++Smooth Criminal++

[DemonicFox99]

The fire demon began to sound slightly angry with himself, "My....father was a fire demon." He stood up not wanting to talk about it any more. "Come on.." He held out his hand. "I'll take you back." The sky began to grow darker with thick heavy rain clouds splitting occassionally with lightning.

[Rikku_Feline]

Myfi took his hand, squeeking at a sudden crash of thunder. She pulled up the head part of her pelt, using it as a hood and pulling the skin around her for warmth. "Thank you, once again," she said, reaching the mouth of the cave. "Please allow me to introduce you to my friend properly. He truly is a good person. He is just...overprotective."

[DemonicFox99]

Several minutes of silence passed with nothing but the wind and rain to fill the void. Kette walked next to the selkie not feeling much for talking but he tried for her anyway. "You sound irish...." He immeadiately felt stupid for opening his mouth. "Uh... i meant..." He sighed giving up as thunder clashed over their heads. Silence engulfed them once again when suddenly he stopped holding his arm across Myfi to stop her as well. Standing in their path was a man dressed in royal blue armor and a silver cape.

"Fire demon!" The mans voice bellowed like a lions roar. "You have violated your exile!!" He held a long slender trident that curved and twisted like kelp and pointed it at him." Kette gripped his fists saying in an angry voice.

"To save a life..."

"Regaurdless!!" He shouted. "That does not save you from the judgement of the Nymphian Council. There has not been one drop of rain on your flesh that they did not know about!!"

"Even if that life was of a water fae?" Kette stepped slightly in front of Myfi. "They are in short supply as it is... you'd rather me risk extintion of a beneficial race than to violate my sentance?"

[Rikku_Feline]

"Exile?" said Myfi, confusedly. "What are you talking about?" she asked, looking up innocently at Kette.

[DemonicFox99]

The centurian scoft laughing at the girl's ignorance. "The man standing next to you was born of a wench and a criminal! He doesnt belong in our society!" He looked the girl in the eyes. "He has been banished from the water and by desicrating this river he had violated that sentance. A punishment is needed to correct his mistake."

Kette growled, "Dont you dare talk about my mother that way!! That man tricked her and lied to her!! He raped her saying that he loved her, then left her to die giving birth to me!!" Hate for his father burned deep inside him. The centurian laughed.

"You're mother was a prostitute boy! She was the gutter slum of our society. Now you'll take your punishment and be on your way. Thirty lashes ought to do the trick." His trident's staff suddenly began more whip-like with sharp tallons on the end. He spoke only one word that didnt sound like a word at all but it rendered Kette motionless.

"s**t.." He struggled but he was bound by the very water inside his body. The centurian ripped the back of Kette's shirt open and began beating him mercilessly. Kette bit his lip making it halfway through the beating before screaming in pain as blood poured down his back. After it was over the centurian released his spell and kicked him to the ground. "The next time I wont be so leniant." He stepped into the river and dissapeared in its depths. Kette lay writhing on the ground panting as rain began to fall. Each little drop touched his body like it felt sorry for him.

[Rikku_Feline]

"KETTE!" she cried, rushing over to him and dropping on her knees beside him. "Kette, I'm so sorry! This is all my fault!" she wept. "I don't know much healing magic, b-but perhaps this will help." She slowly raised her hands above the wounds, the tips of her fingers sparking with energy, as a dull numbness raced through his body. "I cannot yet heal. Only ease the pain for now. I suppose what you said earlier is true. I really can't be of any service to you..." Tears were slipping down her freckled face as she gently stroked his wounds, small sparks, barely visible, left behind.

[DemonicFox99]

Leaning against his palm he pushed himself off the ground sitting up so that the wounds wouldnt brush by any stray plants. His mouth hung exposing his sharp fangs but he looked up at her through his one blue eye. "Dont.. be so hard on yourself. If this is the price I have to pay for helping some one.... so be it." Slowly he touched his shoulder, healing water dripping from his fingertips surprised him greatly when they only made the pain worse. "s**t!!" He gasped for air jerking forwards. "My healing water doesnt work...." He coughed up blood gripping one fist into the dirt.

