"Do you really need to pack all that stuff? It's not like we're going on a..what do humans call it, vacate?" Lily said. Sitting idly on the bed as Ronnie packed their clothes into the bag.
"Close, it's pronounced vacation. Besides, all I'm doing is packing clothes and supplies we might need" Ronnie insisted.
"Alright then. Do as you wish" Lily said.
Ronnie continued packing the clothes into his bag, he took a quick look at Lily and takes his eyes off her.
"What?" Lily asked, still sitting on the bed with her legs crossed over each other.
"It's nothing" Ronnie said.
"Speak your mind, Ronald. If something bothers you, say it" Lily said.
Ronnie put down the clothes and the bag, glancing over at her for a moment. He proceeds to sit next to her on the bed.
"I know almost nothing about you, Lilith. I'm not trying to pry or anything but we're going to need transparency, don't you think? What I'm saying is—"
"Is that you don't want an occurrence like the one that took place a few days ago, do I understand you correctly?" Lily cut in.
"Yes, that's what I mean" Ronnie responded. Lily sighed.
"I've lived a long time, Ronald. When you've lived as long as I have and experienced as much as I have, you tend to want to forget things" Lily said, she looked straight forward.
"Does this mean you've forgotten everything?" Ronnie asked, looking eagerly at her.
"That'd be quite the blessing, wouldn't it?" She looked more bitter with every word she said.
"I can't tell you" She said.
Ronnie's eyes had a look of disappointment in them at first, then a look of pity.
"I'm sorry I asked, I didn't mean to reopen old wounds. You don't have to tell me" He said.
"I said I couldn't tell you, I never said I couldn't show you" Lily said, looking into Ronnie's eyes.
"Are you sure you want to?" Ronnie asked.
"You want to know me better, right? It's not a bad thing that you want to. Come closer" Lily said, gesturing with her index finger for Ronnie to sit closer to her.
Ronnie and Lily knelt in the middle of the bed, she reverted to her original form.
"So, what do I do?" Ronnie asked nervously.
"Before we start—" Lily said, placing her hand on Ronnie's hand.
"You should know that you'll see some things. Things that make you change how you see me. It was a very different and difficult point in my life, but I'll share it with you" Lily said, a bit of anxiety could be heard in her voice.
"Nothing will change the way I see you now, I promise" Ronnie assured her.
"Fine"
"So how do we start? do I hug you? or hold your hand or?" Ronnie asked.
Lily put a finger over his lips.
"Don't speak" she said.
With both hands, she held his head, and placed hers directly on his.
"You're really close" Ronnie whispered, his face had gone red, so did Lily's.
"Close your eyes, clear your mind. Think of nothing besides me" Lily said.
Ronnie closed his eyes, immediately he opened them, he was somewhere else. It looked like a rural area.
Dry wind blew across Ronnie's face. The small village looked deserted, but it wasn't. As his eyes roamed, he found a few adults and children who all looked sickly with discolored skin.
"Demons, does this mean I'm in the demon realm?" Ronnie asked. He approached a child sitting at the entrance of an old house.
"Excuse me, could you tell me where exactly I am?" Ronnie asked.
The demon child gave no response. She had on raggedy clothes, a pair of small horns and glowing ember coloured eyes.
"I'm talking to you. Do you not understand me?" Ronnie asked. The little demon paid him no attention.
He tried to touch her, his hands passed right through her face. He stood up straight.
"That explains it, I'm not really here. Meaning I can only observe, and not interact" Ronnie said.
As Ronnie sat down next to the demon girl on the pavement, she couldn't tell that he was there, because he wasn't.
A few moments had passed and Ronnie heard a rumbling coming from a distant.
The girl beside him began to shiver. She stood up, fear clearly present in her eyes.
"They're— they're here! They've found us!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.
The village which looked tranquil and lifeless just few moments ago became overflowing with hungry, dirty looking adults and children coming out from the ruined houses trying to make it to safety. Some parents got separated from their children.
Among the refugees running to safety, there were a few young people among them, they looked like teenagers. Boys and girls that helped organize the people into magic circles that led them to a different location.
They looked fierce and capable.
The ferocious looking demons they had been avoiding entered the town and started to kill the villagers who hadn't gone into the magic circle.
"Aiden, Anissa, hold them off. Riya and Rachael, help guide these people into the magic circle as quick as you can. I'll make a diversion" one of the youths said. She had thick black hair, she was tall and skinny. Her overall appearance wasn't intimidating but her presence commanded authority. Ronnie stared at the young woman. As she started to run through, evading the demons, Ronnie followed behind her but he could barely keep up with the speed. Without drawing a magic circle, she cast a spell that rained flames down on the ferocious demons. Ronnie felt himself shiver. Her speed, her authoritative voice, the way her presence commanded respect, Ronnie stared at the familiar woman, deep inside him, he knew who she was.
When her eyes glowed a bright Ruby colour, he confirmed his suspicions.
"Lilith, I found you" Ronnie said. Wearing a relieved look, he exhaled.