In the Nation of Durith - Pascal x SileceneAlethea

[Pascal]

Elise, the demon representative of Envy, gasped when the mage stated her ability. That skill, that knowledge, that power, it was enticing. She wanted it. Elise was not the only one to become more interested in this mage, however. Envy was just the most drawn to Ka’liya by this knowledge. She wanted…she needed to see all that the mage saw and had seen. The others were not quite as intrigued until Deikona explained what he had done. Ka’liya wasn’t weak until Deikona had made her so.

As Deikona placed his hands on Ka’liya’s shoulders, she could not help but become tense. She then heard his words, and her face contorted from confusion to anger. He had taken her futures from her, and she hadn’t even known it. The fact that she didn’t know she was being manipulated bothered her more than she cared to admit. It did explain, however, why Ka’liya had seen nothing, and why she should have been suspicious about that earlier. Though Ka’liya stayed silent, Raishena had enough of a reaction for both of them, and the seven were less than pleased by outbursts.

“Well she is hardly a seer if she hasn’t been affected by her sights, now has she.” Pride’s representative chuckled at his own witty remark. Elise opened her mouth to speak, but she was cut off. The others knew that her thirst for that knowledge would make her next line of questions entirely too distracting from why they had been assembled. The next to speak, was Pride’s representative, as he was one of the more composed demons at that moment. “The claim on these children seems convoluted enough without you, Deikona. But if you have some piece of information that you would like to contribute, we might as well hear that too.” The council waited, listening to Deikona’s input, if he had any, and then turned his attention on the seer once more.

“You stated that you think you hold a claim because it is your egg. What about the sperm, then? What about the father?” Wrath’s representative, Reith asked, furious that they were getting distracted by the other demons who had made themselves present, for some reason.

Ka’liya gave a small nod, and recounted the incident in the bar. She explained that the twins recognized that the unborn babies were theirs before she knew such. Their response was to physically leave.

“So, whichever of them was the father… forfeited his claim to Adriel, giving him the ability to trade the demon spawn for whatever he see fit.” Reith mused aloud, trying to get to the bottom of this quickly. The others nodded in agreement. Adriel could have made a deal, as he had more rights to do away with Ka’liya’s claim than she had to maintain it. Finally, Elise turned to Shari. “So why do you believe that you have the rightful claim to the unborn children?” She asked.

Shari explained when Mina had acted on Adriel’s behalf, as he was in no position to do so himself. She focused on the latter half of the wording; the deal had been struck for ‘the result of what is in that womb’ she quoted herself for good measure. When they questioned her, she did say that she had specified a child, but it was everyone’s understanding at the time in question that there as only one child. The answer was truly in the details.

[SileceneAlethea]

How he liked to make others squirm a little. Deikona smirked a little. By arranging this entire event, he was sure he had driven quite the thorn into Shari's side, complicating the Demoness' claim upon the demon spawn that grew within Ka'liya's womb. The more Shari squirmed, the more satisfied he could feel about this affair that had drawn these seven together, "No, I have no desire to add any additional information... after all, this is hardly my problem. I'm merely here to ensure that it is known that the girl belongs to me until Adriel comes to collect what belongs to him..." Storm grey hues shifted towards the demon who embodied the sin of envy within her, his attention being drawn by a certain gleam that had lit up in her eyes. He knew that look in her eyes... knew the want and need that had blossomed in her core... with Ka'liya held within her sights.

A threat to his interests.

Falling back into silence as questions were asked.

"We could always just... get rid of the brats." A husky wheezing voice sounded out, almost in irritation, drawing a snigger from the incubus that was present, "Oh? Shall we bake them into a pie for you and serve them on a silver platter, Ja'Vino?" Yellowed hues held mild amusement still as the glutton licked his lips, a almost sickening grin crossing his face, "It's more to my taste to devour them alive and whole." He answered in response, earning himself a nab in the ribs that never quite reached his ribs, Greed's elbow just sinking into one of those vile fat rolls that clung to Ja'Vino's over fed body, "Ugh- disgusting!" She gasped, sliding away quickly when a stench reached her, her features quite plainly displaying her disgust with the other, "We did not gather here to watch you stuff your face." She muttered, looking towards Ka'liya. A child held no interest to her. Unlike Deikona, she had no desire for petty 'dolls' or weak and fragile humans. No, she was interested in things that lasted a bit longer... gems... beautiful, glorious gems. Her eyes shifting longing towards Pride's neck again. Oh, no, there was never enough to satisfy her when it came to the pretty stones that shimmered so brightly even in a dulled light, "I cast my vote- The children should go to Shari. Unless Adriel himself walks in here and revokes the agreement his own offspring made on his behalf, then the deal is valid." She commented, leaning back and crossing her legs, "Now, the sooner I can leave, the better." She muttered.

