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 Posted: Sat May 25, 2013 3:40 pm
Looking around himself, Cesc tried to find another reason why they should be lingering outside the apartment. There was a small Italian restaurant across the street, with sidewalk tables... it did not look like the highest-class establishment, but there were more than a few patrons within that seemed to be enjoying the food. It would provide the two with a good vantage point if the demon left again... maybe if they waited until the demon left, they could try to reason with the girl? If, just if, she were so inclined, perhaps she could help them.
Cesc tapped Xiu on the shoulder and nodded toward the restaurant.
"Perhaps we could wait there?"
* * *
Margaret smiled when she heard the gruff voice breaking over her intercom. She knew the man it belonged to. She saw him almost every day as she walked to work and back again, always looking at her almost like a lost puppy dog missing its mistress. She had asked around more than once about him, but he seemed fairly new to the neighborhood. One person thought his name was Boris. But ... Brutus seemed to fit him better.
Margaret listened to him, twirling her hair gently, and went to her small kitchen and turned the fire on under a kettle. She knew how to protect herself if he got fresh with her -- she was not afraid of that. In this neighborhood, protecting oneself became second nature. And anyway, there was a full apartment and Italian restaurant that would hear her if she had to yell! But she did not think it should come to that. She liked this man's look, very much. And while she was not overly fond of chocolate, she was fond of the idea of getting to speak with him.
She pressed in the intercom button that unlocked the front door. "Come on up, Brutus."
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Posted: Sat May 25, 2013 7:48 pm
Xiu nodded. The Italian restaurant pointed out by Cesc did offer them a good vantage point of the apartment. And the both of them could definitely do with a cooling drink or two. Xiu did not know if the frei could or would partake in human food but if the pink haired frei felt inclined to do so, Xiu was more than happy to treat the helpful frei. Nodding, Xiu made his way after Cesc to the restaurant across the street. Several of its customers were watching them warily but soon returned to their meal once it was obvious that the two raevans weren’t going to do anything of particular interest. While the proprietor was nervous, he did make a honest attempt to be civil with the two raevans.
What would you like, Cesc? Xiu asked the Frei as he scanned the menu. The Sigel didn’t really feel at all hungry to be honest but a drink couldn’t hurt. Pointing to a glass of vanilla milkshake, the Sigel waited for the Frei to make his selection.
--------------------------
The demon was surprised. How did Margaret know his name? Well…his human name at least. This woman was more than she’d make herself seem to be and this pleased the demon mightily. Shuffling his feet across the worn out “Welcome” mat and clearing his voice once more, Brutus gingerly stepped into the dark lobby. There were several broken lam bulbs and the walls had graffiti on them. Someone had tried to wash it off but wasn’t very successful at it.
Margaret lived on the seventh floor and the elevator was out of order. That did not matter though for this human body was fit and strong at least and in ten minutes or so, Brutus the demon was standing before Margaret’s front door. The demon gave the door a suspicious look before knocking on it. The sound echoed loudly across the musty hallway.
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Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 11:52 am
As he always did when entering a new location, Cesc looked around to as many people as he could and made sure to make eye contact and smile politely at each one of them. There was something about that, he found, that seemed to calm people about his general appearance. Like it made them realize he was a person under there, and not just a strange spectacle.
Cesc was fond of human food but knew it was not good for him -- it always made him feel sluggish, like his blood had thickened. In small doses, nothing happened, but he knew that overdoing it (especially in a case like this, when he should be at his best) was not an option. So while Xiu ordered a milkshake, Cesc ordered tea from the nonplussed waiter, who could only try his best not to stare too hard at them.
"I think," said Rhedefre as the waiter left, "that we should discuss some kind of plan..." He nodded up at the apartment.
"Do you think the woman might listen to your story? Perhaps she would be more sympathetic to our plight?"
---
Margaret looked at herself briefly in the mirror as Brutus made his way up the stairs. Her face was freckled and pretty in an exotic way; her lashes were thick and her lips plump. Her eyes were a light and tawny color, and there was something sympathetic in them that had ensnared and broken more than one heart. She wondered what it was that captivated that big dog of a man currently making his way up to her apartment.
