HFH

Blue Birds P2: Of New Friends, Old Conquests, Healing Factors and Sympathy

First, here's couple things you should know.

Chonna = The area of Hel Satan lives in

Moons in Hel: Lin, Sem, Dor, and Goh: Time is measured in their cycles
*A linur = their version of a day (32 hours)
*A sempur= 2.5 weeks
*A dormur = 2/3 of a year
*A gohur = 4 years

Now, on with the story. Blue birds part two is a go.

-M

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But the story doesn't end there.
After I made the choice to become less... less feral, I found myself often thinking about the little boys of Ohma, in particular Menoma, wondering if the child had survived his wounds. My claws cut into him and medicine in Hel is not very reliable. Demon skin is very durable and most of the time they can be thrown around and slashed by things without it being broken, no matter the age. It can only really be pierced by the blade of an angel, as it is fused with their light, and by myself with my energy. Nobody survived if they were cut by me at that time, and angels were a far few showing up in Hel, so medicine was more focused on preventing sickness and not on healing wounds. If one were to be cut it would remain open forever. They would have to wear bandages or something tight to block the leaking there for the rest of their life and depending on the deepness of the cut often die soon after.
My claws are sharp enough to penetrate Demon skin when encased in energy like that, and were buried deep into his side. I remember the sinking feeling in my stomach at the prospect of the boy dying of blood loss, the first time I ever felt anything negative about death that wasn't twisted and wrong. I didn't want someone to die by my hand, and looking back that was the first time I saw death as anything but entertainment or food even though I had already become more Demon.
I remember thinking about it for a week, while getting clothing tailored and made for my two sizes in a silent clothing shop and the looks of astonishment at how civil I was being. Seeing the terrified faces all around me and the shaking hands and stammering of the tailor making measurements on my larger form was odd, but not unexpected.
He dropped the measuring tape because of his shaking hands, despite being around the same size as me, when he started trying to measure the width of my shoulders and was singed by the energy radiating from my body. He stooped to pick it up quickly, cradling a hand to himself and taking in shaky breaths of pain, trying to hide it.
Something inside me smiled predatorialy, salivated and urged me forward to really tearing into him, the part still keening at all the fear that I could smell in the air. But I remember another part of me there telling me that's wrong, that he was helping me and now he is hurt. I listened to the second voice, retreating my defensive layer of energy into being just beneath my skin so I no longer gave off a darkness and staring at the middle aged demon's hand with an expressionless face. I spoke to him in my more human voice, which not only startled the tailor but everyone in the shop.
"I apologize, I forget it's out sometimes." He stood there frozen for a few seconds, swallowed, then nodded, eyes still fixed on the floor. He pulled his softly scaled hand in closer to his chest and held the measuring tape with his good hand, struggling to get it to extend. At that moment I realized I had ruined his business. A tailor can't work with one hand, and demons only do work that they love. His life would be wasted by this one stupid injury, because flesh wounds don't heal. Unless... Maybe I can fix it, I thought, since my saliva works on angels when I want it to. "Show it to me."
He hesitated, hand still pulled into his dark green chest and hesitated a look up into my eyes, his black ones widened in fear. He didn't extend it toward me. So I put a push of dominating fear into it. "Hand, now."
The whole room seemed to shrink away from me when my voice turned and the tailor quickly extended it towards me, eyes now squeezed shut. When I took it in one hand to look at it he actually flinched, but didn't take his hand away.
My brow furrowed at the thick layer of skin that had been burnt and gored on his fingers and the top of his palm, black fluid oozing from the openings steadily. My body urged me to put it in my mouth but I forced myself to wait, knowing that if I did that with that much blood I ran the risk of just biting it off. So with my other hand I created a portal to Fauna where I knew I had left a glass of water yesterday, grabbing it and pouring it over the appendage. Despite it's consistency, demon blood is quite light and can be washed off with water, and soon the only black there was what was oozing fresh from the wounds. Without hesitation I took a strong grip on his wrist, bracing myself before stuffing it into my mouth.
There were several whimpers sounding around us and I found my eyes closing at the small stirring of energy being created, one I had deprived myself of for a long time. But I focused on the task at hand, keeping my teeth out of the way and focussing on releasing the substance from my tongue. I ran it over this fingers and the part of palm that I have in my mouth, pressing my tongue around the fingertips, glad not to have to worry about claws, but the flesh wasn't healing. I pulled the appendage out of my mouth and stared at it.
