The Cursed Ones

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Zenei was odd, but who wasn't in this crazy world? "Everything. Even my own thoughts."

Some of which are too stupid to even bother with.

Shea let out a sigh before he followed Zenei's directions. She went off a different way, but he knew not to follow. She had her own things to worry about, but she still seemed to want to travel with him, so that was a plus. Even when Aehs bared his ugly side, she was still hanging around him. That had to count for something.

Shea found the stream, sticking his hands in the cold water and scrubbing until he felt his skin grow raw. He did the same for his face, wincing as his nails came away red each time with the stained blood on his chin. By the time Zenei came back, Shea had just finished up. He heard her approach this time and wasn't so jumpy when she arrived. "Oh, thanks," he said, pushing his hair down as he placed the hat on top. "...Did he scare you? He didn't kill you, so you must have said something."
 
"No problem." Zenei said with a shrug before kneeling down to drink from the stream. "Well, I won't lie. He was frightening. I really thought he was going to kill me." She cleared her throat and stood up straight. Aehs could hear her, so she couldn't tell him the truth. "My life holder spoke with him..." She really did not want to say anymore so she left it at that.

"I will travel with you and try to figure out this curse. Do you have a place to sleep for the night?" Zenei sighed and looked up at the sky. "Its dark out and I really dont like being out of town limits without a fire or something."
 
So she had something inside of her controlling her life, just as he'd thought. It might not have been a demon, but whatever she said stopped Aehs from killing her, something incredibly rare and relieving. Still, he couldn't guarantee that for next time, and given Aehs's tendency to break their agreement, he had no idea when that 'next time' was. Still, despite that, she wanted to stay with him. It was a welcome, yet strange, change of pace. Shea stuck his cane into the ground and leaned on it heavily, thinking until she spoke.

"Oh. No, I don't. There's an inn in town that we could stay at." Shea didn't like crowds, as Aehs found them as buffets rather than people. There have been many times where he was ran out of town by those who sensed the malicious demon inside of him. However, he didn't mention that. It was best not to scare her too much, even if Aehs had already done that job.
 
"Yeah, I've been getting a room there on and off since I've been stuck in this town, but the inn keeper hasn't taken a huge fondness to me." Zenei waved it off as if it were nothing and started walking towards the town, a few steps infront of Shea so all he saw was her back. It could be seen she had been without a home for atleast a couple months; her dress had bits of dirt on it and some stitches that didn't go with the thread patterns, showing she probably did them herself. Her shoes were worn, looking to be on the verge of forming holes at any given step but she still walked almost silently in them, like the shadows she controlled.

They had finally reached the inn and Zenei instantly bowed her head, the inn keeper looking a bit uneasy once the two of them entered. "The usual room?" He asked, crossing his arms and looking down at Zenei as if he was talking to meat covered in maggots. "No, I need one with two beds." She digs around in the pockets of her dress and pulls out a bag of coins, laying some out on the counter. The tall man looks from her to Shea, giving a suspicious look before taking the money and slamming a key down on the counter. "Upstairs, second door on the left." He growled, his eyes fixing on Zenei once more. He instantly recoiled however when her eyes looked up and glared into his. The blackness swirling with a bit of frustration. With a shake of her head she turned and headed up the stairs with a huff, not speaking until they had both made it upstairs and shut the door.

"Seriously, you appear out of the shadows once and suddenly you're the devil or something." Zenei mumbled as she plopped onto one of the two beds in the room. The room was certainly one of the cheapest they had, Zenei could have stolen more money and lived in luxury, but she still had morals. Taking only what was needed to survive and nothing more. "So that demon can hear everything that happens... But when he is out you can't? That doesn't seem very fair."
 
Shea's head dipped up and down as he looked over the girl. Her eyes gave her away as a truly awful Cursed. At least for the most part, Aehs didn't show himself in any physical away unless he acted out. Of course, that was always the risk he ran if he entered a crowd that the demon despised.

Hmph. At least she has some control. You couldn't tame me if it was the last thing you ever did.

It wasn't really a compliment toward Zenei, considering the insult that came after it. Shea only sighed, wishing he could swing his cane and knock himself out. He had tried to kill himself many times, whether it was an arrow to the chest or head, a sword through the gut, or jumping off a cliff. Each time, Aehs 'saved' him by transforming and stopping the fatal injury. Shea's only escape was to find some way to remove him permanently.

