Riza
Human
Sleeper
~Sing a song~
Posts: 32
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Post by Riza on Oct 14, 2010 12:02:51 GMT -8
Riza smiled to herself as she sang loudly, listening to how it was muffled by the dense trees that populated the entirety of the Northern Tangle. It had a unique sound, the forest, and though it was widely known as one of the most dangerous places in Litharia, it was a fantastic place to practice and interesting things always seemed to happen. The girl finished the song and began to fish through her bag, coming up with a slightly flattened sandwich. She scowled at it for a moment and began to chow down, breaking off about half to hand to the large Cait Sith who weaved through the trees looking bored.
He happily broke off from his aimless wanderings for the small snack, choosing to settle down on a mangled stump. Riza herself picked a large root and plopped down, wiping dust from her hands off on her baggy tan breeches. Though it seemed like all she ever wore were skirts and nice things, the Tangle was an exception. Here she wore a tan cap usually found on messengers in the city, a loose white button up, a black vest, and her baggy pants. It was much more comfortable, but she preferred only to wear it when skirts were not practical.
Suddenly Chess stood, looking hard into the distance; he was tense but not quite bristling. They were not alone, and it was more than enough to pique Riza’s curiosity. The human girl quickly ate the last of her lunch and stood, carefully making her way in the direction Chess had been looking.
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Rio
Daemon
Sleeper
Yes, sir?
Posts: 51
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Post by Rio on Oct 15, 2010 6:51:53 GMT -8
Rio breathed heavily, holding his hand to his head as he tilted it downwards. Again, once again he did not remember what he was doing. He could not tell why a long, albeit shallow cut adorned his left forearm, nor why his blade's edge was a glossy red. Why? He distinctly remembered that his dagger was in its sheath, perfectly spotless as he had always made sure it was before he sheathed it, yet now, his dagger was in his hand and he could not ever remember why he had it nor why this sudden fatigue had overcome him. He had definitely not been running heavily nor trekking through this woody terrain, in fact, he had been traversing in a light pace for the Bastaet at his side. The stubborn creature had insisted on walking by itself, limping as it stretched its side, patched up by Riza. Out of the corner of his eye that the daemon could spare for the creature, he could tell that the golden pelted feline was unhappy and distressed as it looked at him calmly. The flick of its tail betrayed Siegrein's indifferent look, a little flick of his ears, concerned, yet afraid of Rio himself.
After another spasm, Rio slumped down, resting against the bole of a nearby tree, chest heaving as he ignored the mysterious cut. Something was wrong. Something was definitely wrong. He had known this for a while, at times, he would stop in the middle of an action and later, find himself doing something completely different. He had no idea why this would happen, nor why he would be so fatigued after this. The Bastaet made its way over to him, nosing Rio's hand, but the mammalian daemon was too preoccupied to acknowledge the creature. After a while, Sieg gave up and started rasping his tongue over the wound. Rio would be fine after a while, like all the other times that this had happened. Almost always, he had found some kind of wound on him, a bruise from the cut he had just found on his forearm, all kinds in all places and every single time, he could see Sieg's distressed, piteous gaze. He simply did not understand this.
Sieg's head turned as he stopped licking Rio's wound. The feline's sensitive ears had picked up something, a familiar gait of sorts. He padded a little ways away from Rio, seeking the scent with one paw raised tentatively. It was the human girl and the creature Cait Sith. They could certainly help Rio. Leaving the daemon, he strode forth confidently and smoothly, desperate to see the human girl, though she was not as valuable as Rio himself. The golden cat made no move, but stood still as a statue, waiting for Riza.
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Riza
Human
Sleeper
~Sing a song~
Posts: 32
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Post by Riza on Oct 15, 2010 9:43:47 GMT -8
Riza climbed carefully through the forest, her mind running wild as she imagined what Chess may have smelled. She was broken out of her short daydream of meeting the Phoenix when the Cait Sith began to growl. Then, as quickly as he had started, he fell silent, giving voice only to a confused mew. He sped up and Riza was forced to race clumsily after the far more agile little cat.
Only moments later she came across a Bastaet, or to be more correct, passed one as she chased her companion. One with a stitched up side. She had remembered Rio almost at the same time as she actually saw him. He certainly looked worse for the wear, and that in itself made the human girl more nervous than an encounter with a Dream Hound. From what she knew the boy was a skilled fighter, but she saw his dagger sitting a few feet away and covered in blood, and his chest heaved as if he was unable to get enough air.
