((Sorry for the delay.))


The girl was a good deal smaller than him, her demeanor was further diminished her stature. He stepped a good ways back, let his eyes take hers in. Conversationally, this time. He tilted his head a bit.

He spoke lightly, “Oh… I’m sorry. I figured that you had already been kissed. Not to sound like a smothering Aunt but I’d expect that boys would be lining up at the door. I know that stuff like that is special for you humans. Are you… are virgin then as well?”

He licked him lips. If that was the case, he would have to feed more often than he thought. But the thrill of the chase still lingered in his nerves, he wasn’t upset.

“Promise. Don’t want to steal any other firsts from you. That is… until you want it.”

He sent her back a smile. It lingered as the illustrated the house rules. This was truly a sweet deal. He had nearly free reign under the presiding of a timid and lovely overseer.

“I’ll be asleep, so I should probably be out of sight. And 9? Hmm, looks like I‘ll have to get good at sneaking in.”

Torus padded in quietly as was instructed. Damn. Nice place. When dad was out of town, it was safe to say that he would be throwing some ragers. That was, with Niah blessing. He could smell the traces of her blood; they led him to the stairs. Before continuing, he put a hand upon the bannister, turned his head back to face her.

“Not trying to sound un-greatful, but you’re a bit odd, ya know? In the good way, the kind way. Not many girls would let a random guy into their house like that for free. I think we’ll get along fine my dear.”

--

Itzal boarded the train a bit on edge. Thinking back, the stilts and skimpy slip hadn’t been the best idea for her this commute. And as the old saying went, the freaks came out at night. She thanked whatever higher power that her guitar guarded her rear from wandering hands.


“Forget about it silly. We’re not going anyways. Just deal with the grief once you’ve slept off the party,” Itzal snorted.

She settled into a seat, patting the one beside her for Azazel. She watched the concrete walls sprint by with glassy eyes. Her peace was soon and she craved it.

“Well, I’m kind of a wanderer in need myself, so I’m not one to turn down those looking for a room. And… I believe in most everything. When my mother found the time, she was a great storyteller. But not for amusement, for warning. I’ve held a great respect and fear for things that aren’t human or animal since I was small. I can’t explain it, but I know that they’re around always. I’m probably the crazy one, huh?”

She laughed and ran a hand through her hair. It pooled around her and onto her lap in a golden puddle. Itzal hadn’t cut it in years and liked it that way. The immense strands were a part of her somehow, just as her mother’s lore that refused to leave her

“Oh… I’m sorry. I figured that you had already been kissed. Not to sound like a smothering Aunt but I’d expect that boys would be lining up at the door. I know that stuff like that is special for you humans. Are you… are virgin then as well?”
Niah’s eyes peered up at him; before another, blood-red blush appeared on her face. “Of-Of course!” She said, propping her hands up in front of her chest; it looked as if she was trying to show him that she was promising him that she was.

She listened to him speak for a while, though, she had thoughts of her own as well. Was it bad to be a virgin at this age? Also, what did he mean by ‘special for you humans’? By the time she snapped out of her thoughts, he was already heading up the steps. She gave a slight whimper before quickly following him up; luckily, her father had been sleeping the entire time and hasn’t awoken.

“Not trying to sound un-greatful, but you’re a bit odd, ya know? In the good way, the kind way. Not many girls would let a random guy into their house like that for free. I think we’ll get along fine my dear.”
Niah looked up at him, once again, another blush stained her cheeks. “Oh, well, it’s not like you’re a random guy… you go to my school and all the girls talks about you like your amazing; so I wouldn’t call you random.” She said, twirling her fingers together as she looked at him, her blue eyes not leaving him for another second.

Niah went ahead of him once he had finished talking, entering her own room before turning back at him again. “Also, would you mind explaining a few things for me?” She asked, walking backwards to her bed. “Like, what did you mean by ‘special for you humans? Aren’t you a human too?” She asked, looking at him a bit more carefully.

She crossed her legs, leaning against her arms on her bed; Niah couldn’t help but to wonder where he might sleep- perhaps the closet; balcony; or maybe under the bed?



He watched her as he went to her room- perfect. Despite this chick having some serious attitude problem, he was staying here for free, plus, Luke guaranteed that if he snooped around enough, he’d find something worth having; for example, money. Once he was sure that she wouldn’t awaken, Luke hopped upwards before he started to snoop around.

He cracked the door slightly to her room, knowing that she had to have money in there. It wasn’t long before Luke tipped toed his way through the room. Sure, she was going to school- but there was no way in hell that he’d go there again. Luke hated school; thought it was a waste.

Sure, they taught you how to survive in society but not in the real world. The only classes he ever showed up in or took and actually passed was science; the only subject Luke thought was the useful one. Sure, perhaps gym was alright, and once in a while, he might show up, but that was it.

Though, without knowing, he also had something growing within him- he wanted power; over who? Power of Paige; it was still undetected by him at the moment, though, so perhaps it wasn’t as big of a threat… now.

