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Dissonant Hearts (Degusaurusrex x AndrewS)

"Don't bring Samara into this." Isen fired back, immediately, upon hearing Ignas speak that name. "She believed in us. She saw something we couldn't and she gave her life for it. What have you done? Killing children and innocent people on a whim? Disappearing because you were scared?"

The more he was speaking, the angrier Isen was becoming. He was ready to draw Onigoshi, to smash it's blade into something, anything nearby out of frustration towards what he was hearing but Adelaide's voice as she came into view calmed him down enough not to do that, but he was still clearly very upset about what was going on.

"I was scared. And you should be too."

The fact that he was so afraid of this other demon did not bode well for their future, regardless of how Isen tried to reason it. There was bravery and then there was idiocy and Ignas led him to believe he was more of the latter than the former.

"If we use that catalyst, then it's gone, right? We wouldn't be able to use it again."

"And you would be stuck with me for the rest of your lives. Catalysts strong enough to hold powerful demons like us are few and far between, there is no guarantee you'll find another."

Maybe that was the only way? He certainly wasn't expecting Ignas to agree with working with Danica.

"I will never work with that imp. She's nearly as bad as Malakai is. Working with her to begin with is a horrible idea and it's only going to complicate things more. You both think I'm bad but compared to some of the other demon's I've come across, I'm just the tip of the iceberg. You're lucky that you had me, any other demon wouldn't have been nearly as helpful."

"Helpful?" Isen asked, pure detest in his voice. "Were you helping me when you ruined my life? When you killed Meribell?"

"I saved your life. Again. And again. Because you're reckless. You run headfirst into everything. You would trade your life for the witch in an instant if I let you. I am protecting you. Protecting us. When will you learn?" The demon spouted off, malice in his own voice as Isen continued to question his intentions. Ignas clearly believed he hadn't done anything wrong, even after admitting what he had about Meribell.

Isen had wanted to try and mend bridges with Ignas but it was apparent now that it just wasn't possible. There was too much distance between who they were, it was never going to work out.

"...you got yourself trapped in Onigoshi to begin with. Why didn't you protect yourself?"

"...if you want to work with Danica so badly, here's your chance. She's coming." Ignas told them both, picking up on the appearance of the second demon while ignoring the stinging words Isen had left him with. He silenced himself immediately after telling them what was coming, exiting the conversation and leaving them again.
 
"Oh, for fuck's sake Danica. Can we bury someone in peace?"

The demoness gave Adelaide a surprised look as she appeared, tilting her head and then shrugging lightly.

"I said I would return tomorrow, and now it is tomorrow. There's no body lying on top of the ground, and judging by the smell of fresh dirt, you've already finished, so I see no problem." The mage gave the demon an aggravated look and sighed, running her hands through her hair and patting what was left of her braid down to keep herself busy.

"I didn't expect to stumble upon what seems like it was an interesting conversation before my arrival. Do tell, what was the poor trapped demon saying about me now?" She grinned, displaying those bright, sharp teeth before she laughed, her head tipping back and the sound filling the air before she sighed happily. "How I'm such a terrible creature and he's so much better than me? Well, dear Ignas, none of that matters because we both want to destroy Malakai, and unless you want to spend the rest of your life trapped in a sword trying to talk sense into a human, you'll put aside all that hate and work with me."

Adelaide watched the carefree nature of Danica as she spoke to Ignas before turning back to the mage and Isen. She was still grinning, clearly pleased with herself despite how sorely she stuck out of everything like a sore thumb. Skimpy clothes, unwanted presence, yet she was acting like everything was one big game and she just wanted to beat Malakai at it.

"If anything, Ignas, I'm the one with all the reason to hate you for exiling me from that beautiful little trio we had. Serves you right being stuck in a sword with a stubborn human."
 
Isen's hand returned to the hilt of his sword as he took a step towards Danica, more so to try and get between her and Adelaide, still not trusting her whatsoever. She was as aggravating as ever, something she and Ignas both seemed to have in common. Abrasive personalities, that feeling of self-righteousness as though they were always right. Her presence made the air around him feel thick and foreboding, like she was suffocating him simply from showing up with that nefarious grin.

"Stop talking. I have a question for you." Isen spoke up, daringly, towards Danica. At this point, he was already angry enough from what he had learned from Ignas and he was reaching his limit with how much demon bullshit he could handle for one day. He had questions and if he was going to even pretend to work with her, he needed answers.

"He won't tell us anything. If you want us to work with you, we need to understand each other. How do the two of you know each other and what did you mean that he exiled you?"

Isen had other questions too. He wanted to know what she was after, why she wanted to work with them so badly. Ignas seemed convinced that Danica was working some sort of angle, that there was something more she wanted here other than just to kill Malakai and despite his differences with his demon passenger, he seemed to agree that a demon always had some sort of motive.

"Isen, drop it."

"No. Go back to being quiet like you always do when she's around. I've heard enough from you today." He contemplated asking Adelaide to cast that spell, to get him out of here, but he was holding off on requesting that unless it was absolutely necessary.
 
