Author: Dusk, Posted: Thu Nov 4, 2021 8:04 PM, Post Subject: Why is This Familiar? [P/R]

It was an odd string of coincidences that led to this new idea. The resurrection of Auclair…well, at least for a time.

Lewis smirked. “So, then we just have to go talk with them. We’ll set a date and send it out…we’ll have to make sure we’re well prepared. No telling what we’ll find. We’ll need books, paper, pens, ink…whatever we need to copy the important bits. Raine might be able to help as well, as much as I dread the idea. Between all of us, we should be able to get what we need…”

With the plan set-

“I’m sorry, did you say massages?” Lewis asked with a sly smirk. He eyed Simone for a moment. “Yes…teach me…”

Simone had a feeling that these mana related massages would never end normally…

Author: Simone, Posted: Thu Nov 4, 2021 7:58 PM, Post Subject: Why is This Familiar? [P/R]

Simone looked at Lewis and nodded, “I think she would do it regardless. She’s been big on helping us. Plus Xeik is a nerd for new magic even if we’re the only ones able to use it. It also means that the twins might have access to it and have been experimenting with it. They might have no idea that its unique magic I can’t use yet.”

Llywellyn smirked a bit, “I think seeing Auclair the way it was meant to be… in real life will be good for Lewis too. Auclair holds good memories for all of us. Simone too.”

Simone nodded and smiled, “We’ve always dreamed of our own Auclair and what it would look like if we had it ourselves. We could bring… the kids… At least the twins. I would worry about Alshaya and Everett getting into a fight there.”

Avery nodded, “I volunteer to go with you and offer to do the best I can to understand the type of magic this is and how we can unlock it. Also, your mana deficiency… I can probably make something to make it better… OH! We developed a massage that helps with the mana veins to lessen the effects of it. If Lewis wishes we could teach it to him.”

Author: Dusk, Posted: Thu Nov 4, 2021 7:49 PM, Post Subject: Why is This Familiar? [P/R]

“That does make sense,” Lewis stated. When it came down to it, Simone had always been the better caster, but Lewis had the endurance for multiple casts ever since he started drawing on Simone’s power. He smirked. “That explains the twins…perfect little mirrors they are…” His smile faded, though, as he thought back to the task at hand.

“So…we need mages to help restore Auclair, even if temporarily.” Lewis sighed. “That’s a hell of a task. I wonder if…” His eyes twinkled. “I wonder if a certain Goddess would have any interest in learning Aucilair’s secrets.”

Xeik was a powerful mage in his own right, even if his speciality was in healing. And the power of Angela…well… who needs an army when you have a deity?

“You think she’d be up for it?”

Author: Simone, Posted: Thu Nov 4, 2021 7:40 PM, Post Subject: Why is This Familiar? [P/R]

This was the first time that Avery was hearing what Simone had gone through. He had a guilty look on his face at first but he held out a hand as words formed, “It is a secret that Jurien would have told her when the time came because her future child could have carried the magic unlike herself. We will need to recover the books that Auclair had.”

“But everything was burned up…” Simone tilted her head.

“Restoration magic for excavations do exist. It wouldn’t be hard to restore Auclair for a time. It would take a large body of mages but we would have full access to the castle,” Avery very quietly spoke about it. “I know Jurien had a secret area he kept stuff in. It would have been in there.”

“He has a second office,” Simone spoke up. “Through the hidden passages in the castle. The passages were only known by him and myself.”

“Understanding everything Lewis has said… Simone should have the ability to mirror herself or anything in general. To survive she broke the reflection of herself and splintered it. It could have been that the emotions that disappeared came off as if they were killed but in reality…” Llywellyn thought about it. “They were too smashed to repair. This explains how Simone was able to survive this whole time and how she became whole. But to understand this magic… we would need to learn more about it.”

“…I could have saved Auclair…” Simone frowned.

“I don’t think so,” Avery spoke up. “You didn’t know you had this magic for one and for two you are still too unskilled with the magic you have. Simone do you have mana deficiency?”

