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Xana Druj

"I feel your anger... It's absolutely intoxicating..."

0 · 446 views · located in Purgatory

a character in “Requiem for a Fallen”, as played by BlackIceRocker

Description

Name: Xana Druj

Age: Her human form would say “27”; according to her demonic form, however, Xana is at least several centuries old.

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Whatever the hell I feel like today

Role: Demon

Appearance

Image

Partly due to the abilities and partly due to her nature and biology, Xana prefers to flaunt certain features. In her human form, she has a shapely body, curved in all the right places in all the right ways--she’s studied what the mortals desire and suited that to her needs, which is vital for her line of work. Xana has fair skin that feels tender and warm to the touch. She has rich purple eyes that seem to sparkle when the light hits them just right. Atop her head is a wild mane of red hair that billows down behind her back to about her waist. In this form, she prefers to wear tight clothing that helps to accentuate her “womanly features” or to show off a bit of skin to attract the wandering eyes of anyone she could potentially ensnare. She seems to have a fondness for silk.

Image


Her demonic form is a bit of a far cry from the fair-skinned maiden, although her true form in and of itself is strangely captivating in an otherworldly sense. Her skin turns a deep crimson color and hardens like chitin, although it is still strangely malleable like human flesh. Gone is her red hair, instead charred an ashen gray as it falls behind her back in thick ropy tendrils; these are accompanied by four massive horns that curl around her head. The purple eyes are now replaced by two which seem to glow white-hot. Hardened patches of scorched stones grow across her otherwise smooth torso, giving the appearance of onyx or brimstone against the red. Instead of legs, a long snake-like tail grows from the waist down, making her movements fluid, almost hypnotic. The tail is also covered in overlapping hardened mineral plates which surprisingly help to facilitate her movement.

Xana understands the importance of keeping a low profile and will attempt to stay in her human form whenever she is around mortals; however, she has on very rare occasions shifted into her demonic state in the throes of passion. This requires that those who see her are killed, which is all the more fortunate for her as it merely gives her more to feed off of.

Personality
Xana is a demon that thrives on toying with the emotions of mortals, considering she feeds off of intense emotional experiences. She is a pleasure-seeker, both out of necessity and out of desire; anything that evokes an intense emotional response will ultimately motivate her to continue her assigned task: gather any information from mortals about possible possessions as possible. She relishes the opportunity given to her to mingle among the mortals and assist in restoring order, especially since it gives her a bit of free reign to exercise a bit of power over unsuspecting mortals. Xana is rather flirty and actively tries to lure in any passerby that may be able to provide information
 or a meal. She can be extremely manipulative, especially if she knows she can get away with whatever tickles her fancy at that particular moment. Mortals would be none the wiser for it anyway, especially if they believe they’re doing what she want them to do out of their own free will. Because of this dependence on intense emotional experiences, Xana can come across as slightly sadistic, inflicting pain on others to satiate her hunger; if her “prey” doesn’t mind the rush, then all the better for her. Xana has no qualms about fighting if forced to, and she even uses the adrenaline rush from battling to feed. She prefers, however, to stay to the backlines and use her demonic abilities whenever possible; melee combat, on the other hand, brings out a certain fire in her, which in turn produces a more vivid source of energy for her.

Abilities
Both Forms: Xana has the ability to manipulate emotions and intensify them in order to feed. By forcing certain feelings in people, she can essentially force them to do things they may normally object to doing willingly (For example, Xana may instill the thought that seeing blood creates a sense of pride that something was accomplished. If she intensifies this feeling in her victim, she could force him to injure himself or others to feel a sense of accomplishment, which she could then feed off of. Depending on how the victim reacts to her powers and how intense the feelings produced, she could potentially net a surplus of consumed emotion, but this does not often happen.). That being said, the more she wishes to manipulate said emotions, the greater the energy required. Normally, the payoff for manipulating emotions is less than the amount spent, which is why she occasionally falls back to old-fashioned seduction, something she prides herself with.

Demon Form only: Xana’s powers of manipulation emotion are much more potent in her demonic guise despite her more feral appearance appearance. Perhaps it has to do with the idea that she’s concentrating too much on remaining human to easily use her powers. In her true form, Xana’s strength increases and she is able to summon hellfire and use it as a weapon (mostly in the form of projectile fireballs) or as a defense mechanism. While effective, using this ability too often drains her energy very quickly. In addition to this, Xana’s crimson skin is completely resistant to fire, which, considering where she comes from and what abilities she possesses, is a fairly important attribute for her.

Bio
Xana is what’s known as an “Infiltrator”, someone whose job depends on being able to mingle with mortals and extract information from them without drawing attention to the demonic “agenda”. She’s been doing this for a few centuries, which is more than more than enough time to begin to understand how mortals work. She does her job well enough to not provoke the ire of higher-ups in the demonic hierarchy, even with certain
 mishaps through her years of service. To Xana, though, information comes second to being able to feed off of the energies of mortals, something she’s made quite clear to her fellow Infiltrators. With such a myriad of toys at her disposal, how could she not pass this opportunity up, especially when each one is as willing as the last?

So begins...

Xana Druj's Story

Setting

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Character Portrait: Xana Druj
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Den of Thieves "Funhouse"

In the seediest parts of the city, away from all of the sophistication and the order that most people craved, stands an old, weathered house that seems to stand out even more than the other shacks of the poor. The paint peels off the front of the walls, the door looks as if it's about to fall off its hinges, a chimney atop the roof threatens to fall to pieces and crush some unfortunate passerby, windows on the upper floor are broken. The children of the slums believe that this house is haunted, and they are only reinforced with this belief whenever night falls and the faintest of cries can be heard coming from within.

Unbeknownst to the children, however, this "haunted" house is actually the scene of one of the city's largest "funhouses", a place for those to "let off a little steam"--drinking, gambling, brawling, debauchery, prostitution; anything one could think of could (and most likely did) happen here. These places also helped to serve as meeting points for those interested in asking for "individuals of a particular skill" with certain... favors.

Normally, men frequented this sort of institution, so it was quite a shock to many of them when she walked in without so much as a fuss. She stood at the back door, clad in rather revealing clothing--most notably a pitch-black corset and leather pants that showed a bit too much skin for any classy woman to be wearing, especially in the dead of night in the seediest part of the city.

The room grew silent as she walked between a few tables, brushing her hand across a few shoulders as daintily as possible. A smirk crept across her face as she glanced between one drunk patron to another. All the better for me... she thought to herself. Just going to make it easier for me...

"Oy, boo'iful," a voice from behind her slurred as she felt a pair of fingers pinch her butt. "'Ow's abou' you'n'me head to tha back? Away from all tha riff-raff?"

"Who let this bitch in 'ere?" one surly man with a rather thick beard and a flagon of ale called out from the middle of the crowd. "'Arry, wassit you? Who's watchin' tha door?"

"Who cares 'oo she is?" another ratty man sitting in the back shouted. "It ain't about the 'oo, but what she'd do!" Laughter erupted from the ratty man's corner.

"So..." she purred, brushing her bright-red hair out of her eyes as she walked past a few burly men. "You'd like to know what I'd do?" As soon as the words left her mouth, the men focused immediately on her, growing silent once again. I've got them right in the palm of my hand... she smirked.

"I'd do just about whatever you'd want me to, that's what I'd do..." a coy smile crept across her face as she looked back toward the ratty man's corner. She could feel everyone's hearts begin to swell with anticipation and excitement--rather sweet, but not overbearingly so. "It's too bad that I just don't have the time or the energy to do everything for everyone..." she pouted, looking pitifully across the crowds. She could feel everything grow slightly bitter with disappointment; everything was going according to plan...

"I know you want to see..." she pointed to a random man in the crowd. "And I know you want to see..." another point. "And you... and you... and you..." Another smirk as the excitement in the room began to creep out in the form of murmurs and whispers. "Here's the thing, though--I really only like those men that show me how strong they are, how passionate they are... Prove to me that you want me more than anyone else here and I'll be yours..." The room grew silent once again. How were they going to be able to prove to this mystery woman that she was deserving of one person?

"She's mine!" the bearded man shouted as he stood up and slammed his mug onto the table. "I 'aven't got anythin' else on my mind 'cept for 'er!"

"Oh, piss off, ya drunk!" the ratty man shouted back, clambering over the table and walking between rows of people. "You've got a wife at home that'll do ya when ya want her to! 'Aven't got me any action since--"

"Since the last one tha' came in?" a third man spoke up. "Le's not forget the kid ya nabbed the oth'r day!"

The shouting began to escalate in the crowd, each man trying to outdo the last reason given as to why he should be able to claim her. Somewhere in this mass of people, somehow, a punch is thrown and everything explodes in a furious pile of flailing bodies and blood. While the drunks were brawling with one another in the large room, the red-haired woman slipped into a hallway out of sight from everyone else and exhaled slowly, satisfied with the chaos she caused. She rolled out her neck, taking care of the kinks that had been building there. This new form was somewhat smaller than something she had ever tried to conjure before, but she wanted to expand her forms so she could attempt to hide from those that might brand her a "witch". Being too tall gave her away too easily.

The flood of emotions was constant; rage and passion were most prevalent, and these were going to be put to good use later once she had a purpose for actually utilizing her powers. For now, just feeding on all of these would have to suffice, but even still, that was nothing to complain about for her. A satisfied smile crept across her face as she closed her eyes and slipped into an empty room with a large white bed. The screams could still be heard from through the walls, and even in her isolation she could almost imagine herself in the middle of the fray, giggling at the wanton violence. Almost reminded her of home... Mortals were much easier to manipulate than demons of angels...

Xana...

That voice! What was she doing here? A red-collared cat leapt onto the bed, head tilted with curiosity.

"...you know I'm trying to feed now, right?" the red-haired woman rolled her eyes. "I don't need you interrupting my feeding session as I'm trying to get used to this form... although it seems to be working just fine for what I need to use it for..."

Have you been shirking in your duties?

"Of course not! You just happened to catch me feeding..."

...in a brothel--

"Hey, don't judge me! Intoxicated men are easiest to manipulate, y'know..." Another smirk as a vicious cry cut through the walls. "Rage and Lust are on the menu tonight, in case you were wondering..."

Xana, you are being summoned to Resmyrd. An Angel and an Exorcist are anticipating your arrival and cooperation to help seal the gates and stem the influx of renegade spirits and wraiths. If you refuse, you will be punished. You know your place, Xana...

The woman swung her legs over the bed. "How far of a walk is it from here?"

Two day's walk, although I have a feeling you can arrange your own transportation, given your... "talent"...

"Fine, I'll be there..." Xana stood up. "Better have some unsuspecting mortals to feed from when I get there, though..."

The cat nodded and leapt off of the bed. When Xana looked off to the side, it had vanished without leaving any trace. Her hunger satiated for the time being, she left the room to find that all but three of the surly men had been beaten unconscious in the time she had been talking to her compatriot.

"Gentlemen, please!" she cried, her voice dripping with unsuspecting venom. "You three have proven yourselves to me... although I prefer that you head to the back and wash yourselves clean of the blood that's gotten all over your hands and faces. When you're all finished, I will be waiting for you..." Another coy smile sent all three men running down the hallway, eager to please.

Mortals are so damn easy to toy with... she chuckled as she left the Funhouse, her destination in mind. Hopefully she would not have to walk the whole way there...

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Lucian Faust Character Portrait: Janus Abraxis Character Portrait: Xana Druj Character Portrait: Culsa Alastor
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#, as written by Igari
Lucian did not bother to look up towards the voice that filled the area, already knowing those lucid tones to belong to Janus. As always, the demon was eager for a new body, antsy to push the boundaries of what was just barely acceptable. This failed to faze him, in fact, it had done nothing of the sort the very first time they had met millennia ago. He supposed the only downside to being a time mage was that nothing seemed to surprise him in the slightest, which may or may not have ruined the little "gift" Janus had sent him some years back. He slid blank eyes to the far side of the room, a few seconds in advance before another figure appeared, this one female. She had long red locks of hair but the first thing Lucian noticed was not her frame (which most tended to catch on to first), but the smell of lust that she carried with her. Of course.

She looked a bit miffed, as she had been interrupted from something important. The woman cracked her neck as a sudden burst of flame engulfed her; when the smoke cleared, quite a different creature stood in her place, with crimson skin and tattered wings and two massive horns curving over her head. Xana looked around the room, flames rippling across her arms, and smirked at the other figures in the room despite her hunger--Lucian was always difficult to get any sort of emotion other than apathy, and Victorica was merely tired from all of her traveling about. Janus, on the other hand... he was always easy to feed from--so easy to get any sort of reaction from, especially when he was angry... Her tail flicked back and forth in anticipation. "Better be worth my time away from feeding, Lucian..." Xana growled, rolling her neck and letting the cracks echo through the chamber. "You know how I get when I'm hungry..."

Lucian didn't spare her much of a glance but he did so long enough to let her know that clearly she would not be here if it were not imperative. It wasn't but a few seconds more that another woman appeared, this one with stark white hair and a few blood splatters here and there on her clothes. Culsa was baring her teeth, looking ready to pounce on the cat that was already scampering back over to its Mistress. In fact, she was going to. In the time it took him to merely yawn, she was already shapeshifting into a wolf to terrorize the tiny animal, who hissed and tried to take refuge behind the gatekeeper. Very typical, very expected behavior indeed. He ignored the proceedings going on with the gatekeeper, sparing Janus a look before sighing and leaning further against the wall in a bored fashion. The sounds of an agitated fight continued, up until the deeper, firm voice of the gatekeeper spoke up.

