There was night, but then the blushing sun rose, ascending like a princess to the podium of a ballroom. The coastal plains below came alive at her presence, each blade of grass adorned with glistening attire of dew as it began to waltz in the warm morning breeze. The fireflies, finding their hour was over, sunk to the ground. The glowworms retreated, replaced by industrious beetles. The crickets ceased their natural violins and were replaced with the sweet, high trumpeting of the birds announcing the coming day.
It didn't take much of this fanfare and light for a spectacled bear at the edge of the village to awaken with a yawn and a hindleg scratch. He hadn't had much sleep. The entire night he'd been eating. It was something he enjoyed doing, though as a spirit he did not feed on traditional food sources. His father had fed on lust, viewing humans as a human might view a milk-cow-- lesser even. A farmer might give said milk cow some reprieve or treat it humanely. His sire would routinely drive his victims to absolute ruin in his quest to draw out every ounce of sin. There had been extreme cases where the unfortunate human that fell under his charms simply died from lack of food and water.
These were the stories his mother had told him when he was of age, and from his mother he inherited a conscience-- virtue and sympathy. These values he had internalized and made as much a part of his being as the dark influence of his father's instincts. For this reason, all of the many humans whose dreams he'd visited last night woke up in perfect innocence and soundness of mind. He refused to cause pleasure to the point of lost health in order to feed, though this was a more difficult road to take and required more work. No, he picked the fruit off of the tree in season instead of chopping it down for its nourishment, and he felt good about it. The humans all, for a moment, existed in a world where their wildest dreams came true, and he felt proud that he could partake of that.
But even though he was satiated, he still felt a bit tired. His bear disguise would serve him well. He didn't want anyone asking any questions of him or bothering him while he rested, and if there was anything that most humans were afraid to bother, it was a sleeping bear. The incubus yawned again and laid down in the soft grass, idly watching a line of ants march past as he began to drift back off to sleep.
Sera had left Yuki at the edge of the village and began her trek out into the meadow lands. Her sword came forth as she took a stance and practiced that slash Battousai had left her with. Still it only moved a few blades of grass. After ten tries, the sword was sheathed as she looked around. She gave into a sigh and found a rock to sit on. At the same time, a half armored man came running past her both hands on his trousers trying to keep them up as he ran screaming like a punk bitch. All she heard was rabbit, leaps.... She shook her head and watched the man disappear into the rising sunlight. For a moment she glanced to see a spotted bear and shrugged at the beast. It was a shared moment that if the bear had looked up would be one of those anime moments where everyone around shrugs with the non-commental utterance which amounted to 'I have no earthly idea what just happened' before turning back to the matters at hand. Sera searched around her belt pouch and finally pulled out a sharpening stone. She began to drag the stone against the blade, or rather the blade against the stone as she sharpened the blade.
The wind blew across the meadow lands and tugged at her red ponytail. She was dressed in a yellow long sleeve corset with black and white trim. A skirt that matched the black trim. Her black boots and stockings with garters completing the whole thing. Her hair was pulled back into a single ponytail with a black ribbon tied in a bow. The two tails of ribbon dripping down her red hair like black striped. Darkness in a sea of blood. Her usual Kami wings were well hidden as her master and sensei has requested. Her blood red eyes glanced up and around the meadows making sure she was still alone. The only thing that met her eyes was the sleeping bear, a few rabbits, and birds in the trees.
The bear remained asleep where he had fallen when the panicked soldier ran past. Run might not have awoken at all if the jogger's stomps hadn't thoroughly disrupted the assembly line of the ants and caused them to run about looking for something to pinch into.
That something, unfortunately, was Run's nose, and he upreared, panicking lightly with a very unbearlike, "Aaah!"
Something in his voice was incredibly flamboyant, even as he stood on his back legs and pawed the offending insects off of his nose and stepped away from the angry workers.
When he finally did calm down, it didn't take him long to notice the familiar woman whetting her blade. "Oh..."
Well, once again he had blown his cover. No doubt she would know he wasn't the average bear, and even if she didn't, there was no point in lying to her. "Hello there."
Suddenly, a bright puff of black feathers and white light overtook his position, ending in a slow fall of glitter. Standing there instead of a bear was a lithe, though muscular, young man. He had shackles on his neck, one arm, and its opposite leg, though they seemed to be for show. The shininess of the metal and the decorative carvings would reinforce that assumption. Other than that, he was clad in black and his shirt was sleeveless and open in the front. The color scheme of his dress matched his black hair that fell in a shaggy mess down over his masked face and curly, sheep-like horns. Most notably, most of his face was concealed by a black mask, that left only one, half-open, yellow eye exposed to the world.