“R…Rio?” Riza called nervously, taking a few steps forward. The she noticed the heavily bleeding cut on his arm and for some reason, all apprehensions were forgotten. She rushed over to him and knelt down on his injured side, placing a soft hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Rio, what happened to you?” she asked, looking from his cut to his face. That’s when she noticed not only his brilliant mismatched eyes, but also just how pale he looked. “Are you alright?” The girl questioned further, not moving to help him unless he asked first, or at the very least showed he was indeed in control of himself.
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Rio
Daemon
Sleeper
Yes, sir?
Posts: 51
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Post by Rio on Oct 15, 2010 10:28:01 GMT -8
Sieg would have hissed in distaste, probably even clawed the girl if he had not remembered her help and favor. He had spotted the Cait Sith dash past him, the human following just a little later. Unlike the other two, he took his own time, already having assessed the damage. The Bastaet had not gotten used to the languages of the two just yet, but no doubt he would be able to communicate with them some time soon. For now, he noticed that both shared the same concern that he did regarding Rio.
“R…Rio?”
The voice broke into his consciousness, a little too preoccupied by his fatigue and mass confusion. It took him a while to place the voice, and even so, he had to gather his thoughts and force himself to speak, "Yes," He answered in a shaky voice that did not sound good at all. But before much could happen, Riza was already beside him. His eyes were glazed, unseeing, lost somewhere in the depths of his mind. He knew she was there, his feline senses told him that she was close, much closer to him than she was initially. He flinched away involuntarily from Riza's touch. “Rio, what happened to you?” What happened? Even he himself didn't know. He had never felt so terrible in his life, never felt so miserable, so lost, so clueless. Unable to take it much longer, he allowed himself to fall against Riza, too tired to hold himself. "S-sorry," He gasped, voice sounding as if he was whimpering. He couldn't spare the words, but he was truly sorry for that. He felt no pain from the open cut, but he knew it would stop eventually.
Sieg padded over to where Riza and Rio sat. “Are you alright?” He gave Riza and agonized look before bending down to once again lick the blood away from the wound. Once it was more or less clean, he looked to Riza as if he expected her to be doing something.
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Riza
Human
Sleeper
~Sing a song~
Posts: 32
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Post by Riza on Oct 15, 2010 11:18:37 GMT -8
Riza grimaced worriedly. What could have put Rio into this state? He was shaky, pale, bleeding, his eyes were unfocused, and he didn’t seem to know what was going on.
The girl turned and began to rummage through the knapsack that she carried, coming up with a knife. She shrugged off the black vest she wore and cut it into strips, quickly positioning one of the larger ones over his cut. About the same time he tipped over and landed propped up against Riza. “S-sorry” he gasped, apparently unable to hold himself upright. The whimper in his voice scared her, but she ignored it.
Having just finished with her makeshift bandage, she scooted to the side a bit to lean against the tree as well, so that Rio would be more comfortable. She smiled briefly, even though he probably couldn’t see it, “It’s all right,” she told him a calm voice. She pulled a canteen from her hip and decided to hold it until Rio was capable of holding it on his own. While with some patients she could just prop them up and help them, with a dangerous daemon like Rio, it didn’t seem like the best course of action.
Chess sniffed the wound and looked up to Riza with a curious expression. The large cat turned and trotted over to where the dagger lay, picking it up gingerly with his teeth. He returned and dropped it onto the girl’s lap, giving her a significant look. Riza looked at it, puzzled before the gears clicked into place. Had Rio done this to himself? The human looked down at the half-conscious daemon on her shoulder, somewhat bewildered. He had seemed like a normal enough guy, at least as daemons went, but he certainly didn’t seem the type to hurt himself like this.
She shook her head. No use for those kind of thoughts right now, at the moment it would just be best to help him get better. “Water?” she asked, holding the bottle out to him. She was unsure if he could hold it yet, but as of now, she couldn’t say she minded the position she was in. She liked helping people. She especially liked helping friends, though the circumstances were far from ideal. Riza fell silent, choosing to let Rio catch his breath. No doubt he would be okay with a little rest.
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Rio
Daemon
Sleeper
Yes, sir?
Posts: 51
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Post by Rio on Oct 15, 2010 11:44:59 GMT -8
Rio felt something being wrapped around his arm a few moments after Sieg's rough tongue had stopped rasping over it. What was it? It was tight, but not tight enough to cut circulation. He relaxed the muscles that had tensed up as he thought of the prospect of being attacked. He closed his eyes, both were useless now and it was better to rely on his other senses. Immediately, as he closed his eyes, he was a little more relaxed and he caught his breath.
