The low buzz of their wings was the only companion to Lily and Cassandra as they flew on ahead, scouting the area in favour of waiting for the angels to catch up. For Lily, at least, it was an excuse to have a few moments to spend without the company of angels. For Cassandra, it was a case of curiosity, as she wanted to see more of this new land, strange as it was. 

Where Lily's attention was aimed straight ahead at the looming pillars, Cassandra's gaze swept back and forth between the various trees, shrubs, and bushes. Colours, shapes, so many it was hard even for her to take in. A wide smile blossomed at her lips at just seeing the wild beauty of this place, untouched by intelligent life for so long, that the natural world reigned supreme. Even her mother's exclamation could not stop her from swooping down to snatch a flower, a branch carrying violet berries, and particularly large leaf from a tree. 

"Careful!" Lily admonished, giving her a sidelong glance. "We don't know what's down there." 

"Flowers," Cassandra retorted cheerfully and extended the flower, its yellow petals curling back to expose the pollen-covered stamen. "[i]Belle.[/i] It smells wonderful, and there are many of them." Lily rolled her eyes but took the flower, bringing it to her nose and carefully sniffing it. One of her eyebrows rose and she tilted her head in an agreeable manner, giving the flower back to Cassandra. 

"Just don't eat the berries," she said, drawing out the last word as something drew her attention and she looked away. Following her gaze, Cassandra saw something like a shadow that went [i]into[/i] the pillar itself, as if a cave. 

"I won't," she said, then pointed with the branch towards the cave opening. "The entrance, oui?" 

Lily nodded, slowing down until she was just hovering a few dozen metres from the opening. Glancing around, she saw the the flora that had so intrigued Cassandra, but little else if one did not count the angel entourage still a ways behind them. They had encountered no resistance so far, and spotted not even the simplest hint of any guards or defences. There was the barrier in the sky to contend with, but they had both chosen to ignore that one. The immediate defences to protect the Seals had always been incredibly powerful, and sure of her own strength as Lily was, she was not arrogant enough to think she could match the power of the Charred Council. [i]At least not yet.[/i] 

"Something the matter, Mére?" 

"We're missing something," Lily replied and swept her gaze over the land below and around, her eyes shifting from slitted and blue, to round and deep yellow like those of a hawk. Her vision immediately sharpened, enabling her to see in far greater detail than before. Critters in the foliage became visible, even the lizards and other slightly larger animals that tried to hide in the trees, became visible to her, and yet she found nothing that bespoke of any defences surrounding the pillars. "Nothing," she muttered, her eyes regaining their slitted pupil and icy-blue colour. 

Now it was Cassandra's turn to look around in search of... something. Whatever she was looking for she did not find it. Like her mother, she found nothing but wood, leaves, petals and branches everywhere, half of which one animal or other lounged upon. "Patrol?" She asked, fluttering a short distance ahead and pointed past the pillar with the cave entrance. "Too thick to fly all the way around, but we can look near the edges, and see if there are any dangers? Even if the angels are not very likeable, we need to work together to complete the mission." 

If Lily noticed the mention of the angels, and she likely did but chose to ignore it, she made no notice of it. She nodded and inclined her head in the same direction her daughter was pointing. "Good idea. Defending the Seal is the most important, so we'll need to be careful." She smirked. "No use being lax when Fenn is nowhere to be found, to be impressed by how effortlessly I solve our problems." 

"Your rivalry with that wolf will bring you no end of trouble," Cassandra said shaking her head. She let the branch and leaves drop, but stuck the flower in her hair behind her ear, and motioned forward. "Let's go." 

"Please, I'm much stronger than that pup," Lily scoffed, but Cassandra wasn't there to hear it, having already sped off. Her lips pressed together in a thin line as annoyance momentarily overtook her, but was shaken off. There were more important things to do, and so she took off after Cassandra. She quickly caught up and directed her attention downwards to the trees below, her eyes once more becoming round and yellow like a hawk's. 

The forest was as dense as it had ever been, allowing for few openings between the trees. What few clearings they did see offered little in the way of information, save the presence of various animals, and provided some more insight into the exotic plants that made this island their home. Speaking of home, she spotted dozens of critters, from snakes to rodents, to what was probably small primates jumping between the branches. 