Paige tossed and turned pitch black room while she slept and had a terrible nightmare,she awoke with a startand noticed she had her headphones in still,Paige looked at her Ipod ~dancing with the devil~by imortol tecnique[[sorry if i spelled that wrong]] basicly the song was about a young adult who wanted to be in the bloods gang but he had to rape and kill a women first,one night he ended up doing it.They put a pillow case over the womens face and the whole gang took a turn as another person held her mouth stomped on her chest and jaw.the boy who wanted to be in the group had to kill her now,but wanted to see her face first.He ended up pulling of the pillow case and finding out it was his mother.He was so guilty he jumped off a roof and killed himself.The rapper that was singing was also in that group.Thats what her dream was preatty much about.She turned on her bedside lamp and threw the ipod into the drawer.Before Paige went to shut off the light she looked up and noticed Luke over near her vanity."Luke!What the hell are you doing in here?!"Paige shouted.she grabed the extra pillow and hucked it at him although she knew it was not going to do anything.

He listened to her entire proposition in silence, and only batted an eyelash or two when she announced that she had a bad case of narcolepsy. Well, that certainly explained why she was roaming about her house by herself late in the night when there was seldom a soul to be found awake in the entire city. However, he couldn't help but feel that he was imposing just a little too much. As selfish and rude as he appeared at times, he did have a conscience. Albeit a very minimal conscience. But at least his wasn't exactly nonexistent. He also couldn't help but feel a tiny twinge of sympathy for the girl. In a way, she was as unhappy as he used to be. Only she seemed to have nowhere to run to escape that pit of unhappiness. He also noted to his surprise that she wasn't looking for sympathy, but rather she looked towards the outside world with something more than a simple restlessness. He could tell that it was a sort of envy. The word almost brought a smile to his mouth. This girl was a lot more similar to him than he had originally thought.

"That sounds fine with me. But you shouldn't be too concerned. I'll leave early in the morning and come back late at night so that I'm not seen by any of your family members."

The mention of food brought a slight crinkle to his nose and he almost snorted in disgust.

"Don't worry about the food either. I don't eat a lot."

Actually, to say he didn't eat a lot was a bit of an overstatement. In fact, he ate perhaps once or twice a week at most. Years of being in Hell had somehow brought along a revulsion for almost anything and everything that was edible. No, she could keep her food to herself.

He looked at her for a moment before saying quietly,

"Seriously, thanks for helping me out. If you need something in return...uh..."

He suddenly recalled that he had no idea what this girl's name was.

"Hey, what's your name?"

"Oh... Alright," Ren said, nodding slightly. The fact that the Demon boy didn't plan on imposing on her, and that he seemed to be deferring to her opinions and suggestions rather than trying to do things his own way, made him seem much less threatening than he had before. Although he was still rather strange - hey, he was a Demon who had literally just popped into her world, what else did she expect? - he seemed unusually... gentle, for lack of a better word. She had to consider the big picture here. This boy had lived his whole life in Hell. Renevari realized now. The things he had doubtless suffered there must have been horrible. The fact that he was still willing to be so polite as to allow her, of all people, to decide his living arrangements, was, quite frankly, incredible.

"You don't need to worry about paying me back. After all, there isn't much you can do right now besides lying low, right? And, anyway, I don't think it would mean much if I had to rely on some sort of supernatural demonic power to change anything because I was too weak to do it myself. In any case, you need help right now, so I'm going to give it to you. It's the most I'll probably ever have a chance to do with myself, so I don't see why I should bother doing it for my own personal gain when just doing it is its own reward." She gave a slight, wry smile. Those words summarized her worldview rather aptly. Her life, her very existence, was meaningless. In the end, she probably wouldn't get a chance to do anything important, and would probably just end up being a burden to those around her. Nobody would remember her once she was gone, and she would simply fade from the memories of even those she cared most about. But, on the other hand, by helping other people, even at her own expense, she could bring the light of happiness into other people's lives, and give those few, joyous moments a meaning that transcended her own existence. Even if it meant that she couldn't partake of that happiness herself, she was satisfied to know she had given other people a purpose, at least for a while, and became happy because those she cared about were, thanks to her. While she envied them for what they had, she wouldn't for a second desire to take those precious things away. After all, if people's happiness gave her life meaning, what would the sadness of others do? She didn't want to think about what she would become if she stopped helping people.

"My name? It's Renevari Lehsade. That's a bit of a mouthful, though, so I usually just go by 'Ren.'"

As soon as Micah's father had left, the fairy went back to eating.
“Ok, so, I’m not exactly a red fairy,” the creature said finally, still cramming food into it's mouth.
"No?" Micah said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. She had sort of guessed that by now.
“I’m a demon like the ones that were just in your room. My name’s Ixrafael or Ix; I escaped Hell to come to the human world because I heard you had better chow. Now I’m here, and you’re my human. I can’t survive up here without a human, and you won’t be able to survive without my help. Those hellguards are going to keep coming after me and you too since you gave me food. But eeh. There’s nothing to worry about. I’m pretty strong for being a low-level demon. ‘Don’t let my looks fool you. I’m just too weak to change into my demon form. But enough about me, what other food you got? Oh yeah, and what’s your name I guess?”

Micah stopped for a second to let the information sink in. A demon. A demon. A demon. Her eyebrows raised slightly in alarm. A demon. Like those perverted things that had just been in her room a few seconds. No. Fuck no.

And, apparently, she couldn't kill the thing with a fly swat either, because it was the only thing keeping her alive. Just because she gave it food. Speaking of which...

"Do you ever stop eating?" she asked, slightly annoyed. The fact that the little being had already crammed most of the food she had brought up already was slightly distracting. "And my name is Micah. Surname - I don't know yours, so why you wanna' know mine?" She gave 'Ix' a suspicious glare. "So where are you going to stay then?" she asked, crossing her fingers behind her back. Please no... please no... please no...