He took a couple of steps towards the woman, but stopped and sat on a stump perhaps a dozen feet away. "I remember you. You were the one who turned into a bird while you were being pursued by those demons. I'm really sorry if I intruded, ma'am."
( PROTIP: Play at the same time as Seraphina's vid )
She was startled and watched the bear's reaction. Her hand with the stone came up to press the back of said hand against her mouth, effectively covering up her laughter. But still she chuckled at the creature. All the other animals scurried away and the meadow was quiet as the bear finally calmed down. By this time Seraphina has stood and sheathed her sword, putting away the stone. Slowly she approached the bear, her hand out as if to offer the no weapon move on a wild animal. Then as she drew so close, it began to morph and form and she was left bending over staring at the knees of a man. She slowly straightened up and blinked at him. Chains, feathers, shackles, oh my. Her slow look from the knees up to the face left her speechless. Seraphina then smiled and teased a bit, "My grandmother, what big horns you have" A blush stole over cheeks as she shook her head for a moment as he spoke. Did she just do that? Why? probably because she had nothing else to say. Wait. The demons. "Oh the Lord of Pride Demon person? You did not intrude. Wait, you were that bear? Thank you for your help but after seeing that demented squirrel, chipmunk thing, I was a bit frazzled and could not trust anyone." She gathered her wits about her and smiled that double dimple revealing smile that seemed to make the sun a little brighter. "I apologize if I seemed rude. I do thank you for your attempt at help. My name is Seraphina, Sera for short if you choose." Those slender digits were held out for a handshake as she waited for his response. Although he looked different, she was not sure of all the different types of people around here.
Rivers rubbed along the curve of his horn for a moment, gingerly, as though it hurt. Indeed, an almost pained expression seized the part of his face that was visible. "Yea... my horns... sorry about that..."
The man took the woman's outstretched hand, and with a surprisingly swift movement, got down on one knee and tenderly kissed the back of it, his chains ringing lightly with the motion. "I can understand your feelings. You must've been overwhelmed." He stood back up to his feet, dusting off his metal kneepads with a tidy pat. His voice was like audible honey when he spoke again. "Any other time I can help you, just let me know and we'll call it even." He winked at her conspiratorially, then resumed his seat on the stump. "I know I look like a demon, but I promise you I'm not... well, not entirely. My mother was an angel, but--"
The incubus caught himself before he inadvertently went into his life history with someone who-- and he had to remind himself of the fact-- was essentially a stranger. "-- what brings an upstanding lady such as yourself around these demon haunted parts? I was here seeking a demon, in fact... one of the fighters."
Her chuckle was soft and light. Almost like a fluffy cloud. Or warm chocolate on a cold day. Her head shook from side to side in amusement as that ponytail followed suit. "Well, I guess you must be the best of both worlds if your parents were so diverse. Thank you for your kind offer of help. I am most grateful." As he kneels and kisses her hand, she blushes almost as red as that waterfall of flames that was her hair. My was he not just a gentleman. "Is your nose alright?" And yes she completely ignored the angel and demon comments. At this point in time, she would not care since Yuki was a half demon. And also she was not certain as to what kind of people populated this region. This man could be one of man of such unions. His question is met with a quiet, lyrical answer. "I am just following along behind Yuki. He wont let me out of his sight for long." A long suffering sigh escaped and crossed those full lips. She left out the fact that the said half breed known as Yuki was mainly trying to cage her and keep her confined so he could try and wear down her resolved to keep their teacher's demands of no sexual relationship with each other. "You are look for a demon? I am sorry. I hope you find it and survive. I meet that demon Jack and well it caused such a fuss. I cannot remember anything before a week ago. Something happened to cause this amnesia. Jack claimed that I was his, and frankly I do not know."
Run rested his hand on his chin for a moment. "My nose? Oh, I just wear this mask-- oh, you mean where the ant had bitten?" In a moment, he'd gone from relatively calm to talking fast again. After all, the mention of Jack reminded him of what he had to do here. There wasn't much avoiding it. "It's fine. Thank you for asking. It was just a little sting, really..." His eye went to the ground. "I probably shouldn't have gone to sleep so close to them."
He was quiet for a moment, as though wondering if he really wanted to go through with this. Well, one thing would determine his answer. "You know... you sound really unhappy with this Yuki person. Of course, I wouldn't even dream of telling a lady like yourself to just go wandering off through these bandit-choked forests looking for a better situation if you don't remember anyone you know, but..." And at this point, he clapped his hands once together, as though seized by some great inspiration.
"I can help you come to a decision!" he began sunnily. "I have the ability to umm... let people see what they truly want. It's a gift of my clan. Maybe if you knew what your heart really desired, you would know what path to take. You might even see someone that you knew in the past that could help you get back there. Would you like to try?"
His voice and mask did well to hide how anxious he was.
