A Demon Among Merchants

[Aveilthé]

Fortune heard the distinctive thump of metal of soft grass. At first he thought December was close by. He braced himself, tortured face turning to meet her gaze... but she was no where in sight. Instead there was her sword, glinting dully in the halflight of the morning sun.

He drew up her sword with little difficulty, his now mended arms flexing beneath the weight of it. He observed, deadpan, at the faint glow it seemed to give. "Where is she?" His voice was only a mere murmur, which turned into an astonished gasp. He could almost hear a low, dull, somewhat musical-like humming. Should his heart have kept beating, it would have skipped several beats. The sword gave a gentle shudder, then suddenly grew extremely hot in his hand, to which he could vaguely feel. Then the sword flew (more like jerked) away from his hands, and rose to the sky. It suddenly shot straight over the trees like an arrow. Without hesitation, Fortune sprinted after it.

That kiss played over and over in his mind... it was all he could think about as he followed the sword through the wilderness. How he pushed her away... like she did him the first time, so many years ago...

Soon after the trees started thinning, his eyes met with a few houses on the outskirts of the main city, smoke wafting through some of the chimneys. Most houses were eerily shuttered or abandoned. He slowed to a halt, his torn and bloodied sleeves flapping in a cool breeze. The sword had begun to descend over a series of what looked like old wooden buildings made for business. It disappeared from sight, but Fortune paid it no mind now that he caught whiff of a few things drifting in the wind.

December's scent was powerful. And she was with another person. He could not only smell him, but also hear his voice. And her's... The first thing that crossed his mind was that December could be in trouble, but just to be sure, he skirted into the darkness and observed December and a strange man talking.

[Kikuyoshi]

Leather crunched as his arm muscle flexed, his body braced suddenly at the swift motion to his side; the quickness of someones arrival putting all of his senses on high alert. He shifted in a liquid motion, that long coat of his sweeping outward in a flutter as his hand caressed briefly against his guns, only to stop when his name fluttered from her lips out of surprise.

"December...." No, he had not forgotten her and it was her scent that gave her away. Sweet. Far too sweet and it always left him feeling light headed. Two and two together, it was a dead give away to tell who it was that had almost bumped into him. Though this time, it seemed as if the encounter really -was- an accident, unlike the first time they had met.

"Your scent." His voice murmured slowly, a rumble of it's usual deep tone and sounding almost seductive until he spoke again. "You stick out like a sore thumb." Blunt. It wasn't the first time he'd commented on such a thing and his hand reached up to those shades to pull them from his face, pinching at the bridge of his nose while a small frown decorated his lips as if it truly bothered him. In a few blinks, solid gold iris' would look down at her, outlined by thick dark lashes; a glimpse at his complete face before he repositioned his eye wear.

True to himself he didn't bother answering her exactly how she might have wanted. Wasn't his line of work self explanatory?

"This entire city stinks. What do you know about it?" As if sensing something lurking, his head tilted to scan the area before shifting once more to a position where his eyes were likely on December. Right to business...Dec could probably bet on the fact he would have handed over coin for information if she had wanted it. Apparently now wasn't a time for catching up as....friends? Old "war buddies"? Or maybe it was just his way of breaking the ice.

"....Where's your sword?" If there was one thing he had learned about her, it was that that particular weapon followed her no matter what.

[Felypsa]

Styx remembered her, of course, not that December would have really expected that he had forgotten. His comment on her scent made her mouth press into a tight line. Yes, she knew. She had enough angelic blood in her veins to produce some kind of unique, sweet scent that creatures like Styx—and Fortune—could not help but pick up on. It was only frustrating in the sense that she could do nothing about this effect of hers.

She stared with a deadpan expression as Styx removed his ever-present shades just so he could pinch his nose, as if for emphasis. Joy. “My apologies,” December said flatly, feeling irritation bubble up inside her, but it was not really because of him. No, it was this whole damn situation. She never should have come back to Escavas, she reflected briefly. She should have stayed away while she had the chance…

Too late for that now. Unsurprisingly, Styx bypassed her question and instead asked about the city. What did she know about it? December could have laughed, if she were in the mood. Instead, her eyes just narrowed. “It’s a city stuck in the past, constantly trapping itself in a web of fear,” she answered after a moment, her voice somewhat tinged with bitterness. “The people here can make a crisis out of anything. Or nothing.”

