knuxieh

Not Your Average Butler... [EasilyAmused x Knuxieh]

Wow.

Seriously, this was an entirely different eating experience for Freya entirely. The fair food was one thing, but this? This was fantastic! Mr. Yan clearly enjoyed himself, and made her feel just as welcome as those who frequented his restaurant many times over and would continue to do so. Her eyes were bright with amazement as he effortlessly cooked, simply enjoying the flourishes he did with seasoning and mixing the ingredients. She applauded, really taken with how their meal was being prepared, her smile hardly ever leaving her face. The constant metal hitting had been a little loud at first, but she quickly got used to it, the noise easing out as simply part of the atmosphere with people laughing along with others enjoying their own meals. Feeling James' hand take hers, she was so entranced by Mr. Yan's cooking that she jumped slightly, giving him an apologetic smile after. "S-Sorry. I didn't mean to jump. This really is something else, James!"

She was so glad that he had brought her here. It might have been a bit far fetched, but without James, she was sure that this is one experience she would not have gotten to be a part of otherwise. Clearly, Mr. Yan was a man excellent and comfortable in his craft, getting their dishes out to them in what seemed like mere minutes! Flashing the chef an appreciative smile, she gladly took her plate, looking upon the fried rice and meat he had cooked. Looking at James' table manners, she couldn't help giggling slightly. No matter where they were or what they were doing, those were simply ingrained into his being, weren't they? Grabbing her own napkin, she laid it across her lap as well and began eating. It wasn't until they were finishing their meals, that he spoke again. Clearly the sign of a good meal.

Freya nodded, unable to disagree with James' description of Mr. Yan. "He really is something else, James. I'm so glad to see that twinkle in his eyes. I'm glad that he was able to inspire you." She reached over the table and laid her hand on top of his own, gently squeezing. "I would have never gotten to meet you otherwise. I appreciate you bringing me here. I know it's special for you." Her own embarrassment wasn't thrown to the wind, as her own cheeks gained color. Once they had finished, however, the young woman waved goodbye to Mr. Yan, thanking him for the meal and experience. Taking his hand in hers as they left back to the outside world, it was rather surprising how quiet the evening air was compared to the overwhelming warmth of the restaurant they had just left. Not wanting the evening out to be over just yet, as they walked back to the car and she pulled her seat belt over herself, she smiled to James.

"I know it might be a little selfish, since you said you were taking me out...But I don't want this to be over just yet. Did you have other plans for us? If...If it's alright, I would love to go to a park and stargaze with you."

Friends in the Void.

Sara finished her pizza quietly, her gaze absently staring out to the rooftops of many smaller buildings in the area. Her hand made contact with crumbs on the pizza box container, causing her to flinch at the lack of warm cheese to greet her fingertips. Already finished? Sighing, she stood and made to throw the pizza container away now, lest she leave it to sit on her desk for all eternity when it seemed important enough to actually do. It wasn't even that late in the day, but it felt as if hours had passed. On her way back, she went through her nightly routine early of shutting the curtains, and turning on the various plug-in lights she had before returning to her room again. As she entered, she moved towards her window, thinking to shut the curtains here as well, but decided against it. There was still daylight out...Maybe they would still come back. Turning to her bed, she moved to sit, idly checking her phone. She had various apologetic messages from Jenna, and had all means to respond to her but just didn't have it in her to do it just yet. In the morning. She would handle it all in the morning. A few swipes through her phone and she cast some instrumental music to her radio, it filling the room with its soothing melodies.

Leaning back against her pillows, she simply sat there, unsure what do really do with herself. It was still too early to turn in for the night. A noise of ruffling feathers got her attention, and she cast her gaze down towards Rasteva, jumping slightly once she realized that in fact, they were in front of her. "R-Rasteva! You...came back? And...you're..apologizing? You? To me?" She blinked a few times and shook her head quickly.

