The Demon

Chapter 2-Orobas

"Why are you crying?" I asked again. I was not used to seeing someone cry, or anything cry for that matter. What was this creature? It was easy to see she was a female, that was for sure, but what she was, that was another question. I blinked at her slowly, drinking her in. I watched her tremble and clutch the small twig in her hand. "Is that supposed to ward me off?" I could not help but laugh.

"Stay back!" she cried out, waving the pathetic little twig in my direction. "I-I-I'm not afraid of you!" she stammered out. The twig swinging about. I chuckle again.

"Look, little Fae, I have no intentions of causing you harm...unless you want me to," I smirked a bit, it had been so long since I had been in the presence of a female. I breathed her in deeply. She smelled of fires and lilacs and sadness. So much sadness.

"How...how do you know my name?" she suddenly demanded, her twig swinging slowed to a stop.

"What? Your name? I have no idea what your name is." I frowned. "You seem like a Fae Folk is all, although slightly larger by comparison." She blinked at me.

"Fae Folk?" she stared, the twig now dropping to her side.

"Yes...have you not seen them? Do they not exist where you are from, little Fae?" I was teasing now, my voice laced with jest.

"I don't believe in Fae Folk...what...what are you?" She asked, her head c*****g to the side as she spoke. She seemed to be relaxing a bit in my presence, but not enough to be caught off guard if I were to move too suddenly for her liking.

"You don't believe in Fae Folk?" I was shocked and rather appalled. "Fae Folk are the entire reason our forest is safe and protected from outsiders. Fae Folk, Satyrs, Demons, we all exist safely because of the Fae." I tried to explain.

She raised an eyebrow, "Keep you safe? Safe from what exactly?"

"You," I said simply. "From those who wave twigs at us and wish us harm."

"Me? Harm you? Please! I don't even know where I am!" She looked appalled at the idea of her being able to harm him. She dropped the twig and crossed her arms.

"Well..." I moved closer to her, breathing the scent of her in. It was like I wanted to remember her if she were to leave. I wanted to burn her into my thoughts. My movements were slow and purposeful. I did not want her to leave, I did not want her to be afraid of me. She should be afraid of me though. I should terrify her. She should not trust me. She should run. I continued to move closer to her and smiled a bit as I watched her body tense up as I grew ever closer to her. "You are in the forest, alone, with a demon." I smiled wider as her eyes became fearful.

"You're real?" she stepped backward, trying to get out of the clearing.

"I am...but I will not harm you unless you want me to." I spoke softly, stopping my movements, wanting to ease her mind. Please don't go, I thought. Where in the sunfire did that come from? Please don't go. I never cared if anything came or went. It was none of my concern. I didn't need the company of others. I was not made for the company of others. I lived in the shadows, hiding, and hunting.

"You were supposed to be a myth, something the elders made up to keep us in the village, not a real being..." She looked in shock and guilty. "I never believed them."

"You should have." I moved fast then, quicker than her eyes could follow, and pulled her as close to my body as I could, almost making us one being. I gazed into her pale green eyes, a smile dancing across my lips. "You should always believe in things when you have no proof that they, in fact, don't exist." I leaned in close, my face close to her neck and I breathed in deeply. "Why so sad, Little Fae?"

She pushed hard against my chest, pushing me away, "Don't touch me!" She looked angry, no longer fearful. She looked delicious angry, her sea-green eyes fiery and fierce. "Don't ever touch me, you-you-you creature!" She tried to stumble back a little further, her hands up as though that could protect her. I watched her closely and then chuckled as she stumbled backward and tripped on her twig, causing her to fall onto her ass.

"Can I touch you now?" I asked, a smirk on my lips as I held my hand down to her. She pushed my hand away.

"No! I can take care of myself!" She scrambled to her feet and began to dust the leaves and dirt from her skirts. She looked deliciously angry and annoyed.

"Oh, can you?" I asked, humor in my voice. "Let's see. You didn't believe my kind existed, you were caught off guard because you were so wrapped up in crying, you thought using a twig was a good weapon, you let me get incredibly close to you, and you also fell on your ass, making yourself incredibly vulnerable to me...you are doing a bang up job of taking care of yourself." I intended to sound as though I was teasing, but my voice came out huskier than planned. She was beautiful even in her anger, if not more so when she was angry.

"Yes, I can!" she sounded defiant. I will have to fix that later. I smiled a bit as I moved my hand over my bare stomach, my nails gently scratching an itch. "I am just fine on my own, you caught me off guard is all! I'm lost, and I just left home and I don't know where I am." She explained. "But I'll be fine!" I watched as she reached down to grab her bag, intending to flee.

"Orobas. I'm Orobas." I said, introducing myself. It was dangerous to let someone know a demon's name. It gave someone power over us, but I figured she didn't believe I existed until just a few moments ago, so how would she know the power she now held over me? My eyes followed her panicked movements to put the items back into her small bag and, as she paused her movements, to look up at me.

"Orobas?" she repeated, her eyes locking with mine. "Demons have names?" she sounded surprised. She straightened up her body, her eyes never leaving mine. Her long, slender fingers gripped her bag to her chest as though it was armor.

"Don't all living things have names?" I retorted.

"No...wild birds don't have names, wild frogs don't have names." She frowned.

"They don't? That's funny. You must not spend a lot of time talking to frogs." I laughed and eased myself down on the ground. I looked up at the sky. The night was coming and it was coming fast. I moved my hand over the small pile of twigs she had gathered, blue and green flames flickering to life. My dark eyes glittered from the dancing flames. "Really, they don't stop talking about themselves, vain creatures." I smiled, "Please, sit with me." I moved my hand, indicating a place for her to sit.

She eased herself down onto the ground next to where I had indicated. She was a safe distance from me, or what she thought would be a safe distance. "Phaemoria." she replied to my statement, "My name is Phaemoria."