“It’s all right,”
Those words, calm and almost musical had helped a little as he fought to keep consciousness. It was as if a weight was dragging him down, some unknown force fighting to rip him from inside out. Ears still sharp, he processed the fact that the Cait Sith Chess was close, closer, but Sieg had already chosen to hop across and lay down on his other side. His heart lightened a little. The golden cat would still be the same no matter what.
Sieg himself watched Chess through critical eyes, saw how he indicated the dagger, dropping it on Riza's lap. One of the edges was still bloody, from where Rio hadn't the time to clean it off. He watched as her face changed from one of puzzlement to understanding. He would have liked to explain the suspicious happenings, but he had not learnt the Speech yet. In fact, he was probably the only one that knew what was wrong with Rio. Once again, he nudged Rio, gently but firmly. Even now he could tell that the daemon was calming down and though the shock and confusion still radiated off him, it was much less than before--all thanks to Riza. Grudgingly, Sieg felt himself warming up to the human. Catching her eye, he hopped onto Rio's lap, placing one paw on the daemon's chest and the other batting gently at Rio's other eye, the one that glowed red whenever such attacks were coming. Whenever they came, the spirit that possessed the daemon tried to get rid of him but was still clumsy with Rio's body. He just hoped that Riza understood him at least just a little. Having done that, he curled up and watched them from the daemon's lap.
“Water?” Riza's words were much clearer than before and now as his fight subsided, his sight and peace was returning. The calm Bastaet on his lap seemed to help him as well. Though much of his strength was still lost, he opened his eyes a little reaching for the canteen and having a little sip. A moment later, he almost dropped the canteen as his body convulsed in violent coughs. Maybe he wasn't too well yet. "Thank... you..." He told Riza thankfully as he leaned back on her again, still too tired to do much more.
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Riza
Human
Sleeper
~Sing a song~
Posts: 32
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Post by Riza on Oct 15, 2010 12:20:04 GMT -8
Riza patted the daemon’s back softly while he coughed, having caught the canteen only barely. Rio leaned back on her shoulder, still drained of energy. At least he seemed to be comprehending things better, and even Sieg no longer tried to hiss at her. The girl twisted a cap onto the canteen and dropped it into her lap before picking up the bloody dagger. She frowned and picked up some of her torn vest, deciding to clean off the blade. As she did so, Sieg climbed into Rio’s lap and started pawing at the eye that was usually covered by the boy’s bangs.
Hesitating slightly, Riza leaned forward and brushed his hair from his face so she could get a better look at what the Bastaet was trying to show her. She remembered from a short glimpse when they had last met that one eye was blue and the covered eye was a deep amber-gold, but now something was wrong. The amber eye possessed a violent red tinge that was very slowly being overcome by the normal shade around the outer edges. The girl stared at it for a few moments, and then moved her hand to let his bangs fall back into place. She slowly leaned back as to not disturb Rio, frowning in puzzlement.
Was it a curse? That was the only thing that Riza had even encountered that could cause a change in eye color before, besides maybe the different forms of shifters. It would certainly explain Rio’s exhaustion and apparent self-injury. She looked to Sieg, unsure if he could understand her, “A…Curse?” She asked the golden cat cautiously.
Riza rested her head against the tree and absentmindedly started to sing. It was just what she did when she was stressed, or trying to think hard, both of which applied in this situation. It was an old song. A slow one that was supposedly about festivals, but Riza didn’t know, she barely noticed she was singing.
The girl looked down to Rio again, wishing that he could remember. Not really paying attention, she placed the knife, now cleaned of blood, on the ground in front of him. He seemed to be coming around quickly, and if Riza had learned anything from her travels, warriors did not enjoy losing their weapons.
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Rio
Daemon
Sleeper
Yes, sir?
Posts: 51
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Post by Rio on Oct 15, 2010 12:43:22 GMT -8
Warmth... his right eye... Rio felt Riza's touch as she parted his bangs, it was the second time someone had done that, the first had been Calandra, but now, he surprisingly didn't mind. In fact, he wouldn't even have cared if Riza chose to kill him now. He was indebted to her, he was actually starting to think that he might not have survived that without her. It was just scary, incredibly scary. Rio had not been scared in a long time. In fact, he could not remember if he ever felt as scared and helpless as this. Just what was happening to him?
