Susanna tossed and turned in her sleep. This was not unusual for her, with the life that had claimed her she was lucky that her psyche wasn't more damaged than it was. Susanna sat straight up awake, the sound of a little boys screams ringing in her ears. Lilith always had a thing for destroying families. Unable to sleep Susanna stood and walked to the window of the room; The moon was high tonight illuminating the square that Susanna had been unable to save. People moved bodies from the area without any idea what had happened. Perhaps they thought that the Demon's of Veiron had attacked them from a distance. It must be unnerving living so close to the sight of the Cataclysm.

[i]Can't sleep again little girl?[/i] Lilith asked slowly, Susanna could feel her fatigue. In mortal form Demons might be able to neutralize a lot of human weaknesses but they still needed sleep albeit less often. Normally Susanna resented the demon for all it had done but tonight she was grateful not be alone. "Every time I close my eyes I see that boy from Elois." Both the girl and the demon knew who she was talking about. [i]The boy that made us feel human again. He welcomed us after a very long journey... He screamed like a wild pig when I started.[/i] Susanna could feel the malicious smile that would be curling her lips if Lilith was the one in control.

"Couldn't you try to be human for a couple of seconds. Show some compassion. Didn't you used to be an elven girl. Don't you remember what it was like to feel love for someone or sadness at there death?" The pause was so long that Susanna gave up on getting a response. She glanced at the door and it suddenly occurred to her that if Cecilia and her father thought she was still possessed and with the display she'd put on why wouldn't they, they would be able to follow her trail here easily. Susanna took hold of a very old green dresser and propped it against the door. It's surface was clear and clean so Susanna withdrew her quarter staff and her father's sword and plaed them on the dresser while she went about polishing the both of them and sharpening the military sword.

[i]I remember.[/i] "What?" Susanna asked having forgotten her question of earlier. [i]I remember what it was like to feel compassion. Then it felt like love. When I was taken to the underworld the one thought the kept me alive was that my family would wait for me. Eventually I clawed my way out of the pit but I wasn't me anymore. I was something formless and foul. I tried to talk to them. To tell them that I loved them, they called me a demon and exercised me from the village. I learned that day that no matter how important people say family is what they really mean is that perfect, pretty families are important. They don't have time for the secrets under the bed.[/i]

Susanna swallowed a sob. She could feel the truth in the statement and she felt sad from the monster. The she remembered the scream of the little boy again. Whatever sweet innocent thing that Lilith had been five hundred years ago was long gone leaving only an angry vengeful husk in its place. [i]If you're cleaning weapons you might as well see to Mahtan's as well. Blood does not react well with elven smithing.[/i] Susanna didn't really care to clean the elf's weapons after what he had done to the town but she was filled with a nervous energy that would not let her sleep. It was best that she do something productive. Susanna used a little bucket of water to clean off the blood and her own oil and whetstone to sharpen and polish it though from the feel of the blade it needed no sharpening. With Lilith's instructions Susanna restrung the bow and she lay out the weapons on the dresser in a display. Is someone tried to break the door down the sound of Mahtan's weapons falling to the floor would alert them at least.

Susanna then wriggled back under the covers and fell asleep. Her dreams were plagued with Lilith's victims and the ever present voice of the Grand Accuser of the after life, the being that would oversee her Trial of the Damned. She didn't get much sleep but that wasn't surprising. When the dawn came Susanna was awake but she didn't want to get up. The cocoon of the blankets she'd formed for herself was warm and comfortable unlike the harsh world out there. Sometimes she just wanted to curl up and sleep for eternity.

[i]Get up girl.[/i] Lilith's voice had no amusement or pleasure in it as was normal for her. This wasn't something that she did for entertainment. Susanna gave a small yelp at the forcefulness of the demon's voice and pushed the blankets roughly off her body. Mahtan was already up and had turned sharply when he heard the sound she made. Susanna made no apologies and Mahtan didn't expect any.

Susanna looked around the room. The weapons that she had polished last night were in perfect condition but the rest of the room appeared as if a storm had charged through it. She'd heard breaking and shattering during the night but thought it was part of her nightmares. "Susanna...did you clean these for me? Furthermore, why is the door barred?" His tone was sweet and he was clearly trying to be as nice as possible to her after the fit he'd thrown the night before. The only reason that Susanna was not running for the hills was because she had the power to stop him if he did it again. This town would be rubble if she hadn't been there.

"Yes, it's not good for the blade to be soiled, it can lead to rust or dulling of the blade." It was something that she'd learned from her father. Not with swords per say but with the butchers tools they used to kill the fatted calf on market day. She assumed the same principle applied. She was not in the mood to honey coat anything like he was trying to do for her. "I barred the door in case anyone came looking for vengeance because of that tantrum you threw. I wiped as many memories as I could but I can't be sure I got everyone." She said it plainly. He could have killed them all in his rage and that would not have benefited him, Susanna or Lilith.

