Embers (Hana ✗ Sen)

[Mu]

Matt turned his head away from the huntress, focusing on the bearded man. His arms were chained, and his stand was flanked by two more hunter guards who seemed to have been trained to keep their emotions and opinions out of the courts, their faces blank and void, only present for the security and well being on the audience and the accused. He had a feeling he wasn't going to be favoured in the court as much as their princess Selene. And it was bad luck that he didn't get one of the elders who did not like the Averill family. Sir Aaron was one of the fairer ones, who had neutral standing with her family. Matt knew he was fighting a losing battle, but he was going to come back for her. He would make sure of that.

Sir Aaron nodded slightly at her bow, he shuffled the papers. "And Mister Phynex." The old man's eyebrows rose up at the statement. A contract demon? The murmuring in the audience grew louder, their faces suddenly screwed up in confusion as they looked at Selene and Phynex from afar. One side of the audience, the one behind the accused were supportive of him, they believed that Selene had caused much more harm and decided that she should be punished. But the other side claimed that Matt Evans had attacked first and provoked the huntress in the first place. At the mention of the fire demon being a contract demon, the opposing side hid their smiles, if this was true, Matt Evans would likely stand no chance.

Phynex, on the other hand, was rather nervous about the fact that there were so many hunters in the room, most of them boring their eyes into him. Ironically, he felt like his skin was burning up from embarrassment. But for the sake of Selene, who had told him to behave, he sat still like a statue, trying his best to concentrate on the judge who had greeted him. Like the huntress, he tried to show little emotion.

The judge looked at Aidan with a slight frown. He was certainly one of the more popular hunters in the community, but he did speak out of place. It was almost like Aidan was telling him how to do his job. Dismissing it for now and planning to confront him later, the judge agreed with him. "That can be arranged. We will need a scout to talk to the Old Ones." The Old Ones were the only few demons apart from contract demons that the hunters trusted. They kept a magical book that had the list of all the contract demons in the Western side of the country - their other 'brothers' maintained the Eastern - and their respective human partner. They were called the Old Ones because the demons say they had been around for as long as the ones who had been defected to Tartarus. They knew the true names of every single demon except each others and the demons on a higher tier and disconnected themselves from the rest of the 'pure demons'. Because of this, the pure demons called them the Old Traitors.

A young man had stepped into the court while the man seated on the judge's right whispered commands to him. He was to go to one of the hunters that were allowed access to the underworld - and visit temporarily to see the Old Ones - and pass on the message, replying as soon as possible. The young hunter nodded and dashed off and out of the court quietly.

"Very well. Miss Selene Averill, come to the stand and present your testimony. The audiences will be judging you and as will the table," he waved at a hand to the podium in front of the table of judges. Then he commanded Aidan to take a seat. The attention needed to be focused on the white haired huntress.

 

[Hana]

The fact that she could feel the nervousness coming off in waves from her partner behind her was quite telling. Selene glanced at the other hunters in the room, noticing that some of them were still giving Phynex intent stares. Then she chanced a look at the draconic demon, noticing that he still held himself with some stiffness, but approving of the way he tried to keep himself calm. It was more reassurance than she could tell him, now she would focus more on the old man and the popular blond hunter who was currently speaking for her. It was quite obvious that Sir Aaron found something wrong with the way Aidan was speaking towards him, if the frown on his face was saying anything She listened to Sir Aaron speak to Aidan, turning to look straight ahead at the old man when he mentioned the Old Ones.

A young man had whispered close to the old man, and was sent off to send a message to the Old Ones. He was one of the few allowed passage to the underworld without fear of being harmed there, being a messenger that went back and forth the hunters and the Old Ones. This gave him some leeway when it came to the native demons, who on some other occasion would have attacked him. Or in some other place, like if they were in the human world. She watched him go without comment.

The Old Ones were a strange group of demons, even to the two opposing sides of the war. They kept a book that listed all the contracts on the Western side of the world. It listed all and every demon that had ever entered into a contract under their domain. Past contracts, failed contracts, dead contracts. The book would update the list magically, bound by whatever spells the Old Ones had used. And they were the authority over the contract demons. Once a demon entered a contract, they were the ones who now had authority over them, the demon no longer under the usual governing demons from the underworld. That already gave them a measure of power that made even the royal family of hell, the demonic generals, and the noble demon families wary of crossing them, as much as they hated contract demons who were traitors in their eyes.

In addition to that, which was already overwhelming enough in itself, they knew the true names of every demon that ever existed. It was a frightening power that they held over all demons, even the King of Hell himself, though they were bound by the ancient laws to not abuse this. Old Traitors, but also old, powerful demons. Some religious lore had told them to be powerful angels that didn't particularly fall into demonhood for power, but also didn't choose a side between the celestials and the demons and were themselves cast out. That was merely lore in the hunters' eyes, considering celestials hadn't been seen at all for thousands of years. Rumors only spoke of celestials that resided in the East, but no word of them in the West. Of course, Selene wouldn't even know this if Kasimir hadn't told her. He told her useful and interesting things like this from time to time, but it wasn't always complete and she had no way of seeing for herself.

Until now. Her musings were interrupted as Aidan spoke up again, making her look up. "Of course, Sir Aaron," replying in a smooth voice, the blond hunter bowed respectfully, a hint of reproach on his face as he realized he might have disrespected the old man. He turned and gave Selene a reassuring, friendly smile as he stepped aside and let her step up for herself. Really, like a court? She thought dryly, but kept her thoughts from showing on her face as she took the place. Once again she bowed before the other hunters.

"I will present an account of what happened in the past eight hours to all of you," she spoke clearly, her voice level and audible all throughout the room. Despite being spoken in a cool, soft tone, her voice had a presence that all the people would turn to listen to, the hunters in the room all looking at her now instead of Phynex. That was fine. She had taken worse stares for some time now. "And I trust that all of you are fair and just as you listen to this." Feed them something positive about themselves and at the same time still manage to hold power to stand and present yourself. Don't let them overpower you.

Selene kept her face carefully blank, but in a way that was calm and assured about her position in this. She had no reason to lie to them, and they knew it. Beginning to get to the heart of the matter, she kept her eyes looking straight at the hunters. "The contract with the demon Phynex was formed approximately eight hours ago at six a.m. at the vacant Lennard hall." She had to be impersonal in this, and she didn't look at Phynex. "I summoned the demon with his true name within a containment rune circle and reinforcing wards," again, this would raise some eyebrows, as she had managed it all alone, but the runework and the wards could still be traced in the building for proof, "And once the contract was formed I headed out to get something to eat." Full honesty, after all. She was only telling them all that had happened that needed knowing.

