They walked for a long time in silence. Time enough for Offilo to study the demon as closely as he dared, which wasn’t much but for the moment enough. The Ravendemon had kept the feminine face but turned its body into its usual monstrous form. The black feathers had an iridescent sheen to them, which reflected the light in beautiful colours. Despite its monstrous appearance, it didn’t look grotesque or ugly.

All the forms Offilo had seen them take were following a certain aesthetic. While different in any way, there was no doubt when the demon took a certain form, that it was still it. Even without looking into its eyes, Offilo could always tell. As if those different forms were costumes and masks of a peculiar performer playing different roles in the same play.

Still, Offilo couldn’t even imagine how it must feel to rearrange one's own body at will. He would rather not think too much about it, either. So he tried to take his mind to something else, but he couldn’t. The situation was too awkward.

For a split second, he considered speaking with the demon. But what was he supposed to say? What topics were appropriate? Wanted the demon even to talk to him? Wanted he to speak with it, or rather her?

“Walk faster”, the demon suddenly said and caused Offilo’s mind to screech to a halt.

“S-sorry, Milady”, he replied hastily and stopped where he was.

The demon stopped, looked at him with mild annoyance and spoke then in a monotone voice hiding a threat. “Walk. Faster.”

“Yes!”, he hastily squeaked and moved faster.

The demon fell in step with him but seemed otherwise lost in thought. At the same time, he wondered if he had chosen the right way to address her. Anxiety clawed at his heart. What if he had addressed the demon wrongly? It was difficult to tell what she was, and she hadn’t corrected him. But was it because she didn’t care, or because he was just below her? Frightened Offilo slowed down.

“Again?”, the demon asked, frustrated. “If you stop every few yards, I’ll curse you, so you won’t be able to stop walking for a few hours.”

“I’m so sorry!”, he replied startled. “Please, don’t do this to me!”

“Then walk faster and stop daydreaming.”

He nodded and walked ahead. A few heartbeats later, the demon fell into step with him.

“I… I have… a question”, Offilo mumbled, unsure of himself.

“Ask”, she replied, surprisingly soft-spoken.

“As… as what do you wish to be addressed as?”, he asked quietly.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m sorry! I’m not really privy to it.”

This time the demon stopped suddenly and sighed.

Offilo’s heart sank to the bottom of the earth.

“You need to tell me what you want and not leave it unsaid”, she continued and looked at him sternly. “Keep in mind, I can force you to surrender your deepest secrets without leaving even the faintest of marks on your body. But your mind…”

Fearing for his life and sanity, Offilo backed away. But after just half a step, he bumped with his back against the demon, who immediately grabbed him by the shoulders. The wind of her wings just brushed his cheek that very second. With a girl-like chuckle, the demon pushed him forward, walking faster and faster until they were running faster than humanly possible.

Like a whirlwind, they burst into the courtyard, causing a gust of dust and water droplets to erupt from around the door. Offilo screamed. The large tree drew close without mercy. There was no way for them to stop in time.

Laughing like a maniac, the demon twirled him around until he lost all semblance of orientation. Then, suddenly, he stumbled forward and fell without much force against the massive tree trunk. Breathing heavy, Offilo dropped to the ground and rolled on his back.

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“Your body shouldn’t even have a bruise or scratch”, the demon said amused, somewhere above him. “But your mind… Well, it surly isn’t a deep wound, but you’ll remember it well for the rest of your life.”

Offilo forced himself on his back and looked right at the dead porcelain face of the demon. She smiled, but there wasn’t the usual nastiness within it.

“Need a hand?”, she asked and stretched her talons towards him, which turned into a normal human hand.

“N-no”, he breathed and remained laying on his back.

“Then rest for a few minutes, while I prepare our training ground”, she replied and moved a way in one fluid motion.

He could hear her using spells to cast winds to clean the place. The rush of air was pleasant and curiosity rose within him, but Offilo didn’t dare to watch her. Suddenly, the wind stopped, and the air grew stale, only for it to return as a gentle downward breeze. It almost felt like the sky was breathing cold winter air to the ground.

