The figure in the darkness sat up slowly, yawning lazily. It was morning, but the unending dark clouds that covered her county kept the lands to her liking. She disliked bright places even though she could stand them. Bright places always seemed too chipper. Other than a nice sulphur-wash in a volcano, she honestly didn't care for light and heat.
The queen of the Red Rosary castle tottered over to the glass window, placing her hand against the cold surface and smirking out into the shadowy lands, red eyes agleam. The obsidian and stone floor didn't bother her feet,cold as it was, she simply walked bare to her cupboard and quickly pulled on her favorite traveling uniform, she'd decided today would make an interesting day for a stroll. No real reason, just a quirk she had.
The red velvet uniform fitted nicely, leather harness being clipped into place before she finally pulled on her gloves and boots, cracking her knuckles at the end.
The woman reported to the doorway that lead to her room, thin hands gripping the steel and pulling the heavy doors open. There in front of her stood a muscular man, a great sword in his hands.
"The heck..? How DO you get in?" Yalannery mumbled as the sword was swung down toward her yet stopped inches from her face. Her left hand held the weapon.
"Die demon! I will defeat you toda-"
"Dont have time for you today Ed." Alan grumbled and flicked her arm to the left. The sword and it's owner flew out an open hole in the wall. Yalannery had given up fixing the hole because it would just get broken again, instead she had it re-built so that it looked like an open doorway. The comical scream of the warrior flying outside every morning did amuse her though.
Once more she pressed on, only taking a glace out for a moment to watch Ed sink into the moat.
"Gotta hand it to him, he sure doesn't give up."

A quick flurry of papers announced the rise of another freshly stacked papers, the ink dried and ready to be sent. Pale hands reached forth and grabbed another small stack, golden eyes flickering briefly across the titles to give warning of what was to be expected.

A quiet sigh shattered the silence that hung like heavy curtains in the room, and the pale woman stood up. Having a trained internal clock that woke her every morning at sunrise, regardless of the sunless state of the sky, allowed Kachina to get a head start on the paperwork for the day.

Sensing the approaching spirit of one of the household workers, Kachina turned towards the door and opened it, not really wanting to go through the formalities of granting entrance. The woman that stood before the door had her hand half-way in the air, her hand in the usual fist to knock on the door. She didn't look surprised to have her knocking inturrupted, however.

Kachina gave a curt nod that prompted the woman to speak, "Breakfast is ready, but the mistress is not in her room. Would you mind?"

Nodding once more, Kachina walked past her, the door closing with an ominous thud behind her. She made a quick stop at her room, pulling down a thick white cloak and swinging it across her shoulders in a swift, fluid sweep. She was used to being the one sent out to find the mistress of the castle, especially after 14 years of working there.

With a short hop down the staircase, Kachina found herself outside, the clouds blanketing the sky in a soft embrace. Her senses stretched out, an etheral hand brushing against the familiar spirit in the distance. Kachina could recognize that spirit anywhere.

Her leather boots glided across the stones, the dew covered grass glinting dully in the thin light that filtered through. Her senses led her further from the castle until she spied the dark figure in the distance. With a triumphant smile she paused, simply watching for a few relaxing moments before continuing her walk.

Indeed, the mistress had stepped out, slipping by her guards and lesser vassals, she only really liked her childhood friend, that Kachina. Sure she was a bit of a strange character but that never really bothered her.
Another quirk was her non-reliance on weaponry. Though she was a dab-hand with that weapon from the east, her katana, she honestly didn't feel like she needed weaponry to survive. Maybe it was her demonic arrogance and pride, or maybe that she'd used her fists to solve many problems before, she didn't really care. Weapons only increased the chances of her opponents dying, and that wasn't any fun to be honest.
She knew Kachina would becoming after her. That was fine, she intended for that really. 14 years of service and the two had maintained a more professional relationship than a friendly one. Not only that she felt a nagging urge to be outside again, different from her usual wanders.
She had already gotten a small distance from the castle, standing on a nearby hill from which she could see a few of the villages in her county. Things seemed normal, the same deathly cold wind as always blowing through the plains and across stones. That same, delightfully chilling feeling of the evil earth, the seductively dark whispers on the wind.
Seemed pretty normal.
Finding her favourite flat topped rock on the hill she planted herself down on it and sat there, elbows on her knee's and hands crossing in front of her face as if thinking, and she was. She'd no idea why she wanted to be out today.

Kachina stopped a few feet from the mistress, watching the woman's pondering face with mild amusement.

