The mortal realm. Empty husk of a place really, at least to Alan's eyes. But at the same time filled with the mortal cannon fodder that was humanity in all its supposed glory. Humans were the culmination of god and evil energy, with their diverse personalities whether they were good or evil was often harshly judged. Yet in the end whether they went up to the supposed Heavens or down to hell itself, they were nothing more than fodder, souls waiting to be converted.

Hell was not even one single realm, it was many realms, Netherworlds, in which Overlords ruled. Whereas the greatest of all was ruled by the head honcho himself, at least whoever took claim to the throne nowadays. Alan didn't really keep up with the times. And the Angels? High and mighty as they were they held one grand heavenly empire in the skies above the planet, hidden from mortal eyes, unless invited. The same worked in reverse. Humans could accidentally step into the realms of Hell without knowing. At which point they were often meat-snacks for whatever nasties lurked in the shadows between the Netherworlds.

Some humans had the capability to combat demons, these exceptionally skilled 'Heros' of the human world were looked upon in wonder and feared by the shadows. But again this was irrelevant to Alan.

Who was Alan? Alan was a Demon Overlord, or at least, once was. And back then she was known as Queen Yalannery. Indeed Alan was a female. But like the few rare cases to occur, she had grown sick of the war between those above and those below, pompous bastards versus wild demons had become predictable, pointless and boring. Once she enjoyed the glory of battle and slaughter, now? Peace, it was all she craved truly.

Within the forest of Duskonia a lonely home stood a fair distances walk from the nearby Duskonia Village. Few ever dared step too close, though occasionally Alan would emerge from it and enter the village. The villagers did not know Alan's true disposition as a demon, but the forest itself was sometimes considered dangerous, said to be the home of numerous beasts and monsters. Pefect home for Alan, not that they knew.

Today Alan sat outside her home in the forest, calmly staring up from her porch at the heavens where the Angels lived. She didn't even grimace at the thought of them any more, but she had yet to meet one that didn't intend to 'purify' her. In place of purify one could easily write execute, simply because she was a demon and only a few angels would know, remember or even be survivors of Alan. But that was when she was Queen Yalannery. None knew her for who she was know the way she appeared or even her shortened name 'Alan'. And she liked it that way, peace and quiet.

“...Arlie...are we getting close to that forest soon...?”

“Ha-ha! Don’t worry Moko! We’re almost there!”

“Please don’t call me that...”

A small pickup truck was heading towards the forest...well...more like the entrance of the forest, seeing that the forest was covered with shrubbery.

“Hehe! I hope we can get some great photos! Right, Mo--hey! Are you listening?!” Arlie frowned, looking at the young girl in the passengers seat, staring out the window.

“Mmmm...” Mokoth let a small sound escape her lips. She was used to taking trips like this, seeing that her job involved taking nature picture for the magazine, ’Amor verde’. It was a simple job, going out with her partner Arlie to take pictures. But this was at least more interesting than what her life was before.

....What her life was before....

Her life contained of nothing but researching for the heavenly ones...the Angels. Back then, she was merely a young researcher, studying Magic’s for the Angels, simply to help them with the ongoing war the was going on with the Demons. But despite having a important task, deep down she really didn’t care about what was going on...and as the war was going on, her life soon became dull and unteresting to the angelic researcher.

So she escaped to the mortal realm, leaving her past life behind...becoming a normal nature photographer.

She let out a sigh, thinking of her past life. Just the thought of her past job made her feel a little bit depressed...but at least now she had a little bit of change...

“We’re here!~” Arlie parked the truck, getting out. Mokoth grabbed the camera and also got out. Arlie let out a little whistle. “My! Looks like a deep forest to me...” he chuckled. Mokoth just started into the entrance of the forest, “Come on...”

“Awww! You’re no fun!”

Alan heard the sound of the truck, it was an odd one, such things were new devices in the mortal realm, yet highly used within a year or two of their creation. It wasn't close enough to eb a hassle, but then there was something different. A presence she wasn't sure she recalled, or perhaps she did and didn't want to accept it. But something else caught her attention. A stirring in the forest. Something was moving, not just a creature of everyday life, something much more... Unnatural.

It was closer to the source of the feeling than Alan was. And it was not coming her way.She almost jumped like a rocket as her body dashed from the porch, leaving behind a dust trail as she pulled on her gloves, making sure they were stretched tightly across her hands. Whatever the creature was, it was big, and dangerous.