"No, no, no! This won't do! That's...That's not fair.." Sara frowned, obviously still upset. "I'm the one who is supposed to make rational decisions. I don't know how battle works, Rasteva! I should have been against it! I didn't know what to do, you have certain instincts, sure! But...that doesn't mean anything when we're up against people who know more than us!" The young woman bit her lip, and crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm...not a fighter, okay? I would totally understand if you wanted someone else who can help you with this. I won't be offended, honest. It's just..you're very...easy to anger. You just left me out there..."

She looked down at Rasteva's small form and sniffled, tears beginning to well up in her eyes as her mind began filling in false blanks of situations that had never come to fruition. "What...What if we weren't against Jenna? What if someone like Ethan and his terrible Daemon had showed up? They meant you harm. What if you just abandoned me because you let your emotions get the better of you? How am I..." Sara wiped at her eyes, and looked away from Rasteva, casting her gaze at her lap. "...How am I expected to go up against them alone?"

Friends in the Void.

Well, then.

"That...wasn't supposed to happen. Kivvy, how much did you give him?!" Jenna scolded, frowning towards the cat.

In response, the cat lifted its paws up in front of it, as if it would provide some shielding from her gaze. "I-I didn't even think it was that much! I'm sorry, Jenna - don't look at me like that, please." It whined a sad meow, walking over towards her and rubbing at her legs in an attempt to gain forgiveness. A soft sigh left Jenna's lips before she turned to Sara. Oh, man..

It all happened so quickly. One moment, Rasteva was biting Kivash, and then before she could process it, they were already back into the raven and disappeared quickly from sight. Sara frowned. This...was her fault. "I should have never agreed to have a practice fight so early...It was a poor call of judgement on my part.." Her hand rubbed at her arm. "I...appreciate you trying to help us, but we aren't going to be able to accept any further help unless we get our act together." The young woman laughed lightly, very aware that it wasn't funny at all that Rasteva had just left without a word.

"Sara, I-" Jenna moved forward, hand outstretched to take Sara's shoulder.

"No, no. I-I'm fine. Seriously. It's not your fault. Or Kivash's. It's something much more personal than what happened just now. I'm...going to head home for now. Thank you, for trying. If I have any other questions, I'll call you, alright? It's not your fault." After embracing the young woman for a few moments, she let herself out, making her way back with the help of her GPS on her phone. Unable to remember the exact way they took here from the coffee shop, it took her a little while to actually arrive. Once the coffee shop came into view, she pocketed her phone, and made her way back into her dorm. Her usual routine of the elevator, hallway, and locking the door behind her commenced, and she moved to put another frozen pizza in the oven.

Her whole body felt heavy with guilt. She was supposed to be helping Rasteva get closer to gaining their old body back...and she couldn't even make the responsible call to wait on battle. Twenty minutes went by and she took the pizza into her room this time, pulling back the curtains and opening the window only slightly to let the cool air into the bedroom. Beginning to eat her lunch, she stared out at the sky, wondering if Rasteva actually hated her. They were registered as her Daemon, but if they had disowned her there wasn't too much she could do about it. Glancing at the papers Jenna had given her, she pushed them aside. If they hadn't returned by morning, she would simply to them a favor and unregister them. Maybe they could find someone more...inclined to fight.

Friends in the Void.

Sara's eyes moved towards Rasteva as he hissed towards the pair. It didn't seem as if they appreciated all the extra fanfare the duo was giving their attacks. But, from her limited interactions with them, they didn't really have much patience for anything except for fighting it seemed. A...ribbon? That was an attack? She couldn't tell if the ribbon was actually too tight for comfort, or if it was simply Rasteva's impatience for most things. Since this was a practice match to help them get a better feel of how combat worked, she would have thought perhaps that her now snake companion would have tried making their way around their opponent, or at the very least, trying to remove the bright ribbon around their neck. What they did opt for though, surprised her. They were biting at Kivash's leg now! That seemed a bit...no, very uncalled for! Moving to scold the rather angry snake, Jenna held her hand up to stop her. If her Daemon wanted to act so rashly, they would have to indeed pay the price for it. They had to learn to work as a team, and if one of them had a short temper and was easy to anger to act so boldly, they weren't going to last very long.

