Brief Candle (Solo)

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OOC NOTE OF WARNING TO READERS: There will be flashbacks. Lots and lots of flashbacks... (Hint: They're the bits that are in italics! ;] )

Song for the Thread: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pHjyyj6spA

“YAAARRRGGGGHHHH!”

The bloodthirsty cries of warriors mixed with the wails of the dying. Swords clanged against each other in a rhythm all their own. Occasionally, someone would miss a beat and the squish of metal biting into flesh would fill the space. The cacophonous roar of bombs exploding here and there mingled with the lighter, higher-pitched buzzing of hundreds of machine guns being fired at once. Above it all, the pitter patter of raindrops falling from the storm brewing overhead brought the violent song all together.

Amidst the chaos of the battle, a bright figure stood alone on the top of a light rise. Bodies lay strewn about her, all in various stages of sliced, diced, and altogether mangled. Blood covered her from head to toe, but none of it seemed to be her own. Large bat-like wings protruded from her shoulder blades, making her seem that much more intimidating. A sword was clenched in each fist, each of them crackling with their own power. In her left hand, the sword hissed, sparks of electricity bouncing off of the blade at each rain drop that hit its surface. The sword on the right burned brightly, its flames white hot despite the rain.

Crimson eyes took in the sights all around her. Sabre sucked in a deep breath, inhaling the scent of battle. There was nothing sweeter to her nostrils than rain and bloodshed in the evening… except perhaps the stench of a spent man lying naked next to her in the morning. That idea brought a grin to Sabre’s lips as she sought out her next target.

A small band of humans seemed to be rallying together not too far from her. Only one man seemed intent on keeping watch for surrounding enemies, while the rest of them counted what equipment they had left on them and reloaded weapons. That was the one advantage that swords had in a battle like this - no reload time. With a feral growl of delight, Sabre pushed off on the balls of her feet, charging towards the regrouping inferiors. The lookout called a warning to his comrades and let loose a barrage of bullets in her direction, but before they had a chance to reach her, she vanished.

Panic took hold of the human soldiers as they watched the winged beast of a woman disappear right before their eyes. Surely, after 50 years of this war, you’d think they’d be used to this kind of thing by now. It never ceased to amuse Sabre just how naive some of these humans could be. Not that she minded, of course. It just made it that much easier for her to pull off simple stunts like this…

She re-appeared on the left flank of the soldiers. At least some of the humans were learning to watch their backs when she did this. She’d almost had an unlucky encounter a few months back when a group had been ready for her. This group was just as daft as the first group she’d used this trick on, however many years ago, when she’d first gotten into the thick of the war. They all continued to face the direction she’d been charging from, frightened anticipation dripping off of them in waves. Fools, the lot of them!

Without warning, Althea sliced into the neck of the first man she encountered, the usually defensive sword feeding off of her wielder’s emotions and lusting for the blood. Where her blade sliced, the man’s skin singed instantly, bolts of electricity racing through him. His hair stood on end as he fell to the ground in a nearly headless heap. Sabre sensed Virote’s displeasure at not having been the first to taste this groups’ blood. She allowed his rage to fuel her own fire and waded forward into the group. His fiery blade left a white trail as it moved through the air, cutting left and right into the flesh of her enemies.

The group lay at her feet in seconds, identical to the one she’d just moved from. She distinctly remembered hearing two bullets being fired, but upon looking down, she saw no wounds on her own body. The particularly large puddle of blood seeping out of the human corpse at her feet caught her attention, however. Most wounds her swords inflicted while in this state were lethal, but cauterized. A smirk flashed across her face as she spied the victim of those two bullets.

Pathetic mortals… Really, how had this war not been won already? The taste of bile filled her mouth, so she spit what she could from her mouth, uncaring that it hit one of the corpses in the face. Smiling at the carnage all around, Sabre shook her head lightly, letting her fiery red mane of hair catch in the breeze to cool her face and neck. Her eyes moved back up to scan the battlefield. The sun was sinking below the horizon finally. Now the fun would really begin.

“For the night is dark and full of terrors…” she whispered, closing her eyes and sucking in another deep breath.

Sabre’s eyes flashed open. A shiver ran down her spine and she turned her head to the right some. The body beside her was female. It was naked and it was breathing. That was a good sign, she supposed. At least by keeping her playthings alive she wouldn’t be drawing any unwanted lawful attention to herself.

