Asran looked at Ayrie faintly smiling appreciating her words. Then noticed she was avoiding touching him. Which he supposed was a good idea with how weakened he was. Though that didn’t mean he missed her touch any less. He then noticed that crease she gets in her forehead. The one she gets when she was trying to figure out his puzzles. It made him lightly chuckle. “You have that quizzical expression, what’s on your mind?”

"What do you think about the possibility that I am her reicarnation?" Ayrie asked hesitantly, not wanting him to hate her. She looked at him, worried that even the question might spark something. "I don't think that I am, I don't remember anything of it and I've never felt like I am anyone but myself... But what if Wrath is right? What if I do have this Astoria's soul?"

She looked down and rubbed her face. "I don't want you to hate me."

The look Asran gave Ayrie was one of pure rage. But, he stopped himself reminding him that Ayrie was Ayrie. Not the goddamn bitch Astoria. “You’re not her, I refuse to think about that,” he said. Going into full denial on the matter rejecting the thought. “You are simply Ayrie, a friend,” he said.

Ayrie wasn't so sure he could hold onto that feeling if what Wrath had said was true, but she hoped that he was right. She had always been just Ayrie, and if that changed now to the detriment of her life she wasn't sure she could handle it.

---------

"Gerrick, where are you going? You're not going to find her without help from a local, and in case you hadn't noticed, they are all shying away from us." Darrin was trying to keep up with his slightly more spry-for-his-age counterpart.

"I'll knock on every door if I have to to find someone to tell us where she is." Gerrick said, not slowing in the slightest. "I'm not going to bed without knowing where she is."

"Gerrick, if you continue you could get us in trouble. She said not to worry about her, I agree she's not under our control but you know as well as I she wouldn't betray us." Darrin caught his compatriot's arm at last and spun him around. "We need to go back, we need to wait. Two old men with no powers cannot demand information in a city like this."

Soon the rooftops lining the streets filled with demons. Their blue eyes looking like stars among a sea of darkness. They snarled at the priests some of them started slowly scaling down the sides of the buildings. There was one set of red eyes among the blue that stalked towards the older men as well. “You little men, you sent her here. Now you’re gonna take her back, and send her far faaar away from here. Or you can die here in the streets like the lesser beings you are.” Zatovia circles the men slowly her large sword hoisted over her shoulders. Singing as the wind moved around it being cut on its edge. The demons stopped a foot away keeping the men trapped.

Ayrie began nodding off at Asran's bedside, still exhausted. She fought sleep, wanting to talk with him, but her tired body demanded rest. The nurse wheeled her back and helped her get into bed. This time there was no dream, only darkness as she slept. Peaceful, empty darkness.

--------

"Dammit Gerrick I told you..." Darrin said as the demons began trapping them. The one with the red eyes demanding they take Ayrie back home, Gerrick knew her from the stories, the ones they didn't tell Ayrie.

"Wrath." He said. "We will do as you bid, once she is well enough to travel back."

Asran smiled softly at Ayrie he cared about her. But, was at the same time bravely concerned for her. As he knew Wrath wouldn’t stop till Ayrie was either dead or out of his life for good. He didn’t know why, but he knew he had to keep Ayrie with him no matter what.

————-

Wrath gave the priests a wry smile as she circled them again before stopping in front. “It is good to see that you priests have gotten smarter over the years. I want her gone it doesn’t matter if she’s weak. For every day that she remains here I will visit upon you both a new torment. Small or big you’ll never know.” She smiled as those words would torment the two of them already. After all they deserved every bit for bringing her here in the first place.

The priests nodded, unsure whether they could even get to Ayrie, much less get her to leave with them. They would try though.

"Where is she now? We will do what we can to get her out of here tonight." Darrin said. "We received a letter that she was injured in some sort of accident, but it did not say where she was."

Once they had a location they would find her, get her out of that clinic one way or another, and leave this city. It was far too dangerous for a young woman like Ayrie to be alone, and the priests would not leave without her.

“Unfortunately I do not know, my brother is shielding her from detection. Plus in his current state he’d only end up killing and eating the both of you. For now I suppose it can wait,” Wrath said with a sigh. Asran really was more trouble than he was worth some days. But, even in his weakened state he was able to shield Ayrie from detection. Which only hinted at what he could truly do if he was at full power.

Ayrie woke sometime later, her chin covered in drool from sleeping so hard. She brushed her hair from her face and sat up gingerly, her side hurt but only dully. She undid the braid in her hair and used the tie to put it up in a messy bun at the nape of her neck, then got up without waiting and went into the restroom attached to her room to clean up a little.