"Enough you two, cease your bickering," Victorica wasn't able to use her normal commanding voice, given her weakened disposition, but it was still enough to snap Culsa and the cat out of their spat. The cat fled behind the larger lion and the gatekeeper released her breath. She fought to stay balanced correctly as she leaned against her weapon, eying the group through slightly narrowed orbs.

"I've summoned all of... most of you here..." She amended, taking note of the missing demon from their midst's. "To brief you on the current situation." Victorica tried to straighten to give more validity to her words, as she knew that any signs of weakness would cause her statements to be dismissed by the other demons. Perhaps not Lucian but certainly the others. "Currently, we are in a precarious state of pandemonium." She paused to gesture to the Gates that stood behind her, now just a mere shadow of what they used to be. Much of the fine metal and appeal of the portal had been torn away and destroyed, leaving tattered chains and chunks of marble here and there.

"I am not sure what has caused it but there has been an unnatural influx of spirits and wraiths that have swept through the gates... While I must remain stationed here, to ward off any potential threats that try to escape as the others have, I have received orders from above. You are all to travel to Resmyrd, to join the Angels and Exorcists respectively to eliminate this threat and restore the balance to Purgatory." She shot most of the demons a dirty look, for there was some undertone of "Isn't this the stupid plot to every adventure story ever" lingering about. She adjusted herself, snapping her fingers. Her lion familiar was the one to position himself this time, moving to the center of the area.

"I will transport you all there. The higher ups will be expecting updates... but they will explain the situation more in detail when you arrive." And before waiting for any questions, she hit the ground once with the hilt of her weapon and her familiar roared, creating a large portal. Lucian pushed himself off the wall and was already stepping into the portal before anyone else with a smooth fluidness. He had done this so many times before yet there was something that felt just a tad different this time... He could only hope this gut feeling would actually come to pass.

Setting

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Character Portrait: Xana Druj Character Portrait: Cadenza
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"Lucian, Sangre. Janus and Ryu. Xana and Cadenza. Marethyu, Volos. And Culsa and Caelestis," Treylion finished speaking and waited for a few moments as everyone gathered into their respective groups... all except for the Exorcists. They were ushered off to one side as the angels and demons gathered to the other.

It has begun: the awaited mission that had sent Paradiso and Inferno into this fragile alliance. The words of the Seraphim Commander along with the Apoikailon presence were enough to deliver the seriousness of the matter. Finally, he would be able to do what was promised. However, as those gold eyes gazed around, the angel could not help but noticed the rather lackadaisical attitude of the others, most especially of the Demon ranks. Nevertheless, he did not pay heed to such outer intentions and went to the location set aside for them.

Xana smirked as she followed the demons and stood next to one of the angels, one with a svelte figure and a mop of pink hair atop his head--or hers, the demon couldn't really tell what gender this angel was. They all looked the same to her anyway, so what really did it matter?

Standing to his chosen place, a demon with the perfect blend of femininity came to his side. Crimson skin and the natural trait of horns were enough to conclude his assertion. In all regards, he was not against the partnership between the creatures known to be of heinous origins and them who are to be recognized as saints. Thus, the companionship--if that was the right word to choose--was accepted. Glancing to her, there was no doubt in his mind that this female was particularly attuned with her form. Is there a slight hint of envy within him? Shaking such negativity, it would not be good to feel such a thing. They were supposed to be in a harmonious relationship if this team would work.

The demon cracked her knuckles and stood close to the angel. "So... you're to be my partner then?" she purred, attempting to size up her new companion. It wasn't necessarily the right word to use in this situation; rather, she merely wanted to see how he... or she... would react to her presence and powers. "I do hope you're able to work with me... I've been told that I don't play well with others," another smirk as she ran a finger across the back of his neck.

A chilling sensation echoed from the skin as it seeped within the fibers of his very existence. His eyes widened much like a cat that had been thrown into a vat of cold water. This demon or should he now identify as his demonic counterpart who has no regards for the meaning of personal space slid her finger upon his neck. Without much thinking, he slapped away the hand and moved away.

"It seems that you don't. But I suggest that you remedy that quickly. It would not do you any good with me."

Xana smirked again. My my, this is going to be fun.

"I just want to get to know the one that's going to make sure I don't get out of hand, is all..." Xana took a few steps closer toward the retreating angel, a few embers crackling across her skin. "Like I said, I don't get along well with others..." she smirked even through the echoing grunts of the feuding exorcists in the background. "I want to know--am I going to get along with you, or am I going to have to make sure you get along with me?" She could taste the apprehension wafting from the angel--not exactly the most filling meal, but if she could keep him--his voice finally confirmed that he was, indeed, male and not female--agitated and fidgety for long enough, she might not even have to... coerce him after all.

How was one to show wariness and doubt in facial expressions? Yes... It was the narrowing of the eyes as he took a step back every time the demoness took one forward. If one would describe it, they seemed to be dancing to a intangible tune that only they could understand. However, his withdrawal had come to an end as his back met the cold stone wall. This was one of the rare moments that he abhorred the creation of the humans known as buildings.

"Fine..."

Closing his eyes to settle the fires of trepidation that was wavering inside of him, he could feel that his presence that hanged inside of him in a pendulum would soon crack. Nevertheless, he had do what he must and nothing could prevent him from doing so. Once his eyes opened, the haze of lingering anxiety was changed into of willfulness of determination.

"I will make you get along with me, even if you do not want to. The name is Cadenza."

As if to provide the importance of this all, he reached out his hands to the demoness which if she had remembered correctly was the gesture of the humans when properly introducing, a handshake.

Xana chuckled to herself. This angel was quite interesting after all! First agitation, then fear, then determination, and now a handshake? This Cadenza character was running the whole gambit and they had only known each other for two minutes! As long as she continued to keep him guessing, he would be a great source for feeding--about time, too, considering it had been about twelve hours since she last fed anyway.

"Xana," she showed off razor-sharp teeth before reaching out one massive hand and gingerly grabbing the angel's fingers. She then lowered her head and dropped a light kiss on the back of his hand, letting the heat from her lips linger for just a second against the flesh.

If it would be possible for this human form to change its skin coloration to the multitude shades of red, he would have possibly done so. Immediately retrieving his hand as if it had been dropped into a boiling pot of water, his face was without doubt parading the shade of red akin to that of a tomato.

"I am not a man!"

As if catching what was spoken, the shade turned a darker red and his words fumbled like a child caught stealing a cookie from the carefully-hidden stash at the kitchen cupboards.

"I mean... not a girl!"

"Doesn't matter to me--I like both of them just the same..." Too easy, Xana smirked as she watched the angel's flustered reaction. Mostly confusion and embarrassment now, a bit of rage and uncertainty thrown into the mix. "Although if you're not a man and you're not a woman, what does that make you?" Her voice is coy and deceptively playful. Yes, this one will be easy to feed from after all.

Looking away, Cadenza affixed his eyes on the current initiation of the Exorcist. He had a feeling that the more he talks the more he would get into trouble. After all, they had not even been long acquaintances and he was already giving out a lot of reactions. This was truly a dangerous thing. Yet, he was not going to be halted from doing his job, this much was certain. So, he took a deep breath yet never returned his gaze to Xana.

"Cadenza and we should make rules about these whole touchy gestures."

"Just because you choose to ignore me doesn't mean I'm going to leave..." Xana brushed her fingers against the angel's arm. "I have a feeling that you and I are going to get along just fine after all..."

Takiing a side glance at Xana, Cadenza knew that there would be tumultuous times ahead of him. Hopefully, the Exorcist that they would take would not add to his now existent list of troubles.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Xana Druj Character Portrait: Cadenza Character Portrait: Thyme
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Thyme sat on Jing's seat, watching the commanders explain the situation. So they were being paired off. The Exorcist looked at both the Angel and the Demon, sizing them up. They were going to be tested with a impromptu battle with one of them. Lovely. The butterfly on her collar fluttered to Jing's handlebars, making the bike chuckle.

She didn't really mind it, the fighting that is. It just meant more effort on her part. She was already tired from her missions and her beloved Wisteria. If they want her in good shape, why can't they just watch their performances on missions? It would be easier and there would be one less unholy being. She just shrugged and pulled out the root of her tiredness, Wisteria, and begun to clean it. She could only wait until she was called forward.

Rai watched the fighting progress and when it was finished he turned his angelic face to the rest of the exorcists. His finger pointed out to one that leaned against a bike. She would be next. Curling the finger inwards, he beckoned to her. The Angel Commander wondered silently how she would do with her opponent.

"Tell me Exorcist, which of us do you choose to test your abilities with?" He asked with a genuine smile as he motioned between himself and Treylion.

Thyme heard the call and finished putting Wisteria back together. Her finger slid over the barrel as she thought it over. Both looked powerful in their own right, but the Angel was more her pace, she figured. Though she refused to judge a book by their cover. She'd been underestimated enough on her own.

"... You, Angel Commander." She muttered, giving an indifferent shrug. Standing from her spot on Jing, she faintly heard both her bike and the butterfly wish her luck. Her gun was slipped into the hostler as she walked, her tan coat barely shifting. She stood, looking up at the Angel blankly. She appeared uncaring but she was ready to be done with the battle before it even began.

Rai smiled sweetly at her as the young exorcist came towards him, sheathing a strange looking weapon. He was interested to see what kind of power she possessed. He pulled his sword up from it's resting position on the ground and rested it against his shoulder as he waited for her to approach.

"I look forward to seeing what you have to offer, dear Exorcist," he told her gently. He shifted slightly and dragged the sword from his shoulder, leveled it at her and extended his wings, "Come at me seriously now," he encouraged and then lunged at her. His wings pumped once, giving him extra speed. With his sword lowered and held in both hands, he prepared to strike her with an uppercut slash at her exposed chest.

Thyme tilted her head at the contradictory actions of the Angel but merely stashed it away for later retrieval. She needed to focus on the task at hand. She saw the child commander begin to swing at her with his sword and she twitched. In an instant, she drew her gun from the chest holster and fired two blasts at the Angel's hands, hoping to dislodge the weapon from his hands. She doubted the simple bullets would have the needed effect though.

Taking several steps backwards, she held her gun loosely in one hand at her side. The other was in her coat pocket, folding butterflies from paper. If he wanted her serious, she had no choice but to listen to the higher up. She waited for the next move of the pretty boy angel, her fingers folding and creasing her shield together.

Rai came to a halt, his hands pulling the sword back as she aimed for the edge of the hilt in an attempt to dislodge the weapon from his hold. It was a fair move, well calculated and placed as well. She definitely heeded his words on being serious. The bullets ricocheted off his blade and hit into different areas of the ceiling over head.

Continuing the move of his blade, he allowed his power to fill the weapon and with a hard slash into thin air, he expelled that angelic essence out towards her. It was a simple ripple of golden light, meant only to knock her backwards and off balance, not necessarily to hurt her too much. The girl was small and looked far to frail to be an exorcist. Even so, Rai knew that looks were deceiving... regarding his own situation especially.

Still, though, the blast of magic wasn't just a bit of wind. If she failed to deflect it, Rai will have tossed her quite a ways backwards, across their 'arena'. Bruises were sure to happen, but nothing more. Rai thought for a moment, perhaps he'd been a bit too harsh on the first exorcist...

Thyme barely spotted the magical slash coming towards her. With a quiet hiss, a cloud of her paper bugs flew out of her coat and sacrificed themselves. A line was gone in the cloud where the slash had hit it but it was quickly filled by more of the easily replaceable butterflies. The colorful cloud shifted and swirled around her, like magic of her own.

She flicked the gun between her hands, trying to figure out which style would work best against the boy. She could take a more defensive stance behind the shield or a more offensive one. She had a flicker of a smile as she came up with something new and fresh to do. Might as well try it when her life wasn't in danger. The butterflies shifted accordingly, settling back onto the coat with a complacent hiss.

"Creative," Rai complimented her, but he was already moving even after sending his wave of magic at her. Wings outstretched behind him, he launched at her again, his sword down once more and ready for a slash horizontally once he was within range. The nice thing about his weapon's position was that he could easily maneuver and adapt to his enemies movements.

He shifted his hold on the weapon and prepared another strike at her, only using the flat of the enormous weapon for any attack against the exorcists. If he missed his first attempt, he would come back around the other way, pivoting with his wings to catch her other side, but only if he missed. Should he hit her and send her towards the pillar just to their left, he would follow her with another surge of his wings and pin her down, claiming victory.

"I do try, ange." Thyme smiled softly at the compliment, responding with an equally sweet voice. Their actions and words were in leagues of their own and that's what made the battle interesting to her. She let the butterflies take the first hit, hoping this worked. She allowed more of the butterflies to land on her before she took in a deep breath. As the commander came back to hit her, she crouched and leaped just in time, the bugs lifting her just barely over the sharp edge of the sword.

She pushed the butterflies harder as she twisted back, to remove herself from close range. They managed to get her a foot away and she used her gunslinger tricks to fire a mass of bullets, most as a distraction. The little bullets would bruise at the most but she figured drawing blood was out of the options. Or maybe it was the objective...

Landing somewhat harshly on one ankle, she exhaled painfully, forcing the rest of the butterflies to swarm the Angel. She hoped that he wouldn't be able to clear them for a while but she doubted her wishes were being carried on swift wings. She caught her breath from using Harbinger and Wisteria too much and faced the Angel. This needed to end soon, or else she may not last long enough to meet her group. The thought didn't scare her but she wanted to do well so she could continue to protect humans.