"After that, I went back to the building. I encountered Aidan Kingsley on the way, and he walked with me and entered the building. Upon seeing Phynex, Aidan was the first hunter I informed about the newly formed contract. I gave him full liberty to tell others," it would have spread the news faster in way that was better than being attacked by an ambitious bowman. Even now Selene could tell that there was something simmering behind Evans' eyes as he looked at her and Sir Aaron.

"When I walked out of the building with Phynex, he was understandably met with hostility from the other hunters. However, upon seeing another hunter walking by his side, they were kept from acting immediately." Here her look cooled down considerably, a feat that was achieved even without her facial expression moving. It was as if the entire room had dropped several degrees in temperature, leaving more than a few of the hunters - who were older than her - to stifle a small shiver. "And this was where Mr. Evans decided to abandon usual protocol and attack a demon that," she looked straight to Sir Aaron, meeting his eyes without backing down.

This was where she would start verbally tearing into the one responsible for this, even without looking at him and in the calmest possible manner. "First of all, was a contract demon that was to be under the protection of hunter laws, even if the public had not been informed yet. The Old Demons would be most displeased to learn of a breach in an agreement from both sides." At the last, softly spoken part unease seemed to come over the people in the room. Her eyes were slightly hooded, lashes veiling the blue-violet hues as she cast a glance at the hunters again. "And second, a demon that was above his clearance level to attack and would have jeopardized his safety had Phynex not actually been a contract demon." By now the atmosphere was freezing, even as the white-haired young lady's face remained unperturbed.

"And last, he directly went against my initial warnings to not press an attack against my contract partner after I had stopped his initial one." Each and every word was a damning one that hammered down onto the people what Matt Evans had done. Even if hadn't been the Averill 'princess' and only a high-ranked hunter, a lower level hunter going straight against the words of his superior was a serious disrespect and offence against the rules. And Matt Evans had, after all, done so recklessly without even minding his safety. Three offences in one action.

Selene tilted her head downwards slightly. "I assent that I have had my own trespasses afterwards," the coldness in the room seeped away, and her voice was softer than before. She raised her head again and met their stares without flinching back. "I deliberately provoked Mr. Evans into attacking - and perhaps attempting to kill me - with my words. And my last, intercepted attack was meant to seriously maim in retaliation to his persistence." The last words, softly spoken by a girl much younger than those in the room, still managed to send a chill down everyone's spines. The calm and simple way she admitted to it was unnerving to some. She bowed her head. "I will accept the consequences of my actions." She couldn't not accept them at all, and she didn't want to get her father involved in this.

Then her eyes gained a hint of steel and narrowed slightly, even as she still kept her head slightly bowed in deference. She was her father's daughter, after all. Asher Averill wouldn't want his daughter to just let anything pass. "But I will also press charges for the assault on my partner and Mr. Evan's disobeying of my warning and prohibition to attack him. I will not settle for anything less."

 

[Mu]

The girl was very similar to her retired father, from the way she spoke - how quiet it was but yet could hold the attention of others in her grasp and make all the eyes focus on her. The judge could feel all of the eyes of the audience, the popular hunter and the accused, even the guards that stood silently by and did nothing to contribute to the case, shifted their attention from the looming fire demon that sat like a statue a little behind the huntress. The table of judges bored their eyes into Selene Averill as she moved to the podium to speak. It was like the audience had held their breath, waiting to her her side of the story. The audience supporting the accused were shooting daggers at her, waiting for her to slip up - but everyone knew she truly had no reason to lie - and the opposing audience watched her with rapt attention.

Immediately, the man sitting at the edge of the table, the only one who wasn't looking at Selene, began writing down what she said with a flurry of movements. He was the scribe, and a good one at that, able to write down what happened in each case word for word. According to the huntress, the contract had been made a few hours prior to the attack. Another scout had been sent in to pass on a message for the examination of Lennard Hall, an abandoned giant hall, for the residue of a summoning circle. As quickly as the scout arrived, he had left, barely making a dent in the spotlight shining on Selene. The murmurings of the audience disturbed the silence, a few heads turning to look at each other with disbelieving faces. Sir Aaron's eyebrow rose up, "Are you saying you summoned Mister Phynex, a demon of that size, by yourself?" He scratched his beard, though her heritage might make it seem more believable, she was still a young girl who hadn't reached her full potential, "Hm." The supporting audience sniggered at Selene, surely, there was no way a fifteen year old could call upon a demon the size of the one before them and be able to contain it.

As she spoke, glances were being shot at Aidan. He was well known in this part of the community, popular and dashing. Another judge raised his hand and addressed Aidan directly. "Why were you present around an abandoned hall? And why did you walk with Miss Selene Averill into Lennard Hall?"

Phynex turned his head ever so slightly so that he could look at the archer, sitting silently off to the side. Behind his eyes were a seething anger for both the head judge and the huntress, moving his eyes between the two, his mouth set in a firm frown. The man lifted his head and noticed the fire demon, exchanging eye contact for a few seconds before turning away, his eyes gleaming in anger and greed.

Sir Aaron had never broken off his eye contact with the woman before the table except to command the others, but he could feel the room suddenly feel a little bit colder. The scribe shuddered in his spot, but yet his professionalism showed - not once breaking his chain of writing. Sir Aaron knew why the rumours surrounding Selene Averill had started. She was such a strange girl, and her presence could change the mood almost instantaneously. They all said she was supernatural. A demon child, a celestial child - which was possible, since there were cases of half-celestial or celestial blessed children in the East - and even a child of the fae. Though Sir Aaron was on neutral terms with the famed Averill family, he did have doubts of their only daughter's origins. Her aura was so strange and unique, she may not be a full human.

Having already been ticked off by Aidan's earlier...choice of words, the old man frowned. "Miss Averill, you are here to show your side of the situation not remind us of the laws. I am sure" he shot a glare at Matt Evans, "he has learnt these laws before his initiation." His face passive, the judge continued. "But yes, why would the accused want to attack a demon that is clearly above your designated level?" He shook his head and ruffled his papers, "Your documents show you can only dispatch low to high-low tier demons, Mister Phynex here clearly has an aura and appearance of at least a middle to low-high tier," he questioned the archer, his face showing clear disappointment and disapproval. Clearly, he had not thought about losing his life. The side supporting Selene were positively smiling now, watching their opposition realise that he had clearly gone past the laws.