As soon at the now slightly red tinted from my healing appendage hit air the skin began to grow back layer by layer. So this time just ran my tongue over the remainder of the wound, eyes open and locked on the face of the tailor. His scale patterns, colour, and lack of claws are distinctive to the House of Chaze, the family has passed down the tailoring profession for generations. I believe I ate two of the Chaze before, but not this one. Not ever again. When I finished I stared at him, letting go of his wrist and watching it flop to his side. The tension in the room at that point was thick enough to be cut with a knife, but I waited patiently for him to register he still had a hand. It took a minute but he did, eyes wide if as he flexed fingers healed over by slightly off colour scales. He looked up at me, not in fear this time, but in wonder and question, but didn't speak but to take the tape measure in his second hand too, a stoic expression now on his face but eyes filled with disbelief. "... Thank you."
"I didn't mean to hurt you in the first place, though you're welcome." And with a nod he continue measuring me. A while later, when his measurements for both sizes were finished and we had discussed the style and colour I was looking for ("More conservative of a style." He had mumbled under his breath with what seemed like excitement upon drawing up examples) he simply gathered the papers and nodded.
"They'll be done in a Sumpur and a half, you can come pick them up then." A Sumpur is very fast for clothing but he seemed pretty intrigued by my requests and being who I was I wasn't surprised he was going quickly for me. But then he just sat and waited, so did I.
"Thank you. I have seen your work, it's very good. I assure you I am doing my part for Chonna, and the rest of Hel." I figured I should specify.
The way things work here is that when a demon is young they try a bunch of things and whatever they come to like to do becomes their job. Demons have knacks for avoiding work, so this way they're avoiding work because they like what they do, and in return for whatever service they provide they get everything they need from others. Essentially, it's a society thriving on codependency. Demons are lustful creatures, when they want something they get it but usually that isn't material objects, so there's really no need for currency to get things down here; if you pitch in, you get what you want.
I heard some demon say something under his breath, a rather large more powerful one with tough leathery grey looking skin, three dull orange eyes, a row of sharp white teeth and what looks like a pair of bat wings in a similar grey colour. He was being sized in the corner by a quite young looking she demon also from the house of Chaze, and another beautiful she-demon with deep blue hair and baby blue skin to match, a long groomed tail of puffy blue fur curved around her body in shock and fear at what he he'd said. I smirked a little seeing her, Sohla.
She had thrown herself at me a month ago when I had been around public places, proposing I give her children. It's normal for demons to propose sex in order to have their own child, in fact there is a significant number of single parents in Hel, many more than couples, but not for a male demon to turn a female down. Demons are lustful creatures, and therefore have a lot of sex, usually with the same gender when they want no risk of offspring, so most proposals for this are automatically accepted. But she was asking me, a creature that could've eaten her; she really only wants children with the most powerful demon she can get her hands on but I did applaud her for her courage to approach me. I was curious to see if I could have children myself so I took her up on her offer for a one off. We went for three days at my home, she passed out twice, until I decided that was long enough and suggested she leave and let me know if it worked in a couple weeks. She of course hesitated to leave, but did and came back a couple weeks later saying it didn't work but we should try again, practically rubbing up against me in to process, I turned her down, and sent her off with a smirk and her clothing and that was that. I had always wondered if I could actually get someone pregnant, though I had the feeling I couldn't, and that settled that. As much as I liked the sex, she liked it a little too much and had proposed a bond when I saw her the second time, probably under the grounds that she would have the most powerful creature in the worlds tied to her. Looks like she found a new demon to hang off of, a demon who had just muttered
"What, by not eating children?"
I sized him up, but stayed civil as it wasn't a challenge and it was the truth. I had stopped, but it's more than that.
"House of Lai," I stated definitively, recognizing the traits. "Yes, I have stopped eating. Any of you, not just the children, though I haven't taken any of the Lai before. But no, that isn't all I provide." My voice came out normal human, unobtrusive although my words were honest. He of course, squared up to me, but I ignored it in favour of his girlfriend. "Sohla, it's been a while."
I smirked the same predatorial way I had during our three days and she shifted a bit, legs tightening together and crossing. So she does remember, heh. Of course Lai wouldn't take well to myself knowing his girlfriend so fondly, and he began hissing warning at me. I turned a crushing gaze at him, one that has lesser demons cowering and backing off instantly. He hesitated for a split second, then sent his own glare back. Oh so he isn't afraid of me, how I would love to use him as an example. But that's not me anymore, I have other ways of doing so. I sent a predatory smile at his challenge, but didn't move. "It's not very wise to challenge me like that Lai, a few months ago that would have cost you your life."