[Rikku_Feline]

"We have to get you to Casticus," she said worriedly, trying her hardest to numb the pain more. "He can help." She turned, noticing that they were not far from her home and cried as loudy as she could, "CASTICUS!"

~~~

The man sat with his head in his hand, still rubbing the spot where she had slapped him. They had practically grown up together since both of them had no home, no parents. He knew he was overprotective, but dammit if she wasn't so innocent! She didn't understand the dangers that were out there and it was his job to protect them from her. He watched the dark ripples in the lake inside the cave, kicking a rock lazily in until he heard her piercing cry. Immediatly he jumped up, rushing to the two who were not too terribly far away.

"What the hell happened?!" he said, dropping down beside the selkie who was still in tears. He knew she hated to see people in pain. She would fret over him every time he got the smallest of injuries.

"Please, help him, Casticus!" The man sighed, rubbing one of his pointd ears before examining the wounds.

"Think you can move?"

[DemonicFox99]

Kette growled as slowly he stood up, "Yeah.." Refusing anyone's help he stepped forwards taking a swift nose dive into the dirt. "Damn!"

[Rikku_Feline]

Myfi gasped, touching his shoulder and tilting his face up to look into her eyes. "Please allow us to help you," she said softly. Casticus rolled his eyes at Kette's determination to refuse all help before grabbing him by the arm and helping him up. Myfi carefully helped him on the opposite side, looping Kette's arm around her neck to help support him. They slowly helped him inside the cave, revealing the large, dark cavern with a large, dark looking lake in the center, a small trickle of light glinting off the rippling water.


"Sit down," commanded Casticus, leaving him in Myfi's care without looking back. Myfi carefully helped him to the floor of the cave, being extremely gentle so as not to hurt him any worse.

"He can't touch the lake, Casticus," said Myfi, watching as Casticus neared the water. Casticus grumbled something before returning with a bucketful of water and a cloth.

"You do it," he said, numbly setting the items down next to Myfi before walking away to retrieve something. The selkie knelt down behind Kette, drenching the cloth in water and holding it in her small hands.

"This will sting," she warned softly before pressing the cold cloth to his back, washing the blood from the wounds.

[DemonicFox99]

The fire demon tensed up and gripped his fingered deeply into the dirt a she lightly dabed his wound clean. After she finished he let out a breath of air that he had been holding and panted lightly. "Thank you..." He hung is head resting it in his hands sighing.

[Rikku_Feline]

Myfi leaned towards him, eyebrows knit together in worry. "What is wrong?" she asked, placing the cloth to his side. Casticus returned holding a jar filled with a strange plant-like substance. He tossed it to Myfi along with a roll of bandages before walking away once more. Myfi carefully removed what was left of his shirt, dabbing on the plant before wrapping the bandages firmly around his torso.

[DemonicFox99]

The demon sucked air in through his teeth as she dabbed on the plant and bandaged his wounds. "I'm so weak!" He slammed his fist into the packed earth causing his knuckles to bleed. He closed his eyes thinking of his mother, his father, the council; everything started rushing back to him. Every painful memory started to swirl together into a blurr of color. The sound of the hammer of judgement, the faces of his theif brothers, the smell of the gunpowder from his gun, the soft touch of the demon he still desperately loved, everything mixed together in a jumbled mush as he slowly fell back against the selkie fast asleep.

~

Kette laying on an invisible floor, unseen but felt beneath him. He looked down to see pink and orange clouds that where scattered with pale stars. He heard a whisper that sounded like it was behind his ear but so far away he couldnt tell what it had said. It repeated and repeated until it became clear. It was saying his name, was it his name? If not who's name was it? Did the voice sound familiar? A woman! The voice belonged to a woman. The demon was startled from his wonderings by the gentle touch of fingertips underneath his chin. "Kette.." He looked up.

"R....Ryomi?" Tears spilled freely from his eyes. It had been six months since he had seen her. He had missed her so much, everything about her he missed with every cell in his body. Happily he lept up to pull her into his arms but found that he could not touch her. "Ryomi!" She acted like she could not hear him and rose her hand to place against a thin sheet of impenatrable glass. He punched the glass as many times as he could but it would not break. He watched in horror as she cried and turned her back to him to walk away forever. He screamed for her but she kept walking. Slowly he slid down the glass crying openly. "C-come back..."

~

"Dont leave me...... come back......"

[Rikku_Feline]

Myfi held him gently, running her hands up and down his arms comfortingly. She stopped, suddenly feeling the muscles underneath his skin tense. She watched him worriedly as his face shifted from a peaceful sleep to worried, saddened. The selkie leaned forward, shushing him as if he were a child and stroking his face with her soft hand. She cocked her head curiously at the man's sleep-talking, but simply said, "I am here, Kette. Do not be afraid."

[DemonicFox99]

Suddenly his dreams erupted through his mind causing his body to tense tighter. He instictively buried his face in her warm and bare stomach clutching her sides with his trembling hands. A single tear slid down his cheek to drip onto her thigh. "Come.. back..." He muttered into her flesh.