Simone sat there with a shocked look on her face, “How did you know that?”

“Even now I can see your mana veins skipping like a heart on the verge of death would do. It’s not lethal like that though. It means it exhausts you. You must get lethargic after using large amounts of magic maybe even falling asleep for long periods of time afterward,” Avery explained to the group.

Author: Dusk, Posted: Thu Nov 4, 2021 7:30 PM, Post Subject: Why is This Familiar? [P/R]

Lewis sat forward, putting his hands together. There were things that he was saying that started to make Lewis think hard about the magic, and back to the deep dream dive that he had done so long ago. His eyes closed as he remembered the haunting landscape of her mind, and what had occurred there.

“None of that was natural. The split versions of yourself. Sloth, at the bottom of the lake. I remember clearly looking down at her, looking past my own reflection to see her sleeping the pain away…” It was strange, he could almost feel the cold water wash over him as he dove down. “And Envy…Greed…” The images of them pointing their fingers at one other, a mirror of each other as they blamed the other for their suffering. “Killing them was difficult…”

Simone looked at her husband with concern. It wasn’t often he talked about that place.

“Gluttony was…different. She stole me away into a fantasy world…one that was happy. One that I would have been okay living in. But it wasn’t me. And it wasn’t Simone…” There was the flash of an image of the Guide smashing the mirror, cutting herself on it as she desperately tried to save him. The guide that he later had to kill…the Guide that had forgiven him, even if he never really forgave himself.

“Pride…wielding magics from afar as an army of the dead persona’s of Simone marched on. For every death she experienced, a new personality was created…for every personality that was created, another was resurrected.” The rotting corpses of Simone were always hard to remember. He never wanted to see her like that again…

“Lust and Pride…both of them held too much power. Corrupted, hateful versions of Simone…born through sexual abuse and hatred. One wanted nothing but to lose herself in pleasure and forget the pain…and the other nothing but the pain, to feed on that hatred.” He winced. “So many Simone’s…all of them a perfect reflection…”

The fact that he was even opening up about it all…Xeik would have been proud.

Author: Simone, Posted: Thu Nov 4, 2021 7:05 PM, Post Subject: Why is This Familiar? [P/R]

“KI-KILL ME?!” Avery stuttered and started to hyperventilate.

Llywellyn smirked a bit, “Oh yeah, let me write an extradition treaty out to the Terrowin Island. You can string him up in your basement!”

“BASEMENT?! YOU HAVE A DUNGEON IN YOUR BASEMENT?!” Avery was panicking at Lewis.

Simone waved her hand a bit and giggled, “You two are too much alike in some aspects. Don’t egg each other on… Poor Avery is going to shit himself if you don’t stop.”

“You would think he would be used to it…” Llywellyn looked at Avery and sighed a bit. “In any case, as you can see Simone is married and no you can’t have her.”

“It’s fine. She never wanted me anyways,” Avery gave a smile. “In a lot of ways this Simone is just like the one we grew up with. I can sense the deep magic of Auclair still in her.”

“Deep magic of Auclair?” Simone straightened out. “What are you talking about?”

“Auclair had it’s own unique type of magic. It was hard, at first, for me to sense it when I first arrived in Auclair but in the king and his daughter I sensed it more than in Felix. Simone, the curse that was on you…” Avery looked at her. “Wasn’t entirely the Fey Lord’s concoction. It reacted to the magic already flowing within you. The natural force that Auclair had. The king of Auclair wasn’t just king for nothing after all. Jurien was talented in many different forms of magic but he didn’t want to show you that world. Camille didn’t have any magic and since you didn’t blossom with any yourself… He probably thought you didn’t have any.”

“So? What does that mean?” Simone tilted her head.

“The curse absorbed it. You were a late bloomer and you would have been an exceptionally strong mage had you been left alone. You weren’t as defenseless as you probably thought you were.” Avery was surprisingly serious right now as he explained his theories. “My people have always studied the land's magic and we always tried to form bonds with families who also had strong magic. The Auclairs were one such family even if they didn’t naturally understand the nature of their magic.”