Kivash winced as they felt the snakes front fangs dig into their left leg. "How. Rude." They growled. "You really are simple-minded as the being you have taken to be, aren't you?" The look of hate in Rateva's eyes more than affirmed their thoughts. Nothing else mattered to them right now. Except getting even with the being who had 'wronged' them. "It was only a small amount. Not like there was much for the taking, anyways." The cat could have easily flung Rasteva from them with little effort. Instead, they cast a look back towards their partner. Oh yes, even with fangs deep into their leg, they still remembered they were a part of a team, and any reckless actions could indeed cause deadly consequences towards them. Seeing Kivash make eye contact with her, Jenna sighed.

"Manners, manners. How rude. Give them a lesson, won't you Kivvy?"

The cat smiled. "With pleasure, with pleasure, My Dear~" In a moment, Rasteva's mouth was flooded with the power they had drawn initially plus extra. So much at once would surely overwhelm them. Power was meant to be absorbed over a period of time, not simply shot into a being in one go. Kivash quickly swatted the snake off it after shooting the power into them. It's leg was hurt from the puncture, and the rather abrupt swat, but it was better than begin attached once the snake's vessel realized what just happened.

Jenna glanced back up towards Sara. "I...wouldn't stand too close to them, if I were you. They seem like they have rather violent tendencies. Depending on how much Kivvy actually gave them, they might end up getting overwhelmed and passing out. Or...well...something else." She trailed off, not really feeling like going into specifics, not because she didn't really -want- to, but because it was rather complicated and hard to explain.

Friends in the Void.

The cat laughed at Rasteva’s pride. “Well, I have to agree with Jenna here. Prideful you are. I did say that I knew you were no stranger to fights. Pointless? Maybe. But, this is the way they call for things to be done and there isn’t too much us Daemons can do about it without a swift..punishment.” Kivash shuddered, their tail prickling up slightly at the thought. Their eyes glistened with interest as Rasteva emerged from their vessel of choice, taking on the form of a snake. “Oooh, a snake! Interesting! I love playing with my enemies.” They grinned.

Jenna smiled. “Alright, now – generally speaking in the official matches like what we’re having, your Daemon’s stats tend to be important. You can increase different skills by doing different activities with your Daemon. We can get into all that later. But the most important factor with these, are power. No matter what we humans think is the most useful, Daemons move with power-hungry tendencies. The more powerful, the more advantage. Since Kivash is the stronger of the two, he’ll move first.” Giving her and Rasteva a moment to process what she just said, Jeanna moved to flick her pink hair over her shoulder. "The world is such an ugly place—"

Kivash stretched out and afterwards, seemed to lower to the ground, ready to strike. “It definitely needs a makeover~” They mewed, jumping towards a bright blue ribbon Jenna pulled from her wrist, and lunging at Rasteva, its paws deftly tying an impressive but simple ribbon around the neck of the snake form it had taken. Moving back, Kivash sat still, their tail swishing patiently back and forth. Jenna motioned towards Sara.

“It’s your turn to move now. You and your Daemon haven’t gotten in sync yet, so they’ll probably just try to fight on their own for a while. Kivvy did the same thing, until we decided to sit for a while and get to know each other. After that, figuring your attack style becomes pretty easy!” Kivash made a motion for Rasteva to make their move. When they would begin to, a small amount of energy would be sapped from them, and it could be seen as small orbs as they hovered over Kivash’s form, absorbing into the fur as they purred in delight.

Sara couldn't help wondering if there was a common ground for her and Rasteva to come to terms on. It seemed Jenna and her Daemon had a pretty decent understanding of one another. Could Rasteva and her really achieve similar results? She herself wasn't much of a fighter in the first place, while Rasteva seemed to be quite seasoned as he brought up every now and again. Once it was Rasteva's turn she really wasn't sure what his abilities were, or what to say. It didn't even sound like Jenna had given an attack command. Maybe they were close enough where word cues could be paralleled to commands? Her eyes moved towards Rasteva's snake form as orbs emerged from them, and were absorbed into Kivash. She thought that Jenna would explain what just happened, but it looked like she was going to wait until the fight was over to explain her attacks.

Friends in the Void.

