The Things That Stir In The Night [1x1]

Isabella nodded slowly. They really had different ways of doing things. She couldn't understand why Tia would stay in one place—surely everyone would catch on. That was the main reason that Isabella moved, because after one or two deaths people tended to freak out a bit more, and it made it ten times more difficult for her to catch anything.

"Everyone will figure out that your place isn't safe. We should do it my way," she stated. She tucked the bone under her arm and swung her bag—which she hadn't taken off for the entire week—off her shoulders. She reached into it, pulling out a pair of wooly pink gloves. It wasn't clear if they had always been pink, or if they'd originally been white and then been dyed by blood. As she put them on, she explained, "either I can knock on someone's door and get into their house, or I can sit in an alley and call for help. The second one might be easier, and I'll just pull them into the back streets and you can finish them off."

She let the bag settle on her back again. "I can't actually finish something off without a weapon. So this'll be up to you," she said with a nod.
 
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When Isabella offered to do their hunt her way, Tia's eyes glared at the girl. She had a method of doing things? Hmph. She liked her way better. But then she heard the idea, and she gave it honest thought. A sigh hissed out of her mouth - it wasn't so bad.

Staying hidden was Tia's favorite thing to do. And she'd be able to finish them off? Not a bad deal. She gave an approving hiss.
But she didn't show too much excitement. "Yeah, I suppose that we can do it your way. But the people of this town are a slight bit eaiser.... But still. They're a religious town who listen to their religious town radio station, have a general mistrust over anyone who doesn't share the faith, and has a general snootiness that rivals that of a rich spoiled brat coming out of their favorite coffee shop," Tia hissed. She snorted and shook her head. "We better hope that the radio station hasn't talked about anything lately," Tia said.
 
Isabella hadn't expected much resistance from Tia, but she just caught the glare. She replied with one of her own, which was just as mean as the one she was given. Isabella's way wasn't that much different from hers—it ended the same way, with the two of them with a full belly and no complaints, so what was the issue?

She watched as Tia seemed to settle into the idea, and listened carefully to the hiss to try and tell the emotion behind it. She'd gotten used to them in the past week, and though she could tell the difference between a good one and a bad one, it was difficult to tell what they really meant, past that. That one sounded good, at least.

She listened to Tia's concerns, then shook her head. "That doesn't matter. They're looking for demons, things that look like you." She didn't hesitate, not realising that what she saying wasn't quite polite. "People always trust a kid, especially if the kid's super little, and super scared." She pulled her cap down so that her eyes were hidden, knowing that no one would see her anyway, since she was planning on staying just out of the prey's sight.
 
Tia paused at Isabella's words when she told her that she was being sought after. She snorted as she flicked her tongue in the air. She soon approached the girl with slightly glowing eyes.

"Listen up. I've been hunting here for the past seven months, and they are not looking for anything that looks like me! I've never been seen by anyone, unless they're about to die by my paws. If anything, they're still keeping an eye out on the... human that they've seen for the last 16 years," Tia hissed. She was fierce in the beginning, but when she got to the human part, her ferocity faltered. It tampered off and turned into something else more.... melancholy. Tia backed away and looked down at her paws.

If only snakes could cry.

Tia snorted and shook her head. They had to get going if they wanted to catch folks at a reasonable time. She lifted her head and hissed softly to herself, tail slightly dropping to the ground as she walked.