The bullets were annoyances, pulsing past him with no real target, or maybe that had been her intention. They came at him as she'd dodged his attack, yet again. The girl was good at keeping her distance, relying too heavily on her weapon and those butterflies. He used his sword to keep the bullets from hitting him, and was then suddenly swarmed by black butterflies.

He stopped for a moment before expelling his angelic essence once again, ripping apart the paper pests. He turned on his heel, finding her immediately and flapped his wings hard. Rai was propelled across the floor, getting right up next to her just as she turned to face him. The Angel Commander lifted his blade and held it right against her neck, resting the cold steel softly on her skin. He smiled sweetly at her, despite having his weapon in a deadly position.

"You've done well, exorcist. Try not to rely so much on that weapon of yours though, you tire too quickly," he offered her and then withdrew, "Please join Xana and Cadenza," Rai directed her, pointing over to the Angel and Demon to take her.

Thyme swore internally as the blade was pressed to her throat. She had the shot lined up to, the gun pointed at the chest of the child commander. But he smiled at her, causing her to relax slightly. Obviously, she had done something to make him do so. The blade was removed from her throat, making her tilt her head. That was it? How simple.

"Thank you, Commander." she bowed deeply at the Angel before walking back to Jing, who was quite happy she was unharmed, the metallic voice singing her praises. She looked at her partners before leading her bike towards them. Sitting on the bike, she began to clean and tend to her gun, undaunted by the blurring in her vision and the light sweat dripping off her nose. Wisteria came first, despite all the energy it saps from her.

The setting changes from Purgatory to Arkanvale

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The local pub in this town was not nearly as good as the funhouse had been, Xana decided as she looked around to where all the regulars were sitting and gawking at her human form. Of course they would be--she was the most attractive thing in this whole forsaken city! She thrived on the attention and the stares and the feeling of mistrust--one that she did not always receive the opportunity to sample, but left a slightly sour aftertaste--that accompanied this inflated self-worth. This was how she fed, after all: by charging into situations and doing something to make herself the center of attention.

Speaking of "fed", she was rather fed up with the fact that she was the only one of the three in her group that had actually been allowed to leave the damn cathedral in the first place. She absent-mindedly drummed her fingers against the table she sat at, taking a sip from a glass of red wine every so often to help pass the time. She was bored, and despite the ideas of manipulating these mortals to amuse her for a bit, people would probaly begin to become suspicious if their once-sleepy town was suddenly overrun by madness because of the appearance of an otherworldly-red-haired maiden. Of course, the other infiltraitors might be rather amused by this tale, but for the time being, she was the only one who mattered at this point; the fate of the world, as little as she cared for this particular plane of existence, was at stake.

Out of the corner of one eye, the demon noticed a young man getting up from his seat and taking a few steps closer to her. He was curious--he reeked of this scent, as most who first approached her did, especially the young ones. Oh, they were so naive in thinking that they could potentially figure her out! She had centuries at least on these fleshbags, and they had no idea at all!

"Uh, 'scuse me, ma'am," the young man bowed his head and spat on the ground by the feet of her table.

Curious herself, Xana raised an eyebrow at this somewhat uncouth display of behavior. "You have my attenion..." she purred in a neutral tone. "Best you don't do anything to lose it now..."

"Well, uh..." she noticed the man's face turn slightly red. Of course he had not been expecting an answer like that--it was rather unlady-like, after all. She could feel his confusion and his fear rising a bit, melding with the tang of mistrust from the others that were watching. Somehow, she liked this combination. It brought a bit of a smirk to the corner of her mouth, but she did her best to mask it as much as possible.

"Come now, darling... You obviously had something important to tell me, otherwise you would have stayed with your friends and bad-mouthed me from the corner..." The red-headed woman took another sip of her wine, not budging from her chair but placing her free hand on her leg and massaging the bits of exposed flesh there.

The young man was flustered now--she did not need to feel the apprehension wafting off of the boy's skin to know that he was blushing profusely. In the limited light of the bar, she could even make out a bit of a glistening building up across his arms--he was sweating This was just too easy for her!

"Ma'am... 's j-jus' we n-n-nevah seen you 'round th-th-these--"

"P-p-p-parts?" Xana finished the man's sentence, even going as far as to mock his sudden development of a stutter. "Of course you haven't, and neither have your friends. I just blew into town yesterday and have found that you... [b]bore[/i] me here..." The demon placed the glass down on the table after taking yet another sip of wine. "Why don't you try doing something different, hmm? Excite me..." She stood up from her chair and flashed a wicked smirk at the man, figuring that he would have no idea how to react to this unexpected turn of events.

Suddenly, the man's face went pale as the redhead brushed her fingers down his arm. "M-m-m-ma'am..." he stuttered, trying to regain his composure from losing control of the situation. "I'unno what y-y-y-yer talk-k-kin' 'bout, b-b-but y'b-b-b-b-best..." his voice trailed off as the woman walked around, trailing her fingers around his lower back.

"Go back to your friends..." she whispered, leaning close to the man's ear. "Let them know that if they want to add a bit of spice to their otherwise complacent lives, they'll come find me later..." With another quick brush of her fingers across the man's cheek, she grabbed the glass from off the table, finished her wine, and then brought the glass back to the counter and handed it back to the barkeep with a quick smirk and a wink.

"'Bout time y'd'cide tah leave..." the surly man grunted as he took the glass away. "Reg'l'rs been spook'd e'er since ya came in, lady... Ain't nev'r seen no strang'rs waltz in 'ere 'fore, 'spesh'ly dress'd like tha'..."

The red-haired woman placed a few coins on the counter and rolled out her neck as the trembling man slowly made his way back to his compatriots in the corner of the bar. "Don't think of me as a stranger then,,," her voice oozed, the words wrapping themselves around the barkeep's arms and torso as she winked again. "Think of me as the long-lost lover from a dream you've never had..." With that, the red-haired woman made her way to the front of the bar, raising her eyebrow slightly in the direction of the group of regulars in the corner and smirking out of the corner of her mouth before walking out the door.

Of course, their emotions lingered and followed her as she left--she would not perish the thought of leaving them behind! All sorts of different sensations wafting through the walls--disgust, confusion, curiosity, lust--each one of them blending together for the demon to feed from.

But there was something else... A tug, a pull beckoning her to travel away from the city. It throbbed and pulsed with her very being, sympathetic to her existence despite how faint she felt it. This sensation was rather familiar to her--most definitely demonic in nature. Was it... a gate? She pondered the situation--she could wait another day or two, spend her time feeding and manipulating the mortals as best as she could in the meantime... plus that angel--what his (or was it a her?) name was, she could not remember--reacted so well to her prodding... or she could go and explore on her own--the call was out there, and honestly she was unsure as to when the others in her group would be available to assist her in her endeavors...

Angels and exorcists be damned... Let's take a look at the gate...

So the demon set off on her own accord, following the ebb and flow of the gate's energies. Of course, it would take a while to get out there, and unfortunately, it was getting rather dark out...

"Nothing a little fire can't fix..." Xana smiled to herself as she felt the skin of her human form begin to melt away in a flash of heat. She was far enough away from the other city at this point that she could see it on the horizon and know that she had not been followed out this far, especially by any of those foolish mortals that thought they might actually be worthy of her time... They had another thing coming if they really wanted her that badly after her little stunt in the bar...

The demon slithered across the rocky ground, a small orb of fire burning above her palm acting as a beacon. She could feel the energy of the gate nearby now--it was not nearly as strong as other gates in the past had been, but she could most definitely distinguish it from any other source of power that could possibly exist out here. In fact, she had found it strange that she had neither seen nor heard any sort of rogue activity that would really have warranted her attention... Perhaps the town she had just left behind had been dealing with something along those lines--they were close enough to the gate, after all--but it wasn't her problem now; if the angel and the exorcist ever decided to get off their lazy asses and do what they were assigned to do, they would be the ones to take care of it, not Xana.

Over one rocky outcrop, she came across a large pile of rubble in the middle of a clearing. As the demon made her way closer to the stones, she saw that there were strange markings in the stones--unusual runes that no human should ever want to decipher, lest their minds warp into twisted abomanations of their former selves... not that demons minded the hubris of the mortals and chaos they would cause when their minds broke. At the demon's touch, the runes began to glow blood-red.

Xana chuckled. Of course the gate would be broken--they had warned her, after all. Had the exorcist or the angel been here to help, they would do nothing but offer unnecessary moral support at this point. This was the reason the demons were bothered to help at all, despite the fact that they all knew that their pride as gatekeepers and gaolers was on the line because of this sudden exodus of rogue wraiths.

The demon placed both of her hands on the stone, muttering in some incomprehensible language all the while. The light few more and more intense as a dull humming sound began to reverberate through the night. Stones suddenly began to levitate, whirling around in the air before rearranging themselves in a bizarre insignia pattern in the air. Xana chanted louder and louder, faster and faster, the stones not intimidating her at all. The light of the runes was growing more and more intense, bathing the ground around the demon in an eerie red hue.

Suddenly, Xana threw her hands toward the sky, uttering one final powerful syllable. Another flash of light--suddenly, the stones had disappeared. The only sign that there had been anything in this area at all were the outlines of light that intensified along the ground as the demon slithered closer and over their location. She smirked and rolled her head around on her neck as she turned back toward the direction of the town she had come--

Xana...

Atop the rocky outcrop she had slithered over moments earlier was a cat with a red collar around its neck.

"What are you doing here now?" Xana growled, not satisfied at all with this new development. Usually, the cat meant that she was needed elsewhere, although she had no idea where she would be forced to run off to this time...

The Apokailon requests your prescence in Resmyrd once more, Xana... The feline continued to stare straight into the demon's eyes as if to challenge her authority.

"First I'm forced to leave without the damn fleshbag and the angel, and now I have to go back!?" Xana could feel the rage building inside. She felt the flames springing to life across her arms. "If Treylion wants to speak to me so badly, why does he not come to me out here in the middle of nowhere? Does he not realize that I'm already doing what he's asking me to do?" She knew that the venom behind her words was ill-placed, but at this point it did not matter nearly as much to her.

The Apokailon personally requested you to meet with him... The only information he was allowed to divulge to me was that he had some information that might be of great interest to you or any of the other demons for that matter... The cat leapt closer toward the snakey demon, unfazed by the display of pyromancy that Xana showcased. He seemed especially interested in making sure he told you before anyone else...

The flames flickered away from across Xana's arms as she raised an eyebrow toward the feline. "Secrets, eh...?" she mused, rolling her shoulders out to reduce the stiffness building up--that human body cooped her up more than she was actually comfortable with. "Fine, I'll humor him... but only if I don't have to walk back in that ridiculous human skin..." The demon shivered at the thought, which was ironic considering she had just set her skin ablaze only moments earlier.

That can be arranged...

The setting changes from Arkanvale to Resmyrd

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With a flash of hellfire, the serpentine demon found herself back in a familiar-looking cathedral. True to her word, the gatekeeper and her cat had transported her back to the depths of Resmyrd, the home of the exorcists that offered to help the cause--offered, of course, being a rather unsuitable word in this case, considering the exorcist that had been assigned to her group failed to do anything except introduce herself and immediately stay behind to help defend the place from a group of rogue wraiths that threatened to tear the place apart.

"Truth be told, I'm curious to see how the place would look after it's been reduced to rubble..." Xana smirked as she noticed the demon lord standing in the center of a circular room with a large seal affixed to the floor. She slithered closer to the Apokailon, cracking her neck to rid it of all the kinks that were still built up from before. "Damn human skin is rather cramped..." she chided within earshot of the demonic general.

Treylion frowned upon hearing her words as Xana entered the catherdral. His gaze shifted towards her slowly as she made her way towards him. The demoness had turned back into her demonic form rather than keeping her human attire. He didn't spare her a lasting look and returned his gaze to the seal upon the floor. He was concentrating on keeping that from breaking ever since the wraiths and spirits had decided to turn on Resmryd the moment the exorcists and their teams left. How... convenient.

"I believe I ordered you and all other demons to keep your human form unless there was reason to shed it," he reprimanded, but the words weren't meant as a threat. He'd called her for a different reason all together.

"Don't worry... Of course they didn't see anything out of the ordinary... Of course, they might have felt slightly... aroused to see me in that damn shell, but then again, most mortals are..." she explained. "They're so damn easy to toy with, you know..." She began to slither around the seal affixed in the middle of the room, keeping her eyes fixated on the Apokailon with a slight smirk on her face all the while.

"Your excuses would do you well if you kept them to yourself, Xana. But, that is not why I called you back. We've run into... a slight problem. As you well know, archdemons are not killed easily nor are there many to begin with. Unfortunately one has decided that death is very becoming of him and thus, I'm at a loss of what to do next," Treylion's lips upturned ever so slightly as he flicked his eyes towards her.

"What do you mean, 'becoming of him'? Did he off himself because he couldn't take the pressure of working under your command?" Another smirk, this one a bit wider as Xana crossed in front of Treylion.

"If only he were so honorable. Forget the details, Xana. The point is that we need a replacement of sorts. You've been a demon of high power for quite some time, not quite as powerful as some, but more so than many," Treylion was undoubtedly regarding Lucian when he spoke, there being no need for his name, "Why don't you show me what it is you're capable of doing?"