"And it doesn't now? I don't believe that the Satan could just walk into a store and say he's Demon now, I'm surprised the animal can even talk." He's really starting to try my patience.
"If I wasn't talking, none of you would be breathing." I squared up to his challenge just a little, but I left my teeth, claws and voice the same. "Least of all Sohla over there, after begging me for a child and then a bond and all, but I'll let her tell you that story."
"Xhů idii đhyxus hjs." He hissed, wings starting to spread. But my tailor, a son of Chaze, stepped in in that minute.
"There is NO CHALLENGING in my shop, leave or calm down Nnlai. The Satan is here as a customer just as you are and you don't see him fucking around and starting fights that'll get him killed." There was a stunned silence, and even I found myself staring at the scaled demon now standing and staring pointedly at the orange eyed demon with a writing utensil in one hand and the file of my clothing designs in the other. He just... Defended me? Nnlai looked surprised but recovered quickly, now turning to snarl at the considerably weaker demon.
"What're you going to do Chaze? Challenge me? I could tear off Pychaze's arm and you still wouldn't challenge me you fuckin coward." The she-demon who had been taking his measurements stepped back with her own defiant snarl, but with fear in her posture; so that must be Pychaze.
The demon was bluffing, but what he could do to Pychaze is worse than losing an arm due to a challenge. Her family isn't one of strong traits but with artistic ones and Nnlai could probably take the both of them in a fight with relative ease. Demons can't split each others skin but they can beat each other to a pulp until their bodies are crushed on the inside, or use other means in a challenge.
I made my decision faster than I remember thinking it through and I had moved so fast that Nnlai hadn't had a chance to so much as flinch before I had grasped him by the neck and pulled him outside of the shop with me, stopping abruptly and throwing him sprawling heavily onto the ground.
"Don't pull weaker demons into our argument. I have tried my best to become as demon as possible and under that I could kill you. But the service I pose to Hel is to protect all demon within from the Angels, and from dumbasses like you who throw challenges around like greetings without thinking because they can win them so I have to refrain for now." I grabbed a hold of one of his wings and pulled on it enough that he grit his teeth in pain, one of my feet on his lower back forcing him to stay down. "The next time you challenge someone without cause don't forget which one of us can actually tear off limbs." The fear rolling off of him was delicious at this point, much needed, and I took the moment to inhale closer, smiling a little. "And Sohla is going to ask you for children then leave you and/or come crawling back to me for a bond after this so I suggest you figure out what you want out of her before that happens."
The She-demon in question was watching in the window of the shop, a hungry look on her face at what was happening and blue tail swaying in obvious interest. I let go of his wing and stepped off of him, walking at a normal speed back into the shop aware of the now obvious stares of every pair of eyes in the room. I sent a pointed look at Sohla who had began to approach me with a sway of hips that had her stopping in her tracks and rushing out of the shop to her new toy instead. Smart move. I then walked up to the tailor and offered a wrist in a demon gesture of respect, one that he returned after a moment. "Satan is my name, not my species. And it isn't a title, so you can drop the 'the' before it." He nodded.
"Achaze is mine."
"Thank you for taking my order Achaze, not many demon would."
"Yes well between the near death experience turn miracle you just pulled on me and the self absorbed idiot you threw out of my shop I'm glad I did. We Chaze are nothing if not reasonable." He said with an amused twinkle in his eye, his face splitting into a small smile for the first time around me. I didn't even register the small smile I sent back, but I did nod. There was a small silence between us filled with Achaze packing up his larger set of supplies before I interrupted.
"I've dealt with the Lai so he won't bother you in the future. If anyone in the house of Chaze ever is cut open again don't hesitate to call me, I owe you that much for the trouble I've brought on your practise." He looked surprised but nodded again, straightening the paper in his hands and bustling off to store them somewhere, continuing to talk.
"Actually, if I can cash in that favour right now, a friend of mine's son has had his skin split for 12 Dormur now." He walked back across to me, looking a bit cautionary. "He isn't house of Chaze, he's house of Ohma, but the poor kid's closer to dead every day." Something balled up in my stomach at the mention. It must be Menohma.