“A…Curse?” Sieg watched Riza, blinking slowly and flicking his tail in a positive answer. A curse, that was what he was pretty sure it was. He had not tasted the daemon's blood before, but as he had licked the wound, the blood that ran through his veins seemed... contaminated, impure of sorts. A curse was the cause, the most likely cause. The Bastaet tensed himself as Riza started to sing, but her voice was not layered with charm like the time she had put him to sleep. In fact, it seemed to relax Rio and he curled up a little. Exhausted, probably. He watched the human girl as her gaze fell upon the tormented daemon. As he saw the proud young warrior's current state, a spark of pity rose within him and with that, a burst of fury for the spirit that haunted him so.
Rio was just barely conscious of Riza's movement, the way she placed his blade down carefully. Rio would have immediately sheathed it, but now, he wasn't sure what could happen. Her singing had calmed him even further, but fear nagged at him. "Riza," He addressed her softly, "Do you know... what is wrong?" He asked her. She might know, she would know. Riza had already proven her knowledge time and again, no doubt she would be more versed and knowledgeable than he was. He might have known, but now fear was clouding his mind. He felt like a helpless kitten, blind and lost without a clue.
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Riza
Human
Sleeper
~Sing a song~
Posts: 32
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Post by Riza on Oct 15, 2010 13:12:18 GMT -8
Riza realized she had been singing around the same time as Sieg seemed to confirm her guess. A chill ran down her spine. What kind of curse could it be? How would one break it? For some reason Riza felt as if she had to help him; like getting him better for the time and leaving was just not an option. At least her singing seemed to calm Rio down a little bit. His face was a little more peaceful, some of his previous terror gone. Now he just seemed exhausted and vulnerable, something almost disturbing to see in a daemon. "Riza, do you know... what is wrong?" Riza frowned and bit her lip. She shrank down a bit and gingerly put a comforting arm around his shoulder. “I think…I think you may be cursed.” She paused uneasily, “Maybe even possessed?” He was an assassin right? Maybe one of his targets had been strong enough to hold on, to enter Rio’s body instead of moving on.
Somehow that scared Riza more than the thought of a curse. As far as she knew, all curses could be broken, but she had heard enough stories about ghosts being too strong to exorcise to make her worry. She squeezed the boy’s shoulder gently, as much for her own comfort as his own. She glanced at Rio’s face, hoping that the contact was okay. It was easy to tell he was not used to being around others and that he was somewhat uncomfortable with someone actually touching him. But at the moment, he seemed so lost, so helpless that Riza’s heart went out to him.
“I’m sorry,” she said softly. The girl was silent for a minute before looking to Rio. “Is there anyone you ever knew who had a grudge on you, or someone you killed who was powerful enough to place it? That might be a good place to start if I’m going to help you.”
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Rio
Daemon
Sleeper
Yes, sir?
Posts: 51
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Post by Rio on Oct 16, 2010 0:07:09 GMT -8
Before he realized it, Riza's melody had faded away and she became silent. Perhaps his guess was right and she might have known what was wrong with him. She slipped an arm around him. Rio was surprisingly grateful for her contact and did not make any movement to shrug it off as he normally would have if normal circumstances did apply here. “I think…I think you may be cursed.” A curse? He had seen cursed ones before, but had no real knowledge of what the term employed or the conditions it implied. Perhaps this constant blank outs and fatigue after he regained consciousness was part of what one considered a curse. He would have no real way of knowing. “Maybe even possessed?” Possessed? Then it dawned on him. Possession was where two spirits were in one body... it could explain why he had no recollection or memory of what he had doing for a few seconds, no idea about the fatigue that always overcame him after this. The spirit that possessed him was not used to his body, that was why...
“I’m sorry,” Rio spared the energy to look Riza in the eye, "Don't apologize," He told her, pleased to find that his voice was much stronger and stabler than before. "It is my problem," He shuddered. "I should be apologizing." Having found that strength once more, he attempted to sit up, to relieve Riza of some strain. He should be well enough by now. He simply had to be. The mammalian daemon knew that his normal regeneration rate was faster than this. By now, he should have been stronger than he really was now. “Is there anyone you ever knew who had a grudge on you, or someone you killed who was powerful enough to place it? That might be a good place to start if I’m going to help you.” He fell silent once more, unable to place such a person, however, Sieg seemed to know. (( As usual. xDD ))
The Bastaet once again reached up, but instead of indicating Rio's eye, the feline pulled away his scarf, hissing as it feel around Sieg himself and nevertheless exposing the collar that had been a part of Rio for as long as he remembered. Once again, he looked to Riza; is this what you were looking for?
