Chapter Text
Chapter 1
Celine's POV.
It's a bad idea.
A very bad one.
She has no choice though.
It was instinct. As soon as she felt that tell tale tingle that ran up her spine, saw the magenta ripple flow around her, she was on her feet in an instant.
"A tear? Here?" she says as she looks around her, feeling along the new iridescent strings, needing to know where it hurts.
The new Honmoon is unknown to her. It's stronger than the old one, but her connection to it is weaker. No surprise there, she's...this one doesn't know her like the other one. Doesn't know her pain like the other one did.
Well...okay that's probably not correct, It probably does, it's not that different from it's predecessor but to Celine who had been connected to it for so long, she can tell the smallest differences.
That constant comforting hum is no longer there. The gentle nudges she would feel against the back of her mind when she got too lost in thought no longer happens. The cool wash that flowed over her when she woke violently from a nightmare is gone.
Much like it's creators...it's still young. While very capable in it's job as the barrier between worlds...there's a certain...seasoned grief that's absent.
Like it knows of old hunters, but has not experienced them. This one isn't tainted by the pain the old one carried with it, with how many deaths and tragedies it witnessed first hand.
400 years of experience now more a archive of detailed knowledge rather than memories.
Another red ripple, this one stronger, brings Celine out her head.
"Shit, okay. I'm on it." She says as she runs over to her office window, looking out into the vast forest that surrounds the Hunters Compound.
There, in the distance, a distinct glow of pink against the trees and overcast backdrop of the sky.
She leaps out the window without a second thought, landing flawlessly and silently on the ground, crouched to keep from breaking something, her gardening shoes getting a little dirty because of the wet mud due to the heavy rain from last night.
She's very nimble and steady for her age but that's what you get when you train every day for over 30 years without fail.
Her knees do crack a tiny bit but that's just normal. Even if she's more active and durable than most youngsters these days, her body is still aging with her, albeit with a little unfair advantage from the Honmoon.
Another thing that she's noticed is a little different to her old one, her lost friend and companion.
The Honmoon always helped keep it's hunters safe, be it helping heal wounds faster or breaking impossible falls, giving them 'Buffs' as Zoey once called them.
She still has them with this new Honmoon, but it almost feels like this one is learning from her, rather than the other way around.
Celine takes off towards the tree line but not before grabbing her trusty iron sickles from next to the tool shed on the way.
Yes she can just summon her duel blades from the Honmoon but...she's...she'd rather not interact with the new Honmoon more than is necessary.
Only using her weapons when disposing of any demons that have the unfortunate fate of crossing her path.
Despite the strong barrier holding the underworld in check, a few stragglers have been lucky enough to end up on the surface world before the complete seal of it.
Or what should have been the complete seal.
"Apparently even the new one can't keep them away. Why? I don't understand." Celine says as she weaves through the brush of the forest with expert ease, knowing these woods like the back of her hand.
She gets closer to the source of the ripples, feeling the dull ache of them as she climbs the tall trees, silently, like a stalking predator.
She doesn't know what came through or how many of them and since she's alone, she can't afford to jump into the unknown recklessly.
So she jumps from branch to branch, tree to tree to avoid being spotted, using the cover of the leaves to conceal her.
Thank the Honmoon she's not in any colourful clothing. She mostly dresses in earth tones anyway but still.
She eventually comes across a clearing in the middle of the woods where the pack of demons are. All Dokkaebi, scouts themselves it seems, prowling around.
The usual suspects, goblin little shits, all different colours with the standard swirl of patterns, horns and tusks, nothing new. Still though...
"What are you doing all the way out here, huh? There's no one out here but me. And no one is scheduled to be here any time soon." Celine whispers to herself as watches them, taking note of how many there are.
It was not unusual for a few hordes of demons to try their luck at attacking the elusive Lone Hunter all those years ago.
They believed she was vulnerable...which sure...reasonable assumption, one that was quickly corrected but she didn't blame Gwi-ma for trying anyway, the opportunistic bottom feeder that he is.
Those attacks lessoned the more the years went by and the older and stronger Rumi got.
