God of Nothing [Private]

"A wanderer isn't always lost."

Talonia was oftentimes the place that Deniel found himself going to after the end of a long journey. Officially he didn't live there, nor did he have any interest in doing so, but it was the place that he found to be most welcoming out of all that he could visit. He could have gone anywhere in the world, and he oftentimes did, but Talonia was somewhere he would spend weeks on end and not just a day or so. This was mostly because in Talonia, his face was known, and accepted. All that knew him knew of his status as Ishval's most powerful Mage, but they all accepted him not as a God, but as a friend. And that was something that separated Talonia from the rest of them. Not to mention he was given a free room at a certain inn, that was always nice. And on the particular night of this, he spent long hours drinking with groups of friends, doing what men mostly do when they're at a table drinking together. Talking and laughing the night away. They all shared stories of dangers they encountered, places they had seen, women they had met, and Deniel was no stranger to it all. Oftentimes he had the most fascinating stories to tell, though there were occasions in which his adventures or affairs were beaten.

He sat in a corner, a circled table, with a group of other men, and they were all smiling and drinking with boastful laughter and shouting tales at each other. Deniel was the youngest among them--in fact he technically wasn't at the legal age to drink--but he was accepted either way. A smirk showing off his white teeth was spread across his face as he and the other boys listened to a tale of another man, whom told of his encounter with a rich woman having an affair with him on her own lover. It would be quite despicable to some, and in fact it was, but the thrill of it all came when he told of his great getaways before the lover came home, the close calls, and everything else. In the end, all of them would laugh triumphantly, some would order more drinks, and others would chug down theirs.

Deniel himself was feeling particularly joyous, though something had crossed his mind, and his Magical Energy, all of a sudden. The smile spread across his face suddenly vanished as he reached inside his coat pocket using the hand that was free--as the other one was right around his mug--and he pulled out an object. A lily, to be exact...and still in good condition in spite of where it was. "Ey, Deniel! Wuz that, a token from some wench!?" All of them laughed once more, and the young Nephalem couldn't help but regain his smile and take another sip at his drink. "You could say that," he commented, staring down at the object once more. He remembered its previous owner telling him the effect... and up until now, he hadn't know what it would be like. Though all of a sudden, he thought he did. "Ey, tell us 'bout her! What happened?" Deniel abruptly stood up from his seat, with his eyes to the door. "I will later, boys. For now, I'm off."

Without much hesitation, he exited the building, leaving his companions a little confused until they went back to their typical interactions. Deniel wandered the streets in the dark, following the string that attached him to the woman that this previously belonged to. The invisible one, at that. He wasn't entirely sure if he was doing it right, but something inside of him made him sure of one thing: She's here. And not far. He didn't walk for too long until he came across an abandoned building, which was somewhat abundant in a place like Talonia. Makes sense... where else would she want to hide from people? He knew the woman he was looking for loved to be invisible, hide from crowds. Whatever the woman was doing in Talonia, he suspected it wasn't good. Though why was he looking for her in the first place...? He contemplated that upon entering the building, but regardless, he still went.

His red eyes glowed in the darkness, providing a light source for him to look around and see. The red glow covered his entire line of sight, and to some it would look like he was some kind of spectre or demon... which wasn't entirely off. He held the flower in his right hand carefully, holding it up near his chest as if it were supposed to guide him that way. "Come out, come out wherever you are..." he insisted quietly, knowing that perhaps she was somewhere hiding in the shadows. She was here, he knew it. But what would he even say to her?

Notes

"A wanderer isn't always lost."

The glow in his eyes wasn't really the best source of light for him, and especially not for others, but he grew accustomed to it. Just imagine the red tint erased from everything, and then it was all in order. The place was quite typical for an abandoned one, with many things collecting dust and cobwebs, left untouched by any soul that wandered in there. Hm. So she doesn't live here... she's just spending the night. If she did live in this location, then, well... things would be moved. There wouldn't be dust anywhere. Or perhaps there'd be some kind of activity. Just after she came down from the stairs on to the ground level, his eyes went right over to the staircase, noting that he had an entire different floor to explore. Though before he did that, he would just venture around this floor one last time. Moments after doing so and noticing the staircase, he felt a very familiar presence in a very close proximity to him, and the feeling that the flower presented him with skyrocketed suddenly.

