“And that is what I told the two… I figured you two should know as well.” Damon ended, giving the same explanation he had to Alice and Kazius to now Eve and Azanor. Except, he was a lot calmer now.
Of course, Eve being Eve was crying. “So they have been mean to you because of that? They are meanies! They should be your friends! Not be mean!” Eve exclaimed, sobbing. Doing the same ugly crying she had back when Alice told her tale.
‘Eve has her heart in the right place, but anytime she hears anything even a bit sad she ends up this way… Regardless of level of sadness. I wonder if she was like this before, but it seems Azanor doesn’t mind this side of her.’
“So that is where your name comes from? Being called a Demon… Sounds like a compliment to me.” Azanor mused while he comforted Eve, rubbing her back.
“Azanor. That is far from helpful.” Alice scolded with a huff.
“What? I am saying it is a good thing!” The Demon would state in his defense, being a bit tone death, but he was trying to be nice in his own way. Sure, he had his own things to deal with, but he was still a Demon. Empathy did not come easily to him. Something that he clearly needed practice with.
“It is okay.” Damon assured, seeming to be feeling a lot better. Hopefully he would keep being positive.
“Now that you know, we can leave it at that. We should sleep. Today has been a long day, we have to move on to the next mountain tomorrow!” Damon exclaimed, sounding excited about it.
“We get to move on to the next mountain? But we didn’t go up in an hour.” Kazius pointed out, “Does that mean we can go to Mount Ulf?”
“Buahaha! By the end of my training, you will be able to go up in an hour! You have to train more before you can do that! No way I am letting you up Mount Ulf though. I know what the Wind Goddess told you, but you two aren’t ready to go to Mount Ulf. There is something very dangerous that lives there… Even I avoid it in my trips up there, I can’t win against it. You need to train more first… But I don’t want to go anywhere during the full moon… So, we can train tomorrow, but the day after, we should rest.” Damon stated, seeming to make a face at the mention of the full moon.
“Now that I think about it… Most of the townspeople run around and transform to do everyday things, but I don’t think I’ve seen you change before…” Kazius pointed out while in thought.
“That is because I fucking hate it.” Damon admitted with a sigh. Which surprised Kazius, he could not recall the Werewolf using such strong language for anything before.
“Why?” Alice asked, confused.
“We get taller, stronger, and faster when we do, but also lose our self-control. My father was known as the strongest when he transformed… We also get urges that we wouldn’t think of normally. I feel better after talking about things with you… But I still don’t like it. I don’t like being like him. I don’t like not feeling in full control of myself. Besides, I enjoy using a spear and the wind. That is plenty. Going around biting people, no thanks!” Damon stated, seeming proud of his skill in the spear and wind. Especially now that he came to terms with the favor he earned from Vind.
‘Now that I think about it, I rarely have seen the towns people holding weapons… I guess they must be lacking in skill…If they practice it so little…’
“Then why all the weapons?” Alice questioned. After all, the town was decorated with them.
“Tradition. From before the town was made by the first Chief, Vargstam. Once they got the blessing of the wind, they grew lazy. Barely anyone here knows how to hold a weapon. So, I taught myself.” Damon admitted with a wide grin. To be able to teach himself how to use one so well… Even without Vind, it was clear Damon was a genius when it came to wielding a spear.
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“I see… Well take any break you need. You are the one teaching us out of good will.” Kazius pointed out.”
“Hahaha, maybe before… But now I am teaching you so you can fight. We have some strong enemies.” Damon pointed out.
“We do?” Kazius asked in confusion
“Of course. Those two back, when we met… You never explained, but they sure seem to hate you. Your enemies are mine too.” Damon pointed out.
Kazius perked up, realizing he indeed never explained their situation, but Damon had still gone along with things. “Thank you… We will tell you everything the day of the full moon. That way you have something to look forward to… Hopefully that day won’t be all bad.”
Damon would grin at that, “Okay! I look forward to it! Anyway, it is late. We should rest. All of you have a good night!”
The group would wave at the male as he left. They would all get ready to sleep.
Alice seemed particularly exhausted, looking eager to fall asleep as she prepared. Then again, she went to the peak the normal way. She climbed up after him despite all the wind he himself was able to somehow ignore. Kazius also knew that fall after the jump he did… Drained her quite badly. Something he felt quite guilty for. Without realizing it, he was staring at her a bit. Something Alice would notice, blushing and then quickly looking away.
Azanor seemed to be studying the two as this occurred, “Why don’t you just smack him on the shoulder or something, Alice? You know, knock some sense into him.”
Alice at this would grow flustered, “S-Shut it! I am too tired to deal with you, Azanor. Don’t you dare say a word.”
“But it is so painful to watch…” Azanor would complain, flopping down onto his bed.
“That is my problem, and I will do it when I am ready.” Alice huffed out.
“It isn’t polite to talk about someone when they are right in front of you, you know?” Kazius would interrupt with a frown.
“Fine fine, it is nothing. Forget it.” Azanor would dismiss.
Kazius sighed at this. They seemed to talk about him so often… He didn’t get it. He decided to drop it though, even though he was quite annoyed that he was called clueless by the demon. Sadly, for Alice, Kazius grew up in a military setting and while he knew of romance, it just wasn’t something that sunk in easily for him. He was a smart man who could come up with strategy and understand people, but that ended where anything romantic began.
“Anyway, now that you are done teasing me… How is training going?” Kazius decided to ask. Changing the subject to something he did understand.
“I am getting really good at magic!” Eve chirped, seeming to be proud beaming.
“I see.” Kazius stated, wondering if she was relearning things she used to know. After all, Azanor had told him little of what the woman’s powers were, much less what she used to be like or what she was. She did have a talent for the Dark Arts… But it made sense that someone Azanor would fall for would dabble in such things…
“My strength has returned for the most part… If those idiots come back, I should be able to shove their heads into the floor.” Azanor trailed off, seeming bitter over what happened. Kazius wasn’t sure if the Demon was more upset about the fact they made Eve cry or how they had hurt his friends. Maybe a bit of both.
“I will make them cry! They will beg for mercy.” Eve chirped giddily in agreement, with such an innocent look.
‘She always had the habit of saying ominous things with that innocent look… Now I am wondering if those really are not flukes or if that is her real personality originally.’
“Oh! I should show you that one neat trick I learned! I just remembered!” Eve exclaimed eagerly.
At this Azanor seemed to look worried, sweating a bit “You shouldn’t play with that, Eve. It isn’t a toy. You need to be careful.”
“Okay…” Eve trailed off in a pouty manner.
“Is it something that dangerous?” Kazius decided to ask.
“Don’t worry about it.” Azanor stated simply… And here Kazius thought they had gotten past that answer… Then again, the Demon likely still help some secrets. Still, if Eve had powers strong enough to worry the Demon… Whoever took her memories, if they were still around… Were quite a menace.
“Alright… Well… I think we should all sleep some… It is already late.” Kazius stated with a yawn. The two would also head to sleep, seeming in agreement… Or at least Eve was tired too and Azanor was copying her.
Kazius didn’t need much sleep, but today had been very eventful. He was exhausted and had a lot to think about.
His father… Damon’s relationship with the town and his own family… The temple Vind spoke of… Training… His shadow… And of course, his fate… He found himself struggling to fall asleep despite how tired he was. Especially because something he was thinking about kept not adding up… He managed to get some rest eventually.