"Consider it done." I said simply and opened up the portal to Menohma's home, mind finally made up on the matter. I'm going to face them once more and fix what I've done. But before I could move there was a small sound from just behind me.
I turned to see Pychaze, the small now evidently quite young demon looking at the ground dwarfed by my height. Without a second thought I shrank to my human size to everyone's surprise and offered a hand to her. She looked up confused at the alien gesture.
"Uhm... I just wanted to... Thanks for, you know... Achaze probably wouldn't have been able to take Nnlai in a fight and well... Thanks." She blurted, still ignoring my hand.
"It's my job Pychaze, you're welcome. You're supposed to accept it." She still looked confused. "Put out your hand."
"Oh- alright but-" I took her hand in mine and kneeled over in the way my time on earth had taught me, bringing it to my mouth in a kiss before releasing my hold and looking back up.
"Now take it back." She looked shocked, and a bit scared but did so nonetheless and I stood again. Well I thought I'd try it, it's supposed to be a proper kind gesture towards a female and it worked fine in England, but I guess it's different here. "... It's a custom in Fauna. It's how a man shows respect to a woman, it's different down here though I see." Instead of looking weirded out though her eyes sparkled as she looked at me.
"You've been to Fauna? So it's actually real?!"
"Yes, I used to- I spent time there learning to be civil before returning to Hel."
"... Prove it."
"Pychaze, I think Satan has-"
"Well Ms. Chaze, I can speak English if I so please, ou, Mademoiselle Chaze, parle en Français un peu." I interrupted with a smile, the freshly learned languages rolling off my slightly pointed tongue in an awkward but familiar way, the lulling accents switching effortlessly. The way her face lit up in wonder was new to me, how it pushed away any remaining fear in her expression and flooded her eyes, all directed at myself... It made an impression. Maybe this could in fact work down here in Hel, maybe I won't be feared forever and I won't need to hunt and kill and consume to be happy.
"Those were human languages."
"Yes, English and French."
"Whoa... Teach me."
"Now Pychaze I think that's enough," Achaze interrupted from beside me. "You do have work to get to, and I'm sure Satan has things to get to as well." The disappointed look on her face made me smile, this isn't as difficult as I thought it would be.
"Right, right okay fine. Just maybe... do they say bye up there?"
"Usually they 'bid farewell', thanking eachother for their presence. The men bow, which is," I bent into a formal bow, left arm tucked in my stomach and right behind my back. "This, but you would curtsy."
"Cerzeyy."
"Curtsy, yes. The women all wear long skirts in Fauna so their form of bow is to lift their skirts slightly with both hands, bend their legs, and bow their heads in respect." She tried to mimic the gesture I explained and gave a shaky sort of half curtsy.
"That's really cool."
"Mm."
"Okay that's enough fictional etiquette lessons for today, Pychaze you have a new customer." She scoffed at her brother but bustled off to to station to measure up her new customer. Achaze sent a stern look at her retreating back that softened after a minute. "Sorry about that, she's been on about Fauna since her 7th Dormur."
"It is a beautiful place, but the humans are very different." He sent me a look.
"You weren't kidding."
"No."
"How different are they then?"
"They possess a sort of intelligence that none of us do and have thought up new pleasures that even Demon kind hasn't taken notice of, not to mention how far away from instincts they have drawn, constantly trying to get better. But they are small and fragile and the way they do things is only fair in theory. They make thousands fight to resolve a challenge between two and some starve while others have too much food to know what to do with. They never see eachother as equals and quite often hate each other before even meeting simply by their traits. It's all a massive imbalance up there. It's almost as if they strive to be like the Thriven, but have too much desire in their hearts to do so." Achaze did nothing but raise a skeptical eyebrow, now looking down at my much smaller form to meet my eyes.
"A place like that sounds like somewhere to avoid." He stated simply.
"For demons, yes. Human traits are in a word Parasitic to your kind. I've seen demons that have found their way up into Fauna and well..." Flashes of demons driven by overwhelming greed for material objects and emotions flashed before my eyes, terrifying humans and killing ruthlessly in order to obtain something they don't understand. "The myths they have about demon kind weren't absurd considering what those demons did. It's the reason I haven't unsealed the connection between Hel and Fauna."
"Hold on, you sealed the- you can do that?"
