to the point where he almost felt it come down on him.  The pressure of night was nothing to be taken lightly.  And he didn't.  He stopped his run too, creeping around the bend of trees and regaining control of his breath, pausing every now and then to hear and track the creature's breath.  "I hear you," he whispered, grinning sardonically.  The smile quickly faded and the primary impassiveness of his features was soon restored.  He could almost feel the thing coming nearer to him, though it may have entirely been still.

Then without notice or reserve, he launched the blade through the air, the speed, angle, and sharpness of the blade cutting down a tree just ahead of him.  A tree that attempted to support the weight of an odd looking woman who was out of breath.  Spinning the ax in the air, the chain nothing more than a fine whistle, looked at her with burning eyes.  "For your sake and mine, don't run again," he said sternly, standing over her.

[Anonymous]

There were but a few moments of silence for Remina as she sat there, breath steadily becoming more even though it remained labored for a time. Leaning her head back, she looked from side to side as the presence she'd felt crept closer. She heard the familiar crunch as her pursuer walked and when they were close she could hear their breath. But why couldn't she hear their thoughts? For a moment she wondered if it was a demon similar to herself and she turned, just as a blade whizzed through the air, snapping the tree just above her head. Yelping, she nearly flattened herself to the ground as she looked up and saw a giant of a man standing above her.

With the sharp whistling of the chain whirring above her, Remina scrambled backwards out of its range, legs kicking frantically to put a little distance between herself and this man. Though he was tall, extremely so, he only smelled and looked of human. This fact was a bit confusing to her, though its priority at the moment was fairly low on her list as her mind worked to find a way out of this situation. Standing up quickly, she began to wonder why she was suddenly facing such a large and obviously powerful weapon. For feeding? No, no, this couldn't be it...perhaps he thought she was some criminal running away.

Shaking her head a bit, only now realizing he'd said something, she said, "What the hell is that?! Put that thing down, you're gonna...stab someone!" Huffing, backing away a bit further, she looked him up and down with a displeased expression for all the seriousness he put forth. He was joking...right? He did look pissed, though, as if he had a reason to be upset with her. Hah!

[Lion]

Venaede had the control he sought.  Not the type that drove rapists to rape but the type that drove animals to kill, the control over one's survival.  He knew that he himself was not a beast of the night but a human who was very instinctive about being able to survive closest touches with death.  The hunter braced himself for anything she might throw at him, keeping the chain spinning alongside him rather than above his head.

"Nothing more than your doom, demon.  More likely to lop off your head than stab you."  Hate burned in him and ebbed at any other emotion that might've taken over in a situation like this.  For reasons unknown to others, he hated all creatures of the night, all monsters that were set on destroying mortal kind, particularly humans.  And he could smell the death on her, it reeked.  So she was the one that killed the child!  Damn this woman.  Well, he'd send her back to hell soon enough.   And without reserve, he threw the spinning blade in her direction once more, aiming for her forehead.

[Anonymous]

Geez... Why was he swinging that thing around still?! And that look in his eye...maybe he wasn't joking after all. To add to it, he'd called her a demon. Could he tell? No...perhaps he was only bluffing, she decided.

Remina planted her feet on the ground, crossing her arms as she stared at the human, so taken with anger he was, she sensed. At me? she wondered, still questioning her previous decision, unable to make a choice...until he flung the blade at her again. Cursing, she screeched, dodging the weapon as she took off again. What was his problem?! She forced her legs to run, knowing that the only way she could get away was getting too far ahead...maybe. Sucking in air, she pushed herself to go as fast as she could, tearing through the trees and brush, not caring that branches scratched at the exposed skin of her legs and arms. She had to get away from the crazy  man chasing her, he wanted to kill her! Could he have seen her feeding? Or seen the body? Why would that drive him to hunt her down?

These questions rolled through her mind as she ran, not caring about the protests her body made as she went. Humans are so aggravating...Never before had she encountered a hunter, which could explain her confusion, but she didn't think of him as normal at the moment with his throwing sharp objects her way and all. Remina groaned a bit as she turned to head up the steep incline once again, the fact that she was leading him straight to her home not really clicking with her frantic mind.

