[IC] Saving the Damned Cont. (AkiraShadow & HiddenBeauty)

[akirashadow]

"To have a week." Akira says as he stares up at the ceiling. "Well it's better then getting nothing I suppose." He shifts his heads positioning so that he could look to Allura with a weak smile on his face. "Hey now you shouldn't be upset about it, I'll just need to take care of things a little quicker is all. But... I guess we're going to have to eventually talk about what we're going to do when that weeks almost up." He tries to push against the bed as he lifts himself to a semi-sat up position. "Well... it hurts like hell if that's what you mean. I guess I'm made of stronger stuff then you thought eh?" Akira winks as he makes a rather terrible attempt at trying to make a joke out of the matter.
'I'm not surprised it hurt fool, for a brief moment you were dead, much longer and we both would have been'
"I...I... died?" Akira asks out loud as though forgetting where the comment originated from. "So... that was an angel that spoke to me then huh? I thought I saw something else there, didn't seem too happy about the presence of an angel." Akira shakes his head. "Then again state I was in my mind could of been making it all up I guess."

As Allura examines his wound Akira smiles to her. "Another scar huh? I wouldn't be surprised if I become nothing but a giant trail of scars from head to toe." As he sees Allura's stability shift slightly he goes to rest a hand on her shoulder, but ends up instead grabbing it to stop him falling back against the bed. "Hey you alright?" He asks her sincerely. There was a slight burning sensation in Akira's hand but he ignores the soft dull pain it was causing him. "Maybe you should get some rest. All that time looking out for me, I think it's time that I start to look after you. Much better then I have been doing anyway." Akira completely missed the old woman saying she'd make the pair some tea, engrossed in making sure Allura was all right. "You know, if it ever comes down to you or me... you make sure you get out alive ok?" Akira says with the best smile he could muster in his pain. "I don't want you to become the outcast that I am. On a more delightful note though it is good to be back." Akira's grip loosens on Allura as he gains stability and he rubs her arm softly.

The old woman eventually comes shuffling back into the room with their teas placing them on the bedside table. "So how often is this going to happen?" The woman asks with some concern. "In the time span of two days you've both managed to get rather seriously hurt, to the point that if neither of you had anywhere to go you'd most likely both be dead." It would seem that this talk would eventually lead into a lecture. "And as for you young man, you've got some explaining to do. I knew angels exist but to witness 2 of them in such a short time frame, you're quiet clearly no ordinary demon." Akira looks to Allura with a small frown as he moves his hand away from her.
"We haven't been completely honest with you." Akira begins to explain the situation. "I wasn't always a demon, I used to be human. In most cases when a demon soul enters a humans body it takes control, suppressing the humans soul and enslaving it to its vim. However the demon that resides within me was so heavily injured in my encounter with it that when it tried to possess me my body fought back. Our souls fused together and now we're 1 entity." Akira passes Allura a small smile. "I don't know the whole reasoning behind it, but... Allura was sent here to kill me. I believe that it's prophesied that I am to bring about some form of events, angels in their masses have been sent to hunt me down. Luckily I managed to bump into one that's not only beautiful, but also decide to spare my life. Perhaps she can fill you kin more on her circumstances?" Akira asks Allura, there were still some things about the angel even he didn't understand. As he asks he reaches for his cup of tea, lifting the warm beverage and taking a mouthful of its refreshing contents.

[HiddenBeauty13]

Allura gladly reached for the cup when the woman returned and took a sip, cringing slightly as the woman began to 'nag' at them. The angel figured that it would happen sooner or later; they did manage to alter the old woman's life drastically in the course of only two days. Once Akira got done talking and once Allura finished off al of her tea, she turned to them both and began to speak:

"I was sent to Earth with the mission of finding and eliminating Akira. I studied the behavior of both humans and demons for decades before finally being dropped in the middle of the forest where I happened to find him. However, he did not show signs of this 'deadly demon' who would kill me without question. You see, Akira is supposed to be some sort of symbol to the demonic race, signifying that humans' souls can be taken without consequences. With that being said, there is supposed to be some sort of rebellion triggered by his existence in which both demons and fallen angels will band together and practically enslave the human race."

A heavy silence plagued the room once Allura finished speaking and the woman looked at the two with a surprised expression on her face. "Well, why haven't you killed him yet, if that's the case?" She asked, startling the angel slightly; Allura did not know what to make of the question, but decided that the woman was simply curious and went on to answer it anyway.. "I can't kill him, not unless he show signs that he will harm innocent people." Allura said softly, looking away slightly as she did so. "It's a person rule for myself...anyone who dare tries to harm an innocent being will face my wrath." Her voice was firm and slightly threatening; that wasn't the only reason why she'd spared Akira's life, but that was all she was willing to say out loud. The woman seemed satisfied with that answer and shuffled over to Allura before helping her to her feet. "C'mon child. You need rest now...both of you." She added with a slight smile towards Akira before leading the tired angel out the room. Before she left though, Allura looked back and gave Akira a slight smile. "Rest well." Was all she said to him until she was out of view.

"Here you are. This is my room, but I don't mind letting you sleep here tonight." The old woman said as she helped Allura get into the bed. "Thank you...I really do appreciate this." The angel mumbled, her eyes already beginning to close. "I'll have another big breakfast ready for you two in the morning once you wake up..."

