Out for a Stroll (Nox and Kardus)

Two little girls were out for a walk on a nice sunny day. Right now, they were on the sidewalk on Jump City's Bay Bridge. One of the girls, Shivering Jemmy, was carrying a suspicious red umbrella to keep the sun out of her eyes. She brushed her yellow hair out of her face as her orange eyes stared out at the ocean. "Maybe we should take some swimming lessons. Then we could swim right across the ocean."

Jemmy looked at her friend and smiled. "Happy birthday, by the way. I'm sorry I didn't get you a present. If you see anything you want, just ask and I'll get it for you. Although now that I'm trying to be a good guy, I suppose I'll have to borrow the money...or get a job."

The two of them suddenly came upon a cloaked figure, sitting on the sidewalk in the shade behind one of the bridge's large metal beams. Jemmy had recently lost her ability to sense magic and read minds, so she had no idea who this person was. Car after car drove past without giving any of them a second look. In Jump City, the people had become quite used to seeing mysterious cloaked figures. It was usually best to pretend you didn't see them.

"Hey Mister," Jemmy said. "You're kinda in our way."

Annie and Kasha walked along happily with their friend Jemmy, with Kasha walking between them in his wolf form. It was indeed an nice and sunny day out, and Annie wore a red baseball cap to keep the sun out of her eyes too. She looked pretty cute in it too. Annie listened as Jemmy said they should take swimming lessons, and looked out at the ocean with her. She smiled and responded, "I can already swim okay; Kasha taught me how. He could try to help me teach you if you want."

As they walked further, Jemmy brought up something else. She wished Annie a happy birthday, which made Annie happy that she remembered. Kasha must have told Jemmy when her birthday was before she lost the telepathic powers. She smiled, touched and happy that Jemmy would offer to get her something. "Thank you Jemmy, and that's okay. You don't have to get me anything. I'm happy with what I already have." Annie mean it too, because what she had was Jemmy and Kasha to love and take care of her; and right now that was all she really wanted.

They came to a hooded figure, and Annie and Kasha both looked at him. They immediately knew that this person wasn't ordinary, but then again this was Jump city. Who WAS ordinary? They could feel a mix of emotions in him, mostly curiosity. Kasha guessed he must be new to the city; no...more like this world in general. Was he from another planet or dimension? It wouldn't be the first time it had happened. They doubted he was dangerous, but Annie gently took hold of Kasha's scruff anyway; just for a feeling of security. "Um, what she means is, can we move past you please?"

A cool breeze breathed through Jump city on a beautiful sunny day.  Nox sat sat on the sidewalk, leaning against one of the support beams of a bridge.  He rested with his eyes closed, listening to the world around him and feeling the cool of the shade.  It was still an intriguing feeling to him.  Where he was from, nothing was ever cold, or even moderately cool.  The temperature here would definitely take some getting used to.

All around him Nox could hear people talking... of meetings, restaurants, relationships, and swimming lessons.  One pair of voices sounded oddly closer than the rest.  One of the voices was informing someone that they were in the way, the other doing so in a more polite manner.  It took a few seconds before Nox realized, Wait...  They are most likely talking to me.  He opened his eyes... that is, if you consider a pair of red slits in a black fog of a face as eyes.

Nox looked up to see two girls looking down at them.  With them stood a very strange-looking dog.  Nox stared at the animal for a few seconds wondering what it was, before snapping out of his thoughts.  "Oh, right, I'm in your way aren't I?  Terribly sorry about that."  He stood up in an unusual manner, his non-solid body sliding up along the beam behind him until he was upright.  He smiled at the two girls, although he had no mouth or teeth in this form, it was visible in his eyes.  He voice trailed off as he spoke again, half to himself.  "I wonder why no one else has..."

Kasha had taught Annie how to swim? Wait, that meant Annie knew how to do something that Jemmy couldn't. Jemmy felt jealous, and a little disappointed in herself. Annie was like her little sister, so Jemmy was supposed to be a role model. Well, maybe she wasn't a good role model, but still...

Wait, Jemmy noticed that Annie was 2 inches taller than her. When had that happened? Jemmy was sure that Annie had been shorter than her before. Had she grown taller? Or had Jemmy just not paid attention.

