[RP] Desire

The creature lurking on the wall clenched its claws. Wounds healed, hmm? Well, he would take the greatest delight in ripping them back open. After all, even the most minuscule of wounds could be easily desecrated by his claws.

Digging his feet into the wall for momentum, the lithe creature leaped from the wall with great speed, its camouflage broken by the sudden movement as it soared through the air from its palm claws outstretched. A guttural hiss escaped his maw, scarlet eyes locked firmly on the one the other had called "Miss Nina."

Descending from his leap, he sliced his claws at the torso of the woman, expecting to hear the wonderful sound of flesh parting and blood spilling.
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The woman smiled at Nikolas. "That's right. You can only rely on your strength now, can't you? That is the way to survive this. There is nothing but you and your World Serpent now."

Only half listening to Robert's answer, she smiled widely, falsely. "How interesting," she said, before turning away, back to Nikolas. "Here." She took out a card and stretched out a hand for Nikolas to take. "This is my business card. I'd be delighted if you would take it."
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As the doors were swung open, four dark figures could be seen lurking in the shadows of the cathedral. Women, their skin as black as their hair, falling to their elbows, almost fully obscuring their pale lips and frighteningly blue eyes. Black claws, gnarled, twisted and petrified, made their presence even more
intimidating.

Eyes open as a shrill shriek escaped their mouths, they lunged at Artemis with claws slcing the air.
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Thoma

"Who's there?" A dark skinned woman emerged from the shadows of the wrecked kitchen. A few cuts on her arms and legs, bloodless, shallow. Nothing too serious, and she didn't even seem to notice them.

The blood covering her uniform was not her own.

She stepped out in a shambling, hypnotic walk, as though she wasn't sure what she was doing, not even in control of her own body. She looked tired, unbelievably tired, and likely to collapse at any minute. "Who's there?" she repeated, her voice hoarse and raspy this time.
 
As Lucia picked up a large candle holder, she saw the doors swing open, and four dark, frightening female demons entered, jumping around the church walls and lunging at Artemis. Artemis managed to aim her bow and shoot one of the demons in the eye, but even then she was overwhelmed by the remaining three.

"GET YOUR CLAWS OFF OF HER!!!" Lucia yelled as she ran towards the demon, swinging her makeshift weapon at one of the demons and getting her off of Artemis, this freed up her hand and allowed Lucia's Demon to find the strength to push the other two away from her. Artemis quickly jumped to her feet, but she was disarmed, not having the bow and arrows with her.

"Get behind me" Artemis said as she waved her hands, creating a green glow of energy in her hand. With magical energy in both hands, she clapped her hands outwards, creating a wave of wind that created a strong gust of wind, blowing back the Demons, some were blown out of the windows, others blown out of the doors.

But the only one actually feeling it was Lucia who after the gusts subsided, collapsed to the ground, exhausted over what happened. "It appears you lack the sufficient strength to continue..." Artemis said as she grabbed hold of her host and began to carry her over to the back of the church.
 
Alyss was about to take off running upstairs until she remembered that her knee was still in pain. While she was very excited, and happy to receive a “gift” of sorts from Nina, it wasn’t enough to cover her knee pains for long. Turning back to see if Nina had begun following her yet, she noticed something that shouldn’t have been there on the wall. It was almost as if something was moving on it, but couldn’t be seen normally. However, once it moved, Alyss was able to see it as it leapt from the wall towards Nina. Its body was slender… too slender; too thin to be anything human. Looking over it, she also noticed claws, and they were aimed straight towards Nina.

She didn’t know what came over her as Alyss dived towards Nina to push her out of the way. “No,” Alyss shouted as her body collided with Nina’s and they both fell to the ground, Alyss’ knee smacked against the ground and she let out a small yelp of pain. Her head fell upon Nina’s chest as her face changed color from pale white to bright red in just a few short seconds. “S-sorry,” Alyss muttered as she rolled off of Nina and turned on the ground to face what had just attacked her.

Quickly, Moh, get out here! Alyss thought. Her thoughts weren’t commanding as much as they were panicked. I can’t, Alyss… You’re still banged up and you’re still weak. If I come out now… it could kill you. That was not the news that Alyss wanted. She didn’t want to be useless again. Please, just come out anyway, please? She already knew the answer to that question as Moh answered. Nope, if I lose you, I lose myself and I go back home. It’s not happening, fix it yourself.

Alyss looked up at the monster that had just attacked Nina. It wasn’t like Moh or Lilura… it was hideous. Why were things getting worse? Hadn’t she had been through enough? “Miss Nina… I cannot summon Moh. Please, you must do something,” said Alyss, whom had started berating herself in her head for once again being useless.
 
“They are…” Alyss had started to say. “They are fine! Thank you, Miss Nina.They really are fantastic, thank you so much.”

Nina gave a side smile has she watched Alyss get up from the bed. The pink didn't exactly look right with her complexion, but she would need them more than Nina did. “I am ready now.”

It was surprising to see that Alyss was getting a bit of an head start on leaving the room. She had just had her knee busted, and it wasn't long enough for it to heal completely. The girl must have realized that as she halted in her tracks near the entrance. Just as Nina was about to follow behind, her hand had slightly brushed against her leg, and she felt heat through the denim of her jeans. At first, she thought it was just soreness from getting hurt everywhere from what had happened earlier, but she felt an odd pattern with the heat against her hand. Her thigh would heat up, then it felt normal, but then it would burn once more. Nina, did you forget how I get your attention!? Look behind you!

Lilura's message went right through her head all the while Alyss turned around and was looking at something other than Nina. An expression of horror was on her face as Nina frowned and instantly turned around to face what appeared to be the main attraction in her room. All she saw was a claw, and the face of something completely inhumane before she was suddenly tackled to the floor before the talons could slash at her. She landed on the floor with a thud as Alyss fell on top of her. Nina grunted just a little bit due to the slight impact she felt from hitting the floor, but she had felt worse.