When she was almost there, her home only a few miles away, Remina began to slow, her body desperately needing a rest. Looking back, eyes panicked for she felt she could run no longer, she tried to come up with ways to get out of this mess she was in, for whatever reason she was in it. Stupid...man-thing...gosh that's annoying. He seems very unreasonable, probably why he's chasing me in the first place, but...maybe we can make a deal so he'll leave me alone. Legs spent, Remina plopped herself down with absolutely no grace, keeping to the shadows in hopes that no more crazy men would find her. And wielding a weapon like that...whatever it was.

[Lion]

Nothing would stand in the way between him and fulfilling his mission.  There was nothing personal to be had between him and this demon that reeked of blood.  Perhaps he'd grown used to the scent of death that appeared so often in his line of work.  Though there were rare occasions where the entire corpse was consumed and the smell of rotting flesh was lacking.  Nonetheless, it was a scent that one rarely ever got used to, except for him.

Venaede growled darkly and snarled viciously when she moved out of the way of the blow.  And even more pissed when she started running.  He thought not his anger for long as he retracted the chain to grip the other axe shaft again.  He soon bolted after her, determinedly not the least bit exhausted from the first run.  But, to his fortune, she looked as if she were.  All the better for him to hunt her down with.  Venaede, pressed forward, working to ignore the growing ache of his muscles in his legs, back and front.  He kept up though and let his hate fuel him; there was nothing that could stop him from getting his target once he was set on it, save a very violent and brutal death.

He trailed her with ease since she didn't seem to get very far.  Nonetheless, he was rather surprised that she gave up so easily, choosing instead to flop down and hide.  At least that's what he assumed by the sounds of it.  Losing sight of her momentarily, he paused for a time, loosening the chain once more and prepared to throw it at the slightest movement.  "Come out, demon!" he said, stopping to listen for breathing.  "Come out, and maybe I'll show you some mercy."

[Anonymous]

There were those damned footsteps again. Did this guy ever give up? Remina stayed as still as was possible as she felt him nearing, looking for where she might be hiding, she figured. She could hear the dull clanking of chain and this caused her to stiffen, not daring look for where the sound had come from, though she knew it to be close. Then she heard his demand, tone obviously livid. She wasn't about to come out just because he told her to, though. He had to be crazy if he expected such an easy submission! Then he called out again, this time something different. Mercy. Mercy didn't sound bad at all but the maybe really put a damper on it. Still, she was willing to take a chance if it meant getting away from the crazy man alive.

After taking a few moments more to let her breathing calm and prepare herself if she had to escape yet again, she pushed herself up from her hiding spot and slowly walked out into the open where she could be seen by moonlight. Holding out her hands for a moment in a 'so what?' manner, she rolled her eyes at the man who was so determined still. "Okay, I came out...how about a little mercy? Put that thing away!" Muttering under her breath for a moment as she stared at his weapon, this thing that had nearly chopped her head off. She rolled her eyes again. "Such an outlandish weapon...why do you need that thing, anyway?! ...nevermind...what do you want with me, eh? Why are you chasing me?"

[Lion]

Of course, he lied.  Such could be expected and if she had half a brain she would've known that such an offer as mercy was a steaming pile of bullshit.  Dear, sometimes hunting was getting too easy for him.  Or maybe his opponents were getting dumber and dumber with the passing of the ages.  Undoubtedly he wouldn't live forever, but he didn't think that creatures would change so quickly in his lifetime.  Whatever the reason, he'd come to notice the changes and would tackle all of them as ferociously as the last.

So he lied about the mercy and lunged for her as soon as she made herself known.  Holding the weapon to her throat, Venaede kept his face impassive but clearly felt his eyes burning.  "What kind of idiot do you take me for!?  I want only to spill your blood, you fucking beast."  His voice was strangely steady and littered along with stern frustration, the latter cleanly kempt and chained in line.  "I saw the body, I heard the cries, and now is when you'll pay for all your crimes.  Prepare to die!"

[Anonymous]

Contrary to her request, she found the weapon at her throat now instead of on the ground. Yelping, she stared at the blade with wide eyes before glaring up at him. "HEY! I SAID PUT THAT THING DOWN! ...IDIOT!" Baring her teeth in a vicious snarl, Remina pushed at the man to, again, put a little distance between herself and that nasty blade. What was he thinking? What the hell was his problem?! Well, obviously her, but she didn't feel in the wrong at all.