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Riza
Human
Sleeper
~Sing a song~
Posts: 32
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Post by Riza on Oct 16, 2010 1:01:47 GMT -8
Riza bit her lip and scooted to the side a little to give Rio some room now that he seemed able to sit upright. She had forgotten about his slave collar, and though she knew little about his past, she did recall that he had killed the man who owned him. That could definitely be the source of Rio’s troubles, but how to get rid of it?
It seemed both a curse and a possession, though Riza had only the mammalian’s odd outburst at Cadrian when they had first met and now the exhausted state he was now in. A curse that drained his energy as his master tried to take over? It seemed far-fetched, but if someone had told Riza a few years ago that she would be sitting in the Tangle with a daemon, a Bastaet, and a Cait Sith she would have laughed herself silly. But here she was, and the situation was very much real.
Perhaps there was some way to fight the possession from the outside? The girl shook her head. That would mean waiting for another possession and that could be anytime from the next few minutes to the next month. And then there was the added problem of exactly how to confront Rio’s master. Riza sighed; all this confusion and uncertainty was hurting her head. She decided a short break wouldn’t hurt.
"Don't apologize. It is my problem, I should be apologizing." Riza frowned, looking over at Rio with a surprised expression. “It’s not your fault what happened to you. Really I suppose neither of us should be apologizing.” The girl took a quick sip from the canteen in her lap and offered it absently to Rio, her mind drifting.
She wondered if being a daemon was always this hard, this different from any human life. Truth be told it was not the first time she tried to imagine her life had she not been born human. A thought occurred to her. A teacher back home had once grudgingly told her that humans could be changed into Fae, shifters, or daemons, and that they were the only species that could change species. Perhaps she could see what her life would be like if she were daemon. Daemon-kind was always interesting, right?
“Hey Rio, if I do manage to help you, could you promise me a reward? I promise it will be nothing too outlandish.” Riza looked at the Mammalian, trying to study his reaction. Surely nobody would mind if one human girl was turned daemon. Except for her parents, but at this point, they really didn’t count.
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Rio
Daemon
Sleeper
Yes, sir?
Posts: 51
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Post by Rio on Oct 16, 2010 1:31:06 GMT -8
Rio nodded briefly, grateful to Riza. However, he leaned heavily against the tree trunk, not wanting to risk it. He looked at the Bastaet in his lap, looking solemnly up at him as it sat tangled up in the scarf. The daemon lightened his expression a little and unwound the scarf, setting it back over his neck albeit loosely. It was certainly better than having the scarf wrapped around Sieg, who certainly didn't enjoy it.
“It’s not your fault what happened to you. Really I suppose neither of us should be apologizing.”
As Rio looked up, he caught a peculiar expression from Riza, as if she was reprimanding him. He blinked in surprise, but relaxed, in a way it was his fault that such a thing had happened to him, but there was nothing he could do about it now. He didn't think it was a good idea to make Riza more upset, especially after she helped him so much already. He took the canteen from her hand hesitantly, having another mouthful of water, but this time, forcing it to stay down. There, that wasn't too difficult, was it? After a while, Rio turned to Riza again as he heard her speak.
“Hey Rio, if I do manage to help you, could you promise me a reward? I promise it will be nothing too outlandish.”
The request was so absurd that all he could do was stare at her in disbelief. A reward? Why would he not think of rewarding her? All he had caused her was trouble. Surely she could not think that such was unheard of. Rio blinked. "Anything," He confirmed. "Anything, for all the trouble I have caused you." He replied confidently.
Sieg pawed at him, as if he wanted something. Rio looked down at the golden cat, who stared at him expectantly. Looking to Riza apologetically, he loosened the bandage and let the blood flow free for Sieg. Having not killed in a rather significant time, the Bastaet must have been hungry. Almost immediately, Sieg trapped his forearm in his paws and started licking the blood from it.
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Riza
Human
Sleeper
~Sing a song~
Posts: 32
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Post by Riza on Oct 16, 2010 2:06:48 GMT -8
Riza felt a flutter of uncertainty as Rio looked at her in outright disbelief. However, the reaction was not for the reason she thought as he replied, "Anything. Anything, for all the trouble I have caused you." Though so far he really had been little trouble, Riza just smiled and nodded, leaning back against the tree.
