The air was cold, soft flakes of snow drifted gently towards the ground, adding to the thick layer of soft powder already covering the ground. Twilight was upon the abandoned city beyond the Wall and although most still slept one walked the streets, surrounded by crumbling building and reminders of the past. Some of it was caused by natural deterioration of the stone; a lot of it was caused by fights between the inhabitants. For life to the south was hard; especially during the winter when food was so scarce. Feet padded silently through the snow when the sudden sent of fresh meat hit the dark creature full on in the face. Listening to the sounds around it he knew something living had entered his domain. It was still early in the night. There was still a chance. Instantly he began moving with an incredible speed, one that would easily outpace even a sprinting horse. For daemons were up amongst the highest of apex predators. The same as the sharks installed fear in sea-farers and crocodiles and alligators terrorised the swamps and waterways the daemon was the fear of the south. There was no creature on land that they feared. Daylight was swiftly disappearing and the darkness was taking hold. Spotting the small figure up ahead the creature came to a sudden stop. He was unsure if he’d be seen in this light, as their skin blended perfectly with the darkness. However it also contrasted drastically to the white snow. It was not fear of being spotted that made him stop, however. It was what stood before him. A human. He should have realised from the smell. Within the darkness screeches and cries began echoing through the night and he knew it was too late. The others had smelt her too. Rushing forward Cade knew this would probably frighten the human, which was the point. Stopping about ten metres from her he hissed, the dry noise causing fog the air from the heat of his breath. “Go! Get out of here! Run!” Although to her human ears it would just sound like terrifying shrieks. It was already too late, however, another daemon, much larger than his adolescent one, appeared on the other side of her, blocking her path back to the Wall. A low growl echoed from the enemy and Cade began walking forward slowly in response, showing he was laying claim to the girl as well.

Do not cross the wall to the south. It was the first thing her parents taught her and a rule that she followed until today. In a village as small as her's, there was not a lot to do, but it still kept on busy all day. She could only be thankful for it, because it meant on certain nights everyone to to exhausted to stay up. Tonight was such a night. She had waited until her parents had fallen asleep before dressing up and making her way to the wall. For to long she heard those noises and was unsure what they were. She wanted to know even if it was risky. Why were they not allowed to cross the wall. Or better yet why did those on the other side not cross over. It did not take long for her to get over the wall and to the other side. She listened to her footsteps crunch on the ground. That was until she felt something watching her. She looked around in the darkness hoping that it was just her imagination. Unfortunately she found something strange ahead. She did not know what it was but she already had a bad feeling about crossing over the wall. Within a couple seconds she saw the creature and when she heard the shrieks she fell down on the ground. For a couple seconds she could not move a muscle. When she gathered control of her limbs she turned around and was about to start crawling and then run to the wall, but she saw another one of those creatures. She was scared and there was nowhere she could run where she would not get caught.

Both daemons walked closer to the girl; both hissing, snarling, growling and making all manner of unpleasant noises. On all fours they moved with an eerie silence, their shoulders visibly rising and falling with each stride, the movements similar to that of hunting cats. Cade knew he was outsized, even though she was a female his opponent was a lot bigger than he was. Still, he didn’t back down. Suddenly the female leapt at the human and he sprinted forward, the burst of speed beyond what seemed possible for an animal their size, even a small daemon like Cade was about as big as a horse, the top of his body sitting at about the same height as the human’s face. Intercepting the attacker he knocked to the side, causing her to screech; a noise that could be compared to tearing metal. Tails thrashed about and snow flew into the air as the pair scuffled in the snow. Cade screeched at the female and, taking advantage of the superior spot he was in, bit into a notoriously soft spot just behind her front leg, earning another screech from her. Her tail thrash, whipping at his side, which stung but didn’t draw blood. Her claws scratched at him, slicing down his side before she kicked at him with her back feet, easily pushing him off her before she turned her attention back to the human prey.

At first Risa sat there paralyzed for a couple seconds before she realized what was happening. It looked like they were fighting over her. She had no idea why, but she was not going to waste this opportunity. She got on all fours and started to crawl to the wall. She was worried that if she got up and ran that the two monsters fighting over her would realize that their prey was escaping. She kept her eyes on the wall doing her best to ignore the noises around her. She needed to get to the wall as fast as possible. When she thought she was close enough she turned around and saw the smaller one being pushed off the bigger one. She made eye contact with the creature, at least she thought she did and chills ran down her spine. She needed to get over the wall or she was going to die. She knew it. The problem was that fear had overcome her again and all she could do was pray. She should not have looked back.