“S-sorry,” Alyss managed to mutter with her face buried in Nina's chest. She rolled off, and Nina sat on her knees as both of them looked forward to see what they would probably face off with. Why didn't you just come out instead of warning me on short notice?! She thought. Lilura sneered from where she watched the situation go down.

You should be grateful I warned you at all. After all, that shock collar must have been cheap if it broke already.

Nina wasn't sure what Lilura was talking about, but then she remembered the accessory that was given to Alyss by Moh. It hadn't shocked the redhead, and clearly Lilura was just being sarcastic about what she said. Moh hadn't given out any warning before the attack on the two of them.

“Miss Nina… I cannot summon Moh. Please, you must do something,” Alyss said, fright clear in her tone. Well, are you going to summon me or not? It will cost you.

Cost me?Nina thought, clearly confused, but then she shook it off. Probably just another mind trick. Just get rid of that thing! Nina's sight never left the fiend. Blood red eyes glared at both of the girls, looking very much hungry for the liquid that matched them. It had aimed for Nina seconds ago, and if Alyss hadn't tackled her to the ground, she would have an even bigger wound to worry about.

As you wish. Lilura simply replied, sounding a little bit more content than she did before. The heat immediately faded from Nina's leg, and the entire bedroom dimmed in light; including the bathroom. Somehow, when Nina had a feeling that Lilura was in the room but at the same time not visible, she suddenly felt drained - very drained at that. She found herself putting her hands out on the floor in front of her to hold her position, as supporting herself was very hard to do.
"W-What is this!?" She managed to breathe out.

"I told you..." A distorted voice in the air began. Clearly it was Lilura, camouflaged from the naked eye. "That bringing our kind into the open was going to cost you."

Out of nowhere, belongings in the room from both sides of the girls had suddenly burst loudly out in front of them, as if they were making a barrier. Several other things had began to get blown out of their spots from all directions, as if to make her presence known to the unknown demon, but even with protection, Nina was ducking beneath the bed, bringing Alyss down with her with her arm, so that they wouldn't get hit by anything.

"A master who summons an unknown life form from a different dimension is capable of ridding the life of him or her during the process. It was one of the things that kept us apart, until now."
Lilura had left that part out when the four of them were together earlier. But from the sound of her tone, it sounded like she wasn't talking to just Nina. After a moment of mental contemplating, Nina suddenly knew that the serpent woman was talking to the trespassing demon as well. It's so called 'master' was whoever let it and all the other unwelcome demons out of their prison. Lilura spoke once again, as if she was confirming her theory, but that wasn't the only thing Nina heard. What sounded like animal shrieking was heard not too far from where she and Alyss crouched, and it didn't sound at all pleasant.

Since there wasn't anything else shifting violently out of their spots, Nina looked up to see what was happening. Unfortunately, it was unclear due to how dim the room had gotten, but she saw the same glint of the red eyes of her attacker, and the sharp green reptile ones of her demon, which were slightly squinted as they glared at the other demon. Nina could only guess that it was in a terrible bind.

"Whoever released you will pay the price for releasing you and all the others. You do notbelong here. This is going to cost you too, unfortunately."

Nina wasn't sure what was happening now, and shockingly enough didn't want to. She only shut her eyes as the fiend screamed even more as bone cracking was heard for several more seconds. After waiting for nearly a minute for it all to end, everything went quiet, and Nina opened her eyes to look at her surroundings. Her room looked even more trashed, but it was clear the demon was gone. Sighing in relief, Nina straightened herself from her earlier position besides still feeling light headed. "Thanks, Lilura." She said quietly. Right after that, she glanced at Alyss, to see how she reacted to the whole situation. "Are you alright?"
 
Alyss was trembling even as things slowly started calming down. Nina had pulled her to the ground earlier as things started moving around the room. Soon after she did that, Alyss had placed her hands over her ears and simply looked at the ground. She could clearly see her red hair in front of her face the entire time. Even with her ears covered, she could still hear those awful sounds the demons made while fighting. Needless to say, she was terrified. Barely able to speak, Alyss answered Nina to let her know she was fine. Her voice was rather meek as she spoke. “Y-yes… thank you, Miss Nina.”

However, she was still far too afraid to look up from the ground just yet. “Is- is it gone?” Alyss asked. Meanwhile, Moh started speaking to Alyss again. Just so you know, dear Alyss… The lack of warning on my part is your fault as well. Alyss wasn’t sure what she meant by that... but the mocking tone in Moh’s voice told Alyss volumes. My ability to sense other demons, and to shock you, are both based on how much energy you have. You have very little, meaning that I couldn’t sense that thing. If only you weren’t so weak, I could have given you warning.

Moh obviously wasn’t done just yet. So, don’t blame me for your weakness. Like I said, you’re a leech, both to me and Nina. You had better find something you’re good at… she’s not going to put up with you for very long. Alyss started tearing up again… it was all getting to be far too much for her. You can’t fight, you don’t have much energy for me to use, the computers are fried so you’re useless there as well, and to top it all off, you can’t even bandage a wound correctly. Tell me, is there anything you can do?

While we’re at it, you’ve been beaten, kidnapped, knocked out, wounded by me, and ended up useless while you let poor Nina and Lilura do your dirty work. You’re pathetic.

