Saturn had never been to hosenka before; too busy in different realms of the world and taking care of people all over would pull you wherever you were needed rather than where you’d like to go. Something he didn’t mind as it had led to him meeting so many people that he wouldn’t have otherwise. This city was so different to the others that he had been to that it could have been considered a stark contrast like that of night and day. Humming a little bit to himself he couldn’t help but notice that there were some pamphlets around town that had been posted or being handed out by people well dressed and likely well respected with how many people were taking them.

The once demi-god wasn’t wearing his disguise today so people were dealing with a ten foot tall behemoth of a man in a rather luxurious looking set of equipment. Stepping forward to one of the pamphlet holders he realized that it was actually a request for help. Apparently this time of the year there were pests that would come to the hot springs that would cause issues for the residents or visitors. Furrowing his brow he recalled a similar issue in sin that required the use of seals. They must not have those here.

He had long since figured out how best to navigate through cities when he wanted to. This was one of those times; if there were pests and there was a chance that someone was hurt? Well the big lug would love to make sure they were taken care of. When he arrived at the hotsprings the place was in a tizzy, employees running around and a few customers looked out of sorts; either overheated or a few of them with burns.

Sighing a bit the rune knight stepped in and cleared his throat; gaining the attention of several employees, a few customers and one feline that rubbed up against his leg. Earning a pat on the top of the head before gently dismissing them as to not worry the little critter.

”I found one of the pamphlets out in town… is there still an issue here?”

Saturn knew that he was asking a rhetorical question and rather than talk calmly the citizens and employees all started talking at once. Saturn blinked a bit and figured that this would take a little bit of time to unravel…

A small girl shifts across the outside wall of the springs' building, back pinned flat against it and shuffling to the side slow - quiet - as she blent with the shadows under the heavy darkness of her coat hiding her face from view. The fur-lined materiel shrouded her in its entirety, the woman inside all but disappearing as if swallowed by dark blue and gray shades. She was another phantom in the winter night, each snowflake daring to crest but not reflect her vision as bright blue sifted across each. Beneath her furs, clenched in a hand, was the ripped page of a pamphlet asking for help with wild salamanders: and offering a hefty monetary reward to help bring the springs back on track. The company couldn't afford to lose any more revenue - but they could afford Tatyana.

Sort of. It was harder for her to work here, outside of her home countries, and she rarely followed proper channels. She was on Hosenka on a Contract to bring in some legal mage -- and the crowds and various other hurdles had all but deterred her for the evening, leading to a frustration that drove her here when she pilfered the paper from a passing adventurer. All she had to do was handle the problem and she'd receive the jewels. A rumble hit her stomach, earning chagrin and her teeth clenching inside her cheek. Don't be an idiot, Tatya. You can eat with whatever's left after we send the rest back. First ... the job.

She slipped inside the springs and into the ensuing chaos, her heart beating quicker at the number of people she was left with - that were left with her - and the daemonic plasma that brought a burn to her arms. She had various issues with anxiety when it came to groups, most of all her worries for the nature she was inflicted with. She clenched them tighter, running her hands down her side with the crinkling paper, and she'd make a dash to the source of their troubles after sucking a breath --

Only to, instead, come upon a large, inhuman creature and the sheer presence it exuded. Tatya couldn't pin what he was, exactly, but her curse and trained hunter instincts allowed her that he wasn't mortal. Her plans swerved in an instant, the knives she brandished from her cloak catching the sterile lighting of the lobby. "Clear out." She ordered, clear and measured, and the workers that were previously explaining the plight of the nearby salamander's nest in the pool over were shocked back by the new entrant. They stepped away from what was obviously an altercation, all parties hedging bets on the tall, fuzzy figure.

She moved in a flash, skirting around to the front of the creature with one knife twirling visibly over her fingers and the other pinned near one of his feet - thrown to impede his full range of motion and give her the chance to both ascertain and interrogate him. She stood from her crouch too fast, her hood falling off russet tresses and two tall-standing rabbit ears dipped in white; her sharp sapphiran eyes glaring back at him behind the rim of large glasses and the smattering of freckles burying her hostile expression. "Bies. Leave these people. I'm claiming the bounty."

Her hand trembled imperceptibly, lifting the dagger both defensively and as a threat. "A-answer my questions and I'll let you go." Her eyes burned demonic for a brief moment, the abyssal energy clearing after the warning was made. "Or I'll handle you myself, Chort." She'd continue to refer to him in Pergrandian terms for an evil spirit, rolling off her tongue with determination and mirrored in the steady way her eyes never left him.

The rambling of the employees and guests wasn’t lost upon the behemoth. Ears flicking, tail pausing and then swishing every now or again. He was very observant; the many layers of care and naivety made it easy for him to tune into the feelings. Panic, confusion, pain, reservations about him. There was a few eyes on one of the symbols on his tassel; a rune knight sigil that was hidden among the trappings. Was he officially part of it? Or was this some tale that his outfit told? Saturn felt a breath of air slip out of him and he’d start to address the crowd.

Until a voice rose up; telling them to clear out. He’d pause and turn his head to see just who it was. A hooded figure; knives drawn and fast moving. Compared to humans they were a breeze. He’d cock his head to one side as they tossed a knife to his feet; point down into the floor and the other in their hand. Did they drop it? His attention now slowly dragging up to the hooded figure. There was curiosity in his posture and his hands rested easily at his sides. Thumbs and fingers tapping at his sash thoughtfully. He would have said something but when they stood up and their hood fell off?

Saturn felt his jaw slack a little bit and his eyes cracked open, hues of molten gold and gentle twisting rivets of black deep within. A red haired rabbit folk of sorts; two tall standing ears that met into a thick curtain and well tended wealth of red hair. Further down as sharp sapphire eyes behind a pair of glasses. His breath caught in his throat as he was startled by their appearance. So he stared for a few few seconds; the hostile expression didn’t register. He also had no idea what was on her face, spots? Something that he didn't understand and it just sat there trying to figure it out for a little bit.