"Have done that, yeah. At the time it wasn't to protect anyone, it was just a way of capturing easy prey. The odd demon trying to make their way to Fauna and walking through a portal to my location instead." He looked at me with a slightly horrified and disgusted hint in his stoic expression, but also seeming to try to figure me out. I held his eye contact though, despite the uncomfortable curling of guilt and that twisted hunger in the pit of my stomach. "Animalistic and cruel I know, I changed the portal to drop them to a spot a small ways away and left it. I have changed."
"I can tell." And with that he glanced uneasily at the portal still open in the middle of his shop. "Come back here in a Sempur, I should have most of your wardrobe finished by then. But now those three have been waiting there since before you threw out the hothead for me, so if you don't mind."
"Of course. Until then." I said with a nod, one he returned before turning and striding away. Achaze is interesting, I may even stretch to think he may become a friend of mine, or at least the first on the list of not thinking I'm a feral animal anymore. And I guess Pychaze would be the second on that list. I smiled a little at the thought before heading through the portal. It's really wasn't that hard to interact with demons and I already have two on my side. Today has been very productive, but I do have one more thing to take care of.
I stepped through to the area of familiar grey rock, an average home carved into the side of a cliff of smooth rock. It hasn't changed much in the time it's been since I showed up here with the child impaled on my claws, the same chalky green moss growing decoratively around the window and metallic sort of smell from the cliff face. The house of Ohma. I stood there for a while, my legs for some reason not wanting to work to take me to the door to face the family inside.
I wish I had my new clothing already to show them that I have changed to become one of them, so that maybe the head of Ohma would let me near the boy without force. But I don't, so I have to try to make the loose fitting grey shirt and pants I had taken from some house or another look unassuming and Demon. I have to do this. I forced myself to the door, running a clawless hand over the white moss trailing up the side of the door and watching as it lit up from my touch, no doubt carrying on in streaks inside in order to alert the house. A familiar wide demon in blue came to the door, stopping in his tracks when he saw a considerably smaller me standing there. He looked confused for the briefest moment before tensing and falling into a defensive stance, glaring at me with fierce determination in stark contrast to the fear pouring off of him.
"If you came to kill us all you'll have to get through me first." He stated without a waver in his voice and looking slightly down at me to meet my eye, clearly not fooled by my soft clawless appearance. Smart. I stared right back at him.
"I haven't. I came to apologize and offer my aid." He looked dumbstruck, eyes narrowed and searching my face.
"You what?"
"I apologize for what I did to your son. I was feral and confused then, but I have decided to change my behaviour in favour of becoming a part of Chonna. If you let me, I can fix him."
"I don't believe you." Despite my calm tone he was becoming frantic steadily, tensing into an even more defensive pose. "This twisted game you're playing in order to get to me isn't going to work you sick animal."
"I-... Am demon now."
"Hurry up and try to kill me already I told you you weren't going to lead me on like that."
"LISTEN TO ME." I cracked, posture staying calm but my voice betraying me and taking on it's dark tone. He shrank back. "Menohma must be on his deathbed after this long and I am the only one who can heal him. I have no murderous or cruel intent, I only want to fix the past mistakes that I can in the process of creating my new life. If I wanted to eat your household you would all be bleeding out on the rock already and I would not be in my human sized form. I will let you set any parameters, even a test of my genuineness if you want, but your son is going to die if you don't let me in to see him."
He was quiet for a whole minute, just staring at me. First trying to find out if I was lying, then trying to figure out why I would be here and not have killed him yet, then wondering if it was worth it to let me see Menohma. It all played out in his creamy blue coloured eyes and eventually he swallowed and began to speak again.
"Prove to me you can heal him."
"On who?"
"..." He hesitated then went steely again. "Yourself. You've got to have some demon in you for it to work."
"My body heals itself by other means, I'm not sure that'd prove anything but very well." I let out my claws, running one to split open a large portion of my lower arm and sticking a finger from the other hand in my mouth to gather the red substance. I applied it liberally the the red leaking wound, which now glowed in red laced with black before sealing up all together. I don't know if it even worked but I think the whole point of this was to prove it wasn't venom so it shouldn't matter much. The head of Ohma stared with wide eyes as it closed, then looked back up at me.
"You- it's red."
"Yes, is that proof enough for you? I can smell him dying from out here." He looked uneasy, as he should, but eventually nodded. He doesn't really have another choice if he wants his son to live. We stood there a tense moment, neither of us moving until I rose a respectful arm in his direction and displaying an unsettlingly breakable expanse of skin on my forearm to him. He needs to understand that I respect him. He hesitated. "Without my energy to shield me, my skin is very breakable. I mean no harm in your home and this is as harmless as I can become without taking on a completely human form. You have my utmost respect Ohma but I will get in to save your child with or without your permission."