And then he felt a hand on his chest, and the back of his hand, and none other than a pair of lips connected with his. No doubt it was his demoness-carrying human from before. The feeling of her lips was all too familiar to him, and in spite of the circumstances they departed with last time, perhaps she didn't mean anything to harm him this time. He returned her kiss with his own, but didn't make this one nearly last as long as one of their previous ones, as he quickly forced her away out of his embrace. The lowered the intensity of the red glow which was now focused on her, so that way she wasn't entirely blinded to him and everything else, but also so he could make out her features. Delicate figure, snow white hair, eyes unlike any others, and of course the curves. It was certainly her alright. And the first thing he did was hold up his right hand, and flick the flower that he carried with him out of his grip and right towards her. "You forgot something from last time," he commented, and turned his gaze away. The two were standing next to a table, but one of the chairs was flipped down, like someone was in a hurry to leave.

"Chose a lovely place..." he said afterwards, reaching down to get the chair off the floor and back to its standing position before scooting it back into the table. "Abandoned and away from everyone else. Invisible, just how you like it, eh...?"

Notes

"A wanderer isn't always lost."

"That was the joke..." he commented about the flower. Her forgetting it was a joke, he knew she didn't actually forget it and that she left it to his care. Though to her credit, she did look much better with the flower than he did keeping it shoved inside of one of his pockets. He was actually a little astonished that it had lasted so longer with how rugged and rough things could get with someone like him. As for the chair, he didn't actually tell her it, but it just bothered him, and that was all there is to it. He could have very easily left it there, but the chair being toppled over like that bothered him to no ends. Suddenly he found his hand taken by her grasp and forcefully dragged along--although he did actually walk behind her--upstairs. To her room? She actually lived here? He figured that she was just spending the night or something and would take any only place to get through the night... but if that was the case why not just get a room? Well, he couldn't wait to see what was in store for him with a room belonging to a girl like her's.

When she opened the heavy door, and what he had seen was certainly not what he expected. He expected something that might be a little more towards what he had; emptiness in his rooms, usually. Nothing really to add on to the decorations themselves, just himself and his clothes was what he had most days. And for her, he was expecting some things, but would probably be of a much poorer quality than if someone else had owned them. Or perhaps just objects associated with something demonic... there were all kinds of thoughts that went into his head before she opened that door, but among them was not what he laid witness to at that moment. For one her room was larger than he anticipated, else it wouldn't be able to fit all of those objects she had.

The furniture, the bed, the bookshelf... all of it was something that he hadn't been expecting. Perhaps just one at a time, but not all at once... and especially in the lush condition that he saw it in. "Well... I uhh..." she questioned him as to whether or not he liked it, or if it was what he had been expecting. In the end, he swallowed his pride and nodded: "It's a nice place. Certainly didn't expect it, but... a pleasant surprise." He slipped his coat right off of his shoulders and handed it to her, a little relieved to feel himself a little more free. And at the entrance, he had also left his combat boots behind when he had stepped out of them. His shirt and cropped trousers... that's how he usually was in his own rooms, though perhaps with the shirt off. A little hesitant at first, he joined her on the bed, with almost all of the memories of their last encounter completely gone.

He looked up at the beautiful, starry sky, but didn't lay down next to her, though he was quite tempted. Instead of answering her right away about whether or not he liked it... he decided that one thing was in order. No more secrets about his identity. "Deniel," he said at first, and she might have been confused considering his name was pronounced exactly like the word 'denial'. "My actual name is Deniel Decayuss "Nephalem" Thormun, the First God of Ishval. And yes... I love it."

Notes

"A wanderer isn't always lost."