She glanced around, suddenly sensing that her sword was getting nearer, and that realization caused her to be antsier than usual. “This time, they might actually have decent cause for it, though,” she commented offhandedly, clearly distracted. And then Styx asked about her sword—she flinched slightly. Of course he would notice. December walking around without her sword was like anyone else walking around missing an arm.

“I don’t know,” she grated. “I am trying to figure that out right now.” She looked up at Styx. He was a reliable warrior, but she didn’t really want him dragged into this. “It’s a long story—” she broke off suddenly, her eyes locked on some object beyond Styx’s head, and she moved past him, holding out her arm. Her violet eyes filled with wonder as Seraphim came soaring toward her, its hilt landing neatly in the palm of her hand. December curled her fingers around it tightly, feeling like she could breathe again.

Feeling hope, she inspected the sword for its inner light, but to her dismay, the small miracle ended there. It was still “broken.” Whatever had happened in that moment when she faced Fortune had not yet been undone.

That caused a pang in December. Fortune—where was he? He was on the loose again. Did he still have that demonic mentality—would he ravage any mortals who crossed his path? Or was he fixated on his new mission now? It occurred to her that Captain Istas would discover an empty cell, and Fortune and December missing…putting two and two together, she would blame the mercenary for breaking out the vampire.

Great. She had to get out of here before she had to defend herself against an entire Thor special force, all armed with machine guns. Even with Seraphim at its full power, December would never survive such a fight.

All those thoughts ran through her head in just a few seconds, and she turned back toward Styx. “I need to go. I’ve gotten into…some trouble, and I’m a sitting duck if I stay here.” She didn’t know where she would flee to. She didn’t even know if she should try to find Fortune. All she knew was that she wasn’t safe here.

[Aveilthé]

Hmph. A secretive smile teased his face as he overheard them both acting rather cold and detached. This was good. The grin faltered when he realized that he was... jealous? It was definitely like before...

He shook his head slowly, trying to get rid of those thoughts. There was no longer a reason for him to feel like that. After all, he was still bitter, still angry, still thirsting for violence. December was now on her own. So was he. She can figure out how to fix her sword without him. It's time to go...

Before Fortune could think about moving away, the whole city suddenly erupted in a blaring siren. To those that hailed from Thor would understand it was a warning siren that someone has escaped their prison. Fortune clapped his hands over his ears, emitting a grunt of surprise from it's suddenness. He would have to make a move now.

Flee, or December? Flee, or December?

It was a difficult decision to make. Pent up aggression was enough of an incentive to ball his fists and punch into a brick house, where he made a nasty little hole there. Removing bloodied hands, he ambled from the shadows and stood before December and the strange man.

He had to shout over the wailing siren. "Ce que l'enfer are you waiting for? Standing alone on the streets are suspicious enough! We need to get out of here--run--hide--!"

They needed to leave Escavus... he and December... tonight. The man could do what he liked, as far as the vampire could tell. Now that Fortune was closer to this stranger, he could sense something... off. Just like how he could tell December was different. He swiftly glared at the man, as if appraising him. But there was no time to discern what this man could be. "You are not involved. You should go inside somewhere," he growled coldly.

Fortune would have to come back when things calmed down. Esvavas was the place where this mysterious man resided, the one killing all the vampires. Little did Fortune know... was that the very same man was standing about ten feet away...

[Kikuyoshi]

"You're just....distracting at first is all." He commented when she seemed put off by his initial statement. Honestly the scent that filled his nose when he was near her was the complete opposite of anything bad. Rather, it was heady and dizzying. Something that slowed him down and distracted him. Information that could be fatal in the right hands...possibly.

"Great. I love easy to panic sorts...." Sarcasm rumbled out from his throat as he shifted on his feet. His attention went with her as she moved past him, dodging him by using the line "it's a long story."

He could have, would have more likely, left it at that. But as her fingers found their hold on the missing sword once more and she inspected it, he couldn't help but notice the fact that something didn't seem to be quite right with her weapon. Red flags went up all over the place in his brain and no sooner did that happen, she was confessing to being in some sort of trouble.

"December." Her name fluttered from his lips a little more gently than it had before, his stance losing some of the walls he had put up, becoming the man he had been while they had worked together. A comrade. "What sort of trouble?" His words showed concern and he took a step closer...only to back off immediately when a shrill wail broke the silence of the slowly approaching dawn.