[akirashadow]

Akira listens as Allura speaks and was taken aback somewhat when the old woman asked why Allura hadn't killed him. Well, he could understand the woman's concern of course, mortal beings don't much like being told that their world, their way of life, their very existence was at risk due to actions or inactions of a single other. "They have a funny way of showing their optimism in banding together with my existence as a sign." Akira says softly. "All they've tried to do is kill me this entire time." When Allura speaks one of the reasons for not killing Akira, he momentarily loses focus on the situation, as though spacing out un-aware of what was going on around him.
'hehehe... oh if only she knew Akira, well I guess it'll come out sooner or later.'
"Shut up" Akira mumbles quietly enough to prevent both Allura and the woman from hearing him.

He had no reason not to take that as the reason why he was still drawing breath however, and any other reasons that their might be would seem to remain a secret, at least for now. When the woman comments that the pair should get some rest Akira nods in agreement. "Thank you for your hospitality, that you'd continue to shelter us knowing the risks... well that makes you a person worthy of praise." Akira returns Allura's smile as she's leaving the room before saying "You just make sure that you get plenty of rest, you've spent too much energy." His voice carried some concern though no more then what he'd usually offer her. As the pair leave the room Akira laid back against the bed, he couldn't remember the last time that he'd actually slept on one. Just the very touch of the material made him relax and comfortable, as though in total luxury although the location was anything but what a person would usually consider luxurious. His eyes grew heavy and just as they closed for him to fall asleep, Volkran immediately snaps him back. 'Not yet fool, unless you wish to choke, you've been spending too much...' With the thought in his head Akira turned over onto his side as he broke out into a series of coughing. He muffled the noise as best he could with one hand whilst the other clenched at his stomach. 'Her abilities are good but they aren't great, you cast the spell, you pay the price...' The coughing resulted in some blood which had coated Akira's palm, as more blood came, the coughing became less severe until the 'payment' was complete.

Akira rolled back over onto his back, grunting as he cleared his throat. He wiped the blood down on his front, hoping that the next morning that it would be simply blended towards his blood stains from being stabbed that neither Allura, or the woman would notice. Shortly after this he was asleep, a much needed rest, his body had been quiet heavily tried and no good nor evil would plague his mind through the sheer lack of will from either party. But like any dreamless night the transition between falling asleep and waking up seemed as though it was mere seconds. In his tired state he rolls onto his side, sighing in disappointment, though it didn't last long as he smelled the freshly cooking food seeping through a small opening in the door. The smell was pleasant and familiar to the day before, Akira pushed himself up from the bed, resting his feet against the wooden floor. 'well here goes...' He thinks to himself pushing himself to his feet, surprising to himself he managed to remain standing, it would seem the sleep had done him more good then he had initially released. Being cautious his slowly shuffles his way to the door, opening it slowly as he follows the path that his nose would lead him, to the kitchen.

As Akira enters he notices just the old woman, who had turned to greet him having heard him approaching. "Good morning, Akira." The woman speaks gesturing for him to take a seat. He looks around not seeing Allura he shakes his softly and says "I Should check on allu-"
"Nonsense" The old wan interrupts him. "You should let that poor angel girl rest. She'll arise when she's ready."
"...fair enough." Akira says reluctantly as he shifts over towards the table and takes a seat. "I can understand this may be uncomfortable for you, knowing what I am."
"I was married to a demon, there's no way another demon could make me feel uncomfortable."
"half-demon...." Akira points out. "I'm no pure blood. Plus if I recall your husband wasn't prophesied to bring an end to your own race." There was an awkward silence between the pair, the food was still cooking, it would seem it was going on a low heat to lengthen the process and to stop it from spoiling.
"Do you really think he won't notice?" The old woman asks with a smug smile on her face.
"Notice what?"
"Don't play dumb, last night you cough for a lengthy period of time. Then this morning you come out with a larger blood stain on your armor then what there was when you were brought here... she'll notice." Akira goes to answer his mouth to respond, but the old woman continues. "You were a bad liar yesterday, you'll be just as bad today so there's no need to give me any excuses. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm sure Allura will join us soon enough." With that said the old woman stands and returns to preparing breakfast for herself, and her two guests, leaving Akira to just wait for Allura to wake. He decided to heed the old woman's advice and not disturb Allura and let her wake when she was ready.

[HiddenBeauty13]

As soon as the old woman left, Allura fell asleep almost instantly, missing the muffled coughing noises that came from Akira's room moments after. Unlike her companion, Allura's dreams were plagued with images of humans being killed without mercy and forced to do work day in and day out like slaves. Blood seemed to coat every scene until all she saw was red.The haughty laughter of demons and the screams of dying people made her toss and turn restlessly until she could no longer stay asleep. Opening her eyes, the angel was surprised to see that it was actually morning instead of night. She managed to sleep through the whole night but it wasn't a good sleep and she still found herself somewhat tired as she climbed out of bed. The bow that she used to keep her hair tied back managed to break through the night, releasing the long dark strands to fall into her face. Sighing, a bit, Allura pushed the strands from her face and then put her face in her hands, trying to figure out where that dream came from. I've never had a dream like that before...is it supposed to be some sort of premonition of what is to come if I don't kill Akira?

The thought made her even more confused than she was before and Allura decided not to worry about it too much just yet, not when the delicious smell of food was coaxing her to the kitchen. After making the bed and straightening up her clothes as best as she could, Allura walked out of the room and was surprised to see that Akira had beaten her to the table. I must have been sleep longer than I thought. She thought as she smiled tiredly at him. Allura then greeted the old woman before sitting down in the seat next to Akira. "How are you feeling today?" The angel asked him softly and glanced down at the area where his wound would have been if she had not healed it the day before; however, something didn't seem right. What...? Is that extra blood? Narrowing her eyes curiously, gently grabbed his shirt, rubbing her finger across the blood stain, watching as some of the more fresh blood peeled off, revealing more blood underneath.