"Come on. We got to keep going."

~~~~
Tia and Isabella finally got to the town's borders. It was a bit busy.... was something going on in the town? Cars were beeping much more than what she'd normally heard, and there was more chatter amongst people than normal. Was there a fair going on? A small celebration? A holiday? What day was it? Tia couldn't tell anymore. She sighed.

"We need to get to higher ground." Tia looked up to the top of the buildings. The rooftops worked perfectly. But how to get up there? There was a way Tia got up to the building, but she had to remember.
 
Assuming that she was only stopping to itch herself or something, Isabella didn't stop when Tia did. She only did when she started talking, and she glanced over her shoulder. Seeing the slight glow in Tia's eyes, Isabella's grip tightened on the bone she still carried, once again ready to fight back if she needed to.

She snorted at what Tia said at first, before connecting the dots. When they'd first met, a week ago, she hadn't been the creature that she was now; she was a girl, just about Isabella's real age. She opened her mouth, fully intending to pry, but Tia cut her off before she even started, moving quickly on. Isabella gave a grunting sigh, more frustrated than anything, and jogged to catch up.
As soon as they got close enough to see Blue Creek Valley, she knew that something was going on. It was a Monday afternoon, so it really should have been a little quieter than usual, if anything. She glanced at Tia, and said, "is it a holiday, or something?"

She followed Tia's gaze up to the rooftops, and then glanced at her legs. She could probably just jump up, if she wanted to. Isabella tried to remember the layout of the backstreets. If they moved around the backs of the buildings to their left, then there might have been a fire escape there.

"You go up your way, if you want. I think there's stairs this way," she said in a low voice, starting in a light jog to their left.
 
Tia made sure she stayed in the darkness as she looked around. Isabella said something about stairs, and her head turned to see the girl moving towards a corner. Her tongue flicked out like normal, and she used it to see if there was any danger around. She didn't sense any, so she figured it was safe enough.

The serpentine creature slowly followed the girl in her general direction, wondering if she was telling the truth. Perhaps the stairs would be better, but would it fit her? Would it hold her weight? She could always change back.... No. Not yet. She still couldn't trust it. Not when she was hungry for human flesh.

Sure enough, there was a fire escape. Tia sat down as she examined the platform. Made of metal, which was standard. It looked sturdy enough, but the question still stood: would it hold her? She supposed she would have to see. And she would have to move super slowly. She sat down to nibble at her fur.

"Well. You found it. I'd forgotten about it mostly. You gonna climb up? Or are you afraid of heights now?" Tia quipped.
 
Isabella let out a quiet 'yes!' when she saw the fire escape, the rust–red stairs dull in the darkness of the alley. She hadn't been totally sure that she'd remembered it correctly; it could have just as easily been another street down, which would have made it so much more likely that they would have been spotted.

There was a short gate that blocked the start of the steps, but when she pushed it with the long bone it easily gave way—it wasn't even clear if there had ever even been a lock there. She snorted at Tia's joke. "Do I really look that dumb?" she asked, feet already on the bottom step. She walked up the stairs, every step creaking loud enough to make her wince, and got to the first platform before she stopped.

She looked back at Tia, and at the stairs behind her. "Are you coming up this way?" she asked, eyeing the stairs. They were ancient, and moved a little under her weight. If they broke, not only would it be so loud that they would definitely be spotted, but Isabella couldn't remember where any other fire escape in town was. The fact that she remembered this one was pure good luck.
 
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Tia hissed at Isabella's jab and shook her head. "I wasn't taking a stab at your intellect, I was taking a stab at whether you were going to go up in high places. You know, after taking such a fall back down to earth," Janine said with a huff.

Her tail flicked as she examined the metal stairs. If she was in human form, she'd have no problem.... Tia ultimately decided to shake her head no.
"I'll go around. I need to stretch my legs anyway," Tia as she went back the way she came. When she faced the wall, Tia bunched her muscles and leaped on the cemented brick wall. Her claws barely caught on, keeping her body close to it as she tried to remember how she scaled walls. It came back to her as she looked around, and she soon climbed it, her back leg muscles propelling her up the wall while her claws made sure she didn't fall.

Tia made it to the top, despite how much longer it was to get there. She didn't care, she liked doing things like that sometimes. She shook her fur before glancing at Isabella. "Climbing is fun. Gives me another reason to use my claws," Tia simply said.
She sat down with a hiss, examining the situation below them. It seemed as if there was a celebration of some sort. The festivities weren't on the exact street Tia was overlooking, but instead perhaps some several streets over. How frustrating. More people meant more eyes to see the surrounding area. A part of her wanted to see what kind of event was happening, but she had to remember that Isabella was hungry.