After washing her face and relieving her bladder she felt much better, and went in search of the doctor to find out when she could leave. The priests must be super upset and worried at this point, and she would rather not keep them waiting- or leave them alone- for much longer.

"Doctor?" She asked, approaching her. "Is Asran awake? I need to see him and decide if it's okay for me to leave. The priests won't be satisfied with that note for much longer."

The doctor was in her office asleep in a cot that was in the back. A medical journal on her chest as she lightly dozed. When Ayrie got close the doctor slowly opened her eyes to look at the priestess. “I’m sorry what,” she asked. When Ayrie repeated herself she hummed in the thought, then went over to Asran’s bed.

He was already getting up which made the doctor run over. She tried setting him back down to rest. “You need to lay down what in the hell are you thinking?!” Asran grimaced as he tugged a shirt on. “I’m thinking that unless Ayrie has an escort home then she’ll end up getting hurt. Or worse,” Asran said. “You have people for that you don’t have to go,” the doctor practically screamed at him. “Enough, that’s enough. I’m fine,” he snapped. Making the doctor even angrier, and she smacked him full on the face. “Listen to me! You may be the lord of Gluttony. But, that doesn’t make you impervious. You’re tired, and you’re still injured. It won’t take much to get past you, and to Ayrie. You are better off letting your demons or someone else escorting her,” she said grabbing Asran’s shoulders.

Asran growled because he hated it when the doc was right. “Damn, fine. Get me the phone,”’he said. The doctor nodded satisfactorily, and left to go grab the phone. She walked over, and presented it to him. Asran called up a guard he trusted was fast and strong enough to carry Ayrie to safety if wrath struck. With that done he sighed deeply hanging up the phone. “Damn... I’m sorry I can’t take you home myself. But, the docs right. I’m in no condition to square off against wrath if she came our way.”

"If it's better I can just send another note to them. I just don't want them out looking for me, knowing that she might go after them since she can't yet get me." Ayrie said, sitting herself in a chair near the bed. "They may be from the Church, and they may be strict in the way they do things, but these two men are my mentors and in a way the only friends I had back there besides the cook. If something were to happen to them because of me..." She stopped, unable to finish the thought.

Gerrick and Darrin were her superiors, and things like making her sit on the floor to eat were their way of letting her know she was being punished. There were other priests who's ideas of punishment were far worse than merely sitting on the floor for dinner, and they wouldn't have allowed her to explain away her actions so easily, nor allowed her to get a job in the city without their express approval of the job she took. The Church as a greater whole might have grandiose plans when it came to Cornopa, but Gerrick and Darrin were likely only pawns in that scheme.

"I just need to protect them if I can, and keep them from discovering things they shouldn't." she said.

“Nah I already got you an escort. Besides I don’t want them looking for you, and find me in this state. I do not doubt they’d take advantage of the situation,” Asran said. He smiled at Ayrie trying to comfort her. “Besides we will see each other again soon.”

Ayrie sat back, still unsure, and waited for her escort to arrive. She felt rested enough to defend herself if need be, but she hoped that wouldn't be the case. As she sat back she bumped her shoulder against the back of the chair and winced. Maybe only a half-hearted defense if she was being honest. She hope that whoever Asran had escorting her was powerful enough to stave of Wrath if she came after them.

"If you think it's okay, then I'll go." she said, "I'll get back to the priests and hopefully they won't have found anything out by then."

--------

Gerrick and Darrin re-entered the house, scared and apprehensive about Ayrie's return and their impending departure. Sure they had made a deal with Wrath, but she was known to be chaotic and could turn back on the deal any time. Their fear was that they would indeed leave with Ayrie in tow only for Wrath to attack them once they were out of the city and away from the mayor's influence.

"I don't know if this is such a good idea." Darrin said.

"It's fine, Darin. We'll tell her we got word of the cook being ill and on his deathbed. She'll want to return for him. On our way home we'll ward ourselves and the car and we'll be fine."

Wrath was in the guest house living room. Sitting on a plush couch leather couch, her legs up on a wooden coffee table. Her coat was off, and hanging over the back with her hat on top. She was enjoying a bottle of ale as she watched a crystal ball with rapt attention. She was watching her brother Gluttony saying goodbye to Ayrie. As she was passed over to a demon who was going along with her machinations.

