When Shobek finally opened his eyes, the faintest hint of the day was just starting to peek through the tree doorway. As expected, nothing attacked them. He quickly glanced down at the head that rested on his legs. Treating her like a cat, he dared not move. Not wanting to disturb Kasey's sleep. She was curled into herself, with her head resting on his thigh, her hair falling over her face slightly. Shobeks heart lept into his throat as he watched her sleep. She was paler than she used to be when she was on the living plane. A little thinner too. Though she had gained some muscle mass, her frame was still far too thin. He hated having to bring her down in hell and hated the fact that he lied about having to kill her mother to access all her powers. But what he hated the most, was listening to her scream in the night as the night terrors ate her alive.
Kasey's eyes finally fluttered open and Shobek was quick to mask his heartbroken expression. As her face grew from the groggy confusion to the realization of what she used as a pillow, she sat straight up, crimson creeping onto her cheeks as she turned away.
"I hope I make an adequate pillow," Shobek said as a way of greeting. His leg was asleep and stiff when he moved to stand.
"You were! Not. Kinda. Sorta," Kasey fumbled over her words as she worked through her embarrassment, stumbling to her feet.
Shobek attempted but failed, to hide a smile as he walked out of the opening, letting the illusion fall away. A scavenging beast that had the body of a bear and head of a moose glanced up before quickly ducking away again; its retreating figure hidden by the trees by the time Kasey walked out.
"So... What's the plan?" She took a quick look around, choosing not to look too long at the large footprints that trotted around their little hideout.
"We fly over to the Royal Ports, find some fitting clothes, some food, then meet with Mammon to get a ride over to Limbo to meet Belasco." Shobek quickly reappeared his dragon wings, tail, and horns in a flash of black and purple smoke.
"Alright... I understood the first three things." Kasey cocked her head to the side slightly and raised her eyebrows, quietly demanding an explanation.
"Mammon is one of the seven rulers. He controls all the trading routes and most businesses. He's the demon of greed. I want to make a deal with him to use one of his shipping docks to sail us over to the dock closest to Limbo. There, I will make a deal with Belasco, the ruler of limbo, to allow us to stay on his land." While explaining his plan to Kasey, Shobek did multiple stretches, extending and flapping his wings slightly to get proper circulation and lower the chances of any aches that could happen while carrying both their body weights.
"And why should we trust them? They are the RULERS, right? Doesn't that mean they answer to your king?"
Shobek shot her a pointed glare and hissed out, "He is NOT my KING." A few moments passed as he let go of his anger and settled an empty gaze back on Kasey. "And no. We shouldn't have to worry too much. As long as I make an exceptional deal with Mammon there won't be any problems. Belasco is neutral. He's more of... a baron."
"What do you plan to offer them anyway?" Kasey took the hand that Shobek extended for her, he pulled her closer and wrapped his arms carefully around her. Relishing at that moment, he took a moment to hold her close before finally answering her.
"I don't know yet." And with that, he thrust his wings down, sending a harsh gust of wind underneath them. Kasey quickly wrapped her arms around him as took them farther up then angled them towards the distant ports.
"Won't someone see us??" Kasey shouted over the wind.
"Illusions, Kasey." Shobek smiled slightly as he looked around them carefully. Though unnecessary, there was always a slight chance someone WOULD notice and shoot them down. Though there was little chance of that happening. Especially with an illusion that is cocooning them.
"Are you gonna offer them both something?"
Shobek mulled over her question, "Belasco owes me his life. And we have...An acquaintanceship."
"A friendship you mean?"
"I call it an acquaintanceship. But he refers to it as one of those." Kasey rolled her eyes at his matter-of-fact tone. "But he isn't one to choose the best of friends. You'll understand when you meet him."
"And what about Mammon?" Kasey met Shobeks eyes for a moment before quickly turning them away, scouring the ground with him.
"He'll do anything for more money and power. Rumors are his greatest ally and enemy. I will admit, he's listened to multiple about me. And has gone so far as to try and get me to be his henchman."
Kasey's eyes grew more doubtful of his earlier plan, "and we should trust him... WHY?"
A soft sigh escaped Shobek before he could stifle it, "I'm not saying you should trust him. You SHOULDN'T trust him. Not unless you have the best bargaining card in your deck."
"AND YOU have the best hand of cards?" I'm starting to think his arrogance is going to get us killed. Especially if his grand plan is to walk into the hands of our enemies.
"Of course. As I just said, he's been wanting me in his ranks for a long time. He'll do just about anything to stay on my good side."
Kasey froze for a second, "you are going to offer him... YOU?"
Shobek stayed silent for a moment, "well... not exactly. But I suppose that is one way to look at it."
"Are you out of your mind?!" Anger was coursing through Kasey's veins, along with spikes of fear. Her GREATEST ally, is going to be giving himself up for HER? "That's ridiculous!"
Shobek, struggling to keep hold of an angry, squirming mortal, hissed at her, "stop or I might drop you!"
"Oh, now you're going to DROP ME??" Kasey bellowed.
"Not on purpose, dimwit!" Shobek cursed after he realized that he just insulted her. Kasey's face grew red and she puffed her cheeks, about to yell at him no doubt; thinking quickly and nodded ahead of them. "We're getting close! See?"
Kasey's attention slowly turned away, her eyes quickly devouring the scene. The line of the forest suddenly ends ahead of them, and just after that, was three different rows of tents. No, VENDORS. And farther out, hanging off the land, was the ports. Stretching for miles along the coast. Shobek quickly aimed for the trees, easily gliding them between the last few trees before the first few tents. Landing as gracefully as a cat, he slowly released Kasey, and grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her back towards the trees.
