The Demon Club

As Yakone came back with the veritable feast of different kinds of fruits, the little hybrid would take a handful of what looked like little berries and pop one in her mouth. It had a sour taste that had her grimace but then was sweet near the end? It was deeply confusing but she loved how much it reminded her of the little devi-candies that her mother made and so she continued to pop the little berries in her mouth. “These ain’t bad!” Occasionally, she’d try something else but for the most part - she just stuck with the berries and even tried to re-materialize them from the memory of their taste.

That didn’t go so well, though, so she just laid back on the ground and threw her hands behind her head, “Phew - that was good,” She grinned, getting comfortable enough that she could almost take a nap right then and there. Feeling a little tired, Zerori tried to keep herself awake with more conversation, shaking her head a bit. “Hey,” She called to Yakone, cracking open an eye to look at him. “You said your mom gave her soul to raise you in Otherworld, right? Like… What was that like? And does your family make a habit of ‘cavorting with Demons’?” She added that last part while doing air quotations with her fingers.

She’d never known a mortal to strike deals with Demons so often; honestly, she thought that her clan were the most prevalent kind to even bother with Demon Deals. She guessed the world - Other World, at least - was a lot bigger than she gave it credit for.

As Zerori listened to Yakone’s story, paying particular attention to the detail that his mother hadn’t seen any children in the line back in Other World, Zerori could feel herself gradually growing sleepier and sleepier as time went on. Occasionally, she’d pinch herself to try and remain awake before finally responding, “Oh shit, you were-” Another yawn ripped from the little hybrid before she could stop it, finishing a moment later, “-in tournaments? Wild - I’ve only ever heard of rumors about them. It’s hard to get into them until you’re… the right… age…” Slowly, her eyes started to droop, the words coming out sluggish and quieter before finally - her eyes were closed in sleep, head turned to the side as softly snoring. She certainly didn’t want to potentially ignore the rest of what he might have said after, but the pull of exhaustion paired with the lack of taking care of herself was a devastating combination.

Fortunately, the two weren’t alone. Like always and as promised, Zerori was never left out of the mind of the one person that always watched over them. From within the treetops above them, a soft voice would whisper to Yakone after he finished his last sentence.

“While I commend and applaud your sense of priority, I’m afraid you’ll be quite out of luck in bringing back your Father,” From high above, a woman with furry satyr legs would float gently down to the ground. While her words were as confident and alluring as usual, Zriracha’s face would lack it’s luster of feminine prowess. Her expression was tired, even as she smiled, and her skin looked less than the vibrant red it usually did. Something had happened to Zriracha over the course of time, though the what and why of it would continue to be a mystery.

Landing beside her daughter, Zriracha would cast a soft look down at the sleeping girl before returning her attention to Yakone. She whispered, not wanting to wake her child, “The rules that govern Demons and the deals they make are quite different - even if the magical principles remain much the same. Alas… My statement stands that a Demon cannot bring back what was taken once the contract has come to an accord. It would require magic that far outstrips that of our kind,” She carefully sat down besides Zerori, a hand moving over the young girl’s hair as she stroked it calmingly. “I, however, would never tell you or anyone else what to do. Try as much as you like,” She grinned up at him, her small tail flicking wildly in amusement.

With a nod to Yakone’s decision to find his own path, Zriracha would take the brief moments of silence to look down at her daughter with a look of tenderness that veiled something much deeper. However, Yakone’s slumber didn’t last long as he brought up that he wasn’t sure what he would ask of them as Demons. More to the point, he seemed more curious as to why they were here and why they looked the way they did. While it sounded a bit invasive, Zriracha was ever the gracious host and didn’t mind answering the questions presented.

“To answer your first question? We have always been here, amongst the mortals. Who ‘we’ are, however, are not technically the majority of Demons. We are known as the Chakkapak and have roots that go back, well… billions of years,” She took in a calming breath, wheezing just a bit but holding back any impulse to cough and potentially awaken her daughter. “Most common among our rituals… have taken place on Earth. Between witches and worshippers of the great Beelzebub, maybe mortals have had the Chakkapak in some form as their guide to contacting Otherworld. However, such days of glory have long since come and gone…” Her smile faded slightly, a far away look in her eye before she shook her head slightly to come back to her senses.

“My apologies, were you asking about our kind as Demons or the personal reasons? I will admit to you that I am… not well, at the moment.” And she wouldn’t say more on that, either.

His next question was a little easier to answer, even if it was a bit personal, “It is just us two… for now. We have been searching for him, in fact, but our journey has reached what I would call a ‘standstill’ at the moment. Still, my little spark hasn’t given up just yet - even if the clues seemed to have long since faded from time.” She wished she could help her daughter more but there was little she could do- especially given she was now working on borrowed time.

Zriracha looked back to Yakone, giving him a look of appraisal before a wide smile came to her face, “You are kind and quite thoughtful to offer such a thing...however, I’m afraid my daughter will need to depend on her own power. Perhaps sooner than later. Your father promised much the same and… I did as well.”

She bit her lip, looking down at Zerori with a sorrowful gleam in her eye.

“Disappointingly… we have both failed her.”

In spite of her cautionary words, Zriracha looked over Yakone with an expression of gentle scrutiny, eyeing up his claims to see if he was genuine. While she’d been of a mind to trust her own judgements, her recent mistakes had been that of an awakening… which made her second guess her decisions. Still, as she gave a soft sigh and looked back to Zerori, her answer would come as the only option she could provide

“It is not my decision to make for Zerori any longer. If she desires your company, Yakone, then I’m sure she will be amicable to your offer. Otherwise, if she denies you-” Her eyes narrowed, protective still in spite of her own mistakes. “You will respect that. Am I understood?” She would wait for his answer for a moment before she relented to answer him.

“My last communication with him was years ago, before I could no longer sense him on Plant. My daughter has done her own investigations that have yielded some results, but enough to find a lead-?” She shook her head, bringing a hand up to scratch at the base of her horns, “It is as if he’s escaped and gone into hiding. To where, however, is still a mystery. It is unlikely he is here anymore.” She’d contemplated encouraging her daughter to choose a new planet to explore, but she needed Zerori to come to that conclusion on her own. As it stood she seemed quite… busy upon this planet.

As she looked over at Yakone to observe his bow of reverence, Zriracha would take pleasure in the brief moment of power at the sight before shaking her head, “While I appreciate such offers, I implore that if you desire to protect then just do so. At this point, I was remiss in believing she needed a guardian. Indeed, I believe she is better served by just having a friend. Just remember my words, Yakone…” She finished, before beginning to stand from the ground and gather the young girl in her arms.

Surprisingly, Zerori only stirred a moment in her arms before seemingly getting comfortable in her arms and earning a soft smile from the Satyr. With one last look toward the ghost, Zriracha announced quietly, smiling softly at the boy, “Come seek her out in the future. For now, it is time I make up for lost time. It is here that I will bid you farewell, Yakone.”

If there was nothing else, Zriracha would attempt to float away and back to their abode. To hopefully make things right soon enough...