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Kaine’s smile faded as Asha shrugged off his threat, acting as nonchalantly as if they were merely exchanging casual banter. She was a brave one… for a human that was. However, he knew he would break her of her ignorant courage eventually. All humans were fragile creatures, easily manipulated, easily destroyed. It only took a little nudge in the right direction, and he would soon show the girl her place in the circus. For now, though, he would play along with her little game of bravery, since it was still far too soon for him to strike. Iliana would have his head if anything happened to her new pet, and, given the demon’s attraction to humans, she was watching him closely. He would just have to be patient.

Kaine’s serpentine gaze drifted down to the tarot cards the girl was dealing for herself. [i]Right, Iliana had mentioned something about her being a fortune teller.[/i] He eyed her skeptically. [i]Does she really have such a skill? The ringmaster isn’t easily fooled, but it’s hard to believe a simple human has such an ability.[/i] Unable to read the cards, himself, he had no way of knowing whether or not she had any real talent. He hoped she was a fraud though. If it came to light that the girl had no special abilities, Iliana would surely hand her over to be eaten by the monsters, and the forbidden fruit would be relinquished of its protection. He licked his lips.

[b]“It’s very nice to meet you, Kaine,”[/b] Asha said, keeping up her peaceful façade. [b]“If you don’t mind me asking... what part do you play in Noir? I’m still trying to learn everyone’s place. It’s not as easy as it would seem.”[/b]

The demon hesitated for a moment before answering her question. It still felt strange to address her as an equal, even if he was only doing it to appease Iliana and keep himself out of trouble. “I perform in the circus—feats of strength, knife handling, hypnotisms… acts of that nature—but I’m not your average monster by any means.” He stretched out his legs as he leaned against the tree, head tilted slightly and eyelids drooping in a bored manner. “Around here, I’m something of an authority. You see, there aren’t many demons in general—we’re a bit of a rare breed—and in this circus, I’m the only one.” The corner of his lip twitched in a smirk. “Little Human, you don’t know how fortunate you are that Iliana cares so much about your future.” He leaned towards Asha, suddenly and smoothly closing the distance between them until his mouth hovered just above her neck. He inhaled deeply, taking in her enticing smell, and then let his breath out in warm sigh. Kaine spoke in a murmur as he went on, “If you weren’t under her protection, I would take you right now.”

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“Asha’s been gone for a while now; don’t you think?” Flynn said concernedly, tracing circles in the dirt with a stick. He and Taj had been sitting outside the tents since the human wandered off on her own. The werewolf had wanted leave her to her exploring and go to bed, but the vampire wouldn’t hear of it. If anything happened to Asha, they were the ones who would be held responsible, and Iliana wasn’t exactly known for her mercy. He shuddered to think what the ringmaster would do if the girl was injured. So, despite Taj’s protests, they stayed up.

“She probably found some quiet little spot in the woods and fell asleep,” the chocolate brown performer grumbled. “I think she has the right idea. We should do that too.”

“Forget it, Taj,” Flynn shook his head. “We’re not sleeping until she’s safe in her own tent. Orders from the big boss, remember?”

“But why did Iliana have to make [i]us[/i] babysit the human?” the werewolf groaned, flopping on the ground. “I couldn’t care less if she got eaten. Hell, I’d eat her myself, if I could. The last thing I want to be doing right now is taking care of Iliana’s play thing.”

“We don’t have a choice. She already chose us for the job, so we’re just gonna have to do it.” 

“That human better stop dawdling then or she’s gonna need protection from me—Hey!” Taj sat up angrily as the vampire flicked his stick at him.

“Shut up already.”

“Ass.”

Flynn opened his mouth to respond, but paused when he caught sight of Efren and Pixie approaching them. The two were locked in a quiet conversation, but the vampire spoke up when they within range to talk, [b]“So what do you think of her? I think she’s just darling! She and Kaine would make such a cute couple. They already look like one sitting under that tree!”[/b]

“Asha’s with Kaine?” Flynn blanched. [i]Shit. This is bad. If that damned demon touches her, we’re as good as dead![/i] Distracted, he missed the rest of the conversation between the other three. Something about whether or not the human girl was going to cause trouble… Oh well. It didn’t matter. He climbed to his feet and turned to Taj, “Come on, lazy ass. We need to get Asha away from Kaine before he tries anything funny.”

“Ugh, this human is such a pain!” Taj whined as he forced himself to stand up and follow the vampire into the woods.

When they found her, Asha was sitting beneath a gnarled tree with—as Pixie had said—none other than Kaine. Flynn muttered a string of curse words under his breath, hiding behind another nearby tree as he watched the demon lean towards the girl, obviously toying with her. The last thing Flynn wanted was to do was get between Kaine and his target, but with Iliana’s threats looming over his head, it seemed like he had no other choice. [i]Screw it.[/i] He marched out from behind the tree with Taj following close behind, “Alright, alright, you two. Break it up. It’s past Asha’s bedtime.” He held out a hand to the human, “Come on, love. Taj and I’ll show you to your tent.”