Welcome to Gaia! ::

Esaad listened to what he said with a growing sense of excitement. Not only had she finally run into something male, it was something male and powerful. This was just her lucky day now, wasn't it? "So, what you're saying is that you're a pure strain of demon, mixed with human," she summed up thoughtfully. She had heard rumors of such a thing - all demons had at one point or another if they lived long enough to care about things like that - but never thought they were real creatures. And fancy running into it! She barely concealed a predatory grin.

Although she was tempted to absorb some energy - any amount would do - she thought better of it after seeing his face. "Violent, remember. He's not likely to succumb easily, or laugh it off either," she reminded herself, forcing her instincts back down. Her smile relaxed into a lazy one and she nodded. "You're far more interesting than I thought. What are the odds I would have met you?" she murmured cheerfully.

Esaad couldn't control the surprise - and glee - that lit her face as he changed forms so easily, and all of them humanoid. The only creatures she had ever met that were able to change into multiple humanoid forms were pure shapeshifters. This half-whatever he was, she decided, was either special or she was nuts. And after almost 500 years, she could afford to be a little bonkers. "I actually don't plan on doing anything," she replied cheerfully. "After so many years of looking for some entertainment, it seems I've finally found some."
And it was true. She had no ulterior motives, no reason to do anything at all. The succubi were scattered, each on their own, not that they had ever been close to begin with. But with the destruction of the world, the death of so many prey, the predators were forced to hunt alone. And it was boring. Esaad enjoyed feeding off others, not for the sexual thrill but for the pure experience of it. No one was exactly the same, although humans were often so close due to relations. And here was a creature who could not only appear to change shape, but actually physically change his form. It was too much.

Her eyes lit up in anticipation. He was calling her an odd one? She could barely suppress the laughter that bubbled in her throat. Esaad kept her eyes on him as he paced around her, unable to keep the smile off her face. "I'd love to see it," she said honestly, energy tingling in anticipation. It was for the sheer adventure of it, the newness of what he proposed, that was the fun for her. The succubus had no idea why he would let her near such a thing, but wasn't going to argue about it.

Esaad took it gingerly, half-expecting the odd object to fry her fingers off the moment she touched it. "It's his, but he doesn't even know what spells are on it?" she wondered in amazement, waiting for the inevitable flare of magic. Most enchanted objects didn't react well to succubi or her ilk. To her surprise, it was faintly warm and not as heavy as it appeared, but didn't burn her otherwise harm her. The succubus sat down, her legs folding beneath her with unaffected grace, and she propped the book on her knees. She opened the pages and it was as Tristan said - the words glowed a faint red and she blinked, surprised again. Her lips moved as she silently read the names, several shockingly familiar to her.

"I don't know," she replied, abruptly shutting the book. It was making her nervous, somehow, like it was watching her. Not a comfortable feeling for one used to being invisible. She watched his eyes change, wondering what it meant, and moved to hand the book back. "No wonder there are so many wards and charms on this book," she said, trying to make her voice sound light. The thing was unsettling her, something that was almost impossible to do to a succubus. "There are so many strong names they'd break free if they could."

Esaad blinked, taken aback by his sudden serious attitude and intensity. She resisted leaning back and settled for staring back at him calmly. "Names are powerful, especially true ones," she reminded him, wondering how he couldn't know that. "These are all true names - written down and put together gives them more power. Their energy could break free and kill - possibly possess - whoever's unlucky enough to be reading it," she continued. "How could you own this and not understand it?" she finally demanded, getting to her feet seemingly without moving at all. It was unbelievable, her luck some days.

The succubus made a disgusted face at the idea of any creature, no matter how weak, running from a human. "Do they show up a lot?" she asked, wondering how it was she had never run into one before. Although, if they ran from humans, what would they do when they felt her energy? She grinned at the thought. "Perish the thought." "The witch probably died because the spells took all her energy, her life," she added absently. The life of one human witch mattered not at all to her, let alone such a basic way of dying. Humans.