Torture devices and human bodies down below? He sincerely hoped she was joking, for that didn't really sound too promising for a girl like her. If anything, it made her sound like a criminal, the kind that he would have to apprehend given his position. Of course he gave petty crime and small criminals no thought or attention whatsoever, and left that up to the Rune Knights to apprehend. He was only interested in big-shots and saving the day, that sort of stuff. And that's usually the opportunities the council presented him with, thankfully. He chose to let her remark go as merely a joke, though there was a part of him that had been curious to figure out whether or not it was true. All of that suspicion was erased away when he felt the tenderness of her hand connect with his. While she preferred to play and mess around with his hand for her own entertainment, he merely just grasped on to hers in a firm, but also gentle grip. All the while he stared up at the starry sky... it was something that he had always loved to do, but long forgot it in his days of toil and countless travel.

She seemed genuinely satisfied that only did he reveal what his real name was, but also in the name itself. Deniel. He always thought it was a strange name as well, although he knew that it was just a name his brother Vergil gave him, and not the name his parents did. After all, his parents gave him none. The promise she made to him about not regretting it was something that had been a little bit of an empty promise... but was something he decided to hold on to just like her hand anyways. He was also a little pleasantly surprised that she paid his title almost no heed or attention. Did she not know what it meant? Or did she not care? Either way, he was on the verge of opening up to her a lot more, for if he found a woman that didn't much care for his title, but rather the person that he actually was, then perhaps he could--and all of that just vanished in an instant.

He felt her tender hand let go of his grasp, and then she retreated on the bed away from him. It was quite the opposite of what most women did, actually. Most of them would jump right on him and beg for so many different things all at once. Though her... impossible? He hardly even knew the definition of the world, figuratively speaking. He turned himself on the bed to face her, with his legs criss-crossed over each other. "Well if they're legends... then I guess I'm a living legend. Hahahah." Legend. That was something he hadn't heard before in regards to his position. He scratched behind his head, and felt a little bit uncomfortable unveiling the news to her: "Actually, I'm the only inhuman one. I've met all of them. Zack Rose, Heero Reyold, Shuhei Kisaragi--though I hear two of them might not be in their positions for long. Either way, they're all human. I'm the only one that isn't." He slid himself off of the bed and turned himself away from her while he answered her last part, shrugging in the process.

"Very good? Eh... kind of? I don't do evil stuff, but... I'm not some white knight in shining armor. And yeah, I'm strong... strong enough so that nothing has really defeated me yet."

Notes

"A wanderer isn't always lost."

"That's right..." He was the only one of the four of them that wasn't human. He hadn't even thought about that before... the fact that he was considered the strongest and the only one that wasn't human never crossed his mind. Perhaps that had something to do with it? Perhaps not. She seemed bothered that he wasn't looking in her direction, but that didn't all of a sudden just get him to turn around. He hadn't done it for any particular reason, she was just over analyzing it. Also one thing she was quite jumpy on was the fact that she inquired what it had been like for him to be different, and that was also something he hadn't contemplated ever. Around those guys, actually, he didn't feel all that different at all. "I feel the same around them, actually." And that was the truth of it. In fact, he felt no different around many people, particularly mages. He felt a little bit relaxed about this whole conversation, at least until it turned a bit south with her accusations.

The White Angel a white knight in shining armor? He never heard anything more ludicrous. The only thing that connected the two was white armor, but everything else was quite the contrary. The White Angel held no chivalry or much of a sense of honor; all it desired to do was wipe out and erase anything it considered evil. Whether or not it actually was. He was a little bit shocked about how much she accused him of things, though they weren't entirely wrong. He was just wondering where all of this came from all of a sudden, "Well, I--" he started to explain himself, but she had even more to say. And once she was finished, he didn't hesitate to speak up and defend himself. "Well first off, you've got no idea what kind of a person comes out with that suit of armor, so don't you dare compare it to a white knight! And second... I don't decide whether or not I'm worthy. The Council does. If they think I am, then I am. If I'm not, then I'm not. That's all it is."

He took a step backwards away from her, and had almost laughed at what she said in the very end. "Use for me...? You think I care about if I'm useful to you? Please... I have my own wants and needs, I don't need to be one of yours. If my country, Fiore, needs me, then I'll defend it. If something needs to be killed, I'll kill it. If the Magic Council wants me to bring justice, then I shall. If I find it just. In the end, I roam free, I wander free, I am free." He had been staring up at the starry sky with his words, and then suddenly went right back down to staring at her with his index finger pointed up, "But hey, sex all day does sound appealing."