Every word stung Alyss in the heart. She wanted to get stronger… but how could she? When it came to strength, Alyss was at the bottom of the barrel and she couldn’t see the stars. She got up from the ground and sat on the floor leaning onto the bed. Withdrawing her legs into her, she hugged them as she started wiping her eyes on the knees of her pants. “I am so sorry, Miss Nina...” Alyss said. “You are better off simply leaving me here, I cannot do anything.” With every word Alyss’ voice broke more and more. She just wanted to go to sleep… This was all too much to bear. Her face in her knees, her light crying turned into soft sobs. If she didn’t now, Alyss was sure that Nina would ditch her first chance she got.
 
“Y-yes… thank you, Miss Nina.”

Still looking over at Alyss, she was still crouched down to where her head was facing the floor, all while her hands were covering her ears. “Is- is it gone?” She then said, her voice still sounding panicked. Seconds passed and the room was still somewhat dark, but lighter than it was during the attack. Lilura stared down at the remnants of the lesser demon that had attacked Nina and Alyss: a black and and dark blue stain that spread from the middle of the floor to the wall. Bringing a long nail down against the wall so that some of the stain would rub on her fingers, she nearly scoffed at what she discovered.

"They shame the rest of us." Lilura said, almost as if she was talking to herself. There was a longing expression on her face as she stared at the blood on her hands. The fiend clearly wasn't a threat to her, and had done well with protecting the two girls on her own. What had happened with Moh, Nina wasn't entirely sure herself, but the situation was over now. The serpent woman's gaze slowly shifted over to Alyss, as if she was just now hearing her question. "It is dead, but if we stay here, more will track your scent and find their way here as well," Rubbing two slender fingers together, the blood stain had vanished. "It's best that we don't linger in this house for too long."

For Lilura, that was almost too obvious. All demons had senses that were relative to the humans', only stronger by tenfold. The scent of death and the lesser ones was closer than it was before, so it would be logical to leave the house while they could to find any other survivors that could assist them.

"Then we'll have to search through the attic quickly." Nina then replied. She slowly brought herself up from her knees, due to the fact that she still wasn't feeling very good on her balance. The moment Lilura had been called into her room, it was as if most of the energy was sucked out of her. For now, she would have to be careful with each decision she'd make. Once she was standing on her feet, she turned her head to look back at Alyss, and to her surprise, the girl was learning against the bed with her knees up to her body, with her face hidden. Had the fight frightened her that much?

“I am so sorry, Miss Nina...” She spoke out. Nina blinked for a moment, as it sounded like her voice was breaking. “You are better off simply leaving me here, I cannot do anything.” The words spoken seemed...out of nowhere, but Nina could hear the muffled crying, and it was somewhat like how Alyss got beaten down by her. Back then, she might as well as shown no emotion, seeing that Nina was so furious - all she cared about was doing what she felt needed to be done. This time however, she could clearly see how upset she was, and it was nearly heart wrenching to see.

Nina was about to reply to her remark until Lilura suddenly crossed her view. Seeming to vanish and re-appear from place to place rather than slither most of the time, Lilura was now sitting at eye level with Alyss while the rest of her body was lying encircled around the redhead's figure. In all honesty, she thought that this was somewhat adorable, but if Alyss valued her life, tears weren't going to save it. A hand passed through the red locks as a smiled curled on the woman's face.

"Be calm, dear." She said. The voice hadn't changed, but her tone wasn't threatening. "What you're saying is just a lie. You saved my liege, did you not? I thank you for that."

Folding her arms across her chest, Nina had glanced to the side, a little bit lost in thoughts. "Pretty sure I would have been a goner if it weren't for you two." It was quiet for a brief moment after that. Apparently Moh has nothing to say. She'd probably complain anyway. She thought. She then knelt down to where the other two were, all the while watching the surroundings of her room. "We've only just started getting ready for the worst to come. If you quit now, there will be no guarantee you'll live to the very end. I probably wouldn't." This was probably the worst of times to be going on alone. There may have been people looking for the two right now in the search of civilians who survived the first stage, but they could all be in the central district by now. Pretty soon, reinforcements would be vital.
 
[Cassidy Evans ; Shopping District ; unknown]

Cassidy watched Nero walk away, wondering just what he meant by his strange words to her. After a few minutes of thinking, she shrugged the incident off as a weird encounter with someone who was crazy - not that Nero had acted crazy, though. She continued on with her shopping, flicking through the racks at the speed of light without finding anything that met her approval.

After a while, Cassidy managed to find a nice shirt that met her approval. As she left the dressing room, a scream filled the air and the windows at the front of the store shattered. The ground shook, causing her to lose her footing, and as she fell, her head struck a metal pole meant for hanging clothing. Her last conscious thought was that she hoped she wasn't bleeding on the shirt she had intended to buy.

-----

Dark. It was dark. That's all she noticed at first, the darkness that seemed to close in on her, making the screams and sirens she was starting to hear all that more awful. The second thing she noticed was the throbbing pain in the back of her head, and the more insistant pain in her side. She raised a hand to her head, and then moved it down to her side, gasping and biting her lip when her hand came away sticky.

Crackle. Cassidy turned her head to what she thought was the source of the sound, and was surprised to see... well, she wasn't sure what she was seeing. It looked like a woman with wings, illuminated by a faint glow of electricity. As the woman came closer, Cassidy glanced down at her side. She nearly passed out again as she saw the mess that was there, completed by the sharp silver pole embedded in her skin.

Take a deep breath and calm yourself, girl. Cassidy jumped at the voice in her head, jarring the pole and making her head spin. A look over at the woman did nothing to reassure her, only making her confusion and discomfort worse as the glowing figure came closer. Hold still and I can help you. There it was again, that voice. "W-who are you? Are you the one talking to me?" Cassidy stuttered, staring at her.

Yes, child, I am. I'm going to pull this pole out of your flesh now, brace yourself. Cassidy clenched her teeth, looking up into the darkness of the ceiling as the woman's hand brushed her side. There was a ripping noise as Cassidy's shirt was torn away, giving better access to her injury.