Sirens blared everywhere and Styx bared his fangs as his hands immediately moved to cover his ears, his attention turning like a beacon to the man that had suddenly stepped out of the shadows. The show of teeth was a slip and it happened only for a split second, but enough of a slip to further any opinion on him that he wasn't normal.

"I think that's up to December." Styx countered coolly, ignoring the venom in this other guy's voice. Whatever his back story was, X really didn't give two flying fish. But, if December was in some sort of trouble....he could put aside his own codes on working only for pay to help her out. One thing that had been stated while they had worked together; he'd always have her back. No matter what.

"And until we can actually talk without shouting at one another....I'm following you." His expression never really changed from anything other than serious, though one might say his tone of voice was a little sarcastic with whoever the hell this other dude was. "After you..." His arm swept out, maybe mocking, maybe not, waiting for Fortune to go where he would go.

Interestingly enough, it was December's natural scent that covered up the lingering smell of Fortune's blood from the fight he picked with the innocent wall, leaving Styx as carefree as he could be about this other masculine figure in the party. No thoughts of food yet.

[Felypsa]

What sort of trouble? If only she knew. Captain Istas’s men would be after her, that was for sure, but that was just one thing. What about the other threat—the one she knew absolutely nothing about? The demon in the bird mask, who could somehow promise to make a vampire mortal again after all these years, who seemed to know something about why Seraphim wasn’t working. Unless that was bluff, unless it was all a bluff, but all the same, it was her not knowing that frightened her.

Not that she would ever show fear in front of someone like Styx. December closed her eyes, hearing the concern in his voice, as if he would be ready to help her if need be. “Nothing you’d get paid for by helping me out of,” she replied, perhaps too harshly. Personally, she wouldn’t have minded his company, but she would be robbing him of many chances to earn his living, and she would feel guilty about that.

No more discussion could be had, though—suddenly December’s train of thought was cut off by the loud siren. She winced, immediately guessing what it was about: they had figured out that Fortuné was missing, that the deadly vampire was at large once more.

“I have to—” she started to shout, but then Fortuné himself was jumping out of the shadows, yelling at her in French. For a long moment, December stared at him disbelievingly. How long had he been there? Had he been spying on her? Perhaps he wanted his revenge still, but wasn’t sure if he dared take it with Styx around…

But then why did he say, “We need to get out of here”?

There was no time to puzzle it out. December needed to move and, for better or for worse, keeping Fortuné in her sights was not a bad idea. But then there was the matter of Styx, who did not seem to be dissuaded by Fortuné snapping at him. Instead, her former comrade left it up to her to decide. As if she could. It seemed like everything she had been doing was one bad decision after another.

Yet if Styx was willing to go with them—well, with her, he had no idea who Fortuné even was—maybe she should take advantage of that. Otherwise Sequoia might snatch him up, and the last thing December needed was to go up against him.

“We all go,” she said firmly, fixing a hard stare on Fortuné. “Escavas is no place for any of us. We supernatural types need to stick together.” Already she was moving fast, leaving no more room for discussion. She would kill for a horse but she didn’t know if she had time. But she could be swift on her own feet, and she knew Fortuné and Styx could be as well.

If only she had remembered that one time she had witnessed Styx feeding—if only she had put two and two together, she would have made sure that they would have stayed as far apart as possible. But there was only one thought driving December now: flee. Find a safe place, away from here…deal with everything else later.

[Aveilthé]

"FINE!" he shouted in harsh response to them both, sprinting off in haste.

Why couldn't life be the way it was before? You know, it wasn't so bad killing everything that breathed, feeling their scrumptious, tangy blood dribble down his lips. It was a simpler life. No half-angel, no socially awkward brother, no giant, no cat-girl. Life was pretty good after that. Well, simpler than it was now. Again, he was fleeing for his life, even though there was no life from him to really take, unless you count lifelong imprisonment. It was always a life of confusion and indecisive torment.

A vast dock settled against a sparkling lake beneath a coming dawn stretched out ahead after their long run. A few fishing boats, sail boats, and ships were settled in rows, anchored down and tied to the dock. Most mortals would have long since fallen back, panting viciously from their hard escape. But like December's previous thoughts, Fortune shared her sentiment in the fact that they were just not normal.