"I told you that she'd notice." A voice called from behind Allura and, when she turned, she noticed that the old woman was busy putting food onto plates. "You must have used it to find me yesterday in the market." She hadn't wondered at the time how he'd managed to find her so easily but now she knew why. "You don't have to hide it from me, you know." The angel said softly as she removed her hand from his shirt. "I may not be able to stop it, but I can at least be there to help you once it's over." Allura could remember the first time he'd done it and how much blood he ended up coughing up afterwards. Before she could say anything else, the old woman sat down a plate of breakfast in front of the both of them before taking a seat across from them.

"Do you two still plan on leaving today as you planned before?" The woman asked as she pushed her eggs around on her plate with her fork. Straight to business, as expected. The angel thought to herself and then glanced over to Akira, raising an eyebrow as she did so. We're they still planning to leave or had their plans been delayed by previous events? She had decided that she would talk it out with Akira once they got back but things did not go as planned the day before.

[akirashadow]

As Akira notices Allura walking towards the table he greets her with a warm smile. "I'm feeling much better." He answers though there was still some weakness in his voice. "Maybe not entirely better, but as close to being in a good state of well being as I can reach for someone who was just stabbed the day before." Akira's smile slowly disappears as Allura notices the fresher blood and doesn't even try to stop her as she confirms her suspicions by rubbing it off. When he hears the old woman's comment Akira merely remarks. "heh.. you know better then I of a good persons ability to perceive things it would seem." He turns his attention towards Allura, taking hold of her hand as she moves it away. "I know I don't have to hide it from you, but you were tired last night. There's no need for you to sit through something that cannot be avoided, especially with how tired you were last night."

After saying his piece Akira lets go of Allura's hand as the old woman places the food down on the table. Do you two still plan on leaving today as you planned before?. This was of course a straightforward, and more then expected question. Akira let out a short sigh as he cuts up and takes a small bite of food. "We're definitely at an awkward position right now, if we stay any longer, we risk being found. But if we go..." Akira glances to Allura passing her a smile as he does though his next passage wasn't so warming. "If we go in our current condition we risk running out of supplies." Akira decides to attempt to change the subject as he asks. "I don't suppose you know much about this crypt on the outskirts of town? I've heard talk that a merchant... or at least someone claiming to be one has been asking people to go to it."
"There's been rumours... rumours that a practiser of the dark arts resides within, arts much more dangerous then your blood magics. It's why the trade route has been shut."
Akira was somewhat taken aback as she casually identified Akira as a user of blood magic, usually such forms of magic were only known by a secret few. But if this wielder of the dark arts was using magic more dangerous then Akira's, and given its location there was only one true answer.

"So then... there's rumours of a necromancer. A typical breeding ground for their art."
"Indeed people have spoken of how they've seen things coming from the crypt but who knows?..."
"Who knows if they're just the ramblings of men gone mad from too much time on the road?" The old woman nods in acknowledgement of Akira's theory on the matter of why the story was mostly being brushed off by the towns residents. "Well..." Akira begins to speak as he looks to Allura. "We're likely to be heading that way anyway, I'm sure we can spare half a days travel to check the place over? Plus it may server to our advantage our pursuers may pass by us knowing that we've left town in that direction, could buy us some time potentially?" Akira wanted Allura's input on the matter, seeing as her way of life was simply at threat just by her travelling with him. The conversation had even seemed to perk the curiosity of the old woman, even if only a small amount it had successfully diverted the conversation away from when they were planning on leaving the town.

[HiddenBeauty13]

As the two spoke, Allura began to eat her breakfast. Instead of eating in small portion like Akira, she cut her pieces big before downing them in record time. She would then take a sip of her milk before repeating the process once more. This will be something that I miss once we leave...her cooking is amazing. It almost reminds me of... The angel shook her head slightly and got rid of the thought before it could bring the flood of emotions with it as it usually did. It was then that she tuned back into the conversation between Akira and the old woman, managing to catch the last part of it. The possibility of a necromancer being in the area made the angel very curious, as well as excited. Necromancers were beings that she only read about in the history books, which noted that they were a rare sight. Now she had the possibility of seeing one for herself. How could she say no?

"I think we should check the place out. We might be able to get to the bottom of these rumors and buy us some time with our pursuers." Allura added her own little input before going back to eating what was left of her breakfast. Seeing that Allura's plate was getting empty, the old woman stood and gently pried to plate away from her so she could refill it. "Well, if you two are going to explore the crypt, I would advise you to leave today, more specifically, during the night. Most people will be inside their homes sleeping and your exit will go unnoticed. Not only that, but you will be able to get a head start ahead of the people who are chasing you two." She explained as she put more food onto the angel's plate. Once done, she brought the plate back over to Allura, who eagerly began to eat once more. "Now, if you need supplies of any kind, I can go get them for you today. You both should probably stay inside, since you were the talk of the town yesterday. There is no doubt that they are still talking, especially if one of them managed to stab Akira, leaving him with what should have been a fatal wound."