I'll count to three. One. Two. Three. Using the oldest trick in the book, the pole was pulled quickly out of her side at the count of two and cast to the side. The still-glowing woman touched the wound lightly before pushing two fingers gently into the hole left behind. Another gasp escaped Cassidy before she felt a sharp tingling in her side and the woman's fingers were removed. Is that better?

Cassidy looked down at the wound, which was simply an angry red raised patch on her skin now. "Y-y-yes, thank you. Who are you?"

I have many names, my dear. You may call me Lilim. Now, let's get you redressed and cleaned up, shall we? The woman, apparently called Lilim, clapped her hands three times quickly and the lights came back on suddenly, though not at full strength.

"I'm Cassidy... thank you." Cassidy stood up slowly, shaking and scared. She wobbled over to the nearest display, pulling a thin tank top off of the pile and slipping her ruined shirt over her head before changing the rest of her clothing as well. "I don't think it would be wise to stay here... not that it looks much better out there. I'm sure the lights will attract people though. Maybe the wrong types of people, actually..."

(OOC; FINALLY. FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY. Took me ages but I'm caught up.)
 
The praise that both Nina and Lilura had given her caused her to smile as she lifted her head up. She hadn’t thought about that. If Alyss hadn’t of jumped in the way, that… thing would have taken Nina out and then Alyss really would have been in a tight spot. She would have been alone with it, unable to summon her demon. Even if she could summon her demon, there was no guarantee that Moh would even help her. In all reality, Moh would have probably helped it torture her until it decided to kill her. Moh cackled in her mind. You’re so easy to upset, dear Alyss… I think I’ll have more fun in your head than I had with your knee…

Alyss shivered at the thought as she wiped the tears from her eyes. “T-thank you, both of you,” Alyss said meekly. She was happy that they saw some use in her, even if she herself didn’t. As long as they found her useful, Alyss would keep trying to help. As soon as she got some rest, she was going to try and settle things with Moh. Maybe if she put her foot down, Moh would start to respect her. After all, when it came to most people, Alyss was cold, and at times, rude. Yet, with Nina and Lilura, she found herself looking up to them. Perhaps if she treated Moh the say way that Alyss treated newcomers, Moh would treat her with some decency.

No longer hugging her legs, Alyss cleaned off the glasses that Nina gave her. “Very sorry about that… Moh was picking on me,” Alyss frowned. She put back on the glasses and looked up at both Lilura and Nina. “I will not let it happen again.”
 
“T-thank you, both of you,” Nina was at least glad that Alyss wasn't upset anymore, from what she saw at least. She was also glad in regards to safety. If either one of them broke down for some reason, their guard could very much be lowered - probably enough so that they wouldn't be aware of the warnings their assigned demons would give them. It was important that neither Nina or Alyss would let that happen. Lilura noticed that her face was no longer buried in her knees, and half of her body slithered up so that she was party lying on the bed, looking down at her as she rested her chin on her hand.

“Very sorry about that… Moh was picking on me,” Alyss frowned, as did Nina. It was becoming increasingly typical of the smaller demon to be the cause of whatever stress was being put on the girl. “I will not let it happen again.”

See? Just because she's not my host doesn't mean I'll only be heartless to her. Nina heard in her head. She glanced over at Lilura, who only returned the gaze with a coy smile on her face. It was odd how she seemed so relaxed when around the two of them, but when she was around her own kind she was always tense - keeping her guard up even near her companions; not that she and Moh could actually be called friends, but Nina had observed her actions.

"Well, now that the threat is gone, I must be off again. You'll be notified when danger is prowling nearby." The serpent woman had spoke before gradually fading. A slight chuckle was heard before she completely disappeared, leaving the two alone in the room. Despite that she wasn't with them publicly, Nina still had a thought .

This is going to sound out of nowhere, I know. When you touch a human, whether it be skin or hair or clothes, does it feel any different than making contact with a demon? Nina couldn't help but asked. In comparison to Moh and to the lesser demons, Lilura struck Nina as the curious type. Very much, it does. It's a foreign feeling...yet very intriguing.

It was obvious that she wasn't like the demons she would think about as a child, the ones that would detest humans and the thought of ever making contact with one. She had still wondered as to how she was chosen to be Lilura's liege. Still kneeling on the floor, Nina pushed herself up once more, using the edge of the wall as a balance to keep her steady. The sting of summoning a demon seemed to linger longer than an electric shock. "Whenever you're ready, we'd better do a quick scan of the attic."
 
Alyss stood up shortly after Nina did. While her knee still hurt, it wasn’t all that bad anymore. She found that she could walk on it better, but there was still a slight limp in her step. All in all, she wasn’t looking forward to going back up the stairs. What she was looking forward to, however, was the time when she could rest for a bit. That way, she could try to start over with Moh, and have enough energy to be of more help than simply pushing people out of the way.

Even though she was still somewhat upset about Moh’s picking on her, she was doing her best to concentrate on Nina’s and Lilura’s praises. Though, the thing that shocked her most was that Moh actually stopped. Alyss expected Moh to keep going now that she knew she could upset Alyss rather easily. Alyss called out to Moh in her mind… but she didn’t answer. Yet het presence was abundantly clear. It appeared that Moh was simply biding her time; she had no reason to speak to Alyss… yet.