Soon it was only a few that Celine used to give the girls experience in the hunt before they we're ready to go out and protect the world themselves.
Again, they tried to attack her but eventually learned that just because she was alone, didn't mean she was helpless.
The opposite actually.
At least with the other Hunters around she showed more restraint...most time anyway.
They didn't need to see her lose control during hunts. They couldn't see her pain. Her desperation and anger.
Her flaws.
Except that was the problem, wasn't it. Had they seen it...maybe things would have turned out differently.
Maybe they would have understood more. Maybe they would have helped. Maybe they would have been stronger-no they are stronger.
She's the weak one.
And she almost destroyed everything a second time because of it.
It doesn't matter now. They're fine. They're happy and that's what matters. They're not buried six feet under like the others that suffered because of her failure.
They're not with her...but they're alive and that's enough.
She's better alone.
The universe seems to think so anyway. Ever since the loss of her bandmates she's been running everything by herself.
Okay technically not all by herself, she had to have teams and others around to do certain things, especially with the founding of Sunlight Entertainment but...you know...she was alone.
Mi-yeong and Tae-hee died and she went from part of a trio to a solo idol. A solo act. Then she created Sunlight Entertainment and she was a solo business owner.
And behind that she was a solo hunter. Running hunts and killing demons alone because her partners were gone.
The only thing left was the little infant.
And just like that...to a child that didn't even belong to her, she was a solo mother.
And a bad one at that.
She'll never be able to look at that stupid tree the same way again.
At least she seemed to be a better solo mentor. Huntrix is every bit better than any hunter generation that came before them. Of this she's sure.
Especially if this new Honmoon has anything to say about it.
Though she knew they would be long before they debuted.
She did something right, at least.
Barely.
She's getting lost in her head again. Bad. She needs to focus. Just because she's retired doesn't mean she should be slacking.
And just because these demons are little more than guppies to her doesn't mean she should let her guard down.
She stays sat on the branch a little longer as she waits to see what the small pack plans to do but they don't do anything...it's frustrating.
"What is going on down there? They're not doing anything." She says to herself.
They're just patrolling the area, as if lost or looking for something.
"This is so stupid. I've got things to do."
She surveys the area a few more times, slowly, taking in everything she can before she shifts herself off the branch she perched on, using her sickles to hook on it and swinging with momentum down onto her first victim, one of the bigger ones.
She kicks it in the head, between the horns, disorienting it, using its huge body as a object to vault over to the one right behind it, wrapping her legs around its head and swinging her body to bring it down onto its back.
She remembers showing Zoey that move. She was very excited to learn.
She smiles slightly at the shocked expressions of the rest of the pack. She summons one of her blades, the angelic shing it sounds with the bright blue glow, and plunges it into the chest of the demon she's just immobilised.
It disappears in a sprinkle of magenta dust as she slowly rises, dispelling her blade back to the barrier.
"Lost?" she asks, voice carrying false concern, dangerous and sultry.
The rest exchange bewildered glances, visibly nervous as they gear themselves up for a fight.
"What? You weren't expecting me? This is my property you just trespassed on." She says, body language light and playful as she flips her sickles in her hands.
She eyes them with a bored expression but her amusement is evident in her eyes. A mischievous glint that sends a shiver down their backs.
The kind that tells you a more dangerous predator is present.
"Do you know how I deal with trespassers?" She asks, not expecting an answer as she smirks.
A growl breaks the tension as the first demon dares to attack. She effortlessly evades the clawed hand, ducking under the arm and delivering a sharp elbow to the sternum.
The demon wheezes on impact and isn't given a chance to even comprehend what just happened before it's being body tossed by the neck into the next that decided to charge at the one man handling it.
The two land in a heap on the ground, tangled as Celine summons her blade again, swiping across their necks.
Once they've sparkled out of existence her eyes focus on the remaining...one...two...three-eight!
"You're lucky I'm busy today, or this would go very differently." She says as a matter of fact.
The big one she foot booped hard on the forehead apparently took that personally as it immediately charges at her.
