He went ahead wearily. His red eyes looked at every single one of them. There were hundreds around him, endless.

He had left his forest to seek his human, to follow and protect her. And now he had returned… The flowers had bloomed, they did. They always grew, every year. This season they had appeared early.

But this…

He stepped on yet another one. A massive white veil covered the ground, made of withered remains; the trees around him seemed to be completely decayed. Their leafs and wood had been green, full of life, but they had a sickening white color now. It was like if their life had been extracted, like if all their essence had been stolen in his absence.

The outer areas of his forest were not as affected, and that was why he had not seen this before. It was a while until he noticed the bad feeling in his guts, and how his fur shivered. He only had paid mind to his forest when he realized there was too much white in the distance.

He was really worried now; maybe even fearful. He walked through the labyrinth of red and white, towards the heart of the forest. With every step he took, he saw more of those bloody flowers, and more dead plants. After a few hours, he reached the core at last. Part of him wished to turn around and leave, once he saw what dwelled. There were thousands of white vines tangling around every tree. All the leafs had fallen and covered the ground like white snow. It was not easy to see through that sickening color, nor through the dense and withered vegetation.

His mind filled with dark thoughts, because he had seen this before. His claws broke a big root when he stepped forward. His tails rose, shivering; he saw at last the very heart of the forest, the one he loved to call his. He had claimed this land, a long time ago… from her.

His red eyes looked in shock; they were unable to stop staring at the huge tree on the center of the field. Every smaller tree around him was dead; their trunks were limp and broken, turned into slender and sharp thorny vines. All had turned into a mass of thorns, roots and splinters. No matter how much white there was, he was not blinded by it. The ground was tinted with red as well; a repulsive color that fell from the weeping tree’s branches. It looked more alive than it ever was, with a red tone, not like before. Before, it had been white, almost dead. Now, it was blooming, bigger. Its gigantic branches loomed all over the field, and it wasn’t letting the sky be seen.

Lykaios froze there, staring breathlessly. The tree was torn open, from the inside. It looked like a huge cocoon, like if something had clawed its way out of its depths, to emerge with new life.

She is alive.

The lynx’s eyes filled with fear, both from the horrible fright and the sickening realization. His tails shivered when the withered vegetation shook around him. He let out a whimpered breath and his ears lowered with dread, because the vines, thorns and roots began to move. They did like snakes. He took a step back as he saw them crawl, without hurry, towards him.

His fear turned into rage quickly, his fur bristled as he let out a furious growl. He gave a fierce slash to the vines that neared his long mane and his tails whipped up. He showed his fangs with a guttural howl; for they were surrounding him from every angle. Their sharp ends stood up in the air, like cobras; they neared like if they had their own minds.

Lykaios lunged and bit onto the first root that dared try touching him. However, he regretted that move, because all the rest found their way to his fur and skin. His tails were not able to keep them all away, they were too many; it was a white sea that flooded over onto him.

He expected pain; he had been ready for it. But he trembled instead, because he only felt them caress and tangle. Their sharp thorns were not sinking into his flesh. He kept on biting a vine, blindly; his eyes cried when he heard that voice call.

“Run… Run vermin, run.”

Her voice was so calm, so familiar. Her quiet words were full of sweetness, and still tainted with conceit and hatred. There was pure evil in the whispers.

He began to cower, overwhelmed by horror. But the vines kept following him with each step he took to back away. They were not holding him back, they were not hurting him. They were mocking; they loomed over him to inspire fear, to dare him flee. Her words echoed through every tree, every plant and vine, over and over, without pause.

“Run wild, vermin. Run…”

It just kept on getting louder. All was in his head, but he knew it was all too real. It was making him wince and growl in pain, but he could only step back blindly. He hit a trunk with his back, because he had not been focused enough, dazed. He shook his head when some vines tangled to form a claw made of thorns. It neared him slowly, and its sharp nails held his snout. It forced him to look at it gently, leaning him down for him to listen closely.