Sara held back a small giggle of sorts at Rasteva's initial comment regarding the young woman in front of them. As her companion agreed to going head-to-head in a sense against her classmate's Daemon, she nodded. "If you're alright with it. I can't say I'm up to it...I'm not sure how it all works." She admitted, opening one of the pamphlets. The girl she had been talking to was still tapping about her headpiece, pleading for her Daemon to come out and help her. It didn't seem like she was getting anywhere, until she mentioned how disappointed she was and was going to take it with her to pick out another hair accessory but obviously since it was too busy being a 'meanie head' it wouldn't be interested in such a thing.

Almost immediately, the hairpiece glowed a green color as it took on a form resembling a medium-sized house cat with varied coat markings. A bow around its neck was tied off with the hairpiece that was now gone from its owners hair. Stretching out, the Daemon turned to look towards the woman with pink hair. "Jenna. Let's not be rash here. You obviously know I'm more than willing to help others. No need to go so far as to limit my wardrobe." It hissed playfully towards her, swatting at her loose string with its paw. Remembering it had guests, its head turned and tilted, looking to the raven on Sara's shoulder.

"Oh my goodness You're...really hanging onto the edge there, aren't you?" It teased with a fanged grin. "Well, hanging might be better than..disappearing, I'm sure. So - you're sure you want to do this? I'm not going to end you or anything. I'd never see another hair accessory in my life." It mused, looking rather horrified at the thought, bringing a paw to its mouth. "Regardless, come down here, won't you?" It asked, patting the space in front of it for Rasteva. "I'm sure you're not new to how fighting works, but it's a bit different when humans are involved. They enjoy structure, order - well most of them do anyway. So, instead of the horrendous blood baths we're used to we have to take 'turns' or wait for the other to make a move before doing any damage at all. A little on the boring side, isn't it?" It chuckled.

Jenna looked to Sara. "Depending on how long you've been with your Daemon, and the closer your bond you might even be able to just talk to them without saying a word. It really helps keep the element of surprise up with your fighting that you do. All the fights I've seen that have been televised have those kinds of bonds. They just make a slight movement of their eyes or shift their body and their Daemon just goes into action, it's crazy!" She shrieked, jumping in place. Realizing they were still in the open though, she scooped up her Daemon. "Kivvy~! We've gotta go home first, ya crazy cat!" Giggling, she motioned for Sara and Rasteva to follow as she ran forward at a moderate pacing to her home. "My mom won't care if we play out in the backyard." That's what her mother followed this as anyway, just a big game that they were all playing.

Arriving at home, she entered, motioning for Sara to follow her inside and waved. "Hey Mumma-Dear! I'm homeeeee! I brought a classmate over, we're gonna play in the backyard for a little while! She might stay over, kay?" She called up the stairs, a much calmer voice agreeing to her having company over, letting them know they would order in for dinner. Turning back towards Sara as she moved through the entryway and towards the kitchen, she slid the door open and let Sara out first into the backyard, closing it behind her as she moved outside and set Kivash down. "There, there. Much better. We will risk other people joining in the fight if we're just in the backyard. Oh - I hope you don't mind staying over. Afterwards, even with the energy Steva will get from the fight they'll be a little out of sorts until it all settles. They might be a bit more comfortable in their object, though I don't think it will be enough for them to make a form on their own...I'm not sure." She thought a moment. "I'm sure it isn't...out of the way for us to give you energy, but I think it'll be much more rewarding for your type of Daemon if they earned their form back instead of just being given. They seem quite prideful, I mean look at the object they chose." Jenna teased with a friendly grin.

"So, you ready to do this? Kivvy and I will go over all the rules as we go so it's not just a large information dump, haha!"

Friends in the Void.

"It's alright...Rest? I think I'll be able to do that once we're back home...and not outside." The answer that Rasteva had given here didnt' really anwer her question, if nothing else it left her more confused. Sara frowned slightly.

"Sara, hey!" A female voice called from ahead, and it caught the young woman's attention. Sara smiled slightly towards the woman who approached, with bright pink hair and a similar uniform to the one that Sara was wearing. "I'm glad to see you! You finally got a Daemon, huh?"

