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Name: Camilla
Nicknames: Cammy, Camille
Image Song: This Dark and Twisty Road, Abney Park
Gender: Female
Species: Possessed human
Alignment: True Neutral
Height: 5’6”
Weight: 100 lbs
Appearance: Cammy is a little taller than Sera, which bugs her a little, but she’s used to staring down people taller than her. Her hair is short, well-kept, and pale blond. Her eyes are pale and watery blue. Camilla was never outside much, and it shows. The whiteness of her skin washes out her eyes and hair. The overall effect of the light colored hair, skin, and eyes, make Camilla seem almost ghostlike.
Dress: Sera buys all her clothes, insisting the Acheri under Camilla’s skin wear them. Secretly, Sera kind of enjoys it, like she has a full-grown, living Barbie. Normally, it’s simple little dresses or easy outfits, but always cute and feminine. She always makes sure Camilla/Acheri wears the little necklace she was found with, in case someone recognizes it or if it has any special powers.

Powers and Talents: Camilla herself has no known abilities.
Personality: Without her soul, Camilla is just a husk. No personality to speak of.
Brief History: When she was only a few months old, her birth mother, a madwoman and leader of horrific cult, tried to sacrifice Camilla to some dark pagan deity. Camilla’s aunt, Iza, also a reluctant member of the cult, couldn’t bare to watch her niece be killed and interrupted the ritual and rescued the child. However, the magicks of the ritual did something horrible to Camilla. She ate, slept, followed orders, and could learn simple tasks, but she never spoke or performed any unbidden action. After years of psychotherapy, regression hypnosis, counselors, priests, and psychics, Iza finally learned that Camilla had lost her soul in that ritual. It didn’t kill her, but her made her little better than a tame, mild animal. She understood basic speech and did what she was told unerringly, but she was not really human. Camilla was possessed frequently as a child because of this- demons saw her as a free ride, an empty vessel they could steal, wreck, then abandon. Iza tried protection symbols, but all were geared toward preserving the soul, which Camilla obviously didn’t have. So, Iza did the best she could and simply exorcised demons when they came, and warded her house up tight so nothing could enter. However, about a year or so ago, Iza died in a car crash, and Camilla had no one to look after her or man the defenses of the house. Demon after demon crashed through her, using her for awhile before dumping her. None could stay too long- if it did, it would end up bound to the flesh like a true soul. Between demons, she came into the care of others- more psychiatrists, priests, psychics, all trying to protect her and fix her.

The most recent demon is an Acheri, a child demon of Amerindian legend. Normally, it does not possess people, but this Acheri was being pursued by hunters much like Seraphina, and used Camilla as a hiding place. Liking the “disguise”, the Acheri kept the body for weeks, longer than any other demon, and grew metaphysically attached Camilla’s shell. When she was caught by a Hindu priest and his followers, she panicked because she didn’t know how to escape, and the priests bound the mouth closed so she couldn’t even if she did know. Now the Acheri is trapped, too closely bound to the flesh to escape.

Sera bit her lip, staring at the disturbing shop before her. Hari was right- this place... doesn't feel evil, but it doesn't feel right either. She couldn't take her eyes from the doorknocker, a horrid shriveled hand. Did she have to use it? Could she just knock, or use a doorbell? This place wasn't so backwards as to not have a doorbell, right? The holy symbols tattooed on her arm felt like they were writhing with displeasure. They didn't like this place either. But she promises Hari that she'd check on the sewed-mouth girl, and promises are promises.

Daemonolgie, Ye Olde Daemon Shoppe. Who said "ye olde" anyway? Or spelled shop like that? For some reason, it made Sera mad. (Granted, it didn't take much to do that). She knocked on the door, feeling really awkward. She was wearing a full-sleeved jacket today to covered up her tattoos, both to appease the owners, the demon, and the markings themselves. Being in plain sight made them more sensitive. There wasn't an immediate reply, and Sera tried again. If no one was there, she was just gonna leave. She came to check on the girl, and no one was there. That still counted, right?


And then Edward opened the door, looking perfectly put together in a black turtleneck that definitely did not fit with the high humidity of the day. "Good afternoon," he said, raising his eyebrows in a polite question - What are you doing here, I had not expected visitors, every single line of the dark-haired man's body seemed to say.

Stepping back so the woman on the doorstep could come in, he extended one arm in a courteous fashion. "Do come in. This weather does not exactly suit the clothes you're wearing." The air drifting from the open door was really quite cold...


