Kalika set her clothes by the side of the large pool of steaming water.
As she prepared to enter, a Woman suddenly screeched. "
Kalika glared back at the blue demon woman who stood indignant in a sheet of cloth. She tapped her foot impatiently, with her gaze directing Kalika to a clay jar of water the woman brought. "
Despite Kalika's annoyance, she obeyed the woman, splashing the water over her body.
Satisfied, the woman smirked and left Kalika to her own devices.
"Tch!" Kalika tossed the newly empty clay bucket aside and stepped into a large pool of warm water, soaking wet from her hair to her toes. "What a stupid rule," she muttered to herself. "It's not like anyone else is here."
Paying no mind to her surroundings, she sank into the water, Deeper and deeper until her breasts drowned in the warm, pleasant water.
"It's so nice~~~" Kalika sank even deeper into the water, covering her face halfway. Her mind drifted away in the relaxing pleasure of warmth she had only once experienced in her youth. For a moment, she felt like she could sail into another dream.
Opening her eyes, she turned towards the source of water, seeing that it was continuously spitting from four ornamental spouts that connected to the same pillar that took center stage of the massive pool of water. On all four sides, naked demons of women and men decorated the pillar, as if holding the structure itself.
Seeing that the manly parts of a statue were in her immediate sight, she awkwardly swam to escape the view, repositioning herself at the pillar's base. Above her now stood a statue of the woman who held the ceiling with one arm and her chest with the other.
Kalika groaned, annoyed by its sight too. "Why does she remind me of Lily?" She turned her gaze away. "No matter."
Kalika closed her eyes, reminiscing about how a maid would help her bathe and throw rose petals into the warm water, which gave off a lovely, sweet aroma, like walking through an unnaturally sweet garden.
The words Charla had spoken the night before echoed in her mind. Kalika grimaced and looked at her arms. "Smell?"
"It would be nice to smell like those roses again... But can I really wash this smell off?"
Unexpectedly, several black and purple petals fell from above her. Startled, she glanced back and found a woman, bare, sitting pompously on the spout.
"When did she get here?"
The woman had long black hair, sharp pink eyes, and a smile that expressed mischievous thoughts. The horns curved from the back of her head, and the tail was a dead giveaway if it weren't her eyes—a Succubus.
Kalika's eyes immediately drew to the slave crest on her chest. "A slave?" Suddenly, the succubus splashed into the water, joining Kalika.
She eyed the succubus, suspicious of her.
Amused, the succubus glanced playfully at Kalika with a smile and turned away. ""
"
"
Kalika raised her brow, surprised.
"
"Everyone else?" Kalika glanced around, finally noticing a plethora of stationary succubi surrounding her in purple, with decorative black accents that held some religious connotations. They all had the slave crest exposed for all to see, with a few standing, stationary, covered in blood.
"I can't sense a thing from them… and those two, covered in blood…"
Lyra, noticing Kalika's fixed gaze, spoke up. "
Lyra's smile widened. "
Kalika turned back to Lyra, stunned.
"
Lyra instantly settled down. "
Kalika, unsure what to do, gazed at the succubus guards surrounding her and Lyra. She then dug her face back into the water, staring daggers back at Lyra, who splashed a bit of water on her arm, cleaning herself. "What with these Succubus..."
A creamy sweet fragrance rose—a reminder of sweet baked goods once made in her youthful days and smuggled away for her expense.
Slowly, Kalika rose from the water. "
Lyra smirked, devilishly. "
********
Donovan and Charla awkwardly traveled through the increasingly chaotic streets that crawled with guards at every corner. Concerned, Donovan, fixing his hood, keeping himself slow and uncomfortably close to Charla, trying to avoid attention.
They soon arrived at the tall spike tower. The shortcut to the castle's plaza. Donovan quickly took notice that the guards examined every demon in sight, practically patting them down for any weapons and tossing them in a barrel where others were kept, with some even being wrapped in a white cloth.
Growing concerned, Donovan glanced at his bag, containing the pieces of his pipe and his blood blade, Charla, holstered on her. "S-seriously!? Of all the times I bring a sword, now they start disarming people!?"
"
Two guards abruptly grabbed Charla and Donovan's shoulders, shocking them.
Charla shuddered, inking out the words from her mouth. "
"
Donovan, unable to understand, turned to Charla.
Unable to translate to Donovan, Charla turned to him, and with her eyes, she silently directed his gaze from the blood blade she held holstered on her waist to the men at the tower.
Trusting in Charla, Donovan nodded, allowing Charla to lead the way to the guards confiscating the weapons. She handed her knife and Donovan's blood blade without a word.
Just as quickly as she surrendered Donovan's blade, she quickly wrapped it in a snow-white cloth, covering it and tying it closed.
"
Charla, panicked, revealed that Donovan's bag contained the materials for the pipes.
"Ch-Charla!" Donovan blurted.
"
"< I-it's my toy!>" Charla blurted. She flushed, averting her gaze from the guards. "
Another of the attending guards rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "
The guard took a closer look at Donovan's pipes, growing more curious. "
"
"
Charla Boldly grabbed Donovan's bag and dragged him into the tower.
"
"
Out of sight of the demons. Charla stopped to regain her breath. Donovan could only watch on as she recovered, lost in thought.