When they arrived in town, Shea kept his head low and the wide brim of his hat over his eyes. Zenei was already well known enough, but he had just arrived a few days ago and planned on leaving soon. Attracting attention was the last thing he wanted to do. He let her handle the innkeeper, only nodding once at the man before he trailed after Zenei. She muttered to herself, but he could guess what it was about. He knew all about demons.

Shea sat down on the opposite bed, leaning the cane against the wall and setting the hat on the knob of the bed frame. "Life's not fair," he said with a shrug, removing his coat. "Aehs certainly isn't going to make it any better on me. That's not his job. He wants to take over the world, blah, blah, blah. I get it. I still have some sanity left, so he can't control me completely."

Not for long.

"Of course. Shut up and let me sleep, would you?" Aehs wouldn't give in without an argument, so when the demon retreated, Shea was both relieved and afraid. Aehs was always planning something. Shea just didn't know what. Looking back at Zenei, he said, "I'm sorry. I don't mean to bust out like that. I know it's hard to distinguish sometimes between what I'm saying to you and what I'm saying to him."
 
"Tell me about it." Zenei chuckled at Shea's mention of life not being fair." She removed her shoes and stepped off of the bed, wiggling her toes against the cool wooden floor boards. She stopped by a dresser with two bowls and a pitcher of water used to wash up. She filled one for herself and worked on washing the dirt from her face. She never realised how dirty it had gotten while she was running from Aehs in the woods until she looked in the mirror.

Black eyes moved from the dirt to the orbs that seemed to be never ending darkness. She stopped what she was doing a moment to stare at them before going back to splashing water on her face and hair until she was finally clean. Zenei stepped quietly to her bed, laying down and staring at the ceiling, watching the shadows that flickered about from the small lit candle. "So... Whenever you start speaking rudely it is to the demon? Am I safe to assume that?" A small smile danced across her lips as she lifted a finger and spun it around, the shadows on the ceiling twisting into shapes of random animals and objects. She gave a whole new meaning to shadow puppets.

"Maybe you can give a signal when you are talking to him. I don't know, maybe cross your eyes or tug on an ear or something?" It was clear in her tone she was just joking with him, trying to make light of the situation. Though she went quiet after that, certain he would want some sleep after the eventful day.
 
Shea wanted to smile, and his lips curved ever so slightly. But it didn't last. Aehs made him angry and anger made him snappy and irritable. There really was no telling when he was going to lash out. However, if he was going to be traveling in the presence of another, he would have to control it. "I could try, I guess. I don't talk rude to people, not like that at least. Aehs does, even when I try to stop it. He's... strong, like that, I guess."

Your language is inadequate for describing my true power.

Shea thought about responding, but he left it alone. There was no point in agitating himself, Zenei or most importantly, the demon himself. "We should get some sleep," he said, watching the shadows twist and grope the ceiling. Having never seen such a spectacle, he felt queasy watching something that should have been stationary. He turned his back to her, finding a comfortable spot on the mattress, even though he knew he wouldn't sleep. Aehs didn't allow for such a vulnerable time unless Shea was too exhausted to even move. During that rare time, nightmares would plague his mind, keeping him from the true meaning of peaceful sleep.

"Good night," he said to her, trying his best to appear tired.
 
"I will keep from saying too much about your lovely demon friend for fear of my life, but I will be sure to try my best to recognize who you are talking to-- It shouldn't be too hard. Night." Zenei mumbled, dropping her hand as the shadows shifted back to their rightful place. Nothing good was going to come from it. She had hit a brick wall in her journey and maybe if she was lucky this man could help, but would she really be that lucky? Not to mention the demon issue, there was no telling how long she could play him off without her lifeholder finding out. She just hoped he would not pop in for a visit while Aehs was around.

The thought of how much of a disaster that would be made her chuckle, her face growing red in the darkness, hoping Shea hadn't heard that. Her dark eyes stared at the cieling in the silence of the room, finally closing after what seemed like ages as she drifted into a light sleep. The light of early morning peaked its way into the window and right into Zenei's face, orange burning through her eyelids until she sat up to rub it away. It wasn't until she had gotten up and splashed cool water on her face that she remembered the events from the previous day.

They were going to leave today, and hopefully find something to get rid of these curses. "Morning." Zenei mumbled, drying her face and slipping on her shoes. They needed to head out as soon as possible, five years could seem like a very long time for normal people, but to her it was a blink of the eye.
 
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