"I noticed Ed's spirit in the moat again today." It had made her chuckle to herself when she had walked by earlier, "You really ought to put him out of his misery. Or invite him in for breakfast. The maids have been dying to meet him."

Assassination attempts were quite commonplace, and most were simply not taken seriously. The sheer power that their mistress could wield set all of them at ease, and with Kachina able to sense when others were around, she didn't worry much about it herself. Ed, of course, was the ongoing joke of the castle. He appeared to be so sincere in his assassination attempts that none of them had the heart to properly kill him.

Kachina couldn't help but wonder why he even bothered bringing his sword. She herself didn't utilize any weaponry as it really wasn't in her job description, but mostly she had faith in Yalannery that the castle would always be safe. Being rational, however, Kachina knew precautions should always be taken, but she didn't really have many skills in the fighting department. It was one of the things she disliked talking about, as most demons like herself were fairly skilled in the art of fighting.

She ran a pale hand through blonde-pink hair, her cloak protecting her from the chill winds that playfully tugged on anything loose. Golden eyes drifted to the towns across the distance, and she found herself admiring what their county had accomplished under Yalanna. The other counties in the kingdom did relatively well of course, but Kachina felt pride for her mistress' work in her own county. It pleased her to file the reports to send to the king as they always seemed to be well.

Yalannery looked over to Kachina before she had spoken, hands dropping so they were rested in the air, held aloft by her knee's. Her comment about Ed in the moat tweaked a wry grin on her face.
"Well, I don't feel like killing him. He doesn't provide a challenge for me. Whenever I do take the time to fight him he gets a little stronger. I'll only kill people who threaten me or provide a good, honorable challenge for me." Yalannery leaned back, pulling a leg onto the stone while placing her opposing arm behind her to support her weight,
"Perhaps I'll ask him to become one of my guards. He isn't as weak as he seems since he's always been challenging me and losing. He'd easily crush a couple of my guard captains." The woman looked at her at her hand, counting off her fingers for a moment,
"I'm just lost as to why he's always been challenging me. I don't know him, or at least cant say I remember him. Perhaps I did something to him when he was a child or he's one of those rare humans they call 'hero's' that go around hearing of demons and hunting down and killing them.Guess he may have mistaken me for some malicious fiend that's been causing humans trouble or something.Not that I cant say that sounds fun, but I haven't seen a need to."

Yalannery hopped off the rock, looking over at Kachina and folding her arms,
"But noticing Ed's spirit. I always wondered about that. You and these spirits you see. I never really cared but you cant blame a little curiosity." Alan trotted around Kachina, eyeing her up while moving her arms into something of a speculative, curious posture.
"Anyway, never mind, dear." Alan waved her hand off lazily, Kachina had no necessary obligation to explain herself, at least not as far as Alan was concerned. As for calling her dear. Alan had made a habit of it really, with no real reason why, at least not that she was aware of or understood herself.
"There's something odd going on and I don't know what. To put it bluntly, today I wanted to take a walk." She stopped, looking out on the county and folding her arms, a rough wind lifting the tails of her jacket a moment.
"I don't normally feel like taking a walk.I usually do it out of habit. Something wants me out here and I want to know what."

Kachina gave a slow nod, though a worried expression hinted at the tips of her brow, "A challenge is always nice, but be careful that you don't underestimate an opponent. 'Tis a fatal flaw in many leaders, as told through history books and obituaries. Not, of course, that you do." She added quickly, not wanting to be misunderstood.

She gave a quiet chuckle, trying to remember who were the guards again. Kachina wasn't sure what their power would be in relation to the mistress's, but she would take the word of Yalannery and hope that the assassin wouldn't turn his attention to any of the guard captains.

"He seems a bit one track minded, but it couldn't hurt to ask I suppose. Perhaps it's a way of trying to show he's worthy?" Or they were overestimating the assassin and he was really a foolish human going at it for kicks and grins? It was hard to tell sometimes when his only greeting was a war cry.

"It is rare to see a human hero these days. They're generally content to stay at home it seems." Kachina gave a short shrug, "Would you like me to do any background research on him? Make sure you didn't do any wrong or see if he's just out for a hefty paycheck?" She had been practicing a trick lately, and a good reason to put it to the test sounded rather nice.

