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Palian let his chin rest on her head. His arms holding her tight against him.

"It had been thirteen nights since I last visited the waking world," he explained with a shrug. "Master had been thrown out of home and accepted to a school far away. I was worried he would not let me manifest on anything but his energy, so I needed to make connections to others." Taking an unnecessary breath, he looked up at the clear sky.

"However, there was something I did not foresee," he finished with a sigh. He laughed darkly at her suggestion.

"Sorry. Fools hope on my part. That boy will not listen to anything I, or you have to say. Especially if he knows you're in cahoots with me. I am his demon, the sum of all his fears. It is only natural that he is repelled by me, wishing to chain me in this hell for eternity." Shaking his head slowly, he made a motion like casting away an invisible force. "But because of that, he drains himself. Instead of allowing me access to everyone, everything like his power encourages, he binds himself closer to me for fear the devastation I might unleash."

"Like I said, I do not claim to be good. It thrills me to make others race in fear," he explained with a laugh. He pulled away enough to give her a look like that should have been obvious.

He listened intently as she told him about herself. Normally he didn't care about pasts, they didn't effect him. But feeling her cling to him, he knew that she needed him to know. There was something that nagged at him about the news. It picked at him, like it wanted him to know what it meant. Feeling her nuzzle against him made any thoughts he was trying to work out flee.

"w-why?" he stuttered slightly, a blush gracing his pale skin. "Because it's the only place that gives me any illusion of freedom." He looked down at her then, letting his lips stop just a breath away from kissing her.

"If I ever get free, I'm going to be. Just be. Whatever that means," he answered her. His words followed a cool breath that tickled her lips. He could tell she wanted to ask him something else and was confused by the hesitation. He gave her permission to ask anything.

"Who's to say," he admitted stoically. "You aren't the only one that I have made my first contact with. But you are the only one, other than him of course," he said nodding off to the deserted Ryo," That have been here. In masters' mind. In my world." He smiled a knowing smile then.

"I didn't see that I would be conquered by the first person I had sought to conquer." His lips twitched when she said he had nothing to be sorry for. Truth was, he wasn't. He'd never feel sorry for what he did, but he took the comfort she offered anyway. Selfish creature that he is.

"Everyone suffers an individual hells, not the same for all. Illusions of freedom for someone who is nothing but illusion. Fitting, I think," he countered none too happily.

A light jingling sound reached him and it matched her laugh. At that moment he wanted to bottle her up and keep her just as she was. But he knew that that would be no better than what his master had done to him. He merely stood there, absorbing the warmth she exuded for him, happy to enjoy this one time.

"But how am I to know if I'll say yes if you don't ask?" he replied playfully. He tried not to shudder when she pressed her forehead to his. "Considering what I am, you're hell must have been far worse than what I could imagine," he thought aloud. "It's hard to think of myself as a reprieve."

He didn't argue with her when she claimed he was her heaven. It didn't matter once she kissed him. Vaguely he remembered a time when he would feel nothing when he made contact with someone of the waking world. They didn't believe he was real, which prevented him from truly connecting with them. Tsukiko was different. She had reached out for him, more than once. Was willing to take his hand and walk through the darkness, unafraid of him. More afraid of what lay beyond. It perplexed and amazed him.

She pulled away quicker than he wanted. Darting out of his reach, she drifted further into the grass while he looked on in wonder. 'If I can catch you eh?' he thought, head cocked to one side. That was a simple matter, this was his world after all. But she wanted to play. So did he. Instead of appearing before her like he was capable, Palian jumped into the grass. He let out a joyous laugh as she ran and he tried to catch her. Darting from side to side, he wound ever closer while refraining from ending the game too quickly.

Sometime during their game Palian shifted into a large white tiger, his sleek body bounding effortlessly through the grass. Silver glinted on his fur coat as he lunged forward and knocked her down. Pinning her beneath him, the great white tiger growled softly before covering half her face in a rough tongued lick-kiss.

"You really shouldn't tease me like that," he purred. His feline mouth made human sounds like a character from a Disney movie, impossible in real life, but just right in this setting. Above him a few shooting stars streaked across the sky. One eye glinted in the light, while the other stayed hidden beneath the wrappings.