She rolls her eyes at this. They couldn't change tactics? Not even a little? Couldn't even fight together? No? Fine.
She waits until it's within arm range, side stepping out the way as it tries to barrel into her.
She uses her sickle to catch it by the leg, pulling hard, flipping it around and into the air slightly. It spins in the air until upside-down and while airborne, Celine just...front punts it.
No flair or fancy stuff.
Just one firm and brutal kick that sends it way out the clearing, disappearing somewhere into the trees.
It's a real fuck you in particular kind of kick.
She can hear Zoey saying 'this is Sparta!' in her mind and it would make her chuckle under her breath if it also didn't make her solemn.
God she misses the girls so much...she really fucked up big time and now they hate her.
"Great. Now I'm sad again." She mumbles to herself as she turns back to face her next attacker.
She ducks the fist that flies her way, almost bored as she twist it's arm behind it's back, holding it against her chest, her mouth right by its ear as it whimpers in pain, the sharp point of her sickle biting into the side of its neck.
"Tell me, what's the selection process for who gets sent up, huh? Did you lose a bet?" She asks and it hisses back in indignation.
"You hunters are all the same. Calling us monsters when you're just as cruel. You enjoy hurting us." it says.
Well...okay that's fair.
"You're not wrong." Celine says and slices across its neck, not deep enough to decapitate it, but enough that if it was human it'd be dead.
It gurgles on its own blood, an inky black like substance spilling from the cut and it's mouth as she drops it to its knees.
She kneels beside it as it clutches it's wound, trying in vain to stop the flow, her eyes watch the others prowl around her, waiting.
"I've never claimed to be better." She says, twirling her sickle, shaking the blood off it absent mindedly.
"Believe it or not, when I was first brought in to this I thought the way my mentors taught us to deal with you all was...unnecessary." She says and glances at the black blood dripping onto the forest floor.
It shines under the small rays of light that break through the dense tree leaves from above. You wouldn't believe it to be blood with how void it is.
She shakes her head and stands, rolling her shoulders. She glances back at the gurgling demon.
It won't die. Demon's don't die. They can't, not even by the blessed blades. They just get banished back to the underworld.
Can't kill what's already dead...kinda.
So it will just stay there, perpetually drowning in it's own blood until she decides to put it out it's misery...
And send it back to its other misery.
"As time goes on though, you get used to it. It doesn't tug at your heart strings as much." She says as she sets her sights on another demon.
"Every innocent you snatched from the world, every soul lost..." She continues, moving forward fast and clashing blades with a smaller, more nimble demon.
"You start to understand why we have to do what we do." She says, looking it in it's yellow eyes.
It growls at her and she pushes it way, only to then use her sickle to hook it back by its neck, pulling it in.
She drops into a slight crouch as it stumbles towards her. Once it's within range, picks it up and onto her shoulder as she sees another one charging in.
She jumps, demon still laying across her back, as she plants one foot on the others knee, pushing up, using her free leg to wrap around it's head and twist her body to sit on the back of its neck.
With her momentum, she swings backwards fast, body slamming the demon on her shoulders onto the muddy ground while simultaneously pulling the demon under her back with her.
Channeling a little bit of extra strength from the Honmoon, she kicks demon into the air, popping up into a standing position with finesse, waiting for it to come back down before jumping, sinking her sickle into its ankle, spinning and with a firm tug, full sending it into the demon still on the ground.
The two bounce with how hard the impact was, getting well over two feet off the ground.
Celine pounces upwards, her sickles hook them both by the neck, and throws them so high up they both hit a thick branch on one of the trees above.
While those start their fall back, Celine turns her attention to a fast approaching demon running at her on all fours.
"Soon, your pain means very little when compared the agony you cause the world." She says, blowing the lock of hair that fell out of place and into her face.
She meets the demon head on, using her sickles to counter every swing of its claws, the sparks from every clash lighting between them.
She manages to grapple the demon into a choke hold, looking up to see how far the other two are from them.
She wrestles it to the ground before grabbing it by the legs, she grunts slightly as she swings it to the side, body tossing it to meet the two falling demons, and all three fly into the hard trunk of a thick tree.