"Korohma," he sighed out tiredly, raising a wrist to match mine with a resigned but sharp expression. "I'm called Korohma."
"Satan. Now, Menohma?"
"Meno is in his room." he opened his mouth to presumably give me some sort of warning but closed it just the same without saying anything, looking down at me pensively for a moment before stepping the side and gesturing for me to lead. Its almost as if he was trying to figure me out instead of deciding if he should trust me, which decidedly he doesn't, not enough to willingly show his back to me, even in my most fragile form. I stepped through the average sized rock home, small enough to stick out among the 6 ft chairs and wide doorways built to accommodate the Ohma, following the soft smell of bleeding demon through the home. The scent led me up a small lift to the second level, a luminescent cold glow coating the walls of the hall and flowing along to roof and into the half walled off rooms. But the moss barely had to do much work as natural light spilled into the whole level from large glass filled gaps in the roof that blotted the room in rounded patches of warm light.
"The light in here is beautiful."
"... I had the glass done when Memohma expressed his interest in the rooms up here some 7 gohur ago. He's in the last one." I nodded, then moved on to the back, entering a room absolutely swathed in warm light from outside. I actually stopped and looked around at the room before taking note of menohma. The floor had a softer form of moss coating it in an almost translucent white that didn't leave any sort of damp residue. The whole ceiling of the room was glass, but with a network of glass loops and hooks extending down from it.
What captured my eye was the blue sort of knot pulling down through the corner of it, spidering along the far corner and across the entire wall to my left in a stunning pattern urged and supported by hooks and loops on that wall similar to that on the roof. The deep blue limbs also wrapped around and wound through the second set of loops, hanging from the ceiling in turrets lazily, the tendrils appeaeing delicate. The whole plant was littered with open blooms of white petals, and closed ones hanging from the ceiling portion. The plant was breathtaking in its own, but to have the branches coaxed into such a beautiful array to appear to embrace the room was something I had never imagined could exist, nevermind in such a young demon's room. My eyes finally drifted to the small figure frozen in his spot sitting on the foot of a rather large bed for the still growing creature. I stepped into the room and allowed Torohma to pass me and put himself firmly between myself and his son before speaking.
"It's nice to meet you Menohma." I kept my gaze on the young demon, trying to keep my voice as unthreatening as possible. It didn't work at all and despite my small size and respectful posture the tension in the air was near palpable. Menohma is stiff and his heart is picking up, pumping fear into the air in waves as he sat there at the end of his bed. "I'm not here to harm anyone."
I really didn't for once want to just take the most direct way of doing things. Old me would just stride over there, grab the young demon and get it over with, ignoring any resistance from either party. Well, to be honest old me wouldn't be offering aid in the first place, old me wouldn't have even bothered to come to a place like this even to eat anything. I never had a particular taste for injured demons, they usually weren't fun enough, that is to say I never pursued one. If I came across one or two I wouldn't have passed them up of course, and the idea of consuming children was barely an issue to me. Yet here I am, vulnerable as I can be having asked permission to enter a home (more or less) with the intention of saving a life not taking one. This one time I find myself wanting to care, and actually caring. I want to do this without distressing anyone or taking things through force or the influence of fear, but I don't know how.
I look into the familiar blue eyes and at the small clawed hands buried in the fabrics below him and I see fear. I hear it in the tense silence that is too familiar to me and only one thing pops into my head to be less imposing. I drop to the floor, sitting with my legs crossed on the translucent moss and looking back up at him. He sent a look of surprise, then curiosity down at me. He didn't relax completely but its better.
"I already met you."
"I wouldn't call what happened meeting each other." I tilted my head slightly at the young demon who was looking down at his hands now folded nervously in his lap. "My name is Satan."
"He came to heal you Meno." Torohma cut in, placing a hand on the scared demons shoulder.
"Yes, and to apologize to you." Menohma still didn't lift his head, so I decided to choose another route. "Your Dulanc ghir root is beautiful."
This startled him into looking up at me.
"You know what kind it is?"
"Yes, of course. I've seen many before but none grown inside like this one. Did you grow it yourself?"
I left out the reason for knowing the name purposely but it seemed to work. He nodded vigorously.
