The Town of Southmount (With Blue)

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Tiger watched carefully as the demoness turned her head, scanning the room for something. He did not dare to reveal himself, for fear that she'll call him up - no one will recognize him, of course, which meant his cover will be blown. Her face revealed nothing, although he could see she was a little angry at something. He made sure not to stay in one spot, moving along the back of the bar but keeping his eye on her. At the same time he studied the other demons in the room, all of them were unique, there were some who were smaller than him - he was grateful they tended not to look up - and some who towered over him. He saw some that looked like the Dragonians back home, some that seemed to have two heads. The chattering in the bar was loud, and it hurt his ears but at least he was getting some sort of information.

She left her seat, maybe she was going home. She stopped to talk to one of the Dragonian-looking demons before heading towards the door. Silently he followed her, opening the door a crack but making sure he couldn't been seen. It was raining again, as expected, she didn't have an umbrella. From her expression he could tell she didn't like the wetness, which he found strange. Rain was a giver of life, and plus - free shower! He heard another voice, a man's voice.

"Oh yeah, you sure know how to get them rallied up. Although I'm quite insulted I wasn't invited to join your little tyrant-hunting crew."

Was he another one of her allies? She seemed to have a lot, that was a good thing and a bad thing at the same time, more allies meant a higher percentage of having a bug amongst her group. Could this demon or man be trusted? For the sake of Isabella, he hoped so. After a while, though, he relaxed considerably, they were sharing cigarettes. His nose scrunched at the thought, smoking? Gross. As they talked, he noticed the way and attitude she was using when talking about Syces. It was full of hatred, no respect for him at all. He could tell the personal grudge for him was something important, something terrible must have happened between them. But what? And why? But at the same time he sensed some sort of closeness to Syces. Like they were past friends. He sighed as he tried to comprehend this new information, now her voice had a touch of sadness into it, her mask was falling off.

They stopped talking, Tiger backed away from the door, maybe they were going to come in? His ears twitched as the sound of the demoness' boots walking away hit his ears. He snuck out, the man was gone to his relief, and he followed Isabella silently. If she, by any chance, walked past roads connecting to the main square, Tiger decided to take that opportunity to go home, have a bath and satisfy his growling stomach.
 
Isabella trailed her fingers through her hair as she walked, partly to smooth it out and partly for a calming notion. She did not turn around once, instead steady boots clacked on the roads at a somewhat sassy pace but that was just the way the demoness walked. She should have known better then try to mix work at hand with her personal life, personal emotions and feelings. Travis was one of six on the inside she had known for years, but he was far from a friend and she saw that now. Six... it used to be seven and nine before that but now only six -how many would be left at the end of all this? How many close friends? Do you even have any real friends? Well, there was Ambriel but she just wasn't the same. The human didn't understand half of what went on in Isabellas mind, she could never quite relate the same way a demon could and now without Ramiral or Zan Isabella felt more alone then ever.

Deep breaths. You cry here and your going to get picked off. The thought made her twitch a smile and she managed to place on the mask once again after a few deep breaths. Still walking, she did not turn around to speak but with her words it was clear Isabella knew Tiger was there somehow. "Are you following me intentionally? I don't recall your home-stay being in this direction."
 
Tiger stopped in his tracks and clenched his fist. Caught again. He stood up taller to raise confidence and thought about his answer before replying. "No, I just wanted to see the city. You just happened to take the same path as me." Hopefully she wouldn't ask questions like 'I thought you knew about the mapping of the city' or even worse, 'Tell me the truth, why are you following me?' He would have no answers to those questions, he regretted not going home earlier. He tried to change the topic. "You were great in there, your words were so confident and sure," he complimented. The best situation right now was for her to ignore him and continue walking, now would be a good time to turn around and go back the Southmount Hotel, the worse...he didn't even want to think about it. He didn't want to fight her, if it wasn't for him being a demon hunter she could have been an ally against Syces. The personal grudge she had for him was very interesting - what could someone do that could make someone close turn their back on you? Hate you? Hate you to the point where they are obsessed with killing you? He shook his head, these demon affairs were far too complex for him.
 