Sera raised her eyebrow. "And yours does?" She started to take off her jacket, but the draft from inside chilled her enough to keep the it on. "I figured it'd be best, considering," she added, pushing her sleeve to her elbow, revealing a yin and yang on the crease of her elbow, an all-seeing eye on her wrist, a pentagram on the back of her hand, and lots of other symbols. As soon as Seraphina bared them, a bit of pain raced up her arm, and she could feel them moving, though they didn't seem very active just by looking at them. She let the sleeve drop, and they calmed down again.

Sera walked in confidently, either oblivious to the man's displeasure or completely ignoring it. As always, she was very lacking on pleasantries. Strictly business. "I'm doing a favor for my friend Hari Deepak. Said he dropped off a possessed girl here last night, and he wants to make sure she's...okay, I guess." She glanced around the place dubiously, obviously saying, since she's probably not safe here. "Do you do exorcisms here, or..." she trailed off. What else would they do? It's a demon shop, after all. They either exorcised demons or... were these summoners? s**t. If Sera wandered into a summoner pit, she was gonna be pissed. Demons were so far off her radar.


He observed the tattoos on her arm with disinterest. Aggravated though they may be by the atmosphere of the shop, there was nothing he could or would do to appease them. The shop, and the world contained within, was his life. "As I mostly remain indoors," said Edward stiffly, "it's to be expected." He shut the door with a click! and turned to face the young woman, gray eyes calculating as she explained her mission; then he smiled, a condescending quirk of the lips that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Ah. That possessed girl? It gave one of the workers-" he apologized to Tae-yul's sister quietly in his head "-quite a scare. She thought the girl was dead for a moment." He paused, expression going rather flat. "No, the girl has been quite well taken care of-"

Then she proposed the idea that Daemonolgie performed exorcisms. This time, Edward's smile was not sardonic or offensive; it was simply understanding, and a little bit amused. "I'm afraid, miss, that we are not in the business of demonic removal except in extreme circumstances where the summoner may be harmed in a way that was not specified in the contract," he said gently. "Rather, we are dedicated to the preservation of the arts of summoning, and any other dark art which it is possible for a mere human to learn. You will, however, be glad to know that we are not the kind to force a demon on one who does not desire it... unlike whoever caused this unfortunate girl to be possessed."

A wide gesture pointed to a blond girl, doll-like in her stillness, who occupied a worn armchair in a style reminiscent of Victoriana. "Unfortunately, we do not know her name, and our attempts to free her from the demon have been rather... well, they did not yield the expected results."


The man was very polite and well spoken, if a bit... closed off. Just as well. Sera was too. She was surprised he didn't ask for her name. It's not that she was trying to be rude by not introducing herself, it's just not her first instinct, especially not to a stranger who runs a demon shop. She also noticed with an internal grin, he didn't give up his name either. What an interesting day this would be.

Sera held back a lot of the sarcastic quips she had lined up during the owner's talk, her way of being polite. The only thing she said was in response to the "not forcing demons on people part". "Good to hear," was all she could think to say. Without another word, Sera approached the girl, pale and glassy-eyed, mouth sewn just like Hari said. The stitches seemed very well done, which surprised Sera until she remembered one of Hari's followers was a doctor. She had a switchblade in her pocket, but she didn't want to just yank out the thread. Would it cause an infection or something? Well, Sera could always bring the girl to a doctor later. She flipped open the sharp knife and easily severed the stitches. The girl shuddered once and seemed to slouch upon herself. Seraphina had seen and performed exorcisms before, and demons had different ways of leaving the body. Some were dramatic- starting fires, streams of smoke- others were subtle, like this. Was Hari right? Had the demon been trapped simply because of a stitched mouth?

"Hey, you okay?" she whispered to the girl. Pale blue eyes fluttered over her, and she seemed to pull tightly against herself. A shadow of fear crossed her eyes.

"You're here to hurt me, aren't you?" It made Sera smile, in spite of herself. With her huddled form, wide, fearful eyes, and airy voice, Sera couldn't help but think of her as a child.

"No, dear. I'm here to protect you. Can you tell me your name?" The girl's eyes widened and she flung her arms around Sera's neck, much to her surprise.

“Oh, thank you, thank you! My name’s Camilla! I’m so happy you’re here!” Before Sera could react, the girl was sitting back in the chair, pinky held in the air. “Pinky promise you’ll protect me? You gotta pinky promise, or it doesn’t count!” Her face was very serious, very adamant. Sera’s grin widened. How long had this girl been possessed? She still behaved like a child. She held out her right pinky in front of Camilla’s, ready to promise. The words were on her lips when her skin touched Camilla’s and fire shot up to her shoulder, and Camilla shrieked. Seraphina threw herself backwards, well out of reach, and was reaching for a gun that wasn’t on her hip like it was supposed to be.

