Never Surrender

Her eyes searched through him briefly as she listened to what he said nodding a little. The world was tearing itself to pieces; anyone would see that if they looked. Rustling her wings she followed before thinking silently before speaking “Where did you come from, where’s your home?” she asked him mostly just curious there were some things she could not uncover or thought it best to ask a person rather than just gleam it from their soul.

As they got closer she picked her pace up placing a hand on his shoulder and looked to him “Calm down, you’re on edge, even I can sense that, what good is an assassin who gets nervous, you need to remain calm” she said to him before walking on ahead flicking her wings a little getting closer cautious but careful and always remaining calm with the movements, she knew what was going on a little soul searching had always gotten her far in this life.

Grave was quiet for a few moments, considering how to answer her question. "I was born in a city far from here, inhabited by humans and demons. I've no home to speak of." was his answer. He deemed his explanation was concise enough to satisfy her curiosity. He felt elaborating further on the subject would be excessive and only cause... problems.

"Hm." Was Grave's only response to her mitigating words. Not one to admit his folly, he continued after her without a word. His unease continued to increase as the two continued. Perhaps 'unease' was only partially definitive of what he felt. It was a familiar impression that grew on him over time. The feeling soon evolved into foreboding as the city came into view. "Shit." He cursed as he suddenly took flight. There was an incredible presence emanating from within the city. That sense he was picking up was just what he feared; a soul demon was near.

Entering the city was no issue; there were no guards, no civilians, no lit torches or houses. Not a single sound could be heard near the city gates. Grave rushed onward toward the presence he felt, now scintillating intensely. Nearing the destination, a convulsing sob could be heard. The city square was large and empty of structures, likely used for shops and celebratory events in the past. It was now filled with the stench of rotting corpses. Bodies of countless angels lay strewn about in a pool of blood reaching almost two inches off the ground. In the very center of the plaza, a small girl sat on her knees, crying inconsistently between gasps and short screams. Scars and bruises decorated her pale skin along with stains of blood likely not hers. She appeared fairly young as reflected by her soul. She was only about 12 or so. Judging by the bodies' fresh states, Grave judged her to have been there for only a few hours.



"Dammit..." Grave muttered in pure lamentation; for a moment, sadness flickered through his eyes. The girl was too far gone, her mind had been shattered. He could see as much in her actions without looking into her eyes. Grave drew his sword and watched the girl closely. "She is near death, making her quite dangerous." He warned. He couldn't leave yet. "Keep a distance. I must deal with this..."

"Daddy... Da... ddy... Dadd... y..." The girl spoke frantically between gasps and sobs, eyes wide and unfocused. Her soul was incredibly fragile at the moment, but teemed with immense force.

She nodded a little but her footsteps stopped smelling death, they had always been able to sense it, always been close to it especially her. She could sense another soul demon yes but that was not anything she was concerned about in the slightest, that scent of death was both enticing, irresistible to her but it held sadness and such a deep almost ruthless sorrow. She was quick to see all the dead her eyes picking up every fading soul and landing she simply followed the scythe jerking a little “This is not the time” she whispered softly. Usually her and the scythe would welcome such an event, brought up just before the war food was scarce around the old hunting grounds.

Seeing the girl she closed her eyes, it pained her, she looked like her twin sister who died at 12, they looked nothing alike, never had but she had but she died in an accident when her seal became unstable.
Looking to him “I can look after myself, you do not need to tell me such things” she perched herself back on the scythe and sat there humming softly to make the girl go into a deep sleep, she would die suffering otherwise, least she could do was eliminate that fear. She let her voice travel to the girl’s ears in a soft melody making her silent fading breaths coming from her. She sang of family, of her own father who she had lost but twisting the words in such a way no one would know the difference. Finishing ehr song she looked to him "Let her atleast sleep in her final moments, she'll die yes but should it not be filled with sweet dreams not fear?"