Notes

"A wanderer isn't always lost."

One thing he hadn't told Yuno is that he never really met all of the other Gods of Ishval. Well, he did. He had seen them. Met with Zack Rose and Heero, though not Shuhei. He never really stayed with them long enough--or even asked them--as a matter of a fact what they thought of him being inhuman. A Nephalem. Though if they never bothered treating him differently or bringing it up, then perhaps it didn't bother them at all. One thing was for sure, though: he shouldn't let it bother him. The other three Gods had their own duties, just as he had his. If they ever intertwined, it was for good purpose. "I didn't need to kill anything," he replied to her, uncrossing his arms and scratching behind his head. "It just comes naturally." That's all there was to it, really. He never really questioned why, all he knew was that the White Angel had that armor on him; of course underneath the armor he looked different as well, but he could never use the Take Over without the armor. Not that it bothered him much, anyway, he really enjoyed how it looked and how much larger it made him appear to be. His figure wasn't exactly the biggest--except for a few things--but that armor certainly upped his figure's size.

For a second when he watched her removing some of her clothes he raised one eyebrow and had gotten invested, but just found out she was just changing into sleepwear. Getting worked up for nothing... oh well. "I'm pretty sure you invited me here," he said to her, taking a seat on the bed beside her. "Gave me the flower to track you down, and now you invite me up into your room. I'm here because I thought it would be rude to deny a little bit of hospitality." He reached inside of one of his pockets, the one in his jeans this time, and pulled out a very small lacrima. It seemed to be disabled at the moment, harboring no kind of Magical power. "Got nothing to do right now. Nothing from the Council. They call me up and tell me the details." All of a sudden he stood right up from her bed and walked over to the door, tossing the Lacrima up and down in his hand. For a moment it seemed like he was just going to grab his coat and leave, but instead, he shoved the Lacrima right inside of his jacket's pocket. "But hey, nothing for me tonight."

He made his way right back to over to her slowly, and without necessarily being invited, joined her under the covers for the bed. "So if you wanted me here, here I am. Any plans for me?"

Notes

"A wanderer isn't always lost."

He smiled at Yuno briefly. She appeared to be baffled and confused that the creatures he took over were not ones that he slew. On the contrary, he had hardly even imagined them and they came into existence. "No, my friend. They are each manifestations of two of my greatest desires. At the time, anyway, but... I'll share that later." In truth the desires that he had then were completely different than what he had now. However, the ones that he wished for and his body granted him stuck as scars, and scars that would be with him until the end of his days. The White Angel, and the Black Devil. His gaze shifted back towards the woman as he noticed that it had gone off with his trail of thoughts, and he returned the favor of her caressing his cheek by doing the same with her's, except her face felt much different than his probably did. Her skin was very delicate and smooth; nothing had changed from their first encounter. The soft touch of her body and skin had made her feel much more alluring and tempting than he had felt just a few seconds ago, and only now did the sweet memories of their first encounter trail back into his mind.

"Right... well, I'm here voluntarily. I just hope you can make me glad I came." Very shortly though, she commanded him to conjure some strawberries on a table nearby on her bed. He wondered whatever for, but if that's all she needed, then that's what he would do. She never really specified how many, so he gave out a random amount. He slipped out of the bed for a moment, and while he was there he decided to slip out of his shirt. With a wave of his hand, and a point to the table, a bowl of strawberries summoned itself, with about thirty of them in total. Afterwards he turned to Yuno, and without a word, slipped himself right back into the bed to receive his reward. The time and hours flew by just like last time, and even for a second time, she was still just as enjoyable. A very rare feat. Although he couldn't really remember just how many times he went for a second time.

