The Right to Power

[Chephros]

Chephros stood there, leaning against a building wall as normal. The town here was rather quiet and boring most of the time, leaving the pale green eyed demon little to do other than sit around or hunt for food in the surrounding lands. The low mountains to the north, the dense forest to the east a ways, and the river to the southeast made decent places to find food, but other than that the days passed by like a lazy cloud, taking forever simply to move from one place to another and be noticed. The passing of time was barely even visible to the unblooded demon and he waited. He was near the edge of town, keeping the border of the place, marked by a high rising wooden fence, well in sight as well as a few other places that led to private areas. No one had used any of the areas or gone outside the town for a while, so there were no real victims.

The unblooded demon felt an aching in his shoulder blades and knew he was running out of time to do this deal. He didn't want to end up a formless one. The formless were the demons who blooded themselves too late and only in a combatical frenzy did they seemingly sprout wings and tails, possibly horns, and look like actual demons. They held their power still, but the form of a demon was lost. That was not something that Halloseuil wanted to be. He placed his hand to his back and rubbed the aching shoulder blade, not to help it but to calm it slightly and to reassess why he was where he was now. He had a definite chance of becoming a formless one if the patterns in the town continued and no one went into a private area. If that happened though, he would make it public anyway, or find the most secluded place possible, simply so that he didn't end up how he was fearing he would be.

Glancing around slightly, he was also watching for the town's guards. He basically knew that they were now guessing, if they hadn't been before, he was a vagrant and had no job or money. He was surviving somehow though, and was staying in their town doing nothing. They didn't want that so they were going to force him out, but he really didn't know when they planned to try and get him. That was adding more trouble to this whole event, and he had to be careful about it all. Why? Well theres an interesting thing about some demons. They don't form friends, but instead form rivals and enemies. With rivals you trained and attempted to overcome one another. With enemies....well its the same for human enemies. Now all of Chephros' rivals had come to the human world immediately, and he had stayed behind. Now he couldn't find ANY of them OR any of his enemies. While not being able to find enemies was a good thing he now had no one to really duel and the fact that demons were disappearing at all was a BIG problem. Without knowing about the mages, he knew something was hunting demons and he was going to keep himself a big secret until he had enough power to fight whatever was coming for him.

Glancing around again, he simply stayed there, leaning against the wall of the building. His pale eyes glancing about every so often looking around. Then his eyes caught something that held his gaze for a few moments. Could it be that after all this time he had a target now?

(EDIT: This is a closed thread between me and The Watcher)

[The Watcher]

Dashka Raine Remmington

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"By Daddy see you in a little while!" the young lavender headed girl called out as she saw her father working in the barn again. He was always in there working away to make their lives in Tinzeltown a peaceful and happy one.

Christmas was coming up and the tree stood in the living room of the small cottage where she and her four siblings resided with her father. Long ago her mother had died and left her father to tend the children. Many women looked down at them because of that, a man was not fit to properly raise children on his own, especially those girls. Yet, they seemed to be doing just fine on their own and were happy and rather well behaved children.

"Just don't go in the wood Dashka, we don't know what's in there. " he called out as he began to pile they hay for the horses in their stalls.

"Okie dokie, be back at supper!"

And with that the young pigtailed girl ran off out of the city. For the town was small and she had explored just about everything there was in Tinzeltown to explore. All except for the Widow Maude's cellar. Rumors abounded that deep within the cellar there were bodies burried of the young children that had gone in and never come back out. Dashka wasn't afraid though but the old woman had a sixth sense about those things and every time Dashka had tried the old woman had either been there waiting or she had found her close by. And so the cellar remained a mystery but one day! One day she was gonna go!

Outside of the town there wasn't much to see. This was a farming village and so there were fields of crop that had died because of the winter months. Snow lay on the ground but right now it wasn't snowing. Dressed in jeans and a soft comfy hand me down jacket the little lavender girl ran. Now she was smaller and looked much younger than her sixteen years of age. She was to be married off soon to the butchers son but for now her adventures took up her time. And with the crop fields dead she ran right through them and headed straight for her favorite spot.. just inside those forbidden woods.