Her words were like a slap across the accused's face, the atomosphere cold and looming above him and his supporters. There was outrage displayed on the judge's faces, going against his superior - who would have had much more experience and knowledge - was not the smartest of moves. The archer hung his head in embarrassment while the court buzzed with anger and surprise. One of the members of the table shook his head as he wrote down his offences. He should have known better.

Sir Aaron nodded as he listened to her confession. "We may have to inform your father of this, as you are still a minor by the regular law and still under the protection of your father," he murmured, eyes glaring into her own. "We will press charges of attempted assault and provocation against you," he stated, the audience murmuring in agreement.

 

[Hana]

The girl leveled an impassive stare towards everyone in the room, before her eyes turned back to face Sir Aaron's. "If you would let a warding expert take a look at the runes that remained inside the halls," her voice was calm and rational once again as she took in all the questions and counters towards her. "You would see the containment and summoning circles as well as the additional wards. I have not taken them down yet," she inclined her head towards the sniggering group of hunters, expression blank. "And you could test them for my magical signature." Selene subtly raised an eyebrow. They wouldn't be sniggering later when the proof of the wards and the circles would be seen and confirmed by the experts. Each person had their own magical signature just as much as they had their own unique DNA. It couldn't be faked and the traces were still so recent enough that there would be no doubt of it.

"Of course, you could always ask this demon here yourself." She kept any impression left out of her voice, leaving them to decide on their own. There was little possibility they would want to ask Phynex about what happened, though. Hunters didn't trust demons, unless they had contracts themselves, as a rule. She watched as they sent of another scout to check the residue left in the vacant hall. "There was no other place I could summon a demon of this size without disturbing others," she smoothly returned at the question as to why she was in Lennard Hall. Or more likely being disturbed.

Then it was Aiden's turn to speak to the old man's inquiry, and he shook his head. "Sir Aaron, I wasn't present near Lennard Hall when Miss Averill and I met each other. I was at one of the cafes on a street some distance from the building and we walked together. She had told me she had summoned and formed a contract with a demon, and I had to confirm it," his tone was much more subdued than earlier, having realized that his earlier tone might be taken the wrong way by the old man. He glanced at Selene, a small frown on his face, as he finished speaking.

She didn't blink at the glare the old man sent her. They both knew they were neutral to each other, neither hostile nor friendly. She was only here to present her case and he was there to try and judge fairly for both sides. Besides, she knew Aidan Kingsley had irritated the man in some way and that wasn't her fault. There was obviously still some doubt from Sir Aaron about her, but it would be a blow to his pride as a fair judge to use that in any way.

The huntress watched Sir Aaron bear down on the accused bowman without comment, merely watching with an unreadable stare. She was satisfied that the bowman had at least realized some of his foolishness, seeing the look on his face, but she wasn't going to further feed anything to the fire. She had already given her earlier verbal lashing on his foolishness and it was done on her side. As usual, the majority of the people in the room followed after the judge's example, giving Matt Evans looks of anger and disappointment. People were really easy to sway in some cases.

She was silent for a moment after hearing Sir Aaron mention her father and pressing further charges. "Allow me to clarify, Sir Aaron." Her voice was calm, but the hint of steel from earlier had returned. "I did not once attempt to attack Mr. Evans until he had attacked me, even under provocation I merely evaded his attacks. Only my last attack would have caused him any harm had Mr. Phynex," she nodded to the fire demon, the first acknowledgement she gave him since stepping into the room. Without skipping a beat she continued, "Not stopped it. I have not caused this man any harm unless you count the irreversible damage of one of his arrows, which, of course, was done in defense of my partner." Selene was going to accept just punishment, but it didn't mean she wouldn't defend herself. She had even accounted for snapping that arrow in case the bowman foolishly tried to use it. Damaging that arrow in defense couldn't be taken as an offense.

"As for charges of provocation," she inclined her head to show she agreed. "I have provoked him and I have nothing else to say on that matter." Provocation didn't have nearly as bad a consequence as attacking first and disobeying a superior would give, Selene knew and pressed that to her advantage. "And I will be waiting for further updates on what consequences would be levied on Mr. Evans," the way she spoke the name of the bowman was disinterested and impersonal, but her voice told the judge that she wouldn't back down from charging the accused. She would accept the charges on account of provocation, but that - and that only. It wasn't right, what Evans had done - attacking her partner and she wouldn't stand for it. The other charge of disobeying and going against her warnings was only a addition. The rest of the charges would be brought upon Matt Evans by the law as a whole: he had gone against protocol for his rank and that charge couldn't be lifted.

 

[Mu]

Sir Aaron nodded, agreeing with her that they could check the scene. By now, the scout would have passed on the message, and a group of experts should be on their way to the abandoned hall. They were experienced in spells, studying from a young age and some gifted and talented. Though some rarely ever participated in battle, they were indeed very strong spellcasters. Most of them tended to stay behind and research different spells, or come and clean up a battle field with magic - at the same time reporting any new spells that may be found. They excelled in identifying any spell in a textbook or a creation of another - as long as it is legally registered - and checking the signature of a hunter. All spells have a specific circle, with only one difference; the caster's signature. Each one is unique and special, like an ID number that separated hunters.

The old man shot a glance at the fire demon, who cocked his head and looked back at him with nonexistent eyes. He was a fair judge, but that did little to change the fact that he mistrusted demons. Aaron used to be a hunter himself, though he prefered studying the laws than fighting. He was raised to dislike them, and he had never been a contract hunter before - who had their own laws of trusting other contract demons and build a connection. Sir Aaron pursed his lips, looking away from Phynex and back to Selene.

Just then, the scout that had left first walked into the courtroom, closing the door behind him without and sound and barely disturbing any of the two audiences. Tip-toeing to the head judge, he handed a slip of paper to him, whispering something nobody else could hear and stood to the side, his task complete. Phynex stirred, he could smell the scent of the underworld from the boy, and assumed he had gone to the Old Ones to look at the book. He reeked of death and the air around him was as hot as he remembered in Phantisamine.

The piece of paper contained the confirmation of Phynex becoming a contract demon, and that it had been fifty percent binded. Though the summoning and binding contract had been signed, the ritual was not yet complete. Without their contract symbol - a sign of connection and a possible telepathic emotional link between the two - they could not be an official contract pair. The paper also contained a bit of information about Selene and Phynex. According to the book, he had signed the contract just half an hour from being freshly summoned from the underworld, which was rather quick in hunter standards. Demons tended to stall the hunter's energy or mull over what they could get from the contract. Sir Aaron showed each member of the table the paper before clearing his throat and continuing the trial.