Xana laughed, a bit of a high-pitched titter that decreased in pitch and gave it a rather... haunting quality, especially when it reverberated in the high-domed room they stood in. "I thought you understood what I was capable of, Treylion... What do I need to prove to you that you have not already witnessed dozens of times already?"

"Let me try again. A bit more specific. Show me if you've learned anything more than what you already know, dear Xana," Treylion stated, his voice slightly velvety, but more creepy rather than attractive. Most assuredly a sign that he was getting only slightly irritated.

"Human or demon?" she asked, referring to the form she would have to take.

"Human. If you've learned anything new, you'll be able to use it in either; your demon form will only enhance it."

Xana huffed as the crimson-plated skin began to take on a lighter pinkish hue and her serpentine tail began to split down the middle. The horns growing out of her head were soon replaced by a wild crop of fiery locks which cascaded down to her mid-back. Her eyes, which had once glowed bright orange, were now a much darker crimson-purple color.

"Go after the exorcists, then?" she asked as she walked behind the demon commander, a doorway to a larger antechamber on the other side of the room.

"Do not kill them, if you can help it," Treylion answered shortly, "We still need to work with them... no matter how much we may... differ on the idea."

"Can't feed off of a corpse, Treylion--maybe Culsa could, but then again, she's a crazy bitch..." With that, the now-humanoid demon walked out into the antechamber and searched for a bit of prey, someone that might be able to not only feed her a bit but also someone that would be easy to... persuade.

"Try that one," Treylion's voice had traveled with her though he had not moved from the room behind her. He was far too busy trying to keep Resmyrd in one piece to have to move anywhere. He followed her much like he followed all of his subjects-- their demonic essences.

"I'm quite capable of picking my own victims, thank you..." Xana shot back under her breath as she found an exorcist deep in meditation. The man seemed rather stoic--nothing that a bit of her feminine "charm" could break, though. She sat down in front of the exorcist, staring straight into his unmoving face as she merely watched for ten... twenty... thirty seconds before--

"I sense your presence, demon... Begone, lest I be forced to deal with your foul stench..." the man spoke with a rather hostile tone in his voice.

"Tsk tsk, temper temper..." Xana purred, smirking despite having no one else to watch her face. "I was under the impression that you were supposed to suppress your emotions in order to prevent, well... possession..."

The exorcist did not give any verbal response, instead attempting to resume his meditation in some sort of peace despite the intrusive demon's presence.

"You humans intrigue me, though--how can you devote yourself to a cause without being sure whether you believe in the good you do for your kind?" Xana tried again, this time waiting for an honest response from the monk.

"You're lucky that the circumstances prevent us from banishing your ilk back to Inferno where you deserve to burn...." the monk growled, letting a bit of anger seep through his words. Right where I want him, the demon smirked as she stood up and stretched out her legs.

"My dear meat-puppet--and when I say 'dear', I don't mean this with any sort of affection whatsoever--what the order has told you about us is a lie," she explained in a rather quiet voice, taking the time to walk behind the meditating man and kneel down. "You believe you can banish my kind back to our home plane, but the truth is that your order is simply... human. It lies to you so you remain blindly loyal--"

She could tell that the human was trying to keep his composure throughout her little charade. His breathing was becoming more labored, and she could feel the distractions weighing heavily on his mind. It was rather refreshing, a mortal who attempted to resist her words--it brought more of a challenge than any of the drunks ever could.

Time to spread the seeds...

Xana placed her hands on the exorcist's shoulders and leaned in close to his right ear. "But of course, you know better than to follow blindly, yes?" Her words were laced with literal venom, seeds of doubt that would soon implant themselves on the mind of the poor exorcist. She just needed to get them to grow...

The monk suddenly shivered from the sudden sensations now building up across his body. "The Order is the vanguard between the forces of darkness. We are the keepers of the light against that which threatens to engulf the world in shadows. I pledge my strength to my brothers and sisters, and they in turn grant me their own. Against our light and our might, humanity shall never falter." Xana was unsure whether this was a sort of mantra that the exorcists had been forced down their throats from their earliest days of initiation, but either way, she applauded the man's feeble attempt to shrug off her assault--a slow, sarcastic applause, but applause nonetheless.

"Your order has failed you, so-called 'exorcist'," Xana continued, turning to the exorcist's left ear and whispering there now. "If your order is unable to prevent an attack against the facility that you call home, how can you expect them to protect the other humans that you care so deeply about? And what about now, your so-called defense against the 'shadows' from one lowly demon--"

"We... we are not able to predict where and when rogue spirits attack..." There was a definite lack of power behind these words from the exorcist. "And demons are another breed of danger entirely--"

"Oh, believe me, I know how dangerous we can be..." Xana purred again, pulling herself closer to the exorcist's ear. "Dangerous and powerful... Something your order does not value in you, apparently..." she smirked and moved her head around to his opposite side once more, now about to whisper in his right ear.

"...the Order... There is no assignment that they require my assistance with at this time..." The man's voice was breaking--Xana could feel the doubt growing in his mind at this point. Still, she was not quite finished with her little game--the doubt was rather pleasant to feed from, especially coming from a "stronger" human such as an exorcist.

"They do not think you strong enough... They condemn you to this darkened room where you meditate and do nothing all day," Xana purred, heat radiating slightly from her skin. "What sort of righteous order is this when it throws aside members that could prove to be... valuable to their cause?" The words were oozing from her mouth at this point, dripping with deception and slander that only she could produce.

Suddenly, a slight shift in the monk's movement as his head turned toward Xana's, still looking ahead but making sure to get a good look at the demon out of the corner of his eye. "...what are you saying?"

"All I'm saying is that if you are as strong as you claim to be, you should be aiding the other exorcists in dealing with your... infestation, not cooped up down here waiting to be called up for cleaning duty..." The demon rolled out her neck once more, feeling the kinks building up in this human form again. "Perhaps a visit to the leaders of your precious order is necessary--let them know that you feel that your time is being wasted down here meditating instead of helping out on the front lines. You and I both know that it's where you really belong..." Another smirk as the demon gently took her hands off of the man's shoulders, letting the heat linger for a few moments before it dissipated. "And if they tell you that they do not need your help... Well, let's say that what I've been telling you is true then... You would be better off on your own if that's the case--think of it: you, an exorcist who went 'rogue' to reveal the truth behind your precious Order..."

The exorcist rose slowly, looking off to a flight of stairs in the back of the room. "I... I am unsure why I have not questioned my position here--I have been here for quite a number of years, yet..." his mutterings grew quiet as he began to walk toward the very back of the room toward the aforementioned stairs. Xana smirked as she made her way back to the room with the seal embedded on made her way back to the room with the seal embedded in the floor, the Apokailon watching and awaiting her return.

"Satisfied?" Xana asked. "One of their most devout members, too--managed to break him pretty easily..."

Treylion watched her as she moved back into the room having finished what it was he'd asked her to do. With a slight shrug, the Apokailon returned his attention to the circle beneath him. He waited a while before answering her, making sure his voice was dull as he spoke.

"It was far from exemplary, but I suppose it will do," he flicked his gaze over to her for a mere moment before continuing, "I'll continue to keep an eye on you while you continue your orders given to you. You've grown a bit, Xana. I'll be in touch."

"...so that's it?" Xana's brow furrowed. "That's all you called me back for? Just to show off a bit for you?"

Treylion laughed at her, "It was hardly a show. Of course, if you don't wish to take on the role of an archdemon... I could always find someone else."

Xana cocked her head slightly as she raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Who else did you have in mind, and why would you honestly think they'd be a better candidate than I?"

"Who?" Treylion asked, slowly turning his head so he could look at her full on, "I could pick anyone I wish, Xana. But lucky for you, I've decided to put my sights on you. Don't make me think twice on it," his voice was deeper than usual, pulling on the demonic power that resided within him. Even in human form, he was something to contend to.

Xana nodded. "It may also interest you to know that I've already repaired one seal, which is more than I can say for the other groups--at least, from what little I've heard from the gatekeeper... Speaking of groups, it gets awfully lonely out there for a girl like me--I'm tired of feeding from the drunks all the time, and the first angel and exorcist I was forced with seemed to hold the protection of Resmyrd in much higher of regard than helping me to seal the other gates..."

"Are you trying to please me or irritate me?" Treylion ground between his teeth. With a sigh he answered her unasked question, "Don't worry, you'll be paired with another exorcist and angel soon. In fact, Ki has found an angel for you and sent them to find you. You best scurry off and find them."

"You never can tell with me, Treylion..." Xana smirked one last time before walking out of the chamber, leaving the Apokailon somewhat irritated with her reply. His feelings were rather filling, especially when Xana did not have to use any of her power to force him to feel that way either. After navigating the halls of the complex, the demon finally made her way out onto the cracked, dry surface of the world. She had an angel to find--she hated playing this game; after all, she had been given no name, no possible location, no appearance profile. How was she supposed to find this damn needle among the rabble?

Still, this newfound opportunity... Despite the promise of power and prestige, something did not sit well in her mind, something she continued to chew on as she made her way across the wastelands.

Promotion to archdemon... This does not happen... What is he up to?

The setting changes from Resmyrd to Alveron

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The demoness mulled over the thoughts in her head, trying to grasp the concept of promoting a lesser demon to a higher caste. This seemed almost impossible--to move up in rank like that was an impossibility, they had told her... yet Treylion had told her that she was being considered for this promotion... What was the commander hiding from her, from the other demons, from the other mortals and what it means for them?

...and why was Treylion so interested in her specifically? He had never before deigned to give her the time of day, always staying behind the scenes, manipulating his so-called underlings much better thank Xana herself could ever do... It was something that she admired about the Apokalion, something that she wished to aspire to, but still, she thought it would be impossible to do anything like that...

And then, on the horizon, a wanderer. There was a tug similar to that of the broken gate from before but... different, more hostile and foreign. The figure seemed to turn and stare at the demon even from such a distance away. It sent a shiver down Xana's spine, and she felt suddenly compelled to go out in that direction.

As she made her way across the landscape, she could feel the rage and anger wafting through the air. This was not natural in the slightest--most mortals would never feel this sort of anger in their entire lifetimes, let alone bound to one single body for any length of time. There was no way that this person was normal... unless...

What would a rogue spirit be doing all the way out here?

Regardless of the reason, Xana continued forward, making sure that no one was watching or following her. The last thing she needed was any mortals following her, especially any that would just serve as a hindrance to her and her purpose. Still, she did realize that she could not flat-out kill this vessel, especially without the presence of an exorcist or an angel--which would have been rather convenient had the angel and exorcist that were supposed to have accompanied her were actually with her...

"A bit far to be wandering away from home, now..." the demon purred as she mosied up to the wanderer, noticing the intense waves radiating from the fleshbag next to her.

The vagabond--a female--smirked as she turned and punched the red-haired woman in the face. Taken aback, the demon watched as the traveller's eyes turned pitch-black and turned to her.

"I could say the same for you..." the traveller growled--something unearthly that did not belong to this plane or even in the hellish heat of Inferno. "So far from your prison duties..."

Xana smirked as she rolled out the cracks building up in her neck. "My my... Aren't you a feisty one?" She felt no other presence at this point in time, so with another chuckle and a flash of hellfire, the demon quickly shed her human skin, revealing the serpentine form she was more comfortable in. "Sadly, my job is not to guard filth like you... It's more to hunt you down so I can feed..."

With a cry that could never be uttered by a mere mortal, the possessed human lashed out at the demon, trying to injure and maim her opponent. Xana merely dodged the blows, using her inhuman agility and her preferred form to weave and slither to and fro between the grunts and screeches of the feral spirit. Licks of flame crawled across her skin, and the demon smirked in response.

"Hmm... Your rage is rather filling... Too bad I'm forced to send you back to Inferno--your kind does have some of the most... intense meals..."

***

Having no leads on the location of this mysterious 'Xana,' Liriael had decided to simply head in the direction of the gathering-place of the assembled forces, in hopes that perhaps someone there would either be able to locate the demon or at the very least give her a more certain direction than 'on this plane.'

Her journey was to be temporarily diverted, however, when she sensed the presence of something irregular. She was no empath, and it was difficult to say for sure what it was from this distance, as she'd never been in the presence of a rogue spirit before, but the anomaly was worth invesitgating, anyway. Whatever she found would probably be worth reporting at the very least.

Cresting a hill, the angel surveyed the small town arrayed below, little more than a dot on a map at most times, doubtlessly. The small cluster of homes was hardly remarkable-- the Nightengale still in the back of her consciousness had seen countless settlements like it before, and retained particularly strong memories of none. This one, however, was bound to be a little different, as a large cluster of buildings, including what looked to be the town's inn, were burning.

Without wasting time, Liri tore down the hill at top speed, the rucksack containing all her earthly possessions thumping against her back with every pace. As she got closer, it was possible to make out the screams of humans, as well as some kind of ghastly wailing. Was that... a spirit?

***

Even through the overwhelming anger that threatened to consume the demon, there was something else that Xana felt through her battle--some otherworldly presence that was neither demon nor spirit. Could this mean that an angel was trying to approach? Perhaps an exorcist? It would have been nice for Xana to see just who or what was trying to intervene, although her current predicament was preventing her from doing so. The combat, though, was rather exhilarating for the demon, as the emotions that constantly flooded her were rather succulent. Even through the onslaught of blows, the flames continued to flicker across her skin, and a shiver of pleasure ran down the demon's crimson flesh.

"Are you quite finished? Are you ready to go back to your prison now?" Xana purred as a few drops of blood trickled down her cheek.