“I found her.”

It let go. And so he ran.

He pushed away every branch and thorn. His claws slammed fiercely on the white ground as he dashed away with strong leaps. He dodged every vine that tried to stab him or slash, to halt him. His eyes cried, because he could not stop hearing that soft laughter. It was a calm chuckle, which echoed through the forest.

He ran with all his might to find her.

————————————————————-

 

He had always been a lone wolf in spirit.

A small lynx sniffed the air and raised his muzzle upwards. His red eyes blinked and looked intently at the forest that surrounded him. He sighed and began to walk tiredly again, to venture deeper into its core.

He needed shelter. He had roamed enough, he was tired. He was feed up of running. He never stayed in the same place for long, he was always chased away. Humans did not want a demon between them, much less if they had beastly blood. His own kind was too lone and diverse to accept him. So he roamed, indeed. His last escapade was from a group of humans that had wanted his fur.

He ended up here, somehow. He had always searched for a place where he could establish his own turf, his own home. It was not an easy task. At all. No place was faultless, there was always something wrong. But this forest… This forest was full of life; there were tall trees all around. He couldn’t smell anything yet; no human had roamed in here recently. Even better, he couldn’t discern the scent of any other demon. There was only one smell, the one of the vegetation, the sweetness of the flowers that bloomed.

The lynx stepped into the big field, and then looked up with admiration at the huge tree. It was red, and it seemed to pulse with a heartbeat.

He raised one paw to take a step towards it. But as soon as he did so, he halted. He finally realized that he was not alone. He had misunderstood the sweet scent. A claw clenched itself in the shadows, and the vines rose from every tree around him.

He whimpered; he felt pain when the vines lunged onto him and pressured him down. He was slammed against the ground, and then he was pulled at from every limb, from every angle. He began to growl fearfully while he kicked to get free. His long tail trashed wildly, desperately; he realized that he did not have enough space to twist into his true form. He did not have room to move much; his body was being crushed between the roots and vines, mercilessly.

He whined when he spotted the tall figure, which rested between the branches of the weeping tree. It was hanging like another branch, leaned and relaxed. It had a playful and lazy posture, and it was smiling contently.

Lykaios could only shiver when said figure let itself drop down. He saw how it turned in the air to land on the ground against its strong and big claws. It took its time to speak, and when it did, all the trees shivered.

“Could it really be…?” Her head rose, but she kept on crouching. She gave him a dark look, even if she let the light touch her at last. “Is this little demon oblivious enough, to dare come here uninvited?”

Lykaios struggled to get free, finally able to discern the scent of a powerful devil behind the sweetness.

She leaned her head to a side, and then stood slowly and elegantly. She began to near him calmly, while her claws caressed her robes, made of red leafs and vines. She looked like a bride, covered in red and followed by a white mantle. Those clothes made of plants would be beautiful, if they were not covered by thorns all over.

He stopped struggling. He hanged limply, willingly, because the vines pulled him closer to her, to display him before her eyes. He finally got a closer look at her as well. She was two meters tall; her skin was of a sickening white color, and her flesh seemed to be old lumber. He would not be surprised to find out that she had no flesh at all; her claws were too sharp and crooked to be human, they looked more like roots made of bone. Her hair was red like blood, like the flowers that bloomed around them.

She was not human. She could not be, not when her expression was formed by three gaping cavities in her sylvan skin. Her eyes were two deep black holes, where one could discern two red sharp glints. Her mouth was a slash on her face, a slit that twisted and moved like real jaws. Her whole body and features were imposing and strong. She was a true devil.

Lykaios tried to speak when she leaned him to give him a malicious smile; the vines crushed him a little more.

“Please, release me. I was only crossing-”

“Through my forest.”

He snarled, because he felt the vines tug more strongly at his limbs. Now his voice could not hide the pain.