————-/

“Hello priestess, my name is Mara. I’ll be esscorting you home you’ve nothing to fear while I’m here,” the demoness said. Her voice was soft with a light rasping hiss. Her eyes a cloudy blue a trademark Ayrie May have noticed was found in all the demons under Asran’s employ.

“Mara will take good care of you. She’s good at finding 3 dimensional solutions to problems. I trust her with my life,” Asran said smiling at Ayrie. He was forced into a wheelchair at the doctors orders. Even though he could easily stand by now, then again walking was another matter.

"Okay, well let's go then." Ayrie said, her stomach was in knots over leaving Asran, but she knew if he was okay with it she should be as well. She tripled her sheilding just in case, but doubted it would be needed if he trusted Mara. "I'll come see you tomorrow, Asran, if it's safe."

She said this last as she followed Mara outside the clinic, and although her brain said to trust Asran, every hair on her body was on end. She felt as though she were being watched, but she couldn't see anyone.

'Please, just let me get to the house safely. Let the priests be at home and unaware.' she thought to herself.

-----

Gerrick and Darrin packed as much as they could, as neatly as they could, in order to be ready as soon as Ayrie returned. They got the car ready to go, a small piece of junk that was all the Church would give it's missionaries. It was rusting and the interior was faded and falling apart. Half the time it didn't even get into gear.

"I think that's all we need. Leave the rest, it can all be replaced." Gerrick said, assuming the leadership role as Darrin was quite upset at the sudden turn of events.

Nadia approached the car looking at the priests curiously. “Hello, what are you two doing, Why are you packing?” She then had an aha moment, and started giggling. Two massive golems surrounded to car stopping the Priests. “I’m afraid I won’t be letting Wrath have her way. Ayrie is needed here,” she said. Then created an impenetrable barrier stopping Wrath from seeing them. “After all she needs to correct a mistake of mine,” she said. Her hair blew back as shimmering godlike elemental magic flowed around her. Lifting an illusion spell pointed ears, and gorgeous elven features were revealed. Elves were for the most part extinct, but in the past they were bastions of the light and nature. “She needs to fix what Astoria messed up, and my mistake. You do remember Astoria do you not?” Astoria was one of the 7 lights, the cosmic balancers to the sins.

Darrin visibly relaxed as Nadia shifted, recognizing her as someone they could trust, but Gerrick was skeptical. Both of the old men were sweating from their frantic work, and Gerrick was walking with a noticeable limp after the day's events. After the events of the evening he was not so sure he trusted anyone with concern to Ayrie.

"I remember Astoria. What have you and she to do with Ayrie? Why should we trust you?" Gerrick asked, his voice tense. "I'm telling you now if she's in danger we're leaving with her!"

Darrin put his hand on Gerrick's shoulder and shook his head. "Now is not the time to look a gift horse in the mouth, Gerrick. This elf is here to help us, help Ayrie. She needs to be here with them for some reason." he looked at Nadia, smiling. "We will do as you say, mistress. Ayrie is our top concern, whatever else happens she is the one we are here to guide and protect."

“As it is mine, for Ayrie is Astoria reborn. She is my chance to set things right. Asran is a good demon, and yes I know to most if not all such a concept is alien. But, the demon serves his duties in keeping the balance of all things. He does not go to extremes like the other sins do, and usually keeps to himself. Only ever extending a hand when he sees he is needed. However, as he weakens the other sins become emboldened. Leading them to wreak havoc on the world, and soon a war will break out. Which is why to restore the balance Ayrie must stay here, she must fix what she’s done in her past life. To set right the mistaken judgment,” Nadia said soothingly.
She walked over to them carefully as wind spirits unpacked the priests things. Nadia set a gentle hand to Gerrik’s shoulder healing his limp. Then smiled at him again it was so serene.

Tears welled in Gerrick's eyes as his knee was healed. It had been hurting him for close to ten years, and the lifting of that pain quite literally felt like the lifting of a heavy burden. He couldn't say anything in return, so Darrin spoke for him when he noticed the straightening of Gerrick's body.

"Thank you, mistress. His knee has been paining him for some time." He bowed his head, grateful for the easing of his friend's pain. "But I must say, I do not know that we could ever see this Asran as a 'good' demon. We will accept him, for now, as a necessary part of our lives. There will come a time when we must answer to our Church, and I am not so sure that they will allow us to ally with him for long."

----

Ayrie went along with Mara, her eyes peeled and waiting for an attack of some kind. Her heart was racing, and the hairs on her arms were still standing straight up. She wasn't sure if it was simple nerves from the earlier attack or if her gut was trying to tell her something, but she was uncomfortable.