Hakon Kilandre exhales as she reaches up, plunking the plate helm upon her head, allowing it to slip over her face as the familiar scent of worn leather and oil floods her nose. Shifting the heavy shield over her back, she reached back with an armored hand to ensure her broadsword's hilt was within reaching distance. Her fingers curled around the soft leather as she takes a moment to steady her breath- staring down the small gates where a child, a beautiful child seemingly of porcelain guarded the Gates of what one could only describe as Hell. This mission was for the afflicted… For mercy.

Rising to her feet, she began to approach the child, her fingers still wrapped about the hilt of the broadsword as she approached while she swung the massive shield about her body, preparing for battle alas-

something cuaght Hakon's attention, causing her to slow her purposeful stride and focus upon the sky. Something in her gut told her that… Someone was coming- a demon perhaps? Steeling herself, she prepared for another battle- who was it? No- a better question was… What was it?

"DAAAAMMNNN IIIIIIT!!!!" A figure was falling comically through the air, wrestling with what looked to be… its own shadow? Surely not… but as the figure, now discernibly a man in black noblewear, got closer and closer to the ground, the scene became clearer. The silver haired man was, indeed, wrestling with a shadowy version of himself, cursing incessantly at the being as they plummeted to their seemingly impending doom. Overhead, a small boat could be seen fading out of existence, as if it had dropped them off there in midair.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
 
Aven wasn't having the greatest day. First, Hakon had gone missing from the inn they were staying at in their travels, the Shade started acting up again, pulling him toward the same eerie boat as before. "No, Shade, we're not doing that again. I will not fight another Angel of Death just so you can get your kicks!" His counterpart has persistent, however, to the point of physically dragging him to the boat, which took off. Not again… They traveled down the river, experiencing those same mind wrenching emotions, before reaching the gate. Only, this time, instead of appearing on the ground, the boat appeared… midair.

"I swear, when we get out of this, I'm going to surround you with candles until you're snuffed out!" He tumbled through the air, reaching the ground within a few more seconds, but, before his body could splatter on the surface, he slipped into the darkness, melding his body just in time to avoid a practically fatal fall. The ground in that spot cracked in a small circle, as the kinetic energy from his fall was transferred to the earth around his shadow meld. He rose form the cracked circle, looking around. "Great, we're back in the Inferno. Why do you like this place so-" His sentence halted abruptly when he spotted the last person he expected to see. "H-Haki?"

Hakon watches the figure nearly smack into the ground, arching her slender eyebrows as she purses her lips thoughtfully. She recognized the shape before it made contact and all but cursed. Ah- she was going to get such a nagging, so what if she was pregnant? She was fine, she could protect herself and her babies but nooooo- Aven had to always come and scold her. She wore heavy plate armor for a reason, after all. Alas, as he looked up at her, a mess of shadow and tussled white hair, she couldn't help but crack a smile.

Raising a gauntletted hand, the massive shield shifting on her arm,"… Hello love, did you miss me?" she chirps faintly, offering a small half-smile, her bright eyes flickering faintly as she watches him," Is that why you ah… Came?" she inquires as innocently as she could. She would totally deny coming here, definitely- right!

Aven's eyebrows furrowed slightly, glancing down at the small bulge in the plate she wore. Before speaking, he sighed, placing a hand over his face, and turned behind him to the strange shadowy figure he'd been wrestling. "Alright, I admit it, you were right." The shadow grinned smugly, crossing it's arms. Aven waved away the gesture. "Don't get cocky about it, now. You're still one for twenty in that category, you know." 
He takes a glance at the Pale Death, seemingly the same he'd fought his previous stumble across the Inferno. "Hakon… why are you down here, of all places? I know you want to keep adventuring, and I respect that, but couldn't we restrict it to places that _aren't_ the single most challenging guantlet of trials known to man?"

Hakon crosses her arms over her chest, her face peeking over the shield now digging into the blackened soil at their feet, she could feel his eyes peering at her belly, and admittedly she felt some sort of discomfort and embrassment. She felt that way when walking through the streets of their home, old men, women and children asking to touch her belly to see if they could feel a little nudge from the child that swam within her. Biting her lip, she looked back to the small gatekeeper and frowned faintly,"… I'll be alright." She insisted shortly.

she wanted to prove that pregnancy would not make her completely useless for sure. She didn't want to be like other mothers, lying in wait for 9 months as they prepared for the worst pain of their lives. She wanted to continue to live… But Ah- she was being suffocated," Please let me do this."