Mahtan came and sat on the bed next to Susanna staying as far to the edge of the mattress as he could. A smell engulfed her. The smell that Lilith had pointed out back in the clearing. It was the smell that had convinced her that he wasn't a demon but it smelled different now. The trees smelled rotten and the cold unforgiving. It was like the smell had been corrupted. Susanna recognized the signs that that smell indicated. Mahtan was starting to smell of demon energies.

She tried not to wretch, her nostrils flaring. To anyone else this smell would probably be wonderful but she would like nothing better than for it go go away. "Susanna.." the elf was trying to keep the good mood between them and use it as leverage for what he said next. "We need to go to the Veiron Keep, I feel something there calling me, and I'm sure Lilith does too. I haven't heard her speak since last night, but I'm sure she wants to be there as well. I need to learn to control the powers I have, I don't want to risk harming more innocent people, or even yourself. I don't know what I would do without you and Lilith guiding me and keeping me in line."

That was the wrong way to go. Anything Lilith wanted Susanna wanted to stay far away from. This foolish elf was treating her and the demon like they were two sides of the same coin, like they were in sync. Nothing could be farther from the truth. [i]Come on Susanna. You said you didn't want him to cause anymore catastrophes. If it will make you go I'll tell you a secret. You'll find a truth inside the gates of Veiron. It is something that perhaps you don't want to know when you find out but the curiosity will burn you up till you do.[/i] Susanna hated Lilith in that moment more than she'd ever hated anyone. Susanna even as a child was intensely curious and Lilith knew that Susanna couldn't resist the allure of some long forgotten secret. In Mahtan's direction she nodded once. She was going to regret it, hell she already did but the decision was made.

Mahtan turned and stood up. For a moment there Susanna had the strange feeling that he was going to hug her but the moment passed and he stood sheathing his weapons and moving the dresser from the door. When he turned Susanna had dressed herself and she saw on his chest a large gash that had been roughly sewn back into place. "It's nothing. My wound isn't fully healed..." He said nonchalantly. "Thank you for treating it. Just next time, do a better job so I can move correctly." What? She hadn't treated his wound, actually she didn't remember him being injured in the first place. Perhaps it was a by product of the demonic power flowing through him. Maybe it was ripping his mortal form apart.

Mahtan turned and ran through the door moving quickly. It was the elven style she supposed. They didn't like to waste time on idle things like travel. She ran after him falling further behind. He was fast. She noticed that the town's people had started to repair the town. She hoped it wouldn't be in vain. Susanna followed Mahtan all the way to the gates of Veiron. At the time of the Cataclysm they had been ripped from there hinged by a force desperate to get out. Both Susanna and the elf scrambled over the fallen gates. Mahtan was so far ahead of her that he could not hear her warning when an orc archer appeared on the building opposite. It pierced him with an arrow and black blood flowed from his veins. That wasn't a good sign, Susanna's blood ran black but she was still technically possessed. All the changes that the demon made to its host still held sway over her.

Susanna didn't have time to look after Mahtan. She had her own battles to fight. Soon the orcs streamed out of the surrounding houses surrounding the elf and human in two separate rings. Susanna drew her quarter staff. It was time to fight. If she'd learned one thing over the very long years it was when to stand your ground and when to run. In a very deep place in her soul Susanna knew that she could destroy these blasphemous orcs.

She stabbed the staff forward bypassing the slow creature's axe. When it made contact with skin a bright light appeared between the orc and the staff. The orc disintegrated before Susanna. The others backed off from her immediately and focused on the elf. She felt soiled and energized at the same time. It was a feeling that was coming over her more and more in recent days and she didn't like it. [i]Ah, it's been awhile since I've consumed a creature's life essence. Of course it only works on those that let the demons into there hearts, certain loyal humans, orcs, that sort of thing. I'd stay out of his way if I were you. He looks pretty angry but I'll deal with that.[/i]

Susanna watched as Mahtan pounded orc after orc with far more force than was necessary butchering one on the handle of his own axe. When the killing was done. Susanna approached Mahtan, he looked brutalized. Deep gashes had formed all over his body though she was sure that not one orc had touched him. On instinct or perhaps on instruction from her inner demon (It was getting harder to tell), Susanna reached out her hand and placed it on various areas of the elf. She felt his muscles knit themselves back together as his insides were put right. He could not survive if he kept down this way. The energy from the orc's life essence faded quickly forcing her to draw on Lilith's strength and her own. She was not used to channelling this power and Lilith was not used to healing. The going was rough and a lot of energy was wasted but eventually Mahtan stood healed in front of Susanna and Lilith.

Mahtan thanked her and handed her a chunk of bread. It smelled of Reach, the uncorrupted smell of Reach unlike Mahtan's. He warned her against eating too much but Lilith told her that many demon hosts ate and regurgitated much worse things without consequence. This bread would not hurt her. Susanna enjoyed the taste. It tasted, as strange as it sounds like contentment. She scarfed down the whole loaf. She had not eaten in days. Then she stood up. She knew this was Lilith's wish and not hers but it did not matter Susanna held her fist high and knocked on the huge cherry oak doors that looked big enough to allow a beast of unportioned size to fit through.