Kachina wasn't sure how to explain what the spirit was to her. She didn't completely understand it yet herself, as it wasn't exactly a common practice. She had always sensed spirits, but never tried working with them as she had been lately in an attempt to become more useful to her mistress. While she was more than willing to try to explain, she couldn't help but give a silent sigh of relief when Yalannery dismissed it. Perhaps she would be able to tell her later, when she had a better explanation to give.

A frown came across her lips and her eyes narrowed in thought. If her mistress felt something was amiss, then it was likely to be so. With her senses on alert now, Kachina fell silent and focused on the spirits around her. The energy they emitted did seem a bit more upset than usual. She practiced at being able to read and understand the spirits daily, and she had gotten fairly well at reading them. What she had been practicing in particular, however, was a solid way of communicating with them in the hopes of using them to collect information.

Her senses tingled at the feeling of the spirits around her. It wasn't something to be seen physically, for spirits had no form. The energy force from the deceased tinged the air, the spirits who weren't ready to move on or who simply liked staying. Kachina had found that the spirits in the air were much easier to read, while the ones that were still alive with a body she could only sense.

The quiet hum of spirits made the hairs on the back of her neck rise, and it was then that she realized the feeling that they were reverberating was one of alarm and caution. Distance, they seemed to speak, it was in the distance, "I think.. you're right. Something's wrong. There's.." She paused, not sure if she was right, "Something powerful in the area, maybe one of the towns. I'm not positive, but if you're feeling uncomfortable then it's at least worth an investigation."

Alan stood a little closer to the edge, sniffing lightly. Normally the smell of death and despair was natural but this was different. Believe it or not there were innocent demons in some sort of danger. Malicious as demons were, there were unwritten rules, laws even they had to abide by for the most part.

The mistress of the Red Rosary castle turned to Kachina,
"Well? Don't stand there all day, dear. Let's get going." Alan turned, hopping up onto the flat rock then leaping a little higher up until she'd found her way to the top of the hill where she could look at her whole county.

Red eyes scanned the surroundings quietly, looking for some noticeable disturbance. All humanoid demons like her and Kachina had the ability to spread wings and fly, but knowing where to fly was the problem and she rathered not to fly since it was better exercise to run. If the village was too far away to get their quickly by running then flying was inevitable, how annoying.

Eventually she spotted her target, even with her eyes it was difficult to tell exactly what was happening but she knew the village looked a bit more different since she came out here often. She pondered which to do, run or fly, both seemed a good option right now, but what if her people were in danger? What a bothersome life.
"Kachina, dear. I'm curious about that village. That place is Nox Fatalis is it not? Can you tell anything about it from here?"

Kachina followed suit, nimble legs bounding from rock to rock to a higher perch. She narrowed her eyes, though it did little good at that distance. Golden eyes flickered towards Nox Fatalis when Yalannery spoke the words, though from there it looked as it always did. But if her mistress asked her to tell her more, she would.

Kachina quieted her mind to the numbing hum of the nature around them. Soon those too faded, and the only sense that still registered was a sudden wash of energy, fleeting and whispy, almost as soft as the wind with a gentle caress that left dark chills. She realized that the spirits always spoke to her, not in words, but in feelings that shivered through her, ones that she could interpret like a translator might. It was a simple conversion to words, the vibrations that the spirits shivered out suddenly clearer than ever, as if all her life there was but a thin veil between her and the spirits that she simply didn't know how to lift. It was natural, almost ridiculously easy. It was like when one shifted their eyes to focus on something closer or further away, an almost subconcious change done purposely.

Kachina shook herself out of the daze, her breath shallow and her body rigid in awe of this discovery. "Nox Fatalis, yes, I believe we should be heading there immediately. I'd recommend flight for speed, but by foot within range so as not to become targets, just as a precaution."

"Then I guess we're just gonna have to play our favorite game again from when we were kids." Alan smirked, she rarely mentioned things from the past and felt rather glad to have said it. The two tails of her redcoat seemed to lift, eventually changing shape and solidifying into a pair of red wings that hung below her torso, only rising above her hips at the joints.

They remained folded as Yalannery looked down the edge of the hill in the direction of the village. a small woodland area and plenty of rocks, but it made a decent runway all things considered. As children they had plenty of fun being as reckless as they were,but Alan probably enjoyed it a lot more back then because of the freedom it gave her from the castle.

Finally she tilted off the edge of the hill,quickly gaining speed as she ran down the hill, not a hard task for a demon. Once she reached a certain velocity she hopped from the ground, wings spreading and turning up to keep her aloft but still falling in the same direction. She was headed for the woodlands and this would involve some careful movement. Surprisingly good training for perception.