“Indeed, I was! Free me from your hold, and I will leave this place; I give you my word!”

He could only fear when her smile turned even more cheerful, even if her eyes showed pure loathing.

“You already tainted my grounds with your filthy presence, vermin. Your departure will not amend your negligence.”

Lykaios wailed when a vine stabbed his side. It did not cut deeply, but it did enough to make him bleed. His captor held her claws together over her chest with content; the dark gaps that formed her eyes narrowed and watched his blood drip onto the ground.

“You are weak, an inferior demon; if you can even be called that.” He huffed and followed her intent gaze towards the earth. “And as a weakling…”

A small vine began to grow where the blood fell. It began to outstretch towards her leg, like if it followed her will. She averted her attention from it, in order to give him a laugh and a shrug.

“Your life is only useful in death.”

It was not uncommon for high demons to despise lower ones, but it was strange to find one who preyed on them.

Lykaios growled and trashed. He tried to rip the vines apart, to push them off of him, because he knew that he was in serious trouble. She only mocked him with her eyes; she watched him struggle. Both knew that he had made a huge mistake by hiding as a simple small feline.

A demon that hides their most powerful self is worthless.

She kept on pulling at him. She was slowly crushing his body, letting small droplets of blood fall. She was only focusing on his scent… much more strong and tempting than the one of the human who was now peeking behind a bush.

Those icy blue eyes narrowed with dread; she watched the devil laugh down at the animal.

No… Not an animal. Not a lynx. It is another demon.

Ayako frowned and looked around her for a moment. She had planned to cross this forest to reach the other side of the region. She had been chasing an angel, and she needed to keep going. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, in order to get ready to evade both devils; because she did not want to get involved in a fight.

She took a small step away… and halted, when she heard another pained whine. The hunter was not able to move away. She opened her eyes and looked back to the field, worried and doubtful.

She knew that demons were dangerous creatures. They were always feral and ruthless. Some were reasonable but lone; and others were extremely aggressive. She had heard that some fought their own kind. It was normal to see them battle for mindless reasons, like territory and pride. It was something in which she should not get involved; she had her own problems, and their silly shows of strength were not one.

She cringed when a crack echoed. That got her out of her thoughts. The lynx had stopped moving, yet he was still alive. The vines kept on cutting and crushing, without stop.

This was not a fight. The bigger demon was only abusing her strength, her sudden attack.

Ayako felt anger when she heard that female demon laugh again; she felt outrage when she saw her circle the lynx with a condescending smile.

“How could you possibly think, that you could cross without consequence? My forest is ancient; its purity has lasted centuries. I, Aeronwen, have raised it strong, away from the corruption that humans and lower demons bring. I won’t allow such a frail being to think it can take it from me.”

Ayako’s eyes glinted when the lynx swore, loudly and with desperation.

“I would not claim it as mine!”

He was silenced. Only one movement of claw was needed for him to be pressured more brutally; his breath ended short. Aeronwen leaned down, closer to him; her wooden skin creaked as she frowned.

“But of course, you wouldn’t.” Her frown turned into a smile, far too joyful and maniacal. “How could you claim it, if you won’t ever survive this?”

She raised a claw, tired of his feebleness. She despised his presence with all her soul. She had never spared demons such as him, weak and pathetic. The purity and growth of demons had been tainted by time and mixed blood. She had been alive since the first demons rose. She saw her kin become what plagued the world now: beasts without a sense of pride or reason, or beings similar to the humans that they once preyed and ruled.

This lynx had the worst of both; a body of a filthy animal, with the mind of an insignificant human.

Lykaios braced himself as much as he could… But it was not him the one who howled in pain next. He huffed when he was dropped onto the ground; the vines let go and trashed around. Aeronwen slammed a claw onto her neck and pulled out the bolt that had pierced it. She turned around sharply to glare at the bushes, with a deep breath that showed her sharp maws. She finally noticed the faint scent of a human.