She might have thought of him as one of the pests here; but he could easily correct that if he wasn’t just immediately dazed by their appearance. One finger gently motioned at the knife; it slipping out of reality to appear floating, hilt first in front of her.

”They were pretty insistent on getting enough help to deal with the pests. I think you dropped this?”

There was concern; was she hurt? Was there something wrong with her hand to warrant it being in front of him. He didn’t seem to be bothered by it. There were a few of the citizens that hurried away; not wanting to be caught in an altercation. One of the employees perked and was about to move forward but saturn just gently motioned for them to go about their business.

”I’ll answer what I can; but I can’t just walk away from people in need.”

His voice was soft, re-assuring and it was clear he didn’t feel threatened by the situation. He was a behemoth of a man but there was nothing about him that forced his presence here other than the desire to help. He wondered what she had called him; he didn’t recognize the words and that led him to a momentary lapse. Leaning forward somewhat and cocking his head again at that forty five degrees. She took good care of her equipment; was she a sellsword?

”...Like me you’re not from around here are you? I’m Saturn. What’s your name?”

His tone was still gentle; there was a thrumb of power in his name that caused the very air to tense. It wasn’t from his own doing but something else entirely. There was an intensity to the backing of his form that wasn’t like anything he had ever attempted. He wasn’t trying to have that there; but as soon as he said his name several of the employees froze. Several left almost immediately and another just stood there in shock. The massive demon adjusted and he’d inspect the woman in front of him.

”...I smell… Abyssal tones to you. Like one of my friends.”

The world slowrolled its irony toward her situation; she could feel it shift in the air, the moment her throwing knife found its way back to the space before her. She pulled back an inch, a foot shifting on the ground in its placement in a new position that could fling her either away or toward him. She placed her roots, a chilly breath exhaling the last of the air she had kept in her lungs from outside and filling anew with the warmth of the room. This dizzying sensation in her head. She'd have to fight through the two-pronged lightheadedness, whisking her free arm around to grasp the returned weapon and ferry it away into her coat. She tightened the heavy wool around her, reaffirming her grip on her outstretched dagger. The creature had tricks. It was making fun of her? She didn't have the ego for that to work, but she did have the frustration to capitalize on it.

It sounded concerned. Don't be lulled by its lies, Tatyana. Charm is how these otherworldly menaces played with mortals. But she was no easy target. She stared back at him, her face caught between a glare and a pout as she considered the whole of his figure. He didn't make a move on the employee that tried to step up ... he cautioned them off, even, so what was his game? What did he seek here? She felt a tightness in the pity of her stomach. She couldn't acquiesce even if he was here for the jewels. Do creatures like that even take up odd jobs? Well. She does.

She doesn't bother with a reply or a biting 'thanks', curling her warning dagger over the back of her knuckles. Could she take him? At his size? Probably not. She was more aerodynamic, slighter - was she faster? If he'd win a contest of strength, would she win in speed? She had to run these in her head, tracing the exact distance between them, around him, the various objects she could squirrel behind or launch off of in a prolonged 'bout ... "I-I don't believe you. What are you doing here, really? What do you want with these people?"

She ran a breath over her lips, fighting the ease he tried to spell with his words and that soft tone; and she'd shake her head, remembering back to her failure of a wedding day and the destruction sown by a single demonic presence. Observe. Ascertain. Inquire. She was stronger now than she was then. She might not be able to beat him, but she could wound him. Drive him off? These people would be safe. Her body would heal if he broke it.

Yet, he offered his name, freely. That had immense power. He had to know that - everyone in the room felt the energy from it being spoken, down to ruffling the fur on the hood around her neck and the tips of her red-white ears. She twitched one, cautious, and it bounced against the other on her head. "What?" She spoke, caught off guard. Composure. Even knowing she was out of her league she couldn't betray her years of training and effort by bending under his will. A plan, Tatya, a plan ... He had a body. Does he still have an achilles tendon? It would take the length of two good lunges to get behind his legs ... if she started to move now, step by step to the side between the banter of their conversation, could she narrow that down to one? She twirled her dagger again. "I'm from Pergrande." If she couldn't give her name as a distraction, she could at least leverage the rest of her truth. "And Iceberg. I'm a mercenary. I belong to none of your Guilds nor this country."

Her breath came slow, steady, and she took one of those slow - shifty - steps, circling a little closer between her words. It fogged the lens of one of her glasses, the other brighter for it and watching with ... the look had too many singular emotions to impart more than a melting pot. He caught her off guard, again. She whipped back, both hands pulling over the hilt of her dagger and holding it down in front of her in her most battle-ready stance. "A friend? The Marchesa? What do you know of her? Where is she? I swear ... I swear, I'll free everyone from your grasps."

There it was again, the uneven glow that rimmed each eye in a color that burned between deep red and ultra-neon blue in its intensity. A fire. "I'm not ... I'm no demon. This isn't how I was. Maybe you don't mean to hurt anyone here. Don't make me hurt you, Saturn. Don't move, tell me everything you know, and I'll let ... let you go." She invoked his name in an attempt to keep him docile. It was still difficult, even for her, to strike down an opponent who appeared unarmed and non-hostile, no matter her prejudices. It was getting even more difficult to imagine fighting him the more he talked. He spoke too gently. Even if it was a trick ... this long winter of hers hadn't yet frozen her heart.

To him there was a mix of surprise in the return of the item to her and probably a bit of confusion. That was natural he felt; though the caution regarding grasping the weapon again made him curious. A tilt of the head; he still wasn’t threatening her and he still didn’t do anything to really warrant a hostile response. He wouldn’t be causing anyone here a problem. The pressure of his power on the item was gone the moment that he let her take it back. His voice was sincere and the demon watched her curiously.

His otherworldly charms and wiles were better used to help others; his powers were keen on helping the world and those in it. His smile was warm; his voice more so and he’d let out a soft hum. He had to wonder what sort of life she led for such a cautious approach to new people. There was a curious pause as she didn’t believe him; asking again to reaffirm why he was really here. Maybe she just didn’t trust people that were so out of sorts? Lumikki had mentioned he should hide his form more often. Maybe he should really do that when even in towns like this. He’d ponder this and then speak again; waving his hand and the paper from earlier that he had popped into the air, hovering a few feet in front of the other. It was one of the pamphlets.