"Oh..." The kid? All of this was about the kid?! She'd only killed for her meal, she did this all the time! What was his problem? Crimes? Why is it a crime to eat? Looking this man up and down once again she still held firm that he was human, despite his unusual size, as far as she had seen. Shaking her head in a clearly disappointed fashion, she cracked a grin. "Look, maybe you're not exactly...from around here, but if you saw that it wasn't exactly a crime...I was eating, that was my meal and I've been doing this for hundreds of years...nothing fucking new." Glancing to the blade again, she frowned. "Seriously, put that thing away, okay? Obviously there's been some misunderstanding here between us but I'm willing to work out a deal anyhow if you're so...into killing those like myself... What d'ya say?" Please don't cut my head off...

[Lion]

"Nothing new!?" he exclaimed, wild with rage and incredulousness. Sure, eating was a normal thing....for normal people. But there was nothing normal about this creature he toppled over. She was a beast that needed to be extinguished like a raging flame in a forest. And he would be the dousing wave that would crush her back to Oblivion. But what he found doubly infuriating aside from her insistence to be free from the ax-blade that threatened to open up her throat in a smile. She pushed against him, but he went with the motion and instead grabbed her up by her throat, yanking to pull her to her feet along with him. And with the innate strength within him, he threw her like a rag doll toward the ground, determined that she would be scraped and scratched like she deserved.

"Murder is what it's called, you fucking lame-brained maggot. I'll put this ax away in your damn head!" He swung the chain at her once more, intent on having it wrap around her neck. Yanking on it hard, Venaede drew near and reached for her hair when he heard the final part of her speech. "Deal? What could you possibly have that I would want? What would you give me now to keep me from tearing your head apart from the rest of your body. Don't fuss with me, I don't play games. And I'll kill you if you take me for a fool."

[Anonymous]

She definitely hadn't expected to be grabbed nor thrown so when she found herself heading for the ground it took everything she had to only graze the ground before she managed to flip and slide on her feet. Grimacing when she looked to her forearm and saw a slim trail of blood, she cursed under her breath and prepared herself to jump up again. Until she found that fucking chain around her neck. Wincing as he pulled on it, Remina wondered how the hell someone could be this upset with someone they didn't even know. Surely, she felt, he would kill her now. Still, though, she clawed at the chain, doing all she could to keep it from digging into her flesh.

When he reached out, to grab her hair, she figured, she clenched her eyelids shut and prepared for pain...which didn't come. Then he was speaking again, undertones still hinting at his anger. Exhaling deeply, she scrambled to think of something to tell him. Of course she'd offered initially in hopes that he'd quit the craziness but now that he actually wanted to know she really didn't know what he might even want. "Um...yeah a deal," she began. "Look...it isn't murder when it's what I need to survive but...anyway, well...I could...um, maybe I could give you information? You hunt your brand of evil, right? Or something like that...I could help you, I know a lot of things." This was absolutely pointless. He had all the control! She felt she would surely die now, all of this for being seen by the wrong person. So stupid...he could at least treat me like a lady.

[Lion]

There was no easily explicable reason as to why the very sight of a damned creature was enough to set in him a great passionate hate.  Venaede felt that he was in the right to kill these beasts that wished to push against the lives of mortals.  To prey upon the living was an unforgivable crime in his eyes and the only punishment was equal or greater death.  He usually never wasted precious time by using torture; the best way to deal with an opponent was to kill them as quickly and efficiently as possible.  And the fact that he was beating around the bush now, the demon herself working to spare her life, was only putting effort towards pissing him off further.

He tightened the hold on her neck and jerked her close enough that he could feel her breathe on him.  Grimacing, he shook her and was only partially intrigued by what she had to say.  If she didn't say anything useful fast, she was going to be headless soon.  "Yeah, I do hunt evil.  Evil like you.  What kind of things would you know that would possibly interest me?  You got names or something?  Locations?  Give me something useful and I might let you live."

[Anonymous]

This guy had serious issues, he was nuts! Remina struggled against the chain, still clawing angrily at it while he forced her forward. This guy has no manners...at all, she found herself thinking when, after all of this, he found the need to shake her. She wanted to hit him, bite him, anything! Anything to remind him that she was not some toy to be flung around, despite his success in this so far. Tonight was, put lightly, turning into a nightmare.

"Things? Names? ...I know quite a bit. I couldn't even tell you all in one night, but I have...powers. Powers and a knack for finding information." Remina flashed a grin as she thought about this, recalling how often these things had come in handy for personal gain. "Look...I could find out almost anything you want for your little...'kill evil' thing." She didn't have time to properly explain to him, of course, so she settled for this, hoping it would be enough to convince him. Or at least give herself more time.

ooc: Sorry...it sucks.