Author: Dusk, Posted: Thu Nov 4, 2021 6:56 PM, Post Subject: Why is This Familiar? [P/R]

It was always awkward for Lewis when he was dealing with Simone’s past. The problem was the almost unique expectation that Simone was the same as she was back during their time. It used to be something he got jealous over, but now…now he just got bored of it. At least Avery seemed interesting. A buffoon, but a helpful one.

And apparently he always opened himself up to easy abuse. Lewis was never one to like punching down on someone, so to speak, but people like Avery made it nearly impossible to do so when they antagonized the situation. It almost reminded Lewis of Jack, though at least jack had the common sense to know when to back away.

“So what happens now,” Lewis asked. “Do we kill him? He knows too much.” He was deadpan, and looked serious, though Simone knew otherwise. With Llywellyn, it was a tossup on whether or not the elf could catch on to the joke. “Could just take him to the dungeon…”

Author: Simone, Posted: Mon Nov 1, 2021 9:19 PM, Post Subject: Why is This Familiar? [P/R]

“Unfortunately, eventually he needs to procreate…” She sighed a bit.

Avery gave them a pouting look, “But Monemone that’s so mean…” The look that Avery was getting from Lewis made him cower more. “Greeting Lewis Dusk…”

The door slammed open as two little kids ran in. Avery bent over and watched as Simone lookalikes ran in. They ran right over to him and kicked him in both his shins. “Hey!”

“Kids, we’ve talked about this,” Simone smirked a bit. They ran over to Lewis and Simone who gave them kisses. “What do you need?”

“Auntie Jehanne said that we could have sweets if you allowed it.” The kids had taken to Jehanne after she opened up to Simone and fostered a relationship. That caused a smile to form across Llywellyn’s face.

“I don’t see why not but make sure that Everett doesn’t just eat chocolate okay? You each get a handful and that’s it…” Simone kissed their heads again and the twins turned around to leave but not before nailing Avery’s other shin respectively.

“…Those twins of yours are terrifying,” Llywellyn chuckled a bit. “It always overjoys me to see them though.”

“They are terrifying,” Avery was trying to get the feeling back in his legs. “They are yours?”

Simone nodded, “Two of our four biological. The rest of our beloved children like Teagan here are adopted.”

“Speaking of which,” Llywellyn locked Avery in a headlock, “You interrupted my time with my new niece you bastard.”

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry,” he started to flail but wasn’t strong enough against the elf as he was choked.

Llywellyn stopped and looked up at Lewis, “Avery devoted a lot of resources to finding Simone like I did. He’s a good person. He was there in Auclair with me after the fire. He’s just special…”

“I am not!” Avery was still flailing. “I’m just humble.”

Simone relaxed a bit when she heard that, “You tried to find me?”

Avery nodded a bit, “Jerome was an asshole. I figured he had something to do with it which is why Llywellyn went to war against him first for clues where you were. Even with our advanced magic, we couldn’t pinpoint where you were. It was like the magic we had was void against you so we figured Jerome had told the fey lord about how it worked. Eventually, the magic dropped off altogether and it was only recently it managed to even pinpoint you again.”

“When you were Somerset’s wife in Adeluna,” Llywellyn explained. “It’s how I was able to track you but even then it was always too late. Then you fell off the map again because you were with Lewis.”

Author: Dusk, Posted: Mon Nov 1, 2021 8:54 PM, Post Subject: Why is This Familiar? [P/R]

Lewis eyed the man carefully. The way that Simone was reacting was almost conflicted. She was angry, of course, that Avery had more or less followed her. But, from what Lewis could tell, they had been friends in some capacity, but the ex-assassin couldn’t quite tell how close.

“Is it a royal incident if I cut his balls off?” Lewis asked, looking at Simone. “I mean…as an alternative to killing him…” The reality was, though, that it seemed neither Simone nor Llywellyn were very happy that he was here. And that meant that Lewis wasn’t happy that he was here.