”To help them? I mean it’s sort of what I do.”

Saturn gave a somewhat confused shrug; he had nothing against the people. What would he want with people like this? Nothing other than to help them. He watched her still; enraptured by her appearance; studying her intently still. The demon’s experience with demi humans was limited and the fact that they smelled like the abyss or were at least somewhat brushed by it was even more fascinated. Her voice piped up again as though she was surprised.

”Yeah I know it’s weird, I don’t have a last name. Still trying to think of a good one to go with honestly.”

Saturn seemed exasperated and shook his head. It was something he had been considering for a long time. With her not giving him her name he figured that she was slow to trust. That was okay. Then she gave him an answer that made him perk up; she was from Pergrande and iceberg; she was a mercenary. There were no guilds or factions that held her loyalty. There was excitement in his tone now.

”I never met someone from Pergrande before, was that the language you were sprinkling in earlier?”

He adjusted slowly and looked her up and down; were demi-humans more common there? Did they have their own language? What sort of effects did that country have on them? She was still being cautious and he felt like maybe that wasn’t needed. But if that made her comfortable well… That was fine. His confusion spread and he’d tilt his head so far that his head was nearly ninety degrees as his ears followed suit.
”The Marchesa? Who’s that?”

There was no deception in his voice; he was earnestly uncertain and eventually she took a more battle ready stance. There was a tickle in the back of his head as it was saying he should be more careful but his curiosity continued to play and pushed away the sense of danger that may have been lingering somewhere.

”Oh I was talking about someone out of paradise dawn. Is this… Marchesa part of them or something? Or a different guild?”

His tone was genuine, confusion evident. That deep uneven glow had him again and he’d stare at her; the mix of the red and neon blue had him breathless. She wasn’t a demon and she wanted to know everything he knew. The demon blinked a little bit and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He was already docile and her use of his name earned a ponderous breath. He’d think about it for a moment and then shrug his shoulders.

”I mean I can tell you everything I know but we’ll be here for a while. Are you looking for history? Law? Music? Oh I know a few songs but I don’t have them trained yet. Still working on that. Hmm. Or are you wanting to know about the guild I’m in?”

Saturn crossed his arms and let out a long breath; looking as though unsure where to start. He had a lot of information he could share and ‘everything’ would take a while. He didn’t look annoyed just uncertain. The ‘everything’ was a lot. Something clicked and then after a moment he’d let out a laugh; it was like pure music with the way it rolled off the walls and the people here.

”I don’t have anyone in my grasp either; though if you count the people working for me I guess it’s backwards. Cause they always say leadership is serving the ones under them or something. I think that’s a rune knight proverb? Or sinnese? I don’t know but either sounds right.”

….Saturn really didn’t understand what a threat was or what she was implicating with that was he? Saturn adjusted a little bit and leaned down to stare curiously into her eyes, his large molten orbs with rings of black in them seemed even further curious. Never met someone like her and he was just utterly fascinated by her.

”...Do people from pergrande have eyes that shift color like that? Or is it because of your demi-human roots?”

His curiosity was blurted out again; further still he didn’t know what to call her so he’d have to awkwardly dance around the question so not to try to force the matter. If she didn’t want to tell him that was fine but he had a lot of things he could call her. One of those things made his heart twist in his chest and the once demi-god blinked.

"...Maybe that's why I can sense you so well, you're not a demon but... What sort of connections do you have?"

His voice was still full to the brim of curiosity and he could feel that one word that he could call her in the back of his head and he could feel it wanting to slip out. Mumbled and gentle.

Beautiful.

It was easy to miss; even saturn didn't seem fully aware that he had said anything. Hell there was a longer pause and the demon huffed. He was getting off topic. These people needed help.

"...Look I know you probably want to help these people as much as I do, what if we work together to make it so they don't have to deal with whatever critters they have back here and afterwards I'll answer any questions you might have? Does that sound fair?"

Tatyana's body seemed to tense - coil - every time the creature used magic, even casually, though she made no additional move to or away from him in the course of his explanation. She studied the pamphlet - identical the one she had scrunched up and hidden under her coat - and chewed her tongue behind pensive teeth. His reason for being here, however seemingly absurd for something of his size and power, was one matter to deal with ... his general response to her, and the abject confusion and gentle nature he met her with ... that was another, and it was more at the forefront of her mind.

It's not that she didn't know there was evil and good in everybody, sometimes in equal and sometimes in various amounts, and that that same idea could extend to supernatural races ... she was a daemon, after all, cursed or otherwise; and she wanted to believe she could be a good person again. Someday. At least ... make up for everything. It was hard, though - so much work, so much constant effort to deny the gnawing needs and urges that burned in her chest - that she had a hard time seeing or believing it. If this ... thing, this man, wasn't pure, unadulterated evil ... how? It was easier to assume it must be a trick and work from there. That's why she didn't rise from further from her defensive slouch, even if her eyes started to regard him more curiously. Atlantean pools behind wire frames. "That's --,"

She was almost frustrated, really, interacting with him. It wasn't what she expected. Did he not understand the power he gave with his name? Was he ... was he like her? It wasn't likely - not with his gait and appearance, she reasoned - and she'd shake her head to clear it of doubt. It was getting more difficult. It was hard under the excitement of his eyes returned on her, balking a little at his interest in her home country. She looked: embarrassed? He had a habit of catching her off guard from her judgment of him. Surely, surely ... "Chort. It's a name in Pergrande for evil, otherworldly spirits. Like ... you?" She looked back at him incredulously.