[Lion]

So far she was doing well in buying herself more time from having her head disconnected from the rest of her body.  Mercy was the last on Venaede's mind at the moment and the concept of it was narrowed to only serve a small portion of deserving beings.  And for creatures like demons, mercy was nothing he was prepared to offer her.  However, she may prove useful to him, if only for a time, if what she said she could do was true.  If so, then he might spare her life for now.  And until the moment she would cease to be of any further use, he'd do away with her without remorse.  She didn't seem so deserving of death right now.

After a time of consideration, he snarled once more and reluctantly released the chain from around her neck.  The weapon became one again as the chain was sucked automatically back inside the once open shaft.  It was amazing how such a small handle, approximately only a foot and a half in length, could hold a chain as long as what was revealed inside the piping of the shaft.  The weapon itself was odd and a danger to both the wielder and the victim.  When he was learning how to wield it, he'd hurt himself a number of times as it was apparent by the amount of scars on his upper arms, neck and along his lower jaw.  There were minute scratches along his forehead by his hairline but those were gained when a wolf attempted to eat his head whole.  Only the teeth broke through the skin and the small scars were all that remained.

"This 'kill evil' thing just spared your life.  There may be hope for you yet.  Tell me your name, demon."

[Anonymous]

She honestly didn't think she would make it, that this guy would just do away with her now and chop off her head. In her eyes he was a bit nuts so she wouldn't really have been surprised if death had come soon. Then, with her hands hovering at her neck still, she was released. Awestruck for but a moment, she pressed her fingers to soft flesh before looking up at him and his weapon. What a stupid thing, she thought of it as she sat there on the ground.

Hope? She didn't need any of his prideful talk...looking down on her like she needed to prove herself! Having attitude and giving him a good piece of her mind sounded like a wonderful idea, but...well, she didn't exactly want that chain around her neck again. Or the blade. No, no she did not want that thing stuck in her head. He asked for her name too, though. Should she give him her real name? It wouldn't hurt...especially since she only now got to the point where she wasn't being 'hunted'.

Pushing herself back to get some distance from him, she brushed dirt from her clothing for a moment with a slightly disgusted look. When she was done she looked up at him, a hint of resistance in her eyes as she sat there wanting to lie. Lying wouldn't get her anywhere, though, besides being killed very quickly. "My name is Remina," she said simply, as if a conflict had not occurred and this was all fairly normal for her. "Now, what exactly do you want?"

[Lion]

Remina....  The name stuck for a while, and slowly began to suit her.  The name wasn't much and in his mind, she didn't appear to be much either.  A demon trying to pass as a human.  There were so many of those lately that her attempt at originality was rather sickening.  Venaede looked upon her with hate at the moment's notice and quickly the flame was extinguished to be replaced by the carelessness that characterized him initially.  There was little to be done with her now that he released her and frankly how she had done so was beyond him.  Venaede, when set, was not an easy hunter to remove and he didn't want his work to be easy.

What she said next made him snicker for a while and he shook his head fiercely.  "It's not what I want, demon.  It's what you have to offer me.  Give me three good reasons was to why I just spared your life now.  I rarely regret my decisions but if there's a moment where I feel you're useless, you're dead.  Do you understand?  Now tell me something that I might find useful, something that will get me to hunt something else instead of you?"

[Anonymous]

As far as she was concerned Venaede was just plain rude. Rolling her eyes at him for his comments about her life hanging in the balance of all of this -and for no reason, she felt-, Remina just shrugged it off as empty threats. This was only thought, though, because she didn't quite understand the seriousness in which this man spoke to her. "Offer?" she began, tone showing her disbelief of his words. "I see no purpose in giving you reasons now, since humans are so forgetful, but I could tell you valuable information concerning the whereabouts of these...people that you seek. Or creatures, whatever you wish to consider them as..."

Remina sorted through her memories for a while in silence, wondering what specifically he wanted. Names? Locations? She had no idea, really, but she figured she could go by memories of recent events to start. "Well...there's a town around here, not the one I just came up from but another...well, I say around here but it's actually quite a ways past the one I came from just then... Anyway, there's a demon there. He's...I guess supposedly quite the abuser of his abilities. He's a fire demon, that I know, but he's careful to not think about more personal things like his name so I don't really know what it is but...um...you'd probably be able to find him, he's been quite destructive as of late."