The sun would leak into the Demoness' room past the curtains and the harpy within would begrudgingly stop her cuddle to go up and handle it. She was pulling them to the side and layering darkness on top for good measure. When the room was blacked out again, she returned to the bed. Lumi still mostly asleep, grabbed her and pulled her in. She was curling around her and settling back comfortably in her sleep. The pair would go on like this until a tapping could be heard from the window. They were going on for much longer than the inhabitants could tolerate. Most of the morning was gone and the bird outside wanted them to rise.

" Wake my Revna, the sun is only getting higher and you'll miss the morning entirely soon." Trygve would rap on her window unyieldingly and the Demoness would hold back all urg to attack him for it. It would be Tenevi to get up first. Darting through the air toward the window. She laid her talon on the glass and allowed the shadows to cover it from the outside. Just before she made the dark spike, Trygve flew back to avoid that attack. " You know better than to play so rough harpy! Revna would get you for it!"

" She'll forgive me eventually, but you'll still be gone!" She growled back. Lumikki was fighting to rise from the bed. Grumbling and trying to straighten her hair so that it may not cover all her face.

" Well.....now the we're up. Might as well go get a meal...." The Revna would sigh. hardly pleased to have been woken, but is begrudging acceptive of it. She dragged herself out of bed to get ready and the harpy would help tend to her. By the time they stepped out the door, she wore a thin, short black dress and some sandals as she hated the hot floors. She wore a pair of blackout shades and a sun hat. her hair was pulled back in two pigtails, and she was in her human form. The Demoness stumbled her way to the usual bar. Barely getting past the door when Tōga came and bombarded her. Tenevi stepped up for her. " Calm now Slayer, at least let her sit down and get comfortable before you start your annoying performance." Lumikki grumbled in agreement but Haji, the other poor bystander began explaining the reason for the Slayer's outburst.

The tavern was nearly frigid before he was done, Lumikki was pinching the bridge of her nose. With a big sigh, she pulled out a map from her void and handed it to the harpy. " Get him to mark where it is on the map, and any of the necessary details. I'm an order me meal and by the time I'm done, we can head out and deal with the matter." She stumbled to her seat and waved the waiter for his attention when he was free. When he finally arrived, she ordered a coffee with rum and a particularly packed omelet.

She took her time to eat and sort her thoughts. Still fairly tired from waking up and now stuffing her face. She was truly mulling over the prospect of ever getting to relax in peace around here but she was wondering now if that was asking too much.

Tenevi did not take long to gather all the information on the matter, promptly finding the other ravens and informing them of the task at hand. By the time she returned, a meal was waiting for her on the table and she sat down to enjoy it. When Tenevi was all done, the Demoness paid the bill and got ready to set off.

" Do ye have all yer things ready and packed Dreki?"

The Demoness, tired from the needless walk in the heat, had little patience left. This was not the day that she envisioned for herself but at least the work would be easy. The sooner they were done with this, the sooner she could get herself back out of the sun and perhaps in some chilled waters. As the pair walked, she was making note of all the rivers along the way.

Then suddenly and annoyingly the Dragon Slayer halted her mid-step. The encampment was just before them now, occupying the space within the clearing. Tōga in his eagerness to help, promptly showed her the cages that held the creatures. All tucked away in small confinements out on the seaside. The Demoness smiled as this saved her a long trip to enjoy the refreshment of water. Now all there was left to do was kill....maybe restrain...probably torture the people from within. Torture became her favorite choice, as she was bored and irritable at the moment.

Lumi with an outstretched hand, grabbed at the darkness just beside her. Pulling it like some kind of sheer veil from the shadows and tossing one just above herself and on over her friend. In a short moment, the two of them were fully invisible, but with the sight she wielded the Demoness could see Tōga just fine even though he could no longer see her. " Have fun lad and toss yer flames, if it comes naturally to ye yet. Me frost is too strong for ye to melt, so ya should be safely out of their sights for the moment. Free the creatures first if ya like, I'm a take me time playing with the crew if ya don't mind. I assume ye don't care if they all die? Not like ya could change me mind.."

She stepped forward silently as a ghost, and just as hard to see. The Dragon Slayer would have to use his nose to know the Demon had left.

[justify]Tōga inhaled sharply as he sensed the cold, dark power of Lumikki's magic stirring to life beside him. He turned to see shadows winding and weaving around her, cloaking her in darkness until she faded from view completely. Her final words rang in his ears, plucking at his conscience as a frown crossed his face. She intended to kill the poachers. Helpless to stop her ruthless quest as she slipped unseen into their camp, all Tōga could do was free the captive sea creatures from their cruel imprisonment. Though violence troubled him, the poachers' cruelty could not go unanswered. Lumikki would deliver justice this night. Steeling himself, Tōga moved swiftly to undo their wicked deeds, hoping to curb further bloodshed. The seas would be safe once more.

Tōga burst from the sheltering forest, stealing silently toward the shore where the cages lay. With lithe grace he wove between tents and evaded guards, swift and furtive as a prowling cat. At last he reached the captives' prison. While vengeance stirred in the heart of Lumikki, drawing her to the unsuspecting poachers at the camp's core, Tōga turned to the creatures. As screams sounded from the distance, he worked quickly to pick the locks and open the cages. One by one the rescued animals slipped gratefully into pure bliss, fins and flippers propelling them to freedom.