His concern hadn't been placed on her safety, rather her lack of obligation. For some reason or another he usually took his people's burdens upon himself. Grave preferred not to stimulate the situation further. Holding his tongue, he listened to the song and watched the girl intently. As the song wore on, the air about her decreased in tenseness. The ambiance in the square became eerily still. Da... She whispered before her voice lost its volume. Her eyes slowly dimmed and gently shut; her cries simmered down to small exhales, eventually stabilizing as she slept. The tears finally stopped flowing. After the fall of silence, Grave waited a moment before moving.

"Agreed. I thank y--" He was cut off after taking his first step forward. In an instant, a corpse that lay at the girl's knees leaped from the ground at blinding speed. Grave was narrowly able to bring up his sword and block an oncoming slash. He braced his stance to stay the attacker's surprising strength. The corpse before him uttered a gurgling snarl, its inner throat was exposed and teemed with expiring bodily fluids. Just as quickly as he had approached, the assailant retreated back to the girl as Grave took a step back. The corpse remained standing.



Its body was unlike the others. The face and body was severely burned, the jaw's skin and muscle were literally melted off. Cuts and stab wounds adorned his clothing, though his body showed no signs of such injuries. He was likely burned alive and made to fight posthumously. Judging by his few unmarred features and remaining soul, he must have been the girl's father. His body was coated with a powerful aura matching the girl's soul. When driven to a state near death, soul demons exhibit extraordinary abilities unique to their development. Possession was undeniably her 'last stand'.

Grave sheathed his sword, approaching her body was dangerous. Instead he focused his energy and drove a spike toward the girl. The animated cadaver lunged forward with a gargled shriek, sensing the threat. It stopped a few feet short of him as the soul spike drove through the girl's heart. She was dead in an instant. The corpse guardian sank to the ground, a lifeless heap once more. Grave sent a spike through it as well. He absorbed the pair's souls while impaling their bodies.

His target was likely deceased. There were no souls left in the city besides theirs. He was neither relieved nor mournful. Emptiness returned to him. He stood staring blankly at the scene contemplating what to do next. This was unexpected and would deter his plans. The thought process was hindered by struggles to forget the grizzly event, one he had witnessed multiple times over but never quite lost its sting.

Seclusion watched before she wondered off, letting him deal with it something had sparked her curiosity, some buildings were not burnt specific ones and it was something she was curious about. Deadly with her on her back before returning she noticed the corpse had fallen and spoke “Loved his little girl, so very much, don’t need to read him to know that” she said in an emotionless voice. She sighed rustling her hair “What is wrong with this world, might as well just burn its self to complete ash for all I care and I have a lack obligation because I have nothing to oblige to, I have no goals anymore, nothing left to protect, utopians we fight to protect, that is our goal.” She said reading through him once more something she had figured out was likely the only way to get something from him at the moment.

She looked to the corpses with sorrowful eyes once more; unlike him she wasn’t emotionless and was not full of emptiness. It reminded her far too much of what had happened in her own city and let her head fall back to the sky taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. She rustled her wings before she shook it off once more, she would never cry in front of anyone, never had and never planned to. “We should get moving, whoever did this, I know is alive and they’ll be back for any survivors soon enough, make them into slaves or at least try to or a necromancer will try to use the bodies.

'Whoever did this, I know is alive.' Those words echoed through Grave's mind as a thought occurred to him. He took another look at all the bodies. Very few of them were actually armed. None of the corpses wore soldier's uniforms or armor for that matter. They were all civilians. Furthermore, some of the bodies had burns accompanying gouges and cuts. He quickly circumnavigated the square. The blood pooled slightly due to the square's depression compared to the rest of the city streets. However, there was no blood evident past the large circle. The thoughts slowly linked together, his mind focused more clearly than usual. "You are correct." He started.

"Most of these people were killed by the girl, but they were confined here. She was intentionally placed here..." Grave had a feeling he knew who had done this; his target was not beyond using cutthroat tactics to ensure his mission's completion. He tried thinking ahead. The next city was to the southeast, but there was a smaller town closer to the west. Since this slaughter was fairly recent, they would likely go to a nearby location; one with the least resistance and rations enough for a temporary stay. If they were returning, they would likely do so the next day after waiting out the town's purge.