"More people are moving about. Probably to get some cheap food or something. And there are more children moving about. Isn't there something to keep the kids at bay...? School?" Tia said with a little irritation.
 
If Isabella could have hissed, she probably would have done it right back. She settled for a pointed glare. "It was a joke," she deadpanned, then turned away, cheeks burning.

She jogged up the stairs at first, but the sound the creaking stairs made was loud enough to make her worry that someone would try and see who was going, and she forced herself to slow down. When she reached the top, she hopped onto the concrete floor—thankfully a lot sturdier than the stairs had been—and rushed over to duck behind the short wall that lined the roof. She peered over the top, trying to figure out what was going on while she waited for Tia to finish climbing. She didn't have a clue. Whatever was going on, they'd clearly only started planning it in the past week, otherwise she would have heard something before.

She glanced over her shoulder as Tia finally came up onto the roof. She thought it was weird that Tia felt the need to explain herself, but just nodded and looked back at the street. "You don't know anything about this?" She asked, nodding towards the hubbub.

Noticing that most of the people were moving one way—to the right—Isabella turned her gaze to the left. "If we go that way, there'll be less people. Which means we should be able to pick someone off pretty safely." She looked back to the moving crowd. "Too many people would come if I shouted here. They'd probably catch me."
 
Tia shook her head as she watched the commotion below. "I haven't been into town since... the day I met you and that woman. I tend to not go into town anymore. At least not during the the day. When people know your face, there's little you can do to make them forget it. Especially when you have a horrible little.... "rumor" hanging over your head," Tia said with a sigh.

She tilted her head at Isabella's insight, and turned her head to the left. She was right - there was less people going that way. If they went far enough, hopefully their hunt wouldn't be easily noticed. She got up on her paws and walked over to the edge of the rooftop. A medium jump, but manageable. Bunching her muscles together, Tia launched herself across the gap with her powerful legs. She landed with a short skid, then turned herself around to watch the kids behind her.

"You coming?" Tia called.
 
Isabella kept her eyes on the streets while Tia spoke. This was obviously the town she grew up in, and everyone knew her. But did they know her as Tia, the teen that saved a girl from a monster, or as a beast, that almost ate the girl five minutes later? Isabella had a feeling it was the former—surely Tia would never come back here, if everyone knew exactly what they were looking for.

She watched Tia easily make the jump between the roofs, and couldn't suppress a laugh when she asked if she was coming. What was a totally doable jump for her was impossible for Isabella, who was barely taller than three feet. "No thanks. I don't feel like dying today," she said. "Look, I'll go back onto the street and just go the same way."
 
At first, Tia didn't understand why Isabella didn't try to jump across. But then she walked forward and studied the jump again. Looking at the girl again, she realized that the jump was much too big for her. A sheepish chuckle hissed out of her mouth.

Her nonchalant behavior towards such a jump was amusing. She forgot that she wasn't normal anymore. She was much stronger than most children her age.

"Sorry about that. I sometimes forget that my body is different. Here," Tia offered as she stepped a few feet back. She then ran up to the edge, and her strong hindlegs once again helped Tia scale the gap between her and Isabella. She skidded on the stone under her before turning and walking up to the stuck female. Without warning, she scooped the smaller girl from under her feet with her head and thick neck, having her sit neatly behind her neck in between the shoulders.

"You're going to want to hold on," Tia warned as she backed up. With an inhale and an exhale, Tia then burst into motion, her muscles moving harder and harder to make her go faster. When she got to the edge, her legs pushed even harder than the last two times, propelling her and Isabella further than before. She landed on her feet, claws scrapping across the ground until she stopped completely.

Heart thumping in her chest, Tia had to suppress the hissing roar that threatened to rise out of her throat, eager to make note of her exhilaration. To get rid of it, Tia gave a harsh hiss before turning her head to her probably frightened passenger. "So? You okay back there?" Tia quipped.
 
Isabella was half–way across the roof, walking back to the fire escape, when she heard Tia land behind her. She turned around, one eyebrow raised. "You don't have to come with me." She sounded more annoyed than anything. "Just go, I'll catch up, easy."

Then suddenly, without asking, Tia just picked her up and sat her on her back. Isabella immediately called out in protest, letting out a, "what the hell do you think you're doing?" before Tia suddenly took the run up and, in one clean leap, cleared the distance between the two buildings.