It was when he repeated the name of her vile enemy that her hackles raised - and visibly, with the points of her ears and the fur along them. Her tail shuffled out of her coat with a twitch, a bushy russet addition to her frame. She blinked, clarity treading water in the blue of her gaze narrowed down on his face. "Is this a trick? A joke? Is this funny to you, bies?!" She yelped with increasing agitation, turning her knife over in her grasp to point it at him in an obvious - to her - declaration. She was going to attack him, standing there with furrowed features. "The Marchesa! The Demoness of Pergrande! The Sultry Mother -- The, the ... come on!" It devolved to something of a fit of annoyance, exasperation, waving her dagger in a way she wouldn't normally; nor would she generally lose her composure this way, but what in the Gods' names was going on here!?

She never made the lunge at him, lost in her growing perplexity and his friendly explanations. He just kept answering her. He kept offering more information from a confused, affable muzzle and it was steaming her head until she thought she might turn as red as her hair. The rabbit stamped her foot. "She's not ... she's not in a guild - that's not - oh, Odin." She sighed in an extended grumble, lowering her daggerpoint to bring her arms in at her chest and her free arm to move up over her dazzled face and into a bundle of her hair. She tugged it. "You're not kidding, are you?" Her voice came much softer, tired. The more he prattled about his interests, taking everything she said so literally or with so much genuine misunderstanding ... she just let her gaze fall from him, watching the ground to the side with a sad expression and heavy blue eyes.

He wasn't a lead. He was just some big, weird guy, who knows what of who knows where, and that nature of his wasn't going to be of any help on her hunt. She sighed, quieter. The weight of a missed connection seemed to hit her all at once, haggering. She rubbed her head. She couldn't attack him. It wouldn't do anything; if this was some grand, demonic trick, he won, she concedes. It was too effective. "Saturn, you said? I don't understand half the words you just said. I don't know much about Fiore or your guilds. I do know, though, that you don't know what I want to know." She exhaled through her nose, drawing her eyes back up to his - the ocean and its volcanoes, drawing its sea to a boil.

He hadn't stifled in his unmeetable tempo. Her legs felt swept out from under her. He was watching her so closely - so curiously - and it froze her in place, and she - a statue, an observer - stared back. Her breath slowed. A breeze hit from a fan in the side room as it turned on its rotation their direction, ruffling the fur of her coat and shifted a lock of hair down the side of her face. Beautiful? She drew a breath. Her cheeks met that destined color. What ...

Her eyes pricked and she glanced away again, her guard slipping from the conversation and drawing her arms around her with that knife pocketed away in a blink. She hugged herself, speaking with a tremulous softness. If he was anything like her - and she was reckoning something - those ears of his weren't for show. He'd catch her words. "It's not a demi-human thing. The ... the ears, and the tail, and my physical agility - I think that's all stuff I get from my Dad. I think it does interact some with my ... my nature, though. The ... blin," she cursed under her breath, though her tone indicated it was more of a 'damn' than anything coarse. "The demonic stuff, okay? I'm ... cursed. By someone. That -- the Marchesa. You don't know her. It doesn't matter. You're ... one, too, though, aren't you? Or something? Or were you also ... cursed?"

Her voice came plaintively, searching for any kind of answer. She was seeking something - anything. It was hard to get her eyes back on him, but after a few moments, she did. And she nodded. "Okay." It was a simple answer for a situation that had; well, also become simple. These people still needed help, she couldn't get rid of him, and she couldn't leave him here alone. Her stomach rumbled, keening in the twitch of her fluffy ears. That, too. "It's just a few Salamanders. I took down nests of them when I was in Iceberg. I can handle this. Just ... don't do too much, Saturn."

It was both a request and a warning, and she found his gaze with her own as it sharpened determined again. "I don't trust you. I just ... don't want to fight you. Let's go."

The tensive nature of the person in front of him was layered on misinformation. He understood that enough to know that he wasn’t in any danger and with her inspecting the brochure that he presented her he hoped that she would understand he meant neither her or the people here ill will. He made sure once she was done inspecting it that the pamphlet was neatly tucked away afterwards. To him the job and scope didn’t matter; if a group of peasants were beset by monsters would he shy away from them just because he was strong enough to turn the monsters into a miniature sun? No. He’d help the people.

He wasn’t evil, he wasn’t as demonic as other demons were. He wasn’t born of the abyss, he wasn’t even born of the void. He was born of earthland; he was an earthland demon. A being that was entirely for the beings of this realm; he was void and star touched sure but that wasn’t the essence of him anymore. He cared about the people on earthland; he cared and he wanted to help every single one of them as best he could. He could tell that there was a layer of confusion behind the frustration. He could tell that her eyes were searching his being for answers. Her explanation of what ‘Chort” was made him rumble softly.

”I think me being a spirit would make things less complicated but unfortunately thanks to Lady wolfenstein I’m not that. Demons are a little more complex I’m afraid and I’m not even a proper demon really.”

Saturn sighed a bit and seeing her response to him speaking the name of that individual they were… immediately defensive; angry and the demon cocked his head to one side. She was agitated, angry, red faced, it looked like she was going to attack him. Even had a knife out and the demon didn’t really move all too much; scratching at his cheek thoughtfully.

”I can’t say that I’ve heard of someone like that, Pergrande is a country I’m not very familiar with. If they were fiorian or perhaps from iceberg I could… well learn about them easier.”

Saturn shook his head; sighing deeply. He was sincerely sorry he couldn’t help her immediately; his ears drooped a little bit and when they eventually just got that he had no idea. He’d nod his head slowly; she seemed to have it click. It was okay; something big like him would no doubt make sense to link to some other being far away even if they had never met. He saw that tired and dazzled sensation on her; tugging at her hair and seeming actually… sad. He found his expression falling somewhat and he wanted to reach out but… they weren’t close like that.

”I’m sorry, I’m not kidding. I genuinely don’t know who you’re talking about. I’m not well versed in Pergrande culture or politics or dangers. ”

He’d adjust slightly; looking a bit out of sorts about the fact he couldn’t even give her information other than ‘I don’t know’ and after a few moments he’d nod his head again. She understood, he understood. The both of them stared at one another. He could feel her frustration and he wanted to help.