"Westward." He stated, starting off in that direction. They would have ample time to reach the town during nightfall. A question arose from her earlier statement. "If you've none to protect, why fight now?"

She listened in silence and nodded “Indeed, I can see that but she was scared, she was terrified something drove her to do such a thing” she whispered before chuckling “My old tutor will be here soon, he loves these sort of places the old fool” she said rustling her hair and heard a deep voice behind her, the Grim Reaper was there behind her hooded and with his scythe. “My student, what are you doing in such an area, the soul demon there I understand”
“I love the smell of death, it usually means there is food for me” she answered before he got to work on guiding their spirits and faded souls away.

She turned and began to follow him. “Because if I don’t fight, I won’t survive, we aren’t exactly a race most people want around now days. Considered to only bring death nothing more nothing less and for me it is a far more complicated situation. However, that is a story for another time” she said

Grave faltered for a split second, feeling a strange presence behind them. He felt no hostility and decided to focus on the task at hand. This matter was now more important to him than ever. Vengeance was a strong depiction of his desire, but not far off in suitability. Continuing forth, he let the subject drop without further pressing. Her situation sounded quite familiar. He, however, had the luxury of being passable as a more commonplace demon. If she was attacked on sight due to her appearance, he could understand how simply living could be difficult. Neither case really mattered considering their current location.

The town they were approaching was obscured by a forest terrain. Night would still last for a while as predicted. Grave's pace slowed slightly as they neared their destination. They were surrounded in a matter of seconds, their presences easily discernible. The surrounding foes didn't attack or advance. Coming ever closer to the town they were stopped by a patrol, two soldiers standing guard. Their hands rested upon the hilts of their blades, ready to draw at the slightest suspicion. They were formidable judging by their souls' vivacious glow. Both of them exuded a faint smell of blood. Grave's eyes sharpened slightly in agitation.

"Hold. State your business." One of the guards asserted. His tone reflected no intention to let the two pass... or leave. Grave watched the angel's face as he spoke clearly. "We seek audience with Sariel." He took note of the flanking soldiers' position, now to his back.

The guard's reaction betrayed his words. As he spoke, he raised his right hand. "You're mistaken. General Sariel is stationed-" Grave swiftly dashed past the angel, locked his arm and used him as a shield, perceiving his signal to the others. He was sure Ashes noticed and left the other guard to her as he disappeared into the dark wood, dropping his expired shield to the dirt. He used the darkness as cover to pick off the archers one by one; a task that would prove moderately difficult without the advantage.

Seclusion did not like using other creatures as shields instead she preferred to just finish them then and there which is what she did and used the shadows to hide herself with ease noticing the archers were being picked off one by one she was quick to join and figured out where the general was stationed by simply reading through one of them. Secrets were not secrets to her, they were only pages of a book in which she read through and gleamed from a creature’s soul.

Rustling her hair a little she moved to where he was. “Well I know where the general is stationed but why are we here?” she asked in a whisper the scythe on her back was a ghost at her feet as she crouched down and looked below seeing guards appearing and made sure she stayed well back in the darkness of the shadows that sheltered them from harm. She could not hear them but she read their lips. “They learn fast” she whispered holding back a light chuckle.

Moving herself she stood up silently folding her wings in as tight as she could in order to figure out other things. “Hmm, he’s been alerted” she whispered keeping quiet as par usual for her and walked along the roof with the ghost at her feet.

"They were first..." Grave whispered. He kept his presence low, perching nearby. Those soldiers were responsible for the dismal state of the previous city, of that he was sure. The guards below scrambled between assessing their fallen comrades' vitality and ascertaining the attackers' whereabouts. They were all on their guard ad would be somewhat formidable with the chance to fight. Grave didn't concern himself with mowing them down just yet; they would come to their general's aid when the necessity would arise. After entering the small town, he could just slightly feel Sariel's presence. It was purposely hidden, but was coming into view a little too easily. Grave suspected a trap and proceeded with stealth.

Traveling a short distance, he stopped on a rooftop to scope his target. He wore no armor, unlike his subordinates. A bow rested on his back without a quiver. The angel sported a relaxed disposition in contrast to the current situation. A bandage covered his left eye; the only visible injury on him.