"...words were so confident and sure," Isabella twitched a smile, she had noticed the change of subject but didn't inquire on it instead letting it slip. "Yeah?" She stopped walking now, but still didn't turn to face Tiger. The streets were so quiet despite light rain, he would be able to hear every word. "Its too bad they were bullshit, eh? You are..." The demoness tilted her head in thought looking forward for a moment towards the empty dim-lit streets before tiling it back letting the rain pepper her face. It was odd. "Not who you say you are, I know that much." There was no point in hiding it any longer, she still didn't know who this demon was but knew he was not who she had formally thought. The nervousness, direction take, his odd actions all lead up to lies and Isabella hadn't gotten to the high position she was in without having a sharp mind. She was no fool, and his nervousness said Tiger probably knew that.

But then again, she also didn't think he was dangerous or a threat. Sure, the stranger was interesting but not enough to be worried about. She turned finally now to face him, with something of a half-smile completely soaked from the rain. It looked a bit funny, making her hair lye flat and wings slick beading off rain to drip down the bottom. Her expression, other then the slight smile was unreadable, hidden and masked in her eyes. "But I don't care." As if to prove, the demoness gave a slight shrug. "Were all here for the same thing right, lead by example? Just don't stir up any trouble and we'll get along just fine." She turned again slowly without another word and proceeded walking home.
 
Bullshit? Were you lying to your own partners? Tiger's heart lurched. "You knew all along but did nothing about it? How strange," he muttered to himself. He had not looked forward to a fight, but moved his feet slightly into a defensive stance, only to stop when she said she didn't care. What? He looked at her face, trying to get something out of it. Was she trying to catch him off guard and then strike him down? Were there demons behind them that were prepared to pounce at her signal? He looked behind him to check, there was no one on the street but them, surrounded in the rain.

"We're all here for the same thing right, lead by example? Just don't stir up any trouble and we'll get along just fine."

He was confused, was she letting him go? He dropped the defensive stance. No, he wasn't there to take the throne, he was here to kill Syces - and possibly her. He wanted to grab her and shake her up and down. She wasn't a necessarily bad demon. She probably had her own justifiable reasons for wanting to usurp the throne. But in the back of his mind Tiger knew she was going to get in the way on his mission to kill Syces. That would mean he would have to kill her too. He didn't want to do that, she was a great ruler among demons, a far better example than the current leader.

Turning around, he headed home, letting the rain soak into his clothes as he transformed back. He was tired, all of his energy used up. He wanted to transform into a tiger, his animalistic form to regenerate faster - but didn't dare. That vulnerable form was too dangerous, he would have to recover as a human. The process would be slower, but at least he will be able to defend himself.
 
Isabella walked home silent in the rain to find Ambriel asleep on the couch. Of course, the human had probably tried to stay awake in hopes of greeting her when returned but had passed out. It was disgustingly adorable. "Stupid thing," Isabella mumbled picking the light girl up to carry her, not to her bed but to Isabellas bed instead which was untidy, Ambriel usually ended up crawling in there anyway during the night, if it wasn't from lack of a warm enough blanket it was a bad dream, or a spider in the room, or some other made-up excuse to snuggle up to the demoness in her most valuable state -the only state she would allow such affectionate contact. Once Ambriel was tucked in thick blankets she retreated to the bathroom for a second shower of the day.

An icy temperature this time, it was nice to feel cold water peppering her back so different from rain which stunk of pollution and dirt. This was crystal clear, running across her skin as Isabella drew her knees in to sit up semi-curled against the cool tile in thought. What did she have to do tomorrow? It was tugging uncomfortably at her mind, something wasn't quite right but she couldn't pinpoint it until the demoness realised there was nothing on the schedule for tomorrow. All plans would take place the day after that, plans tbat her quiet mind would not skim over at the moment in a relaxing cold shower but for tomorrow... it was something of a day off. How strange. When was the last time she had had one of those? Maybe she would go out and do something with Ambriel, something... fun. Non-murderous, take over the town, slay the demon tyrant related. Wouldn't that be an odd change...

It was a long time before Isabella left the shower, by then her whole body was shaking from such a low temperature and the habit itself was clearly unhealthy but it was something she needed. Catching her reflection in the mirror, Isabella stared at herself for a good fifteen minuets with a set scowl on her face before leaving the bathroom and crawling into bed. By then she had forgotten about Ambriel sharing said bed, so the little human was quite a surprise at first before Isabella gave a grumble and slipped her arms around the friend; she pushed her face into the long smooth hair and convinced herself this cuddling was from pure need to leech the warmth out and not from her own loneliness.
 