The siren still blared. Fortune was sure that the guards at the bay were brought to full alert. And sure enough, to Fortune's great discontentment, they flooded out of their cabin, pointing several swords and other shiny weaponry at their chests. "December," he growled, "can you ready one of the ships at the dock?" He only asked because he was unsure if she knew how, but because her sword was out of commission, he was sure she was too and not fit to fight. There was absolutely no way out of this; they could not flee properly with these guards in the way. He turned his green gaze to the strange man bespectacled in shades. "Remember that I didn't ask you to follow along." You can go with December if you'd like, he thought. Or go drown yourself would be better. Spare yourself the potential misery of this journey. Either way, I don't give two shits about you. Just... Lache-moi la grappe.

Thankfully, there were no Thorian soldiers--getting rid of these pests would be easy enough.

[Kikuyoshi]

Money was not the only sort of payment Styx worked for, her words causing him to frown and he would have said more on the topic had they not been interrupted. When the cause felt right, not even money could sway his guns in an opposite direction. It would all be up to convincing him that said other cause was more important than the one he was currently on.

Either way, none of that really mattered right at this particular moment, their bodies moving on the run while his in particular slipped into shadow, moving silently and swiftly through the darkness he found more comforting than the light.

His breathing was even and slow when he emerged right next to December, his boots finally making noise on the ground underneath him. His attention was on the men flooding out of the cabin....and only vaguely aware of the noise coming out of the man's mouth next to him.

"It's sweet that you're worried." His tone held flat sarcasm, not at all blind to the fact that Fortune really didn't particularly like him. His hands moved to the guns at his back, drawing them out in a single fluid motion, cocking each one in turn. "But i can handle myself." He aimed a gun at one of the guards, his face turned toward Fortune. "It's just point and shoot right?"

The trigger was squeezed without looking and the first of the few fell screaming while holding his knee. It wasn't like they were going to wait for them to come up with a game plan...He trusted December enough for her to figure out what she'd do on her own. Until then, he'd jump into the frey and "play nice" with this other guy to help take out the minor annoyance here.

With a jerk, his body moved closer, shooting only to take them down and not to kill, using more the blunt end of his guns to knock a few of them senseless and out for the count. It was a free flow sort of dance, more countering their fumbling maneuvers rather than attacking himself, mindful still of whatever it was that Fortune was doing.

[Felypsa]

The fastest way to leave Escavas was by boat.

But the docks were preciously guarded. December found herself slowing down as the odd trio reached the harbor, only to be met with the full contingent of guards. Seraphim was still held tightly in her hand. It might not have the sheer power it usually did, but it was still a weapon, and she could use it to break through this horde.

Fortuné had something else in mind. December shot him a dark glare, wondering what the hell sort of game he was playing. He tried to destroy her, now he was going to fight for her while she readied the boat for them? It made no sense. There was still no time to figure it out. Styx was already moving too, his pistol letting off a loud bang! and before long, cries of pain filled the air. December looked between them—the vampire and her former comrade—and scowled. “Dammit, you had better cover me,” she muttered under her breath.

With that, she leaped over the man with the wounded knee, slashing at a guard who tried to get in her way. These men were no match for Styx’s superior technology and reflexes, nor for Fortuné’s demonic strength, and December herself was still a remarkable swordswoman. All the same, the sheer number of them made it difficult for her to get through, even with her sword sweeping this way and that, and her legs flying out for debilitating kicks.

She was the first one to get past them, breaking free and running headlong for the nearest boat. She had to punch a couple of dockhands out of the way, slamming Seraphim’s hilt into one man’s face just to make sure he stayed down. The half-angel ambled onto the vessel, sheathing her sword in a heartbeat and looking around. Locking her jaw, December went to check the riggings and the oars. Her long braid flew back as she turned her head check the progress of Styx and Fortuné.

She suddenly noticed that one of the seagulls hovering around was significantly smaller than the others…and her violet eyes lit up as the little one came darting for her. “Imi,” December said breathlessly. “You found me.” Her shapeshifting friend smacked her in the face with her wing, and December sighed. “I suppose I deserve that.” It was absurd, but her heart suddenly felt much lighter now—despite the dire situation surrounding them.

Hopefully the boys would hurry their asses up; December was antsy and ready to set sail.

