Demon Puppet

Chapter 2

Doll-eyes looks over at his companion and grunts. "We can stop here for the day. We're under better cover at night, anyway--and Noelle won't want to travel when it's dark."

Leo nods wordlessly and sits down. His one awkward wing would not fold against his back, so he was forced to lay on his stomach. He and the demon puppet had been tracking Hero and Noelle for days, being sure to hide from the humans. Hiding cost them time and extra effort--two things that Doll-eyes absolutely did not want to waste. Doll-eyes envied Hero briefly; his only inhuman qualities could easily be changed or overlooked, whereas Doll-eyes' obvious features and Leo's black wings could not be concealed.

Doll-eyes reaches into his jacket and pulls out his doll. He looks at the cross-stitched eyes and reaches up to his face. He was an ancient creature, but the memory of his own eyes still burned fresh in his mind. He would never look human again.

He sighs. His fingers lightly brush the legs of the doll. The lower half of the doll had been pinned beneath a stone of the crumbled prison walls. He had been trapped for over half a century. So many of the Immortals that had been imprisoned with him were dead. The Immortals. All because of one selfish, deceptive monster.

Hero.

Hongbin let out a low growl even at thinking the name. The red-eyed bastard had cost him much more than his eyes. He had taken everything--and not only from Doll-eyes.

Leo notices Doll-eyes' souring expression. He holds out a jug of water despite his knowledge that the demon puppet did not need or want sustenance of any kind. Leo's dark eyes don't miss a thing. "Do not think of him," he says softly.

"What else am I to think of?" Doll-eyes snaps angrily. "She is with him. She chose him. She believed him. He is the reason the pack, Ravi, and N are dead."

Leo tilts his head. "He is also the reason you are free."

"You found the doll," Hongbin hisses. "Hero is the one who trapped me. I could have saved them. I could have protected her." He looks away, and his lip curls. "How can you not loathe him for what he has done, as I do? You cannot fly because of him. You can't even hide your wings."

"I can fly," Leo says coldly. He could still fly, but it was so extremely painful that he preferred to walk. Leo closes his eyes. "Wear your thirst for vengeance in your heart, not on your face."

"I'm not stoic like you."

"You don't have to be stoic. You just have to control yourself for the time being. You will scare Noelle when we find her again if you don't learn control."

Doll-eyes' voice grows soft. "I am a demon puppet. I think I know enough about control." He looks up at the sky. "It is hard to control my anger. Especially when I think of him."

"Do not think of him," Leo repeats. "Think of her. If he is the one who catalyzes your anger, let her be the one to...metabolize it."

"You have completely lost me. I'm a demon puppet; I don't understand biological terms," Doll-eyes says drily.

"Your anger grows when you think of him."

"Yes."

"But it falters when you think of her."

"Yes."

"Then think of her, not him." Satisfied with himself, Leo flips onto his side and says no more.

Doll-eyes stares at his back. I have never heard him speak so much, he thinks with an amused smile. He closes his eyes with a sigh. Noelle... Has she even thought of me? Of the prison? He opens his eyes again, haunted by the skeletons of massive wolves. Even Immortals die when faced against Hero.

Doll-eyes hisses when Leo gives him a solid kick in the legs. "OUCH! What was that for?"

"You were thinking about Hero again. I could tell."

"I can't stop!" Doll-eyes growls.

Leo sighs. "Fine. Hold still." 

Doll-eyes stiffens as the area around him changes. The darkening woods fade to a room with artificial light. Doll-eyes turns, and his eyes widen. "The prison," he whispers.

Leo, still laying down, makes a noise. "Before Hero escaped."

Doll-eyes faintly smiles. "I never thought I would be happy to see this place again." He looks down at his companion. "Thank you."

"Go to sleep."

"I don't need to sleep."

"Then shut up and let me sleep."

Doll-eyes sighs. "All right." He leans against the bars of the cell. The new scenery made his mind whirl with memories. Oh, Noelle... He thinks. Maybe there is some good coming from this. Hero will show you how to be Immortal. When I find him...After I destroy him... We can be together forever.

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Just a side question--Who do you ship Noelle with? Doll-eyes/Hongbin? Or Hero? Another quick question... Are the Immortals truly dead? First comment gets the dedication!