The man who had questioned Aidan wrote his claims down on some paper before screwing his face in slight confusion. "I see. What do you mean by 'you had to confirm it'? You are not related to Miss Selene Averill in any way, family or non-family. There is no reason why you should possibly endanger yourself to a demon who has just arrived in the human plain?" he said in an authoritative tone.

There was a flare in Sir Aaron's eyes. "You have made your point. We will press charges of provocation against you only, as well as informing your father of your appearance in court as it is necessary protocol for a minor." A child appearing in court was not rare in the hunter's community, one of the reasons why they had their own justice system - only adapting a few rules from the normal human society that usually related to age. However, even a minor could serve jail time meant for an adult in the normal society, since even the youngest of hunters could kill. Matt Evans stood up at this, his eyes flaring up and mouth open to complain, only to be pushed back into his seat by his two flanking guards, their face uncaring and blank.

Phynex hadn't been addressed to once in the court, except in the beginning of the trial after their entry, but he was almost glad. He was extremely nervous, and Selene who was just in front of him could feel it. Since the audience was focusing on the huntress, he felt a little better. The rumblings of his stomach had not yet died down, and he tried not to shrink into his spot when the man with the long white beard cast his eyes over him. He had a strong aura for someone who looked old, Phynex could tell he was intelligent and once was a strong young man.

The judge nodded, "Very well. Miss Selene Averill, your sentence will be decided at a later date from the table and possibly your father." He looked at the audiences on the two sides of the room. "You are dismissed from the court, Miss Selene Averill, Mister Phynex and Mister Aidan Kingsley. I shall inform you of the aftermath of this trial." The three of them were expected not to be in the room while the hunters and the table were ready to find a fitting punishment for Matt Evans.

 

[Hana]

When the first scout returned with a slip of paper that he handed to Sir Aaron, Selene knew without a doubt what was written on it. A contract had been formed, but it was only halfway on being complete - there was still a possibility to turn back and away from this road, but other hunters couldn't force the hunter to stop. It was all up to the hunter and the demon if they wanted to take the steps to truly complete the half-formed contract, symbolized by the contract symbol that would be tattooed on both demon and hunter by magic. She couldn't yet form something such as that too soon with Phynex.

She would take the time to get to know him first and see if she could really trust him, since a fully bound contract, while providing a whole lot more power than a half-formed one, also made a hunter vulnerable to the demon. While the demon couldn't kill the hunter outright - some demons had found roundabout ways to kill their partners, but indirectly - due to the ancient magic, the demon could abuse certain properties. A hunter and their contract demon, for instance, had a chance to use powerful blood magic between each other - the demon could ingest the hunter's blood and get a large temporary boost in power from it.

The more powerful the hunter is, the more potent their blood, even more so if the hunter was rich in magic reserve. Of course, there was a backlash period on the demon after that period of great empowerment - they would experience severe exhaustion. Too much ingesting of blood can also be severely harmful and injure demons up to the point of killing them. As they say, too much of something is just as bad as too little.

She brushed off these thoughts for a later time. Now they reached the point where Aidan would be questioned. She understood why - they weren't related through blood, they were only hunters currently in the same rank. They hadn't worked together on a mission before, and had only interacted outside of it. Aidan was the only one who made a point of approaching her, she hadn't really reached out to him. What was his reason for all this, and to go so far as to try and help Selene? Of course, she knew the truth. He hadn't even wanted to confirm anything in the first place.

Eyeing the blond hunter who was now being questioned impassively, Selene had to admit that Aidan was smooth. In some way he really did know what to say to please most people, but unfortunately for him Sir Aaron wasn't just most people. The young blond hunter seemed abashed, his eyes looking down to the ground briefly before he hesitantly met the man's stare. "While we are not related in any way, we are friendly acquaintances and coworkers, sir. I wanted to provide support for her in the case that she did summon a demon and something went wrong," his voice was sincere, and his expression compelling as he said this. For a moment he seemed to give Selene an earnest look, as if pleading with her to believe him.

Ironic that he didn't believe her at first and had only gone with her to seemingly indulge her. Selene's expression didn't change, not one bit, as her purple eyes met his brown ones directly, looking unreadable. She wouldn't tell the people here that he hadn't initially gone with her to protect or support her, but she wouldn't make a move to defend him either. That was as far as she would go. A discomfited look seemed to pass on Aidan's face at her penetrating stare, a hint of uncertainty appearing in his eyes before he looked away.

Selene nodded at the judge's confirmation. She would still be charged on provocation, but nothing much else. It was only the fact that her father would be informed that was concerning, but it couldn't be helped. Even if hunters still had a great deal more maturity than civilians, she was still a minor even in the hunters' laws. A movement out the corner of her eye made her momentarily look in the accused bowman's direction. He had stood up to protest, his eyes flaring up once again. He's persistent.

The white haired girl looked on impassively, before turning away. She could still see the buried anger, greed, and loathing in the man's eyes as he was once again pushed back into his seat by two hunters. This might prove to be more of a problem in the future. If he was a vengeful kind of person... Well, she had enough knives pointed at her back already. One more wasn't going to make a difference, since she never let her guard down.

The rumbling sounds close to her reminded her of her partner again. Selene felt a tiny touch of concern. Was he doing alright under the scrutiny of all these hunters, and in something like a trial, no less? She would have taken up the attention of most people in the room, but he was still in her proximity. Even he would feel the stares and the questioning, the curiosity and even amusement and scorn of the people.

It was well enough that she, Phynex and Aidan were now dismissed. She once again spoke up, bowing her head to the hunters and then to Sir Aaron. "Thank you for hearing us out, Sir Aaron." After all that had happened, she now turned to face Phynex, her eyes searching his lava-covered face for any sign of upset at what had happened. Are you alright? Was the silent question. Nodding to Aidan, who also bowed and said this thanks to Sir Aaron and the hunters, she turned and left, but not without feeling the silent burn of Matt Evans' glare boring into the back of her head. Troublesome.

 

[Mu]

Matt Evans had enough of this, he watched as this...foolish old man let the white haired huntress go with little to no charges. If the demon hadn't been there, she would have surely knocked his head off. He grunted, this was another case on how they always, always favoured the Averills above all else. So what if they were one of the first few families to take on the invasion of demons? So what if their members through generation and generation had been honoured through and through, their ancestors regarded as heroes? He equally should be favoured and treated well. The archer quietly swore under his breath, glaring at the Huntress who had barely glanced at him. His eyes were clouded with anger and greed, dirtying his mind and judgement

They simply treat Selene Averill better because she could dispatch the high tier demons. She had no clearance level, being able to take on the highest of the highest that could be found in the human world - or if they ever showed up - while Matt Evan was stuck in the low tier ladder. Just because she was able to take on demons with fearsome appearances and powers, demons with multiple limbs and a mouth lined with rows and rows of teeth, demons disguised as innocent little girls who were secretly man eating beasts or demons that had killed millions of demons before the appearance of a hunter, didn't mean she could act all arrogant and superior.

