Demon in the Dark (Open)

[kalypso]

While still listening to Deus speak, Kaly had slowly lowered herself to the ground first to her knees before shifting slightly to her side. She adjusted her skirt, and once she was comfortable she looked back up at him with a little smile to let him know that she was paying attention to each word.

"I think I understand..." She said, her words once more slowing down as she thought through the proper words, "I am a bit that way with my some of own gifts." Her eyes landed on his metal arms, growing sad for a few moments at the thought of what he must have gone through.

"I am deeply sorry..." She could almost feel his pain, even with her currently 'closed' Empathy. But she cleared her throat and her smile, even as she turned slightly so that she could gaze over the edge to keep a better eye out on the world below in hopes of spotting Lynn somewhere among the masses that were still awake even at this hour.

"Sit with me, Deus," She invited, looking back up at him as she patted the clear patch of grass next to her on the floating island, "The passing night will be easier if we're both comfortable."

[deus]

As Kaly spoke, the half-demons eyes widened slightly in shock. She had gone through a loss as well? What could have happened to one as sweet as her? But Deus would not ask, he knew all to well the pain that remembering the past could bring. Maybe for another time, and another place. Although if she knew of how he came to be, and what he was.

Would she be as open as she was with him now?

As he watched the shorter woman take a seat on the grass below, a small quizzical look crossed the taller mans face. But when she asked for him to sit with her, and her words of reason for this act made the tall man blush for a few seconds. He slowly took a seat beside the angel, leaving plenty of room for her wings and his armor. "Standing for a night is not much of a bother for myself, but I have no qualms with being comfortable among such good company........"

[kalypso]

Kaly had quite a few losses in her life, although it had undoubtedly been played out very differently from Deus's own losses. At the same time, however, she, too, wouldn't have her gifts if she hadn't gone through those losses. There were some nights where she doubted whether it was worth it or not, but then she thought of her current friends and family... Or what she has of it, at least...

His compliment brought a bright, dimpled smile to Kaly's face, the flush once again returning. She laughed lightly, looking off to the side for a moment while she adjusted her wings so that they were closer to her body, "That's very sweet of you, Deus. You, yourself, are very good company as well."

Kaly let herself be silent for a few short seconds, watching the areas below as she enjoyed the breeze that came with them moving about on the floating island until she spoke up once more, "Would it be too personal a question for me to ask where you're from?"

[deus]

Kaly's question was a bit of a hard one to answer. It was tied to the past that he did not really want to share, but at the same time there was no real harm in answering because the town was gone. Reduced to nothing but a crater that was still there to the day. A small pang of pain crossed the taller mans face, but he quickly hid it from the angel. "It's not too personal, however it is a little uncomfortable......." He began, taking in a deep breath as he focused on memories of before.

"I was from a small town, on the west coast fairly close to Canada." His amber eyes opened, although glazed with the lost thoughts of his mind. "It was a nice community, quiet and friendly with plenty of rural area's" He then focused his eyes on Kaly, no longer lost in the thoughts of what once was. "The town...... Is gone though, completely wiped off the map..... All that's left is a crater......" He let out a small sigh of regret as he finished is small explanation of his old home.

[kalypso]

Kaly caught on quickly that the topic was a sensitive one, and a flash of guilt went through her. She turned to him, about to assure him that if he didn't wish to answer the question, he wouldn't have to. But he was already answering it, so she fell silent and simply listened.

Her heart pained for him, and for the loss of his hometown. She didn't ask for the details, not wanting to make the topic anymore uncomfortable for him. A hand was placed gently on his shoulder, giving it a light and comforting squeeze. He didn't have to suffer, not alone at least, and although she didn't know his story she still wanted him to know that she was there if he needed support.

"I was... Born in Ireland, myself," She said, trying to shift the topic a little bit as well as give him a fair trade of information, "A long, long time ago... Moved away when I was young, though. Next time I saw my home, and my home village.... Well, the place wasn't a crater exactly, but it was a ghost town. A shell of what it once had been.... Not a soul livin' there anymore."

[deus]

His eyes widened and his body tensed at the caring gesture that Kaly gave him, having not felt such a comforting hand since the long past days of his long dead mother. It was both comforting and haunting in that Kaly's action had indeed comforted him, but had also brought up haunting memories of the good days that had long since past. And throughout the shared tale of Kaly's own old home, a small sad smile graced his face. In so many ways the two were different, and in some ways they were quite similar.