Ducking in between two large oak trees Dashka slowed to a walk and began finding her own special notches in the trees that always led her to HER place. The one where she could go to be alone and the one where she could just be herself. She didn't have to act like a lady or an elder sister to the young ones. She didn't have to worry about them following her because they weren't allowed out of the city yet. And so she stepped out into her clearing with a smile. Fresh snow had fallen last night and would again tonight too but she loved this place. She dusted the snow off her trustly old log and took her seat. It was beautiful here no matter what time of year you came and this was the place she came to think.

Right now though she was working on Christmas gifts and so the girl pulled out her handy dandy pocket knife and four blocks of wood. Her fathers was already done as he was most important and she had carved him a hunting dog with little spots and floppy ears. Her youngest brothers. Both twins, had gotten twin kitties to play with and her older sister .. well when it was done it would be a swan. And so Dashka sat to work humming to herself the songs of Christmas and working on her last gift.

[Chephros]

Smirking, he heard the talk of guards in the distance getting nearer. Everything was coming together all too well. Seeing the girl move out into the woods, he followed. Right now his mind was too possessed on becoming what he knew was his right to be that he didn't even care it was a female he was killing. Many demons felt remorse for their first victim, and carried some strange habit around because of it. Glancing at the people around who for some strange reason hadn't really cared that the girl had left the town and gone into the village, he shoved his shoulder blades back into the wall, and it hurt him a bit to do as they were still a bit sore as a warning, and moved forward.

Shifting around the gate, he was moving slowly almost, keeping the girl within eye-sight, but also keeping silent. He constantly jumped up into tree branches at times, simply because he thought someone was nearby or he though she had looked back to see him. When she ducked between the two rather large trees, he noticed the notches in the trees and knew that it was a marker of some sort. He didn't know what for though and he stayed back. Could this actually be a trap planned by those fools from the city? He had no idea, but if it was he would not be an idiot and walk straight into it. Keeping with the stealth aspect, he kept moving, but he then noticed the girl had slowed into a walk.

Becoming suspicious of the markers and the entire setting, he kept wanting to use his ability simply for defensive purposes, but he would most likely drain himself too much by doing so. His nerves were jumping at small noises and so forming spikes anywhere and everywhere on his body would probably kill him after a few moments. Death was the last thing on his mind. Still though, while he was being cautious, his mind was on the blooding to come. The single ability that all unblooded demons possessed in joint with their specialty one was to call blood from the ground that matched a certain person's own blood. This way none was completely soaked up into the ground and lost, which would void the entire thing completely.

Then she stopped. Simply, she sat down on a partially snow covered log, pulled out some wood and a knife. Now he guessed there was no trap. She wouldn't be so calmly carving wood with a pocket knife and humming a song. There was simply too great an air of solitude and peace in this place. It was almost saddening to Chephros that he would have to shed blood....and then take it all in. He had been mentally prepared for the past several years, and right now was his moment to become a full-blooded demon and receive his name. Well, he already knew his name but now other demons would as well and he would gain the ability to duel for power.

Smirking, he strolled in. His feet crunched in leaves, twigs and snow underfoot as he wasn't wearing shoes. When he became what he was going to be, his hands and feet would end in claws, making shoes and gloves relatively pointless. A cloak would be stupid as well, and shirts would to be almost created around him if he wanted to wear one. A mental image of himself came to mind, and he liked it. It dominated his mind and drove him forward. He actually hadn't fully prepared for this, and had no real weapon on him. No matter though, he would take the pocket knife from the girl and use it to kill her. It would also help him carve out her heart.

That was the one thing that slightly unnerved him. He would have to tear out, and eat, her heart to finalize the whole thing. Still, the blood would be almost all gone from her body, making it much easier to do and there would be less mess. Walking forward, he appeared out of tree cover, into the flat clearing. Currently he had a shirt and pants on, making him seem more humanish, and the only thing that make him slightly odd were the incredibly pale green eyes of his that no human had ever thought possible to have.

[The Watcher]

There was a crunch in the forest just beyond her little clearing and for a moment she looked up thinking that maybe one of her siblings had followed her despite the rules. She quickly hid the little figurines in case. A small little satchel on her waste served for that purpose. But nothing came in the end and she thought that it was probably a winter animal scrounging for some food. She would have to bring out some scraps later tonight for the animals that hadn't gotten enough before winter hit.