"It's my favourite of my whole garden so I keep it in my room. Its a Gor family K type root so the whole thing should be dead already cause its only supposed to have one Jlint to support the whole root. I can get it to bloom multiple though by letting it grow normally then tricking it into switching its sroh flow so it flowers on the much larger roots by giving it lots of light from the ceiling and covering the small outer stock constantly. Innstan says I saved the entire species by figuring this out, but-" his brain seemed to catch up with his mouth at this point because he cut himself off. He has a passion for plants, and his young unbridled enthusiasm stirred something in me. I didn't even register the warm expression I was making until Menohma looked up expecting to be sneered at for talking too much and his expression softened a little in return.
"That's amazing Menohma. You would make a good plant-keeper, from what I can see you have a talent for it." he smiled a little.
"Thanks..."
"Now, would you mind letting me have a look at your wounds?" he hesitated but stood up and made his way over to me. His father started, clearly uneasy about how easily Menohma approached me. I glanced up at him, pinning him to his spot, before looking back up at the child now sitting in front of me. He pulled off the stained bandages and the room immediately bloomed with the smell of bleeding demon. The five distinct holes torn through his skin immediately started oozing in thick black and his form shivered slightly but didn't move. "Mm. Okay, I can fix it Menohma but you're going to have to give me a little first."
"Give you- what? I didn't agree to-" Torohma piped up but I pinned him with a sharp gaze.
"I can't produce enough on the scent in the room alone, its his choice if he wants to proceed." I looked back at Menohma. "I wont hurt him."
He sat for a moment, looking me over and I could almost see the little gears turning in his head trying to decide. Eventually he tilted his head in a brief nod of affirmation. I left no time for tense silence, jumping on the boy and quickly running two fingers over the wound to gather the liquid then popping them into my mouth. The response to the flavour was immediate and almost caused my head to spin at the rush of instincts waking up. I ignored them though, focussing on the rush of liquid pooling on my tongue. I spared no glances before diving my head down and quickly running my tongue over all five of the holes in his skin. Alarm bells were ringing in my head and a part of me wanted to clamp down and tear, finish the job, mmn its been a long time since I've-
Once I felt the unevenness of the fifth hole I all but threw myself away from Menohma, red liquid mixed with black leaking from the corner of my mouth and the points of teeth peaking from behind my human lips. I scrambled back more to make sure I don't suddenly lurch back forward again, the feeling of plush moss turning to coarse rock under my palms. Squeezing my eyes shut I focussed on trying to stay human, all the way human just revert completely and keep your distance. I breathed for a little more until I felt the pointed teeth squaring off and the weight of my horns disappear before opening my very human eyes. I looked on to see both of the Ohma staring at me, Tor protectively and Meno worriedly.
"Toro! It's better now..." The larger demon looked down to see the navy skin of his son's torso void of any injury. Instead where the wounds used to be were pale blue swatches of new skin. They both stared, then looked back at me, starting at my now completely human appearance. "Satan you're..."
"This is what a human looks like yes. That's all I came here to do," I tried to gather myself and climbed to my feet, clothing bagging slightly around my ankles and hanging a bit looser off of my frame. Luckily there was barely enough size change to make clothing an issue, for which I let out an easy breath. I'm far from being able to do that freely yet, but I didn't kill him. "Torohma, thankyou for letting me into your home, Menohma for your quarters. I'll be on my way now."
I conjured a portal behind me and turned to walk through it, gathering whatever dignity I have left from that and stepping into my den. It closed behind me, and it was all over. I stood in the middle of my sitting room for I don't know how long, red liquid still leaking from my mouth. I just saved a life. One I would have taken, almost did... Is this what it's like recognizing demons as people? It's new, good I think. Never before have I made connections, wanted new things, to talk to people. There's an appeal in the idea of smiles, real conversation, company. But at the same time, this new experience changes my outlook.
I never really noticed how heavy silence is before, how uncomfortable seclusion can be. But now, the quiet emptiness of the whole den around me is coating my skin and making me almost restless, turning such a large space into a kind of cage. It doesn't make sense that I don't just notice the emptiness, I can feel it on my skin, in my chest and filling my lungs. The taste of the child lingered on my tongue, reminding me of what I've given up in favor of this new life. I bodily shuddered. Is it worth the effort? I can't have the terror and the flavour and the POWER anymore... I moved to a plushy spot built into the ground and threw myself on it, sighing and curling up comfortably. I guess staying human enough is best to stop me from going out hunting. I shifted and closed my eyes, tired.

"I need a drink."