Allura paused from her eating for a moment to look at Akira and raised an eyebrow questioningly at him. The old woman did have a point, but would it be something that he was willing to do? Not only that, but was he well enough to get back up and traveling a day after nearly dying from a stab wound? Heck, did she even feel up to traveling so soon after using a large amount of her energy to heal him? Those thoughts swam around in the angel's mind, nearly making her dizzy, as she waited for Akira to say something.

[HiddenBeauty13]

-ugh triple post-

[HiddenBeauty13]

-ugh triple post-

[akirashadow]

"Well then" Akira says with a smile as he looks to Allura "Seems we're in agreement. Although with time being short it's unlikely we'll be on the receiving end of any payment for services rendered..." Akira watched as Allura rushed through her food, shaking his head softly as he continued at his relaxed pace. He listens to what the old woman has to say an although time was essential he couldn't really argue with her reasoning. "Well I believe I already have the attention of one of the men, but so long as he's the only one he'll be seen as a rambling mad man, there's no logic in walking the streets and panicking the entire town even more." Adding confusion to the town was only going to make matters worse especially should the towns people find out that the old woman had been sheltering them for several days. "With regards to supplies." Akira thinks to himself before continuing. "Allura needs new camping gear, it was destroyed during an incident brought about by my not so friendly passenger. We could also use any further information that you can get us with regards to that crypt and necromancer, I don't want to have to go into that place blind if I can help it."

Akira brings himself to a realisation of deciding things for the pair of them as he looks to Allura and asks. "Do you feel well enough to depart tonight?" He then tuns his attention to the old woman. "Don't worry if she's not up for travelling we'll find a tavern to rest in until we are ready. Pay a barkeep enough gold and he'll lie through his teeth about even knowing we exist." He passes them both a reassuring smile as he rests back in his chair, surprisingly enough he was considerably calm for someone that a lot of people wanted dead, but that was merely the life he lived, and he had grown accustomed to it. As he finishes his plate of food before he could even ask, the woman took his plate and piled more food onto it before passing it back to him.
"Well then." She says as she looks to the pair. "It seems you've figured out what you want to do. Is there anything else you'll be needing?"
Akira was pretty certain that he'd included all that he needs as he turns to Allura and asks "What about you? Anything you think we may have missed?"

There was a small pause in Akira's movement and his eyes drop shut before reopening once more, a smile creeping onto his face. "Hello again, Angel..." Akira's line of sight changes to the old woman for a moment, he doesn't utter a word before returning his gaze to Allura. His voice was unmistakeably Volkrans although unlike times before there's no change in noticeable appearance. "Those.... Shadow Hunters, they'll arrive tonight, midnight at the latest, you may wish to be gone by then." Akira's hand reaches up as he strokes Allura's cheek with the back of it. "After all, you wouldn't want to hurt that pretty little face of yours... that honour should be mine." Volkran relinquishes control back to Akira, who finds himself unaware with what's going on as he strokes Allura's cheek, as he comes to he nervously moves his hand away. "heh... uh... so anything else?" He asks, although still weak he was starting to catch on to Volkrans control and the somewhat inappropriateness of his actions. A simple method the demon had for annoying Akira, doing things that Akira not necessarily disagreed with on principles, but a lack of social courage. it was one thing to have the courage to lift a blade, an entirely different one to handle certain social situations.

[HiddenBeauty13]

Allura was in the middle of finishing off her second plate when Akira asked her a question. Holding up a finger, she swallowed the mouthful of food before smiling at her companion. "Don't worry about me. I'm well enough to get moving today." She responded as cheerfully as she could. In all honesty, she wasn't sure if her body could handle such a journey so quickly after recovering from a major power usage, but she did not want to hinder Akira in any way. However, judging by the look the old woman gave her from across the table, she wasn't buying what Allura had said. The angel began to avoid her gaze and finish the rest of her food until Akira asked her yet another question. What else did they need? There were a few things that she could think of. "Well, I think we may need--" Her sentence was cut short once Akira--no, Volkran spoke to her. It wasn't exactly the fact that it was him, but rather what he said next that made her shiver slightly in her seat.

"Those.... Shadow Hunters, they'll arrive tonight, midnight at the latest, you may wish to be gone by then." He said, making the angel frown slightly. However, her frown soon changed to a look of surprise as he ran his hand along her cheek. Of course she knew that it was Volkran doing this but he still looked like Akira. That fact alone made her cheeks turn a bright pink color and they stayed that way, even after he regained control of his body.

There was a moment of silence before the old woman finally spoke, an intrigued look on her face. "Well that was an interesting exchange...even so, you should probably get a better hold on that demon or he might do something that you'll regret." She said then stood to her feet, her joints popping slightly as she did so. "Now, if what that demon says is true, then we don't have that much time to prepare for your departure." The woman walked over to her front door but before she left, she added onto her previous statement. "I'll be heading out to get supplies now...please don't do anything that will bring attention to the house and definitely don't leave." And with that, she walked out the door, leaving the two still sitting at the table.

Once again, there was a moment of silence until Allura stood from her chair. "Maybe we should wash the dishes for her." She suggested to Akira, smiling slightly down at him. Although she was no longer embarrassed at what had happened before, there was still a light pink to her cheeks. "I mean, it's the least we can do for her since she made us breakfast and all."