"A question for lil ol' me?" Danica clasped her hands together like an eager child and then winked at Isen. "Oh, dear child, your little friend here is a filthy traitor. He couldn't handle the fact that he could have ruled us, he was too busy being angry at Malakai. Then he pushed me out of that succession," She huffed irritably. "I could have run this world a million times better than Malakai. Even Ignas could have, but the idiot decided he was too heartbroken to stick around and abandoned us." She rolled her eyes, and for a brief moment Adelaide swore she could see a bit of hurt in the demon's strangely colored eyes before it disappeared.

"I'm glad he at least didn't kill our little hybrid mage here. She's worth keeping around." She purred the words, slinking over and wrapping her arms around Adelaide's shoulders for a brief moment before she was pushed away. "You're pathetic for what you did, Ignas, but you're still one of the strongest demons that I know, and you hate Malakai just as much as I do. Let the bastard rot, and I'll even let you keep the current catalyst he's in once it's empty, if you're nice enough. You're a big fan of dark magic, if I remember correctly."
 
Though she was giving them answers, they felt partial. There were many gaps that needed to be filled in still and Isen was all but done with demons and their cryptic nonsense. "Ignas? A ruler?" Isen asked, in disbelief of that. "Of what? Demons? The world?" He knew Ignas was strong but, in his demon form, when he wasn't bound by a catalyst, was he really that powerful? Did she say he was heartbroken? Since when did that demon enough about anybody other than himself to ever feel something like that?

Danica got closer to Adelaide and, again, it made Isen's blood boil. He started walking towards them immediately, only for the demon to let go of the mage when she was pushed, continuing on with her little tirade about Ignas and Malakai.

"Go back to hell, imp."

"He doesn't think that we're capable of beating Malakai." Isen translated for Ignas, who wasn't in the mood to talk to her at all. "He said we aren't strong enough. You're meant to tip the scales?"

"She wishes. She was always a step behind us both."

But that was ages ago. And while Ignas was trapped in his sword, Danica was free, doing who knows what, becoming who knows how much stronger than she was back then. Ignas sounded as though his mind was made up, and had been ever since whatever exile had happened, it was up to her now to convince the skeptical Isen.
 
"Hell? Oh, don't tell me you've conned these poor mortals into thinking we're the proverbial demons from Hell." Danica snorted in disgust and took a step back, her tail coiling behind her back before it snapped out and tapped lightly at Onigoshi. "Even without a body, you've still managed to get a stick lodged firmly up what was once such a nice ass." Adelaide nearly choked in the background, rubbing at her face and giving Danica an annoyed look.

"We still have things to do. Come back later. Since you clearly have no intention of waiting for me to just call your name and lure you in, give us like.. Come back just after lunch time. I need to clean up and if I don't eat I'm going to get cranky." That much was true, and she was sure Isen was giving her a look that said he knew just how cranky she got when she wasn't fed.

"Come back in the afternoon, and then we can go off on a little adventure for a catalyst. Deal?" Danica thought about it for a long moment, tapping at her chin before she waved a hand in slight annoyance and accepted the proposal.

"Fine. Can't have you being useless because of your stomach. Make sure to eat a good meal so that we can go about our business for some time without issue. I'll be back for you later, little mage and Reaper." She gave Onigoshi one last lingering look before she disappeared, leaving Adelaide to shake her head and kick at the ground in annoyance.

"For fuck's sake. Why can't I have her kind of energy?"
 
"You're right, there isn't a crevice on Earth deep enough for you to crawl back into." Ignas followed up, huffing underneath his breath.

At least Danica had caught on to Adelaide's hunger by now and realized how serious it was that she didn't interrupt the mage's lunch. Isen laughed underneath his breath, finding humor in the situation, something he sorely needed after how serious things had gotten and how angry he had been made by the two demons.

"I'm glad you're nothing like her." Isen mused, shaking his head. A sigh followed shortly afterwards as he looked towards her. "How much did you hear? Between me and Ignas, I mean." He asked, wondering if she had heard everything or just bits and pieces. Had she been able to hear his 'reasoning' for killing Meribell?

"Isen."

"What?"

"Are you actually considering working with her on this?"

Glancing over at Adelaide and then back down towards the sheathe of Onigoshi, Isen felt conflicted, his head shaking slightly. "I don't know."

"...if it is what you wish, it's not like I can stop you. But remember that I warned you."

"Let's just go find this catalyst she's talking about. If she's telling the truth, maybe we can work with her. If it's a trap..."

"Then I'll help you kill her."

"You really hate her that much? She made it seem like the two of you used to be close."

"I enjoy killing people who annoy me. She annoys me. Do I really need any other reason than that?"

Isen knew better than to press it. When Ignas got like this, it was impossible to get him to give a straight answer. Instead, Isen took Adelaide's hand in his own so that they could return to Samara's shop to get her some food. He took one last look towards the markers they had made over the graves they had dug for their friend and then let his eyes shut, anticipating that when they opened, they would be back where they needed to be.
 