“So, Avery, was it?” Lewis asked, sitting forward. “My name is Lewis Terrowin. Pleasure to meet you…” If Simone was considered ‘scary’, then Lewis was much, much worse. He held a sadist’s smile with a wicked grin and hunger in his eyes. He knew how to play up his fear factor, and just what buttons to press.

Author: Simone, Posted: Mon Nov 1, 2021 8:46 PM, Post Subject: Why is This Familiar? [P/R]

“Steward?” Llywellyn looked at his adviser. “If Lewis kills Avery is it a royal incident or can I let him do it?”

Simone sighed a bit as Avery’s advisers dragged him to a library for them to meet in. “Did you just punch Avery out while holding my child?”

“It’s my first response to even seeing his face…” Llywellyn looked down to Teagan who looked happy.

“I was just going to say… that’s impressive.” She held out her arms as she took Teagan and cooed at her with Lewis. Teagan kicked her legs at her parents and Mone smirked a bit. “You missed us?” There was a squeal from Teagan. “Ohhh~”

Mone and Lewis were snuggling very close so when Avery woke up and saw Lewis his eyes got big. “Which one of the princes was he?

“My prince charming,” Simone answered dryly. “You didn’t chase me here did you?”

“N-no, my adviser said Llywellyn was holding a party…” Avery looked away with guilt. “I just thought you would be here since you were best friends.”

Simone’s eyes narrowed down and Avery put himself behind Llywellyn the best he could. “She’s being scary again.”

Author: Dusk, Posted: Mon Nov 1, 2021 8:31 PM, Post Subject: Why is This Familiar? [P/R]

Lewis was enjoying the dance with Simone. Despite her initial arm twisting when they first started their relationship, Lewis had grown fond of dancing with his wife. It was not quite as exotic as a dance with death, nor was it as enthralling as some of the other activities they got to, but in it’s own way it was a fun, relaxing thing to do. Of course, with the Terrowin family, things were rarely simple.

The sudden burst of magic put Lewis and Simone on the defensive, but it was Lewis who reacted by pushing Simone behind him and drawing a dagger. When a small group of mages appeared, Lewis immediately recognized one of them. The one that Simone had a passing, almost non-existent thought over during the last job.

“Oh great,” Lewis muttered as he sheathed the dagger and straightened his clothes. His aggression had all but vanished, and by the time the man started speaking, had turned into annoyance. The moment he uttered the words “Monemone” though, Lewis had already had more than enough of him.

If Llywellwn hadn’t punched out the man, Lewis might have. Or worse.

“So…” Lewis said as the man, Avery as Lewis found out, was dragged off to a side room. “Can I just…kill him?”

Simone gave him a rather telling look. It was the ‘I wish, but no’ look that she had often with Lewis around annoying people.

“Fine,” Lewis said as he held up his hands defensively. “I won’t do it. But know that the option is always there.” He smirked as the two followed the guards who had dragged him away.

They found themselves in a miniature library, with a fireplace already roaring, having been recently lit to accommodate their new guest. Lewis and Simone sat down on a rather lavish, red loveseat, and snuggled it to wait for the inevitable.

Author: Simone, Posted: Mon Nov 1, 2021 8:21 PM, Post Subject: Why is This Familiar? [P/R]

Simone put her head on his shoulder and smiled at him, “I could too… I love dancing with you even if I have to twist your arms sometimes… Though I haven’t had to twist your arm in a very long time.” There was a smirk on her face as the couple kissed.

“Maybe we should take dance lessons? As an excuse?” There was a smirk but she was sure anything they did they could excel at as long as they had each other. It was an interesting idea…

She felt magic starting to surge in the middle of the room and everyone moved out of the way. “Your idea of entertainment?” Simone looked unamused towards Llewellyn.

“No…” As Llywellyn answered a group of people phased in.

“LLYWELLYN! You didn’t invite me to your party!” Avery stepped out of the group.

“My king! Please!” One of his advisers was trying to stop him and Avery was waving them off.

“You found Monemone! You didn’t tell me!”