Sitting up, she was unsurprised to find that she was without clothes as well. It only took her a moment to spot her many articles of clothing scattered about the studio apartment. Moving swiftly out from under the sheets, she dressed herself in silence. Her eyes moved to the sleeping female to make sure she hadn’t woken her. The woman hadn’t stirred an inch. A small smile played on her lips. She still hadn’t lost her touch, it seemed.

Once her belt was fastened securely around her waist, she stopped to check herself in the mirror by the front door. Her cheeks were a bit on the rosy side, but that only meant that she was hale and healthy. When her flesh paled, it meant she was hungry. After last night, however, she’d be good for at least a few nights. Delicate fingers wrapped around the door handle, twisting gently. With one last look to make sure her plaything was still asleep, she opened the door and headed out.

The sun was just beginning to kiss the horizon. A slight scowl filled her lips as the bright orb lifted to fill the sky. Retrieving a pair of sunglasses from the breast pocket of her vest, she placed them over her sensitive eyes. A quiet sigh escaped her lips as she adjusted to the dimmer world and she finally pushed off from the doorway, heading down stairs to the slowly awakening streets below.

Guest

The smell of freshly baked bread and greasy slabs of bacon permeated the street. Apparently everyone and their mother was making breakfast this morning. Off in the distance, bells rang, heralding the sheep off to their flock of Sunday mass. This early morning service was only for the truly devout, of course - because really, what sane person would wake up at this hour just to go worship a deity who had thus far proven completely inept. The end of the world had been upon them. When the time came, though, who had ended the war? Certainly not some almighty deity, that was for sure.

Despite her good night, Sabre was in a rather foul mood this morning. She'd woken up on the wrong side of the bed, for sure... or perhaps in the wrong bed altogether...

And the dreams were getting worse. At first, she'd rather enjoyed reliving some of her finest days. Now, though, she knew the worst was getting nearer. Her darkest days of the war were a mere two weeks off from that battle in the grassy knoll - which had been a victory for her kind, of course.

A slight frown found its way onto Sabre's lips as she stepped inside the cafe her feet and nose had landed her in front of. To be honest, she hadn't even realized what she was doing, until her hand had touched the cold metal of the door handle. Crimson eyes flitted around the perky dining room of the cafe, her instincts finally kicking back in as she scanned the area for any potential threats. When none could be found, she finally moved across the room, taking a seat at a table near one of the bay windows. Sighing wearily, she slumped into the wooden chair, staring listlessly out the window while she waited for the waitress.

"What'll it be, lovey?"

An older woman stood at the table beside Sabre, apron wrapped tightly around hips that had probably bore at least two children. She carried a notepad and pen, but stuffed them back into the apron pocket when Sabre simply motioned to the coffee cup at the table. She was back in a moment, a steaming carafe of coffee in her hand. Something in Sabre's eyes must have clued her in to the fact that the foul temptress did not want to be bothered, because she poured one cup and left the carafe on the table.

Once the waitress had wandered off again, Sabre pulled her coffee towards her, taking a sip. The liquid was scalding, but she didn't seem to mind. In truth, she was far away from the cafe already...

Crimson eyes pierced the darkness of the underground sewer system. Despite the pitch black, none of the three warriors carried lights of any kind. Their darkvision was but one of the many reasons they'd been picked for this mission. With two fingers, Sabre pointed towards a grate at the end of the tunnel they were in, motioning for her two companions to head out.

Her first comrade-in-arms was a weretiger. Even in human form, as he was now, he was a beast of a man. Stripes covered his body from head to toe, just as they would in his more primal state, and his eyes glowed amber in the dark. Securely strapped across his shoulder was a gun almost as beastly as he was. In a gunfight, it would easily be the loudest weapon in the group, but subtlety was only half the mission and he carried it like anyone else would a pistol. She'd been told his name during the briefing, but didn't care to remember it for the moment. Not that it mattered anyway. They'd be silenced for another few minutes while they moved, so long as the map was correct.

Sabre followed the weretiger towards the tunnel. He was the assigned point guard, while she took middle. This left the rear guard to her second comrade. She wasn't entirely sure what he was, but his ability to move through the shadows and bend them to his will could be rivaled by none. Needless to say, he would prove a good ally, and if the rumors were true, a ruthless enemy to the humans they were here to destroy.