From her kitchen, her kettle began to steam, but she had forgotten it entirely.
She opened her front door and smiled an impish smile. "Brutus. Are these for me? You sly dog. Don't you know you're supposed to leave a girl letters first, pique her interest? If I had not seen you before and made inquiries, you would have been stuck downstairs forever without a prayer, you know."
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Posted: Tue May 28, 2013 5:11 am
While Cesc was busying himself with smiling and greeting everyone within the shop, Xiu tried to avoid as many glances as possible. The white Sigel hated the staring and besides, people tended to quickly look away whenever eye contact was made right? Folding his wings tightly against his back so as to make himself as small as possible, Xiu was surprised when Cesc placed an order for tea. That was surprising. Or maybe not… . It was surprising because Cesc works at a bakery and Xiu half expected the Frei to order something sweet. On the other hand, it wasn’t surprising because as a Frei, Cesc was not expected to consume human food.
When Cesc brought the subject up however, Xiu was thoughtful. It depends the Sigel wrote. Remember the Demon saying that her eyes and ears would bleed should she ever hear his true voice? I was unable to tell if that was merely a metaphor or something quite literal. With demons, it is hard to tell. One thing though, he isn’t lying .
By this time, the waiter had arrived bearing their drinks. After checking that that would really be all that they would have, he turned and left the two raevans alone.
But for now, watching would be a good idea wrote Xiu, barely giving a glance at the milkshake on the table. If…the woman rejects his love, I shall try to negotiate with him but if…things turn out favourably for him, I guess…I should not be the one to step in between true love.
That last sentence, it seemed, was harder to put down on paper than when it was brewing in his mind.
-------------------------------------------
“U-Uh…I was?” blubbered the demon with the confused look of men everywhere when faced with a woman of surprising wit. “I shall write one to remedy the courtship ritual once I get back,” promised the demon. Then gaining momentum…
“But I am here to see the man of the house. I come bearing the promise of a dowry for your hand. A dowry that other suitors will be hard pressed to meet,” said the demon, referring to several hundred years of cumulated wealth from various humans he had had dealings with. Then looking at Margaret, the demon went on “Won’t you consider me as your suitor? I am strong, I am capable and I am able to look after you and provide you with more than just a roof over your head,” said the demon, giving the old apartment a judgmental look. “ I know this is overwhelming m’dear but please, do not faint on my account,”
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Posted: Tue May 28, 2013 8:02 am
Cesc smiled warmly at the waiter, who was clearly torn between offering food and looking at Cesc's half-formed body, his eyes confused, most likely wondering where the food would even go. Rhedefre could not help but notice, out of the corner of his eye, that the man watched as he took his first sip of tea, perhaps waiting for the liquid to come spilling out of his half-formed body. Although the stag had been witness to many such occurrences such as these, it never failed to amuse him. He turned to the waiter slightly and grinned, as though he had done a magic trick.
Turning back to Xiu, however, Rhedefre noticed the writing on Xiu's pad. The look of solemnity on the sigel's face communicated just how hard it was for him to write the sentence he penned, and Cesc could scarcely believe it, himself. Would Xiu really be alright with damning himself to muteness, just so that the demon could have his love...? The thought fairly took the stag's breath away. He could not argue with the sentiment. But the disappointment Xiu must have felt...
Surely there had to be a way for everyone to come out of this happily... surely there must be. Cesc's lips tightened in a sympathetic expression and he nodded at Xiu.
"It is a commendable thought," he said, lowly. "An honourable one."
* * *
That voice! She had not heard it so well over the tinny intercom. In person, well, Margaret was shocked by the sound of Brutus' voice. She, herself, favored men of Brutus' heft and size, a man of muscle and angle. But his voice was uncharacteristically soft and lilting, like a poet's voice, as though all his softness had put itself in his throat and lingered there. It was pleasant, but jarring.
Margaret looked at Brutus for a long moment as he spoke, her lips parted, her beautiful, sympathetic eyes widened in an expression of wonder. But what happened next was certainly not fainting. As Brutus finished his speech, the woman burst into uncontrollable laughter, doubling forward with the strength of it, her eyes watering with delight. Yet, there was nothing derisive about her laughing. It was a sweet sound, and the expression in her wonderful, wild eyes was similarly affectionate. She reached out a hand to steady herself upon Brutus's arm and dabbed her eyes.