"So soon? With no questions?" Kieran questioned, smoothing back several strands of silvery white hair that had fallen down, his gaze sliding down the demoness' body out of pure habit, blinking a little when the demoness shifted, "I care not for the affairs of some pitiful seer and her 'unfortunate' predicament." She commented, "My vote stands."

"I see... Ja'Vino?"

"A deal is a deal." A wheeze sounded, "Besides..." He wiped at his chin absently to attempt to clear away a bit of spit that had dripped down from the edge of his mouth, "...this entire ordeal is trifling. Twins are rare, there was no way of knowing that two would grow within her womb. To challenge a already made deal..." He chuckled, his hungry gaze settling on Ka'liya, "You're merely pulling at feebly attached strings, girl. Hand the brats over to Shari."

"Two votes."

Kieran mused absently. Two votes out of seven aimed towards Shari's favor. Two votes casted out of a lack of interest in the situation.

"Tell me, Seer..." He stated speaking, leaning forwards slightly, "Let's suppose that you DO reclaim the right to your offspring... what do you intend to do when Adriel comes to collect?"

[Pascal]

The demons began to joke; at least, Ka’liya told herself that it was joking when they threatened to eat her offspring. And in a single moment, two of the demons cast their votes against Ka’liya. Her words had meant nothing. The ones who had cast their votes did not care about why they were gathered, and they did not think that the human had any right to make a claim. Ka’liya struggled to keep her composure, but closed her eyes for a few moments until she was addressed again.

“There is someone, whom I trust.” Ka’liya began. “I think that he would care for them when I no longer can.” Ka’liya knew that she would no longer care for the twins once Adriel took her soul. She had gathered that much from what she learned about the process thus far, which wasn’t much. However, she did trust one person to keep them safe, and to give them a chance to be something more than most demons would expect. Fenrik was that chance. He had lived among humans, managed to keep himself safe, and he had actually wanted her offspring. Granted even he had thought that there was only one, but it was a better chance than any of her other options. Even though she was rather fond of Deitriel, she knew that she could not try to place a burden like that upon him. And it would be strange to have them so close to her. She wanted them to be safe, and she did not think that safe was anywhere near Adriel.

Reith had practically ignored Ka’liya’s words, focusing instead on the two who had voted against the Seer getting rights to either child. “I vote that the Seer can challenge Shari.” He said, grinning. He would have voted against those who had already decided no matter which way they went. The added bonus for him was the potential to see Shari and the seer fight, which would amuse him for a little while longer. After all, he had been dragged to this council to listen to them squabble, the least they could do was fight to entertain him a little while longer.

Three votes were down, and there were four more still to be cast.

“And just what kind of challenge do you suppose that the Seer can actually win?” Daeryn, the man who spoke with pride and eloquence, asked, turning to Reith. Reith grinned widely, and Daeryn leaned back, “Unless you are voting merely to see a fight,” He mused, to which Reith glared and pounded his fist against the table. Reith was a terribly shallow demon, as most were, but he was also quite incapable of hiding his desires.

A noise that resembled a snort came from the blob at the end of the table, and thin lids rose above the glazed dark eyes. No one had seemed to care that Csei had been asleep for the entire meeting thus far. “We’re…still…here?” He asked between labored breaths. “How….are…the votes?” He asked.

“One for allowing the seer to challenge Sarah, and two for-“ Daeryn was cut off by Csei “Noooo.” He said, the word drawn out by his lack of desire to bother closing his mouth.

“That is your vote?” Daeryn asked to clarify. Csei simply closed his eyes again. He would move again when it was over. With only one more vote needed to end this, he figured they would be leaving soon.