The sudden question did throw her off guard. "You can tell I have one?"

"Well, sure. I've got my own, see?" The pink-haired girl pointed to a pretty ornate hair accessory. "It lets me know when one of its friends are nearby, isn't that neat?! Yours could totally do it too if you simply asked it to." Digging through her bag, she pushed a few pamphlets towards Sara. "Here, you must have just gotten it. You'll have to have your Daemon get stronger in order for it to actually do anything useful." Thinking a moment, the woman smiled. "You'll have to go about it the old fashion way."

Sara stared at the woman, clearly not understanding. "...What?"

The woman's expression fell as the joke wasn't understood. "I mean you'll have to beat up weaker Daemon's! Or stronger ones! Depending on how well fed your Daemon is, they can tell you if an rival Daemon is stronger or weaker than their current state of being. Yours is considerably weaker than mine right now. But I'm not actually looking to take your demon's strength for my own! But you can totally do that - and you seriously should. It's all legal and all that. You'll just have to find a place that does organized fighting, and with your registered Daemon you can get into the bracket of your choosing and go all out! Neat, yeah?" Frowning, she sighed. "Though, there are totally people who want to skip the formalities and just get straight to the fights. They might get you on the streets, so be vigilant. What's your little thing's name anyways?"

Giving her a moment to process everything, she glanced to the raven on her shoulder. "Rasteva. Yours?" The girl beamed.

"Says its name is Kivash, but I just call it Kivvy. It's cuter. Oh hey! We can go for a practice battle if you want. I'm pretty sure my Daemon won't mind helping out. I think. Lemme ask. If so, we can head somewhere a little more secluded to practice up. Wouldn't want to draw any unwanted attention." She grinned, and tapped her hair accessory. "Hey, Kivvy - wanna help my friend here beef her Daemon up a little? Pleeeeeeeeease?"

Friends in the Void.

Watching as Rasteva slowly made their way around the store, she could kind of tell they weren't too happy with this protocol. As she stopped fiddling with things she wouldn't mind carrying around, she watched the cloud settle onto a raven replica. The fact that it came towards her with the wings it had for use, startled her slightly and she took a few steps backwards. "S-Sorry. You uhm..scared me there for a second."

She gave them a moment to get comfortable and once they had, Sara gave a small nod. "Okay." Moving back towards the woman, she paid for the item, and it was immediately tagged around the ankle, as would a normal bird that had an owner.

"Thank you, come again!" The saleswoman chimed as they were leaving. Exiting the building, the woman couldn't help but feel on edge. Her green eyes scanned the road with a panic, worried that Ethan would emerge from the shadows and confront them again. She shoved her hands in her jacket pockets to keep from noticeably fidgeting with her hands. It was rather awkward, her jumping at the slightest look their way, and immediately being critical of all objects that passed near them.

Was there something she should have picked up inside? Maybe she should have really done research about the best course of action with Daemons. How was she supposed to help Rasteva get their body back if she wasn't exactly sure what steps to take to gain their strength back in the first place. Clearing her throat, she looked to the raven perched on her shoulder. "S-So...How do we go about...getting you to your body?"

Friends in the Void.

Blinking as the cloud came suddenly back into her view, she nodded. "Yes, essentially." Motioning for him to follow her, she pulled her laptop from the bedroom, hooking it up to the television in the living room to make the image larger for Rasteva to see. Within a matter of minutes, the face of a woman with the Apex logo acros the bottom of the page popped up, with a play button in the middle of it. Clicking it, the ad began to play.

'We've got the newest innovation with pet care - virtually self-sufficient! Different personalities and abilities! What are they? Daemons. They're quite the hit with young adults everywhere. It seems almost unthinkable we didn't have these creatures before! Wanting one? It's easier than you think! Simply go to your local Apex outlet and get screen to have you fitted with the best Daemon in our selection, and get it registered in your name. Once all that is taken care of, you'll need to find a suitable object for your newest pet to stay in while not out and about! They can fit into anything - and we mean ANYTHING to suit your needs! From Jewelry (A popular item with ladies), to Tattoos (A popular item with our men) they fit your lifestyle! So, what are you waiting for? Get with the program and get your own personalized Daemon today!'