”Yeah. My name is Saturn. It’s okay. How familiar are you with the rune knights?”

Saturn felt their eyes meet again; his rolling golden orbs with black lines meeting the mixed ocean and volcanoes. It drew him in a bit and he felt his breath ease out a little easier than normal. He could feel his heart ache and after a few long moment’s he’d adjust… Nodding his head. Repeating the word.

Beautiful.

She probably had never heard someone call her that or perhaps it had been so long that she couldn’t figure that someone would find her like that. She was stunning to him; there was something about her that he just found like that. Seeing her hug herself he’d motion for the employees to leave. They had all the information they needed for the most part right? So they could just… go and do the work if needed. His ears turned, four of the darned things and they were good at hearing.

”I’m lightly familiar with that sort of thing, I’ve seen plenty of folks with traits like that but you’re the first that I’ve met directly. How agile are you? Ah…”

He’d pause as he heard that ‘swear’ the tone and the shifting of it made it apparent. She was cursed; he felt his heart sink and he’d want to reach out, his hand easing forward for a moment before falling to the side; his tail drooping. Could he help re-assure her?

”I… Understand. I think. I… was turned into a demon. Never was a daemon. Never met a daemon before you either. When I was… younger I was a demi-god that was both magically sensitive and easy to be impressed on. Spend enough time around some of the earthen demons and I guess that’s what you get.”

His voice was quiet, he wasn’t cursed at all. He had just developed into the first instance of an earthland demon. Saturn rubbed at his head and cocked it somewhat to the side. Hearing that stomach rumble he’d pause. He’d dig around in his pouch that hung from his sash. Offering her not one… but two different sandwiches.

”Can’t fight on an empty stomach, here. I already ate.”

Saturn paused as she asked him not to do too much and after a few long moments he’d adjust again. The fact she didn’t trust him stung weirdly enough and he’d motion into the air. His spear manifested itself and hovered in place. It was a massive weapon. Easily as tall as saturn. But it just simply hovered next to him; it was a brutal looking thing and radiated an energy unlike anything else.

”I’ll take care of the big one and you take care of the little ones. Hows that sound? These things always have a big leader and a bunch of little ones. I don’t want to fight you either, it’d be… needless. And I’d rather just talk with you.”

He’d smile warmly; his brows had stopped being furrowed for ages and he seemed genuinely happy as a person to be around; or rather the way that he held himself made it easy to be carefree. If she took the sandwiches he’d take his spear in one hand, if not he’d have to put them back into his pouch.

”What can I call you?”

He felt something slip through too; something he didn’t expect; the demon paused; blinked as though he didn’t mean to say that but it just fell out of his lips. He’d place a hand on his head and sigh; he was really bad at lying or hiding what he thought that much was clear. Naive and somewhat silly.

Other than Beautiful?

Her face fell troubled; her every breath slower - measured - and filled with that sense of unease and exhaustion, her eyes unwavering but soft, quiet, unhappy in their cast to the side. One arm rubbed the other at the bend of her chest, using the hand at its other side to tug gently at the bundle of one of her braids and twine it around a finger in thought. She shook her head. "You're just lost too, huh?" She mumbled, dragging her gaze back to him with a lilt of her lips. Maybe she was wrong to have judged him on appearance and power alone ... but what else did she have to go on, in cases like this and with creatures like them? He wasn't standard by any measure. Caution had to be the right approach to giants. And yet ...,

She felt bad. Tasted that on her tongue, chewing it over and sighing again, her little shoulders rising and falling beneath that great coat she swaddled away in. She could almost disappear into it like a cocoon. She could curl into a ball and go to sleep and wake up to climb out of it again and nothing would be anything anymore. Weariness shined like a dull light in each oceanic pool, but the hard set of her cheekbones and the glint of perseverance behind her wire frames - lit up by the stars of her freckles, an immovable sky - beget the notion. "Oh ... Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Pergrande and Fiore haven't been that close. Do you just have friends in Iceberg? Is that what you ... er, who you meant before?" Of course he wouldn't know anything of Pergrandian troubles over here in their idyllic countryside. Lord knows they had enough of them - it was overwhelming for a native, let alone innocent, confused passersby. No matter how strange they are.

"This ... the Demon I'm hunting, I believe she's here. I just don't know where - and I don't know that for sure. A needle in a hay stack, you could say. I'll just keep ... pressing it down." She rolled her shoulders, clicking her tongue against the back of her teeth and staring back at him: at a loss for words, but with empathy for his own abject confusion. "I haven't been in Fiore for long. Pergrande's my home, and Iceberg's my ... home away from home, I guess you could say? I've been on this chase for awhile. Now I'm just trying to make money. Someone's gotta." Another shrug, waving her wrist helplessly to dismiss it. It is what it is, her motion said. "I don't know any of your guilds. I've just been going mission to mission and gathering what information I can. Thus ... we're here. Haha." A hollow, joyless sound, but she at least came across more affable. She hadn't really let her guard down for him yet ... but she was more open to dialogue, and less likely to spear him when he wasn't looking.

Her cheeks still burned red, deepening the dots that scrawled along her nose and twitching a single rabbit's ear in a show of animalistic bashfulness. People generally only fell over her when her demonic nature became ... overpowering. She was Succubus-cursed, after all. That came with certain benefits within the many, many vices and maledictions. She, obviously, didn't enjoy that part of her existence, nor taking advantage of it, but here she was - her hair not even down, squirreling away beneath her cloak - and he'd ... There was something so innocent about the word on his muzzle, and the unknown way it laid back those russet lops. What the heck? What was she supposed to say to that? "I'm fast." She responded, picking one question out of his explanation. "I'm really quick. And the ears aren't just for show. I'm more trouble than a wild hare, I'd say that much."