True to Alan's senses, the creature was indeed that. The large lumbering beast proceeding towards the forest edge, attracted by the noise of the truck and the smell of a nice meal. The hulking mass that resembled a half-formed wolf-man crossed with a lizard suddenly burst from the forest edge, preparing to bore down on Arlie, yet at the same time, before it could even manage to complete its attack; the creature was stopped in its tracks, jaws coming down on two, black, gloved hands.

Alan's trail of dust ended between herself and Arlie. She'd managed to make it from her home to this point, smirking up at the monstrous abomination,
"Now that's not a very nice way to treat guests..." She stated simply, wrenching the monsters head aside and thrusting forward suddenly, a swift punch into the gut sending the monster reeling back into the forestry like a lightning strike. The audible crack of wood being torn in half was followed by the treeline losing the tip of one of its trees, a loud crash being heard as it came tumbling down short of Alan,
"Tch, small fry... And here I was hoping for a real match up." Alan muttered, patting her hands together. It was almost ironic that at this moment the creature revealed itself again, visible battered already and attempted to launch itself at Alan.

The response was simple, her arm reached out and the being bit down. Normally a human would have screamed in horror, probably losing their arm in the process. Yet Alan didn't flinch. With a loud bang, and rather gruesome splattering noise, the back of the creature's skull was blown out, Alan's hand emerging from the other side as it slid forward slowly, dead on its feet, in quite the literal sense. Without a second thought, Alan tossed the large body aside, , shaking her arm off until she managed to wipe the last of the blood from her glove,
"Hmph... A wild animal should know not to stick its nose where it hurts a second time."

And poor Arlie was on the ground, freaking out at the sight he had just seen...and the fact that Alan could’ve possibly have her arm ripped off. “W-W-What...h-huh...” he stammered, staring at Alan, and then at the beast that had just attempted to rip out his insides and feast on them.

Mokoth just stared at Alan, having the feeling she wasn’t exactly ‘natural’ herself. “...Are you okay?...Do you need someone to help you with that bite?...” she began stepping towards Alan. “I’m good at dressing wounds...” Mokoth gave a small smile.

“W-What...how...” Alan whimpered, “How were you able to blow that...THING’S HEAD OFF?!” he yelped. “Arlie, shut up...” Mokoth grumbled, glaring at him. “Just be thankful that monster didn’t rip out your stomach or something like that...”

“...Thank you ...” Arlie mumbled, shrinking back a little bit. “Thank you, mam...” he got up shakily.

Alan didn't respond to the human or his whimpering, she'd heard so many in her time that she barely even noticed it. When he shouted, she calmly covered her closest ear so he wouldn't practically deafen her. All the while Alan paid attention to Mokoth. Alan looked at her arm calmly. In that beasts maw it had indeed been punctured, but barely even close to broken, this really didn't phase her, it would heal with time anyway. But if this stranger was so insistent, then why complain?

Alan was in no hurry to get anywhere, and this peaceful offering to heal her was quite welcoming. But then she seemed to pinpoint what Mokoth was, that familiar feeling returning as she sensed the purity within. An Angel. Almost as if in reflex reaction she suddenly backed off, almost as if in fear. Her other hand began cradling the injured arm, she backed off a little further, retreating to one of the trees so that she was half hidden by it, like a child hiding behind a parent and she stared at Mokoth, trying to understand the situation.

Did this Angel understand she would be healing a demon? If she remembered rightly things like this were practically unheard of. Angels and demons did not mix well and Alan was afraid this was an attempt to trick her into false security, only to have her eliminated when she was finally relaxing. The very thought made her blood boil, blood red eyes gleaming once but then she looked aside, hesitant,
"Are you here to kill me?"

Mokoth blinked, "Wha..." she then understood the reason why Alan was being apprhensive all the sudden. "Miss, we're just nature photographers, we're not to hurt or kill you..." she chuckled, giving a understanding smile. "Do you need help?..." she asked yet again, still walking towards Alan. Maybe back then, when she actually cared if someone was a demon, she would've eliminated Alan right there. But not now.

Arlie just watched the two, still confused to what was going on. Why wasn't this girl backing away from his friend like this? And shouldn't Alan have been crying in pain or something like that, seeing that her arms was bitten by a man wolf lizard thing?...

He thought it was kinda weird, but decided to ask questions later .

"You have to understand... I've been around a while, its just a little different to what I remember..." Alan spoke back to Mokoth. She was still hesitant for a small while, but various processes in her head forced her forward, most specifically one that told her that perhaps Mokoth could be trusted. Alan eventually came out of hiding, stepping towards Mokoth until the two were less than a meter apart.