"Good Lord!" She breathed. "My sainted aunt! Where on earth have you just gotten off a boat from? A place without the Modern Woman, I see. Oh, you have given me a laugh, you sweet man. I can see you're going to be just a barrel of laughs. My goodness! My sides ache. But let me put it to you straight, Brutus, you funny, sweet thing. There is no man of this house. There is me." She lifted her chin and smiled, a cunning expression.
"And I am willing to accept this 'suitor'ing business because you look like fun, and you seem like an earnest man, but you are going to have to check all this 'man of the house' business at the door. I'm willing to work with you if you can accept that I am not a fainting woman and I am not a kept woman. Now, if that does not shock you, then we can have lunch and talk, and see how we get on. But I like your look, so now the choice is yours, Suitor." Margaret leaned against the doorjamb, something regal, alluring about her dark features and proud posture, her hand upon her waist, her shoulders down and back, her neck long.
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Posted: Fri May 31, 2013 3:53 am
Xiu smiled wanly. Nothing honourable I am afraid the Sigel wrote But it…feels right by them and that is something I cannot ignore. The Demon did…give up immortality for this woman too. I just fear that that may not be the only thing he has to give up wrote Xiu.
The Sigel glanced up as the sound of a camera was heard. Nearby, a small group of girls had turned on their camera phones and were taking photos of the raevans. Xiu gave them an exasperated look. The Sigel didn’t feel particularly inclined to have his photo taken at a time like this.
-----------------------------------
While mirth overflowed from the hysterically laughing woman, the Demon just gave her a polite quizzical smile, rather like a person who has just missed the punch line of a very funny joke. But amongst the joke, there were snippets of information too. For example, the Demon now knew that the woman was alone and that there were no other males who would speak on her behalf. And that she was willing to give him a chance. At that, the Demon grinned, displaying a rather good set of human teeth.
“I’d like that very much,” said the Demon politely and humbly as he stepped into Margaret’s home. Despite being no longer a demon, Brutus still found it unnerving to step into another’s home without being invited in first. Old habits die hard it seems.
“Very…nice. Very…cozy,” hazarded the Demon at the apartment’s small space. “It must be … a pleasure to clean and look after,”
That was a safe conversational topic right? All women loved cleaning and cooking and sewing curtains and bragging who had the tastiest pie recipes….right?
But… apart from the usual musty stale air of old buildings everywhere, there was also an underlying smell of …gas? “Are you cooking something, Margaret?” Brutus asked with polite curiosity. “Only…I can’t help but smell… something in the kitchen.” Whether is was a good smell or a bad smell, the Demon did not want to risk voicing his opinion just yet. Women can get touchy about that too.
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Posted: Fri May 31, 2013 9:18 am
Cesc turned at the sound of the camera, only he smiled brilliantly and lifted a hand to the gaggle of girls, who immediately tittered amongst themselves and began to gossip instead of taking pictures. As they turned toward each other and away from him, the stag's smile evaporated, and he leaned forward to better read Xiu's pad. A worried expression crossed his face.
"What do you mean, the only thing he has to give up?"
* * *
"Goodness," sighed Margaret. "Nothing is a pleasure to clean and look after, you silly man. I hope you understand that I am not looking for someone to 'look after' and pamper. You may go right back on your boat if that's how you feel."
But at his next statement, Margaret's brilliant eyes widened, and she all but leapt toward her stove, her movements, even in surprise, catlike and attractive. She had some sort of magic about her, something earthy and ancient -- it was easy to see how she had ensnared the love of a demon. She quickly snapped the knob on her stove off, taking off her poor kettle, and uttered a laughing curse.
Unbeknownst to her, deep in the stove, something popped.
"Well! You can see how good of a housekeeper I am, clearly," she said, flipping her hair and looking back toward Brutus. "How about this. I am all for fairness. If you go get some ingredients for our lunch, I will be happy to make us something. If you find you'd rather not deal with me after all, well, then, that is your decision. But either way the choice is yours, Mister Brutus."
