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Of course he was there. Asrafel had slept huddled on what he considered his corner of Lillian's bed every night for days. Something was wrong. He'd tried to contact Halexei on numerous occasions, but was rewarded with nothing but silence. Ever since the night a part of him had been ripped away, he hadn't heard from Lillian. She was just gone.. gone for weeks, just like they said he had been when they took him. The only difference was..

You promised me you'd give them all a choice.

Lillian had never come to him for the choice. Halexei hadn't even mentioned anything to do with her, but Asrafel had always assumed that when he spoke of the kin, he meant 'all' of them. Including Lillian. He promised that nothing would happen to them.

But where was Lillian now? And why did he feel so empty inside because of her absence?! Why wouldn't Halexei tell him anything? Why couldn't he move into the plane of existence where he knew Lillian must be, if she was alive? He was able to do it without a second thought before this, but now..

Now he was blocked from the very power that had been forced upon him without a choice. And all he could do was worry that something similar was happening to his Lilly.

He whimpered in his sleep, writhing as bad dreams provoked him. They weren't dreams of the past, as so many of his kin suffered from. No, the dreams from his past were usually surprisingly pleasant.. it was the future that haunted him with nightmares.

He was stirred awake a moment before his name was whispered, and turned with groggy eyes. "Huhwhu..?" He murmured, rubbing the sleep out of one of his eyes and letting them focus on slashes of indigo coloring the darkness. Even as he continued to awaken, he felt that emptiness inside of him fill once more. What had been lost from him was being returned, and in so doing that meant..

"Lilly?!" He shot up in the bed, his eyes closing as the rush of getting up too fast slapped him in the face. He pushed the aching headache aside and stumbled out of the bed, heading toward her with a light quick step - which stopped when he was but a foot or two away. His arms had been outstretched to envelop her in a big bear hug, but it was as if the darkness that surrounded her stopped him before he could manage that far. One foot slid out from under him as he tried to stop, and he dropped down onto his rear, hands reaching behind him to scuffle away in surprise.

Was this Lillian?

It was dark, but not dark enough to hide the outline of her figure, the expression on her face, the scantily clad body. His eyes widened in a mixture of emotion, which melded into one shocked expression.

He knew that if-no.. when she returned, she would be changed, but nothing could have prepared him for this. She was absolute beauty, and absolute evil as one. And he couldn't decide whether he should be attracted or repelled to it. Unconsciously, however, the decision had already been made.

Still he didn't move a muscle, caught in a half-crab on the floor staring up at her in awe.

Half-correct.

Asrafel's mind was hazed with so many thoughts that he couldn't even begin to try and comprehend what she meant by that. She was there, she was there, and no matter how much she changed there was no doubt that this was Lilly. It was only something else, something more that surrounded her, and encapsulated her, and it was this that worried and frightened him. He found that even if he had wanted to, he couldn't move. He was frozen still while she walked around him, until he could no longer see her, and all he felt was the cold smooth metal of her scythe against his skin. He couldn't even shudder at it's touch.

Was this the end?

Her next words made him melt in confusion, and he chanced a side glance as she spoke his name. He still couldn't see her through it however, and was therefore caught unaware when her fingers brushed against his hair. Without knowing it, his head tilted lucidly toward her fingertips as they ran across his jaw, and he let out the faintest little sound. While the fear still lay embedded in his heart, his eyelids fluttered helplessly closed the second her breathe blew against his ear in words that took him a minute to even consider, let alone comprehend.

But in that minute, all conscious thought fled in reaction to a deeper, almost forbidden longing. When he finally took in her words, and realized how familiar they sounded, every inch of his dark body flushed a deep, dark blush. How could he have, even for only one minute, felt like that about Lilly?! He should have been ashamed of himself!

"D-dreaming?" He staggered out in a whisper, still refusing to look at her; though this time of his own choice. "Yeah.. I was dreaming. I was.. but.."

What did his dreams have to do with this moment? At least, those of the past seemed innocent enough; though he was sure that from now on his dreams would be riddled with much less innocent things.

Asra's eyes opened slowly to look down at the arms wrapped around his neck, and his brow furrowed. He took some time to calm down the more persuasive aspects that the situation had risen in him, and rested one hand on one of the arms. He let out the tiniest sigh, finally ready to tell her just how much he missed her, and just how worried he was about her. He had his Lilly back, at least.. but he'd still have to talk to Halexei about needlessly worrying him like-

A shiver ran through his body as he felt her kiss his neck, and his lips parted in an exhale of breath. His thoughts were erased once more, and the hand against her arm tightened unconsciously.

It was just so easy to let go.

As if she read his mind, but took his thoughts the wrong way, she left him suddenly and he reeled from the lack of physical affection. He felt cold and withered as the air kissed his skin instead of her. His head snapped up and lapis lazuli eyes sharpened suddenly to follow her every move, silently desperate for the affection he had missed all these weeks without her; whether it be the same affection he had gotten used to, or this new, frightful affection that dared to challenge the boundaries they had set around one another.

He supposed boundaries were meant to be challenged, after all.

But why was he thinking about this again?! He mentally slapped himself and returned his focus to her words just as she said them. This time they sunk in immediately, and he took a deep breath, nodding his head. Finally, a thought worthy of keeping his attention long enough to keep him out of trouble.

