This was not exactly how Asmodeus had wanted it to end. He would have liked to cut open Nymphalidae's body, to eat her heart in the name of the great lord Kalona. It was too late for that now and not worth the effort to find her body in the river below. He was panting heavily as he turned away, walking over to his prize -- the single basket. The foal of a demon. A grin spread across his muzzle and he laughed victoriously, drawing the basket closer to him with his tail. His eyes trailed away from the basket to Malphas when he heard the bat whimper, and Asmodeus' eyes narrowed. He walked over to his familiar to stare down at him with cold, disappointed eyes. Malphas had failed his task. Asmodeus should punish him, leave him to fend for himself, perhaps -- but Malphas was also his true bonded familiar.
Besides, it looked like he was already paying for his failure enough. They needed to seek out a unicorn -- both for himself and for Malphas. He went back to the basket first, kneeling down and using his wings and tail to scoop it up onto his back, and then he returned to Malphas. "Pathetic," he muttered, but still he knelt down again, lifting the bat up with his tail to settle him on his back. "When you are healed, you will resume training in combat. A simple wolf should not defeat you so easily."
Asmodeus looked around at his surroundings. It was over, he had won -- not that he expected anything different. The ground was splattered with blood, obvious that a battle took place here, but Asmodeus flicked the piece of Nymphalidae's wing that he tore off off the edge of the cliff anyway. He didn't want to leave any evidence that the mare had been involved here for the demon to find. It was best that the demon just think his mate left him.