Alan wasn't sure how such a thought had convinced her to do this, but without thinking about it she eventually pulled off her glove and rolled the sleeve back. Her arm was something of a bloody mess, toothmarks quite visible in her rather clean flesh. Demons could bleed profusely for hours and still not die, even a cut to the throat was never enough to finish the job. The blond-haired demoness stared at Mokoth, simply admiring the way an Angel looked when not torn to pieces or beaten to a bloody pulp after extensive torture.

There was a strange, sweet beauty to her that seemed to attract Alan's eyes, but she didn't do so rudely, after all; her attention was supposed to be on the one who was about to heal her. So as to stop herself seeming rude she then spoke once again,
"My name is Alan... I live here in the forest, in my own private home just some ways in... You could get some fair views of nature from there if you wanted...?"

Mokoth gently took Alan’s arm and muttered, “Guarisca...”. With that world muttered, the tooth marks slowly started to close up, the flesh coming back together and fusing. When this was done, only the blood remained. “There we go...” she smiled at Alan. “Good as new...”

Arlie gave a small pout, “How come you can heal so well?! What about all the times I tripped and fell?!” he whined. Mokoth just blinked, “...You never asked...” she just said, shutting up Arlie again.

Mokoth turned her head towards Alan again, “Really? You don’t mind if we get shots from your home? Thank you...” she said, almost grinning. “My name is Mokoth, and that man over there is named Arlie. We’re nature photographers for a nature magazine.” she said, “I’m really grateful for this. Thank you.”

The angel's touch was a strange mixture. There was a warning feeling, a burning within her flesh at disliked it, but at the same time it also felt quite welcoming. Although her flesh would have healed up eventually on its own, this quicker process was fine because it meant less mess. She could easily wash away the rest of the blood later.

Alan withdrew again, still hesitant. Although she'd shown such ease and confidence when faced with the monster, the presence of the Angel still made her highly nervous. But now she'd made the mistake of inviting these tow people to her home. A human was no problem, but an Angel...? What was Alan thinking?? The demoness knew she couldn't go back on her word now.

Alan turned toward the forest, following the normal path she always took to her home. There was no danger within reach of them now, the hostile feelings of the monsters had withdrawn, after all they knew a greater beast was within the forest once again, and that was Alan. They learned from observation that she was not to be dealt with, however even Alan could sense the hungry eyes of predators on her now-companions.

The blond haired female turned to look back to them, just to make sure they were following by this time. They would be safer closer to her, but then again they would be safe alone, that Angel probably could handle herself. The awkwardness of the situation hit her again, an Angel had just touched her and neither had exchanged unfriendly blows. But then a feeling returned to her arm, that same, gentle, welcoming aura form before. Now that they weren't touching, she could feel that alone, this causing her to look at the arm that had been healed, hand flexing and spreading occasionally as she tried to get the circulation system to perhaps push the feeling away. No luck there.

It would take a few minutes walk to reach the home, but it wasn't too deep in. The building itself was a two story house, big enough to be a family home with a smaller hut nearby, probably housing tools for whatever manual work was needed. Perhaps even tools for the small est of flowers growing below the front windows. It was not wild and unpredictable because the way it was set up looked managed. What else was she to do out here on her own anyway?

"My! You have a really nice place here, Miss Alan!" Arlie smiled, whistling at the house. "It's so pretty...and big!" he grinned. Right there, he randomly took a picture of it. "Hee!"

"Stupid! Don't waste our of film on the house! We're here to take pictures of the landscape!" Mokoth snapped at Arlie yet again. Arlie frowned, "What?...I like her house...it's nice looking..." he pouted, setting the camera down, sighing.

Mokoth also sighed, "You really don't mind us staying to take pictures?" she asked, "It'll just be a hour, maybe two...then we'll leave and go back to the city..." she smiled. "Thank you again, this makes our job so much easier for us...and there's less chance that we'll get into trouble like that again..."

Alan searched around the perimeter of the home quickly, nothing was there it seemed, and the creatures were keeping at bay. They knew this was the demon's dwelling and it as the last place they would approach. Normal critters could easily pass by but monsters looking for their next meal were distinctively afraid of approaching. Alan liked it this way because it meant her home acted almost as a sanctuary for less hostile animals that were passing by.

The demoness didn't pay too much attention to the two for a moment, pulling off her jacket and placing it on the porch to her home before kneeling down by the flowers and inspecting them.. They looked okay, no damage since she left, though she had only been gone for some five minutes or so. But when she inspected them closer she realized they were rather dehydrated.

Alan's hands stretched out, fingers spreading as she closed her eyes and uttered a quiet word. It was then a smokey looking mist enveloped the flowerbed, though vanished within seconds, leaving the entire bed glistening with water as though it had just received a light shower. That would be better for definite.

