Nik's eyes flashed between the two. What the hell was he doing?? This had been a bad idea. What could he even offer these two in exchange for a better life? What did he have to offer? He hesitated for a long moment, trying to remember what the journal had said. His soul? Or? What would they take in return for a better life? "I need…a better life than this one." He said, knowing that was vague. "I…just have a lot of… problems, I suppose. Money problems." His eyes flickered away. He really shouldn't have done this. Mistake. Mistake mistake mistake.
Kieran was scanning Nik with an excited gaze, as if he was something extremely treasured. Ash was expressionless, simply gazing at Nik expectantly. The two demons were sly creatures. And this was fresh meat for them. Ash tilts his head and hummed softly. "A new better life?" He straightens himself and floats to the ground. His icy eyes gazing at the other with curiosity, before helping Kieran to the ground. "Wonderful! Well then. We'd be glad to make a deal with you." Kieran waved his hand and a contract flickered into life. A pen hovered beside it. "All you have to do is sign this paper and the deal is sealed. You'll get a life better than this one." He shrugged simply. "No money problems, nothing to worry about." Ash nods. "And if you're worried about your soul, there's two of us. Splitting a soul is no fun. Takes the taste out of it. The price simply depends on what you're willing to offer."
Smoke came padding out from one of the other rooms. The kitten was very tiny, still rather too young to be away from his mother; Nik had found him by the side of the road after a car had hit his mother, and the young man had been raising the kitten ever since. Smoke came over to Nik, mewing plaintively and rubbing against his ankles, blinking up at him. Nik glanced down at the kitten, crouching to scratch behind his ears to soothe him and considering the two demon's words. "Like what?" He asked slowly, eyebrows pulling together in a faint frown as he studied the two.
Kieran perked at the sight of the kitten. "Ohhhh, Ash, look at how precious he is~" He croons softly, moving so that he could kneel and offer his hand to the kitten. Ash raised a brow at his companion and released a soft sigh. "So it is." He hummed and glances over at the human in front of him. "Like I said, that is entirely up to you. It could be your soul if you wanted… We wouldn't devour your soul." He shrugs before moving the paper forward. "But we can guarantee a new life."
Smoke pushed his nose against Kieran's hand, letting out a soft meow and batting at his fingers curiously. He was a little grey tabby kitten, with white splashes on his paws and nose. Nik frowned faintly. "Right. I'm just unsure what else there is to trade. All the stories say soul, and while I'd rather not trade that, I don't really understand what else there is to trade." Maybe he was just being dense, but he still had no idea what else he could trade.
(I'm so sorry about not being active ;-; I promise I am. However with the holidays I haven't had much free time. I'll reply once the holidays are over.)
(you're fine! Take your time and happy holidays!)
Kieran cooed and pets him gently, appearing very content at the moment. His partner was thinking deeply. "Hm. Your time, perhaps? It seems my partner has grown very fond of your cat. The underworld has become rather dull." He shrugs a little bit. "We offer you a new life, you offer us your time." He shrugs a little bit. "A distraction or something of the sort." Kieran giggles, "Ou! That could work. After all, all you do is read your books. I want adventure, a little more excitement!" He hums happily and straightened himself out.
Nik looked between the two, considering for a long moment. "Well… alright." He said slowly, hoping he hadn't just made a dire mistake. Smoke mewed unhappily when Kieran stood, moving to sit back on his haunches and bat at the air, as if that could bring back the attention Kieran had been giving him.
He hummed in content, nodding at the deal before offering his hand. Kieran also offered his. It was to solidify the deal physically. There was usually three steps in making a deal. The deal, the verbal affirmation, and the physical affirmation. Kieran glanced down at the kitten, "Just a minute, cutie~" He coos sweetly to Smoke.
Nik cautiously shook their hands, eyes flicking back and forth between the two demons as he released Kieran's hand. Smoke mewed again, paws batting through the air. Nik glanced down at the kitten, clicking his tongue and making shushing noises.
Kieran hummed as their marking appeared on his left hand, gazing at it intently. "Well there we are, the deal has been signed." He cooed. He then abruptly turned his attention back to smoke, leaning down and petting the cat happily as Ash inspected his own hand. "Our mark should appear somewhere along your body." He hummed. "The harder it is to hide it, the stronger the bond." He glanced over Nik before smirking and snapping his fingers. For Nik, the world went dark. For the demons, they appeared into the demon realm, more of their home. In Ash's arms, Nik was held daintily. In Kieran's, Smoke. The world was grey on the outside, a swirling abyss of nothingness and chaos. But the house had stabilized, had become a home that a mortal could live in. They entered a rather nice looking room, and Ash gently placed Nik onto the bed. Kieran gently kissed the top of Smoke's head before gently placing Smoke down beside Nik.
(any suggestions for where the mark should be?)
Nik looked vaguely shell-shocked, sitting frozen on the bed for a long moment, before finally blinking rapidly. "I, uhm, hadn't been expecting that to happen so fast." he said slowly. Smoke mewed, not seeming affected, and climbed up into Nik's lap, curling up on his thighs with a soft purr. One of Nik's hands fell down to pet Smoke, half to soothe the kitten and half to soothe himself.
(Hm. Depends on how strong you want the deal to be.)