Several sickening cracks echo through the otherwise silent forest. Even she cringes at the sound, she never did get used to hearing it. It makes her body shrivel slightly at it.
With a single motion she summons and sends her spirit blade in their direction, banishing all three before dispelling it back to the Honmoon.
"Indifference then turns to anger, when a hunter is lost. And with it the need to avenge our fallen arises." She says and then makes quick work of the rest of the demons.
All but the one now slumped against a tree, still choking on its never ending blood.
She slowly approaches it, before crouching in front of it, eyes empty and cold as she watches it struggle to breathe air it doesn't even need.
It's eyes have tears flowing freely from them, glinting in the rays of sun that shine on its patterned face.
"But revenge is never fulfilling, is it? Because our fallen remain out of reach. Forever lost to us." She says, eyes scanning it's entire form with fascination and slight disgust.
"So our anger remains, and festers and builds and builds and builds and soon...all that's left is resentment." She says and lifts her sickle to its wounded neck, lifting its head by it's chin to check the wound.
It whimpers pathetically, eyes pleading for mercy. To end its suffering.
"Resentment leads to hate and hate...well that's a very hard thing to let go of when it's all you've felt for a while. It becomes a crutch. A reason for everything you do." She says and drops her sickle from its neck, laying it on the ground beside her.
"So we use that. We use our hate for you to protect the world..." She lifts her hand this time, gently caressing it's cheek, thumb trailing along it's patterns.
Despite it's fear, it leans into her touch. She feels deep pity for it.
"So yes, you've become acceptable targets for us." She says, looking into its terrified eyes.
"We enjoy the hunt, reveal in your pain sometimes...we become your monsters under the bed." She says and she removes her hand.
"So you can call us cruel for it...but none of you have ever given us any reason to be anything else." She summons her blade.
"Most of you anyway. There's always an exception." She says with a sad sigh as she lifts the blade to its chest.
"We're both monsters...both slaves to the life. Duty bound. Only difference is I fight to protect the souls that remain while you..." She slowly pierces the blade into it, eyes never leaving the yellow irises.
"...you fight for something that's long gone." She says and pushes until the blade is fully sheathed in the demon's chest, a slight burning sound coming from the point of contact as it's being starts to deteriorate.
"I wish I could give you the release you seek." She says, voice soft and the demon whines, clawed hand shaking as it reaches for her.
Seeing this she takes it, holding it.
"Believe me I understand the crave for death to escape the torment of your own mind." She says and squeezes the patterned hand before dropping it.
She stands as it's body starts disappearing, recalling her blade as she watches it's still gurgling form stare at her with a mix of dread and gratitude.
"When you appear before your King...be brave." She says and she swears she sees the demon nod slightly before it's gone.
She stands there, listening to the silence that falls over the area.
She bends down to pick up her sickles, grimacing at the black blood that coats their blades.
She shakes them to at least get most of it off before turning her attention to the tear that's in the distance.
She should probably do something about that.
Will this Honmoon even respond to her voice that way?
She hums the first notes of one of her old famous songs. The Honmoon sings back, not as strong as the old one did but that's to be expected.
Solemnly, she begins her trek to the tear as she hums and sings to slowly begin stitching it.
It's been a while since she's had to hunt this way. It's strange that the tear happened here. Usually they happen in the cities, near where the current active hunters are because they're protecting the masses.
Strange.
She can't say she misses it though but it was nice to get out for a bit.
She wonders if the girls are dealing with the same thing on their end. She hopes not. They deserve to not worry about it after...everything.
No thanks to her.
Okay no, don't go there, she can't be spiralling during a time like this. There's still work to be done.
She'll have her time to break down. Just not now. She needs to focus on fixing things.
No. Not fixing, there's no fixing what she did.
Repenting.
She gets to the tear, it's almost fully closed. Bending down beside it, she sings the final bars louder as it shines brightly, the last stitches closing until all that remains is the iridescent waves.
It's beautiful...but she can't help but miss her moody blue.
