The Demon and the Elf (Book 1)

Chapter Six pt 2

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Eial opened his eyes to the light glow of pre-dusk skies. He turned over and eyed the demon, ensuring he was asleep. The sleep remedy was gone from where he'd left it for the demon, which meant he probably wouldn't wake up for another couple hours. He sighed, relieved to see the demon finally have a chance to rest fully. And also relieved because—

Quiet steps approached the unconscious demon just as they've had the past couple nights. This time, maybe he can get more done before the demon wakes up.

His hands reached towards the pitiful wing and a light blue glow emitted from his palms. Slowly, the torn edges laced and overlapped, fiber by fiber his wings were becoming restored. His hands made its way down and—

"What are you doing?" The demon spun around and grasped the elf's wrist, startled from his slumber.

The elf's eyes grew panicked and he croaked, "Y-you're supposed to be asleep..."

"Another secret?" the demon scoffed and then he stiffened as he remembered something. "Yesterday, too... No wonder my wings were quick to heal, you—this isn't your first time, is it?" he glared.

The elf answered with his silence.

"Of fucking course—," started the horned being, but then bit his lip, almost causing it to bleed. Huffing out a breath, he smiled forcefully. "Eial, my sweet," he bit in icy sweetness, "why were you keeping this a secret?"

Any iciness was lost to the elf and only the gentle tone of the demon's deep voice was comprehended by him, allowing him to calm his racing heart. He's your bond, Eial. Trust him, Eial. Don't be scared.

Eial took a breath and recollected himself from his alertness. Why was he keeping it a secret? Originally he had intended to hide his healing powers, but now that they were revealed— "I suppose I don't have a reason to hide them anymore, huh?" He looked down, tilting his head to process his thoughts, and then swished his vision back up with a concentrated huff. "It was... habit. I will do better."

The demon's grin thinned and his eyes narrowed. "How often have you done this?"

"I— well..." The elf rubbed the fabric of his cloak with his free hand and recalled the many times he had reached over to heal the demon when he wasn't paying attention. Biting his lips, he tried to change the subject, "T-that reminds me, did the sleep concoction not work? A normal being should have stayed asleep for much longer—"

The demon's dark brow twitched and his grin vanished. "Were you intentionally trying to knock me out?"

The shift in expression again caught the elf off guard, and he noticed his wrist being held tighter. "No, I just... if the concoction isn't working, I— I just want to make sure you sleep well, and—" Eial suddenly stilled, his eyes looking past the demon as if focusing on something else.

"What—"

Eial immediately bent towards the demon, pushing him down on the bed, and covered his mouth with his palm. "Shhhh," he whispered, looking up at the opening of their hut. "They're here."

The demon could feel the elf's heartbeat from where he still held the elf's wrist. For how tense he seemed, his heart beat at a normal pace. His attention moved to the elf's palm on his lips, the sensation of waves drafting into the contact. The anger that boiled in him calmed from the distracting sensation and—the soft feel of his skin. Then, with whatever focus was left in him, he noticed the elf close his eyes, seeming to focus.

One, two, three... guards? Five hundred feet north. Bunny ten feet, two birds south 200 feet, Eial examined all the vibrations inside and near his barrier, making sure the objects that were supposed to be seen were seen and the oddities were stealthily hidden. After several moments, he blew out a relieved breath he had unknowingly held and slowly lifted himself up. "They're gone—"

Right before the elf released his hand, he felt a wetness striking at his palm. His arm jerked up and he looked at the evidence of what had just happened. "Did you... lick me?" His confused eyes met the demon's confident ones, and a few beats later, he comprehended the demon's sly smile. "Was that also... teasing?"

Eial still didn't quite understand the action, but his lips curved up nonetheless. Jolting back, he quickly covered the demon's mouth with a block of stiffened mud, attaching the ends to his bed. Before the demon could free himself, the elf sprung out from the hut and ran away in gleeful giggles in the still dim lit skies.

Right as soon as the demon escaped, he shot orbs of black and purple at the elf, all of which the elf skillfully dodged with blocks of earth behind him. A sudden silence in the air caught the elf's attention, and he turned around to see the demon on his knees groaning in pain.

Hastily, Eial ran back up to the horned being and brought his hands forward, moving them frantically in worried panic. "Are you okay?" he asked, unaccustomed to the demon's pitiful display.

But his worry diminished the second he saw the cunning grin on the horned being. Before he could step away, the demon opened his fisted palm and a small glob of dark energy fired up to cover the elf's mouth in revenge. With confidence, the demon stood back up and jutted his chest out in victory, simultaneously lookin down at the elf who looked much more amused than defeated.

A wipe of his arm caused a handful of water to splash out from the elf's hand onto the demon's face.

Without a second to spare, the demon leaped at the elf, to which the elf successfully rolled over and dodged, leaving the demon hopping at nothingness to regain balance. Twisting his body in lightning speed after recovering his footing, the demon showered a wave of dark energy, encapsulating the elf's hands in front of him. Finally, he gained control as he pushed the elf down and pinned the tiny wrists above while spreading his knees to straddle and lock the elf in place. The excess water from his face dripped onto the elf as his deep voice hummed, "Got you."

Although the demon couldn't see his elf's lips through his dark magic, he could see the playful sparkle in his green eyes. One end of the demon's lip curled up unintentionally as he found himself absorbed in the elf's gleaming stare. His mind flashed memories of their little scramble and then what had preceded it... preceded— that's right. "Is it even safe for us to be out here?"

The moment the demon snapped his magic away from the elf's mouth, the elf blew out air with his lips formed as a circle. "Yup, they're far enough away now and the barrier hides us well. They probably won't return for a few more days," he said, looking directly at the demon.

"You're really used to this, huh?" The demon hoisted himself away from the elf and let go of his grip.

The elf stared at his wrists which were still binded with dark magic. "You're not going to remove this?"

A smirk dawned on the demon. "Hmm, no, I don't think so," he purred and swayed. When he caught the elf looking down with his eyes moving side to side as if constructing plans, he scoffed. "What? Thinking of shooting at my wing again to force me to let go?"

The guilty expression on the elf made the demon feel powerful, but beneath that layer, he felt the slightest bit of discomfort. "I'm kidding, I don't care," he blurted in a hurry, cursing himself that he was failing his plan to sweet talk the elf. And that was definitely the only reason he hurried.

"No, I still have to apologize for then. I was scared, but that must have been painful for you."

Nothing's painful for me, his pride wanted to say. But something else held a much bigger focus, causing the demon to be wordless and befuddled.

The elf wasn't speaking in the usual common tongue. He was speaking fluently in demon tongue.