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 Posted: Thu Jul 13, 2006 11:43 pm
The child buttoned the button near the back of his neck to keep the neck of the shirt closed as he finally stepped out of the dressing room, his scarf and bunny hat in hand. He stopped as Mayu wandered back over to him, blinking once as she slipped something over his head, and blinking again as she stepped back. At the question, the halfling lifted his free hand to the object now hanging around his neck, turning it around and glancing down at it for a long moment.
She bought this for him...? Pink wasn't exactly his favorite color, but he found the odd flower to be nice anyway, it reminding him a little bit of the cherry blossoms on the girl's branches. He brushed his thumb across the smooth surface of the "petals", eyeing the small blue gem resting in the core of the pendant. Unfortunately, the necklace was on a shorter string than his other two, so he wasn't sure how he'd be able to go about wearing it when he was older (if he decided to do such), but he liked it nevertheless.
"I think it's lovely," he said, smiling as he looked back to his friend. "Honest. Thank you..."
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Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 6:36 am
"You do? Well, that's a relief." Mayu sighed, glancing back at the store entrance. "I tore off the price tag right after I bought it, so I wouldn't have been able to return it if you didn't like it. Of course, I would wear it, myself.." Her voice trailed off, and she laughed nervously as she realized that she was rambling once again.
The crowds seemed to have lessened significantly, allowing safe passage for the pair to step though. It seems that most of the people had reached wherever they were going on such a day, and the majority left on the streets were just out looking for a good café to spend their money at. It was getting a bit late in the afternoon, after all. People were most likely getting hungry again.
"It looks like there're a lot less people on the streets now," the girl remarked, taking Demare's hand. "I guess everyone is at that place they were going to, now, wherever it was. Whatever the case, it looks safe to walk around now. Do you have any place in mind that you want to go to?"
Durem was a city of many a fine sights to see, and they had only visited the arch. Remembering the other "wonders" that the city held, Mayu mumbled out a few suggestions. "Maybe the mansion? Cathedral? They're both on the other side of town, though."
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Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 12:06 am
He perked a little bit at the suggestion of going to the Cathedral. That was this world's idea of a temple, wasn't it? A holy place... He'd never been able to visit one before, and Neko never offered to take him. Granted, Demian wouldn't be too happy about it, but... Clare was in control of the body at the moment. It didn't matter what the demon thought.
This would also be the perfect chance to explain some things, since his other side wouldn't even think about appearing in a holy place.
"Why don't we visit them both?" Demare asked, shrugging a little bit. "I'd like to see the Cathedral first, though, if that's all right. If the mansion is close by there, we can see that next?"
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Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 12:27 am
Mayu clapped her hands together and looked towards the sky.
"Alright! It's a fifteen-minute walk from here, if you know the shortcuts. Twenty, if we walk slow." She grinned, and wrapped her arm around his.
"Let's go!" the girl said in a jovial tone, and began to walk -- not even waiting for a response from the boy she was dragging along. She had a tendency to do that to people she knew well, and would walk a quarter-mile before any of the other's protests -- if any were made -- got to her brain.
"So..." she voiced, looking around. "How's that weather?"
She was still horrible at small talk.
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Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 12:48 am
The child stumbled a little bit as the girl suddenly started off, being dragged by the arm before he got in step with her. A walk wouldn't be too bad... The air would be good, at least, after having been sitting in that room for a long while.
"Weather?" he asked, blinking a couple of times as he wondered what brought on that question. Small talk or not, she could see what it's like, couldn't she? "Um... It's... not too bad?"
Granted, he wasn't any better when it came to conversation.
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Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 1:07 am
"Good, good," Mayu nodded, offering a nervous chuckle. "We.. we're not too good with conversations, are we?"
After manuvering through a few twists and turns through the darker alleyways of Durem, the girl guided both of them onto a white street. Waving a hand towards the tall building looming ahead of them, she smiled and gave a tug to Demare's arm. It wasn't that he couldn't see the cathedral by himself, but she thought she should give him some forewarning anyway.
"We're here!" she announced proudly, quite happy at her navigational skills. She should become a tour guide!
"Shall we go in?" she asked, looking up towards the boy. She was a bit excited -- she had passed the cathedral several times when walking with Kimiko and the group, but had never entered. It was a grand-looking building, with its stained-glass windows and gold accents, and she couldn't help but wonder what it looked like inside.
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Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 1:24 am
At the tug, the child turned his attention back to in front of him, having been looking around the sights as they walked. He had a bad feeling while in the alleyways, and a part of him hoped they wouldn't go back in there on the way back later. As they reached the building, Demare stopped, gawking slightly at the beautiful building before him.
Every brick, every crystal, every color... He took in everything as if this would be the only time he'd get to see it. The cathedral appeared to be three or four stories tall, and it was hard to tell if that was just a ceiling or if there were actual floors inside. The many crosses resting on the rooftops seemed to loom over the city, as if to say that a higher power were watching over them at all times, the shadows cast over the other buildings. He could feel chills rolling down his spine as he took in the images on the windows, wondering if they held any stories to be told.
"Yes... Let's go inside," he finally said, starting to move forward without waiting for an answer from her. The halfling almost seemed to be in some sort of trance.
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Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 1:42 am
"M'hm," Mayu nodded, following promptly.
The inside of the building was just as beautiful as the outside, with a few spiritual pilgrims moving about the place to seek solace from the holy area. Rows after rows of benches ran down either side of the area, with an altar stationed at the very end of the room.
"It's.. beautiful!" the girl marveled, looking about the spacious area with wide eyes. She had been in a church before, once, in Barton. However, it was nothing compared to... this!