“I didn’t find Simone… She found me!” Llywellyn started to shout at Avery and they were yelling back and forth over stupid things.

“Enough! Over fifteen hundred years and you both ARE STILL idiots when you get together!” Simone yelled.

“MY MONEMONE!” Avery almost ran over but Llywellyn stopped him and punched him in his face.

“She’s not yours you moron,” Llywellyn watched as the king was dropped to the ground. “Anyways~ you should take Avery to a side room until he wakes up.” Llywellyn just let him lie on the ground.

“…and you still talk with your fists when it comes to Avery…” Simone sighed a bit. “Bunch of children.”

Author: Dusk, Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2021 6:34 PM, Post Subject: Why is This Familiar? [P/R]

Even though they came as a group, everyone seemed to break off to do their own thing once Llywellyn took a hold of Teagan. Mia and Ayaa went off to dance, which was something that surprised Lewis a little. Perhaps they needed the time away from work. Ayaa was always the workaholic, and maybe Mia was forcing her away from Elysia.

Lucas and Ezili went about to fraternize with the other ball goers, with the usual issues that followed those two. These oblivious boys would always hit on Ezili, and she would always respond with any Lucas related fact. Still, it seemed as though this event worked out quite well for them. There were scholars about, and Lucas found himself very enamoured with talks about different oceanic related books.

Lila, Janus, and Glyn got about playing with the other children, which mostly entailed Janus napping, Lila watching, and Glyn showing off his amazing potato. Sure, the other kids around his age thought it was a bit weird, but they seemed to accept it fairly well. The other younger kids, minus Teagan, were scattered about as well, and surprisingly behaving themselves. It was Rex and Hazel, though, who seemed the center of attention at one end of the party. Their five toddlers were all the rage with the other mothers, and it seemed as though they were accepting of Hazel, which shocked the poor girl. Rex, as always, didn’t really care for the party much, and instead merely acted in the best interest of his family. If they were happy, he was happy.

With everyone else enjoying themselves, Lewis was okay with leaving Teagan with her ‘Uncle’ to dance with Simone. It had been a long time since the two had danced (of course, not including their little dream escapade). He took her hand and led her to the floor, where he twirled her about once before pulling her close.

“This is nice. No kidnappings…no emergencies. Just…nice.” Lewis smiled. He was finally enjoying what he considered his early retirement. “I could get used to this.”

Author: Simone, Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2021 8:28 PM, Post Subject: Why is This Familiar? [P/R]

Simone helped her husband dress and groom himself. He still wasn’t much better at it than when they first met… She was beginning to suspect that he faked being incompetent so she took care of him. Mone’s hair was swept into an updo with her hair in curls where it hung down. Lavish aquamarines of various small sizes were pinned into her hair.

The main body of her gown was the shade of blue as the pins. It was large lace designs over a fabric the same shade as her skin giving it an illusion effect. It was an off-shoulder sweetheart bust displaying the locket she held very dear to her. The skirt was a satin material that flowed separately from the lace from her sides down.

“Very handsome,” she chuckled before she finished her makeup. The kids all looked nice and even Teagan had on a very small dress. “You look lovely Mia and Ayaa.”

Mia was wearing a dark blue dress that cut to her upper thigh. The skirt portion dipped and swayed not much longer in a purple color. The back of the gown flowed all the way to the floor showing her strong legs. The bust was deeply cut down to her navel with satin ribbon laced loosely from the bottom to the top sparsely. The straps were thin over her shoulders but had a cold shoulder sleeve design. The sleeves were also long in the back and draped in the front. Her blonde hair was left long and in her own wild curls.

Once the Terrowins made it into the party though… “You have got to be kidding me… Please tell me that isn’t why you threw this party…” Simone put her hands on her hips.

“…You wouldn’t bring Teagan to see me…” Llywellyn pouted as he held the small girl in his arms. “How else is Uncle Llywellyn going to dote on his adorable new niece.”

“What are you going to teach her how to be an elf?” Simone said sarcastically.

