Welcome to Gaia! ::

*Hikari watched as the demon stuck Cole. Cole didn't flinch but merely took the attack to protect her. She was tempted to strike back, but again, she didn't want to start an avalanche she couldn't stop. Cole could obviously take care of this one himself.

However, she remained totally on alert, for at any moment, things could escalate.*

*Hikari wanted to be worried about Cole. She had a natural empathy towards any one of a just and honorable character. But she had no time.

Hikari saw the two smaller demons charge her. They were no more than the demons she had fought in her mountain home not even 10 years ago. 'If Cole can handle the big ones, I can run interference with the smaller ones' she thought. She hoped it would stay that simple. She said a quick incantation and her hand became a queer shade of gray. This was a spell that would make her hand as inpeneratable as stone but only for a few seconds. As the first demon reached her, she grabbed it by the leg, crushing it, which suprised the demon to no end. With a grunt, she swung it into the other demon who was now approaching and the horns of the one demon went through the other and they collapsed into a pile of dust on the floor.

Without stopping to admire her handiwork, she scanned for other attackers. A third demon who had apparently come around the corner saw the battle, and as any demon worth it's salt would do, it decided to join in. Recognizing Cole locked into battle with the other demon, and assuming Hikari would be easy after Cole was dispatched, it charged Cole with a large axe.

Hikari was too far away to cast a spell. Her power was often limited to hand-to-hand combat or other close-range battling, although it could do plenty in that scenario. She pulled out a knife from her belt. Although her deadly sense of aim was with an arrow, she didn't want to use those until the last resort as they would only be effective for a very short time. There was no hope either of taking down the demon itself with such a weapon. But...her eyesight was still as sharp as ever. She knrew the knife as hard as she could. It went whistling through the air and cut the binding holding the axe-head to the handle. The axe-blade fell to the floor and shattered.*

((s'okay. I dont always have the most imaginative posts either...))

*Hikari watched in amazement as Cole literally ripped the large demon in half. She was not really suprised though. The demon that had the axe had turned his focus to Hikari for breaking his weapon, and looked as though he would charge her next when he too was stopped by the gruesome spectacle. He was much smaller than the demon Cole had destroyed and the thought of him being next did not seem to agree with him. He turned to Hikari again, as though sizing up whether he could dispatch her at least before Cole got to him.

Hikari was at this point running on adreniline. Her demon heritage was becoming more and more prominent. It had been not quite 10 years since she had needed this side of herself. She was in no danger of losing control, but she did not have the fine-tuned control that Cole did over his demon powers since she rarely utilized this side of herself. It was more like her senses and power became sharper and sharper the more she fought, but she couldn't just dial it in.

The demon turned to face Hikari and the look on her face as she confronted him was enough to make him hesitate. He decided to attack anyway since he figured he was a goner as soon as Cole got him and wanted to at least have killed his companion. He, like most demons that act more on emotion than on common sense, made a blind charge directly at Hikari. She jumped over him easily and landed closer to Cole, near where the axe head lay. The demon too jumped into the air, aiming to land right on top of Hikari. She pretended to cower to keep him coming straight at her. He could easily dodge any attack she threw right now. Although she could not see him, she could feel every wisp of air than swept past her. Almost as quick as if it was a premonition, she knew he had "arrived". She grabbed the axe head and with a mighty twist of her hips, flipped herself over onto her back and shoved the axe head out in front of her. The blade sliced through the demon's neck and he fell over dead.

She did not escape unscathed though. One of the demon's hands had been outstretched to attack, and she had suffered a large slash on her right arm as she thrust the axe into him and another smaller one on her left shoulder as the demon clawed at her in his final seconds of life.*

*Hikari, still pumped from the fighting, had hardly noticed the wounds until she saw the bright red blood beginning to stain her shirt. She quietly asked Cole to set her down. She said another small incantation over the gash on her arm and the bleeding stopped. She did the same for her shoulder. She didn't want to waste any time performing a longer albeit more powerfull healing spell. This at least would stop the bloodflow until they were in a safer place.*

I'm fine...I've had worse although it has been a while. I dont know if I ever told you, but I fought demons before. Smaller than the one you encountered, but I was suprised that the ones that went after me looked exactly the same. I wonder if they came from here?

*Back out into the red and black rock, with the purple tinted sky, they trudged along...*

*With a flash, Cole and Hikari found themselves in a place that defied description. If anyone ever wondered what nothing would really be like, perhaps this was it. It wasn't all white...and it wasn't all black...or grey or any color really. There was no ground or sky to speak of. The best thing to say was that it seemed to be made of mist. But that was only if you casually glanced at it. If you tried to look directly at it, or reach out and feel it, it would receed as though it never really existed, which it might not have.

Hikari, having learned a few things from her mother, knew at least something of this place, although she couldn't ever reach it on her own. The scenery appeared to be nothing because, in fact, they were still not quite in the Astral plane. It was like they were slightly out of phase with the existence of the plane. Only beings that resided here had the natural ability to see it for what it really was because it surpassed all known senses of any creature, mortal angel or demon, that normally existed outside of it. The majority of astral magic was learning how to change your physical makeup to emulate the physics of the astral plane and thus take on the ability to enter and interact with it.