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Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2006 11:44 am
His eyes immediately began to wander as he took in his surroundings, the slight burning sensation in his right side bareable but irksome. It couldn't be helped... It was the price he would pay for being half demon and stepping inside of a holy place.
The walls were decorated with intricate designs and wall statues, some statues forming what seemed to be beautiful men and women covered in robes, knights of lore, kings and queens, creatures that appeared to represent angels... They weren't anything he would normally have associated with each other, but somehow, it all still worked. The sun pouring in from the colored stained glass windows caused the room to glow in different colors, some places shining red while others yellow or orange. The halfling could hear a few birds fluttering about in the rafters high above, footsteps mixed in from church personell wandering the open hallways that hung over the heads of the statues. Idly, he wondered what the other floors held, much less why they existed.
Stepping closer toward the alter, he waved the tree girl over before taking a seat on the bench, resting his back against the pew as he folded his hands in his lap. Demare closed his bi-colored eyes for a moment, taking in a deep breath and exhaling it slowly. There weren't that many people in the cathedral at the moment, and he doubted anyone would listening in on them. This was the perfect time...
"Hey, Mayu...?" he finally spoke up, opening his eyes halfway, leaning his head back to stare up toward the ceiling. "Remember that book I was looking for...?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 3:19 am
Seeing his beckoning hand, Mayu nodded and shuffled toward the benches, taking a seat to the left of Demare. After straightening up -- it would be bad manners to slouch in such a place, after all -- and folding her hands neatly on her lap, the girl turned to look at Demare.
"The book? You mean the one you mentioned last night? Of course I remember it, it was only yesterday that you told me about it."
It seemed like a silly question to ask. The girl could be forgetful sometimes, but her memory wasn't so bad that she would forget about something in just one night.
"So... What about the book?" she asked, turning her gaze to take in the images that were depicted upon the stained-glass windows.
"It really is beautiful here, isn't it?" Mayu said, smiling.
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Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2006 2:35 pm
"It is... They didn't have places like this in the past, but some of the statues look familiar," he rambled, getting distracted for only a moment. One statue in particular looked especially familar... as if he'd known the figure his entire life.
Demare cleared his throat, getting his mind back on track. "Right, the book."
Shifting his hands to his knees, he pulled himself forward, leaning down a little bit as he folded his hands together once more and rested his chin on his thumbs, his elbows taking their place where his hands just were. How could he go about this without scaring her...?
"The Book of Souls... the one Demian destroyed... I don't think I told you what kind of information it contained." Even if he didn't get to read beyond the first two pages, he knew enough about what it would have been able to tell him. "The simple title makes it fairly obvious. It holds just about all the information one could possibly image on souls, how they work, their attachment to objects... This book would have even told me how to attach a soul to another body. What it would take to undo even the strongest bind..."
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Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2006 3:03 pm
Mayu nodded as she listened to Demare speak, leaning against the back of the bench as she looked up at the ceiling with half-lidded eyes. She almost slammed forward in the seat as her ears took in the last two lines, eyes wide as she stared at Demare with a sort of wonderment. She composed herself as she herself up straight, her stare still fixated on the boy as she cleared her throat to speak.
"Sounds... interesting," the child started, unsure of how to continue. "And you can't get another copy of the book or find the information somewhere else?"
She didn't want to show too much excitement, though she was suddenly jolted with interest. Perhaps if she could find the information or get it out of Clare -- if he knew, of course -- then she would be able to bring her cat back? Yes, that was a perfect plan.
The golden rays of the setting sun sparkled as they were filtered through the stained windows, light scattering everywhere in the large cathedral. Through the clear window at the very top of the image, Mayu could see a large stone gargoyle seated upon a column, and she shivered slightly before turning her gaze back to Demare.
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Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2006 3:19 pm
Demare furrowed his brows, his wings seeming to sulk downward against his back.
"There were only five books made, and three of them no longer exist..." he said with a sigh, narrowing his eyes. "There is one more copy somewhere in this world, but Neko doesn't know where is it. I think Domonic might know something, however."
Finally, the boy straightened himself up, the look of determination washing over him. "I'm going to find that book, Mayu, no matter what. I'm going to use it and whatever else it takes to seperate myself from Demian, once and for all."
His bi-colored eyes shifted to the right as doves suddenly burst into view, scattering out of the catherdral as if they were afraid of something. What was that all about?
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Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2006 3:33 pm
Mayu's face went through a series of changes, first a small look of surprise and then a wide smile, her eyes softening as she placed a hand on Demare's shoulder.
"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find it with just the right amount of determination."
The air took on an eerie silence for several long moments as the last streaks of the setting sun disappeared under the horizon, the rows of electric lights installed recently in the cathedral flickering on above them and adding to the gentle glow the mounted candles provided. A loud cracking sound split the air, followed by a large piece of stone flying through the window and nearly missing the altar. Pieces of colored glass fell to the floor in a shower, a cool breeze blowing through the newly created hole in the window. The sound of flapping wings added to the already raucous noise, as if a gigantic flock of birds had suddenly taken flight all around them.
The Legend let out a shriek as the stone came crashing through the window, jumping out of her seat. Following the sounds came the pitter-patter of feet, presumably personnel come to see what the ruckus was all about.
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Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2006 3:45 pm
Demare snapped out of his light tangent at the touch, smiling a little bit as he looked to Mayu. He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the sudden cracking and crumbling from outside. As the window broke, the child instinctively threw his arms around the girl protectively, bolting to a stand with her as his attention was drawn to the stone lying on the floor next to the alter.
"What was...? What just......." he stammered, feeling his heart begin to race a little. "Mayu, are you okay?"
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