"That was close. For a second, I thought those guards were going to take my pipe too… I don't know what she said, but whatever it was seemed to work."
"Thanks, Charla." Donovan said
Charla glanced back, slightly confused. However, her confusion soon turned to surprise, followed by squeamish excitement that befuddled Donovan.
She quickly calmed herself, her smile fading as she lowered her head.
"Sorry," she suddenly spoke.
Despite the words sounding somewhat fragmented, it was clear enough for Donovan to understand.
"Sorry? Sorry for what-"
Charla grabbed his bag again. Her face is more sorrowful than before.
"O-oh? My bag? No, it's fine."
Charl is trying to process the information.
"I-it's fine, Charla. Trust me." Donovan defended.
"I-it's fine?" Charla repeated. A smile soon returned to her face. She quickly turned and held her flushed face, trying to contain her excitement.
Unfortunately for her, her excitement was visible to Donovan, with her tail acting completely erratically.
"Bjorn must've told her the meaning of a few words. It's probably for the best… Although… She seems to be a little too proud of herself…"
"Hey, Charla. We should keep moving."
Charla paused and stared at Donovan, trying to decode his words. He awkwardly climbed in front of Charla and gestured to her to follow.
She gasped as if struck with an epiphany. "Ah! Moving. Moving."
Her voice was confident, but Donovan could see it in her eyes. She was still at a loss for what he actually said. However, he paid it no mind, moving up the tower with Charla behind him until they reached the top, passing more demons and guards along the way.
Charla, with a little more confidence, pulled Donovan's bag, gesturing in the direction of the smither's district.
Unlike most roads they've seen before, this one had smoky air that would be a smoker's paradise. Soot and scraps of metal littered the ground, and many demons stood, conversing with the guards with mild annoyance.
Suddenly, a crier shouted to the demons on the road.
"
"I wonder what that announcement was about…"
Out of nowhere, a demon fell into Donovan's and Charla's path. An argument broke out between a smith and a customer. They came at each other's throats, only to be pulled apart by the guards.
Not wanting to linger, Donovan and Charla pushed through,
"We just have to find that Kirsh demon that could help… Although. Any one of them can probably fix this…" Donovan continued to look around the increasingly hot street. Each smith he saw bangs away at a piece of metal while hanging a different set of ornamental trinkets and cooking ware.
Suddenly, his eyes caught sight of a familiar demon. "Cyrus?"
Before Donovan could raise his voice, the crush had already turned the corner behind a group of other demons.
He stopped, unsure if he should follow.
Feeling Charla's tug on his bag, he glanced, "What is…"
Donovan traced Charla's pointed finger to a shabby-looking shack at the very end of the road. Inside, a red-skinned elderly demon is banging away at a red blade with his back turned to the distant crowd. And beside the demon was a red cobblestone furnace that pumped red smoke from the chimney. Beyond the shack, Donovan could see almost half of the city below them, with the massive lake glistening like the ocean.
"Is that Kirsh?" With a pensive look, Donovan turned to Charla and nodded.
They slowly pushed through the small crowd of shopping demons and approached the lone blacksmith. Each step they took seemed to boil over even more, and the smoke thickened. Donovan broke into a cough, followed by Charla. They quickly recovered, wheezing the hot air back into their lungs. "Damn! It's no wonder everyone's staying away from that demon. How the hell does he manage to breathe in this!?"
Dononva forced himself forward, along with Charla, until they finally reached the working demon who straightened the last part of the red blade. He lifted the blade and examined it.
"Ch- Charla."
"
The blacksmith demon became still. He quietly set the blade back on his bench and turned his gaze to the two, revealing his pure grey eyes.
"
Shartius sniffed the air. "
"W-wait. Th-that word. There's no way he can tell right!?"
"
"Hrm?" Shartius glanced back at Charla, confused. "< stick? Why would someone fix a stick?>"
"
"
" Shartius took the two pieces in and examined them. "< Three hundred crystals.>" He suddenly announced.
" Donovan quickly took note of Charla's shock. He sighed and, without hesitation, presented a large bag to the demon.
Shartius scrutinized the bag, and despite his initial suspicion, he took the bag. " Charla, growing happy, turned to Donovan and affirmed the commission. A relief washed over Donovan at once. "Thank goodness that worked out… But still… I wonder what Cyrus was doing here…"
********
Within the lively inn, Bretta managed to eat her food. Left behind by Zelak. Her stomach ached, and pain shot through her like a speeding arrow. Her hands shook, and her heartbeat was much faster.
Hazy memories of family no longer resurfaced in her mind, forcing tears to well up in her eyes. She shuddered and hugged herself, unable to escape the cold feeling welling in her.
Unexpectedly, the sound of banging doors spooked her.
She jumped and heard a deafening silence coming from the patrons.
" A loud thud followed.
" Groans filled the other side of the door that Bretta kept her eyes locked on.
" " Suddenly, the door flew open, unveiling an armored demon guard.
Bretta's heart flew into hyperdrive. In an instant, all logic left her as she jumped out the window to escape.
The guard, shocked, ran and leaned out the window, watching her flee into the maze of alleys. " " " ********
Bretta fled deeper into the alley, her body now controlled by the instinct to find safety. A place, she'd never be discovered by even the most perceptive of demons.