She could share information without giving too much away, for aspects like that about herself served themselves as much a warning - or just something for him to keep in mind. She wouldn't be betrayed easily, and it wouldn't come without retribution. "A daemon. That's what you call it when they ... do this to us? Great. At least I have a name for it." Her words came more biting than expected, bitter, and she looked away again with a silent apology. Twiddled with the strands of her hair. "You didn't ask for this either, then. I've never ... met a Demi-God before. Going from that to a demon ...,"

She'd regard him, running her hands beneath her cloak to take stock of every weapon she kept under there before they'd turn to carry on. "You've run the full gamut, Saturn. Unlucky." And then he'd catch her off guard again; another offer of kindness, another warmth difficult for her to swallow. The sandwiches, and the sharp pain in her chest and heart both when he handed them off to her, were almost enough to distract her from his weapon. She eyed it warily, taking a step back ... and pawing both of the foodstuffs beneath her coat. She wouldn't eat in front of him ... but she would eat today, thanks to him.

"... Cool weapon. Keep it where I can see it, yeah? We'll see if there's anything left for you in there when I'm done."

A huff, stalking back another step into the shadows and turning to speed off into the nest room; leaving only a word for him in the gust of air displaced. "Tatya." Anything more he'd have to earn.

They weren't kidding about the infestation. The springs, throughout the sun rocks and waters both, including the vantage points of the cabinets and hanging lines ... they were crawling with the little buggers. Weird, slinky lizards and their habit of firebreath. She had to pace herself, picking past the entrance and finding her first target. She was all about method; and with a slight shimmer to her eyes, a glow that left a trail in her dash, she sped with knives out to gut one before it could alert the others.

Its dying yelp would bring attention to the shuffling shapes and point them in her direction, but she had already switched to a hand-crossbow and fired the poisoned tip of the dart into another. She'd have to keep up rapidly ... she had slightly underestimated the number, but she could pick through these with time ... just had to dodge the jet of flames roaring to life now.

Saturn watched Tatya tug her hair; twirling it around a finger made him wonder if he could do that with one of his disguised forms. He’d look at her as she seemed to be in fairly deep thought regarding both of their predicaments. Lost? Saturn looked to one of his hands, the one that wans’t holding anything. Was he? He didn’t feel as lost as he used to but there was a listless feeling after he thought about it. It had taken him so long to stand taller and be there for others. There were so few that understood him and now there… Was another that did.

”A bit I suppose. But we’ll find our way.”

The sensation of that positivity wasn’t lost upon him and his eyes met hers again; he could tell that she was feeling out of sorts. He wanted to reassure her that it was okay; being in a strange new place was well… difficult for everyone. He could tell she was tired somewhat and seeing those deep pools of oceanic blue behind those wire frame eyes he just wanted to stare at them for a little bit. Having to rub his forehead to break that habit he was slowly finding himself falling into. Not that he didn’t mind but…

”I have… well. I suppose you could say I have an adopted sister. She was a good friend before we found that we had a lot of stuff in common and we just fell into the role. But yeah that’s… who I meant. A lot of countries haven’t been close in the recent years, at least with all these wars…”

Saturn sighed; he had been a part of the joyan one before his prowess and magical ability had really kicked in. He hated the loss of life so while he had been a part of it he also didn’t recall him taking any life; merely disarming or trying to talk people down the best he could. He’d adjust slightly as tatya started to explain what she was doing. The demon was somewhere in fiore; she just didn’t know where. A needle in a haystack that she was pressing down.

”You’ll find her eventually, there’s only so many hiding spots and someone that strong leaves trails even if they don’t intend to.”

Saturn could feel that loss, as she rolled her shoulders; stared up at him. He felt his heart ache again and he’d adjust, one hand coming to his chest as he wanted to stifle that funny feeling. It was a good funny feeling and he could feel that word he called her several times echoing in his head.

”Countries are a big place and you’d probably get along with my sister; she’s from iceberg too. You’ll have to tell me about Pergrande sometime; maybe when we’re not… you know. Dealing with something like this. Ah. I suppose I understand the struggle; I’ve never… had to really worry about it too much but I was a part of the rune knights before I could even really fully talk.”

Saturn rubbed his neck and with her explaining further that she still didn’t know what the rune knights were or the guilds within he’d take a moment on how to exactly explain it. Eventually pulling out his rank insignia he didn’t bother displaying half the time; looking down at it. It was definitely something akin to the military and eventually he’d mumble.

”Think of them as a world wide police force based out of fiore, they serve under the magic council. But their greatest concentration are here in fiore. I want that to change myself because so many more people need help than just fiorians.”

The hollow laughing sound that came from her sounded strange and his eyes tracked back up to hers. Meeting them and staring for what felt like ages, he felt like he could swim in those eyes for hours. Eventually just breathing out as he could see those burning red cheeks. The both of them weren’t expecting this he felt; but at the same time neither of them seemed to fully mind either. The softness of his breath and the gentle but deep rumbling in his chest was easy to pick up on. She was fast, really quick and she could hear fairly well. Made sense. The ears were big, cute and the speed would be handy. He certainly made sure she heard that. Though his own ears twitched a few times; the four of them on his head paused and he’d blink. Wait. Did he just- Yes. Yes he did.

”You’ve got some skill with those knives too; well practiced even. Though you did drop that one when you got here first.”

Saturn let out a soft chuckle; it wasn’t at all worried about the fact she must have thrown it there. With every instance of information she gave him, it painted a deeper picture that he could just explore within his rather curious mind.

”There are instances of people sacrificing things of their own to demons for power; some have it thrust upon them, curses as you call them. The pacts are the most common; a little tidbit of power goes a long way in most cases. Ah.. I’m sorry.”

She had never met a demi-god huh? Saturn could count on one hand how many he knew of. The shogun of joya, a few smatterings of random encounters… his brother. His companion echo. The towering behemoth sighed deep when he thought about how he had to let that one go.

”It was a change; bright and luminous to something entirely different. But it didn’t… it didn’t feel like it was wrong either. I came from so far away that i had no connections to earthland and when the change happened now I can protect people. It wasn’t something I wanted or thought about; but it’s something I can use to help.”