Ayako stepped out into her sight with a defiant glare, crossbow still raised.

“I don’t think he can have a chance to win if you cheat, you know?!”

How dare a human…?

Gwen pierced her with her gaping eyes, shocked and affronted. She took a confident stance again, not showing distress at all for the small intruder. She hissed at the girl, with a condescending tone.

“This does not concern you… You insignificant being.”

Ayako yelled back, even if she should have perhaps begun to run.

“Oh, now it does concern me! You see, you demons are extraordinaire creatures; but you can be a little callous sometimes. I hate that. I would really like to make you reconsider your behavior.”

Aeronwen neared Ayako, calmly and surely. She loomed and leaned over her, to make her feel small. She was sure that arrows and stabs could not wound her, barely shallow scratches. Ayako was unfazed when the devil whispered mockingly, close to her face. She was not scared, not even if she saw that her empty eyes had no visible end, no matter if her voice echoed out of a mouth without lips.

“And what could a lonely human possibly do to put a demon in their place?” Ayako did not flinch when a claw dashed near her, without touching her yet. The devil was playing with her, pointing with a sharp nail to intimidate her. “You are weak. You have no strength without that silly weapon of yours. You have no fangs, no claws or power; you have nothing!”

Gwen blinked, because those icy eyes narrowed with a mischievous smile.

“Oh… It’s true I don’t have those things.” Ayako nodded sideways and laughed, fast to lean. “He does!”

The hunter dashed and rolled onto the ground, just as something slammed itself against Gwen and threw her forward. It was something big, hairy and black, something that howled loudly and hit the unsuspecting demon fiercely.

Ayako huffed as she stood up again. She saw the huge beast of multiple tails roll on the ground with the well-dressed weed. The claws stabbed, the vines slashed, those tails loomed, strong bites echoed, the wood creaked, and the nails became red.

The hunter did not waste time. She reached for something tied on her belt, seeing that the feline had been grabbed by some roots. Lykaios was easily overpowered once Gwen recovered from the initial surprise.

Aeronwen roared and raised the bear sized lynx by his neck; she ignored completely the tails that were burning her arms. Her eyes fixed on his while she laughed.

“Not even like this…! She may have distracted me, but you still can’t subdue me! You won’t take me down, vermin, not even with the aid of a useless human!”

A loud cough echoed behind them. Four red eyes blinked slowly, and then shifted to look at the human they had ignored. As demons, they never felt menaced by them. Gwen’s hollow eyes narrowed, because she saw Ayako smile maliciously, with a smug look.

“Are you sure I’m useless?!”

There was a flint and a flask on the ground. Lykaios gasped, noticing well the smell of oil. He growled and slammed his tails and claws onto Gwen’s chest. He pushed and freed himself, just as the crossbow fired that flaming bolt.

The lynx’s ears shook when the loudest of screeches echoed around them. Ayako had to dash away when the vines began to whip and trash in a wild blind panic. The bolt she had fired had sunk into Gwen’s sylvan skin, and the flames only took a second to creep inside her, deep in her chest. She slammed her own claws on her torso, to try to extinguish the fire, but she could only scream and howl. She tried to stab herself to reach the internal burn, blindly, because her sight began to blur.

Both demons clashed once more. Lykaios snarled and ignored the burns he got as he touched her scorching skin. He pushed her against the huge weeping tree with his tails and a strong swipe of claw, which opened another gap on her face, side to side.

Aeronwen hissed, because the tails were blazing. This time it hurt her, thanks to the real flames that the human had inflicted.

Their red eyes met; both demons pierced each other with their glares. Hers shook, with obvious resent and pain. Her claws rose, to try to get a grip on his neck; but he leaned back a little, without letting go. She did not manage to strangle him, she could not even lift her hands; she was shaking and trembling too much. Instead of attacking him, she laid her claws onto her own chest. Her skin was ripping, smoking and shattering. Her whole body was withering and gaining a much darker tone, burned.

