Welcome to Gaia! ::

Kane laughed bitterly at his comment about the curse, as if the wound had moved from her abdomen to her heart and now poured out vocally. Shifting an arm up from her side, she slid it between them and to her face, parting the curtain over her visage.

"Don't be naive. Do you think that really severs everything? My daughter might be buried, but she is still an immortal tie that I have with him, one that can never be torn asunder. Even if our feelings and mind were voided and erased, even if she had never happened, the past won't simply turn to ash. I may forget some times, but eradicating a reminder doesn't make it all cease to be.... just like nothing he can do can make our time cease to be."

She patted him on the cheek, the act in and of itself slightly patronizing. Her violet eyes stared at the ones that were starting to change again, boring into their depths. "Really? You can come back? Is that why your eyes are such a blazing red and becoming ever more serpent-like, even now? I could come back, you are right, just as I did before... but had there been a choice the first time around for someone to simply slaughter me before I started doing the things I loathe so vehemently, I would have taken it."

Kane twisted on to her back, slightly unnerved by how close their faces had become. Anything less than a foot away made her breath catch momentarily and her thoughts stutter momentarily. It didn't just vex her nor did it enamor her; it was a strange mixture of both. "I don't know what you will do," she added, "but I am going to sleep. I had some people force me to undergo a tiring procedure after an ill-fated spar."

There was no doubt in her mind that he was angry. She knew he had his limits, however irritatingly calm he seemed to be most of the time. Was it the pat on the cheek that irritated him the most, the affirmation that he couldn't pull her away from Malik by his actions, the insult to his self control over his demonic shift, or her lack of appreciation for the cleansing in question? It was hard to tell if it was everything she had barraged him with was the source of his agitation or one morsel in particular. Usually uncertainty was fueled by a lack of suitable known reasons for the other party being short- in her case the choices were too many.

The sound of the knife hitting the cutting board resounded in her head, the loud thuds resonating through the muscle and bone. Kane was unsure if the reverberations were felt so distinctly because of the emotional implication or how tired she felt physically. It took a substantial amount of willpower not to cradle her forehead in her palms or bury herself under pillows and blankets to drown him out. "I'll eat it now," she answered numbly her words automatic. After she had spoken she was immediately unsure what the question was or what she had responded to. Her entire attention was on the subtle echoes of his annoyance.

As he placed the salad, plate, and fork on the chair she pushed herself up off the pillow to a sitting position. Tendrils of blonde flew as she shook them out of her face and turned towards the food. She pulled herself closely and then reached forward, gently grasping the bowl and fork and beginning to eat. There was an almost palpable silence as she ate the lettuce and tomato slowly and thoughtfully.

As words started to swim into her mind, she became anxious to relate them. The beef was eaten almost hurriedly; it could have been insulting she spent so long apparently savoring 'rabbit food' and rushed through the dish that required so much effort. Still, she did so. Neither was given too much thought, much as Gabriel might have appreciated some well-placed compliments and gratitude. The meat was minimally savored... she noticed it was good and tasty, but the extent and nuances were overlooked in the rush to speak.

"Before, when I was cursed, only my life was in danger. You might disagree, but that was acceptable to me. Now, though, there are many lives in danger. I'm sure he'll want another child, one that I can only surmise will be no better than Mercy. Innocent people could die under the progeny he'll want to impregnate me with... and any who might be murdered by me if I descend. If it I don't, Malik could very well threaten my life. If he finds out that...."

Another pause. This one carried more substantial weight, her brows furrowed in thought and an agitation of her own. She was on the verge of saying something, doing something, her muscles tense with anxiety and inward reflection, her eyes smoldering as they stared at an empty plate.

"He already knows about you," she snapped back crossly, not realizing that she had inadvertently admitted to having some sort of contact with Malik already. There was no hesitation or consideration for her words- he had an uncanny knack for pressing her (many) buttons. This time it had been done so deftly with his bravo about the situation that Kane almost forgot entirely what she had been on the verge of revealing a moment before.

"That's precisely what I am! Alone! Don't make grand statements such as 'I am going to kill him' as if we're a team when you're clearly excluding me from the decision and future act! There is no together about handling Malik." She brushed away the hand that had so softly touched her face, removing an errant strand from her visage. Eyes were that familiar blazing red, furious. All her energy had been redirected, fueling the conflagration of her temper.