“That’s not a bad idea. I can teach you how to climb… how to shoot a bowwwww… How to run across the treetops.” Llywellyn was baby talking to Teagan. She was looking up at him with wide orange eyes making cooing noises.

“And we lost her…” Simone sighed and held a smile on her face. “I guess there are worse people that she could have attached herself too…”

“Tell your mommy and daddy to stop being so uptight and enjoy the night,” Llywellyn rubbed his nose against Teagan’s nose and she got excited. “That’s right. This is good for them. You heard the baby. Baby’s orders.”

“…” She let out a sigh as she shrugged up at Lewis. “Might as well dance with me.”

Author: Dusk, Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2021 8:10 PM, Post Subject: Why is This Familiar? [P/R]

When Lewis finally caught up with Simone and the demon, things had already escalated beyond what either of them had wanted. “Best we just take what remains we need, and g-” He paused as the recognition from the duke struck Simone. A flood of hazy images from Simone’s past flooded Lewis’ mind as Simone tried to remember who this was, but it all faded away when it clicked for her. It was…nothing. Unimportant.

Lewis shrugged it off. If it didn’t mean anything to her, then it meant nothing to him. He reached down and grabbed the phantom remains of a cloth from the demon, and the two escaped off into the night.

“I take it that he was someone else from your past?” Lewis asked with a half smirk. “At least they aren’t out to kill you.”

“It’s not even worth it,” Simone replied. The only thing that she wanted to do was get back home. It was nice stretching her legs, but her babies were calling for her, and she longed to be back by their side.

—-

“Are you sure about this?” Lewis asked as he looked at himself in the mirror. Simone had helped him pick out a jet black button up shirt with a starkly contrasting crimson red vest. Having little to no fashion sense, Lewis barely cared at all what he wore, so all head to go on was what Simone liked.

She came over, and straightened the collar. “You look fine,” she replied. She still had a ways to go before getting ready, which was more than fine. Lewis was in charge of helping the kids get ready as well, with Simone doing the last bit of touch ups on the whole family.

Llywellyn was holding a banquet for some reason or another. The ex-assassin hardly cared about the reason, but it was more or less mandatory for the Terrowin family to attend. As such, Lewis found himself dreading what the night would bring, and convinced Llywellyn to at least let him invite Xeik and Mia.

In a surprise twist, it was Ayaa and Mia who showed up.

“Why?” Lewis asked, genuinely confused.

“Oh shut up, I like wearing dresses once in awhile. It’s nice,” Ayaa said with a huff. She was wearing an elegant red and black tiered dress skirt that showed off her legs. Her top was a matching black and red, sleeveless design that showed off her midriff, with elegant patterns winding down her arms.

“You…went all out,” Lewis replied with a sigh. “Just…help me get the kids ready.”

Ayaa smirked and winked. “Mia can help too, right!?”

—

Nearly an hour later, the two families made their grand entrance to the banquet, which was already starting to ramp up in its own right.

The night was young….

Author: Simone, Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2021 7:51 PM, Post Subject: Why is This Familiar? [P/R]

There was a smirk across her lips as she appeared out of the flames sitting on the nightstand looking at the demon. Her eyes were bright azure, “I got you little one~” The demon was immediately alarmed. He had managed to gorge on half of the man’s dreams a mistake on Simone’s part… but not really since she had ultimately wondered if it would run away again.

The demon burst through the window and Simone followed it. Her feet hit the streets running. Her eyes were made for aerial views but she could use it to her advantage here. Even when it tried changing its color she stayed hot on it.

Love, it’s headed for a castle for a bigger meal I think.

Lovely, that means guards. The guards were startled by the demon that barreled through the fence. Mone was quick to not only climb but catapult herself over it. “Excuse me sirs~ Demon on the loose~” Were the only words she had to offer.

Through a hedge, it went… and Simone once again went over with ease. She ran on top of the hedge maze watching it and never losing sight of it. At this point, she could see where it was heading. A small garden party of sorts… Someone probably was napping.