In any case, Jemmy was pretty sure Kasha wouldn't be able to teach her to swim. Jemmy couldn't hear the shadow wolf's telepathic voice anymore. Maybe she could get Marleigh to teach her.

"Maybe," she said, doubtfully. "Just when did you get so tall?"

Annie said that she didn't want anything for her birthday, and Jemmy was relieved. That would save her some effort.

A few seconds later, the cloaked man moved out of the way and apologized. Jemmy got a closer look at him. He looked like something out of a horror movie, complete with red, inhuman eyes. He stared asking a question, but his voice trailed off.

"What?" Jemmy was looking right at him, twirling her red umbrella. This would be a good time to show off what a good person she had become to Annie. "I mean, sir, are you lost? Maybe we can help you find where you're going. We live here, so we know how to get pretty much everywhere. I even know how to go to...other places, if you don't belong here."

Annie and Kasha blinked as they watched Nox move out of the way. Though his outward appearance may have seemed frightening, this person didn't seem to be dangerous or hostile. Still, Annie and Kasha wondered what he was. He clearly wasn't human...was he? He didn't feel like it.
Annie was about to ask what the figure was saying, when Jemmy asked first. For right Now Annie would only wait to hear it. She and Kasha were curious now. She nodded when Jemmy offered to help the figure if he was lost, but she wasn't sure if that was the case.

While Annie stood still, Kasha stepped a bit close and sniffed at Nox. Annie soon then pulled him back. "Kasha~ Poc-sokten." Kasha listened, but still kept a curious eye in Nox.

With a start, Nox looked back down at Jemmy.  "Sorry, I was only wondering why no one had told me that I was blocking their way.  I'd been sitting here for almost an hour now." He stood silent as he listened to Jemmy's offer for help. There wasn't really anywhere he needed to go, though.  "Thank you very much for the offer, but don't have anywhere I need to be."  As he spoke, he eyed the strange dog sniffing at him.  It was a bit humorous to him, as a shadow would have no scent.

The young girl the dog was with, and that strange language she spoke, however, was intriguing.  In his many years of trips to Earth, he'd never heard speech like that.  Not that it mattered, anyway.  He bent down to look at the animal better.  It looked very much like himself, but with a blue tint.  He looked at Annie out of the corner of his eye, "May I ask what kind of dog this is?"

Nox said that he didn't have anywhere he needed to be. Jemmy nodded, thinking. He asked what kind of dog Kasha was. Jemmy was surprised that he didn't know. After all, Nox and Kasha looked like they could almost be kin.

"You're obviously not from around here. Why are you on this world, demon? And why should I let you stay?" She didn't sound menacing as she asked this. She just actually wanted to know the answers to those questions. She was guessing that the man was a demon, but she had no way to know for sure. She had never realized how valuable that magical sensory had been before losing it. "I don't want to be racist, but demons are evil 99% of the time. I'll make it easy, what do you want to do?"

Annie listened curiously as the figure spoke the rest of what he was thinking. It was a good question; why DID no-one else spoke to him? She guessed not many people walked on the bridge. The figure replied to Jemmy and knelt down to look at Kasha better, and Kasha stared back. The wolf might have been about as curious about him as he was about the wolf. He asked what Kasha was, which Annie had to think about.

Before she answered, however, Jemmy seemed to have a few questions of her own. It seemed like she was suspicious of the figure and prying to learn why he was here and what he wanted. Annie could already feel that there may have been some truth to what Jemmy was saying; but while Jemmy was concerned that he might be a problem to this world, and Kasha was trying to gauge if he was dangerous or not, Annie was worried what Jemmy was saying might hurt his feelings. Of course, she should worry about who and what he is too, but she had Kasha for that. "He doesn't seem evil to me..." she told Jemmy in a kind and understanding voice. "Kasha would tell me if he though he was." Though the truth was that Kasha was still forming his opinion of Nox, he didn't seem evil so far.