Moh didn’t like the fact that “Miss” Nina and her demon continued getting in her way. She had big plans for Alyss and for herself. How was she supposed to force Alyss to be stronger and to her bidding if they wouldn’t let Moh bring her down a few notches? While she was frustrated, she knew that once Alyss slept she would be able to do things to her in her sleep… Nina or her pet demon wouldn’t be able to do anything about it then…

Looking over at Nina, Alyss forced a smile upon her face. “I am ready, Miss Nina.” Her voice was still soft and rather shaky as she said it. All the while, she couldn’t help be somewhat scared by Moh’s silence…
 
Thoma Leonhardt
Shopping District

Thoma make a quick glance to see one of the waitstaff come stumbling out. She looked like she had just been put through hell, but then again, so did everyone, including himself. Without hesitation, Thoma ran over and wrapped his arms around the brown-skinned woman, working to move her over to the closest chair to sit her down. He then looked over to his demonic companion.

"Lady Lilly, could you kindly get a glass of water for this young lass?" he asked in a calm and sophisticated manner.

The kitsune princess smirked and poked Thoma's nose playfully. "Sure thing, but just remember, you can look at her, but the only one you can touch is me sweetie." she teased him before she headed into the kitchen area to get a glass of water for the young woman who seemed so out of it.

"Are you alright? You look strained with fatigue, not exactly a good thing for your complexion. It detracts from your natural beauty." Thoma spoke in a calming manner, pulling up a seat so that he was sitting himself in front of the young lady. "Can you tell me your name?" he asked. However, he wasn't asking her name to hit on her, not entirely anyways. If she knew her own name, then she wasn't too far gone.
 
Nina's eyes stayed on Alyss as she observed her get up from the floor after she did. It seemed like her knee was healing slowly, but Nina was at least relieved that the girl was functioning a little better than she had before. She was still somewhat peeved that Moh hadn't said anything or shown up to help with the demon intrusion, but the situation was over now, so she would get over it eventually. How long this tragic event would last was still a mystery, and hopefully the two of them wouldn't become malnourished in the long run. At some point, they would be bound to get tired, and Nina wasn't entirely aware of any safe venues they could rest when the time should come.

“I am ready, Miss Nina.” Alyss confirmed. Her tone was still shaken up, possibly from recovering from whatever sick taunting Moh could have been doing in her head, but she sounded calm enough to continue forward. She only gave a nod gesturing for them to start moving out in response before opening the bedroom door to step out. Even though they had passed through the living and dining room on their way from the study, as Nina passed through it now, it felt eerily cold, contrasting to how dark and warm colored the outside looked - it usually hinted that there would be heat, more or less frustrating, but even with the wall damage being done to the home, the change in temperature was almost too obvious.

Walking towards another door behind the kitchen, it looked like the knob was a bit crooked, clearly out of place from the immense destruction that had occurred in the entire house. So much demolition. Nina thought to herself as she only needed to push the door itself for it to open. There were another set of stairs, which were thankfully untouched by the blast, but it would be a longer trip going up them in comparison to the staircase that led to the study. "Watch your step going up, Alyss." She pre-cautioned.

Some of stairs creaked slightly as each step was taken, and Nina took note of some cracks and crevices in the walls that concealed them, yet she could conclude that the stairway was safe enough to support their weight. They were both rather light in frame, so ignoring the injuries and the damage done, it would be easy for both of them to move swiftly or to go across anything that may be prone to breaking underneath.

The stairs led to another door, which Nina could already see moderately large holes and shredding done to them. Pushing through the door, the attic was nearly stripped apart of the roofing and most of the walls. Nina had forgotten to observe the roofing of her condominium when she had awakened outside from unconsciousness, and it looked much worse than the damage done to the lower rooms. Glancing over at one particular wall, she noticed that a massive hole was formed around the left center, the same area where the majority of her guns and collection of swords were.

"Ah, shoot," She said as she walked quickly over to her torn weaponry wall, still glancing around the rest of the attic and how badly it had been hit. "There was an entire assortment of weaponry here before!" It could have been a possibility that a demon - or several demons found there way in here and made the roofing more trashed than it had been by the start of the apocalypse itself. If there were, there weren't any signs of them prowling around or of Lilura's warning. It was at least safe to say that she and Alyss were the only two people in here.

"Wait a minute..." She then said, remembering her case of knives - kitchen knives - being in one of the drawers in the room. Her parents would often collect a useless amount of dining utensils back when she was young, and she had taken a whole case of cutting knives with her when she was kicked out. Seeing that they were still in the cabinet, Nina was suddenly very glad that she made the decision of taking them for herself. Pulling the drawer out, she was relieved to see that they were still packed inside, still looking refurbished - very oddly contrary all the other items of the house. Either way, there was still something the two girls could use for defending themselves. "From the looks of things...this is all that's left that we can use. Choose a knife that you think will do decent damage."
 
Nina nodded and started walking to the bedroom door to open it. They were heading towards the attic where Nina said she had some weapons. Alyss hoped they would be really good ones. She had the feeling that if things kept going the way they were, Moh wouldn’t ever help her out. Being alone while facing those things out there scared her more than anything else.

They passed through the living room and the dining room before; it felt somewhat colder than it did earlier. Alyss let out a slight shiver as she followed closely behind Nina, not wanting to be separated from her for an instant. The way things looked inside, and the way things looked outside contrasted rather darkly. To Alyss, it was all so strange. It was odd, weird, and it most definitely didn’t settle right with her.

As they approached the door to what Alyss assumed was the kitchen, Nina pushed against it and the door easily slipped open. Her assumption on it being the kitchen was correct. It looked as if it was once a rather nice looking kitchen. Of course, with the destruction, it looked like everything else they had come across; broken. They approached a set of stairs that didn’t appear to be damaged. “Watch your step going up, Alyss”, Nina said. While she didn’t exactly need the warning, Alyss was happy to hear it. Hearing a simple caution was as close to normal as she was getting for quite some time.