The demon burst through the maze and into the party desperately trying to get to the sleeping man on a bench. “THAT THING IS AFTER THE DUKE!” One of the women cried but Simone launched herself and sent her heel right into the demon’s head.

“Well… Well… Well…” She spotted it attempting to use magic and she scorched where it was casting from. “Looks like I caught our little rat~” Her eyes flashed azure as she waited for her husband to catch up with her.

“LET ME GO! LET ME EAT~” It started to yell at her.

“Nah~ You’ve been giving our friend the run around all week. I don’t think I should let you go~ This chase has lasted long enough.” Using one of her daggers she sent it through the demon.

“Do you think they will need the body?” Simone tilted her head back at Lewis. She only just now had realized all the nobles looking at them. The duke was in shock.

“…Simone?”

Instinctively she moved her head towards her name. She looked at the name who uttered it and tilted her head.

“Auclair. Simone Auclair. IT IS YOU!” The man yelled with excitement.

“Who are you? Why do you know my name?”

“It’s me! It’s AVERY!” The man waved his arms around.

“Avery…” She held a blank look on her face. It took a few moments. “And we’re leaving now~” She gave a smile, wave, and grabbed the demon and her husband.

“WAIT NO! STAY!”

“Blame Llywellyn for not telling you,” Simone a wave once more and disappeared.

“…It was her… She’s back.” There were whispers all around from the nobles. They all had known Simone. All of them had been at her coronation as crowned princess. “How?”

Author: Dusk, Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2021 7:40 PM, Post Subject: Why is This Familiar? [P/R]

Antagonizing a demon was quite fun for Lewis. It was a change of pace from his normal role of assassination, and felt more like a game than anything. The demon was fast. Faster than even Lewis was, but it wasn’t too smart. It was always trying to eat, and that gave Lewis more than enough time to catch up. The faster it moved, the more energy it expended. The more energy it expended, the hungrier it got.

Rhenakos would have never managed this on his own. At least, not with the way he was running. He wondered what sly trick the hunter would have resorted to in the end. Probably something stupid that involved brute force. Demon headed your way. He’s practically leaving a trail of drool.

Surely enough, the demon slithered through the window and into the poor drunk nobleman’s house. Without waiting to check his surroundings, he coiled up around the nobleman’s head, and with his snake-like maw, started to try and devour the man’s dreams.

Author: Simone, Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2021 7:32 PM, Post Subject: Why is This Familiar? [P/R]

“Excuseeee me, Princess,” Simone put her hands on her hips. “You interrupt our lives all the time with ‘get out of the house’ so get back in your house. Shoo. Shoo.” She moved her hands at him to shoo him away.

Mone put her finger to her chin, “Shouldn’t be too hard…” She looked at her husband after Rhenakos had left. “Let’s just find us a drunk noble in a tavern~ We can put him all cozy in bed and then wait. I can chase him since I’m faster. You can be my tail~” She looked at him with whimsical eyes. “It’s not often I get to do the hunting. I’m excited.”

Though it took setting the scene. Mone lured in quite the rich little bastard with lots of alcohol in the tavern. She could see the wheels turning in Lewis’s head as he found the demon. It took no time at all to get the noble hammered and set up in bed. All she had to do was wait.

Mone hid herself as the flame of a candle. Something that she was working on since Angela’s phoenixes could do it. It meant she could as well and with enough concentration she could hold a normal flame color. “Tell me when it’s entered the building~”

Author: Dusk, Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2021 7:25 PM, Post Subject: Why is This Familiar? [P/R]

The whole scenario was a bit contrived, but Lewis didn’t mind the outing. As much as he loved his kids, he sorely missed getting out and about. Despite Simone giving Osiria a hard time, she didn’t mind either. The two didn’t need much time at all to gear up, and Lewis made well sure that he was ready for anything. It had been some time since Lewis had donned his dark blue night gear, and he felt right at home as he clasped the daggers across his body.