Tiger barely made it to his room before he crashed onto the comfortable mattress, groaning as both his magical and physically energy slowly depleted. He was all sweaty and grimy, but he was too tired to get up and go to the bathroom. He felt incredibly lonely. So lonely that it hurt. Hauling himself off the floor, he pulled out the floorboards and painfully dragged out the chest nested in the earth. Grabbing a small key he unlock a small to medium sized compartment at the bottom of the chest, pulling out a thin blanket. Although it meant nothing to him, it came from home. It smelt like home, and her. He lifted it to his nose and sniffed, savouring the happy and good memories that flooded his brain, washing out the past worries and his fears of Southmount and Syces.

Now slightly motivated from these thoughts, he folded the blanket neatly at the head of the bed, dragging himself to the bathroom and prepared a warm bath. He went downstairs and gave the waitress his food order, a platter of sandwiches, before heading back upstairs.

He sat there for hours, licking wounds and sore muscles - like a cat would lick its fur. He rubbed at his dirty skin to wash it out and tried to relax. After he was satisfied with how clean he was, he got up, dried and clothed himself. He ate his dinner, or midnight snack, with relish. Tiger climbed onto his bed and curled up with his blanket, keeping it close to his nose, masking out the demonic scent of Southmount. He closed his eyes, and tried to clear his mind of dark thoughts as he drifted off to sleep.
 
Isabella woke to a small human curled up pressed against her which brought confusion for a moment and then despite the cuddles of last night she rejected the closeness now getting up to sit on the edge of the bed. Sunlight peeked in through the window lightly informing her that the rain had passed to bring much-loved warm golden beams of light for today. It did nothing to brighten her mood. Crap... what a night, the mental exhaustion from the last few days almost felt like physical and she had enough of that as it was. What was there to do today again? Of course, that was the first thing on the over-worked demons mind was wondering what was on the list, who needed to be smited, what places needed to be burned to the ground, the usual. Isabella scrunched her hand up in her hair, trying to remember because there must have been something and she was caught in the same mental set as last night -confused until remembering today was a day off.

Ambriel was on the same track, waking up just as Isabella was finishing getting dressed. She stretched with a yawn rubbing her eyes as a small sweet innocent smile spread. It made Isabellas stomach flop. How can something even be that innocent? "So what's the plan for today?" The demoness paused for a moment before answering, she already knew what the reaction of her human would be before even speaking. "Actually, I was thinking we could just have a nice day off today. Go for a walk, get some lunch, no business talk or worrying about other demons." She offered a small smile with the words but it was nothing like the expression of pure glee Ambriel held as her whole face lit up like a child on Christmas. Why couldn't her own happiness lighten the demons spirit as well, somehow it just didn't connect the same way as only demon ever had. "Great! I'll go get my coat!"

"You might want to get dressed first!"

***


"Honestly, I'm telling you its a good book. You should give it a go." Isabella scrunched up her face in clear disgust at the suggestion. She only liked fantasy books, Ambriel had been speaking of this science non-fiction but she was not even the slightest intrigued. "If it doesn't have dragons and epic battle scenes in it, its a no-go for me." She teased lightly, bringing a laugh from her human companion. They sat at the outside table of what used to be a little human-run cafee, now turned into a demon grounds where the humans had been alloud to keep there business going. Although, they mostly just served demons out of fear and could be picked off any day -they weren't exactly under any sort of protection. Still, this little place was nice while it lasted and the two had been chatting non-stop for at least an hour in the warm weather, allowing Isabella to release her mind from stressful previous days.
 
Tiger woke up at around ten in the morning, rubbing his eyes as he looked out the window, sighing. Another new day, another day of work. Since there was no one to stop him, he snuggled deeper into his blankets, trying to preserve body warmth, the rain was gone but the cold it brought along with it still lingered in his room. After a few minutes he sat back up, unable to sleep. He looked down and noticed how messy his shirt was, all crumpled and wrinkled, then he noticed how messy his bed was! He had been tossing and turning all night, waking up in erratic times. His night was almost full of nightmares about torture from demons and the sort, and more than a few times he had crawled out of bed and curled up in a corner, allowing the cold to snap him awake and dry his sweat.