Ix had literally licked the potato salad bowl clean and he had even licked his body clean with the accuracy of a feline. He levitated out of the bowl and grinned at her as he found her first question to be amusing yet simple.

“I stop eating when I’m full,” he answered as though it was the most obvious answer in the world. “Surnames; no big deal.”

When Micah asked where was he going to stay, Ix looked about her bed and fluttered over to her pillow and plopped down upon it. He landed on his bottom with his legs stretched out and hands posted behind him.

“Here, of course. This bed is comfortable enough.” His red tail wagged in his pleasure before he looked at Micah with an arched brow. “And where do you sleep?”

"I stop eating when I'm full," Ix concluded, as if she should have assumed that in the first place. Micah raised an eyebrow.
"And when, uh, is that?" she asked, as the demon licked the bowl clean, a grin plastered across his red face.

"Here, of course. This bed is comfortable enough," he continued, in response to her other question. He wagged his tail, reminding Micah of a dog. His expression changed, as he raised an eyebrow. [b]“And where do you sleep?”

"There, obviously!" she exclaimed, annoyed, as she gestured towards the bed. "And you're tiny! Why can't you sleep in, I don't know, a cot or something?!" As creepy as this demon might be, there was no way someone was going to take her bed. She crossed her arms, a slightly angry, slightly annoyed expression across her face.

Ix ignored her question concerning when would he be full. She didn’t need to know. He was sure he would never hear the end of it if he told her. Already she didn’t seem too thrilled about him sleeping in a comfy bed. Where did she say for him to sleep? A cot or something? The red imp scowled at the girl and fluttered off the bed.

“Fine; I’ll go sleep somewhere else. When the hellguards return, don’t go crying and looking for me!”

Dramatically, Ix flew over to her bedroom door and shot a growl at her equal to a Pomeranian. He grasped the knob in both of his hands and pulled it open before he flew into the hallway and yanked it closed with his tail.

SLAM!

The red imp was gone. More like, free to roam her house for food. Ix was certain that he could evade Micah’s stupid parents. They had seemed to return to arguing, and this time, the subject was about Micah’s messy room and possible gas problem. Ix giggled. Poor Micah.

The little demon easily made it into the kitchen, crawling across the walls and ceiling like a gecko. Micah’s father was engrossed in the TV, watching a football game, while Micah’s mother was arguing with him from the kitchen, preparing a pot of water for dinner.

“Her room looked worse than my college dorm back in the day, and it smelt awful. I swear beneath that trash something was dead, but she said it was her. You need to change that girl’s diet,” said Jared.

Elizabeth frowned at the back of her husband’s head. “I need to change her diet? I cook only healthy meals. There hasn’t been one time I didn’t serve vegetables.”

She was shaving potatoes and she placed one naked spud into a ceramic bowl. Ix crawled along the side of the counter and reached in to the bowl to grab it. Popping it into his mouth, his cheeks billowed as he munched and eventually made a face at how raw it tasted. It was like eating grass, but he knew it had been the same thing he tasted in the salad he had some minutes ago.

“Blah,” Ix uttered as he spat a glob of eaten potato onto the floor. He then crawled on his way, dragging the back of his claw across his mouth.

Elizabeth placed another potato into the bowl and paused to stare at it. There should have been two potatoes now…or…she might have been imagining things. Shrugging her shoulders, she went back to shaving.

Jared then entered the kitchen and went over to the food cabinet to grab a bag of Tortillas.

“Don’t ruin your appetite. I’m fixing dinner,” Elizabeth scolded.

Jared grabbed a jar of salsa and glanced to his wife at the counter as though he was mentally calculating how long it would be until dinner was ready.

“I’m not going to eat them all. I just want something to munch on during the game,” he told her.

“See? And you were saying it was my cooking when she gets it from you. You eat everything.”

“Hey,” Jared spread his arms, showing off his thin frame. “And guess who’s still in shape? I know how to eat, and so does Micah. Sheesh, I didn’t say anything about you when you were pregnant with her and the boys. I have never seen someone gobble a tub of Cookie Dough ice cream so fast.”

Ix scurried behind Micah’s father into the agape food closet.

“I was pregnant!”

“So? That doesn’t give you an excuse to change your diet to cookies and cakes. Your ass got so big, I didn’t know who I was married to anymore.”

“Jared!”

“Fine; I’ll go sleep somewhere else. When the hellguards return, don’t go crying and looking for me!”
Ix slammed the door shut, and Micah let out a sigh of relief. Finally, peace. Then she realized something.
He was heading to the kitchen. Where her parents were.
Joy.

She sprinted out of the room, and approached the kitchen door, peering in, so as not to be seen.
"Jared!" her mother yelled angrily. She was preparing dinner. Bleh.

That's when Micah spotted the red demon behind her father, staring longingly at the food cabinet.
Fuck.

She walked into the kitchen, and both her parents glanced over at her.
"Oh, hi, Micah," her father said awkwardly, looking sort of guilty. "Can I help you...?"
Her mother rolled her eyes icily, not saying a word, while chopping the vegetables. "No, I'm, uh, fine," Micah said, cautiously walking towards where the demon stood. He couldn't weigh that much, right?

She attempted to lift Ix up behind her back.