She hummed softly and pulled out only the one that she was working on once again. The little wood chips in a pile at her feet as she thought about the stew that was on the fireplace at home and the rolls that were set to rise before they would bake. She thought about her siblings probably crying that they were hungry already but rule was sundown was dinner, always had been always would be.

It was not too long before a man stepped into the clearing. Least wise he looked like a man and she looked up. Now Dashka had been warned that you weren't supposed to talk to strangers but this one was blind! Look at his eyes! They were green but so pale that he reminded her of that blind woman she had seen in Frenna Village not too long ago. And so she smiled at him even though he couldn't see but that was okay the sentiment was there.

"Hi!" she said with her happy go lucky voice. "You must be traveling. Got lost? I have a bit of jerky on me if your hungry. 'Fraid it's all I got but I can bring you more after dark if your hungry." she said with a happy smile. She patted the log next to her and scooted over incase he wanted a seat. Traveling was weary on your feet she knew that from her long walks to the next town with Daddy every so often.

[Chephros]

Seeing the girl hide everything as she heard him, he figured that she was expecting someone VERY different from him. He knew without any shadow of doubt however that she wasn't expecting to be killed this day, and so his thought held true. Smirking inwardly to himself when she had noticed him, instead she reacted differently, much differently, than he expected. Instead of bolting because he had approached the area, she simply moved aside on her log seat, offered him a place to sit and food. Internally, a mental cog slipped momentarily, but picked up the teeth of the next right after. He had been reminded of the past almost, of when he first found the town, but that had been something odd indeed. His first encounter with humans.

~Flashback sequence GO~

Chephros had just recently come out of the rupture, allowing him to get onto the human world. He was the last of his group and was wondering if another, now blooded, demon would greet him or if a target would present itself instantly. Neither happened, but that didn't mark him as odd. Rarely did either truly happen instantly. Walking along, he happened along a trail that seemed well worn and easily to travel upon. Later he would learn that it was a road created by people to go from place to place. Walking along, he eventually came to a mediocre town.

Passing through the gates, he heard the remarks about his eyes but didn't care right then. However, he noticed some people looking at him with fascination that was genuinely innocent instead of partially fear-born. Walking along he needed some form of food, and found a small shop filled with it. Not knowing the concept of money, normally hunting for his own food and such, he simply took a piece of meat and ripped into it. The store owner looked on, jaw dropping as the demon simply ripped into the piece of food and ate it quickly. The only other person in here noticed this as well, and when the demon tried leaving, the shopkeeper got ticked off. The middle-aged woman then calmed the man and paid for it anyway, thinking the traveler slightly different, mentally, from the normal person. She figured he was under some sort of pain and needed help. When Halloseuil later figured out what had happened(after he learned the concept of money and bartering from listening to people), he was almost in silent awe from it and how people were so willing to help others.

~Flashback ending sequence GO~

He had continued walking forward during his little memory trip and go closer to the log. Reaching it then, he simply sat down next to the girl and definately had a height advantage. The six foot one demon simply sat there though, now laughing at himself almost. This was the life of irony he lived, about to kill a girl for being kind to him. She didn't know her plight though and thus the foolishness of her actions wasn't apparent to her. It would be soon though. Switching tongues from Demonic to the human language(Or rather a version of English as I guess this is in the US), he looked down at the girl.

"Yes, food would be nice. Both kinds."

The second part was added under his breath, only meant to be stated for the wind to hear. The second kind of food he was talking about was the food that would cause the flame of his power to burn brighter. Her blood and heart. It would be his very soon then, and he knew it. She was too trusting and naive to understand that he was something different, most of the people here were. Some of them might have guessed he looked different for a reason, but they never really acted upon it.

[The Watcher]

The man came near to her and she smiled up at him as he took his seat next to her on the log. Granted she was probably a bit too trusting but it had never gotten her in trouble before. Because one thing you might notice about Dashka was that she was exceedingly kind and tended to find the good inside of anyone. She could reach right down into your soul and find that good little bit and she would make it grow. It was one of the reasons that the whole town knew the little girl and the reason she was set to marry the Butcher's boy.