[Aveilthé]

Fortune was not so forgiving. He went head on, all that pent-up aggression and rage shining through with each swift thrust of a fist and gnashing teeth. They weren't quite strong, he noted. Only with their petty weapons did they have any strength at all. Poor fools.

The disgusting fray ended soon enough. Fortune emerged victorious, however a little reluctantly, with his gun-wielding accomplice. He sniffed contemptuously at his own dead or dying victims, kicking one as he ambled along. He said nothing as he joined December on the boat and possibly Styx if he was already there.

A glorious sun rose. Fortune swore at it out loud, a string of French flowing rather beautifully and dangerously from his bloodied lips. He pushed past Styx and avoiding everyone's gaze, including Imi who had just arrived, as he went into the cabin below deck. It quite small, but expected for a boat such as this. No food... it wasn't properly rationed. But it would do.

[Felypsa]

|oOc|

whooooosh -hypnotizes everybody- pretend that this is Kiku's account e__e

Kiku: >.> What's funny is i typed most of this with my phone xD

"Don't I always?" Styx grunted after Dec as a fist managed to meet with his face, though the man went down a second later when the handle of his gun smashed into the dude's nose. Yeah he'd feel that in the morning for sure. Truthfully, it disturbed him slightly with how brutal Fortune was seeming to rip through all of these people. It made him wonder just what it was they had done to deserve such a bloody fate. Well, no time to stop and question things now eh?

He wiped the blood from his lip away, disgusted by the human taste of it, his fingers then moving to readjust the glasses on his face. Well, all in all, for as many of them as there was it was over rather quickly. His attention would turn to the boat then, hesitating only a split second before following after Fortune. They left behind a sea of unconcious and dead men. And the strong stink of human blood.

Invoulentarily, Styx gagged before he jumped on the boat, the reflex hopefully going unnoticed. There was something to be said about his feeling towards boats and open water....but at the moment X didn't quite know entirely how to express such feelings. Instead he focused on the tiny creature that flitted about December. An odd sort of creature...smaller than normal...and something Styx had not met or encountered before.

Before he could open his mouth to question however a slurr of french was spilled from the obviously always angry individual December had set herself up to accompany. One eyebrow arched as he pushed past the both of them and headed down below, his attention moving then to the sunrise as well. He didn't move however, but he did put his back to the rising glow that peeked over the horizon, not enthralled that the light would soon be burning at his eyes.

"Where to now?" He questioned December, obviously not concerned with the passenger below. "and how long before Mr. Vamp there needs to feed again?" His voice was flat, his body leaning up against the side of the boat. Okay so maybe more concerned than originally thought...

[Felypsa]

It was a gruesome sight, mainly on Fortuné’s side. December could still hardly believe how truly demonic her old friend had become. He did not even hesitate to ruin the lives of those who got in his way, as if they were no more than ants…yet he did not even feed. This was barely out of necessity. This was out of pure, raw emotion.

That emotion she could practically feel coming off in waves as he stormed toward her boat. Styx was right behind him, and though she knew him to be just as accomplished a killer, he had the moral value—or, at least, the practical sense—not to leave behind a pile of bodies. He had incapacitated them, as was necessary for the situation…that was all.

Suddenly December was glad she had decided to bring him along. If things got bad with her and Fortuné again, it would be good to know she would not have to face the deadly vampire alone.

She inhaled as both men came aboard, trying not to breathe in their bloody stink. She knew she didn’t exactly smell like a bed of roses then either. Imi settled on her shoulder, her angry chatterings in December’s ear quieting as Fortuné pushed past her to go down below to a cabin. The sun was about to rise.

A strange, morbid thought entered her head suddenly: what if they were to drag him out into the sun? Would that not solve all her problems…?

She knew the answer to that. No, that was hardly the path to redemption. That was hardly the solution now. It would be an intense betrayal of trust that December could not stomach.

Speaking of not being able to stomach things, Styx was looking less than his usual confident self as he stepped onto the deck. December hoped they did not run into any problems there either. “Away,” she responded, already moving to pull in the anchor and push away from the shore. “Away to wherever will hide us for now.” She paused and then sighed. “I’m thinking west…away from Escavas, away from Thor, away from it all.”

To his other question, she merely glanced at him and murmured, “I don’t know, but I hope we don’t find out the hard way.” That was all she trusted herself to say. Any more and she might actually spill all the details of this maddening adventure.