And also for the first time, he felt something right after his time with her: exhaustion. She hadn't really worked him all that hard, but given the late time and everything, he couldn't keep his eyes open. Eventually, sleep got the better of him, and everything went black up until the morning. He was the kind that waited for the woman to fall asleep, and just slipped out while she was, but Yuno would be the very first to make him fall asleep, and stay that way up until the morning. When the morn did come by, he was heavily caught off guard, and had even panicked for a moment. The bed was empty next to himself, meaning Yuno was gone. At least that's what he thought. He was awoken by a nudge, and his eyes had awoken themselves almost immediately. He blinked a few times, seeing the familiar site of Yuno, and he quickly sat up to a position that looked like he was on guard. "Huh!? What--When did I... I fell asleep. What? What... What happened? I... I'm not supposed to be here, am I? Wait.. I didn't... when did.... Uhhhh... good morning?" Never before did he have to run into a woman that he slept with one night the same morning, so naturally he didn't know what he should say. Or do, as a matter of a fact.

Notes

"A wanderer isn't always lost."

He wasn't supposed to be here still. At least he didn't want to be. Or did he? Her company and hospitality did make him feel very warm and welcome, but at the same time, he was also a bit hesitant for her to get too close to him. She might not be happy or satisfied with what she came into contact with... or vise versa. All of his hesitation and reluctant nature on her was washed away, however, as she gave him a gentle kiss on the nose. He hoped for one on the lips... and he couldn't even believe that he meant that. After all that had happened with her last night and a few nights ago, he still wanted more. And that was quite unusual, he didn't know how to take it. "Thanks..." he quietly said, taking his shirt that she handed him. He got off of the bed and slipped it right on himself once more, concealing his body underneath as well as the scar that she didn't seem so bothered by at all. "Cake!?" He could create a strawberry cake with just a wave of his hand, but she still went through the toil to make one for him. From scratch, at that. So now he almost felt like he was forced to stay, but at the same time, it was still voluntary. She went through a lot of lengths to satisfy him, and he wasn't about to turn it down.

He followed her out of her room and downstairs, gaining witness to a strawberry cake. One of very good quality as well. He hadn't put any expectation on her cooking abilities, but a girl of her nature wasn't really the first one he'd expect to be a cook. He was hesitant at first, and had actually slowly taken a bite out of the slice of cake he got. He took a very small one, and sniffed it before he bit it as well, making sure it wasn't spiked or poisoned. Nothing had happened, so he took a larger one, and this time, he was able to taste just how delicious it was. "It's good. Very good, actually..." a woman that could be as fun in bed as she was, and bake a strawberry cake. She was certainly getting better and better by the minute. He smiled at the girl, though hadn't taken anything to drink. He finished up his slice of cake, and took a second one, and quickly finished that over halfway before she asked him about his day. "Me? Nope, not really. Unless the Council gives me something to do, I just do as I please." He could only assume that she wanted him to be free for the day, so he decided just a small tease about it wouldn't hurt anyone. "Why? Got plans for me, huh...? Hahah."

He was actually hoping the answer to that was 'yes'. Else he would just have another day of wandering and walking around. Her, though? She seemed very fun. "Well, the Council was unsure about my initial alignment, of course, but after I swore that I would be Guildless but still be under their cause, I was named a God of Ishval. They took my word for it. I swore an oath." He hadn't explained to her that he used to be a Guild Master, and that's how they knew him, or what the details of the oath were. In fact, he didn't even start out as the First God of Ishval. Initially he was the third, and quickly moved his way up through his deeds. The topic of his standpoint got her curious about her's as well... she was Guildless, but certainly she had plans. "What of you? Guildless Mages don't stay Guildless forever. Any plans for the future?"

Notes

"A wanderer isn't always lost."

Deniel had finished the second slice of cake that he had, and made no hesitation for the third. It might be funny for her, given the fact that he was very suspicious about eating it at first, and now he was eating more of it than she did. "They do..." he said quietly about the Council. They had placed a lot of trust in him, and he hadn't really expecting it after he seemingly abandoned his former guild Eclipse Soul and left on his own. And he had also even said he would only loosely follow him. Though perhaps they recognized his incredible feats and amounts of strength, and that's why he was given the position. As a symbol of his power, and not his standing authority with the Council. Either way it went, he never used the fact that he was a God of Ishval to attempt to get away or do things another person wouldn't do; he was still a simple vagabond. Just a powerful one.