It was almost nice, just sitting here in the Tangle. Rio’s condition still worried her greatly, but at least for the time being he seemed to be okay. However, it surely wouldn’t last long. The curse had been in place for quite a while now, and the Mammalian’s previous state was all too much proof.
“Rio, I think I know how to help you.” Riza said cautiously, drawing her knees up to her chest. She wrapped her arms around them and gnawed on her lip, trying to fully think it through. “I think that either we need to find an exorcist or I need to attempt to find out what the ghost wants.” The girl decided not to add that it was probably not hard to guess what the spirit wanted, and that removing it would no doubt require force of some kind.
“And since I don’t think you want to trust your life to some random exorcist, I suggest I stay with you until he comes back.” Riza sounded as if her mind was made up. It was most assuredly not going to be safe, but it seemed to be their only option. The girl knew nothing about Rio’s personal life, such as any possible rank or friends he may have, and so they could not call on them for guidance. Besides, even if he did know others, which did seem unlikely taking into account his personality, it would take more time than they had to find them.
Riza smiled with faint determination and turned to face the daemon next to her, “All right?”
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Rio
Daemon
Sleeper
Yes, sir?
Posts: 51
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Post by Rio on Oct 16, 2010 4:04:10 GMT -8
He had worried Riza a little, as if she was afraid that he would reject her terms, but as he gave his consent, the human girl relaxed. “Rio, I think I know how to help you.” Rio looked at her hopefully as she addressed him. If there was a way that he could rid himself of all this, he'd gladly have it, no matter what the price. “I think that either we need to find an exorcist or I need to attempt to find out what the ghost wants.” An exorcist... that was someone who purified the souls of ghosts and solved others' problems. However, being new to Litharia, he wasn't sure where to find one or how they would react to his being a daemon.
“And since I don’t think you want to trust your life to some random exorcist, I suggest I stay with you until he comes back.” At this, Rio looked at her fearfully. He knew what the spirit was capable of doing to him... what would happen to Riza if Master was let loose on her? He knew one thing: he would never forgive himself, no matter how used to killing he was. She was the only other person that he refused to kill besides Claudia. She was innocent, he owed both his and Sieg's lives to her. "If you wish," He replied. "However, I can not guarantee your life," He looked at her pleadingly. "So please... stay alive." He asked her.
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Riza
Human
Sleeper
~Sing a song~
Posts: 32
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Post by Riza on Oct 16, 2010 4:41:38 GMT -8
"If you wish. However, I cannot guarantee your life, so please... stay alive." Riza paused for a moment, slightly surprised by the pleading look he gave her, though she recovered quickly and smiled. “I promise.” She told him simply.
She fell silent for a time before a thought occurred to her. “I know that I couldn’t win against you if it came down to a fight, but likely the spirit will be unused to possession, right?” Riza shrugged, “He probably won’t have all your skill and agility yet, so I think I’ll be safe if I’m careful.”
The girl fingered the blade on the ground in front of her and Rio, unsure of what to say. She decided that simple questions were her best bet to avoid full-on awkwardness. “Rio, how often does this usually happen? It would be best if I’m prepared when the time does come. Being caught unaware could be dangerous.” Riza frowned slightly, drawing swirling patterns in the dust. There was a good chance that Rio didn’t know when it happened, seeing as he remembered none of it.
Silence once again heavy in the air, Riza let her mind wander. It was strange to have a daemon trust her this much, and more than a little scary. He knew next to nothing about her and even when she requested a favor he never asked what the favor was. Either he was really trusting or really naïve. Rio’s seeming naivety was rather odd in itself. From what Riza had seen, most daemons were fiery and proud, whereas the Mammalian was polite and seemed like he knew nothing of being social. Though, the girl decided, this was probably due to his childhood in slavery.
How different their childhoods must have been, though they were the same age; Rio a slave-trained assassin, Riza a privileged noble. And yet they were both here. Fate was a strange thing indeed.
The human yawned and leaned her head back against the tree. It really was peaceful here, dangerous as it may be. Chess trotted up and curled up next to Riza on the side opposite from the daemon, purring softly as she began to scratch his ears.
Riza looked curiously over at Rio, leaning forward a bit to get a look at his blind eye. It seemed to be almost back to normal, and now only the barest traces of red remained. “I think it’s almost gone for now,” the girl told him with a calm smile.
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Rio
Daemon
Sleeper
Yes, sir?