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Posted: Fri May 31, 2013 8:36 pm
From what the Trader has told me of his horrible stories, his customers are always getting the short end of the stick wrote Xiu. It seems unlikely that the Trader would make an exception for his fellow demons…
---------------------------------------------------------------------
“Y-Yes Margaret,” said Brutus meekly as a tirade of admonishments washed over him. Squirming under the sheer brilliance of Margaret’s personality, the Demon could only watch as the human leapt nimbly over to turn the stove off. So it was not her cooking then. The demon gave a relieved sigh. While he was prepared to do anything for this human woman, the Demon was nevertheless rather glad that cooking was not one of her shortcomings…at least it seemed so.
“What would you…like me to get Margaret?” Brutus asked in what he hoped was a non-patronizing-but-helpful voice. “There’s that wet market a couple of blocks down…,”
Minutes later, the Demon’s large figure could be seen stepping out of the old apartment and making his way briskly in the direction of the market. Xiu was quick to realize that the Demon was grinning despite his quick pace. So things were going well with the two of them then? Looking over at Cesc, Xiu wondered if he should suggest that the both of them head back. They have been waiting for the better part of 3 hours already and unless they bought something else, the proprietor was liable to have them leave the shop.
Perhaps another fifteen minutes… the Sigel thought quietly to himself. Then…after that….
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Posted: Sat Jun 01, 2013 9:30 am
Rhedefre's expression grew grim. He looked up at the apartment building...
* * *
Margaret put her poor burnt kettle in the sink, heaving a sigh and shaking her head at herself. Well! She was proud, at least, that Brutus' good looks hadn't softened her stance on how to treat the man. Imagine the gall! Waltzing up here like it was nothing. What a set of balls the man must have. Or what a place he must have come from, where negotiations for a woman go through the man of the house. Ridiculous.
But he was willing to learn, she could see that. He was like a big dog, wanting to see where he stood in the pack...
... he really did remind her of an animal. One animal in particular. A dog she once saved, a year or so ago, the poor thing. Street ruffians had ganged up on it or something -- it was a beaten and bloodied thing, left out in the elements to die of exposure. It had a big, proud face, and a black curly coat... she fed it for weeks, until it was strong again, and then one day the fool thing left! He had been such a sweet dog, the big lumbering creature.
She was startled out of her reverie by her telephone. Oh! What on earth was she reminiscing about, a stray? Silly girl. She picked up the phone.
"Celia!" Margaret exclaimed into the receiver. "Darling, I have such a funny story to tell you..."
She stepped out onto her balcony.
* * *
Xiu's words swirled in Cesc's head. The Trader loved irony. He did not give fair trades. And this demon, he took Xiu's voice for a woman...
... that woman...
* * *
Margaret leaned out on the balcony rails, still speaking into her phone. She could see Brutus' figure approaching again, still in the distance, his strong arms filled with groceries.
The Italian restaurant across the street must be grilling things, she thought. There was a faint smell of smoke blossoming in the air.
"Oh, Celia, he's nearly back. I must go start prepping," she gabbed. "I know! I can scarcely believe it myself, but there it is. I promise to let you meet him. Absolutely. Bye-bye now."
She hung up, leaning against her elbows, and sighed.
The smell was growing stronger. There was a strange, unearthly heat at her back, not from the setting sun.
Margaret turned around.
Flames!
The front wall of her apartment, behind her stove and oven, was engulfed in flames!
"Fire!" Margaret screamed, darting back into her apartment. She had a fire extinguisher, she could keep it from spreading further. She called out of her window again, her voice shrill. "FIRE, FIRE!"
Smoke was everywhere. Grey smoke filled the apartment -- damn place, there was no alarm! She knew that smoke alarm was a phony, she should have tested it! Coughing, she struggled through to where she kept her fire extinguisher. Her eyes watered as she flung open the cabinet door and grasped the metal handle. Something rocked behind her, flames licking up the wall into her living room. She could not speak, the smoke becoming thick as fog.
