Young Writers Society

He smiled slightly, still awkward and unsure, but beginning to get a little more comfortable with Miss Runi. "It is quite a bit of information, isn't it?" he chuckled weakly.

She smiled. "You'll get the hang of the whole demon thing eventually. It might take a decade or two or maybe even a century, but someday you'll figure it all out."

A century. Somehow, it hadn't really occurred to him up until that moment that if he was a demon, he would live a very long time unless something - or someone - killed him at a young age. "Mind if I ask you a q-question, Miss Runi?"

"Not at all!" she cheerfully replied.

He hesitated, then continued. "You m-mentioned before that there are different kinds of demons."

She gave a quick nod. "Yup! You've got your punishers, your incubi and succubi, your deal-makers...There's a lot of types, that's for sure." Her smile stretched into a grin as she gestured at herself. "Yours truly is one of the more rare ones, mainly because I can't do a whole lot compared to other demons. I do get the semi-immortality bit and some good old shapeshifting, so at least there's that."

"Do, uh, I-I mean, do all demons h-have to, er, feed?"

"I mean, I'd kill for a mean steak," she says, "but something's telling me that you're not talking about that."

He chuckles awkwardly and glances down, adjusting his glasses again. "N-no, not ex-exactly."

Even though she's essentially volunteered to give him the tutorial on how being demon works, she's far from an expert on her own kind. It's not like they really wanted her hanging around in the first place, so she knows the larger groups and a hodgepodge of rarer ones. Cornyx sounds suspiciously like he's from one of the ones she doesn't know about, which is bad for both of them.

"Let me guess," she ventures, "you either straight out eat humans or suck their blood. Am I right?"

He nods mutely.

That's gross, even in her book. But she's not going to go out and say it, because the poor kid is already self-conscious about as it is. It looks like she's going to have to do a little research on her own, though she's not sure how she's going to get her hands on the neccessary information. Better yet, she doesn't even know if Cornyx is going to be able to survive that long in Grimmore. The church and government, because the mayor's definitely going to be in on it, are going to be after him once they figure out he's the source of the demonic aura.

And that's a horrible, horrible threat to be facing.

It wasn't something he usually mentioned. The only person that he'd actually ever told about it aside from Miss Runi was Evelyn, but since she died he'd been alone with that particular secret. He didn't understand it. Any of it, really, from the heightened senses to the feeding to the spontaneous temperature drops that occurred when he was afraid or angry. Judging from Miss Runi's silence, she probably didn't, either, and he looked down abashedly.

"Hey, don't look so sad about it!" Miss Runi hurriedly said. "We can figure things out. Or, er, you can. Not sure how much I'll be here in Grimmore, but once you leave you can do some research. You don't know your parents, do you? Because that might make things a little easier, especially when I don't think there's a lot of demons kicking around that have your particular...quirk."

He shook his head. "N-no, I was raised in an orphanage," he said, not mentioning the fact that that was only his young childhood.

Her face momentarily darkened, only to light up a moment later when she threw her arm around his shoulder again. "Hey, I'm an orphan too! Got passed around to different families a lot, seeing that I don't have the most desirable traits." She grinned to reveal her fanged teeth. "Their fault - feline demons like me are notoriously loyal. And stubborn. And have a tendency to be really rude to people they don't like...I'm rambling again, aren't I?"

Cornyx chuckles a little, but there's a hint of rue. "D-don't worry about it, w-w-w-we've all rambled on one time or another." He seems a little bit agitated by his stutter but he's careful to not let it effect his behaviour. If nothing else, he has fine manners - something that impresses Runi greatly, seeing that she threw her own manners out the window years ago.

"So, ready to get a bite to eat?" she says, then pauses immediately afterwards. "Wait, do you even eat normal food? Because I'd feel horrible if you ate some just to be a kind guest, and then got sick to your stomach later."

"I-I do," he smiles. "The, uh, other th-th-th-thing is just...ex-extra, I suppose."

Well, that's a relief. Food is always a great way to bond with someone, and a great way to cool her nerves. She certainly needs it after a day like today - especially when it's not even noon yet. "Well, it looks like we're all set, then! Let me show you the way." She drops her arm down, let go of his shoulder and instead grabbing onto his wrist. She noticed it earlier, but the feeling hadn't really registered until now. His wrist is cold. Unnaturally so. She guesses that it probably has to do with whatever type of demon he is, but that bit of info doesn't help her in the slightest.

He still was unaccustomed to being touched, at least in a way that wasn't hostile, and it admittedly took a bit of getting used to. "Th-thank you, Miss Runi, I appreciate th-th-the hospitality."

"You're welcome!" She gave his arm a sharp tug and started heading in the direction of what had to be the cafe.