Isabella, having been too panicked to hear Tia's warning, didn't hold on tight enough. When they suddenly stopped, she was thrown forward over Tia's shoulder, and rolled on her side for a few feet before stopping. Her face and arms scraped on the gravel roof, and she let out a quiet moan as she got to her feet. Blood trickling from a nasty scrape on her shoulder, she looked at Tia with fire in her eyes.

She gripped the bone–weapon in two hands, knuckles turning white as she approached Tia. "What the hell is wrong with you!" She screamed, barely able to catch her breath.
 
Tia might've miscalculated the power of her jump. She had never jumped a distance with anybody over her shoulders before, so she thought that she might've needed more power with her jump. When she landed, she assumed that Isabella was still on her shoulders, until she saw her roll across the rooftop stone for a few feet.

With a concerned gasp, Tia padded up to the hurt girl, and lowered her head a little. "Are you okay?" Tia asked. But the girl quickly gathered herself and began to step up to Tia with that bone weapon again. Was she that mad? Tia nervously hissed as she backed up, eyeing that bone while trying to stay away from it.

"I'm sorry! I thought you'd -" Tia gasped when she was at the rooftop's edge. She turned her head a little, but quickly faced Isabella once more. "I didn't want you to go all the way back down! I figured it'd be faster to have you go across with me. I'm sorry that you're hurt!" Tia shouted.

Just then, Tia felt the demon's presence in her conscious. She tensed up - if the demon saw this act of aggression, it would surely kill Isabella. "P-please put the bone down. You have no idea who you're going to anger," Tia begged.
 
Not fancying the explanation, Isabella grit her teeth and snarled. "Why not just freaking ask?" she shouted, "why not just say, 'oh hey, you don't need to do that, just get on me and I'll jump over'? You know, I actually probably would have been okay with it!" Holding the bone, she quickly realised that she wasn't actually angry enough to use it. Still, she kept it lifted.

She faltered when she heard the tone of Tia's voice. It was almost...frightened. And though Tia's words didn't make much sense, Isabella found herself lowering the bone. She fixed Tia with a steady glare. "Just freaking ask next time," she spat.
 
Isabella's loud shouting made Tia lower her head. Why did she feel so.... submissive? If anybody else yelled or scolded her, they'd been dead within seconds. Her neck craned back, hoping that Isabella wouldn't hit or even swing at her.

But after her plea, Isabella seemed to lower her weapon. She could tell that her words didn't make much sense at the moment, but she didn't care. She just needed her to not be a bloody mess between her fangs.

"Alright. I'll ask. I'm sorry," Tia said with a small nod.

The serpentine demon slowly tiptoed around Isabella, making sure that her body posture was anything but frightening or offensive. She thought she was in the clear, but not even a minute went by before Tia was bombarded with a steady amount of growing anger.

She abruptly stopped and froze, breath caught in her throat as the demon within her began to cloud her vision.

'What is this? I told you to not let her threaten us anymore. And what happens? She's holding that damn bone club at you - again - and you're basically cornered at the edge of a fucking rooftop!' the demon nearly roared.

Tia stumbled as she hissed in fear - this was it. She was going to be forced to kill Isabella. She shook her head back and forth, panting heavily and pawing at her head as she struggled to stand straight.

"Pleasssse. It wasn't supposed to be - uggk!" Tia choked on the words in her mouth.

'You think I'm stupid? Do you think I'm blind? You must think so, because you didn't rush her like the monster you are!'

'N-no! I can't do that to her! She's different -'

'Because she's a freak! She's not even alive. You seem to be getting attached to this... Thing.... This thing that doesn't even like you. You must be a masochist,' the demon said with a sudden chuckle that made Tia's tail shiver.

'You are wearing down my patience! If this thing raises that bone one more time.... Let's just say that you'll be holding a bone that doesn't belong to a deer,' the demon growled. Tia nodded her head rapidly, despite the horrific dizziness that instantly followed.

"Yesssss... I u-understand," Tia said with a shuddering whisper.

Moments later, the demon stepped back from her conscious. Her vision was back, and her body was immediately notified of the sudden clarity she had. She panted and looked around, her eyes somehow showing emotions that normally weren't portrayed. Taking a moment, Tia stood on her legs and turned her head to Isabella. She didn't say a word - not an apology, an explanation, or anything.

Until Tia decided to walk slowly towards Isabella. Her eyes trained on the little girl and her body frame, unblinking and unwavering in her own fear. She soon was face-to-face with Isabella, snout so close to her skin that it could've touched her if Tia wanted to.

"No.. more....Bones," the female said with a harsh hiss.

Tia stared for a short moment before padding away, moving towards the edge of the building and looking down at the alleyway below. She cleared her throat and as she wrapped her tail around her leg.

"Please.... What are we d-doing? This is your operation," Tia softly said.
 