"I hope you freeze, fiend!" the spirit retaliated, slamming a fist into the demon's shoulder, causing a small bout of flame to flare up and singe the spirit's hand. Xana only chuckled as she grabbed the spirit's wrists and felt the heat flare up in her hands, causing burns to form on the fleshbag's skin.

"You're lucky I can't just outright kill you..." Xana purred, listening to the skin sizzle in her grasp. The spirit moaned in pain as blisters began to form on her wrists. She needed to stall... If that angel came to examine the situation, it would be able to help, but if not... Xana needed to locate a gate, and quickly...

Perhaps fortunately, the angel in the area was not far off at all, and Liri cast the rucksack off her back and drew her sword with a ring of steel, surging forward to the aid of what appeared to be a serpentine demon-- and the strangeness of this situation could wait to be considered until such time as the spirit was dealt with.

She was in enough time to hear the last statement the demon made, though admittedly that was perhaps only due to her greater-than-human hearing. "I can,"[/color] she replied simply, though in truth she hadn't done so before. Still, it wasn't as though she hadn't learned. But... didn't it need to be out of its vessel first? Maybe if the vessel underwent sufficient pain, the spirit would be forced to retreat, but torturing the creature into the open was not something she desired to do.

Was that the angel that she had been waiting for? If so, it had been taking its damn time in figuring out where the hell to go. Xana, however, wasn't in the mood for playing around at this point, instead choosing to turn back to the approaching angel with a smirk across her face and smoldering embers dancing across her arms and tail.

"About time you showed up... I was starting to think that I would be forced to save the world on my own..." The demon purred at the approaching angel. The woman in her grasp screamed as the sizzling of flesh intensified in the demon's hands. Blisters were beginning to form on the possessed woman's wrists from the heat. "This poor spirit knows that I don't have much patience for idiocy... too bad I can't take it out on the spirit, so I guess I'll go for the next best thing..."

No patience for idiocy? How do you live with yourself? The Nightingale snarked from somewhere in the back of Liri's head, automatically inclined to respond to poorly-veiled insults with the same. Liriael, however, was considerably more patient and tolerant, so she ignored the thought as well as the spirit's vessel, fixing the demon with a flat aquamarine stare. "It would be wisest to expel the being from the body as quickly as possible if I am to dispose of it." Implied: there is no need for extended torture.

Unforunately, she had no other option than to allow the demon to do as she pleased, as she herself had no alternative way of performing the extraction, only the execution. She had no reason to believe that the suggestion would go heeded; though she'd not interacted with demonkind before, she'd been told of them, and that was enough to create an educated guess to this effect.

"Well then, by all means, don't let me stop you from--oh wait..." Another smirk as the demon began to wrap her serpentine tail around her hapless victim. "Unless you can pull an exorcist out of your ass, the best thing we're going to be able to do for this poor woman is to find a gate and toss her through... Of course, it would probably kill the mortal in the process, but at least then I'll be finished with her--"

Before the demon could finish her thought completely, the possessed woman screamed. It was something unearthly and feral, nothing that the human host could produce in her short lifetime. Still, she was getting something out of the spirit--they were not nearly as powerful when trapped inside a human host as they were when they roamed freely, which begged the question: Why was this one in a body at all?

"I'm not going to ask again--shut up while I talk to this... acquaintence of mine..." The demon constricted the possessed woman in her coiled tail, causing her victim to shudder and spasm slightly. In the next moment, she turned and faced the angel, a coy grin across her face as she continued to keep a hold on the spirit.

"So... what kept you? The bureaucratic imbeciles at Resmyrd have been making things rather difficult for us, have they not?" There was a sense of irritability in the demon's voice as she folded her arms across her charred chest, but the smirk never left her face. Time to size up the new meat...

The angel's eyes moved from the demon, to the human vessel of the spirit, and then back to the serpentine woman. A slight frown was evidence enough of her displeasure with the situation, but she made no move to alter it. What was there that she could do? The demon was correct enough-- without an exorcist, there was no good way to force the spirit from the host. Her power was only useful once it was out in the open, and she could do away with it and allow the demon to banish the remains behind one of their infernal gates.

Her sword remained loosely-grasped in one hand, but she was still regardless, save a slight tilt of her head to one side. "I have yet to reach Resmyrd, actually. I was awakened in this host some days ago, and told only to find the demon Xana. If you are she, then perhaps the task was not as impossible as its vagueness might have suggested."

The demon grinned as the angelic figure elaborated on the scenario at hand. "So... suppose you just came across another random demon aside from this... Xana... What then? Do you continue on your merry way in the hopes you miraculously stumble across her at some point? Or do you continue on to the church of exorcists wondering if this demon is there?"

Liri blinked. The hypothetical just made her suspicious, and quite certain that she had found who she was looking for, but she chose to answer the question regardless, moving her shoulders up and back down in a shrug. "I finish what has begun here, and then yes, I make for Resmyrd. If Xana is not to be found, I seek new orders or further clarification."

"Like the mindless drone you are..." the demon smirked. "Yes, I am the one you were asked to seek. Rather... impeccable timing on your end, but then again..." she sighed, placing a hand on her chin as if expressing mock boredom, "you angels always strive for that glorifying moment of entrance, don't you?"

The insult rolled off Liri's back like so much water, and she simply shrugged again. If that was what the demon wished to think, she was free to think it. They didn't have to like each other to work together, and she had rather known that when she volunteered to be reborn this way. The other comment was puzzling-- was she referring to just now? It was true that Liriael had acted with quite a bit of haste to get here, but that was due to the burning settlement and the presence of some kind of spirit.

"If so, my striving has been rather for naught," she replied, glancing over at the vessel. Really, had the spirit not yet decided to leave it? "I entered this body in a tavernroom and fell over promptly afterwards. As entrances go, it was quite inglorious. Will you not cease?" The last was directed at the spirit, and carried the vaguest hint of irritation, so mild it hardly deserved the name. She felt sorry for the host, given the stubbornness of the being occupying it.

Of course the angel had to make sure that she--the voice was much more feminine than masculine--was wound up so tight that she appeared to have absoultely no emotion whatsoever. Perfect--it was almost as if Treylion had specifically requested this particular angel to be paired with her just to see how worked up she could be! And by the hells was she dense! Could this angel really not crack even the faintest of a smile? A chuckle? Anything?

The demon sighed, shaking her head and turning once more to the possessed woman. "Come... the angel has reservations about destroying you completely--you should be rather fortunate that I am also unable to do that, otherwise I would have no need for her in the first place..." Xana gave a violent shove to the woman that was until this moment coiled in her grasp, throwing her to the ground. "We're heading back to Resmyrd... again... and you..." she pointed to the angel as she placed her other hand on the possessed woman's wrists and pulled them behind her back. "You will be the one responsible for getting a damn exorcist so her precious mortal shell won't be utterly destroyed."

Yes, your infernal majesty, the Nightingale sniped, clearly irritated, but Liri ignored the vessel just as much as she ignored Xana's attempts to provoke her, which was to say rather well. Quirking a brow slightly, she shrugged and nodded. "If you feel such a task beyond your capabilities or beneath your notice, I will be more than happy to assist." It was kind of hard to tell which one she figured might be more likely, leaving the tone of the comment as a whole rather vague.

At any rate, she wasn't going to stand around talking about it any more, and Resmyrd was not going to arrive to meet them, so the angel set her feet back on the road. Maybe, if they got lucky, they would meet an exorcist on the way, though frankly, she wasn't counting on it.

The setting changes from Alveron to Resmyrd

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Character Portrait: Xana Druj Character Portrait: Liriael Amaryllis
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The trek back to Resmyrd was tedious as best for the demon. Having to keep track of the possessed spirit and having to deal with the angel's ennui regarding this entire situation was rather irritating, especially with the grumbling of the renegade. Of course, the angel was not doing anything to make the situation any easier for the either of them, so Xana was forced to resort to a bit of brute force--mostly restraining the vessel's hands behind her back so she could not try to do anything. When she felt almost ready to lash out again, the demon responded with nothing more than a quick flash of heat to the wrists.

Pity I can't kill her outright... damn spirit inside can't just leave, and we have no damn exorcist... The demon's eyes flickered white-hot from anger over the entire situation. This comedy of errors was not amusing in the least, and returning to Resmyrd was nothing that she wished to do, especially after having performed for Treylion not so long ago. Why was it that everything seemed to be conspiring against her? Even the potential promise of a promotion seemed to be nothing more than a sick joke that the higher-ups wanted to pull on her for whatever reason.

Resmyrd appeared on the horizon after a lengthy walk. It had been rather silent except for the gnashing of teeth from the spirit-possessed vessel. With a shove, Xana pushed the demon to the dusty ground and glared at the angel before spitting a small wave of embers onto the dirt next to the hands of the vessel.

"Watch it. Make sure it doesn't do anything stupid." The demon was less than amicable with her order as she slithered off on her own toward the massive theistic stronghold. She figured that at the very least she would be able to charm some poor exorcist into assisting them anyway--that was no skin off her back nor any big deal for her to accomplish, but it was a breach of her pride more than anything else. Why was she having to go back and request assistance from someone that was beneath her anyway? It must have had something to do with the millenia before, some damnable pact that prevented demons from being able to slaughter the spirits themselves; it would have made everything too damn easy, though...

As Xana reformed into her human guise, she noticed a few mortals gathered around the front entrance. She pushed past them all, not caring what they said about her intrusion or her potential transformation if they had indeed watched the metamorphosis. Perhaps their guards had caught sight of the angel guarding the vessel--if that was the case, though, they surely would have already sent out a few of their men in order to handle the situation and not force the demon to wander back into the ranks of these easily-manipulated mortals.

"You fleshbags are as inattentive as you are terrified of us," Xana growled to no one in particular. as a group of exorcists came into view. "Now I need one of you to come out with me so you can do your damn job--I can't go and kill this damn woman you claim to care so much about, can I? I'm sure you'd also get along so well with the angel that shoved a pole so deep up her ass you can see that her damn halo's attached to it."

"...angels have halos?" one confused exorcist commented after looking around to the others. "Ma'am, I think you're confused--"

Xana had enough of this imbecile's blathering and wrapped a hand around his throat. "Listen, you insignificant stain," she growled as the others watched wide-eyed at her sudden lashing-out. "Did I ask you to help me with my exorcism!? Take the meat out from between your ears and listen! There is a vessel that needs to be purged--go out and do your damn job before you all fall to the ground with flesh as gray and lifeless as a corpse!" With that, the exorcists around her paled at the threat before backing away slowly.

"No volunteers? What a shame..." Xana pushed past the crowd and wandered further in, not satisfied with the competence of any of these imbeciles. She wandered the streets, coming to a small inn. Rolling her eyes at the repetitive nature of it all, she walked inside and put on a fake smile as best as she could. The barkeep was polishing off the countertop as she walked in--it looked rather dim.

"Ma'am, we're closed unless yer lookin fer a room," he kept his voice low as to make sure not to disturb anyone from their slumber.

"Oh, I'm not looking for a room--I'm in need of an exorcist..." the red-haired woman purred, looking toward the barkeep and feeling the swell of energy moving from her body toward the older man. "It's sort of urgent--a young woman has been possessed and we require their skill in order to rid her of this horrible fate!" Perhaps she had been a bit too dramatic, but if it got her a damn exorcist, then it got her an exorcist.

"...ma'am, as much as I don't agree with disturbing sleeping guests, I know that there's an exorcist sleeping here. Don't know why you didn't go to the main cathedral first--it's right in the center of town, but I guess if you're here, then I'll see what I can do for you... Please, make yourself comfortable while I go rouse him..." With that, the man wandered off, slightly confused and somewhat flustered about this new situation. Xana celebrated by sitting in a comfortable chair next to a still-warm fireplace and savoring the barkeep's emotions. This had been quite the interesting day--she hoped that they would not all be like this in the near future.

The setting changes from Resmyrd to Purgatory

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Character Portrait: Xana Druj Character Portrait: Takeuchi Hiroto
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The red-headed woman was sitting in a large armchair when the innkeeper returned from his quick journey to the next room. Perhaps she had thought about nodding off for a quick nap--it had been, after all, a rather trying day thus far: first Treylion's offer, then encountering a possessed human who would have been better off dead, then finally meeting the puppet of an angel that she would be working with after all of this time. Of course, nothing could be made easy for the demon; why else would she have had to return to Resmyrd to find a damn fleshbag to exorcise the spirit from this woman? Whoever had decided to invoke the seals that prevented demons from outright destroying spirits had been a damn fool all those millenia ago--it would have made this particular situation so much easier in the long run. On top of that, the angels would not have to intervene at all! Leave everything to the demons and things would get done... Now, however...

"Ma'am, the exorcis'll be here in a few minutes," the barkeep broke the silence. "Just woke 'im from his sleep. Didn't seem too upset by it, though..."

The woman nodded and smiled nervously. "Thank you--time is of the essence..." Of course, she was none too concerned about how the angel was having to deal with the spirit or if the spirit ultimately consumed and killed the vessel. The demon had already inflicted some nasty-looking burns on the flesh of the woman; who truly cared if another human's life was so quickly cut short? Between the three races, humans were the creatures that one could never tell if they had always been this vulnerable and powerless since the beginning of time or if they were purposely keeping themselves ignorant.