He had been a tad bit concerned about the fact that she wasn't in a Guild, but even more so that she never planned on joining one. It might be a little bit ironic for him to state it, considering he didn't plan on joining any Guilds, but he did anyway. "Well, I would recommend it. The time of Guilds has passed for me, but they would do you good. Trust me." That's essentially all he had to say about them. He wasn't going recommend her any, or give her any details. It was entirely up to her. Now she had invited him to join her in a trip to the Black Market, and he was ever so curious as to know what she would want from a place like that, but if she had invited him, then there was no doubt in his mind he would find out. "Sure. I'll go with ya'." In a way he was a little relieved that it wasn't any kind of official 'date'. If she recommended that, then he would have to turn her down like he did most women. Though turning her down would be a little bit more painful than the others... actually significantly more so.

He followed her into the kitchen, and suddenly an idea came into his head. One that was a little more on the fun side before they left, but if she was up for it, then it certainly would score her some points for his respect. He wrapped his hand right at her waist gently from behind, and gave her a very long kiss upon her neck area, while his other hand gave a soft smack at her behind.


Hours later, Deniel was standing at her door. He had every opportunity to run away now, but he didn't. After the fun she gave him, it was far too late, and far too late to even think about abandoning her. He had already fixed the problem of concealing his face, for he had something in his possession, one that he summoned with Magic: a black cloak. It was quite old, ragged, and torn, but he liked the appearance it gave him. It could cover up his body from his head with its hood all the way down to where his trousers met his combat boots. In Yuno's presence, though, he had it opened up with his clothing underneath, and hadn't quite put the hood on. After what had passed, he got ready faster than she did, and was now waiting at her door for her to lead the way and join him. "C'mon, Yuno."

Notes

"A wanderer isn't always lost."

Unfortunately he had been waiting for quite a lengthy period of time, but that was to be expected. After what had happened between her and him in the kitchen during those few hours, she really needed to brush and clean herself up. Not that he minded, but if she wanted to look good, then that was not something for him to decide or judge. Momentarily he stared behind him, to the open door and the streets of Talonia. It was a perfect opportunity to get away like he wanted to earlier, and just run, but he chose not to. Eventually Yuno came down from upstairs, looking fresh and beautiful as she once did. His idea for a disguise did work after all, and he thought to himself: Of course it is. No one suspects me this way at all. She gave him a kiss on his lips after pulling the hood over his face, and he returned the affection he felt in the kiss while their lips were connected. He nodded at her, and followed her to Talonia's Black Market. "Many know my name... not as many know my face. We'll be fine so long as I don't drop my name." And that went for just about everywhere he went.

In spite of being in Talonia for such lengthy periods of time, Deniel had never actually bothered to visit its black market. He just never figured that he had any business there, or would find anything interesting. Yuno most likely had something to buy there, though he had no notion exactly what. His eyes, underneath his hood, were kept open as he looked around, seeing dealings being made openly, shady figures, shady people at stands, and things that he dared not to even remotely think of purchasing. Talonia's Black Market, in his opinion, was one of the more darker places in all of it. He stuck close to Yuno, as a way of making sure that nothing could happen to her. He could feel eyes on them from all directions, ones that weren't busy with their own partners in sales, and it made him quite uncomfortable. His eyebrows furrowed into a frown, and he could feel himself drawing closer to Yuno as they walked. "I don't like this one bit, dear... stay close to me." He never thought such words would come out of his mouth. Of course 'stay close to me' was something he said to numerous people, but the fact that he added in 'dear' without thinking about it was certainly a sign of something. Something he refused to analyze right now.

"Nothing I see really catches my interest," he said later, and was inspecting a cart of various kinds of swords from all across the land. Of course she hadn't seen his blade yet, but he found it to be superior to all others that he found. "What exactly do you need from here...?"

Notes

"A wanderer isn't always lost."

All around there were various kinds of things, some of them Deniel was certain had been illegal. It was the Black Market, though, what else could he expect? He had no interest, nor did he show much in these various objects and such. The swords he had been looking at every time he saw some at stands and carts only to catch a quick glimpse at their quality, analyze them, and then make a comparison to his current one. Naturally, his were of higher quality in many ways. And that was particularly because some of the swords at these stands weren't even real swords... fakes. He felt sorry for anyone who thought they could purchase them and win in a fight. When his attention had focused on Yuno once more, he soon realized that she initiated one of her Take Overs, like when they first met. Except she seemed to be lacking the wings. That was strange... he couldn't remember a time when he used one of his Take Overs that he could exclude a part out of it. No matter; he was more concerned as to why she needed in the first place. The change hadn't done much to her curves and overall appearance, but the voice... was certainly something he could live without. Especially moaning.