Alyss walked, or rather limped, up the stairs behind Nina. Noting both her own steps causing the stairs to creak and Nina’s steps ahead, she tried to step on them lighter. If they fell through, more than just Alyss knee would be hurt. Although with every step, Alyss’ knee felt as if it were pulsating, she couldn’t help but stay close behind Nina just in case something happened. With what attacked them earlier, she didn’t want to be five feet away from her.

They had eventually made it to the attic door. However, from the looks of the door, something had gotten there first. Oh no… Alyss thought. Just as with the kitchen door, Nina easily pushed this one open as well. There were holes in the wall, holes in the… no, there wasn’t exactly much of a roof left. Before Alyss could take in much more of the room, Nina shouted. “Ah, shoot. There was an entire assortment of weaponry here before!”

Out of instinct and memories of what she had done earlier, Alyss couldn’t help but flinch. She hoped that Nina didn’t see, but it appeared that she was too busy looking around in a drawer. Nina had said she had an assortment of weaponry… What exactly was she doing for a living? Thought Alyss. Nina pulled out a drawer and took out a few knives. Alyss smiled at the thought of them. It wasn’t much… but it would do. “From the looks of things… this is all that’s left that we can use. Choose a knife that you think will do decent damage.”

Walking forward for a better look, Alyss eyed them all very closely. Before she knew it, she was thinking aloud. “The knife of the far left looks somewhat short… I do not think I should get that one unless I am charging an enemy. Which, in all reality, I am too little to attempt to do…” She placed her finger on her chin as she looked at the rest. “But this one… the one in the middle… it has a sharp reverse edge. That means that I can attack properly with the blade facing any direction. Plus, it is the longest one of the group…”

It was almost as if her training with the katana was taking over. She lifted the knife up and balanced it on her fingers. “It is also very well balanced,” Alyss said. Her face was practically beaming. “It is okay if I take this one, Miss Nina?”
 
As Alyss approached the drawer, Nina skimmed the collection of knives as well, looking through them to see which one would be of good use in the tasks to come in the future. If she wanted to, she could take more than one, but since they were going to be away from the house for quite a while it would only be smart to travel lightly. Just as Nina was silently contemplating which knife to use, it seemed like Alyss was making an elaboration on the ones she had seen.

“The knife of the far left looks somewhat short… I do not think I should get that one unless I am charging an enemy. Which, in all reality, I am too little to attempt to do…” Nina glanced over at it and saw that it was one of her antique chef knives. Alyss did have a valid point about it, seeing that it was sharp to cut through skin with the slightest prod but you would have to get very close to the enemy in order to use it. “But this one… the one in the middle… it has a sharp reverse edge. That means that I can attack properly with the blade facing any direction. Plus, it is the longest one of the group…”

Nina watched as Alyss lifted the said knife out of its spot in the drawer. She was observing with such awe, as if there was something else other than the size and shape that she was testing out. “It is also very well balanced. It is okay if I take this one, Miss Nina?” Nina glanced from Alyss to the knife and then back at Alyss. She was being rather observant of what was available, as if she knew just what to look for when choosing weaponry.

"Of course it is," She replied after a second or two. "Sounds like you already know how to use it." Glancing back over at the knife drawer, she now had to choose something for herself to use. The first thing that caught her eye was section of the drawer that contained the larger knives, the masamoto knives, behind the rest. Grabbing one of them, it was at least an inch longer than the knife that Alyss had chosen if it wasn't the exact same size. It was sharp yet small in width as well, so it wasn't too bulky for Nina to use. "I, on the other hand, will get up close to a threat if I have to; so I believe that this will be my choice."

So now that choosing a weapon was a task complete, they could leave the house. In fact, just as Nina thought of that as her next step, Lilura had suddenly intruded her thoughts. Nina, you both have better leave the house now. She was confused at the sudden demand, and feeling her leg, there was no heat felt resonating off of her skin; so what was the rush for? Hello? Now.

I don't need ears to hear you, you know. I'm on it. Glancing over at the edge of the room where there was a rather large hole, she walked over to it to see the view from the floor they were on. Looking down, it wouldn't be very smart to jump straight from where they stood to the ground below. The impact of that jump could be fatal, if not breaking them even more than they are now. But then Nina noticed something else. There was the balcony that was outside of her study room, and it had the emergency ladder still attached to the wall beside it. Needless to say, Nina was very much shocked that either of them lasted through the destruction of her house. Plan on jumping? It'd sure as hell take less time to get out.

Looking back down at the balcony, she could only trust that it was strong enough to hold both of the girl's weight. It wasn't too far of a fall at all from the attic to there, but she would have to make sure that Alyss would be willing to go through with it. Otherwise, Lilura would be busting a nerve by now, for whatever reason she had. She turned from the balcony walked back over to where Alyss stood.

"Listen, I have no idea why, but Lilura is flipping out now about something to do with the house, so we'll have to leave fast... and the quickest way to getting out would be jumping out." She glanced back over at the hole and pointed in its direction. "There's a balcony just below where we are right now, and a ladder on the wall we can take to get to the ground. We'd have to drop from here to the balcony to get out though, but I can go down first so that I can catch you once you do so it won't hurt your knee...if you're willing to go through with this."

Her eyes averted back to Alyss so that their gaze would meet again. "If not, we'll just have to move fast out of here, but I think she's getting hasty as we stand here."
 
[OOC: Kind of a shit poast. :hmph:]

Alyss smiled as Nina said she could have the knife. To her, it really was a great blade to use. Not to mention that it also looked nice. However, the one thing that made it even more so was the fact that it was almost like a gift from Nina. She would have to make sure that the knife didn’t accidentally cut either one of them, as they were all very sharp. Getting cut by one of them would be… painful. The inside of the pockets of Alyss’ “pants” were coated with a leathery material. It wouldn’t stop the blade completely, but it wouldn’t make it very far through it. All in all, it was a better place to put it than no place at all.