The female moved to intercept the human, once again blocking off her path back to safety. However Cade quickly took her attention again, running at her, all four legs powerfully propelling his body as he launched himself into the female, sending her sprawling into the snow once more before he turned his attention to the human. Quickly leaping at her he moved behind her, shoving her back towards the direction of the wall, growling menacingly as the female righted herself and ran at the pair. With a quick movement Cade shoved the girl out of the way and braced against the impact, crying out in pain as her claws found the scratches she’d made before. The pair were now locked in a shoving match, both clawing and snapping at the other as they tried to gain leverage. It seemed neither was willing to back down and give up the prize. Despite the female’s larger size Cade was faster and he used that to avoid the attacks he felt would do him the most damage. Breaking away from her he now had her undivided attention. She had realised she wasn’t going to get the human unless she beat him first. The snow and wind had picked up considerably and it was now almost a full blown blizzard raging as the pair of dark entities fought.

Risa covered her face thinking that she was going to get attacked, but nothing happened. She opened her eyes and saw that the two had started to fight again. She was starting to move when she found herself being shoved out of the way. She started to scramble to the wall not. The now was getting thicker and she had no idea if she would be able to find the hole quickly. She might have to feel around to find it. Her fears were realized when she reached the wall. She had no idea where the hole she used was. She could not see far enough to see it. She started quickly walk feeling everything that was in her reach. Every time she found a hole it was too small to fit. That was until she found a hole that was big enough for her to get through. Once she was on the other side of the wall she sated to make her way back to her village.

Cade and the female fought for a long time, even after the girl had escaped, it had become more about pride by then. However her size eventually overpowered him and the female moved to stand over him, screeching; that same tearing metal noise radiated through the night, piercing even the blizzard. People who lived in the village would wake from their sleep at this noise and check the beds of their loved ones, for it was generally only a noise made when the daemons discovered humans within their realm. This time it was also a warning, a warning that the next time he crossed her she would finish what she started. Standing Cade began limping back towards his den, a think, blue liquid dripping from the gaping wound in his side. Crumpling into the fur-lined cavity beneath a great tree. Curling up the daemon let his exhaustion overtake him as he drifted off to sleep. It was another night he would go without eating, but he was almost getting used to that now. ** A strange fact people did not know about the daemon territory was that it actually extended beyond the wall, the a small stream on the other side, near the village. Why had the wall been built further into their territory then? No one was really sure, even the daemons, with their long lives, had forgotten that piece of ancient history. However the next morning a boy, barely a man in his own rights, could be seen sitting on the far side of that steam, now frozen in the cold of winter and partially covered by snow, legs dangling into the ditch as he watched the village beyond. He had dirty, sandy blonde hair and dark eyes and seemed to be wearing some kind of animal pelt.

Risa managed to make it home through the blizzard. She spent a good portion of the night in front of the fire warming herself up. She did not even notice when he fell asleep on the floor. The next thing she remembered was her mother and father shaking her awake. She looked at them not understanding shy they looked so worried. That was until she had noticed that her dress was a little torn up. They started to ask her what happened to her dress. She kept quite. She was slightly worried that if she told them that she went over the wall she would get in a lot of trouble. When they would not stop talking she grabbed a jacket and ran out of the house. She just could not think of a good lie to tell her parents. Anything that crossed her mind would been seen through right away. She made her way over to river. At this time of year it was likely that none of the villagers would be there. When she got there she saw the boy. She knew right away that he was not from her village. She knew everyone that lived there. He must be traveler. She wondered why someone would come here when it was much warmer in the north. She had no idea that he was the monster that she had met the night before. She walked up to him and smiled. "Hello"

People went about their usual duties during the day. It was always interesting to watch them, the way they had no fear during the day. When twilight came he always noticed how much more rushed they became, more frightened and their glances kept drifting towards the wall, which loomed in the skyline. He often wondered why they thought it kept them safe. Why did they think the daemons didn’t cross it? Maybe they thought they did, and it was why they hid in their houses before night fell and boarded up the windows. Not that it would stop a daemon if they really wanted to get in. He wondered what they thought he looked like. When he saw a girl approaching the boy stood, taking a few uncertain steps backwards in the snow as she approached. When she called out to him he took a further few steps backward, stumbling over his own clumsy feet and falling to the snow with a wince. The boy grabbed at his side as he quickly climbed back to his feet and turned, running and heading straight for the wall. He hoped the girl would not follow him. Then again he also realised she’d probably think him insane for willing running towards the wall. Or perhaps she’d think he didn’t know any better. He really wasn’t sure when through the minds of girls sometimes. Especially this one who was so foolish as to cross the wall willingly.

