Pierced Heart

She Won't Love You Like This

The other daemos awkwardly laugh, Ava not being amused, Asch rolling his eyes.
"Yeah, whatever."
Ava sighs as she puts her hand on her hip, looking to the side, just thinking.
"Well... I don't feel like going to the store today. I might just go out to eat..."
Leif looks over at Ava.
"Go out?"
Ava looks over at Leif as her hand falls to her side.
"Go out. To- you know... eat? As in going to a public eating place?"
Leif's eyes widen as he gets what she's saying.
"Ohh! I get it now."
Ava and Rhys roll their eyes, the only ones who fully get the idea of going out to eat.
Asch is being salty, so he doesn't really want to talk to anyone. Noi is just waiting for a conclusion to come to mind as Johnny gets on the couch and lays on Pierce's lap, Pierce raising his hand and petting him.
Ava sighs as she runs her fingers through her hair, still waking up. She rubs the back of her neck, then looks up at the daemos.
"I'm going to go change, don't do anything stupid."
Rhys looks at all the others with a confused expression, knowing they didn't do anything stupid before, so why would she be saying it now?
They shrug it off as Ava goes in her room and she gets dressed, Johnny rubbing his head on Pierce's hand and chest, getting cat fur all over him.
After awhile, Ava comes back out, straightening out her jacket to her shorts and tucking her hair behind her ears.
She turns to the daemos and she thinks, knowing she won't be able to take them all out to eat since she still doesn't have a job and hardly enough money to feed herself, although she doesn't want to leave them behind.
She just settles on the fact that she should splurge and get the food to go, bringing the food home for the others.
"I'll be back, I'm going to get some food."
Leif stands up, putting his hand on his chest, bringing attention to himself
"Let me go with--!"
Ava turns to Leif and shakes her head.
"No! It's just me going out this time around. Sit your butt down and behave."
Leif does as he's told, pouting. Asch is snickering at him as Leif takes out his sickle and points it at Asch.
"Don't laugh at me!"
Noi is quiet, still just observing the situation. Rhys goes over to Noi and pats his back, whispering something to him, and Noi nodding.
Leif catches it, and he crosses his legs, looking over at Rhys.
"What'd you say to him?"
Rhys looks up at Leif. "Nothing."
Leif shrugs and he slowly turns back. "I trust that it's nothing against any of us."
"Not at all." Rhys states.
Leif nods, crossing his arms and leaning back on the chair.