It was then that Nina chose a different blade. It was somewhat… at least an inch bigger than the knife that Alyss had chosen, and just like Alyss’, it looked rather nice. “I, on the other hand, will get up close to a thread it I have to; so I believe that this will be my choice.” Nina said. She really did seem the type to get in close and start pounding away at an enemy. This was something that Alyss learned firsthand. As she thought about it, she placed her hand on her neck where the cigarette burn was.

Then, before anything else was done or said, Nina got a look of panic on her face and left the room. Alyss didn’t know where she was going, or what she was doing, but it was clear that something was very wrong. Eventually, Nina walked back into the room and explained what was going on to Alyss. “Listen, I have no idea why, but Lilura is flipping out now about something to do with the house, so we’ll have to leave fast… and the quickest way to getting out would be jumping out.” As she said this, she pointed over at a hole.

J-jumping out? Alyss thought. She hoped that they wouldn’t get hurt. Another part of her wanted to just run out of the front door… but would there be enough time? Could Alyss even run with her knee being in the shape it was? “There’s a balcony just below where we are right now, and a ladder on the wall we can take to get to the ground. We’d have to drop from here to the balcony to get through, but I can go down first so that I can catch you once you do so it won’t hurt you knee… if you’re willing to go through with this.”

It didn’t take long for Alyss to make a decision. If time was of the essence, then it would just be better to jump. Besides, they would waste ages waiting for Alyss to limp down the stairs. “Y-yes, I understand… We will jump if Miss Lilura needs us out as quickly as possible.” Lilura had gotten the title of “miss” as well. It was becoming rather bothersome that Moh wasn’t saying anything, or doing anything. Surely Alyss couldn’t be lacking that much energy? She was tired, yes… but no shock, no jolt, no heads up at all… A part of her thought that Moh was simply messing with her, and that the collar was simply something she used to get at her.

Alyss dismissed her thoughts as she looked up at Nina. “Please… lead the way.”
 
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As expected, Alyss had looked a bit panicked as Nina explained the situation to her. As she waited for an answer, Nina payed more attention to her surroundings in case the reason of them having to leave quickly was around them. Nothing seemed be unusual, aside from the entire circumstance they found themselves in not too long ago, but there wasn't a threat in sight or hearing distance - that and the ink that was placed into Nina's outer thigh hadn't been heating up at all, so she still couldn't help but wonder what the issue was, and why Lilura wouldn't explain it.

“Y-yes, I understand… We will jump if Miss Lilura needs us out as quickly as possible.” Surprisingly, it didn't take too long for that to be decided. At least the girl was a quick thinker. “Please… lead the way.”

Nina nodded and looked back at the hole in the wall, and then she eventually began walking towards it again while expecting Alyss to follow behind. She walked over to the far left of the hole so that they would be standing directly over the balcony. The drop to the flooring would be about six feet, and that was just hoping that the metal that it was made of wouldn't collapse from the sudden force of her landing. Once Nina contemplated her drop, she looked over at Alyss behind her. "I'm going to go down now."

Nina stepped just slightly closer to the edge before kneeling down until she was in a sitting position. It would be a lie to say she wasn't a little bit nervous, but she had hopes that everything would turn out fine as long as they moved quickly. Once she was sitting on the edge, she used her hands as a balance as she began scooting off of it, and turned herself around as she used her hands to lower herself to the point where her hands were the only thing keeping her from dropping. She looked down for a brief moment to see where she would land before glancing back over the wall, trying to focus only on keeping her feet below her so that she could lower the chances of getting hurt by the force of the landing.

Once that was done, Nina let her hands let go of the edge so that she would fall, and the drop had only made her stomach drop a little bit. The soles of her boots had hit the flooring of the balcony beneath her, and she landed with a slight grunt, someone crouched onto her knees with her hands to her sides as she tested the weight capacity of the surface. From the way it flinched, it would be enough to hold her own mass, but once Alyss came down, she would have to make a grab for the ladder without hesitation. Luckily for them both, the ladder was right in front of where they would soon stand, and it appeared more unaffected than the balcony metals. Looking up at Alyss, she assured her that she was fine.

"I'm alright! Once we get down from here, we'll be on the ground." She stepped more towards the front edge of the balcony railing before putting both of her arms and hands out in position to catch the redhead. "Come down whenever you're ready."


 
It was now Alyss’ turn to jump down. She had watched Nina do it, and it seemed simple enough… but Nina had upper arm strength to count on, Alyss didn’t. Breathing as calmly as possible to keep herself that way, she looked down the hole. It looked to be six or seven feet down, and Nina was there waiting for her. However, that didn’t stop Alyss from being nervous. I can do this, I can do this, I can do this, Alyss thought. She was mentally attempting to psyche herself up.

She sat down and put her legs out over the hole, much like Nina had done. If she was going to do this right, she thought that she would do it exactly like she had seen Nina do it. Nina seemed calm and collected through the entire ordeal, whereas Alyss was slowly starting to sweat. She scooted herself off a bit and turned around on her stomach and chest, letting her entire lower body hang of as she slowly kept scooting herself down the hole.

Her hands were the only think keeping her up. “O-okay, I am going to le-“, she was interrupted by a shock on her neck and a slight squeak as she let go. Her collar had shocked her, causing her to become surprised and lose her grip.
 
A small gust of wind had blown through, which caused the balcony to creak slightly. Nina's eyes slanted downward for a brief second to see that some dirt had fluttered off of the railing, and she still kept her hopes high that it would stand just a while longer. Looking up back at the hole she fell from, she watched sharply as Alyss was about to get out of attic from where she stood. Her arms had started to tense up from holding them up for so long, along with the other physical labor she had to conduct earlier, but she forced them to keep their balance held out, ready to catch Alyss once she was heading down.