"Do you even realize what you've done? You've chosen to squarely put your life in danger over this trivial curse! And what for? I might throw myself into life-threatening situations, but I at least know what I am fighting for. I'm not just fighting the angels because they've killed an innocent, but because I feel the need to take a stand. I decided when Mercy died that I'd change the world, soil my hands to keep the more virtuous clean. Didn't you loathe fighting, didn't you want to be left alone? "

Now she looked exasperated, throwing her hands up in the air. "And still you sit here, irritatingly calm! With no direction you've painted a target on yourself for Malik, easily saying you'll kill him. Do you really think it's that easy? That your one-man army is going to steamroll all his mastery of the shadows as you descend deeper and deeper into the one damned thing that he can absorb so easily? She leaned over, her face inches from his. The rubies lost some of the ire, a strange emotion sweeping over them and mingling there, filling the void left by the lessening rage. Long, blonde lockets swayed with her movement, glittering faintly in the pale light. Half of her face was aglow, the dim yellow casting shadows on the other side.

"He's going to come for your head once he realizes..."

And then she kissed him. It made no difference if she only thought about it or if he did it- for the man who traipsed in her dreams could discover either easily enough once he lingered a bit longer. He would be full of wrath for the fallen once he realized he had aided the slight ascension Kane had experienced, moreso when he comprehended how his property felt. It was one thing to disillusion the dark angel and sway her to his side and quite another to try to pry her from the influence of another. There would be no mercy; he would be ruthless, attempting to bring to ruin every moment with the slightest hint of feeling in the last two days- and relishing any victory.

There was nothing to be done. Kane might have been able to trick them both a while with actions, but her thoughts and heart could never be easily molded. They were simple, just like the smooth lean forward that pressed lips against lips. There was no complication, no depth that only time could bring. In this moment, there was only that slightly aggressive and forceful display of affection. An impulse, a desire, a liking that she had felt suddenly compelled to act on it.

It wasn't love, but it was tender. Malik's fury would be limitless.

Kane sighed heavily, both at his words and his actions. Where the hell did she stand with this fallen? He had kissed her once and then apologized, gone out of his way to attempt to help and protect her, and had yelled at her. Admittedly she had been sending mixed signals, but that didn't make it any less frustrating when she was as a total loss for what he might be thinking. What in the blazes did he want? Even now he had pulled away but held her tightly as if he both wanted the affection and did not. Perhaps it was memories of the wife he almost had that held him back- that is something she certainly understood. She wasn't even entirely sure what her emotions were as to him. Kane did not expect unfaltering devotion but merely the consistency she so sorely lacked.

"Don't be ridiculous," she said, too tired to even muster a tone that even sounded mildly annoyed. Her chin lowered and rested comfortably on his shoulder unintentionally, her mind wandering. Had she realized she was not only tolerating this strange reaction but relaxing in it she might have been perturbed. "You're a bigger target than I am, regrettably. The angels still regard you as more of a threat and will even more so when they realize the small dose of fiction I fed them. Malik is admittedly not interested in killing me, but rather making me his dark bride again and mother to his spawn. He has many more reasons to kill you."

Her head rested lightly against his as her eyes drifted shut. They had not shifted even momentarily from the dazzling ruby although they had lost their ferocious intensity. She struggled to keep herself awake and not be lured by the warmth and gentle embrace, but it was a battle she was losing quickly. Muscles tensed and relaxed reflexively as she started to drift off and began to rouse herself. Tendrils of blonde dripped down her shoulder and her fingers twitched as they fell to the mattress limply.

Kane knew internally she looked pathetic. Hopefully Gabriel would be too busy observing her split ends or daydreaming to notice. It wasn't as if at the current angle he could see most of her. "Besides, I wouldn't even worry about that," she murmured, clearing her throat to try to sound as if she wasn't fading as quickly as she was. "I am sure once his highness appears he will paint a large target on himself for the angels. He will be irate that they are pursuing me, he will be full of hate for their existence, and his blood lust has no bounds. Once he gleefully taunts and decimates several of them I'm sure he will climb up their list of priorities," she mused.

"I bet he even still has the.... archangel... armor...." Her body sagged against his as the words teetered off into the air and evaporated. Leaning forward slightly her weight pressed against his rather than fall backward on the pillow, her head haphazardly balanced against his and rocking ever so slightly with her breath.

Malik's mind twisted and turned, slithering towards Gabriel's thoughtless dreams. It was only when he was certain that Kane was oblivious, fully succumbed to her own subconscious, that he indulged himself. Had she sensed the intrusion into her 'beloved' comrade's slumber she would have been infuriated. In this case it would not be beneficial to anger her and he was confident that the fallen would not later tattle. The silly would-be demon still clung to any attempt to protect her. How foolish.

"Gabriel," he teased, his deep voice rumbling against an empty backdrop. It was malevolent and arrogant, its deep base resonating against the darkest chords of one's heart. There was no doubt that it belonged to a demonic entity.