Ix noticed a shadow cast over him and looked up to see it was Micah. His nose wrinkled and he saw her hands reaching out to try and grab him. Leaping up to the first shelf and out of her reach, he climbed a few more shelves with the dexterity of a squirrel and grabbed a bag of double-stuffed oreo cookies. He placed it in her hands, and then placed on top a bag of chocolate chip cookies, a box of Cheez its, and a box of granola bars.

“I hope you’re not planning to spoil your appetite like your father, I’m cooking dinner. It’ll be ready in a few minutes,” said Micah’s mother.

Micah’s father tilted his head to gaze at the stack of snacks behind his daughter’s back.

“I think she’s making her own dinner,” Jared said.

Elizabeth whirled around to gaze at Micah. “Micah! Put all of that back and go find something to do until dinner’s finished please!”

From behind soup cans, Ix giggled wickedly and whispered, “Yeah Meeka, be a good girl and piss off!”

Something was placed in Micah's hands, and she immediately knew it wasn't the demon. Food, she thought, exasperated.

“I hope you’re not planning to spoil your appetite like your father, I’m cooking dinner. It’ll be ready in a few minutes,” her mother piped up. Before she could respond, her father added, “I think she’s making her own dinner.”

Her mother turned to look at her, and gave her an annoyed glare. “Micah! Put all of that back and go find something to do until dinner’s finished please!”
Micah rolled her eyes. "But-"

She cut herself off mid-sentence. What was she supposed to say? A hungry demon gave her food, because it wanted to eat it later? Oh, and yeah, it jumped in her window and sort of saved her life. And if it leaves, some other demons will come and hunt her down.

“Yeah Meeka, be a good girl and piss off!” Ix whispered excitedly. Micah glared at the soup cans angrily. "Shut up," she said to them, before turning back to her parents, who looked annoyed. "Micah!" her mother gasped. "Don't use that lan-"

Whatever," Micah replied. She was in no mood to listen to one of her mother's lectures. That stupid demon could come up when it was ready.

"Don't eat my parents!" she yelled as she walkedout of the room and up the stairs, leaving her parents looking annoyed and bewildered.

"Eh, your verging. But my showing up is kinda helping with it." Azazel smiled at her comment, leaning back into the subway chair. It was nice just to relax, not actually having to worry about anything. As if on cue the train stopped at another subway station, to pick up some other passengers going downtown as well. A few men caught Azazel's eye. One was tall and thin with shaggy black hair, the other had short cropped dark brown hair. They both seemed eerily familiar. Azazel didn't like the feeling these men gave off. Neither of them seemed to be paying any attention to Azazel nor Itzal.

The word came to his mind far to quickly for comfort. These were Hell Guards in human form! "Shit!" Azazel mumbled. "Don't draw attention." Was all he said and leaned forward, his hands interlocked as he looked at the floor. He felt the Hell Guards sit a few rows down. Azazel slightly thanked his long hair for covering his face slightly. The subway seemed to take forever till it yanked to a stop. Finally!  As the subway doors opened, Azazel grabbed Itzal's hand and pulled her off the subway. Not wanting to wait for the Hell Guards to get off he immediately turned right, dragging her to a near by corner he let go of her hand. Peeking back over the corner he saw both he Hell Guards leave. One of them seemed to be looking for something but the other one dragged him along. Azazel turned to wear they both were at. "Sorry about that, those were, uh, Hell Guards." He finished. Relief flooding in, he still had a sudden urge to punch something but it was wearing off thankfully. 

Ix continued to grin darkly at Micah as she walked away. Victory! Jared closed the food closet and Ix happily went to work on its contents now that he didn’t have to worry about being seen. Micah’s father ran his fingers back through his hair in mild confusion and worry.

“Uh…do you think she may have an eating problem?” he asked Elizabeth.

“If she had an eating problem, she would be on one of those TLC programs making me look like a bad mother. My baby does not have a problem.”

“How do you explain the food she was trying to sneak?”

“Jared, we are not having this conversation.”

Micah’s father rolled his eyes. “Whatever. ‘Game’s on any way.”

Jared returned to the couch.

Twenty minutes later, Jacob came inside from playing basketball in the driveway. He entered the kitchen to see his mother cooking dinner.

“Hey,” he greeted plainly before he went straight for the fridge.

Upon opening it, he stared at the missing pizza box and frowned. “Who ate my pizza? Those last two slices were mine.”

“I don’t know dear,” was Elizabeth’s response. She didn’t want to antagonize any of her children.

“It was probably Micah,” said Jared.

“What?” Jacob angrily exclaimed.

“Jared! We don’t know who it was sweety. I’m making dinner so if you’re hungry wait until then.”

Jacob closed the fridge. It had to be his stupid sister. She ate everything. He went to the food closet and his eyes widened upon seeing so many turned over boxes, balled up wrappers, tipped over cans of what used to be soup, beans, and fruit.

What the hell? he thought.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed something big, red, and waddling along the floor. His brown eyes lowered to it and his mouth fell open in speechless awe. What the hell was it? Ix turned a yellow eye over his shoulder and tensed in startle when he saw the teenager staring at him. He tried to waddle away faster but was soon stopped when Jacob took his basketball and dropped it on him.

Jacob caught the ball as it bounced back into his hands and overheard his mother scold without turning her head, “Don’t dribble the ball in the house.”

Poking the floored imp with his foot, Jacob muttered, “Sorry.”

He then stooped down to pick up the creature by the wings and was no longer frightened but fascinated by it.

I got to show Edward and Micah! he thought.