[akirashadow]

"So we have until tonight..." Akira mutters to himself, not rally a statement or question, more of a realisation of how short they were running on time in this town. He looks up to the old woman as she goes to leave listening to what she has to say. Just as she walks out the door Akira looks to Allura and says to her. "This is going to be a long day." As he looks around the room from where he was sitting. Spending an entire day in someone's house unable to leave, that was a sure fire route towards boredom. The thought didn't play on his mind for long though as Allura suggests they clean up the cutlery and plates that they had just ate their breakfast off of. He returns her smile as he stands up from his seat lifting his plate off the table. "Well I guess it's a start on something to do." he remarks as he makes his way over to the basin. There was a fair amount of things to wash, after all the old woman had made them a rather sizeable breakfast. He turns to look to Allura "This could take a while." The house had a very makeshift version of running water, although it only seemed to be running cold, several moments passed before the water was actually running clean as rust and dirt in the pipework coloured it brown on its initial flow.

Akira looks down to his left hand positioning it near the flow of the water. "Volkran, flame." A simple passage, as a small flame sprite emitted from Akira's finger tips, it wasn't exactly ideal but with the power of a demon and some actual clean magic it wouldn't take long for the flames temperature to rise and heat the water. Akira placed his plate down on the side before plugin the basins hole with the clay plug sitting by its tap. As the water filled the basin he turns his head to look to Allura. "Did anything strange happen yesterday? That old woman seemed to be a bit freaked out, what exactly did that angel say to her?" His eyes were fixated on Allura until he remembered to stop the water flow, his hand quickly scurrying and shutting off the tap. "I thought it'd be beyond your kind to use underhand tactics of speech." Akira washes off his plate in the pool of water as he speaks, how far these questions would go at this time was unknown. After all aside from knowing their was an angel present both Akira and Volkran were shut off from what was happening.

Akira shakes his left hand to extinguish the small flame. He turns round passing Allura a smile as he goes to take her plate from her. There was a short pause as his hand rests over the top of Allura's. 'You can't trust her, Akira.' the plaguing conciousness of Volkran weighs down on Akira's mind as he has difficulty distinguishing between his own thoughts and those of the demon. The smile slowly disappears as he pries the plate from Allura's hand. "Did you get a chance to check the smithies handy work?" Akira asks as he turns back to face the basin once more, there was a distinct difference to the mood now then what there was only moments ago, although what brought it about, Akira was not willing to discuss.

[HiddenBeauty13]

Allura had been busy scrapping off left over food from the plates when Akira began to ask her questions about the night before. She immediately tensed up, though it was not enough to be noticed by Akira, who was still busy cleaning the dishes. "Ah, well, that angel really just reminded me of why I was even sent to Earth." She started, her mind thinking of ways to tell the truth but no the entire truth. After being threatened by that other side of Akira, she did not want to mention anything about it. "Not only that but it told me that my boss is getting impatient and that, if I didn't find you in the next week, then more reinforcements would be sent in...Then I told it that you were actually her son but the angel knew that it wasn't true. In fact, it knew that she had married a demon as well. That is probably the thing that startled the old woman the most, not to mention the initial shock of watching your body be posses by the angel itself." Of course, the old woman had also been there when the demon had threatened to kill her if she told Akira of its existence and that was enough to scare both her and the Allura.

As she finished her statement, Allura scrapped the rest of the left over food from the plate she had in her hand before turning to give it to Akira, glancing down as his hand covered hers. She felt her cheeks warm slightly, much to her surprise, but, as she began to return his smile with a sheepish one of her own, she watched as the his smile morphed into something less pleasant on his face. Huh? A look of confusion crossed the angel's face as he took the plate away from her and turned away, almost as though he was upset with her. Did I...did I do something wrong? "Uh, no. I didn't actually..." Allura mumbled in response then frowned as the room fell into an uncomfortable silence, one that she hadn't experienced with Akira till now. After a while, the angel couldn't take it anymore and gently put the next plate down. "I should probably go and uh, check my staff for cracks or something..." The angel said more to herself than to Akira before leaving the kitchen and heading into the room where she slept the night before, wondering what just happened. However, she was unable to ask him that herself, so instead, she decided to take her mind off of it by using some nearby needle and thread to patch up her clothes that she originally wore when she arrived in the town with Akira; wearing the dress was getting tiresome.

[akirashadow]

Akira continued to clean the plates unaware that he had upset Allura. It was almost as though his mind was just blocking everything out, his body just performing a natural function that required very little thought. He only noticed something was a miss as he reaches behind him to take the next plate from Allura and then... nothing. He turns round as he quietly asks "Allura?..." Though she wasn't there, a strange event, where had she gone? However Akira just merely shrugged the though off as he takes the plates from the side and lowers them into the pool of hot water wiping them clean with a cloth before leaving them next to the basin to dry off. As he turns around again he notices something, the thing he hadn't noticed the first time, wasn't the layout of this room different? Akira quickly turns himself about again, the basin gone, just a blank wall, which seemed to match that of the old woman's until the colour just seemed to drop away revealing nothing but darkness. 'Volkran.... what are you doing?'
'I'm doing nothing! To what are you referring? Everything is normal you simple fool!'
'So... you can't see this then...'