Perhaps it was simply bad timing, or perhaps the unborn demons knew that their lives were at stake. They began to unleash poison into Ka’liya body, dropping to her knees quickly. Ka’liya gasped, and clutched the cloth of her dress tightly as Raishena rushed over to her. She didn’t kiss Ka’liya, but she placed her hand over Ka’liya’s stomach and began to draw out the poison. There was something else going on, but Raishena hadn’t quite figured it out yet. The unborn children were desperate, and they were about to force their way out of the human. Ka’liya’s water broke a few moments later, and Ka’liya gasped again in shock and confusion. She couldn’t help but wonder if Deikona had known about this, if Ka’liya had seen this and the demon had taken it from her. For some reason that thought made her very angry, but she was distracted from the anger by another wave of pain.

[SileceneAlethea]

Things... had suddenly become much more interesting. With the threat hovering in the air, those infants seemed to suddenly revolt and twist inside Ka'liya's womb, expelling their toxins in their unconscious desire and will to survive. Keiran, who had not yet casted his vote, grinned, "I cast my vote in the human's favor." He commented, laughing a bit, Raishena drawing the poison back out of the woman in a attempt to help her... but something was wrong.

They weren't settling back as they should have. No, they were thrashing, a small shape of a tiny hand visibly shoving against the soft skin of Ka'liya's belly, "DEIKONA." She gasped out, green hues having grown wide as it occurred to her that this was hardly a false alarm.

"Deikona." Her voice had risen a few octaves looking towards him. Why was he so calm? So collected? He smirked a bit, "Oh?" He commented, looking towards her, meeting her gaze as she hissed out, "She needs to be MOVED."

Two had voted in Kaliya's favor. Three again. One more and it could possibly be over. Inside Ka'liya's womb, the twins thrashed again, the sound of something cracking being heard, "They won't stay still." Raishena gasped, meeting Ka'liya's gaze. No matter the turn of events, the infants refused to lie in wait any longer. Even if it meant destroying their mother's body apart from the inside.

"It seems that this needs to be wrapped up before they rip her wide open." The greed demon chuckled, seeming amused, "It's been a long time since I've seen THAT sort of sight, though... so wasting a bit more time shouldn't be that unreasonable. It might even be entertaining."

[Pascal]

Ka’liya was immobilized. It was taking all of her energy to continue breathing properly as her ribs began to crack under their strength. She lost her awareness of what was going on around her. That Deikona had seen the labor coming…that a demon voted in her favor, giving her a chance. Still, all it would take was one more vote for her to lose the unborn children.

“I cast my vote in favor of the human.” Daeryn spoke out. He had been thoroughly amused by the fact that her argument hinged on Shari’s unclear language. She was not muddling it all up with human emotions. Had she been that stupid, he would have cast his vote against her much sooner. The votes stood at 3 to 3 with Elise being the deciding factor. She tore her gaze away from Daeryn’s jewels and looked at Ka’liya. Perhaps if she waited until the demons tore themselves from her body, then she would get those hands. That was certainly worth waiting for…

Daeryn noticed that Elise was hesitating, and turned to her. “Make a decision, or ask for more information.” He said, shaking his head. In his mind, most of the other demons were a disgrace to all demons. They gave in to their sins and were controlled by them, acting stupidly. He thought that he made the best decisions for situations, and it annoyed him that she was acting like a child. Elise sighed, and shook her head. “I vote for Shari.” She said simply. Even if she wanted the human’s hands, it didn’t mean that she thought that the girl was good for anything else. She certainly didn’t see the point in giving the human two demon babies when she was about to have her soul taken. It was a waste. Might as well give them to a demon of envy. She knew how difficult it was to always want, and would do a lot of things to satisfy her own needs. Yes it was biased, but no one said that the council was fair.

“Then the votes have been cast. The unborn demon twins will belong to Shari. Assuming that they survive birth.” Daeryn said. The council over, the demons began to file out, Csei waking as they shuffled and making his way towards the exit as well. Elise looked back at Ka’liya, staring at her hands once more. As she stepped out, she moved a bit closer to Deikona. “If she dies, I want her hands.” She whispered. Deikona nodded knowingly, something he had picked up from the seer, which should have unnerved the council more than it had. Ka’liya was biting her lip not to call out in pain, but couldn’t even make out their verdict. She was sure that she was dying, and she was only standing because Raishena was holding her up.

[SileceneAlethea]

And so it was decided.