As they rounded another corner, Sabre went over the plan again in her head. Get in, plant the bomb, get out. It was a simple plan, but this military installation was no walk in the park - namely because it was the main headquarters of the Odin team, and their leader, Kale MacAllen. She'd seen the reports, done the research... This man was a threat.

A light growl echoed back from the weretiger, signalling their arrival to the destination. Sabre moved forward, pulling a laser from her hip. It buzzed to life with the flick of a switch, humming its way quietly through the lock on the door separating them from the room they'd be planting the bomb in. The lock was gone in seconds, and Sabre replaced the laser to the holster at her back.

The weretiger moved back in front of her and led the way into the room. Sabre followed warily, the shadowy fiend right on her heels out of nowhere. The tiger didn't seem to catch the scent of anything out of the norm, but the hairs on the back of Sabre's neck were still standing on edge. Something just felt... off...

"WHAM!"

The door they'd just entered through slammed shut. Without even trying it, Sabre knew it was locked already - as were the other two exits. Beside her, the weretiger growled loudly, readying his enormous gun for what was to be one hell of a showdown. Sabre pulled a pistol from the holster on her right thigh. Althea appeared in her free hand, the egotistical blade ready to defend her wielder if need be. Without warning, lights as bright as the sun filled the room. Sabre grimaced against the mind-numbing pain to her crimson orbs. She heard the weretiger yowl its disapproval as well, but neither of their reactions were quite so bad as the shadow fiend's.

His screams filled the room, the blood-curdling noise bouncing off the walls and back at them from every direction. Sabre saw him scratching at his eyes, trying to claw out whatever pain the lights were causing him. Enemies were beginning to pour out from seemingly nowhere. With the lights like this, she pegged the shadow fiend for a goner. Even the weretiger, whose gun was roaring nearly as loud as the shadow fiend was shrieking, was beginning to take hit after hit. He wouldn't last long.

Sabre's survival instincts kicked in. She knew the humans had spotted her, but she didn't care. Without a second thought, she tapped into her inner fiend abilities and quickly teleported herself out of the room.

When she reappeared, she was clear of the danger. The sounds of slaughter could still be heard, but they were definitely distant. A bead of sweat trickled down the side of her face as she took in her new surroundings. If her calculations were correct, she was in one of the hallways near the back of the complex. Sheathing Althea and her gun, Sabre listened briefly for anyone else in the nearby halls before trotting in the direction she believed to be the exit.

She pushed herself forward, heart racing with what almost felt like fear. Rounding a corner, she nearly jumped out of her skin as she collided with a human soldier. He managed to catch her before she hit the ground, his grasp stronger than she'd anticipated. She’d just barely managed to catch a glimpse of his face as they’d crashed into each other. This was bad…

Her eyes were still glowing from the high emotions roiling through her, so she averted her gaze. She could feel him looking her up and down, inside and out. Heat flashed into her cheeks, a rosy hue covering the pale, freckled skin. Without looking up, she murmured something that could have passed as an apology and slowly began to slide past him.

Battle didn’t frighten her, but she was smarter than to outright challenge one such as Kale MacAllen on his own turf…

Guest

She could feel the eyes on the back of her neck, his gaze searing into her flesh. Sliding past Kale, she needn’t look at his face to know that his eyes were narrowing. Soon enough, her face would register in his mind and he’d know her. She just prayed she had a decent enough head start before he did.

The click of a gun safety as she neared the three foot mark was her sign. She could feel Althea and Virote amping up, begging her to pull them free of their scabbards, but this would be a gun duel if it came to violence. Sucking in a quiet breath, Sabre moved a few more inches away from her enemy. She could almost sense him raise his gun to point at her head. Really? No high and mighty warning? Perhaps he was more of a threat than she'd thought, after all. As his gun rose, she made her move.

Her right hand whipped the pistol at her hip from its holster, the safety clicking off half a beat before she pulled the trigger. As she let her bullet fly, she dodged to the left. His bullet whizzed past her face with half an inch to spare. Hers missed as well. She moved back as she continued to dodge the bullets he shot towards her. He pressed in for the attack despite her own shots. When neither of their guns seemed to have any more ammo for the moment, she knew it was time to make a run for it.