“How are you feeling?”, the demon asked as she approached him.

“B-better”, he answered hesitant and pushed himself up.

To his surprise, the demon had taken the shape of a tall woman in strange foreign clothes and armour. Most dominant was the crimson wide-sleeved mantle she wore underneath a black breastplate with a complex, very intricate ornamental engraving. Even the material her get-up was made of looked alien.

“Then let’s start”, she said bored but grinned a moment later, sharper than any knife. “But rest assured, I won’t go easy on you.”

At the same time, she made a flickering motion with her hand. Suddenly, a living shadow jumped into her hand and coalesced into a sizeable, albeit foreign looking sword. The blade remained pitch-black and swallowed up all the light a normal one should reflect. Offilo didn’t like the sword. It looked like a wound carved into reality and appeared utterly evil to him.

“Stand up”, she said softly, but something about the way she intoned the words made it sound like an order.

Tense, he obeyed but felt pretty naked without a weapon of his own. He also felt the strain of the other day pulling at his muscles.

“Catch”, she said, and made another sharp motion with her free left hand.

A heartbeat later, another shadow appeared and shot towards Offilo. As it moved, it turned into another black-bladed sword, about as vile looking as the demon’s. It was so fast he couldn’t even hope to get a hold of it. But as he saw himself pinned by it against the tree, it stopped mere inches from his chest in the air.

“You need to become faster”, the demon remarked and let the sword drop to the ground. “Pick it up.”

“Yes, Milady”, he replied wavering and did as she had ordered.

The grip felt cool and soft, yet it allowed a firm hold. The blade itself was light. Lighter than any sword of the size should be. Still, it was clearly in balance and promised to be easily wielded. So easy, in fact, that Offilo almost felt as if the sword was its own entity eager to fight.

“Since you fought one of my Shades yesterday, I know how good you are”, the demon explained and waved Offilo closer, which he reluctantly did. “Your abilities are certainly passable, but you need to become better. How else do you wish to kill my master?”

At this, he gasped and dropped the sword. The demon chuckled.

“It seems I’m right, aren’t I?”, she asked and made his dropped weapon levitate next to him. “Come on, take the blade and fight like a real man. Show me how much you want to kill him! I’ll even shape-shift into him, should this suite your liking!”

“I… I would never…”

“Don’t kid yourself, boy. The way you reacted was to prove enough for me to be certain. I bet Rugulf was making you promise to go with and kill my master once the opportunity presents itself, right? Don’t try to wiggle yourself out of this by saying he never did make you promise. I know I didn’t hit any major vital areas to kill the man instantly. He was still alive for some time after I and my master had left.”

“Are you going to kill me now?”, he asked, surprised at how steady those words had left his mouth.

“No”, she answered gently after considering his words for a moment, she sounded as if she was talking to a spooked horse. “Should you attack my master while I’m within reach, then yes, but the fool often sends me away. You should be fine trying during such an occasion. But you need to be fast or make it impossible for him to call me.”

“But he’s your master.”

“And?”

“Shouldn’t you strive to protect him no matter the cost?”

“How sweet, you think me nobler than I am”, she said with a smarmy grin, but after a heartbeat it vanished completely to be replaced by melancholy. “Between the two of us, boy, let’s be honest. There are times I wish him dead. But there are also times I don’t. While I do long to return to the place I call home, he’s still interesting enough for me to stay and see how everything will turn out. I’m fairly undecided, which frustrates me.”

“You could be nobler if you tried”, Offilo remarked, and immediately regretted his words.

For a second, the demon’s eyes burned into his soul. It felt like his last seconds on earth, but instead of killing him, she just started to laugh.

“Your naivety is quite refreshing!”, she said in between wavering breaths. “How sweet of you! But don’t let us dwell on it, boy. Our master ordered us to train and thusly we shall commence. Get your sword and we’ll start right away.”

Tense and all but ready, Offilo grabbed the hilt of the sword still floating right next to him. He was certain that this was going to be way harder than the fight against the Shade yesterday.