"It makes me not want to play anymore games," he added while rubbing his face against hers like the big cat he imitated.

After some fumbling with his keys in the door, Nemo lead Fyte down to the cafeteria. His head was still a little fuzzy, but he maintained himself until coffee was in his hands. After getting a few things to eat from the various assortment, he went with her to the sitting area, snagging one of the few vacant booths.

"So dare I ask what my demon has done this time?" he asked abruptly while adding a generous amount of sugar and cream to his coffee. He assumed it must have been something bad, or the girl would not have deemed it necessary to wake him.

(eh, been a while since there was a Nemo post. Thought he was a little left out. . . Fyte too. Sorry Sai. I think we just are having so much fun, we're getting carried away.)

"Nope. I can do anything here," he boasted, letting his fur fluff slightly. "That's the perk to being limited by only my imagination." His voice deepened as he laughed at her mock disgust. He licked her again for good measure, just to hear her squeal.

"Call me indulgent," he purred as he turned back into himself. The change happened quicker than she could catch. Like a movie that had missing pieces of strip, he was one then the other. He nuzzled his nose along the underside of her chin, his hair tickling her cheek.

"You said if I caught you I'd get a kiss. I can't play for long when such a prize awaits at the finish line," he growled lightly.

"And I love it when you tease me," he whispered, lips a breath from her soft skin.

( you know, after writing that piece, all my posts seem hotter. Is it just me? So. . . should I start on that other one now?lol)

♪ Fyte Ancell ♪

♪ Looking up into the sky, looking for the reason Why I'm here and why you can't be here ♪

Instead of the waffles she had been craving earlier, Fyte grabbed an apple, orange and a bowl of cheerios before following Nemo to an empty booth. She was about to take a spoonful of cereal when he had asked her. Setting down her spoon, she thought it over before sighing. She was such an idiot. "Now that I think about it, he didn't do anything, really. I was just… really scared. He tried to hurt me. I was afraid that he'd hurt someone else too. I'm sorry, Nemo. Next time I'll come to wake you if it's something really important." Fyte said with a tone of resignation, looking a bit glum as she proceeded to dig into her late breakfast. She should've known to only wake him in dire situations.

♪ If you loose me somewhere, and your tears are in the air I will ring a bell until you feel me by your side ♪

[[sorry, forgot to finish the thought >3>]]

(yay for anonymous friendly people. >.< lol sorry about that KB. I'll try to contain myself.)

He wanted to nod, but stopped half way to shutter. Her breath tickled his ear deliciously, and those devilish hands of hers. Palian didn't know how much he loved his head being messaged like this til now. But even that was hardly a distraction when she whispered to him. A light gasp escaped his parted lips when Tsukiko bit him. It had surprised him; he didn't think her so daring, but loved it so very much.

"What do you mean, as a whole?" he asked halfheartedly. His attention was obviously elsewhere, but he proved that unlike most men, he didn't have selective hearing.

Then as she pulled away, he felt he could dive into the deep recesses of her gaze. They were brooding, but kind. And they offered a sense of serenity that he never knew before. A bubbling sensation, like shaken soda, began to build up inside him. He felt light-headed, confused and dazed all at once. 'What is this feeling?' he thought.

He anticipated a kiss, but Palian wasn't ready for how slow it was to come. As she leaned closer, he felt the urge to lean in too, but held back just barely. This was a prize after all, he didn't need to take it when she was going to give it to him. When she stopped all together, he couldn't help the slight whimper that escaped. Not being a creature of patience, he dug his fingers into the ground below him so as not to give into temptation.

Nemo sat with a frown on his face for a while, thinking. He played with the food on his plate for a bit, not really hungry. He hardly ate much these days, and his thinning frame showed it.

"Those are his red herrings," he thought aloud. "He scares others because it pleases him to do so, while distracting them from what he is really doing." Keeping his eyes on his plate, he lowered his voice to bare more than a whisper.

"It is the things that seem harmless you have to look out for."