Akira's thoughts get drained away, hearing what sounded like a door being forced open behind him he turns round once more expecting the worst. Although everything was normal once more, he was back, from wherever his mind had sent him. "Must be the after effect of that magic.." Akira mumbles to himself as he heads over to where his crossbow and sword leaned against the wall. He raises the cross bow first, running his fingers across the bowstring, before checking down its sight, it would seem it would shoot true enough should the need arise. Next the sword, Akira un-sheathed the weapon as he gazed upon its blade. There was something rather fascinating about the metal the smith seemed to have used, as though he should recognise it, although it wasn't anything common like steel or iron. He drops the weapon back into the sheath shaking the thought from his mind. Where was Allura anyway? The thought played on his mind as if he'd not already thought of it. He walks down the hall. "Allura?" He calls before being greeted by a shut door. Well, he hadn't noticed her anywhere else and this was the only door in the house that was completely shut. "Allura, have I done something to upset you?" He asks from his side of the door, deciding it was rise enough to ignore it. "Look if I've done something wrong I'm sorry." He sighs to himself, these weren't the best situations for Akira to be in, his abilities to handle them were limited at best. All he could hope for was that Allura came to the door, though he had a nagging feeling that she may not, as though he'd acted inappropriately or rudely towards her. Well he had, although he had no recollection of it and without knowing what he'd done he had no way of putting it right.

[HiddenBeauty13]

Allura had been so engrossed in her sewing that she barely heard Akira call her name. It was only after he spoke the second that she actually looked up from her nearly completed patching on her pants. "Uhm..." She started as he finished talking before quickly biting her lip, not knowing how she should continue. It was as if he had really no clue as to what he had done only a few minutes before and it confused the angel slightly. Should I remind him about it or just tell him that it was nothing? Allura wondered, as she carefully placed her pants on the bed and stood up before walking over to the door. However, she did not open it yet as she decided to talk to him like this until everything was back to normal again. "You uhm...you didn't really do anything wrong. You just..." The angel trailed off for a moment before starting back up again. "You just gave me a look that made me feel as if I did something wrong...or something." Allura mumbled to him. "Did I leave some extra food on the plate or something else that you did not necessarily like?" Even so, Akira did not have to give her that look. As she waited for a reply, the angel reached over and grabbed her staff that was leaning against a nearby chair then ran her hands along the smooth metal, silently amazed at such nice forging.

[akirashadow]

Akira was somewhat bewildered as Allura responds {i}What look?[/i] he thought to himself, how could he forget something so soon. "Surely not." Akira states in protest. "I'd have no reason to..." before he could continue Akira could hear the sinister sound of the demon within being able to hold back its own amusement of the situation, laughter raking through Akira's mind. In a spout of anger he kicks the corner of the door holding back as much as possible so as not to damage it. "Damned Demon! Can't leave well enough alone in issues that do not concern yourself!" Akira paces by the door as he tries to calm himself down rather then feed the demon the anger it so much craved.
'You'd dare shut me out and lower your guard!' the demon snarled in response. 'Let me remind you that without me you'd of died countless times until now, you'll show me the respect and fear I deserve!'
"I'll show you respect when you lay upon my blade fowl being..." Akira muttered in response.

"I'm sorry." Akira states once more. "I need to learn to control it better. I meant no offence to you, I wouldn't intentionally look to upset you." His tone had become calm once more as though his sudden outburst was the demon knowing which buttons to press to annoy him so easily.
'We need to talk Akira' A familiar calm voice called out to Akira though he had more pressing matters to deal with, smoothing things back out with Allura was more important.
"Not now." Akira muttered in response although not exactly quietly.
'I'm afraid I must insist, you'll be fine just let that demon stroll around for a moment this will be quick.'
"No Wai-..." Before Akira could protest he was spirited away from his own body, although at first it seemed he was still in the house everything returned to the darkness that he was in only minutes ago. "So... this was you?" Akira asks as he looked to a silhouette in the darkness.
"Indeed my friend, although I could not safely bring you to my location earlier. You need to hasten your passage here."
"It's not so simple." Akira responds "I'm... with someone making it a coincidence is lengthening the journey."
"When shall you be here there?" The Silhouette questions Akira openly.
"Tonight, we'll use the cover of the night to leave this town and head there immediately."
The figure before Akira seems to sigh. "I imagine I'll be free before then I'll assist you if I can." The silhouette raises its hand towards Akira. "Prepare yourself, this could be painful."

Meanwhile the demon stood, wearing Akira's face as it reaches down to the door knob turning it slowly. He sighs heavily as the door doesn't budge as he goes to open it 'locked' Volkran thought to himself. 'Well that'll ruin my fun time to act it out I suppose.' "Look Allura I'm sorry will you please open the door? Talking to it makes it seem like I'm merely talking to myself." The demon even managed to con the man of his own voice, it was however taking some effort to maintain as his eye colour flickers between red and brown. As the demon waits it looks down towards the sheathed sword lifting it softly. "Mortals would not craft with this metal..." he mutters to himself, his smile returns once more as he comes to a realisation and drops the weapon back into its sheath. He eagerly let patiently stands at the door, curious as to whether or not the angel would buy into the act and open it for him.

[HiddenBeauty13]

Allura blinked slightly in surprise as Akira went from calm in angry in a matter of seconds. From what she heard, the angel soon came to the conclusion that it was, in fact, that demon messing with Akira's body. Suddenly, she felt guilty with herself. Allura knew of his condition with the demon and yet, she had taken it personally when she should have immediately recognized the demon at play. "It's okay...I shouldn't be so hard on you, knowing that the demon has a tendency to take over your body sometimes." The girl told him, a feeling of relief flowing through her body as she did so. At least she knew now that Akira wasn't upset with her as she had thought so previously. Just as she was about to open the door, the sound of Akira's voice could be heard. It sounded like he was talking to someone and, since there was no one else in the house besides her, she figured that he was talking to the demon.

