She pressed a finger to her lips.
"Hello?" Came a calming male voice. It was familiar to Runner somehow.
"Heeeeey. So I know you just got back from the camp, but could you ask Demitri if he can convince one of the daemon Kings–or hell, even Arachne–to hide us from you-know-who?"
"Sure. Just a moment."
He rubbed his nose, confused as all hell.
A deep rumble thundered from afar. Aurae's violet eyes widened with true fear, then hastily threw him into the shadows. She wrapped them tightly around the pair, hiding them from all senses. "Faster!" She hissed into the phone.
"Throw a little bit of energy at me. I have an idea."
She shoved him farther down. "No! You are not dying on my watch!"
"Trust me, for fuck's sake."
She hissed through her teeth. "Fine. Just don't die." She flicked at bit of shadows towards him.
"I won't even leave the shadow." He prepared to recieve the nenergy blast.
She chewed her thumb nail. "Just use some of the shadows I'm controlling. I can't throw pure energy, I'm not that skilled."
He frowned, fiddling with his thumbs for a moment, then rolling something no one else could. A splitting image of him goes running into the woods, so realistic it was scary.
"Nice going. Now what do you plan to do?" She sounded annoyed, but really, she was terrified.
The man on the phone spoke again. "Bad news. They said no."
"Shit!" Aurae went off on an elven rant.
The beast had been left alone. As the serpents had started to peer at its offspring, the pair had taken off, most likely heading to wherever their master had called them. The creature rolled back to its four limbs, transferring the little one to its middle pair to carry it close to its form once again. It started to venture forward again, though it lifted its head, blue eyes starting to glow brightly.
It could sense there was danger nearby. The draconic beast shook its heavy horned head a bit, moving along. It needed to return to the safety of its den. Once there, it knew its young would be protected, and whatever danger was out there, would have to face a fierce opponent should it present a threat.
His frown deepened. "I was just trying to stall so they cold get up. Tell me what this guy can to. Everything you know so I can get an idea of him."
"He's an ancient daemon general who delights in torture and has an unhealthy obsession with helfire," she hissed under her breath. She could sense him hiding, just not where. "Ancient meaning older than any other daemon currently alive. So that means he's smart. He hasn't revealed any of his abilities to anybody, preferring sending minions to do his job for him." She narrowed her eyes at him. "He very nearly killed Cinthia once before, and that's because she's tougher than most. I don't recommend fighting him one on one. Or even two on one. An army might be sufficient. Two would be nice. Five is ideal."
Stardew appeared at the edge of the clearing where the two stood. Her clothes were rumpled, although her hair was irreproachable. Clearly she'd slept after collecting her items.
"Did someone just say ancient daemon general who's really smart that shouldn't be fought one on one?"
"Yes," Aurae whispered, blanketing Stardew in shadows as well. "And do not do what I think you want to do. It's suicide. He scares the most powerful gods in existence."
"I scare gods, too," Stardew said, lowering her voice to a whisper. "You should've seen me with one of the many lightning gods that roam around. And if you're thinking that I want to fight him one on one, you're wrong."
She paused for effect. "I want to fight him with my fellows and, of course, you both. So if that's what you were thinking I want to do, you clearly know Alnaschari well."
"No fighting!" She hissed, on the verge of using her father's abilities on them both.
Just then, a sinister male chuckled echoed through the forest. "Ah, little Aurae, little breeze. I can smell your fear. Little girl, never to back down from a fight. Maybe you should listen to your friends. Run away like the little coward you truly are." He paused "Little boy, so confident in his abilities. I can't wait to gut you like how my followers gutted your girlfriend." He laughed. "I could smell her blood from miles away. How delicious it smelled. How delightful her screams were. I want to hear them again, smell it again. Care to join me?" He spoke so calmly, as if he was talking about the weather and asking them for a cup of coffee.
His jaw tensed,, his fist clenched, and he damn near took a step outside of the shadow.
Aurae shoved him down again. "Stay. He's just trying to get under you skin. It's what he does."
"He's doing a pretty good job," he growled.
A man stepped into view–if you could call it a man. He was a grotesque mix of reptile, canine, and human with patches of both scales and furn along his body. A line of long and gore-covered fur covered his back and animal-like paws for feet. Scales ran up the rest of his legs, merging with the furry feet. Multiple horns protruded from his head of long, blood stained, black hair. Malicious tattoos snaked over whatever pale skin was showing. A long tongue ran over a mouth full of razor sharp teeth. His grin and wide red eyes revealed his sick mentality. In his clawed hand was a bloody whip, unfurled and dragged along the ground behind him.
He slowly began shaking, taking all the willpower he had to not jumpout and attack the thing with his bare hands.
Aurae rested a hand on his shoulder, doing her best to calm him while she was freaking out on the inside. "Easy. Don't let him get to you. Just stay put, and he'll get bored and leave."
His face took a deep red color, but he stayed in place. For now.