Her smile was that sweet smile that had innocence and purity mixed into it. Both dimples displayed and the corners of the mouth twisted up. It was such a bright, happy, genuine smile, that the sun in its shame hide behind a cloud at that same moment of her smile. It was the brightest thing around after the sun had decided to run away from such beauty and honesty. Her voice matched that smile as she spoke, "I am so glad you are alright. I would hate to have your nose truly damaged by such creatures."
When he speaks of Yuki, she glances back and the smile falters and fades. Her red eyes, once bright as the twinkling stars grew muted and dull. "I have no choice, I gave my word to our teacher, that I would help out with Yuki's village in return for his training. Plus I really like Battousai, our teacher. I just cannot stand the man I am forced to be with right now. He keeps trying to force himself on me. Even after our teacher said there would be no relationship allowed on that score." Then she thinks for a moment and shakes her head, "I know what you must be thinking, but Battousai is gone on a mission at the moment. I do not trust Yuki. He even told me while he was enthralled by the child Noah, that he wanted to ravage my body and make me his bitch." She shuddered delicately at that last comment and glanced over her shoulder as if afraid the man would be coming to collect her soon.
When the half demon spoke of letting her see what she truly wanted, it gave her hope. "Yes, that might work. Then I might have a place to start in order to gain my memories back" HEr smile came back at this but not to the degree as first described. "how do we go about doing it?"
The sudden cloudiness of the weather fit Run's mixed feelings rather well. While he knew that he wasn't forcing her to run off into the woods with Jack, he still felt as though there might be something wrong in his actions.
Well, his method was so indirect, that its chances of even taking her to Jack were slim. Even then, it would only work if Jack wasn't lying.
Behind his mask, a frown tugged at the corners of his mouth. Maybe what he planned wasn't so bad after all. There weren't many worse things for a woman to live around than a rapist in these wild times, and if she took to wandering off in the woods like this often... well, it certainly wasn't safe. Maybe it would be safer for her to move after all.
But moving in with a hell-demon!
Maybe her situation would be equally bad with either of them, but he began to release those feelings of apprehension. This decision remained the woman's to make. This was simply showing her the destiny she sought. No blood on his hands.
"It's simple, ma'am." He worked at the strap of his gas mask until it popped off with a snap.
Both amber eyes now looked up into the angel's, and a slight pinkish or reddish hue began to swim about with the yellow, forming a shifting array of colors not unlike that of a sunset. He exhaled softly, and his breath was like a perfume filling the immediate air when he spoke. "Just relax. Don't worry about anything. Just let your thoughts drift."
If Seraphina gave in, she'd find herself very sleepy, and the world would seem to shift to that of a dream... a dream founded on and a manifestation of the most fervent of her subconscious's wishes.
The half breed released his mask and she found him handsome as she stared into his eyes. As the spell took effect, she stretched and yawned. Sleep starting to settle on her, as she found herself going to the ground gently. Closing her eyes she began to dream. Her hearts desire was not very apparent. For one thing the heart is a fickle mistress especially one held by a Kami. Their light and goodness meant that their heart was big and held onto the love and comfort of all those they met and befriended. As for fickle, a woman is fickle and so is her heart, compounded upon that love was a complex emotion as was desire. One could desire an emotion, an idea, or even a person. All of this makes for a maze of intricate webbing with many possibilities. But three came to the front along with flashes of memories.
The First to come to the front was a masked make, a samurai. Desire here was complex. It was not in the normal sense of the word, she was comfortable with him. She was curious about him. Sera respected him and felt a need to remain with him, as if there was something there she was missing. Desire here was that of a teacher student relationship. One that may or may not move further. She desired to make him proud. Still he held a place in her heart. The memory was of his first training session with her. Jyn's smiling face was there as well, she was standing there swiping under his guidance. In his silence, he did something that no one else had, he let her be her, and remember at her own pace.
The second image was more of the emotion of desire that bards sing of and poets dream. This aspect of desire was love. Soft and golden, glowing warm upon the face. Noah's face, only older as Gabriel. The white lie because he was so scared to be himself. Sera felt the soft rosebud of love. Here she was happy, serene, and cared for. Happiness. She desired him for his kindness, their companionship, their oddity amongst their own kind. This memory was of Gabriel and her in the crystalline forests of some unknown realm to her. Gabriel teaching her the healing spells and cutting himself in the process. This memory was of the joy she felt when she had healed him.
The Third was the most complex aspect of Desire. Passion itself. The hidden sin the things that only in the deepest darkest parts of the sleeping mind. This memory consisted of the heated passion between the Archduke of Hell, Jack. Lusty bodies entwined, two hearts beating as one, blood shared. A sky of blood red seen through a crack in the ceiling. Forbidden embraces and a fragile sense of tenderness. Something not common in that dark realm. Mixed into this was the downside of such Passion was pain of wounds, pain of defeat, pain of knowing that such choices would cause her fall from the heavens. Pain of being caged and weak among the demons. Pain at being forced to watch the suffering of innocents.