Without wasting any more time, he raced up the stairs and tossed his basketball recklessly into his room. The first door he saw open was Micah’s and so he entered her room and checked the hall behind him for his parents just in case.

“Micah, look what I found in the food closet,” Jacob said.

He then held up the fat demon that was angrily flailing around trying to claw him. Ix eventually gave up as he grew tired from the work and slumped back in the boy’s grasp, panting. Jacob giggled at his attempts.

“He’s been trying to claw me but his arms are too short. I think it’s a closet monster or something. I know I read about them somewhere, but dude, you should go look at the food closet, he ate everything! Mom and Dad are going to be pissed. I’m going to keep him and name him Spike because he has horns on his head. He’s going to be the coolest pet ever!”

Ix glared up at the boy, and then glanced to Micah with desperate eyes. Last thing he wanted to reveal to her brother was that he could talk. The imp attempted to fly out of his hands. Compared to his girth, his wings were miniscule in size. He flapped them as hard as he could and Jacob glanced down when he felt a small breeze against his face.

“Dude, he flies. Go Spike, go!” the teenager cheered in his excitement.

He parted his hands as Ix ascended a few inches into the air. Flying was taking so much energy. He had to be burning 1,000 calories per second. He could feel the sweat building on his face, and after awhile, he could no longer stand it. His demonic kidneys were screaming for him to stop. Cramp!

Ix stopped and he fell toward the floor only to be caught by Jacob. The teenager was in a fit of laughter.

“Nice try, Boy. You’ll be able to fly soon. I just have to put you on a diet.”

It was then Jacob noticed the empty pizza box on Micah’s bed and narrowed his eyes. “Is that my pizza?”

“Micah, look what I found in the food closet.”
Micah looked up to see Jacob enter the room, holding Ix in his hand.
Shit.

“He’s been trying to claw me but his arms are too short. I think it’s a closet monster or something. I know I read about them somewhere, but dude, you should go look at the food closet, he ate everything! Mom and Dad are going to be pissed. I’m going to keep him and name him Spike because he has horns on his head. He’s going to be the coolest pet ever!”

Ix looked over at Micah, but she gave him a helpless look in response. What was she supposed to do?

“Dude, he flies. Go Spike, go!”

"Jacob, leave him alone," she said as Ix flew for a few seconds before falling back into Jacob's hands, who burst into laughter.
“Nice try, Boy. You’ll be able to fly soon. I just have to put you on a diet.”

Jacob's eyes narrowed as he looked at the empty pizza box sitting beside Micah. "Is that my pizza?" she said angrily. Micah looked at her brother, startled. "Wha-" she noticed the box beside her. "Oh."

"Micah! I-"
"It wasn't me! It was, uh..." she turned red, before glaring at the demon. "Just leav the red thing alone!" she said, standing up.
"Don't change the subject!" Jacob yelled, as he held Ix up out of reach. Micah tried to pull his arm down, with little success. "Hey!"

It was then Jacob noticed the empty pizza box on Micah’s bed and narrowed his eyes. “Is that my pizza?”

Edward had been in his room trying to study for a college exam when he heard the commotion in the hallway. It was Jacob and Micah again. Sighing, he set down his pencil and slid back in his chair away from his desk. Standing, Edward exited his room and saw his little brother and sister fighting as he predicted and it seemed over some sort of toy or ball.

“Can you guys take your arguing somewhere else? I’m trynna study for an exam…” He continued to stare at the object his brother was holding suspiciously. “What are you fighting over any way? What is that?”

Jacob kept the imp raised out of Micah’s reach as he kept an eye on her, while glancing to Edward every few seconds.

“It’s my new pet. Micah’s trying to steal him from me. I found him first!”

Edward’s brows shot upwards. “That’s a pet? Seriously, Jake, what the hell is that?”

“His name’s Spike. I found him in the food closet downstairs. Ed, he ate everything.” He then held Ix out to him so he could get a better look. “Look at him man, he’s awesome!”

Edward looked at Ix’s horns, evil-looking eyes, claws, and tail; and was starting to get a bad feeling…

“Jake…” he said slowly in his uncertainty.

Jacob flipped Ix around to show him his wings. “He has wings and can fly. Go on Spike, show him boy.”

The bat-like wings confirmed it. Edward’s face paled before he tried to snatch the creature from him. Jacob quickly yanked Ix out of his reach and stared at his big brother in shock. “Dude, what the hell?”

“That’s a demon Jake! I don’t know how you found it, but you need to send it back.”

“You actually believe in that crap?”

“I do after seeing that. Look at it! It’s fat and ugly!”

Ix frowned deeply at the insult. That was it! No one called him fat and ugly and got away with it!

“Micah, go into your room and shut the door,” Ix warned. His eyes were still irritably narrowed.

If she had learned from the first time, she could have guessed he was going to do something naughty.

Jacob stared in fright at the imp in his hands. “He talks!”

Ix grinned wickedly. “I’ve been holding this one in forever! Nighty night!”

Ix clenched his eyes shut and tensed up. Then suddenly, Micah’s door shook as what sounded like a loud trumpet blast filled the hall.

Jared dropped a salsa-covered Tortilla on his shirt in startle as he sat up abruptly on the couch and turned to gaze at his stunned wife.

“What…” Jared didn’t even know what to say.

Elizabeth called in concern, “Micah, boys, are you okay?”

There was a black smokescreen in the hallway and both Jacob and Edward were sprawled across the floor unconscious. Ix took the time to sneak into Micah’s room, being careful not to let the gas in.