She would go through the woods, dodging tree's and rock formations while still keeping her general direction straight. Flying was fast and what was better than using the momentum of gravity to increase the speed of flight travel? There would be a point she would have to pull up but that was the thrill of such a rush, and keeping low meant not exposing oneself high in the air, which made this such a dangerous task, which probably only excited the demoness even more.

Kachina didn't want to use the extra energy to sprout her natural wings, so she threw open the cloak she wore, the sides morphing into a leathery texture as they fluttered behind her, the white giving off an almost encandescent reflection.

She grinned at the memory of their daring childhood flights, her golden eyes flashing at Yalannery with a glint of mischief. As Yalannery took her running start, Kachina spread her wing, the span reaching far past the edges of her arms. One flap, two, the air pushed against the ground blew away nature's debris, and she slowly lifted straight up. The gust of wind she had been expecting gave her a boost upwards as she kept her eyes on her target. Abruptly she pulled the wings tightly against her back, her body dropping like an arrow tied to a rock. The speed pulled her waist length hair behind her until she suddenly snapped her wings open, the ground hovering a few feet below her. The sudden pressure of the wind and weight against the speed would have sent shivers of pain through her normal wings, but for these ones she knew it did terrible things to the material. It really wasn't good to do several times in a row.

The trees sped past in blurs, adrenaline giving an added air of excitement as she barely dodged one tree after another. Memories flickered through the back of her mind, of Yalannery having always been the stronger one. She had to come up with different tactics to keep up with her, for she didn't want to be left behind or be useless in the end.

Kachina saw the town coming up. She really didn't want to yell out a warning call, mostly for fear of swallowing a bug, but also not to give away their position. A precaution, but better safe than sorry. She also knew, however, that she really didn't have to worry. Kachina knew that the mistress would already know when to stop, for she knew the lands like the palm of her hand.

Angling her body, her wings cupped in more air that began a pulling drift, slowing her until she landed in a partial run, the wings falling gently down her back as they turned back into loose, warm cloth.

Yalannery's method of stopping was far different as her feet came up in front of her, eventually touching down and kicking up dirt behind her. The wings suddenly went slack, flapping about wiildly as the two tails of her jacket again while she skidded along the dirt and leaves of the woodland floor, hands reaching behind her and digging into the ground, acting as extra frictional buffers to steady and slow her quicker.

When she came to a halt a long path of dirt had been disturbed behind her, along with two trails of claws alongside the path. She examined her fingers calmly, not a scratch, but a little dirty, it only took a moment to wipe them off though, the ground was a little dry, a mark of the approaching winter.

"Hehe... Just like the old days." Alan remarked, looking over to Kachina with a light smirk, "Can't beat a good game of Dodge-The-Tree's." Her attention was then called forward at the sound of a loud crashing, the village was not too far ahead so that was definitely where it had to be. Who could be causing such a racket. She could hear raised voices, but didn't entirely understand what they were saying. Whatever it was, there was trouble brewing and they had to find out what was up. She would not tolerate trouble in her county.

Alan brushed herself off idly and began to approach the village, keeping a wary eye on her surroundings. A sharp, slightly elongated canine had somehow been revealed as it tucked Alan's lower lip behind itself,
"Lets go see whats up, Kachina dear."

Grinning at the long furrows now in the ground, Kachina shook her head and turned her attention back towards the town. She fell in place beside Yalannery, smoothing her blonde-pink hair that had become quite ruffled through her previous descent.

The alarm that she had felt earlier returned as they passed by the first buildings of the town. It was one of the lesser villages, with demons of more common place power. The town wasn't without value, but being so close the the castle disuaded any bandits from messing with them. Part of a county leader's power was through their reputation, and Yalannery's reputation was nothing small. Which meant, of course, that Kachina would be suspicious of something more than a simple bandit act.

The town square circled around the stone fountain, being one of the few towns where a working fountain was maintained. The center gargoyles lovingly cupped delicately carved stone skulls, intricate details adding a flair of artistic measure.

People seemed to edge just outside of the square, and not to view the fountain. Some bore faces of fright, but most were of anger. Demons weren't known for holding their temper so well, but it certainly wasn't impossible. A group of three demons stood out, with a few of the town's demons groaning on the ground before them. The first of the three men had gripped a younger demon boy by the collar of his shirt, an angry snarl wrinkling the bridge of his nose, "Anyone else want to defend this brat?" He called out, his voice deep and dipped with venom, "Who else dare deny us, the followers of Astarot, right?"