Suddenly, the house fell silently and, for a moment, Allura thought that he had returned to the kitchen, until Akira spoke once more. "Look Allura I'm sorry will you please open the door? Talking to it makes it seem like I'm merely talking to myself." He said and Allura bit her lip, contemplating on whether she should open the door or not. Something told her that she should wait a little bit but her human subconscious told her otherwise. Well...I'm pretty sure that he has regained control over his body once more, so it shouldn't hurt to open the door for him now... Even as she reached for the door handle, she could feel her angelic side protesting. Usually the angel did not ignore those instincts but today she did. Slowly, she unlocked the door and opened it, revealing the man standing on the other side. The angel's eyes immediately locked on his, looking for a sign that the demon was in control but, she found none and felt herself relax slightly. "I accept your apology." Allura said as she looked up at Akira and then she glanced away for a moment, an embarrassed look on her face. "Though I'm sorry for getting upset so quickly over something that you really didn't do..."

[akirashadow]

The demon smiles warmly as Allura opens the door, thinking on how Akira would act in such a situation as this. He had stolen the man's identity to trick the angel enough it would seem as there was no act of violence towards him at all. He smiles as she looks away, taking pride in her discomfort, though he quickly hides it ans he lifts his hand to Allura's cheek and slowly turns her head so that she's facing him once more. "Hey, you've nothing to apologise for. Sometimes it can be hard to tell, who's really in control." His words of choice may of been poor, albeit deliberate as he tries to fuel the angels paranoia and force a level of distrust between the pair. "I didn't take you as the sensitive kind that would so easily take offence." He continues as he softly strokes Allura's cheek as his hand drops back to his side. "Had I known, I could of warned you before hand about this level of behaviour that he can cause. He's meddlesome, bitter, he hates what he has become almost as much as I do and in that he'll do whatever he can to entertain himself." Trying to speak like a mortal was hard, having to pretend to have some level of affection for another even more so. How long he'd put on this... act for he hadn't decided although it was certainly going to be fun. "However, I'm glad we've managed to resolve the issue." He states hugging Allura tightly, holding back the pain of the soft burning sensation it was causing him, he smiles as he strokes the tattoo on the back of her neck to provoke the angel further before realising her from his grasp.

"What do you mean this will-" Before Akira had time to finish his sentence he was hit in the chest, by what felt like a shock wave but in his current state he didn't see how this could cause him pain. As he looks up he watches as the silhouette of the man he was speaking to seems to become smaller and smaller. It was as though he was moving through this plane of nothingness. As it turns out, he was and with some velocity within it. In front of him a hand seems to materialise in the darkness 'you shant escape here!' a voice of unknown origin beckons as it tries to grasp at Akira, though his spectral travel was too fast for it to stop him and it eventually fades from sight as well.

Back at the house it'd seem time for fun was running out, Akira's essence was on its return, the demon could feel it. He rolls his eyes as he realises there's much else he could do before looking to Allura and saying, "Remember when you said you wouldn't kill me because I haven't killed an innocent?" The demon asks as he raises his hand and strokes Allura's cheek once more. He leans towards her and whispers, as his hand strokes its way down the side of Allura's face and stops mere centimetres from her neck. "There's something you should know." the demon pauses, as he sniffs softly getting a slight kick from the angels divine aura.

. o O ( This may seem like a weird place for me to stop the post but I kinda know where I want to go with it, and if I go any further in this post it'll ruin it >.< hope you don't mind )

[HiddenBeauty13]

"It's okay, really. I should be at least a little used to his behavior by now..." The angel commented with a soft sigh. She was usually much more observant with people yet, with Akira, it was much harder to do so; Allura figured that it was because of the demon that occasionally took over his body. As soon as Akira pulled her in for a hug, Allura's angelic side roared to life and she had to fight hard to keep it from hurting Akira. Something isn't right here... The angel thought silently to herself. The angel in her rarely reacted in such a way towards others...unless there was a demon around. However, she'd checked for any signs of the demon once she opened the door. This was Akira...right? Dread suddenly overcame the angel as she realized that it was almost impossible to tell the two apart unless there was an obvious change in his eyes or voice. It was all very confusing and Allura soon found herself very conflicted with her thoughts. She trusted Akira but she didn't trust the demon in him.

The angel was so deep in thought that she nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a hand stroke her face. Glancing up, she inhaled sharply as Akira came in really close to her. Her mind seemed to go blank for a moment and she found herself unsure of what to do. He was so close and yet, it both bothered her and did not bother her all at once. Again, the man managed to conflict her thoughts and feelings all over again. However, it was what he asked her that made her blood run cold and brown eyes narrowed slightly at him. "Yes, I remember that." Her voice sounded cautious and held just a bit of suspicion. Why was he suddenly brining it up now? "There's something you should know." He said and her brown eyes seemed to bore into him as she took a step back. "What is it that I should know, Akira?" The angel demanded and she folded her arms across her chest. A part of her did not want to hear what he wanted to say, as she had a feeling that she knew what would come out of his mouth; the other part of her was beyond curious. Though, people always said that curiosity killed the cat...

(That's okay c: I apologize for the extremely late reply...I couldn't think of what to say in the post until now.)