Margaret pulled at her fire extinguisher in a futile attempt to calm the flames, spraying white foam over the stove. The smoke was everywhere! Her body screamed at her to get out -- get out! She doubled over coughing, tears streaming from her eyes, and crawled to the opening of the balcony. Black spots dotted her peripheral vision.
Outside... if she could just... get outside...
* * *
Rhedefre's eyes climbed the apartment building. He watched a woman lean outside, talking on her phone, smiling and laughing. She disappeared, and the stag sighed.
He and Xiu paid their bill. They floated out toward the sidewalk.
He looked up again, and saw smoke.
"Xiu!" he gasped, grabbing the sigel's sleeve. Without another thought, he dashed back into the restaurant. "Fire! Call the fire department, now!"
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Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 8:19 am
While Cesc immediately dashed into the restaurant to call for the fire brigade, Xiu did the opposite and immediately made his way to the burning building. The smoke that Cesc had pointed out was pouring out of the seventh floor, the highest floor of the old apartment. Already the apartment’s other residents were clambering down the old fire escape staircase. So far, it seemed as though no one had any interest in addressing the source of the flame itself. Xiu could not blame them. They were not firefighting experts after all.
But knowing the Trader, there was probably one particular human trapped within those flames. A certain human a demon had sacrificed his powers for…
The crowd at the fire escape was beginning to thin and the White Sigel managed to squeeze himself past the last few stragglers as they hurried out to safety. The closer he floated to the seventh floor, the hotter the atmosphere within the narrow stairwell begins to get.
There was a commotion down on the ground level and the Sigel paused to see what was happening. There seemed to be lots of shouts and the sound of fighting. Minutes later, the demon’s large frame was seen stopping up the narrow stairs.
-----------------------------------
As Brutus lumbered down the old sidewalk, his hands laden with heavy grocery bags, the distant wail of an approaching fire engine and the general excitement on the streets caught his attention. Glancing up, Brutus’s eyes widen with horror as he watched apartment Margaret resided in go up in flames. Dropping the grocery bags, Brutus barreled his way through the crowds that had gathered to watch the fire. Despite his large frame, Brutus reached the apartment in record time and knocked down several of the escaping occupants as he tried to fight his way in. There were onlookers who tried to hold the demon back but the demon merely knocked them aside as an enraged bull might swat at bothersome flies with its tail.
Roaring with fear for his Margaret, the Demon clambered up the narrow stairway; only to encounter the white Sigel on the third floor. “Damnit! You lot are here too?!” Brutus yelled with crazed eyes. “You get away from my Margaret!!”
-------------------------------------------
Xiu watched as Brutus came charging up the stairs towards him. Instinctively the Sigel ducked and heard the sound of fist hitting plaster. Despite being human, the demon was still more than capable of landing a dangerous punch.
“Arrrghaagh!!!!” Brutus screamed as he aimed another punch at the Sigel “WHAT DID YOUDO?!”
Did the demon seriously think that he was the cause of the fire? Xiu was at once shocked and indignant. He was also aware of how much time they were wasting like this. Dodging yet another blow, Xiu quickly grabbed onto Brutus’s arm. Seconds later the demon screamed in pain as his arm cramped up.
Using this opportunity, Xiu then quickly slammed Brutus into the wall. The demon’s head connected with the wall with a hollow thud and black eyes rolled back as the demon lost consciousness. Xiu quickly caught the demon before he could topple off the stairs.
He weights a ton was the first thought that entered the Sigel as he dragged the unconscious demon to the nearest window. Peering out, Xiu noticed the Cesc’s pink hair amongst the crowds below. Cesc! Just the raevan he needed! Grabbing the first thing he could lay his hand on (it was Brutus’s wallet), Xiu took aim and threw the item in Cesc’s direction. Please look up thought the white Sigel.
Relieved was apparent on Xiu’s face when Cesc did lookup and did approach them. Hefting Brutus through the window (it was no small feat), Xiu indicated that he’d like the frei to see Brutus to the ground while he went further up. Looking out of the window like this, Xiu realized that he needn’t have used the stairs at all! Why, he could simply fly up to the seventh floor and enter through the balcony! The habit of using stairs had been so humans did not stare and thus it was more a matter of choice than anything else.