"I heard enough." For a split second she had contemplated telling him she hadn't heard any of the conversation, but what would that have solved? Secrets and histories were coming out left and right these days, it seemed more important to just talk about it rather than try to ignore it, especially if it was somehow beneficial.

"One thing at a time, I guess. Let's go." She took a deep breath when Isen grabbed her hand and then closed her eyes, concentrating for a moment as she allowed the teleportation spell to take them back to the shop and into the kitchen where several people were still planning.

"Oh. Roland." Adelaide let go of Isen's hand and gave the man a confused look, looking between the over tired human and the others in the room. "I thought you'd just... Disappeared. What are you doing here?"

"Well, I can't really work with the DSTF anymore," He gave her a slightly impatient look and sighed, looking every bit as tired as he normally did, "Nor do I want to after that stunt they pulled, so I've been hiding away, that's why I haven't called you yet, but it looks like you've been busy too, considering the fact they've got Lorelei locked up in the other room going through books. I'll say, I did not expect that."

"Yeah, well, there's a lot of things that weren't expected." Adelaide exhaled and shrugged off her coat and boots before moving further into the room, looking around for a moment before deciding that coffee sounded like a good idea. Coffee and food, if she was going to be dealing with Ignas' attitude, Lorelei in the other room, and now Roland suddenly reappearing while clearly on the run from the DSTF.

"Did Lorelei find anything useful? Who's even watching her?"

"Uh... One of the other witches. I honestly didn't bother to learn their names." Isabella didn't even have the grace to look embarrassed for it, simply shrugging and moving out of the way as Adelaide approached the counter. "Food time already?"

"Well, I'm hungry, Danica is coming back later, as she decided to show up right after you guys left but I told her to fuck off until I ate. So yes, I'm going to eat, have some more coffee, and hope that Lorelei and I can find at least a couple decent spells to help if Danica decides to pull a fast one." The demon seemed so desperate to get to Malakai so she didn't think that Danica would screw them over so early, but everything was just a muddled mess now.

"Also need to see if there's anything in there that I can use to fix Takami's catalyst some." They had to do something soon, the uncomfortable look Isabella directed toward the sick man confirmed it.
 
Returning back to the shop, Isen was greeted first by Roland, who must have wandered back in while they were gone. It was the first they had seen of him since that night at the diner, but things were probably extremely crazy for him given what had just happened with the Van Dynes and the DSTF. Isen had forgotten all about him for the time being, focusing on other, more pressing issues. Now, however, he appeared to be one in another long line of people who were calling this place their home for the time being while planning a way to stop the DSTF for good. It should have been a case of the more the merrier when it came to allies sharing their cause, but Isen's distrustful nature was just finally coming to terms with trying to believe in Nikolai, this was just another name added to the list.

He chuckled at Adelaide's insistence on coffee and food, shaking his head. "I'll go check on him." Isen said, needing a reason to get out of the crowded room anyways. He wasn't really needed there, it's not like he was going to help them find any spells in those books, and he definitely wasn't going to be able to join Adelaide on her snack binge. He looked towards Isabella, leaving it open as to whether she wanted to come with him or not, but otherwise exited the room in search of their ailing companion.

Isen found Takami outside, swinging his sword around, trying to get himself back into fighting shape but his arms wobbled and shook with uncertainty as he tried to hold his blade out in front of him. Isen sighed, walking next to him, reaching out his hand and wrapping it around Takami's lower arm, helping him steady it. "You really shouldn't be pushing yourself so hard."

"I have to." Takami responded, casting a glare in Isen's direction for his interference in steadying his shaky posture. He shrugged away and swung his blade forward, as if slicing something directly in front of him, but it was with half the effort and speed he could typically wield his weapon with.

"What you have to do is rest." Isen interjected and Takami scoffed.

"You're one to talk. You have been trying to sneak way from your room ever since you came back." Takami swung his catalyst forward again, but it was the same, half-hearted attempt. Isen sighed a second time, feeling nothing but sadness for the once mighty warrior he had shared a battle with. "It must be nice having a demon healing all of those wounds."

"Takami..."

"What, Isen?" He was clearly frustrated, though Isen could tell that it wasn't with him, directly, it was at the situation and he was just taking the brunt of Takami's anger right now. "I need to push myself. If I'm not strong enough to help you, I will never get my hands on that sword of yours. I'm as good as dead otherwise."

"I wouldn't be so sure. They're trying to figure out something to help you, you know. Adelaide, her whole gang of witches, Isabella..."

"Enough about the vampire."

"She cares about you."

"And she's wrong to do that."

"You don't get to decide that. When you start to care about somebody it just...happens. It's not something you set out to do." Isen would know, given his current situation with Adelaide, after all.

"I don't need to be lectured by a demon on how human feelings work."

"I know. That isn't what I meant. You're taking all of this on alone, like you always have, when you don't need to do that anymore. Neither of us do."

"If she continues to care about me, she's going to get hurt." Takami's voice rose as he argued. When he spoke again, his volume had already lowered and with it, his weapon, down to his waist. "She is living an immortal life. I'm living on borrowed time. It is not acceptable for her to concern herself with me, it's only going to end poorly and I don't need anybody mourning me once I'm gone."