“Whew!” the imp exclaimed fanning a claw behind his bum. “I knew I had to do it, but I didn’t know it was going to be that big. No worries; I gave them a whiff of knock out gas. They won’t remember a thing. Just be thankful I wasn’t near a flame. Ever seen a demon nuke?”

The red imp waddled over to Micah’s bed to reclaim his throne upon her pillow. He grasped the covers in his claws and grunted and kicked as he began his strenuous climb.

“Some help you were,” he grunted.

((To my lovely partners:
I won’t be posting as much in the next 8 days. I’ll be out of town with some friends.))

“Awesome!”

He felt more devilish than usual with his vague happy quip. This girl was too much fun to tease. He entered her room, took a position opposite to hers against the door.

“Well, it’s nice to hear that I’m crafting a good reputation. Well, good fort his circumstance at least. For your trouble, I’ll make sure you’re the envy of the entire female student body,” Torus answered.

He pulled a piece of gum from his pocket and mawed it quietly while listening to her inquiry. He relocated the wad to his back left molars to answer.

“No problem.”

Torus struggled to quell another devious smile. This was the actual trial of whether or not she would kick him out of the house. A rare flock of nervous butterflies beat his stomach walls. He inhaled quickly and exhaled answers.

“Well, no use trying to hide it. Whether or not you choose to believe me is up to you, same with whether or not I’m allowed to stay after what I tell you. I won’t blame you and I’ll be on my way. I’m… Well, I’m a demon. I’ve lived on earth for the past century or so after escaping the Second Circle where I worked. I have to feed off human lust to survive. And I’m constantly chased by demons trying to drag me back to hell. Attaching myself to a human like you, especially since you’re a virgin, helps keep me out of reach.”

He spoke slowly, trying to get her to understand the importance of his tale. He slouched against her door, features smooth. He had been rejected from sanctuary before, but it was better to avoid the risk. He had pulled it to close tonight. And besides his own safety, Torus wanted this girl Niah.

To be around, her inside her, with her. She was his now, decidedly. Her blood smelled too good and her demeanor was too alluring.

--

Itzal snorted at the retort. At least he was honest. He’d be entertaining to keep around.

She saw him grow tense first then heard his words. At east these hell guards had decent timing. They were only a few blocks off from one of her stops.

“This is going to be exciting, I can tell.”

There was no malice in her tone, but a dose of sarcasm nonetheless. Itzal pulled him along as he had done to her. A few minutes later, she was leading him down a grime caked staircase. Just these few minutes away from her relatively suburban residence was its shameless urban cousin.
There were two sides to this city, the beautiful and the grotesque. Itzal tended to indulge in the opposites depending on the day. Indulging herself in the pretty people and delicious food by the sun’s hours, it’s freaks and dirt by the moon’s.

She put a careless hand upon the railing, leading them down three flights until the neon lights were gone behind them.

The bar’s moniker was not on display, only the outline of an apple, lit in green fluorescent bulbs.

“Welcome to Granny Smith’s Azazel!” Itzal happily proclaimed. She let go of his arm, not realizing her prior grip, and bid him to follow with her body.

The interior was as secretive as the exterior promised. All black, chairs, floors, bar stage. Scant bulbs fluttered scant light overhead. A few people greeted Itzal on her way in, with hugs, crude words and questions of a boyfriend she just laughed and made her way up to the stage.

“Hey all, good to see some of the regular patrons!”

7 feet of 30 year old goth, about three martinis deep called back, “Good to see you too sweetheart!”

“Stop it Marshall, sit down!” she laughed.

“Anyways, I’ll be playing a fair amount of stuff for tonight. Some Spanish guitar, some metal covers, some jazz. So just enjoy. Throw tomatoes if you don’t like it, but expect some retaliation from yours truly!”

That elicited a laugh, echoed by her first few chords. The bar settled back to its loud and raunchy rhythm as Itzal’s fingers ran across the strings.

“Micah, go into your room and shut the door.”
Micah narrowed her eyes at the demon. "No way! They're my brothers!"

Ix ignored her. “I’ve been holding this one in forever! Nighty night!”
Micah quickly did what the demon had asked her to do in the first place. Her door shook violently, and Micah cringed.

“Micah, boys, are you okay?”
Micah didn't dare open the door, though.

The door opened slightly, and the little demon squirmed in.
“Whew!” Ix exclaimed dramatically.[b] “I knew I had to do it, but I didn’t know it was going to be that big. No worries; I gave them a whiff of knock out gas. They won’t remember a thing. Just be thankful I wasn’t near a flame. Ever seen a demon nuke?”

He hopped up onto her bed, clawing his way under the covers. “Some help you were,” he grunted.
Micah gaped at him. "Some hel- What the hell! They were my brothers, not some killer demons!" she yelled. She glared furiously at the imp.

(Sorry for making you wait!)

"Renevari? Well, that's miles prettier than what I was expecting."

Humans usually named their children such odd and unattractive things. Plus, they were almost despairingly unoriginal. There were at least a million 'Joe's wandering the Earth, not to mention that half of them also probably shared the same last name. Boring. How was anyone supposed to express their uniqueness if they had the same name as some other person? What kind of name was Joe anyway? It was short and lacked refinement. Also too harsh sounding. But he liked this girl's name. Renevari. Had a nice ring to it.

"Well, Ren, my name's Razhehah. Razhehah Tristitia. Not that I expect you to remember any of that."