He stood up in his seat and pushed against the arms of his security guards, who's arms shot out like a bullet and grabbed his shackled hands and tried to pull him down on his seat. "This is unfair!" he spat loudly, catching the attention of most of the court. He glared at Selene. "I'll get you for this, just you wait. I'll do whatever it takes to come and find you and kill you," he said with such fierceness it made Phynex shiver. At last, he was subdued and muzzled by the now irritated guards, but he continued shooting death glares at the white haired huntress, seething with anger and vengeance. The crowd murmured angrily and the audience that supported him shook their heads in sadness. Even the judges furrowed their eyebrows and looked at the archer with disappointment and disgust.

The audience and the judges spared Phynex one more curious look after Selene turned around, making the fire demon blush uncontrollably. He nodded his head once to the old man and quickly followed Aidan and Selene out of the courtroom, looking behind him to see Matt Evans being dragged from the chair he had been sitting on - throwing a fit and trying to wriggle out of the grasp of his security guards - being pushed into the podium and stand before the crimes he had been pressed against. The bowman twisted against his bindings, turning around to look at them one more time before the wooden doors were closed with a silent puff of air. Phynex almost collapsed, but he was glad he was out of that courtroom. He looked at Selene with a smile, ignoring Aidan, "Where are we off to now?"

 

[Hana]

A death threat, hm? Selene turned and looked at the closed door that had swung shut, catching one last glimpse of the bowman's furious eyes glaring at her. She raised an eyebrow at the door before turning away. If Matt Evans continued on acting like that - irrational and trying to justify himself - he wouldn't be helping himself any. Add to that, he had given her a death thread in front of all the hunters. Another offense to add to the list of things that would be digging himself a nice grave.

He thought his treatment was unfair? He thought the high-ranks were getting better treatment than was fair? Matt Evans didn't know the extent of the danger that the higher-ranked hunters had to go through, or the strenuous exams they had to pass with skill and experience. The advantages of a high rank hunter could actually be outweighed by the disadvantages.

These hunters had little to no life outside of killing and fighting demons, they had long lists of targets to regularly finish off, and they had to present a certain image to the others in society. They were under unspoken rules of how to act and what to do, and how well they should be doing. Standards and expectations, and Selene had even higher ones set for her than most others in her rank. If he thought he deserved to be treated well, he had to earn that respect from the other hunters. He clearly wasn't getting that with the way he was acting, and everyone earlier had heard his vitriol and insults against the high rank hunters. He wouldn't be getting out of this easy.

Then there was the subject of his death threat. I'll do whatever it takes to come and find you and kill you. It was quite a common way of threatening others, but it was delivered with sheer anger and determination. Matt Evans wouldn't be backing down easily, it seemed. She glanced at Aidan and saw the glare he directed at the door, and heard him mutter to himself. "That was a stupid thing to say. Really stupid, does he have a vendetta against us higher-ranks now?" She heard him ask himself.

Hearing the demon next to her let out a relieved breath, she looked at him again. He was smiling once again, and looked quite relieved to be out and away from the stares of the hunters from the room. "We're going to my apartment," she replied softly, the earlier steel once again hidden from her tone. The girl's expression wasn't as blank as before, and she was back to her usual quiet way of looking about the world around her, with a slightly troubled look on her face. Now she would have to talk to her father soon, and she didn't look forward to it. She was still cold and calm, but the earlier not-quite anger and dangerous intent that had seeped from her as she had spoken her piece against Evans was gone.

"Selene." She turned to look at Aidan again, silently raising an eyebrow at the look on his face. He frowned, and he did look a little... Worried. "I think Evans is serious about that," he referred to the last words they heard before the door slammed shut.

"That may be so," the girl did the equivalent of a shrug, walking towards the stairs again and prompting him to follow her. "Let's go, Phynex," she murmured to her partner. "But that would be another thing counted against him. Are you worried?" She sounded quite nonchalant about the threat on the surface, but her expression was unreadable when asked about the subject.

"Of course I am," the blond replied immediately. "Do you want me to escort you back home?" She raised an eyebrow at him again. "I can take care of myself," her voice was even, and she nodded to Phynex. "And I am going with him." The frown that was back on his face was predictable, Aidan looking at Phynex as if he was the source of all his problems.

 

[Mu]

Phynex look behind him at the nose closed double doors and thought about the archer. Was his threat serious? He'd seen similar threats back in the underworld, where grudges were strong when it came to power and family. Demons were willing to kill others if they made them lose face, especially if they were the aristocrats. Phynex had hear rumors that his father had received death threats, so did his mother. He was told he was going to be targeted to repent for the amount of demons he had killed during his raids and his reign of terror as a general before his retirement. She was told she was going to be slaughtered for betraying her own clan in order to be with the murderer. They called her many degrading names, the young fire demon remembered the demoness feeling too sad to even take care of her son.

He cocked his head at Selene. "Is he not a low ranking hunter? You should be able to take him if he comes for you, yes?" He still had no idea how this ranking system worked, but from what he had heard in the court, there seemed to be a clearance level on what the hunter was allowed to dispatch. The low-tiered demons, the middle-tier and the high-tier, with each one having a secondary ranking; low-low, middle-low and high-low. Phynex wondered if there was a level beyond high-high, and if there were better names for these rankings.

"What is an..apartment?" he repeated the word slowly, blinking at her curiously like a baby or puppy trying to decipher what their guardian was doing with their new brains. He had heard of no such things before, but it sounded fancy. From the corner of his eye, he could see Aidan giving the demon a look. Clearly an 'apartment' was something everyone knew here - except him.

The fire demon couldn't help but smile gleefully. Finally, getting rid of the blonde man. He had stopped looking at her strangely ever since he had pointed that out, what a strange man. But he still gave off a vibe Phynex didn't like. He wasn't about to let the blonde man escort her anyway. Shooting Aidan a warning stare, he swished his tail waiting for Selene to lead the way.

 

[Hana]

"I can," Selene agreed to Phynex's question, nodding slightly as they descended down the many staircases once again. "But if he's determined enough..." She trailed off, leaving the sentence to hang in the air among the three. In skill, talent and power she outpaced most of the hunters her age and even the older ones. Matt Evans was leagues behind her and even Aidan. But she wasn't about to take out of consideration the madness she saw in the man's eyes as he glared at her. It didn't scare her, but it told her to watch out.