"...Yeah... I'm sorry to hear about her, by the way..." the barkeep continued. Funny enough, pity and sympathy were emotions that Xana rarely fed from, but they tasted rather dry and bitter to her. Those were things that she did not often solicit from her victims, but he appeared to be bringing them up to the fore. Perhaps it was time for a quick meal before her exorcist appeared--she was feeling rather peckish after the stick-up-its-ass angel utterly failed to show any sort of emotion at all.

"Do you often have people... come in asking for exorcists?" the woman continued, trying to play off the man's pity.

The barkeep shook his head quickly. "No, ma'am--most people jus' go to the cathedral and file the paperwork... damn waste of time in situations like this, though..."

And there it was--a spark inside of him, something a bit more than sympathy. There was a bit of passionate hatred in him after all, she realized. Before she could continue her emotional assault, however, she heard heavy footsteps coming from the darkened hallway. Was that her exorcist-to-be finally coming to get the damn job done? With whatever pathetic excuse for an exorcist she could grab, Xana would finally be able to continue her task and move on from there, even if she had to drag the stick-up-her-ass angel by the hair through the mud to do so.

The setting changes from Purgatory to Resmyrd

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Character Portrait: Xana Druj Character Portrait: Takeuchi Hiroto
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#, as written by Ezarael
Takeuchi Hiroto & Xana Druj


A soft thump accompanied each labored step Takeuchi took down the stairs, an ever-looming reminder of his deformities, while his good hand clutched desperately at the railing, using whatever strength his arm could to soften the impact of his every step, even though he could awaken fairly quickly after any period of sleep his body always seemed a little slower getting started, and it was being especially stubborn at the moment. The stairway was darker than either the hallway or the common room downstairs, not having any form of illumination dotting the walls for several feet before it started or ended, and it took him much longer than usual to venture downstairs, in the back of his mind he hoped that this would not prove detrimental to the crisis facing the poor, possessed girl at this moment. When he finally reached the bottom of the staircase, it took the young Meister several seconds to regain his composure, his long trek through the city earlier in the day having taken a great toll upon his not-so athletic body, but it merely took a few seconds to do so, and Takeuchi looked around the dim common room to find this woman of which the kindly Inn-Keeper had spoken.

Takeuchi had never met a demon before, but he had been told about their rather palpable presence, and the one emitted from the red-haired woman standing nearby sent cold shivers down his spine, it was like nothing he had ever encountered before in his life, and for a few moments he stood stupefied, trying to ease his disturbed mind. If it had not been for the sudden weight her presence forced upon his being, he might have taken notice of her appearance immediately, but now that he had settled himself, he was also astounded at her beauty, and disgusted that such a vile presence could take upon an attractive form.

The woman spied the exorcist at the bottom of the stairs, somewhat taken aback at her appearance. It was almost if he had never borne witness to a woman before, let alone a demon in human skin. She coyly looked away from the barkeep, sensing in the exorcist a bizarre mixture of attraction and disgust, sending a slurry of emotion through her system. While it was not the most filling of meals, it was something, and that was the most important thing--she had not fed much from these mortals; however, even if she had, she still would feel the need to consume their emotions. Putting on a smile, she looked pitifully at the exorcist.

"Oh my... I'm terribly sorry to disturb your rest, but it's... it's an emergency..." the woman explained, her words dripping with proverbial venom in an attempt to enrapture the young man and wrap him around her finger.

The realization of his continued silence finally dawned upon the young man, and a wave of embarrassment quickly washed over his body upon her words, he had forgotten the necessity of their current situation and allowed his immediate reaction to dictate his actions. He limped quickly to within several paces of the woman, feeling now much more at ease with her presence that previously, and bowed from the waist quickly, nearly forming a perfect "L" with his body. "A-A-Apologies ma'am. My name is T-T-Takeuchi Hiroto, and it's no t-t-trouble at all." His words came out in a hurry, or as hurried as they could be with his stutter, strengthened in part due to the slight unease still in the pit of his stomach, the idea of his first unsupervised exorcism was weighing heavily upon his shoulders at the moment. "P-p-please, l-l-lead the way."

"Oh... yes..." The woman batted her eyes as she turned back toward the barkeep and shot him a quick wink before opening the door for the exorcist. "She's outside of the city, unfortunately... A bit of a walk..."

Without another thought, for the moment at least, Takeuchi hurried outside the doorway, quickly lowering his eyes to avoid the rapid flickering of any flames lighting the street outside. "T-t-that's fine, ma'am. I'm s-sure the w-w-walk would be worse for h-her than either of us." He stopped momentarily to await the womanly form who had opened the door for him, he had heard that demons were hideous creatures, for the most part, with a form whose visage equaled the aura an exorcist could feel from their presence, this gave him pause for a moment, imagining what hideous body was hiding within the woman standing nearby. "I'm s-s-sorry ma'am. I d-d-don't believe I have asked your name?" It would be required eventually, and he would feel much less awkward being able to address her by name than "pretty, demon lady."

The woman closed the door to the inn and immediately turned toward the exorcist, a coy smile still across her face. "Lyliana... Lili will do, though..." she bent forward, gently taking one of the exorcist's hands and gently kissing the back of it, allowing the residual heat to linger slightly from her touch. If this exorcist was as easily manipulated as she believed him to be, then she could probably use him as a constant source of nourishment in a pinch... Of course, the very first thing she did with any new victim, especially one that would be stuck with her for a long-term engagement, was to see how far he could bend before breaking...

Takeuchi was taken aback by the demon's . . . Lili's, he doubt it would be hard to remember the name as it conjured images of flowers within his mind, kissing of his hand, and the warmth he felt dissipated through it slowly, he quickly turned his head as he felt a similar warmth spread throughout his cheeks as they began to blush slightly. He quickly began to march off, as quickly as he could manage, before realizing that he had no clue which direction they were to be heading, or where he was at in the city even. "Yes, L-L-Lili, uhm . . . which way to the woman in need?"

"Through the main gate and then straight to the east... maybe an hour's walk or so from here..." 'Lili' explained, the results of her little experiment flitting through her mind. Inwardly, she smirked--this exorcist would fall to her like putty. All she needed to do was manipulate him to do whatever she felt; it would at least be better than having to try and work with that damn angel.

A quizzical expression passed upon Takeuchi's downward-angled face, the directions she gave were meaningless to him at the moment, the sting of his incompetence throbbing in the back of his mind. "Uhm y-y-yes. C-c-could you lead the w-w-way please? I'm s-s-somewhat lost at the moment." His good hand reached up to scratch at the back of his head slightly, highlighting how embarrassed he felt for his ignorance.

He was flustered, embarrassed, dependent. All according to plan, she chuckled inwardly. On the outside, though, she frowned slightly, trying to feign a bit of pity as best as she could. "Oh, sure..." With that, she took the lead and beckoned for the exorcist to follow. "It's only a few minutes from here..." she looked back to the man once more.” Might I ask as to why you were in that inn and not at the main cathedral?"

He quickly took off after her, wincing slightly with each step as her pace was somewhat more brisk than to what he was wont, waiting until he had drawn up to her side to answer her previous inquiry. "I w-w-was at the i-i-inn due to travelling c-c-circumstances, Lili. I was o-o-out of town on an assignment when the O-O-Order called back about another assignment. Unfortunately it was l-l-late and I needed to rest for the evening." The Meister was unsure with how much he could trust the demon at the moment, deigning to leave out any particulars as to his mission or why exactly he had found his way to that particular inn. From what he heard you could only trust their kind with as little information as possible. "I c-c-could ask the same of you, Lili, the main cathedral would be a m-m-much more suitable place to f-f-find an exorcist."

"Well, it's an emergency... Besides, there was no time--I need an exorcist immediately, and they would make me go through some sort of selection process or something..." The woman brushed aside some hair as she turned back toward the exorcist. "Well, the main gate is just up ahead... and then we head straight east. Shall we?" She smiled, offering a hand for him once more.

"B-B-By all means, let us continue." The gesture was surprising, but not altogether unappreciated by the young Meister, the night had grown somewhat chiller since he was previously walking through the city, and the warmth of her hand did much to stave of the cold numbing his fingers. For being a demon and having such a horrid presence, Lili seemed quite amiable, Takeuchi was unsure what this meant exactly, but he was willing to take her kindness as genuine for the time being.

As soon as the two of them were clear of the city gate and clear of any other potential witnesses, the woman turned toward the exorcist, a smirk across her face more than a smile. "Alright, let's cut the damn cutesy crap, shall we? I know you know I'm a demon..." She took a few steps away from Hiroto and exploded in a flash of hellfire. In the woman's place was a large serpentine demon with fiery red skin and a long chitinous tail that trailed far behind her. "...so let's just get it out of the way then, shall we? You think I'm an abomination, a spawn of pure evil, yadda yadda yadda..." she flipped her hand lazily as if she had made this speech in the past. "If it weren't for those damn seals, know that you wouldn't even be out here with us now..."

The demon's short tirade had fallen upon deaf ears, as the sudden flash of hellfire had affected Takeuchi's illness; he stood there with glossy-eyes staring into nothingness for a few short moments before collapsing backwards. His body began to convulse slightly, but luckily this was only a short-spell which faded within several moments. It took some time before he could regain his senses enough to realize that he was now lying flat on his back in the mud, and the Meister stood himself up as quickly as he could, bowing deeply. "P-p-please l-l-let me know when y-y-you're going to do that m-m-ma'am. W-we b-b-both know why I am h-h-here. C-C-Can we just c-continue our business n-n-now?" He hoped that if she turned back it would not affect him as it just had now, and he made sure to keep his head averted from her, though that was also due in part to his distaste for her current appearance. After leaving the question hanging between them, Takeuchi attempted to wipe off as much of the mud covering his kimono as possible and checking to assure the safety of the talismans he had brought.

"Oh great... an exorcist who can't even keep himself together..." the demon rolled her eyes as she slithered closer toward the exorcist. "What, you like the flesh bag of a body I have but not this form?" she smirked, rubbing her fingers across the back of the young man's neck and letting the heat pulse across his flesh. "I should tell you, I'm much more potent in this body than I am the other..." Her words were dripping once more, hoping to entice some sort of feeling other than perpetual embarrassment.

Takeuchi flinched at the touch of his demon acquaintance, his body cringing from her presence as she brought herself closer, the way he felt her near him was like a foul taste coating the back of his mouth, or a putrid stench filling his nostrils, it was suffocating to say the least. "I-I-If you w-would like another exorcist, t-t-then I c-c-can be on my way. Or w-w-would you prefer to d-deal with the w-woman yourself?" Her jibes had aggravated his usually calm temperament greatly, lacing his words with an anger to which he was unaccustomed.

"Please... You and I both know that I can't do that, otherwise I'd have done so by now..." She could feel the anger behind his words--it was a nice change to the other embarrassment she had been leeching for some time now. "You've come this far already, why not continue forward? Then you can head back to your precious inn knowing that you've saved the life of another one of your kin... Isn't that nice that you have compassion and sympathy for your fellow man?"

With a frustrated sigh, Takeuchi nodded in acquiescence. She was right, he was duty-bound to help others in their time of need, and if he was not capable of making sacrifices for the sake of humanity then he would need to consider a change of career. "J-J-Just lead the w-way."

"With pleasure, Takeuchi..." she grinned, displaying a row of sharpened teeth. "Follow me, then..." With that, she continued to slither toward the east.

Takeuchi limped along quickly, wincing as he tried to keep up with her pace, hopefully this ordeal would not take much longer and he could rid himself of her insufferable presence.

The setting changes from Resmyrd to Arkanvale

Setting

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Character Portrait: Xana Druj Character Portrait: Ilyana Ree Character Portrait: Takeuchi Hiroto Character Portrait: Liriael Amaryllis Character Portrait: Zilocke Thane
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#, as written by Ion


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Liri didn’t pretend to be offended when the demon left her behind to go find an exorcist. Why should she? It was probably what the woman wanted—to watch the staid angel get all righteously furious or who knew what else. She claimed no knowledge of demonkind, but it was apparent to her that this Xana was not overly fond of her, and would probably gain something from her displeasure, if only satisfaction. Liriael, however, simply felt no particular amount of displeasure, and saw no need to fake it. It was true that their inability to extract the spirit from this human woman was somewhat frustrating, and Xana’s treatment of the innocent vessel less than satisfactory, but that was nothing they could do anything about until they found an exorcist, and somebody needed to watch the possessed woman in the meantime.

So Liri planted herself on a clean patch of grass, the battered human lying prone beside her, and sang the Dirge of Binding beneath her breath—the woman was so weak that it scarcely took any effort to contain her, so the crosslegged angel placed a soft hand on her brow and smiled, just barely. The spirit was obviously unhappy with this, but it wasn’t it she sought to soothe, and even when it tried to fight the effects of her spellsong, it struggled in vain, the smooth flow of notes ensnaring the limbs of its host-body and rendering it worse than useless in the end. At least it couldn’t do any more damage to the human it enslaved, this way.

It was quite some time before she sensed the demon’s presence returning, and this time, Xana was accompanied by what seemed to be a spiritually-aware human. Not a full Exorcist, perhaps, but at least a Meister. She was almost certain that was what they were called, though the knowledge did not come from herself. It must be the Nightingale, though why her own host would know anything of such matters, she could not say.

At their approach, she stood, brushing stray grass from her fitted tan trousers and folding her hands behind her back. At this point, the spirit’s struggles had rendered it even weaker, and her soft singing dropped back to a hum, no more than that being necessary to keep it in line. She may have even risked speaking, but she did not want to take the chance. Besides, so bound, the woman would be easier to exorcise. She did, however, dip her head in greeting to the dark-haired young man behind Xana.