Risa saw the boy taking a couple steps back as she approached. This confused her, she did not look threatening so he should not be walking away. When he fell down she sped up to catch him. She had noticed that he seemed to be injured. Now she had not choice but to go after him. She would not let an injured person go without at least getting someone to look at the wound. As she ran after him she noticed that he was going towards the wall. That was a bad thing. He was hurt and from what she could tell he would become a meal for those monsters. "Stop. It's dangerous over there. I don't want to hurt you." She continued to run, but she could tell that he was gaining distance from her. She had to stop him from going close to that wall. "I just want you to get that wound looked at. And If you want you can have breakfast with me," she yelled out as she stopped running. It had just snowed last night so it was hard for her to run in this fresh snow. All she could do was just hope that he took her offer. She stood there catching her breath.

His lungs felt like they were on fire and he hadn't even run that far. The girl continued to shout to him and he glanced over his shoulder for a moment to see if she was gaining. Despite the injury and his weakness he was still out pacing her. However the snow made it difficult to run. After a few more steps he tripped, rolling a few more metres before he simply came to rest in the snow, staring up at the sky and breathing heavily. The sky was oddly blue today, he noted as he lay there. No doubt all the dark gray clouds that had been looming overhead yesterday had stormed out during the night as he’d slept. Glancing over to the side he saw the girl still standing there in the snow and he sat up eventually with a wince, dusting the white powder out of his hair as he looked at her. She certainly had no fear. Walking into daemon territory, chasing a complete stranger half way through the woods. A very off girl, but strangely she reminded him a lot of her. Maybe not as smart… but they had this same blind desire to help. Hopefully it didn’t get her killed one day.

Risa saw him fall over and roll in the snow. She took that opportunity to start running to him ans catch up. She was glad that he had not gotten up and continued to run away. It really was dangerous on the other side of the wall. She slowed down as she got closer and she could not look him in the eye. She looked him over and found that she was right. He was injured. She no longer had a choice, she was going to make him get that wound treated. In this cold it was only going to get worse. "You shouldn't go that way. There are monsters that way, with your injury there is no way that you will be able to survive." She held out her hand. "Come with me. My offer still stands. You should then return north. There is nothing past my village apart from the wall." She kept looking at him with a smile on her face. It was not often her village received any visitors. So one showing up was a nice change of pace. She was sure that her father would share some of their food with the male.

Looking towards the wall as the girl spoke he eventually turned back to her, having remained silent for most of the time. “Daemons.” He eventually said, one simple words. “They are called daemons.” Refusing the offered hand he stood up on his own. “And I’m not from the north.” He left that sentence at that and then turned, walking along behind her silently until he got to the bridge and stopped. For the longest time he looked at the bridge and then eventually back up at her. “I… I can’t…” The boy said uncertainly, stepping backwards. “I know it doesn’t make sense to you but I can’t.” He didn’t know what he was thinking, almost accepting her help. He didn’t need her help. He didn’t need any help. The wound would heal and he could take care of himself. She probably wouldn’t let him go back to the wall on his own right now, but he could sneak off later. Taking a few steps backwards he sat down, as if stubbornly displaying he wasn’t going to follow her. Although then a new thought occurred to him. He’d probably said too much. He’d corrected her out of habit. He should have kept his mouth shut.

She was surprised when he corrected her. At first she was not sure what he meant, but after thinking what she said it made sense. The most curious thing he said was that he was not from the north. That made so sense. He village was the furthest south in the country. Did that mean that there was another one that was far east or west. There was no way that the boy came from the south. With creatures like that she doubted that humans could live there. She stopped on the other side of the bridge when she heard him speak. "Now you listen here, you are going to come with me. Not only are you injured I don't see you have any food." she started. "I will not take no as an answer." She walked up to him and walked up behind him. She would push and pull him if she had to. She doubted that she would move him far, but she could not leave him. It would be against her nature. She also wanted to learn more about Daemons. Those creatures had almost killed her, but there had to be a way to avoid them or fight them and survive. She wanted to see what was further past the wall.

As the girl began pushing him the boy fought as much as he was able. “No. Listen to me, you don’t understand… you have no idea what kind of problems this is going to cause…” However it seemed she really was going to take no for an answer. He sighed softly. If only she knew what she was doing. His strength was failing him, he was hungry, weak and sleep deprived and right now it was just easier to let her have her way. So long as he was out of there before the end of the day no one would know. So he eventually gave up on fighting and he began following her begrudgingly, his eyes cast downwards as he refused to look at her. He didn’t want to look as he crossed the bridge and the boy then turned his eyes towards the sky, once again inspecting the blue sky as he crossed over to the human side of the of the river. “You know, some would consider this abduction, taking someone against their will.” He eventually mused aloud, turning to look at her for a few moments with dark eyes before turning away from her again.