"Oh, Lilly. I couldn't agree with you more.." He murmured, pushing himself to his feet slowly as he said it.

Perhaps this feeling of dread was just paranoia. Perhaps this change was for the best, after all.

Far be it from Asrafel to fail to note just how sensual the roll of her hips was as she walked, but luckily the situation they spoke of kept his attention focused. At least, it kept his attention until her arms slid around his waist, and she pressed herself against him. It was unnerving to have the tables suddenly turned, feeling her wrapped around him for comfort instead of him around her. He remembered countless times when she refused to even touch him, but the simple fact that she let him hug her mean the world to him. Now..

The world was turning topsy turvy.

Her words brought him close to tears. He wrapped his arms around her quickly, pulling her into an embrace that longed to do nothing more than soothe just as she had soothed him many a night. He brushed his hand against the top of her hair, and buried his chin against it.

"Lilly, you can't imagine how worried I was when you were gone. I mean, perhaps you can, but oh, I was so very worried. I know I should have known you'd come back but.. I just.. I don't know what to expect anymore! I couldn't take anything for granted, and I didn't want to lose you to anything.. not even him." For the first time in his life, Asrafel spoke with a touch of malice in his voice; or perhaps it was just flared annoyance. How dare Halexei worry him like this! Honestly, he was being so rude! He felt her tremble and tightened his grasp, his head shifting slightly against her hair as he whispered into it.

"But don't you worry, Lilly.. there's hope. There has to be. Don't be afraid, there's always something we can do. Something I can do."

Something I will do.

"There's always a chance. There's always a choice."

He sounded like a hypocrite, saying something like that, but the determination set in his narrowed eyes would confirm that he was serious this time. He would not let this world end the way his did. This time, he would make a difference. This time, for Lilly, for all of his kin, he would make the right choice.

How pleasantly distracted she was, and how easily he fell into step in a rhythm he swore he would never follow. She traced along every sensitive contour, and his eyes closed as he simply allowed himself to revel in how deliciously naughty it felt, before he was awoken from his little fantasy and opened his eyes to meet hers. There was so much within those eyes, and he could see things clearly.

Too clearly.

He had been blessed (or was it cursed?) with the ability to see the soul of his kin, and to judge whether they were ready for a change or not - but what he saw in Lillian's eyes made the pleasant warmth of her touch die away. He felt his stomach plummet, and the ground beneath him threatened to give way.

"Lilly.." He whispered haggardly, and swalloed hard. He had never seen anything like her soul in his entire life, but he knew there was something -wrong-.

Still, on the surface the sadness was prominent, and he wrenched away from his view of the state her soul was in to deal with her wish. His eyes narrowed for a second as he heard her request, and he reached up with both hands, cupping her cheeks in them. His eyes sparkled with an earnest determination that bubbled forth from his voice. "Lilly, of course I'll never let you go. Don't you know that by now? Since when have I ever given up on you?"

Before she whispered on his lips, all he could think of was 'How could I ever forget?' Was she really worried that he, of all people, would give up on her?

But none of that mattered as much as he thought it had, when he felt her press her lips against his. A rush of panic filled him, followed by a similar rush of desire. Why was she kissing him?! Nevermind why she was doing it, why did it have to feel so good?

Maybe she didn't mean it the way he wanted her to mean it. Maybe it was just.. just a kiss. A kiss to seal the promise. That must have been it, of course.. he was a fool to think otherwise.

Still, if that was the case, there was no harm in enjoying it. His eyes fluttered closed and he made note of exactly how her lips felt against his, their texture and warmth. He slid the tip of his tongue out to brush against them for a moment, simply to have a taste he could connect with the memory of the touch of those lips. Not once did he believe his actions may have seemed too far, even as his hands slid back from their hold and rested on her hips, gripping them lightly.

No, if this was nothing but a sealed promise, he still felt comfortable pulling away from it when the time came. He continually squashed that impetulant little voice inside of him that kept hoping it wasn't, and simply did what he knew best; enjoyed the moment.

He couldn't remember when his conscious worries and thoughts melted into one thoughtless haze of enjoyment, just as one could never really tell exactly when they fell asleep. Nonetheless, when he felt a light touch against skin so sensitive that it awoke him from this dream, his eyes opened and widened in surprise. He pulled away from the kiss, just as startled by the sudden separation as he was by the drain of blood that left his head dizzy as it left his upper body. His fingers gripped their hold on her even tighter, and his eyes fell, widened and glazed with a heady mixture of confusion and desire. His breath caught, staggering in perfect tune with each slight movement, once more a puppet to someone's elses hand - though this time he would be a fool to complain about it, as he was rewarded hundredfold.

Still, he stared down at her, searching her eyes this time for some kind of sign. In a sudden intake of breath her name caught in his throat, sounding as though there was a question attached to it that he couldn't find it in him to finish; "Lilly-?" Yet as soon as he'd said it, his muscles turned taut as his body arched minutely, beckoning her desperately.

He knew what he wanted. He simply couldn't accept the reality that the siren pressed against him could possibly want the same. It refused to sink in, even as his eyes closed and he drifted away in a sea of dangerous pleasures.

He was just glad he knew how to swim.