She stared at Phynex as he asked about what an apartment was. "An apartment is a housing that is only part of many other units occupying a building. Many people and families may live in the same building but they have different apartments." Then again, the houses in the underworld were quite different. For one, only aristocrats could afford to live in the city with their own homes, as he told her. "Once you do get your human form, I might have to look for a new one," she murmured thoughtfully. Her current place had only one bedroom and she had converted one of the other rooms into a small study for her, having help from Jasper and her father with the books and the bookshelves. She had a lot of books on demons, and also books that listed plants and herbs that could be used. Mostly the practical things, but she also had a small collection of fiction.

"I'm glad it went well," the voice of the blond hunter broke through their conversation and Selene gave him a sideways glance. He smiled pointedly, as they were close to getting back to the first floor.

Ah. He was expecting some gratitude from her for his help getting evidence and people against the bowman. Selene inclined her head and spoke softly, "Thank you for earlier." It was only polite, after all - she had no reason not to thank him. Maybe he wasn't completely truthful earlier, but he did do something to stop Evans and apprehended him. He even turned quite a lot of hunters against the accused, his popularity pulling a lot of weight behind him.

She wondered if she should take it back when she saw a grin appear on Aidan's features, his eyes having what seemed like renewed hope. "It was nothing," he insisted, brushing it off and walking with invigorated steps. She wondered what the pointed look from earlier was all about, then. As they finally reached the first floor, she paid no attention to the staring people and immediately went for the double doors, keeping pace for Phynex.

 

[Mu]

"Oh. So is it many homes in one building? Like there are many caves in the mountains in Phantisamine?" he asked, comparing the two. They did sound similar, many small homes crammed in the one mountain, living with other people yet not living with others. The mountain was a strange place he rarely visited himself. He wondered what life in the human world was like, and how they did simple tasks like cooking and bathing. Phynex himself bathed in the pits of lava and ate whatever his parents served him when he was younger, and along his journey learnt what could or could not be eaten and followed those rules. The fire demon suddenly felt bad that he didn't bring his old, worn leather book with him. It contained all of the notes that he had taken during his adventures, but the demon had memorised most of the demons and plants that he had seen and written down. But it felt so different without the book by his side.

They were taking the steps back to the first floor, and thankfully there were no hunters on their way down, their voices from the first floor drifting upwards and barely heard from where they stood now. Phynex frowned at the blonde hunter, speaking in a tone that wanted Selene to thank him for whatever he wanted. Withholding a growl, he continued to glare at him, even though he was pointedly avoiding looking at Phynex and only having eyes for Selene - something he didn't like.

Aidan's eyes glimmered, the look slowly returning back to his eyes. A smile had appeared on his lips, making Phynex roll his non-existent eyes at him. Was he that wanting of her attention? He was like a high-school boy wanting to get the eyes of his sweetheart. It was disgusting.

Arriving on the first floor, the hunters that had not been in the room earlier when they entered the building stared at the three of them. The well known blonde haired man who smiled and waved at everyone with newfound energy, the white haired huntress with a blank face who continued walking without giving anyone a glance, and the fiery, huge demon that trailed after her like a burning shadow.

 

[Hana]

At Phynex's question, Selene nodded. "I suppose it's close to that." As soon as they got outside the building, the two guards still on duty smirked at them. "That good, Kingsley?" The pale one asked once again, his eyes drifting slightly closed as he leaned against the wall. Aidan simply smirked back at them, and nodded. He was quite happy. The fact that this would encourage more positive things about his reputation helped. By helping Selene and giving his own witness in front of Sir Aaron the story would circulate quickly, especially the fact that Evans lost really badly. "It went quite well. Evans won't be getting out of anything more than just probation for a while," he remarked, then a small frown passed his face. "He threatened her," he pointed out, glancing at Selene.

The two guards shared a look and the rugged one snorted. "And? Do you think he can deliver that well on a threat?" His rough voice spoke, and he shook his head, crossing his arms. "The little lady here is far ahead of him and you know that, Kingsley." With that, he brushed off the idea of a threat. But the pale one looked at Selene thoughtfully for a moment, before saying quietly, "She should still be careful. Evans seems to have gone mad." He sighed. "And you know how madness gives someone a lot more to fight for, right? When there's a will, there's a way," he remarked.

Aidan looked worried once again, but didn't say anything. With a nod towards the two, he turned to Selene. "And this is where we part," the girl murmured, ignoring the disappointed look sent her way. "You have a lot more people to see this afternoon and evening," she pointed out. He made as if to protest, but then didn't. She knew a lot of people would want to see him and talk to him. They wanted the details of the story, and they could approach him for that since the girl herself wasn't approachable.

She looked across the square again. "And there are people who want to see you now," she heard a group of people, probably Aidan's friends, call out to him as they approached. Curious and nosy looks were sent her and Phynex's way, but they didn't say anything. As soon as the group reached Aidan, she nodded to him and left with Phynex. Her apartment was still in the hunter district, but not in the area of the vacant hall earlier. It was closer to the actual civilian portion of the city, but civilians still wouldn't really notice it.

 

[Mu]

The three of them stepped out of the building, earning a few looks from new faces, as usual. The two men that had been guarding the doors earlier were still there, smiling at them. Phynex silently growled at the blonde haired man, Selene's earlier words had given him some sort of new energy and positivity, he smiled back at the guards and told them about the trial.

Phynex mulled over Matt Evans. He may be weaker than Selene, but it was true that madness could give power to him. The vengeance and the need to kill off the white haired huntress would be enough to drive him to do so, especially since he already had a deep hatred for the high ranking hunters. The fire demon thought this was stupid, instead of working as a low ranking and slowly rising to the top, why risk your life in prison by attempting to commit homicide? Many things can drive someone to do something, and madness was one of the bad ones. If they continued to push the archer over the edge, unpleasant things could go off in the man's head; endangering both himself and the people around him.

A group of who seemed like Aidan's friends called out for him as they neared the trio. Phynex looked at the curiously, while they in return did the same - though with a mix of fear as well. Giving them one last scan, he turned to follow the huntress. Eyes followed them as they walked on their streets and some moved towards Aidan to hear the story of the archer's fate. Phynex was silent for a while, content with just walking back to the huntress' home after such a long day. "Selene, will I fit in your home?" he looked down at his body, "Humans were smaller than I thought."