“You...you’re still possessed!” Now she felt really stupid. She had just been played by a demon. Camilla held her pinky up to her mouth, eyes wide and watery with unshed tears. An unfitting grin belied her true feelings. The demon that called itself Camilla held up its blistered pinky. “Kiss it and make it better?”

”Who are you?!” The girl smiled.

”I told you,” she said in the sweetest voice possible, “My name’s Camilla. Or well, that’s her name. But I like it.” Sera was done talking to this thing. She took a deep breath and was about to begin a proper exorcism when the demon continued.

”Wait! I know what you’re about to do, and you don’t wanna try to exorcise me.” The demon wasn’t trying to be a child anymore. Survival was at stake, and it was time to be a big girl. “You probably won’t believe me, but I only took this body as a last resort. I avoid humans, mostly. I live up in the mountains, and I come down during the night. I stay away from people. Except one night, you people, you damn hunters, decide to accuse me of some murders and chase me down. I ran and ran, but I think they warned everyone in town... Everyone was wearing red. It was...disgusting.” The demon shuddered powerfully.“I had nowhere to go... and then I found this shell. No red anywhere on her, no one inside, so I ducked in to hide. The hunters passed me by, and I decided to keep my disguise in case they came back. A week or so later, when everything seemed safe, I tried to leave. And I couldn’t. You have any idea how scary that is?” She glared at Sera. “I’m trapped. People have tried to exorcise me before... and it doesn’t work. This body... it was empty when I found it. That’s why I kept it so long. No one yelling at me to leave, no one fighting my movements. A vacant lot, no one home. But now... it’s like... the body is trying to use me as the soul, and I can’t leave!” Her voice was frantic now, eyes wild. “So go on! Try to exorcise me! You’ll just kill us both.”

Sera’s first instinct was to ignore the demon’s rambling and start exorcising. But the story was too hectic, too crazy to be fake. She looked at the shop owner, at a complete loss for words.


As the possessed girl spoke, Edward had pulled down a book and was flipping through the yellowed pages. "It's an Acheri," he said when the demon was done speaking. "Or at least, it's giving all the indications of one. I have no idea what could cause a human child to lose their soul in such a way as to cause a possession to turn permanent without consent from human or spirit, but I will certain begin to look it up."

He closed the book and tucked it under his arm, crossed the room to stand in front of Camilla. "Swear it," he said, "on the River Styx, that you are not lying to me with your story. Swear that there is no soul, that there never was, in that body." The River Styx may have been a greek myth, but demons seemed to take it very seriously, if his interactions with his teacher's demon were any indication. Edward had never seen one break an oath they made on that particular river.

"And then I would like to know if you would like to leave this body or not. If you do wish to, I'll look for a way out for you. I'm sure the nice lady will keep an eye on you while I do it. However, if you want to stay, I'll let you. No interference - that's the policy of Daemonolgie. Do you understand?"



Sera had heard of Acheris, vaguely. They caused sickness in children. No wonder those other hunters blamed her for murder. If she made kids so sick they died, that would make her responsible.

The demon Camilla glared at Edward. But she took a deep breath and said her oath. "I swear by the River Styx, when I took this girl, there was no soul. I can't swear that she never had a soul, but her memories give no indication."

"Her memories? You have access to her memories?" Sera wasn't too happy about this whole ordeal. She had expected a quick exorcism, a check up, then be off on her merry way. Was she to become a demon's guardian now?

Camilla just rolled her eyes at Seraphina. "Memories aren't spiritual things. They're sort of physical, like the brain's personal recorder. Without a soul to keep me away, she's an open book. It's strange, really," Her irritation and snarkiness was being overrun by obvious curiosity. "I hadn't thought about it when I first took it, but she managed to live most of her life with no soul. She was like an animal. She could follow orders, understand basic language but had no capacity for speech herself. She wasn't so blind as to wander into traffic or something- she has instincts for danger and all. But she'd never survive on her own. Until a few years ago, she did have someone. The girl's memories are... strange and disorganized, but she knows her face. She trusted this woman, as much as she knew how. But one day, she never came home, and the girl just...left." Camilla huffed. "If you ask me, she's better off. Both of them."

"How can you say that? That poor woman is probably worried sick! We should find her!"

"Oh, you have a plan, Miss Hunter? We have no name, no address, not even a city or country. For all we know, the girl's protector just got tired of taking care of the shell and left of her own free will. The odds are against you."

No matter how much she wanted to, Sera couldn't argue the point.

At Edward's question, Camilla laughed. "Leave? Hunters overlook me, people don't notice me, I'm free to go anywhere I please. It's lovely. The idea of being trapped bothers me, but what's that old adage? If you get lost in a forest, build a house? I've grown rather fond of this skin." Her face lit up in childish delight, and the facade returned. She hugged Sera around the waist, even though she was a bit too tall to really pull it off. "Oh please, Miss Hunter Lady, will you protect me? I'm so scared and all alone~!"