Chapter 13

Ava gets her house keys and her phone, leaving the apartment and locking the door as she leaves, praying that the daemos won't do anything that gets anybody else involved.
She starts to walk down the stairs as she takes out her phone, getting a notification, but when she unlocks her phone, Jake runs into her.
"Ava! Be careful!"
She looks up at Jake, confused. But then when she realizes who it is, she goes from being curious to annoyed.
"Oh. Hey Jake.."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
Jake sighs as he backs up from Ava, Ava just wanted to get on with her day, already knowing it's going to be bad since she ran into Jake.
"So what are you doing out here?"
"I'm going to get food."
"Oh. I should probably leave you to it then..."
"That would be nice."
"Ouch. That stung."
"That's the point."
Jake laughs it off, scratching the back of his hair.
"Well see you later, Ava!"
He walks past her and back to his apartment.
Ava mumbles under her breath, going back to her phone.
Meanwhile, at the apartment, the daemos are quietly sitting around the coffee table, giving each other dirty looks. Leif and Asch are starting at each other as Pierce is feeling the tension between them as he continues petting Johnny.
Rhys goes between Leif and Asch, crossing his arms.
"You guys remember Ava said to not do anything stupid."
Leif sighs, "Yeah... and?"
Asch crosses his arms.
"Hmph. You wouldn't attack me anyway, weakling."
Leif stands up and swings his sickles out from behind his back.
"Say that to me again, I dare you!"
Asch gets up and emits fire from his fists.
"I'd like to see you try."
Rhys gets out his staff and some magic comes out from the crystal that's held at the end of his staff.
"Sit down, both of you!"
Rhys' lines engraved in his horns begin to glow, along with the pupil of his eye, constantly looking at one another.
Pierce slowly puts down Johnny on the couch as he stands up along with Rhys, being backup for him incase Asch or Leif pull anything stupid.
Rhys lets go of his staff and it disappears, being completely gone before it hits the floor.
"What in God's name has gotten into you two?! Whatever happened to get you two so upset with each other?"
Leif puts away his sickles and he crosses his arms, Asch put out the fire in his hands and putting his hands on his hips in a sassy way. Asch's hands fall to his sides.
"Leif always has to pick a fight... I've had just about enough of his shit. One of these days, you aren't going to make it out alive like all the times you did on Daemos."
Leif draws his sickles again, beginning to speak.
"You wanna try me?"
Rhys puts his hands out and he activates his magic, freezing the sickles in place, Leif yanking them.
"Calm yourself, Leif!"
Leif just lets go of the sickles as they float in mid-air, thanks to Rhys. Leif jumps across the table at Asch and tackles him onto the floor, both of them rolling and throwing punches.
Rhys goes over and tries to get Leif off of Asch.
"Let go, Leif!"
Pierce helps Rhys and drags Asch away from Leif, Asch kicking and yelling at Leif, "I'm gonna kill you, I know I will!"
Leif draws his elbow forward and hits Rhys in the gut, Rhys getting the wind knocked out of him and letting go of Leif, collapsing onto the floor.
Pierce puts Asch into a chokehold as Leif gets up off the floor.
"Ha! I knew I could overpower you someday Rhys!"
Asch chokes on Pierce's arm. "You will ... one day ... have the tables turned you disobedient... bitch!"
Noi gets up and goes between Leif and Asch, drawing a dagger, his face looking like he was just taken over by a whole other person. He shakingly held his dagger up to Leif
"I.. am the one who will kill Asch, Asch is MY kill.. I will be the one to.. Thrillingly put my dagger in his chest and out his back.."
Leif backs up as Pierce loosens his grip on Asch, Asch even being disturbed.
Asch lifted Pierce's arm over his head, looking at Noi. "Wh... what are you.. Talking about...?" his words were twisted in the thick atmosphere suddenly made. Everybody felt their heart drop.
Rhys looked up at Noi "...Noi.. we talked about this...!"
Noi throws Leif to the couch as he went to Rhys and almost did the same thing Pierce did to Noi when they had their first fight. He held Rhys up to his face with Rhys' blue vest in his fist.
"I don't give a shit what you told me... I will fucking kill somebody here.. I don't care who it is.. As long as it's not the love of my life.."
He gave a nerve-racking glare to Pierce, and the tension between them was so thick, you can cut it with a knife.
Pierce took a deep breath and held his head up, not letting Noi provoke him.
"Sit down, Noi-"
Noi interrupted him, dropping Rhys and holding his dagger to him.
"I WILL NOT! After everything that has happened here, I deserve to draw somebody's blood!"
Asch smacked Noi across the face with the back of his hand, then taking his shoulders.
"You cut off Leif's horn, you made Pierce bleed enough blood to put him on the verge of death, you have sent multiple death threats to all of us, and you're going crazy for Ava's affection! Is that your goal?! For Ava to love you? She won't love you if you're doing this!"
Noi didn't change. He didn't care. He took Asch by the hair and pulled his head down, raising his dagger to his neck.
Rhys was quick. He jumped and he took Noi by the wrist and wrestled him as Asch got out from under Noi.
Rhys' took the dagger by the handle over Noi's hand, and twisted his arm over his own head, Noi dropping the dagger and taking his arm back.
Rhys took the dagger and held it at Noi, Noi drawing the other dagger as well.
Rhys put the dagger he was holding against the dagger Noi held, and swung it, but Noi threw his hand back at Rhys in the ribs.
Leif took the dagger by the curve in his sickle and he slashed it down, Noi's instincts kicking in and letting the dagger go, afraid for a split second that Leif's sickle would get his fingers.
Rhys took Noi and held him against the coffee table, his wrists behind his back and his face in the coffee table.
Asch looks up at Pierce
"Why didn't you do anything?!"
Pierce looked down at Asch
"They have weapons around twelve inches big, My sword is the size of Noi. I wouldn't be able to keep up with his double weapon attacks. You should know this."
"But you've done it before."
"And I got fucked up. If I had daggers I'd be unstoppable."
Asch rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, whatever..."
Noi was grunting as Rhys had him against the coffee table still.
"LET ME GO YOU CORPSE!"
Rhys smacked the back of Noi's head
"You have said enough!"
Pierce knew that it would just drive Noi more insane, his eyes widened, but things were already set in motion.
Asch took Rhys away from Noi as Leif put his sickle into the table, the curve around his neck, the slightest movement would cut Noi.
Leif still held down Noi as he looked up at Rhys
"Are you okay?"
Rhys looked back at Leif and he took a moment to know what happened
"Y-yes.. I'm alright."
Noi got his neck cut on the sickle already, Asch sitting on the couch, acting like a brat.
"Hmph. Leave him there, he's the one who's cut the most skin here."
Pierce looks at the others from Asch.
"Yes."
Rhys rolled his eyes.
"We need to let him go eventually. But he does need to stay there for a little bit..."
Leif nods in agreement. Noi puts his arm up and grabs the handle of the sickle, but Leif holds Noi's wrist down. Noi whines as his neck is already cut up from squirming around.
"Hey! Let me go!"
Leif sighs as he looks at Rhys, clearly done with Noi's bullshit. Rhys looks over at Pierce, then Asch.
"His targets seem to be you two at the moment. Get him and go as me and Leif deal with him.."
Asch gets up and Pierce follows behind, Asch swinging the door open and Pierce following along, Asch looking behind to hear some blades being swung against each other, not wanting to look back, he ran with Pierce close behind.
Asch and Pierce made the get-away as they got outside and it started to drizzle, Pierce putting his hand on Asch's shoulder
"It's not your fault. Noi snapped somewhere in his mind to where he thinks it's okay to hurt his comrades."
Asch shakingly sighed, looking back at Pierce
"I'm worried for Rhys and Leif.. I know they are fantastic warriors yet I still fear for their safety.. I think it's time we discuss what ... perhaps ticked for Noi to go wild."
Pierce nods and he starts walking as rain got heavier, Asch following next to Pierce, rarely being outside and experiencing weather change.

Chapter 14

As Pierce and Asch made their escape, Noi settled down, his breathing beginning to become uneven. Rhys felt sympathy for Noi and patted his back.
"It's going to be alright Noi.. I know you are a good soul under this harsh exterior you have given yourself through these past couple of days."
Leif barged into Rhys' comfort he was portraying onto Noi.
"Please! He has no harsh exterior! You just need to let me finally battle him and end the suffering of those he has rained terror upon!"
Rhys bites his tongue as he ignored Leif's itiotic statement when Noi is in the state of the one he possesses in the moment.
Noi settled down as he sat on his knees, his head over the table and his hands on either sides of the sickle. Rhys hesitantly wrapped his fingers around the sickle and he took it from the table, setting Noi free.
Leif took the sickle from Rhys in a panic
"What in Daemos' name are you doing, Rhys?! You're giving him a chance to strike, you stupid idiot!"
Rhys' eyes darted up to Leif's missing horn, and added insult to injury.
"You'd know what it's like to be struck by him, wouldn't you?"
Leif got offended, and let go of Rhys. letting Noi attack Rhys for that.