 

[Hana]

Selene raised an eyebrow as she glanced at him, weaving through the crowded streets and the people with ease. Not that it was particularly difficult, considering almost everyone gave her and Phynex a very wide berth, the street in front of them almost clearing with the way people parted to the side. How convenient. "We'll see. Now," she murmured, a dry undertone in her voice, "What size did you expect us all to be? Your world has demons in all shapes and sizes, but human males average at 5'10" in height, females at 5'6"."

She then remembered the two people raising her, they had always been considered impressive in build but for different reasons. Kasimir had never particularly been a large demon, then again she had never seen his demonic form. From what she heard of it, people ran away screaming at the sight. Her father was a tall man, 6 feet in height, while Kasimir was only a little taller. While her father had the sleek and muscular build, reminding her of a predatory cat, all smooth and clean lines, Kasimir was even more slender, with only the slightest hint of muscles. Still sleek, but almost effeminate until you caught the hard muscle hidden under his clothes.

She wondered what Phynex's human form would look like, glancing at him with a critical eye. For once, she focused on his aura, and saw a myriad of 'hot' colors - from the deepest red lightening to fiery orange, with a mixture of other colors thrown in. It was really suiting of him to have an aura that resembled fire, but with earthy tones like some greens and browns. Maybe he would have reddish brown hair?

It was still some ways off before evening came and the sun would set as they arrived in the immediate area of her apartment. Considering her family had money, she was able to pay for an apartment all to herself - though now she didn't really rely on that money, now that her rank's payments were mostly enough to cover her expenses. She was mostly independent of her father now, and had been for two years. While she wasn't a cook she knew how to prepare the basics for breakfast, and usually ate out otherwise. She was the one who cleaned up after her own, and the apartment was tidy and well-kept, though not excessively neat.

The apartment building itself was a nondescript off-white color like the color of eggshells, a tall rectangular building spanning up to seven floors. There were also hunters living here, but most were either the people who owned shops and stalls, businesses within the district who were usually related to hunters themselves. Selene had never trusted other hunters before.

Only when they reached the double doors did Selene remember something. "... You won't fit in through the door to my place." He could probably fit in through the double doors at the front entrance, but the receptionist would probably really object. The apartment didn't allow any pets or anything of the sort, not that Phynex was a pet. Her apartment was on the fourth floor, and while they could take the stairs much like earlier he really wouldn't fit through the door to her apartment. He was too wide in his demon form. Maybe he could fly to her balcony? She had asked for a particular unit with a wide balcony, it was one of her few indulgences. There was a comfortable seat there, and a few potted plants that she brought over from her father's place. It was a good place for reading in the days she didn't have anything in particular to do, with a sunny spot. As always, the apartment was rigged with traps against intruders, but she could key in Phynex so he wouldn't get caught up in those.

 

[Mu]

The fire demon chuckled, "I cannot wait to see things from a human's height," he admitted. It would be strange to say the least, right now he towered over the humans and the poor things had to crane their necks up to see him or he needed to lay down to meet their eyes. Imagine being able to walk around being able to see everyone's eyes and look like any other man in the human world. What would his father, who himself was half the size of these human buildings at the least, say if Phynex told him he could achieve such complex magic without much effort? Would he be proud? Or disappointed that he had to become a contract demon to do this? Nevertheless, the retired general had told him to take his own path.

Phynex didn't know if he was fully grown, but compared to his father he was quite small. As a young demon, he was barely the size of his father's foot, stumbling and awkwardly trying to traverse the burning grounds of Phantisamine. His mother was possibly just a feet or so taller than Selene had a slim figure that looked more humanoid than beast. Phynex had inherited more his father's draconic traits, his weaker hind legs and tail organ the result of his mother. When he had been travelling, Phynex had met a demon who had been to the human world, the old demon compared Phynex to a human creature called a 'horse', saying that they were of similar size. What did these horses look like? The fire demon wanted to see them

The two of them neared a building that had a whitish, soft colour he didn't know the name of, but it warmed him. It was tall and reached towards the now greyish sky - Phynex had noticed what seemed like clumps of fog beginning to blanket and cover the sky on their way here. The building loomed over him, and had seven rows of windows. There were not a lot of people around the building or the nearby ones, the ones that he had spotted on the way here hurrying to their destination. He could see a few trees scattered here and there, their leaves rustling at the gathering wind.

The door was barely big enough for Phynex to fit in, after examining it. Behind the glass doors, there was a man who sat behind a counter reading a newspaper. At the sight of the fire demon, he blinked at what was in front of the doors before rubbing his eyes and shaking his head, moving back to the paper in his hands. There was a rumble in the sky, frightening Phynex. Was the sky alive in the human world? Was it hungry? All these alien and new things scared the fire demon. Whimpering, he looked to Selene. "Will I be alone, since I can't go into the building?"

 

[Hana]

"You're not averse to getting a smaller form," Selene observed as they stood in front of the double doors. The receptionist had taken one look at them and seemed to do a double take then going back to his newspaper, which was quite a good reaction compared to others. He must have heard the news spread already. She heard a thunderous rumble and looked up, frowning slightly. The skies were grey compared to the beautiful azure blue earlier, clouds gathering together and blocking out the afternoon's sunlight. "It's going to rain," she spoke softly, hearing Phynex whimper from beside her.

It was an odd sound, one that reminded her of a dog rearing back in fright from someone larger and more threatening than them. "If you can, fly to my balcony. I'll show you." She motioned for him to follow her into path by the side of the apartment building, into a square behind it. Behind the apartment building, she pointed to a balcony from the fourth floor. It was spacious, as she had requested, something that could indefinitely be Phynex's place as long as he was in his demonic form.

Then another thing of concern struck her as she frowned up at the gathering clouds. If it was going to rain... "How do you react to water?" She spoke faster now, seeing as it was going to pour any minute now. Already she could tell that a few drops were falling from the sky, but not an outright downpour, more like the slightest of drizzles. Glancing at Phynex's body, which was mostly fire and earth, lava covering him, would it hurt him if rain poured down? Her mind raced, going through the things that could cover him that she had. Nothing's large enough... I don't think he would take well to a tarp... Unless... A large umbrella? Or should she hang up that tarp over him, in some way?

 

[Mu]

Phynex craned his head and looked up at the building to where the huntress was pointing. Sure enough, there was something that was sticking out of the building on the fourth row of windows, big enough for him to lie down at least. The sky was rumbling even more, growling like a hungry predator lying in wait. There were things falling from the sky, and one fat drop of liquid landed right on his face. His skin sizzled, the water evaporating quickly but it was too late.

The fire demon panicked as more and more of these droplets hit him, landing on his body and sizzling, burning his skin and making him feel like there were holes being opened up on his body. His whimpers became more and more desperate and scared. "W-why is there water falling from the sky?! Is this Heaven's way of punishing me?" Phynex ran around on the spot, trying to run away from the water that was falling from the now grey sky, but he could not escape from it.