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Isabella lowered the bone and tucked it under her arm. It was annoying to carry, but she much preferred to have it on her; there was something about Tia that made her feel like she needed to protect herself, and it wasn't just the fact that she was a monster. Tia walked past her, and Isabella turned her gaze back to the street, rubbing the cuts on her arm. It was getting less and less crowded as more people moved; if they were desperate, they probably could have gotten down there, and still got a decent hunt. But it would be safer to keep moving.

Watching the street, she missed Tia speaking to herself. Hearing her approach from the crunch on the gravel, she looked over her shoulder and caught the look in her eyes. She grabbed the bone in her hand, once again ready for a fight.

Isabella kept her eyes firmly on Tia's, determined not to back down. At the threat (or at least, what she was pretty sure was a threat) her face further set in it's anger. "Just try and take this off me," she snarled. "Just. Freaking. Try." With every pause, she prodded Tia with the bone.

When Tia looked away, Isabella's shoulders finally relaxed away from her ears, and she let out a silent sigh of relief. She hated looking into Tia's eyes for too long; they were proper freaky, sometimes.

She took a moment to catch her breath and recover before she turned back to Tia. "We could probably just start the hunt now," she said. "We can get down from here, maybe move down a little where the backstreets get more difficult, then you can hide and I'll start shouting."
 
Tia quietly breathed to herself as Isabella explained the plan. She nodded her head, somewhat listening, and somewhat not. The demon was losing its patience. It wants to kill Isabella, she could feel it. She still felt the anger it felt when it kept seeing Tia being threatened, and she had to keep it under control. Reacting to demonic anger was dangerous, and she couldn't afford to have herself being hunted down by some religious group of demon hunters or some horrible and ridiculous thing.

"Yeah. Sure. Let's do it," Tia said as she looked to the girl beside her. Getting up on her paws, Tia looked down to the ladder that led down to the ground. With a hiss, the female demon walked further down the rooftop before facing the edge. She took a running leap before she jumped off, reaching the wall across from her. She used her claws to prevent from falling, then wall-jumped back and forth until she hit the ground. It was cooler the further back she went, so she shivered as she waited for Isabella to get herself down.
 
Isabella followed Tia's gaze to the ladder. She was thankful that she noticed it; she'd thought that she would have had to ride Tia back down, which would have been the worst after what just happened. She walked over to the ladder, carefully putting her weight one leg at a time on the metal bar at the top. It was less sturdy than the stairs, and Isabella was glad she was little.

She looked up at Tia and opened her mouth to tell her that she definitely couldn't use the ladder, but was forced to gasp and duck down as Tia rocked over her head. She bounced from wall to wall, and landed at the bottom, easy as pie, as if she'd just went down an elevator. Isabella blinked, stunned for a second, before starting her own—much slower—descent, down the ladder.

As she went, the bars creaked and shuddered, and she thought quite a few times that she was going to fall down. As much as she told Tia that she wasn't afraid of heights, when one of the bars broke off when she put her foot on it, the clang it made when it hit the ground made her think of the thunk her skull had made before. She was only a few feet from the floor, but the fear was real.

She managed to reach the ground level, and dusted herself off as if the fall hadn't shaken her. She looked at Tia, and nodded just past her. "This way," she said, starting at a speed–walk.

They walked for a few blocks, and the sounds of the busy streets started to fade. Isabella stopped at a four–way junction in the back alleyways, the main street to their right. She pointed to the left, and said, "that way looks complicated, but it's not. There's only one real path, with a lot of dead ends." She turned to Tia. "You hide in one of the dead ends, and I'll lead someone in. As long as you don't go too far in, I'll find you eventually."
 
Tia kept her eyes on Isabella as she climbed down the ladder. She wasn't trying to show it, but she was a bit worried for her. The ladder was old, like a whole bunch of crap in this town, and she didn't want the girl to fall. A part of her didn't care so much, and desired for her to be alone again, with nobody to look after but herself. But this other part wanted someone to talk to that wasn't a demon. Someone that was the voice of sanity and clear thinking. They could help her keep herself from being crazy. Maybe share stories with.

A friend.

Tia shook her head with a small hiss. Impossible. She had to stop thinking about nonsense. Isabella was just using her - and then she'd just leave. The thought of being used was upsetting, but maybe, just maybe, it wasn't the case?

When Isabella got down, Tia followed her to the deeper pathways. It was colder the further she got, and she visibly shivered. She didn't like being back here, but thankfully she wouldn't have to stay too long, so long as Isabella didn't take too long in bringing someone to her.

With the explanation, Tia nodded. Hide and seek almost, in a sense. How exciting. She could be as.... enthusiastic as she wanted. Her tail twisted and flicked with her growing excitement, even though she tried to hide it.

"Hmmmm.... alright then. I'll see you in a moment. Don't take too long," Tia said as a small glow flashed across her eyes.
 
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