Arreyis

Devouring Light

Now she was truly frightened for the priests to arrive. Not only would they likely be angry with her, but if they saw her with demon bodyguards they would immediately assume she was in some kind of trouble. She wouldn't be able to control them.

"I understand, but if I'm being tailed by giant bodyguards the priests arriving in town will not take kindly to it. I need to find a way to get them out of here, and it can't look like I'm in any sort of trouble. You know what they'll do. They'll use me as a reason to start a war..." she looked at Asran. "I can't allow that to happen."

Devouring Light

"Oh that's good, I'm glad their fun didn't get ruined." She said, listening to him talk about the priests she once again thought about the two that were supposed to be joining her and internally cringed. "Nadia is a sweet woman. I met her this afternoon."

When he mentioned the demon bodyguards she pictured the big one from before standing stoicly in the doorway to protect Asran from a swarm of priests. She didn't think anything could make him move.

"Walter is the big guy that blocked me while you all were... helping Asran? Why would I need bodyguards?" Ayrie asked, suddenly on edge wondering if she had done something to unknowingly upset people.

Devouring Light

She followed his advice and took a moment to ground herself and increase the strength of her sheilds before following him. The pot of water was slightly heavy, and her body was tired from the events of the day, but she pushed through it, knowing that soon she would be able to sit.

"Thank you, for being so considerate." she said to the imp as they walked. She knew her presence here caused a lot of complications, and she wasn't entirely welcome, but it seemed when interacting with her one on one most of Asran's people at least gave her the benefit of the doubt.

For the first time she wondered what had happened outside after she and Asran had run into the temple. "Is the festival still going on or did his exit stop everything?"

Devouring Light

Ayrie watched the imp change before her eyes into a small man wearing a butler's uniform and smiled. "Thank you, I appreciate that. I don't think you need to worry about me betraying him... arguing with him is an entirely different matter though!"

Ayrie pressed the cloth against Asran's forehead and left it there. She stood and brushed her dress free from the dust it had picked up sitting on the floor. She also grabbed the pot of water, figuring a fresh cool pot was in order if Asran was going to be feverish much longer. "I'm going to go swap this out and clean myself up a little. I'll be back quickly."

She made her way back to the kitchen and set the pot in the sink to refill, then used the cool water to wash her face and hands. It had been a very long day, and Ayrie was beginning to feel the full effects of all the things that had transpired. She wondered if there was perhaps a bench she could take a nap on while waiting for Asran to wake. She had been so preoccupied with him that she hadn't even looked.

'If I leave now I'll only toss and turn with anxiety. The man is aggravating, but for some reason I care about him.' She grabbed the pot and headed back to Asran and the imp.

Devouring Light

Ayrie's eyes widened when the imp said Asran's name. "Oh no, I won't tell him! I wouldn't want to get you into trouble for such a small offense. I'll let him keep believing I don't know it."

Ayrie refreshed her towel again, still patting the wet cloth around his face and neck, carefully wiping away any leftover elixir.

"It is strange though, isn't it? This friendship that we have? He shows up on my doorstep last night, berating me for a symbol of the church. Then the next day we're at each other's throats in the temple, before dancing and eating at a festival at which I should have been scared and sick if you go by what I was taught. After which I helped him through some kind of curse that I know is light magic but do not understand, and now I'm still here trying to make sure he is ok. He and I shouldn't like each other, but it seems like something is pulling us together..." She stopped and sighed, "I probably sound like an idiot." She said, pulling at her hair self conciously.

Devouring Light

"No, I'm not a normal priestess." She said, wetting her towel again. "I suppose it's because I was not exactly willing to join them. I was a ward after my mother fled my father, and after she died I was given the choice of attending school to become a priestess or becoming a cloistered nun. I stayed, learned the rules and the history and the sermons, but I have always questioned everything. I was sent here to get me away from the younger students so I couldn't influence them with my curiousity."

Thinking about her mother made her cringe. The shell of a woman who had birthed her could harldy be called a mother, but Ayrie knew it wasn't her mother's fault. Her father by all accounts had been a horrible man, a drunkard, and on the night her mother had stumbled to the church he had beaten her so badly they thought she would lose her pregnancy with Ayrie.

Devouring Light

Ayrie's spirit lifted slightly when he nodded, and when he asked her to retrieve a towel and water she nodded back. "Whatever you need."

She followed the hallway and found the kitchen. It took a few moments to locate a pot that was large enough but not too heavy for her, and when she did she set it in the sink and let it fill while she located a few towels. When it was full and she had a handful of clean towels she took it and headed back to the mayor and the imp. She set it down on the floor and wet one of the towels, handing another to the imp.

"I'll help." She said, setting the towel in her hand against his temple. Now that he was unconcious she took the time to look at him without being embarrassed, appreciating his form. The scars and faded runes marked an impressive physique.

'Now that I know who he really is, I wonder if he will stop being so guarded against me.' She thought, then instantly remembered the priests that would be arriving any day. 'That's going to be tough. I'll have to be careful they don't discover how close I've become to him, or that I witnessed what he did without stopping him.'

Devouring Light

When the demon got close to her to block her way Ayrie tensed, but she knew they were only there to help and protect him. When the wraith possessed him she suddenly knew the demon had blocked her to prevent her from stopping anything. It made her skin crawl and she fought the urge to cry out. She watched as they left him with the single imp, knowing she would stay to help him even after all she had seen.

'Him. The mayor. Gluttony. Good gods girl what have you gotten into?' She didn't even have a personal name to call him by yet she felt as though she were attached to him in ways that went deeper than acquaintance. She cautiously approached him, careful not to disturb the imp that was taking care of him.

"He will be okay?" She asked quietly, unsure the imp would even answer. He looked like the one that had pushed her into the restarant earlier that day, but without the sunglasses she couldn't be sure.

Devouring Light

The way he acted frightened Ayrie, but she continued to pour the elixir until the bottle was empty. When he passed out and the imps moved in she glared back at them, not caring whether they liked her or not. She had only done what he had asked of her. When the demon walked out of the darkness with the slave and wraith she shuddered, but stood and backed away.

"I did what he asked...nothing more." She said, glaring at them defiantly, daring them to suggest she had done wrong. She wanted to make sure he was okay before she left, so instead of going back out to the festival she waited just inside the door. She watched intently as they surrounded him, knowing the human was going to be another sacrifice.

Devouring Light

Ayrie sensed he wasn't exaggerating, she could tell he was in an excruciating amount of pain. She pulled the cork from the bottle and held it over his chest, watching the liquid slowly pour over him the runes glowing through it. She felt the power of the liquid, knowing it was infused with light magic didn't make her feel any better.

She heard his screams almost before he made a sound, and all she could think was 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry...' as she continued to pour the bottle out over him.