"Our homes may be gone, mine in a flash and yours worn from the ages...... Their memory will never die as long as we carry them with us......" Deus said sagely, not really speaking with wisdom but more from experience. It was after all the memories of the good times that had kept him as sane as he was during his imprisonment. The giant shook his head to clear the darker memories away.

Taking another glance off the side, he had thought he had seen what could have been Lynn, but it turned out to just be a very effeminate man, Deus actually had to take a second look, and a quick sniff just to be sure.

[kalypso]

Wisdom comes from learning through experience. Whether Deus knew it or not, what he said had been very wise, especially for someone his age. Kaly recognized it, and the little smile that peeked on to her lips showed that she was very grateful for his comforting words.

"You are right," She said, gazing down into the city below as she continued speaking, "So love as we keep the memory and love in our hearts, it will never truly be gone. Although at the same time, we shouldn't let the memories drag us down..." Her own words had grown heavy with experience as she stopped speaking for the moment. There was a such a time, long ago, when her memories of her home and the family she had caused her to fear coming back, to fear change - Or at least how much of her old home had changed. It was why she had taken so long to return to this world... And why her first stop had been the grave of her family, moved many years ago back to their old town in Ireland. She had to face her fears.

Well, at least some of them.

"Hm? Did you see something?" Kaly was snapped out of her thoughts as she saw Deus straining his gaze down below, someone apparently catching his interest. Heart pounding, she didn't even wait for an answer as she placed her hands on the edge of the floating island and peered over. At first, she was confused - There was no Levy there, what could he have been seeing? Then her eyes followed the trail of Deus's own, landing on the man who didn't seem to notice them as they passed overhead. A few soft giggles escaped the Angel as she sat back, teeth flashing in a grin as her eyes twinkled with held-back teases.

[deus]

He was very, very confused now. Almost everything about the person below appeared female, and yet his nose told him that underneath the perfumes that the person that they passed overhead was in fact a man. He in fact continued to stare when Kaly came to see what had his attention so tied up. He was only brought out the strange entrancement the man below had caused when Kaly's giggle met his ears. He looked to her, his eyes and face clearly displaying confusion, before looking back down then back to Kaly again.

"Th-that was a guy" He said shakily, he was trying to wrap his head around it but failing miserably. "I wouldn't have been able to tell If I could smell him from up here but that was a guy..... I am really confused now......" He placed one of his metal hands against the side of his head as if to steady himself. He hadn't been exposed to much when he had been younger, but had the world really changed so much since his isolation? It was all very confusing to the giant.

[kalypso]

His confusion simply served to amuse her even more, giggles spilling out. One hand moved to cover her mouth, as if trying to be polite, while the other patted his back.

"Technically, we don't know that!" She said, "Although they may have been born with the body of a man, that person still could have been a woman - Or both, or neither!" Her grin was a bright smile now, the angel looking oddly bubbly as she spoke, "Do you know how amazing that is, though? Back when I was a child, no physical man could walk the streets wearing the clothes women wore with such comfort. Not without the fear of being hung at best!"

"I must be honest, the concept of cross-dressing or anything similar was never much discussed back then, either. Not among my family, at least!" She paused for a few moments, smiling around at the lights of the city surrounding them, "I was gone for a long time, you know... From this World. When I came back, everything was so different - And not in a completely bad way! It gave me so much culture shock those first few years, though... Gods, I'm still getting used to it, haha!"

[deus]

As he listened to the explanation that Kaly gave, he sort of felt a little silly for getting so confused at something like the cross-dresser that they had now left behind. And as she continued on, Deus came to know that she had been away for much longer then he had been. Although he had no idea of the true expanse of time that Kaly had been away from this world, he did know she had been away for longer then he had been hidden.

Although, he doubted that she had been used as a power source for two years like he had been.

They were currently flying over a large cluster of trees so spotting anyone if they were below would be nearly impossible for a small time. "I wasn't gone too long..... Eleven years I think, most of that just spent in the woods...... Away from people....... I didn't want to hurt anybody........" As he spoke a small afterthought passed through the silver haired mans head 'Again at least........' He looked down at his metal hand, a small twitch of frustration and regret crossed his face. "I've changed so much from what I used to be..... Now I really stand out, and not just from these damn things." He gave the gauntlet a small rap causing a small metallic pang to fill the air. "You..... Your pretty normal compared to me, even with the wings......"

[kalypso]

While her stay away had been longer than Deus's, it was certainly much less painful. She watched him with soft, sad eyes, letting him speak until he stopped. She had moved a bit closer upon Feeling his pain flash up again, and rested her hand on his metal arm.