Two female soldiers stood to either side of him speaking sternly. "General, we must insist on you staying hidden until we locate the intruders. Your safety is our priority, not your curiosity." One reasoned. Sariel scoffed her comment away.

"It's not so often that I entertain unannounced guests. How rude of us to turn them away without so much as a proper greeting?" Sariel spoke in jest. He couldn't be deigned to take the situation seriously. "Boredom aside, if they were able to dispatch the perimeter unit what use is there to wait out the fun? Though I suppose if they kill off the guard unit they would be doing me a favor. A useless lot if they cannot serve their purpose." Smiling in amusement, he considered the positive ramifications to losing his men. His two guards continued fervently to dissuade him.

The three were easily the strongest of the faction. The two female guards were of considerable strength at a mere glance. Sariel was leagues above them, however. In addition to his cunning nature, his power helped raise him to his current rank. Even as he spoke, his mannerisms depicted a slight aloofness. He was listening carefully, concentrating on his surroundings.

She soon appeared beside him and looked down to the two female soldiers and the angel, however, no words came from her this time as she assessed the three of them. They were in a high league and smirked, she would have some fun today that was for sure but did not move at all keeping still, silent and hiding her own breaths. She looked to Graves briefly wondering what his goal was and wondering why he was going after these people, it was mainly just her curiosity though.

Thinking she leaned towards Graves and whispered “What are we doing, you’re after him right?” she asked making sure she was careful with every movement noticing the angel was listening carefully, so very carefully.

The air about them remained stagnant momentarily. "This... is a trap." He observed. The nature of the trap was indiscernible, as were most of Sariel's ploys. There was little left to do than spring it at this point. After one last glance, he jumped from the rooftop into the street before the small group. The two guards drew long swords and took defensive stances before the general. Sariel smirked at the sight of Grave.

"Hahaha, really? I would never have imagined that you would come to visit!" Seemingly little sarcasm in his voice, the angel laughed and greeted him. His subordinates exchanged looks of confusion. "I can only guess why you've come at this time..." His voice lowered slightly as he watched Grave's illegible stare. Sariel shrugged after a moment and drew his bow. "Ladies, find the other intruder. That's an order." The two guards answered with a "Sir!" in unison and swiftly flew about the area.

Sariel sighed, a visibly cold puff of air escaped his lips. "Words were never your strong point, so let's just get started." In an instant, an arrow of light raced toward Grave's head. He ducked the shot and prepared to race forward when the general uttered a short incantation, activating a large circle of light beneath them both. Grave backstepped the burst and drew his sword. That was likely one of his many traps nearby. Two more shots arched toward him, giving little time to think. The soul demon weaved through a rain of arrows to approach the now airborne general. Their mobility in air was not hindered; their speeds matched resulting in a series of misses. Sariel was able to shoot close range, a volley of light arrows flew in random directions after being parried or dodged. Occasionally, a light spell would be cast only to miss the dancing assassin.

The guards sent off shone light about their search areas. The two would eventually locate Ashes, their flight speeds were abnormally fast. Without warning, one cast a burning sigil above her that would rain down a torrential flame on her. The other prepared her sword, ready to charge her when she moved.

Seclusion moved away swiftly and Deadly gave a light growl alerting her to the burning signal and smirked a little tugging lightly on her scarf she began to speak countering the spell her wings still burns but the feathers did not take long to grow back and she hissed at them before speaking “Come on then, want to play?” she asked in a childish tone. She wanted to have some fun and they looked interesting to her. “My, my you do look tasty” she said licking her lips and a laugh came from Deadly. “Indeed.”
Jumping down she let her mouth hang open a little her teeth showing clearly past her lips and she waited in silence, her eyes focused completely but held that playful flame within them as she waited. Holding Deadly in one hand she waited still making sure they were a good distance from Graves and Sariel.
“You are slow” she smirked looking to them when they finally got her location. “Well then, what do you want following your orders like dogs?” she asked them bluntly.