No sooner had the thought entered his mind, Xiu took off from the window and made his way up. Out in the open, the heat was more manageable and the smoke did not cloud his vision as much as the stairwell had. Landing swiftly on the balcony, Xiu quickly entered the small apartment; blue eyes searching for the human that the demon had traded his powers for.
Please don’t be dead! prayed Xiu fervently. Please do not let this end in tragedy
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Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 8:38 am
Rhedefre was ushering people out of the building, managing the crowds, and looking desperately for Xiu. It wasn't until an object went sailing toward him that Cesc saw Xiu's white and stricken face in the window, and took off from the ground to meet him.
Instantly, seeing Brutus, the stag comprehended. They maneuvered him through the window as Cesc did his best to reassure Xiu that he would take care of the man. "The woman --" was all he could gasp as Xiu relinquished Brutus's solid dead weight in Cesc's hands.
As the sigel flew up, Cesc's jaw tightened, his hands like hooks under Brutus' arms, the veins in his neck and forehead thrumming as his wings flapped and he tried to keep the demon's descent a slow one. It felt like his shoulders might come off at the hinges. There was no way he could carry Brutus elegantly to safety -- making sure he fell softly to the ground, and not onto anything sharp or dangerous, was as good as the frei could give.
* * *
It was so hot. So, so hot... her mind was swimming. Her head was straining. She had collapsed just over the balcony threshold, getting some clean air into her lungs, but a blackness still dropped over her like a curtain. The flames were spreading inside, and drawing nearer to her... soon they could catch on to her clothing. There was not much time.
Get up! Get up, you idiot, do you want to die?! her mind screamed. But her body only twitched with effort. She needed someone. She could not move.
Her consciousness was narrowing.
Get up...
* * *
The demon landed on a patch of cool grass with a soft thwump. Cesc let out a long hiss of air as he let go, shaking out his aching arms. The fire sirens were drawing nearer, and the stag could see two trucks rounding the corner with great speed. There was no time to focus on the pain, or on Brutus, who was groaning into the sod.
Rubbing his aching arm, Cesc went to the nearest person he could find.
"Is everyone out? Do you see anyone missing?" he gasped, chest still heaving with effort.
There was no time for gaping at the pink-haired half-man speaking. The man looked frantically around. "I think -- no, I think there's just Margaret -- she lives on the top floor."
A woman, cradling a baby to her chest, echoed the sentiments. "Mrs. Rapinoe is always out today -- I know, I saw her -- oh, and George Kressel and his family are on vacation -- it's just Margaret. Oh, no, oh my God. She's so young-- she had us over just last week --"
The fire trucks stopped in the grass and hooked up their hoses to a fire hydrant, spraying the building with water. Cesc could only look up to the balcony, squinting to find Xiu, holding his breath as the mist of water fell down and the smoke continued to rise.
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Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 4:02 pm
There she is!
Quickly, the White Sigel flew over and scooped the barely conscious woman up in his arms and was surprised. Compared to the Demon’s bulk, Margaret barely weighed anything at all. But this was not a suitable place to dwell over weight comparison and the Sigel swiftly brought the human down to where Cesc is. By the looks of it, the seventh floor was pretty much done for.
Glancing down at the Demon and the human as they laid side by side, it was apparent that while the both of them were unconscious, the demon at least, was breathing regularly but as for Margaret, she was barely breathing at all.
Already a crowd was beginning to form around the raevans and the two unconscious bodies. Apparently the crowd found this spectacle to be much more interesting than a burning building. Xiu glanced around warily. Now that Margaret was out of the “death by fire” category, the poor woman was still in the red for “death due to toxic fumes inhalation”. The burning of such an old building as this was sure to release all kinds of toxic fumes and where Xiu had found Margaret, the smoke had been particularly thick.