Kachina leaned over towards a woman who stood nearby, "What happened here?"

The woman spoke in quiet, angry tones, her eyes not leaving the intruding demons, "They were trying to get free food I believe, but the boy wouldn't go for it. We don't bend for any fool that tries to walk over us. We have our pride."

Hiding a smile, Kachina stepped back to her former spot. She loved the county, arrogant and prideful demons and all. Her golden eyes flickered towards the three aggressive demons, suspicion still high. Fights were certainly common enough, but an act of open superiority was often insulting, particularly because each demon secretly felt they were superior but that it was polite to not brag.

Still, she hadn't heard the name Astarot before. A new demon trying to cause trouble, perhaps? This demon was either incredibly foolish, or extremely confident. Either way, Kachina found herself interested with whatever might transpire.

Yalannery looked on for a moment at the scene, having kept herself fairly low profile also by watching from the shadows whilst Kachina seemed to approach one of the nearby villagers. She could clearly hear what was said and once again looked at the three imbecilic brigands that had decided to attack this village. A dark hate was welling up from within. A unique distaste for what was happening here was slowly growing, but the secret behind this was not known to many.

Yalannery was different to other demons though seemed to act no different. Her father was a human, but the short time he'd been with her mother before his sudden death hid that fact in the pages of history. Her human side cared for her people which was what had kept her county so clean and orderly.

However the following moment wasn't human at all, her hair had taken on a slightly more golden sheen, face darkening while a pair of red orbs glared out from the shade of her fringe,
"ANd who the hell dares enter my county, attack my people and demand free food?!" Alan stated, a low growl shaking through the ground as a spark of energy surged down her once, "You fools must really not know exactly who you're DEALING WITH..!!" A flare of light as her energy surged, the skies above somehow darkening further as Alan began to approach the group of demons, each footstep sounding like a heavy thud from something far heftier and taller than herself, dark flames flaring up and dying down at her feet every separate advance. Yalannery was known for being rather fearsome and intimidating when angered and right now she definitely was a wee bit peeved.

Kachina watched the faces of the demons around as Yalannery strode out. She smirked as recognition dawned on their faces and they realized they were in the presence of their mistress. Mixed reactions, but the general consensus was a feeling of smugness at what they knew was bound to come.

"Oh ho, lil missy shows up, does she? How 'bout a little respect here. We took the time to come all the way here to see what kinda towns you have. Not really friendly, but I'm sure lord Astarot can take care of that." The speaker grinned, sharp teeth gleaming dully. The darkened sky didn't appear to intimidate them any, however Kachina could sense their growing apprehension. This meant that they knew who they were dealing with, likely sent to provoke them for some reason. Perhaps it was simply to tell them the name Astarot? It sounded likely, as often times demons liked to be introduced by word of mouth so as to appear more important.

Still, this would warrant some research when they returned. For now, Kachina relaxed and was fully prepared to enjoy the show.

"You can tell this 'Ass-trot', to go Astarot in the underworld." Alan's dark look vanished but the energy around her remained the same, a small quake disturbing the land again,
"So, now, I will kindly advise you choose between the three of you which one can go tell him this because I'm only going to let one of you leave here alive!! Quickly now! Or I'll just decide for you!!" Alan announced this with no insincerity, after all, how many men did it take to deliver such a small message?

She wasn't kidding about preparing to kill them since her energy only continued to rise until the ground was shaking a bit more, an unholy wind causing the loose parts of her clothing to flap wildly.
"Not decided yet? Well too bad! Time's up!!" Alan blasted forward,dust clouding up behind her as she tackle one of the brigands, though upon contact she seemed to vanish, reappearing and rushing at him multiple times leaving ghostly images of herself that gathered up slowly into a pack that one by one then rushed past the brigand, unleashing consecutive blows until they all vanished and the real Yalannery re-appeared directly behind him, her form twisting in a corkscrew uppercut that sent the demon sailing into the air and crashing down roughly. His beaten form twitched a few times but there was no sign of being capable of standing up anymore.

The remaining two had that time to turn and watch before she was upon her next victim, hands grabbing him by the chest and throwing him up, spinning wildly, though he was quickly joined by the Mistress whom began beating into him whilst orbiting him at a high speed. They'd gone so high they were merely specks above the village. A moment's peace seemed to distill the air as energy gathered in Alan's arm and she unleashed the force of the attack in a single straight punch that sent the enemy soaring out into the horizon, who knew where the poor fool would crash land.