Instead she sighed. “Thank you for having my back. I’m sorry to drag you all into this, but I promise you, you would not have been thrilled with Escavas. Nor would you have found what you were looking for—whatever it is.” December didn’t know why she was so certain of that, but she was.

Imi lifted off from her shoulder to stretch her wings, and December got to work ensuring that they set a nice pace to get away from the port city once and for all.

[Aveilthé]

OOC: Okay so this could be a random city xD I don't have a name for it or anything but I'm thinking it could be Hayabusa, just not necessarily with Asian-culture. *shrugs*

They were pretty far out into the ocean now. So much time had passed that the time must have been far past noon, because the sun was inching along the western horizon now. This was good. If they were to land soon, it would be night. Things just fell into place rather nicely.

The waves gently rocked the boat from side to side, front to end, up and down, making the vampire within groan quietly. It was not that he was seasick, just... internally sick of everything. Destroying those men did not ease his bitterness one bit.

Everything was pretty screwed up, he had to admit. Again he was dragging everyone down with him. But he didn't care. He was selfish like that. Let them suffer too, that's fine with him.

Just as he was beginning to vaguely wonder where they'll end up now, and what new place he'll wrought chaos, he blinked and spotted an island up ahead. He heard stories of lands far away that had houses as tall as the sky itself. When he saw those tall buildings for the first time, he didn't believe it.

It looked beautiful from a distance. That afternoon sun pouring it's rays on the glass of the buildings, making them sparkle and shimmer. Soon they'll reach the harbor. Fortune wouldn't admit it, but he was getting rather excited. All those humans to feed on...

[Kikuyoshi]

Ooc: left it still kinda open so it can be whatever city you want it to be xD Steampunk would be kinda cool otherwise we can make it Stonehart if people want....or whatever x.x; Stonehart does have a topside for "humans" and then the underground is where the primal vampires and werewolves reside n.n but yeah dun care o3o [/color]

Well that wasn't exactly the confident answer he was looking for. More questions bubbled up...and more importantly, more of his guard was put up toward the man below deck.

December sounded like she didn't trust him. So why hang around with the likes of a vampire?

"Reassuring..." He commented in a murmur, his body shifting under the heat of the sun now. Far too bright...and the way it reflected off the water was hardly helpful. He finally shifted, pulling off the trench coat from his shoulders and let it sink around his feet, leaving him in a black tank, before moving to hide underneath the overhang that was producing shadow.

"I'm not thrilled about a lot of things. Going west being one of them." His voice trailed casually as he worked over his bottom lip lightly with his teeth. His hand quickly caught hold of the side of the boat then as it hit a particularly rocky wave, the twitch of a frown the only other hint at how much he disliked being on this boat.

"And i'll always have your back so long as you aren't going after mine." His tone was sincere like it had been before, that slightly lower dip of a note seeming to be something like fondness? At least as much as he could care for her in the time they had known one another.

For the rest of the trip he kept to his usual quite, conveniently not speaking of what exactly had brought him to Escavas in the first place. Maybe it was as he had said; no real reason other than the rumors that bad things had been rearing their head in that part of the world.

Time seemed to pass slowly enough, but eventually the sun began to sink, melting into the horizon and easing the strain off of Styx's eyes enough that he actually took off his shades for a while, though that peculiar gaze of his was not focused on anything on the boat, even when Fortune made his grand reappearance topside.

It was the city in the distance that held his attention, his lips pressed together in a grim line as they neared the tall skyscrapers that glittered like gems in the setting colors of the sun. The hustle and bustle of people and the way the hairs raised along the back of X's neck was more than enough to tell him that what they were bringing to this city was a bad idea.

He hardly trusted the vampire species...even though he was an oddity of the same kind. Sort of.

"Keeping a low profile right?" He finally turned his gaze on the both of them. "I'd find a way to hide your weapons.....and keep your primal urges to yourself." His voice rang with a slight bitterness toward Fortune, not exactly in favor of moving in the company of his kind, yet not in favor of moving to threaten someone who December potentially needed to protect. He grumbled as they docked and returned his sunglasses to his face, before he threw back on his coat and covered the guns at his back.

As far as he was concerned, he was following December, not leading them around a city he didn't want to be in. So he waited at the back of this little oddball group's line, keeping his words and other opinions to himself. A shadow to follow after the both of them.