A terrible shriek in the distance breaks the almost serene atmosphere.
Celine's head snaps up to look in the direction it came from. Another demon? Did another tear appear? She didn't feel it.
Wait no, the Dokkaebi demon she kicked from the clearing is probably still running around.
Why it didn't just rejoin the fight is beyond her but no matter, she'll just deal with it before returning to the compound.
Just as she starts walking toward where she thinks it is, a much more frightening, deeper, growl echoes from that direction.
A cold chill runs down her spine as her hairs stand on end, freezing her in her step.
That's no animal sound she's familiar with. Demon or not.
There's something else out here.
The growl sounds again, and Celine has to shake off her fear. If there's an unknown in her woods, she needs to find out what it is.
She reaches out to the Honmoon briefly, hoping it might help give her an idea of what's out there but it gives her nothing.
That's a little reassuring. Means it's most likely not a demon.
Which also means it could be something worse.
Or this Honmoon is just not connected to her that way as the old one was. That too.
She steels herself and briskly makes her way towards the unknown. She scales the trees, hoping to get a view of this new potential threat before it sees her first.
A cold sweat breaks out as she gets to another clearing, resting on a high branch as she surveys the area below, checking the tree line.
It's silent. Too silent. Everything alive in the area has left. So a predator is close. This doesn't look good.
Moving gracefully along the branches, sickles used to hook and carry her movements.
She stops, eyes sharp and ears listening for anything. She gets the feeling she's being watched and that already spells bad news because she's been spotted without seeing what sees her.
Her ears pick up a slight rustle from a disturbed brush down below. Frowning, she tries to move to get a view of what it could be.
She can't see anything from her position so she's forced to climb down.
Soundlessly she hits the ground, staying low and alert as she stalks towards the rustling.
Whatever it is, it's behind a large bush. Reading herself, she uses one of her sickles to cut through it.
Her blood runs cold and her breath gets caught in her throat.
The Dokkaebi demon...it's been torn to shreds, barely in one piece where it lays, butchered and bloody.
It's still alive, because demons don't die. Not even when they're like this.
It looks at her, more terror in its eyes than she's ever seen in a demon before. Which is saying something because she's seen demons completely consumed by fear before.
Because of her but that's not the point.
What could have possibly did this kind of damage...to a demon...except another demon.
That feeling of dread intensifies as she looks around. She checks for any evidence, any marks left.
She sees claw marks all over the trees that surrounds the area, a lot of disturbed ground, large clawed foot prints in the muddy soil.
Sprays of black ink all over the area, the demon's blood no doubt, but it's like it was thrown like a rag doll all over the place.
"Shit." Celine whispers to herself as she turns back to the demon immobilized in agony.
"I'm sorry." She whispers.
After all, it's probably her fault it ended up here, had she just banished it instead of taking her frustrations out on it...
It whimpers, its only remaining yellow eye pleading.
With surprising compassion, she lays her hand on it's head, summoning her blade in the other.
"I've got you. It will be over soon." She says as she plunges her spirit blade into its chest.
"T-th-an-k..." comes out the wet broken word the demon tries to say.
"Shh..." Celine says, stroking it's matted hair.
"Save your strength for when you face your King." She says.
She removes her blade, sending it back to the Honmoon just as the demon disappears back to the underworld.
Standing at her full height, she focuses on the abnormally large beast tracks that lead toward the direction of the compound. She clutches her sickles, anger slowly growing in her chest as she surveys the carnage.
She's the only thing that's allowed to haunt these woods.
Taking a closer look at the tracks she guesses it's about 8 feet tall at the least, bipedal, but could move on all fours, judging by the stride pattern and the occasional claw print that's different from the others.
She starts following the tracks, taking in everything she can as she goes.
It's tall but not heavy, the prints aren't that deep even with the soft soil. So it's very light on its feet. Likely an ambush predator.
It's looking for something, the tracks keep branching off before returning to the path it was taking.
It also probably has black fur. She found a small clump of it on the bark of a tree that had slight claw marks on it.
She's so focused on the trail of the tracks that she didn't notice she's being followed. It's the sudden burning in the back of her mind that has her turning sharply, weapons raised.