You see the boy had always been silent. His mother having died at birth and he had never spoke a word. So many in the village thought him dumb or lame. Something wrong with him that couldn't be fixed with medications or a quick beating. Instead they pretty much just let him do his own things. But Dashka had found him one say working in a garden of a woman's house and not minding that the boy didn't speak she became his first friend ever. Eventually getting him to warm up to where he would speak but only to her and then finally to his father. He wasn't lame or dumb not even mute merely had not found any reason to speak before. And now he had and they were closer than ever.

The man next to her spoke and she smiled. Digging into her pouch she produced a healthy turn of jerky and a small water flask. She took his hand gently and placed both items in it still under the impression that he was blind.

"So mister, where do you hail from? And my name is Dashka by the way." she smiled brightly as she went back to her wood work and let him speak if he would and to eat his meal in private.

[Chephros]

The girl produced two objects then, some odd meat like thing and a container with something inside of it. Opening the flask up, he drank some and found the clear water interesting. It was definatel someting new, and he capped it back up and simyl placed it on the log for now. He had heard her words, but he was trying to figure out how best to answer. Should he simply say where he was really from, or make some odd place up? He could say he was from the mountains to the north, as truthfully he was from the far side of them having walked on the road which led in an arc around them.

Biting into the food, he chewed it a bit. The stuff was tough but good, and it was probably able to last a while. Something that could keep one sustained over a long distance. How interesting these humans and their creations were. Making up his mind then, if she was to run she would do it now, but he would chase and kill her anyway. Her life had ended the moment she left the town walls, and not even the emotion of slightly empathy could stop it. His thirst for the power that would be his was too great to really choose any other path right now. Slipping the food away and resting his hand on the flask, he looked down at the girl.

"I'm from the demon realm. I got here through the mountains." As if to prove he was, even though she wouldn't know he was speaking a different language or the demonic one at that, he switched to speaking his racial language. "You are going to die here."

She would either be running from his first words, or in awe at the fact that he existed. In either case he would either run after her, or simply take the knife quickly. If she dropped it all the better. He could simply pick it up ahd hurl it at her with enough force for it to possibly rip through her completely. That would cause a good amount of bloodshed and that would make the task end that much faster.

[The Watcher]

That voice. It made her look up it sounded like it was coming from some dream or another land. She realized that it was his voice. HIs.. and ... and it was scary. She dropped the half made swan into the snow and stood up suddenly her blue eyes wide with fear and worry. She did have a bit of wonderment too but right now it was fear of the unknown.

"What are you?" she whispered.

But she didn't stay around for the answer. She spun her knife in hand and ran heading back for the town. She ran fast she was a girl that had adventured a lot in her life and had toned and muscular legs. She cried as she ran scared that he would come after her. She knew .. knew now that her father had been right. Strangers weren't anything but bad news and there fore she would stay away from them from now on. She ran through the woods a stone caught her foot and turned it. Down she went with a yelp as she cried harder through the pain.

Getting up she ran limpingly through the woods. She had to make it somewhere. Somewhere that someone from the town might see her and know something was wrong. She ran but much slower now as her ankle hurt every time it touched the ground and even when it didn't. She yelped and cried trying to get away praying he would just leave her alone.

"HELP!!" she screamed out knowing no one would hear her yet but it felt better to do something than nothing.

[Chephros]

She was fear stricken and he knew she would run very soon. He would give her the false hope of getting out of this alive as he simply sat there for five seconds, then stood up and shot off. Four words were said before the demon departed the woods running as fast as he could. The compacted muscles formed by chaos allowed him to move faster than the average human adult around age 22 or so. The words he left behind answered the question 'What are you doing,' rather than what he was.

"Claiming what is mine."

His power was going to be his very soon. The girl appeared in his sight briefly, then a tree hid her. Keeping with his pace she appeared steadily then and he looked forward. He was moving in a direction that would intercept her own, but he wasn't running fast enough to actually catch her. Tripping on purpose, he let one hand fall down and pushed off so that he basically did a one handed flip with his increased momentum, but not before his other hand reached out and grabbed a stone the size of a teenagers fist. As his torso came back up the stone hand flew overhead and he released it, throwing it hard down the line. It could either skim her sides, smash home, or simply miss by a few inches. It was a closely aimed shot anyway.