He got up and washed his face, noticing the bags under his eyes. He dismissed them and started to brush his teeth, folding his special blanket into a perfect square and placing it back where it belonged, pushing the chest into the floor and covering it with the floorboards again. As he was getting dressed, he noticed how damp his coat was and grunted as he pulled the chest back out again, finding another coat to use. He was satisfied with a greyish-white one he had found near the bottom of the chest and returned it to the ground. He pocketed his trusty pistols and the map and walked out of the hotel, a piece of toast clamped in his mouth.

Today was a sunny day, good weather that contrasted the grimness of Southmount. Not bothering to pull up his hood he walked around the shops, trying to guess which ones were run by demons and which ones were the exclusive human ones. The demons made the shops very human like, from the outside it was very hard to tell who owned the place, Tiger was tempted to walk into a weapon's shop and admire the firearms on the display window but decided against it, today he was actually going to try not to get into a fight. A lot of humans, or demons disguised as humans, were walking around. Thankfully, none of them gave him a second look, they bustled about, some heading towards cafes, some into the library. A tall man entered the weapon's shop he walked past earlier and emerged later with a crudely wrapped axe. Definitely a demon, he thought to himself.
 
"Isabella, don't look now but there's a hunter on the prowl." Isabella glanced up over Ambriels shoulder after she spoke, dispute being told not to and immediately noticed the human; standing out with his white hair and bright blue eyes like a shiny penny in a bin of rust. Without his demonic disguise, he was the hunter once more. She hadn't seen him since that bloody brawl, but it was clear he was healing a great deal worse and slower then she had from their little scuffle -even the dark bags under his eyes were amusing. "I said don't look!" "Hush, your being too loud. Just ignore him, there's no way he will start something in the middle of a crowded place like this." Isabella herself didn't look to worried, in fact she looked slightly amused and this little potential threat couldn't bring down her mood.

"Maybe we should fuck with him. Toss something at his head and see if we can hit it from here -have any coins?" The demoness grinned, leaning back to run her fingers through her long ginger hair -it reflected strands of red and gold in the rare warm sunlight. With a full disguise on like most of the demons out here to another human she didn't appear dangerous at all. Perhaps it was this factor that made her catch the eye of two of the -obviously- human men sitting at a table not far away. They had been chatting until now very quietly -as most humans did in this town, their tone always hushed in fear- but the movement of Isabella leaning back to stretch caught their attention. Of course, to most humans there was a small sense they usually ignored when in the presence of a demon -it gave off a danger warning that some found appealing. These men clearly did. The demoness noticed and smirked, giving a wink.

"What's gotten into you Isabella?" Ambriel turned scarlet at her friends flirtatious behaviour and remained that way until Isabella returned her attention, forgetting about the human males. "Hey, its my day off let me have fun." "How many of those have you had?" She raised an eyebrow at the question looking to the half-empty glass which was clearly an alcoholic beverage of some sort -causing her to roll her eyes. "Please. I don't get tipsy. Now find a coin or something, I want to see how good my aim is." Her amber-brown eyes went back to Tiger as he walked along.
 
Tiger moved along the street, studying each shop carefully and making notes on his map. For a demon infested town, the businesses ran rather smoothly. If the demons sided with Isabella didn't know about his trademark hair and eyes, he would have went shopping. Tiger assumed the demons sided with Syces would know about his existence as well. He could go and fetch a cloak but entering a cafe or any sort of building would be suspicious, and he could get kicked out for being shady.

He realised he was pretty dehydrated, he found himself swallowing multiple times. He couldn't be bothered walking back to his hotel which wasn't to his liking anyway. He walked to the nearest cafe -which also happened to be the one opposite Isabella - ducked inside and ordered a cup of coffee. He sat outside on the metal chairs and waited impaitently for his drink, tapping his foot against the ground and looking over his map again.

When the waitress came out with his cup of coffee, he accepted it with thanks and studied her. Was she a demoness? The denomination in Southmount for quite good at their transformation, Tiger will acknowledge that. Or maybe he just couldn't see the signs, he wasn't good at it. That was his friend's forte. Shame that she was back home, he wouldn't mind some company.
 