Sparks and flashes of light continued to ignite about the sky as Grave and Sariel continued their bout. Seals would burst, dark spikes launched and crashes could be heard periodically as one fighter would come hurtling down to the ground. The remaining soldiers surrounded the two, but could approach no further due to the fight's erratic intervals. "You're a damned hypocrite, you know that? Where has this sense of duty come from?!" The angel's voice was now more serious, reflecting his situation. "Have you learned nothing?" Grave punctuated his question by cutting a shallow wound through Sariel's chest. He sneered in pain and blasted him point blank.

The guards took flight after Ashes, catching up after a few seconds. They halted momentarily at her question. "The orders we receive are for the good and preservation of our people. They need not be defended." One answered authoritatively. She quickly rushed Ashes with a few shallow, but precise strikes of her blade. The other cast a series of ice shards from different positions around them. They closed in at incredible speeds in tandem with the other guard's attacks.

She scoffed at their answer “Nope, your just dogs” was all she said before defending a few of the shallow cuts back and avoiding most of the ice shards with some catching her but that did not matter to her at all.
She focused on the weaker of the two, even though they were both very equal in ability she could pick out one had more weaknesses and grinned lunging at one and pinning them down with a grin on her face and threatened their throat with her teeth and soon just growled angrily and Deadly watched the other one closely alerting her to when she decided to attack.

(Sorry my mind is failing me today)

The night sky light up with white flashes; failed attempts of ensnarement and lethality. White and black winged foes whisked about clashing momentarily, only to drive one another back resulting in further illuminating bursts. Despite the few hits landed, Sariel's frustration was on the rise. None of his traps were catching and his men were still inactive. He was well aware of most of Grave's abilities, and he wasn't using them. His only weapon for the fight thus far was his sword. "Something wrong? Why're you holding back?!" His voice was beginning to fill with vehemence. More so at his men than the assassin. Grave let his gaze flicker to the side for an instant. Sariel followed his sight to realize just what had happened.

His concentration was built too high upon trapping the soul demon, he cared little for his men. The parries and dodges were precise for a purpose. A ring of deceased soldiers encompassed the area, slain by arrows of light. He gnashed his teeth and envisioned Grave's unyielding expression shifting to amusement. In reality his stoic countenance held steadfast, but the angel's rage boiled over. A pillar of light erupted around him, the adjacent space trembled at the exertion. "Who the hell are you... to look down upon ME?!" An arrow of light appeared, drawn in his bow. It crackled with energy as if to struggle against its own form. Grave waited until its release before narrowly dodging the shot. He could distantly sense the other fighting trio, and was sure of his position.

The pinned guard showed no signs of opening as she enchanted a sigil between herself and Ashes. A discharge of heat strong enough to blow her off expelled from the illuminating circle. The other had begun her own spell, a large stalactite of deadly cold ice appeared above the two. She aimed to run Ashes through simultaneously, but was stopped short by a piercing feeling in her side. The wayward arrow flew clean through trees and structures alike before the force tore them apart a second later. The ice guard didn't feel it's approach, or any pain as it shredded through her lungs. A second later, her upper torso exploded from the impact. The fire guard gasped in shock and horror; there was no mistaking the attack's origin. She faltered in taking her eye off her opponent, even for a moment.

((No worries. Happens to me more often than I'd like.))

Getting blown back she stopped herself and hissed in annoyance the scythe changing form and snarling angrily as its size change and looked to them with fury in its eyes. It rushed towards Seclusion who shielded herself with her wings when she felt the dangerous attack coming “hmm, seems he really ticked of Sariel very much. She rustled her hair and looked up seeing an opening she took it beheading the angel once her scythe returned to its bladed form and smirked before she settled down to her meal with her scythe that happily gnawed on the rotting flesh.She disappeared back into the shadows and watched Sariel and Graves; He really did park her curiosity so very much. She stayed silent watching in the shadows.