If it missed though it would probably make a loud thunk as it slammed home into a skinny tree. It might cut the tree down, but the thing was small so it might only entangle the girl if she stopped to see it. Running still, he started sprinting. While her fear drove her and it gave her speed and stamina via adrenaline, he was a demon and had a different advantage. His whole body was prepared for this and he had literally trained and exercised so that this would be that much easier. His compacted yet still strong muscles were only going to be that much stronger, and he would have wings and a tail, only he finished this event.

Fear was his best weapon now, as it could potentially blind her and cause her to get off course. Calling out, he made it sound as if he was calling to some god in the sky for aid and talked in the demonic language. If any demons were nearby they would hear, "Stop running human, it would be better to fight." This way both would gain a message. A demon nearby would understand that there was prey here as well as a fellow demon blooding himself or simply having some fun. The human would hear him say it reverently as if he was really calling for some evil god's power which could inspire a dread and fear-born mindset that would easily cause her to become anxious to leave the place and distressed. While mind games weren't his strong suit, Halloseuil could play them and they definitely had an effect.

[The Watcher]

Dashka ran. It was all she could do. Hope she could make it to the town. Her father could kill him she was sure. He would be mad that he was attacking one of his daughters and there by diminishing the fact that he might have desendants one day. And so she ran and ran as hard as her little feet would carry her. But her eyes went wide when suddenly

*thump*

Right into her back and she fell forward in shock and in pain as she landed in the frozen snow and grass beneath her. She lost all the breath in her lungs and the pain from her ankle and now her back hurt worse than ever. Dashka tried as she might to get up her small thin arms working to lift her thin body but her back hurt and she couldn't hold her weight up very long.

She fell back into the snow and began trying to crawl away. She could hear the sounds of him behind her and the voice that sounded like God alone was smiting her to her death. Tears fell heavier now as they melted the snow beneath her. She had to get away. Had to.. someone.. help.. please help me.

[Chephros]

The girl was down and he saw his clear chance. He knew that he had to make it quiet and quick, then hide the body very quickly so that the girl wouldn't be found for a while. He still had to escape and wanted provisions from the town, specifically the food the girl had given him and some water. The human realm pressed limits on demons, but really food and water wasn't normally one of them. Chephros had simply liked the stuff so he figured he could use it. The water was cold and clear, and seemed to do something for him while the food had actual taste. Running forward, he caught up to the girl easily now that she was on the ground and merely crawling.

Slowing down as he got near he walked over and, none to gently, pulled her up by her neck and pushed her against a tree. Then he reaached for her knife holding hand(as I never did see you say it was dropped), and attempted to wrench it from her grip by digging it out. If she managed to keep her grasp he would simply enclose her hand in his and crush it till she dropped the blade. He wouldn't choke her to death and thus he didn't full clench her neck to the tree. He needed her blood, not simply her death. Plus to get the heart he would need the knife to carve through more easily without staining the shirt and pants with blood, or at least a whole ton of it.

"Your life, however joyful it was for you, ends here. Don't worry, I won't forget you. I don't think any demon manages to forget the person they kill first. Hmph, if I didn't have to do this I am pretty sure you would be fine and safe, but fate simply played against you."

The small amount of sympathy he held then enacted his arm to move. It forced his elbow against her upper chest, right under the neck, and then his hand covered her mouth and nose. She would fall unconscious from lack of air soon, and then she wouldn't feel quite as much pain, if she felt any at all. Once she was unconscious that way, he would have a very easy time of grabbing the blade(if he didn't already have it.). Then the ritual could proceed with Chephros opening one or more cuts, absorbing the blood through skin contact with it or literally drinking it like a vampire. Then of course when all blood was drained, he would have to actually eat the heart itself. Boy wasn't this just a great ritual for power.

[The Watcher]

Dashka felt a giant hand pick her up by her neck. Pressing her hard against the tree she began to cry harder. That same man the one she had shared her meal with was going to kill her or so he said. She fought hard to keep her knife. Small though it was it was sharp and if she could just do a little damage then she could run back to the town ot at least try. She cried too and pleaded for her life.

"Please! Please don't.. I won't tell anyone, I just want to go home." she cried out pleading was her last straw.

His hand closed over her wrist and squeezed and soon her little knife fell to the ground and she fought harder. Kicking at him with her legs she managed to get him once in the knee but her aim was failing anyway because she was not able to well breathe all the well at the moment with the position of his hand. She wanted to live and she didn't understand what she had done to deserve what he was doing to her. She cried more her tears falling down onto his hand from her chin as they slid carefully off her face.