He had listened to her talk for quite a few minutes now, and the more he heard from her, the more he realized that something was really not right. This girl didn't seem to have any self-pity, yet she didn't seem to be ready to find a way out of her situation. Rather, she was simply standing there and helping others while letting herself slip further and further down into the shadows. The thought almost made his lip curl in disgust. He needed to straighten her out.

"Ren, can I ask you something? It seems to me as though you're only interested in helping others. What about helping yourself? It seems to me as though you want your own happiness, yet you refuse to look within yourself for it. Instead, you're just helping others. That's no replacement."

He wondered then if maybe he had said too much. The way he had implied the words made it seem as though he was talking from personal experience. Maybe she wouldn't pick up on that. But Ren had already shown herself to be an exceedingly smart girl-for a human anyway. Damn. He said too much.

"Oh, thank you. I'm glad you think so," Ren said, smiling slightly. "My name gets called silly more than it does pretty, hence the nickname." She gave a wry chuckle, and extended her hand to give a more standard form of greeting than simple introduction, although having seen his hands sprout blades spontaneously, she was a little nervous about touching them. Regardless, however, she decided that such fears were simply foolish, baseless things, and extended her hand in the welcoming gesture despite them. If she was going to be playing hostess, then it would only do to be polite, even if her guest was actually a powerful demon from the pits of hell itself.

She arched an eyebrow in slight surprise as Razhehah - evidently, that was the boy's name, unusual as it might have been - continued, his searching eyes seeming to smash right through the facade she had erected so carefully over the years around her true mindset.

"Ren, can I ask you something? It seems to me as though you're only interested in helping others. What about helping yourself? It seems to me as though you want your own happiness, yet you refuse to look within yourself for it. Instead, you're just helping others. That's no replacement."

Those words froze her in her tracks. In the middle of opening her mouth to say "Nice to meet you," she stopped, lowering the hand she had just moments before raised in the hopes of giving a cordial greeting. With a hollow laugh, she sighed. It was quite clear the only person who was being laughed at was herself.

"So... it's that obvious? Heh. I suppose you're right. It really isn't a replacement. On the other hand, what exactly am I supposed to hope for? Happiness from within myself... what a storybook-worthy cliche line. I must have hit a new low, to have a demon fresh out of hell trying to cheer me up and give me advice on how to be happy. The real world just doesn't work that way sometimes, though. If I were to look for happiness on my own, of my own, all I'd be doing is getting in other people's way. I'm awkward to be around, and I know it, so why bother ruining other peoples' enjoyment out of my own selfishness? What's the point of being happy if everyone around you isn't because of the burden that is yourself? It's as I said. It's much better to be satisfied with helping others than to end up feeling guilty over what little joy you can get going it alone."

As she spoke, she did something completely unexpected: she continued to smile. The way she spoke of herself was frightening enough, how she talked of herself as nothing but a burden and spoke of simply making other people hate her just by existing as all Humans normally did. But far more terrifying was how she said it. In those words, there was almost no remorse, no indignant rage at being destined to suffer thus. There was simply calm, resigned acceptance. She stated her own uselessness as one would state that the sky was blue, or that Humans breathed air. She, quite simply, seemed to have entirely given up the basic Human desire to be comfortable. If she was comfortably numb, why bother to be anything more than a face in the background? Why strive for a happiness she knew she could not achieve? And so she continued smiling sadly. That expression should have been one of contentment, but while the acceptance was there, there was no mirth in that resigned, sad face.

He had heard her out throughout the entire story, and he was slightly annoyed with her seemingly resigned and helpless attitude. But what made him even more aggravated was her continuous smile. It had struck quite a nerve as he stared at her, and snapped,

"Stop smiling if you've got no reason to."

It was overly harsh and he knew it. But he wasn't in the mood to think about the nature of the words that were flowing steadily from his lips. This girl was a smart one. Yet she refused to see that her own happiness was worth more than simply helping others out. She was willing to throw away everything and not even bother to retrieve it. It reminded him of something. And when he realized what that something was, his scowl only deepened. Right. She reminded him of himself quite a few years ago. Years being a loosely used term of course. No one knew exactly how to keep time in Hell. Or even when days ended and the night began. In fact, maybe there was no such thing as night in Hell.

Many years ago though, Razhehah had found himself in somewhat of a similar situation as Ren. Living life for others and wondering exactly what there was to look forward to. In fact, life had no bright spots. There was no such thing as pleasure and 'happiness' seemed to be as far as Heaven itself. He had been ready to give up and suicide the way most demons would: jumping into the pits of fire that Hell had an abundance of. He had been close to doing it. Literally only a breath of a second off. Yet something had stopped him from leaping the final step forward. He made up his mind that moment that death was pointless. Even more pointless than his life up till now. From that moment forward, he would do nothing but chart out a new life for himself. That day standing in front of the pits of fire had been the first stepping stone of many to the path that led him here. Into the basement of Renevari Lehsade's house.

Now he stared at her with a look that a few seconds ago had been disgust but had now transformed into something a little less uncertain. For a brief moment, he saw himself standing in front of him. But then he shook his head and stared sternly at Ren.

"Look Ren, I'm not going to try and pull you out of your pool of self-pity and whatnot. But let me tell you something out of experience: You can't continue living the way you are now." He leaned in towards her and bent down slightly so that his face was right in front of her's.

"Sooner or later, something has to give and you have to make a decision: Either you die, or you find some sort of means to keep going on. And that means has to be your own happiness."