Lykaios let her go, seeing that she was curling back like a decaying flower. She hugged herself as she crumbled against the weeping tree. Her claws caressed its wood, with a touch that seemed to be a desperate reach for help. She began to stop moving… her skin was melting against the trunk, and the vines and roots were crawling towards her, weakly.

Neither hunter nor lynx said anything as the hateful devil was buried by withering vines. They could no longer see her below the huge weeping tree. The red color of the tree began to fade, until it gained a sickening white color. Its life seemed to fade. All the mass of white stopped moving around them, dead.

Silence fell. It took a while for them to look at each other and away from the tree. When they did, they did slowly, neither knowing how to react.

The demon spoke first, seeing that the girl was swaying side to side awkwardly, moving subtly away from him.

“…Why.”

She blinked and gave him a blank stare.

“Why what?”

He frowned and pointed at her with a tail.

“You know well what.” She kept on staring, so he asked the obvious. “Why did you help me, human?”

“Oh.” His eyes lost all weariness when he saw her rub the back of her neck and move her crossbow away. “Well, she kind of… was killing you? It was not even a fight.”

“That does not answer my question.”

Her icy eyes narrowed, she outright pouted.

“Yes it does?” Ayako sighed and looked away. “Look, nice to see you are alright, but I have to go.”

Lykaios gasped when she bolted and began to walk away, in order to head to the opposite direction from where she had arrived.

“Wait!” She did not stop, but she did look while he padded tiredly at her side, limping slightly. “No, it does not, human. You had no reason to save me. What did you think you would gain?”

Ayako halted suddenly. The demon’s ears dropped nervously when she glanced at him sideways, with a look he thought was offended.

“Why would I want to gain something?”

He gave her a puzzled look, like if he could not understand such possibility. That only made her look at him with annoyed pity.

“I just wanted to help you. I don’t want anything. I felt like I had to intervene, it was not fair. You did not do any harm. Not like her. She was a beast; something I did not think you were.”

She suddenly scolded him, and he could not avoid losing what little pride he had in his stance.

“I did not think of you as a devil; but maybe you share the same views as her: I’m just a silly human, right? Maybe I couldn’t resist trying to take her timber as a trophy, surely! I couldn’t have possibly have had any other reason to help you.” Ayako suddenly held her robes up and made a little bow, while she rolled her eyes. “If you don’t mind, grumpy cat… I am in a hurry!”

He stood there, blinking as she bolted ahead again. It took him a few seconds to react to her fast steps.

“Wait!”

She groaned and fastened her pace. That did not prevent him of reaching her again, even if he was limping.

“I have not thanked you yet, human!”

“Ayako. The name is Ayako. Just do it, and we can be on our own way, demon!”

“Lykaios.” She raised an eyebrow at him, as if asking what kind of name was that. “My name is Lykaios.”

Both kept on walking. The lynx felt curious. He had never seen a human so relaxed near one of his kind. Normally, they were wary or scared, perhaps aggressive in their fear. However, she only seemed mildly annoyed; not really for his presence, but for him breaking her focus.

“Where are you going?”

“Hunting.”

Lykaios leaned his muzzle sideways. He did not understand the hunter’s hurry.

“I can smell a deer east from here, you are heading west. If you turn around, I could help you find-”

“I’m not hunting a simple animal.” Ayako frowned and glared at the sky. “I seek an angel.”

His red eyes widened, his tails dropped in surprise. His sudden shocked stop did not make her halt; she only had eyes for the horizon.

“What?” He huffed and then leapt to block her way with his tails, finally stopping her and getting a groan out of her. “Are you out of your mind? Those creatures are far too dangerous to-”

“I have just killed a demon!” She gently pushed his tails away, losing her patience. “And this will be the second angel I take down! Stop slowing me down, please! I’ll lose its trail!”