The reason, Hikari suddenly realized, that the attempted contact was so crushing to her, was that the physics of the astral plane, acting on her body through the earth-plane, were completely incompatible. However, now that they had found a way to safely enter the astral plane, there would be little physical or mental impact on them from any communication that came from here.*

I'm not sure if I can try to make contact, or if I have to wait for a connection to be made to me... I am going to try to focus my thoughts on mother to see if I can't at least be some sort of beacon. I can't positively say it was her yet, but it's a start

*Hikari sat down...if it could be called sitting, as there was nothing really to sit on. She folded her legs underneath her anyway and closed her eyes. She was never very good at telepathy but had some small experience with it. Her problem was she couldn't ever seem to concentrate fully. Her mind would wander inevitably...*

*For hours, Hikari sat quietly. This was certainly a record for her. She usually did nothing very quietly... That was why she never learned very much of astral magic. But this time was different. There was so much at stake.

She was beginning to get frustrated. Doubts began to creep into her mind that this had all been for nothing. After all, she didn't really know who had tried to communicate with her, if it was communication at all even. Maybe she only dreamed of her mother because her body was seeking something pleasant to help heal the trauma. Maybe she picked up on some other magic being done elsewhere...but why did no one else feel it? She shook her head free of these thoughts and set her mind upon her task again. She thought 'if I can't even try to find the source for more than a few hours, I dont deserve to find it'.

It was so still...so quiet... She had found a rythym for concentrating and was deep into her meditation. She had started hearing strange words in her mind. They were not in a language she had ever heard, but she felt like she recognized them...like one might recognize an old lullaby. She almost felt like she was melting into the atmosphere, becoming nothing along with it. Which was not entirely untrue...

Hikari had begun to take on some on the strange characteristics of the surroundings. Although still visible, she had the appearence that if you tried to look directly at her for too long, she seemed to fade or receed. She had not moved a millimeter or made a single sound for over 30 minutes now...*

*Someone was in fact trying to contact Hikari. Since her ability in telepathy was weak, it was necesary she be in a deep meditation before communication could be fluid and consistent enough. It wasn't really a communication, as though trying to have a conversation... It was more like a connection between minds being made so that the instigator could have control over Hikari. She was no where near advanced enough to even comprehend the spells being cast upon her so that she might resolve her journey.

Cole however, had strong telepathic powers. His intention was to read her emotions, but by making contact with Hikari, he was put into direct contact with whatever entity was dealing with her.

A voice spoke in his mind. Although it was as cold and harsh as an ice-storm, because of his telepathic prowess, Cole could tell it spoke out of a sense of protection for Hikari. It was not an evil spirit that spoke to him but one that felt itself also a guardian over her. If it had really known anything about Cole, it might not have questioned him. However, not many beings have ever taken the time to question the motives of such demons as inccubi as in almost every case, the answer is made clear only after it is too late. And if it had taken the time to probe Cole's mind and heart, it might have understood, but as it was already devoting so much to Hikari, it looked no further than the blood in his veins*

BEGONE CURSED DEMON! TROUBLE THIS CHILD NO LONGER. WHAT YOUR MOTIVES FOR BRINGING HER HERE I DO NOT KNOW, BUT REMOVE YOUR HAND FROM HER. I AM BRINGING HER TO MY HOME SUCH AS HER LEGACY ALLOWS BUT YOU SHALL FIND NO WELCOME THERE.

*and then, the voice turned to more of a taunting tone, as though it had reconsidered part of its ultimatum*

OR PERHAPS...EXPLAIN YOURSELF TO ME IF YOU SHOULD LIKE TO. I WOULD DELIGHT IN HEARING WHAT PITIFUL EXCUSE AN INCCUBUS WILL HAVE FOR HELPING, AS YOU MAY SAY, THIS CHILD

*Hikari, in the mean time, had not noticed any of this going on. Although the process through which she would journey was suspended while Cole was being dealt with*

*The presence was a little suprised. But perhaps this was a more clever demon... He was good at hiding his true intentions. It had dealt with inccubi before and they never had any good to do. However, he had never heard of a half-breed that ever survived for long... What is it about this one? He called himself a man. Definitely odd. The presence was intrigued. But it could never allow a demon into Horoth. It just wasn't allowed...

He probed the mind of the 'man' with Hikari. Though the blood of the cursed demons flowed in him the sick flame of corruption did not burn. Very intriguing. There was one way perhaps he could journey with the child. Yes, it would be suggested.. If the demon took it, which he doubted, he would not cause trouble...or he would die.*

VERY WELL GUARDIAN. YOUR WORDS HAVE NO CORRUPTION IN THEM AND I SENSE THE CHILD TRUSTS YOU WITH HER VERY LIFE. I WILL ALLOW YOU TO JOURNEY WITH THE CHILD ON ONE CONDITION. NO CURSED DEMON HAS SET FOOT IN THIS WORLD FOR 10000 YEARS, AND NONE SHALL. YOU WILL ACCEPT COMPELTE AND UTTER MORTALITY FOR THE TIME YOU ARE A GUEST WITH ME. YOU WILL BE STRIPPED OF ALL UNEARTHLY POWERS AND PRIVILEDGES. DO YOU UNDERSTAND? YOU SHALL BE HUMAN.

IF YOU ARE TRUE TO YOUR WORD YOU SHALL BE RETURNED WITH THE CHILD RESTORED AS YOU ARE NOW. IF THIS IS A TRICK...YOU SHALL FIND OUT HOW MORTALS END.

DO YOU STILL WISH THE JOURNEY?