Ash entered the room quietly, a small smile on his lips. "You were out for about… two human days?" He chuckles a little in thought, "I brought some food and tea." He sets the said food on the bedside table, "As well as some food for the kitten." He hummed and set a bowl down before glancing at Nik. "You'll spend the day resting, nothing else. Understood? I don't want you overexerting yourself." He hummed and settled down into a chair beside the bed. "How are you feeling? No numbness I hope?"
(hmm, what would be more dramatic?)
Nik blinked, staring at him for a long moment. "Two days?" he replied, eyebrows knitting together in a frown. "But I…that's…" he trailed off, shaking his head a little bit. "And what do you mean, overexerting myself? And I'm fine. Just tired." which was strange, if he'd really been asleep for two days like Ash said he was. Smoke mewed, hopping down to eat from the bowl that had been brought for him. The curtains near the bed already bore small clawmarks from the wanderings of the curious little kitten, and some of the tassels looked a little worse for the wear.
(Probably a stronger bond. That way it's harder for Nik to break the deal, as well as makes it harder for the demons to not obey him.)
He nods and shrugs a little, "You're in a different realm, which can cause humans to over exert themselves, after all your kind is delicate." He glances at the small kitten, running his slender fingers along the top of Smoke's head as he ate. "Even if you think you are fine, your body or mind might still be in shock." He tilts his head a little bit at the sight of the claw marks in the curtains. With a simple wave of his hands, they were mended. "Eat and rest for today, you can explore tomorrow." He stands and walks to the door, shutting it behind him.
(alright!)
Nik watched him go, frowning just a little bit. He was still a bit in shock, that was for sure, and eventually he started to eat, slow and a little uncertain. He wondered what exactly he was supposed to do, if he had to remain in bed like this the whole day. Were there books or something he could do?
At the thought, a door appeared beside his bed. It had an allure to it, whispering quietly in wait for him to open it. It glowed a faint green color, shimmering expectantly for him to take it. As for the two demons, they were currently in the living room talking, well… Kieran was talking and Ash was barely even listening as he played a game of chess with one of the smaller house demons.
He sat up a little more, putting his food aside and opening the door curiously, wanting to see what was inside. It didn't quite occur to him that this could be dangerous, seeing as how he was literally in hell, but then, no one had ever praised him for intelligence.
The door swung open easily for him, revealing a beautiful, glimmering library. He was currently on the second floor of the winding halls and well lit shelves. A fireplace crackled on the first level, it's flames blue and mellow. The fireplace sat in front of a love seat and a few plushy chairs. If he looked up, there were about three more floors of books to explore. A rather large book sat at the beginning of each hall, listing all of the books in the library. Small, cute looking creatures bustled about to organize the books.
He smiled a little, heading over to look through the shelves. Once he had about three books, he went back to the bedroom, sitting down on the bed and opening up a book to begin reading. Smoke leapt up onto the bed, curling up beside him.
Once he had left the library, the door shut behind him before disappearing again.
After an hour or so, Kieran came into the room with a simple knock before entering the room. "I hope you've made yourself comfortable!" He saunters over to Nik's bed, checking over him. "Good, you've been resting! And you found the library. Good, good." He chuckles and settles down beside the other, petting Smoke gently. "How are you getting settled?"
Nik closed the book, looking up at Kieran curiously. "I'm fine." he said slowly, shrugging his shoulders just a little bit and glancing over at Smoke and then up at Kieran again. "Why?" he questioned. Smoke mewed softly, arching up into Kieran's hand.
Kieran clicked his tongue and smiles, "Good, good." He chuckles softly and pets Smoke, cooing sweet words to the small kitten. He glances at Nik and hums softly. "You really haven't looked outside, have you? Haven't question the odd creatures that roam this house? The doors that appear out of nowhere when you need something?" He sighed and shook his head. He pets Smoke casually and hums in relaxation.
"No?" He said slowly, glancing over towards the window and wondering if he should look outside or not. If Kieran thought it would unsettle him…maybe he shouldn't. But at the same time…maybe he should. He really had no idea what he should have done in this situation.
He chuckles softly and gently places Smoke into his lap. "You must understand that looking outside might make you dizzy or sick." He warned. "So I'd be careful." He chuckles and scratches behind Smoke's ears. "I don't know if you've noticed, but this place isn't exactly like the human realm." He leans back slightly, his horns glinting in the faint light.
"I've noticed." He responded dryly, shaking his head just a little. "And I…think I won't look out the door yet." He smiled very faintly, glancing at Smoke again. Smoke purred happily, eyes sliding shut and leaning into Kieran's hand.
He hummed and chuckles a little bit, "That's probably wise." He teases gently. He glanced down at Smoke. "You are just the cutest thing I've ever seen." He coos softly, kissing the kitten on the forehead. "Absolutely adorable." He returned his attention back to Nik, "Is there anything I can get you?" He tilts his head a little bit.
Nik thought for a moment. "Has Smoke been getting his formula?" he asked. "He's still a little young to only be eating hard food." Smoke seemed fine, but he wanted to make sure that the kitten had been properly taken care of.
He nods and smiles a little bit. "Yes, Ash has been making sure that he's been getting his formula." He chuckles, "Ash said in a few weeks he would probably start feeding Smoke soft food and work their way to hard food." He hummed and gently pets the kitten. "Whatever supplies you need for Smoke, don't be afraid to ask."