Takami had been without his family for a very long time. He had nobody. If not for him and Adelaide, he would have remained a lone wolf until the day his heart stopped beating. By taking him in, they had brought him into something bigger than what he was used to and now that his sickness was getting worse, it seemed to be dawning on him that he was suddenly in a position to leave behind people who would be hurt by his death.

Isen felt like he was looking in a mirror.

"I thought the same way, before Adelaide. I was ready to end my life by any means necessary to get rid of the pain. I didn't have a reason to keep living...but I found one. Maybe you have too. You just need to be willing to accept it for what it is. You can choose to be alone, if that's truly what you want, but if you make that choice, make it without regret. You have a chance at finding what you've lost in this place, with her, with us. Don't throw it away without making sure it's truly what you want."
 
"Do you really think there's something you can do to help him?" Adelaide noticed immediately how the vampire showed concern for Takami, and she pursed her lips before shrugging at the other woman.

"Up until two weeks ago, I didn't know I'd be able to teleport at will or throw cars at people, so I honestly don't know. I didn't think I'd have this one," She rubbed her foot gently against Ember's side as the familiar passed by, purring quietly before turning her attention to the nearest chair and scratching at it. "I'm going to try, it's not like there's any other way to magically fix him on the spot."

A startled look crossed Isabella's face, as if she had suddenly thought of something but decided it was better not to voice it. Adelaide almost thought to question it and then found herself distracted as Ember continued to scratch at the chair, prompting the mage to shoo her away from it before turning her attention to the delicious brown nectar they called coffee.

Once the coffee was brewing and she'd fixed herself a quick meal to fuel her for the day, she wandered back off to the other room where they were keeping Lorelei. After a brief knock to announce herself and then opening the door, she stood in the doorway munching on her sandwich and staring at her grandmother with a mixture of disgust and curiosity. Just because she was working with them now didn't change what she had done, and even now it seemed she was only doing it because she had all but shut down from the trauma of everything. Served her right, now she was beginning to understand how everyone else felt.

"Alright, what did we find so far?"

"Well, I assume you're not trying to actually lock this demon up, just make certain you're protected should she do something rash?" Lorelei glanced over her shoulder from the current tome she was reading, examining her granddaughter with a weary sigh.

"Something like that. Why, were you planning to teach me how to seal a demon?" Lorelei stared at her blankly and then shook her head, muttering under her breath and going back to the book.

"You're not strong enough for that. I've found several spells that will allow you to deflect a demon's attack should you be prepared enough, and that ring on your finger gives you plenty of power, not to mention what you have from that beast of yours. I'll make a list."
 
Isen had tried to talk to Takami, and though he thought he had made some solid progress, it didn't appear like he was willing to open up to him anymore than he already had. It was strange for Isen to see somebody else in the exact same situation he was in, just as he was finally digging himself out of the hole he had sunk into. Takami didn't think he deserved to be cared for and he didn't want to leave anyone behind, when he died, to grieve over him. Isen too hadn't really had anybody left and kept to himself for similar reasons after finding Ignas. Now that he was becoming in tune with his human side again, his heart arched for Takami, who seemed intent on dying a warrior's death, alone with only his honor to comfort him in the end.

He hoped Adelaide would be able to find something to help him and that he would, at least, try to enjoy what he now had instead of living in a past involving what he didn't. There was a vampire who seemed very concerned, after all. But, it was just another problem in their long list, and Isen wandered back into the room to meet up with Adelaide again to discuss their next move.

When he walked back in, he did so with her in the middle of a conversation with her grandmother. Lorelei mentioned the 'beast' as Isen walked in and he had a look on his face as if to say "what did I do now?" without actually speaking it out loud.

"Did we find any demon-killing spells yet?" He asked, cutting straight to the chase, the question directed towards both but his eyes solely focused on Adelaide rather than looking in Lorelei's direction. The fact that she was even here, just inches away, supposedly acting peaceful made him uneasy given everything that had transpired and how close he had gotten to reasoning with the fact that he would have taken her life to spare Adelaide the pain of killing family.
 
"Killing demons isn't an easy task, no matter how strong the mage is," Lorelei dismissed the notion quickly with a scoff. "Even I can't simply just kill a demon, that's why we resorted to sealing them inside catalysts. A demon, on the other hand," Her eyes went briefly toward Onigoshi before she shrugged and turned back to the book, "A demon could kill another demon if they were strong enough. I won't ask which demon you want to kill the other, because I'd be perfectly happy if they would all drop dead." Adelaide rolled her eyes at her grandmother's retort and made a face.

"No, not yet. We're still looking, but I think she's right. Should focus on deflection, injuring, and sealing if we absolutely have to." She didn't care that her grandmother claimed she was too weak to seal a demon, just a month ago she had been too weak to do any number of things she could now do.

"I'll memorize all of these spells just in case we need them, and we'll just hope for the best. I really don't think we're going to need to seal Danica away, she wants to be free and to go after Malakai, so it wouldn't benefit her to betray us so soon."