Lykaios sat there, baffled. His eyes filled with worry, with each step the girl took ahead. He could only fidget there, feeling something for the first time. Something he could not define: fear. And it was not for himself.

This girl was heading straight into danger. Angels were fearsome beings, and she was going alone. She had no group, no escort, and no traps ready. She only had her crossbow, her bag and her daggers. She looked too young to be a member of the hunters’ guild. He could barely consider her a woman, too young. She was determined to hunt, blindly. Her only guides were her eyes, which had seen two wings glide west. She was oblivious to the danger… or she did not care at all for her own life.

Lykaios stuttered, stood up and began to follow her again.

“Ayako!”

For the love of…

“WHAT?!”

The demon flinched and froze at her side, because she turned and outstretched her arms, to give him a hint of how close she was to snap.

“…”

“…”

“…Nothing, go ahead.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes.” Lykaios smiled a little, and then ruffled his mane with a tail, awkwardly. “I hope you don’t mind if I… tag along.”

“What, are you hungry?” Ayako crossed her arms and rebuked him. “I need every bit of the angel I can take! I am not wasting it as your lunch!”

Ayako yelped when a tail tangled around her waist. She panicked a little in the air as Lykaios pulled and dropped her onto his back. She stared at him deadpanned, because he was looking at her firmly and seriously, scolding her back.

“You are going to end up dead if you go alone. I can’t let that happen to my savior.” He smirked as he returned her words, slyly. “I just want to help, like you said before.”

She stared at him for a full minute. She did not understand the demon’s attitude.

He felt even more wonder when he saw her beam suddenly. He huffed, because Ayako gave him some kicks with her feet, like if he was a horse.

“Go on my stead! Lead me to the hunt!”

“I am not a hor-”

“You are one now! Take it or leave it!”

The demon chuckled, amused by the enthusiasm of the human.

Maybe I can help her with this angel, and leave her once my debt is paid.

Little would he imagine, while he carried her and she laughed, that they would not part from now on.

They both forgot. They ignored that place… unaware that the trees of the core withered with each season. Slowly, but without stop, they lost their life. Each year, the weeping white tree bloomed red.

———————————

 

For so long…

Her claw stabbed the tree trunk at her side. In a moment, a sickening white color began to creep on it, slowly. She smiled as the green faded away. Her chest rose proudly while she looked down from the tall hill. Her gaping eyes narrowed in the dark, to look closely at the distance below.

She could see embers… a decaying fire in the center of a clearing. She could hear a waterfall, a beautiful one. She could only grin as she laid eyes on the girl that slept near a cave.

“I found her.”

She could feel the fear of the vermin that dared to defy her; the one that shamed her and forced her to hide in order to heal, for years.

Her claw slashed and ripped the trunk at her side, reflecting clearly the anger that couldn’t be seen on her smile.

Her skin was now thicker, stronger. It was darker, scorched by flames. It had a more reddish color, thanks to the burns and her renaissance; she had stolen all the essence her former home had. She had waited patiently. She had drained all the life force around her for years, to grant herself more strength with her new awakening.

She would not let a miserable human and critter take her down. Her soul, body and blood were ancient, as old as the manuscripts of the first ages. Her blood carried the gift of purity, granted by birth.

She would take joy in playing with the human… before the vermin could see her eviscerated body. Both would die, but not yet. She wanted him to feel fear, to be painfully afar. Most importantly, she wanted him to arrive in time, for him to see the human let out her last breath.

She kept her eyes fixed on Ayako. She was still far, watching from a distance. She was focused on her, but her eyes blinked when she noticed another thing, something unexpected. She spied two amber eyes inside a cave, which looked towards the shadows she roamed wearily.

That was no human, but an angel. Only single breath could tell her that.

Interesting…

She laughed, and then took another step. She was close, and with each hour, closer. No animal dared make a sound, because her figure hid between the tall trees, unnoticed.