The slam that hit her square in the chest was expected, but stronger than she’d anticipated. A growl and an ‘unph’ escaped her lips as she flew backwards down the hallway. Not one to waste an opportunity, she picked herself off the ground haphazardly and hurled one of her throwing knives in his direction as he quickly closed began to close the gap between them. His gun was sure to be reloaded by now. She was sure she’d miss her target with the knife, but his dodge would deter his momentum slightly, and that half a moment was all she needed to at least compose herself enough to teleport out of this hallway.

Looking down at the coffee cup in her hand, Sabre noticed it was empty. With a sigh, she poured herself another cup, silently beckoning the waitress back over to her table. ”Sausage omelet, hashbrowns, bacon, and a side of fruit,” she said before the woman could ask if she was ready to order finally. She hadn’t realized it before, but she’d worked up quite an appetite last night. With a stiff nod, the waitress hustled off to get the cook’s going on Sabre’s order.

While she had a flashback-free moment, Sabre pondered over the previous night’s events, trying to pinpoint why exactly she was so hungry. She’d just fed on that girl, after all. Ah, but human females were never quite so filling. Ever since the war had ended and she’d landed the job with the Guard, Sabre had done her best to be good and refrained from killing her nighttime victims. Clearly, she needed to stop giving into the succubus’ more curious side and stick with playthings that could at least satisfy her hunger.

It was rare she could ever actually get her fill from one plaything. Only Others, like herself, proved to have any substantial mana to drain. And him…

The grazes from close calls with bullets in a hallway shootout had long since healed by the time she heard the name Kale MacAllen again. Crimson eyes shot open, quickly seeking out the source of the name. One of the commanding officers had spoken it, she noticed. Sabre was on her feet in an instant, moving towards the quiet conversation taking place with feline speed and grace.

”I want him,” she said, uncaring that she had not been invited to this conversation. Both men looked her up and down, a hint of disdain on their faces. Clearly, they did not like the fact that they’d been victim to eavesdropping. Something in Sabre’s eyes seemed to nullify their looks of derision, however, and the one who’d spoken the name motioned for her to sit.

”What makes you think you deserve this mission? Your last encounter with MacAllen was… well… less than successful.”

A low growl echoed out from Sabre’s throat as she relived that brief encounter a few months back. ”Well, perhaps if the one in charge of that mission hadn’t let the information of our attack slip out of his loud mouth, we wouldn’t have been snared in the damn humans’ trap – and we’d still have two damn good soldiers fighting for us.”

In truth, she didn’t miss the weretiger, or the shadow demon, nor did she really know their combat history. The fact that they’d been sent on the mission with her was reason enough to believe they’d been good at war. The shadow demon had been a friend of this man's, however, and the red that filled his face – evidence that he now knew she'd learned that he had been the one to let valuable information slip – was all that she required.

”Just give me a time and a place – I’ll yank that damned thorn from our paw.”

Guest

Sabre’s nostrils flared as the tantalizing scent of hot food crept towards her table. Looking up from her rumination, she spied the waitress heading towards her, food in hand. Sabre shuffled the carafe and her coffee cup forward so that she could place the plates directly in front of her when she reached the table. Her eyes scanned the meal briefly, but still managed to take in every detail of the food spread across the plates. Everything seemed in order. A curt nod sent the waitress back to bustling around the restaurant, taking care of other customers, and dealing with the cooks in back.

For a few sweet minutes, Sabre’s attention remained fixated completely on her task at hand – consuming this enormous meal. It didn’t take her long to clear her plate. Her stomach growled its quiet ‘thank you’ as she poured herself a second cup of coffee. Taking the coffee cup in both hands, she leaned back to let the meal she’d just devoured digest a bit before she took to the streets again. The caffeinated liquid was still quite hot, thanks to the carafe, but she again paid no mind to the heat.

A sigh escaped her lips as she took the first sip, and she nearly closed her eyes. Truly, this human food was almost as delicious as the stuff her inner demon fed on. A quiet smile playing on her lips, Sabre turned her attention back to the waking world outside her window. More people were filling the sidewalks, on their way to church, work, or wherever else people went this early on a Sunday morning.

A girl with a bright red poncho caught her eye first, then a young gentleman in a neon green cap. The man in all black, almost military-esque clothing, was the most standout to Sabre’s eyes. She spied a concealed weapon tucked neatly inside the outer edge of his boot, and the familiar gleam of a gun handle peeked out every time his stride caused his jacket to swish backwards. His hair was black too, but even from inside the café, she could see sprinkles of grey throughout his clean-cut goatee. A light frown trickled onto her face even as she drifted back into the depths of her mind for another round of memories.

