What the hound had initially dismissed as improbable proved to be true as the abomination barring his path began to crumble under the onslaught of stone and fire.


Fenn’s scowl worsened with every step, each punctuated by the fall and rise of another column of fire under the monster’s stomach. In such a situation, any one of his kind would have recognized the need to close the distance, to kill their opponent before it was no longer possible, but the beast had refused to abandon its place. The unrelenting barrage had wreaked havoc on the thing’s body, but it had seen fit to remain in place, the numerous insects that composed its body fighting a losing battle to repair the damaged areas. In only a few moments, the beast’s legs had lost so much consistency it could barely stand on its own power.


“Weak,” he growled, voice rising towards the titanic eye framing his foe. “Feeble! Is this all you saw fit to prepare to bar my path? Nothing but a waste of time.” Soon, the beast would be in no condition to block his passage, and he could express his dissatisfaction to the Eye directly.


Almost as soon as he completed that thought, the insects forming the beast’s body dispersed of their own volition. The Demon paused in his bombardment, eyeing the swarm warily as they began to retreat. Soon, the insects were joined by the ones that had remained behind, accosting the Council’s agents, and Fenn realized the meaning behind this behavior.


They had passed muster.


His intact ear twitched as the words of their guide confirmed his suspicion, and the dog let out an irritated breath. 


This was not the conclusion he had hoped for.


Fenn balled a claw into a fist, knuckles crackling. Alas, he was not in this realm simply to indulge in his impulses. As much as he hated to admit it, if the Imp was to reach the Seal, this was the best outcome they could have wished for.


So, as the massive eye moved below their arena of hanging stones, Fenn merely dropped down onto the offered platform, the corner of his lip stretched down in a dissatisfied grimace.


As he sauntered towards the others, the Imp’s eyes fixed on him. 


“Need I remind you, Fenn, who is in charge?” Lily asked, stepping over to the Hound  and looked up at him with an unreadable expression on her face. It seemed the swarm had put her in a foul mood as well. “I did not ask you to deviate, yet you saw fit to attack without being ordered to do so.” She tilted her head sideways, as if contemplating something she did not quite understand. “How come?”


The dog grunted in comprehension. Was it possible that the Imp thought she had a tighter leash on him than she actually had? 

“I heard no order, Imp. In their absence—”


“Exactly.”


Fenn narrowed his eyes irritatedly at the interruption. 


Lily met his gaze, unperturbed. “We were faced with what amounts to a god in this realm. To simply attack a being such as that is not only folly, but borderline suicidal. I gave you no orders to attack the eye because doing so might make us the targets of its ire. I respect you, Fenn, but what you did shows a lack of foresight. That thing could have killed us had it so desired, and you attack it regardless?”


“Aye, Imp. And I would do so even now were it still barring our path.” The dog snorted, as though he found the thought funny. “You are naive to think our actions mattered even after we found our way to this Eye’s domain. Perhaps this would not be the case for you or the Watcher, but were this abomination interested in ending this group, or curbing my ploy, all that needed be done was to release the stones. Resistance costed me nothing. If it intended to see our strength, I intended to show it.” Fenn shrugged, the usual, ponderous roll of his shoulders. “If you wish for me to act differently, you shall have to tell me, Imp. I can only do as you want when I know what that is.” 


For a while Lily said nothing, simply looking into one of his eyes as if searching for something. “Your logic is sound in hindsight. However, we could not have truly known those things to begin with.” He huffed irritably, making clear what he thought of that statement. Lily continued unperturbed. “I would request that you proceed with more caution the next time we meet something so obviously more powerful than either of us. At the very least confer with me beforehand.” 


At this point the demoness smiled in that manner almost exclusive to females that told him he would come to regret this conversation. “But, let the past stay in the past. I'm weary from my own struggles and wish to rest for a moment.”  Bending at her knees, Lily jumped high up into the air inkling herself so that she landed on the middle of Fenn’s back.


The dog shook reflexively, but the woman remained firmly latched to his backside, laughing at his efforts. When it became evident he would not dislodge her without threatening harm to her, Fenn craned his neck back. “Get off, fool.”


Lily did no such thing. Rather, she only settled in further meeting her mount’s gaze with a lopsided  smirk. “You think I'm going to left your reckless behavior go unpunished?” The demoness chuckled heartily.. “No. Your punishment will be to serve as my mount for the time being. This is me telling you what I [i]‘want’[/i], Fenn,” she said, steel entering her voice. 


The hound growled. If anything, the rumbling seemed to relax Lily, as she settled further onto his fur with a contented sigh. “You act like a pup,” he complained. 


Yet, he let out a long-suffering breath, calming himself before settling down himself atop the massive beast they were riding. He had not the patience to argue this particular point. They looked like big enough fools as it was. He’d simply need to find a way to repay the demoness for his bruised dignity later. 


“Did you know that your fur is surprisingly soft and comfortable?” 


Fenn’s tail reflexively slammed the stone behind him.


His eyes turned to their guide in a nigh desperate search for something to distract him from his passenger. Out of all of them, it was the metal armor that was worse for the wear. It seemed that spending much longer in that fight could have been the end of it. Still, his condition evoked little pity from the hound.


“Guide, there is something I wish to ask. You claimed the Eye to have an enemy. Do your legends speak of this?” 


Lily crawled forward up onto Fenn’s head,  looking down at their metallic guide from  between  the hound’s ears, once more in the form of an attractive human woman, as opposed to her draconic visage. “I would actually like to know that too. What is this enemy?”


The dog shook his head, nearly throwing her off, leaving the woman to glare daggers at the dog’s back while he pretended ignorance.