Xiu felt his heart racing. The Sigel knew what he must do but…doing it here…in front of so many people… He could bring Margaret away but if he returned with her later, there would still be hushed whispers and accusatory glances. There was no other option…
Gingerly, Xiu lifted Margaret’s pale wrist to his lips and pressed his fangs into her flesh. Instantly, warm blood gushed over the Sigel’s lips. Xiu’s once blue rune pulsed once, twice, then turned to scarlet. Xiu could already here the gasps and indignant cries of the crowd but the Sigel kept on. Now that he could taste Margaret’s blood, the Sigel could also tell that Margaret’s blood was choked full of toxicants from the fumes. Basically…her blood did not taste normal; to Xiu at least.
Pulling away, Xiu wiped the blood from his lips. Now that he had drunk blood, it was easier to manipulate this living elixir. Closing his blood red eyes, Xiu could only leave it to Cesc to ensure that the crowd would not lynch him before Margaret was treated. Passing his hands slowly over Margaret’s body, Xiu began cleansing it of the fume’s toxic substances.
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Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 4:13 pm
Cesc let out a soft noise of relief as he saw Xiu exit the balcony with a woman's form in his arms. The woman behind him, still comforting her baby, let out a cry as she witnessed it, as well, but firemen had already begun pulling people away, trying to get people away from the building's front lawn.
But Rhedefre could not notice them. His eyes were on the grey-white skin of the woman Xiu had dragged from the fire. Her flesh should have been pink, or red from the heat, but instead she was pale and lifeless...
A look of crestfallen disbelief pulled Cesc's eyebrows up and parted his lips. He felt his own blood draining from his face. They had been too late, too late... The woman beside him let out a muffled, gurgling cry, turning desperately to the fireman who was trying to fit an oxygen mask over another victim.
Then, it happened.
Xiu put his mouth on the girl's wrist, and, to the shock of the crowd, began to drink. His lips were smudged and red when he pulled away, and the stark contrast of the colors, the stunning boldness of the motion, both stunned the crowd into inaction and took all its attention. For a moment, Cesc was part of them, stunned to his core, unable to understand. But then he dropped his eyes to Margaret, and saw a rosy hue begin to return to her cheeks, her lips, her fingers.
A fireman began to step forward, but Cesc grabbed his wrist. He looked, pleading, to the crowd.
"Wait," he said. His voice was unearthly, distant, calm. Flapping his wings, once, twice, Rhedefre tried to detach himself and think -- think of the dawn. He banished all thought of the fire, of this place, of the demon and the Trader, of loss and Xiu's voice. He focused instead on the soft feeling of the drizzling water, on the warmth of the sun, on the safety of all those who had exited. He looked at the crowd, at all those who looked at Xiu. A strange feeling of calmness seemed to radiate from him, descending on those nearby.
"Wait," he said again, and to his surprise, they all waited.
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Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 7:35 am
It was calm. For a moment the Sigel had thought that someone would attempt to pull him away from Margaret but…something happened. The crowd was no longer agitated by his actions. Something had…stilled the crowd. Looking up, Xiu’s red eyes met Cesc’s calm ones. The stag seemed so serene, so composed… and this strange tranquility was blanketing the harried humans around him. Is this another of Cesc’s powers too? thought Xiu with evident awe. For such a young frei to exhibit such prowess…it was nothing less than impressive.
Settling Margaret gently beside Brutus, Xiu gave the woman a soft smile. The worst was over for her. He couldn’t eliminate all the toxins from the fumes with such a small amount of blood drunk but what he did should be enough to pull her through. Giving Cesc a slight nod, the Sigel began backing away from the unconscious humans. It was time for the medical staff to take over.
-------------------------------------------
“So yer saying that the both of you saved Margaret’s life?” Brutus asked an hour later as he sat gingerly on a nearby bench. “And that… the Trader probably knew that Margaret might be…might be killed in that blazed?”
If his irony is the same as it always has been, she’d be the only human to have died in that fire the white Sigel thought grimly but as his book had been lost in the excitement of it all, the white Sigel was left with merely giving Brutus a serious nod.
“I-I don’t know what to say,” stammered the large man, his voice taking on a very Xiu-like quality. “This feels like some horrible nightmare but…,”
Here the demon glanced at the woman resting quietly by his side. Although the medical officer present had insisted that she be brought to the emergency ward, Margaret had stubbornly refused, saying that she was feeling fine. Brutus did not really know the limits of human physiology but if Margaret so much as utter a cough, the demon would be the first to rush her to the hospital. For now though, it was best that she knew the whole story.