"You're safe now, friends," Tōga murmured, ripping open the metal locks with ease. The cages fell open one after another, freeing the captive sea creatures within. Bewildered but overjoyed, they hovered a moment in disbelief before making for the welcoming waves. Tōga gently aided any that struggled, steadying them until they could swim free of their prison and vanish into the depths. The day rang with cries of freedom rather than captivity. Oblivious to whatever grisly justice Lumikki enacted back on shore, Tōga's focus stayed on the animals. He would not rest until the last one had escaped the poachers' cruel traps and returned to its rightful home in the embrace of the sea. This night would see no more suffering here beneath the orange/yellow light of the merciful sun.

---

wc: 354 [1469/1600]

Lumikki caught his frown just as she was turning away. His grimace filled her with joy as she stepped toward the camp and she savored it as the first bit of displeasure she would spread. If one had a more merciful heart than her, they would prefer to capture the wrongdoers and try to see if they could do justice in other ways. Lumi wasn't doubtful one could correct behaviors, she just simply didn't care. There was no need for mercy on those who would enforce cruelty on others, and whatever final good spirits she had were taken away by the stinging rays of the sun. Her kindness was bleached away in the light but to be fair, there was not much kindness left in her from the start. She was after all, in fact, a Demon. She could not handle every moment or encounter saintlike after all, her hunger for destruction needed to be sated. So as the Demoness looked around and observed the workings of the camp, she got started on some work of her own.

Lumikki glanced from the corner of her eye Tōga running to shore as she figured he would. A good-spirited boy if she ever did find one. Sometimes his naivety annoyed her, other times it reminded her where the boundaries lay between human and monster. Those reminders were useful to her as she did not yet want to lose herself to her monstrous nature. Yet the beast would need to be fed from time to time and now would make that moment.

Her form would relax from under her veil so that she would not entirely resemble a human. The skin of night and hair white would become her features. If one could see her, they would see the shadows that danced as if they were alive, coiling her legs and tattoos glowing along her skin. Every time she took a step, the ground from under her foot would freeze. Black flowers would grow and sprout, giving her approach away. If there were anyone to catch it. The poachers were running around hard at work arranging everything for the coming night. Some were still shifting around with the smaller specimens while others were finishing the reports of the day to file away for later.

But no matter how busy they were for the moment, they would not maintain that focus for much longer after Tōga got started. Putting him in danger if she did not demand and maintain all their attention. Shouldn't be all that hard she thought to herself as she was finally entering the camp. Defending one's life often takes the most amount of focus one can muster.

A black mist would form along the ground and spread rapidly. It would creep and curl around the unsuspecting poacher's legs, black flowers from her magic would spread along their bodies and sap their strength. The air would chill rapidly around them and rid them of their speed as their bodies began to chill down to the literal bone.

The men caught in the chill of her magic would gasp and cry out. Uncertain of the events taking place in the moment. One was unfortunately in the path the Demon was walking and she would brush her talon along his arm and begin to freeze him, inside out. Shards of his blood run frozen would pierce his flesh, but with so much of him frosted he couldn't drop down in his agonizing death. The man had to hold in a standing position as he gargled for the last sounds he'd make in life. The on-looking poachers just around were all terrified, their fear clear on their faces. The Demoness chuckled as she continued her work. When she got to the center, she stopped in place. The frost flowers that grew with each step, blossomed to a higher degree as she stood still and looked around. The men were still trying to move, but they could hardly good far. Lumikki starting with a fit of laughter would throw her head back and let out a blood-curdling screech. Her howl rang in the skulls of all the men there, echoing over and over in what felt like pulsations. They all clung to their heads in pitiful attempts to soothe their minds but the damage was done and the spread of delirium was flourishing. Their sense was diminishing with every second, rendering them to fools with no sense left in them. Not like they had a lot to begin with.

The Demoness shed her veil before them, the poachers in their distress hardly knew what to make of it. And in her joy and glee, she shifted to her third from right in front of their very eyes. Feathers would spread along her skin as the dark she used for clothes would melt away. Wings proper would spread along her back and her hands would finish the transition to better-defined talons.

"Harpy! Beast? Monster?!" She would hear gasped and cried from the mouths of the men she tortured. " Close.......Demon!" She would happily utter, clarifying to her victims just what she was before she slayed them.

She broke out into a cackel as she pulled all her wings back, swinging them down all at once to take off from the ground. She looked over to Tōga from high up in the sky and looked as though he was fine. He was halfway done freeing the beasts now, so she didn't have to pay him so much mind.

She landed herself next to a man who looked very fit and strong. He had a towering frame that would normally overpower her short stature. It was because of this that she wanted to enjoy him first. A good reminder of how his life meant nothing to her anymore. And so she would hover before the man too weakened from her spells to move. Both talons would caress his face while a sneer was visible on her lips. She brushed a claw by his throat and her ice began to creep along his throat. The man started he heave, the air leaving him quickly but nothing to replace it. He shuddered as it felt as though it was burning from within. Lumikki watched in enjoyment for a moment, relishing in his pain and misery before finally willing her shards to pierce his throat and be done with it. Many of the rest of the encounters feel similar. With slight changes like casting her talons or tendrils to crush or and freeze them, or a few she took into the air to be dropped or impaled. All while she worked she would let out a laugh of glee all as if she was playing a silly game. And when she was finally down, she would simply dip into the water and enjoy her time being carried by the waves.