Laodicea [Active/Semi-Open]

[demonborntwice]

Characters: Naoki Kashima, Raven, any members of ABC Auto (but please leave it at one or two at the most)
Content: Looking for a home, Naoki has a chance meeting with a kindred spirit.
Location: Nearby ABC Auto
Time: Some day before December 31st, morning.
Warnings: None currently come to mind.

Comments

[nevarmoar]

Raven was meditating. Or, more accurately, she had been, until she sensed something she didn't expect... the presence of a demon. Instantly aware, she was already making her way down the stairs and outside.

There he was.

She watched him carefully, not making any threatening moves at him, waiting to see what he would do. She would not underestimate him, nor would she elicit any unnecessary fights. No, for now, she would only watch him and be ready if he threatened anyone in any way.

[demonborntwice]

A demon...

Naoki stopped in his tracks as it hit him. He could sense one. Strong, but it was a beast on a leash.

He kept walking, pausing when he saw a flash of purple.

There she was.

He began walking again as she stood ready, obviously waiting to see if he was a threat.

Perhaps he would be.

Perhaps not.

She was closer now, still staring steadily. His footsteps crushed the snow as he approached, halting when he was only a few feet away from her.

Both stared, measuring each other. It was silent.

Naoki's mouth opened.

"What do you seek?"

[nevarmoar]

So he could sense her, too.

She watched him, taking note of every move he made, and every possible attack he could make. That is, if he didn't use magic, too. She watched as he walked up to her, as he stopped to speak.

What did she...?

"I could ask you the same thing," she replied.

[demonborntwice]

Neither raised an arm, but Naoki had no illusions, no pretenses about what this was.

A standoff.

He privately thanked Riza again. There were a lot of things he had left to learn, but now he could talk...or fight...better than previously. Somewhat.

The question came back to him, and unlike her, he caught it and held it firm.

What do you seek, Demi-Fiend?

Father asked. Yuko never stopped asking. Hikawa wanted to know. Isamu and Chiaki too. Even Aradia.

It was a long time since he'd ever had to pause to answer.

He didn't pause now.

"Many things. A home. Truth...your name?"

The last came with a small smile.

[nevarmoar]

For a few moments, she thought about his answer. It didn't sound like anything outright dangerous, like the demons she knew would want, but in the pursuit of such things, it could easily become so. Still... she supposed it wouldn't be too terrible to share her name.

"A home can be hard to come by here," she commented. "I'm Raven."

[demonborntwice]

"Kashima Naoki," was his reply. "Finding a home is difficult, yes...but I have more interest in your answer."

He regarded her frankly, his face falling back to its neutral state.

Cold or hot...or outcast?

[nevarmoar]

"I'm looking for my friends. And an answer." He didn't need to know the details. Why should he? He probably couldn't help her find out about Terra's memories, so what good what it do?

Her books would have had something. She was certain of it.

"What do you plan to do with that information, now that you have it?" she asked.

[demonborntwice]

He had to laugh. She was...very much like him, in many ways. "Respect you, of course."

A step...then a pause for thinking. Finally, he turned back to her. "I am not best in English. Do you speak Japanese?"

[nevarmoar]

She was startled momentarily, certainly not expecting that reaction.

Raven considered his question for a few seconds, and shook her head. "I don't. That's one of the languages I never got to learn."

[demonborntwice]

Slowly, carefully, he sat down on a large chunk of nearby rubble and nodded. "Surprised? Demons are not all evil. You might know this already."

He looked up a bit, then looked at her. "Raven...you are a demon. It is like Yatagarasu. A crow with three legs. It is...devotion. Loyalty. Protection. With one leg," he said, pausing to demonstrate with his fingers, "it is jealousy, possession, and destroying."

Do you fear deception or disaster?

For now, he believed that she would understand.

[nevarmoar]

She flinched. Yes, she had known he was a demon, so it made sense that he would know about her, as well. But still, she didn't like being called on it outright like that. All it did was remind her...

She shook off the thought and concentrated on what he was saying.

"Yatagarasu...? A crow with three legs..." She repeated his words to herself. She nodded as he spoke, pausing when he mentioned destroying. It brought back memories she didn't want, reminded her of her father and the birthday she just wanted to forget.

Raven took a deep breath, and looked at Naoki, gaze steady again. "Are you saying we're the same?"

[demonborntwice]

He looked up at her. "...Maybe. Are you human too?"

It felt good to acknowledge that. Since that time, Naoki had been all demon...and yet all human as well. He would never forget it.

[nevarmoar]

Raven wondered what kind of world Naoki had come from. If they had demons, maybe they had magic, too. Maybe he could help.

She decided she'd have to wait to be sure.

"I am."

[demonborntwice]

"Then we are alike."

This was something of a lie. He was almost certain that she differed in one important detail. She was born a half-demon.

He was made.

Her mistrustful attitude, however, gave him pause. She was afraid of demons...of what he was. Of what she was.

Did that fear lead to paranoia, or sympathy?

Either way, she was interesting.

"Shall we talk more?" he asked, noting the empty space on the rubble next to him.

[nevarmoar]

"If you want," she answered. She made no move to sit, however, preferring to stand for now. That way, if she needed to act, she could do it quicker.

But Raven had to wonder what, exactly, he had in mind. It wasn't as if being half-demon was something to brag about.

[demonborntwice]

He regarded her for a few minutes silently, but finally spoke again.

"I think you don't understand. 'Demon' is not evil always. Rakshasa are 'demons'. Indrajit is a 'demon'. Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos are 'demons'. Thor is a 'demon'. Vishnu is a 'demon'. Seraph Michael is a 'demon'. It is not praiseworthy, but not a shame either."

An exhalation before he continued.

"I praise your human self. 'Demon' is single-minded. 'Human' can change. Can rebel. Can transcend fate. You understand?"