Far past the reaches of any of the larger cities, a quiet rural town sat in silent turmoil. All of its residents were dead, or had long-since escaped with their lives barely intact. Bodies littered the tiny town's streets, some of them mostly hidden beneath the snow that drifted down from the heavens. Those that had fallen more recently turned the ground around them crimson, staining the serene image.

Inside one of the smaller houses on the north end of the town, Sabre crouched in the middle of what had previously served as a bedroom. A messy map of the town had been scratched out into the dirt floor with a broken broom handle that had appeared in her hand when she’d commanded someone find her a drawing utensil. She hadn’t noticed the blood staining the splintered bit until just now, but even so she paid no real mind to it. They’d run out of ammunition hours ago, along with communications and any hope of back-up finding them in this blizzard.

“If Scooter here is correct, the humans should be holed up in one of these three houses down on the south end of town,” Sabre started, drawing X’s over the houses she mentioned. “Now, their vision isn’t half of what ours is, so we should have the advantage over these pests, especially in this storm. I don’t know about you lot, but I’d much rather we be done with these bastards before the sun goes down. Anyone who hasn’t already been outfitted with a white sheet, get your ass in gear. We make our move in five.”

With a growl, Sabre pushed herself up with the broken broom shaft. At full height, she was taller than maybe two of the men she commanded, but her lack of size had not won her this position. Eyes glowing crimson, she retreated to the back corner of the room to make final adjustments to her make-shift camouflage and take a peek out the window. There was still no sign of a human attack, but she wasn’t sure that was such a good thing.

Once she was satisfied with the way her garb fit, she moved from the bedroom out into the main room of the house. Her eyes drifted over the ragtag remains of what had originally been a twenty-man team. She had a handful of ‘weres left – one of them a snow-leopard, who had definitely come in handy already in this snowstorm – as well as three demons, a dwarf more burly than any she’d seen in her life, and a young spitfire of a dragon who’d proven more of a hindrance due to his temper and lack of discipline. She’d taken to calling him Pup, which had only enraged him even more. A few quick licks from Althea had put him in his place early on. In addition to this motley crew, she’d been graced with a pair of elves, whose skill with a bow could nigh be matched. Currently, they were keeping watch from the roof, covered in white blankets and whatever snow had fallen on them whilst up there.

Giving the motion that she was ready to head out, Sabre moved towards the door. The snow-leopard met her there, already shifted into her animalistic form. She’d be the scout for the party. As she skirted out the front door, Sabre heard the faint thud of one elf hopping down to join them. The second would take the rear, making sure they weren’t followed.

Halfway across the town, Sabre heard a light growl coming from an alley to her left. A growl echoed back from her right. The growl that whispered from the wolf at her heels assured her that all of the ‘weres had the scent of humans on their nose. Sabre didn’t need to motion for her unit to make for cover in lieu of an ambush, but she did anyways. The first human that entered the town square stopped short, a feathery shaft sprouting from his throat. As the rest of the humans poured into the square on high alert, Sabre let out a growl of her own in delight.

The fight was bloody. They were out-numbered 2:1, but with no ammunition for their weapons, the humans were having to rely on purely melee skills and any magical powers they had. This gave the Others a slight advantage, since most of their training was of the melee variety to begin with.

By the time Sabre spotted her target, she’d long-since abandoned her “camouflage”. The red spatters wouldn’t hide her from anyone anymore – not that she cared to hide at this point. Loping across the small square, she let Virote slice into the back of a human on her way. The Other he’d previously been engaged with finished him off, even as she leapt up onto the lip of the fountain. Pushing off from the balls of her feet, Sabre launched herself in the direction of the man she’d deemed her mortal enemy. The two of them had met in battle already a handful of times, but a victor had never been decided. She was going to make sure one was made clear here and now.

A snarl filled her lips as he turned, lightning quick, to meet her aerial attack. Curse his excelled reflexes! As her feet hit snowy ground, Sabre sent a flurry of slashes and jabs in Kale’s direction, baring her teeth at the tall man. He met every attempt she threw at him with a single blade. She could sense Virote and Althea’s rage, not only at being blocked, but by being blocked by that sword in particular.