As the dreams ended the only thing that her waking mind remembered, for the sleeping mind always knew more than its wakeful counterpart, was the images of those three and flashes of the dreams. And as with most dreams, the more aware the dreamer becomes, the more the dream fades into the mists of daylight. Desire was so complex that this would only cause her to want to question two of these men. And it gave her a fire to do so.
Run buckled his mask discreetly as the woman came back awake. Though he was attempting to look as composed as possible to avoid freaking Seraphina out, sweat gleamed along his exposed flesh and his hair was visibly wet, ruining the professionalism he was going for. If nothing else, he looked tired, though somewhat satisfied, his half-open eyes testifying to his satiated state.
"So out of all of those memories..." he began meekly, not sure if she would be fine with discussing the contents of her most primitive layer of thought. "...would you say the ones with the demon Jack gave you the most pleasure? Or was it something more complicated than that?"
The mask snapped back into place with an audible click, and the incubus was avoiding eye contact with his single exposed eye. "Either way, if it's answers you seek, then he'll probably have them for you. I'm assuming, well-- that you lost your way before whatever that was I saw. It looked like you might have had a lover, in a weird way. It's pretty common for women to fall prey to demons in that way. They aren't all wrath and hatred, after all. They're creatures of... passions. They love just as passionately as they hate."
He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Or so I've been told."
As she blinked and stood up before the half breed, she listened to him speak. Slowly she dusted herself off and then looked at him. With a swift movement, she placed a gentle kiss upon the exposed flesh of the cheek under his eye. Sweetly, although a bit confused, she said. "Thank you, Run. You are a sweet heart. I wish there was something I could do for you in return." He was right it would seem that she needed to find Jack for answers, since she knew where the other two were sure to be. "I cannot remember too much about the dream but I would like to find Jack. I need answers and perhaps to keep him from destroying a village because I told him I would go with him and did not thanks to those around me. One never knows what a demon could thinking of doing. Do you know where to find him?" She chuckled and took a step back at his next words of falling prey to demons, "Who knows I might have just done that. But its alright, I will find these answers and hopefully more by finding that demon. Do you know anything about him, advice, a warning, how to approach him so I do not get killed?"
The incubus blinked his one eye in surprise at the peck, looking away shyly despite his species.
"Don't mention it. It's... my job. I mean, you have already paid me in full." He scratched the back of his head again, hoping that everything would be alright in the end. After all, if Jack harmed this innocent creature-- well, he wouldn't react kindly himself to such a thing, even if that might mean his death.
"I don't know much about him other than that we serve the same master," he began after a deep breath. "I know where his army is, though. A little bit east... just go a ways and you should find the swaths of destruction where his horde has been through. You really should be careful. Even if he recognizes you, he has a pretty nasty bunch with him."
Moments after he said that, he realized that it might have been a mistake. "Don't worry too much about it, though. If he really cares about you, I'm sure he'll protect you from them, even though he's a hell demon himself. If he bothered looking for you all the way in Yuki's village, though, I doubt he'll let them just kill you on a whim."
His words held something in them, almost as if the half breed was thinking deeper about what he was saying and hiding something. But he was a half demon so it could be that he was just trying to hide his own thoughts on the subject. She would be careful, had to be, but now she had questions for the Arch demon of hell. Jack of Pride. "Well since I have paid you in full, though I do not know how that is possible, and you have told me which way to head. Then I will go as soon as I am able. If you see him, can you tell him I am looking for him?" She glanced over her shoulder at the village and then looked back to Run, "Well Yuki is coming to collect me. Thank you so much for everything you have done." With that she gave him another quick peck on the cheek and she started off towards the hulking half wolf demon approaching. Half way there she turned and waved to him calling out, "If you have need anything. Please let me know. I will help to the best of my abilities." With that she continued off into the distance thinking on everything that had transpired.
There was night, but then the blushing sun rose, ascending like a princess to the podium of a ballroom. The coastal plains below came alive at her presence, each blade of grass adorned with glistening attire of dew as it began to waltz in the warm morning breeze. The fireflies, finding their hour was over, sunk to the ground. The glowworms retreated, replaced by industrious beetles. The crickets ceased their natural violins and were replaced with the sweet, high trumpeting of the birds announcing the coming day. 
The bear remained asleep where he had fallen when the panicked soldier ran past. Run might not have awoken at all if the jogger's stomps hadn't thoroughly disrupted the assembly line of the ants and caused them to run about looking for something to pinch into.