Sera wanted to scream. Why did these people think she'd just... welcome a demon into her life?! It was against absolutely everything she stood for! But if she kept the girl near, she could keep the demon from attacking more children, and if the shop owner found a way to restore the girl's soul... it would be worth it. "All right," she said after a long pause, flinching a little at the words. "You can...stay with me. Just avoid doing anything blatantly demonic and we'll get along just fine."

Camilla released Sera and pranced around the room. "Yay! I get to stay with Big Sister!"

Sera balked. "Sister?"

Camilla playfully flicked Sera's nose. "Well, of course silly head! You'll need a cover story for who I am, wontcha? We can be sisters! It'll be sooo much fun!"

Sera felt backed into a corner and utterly defeated. There was a reason she avoided demons. They might have been pure evil and utterly horrible, but they were clever. This one knew how to play to Sera's logic, and it pissed her off. Not to mention the childish act really, really bothered her.

Turning to Edward, she said, "My name's Seraphina, by the way. If you do find a way to restore the real Camilla..." she fished around in her pocket and handed him a little business card with just a phone number, "call me, please." With a wary look at her new "sister" and a heavy sigh, she said, "Alright...Camilla. Let's go." Camilla happily pranced and danced all around Sera, prattering nonsense as the hunter trudged outside.


"Of course," said Edward to the demon, "I don't make my promises lightly. You can stay as long as you take care of that body." He thought the demon would; she seemed pretty well entrenched by now, and so there would be no point beyond revival of the original Camilla into driving her out. To Sera, he nodded formally. "Please, do check in soon, and I'll tell you what I've found."

It was supposed to be a routine visit.

She had a little bit of abdominal pain, and she seemed to bruise a little easier than normal. Other than that, she was fine. Just your normal, completely humdrum physical. Weight, acceptable (“If anything, I’d say you’re looking a little thin!”), got to piss in a cup, oh what a joy that always is, a needle in her arm and a few CC’s of blood, and everything was fine. Until she got the call. Then things started getting out of hand.

“Your blood test came back...white blood cells are a little elevated...want to do more tests, probably nothing...”

And she was back for more blood draws, more fussing, “we don’t have the proper equipment, you should go to the hospital, just to be safe.” She lost track how many needles, fussing nurses, anxious doctors, how much blood. Voices just spun around her, lots of big medical words like they were trying to freak her out...

“...maybe just a leukemoid reaction...”
“No, no, her CBC-”
“-all your granulocytes are elevated-”
“-need a bone marrow biopsy-”

Another needle, jammed in her hip, a blank memory of pain, DNA and genetics tests.

“...the Philadelphia chromosome...”
“All the tests say she’s positive...”
“...9 and 22 got switched...”
“Yeah, there’s only one option...”

The swirl of tests and voices never seemed to end. Everyone around her seemed so sure what it was, this blood test-turned hospital stay. The last few weeks had whirled by, and every strange, unnatural, terrible, awful thing she’d ever seen seemed to pause, and suddenly she was just a normal, scared, sick twenty-three year old begging for an answer. Finally, they told it to her straight. That day stood apart from the past weeks; she remembered every painful, excruciating detail.

“Miss Cavalier,” he began, and just by his tone of voice, she could hear it: her death knell. “We’ve run a battery of tests. All your blood cells are higher than they should be. Two types- eosinophils and basophils- are especially high, which we don’t see in a simple leukemoid reaction.”

“That’s... what my physician thought it was, right? Just an elevated count because of... stress?” She was proud she remembered all that.

“Yes, but like I said, the uniform elevations aren’t a normal reaction for that. I had an idea then, but we did a bone marrow and genetics test, just to make sure. And, well...” He paused, and all she could think was how awful he was at giving bad news. Stupid doctor. “It’s official: you have CML, or chronic myelogenous leukemia.”

If it weren’t for the stupid beepy heart machine in the corner, she would have said her heart skipped a beat. “Leukemia? As in...cancer? I have cancer?!”

“That’s...not the worst news.” He shifted uncomfortably, and she just wished he would get to the <********> point. “You’re in the last stage of CML called blast crisis. Your biopsy indicated as such; it showed large cell clusters inside your bone marrow. Your prognosis...” She didn’t catch the rest. Only snippets like high mortality rate and bone marrow transplant and high likelihood of relapse.

She wanted to laugh. It was absolutely, positively laughable. The great Seraphina Cavalier, hunter of werewolves, vampires. ghouls, ghosts, and the occasional demon, brought down by her own failing body.