When I transitioned I was in Dark's world. I knew it. It felt like someone had put anchors on my shoulders. That must've been the heavy presence Dark was talking about. How can he move around like this? I wondered, taking a few timid steps, afraid of collapsing. I noticed other demons were staring at me funny. Telepathy. I had forgotten about that. I didn't quite know how to read minds so I didn't bother trying. No more thinking. Anyone can read my mind. I did my best to focus on thinking about nothing. I felt a pair of thin cold arms around me. I jumped. "What's the matter? It's me, idiot." I turned around to see a female demon with long blood red hair, dark skin, and very bold yellowish eyes. "Circe?" I asked. She looked at me strangely. "Yeah. Who else? I always jump on your back like that. What's wrong with you?" I didn't have a reply. "I'm not myself today." I said. "Jesus, tell me about it. You're acting weird." I put my hand behind my head. "Yeah, I'm feeling weird." Circe hugged me. "I've missed you. We never get to see each other anymore." I hugged her back. So this was Circe. Dark was right, she definitely was pretty. Whoever's image she was made in had to be a model or something. "I saw you come down here, what brings you here? You're like never down here." I froze. "Just wanted to see you." I said. "Aw Ari, how sweet." she said, kissing me on the cheek. I'm not into girls. It was awkward to say the least. "How long can you stay?" "Til 3." I replied. She checked the time. "That's two hours. Long enough." she said. "Come on, let's go see what Lilith is up to." She practically dragged me behind her. She was short and skinny, but she was just about as strong as Dark. I was impressed. She dragged me along a street until we reached a pretty modest, small home. "Lilith will be so excited to see you. She misses you all the time, you know?" Aw, how sweet. I didn't really care what Dark said about being created, he had a family as far as I was concerned. Circe was his sister, Lilith was his mom, Abraxas was his brother, and Mammon was his dad. At least that's how I saw it. Circe dragged me over to Lilith. "Look who's back." she said, proudly thrusting me out in front of her. Lilith brought me into a tight hug. "So good to see you." she said. When she let go, I looked at her. She bore a very uncanny resemblance to Dark, save for the eyes. Hers were ice blue. "Hi Lilith." I said, giving her a weak wave. She frowned a bit. "Are you sick? You don't seem well." she said. I felt nervous. "I told Circe I don't feel myself." I said. "What's wrong? Human troubles?" she asked. "I guess you could say that." I said. "Talk to Circe about it. You two have always been close." Circe stood behind me, casually rocking on her heels. She was so adorable. It was hard to believe she was a demon, she was just so innocent and sweet. Maybe she was only like that toward Dark. "I think I will." I said, turning to Circe. "Where do you wanna talk?" I asked. "Same place we always do when you're down here." I froze again. "Where is that?" She raised an eyebrow. "Your old room." she said, concerned. "You're really not okay, are you?" I shook my head. She walked me into what was Dark's old room. Typical. Black, black, and more black. We sat on the bed. "Tell me what's wrong." Circe said, hands on her hips. "Okay listen. Dark-Arioch told me that you're trustworthy. I'm not Arioch, I'm (y/n). I swapped bodies with him today so I could come here...and meet you." Circe looked at me blankly. She looked around. "You're human?" she asked. "Completely. That's why I don't know shit about anything around here." Circe clasped her hand over her mouth. "He let you come down here?" she asked, shocked. "Yeah. I begged...it's a long story. I'm here now. I just wanted to see things from his perspective." Circe laughed. "So (y/n) is a female name, right?" she asked. I nodded. "That means Arioch is stuck in a female body." I hadn't even thought about that. We both laughed. "Oh god, I hope I get my period today." I laughed. "What's that?" I forgot, no reproducing means no period. "Hasn't your human ever explained? It's part of the female reproductive cycle. It's painful and messy." I whispered the gory details into Circe's ear. She burst out laughing. "I can't see Arioch handling that well." she said. I laughed, too. "He would freak out." Circe and I looked at one another for a while. "I can't believe a human is down here. This HAS to be a first. I won't even ask how you two pulled this off...this is crazy." We were both silent. "While you're down here, is there anything you wanted to see?" I thought about it. "Really I just wanted to meet you. Arioch talks about you a lot...he made you sound really cool. I really want to learn about you guys too." Circe smiled. "There's a lot to learn. Two hours isn't enough time to teach you everything. Be specific." I thought for awhile. "Just