"Please mister... please." she whispered getting desperate. "I.. I don't want to die."

[Chephros]

"Child, if I had any other options, I would choose to let you live most likely. However, the problem presents itself that time is becoming a very big problem and I cannot take the chance."

He kept his hand to where she couldn't breath easily so that she might go unconscious. She wouldn't feel much of the pain that way, and it was a decent measure of mercy he could grant. His initial determination for this had worn down, but he was still going to go through with it. He silently prayed that someone else came along though, someone besides a girl so that he could keep her alive to meet some other time. Bending down, he picked up the knife. He knew he had about a day or so left. If nothing happened, and he had no more openings, she would have to be the blooding sacrifice.

Once the knife was tucked away, he would clamp one hand on her mouth, the other over her nose. The other way with one hand his palm had covered her mouth and two fingers pressed the outer skin together to shut her nose. Now it was a definate move for unconsciousness. She would probably have a few seconds left before black would claim her. In that time he would look at her, pale eyes seemingly sad.

"If I can, I will take you up on your offer for freedom. You say nothing, and I will visit you again sometime, hopefully on peaceful terms."

(Yeah, you can either have them send a search party out and have one person break off, or you can have her stay the sacrifice. Just in your next post, time advance it so if she goes unconscious, have her wake up on the ground with him sitting next to her. You can say if a search party started looking or not. He will have kept her overnight so the father will know she is missing.)

[The Watcher]

((Allright I think I understand what you're asking for lets hope this is right))

A search party had gone out of the city gates about twenty minutes ago. It was getting dark now and young Dashka had not returned. She was not normally like that and they were all worried. She had never been late before. Forcing her father to stay home with the little ones, five members of the city came out calling out her name and with torches, lanterns, and flashlights they all began looking for the young happy girl.

"DASHKA!!!" they called out.

"I'm going to look in her favorite spot!" called one of the members. There were few that had stumbled upon her at times when she had gone out alone and found her special spot but few really knew it well. So as Wolf took off to run over in the direction of her spot he seperated from the group.

Meanwhile after being knocked out from him sufforcating her she finally stirred. She was leaning against him softly as her blue eyes opened and she blinked. She wasn't dead? She thought surely he was supposed to have killed her. She looked up at him and bit her lower lip not understanding at all why he had spared her so suddenly.

"I.. I don't understand." she whispered softly as she looked up at him with her bright blue eyes. "I thought..."

She heard the voices of the villagers but said nothing. If he was going to kill she didn't want them chosen instead of her and so she stayed quiet merely whispering her conversation to the man. But she still trembled. Trembled for two reasons. One.. it was cold and two she was scared of him now and had every right to be.

[Chephros]

(I'm guessing that for situational irony, Wolf is the Butcher's son?)

"I thought you wanted to live. I would prefer to take the life of one who has lived it longer, than one who has innocence in their eyes still."

All he needed was one person. One person at all. Like he said earlier, he would love to take her up on the offer that she wouldn't say anything and she would go free. Taking the knife, he cut the loose bonds he had tied around her feet with shreds of his shirt sleeves. She was free to run, but he pointed her in the direction that wouldn't go near the new person coming this way. Then he shoved her away. She would be out of the clearing, and Chephros would be here when Wolf got there.

Picking up the knife once more, having dropped it to shove the girl through the trees, he stood up and tensed his body. His joints cracked quietly, loosening him up slightly. The tension started adrenaline going and it boosted his strength. He had napped slightly while the girl had been unconscious, the scouting party's calls waking him up. Letting his muscles relax, the adrenaline pumped in slightly, a small amount now but enough that he could barely feel it. Walking to where Wolf would be, hearing the crunch of his steps, he slipped the knife into a pocket.

Speaking in common, when the man came into view, Chephros would greet him with these words: "You have just saved that little girl. Unfortunately, your life ends here."

As soon as he said unfortunately he would do two things. One would whip his left hand forward to clench the mans throat and cut off air so he couldn't yell. The other would be grab the knife from his back pocket and stab it through his own hand and into the man's throat. Yes, this would hurt like hell, but it would cause the man's blood to flow directly into the demon's veins when the knife was pulled free.