Annie then looked to Kasha, then to Nox and tried to answer his question. "Um...it's kind of hard to explain what Kasha is... Kasha would say he's a being of shadow infused with magic. He's bound to me and lives off the magic that I provide to him, and he protects me." Hopefully that helped satisfy his curiosity.

Nox's eyes locked onto Jemmy.  Was it that obvious to her that he was a demon?  Even if it was obvious, this girl knew what demons looked like, and therefore had most likely survived an encounter with one.  He slowly stood, and looked down at Jemmy, "What do I want to do?  That's quite simple actually.  I want to work against my demonic brothers and sisters and do everything in my power to inhibit them from attaining their goals.  You will allow me to stay because I cannot leave, I am banished to this realm."  That was it.  He had no other goals, and although he wouldn't say so, he had no idea how he would achieve this goal.

He looked to Annie as well, and listened closely as she spoke.  The mention of Kasha alerting her to evil intrigued Nox.  He patiently listened to the explanation given about Kasha.  A being of shadow... that description seemed very close to one that could suit himself.  "Kasha... that's a nice name.  Ah.  wait, I haven't told you my name.  How rude of me."  He stood and bowed. "I am Nox.  Nice to meet you both."

Jemmy looked up at Nox as he stood to his full height. He was a tall one. She grinned at his answer. So Nox was an outcast, a "white sheep" from the dark fold of demons. His intentions seemed good enough, though surprisingly pure in nature. Jemmy wondered just what had occurred to change his moral compass so severely.

But perhaps she was being too nosy. As long as he was 'good,' then Jemmy didn't really need to know anything else. Kasha had apparently found no fault with him, and Kasha had quite the nose for such things.

After all, Kasha hadn't trusted Jemmy when they had first met. Perhaps he still didn't.

The demon introduced himself as Nox. He bowed. Jemmy did not bow back. She was impressed that he showed proper respect, even if he didn't know who she was. While it was fun to pretend to be a human, Jemmy was still feeling down about being shorter than Annie. She decided to reveal her true nature, as an ego-boost.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Nox. I am Shivering Jemmy of the Shallow Brigade, a Lord of Chaos. I'll let you stay here because you want to, not because you were banished." It was a bold statement, one that she may or may not be able to back up. While Jemmy was powerful, she knew there were beings far stronger than her in the universe. Fortunately, after the Vanishing, that list had become quite short. Even if some arch-demon (or something greater) had been the one to banish Nox, it was Jemmy's policy to not care until she was told to care. She had that right.

"And this is my balloon, Red. He's a demon, like you. A little less handsome, perhaps."

Annie watched the interaction between Nox and Jemmy, and listened to Nox's answer to why he was here and why he should stay. It interested Annie, and Kasha even more. What exactly were the goals of his 'brothers and sisters'? Kasha figured that he probably was banished due to rebelling against them or working against them, though he couldn't be sure. He was curious now; but this was their first meeting and Annie felt like it would be rude to ask.

When came time for introductions, Annie smiled and nodded to Nox. "Nice to meet you too, Nox. My name's Annie." Kasha sat down by Annie at this point, who kept her hand placed on his neck. Then Annie blinked and something Jemmy said, and looked over at her. Red was a demon? This was a new one... Annie thought he was Jemmy's familiar, and started to wonder what made a demon a demon. She also noticed that Jemmy called him a balloon, but Red seemed to still be in the form of an umbrella. Annie poked Jemmy's shoulder to get her attention. "Um..." she said as she pointed to red.

Shallow brigade?  Lord of Chaos?  Jemmy's introduction, while impressive, was also a tad confusing for Nox.  He recognised the term "Lord of Chaos" but had never really stopped to wonder if they actually existed.  After all, he'd decided, how can one be a master of chaos, which by definition cannot be controlled?  Regardless, this girl had decided to allow Nox to stay, which pleased him, even though she most likely had no way to make him leave.

The other girl, who introduced herself as Annie, seemed very kind, but also soft-spoken.  These seemed to Nox like good qualities for a child to posses at such a young age.  Then there was the balloon... or... umbrella, Red.  Although Nox wasn't terribly familiar with human terms just yet, he was fairly certain that wasn't a balloon.  After all, his old job was harvesting souls, and lots of people seemed to die at parties...