"Malakai? Child, you're no match for the likes of him." Lorelei began to laugh, shaking her head as she turned a page and pointed to another piece of text. "I'll start making the list, but I'm telling you that going after the likes of that demon... Well, there's a reason we sealed him away in the first place."
 
Soon. Soon was the key word in Adelaide's statement. Isen felt reassured by knowing that she wasn't ruling out the possibility and that she really wasn't going to trust Danica fully. Furthermore, it also meant that he wasn't just being hateful towards her because she was a demon, Adelaide saw the same potential threat, she was just willing to be civil about it until they had more information.

Lorelei seemed to know of Malakai and it only reinforced what they already presumed; he was very powerful and they were outmatched. Ignas told them so from the start, Isen could practically feel the demon smirking in his head for vindication. But, they had been up against the wall before and came out the other side. Sure, it wasn't always clean, but they still found a way. They had taken down an entire fleet of drones that Isen couldn't even so much as dent with his weapon, they had defeated the General in spite of all of the tricks he tried to use to weaken them. They would do this too, they just needed more time to find a way. He was refusing to believe that it wasn't possible.

"If we don't kill him, we don't stop the DSTF. It's as simple as that. If he's alive, there's no way we get to Maximilian. If we don't get to Maximilian, this nightmare will just continue over and over again. You saw what they did with your drones to all of those innocent people. Do you think they're going to stop with one massacre as long as there's still Dissonants out there?" Isen reasoned, shaking his head.

He was surprisingly passionate about something he claimed he didn't care about just a few weeks prior. Time, and Adelaide, had changed him greatly.

"Demons can kill demons, but even if I wanted to work with that imp, we still would not be enough. Isen, the moment he sinks his teeth into you, there's nothing I can do to protect you. What happened at the Summit wasn't just because I was tired from reviving you. Even if I were at full strength, you would have been dead."

"Then we find a way to negate his power." Isen told Ignas, answering him. Lorelei hadn't heard what Ignas had said to begin with, so she probably thought he was talking to himself. "Just like they found a way to negate yours when they were trying to kill us. I'm not saying it's going to be easy, or that we won't need to sacrifice anything to beat him, but we have no other option but to try and find a way."

"You have plenty of options. Turn and go in the other direction. Stay far away from that man and the devil he commands. Take your witch with you and get far away from here. Stop worrying about what happens to Dissonants and start caring more about what happens to us."

"You're just afraid to face him again."

"I am. And if you aren't by now, then there's nothing else that will convince you to be until you watch him drain the life out of Adelaide and leave nothing but a withered husk behind of the person you care for so greatly. You defied destiny once, with Samara, stop pushing your luck for a second miracle."
 
Lorelei made a quiet noise and continued reading, although it seemed Isen's words had struck a chord with her. Maximilian and her husband had both used the drones in a way that had resulted in human casualties as well as Dissonants, something she had never planned when working to build and empower them in the first place. If he was capable of something like that, what else was he capable of?

"It would not be entirely impossible to block his power, but what good would having one of those orbs do you?" Lorelei scoffed. "You'd have to program it to block out only his and no one else's, and even then that's assuming he can't trick you to get you far away from it that it won't matter. It's not that simple, nothing is that simple with him." She snapped the book closed and turned in her seat, glancing past them as Nikolai cleared his throat in the doorway and shook his head.

"Do you think we would have sealed him in there in the first place if we thought he wasn't that big of a threat? He never should have been given to Maximilian, my family has been nothing but a nuisance, myself included. The lot of us needs to end with Adelaide so that this wretched gift doesn't continue to plague the world."

"Alright boys, out. Grandmother dearest is going to teach me some magic about sealing demons in catalysts, whether she likes it or not."
 
"You made them. If anybody could program them to work, it would be you." Isen told her, bluntly, calling her out on the truth. Those drones were her creations, after all. If she were willing, she could probably make it work, they would just need to get their hands on one of them or try to rebuild another from the scraps they had gathered from the fight against the swarm.

Adelaide was practically forcing him and Nikolai out of the room and Isen wanted to protest, feeling the need to continue arguing with Lorelei until she gave in, but he respected her wishes and made for the doorway. She needed to get those spells, either way, or they wouldn't be able to safely approach their meeting with Danica, he didn't want to get in the way of that.

"Just think it over. You know what they're doing is wrong and you're one of the few people left capable of doing something about it. So, do something."

He left her with that, exiting as was requested to give them some alone time.
 
Isen may not have seen it, but Adelaide could see the pain that crossed her grandmother's face as he left the room. Lorelei sighed as the door closed behind the two men, glancing at Adelaide before pressing a hand to her forehead.

"You're all so young still. You didn't grow up in the world that I did, Adelaide, you didn't see the things that I saw."

"I saw my family dead because of you, so don't talk to me about seeing bad things. I saw Samara and Priscilla die because of your husband, and I almost lost my best friend because of your boss. Just teach me the damn spells." Lorelei sighed again, holding her hand over her face for a long moment before she leaned back in the chair and opened the book again.