Nothing.
Standing her ground she eyes the trees, the bushes, listening...waiting.
Whatever it is, it's out there, watching her.
Her white top and grey shirt is drenched in sweat, grey pants muddied and dirty from rolling around the forest floor, hair sticking to her face but her body holds firm even though she's trembling on the inside.
She hates this feeling. She hasn't felt like prey in a very long time and she doesn't like it. Not one bit.
The breeze blows gently through the trees, a soft rustle of the leaves covers the dead silence of the world around her.
Then she smells it.
A whiff of something...smokey, ashy...on the wind.
Demon.
Summoning her spirit blade she immediately sends it in the direction of that smell, sure and true.
Suddenly the silence is broken by an enraged and pained roar.
It's loud and all consuming, she feels it in the ground beneath her and her heart thumps in her ears as she stands frozen and waiting.
Not a moment later a large black form emerges from the brush, heading straight for her at a speed she's almost not prepared for.
All she sees before she has to move out the way is bright white tusks, yellow eyes and deep blue claws.
"Fuck!" she exclaims as she dodges the attack, rolling out the way.
She barely gets to her feet before she feels more than hears the next attack. She jumps back, almost getting hit by a large claw as she raises her weapon to block another.
The snarling beast is too fast. She can barely keep up with it, her heart seized in her chest and fear starts to crawl over her body.
Her top and pants are shredded with all the close calls of those claws. Some she's not fast enough to evade and she gets nipped.
The only reason she hasn't been caught in them yet is because she's forced to use the 'buff' the Honmoon has gifted her since she first connected with it.
She's always been fast...but with the Honmoon she's a blur of limbs and blades.
And even with that she's struggling.
Maybe it's because she's not used to using this Honmoon how she would her own, maybe it's because this...creature is just too fast period, she doesn't know.
She does know that if she can't keep evading, she has to do something.
She recalls her spirit blade and as she does the beast suddenly stops. Firm in its stance as it stares her down.
Celine pauses in whatever it was that she was doing as she uses this opportunity to get a good look at it.
She was right. It's fucking huge! A giant black and...blue? patterned....it's like a big...cat. Like a panther but...walking on two legs.
It's got the tusks but no horns, though it's ears do kind of looks like horns with how long the tips are, a strip of what looks like blue flames along its spine, all the way down to its...tails? Tail...that splits into two towards the end.
Well that explains the smokey smell. Demons usually just smell like ash.
It's...tails...are almost as long as it's body, with long thin spikes lined around just near the tips of them, kind of reminds her of a stingray barb Zoey was ranting about at one point, and they're the only indication that show it has patterns.
Barely, because of its dark fur. Which doesn't even look like fur it's so smooth and shiny.
Instead of the usual purple patterns, they're blue, like the small flames on it back. And instead of the usual swirls, it's got stripes...they kinda look like Rumi's...
Rumi!
Please god it's not after her is it? She's not here but still.
Celine's vision tunnels as she puts all her focus on this...demon.
If it's here for Rumi, if it was sent by Gwi-ma...She'll make sure it doesn't get a chance to touch her baby.
This time she attacks first.
Apparently the demon did not expect that because she swears she sees a bewildered expression on its face as she pounces.
She goes low, aiming for its legs to bring it down to her level. It almost doesn't work with how strong it is but a well placed strike of her sickle to the back of its knee has it almost falling on top of her.
She rolls out the way just in time though and moves to jump it again but it seems to have gotten over it's shock as it grabs her by her mid-section and just straight up throws her away.
The yelp she let's out is embarrassing but that's the least of her issues when she hits the ground hard, rolling across the muddy forest floor before the bite of rough tree bark at her back stops her.
She groans in pain. That hurt. A lot.
"Ow."
She just realised how long it's been since she's gotten her ass beaten. For so many years she's been the best fighter around. Not even her young hunters' combined efforts have managed to get her like this.
Mira would love to see her dethroned.
"Not happening. I'm not about to be upstaged by this glorified cat. No matter how cool it looks." She says as she slowly gets to her feet again.