"Well, thank you for your permission to stay, Jemmy.  I can't say that I've met a Lord of Chaos before, and I was in fact unsure of their existence."  He chuckled a bit at turned to Red.  "And it is nice to meet you, Red.  I wonder if we might have met before."

Jemmy's remark that Red was perhaps less handsome than Nox seemed odd, considering he was wearing his hood.  Surely there could be no harm in showing his face, considering both of these girls already knew he was a demon.  Thus, he lifted a hand to his hood, and as he pulled it back, it dissolved into a mist that merged with his ridged, gray face.  He smiled, revealing jet-black, jagged teeth, but still managed to look friendly.

Jemmy looked up at Red, wondering what Annie was hinting at. Oh! Red was still in umbrella form, even though Jemmy had introduced him as a balloon. Embarrassed, Jemmy blushed a little. She tried to cover it with anger, and her eyes suddenly glowed a furious orange.

"If you don't show your true form right now, I'll..." Her threat was never finished. Red reverted to a balloon. More than that, Red grew to three times his normal size, and even opened his eyes and sharp teeth. The transformation was so sudden that it might frighten most people. Jemmy didn't think of that until after the fact, though. For that matter, threatening her familiar was probably not a considerate thing to do in Annie's (and Kasha's) presence. "Sorry about that."

Red leaned in close to Nox, as if comparing faces. They shared their sharp eyes, sharper teeth, and otherwise featureless faces. In spite of Nox's question, Red said nothing. The demon simply studied Nox, as if trying to recall something from its forgotten past. Jemmy shrugged at the notion. "Who knows? Red wasn't always always my familiar. I don't remember when I found him. Perhaps he was nearly dead at the hands of a stronger opponent. Perhaps that opponent was me. All I know is that he's mine, and he's been the only consistent thing in my life for quite some time."

Jemmy turned to look out at the water. Tears filled her eyes for a moment, but she didn't know why. She wiped them away. She started swaying back and forth, feeling antsy. The little Lord of Chaos rarely stayed in the same place for very long. "So, we're on a walk. You're welcome to join us. We could tell you anything you wanted to know about Jump City, or about Earth, I guess. However, it might be more peaceful if we avoid attention. Can you disguise yourself?"

(OOC: Sorry for the major delay and low quality...  I've been in a rut as far as muse and time.  >< )

Annie actually felt a little sorry now.  She hadn't expect to embarrass Jemmy; though neither did she expect Red to change suddenly like he did.  Annie jumped a little, seeing the umbrella suddenly change into a balloon, with a face!  Kasha also jumped a little purely out of reflex, but they both soon relaxed.  

Kasha and Annie both observed as Nox and Red looked closely at each other.  Kasha began to grow curious about both of the demons, wondering where they came from and how they got here.  It seemed that not even Jemmy knew much about Red.  Annie continued just to listen and watch, looking to Nox and waiting to see if and how he would disguise himself or not.

Red's sudden transformation didn't startle Nox, but the reaction to threatening actually amused him a bit.  He realized that Jemmy must have been telling something close to the truth about being a Lord of Chaos, if she had a demon under her control.  Although he couldn't recall ever seeing a demon with a form such as Red's.

The demons stared each other in the face for a moment, both silent.  Nox wondered if Red could even speak, but he figured it better not to ask.  Instead he simply stared back.

Jemmy told him that it would be beneficial to travel discreetly, and Nox understood why.  Obviously, however, Jemmy didn't know what sort of demon Nox was, as she had to ask if he could disguise himself.  Yes, of course, I can bear a false appearance.  He began looking around.  "I only need something to mimic..."  His eyes drifted to Kasha, and he immediately made up his mind.  "You will suit my needs perfectly, Kasha."

As he spoke, his body seemed to trickle away into a mist, reforming into a canine shape.  When the change was complete, he stood looking at his original counterpart.  Nox was a tad larger than Kasha, and pure black with red eyes.   Spines jutted out through the fur on his back and tail, as well as the backs of his legs.  He turned and sat on the opposite side of Annie, trying his best to follow Kasha's actions as a wolf.