"There are several spells. From what I've gathered, you've learned the art of imprinting so there's no point in going through the steps of teaching you. As for the art of sealing demons..." She shook her head and cursed. "I still don't think you're ready for it, but I can see there's no talking you out of it." Adelaide was stubborn, there was no denying that, and there seemed no further point in arguing with her.

Lorelei pointed out the spells one by one and had Adelaide read them out loud, absorbing the potency of each one and imprint on it before moving onto the next. The ring pulsed with each new one that she recited, absorbing and storing the magic behind the words until there were no more left to read. Had they been back there for ten minutes? An hour? Neither of them were sure by the time they'd read the last one, and only then did Adelaide take a deep breath and fix her grandmother with a stern look.

"Last one. Teach me."

"Only use it if you must, because if you fail, the demon won't give you a second chance to try."
 
Isen had grown restless waiting for Adelaide to finish her spell-learning session with her grandmother. He tried to make idle conversation with Nikolai, simply based on the fact that he decided to try and give working with him a chance, but it was awkward and surface-level at best, so he eventually just gave up on the whole thing and went back to watching TV to try and take his mind off of things. He was still frustrated with the conversation he had been a part of, of how Lorelei didn't seem willing to help and neither she, nor Ignas, believed in their chances to actually solve this problem.

"Isen, I know you're upset with me, but one day, you'll see that I was right. Everything I've done, everything I continue to do, is to protect us both."

"If that's what you think this is, your idea of protection is almost as bad as the DSTF's."

"What do you want from me, Isen? I will never apologize for the things I made you do because they were necessary for our survival."

"It's the fact that you never show any remorse about any of it. You've killed children, Ignas. You've slaughtered innocent people just because they were 'marked', or whatever. You've done so many terrible things while being so convinced that what you were doing was right, you've never even considered the fact that maybe you're the one who's been wrong this whole time."

"Wrong would mean we'd both be dead right now, wouldn't it? You're still alive. The witch is still alive. If you continue to doubt me about Malakai, that will change very quickly."

"Again with Malakai. We weren't even talking about him. I don't get it. This is clearly personal for you. You get to live in my head, read all of my thoughts, mess with my feelings and yet, I don't think I know a damn thing about who you actually were before you got yourself stuck inside the sword. I said it before and I'll keep saying it, if you want us to trust you, you need to actually tell us what's going on because, right now, you just sound like you're scared."

Isen's conversation with Ignas found an interruption in the form of the third demon that had begun plaguing his life. Never one for sticking to any of the time lines Adelaide tried to set up, it seemed Danica had grown impatient with waiting on her as well because now, here she was, again, right in front of Isen. She was, no doubt, looking for Adelaide, but would set her sights on him and Ignas to torment some more while her intended target was preoccupied.

"Again?" Isen asked, raising a brow. "Can't you give us some peace and quiet?"
 
"It has been some time. It is not my fault your little hybrid is so slow. Where is she?" Danica stared at Isen with a frown, one hand planted on her hip and the other dragging her fingers along the wall. "Oh, never mind, I can hear her in the other room cursing at that old witch. I honestly don't see why you bother keeping her around, do you think she's just going to spill all of the DSTF's secrets, and you'll suddenly win this war?" Danica rolled her eyes, dropping her hand from the wall and peering at the television.

"Sweet mage, it's time for us to go!" There was a moment of silence followed by a loud curse before Adelaide opened the door to the other room, allowing Nikolai back inside with Lorelei before she peeked down the hall.

"Fucking hell, you really are impatient, woman. You realize that pissing off the people you need isn't really a good idea, right?" Danica merely gave her an amused look and shrugged, crossing her arms under her prominent chest and fixating on Adelaide as she entered the room. "You're the one who sought me out. Is it a hit to your pride as a demon to need to work with mere mortals?"

"Neither of you are mere mortals." Danica grinned wide, opening displaying her sharp teeth to the pair before she dropped her arms and waved a hand in the air. "You are a wonderful little hybrid creation of the mages and witches, and he is a beast containing the power of another of my kind. Why would my pride be hurt because I seek to work with those who are also strong?" When she put it that way, Danica had a point.
 
Isen practically felt his eyes roll out of his head. "She's an asset, regardless. You're aware of the drones that attacked the city, they were programmed to be aware of you, after all. She made them. If you can't see the potential in having something like that on our side then that's your problem, not mine."

"Now, call her an imp!"

"...she can hear you herself."

"...That's your problem, not ours, imp."

Ignas was literally a five year old child. Isen was convinced. So utterly petty and unwilling to relent on that fact.

Adelaide's reappearance prevented Danica from having a chance to comment back and, her reasoning at least made a certain amount of sense. At least she recognized that they were powerful, but it also meant that despite her over confidence, she wasn't going to take them lightly, making it all the more difficult for them to pull something over on her with one of those spells Adelaide had been learning.

"Let's just get this over with." He told Adelaide, shaking his head. He had agreed to go, but he was still far from happy about it. The sooner this plan of Danica's failed, the sooner they could have an excuse to get her out of their hair. "Where are you taking us on this treasure hunt of yours, demon?"