She continued to push him ignoring his protests. "I understand, you're hurt and your acting like it is nothing. In this cold if wounds are not treated you will end up dying and that will attract predictors that feed on the dead. That in turn means we need to be more vigilant. So I do know what I am doing," she said. So when he finally gave up she stopped pushing him. She was glad because if she had to continue pushing him all the way to the village she would attract a lot more attention then she wanted. When they crossed the bridge nothing changed, so she had no idea why he was so nervous about it. "Well people here would call it being considerate. You don't let an injured stranger just go someone so they can die. You help them. And your free to go once your wounds are tended to and you have eaten. I can't force you to stay," she said. She would prefer if he stayed until he was all healed up, but there were no inns in her village. Someone would need to offer up a bed and for now this boy was a stranger to everyone. She did not even know what his name was. As they finally entered the village she noticed the stares of those outside. She ignored them for now, she would have to deal with the gossip once she dealt with the boy. She lead him to her home were both her parents were still in the kitchen. She turned to them and smiled. "Mother. Father. I found this traveler in the woods. He's injured and has no food. Can he stay here for a day. I will get the doctor, but can you make enough food for him to eat." She then turned to him and smiled. "We don't have a lot to offer, but your meal will be served soon. I'm going to get the doctor. You better be here when I get back." She then rushed out of the house.

“But apparently you can force me to go somewhere I don’t want to.” The boy mumbled under his breath. As they walked further and further into the village he began feeling more and more flighty, the eyes of the townspeople on him. He eventually pulled his hood over his face, as if that would somehow magically keep people from seeing him. As they entered a house he did remove the hood, but felt an overwhelming sense of claustrophobia overcome him. When the girl said she was going to get a doctor he reached out to stop her, but she was already gone. “Please… no more people…” He said softly, moving to sit against the wall. He looked up at the two people the girl had referred to as ‘mother’ and ‘father’ whatever they were. “I apologise for the inconvenience… I tried to tell her not to bring me here…” Despite everything he felt an ominous feeling of tiredness overwhelm him and darkness started to cloud his vision. He was exhausted. He needed rest. Here was not the most desirable place… not the kind of place he wanted to lose track of time certainly. Despite his struggles to stay awake eventually the darkness overcame him and he drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

Risa came back a couple minutes later with the doctor. It did not take long to find him. It was still early in the morning so he was bound to be in his home still. She ended up forcing the man to come before he got the chance to finish breakfast. By the time she got back the boy was already out cold. Her parents had not touched him in fear of making his wound worse. She watched the doctor as he wrapped up the sleeping boys wound. He told her that it looked worse then it was and the boy would be fine. Knowing that she sighed in relief. She then had her father help her carry him to a bed. She covered him and then sat down on a chair beside him. Once she was done her breakfast she headed out to meet a couple people. She would return once every hour to make sure that the boy was still asleep. She did not want him to leave without eating a single morsel of food. Eventually she found herself just sitting by the bed waiting for him to wake up.

By the time he woke up it was far later than he would have liked. For a few moments he blinked, his vision blurry as he sat up, looking around in confusion. After a few moments his eyes fell on the girl beside him and he jumped back in surprise, looking down at his side in concern. He then looked towards the window and felt his heart leap in his throat. “I have to go.” He said softly, looking for a way out. Now, human dwellings were a strange thing for him, he didn’t fully understand the purpose of internal doors, as such wasn’t entirely aware he could use them. So the boy instead turned and hurled himself out the window, landing in the snow, which had melted and compacted during the day. Now it was a better surface for running on and he took off once more towards the bridge and the wall, it was a strange feeling he’d probably never be able to fully explain to a human, but it felt like the path home was lit up before him, telling him which way to go. Once again people stared, but he didn’t care. Getting back to the other side of the river was the only thing that mattered right now.

Risa was surprised when he got up. He had slept for longer than she though that he would, so when he got up she had nothing prepared for anything to eat. She did not have to tell him to stay and wait for a meal. He had gotten up and jumped out the window before she could stop him. She walked to the window and looked at him as he started to run back the way that she brought him. "If you want a meal, my home is open," she yelled out to the male. She saw no point in running after him. By the time she was dressed and out the door he would have a complete head start over her. One that she would not be able to make up. She made her way to her room. She would try to see if he was there tomorrow morning. She would this time bring something to eat. She spent the evening wondering what she should bring tomorrow. She really hoped he would be there. It was not often that the village got a visitor and she wanted to take full advantage of it. She ended up wondering where the male was staying for the night. There were no other place to sleep that would keep you warm. If she had not been worried about the events the night prior she would have gone out to look for him.