Perhaps only Mokoth understood exactly what she had done. It was an ice spell and not a water one that she had cast, the smoke being emitted by the cold air collided with the warmth climate of the forest. Ice magic was generally intended for combat yet she'd focused it so finely she could use it for such a simple task, hardly the kind of thing a demon would normally do, let alone living out here like a hermit.

Alan sat back quietly, mind returning to Mokoth's question,
"Well.. You can stay as long as you like..." She replied finally. looking over her shoulder at the Angel, "I was actually just.... Considering what to have for dinner... Perhaps you would care to join me...? I'm actually not a bad cook... I had to learn while living on me own..." She mentioned, looking forward at the flowers again. This was stupid, so stupid. She was nervous as nervous as hell was evil and she couldn't understand it. Had she not faced an Angel for so long that it frightened her now? Back then they simply angered her and inspired her twisted desire to tear them apart. But now she couldn't even feel resentment toward one.

Actually, Mokoth did see what Alan did there. A mixture of elemental spells, and quite a good one as a matter of fact. Mokoth had barely seen any human’s do a mixture of elemental spells that well. And was honestly quite suprised a demon could do a spell mixture like that. “Are you sure you want us to stay for dinner...”

Arlie grinned, “Moko, don’t be so rude! Miss Alan told us that we could stay for dinner! Don’t try to argue, m’kay?” he poked both of Mokoth’s cheeks. “Miss Alan, do you mind if I help you in the kitchen when we’re done? I just started to learn how to cook, and I could use the practice!” he asked, “Pwease?”

Mokoth just face palmed and sighed. “At least I’m better at cooking than Moko!” Arlie smirked. “Hey!” Mokoth glared at him, fist clenching. Arlie just let out a small chuckle. “I’m just playing, Moko! Heehee!” he smiled gently. "Don't take it so personally..."

Arlie stretched, "Mmm! Well! We should probably be looking for spots around the house to take pictures from!" he said. Mokoth looked at Alan, "You don't mind if we go around the house, just to take shots?"

Alan watched their rather estranged argument, part of Alan told her that she would have blasted Arlie in a second for being such an irritation, but the other part said he was providing entertainment, but maybe because he was annoying the angel. At what seemed to be the apex of the 'fight' she suddenly began to giggle, placing a hand over her mouth and closing her eyes, almost re-running it in her head until she could pay more attention again.

When they asked if they could look around she waved them off in whatever direction they were going,
"Y-yes... Sorry... I just..." The female chuckled again, "Right... Uh, stay close to the house anyway, the forest is slightly dangerous, as you know.. But you're free to explore. I wont stop you." Alan notified them, though she was sure they knew already and began to inspect her flowers just one more time before getting up and dusting her trousers off.

Her red eyes peered into the forestry again, something in the back of her mind twinging. Something was going on in the world, in the dark, in the shadows, where all evil things crept. These forests were bad enough alone, occasionally being plagued by bizarre monsters. Thee nearby villagers had often been saved by her also as she'd been forced to run out other creatures before, but never anything at the scale of that creature just a short while ago. There was almost no doubt in her mind that it was the result of Demonology or some dark magic. Maybe event he direct influence of a demons presence itself, but maybe not a more sentient form, perhaps just a Hell born beast.
She would let it play out for now until something more interesting occurred, perhaps to confirm her ideas.

“Hey, Arlie. Pick a spot for us to take pictures from. I need to stretch a little bit...” Mokoth said to Arlie. Arlie nodded, “Mkay, Moko! I’ll just call out for you when I find a good spot!” he smiled. Mokoth also gave a little smile, “Don’t wander out too far...I don’t want to find my partners stomach ripped out.” Arlie just grinned more, “I won’t! I’ll just gut another one of those monsters if they attack me!” he said before heading out to find a good spot.

As soon as Arlie was out of hearing reach, Mokoth asked; “Do you know what exactly that monster was? It felt more closer to your energy, I’m not quite sure...” she fixed up her glasses, “I haven’t come in contact with those types of monsters before, so I wouldn’t know...” she looked into the forestry again.

“This is odd...why I haven’t I come in contact with those kind of monsters before?"she thought, biting her lip in frustration. It would make sense if that she hadn’t come in contact with monsters like that before, but she should’ve been able to still know what it was.

Mokoth sighed, “...Oh well...as long as they don’t attack me or Arlie again, I guess I don’t really mind too much...”