"I think he's trying to read a map." Isabella snorted lightly, amused by the idea of a demon hunter wondering around with a map under his nose. In truth, the early morning alcohol might have had just the tiniest effect on her mind but not much. Certainly not enough to cause any trouble, in her opinion. She wondered if he thought it was safe for him right now, in the light of day -maybe the hunter was unaware that his cover was blown. In fact, although he clearly did not know for the ease his expression carried; Tiger had quite a few eyes trailed on him at the moment including the light grey ones of his lovely demon waitress.

Of course, little to no harm would befall him on Isabellas orders to 'leave the hunter be for now'. The last thing she needed was all the demons in the town getting distracted by his pretty blue eyes while they were supposed to have theirs on the watch for more important things. Still, did that mean she couldn't have a little fun on her day off? Definitely not.

Pulling a dime out of her pocket the demoness winked to her girlfriend before giving it a toss. Her aim was spot on, as to be expected and the tiny silver thing bounced off the back of her targets white-haired head beautifully. Ambriel instantly turned twice the previous shade of red; hiding her face and turning away while Isabella laughed loudly and brightly so hard she was almost to the point of tears. "Did you see that?! It just- it was so perfect- Ping!"
 
Half the coffee was gone because he was downing it at a rapid speed. He didn't normally drink coffee, but he knew it would keep him awake and energised. He felt like relaxing in this cafe, but he knew there were eyes all around him. According to that meeting, he knew the demons were told to keep watch on him but not harm him because he wasn't that big of a 'threat. His face tensed up, the cafe had a very human feel, but something was definitely off. But what was it? He couldn't pinpoint it. He turned around to take one last look at the waitress who served him - at eye contact she immediately ducked back inside the building. He sighed, suspicious but he dismissed it.

A soft growl escaped his throat when something small hit the back of his head. He turned around and blinked at the small dime. What on earth? Bending down to pick it up, he examined it. Just a normal dime. He looked up to see who the perpetrator was. His eyes immediately locked onto a young girl sitting opposite him from another cafe. She looked very familiar, so much that it bothered him. She was sitting with another girl, who looked younger. Shaking his head, he looked down again to examine his map - dismissing the girl's actions as entertainment.
 
Isabella flashed the hunter a wink because she knew he wouldn't recognise her like this. Ambriel looked embarrassed to the point of hiding her face in her sleeves muttering something about how 'demons just love to get into trouble' but she simply couldn't bring down the demonesses mood. In fact, Isabella was having a grand time with this hunter and wanted to keep going, keep messing with him; it was the perfect way to spend a day off. She pushed back from her chair witch gave a loud screech causing her friend to look up in shock. "Where are you going?!"

"Stay here think out friend needs some help." She gave a most mischievous grin to Ambriel before heading right over to Tiger and leaning over his shoulder. "Hmm... A map, are you lost stranger?" Her voice carrying an amused tip, it was no doubt recognisable and she knew it very well. Would he make a scene? Of course not, not with all the demons around to rip him apart as soon as he tried. She was also aware of this. "Being lost in Southmount is not a good thing to be, especially when night comes."
 
Tiger looked behind just in time to see the demoness' wink. Confused by her behavior he looked away with an embarrassed look on his face and coughed. Tilting his head slightly back and peeking from the corner of his eye he saw the her companion bury her face into her sleeves. "Is this normal behavior for girls?" he said to himself. He looked down again and examined the map, at the sound of metal chairs scraping the ground his ears twitched painfully. "Horrible sound," he muttered inaudibly. The voice of the young girl trailed after the woman as she left her seat, "Where are you going?!

Tiger looked up at the shadow cast over his map and blinked at her with a blank face. When she questioned his map, he cast his eyes away and replied, "No. Just trying to get used to the layout of the city." His face screwed up as he tried to pinpoint where he had heard the lady's voice before. Realisation dawned upon him as he looked closely at her as if he wanted to confirm his thoughts. He waited for her aroma to hit his nose, and when it did, he recognised the smell he had followed the night before - underneath a mask of some different smell. He growled at her softly, "I can find my way around, you don't need to sound so concerned for me, demoness." He hissed the last word, making sure it was low enough so only she could hear it.
 