His ‘true’ form was far more monstrous; he could feel the snakes within him; he could feel the glaring sensation of darkness deep down that was smoldering around the light that his body exuded. The skulls of the forgotten towered deep within and he could feel that deathly rumble from his core.

”A little; but it’s hardly a bad thing.”

After all I got to meet you

More things fell out of his mouth and he paused; feeling his cheeks burn softly and he’d let out a soft breath as he was happy to see her take the offered food. He had more if she wanted more; he wouldn’t mind giving it. If she asked or poked about it. Then again…

”Just let me know if you’d like more; I keep a lot of food on me.”

The large weapon didn’t move from saturn’s side as he started to walk. Something was propelling it forward along with him and he’d smile a bit, looking to the weapon as he could feel the echoes of its sensations deep within his skull.

”It is pretty cool, His name is Sleeping Dragon. Never did tell me his actual name though. I won’t try to hide it don’t worry. He’s a bit big. That’s the spirit!”

Hearing her name, he felt his heart jump a bit and he’d stand there in a sort of dazzled state. It burned into his mind and he’d slowly go from being nearly like a statue to following after her. His hand grasping the spears haft and as they moved into the springs proper saturn could see that they weren’t incorrect. Infestation was definitely a word. His mind was somewhere else admittedly and he felt her name fall from his lips in a hushed whisper.

Tatya.

The salamanders were crawling everywhere and saturn stared at them. His posture was relaxed; there was no hostility to his body. It didn’t need to come from it. His eyes cracked open again and his armor flew into motion. Where there was nothing before the social attire transformed, twisted, plated itself. He had naught but taken a step forward before it had swapped to it’s more fighting orientated attire. THe fur around his neck bristled as it was joined by the cosmic looking fluff from the armor. His hands that had been so soft now were protected by plates of armor. He looked quite like a knight and all of this happened wordlessly.

Saturn kept true to his word, his eyes locking onto the bigger salamanders. They were a bit beefier, easier to spot and would be tougher. Twisting his spear so that it spun around and would be clasped in two hands the behemoth steadied himself before taking a swing. The air seemed to grow charged with something, a deeper darkness perhaps that seemed to lock away the light. Smashing into the first of many salamanders as though he had that practiced ease. The chattiness that had been there before still remained; but there was a soft sorrow behind his words.

”They just like the heat… there’s definitely a better way of doing this in the future but after so many in one spot it’s just a shame… We like the heat too.”

Saturn would scoop one of the large ones up by the neck, looking it over before tossing it aside; it had already been practically destroyed and he’d look back to tatya. He didn’t seem worried if at all.

”...If you want, I could see if I could pull any strings and gather some information too. Make some things easier.”

One salamander didn’t like how he was standing among them and breathed a slough of fire at the behemoth. The damage on his armor wasn’t very deep but as it billowed off of him. The tinted scarring of the armor didn’t seem to remain long, husks of crystals forming along the scorched marks and eventually it’d repair itself entirely.

”Hmm. Their flames would be a problem. No wonder they were desperate.”

Even they had family. 'They', she thought, with a current of self-reflection and bitterness. She wanted to say she couldn't help it - just looking at him put her opposite in otherness, that he was a creature and, what, she wasn't? - but she could. It was still there in her heart, that normal tired (demi-)human girl empathy, knowing not to judge others by their appearance or hold their circumstances so closely against them. It's not like people didn't do it with her. Her rabbit ears or her less refined nature; it wasn't uncommon to draw stares and gossip and outright hatred. Why did she put herself in a place to do that to other people? 'People', she mirrored in that heartbroken sentiment, because even that was hard to relate to.

She shook her head, sending two long lops bounding from side to side before they set themselves straight atop her head again with something of a vibration. She looked so silly, in that moment, but she didn't have the view to appreciate it. Her eyes were still on him: after all. "Yeah. There's a lot of warring going around. We have so many other things to fight ... to fear ... I don't get why it always has to be each other." She lamented with a drip of irony, running her hand through her hair before shaking it out and fixing her appearance to a proper little ... lady? Uh, assassin? She'd settle for however he saw her right now, shrugging her shoulders. "I ... uh- I hope your sister? is doing okay, at least. I just came from Iceberg. I know there's a lot brewing there, too. ... And thanks. I know I'll find my target. I just wish ...,"

She let her sentence trail off and dissipate like steam from the springs, wisping past her lips and fading before it hit their ears. She wished for too many things. This time - she just hoped this might get easier. She'd get the girl and break every curse she had lain. And then ... maybe, and then ... "What?" He broke her out of her weary pontification just before they departed. She'd blink up at him under long, heavy lashes, her blue so clear and startled; she did a poor job of hiding her emotions, if that wasn't already apparent. "You're a cop?" Her tone was incredulous, but without the frustration of her surprise from earlier. She just had to look him over, lift her hands like the paws of a caught rabbit in dissonance with any of her understanding of anything in Fiore, and then wave them around and throw them wide. "Fine, sure, yeah, that makes sense. Okay. I don't get anything here. At least that means someone --" -- trusts him. She didn't speak that part aloud. "Somewhere, vouches for you being here. Alright, Mr. Policeman. Let's see if you can keep up with a survivalist like me."

She'd snap her fingers, dismissing his joking - confused - honest? comment about her 'dropping' her knife, but she figured that was better laid to rest. She didn't need 'assaulting an official of the nation' on her rap sheet with everything she'd already been up to. Especially with the weight of his kindness and understanding already so easily offered to her ... it was almost aggravating, how much better of a demon he was. She supposes it wasn't fair to compare herself to him. He was some kind of Godkin before turning. She was just a --

Girl. Aaaaaah. She clutches her head briefly and then turns in her fast-movement disappearing act. She'd continue the conversation after thinking over his words in the midst of their brawl, splitting a keen eye between her routine dismantling of the little beasts she wrangled and his monster of a weapon. "Wait, you talk to your weapon or something? It's ... is it alive??? I've heard of guys getting attached to their machinery, but that's another level, Saturn." Part interest, part coyness. She was one to talk about attachment to inanimate objects, the little engi-freak that she was, but she didn't share that kind of thing with other people. She didn't share much of anything with other people. "... Nice spear, though. I like its make."