Sariel had once again taken to the skies, raining down a cascade of shining arrows that exploded upon meeting the ground below. Grave dashed about on the ground satisfied with dodging for now. Burst after burst left the street further destroyed than the second before. With one final strike, the last shot rumbled the foundation of the adjacent buildings before crushing the earth below in a blinding explosion. Grave used the pause in attacks to position himself in the street's center to minimize risk. The attack's speed nearly took him by surprise. When the dust and smoke began to clear, the street was nonexistent. The ground was singed, burned to the dirt in resemblance to the once adorning buildings. The only sound to be heard was angel's laborious panting, the only sight his silhouette through the cloud. His candor stumbled into a relieved laugh but was replaced with indignant silence as Grave's immobile visage appeared through the dust.

"How blind war makes of even the most perceptive. For all your traps and tricks, you've only deceived yourself." He said calmly, sheathing his sword. This sent Sariel over the edge yet again. "YOU ARROGANT... I've heard enough of your cryptic bullshit!" The angel drew his bow, light crackled under its own pressure as he charged another destructive shot. "Drop the righteous facade! You're nothing but a damned--" In a relinquishing spark, his bow exploded and the light dissipated. The pressure finally proved too taxing. Sariel's eyes shot open in shock, then dilated in extreme pain. Grave had moved in close and ran him through with a soul spike. Then another, then four, then eight. Blood flowed steadily to the ground as Sariel was lifted into the air slightly, barely clinging to life. Grave looked him in the eye which now reflected his own lifeless mask. He studied the dying angel's expression before speaking.

"You forgot yourself..." He stated simply. Sariel struggled to respond, much calmer than before. "Nah.. I gave up..... Heh.. Sorry." A strange sincerity overtook his tone. His body slowly fell limp; his eyes closed as he 'slept' with a self depreciating smirk. The puncturing obsidian spikes glowed slightly as the angel's soul was forcibly tunneled into Graves. He released the shell and lingered as it sank to its knees without fully toppling over. Finally, he turned to approach Ashes. The two were the only live beings left in the town. It would appear that the townsfolk were evacuated beforehand; fortunate for them.

He walked with ease in spite of his apparent injuries. Patches of his skin stained in pure white were slowly healing. His vision blurred for a few steps, but wasn't enough to hinder his movement. Holy magic was quite an issue to his kind, but he denied letting on. The fact of the matter was he didn't want to be there anymore. He found the thought of looking back increasingly difficult. "Southeast... the city I considered yesterday is next. It will be guarded, but is a longer distance from here." He conjectured. Honestly, he couldn't focus on the next destination.

She had gotten there when the angel was dying and watched in silence, she had noticed there was no one else here now and jumped down from the roof once she was sure he was dead and looked to the dead angel Deadly changed into her form and asked permission from Graves to eat since in a wolf’s mind it was his kill. Also the hell hound needed to eat a lot and had been having a feast recently so was more than content but never gave away a good meal and this was one of them.

She looked to him “What is on your mind, you’re not as…Focused on this one” she said, small threads sewing up her wounds like she was a patch word doll. She ignored the stinging it caused and simply looked to him waiting for him to answer her. “Do not lie to me either, I can see straight through you, remember?” Her voice was so call no one really knew how she was like this anymore. She hummed softly rustling her hair and wings, “Maybe we should rest for a little, we both need to patch ourselves up by the looks of it”

Grave was silent for a short while, remembering the many souls of the soldier perimeter remaining. "Of course." He responded to Deadly in a low yet respectful tone. Grave's mind traveled to distant locales, his eyes focusing on nothing in particular. Speaking of anything in general was foreign to him, much less matters of the past. There was no lying to the woman before him so he settled for an abridged dismissal. "I once knew the target. Times were different, as was he." Through his travels he had met many people. Much to his chagrin, some of those acquaintances were now his targets. Times of war had changed some for the worse, Sariel being one of them.

Lacking the energy, and will, to argue Grave relented to staying. "Excuse me." Grave took his leave early amidst their feeding to find an intact house to rest in. Setting his sword beside him, he sat and stared off into the night's shade. His skin had returned to its normal color and his physical wounds were healing as well. The sight of the room blurred again as fatigue took him. Today was not a very good day...