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Really, Zilocke thought to himself, it was all somebody else’s fault.

He’d been perfectly content to mind his own business while he passed through this town (or was it a city? He didn’t care enough to check), but apparently, not everyone was content to let him. He’d stopped in a tavern and purchased himself an ale—never mind that it was early in the morning, he’d been walking all night—and then left again, taking a turn through a rather rundown area of slums, when four gentlemen in raggedy clothes had stepped out in front of and behind him, wielding an assortment of nicked blades and rusted polearms. Amateurs, really.

He’d stopped and bid them all good morning, but of course, they were more interested in his belongings than his words. He could understand that, maybe: material items were quite interesting, and words so cheap. But he doubted very much they wanted the banded, engraved silver at his arms for the sake of its unique alchemical properties. Or maybe the reason they hadn’t talked to him was because they weren’t very good with words. They certainly hadn’t used many before the first one tried to jump him.

It was with a mildly-perturbed expression on his face that the Mad Alchemist stepped aside, raising an eyebrow at the loud whistle of the battered scimitar through the air. “My good sir,” he enunciated, as though genuinely shocked, “you really should be more careful. A blow like that could take a man’s arm off!” He shook his head and brought one hand up to rub absently at the stubble on his cheek. He knew he’d forgotten to do something before he left—apparently, shaving was it. He mused on the merits of using his silver wristband to fashion himself a straight-razor, ducking under the next swing with a casual ease that looked entirely accidental.

It was, without a doubt, infuriating, and all four of them were after him then, and dodging became entirely too much work for his lazy sensibilities. So he’d done what any reasonable man of moderate alchemical talent would have done in the same situation: dropped into a crouch, sketched a small circle in the dirt, and caused himself a nice, ground-rocking explosion. It was more noise and dirt than actual destruction, of course: he tended to vandalize only his own property, not the already-ramshackle dwellings of strangers.

Either way, the impressive plume of dust was more than he needed to make his escape, and he did, cackling to himself like a deranged person as he emerged from the cloud of smoke—laughter which ceased when two new pieces of information came to him at once: the crying of a child, and the sense that there was metaphysical matter nearby. Fortunately for his curiosity, they were in the same direction, and that was the one he picked, strolling along the street as though he belonged there—as though he owned it, even.

He didn’t like making children cry, and he had a feeling that this one’s distress was rather his fault. Not every day something exploded this close to you, and though the poor thing had been in no real danger, he supposed she had no way to know that. As he approached, however, he found that the metaphysical matter drew closer as well. Interesting: either the child was possessed by a spirit or
 no, this was definitely something different. Angel, if he had his guess. Not that he cared—he was actually more concerned with the fact that she was adorable. Kids were great, honestly. He liked them a hell of a lot better than grown-ups, and if this one just so happened to be celestial also, well
 no skin off his teeth.

Crouching in front of the girl with the faint chiming of bells, he folded one hand into a fist, then extended his index finger from it and poked her in the forehead, just gently. “Hey, kiddo. Pst.” Removing his hand, he reached into one of the many pouches at his belt and pinched a tiny bit of a bright blue powder. In the dirt between them, he sketched a tiny transmutation circle, then dropped the powder into it with a flourish. Rubbing his hands together dramatically, he clapped them, pressing both to the circle. Before their eyes, a delicate blue flower erupted from the ground, growing and unfolding its petals. The circle and the powder both disappeared, and Zilocke plucked the flower from its spot and held it out to the child. “See? Why cry when the world is so beautiful?” He grinned, and it might have even been genuine.

Really, it was just equivalent exchange. He'd made her cry, it was only fair that he do his best to make her smile, too. Even if it really was all somebody else's fault.

The setting changes from Arkanvale to Purgatory

Setting

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Character Portrait: Xana Druj Character Portrait: Takeuchi Hiroto Character Portrait: Liriael Amaryllis Character Portrait: Leiriya
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#, as written by Siryn
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She stepped out of the portal, her booted feet touching upon purgatory for the first time in a millennium. Leiriya emerged from the doorway created by her superior in a matter of seconds. She'd been chosen to fill in a spot, but not much else was told to her when she'd heard the call from Treylion. As she left the doorway, it shuddered once and then closed abruptly.

"Leiriya," Treylion's voice called to her and she turned her face to look in his general direction. Her eyes were covered with leather cloth, far too sensitive to be looking directly at the sunlight for she was a being of the darkness, always having had her eyes covered.

"My lord, what need have you of me?"

"There is an angel and an exorcist who need your... abilities. You should know that the gates are being broken steadily and that this world is threatened to be overrun by our lost spirits and wraiths. If you can, return them to inferno. If not... allow the angel to kill them. If at all possible, avoid killing the humans, allow the exorcist to perform their purging to draw out the spirit."

Leiriya turned and began making her way to the door without saying anything. Even though she couldn't see with her eyes, she could still see through her sense. Her footfalls were steady, a nice even pace that didn't mark her being in a hurry, or being all that slow either.

"One more thing," Treylion called out and she halted in her steps, coming to a full stop instantly, "Tell Xana that I thought I had ordered all demons to not shed their human appearances unless absolutely necessary. She's testing her boundaries with me when she should not. Any further disobedience will be dealt in full by me."

A faint twitch in Leiriya's lips were the only indication that she perhaps found the notion amusing. Maybe she thought that Xana's getting on Treylion's bad side would be entertaining. Either way, she did not say anything and continued on her way outside of the exorcists home.

The demon left Resmyrd and headed out of the city. It didn't take her long to get passed the gates nor onto the road. She didn't know whom exactly she was to meet up with, but figured it would all fall into place one way or another. Leiriya wasn't one to ask questions about things when she knew she'd figure it out as time went. Moving passed a particular hill, she felt the presence of another demon not to far off.

Turning her head, she looked directly up it's slope to the top. Only then did her lips curl into a smile. It could have been described as chilling to look at, for it was far from amusement or even happiness. She didn't say anything, only letting the other demon know of her presence there. Leiriya was entirely sure that the one up there was Xana and that the demoness got the message very clearly as she was sending it off at a high level.

Turning away, she started down the dirt road without another look over her shoulder. She had someone to meet, if she wasn't mistaken. Perhaps luck would be on her side and she run into her party sooner rather than much later. Not that time mattered all that much to the demon. She was a being of eternity, after all.

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Character Portrait: Xana Druj Character Portrait: Takeuchi Hiroto Character Portrait: Liriael Amaryllis Character Portrait: Leiriya
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Over the crest of one final hill, Xana and her newest companion found the angel sitting with the vessel. Both of them seemed relatively calm, sitting down against the arid landscape and doing absolutely nothing. It seemed rather eerie to the demon--the world of the humans was rather diverse in its environments, much like Inferno, but even this was rather bizarre to see two bodies doing nothing in this wasteland, especially human shells like these two. The quicker they went through with this exorcism and dealt with this woman, the quicker they would be on their way to... where, exactly? There were no further orders than "Repair any gates you come across and exorcise any humans that might be possessed", but from here, where do they begin to look?

The angel nodded toward the exorcist, almost ignoring the demonic presence that led him to their location. This was the thanks she received for going back to that damn city to find this defective exorcist? She had absolutely no tact, this one... Perhaps she would be able to inquire as to why these imbecilic companions of hers could not appreciate the things she did for them all, but who would listen to her, exactly? She figured that the other demons called up were having some troubles of their own--Janus trying not to murder the angel and exorcist that had the misfortune to partner up with him, and Lucian trying not to let his overwhelming apathy and aloofness cause the others to do absolutely nothing--but nothing on this scale with a broken human and an angel with the biggest "holier-than-thou" complex she had ever had the misfortune of meeting...

Suddenly, another presence, this one demonic in nature. Had Janus come to slaughter someone for her? Perhaps Lucian had finally thought his companions insufferable enough to abandon them and seek some demonic company? When the demoness turned toward the horizon, however, the figure she spied was neither the juggernaut nor the mystic but someone else entirely. She could make it out from here--a lithe female figure that bore two thick leather straps around her eyes as to block her sight completely. A chilling smile slowly crept across the entity's face, something that would seem otherwise unnatural. Xana did not recognize this demon--had Treylion summoned her to keep an eye on her with regards to that folly of a promotion?

Xana sighed and rolled her eyes as she began her transformation back into her human guise. Why was Treylion all of a sudden so concerned about how she conducted herself? She had been on the surface for how many years now, and not once had he cared how she acted until now!? It was not as if she had no idea as to what she was doing--she had not been spawned from the birthing pits a century ago, she wasn't that naive--and she had been one of the most effective agents on the surface before all of Inferno broke loose. The Apokalyon had never before given a rat's ass about this--Xana had done things like this all the time, let herself a little bit loose on the reins when she was assured no humans were about, which she had assured herself there were none after a quick sweep. Was this solely about the promotion she now figured was a lie, or was this more about trying to control a 'rabid dog', in her 'master's' eyes?

In either case, there was work to be done. The newly-humanoid Xana stared at the 'companions' she was being forced to work with--the angel that had as much emotional energy to feed from as a rock, the exorcist that had nearly died from shock when she had transformed when he had already known that she was a demon--and screamed inwardly at the fate that had been bestowed on her. This was going to be a long and trying process...

The setting changes from Purgatory to Arkanvale

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Character Portrait: Xana Druj Character Portrait: Takeuchi Hiroto Character Portrait: Liriael Amaryllis
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#, as written by Ezarael
Takeuchi, Liriael, & Xana



The travel-worn and emotionally weary Takeuchi was glad for the sudden surge of the divine presence emanating from the . . . well honestly he could not tell if it was a man or woman seated nearby, with a calm composure that seemed all too natural to them, even if it meant he was greeted by the malign spirit’s presence as well. That one did not seem nearly as foul as that of the demon behind him, and hopefully the angel had a much more agreeable personality, though from what he had been told many tended to look down upon humans for being less than pure. His limp was much more pronounced now than it had been earlier today, mainly thanks to the demon’s brisk-pace to which he was unaccustomed, but luckily practice kept his wince concealed for the most part, although one who paid enough mind to it would notice how tense his face was at the moment. In an effort to keep some grace in front of the angel Takeuchi bowed down just a bit deeper than he would have normally, mainly to try and mask his body language for a few moments longer, and offered his greeting face-down.

“Greetings, I am Takeuchi Hiroto and I have come to assist in the exorcism and capture of this renegade spirit.”

A cold chill crept down the Meister’s neck as a somewhat noticeable shiver crawled up his spine while his stomach turned over at least twice upon feeling the entrance of another demonic presence, and even though it was not nearby the combined auras emanating from the two demon’s and the spirit were sickening to say the least. His bow ended abruptly as he shot-up straight as an arrow and his head turned slightly in the direction from whence this new aura originated, hoping that this new one was not going to join them in this exorcism, Takuechi was not quite sure if he would be able to concentrate on the exorcism enough with the bile creeping up the back of his throat. Strangely enough though, it started fading away, even if relatively slowly, and Lili began transforming back into her human form, luckily enough this way around seemed much less sudden and jolting than previously.

Takeuchi turned his head back towards the angel with a rather relieved, although still slightly nervous, smile spread across his lips. “So, shall we begin then?”

It was impossible for Liri to make or return any verbal greeting whilst still murmuring her binding spell, so instead she half-smiled kindly. She had not missed the slightly-awkward way the human youth moved, but like everything else, it was not her business unless someone else chose to make it so. Turning from both of them, she crouched near the body of the woman, lifting her into her arms and standing. She wasn't sure what method this Takeuchi used to exorcise, but she supposed it would be helpful to have an unmoving target, whatever that method may be.

The woman in her arms was breathing raggedly still, though the spirit inside her body was suppressed for the most part by Liriael's spell, and as such, she struggled not at all. She didn't appear to be in very good shape, though most of that damage had occurred whether before Xana arrived or between then and when Liri had, it was hard to say. The sword at the angel's hip remained sheathed and relatively unobtrusive; it was clear that she was trusting Xana to be able to find a gate to shove the spirit back through. She would destroy the being if she must, but she would much prefer not to.

Anxiety coursed through the Meister's body as he observed the angel quietly lift up and grasp the poor, possessed girl after his, somewhat, unnecessary question, and it felt as if his heart was straddling the back of his throat now while its rhythmic beating began to pound relentlessly between his ears. A series of deep, fluid breaths helped to calm this sensation, but only slightly, as he knew this would be a trial in and of itself, more so than either of his companions knew at the moment. The Meister paused momentarily to look over the poor girl's form, observing how fragile and ragged the human host looked at this moment, forcing a wave of guilt over Takeuchi at how focused he had been upon his own comfort earlier, this girl was suffering greatly and he had not right to even think about complaining at a time such as this.

"This should not take very long."

Despite the declarative structure of his statement, a hint of hesitation and doubt tinted his words, but Takeuchi stiffened his gaze considerably, setting his feet into the ground and clasping his hands together firmly. With a bowed head the young Meister began manipulating his Qi to begin forming a field around the poor girl, releasing his hands and using short but soft movements to help guide the energy and form it evenly around her body. Things were going about as well as they could at the moment; all he could do was hope that his reputable bad luck chose not to interfere the evening.