tell me more about Arioch. We're friends...good friends." Circe snapped her little fingers and produced a photo album. "He would murder me for showing you these, and that's exactly why I'm showing you. I don't care how old we get, we will never stop messing with one another." I smiled. She opened the book and we delved into hundreds of photos of Dark over the year. The album was wonderful. It was filled with pictures of Dark as a baby, a small child, a teenager and a few more recent pictures. "This is so cool. I guess...I guess I never understood the similarities." "We're similar but different. I'm sure you know unlike humans we're not born..." I nodded. "That I do. I just don't understand one thing: you guys act like siblings. You're mean to each other, yet you love each other. You just have that sort of relationship." Circe shrugged. "That's your human perception I guess. It's not like that. Not at all." she said. "Anything else?" I couldn't really think of anything. "I'm just getting used to this feeling." "Have you flown yet?" she asked, excited. "No, not yet." "You should. Just jump, and don't look down. It's easy." I wanted to believe her, but I had already experienced how hard it was to do the things that Dark did routinely. "That's it?" I asked. She nodded. "Just jump." I took a few steps and did exactly that. I landed flat on my face. I groaned a bit, shuffling to my feet. "Alright, you're a bit less experienced than I thought. Let me guess...this is the first time you've ever been in his body?" I nodded. "Well, I'm not teacher material, but the best thing you can do is just relax and use your head. Think about flying. You don't have to the whole time...just at first. Focus." I was nervous as all get out, but I listened. I can't even believe to describe how great it feels to fly. It's something most people dream about...wish they could do...and I did it. "Walking is uncommon down here. We're not so great at it...trust me, you'll be less suspicious if you keep floating around like that." I didn't mind. "So (y/n)...will you ever come back?" I was unsure. "I dunno of Arioch would like me to. He's all worried about me messing up his body or being trapped in my body forever." Circe laughed. "He's a vain fucker, isn't he?" she asked. I nodded. "He's always been that way. Ever since he discovered how charming he is, he's been obsessive with looking a certain type of way. Is he like that with humans?" "Oh yes. Definitely yes. I've never seen someone be so in love with a mirror. He is always looking at himself." "Vain he is, but he's always going to be my best friend. He always took such great care of me when we were kids. He used to let me sleep with him because I hated being alone. You seem really nice, I hope he's like that with you." "We hang out, but not that way..." "Spend more time around him and he'll be like that. He won't admit it, but he's a little cuddle bug." I could see it. Not with many people, but I could definitely see it. "It's getting close to 3. Do you know how to get home?" "Yeah I do. He told me what to look out for." "Good. I'm really glad you got to see this (y/n). I mean, you can't tell anyone, but still. It's pretty cool to know that there's a person here right now." I smiled. "Let me walk you to where the calling voices are strongest." I happily accepted her offer. We both walked towards a foothill. "Pretty huh?" "I dunno about pretty, Circe. This place gives me the creeps." She laughed. "This is considered to be one of the most beautiful places in this realm because it's quiet here. You can hear the voices better. Just take a seat and wait. You've got about three minutes." We sat together, poking more fun at Dark and his whole life. "When you go back, will you hug him and tell him hello for me?" "Of course I will. I'm sure he'll be happy to hear from you." We waited and I listened intently. "What am I listening for?" "Something unique. It's a tone that only you can hear." I kept waiting until I heard it. "I guess that's it. I had fun here. I had a lot of fun." Circe smiled and hugged me goodbye. "Just follow that sound, don't worry about walking off the edge of the hill. It's like walking on a stairway in the sky." I followed her directions and before I knew what was happening I was in Mark's house. "Hey you." he said, toweling his hand off. "Hi." I said, looking back hoping to catch a glimpse of Circe. Too late. "Did you have fun? Last I saw you were passed out on the floor." I laughed. "I'm fine, I had fun. Where's Dark?" "He's out back. He's been enjoying being a female for the day." "Oh really?" I asked, curiously. "Yeah, I won't get into the messy details. Let's just say...he took your body out for a spin." I was furious. "Does that mean what I think it means?!" I asked. "Um. It means exactly that." I stormed out back to find Dark lounging by the pool. "I'm going to KILL YOU!" I said, lunging for him.