He paused for a second, wondering if he should go on. But he had already revealed this much. Why not take it a step further?

"Quite a few years ago, I found myself in a situation somewhat like yours. I made a decision that day and went on to pursue my own happiness and live. Maybe you'll do the same. Maybe you won't. But sooner or later, you'll be standing at an impossible crossroads."

"Well, if it bothers you that much, fine," Ren said, raising an eyebrow in slight surprise as Razhehah snapped at her suddenly. She seemed a little bit hurt by his sudden outburst, but she dropped the smile regardless, her face settling into a calm, blank mask. As the demon spoke, the girl, rather surprisingly, gave another wry chuckle, and the sardonic, mirthless smile began to creep back onto her lips.

"Oh," she said, actually sounding a little bit amused by Razhehah's speech. "So that's how it is. I guess my thought process wasn't so obvious, after all. Allow me to explain so you're not worrying over me doing something stupid when you really don't have to. Trust me, I have no intention of dying. There is absolutely no purpose in such a course of action. If I were to die, how do you think my family would react? What relief or happiness could I possibly take from making those around me suffer? In short, you've misunderstood me. This isn't self-pity, or regret. I've long since gone past feeling that way. I've simply accepted who I am, and what that entails: both the blessings I have been given - a good home, a kind family, and the ability to help people who need it, for a few examples - and the problems I have to deal with - illnesses, sleep deprivation, and so on. Really, I'm well aware that, in comparison to some people, I'm very fortunate. After all, the problems I have to deal with are rather minor, to be sure. However, they also make me a burden to interact with on a social level. How would you feel if you wanted to do something but were stuck tending to a particularly sickly child, or if you wanted to go somewhere but had to bother dealing with your friend collapsing into unconscious sleep? I'm a burden to those I trouble with my presence, and I've learned to deal with that. And, while we all have our little regrets, I'm pleased to say with no uncertainty that, although it's a little hard to deal with being such a shut-in sometimes, I get by just fine, and do so without bothering anyone, and in the end, I guess that's all I really want."

Some hel- What the hell! They were my brothers, not some killer demons!

“’Could have fooled me,” Ix muttered.

He looked like a big, round lump travelling beneath her blankets. He emerged at her pillow where he had sat previously and opened his mouth to expel a large yawn that flaunted the vicious, spiny rows of his teeth. A few tears welled at the corners of his eyes in response to the intensity of his yawn and with the back of his clawed finger, he wiped them away.

“I’m going to sleep,” he informed as he scratched one of the protruding rolls at his side. Slumping back against her pillow, he wiggled his way down deep beneath the covers before he rolled over and turned his back to Micah. “When you go down for dinner, bring me back something please.”

It might have been surprising to hear that he still had an appetite after nearly eating her out of house and home. Not to mention the size his last binge had made him. Well, he was a gluttony demon. The best there is!

He listened to her talk and his own somewhat amused smile slipped onto his face.

"Alright Ren, if that's how you see things I won't stop you. But you wanna know something? There are people out there who would do anything to even have a life remotely similar to yours. And if they get that sort of life, they would immediately make use of it and explore the opportunities that life has to offer. Yet you, who is in the fortunate life, refuse to even take a look around. You claim that you're perfectly happy with your situation, but anyone looking in would say you're not. So I don't know whether you're incredibly stupid-which you don't seem to be-or you're just blind. But then again, what's it matter?"

He turned away from her at that point and took his glasses off to rub them on the white shirt she had given him minutes earlier.

"It's your life. Feel free to call the shots."

From somewhere in the distance, a siren wailed and the silence that had been there for so long was shattered. It made both of them realize that it was still late at night and neither of them should linger down in the basement much longer. He yawned and stretched his arms out.

"Well, feel free to debate this topic with me some other time. I say that you need to get back to bed. It's probably real late now."

He made no mention of sleeping himself. In truth, the adrenaline from the escape was still coursing through his veins and made him far too excited to even think about lying down. No, Ren could go to bed. He'd stay in the house until morning came and then go outside before any of her family woke up. By the morning, it would be safe to assume that the Hell guards wouldn't pursue him anymore. He was just one little demon, and they weren't about to go out in direct sunlight to find him.

Bella woke up around ten in the morning. She was still really sleepy though. As she lifted herself from the bed she stretched, she could tell it would be a long day. Bella then got dressed. It seemed to take her longer than usual because her body didn't want to move. After she got dressed she sat back down at her desk.What did she need to do today. Oh yeah, she thought, I needed to deliver the picture to the new neighbors. She sighed this would take more energy out of her then she wanted. Bella then decided that she could wait. It's not like they are expecting a welcoming gift anyway.

Bella looked around her room. She knew she was forgetting something, but her memory seemed to be as tired as she was. Maybe if I got some fresh air I would remember, she thought. Bella then trudged over to her window, yet before she reached it she felt something by her foot. She looked down and saw a boy on the ground. Now she remembered what she forgot. Timothy was sleeping here. She didn't really remember why though. She thought that he might get caught by her parents though; then she remembered that they were on a trip.

With Bella's mind finally clearing up she looked him over again. He seemed to be sleeping in some weird position. She wondered if it was suppose to be therapeutic or something. She knelt down beside his head. She slowly woke him up to consciousness. When he awoke she said," Oh your up Timothy. I was just going to ask why you decided to come to my house seeing as I hardly know you."