Aven pauses before answering, seeing the determination within Hakon's eyes. She wasn't the kind of person who could ever be content with wasting even a second of her time: admittedly, it was one of the many things Aven loved about her. He sighed once more, walking over and giving her a small kiss on the cheek. "As long as you bring me with you, we can go anywhere you like, my love." Aven's shadow rears up from its resting place, raising an eyebrow while staring at Hakon's stomach. Wordlessly, it places an incoporeal hand upon the surface, an involuntary smile overcoming it's features.

Aven chuckled. "I don't believe you two have ever met: Haki, this is Shade, the other half of my soul." Shade straightens and spins erratically, ending with a flourish of his hands, apparently his version of an introduction. Just from their mannerisms alone, Hakon could immediately tell that Shade was the exact opposite Aven.

Hakon watches the shade curiously, having long grown used to the oddities that seemed to surround her soulmate constantly, nonetheless, the woman smiles faintly, allowing the creature to idly touch her stomach before looking to him, sighing and returning a small kiss to him in turn," I will be safe, I promise," her gaze lingering upon him before chuckling softly and shaking her head,"… I love you too much to be foolish now."

Hoisting the shield up with a soft grunt, she murmurs," I need a mount- but I can do with my own two feet for now," She mutters under her breath before focusing upon Aven again, offering a smile," Into the flames then, hm, my love?" she raises her sword hand, showing the small black band fitted over her gloves gleaming there.

Aven flashes a grin. "Into the flames." He glances at the Pale Death, his grin fading ever so slightly. He raises a hand, to which the small child immediately leaps backward several meters preemptively. He calls out to the guardian. "I see you remember our last fight. Can I assume that you'll let us pass, knowing what you do now?" 

The little girl shakes her head, not a shred of emotion present, speaking in a slightly monotone voice. "I cannot do so. I am charged to guard this place regardless of the intruder."

Aven nods somberly, and with no further indication, twelve tendrils of shadow explode from the ground around her, impaling the child through every limb, though not an ounce of blood could be seen. "I'm afraid we need to pass. I apologize for my rudeness, little one."

The Pale Death is silent for a small while, then speaks up as though nothing were wrong. "You have passed the test. Proceed." The world around them shifts without a moment's notice, bringing the two… two and a half, wait, three?… three of them to a village of red, volcanic stone buildings, under a deep maroon sky with twisting winds. Aven whistles. "Haven't been here before."

Hakon winces as he simply impales the Guardian- how had they… When had they met before? Nonetheless, she frowns- she was planning upon fighting the little guardian nonetheless, so who was she to judge? Taking a breath, she rested her hand over her belly, taking a breath. The child fell, blank eyes staring at her- she winced faintly,"…" a small bolt of pain lancing through her, ah- how they're child was so active.

The scenery began to change, Hakon pauses, the little girl's eyes followed her. Did the child know? The legend of Purgatorio's Guardian- a child died before they had been born… It caused her to purses her lips and furrow her brow,"…" Perhaps she was simply a fool. Alas, she gazes at the town, an odd feeling of warmth filling her," It's… Nice?" she murmurs faintly, tilting her head curiously, whispy platinum blonde locks falling before her harsh gaze.

" Which circle is this..?"

Aven scans the area as a warm feeling began to bloom within his chest. His cheeks lit up red of their own volition, and suddenly the thought of turning and taking Hakon in his arms was overbearing. He wanted to feel her lips on his once more, their bodies pressed together and…. oh. He knew exactly which circle this was. "We're in the circle of Lust."

Almost in response to his words, a tempest gusted through the area, chipping away at the forlorn buildings and sending a barrage of sand and dust toward Aven and Hakon. Aven gestured with his hands, Shade melding into the ground and causing a wall of dark matter to raise before them. At the same time, various demons could be seen advancing upon them from all directions: Succubi, with their scant clothing and swinging gait, brandishing thorned whips on their sides, an alluring sight to any man, and Incubi, the very definition of masculinity, bearing only enough cloth at their loins to hint at their vast endowments. Whatever the angle, however, the cloth always seemed to be just barely in the way of their member, and the Succubi's breasts only barely contained within their leather confines.