The Demon and the Elf (Book 1)

Chapter Twelve pt 3

Eial froze for a moment and the small bump on his throat moved in hesitation. He said nothing.

Drokn on the other hand boiled even more. Although he lost, their fight had been pretty close. But was she insinuating that he was only that close because the elf was somehow weaker?? "Bullshit!" he spat and walked away.

Not long after, Eial found Drokn in their underground hut. Drokn had already stripped off his top and sat on his bed, cooling himself off in the shade. Initially, Drokn had ignored the elf's entrance, but suddenly hearing cracking and crunching sounds, his eyes wandered to the left despite his face still facing the floor.

But a glance at the object, and he grated, "What are you doing?"

Eial, happy to hear his voice, looked back with a twinkle in his eyes, saying, "I've made a bath. The water's cool. It'll be nice after sweating so much."

The demon snorted and sneered. "You can still use quite a bit of magic for someone whose magic is 'weak'."

Eial had truthfully held back his labored breathing, but still wanted to expend the last bits of his energy to make the demon comfortable. Unsure of how to respond, Eial innocently suggested, "I have some magic left. Would you like me to give you a healing massage?"

Narrowing his eyes further, Drokn bared his teeth. "Get lost."

Eial blinked and pursed his lips. He walked as far as the overhead entrance when he suddenly stopped and peaked a glance at Drokn's bare chest. In the quiet mumble before his leave, Drokn could have almost sworn the elf whisper, "Pity" with a wanting look. Struck with surprise, he looked down at himself and then looked up at the entrance again before digging his claws into his scalp and rubbing in frustration and confusion.

Eventually, he stood up and went towards the large basin of water. Looking down, he could see himself within the sparse light that permeated in the cabin. His expression was strange, holding onto complexity. Unwilling to see anymore, his fingers clawed through the water, the ripples distorting the image. The coolness that dripped down from his fingers down to his palms was extremely soothing, and after a few minutes of internal combat, he grumbled and finally decided to dip in and rest.

The rest of the day, Drokn hardly talked to the other two, while the other two stayed fairly quiet, as well. Eial had decided to take a nap and the demoness took to her own business inside the cabin, mixing herbs and writing spells and observations.

Tossing a small dark orb around in his palm, Drokn wondered what he could do. How could his attacks become more powerful? After tossing the orb around a bit more, he threw it at a tree stump. In the instant of impact, the stump exploded, the force causing birds to fly in scramble and even the wind to shift. He sneered witnessing the impact of his power. Weak? Who's weak? Suddenly, he heard an unpleasant voice from behind him.

"I'm just talking to myself and the squirrels, but using the environment is a great way to fight against elemental users." And as soon as the voice was heard, the voice left to walk back into the cabin.

Drokn grated and ignored the voice. A little while later, he heard little footsteps behind him. When he turned, the footsteps stopped, but then eagerly jogged over. A few steps behind Drokn, the owner of the steps drew his hands up and along the motion formed a little stool made from an elevated block from the ground.

The demon glared at his magic at work but before he could make snide remarks, the little one ran away.

Soon after, he came back with an array of cooked meat on a clean leaf. He set it on the stool and with fire magic, lightly reheated the meat while crisping the sides. Then, he hopped over to the demon and grabbed his hands. "You're working hard," he said with a soft smile. "Have something to eat." With a bit of hesitation, the small one let go and then ran away.

Drokn looked his way grumpily, walked to the stool grumpily, grabbed a piece grumpily, and took a bite grumpily.

All the way until the sun started to set, Drokn had been practicing. Discs were shot into the air and blasted instantly with his magic. New shapes, different sizes, different concentrations. Finally, he laid on the ground, his hand curled against his forehead, and looked at the sky gradually turning color.

It wasn't working.

His efforts seemed mediocre. His strength: just the same. Balling his fist, he slammed it to the side and then clawed the dirt beneath him. Fuck!

Without notice, the image of the elf painted in his mind. The sparkling smile that gazed his way. The voice as sweet as berries. An urge built up in his chest— the bond. It pulled him to see the elf.

And at the next moment of consciousness, he realized he was already walking towards the fire set near the cabin where the familiar voice sung.

But when he was closer, he noticed the elf giggle and smile towards not him, but the other being who sat beside him. Together, they shared conversation in lightness and for Drokn, he felt a wall separate him from the two. A crumbling and churning sensation curled in his stomach and a darkness fell upon his eyes and his chest.

Eial heard small shushing of grass as if footsteps walked on them. He tilted his head up and noticed the demon a short distance away, his back moving further and further into the shadows of nightfall. Quickly, he stood up, brushed off the debris on his back of his trousers, and ran over to the demon.

"D-Drokn!" Eial called after him, still getting used to addressing his name. "Join us." He held the demon's wrist and tried to lead him back.

Bluntly, the demon responded in a deep voice, "No."

Looking at the fire and then back to Drokn, Eial whispered. "We can sit on the other side of the fire. Okay?"

Although a fogginess still remained inside the demon, his tense shoulders eased up just slightly and he rolled his eyes, pretending to be bothered, but following him nonetheless.

Crackles and sparks flew from the tip of the orange flame as Eial brought a serving of their supper to the demon. While the demon hesitated at the meal that was served only to him, Eial walked behind the demon and put his hands on his neck, a cool sensation seeping through.

"I've already eaten so I'll just treat you," he said and started to massage the stiff muscles.

Drokn felt such a bliss at the sensation that he mindlessly forgot the demoness was across from them and indulged in the treatment, eating the juicy meal while his body relaxed under the hands of the elf. When he was done eating, Eial came over to the front of him and giggled lightly before putting his small hand on the demon's cheek and brushed off a crumb on the corner of his lip with his thumb.

Although the touch was gentle and shook the demon's heart ever so slightly, something was amiss. As the demon's consciousness slowly became more alert, he questioned the elf who still sat in front of him, his green eyes not far from his own that reflected the warm tones of the flames. "Why are you touching me so much today?"

Not letting go of the contact from his face, Eial clocked his head to the side and said with a confused smile. "I'm giving you my energy. Isn't this what you wanted? I want to help you."