She had just finished a twirl over the back of a Salamander, catching the end of her coat with singing flames she snuffed along with its life in a deft, practiced movement. Saturn might have been a fight for her - but these beasts? She was a trained hunter and, not to toot her horn or anything, wilderness expert. "Well, I'll tell you I didn't ask for this. No pact or anything. It was just ... it was just petty." She muttered, her gaze dead set and focused on the task of hand despite her words pulling along their dialogue. A torrent almost got her from behind - skirting to the side with a blend of ice and wind magic and a bright glow of symbols from her eyes, dodging out of the way just in time to whip a scimitar from her cloak and slice it in twain. "You don't seem bothered by your powers, though. Or what happened to you. That must be nice."

She spoke genuinely, and surprisingly without bitterness. Her words came from a place with little time to filter or consider them deeper. He got saddled with this kind of thing, too - and he was thriving with it. That does sound nice. Maybe if she ever stopped killing people when she kissed them. She spared him another look between drawing and notching a bow she had traded her arms for, a seal flaring under her feet with that same line of runes trailing her eyes. This time, water would coalesce with the steered shot of her mana, piercing through the hide of the Salamander currently assaulting him. Not that he needed the help. He actually held pretty well; worrisome, if she considered him a threat. Did she? "It's not pretty work. But they're invasive, and they're hurting the people here. There's not always a right way. Sometimes you just do things because they have to be done somehow, and you don't get the time to worry about it. Yeah? This is better for what matters."

"Or it wouldn't be worth doing at all. Anyway, you good?" The next time she realigned in his view she'd be standing behind a smoking corpse with a shortspear.

Saturn was grateful for the family that he found; he was grateful that the two of them had managed to become close in that way. His birth into the world had been strange and stranger still was the experiences he garnered in such a short time. He’d tilt his head a little bit; looking at Tatya; wondering what sort of family and what sort of experiences she had with the differences they held with the world. He was always stared at; people were fearful of him almost immediately up until they actually talked with him. Like her; but she did it out of safety he felt and not out of intolerance. The headshake that she did had saturn pausing; it looked outright adorable.

”People are fearful, some want more, some see others and resent them for what they have. So they go to take it; it’s frustrating and so unfitting to a beautiful world.”

Saturn sighed a bit and watching her again; he noted that she was fussing with her hair a lot. Was that a nervous habit? He had to admit he’d probably do the same if he had long hair like that. Could he even grow out hair like that? He wasn’t sure. Though his eyes wandered a little bit and he found himself looking back to his hands as she mentioned his sister.

”She’s fine. She’s one of the strongest people that I know. I understand Tatya.”

Saturn let out a small sigh; he was seeking someone too but likely their battle and their efforts were a little harder with less resources. Though saturn then blinked a few times at hearing her be confused at the fact he was a rune knight. He stared down at her; eyes cracking open and meeting her eyes again. She was clearly startled at this information.

”Since very early in my life yeah. And yeah, It would mean that someone does. I hope more people will get used to me and the folks like me.”

Saturn rubbed at his neck; and his smile eased into a larger one. The two of them were definitely a strange duo but they also had a lot in common it seemed. His kindness wasn’t manufactured and was always ready to bubble to the surface at the slightest notice. He could tell she was kind too; else they wouldn’t be talking like this. She was just dealt a bad hand. He felt that if she hadn’t been a daemon…

-

He’d be more worried about her; but even so he was beyond curious about her. Everything about her made him want to ask a million questions. Saturn tossed one of the salamanders aside like it weighed nothing and at mention of his weapon again the demon glanced at it.

”It’s got a sealed dragon spirit in it. So it’s… alive? Kind of? The weapon itself is ancient so I couldn’t really tell you outside of it’s grumbling and wanting to just go back to sleep. Eheh. I suppose it is. Thanks! It was in the rune knight armory for ages and never let anyone wield it.”

Saturn gave the spear a little twirl and hooked one of the offending salamanders, flinging it out of the way with a back handed scoop. Saturn inspected one of the smaller salamanders trying to bite his leg and just hoisted it up. Hearing what she had to say about the pact his face would fall into that of infinite understanding and kindness. He could tell that she was well trained; or at least well practiced with the way that she fought and the… well the salamanders didn’t really stand a chance did they?

”Not a lot of people would ask for something like this from a demon or an adjacent. Especially with the way you feel about it.”

Saturn paused lightly mid swing and then slapped the side of the halberd against the top of the nearest salamander. He was somewhat pensive and watched her practically dance with her magic. He felt himself suck a breath deep in; the way she handled her music was gorgeous too. He’d ponder a little bit and motion at one of the salamanders that he had dealt with already.

”A lot of my life was thrust upon me, it’s just another thing that I had to learn to deal with. Changing back from a demon is irreversible in my case. Rather than lament and bemoan my situation I decided it would be better to understand and develop my powers to help people. It was… a process.”

His smile almost seemed sad; but at the same time? He seemed content too; there were a few instances of the salamanders biting or lighting him ablaze but he just walked it off. Seeing her help him with the use of such a beautiful magic had him stunned for a few long moments. Eventually looking around to see that they had done a very good job.

”It’s not like the salamanders are going to go away anytime soon; they thrive in heat so there will always be more too. If they’re hurting people I feel less bad about doing this. You’ve got a point.”

Saturn felt the danger pass and his outfit returned to that of the social affair; fluttering down and his eyes tracing back to hers. Staring for a few long moments before nodding. His ears and tail were flicking this way or that. Like he was thinking about something.

”Helping people is always worth it so I understand. Yeah I’m good. I just wish I could talk to the creatures and help them understand somewhere else they could go.”

Saturn shook his head a little bit and hoisted up some of the dead bodies of the salamanders. Many of them would be easy to clean up. Some less so but that was what magic was for. He’d look to her again; clearly thinking about something but he’d eventually just nod his head.

”I think that’s all of them.”