The ad suddenly cut off, and Sara glanced over towards him. "I think they're still working on their delivery but...in a sense Daemon's are pets that young people can collect. Some...use them to fight for money, or other unthinkable things, but most people just want them to have them and use it as a status symbol for the best of my knowledge." Rubbing the back of her head, she sighed. "I don't have too much to give you, since I don't really talk much, just overhear a few things. I'm going to assume that you're one of these Daemon's Rasteva? I...don't know if we're really all that compatible or anything like that, but...if you are, and you're going to want my help I'll need to actually get you registered as my Daemon, if that's alright..." She cleared her throat.

Sara was pretty convinced that Rasteva didn't have much of a choice, since she wasn't just going to go about this whole thing illegally. If she did, it would only cause complications for them later on. Standing up, she brushed off her tights, and went to pick up her bag from the couch. "Let's head out, then." Pausing, she grabbed a small ring and held it out to him. "I'll be able to pick up something more suitable for you to stay in once we get to the store." Once he had settled in, she slipped the ring onto her finger, and headed out, going to the department store, which was about a twenty minute walk. Once they arrived, an eager saleswoman greeted them.

"Hello, hello! Good afternoon! I see you have a Daemon with you!" Sara wasn't sure how to feel about not getting a word in before the woman began talking. Gently taking Sara's hand, she slipped the ring off of her finger. "I don't think this one is registered in our system. And they're quite grumpy in there, aren't they?" The woman giggled, moving to a scanner, slipping the ring inside of it, a photo of Rasteva's cloud-like mass showing up inside. "Hm, as I thought. No registry is popping up. Were you looking to perhaps get this Daemon registered to you today?"

The young woman nodded and was presented with quite the stack of paperwork, and began signing on dotted lines, and after it was taken care of, the woman led them to a containment room. "Right, now just have a nice chat to figure what item your pet would like to be stored into while they aren't out and about."

She smiled, leaving them to it. Their selection was pretty large and a wide array of different items for different Daemon's tastes to comfortably sit in. Glancing over towards Rasteva's cloud-like mass that had been pulled from the ring, she motioned to the items. "Did you have a preference?" Sara of course, had her own in mind, but wanted this to be as pleasant as she could make it for Rasteva.

Friends in the Void.

There was absolutely no way that the stuffed bear's paws would cause her any harm, but even still Sara quickly withdrew her hand from the toy as gently fidgeted with her fingers. Why was it mad at her...? Well, obviously it was mad at her. Look at it, all soaked and pitiful. The growls weren't helping, causing her to jump as she was startled by the sudden voice again. Dis..carding? Watching as the stuffed animal went from sitting to falling over and a rise of smoke emerged from it, her eyes followed the cloud with interest. It explained that her toy could not speak in the first place, causing a rather sad attempt laugh to come from her throat.

"Of course it couldn't! That...That's completely silly. I'm sorry to hear that the...body you originally had was ruined, Rasteva.." As the cloud circled around her, she gently gripped her upper arm with her free hand. "I...see. I wish I had the answers for you, truly I do..." As Rasteva apologized, she simply nodded. "No, no..I don't tend to get on well with people as it is. If I wasn't so attached to my things then you wouldn't even have been recognized, and maybe you could have escaped last night...and...and..you wouldn't have to deal with me." Her expression fell as she spiraled into a little space of sadness, sighing.

Listening as Rasteva went on about informing her about Ethan and his tattoo..he called it...a Daemon? She had heard that name before. She wasn't in the best of moods right now, but he needed her help. "I...Of course I'll help you, Rasteva...I want you to be able to have your body back or at least..something more suitable than just floating about.." Taking a moment, she cleared her throat.

"You said that tattoo he had was a Daemon? I...I've heard of those before. They've recently been popping up in some department stores and advertisements for them play on the radios. They're marketed for teenagers to young adults to purchase. I'm not sure what they do exactly since I haven't looked too much into it...but I know they're pretty popular. It's a brand that makes pretty much everything you can think of."