"Imp!"

"...demon." Isen repeated, doubling down on it.
 
"You're all so impatient, honestly."

"Somewhere you won't need those ridiculous coats of yours, so don't bother with those." Adelaide gave the demon a confused look at that but shrugged her shoulders. Somewhere that wasn't covered in snow and freezing? That worked just fine with her, she was getting tired of dealing with all of the cold all the time.

"I've got more of a body than you right now, Ignas dear, so you're more the imp than I am." Danica seemed pleased that Isen was ignoring Ignas' taunts at her expense and even seeming to taunt the trapped demon back. This was far more fun than she had originally anticipated with trapping down the little mage, and it was almost amusing enough she could stand to stretch out her time with them. Almost.

"Fine, let me go see if there are any shoes laying around here. I might just have to wear my boots." Had she even packed shoes when she'd been forced to bolt from her old life, or had she just grabbed what would fit in the bag and keep her warm for the season? Maybe Samara had something she could borrow if she needed to. It seemed a bit wrong to contemplate going through a dead woman's belongings, but it wasn't as if they were doing her good anymore, so why not put them to use to help them in their goal?

"This is ridiculous." Adelaide groaned in aggravation as she finished going through her back, and after a backward glance at both Isen and Danica she held up a finger and then disappeared from the room. It wasn't breaking any promises or boundaries by going into Samara's room, but she still hesitated in the doorway before forcing herself to go in. Shoes, she just needed shoes. Or even slippers, maybe, if there wasn't going to be any snow. Just something that wasn't her winter boots, and after a couple minutes of searching she found a pair of shoes that were only slightly too big on her, and then returned to the other room.

"Finally. Are we all ready now, my little mage and her lover boy?" Danica chuckled. "Oh, and Ignas, of course, hard to remember someone when they don't have a body to look at!"
 
They were going somewhere away from all of the snow? That made Isen wonder just how far Danica intended to take them. The further they were teleported away, the more difficult it would be for them to get back to their allied band of witches...though perhaps that was the point? Either way, it wasn't doing much to put Isen's mind at ease, he was still acutely weary of this entire situation and what they might be walking into.

While Adelaide ran off in search of shoes, Isen was left in the same room as the two demons, feeling the awkward silence creeping in with him captured in the middle of both sides; one that was all too willing to poke and prod and another that was dead set on hatred. Danica's retort had quieted Ignas down for the meanwhile, leaving Isen to his own devices. Every time he looked at their demon tour guide, he felt a sense of dread. She looked human, yet not human at all. It was unnatural, almost fascinating in a way. If all demons were like that, he wondered if if the same could be said for Ignas had he been within his own body and not trapped inside of Onigoshi. Furthermore, with how much power they could sense from Danica, it made him also wonder how strong Ignas might have been before he was sealed away. Hadn't they mentioned something about him turning down some sort of great position of power?

Ignas acted like a child when it came to Danica, or when it came to a lot of things, really. Isen couldn't picture him in a situation with such responsibility, but perhaps being trapped had changed Ignas and made him lethargic? Two days in bed made Isen feel that way, he couldn't imagine an eternity inside of a piece of metal.

"We're ready." Isen responded, shaking his head. He'd find the shots she was taking at Ignas more amusing were he not the one Isen needed to rely on to protect Adelaide should things go sour. "We'll get this over with quickly, Ignas. I don't want to be here with her anymore than you do right now.

"Finally, something we agree on." He scoffed, causing Isen to sigh underneath his breath.

"Just try to get along with her for the time being." He wasn't sure if Adelaide had found a way to kill a demon, after all, it was best they didn't take any chances. "That means no more name-calling. Try to be the bigger ma-uh, demon, okay?"

"Try, perhaps, but I promise you nothing."

Well, at least it was a start?
 
"I swear if the lot of you can't get along I'm going to start knocking everyone's skulls together. Better yet, Ignas, I'll shut you up for the next day, and before you say how wonderful it would be not to hear Danica, guess what? That also means you won't know what she's doing if you can't hear her, right? Or voice anything about dark magic we might find. So all of you, shut the fuck up with the pettiness, okay? Can you demons let us grieve and move forward in peace?" Adelaide snapped at the demons that had caused all of the bickering, throwing her hands up in the air with a frustrated growl and stomping her foot. She didn't care how immature it looked as long as it got her point across and people at least pretended to get along.

"Well, I certainly wasn't expecting that from you, little mage."

"If you insist on routinely popping up and interrupting whatever we're doing, at least use my name. Unless you prefer I go around calling you demon or imp like Ignas does?"

"Very well, Adelaide. Shall we?" Danica extended a clawed hand to Adelaide, not seeming the least bit insulted by the mage's brief tirade against the bickering demons. She waited calmly for the hand to be accepted and for Adelaide to reach out to take Isen's hand, then she winked at the both of them and they were off.

When Danica had said that she wouldn't need a coat, Adelaide had severely underestimated her. The change in climate was instant as her feet made contact with soft, thick grass, sunlight streaming through the trees and catching her eye in such a manner that she had to step back and shield herself from it momentarily. They'd gone from a town covered in snow and shrouded by fear to what looked like the middle of a forest surrounded by trees.