Colors bled together, running across the vast emptiness unless they painted a gruesome scene filled with the color of Kane's room. Unlike her abode, they were dangerously bright, lacking the cozy warmth she had somehow attained. The conflagration could hardly be compared the tiny fireplace she had that, even when lit by Devon, cast soft glows across the dark woods.

Flames licked at Malik's feet and swallowed the town behind him. Echoes of screams were drowned out by the roar of the fire, fading into what was certainly the defeat of death. Charred, tumbling towers crumpled to the ground, rubble twisted into obscene shapes by the rampant destruction wrought on them. A few sparse trees that had been filled with the joyous singing of birds were now the color of tar, their wretched shapes looming over patches of dying embers.

Malik himself seemed at ease with the scenery around him. While the demons of Gabriel's world had flesh as pale as ivory, Malik resembled Devon's rich tan. Slick onyx horns twisted out of his temples and curved over his ears, tucking themselves over his long hair. That was something they shared in common physically: raven locks that tumbled down their backs. Probing deep garnet eyes stared at him as he suppressed an impish grin.

To say that Malik was delighted by the response was a gross understatement. His grin only widened as the magic and physical attacks blew through him, his intangible form flickering momentarily with the contact. While he was confident to the point of arrogance, he had no illusions about the sort of reception the fallen would grant him: after all, Kane bemoaned his existence and there was no reason the man would disbelieve her. Surely by now there was an undercurrent of deep trust that ran between them now: there was no reason for either to stay around the other unless there was affection. Kane was not pleasant to live with and she didn't exactly spend copious amounts of time with people without some small semblance of caring.

"I see why she likes you." It no doubt enraged him, the none-too-subtle comparison. Malik was not lying- the truth was much more painful than anything else he could claim. In that moment consumed in fury, Gabriel was very much like the demon. While their features had some notable differences, Malik was willing to bet that his heart was slowly becoming black and twisted, the hatred filling him with bile. With no Kane to save him from himself, to try to pull him from the tempting depths of darkness, what differences separated them?

He drank in all the evil, malicious intent and magics. Malik drank in the corruption like a sweet nectar, nourished by the unholy bolts and violent response. This was clearly someone more descended by Kane: while she toyed with darkness, fluttering between its seduction and the comfort of the light, he reveled in it. Depravity thrilled him, excited him, pleased him. Were he there physically he would have absorbed most of the magical attack, pulling its obscene power into him and letting it overpower his senses. Kane controlled her demonic nature but not her emotions: this man was the clear opposite.

This would be easier than anticipated. When he had graced Kane's earlier, wandering around surface thoughts so briefly in her slumber, he had been concerned by this male. He knew only a name and face and nothing more; she had become stronger in her age and blocked anything else he could peek at. The undoing of the curse had made him think that this person before him was the one who cleansed it, a parasite that had wormed its way into her heart. He could not have easily competed with a true angelic creature for its allure would be too different and distant from his to compare. A demon compared to a fallen that drifted farther into the abyss and all its temptations was something much more manageable.

... and even were he not be able to win her back, drawing out her consort's malevolent emotions might be enough to negatively affect her.

"What do I want? Nothing yet, I suppose. I did not expect such a fortuitous situation," he smugly answered, a menacing smile plastered across his face. The change in scenery did not to change his demeanor towards the other man. His ego and arrogance were sufficiently bloated to keep him adrift in a setting of rainbows, sunshine, and other obnoxiously innocent, lovely things. Inky tendrils rolled off his shoulders, dissipating into the greenery as he glanced around, chin lifted just enough to continue appearing haughty as he did so. It seemed he reveled in displeasing others even socially.

"I will take her back or I will slay her," he casually added, eyes flitting back to the dark figure in front of him that tried so valiantly to leave his presence. His form flickered momentarily as the dream was guided in a direction that departed from his intentions. Unable to grasp onto surface thoughts, he was left wondering what he fallen might be thinking. "Until this point I thought it was unfortunate I wasted so much money on the first attempt, but now I am rather pleased with the results. I did not realize at that juncture how tenuous that grasp of the light is for you beings. It was foolish to try to dispose of her just because of a slight step towards it."

It was something Kane suspected but was never certain of: that the errant curse on the battlefield had been contracted by her husband. It had been regarded as a freak occurrence at the time for no one knew of a reason that Malik might want her dead. The demon was as cunning as he was twisted, though, and sensed a shift in the female's balance around the time Mercy was due. In a carefully crafted ploy he arranged for her to 'give birth' early and waste away so that his raising of the child would not be jeopardized by her new-found faith. It was not until their daughter was slaughtered by her that he realized it was not a lasting change.

"By the way- I hear you have an angel problem. Before she always stayed my hand, usually a comrade to celestial beings, but I will delight at assisting with this.... conflict. I do hope you don't have any dear friends left in those ranks?"