Posts: 51
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Post by Rio on Oct 16, 2010 6:56:04 GMT -8
“I promise.” Rio relaxed, letting his head fall back against the tree, letting his eyes fall shut. He would hold Riza to her promise, it was the most that he could do to calm his guilt. It was his fault for getting Riza involved within this mess, and as if the Bastaet knew his feeling, Sieg made a noise somewhere between a growl and a purr, a reassuring noise.
“I know that I couldn’t win against you if it came down to a fight, but likely the spirit will be unused to possession, right?”[/b] He paused, thinking about it. The chance of Riza winning was nothing. No decimal places. No matter how bright she looked, there was no way that she could win against him who had trained for years, killed too many times, killed the Master, managed to deal with Calandra. There was simply no way that Riza could win against him. “He probably won’t have all your skill and agility yet, so I think I’ll be safe if I’m careful.” That was true too. He flicked his ears, accepting the point, but even so, he would still worry about her.
“Rio, how often does this usually happen? It would be best if I’m prepared when the time does come. Being caught unaware could be dangerous.” He thought for a while. He really did not know how often or when the next attack would come, though following Riza's initial guess, he parted the hair that usually covered his right eye. "It should be easier to tell now," He decided, justifying his cause.
“I think it’s almost gone for now,” He looked at Riza, hoping that she was right. If it caught her at unawares, things would definitely be a little worse than catastrophic. Knowing his Master's personality, there was no way that Riza would have a quick death. He hoped she was right, the Master had tried killing Sieg before. It had never worked, for the little cat was like lightning. "If not, Sieg-" But before he managed to finish the sentence, Sieg started hissing and streaked away. As Rio comprehended the Bastaet's actions, the growing sense of his nerves numbing overcame him. He knew it was coming. Tensing his muscles, he shot up. The dagger, it was lying there. Before he lost all his feeling, he grabbed the dagger, hurling it as hard as he could, so that it struck the tree and embedded it hard enough so that his Master would not be able to take it back out. "Riza...!" He gasped, "Move!"
"You... you are the one!" A deeper voice hissed. The blue eye that Rio had sight in was now glazed over and the amber one was not a bright scarlet, regarding Riza with pure hatred and malice. "The one who obstructs me from inheriting this body!" Though his control over Rio's body was much better than before, he was a lot clumsier than the mammalian daemon himself. Nevertheless, the only thing he wanted to do now was make the girl pay, pay for what she had done, obstructing him from taking over Rio. The daemon's quiver was too far away and his dagger was embedded deeply into a tree. He spat frustratedly, that boy would have to pay too. "You've won that wild little heart of his, now you shall pay with your life!" He told her.[/size][/color][/font]
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Riza
Human
Sleeper
~Sing a song~
Posts: 32
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Post by Riza on Oct 16, 2010 10:31:29 GMT -8
Riza frowned. It looked like Rio was a bit more worried about her than he originally let on. She couldn’t blame him really; she knew that if he was such an amazing fighter then his master would have had to be strong too. Riza just had to wonder how strong he really was.
"It should be easier to tell now," The girl blinked. She really hadn’t thought of that before? Not to mention her noticing just how captivating a daemon’s eyes really were. She blushed slightly and glanced away before looking back to give Rio a small smile. That was odd, the girl thought to herself, biting a lip through force of habit. Riza had just glanced over again to look at Rio while he spoke when he stopped mid-sentence and Sieg raced off hissing. The girl looked up to Rio’s eyes and caught a glimpse of the redness returning as he slammed the dagger into the tree. She flinched slightly until Rio shouted, "Riza...! Move!" to which she stood and jumped back. She took a few steps away, still watching her new opponent closely. While she had expected it to be soon, she hadn’t thought it would be quite that soon.
"The one who obstructs me from inheriting this body!" This voice was obviously not Rio, if the hatred-filled red eye wasn’t enough of a tip-off. It was lower and deeper, prone to hissing in it’s anger. Riza had a fleeting question of what he meant and pushed it to the back of her mind.
"You've won that wild little heart of his, now you shall pay with your life!" The girl glared and let her hand brush the deep pocket where she had concealed the four inch knife she had used to tear up her vest. When Rio was still mostly unconscious she had put it there without a thought, but now it seemed it might be useful, though the thought of attacking Rio’s body was less than ideal. That was about when what the spirit had said dawned on her. Her eyes widened a fraction and her face took on a slightly confused look. “Wait…What?” She asked. Riza shook her head, there was no time for this now, there was currently a spirit who was possessing her friend and trying to kill her.