[akirashadow]

As Allura steps away Volkran steps forward once more keeping within her personal space, noticing it was enough to cause at least a small amount of discomfort. "Well now." The demon speaks with a smile. "There's probably a lot of things you should know, but this is probably most important." He leans in towards Allura making the space between them minimal before stating, "Though this story teller will take its payment before it does its telling." The demon spoke quietly before, without warning, kissing the angel on the cheek. The demon staggered backwards from the immense burning sensation it caused as he wipes his lips with the back of his left hand as he says with a chuckle. "Wow angel, that skin of yours really does pack a punch." If Volkran could imagine what it were to feel like, he would think that it would be like a mortal trying to kiss a raging fire. His eyes flicker red before taking a further step back and resting his right and on the hilt of his sword. "Now now... don't do anything you'll regret, you should trust your instincts more, but you did ask for an answer..."

The demon clears its throat ready to say its piece, though could it really be trusted? Volkran thinks for a moment as though trying to phrase what he wanted to say before starting. "So let me tell you a Story, one of a Hero once bold, and a Town that would not do as its told. The Villain of this story? A Demon they say, could it be the one that stands before you today?" Volkran winks as if to try and provoke Allura before continuing. "But this town hid the Demon, and they hid him well, one that was disowned by Heaven and spat out from Hell. When our Hero arrived they all refused to speak, claiming the Hero was simply to weak. For their cooperation was forced and sworn to not end, for to the Demons will they'd always bend. This response brought forth an anger buried for years, revenge blinded this Hero to friends once sincere. So he swore them a week before it'd be too late, a week came and went they'd sealed their own fate." Volkran let out a sigh before continuing. "He returned a week later in his rage still consumed, he was merely shunned and provoked by those that pretended confused. So he called forth a magic that he knew they all feared, and their pleads for mercy just fell on deaf ears. For his mind was gone and the contract was signed, pure evil swept through and left nothing behind. Though he never knew it they tried to confess, in the week he was gone the demon had left." Volkran pauses for a moment taking his eyes off of Allura before looking to her once again. "Time has run short, so the story must too, though as I look in your eyes I'm sure they told you." Volkran smiles yo Allura as he moves his hand away from the hilt of his sword. "This will probably hurt. You should be careful with what you do next, wouldn't want to hurt your friend."

As Volkran finishes his sentence an unseen force hits Allura's back although the level of force seemed almost insignificant. However the next body it hits is Akira's, the force of the impact knocking the body like a thrown rag doll as it hurls Akira's body back out into the hallway landing on his front. "He was right, that was painful." Akira states as he struggles with the basic concepts of movement, his thoughts needing to readjust to being back in a body. He shakingly pushes himself up from the floor, looking forward to see the door Open. "Allura?... Allura are you alright?" Akira calls out assuming the worst may of happened in his absence if Volkran had got inside the room there was no telling what he may have done. He pulls himself to the doorway, the idea of getting up and walking at this time would of been far to complicated, when he see's Allura within he lets out a sigh of relief before turning himself over onto his back. At least Volkran hadn't managed to harm her in anyway that he could notice, that was at least a small victory there. Of course Akira knew nothing of their conversation, to his knowledge Volkran may have spent the whole time trying to get into the room.

[HiddenBeauty13]

As Akira came closer, Allura tried taking another step back but realized that she would end up hitting the wall if she did so, making the woman curse silently under her breath. An alarm seemed to be going off in her head, warning her that something was truly wrong now and the angel wondered if she had really been talking to the demon all along. Her suspicions were confirmed as his lips came into contact with her cheek, causing the angel to wince in pain as an intense burning sensation formed in that spot and seemed to spread across her cheek. "Volkran." The angel growled as her normally brown eyes flared a vibrant blue color and the air around her seemed to charge with raw energy. She hated to be deceived by people, whether they were human or a supernatural being. Just as she was about to conduct a spell that would no doubt cause some damage, Allura realized that she needed him alive if she wanted to get some answers. So she calmed down her power a bit, though her eyes stayed blue as she listened intently to what the demon had to say.

At first, the angel was annoyed by the fact that he'd decided to tell a story instead of just telling outright what had happened. Though, as she continued to listen, Allura realized that she was able to picture the story, although it was very similar to a riddle, in her head as he spoke. She could see herself in the town with the people; she could see herself as the Hero, pleading with the townspeople to tell where the demon was and she could see the death and destruction left behind once the demon had left. Just what in the hell happened? The angel thought once he was done, as she had understood some parts while others went right over her head. Why was the demon in the town in the first place? Why did the townspeople hide him? Allura had a feeling that she would find out the entire story soon enough, even if she had to demand it from the demon himself. Just as she was about to ask another question, Volkran warned her of something that would hurt. "What are you talking about?" She asked, looking around sharply for any immediate signs of oncoming danger.

Moments later, some sort of unseen force hits the angel's back, making her stagger a bit though, while it did no hurt her, it did send a chill up her spine. Her eyes opened wide in shocked as Akira's body went flying back out into the hallway and for a moment, she wondered if he was alright. Then the words of the demon echoed in her mind and her face instantly turned to one that was cold and unreadable. The angel then glanced over at Akira with piercing blue eyes. "I'm fine." She said curtly, though, on the inside, the angel was torn. Allura hated being curt to the person who'd had her back more times that her own 'brothers and sisters' did and the only person who treated her as an equal since she died all those years ago. It was a horrible feeling but I had to be done. Sighing, the angel walked over to where Akira lay and stared down at him with her arms crossed over her chest. She would give him one chance. One chance to admit that he'd done something wrong.

"Akira...is there anything...important about you and your past that I should know?" Allura just hoped that he would at least tell the truth.