“Steal my blade, and then try to use her against me. How very human of you,” Sabre chided between metallic rings of sword meeting sword. In all honesty, she’d been glad to see the blade go. Granted, she’d been more concerned with keeping her life intact at the time of the covert attack on her bunk. She hadn’t exactly been happy with whose hands it had ended in afterwards, but Althea and Virote had been downright ecstatic at the sword’s disappearance. Their delight was biting them in the ass now, it seemed.

All around them, the miniature battle raged on, but neither warrior seemed to notice anything except for the person at the other end of their swords. Sabre heard the roar of a dying 'were, the death shriek of a demon, and countless moans from mortally wounded humans. She and Kale seemed to almost get into a rhythm, much like the one she and her mentor slipped into at the beginning of every sword practice to warm up. This jarred her a bit, so she decided to change up her game some.

When she feinted left with Althea, he followed like an obedient dog. At last, she’d found a way to take him down. A feral grin filled her lips as she jabbed a few more times before feinting left again. Virote stabbed in as she did, slipping past Suchara’s guard. She realized in absent horror that the reason Kale had allowed her past was because he’d found his own way past even Althea’s keen defense. Suchara’s tip slid up between Sabre’s arms, aimed directly at her throat.

Before either blow landed a moral wound, a pair of horns trumpeted through the crisp air. The cavalry had arrived… both of them. Standing still as stone, Sabre and Kale stared each other down, each of them waiting for a sign from the other so that they could make the killing blow. She could feel Suchara biting into her neck flesh, but she ignored the pain and the stickiness of the blood dripping down towards her shoulder.

“STOP! CEASE AND DESIST! STOOOOP!”

From either side of the town square, mounted warriors swept in. On one side, humans clad in winter camo cantered in atop shaggy garrons. From the other, a slew of Others stopped, some mounted on direwolves or horses, and some ‘weres on foot.

“A PEACE TREATY IS IN THE WORKS. BOTH HUMANS AND OTHERS ARE BEING ORDERED TO LAY YOUR WEAPONS DOWN. THE WAR IS OVER. I REPEAT: THE WAR IS OVER.”

All around them, Others and humans alike stopped what they were doing. The dragon seemed unhappy by this decision and promptly showed his displeasure by ripping into one of the humans he’d been facing off with. A pair of arrows sprouted from his back, and as he sunk to the ground atop the victim of his rage, both elves finally lowered their bows. Let it not be said that Others didn't take care of their own.

Sabre could feel the eyes of the entire square upon herself and Kale. They were the only two still showing any sort of violent threat to one another, it seemed. Her crimson orbs searched his hazel ones, silently looking for a mutual agreement to drop their weapons. His nod was stiff and subtle, so as not to hurt himself any more than he already was with Virote’s sharp edge digging into his neck. They both slowly and carefully pulled their blades away and instinctively took a few steps back, eyes still locked with a burning hostility tempered only by the necessity of survival.

Once out of Suchara’s reach, Sabre finally turned her back on Kale and headed towards one of the direwolves. The fuck if she was going to walk out of this damned frozen hellhole. One of the lower-ranking demons gladly offered up the reins to his beast, and she clambered up gracefully. Her eyes found Kale as he mounted one of the spare garrons. A smirk found its way back onto her lips and she nodded to him one last time before turning her mount and heading out of the square.

A smirk remained on Sabre’s lips as she slipped back to the present. Her fingers traced the outline of the scar left by Suchara that day so many years ago. The part of her that didn't quite let grudges go had bade her refuse the sort of medical attention that would heal the wound before it left a permanent mark. It was her one battle scar, and she bore it proudly... especially when Kale was around.

Lifting the coffee to her lips to hide the amused facial expression, she quickly gulped down the remnants of the liquid. She went to pour another cup, but somehow remembered that she’d poured the last of the carafe whilst in her latest reverie. With half a shrug, she shoved the cup away from her and pulled out her wallet. The waitress hadn’t brought the bill yet.

Not the frugal type, she dropped a fifty dollar bill on the table as she stretched her stiff muscles. How long had she been sitting here? Judging by the sunlight trickling in, only an hour or so had passed. Once she’d limbered up, she headed towards the door. She spied the waitress hurrying towards her, check in hand, and motioned towards the table. As she passed the windows outside, she caught the reaction on the woman’s face, and a grin spilled out onto her lips once again. Whoever said demons didn’t have some decent character traits clearly hadn’t met her...