Isabella smirked as the hunter responded, she could practically see him clicking away trying to figure out why the alarm bells were ringing off in his head. Her scent, sharp like spices. Her tone, liquid smooth with a hint of danger. It should have all spiked in his mind enough to realise she was a demon, and then maybe even more so to realise she was the demon from a few nights before. The one he had attacked.

Ahh, there it was. He finally caught on, and Isabella returned the growl with a sharp smile and her lip drawn back. "Tsk tsk, don't go making a scene now you wouldn't want to upset the community." Her eyes trailed up to one of the large men sitting across from them sipping his own drink, and then back to the hunters map. An elbow suddenly rested on his shoulder as she leaned in closer to the map with a smirk. "You know this is wrong, right?" Her tone was smooth and amused as Isabella tapped a few places on the map. "These buildings aren't even there any more, burned down."
 
He ignored her growl and warning, looking away as he reached for his coffee and taking a sip before placing it back on the table. He flinched at the sudden weight and contact on his shoulder and with his knuckles he gently but firmly pushed at the demoness' elbow in an attempt to get it off his shoulder, "I would appreciate it if you don't touch me," he said softly. Looking up at her face again he tried to look for some sort of reason why she would even bother talking to him. When she leaned in, he gulped nervously. Too close. He took note of the places the demoness pointed at just in case she was right, but he narrowed his eyes and glared at her, "And why are you telling me this?" Clearing his throat, he continued, "Could you...uh, you're too close."
 
Too close? Oh, those were definitely not clever words on his part. Isabella grinned before leaning down more, not moving her elbow despite his clear distress and moved quickly until her cheek was almost brushing with his own. "Hmm... I don't care." Her eyes stayed on the map but there was definitely a glimmer of amusement in them at his uncomfortable nature. This was great, messing with him was definitely making her day and she felt like she was good to go back to work already after such a break. But not quite yet.

"I'm over here to tell you to leave the town." She said still in a light tone although the subject had gone serious. "I have enough to worry about without some ninny hunter prancing around town, if you know what's best for you you'll high-tail it out of here before sundown."
 
Tiger's face went pink the closer she leaned in. His palms started to get sweaty but he stayed still, even when he swore her cheeks met his. "Get off!" he snarled, staying motionlessly still. He was thinking about reaching for the pistols nestled inside his coat pocket but decided against it. Though he wouldn't admit it, Tiger knew the demoness was right, if he made a scene here he would never leave the street in once piece. He rolled his eyes at her statement, "I expected you to say that," he mumbled.

He leapt out of his seat and touched the cheek she had almost touched, his face becoming a darker shade of pink by the second. He glared at her, "Leave the town? Sorry, ma'am. I need to finish this job," he said in a serious tone. He puffed out his chest, "I need the reward."
 
Isabella was absolutely in humorous bliss, and it was clear from her expression that she loved making the poor guy uncomfortable. However she did give him slightly more space -although probably not even near as much as Tiger wanted- returning his glare with a small but dangerous smile. She wasn't intimidated by his aggressive puff; quite reminding her of a cat that might fluff itself up in the presence of danger to appear bigger. It was all just fluff the same.

"You won't need that reward if your dead. I have them off your tail now because I don't want my friends getting distracted from what they're supposed to be doing by going hunting..." She paused for a moment, considering her words before speaking them in a smooth flow without a hint of dishonesty within there content. "But tomorrow I'll let them know you're free range for anyone who feels it might be fun to toy around with your pretty pistols after collecting them from your lifeless hands." In case he didn't get the drift, she added quite plainly one more statement. "Tomorrow your not going to be untouchable any more upon my word kitten, so I wouldn't get to comfortable if I were you."

Leaning forward once again her arm brushed his as Isabella tapped a small place on the map with one delicate finger -the building he was currently staying at. "But then again," The demoness straitened up and ran her fingers through her hair with another smile. "Its up to you. Maybe you would rather become a meal then go home without the reward -if the mayor even has that much money at this point. Unfortunately I have more interesting business to attend to, so I'll catch you later." The demoness turned to return to her friend, wondering if she had scared him off or simply prompted the man more. Oh well. Either way she had had fun.
 
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