If it sprouts wings she's going to lose her mind.
She looks up at it and it snarls at her, huffing out a puff of light blue smoke from it's mouth.
She hopes it doesn't breathe fire too. She will actually lose her mind.
"What part of hell did you crawl out of? You're too pretty to be Gwi-ma's. Where'd he steal you from?" she says, breathless as she takes a defensive stance.
The only answer she gets is a warning hiss.
"Can't talk? That's fine. Let's just get this over with."
They clash again, blades and claws clanging like hammer to metal. They fight like siblings feuding for a throne.
At one point the both end up on the ground, breathing heavily, a short truce as they try to catch their breath.
It seems evenly matched but that's not true. Celine is absolutely being tossed around like toy.
She's been giving as good as she's getting if her sickles all red with its blood has anything to say-wait....
Red?
Demons don't have red blood.
Is it her blood?
No, none of her injuries are bleeding enough for the amount that coats her weapons.
Looking up at the looming beast, who even while laying down, towers over her, eyes scanning its body.
She can't see where she's scratched it. It's fur too dark and think. Except...there...it's shoulder, where her Honmoon blade struck it...the wound leaks bright red under the sliver of sun peaking through the trees.
"What are you..." She whispers, the rough housing feel of the atmosphere they had while throwing each other around shatters as fear grips at her heart.
She slowly gets up to move away from it. Seeing this, the...demon...follows, as if sensing the change.
It prowls forward as Celine moves back, weapons raised.
If it's not a demon, she might not be able to banish it. At least...she doesn't think so.
But if it bleeds red...maybe...
If she can't send it away...she has to kill it.
As if seeing her decision...the beast jumps, jaws wide open, eyes flashing from yellow to blue, flames bright and smoke coming from its snout.
She holds her arm up instinctively as her other swings her sickle.
It happens too fast, the sickle sinks into its injured shoulder just as it's jaw locks onto her arm, fangs breaking skin.
They both yell out in pain as they fall.
Celine's vision goes white with the pain that shoots through her body. It spikes into her head where it rings something fierce.
She feels her mind tearing itself, like the unravelling of a string keeping fabric together. Every snap pangs painfully as she clutches her head, screaming at the top of her lungs.
She can't see anything yet pictures flash across her eyes so fast she can't make out anything. Loud ringing overtaken by a conglomeration of familiar voices getting more deafening by the second.
She doesn't notice herself changing.
She doesn't feel as claws pick her up.
She doesn't hear the scream of her name in the distance.
She doesn't feel the ripple of the new Honmoon wrapping itself around her desperately.
When she finally gets through the fog...all she sees is yellow eyes and all she feels is pain and fear.
She let's out a yell, jumping to get away from the beast that holds her.
The fall from the beasts claws to the muddy forest floor is...longer than she remembers...but no less terrifying.
She instinctively turns her body mid fall to land on her paws-
Paws?
Paws. What else would they be?
Pain shoots up from her paw and she looks down to see a almost mangled limb, red blood coating her black fur.
She looks up at the looming shadow. Yellow eyes pierce her own and the smell of smoke and ash assault her nose.
She sees red dripping from its open maw and puts two and two together. This beast...this demon...hurt her.
It steps forward and she flinches. Fear encases her tiny body as it moves closer.
She can't stay here. She has to get away. Before it hurts her again.
A yell in the distance grabs the demon's attention and Celine uses the distraction to run.
She runs and runs and runs as fast as her legs can carry her. Injury be damned. Her vision is blurry as she scrambles to find a safe place.
She hears a deep growl and runs faster.
She see a small opening under a large tree. There. The demon is too big to fit, but she can. She slips slightly as she changes direction but she manages to keep her balance.
She slides under the roots of the tree as soon as she gets to it. Slides right into the puddle that sits under it.
Now she's soaked. Shaking herself off, she looks down at her reflection.
Her black fur is dirty and caked in mud and blood. Her brown eyes wide with fear. She looks terrible. That's one sorry imagine.
Just a sad pathetic wet cat.