"What are you doing? The tents are that way." Kasey lifted her arm and pointed to the tents to her right.
"Yes. I'm aware of where the tents are. And I am ALSO aware that you are barely dressed and still smell human. I am going to go out there alone." Shobek gave her a stern look when she opened her mouth to complain, "Yes. ALONE. I will buy you some proper clothes and bring them back here for you. THEN we can go in together. Alright?"
Kasey gave him a good once over before deciding that there was no arguing out of this one. And she was indecently dressed. Drawing more attention to themselves was probably a bad idea. After Shobek got her understanding nod, he dragged her back behind a couple more trees.
"Now stay here. I already put an illusion on you so no one can see you or smell you at the moment." Shobek looked around one last time to check the area. After making sure no one was hiding, he finally turned back to Kasey, who was still watching him. "What is it? You seem like you want to ask something."
"Won't they know who you are... If you are the 'oh-so-mighty-dragon'" She gave him sassy finger quotes and an eye roll. Afterward, she crossed her arms and looked away like a stubborn child.
"Well, I won't be going in like this," Shobek gestured to his body. "I can appear like a child Kasey. You think I can't make myself look different?" True to his words, after a moment of silence, Shobek's hair went from white to black. His wings, tail, and horns disappeared in a cloud of smoke a second later.
Kasey, who was watching in fascination, suddenly remembered to be mad at the prick and turned away and grumbled something along the lines of 'I've seen better.'
Shobek gave her an amused look and sauntered off towards the market.
Kasey watched his figure from the corner of her eye, and after seeing his figure vanish within a crowd, she let out a deep sigh and looked for a place to sit. Unfortunately, due to the rainstorm last night, the ground was still muddy and wet. After a curse and another sigh, Kasey took to leaning against a tree.
"You know..."
Kasey yelped and looked up quickly at the figure who peered down at her.
"If you want a place to sit...You can always join me." The new stranger smiled brightly at the mortal below them. Their laid-back position changed to be squatting on the thick branch, their right hand, which was wrapped up in some off-white bandages, reached down for hers. Their other hand was holding onto the branch between the two combat boots he wore. A long, thin tail with an arrow point at the end started swishing slightly as he waited with a wide grin.
"No, thank you..." Kasey took a few steps back. The stranger's red eyes narrowed slightly, but the grin remained.
"I see. So I need to come to you." As elegant as a cat, the stranger stood and jumped down, landing before her. He straightened up and smiled down at her again. His black hair fell to the side as he cocked his head like an animal. The red scarf that circled his neck came loose and he straightened it before he crossed his arms over his snug, white shirt. "Are you here alone, doll?"
"No." His grin grew wider and his eyes darted around the obviously empty space. "He left for a minute but he'll be here any second," she clarified.
"I see." The stranger purred. His devils tail flicked as he set himself to pace around her. "Would you like some company while you wait? I would again like to offer you my dry branch up above." He lazily gestured to where he was previously laying.
"No thanks. I don't like keeping bad company around." Although fear was quickly making its way up her spine, she figured it best to feign confidence than show honest fear.
The demon paused in front of her and showed the first downward lip movement in the whole encounter. "You hurt me, doll. I have done nothing to you, how could you know I'm 'bad company'?"
"Never trust those who don't introduce themselves." She stared him down, although she felt like she was just imitating a deer in headlights.
"You never asked, doll." His smile quickly returned, "though I doubt you'll know me even if I do tell you my name. Since you aren't... from around here..." His face now seemed much more sinister than it was before.
It felt like cold water was dropped over her. She needed to counter that. Say something to throw him off. Unless he already knew who she was? Was he sent here to kill her?? In her minor panic, she didn't realize he disappeared from in front of her. His breath touched her ear and he chuckled, his hand resting on her shoulders, his long black nails threatening to puncture her skin.
"I am not here to hurt you, doll." Although he claimed he wouldn't hurt her, her body was already shaking uncontrollably, a whimper escaping her as fear led her eyes to water. "I just wanted to see what had such an amazing aroma...I wonder if you taste as good as you smell..."
A breathy, "stop" finally escaped her lips, the word taking every ounce of energy she could muster to push it past her lips.
As if magic, he let her go and stepped back, walking around in front of her. A satisfied sparkle lit up his face as his smile grew. "Of course, doll. I am not here to hurt you."
Although he was clearly in front of her again, she could still feel the phantom of his presence right behind her. She stared at him blankly, the chill seeping into the depths of her mind.
"And it seems your friend is coming back. Though I must say, I prefer him in white to black. Have a fantastic day my doll." When the stranger stepped closer, Kasey flinched. His smile grew and he took her hand, his strong grip held as she tried to jerk it away from him. He gently kissed the back of her hand, "be good for him now."
His figure suddenly burst into smoke and floated away on a phantom wind. A minute passed before she finally felt her lungs reinflate. A sob escaped as she collapsed to her knees.
When Shobek finally found her, after frantically searching around the area where he left her, he jogged over to her, intent on scolding her; but he froze when he noticed how troubled she was. She sat there, on her knees, trembling as silent tears fell down her face.
He moved in front of her, draping the black coat he got her around her shoulders, he sat down on his knees and gently took her face in his hands. "Kasey? What's wrong? What happened...?"
Kasey looked over his white hair and the gentleness in his worried face. Another sob wracked through her body and she flung herself over him, clinging to him as she sobbed. Lost at what to say, Shobek held her close. Rubbing her back as she cried without explanation into his chest.
There was no sign of any other presence when he left and when he returned. Shobek carefully looked around the area before devoting all his attention to Kasey. He gently rocked her, rubbing her back and whispering that everything was okay. Whether he believed it or not, he couldn't decide.