"Everything changes," She began with a warm, soft voice, "Everyone changes. While some change is much harsher than others, it will still happen in some way or another. If you weren't who you are right now, you would be someone else - And it still would not be the person you used to be." As he called her normal, her smile widened a bit - Dimples popped out on her cheeks, and although the expression reached her eyes there was still something sad about it, "Certainly looks that way, doesn't it?"

Her hand had taken his, fingers that looked so delicate compared to his wrapping lightly around the metal surface. If he wanted to pull away, he could do so easily, "Your reasons for hiding were much more understandable than mine, although I am sorry you were made to feel that way. I don't know what you've been through, and I don't know why you felt that way, and I won't ask." In her opinion, he was far too young to have gone through whatever brought that pain, "What I will do is let you know that from what I can tell, what I can Feel, you are a good, strong man. Whether or not you have a valid reason to fear hurting others, I don't think you would ever do such a thing on purpose. Not unless it was deserved."

[deus]

The taller, yet much younger man was entranced by Kaly's words of wisdom. Her every syllable met with rapt attention. And when she placed her small and soft hand into the palm of his larger metal one. A small look of shock crossed Deus's face as she continued, speaking as if she could read his very soul in a strange way. And in a forlorn sense, he wished just for a moment that he could actually be holding the angels hand instead of having a thick sheet of metal separating the two's touch. He could almost feel a little jolt of static at her contact, although he was probably just imagining things.

Although as she continued, the nagging feeling in the back of his mind that she was reading somehow began to grow. "How...... How are you doing that....... It's like your reading my mind......." Although a look of sheer panic suddenly crossed the tan mans face, as a voice echoed through his mind. 'You're weak and pathetic...... She's probably just looking at your face...... Then again I like her face too...... It'd look nicer if I could just tear it off and carry it with me to remind you of how you ALWAYS fail!' The voice faded away into the reaches of his mind, cackling madly all the while. Deus prayed that Kaly was not really a mind reader, he did not want someone else after his blood because of what he was and what he could potentially become.

[kalypso]

Soft chuckles escaped from the Angel as she shook her head, her face brightening just a bit. She found it sweet and rather adorable how he listened to her, how he seemed surprised by the way she spoke.

"No, I'm not reading your mind." Kaly reassured him with a gentle squeeze of the metallic hand, "My gift is not telepathy. What I do do, however, is---" Her words were cut off as another Feeling came to her. This one was dark, completely different from the young man she was talking to... But it still seemed to come from him, although deeper than normal. As if whatever the thing, which seemed to be made of almost pure Hatred, was hidden.... Or something. She couldn't figure it out!

He brows furrowed, head turning to the side as her grey eyes grew distant. She was opening herself a bit more, prodding towards the odd feeling. No, it felt so different from Deus... She pulled herself away from it, her eyes coming back to gaze curiously up at Deus.

"What was that?" She asked, unable to stop her curiousity from voicing itself.

[deus]

While she said she wasn't reading his mind, he was finding it unsettling that she could read him somehow. And when she asked about the darkness that was within, it made him even more frightful of what would happen if he got loose. As for how he would answer Kaly's question, that would be a bit tricky.

"You've probably guessed by now I'm not entirely human...... The height and powers making that as clear as day I guess....." He started off, hating how stupid he sounded stating the obvious. "As for that...... Thing........ It's a very, very dark part of what I am....... And what I might become......." He looked at his metal gauntlet, the only thing between him and touching Kaly for real and at the same time the only thing preventing him from losing total control. "I really hate the label that I'm given...... But because of that darker side of me it does sadly fit all to well....... I'm a demon......." He said with regret in his voice, now all he had to do was wait for her to scream at him, to hate and loathe what he was.

[kalypso]

Kaly had known he was far from human the second she had laid eyes on him and Felt his Aura. It wasn't something she had figured to be a secret, or something to be surprised on... But she waited patiently for him to continue, concern written on her face as she felt the loathing he had for himself. It unsettled her, made her heart ache in that familiar desire to make everything right...

If he expected her to scream and curse his name to the high heavens, he would be sorely disappointed... Or relieved. Instead of yelling at him and trying to get away, she instead moved a bit closer so that her hand could - Once again - be placed on his arm. It seemed like it was becoming a habit of hers, this need to try and comfort the large man with a light touch.

"A Demon is a Dark and Powerful creature... Although you undoubtedly know this already," She spoke up, voice just as soft and comforting as before, "But it is not being a Demon - or even being called a Demon - That makes one bad or evil... It is so much more than that..." She smiled gently up at him, "And I still stand by what I said before. Despite this thing inside of you, you are still a good man."