"Satisfied, Shari?" Deikona commented, glancing towards the demon in question, smirking a little and then shifting those silvery grey hues towards the demon that approached him, “If she dies, I want her hands.” Amusement was quick to light of those eyes of his as he heard her words. He almost didn't even seem to notice that Ka'liya was doubled over in pain, or that the demon spawn hosted within her body was a threat to the very body that supposedly belonged to Deikona, simply nodding towards the demon.

Only as those last demons took their leave, did Deikona turn his gaze towards the pair, his expression becoming more serious, "He's coming." Deikona commented, absently checking his nails as he picked at them, walking over, and then knocking Raishena away from Ka'liya suddenly with a sharp strike of his hand, "Do not waste your time." He stated coolly, "She's already bleeding internally. If Adriel doesn't get here in time, her soul will be up for grabs." He grinned darkly, Raishena's eyes narrowing suddenly, "That... is... THAT the real reason you wanted her?"

"Now now, don't think so shallow of me..." Deikona mused, "A soul IS a soul after all... and just imagine how hers would taste..."

He stepped forwards towards Ka'liya, giving her a violent shove that sent her falling back to the floor, those infants thrashing again inside her belly, "Oh my." He mused, seeing a tiny clawed hand shove so hard against the seer's belly that they cut through slightly. Leaning down over her, "This may hurt a bit, dear..." He purred, his hand moving down for her chest... but before he could, something else busted in. Something furious and crimson. Deikona went flying as he was struck, looking almost like a rag doll the way he flopped into the structure.

Raishena having backed off immediately when Adriel himself glared towards her, as if daring her to make another move for Ka'liya, "Know your place, Deikona." He snarled darkly, having seen what the other demon had been about to do.

[Pascal]

Giving a small, and yet disappointed nod, Deikona backed off and stayed silent as Adriel approached his prize. Raishena scrambled to her feet, wanting to help at least ease Ka’liya’s pain. It was more than obvious that she was dying. Ka’liya was screaming in pain, sweat dripping down her face, blood pouring down her stomach from where the infants’ claws tore through her skin to get out. Ka’liya became delirious, the room fading away around them, and filling instead with trees. She saw the scene in the woods, where she had conversed with Adriel about getting hurt. He had been frustrated, called her a mindless servant. Ka’liya knew that she was his weakness.

“I don’t know if I will be able to learn enough to fight demons before I lose my mind, but I cannot sit idly by and be your biggest weakness.” she had said. At the time, she had not been worried about losing her soul, she had been worried about losing her mind at a young age, as all seers did. Adriel had offered to fill that void for her. "I will teach you how to fight... if you wish." He stated softly, "But from here, Ka'liya... there's no turning back." Ka’liya had thought that he meant turning away from the world of demons. Now that she knew of them, she would always know of them and be involved with them. She had not known that he meant to harvest her soul, make her into a demon, to taint her. Being bonded with him was enough, though. Even if those words had not been exchanged, her soul was tainted with his darkness with the spell caster’s work.

“Adriel,” Ka’liya managed to say, lost in her memories. “There is nothing to turn back to. There is only forward.” She echoed the words from their deal in the forest, not realizing how applicable they still were. Ka’liya coughed, and blood poured out of her mouth. Raishena wanted to move forward, to help pull the infants from her womb, but Adriel would have none of it. He grabbed her arm as she tried to speak to him, and Ka’liya’s eyes turned white with a vision. Deikona watched in silent jealousy. He had been privy to everything, but now he wondered if he was privy to what she was seeing in that moment. The lack of knowledge greatly bothered him, and he crossed his arms in frustration. Shari stepped forward, eager for her prize. The human would have lost anyway, she had been in no condition to put up a fight for any challenge. The whole council was a waste of time, but at least the stress triggered the labor. Now she would get her spoils immediately, which was definitely a positive.

Ka’liya saw her death, her soul being snatched by Adriel, and what she could become. A demon of Lust. And she saw Adriel, commanding and intimidating, enjoying his demon for some time, though it was evident that he would tire of her as entertainment, even in the snippets that Ka’liya saw. Jolted from the vision by the first child climbing out of her stomach, Ka’liya fell limp to the floor, beginning to close her eyes. “Adriel,” Ka’liya coughed again, blood joining with the words she sputtered. “I forgive you.” She said, before her eyes closed once more.