After that Yalannery hit the ground, the floor cracking from the force as she stared at the last remaining brigand.
"You know what? I'm having so much fun I think I'll just tear you apart too!" Yalannery smirked, her energy had vanished but with a momentary surge it returned once more, electricity sparking off her once again, "Have you pissed your pants yet? Have you prayed to god? You still have a few seconds, why not begin begging for your life? After all; you do seem to be the mouthy one for insulting me and my people, perhaps you can spare some of that voice in a final scream of pain, you little lapdog."

The remaining demon stumbled backwards, tripping over his own feet until he fell hard on his back. His mouth opened once, twice, but no words managed to escape. Many demons could pull off simple fighting moves, some like what she had done, but the sheer amount of power that eminated from the woman was simply terrifying, like a kind of invisible pressure that squeezed all of the air out of the lungs.

Kachina, while having greatly enjoyed the show, stepped forward, gold eyes reaching Yalannery's face, "Lets not get carried away. I can track where he flees to, and cowards always flee to the cave." She spoke in a quiet tone, one that she knew he wouldn't be able to hear through his terror stricken state of mind.

"Though I must say, I did so love your puns. The shadow fighting was done quite nicely as well, however that distance shot one was a bit hard to see." Kachina gave an evil smirk, then looked towards the crowd. They didn't seem to appreciate the art of it as much as she, but rather they appeared to be more caught up in the amount of power Yalannery had, making them feel fear and admiration at the same time. They knew they could trust their county leader.

Alan had actually been preparing a final attack, runic scrawling and geometrical lines were curving and forming in the air, but when Kachina approached and told her to stop she smirked, calming down to the point that the overhead darkness began to fade a little and the glowing lines vanished along with the mad look of power that was her demonic side.
"Tch fine." Alan grinned, approaching the man slowly whilst cracking her knuckles and chuckling, "Well well, looks like it's party time..."
She pounced on the last man, lifting him by his shirt and grinned, "Sorry, guess you got lucky." Was the final comment before she placed her fingers in front of his face, flicking him on the forehead.
The amazing part was that it somehow had enough force to send him crashing down the road that lead through the village and sent him rolling out the other side where he would slowly get up, a large gash having opened on his cranium.
"Kachina, in the meantime, summon a healer to fix these people up. You know I skipped the healing magic classes as a kid, they were so boring..." Alan knelt down, examining the villagers.They were pretty roughed up, but hopefully they'd be okay, demons were difficult to kill, even weak ones. They could be reincarnated or resurrected, but if they were damaged and drained of their mana power they would probably fade and die out.
"While you're at it,a few craftsman wouldn't hurt to fix up the damage, we'll pay them adequately."

Smiling warmly as the little man was flung away, Kachina nodded to her mistress, mentally taking notes and making quick reminders on who to give the directions to, alongside the reports that she was bound to have to file. She began walking towards the woods, figuring flying wouldn't be as fun without a good launching height.

It was then that a terrible chill descended on her. Her gold eyes flashed backwards towards Yalannery, and for a moment saw nothing out of the ordinary, which oddly didn't appease the cold, gripping hand in her gut.

Suddenly it was there. Quick, thin black whisps, rather like smoke caught on an unnatural wind. For a brief moment it hovered just a few feet behind Yalannery and gave her what one could only call a grin. No warning call could be given before something shot out, rather like a sudden bee sting or the strike of a scorpion. The whisps disappeared through the wood as fast as it had appeared, leaving nothing in its wake.

Those who managed to witness the speedy transaction stared on in surprise, but Kachina's senses flared to attention and she ran forward to Yalannery, "Are you alright?" She hissed under her breath. Before the woman could reply, she ushered her to the safe cover of the woods, away from prying eyes. If something had happened, it wasn't good to show the people any weaknesses. She stopped her pushing when the trees covered most the town before turning with worried eyes once more to her mistress, "What was that?"

Alan had also sensed this cold feeling, though she'd never really expected what happened next, she felt the cold sting of something making its way in through her flesh and sinking in enough to have been a threat to any normal human.

Being lead away by Kachina didn't bother her, she went along with it with no real concern until they stopped in the woods where the other female then asked if Alan was okay. Her left arm reached over behind her shoulder, an odd assortment of cracks as the bones popped out of place while she reached for the dart and slid it out, the flesh healing over momentarily after a little blood,not even noticeable through her jacket, seeped out.