Allistar was a small little cluster of mages that fancied itself as a city. At least from the rumors that Lewis had heard. When they arrived, though, Lewis was surprised to find that it was quite well fortified. Guards watched the cavern entrances, and checked everyone for paperwork. Mages could be seen running to and fro, some with potions and tonics in hand, others with stacks of paper and tomes. It seemed like the sort of chaotic place that Xeik would find himself quite at home.

“Wouldn’t be surprised if he studied here,” Lewis quipped as they took in their surroundings. It didn’t take long for them to locate Rhenakos, and the two easily caught up to him, much to his annoyance.

“Hey now, I don’t go butting in on your jobs!” Rhenakos snapped, obviously annoyed. Still, Osiria was mad, and Reva… “Damn it. Fine. But only for Reva. Demon is a higher class than what was paid for, so don’t skimp out on the payment afterwards. S class, likes stealing dreams. Particularly rich ones. Client is in the southern library, named Morinaga.”

“Right, so he’ll go for royalty,” Lewis said with a nod. “Got it. Simone. Set a trap that way. I’ll make sure he heads that direction.”

Rhenakos stopped, leaving Lewis and Simone to their newly acquired hunt.

“Shouldn’t take long, right dear? Just find a nice fat noble. I’ll make sure he’s starving…”

Author: Simone, Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2021 7:06 PM, Post Subject: Why is This Familiar? [P/R]

Osiria stood there with her hands on her hips looking at the two Terrowins in front of her. They each had a baby and Simone was even rocking a cradle with her foot. “So let me get this right… You want us… To put down our babies…. Go find your moron husband… And save his ass from whatever the fuck he’s doing? Or whoever he’s doing?” Simone’s eyes looked almost as dead as Lewis’s as they glared at the other phoenix.

“No, I want you to bring Rhenakos home for Reva. He promised her a tea party and she was REALLY looking forward to it. It’s been a fucking week since he took this job and I got a quick ‘Sorry having a hard time.’ Letter. No love you, no sorry to Reva, no nothing. If it’s taking him a week it’s a fucking job he shouldn’t have taken.”

Simone and Lewis looked at each other. “…and this request isn’t to save your husband if he’s near-death or doing something dumb?”

“Nope, just get his ass back to Jayou for his kid. I miss him too but I’m used to him being away… This is the first time in all these years this jackass has had the audacity to stay away from Reva like this… and I bet he’s is fucking pissed about it too.”

Mone shrugged and the two of them passed the twins off to the nanny. “We’ll be back after we save her moron husband. Please tell the children we’re sorry and Uncle Rhen will babysit them for torture… I mean playtime soon.” Osiria made a face but she couldn’t argue with the Terrowins right now.

“The job he took is in a city called Allistar in Mo’mey. It’s apparently a mage city pretty famous for longevity thanks to the type of magic the humans there produce. It’s not a huge kingdom but he got hired by the guards there because the demon was getting to be a pain in the ass. Supposedly it’s really fast and good at hiding which you know are the two things Rhen is the worst at hunting… Simone? What’s with that look?”

“Allistar? Mo’mey?”

“You know it?”

“I’m not sure… It sounds familiar but I don’t have the slightest idea why…” Simone went upstairs to change into clothes fit for a job as she strapped her daggers onto her. “Mmm…” She looked lost in thought because she didn’t know why it sounded so familiar. “Let’s go find this fucking idiot…”

Once they were in Allistar Simone looked at the quaint little kingdom. It had cobblestone streets and magic lanterns. Mages were running around and there were stalls filled with magic items and books. “Where is he…”

“YOU FUCKING LITTLE BASTARD COME HERE!”

“Ah. There he is,” Simone sighed a bit as she pushed her hair back. “Hey, moron.” Simone disappeared into bird form and reappeared in front of Rhenakos. “Boo!” She chuckled. Lewis came up behind Rhenakos. “Your wife is pretty fucking mad. Something about a tea party with Reva. She told us to come relieve you of your duty since you suck at it so that you can go home to Reva finally.” Simone was teasing him. “Leave this one to us… Even you need a break every once in a while.” Simone waved her hand at it. “Just give us the details.”