[SileceneAlethea]

In the air, the first shrill screams of that infant sounded aloud, the cold air coming as a shock to the half demon spawn, it's sibling soon to join it, but Adriel didn't care. He wasn't here for them. He could care less what became of them. They were not his spawn. They were not his concern. He had come for what rightfully belonged to him. His face emotionless as she spoke, choking his name out through the blood that had filled her throat. "Adriel,"

"Don't say it." He hissed, as if he anticipated her next words, glaring at her as the words spilled from her lips. Forgiveness? He laughed softly, shaking his head, "Stupid girl." He whispered, having come to kneel down over her, watching her eyes close, his hand pressing against her chest, "This is going to sting. Not that you care by this point." he commented offhandedly, and in the next moment, those crimson red hues lit up, glowing almost as his claws ripped deep into her chest, his fingers hooking into something black that threatened to burst free from her chest, Deikona having tensed up in anticipation.

Her soul. Black and tainted and tarnished by Adriel's influence mostly.

A scream would fill the air as Adriel ripped the thing straight out of her body, it solidifying into his hand somewhere, pitch black in color and he smirked, rising to his feet, a mist-like essence trailing off of it.

"Beautiful..." he whispered, his hand closing into a fist around the soul, and without another word, he turned, walking out. Leaving Shari to retrieve the twins. The body meant nothing to Adriel, and in a sense, it still belonged to Deikona. Deikona who approached only after Adriel was long gone with the soul he had claimed, a sour feeling having settled as he remained unsatisfied with the end results, "What a shame." he muttered, glaring off into the way the red haired male had gone. Most likely, the crimson demon would go off somewhere to devour his precious soul he had 'earned'.

And things would continue as normal.

Ka'liya's body would be picked apart and disposed of, her offspring taken, and Deikona returning to his own layer to come up with new interests. Even Raishena would go back to what she had done before having been interrupted, Deikona no longer having any use for her.

And over time...

In this place where Ka'liya's blood had soaked deep into the stone where she had died...

She would return.

Reborn.

[Pascal]

The twin boys were called Aysen and Kodie. Shari had someone else caring for their main needs, as they were practically born with venomous bites. Though they were entertaining, she was eager for them to grow and become more useful. She occasionally mentioned them when she saw their father, whichever of them it was. The fact that Shari had them bothered both Kerosha and Aeirulos. They were impressed that the children had survived, and didn’t want them to be used by Shari, or anyone else. When it had been Adriel who had claimed the children, they saw no hope. But this was a different matter entirely. They nodded absently to Shari and left, expressing their desire to get their hands on the boys, who were quite healthy as far as they could tell.

Word of their plans spread to Mina’s eager ears, however, and she intended to cause quite a bit of trouble. Hunting down and finding Fenrik, she taunted him for a short while before revealing that the twins had in fact been born healthy, and that Shari was caring for them. Mina didn’t know that Ka’liya had wanted Fenrik to care for them more than anything. She just wanted to cause a bit of trouble. Fenrik took the bait, and before Kerosha and Aeirulos could enact their plans, Fenrik had whisked away the half-demons and disappeared once more, using his ring to have more crafted that could protect the twins from those like Shari. She was furious, and, having heard the rumors about the twin fathers, went after Kerosha and Aeirulos. The two had heard nothing about who had taken the twins, and they disappeared much like Ka’liya had. A few more months passed, and in that time the seer mage was largely forgotten.

During that time, Raishena found herself back at her shop. Though the demon had nothing against Ka’liya, the captivity that came with being in her company was not something that she missed in the slightest. Deikona went back to his lair, spending quite a bit of time with the toys they he had gained while using Ka’liya’s visions. The visions were of use to him for a short while longer, but eventually he found himself craving a seer again to add to his collection. He captured more than a few mages in search of one, but to no avail.

Still, a day came when Adriel was drawn to the rarely used council chamber. Taking a portal to the place, it did not look like someone had their soul ripped from her body as she died there. The stone was clean, the blood consumed by true scavenger demons. After a few minutes in the room, however, the torches on the walls began to flicker. Between the cracks of the stone blood began to rise up, thick and dark. It rose out of the ground, swirling around where Ka’liya’s body had fallen, There was something forming behind the veil of dark mist and blood, though its appearance was masked until the demon was formed. When the demon was completely reborn, the blood seemed to be drawn into her body. She inhaled sharply, her body still enshrouded by large black wings. In the darkness of the room, they looked black, but in proper light they would look like both dark violet and a midnight blue. As the demon exhaled her first breath, her wings unwrapped themselves, revealing her new appearance.