At least Rio had had the foresight to stop his master from using the knife. While he was indeed clumsy, a knife still made things twice as dangerous. Now Riza thought on what exactly a knife would do for her. Just slashing at Rio wouldn’t do anything, so what could she do. Then a horrible idea occurred to her. What about the red eye? It was blind, true, but it did seem to be the main indicator for when the ghost appeared. Riza bit hard down on her lip. She couldn’t just stab him in the eye on a hunch! She would never forgive herself if she managed to stab him and it did nothing.
The human shook her head and looked to the possessed Rio. Right now it might help if she dodged his attacks for a little bit as she tried to figure out what to do. The knife could stay hidden until later.
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Rio
Daemon
Sleeper
Yes, sir?
Posts: 51
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Post by Rio on Oct 16, 2010 10:58:17 GMT -8
Regis took a step forwards, and for the first time, he found that moving was even harder than before. He scowled. He'd have put a few more cuts onto Rio himself, but that'd just affect his performance. No, he'd kill the girl, then punish Rio. He deserved this. Who was he to be so defiant and proud to obstruct him so? All because of that girl. He'd take her away so that boy would once again be obedient. In fact, he'd take away the girl and both the cats.
However, it was a little too much to be thinking of such things like this. He just had to kill the girl before Rio obstructed him too much. The daemon's subconsciousness worried too much about the girl. He had an aura of guilt and it was dragging him down with it. That boy was too oblivious, too trusting for him to be able to do much.
With a snarl, he dove forwards. Though the boy was tall, the body proportions in regard to his own were different, almost a drastic difference. He covered the distance more or less smoothly with the boy's well-toned muscles, though he had forgotten one thing: his stride. The only thing that stood between the girl and him was a root, and it was that very root he tripped over. "Fuck!" He hissed, attempting to scramble up. But as if a weight was upon him, he was unable to. That boy was going to pay very, very dearly.
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Riza
Human
Sleeper
~Sing a song~
Posts: 32
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Post by Riza on Oct 16, 2010 11:18:08 GMT -8
Riza watched as Rio made his way towards her. It was almost odd, the way he moved as if he was struggling through water. His rage seemed to grow with each step until he simply threw himself forward. And tripped over a root. Even though the danger was still great, it was somehow comical. A powerful spirit here and he trips as he tries to kill a teenage girl? It just seemed impossible, but Riza had to take her chance as it came.
The girl grimaced, looking down at the red eye that almost seemed to gleam with pure malice. She knew what she had to do, but more than anything, she didn’t really want to. He struggled on the ground, seemingly unable to get up, and Riza decided to act. Riza grasped the knife, took a few steps forward and dropped to her knees, thrusting the blade towards Rio’s damaged eye as she did so. She made certain not to use too much force, knowing that if the blade pierced his eye too deep it would hit his brain and kill him.
The girl thought she felt the blade hit its mark and jumped back, slowly looking over to what she had done. She heard Rio scream in agony and flinched, realizing that she had hit her mark, and that it was quite unsure if it had actually worked.
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Rio
Daemon
Sleeper
Yes, sir?
Posts: 51
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Post by Rio on Oct 16, 2010 11:32:31 GMT -8
No... no! Even though he was not used to the movements and muscles of Rio's body, the mammalian's heightened hearing and senses had lent him the privilege of knowing that the girl was coming towards him. Instead of hesitating, Rio pressed harder, rendering him unable to lash out at the girl as she dropped so tantalizingly on her knees right beside him. He could have killed her, yes, ended her life instead of looking into this deep indigo eyes as she held the blade right above his sight. He knew that Rio was aware that he was going to be hurt, yet why did he not hesitate? In fact, he seemed to be waiting for this moment, embracing it of sorts. Did he know that this was coming?
Regis's face turned to one of panic. No, the girl wasn't going to stop and Rio was rendering him useless. This could not be right. Then before he knew it, pain blossomed like an array of fireworks and the feeling as if he was being torn to shreds and squeezed together overcame him as he was expelled through the daemon's body. She had found his weak point. Well, this was the end of him and by no means was their descent into death--both Rio and the human's--going to be a peaceful one. He screamed as the pain took hold of him, then almost at once, the pain was cut off and the scream was gone, simply gone.
For a moment, Rio regained his sight. He could catch a fleeting movement that was Riza as she scrambled away from his figure. A feeling of lightness overcame him as he let his curled back muscles relax and let him fall to the ground before he was lost to the inky blackness. Riza had done it. Now all she had to do was name her terms for him to accept and fulfill.
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