“Margaret…,” said Brutus with tone of utmost tenderness. “R-Remember that big ugly dog you rescued some years back? That brute was me. I was born a demon with shape-shifting powers and pretty proud of it too. But on that particular day, I narrowly escaped a scuffle with another demon about our territories. Then came the bullies as you remembered…,”
Brutus sighed wistfully “You were the first human who actually cared for me Margaret and the longer I stayed with you, the more attached to you I was. But I could not talk to you, not with the voice that I was born with at any rate. It would have chilled you to the bone.
So I left one morning. Trust me, it was not an easy thing to do. I have heard through connections of this being called the “Trader” and that he could provide anyone with anything, as long as they have something to trade in return. Without hesitating, I traded my shape-shifting powers, along with my immortality to have a voice, a human’s voice. Naturally…I was wroth to relinquish it to these two here…,” said Brutus indicating to the two Raevans. “…so soon after I have got it. B-But…they saved our lives Margaret,” said Brutus, suddenly turning to the woman with child-like plea in his voice “I can’t let that go by me. It is not in our nature to be indebted,” said the Demon with a moan. “But …but…”
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Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 7:57 am
Xiu backed away from Margaret, and Cesc -- Cesc's shoulders dropped and a sigh of relief left him, and the aura of calmness and dawn dissipated as quickly as it had come. He had never felt this particular power before -- never used it, never even known an inkling of it. It was born of desperation, just as his carrying the massive Brutus had been. But it worked, and that was all that mattered.
The stag looked young and tired but grateful, reassured, his worn smile still hanging on his lips. Darkness settled under his eyes. His fingers trembled from all the exertion. He turned toward the unconscious bodies of Brutus and Margaret as the firemen swept past him.
Margaret coughed and opened her eyes.
It was enough for Cesc.
* * *
After a few solid puffs of air through an oxygen mask, Margaret was feeling like a new woman. She had been checked for burns, but persisted that she felt no worse than if she had simply been near a smoking person rather than a smoking building. It was the shock more than anything that let her do the talking, and so the medical staff left her with a blanket around her shoulders to tend to the others and to the building itself.
She would go to the hospital afterwards, Margaret thought. Just in case. Just in case she'd gone completely mad, because she saw two half-men standing in front of her, and the man -- the man Brutus was now telling her he was in fact a demon. A dog-demon, the sweet curly-haired mutt she'd saved...
Her face was still pale with shock and confusion, but she had wrestled a brave smile onto her visage. The white-haired one had saved her, she knew that much, from certain death. The thought made her shudder.
Perhaps it was not so strange. Her mother always told her stories of wandering demons and odd creatures that lived in untamed forests and among humans. Of hungry ghosts and impish fairies. She had scorned them outwardly, but inside her Margaret knew she sometimes saw things she could not explain...
Margaret looked at Brutus with unrestrained wonder as he spoke. She lifted a hand to the side of his face, her smile becoming wry.
"My sweet dog! That sweet lumbering thing, I missed you so much when you disappeared," she murmured. Turning to Cesc and Xiu, her smile became even more wry, twisting at the edges. "A voice? Is that what you'd like? Hell, I'll give you mine. That fire nearly had all of me, voice and lungs and the rest. But I'm sure you don't want to speak in a woman's voice."
Rhedefre's smile was wan. "Do not worry yourself. We are not thinking of payment. We are just glad to have been here."
Margaret laughed, a sound that was not as robust as it would have been an hour ago. "Oh, shut up, the lot of you. What's a voice? Why should it matter so much? I'll -- I'll lead you about, you big lug, if that's what you need!" She turned toward Brutus, putting her hand over his massive one. "You barely know how to talk to a woman in the first place, you crazy thing. We can make do just fine, you know, just fine."
The stag looked at the both of them, the picture framing itself in his mind -- this dark, curvaceous beauty and the great, devoted man beside her.
He would be mute, then, if he acquiesced.
Rhedefre lowered his eyes. It was not quite right.
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