Being new-born, the demon was small. However it was obvious she was no child. Being born a demon of Lust, she had all of the curves of a fully developed woman, with none of the fat or sag that accompanied the age for most. She was stark naked and her body was once again unscathed. She was small, but she would grow with time. Her features were similar, but it was obvious that this demon was not the seer that Adriel first met outside of a tavern. Looking up at the large demon with cool eyes, she knew that her path lay with the demon, though she had no memory to explain why.

[SileceneAlethea]

Stealing the twins away had been far easier than he had first anticipated. It had been simple, really. After gaining the information that he had needed from Mina, Mina who he knew had only wanted to stir up some trouble in those wicked ways of hers, he had made up a excuse in order to leave his post without suspicion. Having acted quickly, finding the demoness and the twins was also of little issue. Mina had been thorough in her information, having told him all that she could, and with a malicious giggle, had hopped out of his bedroom window as if it was the grand station for demons or something.

He hadn't even been aware that someone COULD giggle maliciously... but Mina apparently had mastered it.

Random memories aside, Fenrik had located the place where Shari had left the pair of half-bloods, and without detection, had slipped inside and stolen them.

They were too young to hide their true nature... but Fenrik clearly remembered some of the tricks his mother had used when she had still been alive. Simple spells that could 'hide' those more dangerous qualities about the pair. After all, if anyone found out what he was, let alone the fact that he was now harboring two more like himself, he would have MORE than his share of trouble.

But...

Surprisingly, things went smoothly. Hiding the twin's demonic auras with the same kind of magic his mother had used on him, there was little chance that Shari or the true father, would ever find them. Unless Mina ratted him out. Which, for some reason he doubted. Or, at least hoped she wouldn't sell him out in a childish whim of mischief.

Several months passed and the boys grew quickly. Faster than a normal human child, that was certain. Already they had both begun crawling about and getting into things if not supervised, and on one occasion, Fenrik had caught one of them in the kitchen cabinet, having devoured everything within reach, the young child curled up in a ball, smiling contently as he slept off his overfilled belly. Leaving Fenrik puzzled as to HOW he had managed to get up to such a high place. Needless to say, they were quite a handful, and Fenrik was steadily becoming more and more grateful that he had taken the time to change his residence before bringing them here. He had chosen a house out on the far outskirts of the town, where he wouldn't risk drawing unwanted attention to himself.

Until they grew, Fenrik wanted to keep the higher ups OUT of his home as long as possible.




Elsewhere, as the months passed since Ka'liya's brutal death, things began to grow quiet... but for Adriel...

He couldn't rest. Couldn't think of nothing except her. Ka'liya.

No, Ka'liya was dead. He himself had watched her take her last breath... had ripped the soul out of her dying body... but he couldn't help that feeling that constantly crept over him. That sensation that kept him awake when he wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and sleep.

The contract hadn't been fulfilled.
And Adriel knew it.

The girl he had met, dirtied, and in the end killed.... she was gone... but the contract had been agreed upon. In one form or another, she still existed somewhere. His thoughts had shifted towards a new being. Being pulled by a call he couldn't resist. Only able to resist it until it grew so strong he couldn't stand it, and so, he set out. Eventually being brought back to the place where it had all happened. Abandoned and picked clean from scavengers, he was silent as he approached. A crow letting out a angry caw in response to the demon's unwanted presence.

"Shut up." He muttered absently. The air felt different than the last time he had been here. It was tense. As if waiting for something to happen, and as if being prompted by some unseen force, he stepped forwards, entering the council chamber. The scent of blood that had suffocated the hall before long cleared out. The stone cool to the touch. Taking a seat, he waited. The lit flames flickering at some disturbance. Only now the scent of blood coming to tickle his nose, crimson hues shifting to watch it bubble up from in between the cracks...

Bubbling up and swirling as within it's center a concealed form had begun to take shape...

And in the next few moments, Adriel would stand, looking down on the creature who now laid naked in the room, wearing a face reminiscent and familiar to him, though different. Meeting her gaze with his own. Even like this, he knew that a small part of her would know him. After all... it was his fault that she had ended up like this. Kneeling down before her, he smirked,

"Hello... Ka'liya."