Cornyx followed her obediently, gaze wandering towards the tall buildings and the passers-by, noting the dangers and exits of his surroundings. It wasn't something he'd always done, but after prison, and then hunters, he'd learned to be more careful lest he get ambushed.

Miss Runi seemed relatively unfazed by the sights around them, perhaps because she was used to them or perhaps because she simply didn't share his same caution. She led him down the street for only a few more minutes before coming to a stop in front of a small cafe.

He smiled slightly as they approached. "The food smells delicious."

"That's because it's the best cafe around!" She looked around the street, leaned in and then whispered into his ear, "Actually, it's the only cafe around. There's not much of a demand for one in this area."

Cornyx chuckled despite himself. "Well, I'm glad it's a g-g-good one, then," he murmured back.

She kicks the door open with a loud bang. Runi gives a sheepish smile when everyone in the cafe turns to look at her - maybe it wasn't one of her best ideas, but damn was it satisfying. Still holding tightly onto Cornyx's wrist, she brings him to the first open table she sees. It's a place where customers can seat themselves, and the last thing she wants to do is draw more attention to them by standing around.

"If anyone asks, you're human," she whispers. It's important to set that ground rule before he makes a mistake that gets them both in trouble. "Doubt you'll have trouble hiding it, but I thought we'd play it safe. You're just visiting town, and, as one of the members of the church, I thought I'd show you around. It's as simple as that."

He nods. "Of course, miss," he replies with a hushed voice before returning to a more normal volume so they aren't noticed. "So what brought you to Grimmore, Miss Runi?"

She takes a deep breath. It's a loaded question, though she doubts Cornyx knows that. "Well, it started with the biggest crush I've ever had. I met these super sweet lady while traveling and we ended up hitting it off. I came back to her town with her because I really wanted a place to stay for a bit." She grabs a menu from the table and hides her face behind it, hoping that it will prevent her expressions from revealing who she's referring to. "We were like best friends. Then she met this guy she fell in love with and they ended up getting married, but I decided to stick around."

And it was one of the worst decisions of my life.

Something about the way she said it told him there was something more than what she was saying. Her odd behaviour, the vagueness, the fact she had moved the menu between her face and his gaze. Something was amiss. Of that, he was certain.

"Any particular reason you d-d-decided to stay, or was it simply the familiar sights?" he inquired.

"I mean," she says with an almost joking tone, though a singe look at her face would prove that she's just trying to distract him from the topic he had addressed, "the sights are pretty nice, aren't they?"

But even as the words leave her mouth, she knows he's going to keep asking questions. Maybe not now, but he'll eventually bring up the topic again. And something tells her she's not going to be able to keep avoiding it.

So she sighs, keeps her face behind the menu and says, "We were best friends, so I decided I wanted to work for her. She was cool with it, of course. And I was stupid enough to think that everything would turn out as well as I wanted it to. Like that could ever happen when she was interested in something like me." This last sentence is more to herself than Cornyx, but she suspects that he probably heard her say it.

Something like me. Something. It was about the fact she was a demon?

"I...I-I'm sorry things didn't go well," he finally said, not wanting to press her further but also a bit concerned about the things he was hearing.

She wants him to figure out, and doesn't want him to. It's so personal that she wants to keep it close to her and never let anyone know how badly she failed, but something like that is impossible to do when she knows that Cornyx needs the information. If he doesn't figure it out soon, things are going to quickly get catastrophic when he finally meets her.

So she finally raises his head and gives him a look. Just stares at him and desperately wishes that he'd figure it out already. There was only one person that she "worked". Only one person who could she could have cared so much about, and only person who that person could have married. Come on, Cornyx. It's not that hard to figure out, is it?

His mind raced. "...We've got an absolutely wonderful church here in town, and we absolutely love visitors...That's actually where I work...We were best friends, so I decided to work for her...."

The head of the church here. That was who Miss Runi was talking about. His eyes widened as he put the pieces together. "Is there a particular reason you decided to stay despite the fact it didn't work out?" he finally inquired, not liking pushing her but fully recognizing that there was a chance she was forced to be here against her will.

Ah.

There it is - that one little moment where suddenly everything falls into place, and he understands why she's been treading through this conversation like she's walking on eggshells. He might not get the whole pictures, but he gets some of it, and that's all that ultimately matters.

"Oh, you know," she vaguely says, waving a hand about as she speaks. "Legal contracts and stuff, and the fact that it's just so hard to leave her behind after everything we've been through together."

"So you've never thought about it?" he asked nonchalantly.

"Of course I've thought about," she quickly replies, picking up on the nonchalant tone that he's using. "But, like I said, it's not exactly the easiest thing to deal with."

"Would you if you could?" he asked, trying to work out whether or not she was being held against her will.