A small drop of sweat could be felt trailing down the side of Nina's face as she closely examined how Alyss was getting herself prepared. She could tell that she was mimicking the platinum blonde's method of going down, which was a good start. When the moment came that the lower half of her body was hanging over the wall, Nina didn't focus on anything else around her, just on Alyss so that she would tell when she'd let go of the edge of the hole. Please don't hesitate now, Alyss. She thought.

"O-okay," Alyss began to say. Nina could detect the apprehension in her voice, but she was doing good so far. "I'm going to le-" Her voice cut off, and Nina blinked as Alyss let out a startled noise, and suddenly let go of the edge. The timing was unexpected, as if something interrupted Alyss' train of thought to make her let go earlier than she was prepared for, but Nina quickly stepped forward and held her arms out. Within a second, she caught Alyss as steadily as she could as the force of her fall stumbled her a little bit. Luckily, she had caught her so that she was holding her by the right spots and no where near where she may have been injured.

However, Nina's relief was suddenly interrupted when the balcony had suddenly shifted underneath them. The surface began to tilt downward as Nina quickly put Alyss down and grabbed her around the waist with one arm and clutched tightly on the metal railing of the ladder with the other. "Hang on to me." She quickly said as she took a wide step on the ladder, and held it tightly as she glanced over her shoulder. The balcony had began to creak loudly and lower off of it's hold, and it eventually collapsed from the wall and towards the ground beneath them, which was thankfully not too long of a climb down. If they had stayed on the surface, they would have been falling down as well.

Nina pulled her and Alyss closer to the ladder, feeling that it was oddly strong enough to hold them. She exhaled deeply, glad that she didn't get hurt in the process, but glanced over at Alyss, still tightly in her grasp, to see if she was still in good condition. "Alyss, are you okay?"


 
Besides being thoroughly surprised that Nina was able to catch her, Alyss was also a little peeved at Moh’s idea of a practical joke. Didn’t Moh realize that Alyss could have died? Why was Moh determined to hate her? Maybe she was just waiting for Alyss to get killed. That way she wouldn’t be bound to her anymore. Whenever they were able to sit down a rest, she was going to have a long talk with Moh… even if Moh wasn’t too fond of the idea.

However, what had her attention now was that she was in the arms of Nina. It was a somewhat eerie feeling being carried and saved by the very same woman that was literally pounding your head in the ground earlier in the day. However, if not for her, Alyss would have been severely hurt again… or dead. That and she seemed to be treating her so kindly now. It was then that the balcony shifted underneath them both.

There was a quick moment where Nina had placed Alyss down, but it served only so she could grab her by the waist as she still continued to hold on to the ladder. Alyss’ face was buried in Nina’s shoulder as Nina told her to hang on to her. With no other option, Alyss had no choice. As Nina held her tightly around the waist, Alyss hugged onto Nina as if her life depended on it. With her face in Nina’s shoulder, she couldn’t help but smell her.

Things kept getting louder around them, but Alyss wasn’t paying it much mind as she took note that Nina smelled slightly of cigarettes and… vanilla? Such an odd combination, she thought. Suddenly, she could feel herself being brought in a little closer. Alyss couldn’t help but thinking that Nina had to have been the strongest woman she had ever met in her life. “Alyss, are you okay?”

“Y-yes,” Alyss said, somewhat embarrassed. “I am fine… thank you.” In all reality, Alyss really was fine. She was a little scared that everything would come crashing down in a few seconds, but being that close to Nina made her feel okay about everything.
 
"Y-Yes," Alyss had replied quietly. Her arms were tightly around Nina's waist, so she would be able to climb down the ladder without any issues. "I am fine... thank you." She almost sounded like she was in another world of her own when she replied back, but Nina was at least glad that she was alright. Holding on to the ladder, Alyss surprisingly didn't add on much weight to her, so it was easy to begin climbing down. Her skin felt awfully warm against her shoulder. Nina felt the rough texture of rust against her hand as she grabbed down on each handlebar, so it seemed that it wasn't completely beat up, but it wasn't left alone from the apocalyptic blast either.

"Alright then," Nina said, as her feet had touched the ground underneath her while she reached the bottom of the ladder. "We should be heading towards the central district now." Nina glanced over at the direction where the town was located. That was where most of the activity was holding place, so they would have to be more cautious when entering that area. Took you both long enough to get out.

Nina had blinked at the sudden interruption, as she had forgotten all about Lilura, and realized that she hadn't explained yet why they had to rush out of her condominium like that. Lilura, can you explain now why we nearly broke our backs to get out of the house?She thought in response to the demon's remark. Clearly that's an exaggeration . . . and see for yourself.

As Lilura had told her to do, Nina rolled her eyes as she looked back at the house, and stared wide eyed as she swore that she saw streaks of shadows that were trailing all around the walls of her house. Actually, after taking a step back and rubbing her eyes, she saw that she wasn't hallucinating after all. There was some kind of dark fume, that almost made it look like the house was burning, but at the same time it looked like some sort of shadow that was creeping around the home from the inside out. The longer she watched, the more she began to hear the house slowly creak.

If you two had stayed in there any longer, you both would have breathed in that demon's blood. It would be enough to kill you, and even possibly reincarnate into one of us. We don't want that, now do we? No, they wouldn't. Nina could only guess that this was coming from the demon that Lilura had killed earlier. But outside, both of them seemed safe for now.

"Well. . .I see now why Lilura wanted us out." Nina said, still staring at her home being consumed by the shadows, but eventually turned back around to gaze at the center of town ahead of them. "We have no choice now but to go forward."
 
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