"What kinda idiot thinks things like this will kill me?" Alan muttered irritably, examining the needle, trace of her blood remained on it, dripping once off the tip and splattering on the ground inaudibly and out of sight.

Then it struck her, something she hid well, a sudden thump in her chest, echoing through her mind like her body had been torn open and she was listening to her own heartbeat in a cavern. What was this horrible feeling. Needles like this, were they not commonly used to insert poison's? If that was the truth then some-one had some-how tapped into her humane weakness...
".. Kachina, I'm tired, lets return to the castle." Alan stated glumly, offering the needle to her, "Let's keep it, I feel there's some-one out there missing a needle... We should return it to them."

Frowning as she took the needle, Kachina examined the tip closely as if trying to gleam an answer from it, "Poison, huh?"

Poison wasn't something a demon would worry about. Since demons had the lifespan double that of a human, their cells and body structure was able to maintain a constant state of health as decay was particularly slow. The speed of their health recovery would mean that the poison was simply too weak to have effect, or by the time a poison spread, the body would have already adapted to it and render it useless.

Still, there were a few things that bothered her. One was that such an attack was done with such precision that it seemed odd to use a poison that would have no affect. It was also too close to the earlier incident to have been a coincidence. Perhaps this Astarot character? If so, his speed was at least something to be concerned about. She would need to train her ability to sense spirits to be able to catch on quicker.

The main thing of worry, however, was Yalannery's reaction to the needle. To any other eye, they would see a demon mistress simply disregarding a poorly planned attack. To Kachina, however, she knew the woman well enough to see concern when it was there. Something about that needle, or perhaps the poison, was cause of worry, and if Yalannery was worried, then Kachina was particularly worried.

Just to be on the safe side, Kachina gave an encouraging smile and put the needle in a pouch at her waist, "I'll research the poison and it's antidote. Just to see about it's origins, of course. Perhaps we can get a hint of what this guy is about if we know the history of the things he uses."

[I'm gonna skip us to near to the castle mid post, hope that's okay]

Alan folded her arms, eyes on the needle she had passed Kachina. Though then looked to her when she talkedonce more,
"Hm... Seems like nothing short of a coward to me, thinking he can defeat me with such a pathetic attempt. He obviously doesn't know me well enough. I'm too bad-ass to be assassinated by some cheap little poison needle." Alan placed her hands on her hips and chuckled,though secretly in the back of her mind she really was worried.

Was that attack accidental? Were they just intending to annoy me? They couldn't possibly know that I'm half human, I've never told anybody, and my mom swore she only ever told me... The hybrid demon had folded her arms and began to walk. seeming to head back in the direction of the castle, though she seemed lost in her thoughts, not too much like the way she would normally act, which was to say; loud and energetic.

She didn't even notice the time passing as they neared the castle, already they were on the road leading up to her favorite hill and with the castle in sight she began to break out of her train of thought, but this also alerted her to a strange tension inside. The more aware she became; the worse it began to feel before she froze on the spot, stopping and staring ahead at the castle, yet not moving.
Snap out of it...! Alan shook her head,looking over to Kachina and smiling a little, "Looks like we're home, I wonder if Ed is waiting for me."

Chuckling quietly at Yalannery's bravado, though it also didn't pass without worry. It was the exaggerated kind of boasting, not the confident kind that her mistress was prone to. Watching Yalannery space out during their walk back also didn't help her feel any easier.

"Ed?" Pausing, Kachina sent out her senses with a brief glaze across the castle, "Not nearby. He's probably trying to get the moat water out of his clothing to look proper when he 'defeats' you. No hero wants to stand victory looking lame I'm sure." It was a human trait, she had decided long ago.

The eagerness to get to researching that poison, however, rose to its prime, and Kachina began to turn back towards the castle. Their arrival had unfortunately brought out the hasty maids, who ushered forward to Yalannery, "Breakfast has been done for some time, madam. I hope your walk was well?"

Of course, Kachina could tell what her words meant in a less polite way: Where the hell have you been? We did all this work for you not to be there? She smirked at the maids as they bowed their heads politely to Yalannery. Their household did pride themselves on the lavish foods they made, demons being particular about eating great quantities of food.

"Perhaps a bit of food will do you good." Kachina prompted, hoping that she was imagining Yalannery's face being a bit pale. "I have to send out some orders for the town, but I'll be right down."