"Whatever it was before, it was doubtless twisted by a dark power, but I cannot really tell who or what did it..." Alan replied, lowering her head a little, somewhat ashamed that the energy was demonic in origin, but even that was very subject to discussion, there was any number of methods that could have warped that creature into what it had become.

"I do not often concern myself with the world anymore.. I grew tired of that struggle over a century ago..." Alan sighed, adjusting her gloves and walking towards the front porch, where she picked up her furred jacket while adjusting the short white top wrapped around her upper torso like a band,"Occasionally I protect the nearby village," Alan stated but then swiftly added, "But only because it is convenient to get food and supplies from them."

She acted as though she didn't care but much like a human she was unable to fully hide the fact that she actually enjoyed this lifestyle. The nearby villagers knew of her existence but were hesitant to approach, after all, after their fifty years of development into a bustling little would-be settlement, she had not changed. This would raise questions that she did not want to answer and she would take care of business quickly before leaving, not wanting to upset the villagers with her presence.
But for all she knew they were getting the wrong idea of her and believing she was some sort of guardian angel. What else would show up so often to protect them with their might?

"But I am a little curious as to you.. Why are you here on the mortal realm also...? More importantly, why do you have no desire to vanquish me? ... Did you...? Did you grow tired too...?" Alan stood there, holding the jacket underarm and placing a hand on her hip, but then looked away, "Actually... Never mind... Your business is your own... I wont intrude, so long as I can have my peace out here, I don't care too much. I trust what you said, you're not here to hurt me." This in itself was probably stunning, Demons and Angels were probably the most distrusting creatures, Demons especially since they often considered each other worthless and incompetent, as for Angels, they never trusted anyone beyond each other. Now a Demon trusting an Angel? Even Alan considered this unheard of.

“Aaah...I see...” Mokoth nodded, and then paused a little bit at Alan’s question. Mokoth gave a little smile, “Mmmm...I guess you can I was ‘tired’...no...actually...I was more like ‘bored’ with this war...” she sighed. “It...kind of makes me depressed of how my life was before...just reading books...barely going outside at all...” she frowned.

Mokoth gave a little giggle, “It doesn’t matter now...I’m living a much more fun life here, even if it’s just a little bit better...I’m happy...this is the first time in a very long time I’ve been this happy at all...” she admitted.

That part was completely true. This was the first time that Mokoth was ever this happy. Being able to go outside...being able to communicate with living beings everyday...being able to really move around. “Even if this world is just full of humans...I rather be here than anywhere else...”

"Don't be sorry about it. I don't mind at all..." Mokoth said gently. "I'm having fun...being able to talk to someone else about these kinds of things...especially with someone who might've had me running a long time ago."


Meanwhile...

Arlie was still wandering around, finding a good spot to take pictures. “Moko is taking her sweet time...geez...” he muttered. “She might be talking with that girl Alan...maybe she made a new friend?” he smiled at the idea. “It would be nice if she made more friends besides me...” he said. “BUT STILL, WISHED THAT SHE WOU---oooh! Birdy!” he crouched down, aiming his bird at the bird. “Awww...so cute...”

Alan listened to Mokoth's short explanation as to why she'd left. She was bored of the war? Alan could only have wished that was why she left herself, tired was a gentle word for her leaving, she did not want anyone finding out her true self. But this was a thought for another time, she had best go start preparing a the meal she'd been speaking of.

Inside the building she removed her boots, placing them to the side and hanging her coat up on a rack of other, similar clothes. When inside the house actually felt much more roomy than it was outside. The dark woods that made the majority of the furnishings and decoration were all carefully polished, stone floors covered with large, decorative rugs.

The main living room was fairly large in itself, two long sofa's lining the walls opposite one another, padded with a soft leathery surface and covered by deep-red quilts, sitting a ways from the fireplace that looked barely touched at all, an entire fresh barrel of logs at the side and even the ones in the fireplace seemingly untouched by flame. The walls were covered with various pictures and lining the mantle piece were several pictures that contained Alan and what appeared to be an unknown family. It seemed everyone was happy in those old pictures, the material itself certainly aged.

The kitchen was almost as decorated but by useful hooks and decorations that turned out to hold towels and other equipment, a basement door leading tothe cellar, a place for cold storage of course. But Alan began picking out the tools for tonight's meal, various pots being pushed aside so he could get those she required as well as an array of knives for chopping and other useful equipment. She had to remember what things were more widely accepted as food. Although Alan, as a Demon, could survive without eating for considerable years on end, it would diminish her power, that and she felt keeping up the ritual of eating correctly would make her feel more at peace, it was the human family she had lived with that taught her this.