Deadly fed while Seclusion simply waited in silence for both his answer and for Deadly. She listened in silence to what he had to say “We all know a lot of people before the war, such a thing changes people some for the best some for the worst. It changes them drastically.” She said giving a light sigh she nodded her head a little when he took his leave. She followed a few hours after with Deadly after searching the area herself carefully, silently and settled herself in a chair her legs resting over one of the arm rests and her wings wrapped around her like a blanket. “Sleep, you need it by the looks of you, don’t deny it either” she said rather tired herself.

Giving into her desire to sleep she began breathing shallowly, softly as the scythe remained singing a small lullaby until she slept. Remaining asleep for a majority of the night she did not stir at the sound of anything, Deadly remained guarding them as they slept. Dawn came and she did stir, looking up to see if Graves was still sleeping before she even moved very much.

Finally shutting his eyes Grave started his rest in silence. He felt a light repose as opposed to exposure in being seen through so often and easily. There had been no harm in it thus far, and why fight what you cannot change? Regardless, time had done little to quell his thoughts. Sleep was a welcome concept to him, expedited by the lullaby. Unfortunately, or ironically, his mental unrest accumulated as if in defiance of his physical calm. Nightmares plagued him as of late. Memories of betrayal racked his mind relentlessly through the night. The sun's rays washed both warmth and tranquility over his mind. Noticing Ashes' awakening, he listened intently to their surroundings.

The sound of distant words and shuffling could be clearly heard, in addition to the gathering gaggle of souls presumably the townsfolk. Rather than anticipated lamentation or fear, words of relief could be heard within the approaching din. "It would appear the army was not well received..." Grave voiced quietly. He stood and retrieved his sword thinking it time to leave before their discovery. Set to leave whenever, he waited silently and patiently for her to do the same. This trip would be longer than the last few but time was of little importance.

She moved from her chair cracked her wings and stretching her arms above her head in order to stretch off a little stiff from sleeping in such an awkward position. She listened in silence hearing faint voices, word of relief that were heard. She rustled her hair giving a final awakening yawn and picked up Deadly “Seems we have another destination, why are you targeting these people again?” she asked purely out of curiosity.

“Appears so, anyway best not to take any chances, we should leave quickly, quietly. Best not to leave anything from our visit here, plus if they see me… well I don’t want to do any unnecessary fighting.” She said eager to leave before they were found here. She gave a sigh and lifted her head up a little before she tugged her scarf on and then walked outside staying unnoticed and silent but also very tense almost like a coiled spring.

"Eliminating war hazards..." Grave replied calmly. He much preferred times of peace over war. Some of his 'targets' were individuals who threatened such peace in one way or another; be they aggressive with their militant intention or oppressive by their status. Others were former acquaintances. The main reason: all of them had broken one of his methodically scrutinized rules. "My reasoning is purely my own. You've no obligation to follow."

The two went largely unnoticed during their exit. The few who actually witnessed them initially showed small apprehension, but calmed after ascertaining neither of them were angelic. "They're an accepting lot. You can relax." Grave said to her without looking. Maybe there was hope for this world yet.

As they set off he asked a question of his own. "Is your ability commonplace for Utopians? I've met few and conversed with fewer." His question was more geared toward her combat skills. If she had lived in a peaceful town, he didn't see much use for such a craft. Although, he considered her fighting could be militarily-derived. A few angelic patrols were spotted during their early travel, but Grave made it a point to avoid them for the sake of justified pacifism.

“You say that but there is always one, I prefer to be safe than sorry” she said bluntly and looked to him as he asked “To see a person’s soul and read it? Yes very common, it’s the way in which we hunt for our food, whereas using a scythe is not very common,” she said “they mostly use sword or bows and arrows, well they used to. Also I was trained differently, my body can’t handle certain types of training...” she muttered. She had indeed lived in a peaceful village, however, they were on the verge of war when she was born and was the heir to her family so was taught the old ways. “So no, not really, only my family specialised in assassination within the utopians as did the Hunter family who were branched form the Alma.” She said

She walked to the side a little thinking to herself “What about you, I have not really talked to Soul demons before, not much time when you have so much to learn in so little time” she said