"Find anything?" She asked loudly, not looking at Cassandra. 

"[i]Non,[/i]" her daughter replied, nearly shouting over the wind rushing past them. She slowed down until she was hovering. Ahead of her Lily did the same, albeit slower. She tore her eyes from the ground beneath and cast her gaze towards the horizon, both in front of- and behind them. "There is the empty place in front of the entrance, and a few clearings in the forest, but nothing important." She turned and faced the way they had come, and in the distance they could [i]just[/i] spot the light reflection off of the angels' armour. They were getting closer to the entrance of the cavern, and it wouldn't be long before they reached the entrance. 

Lily followed her gaze, also noticing the glinting armour. She wrinkled her nose at the ostentatiousness of it, but said nothing of it. Now wasn't the time. "Let's head back," she said, taking off at the same time as Cassandra. The lack of anything of note was not quite a cause for concern, but it did rub her the wrong way. This was supposed to be a place where the Seal was located, and there were no defensive measures taken of any note. The sky was blocked by some sort of barrier, but beyond that there was... nothing. Things that were unassuming were often more dangerous than one gave them credit for. Venus Flytraps were not particularly intimidating, but for the unlucky that got too close, it was certain death. She herself made use of this principle, and was one of the reasons she almost universally appeared as a mortal woman. Few could peer past her disguise, and so would underestimate her, and even those who realised her demonic nature, were prone to assuming that she was weak given her small stature, compared to many demons. 

The current situation was evoking the same feeling in her, as she aimed to instil in others. It was too simple. Paranoia was not a feeling she was known to feel, but even so there were warning bells ringing in her mind. 

"You're realising it too, oui?" 

Lily glanced at Cassandra, meeting her worried gaze. She nodded. 

"No threats or protection around. Must be deadly inside. We should warn the angels and–No, mother, don't look at me like that. No matter how much you dislike the angels, we have a common goal." Though she was the child of the demoness, and thus far younger, the fierceness of the stare she aimed at Lily, had much the same effect on her as it did her own children. Lily averted her gaze, her eyes forward, but still listening. "They are not the nicest of people, but so long as we try to do the same thing, we should at least help each other." 

Lily sighed, very clearly disliking the idea. She knew Cassandra was right, but it wasn't something her pride allowed for easily. Angels annoyed her at the best of times with their hypocrisy, but now was not a time for it to get in the way. If she wanted to get what she aimed for, now was the time for cooperation. She remained silent, but the decision must have shown on her face for she spotted something, akin to a proud smile on Cassandra's lips out the corner of her eye. 

The next minute was passed in silence, either contemplative or content, depending on which of the two you asked. When next one of them spoke, they were near enough to have the cave entrance within view once more. What they saw did not make matters more pleasant, rather it reinforced the theory they had both agreed upon. 

"Golem," Cassandra said as the boulders rose and locked together, her words almost lost in the passing wind. They were still far enough away that they attacks would almost certainly miss. 

The angels, however, were in no such predicament, and immediately started their assault, but whatever this golem was made of, it was tough enough to withstand the initial strikes, without them harming it at all. The lesser angels, it seemed, did not take this fact very well, and if not for her daughter's presence, Lily would not have even bothered hiding the smile, that tried to worm its way onto her lips. Only the one with the most sparkling armour stood his ground, drawing a–Lily froze for split second, eyes widening as the angel drew his weapon. [i]It's actually a[/i] Golden [i]sword? For the love of all that is smithing, I don't know what to say.[/i] 

Beside her, faint mist surrounded Cassandra before coalescing, and forming into two spears hovering in the air beside her. She frowned, and didn't look away from the golem as she spoke. "Shall we?" 

Lily nodded. She didn't like the angel, but he was an ally, however tenuous. Reaching inside, she grasped hold of her internal fire and called it forth, cloaking her body in Elemental flames. "Let's kill it," she said and fired a plume of fire at the golem, followed immediately by Cassandra's Projected spears. 

As the adrenaline slowly kicked in, informing the rest of both Lily and Cassandra's bodies that a fight was starting, the elder demoness couldn't help but grin. [i]Time to show[/i] them [i]what we demons can do[/i]