There was steam coming from his body as more and more droplets came down, making him more and more scared every second. "Maybe this is the Ice Witch punishing me for joining the side of the humans," he whispered, his words stammering. "I have offended both the Celestials and Ice Witch! May the demon king save my soul," Phynex gulped, his huge frame starting to shiver. "A-anything but water..." it was strange to see a demon as fearsome looking as Phynex cowering at the sight of water falling from the sky, and the way he held himself.

 

[Hana]

Rain is what cleanses the world of our sins and washes everything anew, was a saying she had heard from her father once. There were some times when she was still living with her father that they would sit at the porch and watch the rain pour down onto the lush greenery that surrounded their home, the leaves looking healthy and glistening with crystal clear droplets. Flowers seemed to sparkle with the many little water droplets on them, and she had to admit it was a very pretty sight. Her father did seem to like the rain, sometimes she could see him taking a walk while holding an umbrella, unmindful of the cold weather.

Unfortunately, Selene didn't really share the same like for cold weather that her father did - she was more susceptible to the cold than he was, and sometimes got sick from it. Those rare times she would sometimes curse the snow or the stormy weather, though now she could withstand it, but it was still really uncomfortable. The only winters she liked were the ones that snowed enough that the world was covered in white, but not with snowstorms. She knew how to ice skate and gliding across the glassy surface of frozen water was a liberating feeling.

That was why when she heard the hiss of something steaming, she knew that Phynex would hate the rain even worse. Jerking around to look at him, her eyes widened upon seeing the rain drops hiss and sizzle against the lava on his face. She could see that each droplet seemed to make him twitch in pain, and upon seeing that she urgently told him to go up to the balcony. "Fly up to the balcony for me and stay as close to the side as you can. There is still a little bit of roof sticking out that may cover you," she had no time for his ramblings about the sky punishing him.

She thought for a moment, before taking off her coat and throwing it over him. It would help ward off the rain though it wouldn't cover him completely, and the timing was just right as the raindrops started falling faster and denser. The rain started seeping into her dark clothes, giving her that annoying feeling of wet fabric clinging to her skin and cold, but Phynex needed the coat more. Her hair stuck to her back and her neck, the shorter locks clinging to her cheeks and forehead.

"Now go, I'll be on the fourth floor," she ignored the startled jump, the newspaper falling flat against the desk and the stare of the receptionist as she flung the glass doors open, rushing past him in a blur to go to the elevator. The girl hissed as she saw that it was still occupied, and quickly moved to the stairs, practically flying up the steps. Her feet barely touched the ground before she was speeding past, swerving around a few startled people until she reached her own floor, and quickly jammed her key into her door.

Pushing it open, she looked around for what to use. Her umbrella was small, for one person only and it wouldn't help him - she ran to the nearest occupied apartment and knocked on the door. A woman with her hair in a towel opened and blinked at the sodden and dripping appearance of the usually well-kept Averill who lived next door. Without further ado Selene quickly asked if the woman had a large umbrella, and upon hearing yes - what did the woman use it for? - she quickly took it out, tersely assuring that the woman would be repaid for her help.

Now she moved to the balcony, throwing the door open and taking the umbrella out. It seemed to be the sort you'd see over a round table for a group outside a cafe, and she quickly opened it.

 

[Mu]

With the rain becoming heavier and the clouds becoming darker and darker, Phynex could barely move his body to fly up towards the balcony. His huge body was staggering as he tried to lift his wings and hoist himself in the air. The water was soaking into his skin, burning him like fire would burn a non fire elemental demon, making him sway dangerously in the air. With effort, he flung himself down on the balcony, silently thankful that the thing could even support his weight. Phynex painfully dragged his water soaked body nearer to the wall, it couldn't cover his entire body but it at least provided some coverage from the water.

He smelt it. It smelt so fresh. There was nothing like this in Phantisamine, or anywhere in the underworld, but the water Phynex had seen were dark and murky and smelt disgusting, tasting that was as well. But in the human world, despite his hatred of water, he couldn't help but admit that the water here had the scent of freshness.

He picked up the soaked remnants of Selene's jacket and placed it beside him under the little coverage there was. He was grateful for it, even though it did not do much but soak the huntress. The fire demon tried his best to avoid the downpour without prevail, whimpering and hoping the huntress could save him. Under his breath he muttered about what sort of punishment this was and how he had betrayed the mother of demons - the Ice Witch - and the demons and the Celestials and that this was his judgement.

Thankfully, the door behind him slide open, almost making his head slip. The water that had been splashing and causing him so much pain suddenly disappeared. The fire demon looked up to see a water soaked Selene, her clothes clinging to her skin and revealing her frame, holding onto what seemed like a large flower shield above them and shielding them from the rain. The demon sighed with relief and shook himself much like a dog, shaking off the excess water that couldn't evaporate in time. "Thank you."

 

[Hana]

Hearing Phynex sigh in relief, the tenseness melted out of the girl's body and her expression softened from the intensely focused look of earlier, not quite panic, but equal parts alarm and concern from hearing his pain. Selene put the large umbrella down enough that it would cover Phynex from the rain, and stepped back closer to the balcony door. "It's not a punishment from the Ice Queen or the Celestials," she spoke softly, approaching him and taking a look at the still slightly sizzling surface of his body. The rain seemed to affect him like burning someone's skin would, which made sense in an odd way for his fiery body. "The water from the lakes, rivers, and the sea evaporate from the heat, becoming gas and rising up to the sky and when it gets too heavy, it falls back down to the earth as rain," she spoke clearly and concisely, hoping to distract him from the no doubt painful experience of recent.

"The plants in this world need water to survive and the rain gives it to them. It also cleanses in its own way, washing and smoothing away stones and earth." Of course, too much heavy rainstorm and strong winds meant another thing. Humans really had no way of going against Nature itself, and the laws that it set. Not even the demons, to her knowledge, though there were certain magics that could manipulate - influence - the weather. "Humans also need water," she pointed out after a moment. "Almost all living things here need water in some way or another, it's what provides life. I could explain to you more about that." Except she was sure he hated water, considering how his body reacted to it.

She tentatively asked, "Are you alright now, or do I have to get a healer?" Selene wasn't even sure what healer would know how to heal a demon like him, or even want to heal him. Looking over him again, she knelt down, still keeping a respectful distance away from him before taking her coat. It wouldn't be used for a while, though it wasn't even burned - the rain must have countered the fire from his body.