[Felypsa]

December would have reassured Styx if she had been able to reassure herself. As it was, confusion reigned in her mind. The Fortune she had known before—she would have protected him. This demon…who relished in personally murdering humans and sucking their blood…who had almost killed her, and would have done it with joy…she should not be spending effort on him.

But she had seen a flicker of his old self, for just a moment, in those green eyes—when the bird-masked devil promised him mortality.

There was still a deep-seeded desire in him to change, then. To not have to feed upon the blood of humans to survive.

And so, December nursed a fledgling hope for him. It was a lot to risk for such a small flicker, but…somehow, she could not help herself. At least for now. But how could she possibly explain that to Styx? No, she couldn’t. It was as simple as that. So December did not even try. Styx seemed to trust her, anyway. She gave a stiff nod. “I promise the same.” As long as he didn’t turn on her, she would gladly fight alongside him.

She said no more on the matter. Instead, as Styx fell silent, so did she, pulling out her sword to clean it. Once that was done, she managed to doze slightly. Imi hovered around the boat, keeping a watchful eye out for danger or land—whichever came first.

Imi’s soft chatterings in her ear caused December to stir and wake, in time to get the same glimpse of the city that the others saw. The sun was setting, she realized, but the sight of it was blocked by the immensely tall buildings that were perched on the land before them. They had gone west, and this was what they were facing. December took a deep breath and stood up. Going to the edge of the deck, she saw the same thing that Styx and Fortune had both observed: the people. The sheer mass of humanity in such a place.

A wave of nausea that had nothing to do with the sea filled her, and she cast an uneasy look in Fortune’s direction.

Styx was much less subtle, warning them all against showing off their weapons and skills. There would be no point in fleeing Escavas if Fortune only made hell in a different city, and she and Styx would continue to be dragged down with him.

It was time to stop screwing around.

December strode up to where Fortune was, getting right in his personal bubble. “I don’t know why you bothered to help me back there,” she said flatly, “but you did, and now you’re stuck with me, which means you have to respect my needs too.” Violet clashed with green as she stared him down. “Behave yourself. You’re no longer alone.”

That said, she turned to face her unusual companions, a determined look in her eyes. “This is the lot we’ve got.” She jerked her head toward the city. “Let’s go ashore—and make this work.”

-----

It turned out that this city had a dock just for Escavas boats, which put December more ill at ease, despite the convenience. That meant that it would be just as easy for other Escavans to come here—and the Thorians too, if they managed to borrow a boat. They were hardly safe yet.

The dockhands who helped pull in their craft were surprised that there were only three people on board, but December just walked past them before they could ask questions or get a good look at them. She had to walk with complete confidence, even though the city she was walking into was unlike anything she had ever seen before. The entire city seemed to be made of glass…every building glistening with it in the dusk, even though the sun had sunk well below the horizon. The whole place seemed precious and fragile.

Until she saw the sign that declared boldly, “Welcome to Everlin—the Diamond City.”

So that was not glass.

“Mother of mercy,” December murmured, feeling lightheaded. For some reason, that frightened her. Here was a city that must have been sitting on top of a major diamond mine, or it was so wealthy that it could turn all its buildings into diamond. Either way, it was daunting. You could not break in a building that was made of diamond. It was very well protected…maybe she should not worry for the population here. Maybe Fortune was not a real threat to them.

Maybe she should be worried about her own safety and welfare here.

Yet despite her dark thoughts, she realized how friendly everyone was. They were so unafraid, she realized. In a city made of diamond, what did they have to fear? So they could afford to be nice. Even the confused dockhands had been polite. And now they were approached by another, who despite his gruff appearance, had a smile on his face. “Are you travelers? Welcome to Everlin! You all should check in to Haven Inn—it’s the best one by far, extremely affordable and comfortable.”

December gave a curt nod but did not answer. She was too overwhelmed. Her feet were still moving, though. She soon realized that, in addition to diamond buildings, the city boasted beautiful canals that wound their way through the various districts. Cheerful gondoliers were on hand to ferry passengers from place to place. Really, even in the half-light, the whole place still sparkled.

Not even Heaven was this damn shiny.

|oOc|

just took one idea and ran with it...hope this is okay v.v; y'all can improvise stuff too, whatever comes to mind xD