"Right." He nodded and obeyed her, knowing full well one wrong move could seriously piss off the kind of people here. She seemed to know what she was doing, definitely more so than he did. So he followed her, stuck to the back, and didn't say a word. While he didn't speak a word, he certainly was thinking many things. Like what exactly Yuno was buying, how come she didn't even pull a single Jewel out of her purse... and what hunt? The last of the list probably bothered him the most. Of course there was a time and place to talk about that, but not now. Everything seemed to go smoothly, and very soon they were already out of there. He felt her hand holding his, and instinctively his held on to her's, another act that he was doing to show affection without even realizing it. "Nothing interests me," he said. He pulled the other hand out from underneath his cloak, splitting it in half to reveal his body and clothing underneath it, as it went to his chin to give him a look of contemplation.

"In fact, most of these swords I'm seeing are complete garbage. They can hardly be called swords... either they were made by an apprentice, or a master at foraging things." He shook his head quickly and let go of his chin with his hand before looking at Yuno, "Sorry... it's just been bothering me."

Notes

"A wanderer isn't always lost."

"Don't worry about me, Yuno." He found it strange that of all places she kissed him was on the back of his hand, so he decided that he would be the one to advance this time, and placed a quick one on her kiss. She requested to him that he stayed right where he was, and wait for her return. Naturally he had no problem with that. If she was just leaving him there to ditch him, then... he could just move on. Though a part of him hoped she would be back. "Right." Deniel stayed put after she had left, though not in the exact same spot. He moved over a couple of paces to the nearest wall, and sat himself right against it. He extended one of his legs while keeping the other one bent at the knee, folding one of his arms right around it. His cloak stretched out beneath his body, shielding any part of his exposed skin between his jeans and his combat boots from the dirt below.

Very soon after Yuno had left, Deniel felt something crawl up on to his leg, and hop right on to the knee that he had bent. "Hey, I was wondering when you'd show up!" The creature on his knee was none other than his sword, pet, and best friend: Nidhogg. The current form it took was the pet form, a very small serpent shaped black dragon with beady black eyes, and very small, but swift claws for feet. "Getting along well I see, Deniel. You know, this reminds me of--" Before Nidhogg finished his sentence, Deniel got a little more on his defensive side against his sword, but made sure not to cross any boundaries like he did last time. "Alyia? Is that so? In what way? Is there an issue?" The tiny dragon briefly laughed as it hopped from its masters knee all the way up to his shoulder. "On the contrary, this one brings out affection, but not weakness in you. I'm quite fond of her, actually. She might be much healthier, and trust me--" Once more Nidhogg was interrupted by Deniel, but this time it was much more positive. "Nothing will go wrong like last time. After Zack's training..."


As the two of them finished their conversation, Deniel turned his head to see Yuno approaching. "I'll be going now... see if I can find some information. Take care, Deniel." The dragon scuttled off and vanished without a trace, leaving Deniel by himself. He stood up from where he had been sitting, and as he watched Yuno approach, he said to himself: "Take care, Nidhogg." Though Yuno's movements were subtle, Deniel was keen enough to notice what she had done, and although he didn't like it too much... that man was kind of asking for it. She came back, and already pointed out where they went. And he wasn't going to argue. "Right... let's go." He walked beside Yuno with his hand slowly moving down her backside, before gripping on to a certain part he had grown fond of.


Later, towards the sunset of that day, the two of them were back at Yuno's place. He was sitting on her couch upstairs, with her right there on his lap. To drink he summoned the two of them strawberry flavored whiskey, which he drank down before continuing on with what he had been saying. "And so the Storm King turned out to be this enormous creature. Though its storms were certainly strong, the creature itself wasn't all that hard to take out. And that was the end of that."

Notes