"If you say we have to start digging to find a catalyst, I'm going to hit you, Danica." The demoness turned and grinned at her, inhaling deeply as her tail danced around behind her back and she sighed happily. It seemed the creature was rather fond of the outdoors, or at least more than she had been anywhere else Adelaide had seen her so far, and for a moment she almost forgot what Danica was capable of. Almost.

"No, no, we've still got some walking to do, but I do so enjoy the warm weather."
 
Adelaide's outburst was not unjustified, he couldn't blame her for feeling fed up with all of the pettiness and interruptions. They were trying to put their dear friend to rest, to move on from a tragedy, and there were two all-powerful beings squabbling with each other like they were five year olds fighting over toys at a playground. It was exhausting. He took her hand and soon, the trio found themselves whisked away to some place entirely unlike the snowy white backdrops they were used to. This was a forest, vast and green, though it looked more golden from the way the sun broke through the ceiling of the tree tops. How far away were they?

The entire climate seemed different. It was warm, almost humid, though Isen nor Danica couldn't really feel the change the way that Adelaide would. At least now, the comment about the shoes made more sense.

"Where even are we?" He asked, aloud, voicing his confusion though, as always, not expecting a straight answer from the demon who was guiding them.

Begrudgingly, he trudged over leafy green foliage and soft soil, following them both through this new, foreign environment. Ignas was quiet, but he was biting back making a comment about why Danica preferred warm weather more than cold because he had agreed to at least attempt to be civil for the rest of this outing. Isen was thankful for a temporary end to their nonsense, though he was still weary about being so far from safety in a place neither of them knew just in case anything were to actually happen here with Danica, or whatever else might be awaiting them when they finally got to wherever it was they were going.

"There's magic up ahead." Ignas told Isen, though everyone involved could hear it. "It's faint, still far away, but there's definitely something in that direction."

So, she was leading them some place potentially dangerous? Or was it just the catalyst that Ignas was sensing?

Isen kept one hand in Adelaide's while the other remained near his hip, ready to draw at any moment should he sense something feeling off.
 
"I don't keep track of the names you mortals pick for land." Danica shrugged and stepped around a gnarled root that was protruding out of the ground. "I just know this used to be a haven for witches. So many witches, so much power. Like us, however, the remaining ones have gone into hiding. I don't usually see many witches these days. Suits me just fine, mind you, I have little need for them except for you." Was that supposed to be a compliment?

"I would hope there's magic, that's what we came here for." Honestly, what was up with Ignas that he was acting so weird? Was this really all because of Danica's presence?

"There's bound to be at least one catalyst here, if not more. A place that used to be brimming with witches has to have all kinds of residual magic. I wouldn't waste my time here otherwise. And I will say, something about witches is that they have the best kinds of jewelry. I really do fancy it." She glanced over her shoulder where Isen and Adelaide were walking hand in hand, making an amused noise at the sight of it before waving her tail around to display the charms wrapped there.

"Danica, I don't really care about your taste in jewelry. We're not here to be friends, we're here because we made an agreement." Adelaide sighed, looking around through the seemingly endless expanse of trees. Wherever they'd gone had slight humidity in the air, just enough to make her slightly uncomfortable without being overbearing, and hot enough that she wished she'd opted for a tank top instead.

"We'll pass a river up ahead, then keep going for a ways then we'll start to see their homes. Such tiny, cute little cabins and cottages. It really is adorable how tiny and hidden you humans used to make your homes. They probably still have the giant pit in the middle of it all where they used to cook meat, although I have to wonder if they burned traitors." She turned back again to give them a wide grin, and Adelaide rolled her eyes before stepping through another set of trees.

"You can give us the tour later. You can keep the damn place to yourself if you want, once we've gotten what we came for. It sounds like it's all abandoned anyway, so shy of gathering anything useful we find there, I don't see any reason this place would be important."
 
The sound of rushing water could be heard in the distance by Isen, backing up the demon's story of there being a river up ahead. He couldn't really hear anything else just yet, but the fact that Ignas was sensing magic from this far away was a bit concerning. As he learned more about their destination, it made sense, however, as a place that once was home to so many witches would definitely still leave behind quite a bit of magic the air.

The pushback Adelaide was giving to Danica was music to Isen's ears, however. He was taking this as a sign that she was definitely beginning to get annoyed with the demon, meaning it was even more likely now they'd be able to get her out of their hair eventually. They just needed to push onward until they got what they came here for, then it would be over.

Nearing the water, Ignas caught their attention once more. "Isen, there's something strange about this river. Witch, do you feel it?" He asked as Isen got a bit closer. The water running through the river seemed to have a hue to it that wasn't simply clear or natural. "The river has been polluted by all of the residual magic left over here. I would be willing to bet there was once a pretty big fight nearby."

"Magic water?" Isen asked, laughing at the thought before realizing Ignas was probably serious. "Magic water. Of course that's a thing now."
 
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