Darkness writhed at the touch of the Meister's spell. It flooded the woman's form, and then spilled forth from her every pore. The black mist like structure of the possession seemed to cover the woman entirely until she couldn't be seen. It was several minutes into the exorcism before the mist began to take shape. It pulled itself up from the center of the woman's body that quaked in the angels hold. The black mass curled in on itself several times before finally holding an upright position. The darkness shifted several times, forming arms and a head without features. Lifting completely out of the woman's body, it stretched its arms out and swiped at the barrier that the Meister had formed around the woman. Lips curled along the faceless head, jagged teeth emerged from between the darkness like tar. A cold laugh filled the air between them all. It was no spirit that left the woman's body, but a wraith instead.

Takeuchi had his eyes clenched tightly during the few minutes before the mist's transformation, focusing entirely upon the barrier he was trying to craft around the girl's body, sweat had started beading across his brow and his breath had grown much more laborious as this was proving to be a much more difficult exorcism than he had imagined any renegade spirit's would be. When the dark form brushed up against his Qi field it felt like a dagger had been pricked into his chest quickly, breaking this Meister's concentration entirely, and with it the field he had strived so diligently to create to force the spirit . . . no this was much more than that, it had to be a wraith, from the girl's body. A sensation of panic quickly spread through Takeuchi's body as he readied himself for what was to come, this was definitely going to be much more difficult than he had hoped for, and it seemed like his usual luck had reared its ugly head once again.

A Wraith
 Liri would have gritted her teeth had she the ability over the chanting she was performing, and when it seemed that the exorcist was slipping, she formed the cadence back into song, the binding spell this time moving to reinforce the barrier that the young man was forming with his own energy, suffusing it with angelic strength in addition to the spiritual powers of a human. She held her grip steady against the shaking of the host, her breathing even and calm, and hoped dearly that this would work. A Wraith was not something that anyone should take lightly.

Xana had remained silent over the course of these events--she would be useless until they required a gate. The closest one at this point was a gate she had repaired only a few nights before, but even that was still a few hours from their current position. That in and of itself would have been of little concern, but the appearance of a wraith complicated matters somewhat. Of course, either way, she was useless to this group without the gates; physical violence, as much as demons reveled in the bloodshed, was something that was impossible against a wraith--violence usually lead to utter destruction, and demons were barred from outright destroying spirits and wraiths. At Treylion's 'request', not only was she stuffed back into her fleshy meatbag form, but this barred her from using any sort of pyrokinetic ability without exposing herself.

The demon huffed as a new influx of fear and panic flooded her system, something a bit refreshing as the wraith's rage and malice threatened to overwhelm her senses. While the angel and exorcist continued holding the freed wraith inside of their own little bubble, she thought about potential options for this situation. While extremely dangerous, if not unheard of, they could attempt to stuff the wraith back into the vessel and proceed to perform the ritual at a gate instead of out in the middle of nowhere...

"Would it behoove you to know that the nearest gate is to the north?" she asked, her voice dripping with sweet sarcasm, realizing that this was probably all she was going to be good for in the long run. "A few hours north, no less?" She walked around the barrier, letting chills run down her flesh and enjoying every second of it for once--perhaps the physical reminder of Inferno was something that induced nostalgia in her, or maybe the presence of the wraith was affecting her mental integrity. "If you think you can contain it in your little bubble for that long, then we should get moving. Now."

Despite Takeuchi's best efforts to contain the wraith in his Qi field, something it was not necessarily meant to do in the first place, and the added angelic energy donated by his new companion, he was unable to continue keeping the barrier secure around the powerful wraith, and when the hideous being of darkness did finally burst through the resulting shockwave was enough to send the fragile Meister toppling backwards, head-over-heels. The wraith turned, towards its former angelic captor, that cold, empty laugh echoing through the area around them and lunged for her, hoping to take out the one that it knew could keep it held captive. Meanwhile, the dazed Meister did his best to regain his composure, shaking his head lightly to try and fend off the dull pain throbbing in his temples, and also grasping furiously into his the kimono sleeve which contained the paper talismans he needed next, hoping beyond all hope that he would be able to concentrate for long enough to conjure his next ability.

Liri would have sighed had she the opportunity, but instead she rolled her eyes in Xana's general direction. She'd kept the thing bound this long, she could manage a few more hours, but the important thing was saving the host. Xana also could have mentioned this fact earlier, perhaps before letting the boy start his work. As matters were, however, the wraith burst out of his sphere of energy, lunging for her. Liri evaded the swipe, then spared a breath to speak. "I can contain it. Just get us to the gate before I'm forced to kill it." Summoning her breath to her, she exhaled in a vibrato note, causing the wraith to stiffen, its joints locking up in paralysis. She could only hold the joints, however, not the entire being. Jerking her head, she indicated that they needed to get moving. This thing was a lot stronger than most of the foes she'd bound in the past-- if she was allowed to concentrate, she could make it, but she didn't look forward to the next few hours.

A wave of relief washed over Takeuchi as his angelic companion managed to rebind the wraith, no thanks to his complete failure, and inwardly the frustrated Meister was scolding himself for being so careless, letting the entity break his concentration and endanger others in such a fashion, a salty taste teased his palette as Takeuchi bit his inner-lip so hard it started bleeding slightly. With another determined step, this time clasping talismans in one, outstretched arm, Takeuchi brought his good hand up to his lips, his thumb, index, and middle fingers held straight while his ring-finger and pinky were bent at the second knuckle, he began whispering a soft chant. The paper talismans began glowing brightly, as Takeuchi began clenching his eyelids together forcefully, and burst into thousands of shards of light, swirling into the air and gathering around the wraith, forming around the entity's limbs and clasping them to its body tightly. After several moments the brilliant, white light dimmed to a dull pink color, with barely visible gaps between the shards at their juncture points, by now they resembled cherry blossoms. The Meister let a sigh escape his lips as his chant was finished, but he needed every ounce of concentration to keep the spell intact. "I hope this helps, but we must hurry." Takeuchi turned his head at the demon slightly, hoping that a brief look would help reinforce the hushed urgency in his voice, that was all he could spare before he was forced to start chanting quietly once again.

The demon did feel the urgency in the voice of the exorcist. She sensed the impatience growing in the angel--a good sign that she was actually capable of showing some emotion after all. With a quick flash of a grin, the red-headed woman beckoned the others to follow her. She would finally have a moment to shine, although the prospect of watching the angel slaughter the wraith was rather tempting as well... In any case, she tossed a quick wink toward the quivering exorcist as she slowly began heading toward the north. Hopefully they would be able to feed her for a bit as they made their way toward the gate.

Setting

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Character Portrait: Xana Druj Character Portrait: Ilyana Ree Character Portrait: Takeuchi Hiroto Character Portrait: Liriael Amaryllis Character Portrait: Zilocke Thane Character Portrait: Leiriya
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#, as written by Ion


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Before long had passed, at least by his reckoning of time, there was another influx of metaphysical stuff in his range, this a great deal more than little Ilyana produced, and he looked up at about the same time as she climbed down, apparently quite familiar with this new angel. Couldn’t well be anything else, what with the pearly-white wings and all. Now, maybe an average man would have felt a little put-off by all the supernatural happenings in one day, gone back to his house, and lived his life out peacefully until he died, equally peacefully but boring.

Fortunately, Zilocke had never really been an average man.

“I would be the magic man, yes,” he said with a bright grin, nodding his head more-or-less politely. The older angel seemed a lot less interesting than the little one, though, so when she challenged him to a race, he accepted immediately, catching up with her in a few easy, loping strides. “Oh, I almost have you!” he called dramatically, but the stooped in his run to catch her under the arms and hoist her before him. “But what’s this? She flies! And so quickly!” He feigned a great deal of shock and struggle, and indeed, it was ‘Ilyana’ who crossed the threshold first, and the loser obligingly set her down in a seat by the tray of biscuits and took an armchair himself, this a little further away from the sugary treats.

He presumed that the other angel would follow them in, but honestly, he wasn’t sure he had any business being here. Certainly, this was far too much of a coincidence to mean that he wasn’t intended to be here, but that wasn’t the important thing. If someone wanted him to be a certain place or a certain way, he was usually disposed not to be, just out of a certain kind of contrariness in his disposition. Still, he supposed he’d hear them out, see what they had to say. The whole ‘save the world’ pitch probably wasn’t going to work as well as they were expecting, but then, this fellow was an angel. It probably always worked on other angels.

Before anyone could properly get to speaking, though, there was a knock on the door, and it corresponded to yet more supernatural substance, this different in character from that exuded by the angels. Honestly, it was a bit cloying on his senses, and the eye with the patch over it itched uncomfortably.

So naturally, he ignored it, and his reservations, and went to open the door. Pulling it open, he blinked a few times just to make sure his uncovered eye was working properly, then smiled, the expression somewhere between pleasant and lascivious, though it could not quite be called either. “Well,” he commented lightly, “this just keeps getting more and more interesting, doesn’t it?” Apparently, there was now a demon in the company.

Stepping aside to admit the woman, who seemed to be blindfolded, he returned to his chair and waited for someone to start talking. He could do all of it himself, of course, though he didn’t really see the need as of yet, much as he did like to talk. They probably had different things to say than he would, after all, and letting them do so was only polite.



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The terrain they covered on their way to the gate was thankfully mostly flat, and the most predominant emotion leaking from Liriael at the moment was relief. The less the steps of herself and the concentrating Meister were interrupted by stones or inclines, the better chance they had of maintaining their hold. Their progress was somewhat slowed for the boy, who seemed not to move with utmost haste, but upon closer inspection, she decided that he was not sluggish on purpose, but rather because he had to be.

So she walked at his pace, keeping sight on the demon leading them northward. This would simply have to be the way of it for now, and though she’d never been forced to keep a foe this powerful bound for this long, her voice did not let up, and her efforts were bolstered by those of the human who walked beside her. Sweat beaded on Liri’s brow, and fatigue slowly, insidiously, began to creep up on her, but she pushed it aside. She had fought battles longer and harder than this one before, and though she knew she could end it by simply slaying the Wraith, she had no desire to remove it from existence when it could be returned with a little more effort to the plane on which it belonged.

Eventually, Xana stopped, and this was something Liri was unspeakably grateful for. She stopped as well, standing back far enough that the demon would have plenty of room to work. She did not know what was entailed in opening a gate, as she had never seen it done before, but she didn’t want herself or Takeuchi getting in the way, inadvertently or otherwise.

The setting changes from Arkanvale to Purgatory

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Character Portrait: Xana Druj Character Portrait: Takeuchi Hiroto Character Portrait: Liriael Amaryllis
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#, as written by Ezarael
Takeuchi Hiroto & Liriael Amaryllis




It seemed like an eternity had passed before they came within reach of the promised gateway, and by the time both Takeuchi and his angelic companion had caught up with the demon Lili with their charge he was sweating profusely, his breath coming in long, ragged draws that slowly lengthened with each gasp for air. It had taken every ounce of concentration for him to make it this far, and they end of their journey was just around the corner as some would put it, but it still looked like they were miles away. His limbs felt as if they were weighed down by lead chains, forcing his once shuffling-step into an awkward drag that was continuously slowed them down, something he might worry about if he wasn't pouring every ounce of concentration into confining the powerful wraith in the combined auric field. A sigh of relief might have escaped his lips if the wraith hadn't targeted him, suddenly bursting forth with an unknown swell of power, taking advantage of his weakened state.

The malevolent spirit had been biding its time patiently, waiting and watching as its captors dragged it to some unknown destination, presumably the location of a gate the demon would then open to hurl it through. The Meister was weak though, and every step had been taking its toll on his crippled body, so it decided to save its energy for the right moment would it could burst forth and overwhelm the pitiful creatures trying to send it somewhere it didn't want to go in the first placed. They would pay, albiet the angel and demon had to be finished quickly, the human could die a slow, agonizing death, something that seemed only fitting giving the already inevitable, drawn-out deaths destined for them. After bursting forth from its bonds the dark entity swiped a vicious claw at the Meister, hurling him backwards into a nearby tree, and then it launch at the angel in a flash, wanting to eliminate any threat it had of being captured again. Once it dealt with the angel . . . the demon would be of no consequence.

That was it. Liri's patience was wearing thin, and when the Wraith at last burst from the body it was contained in, overwhelming the human's part of their defenses, Liriael set the body on the ground and drew the sword at her hip. The first thrust it made in her direction was parried by the silvery steel of the divine blade, and Liri whirled the instrument of death in a broad circle, slicing up and into the Wraith's arm at the elbow. The heavensmade sword did what ordinary steel could not, and wounded the creature, causing it to stagger backwards a few steps. That was all Liriael really required, and she stepped forward again, trying to get in underneath its guard and put it down.

Unfortunately, the creature moved to the side, its reach seeming to stretch supernaturally long, and a talonlike claw dug visciously into Liri's shoulder, making her turn to stumble back, shifting her grip to her other hand. Cackling madly, the Wraith went in to hit her exposed side, but she was quite ready for that, and pivoted, slashing at its abdomen to distract it, then abruptly redirecting, slamming her uninjured shoulder into its midsection and successfully knocking it prone. Her sword, she used to stake it to the ground by stabbing it between collarbone and pectoral muscle on the right side, or what would have been the collarbones and pectorals had it been human. The anatomy was close enough for the analogy to work, anyway, and though it thrashed around, it couldn't get free.

Glancing over at Xana, Liri narrowed her eyes just slightly. "Now... would perhaps be a good time to open that gate." She just hoped the delay had not killed their exorcist, but she couldn't exactly check when her blade was all that was keeping the thing in place.