Of course, her first stop would be to the library to see about the poison. The paper work could wait a few hours.

The mistress of the Red Rosary castle looked over at the approaching maids, they probably 'were' annoyed that their food had to wait for the mistress' return. Alan waved the girls of lamely and walked past them,
"Yeah, yeah, I'll go eat now." Alan muttered, walking past them calmly and pocketing her hands in a lazy stroll. She wouldn't let them urge her on any faster, she liked her own pace better.

She turned then, toward the obsidian castle. It was raised on what looked like a large assortment of roots, vines, that stretched over its outer walls and thin lines held on around the moat below from which the gargantuan vines protruded.
On the outer walls golden colored banners were draped down, large enough for many who approached to see. The image of a Crimson Rosario Cross were printed upon them, giving blunt proof that this was the Red Rosary castle.

Alan reported to the banquet hall as the maids and Kachina expected and, as always, began to go through the prepared meal with no problem. Demons were practically bottomless pits, they were lucky the many methods of magic could aid in preparing sufficient amounts of food to sustain them.

Kachina loved the Red Rosary's library, the vast expanses of shelves and curling stairways leading to new heavenly heights of volumes. Taking a habitual breath of air, she relished the scent of the books, though not for long as she made a bee-line towards the section she knew was for poisons.

It wasn't a large section, being that demons weren't overtly concerned over it, but she knew what to look for. A poison that was liquid in nature to be able to fit the container, one that would cling to blood to be able to exit the capsule and into the bloodstream as fast as it had. She pulled out the needle, the capsule at the tip being smaller than her pinky nail. The needle was long so as to penetrate the skin with more force, the tip pointed and dangerous. Raising the needle up, she sniffed it, trying to get an idea as to the contents.

Having a general idea of what to look for, Kachina needed to only pull down two books to narrow down her search. She hadn't been alive for 40 years to learn nothing, after all.

With her books tucked underhand, Kachina made her way back to the dining hall. Normally she prefered to study in the quiet of the library, however the concern she felt for Yalannery was much too great to leave her alone. If her mistress was in any distress, she would be the first to recognize it. Yalannery was good at hiding her emotions from others, to keep up the proper front of a leader, but Kachina could recognize the face under the mask, no matter how hard Yalannery might try to hide.

Nudging the double doors open, she nodded to the maids as she passed and took her seat at the right side of Yalannery, setting the books down gingerly in her lap as she opened one and began to scan it, the scent of the food wafting tantalizingly through the air.

Alan continued to eat through her meal quietly, though she wasn't feeling very hungry at all thanks to her inner concern. This poison coursing her body, she wasn't fool enough to not recognize it as a threat, but no-one would expect something like this to become such a bother for some-one as powerful as here.

Kachina's company was openly welcomed as she seemed less tense in her returning presence. Alan shifted a little closer to her right hand demon, looking absent-mindedly at the currently open book. The book appeared to be about poisons and other such information regarding cures and/or the harnessing of them.

Most poisons would go through any normal demon without directly threatening their life in the long term, but Alan's human side contained half her power and the poison would damage her far worse because if her human side was to begin to die out, it would slowly mean the end of her also.

Alan stopped, she was thinking too much. If she let her mind drag on in this way she would go insane. Though it was at that moment the two large double doors swung open again, the proud warrior, Edward, standing there, sword in hand again.

He rushed forward but-
"STOP!" The sudden shout caused him to heel, Yalannery had finally stood up and was holding her hand up at him. A confused look was on the males face, almost losing balance.
"Huh...?"
"Sit down,Edward." Yalannery suddenly sat down herself, the young man doing as told on the spot, seeming to listen intently. Alan looked at him strangely,
Dedicated but... Not exactly bright... She thought to herself, looking over at Kachina with a raised brow before returning to the young soldier.
"Edward... Why exactly do you come and attack me every day?"
"Uh.. Well... You see... I dunno? I was told you were a demon and you were really super powerful and if I could kill a super powerful demon I'd be a hero and stuff."
Yalannery blinked, this was strange, what kind of fool was this human anyway? He didn't seem too much for brains.
"Well... How would you like to be a knight instead?"
"A knight? Really?!"
"Well why not?"
"But what about being a hero..?"
Yalannery thought about it for a moment and smirked, "Hero's are over-rated, why not be a knight for me and protect all my fair maids with your might arm?"
Edward seemed to think about it before grinning, "It sounds fun! Can I really be a knight? Really...?!"
"What do you think, Kachina?"