07-12-2012, 06:19 AM
It won’t let us through.
Saugus felt sick all over again. So he was stuck as a human for who knew how long. And danger was coming? How could he possibly fight anything in this form? He had no weapons, aside from his sword and the dagger made from barrier shards. His skin was weak, his bones easy to break. He had no levitation abilities at all. He couldn’t even sense energy.
That was what bothered him the most. His senses were gone. He could ear, see, smell, taste and touch just fine. But the most important, the sixth, the mental technique to notice one’s power touching your own from far away, to detect any hostility, any motion... it was gone.
Saugus was defenseless.
And all he had with him was a boy who could speak to a barrier.
The demon--no, ex-demon--groaned and leaned his forehead against the tall metallic pole the bright light was shining from. The silver was cool, chilling his heated flesh. How he hated cold things usually. Now it felt so good. He fingered his gloves until they slipped off. Then he shoved them into his pocket and grasped the pole with both hands. The sensation was wonderful in every terrible way. He was enjoying a human feeling, damn it.
They couldn’t go anywhere. They were stuck like this. Powerless, weak... Saugus could only close his eyes and beg any being who pitied him to help. To send some kind of a sign, to throw him through the barrier again. Why him? He only wanted to help himself? Was he being blamed for his selfishness?
Vetis wandered over underneath the light with him. Too close for comfort. Saugus glared at the pole, hearing the breathing of the boy behind him. Why the hell was he stuck with this brat? Why didn’t the barrier absorb him and fix itself? How could enemies be sneaking through? That was in no way part of the plan.
Mind you, Saugus had been hoping most of it to fall into place on its own. He supposed there was nobody to blame except himself.
No. Blame the boy. It made everything feel much, much better. No matter how unreasonable it might be.
Vetis spoke. A timid voice, soft and wondering. His accent was off. Saugus wasn’t sure how he knew that, considering the language they were speaking wasn’t the one he was used to down in the stone underworld.
At the boy’s question, Saugus snorted aloud. It was the closest he came to a laugh. “Hate you?” he repeated. He didn’t bother turning to face Vetis. His sorrow and mourning kept him content against the pole. “You’re not worth the effort. What I hate is the situation.”
Vetis paused, taking in his response, then continued speaking. Saugus didn’t bother listening after he heard ”I am happy...” because he didn’t want to hear it. He didn’t want to think that while he was miserable, this... this pointless, pitiful, weak, snot nosed whelp was actually enjoying himself! Even after however long he’d been motionless, watching the world, the demons in their interactions, never able to talk to them, to touch them, to breath the stale, hardly oxygenated air.
Saugus didn’t want to hear any of it.
“Look.” He turned finally when Vetis’ voice fell silent. Under the light the boy’s raven hair shined a mild yellow. His eyes were large and watchful, shining brightly. Saugus noticed his markings were missing. Or had he ever worn markings? Saugus was pretty sure he’d seen some stuff around the pale ashen neck.
“Let’s set this straight,” he continued. “I don’t care. I hate humans. I hate demons, too, but less so. I would rather be with their slobbering disgust than these... miserable creatures on the surface. I want to go back. I would honest to Devil rather perish a slow death down there than remain up here. Especially with you.”
He pointed a far too pink and pasty finger at Vetis. “You are annoying.”
“So if you can’t help me return to the hellhole where your creator wants to rip my organs out barehanded, well, that royally sucks. I am going to find a way back on my own.” Saugus narrowed his eyes, which probably didn’t have the same effect as his natural sharp golden ones would. “Hear that? My own. Not ‘ours’. Not ‘with you’. Mine.”
He never noticed the closeness of their faces until he leaned back to his natural height. At least he’d retained his massive size. Although his shoulders were less broad. And he still used it as an intimidating technique. “I’m going this way.” He pointed to the left down a dark street where only one of the same pole-lights were lit along the way. “You can go that way.”
He pointed in the other direction. A darker street with absolutely no pole-lights. Let the kid be scared. He deserved it.
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